鄂尔多斯周缘地震带地震活动的分期和相关分析

利用最优分割法对鄂尔多斯周缘地震带(区)的地震活动进行了分期,并作了相关分析。结果表明,1000年以来汾渭地震带北段可划为4个活跃期,每个活跃期的中心间距约300年,最大地震为7级,天水—陕南地震带(区)近一、二百年的地震活动可分为持续约10年左右的几个地震簇。所有分期中,海原地震带能量释放最大,且最近仍很活跃。汾渭地震带和海原—银川地震带活跃期存在相关现象,且其南段往往先于北段活跃,目前活动水平较低。该带1900年以来地震还有与河套地震带地震相呼应的现象和沿构造带南北迁移的规律。根据分期和相关结果推测,鄂尔多斯周缘各地震带都存在中强地震背景。其中海原—银川地震带近期发生5—6级或更大地震的可能性较大,天水—陕南地震带近期也有发生中强地震的可能。汾渭地震带虽然存在孕育6级以上大震的背景,但近年还不会发生强震。     

川滇地区较长时间尺度的地震活动盛衰交替性

通过与更早地震资料的对比, 研究了鲜水河断裂带, 川滇地壳块体东带、 西带, 松潘、 龙门山断裂带以及整个川滇地区较长时间尺度的地震活动盛衰交替性。 结果表明, 川滇东带北段(鲜水河断裂带)、 松潘、 龙门山地震带及川滇西带中段和南段(主要是红河断裂带)的地震活动具有明显的几十到百年尺度的盛衰交替性。 而川滇东带中南段(安宁河-则木河-小江断裂带)与川滇西带北段(金沙江断裂带)在上述地震带的平静期里, 中强以上地震频次明显减少, 但有个别7级以上强震发生。 这样, 整个川滇地区地震活动的盛衰交替性呈现一种比较复杂的阶段性特征: 伴随频繁中强震的强震活跃期与突发强震活动期交替出现。 值得注意的是, 川滇地区从19世纪末开始的伴随频繁中强震的强震活跃期已超过百年, 目前出现长期平静, 应注意进入突发强震活动期的可能性。 根据川滇地区上一个突发强震活动期突发强震的空间分布, 推测未来的突发强震可能发生在南北向断裂带, 或其他方向断裂带与南北向断裂带的交汇部。 文中还对上述统计现象的机理作了简要讨论。     

南北地震带地震转移图像与趋势预测

初步分析了中国中部南北地震带历史大震活动在不同时间尺度的整体转移图像。 南北地震带近500年来地震活动东侧强于西侧地区; 本世纪以来大震(M≥7.1)活动的主体地区呈现自北向南的整体转移过程; 本活跃期以来强震(M≥6.0)的集中区明显西移。 据此, 对该带大震趋势及危险地区进行了分析和讨论。     

缅甸孟帕亚7.2级地震及其对云南强震活动趋势的意义

20世纪云南地区6.7级以上地震具有时空丛集分布特点。在1996年丽江7.0级地震结束云南地区20世纪第Ⅳ强震活跃期后,21世纪强震活跃期首发大震研究成为地震形势跟踪的重点。2011年3月24日,滇、缅交界缅甸境内发生孟帕亚7.2级地震,震中距中缅边界仅80km。该地震的动力及地震带、区归属对云南地区6.7级以上地震活动统计特征及其大震形势研判有重要影响。根据地表破裂及余震的空间展布等证据判断,发震断裂为穿越中缅两国的NE向孟帕亚-勐腊断裂(国外称之为Nam Ma断裂)。事实上,北起云南腾冲、龙陵一带,南至泰、缅、老交界地区,近等间距平行展布一系列包括孟帕亚-勐腊断裂在内的NE向断裂,其中绝大多数在历史上都发生过7级地震,而这些7级地震在空间上又构成了一条非常清晰的NNW向地震密集条带,它同样穿越了滇、缅、泰、老多地。区域大地构造演化、现今地壳运动状态及地震活动特征的综合分析表明,孟帕亚7.2级地震与传统划定的云南地区西南部的地震活动动力同源,构造相连,应归属滇西南地震带上的地震;进而应纳入云南地区6.7级以上地震活动特征的统计研究中。由此认为,缅甸孟帕亚7.2级地震拉开了云南地区21世纪首轮强震活跃期的序幕。     

