The 1723 AD violent Strombolian and phreatomagatic eruption at Irazu volcano (Costa Rica)

The largest of the recorded historic eruptions at Irazú volcano began on February 16, 1723 and lasted until at least December 11. We here critically examine deposits of this eruption exposed on the summit of Irazú. Our reconstruction of the eruption is based on the unique chronicle of the Spanish governor Diego de la Haya. The eruption began with a < 10 cm thick surge deposit of phreatic origin showing block sag structures. The deposit is overlain by 6 m-thick coarse-grained basaltic andesitic non-graded juvenile fallout tephra consisting of highly vesicular (22-59 vol.%) bombs and lapilli with minor hydrothermally altered lapilli (1-7 vol.%) and rare light colored andesitic vesicular lapilli (< 1%). These fallout deposits are interpreted as strombolian, possible generated during a short-lived scoria cone at the end of February 1723, dominate volumetrically in the proximal facies. Overlying <1.2 m thick phreatomagmatic deposits of fi nely laminated lapilli-bearing gray ash (fallout and surge deposits) some with contorted bedding and sag structures, are in turn overlain by a 1.2 m thick bed of ash matrix-rich bomb/block deposit. The 1723 eruption was accompanied by shallow volcano-tectonic earthquakes (Modifi ed Mercalli scale Intensity MMI VI-VII, magnitude ML ~5.5) that possibly facilitated magma/water interaction. Phenocrysts in the basaltic andesite (~53-55 wt.% SiO2) bombs comprise plagioclase (6.1-21.6 vol.%, An52-35), clinopyroxene (2.5-10 vol.%), orthopyroxene (0.7-2 vol.%), olivine (0.1-2.2 vol.%; Fo76-88) and Fe/Ti-oxides (0.1-1%), in a groundmass (66.5-90.3 vol. %), dominated by plagioclase (An69-54), clinopyroxene and opaques in brown and black glass with the same range of chemical composition (SiO2= 57-64 wt.%). Rare white pumiceous lapilli in the scoria deposits are high-K, hornblende andesite (SiO2: 58-60 wt.%), geochemically unrelated to the scoria deposits. Thus, two different magmas co-existing in the magma chamber were mingled shortly before, and during, the eruption, suggesting that the eruption was triggered by magma mingling between hornblende andesite and basaltic andesite magma

All-Solid-State Batteries Using Rationally Designed Garnet Electrolyte Frameworks

Functioning bulk-type all-solid-state batteries in a practical form factor with composite positive electrodes, using Al-substituted Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) as the solid electrolyte, have been demonstrated for the first time. The devices incorporate bilayers composed of dense LLZO membranes and porous LLZO scaffolds infiltrated with LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 and other components as positive electrodes, combined with lithium anodes. The porous scaffolds are prepared using an easily scaled freeze-tape-casting method. The unidirectional pores of the scaffold facilitate infiltration of cathode components and shorten lithium ion diffusion path lengths, while the addition of a soft ionically conductive solid to the scaffold ensures good contact among the components

Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure on the shallow part of the Central Costa Rican Pacific margin from local earthquake tomography using off- and onshore networks

The Central Costa Rican Pacific margin is characterized by a high-seismicity rate, coincident with the subduction of rough-relief ocean floor and has generated earthquakes with magnitude up to seven in the past. We inverted selected P-wave traveltimes from earthquakes recorded by a combined on- and offshore seismological array deployed during 6 months in the area, simultaneously determining hypocentres and the 3-D tomographic velocity structure on the shallow part of the subduction zone (<70 km). The results reflect the complexity associated to subduction of ocean-floor morphology and the transition from normal to thickened subducting oceanic crust. The subducting slab is imaged as a high-velocity perturbation with a band of low velocities (LVB) on top encompassing the intraslab seismicity deeper than ∼30 km. The LVB is locally thickened by the presence of at least two subducted seamounts beneath the margin wedge. There is a general eastward widening of the LVB over a relatively short distance, closely coinciding with the onset of an inverted forearc basin onshore and the appearance of an aseismic low-velocity anomaly beneath the inner forearc. The latter coincides spatially with an area of the subaerial forearc where differential uplift of blocks has been described, suggesting tectonic underplating of eroded material against the base of the upper plate crust. Alternatively, the low velocities could be induced by an accumulation of upward migrating fluids. Other observed velocity perturbations are attributed to several processes taking place at different depths, such as slab hydration through outer rise faulting, tectonic erosion and slab dehydratio

Analog simulator of integro-differential equations with classical memristors

An analog computer makes use of continuously changeable quantities of a system, such as its electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic properties, to solve a given problem. While these devices are usually computationally more powerful than their digital counterparts, they suffer from analog noise which does not allow for error control. We will focus on analog computers based on active electrical networks comprised of resistors, capacitors, and operational amplifiers which are capable of simulating any linear ordinary differential equation. However, the class of nonlinear dynamics they can solve is limited. In this work, by adding memristors to the electrical network, we show that the analog computer can simulate a large variety of linear and nonlinear integro-differential equations by carefully choosing the conductance and the dynamics of the memristor state variable. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that circuits based on memristors are proposed for simulations. We study the performance of these analog computers by simulating integro-differential models related to fluid dynamics, nonlinear Volterra equations for population growth, and quantum models describing non-Markovian memory effects, among others. Finally, we perform stability tests by considering imperfect analog components, obtaining robust solutions with up to $13\%$ relative error for relevant timescales

Effects of passion, experience, and cultural politics on classical musicians’ practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

The widespread cancelation of cultural events during the early 2020 stages of the COVID-19 pandemic led professional performing musicians across the world to experience an increasing economic fragility that threatened their health and wellbeing. Within this “new normal,” developing countries have been at a higher risk due to their vulnerable health systems and cultural policies. Even in such difficult times, the music profession requires musicians to keep up their practicing routines, even if they have no professional commitments. This is because high level technical and expressive skills are crucial to sustaining a music career at a high performance level. However, it could be expected that not all musicians might have had the same engagement with music practice during lockdowns. In this study, we studied the experiences of 309 professional classical musicians based in European and Latin American countries with different levels of performing experience to examine their passionate (or lack thereof) engagement with music practice. Through the mixed methods combination of multigroup invariance and narrative analyses, we identified distinct profiles of musicians who displayed more harmonious or more obsessive passion orientations before and at the peak of the pandemic. We observed that musicians with higher levels of harmonious passion in particular were more capable of sustaining their practice at the peak of the pandemic and that these musicians were mostly located in Latin America—a paradox, considering that cultural politics supporting the careers of professional performing musicians and entrepreneurial education in Latin America are lacking to a great extent, especially in comparison with the European context. We explain this in terms of the “forced” self-management embraced by musicians in Latin American countries who want to engage with music practice both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic even if the music profession does not generate enough revenue for them

Central American Subduction System

Workshop to Integrate Subduction Factory and Seismogenic Zone Studies in Central America, Heredia, Costa Rica, 18–22 June 2007 The driving force for great earthquakes and the cycling of water and climate-influencing volatiles (carbon dioxide, sulfur, halogens) across the convergent margin of Central America have been a focus of international efforts for over 8 years, as part of the MARGINS program of the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Collaborative Research Center (SFB 574) of the German Science Foundation, and the Central American science community. Over 120 scientists and students from 10 countries met in Costa Rica to synthesize this intense effort spanning from land to marine geological and geophysical studies