Reconstruction of earthquake hazard in regions of sparse seismic monitoring

Studying strong motion records and the spatial distribution of ground shaking is of great importance in understanding the underlying causes of damage in earthquakes. Many regions in the world are either not instrumented or are sparsely instrumented. As such, significant opportunities for motion-damage correlations are lost. Two recent and damaging earthquakes belong to the class of lost opportunities, namely the Kashmir (Pakistan) earthquake of October 2005 and the Yogyakarta (Indonesia) earthquake of May 2006. In this paper, an overview of the importance of supply and demand studies in earthquake-stricken regions is given, followed by two examples of investigative engineering seismology aimed at reconstructing the hazard from sparse data. The paper closes with a plea for responsible authorities to invest in seismic monitoring networks in the very near future.     

Single Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb Dating of the Guandimiao and Wawutang Granitic Plutons in Hunan, South China and Its Petrogenetic Significance

1 Introduction The South China Block (SCB), located between the Qinling-Dabie and Songma Indosinian sutures, experienced successively two important tectonic movements during the Mesozoic, i.e. the Indosinian movement (early Mesozoic) and the Yanshanian movement (late Mesozoic). Therefore, the generally accepted viewpoint is that the key geological problems during the Mesozoic are essentially the dynamics and material expression of these two tectonic movements in South China (Chen et al.…     

New observations and transit solutions of the inflated exoplanets HAT-P-40b and HAT-P-51b

We present high-precision photometric observations of the transiting exoplanets HAT-P-40 b and HAT-P-51 b by the Rozhen 2-m telescope.The newly-observed transit of HAT-P-40 b is the first one with a complete curve.The orbital periods of the two targets were improved.We modeled the observed transits and found bigger stellar radii than those derived from the stellar models.The planet radii of HATP-40 b and HAT-P-51 b obtained from our transit solutions are bigger than the values calculated by the empirical relations for Jupiter-mass and Saturn-mass planets respectively.Their values reveal the highlyinflated nature of the two targets,especially that of HAT-P-51 b.We established that the best transit solutions correspond to a quadratic limb-darkening law.The fitted limb-darkening coefficients of HAT-P-40 are close to the theoretical ones while those of HAT-P-51 are a little different.The precise astrometric Gaia distances of the two targets are smaller by 6%–7%than the calculated values from the stellar models.We propose the Gaia distances to be used for improvement of the stellar models as well as for more reliable calculation of the parameters of the known exoplanets.     

气候影响下的荒漠下的荒漠化监测

根据揭示沙漠化扩张内在规律的相关气候驱动因子的假说,气候作用影响之下的沙漠化是在具反射率-降水正、负反馈特点的气候系统之中的区域干旱化过程与干旱土壤退化过程相互作用的结果。在辐射调节下的地表下垫面温度占主导的条件下,气候成因的沙漠化是由区域气候系统反馈所形成。正反馈的外部调节因子是降水量的变化和极端降水事件(特别是旱灾)的出现频率,降水量减少以及降水频率的降低直接影响沙漠化的程度。20世纪下半叶,人类因素导致的干旱土地退化作为另外的正反馈调节因子,其重要性正在增加。通常正反馈的扩大趋势会被通过蒸腾而进行的地表温度调节的负反馈所抑制。由正反馈到负反馈的转换是通过地球表面与大气层之间的热量交换的调节所确定的,其中非潜热因子处于增加状态。上述情况在反射率和地表温度同时增加的条件下发生。在超出绿色植物生物量及其NDVI指数阈值的条件下,负反馈向正反馈的转换就会发生。人为作用导致的植被退化加快了向绿色植物生物量阈值逼近的进程,从而引起气候因素驱动的沙漠化扩大。一个主要由气候因素影响的荒漠化区域,在大多数情况下,其绿色生物量均在季节变化和年际变化中达到了阈值。在中度的人为影响的植被退化条件下,这些地域一般都包括部分干旱与半干旱土地。然而有时,人类活动也会导致干旱的半湿润土地退化。本文运用Turan和Sahel地区1982-2001年NDVI指数的监测结果,分析了全球变暖和人为作用导致的土地退化。     

Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Late Ediacaran Rare-metalAlbite Granites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield

The Abu Dabbab albite granite(ADAG), in the central Eastern Desert of Egypt, hosts the most significant rare metal ore deposit in the northern part of the Neoproterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield. Here, we report detailed field,petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical investigation of the ADAG, an isolated stock-like granitic body with sharp intrusive contacts against metamorphic country rocks, probably emplaced at about 600 Ma. The fine-grained porphyritic upper unit is a preserved remnant of the shallowly-emplaced apex of the magma chamber, whereas the medium-grained lower unit crystallized at deeper levels under subvolcanic conditions. The peraluminous leucocratic ADAG shares common geochemical characteristics with post-collisional intraplate A-type magmas. In addition to the conspicuous enrichment in Na2 O, the ADAG is remarkable for its anomalous concentrations of Ta, Nb, Li, Hf, Ga, Sn, Zn and heavy rare-earth elements. Nb-Ta minerals in the ADAG are mixed with Fe-Mn oxides, forming black patches that increase in abundance toward of the base of the intrusion. Columbite-tantalite, cassiterite and wolframite are the most important ore minerals.Pronounced negative Eu anomalies(Eu/Eu* = 0.10–0.24) reflect extreme magmatic fractionation and perhaps the effects of late fluid-rock interaction. The ADAG was most likely generated by partial melting of the juvenile middle crust of the ANS as the geotherm was elevated by erosional uplift following lithospheric delamination and it was emplaced at the intersection of lineations of structural weakness. Although formation of the ADAG and its primary enrichment in rare metals are essentially due to magmatic processes, late-stage metasomatism caused limited redistribution of rare metals. Fluid-driven subsolidus modification was limited to the apex of the magma chamber and drove development of greisen, amazonite, and quartz veins along fracture systems.     

