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GEO3BCN at EGU 2024

The 2024 edition of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly is just around the corner, scheduled to take place both on-site in Vienna and virtually from 14 to 21 April. Among presenters at this year's EGU General Assembly are researche... Read more

25-03-2024 News

El CSIC presenta la Conexión Geociencias para un planeta sostenible

El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) acogió el pasado 14 de marzo el kick off de la nueva conexión Geociencias para un planeta sostenible. Esta nueva propuesta, coordinada por Blas Valero Garcés, del Instituto Pirenaico de Ecolog... Read more

18-03-2024 News

The paleomagnetism laboratory is involved in obtaining the first complete archaeomagnetic data from Central Asia

A study presents the first complete archaeomagnetic data of the magnetic field vector for Central Asia, a vast region that has been largely unexplored from an archaeomagnetic perspective for a long time. Bet Beamud, head of the Paleomagnetism laborat... Read more

11-03-2024 News

Ramon Carbonell, nuevo vicepresidente de la Comisión del CSIC para la Coordinación y Racionalización de las ICTS

El investigador de Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), Ramon Carbonell, ha sido nombrado nuevo vicepresidente de la Comisión para la coordinación y Racionalización de Infraestructuras Científicas y Técnicas Singulares (ICTS) y participación en Infr... Read more

06-03-2024 News

A news study reveals that the ice flow in Greenland is younger than thought

A new international study indicates that the Northwest Greenland Ice Stream may be much younger than previously believed. The article, published in the journal Nature Communications and led by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), helps to better under... Read more

22-02-2024 News

Drone view of the Amônia River and the Amazon forest. (Yurua, Ucayali, Peru). Autor: Andre Dib

Fins al 47% dels boscos amazònics podrien patir alteracions irreversibles i desaparèixer el 2050

Una nova publicació de Nature analitza els llindars potencials que podrien empènyer la selva amazònica a un punt de no retorn. L’estudi, amb participació del Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (CSIC), estima que per al 2050 entre el 10% i... Read more

14-02-2024 News

Geociències Barcelona debuta a Ciència al Barri

L'alumnat del centre educatiu Front Marítim va visitar al gener els laboratoris de microscòpia i de paleomagnetisme de Geociències Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC). L'activitat, realitzada en el marc de la iniciativa Ciència al Barri, va ser dirigida pels re... Read more

30-01-2024 News

El programa CSIC Cocrea impulsa proyectos de colaboración público-privada frente a los grandes retos actuales

El programa CSIC COCREA cofinancia cinco proyectos para acelerar la transición energética a partir de la producción, conversión, almacenamiento y gestión de energías limpias y sostenible. Para promover esta transición energética, los proyectos selecc... Read more

18-01-2024 News

Stephanie Barde-Cabusson gana el Concurso de Fotografía 2023

Dos imágenes de Stephanie Barde-Cabusson obtienen el primer y tercer puesto del Concurso de Fotografía 2023 organizado por Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC). Los resultados fueron presentados en la tradicional jornada de invierno del instituto, ce... Read more

21-12-2023 News

Dario Pedrazzi, guanyador de la Beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals 2023

L’investigador de Geociències Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), Dario Pedrazzi, és el guanyador de la Beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals 2023 per un estudi que porta per títol ‘Edat absoluta i caracterització vulcanològica de dos dels possibles volcans... Read more

14-12-2023 News

Mechanical properties of minerals in lunar and HED meteorites from nanoindentation testing: Implications for space mining

Peña-Asensio, E., Trigo-Rodríguez, J.M., Sort, J., Ibáñez-Insa, J. and Rimola, A. (2024), Mechanical properties of minerals in lunar and HED meteorites from nanoindentation testing: Implications for space mining. Meteorit Planet Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14148

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First Full-Vector Archeomagnetic Data From Central Asia (3 BCE to 15 CE Centuries): Evidence for a Large Non-Dipole Field Contribution Around the First Century BCE

