8,279 research outputs found
Source geometry from exceptionally high resolution long period event observations at Mt Etna during the 2008 eruption
During the second half of June, 2008, 50 broadband seismic stations were
deployed on Mt Etna volcano in close proximity to the summit, allowing us to
observe seismic activity with exceptionally high resolution. 129 long period
events (LP) with dominant frequencies ranging between 0.3 and 1.2 Hz, were
extracted from this dataset. These events form two families of similar
waveforms with different temporal distributions. Event locations are performed
by cross-correlating signals for all pairs of stations in a two-step scheme. In
the first step, the absolute location of the centre of the clusters was found.
In the second step, all events are located using this position. The hypocentres
are found at shallow depths (20 to 700 m deep) below the summit craters. The
very high location resolution allows us to detect the temporal migration of the
events along a dike-like structure and 2 pipe shaped bodies, yielding an
unprecedented view of some elements of the shallow plumbing system at Mount
Etna. These events do not seem to be a direct indicator of the ongoing lava
flow or magma upwelling
Horizontal rotation signals detected by "G-Pisa" ring laser for the Mw=9.0, March 2011, Japan earthquake
We report the observation of the ground rotation induced by the Mw=9.0, 11th
of March 2011, Japan earthquake. The rotation measurements have been conducted
with a ring laser gyroscope operating in a vertical plane, thus detecting
rotations around the horizontal axis. Comparison of ground rotations with
vertical accelerations from a co-located force-balance accelerometer shows
excellent ring laser coupling at periods longer than 100s. Under the plane wave
assumption, we derive a theoretical relationship between horizontal rotation
and vertical acceleration for Rayleigh waves. Due to the oblique mounting of
the gyroscope with respect to the wave direction-of-arrival, apparent
velocities derived from the acceleration / rotation rate ratio are expected to
be always larger than, or equal to the true wave propagation velocity. This
hypothesis is confirmed through comparison with fundamental-mode, Rayleigh wave
phase velocities predicted for a standard Earth model.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Seismolog
Spectrally resolved observations of atmospheric emitted radiance in the H2O rotation band
This paper presents the project Earth Cooling by Water
Vapor Radiation, an observational programme, which aims at
developing a database of spectrally resolved far infrared
observations, in atmospheric dry conditions, in order to
validate radiative transfer models and test the quality of water
vapor continuum and line parameters. The project provides
the very first set of far-infrared spectral downwelling
radiance measurements, in dry atmospheric conditions,
which are complemented with Raman Lidar-derived
temperature and water vapor profiles
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A stress-controlled mechanism for the intensity of very large magnitude explosive eruptions
Large magnitude explosive eruptions are the result of the rapid and large-scale transport of silicic magma stored in the Earth's crust, but the mechanics of erupting teratonnes of silicic magma remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the combined effect of local crustal extension and magma chamber overpressure can sustain linear dyke-fed explosive eruptions with mass fluxes in excess of 10^10 kg/s from shallow-seated (4â6 km depth) chambers during moderate extensional stresses. Early eruption column collapse is facilitated with eruption duration of the order of few days with an intensity of at least one order of magnitude greater than the largest eruptions in the 20th century. The conditions explored in this study are one way in which high mass eruption rates can be achieved to feed large explosive eruptions. Our results corroborate geological and volcanological evidences from volcano-tectonic complexes such as the Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico) and the Taupo Volcanic Zone (New Zealand)
Performance of Electrical Spectroscopy using a Resper Probe to Measure the Salinity and Water Content of Concrete or Terrestrial Soil
This paper discusses the performance of electrical spectroscopy using a
RESPER probe to measure the salinity s and volumetric content {\theta}W of the
water in concrete or terrestrial soil. The RESPER probe is an induction device
for spectroscopy which performs simultaneous and non invasive measurements of
the electrical RESistivity 1/{\sigma} and relative dielectric PERmittivity
{\epsilon}r of a subjacent medium. Numerical simulations establish that the
RESPER can measure {\sigma} and {\epsilon} with inaccuracies below a predefined
