On 31 December 2018 at 10:36:34 UTC shallow earthquake of ML=4.3 took place 25 Km east of Cairo and in the vicinity of the under-construction new Capital city of Egypt (Fig.1). The event was interesting as it was felt with intensity IV up to 50 Km epicentral distance with relatively small magnitude Mw=3.8. the focal mechanism of the event showed Normal faulting with a slight component of strike-slip movement which is in good agreement with the tectonic regime of the area and estimated source parameters are found to be in agreement with intraplate earthquakes. These results could support that the event is triggered by the Pre-Tertiary E-W faults as an on land continuation of the Gulf of Suez extensional process.
We analyze data from four GPS campaigns carried out between 1997 and 2002 on a network of 11 sites in the Suez-Sinai, the area of collision between the African and the Arabian plates. This is the key area to understand how and in which way Sinai beha
ves like a sub-plate of the African plate and the role played between seismic and geodetic (long term) deformation release. Our analysis shows that, on average, the Suez-Sinai area motion (in terms of ITRF00 velocities) matches African plate motion (NNR-NUVEL-1A model). However, the baseline length variations show transient deformations in Sinai and across the Gulf of Suez, reaching up a maximum value of about 1.5 cm in five years. Since current geodynamical models do not predict significant tectonic deformation in this area, we worked under the hypothesis that a contribute may be due to post-seismic relaxation. Under this hypothesis, we compared the baselines length variations with the post-seismic relaxation field associated with five major local earthquakes occurred in the area, testing two different viscoelastic models. Our results show that the transient deformations are better modelled for viscosity values of 1018 Pa s in the lower crust and 1020 Pa s in the asthenosphere. However, since the modelled post-seismic effect results modest and a certain amount of the detected deformation is not accounted for, we think that an improved modelling should take into account the lateral heterogeneities of crust and upper mantle structures.
Spacecraft observations in the inner heliosphere offer the first opportunity to measure 1-10 MeV solar neutrons. We discuss the physics of low-energy neutron production in solar flares and show that, even at interacting-particle energies of 2 MeV/nuc
leon, neutrons with energies >10 MeV are produced. On the other hand, a significant fraction of 1-10 MeV neutrons result from interactions of >10 MeV/nucleon ions in typical flare spectra. We calculate the escaping neutron spectra for mono-energetic and power-law particle spectra at the Sun for the location and observation angle of MESSENGER at the time of its reported detection of low-energy neutrons associated with the 2007 December 31 solar flare. We detail concerns about this questionable observation of solar neutrons: 1. the inferred number of accelerated protons at the Sun for this modest M2-class flare was 10X larger than any flare observed to date, 2. the onset and duration of the solar neutron count rate was similar to that of the solar energetic particles (SEPs), and 3. the authors argument that the SEPs were dominated by electrons and so could not have produced the neutron counts locally in the spacecraft. In contrast we argue that solar energetic protons and alpha particles, through local neutron production and accidental coincidences, were the source of most of the reported solar-neutron counts.
In the presence of background noise, arrival times picked from a surface microseismic data set usually include a number of false picks that can lead to uncertainty in location estimation. To eliminate false picks and improve the accuracy of location
estimates, we develop an association algorithm termed RANSAC-based Arrival Time Event Clustering (RATEC) that clusters picked arrival times into event groups based on random sampling and fitting moveout curves that approximate hyperbolas. Arrival times far from the fitted hyperbolas are classified as false picks and removed from the data set prior to location estimation. Simulations of synthetic data for a 1-D linear array show that RATEC is robust under different noise conditions and generally applicable to various types of subsurface structures. By generalizing the underlying moveout model, RATEC is extended to the case of a 2-D surface monitoring array. The effectiveness of event location for the 2-D case is demonstrated using a data set collected by the 5200-element dense Long Beach array. The obtained results suggest that RATEC is effective in removing false picks and hence can be used for phase association before location estimates.
Several consecutive experiments are described with a printed circuit board PCB set-up, especially designed for these experiments. Doing the consecutive experimental tasks opens up possibility to determine the value of electron charge $q_e.$ The fluct
uations of the voltage $U(t)$ should be measured for different illuminations of a photodiode. The voltage is amplified 1 million times $Y=10^6$. The amplified voltage $YU(t)$ is applied to the device, which gives the result of the value of the time averaged square of the voltage $U_mathrm{S}=left<(Y U(t))^2right>/U_0$. This voltage $U_mathrm{S}$ is measured with a multimeter. The series of measurements gives the possibility to determine the $q_e$ using the well known Schottky formula for the spectral density of the current noise $(I^2)_f=2q_eleft<Iright>.$ For the junior high school students, the basic problem is to analyze the analog squaring. Students work is separated and graded in four categories S, M, L, XL divided by age of students. For the last XL categories, the tasks contain problems oriented to physics university education program and include theoretical research of the PCB set-up as an engineering device. This is the problem of EPO6, December 2018 ``Day of the Charge considered. EPO6 is organized by Sofia branch of Union of physicists in Bulgaria in cooperation with Faculty of physics of Sofia University and Society of Physicists of Republic of Macedonia.
An X3.4 solar flare and a fast halo coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred on 2006 December 13, accompanied by a high flux of energetic particles recorded both in near-Earth space and at ground level. Our purpose is to provide evidence of flare acceler
ation in a major solar energetic particle (SEP) event. We first present observations from ACE/EPAM, GOES, and the Apatity neutron monitor. It is found that the initial particle release time coincides with the flare emission and that the spectrum becomes softer and the anisotropy becomes weaker during particle injection, indicating that the acceleration source changes from a confined coronal site to a widespread interplanetary CME-driven shock. We then describe a comprehensive study of the associated flare active region. By use of imaging data from HINODE/SOT and SOHO/MDI magnetogram, we infer the flare magnetic reconnection rate in the form of the magnetic flux change rate. This correlates in time with the microwave emission, indicating a physical link between the flare magnetic reconnection and the acceleration of nonthermal particles. Combining radio spectrograph data from Huairou/NOAC, Culgoora/IPS, Learmonth/RSTN, and WAVES/WIND leads to a continuous and longlasting radio burst extending from a few GHz down to several kHz. Based on the photospheric vector magnetogram from Huairou/NOAC and the nonlinear force free field (NFFF) reconstruction method, we derive the 3D magnetic field configuration shortly after the eruption. Furthermore, we also compute coronal field lines extending to a few solar radii using a potential-field source-surface (PFSS) model. Both the so-called type III-l burst and the magnetic field configuration suggest that open-field lines extend from the flare active region into interplanetary space, allowing the accelerated and charged particles escape.