The SWATH‐D seismological network in the Eastern Alps

The SWATH-D experiment involved the deployment of a dense temporary broadband seismic network in the Eastern Alps. Its primary purpose was enhanced seismic imaging of the crust and crust-mantle transition as well as improved constraints on local event locations and focal mechanisms in a complex part of the Alpine orogen. The study region is a key area of the Alps, where European crust in the north is juxtaposed and partially interwoven with Adriatic crust in the south, and a significant jump in the Moho depth was observed by the 2001 TRANSALP N-S profile. Here, a flip in subduction polarity has been suggested to occur. This dense network encompasses 163 stations and complements the larger-scale sparser AlpArray seismic network. The nominal station spacing in SWATH-D is 15 km in a high alpine, yet densely populated and industrialized region. We present here the challenges resulting from operating a large broadband network under these conditions and summarize how we addressed them, including the way we planned, deployed, maintained and operated the stations in the field. Finally, we present some recommendations based on our experiences

Guidance on Versioning of Digital Assets

Versioning of data and metadata is a crucial - but often overlooked - topic in scientific work. Using the wrong version of a (meta)data set can lead to drastically difference outcomes in interpretation, and lead to substantial, propagating downstream errors. At the same time, past versions of (meta)data sets are valuable records of the research process which should be preserved for transparency and complete reproducibility. Further, the final version of (meta)data sets may actually include errors that previous versions did not. Thus, careful version control is the foundation for trust in and broad reusability of research and operational (meta)data. This document provides an introduction to the principles of versioning, technical recommendations on how to manage version histories, and discusses some pitfalls and possible solutions. In the first part of this document, we present examples of change processes that require proper management and introduce popular versioning schemes. Finally, the document presents recommended practices for researchers as well as for infrastructure developers

The Slab Puzzle of the Alpine‐Mediterranean Region: Insights from a new, High‐Resolution, Shear‐Wave Velocity Model of the Upper Mantle

Mediterranean tectonics since the Lower Cretaceous has been characterized by a multi‐phase subduction and collision history with temporally and spatially‐variable, small‐scale plate configurations. A new shear‐wave velocity model of the Mediterranean upper mantle (MeRE2020), constrained by a very large set of over 200,000 broadband (8‐350 s), inter‐station, Rayleigh‐wave, phase‐velocity curves, illuminates the complex structure and fragmentation of the subducting slabs. Phase‐velocity maps computed using these measurements were inverted for depth‐dependent, shear‐wave velocities using a stochastic particle‐swarm‐optimization algorithm (PSO). The resulting three‐dimensional (3‐D) model makes possible an inventory of slab segments across the Mediterranean. Fourteen slab segments of 200‐800 km length along‐strike are identified. We distinguish three categories of subducted slabs: attached slabs reaching down to the bottom of the model; shallow slabs of shorter length in down‐dip direction, terminating shallower than 300 km depth; and detached slab segments. The location of slab segments are consistent with and validated by the intermediate‐depth seismicity, where it is present. The new high‐resolution tomography demonstrates the intricate relationships between slab fragmentation and the evolution of the relatively small and highly curved subduction zones and collisional orogens characteristic of the Mediterranean realm

Study of ordered hadron chains with the ATLAS detector

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A search for resonances decaying into a Higgs boson and a new particle X in the XH→qqbb final state with the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson ($H$) and a new particle ($X$) is reported, utilizing 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The particle $X$ is assumed to decay to a pair of light quarks, and the fully hadronic final state $XH \rightarrow q\bar q'b\bar b$ is analysed. The search considers the regime of high $XH$ resonance masses, where the $X$ and $H$ bosons are both highly Lorentz-boosted and are each reconstructed using a single jet with large radius parameter. A two-dimensional phase space of $XH$ mass versus $X$ mass is scanned for evidence of a signal, over a range of $XH$ resonance mass values between 1 TeV and 4 TeV, and for $X$ particles with masses from 50 GeV to 1000 GeV. All search results are consistent with the expectations for the background due to Standard Model processes, and 95% CL upper limits are set, as a function of $XH$ and $X$ masses, on the production cross-section of the $XH\rightarrow q\bar q'b\bar b$ resonance

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Ambient-noise tomography of the wider Vienna Basin region

