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We present and interpret Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of crustal motions for the period 1988-1997 at 189 sites extending east-west from the Caucasus mountains to the Adriatic Sea and north-south from the southern edge of the Eurasian plate to the northern edge of the African plate. Sites on the northern Arabian platform move 18 +/- 2 mm/yr at N25 degrees +/- 5 degrees W relative to Eurasia, less than the NUVEL-1A circuit closure rate (25 +/- 1 mm/yr at N21 degrees +/- 7 degrees W). Preliminary motion estimates (1994-1997) for stations located in Egypt on the northeastern part of Africa show northward motion at 5-6 +/- 2 mm/yr, also slower than NUVEL-1A estimates (10 +/- 1 mm/yr at N2 degrees +/- 4 degrees E). Eastern Turkey is characterized by distributed deformation, while central Turkey is characterized by coherent plate motion (internal deformation of

Gheophysical Journal International, 135 (1), ISSN:1365-246X, ISSN:0956-540X

This paper presents the results of a field study on the growth and yields of two innovative energy crops, Virginia mallow (Sida hermaphrodita L.) and cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) tested during the SidaTim project in Poland, Germany, Italy and the UK. Both plants are originally native to North America and they are perennial energy crops. Both species flower over a long period in summer and provide abundant pollen and nectar for pollinating insects. During SidaTim, both were tested for biomass yield in different agro-ecological conditions and as a biogas substrate. Biomass production varied substantially depending on the site. The biomass produced by Sida and harvested for direct combustion, after all growth had finished, ranged from ca. 7-10 Mg ha-1 in the second year to ca. 6-11 Mg ha-1 in the third year of growth. The biomass yield of Sida harvested at the beginning of the flowering period for biogas production varied between ca. 9 to 20 Mg ha-1 in the third year of growth. Silphium tended to yield greater biomass for biogas production than Sida. The yields for Silphium were between 10 - 27 Mg ha-1 depending on the year of growth and the site., Proceedings of the 27th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 27-30 May 2019, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 101-104

Research on neotectonics and related seismicity has hitherto been mostly focused on active plate boundaries that are characterized by generally high levels of earthquake activity. Current seismic hazard estimates for intraplate domains are mainly based on probabilistic analyses of historical and instrumental earthquake catalogues. The accuracy of such hazard estimates is limited by the fact that available catalogues are restricted to a few hundred years, which, on geological time scales, is insignificant and not suitable for the assessment of tectonic processes controlling the observed earthquake activity. More reliable hazard prediction requires access to high quality data sets covering a geologically significant time span in order to obtain a better understanding of processes controlling on-going intraplate deformation. The Alpine Orogen and the intraplate sedimentary basins and rifts in its northern foreland are associated with a much higher level of neotectonic activity than hitherto assumed. Seismicity and stress indicator data, combined with geodetic and geomorphologic observations, demonstrate that deformation of the Northern Alpine foreland is still on-going and will continue in the future. This has major implications for the assessment of natural hazards and the environmental degradation potential of this densely populated area. We examine relationships between deeper lithospheric processes, neotectonics and surface processes in the northern Alpine Foreland, and their implications for tectonically induced topography. For the Environmental Tectonics Project (ENTEC), the Upper and Lower Rhine Graben (URG and LRG) and the Vienna Basin (VB) were selected as natural laboratories. The Vienna Basin developed during the middle Miocene as a sinistral pull-apart structure on top of the East Alpine nappe stack, whereas the Upper and Lower Rhine grabens are typical intracontinental rifts. The Upper Rhine Graben opened during its Late Eocene and Oligocene initial rifting phase by nearly orthogonal crustal extension, whereas its Neogene evolution was controlled by oblique extension. Seismic tomography suggests that during extension the mantle-lithosphere was partially decoupled from the upper crust at the level of the lower crust. However, whole lithospheric folding controlled the mid-Miocene to Pliocene uplift of the Vosges-Black Forest Arch, whereas thermal thinning of the mantle-lithosphere above a mantle plume contributed substantially to the past and present uplift of the Rhenish Massif. By contrast, oblique crustal extension, controlling the late Oligocene initial subsidence stage of the Lower Rhine Graben, gave way to orthogonal extension at the transition to the Neogene. The ENTEC Project integrated geological, geophysical, geomorphologic, geodetic and seismological data and developed dynamic models to quantify the societal impact of neotectonics in areas hosting major urban and industrial activity concentrations. The response of Europe's intraplate lithosphere to Late Neogene compressional stresses depends largely on its thermo-mechanical structure, which, in turn, controls vertical motions, topography evolution and related surface processes. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.