Silica Mass-Balance and Retention in the Riverine and Estuarine Scheldt Tidal System (Belgium/The Netherlands)

An annual budget for dissolved silica (DSi) and biogenic silica (BSi) was constructed for the Scheldt estuary and for the entire riverine and estuarine Scheldt tidal system (Belgium/The Netherlands) using previously published silica concentrations and fluxes for the period 2003–2005. The annual estuarine DSi mass-balance was established, based on seasonal fluxes estimated using measured DSi concentrations and (fully transient) model simulations of conservative transport. The annual BSi mass-balance was deduced from measured BSi contents in the suspended particulate matter and annual mud fluxes taken from the literature. The Scheldt estuary acted as a net sink not only for the BSi carried by the tidal river as well as that produced by diatoms in the estuary, but also for large amounts of BSi imported from the coastal zone. This results in the retention of dissolved and biogenic silica higher than that of DSi alone, which is in contrast with the classical consideration that rivers act as a source of BSi for the coastal zone. DSi and silica (DSi + BSi) retentions amounted to, respectively, 28 and 64 % in the estuary, and 33 and 66 % in the entire tidal system. This study highlights thus the predominant role of the estuary in the entire Scheldt tidal system when dealing with silica dynamics, as well as the importance of including BSi when investigating estuarine silica retention.     

Analysis of the Helioseismic Power-Spectrum Diagram of a Sunspot

The continuous high spatial resolution Doppler observation of the Sun by the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager allows us to compute a helioseismic k–ω power-spectrum diagram using only oscillations inside a sunspot. Individual modal ridges can be clearly seen with reduced power in the k–ω diagram that is constructed from a 40-hour observation of a stable and round sunspot. Comparing this with the k–ω diagram obtained from a quiet-Sun region, one sees that inside the sunspot the f-mode ridge is more reduced in power than the p-mode ridges, especially at high wavenumbers. The p-mode ridges all shift toward lower wavenumber (or higher frequency) for a given frequency (or wavenumber), implying an increase of phase velocity beneath the sunspot. This is probably because the acoustic waves travel across the inclined magnetic field of the sunspot penumbra. Line-profile asymmetries exhibited in the p-mode ridges are more significant in the sunspot than in the quiet Sun. Convection inside the sunspot is also highly suppressed, and its characteristic spatial scale is substantially larger than the typical convection scale of the quiet Sun. These observational facts demand a better understanding of magnetoconvection and interactions of helioseismic waves with magnetic field.     

The effects of intense magnetic fields on Landau levels in a neutron star

In this paper, an approximate method of calculating the Fermi energy of electrons (E _F (e)) in a high-intensity magnetic field, based on the analysis of the distribution of a neutron star magnetic field, has been proposed. In the interior of a neutron star, different forms of intense magnetic field could exist simultaneously and a high electron Fermi energy could be generated by the release of magnetic field energy. The calculation results show that: E _F (e) is related to density ρ, the mean electron number per baryon Y _e and magnetic field strength B.     

Corrections to the Magnitude of Cross-Correlation Functions for Dispersion of Solar Acoustic Waves

The cross-correlation function is a useful tool in helioseismology. The magnitude of the cross-correlation function has been used to represent the power of wave packets. Dispersion causes a decrease in amplitude and an increase in width of wave packets. This leads to a decrease in magnitude and an increase in width of cross-correlation functions. The effect of dispersion on the magnitude of cross-correlation functions needs to be adequately corrected for in order to use the magnitude of cross-correlation functions to represent the power of wave packets. In this study, we investigate how the magnitude of cross-correlation functions changes with the number of skips owing to dispersion and the method to correct it. Our study, using simulated and observational data, indicates that the correction should be three dimensional instead of the one-dimensional correction adopted in previous studies. Using the three-dimensional correction, the measured dissipation rate in the quiet Sun is smaller than the value of previous studies.     

Prediction of hydraulically transmissive fractures using geological and geophysical attributes: a case history from the mid Jhuoshuei River basin, Taiwan

The feasibility of using geological and geophysical well-log and borehole-televiewer data for the identification of hydraulically transmissive fractures is evaluated. Twenty-nine boreholes were drilled to a depth of 100?m in the middle-stream basin of Jhuoshuei River, Taiwan. Four criteria that assist in indicating the potential presence of permeable zones are proposed, including: lower gamma-ray response compared with the average response, divergence of the short normal-resistivity log relative to that of the long one, longer sonic travel time, and the appearance of discernible openings detected with the televiewer. With these, the transmissivities at the predetermined depths were estimated and verified by an in-situ hydraulic test. The statistical results indicate that, particularly in the mountainous area where a complex folded structure with a succession of synclines and anticlines is shown, the interpretation of lithologic conditions is not necessary to identify the presence of a relatively higher-permeability zone. Comparatively, the estimates of porosity and fracture aperture are the necessary premises to the prediction of hydraulically transmissive fractures. A joint consideration of all four criteria is found, allowing a less biased evaluation of the fracture transmissivity.     

