ALBERT

Description: Uranium groundwater anomalies, observed before the L’Aquila earthquake (April 6th, 2009) and before the seismic swarm, which occurred in the second half of 2010, represent a key geochemical signal of a progressive increase of deep fluids fluxes at middle–lower crustal levels associated with the geodynamics of the earthquake. In this paper, temporal variations of uranium groundwater are studied in association with the seismic pattern around Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS-INFN). The normalized seismic energy release and the number of earthquakes are analyzed in detail by means of monthly sliding time windows. They are compared with uranium anomalies to highlight any possible correlation.

Description: We report the result of a 2010 survey of the effects on the Iranian coastline of the tsunami which followed the earthquake of 27 November 1945 ( M 0  = 2.8 × 10 28  dyn cm; M w  = 8.2), the only large event recorded along the Makran subduction zone since the onset of instrumental seismology. Based on the interview of elderly survivors of the event, we obtained a database of nine values of run-up or splash amplitudes on a segment of shore extending 280 km from Souraf in the West to Pasabandar near the Pakistani border, and ranging in vertical amplitude from 2.3 to 13.7 m. Witness reports are consistent with a significant delay (estimated at ~2.5 h) of the tsunami waves, suggesting that they were generated by an ancillary phenomenon, such as a landslide triggered by the earthquake. None of our witnesses bore ancestral memory of comparable events in the past, suggesting that reported predecessors to the 1945 earthquake may have been smaller in size. The survey also allowed the compilation of previously unreported data concerning the effects of the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman tsunami.

Description: Multi-scale scratch analysis on a regional gravity field is a new data processing system for depicting three-dimensional density structures and tectonic features. It comprises four modules including the spectral analysis of potential fields, multi-scale wavelet analysis, density distribution inversion, and scratch analysis. The multi-scale scratch analysis method was applied to regional gravity data to extract information about the deformation belts in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which can help reveal variations of the deformation belts and plane distribution features from the upper crust to the lower crust, provide evidence for the study of three-dimensional crustal structures, and define distribution of deformation belts and mass movement. Results show the variation of deformation belts from the upper crust to the lower crust. The deformation belts vary from dense and thin in the upper crust to coarse and thick in the lower crust, demonstrating that vertical distribution of deformation belts resembles a tree with a coarse and thick trunk in the lower part and dense and thin branches at the top. The dense and thin deformation areas in the upper crust correspond to crustal shortening areas, while the thick and continuous deformation belts in the lower crust indicate the structural framework of the plateau. Additionally, the lower crustal deformation belts recognized by the multi-scale scratch analysis coincide approximately with the crustal deformation belts recognized using single-scale scratch analysis. However, deformation belts recognized by the latter are somewhat rough while multi-scale scratch analysis can provide more detailed and accurate results.

Description: The complexity of the modeling of the rotational motion of the Earth in space has produced that no single theory has been adopted to describe it in full. Hence, it is customary using at least a theory for precession and another one for nutation. The classic approach proceeds by deriving some of the fundamental parameters from the precession theory, like, e.g., the dynamical ellipticity \(H_{\mathrm{d}}\) , and then using those values in the nutation theory. The former IAU 1976 precession and IAU 1980 nutation theories followed that scheme. Along with the improvement of the accuracy of the determination of Earth orientation parameters, IAU 1980 was superseded by IAU2000, based on the application of the MHB2000 transfer function to the previous rigid Earth analytical theory REN2000. The latter was derived while the precession model IAU 1976 was still in force, therefore it used the corresponding values for some of the fundamental parameters, as the precession rate, associated to the dynamical ellipticity. The new precession model P03 was adopted as IAU 2006. That change introduced some inconsistency since P03 used different values for some of the fundamental parameters that MHB2000 inherited from REN2000. Besides, the derivation of the basic Earth parameters of MHB2000 itself comprised a fitted variation of the dynamical ellipticity adopted in the background rigid theory. Due to the strict requirements of accuracy of the present and coming times, the magnitude of the inconsistencies originated by this twofold approach is no longer negligible as earlier, hence the need of discussing the effects of considering slightly different values for \(H_\mathrm{d}\) in precession and nutation theories.

Description: Data assimilation is a critical component for short-range weather forecasting; a number of algorithms have been developed and applied for assimilation of different kind of observations. However, an important but less explored question is the (optimal) amount of observation for maximum improvement in forecasts through data assimilation. Because the meteorological fields at different spatial and temporal resolutions are not necessarily mutually independent, indefinite increase in resolution of observations may be ineffective; thus data optimality in this sense can be defined as the maximum resolution of observation beyond which no appreciable improvement occurs due to assimilation of data. Based on forecasts of seven events over a complex terrain (urban location, Delhi) with different combinations of observations, we show that improvement in forecast skill does not saturate even with assimilation of observations a few kilometers (〈10 km) apart. The improvement due to assimilation of data from each of the profilers is appreciable; however, the impact was generally the highest for assimilation of data from all the four profilers. Applicable strategies for observation system design over high-impact areas are discussed.

Description: People have calculated Rayleigh-wave phase velocities from vertical component of ambient seismic noise for several years. Recently, researchers started to extract Love waves from transverse component recordings of ambient noise, where “transverse” is defined as the direction perpendicular to a great-circle path or a line in small scale through observation sensors. Most researches assumed Rayleigh waves could be negligible, but Rayleigh waves can exist in the transverse component when Rayleigh waves propagate in other directions besides radial direction. In study of data acquired in western Junggar Basin near Karamay city, China, after processing the transverse component recordings of ambient noise, we obtain two energy trends, which are distinguished with Rayleigh-wave and Love-wave phase velocities, in the frequency–velocity domain using multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW). Rayleigh waves could be also extracted from the transverse component data. Because Rayleigh-wave and Love-wave phase velocities are close in high frequencies (〉0.1 Hz), two kinds of surface waves might be merged in the frequency–velocity domain. Rayleigh-wave phase velocities may be misidentified as Love-wave phase velocities. To get accurate surface-wave phase velocities from the transverse component data using seismic interferometry in investigating the shallow geology, our results suggest using MASW to calculate real Love-wave phase velocities.

Description: Uruk archaeological site, which located in Al-Muthanna Governorate southern Iraq, was investigated by integrated geophysical methods, ground penetration radar (GPR) and electric resistivity tomography (ERT) to image the historical buried structures. The GPR images show large radar attributes characterized by its continuous reflections having different widths. GPR attributes at shallower depth are mainly representing the upper part of Babylonian Houses that can often be found throughout the study area. In addition, radargrams characterized objects such as buried items, buried trenches and pits which were mainly concentrated near the surface. The ERT results show the presence of several anomalies at different depths generally having low resistivities. It is clear that the first upper zone can be found throughout the whole area and it may represent the top zone of the Babylonian houses. This zone is characterized by its dry clay and sandy soil containing surface broken bricks and slag mixed with core boulders. The second one underneath the top shows a prominent lower resistivity zone. It is probably caused by the moisture content that reduces the resistivity. The thickness of this zone is not equal at all parts of the site. The third deeper zone typically represents the archaeological walls. Most of the main anomalies perhaps referred to the buried clay brick walls. The map of the archaeological anomalies distribution and 3D view of the foundations at the study area using GPR and ERT techniques clearly show the characteristics of the Babylonian remains. A contour map and 3D view of Uruk show that the archaeological anomalies are concentrated mainly at the NE part of the district with higher values of wall height that range between 6 and 8 m and reach to more than 10 m. At the other directions, there are fewer walls with lower heights of 4–6 m and reach in some places the wall foot.

Description: The model based on rate- and state-dependent friction law reproduces the temporal decay of an aftershock sequence with the p  value of the Omori–Utsu law equal to 1, if we simply assume a constant stress rate over time. However, because p  values vary in real aftershock sequences, this model requires some modification. This study examined the effect of secondary aftershocks on the variety of the p  value. A large aftershock causes a stepwise stress increase in the aftershock area, and the expected seismicity rate derived from the friction law also increases abruptly. These multiple increases in the seismicity rate during its decay following a mainshock could cause variation in the apparent p  value. In this study, a model incorporating this idea is applied to two aftershock sequences observed in Japan and is shown to substantially modify the modeling of aftershock activity.

Description: We present the analysis of the subsurface structure of the Auca Mahuida volcano based on high-resolution aeromagnetic data integrated with the available geological information. Most of the detected magnetic anomalies have a dipolar structure opposite to that of the present geomagnetic field. According to the available geochronological data and paleomagnetic measurements, the source bodies of Auca Mahuida mainly emplaced in the Matuyama reverse polarity chron. The Reduction-to-the-Pole map confirms that the magnetization direction is mainly reverse with only few anomalies normally magnetized. Two opposite, coexisting polarities do not allow to fully remove the dipolar character of the field in the Reduction-to-the-Pole transformation. Therefore, we model the measured anomaly field by applying analytical techniques that are independent of the magnetization direction. The obtained anomaly strikes and source geometries indicate an emplacement of intrusive bodies controlled by the regional faults affecting the Auca Mahuida basement and the sedimentary successions of the Neuquén basin. Magma upraised along these faults and fractures feeding the volcanic activity and subsequently crystallized. The averaged power spectrum and Euler Deconvolution indicate source depths consistent with those of the intrusions recognized in wells. Borehole data highlight the widespread presence of intrusive bodies below the Auca Mahuida central crater and the peripheral sectors at depth of 2 km below sea level. These bodies have played a major role in the thermal maturation of hydrocarbons and in the subsequent accumulation of oil below the volcano. The obtained results shed light on the Auca Mahuida feeding system and on the intrusions geometry, also pointing out the effectiveness of the magnetic prospecting in the oil industry even in presence of strong remanent magnetization.

Description: Considering the importance of snow and glaciers in the Himalayas for understanding the water cycle and for water resource management of the rivers originating from the Himalayan, interannual variability of snow accumulation process over Himalayas and surrounding region has been studied using snow water equivalent (SWE) data. Remote sensing data from National Snow and Ice Data Centre have been used. These data have been compared against ground (in situ) observations of SWE measured at several gauge stations in the Indian part of the Satluj River basin. Accumulated SWE from remote sensing data and ground observations in the Satluj River basin have good and significant correlation. These data have also been compared against the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast reanalysis-Interim (ERA-I). Upper air and surface data from the reanalyses have also been used to examine the atmospheric conditions when snowfall occurs and snow accumulates for the season. In this study, it is found that there is large interannual variation in SWE over western Himalayas and Satluj River basin (domain of interest). During excess years of snowfall, strong westerly winds are observed at 500 hPa over India. In wind anomaly, a cyclonic circulation is seen over northern parts of India with a deep trough along Pakistan, Rajasthan and Gujarat region. As a consequence of this trough, a moisture convergence zone is established in the region leading to more amount of snowfall. At the same time, during excess snow accumulation years, the air temperature from the surface to 500 hPa is colder than other years enabling the fallen snow to accumulate through the season.

Description: On June 22, 1932, a 10- to 12-m-high tsunami wave struck ~60 km off the Mexican Pacific coast. The associated earthquake that apparently produced this tsunami is questionable because of its relatively small magnitude ( M s  = 6.9) to produce such tsunami heights. Historical documents, survivor testimony, tsunami catalogs, a post-tsunami survey report, together with geomorphological interpretation of the continental shelf and slope, and numerical modeling were combined to characterize the tsunami parameters. Our results suggest that recorded maximum tsunami wave height, horizontal inundation, arrival time, directivity, effects, and damage are compatible with those characteristics related to an underwater landslide tsunami. The associated landslide (slump) is 4.2 km long, 3.9 km wide, 0.448 km thick, and is located in the upper continental shelf of the Armería Canyon. Elucidating the cause and mechanisms of the near-field 1932 tsunami would aid in considering a wider spectrum of tsunami sources in hazard mitigation programs of the Mexican Pacific coast.

Description: The main objective of this study is the determination of the Moho discontinuity in the Hellenic area based on gravity data inversion. High-resolution (2 arcmin) and accuracy (±2 to ±3 mGal) gravity data were used in the computations following the Parker–Oldenburg iterative method, and a low-pass filter was applied to gravity information towards the convergence of the final solution. To determine the cut-off wavenumber of the filter, we tested different mean depths and density contrasts of the crust and the mantle (Mohorovičić discontinuity). The selected density contrast and mean depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity are those which agree with the Moho depth interpreted from deep seismic imaging data. By comparing the Moho depth estimated, covering both land and marine areas and including the Ionian and Aegean Sea, with those interpreted from previous studies, it is shown that our solution is consistent with the available seismic data interpretation. Moreover, the resolution of the gravity data and the appropriate filtering used in this study contributed to the representation of local features of the Moho discontinuity. Finally, area-dependent discrepancies detected between the Moho depths of the current solution and those derived from previous studies are extensively discussed.

