四川盆地南部地区新生代隆升剥露研究——低温热年代学证据

本文通过背斜褶皱变形与低温热年代学年龄(磷灰石和锆石(U-Th)/He、磷灰石裂变径迹)端元模型研究,约束低起伏度、低斜率地貌特征的四川盆地南部地区新生代隆升剥露过程.四川盆地南部沐川和桑木场背斜地区新生代渐新世-中新世发生了相似的快速隆升剥露过程(速率为~0.1 mm/a、现今地表剥蚀厚度1.0~2.0 km),反映出盆地克拉通基底对区域均一性快速抬升冷却过程的控制作用.川南沐川地区磷灰石(U-Th)/He年龄值为~10-28.6 Ma, 样品年龄与古深度具有明显的线性关系,揭示新生代~10-30 Ma以速率为0.12±0.02 mm/a的稳态隆升剥露过程.桑木场背斜地区磷灰石裂变径迹年龄为~36-52 Ma,古深度空间上样品AFT年龄变化不明显(~50 Ma)、且具有相似的径迹长度(~12.0 μm).磷灰石裂变径迹热演化史模拟表明桑木场地区经历三个阶段热演化过程:埋深增温阶段(~80 Ma以前)、缓慢抬升冷却阶段(80-20 Ma)和快速隆升剥露阶段(~20 Ma-现今),新生代隆升剥露速率大致分别为~0.025 mm/a和~0.1 mm/a.新生代青藏高原大规模地壳物质东向运动与四川盆地克拉通基底挤压,受板缘边界主断裂带差异性构造特征控制造就了青藏高原东缘不同的边界地貌特征.     

Long-term groundwater resource observatory for Southwestern Madagascar

Madagascar has one of the highest poverty rates in the world and consequently the long-term monitoring of groundwater resources is not a priority for the authorities. However, groundwater is often the only sustainable resource that has a satisfactory quality to supply the population. This is especially true in the south-west of the country, which is a semi-arid region and a global change hot spot (intense land use and climate changes). In response to the lack of data, the Groundwater Resource Observatory for Southwestern Madagascar (GROSoM) was established to monitor piezometry and meteorology over the longer term as part of a humanitarian response. The first site was setup in 2014 in a catchment located over a carbonate plateau; in 2018, a second site was installed in an alluvial setting within a crystalline basement catchment and a third site will be installed in 2020 to monitor groundwater dynamics in a coastal setting. The three sites, located between Toliara and Taolagnaro cities, are complementary and representative of various hydrogeological systems in Southwestern Madagascar. Each site includes a weather station and between 3 and 6 piezometric probes. The monitoring data indicate a strong inter-annual variability in precipitation, which induces a strong variability in aquifers recharge. One of the driest years in 2016 seems to be consistent with strong El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effects observed at the global scale, while years with higher recharge appear to be related to cyclones such as Fundi in 2015 and Eketsang in 2019. Preliminary results of cross-disciplinary studies demonstrated a link between groundwater and health issues (i.e., admissions to basic health centres). This observatory aims to produce long-term data and has two objectives: (i) strengthening the early warning system for humanitarian crises in Madagascar; (ii) contributing to a better understanding of the effects of climate change on groundwater resources in this semi-arid region.     

Sediment balance at river mouths and the formation of deltas at rising or falling sea level

Sediment balance at river mouths—a physical basis of delta dynamics—is considered. The specific features of relationships between sediment balance components at a mouth of a river are established for a stable, rising, or dropping sea level. The development of the delta of the Chilia branch at the Danube mouth is considered as an example of delta dynamics under the conditions of a relatively stable sea level. The evolution of the Sulak delta in the Caspian Sea with a highly variable level is considered as an example of delta dynamics in the case of a considerable rise and drop of water level in the water body. The anthropogenic reduction of sediment runoff of the rivers (by a factor of two in the Danube, and by a factor of nine in the Sulak) is taken into account. The relationship between the sediment runoff of a river and the volume of the “backwater prism” that formed due to sea level rise is shown to be the key factor in the development of delta in the case of sea level rise. In the case of a drop in the sea level, the relationship between the “active” and “passive” progradation of the delta into the sea is determined by the sediment runoff of the river, the rate of sea level drop, and the bed slope in the coastal area of the nearshore zone.     

