Relationship and its instability of ENSO--Chinese variations in droughts and wet spells

Monthly data of Self-Calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) from 1951 to 2000 are calculated using historical precipitation and temperature data for Chinese 160 stations. Temporal and spatial pat-terns of the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) of the PDSI reveals a fairly linear trend resulting from trends in precipitation and surface temperature, which is similar to the linear PDSI trend during 1951―2000 calculated using all monthly data. The EOF analysis also reveals that the leading mode correlates significantly with ENSO events in time and space. The ENSO EOF shows that during the typical warm phase of ENSO, surface conditions are drier in most regions of China, especially North China, but wetter than normal in the southern regions of Changjiang River, and Northwest China. During the typical cold phase of ENSO, these anomalies reverse sign. From 1951 to 2000, there are large multi-year to decadal variations in droughts and wet spells over China, which are all closely related to strong El Nio events. In other words, when one strong El Nio event happens, there is a possible big variability in droughts and wet spells over China on the multi-year or decadal scale. Studies also sug-gest that during the last 2―3 decades climate changes over China, especially North China's drying and northwest China's wetting, are closely related to the shift in ENSO towards warmer events and global warming since the late 1970s. The instability of the relationship is also studied. It is revealed that there is a good correlation between ENSO and Chinese variations in droughts and wet spells in the 3―8-year band, but the correlation between ENSO and Chinese variations in droughts and wet spells is instable. Studies suggest that there are decadal changes in the correlation: the wavelet coherency between ENSO and Chinese variations in droughts and wet spells is high during 1951―1962 and 1976―1991, but low during 1963―1975 and 1992―2000.     

Response of remotely sensed Normalized Difference Water Deviation Index to the 2006 Drought of eastern Sichuan Basin

One of the most serious droughts in last century occurred in eastern Sichuan Basin in the summer of 2006 (hereinafter called the Drought). The response of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, boarding on NASA satellites of Terra and Aqua) to the Drought was analyzed in order to reach one practicable monitoring solution for regional soil moisture. Temporal process and spatial extension of the Drought were firstly estimated with ground meteorological and hydrological observations. Then, for the whole region of Sichuan and Chongqing, the remotely sensed Normalized Difference Water In- dex (NDWI) for the summers of 2001―2006 were calculated based on 8-day composite MODIS products, which were further used to construct a new water index (Normalized Difference Water Deviation Index, NDWDI) to examine the sensitivity of remote sensing in the Drought. The study showed that the NDWDI is more sensitive to regional drought than other absolute-soil-moisture-based indices. With the new index, the study extracted the spatial-temporal characteristics of the 2006 Drought, and explored its developing and withdrawing processes, which agreed with related statistics. Compared with ground method of drought observation, the NDWDI-based remote sensing solution of this paper is more pref- erable and practicable in that the local soil properties of water consumption and supply are implicitly taken into account, and the spatial representativity limit of ground observation is circumvented to a degree as satellite remotely senses the earth surface in a way of two-dimensional pixel matrix. So, the NDWDI-based method can be used to monitor regional soil water stress situation more practically and efficiently.     

Weakening sensitivity of global vegetation to long-term droughts

Droughts have dramatic direct and indirect impacts on vegetation and terrestrial ecosystem stability, including decreases in growth and subsequent decreases in CO_2 absorption. Although much research has been carried out on the response of vegetation to droughts, it remains unclear whether biomes are becoming more resistant or more vulnerable to drought. In this study, we used the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI, a multiscalar drought index) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI, an indicator of vegetation growth) to detect the sensitivity of vegetation growth to droughts across 12–24 month timescales and to detect the change in this sensitivity over recent decades. We found that vegetation growth was most sensitive to 17–18 month droughts in water-limited regions, implying pronounce legacy effects from water conditions in previous years. In addition, we detected reduced coupling between drought and vegetation growth, probably caused by release moisture stress in water limited areas. Meanwhile, we observed a shortening of drought timescale to which vegetation most sensitively responded from an average of 18.1 to 17.2 months, suggesting the weakening of the drought legacy effect on vegetation growth. Results of this study contribute to the overall understanding of the resistance and resilience of ecosystems to drought conditions.     

