A warning against over-interpretation of seasonal signals measured by the Global Navigation Satellite System

International audienc

Territoire et énergie : politiques locales, échelles d'intervention et instruments de mobilisation, de connaissance et d'action

The thesis is about French local authorities' energy policies, and more particularly about regional policies. In a context of reassessment of fossil fuel-based energy systems, local authorities have a key role to play. Indeed, energy systems are complex and require to act locally, in order to keep fair access for consumers and to adapt supply to needs and uses. In the same way, environmental constraints and sustainable exploitation of local resources involve to have a good knowledge of territory and of local energy potential. But, local authorities do not know much about boundaries and about components of territorial energy systems. The main purpose of the thesis is to determine structure and behaviour of these energy systems in order to identify public policy incentive levers at local scale.The first part of the thesis deals with the links between land uses, actors' behaviours, political choices and energy consumptions. Here, we point out the specific interest of geography and territorial approach to treat energy issue, both for land planning and for actors' mobilization. In the second part, we identify policy instruments which local authorities should dispose and actions they should implement in order to develop energy saving and renewables. Then, the third part is more specific to regional level. The analysis of two French planning instruments (Regional Plans for Climate, Air and Energy and Regional Energy Observatories), shows the interest of this scale which could, with its position between national and local levels, contribute to improve knowledge of territories, to coordinate local actions and to develop energy policies adapted to local specificities.La thèse est consacrée aux politiques énergétiques mises en place par les autorités locales, plus particulièrement au niveau régional. La remise en question des systèmes énergétiques basés sur les énergies fossiles donne aux échelons locaux un rôle de plus en plus important dans ce domaine. En effet, la complexité des systèmes énergétiques impose d'agir au plus près des consommateurs pour maintenir l'équité d'accès et pour adapter la distribution aux besoins et usages. En parallèle, les contraintes environnementales et la recherche d'une exploitation plus raisonnée des ressources disponibles nécessitent une connaissance fine des territoires et de leurs potentialités énergétiques. Dans ce contexte, les autorités locales ont encore du mal à identifier l'ensemble des éléments qui composent les systèmes énergétiques territoriaux et à cerner les contours de ces derniers. L'enjeu essentiel de notre recherche est alors de déterminer leur structure et leur fonctionnement afin de mettre en évidence des leviers institutionnels pouvant être actionnés au niveau local dans le cadre de politiques énergétiques.La première partie de la thèse s'intéresse aux liens existant entre fonctionnement du territoire et problématique énergétique. Nous montrons l'intérêt spécifique de la géographie et de l'approche territoriale pour éclairer cette relation dans la double perspective de l'aménagement du territoire et de la mobilisation des acteurs. La deuxième partie est consacrée à l'identification des instruments mobilisables et actions réalisables par les autorités locales pour maîtriser les consommations et développer les énergies renouvelables. À partir de ces constats, la troisième partie traite plus spécifiquement de l'échelon régional. L'étude des Schémas régionaux du climat, de l'air et de l'énergie (SRCAE) et des Observatoires régionaux de l'énergie montre l'intérêt de ce niveau d'échelle qui peut, par sa position d'interface entre local et global, contribuer efficacement à l'amélioration de la connaissance des territoires. Celle-ci est indispensable à la mise en place d'actions coordonnées entre les acteurs et à l'élaboration de politiques réellement adaptées aux spécificités locales

Using the TEI as a pivot format for oral and multimodal language corpora

International audiencePresentation of the work of the GT2 team of the Consortium IRCOM.The goal of the project is to be able to convert classic oral transcription tools in the TEI format

Constraints on Transient Viscoelastic Rheology of the Asthenosphere From Seasonal Deformation

We discuss the constraints on short‐term asthenospheric viscosity provided by seasonal deformation of the Earth. We use data from 195 globally distributed continuous Global Navigation Satellite System stations. Surface loading is derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment and used as an input to predict geodetic displacements. We compute Green's functions for surface displacements for a purely elastic spherical reference Earth model and for viscoelastic Earth models. We show that a range of transient viscoelastic rheologies derived to explain the early phase of postseismic deformation may induce a detectable effect on the phase and amplitude of horizontal displacements induced by seasonal loading at long wavelengths (1,300–4,000 km). By comparing predicted and observed seasonal horizontal motion, we conclude that transient asthenospheric viscosity cannot be lower than 5 × 10^(17) Pa.s, suggesting that low values of transient asthenospheric viscosities reported in some postseismic studies cannot hold for the seasonal deformation global average

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth Toward a Global Horizontal and Vertical Elastic Load Deformation Model Derived from GRACE and GNSS Station Position Time Series