We present a new 3-D shear-velocity model for the top 30 km of the crust in the wider Vienna Basin region based on surface waves extracted from ambient-noise cross-correlations. We use continuous seismic records of 63 broad-band stations of the AlpArray project to retrieve interstation Green’s functions from ambient-noise cross-correlations in the period range from 5 to 25 s. From these Green’s functions, we measure Rayleigh group traveltimes, utilizing all four components of the cross-correlation tensor, which are associated with Rayleigh waves (ZZ, RR, RZ and ZR), to exploit multiple measurements per station pair. A set of selection criteria is applied to ensure that we use high-quality recordings of fundamental Rayleigh modes. We regionalize the interstation group velocities in a 5 km × 5 km grid with an average path density of ∼20 paths per cell. From the resulting group-velocity maps, we extract local 1-D dispersion curves for each cell and invert all cells independently to retrieve the crustal shear-velocity structure of the study area. The resulting model provides a previously unachieved lateral resolution of seismic velocities in the region of ∼15 km. As major features, we image the Vienna Basin and Little Hungarian Plain as low-velocity anomalies, and the Bohemian Massif with high velocities. The edges of these features are marked with prominent velocity contrasts correlated with faults, such as the Alpine Front and Vienna Basin transfer fault system. The observed structures correlate well with surface geology, gravitational anomalies and the few known crystalline basement depths from boreholes. For depths larger than those reached by boreholes, the new model allows new insight into the complex structure of the Vienna Basin and surrounding areas, including deep low-velocity zones, which we image with previously unachieved detail. This model may be used in the future to interpret the deeper structures and tectonic evolution of the wider Vienna Basin region, evaluate natural resources, model wave propagation and improve earthquake locations, among others

Arrival angles of teleseismic fundamental mode Rayleigh waves across the AlpArray

The dense AlpArray network allows studying seismic wave propagation with high spatial resolution. Here we introduce an array approach to measure arrival angles of teleseismic Rayleigh waves. The approach combines the advantages of phase correlation as in the two-station method with array beamforming to obtain the phase-velocity vector. 20 earthquakes from the first two years of the AlpArray project are selected, and spatial patterns of arrival-angle deviations across the AlpArray are shown in maps, depending on period and earthquake location. The cause of these intriguing spatial patterns is discussed. A simple wave-propagation modelling example using an isolated anomaly and a Gaussian beam solution suggests that much of the complexity can be explained as a result of wave interference after passing a structural anomaly along the wave paths. This indicates that arrival-angle information constitutes useful additional information on the Earth structure, beyond what is currently used in inversions

Shear-wave velocity structure beneath the Dinarides from the inversion of Rayleigh-wave dispersion

Highlights • Rayleigh-wave phase velocity in the wider Dinarides region using the two-station method. • Uppermost mantle shear-wave velocity model of the Dinarides-Adriatic Sea region. • Velocity model reveals a robust high-velocity anomaly present under the whole Dinarides. • High-velocity anomaly reaches depth of 160 km in the northern Dinarides to more than 200 km under southern Dinarides. • New structural model incorporating delamination as one of the processes controlling the continental collision in the Dinarides. The interaction between the Adriatic microplate (Adria) and Eurasia is the main driving factor in the central Mediterranean tectonics. Their interplay has shaped the geodynamics of the whole region and formed several mountain belts including Alps, Dinarides and Apennines. Among these, Dinarides are the least investigated and little is known about the underlying geodynamic processes. There are numerous open questions about the current state of interaction between Adria and Eurasia under the Dinaric domain. One of the most interesting is the nature of lithospheric underthrusting of Adriatic plate, e.g. length of the slab or varying slab disposition along the orogen. Previous investigations have found a low-velocity zone in the uppermost mantle under the northern-central Dinarides which was interpreted as a slab gap. Conversely, several newer studies have indicated the presence of the continuous slab under the Dinarides with no trace of the low velocity zone. Thus, to investigate the Dinaric mantle structure further, we use regional-to-teleseismic surface-wave records from 98 seismic stations in the wider Dinarides region to create a 3D shear-wave velocity model. More precisely, a two-station method is used to extract Rayleigh-wave phase velocity while tomography and 1D inversion of the phase velocity are employed to map the depth dependent shear-wave velocity. Resulting velocity model reveals a robust high-velocity anomaly present under the whole Dinarides, reaching the depths of 160 km in the north to more than 200 km under southern Dinarides. These results do not agree with most of the previous investigations and show continuous underthrusting of the Adriatic lithosphere under Europe along the whole Dinaric region. The geometry of the down-going slab varies from the deeper slab in the north and south to the shallower underthrusting in the center. On-top of both north and south slabs there is a low-velocity wedge indicating lithospheric delamination which could explain the 200 km deep high-velocity body existing under the southern Dinarides