A Preliminary Study on the Probabilistic Estimation of Deaths from Future Earthquakes in North China

During the period from 1800 to 1989,the degree of fatalities(?from earthquakes in North China(Lat.34.0°-42.0°N,Long.107.5°-125.0°E)varied exponentially with the frequency of earthquake events(N),namely:N=37.71 exp(-0.72?(E-logD,D:deaths).For the periods from 1988 to 1998 and from 1999 to 2009,the probabilities for earthquakes to cause one thousand or more deaths in North China are estimated to be 0.37 and 0.50,respectively,by using the Gumbel's extreme value theory.     

Estimation of exploration potential of a metallogenic unit by parametric modeling of the distribution of mineral occurrences when exploration is incomplete. Case study: Walker Lake quadrangle of Nevada and California

Analysis of the distribution of ore-bodies in space can be useful generally in the estimation of mineral resources or the management of exploration. This study is directed to analysis of the undiscovered potential of well known areas of mining district size, referred to as metallogenic units (MUs). The analysis employs an effort-adjusted and truncated probability model for number of occurrences within a subdivision (quadrat) of a MU and Monte Carlo sampling to generate an approximation to the probability distribution for number of occurrences and number of mines within an MU when it is totally explored. Exploration potential for Monitor, Bodie, Aurora, and Camp Douglas MUs (Walker Lake quadrangle of Nevada and California) are estimated to be 9, 4, 7, and 4 mines, respectively.     

An assessment of the risk from future eruptions of the Soufriere volcano of St. Vincent,West Indies

The Soufriere volcano is a 1220 m high stratovolcano which occupies the northern part of the island of St. Vincent. It is one of the most active centres of volcanism in the Caribbean and has a record of activity dating back to the Pleistocene. Historic eruptions (since 1718) have caused over 1600 deaths and resulted in damage to property valued in excess of 4.8 million USD. In addition, current development plans for the area point towards increased risk of disastrous consequences from future activity at the volcano.All aspects of risk relevant to the volcano, are discussed, with particular emphasis on the manner in which these are perceived and on the question of acceptable risk. A method is presented for use in risk assessment of volcanic hazard and a number of risk zones are defined for the Soufriere volcano. Numerical estimates of the relative loss expected within each zone are obtained from a consideration of the value of property at risk, its vulnerability to the hazardous volcanic events and the expected spatial impact of volcanic events. Such estimates suggest that the northern-most third of the island is at least ten times more at risk than areas further south. The likelihood of death and destruction is extreme in such high risk areas, while the most feasible method of loss reduction is evacuation before an eruption occurs.Formerly at Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.     

Short Term and Short Range Seismicity Patterns in Different Seismic Areas of the World

The aim of this work is to quantitatively set up a simple hypothesis for occurrence of earthquakes conditioned by prior events, on the basis of a previously existing model and the use of recent instrumental observations. A simple procedure is presented in order to determine the conditional probability of pairs of events (foreshock-mainshock, mainshock-aftershock) with short time and space separation. The first event of a pair should not be an aftershock, i.e., it must not be related to a stronger previous event. The Italian earthquake catalog of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica (ING) (1975–1995, M 3.4), the earthquake catalog of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) (1983–1994, M 3.0) and that of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) (1982–1994, M 3.8) were analyzed. The number of observed pairs depends on several parameters: the size of the space-time quiescence volume defining nonaftershocks, the inter event time, the minimum magnitude of the two events, and the spatial dimension of the alarm volume after the first event. The Akaike information criterion has been adopted to assess the optimum set of space-time parameters used in the definition of the pairs, assuming that the occurrence rate of subsequent events may be modeled by two Poisson processes with different rates: the higher rate refers to the space-time volume defined by the alarms and the lower one simulates earthquakes that occur in the nonalarm space-time volume. On the basis of the tests carried out on the seismic catalog of Italy, the occurrence rate of M 3.8 earthquakes followed by a M 3.8 mainshock within 10 km and 10 days (validity) is 0.459. We have observed, for all three catalogs, that the occurrence rate density for the second event of a couple (mainshock or aftershock) of magnitude M₂ subsequent to a nonaftershock of magnitude M₁ in the time range T can be modeled by the following relationship: (T, M₂) = 10^{a + b(M1 - M2)} with b varying from 0.74 (Japan) to 1.09 (Greece). The decrease of the occurrence rate in time for a mainshock after a foreshock or for large aftershocks after a mainshock, for all three databases, obeys the Omori's law with p changing from 0.94 (Italy) to 2.0 (Greece).     

