Mixed layer depth front and subduction of low potential vorticity water under seasonal forcings in an idealized OGCM

The mixed layer depth (MLD) front and subduction under seasonal variability are investigated using an idealized ocean general circulation model (OGCM) with simple seasonal forcings. A sharp MLD front develops and subduction occurs at the front from late winter to early spring. The position of the MLD front agrees with the curve where \({\rm D}T_{\rm s}/{\rm D}t = \partial T_{\rm s} /\partial t + {\user2{u}}_{\rm g} \cdot \nabla T_{\rm s} = 0\) is satisfied (t is time, \({\user2{u}}_{\rm g}\) is the upper-ocean geostrophic velocity, \(T_{\rm s}\) is the sea surface temperature (SST), and \(\nabla\) is the horizontal gradient operator), indicating that thick mixed-layer water is subducted there parallel to the SST contour. This is a generalization of the past result that the MLD front coincides with the curve \({\user2{u}}_{\rm g} \cdot \nabla T_{\rm s} = 0\) when the forcing is steady. Irreversible subduction at the MLD front is limited to about 1 month, where the beginning of the irreversible subduction period agrees with the first coincidence of the MLD front and \({\rm D}T_{\rm s}/{\rm D}t =0\) in late winter, and the end of the period roughly corresponds to the disappearance of the MLD front in early spring. Subduction volume at the MLD front during this period is similar to that during 1 year in the steady-forcing model. Since the cooling of the deep mixed-layer water occurs only in winter and SST can not fully catch up with the seasonally varying reference temperature of restoring, the cooling rate of SST is reduced and the zonal gradient of the SST in the northwestern subtropical gyre is a little altered in the seasonal-forcing case. These effects result in slightly lower densities of subducted water and the eastward shift of the MLD front.     

PostgreSQL在时空数据管理中的应用

针对当前时空数据管理中存在的主要问题，本文提出用PostgreSQL作为平台来进行时空数据的管理。本文从PostgreSQL自身的特点出发，并结合“香港18个地区区议会选举”的例子，分析、探讨了如何在PostgreSQL的环境中实现对时空数据的有效管理。并在此基础上，对时空数据的合理组织进行了研究，为时空数据的管理提供了新的思路。     

Was the M<Subscript>w</Subscript> 7.5 1952 Kern County,California, earthquake induced (or triggered)?

Several recent studies have presented evidence that significant induced earthquakes occurred in a number of oil-producing regions during the early and mid-twentieth century related to either production or wastewater injection. We consider whether the 21 July 1952 M_w 7.5 Kern County earthquake might have been induced by production in the Wheeler Ridge oil field. The mainshock, which was not preceded by any significant foreshocks, occurred 98 days after the initial production of oil in Eocene strata at depths reaching 3 km, within ~1 km of the White Wolf fault (WWF). Based on this spatial and temporal proximity, we explore a potential causal relationship between the earthquake and oil production. While production would have normally be expected to have reduced pore pressure, inhibiting failure on the WWF, we present an analytical model based on industry stratigraphic data and best estimates of parameters whereby an impermeable splay fault adjacent to the main WWF could plausibly have blocked direct pore pressure effects, allowing the poroelastic stress change associated with production to destabilize the WWF, promoting initial failure. This proof-of-concept model can also account for the 98-day delay between the onset of production and the earthquake. While the earthquake clearly released stored tectonic stress, any initial perturbation on or near a major fault system can trigger a larger rupture. Our proposed mechanism provides an explanation for why significant earthquakes are not commonly induced by production in proximity to major faults.     

Mechanisms controlling the temporal variation of the sea ice edge in the Southern Ocean

This paper examines the mechanism controlling the short time-scale variation of sea ice cover over the Southern Ocean. Sea ice concentration and ice velocity datasets derived from images of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) are employed to reveal this mechanism. The contribution of both dynamic and thermodynamic processes to the change in ice edge location is examined by comparing the meridional velocity of ice edge displacement and sea ice drift. In the winter expansion phase, the thermodynamic process of new ice production off the ice edge plays an important role in daily advances of ice cover, whereas daily retreats are mostly due to southward ice drift. On the other hand, both advance and retreat of ice edges in the spring contraction phase are mostly caused by the dynamic process of the ice drift. Based on the above mechanism and the linear relation between the degree of ice production at the ice edge and northward wind speed, the seasonal advance of ice cover can be roughly reproduced using the meridional velocity of ice drift at the ice edge.     

