Polarized Plate Tectonics.

The mechanisms driving plate motion and the Earth\u2019s geodynamics are still not entirely clari\u2423ed. Lithospheric volumes recycled at subduction zones or emerging at rift zones testify mantle convection. The cooling of the planet and the related density gradients are invoked to explain mantle convection either driven from the hot interior or from the cooler outer boundary layer. In this paper we summarize a number of evidence sup- porting generalized asymmetries along the plate boundaries that point to a polariza- tion of plate tectonics. W-directed slabs provide two to three times larger volumes to the mantle with respect to the opposite E- or NE-directed subduction zones. W-directed slabs are deeper and steeper, usually characterized by down-dip compres- sion. Moreover, they show a shallow decollement and low elevated accretionary prism, a steep regional monocline with a deep trench or foredeep, a backarc basin with high heat \u2423ow and positive gravity anomaly. Conversely directed subduction zones show antithetic signatures and no similar backarc basin. Rift zones also show an asymmetry, e.g., faster Vs in the western lithosphere and a slightly deeper bathymetry with respect to the eastern \u2423ank. These evidences can be linked to the westward drift of the lithosphere relative to the underlying mantle and may explain the differences among subduction and rift zones as a function of their geographic polarity with respect to the \u201ctectonic equator.\u201d Therefore also mantle convection and plate motion should be polar- ized. All this supports a general tuning of the Earth\u2019s geodynamics and mantle convec- tion by astronomical forces

Infrared Screening of Residential Buildings for Energy Audit Purposes: Results of a Field Test

Abstract: In the European Union (EU), the building sector is responsible for approximately 40% of total energy consumption. The existing building stock is inefficient and can, and indeed must be retrofitted to address this issue. The practical implementation of the European strategies requires knowledge of the energy performance of existing buildings through energy audit techniques. Application of thermography in the fields of energy are very widespread, since, through such a non-invasive investigation, and through correct interpretation of infrared images, it is possible to highlight inefficiencies in buildings and related facilities. The paper shows and discusses the results of an infrared audit campaign on 14 existing buildings located in Milan Province (Italy) made in different construction periods and characterised, therefore, by different building technologies. The U-values obtained in an indirect way through the thermography of the opaque walls of the buildings investigated, were compared with the actual known values in order to verify the reliability of the method and the possible margin of error. The study indicated that the category of buildings in which the application of this method is sufficiently reliable is that of solid-mass structure buildings, the most widespread in Italy, whereas in the case of buildings whose external walls are insulated, the percentage of deviation is very high

On Operational Earthquake Forecast and Prediction Problems.

In his SSA presidential address (Jordan, 2014), and later in a more extended publication with coauthors (Jordan et al., 2014), Jordan presents a vision of forecast and prediction problems of earthquake system science. As experienced practitioners and in full appreciation of scientific studies on earthquake forecasting, we find it necessary to share a complementary viewpoint

Hot-Cold Spots in Italian Macroseismic Data

The site effect is usually associated with local geological conditions, which increase or decrease the level of shaking compared with standard attenuation relations. We made an attempt to see in the macroseismic data of Italy some other effects, namely, hot/cold spots in the terminology of Olsen (2000), which are related to local fault geometry rather than to soil conditions. We give a list of towns and villages liable to amplify (+) or to reduce (-) the level of shaking in comparison with the nearby settlements. Relief and soil conditions cannot always account for the anomalous sites. Further, there are sites where both (+) and (-) effects are observed depending on the earthquake. The opposite effects can be generated by events from the same seismotectonic zone and along the same direction to the site. Anomalous sites may group themselves into clusters of different scales. All isolated anomalous patterns presented in this paper can be used in hazard analysis, in particular, for the modeling and testing of seismic effects

Further Remarks on Extra Roots of Rayleigh Equation and Somigliana Waves

The extra roots of the Rayleigh equation for an elastichalfspace contribute to the solution only for large enough values of thePoisson coefficient (a > 0.309). One of them corresponds to leaking modeswith the phase velocity less than the velocity of the longitudinal wave.A similar wave with distinct dispersion may exists in the case where anelastic halfspace is covered by a thin layer with lower velocities of elasticwaves. The thickness of a layer should be not too small in comparisonwith the wave length

Integrating Absolute Sustainability and Social Sustainability in the Digital Product Passport to Promote Industry 5.0

The establishment of the digital product passport is regarded to be a prominent tool to promote environmental and social sustainability, thus enabling the transition towards Industry 5.0. In this way, it represents a holistic tool for the decision-making process of several actors of a product’s value chain. However, its development is still ongoing and the absolute perspective of environmental sustainability and the social sustainability have been overlooked. The present work aims to fill these gaps and complement the literature currently available on the digital product passport with a threefold purpose. Firstly, by referring to social life cycle assessment methodologies, useful social indicators to include in the digital product passport are discussed and proposed. Secondly, the need for an absolute perspective of environmental sustainability that respects the natural limits of our planet is presented; based on the LCA methodology and the Planetary Boundaries framework, environmental attributes and environmental impact indicators with the corresponding threshold are proposed to be included in the passport and enable the so-called absolute environmental sustainability assessment of products. Finally, a framework based on a cyber-physical system for filling in the digital product passport throughout a product lifecycle is conceived. This work represents an example of how the hallmark technologies of Industry 4.0 can be used towards Industry 5.0

Lateral variation of crust and upper mantle structures in NW Iran derived from surface wave analysis

