Review of Mercury's dynamic magnetosphere:Post-MESSENGER era and comparative magnetospheres

This review paper summarizes the research of Mercury’s magnetosphere in the Post-MESSENGER era and compares its dynamics to those in other planetary magnetospheres,especially to those in Earth’s magnetosphere.This review starts by introducing the planet Mercury,including its interplanetary environment,magnetosphere,exosphere,and conducting core.The frequent and intense magnetic reconnection on the dayside magnetopause,which is represented by the flux transfer event"shower",is reviewed on how they depend on magnetosheath plasma β and magnetic shear angle across the magnetopause,followed by how it contributes to the flux circulation and magnetosphere-surface-exosphere coupling.In the next,Mercury’s magnetosphere under extreme solar events,including the core induction and the reconnection erosion on the dayside magnetosphere,as well as the responses of the nightside magnetosphere,are reviewed.Then,the dawn-dusk properties of the plasma sheet,including the features of the ions,the structure of the current sheet,and the dynamics of magnetic reconnection,are summarized.The last topic is devoted to the particle energization in Mercury’s magnetosphere,which includes the energization of the Kelvin-Helmholtz waves on the magnetopause boundaries,reconnection-generated magnetic structures,and the cross-tail electric field.In each chapter,the last section discusses the open questions related to each topic,which can be considered by the simulations and the future spacecraft mission.We end this paper by summarizing the future Bepi Colombo opportunities,which is a joint mission of ESA and JAXA and is en route to Mercury.     

Existence,morphology and structure of the Yellow Sea Warm Current Branch approaching waters offshore Qingdao,China

In this study, we focused on full-region cruise survey data, near-bottom continuous mooring observations and sea surface wind products from the western South Yellow Sea in winter; after ensuring the data reliability and accuracy, we processed and analyzed the data. Image resolution experiments were carried out to determine the lowest recognition resolutions for all image types, which represent the resolution characteristics of the data. The existence of a warm water tongue originating from the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC) that approached waters offshore Qingdao was confirmed. For the first time, a high salinity water tongue, corresponding to the warm water tongue, was described and found to be more representative of the YSWC branch path. This warm tongue is a sign of the branch originating from the YSWC, which we defined as the Yellow Sea Warm Current Branch approaching waters offshore Qingdao(YSWC-QDB). The pattern of the warm and salty water tongues showed remarkable rear, branching middle, shrinking neck and expanding top regions. These patterns showed a temporal feature of the tongues, and were the result of multi-temporal branches in front of the YSWC main section as well as the YSWC-QDB crossing the southwestward path of the extension of the North Shandong Coastal Current flowing along the southeast coast of the Shandong Peninsula(NSCC-SESE). Analysis using mooring data at a sensitive and representative station also showed the existence of the YSWC-QDB. It is a probabilistic event that manifests as a northwestward flow that decreases gradually from the bottom to the surface in the early cold air transit stage and consistent in the whole water column profile in the later stage. It varies quasi-periodically with weather processes. It also transports some of the YSWC water stored in the entrance area of the Bohai and Yellow seas under winter wind conditions to the western South Yellow Sea as a compensatory current. This current, caused by northerly winds, especially northwest winds and obstruction of the NSCC-SESE, was present, and strong water reduction and compensation caused significant residual sea level oscillations. The compensatory current, if caused by strong northwest wind,began to appear when its direction was opposite to the wind direction. In addition, confirmation of the YSWC-QDB provides an oceanographic basis for the short cooling time and rapid warming in the Qingdao area in winter. This research provides a basis for further studies of the YSWC-QDB at high spatial and temporal resolutions using large sea surface datasets. For monsoon basin dynamics, this study can also be extended to the whole Bohai and Yellow seas and closed or semi-closed basins on the continental margin.     