A daily drought index based on evapotranspiration and its application in regional drought analyses

With climate warming, frequent drought events have occurred in recent decades, causing huge losses to industrial and agricultural production, and affecting people’s daily lives. The monitoring and forecasting of drought events has drawn increasing attention. However, compared with the various monthly drought indices and their wide application in drought research,daily drought indices, which would be much more suitable for drought monitoring and forecasting, are still scarce. The development of a daily drought index would improve the accuracy of drought monitoring and forecasting, and facilitate the evaluation of existing indices. In this study, we constructed a new daily drought index, the daily evapotranspiration deficit index(DEDI), based on actual and potential evapotranspiration data from the high-resolution ERA5 reanalysis dataset of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. This new index was then applied to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of four drought events that occurred in southwest, north, northeast, and eastern northwest China in the spring and summer of 2019. Comparisons with the operationally used Meteorological Drought Composite Index and another commonly used index, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, indicated that DEDI characterized the spatiotemporal evolution of the four drought events reasonably well and was superior in depicting the onset and cessation of the drought events,as well as multiple drought intensity peaks. Additionally, DEDI considers land surface conditions, such as vegetation coverage,which enables its potential application not only for meteorological purposes but also for agricultural drought warning and monitoring.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of sands of the lower course of the Sanaga River,Cameroon: implications for weathering,provenance, and tectonic setting

This study focuses on the mineralogy and bulk chemical composition of 19 sediment samples, collected from the Sanaga River bed, between Nanga-Eboko and the Atlantic Ocean in Cameroon, to infer provenance, weathering, and tectonic setting. The textural analysis revealed that these sediments are mainly coarse-grained sands.X-ray diffraction and heavy mineral analyses show that these sands are made of quartz, microcline, plagioclase,muscovite, ilmenite, anatase, magnetite, opaques, and epidote. The Index of Chemical Variability values(1.07–2.68) indicates that the sands are immature. The Chemical Index of Alteration(53–66 %), Plagioclase Index of Alteration(PIA; 57–75 %), and Mafic Index of Alteration(54–67 %) values revealed a moderate intensity of weathering for these sediments. According to the compositional maturity diagram, the sands are mainly litharenites.The studied sands show enrichment in light rare earth elements relative to heavy rare earth elements and a negative anomaly in Eu(Eu/Eu* = 0.32–0.83). These sands were derived from felsic metamorphic rocks dated Meso to Neoproterozoic from the Pan-African(700–1000 Ma)domain of south Cameroon. Th/U ratios(mean = 5.40; n =19) reveal that these sands originating from felsic source rocks and are low to moderately recycled. On the tectonic discrimination diagrams, all the samples are plotted in the rift and passive margin domains, which is consistent with the tectonic history of Pan African in southern Cameroon.     

Olivine and Cr-spinel as indicators of the petrogenesis and partial melting conditions of the high-MgO ultramafic volcanic rocks from NW Ad Dhala Province—Yemen

The high-MgO ultramafic volcanic rocks in the NW Ad Dhala province are classified as meimechite according to the IUGS classification scheme.This province represents the southeastern outcrops of the Yemen Volcanic Group(YVG),which constitutes part of the AfroArabian continental large igneous province(LIP) and located within the boundary of the Afar mantle plume.In this study,we present the chemical compositions of olivine and Cr-spinel in meimechite rocks from Bagah Village in NW Ad Dhala province,aiming to characterize the genesis and partial melting conditions and to estimate the crystallization temperatures of these high-MgO rocks.Olivine crystals are characterized by high forsterite,ranges from Mg-rich core(up to Fo_(89.69)) to relatively Fe-rich rim(down to Fo_(78.57)),high CaO,MgO and MnO whereas Cr-spinel crystals have high TiO_2 and Cr# values ranging from 0.49 to 0.63 which indicate that they are crystallized from primary magma and are typical of volcanic olivine and Crspinel that formed in intraplate tectonic setting.Olivine and Cr-spinel compositional data and primary melt composition(MgO ～ 23 wt.%) are compatible with the derivation of studied meimechite rocks from peridotite mantle source by small degrees of partial melting under conditions of high temperature and pressure at great depths,mostly within the garnet stability field.Also,these data provide a compelling indicator for the important role of upwelling Afar mantle plume in the genesis of these high-MgO ultramafic volcanic rocks.Finally,based on the different olivine-liquid equilibrium methods and Al-in-olivine thermometer approach the estimated crystallization temperature ranges from 1450 to 1490℃,and mantle potential temperature(Tp) ranges from 1617 to 1677℃,at high pressure(3-4.8 GPa).These high temperatures substantiate the existence of the Afar thermal mantle plume and its important role in the genesis of the studied meimechite rocks.     

