Can Damage Mechanics Explain Temporal Scaling Laws in Brittle Fracture and Seismicity?

Time delays associated with processes leading to a failure or stress relaxation in materials and earthquakes are studied in terms of continuum damage mechanics. Damage mechanics is a quasi-empirical approach that describes inelastic irreversible phenomena in the deformation of solids. When a rock sample is loaded, there is generally a time delay before the rock fails. This period is characterized by the occurrence and coalescence of microcracks which radiate acoustic signals of broad amplitudes. These acoustic emission events have been shown to exhibit power-law scaling as they increase in intensity prior to a rupture. In case of seismogenic processes in the Earth's brittle crust, all earthquakes are followed by an aftershock sequence. A universal feature of aftershocks is that their rate decays in time according to the modified Omori's law, a power-law decay. In this paper a model of continuum damage mechanics in which damage (microcracking) starts to develop when the applied stress exceeds a prescribed yield stress (a material parameter) is introduced to explain both laboratory experiments and systematic temporal variations in seismicity.     

M L Determination for Local and Regional Events Using a Sparse Network in Southwestern Germany

A method for the determination of consistent local magnitude M _L values (Richter scale, or M _WA) for earthquakes with epicentral distances ranging from 10 km through 1000 km is demonstrated. The raw data consists of nearly 1300 amplitude readings from a network of six digital seismographs in Baden–Württemberg (Southwestern Germany) during 26 months starting in 1995, later extended by another 1000 amplitude readings until 1999. Relying on most of the basics introduced by C.F. Richter a three-parameter attenuation curve (distance correction, magnitude-distance relation) for Baden–Württemberg and adjacent areas is presented. Station corrections are evaluated and the attenuation curve is calibrated with respect to other agencies for distances greater than 650 km. Reasonable parametrisations are discussed and meaningful error bars are attributed. Finally, a seventh station is incorporated by means of its station correction alone, without needing to update the attenuation curve.     

Differences Between Mode I and Mode II Crack Propagation

Although mode I and mode II crack propagation show many similarities, in particular when analysed by linear elastic fracture mechanics, they differ significantly in the micro-structural behaviour. These differences, which are clearly noticeable in the fracture surface morphology, lead to fundamental differences in the macroscopic behaviour. Thus, mode II crack expansion under remote loading, appears to obey micro-structural scaling laws, implying that the dimensions of the process region stay essentially constant during crack expansion, rather than increasing with crack length. Therefore, expanding mode II cracks can almost reach the Rayleigh velocity, and actually also intersonic velocities. An expanding mode I crack, on the other hand, seems to obey continuum scaling laws, implying that the dimensions of the process region increase in proportion to crack length, leading to self-similar crack expansion at a velocity significantly below the Rayleigh speed and dependent on the remote load.     

Spectral scaling in Mars topography: effect of craters

Extensive computer simulations aimed at testing a hypothesis that impact craters may explain the scaling behaviour of surface spectra are presented. The simulations show that indeed crater effects alone may explain the spectral scaling of Mars’ topography revealed from MOLA data. The range of the scaling exponents obtained for a wide range of simulation parameters does not exceed the limits observed for Mars. The simulations suggest that the shape of large craters is the key factor leading to the two scaling ranges in the surface spectra. Particular values of the scaling exponents may additionally depend on the depth-diameter relationship and the crater size distribution.     

A radar-based verification of precipitation forecast for local convective storms

Local flash flood storms with a rapid hydrological response are a real challenge for quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF). It is relevant to assess space domains, to which the QPF approaches are applicable. In this paper an attempt is made to evaluate the forecasting capability of a high-resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP) model by means of area-related QPF verification. The results presented concern two local convective events, which occurred in the Czech Republic (CR) on 13 and 15 July 2002 and caused local flash floods. We used the LM COSMO model (Lokall Model of the COSMO consortium) adapted to the horizontal resolution of 2.8 km over a model domain covering the CR. The 18 h forecast of convective precipitation was verified by using radar rainfall totals adjusted to the measured rain gauge data. The grid point-related root mean square error (RMSE) value was calculated over a square around the grid point under the assumption that rainfall values were randomly distributed within the square. The forecast accuracy was characterized by the mean RMSE over the whole verification domain. We attempt to show a dependence of both the RMSE field and the mean RMSE on the square size. The importance of a suitable merger between the radar and rain gauge datasets is demonstrated by a comparison between the verification results obtained with and without the gauge adjustment. The application of verification procedure demonstrates uncertainties in the precipitation forecasts. The model was integrated with initial conditions shifted by 0.5° distances. The four verifications, corresponding to the shifts in the four directions, show differences in the resulting QPF, which depend on the size of verification area and on the direction of the shift.     

Neo-liberal ruptures: Local political entities and neighbourhood networks in El Alto, Bolivia

In October 2003, hundreds of thousands of Bolivians took to the streets demanding the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. After 20 years of neo-liberal policies - and the failures to improve the living conditions of the majority - the proposal to export natural gas via Chile was taken by the population as yet another step to sustain an unjust political order. Facing a direct challenge by the population the Sánchez de Lozada administration responded with indiscriminate military force. The result was 63 dead and over 300 wounded, which deepened and extended the social rage and eventually forced the resignation of the President. The neo-liberal project - promoted and defended by Sánchez de Lozada - collapsed. The city of El Alto was the epicentre of the challenges to the legitimacy of this political order. This article focuses on the role of local political entities and neighbourhood networks from El Alto in articulating political spaces that challenged the legitimacy of the institutional infrastructure and led to the October 2003 ruptures in the neo-liberal project. Furthermore, I make the case that the particular histories and memories (of “relocalized” miners and indigenous/peasants) that converged in and defined this city were pivotal in the organization of a “political subsoil” that surged to the surface during the October 2003 events.     

