Evaluation of damping reduction factors for estimating elastic response of structures with high damping

The damping reduction factors are used in a few building codes in order to estimate the elastic response spectrum with high damping ratios from its 5%‐damped counterpart. At present, much research regarding this factor has been published. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the accuracy of five different models of damping reduction factors. In addition, the damping reduction factors adopted in the recent U.S.A. seismic codes are also evaluated. Statistical studies are carried out according to a total of 216 earthquake ground motions recorded on firm sites in California. Considered here are elastic single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) systems with natural vibrating periods between 0.1 and 6.0 s. Mean ratios and dispersion of approximate to exact maximum elastic displacement demands corresponding to various damping reduction factors are computed as functions of the natural vibrating period and the viscous damping ratio. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some isotopic and hydrological changes associated with the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan

Abstract   The changes in the isotopic composition of, and the groundwater level in, the Choshui River alluvial fan near the ruptured Chelungpu Fault during and following the 1999 ( M _w = 7.5) Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan are reported. Three aspects of the hydrological changes are noticed. First, following the Chi-Chi earthquake, the lower aquifers beneath the Choshui River fan showed a significant shift in isotopic composition towards that of the surface water in the Choshui River, suggesting enhanced exchanges of water between the river and the groundwater. Second, in some wells, water levels and isotopic compositions in different aquifers converged to the same respective values during the Chi-Chi earthquake, suggesting coseismic exchanges of water between the different aquifers, which implies enhanced permeability due perhaps to the fracturing and breaching of aquitards between the aquifers. Third, the pattern of the coseismic water-level response is distinctly different from that of the shift in the isotopic composition, suggesting that they were produced by different mechanisms.     

一个同时采用两种地图投影坐标系的大气环流模式

为了进一步研究高原和山地对大气环流的热力和动力作用,我们设计了一个九层的全球原始方程模式.模式中除考虑了地形作用外,还包含了太阳辐射和地、气的长波辐射、大尺度凝结和积云对流等因子的影响.为了能继续采用有限差分近似,并且既能较好地描述中高纬地区的环流状况,又不影响对低纬地区环流的模拟,本模式同时采用了两种地图投影坐标系(麦卡托投影用于中低纬地区,极射赤平投影用于高纬区).文中给出了冬季海平面气压、风场、降水分布和垂直环流的模拟结果,并把它们与观测值作了比较.     

Numerical Assessing Experiments on the Individual Component Impact of the Meteorological Observation Network on the ＂July 2000＂ Torrential Rain in Beijing

In an effort to assess the impact of the individual component of meteorological observations (ground-based GPS precipitable water vapor,automatic and conventional meteorological observations) on the torrential rain event in 4-5 July 2000 in Beijing (with the 24-h accumulated precipitation reaching 240 mm),24-h observation system experiments are conducted numerically by using the MM5/WRF 3DVAR system and the nonhydrostatic MM5 model.Results indicate that,because the non-conventional GPS observations are directly assimilated into the initial analyses by 3DVAR system,better initial fields and 24-h simulation for the severe precipitation event are achieved than those under the MM5/Litter_R objective analysis scheme. Further analysis also shows that the individual component of meteorological observation network plays their special positive role in the improvement of initial field analysis and forecasting skills.3DVAR scheme with or without radiosonde and pilot observation has the most significant influence on numerical simulation,and automatic and conventional surface meteorological observations rank second.After acquiring the supplement information from the other meteorological observations,the ground-based GPS precipitable water vapor data can more obviously reflect initial field assimilation and precipitation forecast.By incorporating the ground- based GPS precipitable water vapor data into the 3DVAR analyses at the initial time,the threat scores (TS) with thresholds of 1,5,10,and 20 mm are increased by 1%-8% for 6- and 24-h accumulated precipitation observations,respectively.This work gives one helpful example that assesses the impact of individual component of the existing meteorological observation network on the high influence weather event using 3DVAR numerical system.     

Sustainable groundwater management in Kinmen Island

Kinmen county is located in the southwest of Fujen province, China. It comprises Kinmen, Leiyu and other small islands. Its total area is around 150 km². Kinmen is the largest island, and 95% of the population resides there. The average annual precipitation is 1072 mm. Rainfall is concentrated in a 5 month period from mid‐April to mid‐September. Water resources are limited relative to demand. Eastern Kinmen utilizes surface water, whereas western Kinmen uses groundwater. Moreover, the Kinmen sorghum liquor is brewed using the native groundwater in the west of the island. MODFLOW‐96 was used to simulate the groundwater distribution and determine the annual amount of infiltration, pumping, and boundary inflow and outflow. Additionally, a groundwater management index was adopted to evaluate the status of groundwater level change, thus allowing local government officials to adjust the pumping scheme dynamically. To achieve a sustainable groundwater supply in Kinmen, an integrated groundwater extraction plan was proposed. This plan includes enhancing the infiltration by using treated wastewater from the east of the island, monitoring the groundwater level change, adjusting the groundwater pumping scheme, and constructing seawater desalination plants. If the hostile confrontation between Taiwan and mainland China is resolved, then the water supply through an undersea pipeline from Sharmen, China, to Kinmen can be another potential source of water for Kinmen in the future. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene thermal optimal and climate variability of East Asian monsoon inferred from forest reconstruction of a subalpine pollen sequence, Taiwan