International audienceWe model surface displacements induced by variations in continental water, atmospheric pressure, and nontidal oceanic loading, derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) for spherical harmonic degrees two and higher. As they are not observable by GRACE, we use at first the degree-1 spherical harmonic coefficients from Swenson et al. (2008, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005338). We compare the predicted displacements with the position time series of 689 globally distributed continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations. While GNSS vertical displacements are well explained by the model at a global scale, horizontal displacements are systematically underpredicted and out of phase with GNSS station position time series. We then reestimate the degree 1 deformation field from a comparison between our GRACE-derived model, with no a priori degree 1 loads, and the GNSS observations. We show that this approach reconciles GRACE-derived loading displacements and GNSS station position time series at a global scale, particularly in the horizontal components. Assuming that they reflect surface loading deformation only, our degree-1 estimates can be translated into geocenter motion time series. We also address and assess the impact of systematic errors in GNSS station position time series at the Global Positioning System (GPS) draconitic period and its harmonics on the comparison between GNSS and GRACE-derived annual displacements. Our results confirm that surface mass redistributions observed by GRACE, combined with an elastic spherical and layered Earth model, can be used to provide first-order corrections for loading deformation observed in both horizontal and vertical components of GNSS station position time series

Convergence rate across the Nepal Himalaya and interseismic coupling on the Main Himalayan Thrust: Implications for seismic hazard

We document geodetic strain across the Nepal Himalaya using GPS times series from 30 stations in Nepal and southern Tibet, in addition to previously published campaign GPS points and leveling data and determine the pattern of interseismic coupling on the Main Himalayan Thrust fault (MHT). The noise on the daily GPS positions is modeled as a combination of white and colored noise, in order to infer secular velocities at the stations with consistent uncertainties. We then locate the pole of rotation of the Indian plate in the ITRF 2005 reference frame at longitude = − 1.34° ± 3.31°, latitude = 51.4° ± 0.3° with an angular velocity of Ω = 0.5029 ± 0.0072°/Myr. The pattern of coupling on the MHT is computed on a fault dipping 10° to the north and whose strike roughly follows the arcuate shape of the Himalaya. The model indicates that the MHT is locked from the surface to a distance of approximately 100 km down dip, corresponding to a depth of 15 to 20 km. In map view, the transition zone between the locked portion of the MHT and the portion which is creeping at the long term slip rate seems to be at the most a few tens of kilometers wide and coincides with the belt of midcrustal microseismicity underneath the Himalaya. According to a previous study based on thermokinematic modeling of thermochronological and thermobarometric data, this transition seems to happen in a zone where the temperature reaches 350°C. The convergence between India and South Tibet proceeds at a rate of 17.8 ± 0.5 mm/yr in central and eastern Nepal and 20.5 ± 1 mm/yr in western Nepal. The moment deficit due to locking of the MHT in the interseismic period accrues at a rate of 6.6 ± 0.4 × 10^(19) Nm/yr on the MHT underneath Nepal. For comparison, the moment released by the seismicity over the past 500 years, including 14 M_W ≥ 7 earthquakes with moment magnitudes up to 8.5, amounts to only 0.9 × 10^(19) Nm/yr, indicating a large deficit of seismic slip over that period or very infrequent large slow slip events. No large slow slip event has been observed however over the 20 years covered by geodetic measurements in the Nepal Himalaya. We discuss the magnitude and return period of M > 8 earthquakes required to balance the long term slip budget on the MHT

Icodextrin-induced peritonitis: Study of five cases and comparison with bacterial peritonitis

Icodextrin-induced peritonitis: Study of five cases and comparison with bacterial peritonitis.BackgroundAn epidemic of aseptic peritonitis related to the presence of peptidoglycan contaminant in some batches of icodextrin solution (Extraneal®, Baxter Healthcare Corporation) occurred in Europe in the first six months of 2002.MethodsBy case-control study we examined the clinical and biologic features of 5 patients with icodextrin-induced peritonitis (group AP) and compared them with 7 patients with bacterial peritonitis (group BP) recruited in our clinical center between January and June 2002.ResultsDiagnosis of icodextrin-induced peritonitis was confirmed in all cases by a positive reintroduction test with contaminated batches of icodextrin. No recurrence was observed on re-exposure to icodextrin free of peptidoglycan. Skin tests were positive with contaminated icodextrin in 2 of 5 patients, while they were negative with icodextrin solution free of peptidoglycan (<0.6ng/mL). During peritonitis, serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP) was lower in group AP (42.4 ± 34mg/L) than in group BP (135 ± 59mg/L) (P = 0.01). Leukocyte number in peritoneal dialysis effluent was lower in group AP (284 ± 101/mm3), with a lower neutrophil/monocyte ratio (N/M = 0.67) than in group BP (1410 ± 973/mm3; N/M = 4) (P < 0.05). A low number of peritoneal fluid eosinophilia (11 ± 8%) was detected in group AP.ConclusionIcodextrin-induced peritonitis was associated with a burst of intraperitoneal cytokines. The phenotype of peritoneal neutrophils was different between aseptic and bacterial peritonitis, indicating that inflammatory stimuli that activate neutrophils in both types of peritonitis are clearly distinct. Finally, peritoneal injury measured by weight gain, peritoneal permeability, and CA125 concentration seemed to be less severe during icodextrin-induced peritonitis than during bacterial peritonitis