The Geothermal Study of the Mid-Segment of the Tancheng-Lujiang Fault Zone and Its Neighboring Region

In this paper,25 new terrestrial heat flow values newly observed along the mid-segment of the Tancheng-Lujiang fault zone are listed.With these geothermal data and 37 other terrestrial heat flow values(previously published),we describe the distribution features of terrestrial heat flows in the area.In this research,the two-dimensional temperature structure from the surface to lithospheric bottom of the Huaibei-Sixian-Jinhu profile is inferred by using the finite-element method and the temperature and heat flow of sedimentary,granitic,and basaltic layers is calculated.     

Prospects for the Development and Application of the Earthquake Monitoring Network

With the rapid development of the economy in China, the seismic network has been changing rapidly, in that the capability of instruments, technological systems and network density are approaching those of developed countries and a large quantity of observation data has been accumulated. How to apply these resources to economic construction and public safety has become an important issue worth studying. In order to improve earthquake prediction and earthquake emergency response, it is suggested in this paper that extracting valuable precursor information, improving earthquake rapid reporting ability and extending rapid intensity reporting function are key issues. Integrating network resources, building unified standards and a multifunction seismic monitoring network are preconditions of establishing a public safety service platform and earthquake observation resources will contribute significantly to the fields of engineering, ocean, meteorology, and environmental protection. Thus, the future directions of the development of the seismic network are exploring monitoring resources, enhancing independent innovation, constructing a technological platform and enlarging the service field.     

Essential Features of Tectonic Movement Revealed by Crustal Vertical Deformations in the Mainland of China

Based on the precise reieveling data of more than 260,000 km carried out from 1950 to 1991 in the Chinese mainland,recent crustal vertical movement is studied.By means of some quantitative indices,such as the pattern of crustal vertical movement,the intensity of differential movement,the maximum gradient and its distribution,etc.,the properties of movements are analyzed on a large scale.The results suggest that all the properties have a profound tectonic background of their own and are closely related to the zoning and seismic activity of active subplates.The driving force for the movement comes mainly from the northward push of the India plate acting on the Eurasia plate.The effects of motions of the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates in the east are much less significant.     

Occurrences of warm-adapted mammals in north China over the Quaternary Period and their paleoenvironmental significance

The north and south China faunas are subdivided along the line of Huaihe River-Qinling Mountains- Hengduan Mountains-Himalayas, to the north is the Palearctic Region, and to the south is the Oriental Region, which is the result of long-time evolution. Hundreds of Quaternary fossil localities have been known up to now, more than 60 of which contain warm-adapted elements which can be referred to 20 species. Among the warm-adapted elements appearing in north China, Hystrix, Macaca, Palaeoloxodon, Dicerorhinus and Bubalus are the most frequently recorded genera. There are three kinds of causal explanation about the frequent appearance of warm-adapted elements in north China: The first hy- pothesis attributed them to the dispersal events of warm-adapted mammals from the south during warm stages or warm seasons; the second scenario thinks that these warm-adapted mammals in north China were once derived there in situ and subsequently emigrated to the south with the cooling down of the global climate; the last hypothesis believes that these warm-adapted elements were not real warm-climate animals at that time. This study shows that almost none of the warm-adapted mammals in north China was recovered in the loess, and also almost all of the fossil localities which bear warm-adapted mammals fall within the warm temperate zone of nowadays. In fossil assemblage, those warm-adapted elements rarely co-exist with the cold-adapted mammals. All these evidences mentioned above indicate that the warm-adapted mammals in north China represent warm climate, but not hot one. Because all these warm-adapted mammals are widely distributed oriental elements, some of them even still exist north of the Huaihe River today. Up to now, no typical oriental elements have ever been re- covered in north China, such as pangolin, primitive primates (e.g. loris and tarsier), big apes (e.g. Gi- gantopithecus, Pongo and Hylobates), etc. The Late Pleistocene lasted a relatively shorter time, but the appearance of warm-adapted mammals during that span were the most frequent and most widespread. It means that the climate of the Late Pleistocene experienced the most frequent fluctuation over the whole period of Quaternary.     