Description: Not much attention is given to direct wave arrivals in marine seismic data that are acquired for petroleum exploration and prospecting. These direct arrivals are usually muted out in routine seismic data processing. In the present study, we process these direct arrivals to accurately estimate soundspeed in near-surface seawater and invert for sea surface temperature. The established empirical equation describing the relationships among temperature, salinity, pressure and soundspeed is used for the inversion. We also discuss processing techniques, such as first-break picking and cross-correlation for the estimation of soundspeed, that are well known among petroleum-industry geophysicists. The accuracy of the methods is directly linked to the data quality and signal processing. The novelty in our approach is in the data conditioning, which consists essentially of spectral balancing based on a wavelet transform that compensates for spherical spreading and increases the signal-to-noise ( S / N ) ratio. The 2D seismic data used in this paper are from the offshore Krishna-Godavari Basin east of India. We observe a significantly higher soundspeed of 1545 m/s for near-surface water than the commonly used value of ~1500 m/s. The estimated temperature (from velocity) is about 30 °C. Interestingly, the estimated temperature matches well with the temperature recorded in the CTD profile acquired in the study area during the month of May, the month corresponding to the acquisition of seismic data. Furthermore, the estimated temperatures during different times of data acquisition correlate well with the expected diurnal variation in temperature.

Description: In the present study, advanced research WRF (ARW) model is employed to simulate convective thunderstorm episodes over Kharagpur (22°30′N, 87°20′E) region of Gangetic West Bengal, India. High-resolution simulations are conducted using 1 × 1 degree NCEP final analysis meteorological fields for initial and boundary conditions for events. The performance of two non-local [Yonsei University (YSU), Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2)] and two local turbulence kinetic energy closures [Mellor–Yamada–Janjic (MYJ), Bougeault–Lacarrere (BouLac)] are evaluated in simulating planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameters and thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere. The model-simulated parameters are validated with available in situ meteorological observations obtained from micro-meteorological tower as well has high-resolution DigiCORA radiosonde ascents during STORM-2007 field experiment at the study location and Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) imageries. It has been found that the PBL structure simulated with the TKE closures MYJ and BouLac are in better agreement with observations than the non-local closures. The model simulations with these schemes also captured the reflectivity, surface pressure patterns such as wake-low, meso-high, pre-squall low and the convective updrafts and downdrafts reasonably well. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons reveal that the MYJ followed by BouLac schemes better simulated various features of the thunderstorm events over Kharagpur region. The better performance of MYJ followed by BouLac is evident in the lesser mean bias, mean absolute error, root mean square error and good correlation coefficient for various surface meteorological variables as well as thermo-dynamical structure of the atmosphere relative to other PBL schemes. The better performance of the TKE closures may be attributed to their higher mixing efficiency, larger convective energy and better simulation of humidity promoting moist convection relative to non-local schemes.

Description: In western Mexico, the subduction of the Rivera and Cocos plates beneath the North America plate has deformed and fragmented the overriding plate, forming several structural rifts and crustal blocks. To obtain a reliable subsurface image of the continental crust and uppermost mantle in this complex area, we used P-wave arrivals of local earthquakes along with the Fast Marching Method tomography technique. We followed an inversion scheme consisting of (1) the use of a high-quality earthquake catalog and corrected phase picks, (2) the selection of earthquakes using a maximum location error threshold, (3) the estimation of an improved 1-D reference velocity model, and (4) the use of checkerboard testing to determine the optimum configuration of the velocity nodes and inversion parameters. Surprisingly, the tomography results show a very simple δVp distribution that can be described as being controlled by geologic structures formed during two stages of the separation of the Rivera and Cocos plates. The earlier period represents the initial stages of the separation of the Rivera and Cocos plates beneath western Mexico; the later period represents the more advanced stage of rifting where the Rivera and Cocos plates had separated sufficiently to allow melt to accumulate below the Colima Volcanic complex. During the earlier period (14 or 10–1.6 Ma), NE–SW-oriented structures/lineaments (such as the Southern Colima Rift) were formed as the two plates separated. During the second period (1.6 Ma to the present), the deformation is attributed to magma, generated within and above the tear zone between the Rivera and Cocos plates, rising beneath the region of the Colima Volcanic Complex. The rising magma fractured the overlying crust, forming a classic triple-rift junction geometry. This triple-rift system is confined to the mid- to lower crust perhaps indicating that this rifting process is still in an early stage. This fracturing, along with fluid circulation and associated heat advection within the fractures, can easily explain the observed distribution of δVp, as well as many of the results of previous seismological studies. Also surprisingly, we find no evidence at deep crustal depths to support either a trenchward migration of the volcanic arc or toroidal asthenospheric flow through the slab tears bounding the Jalisco Block to the NW and SE.

Description: Identifying correct modes of surface waves and picking accurate phase velocities are critical for obtaining an accurate S-wave velocity in MASW method. In most cases, inversion is easily conducted by picking the dispersion curves corresponding to different surface-wave modes individually. Neighboring surface-wave modes, however, will nearly meet (kiss) at some frequencies for some models. Around the frequencies, they have very close roots and energy peak shifts from one mode to another. At current dispersion image resolution, it is difficult to distinguish different modes when mode-kissing occurs, which is commonly seen in near-surface earth models. It will cause mode misidentification, and as a result, lead to a larger overestimation of S-wave velocity and error on depth. We newly defined two mode types based on the characteristics of the vertical eigendisplacements calculated by generalized reflection and transmission coefficient method. Rayleigh-wave mode near the kissing points (osculation points) change its type, that is to say, one Rayleigh-wave mode will contain different mode types. This mode type conversion will cause the mode-kissing phenomenon in dispersion images. Numerical tests indicate that the mode-kissing phenomenon is model dependent and that the existence of strong S-wave velocity contrasts increases the possibility of mode-kissing. The real-world data shows mode misidentification caused by mode-kissing phenomenon will result in higher S-wave velocity of bedrock. It reminds us to pay attention to this phenomenon when some of the underground information is known.

Description: In this paper, we report on a preliminary investigation into a semi-empirical method for derivation of depth–age relationship for oceanic lithosphere. The global 30-arcsecond bathymetry data from the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans (GEBCO) were corrected for (1) sediment thickness using the Total Sediment Thickness of the World’s Oceans and Marginal Seas and (2) isostasy. The corrected bathymetry was processed to obtain the empirical bathymetric curve, the solution computed with 50 m elevation bin. Subsequently, the data-based curve was approximated with the optimal polynomial model. By combining the model with a formula for derivative of area with respect to age, we obtained the approximate differential equation for depth–age relationship. We solved the equation numerically. The solution was compared with (1) depth–age relationships derived empirically using the combination of the corrected GEBCO bathymetry with digital isochrons of the oceans, (2) Parsons Sclater Model (PSM) and (3) Global Depth Heatflow model (GDH1). In the new depth–age curve, three sections with specific relationships of ocean depth versus age of the crust are identified: (1) moderate increase in depth from 2500 to 5900 m for lithospheric ages 0–118 Ma, (2) more pronounced increase in depth from 5900 to 6700 m for the lithosphere 118–147 Ma old, (3) stabilization of ocean depth at 6700–6760 m for the lithosphere older than 147 Ma. The fit to empirical data as well as PSM and GDH1 models is good for the first section, but rather imperfect for the other two. Reasons for mismatches are complex and probably different for dissimilar sections of the curve.

Description: Fog affects human life in a number of ways by reducing the visibility, hence affecting critical infrastructure, transportation, tourism or by the formation of frost, thus harming the standing crops. Smog is becoming a regular phenomenon in urban areas which is highly toxic to humans. Delhi was chosen as the area of study as it encounters all these hazards of fog stated apart from other political and economic reasons. The complex relationship behind the parameters and processes behind the formation of fog makes it extremely difficult to model and forecast it accurately. It is attempted to forecast the fog and understand its dynamics through a statistical downscaling technique of artificial neural network which is deemed accurate for short-term forecasting and usually outperform time-series models. The backpropagation neural network, which is a gradient descent algorithm where the network weights are moved along the negative of the gradient of the performance function, has been used for our analysis. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) supported National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data had been used for carrying out the simulations. The model was found to have high accuracy but lacking in skill. An attempt has been made to present the data in a binary form by determining a threshold by the contingency table approach followed by its critical analysis. It is found that the calculation of an optimum threshold was also difficult to fix as the parameters of fog formation on which the model has been has been trained had shown some changes in their trend over a period of time.

Description: The data from suite of in situ sensors, passive and active remote sensing instruments dedicated to document simultaneously radiative and thermo-dynamical processes driving the fog life cycle at the SIRTA Observatory (instrumented site for atmospheric remote sensing research) near Paris during two periods of 6 months are analysed. The study focuses on the analysis of the relative role of key physical processes and their interactions during fog formation, development and dissipation phases. This work presents, from analysis of detailed observations, the range of values that critical parameters have to take for fog and quasi-fog formation. In our study, we consider fog (horizontal visibility lower than 1 km, a dataset of 300 h) and quasi-fog (horizontal visibility ranging from 1 to 2 km, a dataset of 400 h) events induced by radiative cooling (53 events) and stratus lowering (64 events). For the radiative fog events, (with radiative cooling during prefog conditions), we note that the longwave net radiative flux (around −60 ± 5 W/m 2 ) induces a cooling of the surface layer. The vertical structure of this cooling is controlled by dynamics, that is, wind shear and horizontal and vertical velocities. In case of very low mixing (wind speed below 0.6 m/s), the thermal stability is very strong with a temperature inversion around 3.5 °C for 10 m and a humidity gradient reaching 10 % preventing vertical development of the fog layer. For stratus-lowering fog events, the altitude of the stratus layer, the vertical mixing and the absolute value of humidity are driving parameters of the fog formation. Our statistical analysis shows that a stratus cloud with a cloud base around 170 m and with a small cloud-base subsidence rate of 50 m/h leads to fog, whereas a stratus cloud with a base around 800 m agl, with a larger cloud-base subsidence rate of 190 m/h conducts to quasi-fog situations with an important increase of the stratus liquid water path.

Description: The isostatic modeling represents one of the most useful “geological” reduction methods of the gravity field. With the isostatic correction, it is possible to remove a significant part of the effect of deep density heterogeneity, which dominates in the Bouguer gravity anomalies. Although there exist several isostatic compensation schemes, it is usually supposed that a choice of the model is not an important factor to first order, since the total weight of compensating masses remains the same. We compare two alternative models for the Arabian plate and surrounding area. The Airy model gives very significant regional isostatic anomalies, which cannot be explained by the upper crust structure or disturbances of the isostatic equilibrium. Also, the predicted “isostatic” Moho is very different from existing seismic observations. The second isostatic model includes the Moho, which is based on seismic determinations. Additional compensation is provided by density variations within the lithosphere (chiefly in the upper mantle). According to this model, the upper mantle under the Arabian Shield is less dense than under the Platform. In the Arabian platform, the maximum density coincides with the Rub’ al Khali, one of the richest oil basin in the world. This finding agrees with previous studies, showing that such basins are often underlain by dense mantle, possibly related to an eclogite layer that has caused their subsidence. The mantle density variations might be also a result of variations of the lithosphere thickness. With the combined isostatic model, it is possible to minimize regional anomalies over the Arabian plate. The residual local anomalies correspond well to tectonic structure of the plate. Still very significant anomalies, showing isostatic disturbances of the lithosphere, are associated with the Zagros fold belt, the collision zone of the Arabian and Eurasian plates.

Description: Ambient noise correlation analyses are largely used in seismology to map heterogeneities and to monitor the temporal evolution of seismic velocity changes associated mostly with stress field variations and/or fluid movements. Here we analyse a small earthquake swarm related to a main m R 3.7 intraplate earthquake in North-East of Brazil to study the corresponding post-seismic effects on the medium. So far, post-seismic effects have been observed mainly for large magnitude events. In our study, we show that we were able to detect localized structural changes even for a small earthquake swarm in an intraplate setting. Different correlation strategies are presented and their performances are also shown. We compare the classical auto-correlation with and without pre-processing, including 1-bit normalization and spectral whitening, and the phase auto-correlation. The worst results were obtained for the pre-processed data due to the loss of waveform details. The best results were achieved with the phase cross-correlation which is amplitude unbiased and sensitive to small amplitude changes as long as there exist waveform coherence superior to other unrelated signals and noise. The analysis of 6 months of data using phase auto-correlation and cross-correlation resulted in the observation of a progressive medium change after the major recorded event. The progressive medium change is likely related to the swarm activity through opening new path ways for pore fluid diffusion. We further observed for the auto-correlations a lag time frequency-dependent change which likely indicates that the medium change is localized in depth. As expected, the main change is observed along the fault.

