Variations of contemporary glaciation of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus in the 20th century and the forecast of its degradation in the 21st century

In the 20th century on the territory of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus the number of glaciers increased by 245 (or by 19%) and the glaciation area decreased by 849 km² (or by 52.6%). It is revealed that the increase in the number of glaciers occurred as a result of the disintegration of larger glaciers into smaller parts and as a result of the cutoff of their tributaries, and the decrease in the glaciation area, due to the negative balance of the mass of glaciers. The length of all glaciers decreased by 128–3520 m during that period. It is demonstrated that in 1970–2011 the decrease in the glaciation area occurred with the rate being smaller than in 1895–1970 by 1.6 times that is associated with more favorable climatic conditions in 1970–2011. According to the computations of the climate model by the Main Geophysical Observatory (moderate scenario) for 2011–2099, average annual air temperature will increase by 1.06–2.70°C and the annual amount of precipitation, by 2.09–2.77%. According to the results of computations, the glaciation area in 2011–2099 will reduce by 585 km² or by 76.5%. In the region under consideration, glaciation with the area of 180 km² which will be concentrated only in the central part of the Greater Caucasus will maintain by 2099. The glacier runoff will decrease by 74–80%.     

Evaluation of a high-resolution regional climate simulation over Greenland

A simulation of the 1991 summer has been performed over south Greenland with a coupled atmosphere–snow regional climate model (RCM) forced by the ECMWF re-analysis. The simulation is evaluated with in-situ coastal and ice-sheet atmospheric and glaciological observations. Modelled air temperature, specific humidity, wind speed and radiative fluxes are in good agreement with the available observations, although uncertainties in the radiative transfer scheme need further investigation to improve the model’s performance. In the sub-surface snow-ice model, surface albedo is calculated from the simulated snow grain shape and size, snow depth, meltwater accumulation, cloudiness and ice albedo. The use of snow metamorphism processes allows a realistic modelling of the temporal variations in the surface albedo during both melting periods and accumulation events. Concerning the surface albedo, the main finding is that an accurate albedo simulation during the melting season strongly depends on a proper initialization of the surface conditions which mainly result from winter accumulation processes. Furthermore, in a sensitivity experiment with a constant 0.8 albedo over the whole ice sheet, the average amount of melt decreased by more than 60%, which highlights the importance of a correctly simulated surface albedo. The use of this coupled atmosphere–snow RCM offers new perspectives in the study of the Greenland surface mass balance due to the represented feedback between the surface climate and the surface albedo, which is the most sensitive parameter in energy-balance-based ablation calculations.     

Influence of bottom topography roughness on the jet and inertial recirculation of a mid-latitude gyre

Several numerical experiments are conducted to examine the influence of mesoscale, bottom topography roughness on the inertial circulation of a wind-driven, mid-latitude ocean gyre. The ocean model is based on the quasi-geostrophic formulation, and is eddy-resolving as it features high vertical and horizontal resolutions (six layers and a 10 km grid). An antisymmetrical double-gyre wind stress curl forces the baroclinic modes and generates a strong surface jet. In the case of a flat bottom, inertia and inverse energy cascade force the barotropic mode, and the resulting circulation features strong, barotropic, inertial gyres. The sea-floor roughness inhibits the inertial circulation in the deep layers; the barotropic component of the flow is then forced by eddy-topography interactions, and its energy concentrates at the scales of the topography. As a result, the baroclinicity of the flow is intesified: the barotropic mode is reduced with regard to the baroclinic modes, and the bottom flow (constrained by the mesoscale sea-floor roughness) is decoupled from the surface flow (forced by the gyre-scale wind). Rectified, mesoscale bottom circulation induces an interfacial form stress at the thermocline, which enhances horizontal shear instability and opposes the eastward penetration of the jet. The mean jet is consequently shortened, but the instantaneous jet remains very turbulent, with meanders of large meridional extent. The sea-floor roughness modifies the energy pathways, and the eddies have an even more important role in the establishment of the mean circulation: below the thermocline, rectification processes are dominant, and eddies transfer energy toward permanent mesoscale circulations strongly correlated with topography, whereas above the thermocline mean flow and eddy generation are influenced by the mean bottom circulation through interfacial stress. The topography modifies the vorticity of the barotropic and highest baroclinic modes. Vorticity accumulates at the small topographic scales, and the vorticity content of the highest modes, which is very weak in the flat-bottom case, increases significantly. Few changes occur in surface-intensified modes. In the deep layers of the model, the inverse correlation between relative vorticity and topography at small scales ensures the homogenization of the potential vorticity, which mainly retains the largest scales of the bottom flow and the scale of β.     