Study of oxygen fugacity during magma evolution and ore genesis in the Hongge mafic–ultramafic intrusion,the Panxi region,SW China

Economic concentrations of Fe–Ti oxides occurring as massive layers in the middle and upper parts of the Hongge intrusion are different from other layered intrusions(Panzhihua and Baima) in the Emeishan large igneous province, SW China. This paper reports on the new mineral compositions of magnetite and ilmenite for selected cumulate rocks and clinopyroxene and plagioclase for basalts. We use these data to estimate the oxidation state of parental magmas and during ore formation to constrain the factors leading to the abundant accumulation of Fe–Ti oxides involved with the Hongge layered intrusion. The results show that the oxygen fugacities of parental magma are in the range of FMQ-1.56 to FMQ+0.14, and the oxygen fugacities during the ore formation of the Fe–Ti oxides located in the lower olivine clinopyroxenite zone(LOZ) and the middle clinopyroxenite zone(MCZ) of the Hongge intrusion are in the range of FMQ-1.29 to FMQ-0.2 and FMQ-0.49 to FMQ+0.82, respectively.The MELTS model demonstrates that, as the oxygen fugacity increases from the FMQ-1 to FMQ+1, the proportion of crystallization magnetite increases from 11 % to 16 % and the crystallization temperature of the Fe–Ti oxides advances from 1134 to 1164 °C. The moderate oxygen fugacities for the Hongge MCZ indicate that the oxygen fugacity was not the only factor affecting the crystallization of Fe–Ti oxides. We speculated that theinitial anhydrous magma that arrived at the Hongge shallow magma chamber became hydrous by attracting the H_2O of the strata. In combination with increasing oxygen fugacities from the LOZ(FMQ-1.29 to FMQ-0.2) to the MCZ(FMQ-0.49 to FMQ+0.82), these two factors probably account for the large-scale Fe–Ti oxide ore layers in the MCZ of the Hongge intrusion.     

Study of the temporal and spatial patterns of drought in the Yellow River basin based on SPEI

Drought is one of the severe natural disasters to impact human society and occurs widely and frequently in China,causing considerable damage to the living environment of humans.The Yellow River basin(YRB)of China shows great vulnerability to drought in the major basins;thus,drought monitoring in the YRB is particularly important.Based on monthly data of 124 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2015,the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI)was used to explore the temporal and spatial patterns of drought in the YRB.The periods and trends of drought were identified by Extreme-point Symmetric Mode Decomposition(ESMD),and the research stages were determined by Bernaola-Galvan Segmentation Algorithm(BGSA).The annual and seasonal variation,frequency and intensity of drought were studied in the YRB.The results indicated that(1)for the past 55 years,the drought in the YRB has increased significantly with a tendency rate of-0.148(10 a)~(-1),in which the area Lanzhou to Hekou was the most vulnerable affected(-0.214(10 a)~(-1));(2)the drought periods(2.9,5,10.2 and 18.3 years)and stages(1961–1996,1997–2002 and 2003–2015)were characterized and detected by ESMD and BGSA;(3)the sequence of drought frequency was summer,spring,autumn and winter with mean values of 71.0%,47.2%,10.2%and 6.9%,respectively;and(4)the sequence of drought intensity was summer,spring,winter and autumn with mean values of 0.93,0.40,0.05 and 0.04,respectively.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the late Cenozoic Laojunmiao anticline in the northern Qilian Mountains and its implications for the northern Tibetan Plateau uplift

