Short-crested wave-induced soil response in a porous seabed of infinite thickness

Waves reflecting obliquely from structures establish short-crested waves which are conducive to scour of the bed adjacent to them. The pore pressures and effective stresses induced by this wave system are derived analytically for an unsaturated, anisotropic soil matrix of infinite depth in a three-dimensional domain. Verification is available by the solutions being readily reduced to the two-dimensional cases of the progressive and standing wave, for which some closed-form solutions are available. It is shown that wave obliquity is coupled with soil permeability. The effects of wave obliquity, relative water depth, soil stiffness and soil permeability on wave-induced pore pressure are discussed in detail.     

Compositions and source apportionments of atmospheric aerosol during Asian dust storm and local pollution in central Taiwan

A study has been carried out on water soluble ions, trace elements, as well as PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10 elemental and organic carbon samples collected daily from Central Taiwan over a one year period in 2005. A source apportionment study was performed, employing a Gaussian trajectory transfer coefficient model (GTx) to the results from 141 sets of PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10 samples. Two different types of PM₁₀ episodes, local pollution (LOP) and Asian dust storm (ADS) were observed in this study. The results revealed that relative high concentrations of secondary aerosols (NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ and NH₄⁺) and the elements Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and As were observed in PM_2.5 during LOP periods. However, sea salt species (Na⁺ and Cl⁻) and crustal elements (e.g., Al, Fe, Mg, K, Ca and Ti) of PM_2.5–10 showed a sharp increase during ADS periods. Anthropogenic source metals, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and As, as well as coarse nitrate also increased with ADS episodes. Moreover, reconstruction of aerosol compositions revealed that soil of PM_2.5–10 elevated approximately 12–14% in ADS periods than LOP and Clear periods. A significantly high ratio of non-sea salt sulfate to elemental carbon (NSS-SO₄²⁻/EC) of PM_2.5–10 during ADS periods was associated with higher concentrations of non-sea-salt sulfates from the industrial regions of China. Source apportionment analysis showed that 39% of PM₁₀, 25% of PM_2.5, 50% of PM_2.5–10, 42% of sulfate and 30% of nitrate were attributable to the long range transport during ADS periods, respectively.     

Rapid dissipation of a Loop Current eddy due to interaction with a severe Gulf of Mexico hurricane

Ocean Dynamics - Loop Current Eddies (LCEs) are warm-core, anticyclonic rings that shed from the Loop Current and migrate westward providing kinetic and potential energy to the Gulf of...     

Influence of the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation on Extreme Temperature Events in the Northern Hemisphere

The impact of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) on extreme hot and cool events was investigated, by analyzing the observed and reanalysis data for the period from 1983 to 2012. It is found that the frequency of the extreme events in middle and high latitudes is significantly modulated by the BSISO convection in the tropics, with a 3–9-day lag. During phases 1 and 2 when the BSISO positive rainfall anomaly is primarily located over a northwest–southeast oriented belt extending from India to Maritime Continent and a negative rainfall anomaly appears in western North Pacific, the frequency of extreme hot events is 40% more than the frequency of non-extreme hot events. Most noticeable increase appears in midlatitude North Pacific (north of 40°N) and higher-latitude polar region.Two physical mechanisms are primarily responsible for the change of the extreme frequency. First, an upper-tropospheric Rossby wave train (due to the wave energy propagation) is generated in response to a negative heating anomaly over tropical western North Pacific in phases 1 and 2. This wave train consists of a strong high pressure anomaly center northeast of Japan, a weak low pressure anomaly center over Alaska, and a strong high pressure anomaly center over the western coast of United States. Easterly anomalies to the south of the two strong midlatitude high pressure centers weaken the climatological subtropical jet along 40°N, which is accompanied by anomalous subsidence and warming in North Pacific north of 40°N. Second, an enhanced monsoonal heating over South Asia and East Asia sets up a transverse monsoonal overturning circulation, with large-scale ascending (descending) anomalies over tropical Indian (Pacific) Ocean. Both the processes favor more frequent extreme hot events in higher-latitude Northern Hemisphere. An anomalous atmospheric general circulation model is used to confirm the tropical heating effect.     

