Decoding the origins of vertical land motions observed today at coasts

In recent decades, geodetic techniques have allowed detecting vertical land motions and sea-level changes of a few millimetres per year, based on measurements taken at the coast (tide gauges), on board of satellite platforms (satellite altimetry) or both (Global Navigation Satellite System). Here, contemporary vertical land motions are analysed from January 1993 to July 2013 at 849 globally distributed coastal sites. The vertical displacement of the coastal platform due to surface mass changes is modelled using elastic and viscoelastic Green's functions. Special attention is paid to the effects of glacial isostatic adjustment induced by past and present-day ice melting. Various rheological and loading parameters are explored to provide a set of scenarios that could explain the coastal observations of vertical land motions globally. In well-instrumented regions, predicted vertical land motions explain more than 80 per cent of the variance observed at scales larger than a few hundred kilometres. Residual vertical land motions show a strong local variability, especially in the vicinity of plate boundaries due to the earthquake cycle. Significant residual signals are also observed at scales of a few hundred kilometres over nine well-instrumented regions forming observation windows on unmodelled geophysical processes. This study highlights the potential of our multitechnique database to detect geodynamical processes, driven by anthropogenic influence, surface mass changes (surface loading and glacial isostatic adjustment) and tectonic activity (including the earthquake cycle, sediment and volcanic loading, as well as regional tectonic constraints). Future improvements should be aimed at densifying the instrumental network and at investigating more thoroughly the uncertainties associated with glacial isostatic adjustment models.This research benefited from financial support from the CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France) through the TOSCA committee fellowship and from the European Research Council within the framework of the SP2-Ideas Program ERC-2013-CoG, under ERC Grant agreement number 617588. GS is supported by a DiSPeA research grant (CUP H32I160000000005) and by Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA 2013/B2.06, CUP D32I14000230005). AM was supported by an Australian Research Council Super Science Fellowship (FS110200045)

A new MRI rating scale for progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy: validity and reliability

AIM To evaluate a standardised MRI acquisition protocol and a new image rating scale for disease severity in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple systems atrophy (MSA) in a large multicentre study. METHODS The MRI protocol consisted of two-dimensional sagittal and axial T1, axial PD, and axial and coronal T2 weighted acquisitions. The 32 item ordinal scale evaluated abnormalities within the basal ganglia and posterior fossa, blind to diagnosis. Among 760 patients in the study population (PSP = 362, MSA = 398), 627 had per protocol images (PSP = 297, MSA = 330). Intra-rater (n = 60) and inter-rater (n = 555) reliability were assessed through Cohen's statistic, and scale structure through principal component analysis (PCA) (n = 441). Internal consistency and reliability were checked. Discriminant and predictive validity of extracted factors and total scores were tested for disease severity as per clinical diagnosis. RESULTS Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were acceptable for 25 (78%) of the items scored (≥ 0.41). PCA revealed four meaningful clusters of covarying parameters (factor (F) F1: brainstem and cerebellum; F2: midbrain; F3: putamen; F4: other basal ganglia) with good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α 0.75-0.93) and moderate to excellent reliability (intraclass coefficient: F1: 0.92; F2: 0.79; F3: 0.71; F4: 0.49). The total score significantly discriminated for disease severity or diagnosis; factorial scores differentially discriminated for disease severity according to diagnosis (PSP: F1-F2; MSA: F2-F3). The total score was significantly related to survival in PSP (p<0.0007) or MSA (p<0.0005), indicating good predictive validity. CONCLUSIONS The scale is suitable for use in the context of multicentre studies and can reliably and consistently measure MRI abnormalities in PSP and MSA. Clinical Trial Registration Number The study protocol was filed in the open clinical trial registry (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov) with ID No NCT00211224

Decadal geodetic variations in Ny-Alesund (Svalbard): role of past and present ice-mass changes

