Radio variability of the blazar S5 0716+714: a ∼6.1 year quasi-periodicity

We report a ～6.1 yr quasi-periodicity for the blazar S5 0716+714 using the radio light curves at 4.8, 8 and 14.5 GHz observed by the University of Michigan Radio Astronomical Observatory (UMRAO) from 1981 to 2012, by means of the Jurkevich, discrete correlation function (DCF) and power spectral analysis techniques. There are a general correlation among light curves at different frequencies and a time lag of \(170\pm 10\) days between 4.8 and 14.5 GHz light curves can be confirmed. We also estimate the orbit parameters assuming a binary black hole system, and the magnetic field strength under the jet comoving frame.     

GPS/BDS分类组合定位的指数加权Helmert方差分量估计法

针对北斗卫星导航系统（BDS）星座结构复杂、不同类型卫星观测值残差差异较大的不利条件，将BDS系统中IGSO、MEO、GEO 3种卫星的观测值进行分类定权，提出一种顾及历史权比的指数加权Helmert方差分量估计法来精确确定不同系统之间观测值的权阵。为了验证该方法在GPS/BDS组合定位中的有效性，采用单点定位模型分别进行静态和动态导航实验，并将其定位结果与等权模型以及不考虑指数加权的Helmert方差分量估计方法进行对比。结果表明，采用改进的加权方法，在东、北、天3个方向的定位精度均获得显著提高，在静态条件下，相对于等权模型，改进方法3个方向的定位精度提高幅度分别达到50.0%、51.0%和42.0%；在动态条件下，定位精度提高幅度分别为10.0%、8.0%和9.0%。特别在卫星数量较少、卫星几何图形强度较差时，定位结果的改善效果更为明显。     

保持局域特征的多源海冰图像融合与分类

本文提出一种保持局域特征的多源海冰图像融合方法，并在此基础上进行海冰分类。本文提出的多源海冰图像融合方法包括保持空间局域融合和保持特征局域融合两方面。首先，通过学习得到投影矩阵和相似矩阵。投影矩阵将多源像素进行投影变换，得到保留像素空间局域特性的融合向量。相似矩阵度量像素特征间的相似性，通过拉普拉斯特征分解，得到保留像素特征局域相似性的融合向量。然后，将空间融合向量和特征融合向量进行像素综合，得到融合图像。在此基础上，本文设计一种滑动集成分类方法进行融合图像像素分类。提出的分类方法利用滑动集成的特点，在分类时增强刻画了海冰局域特性。由于本文的保持局域融合框架不仅刻画了海冰在物理空间中的邻接关系，而且考虑不同海冰类型的特征关系，因此其在多源图像（多光谱和合成孔径雷达（SAR）图像）的海冰分类任务中表现优异。实验结果表明本文提出的基于保持局域特征融合的多源海冰图像分类方法有效提升了海冰分类精度。     

珊溪水库地区深部构造探测研究

通过对珊溪水库地区进行深地震反射探测，获得该地区近地表至地壳中部的精细几何结构和深浅构造关系。结果表明，该地区地壳结构在纵向具有明显的分带性，在横向显示出以断层为界的块状结构特点。研究区内走向北西的双溪-焦溪垟断层向深部延伸超过20 km进入中下地壳，为该区域内主要控制性断层，主要影响周围浅部断层的发育，是该地区主要发震构造。     

基于散射计风场数据的台风强度诊断方法——以海洋二号卫星数据为例

本文提出了一种基于散射计风场数据的台风定强方法。该方法定义了台风所在海区的一个圆形区域上的风速平均值来对台风进行定强，并使用海洋二号卫星散射计历史数据对该方法进行了验证。验证结果表明，该台风定强方法可以克服散射计反演台风风速过低的问题。与台风强度监测的历史记录比较的结果显示，在台风强度低于"强台风"这一强度等级时，该方法能够有效估算台风强度。     

