The fractal geometry and extent of seismicity in the Baikal Rift System (BRS) are estimated from data on 52,700 instrumental events of MLH ≥ 2.5 magnitudes for fifty years (1964–2013). The seismic ...pattern is characterized by the box-counting Hausdorff dimension D0, multifractal spectra f(α), and surface area S of seismicity at three scales: the rift system as a whole, its three zones, and six subzones. The multifractal spectra record a self-similar hierarchical structure of the BRS seismicity pattern. The space and time variations in the fractal dimension (D0) and area of seismicity (S), which are mapped and plotted as a function of time, show good correlation. The two parameters depend on three related factors: progressive increase in the amount of instrumental data (dataset size), structure of seismogenic fault network, and geodynamic activity. They increase as ever more data appear with time and acquire high local values at increasing extent and density of quakes. Moreover, the obtained D0 estimates reflect statistical self-similarity of earthquake patterns being in the range ≈ 1.45–1.55 over most of BRS, except one zone and one subzone in the rift flanks. They are the highest in the southwest and the lowest in the northeast of the rift system (D0 ≈ 1.60 ± 0.02 and D0 ≈ 1.37 ± 0.02 respectively). This dissimilarity indicates that seismogenic faulting occurs by different mechanisms: distributed failure as a result of superposed global-scale collisional compression and regional rifting in the SW flank and quasi-linear rift propagation in the NE flank. In general, D0 decreases toward the northeastern part of the BRS, where the pattern of earthquakes becomes localized along lineaments instead of being distributed over an area. The space and time variations of D0 and S revealed in the earthquake data are consistent with the location and activity pulses of rifting attractors and provide a realistic explanation of BRS geodynamics and tectonophysics. The global lithospheric compression and the regional pulse-like activity of rifting attractors control the network of seismogenic faults which, in turn, govern the fractal geometry and 2D structure of seismicity in the region. The obtained results confirm the oscillatory dynamics of the regional seismicity at a decadal period correlated with activity pulses of rifting attractors. The oscillations stand out against the background of decreasing global low-frequency secular cycle of the BRS seismicity. The BRS lithospheric geodynamics fits the model of a nonlinear oscillator with dissipation. The suggested analysis of the fractal geometry and extent of seismicity as proxies of the faulting evolution provides insights into modern geodynamics of the Baikal Rift System and its constituents.
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•Seismicity pattern of BRS is quantified geometrically by fractality and seismicity area.•Box-counting fractal dimension D0 shows statistically self-similar pattern.•D0 variations indicate different earthquake tectonophysics in two rift flanks.•Evolution of seismogenic faulting follows short- and long-period oscillatory dynamics.•Geodynamics of seismicity correlates with rifting attractors and their activity pulses.
From “the Ukraine” to Ukraine Rojansky, Matthew; Kasianov, Georgiy; Minakov, Mykhailo ...
2021, 20210511, 2021-05-11
eBook
The contributors to this collection explore the multidimensional transformation of independent Ukraine and deal with her politics, society, private sector, identity, arts, religions, media, and ...democracy. Each chapter reflects the up-to-date research in its sub-discipline, is styled for use in seminars, and includes a bibliography as well as a recommended reading list. These studies illustrate the deep changes, yet, at the same time, staggering continuity in Ukraine’s post-Soviet development as well as various counter-reactions to it. All nine chapters are jointly written by two co-authors, one Ukrainian and one Western, who respond here to recent needs in international higher education.
The volume’s contributors include, apart from the editors: Margarita M. Balmaceda (Seton Hall University), Oksana Barshynova (Ukrainian National Arts Museum), Tymofii Brik (Kyiv School of Economics), José Casanova (Georgetown University), Diana Dutsyk (Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Marta Dyczok (University of Western Ontario), Hennadii Korzhov (Kyiv Polytechnic Institute), Serhiy Kudelia (Baylor University), Pavlo Kutuev (Kyiv Polytechnic Institute), Olena Martynyuk (Columbia University), Oksana Mikheieva (Ukrainian Catholic University), Tymofii Mylovanov (University of Pittsburgh), Andrian Prokip (Ukrainian Institute for the Future), Oxana Shevel (Tufts University), Ilona Sologoub (Kyiv School of Economics), Maksym Yenin (Kyiv Polytechnic Institute), and Yuliya Yurchenko (University of Greenwich).
This thought-provoking work analyzes concrete political events and reinterprets key concepts in modern political science. Building on the works of Kant, Badiou, Adorno, Hegel, and more, it posits ...that the dynamics of revolution can be encapsulated in the concept of negation, since a revolution essentially negates "what is" by rejecting the power in place.
The work argues that revolution is the true ground of Western democracy and that the proof of a true democracy is the activity of protest movements. It discusses how modern philosophy conceives political truth as revolutionary or eventful, and that one aspect of revolution is negativity, which fluctuates between inertia and melancholia. It examines the problem of revolution in the context of modern philosophy, providing a diagnosis of the historical developments since the fall of the Soviet Union to the Arab Spring, setting forth an original theory of revolution while shedding light on the notion of negativity in contemporary thought. This innovative work will appeal to anyone interested in political theory and political philosophy.
Today's international war crimes tribunals lack police powers, and therefore must prod and persuade defiant states to co-operate in the arrest and prosecution of their own political and military ...leaders. Victor Peskin's comparative study traces the development of the capacity to build the political authority necessary to exact compliance from states implicated in war crimes and genocide in the cases of the International War Crimes Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Drawing on 300 in-depth interviews with tribunal officials, Balkan and Rwandan politicians, and Western diplomats, Peskin uncovers the politicized, protracted, and largely behind-the-scenes tribunal-state struggle over co-operation.
Written by Andrew Jack, the Moscow Bureau Chief of the Financial Times, here is a revealing look at the meteoric rise of Vladimir Putin and his first term as president of Russia. Drawing on ...interviews with Putin himself, and with a number of the country’s leading figures, as well as many ordinary Russians, Jack describes how the former KGB official emerged from the shadows of the Soviet secret police and lowly government jobs to become the most powerful man in Russia. The author shows how Putin has defied domestic and foreign expectations, presiding over a period of strong economic growth, significant restructuring, and rising international prestige. Yet Putin himself remains a man of mystery and contradictions. Personally, he is the opposite of Boris Yeltsin. A former judo champion, he is abstemious, healthy, and energetic, but also evasive, secretive, and cautious. Politically, he has pursued a predominantly pro-western foreign policy and liberal economic reforms, but has pursued a hardline war in Chechnya and introduced tighter controls over parliament and the media and his opponents, moves which are reminiscent of the Soviet era. Through it all, Putin has united Russian society and maintained extraordinarily high popularity. Jack concludes that Putin’s “liberal authoritarianism” may be unpalatable to the West, but is probably the best that Russia can do at this point in her history. Inside Putin’s Russia digs behind the rumors and speculation, illuminating Putin’s character and the changing nature of the Russia he rules. Andrew Jack sheds light on Putin’s thinking, style and effectiveness as president. With Putin’s second term just beginning, this invaluable book offers important insights for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Russia.
Constructing Neoliberalismpresents a rich analysis of the shift to neoliberal economic policies in four Anglo-American democracies - Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand - over the course of ...the 1980s and 1990s.
Zipf's law is a very tight constraint on the class of admissible models of local growth. It says that for most countries the size distribution of cities strikingly fits a power law: the number of ...cities with populations greater than S is proportional to 1/S. Suppose that, at least in the upper tail, all cities follow some proportional growth process (this appears to be verified emperically). This automatically leads their distribution to converge to Zipf's law.