Atlanta’s urban heat island under extreme heat conditions and potential mitigation strategies

The urban heat island (UHI), together with summertime heat waves, foster’s biophysical hazards such as heat stress, air pollution, and associated public health problems. Mitigation strategies such as increased vegetative cover and higher albedo surface materials have been proposed. Atlanta, Georgia, is often affected by extreme heat, and has recently been investigated to better understand its heat island and related weather modifications. The objectives of this research were to (1) characterize temporal variations in the magnitude of UHI around Metro Atlanta area, (2) identify climatological attributes of the UHI under extremely high temperature conditions during Atlanta’s summer (June, July, and August) period, and (3) conduct theoretical numerical simulations to quantify the first-order effects of proposed mitigation strategies. Over the period 1984–2007, the climatological mean UHI magnitude for Atlanta-Athens and Athens-Monticello was 1.31 and 1.71°C, respectively. There were statistically significant minimum temperature trends of 0.70°C per decade at Athens and −1.79°C per decade at Monticello while Atlanta’s minimum temperature remained unchanged. The largest (smallest) UHI magnitudes were in spring (summer) and may be coupled to cloud-radiative cycles. Heat waves in Atlanta occurred during 50% of the years spanning 1984–2007 and were exclusively summertime phenomena. The mean number of heat wave events in Atlanta during a given heat wave year was 1.83. On average, Atlanta heat waves lasted 14.18 days, although there was quite a bit of variability (standard deviation of 9.89). The mean maximum temperature during Atlanta’s heat waves was 35.85°C. The Atlanta-Athens UHI was not statistically larger during a heat wave although the Atlanta-Monticello UHI was. Model simulations captured daytime and nocturnal UHIs under heat wave conditions. Sensitivity results suggested that a 100% increase in Atlanta’s surface vegetation or a tripling of its albedo effectively reduced UHI surface temperature. However, from a mitigation and technological standpoint, there is low feasibility of tripling albedo in the foreseeable future. Increased vegetation seems to be a more likely choice for mitigating surface temperature.     

准噶尔盆地西北缘克百地区二叠系沉积特征及沉积模式

准噶尔盆地西北缘二叠系是重要的产油层和储集层,通过岩心观察、薄片分析,结合测井和录井资料,对西北缘克百断裂下盘二叠系砂砾岩的沉积环境和沉积特征进行了深入研究。研究表明,该区砂砾岩既有水上冲积扇沉积环境沉积的,也有水下扇三角洲前缘沉积环境形成的。前者主要为棕褐色、泥质杂基含量高、分选和磨圆差,储层物性相对较差;后者经过了稳定水流的淘洗,杂基含量少,钙质或沸石类胶结发育,分选性和磨圆度也较高,其物性条件也明显较好。并据此建立了研究区冲积扇与扇三角洲有机结合的沉积模式,该模式突出了湖岸线的重要性,同时模糊冲积扇与扇三角洲之间的界限。并对冲积扇与扇三角洲各亚相的岩性特征、沉积结构和沉积序列进行了归纳和总结,为该区寻找二叠系优质储层提供借鉴和思路。     

中国海相油气田勘探实例之十三 塔里木盆地东河塘海相砂岩油田勘探与发现

东河塘油田位于新疆库车县,构造上隶属于塔里木盆地塔北隆起轮台凸起东河塘断裂构造带,是我国发现的第一个高产高丰度海相砂岩油田,它的发现是中国海相砂岩油气勘探理论和实践的一次重大突破。油田发现于1990年7月,至1994年探明石油地质储量3323.13×104t,天然气地质储量15.5×108m3,至2009年底累计产原油825.75×104t。石炭系东河砂岩油藏是东河塘油田的主体,其储层东河砂岩段是一套滨岸相砂体,具有厚度巨大、埋深大、储集性能好的特点;其油藏类型为块状底水背斜油藏,产能高,储量丰度高。论述了东河塘油田勘探与发现的历程,剖析了取得勘探成功的实践认识与意义。     

珠江口盆地东沙隆起珠江组层序界面的识别及划分

在掌握珠江口盆地东沙隆起年代地层、生物地层和岩石地层信息的基础上,通过对测井/录井、地震、古生物、岩心及成岩等相关资料的研究,将珠江组划分出四个三级层序和五个层序界面,归纳出四类界面标志,即沉积标志、成岩标志、测井标志和地震标志。各种界面标志的识别方法都有其特点和局限,实际应用时应综合利用,相互印证,以使层序界面划分更具有可靠性和精确性。     

Clay minerals in the major Chinese coastal estuaries and their provenance implications

A sea-survey was carried out along the Chinese coast from the Bohai Sea to South China Sea, and 15 surficial samples were taken from major coastal estuaries, i.e., from north to south, the Yellow, abandoned Yellow, Yangtze, Qiantang, Ou, Min, Han, and Pearl River estuaries. On the basis of clay mineral analysis and published data collection, this paper discusses the characteristics of clay minerals of each coastal river and potentials of implications of sediment sources. The results show that the change of diagnostic clay minerals from smectite to kaolinite from the Yellow to the Pearl River estuaries is southward, as clearly shown by the ratios of smectite to chlorite (S/Ch) and kaolinite to illite (K/I). S/Ch decreases southward, while K/I moves reversely, implying change in climate setting from cool/dry to humid/hot with intensified weathering processes. Besides, these two indicators in the estuaries are also linked with the derivation of parent-rock of each river-basin and coastal hydrodynamics. The disproportional higher ratio of K/I in the Yellow and abandoned Yellow River estuaries is ascribed to their sediment sources with abundant loess component in the north-central China. The K/I decrease offshore from the Pearl River estuary is primarily due to hydrodynamic sorting. Therefore, the S/Ch and K/I of the present study comprehensively reflect the controls of climate, parent-rock, and sediment transport along the coast.     