The uplift process of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau holds the key to understand the dynamic mechanisms of continental crust shortening and mountain-building and to test the relationship between the Tibetan uplift and tectonic-climatic coupling and environmental im-pacts[1―4].However,there are still many debates in the process and mechanism of how the Tibetan Plateau uplifted to the present configuration.Among various approaches to solve these key questions,dating of the Cenozoic stratigraphy …     

Soil moisture drought detection and multi-temporal variability across China

Soil moisture droughts can trigger abnormal changes of material and energy cycles in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system,leading to important effects on local ecosystem,weather,and climate.Drought detection and understanding benefit disaster alleviation,as well as weather and climate predictions based on the understanding the land-atmosphere interactions.We thus simulated soil moisture using land surface model CLM3.5 driven with observed climate in China,and corrected wet bias in soil moisture simulations via introducing soil porosity parameter into soil water parameterization scheme.Then we defined soil moisture drought to quantify spatiotemporal variability of droughts.Over the period from 1951 to 2008,40%of months(to the sum of 12×58)underwent droughts,with the average area of 54.6%of total land area of Mainland China.The annual monthly drought numbers presented a significant decrease in arid regions,but a significant increase in semi-arid and semi-humid regions,a decrease in humid regions but not significant.The Mainland as a whole experienced an increasing drought trend,with77.3%of areal ratio of decrease to increase.The monthly droughts in winter were the strongest but the weakest in summer,impacting 54.3%and 8.4%total area of the Mainland,respectively.The drought lasting three months or more occurred mainly in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions,with probability51.7%,even77.6%,whereas those lasting 6 and 12 months or more impacted mainly across arid and semi-arid regions.     

The Mathematic Models of the Kalman Filtering for Across-Fault Measurement

This paper makes a probe into the application of the Kalman filtering method to the data processing of across-fault measurements.On the basis of statistical regression,the mathematic and stochastic models of filtration are established by combining the regression method with Kalman filtering.In the filtering computation,not only the randomness of fault movements but also the time-dependent variation of environmental effects have been taken into consideration.By use of the adaptive filtering method,an estimation of the dynamic noise variance matrix is obtained through iteration.Models for one measuring line(leveling line or baseline),two measuring lines(both leveling lines or both baselines)and four measuring lines(two leveling lines and two baselines)are derived and established systematically.By means of these models,the data of across-fault measurements can be processed dynamically in real-time to provide the filtered values of height difference between benchmarks or baseline length at different time in     

Quantifying the sources of dissolved inorganic carbon within the sulfate-methane transition zone in nearshore sediments of Qi’ao Island,Pearl River Estuary,Southern China

The significance of the various biogeochemical pathways that drive carbon cycling and the relative fractions of dissolved inorganic carbon(DIC) produced by these reactions within the sulfate-methane transition zone(SMTZ) are still being debated. Unraveling these processes is important to our understanding of the benthic DIC sources and their contributions to the global carbon cycle. Here, we measure pore water geochemistry(chlorine, sulfate, methane, Ca~(2+), Mg~(2+), DIC and δ~(13)C-DIC) as well as solid geochemistry(sedimentary organic carbon(SOC) and δ~(13)C of SOC) in nearshore sediments from Qi'ao Island in the Pearl River Estuary of the Southern China Sea. Our analysis indicates that SOC originates from the mixing of carbon from terrestrial and marine sources, and that terrestrial materials dominate the net loss of SOC during the degradation of organic matter, especially at sites located near the river outlets. Sulfate reduction via SOC degradation is not appreciable in the upper sediment layer due to conservative mixing-dilution by freshwater. However, below this layer, the anaerobic oxidation of methane(AOM) and methanogenesis occur. Within the SMTZ, the δ~(13)C mass balance shows that the proportions of DIC derived from organoclastic SO_4~(2-) reduction(OSR) and AOM are 50.3% to 66.7% and 0.1% to 17.9%, respectively, whereas methanogenesis contributes 17.0% to 43.9%. This study reveals that the upward diffusion of DIC from ongoing methanogenesis significantly influences carbon cycling within the SMTZ in these estuarine sediments. As a result, we suggest that the plots of the ratio of change in sulfate to change in DIC in pore water should be used with caution when discriminating between sulfate reduction pathways in methane-rich sediments.     

