Geodetic deformation rates and driving processes in metropolitan France and neighboring Western Europe

Author(s):  
Stephane Mazzotti ◽  
Juliette Grosset ◽  
Christine Masson ◽  
Philippe Vernant

<p>We constrain present-day deformation rates and styles in metropolitan France and neighboring Western Europe using a dataset of ca. 1200 GNSS horizontal and vertical velocities from continuous and semi-continuous stations. The characterization and correction of network-scale common-mode noise, combined with two independent network analysis technics allow the resolution of very small horizontal velocities (resp. strain rates) with a 95% confidence ca. 0.1–0.2 mm/yr (resp. ca. 1 x 10<sup>-9</sup> yr<sup>-9</sup>) on a spatial scale of 100–200 km. The resulting velocity and strain rate fields show regional coherent patterns that can be associated with features that have been previously identified (e.g., orogen-normal extension in the Pyrenees and Western Alps), but also with new deformation patterns such as North-South shortening in northeastern France - southwestern Germany north of the Alpine Front (Vosges - Rhine Graben - Black Forest). A joint analysis of these new geodetic data with seismicity and focal mechanism catalogs allows the definition of regional seismo-tectonic models that can be compared with the numerous models of deformation processes proposed for Western Europe, from plate tectonics to erosion or Glacial Isostatic Adjustment. We show that plate and micro-plate tectonics play a minor (probably negligible) role in present-day deformation in metropolitan France and that alternative non-tectonic processes must be considered to better understand the origin of recent moderate earthquakes such as the March 2019 Ml=4.9 Montendre earthquake in the Aquitaine Basin or the Nov. 2019 Mw=4.8 Teil earthquake in the Rhone Valley.</p>

2020 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Mazzotti ◽  
Hervé Jomard ◽  
Frédéric Masson

Most of metropolitan France and conterminous Western Europe is currently located within the Eurasia intraplate domain, far from major plate boundaries (the Atlantic ridge and Nubia – Eurasia convergence zone). As in other intraplate regions, present-day deformation and seismicity rates are very slow, resulting in limited data and strong uncertainties on the ongoing seismotectonics and seismic hazards. In the last two decades, new geological, seismological and geodetic data and research have brought to light unexpected deformation patterns in metropolitan France, such as orogen-normal extension ca. 0.5 mm yr−1 in the Pyrenees and Western Alps that cannot be associated with their mountain-building history. Elsewhere, present-day deformation and seismicity data provide a partial picture that points to mostly extensive to strike-slip deformation regimes (except in the Western Alps foreland). A review of the numerous studies and observations shows that plate tectonics (plate motion, mantle convection) are not the sole, nor likely the primary driver of present-day deformation and seismicity and that additional processes must be considered, such as topography potential energy, erosion or glacial isostatic adjustment since the last glaciation. The exact role of each process probably varies from one region to another and remains to be characterized. In addition, structural inheritance (crust or mantle weakening from past tectonic events) can play a strong role in deformation localization and amplification up to factors of 5–20, which could explain some of the spatial variability in seismicity. On the basis of this review, we identify three research directions that should be developed to better characterize the seismicity, deformation rates and related processes in metropolitan France: macroseismic and historical seismicity, especially regarding moment magnitude estimations; geodetic deformation, including in regions of low seismicity where the ratio of seismic to aseismic deformation remains a key unknown; an integrated and consistent seismotectonic framework comprising numerical models, geological, seismological and geodetic data. The latter has the potential for significant improvements in the characterization of seismicity and seismic hazard in metropolitan France but also Western Europe.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Masson ◽  
Stephane Mazzotti ◽  
Philippe Vernant ◽  
Erik Doerflinger