limit (10%) up to the high frequency band (HF). Conductivity is related to
salinity and dielectric permittivity to volumetric water content using suitably
refined theoretical models which are consistent with the predictions of
Archie's and Topp's empirical laws. The better the agreement, the lower the
hygroscopic water content and the higher s; so closer agreement is found with
concrete containing almost no bonded water molecules provided these are
characterized by a high {\sigma}. A novelty of the present paper is the
application of a mathematical- physical model to the propagation of errors in
the measurements, based on a sensitivity functions tool. The inaccuracy of
salinity (water content) is the ratio (product) between the conductivity
(permittivity) inaccuracy, specified by the probe, and the sensitivity function
of salinity (water content) relative to conductivity (permittivity), derived
from the constitutive equations of the medium. The main result is the model's
prediction that the lower the inaccuracy for the measurements of s and
{\theta}W (decreasing by as much as an order of magnitude from 10% to 1%), the
higher {\sigma}; so the inaccuracy for soil is lower.Comment: 45 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Core-mantle boundary deformations and J2 variations resulting from the 2004 Sumatra earthquake
The deformation at the core-mantle boundary produced by the 2004 Sumatra
earthquake is investigated by means of a semi-analytic theoretical model of
global coseismic and postseismic deformation, predicting a millimetric
coseismic perturbation over a large portion of the core-mantle boundary.
Spectral features of such deformations are analysed and discussed. The
time-dependent postseismic evolution of the elliptical part of the gravity
field (J2) is also computed for different asthenosphere viscosity models. Our
results show that, for asthenospheric viscosities smaller than 10^18 Pa s, the
postseismic J2 variation in the next years is expected to leave a detectable
signal in geodetic observations.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. It will appear in Geophysical Journal
Internationa
Retrospective Evaluation of the Five-Year and Ten-Year CSEP-Italy Earthquake Forecasts
On 1 August 2009, the global Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake
Predictability (CSEP) launched a prospective and comparative earthquake
predictability experiment in Italy. The goal of the CSEP-Italy experiment is to
test earthquake occurrence hypotheses that have been formalized as
probabilistic earthquake forecasts over temporal scales that range from days to
years. In the first round of forecast submissions, members of the CSEP-Italy
Working Group presented eighteen five-year and ten-year earthquake forecasts to
the European CSEP Testing Center at ETH Zurich. We considered the twelve
time-independent earthquake forecasts among this set and evaluated them with
respect to past seismicity data from two Italian earthquake catalogs. In this
article, we present the results of tests that measure the consistency of the
forecasts with the past observations. Besides being an evaluation of the
submitted time-independent forecasts, this exercise provided insight into a
number of important issues in predictability experiments with regard to the
specification of the forecasts, the performance of the tests, and the trade-off
between the robustness of results and experiment duration. We conclude with
suggestions for the future design of earthquake predictability experiments.Comment: 43 pages, 8 figures, 4 table
The UARS microwave limb sounder version 5 data set: Theory, characterization, and validation
Nitric acid (HNO3) is a major player in processes controlling the springtime depletion of polar ozone. It is the main constituent of the Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) and a primary reservoir for reactive nitrogen. Potential variations in the stratospheric circulation and temperature may alter the extent and duration of PSCs activity, influencing the future ozone levels significantly. Monitoring HNO3 and its long-term variability, especially in polar region, is then crucial for better understanding issues related to ozone decline and expected recovery. In this study we present an intercomparison between ground based HNO3 measurements, carried out by means of the Ground-Based Millimeter-wave Spectrometer (GBMS), and two satellite data sets produced by the two NASA/JPL Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) experiments. In particular, we compare UARS MLS measurements (1991-1999) with those carried out by the GBMS at South Pole, Antarctica (90°S), Fall of 1993 and 1995. A similar
