bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reassessing the 2006 Guerrero slow‐slip event, Mexico: Implications for large earthquakes in the Guerrero Gap
Authors: Bekaert D. P. S. , Hooper A. , Wright T. J. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractIn Guerrero, Mexico, slow‐slip events have been observed in a seismic gap, where no earthquakes have occurred since 1911. A rupture of the entire gap today could result in aMw8.2–8.4 earthquake. However, it remains unclear how slow‐slip events change the stress field in the Guerrero seismic region and what their implications are for devastating earthquakes. Most earlier studies have relied on a sparse network of Global Navigation Satellite Systems measurements. Here we show that interferometric synthetic aperture radar can be used to improve the spatial resolution. We find that slip due to the 2006 slow‐slip event enters the seismogenic zone and the Guerrero Gap, with ∼5 cm slip reaching depths as shallow as 12 km. We show that slow slip is correlated with a highly coupled region and estimate that slow‐slip events have decreased the total accumulated moment since the end of the 2001/2002 slow‐slip event (4.7 years) by ∼50%. Nevertheless, even accounting for slow slip, the moment deficit in the Guerrero Gap increases each year byMw∼6.8. The Guerrero Gap therefore still has the potential for a large earthquake, with a slip deficit equivalent toMw∼8.15 accumulated over the last century. Correlation between the slow‐slip region and nonvolcanic tremor, and between slow slip and an ultraslow velocity layer, supports the hypothesis of a common source potentially related to high pore pressures.
A spatially variable power law tropospheric correction technique for InSAR data
Authors: Bekaert D. P. S. , Hooper A. , Wright T. J. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractMicrowave signals traveling through the troposphere are subject to delays. These delays are mainly described by spatial and temporal variations in pressure, temperature, and relative humidity in the lower part of the troposphere, resulting in a spatially varying tropospheric signal in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). Tropospheric correction techniques rely either on external data, often limited by spatial and temporal accuracy or can be estimated from the high‐resolution interferometric phase itself. However, current phase‐estimated correction techniques do not account for the spatial variability of the tropospheric properties and fail to capture tropospheric signals over larger regions. Here we propose and test a novel power law correction method that accounts for spatial variability in atmospheric properties and can be applied to interferograms containing topographically correlated deformation. The power law model has its reference fixed at the relative top of the troposphere and describes, through a power law relationship, how the phase delay varies with altitude. We find the power law model reduces tropospheric signals both locally (on average by ∼0.45 cm for each kilometer of elevation in Mexico) and the long‐wavelength components, leading to an improved fit to independent Global Navigation Satellite Systems data. The power law model can be applied in presence of deformation, over a range of different time periods and in different atmospheric conditions, and thus permits the detection of smaller‐magnitude crustal deformation signals with InSAR.
Absolute gravity change associated with magma mass movement in the conduit of Asama Volcano (Central Japan), revealed by physical modeling of hydrological gravity disturbances
Authors: Kazama Takahito , Okubo Shuhei , Sugano Takayuki , Matsumoto Shigeo , Sun Wenke , Tanaka Yoshiyuki , Koyama Etsuro 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe gravity signal originating from magma mass movement in a volcanic conduit is retrieved from the hydrologically disturbed absolute gravity data obtained at Asama Volcano (Central Japan) in 2004, using a three‐dimensional hydrological model. We improve the hydrological model of the previous study using realistic soil parameters and boundary conditions, to better estimate the spatiotemporal land‐water distributions and the consequent hydrological gravity disturbances. The newly estimated gravity disturbances agree with the absolute gravity values observed by FG5 gravimeters in 2004–2009 within about 2.6 μGal, by additionally accounting for the excess discharge of groundwater mass associated with a sloping impermeable surface below the discharge area. After the gravity disturbance of 20 μGal amplitude is subtracted from the absolute gravity data observed during the 2004 eruptive event, the gravity residual of 5 μGal amplitude shows a significant decrease in synchronization with eruptions, because the ascending magma mass in the conduit affects the upward attraction force to the gravimeters installed on the flank of Asama Volcano. The magma head altitude, to which the residual gravity is converted assuming a homogeneous linear density in the conduit, shows a comprehensive agreement of the time variation in the magma head with those in other volcanic observations, such as gas emission rate and earthquake frequency. By correcting the hydrological gravity disturbances using this hydrological model and simultaneously obtained meteorological data in real time, spatiotemporal variations in the magma mass can be instantaneously monitored at Asama Volcano, even before eruptions during future volcanic events.
