Correction of common lead in U-Pb analyses that do not report 204 Pb

During the Early-Middle Proterozoic era, three major lithostratigraphic unit associations, namely Hekou-Dahongshan, Dongchuan, and Kunyang-Huili Groups, were established for the metamorphosed volcanic-sedimentary rocks exposed in the southwestern Yangtze Block (SWYB). The integration of petrology, geochemistry and geochronology constrains tectonic framework and evolution of the SWYB, in which four sets of SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages were obtained from the volcanic rocks interbedded within the Middle Proterozoic successions: 1800–1600 Ma, 1600–1300 Ma, 1300–1100 Ma, and 1100–1000 Ma. Major and trace elemental analysis indicate that four key tectonic evolutionary stages, each coinciding with the above radiometric age set, of the SWYB during the Early-Middle Mesoproterozoic. The SWYB was characterized by an east-westerly trending rift in the Hekou, Dongshan, and Dongchuan areas, and separate basin-forming events during 1800–1600 Ma and 1600–1300 Ma, respectively. In the SWYB, an intracontinental rift basin and a rift basin occurred in the Caiziyuan-Matang and Laowushan areas, respectively in 1300–1100 Ma ago. During 1100–1000 Ma, the SWYB was characterized by the closure of the Caiziyuan-Matang rift-ocean basin, collision between the Huili Blocks and Kunyang Blocks, and presence of volcanic arcs in the Tianbaoshan and Fulingpen areas. Accordingly, the SWYB represents a new basin that records the relatively complete assembly process of the Rodina during the Early-Middle Mesoproterozoic era.     

Isotopic effect of runoff in the Yarlung Zangbo River

This paper mainly analyzed the isotopic effect of precipitation in the Yarlung Zangbo River.On the whole,the isotopic compositions of most water samples fall on the upper right of the global meteoric water line.According to δD and δ18O data of the samples,the precipitation equation is figured out as δD=8 δ18O+10,showing that they are derived from precipitation but have experienced intensive evaporation.With obvious region-continental effect(a continuous depletion in heavy isotopes in water bodies occurs with increasing distance from the coast),the water presents a reducing trend of δD and δ18O westwards and southwards.Altitudinal effect is evident here,occur-ring in both trunk stream and main branches of the Yarlung Zangbo River.The distribution of water isotopic compo-sitions is concerned with the movement of precipitation clouds from the Bay of Bengal and the Nujiang River and is affected by the topographic and climatic conditions of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Real-time monitoring and early warning of landslides at relocated Wushan Town,the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

A special monitoring and warning system has been established and improved in the Three Gorges Reservoir area since 1999. It is necessary to develop a real-time monitoring system on landslides because there are dense populations centered in the reservoir area and geo-hazards may be triggered by a 30-m water level fluctuation between 145 and 175 m in elevation during reservoir operation; the regular monitoring could not be suitable to the early warning on landslides. Since 2003, the authors have carried out a real-time monitoring and early warning project on landslides at the relocated Wushan town in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The monitoring station includes Global Positioning System with high-accuracy double frequency to monitor ground displacement, time domain reflection technology, and immobile borehole, inclinometer to monitor deep displacement, piezometer to monitor pore water pressure, and precipitation and reservoir water level monitoring. Compared with traditional methods, the real-time monitoring is continuous and traceable in the acquisition process, and the cycle of data acquisition is very short, usually within hours, minutes, or even shorter. Based on the landslide monitoring experience at the Three Gorges Reservoir area, the early warning criteria on landslide are established in which the critical situation is classified into four levels: blue, yellow, orange, and red, respectively, expressed by no, slight, moderate, and high risk situation. Comprehensive judgment from multimonitoring data of Yuhuangge landslide in this area since 2004 suggested that the new Wushan town will be at the blue early warning level, although some monitoring data of individual displacement at deep borehole showed that the displacement was increased by 5 mm in 5 months with an average velocity of 1.0 mm/month, and the data of BOTDR also showed an obvious dislocation along a stairway on the landslide.     

Combined refraction and diffraction models for sea waves over complicated topography and with currents in shallow water

-Combined refraction and diffraction models in the form of linear parabolic approximation are derived through smallparameter method. More strictly theoretical basis and more accuracy in the models than Lozano's (1980) are obtained. Some theoretical defects in Liu's model (1985) with consideration of current are not only found but also eliminated. More strict and accurate models are, therefore, presented in this paper.The calculation results and analysis in applying the models to actual wave field with consideration of bottom friction will be given in the following paper.     

