Azimuthal variation of the P phase in Icelandic receiver functions

A curious observation has been made on radial receiver functions calculated from teleseisms recorded by 29 broad-band seismometers distributed over Iceland. The arrival time of the direct P phase of the radial receiver functions depends critically upon the azimuth of the teleseismic source. For a seismic station in West Iceland, the direct P  phase of the radial receiver function arrives consistently later for easterly source azimuths than for westerly source azimuths. The reverse applies for stations in East Iceland. In the original seismograms, the delayed P phase of the receiver function appears up to 450 ms later on the radial than on the vertical component. The seismometer locations in East and West Iceland are separated by the Neovolcanic Zone, a constructive plate boundary. The delayed P phases occur for seismic rays travelling across this zone. However, it is not obvious how wave propagation across the plate boundary zone could cause the observed delays. The tentative explanation proposed here involves the regional dip of the Icelandic lava sequences towards the Neovolcanic Zone. A dipping interface at shallow depth results in a P–S converted phase arriving shortly after the P phase. These phases cannot be separated in the radial receiver functions, given the bandwidth of the observed signals. However, a calculation of receiver functions from estimates of the P , SV and SH wavefields clearly reveals a P–S converted phase at about 500 ms for easterly source azimuths in West Iceland and for westerly source azimuths in East Iceland. The amplitudes of the direct P phase and the P–S phase converted at a dipping interface would be expected to vary strongly with azimuth in accordance with the observed behaviour.     

Elastic waves in visco-elastic half-space generated by various vehicle loads

In this paper, the response of a visco-elastic half-space subjected to moving loads with static and dynamic components is investigated. Four types of vehicle loads are considered, including the moving point load, uniformly distributed wheel load, elastically distributed wheel load, and a train load simulated as a sequence of elastically distributed wheel loads. In each case, the influence of the moving loads traveling in the subsonic, transonic and supersonic ranges on the dynamic responses of the half-space is studied. The parametric study conducted herein enables us to grasp insight into the mechanism of wave propagation for a visco-elastic half-space under moving loads.     

Wave propagation in a seven-story reinforced concrete building: I. Theoretical models

For transient, high frequency, and pulse like excitation of structures in the near field of strong earthquakes, the classical design approach based on relative response spectrum and mode superposition may not be conservative. For such excitations, it is more natural to use wave propagation methods. In this paper (Part I), we review several two-dimensional wave propagation models of buildings and show results for theoretical dispersion curves computed for these models. We also estimate the parameters of these models that would correspond to a seven-story reinforced concrete building in Van Nuys, California. Ambient vibration tests data for this building imply vertical shear wave velocity β_z=112 m/s and anisotropy factor β_x/β_z=0.55 for NS vibrations, and β_z=88 m/s and β_x/β_z=1 for EW vibrations. The velocity of shear waves propagating through the slabs is estimated to be about 2000 m/s. In the companion paper (Part II), we estimate phase velocities of vertically and horizontally propagating waves between seven pairs of recording points in the building using recorded response to four earthquakes.     

SOURCE RADIATION AND RESPONSES OF WAVE PROPAGATION

Recordings of seismic waves propagating from earthquake source to a station at the earth's surface are a system response function.The convolution operator in time domain can be simplified as a multiplication operator in frequency domain.We discuss in frequency domain the separation of source,path and site effects for global scaling of earthquake source radiation.Also discussed are source scaling model,faulting mechanism,and the H/V inversion problems with crustal and near surface structures.Gross features of apparent source spectra appear to be not much region-dependent although there may be difference between tectonic styles within a region of tectonic mixture for which we need further study as data accumulate.Vertical spectra may be a better approach to approximate source radiation,as it has less crustal amplification effects than horizontal spectra.The H/V ratio is evidently a comprehensive indicator of amplification effects from near surface to deep structure.This gives it potential as an inversion tool to deduce site crustal structure.     

Remote sensing-modelisation approach for diurnal estimation of burnt biomass in the Central African Republic Savanna

Experimental studies and mesoscale modeling of atmospheric chemistry require a good knowledge of the sources of the atmospheric constituent, at a temporal scale of about one hour and at a spatial scale corresponding to the model grid. A combined remote sensing/modeling approach for the estimation of the diurnal distribution of the amount of biomass burning in Central African Republic (C.A.R.) savanna fires is proposed. The fire propagation model (BEHAVE) developed by Rothermel was adapted to the fuel characteristics encountered in C.A.R. Ground and airborne measurements with satellite images (NOAA/AVHRR) were used to predict an accurate estimate of the burnt biomass. This combination allows the calculation of the distribution of the number of fires during the day providing an evaluation of the instantaneous fluxes of the compounds emitted in the atmosphere by these fires.     

不同温压条件下弹性波在岩石中传播速度的实验研究

对以岩浆岩为主的岩石类型进行了不同温压条件下弹性波传播速度的实验研究，结果表明：（１）岩石的物质组成是决定弹性波传播速度的主要因素。以岩浆岩为例，由酸性到基性波速呈增加趋势；（２）岩石中弹性波的传播速度随环境条件改变而变化。一般说来，随温压条件的升高而升高     

孕震动力系统的研究趋势与展望

该文综述了近年来应用浑沌动力学研究固化介质中裂纹的传播问题，描述了地震发生的动力学模拟，探讨了利用时间序列的相空间重构问题，最后对这些问题进行了简略的讨论。     

Harmonic wave propagation through viscoelastic heterogeneous media exhibiting mild stochasticity - I. Fundamental solutions

This work examines the propagation of time harmonic, horizontally polarized shear waves through a naturally occurring heterogeneous medium that exhibits viscous behaviour as well as random fluctuations of its elastic modulus about a mean value. As a first step, the governing equation, which is a heterogeneous Helmholtz equation, is solved using algebraic transformations and the relevant Green's function is obtained for two sets of boundary conditions, one corresponding to a finite depth layer and the other to an infinite layer. Viscous material behaviour is introduced by considering the depth-dependent elastic modulus to be a complex quantity. Subsequently, material stochasticity in the medium is handled through the perturbation approach by assuming that the elastic modulus has a small random fluctuation about its mean value. The final results are closed-form expressions for the mean value and covariance matrix of both the wave speed profile in the medium and the corresponding Green's function. In Part II, (Soil Dynam. Earth. Engng, 1996,15, 129-39), two examples concerning seismic wave propagation in soft topsoil and in sandstone serve to illustrate the methodology and comparisons are made with Monte Carlo simulations.