Description: The strong development of tsunami instrumentation in the past decade now provides observations of tsunami wave propagation in most ocean basins. This evolution has led to the wide use of tsunami data to image the complexity of earthquake sources. In particular, the 2011 M w 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake is the first mega-event for which such a tsunami instrumentation network was available with an almost complete azimuthal coverage. Source inversion studies have taken advantage of these observations which add a lot of constrain on the solutions, especially in the shallow part of the fault models where other standard data sets tend to lack resolution: while on-land data are quite insensitive to slip on the often-distant shallow part of a subduction fault interface, tsunami observations are directly sensitive to the shallowest slip. And it is in this shallow portion that steep bathymetry combined with horizontal motion, the so-called bathymetry effect, can contribute to the tsunami excitation, in addition to the direct vertical sea-bottom deformation. In this study, we carefully investigate the different steps involved in the calculation of this bathymetry effect, from the initial sea-floor deformation to the prediction of the tsunami records, and evaluate its contribution across the main subduction zones of the world. We find that the bathymetry effect locally exceeds 10 % of the tsunami excitation in all subduction zones and 25 % in those known to produce the largest tsunami, either from mega- or tsunami- earthquakes. We then show how the bathymetry effect can modify the tsunami wave predictions, with time shifts of the wavefront and amplitudes sometimes varying by a factor of two. If the bathymetry effect can have a strong impact on the simulated tsunami, it will also affect the solution of the finite-fault slip inversion. We illustrate this later aspect in the case of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake. We find that not accounting for the bathymetry effect will not necessarily cause strong variations in the spatial extent of the inferred coseismic rupture but can severely distort the solution. We also find that the bathymetry effect improves the consistency of the slip model inverted from tsunami data with seafloor geodesy observations, implying that taking the bathymetry effect into account reduces the epistemic uncertainties on tsunami modeling. Implementing this easily quantifiable effect in the tsunami early warning system could thus lead to improved estimates of the tsunami impact across ocean basins.

Description: We determined source spectral functions, Q and site effects using regional records of body waves from the October 19, 2013 ( M w  = 6.6) earthquake and eight aftershocks located 90 km east of Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. We also analyzed records from a foreshock with magnitude 3.3 that occurred 47 days before the mainshock. The epicenters of this sequence are located in the south-central region of the Gulf of California (GoC) near and on the Farallon transform fault. This is one of the most active regions of the GoC, where most of the large earthquakes have strike–slip mechanisms. Based on the distribution of the aftershocks, the rupture propagated northwest with a rupture length of approximately 27 km. We calculated 3-component P- and S-wave spectra from ten events recorded by eleven stations of the Broadband Seismological Network of the GoC (RESBAN). These stations are located around the GoC and provide good azimuthal coverage (the average station gap is 39°). The spectral records were corrected for site effects, which were estimated calculating average spectral ratios between horizontal and vertical components (HVSR method). The site-corrected spectra were then inverted to determine the source functions and to estimate the attenuation quality factor Q . The values of Q resulting from the spectral inversion can be approximated by the relations \(Q_{\text{P}} = 48.1 \pm 1.1 f^{0.88 \pm 0.04}\) and \(Q_{\text{S}} = 135.4 \pm 1.1 f^{0.58 \pm 0.03}\) and are consistent with previous estimates reported by Vidales-Basurto et al. (Bull Seism Soc Am 104:2027–2042, 2014 ) for the south-central GoC. The stress drop estimates, obtained using the ω 2 model, are below 1.7 MPa, with the highest stress drops determined for the mainshock and the aftershocks located in the ridge zone. We used the values of Q obtained to recalculate source and site effects with a different spectral inversion scheme. We found that sites with low S-wave amplification also tend to have low P-wave amplification, except for stations BAHB, GUYB and SFQB, located on igneous rocks, where the P-wave site amplification is higher.

Description: We present a generic 1D forward modeling and inversion algorithm for transient electromagnetic (TEM) data with an arbitrary horizontal transmitting loop and receivers at any depth in a layered earth. Both the Hankel and sine transforms required in the forward algorithm are calculated using the filter method. The adjoint-equation method is used to derive the formulation of data sensitivity at any depth in non-permeable media. The inversion algorithm based on this forward modeling algorithm and sensitivity formulation is developed using the Gauss–Newton iteration method combined with the Tikhonov regularization. We propose a new data-weighting method to minimize the initial model dependence that enhances the convergence stability. On a laptop with a CPU of i7-5700HQ@3.5 GHz, the inversion iteration of a 200 layered input model with a single receiver takes only 0.34 s, while it increases to only 0.53 s for the data from four receivers at a same depth. For the case of four receivers at different depths, the inversion iteration runtime increases to 1.3 s. Modeling the data with an irregular loop and an equal-area square loop indicates that the effect of the loop geometry is significant at early times and vanishes gradually along the diffusion of TEM field. For a stratified earth, inversion of data from more than one receiver is useful in noise reducing to get a more credible layered earth. However, for a resistive layer shielded below a conductive layer, increasing the number of receivers on the ground does not have significant improvement in recovering the resistive layer. Even with a down-hole TEM sounding, the shielded resistive layer cannot be recovered if all receivers are above the shielded resistive layer. However, our modeling demonstrates remarkable improvement in detecting the resistive layer with receivers in or under this layer.

Description: In this research, remotely sensed data has been used to estimate the volume of pyroclastic deposits and analyze morphological changes that have resulted from the eruption of Sinabung volcano. Topographic information was obtained from these data and used for rapid mapping to assist in the emergency response. Topographic information and change analyses (pre- and syn- eruption) were conducted using digital elevation models (DEMs) for the period 2010–2015. Advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) global digital elevation model (GDEM) data from 2009 were used to generate the initial DEMs for the condition prior to the eruption of 2010. Satellite pour l’observation de la terre 6 (SPOT 6) stereo images acquired on 21 June 2015 and were used to make a DEM for that time. The results show that the estimated total volume of lava and pyroclastic deposits, produced during the period 2010 to mid-2015 is approximately 2.8 × 10 8  m 3 . This estimated volume of pyroclastic deposits can be used to predict the magnitude of future secondary lahar hazards, which are also related to the capacity of rivers in the area. Morphological changes are illustrated using cross-sectional analysis of the deposits, which are currently deposited to the east, southeast and south of the volcano. Such analyses can also help in forecasting the direction of the future flow hazards. The remote sensing and analysis methods used at Sinabung can also be applied at other volcanoes and to assess the threats of other types of hazards such as landslides and land subsidence.

Description: It is well known that small glaciers of mid latitudes and especially those located at low altitude respond suddenly to climate changes both on local and global scale. For this reason their monitoring as well as evaluation of their extension and volume is essential. We present a ground penetrating radar (GPR) dataset acquired on September 23 and 24, 2013 on the Triglav glacier to identify layers with different characteristics (snow, firn , ice, debris) within the glacier and to define the extension and volume of the actual ice. Computing integrated and interpolated 3D using the whole GPR dataset, we estimate that at the moment of data acquisition the ice area was 3800 m 2 and the ice volume 7400 m 3 . Its average thickness was 1.95 m while its maximum thickness was slightly more than 5 m. Here we compare the results with a previous GPR survey acquired in 2000. A critical review of the historical data to find the general trend and to forecast a possible evolution is also presented. Between 2000 and 2013, we observed relevant changes in the internal distribution of the different units (snow, firn , ice) and the ice volume reduced from about 35,000 m 3 to about 7400 m 3 . Such result can be achieved only using multiple GPR surveys, which allow not only to assess the volume occupied by a glacial body, but also to image its internal structure and the actual ice volume. In fact, by applying one of the widely used empirical volume-area relations to infer the geometrical parameters of the glacier, a relevant underestimation of ice-loss would be achieved.

Description: The recent deployment of highly sensitive seafloor magnetometers coinciding with the deep solar minimum has provided excellent opportunities for observing tsunami electromagnetic signals. These fluctuating signals (periods ranging from 10–20 min) are generally found to be within \(\pm\) \(\sim\) 1 nT and coincide with the arrival of the tsunami waves. Previous studies focused on tsunami electromagnetic characteristics, as well as modeling the signal for individual events. This study instead aims to provide the time–frequency characteristics for a range of tsunami signals and a method to separate the data’s noise using additional data from a remote observatory. We focus on four Pacific Ocean events of varying tsunami signal amplitude: (1) the 2011 Tohoku, Japan event (M9.0), (2) the 2010 Chile event (M8.8), (3) the 2009 Samoa event (M8.0) and, (4) the 2007 Kuril Islands event (M8.1). We find possible tsunami signals in high-pass filtered data and successfully isolate the signals from noise using a cross-wavelet analysis. The cross-wavelet analysis reveals that the longer period signals precede the stronger, shorter period signals. Our results are very encouraging for using tsunami magnetic signals in warning systems.

Description: We present a new computational method of automatic normal moveout (NMO) correction that not only accurately flattens and corrects the far offset data, but simultaneously provides NMO velocity ( \(v_\mathrm{nmo}\) ) for each individual seismic trace. The method is based on a predefined number of NMO velocity sweeps using linear vertical interpolation of different NMO velocities at each seismic trace. At each sweep, we measure the semblance between the zero offset trace (pilot trace) and the next seismic trace using a trace-by-trace rather than sample-by-sample based semblance measure; then after all the sweeps are done, the one with the maximum semblance value is chosen, which is assumed to be the most suitable NMO velocity trace that accurately flattens seismic reflection events. Other traces follow the same process, and a final velocity field is then extracted. Isotropic, anisotropic and lateral heterogenous synthetic geological models were built to test the method. A range of synthetic background noise, ranging from 10 to 30 %, was applied to the models. In addition, the method was tested on Hess’s VTI (vertical transverse isotropy) model. Furthermore, we tested our method on a real pre-stack seismic CDP gathered from a gas field in Alaska. The results from the presented examples show an excellent NMO correction and extracted a reasonably accurate NMO velocity field.

Description: The approach in China since the last 1.5 decade for using apparent stress in time-dependent seismic hazard assessment or earthquake forecast is summarized. Retrospective case studies observe that apparent stress exhibits short-term increase, with time scale of several months, before moderate to strong earthquakes in a large area surrounding the ‘target earthquake’. Apparent stress is also used to estimate the tendency of aftershock activity. The concept relating apparent stress indirectly to stress level is used to understand the properties of some ‘precursory’ anomalies. Meanwhile, different opinions were reported. Problems in the calculation also existed for some cases. Moreover, retrospective studies have the limitation in their significance as compared to forward forecast test. Nevertheless, this approach, seemingly uniquely carried out in a large scale in mainland China, provides the earthquake catalogs for the predictive analysis of seismicity with an additional degree of freedom, deserving a systematic review and reflection.

Description: We evaluate the applicability and the effectiveness of texture attribute analysis of 2-D and 3-D GPR datasets obtained in different archaeological environments. Textural attributes are successfully used in seismic stratigraphic studies for hydrocarbon exploration to improve the interpretation of complex subsurface structures. We use a gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) algorithm to compute second-order statistical measures of textural characteristics, such as contrast, energy, entropy, and homogeneity. Textural attributes provide specific information about the data, and can highlight characteristics as uniformity or complexity, which complement the interpretation of amplitude data and integrate the features extracted from conventional attributes. The results from three archaeological case studies demonstrate that the proposed texture analysis can enhance understanding of GPR data by providing clearer images of distribution, volume, and shape of potential archaeological targets and related stratigraphic units, particularly in combination with the conventional GPR attributes. Such strategy improves the interpretability of GPR data, and can be very helpful for archaeological excavation planning and, more generally, for buried cultural heritage assessment.

Description: The 2011 Tohoku tsunami entered the Kitakami river and propagated there as a train of shock waves, recorded with a 1-min interval at water level stations at Fukuchi, Iino, and the weir 17.2 km from the mouth, where the bulk of the wave was reflected back. The records showed that each bore kept its shape and identity as it traveled a 10.9-km-path Fukuchi–Iino–weir–Iino. Shock handling based on the cross-river integrated classical shock conditions was applied to reconstruct the flow velocity time histories at the measurement sites, to estimate inflow into the river at each site, to evaluate the wave heights of incident and reflected tsunami bores near the weir, and to estimate propagation speed of the individual bores. Theoretical predictions are verified against the measurements. We discuss experiences of exercising the shock conditions with actual tsunami measurements in the Kitakami river, and test applicability of the shallow-water approximation for describing tsunami bores with heights ranging from 0.3 to 4 m in a river segment with a depth of 3–4 m.

Description: Crustal earthquake focal mechanisms are investigated in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, where the Tibetan Plateau and stable South China Block merge. An updated database of focal mechanisms has been compiled by selecting 132 Global Centroid Moment Tensor solutions and by adding the 173 new solutions (3.5 ≤  M s ≤ 7.4) estimated by waveform inversion in this study. A total of 305 mechanisms are included in this database. These solutions show regionally specific distributions with dominant strike-slip faulting and some normal and reverse faulting. Focal mechanism solutions have also been inverted for the stress tensor orientation to obtain the principal stress axes over the study region. Results show that the horizontal maximum principal σ 1 axes rotate clockwise with a wider range than the geodetically measured surface motion in the east, which is not limited to the Xianshuihe–Xiaojiang fault, but has some overlap with the Zhaotong–Lianfeng fault. Localized normal faulting stress regimes are observed in the Jinshajiang–Litang fault areas and the Baoshan sub-block. The minimum principal axes are oriented with a gradually changing trend from north–south to northwest–southeast, from north to south, indicating diverse compression stress patterns. Significant changes in the crustal stress field after the Wenchuan earthquake are preliminarily observed in the Baoshan sub-block where orientations of two principal axes have changed, and in the Jinggu–Ximeng sub-block areas where the strike-slip faulting stress pattern has transformed to normal faulting.