Recent progress of seismic research on tall buildings in China Mainland

To study the seismic behavior of high strength concrete fi lled double-tube(CFDT) columns,each consisting of an external square steel tube and an internal circular steel tube,quasi-static tests on eight CFDT column specimens were conducted.The test variables included the width-to-thickness ratio(β1) and the area ratio(β2) of the square steel tube,the wall thickness of the circular steel tube,and the axial force(or the axial force ratio) applied to the CFDT columns.The test results indicate that for CFDT columns with a square steel tube with β1 of 50.1 and 24.5,local buckling of the specimen was found at a drift ratio of 1/150 and 1/50,respectively.The lateral force-displacement hysteretic loops of all specimens were plump and stable.Reducing the width-to-thickness ratio of the square steel tube,increasing its area ratio,or increasing the wall thickness of the internal circular steel tube,led to an increased fl exural strength and deformation capacity of the specimens.Increasing the design value of the axial force ratio from 0.8 to 1.0 may increase the fl exural strength of the specimens,while it may also decrease the ultimate deformation capacity of the specimen with β1 of 50.1.     

Geological and surfacial processes and major disaster effects in the Yellow River Basin

The Yellow River Basin(YRB) is characterized by active geological and tectonic processes, rapid geomorphological evolution, and distinct climatic diversity. Correspondingly, major disasters in the YRB are characterized by varied types,extensive distributions, and sudden occurrences. In addition, major disasters in the YRB usually evolve into disaster chains that cause severe consequences. Therefore, major disasters in the YRB destroy ecologies and environments and influence geological and ecological safety in the basin. This paper systematically reviews research on geological and surface processes, major disaster effects, and risk mitigation in the YRB, discusses the trends and challenges of relevant research, analyzes the key scientific problems that need to be solved, and suggests prospects for future research based on the earth system science concept. Themes of research that should be focused on include geological, surface and climatic processes in the YRB and their interlinking disaster gestation mechanisms;formation mechanisms and disaster chain evolutions of giant landslides in the upper reach of the YRB;mechanisms and disaster chain effects of loess water-soil disasters in the middle reach of the YRB;occurrence patterns and amplifying effects of giant flood chains in the lower reach of the YRB;and risk mitigations of major disasters in the YRB. Key scientific problems that need to be solved are as follows: how to reveal the geological, surface and climatic processes that are coupled and interlinked with gestation mechanisms of major disasters;how to clarify the mutual feedback effects between major disasters and ecology;and how to develop a human-environmental harmony-based integrated risk mitigation system for major disasters. Prospects for future studies that follow the earth system science concept include the following: highlighting interdisciplinary research to reveal the interlinked disaster gestation mechanisms of the geology, surface and climate in the YRB in the past, present, and future;forming theories to clarify the regional patterns, dynamic mechanisms, and mutual-feedback effects between disaster chains and ecology in the YRB on land and in rivers in the region;solving technological bottlenecks to develop assessment models and mitigation theories for integrated risks in the YRB by following the human-environment harmony concept;and finally, establishing a demonstratable application pattern characterized by "whole-basin coverage" and "zonal controls", thereby guaranteeing ecological and geological safety in the basin and providing scientific support for ecological conservation and high-quality development of the YRB.     

The intrinsic nonlinear multiscale interactions among the mean flow,low frequency variability and mesoscale eddies in the Kuroshio region

Using a new functional analysis tool, multiscale window transform(MWT), and the MWT-based localized multiscale energetics analysis and canonical transfer theory, this study reconstructs the Kuroshio system on three scale windows, namely,the mean flow window, the interannual-scale(low-frequency) window, and the transient eddy window, and investigates the climatological characteristics of the intricate nonlinear interactions among these windows. Significant upscale energy transfer is observed east of Taiwan, where the mean Kuroshio current extracts kinetic energy from both the interannual and eddy windows.It is found that the canonical transfer from the interannual variability is an intrinsic source that drives the eddy activities in this region. The multiscale variabilities of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea(ECS) are mainly controlled by the interaction between the mean flow and the eddies.The mean flow undergoes mixed instabilities(i.e., both barotropic and baroclinic instabilities) in the southern ECS, while it is barotropically stable but baroclinically unstable to the north. The multiscale interactions are found to be most intense south of Japan, where strong mixed instabilities occur; both the canonical transfers from the mean flow and the interannual scale are important mechanisms to fuel the eddies. It is also found that the interannual-scale energy mainly comes from the barotropically unstable jet, rather than the upscale energy transfer from the high frequency eddies.     

