Seismic Hazard and Risk Assessment for Tulbagh,South Africa: Part I – Assessment of Seismic Hazard

In this part of our study the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for Tulbagh was performed. The applied procedure is parametric and consists essentially of two steps. The first step is applicable to the area in the vicinity of Tulbagh and requires an estimation of the area-specific parameters, which, in this case, is the mean seismic activity rate, , the Gutenberg-Richter parameter, b, and the maximum regional magnitude, m_max. The second step is applicable to the Tulbagh site, and consists of parameters of distribution of amplitude of the selected ground motion parameter. The current application of the procedure provides an assessment of the PSHA in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA). The procedure permits the combination of both historical and instrumental data. The historical part of the catalogue only contains the strongest events, whereas the complete part can be divided into several subcatalogues, each assumed complete above a specified threshold of magnitude. In the analysis, the uncertainty in the determination of the earthquake was taken into account by incorporation of the concept of `apparent magnitude'. The PSHA technique has been developed specifically for the estimation of seismic hazard at individual sites without the subjective judgement involved in the definition of seismic source zones, when the specific active faults have not been mapped or identified, and where the causes of seismicity are not well understood. The results of the hazard assessment are expressed as probabilities that specified values of PGA will be exceeded during the chosen time intervals, and similarly for the spectral accelerations. A worst case scenario sketches the possibility of a maximum PGA of 0.30g. The results of the hazard assessment can be used as input to a seismic risk assessment.     

Archaeoseismology: Methodological issues and procedure

Archaeoseismic research contributes important data on past earthquakes. A limitation of the usefulness of archaeoseismology is due to the lack of continuous discussion about the methodology. The methodological issues are particularly important because archaeoseismological investigations of past earthquakes make use of a large variety of methods. Typical in situ investigations include: (1) reconstruction of the local archaeological stratigraphy aimed at defining the correct position and chronology of a destruction layer, presumably related to an earthquake; (2) analysis of the deformations potentially due to seismic shaking or secondary earthquake effects, detectable on walls; (3) analysis of the depositional characteristics of the collapsed material; (4) investigations of the local geology and geomorphology to define possible natural cause(s) of the destruction; (5) investigations of the local factors affecting the ground motion amplifications; and (6) estimation of the dynamic excitation, which affected the site under investigation. Subsequently, a ‘territorial’ approach testing evidence of synchronous destruction in a certain region may delineate the extent of the area struck by the earthquake. The most reliable results of an archaeoseismological investigation are obtained by application of modern geoarchaeological practice (archaeological stratigraphy plus geological–geomorphological data), with the addition of a geophysical-engineering quantitative approach and (if available) historical information. This gives a basic dataset necessary to perform quantitative analyses which, in turn, corroborate the archaeoseismic hypothesis. Since archaeoseismological investigations can reveal the possible natural causes of destruction at a site, they contribute to the wider field of environmental archaeology, that seeks to define the history of the relationship between humans and the environment. Finally, through the improvement of the knowledge on the past seismicity, these studies can contribute to the regional estimation of seismic hazard.     

北京城市地质工作服务的新方向——地质遗迹景观资源的开发利用

本文在阐述北京城市地质工作和地质遗迹景观资源开发利用现状的基础上,通过地质公园建设实例,从推动地方经济发展和当地居民就业、加快城镇基础设施和生态环境建设、提升地学旅游品位和公众保护地质遗迹意识等三个方面论证了地质公园在保障城市经济健康和可持续发展中发挥的重要作用,从而有力阐明了开发利用地质遗迹景观资源是北京城市地质工作服务的一个新方向。本文还提出了今后北京地区地质遗迹景观资源开发利用对策。     

基于地质遗迹资源保护利用价值的保护区划分——以云南盐津乌蒙峡谷地质公园为例

地质遗迹资源保护利用价值是合理划分保护区的基础.本文以盐津乌蒙峡谷地质公园地质遗迹资源为例，从地质遗迹资源利用性和脆弱性两个方面构建地质遗迹资源保护利用价值评价指标体系，运用层次分析法确定地质遗迹资源保护利用价值评价因子权重.采用专家咨询法建立地质遗迹资源保护等级划分标准.利用菲什拜因-罗森伯格模型对盐津地质公园典型地质遗迹资源进行保护利用价值评价并划分保护等级.根据保护利用价值评价结果，利用Sufer9.0软件制作地质遗迹资源保护利用等值线图，结合地质遗迹资源保护的便利性与地方相关规划的协调性，绘制出盐津乌蒙峡谷地质公园地质遗迹资源保护分区图，结果为：盐津乌蒙峡谷地质公园特级保护区面积0.06 km²，一级保护区面积11.74 km²，二级保护区面积23.47 km²，三级保护区面积75.07 km².     

“THE END OF MODERN HISTORY”?*

ABSTRACT. The first half of the twentieth century marked both an end to confidence in human control of the earth and a prelude to the contemporary era of intense environmental concern after 1950. This conspectus of the environmental history/historical geography of the transitional years between 1900 and 1950 focuses on rising concerns over resource supplies and exploitation, particularly land settlement, timber supplies, soil erosion, and river-basin control. Conservation and the pervasiveness of ecological thinking and analogy form a strong underlying theme.     

Numerical Simulation of the 1918 Puerto Rico Tsunami

The Caribbean Sea region is well known for its hurricanes, and less known for tsunamis. As part of its responsibilities in hazard assessment and mitigation, the U.S.A. Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Puerto Rico Civil Defense, funded a pilot study to perform a numerical simulation of the 1918 Puerto Rico tsunami, one of the most deadly in the region. As part of the study a review has been made of the tectonic and tsunamigenic environment around Puerto Rico, the fault parameters for the 1918 event have been estimated, and a numerical simulation has been done using a tsunami propagation and runup model obtained through the Tsunami Inundation Modeling for Exchange (TIME) program. Model results have been compared with the observed runup values all along the west coast of Puerto Rico.     

地史重大转折期的环境变化学术讨论会综述

概述了地史重大转折期的环境变化学术讨论会４个方面的主要科学内容：古生代与中生代之交的全球环境变化,泥贫纪弗拉期与法门期之交的全球环境变化,元古宙与显生宙之交扔全球环境变化和地史重大转折期环境变化的研究方法。围绕上述内容,评述了发言人和专题发言人的主要科学资料和科学思想以及本次会议形成的共识。     

The relationship between the earthquakes of Ningbo area and the Neotectonic movement

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Tourist farms in Lower Silesia, Poland

In view of the small size of most Polish farms, attempts have been made to encourage diversification into rural tourism. The paper examines the progress made in Lower Silesia which has good resources for domestic and international tourism. Thanks to the promotional work of the Agricultural Consultative Centres over a hundred farms are now providing services. They do not generate a large share of the farm income but business is expanding and some areas are becoming very popular. Thus a base has been established for future expansion. Further development depends on easier access to credit and government support for ecological agriculture. Better promotion is also needed to increase interest in rural tourism in Poland and attract more visitors from abroad. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

用历史类比法对中国强震活动的概率预测

本文将20世纪全球强震活动划分为7个活动期,以国内中强以上地震同期活动资料进行比较,对未来国内强震活动趋势作出中期的统计概率预测,似乎可以作为一个较为有力的判据。