The East Asian monsoon Holocene optimal period has been debated both about duration and whether conditions were a maximum in thermal conditions or in precipitation. In this study we show Holocene climate variability inferred by a forest reconstruction of a subalpine pollen sequence from peat bog deposits in central Taiwan, based on modern analogues of various altitudinal biomes in the region. A warmer interval occurred between 8 and 4 ka BP (calibrated ¹⁴C years) when the subtropical forests were more extensive. The Holocene thermal optimum is represented by an altitudinal tropical forest at 6.1–5.9 ka BP and 6.9 ka BP and only the latter was accompanied by wet conditions, indicating decoupling of thermal and precipitation mechanism in the middle Holocene. Abrupt and relative severe cold phases, shown by biome changes, occurred at about 11.2–11.0 ka BP; 7.5 ka BP; 7.2 ka BP; 7.1 ka BP; 5.2 ka BP, 5.0 ka BP and 4.9 ka BP. A spectral analysis of pollen of a relatively cold taxon — Salix, reveals that the time series is dominated by a 1500 yr periodicity and similar to the cold cycle reported in the marine records of Indian and western Pacific Oceans. The cold–warm conditions inferred by the change of forests show close relationship to solar energy in comparison with the production rate of Be-10.     

Modeling the influence of river discharge on salt intrusion and residual circulation in Danshuei River estuary,Taiwan

A 3-D, time-dependent, baroclinic, hydrodynamic and salinity model was implemented and applied to the Danshuei River estuarine system and the adjacent coastal sea in Taiwan. The model forcing functions consist of tidal elevations along the open boundaries and freshwater inflows from the main stream and major tributaries in the Danshuei River estuarine system. The bottom friction coefficient was adjusted to achieve model calibration and verification in model simulations of barotropic and baroclinic flows. The turbulent diffusivities were ascertained through comparison of simulated salinity time series with observations. The model simulation results are in qualitative agreement with the available field data.     

Interdecadal Change of the Northward Jump Time of the Western Pacific Subtropical High in Association with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

In this paper, the northward jump time of the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH) is defined and analyzed on the interdecadal timescale. The results show that under global warming, significant interdecadal changes have occurred in the time of the WPSH northward jumps. From 1951 to 2012, the time of the first northward jump of WPSH has changed from "continuously early" to "continuously late", with the transition occurring in 1980. The time of the second northward jump of WPSH shows a similar change, with the transition occurring in 1978. In this study, we offer a new perspective by using the time of the northward jump of WPSH to explain the eastern China summer rainfall pattern change from "north-abundant-southbelow-average" to "south-abundant-north-below-average" at the end of the 1970 s. The interdecadal change in the time of the northward jump of WPSH corresponds not only with the summer rainfall pattern, but also with the Pacific decadal oscillation(PDO). The WPSH northward jump time corresponding to the cold(warm) phase of the PDO is early(late). Although the PDO and the El Nino–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)both greatly influence the time of the two northward jumps of WPSH, the PDO’s effect is noticed before the ENSO’s by approximately 1–2 months. After excluding the ENSO influence, we derive composite vertical atmospheric circulation for different phases of the PDO. The results show that during the cold(warm)phase of the PDO, the atmospheric circulations at 200, 500, and 850 h Pa all contribute to an earlier(later)northward jump of the WPSH.     

河北北部四处温泉的水化学特征及成因分析

以河北北部承德地区的4处温泉,漠河沟温泉(A10)、三道营温泉(A11)、山湾子温泉(A12)和北大坝温泉(A13)为研究对象,根据2010年与2018年的温泉水样测试数据,分析温泉的水化学特征,并总结其成因模式。研究区出露地层主要有中新元古界、二叠系、三叠系、侏罗系、白垩系和新近系以及第四系,并伴随有大量侵入岩岩体。温泉的出露温度为36~75 ℃,pH值为7.2~8.2,TDS均小于1 g/L。研究区温泉阳离子均以Na⁺占绝对优势,毫克当量百分数在90%以上,阴离子主要以HC {\mathrm{O}}_3^{-}和S {\mathrm{O}}_4^{2-}为主,4处温泉的水化学类型分别为SO₄·HCO₃-Na型、HCO₃·SO₄-Na型、HCO₃-Na型和SO₄·HCO₃-Na型,且温泉的偏硅酸和F^-含量高。研究区温泉稀土元素总含量(∑REEs)为0.030~15.525 μg/L,主要以碳酸盐络合物和F的络合物形式存在;地下热水的稀土元素球粒陨石标准化配分模式较为平缓,轻稀土元素略显富集。研究区温泉水补给主要源于大气降水,利用 SiO₂ 温标估算的温泉地下热储温度为85~125 ℃,地下热水经深循环后通过接触带、破碎带或导水断裂上升出露地表。