To obtain the shear velocity structure across North-West of Iran and surrounding areas to a depth of 160 km, we performed a namely Hedgehog nonlinear inversion on Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion curves in the period range from 7 to 60 s. The distributed dispersion curves are the results of our surface waves dispersion tomography using the data of 280 local and regional seismic events, recorded by the medium and broad band seismic stations in the region. We outline different crust and upper mantle structures for the study area based on calculated group and shear velocities. Our results reveal relatively low velocities at the shorter periods (7 - 10 s) in the presence of sedimentary basins (e.g. South Caspian Basin) and for eastern Anatolia and relatively high velocities along the Sanandaj-Sirjan Metamorphic zone, Alborz, Talesh and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. By depth inversion of group velocities, we observed a 14 km thick sediments in South Caspian Basin and Kura Depression. Based on our maps at 20 s, we outline different crustal models for the region and highlight the differences between South Caspian Basin and NW Iran, on one side, and the similarities between the South Caspian Basin and Kura Depression, that extend beneath Talesh, Alborz and Lesser Caucasus, on the other. Comparing the shear velocity of lower crust in South Caspian Basin and Kura Depression with that of NW Iran proves different origination of lower crust in the basin, probably oceanic source, because of its significant higher shear velocity rather than NW Iran. The extension of lower crust beneath Talesh is more than middle crust while in Alborz and Lesser Caucasus the amount of extension for middle and lower crust is the same The analysis of group velocities at longer periods ( 65 35 s) and obtained shear velocity models allows us to outline different lithospheric structures and crustal depth in the region. The high group velocities in Talesh, South Caspian Sea and Lesser Caucasus on one side and Zagros Folding and Thrust Belt on the other, beside the result of shear velocity models suggest the presence of a stable and thick mantle lid that seems to be thin or absent in the eastern Anatolia and much of NW Iran. The shallowest Moho and Lithosphere Asthenosphere boundary depth of 37 and 63 km, were observed in Easter Anatolian Accretionary Complex. The thin mantle lid in this region has affected the whole crust in such a way that we observed the lowest shear velocities inside the crust in this region. We observed a significant thickening of both crust and lithosphere in Sanandaj-Sirjan Metamorphic zone comparing to Urmieh Dokhtar Magmatic Arc and Zagros Folding and Thrust Belt on its two sides

Tsunami excitation by inland/coastal earthquakes: the Green function approach

International audienceIn the framework of the linear theory, the representation theorem is derived for an incompressible liquid layer with a boundary of arbitrary shape and in a homogeneous gravity field. In addition, the asymptotic representation for the Green function, in a layer of constant thickness is obtained. The validity of the approach for the calculation of the tsunami wavefield based on the Green function technique is verified comparing the results with those obtained from the modal theory, for a liquid layer of infinite horizontal dimensions. The Green function approach is preferable for the estimation of the excitation spectra, since in the case of an infinite liquid layer it leads to simple analytical expressions. From this analysis it is easy to describe the peculiarities of tsunami excitation by different sources. The method is extended to the excitation of tsunami in a semiinfinite layer with a sloping boundary. Numerical modelling of the tsunami wavefield, excited by point sources at different distances from the coastline, shows that when the source is located at a distance from the coastline equal or larger than the source depth, the shore presence does not affect the excitation of the tsunami. When the source is moved towards thecoastline, the low frequency content in the excitation spectrum ecreases, while the high frequencies content increases dramatically. The maximum of the excitation spectra from inland sources, located at a distance from the shore like the source depth, becomes less than 10% of that radiated if the same source is located in the open ocean. The effect of the finiteness of the source is also studied and the excitation spectrum is obtained by integration over the fault area. Numerical modelling of the excitation spectra for different source models shows that, for a given seismic moment, the spectral level, as well as the maximum value of the spectra, decreases with increasing fault size. When the sources are located in the vicinity of a shore, the synthetic mareograms calculated at distances greater than the source depth show that the maximum tsunami amplitude decays with decreasing source-to-shore distance. The rate of decay is dependent on the dip, length and depth of the fault. The tsunami intensity, defined as maximum peak-to-peak amplitude, decays with the inland distance of the source from the coast. At an inland distance equal to the source depth, it becomes 4?5 times less than that from a source in the open ocean. If the source is located under the coastline, the intensity of tsunami is approximately the same as for oceanic sources

Controlling selectivity in alkene oxidation : anion driven syn-dihydroxylation or epoxidation catalysed by [Iron(III)(Pyridine-Containing Ligand)] complexes

The introduction of a pyridine moiety into the skeleton of a polyazamacrocyclic ligand affects both thermodynamic properties and coordination kinetics of the resulting metal complexes.1 These features have engendered a great interest of the scientific community. Much of the efforts in the use of macrocyclic pyridine containing ligands have been devoted to the study of catalytic oxidation reactions.2 We report here the synthesis and characterisation of [Fe(III)Pc-L\u2019s)] complexes (Pc-L = Pyridine-Containing Ligand) and their catalytic applications in alkene oxidation reactions using H2O2 as the terminal oxidant under mild conditions (Figure). Depending on the anion employed for the synthesis of the iron(III) metal complex, we observed a completely reversed selectivity. When X = OTf, a selective syn-dihydroxylation reaction was observed. On the other hand, employing X = Cl, we obtained the epoxide as the major product. It should be pointed out that under otherwise identical reaction conditions, using FeCl3\ub76H2O as catalyst in the absence of the ligand, no reaction was observed