Abstract. We use dense geodetic networks and large GPS datasets to extract regionally coherent velocities and deformation rates in France and neighboring Western Europe. This analysis is combined with statistical tests on synthetic data to quantify the deformation detection thresholds and significance levels. By combining two distinct methods, Gaussian smoothing and k-means clustering, we extract horizontal deformations with a 95% confidence level ca. 0.1–0.2 mm yr−1 (ca. 0.5–1 × 10-9 yr−1) on spatial scales of 100–200 km or more. From these analyses, we show that the regionally average velocity and strain rate fields are statistically significant in most of our study area. The first order deformation signal in France and neighboring Western Europe is a belt of N-S to NE-SW shortening ca. 0.2–0.4 mm yr−1 (1–2 × 10−9 yr−1) in central and eastern France. In addition to this large-scale signal, patterns of orogen-normal extension are observed in the Alps and the Pyrenees, but methodological biases, mainly related to GPS solution combinations, limit the spatial resolution and preclude associations with specific geological structures. The patterns of deformation in western France show either tantalizing correlation (Brittany) or anti-correlation (Aquitaine Basin) with the seismicity. Overall, more detailed analyses are required to address the possible origin of these signals and the potential role of aseismic deformation.


Paragraph ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-153
Author(s):  
Daisy Sainsbury

Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's analysis of minor literature, deterritorialization and agrammaticality, this article explores the possibility of a ‘minor poetry’, considering various interpretations of the term, and interrogating the value of the distinction between minor poetry and minor literature. The article considers Bakhtin's work, which offers several parallels to Deleuze and Guattari's in its consideration of the language system and the place of literature within it, but which also addresses questions of genre. It pursues Christian Prigent's hypothesis, in contrast to Bakhtin's account of poetic discourse, that Deleuze and Guattari's notion of deterritorialization might offer a definition of poetic language. Considering the work of two French-language poets, Ghérasim Luca and Olivier Cadiot, the article argues that the term ‘minor poetry’ gains an additional relevance for experimental twentieth-century poetry which grapples with its own generic identity, deterritorializing established conceptions of poetry, and making ‘minor’ the major poetic discourses on which it is contingent.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-180
Author(s):  
VERA SHUNYAEVA ◽  

The article is devoted to the research of the youth criminal subculture and its impact on the personality of under-aged. In the course of analysis of this negative impact, a definition of the criminal subculture of under-aged was proposed. The main principles of such a criminal subculture as AUE (the acronym, transcribed from Russian: АУЕ or А.У.Е., comes from «Арестантский уклад един» / “Prisoners Unity (Solidarity)” are defined. The reasons contributing to the development of this negative phenomenon and the typical fea- tures of a minor sharing the ideology of the AUE were identified. The methods for counteracting the AUE were proposed. The method- ological basis of the research is formed by general scientific methods: dialectical, system research method, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy, etc., as well as such private scientific methods as comparative legal, formal legal, structural and functional, statistical ones. The authors relied on the results of research by Russian and foreign legal scholars, sociologists, psychologists.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Salavert ◽  
Antoine Zazzo ◽  
Lucie Martin ◽  
Ferran Antolín ◽  
Caroline Gauthier ◽  
...  

AbstractThis paper aims to define the first chrono-cultural framework on the domestication and early diffusion of the opium poppy using small-sized botanical remains from archaeological sites, opening the way to directly date minute short-lived botanical samples. We produced the initial set of radiocarbon dates directly from the opium poppy remains of eleven Neolithic sites (5900–3500 cal BCE) in the central and western Mediterranean, northwestern temperate Europe, and the western Alps. When possible, we also dated the macrobotanical remains originating from the same sediment sample. In total, 22 samples were taken into account, including 12 dates directly obtained from opium poppy remains. The radiocarbon chronology ranges from 5622 to 4050 cal BCE. The results show that opium poppy is present from at least the middle of the sixth millennium in the Mediterranean, where it possibly grew naturally and was cultivated by pioneer Neolithic communities. Its dispersal outside of its native area was early, being found west of the Rhine in 5300–5200 cal BCE. It was introduced to the western Alps around 5000–4800 cal BCE, becoming widespread from the second half of the fifth millennium. This research evidences different rhythms in the introduction of opium poppy in western Europe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-175
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik ◽  
Peteris F. Timofejevs