The geodetic rates for the gravity variation and vertical uplift in polar regions subject to past and present-day ice-mass changes (PDIMCs) provide important insight into the rheological structure of the Earth. We provide an update of the rates observed at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. To do so, we extract and remove the significant seasonal content from the observations. The rate of gravity variations, derived from absolute and relative gravity measurements, is −1.39 ± 0.11 μGal yr−1. The rate of vertical displacements is estimated using GPS and tide gauge measurements. We obtain 7.94 ± 0.21 and 8.29 ± 1.60 mm yr−1, respectively. We compare the extracted signal with that predicted by GLDAS/Noah and ERA-interim hydrology models. We find that the seasonal gravity variations are well-represented by local hydrology changes contained in the ERA-interim model. The phase of seasonal vertical displacements are due to non-local continental hydrology and non-tidal ocean loading. However, a large part of the amplitude of the seasonal vertical displacements remains unexplained. The geodetic rates are used to investigate the asthenosphere viscosity and lithosphere/asthenosphere thicknesses. We first correct the updated geodetic rates for those induced by PDIMCs in Svalbard, using published results, and the sea level change due to the melting of the major ice reservoirs. We show that the latter are at the level of the geodetic rate uncertainties and are responsible for rates of gravity variations and vertical displacements of −0.29 ± 0.03 μGal yr−1 and 1.11 ± 0.10 mm yr−1, respectively. To account for the late Pleistocene deglaciation, we use the global ice evolution model ICE-3G. The Little Ice Age (LIA) deglaciation in Svalbard is modelled using a disc load model with a simple linear temporal evolution. The geodetic rates at Ny-Ålesund induced by the past deglaciations depend on the viscosity structure of the Earth. We find that viscous relaxation time due to the LIA deglaciation in Svalbard is more than 60 times shorter than that due to the Pleistocene deglaciation. We also find that the response to past and PDIMCs of an Earth model with asthenosphere viscosities ranging between 1.0 and 5.5 × 1018 Pa s and lithosphere (resp. asthenosphere) thicknesses ranging between 50 and 100 km (resp. 120 and 170 km) can explain the rates derived from geodetic observations

Non-linear motions of Australian geodetic stations induced by non-tidal ocean loading and the passage of tropical cyclones

We investigate daily and sub-daily non-tidal oceanic and atmospheric loading (NTOAL) in the Australian region and put an upper bound on potential site motion examining the effects of tropical cyclone Yasi that crossed the Australian coast in January/February 2011. The dynamic nature of the ocean is important, particularly for northern Australia where the long-term scatter due to daily and sub-daily oceanic changes increases by 20–55 % compared to that estimated using the inverted barometer (IB) assumption. Correcting the daily Global Positioning System (GPS) time series for NTOAL employing either a dynamic ocean model or the IB assumption leads to a reduction of up to 52 % in the weighted scatter of daily coordinate estimates. Differences between the approaches are obscured by seasonal variations in the GPS precision along the northern coast. Two compensating signals during the cyclone require modelling at high spatial and temporal resolution: uplift induced by the atmospheric depression, and subsidence induced by storm surge. The latter dominates (>135%) the combined net effect that reaches a maximum of 14 mm, and 10 mm near the closest GPS site TOW2. Here, 96 % of the displacement is reached within 15 h due to the rapid transit of cyclones and the quasi-linear nature of the coastline. Consequently, estimating sub-daily NTOAL is necessary to properly account for such a signal that can be 3.5 times larger than its daily-averaged value. We were unable to detect the deformation signal in 2-hourly GPS processing and show that seasonal noise in the Austral summer dominates and precludes GPS detection of the cyclone-related subsidence

POD-Spectral Decomposition for Fluid Flow Analysis and Model Reduction

Abstract We propose an algorithm that combines Proper Orthogonal Decomposition with a spectral method to analyse and extract from time data series of velocity fields, reduced order models of flows. The flows considered in this study are assumed to be driven by non linear dynamical systems exhibiting a complex behavior within quasi-periodic orbits in the phase space. The technique is appropiate to achieve efficient reduced order models even in complex cases for which the flow description requires a discretization with a fine spatial and temporal resolution. The proposed analysis enables to decompose complex flow dynamics into modes oscillating at a single frequency. These modes are associated with different energy levels and spatial structures. The approach is illustrated using time resolved PIV data of a cylinder wake flow with associated Reynolds number equal to 3900

Revisiting the brightness constraint: Probabilistic formulation and algorithms

Abstract. In this paper we introduce a principled approach to modeling the image brightness constraint for optical flow algorithms. Using a simple noise model, we derive a probabilistic representation for optical flow. This representation subsumes existing approaches to flow modeling, provides insights into the behaviour and limitations of existing methods and leads to modified algorithms that outperform other approaches that use the brightness constraint. Based on this representation we develop algorithms for flow estimation using different smoothness assumptions, namely constant and affine flow. Experiments on standard data sets demonstrate the superiority of our approach.