Investigating soil thermodynamic parameters of the active layer on the northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The soil thermodynamic parameters, including thermal conductivity, diffusivity and volumetric capacity within the active layer on the northern Tibetan Plateau, were calculated using the measured data of soil temperature gradient, heat flux, and moisture at four stations from October 2003 to September 2004. The results showed that the soil thermodynamic parameters exhibited clear seasonal fluctuation. The thermal conductivity and diffusivity in summer and autumn at Beiluhe, Kexinling, and Tongtianhe were larger than those in winter. The volumetric thermal capacity causes an opposite change; it was larger in autumn and winter than in summer. In spring, the soil thermal conductivity at the Kekexili station was larger than that in summer. Generally, fine-grained soils and lower saturation degrees in the topsoil might be a reason for the lower soil thermal conductivity in winter. For a given soil, soil moisture was the main factor influencing the thermodynamic parameters. The unfrozen water content that existed in frozen soils greatly affected the soil thermal conductivity, whose contribution rate was estimated to be 55 %. The thermodynamic parameters of frozen soils could be expressed as a function of soil temperature, volumetric ice content and soil salinity, while for the unfrozen ground the soil moisture content is the dominant factor for those thermal parameters. As for the soil thermal diffusivity, there exists a critical value of soil moisture content. When the soil moisture content becomes less than a critical value, the soil thermal diffusivity increases as the soil moisture content rises.     

聚焦“协调”,增进对人地协调观的理解

人地协调观因突出强调“协调”而不等同于人地观(念)。溯源人地关系原理,“协调”主要体现在人与地之间物质、能量的流通量和流通程度都需要控制在合理的“极限值”以内,依靠科学的行动与调适,确保人地交互状况运行在合理区间当中。本文聚焦“协调”,将以往用“地对人的影响”“人对地的影响”和“人地和谐发展”来解构人地协调观素养表现的方法,进一步调适、概括为:“辩证看待地理环境对人类的影响”“懂得人类活动需尊重自然规律”“综合评判人地关系问题和举措”,通过协调认识、协调应对和协调评价三个方面充分突出“协调”意蕴。     

基于地理学科核心素养的高中地理教材活动栏目比较--以人教版和中图版必修《地理二》为例

本文选取新版人教版与中图版高中必修《地理二》的活动栏目作为研究对象,在划分活动考察的核心素养内容和水平的基础上,对比活动栏目的编排方式和问题设置方式。中图版教材活动栏目中核心素养的渗透面向课堂教学各个环节,且活动考察核心素养的难度水平呈现阶梯上升的趋势,略高于课标要求;问题设置形式丰富,既有独立设问的活动,随知识点设计以夯实基础,也有问题链形式的活动以激发学生学习潜能,提升能力。人教版教材活动栏目中核心素养考察多设计在节中,辅助课堂教学,帮助学生内化核心素养,考察水平满足课标要求,减轻学生学习负担;问题设置以问题链形式为主,在单个活动栏目中呈现从较低水平到较高水平递进的趋势。     

Mapping Wetland Areas Using Landsat-Derived NDVI and LSWI: A Case Study of West Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Increasing interest in wetlands for environmental management requires an understanding of the location, spatial extent, and configuration of the resource. The National Wetlands Inventory is the most commonly used data source for this information. However, its accuracy is limited in some contexts, such as agricultural and forested wetlands. An large number of studies have mapped wetlands worldwide from the perspective of land use and land cover change. However, information on the actual wetland planting areas annually is limited, which greatly impacts ongoing research. In this case study of the West Songnen Plain, we developed a simple algorithm for the quick mapping of wetlands by utilizing their unique physical features, such as annual display of phenological land-cover change of exposed soils, shallow flooding water, and plants from multi-temporal Landsat images. Temporal variations of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI) derived from Landsat images in 2010 for wetlands at different growth stages were analyzed. Results show that during the ante-tillering phase, the NDVI value (above zero) is lower than the LSWI value of paddies because of flooding of shallow water; during the reproductive and ripening phases, the NDVI value is higher than the LSWI value (above zero); and during the post-harvest wetland planting phase, the NDVI value is still higher than the LSWI value, but the LSWI value is negative. Wetland areas can be detected using one or two images in the optimum time window. The algorithm based on the difference of NDVI and LSWI values derived from Landsat images was used to extract the actual wetland planting area. Validated alongside statistical data, the algorithm showed high accuracy. Therefore, this algorithm highlights the unique features of wetlands and can help in mapping the actual wetland area annually on a regional scale. Results further indicate that the new method has a classification accuracy of 92 %. In comparison, two traditional methods based on Landsat-7/ETM registered accuracy rates of only 83 % and 87 % respectively.     

