Is the long-term variation of the estimated GPS differential code biases associated with ionospheric variability?

The global positioning system (GPS) differential code biases (DCB) provided by the International GNSS Service (IGS) show solar-cycle-like variation during 2002–2013. This study is to examine whether this variation of the GPS DCBs is associated with ionospheric variability. The GPS observations from low earth orbit (LEO) satellites including CHAMP, GRACE and Jason-1 are used to address this issue. The GPS DCBs estimated from the LEO-based observations at different orbit altitudes show a similar tendency as the IGS DCBs. However, this solar-cycle-like dependency is eliminated when the DCBs of 13 continuously operating GPS satellites are constrained to zero-mean. Our results thus revealed that ionospheric variation is not responsible for the long-term variation of the GPS DCBs. Instead, it is attributed to the GPS satellite replacement with different satellite types and the zero-mean condition imposed on all satellite DCBs.     

An integrative study of larval organogenesis of American shad <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alosa sapidissima</Emphasis> in histological aspects

We describe organogenesis at a histological level in American shad (Alosa sapidissima) larvae from 0 until 45 days after hatching (DAH). Larval development was divided into four stages based on the feeding mode, external morphological features, and structural changes in the organs: stage 1 (0–2 DAH), stage 2 (3–5 DAH), stage 3 (6–26 DAH) and stage 4 (27–45 DAH). At early stage 2 (3 DAH), American shad larvae developed the initial digestive and absorptive tissues, including the mouth and anal opening, buccopharyngeal cavity, oesophagus, incipient stomach, anterior and posterior intestine, differentiated hepatocytes, and exocrine pancreas. The digestive and absorptive capacity developed further in stages 2 to 3, at which time the pharyngeal teeth, taste buds, gut mucosa folds, differentiated stomach, and gastric glands could be observed. Four defined compartments were discernible in the heart at 4 DAH. From 3 to 13 DAH, the excretory systems started to develop, accompanied by urinary bladder opening, the appearance and development of primordial pronephros, and the proliferation and convolution of renal tubules. Primordial gills were detected at 2 DAH, the pseudobranch was visible at 6 DAH, and the filaments and lamellae proliferated rapidly during stage 3. The primordial swim bladder was first observed at 2 DAH and started to inflate at 9 DAH; from then on, it expanded constantly. The spleen was first observed at 8 DAH and the thymus was evident at 12 DAH. From stage 4 onwards, most organs essentially manifested an increase in size, number, and complexity of tissue structure.     

Stability study on the northern batter of MBC Open Pit using Plaxis 3D

Cracks appeared on the northern batter at Maddingley Brown Coal Open Pit Mine, Victoria, Australia, on 8 November 2013 and a 2-day rainfall event happened 5 days later. This study models the stability of the northern batter considering the effect of the rainfall event and an emergency buttress using finite element method (FEM) encoded in Plaxis 3D. It is found that the batter tended to lead to block sliding after overburden removal. The observed vertical crack would be a combined action of the overburden removal and groundwater flow. The simulated location of cracks agrees well with the actual location, and the simulated heave of the coal seam is in good agreement with the experience in Victoria brown coal open pit mining. The rainfall accelerated the development of the cracks. With the construction of the emergency buttress, the batter became stable that is in good agreement with the monitored data.     

全国地热资源调查评价与勘查示范工程进展

地热作为一种清洁能源,在我国经济发展与能源转型过程中正发挥着越来越重要的作用。“全国地热资源调查评价与勘查示范工程”自实施以来,主要开展了京津冀地区地热资源评价以及东南沿海和青藏高原东部干热岩的勘查等工作。这些工作的开展在获得一系列科研突破成果的同时,也解决了大量地热开发的工程问题,积累了大量成果和经验。该文对工程取得的进展及成果进行了总结,对工作开展中出现的问题进行了探讨,可用于指导我国地热资源勘查开发工作。     

印支期龙门山断裂带的逆冲-推覆构造和沉积响应

伴随着华南、华北和羌塘地块在中—晚三叠世的俯冲—碰撞,古特提斯洋逐渐消亡,在龙门山及其前陆盆地发生了广泛的构造和沉积事件,统称为印支造山运动。然而,这期重要的造山事件普遍叠加有新生代印度与欧亚板块俯冲碰撞所引起的相似的北西—南东向构造挤压作用,使得印支期的构造活动对奠定龙门山初始构造和地貌特征,乃至对新生代构造活动的深远影响难以区分。对青藏高原其他边界的研究表明,只有通过多种手段从多个角度才能认清造山带形成的真实历史,而近些年来在龙门山地区开展的深地震探测、主断裂和飞来峰定年、前陆盆地沉积序列和沉积作用以及大地热流分布的研究则为我们进一步揭示印支初期龙门山断裂带构造活动本质提供了全新的视角。深地震反射剖面和最新的定年结果揭示龙门山地区在印支期发生了大型逆冲—推覆作用,在此期间,形成了两条主要断裂带,并直至后碰撞造山时期,形成了多期次的山前飞来峰构造。龙门山断裂带在印支期的大型逆冲—推覆构造活动,引发了大量的陆源碎屑沉积物涌入到四川前陆盆地中。强烈的断裂活动还引发了区域大地震的发生,在四川盆地西缘未完全固结沉积地层中形成了软沉积物变形。综合以往的研究结果,我们认为龙门山早期的逆冲—推覆和青藏高原东缘大地热流的升高伴随有区域岩石圈底部的拆沉导致软流圈高温物质的上涌。这种早期的构造格局对龙门山断裂带在新生代构造地貌的最终形成产生了深远的影响。     

Evaluating climate change adaptation efforts on the US 50 states’ hazard mitigation plans

Climate change brings uncertain risks of climate-related natural hazards. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA in Climate change: long-term trends and their implications for emergency management, 2011. https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/programs/oppa/climate_change_paper.pdf) has issued a policy directive to integrate climate change adaptation actions into hazard mitigation programs, policies, and plans. However, to date there has been no comprehensive empirical study to examine the extent to which climate change issues are integrated into state hazard mitigation plans (SHMPs). This study develops 18 indicators to examine the extent of climate change considerations in the 50 SHMPs. The results demonstrate that these SHMPs treat climate change issues in an uneven fashion, with large variations present among the 50 states. The overall plan quality for climate change considerations was sustained at an intermediate level with regard to climate change-related awareness, analysis, and actions. The findings confirm that climate change concepts and historic extreme events have been well recognized by the majority of SHMPs. Even though they are not specific to climate change, mitigation and adaptation strategies that can help reduce climate change risks have been adopted in these plans. However, the plans still lack a detailed assessment of climate change and more incentives for collaboration strategies beyond working with emergency management agencies.