BCC S2S模式对亚洲夏季风准双周振荡预报评估

利用1994-2013年ERA-Interim及NCEP/NCAR再分析数据,对国家气候中心（BCC）次季节到季节尺度模式（S2S）1994-2013年的回报试验数据进行亚洲季风区准双周振荡（QBWO）预报能力评估,并诊断模式预报误差来源。结果表明:BCC S2S模式对QBWO的预报能力随着预报提前时间的增长而降低,9 d后预报技巧明显减弱,其周期、传播特征和强度出现误差;在提前9 d预报中,印度洋地区QBWO对流-环流系统结构松散,信号偏弱,对流向东传播,这与印度洋平均态的预报误差有关,夏季对流平均态低层水汽场在西太平洋和阿拉伯海较强,而东印度洋、孟加拉湾一带偏弱;西北太平洋地区QBWO具有向西北传播的特征,但强度偏弱,可能原因是预报低估了QBWO对流西北侧低层涡度的超前信号,经涡度方程诊断发现,地转涡度平流正贡献微弱,相对涡度平流在对流西北侧引发负涡度,从而减弱了对流西北侧由低层正涡度引发的有利条件。     

A new approach to GPS ambiguity decorrelation

Ambiguity decorrelation is a useful technique for rapid integer ambiguity fixing. It plays an important role in the least-squares ambiguity decorrelation adjustment (Lambda) method. An approach to multi-dimension ambiguity decorrelation is proposed by the introduction of a new concept: united ambiguity decorrelation. It is found that united ambiguity decorrelation can provide a rapid and effective route to ambiguity decorrelation. An approach to united ambiguity decorrelation, the HL process, is described in detail. The HL process performs very well in high-dimension ambiguity decorrelation tests. Received: 9 March 1998 / Accepted: 1 June 1999     

Evaluation of Hydraulic Properties of Aquitards Using Earthquake‐Triggered Groundwater Variation

The hydraulic properties of aquitards are not easily obtained because monitoring wells are usually installed in aquifers for groundwater resources management. Earthquake‐induced crust stress (strain) triggers groundwater level variations over a short period of time in a large area. These groundwater anomalies can be used to investigate aquifer systems. This study uses a poroelastic model to fit the postseismic variations of groundwater level triggered by the Chi‐Chi earthquake to evaluate the hydraulic properties of aquitards in the Jhoushuei River alluvial fan (JRAF), Taiwan. Six of the adopted eight wells with depths of 70 to 130 m showed good agreement with the recovery theory. The mean hydraulic conductivities (K) of the aquifers for the eight wells are 1.62 × 10^?4 to 9.06 × 10^?4 m/s, and the thicknesses are 18.8 to 46.1 m. The thicknesses of the aquitards are 11.3 to 42.0 m. Under the isotropic assumption for K, the estimated values of K for the aquitards are 3.0 × 10^?8 to 2.1 × 10^?6 m/s, corresponding to a silty medium. The results match the values obtained for the geological material of the drilling core and those reported in previous studies. The estimated values were combined with those given in previous studies to determine the distribution of K in the first two aquitards in the JRAF. The distribution patterns of the aquitards reflect the sedimentary environments and fit the geological material. The proposed technique can be used to evaluate the K value of aquitards using inverse methods. The inversion results can be used in hydrogeological analyses, contaminant modeling, and subsidence evaluation.     

Ground motions around a deep semielliptic canyon with a horizontal edge subjected to incident plane SH waves

We study scattering of antiplane shear waves induced by a deep semielliptic canyon with a horizontal edge. We employ the region-point-matching technique to cope with the problem considered. Through an auxiliary boundary, a part of the circumference of a semiellipse, the whole analyzed region is divided into two subregions. We express the displacement fields in terms of Mathieu functions. We unify two distinct elliptic coordinates via a simple coordinate transformation relation. Integration of the coordinate transformation relation into the region-point-matching technique simplifies the procedure for constructing simultaneous equations. Imposing the continuity conditions and traction-free ones, we obtain the expansion coefficients. Frequency-domain results demonstrate ground motion variability based on several key factors. Ground surface responses under seismic shaking are also simulated in the time domain.