scholarly journals Earthquake magnitude, intensity, energy, and acceleration*

1942 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-191
Author(s):  
B. Gutenberg ◽  
C. F. Richter

Summary The paper investigates the principal physical elements of earthquakes: the magnitude M, energy E, intensity I, acceleration a, and their relation to the depth h and radius of perceptibility r. (r2 + h2 = R2. Subscript zero (0) refers to the epicenter.) Equations log ⁡ a = I 3 − 1 2 and A D 2 T 2 = constant (A = ground amplitude, T = period, D = hypocentral distance for a given shock) are established empirically for California shocks. Equation (9) holds very generally, and offers a basis for a more accurate definition of I, like that suggested by Cancani. Equation (4) is here used very generally at short distances; but it is approximate only, may differ regionally, and bridges over the probably discontinuous transition of the maximum acceleration from S̄ to some other transverse wave, with increasing distance. However, consequences derived from (4) nowhere conflict seriously with observation. The instrumental earthquake-magnitude scale has been extended to cover short distances. The results enter into an empirical relation M = 2.2 + 1.8 log ⁡ a 0 from which and (9) follows M = 1.3 + 0.6 I 0 These two equations are established and verified for the California region; they should also hold in other regions of similar structure for earthquakes originating at about the same depth (which is roughly 18 km.). The simplest possible assumptions (constant velocity, negligible absorption, sinusoidal waves) lead to the general equation log ⁡ E = 14.9 + 2 log ⁡ h + log ⁡ t 0 + 2 log ⁡ T 0 + 2 log ⁡ a 0 (t0 = duration, T0 = period, of sinusoidal wave train at the epicenter). Equations (27), (9), and (4) give the generally applicable results a 0 h 2 = a D 2 = a r R 2 I 1 − I 2 = 6 log ⁡ D 2 D 1 I 0 − 1.5 = 6 log ⁡ R h ar, the minimum perceptible acceleration, is approximately 1 gal. For shocks at the usual depth in California log ⁡ E = 11.3 + 1.8 M For other depths, and probably for other regions, log ⁡ E = 9.5 + 3.2 log ⁡ h + 1.1 I 0 log ⁡ E = 11.1 + 6.4 log ⁡ R − 3.2 log ⁡ h A summary of the physical elements for shocks in California is given in table 10. Equation (13) is used to calculate apparent depths for earthquakes in the United States and Europe. The results tend to confirm the relatively shallow origin of shocks on the Pacific Coast compared with those occurring elsewhere, particularly under the Canadian Shield, the central Mississippi Valley, and the southern Appalachians.

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 935-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen F. Corfidi ◽  
Michael C. Coniglio ◽  
Ariel E. Cohen ◽  
Corey M. Mead

Abstract The word “derecho” was first used by Gustavus Hinrichs in 1888 to distinguish the widespread damaging windstorms that occurred on occasion over the mid–Mississippi Valley region of the United States from damaging winds associated with tornadoes. The term soon fell into disuse, however, and did not appear in the literature until Robert Johns and William Hirt resurrected it in the mid-1980s. While the present definition of derecho served well during the early years of the term’s reintroduction to the meteorological community, it has several shortcomings. These have become more apparent in recent years as various studies shed light on the physical processes responsible for the production of widespread damaging winds. In particular, the current definition’s emphasis on the coverage of storm reports at the expense of identifying the convective structures and physical processes deemed responsible for the reports has led to the term being applied to wind events beyond those for which it originally was intended. The revised definition of a derecho proposed herein is intended to focus more specifically on those types of windstorms that are the most damaging and potentially life threatening because of their intensity, sustenance, and degree of organization. The proposal is not intended to be final or all encompassing, but rather an initial step toward ultimately realizing a more complete physically based taxonomy that also addresses other forms of damaging-wind-producing convective systems.


1967 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-758
Author(s):  
Helen W. Freedman

abstract The disturbingly large variation in magnitude estimates observable in any earthquake catalogue has led to this analysis of one particular catalogue and definition of magnitude. The method employed by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey is analyzed in the light of theoretical considerations concerning the probability distribution of the variables involved. In particular, the truncation procedure seems to lead to estimates which consistently underestimate the magnitude for large earthquakes, and perhaps overestimate the magnitude for small ones. An alternative method is suggested which leads to estimates which are in good agreement with those provided by Berkeley, Pasadena and Lamont.


