用地理信息系统技术识别桥梁的地震危险性

引言美国东部的许多州、县和地区正面临的一个问题是如何评估大量现有桥梁的地震危险性潜势。这些桥中的大多数是在认识到有必要按地震设计规范来提高抗震能力之前建造的。由于东部许多州具有潜在的地震危险性,但发震的频度却不高,使这一问题变得非常尖锐。美国这些地区和世界其它地区的桥梁管理者都难以对此优先投资。地震评估的需要常常因满足一般的日常服务、维护和修建的需求而搁置。     

德尔尼钴铜矿床物探勘查方法优选

德尔尼钴铜矿床主要矿石为致密块状含铜黄铁矿,上世纪60年代通过在矿区和外围投入11∶0000面积性自电、磁法测网,圈定自电异常28处,其中确定为矿致异常的14处,自电方法在德尔尼铜钴矿勘探初期发挥了重要作用。但利用这种找矿模式,从上世纪70年代至今,矿区外围找矿尚无突破性进展,这就需要对勘查方法进行比较与优选。本文通过对前人在矿区进行的物探方法加以比较,设计地电模型,进行瞬变电磁方法模拟计算,分析用瞬变电磁法探测矿体的有效性并在已知矿区进行的瞬变电磁剖面试验中获得成功,试验方法效果好,可以用于进一步外围找矿。     

Fracture control of ground water flow and water chemistry in a rock aquitard

There are few studies on the hydrogeology of sedimentary rock aquitards although they are important controls in regional ground water flow systems. We formulate and test a three-dimensional (3D) conceptual model of ground water flow and hydrochemistry in a fractured sedimentary rock aquitard to show that flow dynamics within the aquitard are more complex than previously believed. Similar conceptual models, based on regional observations and recently emerging principles of mechanical stratigraphy in heterogeneous sedimentary rocks, have previously been applied only to aquifers, but we show that they are potentially applicable to aquitards. The major elements of this conceptual model, which is based on detailed information from two sites in the Maquoketa Formation in southeastern Wisconsin, include orders of magnitude contrast between hydraulic diffusivity (K/S(s)) of fractured zones and relatively intact aquitard rock matrix, laterally extensive bedding-plane fracture zones extending over distances of over 10 km, very low vertical hydraulic conductivity of thick shale-rich intervals of the aquitard, and a vertical hydraulic head profile controlled by a lateral boundary at the aquitard subcrop, where numerous surface water bodies dominate the shallow aquifer system. Results from a 3D numerical flow model based on this conceptual model are consistent with field observations, which did not fit the typical conceptual model of strictly vertical flow through an aquitard. The 3D flow through an aquitard has implications for predicting ground water flow and for planning and protecting water supplies.     

Sublethal effect of naphthalene on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in the edible marine crab Scylla serrata

The effect of naphthalene on lipid peroxidation and antioxidants status was studied in hepatopancreas, haemolymph and ovary of the Scylla serrata with reference to the active vitellogenic stage. There was an overall increase in lipid peroxidation activity in the tested samples. In contrast, the enzymatic (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (vitamins C, E and glutathione) showed decreased activities for hepatopancreas, haemolymph and ovary.     

Estimating recharge rates with analytic element models and parameter estimation

Quantifying the spatial and temporal distribution of recharge is usually a prerequisite for effective ground water flow modeling. In this study, an analytic element (AE) code (GFLOW) was used with a nonlinear parameter estimation code (UCODE) to quantify the spatial and temporal distribution of recharge using measured base flows as calibration targets. The ease and flexibility of AE model construction and evaluation make this approach well suited for recharge estimation. An AE flow model of an undeveloped watershed in northern Wisconsin was optimized to match median annual base flows at four stream gages for 1996 to 2000 to demonstrate the approach. Initial optimizations that assumed a constant distributed recharge rate provided good matches (within 5%) to most of the annual base flow estimates, but discrepancies of >12% at certain gages suggested that a single value of recharge for the entire watershed is inappropriate. Subsequent optimizations that allowed for spatially distributed recharge zones based on the distribution of vegetation types improved the fit and confirmed that vegetation can influence spatial recharge variability in this watershed. Temporally, the annual recharge values varied >2.5-fold between 1996 and 2000 during which there was an observed 1.7-fold difference in annual precipitation, underscoring the influence of nonclimatic factors on interannual recharge variability for regional flow modeling. The final recharge values compared favorably with more labor-intensive field measurements of recharge and results from studies, supporting the utility of using linked AE-parameter estimation codes for recharge estimation.