Microtremor-based analysis of the dynamic response characteristics of earth-fissured sites in the Datong basin,China

This study conducted microtremor testing along six survey lines that cross three typical earth fissures in the Datong basin to determine the dynamic response characteristics of earth fissure sites with regard to the Fourier amplitude spectrum, response spectrum, and Arias intensity. The results show the following.(1) The predominant frequency of an earth fissure site is mainly affected by the thickness and the shear wave velocity of the soil layer and is minimally effected by the presence of an earth fissure.(2) Earth fissures have a pronounced amplification effect on dynamic response. Fourier amplitude, response acceleration, and Arias intensity are high near an earth fissure and decrease with an increase in distance from the earth fissure, tending toward stability at a distance of 20 m.(3) The area that is seriously affected by this amplification is within 6–8 m of an earth fissure, and the general affected area is farther out than this, to a distance of 25 m.(4) New construction should be avoided in an area affected by the amplification, and existing buildings in general and seriously affected areas need to be reinforced to increase their seismic fortification intensity.     

Magnetic Disconnections at the Boundary of a Small Interplanetary Magnetic Flux Rope Associated with a Reconnection Exhaust

A local current sheet and a subsequent small interplanetary magnetic-flux rope were observed on 1 April 2003 by Wind and the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE). A Petschek reconnection-like exhaust crossing of the local current sheet was identified using the Walén test. The Wind spacecraft re-entered the reconnection exhaust after the main exhaust encounter, and the reentry may be due to a spatial fold of the current-sheet surface itself. The absence of parallel strahls and the presence of antiparallel strahls on either side of the current sheet suggest that the magnetic-field lines before the exhaust and in the subsequent small flux rope are all open. The \(180^{\circ}\) pitch-angle strahls were clearly absent, and halo-suprathermal electron pitch-angle distributions were observed in the exhaust. This finding means that the open field lines of the magnetic-flux rope were reconnecting to the adjacent open field lines to produce U-shaped field lines disconnected from the Sun. These observations provide direct evidence that the magnetic fields of the interplanetary small magnetic-flux rope were disconnecting from the Sun through magnetic reconnection. This type of disconnected event potentially has important implications for the magnetic-flux budget of the heliosphere.     

Radio variability of the blazar S5 0716+714: a ∼6.1 year quasi-periodicity

We report a ～6.1 yr quasi-periodicity for the blazar S5 0716+714 using the radio light curves at 4.8, 8 and 14.5 GHz observed by the University of Michigan Radio Astronomical Observatory (UMRAO) from 1981 to 2012, by means of the Jurkevich, discrete correlation function (DCF) and power spectral analysis techniques. There are a general correlation among light curves at different frequencies and a time lag of \(170\pm 10\) days between 4.8 and 14.5 GHz light curves can be confirmed. We also estimate the orbit parameters assuming a binary black hole system, and the magnetic field strength under the jet comoving frame.     

Retrieval of atmospheric mass densities in lower thermosphere below 200 km from precise orbit of re-entry object CZ-3B R/B by analytical and numerical methods

Taking the re-entry object CZ-3B R/B (COSPAR identifier 2012-018D, NORAD catalog number 38253) as an example, retrieval of atmospheric mass densities in lower thermosphere below 200 km from its rebuilt precise orbit is studied in this paper. Two methodologies, i.e. analytical and numerical methods, are adopted in the retrieval. Basic principles of these two methodologies are briefly introduced. Based on the short-arc sparse observational data accumulated in the high accuracy re-entry prediction, orbit determinations of re-entry object CZ-3B R/B are performed sectionally, and then its precise orbit is rebuilt. According to the orbit theory, the variation of orbital semi-major axis of re-entry object CZ-3B R/B induced by atmospheric drag perturbation only is derived from the rebuilt precise orbit. In the derivation of secular change of the orbital semi-major axis of re-entry object CZ-3B R/B induced by atmospheric drag perturbation only, the time-span is set as one minute tentatively. And then retrieval results of atmospheric mass densities in lower thermosphere below 200 km by analytical and numerical methods are presented, as well as their bias deviations from the calculated results of the NRLMSISE-00 empirical model of the atmosphere. Setting bias deviation bands, the corresponding ‘confidence coefficients’ of the retrieved atmospheric mass densities with respect to the model values are given. Average bias deviations of the retrieved atmospheric mass densities by analytical and numerical methods from the model values are also calculated respectively. On the whole, the retrieved atmospheric mass densities by numerical method approach to the model values more closely; the differences between the retrieved results and the model values are relatively smaller at the peaks of atmospheric mass densities than the other places.     

Antenna design and implementation for the future space Ultra-Long wavelength radio telescope

In radio astronomy, the Ultra-Long Wavelengths (ULW) regime of longer than 10 m (frequencies below 30 MHz), remains the last virtually unexplored window of the celestial electromagnetic spectrum. The strength of the science case for extending radio astronomy into the ULW window is growing. However, the opaqueness of the Earth’s ionosphere makes ULW observations by ground-based facilities practically impossible. Furthermore, the ULW spectrum is full of anthropogenic radio frequency interference (RFI). The only radical solution for both problems is in placing an ULW astronomy facility in space. We present a concept of a key element of a space-borne ULW array facility, an antenna that addresses radio astronomical specifications. A tripole–type antenna and amplifier are analysed as a solution for ULW implementation. A receiver system with a low power dissipation is discussed as well. The active antenna is optimized to operate at the noise level defined by the celestial emission in the frequency band 1 ? 30 MHz. Field experiments with a prototype tripole antenna enabled estimates of the system noise temperature. They indicated that the proposed concept meets the requirements of a space-borne ULW array facility.     