Bonilla-Alba, R., Gómez-Paccard, M., Pavón-Carrasco, F. J., Campuzano, S. A., Beamud, E., Martínez-Ferreras, V., Gurt-Esparraguera, J. M., Ariño-Gil, E., Martín-Hernández, F., & Osete, M. L. (2024). First Full-Vector Archeomagnetic Data From Central Asia (3 BCE to 15 CE Centuries): Evidence for a Large Non-Dipole Field Contribution Around the First Century BCE. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(2), e2023JB027910. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027910

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Thermal structure of the southern Caribbean and northwestern South America: implications for seismogenesis

Gómez-García, Á. M., González, Á., Cacace, M., Scheck-Wenderoth, M., & Monsalve, G. (2024). Thermal structure of the southern Caribbean and northwestern South America: implications for seismogenesis. Solid Earth, 15(2), 281–303. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-281-2024

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Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system

Flores, B. M., Montoya, E., Sakschewski, B., Nascimento, N., Staal, A., Betts, R. A., Levis, C., Lapola, D. M., Esquível-Muelbert, A., Jakovac, C., Nobre, C. A., Oliveira, R. S., Borma, L. S., Nian, D., Boers, N., Hecht, S. B., ter Steege, H., Arieira, J., Lucas, I. L., … Hirota, M. (2024). Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system. Nature, 626(7999), 555–564. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06970-0

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Shear margins in upper half of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream were established two millennia ago

Jansen, D., Franke, S., Bauer, C. C., Binder, T., Dahl-Jensen, D., Eichler, J., Eisen, O., Hu, Y., Kerch, J., Llorens, M.-G., Miller, H., Neckel, N., Paden, J., de Riese, T., Sachau, T., Stoll, N., Weikusat, I., Wilhelms, F., Zhang, Y., & Bons, P. D. (2024). Shear margins in upper half of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream were established two millennia ago. Nature Communications, 15(1), 1193. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45021-8

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Assessing changes in global fire regimes

Sayedi, S. S., Abbott, B. W., Vannière, B., Leys, B., Colombaroli, D., Romera, G. G., Słowiński, M., Aleman, J. C., Blarquez, O., Feurdean, A., Brown, K., Aakala, T., Alenius, T., Allen, K., Andric, M., Bergeron, Y., Biagioni, S., Bradshaw, R., Bremond, L., …, Montoya, E., Daniau, A.-L. (2024). Assessing changes in global fire regimes. Fire Ecology, 20(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-023-00237-9

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Why does western Makran have a low seismicity rate?

Abbasi, M., Ghods, A., Najafi, M., Abbasy, S., Amiri, M., Shabanian, E., Kheradmandi, M., & Asgari, J. (2023). Why does western Makran have a low seismicity rate? Tectonophysics, 869, 230134. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TECTO.2023.230134

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Polymorphism and Phase Stability of Hydrated Magnesium Carbonate Nesquehonite MgCO3·3H2O: Negative Axial Compressibility and Thermal Expansion in a Cementitious Material

Santamaría-Pérez, D., Chuliá-Jordán, R., Gonzalez-Platas, J., Otero-de-la-Roza, A., Ruiz-Fuertes, J., Pellicer-Porres, J., Oliva, R., & Popescu, C. (2024). Polymorphism and Phase Stability of Hydrated Magnesium Carbonate Nesquehonite MgCO3·3H2O: Negative Axial Compressibility and Thermal Expansion in a Cementitious Material. Crystal Growth & Design. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01171

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Impact of glacier changes and permafrost distribution on debris flows in Badswat and Shishkat catchments, Northern Pakistan

Hassan, W., Su, F., Liu, W., Hassan, J., Hassan, M., Bazai, N. A., Wang, H., Yang, Z., Ali, M., & Castellanos, D. G. (2023). Impact of glacier changes and permafrost distribution on debris flows in Badswat and Shishkat catchments, Northern Pakistan. Journal of Mountain Science, 20(12), 3687–3702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-7894-5

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Structural style and timing of nw-se trending zagros folds in sw iran: interaction with north-south trending arabian folds and implications for petroleum geology