Topological properties of disjoint channel networks within enclosed regions

Enclosure of some portion of one or more natural stream-drainage basins by superposition of a rectangle on a map of drainage network results in fragmentation of the natural basins into a set of disjoint channel networks. Each of these may have some channel links and forks of the natural network plus truncated links intersected by the enclosure boundary. The topological properties of the network elements in the enclosure are used to set up a model of random network patterns, in which the number of disjoint channel networks is expressed as a function of the number of links and forks in the enclosures. This function is shown to be a multiplicative constant times the square root of the number of links or forks. Empirical data on square and rectangular enclosures of several sizes from the Inez (Kentucky)Quadrangle map showed that the predicted multiplicative constants do not agree with observation, but that the square-root relation seems to hold at least to a first approximation. The models thus can be used as a norm against which deviations of real-world enclosures from network pattern randomness can be studied.     

A computer method to calculate the convolution of statistical distributions

It is becoming increasingly important to determine probability distributions of combinations of random variables. Convolution is a technique by which the distribution of a sum of random variables can be determined. This paper presents some simplifications in order to reduce the numerical integrations and computer time. In addition, the method may be used with empirical nonanalytic distributions. While Monte Carlo methods are also appropriate for calculating the distribution, convolution can give at least as much accuracy as Monte Carlo methods with a reduction in computation. Two applications are presented: one approximates the distribution of percent sand in an area, and the other indicates a method of determining sample size when using the distribution of means to approximate normality.     

Development of Seismic Risk Scenarios Based on a Hybrid Method of Vulnerability Assessment

A hybrid methodology of vulnerability analysis is presented, involving elements from both empirical and theoretical methods. A model for correlating analytically calculated structural damage indices to loss (in monetary terms) is also proposed and calibrated against available statistical data. Probability damage matrices derived using this methodology are incorporated into a cost-benefit model tailored to the problem of estimating the feasibility of seismically rehabilitating the existing stock of reinforced concrete buildings in Thessaloniki, Greece. Losses calculated using the suggested procedure are found to be in good agreement with losses incurred during the 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake. The results of the present study also indicate that benefit/cost ratios for reinforced concrete buildings are quite low. Hence, it appears that a pre-earthquake strengthening programme is not economically justifiable.     

科尔沁沙地土壤水分动态分析及其概率密度函数模拟

基于Laio土壤水分动态随机模型(Laio模型),利用2006-2010年5~9月土壤水分连续监测数据及日降水资料,分析科尔沁沙地固定沙丘和沙质草地生长季根系层土壤水分动态及其与降水格局的关系,研究点尺度土壤水分概率密度函数,并对Laio模型涉及的13个参数进行了敏感性分析。结果表明:① 研究区年降水的季节分配极不均匀,主要集中在4~10月的生长季,占全年降水量的93%;0~5 mm降水事件占全年降水事件的73%,但其降水量只占全年降水量的25%;降水间隔期以0~10 d为主,占全年无降水期的38%,其频数最高,占全年间隔期频数的87%。② 固定沙丘和沙质草地根系层厚度分别为0~100 cm和0~70 cm,沙质草地根系层土壤水分显著高于固定沙丘;两类沙地7月份的土壤水分都显著高于生长季其他月份。③ 两类沙地生长季根系层土壤水分均服从正态分布;通过Laio模型得到了两类沙地生长季根系层土壤水分概率密度函数p(s),其峰值及峰值出现的位置和峰的阔度均与观测结果很接近,说明Laio模型能对科尔沁沙地土壤水分概率密度函数进行较好的模拟。④ Laio模型涉及的13个参数中,对p(s)最为敏感的参数是降水频率λ、平均降水量α、最大蒸散量E_max、水分胁迫点s*和凋萎系数s_w,主要影响p(s)曲线的峰值。