Author(s):  
Michael T. Postek

The term ultimate resolution or resolving power is the very best performance that can be obtained from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) given the optimum instrumental conditions and sample. However, as it relates to SEM users, the conventional definitions of this figure are ambiguous. The numbers quoted for the resolution of an instrument are not only theoretically derived, but are also verified through the direct measurement of images on micrographs. However, the samples commonly used for this purpose are specifically optimized for the measurement of instrument resolution and are most often not typical of the sample used in practical applications.SEM RESOLUTION. Some instruments resolve better than others either due to engineering design or other reasons. There is no definitively accurate definition of how to quantify instrument resolution and its measurement in the SEM.


Author(s):  
Tim Rutherford-Johnson

By the start of the 21st century many of the foundations of postwar culture had disappeared: Europe had been rebuilt and, as the EU, had become one of the world’s largest economies; the United States’ claim to global dominance was threatened; and the postwar social democratic consensus was being replaced by market-led neoliberalism. Most importantly of all, the Cold War was over, and the World Wide Web had been born. Music After The Fall considers contemporary musical composition against this changed backdrop, placing it in the context of globalization, digitization, and new media. Drawing on theories from the other arts, in particular art and architecture, it expands the definition of Western art music to include forms of composition, experimental music, sound art, and crossover work from across the spectrum, inside and beyond the concert hall. Each chapter considers a wide range of composers, performers, works, and institutions are considered critically to build up a broad and rich picture of the new music ecosystem, from North American string quartets to Lebanese improvisers, from South American electroacoustic studios to pianos in the Australian outback. A new approach to the study of contemporary music is developed that relies less on taxonomies of style and technique, and more on the comparison of different responses to common themes, among them permission, fluidity, excess, and loss.


Author(s):  
Carlos Ortiz de Landázuri

Heidegger, Zubiri, Apel y Polo habrían propuesto una definición más correcta de las respectivas nociones de sujeto relacional humano, a saber: “Dasein” o “ser-ahí”; “personeidad” o “esencia abierta”; “intersubjetividad” o “la llamada por parte de los entes a diversos interlocutores”; y, finalmente, “persona-núcleo” o “agente mediador entre los entes y el ser”. Se pretendía así evitar una vuelta a las paradojas del “sujeto transcendental” en Kant, del “yo absoluto” en Hegel o del “sujeto fenomenológico” en Husserl. Sin embargo en cada caso se siguieron estrategias heurísticas específicamente distintas a la hora de conceptualizar dicho sujeto relacional: Heidegger propuso una superación de la noción de “sujeto fenomenológico” en Husserl; Zubiri, en cambio, defendería una recuperación de la noción de “sujeto fenomenológico” en Husserl; por su parte, Apel propondría una reformulación semióticamente transformada del “Dasein” heideggeriano; finalmente, Polo propondría una reformulación gnoseológica de la noción de “Dasein” heideggeriano.Heidegger, Zubiri, Apel, and Polo have proposed a more accurate definition of the respective notions of human relational subject: “Dasein” or “being-there”; “Personhood” or “open essence”; “inter-subjectivity” or “entities’ appeal to diverse interlocutors”; and, finally, “nucleus-person” or “mediator between entities and being”. The aim is to avoid a return to Kant’s transcendental subject paradoxes and Hegel’s “absolute I” or Husserl´s “fenomenological subject”. But in each case specifically different heuristic strategies were followed when conceptualizing said relational subject: Heidegger proposed overcoming the notion of “phenomenological subject” in Husserl; Zubiri, however, defend the recovery of the notion of “phenomenological subject” in Husserl; meanwhile, Apel propose a transformed semiotically reformulation of Heidegger’s “Dasein”; finally, Polo propose a reformulation of the epistemological notion of Heidegger’s “Dasein”.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-77
Author(s):  
Martin Dahl

When the political camp centred on the Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in 2015, it led to a change in priorities in Polish foreign policy. The Three Seas Initiative (TSI), understood as closer cooperation between eastern states of the European Union in the area between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black seas, has become a new instrument of foreign policy. The initiative demonstrates the growing importance of Central and Eastern Europe in the global game of great powers. The region has become a subject of rivalry, not only between the United States and Russia but also China. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to try to describe the importance of the region to Germany and how Germany’s stance on the TSI has evolved. The article consists of three parts, an introduction to the issues, the genesis of the TSI, and the definition of goals set by the states participating in this initiative, as well as analysis of the German stance towards the initiative since its development in 2015. The theories of geopolitics and neorealism are used as the theoretical basis for the analysis.