Note on the hypergeometric distribution as an invalidation test for binary forecasts

One mechanism giving rise to the hypergeometric distribution is the number of matches in a random reordering of a sequence of forecasts of binary events. This provides a simple means of invalidating a time series of binary forecasts if in fact the forecasting method has no skill. The hypergeometric distribution has a long history of application in this context but appears not to have a high profile in the environmental sciences. Attention is drawn to the utility of the distribution as a simple nonparametric test of the null hypothesis of no skill when forecasting binary environmental outcomes.     

Thermoelastic deformation associated with a lava tube

Active lava tubes have much higher temperatures than the surrounding rocks. Any change in the tube temperature produces a change in the temperature distribution in the rocks and induces a thermoelastic deformation in them. We calculate such a deformation by solving the equilibrium equation of linear thermoelasticity. We assume that the initial temperature distribution in the medium is the steady-state solution of the heat equation for a very long cylindrical tube at constant temperature, embedded in a medium with uniform thermal conductivity. We calculate the displacement and stress fields in the medium following to a temperature change of the tube. A temperature increase produces a dilatation of the medium and a contraction of the tube, while a temperature decrease produces the opposite effect. For a temperature change equal to 100 K, thermal stresses in the order of 10 MPa are produced, which are large enough to fracture the rocks surrounding the tube.     

INTERPRETATION AND DEPTH OF INVESTIGATION OF GRADIENT MEASUREMENTS IN DIRECT CURRENT GEOELECTRICS*

Gradient measurements in a homogeneous electrical primary field can easily be interpreted for simple models. The simplified solution (conducting or resistant body in a homogeneous space in a homogeneous electrical field) is often sufficiently accurate, as comparisons with the exact solution (body of finite resistivity in a homogeneous half-space in a quasihomogeneous electrical field) show. The exact geometry of the body cannot be determined by gradient measurements; the same anomaly of apparent resistivity can be caused by different bodies. In particular, the similarity between a sphere and a cube of the same volume is very high. There is a distinct influence of the resistivity of the overburden: the higher this resistivity is, the stronger is the effect caused by a buried body. If a deviation of 10% of the apparent resistivity is assumed as the lower boundary at which a buried body can be detected by gradient measurements, the depth of investigation for a three-dimensional body is approximately equal to its width; in the two-dimensional case the thickness of the overburden can be twice the width. If the overburden has a resistivity which is higher than the resistivity of the substratum, these depths are greater. The greatest possible depth is approximately three times the width of the body.     

Spatial and temporal variability of hard-bottom macrofauna in a disturbed coastal lagoon (Sacca di Goro, Po River Delta, Northwestern Adriatic Sea)

The sessile and mobile macrobenthos on artificial hard bottoms was studied in 12 stations of the Sacca di Goro lagoon, a brackish, highly stressed water basin in the delta of the river Po, open to the Northwestern Adriatic Sea. Three sampling surveys were carried out in June and September 2000 and June 2001 in order to make three types of temporal comparisons: (i) on a seasonal scale, before and after a summer dystrophic event; (ii) on an annual basis, before and after the works of excavation of a canal through the outer sand bank; (iii) on a multiannual scale, comparing the data with those of a survey carried out in 1988. The biocoenoses did not show large fluctuations after a moderately severe summer dystrophic crisis, while the digging of the canal caused clear changes in the macrobenthos community structure after one year. The long-term comparison showed a shift in the community patterns after a decade.     