华北地区活动地块与强震活动

在华北活动地块的鄂尔多斯、华北平原和鲁东-黄海等3个二级活动地块中, 华北平原活动地块内部存在安阳-菏泽-临沂、唐山-河间-磁县两条活动构造带, 把该活动地块分割成太行山、冀鲁、豫淮等3个三级活动地块. 这些三级活动地块具有整体运动特征, 在新生代构造和深部构造上也有明显差异. 构成三级活动地块边界的活动构造带无论在活动强度、规模和地震活动水平上, 都小于一、二级活动地块的边界带. 华北地区活动地块边界带上M≥6级的地震密度比地块内部高出9 ~ 22倍, 平均而言, 在1个数量级以上. M≥7级的大震基本上都发生在活动地块边界带上. 这些差异不是偶然的, 而是反映了板内构造运动和强震活动特点, 是对活动地块假说非常有力的佐证.     

祁连山构造带6级地震活动分析

正自有仪器记录以来,祁连山构造带6级地震活动,经历了两个绝对平静期和两个相对活跃期。显现出长时间段起伏活动、空间依赖大构造带有序分布和迁移的基本特征。第一平静时段(1900—1919),祁连山构造带没有6级以上地震事件的记录。第一活跃时段(1920—1954),伴随M≥7大震活动30余年。第二平静时段(1955—1985),祁连山构造带没有6级以上地震发生。第二活跃时段(1986—2016?),祁连山构造带记录到6级地震7次。     

“川滇菱块”东部边界的强震活动

本文探讨了西南地区“川滇菱块”东部边界的强震活动情况。研究表明,“川滇菱块”东部边界强震活动在西南地区最为强烈。它集中了川滇地区全部７．６级以上地震,历史强震活动有较明显的活跃期和平静期,且呈现某种自然节律,７级地震显示较好的南北迁移规律,强震时间分布遵从幂函数特征。     

南北地震带及邻近区域强震时空分布特征

搜集整理南北地震带区域自史料记载（公元前193年）到2012年9月的强震（Ms≥6.0）资料,初步分析南北地震带及附近区域的地震发震构造活动性和时空分布规律.结果表明,地震一般发生在断层带上,具有空间分布的集群性特征和时间群集性质.研究发现,地震带南段发生6.0≤Ms≤7.9地震次数明显高于北段和中段,而发生Ms≥8.0地震的可能性较低,中段与南段较接近,与北段有明显差异;南北地震带存在明显的纬向、经向强震活动迁移现象,纬向尤其明显;1900年以来,南北地震带已经有4次明显的能量释放阶段,并给出Ms≥6.0地震的震级-频度统计关系式.     

巴颜喀拉块体强震活动与2010年玉树7.1级地震的关系

系统地总结分析了巴颜喀拉地块北、东、南边界带的构造特征、各个边界带上的强震活动、部分强震的震源机制解和区域地震活动,从而探讨了2010年玉树7.1级地震发生前巴颜喀拉地块地震活动特征。从2008年玉树地区地震活动变化、巴颜喀拉块体北边界和南边界强震呼应及块体动力学过程进行了地震趋势预测的思考。     

中国南北地震带1900年以来强震的时空分布特征及其预报意义

根据１９００年以来发生在南北地震带上的大震资料。分析了研究强震的时空分布认为：（１）南北地震带地震主体活动地区每幕往南平均滑移约３００公里。（２）从１９８８年开幕的南北地震带第Ⅳ个地震活动跃幕在１９９６年２月３日云南丽江７．０级地震后可能已接近闭幕。该带的地震活动性可能会逐渐减弱。     

Changes in rainfall and relative humidity in river basins in northwest and central India