Description: Recently, coda-wave interferometry has been used to monitor temporal changes in subsurface structures. Seismic velocity changes have been detected by coda-wave interferometry in association with large earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. To constrain the spatial extent of the velocity changes, spatial homogeneity is often assumed. However, it is important to locate the region of the velocity changes correctly to understand physical mechanisms causing them. In this paper, we are concerned with the sensitivity kernels relating travel times of coda waves to velocity changes. In previous studies, sensitivity kernels have been formulated for two-dimensional single scattering and multiple scattering, three-dimensional multiple scattering, and diffusion. In this paper, we formulate and derive analytical expressions of the sensitivity kernels for three-dimensional single-scattering case. These sensitivity kernels show two peaks at both source and receiver locations, which is similar to the previous studies using different scattering models. The two peaks are more pronounced for later lapse time. We validate our formulation by comparing it with finite-difference simulations of acoustic wave propagation. Our formulation enables us to evaluate the sensitivity kernels analytically, which is particularly useful for the analysis of body waves from deeper earthquakes.

Description: Cirrus clouds reflect incoming solar radiation, creating a cooling effect. At the same time, these clouds absorb the infrared radiation from the Earth, creating a greenhouse effect. The net effect, crucial for radiative transfer, depends on the cirrus microphysical properties, such as particle size distributions and particle shapes. Knowledge of these cloud properties is also needed for calibrating and validating passive and active remote sensors. Ice particles of sizes below 100 µm are inherently difficult to measure with aircraft-mounted probes due to issues with resolution, sizing, and size-dependent sampling volume. Furthermore, artefacts are produced by shattering of particles on the leading surfaces of the aircraft probes when particles several hundred microns or larger are present. Here, we report on a series of balloon-borne in situ measurements that were carried out at a high-latitude location, Kiruna in northern Sweden (68N 21E). The method used here avoids these issues experienced with the aircraft probes. Furthermore, with a balloon-borne instrument, data are collected as vertical profiles, more useful for calibrating or evaluating remote sensing measurements than data collected along horizontal traverses. Particles are collected on an oil-coated film at a sampling speed given directly by the ascending rate of the balloon, 4 m s −1 . The collecting film is advanced uniformly inside the instrument so that an always unused section of the film is exposed to ice particles, which are measured by imaging shortly after sampling. The high optical resolution of about 4 µm together with a pixel resolution of 1.65 µm allows particle detection at sizes of 10 µm and larger. For particles that are 20 µm (12 pixel) in size or larger, the shape can be recognized. The sampling volume, 130 cm 3  s −1 , is well defined and independent of particle size. With the encountered number concentrations of between 4 and 400 L −1 , this required about 90- to 4-s sampling times to determine particle size distributions of cloud layers. Depending on how ice particles vary through the cloud, several layers per cloud with relatively uniform properties have been analysed. Preliminary results of the balloon campaign, targeting upper tropospheric, cold cirrus clouds, are presented here. Ice particles in these clouds were predominantly very small, with a median size of measured particles of around 50 µm and about 80 % of all particles below 100 µm in size. The properties of the particle size distributions at temperatures between −36 and −67 °C have been studied, as well as particle areas, extinction coefficients, and their shapes (area ratios). Gamma and log-normal distribution functions could be fitted to all measured particle size distributions achieving very good correlation with coefficients R of up to 0.95. Each distribution features one distinct mode. With decreasing temperature, the mode diameter decreases exponentially, whereas the total number concentration increases by two orders of magnitude with decreasing temperature in the same range. The high concentrations at cold temperatures also caused larger extinction coefficients, directly determined from cross-sectional areas of single ice particles, than at warmer temperatures. The mass of particles has been estimated from area and size. Ice water content (IWC) and effective diameters are then determined from the data. IWC did vary only between 1 × 10 −3 and 5 × 10 −3  g m −3 at temperatures below −40 °C and did not show a clear temperature trend. These measurements are part of an ongoing study.

Description: Different waveform-based discrimination parameters were tested using multivariate statistical analysis to develop a real-time procedure for discriminating explosions from earthquakes at regional distances in the Iberian Peninsula. This work enabled a purge of the Spanish National Seismic Catalogue for the period 2003–2014. The training data consisted of waveform-based signal properties in the time and frequency domain for events (earthquakes and explosions) recorded during the selected time period by the Spanish Broadband National Network and Sonseca short-period Array of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). For each station and its associated training dataset, a discriminant function was defined as a linear combination of the measured variables. All station-specific discriminant functions were then combined with a weighting scheme to test the training events, revealing that 86 % of the events were consistent with the analysts’ judgement. The application of this method to the whole of the IGN’s seismic database for the studied period gave an 83 % success rate; however, a 91 % success rate is reached if events are classified using at least three stations and 100 % confidence levels.

Description: We investigated the effect that along-dip slip distribution has on the near-shore tsunami amplitudes and on coastal land-level changes in the region of central Chile (29°–37°S). Here and all along the Chilean megathrust, the seismogenic zone extends beneath dry land, and thus, tsunami generation and propagation is limited to its seaward portion, where the sensitivity of the initial tsunami waveform to dislocation model inputs, such as slip distribution, is greater. We considered four distributions of earthquake slip in the dip direction, including a spatially uniform slip source and three others with typical bell-shaped slip patterns that differ in the depth range of slip concentration. We found that a uniform slip scenario predicts much lower tsunami amplitudes and generally less coastal subsidence than scenarios that assume bell-shaped distributions of slip. Although the finding that uniform slip scenarios underestimate tsunami amplitudes is not new, it has been largely ignored for tsunami hazard assessment in Chile. Our simulations results also suggest that uniform slip scenarios tend to predict later arrival times of the leading wave than bell-shaped sources. The time occurrence of the largest wave at a specific site is also dependent on how the slip is distributed in the dip direction; however, other factors, such as local bathymetric configurations and standing edge waves, are also expected to play a role. Arrival time differences are especially critical in Chile, where tsunamis arrive earlier than elsewhere. We believe that the results of this study will be useful to both public and private organizations for mapping tsunami hazard in coastal areas along the Chilean coast, and, therefore, help reduce the risk of loss and damage caused by future tsunamis.

Description: The consecutive summer monsoons of 2013 and 2014 over the Indian subcontinent saw very contrasting onsets and progressions during the initial month. While the 2013 monsoon saw the timely onset and one of the fastest progressions during the recent decades, 2014 had a delayed onset and a slower progression phase. The monthly rainfall of June 2013 was +34 %, whereas in 2014 it was −43 % of its long-period average. The progress/onset of monsoon in June is influenced by large-scale circulation and local feedback processes. But, in 2013 (2014), one of the main reasons for the timely onset and fastest progression (delayed onset and slower progression) was the persistent strong (weak) convection over the north equatorial Indian Ocean during May. This resulted in a strong (weak) Hadley circulation with strong (weak) ascent and descent over the north equatorial Indian Ocean and the South Indian Ocean, respectively. The strong (weak) descent over the south Indian Ocean intensified (weakened) the Mascarene High, which in turn strengthened (weakened) the cross-equatorial flow and hence the monsoonal circulation.

Description: The stochastic Truncated Lévy Flight model and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) are used to investigate the temporal distribution of earthquake magnitudes in Chile. We show that Lévy Flight is appropriated for modeling the time series of the magnitudes of the earthquakes. Furthermore, DFA shows that these events present memory effects, suggesting that the magnitude of impeding earthquakes depends on the magnitude of previous earthquakes. Based on this dependency, we use a non-linear regression to estimate the magnitude of the 2015, M8.3 Illapel earthquake based on the magnitudes of the previous events.

Description: We studied 62 normal-faulting inslab earthquakes in the Mexican subduction zone with magnitudes in the range of 3.6 ≤  M w  ≤ 7.3 and hypocentral depths of 30 ≤  Z  ≤ 108 km. We used different methods to estimate source parameters to observe differences in stress drop, corner frequencies, source dimensions, source duration, energy-to-moment ratio, radiated efficiency, and radiated seismic energy. The behavior of these parameters is derived. We found that normal-faulting inslab events have higher radiated seismic energy, energy-to-moment ratio, and stress drop than interplate earthquakes as expected. This may be explained by the mechanism dependence of radiated seismic energy and apparent stress reported in previous source parameter studies. The energy-to-moment ratio data showed large scatter and no trend with seismic moment. The stress drop showed no trend with seismic moment, but an increment with depth. The radiated seismic efficiencies showed similar values to those obtained from interplate events, but higher than near-trench events. We found that the source duration is independent of the depth. We also derived source scaling relationships for the mentioned parameters. The low level of uncertainties for the seismic source parameters and scaling relationships showed that the obtained parameters are robust. Therefore, reliable source parameter estimation can be carried out using the obtained scaling relationships. We also studied regional stress field of normal-faulting inslab events. Heterogeneity exists in the regional stress field, as indicated by individual stress tensor inversions conducted for two different depth intervals ( Z  〈 40 km and Z  〉 40 km, respectively). While the maximum stress axis ( σ 1 ) appears to be consistent and stable, the orientations of the intermediate and minimum stresses ( σ 2 and σ 3 ) vary over the depth intervals. The stress inversion results showed that the tensional axes are parallel to the dip direction of the subducted plate. At depths greater than 40 km, the maximum horizontal stresses are oblique to the dip direction following the general trend of the slab geometry.

Description: During the TSUJAL marine geophysical survey, conducted in February and March 2014, Spanish, Mexican and British scientists and technicians explored the western margin of Mexico, considered one of the most active seismic zones in America. This work aims to characterize the internal structure of the subduction zone of the Rivera plate beneath the North American plate in the offshore part of the Jalisco Block, to link the geodynamic and the recent tectonic deformation occurring there with the possible generation of tsunamis and earthquakes. For this purpose, it has been carried out acquisition, processing and geological interpretation of a multichannel seismic reflection profile running perpendicular to the margin. Crustal images show an oceanic domain, dominated by subduction–accretion along the lower slope of the margin with a subparallel sediment thickness of up to 1.6 s two-way travel time (approx. 2 km) in the Middle American Trench. Further, from these data the region appears to be prone to giant earthquake production. The top of the oceanic crust (intraplate reflector) is very well imaged. It is almost continuous along the profile with a gentle dip (〈10°); however, it is disrupted by normal faulting resulting from the bending of the plate during subduction. The continental crust presents a well-developed accretionary prism consisting of highly deformed sediments with prominent slumping towards the trench that may be the result of past tsunamis. Also, a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) is identified in the first half a second (twtt) of the section. High amplitude reflections at around 7–8 s twtt clearly image a discontinuous Moho, defining a very gentle dipping subduction plane.

Description: The earth tide, atmospheric pressure, precipitation and earthquake fluctuations, especially earthquake greatly impacts water well levels, thus anomalous co-seismic changes in ground water levels have been observed. In this paper, we have used four different models, simple linear regression (SLR), multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) to compute the atmospheric pressure and earth tidal effects on water level. Furthermore, we have used the Akaike information criterion (AIC) to study the performance of various models. Based on the lowest AIC and sum of squares for error values, the best estimate of the effects of atmospheric pressure and earth tide on water level is found using the MLR model. However, MLR model does not provide multicollinearity between inputs, as a result the atmospheric pressure and earth tidal response coefficients fail to reflect the mechanisms associated with the groundwater level fluctuations. On the premise of solving serious multicollinearity of inputs, PLS model shows the minimum AIC value. The atmospheric pressure and earth tidal response coefficients show close response with the observation using PLS model. The atmospheric pressure and the earth tidal response coefficients are found to be sensitive to the stress–strain state using the observed data for the period 1 April–8 June 2008 of Chuan 03# well. The transient enhancement of porosity of rock mass around Chuan 03# well associated with the Wenchuan earthquake (Mw = 7.9 of 12 May 2008) that has taken its original pre-seismic level after 13 days indicates that the co-seismic sharp rise of water well could be induced by static stress change, rather than development of new fractures.

Description: The Upper Vistula River basin was divided into pooling groups with similar dimensionless frequency distributions of annual maximum river discharge. The cluster analysis and the Hosking and Wallis (HW) L-moment-based method were used to divide the set of 52 mid-sized catchments into disjoint clusters with similar morphometric, land use, and rainfall variables, and to test the homogeneity within clusters. Finally, three and four pooling groups were obtained alternatively. Two methods for identification of the regional distribution function were used, the HW method and the method of Kjeldsen and Prosdocimi based on a bivariate extension of the HW measure. Subsequently, the flood quantile estimates were calculated using the index flood method. The ordinary least squares (OLS) and the generalised least squares (GLS) regression techniques were used to relate the index flood to catchment characteristics. Predictive performance of the regression scheme for the southern part of the Upper Vistula River basin was improved by using GLS instead of OLS. The results of the study can be recommended for the estimation of flood quantiles at ungauged sites, in flood risk mapping applications, and in engineering hydrology to help design flood protection structures.