Thermal signature of in situ soil damping under severe seismic actions

This paper gives a synthesis on a series of studies demonstrating the possibility to have a direct access to in situ soil damping, exploiting the thermal dissipation due to irreversible mechanical phenomena under severe seismic conditions. The introduction provides a background to the three steps of such a study: instrumentation, modelling and inverse identification problem. Section 2 recalls the principle of the Seismic Harmonic System, equipment able to generate powerful in situ soil accelerations in the vicinity of a well. Evidence of a significant in situ soil temperature elevation is given under such seismic conditions. Section 3 reviews the mechanical and related thermal simulations for the prediction by a direct problem procedure of the mean temperature elevation in the vicinity of the borehole, using a two- or three-parameter behaviour model depending on the intensity of the actions. Section 4 is a synthesis of the possibilities offered by thermal in situ measurements to contribute, in parallel with mechanical measurements, to the identification and/or the validation of the damping characteristics of an in situ soil.     

A Computer Model for Cyclic Activity of Strong Earthquakes in Continental Seismic Zones

Based on the study of activity of earthquakes with M**********>7.0 in mainland China,we have found a dynamic pattern,i.e.,the cyclic characteristics in time and migration from one seismic zone to another in space.In order to understand the physical mechanism of this pattern,we use a nonlinear dynamic model to simulate the seismic activity in fault zones under a unified tectonic stress field.The basic elements in our model consist of a Maxwell body and a rigid sliding block.Basic elements in a column represent a fault,and coupling elements connecting different columns simulate the interaction among faults and fault segments.The results provide insights to the cyclic activity of strong earthquakes and to the feature of mutual influence between strong earthquakes in groups in the climax of seismic activity.     

Rossby wave patterns in zonal and meridional winds

The propagation properties of Rossby waves in zonal and meridional winds are analyzed using the local dispersion relation in its wave number form, the geometry of which plays a crucial role in illuminating radiation patterns and ray trajectories. In the presence of a wind/current, the classical Rossby wave number curve, an offset circle, is distorted by the Doppler shift in frequency and a new branch, consisting of a blocking line with an eastward facing indentation, arises from waves convected with or against the flow. The radiation patterns generated by a time harmonic compact source in the laboratory frame are calculated using the method of stationary phase and are illustrated through a series of figures given by the reciprocal polars to the various types of wave number curves. We believe these results are new. Some of these wave patterns are reminiscent of a “reversed” ship wave pattern in which cusps (caustics) arise from the points of inflection of the wave number curves; whilst others bear a resemblance to the parabolic like curves characteristic of the capillary wave pattern formed around an obstacle in a stream. The Rossby stationary wave in a westerly is similar to the gravity wave pattern in a wind, whereas its counterpart in a meridional wind exhibits caustics, again arising from points of inflection in the wavenumber curve.     

Non-linear soil–structure interaction analysis based on the boundary-element method in time domain with application to embedded foundation

The various boundary-element methods, well established in the frequency domain, are developed in the time domain for a foundation embedded in a layered halfspace. They are the weighted-residual technique and the indirect boundary-element method, based on a weighted-residual equation, and the direct boundary-element method based on a reciprocity equation, both equations involving time and space. In the indirect approach, formulating the weighted-residual equation over the last time step only results in the truncated indirect boundary-element formulation which requires a reduced computational effort. In all cases, convolution integrals occur. The truncated indirect boundary-element method leads to a highly reliable algorithm, as is verified when a linear analysis in the time domain is compared to the corresponding one in the frequency domain. This boundary-element formulation, which is non-local in space and time, represents a rigorous generally applicable method taking into account a layered halfspace in a non-linear soil-structure interaction analysis. As an example, the non-linear soil-structure interaction analysis of a structure embedded in a halfspace with partial uplift of the basemat and separation of the side wall is investigated.     

The Troodos ophiolitic complex was probably formed in an island arc

The Troodos ophiolitic complex in Cyprus has been widely regarded as a fragment of oceanic crust that was created in a mid-oceanic ridge. However, about one-third of the analyzed rocks of the lower pillow lavas and sheeted complex in it follows a calc-alkalic trend. This strongly suggests that the massif was created as a basaltic volcano in an island arc with a relatively thin oceanic-type crust rather than in a mid-oceanic ridge. Other chemical features and the structure of the massif are also consistent with an island arc origin. Some other ophiolitic complexes also appear to have been formed in island arcs.     