Investigation of Fine Velocity Structure of the Basement Layer of the Shallow Crust in Western Yunnan Region

In this paper the authors have discussed the results of investigation of fine velocity structure in the basement layer of the Simao-Zhongdian DSS profile in western Yunnan region.The depth of upper Pz interface of the basement layer is about 0-3.5 km,and the depth of the lower P1 interface is 11.0-17.0 km.The velocity of the basement layer on the southern side of the Jinhe-Erhai deep fault is 5.70-6.30 km/s,and has increased to 6.30-6.50 km/s on the northern side.Their transitional zone is situated near Jianchuan County.Along the profile some localities,where the faults cut across the lateral variation of Pz interface velocity,are quite obvious in addition to the variation in depth.The velocity isopleths are relatively sparse in the southern region of JYQ S.P.(shot - point),near the DC S.P.,and in the south ZT S.P.The magma has apparently risen up along the deep faults to the upper crust in these localities,forming a large intrusive rock zone in the basement layer.In Jinggu region the basaltic magma has     

Occurrence of organochlorine pollutants in the eggs and dropping-amended soil of Antarctic large animals and its ecological significance

Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) are analyzed for the dropping-amended soils from the habitats of Antarctic seabirds and seals in Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island. The concentration ranges are 0.21 to 3.85 ng/g for polychlorinated biphenyls (ΣPCBs),0.09 to 2.01 ng/g for organochlorine pesticides (ΣDDT),and 0.06 to 0.76 ng/g for hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs). Among these,hepata-chlorobiphenyls,hexachlorobiphenyls,p,p′-DDE and α-HCH compounds are dominant. The concentra-tion ranges of ΣPCB,DDT and HCH in the eggs of skuas were 91.9―515.5 ng/g,56.6―304.4 ng/g and 0.5―2.0 ng/g respectively; those in the eggs of penguins were 0.4―0.9 ng/g,2.4―10.3 ng/g and 0.1― 0.4 ng/g; and those in the eggs of giant petrel were 38.1―81.7 ng/g,12.7―53.7 ng/g and 0.5―1.5 ng/g respectively. The dominant POP compounds in the eggs are PCB180,PCB153,p,p′-DDE and hexa-chlorobenzene (HCB). The present study shows that the concentration of POPs in the sea-bird-inhabited-dropping-amended soil varies with the extent of predation and nest occupancy of dif-ferent seabird populations. Statistical analysis on the POP concentrations from the different seabird eggs implies that the difference in the bio-concentration levels of the birds depends on the bio-habits of the species,such as the range of activity,distance of immigration,feeding pattern,and nest occupation. Among these,the most important factor is the location of the seabirds in the food chain and their feeding pattern. This shows that POPs accumulated in the seabirds resulted from the bio-concentration through the food chain. In addtion,210Pb dating for the dropping-amended soils (AD1-a and AD2) was performed,which provided the POP accumulation rate and the historic record for the soil profile. It indicates that POP will continuously affect the Antarctic ecosystem for a long time.     

Numerical analysis on the influence of rock specimen size on crack stress field

Introduction Earthquakes are excited by dislocations of rocks, which are generated once the stresses on two sides of rocks accumulate to a certain extent. Numerical simulations and rock mechanics ex-periments are two important avenues to explore the rupture processes of seismic faults. Several methods are widely used in numerical simulations, such as the boundary element method (BEM), (Das and Aki, 1977; Fukuyama and Madariaga, 1995, 1998), the finite difference method (FDM), (Madariaga, 1…     

Energy-based damage assessment of continuous-span reinforced concrete highway bridges

This paper conducts a comparative study on seismic damage to reinforced concrete(RC) bridges, using three damage models: Park and Ang, Hindi and Sexsmith, and input energy-based damage(IEBD) indices, and presents a global cumulative damage model based on the IEBD index to establish a practical damage assessment of an overall bridge system. A series of RC bridges are studied under seismic loadings, and to compare the efficiency and reliability of the damage indices, damage curves of RC piers are ...