Analysis of riverine suspended particulate matter fluxes (Gulf of Lion, Mediterranean Sea) using a synergy of ocean color observations with a 3‐D hydrodynamic sediment transport model
Authors: Le Fouest Vincent , Chami Malik , Verney Romaric 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe export of riverine suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the coastal ocean has major implications for the biogeochemical cycles. In the Mediterranean Sea (France), the Rhone River inputs of SPM into the Gulf of Lion (GoL) are highly variable in time, which severely impedes the assessment of SPM fluxes. The objectives of this study are (i) to investigate the prediction of the land‐to‐ocean flux of SPM using the complementarity (i.e., synergy) between a hydrodynamic sediment transport model and satellite observations, and (ii) to analyze the spatial distribution of the SPM export. An original approach that combines the MARS‐3D model with satellite ocean color data is proposed. Satellite‐derived SPM and light penetration depth are used to initialize MARS‐3D and to validate its predictions. A sensitivity analysis is performed to quantify the impact of riverine SPM size composition and settling rate on the horizontal export of SPM. The best agreement between the model and the satellite in terms of SPM spatial distribution and export is obtained for two conditions: (i) when the relative proportion of “heavy and fast” settling particles significantly increases relative to the “light and slow” ones, and (ii) when the settling rate of heavy and light SPM increases by fivefold. The synergy between MARS‐3D and the satellite data improved the SPM flux predictions by 48% near the Rhone River mouth. Our results corroborate the importance of implementing satellite observations within initialization procedures of ocean models since data assimilation techniques may fail for river floods showing strong seasonal variability.
Landfast ice affects the stability of the Arctic halocline: Evidence from a numerical model
Authors: Itkin Polona , Losch Martin , Gerdes Rüdiger 
Published: January 2015

AbstractLandfast ice covers large surface areas of the winter Siberian Seas. The immobile landfast ice cover inhibits divergent and convergent motion, hence dynamical sea ice growth and redistribution, decouples winter river plumes in coastal seas from the atmosphere, and positions polynyas at the landfast ice edge offshore. In spite of the potentially large effects, state‐of‐the‐art numerical models usually do not represent landfast ice in its correct extent. A simple parametrization of landfast ice based on bathymetry and internal sea ice strength is introduced and its effects on the simulated Arctic Ocean are demonstrated. The simulations suggest that the Siberian landfast ice impacts the Arctic halocline stability through enhanced brine production in polynyas located closer to the shelf break and by redirecting river water to the Canadian Basin. These processes strengthen the halocline in the Canadian Basin, but erode its stability in the Makarov and Eurasian Basins.
Calculation of beams of positrons, neutrons, and protons associated with terrestrial gamma ray flashes
Authors: Köhn Christoph , Ebert Ute 
Published: January 2015

AbstractPositron beams have been observed by the Fermi satellite to be correlated with lightning leaders, and neutron emissions have been attributed to lightning and to laboratory sparks as well. Here we discuss the cross sections to be used for modeling these emissions, and we calculate the emissions of positrons, neutrons, and also protons from lightning leaders. Neutrons were first erroneously attributed to fusion reactions, but the photonuclear reaction responsible for neutrons should create protons as well. We predict them here; they have not been observed yet. In the paper, we first revisit the model for stepped lightning leaders of Xu, Celestin, and Pasko with updated cross sections, we analyze the spatial and energetic structure of the electron beam, and we calculate the spectrum of the generated gamma ray beam at 16 km altitude. Then we review the scattering processes of photons with emphasis on the processes above 5 MeV, in particular the photon energy losses in Compton scattering events and the generation of leptons and hadrons. We provide simple approximations for photon energy loss and lepton and hadron production for any photon with energy above 5 MeV passing through an arbitrary air layer. Finally, we launch a gamma ray beam with the earlier calculated spectrum of the negative stepped lightning leader from 16 km upward and calculate the production and energy of positrons, neutrons, and protons as well as the propagation of positrons.
Multiscale decomposition for heterogeneous land‐atmosphere systems
Authors: Liu Shaofeng , Shao Yaping , Hintz Michael , Lennartz‐Sassinek Sabine 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe land‐atmosphere system is characterized by pronounced land surface heterogeneity and vigorous atmospheric turbulence both covering a wide range of scales. The multiscale surface heterogeneities and multiscale turbulent eddies interact nonlinearly with each other. Understanding these multiscale processes quantitatively is essential to the subgrid parameterizations for weather and climate models. In this paper, we propose a method for surface heterogeneity quantification and turbulence structure identification. The first part of the method is an orthogonal transform in the probability density function (PDF) domain, in contrast to the orthogonal wavelet transforms which are performed in the physical space. As the basis of the whole method, the orthogonal PDF transform (OPT) is used to asymptotically reconstruct the original signals by representing the signal values with multilevel approximations. The “patch” idea is then applied to these reconstructed fields in order to recognize areas at the land surface or in turbulent flows that are of the same characteristics. A patch here is a connected area with the same approximation. For each recognized patch, a length scale is then defined to build the energy spectrum. The OPT and related energy spectrum analysis, as a whole referred to as the orthogonal PDF decomposition (OPD), is applied to two‐dimensional heterogeneous land surfaces and atmospheric turbulence fields for test. The results show that compared to the wavelet transforms, the OPD can reconstruct the original signal more effectively, and accordingly, its energy spectrum represents the signal's multiscale variation more accurately. The method we propose in this paper is of general nature and therefore can be of interest for problems of multiscale process description in other geophysical disciplines.