Upscaling: Effective Medium Theory, Numerical Methods and the Fractal Dream

Upscaling is a major issue regarding mechanical and transport properties of rocks. This paper examines three issues relative to upscaling. The first one is a brief overview of Effective Medium Theory (EMT), which is a key tool to predict average rock properties at a macroscopic scale in the case of a statistically homogeneous medium. EMT is of particular interest in the calculation of elastic properties. As discussed in this paper, EMT can thus provide a possible way to perform upscaling, although it is by no means the only one, and in particular it is irrelevant if the medium does not adhere to statistical homogeneity. This last circumstance is examined in part two of the paper. We focus on the example of constructing a hydrocarbon reservoir model. Such a construction is a required step in the process of making reasonable predictions for oil production. Taking into account rock permeability, lithological units and various structural discontinuities at different scales is part of this construction. The result is that stochastic reservoir models are built that rely on various numerical upscaling methods. These methods are reviewed. They provide techniques which make it possible to deal with upscaling on a general basis. Finally, a last case in which upscaling is trivial is considered in the third part of the paper. This is the fractal case. Fractal models have become popular precisely because they are free of the assumption of statistical homogeneity and yet do not involve numerical methods. It is suggested that using a physical criterion as a means to discriminate whether fractality is a dream or reality would be more satisfactory than relying on a limited data set alone.     

The effect of single vegetation elements on wind speed and sediment transport in the Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso

Soil loss caused by wind erosion is a widespread phenomenon in the Sahelian zone of West Africa. According to Sahelian farmers, scattered vegetation standing in amongst the crop has the potential for a wind erosion control strategy. This study was conducted to study the effect of single vegetation elements on the pattern of average wind speed and sediment transport. This was done by two experiments that were carried out during the rainy seasons of 2002 and 2003 in north Burkina Faso, West Africa. Wind speeds were measured using three sonic anemometers, at a sampling frequency of 16 Hz. Sediment transport was determined by calculating the mass fluxes from 17 MWAC catchers. In this study, a shrub was defined as a vegetation element with branches until ground and a tree as a vegetation element with a distinctive trunk below a canopy. Behind shrubs wind speed near the soil surface was reduced up to approximately seven times the height of the shrub. The observed reduction in wind speed in the area where wind speed was reduced was 15 per cent on average. At the sides of the shrub, wind speed was increased, by on average 6 per cent. As the area of increase in wind speed is one‐third of the area of decrease in wind speed, the net effect of a shrub is a reduction in wind speed. A similar pattern was visible for the pattern of sediment transport around a shrub. Downwind of a shrub, sediment transport was diminished up to seven times the height of the shrub. Probably most of this material was trapped by the shrub. Trees showed a local increase of wind around the trunk, which is expected to relate to an increase in sediment transport around the trunk. Mass flux measurements of sediment transport were not made, but visual observations in the field substantiate this. Behind the canopy of a tree, a tree acts similarly to a shrub regarding its effects on average wind speed, but as a tree is generally a larger obstacle than a shrub the extent of this effect is larger than for shrubs. Thus, whereas shrubs are more effective than trees regarding their direct effect on soil loss by trapping sand particles near the soil surface, trees are more effective in affecting soil loss indirectly by reducing the wind speed downwind more effectively than shrubs. Therefore, to reduce soil loss in an area, the presence of both trees and shrubs is crucial. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical configurations of a force-free magnetic cylinder in the solar wind

The problem of a smooth field configuration, which should be an initial configuration in modeling (using the method of coarse particles) the problem of a stationary solar wind flow around a magnetic cloud in the case of a spatially two-dimensional statement (when a magnetic cloud is considered as a force-free magnetic cylinder with a finite radius) is considered. It has been indicated that such a statement is possible only when the magnetic field in the solar wind is parallel to the cylinder axis. The method for finding the magnetic field of a force-free cylinder with a finite radius, when some field component is specified and another component is determined based on this one (which makes it possible to construct fields with preassigned properties), has been proposed. The variant for constructing the initial field configuration in the transition region around a cylinder has been proposed. This variant makes it possible to gradually pass from homogeneous crossed fields in the solar wind to a force-free magnetic and zero electric fields within a cylinder, an electric field being potential and orthogonal to a magnetic field (in the reference system related to a magnetic cloud).     