Spheroidal equal angular DEMs: The specificity of morphometric treatment

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are commonly constructed using two main types of regular grids: plane square grids and spheroidal equal angular grids. Methods and algorithms intended for plane square‐gridded DEMs should not be directly applied to spheroidal equal angular DEMs. This is because these grids have fundamentally different geometry. However, some researchers continue to apply square‐grid algorithms to spheroidal equal angular DEMs. It seems appropriate to consider once again the specifity of morphometric treatment of spheroidal equal angular DEMs. This article, first, demonstrates possibilities of direct calculation of local, nonlocal, and combined morphometric variables from spheroidal equal angular DEMs exemplified by slope gradient, catchment area, and topographic index. Second, the article shows computational errors when algorithms for plane square‐gridded DEMs are unreasonably applied to spheroidal equal angular DEMs. The study is exemplified by two DEMs. A medium‐resolution DEM of a relatively small, high‐mountainous area (Mount Elbrus) was extracted from the SRTM1 DEM. A low‐resolution DEM of a vast region with the diverse topography (the central and western regions of Kenya) was extracted from the SRTM30_PLUS DEM. The results show that application of square‐grid methods to spheroidal equal angular DEMs leads to substantial computational errors in models of morphometric variables.     

山东莱芜盆地碳酸盐岩热液溶蚀特征及水文地质意义

鲁中山区莱芜盆地在燕山期发生大规模岩浆侵入活动,岩浆岩体外围碳酸盐岩区分布有水源地、富水块段等岩溶发育富水区,且靠近岩体含水层多发生大理岩化。富含CO₂、H₂S等酸性成分的岩浆热液流体,能对碳酸盐岩产生明显的溶蚀作用。基于岩石样品化学组分分析、水文地质调查及数据统计分析、热液溶蚀地质点详细观测,构建热液溶蚀模式,对莱芜盆地及外围热液溶蚀特征及机理进行研究。结果表明:高温高压岩浆侵入使得接触带碳酸盐岩发生热液变质大理岩化;沿渗透性断裂、裂缝以及不整合面等运移的热液流体,对碳酸盐岩地层产生酸性热液溶蚀和混合溶蚀作用,形成不同规模溶蚀孔洞,构成地下水富集空间,为寻找城镇地下水后备水源地提供新方向。     

塔木察格盆地塔南凹陷下白垩统烃源岩有机地球化学特征

塔木察格盆地的塔南凹陷油气资源丰富,具有很大的勘探开发潜力。塔南凹陷发育多套烃源岩（包括铜钵庙组、南屯组一段和二段、大磨拐河组）,针对各套烃源岩基本特征及形成条件的研究较为薄弱。本次收集了大量研究区烃源岩的有机地球化学数据,对塔南凹陷各套烃源岩的基本特征、有机质来源和沉积环境开展了详细研究。结果表明,塔南凹陷烃源岩的有机质丰度较高,以好烃源岩和优质烃源岩为主;铜钵庙组和南一段的有机质类型以Ⅱ1型为主,南二段和大磨拐河组以Ⅱ2型和Ⅲ型为主;有机质总体处于低成熟—成熟阶段;烃源岩中的有机质为低等水生生物和陆源高等植物的混合来源;烃源岩沉积时期的水体为淡水且总体处于弱还原—弱氧化的环境,其中南屯组沉积时期比铜钵庙组和大磨拐河组沉积时期的水体环境要更偏氧化一些。     

硬土软岩滑坡近水平滑移的离心机模型试验研究

中国西北地区存在大量的新近纪硬土软岩滑坡灾害,为研究该类滑坡的变形特征,开展两组离心机模型试验模拟滑带劣化引起滑坡变形破坏的全过程,获取模型坡体土压及位移的实时变化曲线。研究表明,当软弱带强度降低时,硬土软岩滑坡的上部滑体呈块体状滑动,在快速运动滑动过程中,滑体呈现块状平移,不会彻底解体、液化;硬土软岩滑坡中前部出现水平应力集中,导致下伏滑带塑性流动变形,诱发其中前部上覆滑体的水平运动,并向滑坡后缘扩展,最终形成多级水平滑动。     