Description: This paper aggregates the main basic data acquired along the Chile Triple Junction (CTJ) area (45°–48°S), where an active spreading center is presently subducting beneath the Andean continental margin. Updated sea-floor kinematics associated with a comprehensive review of geologic, geochemical, and geophysical data provide new constraints on the geodynamics of this puzzling area. We discuss: (1) the emplacement mode for the Pleistocene Taitao Ridge and the Pliocene Taitao Peninsula ophiolite bodies. (2) The occurrence of these ophiolitic complexes in association with five adakite-like plutonic and volcanic centers of similar ages at the same restricted locations. (3) The inferences from the co-occurrence of these sub-coeval rocks originating from the same subducting oceanic lithosphere evolving through drastically different temperature–pressure ( P – T ) path: low-grade greenschist facies overprint and amphibolite-eclogite transition, respectively. (4) The evidences that document ridge-jump events and associated microplate individualization during subduction of the SCR1 and SCR-1 segments: the Chonos and Cabo Elena microplates, respectively. The ridge-jump process associated with the occurrence of several closely spaced transform faults entering subduction is controlling slab fragmentation, ophiolite emplacement, and adakite-like production and location in the CTJ area. Kinematic inconsistencies in the development of the Patagonia slab window document an 11- km westward jump for the SCR-1 spreading segment at ~6.5-to-6.8 Ma. The SCR-1 spreading center is relocated beneath the North Patagonia Icefield (NPI). We argue that the deep-seated difference in the dynamically sustained origin of the high reliefs of the North and South Patagonia Icefield (NPI and SPI) is asthenospheric convection and slab melting, respectively. The Chile Triple Junction area provides the basic constraints to define the basic signatures for spreading-ridge subduction beneath an Andean-type margin.

Description: The aim of this study is to investigate the connection between cold air pools and fog events in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Statistical analyses are conducted using soundings and reported automated surface observing system data from Salt Lake International Airport for the last eighteen cold seasons (October to March, during 1997–2015). A Chi-square test of independence is performed on identified cold air pool, and fog events to determine whether the two events are correlated. Conditional probabilities are then computed to investigate the occurrence of fog, given the presence of a cold pool. These probabilities are compared against that of random fog generation in the mid-winter. It is concluded that the dependence between cold air pools and fog events is statistically significant. The presence of a cold pool makes the formation of fog more likely than random generation.

Description: We present results from ambient noise tomography applied to temporary seismological stations in the easternmost part of the Alps and their transition to the adjacent tectonic provinces (Vienna Basin, Bohemian Massif, Southern Alps, Dinarides). By turning each station into a virtual source, we recover surface waves in the frequency range between 0.1 and 0.6 Hz, which are sensitive to depths of approximately 2–15 km. The utilization of horizontal components allows for the analysis of both Rayleigh and Love waves with comparable signal-to-noise ratio. Measured group wave dispersion curves between stations are mapped to local cells by means of a simultaneous inverse reconstruction technique. The spatial reconstruction for Love-wave velocities fails in the central part of the investigated area, and we speculate that a heterogeneous noise source distribution is the cause for the failure. Otherwise, the obtained group velocity maps correlate well with surface geology. Inversion of Rayleigh-wave velocities for shear-wave velocities along a vertical N-S section stretching from the Bohemian Massif through the Central Alps to the Southern Alps and Dinarides reveals a mid-crustal low-velocity anomaly at the contact between the Bohemian Massif and the Alps, which shows a spatial correlation with the P-wave velocity structure and the low-frequency component of the magnetic anomaly map. Our study is validated by the analysis of resolution and accuracy, and we further compare the result to shear-wave velocity models estimated from other active and passive experiments in the area.

Description: The two main earthquakes that occurred in 2012 (May 20 and 29) in the Reggio-Emiliano region (Northern Italy) were relatively small (Mw 6.1 and Mw 5.9) but they generated unexpected damages in a large area around the epicenter. On some stations, the observed seismic levels exceeded design levels recommended by the EC8 seismic code for buildings and civil engineering works. The ground motions generated by the two mainshocks have specific characteristics: the waveforms are mainly controlled by surface waves generated by the deep sedimentary Po plain, by local site effects and also, on some stations, by non-linear behaviors. In this particular context, we test the ability of an empirical Green’s function (EGF) simulation approach to reproduce the recorded seismograms in a large frequency band without any knowledge of the underground medium. We focus on the possibility to reproduce the strong surface waves generated by the basin at distances between 25 and 90 km. We choose to work on the second mainshock of the sequence (Mw 5.9), which occurred on May 29, 2012, because it is better recorded by the seismological networks than the May 20th first mainshock. We use a k-2 kinematic source model to generate a set of 100 slip distributions on the fault plane and choose the recordings of a close-by Mw 3.9 event as EGF. We then generate a set of broad-band seismograms (from 0.2 to 35 Hz) and compare them to the mainshock signals at 15 stations (Seismograms, Fourier spectra, PGA, PGV, duration, Stockwell Transforms) at epicentral distances from 5 to 160 km. We find that the main specific features of the signals are very well reproduced for all the stations within and beyond the basin. Nevertheless, at nearby stations, the PGA values are over-evaluated, which could be explained by the fact that non- linear effects are not taken into account in the simulation process. A better fit was found for a position of the nucleation point to the bottom west of the fault, that suggest a directivity effect of the rupture process of the May 29th event towards the North–East.

Description: The warm (cold) phase of El Niño (La Niña) and its impact on all Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall (AISMR) relationship is explored for the past 100 years. The 103-year (1901–2003) data from the twentieth century reanalysis datasets (20CR) and other major reanalysis datasets for southwest monsoon season (JJAS) is utilized to find out the simultaneous influence of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-AISMR relationship. Two cases such as wet, dry monsoon years associated with ENSO(+) (El Niño), ENSO(−) (La Niña) and Non-ENSO (neutral) events have been discussed in detail using observed rainfall and three-dimensional 20CR dataset. The dry and wet years associated with ENSO and Non-ENSO periods show significant differences in the spatial pattern of rainfall associated with three-dimensional atmospheric composite, the 20CR dataset has captured the anomalies quite well. During wet (dry) years, the rainfall is high (low), i.e. 10 % above (below) average from the long-term mean and this wet or dry condition occur both during ENSO and Non-ENSO phases. The Non-ENSO year dry or wet composites are also focused in detail to understand, where do the anomalous winds come from unlike in the ENSO case. The moisture transport is coherent with the changes in the spatial pattern of AISMR and large-scale feature in the 20CR dataset. Recent 50-year trend (1951–2000) is also analyzed from various available observational and reanalysis datasets to see the influence of Indo-Pacific SST and moist processes on the South Asian summer monsoon rainfall trend. Apart from the Indo-Pacific sea surface temperatures (SST), the moisture convergence and moisture transport among India (IND), Equatorial Indian Ocean (IOC) and tropical western pacific (WNP) is also important in modifying the wet or dry cycles over India. The mutual interaction among IOC, WNP and IND in seasonal timescales is significant in modifying wet and dry cycles over the Indian region and the seasonal anomalies.

Description: We present the electrical resistivity model along a profile perpendicular to the Middle America trench in southern Mexico that reveals previously unrecognized tectonic features at upper to mid-crustal depths. Our results support the hypotheses that the upper crust of the Oaxaca terrane is a residual ~20 km thick crust composed by an ~10 km thick faulted crustal upper layer and an ~10 km thick hydrated and/or mineralized layer. Oaxaca basement overthrust the younger Juárez (or Cuicateco) terrane. The electrical resistivity model supports the interpretation of a slab subducting at a low angle below Oaxaca. Uplift in the Oaxaca region appears to be related to fault reactivation induced by low angle subduction. In the Juárez terrane, isostatic forces may contribute to uplift because it is largely uncompensated. In the Sierra Madre del Sur, closer to the coast, uplift is facilitated by slab-dehydration driven buoyancy. Both gravity and resistivity models are consistent with a thinned upper crust in the northeast end of the profile.

Description: The phenomenon of drought is serious in many landscapes with continental patterns of climate. In fact, drought risk is usually assessed in terms of prevailing issue (meteorological, hydrological, agronomical, etc.) and not in terms of complex landscape features. A procedure for detailed geographical drought risk modelling has been developed using recent meteorological data of dry period and prior precipitations, as well as a digital elevation model and geographic data layers of natural landscape features and land cover. The current version of the procedure starts with meteorological data (temperature and precipitation) processing followed by the use of soil and geological data and land cover, the national CORINE LC 2006 CZ database, for assessing the impact of the local natural features on drought risk. The methodology is based on GIS tools, geodata of the geological structure of the area (water holding capacity of the substrate, the horizontal and vertical water conductivity), soil cover (in agricultural and forested areas, soil types and kinds), landscape cover (land use), relief (digital elevation model and its derivatives), temperature and precipitation data from neighbouring representative meteorological and climate stations. The procedure uses regression equation for temperature and precipitation risk modelling, fuzzy standardization for estimation of different water retention within land cover categories and expert estimation for risk categories within rocks and soils. The final calculation is based on spatial decision-making techniques, especially the weighted sum method with a natural breaks reclassification algorithm. Combining geodata of soils, the geological environment and the active surface with their computed humidity conditions, it is possible to identify areas with a graded risk of geographic drought. The final results do not represent partial values, but identify five risk classes in the study area illustrating a possible level of geographical drought risk.

Description: The complete surface deformation of 2015 Mw 8.3 Illapel, Chile earthquake is obtained using SAR interferograms obtained for descending and ascending Sentinel-1 orbits. We find that the Illapel event is predominantly thrust, as expected for an earthquake on the interface between the Nazca and South America plates, with a slight right-lateral strike slip component. The maximum thrust-slip and right-lateral strike slip reach 8.3 and 1.5 m, respectively, both located at a depth of 8 km, northwest to the epicenter. The total estimated seismic moment is 3.28 × 10 21 N.m, corresponding to a moment magnitude Mw 8.27. In our model, the rupture breaks all the way up to the sea-floor at the trench, which is consistent with the destructive tsunami following the earthquake. We also find the slip distribution correlates closely with previous estimates of interseismic locking distribution. We argue that positive coulomb stress changes caused by the Illapel earthquake may favor earthquakes on the extensional faults in this area. Finally, based on our inferred coseismic slip model and coulomb stress calculation, we envision that the subduction interface that last slipped in the 1922 Mw 8.4 Vallenar earthquake might be near the upper end of its seismic quiescence, and the earthquake potential in this region is urgent.

Description: The September 16, 2015 Illapel, Chile earthquake triggered a large tsunami, causing both economic losses and fatalities. To study the coastal effects of this earthquake, and to understand how such hazards might be accurately modeled in the future, different finite fault models of the Illapel rupture are used to define the initial condition for tsunami simulation. The numerical code Non-hydrostatic Evolution of Ocean WAVEs (NEOWAVE) is employed to model the tsunami evolution through the Pacific Ocean. Because only a short time is available for emergency response, and since the earthquake and tsunami sources are close to the coast, gaining a rapid understanding of the near-field run-up behavior is highly relevant to Chile. Therefore, an analytical solution of the 2 + 1 D shallow water wave equations is considered. With this solution, we show that we can quickly estimate the run-up distribution along the coastline, to first order. After the earthquake and tsunami, field observations were measured in the surrounded coastal region, where the tsunami resulted in significant run-up. First, we compare the analytical and numerical solutions to test the accuracy of the analytical approach and the field observations, implying the analytic approach can accurately model tsunami run-up after an earthquake, without sacrificing the time necessary for a full numerical inversion. Then, we compare both with field run-up measurements. We observe the consistency between the two approaches. To complete the analysis, a tsunami source inversion is performed using run-up field measurements only. These inversion results are compared with seismic models, and are shown to capture the broad-scale details of those models, without the necessity of the detailed data sets they invert.

Description: High loess banks along the right side of the Danube in Hungary are potential subjects of landslides. Small scale ambient seismic noise tomography was used at the Dunaszekcső high bank. The aim of the study was to map near surface velocity anomalies since we assume that the formation of tension cracks—which precede landslides—are represented by low velocities. Mapping Rayleigh wave group velocity distribution can help to image intact and creviced areas and identify the most vulnerable sections. The study area lies at the top of the Castle Hill of Dunaszekcső, which was named after Castellum Lugio , a fortress of Roman origin. The presently active head scarp was formed in April 2011, and our study area was chosen to be at its surroundings. Cross-correlation functions of ambient noise recordings were used to retrieve the dispersion curves, which served as the input of the group velocity tomography. Phase cross-correlation and time-frequency phase weighted stacking was applied to calculate the cross-correlation functions. The average Rayleigh wave group velocity at the high loess bank was found to be 171 ms \(^{-1}\) . The group velocity map at a 0.1 s period revealed a low-velocity region, whose location coincides with a highly creviced area, where slope failure takes place along a several meter wide territory. Another low velocity region was found, which might indicate a previously unknown loosened domain. The highest velocities were observed at the supposed remnants of Castellum Lugio .