Evaluation of vertical impact factor coefficients for continuous and integral railway bridges under high-speed moving loads

In the railway bridge analysis and design method,dynamic train loads are regarded as static loads enhanced by an impact factor(IF).The IF coefficients for various railway bridges have been reported as a function of span length or frequency of the bridges in Eurocode(2003).However,these IF coefficient values neglect the effects of very high speeds(>200 km/h)and soil-structure interaction(SSI).In this work,a comprehensive study to assess the impact factor coefficients of mid-span vertical displacements for continuous and integral railway bridges subjected to high-speed moving loads is reported.Three different configurations,each for the three-dimensional(3D)continuous and integral bridge,are considered.Also,single-track(1-T)and two-track(2-T)“real train”loading cases for both these bridge types are considered.Subsequently,finite element analysis of the full-scale 3D bridge models,to identify their IF values,considering the effects of SSI for three different soil conditions,is conducted.The IF values obtained from the study for both bridge types are comparable and are greater than the values recommended by Eurocode(2003).The results reveal that with a loss of soil stiffness,the IF value reduces;thus,it confirms the importance of SSI analysis.     

Distribution and structural characteristics of the Xi'an Section of the Weihe Fault

The results of seismic deep reflection,high resolution refraction and shallow artificial seismic exploration indicate that the fault on the northern bank of the Weihe river is composed of two faults,one is the Yaodian-Zhangjiawan fault and the other is the Chuanzhang-Zuitou fault.The 22 km long Yaodian-Zhangjiawan fault of EW-striking starts from Chenjiagou via Yaodian town,Qianpai village,Bili village,Wujia town and Zhangjiawan to Jiajiatan.The 15 km long Chuanzhang-Zuitou fault striking near EW starts from Chuanzhang via Mabei to Zuitou.The Weihe fault offset the basement and upper crust,the reflecting layers of TQ,TN,TE and Tg are ruptured at depth of about 15 km.In the deep part,the Weihe fault and the secondary fault form a Y-shaped structure or a synthetic low angle intersection.The Weihe fault is a listric normal fault.The fault has obvious structural characteristics of a reversed-drag normal fault and a normal drag normal fault with the depth of 1 000 m,and also has the characteris-tics of syngenetic sediment.The Weihe fault is one of the faults which control the basin sediment,and it is the boundary fault of Xi’an depression and Xianyang salient.The depth of the fault decreases from the west to east gradually,the deep part intersects with the Lintong-Chang’an fault at the intersection part of Weihe River,Jinghe River and Bahe River and the shallow part connects with the Weinan-Jingyang fault.The seismic exploration re-sults indicate that no fault exists on southern bank of the Weihe River.     

Prestack reverse-time depth migration of arbitrarily wide-angle wave equations

Based on arbitrarily wide-angle wave equations,a reverse-time propagation scheme is developed by substituting the partial derivatives of depth and time with central differences. The partial derivative of horizontal direction is replaced with high order difference. The imaging condition is computed by solving the eikonal equations. On the basis of above techniques,a prestack reverse-time depth migration algorithm is developed. The processing exam-ples of synthetic data show that the method can remove unwanted internal reflections and decrease the migration noise. The method also has the advantage of fidelity and is applicable of dip angle reflector imaging.     

Local scour around two side-by-side cylindrical bridge piers under ice-covered conditions

In the current study, 108 flume experiments with non-uniform, cohesionless sediments have been done to investigate the local scour process around four pairs of side-by-side bridge piers under both open channel and ice-covered flow conditions. Similar to local scour around bridge piers under open channel conditions and a single bridge pier, it was observed in the experiments that the maximum scour depth always occurred at the upstream face of the pier under ice-covered conditions. Further, the smaller the pier size and the greater the spacing distance between the bridge piers, the weaker the horseshoe vortices around the bridge piers, and, thus, the shallower the scour holes around them. Finally, empirical equations were developed to estimate the maximum scour depth around two side-by-side bridge piers under both open channel and ice-covered flow conditions.     