ZnO压敏陶瓷冲击老化的电子陷阱过程研究

使用8/20 μs脉冲电流发生器对普通商用ZnO陶瓷压敏电阻片进行了最多5000次的冲击试验.测量了冲击前后试样的电气性能和介电特性,分析了冲击后小电流区的U-I特性和损耗角正切值tanδ随脉冲大电流的不断作用而发生的变化.实验发现压敏电压U1mA随冲击次数的增加经历增大—稳定—减小三个过程.认为正反偏Schottky势垒的中性费米能级的变化是影响样品小电流区的最根本原因.本文提出用试样的非线性系数α作为老化特征参数比传统的U     

Spatial and temporal variations of mesozooplankton in the Pearl River estuary, China

This paper examines spatial and temporal variations of mesozooplankton abundance, biomass and community structure during three cruises of July 2002 (summer), January 2003 (winter), and April 2003 (spring) in the Pearl River estuary, China. Zooplankton abundance and biomass fluctuated widely and showed distinct heterogeneity in the Pearl River estuary. A total of 154 species were identified during three surveys. The number of zooplankton species richness was strongly linked to salinity. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three zooplankton groups during this study. Estuarine, neritic and pelagic groups corresponded to the upper, middle and lower reaches in the Pearl River estuary. The difference among groups could be mainly ascribed to changes in the relative contributions of the dominant species. The fluctuations in the zooplankton abundance, biomass and community structure were determined by the interactive effects of freshwater inflow, tidal and coastal currents, chlorophyll a, salinity and temperature. Significant spatial variability in the distribution of zooplankton species, abundance and biomass can be ascribed to the virtual presence of a horizontal gradient in salinity.     

Periodicities in Global Mean TEC from GNSS Observations

As an important measurement parameter, global total electron content (TEC) is appropriate for the study of the Sun–Earth connection. In this paper, the wavelet technique is employed to investigate the periodicities in global mean TEC during 1995–2008. Analysis results show several remarkable components (including 27-day, semiannual and annual cycles) existing in global mean TEC with obvious time-variable characteristics, besides 11-year cycle. After analyzing sunspot numbers and solar extreme ultra-violet (EUV) radiation variations during this time period, except for semiannual variations, close correlation between global mean TEC and solar variations is found, especially, a strong resemblance of the 27-day fluctuation exists in global mean TEC, sunspot and solar EUV radiation variations.     

On the intrinsic shape of the gamma-ray spectrum for Fermi blazars

The curvature of the γ-ray spectrum in blazars may reflect the intrinsic distribution of emitting electrons, which will further give some information on the possible acceleration and cooling processes in the emitting region. The γ-ray spectra of Fermi blazars are normally fitted either by a single power-law(PL) or a log-normal(call Logarithmic Parabola, LP) form. The possible reason for this difference is not clear. We statistically explore this issue based on the different observational properties of 1419 Fermi blazars in the 3 LAC Clean Sample. We find that the γ-ray flux(100 Me V–100 Ge V) and variability index follow bimodal distributions for PL and LP blazars, where the γ-ray flux and variability index show a positive correlation. However, the distributions of γ-ray luminosity and redshift follow a unimodal distribution. Our results suggest that the bimodal distribution of γ-ray fluxes for LP and PL blazars may not be intrinsic and all blazars may have an intrinsically curved γ-ray spectrum, and the PL spectrum is just caused by the fitting effect due to less photons.     

Experimental Study on Complete Consolidation Behavior of Hong Kong Marine Deposits

The time-dependent feature of soft soils has gained intensive attraction in recent years. Due to the high water content and viscous property, the Hong Kong marine deposit (HKMD) frequently poses a challenge to geotechnical practice, particularly to the reclamation in Hong Kong. A key issue related to reclamation design, foundation construction and maintenance is excess settlement/deformation of the ground. Formation of HKMD typically goes through sedimentation and self-weight consolidation. A series of one-dimensional settling column consolidation tests, together with conventional oedometer tests were conducted on the HKMD. By normalizing parameter in settling stage, a unique global relationship of effective stress, σ_z′ and strain, ?_z could be established. Results reveal that the settling curve and settling rate are significantly affected by the sediment concentration in self-weight consolidation. After the primary self-weight consolidation, the settling rate is reduced in the “secondary self-weight consolidation.”     

Updated Support Vector Machine for Seismic Liquefaction Evaluation Based on the Penetration Tests

Simplified techniques based on in situ testing methods are commonly used to predict liquefaction potential. Many of these simplified methods are based on finding the liquefaction boundary separating two categories (the occurrence or non-occurrence of liquefaction) through the analysis of liquefaction case histories. As the liquefaction classification problem is highly nonlinear in nature, it is difficult to develop a comprehensive model taking into account all the independent variables, such as the seismic and soil properties, using conventional modeling techniques. Hence, in many of the conventional methods that have been proposed, simplified assumptions have been made. In this study, an updated support vector machine (SVM) based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to evaluate liquefaction potential in two separate case studies. One case is based on standard penetration test (SPT) data and the other is based on cone penetration test (CPT) data. The SVM model effectively explores the relationship between the independent and dependent variables without any assumptions about the relationship between the various variables. This study serves to demonstrate that the SVM can “discover” the intrinsic relationship between the seismic and soil parameters and the liquefaction potential. Comparisons indicate that the SVM models perform far better than the conventional methods in predicting the occurrence or non-occurrence of liquefaction.