Description: Pattern informatics (PI), load/unload response ratio (LURR), state vector (SV), and accelerating moment release (AMR) are four previously unrelated subjects, which are sensitive, in varying ways, to the earthquake’s source. Previous studies have indicated that the spatial extent of the stress perturbation caused by an earthquake scales with the moment of the event, allowing us to combine these methods for seismic hazard evaluation. The long-range earthquake forecasting method PI is applied to search for the seismic hotspots and identify the areas where large earthquake could be expected. And the LURR and SV methods are adopted to assess short-to-intermediate-term seismic potential in each of the critical regions derived from the PI hotspots, while the AMR method is used to provide us with asymptotic estimates of time and magnitude of the potential earthquakes. This new approach, by combining the LURR, SV and AMR methods with the choice of identified area of PI hotspots, is devised to augment current techniques for seismic hazard estimation. Using the approach, we tested the strong earthquakes occurred in Yunnan–Sichuan region, China between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014. We found that most of the large earthquakes, especially the earthquakes with magnitude greater than 6.0 occurred in the seismic hazard regions predicted. Similar results have been obtained in the prediction of annual earthquake tendency in Chinese mainland in 2014 and 2015. The studies evidenced that the ensemble approach could be a useful tool to detect short-to-intermediate-term precursory information of future large earthquakes.

Description: Ice fog, diamond dust, and light snow usually form over extremely cold weather conditions, and they affect both visibility and Earth’s radiative energy budget. Prediction of these hydrometeors using models is difficult because of limited knowledge of the microphysical properties at the small size ranges due to measurement issues. These phenomena need to be better represented in forecast and climate models; therefore, in addition to remote sensing accurate measurements using ground-based instrumentation are required. An imaging instrument, aimed at measuring ice fog and light snow particles, has been built and is presented here. The ice crystal imaging (ICI) probe samples ice particles into a vertical, tapered inlet with an inlet flow rate of 11 L min −1 . A laser beam across the vertical air flow containing the ice crystals allows for their detection by a photodetector collecting the scattered light. Detected particles are then imaged with high optical resolution. An illuminating LED flash and image capturing are triggered by the photodetector. In this work, ICI measurements collected during  the fog remote sensing and modeling (FRAM) project, which took place during Winter of 2010–2011 in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada, are summarized and challenges related to measuring small ice particles are described. The majority of ice particles during the 2-month-long campaign had sizes between 300 and 800 μm. During ice fog events the size distribution measured had a lower mode diameter of 300 μm compared to the overall campaign average with mode at 500 μm.

Description: Biot’s theory of elastic waves in fluid-saturated porous solids has two free parameters: the tortuosity α , characterizing the dynamic coupling between the solid and the fluid, and the structural factor δ , representing the geometric properties of the porous space. The meaning and significance of these parameters have not been sufficiently understood. The tortuosity has the physical meaning of the normalized mean square of the velocity of the pore fluid relative to the solid wall; it has a low-frequency but no high-frequency limits. The analytical calculation of the tortuosity for Biot’s slit-like pore provides its range of variability from approximately 1–100 in the frequency range of practical interest. The tortuosity has a significant effect on the properties of the Biot waves of the second kind in the high-frequency range. On the other hand, in realistically complex pore geometries, the values of the tortuosity are virtually unpredictable. This limits the usefulness of the Biot theory in predicting the wave propagation at high frequencies. At all frequencies, the effect of the structural factor is insignificant relative to the effect of the tortuosity. The conventional compressional wave (the wave of the first kind) is insensitive to both parameters at all frequencies. The frequencies of interest to seismic exploration are also free of the uncertainty imposed by the lack of constraints on the tortuosity as the only free parameter in Biot’s theory.

Description: We develop a micromechanics-based permeability evolution model for brittle materials at high strain rates ( \(\ge 100\)  s \(^{-1}\) ). Extending for undrained deformation the mechanical constitutive description of brittle solids, whose constitutive response is governed by micro-cracks, we now relate the damage-induced strains to micro-crack aperture. We then use an existing permeability model to evaluate the permeability evolution. This model predicts both the percolative and connected regime of permeability evolution of Westerly Granite during triaxial loading at high strain rate. This model can simulate pore pressure history during earthquake coseismic dynamic ruptures under undrained conditions.

Description: The development of knowledge of global biogeography of the oceans from sixteenthcentury European voyages of exploration to present-day use of satellite remote sensing is reviewed in three parts; the pre-satellite era (1513–1977), the satellite era leading to a first global synthesis (1978–1998), and more recent studies since 1998. The Gulf Stream was first identified as a strong open-ocean feature in 1513 and by the eighteenth century, regular transatlantic voyages by sailing ships had established the general patterns of winds and circulation, enabling optimisation of passage times. Differences in water temperature, water colour and species of animals were recognised as important cues for navigation. Systematic collection of information from ships’ logs enabled Maury (The Physical Geography of the Sea Harper and Bros. New York 1855 ) to produce a chart of prevailing winds across the entire world’s oceans, and by the early twentieth century the global surface ocean circulation that defines the major biogeographic regions was well-known. This information was further supplemented by data from large-scale plankton surveys. The launch of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, specifically designed to study living marine resources on board the Nimbus 7 polar orbiting satellite in 1978, marked the advent of the satellite era. Over subsequent decades, correlation of satellite-derived sea surface temperature and chlorophyll data with in situ measurements enabled Longhurst (Ecological Geography of the Sea. Academic Press, New York 1998 ) to divide the global ocean into 51 ecological provinces with Polar, Westerly Wind, Trade Wind and Coastal Biomes clearly recognisable from earlier subdivisions of the oceans. Satellite imagery with semi-synoptic images of large areas of the oceans greatly aided definition of boundaries between provinces. However, ocean boundaries are dynamic, varying from season to season and year to year. More recent work has focused on the study of variability of currents, fronts and eddies, which are often the focus of high biological productivity. Direct tracking of animals using satellite-based systems has helped resolve the biological function of such features and indeed animals instrumented in this way have helped the study of such features in three dimensions, including depths beyond the reach of conventional satellite remote sensing. Patterns of surface productivity detected by satellite remote sensing are reflected in deep sea life on the sea floor at abyssal depths 〉3,000 m. Satellite remote sensing has played a major role in overcoming the problems of large spatial scales and variability in ocean dynamics and is now an essential tool for monitoring global change.

Description: Pore pressure changes in a geothermal reservoir, as a result of injection and/or production of water, result in changes of stress acting on the reservoir rock and, consequently, changes in the mechanical and transport properties of the rock. Bulk modulus and permeability were measured at different pressures and temperatures. An outcropping equivalent of Rotliegend reservoir rock in the North German Basin (Flechtinger sandstone) was used to perform hydrostatic tests and steady state fluid flow tests. Permeability measurements were conducted while cycling confining pressure; the dependence of permeability on stress was determined at a constant downstream pressure of 1 MPa. Also, temperature was increased stepwise from 30 to 140 °C and crack porosity was calculated at different temperatures. Although changes in the volumes of cracks are not significant, the cracks control fluid flow pathways and, consequently, the permeability of the rock. A new model was derived which relates microstructure of porosity, the stress–strain curve, and permeability. Porosity change was described by the first derivative of the stress–strain curve. Permeability evolution was ascribed to crack closure and was related to the second derivative of the stress–strain curve. The porosity and permeability of Flechtinger sandstone were reduced by increasing the effective pressure and decreased after each pressure cycle.

Description: We used the focal mechanisms of crustal earthquakes (depth 〈40 km) in the period 1909–2012 and the available GPS velocities, derived from the data collected between 1999 to 2011, to estimate the magnitude and directions of maximum principal stress and strain rates in Iran. The Pearson product moment correlation was used to find the correlation between the stress field obtained from the focal mechanism stress inversion and that obtained using the seismic and geodetic strain rates. Our assumption is that stresses in a continuum are produced by tectonic forces and the consequent deformation on the crustal scale. Therefore, the direction of the stress and strain (or strain rate) are ideally to be the same. Our results show a strong correlation between the directions of the principal components of stress and strain (rate) obtained using the different data/methods. Using weighted average analysis, we present a new stress map for Iran.

Description: In the hours following the 2011 Honshu event, and as part of tsunami warning procedures at the Laboratoire de Géophysique in Papeete, Tahiti, the seismic source of the event was analyzed using a number of real-time procedures. The ultra-long period mantle magnitude algorithm suggests a static moment of 4.1 × 10 29  dyn cm, not significantly different from the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) value obtained by W -phase inversion. The slowness parameter, $\Uptheta = -5.65, $ is slightly deficient, but characteristic of other large subduction events such as Nias (2005) or Peru (2001); it remains significantly larger than for slow earthquakes such as Sumatra (2004) or Mentawai (2010). Similarly, the duration of high-frequency (2–4 Hz) P waves in relation to seismic moment or estimated energy, fails to document any slowness in the seismic source. These results were confirmed in the ensuing weeks by the analysis of the lowest-frequency spheroidal modes of the Earth. A dataset of 117 fits for eight modes (including the gravest one, 0 S 2 , and the breathing mode, 0 S 0 ) yields a remarkably flat spectrum, with an average moment of 3.5 × 10 29  dyn cm (*/1.07). This behavior of the Tohoku earthquake explains the generally successful real-time modeling of its teleseismic tsunami, based on available seismic source scaling laws. On the other hand, it confirms the dichotomy, among mega-quakes ( M 0  〉 10 29  dyn cm) between regular events (Nias, 2005; Chile, 2010; Sendai, 2011) and slow ones (Chile, 1960; Alaska, 1964; Sumatra, 2004; and probably Rat Island, 1965), whose origin remains unexplained.

Description: We use a numerical tsunami model to describe wave energy decay and transformation in the Pacific Ocean during the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. The numerical model was initialised with the results from a seismological finite fault model and validated using deep-ocean bottom pressure records from DARTs, from the NEPTUNE-Canada cabled observatory, as well as data from four satellite altimetry passes. We used statistical analysis of the available observations collected during the Japan 2011 tsunami and of the corresponding numerical model to demonstrate that the temporal evolution of tsunami wave energy in the Pacific Ocean leads to the wave energy equipartition law. Similar equipartition laws are well known for wave multi-scattering processes in seismology, electromagnetism and acoustics. We also show that the long-term near-equilibrium state is governed by this law: after the passage of the tsunami front, the tsunami wave energy density tends to be inversely proportional to the water depth. This fact leads to a definition of tsunami wave intensity that is simply energy density times the depth. This wave intensity fills the Pacific Ocean basin uniformly, except for the areas of energy sinks in the Southern Ocean and Bering Sea.

Description: The coast of California was significantly impacted by two recent teletsunami events, one originating off the coast of Chile on February 27, 2010 and the other off Japan on March 11, 2011. These tsunamis caused extensive inundation and damage along the coast of their respective source regions. For the 2010 tsunami, the NOAA West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a state-wide Tsunami Advisory based on forecasted tsunami amplitudes ranging from 0.18 to 1.43 m with the highest amplitudes predicted for central and southern California. For the 2011 tsunami, a Tsunami Warning was issued north of Point Conception and a Tsunami Advisory south of that location, with forecasted amplitudes ranging from 0.3 to 2.5 m, the highest expected for Crescent City. Because both teletsunamis arrived during low tide, the potential for significant inundation of dry land was greatly reduced during both events. However, both events created rapid water-level fluctuations and strong currents within harbors and along beaches, causing extensive damage in a number of harbors and challenging emergency managers in coastal jurisdictions. Field personnel were deployed prior to each tsunami to observe and measure physical effects at the coast. Post-event survey teams and questionnaires were used to gather information from both a physical effects and emergency response perspective. During the 2010 tsunami, a maximum tsunami amplitude of 1.2 m was observed at Pismo Beach, and over $3-million worth of damage to boats and docks occurred in nearly a dozen harbors, most significantly in Santa Cruz, Ventura, Mission Bay, and northern Shelter Island in San Diego Bay. During the 2011 tsunami, the maximum amplitude was measured at 2.47 m in Crescent City Harbor with over $50-million in damage to two dozen harbors. Those most significantly affected were Crescent City, Noyo River, Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, and southern Shelter Island. During both events, people on docks and near the ocean became at risk to injury with one fatality occurring during the 2011 tsunami at the mouth of the Klamath River. Evaluations of maximum forecasted tsunami amplitudes indicate that the average percent error was 38 and 28 % for the 2010 and 2011 events, respectively. Due to these recent events, the California tsunami program is developing products that will help: (1) the maritime community better understand tsunami hazards within their harbors, as well as if and where boats should go offshore to be safe, and (2) emergency managers develop evacuation plans for relatively small “Warning” level events where extensive evacuation is not required. Because tsunami-induced currents were responsible for most of the damage in these two events, modeled current velocity estimates should be incorporated into future forecast products from the warning centers.