Low-velocity structure beneath Africa from forward modeling

Seismic waveforms observed in South Africa containing the first arrival crossover of S to SKS (70° to 110°) are analyzed. The data consist of analog records from the World Wide Seismographic Station Network (WWSSN) of deep events beneath South America. The S-waves arrive 2 to 3 s early relative to PREM at ranges from 70° to 95° and then become increasingly delayed, becoming 5 to 6 s late at 110°. The SKS phase is late by 3 to 5 s over the entire range. This pushes crossover between S and SKS, normally observed at about 81°, out about 2° to 3°, which is the most anomalous shift ever reported. To model such features, we modified Grand's tomography model [Grand et al., GSA Today 7 (1997) 1–7], and generated 2D synthetics to match the data. The overall shape and position of the lower mantle low-velocity anomaly proposed by Grand predicts good results if lower mantle anomalies are enhanced to a level of about 4%. This results in a complex tabular structure extending upward from the core–mantle boundary about 1500 km into the mantle. These features appear to be consistent with a large young plume which is erupting off the CMB.     

Rocking vibrations of a rigid embedded foundation in a poroelastic half‐space

This paper presents an analysis of the rocking vibrations of a rigid cylindrical foundation embedded in poroelastic soil. The foundation is subjected to time‐harmonic rocking excitation and is perfectly bonded to the surrounding soil. The soil underlying the foundation base is represented by a homogeneous poroelastic half‐space, whereas the soil along the side of the foundation is modeled as an independent poroelastic stratum composed of a series of infinitesimally thin layers. The behavior of the soil is governed by Biot's poroelastodynamic theory. The contact surface between the foundation base and the poroelastic soil is assumed to be smooth and either fully permeable or impermeable. The dynamic interaction problem is solved by employing a simplified analytical method. Some numerical results for the nondimensional rocking dynamic impedance and nondimensional angular displacement amplitude of the foundation are presented to show the effect of nondimensional frequency of excitation, poroelastic material parameters, hydraulic boundary condition, depth ratio and mass ratio of the foundation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climatic implications of loess deposits from the Beijing region

Variations in magnetostratigraphy, pedostratigraphy, grain size and magnetic susceptibility of the loess deposits near Beijing have been studied at two sections. The sections are about 400 km east of the main loess deposits in China, have a maximum thickness of 100 m and extend back to 1.1 Ma. The sequence consists of 14 loess–palaeosol couplets (S0‐S14), which correlate well with sequences in the Loess Plateau. Susceptibility records from the sites near Beijing are comparable to the Xifeng, Luochuan and Baoji sections located in the middle part of the Loess Plateau; however, the down‐core variations in the grain size in the Upper Lishi Formation exhibit some differences. The median grain size increases by about 25–30 µm from L4 to L2, with the sandy grains (>63 µm) increasing from 10–20 wt% to 40–50 wt% . This implies that the depositional environment of the dust sources in the Beijing loess section is different in some aspects from the Loess Plateau. The Beijing loess may have had a different dust source than the Loess Plateau. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of non-thermal electrons in the hydrogen and calcium lines of stellar flares

There is observational evidence showing that stellar and solar flares occur with a similar circumstance, although the former are usually much more energetic. It is expected that the bombardment by high-energy electrons is one of the chief heating processes of the flaring atmosphere. In this paper we study how a precipitating electron beam can influence the line profiles of Ly α , H α , Ca  ii K and λ 8542. We use a model atmosphere of a dMe star and make non-LTE computations taking into account the non-thermal collisional rates owing to the electron beam. The results show that the four lines can be enhanced to different extents. The relative enhancement increases with increasing formation height of the lines. Varying the energy flux of the electron beam has different effects on the four lines. The wings of Ly α and H α become increasingly broad with the beam flux; change of the Ca  ii K and λ 8542 lines, however, is most significant in the line centre. Varying the electron energy (i.e. the low-energy cut-off for a power-law beam) has a great influence on the Ly α line, but little on the H α and Ca  ii lines. An electron beam of higher energy precipitates deeper, thus producing less enhancement of the Ly α line. The Ly α /H α flux ratio is thus sensitive to the electron energy.     

扬子地台北缘晚震旦世微古植物特征及意义

本文着重研究了扬子地台北缘上震旦统陡山沱组、灯影组及下寒武统下部岩家河段的微古植物组合特征。初步建立了Ⅰ、Ⅱ两个微古植物组合，分别与陡山沱村阶和灯影峡阶相对应，分析了微古植物组合在地层划分与对比及在震旦系－寒武系界线的划分上所起的作用。