Seasonal and annual trends of changes in rainfall, rainy days, heaviest rain and relative humidity have been studied over the last century for nine different river basins in northwest and central India. The majority of river basins have shown increasing trends both in annual rainfall and relative humidity. The magnitude of increased rainfall for considered river basins varied from 2–19% of mean per 100 years. The maximum increase in rainfall is observed in the Indus (lower) followed by the Tapi river basin. Seasonal analysis shows maximum increase in rainfall in the post‐monsoon season followed by the pre‐monsoon season. There were least variations in the monsoon rainfall during the last century and winter rainfall has shown a decreasing trend. Most of the river basins have experienced decreasing trends in annual rainy days with a maximum decrease in the Mahanadi basin. The heaviest rain of the year has increased from 9–27 mm per 100 years over different river basins with a maximum of 27 mm for the Brahamani and Subaranrekha river basins. A combination of increase in heaviest rainfall and reduction in the number of rainy days suggest the possibility of increasing severity of floods. Such information is useful in the planning, development and management of water resources in the study area. Further, the majority of river basins have also experienced an increasing trend in relative humidity both on seasonal and annual scales. An increase in annual mean relative humidity for six river basins has been found in the range of 1–18% of mean per 100 years, while a decrease for three river basins from ? 1 to ? 13% of mean per 100 years was observed, providing a net increase in the study area by 2·4% of mean per 100 years. It is understood that an increase in areal extent of vegetation cover as well as rainfall over the last century has increased the moisture in the atmosphere through enhanced evapotranspiration, which in turn has increased the relative humidity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phosphorus dynamics in water and sediments in urbanized and non-urbanized rivers in Southern Brazil

Phosphorus flux models show that the removal tends to be a common feature in polluted estuarine systems whereas the release of P to the adjacent coastal area occurs in pristine environments. This study analyzes the distribution of P in water and sediments along six rivers in the south coast of Brazil. Three rivers located inside protected areas were considered non-polluted and used as a control of urbanization. The other three, situated within urbanized areas, were considered as having highly elevated concentrations of P. Results showed a different behavior of P in water and sediments located in urbanized and non-urbanized areas. The concentrations of dissolved organic (P-org) and inorganic (P-inorg) phosphorus in water, and the total phosphorus (P-tot) and polyphosphate (P-poly) in sediments where higher in the urbanized rivers compared to the non-urbanized ones. Both P of punctual origin and of diffuse origin contributed to the maintenance of elevated concentrations and disturbed the natural fluxes along the polluted rivers. The minimum and maximum concentrations in urbanized areas varied from 0.39 to 12.45 (microM) for P-org and 0.00 to 5.92 (microM) for P-inorg in water, and in sediments from 89.90 to 808.16 (microM g(-1)) for P-tot and 0.00 to 76.51 (microM g(-1)) for P-poly. In non-urbanized areas concentrations in water varied from 0.22 to 1.20 (microM) for P-inorg and 4.43 to 5.56 (microM) for P-org, and in sediments from 45.91 to 652.26 (microM g(-1)) for P-tot and 0.00 to 8.61 (microM g(-1)) for P-poly. Using a hierarchical sampling design and a simple model of variation of P (K(d) model) it was possible to demonstrate that urbanized and non-urbanized estuaries may act as sinks or sources of P. The variation of P analysis in different points along each of the six rivers showed that release and removal areas may occur within a same river independently of its urbanization.     

Spatial and temporal variations in rainfall characteristics in mountainous and lowland areas in Taiwan

Although changes in rainfall characteristics have been noted across the world, few studies have reported those in mountainous areas. This study was undertaken to clarify spatial and temporal variations in rainfall characteristics such as annual rainfall amount (Pr), mean daily rainfall intensity (η), and ratio of rain days (λ) in mountainous and lowland areas in Taiwan. To this aim, we examined spatial and year‐to‐year variations and marginal long‐term trends in Pr, η, and λ, based on rainfall data from 120 stations during the period 1978–2008. The period mean rainfall () at the lowland stations had strong relationships with the period mean daily rainfall intensity () and the period mean ratio of rain days () during those 31 years. Meanwhile, was only strongly related to at mountainous stations, indicating that influences on spatial variations in were different between lowland and mountainous stations. Year‐to‐year variations in Pr at each station were primarily determined from the variation in η at most stations for both lowland and mountainous stations. Long‐term trend analysis showed that Pr and η increased significantly at 10% and 31% of the total 120 stations, respectively, and λ decreased significantly at 6% of the total. The increases in Pr were mostly accompanied by increases in η. Although stations with significant η increases were slightly biased toward the western lowland area, increases or decreases in Pr and λ were not common. These results contribute to understanding the impacts of possible climate changes on terrestrial hydrological cycles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organic Matter and Its Transformation Rates in Spawning and Fattening Lakes in Kamchatka