Description: Twenty-one papers on the 2011 Tohoku, Japan tsunami are included in Volume I of the PAGEOPH topical issue “Historical and Recent Catastrophic Tsunamis in the World.” Two papers discuss seismological aspects of the event with an emphasis on tsunami generation and warning. Five papers report the impacts and effects in Japan through field surveys of tsunami heights, building damage, and tsunami deposits or analysis of satellite data. Eight papers report the tsunami effects on other Pacific coasts, including the Kuril Islands, the USA, French Polynesia, the Galapagos Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. Three papers report on analyses of the instrumental records of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, and two more papers report their modelling efforts of the tsunami. Several of the above papers also compare the 2011 Tohoku and 2010 Chile tsunamis.

Description: On 11 March 2011, a moment magnitude M w  = 9.0 earthquake occurred off the Japan Tohoku coast causing catastrophic damage and loss of human lives. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, we conducted the reconnaissance survey in the city of Rikuzentakata, Japan. In comparison with three previous historical tsunamis impacting the same region, the 2011 event presented the largest values with respect to the tsunami height, the inundation area and the inundation distance. A representative tsunami height of 15 m was recorded in Rikuzentakata, with increased heights of 20 m around rocky headlands. In terms of the inundation area, the 2011 Tohoku tsunami exceeded by almost 2.6 times the area flooded by the 1960 Chilean tsunami, which ranks second among the four events compared. The maximum tsunami inundation distance was 8.1 km along the Kesen River, exceeding the 1933 Showa and 1960 Chilean tsunami inundations by factors of 6.2 and 2.7, respectively. The overland tsunami inundation distance was less than 2 km. The tsunami inundation height linearly decreased along the Kesen River at a rate of approximately 1 m/km. Nevertheless, the measured inland tsunami heights exhibit significant variations on local and regional scales. A designated “tsunami control forest” planted with a cross-shore width of about 200 m along a 2 km stretch of Rikuzentakata coastline was completely overrun and failed to protect the local community during this extreme event. Similarly, many designated tsunami shelters were too low and were overwashed by tsunami waves, thereby failing to provide shelter for evacuees—a risk that had been underestimated.

Description: The tsunami generated by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake ( M w  = 9.0) reached maximum heights of about 5 m along the coast of the Kuril Islands. The most essential feature of this event was sea ice about 0.5 m thick moved by the ocean water. The tsunami did not cause any essential damage on the Kuril Islands, but significantly affected coastal zones and produced interesting effects. The problem of a tsunami accompanied by marine ice is discussed and illustrated with photos.

Description: The M w  = 9.0 earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan’s Tohoku region produced a great tsunami causing catastrophic damage and loss of life. Within hours of the tsunami event, satellite data were readily available and massive media coverage immediately circulated thousands of photographs and videos of the tsunami. Satellite data allow a rapid assessment of inundated areas where access can be difficult either as a result of damaged infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, ports, airports) or because of safety issues (e.g., the hazard at Nuclear Power Plant at Fukushima). In this study, we assessed in a day tsunami inundation distances and runup heights using satellite data (very high-resolution satellite images from the GeoEye1 satellite and from the DigitalGlobe worldview, SRTM and ASTER GDEM) of the Tohoku region, Northeast Japan. Field survey data by Japanese and other international scientists validated our results. This study focused on three different locations. Site selection was based on coastal morphologies and the distance to the tsunami source (epicenter). Study sites are Rikuzentakata, Oyagawahama, and Yagawahama in the Oshika Peninsula, and the Sendai coastal plain (Sendai City to Yamamoto City). Maximum inundation distance (6 km along the river) and maximum runup (39 m) at Rikuzentakata estimated from satellite data agree closely with the 39.7 m inundation reported in the field. Here the ria coastal morphology and horn shaped bay enhanced the tsunami runup and effects. The Sendai coastal plain shows large inundation distances (6 km) and lower runup heights. Natori City and Wakabayashi Ward, on the Sendai plain, have similar runup values (12 and 16 m, respectively) obtained from SRTM data; these are comparable to those obtained from field surveys (12 and 9.5 m). However, at Yagawahama and Oyagawahama, Miyagi Prefecture, both SRTM and ASTER data provided maximum runup heights (41 to 45 m and 33 to 34 m, respectively), which are higher than those measured in the field (about 27 m). This difference in DEM and field data is associated with ASTER and SRTM DEM’s pixel size and vertical accuracy, the latter being dependent on ground coverage, slope, aspect and elevation. Countries with less access to technology and infrastructure can benefit from the use of satellite imagery and freely available DEMs for an initial, pre-field surveys, rapid estimate of inundated areas, distances and runup, and for assisting in hazard management and mitigation after a natural disaster.

Description: During the devastating 11 March 2011 Japanese tsunami, data from two tsunami detectors were used to determine the tsunami source within 1.5 h of earthquake origin time. For the first time, multiple near-field tsunami measurements of the 2011 Japanese tsunami were used to demonstrate the accuracy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) real-time flooding forecast system in the far field. To test the accuracy of the same forecast system in the near field, a total of 11 numerical models with grids telescoped to 2 arcsec (~60 m) were developed to hindcast the propagation and coastal inundation of the 2011 Japanese tsunami along the entire east coastline of Japan. Using the NOAA tsunami source computed in near real-time, the model results of tsunami propagation are validated with tsunami time series measured at different water depths offshore and near shore along Japan’s coastline. The computed tsunami runup height and spatial distribution are highly consistent with post-tsunami survey data collected along the Japanese coastline. The computed inundation penetration also agrees well with survey data, giving a modeling accuracy of 85.5 % for the inundation areas along 800 km of coastline between Ibaraki Prefecture (north of Kashima) and Aomori Prefecture (south of Rokkasho). The inundation model results highlighted the variability of tsunami impact in response to different offshore bathymetry and flooded terrain. Comparison of tsunami sources inferred from different indirect methods shows the crucial importance of deep-ocean tsunami measurements for real-time tsunami forecasts. The agreement between model results and observations along Japan’s coastline demonstrate the ability and potential of NOAA’s methodology for real-time near-field tsunami flooding forecasts. An accurate tsunami flooding forecast within 30 min may now be possible using the NOAA forecast methodology with carefully placed tsunameters and large-scale high-resolution inundation models with powerful computing capabilities.

Description: Tsunamis waves caused by submarine earthquake or landslide might contain large wave energy, which could cause significant human loss and property damage locally as well as in distant region. The response of three harbors located at the Pacific coast (i.e. Crescent City Harbor, Los Angeles/Long Beach Port, and San Diego Harbor) to six well-known tsunamis events generated (both near-field and far-field) between 2005 and 2011 are examined and simulated using a hybrid finite element numerical model in frequency domain. The model incorporated the effects of wave refraction, wave diffraction, partial wave reflection from boundaries, entrance and bottom energy dissipation. It can be applied to harbor regions with arbitrary shapes and variable water depth. The computed resonant periods or modes of oscillation for three harbors are in good agreement with the energy spectral analysis of the time series of water surface elevations recorded at tide gauge stations inside three harbors during the six tsunamis events. The computed wave induced currents based on the present model are also in qualitative agreement with some of the reported eye-witness accounts absence of reliable current data. The simulated results show that each harbor responded differently and significantly amplified certain wave period(s) of incident wave trains according to the shape, topography, characteristic dimensions and water depth of the harbor basins.

Description: The 11 March 2011 East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami caused unprecedented damage to well-engineered buildings and coastal structures. This report presents some notable field observations of structural damage based on our surveys conducted along the Sanriku coast in April and June 2011. Engineered reinforced concrete buildings failed by rotation due to the high-velocity and deep tsunami inundation: entrapped air in the buildings and soil liquefaction by ground shaking could have contributed to the failure. The spatial distribution pattern of destroyed and survived buildings indicates that the strength of tsunami was affected significantly by the locations of well-engineered sturdy buildings: weaker buildings in the shadow zone tended to survive while jet and wake formations behind the sturdy buildings enhanced the tsunami forces. We also found that buildings with breakaway walls or breakaway windows/doors remained standing even if the surrounding buildings were washed away or destroyed. Several failure patterns of coastal structures (seawalls) were observed. Flow-induced suction pressure near the seawall crown could have caused the failure of concrete panels that covered the infill. Remarkable destruction of upright solid-concrete type seawalls was closely related with the tsunami induced scour and soil instability. The rapid decrease in inundation depth during the return-flow phase caused soil fluidization down to a substantial depth. This mechanism explains severely undermined roads and foundations observed in the area of low flow velocities.

Description: In this study we analyze water level data from coastal tide gauges and deep-ocean tsunameters to explore the far-field characteristics of two major trans-Pacific tsunamis, the 2010 Chile and the 2011 Japan (Tohoku-oki) events. We focused our attention on data recorded in California (14 stations) and New Zealand (31 stations) as well as on tsunameters situated along the tsunami path and proximal to the study sites. Our analysis considers statistical analyses of the time series to determine arrival times of the tsunami as well as the timing of the largest waves and the highest absolute sea levels. Fourier and wavelet analysis were used to describe the spectral content of the tsunami signal. These characteristics were then compared between the two events to highlight similarities and differences between the signals as a function of the receiving environment and the tsunami source. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of far-field tsunami characteristics in the Pacific Ocean, which has not experienced a major tsunami in nearly 50 years. As such, it systematically describes the tsunami response characteristics of modern maritime infrastructure in New Zealand and California and will be of value for future tsunami hazard assessments in both countries.

Description: The accumulation of data sets of past tsunamis is the most basic but reliable way to prepare for future tsunamis because the frequency of tsunami occurrence and their magnitude can be estimated by historical records of tsunamis. Investigation of tsunami deposits preserved in geological layers is an effective measure to understand ancient tsunamis that occurred before historical records began. However, the areas containing tsunami deposits can be narrower than the area of tsunami inundation, thus resulting in underestimation of the magnitude of past tsunamis. A field survey was conducted after the 2010 Chile tsunami and 2011 Japan tsunami to investigate the chemical properties of the tsunami-inundated soil to examine the applicability of tsunami inundation surveys considering water-soluble salts in soil. The soil and tsunami deposits collected in the tsunami-inundated areas are rich in water-soluble ions (Na + , Mg 2+ , Cl − , Br − and SO 4 2− ) compared with the samples collected in the non-inundated areas. The analytical result that the ratios of Na + , Mg 2+ , Br − and SO 4 2− to Cl − are nearly the same in the tsunami deposits and in the tsunami-inundated soil suggests that the deposition of these ions resulting from the tsunami inundation does not depend on whether or not tsunami deposits exist. Discriminant analysis of the tsunami-inundated areas using the ion contents shows the high applicability of these ions to the detection of tsunami inundation during periods when the amount of rainfall is limited. To examine the applicability of this method to palaeotsunamis, the continuous monitoring of water-soluble ions in tsunami-inundated soil is needed as a future study.

Description: We studied the 11 March 2011 Tohoku tsunami through analysis of the sea level records from 21 tide gauge and 16 DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) stations from across the Pacific Ocean. The extreme power of this trans-oceanic tsunami was indicated by the trough-to-crest heights of 3.03 m at Arena Cove on the western coast of the USA and 3.94 m at Coquimbo on the southern coast of Chile. The average value of the maximum amplitude was 163.9 cm for the examined tide gauge records. At many coastal tide gauge stations the largest wave arrived several hours after the first arrival of the tsunami wave, and the tsunami lasted for a long time with an average duration of 4 days. On the contrary, at most of the DART stations in the deep ocean, the first wave was the largest, the tsunami amplitudes were smaller with an average maximum of 51.2 cm, and the durations were shorter with an average of 2 days. The two dominant tsunami periods on the DART records were 37 and 67.4 min, which are possibly attributed to the width and length of the tsunami source fault, respectively. The dimensions of the tsunami source was estimated as 233 km × 424 km. Wavelet analyses of tide gauge and DART records showed that most of the tsunami energy was distributed at the wide period band of around 10–80 min during the first hour after the tsunami arrival, then it was concentrated in a relatively narrower band. The frequency-time plots showed the switches and lapses of tsunami energy at the 35- and 65-min period bands.