Constructing accurate maps of atmospheric water vapor by combining interferometric synthetic aperture radar and GNSS observations
Authors: Alshawaf Fadwa , Hinz Stefan , Mayer Michael , Meyer Franz J. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractOver the past 20years, repeat‐pass spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been widely used as a geodetic technique to generate maps of the Earth's topography and to measure the Earth's surface deformation. In this paper, we present a new approach to exploit microwave data from InSAR, particularly Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PSI), and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to derive maps of the absolute water vapor content in the Earth's atmosphere. Atmospheric water vapor results in a phase shift in the InSAR interferogram, which if successfully separated from other phase components provides valuable information about its distribution. PSI produces precipitable water vapor (PWV) difference maps of a high spatial density, which can be inverted using the least squares method to retrieve PWV maps at each SAR acquisition time. These maps do not contain the absolute (total) PWV along the signal path but only a part of it. The components eliminated by forming interferograms or phase filtering during PSI data processing are reconstructed using GNSS phase observations. The approach is applied to build maps of absolute PWV by combining data from InSAR and GNSS over the region of Upper Rhine Graben in Germany and France. For validation, we compared the derived PWV maps with PWV maps measured by the optical sensor MEdium‐Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. The results show strong spatial correlation with values of uncertainty of less than 1.5mm. Continuous grids of PWV are then produced by applying the kriging geostatistical interpolation technique that exploits the spatial correlations between the PWV observations.
A snowfall detection algorithm over land utilizing high‐frequency passive microwave measurements—Application to ATMS
Authors: Kongoli Cezar , Meng Huan , Dong Jun , Ferraro Ralph 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThis paper presents a snowfall detection algorithm over land from high‐frequency passive microwave measurements. The algorithm computes the probability of snowfall using logistic regression and the principal components of the seven high‐frequency brightness temperature measurements at Atmospheric Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) channel frequencies 89 GHz and above. The oxygen absorption channel 6 (53.6 GHz) is utilized as temperature proxy to define the snowfall retrieval domain. Ground truth surface meteorological data including snowfall occurrence were collected over Conterminous U.S. and Alaska during two winter seasons in 2012–2013 and 2013–2014. Statistical analysis of the in situ data matched with ATMS measurements showed that in relatively warmer weather, snowfall tends to be associated with lower high‐frequency brightness temperatures than no snowfall, and the brightness temperatures are negatively correlated with measured snowfall rate. In colder weather conditions, however, snowfall tends to occur at higher microwave brightness temperatures than no‐snowfall, and the brightness temperatures are positively correlated with snowfall rate. The brightness temperature decrease and the negative correlations with snowfall rate in warmer weather are attributed to the scattering effect. It is hypothesized that the scattering effect is insignificant in colder weather due to the predominance of lighter snowfall and emission. Based on these results, a two‐step algorithm is developed that optimizes snowfall detection over these two distinct temperature regimes. Evaluation of the algorithm shows skill in capturing snowfall in variable weather conditions as well as the remaining challenges in the retrieval of lighter and colder snowfall.
Lunar Surface Gravimeter as a lunar seismometer: Investigation of a new source of seismic information on the Moon
Authors: Kawamura Taichi , Kobayashi Naoki , Tanaka Satoshi , Lognonné Philippe 
Published: January 2015

AbstractLunar seismology has always suffered from the limited number of seismic stations and limited coverage of the seismic network. Additional seismic data are necessary to probe the lunar interior in depth. Instead of a costly new deployment of seismometers, the aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of using the Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Gravimeter (LSG) as a lunar seismometer. The LSG was designed to detect gravitational waves (associated to change in the curvature of spacetime) and tidal ground motion on the Moon, but the data were not investigated for seismic use partially because of a malfunction of the instrument. We first evaluated the influence of the malfunction through comparison with other Apollo seismic data and found that the effect of the malfunction is small, and the LSG detected seismic signals in a manner that was consistent with those of the other Apollo seismometers. Then we carried out source location with the additional station of the LSG. We relocated previously located deep moonquake nests to evaluate the influence of the LSG data, which are generally noisier than other Apollo seismic data. Then we located deep moonquake nests that were previously unlocatable. Forty deep moonquake nests were examined, and we located five new nests. One newly located nest, A284, was most likely to be located on the farside. This series of analyses indicates that the LSG functioned as a lunar seismometer, and that its data are useful for improving seismic analyses with the previous seismic data set of the Moon.