Modeling deformation induced by seasonal variations of continental water in the Himalaya region: Sensitivity to Earth elastic structure

Strong seasonal variations of horizontal and vertical positions are observed on GPS time series from stations located in Nepal, India, and Tibet (China). We show that this geodetic deformation can be explained by seasonal variations of continental water storage driven by the monsoon. For this purpose, we use satellite data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment to determine the time evolution of surface loading. We compute the expected geodetic deformation assuming a perfectly elastic Earth model. We consider Green's functions, describing the surface deformation response to a point load, for an elastic homogeneous half-space model and for a layered nonrotating spherical Earth model based on the Preliminary Reference Earth Model and a local seismic velocity model. The amplitude and phase of the seasonal variation of the vertical and horizontal geodetic positions can be jointly adjusted only with the layered Earth model, while an elastic half-space model fails, emphasizing the importance of using a realistic Earth elastic structure to model surface displacements induced by surface loading. We demonstrate, based on a formal inversion, that the fit to the geodetic data can be improved by adjusting the layered Earth model. Therefore, the study also shows that the modeling of geodetic seasonal variations provides a way to probe the elastic structure of the Earth, even in the absence of direct measurements of surface load variations

Evaluation of the MYCOPLASMA IST3 urogenital mycoplasma assay in an international multicentre trial

Objectives To evaluate the accuracy, susceptibility and specificity of MYCOPLASMA IST3, the next generation of the most popular culture-based in vitro diagnostic device designed to detect, identify and test the susceptibility of urogenital mycoplasma infections. Methods MYCOPLASMA IST3 was evaluated against culture- and molecular-based gold standard methodologies to detect, identify, enumerate and determine antimicrobial resistance for Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma species in 516 clinical samples collected across France, Serbia and the UK. Sample types included vulvovaginal/endocervical or urethral swabs (dry swab or eSwab®), semen and urine samples, which included blinded analysis following addition of a panel of 80 characterized control strains. Results Overall species identification was excellent for both Ureaplasma spp. (98.4% sensitivity, 99.7% specificity) and M. hominis (95.7% sensitivity, 100% specificity) relative to combined colony morphology on agar and quantitative PCR standards. Non-dilution-based bacterial load estimation by the assay was accurate between 83.7% (M. hominis) and 86.3% (Ureaplasma spp.) of the time (increased to 94.2% and 100%, respectively, if ±10-fold variance was allowed) relative to colonies counted on agar. Resistance accuracy for Ureaplasma spp. varied from gold standards for only 11/605 of individual tests (major error rate = 1.8%) and for 14/917 individual tests for M. hominis (major error rate = 1.5%). Conclusions The redesigned MYCOPLASMA IST3 assay eliminated previous shortcomings by providing independent accurate resistance screening of M. hominis and Ureaplasma species, even in mixed infections, with CLSI-compliant thresholds. Specificity, sensitivity and enumeration estimates correlated closely with the confirmatory methods

Hydrologically-driven crustal stresses and seismicity in the New Madrid Seismic Zone

The degree to which short-term non-tectonic processes, either natural and anthropogenic, influence the occurrence of earthquakes in active tectonic settings or ‘stable’ plate interiors, remains a subject of debate. Recent work in plate-boundary regions demonstrates the capacity for long-wavelength changes in continental water storage to produce observable surface deformation, induce crustal stresses and modulate seismicity rates. Here we show that a significant variation in the rate of microearthquakes in the intraplate New Madrid Seismic Zone at annual and multi-annual timescales coincides with hydrological loading in the upper Mississippi embayment. We demonstrate that this loading, which results in geodetically observed surface deformation, induces stresses within the lithosphere that, although of small amplitude, modulate the ongoing seismicity of the New Madrid region. Correspondence between surface deformation, hydrological loading and seismicity rates at both annual and multi-annual timescales indicates that seismicity variations are the direct result of elastic stresses induced by the water load