Vergés, J., Casini, G., Ruh, J., Cosgrove, J., Sherkati, S., Najafi, M., Casciello, E., Saura, E., Fard, I. A., Piryaei, A., de Lamotte, D. F., Letouzey, J., Goodarzi, H., Soleimany, B., & Jahani, S. (2024). STRUCTURAL STYLE AND TIMING OF NW-SE TRENDING ZAGROS FOLDS IN SW IRAN: INTERACTION WITH NORTH-SOUTH TRENDING ARABIAN FOLDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PETROLEUM GEOLOGY. Journal of Petroleum Geology, 47(1), 3–74. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jpg.12850

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A new study has compared the different types of bell ringing to indicate the passage of time used in several European countries using recordings of seismometers installed near bell towers. The study, made by ICTJA-CSIC researcher Jordi Díaz and recently published in “Journal of Seismology”, describes the characteristics of the seismic signal recorded by stations installed close to four churches from Greece, France, Italy and Spain. The work reflects the existing differences traditions still active in Europe to mark the hours with bell ringing.

According to Jordi Díaz, one of the objectives of this study is to show “that bridges can be built between very different scientific disciplines, such as seismology and social sciences, since the seismic data offers a new tool to study ethnographic aspects related to how the passage of time is marked in different European cultures”.

Seismometers are very sensitive instruments. As the main objective of this equipment is to detect seismic waves generated by distant and local earthquakes, the preferred locations for the stations are quiet areas to acquire the cleanest possible signal. Small chapels and churches are often seen as a good option to install seismometers, since most of the time they are not used and they offer the requirements for security and electrical power. However, the vibrations induced by eventual bells ringing can be recorded by seismometers and this can affect the data quality.

“The recorded signal contains high values in the upper frequency band, which may indicate that the signals are generated by the acoustic waves produced by the bells and converted to mechanical vibrations close to the seismometers, rather than the vibrations of the bell tower ”, said Jordi Díaz.

Díaz became interested in analysing the seismic signal of bell ringing during the deployment of seismic stations carried out in the framework of the TopoIberia-Iberarray project (2007).

“One of the seismometers was installed in the church of Santa Maria de Montmagastrell (Spain). We had been told that the bells wouldn’t ring. But we could check soon that it was not the case. When we looked at the records, we were able to clearly see the signal of the ringing bell. Since then, I have found here and there other stations that have recorded the same type of signals”, said Jordi Díaz.

Díaz collected data from seismometers installed close to the churches of Riolos Kato Achaia (Greece), Oriolo (Italy), Lunas (France) and Santa María de Montmagastrell (Spain). Once the data was processed, the scientist was able to identify some of the characteristics and differences on how each church marked the passage of the hours. Díaz could identify, for instance, the periods during which the bells remained active and inactive, since in France, Greece and Spain cases the chimes during nigh time were suppressed. The researcher determined also the patterns and the intervals between bell strokes in each particular case.

20200615 FotoNoti02

In the Greek case, for example, hourly announcements are suppressed from 13:00 to 17:00, probably to preserve the rest time after lunch. In the French case, according to the recorded signal, the medieval tradition of the Angelus is preserved: three times a day, at 07:00, 12:00 and 19:00, a triple stroke of the bells is repeated three times. In the Spanish case, the particular characteristic is how the hour quarters are indicated: smaller ringing bells are played every quarter and the exact hour bell calls are preceded by four strikes, one for each quarter.

In the Italian example, the seismic signal shows a complex pattern. First, bells ring during night and day time. Second, each hour quarter is marked by a bell stroke that includes the number of chimes corresponding to the previous hour and the number of smaller strikes corresponding to the quarter. This manner of bell ringing results in a total of 768 bell strikes during a single day.

20200615 FotoNoti03

“The data presentedin this study can be interesting to perform studies analysing the relationship between acoustic and mechanical waves”, said Jordi Díaz.

The researcher also highlights the potential use of this type of signals from a seismological point of view. “These signals may be used, as long as they provide a large number of repetitive sources, to explore changes in the mechanical properties of the subsoil, as it is currently being done with environmental seismic noise”.

Díaz considers that this study is also an opportunity to increase the interest of the general public in seismology. “I think that this survey can be used to reach an audience that does not usually worry about seismic records nor Earth Sciences, showing that seismic data can also be used in other scientific disciplines “.

Original article

Díaz, J. (2020). "Church Bells and Ground Motions". Journal of Seismology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-020-09935-2

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