Reduction of ground vibration by means of barriers or soil improvement along a railway track

Trains running in built-up areas are a source to ground-borne noise. A careful design of the track may be one way of minimizing the vibrations in the surroundings. For example, open or infilled trenches may be constructed along the track, or the soil underneath the track may be improved. In this work, the influence of the track design and properties on the level of ground vibration due to a vehicle moving with subsonic speed is examined. A coupled finite element-boundary element model of the track and subsoil is employed, adopting a formulation in the moving frame of reference following the vehicle. The computations are carried out in the frequency domain for various combinations of the vehicle speed and the excitation frequency. The analyses indicate that open trenches are more efficient than infilled trenches or soil stiffening–even at low frequencies. However, the direction of the load is of paramount importance. For example, the response outside a shallow open trench may change dramatically when horizontal load is applied instead of vertical load.     

Intermittent chaos in nonlinear wave–wave interactions in space plasmas

There is increasing observational evidence of nonlinear wave–wave interactions in space and astrophysical plasmas. We first review a number of theoretical models of nonlinear wave–wave interactions which our group has developed in the past years. We next describe a nonlinear three-mode truncated model of Alfvén waves, involving resonant interactions of one linearly unstable mode and two linearly damped modes. We construct a bifurcation diagram for this three-wave model and investigate the phenomenon of intermittent chaos. The theoretical results presented in this paper can improve our understanding of intermittent time series frequently observed in space and astrophysical plasmas.     

Analysis of Short-Period Rayleigh Waves Recorded in the Bohemian Massif Area During Celebration 2000 Experiment

The aim of this paper is to show the application of short-period surface waves recorded during deep seismic sounding experiment for constraining shallow velocity structure of the crust. Phase velocity of fundamental mode Rayleigh waves, observed along the CELEBRATION 2000 experiment profile CEL09, were obtained by a p-ω method and has been subsequently inverted for one-dimensional shear velocity models for the top 2 km. Multiple filter technique applied to one shot gather was used to carry out a joint inversion of phase and group velocity data and to provide γ_R data to be used for Q_β inversion. Validity of obtained V_S and Q_β models was confirmed by the reflectivity method. Noticeably, no clear dispersive wawes were observed in the Tepla-Barrandian Unit. Quasi-2D model based on the individual 1D V_S models is well correlated with the surface geology. Lower V_S are observed in the Saxothuringian Zone in comparison to the Moldanubian Zone. In the vicinity of the Central Bohemian and Moldanubian Plutons, the near-surface V_S values are relatively low, but below 1 km depth, they are higher than in surrounding areas. We interpret it as the result of the weathering and cracks within the granitoid rocks.     

Scattering of plane SV waves by cylindrical canyons in saturated porous medium

On the basis of Biot dynamic theory, an analytic solution of two-dimensional scattering and diffraction of plane SV waves by circular cylindrical canyons in a half space of saturated porous media is presented in this paper for the first time. The solution is obtained by employing the Fourier–Bessel series expansion technique. Parametric studies had been carried out, which includes: the angle of incidence, the frequency of the incident SV wave, the porosity of saturated porous medium and the stiffness and Poisson's ratio of the solid-skeleton. All the outcomes are useful for the seismic analysis of the surface topography conditions.     

Low-Frequency Plasma Waves in the Outer Polar CUSP: A Review of Observations from Prognoz 8, Interball 1, Magion 4, and Cluster

This paper presents a review of the most interesting observations of low-frequency plasma waves together with plasma particles which were made by the Interball 1, Magion 4 and Prognoz 8 satellites in the outer polar cusp. Accelerated plasma particles, hot electron populations and very strong wave activity, particularly at low frequencies, are observed. A detailed study of the wave spectra together with the distribution function for electrons indicate the correlation between the presence of lower-hybrid waves and the population of the particles with higher energy than in the surrounding space. These experimental facts suggest that strong coupling between waves and particles is responsible for plasma heating. During polar cusp crossings by Interball 1 and Prognoz 8, FFT analysis of the wave form indicates many bursts of ULF emissions in both electric and magnetic components. These waves have highly non-stationary characteristics. To study the dynamics of changes in the spectral characteristics of the waves wavelet analysis has been used. Nonlinear interactions are studied using bispectral methods of analysis. This presentation gives the results of such an analysis for selected cusp crossings at different altitudes. An example of wave activity registered by the STAFF instrument onboard the CLUSTER spacecraft in the polar cusp is also presented.     

Entropy Analysis of Multiple Scale Causality and Qualitative Causal Shifts in Spatial Systems*

Spatial systems are typically characterized by multiple controlling factors and processes operating at different spatial and temporal scales (multiple scale causality [MSC]). An entropy decomposition‐based approach to MSC is presented here in two contexts. First, given maps or distributions of an observed phenomenon at two or more scales, the contribution at more local or global (relative to the primary scale of observation) controls to the observed entropy can be estimated. Second, a theoretical treatment of the entropy decomposition equations shows that as the range of scale is increased by broadening or narrowing resolutions or by incorporating more controls, the influence of larger or smaller‐scale influences not only changes, but may change qualitatively, e.g., in terms of having positive (entropy‐increasing) or negative (information‐increasing) effects. Such qualitative causal shifts have implications for efforts to use any single causal explanation across the molecular to planetary spatial and instantaneous to geological range of scales relevant to physical geography. The entropy decomposition method is illustrated with an application to soil landscapes in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas.