Variability of Antarctic Intermediate Water south of Australia and its relationship with frontal waves

A streamfunction EOF method is applied to a time series of hydrographic sections in the Southern Ocean south of Australia to study water mass variations. Results show that there are large thermohaline variations north of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) at 300–1500 dbar level, indicating upwelling and downwelling of the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) along isopycnal surfaces. Based on the latest altimeter product, Absolute Dynamic Topography, a mechanism due to frontal wave propagation is proposed to explain this phenomenon, and an index for frontal waves is defined. When the frontal wave is in positive (negative) phase, the SAF flows northeastward (southeastward) with the fresh AAIW downwelling (upwelling). Such mesoscale processes greatly enhance cross-frontal exchanges of water masses. Spectral analysis shows that frontal waves in the Southern Ocean south of Australia are dominated by a period of about 130 days with a phase speed of 4 cm/s and a wavelength of 450 km.     

The thermal history and uplift process of the Ouxidaban pluton in the South Tianshan orogen: Evidence from Ar-Ar and (U-Th)/He

The uplift and exhumation process in the Tianshan orogen since the late Paleozoic were likely related to the preservation of ore deposits. This study involved reconstructing the whole tectonic thermal history of the Ouxidaban pluton in central South Tianshan Mountains based on hornblende/plagioclase Ar-Ar and zircon/apatite(U-Th)/He methods. The thermal history and uplift process of central South Tianshan Mountains since the late Paleozoic were analyzed according to the results of previous works and cooling/exhumation rate features. The hornblende yields a plateau age of 382.6±3.6 Ma, and the plagioclase yields a weighted mean age of 265.8±4.9 Ma. The Ouxidaban pluton yields weighted mean zircon(U-Th)/He age of 185.8±4.3 Ma and apatite(U-Th)/He age of 31.1±2.9 Ma, respectively. Five stages of tectonic thermal history of South Tianshan Mountains since the late Paleozoic could be discriminated by the cooling curve and modeling simulation:(1) from the latest Silurian to Late Devonian, the average cooling rate of the Ouxidaban pluton was 7.84°C/Ma;(2) from the Late Devonian to the latest Middle Permian, the average cooling rate was about 2.07°C/Ma;(3) from the latest Middle Permian to the middle Eocene, the cooling rate decreased to about 0.68°C/Ma, suggesting that the tectonic activity was gentle at this time;(4) a sudden increase of the cooling rate(5.00°C/Ma) and the exhumation rate(0.17 mm/a), and crustal exhumation of ~1.83 km indicated that the Ouxidaban pluton would suffer a rapid uplift event during the Eocene(~46?35 Ma);(5) since the middle Eocene, the rapid uplift was sustained, and the average cooling rate since then has been 1.14°C/Ma with an exhumation rate of about 0.04 mm/a and an exhumation thickness of 1.33 km. The strong uplift since the Cenozoic would be related to a far-field effect from the Indian and Eurasian plates' collision. However, it was hysteretic that the remote effect was observed in the Tianshan orogenic belt.     

Reducing the biases in shortwave cloud radiative forcing in tropical and subtropical regions from the perspective of boundary layer processes

Biases in shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCF), which cause overestimates in tropical regions and underestimates in subtropical marine stratocumulus regions, are common in many climate models. Here, two boundary layer processes are investigated in the atmospheric model GAMIL2, entrainment at the top of the boundary layer and longwave radiative cooling at the top of stratocumulus clouds, in order to reduce biases and reveal the mechanisms underlying these processes. Our results show that including the entrainment process in the model can reduce negative SWCF biases in most tropical regions but increases positive SWCF biases in subtropical marine stratocumulus regions. This occurs because entrainment reduces the low-level cloud fraction and its cloud liquid water content by suppressing the vertical turbulent diffusion in the boundary layer and decreasing the relative humidity when warm and dry free atmosphere is entrained in the boundary layer. Longwave radiative cooling at the top of stratocumulus clouds can enhance turbulent diffusion within the stratocumulus-topped boundary layer. When combined with the entrainment process, longwave radiative cooling reduces the positive SWCF biases in subtropical marine stratocumulus regions that are observed using the entrainment process alone. The incorporation of these two boundary layer processes improves the simulated SWCF in tropical and subtropical regions in GAMIL2.     

