Spatial coherency analysis of seismic ground motions from a rock site dense array implemented during the Kefalonia 2014 aftershock sequence

The objective of studies presented in this paper is to analyse the spatial incoherency of seismic ground motions using signals from a velocimeter dense array located on a rock site, recording the aftershock sequence of the two M6 Kefalonia earthquakes that occurred in January/February 2014 (Kefalonia island, Greece). The analyses are carried out with both horizontal and vertical components of velocigrams for small separation distances of stations (<100 m). The coherencies of seismic ground motions identified from strong motion windows are compared with those identified from coda parts of signals. It is realized that there is no significant difference between the coherencies estimated from those two parts of signals. The influence of earthquake event number on the result of coherencies and the dispersions of coherencies estimated from different earthquake events are presented. Finally, coherencies estimated from the dense array are compared with several coherency models proposed and widely used in the literature. The possibility of modifying some parameters of those existing coherency models to fit with in situ coherencies are discussed and presented. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonic evolution of the Málaga Basin (Betic Cordillera). Regional implications

Abstract

During the Neogene (uppermost Aquitanian-Lower Burdigalian, Tortonian and Pliocene), three successive marine episodes took place in the present-day Malaga Basin. The first of these affected a wide area of the Belic Internal Zones and was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the westward displacement of these Zones, together with important horizontal movements associated with N70-100 direction strike-slip faults and the superposition of materials from the Campo de Gibraltar. The two other marine episodes were clearly controlled by vertical movements of NW-SE and NK-SW faults, caused by a clear E-W distension which, according to regional data, was associated with some compression in an approximately N-S direction. The area has also been affected, although to a lesser extent, by the uplift of the Betic Cordillera from the Upper Miocene to the present day.     

Sliding fragility of block‐type non‐structural components. Part 1: Unrestrained components

Motivated by the development of performance‐based design guidelines with emphasis on both structural and non‐structural systems, this paper focuses on seismic vulnerability assessment of block‐type unrestrained non‐structural components under sliding response on the basis of seismic inputs specified by current seismic codes. Two sliding‐related failure modes are considered: excessive relative displacement and excessive absolute acceleration. It is shown that an upper bound for the absolute acceleration response can be assessed deterministically, for which a simple yet completely general equation is proposed. In contrast, fragility curves are proposed as an appropriate tool to evaluate the excessive relative displacement failure mode. Sample fragility curves developed through Monte‐Carlo simulations show that fragility estimates obtained without taking into account vertical base accelerations can be significantly unconservative, especially for relatively large values of the coefficient of friction. It is also found that reasonable estimates of relative displacement response at stories other than the ground in multistorey buildings cannot in general be obtained by simply scaling the ground acceleration to the peak acceleration at the corresponding storey. Failure modes considered in this study are found to be essentially independent of each other, a property that greatly simplifies assessment of conditional limit states. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulating the 1999 Capbreton canyon turbidity current with a Cellular Automata model

A numerical model has been developed for the simulation of turbidity currents driven by nonuniform, non cohesive sediment and flowing over a complex three dimensional submarine topography. The model is based on an alternative approach known as Cellular Automata paradigm. The model is validated by comparing a simulation with a reported field-scale event. The chosen case is a turbidity current which occurred in Capbreton Canyon and was initiated by a storm in December 1999. Using data from recent oceanographic cruises, the deposit of the event has been precisely described, which constrain values of model parameters. The model simulates the 1999 turbidity current over the actual canyon topography and related turbidite using three different types of particle. The model successfully simulates areas of erosion and deposition in the canyon. It predicts the vertical and longitudinal grain size evolution, and shows that the fining-up sequence can be deposited by several phases of deposition and erosion related to the current energetic variation during its evolution. This result could explain the presence of intrabed contacts or the frequent lack of facies in Bouma sequences.     

Water status in winter wheat grown under salt stress

1 IntroductionSalinization is one of the major problems in arid and semi-arid regions in relation to land use and in particular to agricultural production[1]. Excessive salinity leads to toxicity in crops and reduction of the availability of water to crops, by reducing the osmotic potential of the soil solution[2]. Movement of soil water induces solute transport, and solutes are transferred towards the ground surface by the upward soil-water movement caused by evaporation, resulting in an accu…     

Sensitivity of the Northern Hemisphere circulation to North Atlantic SSTs in the ARPÈGE Climate AGCM

In order to determine the response of the atmosphere to winter sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the North Atlantic area, we carried out ensemble runs of 20 years, forced with constant, perturbed, SST patterns using the climate version of the ARPèGE AGCM, at T42 resolution. A Monte Carlo technique was applied, in such a way that the control experiment, forced with observed climatological temperatures, and the four scenario experiments, forced with perturbed SSTs are equivalent to a length of 20 independent winters. Four anomalous winter North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) fields have been constructed by considering the observed SST variability in the main basins, namely the Labrador Sea and the Greenland Sea. Two patterns are of the `seesaw' type, while the two others have same the polarity in both basins. The patterns have been reinforced by a factor of 5–6 compared to presently observed multi-annual anomalies, in order to get SST anomalies which may have occurred during periods of the Little Ice Age. The differences between each of the four winter simulations with perturbed SSTs and the control run are analyzed in terms of tropospheric thickness, mean-sea-level pressure and storm activity. The `seesaw' type patterns give a weaker response in the tropospheric thickness fields than the two others. This is expected from simple considerations. In the mean circulation and synoptic activity, it appears that the Labrador Sea SST is important in determining the atmospheric response. This is probably due to enhanced temperature gradients east of New Foundland which enhances the storm activity. Received: 23 September 1998 / Accepted: 17 November 1999     

