Earthquake hypocentre locations are crucial in many domains of application (academic and industrial) as seismic event location maps are commonly used to delineate faults or fractures. The interpretation of these maps depends on location accuracy and on the reliability of the associated uncertainties. The largest contribution to location and uncertainty errors is due to the fact that the velocit…

Microseismic events generate compressive waves and shear waves, which can be recorded at receivers. We present a theory that shows how elastic P and S waves separately back propagate to the origin also urcelocation.These refocused PandS wave fields are free of singularities.We also demonstrate a technique that enhances the ability to image the spatial focus for each wave type using elasti…

Rapid changes in slab geometry are typically associated with fragmentation of the subducted plate; however, continuous curvature of the slab is also possible. The transition from flat to normal subduction in southern Peru is one such geometrical change. The morphology of the subducted Nazca Plate along this transition is explored using intraslab earthquakes recorded by temporary regional …

The long and complex history of southern Africa makes it a geological nexus for understanding how crust forms, evolves and survives plate tectonic processes over billions of years. The goal of this study is to characterize the crustal thickness, composition, and Mohoimpedance contrasts across the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons and surrounding mobile belts, which range in age from Archean to Pala…

The numerical simulation of wave propagation in media with solid and fluid layers is essential for marinese is micexploration data analysis. The numerical methods for wave propagation that are applicable to this physical settings can be broadly classified as partitioned or monolithic: The partitioned methods use separate simulations in the fluid and solid regions and explicitl…

We present a comprehensive scientific and technical update of the Swiss customization of United States Geological Survey ShakeMap, in use at the Swiss Seismological Service since 2007. The new Swiss ShakeMaps are based on predictive equations for peak ground-motions and response spectra derived from stochastic simulations tailored to Swiss seismicity. Using synthetics allows overcoming th…

Hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in vertebrate reproduction, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH-I) and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), can vary in the abundance of immunoreactive cells as a function of the reproductive status and nest box occupation of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). While using the abundance of cells as an indicator of the activity of neurohormones is infor…

Trade-offs between competitive and parental strategies often are mediated by sex steroids. The mechanisms underlying steroid signaling and metabolism may therefore serve as targets of disruptive selection that leads to alternative behavioral phenotypes. White-throated sparrows exhibit two color morphs that differ in both competitive and parental behavior; white-striped (WS) birds engage in more…

We studied ionospheric responses to the 2012 April 11 Mw 8.6 North Sumatra earthquake using tota lelectron content (TEC) measurements with the regional Global Navigation Satellite System network. This earthquake ruptured the oceanic lithosphere off the Indian Ocean coast of North Sumatra, and is known as the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded. Coseismic ionospheric disturbances (CIDs)…

we are able to show how the tenants� strategic response to the varying economic and tenure-security status of the landlords helps explain sharecroppers� productivity differentials. The study reveals that sharecroppers� yields are significantly lower on plots leased from landlords who are non-kin and landlords with weaker economic and tenure-security status (such as female) than o…