The sudden disappearance of a dark filament observed on October 26, 1989

We present H monochromatic and spectroscopic observations of the sudden disappearance of a dark filament located near the center of the solar disk on October 26, 1989. The event was not associated with the flare activity. The dark filament first disintegrated into two loop-like components, and then each component successively showed ascending motion with a velocity greater than 30 km s^–1. Comparison of the H pictures taken before and after the start of this event suggests that the dark filament was originally composed of two magnetic flux loops.     

Remote Sensing of Eupatorium Adenophorum Spreng Based on HJ-A Satellite Data

In the southwest of China, one of the greatest threats to local ecosystem is the area expansion of an invasive species, i.e., Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng (EAS). In this study, the remote-sensing technology was used to detect and map the spatial distribution of EAS in Guizhou Province, China. A series of vegetation indices, including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), simple ratio index (SRI) and atmospherically resistant vegetation index (ARVI), were used to identify EAS from HJ-A Chninese satellite data. According to the analysis results of fieldworks from March 21 to 22, 2009, it was found that the vegetation index of {1.9589 ≤ SRI ≤ 4.1095}∩{0.2359 ≤ ARVI ≤ 0.5193} was the optimal remote-sensing parameter for identifying EAS from HJ-A data. According to the spatial distribution of EAS estimated from HJ-A data, it was found that EAS was rather more in southwest of Guizhou Province than in northeast. EAS became sparse from southwest to northeast gradually, and the central Guizhou Province was the ecological corridor linking EAS in southwest to that in northeast. By comparison with validated data collected by the government of Guizhou Province, it was found that the uncertainty of remote-sensing method was 18.52%, 29.31%, 8.77% and 9.46% in grassland, forest, farmland and others respectively, and the mean uncertainty was 13.29%. Owing to the lower height of EAS than many plants in forest, the uncertainty of EAS was the greatest in forest than that in grassland, farmland and so on.     

Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Network

Information included in this summary is based on more detailed reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 31, no. 4, April 2006 (on the Internet at ). Edited by scientists at the Smithsonian, this bulletin includes reports provided by a worldwide network of correspondents. The reports contain the names and contact information for all sources. Please note that these reports are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. The Global Volcanism Program welcomes further reports of current volcanism, seismic unrest, monitoring data, and field observations.     

Micro‐geomorphology determines community structure of biological soil crusts at small scales

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are ubiquitous communities of diminutive organisms such as cyanobacteria, green algae, lichens, mosses and others associated closely with particles of surface soil, forming a cohesive thin horizontal layer. The ecological roles of BSCs affecting soil nutrient cycling, stability and hydrological processes, influencing the germination and establishment of vascular plants, and serving as habitats for numerous arthropods and microorganism have been well documented. We tested the hypothesis that micro‐geomorphological features determine the spatial distribution of BSCs by reallocating related abiotic resources at small‐ and medium‐scales in the Tengger Desert. Our results showed that higher soil pH and higher total potassium content in topsoil positively correlated with the colonization of cyanobacteria and algae in the earliest successional stages of BSCs, while increasing dust deposition onto the topsoil enhanced the development of lichen and mosses in the later stages of BSCs. Increasing soil moisture raised the proportion of mosses and lichen in BSCs, this will possibly change the ecological functions of BSCs, such as nitrogen‐fixation by cyanobacteria, due to the conversion from a complex to relative simple type of BSC. Micro‐geomorphology has created various habitats at a small‐scale affecting colonization and development of cryptogams. This paper considers the contribution of micro‐geomorphology to biodiversity in the extreme arid desert systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

山东省地震局数字科技信息平台建设与服务

从山东省地震局数字信息服务的沿革、数字科技信息网的建设、及对数字化信息资源建设与服务的再认识等方面,展示了山东省地震局数字科技信息服务平台。该平台突出防震减灾和地区特色,整合信息资源,建立了更加完备的数字化信息网站,全面提升了山东省地震局数字科技信息的服务水平,以全新的服务模式实现了全方位、多层次的数字化信息管理服务。