Over the last two decades, family law has undergone changes in Western Europe, widening the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. In addition, some East European countries offer a legal recognition of civil unions of same-sex couples, while others do not offer any legal recognition at all. This diversity in family law has been recently challenged by developments at the European level. It is argued here that this constitutes an adaptational pressure on those European Union (EU) member states that do not offer any or offer only formal recognition of same-sex couples. We examine two cases when member states faced such an adaptational pressure, namely Estonia and Latvia, focusing on the interplay of two types of factors. First is that of formal institutions which, due to their constitutional role or their expertise in the EU law, may act as facilitators of legal changes. On the other hand, there are also political actors which have tried to constrain such an adaptation. We examine here especially the role of two political parties which have made a considerable effort to oppose the change in the two countries. It is argued here that the ideological orientation of these parties explains, at least partly, their opposition to the ongoing Europeanization of family law. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main findings and their implications.


BUILDER ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 293 (12) ◽  
pp. 46-51
Author(s):  
Svitlana Linda

Despite the short chronological span of the socialist era architecture heritage, it remains little investigated and underappreciated. Given the political and cultural isolation of the Soviet Union republics and strict architectural design regulations, there was a widespread belief that architects should not use innovative trends. This article exemplifies residential quarters in the historic Podil district, designed and built in the 1970s-1980s in Kyiv. They vividly demonstrate the postmodern ideas embodied in Ukrainian architecture. Methodologically, the article bases on the Ch. Jencks definition of postmodernism and in the comparison of his ideology with the implemented Kyiv project. It states that Kyiv architects proposed not typical Soviet construction projects but international postmodern architectural solutions. It proves that, on the one hand, Ukrainian architects had perfect qualifications to draw construction projects implementing advanced world trends of the time. But on the other hand, it highlights that postmodernism in architecture did not merely confine to Western Europe and the United States but also penetrated the Iron Curtain, exemplifying innovative architectural thinking which ran contrary to the modernist paradigm.


1983 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 26-38

The recovery in the OECD area gathered pace in the second quarter, when its total GDP probably increased by as much as 1 per cent. The rise was, however, heavily concentrated in North America and particularly the US. There may well have been a slight fall in Western Europe, where the level of industrial production hardly changed and increases in gross product in West Germany and, to a minor extent, in France were outweighed by falls in Italy and (according to the expenditure measure) the UK.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonijo Galić ◽  
Bruno Gauta ◽  
Lidija Halilović ◽  
Ivana Jadreško ◽  
Suzana Kardum

Consumers in Croatia only recently got the opportunity to buy exotic fruits and vegetables. Until now offer was limited to the already known species which could be found on the shelves for decades, and this types can generally be cultivated in Croatia (except bananas, pineapples and several types of citrus). The demand for exotic fruits and vegetables and its cultivation in Western Europe is growing, and this trend is coming to Croatia. In the study conducted for the city of Zadar the correlation of the interest in buying exotic fruit/vegetables and familiarity with the product, the exact definition of the product and the most significant characteristics of kiwano/sweet potatoes was explored. Regression analysis results showed that all three independent variables significantly predict purchase of both kiwano and sweet potatoes. Three segments of consumers with respect to their demographic characteristics were identified using cluster analysis. A more detailed analysis of these groups could serve future researchers in order to segment the market and determine the marketing approach to each of the segments.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
György Csomós

Analysis of Leading Cities in Central Europe: Control of Regional EconomyNowadays, one of the characteristic orientations in social science studies focusing on cities is the ranking of cities, as well as the definition of the world's leading cities (world cities, global cities) on the basis of various criteria. Central European countries are given just a minor role in these researches, particularly in comparison with German cities with their considerable economic performance. This analysis compares the large cities of Austria, Germany and the countries of the Visegrád Group in terms of their role in economic leadership. To this end, the characteristic parameters have been examined: the GDP in purchasing power standards and nominal GDP of the cities, the revenues of large companies found in these cities, as well as the domestic market capitalization of the stock exchanges.


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