Data assimilation is a technique that optimizes the parameters used in a numerical model with a constraint of model dynamics achieving the better fit to observations. Optimized parameters can be utilized for the subsequent prediction with a numerical model and predicted physical variables are presumably closer to observations that will be available in the future, at least, comparing to those ob…

In this study, we propose a method to determine dislocation Love numbers using co-seismic gravity changes from GRACE measurements. First, we present an observation equation to model GRACE observations taking into account the effect of ocean water mass redistribution. The L-curve method was used to determine the regulation parameter in the inversion of the geopotential dislocation Love numbers c…

This study presents P- and S-wave velocity variations for the upper mantle in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany based on teleseismic traveltime tomography. Tectonically, this region includes the entire northern part of the prominent Tornquist Zone which follows along the transition from old Precambrian shield units to the east to younger Phanerozoic deep sedimentary basins to the south…

The intra-plate deformation of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) located in Central Europe is investigated using geodetic measurement techniques. We present a new approach to calculate a combined velocity field from InSAR, levelling and GNSS measurements. As the expected tectonic movements in the URG area are small (less than 1mma−1), the best possible solutions for linear velocity rates from …

Magnetic minerals acquire a remanent magnetization when cooled or warmed in an applied field H through a phase transition. This paper reports the first observations of transition cooling and warming remanent magnetizations (TrCRM and TrWRM) in pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) and hematite (αFe2O3), with phase transitions at 32 K (Besnus transition) and 250 K (Morin transition). TrWRM was produced by wa…

We study the well log and seismic responses of intensively fractured portions of deep intrusive/metamorphic rocks in southern Tuscany (Italy), which constitute the main drilling targets of the geothermal exploration in the Larderello–Travale area. In particular, the target we consider is located near the contact between a deep Pliocene granitic intrusion and the overlying Palaeozoic metamorph…

Differential acoustic resonance spectroscopy (DARS) was developed to examine changes in the resonant frequencies of a cavity perturbed by the introduction of a centimetre-sized sample. Resonant frequency shifts, measured at different resonance modes and between empty and sample-loaded cavities, were used to infer the acoustic properties of the loaded samples in the low frequency range (0.5–2…

Two methods for computing gravitational potential difference (GPD) between the GRACE satellites using orbit data have been formulated based on energy integral; one in geocentric inertial frame (GIF) and another in Earth fixed frame (EFF). Here we present a rigorous theoretical formulation in EFF with particular emphasis on necessary approximations, provide a computational approach to mitigate t…

Seismic waves sensitive to the outermost part of the Earth’s liquid core seem to be affected by a stably stratified layer at the core–mantle boundary. Such a layer could have an observable signature in both long-term and short-term variations of the magnetic field of the Earth, which are used to probe the flow at the top of the core. Indeed, with the recent SWARM mission, it seems reasonabl…

It was established over a decade ago that the normal modes of the Earth are continuously excited at times without large earthquakes, but the sources of the ‘seismic hum’ have remained unresolved. In addition to the normal modes of the Earth, we show spectral lines in seismic data with frequencies which correspond closely to normal modes of the Sun. Moreover, the widths of the low-frequency …