Contamination of a well in a uniform background flow

In this paper we describe the transport of pollution in groundwater in the neighbourhood of a well in a uniform background flow. We compute the rate at which contaminated particles reach the well as a function of the place of the source of pollution. The motion of a particle in a dispersive flow is seen as a random walk process. The Fokker-Planck equation for the random motion of a particle is transformed using the complex potential for the advective flow field. The resulting equation is solved asymptotically after a stretching transformation. Finally, the analytical solution is compared with results from Monte Carlo simulations with the random walk model. The method can be extended to arbitrary flow fields. Then by a numerical coordinate transformation the analytical results can still be employed.     

Field test of the superconducting gravimeter as a hydrologic sensor

We report on a field test of a transportable version of a superconducting gravimeter (SG) intended for groundwater storage monitoring. The test was conducted over a 6-month period at a site adjacent to a well in the recharge zone of the karstic Edwards Aquifer, a major groundwater resource in central Texas. The purpose of the study was to assess requirements for unattended operation of the SG in a field setting and to obtain a gravimetric estimate of aquifer specific yield. The experiment confirmed successful operation of the SG, but water level changes were small (<0.3 m) leading to uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Barometric pressure changes were the dominant cause of both water level variations and non-tidal gravity changes. The specific yield estimate (0.26) is larger than most published values and dependent mainly on low frequency variations in residual gravity and water level time series.     

Frequency-independent impedances of soil-structure systems in horizontal and rocking modes

The frequency-independent foundation impedances, commonly used in soil-structure dynamic interaction problems, are developed for a circular footing resting on a homogeneous halfspace. As they ignore the structure attached to the foundation, the error introduced in the structural response may be 50 per cent or more in the neighbourhood of the fundamental frequency of the soil-structure system. The present study proposes a new method developed for most dynamic soil-structure interaction problems. The key idea is to retain for the frequency-independent impedances values computed for the fundamental frequency of the soil-structure system; thus these values include the dynamic characteristics of the whole soil-structure system and lead to a satisfactory approximation of the exact solution over a wide frequency range. The method is developed here for the horizontal and rocking modes of a structure with a circular base resting on a homogeneous halfspace. Numerical applications are given for a simple linear oscillator in order to make possible a thorough parametric study. The response of some idealized building-foundation systems to harmonic excitation or to a seismic input is next examined in order to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed model.     

Can Damage Mechanics Explain Temporal Scaling Laws in Brittle Fracture and Seismicity?

Time delays associated with processes leading to a failure or stress relaxation in materials and earthquakes are studied in terms of continuum damage mechanics. Damage mechanics is a quasi-empirical approach that describes inelastic irreversible phenomena in the deformation of solids. When a rock sample is loaded, there is generally a time delay before the rock fails. This period is characterized by the occurrence and coalescence of microcracks which radiate acoustic signals of broad amplitudes. These acoustic emission events have been shown to exhibit power-law scaling as they increase in intensity prior to a rupture. In case of seismogenic processes in the Earth's brittle crust, all earthquakes are followed by an aftershock sequence. A universal feature of aftershocks is that their rate decays in time according to the modified Omori's law, a power-law decay. In this paper a model of continuum damage mechanics in which damage (microcracking) starts to develop when the applied stress exceeds a prescribed yield stress (a material parameter) is introduced to explain both laboratory experiments and systematic temporal variations in seismicity.