内蒙古阿拉善地块北缘雅布赖地区埃达克岩锆石U-Pb年龄、岩石成因和构造背景

雅布赖地区位于阿拉善地块北缘,埃达克岩岩石类型主要为闪长岩和石英闪长岩。用LA-ICP-MS方法测得埃达克岩中的锆石206Pb/238U年龄为275±1 Ma（MSWD=1.00,n=27,闪长岩）和277±2 Ma（MSWD=0.64,n=26,石英闪长岩）,故认为雅布赖地区埃达克岩侵位年龄为275±1~277±2 Ma,形成时代为早二叠世。地球化学特征表明,该岩体具有较高的SiO2（60.56%~63.41%）、Al2O3（15.86%~17.33%）、Sr（572×10-6~758×10-6）含量,较低的MgO（1.45%~3.06%）、Y（11.10×10-6~14.7×10-6）、Yb（1.06×10-6~1.55×10-6）含量,富集大离子亲石元素K、Rb、Ba、Sr等,亏损高场强元素Ta、Nb、Ti、P等。岩石重稀土元素强烈亏损,轻、重稀土元素分馏明显,Eu异常较弱（0.81 < δEu < 1.04）,Mg#值较高（38~53）,Y/Yb值为7.35~11.89,Na2O/K2O值为1.18~1.77,具有C型埃达克岩特征,为拆沉下地売部分熔融产生的流体与地幔橄榄岩相互作用形成的产物。结合前人研究,其可能形成于碰撞后伸展环境。     

Evolution of a Holocene banner bank controlled by morphodynamics and structural setting of a macrotidal coast: Saint-Brieuc Bay(NW-Europe)

The morphology and internal structure of the Horaine Bank(Bay of Saint-Brieuc, NW France) are described based on multibeam echosounder and high-resolution seismic datasets coupled with vibro-core data. The Horaine Bank shows large-scale bedforms in the lee of a submerged rocky shoal, which allowed defining it as a Banner Bank.The internal structure of the sandbank reveals four seismic units(U1–U4) on a Cambrian basement(U0). The basal unit U1 is interpreted as reworked lowstand fluvial sediments those infilled micro incised valleys during a rise in sea level. This unit is overlain by paleo-coastal barrier sand-spit(U2) whose development was controlled by swell in the context of a rapid rise in sea level. The successive prograding unit(U3) is interpreted as flooding deposits in continuity with unit U2. The unit U4 is characterized by oblique reflectors oriented in two opposite directions. This last unit, dated post 3500 yr BP, corresponds to migrating dunes superimposed on the bank and observable in the high-resolution bathymetric data. The strong correlation between tidal currents and the apparent clockwise migration of dune crests suggests the presence of a tidal gyre controlling the present-day dynamics of most of the Horaine bank dunes. This study proposes a new model for the construction of banner banks characterized by the gradual transition of a sand spit to a banner bank during marine transgression and ensuing hydrodynamic variability.     

动载作用下混凝土细观损伤的CT图像分割和灰度共生矩阵特征值研究

动载作用下混凝土随应力变化的系列CT图像完整地记录了混凝土内部破损过程,在CT图像中能直接观察到细观裂纹时混凝土往往已发生宏观破坏,挖掘混凝土材料损伤的细观信息是混凝土细观力学分析的核心。本文基于混凝土单轴动态压缩CT试验,获得不同应力阶段的横断面CT图像,分别应用图像分割技术和灰度共生矩阵法提取孔隙率和4个特征值,研究孔隙率和4个特征值随应力的变化规律。结果表明孔隙率随应力的增加显示出单调增加的总趋势,个别部位在应力水平较小时孔隙率随应力增加变化不大,反映出混凝土的压密效应。受压密效应影响,对比度在低应力水平时随应力增加有升有降,能量对应力变化不够敏感,相关性和同质性随应力的增加单调增加,对应力变化较为敏感,能反映混凝土整体损伤过程。对混凝土CT图像进行分区后再研究孔隙率、同质性和相关性随应力的变化,可以更好地反映动载作用下混凝土的细观损伤过程。