新疆地区县(市)地震应急能力指标体系的建立与区域差异初探

从新疆地区地震活动性、灾害背景及区域协同联动应急模式出发,在遵循科学性、系统优化和可操作性及区域特性等原则的基础上,采用层次分析法建立了县级行政单元的地震应急能力评价指标体系;继而建立了基于基础设施条件、基础人力物力财力、(县级)专项能力和专项经验及基础环境背景4个一类指标集的县(市)绝对地震应急能力综合评价模型,并根据新疆地区4类人员问卷调查资料,计算和分析了样本支持条件下各指标的权重及结果,将其应用在新疆地区县(市)地震应急能力等级划分中。结果表明,地震应急能力的空间分布格局的产生与区域经济发展水平和地理位置等方面所具备的优势是相适应的,安居富民工程对提升区域地震应急能力发挥了重要作用,少数民族聚集区应急能力有待加强,寒旱、高海拔地区等特殊地理因素影响不可忽视。     

Analysis on multiple scattering by an arbitrary configuration of piles as barriers for vibration isolation

By introducing the multiple scattering of acoustic or electromagnetic waves by an arbitrary configuration of parallel cylinders, a new formal solution that is different from the traditional ones to solve the problem of plane elastic waves scattering by cylindrical solid piles as barriers for environmental vibration isolation has been established. The first order of scattering is generated from the excitation of each pile by incident waves, and the second order is resulted from the excitation of each pile by the first order of scattering induced by remaining piles. The rest to an infinite can be executed in the same manner. Suppose that each order of scattering satisfies continuity boundary conditions at the surface of each pile, the undetermined scattering coefficients would be figured out ultimately. By introducing the normalized displacement amplitude and transmissibility indices, some properties of vibration isolation by single or multi-row of piles are analyzed. Influences of specific parameters such as scattering orders, separations between piles and pile rows, normalized frequencies, number of piles, etc. are investigated. Several instructive results are derived and recommended for designing piles as barriers for environmental vibration isolation.     

Prevalence and diversity of norovirus genogroups I and II in Hong Kong marine waters and detection by real-time PCR

Marine waters from six sites around Hong Kong with varying levels of sewage pollution were examined for noroviruses (NoVs) by PCR cloning and sequencing of a highly-variable N-terminal region of the VP1 capsid gene, at the ORF1-ORF2 junction of NoV. Phylogenetic analysis of genogroups GI- and GII-specific PCR clones obtained from different marine sites indicated that human NoV GI.1 and GII.4 strains are the most prevalent genotypes circulating in Hong Kong waters. GI- and GII-specific TaqMan-based real-time PCR assays targeting the ORF1-ORF2 junction of NoVs were used to quantify NoV particles in marine water samples in parallel with total Escherichia coli counts which were enumerated on TBX medium. No correlation of any significance between NoV and E. coli counts was observed which highlighted the inadequacy in using E. coli as a fecal indicator to predict the level of NoVs in marine waters to protect public health.     

Research and Practice on the Crustal Deformation Mobile Monitoring Network Layout in the Hydropower Station Reservoir Area

According to the construction project of the crustal deformation mobile monitoring network in the cascade hydropower stations built in the lower reaches of Jinsha River,this paper analyzes the design ideas and layout principles of crustal deformation mobile monitoring used in the monitoring of reservoir induced earthquakes. This paper introduces three types of monitoring networks used in the Xiluodu reservoir and Xiangjiaba reservoir, as well as the work already undertaken,in order to provide a kind of reference for the related engineering construction and comprehensive monitoring of reservoir induced earthquakes.     

对中国地震预报现状与未来的思考

本文是作者根据自己多年从事地震预报的经历与实践,将我国地震预报的38年历史分为四个阶段,概括了我国地震预报的主要进展和成就,指出地震预报的难点及我国地震预报的思路和技术上存在的几个问题,最后对我国地震预报发展战略提出思考。作者的观点和建议可供地震主管部门的领导和地震分析预报人员参考     

张北6.2级地震序列显著余震现场灰色预测

根据张家口地震台记录的１９９８年张北早期地震序列资料,对其显著余震（系指ＭＬ≥４．０,下同）建立了ＧＭ（１,１）动态灰色预测模型,并进而依此模型对张北震区主震后,短时内连续发生的５次显著余震进行了尝试性现场预测,结果与实事较吻合,表明灰色预测方法对于探讨如何简捷有效地预测地震序列早期强余震问题,可能具有一定的实际意义。