Validation of ECMWF and NCEP–NCAR Reanalysis Data in Antarctica

The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) ECMWF (ERA-40) and NCEP-NCAR reanalysis data were compared with Antarctic station observations, including surface-layer and upper-layer atmospheric observations, on intraseasonal and interannual timescales. At the interannual timescale, atmospheric pressure at different height levels in the ERA-40 data are in better agre...     

微震仪设计试验中的一些问题

一、前言我国在地方性微弱地震的研究中,主要是使用烟紙記录的581型微震仪。从数年来野外观測的結果表明:在設备条件較差的情况下,仪器性能有所降低,因而有改进的必要。今对观測中出現的一些問題,即放大倍率的稳定性、頻带的展寬、笔尖摩擦影响和时間服务等問題作了一些討論,并在此基础上制作了改进的模型。     

夏季江淮流域持久性旱涝现象的环流特征

本文根据1954、1959、1961等三年7月江淮流域持久性严重旱涝的夭气现象,分析中纬度和副热带地区环流的特征。 分析指出,在江淮流域持久性干旱时期,在中纬度500毫巴的高度场表现有一定的流型。高度距平的分布也有一定的型式。在副热带地区流型也有一定的特点。不论在中纬度和副热带地区流型的稳定度均甚大。 在江淮流域大水时期,表现在该年大气环流上季节变化推迟一个月,而且在大水持续期间,环流型式的稳定度也很显著。 最后,用简单的两层模式,计算了1954和1959年7月北半球加热场的分布,并将计算结果和多年平均情形比较,发现两者的偏差甚大。例如1959年7月加热场的分布和平均情况完全相反,在1954年7月加热场的分布却和多年平均的6月份情况相近。加热场的分布和该两月稳定的长波型式很相配合。     

Lateral response of dams in semi-elliptical rigid canyons

An analytical closed-form solution is developed for the lateral response of earth and rockfill dams built in semi-elliptical canyons. The dam is idealized as a linearly hysteretic elastic body deforming only in shear, whereas the canyon is assumed to be rigid. The solution for the dam response is given in terms of prolate spheroidal radial and angular functions of the first kind and zero order. Results are presented for natural frequencies, modal displacement shapes, participation factors, and response to transient and steady-state harmonic base excitation for various dam length-to-height ratios. Comparisons are made of the effects of the length-to-height ratio and the canyon shape on the response of dams built in semi-elliptical and rectangular canyons. A subsequent study (Dakoulas, P. & Hsu, C.H., Response of earth dams in semi-elliptical flexible canyons to oblique SH waves, Report, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 1993) extends this model to a semi-elliptical canyon consisting of flexible elastic rock, subjected to obliquely incident harmonic SH waves.     

Earthquake strong motions recorded by a large near-source array of digital seismographs

Specially designed arrays of strong-motion seismographs near to the earthquake source are required for seismological and engineering studies of the generation and near-field properties of seismic waves. The first such large digital array, called SMART 1 (with radius 2 km and 37 accelerometers), to record substantial ground motion (up to 0·24g horizontal acceleration) became operational in late 1980 in a highly seismic region of Taiwan. During the first 6 months of operation, SMART 1 recorded nine earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from M_L 3·8 to 6·9. Three were located directly below the array at focal depths of 59 to 76 km. The remaining six had shallow depths and epicentral distances from 7 to 193 km. Digital records from 27 three-component accelerographs were obtained from a magnitude 6·9 (M_L) local earthquake on 29 January 1981. Representative measurements are described of seismic wave coherency and power spectrum as a function of wave number, frequency, azimuth of propagation and wave type. Acceleration waveforms varied significantly across the array for each event. On average, peak acceleration of horizontal components was about three times that of the vertical component. Relative spectral changes from earthquake to earthquake were large.     

By-products of oxidative biocides: Toxicity to oyster larvae

Selected by-products which are produced upon chlorination or ozonization of seawater were examined for their effect on eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) larvae. The compounds, bromate, bromoform, and chloroform, were studied at 0.05, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 mg/l. Repeated bioassays indicated that even at these low levels, all three substances produced some larval mortality. This preliminary study suggests that oxidation by-products formed during chlorination or ozonization of power plant cooling waters may have adverse effects upon the growth of marine invertebrates, such as C. virginica, during their delicate larval stages.     