intercomparison is made between Aura MLS HNO3 observations (2004 - to date) and GBMS measurements obtained during the period February 2004 - March 2007, at the mid-latitudes/high altitudes station of Testa Grigia (45.9° N, 7.7° E, elev. 3500 m), and during polar winters 2008/09 and 2009/2010 at Thule Air Base (76.5°N 68.8°W), Greenland. We assess systematic differences between GBMS and both UARS and Aura HNO3 data sets at seven potential temperature levels (θ) spanning the range 465 â 960 K. The UARS data set advected to the South Pole shows a low bias, within 20% for all θ levels but the 960 K, with respect to GBMS measurements. A very good agreement, within 5%, is obtained between Aura and GBMS observations at Testa Grigia, while larger differences, possibly due to latitude dependent effects, are observed over Thule. These differences are under further investigations but a preliminary comparison over Thule among MLS v3, GBMS, and ACE-FTS measurements suggests that GBMS measurements carried out during winter 2009 might not be reliable. These comparisons have been performed in the framework of the NASA JPL GOZCARDS project, which is aimed at developing a long-term, global data record of the relevant stratospheric constituents in the context of ozone decline. GBMS has been selected in GOZCARDS since its HNO3 dataset, although sampling different latitudes in different years, is the only one spanning a sufficiently long time interval for cross-calibrating HNO3 measurements by the UARS and Aura MLS experiments
SWIPE: a bolometric polarimeter for the Large-Scale Polarization Explorer
The balloon-borne LSPE mission is optimized to measure the linear
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background at large angular scales. The
Short Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer (SWIPE) is composed
of 3 arrays of multi-mode bolometers cooled at 0.3K, with optical components
and filters cryogenically cooled below 4K to reduce the background on the
detectors. Polarimetry is achieved by means of large rotating half-wave plates
and wire-grid polarizers in front of the arrays. The polarization modulator is
the first component of the optical chain, reducing significantly the effect of
instrumental polarization. In SWIPE we trade angular resolution for
sensitivity. The diameter of the entrance pupil of the refractive telescope is
45 cm, while the field optics is optimized to collect tens of modes for each
detector, thus boosting the absorbed power. This approach results in a FWHM
resolution of 1.8, 1.5, 1.2 degrees at 95, 145, 245 GHz respectively. The
expected performance of the three channels is limited by photon noise,
resulting in a final sensitivity around 0.1-0.2 uK per beam, for a 13 days
survey covering 25% of the sky.Comment: In press. Copyright 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only.
Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this
paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of
the paper are prohibite
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Rheology of magmas with bimodal crystal size and shape distributions: insights from analog experiments
Magmas in volcanic conduits commonly contain microlites in association with preexisting phenocrysts, as often indicated by volcanic rock textures. In this study, we present two different experiments that inves- tigate the flow behavior of these bidisperse systems. In the first experiments, rotational rheometric methods are used to determine the rheology of monodisperse and polydisperse suspensions consisting of smaller, prolate particles (microlites) and larger, equant particles (phenocrysts) in a bubbleâfree Newtonian liquid (silicate melt). Our data show that increasing the relative proportion of prolate microlites to equant pheno- crysts in a magma at constant total particle content can increase the relative viscosity by up to three orders of magnitude. Consequently, the rheological effect of particles in magmas cannot be modeled by assuming a monodisperse population of particles. We propose a new model that uses interpolated parameters based on the relative proportions of small and large particles and produces a considerably improved fit to the data than earlier models. In a second series of experiments we investigate the textures produced by shearing bimodal suspensions in gradually solidifying epoxy resin in a concentric cylinder setup. The resulting textures show the prolate particles are aligned with the flow lines and spherical particles are found in wellâorganized strings, with sphereâdepleted shear bands in highâshear regions. These observations may explain the measured variation in the shear thinning and yield stress behavior with increasing solid fraction and particle aspect ratio. The implications for magma flow are discussed, and rheological results and tex- tural observations are compared with observations on natural samples
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