Description: Cracks play a very important role in many geotechnical issues and in a number of processes in the Earth’s crust. Elastic waves can be used as a remote sensing tool for determining crack density. The effect of varying crack density in crystalline rock on the P- and S-wave velocity and dynamic elastic properties under confining pressure has been quantified. The evolution of P- and S-wave velocity were monitored as a suite of dry Westerly granite samples were taken to 60, 70, 80 and 90 % of the unconfined uniaxial strength of the sample. The damaged samples were then subjected to hydrostatic confining pressure from 2 MPa to 200 MPa to quantify the effect of varying crack density on the P- and S-wave velocity and elastic properties under confining pressure. The opening and propagation of microcracks predominantly parallel to the loading direction during uniaxial loading caused a 0.5 and 6.3 % decrease in the P- and S-wave velocity, respectively. During hydrostatic loading, microcracks are closed at 130 MPa confining pressure. At lower pressures the amount of crack damage in the samples has a small but measureable effect. We observed a systematic 6 and 4 % reduction in P- and S-wave velocity, respectively, due to an increase in the fracture density at 2 MPa confining pressure. The overall reduction in the P- and S-wave velocity decreased to 2 and 1 %, respectively, at 50 MPa. The elastic wave velocities of samples that have a greater amount of microcrack damage are more sensitive to pressure. Effective medium modelling was used to invert elastic wave velocities and infer crack density evolution. Comparing the crack density results with experimental data on Westerly granite samples shows that the effective medium modelling used gave interpretable and reasonable results. Changes in crack density can be interpreted as closure or opening of cracks and crack growth.

Description: In mining and civil engineering projects, physico-mechanical properties of the rock affect both the project design and the construction operation. Determination of various physico-mechanical properties of rocks is expensive and time consuming, and sometimes it is very difficult to get cores to perform direct tests to evaluate the rock mass. The purpose of this work is to investigate the relationships between the different physico-mechanical properties of the various rock types with the P-wave velocity. Measurement of P-wave velocity is relatively cheap, non-destructive and easy to carry out. In this study, representative rock mass samples of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks were collected from the different locations of India to obtain an empirical relation between P-wave velocity and uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, punch shear, density, slake durability index, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, impact strength index and Schmidt hammer rebound number. A very strong correlation was found between the P-wave velocity and different physico-mechanical properties of various rock types with very high coefficients of determination. To check the sensitivity of the empirical equations, Students t test was also performed, which confirmed the validity of the proposed correlations.

Description: Variation of atmospheric thermodynamical structure parameters between days of thunderstorm occurrence and non-occurrence is presented based on data sets obtained during Severe Thunderstorm-Observations and Regional Modeling (STORM) experiments conducted over Kharagpur (22.3°N, 87.2°E) in pre-monsoon season of 2009 and 2010. Potential instability (stable to neutral) is noticed in the lower layers and enhanced (suppressed) convection in the middle troposphere during thunderstorm (non-thunderstorm) days. Low-level jets are observed during all days of the experimental period but with higher intensity on thunderstorm days. Convective available potential energy (CAPE) builds up until thunderstorm occurrence and becomes dissipated soon after, whereas convective inhibition (CIN) is greatly decreased prior to the event on thunderstorm days. In contrast, higher CAPE and CIN are noticed on non-thunderstorm days. Analysis of thermodynamic indices showed that indices including moisture [humidity index (HI) and dew point temperature at 850 hPa (DPT850)] are useful in differentiating thunderstorm from non-thunderstorm days. The present study reveals that significant moisture availability in the lower troposphere in the presence of convective instability conditions results in thunderstorm occurrence at Kharagpur.

Description: The failure of brittle materials, for example glasses and rock masses, is commonly observed to be discontinuous. It is, however, difficult to simulate these phenomena by use of conventional numerical simulation methods, for example the finite difference method or the finite element method, because of the presence of computational grids or elements artificially introduced before the simulation. It is, therefore, important for research on such discontinuous failures in science and engineering to analyze the phenomena seamlessly. This study deals with the coupled simulation of elastic wave propagation and failure phenomena by use of a moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method. It is simple to model the objects of analysis because no grid or lattice structure is necessary. In addition, lack of a grid or lattice structure makes it simple to simulate large deformations and failure phenomena at the same time. We first compare analytical and MPS solutions by use of Lamb’s problem with different offset distances, material properties, and source frequencies. Our results show that analytical and numerical seismograms are in good agreement with each other for 20 particles in a minimum wavelength. Finally, we focus our attention on the Hopkinson effect as an example of failure induced by elastic wave propagation. In the application of the MPS, the algorithm is basically the same as in the previous calculation except for the introduction of a failure criterion. The failure criterion applied in this study is that particle connectivity must be disconnected when the distance between the particles exceeds a failure threshold. We applied the developed algorithm to a suspended specimen that was modeled as a long bar consisting of thousands of particles. A compressional wave in the bar is generated by an abrupt pressure change on one edge. The compressional wave propagates along the interior of the specimen and is visualized clearly. At the other end of the bar, the spalling of the bar is reproduced numerically, and a broken piece of the bar is formed and falls away from the main body of the bar. Consequently, these results show that the MPS method effectively reproduces wave propagation and failure phenomena at the same time.

Description: We present two new potential-inversion methods for estimating the depth and the nature (structural index) of the source, which use various combinations of different forms of local wavenumbers and the information about the horizontal location to estimate individually the depth and the nature of a magnetic source. The improved local wavenumber methods only use the horizontal offset and vertical offset of local wavenumbers to estimate the depth and the structural index of the source, so they yield more stable results compared with the results obtained by current methods that require the derivatives of local wavenumbers. Tests conducted with synthetic noise-free and noise-corrupted magnetic data show that the proposed methods can successfully estimate the depth and the nature of the geologic body. However, our methods are sensitive to high-wavenumber noise present in the data, and we reduced the noise effect by upward continuing the noise-corrupted magnetic data. The practical application of the new methods is tested on a real magnetic anomaly over a dike whose source parameters are known and the inversion results are consistent with the true values.

Description: Enhancement on the edges of the causative source is an indispensable tool in the interpretation of potential-field data. There are a number of methods for recognizing the edges, most of which involve high-pass filters based on derivatives of potential-field data. A new edge-detection method is presented, called the enhanced mathematical morphology (EMM) filter. The EMM filter uses the ratio of the erosion of the total horizontal derivative to the dilation of total horizontal derivative to recognize the edges of the sources, and can display the edges of the shallow and deep bodies simultaneously. The EMM filter does not require the computation of vertical derivatives, which makes this method computationally stable. The EMM filter is tested on synthetic and real potential field data in China. Compared to other edge-detection filters, the new method is able to recognize the source edges more clearly, and the outputs are more insensitive to noise.

Description: The deviatoric stress field are computed from the inversion of Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE) for the Indo-Eurasian plate collision region including the Himalaya and the Tibet Plateau. The resulting stress pattern in combination with stress and strain rates obtained by inverting, respectively, the focal mechanism solution of large earthquakes and GPS derived plate motions are used to study the nature of the present-day deformations. A narrow belt bordering the Himalayan collision zone from the south is characterized by strong compressive stresses. The variations in stress pattern along this belt coincide with arc-normal ridges extending into the Himalaya and are able to explain arc-parallel segmentation of seismicity. Gravitational collapse seems to play an important role in the southeastern Tibet Plateau. Depth sensitivity of the seismic derived stresses and GPS derived surface strain rates coupled with evidence of arcuate shaped high electrical conductivity favour strong ductile flow around the Eastern Himalaya Syntaxis (EHS) at mid-crustal depth. The deflection of crustal flow indicted by the viscous resistance offered by the rigid Sichuan basin adds to the traction stresses to cause clockwise rotation of the block around EHS.

Description: The underwater explosion (UWE) resulting in the sinking of the South Korean warship, ROKS Cheonan occurred on March 26 2010. Raw data was analyzed from several 3-component stations—Baengyeong-do Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) station (BAR), Ganghwa KMA station (GAHB), Incheon Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) station (INCN), the short-period station—Deokjeok-do KMA station (DEI), as well as from the seismo-acoustic array Baengyeong-do Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) station (BRDAR). The ROKS Cheonan incident has been investigated by both the Multinational Civilian-Military Joint Investigation Group (Ministry of National Defense, 2010 ) and Hong (Bull Seism Soc Am 101:1554–1562, 2011 ). Their respective methods and conclusions are also presented in this study. One of the main differences between their findings and ours is that we deducted that the fundamental bubble frequency was 1.01 Hz with a subsequent oscillation of 1.72 Hz. Also, in contrast to findings by the MCMJIG and Hong, our analysis shows the first reverberation frequency to be 8.5 Hz and the subsequent one to be ≈25 Hz. The TNT-equivalent charge weight (seismic yield) and seismic magnitude were estimated from an observed bubble frequency of 1.01 Hz and the analytical model of a bubble pulse. From the data analyzed, we deducted that the seismic yield would be about 136 kg of TNT, which is equivalent to the individual yield of a large number of land control mines (LCM) which were abandoned in the vicinity of the ROKS Cheonan incident by the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy in the 1970s (Ministry of National Defense 2010 ). Also, whereas both the MCMJIG and HONG estimated the local magnitude at 1.5, our findings came to the conclusion of a local magnitude of approximately 2.04 based on the bubble frequency of 1.01 Hz measured on the vertical component of BAR station data considering the empirical relationship between charge weight (TNT yield) and underwater explosion magnitude. Strong high-frequency signals collected at the 3-component BAR station approximately 30 s after P-wave arrivals and infrasound records at BRDAR clearly indicate powerful acoustic phases and N-waves caused by a relatively shallow UWE. T-phases are also observed on seismograms and spectra at 15–17 Hz on the DEI, GAHB, and INCN stations.

Description: To better understand the relationship between crustal heterogeneity and seismotectonics in the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi, India, we carried out local P- and S-velocity tomography beneath the NCR. First arrival times of the first P- and S-wave from 275 crustal earthquakes recorded by the Seismic Telemetry Network in and around Delhi of the India Meteorological Department, India, are inverted to obtain crustal P-, S-velocity and V P /V S variations in the region. Our tomographic images of the upper crust reflect well the surface geological and tectonic features. The Delhi fold belt is identified as low V P , high V S and low V P / V S . The Sohna hot spring region is appearing as low V P , low V S and high V P /V S correlating with the possible presence of fluid-filled rocks. The crustal seismicity is distributed in both the high- and low-velocity zones, but most distinctly in the low V P /V S region.

Description: The intensity scales in different forms provide valuable information on regional earthquake effects. In this paper, a theoretical model which has been developed recently for seismic intensity estimation is re-examined by employing strong motion records from ten Iranian earthquakes. The analysis results confirmed the capability of the implemented method to estimate the seismic intensity in terms of the MMI scale based on a Fourier spectrum in the study area. The predicted intensity values were compared with another technique utilizing peak ground velocity (PGV) as a predictor. To reveal the high potential of the adopted approach, the theoretical isoseismal map was developed for the 1978 Tabas, Iran earthquake (Mw = 7.4) based on a stochastic finite-fault modelling of ground motions. Results showed good compatibility of predicted intensity values while the historical earthquake records are not enough for a given site.

Description: We use the finite difference method to simulate seismic wavefields at broadband land and seafloor stations for a given terrestrial landslide source, where the seafloor stations are located at water depths of 1,900–4,300 m. Our simulation results for the landslide source explain observations well at the seafloor stations for a frequency range of 0.05–0.1 Hz. Assuming the epicenter to be located in the vicinity of a large submarine slump, we also model wavefields at the stations for a submarine landslide source. We detect propagation of the Airy phase with an apparent velocity of 0.7 km/s in association with the seawater layer and an accretionary prism for the vertical component of waveforms at the seafloor stations. This later phase is not detected when the structural model does not consider seawater. For the model incorporating the seawater, the amplitude of the vertical component at seafloor stations can be up to four times that for the model that excludes seawater; we attribute this to the effects of the seawater layer on the wavefields. We also find that the amplification of the waveform depends not only on the presence of the seawater layer but also on the thickness of the accretionary prism, indicating low amplitudes at the land stations and at seafloor stations located near the trough but high amplitudes at other stations, particularly those located above the thick prism off the trough. Ignoring these characteristic structures in the oceanic area and simply calculating the wavefields using the same structural model used for land areas would result in erroneous estimates of the size of the submarine landslide and the mechanisms underlying its generation. Our results highlight the importance of adopting a structural model that incorporates the 3D accretionary prism and seawater layer into the simulation in order to precisely evaluate seismic wavefields in seafloor areas.

Description: We analyzed the waveforms of the small- to moderate-sized earthquakes that took place in the northern part of the inner Isparta Angle (IA) to retrieve their source parameters and combine these results with the focal mechanism solutions of the larger events that occurred in 2007 in Eğirdir Lake at the apex of IA. In total, source mechanisms of 20 earthquakes within the magnitude range 3.5 〈  M  〈 5.0 were calculated using a regional moment tensor inversion technique. The inversion of the focal mechanisms yields an extensional regime with a NNE–SSW (N38°E) trending σ 3 axis. Inversion results are related to a mainly WNW–ESE oriented normal fault beneath Eğirdir Lake. The R value of a NNE–SSW extensional regime is 0.562 showing a triaxial stress state in the region. The current stress regime results from complex subduction processes such as slab pull, slab break-off, roll-back and/or retreating mechanism along the Hellenic and Cyprus arcs and the southwestward extrusion of the Anatolian block since the early Pliocene.