Evaluating earthquake-induced rockfall hazard near the Dead Sea Transform

We address an approach for rockfall hazard evaluation where the study area resides below a cliff in an a priori exposure to rockfall hazard, but no historical documentation of rockfall events is available and hence important rockfall hazard parameters like triggering mechanism and recurrence interval are unknown. We study the rockfall hazard for the town of Qiryat Shemona, northern Israel, situated alongside the Dead Sea Transform, at the foot of the Ramim escarpment. Numerous boulders are scattered on the slopes above the town, while pre-town historical aerial photos reveal that boulders had reached the location that is now within town limits. We use field observations and optically stimulated luminescence dating of past rockfall events combined with computer modeling to evaluate the rockfall hazard. For the analysis, we first mapped the rockfall source and final downslope stop sites and compiled the boulder size distribution. We then simulated the possible rockfall trajectories using the field observed data to calibrate the simulation software by comparing simulated and mapped boulder stop sites along selected slopes, while adjusting model input parameters for best fit. The analysis reveals areas of high rockfall hazard at the southwestern quarters of the town and also indicates that in the studied slopes falling blocks would stop where the slope angle decreases below 5–10∘. Age determination suggests that the rockfalls were triggered by large (M&gt;6) historical earthquakes. Nevertheless, not all large historical earthquakes triggered rockfalls. Considering the size distribution of the past rockfalls in the study area and the recurrence time of large earthquakes in the region, we estimate a probability of less than 5&thinsp;% to be affected by a destructive rockfall within a 50-year time window. Here we suggest a comprehensive method to evaluate rockfall hazard where only past rockfall evidence exists in the field. We show the importance of integrating spatial and temporal field observations to assess the extent of rockfall hazard, the potential block size distribution and the rockfall recurrence interval.</p

An Integrated Multiscale Method for the Characterisation of Active Faults in Offshore Areas. The Case of Sant\u2019Eufemia Gulf (Offshore Calabria, Italy)

Diagnostic morphological features (e.g., rectilinear seafloor scarps) and lateral offsets of the Upper Quaternary deposits are used to infer active faults in offshore areas. Although they deform a significant seafloor region, the active faults are not necessarily capable of producing large earthquakes as they correspond to shallow structures formed in response to local stresses. We present a multiscale approach to reconstruct the structural pattern in offshore areas and distinguish between shallow, non-seismogenic, active faults, and deep blind faults, potentially associated with large seismic moment release. The approach is based on the interpretation of marine seismic reflection data and quantitative morphometric analysis of multibeam bathymetry, and tested on the Sant\u2019Eufemia Gulf (southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea). Data highlights the occurrence of three major tectonic events since the Late Miocene. The first extensional or transtensional phase occurred during the Late Miocene. Since the Early Pliocene, a right-lateral transpressional tectonic event caused the positive inversion of deep (&gt;3&nbsp;km) tectonic features, and the formation of NE-SW faults in the central sector of the gulf. Also, NNE-SSW to NE-SW trending anticlines (e.g., Maida Ridge) developed in the eastern part of the area. Since the Early Pleistocene (Calabrian), shallow (&lt;1.5&nbsp;km) NNE-SSW oriented structures formed in a left-lateral transtensional regime. The new results integrated with previous literature indicates that the Late Miocene to Recent transpressional/transtensional structures developed in an 3cE-W oriented main displacement zone that extends from the Sant\u2019Eufemia Gulf to the Squillace Basin (Ionian offshore), and likely represents the upper plate response to a tear fault of the lower plate. The quantitative morphometric analysis of the study area and the bathymetric analysis of the Angitola Canyon indicate that NNE-SSW to NE-SW trending anticlines were negatively reactivated during the last tectonic phase. We also suggest that the deep structure below the Maida Ridge may correspond to the seismogenic source of the large magnitude earthquake that struck the western Calabrian region in 1905. The multiscale approach contributes to understanding the tectonic imprint of active faults from different hierarchical orders and the geometry of seismogenic faults developed in a lithospheric strike-slip zone orthogonal to the Calabrian Arc

Towards sustainable processing of columbite group minerals: elucidating the relation between dielectric properties and physico-chemical transformations in the mineral phase