Al‐Mg systematics of CAIs,POI, and ferromagnesian chondrules from Ningqiang

Abstract— We have made aluminum‐magnesium isotopic measurements on 4 melilite‐bearing calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs), 1 plagioclase‐olivine inclusion (POI), and 2 ferromagnesian chondrules from the Ningqiang carbonaceous chondrite. All of the CAIs measured contain clear evidence for radiogenic ²⁶Mg* from the decay of ²⁶Al ( = 1.05 Ma). Although the low Al/Mg ratios of the melilites introduce large uncertainties, the inferred initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios for the CAIs are generally consistent with the value of 5 times 10^?5. There is clear evidence of ²⁶Al* in one POI and two chondrules, but with considerable uncertainties in the value of (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀. The (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ ratios for the POI and the chondrules are 0.3–0.6 times 10^?5, roughly an order of magnitude lower than the canonical value. Ningqiang shows very little evidence of metamorphism as a bulk object and the (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ ratios in its refractory inclusions and chondrules are consistent with those found in other unmetamorphosed chondrites of several different classes. Our observations and those of other workers support the view that ²⁶Al was widely and approximately homogeneously distributed throughout the condensed matter of the solar system. The difference in (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ between CAIs and less refractory materials seems reasonably interpreted in terms of a ～2 million year delay between the formation of CAIs and the onset of formation of less refractory objects. The POI shows clear differences in ²⁵Mg/²⁴Mg between its constituent spinels and olivine, which confirms that they are partially reprocessed material from different sources that were rapidly quenched.     

Correlation and dating of Quaternary alluvial-fan surfaces using scarp diffusion

Great interest has recently been focused on dating and interpreting alluvial-fan surfaces. As a complement to the radiometric methods often used for surface-exposure dating, this paper illustrates a rapid method for correlating and dating fan surfaces using the cross-sectional shape of gullies incised into fan surfaces. The method applies a linear hillslope-diffusion model to invert for the diffusivity age, κt (m²), using an elevation profile or gradient (slope) profile. Gullies near the distal end of fan surfaces are assumed to form quickly following fan entrenchment. Scarps adjacent to these gullies provide a measure of age. The method is illustrated on fan surfaces with ages of approximately 10 ka to 1.2 Ma in the arid southwestern United States. Two areas of focus are Death Valley, California, and the Ajo Mountains piedmont, Arizona. Gully-profile morphology is measured in two ways: by photometrically derived gradient (slope) profiles and by ground-surveyed elevation profiles. The κt values determined using ground-surveyed profiles are more consistent than those determined using photo-derived κt values. However, the mean κt values of both methods are comparable. The photometric method provides an efficient way to quantitatively and objectively correlate and relatively-date alluvial-fan surfaces. The κt values for each surface are determined to approximately 30–50% accuracy.     

Coastal Gravity Anomalies from Retracked Geosat/GM Altimetry: Improvement, Limitation and the Role of Airborne Gravity Data

We process geophysical and waveform data records of the Geosat/GM (geodetic mission) satellite altimeter mission for waveform retracking and applications. An improved threshold retracker is developed. The performances of the Beta-5, threshold and improved threshold retrackers are assessed over waters around Taiwan. The improved threshold retracker outperforms the other two. The improvement in the accuracy of sea surface height (SSH) is investigated according to marine zone and the distance of waters to the shore. The improvement rate increases closer to the land, with the largest improvement rate of about 20% in waters within 10 km of the shore. Over waters around islands and coasts, there are still retracked SSHs with large errors. Least-squares collocation is used to compute gravity anomalies from the Geosat/GM altimeter data. Use of retracked SSHs improves the accuracy of gravity anomalies by about 11%. Adding airborne gravity data further improves the accuracy, especially in the immediate vicinity of the coasts. Tide model errors over coastal waters remain a problem in altimetry applications, even if the waveforms are properly retracked.