Evaluation of the fishbone model in simulating the seismic response of multistory reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames

The fishbone model is a simplified numerical model for moment-resisting frames that is capable of modelling the effects of column-beam strength and stiffness ratios. The applicability of the fishbone model in simulating the seismic responses of reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames of different sets of column-beam strength and stiffness ratios are evaluated through nonlinear static, dynamic and incremental dynamic analysis on six prototype buildings of 4-, 8-and 12-stories. The results show that the fishbone model is practically accurate enough for reinforced concrete frames, although the assumption of equal joint rotation does not hold in all cases. In addition to the ground motion characteristics and the number of stories in the structures, the accuracy of the model also varies with the column-beam stiffness and strength ratios. The model performs better for strong column-weak beam frames, in which the lateral drift patterns are better controlled by the continuous stiffness provided by the strong columns. When the inelastic deformation is large, the accuracy of the model may be subjected to large record-to-record variability. This is especially the case for frames of weak columns.     

地震作用下钢框架高层结构的抗震性能研究

钢框架高层建筑结构是当前高层建筑设计中使用最为广泛的技术,为提升其抗震性能,本文研究将调谐质量阻尼器安装在钢框架高层建筑结构顶部,考虑到建筑空间需求、防止集中荷载和提升控制效果等因素,在相同楼层或同顶部接近楼层中设置数个较小的、频率一致的子控制装置,通过设置调谐质量阻尼器受控结构等效阻尼比求极值的方法,获取最优刚度与最优阻尼系数;将获取的结果在有限元软件中进行模态分析获取模态质量,实现钢框架高层建筑结构扭转振动的减振控制。实验结果表明,地震荷载下,该方法使得建筑结构顶层角位移峰值和角加速度峰值分别降低50%和30%左右,建筑结构响应下降19%～26%,提高了高层建筑结构的稳定性。     

紫坪铺水库地震台网记录地震的复杂性

紫坪铺水库属大型水利工程且地处举世注目的龙门山皱断带,2004年8月16日紫坪铺水库数字遥测地震台网正式采集地震信息。1年来的台网记录表明:库区及附近的地震呈多样性,与二滩、大桥水库比较地震相对活跃,台网记录中的干扰较多,其中空爆干扰为首次见到。     

美国地震区划图的发展——地震危险性图与抗震设计图

在过去的数十年里,美国地震区划图随着建筑抗震设计需求而不断发展变化,从最初的一张图发展成现今抗震设计图和地震危险性图两图共生的形式。地震危险性图主要反映依据地震科学认识与基础观测资料评估得到的国土地震危险性分布,抗震设计图则继承了传统地震区划图的主要功能,反映国土范围内建筑抗震设计所需地震动设计参数的分布,服务于建筑设计。依据抗震设计需求,美国地震区划图的演化过程可划分为地震系数分区区划、设计地震地震动区划和最大考虑地震地震动区划3个阶段,各阶段均始于地震危险性图的改进,并以抗震设计理念与方法的更新换代以及与之相适应的抗震设计图的编制为标志。本文总结了美国地震区划图的演化历程,对地震危险性图与抗震设计图发生变革的技术原因、主要特征、应用意义及其影响进行了重点的分析与论述。     

地震动非一致性对隧道动力响应的影响分析

针对隧道的抗震安全性,借助有限元软件平台对其地震时程响应进行非线性有限元分析。利用弹性模型考虑混凝土隧道在循环荷载作用下的拉、压应力-应变关系,同时对土体采用MohrCoulomb模型,选用人工边界作为边界条件,以人工合成的多点地震加速度时程作为地震动输入,分别考虑一致输入、行波效应、相干效应及行波加相干效应对隧道的影响。分析结果表明,与一致激励的计算结果相比,非一致地震激励会显著增加隧道结构的内力和位移响应,从而对隧道抗震产生不利影响。研究结论可为长隧道结构的抗震设计和分析提供科学依据。     