The concentration of dissolved and particulate organic matter (OM) in Lakes Kuril'skoe and Azabach'e is shown to depend on the rate of its production by phytoplankton (and by macrophytes in Lake Azabach'e) and on the amount of allochthonous OM delivered by rivers. The rate of OM transformation in the production–destruction cycle and the regeneration of phosphates were evaluated based on the activities of redox enzymes of the electron-transport system and the hydrolytic enzymes of alkaline phosphatase and protease. The intense assimilation of allochthonous OM in lake ecosystems was found to take place due to active hydrolytic disintegration of the arriving OM.     

Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous radiolarian zonation in Japan and in the western Pacific

Abstract A radiolarian zonal scheme for the entire Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous using biostratigraphic data from both Japanese Island sections and the western Pacific seafloor is documented. The zonation is applicable to low and middle paleolatitude portions of the Paleo-Pacific ocean. Radiolarian bio-events such as the evolutionary first appearance biohorizon, first occurrence biohorizon, and last occurrence biohorizon were used to define zones. The 11 zones proposed are, in ascending order, Parahsuum simplum, Trillus elkhornensis, Laxtorum(?) jurassicum, Tricolocapsa plicarum, Tricolocapsa conexa, Stylocapsa(?) spiralis, Hsuum maxwelli, Pseudodictyomitra primitiva, Pseudodictyomitra carpatica, Cecrops sep-temporatus, and Acanthocircus carinatus zones. Preliminary age assignments for these zones are presented.     

Variations in the loadings and riverine transport of nitrate and nitrite in Latvia

The intra-annual and long-term variations in the nitrate and nitrite concentrations and transport are considered for the years 1948–1990. The nutrient loading on the Latvian rivers is subject to considerable intra-annual variations. Weak direct relationships with the fresh water inputs were observed for nitrite, while inverse ones were characteristic for nitrate. The nitrate and nitrite concentrations have been increasing since the late 1950s followed by an increase of the year-to-year variability. Non-point sources of anthropogenic impact (fertilizers leaching from agriculture and the reclamation) increase riverine concentrations of nitrogen compounds, and in particular of nitrate from 300–500 to 1300–1500%.     

New developments in process understanding and modelling in geomorphology: introduction and overview

This Special Issue of Earth Surface Processes and Landforms develops from the ‘Geomorphology: a 2020 Vision’ Annual Conference of the British Society for Geomorphology, organised at the University of Birmingham, UK, in July 2007. Entitled ‘New Developments in Process Understanding and Modelling in Geomorphology’, the Issue comprises a vibrant selection of 10 ‘process’ papers from leading researchers in geomorphological processes who presented at Birmingham. It aims to provide a readily accessible source of new and emerging ideas in understanding different landform processes across a range of space and time scales, based on innovations in geomorphological modelling and monitoring. The last few years have seen significant and exciting changes in geomorphology, especially in conceptual developments, numerical simulations, monitoring methodologies, data‐acquisition strategies and dating techniques. The resultant empirical datasets, theory development and modelling results have generated substantial advances in the understanding of geomorphological processes, form‐process feedbacks, scale impacts, long‐term landform evolution, the effects of climate and environmental change, and human impacts and management strategies. The Special Issue attempts to address the following key challenges: (a) to build on our Conference theme ‘Geomorphology: a 2020 Vision’, by identifying fundamental areas where doors need to be opened, for example in theory development, conceptual understanding, model evaluation, integration of the chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics of geomorphological processes, experimental validation, data needs and monitoring requirements; (b) to look forward to the next decade and beyond, and critically examine some of the approaches we will need for the questions ahead; and (c) to stimulate new research in the geomorphological sciences by highlighting both research gaps and promising developments, including emerging process modelling approaches, monitoring technologies and robust datasets. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.