Geophysical evidence for a large impact structure on the Falkland (Malvinas) Plateau

A large, roughly circular structural basin is recognised on the Falkland (Malvinas) Plateau to the NW of West Falkland (Gran Malvina) Island (S 51°00′, W 62°00′). The basin, seen in seismic‐reflection profiles and evident as a large negative gravity anomaly, has a diameter of ~250 km. The age of the basin is estimated to be Late Palaeozoic. It is completely buried by younger sediments and has no topographic expression on the sea floor. We propose that the basin and geophysical anomalies, especially the combination of a large circular negative gravity anomaly with a rim of positive anomalies, and a marked circular series of positive magnetic anomalies in the same area, may be best explained by the presence of a large buried impact structure.     

Diameters of the orbital tubes in long-term interferometric SAR surveys

This letter studies the impact of the use of permanent scatterers (PS) on the distribution of the perpendicular baselines in long-term satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar surveys. This letter also evaluates the relation between the radar center frequency and the dispersion of the estimates of the elevations of the PS as a function of noise and of the time jitter due to atmospheric disturbances.     

Seismic faults in the Aegean area

Reliable fault plane solutions of shallow earthquakes and information on surface fault traces in combination with other seismic, geomorphological and geological information have been used to determine the orientation and other properties of the seismic faults in the Aegean and surrounding area.Thrust faults having an about NW-SE strike occur in the outer seismic zone along western Albania-westernmost part of mainland of Greece-Ionian Sea-south of Crete-south of Rhodes.The inner part of the area is dominated by strike-slip and normal faulting. Strike-slip with an about NE-SW slip direction occurs in the inner part of the Hellenic arc along the line Peloponnesus-Cyclades-Dodecanese-southwest Turkey as well as along a zone which is associated with the northern Aegean trough and the northwesternmost part of Anatolia. All other regions in the inner part of the area are characterized by normal faulting. The slip direction of the normal faults has an about SW-NE direction in Crete (N38°E) and an about E-W direction (N81°E) in a zone which trends N-S in eastern Albania and its extension to western mainland of Greece. In all other regions (central Greece-southern Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, western Turkey) the slip of the normal faults has an about N-S direction.     

Source location of long period seismicity at Volcàn de Colima,México

This paper presents an analysis of seismicity associated with the volcanic activity of Volcàn de Colima (México) and recorded in the period November 2005–April 2006 during a field survey by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)–Osservatorio Vesuviano, the Observatorio Vulcanologico de Colima of Colima University and the Instituto Andaluz de Geofisica, University of Granada. Three different types of volcanic earthquakes have been identified on the basis of their spectral properties: Type A (0.3–1 Hz), Type B (1–5 Hz) and Type C (3–4 Hz). Results of polarization analysis applied to Type A events show a predominance of radial motion, indicating that the wavefield comprises compressional waves (P) and shear waves polarized in the vertical plane (SV), while the signal always begins with a negative polarity. Type A, B and C earthquakes have been located using both a flat layered model and a 3D model including topography. Hypocentre distributions indicate that the source of Type A signals is very shallow and confined to a small volume lying about 1 km below the crater. In contrast, the source of Type B and C events is significantly deeper, with most hypocentres located in a volume of about 1 km³ centred at 2.5–3 km depth. A cluster analysis based on the cross-correlation among the waveforms of different events recorded at the same station was applied to Type A earthquakes. Only two clusters, which include only a small percentage of events were found, indicating that earthquake families were uncommon during the period of our survey.     

DENIS: A deep near-infrared survey of the southern sky

The DENIS project is the first attempt to carry out a complete digitized survey of the southern sky in the range 1–2.5µm. The main objectives of the programme and the main specifications of the camera and of the data processing stream are briefly outlined     

On the analysis of sloshing of water in rectangular containers: Numerical study and experimental validation

In this work the analysis of sloshing of water in rectangular open tanks has been extensively carried out. Two mathematical models are employed, respectively the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes Equations (RANSE) and the Shallow Water Equations (SWE). The RANSE are solved using a modified form of the well established MAC method (SIMAC) able to treat both the free surface motion and the viscous stresses over the rigid walls accurately. The Shallow Water Equations are solved by means of a simple and powerful algorithm (CE-SE) able to deal with large impacting waves over the tank walls.Successively, in order to validate the mentioned algorithms and for a better understanding of the sloshing phenomenon, experimental tests have been carried out using a 0.5 m breadth rectangular tank in periodic roll motion.It has been shown that RANSE provide more accurate solutions than SWE for small or moderate amplitudes of excitation. In particular in this paper it is proved that the shallow water approximation can be efficiently adopted within liquid depth to tank breadth RATIO = 0.15, when examining the sloshing problem. By increasing the water level inside the tank, results by SWE show large qualitative and quantitative disagreement with experiments. Nevertheless, in the case of large amplitude excitation, when sprays and large breaking waves are expected, SWE provide a fairly good estimate of the sloshing induced waves.Finally a simple baffle configuration inside the tank has been considered. By the analysis of numerical results, it has been observed that the presence of a vertical baffle at the middle of the tank dramatically changes the sloshing response compared to the unbaffled configuration. It produces a jump-like effect, resulting in a weak magnification of the dynamic loads on the vertical walls out of resonance, and a strong reduction of the dynamic loads in the resonance condition.     

HVSR technique as tool for thermal-basin characterization: a field example in N-E Italy

The Euganean thermal basin, located in the Eastern Po plain (Italy), is one of the most important thermal districts of Italy (Euganean–Berician Thermal District). The presence of hot water in the basin has brought about its exploitation over time. The thermal area has been known since the Roman Empire and is still of crucial interest for the profitable use of its hydro-geological resources. For these reasons the water cycle of the thermal area has been thoroughly studied, in particular with regard to its chemical and hydrogeological properties. The effects of well pumping, such as subsidence and water temperature steadiness, have been monitored over time. In the present work, the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) single station microtremor technique was applied as a non-invasive geophysical tool for the characterization of a part of the Euganean–Berician thermal district involving the municipalities of Abano and Montegrotto towns. This study represents the first correlation between the results from microtremor geophysical surveys and the thermal basin geological structure, including remote sensing data and thermal well information. More than 50 HVSR measurements from single stations were collected and analysed, in close correlation with the vast amount of available borehole logs, well exploitation data and SAR interferometry measurements collected for the monitoring of land subsidence induced by thermal water pumping. The aim of the work was to evaluate the suitability of the microtremor technique for the preliminary characterization of a thermal basin, in terms of resonance properties of the alluvial deposits covering the rocky bedrock, evaluated by means of HVSR methods. HVSR results were interpreted in terms of regional geological setting and hydrogeological properties of the subsoil. Our field results confirmed the existence of significant correlations between the resonance behaviour of the basin determined by the HVSR technique and the geological structures, suggesting that single station measurements are a promising tool for creating a rapid and preliminary non-invasive contribution to the characterization of the geothermal basin.