山西地震带地震破裂特征的研究

分段研究了山西地震带的地震破裂特征,表明:各个断陷盆地地震破裂随时间的非平稳过程特征与盆地的构造运动性质有关;在一个断陷盆地内,在地震破裂系统中强震的破裂起主导作用.这些认识,对研究确定各个断陷盆地内今后的地震危险地段是有意义的.     

安丘地震台地震前兆数据跟踪分析

从安丘地震台数据跟踪分析工作实际出发,详述数据跟踪分析平台软件安装与使用,探讨日常数据分析常见问题及解决办法,分享数据跟踪分析工作经验,以期为地震前兆台站数据跟踪分析工作提供参考。     

Seismic Monitoring Network and Seismic Activities in Thailand

The details of seismic monitoring network and seismological work in Thailand,including some information on felt earthquakes that occured from 2000 to August 2001,are reported here.     

云南地震台网与中国地震台网、美国地震台网测定震级的对比

利用云南地震台网全面数字化之后(2008—2017年)的记录资料,按照《地震震级的规定》(GB17740—2017)规定的测定方法,对云南地震台网记录的ML≥4. 0地震,重新人工测量其宽频带面波震级MS(BB)和矩震级Mw,与中国地震台网测定的MS7以及美国地震台网(NEIC)测定的MW(NEIC)进行对比分析。结果表明:①MS(BB)和MS7测量方法相同,量规函数相等,两者一致性最好。②对于面波震级与矩震级,当MW在3. 5左右时,MS7,MS(BB)与MW一致性最好; MW<3. 5时,MS7和MS(BB)均小于MW; MW> 3. 5时,MS7和MS(BB)大于MW。③MS(BB)与美国地震台网相比较,MS(BB)在5. 5和6. 0左右时,与MW(NEIC)一致性最好,几乎相等; MS(BB)<5. 5时,MS(BB) 6. 0时,MS(BB)> MW(NEIC)。④MW和MW(NEIC)之间存在偏差,MW整体小于MW(NEIC)。     

双向地震波作用下巨子型有控结构建筑的隔震设计

为了增强巨子型有控结构建筑的动力特性,提升其稳定性,设计双向地震波作用下建筑有控结构。采用3种磁流变阻尼器(MRD)与滑移隔震混合控制结构构成单体建筑有控结构,其包括巨结构和子结构,并建立该有控结构的动力分析模型。在动力分析模型中输入水平和竖向地震,得到模型的竖向和水平滑动状态运动微分方程,依据这两个方程采用自适应模糊神经网络优化动力分析模型,构建优化模型。从优化模型出发,通过实例实验分析得出,优化设计双向地震波作用下建筑有控结构时,在其上部结构层间和隔离层各安装一个MRD,可确保优化设计后的有控结构在不同双向地震工况下的地震反应控制效果最佳,且有控结构在双向地震工况2下,结构第一层、中间三层以及顶层的加速度和位移的时程曲线走向一致,且差距微小;同时有控结构的巨结构顶层侧移响应随着子结构刚度增加而提高,动力特性没有明显的变化,子结构随着其自身刚度增加顶层侧移响应表现稳定,子结构动力特性增强。     

汾渭地震带地震趋势数学建模分析

按照中国大陆及邻近地区活动地块和地震带的划分方案, 使用Mapsis软件选取了汾渭地震带1000年以来M_S4.7以上地震, 这样的地震资料应具有地质单元的统一性。 使用数学中19阶多项式模型, 对地震资料进行最佳逼近拟合, 并递推未来1—2年时间尺度预测。 模型中的参数用最小二乘法求取。 引用一种数学方法来描述汾渭地震带的地震趋势规律。