A Janus-faced biodiversity change and the partiality of ecological knowledge in a world biodiversity hotspot in Ghana: Implications for biodiversity rehabilitation

The Gyamfiase-Adenya-Obom cluster of villages in the forest-savanna region of Ghana is located within one of Conservation International’s 34 “World Biodiversity Hotspots” of the most biodiversity-threatened regions of the world. In collaboration with local farmers in this area since 1993, the People, Land Management and Ecological Change Project in Ghana (PLEC-Ghana) has been working on promoting biodiversity rehabilitation to address problems of biodiversity change. This goal is expected to be achieved through agrobiodiversity or biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices. However, farmers’ employment of these practices has been lackluster, even while they acknowledge biodiversity changes, dominated by Chromolaena odorata and other herbaceous species, that are driving the decline in forests and their biodiversity. In interpreting the difficulties of biodiversity rehabilitation in Gyamfiase-Adenya-Obom, this study outlines the diverging ecological knowledge of non-residents/outsiders and local farmers about biodiversity change, which it describes as Janus-like with two diverging faces. One face of biodiversity change shows the detrimental impacts on biodiversity and its observers—non-residents/outsiders—insist on biodiversity rehabilitation that nurtures forests, and the growth and domination of tree species. The other face of biodiversity change shows its agronomic advantages and its observers—the local farmers—are skeptical of current biodiversity rehabilitation practices. Farmers see agronomic benefits in biodiversity change, in particular the benefit of faster soil regeneration within the predominant bush fallow system of farming. And as a result of this observation, farmers continue with practices that sustain a decline in forests and biodiversity. Based on social and ecological research that explores three biodiversity-friendly practices promoted by PLEC-Ghana (fallow management, mulching, and intensive weeding to protect tree seedlings), this article discusses the partiality of ecological perspectives that emphasize either face of biodiversity change but not both, and the implications for biodiversity rehabilitation.     

不同标度震级关系和台基影响问题探讨

利用近年中国数字地震台网观测报告中的中国及邻区地震目录资料,取能够同时计算面波震级MS和近震震级ML的地震,拟合出2种震级之间的关系,发现与过去使用30余年的换算公式存在系统差别。考虑现代化地震数字观测系统有动态范围大、频带宽、台站多、覆盖区域广、测定精度高的特点,由此拟合的关系应当更可靠。考虑不同误差因素统计面波震级MS和近震震级ML的关系表明,2种震级之间换算和不换算的差别并不大,因此建议MS和ML震级之间不换算为宜。分析地震台站的场地响应发现:一些基岩台的放大因子在1附近,场地响应不随频率变化;处于沉积土层的台站,放大因子在低频段大于1,高频段小于1;还有一些台站在某个频段范围大于1,或者小于1。另外,沉积土层台站的单台震级和台网平均震级差也随周期增大,呈现由负到正的增长趋势。看来并不存在固定的台站校正系数,因此不能把台站校正作为提高震级测定精度的方法。     

Modeling thermal deformation of VLBI antennas with a new temperature model

Temperature variations at very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) sites cause thermal deformations of the VLBI antennas and corresponding displacements of the VLBI reference points. The thermal deformation effects typically contain seasonal and daily signatures. The amplitudes of the annual vertical motion of the antenna reference point can reach several millimeters, depending on the design of the antenna structure, on the material, and on the environmental effects such as global station position, station height and climatology effects. Simple methods to correct this effect use the difference of the environmental temperature with respect to a defined reference temperature, the antenna dimensions, the elevation of the antenna, the material of antenna structure. Applying these simple models for thermal deformation in the VLBI data analysis improves the baseline length repeatability by 3.5%. A comparison of these simple models with local thermal deformation measurements at the antennas in Onsala and Wettzell show that the local measurements and the modeled corrections agree well when the temperature of the antenna structure is used, but agree less good when the surrounding air temperatures are used. To overcome this problem we present a method to model temperature penetration into the antenna structures, that allows to model thermal deformation effects that agree with the observed vertical deformation of the Onsala and Wettzell radio telescopes with a root mean square deviation of 0.07 and 0.13 mm, respectively. Possible implementations in the VLBI analysis are presented, and the definition of an adequate reference temperature is discussed.     

HST UV measurements of wind structure and velocities in Local Group OB stars

Archival HST FOS and GHRS data sets have been used to collect ultraviolet evidence for large- and small-scale stellar wind structure in extragalactic Local Group OB stars (i.e. SMC, LMC including R136, M31, M33 and NGC 6822). By comparison with previous studies of Galactic OB stars, wind activity is principally diagnosed in individual spectrograms via the presence of 'narrow absorption components' and saturated 'black' absorption troughs in the resonance line doublets. Their characteristics broadly suggest that these stars share the same physical mechanisms for perturbing the winds as those that act in Galactic stars. Both of these spectral indicators are also used to provide reliable measures of wind terminal velocities. These velocities are directly compared with previously published Galactic values, without reliance on model profile fitting. Relative to Galactic OB stars, the most discrepant terminal velocities (and wind line profiles) result from main-sequence early O-type stars in the SMC.