Monitoring the 2004 andesitic block-lava extrusion at Volcán de Colima,México from seismic activity and SO2 emission

The 2004 andesitic block-lava extrusion at Volcán de Colima, México was accompanied and followed by numerous seismic signals associated with rockfalls, pyroclastic flows and explosive events. We analyze temporal variations in the number of rockfalls and explosions, the seismic signal duration of rockfalls and the energy of the explosion and compare this with both the rate of magma discharge and SO₂ emission. Characteristics of seismic signals and SO₂ emission are compared with those observed during the 1998–1999 Volcán de Colima block-lava extrusion. For both eruptions, the explosive activity was low during the lava extrusion and increased after its termination. The variation in the daily number and the total duration of rockfall seismic signals gives a good reflection of the development of the lava emission process. An increase in magmatic degassing (SO₂ flux) was observed some days before the onset of lava extrusion. The degassing strongly decreased some days before the peak in the rate of the 1998–1999 lava emission but reached its peak together with the peak in the rate of the 2004 lava emission. These features of seismic activity and SO₂ emission demonstrate that they are good tools for monitoring the extrusion process.     

Residual relief separation: digital elevation model enhancement for geomorphological mapping

Geomorphologically mapped data form a primary set of observations that can be used to infer former environmental conditions. Thus, objective and consistent mapping of landforms from remotely sensed data (e.g. satellite imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs)) is paramount for reconstructing palaeoenvironments. This paper proposes a technique, ‘residual relief separation’, to enhance landforms in DEMs prior to visualization and digital mapping. This is applied to a ～600 km² region surrounding Lough Gara, Ireland, where drumlins (～200 m wide) overlie a regional relief of hills (～10 km wide). Here, residual relief separation uses this difference in width‐scale. Regional relief is approximated by a 1 km wide median filter, then subtracted to leave the drumlins in a ‘residual’ topography. In a second step, the residual relief is normalized to allow for amplitude variations in the drumlins across the area (～5–40 m high). Finally, visualization uses a simple black‐to‐white colour scale for height. Although not numerically outperforming other visualization techniques, this method performs equally well, and as the data are not ‘illuminated’ there is no azimuthal bias. Additional benefits include the relatively simple calculation, intuitive visual comprehension, no emphasis of noise, and the possibility of using any desired visualization technique after the landscape has been topographically manipulated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

世界遗产、旅游目的地和农业遗产景观:以加拿大新斯科舍省大草地为例（英文）

加拿大新斯科舍省的大草地是传统土地利用的杰出例子,反映了人类与独特环境相互作用,也因此被联合国教科文组织列入世界遗产名录。大草地不但是加拿大最肥沃的农业景观,还是一个标志性历史遗址,承载着1755年的驱逐阿卡迭人的历史悲剧,吸引了无数游客慕名而来。而今面临着农业的转变和旅游业的衰败双重威胁,人们对大草地于2012年成为世界遗产及其所带来的旅游发展充满期待。本文将大草地作为全球重要农业文化遗产,根据以前的研究,对其成为世界遗产地之后该地区未来经济繁荣和可持续发展的情况进行了探讨。     

Edge enhancement in multispectral satellite images by means of vector operators

Edge enhancement is an element of analysis to derive the spatial structure of satellite images. Two methods to extract edges from multispectral satellite images are presented. A multispectral image is modeled as a vector field with a number of dimensions equal to the number of bands in the image. In this model, a pixel is defined as a vector formed by a number of elements equal to the number of bands. Two vector operators are applied to such vector field. In our first method, we extend the definition of the gradient. In this extension, the vector difference of the window central pixel with neighboring pixels is obtained. A multispectral image is then generated where each pixel represents the maximum change in spectral response in the image in any direction. This image is named a multispectral gradient. The other method, considers the generalization of the Laplacian by means of an η-dimensional Fourier transform. This image is named a multispectral Laplacian. The vector operators perform a simultaneous extraction of edge-content in the spectral bands of a multispectral image. Our methods are parameter-free. Our methods work for a multispectral image of any number of bands. Two examples are discussed that involve multispectral satellite images at two scales. We compare our results with widely used edge enhancement procedures. The evaluation of results shows better performance of proposed methods when compared to widely used edge operators.     

A very special Fractal: Gingko of Jena

After shortly explaining the significance of fractals in the geosciences I present a modification of the famous Mandelbrot iteration. The result bears a certain resemblance to a gingko leaf. The gingko tree is special in botany, in cultural history and in philosophy. Some unusual features of the new gingko-leaf fractal are presented.     

