Optical monitoring of quasars – I. Variability     

Aurea Garcia  Laerte Sodré Jr  Francisco J. Jablonski  Roberto J. Terlevich † 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1999,309(3):803-816

We present an analysis of quasar variability from data collected during a photometric monitoring of 50 objects carried out at CNPq/Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísicá, Brazil, between 1993 March and 1996 July. A distinctive feature of this survey is its photometric accuracy, ∼0.02  V  mag, achieved through differential photometry with CCD detectors, which allows the detection of faint levels of variability. We find that the relative variability, δ σ L , observed in the V band is anticorrelated with both luminosity and redshift, although we have no means of discovering the dominant relation, given the strong coupling between luminosity and redshift for the objects in our sample. We introduce a model for the dependence of quasar variability on frequency that is consistent with multiwavelength observations of the nuclear variability of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151. We show that correcting the observed variability for this effect slightly increases the significance of the trends of variability with luminosity and redshift. Assuming that variability depends only on the luminosity, we show that the corrected variability is anticorrelated with luminosity and is in good agreement with predictions of a simple Poissonian model. The energy derived for the hypothetical pulses, ∼10⁵⁰ erg, agrees well with those obtained in other studies. We also find that the radio-loud objects in our sample tend to be more variable than the radio-quiet ones, for all luminosities and redshifts.  相似文献   

Interference of an upstream pier on local scour at downstream piers   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Shivakumar Khaple  Prashanth Reddy Hanmaiahgari  Roberto Gaudio  Subhasish Dey 《Acta Geophysica》2017,65(1):29-46

In this study, three kinds of pier arrangements were tested. They are (i) two piers in tandem, (ii) two piers in staggered arrangement, and (iii) three piers in symmetrically staggered arrangements. In the arrangement of two piers in tandem, the equilibrium scour depth at downstream pier decreases with an increase in downstream distance up to approximately eight times pier diameter and then increases with further increase in downstream distance. However, the scour depth at downstream pier is always smaller than that at upstream pier. In the arrangement of two staggered piers, the scour depth at the downstream pier for L/b = 4, where L is the offset distance and b is the pier diameter, is the same as that of the upstream pier at S = 8b, where S is the streamwise spacing or distance between piers. Further, for three piers in staggered arrangement, as the lateral spacing between downstream piers increases, the equilibrium scour depth at downstream pier decreases.  相似文献   

A physics-based earthquake simulator and its application to seismic hazard assessment in Calabria (Southern Italy) region     

Rodolfo Console  Anna Nardi  Roberto Carluccio  Maura Murru  Giuseppe Falcone  Tom Parsons 《Acta Geophysica》2017,65(1):243-257

The use of a newly developed earthquake simulator has allowed the production of catalogs lasting 100 kyr and containing more than 100,000 events of magnitudes ≥4.5. The model of the fault system upon which we applied the simulator code was obtained from the DISS 3.2.0 database, selecting all the faults that are recognized on the Calabria region, for a total of 22 fault segments. The application of our simulation algorithm provides typical features in time, space and magnitude behavior of the seismicity, which can be compared with those of the real observations. The results of the physics-based simulator algorithm were compared with those obtained by an alternative method using a slip-rate balanced technique. Finally, as an example of a possible use of synthetic catalogs, an attenuation law has been applied to all the events reported in the synthetic catalog for the production of maps showing the exceedance probability of given values of PGA on the territory under investigation.  相似文献   

On the number of records for structural risk estimation in PBEE     

Georgios Baltzopoulos  Roberto Baraschino  Iunio Iervolino 《地震工程与结构动力学》2019,48(5):489-506

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Shake table testing of a miniature steel building with ductile-anchor,uplifting-column base connections for improved seismic performance     

Christopher Trautner  Tara Hutchinson  Philipp Grosser  Roberto Piccinin  John Silva 《地震工程与结构动力学》2019,48(2):173-187

Previous research has demonstrated that uplifting-column or rocking building systems may exhibit improved seismic performance, including reductions in total base shear and decreased residual drift, when compared with systems rigidly connected to the foundation. These beneficial effects may be due to lengthened periods, activation of rocking modes, and energy dissipation of base fuse elements. In the current work, several configurations of a miniature steel building with different combinations of base connection and traditional superstructure fuse strength and stiffness were subjected to identical earthquake motions to evaluate differences in demands and performance. The uplifting base connections incorporate highly ductile concrete anchors with long stretch lengths, allowing robust connection performance and easy replacement of damaged connection elements following the seismic event, an advantage over previously tested systems. Testing and dynamic numerical analysis indicates that ductile anchor uplifting systems may reduce total base shear by over 20%, as well as reducing residual structural drift by more than 80%.  相似文献   

The role of fault reactivation in the development of tropical montane lakes     

Pedro Walfir M. Souza-Filho  Roberto Vizeu L. Pinheiro  Francisco R. Costa  José Tasso F. Guimarães  Prafulla K. Sahoo  Marcio S. Silva  Cleverson G. Silva 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2020,45(14):3732-3746