Significance test for empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of meteorological and oceanic data

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Fresh snow chemistry from high mountain regions in central himalayas

Investigations of atmospheric composition in the Himalayas has been limited in both temporal and spatial scales, mainly due to difficult logistics. Ideal sites for monitoring atmospheric composition and its evolution should be free from local pollution and representative of the remote troposphere (HUEBERT et al., 1980). As the Himalayas are far removed from highly industrialized regions they provide suitable locations to monitor the chemistry of the remote troposphere and to study the evolu…     

Glacier reconstruction of La Covacha Massif in Sierra de Gredos(central Spain) during the Last Glacial Maximum

A paleoglacier reconstruction during the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM) is presented for a high mountain area of La Covacha massif in Sierra de Gredos(Iberian Central System) in central Spain. The moraines that, according with the previous literature, had formed during the global LGM, were mapped through photo interpretation of digital aerial photographs and 3D images and detailed field surveys. The topography of the paleoglaciers was estimated using a simple steady-state model that assumed a perfectly plastic ice rheology, reconstructing the theoretical ice profiles and obtaining the ice thickness of the glaciers during the LGM. The reconstruction of the glaciers was carried out using automated and semi-automated physically-based models, obtaining more realistic results with semi-automated models. According to our study, the paleoglaciers in the study area covered an area of 34.79 km~2 during the global LGM, with a maximum ice thickness of 366 meters in La Vega gorge, a total volume of 34.25 × 108 m~3 and a mean paleoELA of 1932 meters. Most of the ice(～82%) was in paleoglaciers facing north, and the rest was in paleoglaciers with other orientations. This emphasizes the importance of orientation in relation to glacier dynamics and ice accumulation. The results obtained in the calculation of paleoELAs during the global LGM in Gredos are average compared to the Iberian mountains of the Northwest where the values were much lower, and with respect to those of the Southwest, much higher. This demonstrates the importance of the exposure of Mediterranean mountains to the humidity sources coming from the NW during the global LGM, as is the case at present.     

卡里马塔海峡水体交换的季节变化

Four trawl-resistant bottom mounts, with acoustic Doppler current profilers(ADCPs) embedded, were deployed in the Karimata Strait from November 2008 to June 2015 as part of the South China Sea-Indonesian Seas Transport/Exchange and Impact on Seasonal Fish Migration(SITE) Program, to estimate the volume and property transport between the South China Sea and Indonesian seas via the strait. The observed current data reveal that the volume transport through the Karimata Strait exhibits significant seasonal variation. The winteraveraged(from December to February) transport is –1.99 Sv(1 Sv=1×10~6 m~3/s), while in the boreal summer(from June to August), the average transport is 0.69 Sv. Moreover, the average transport from January 2009 to December2014 is –0.74 Sv(the positive/negative value indicates northward/southward transport). May and September are the transition period. In May, the currents in the Karimata Strait turn northward, consistent with the local monsoon. In September, the southeasterly trade wind is still present over the strait, driving surface water northward, whereas the bottom flow reverses direction, possibly because of the pressure gradient across the strait from north to south.     

大陆边缘形成过程中裂谷作用、断裂作用、沉积作用与地幔蛇纹石化的相互关系--以挪威海为例

通过2D热-构造-地层盆地模拟,研究了在大陆裂谷作用过程中地幔蛇纹石化的条件,该模拟试图追踪大陆地壳流变学演化,阐明沉积物覆盖效应,并且动态地控制蛇纹石化过程。基本思想是如果要发生地壳规模的断裂作用和地幔蛇纹石化,那么整个伸展陆壳必须是脆性的。这种反应的均衡和潜在的热效应与构造和热溶解完全相关。系统的参数研究表明存在一个使得地壳完全脆化和蛇纹石化发生的临界伸展因子。由于沉积物的覆盖效应致使地壳温度升高,沉积速率的增加可以使这个关键伸展因子变得更大。因此沉积物供给通过温度控制的粘性流动,强烈控制了地壳的强度,而地幔的蛇纹石化反应仅仅可能当沉积速率低而伸展因子高的时候发生。在一个典型的实例,挪威陆缘,我们试验了位于More和Voting边缘之下的内部下陆壳体(LCB)是否可能是蛇纹石化地幔。Scheck-Wenderoth和Maystrenko(2011)以3D资料为基础建立了多条2D剖面。我们发现蛇纹石化反应是可能的,而且可能是在侏罗纪裂陷作用阶段。预测的部分蛇纹石化地幔的厚度和位置与地震和重力资料确定的LCB信息吻合。我们认为挪威陆缘之下的一些LCB可能是部分蛇纹石化地幔。