About the Journal
GeoPatterns was founded in 2016 and it is supported and promoted by the the Center for Risk Studies, Spatial Modelling, Terrestrial and Coastal System Dynamics, Department of Geomorphology, Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest. GeoPatterns publishes mainly original, high quality, peer-reviewed (DOI-assigned) research papers in all fields of spatially integrated geosciences and humanities, as well as reviews, research notes, and reports. The aim of GeoPatterns is to build a framework for the holistic understanding of our planet and its natural and social environments, by identifying the patterns that sustain the world.
All scientific papers accepted for publication are thoroughly analysed by a scientific committee formed by Romanian and foreign university professors, internationally recognized in their area of expertise.
GeoPatterns’s topics coverage makes the journal essential reading for geographers, as well as for researchers from other disciplines, such as disaster management, ecology, geology, sociology, psychology, anthropology (links nature and culture), environmental studies, urban planning, and cultural studies. The main language of the journal is English.
GeoPatterns is an open access journal and the content of the journal is freely available immediately upon publication.
Current Issue
Vol. 7 No. 1 (2022): GoePatterns Volume 7, Issue 1, 2022
Published:
2025-05-31
Articles
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Geodynamical comparative study regarding the salt domes of two different depositional environments: Mexico and Romania
Abstract
Salt diapirs are geological formations that appear in the subsurface and are formed over millions of years. Such formations occur due to the density difference between the salt and the surrounding rock. The density difference causes the salt to penetrate throughout the strata and, therefore, the salt rises to the surface in a process known as diapirism. The importance of salt domes, structures that form because of diapirism, lies on the fact that due to the impermeability of the salt and the deformation associated with the ascent of these structures, salt domes become excellent oil traps, with important reserves. Therefore, it is important to know the conditions that dominate the development of salt domes as well as their evolution and formation environments. If the subsurface is considered as a continuum and by means of the momentum equations, Newton's second law and the heat conservation equation, in addition to an Eulerian approach to matter, numerical models showing the evolution of salt domes can be created, and thanks to them, the parameters that influence the formation of the domes can be calculated. In this work it is concluded that some of the parameters that determine the formation and ascent of the diapir are the width and height of the initial Gaussian anomaly, the viscosity of the salt, the temperature, and the thickness of the salt layer. -
Four Decades of Spatial-Temporal analysis of Seismicity Patterns in the Pinotepa Nacional region, Oaxaca, Mexico
Abstract
Contributing to the knowledge of the spatial distribution patterns involved in the most seismic regions of the world is an alternative way of anticipating the destructive consequences associated with significant earthquakes (>5.5Mw). This document provides evidence of the spatial aggregation patterns that are implicated in the spatial distribution of 32,046 seismic events from 1980 to 2021 period, in the Pinotepa Nacional region, Oaxaca, Mexico (Middle America Trench) and its relationship with intense local seismic activity and indirectly with possible hidden local unknown structures, settled some kilometers below the surface. Using GIS tools, to identify spatial patterns, the Local Indicators of Spatial Association analysis (LISA) and the Space–Univariate Local Moran's Index (SULMI) were applied. The analysis revealed that 21.0% of the epicenter’s spatial distribution is not random but tends to cluster toward seismicity potential zones. According to the LISA-SULMI approach applied, for each significant earthquake greater than 5.5Mw, a map of color intensities was obtained representing the degree of global spatial autocorrelation between the data. After a sequence of two significant earthquakes in 2018 (7.6 - 6.0 Mw), a hidden local tectonic feature 43 kilometers in diameter was revealed just 10 kilometers below the surface by micro-seismicity (2.0 and 2.9 Mw). -
Flood hazard and vulnerability-related research in Romania. The Gordian knot of conceptual and operational overlapping
Abstract
Scientific research is of critical importance for salient decision-making aiming to reduce flood risk, but the interwoven character of risk-related terminology and the demanding task of operationalising concepts like hazard and vulnerability frequently hinder scientific advancement. This paper documents the i) meaning of the terms hazard and vulnerability, and ii) operationalisation of these concepts, in the scientific research focusing on river floods in Romania. A 4-step semi-systematic literature review was performed, setting the time frame to 2000-2022. The literature review points out the conceptual and operational overlapping of the flood hazard and vulnerability, as well as their dynamics and spatial focus. Flood hazard is operationalised mostly through hydraulic modelling and spatial analysis, while flood vulnerability is frequently assessed via index-based methodologies. There are several studies that operationalise flood vulnerability or hazard using a methodology that targets flood risk. Another tendency observed in the literature is to choose titles referring to one of the flood risk components, but to formulate aims that concern the other; in certain cases only to assess their intersection. By addressing these issues, we aim to open the way to flood hazard and/or vulnerability assessments that properly fit the terminological and methodological paradigms. -
Exploring Risk Perception in the Romanian Covid-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Knowing how a crisis is perceived by a population can lead to more optimal and effective measures to combat negative effects of disasters in this context, attitudes, the degree of involvement, the speed of accepting imposed measures, play an important role for a preventive, pro-active behaviour of both individual- and community-level. In this paper, based on the data provided by a quantitative questionnaire applied in two non-sequential waves (177 responses in Wave 1 and 368 responses in Wave 5), some aspects of the five constructs expressing the types of perception towards authorities, support, risk of illness, duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, media and some of the factors that may influence perception (personality, cognitive-attitudinal, emotional, behavioural, demographic aspects) are analysed.