Two-dimensional horizontal modeling of fine-sediment transport at the South Channel–North Passage of the partially mixed Changjiang River estuary,China

Tidal flow and fine-sediment transport at the South Channel–North Passage of the partially-mixed Changjiang River estuary were studied using a two-dimensional horizontal (2DH) numerical model. This 2DH model was achieved by depth-integrating the momentum and convection–diffusion equations. The Alternating Direction Implicit scheme was used to solve the governing equations. The iterative method was adopted for the calculation of convection and diffusion terms of momentum equation. Comparisons between calculated and measured results (tidal elevations and depth-averaged velocities) have shown reasonable agreement. Horizontal distributions of tidal current velocity and suspended sediment concentration were qualitatively consistent with observations. Those modeled results were analyzed to elucidate the mechanisms for the formation of the turbidity maximum and intratidal variations in fine-sediment transport processes.     

A hybrid forecasting model for depth-averaged current velocities of underwater gliders

In this paper, we propose a hybrid forecasting model to improve the forecasting accuracy for depth-averaged current velocities (DACVs) of underwater gliders. The hybrid model is based on a discrete wavelet transform (DWT), a deep belief network (DBN), and a least squares support vector machine (LSSVM). The original DACV series are first decomposed into several high- and one low-frequency subseries by DWT. Then, DBN is used for high-frequency component forecasting, and the LSSVM model is adopted for low-frequency subseries. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified by two groups of DACV data from sea trials in the South China Sea. Based on four general error criteria, the forecast performance of the proposed model is demonstrated. The comparison models include some well-recognized single models and some related hybrid models. The performance of the proposed model outperformed those of the other methods indicated above.     

Temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of nutrients in Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone in the Pacific in 2017

This research investigated eight stations in Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone(CCFZ) in the eastern tropical Pacific in 2017 to study the spatial distribution characteristics of nutrients and chlorophyll a(Chl a) concentration,and compared nutrient concentrations and molar ratios with those of other investigations 20 years ago in the same area. The study found that dissolved inorganic nutrient(N, P and Si) concentrations were lowest in the upper layer, and increased from surface to some depths, t...     

Intra-seasonal variability of the abyssal currents in COMRA’s contract area in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

In this paper, the intra-seasonal variability of the abyssal currents in the China Ocean Mineral Resources Association (COMRA) polymetallic nodule contact area, located in the western part of the Clarion and Clipperton Fraction Zone in the tropical East Pacific, is investigated using direct observations from subsurface mooring instruments as well as sea-surface height data and reanalysis products. Mooring observations were conducted from September 13, 2017 to August 15, 2018 in the COMRA contact area (10°N, 154°W). The results were as follows: (1) At depths below 200 m, the kinetic energy of intra-seasonal variability (20?100 d) accounts for more than 40% of the overall low-frequency variability, while the ratio reaches more than 50% below 2 000 m. (2) At depths below 200 m, currents show a synchronous oscillation with a characteristic time scale of 30 d, lasting from October to the following January; the energy of the 30-d oscillation increases with depth until the layer of approximately 4 616 m, and the maximum velocity is approximately 10 cm/s. (3) The 30-d oscillation of deep currents is correlated with the tropical instability waves in the upper ocean.     

Settlement Mode Analysis for An Immersed Tube Tunnel Considering A Nonuniform Foundation Under Tidal Load

Immersed tube tunnels are usually placed on soft soil layers in cross-sea tunnelling engineering. Owing to the influence of stratum conditions and slope design, the longitudinal distribution of substratum layers is generally uneven. Thus, the inhomogeneous deformation of the element-joint becomes the key factor in the failure of the immersed tube tunnel. Therefore, a corresponding calculation method for joint deformation is needed to explore the deformation law of immersed tube tunnels. By constructing a three-section immersed tube tunnel analysis model (TTM), the relationship between the two types of deformation of the immersed tube tunnel structure in a longitudinal nonuniform soft soil foundation is described, and the deformation characteristics of the immersed structure under different boundaries are discussed. Based on the mechanical behaviour of the joint and foundation, according to the Timoshenko beam on the Vlasov two-parameter foundation (VTM), considering the tidal cyclic load during the operation and maintenance period, an example analysis is given. Moreover, the deformation characteristics and development trend of the immersed tube tunnel under the influence of different soil layers are discussed. The obtained results have a certain guiding significance for the deformation calculation of immersed tube tunnels.