Current methodologies for the extraction of tantalum and niobium pose a serious threat to human beings and the environment due to the use of hydrofluoric acid (HF). Niobium and tantalum metal powders and pentoxides are widely used for energy efficient devices and components. However, the current processing methods for niobium and tantalum metals and oxides are energy inefficient. This dichotomy between materials use for energy applications and their inefficient processing is the main motivation for exploring a new methodology for the extraction of these two oxides, investigating the microwave absorption properties of the reaction products formed during the alkali roasting of niobium-tantalum bearing minerals with sodium bicarbonate. The experimental findings from dielectric measurement at elevated temperatures demonstrate an exponential increase in the values of the dielectric properties as a result of the formation of NaNbO3-NaTaO3solid solutions at temperatures above 700 °C. The investigation of the evolution of the dielectric properties during the roasting reaction is a key feature in underpinning the mechanism for designing a new microwave assisted high-temperature process for the selective separation of niobium and tantalum oxides from the remainder mineral crystalline lattice

Data-driven model of the hippocampus using the HBP Brain Simulation Platform

The hippocampus is one of four brain regions being modeled in the ramp-up phase of the Human Brain Project (HBP), testing and guiding the development of the HBP Brain Simulation Platform (BSP) to be released in March 2016. Using preliminary versions of BSP applications developed at the Blue Brain Project, a first draft data-driven model of hippocampus was assembled, integrating data available from HBP and community sources. In brief, the building process started by populating the hippocampal volume, defined by the Allen Brain Atlas, with a series of reconstructions of well-characterized cell types according to experimentally observed densities and proportions. A connectome was generated as previously described [1], constrained by biological values for bouton density and synapses per connection. Single cell electrical models and synapse physiology were constrained by electrophysiological recordings and publicly available data. Further datasets not used as input during model building were used to validate the model. This first draft of the circuit model and the pipeline to build it are to be released with the HBP-BSP in March 2016, and they will be periodically updated. The model represents a resource for the community to integrate data, perform in silico experiments, and test hypotheses. Establishing a community process for the continued refinement of the model is planned for the next phase of the HBP. [1] Reimann, M. et al. An algorithm to predict the connectome of neural microcircuits. Front. Comput. Neurosci. (2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2015.0012

Trade in live reptiles, its impact on wild populations, and the role of the European market

Of the 10,272 currently recognized reptile species, the trade of fewer than 8% are regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the European Wildlife Trade Regulations (EWTR). However, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has assessed 45% of the world's reptile species and determined that at least 1390 species are threatened by “biological resource use”. Of these, 355 species are intentionally targeted by collectors, including 194 non-CITES-listed species. Herein we review the global reptile pet trade, its impacts, and its contribution to the over-harvesting of species and populations, in light of current international law. Findings are based on an examination of relevant professional observations, online sources, and literature (e.g., applicable policies, taxonomy [reptile database], trade statistics [EUROSTAT], and conservation status [IUCN Red List]). Case studies are presented from the following countries and regions: Australia, Central America, China, Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Germany, Europe, India, Indonesia (Kalimantan), Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Western Africa, and Western Asia. The European Union (EU) plays a major role in reptile trade. Between 2004 and 2014 (the period under study), the EU member states officially reported the import of 20,788,747 live reptiles. This review suggests that illegal trade activities involve species regulated under CITES, as well as species that are not CITES-regulated but nationally protected in their country of origin and often openly offered for sale in the EU. Further, these case studies demonstrate that regulations and enforcement in several countries are inadequate to prevent the overexploitation of species and to halt illegal trade activities

A Topological Representation of Branching Neuronal Morphologies

The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-017-9341-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Among others, we thank Athanassia Chalimourda and Katherine Turner for helpful conversations in various stages of this research and Jay Coggan for a critical reading of the manuscript. We also thank Hanchuan Peng and Xiaoxiao Liu for providing and curating the BigNeuron datasets. This work was supported by funding for the Blue Brain Project (BBP) from the ETH Domain. P.D. and R.L. were supported part by the Blue Brain Project and by the start-up grant of KH. Partial support for P.D. has been provided by the Advanced Grant of the European Research Council GUDHI (Geometric Understanding in Higher Dimensions). MS was supported by the SNF NCCR “Synapsy”.Peer reviewedPublisher PD