Daubechies wavelet coefficients: a tool to study interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations

We have studied a set of 41 magnetic clouds (MCs) measured by the ACE spacecraft, using the discrete orthogonal wavelet transform (Daubechies wavelet of order two) in three regions: Pre-MC (plasma sheath), MC and Post-MC. We have used data from the IMF GSM-components with time resolution of 16 s. The mathematical property chosen was the statistical mean of the wavelet coefficients (〈Dd1 〉). The Daubechies wavelet coefficients have been used because they represent the local regularity present in the signal being studied. The results reproduced the well-known fact that the dynamics of the sheath region is more than that of the MC region. This technique could be useful to help a specialist to find events boundaries when working with IMF datasets, i.e., a best form to visualize the data. The wavelet coefficients have the advantage of helping to find some shocks that are not easy to see in the IMF data by simple visual inspection. We can learn that fluctuations are not low in all MCs, in some cases waves can penetrate from the sheath to the MC. This methodology has not yet been tested to identify some specific fluctuation patterns at IMF for any other geoeffective interplanetary events, such as Co-rotating Interaction Regions (CIRs), Heliospheric Current Sheet (HCS) or ICMEs without MC signatures. In our opinion, as is the first time that this technique is applied to the IMF data with this purpose, the presentation of this approach for the Space Physics Community is one of the contributions of this work.     

Inference of fault and fracture systems beneath the Matatlan waste dump basement,a VLF study

We used the VLF technique to infer fault or major fracture zones that might serve as path for contaminant waste fluids in the Matatlan dumpsite, in Guadalajara, western Mexico. To interpret the data we used the Fraser, and Karous-Hjelt filters.Profiles were interpreted with 2D direct modeling based on Karous-Hjelt modified filter (K-H). The Fraser and Karous-Hjelt conjugated filter were applied to the entire data. The results of both techniques show similarities in the directions and positions of anomalous features, which are assumed fault or fracture zones. We observed one fault zone at the centre of the site, with a NEE-SWW strike. Other important inferred structures have NW-SE directions at the western part of the site.The cooperative use of both techniques, based on K-H filter and the Fraser filter give results as an N-S inferred structure in the westernmost part of the zone, as well as NW-SE linear anomalies, mainly in the western half of the site. The N-S structure has the same direction as that of Rio Grande de Santiago Canyon. The NW-SE features coincide with the directions of the Tepic-Zacoalco rift. Others NE-SW lineaments are located towards the centre of the area. These facts coincide strongly with the predominance of fracture groups show in the fracture analysis. The inferred structures could serve as conduits for the leachates to migrate towards the Coyula canyon as well as towards the Rio Grande de Santiago Canyon.Statistic analysis of fracture orientations showed N-S (A), N75-80E (B), N60-65W (C), and N25-30W (D) main directions, and N45-55E (E), and 90E (F) secondary directions. Group A coincides with the direction of the Rio Grande de Santiago Canyon, whereas pattern F have the same direction as Coyula Canyon.     

Use of Neural network to predict the peak ground accelerations and pseudo spectral accelerations for Mexican Inslab and Interplate Earthquakes

The use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is explored to predict peak ground accelerations (PGA) and pseudospectral acceleration (SA) for Mexican inslab and interplate earthquakes. A total of 277 and 418 seismic records with two horizontal components for inslab and interplate earthquakes, respectively, are used to train the ANN models by using an ANN with a feed-forward architecture with a back-propagation learning algorithm. Both ANN with single and two hidden layers are considered. For comparison purposes, the PGA and SA values predicted by the trained ANN models are compared with those estimated with attenuation relations or ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). The comparison indicates that the predicted PGA and SA values by the trained ANN models, in general, follow the trends predicted by the GMPEs. However, an extensive verification of the trained models must be conducted before they can be used for seismic hazard and risk analysis since, on occasion, the PGA and SA values predicted by the trained ANN models depart from the behaviour observed from the actual records.     

Young green turtles,Chelonia mydas,exposed to plastic in a frontal area of the SW Atlantic

Ingestion of anthropogenic debris represents an important threat to marine turtle populations. Information has been limited to inventories of debris ingested and its consequences, but why ingestion occurs and the conditions that enable it are less understood. Here we report on the occurrence of plastic ingestion in young green turtles (Chelonia mydas) inhabiting the Río de la Plata (SW Atlantic). This estuarine area is characterized by a frontal system that accumulates anthropogenic debris. We explored exposure of green turtles to plastic and its ingestion via debris distribution, habitat use and digestive tract examination. Results indicated that there is considerable overlap of frontal accumulated plastic and core foraging areas of the animals. Exposure results in ingestion, as shown by the high frequency of plastic found in the digestive tracts. The Río de la Plata estuarine front is an area of conservation concern for young green turtles.     

新元古代大冰期及其诱发因素

简要介绍了由美国一些科学家最近提出的,引起国际地球科学、环境科学、生命科学及宇宙科学界广泛关注的新元古代雪球假说,及其近期研究情况。根据我国扬子地层分区和江南地层分区震旦系的沉积特征,对新元古代古气候骤变,大冰期的发生与消亡及其诱发因素作了初步探讨。