This work details the role of fault reactivation in the development of tropical montane lakes by using basin morpho-structural analysis and seismostratigraphic studies. The upland lakes are severely faulted sinkholes, whose faults penetrate the Quaternary sedimentary units. Four main stages are related to the lake formation: (i) an Early Proterozoic tectonic deformation of the rocks along the southern border of the Carajás Structure, where the lake is placed; (ii) differential erosion by – and building of – the formation of the South Carajás Hill; (iii) Fe-rich crust formation by weathering and gravitational collapse faults following the E–W plateau border and the start of Violão Lake formation during the Pliocene–Pleistocene; and (iv) episodic fault-fracture reactivation by gravitational collapse causing pulses of subsidence in the lake and outlining its faulted borders. Dissolution of the lateritic crust and erosion by runoff drainage under wet climate conditions were coeval with fault activities, which allowed the deposition of relatively thick clastic deposits organized in three main seismostratigraphic units associated with major lake-level fluctuations. Initial fault reactivation under low-level water started lacustrine basin development with deposition of prograding fan deltas related to the main drainage. A second fault reactivation by gravitational collapse increased the lake accommodation space and resulted in the deposition of fine-grained sediments from dilute interflows or overflows until 36 000 cal year BP. At about 31 000 cal year BP, rapid decreases in the lake water level under redox conditions at the sediment/water interface allowed widespread siderite formation. A third gravitational collapse episode was responsible for the increase in the lake area and depth and the returning of clastic/organic deposition up to the present. This tropical montane lake can be seen as a representative example for understanding the formation of other upland lakes controlled by fault reactivation. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Can Euler deconvolution outline three-dimensional magnetic sources?     

Elizangela S. Amaral Mota  Walter E. Medeiros  Roberto G. Oliveira 《Geophysical Prospecting》2020,68(7):2271-2291

Severe limitations of the standard Euler deconvolution to outline source shapes have been pointed out. However, Euler deconvolution has been widely employed on field data to outline interfaces, as faults and thrust zones. We investigate the limitations of the 3D Euler deconvolution–derived estimates of source dip and volume with the use of reduced-to-the-pole synthetic and field anomalies. The synthetic anomalies are generated by two types of source bodies: (1) uniformly magnetized prisms, presenting either smooth or rough interfaces, and (2) bodies presenting smooth delimiting interfaces but strong internal variation of magnetization intensity. The dip of the first type of body might be estimated from the Euler deconvolution solution cluster if the ratio between the depth to the top and vertical extent is relatively high (>1/4). For the second type of body, besides dip, the source volume can be approximately delimited from the solution cluster envelope, regardless of the referred ratio. We apply Euler deconvolution to two field anomalies which are caused by a curved-shape thrust zone and by a banded iron formation. These anomalies are chosen because they share characteristics with the two types of synthetic bodies. For the thrust zone, the obtained Euler deconvolution solutions show spatial distribution allowing to estimate a source dip that is consistent with the surface geology data, even if the above-mentioned ratio is much less than 1/4. Thus, there are other factors, such as a heterogeneous magnetization, which might be controlling the vertical spreading of the Euler deconvolution solutions in the thrust zone. On the other hand, for the iron-ore formation, the solution cluster spreads out occupying a volume, in accordance with the results obtained with the synthetic sources having internal variation of magnetization intensity. As conclusion, although Euler deconvolution–derived solutions cannot offer accurate estimates of source shapes, they might provide a sufficient degree of reliability in the initial estimates of the source dip and volume, which may be useful in a later phase of more accurate modelling.  相似文献   

Continental evaporites and the search for evidence of life on Mars     

Roberto Barbieri  Nunzia Stivaletta 《Geological Journal》2011,46(6):513-524

Continental evaporites are deposits that originate from the evaporation of saline waters in the low areas of saline lakes from all continents, except Europe, and mainly consist of chloride, sulphate and potash minerals. In recent years, the discovery on the Martian surface of hydrated salt minerals, including sulphates and chlorides, interpreted as deriving from the desiccation of preexisting large bodies of water, such as lakes, has provided further convincing evidence of liquid water activity on the surface of Mars and, consequently, it has reinforced the plausibility of finding life. Because evaporites require short‐term aqueous processes for their formation, they can trap and preserve over geologic times a biological record made up of halophilic extremophiles—such as microalgae, bacteria, and their remains—that recent research on Earth has shown to be characterized by unexpectedly high biodiversity. This record may consist of varying types of fossils, including morphological fossils, chemofossils and biominerals. As a consequence, continental evaporite environments and their saline deposits are now a primary target for the near future astrobiology missions devoted to the search for fossil Martian life. Lacustrine evaporite deposits and minerals have, therefore, been identified as primary targets for the NASA–ESA joint programme of the Mars sample return, planned for the end of the current decade. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献