Photometric Follow-up Transit (Primary Eclipse) Observations of WASP-43 b and TrES-3b and A Study on Their Transit Timing Variations

Two photometric follow-up transit (primary eclipse) observations on WASP-43 b and four observations on TrES-3 b are performed using the Xuyi Near-Earth Object Survey Telescope. After differential photometry and light curve analysis, the physical parameters of the two systems are obtained and are in good match with the literature. Combining with transit data from a lot of literature, the residuals (O ? C) of transit observations of both systems are fitted with the linear and quadratic functions. With the linear fitting, the periods and transit timing variations (TTVs) of the planets are obtained, and no obvious periodic TTV signal is found in both systems after an analysis. The maximum mass of a perturbing planet located at the 1:2 mean motion resonance (MMR) for WASP-43 b and TrES-3 b is estimated to be 1.826 and 1.504 Earth mass, respectively. By quadratic fitting, it is confirmed that WASP-43 b may have a long-term TTV which means an orbital decay. The decay rate is shown to be P? = (?0.005248 ± 0.001714) s·yr^?1, and compared with the previous results. Based on this, the lower limit of the stellar tidal quality parameter of WASP-43 is calculated to be ${Q^{\prime }}_{*}\ge 1.5\times {10}^5$, and the remaining lifetimes of the planets are presented for the different ${Q^{\prime }}_{*}$ values of the two systems, correspondingly.     

威海市近海海域浅地层结构及灾害地质特征

通过对2 131km高分辨率浅地层剖面资料分析和研究,揭示了威海市近海海域浅地层结构特征,分析了海洋灾害地质因素类型及分布特征,并绘制了主要灾害地质因素分布图。威海市近海海域65m以浅地层共分为5层,第一层为全新世泥质楔形体,地层厚度8~15m;第二层为末次盛冰期以来的海侵层,厚度一般小于3m;第三层为MIS2期的陆相沉积层,地层厚度3~8m;第四层为MIS3期的海相沉积层,厚度3~6m;第五层未完全揭示。近海海域灾害地质因素主要包括埋藏下切谷、浅部断层、浅层气、海底沙波沙脊、浅埋起伏基岩等5种类型;埋藏下切谷主要分布在南部海域U3地层单元中;浅部断层主要分布在南部海域水深大于20m的海底堆积平原;浅层气主要分布在北部海域,东部和南部海域面积较小;海底沙波沙脊主要分布在荣成成山头外海海域;浅埋起伏基岩主要分布在基岩海岸和岛屿较近的海域。     

2016年中国沿海海平面上升显著成因分析及影响

使用中国沿海及西北太平洋区域的水位、海温、气温、气压和风等水文气象资料,详细分析了2016年中国沿海海平面显著升高的成因及影响。分析结果表明:（1）2012-2016年,中国沿海海平面处于准2 a、4 a、准9 a和准19 a周期振荡的高位,几个周期振荡高位叠加,对该时段海平面上升起了一定的作用;（2）2016年,中国沿海气温和海温较1993-2011年的平均值分别高0.7℃与0.5℃,均处于1980年以来高位;气压较1993-2011年的平均值低0.2 hPa;（3）2016年4月、9月、10月和11月,中国沿海海平面均达到1980年以来同期高位,这4个月的风场距平值在东海以南均明显偏大,且以偏南向和向岸风为主,风生流使得海水向岸堆积,沿海长时间以增水为主,对当月局部海平面上升的贡献率达到40%~80%;（4）2016年,中国沿海降水总体偏多,局部区域降水量达到历史同期最高,加上沿海径流量的增加,对沿海局部海平面升高有一定贡献;（5）2016年9-10月,有5个台风相继影响我国南部沿海,持续的风暴潮增水导致台风影响期间的海平面高于当月平均海平面70~360 mm,风暴潮和洪涝灾害给当地造成直接经济损失超过30亿元。     

强光照和黑暗条件下刺参体壁的基因表达差异

参对光照变化非常敏感,研究刺参对光照的分子响应非常重要。本研究应用RNA测序获取了刺参暴露于强光（“强光”）、正常光照（“对照”）和完全黑暗（“黑暗”）环境下体壁的基因表达谱情况,通过“对照”与“黑暗”,“对照”与“强光”和“黑暗”与“强光”的比较,在|log₂ ratio|≥1和FDR≤0.001的标准下分别发现了1161、113和1705个差异表达基因（DEGs）。基因本体分析表明,“cellular process”和“binding”在“生物过程”和“分子功能”类别中的DEGs富集最多,而“cell”和“cell part”在“细胞组分”类别中的DEGs富集最多。将DEGs与Kyoto Encyclopedia基因和基因组数据库上的于214、41和229条通路进行比对,发现了51、2和57条通路分别显著富集。本研究发现的光特异性DEGs可作为深入研究刺参对光照变化的生化适应机制的重要目标基因。     

一种基于GPU和内存映射文件的高分辨率遥感图像快速处理方法

高分辨率遥感图像处理经常面临程序执行时间过长和内存空间不足的问题,虽然并行计算技术可以提高遥感图像的处理速度,但是无法降低算法占用的巨大内存空间。为了解决这一问题,本文提出了一种利用CUDA和内存映射文件的高分辨率遥感图像快速处理方法,并以K-Means算法为例进行了实现。其中,CUDA技术可以有效利用GPU强大的并行计算能力,而内存映射文件技术降低了磁盘I/O速度较慢对算法性能的影响。实验结果表明,本文方法比传统K-Means聚类算法计算速度提高了30倍左右,内存使用量降低了90%以上。