1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Alan H. Vicory ◽  
Peter A. Tennant

With the attainment of secondary treatment by virtually all municipal discharges in the United States, control of water pollution from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) has assumed a high priority. Accordingly, a national strategy was issued in 1989 which, in 1993, was expanded into a national policy on CSO control. The national policy establishes as an objective the attainment of receiving water quality standards, rather than a design storm/treatment technology based approach. A significant percentage of the CSOs in the U.S. are located along the Ohio River. The states along the Ohio have decided to coordinate their CSO control efforts through the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). With the Commission assigned the responsibility of developing a monitoring approach which would allow the definition of CSO impacts on the Ohio, research by the Commission found that very little information existed on the monitoring and assessment of large rivers for the determination of CSO impacts. It was therefore necessary to develop a strategy for coordinated efforts by the states, the CSO dischargers, and ORSANCO to identify and apply appropriate monitoring approaches. A workshop was held in June 1993 to receive input from a variety of experts. Taking into account this input, a strategy has been developed which sets forth certain approaches and concepts to be considered in assessing CSO impacts. In addition, the strategy calls for frequent sharing of findings in order that the data collection efforts by the several agencies can be mutually supportive and lead to technically sound answers regarding CSO impacts and control needs.


Author(s):  
Takis S. Pappas

Based on an original definition of modern populism as “democratic illiberalism” and many years of meticulous research, Takis Pappas marshals extraordinary empirical evidence from Argentina, Greece, Peru, Italy, Venezuela, Ecuador, Hungary, the United States, Spain, and Brazil to develop a comprehensive theory about populism. He addresses all key issues in the debate about populism and answers significant questions of great relevance for today’s liberal democracy, including: • What is modern populism and how can it be differentiated from comparable phenomena like nativism and autocracy? • Where in Latin America has populism become most successful? Where in Europe did it emerge first? Why did its rise to power in the United States come so late? • Is Trump a populist and, if so, could he be compared best with Venezuela’s Chávez, France’s Le Pens, or Turkey’s Erdoğan? • Why has populism thrived in post-authoritarian Greece but not in Spain? And why in Argentina and not in Brazil? • Can populism ever succeed without a charismatic leader? If not, what does leadership tell us about how to challenge populism? • Who are “the people” who vote for populist parties, how are these “made” into a group, and what is in their minds? • Is there a “populist blueprint” that all populists use when in power? And what are the long-term consequences of populist rule? • What does the expansion, and possibly solidification, of populism mean for the very nature and future of contemporary democracy? Populism and Liberal Democracy will change the ways the reader understands populism and imagines the prospects of liberal democracy.


1974 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Lindsay ◽  
Cleve E. Willis

The spread of suburbs into previously rural areas has become commonplace in the United States. A rather striking aspect of this phenomenon has been the discontinuity which results. This aspect is often manifest in a haphazard mixture of unused and densely settled areas which has been described as “sprawl”. A more useful definition of suburban sprawl, its causes, and its consequences, is provided below in order to introduce the econometric objectives of this paper.


1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 60-76
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Morgan

Patricia Morgan's paper describes what happens when the state intervenes in the social problem of wife-battering. Her analysis refers to the United States, but there are clear implications for other countries, including Britain. The author argues that the state, through its social problem apparatus, manages the image of the problem by a process of bureaucratization, professionalization and individualization. This serves to narrow the definition of the problem, and to depoliticize it by removing it from its class context and viewing it in terms of individual pathology rather than structure. Thus refuges were initially run by small feminist collectives which had a dual objective of providing a service and promoting among the women an understanding of their structural position in society. The need for funds forced the groups to turn to the state for financial aid. This was given, but at the cost to the refuges of losing their political aims. Many refuges became larger, much more service-orientated and more diversified in providing therapy for the batterers and dealing with other problems such as alcoholism and drug abuse. This transformed not only the refuges but also the image of the problem of wife-battering.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document