山西王家岭煤矿采空区钻探验证分析

以王家岭煤矿首采区物探解释的CK2、CK6采空区为例,分析了采空区物探特征,根据煤矿区地质、水文地质特征,结合小煤窑的分布及开采特征,利用钻探手段对采空区进行了验证。在验证时,主要考虑了钻探、煤层厚度、简易水文、区域含水层水位、裂隙含水层富水性5个方面的影响因素。结果表明,物探解释的采空区是可靠的,并且查明了采空区的起止深度及其积水情况。对煤矿的巷道布设、井下探放水的实施和安全开采具有一定的指导意义。     

Self‐centering steel connections with steel bars and a discontinuous composite slab

Six cyclic tests were conducted on three full‐scale subassemblies to investigate the behavior of interior beam‐to‐column post‐tensioned (PT) connections. Strands were placed along each side of the steel beam web, passing through the steel column to provide precompression between the beams and a column. Top and bottom energy‐dissipating (ED) bars, passing through the column and welded to the beam, were used to increase the moment capacity and ED capacity of the connection. One of the subassemblies also had a composite concrete slab with discontinuity at the column centerline to eliminate restraint from the metal deck, reinforcement, and welded wire mesh. The objectives of this paper were to investigate the following: the durability of the connection by loading each specimen twice, the ED capacity of the ED bar, and the effects that the type of ED bar and type of composite slab have on the self‐centering behavior of the connection. The experimental results showed that: (1) the connection could sustain severe inelastic cyclic loading at least twice without strength degradation, (2) the ED capacity of the bar was much larger than that dissipated by a single AISC loading protocol, and (3) a specimen with a discontinuous composite slab, which opened freely at the centerline of the column, ensured the same self‐centering hysteretic behavior as the bare steel specimen. However, the decompression moment of the PT connection decreased significantly at each interstory drift, resulting in an early opening of a gap at the beam–column interface. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extracting predictable components and forecasting techniques in extended-range numerical weather prediction

This paper refers to the CNOP-related algorithms and formulates the practical method and forecast techniques of extracting predictable components in a numerical model for predictable components on extended-range scales.Model variables are divided into predictable components and unpredictable chaotic components from the angle of model prediction error growth.The predictable components are defined as those with a slow error growth at a given range.A targeted numerical model for predictable components is established based on the operational dynamical extended-range forecast(DERF)model of the National Climate Center.At the same time,useful information in historical data are combined to find the fields for predictable components in the numerical model that are similar to those for the predictable components in historical data,reducing the variable dimensions in a similar judgment process and further correcting prediction errors of predictable components.Historical data is used to obtain the expected value and variance of the chaotic components through the ensemble forecast method.The numerical experiment results show that this method can effectively improve the forecast skill of the atmospheric circulation field in the 10–30 days extended-range numerical model and has good prospects for operational applications.     

Diamond dissolution and the production of methane and other carbon-bearing species in hydrothermal diamond-anvil cells

Raman analysis of the vapor phase formed after heating pure water to near critical (355-374 °C) temperatures in a hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell (HDAC) reveals the synthesis of abiogenic methane. This unexpected result demonstrates the chemical reactivity of diamond at relatively low temperatures. The rate of methane production from the reaction between water and diamond increases with increasing temperature and is enhanced by the presence of a metal gasket (Re, Ir, or Inconel) which is compressed between the diamond anvils to seal the aqueous sample. The minimum detection limit for methane using Raman spectroscopy was determined to be ca. 0.047 MPa, indicating that more than 1.4 nanograms (or 8.6 × 10⁻¹¹ mol) of methane were produced in the HDAC at 355 °C and 30 MPa over a period of ten minutes. At temperatures of 650 °C and greater, hydrogen and carbon dioxide were detected in addition to methane. The production of abiogenic methane, observed in all HDAC experiments where a gasket was used, necessitates a reexamination of the assumed chemical systems and intensive parameters reported in previous hydrothermal investigations employing diamonds. The results also demonstrate the need to minimize or eliminate the production of methane and other carbonic species in experiments by containing the sample within a HDAC without using a metal gasket.     

First Report of Avian Tracks from the Cretaceous of Tibet, China

<正>Objective Despite a large number of bird fossils in the Jehol Biota,Mesozoic bird records from other parts of China are dominated by tracks.Late Cretaceous bird tracks are rarely found in China.Reliable reports so far include a Dongyangornipes and Koreanaornis assemblage of early Late Cretaceous age from Dongyang City,Zhejiang Province,China(Azuma et al.,2013).Buckley et al.