Habitability analyses of aquatic bacteria

Habitability is defined as an ability of an organism to inhabit different environments. Habitability of organisms, however, cannot be inferred from analyses such as a whole genome or community structures. A recently developed database, the MetaMetaDB, gives us information from what kind of environments one particular 16S rRNA sequence data has ever been obtained, and thus enables us to infer the habitability of the bacterium in question. In order to check the applicability of this database to study the habitability of aquatic bacteria, samples collected at two Naka River stations, one estuarine station from Naka River Estuary, two coastal stations at Oarai in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and one station in the Kuroshio Current of the western North Pacific were examined. The phylotypes were tracked against the MetaMetaDB and it was reasonably found that the low-salinity stations were dominated by sequences with “freshwater and groundwater”, “human” and “wastewater” habitat identities, while the high-salinity stations were dominated by those with a “marine” identity. The phylotypes of low-salinity stations with a particular habitat identity were absent or rare in the high-salinity stations and vice versa. The MetaMetaDB also showed that sequences of Cyanobacteria or related phylogenetic groups may be present in the human gut, as well as the probable distribution of the relatives (ancestors/descendants/siblings) of some bacteria. These overall findings proved that the MetaMetaDB is useful as a new tool to infer microbial habitability and it gives us new information on the possible origin and ecology of microorganisms in the environments.     

An analytical solution for deforming twin‐parallel tunnels in an elastic half plane

The interaction between twin‐parallel tunnels affects the tunnelling‐induced ground deformation, which may endanger the nearby structures. In this paper, an analytical solution is presented for problems in determining displacements and stresses around deforming twin‐parallel tunnels in an elastic half plane, on the basis of complex variable theory. As an example, a uniform radial displacement was assumed as the boundary condition for each of the two tunnels. Special attention was paid to the effects of tunnel depth and spacing between the two tunnels on the surface movement to gain deep insight into the effect of the interaction between twin‐parallel tunnels using the proposed analytical approach. It is revealed that the influence of twin tunnel interaction on surface movements diminishes with both the increase of the tunnel depth and the spacing between the two tunnels. The presented analytical solution manifests that, similar to most of the existing numerical results, the principle of superposition can be applied to determine ground deformation of twin‐parallel tunnels with a certain large depth and spacing; otherwise, the interaction effect between the two tunnels should be taken into account for predicting reliable ground movement. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of differing coverage of moss‐dominated soil crusts on hydrological processes and implications for disturbance in the Mu Us Sandland,China

To study the effects of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on hydrological processes and their implications for disturbance in the Mu Us Sandland, the water infiltration, evaporation and soil moisture of high coverage (100% BSCs), middle coverage (40% BSCs) and low coverage (0% BSCs, bare sand) of moss‐dominated crusts were conducted in this study, respectively. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the main effects of moss‐dominated crusts in the Mu Us Sandland on the infiltration of rainwater were to reduce the infiltration depths and to retain the limited rainwater in shallow soil; (2) moss‐dominated crusts have no significant effects on daily evaporation when the volumetric water content at 4 cm depth in 100% BSCs (VWC4) was over 24.7%, on enhanced daily evaporation when the VWC4 ranged from 6.5% to 24.7% and on reduced daily evaporation when the VWC4 was less than 6.5%; and (3) decreasing the coverage of moss‐dominated crusts (from 100% to 40%) did not significantly change its effects on infiltration, evaporation and soil moisture. Our results demonstrated that for the growth and regeneration of shrubs, which were dominated by Artemisia ordosica in the Mu Us Sandland, high coverage of moss‐dominated crusts has negative effects on hydrological processes, and these negative effects could not be significantly reduced by decreasing the coverage of moss‐dominated crusts from 100% to 40%. Therefore, for the sustained and healthy development of shrub communities in the Mu Us Sandland, it is necessary to take appropriate measures for the well‐developed BSCs in the sites with high vegetation coverage in the rainy season. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.