Elucidation of different forms of organic carbon in marine sediments from the Atlantic coast of Spain using thermal analysis coupled to isotope ratio and quadrupole mass spectrometry

Analysis of river, estuary and marine sediments from the Atlantic coast of Spain using thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry–quadrupole mass spectrometry–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (TG–DSC–QMS–IRMS) was used to (a) distinguish bulk chemical hosts for C within a sediment and humic acid fraction, (b) track C pools with differing natural C isotope ratios and (c) observe variation with distance from the coast. This is the first application of such a novel method to the characterisation of organic matter from marine sediments and their corresponding humic acid fractions. Using thermal analysis, a labile, a recalcitrant and a refractory carbon pool can be distinguished. Extracted humic fractions are mainly of recalcitrant nature. The proportion of refractory carbon is greatest in marine sediments and humic acid fractions. Quadrupole mass spectrometry confirmed that the greatest proportion of m/z 44 (CO₂) and m/z 18 (H₂O) were detected at temperatures associated with recalcitrant carbon (510–540 °C). Isotope analysis detected progressive enrichment in δ¹³C for the sediment samples with an increase in marine influence. Isotopic heterogeneity in the refractory organic matter in marine sediments could be due to products of anthropogenic origin or natural combustion products. Isotope homogeneity of humic acids confirms the presence of terrigenous C in marine sediments, allowing the terrestrial input to be characterised.     

Evidence for ecosystem engineering in a lentic habitat by tadpoles of the western toad

A number of aquatic organisms have demonstrated an ability to modulate sediment deposition in tropical and temperate stream systems, but little is known about the impact of similar benthic grazing processes in temperate pond systems. Using exclosure experiments in mesocosms, we used tadpoles of the western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) to investigate two questions: (1) can grazing activities of tadpoles of the western toad in ponds reduce sediment accrual on grazing surfaces (e.g. via bioturbation or ingestion); and (2) do these grazing activities contribute to enhanced periphyton biomass and chlorophyll a content of benthic matter. Mesocosms received pulses of fine sediment weekly over 8 weeks to simulate allochthonous surface inputs following rainstorms. Accumulated sediment and periphyton matter on exposed and grazing-restricted substrate surfaces were measured weekly. Tadpole grazing activity significantly reduced the standing stock of periphyton on open grazing surfaces by 80% in controls. Under sediment-additions, tadpoles effectively removed settled particulate matter from exposed grazing surfaces, but no corresponding increase in periphyton biomass was observed. These results suggest that tadpoles can impact the dynamics of sediment distribution in ponds as well as streams, providing support for a role as “ecosystem engineers” in these habitats.     

Geochemistry of Los Humeros Caldera,Puebla, Mexico

Geochemistry of Pliocene to recent volcanic rocks from Los Humeros caldera (19°30′ N – 19°50′ N and 97°15° W – 97°35′ W) in East-Central mexico is described. The volcanic rocks from this area seem to represent both alkali and high-alumina basalt series, or both calcalkaline and high-K calc-alkaline sequences. The available bulk-chemical analyses (23 this study and 18 from unpublished literature) show that the entire sequence of rocks from basalts to rhyolites are present in this area. Different degrees of partial melting of the source region followed by extensive shallow-level crystal differentiation seem to have taken place before most volcanic eruptions. These processes are perhaps the most important mechanisms for magma genesis in Los Humeros caldera. Geophysical studies in this area are not sufficient and more detailed geophysical surveys and a better geological interpretation are needed in order to delimit the underlying magma chamber.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of Grenvillian igneous suites in the northern Oaxacan Complex, southern Mexico: tectonic implications

Chemical and U–Pb isotopic analyses of metaigneous rocks in the northern Oaxacan Complex in southern Mexico indicate that they form part of two granitic–gabbroic suites intruded at 1157–1130 and 1012 Ma, which were metamorphosed under granulite facies conditions between 1004 and 980 Ma. Although the older suite has both within-plate and arc geochemical signatures, the arc characteristics (enrichment of La and Ce relative to Nb, Ta, and Th) are inferred to result from crustal contamination, a conclusion consistent with their negative _Nd signatures. The younger suite is spatially associated with anorthosites (from which we were unable to acquire a protolith age), suggesting that collectively it forms part of anorthosite–mangerite–charnockite–granite (AMCG) suites. The tholeiitic nature of the mafic rocks along with the within-plate character of the felsic rocks suggests that they were intruded during extension related to either farfield backarc rifting, rifting above a slab window, or anorogenic intercontinental rifting. Potentially correlative AMCG suites are widespread in Mexico, the Grenville Province of eastern Canada and northeastern USA, and the Andean massifs of Colombia, however, Pb isotopic data most closely resemble those in South America. These data are consistent with published hypotheses that suggest Oaxaquia represents an exotic terrane derived from Amazonia.