The influence of crustal strength fields on the patterns and rates of fluvial incision
Authors: Roy S. G. , Koons P. O. , Upton P. , Tucker G. E. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractGradients in the bedrock strength field are increasingly recognized as integral to the rates and patterns of landscape evolution. To explore this influence, we incorporate data from fault strength profiles into a landscape evolution model, under the assumption that erodibility of rock is proportional to the inverse square root of cohesion for bedrock rivers incised by bedload abrasion. Our model calculations illustrate how patterns in the crustal strength field can play a dominant role in local fluvial erosion rates and consequently the development of fluvial network patterns. Fluvial incision within weak zones can be orders of magnitude faster than that for resistant bedrock. The large difference in erosion rate leads to the formation of a straight, high‐order channel with short, orthogonal tributaries of low order. In comparison, channels incising into homogeneous strength fields produce dendritic drainage patterns with no directional dependence associated with erodibility gradients. Channels that cross the strength gradient experience local variations in knickpoint migration rate and the development of stationary knickpoints. Structurally confined channels can shift laterally if they incise into weak zones with a shallow dip angle, and this effect is strongly dependent on the magnitude of the strength difference, the dip angle, and the symmetry and thickness of the weak zone. The influence of the strength field on drainage network patterns becomes less apparent for erodibility gradients that approach homogeneity. There are multiple natural examples with drainage network patterns similar to those seen in our numerical experiments.
Complex inner core of the Earth: The last frontier of global seismology
Authors: Tkalčić Hrvoje 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe days when the Earth's inner core (IC) was viewed as a homogeneous solid sphere surrounded by the liquid outer core (OC) are now behind us. Due to a limited number of data sampling the IC and a lack of experimentally controlled conditions in the deep Earth studies, it has been difficult to scrutinize competitive hypotheses in this active area of research. However, a number of new concepts linking IC structure and dynamics has been proposed lately to explain different types of seismological observations. A common denominator of recent observational work on the IC is increased complexity seen in IC physical properties such as its isotropic and anisotropic structure, attenuation, inner core boundary (ICB) topography, and its rotational dynamics. For example, small‐scale features have been observed to exist as a widespread phenomenon in the uppermost inner core, probably superimposed on much longer‐scale features. The characterization of small‐scale features sheds light on the nature of the solidification process and helps in understanding seismologically observed hemispherical dichotomy of the IC. The existence of variations in the rate and level of solidification is a plausible physical outcome in an environment where vigorous compositional convection in the OC and variations in heat exchange across the ICB may control the process of crystal growth. However, further progress is hindered by the fact that the current traveltime data of PKIKP waves traversing the IC do not allow discriminating between variations in isotropic P wave velocity and velocity anisotropy. Future studies of attenuation in the IC might provide crucial information about IC structure, although another trade‐off exists—that of the relative contribution of scattering versus viscoelastic attenuation and the connection with the material properties. Future installations of dense arrays, cross paths of waves that sample the IC, and corresponding array studies will be a powerful tool to image and clearly distinguish between viscoelastic and scattering attenuation, and isotropic‐ and anisotropic‐heterogeneity related effects on traveltimes of core‐sensitive body waves. This will then inevitably contribute to a better understanding of what the IC is made of, how it solidifies and how it contributes to the generation and dynamics of the geomagnetic field.
The UCSD kinematic IPS solar wind boundary and its use in the ENLIL 3‐D MHD prediction model
Authors: Jackson B. V. , Odstrcil D. , Yu H.‐S. , Hick P. P. , Buffington A. , Mejia‐Ambriz J. C. , Kim J. , Hong S. , Kim Y. , Han J. , Tokumaru M. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe University of California, San Diego interplanetary scintillation (IPS) time‐dependent kinematic 3‐D reconstruction technique has been used and expanded upon for over a decade to provide predictions of heliospheric solar wind parameters. These parameters include global reconstructions of velocity, density, and (through potential field modeling and extrapolation upward from the solar surface) radial and tangential interplanetary magnetic fields. Time‐dependent results can be extracted at any solar distance within the reconstructed volume and are now being exploited as inner boundary values to drive the ENLIL 3‐D MHD model in near real time. The advantage of this coupled system is that it uses the more complete physics of 3‐D MHD modeling to provide an automatic prediction of coronal mass ejections and solar wind stream structures several days prior to their arrival at Earth without employing coronagraph observations. Here we explore, with several examples, the current differences between the IPS real‐time kinematic analyses and those from the ENLIL 3‐D MHD modeling using IPS‐derived real‐time boundaries. Future possibilities for this system include incorporating many different worldwide IPS stations as input to the remote sensing analysis using ENLIL as a kernel in the iterative 3‐D reconstructions.