巴基斯坦达尔巴丁(Dalbandin）地震前观测到的电离层foF2异常变化

电离层foF2变化对地震反应非常敏感,与地震有关的电离层扰动变化结果似乎非常有望用于地震短期预测。格林威治时间2011年1月18日20:23分,一次7.2级的大地震发生在巴基斯坦的达尔巴丁(28.73oＮ, 63.92oＥ）。本文研究中,我们必须利用架设在巴基斯坦的伊斯兰堡（33.78oN, 73.06oE）、玛尔坦（32.26oN,71.51oE）和卡拉奇（24.89oN,67.02oE）三个垂直探测台站获得的白天（08:00 a.m. - 05:00 p.m.）小时值数据找出地震前的foF2异常变化特征。结果显示,在达尔巴丁地震前几天,foF2出现了显著变化;并且距离震中最近的台站观测到的频率与幅度异常变化大于较远的位于孕震区边缘的台站。尽管地震异常特征显著,但增加其它电离层参数可以提高foF2异常的高置信度水平。     

Effect of Shale Distribution on Hydrocarbon Sands Integrated with Anisotropic Rock Physics for AVA Modelling: A Case Study

Shales can be distributed in sand through four different ways; laminated, structural, dispersed and any combination of these aforementioned styles. A careful analysis of well log data is required for the determination of shale distribution in sand affecting its reservoir quality. The objective of this study is to characterize the effect of shale distribution on reservoir quality of sands using well log data. The correlation of well data in terms of lithology has revealed four sand and three shale layers in Lower Goru Formation acting as a major reservoir in the study area. Our results indicate that the laminated type of shale distribution prevails at the Basal sand level, which does not affect its reservoir quality greatly. The remaining layers of variable vertical extent show a variety of shale distribution models affecting their reservoir quality adversely. We also present anisotropic rock physics modelling for AVA analysis at Basal sand level.     

Intraspecific morphometric diversity of barramundi (Lates calcariferBloch, 1790) in the waters of southern Bangladesh

A total of 160 barramundi's (Lates calcarifer Bloch, 1790) sampled from four rivers (Tentulia, Balaswar, Bakkhali, and Andarmanik) along the southern coastal region of Bangladesh were investigated in terms of morphometric characters to reveal the intraspecific variation. Twenty-five morphometric measurements were extracted using the conventional method and subjected to multivariate analyses (i.e., principal component analysis (PCA), discriminate function analysis (DFA), cluster analysis (CA)) to distinguish individuals from different rivers. The result demonstrated that twenty-two out of 25 measurements was statistically significant (Univariate ANOVA) among all four populations. PCA analysis of morphometric characters resulted in two principal components, PC I and PCⅡ which accounted for 79.25% and 4.28% of the total data variance. PC I-PC Ⅱ plot explained 83.53% of total variance differentiated the population of L. calcarifer into two groups. Discriminate analysis correctly classified about 88.1% of the examined fish into the four areas. The UPGMA dendrogram showed that Bakkhali populations were the most morphologically different populations in comparison to other populations, while Andarmanik and Balaswar populations were very close to each other. The strong morphometric variation between Bakkhali and Tentulia, Andarmanik and Balaswar was observed in the present study, suggested the evidence of the separate stock population of barramundi in these locations, which might require distinct stock management strategies for resource sustainability in the waters of southern Bangladesh. However, if these findings are supported by further molecular markers and geometric morphometry, this would be a strong indication of different stocks of this population in the four rivers of southern Bangladesh.     

A comparative analysis of pre- and post-industrial spatiotemporal drought trends and patterns of Tibet Plateau using Sen slope estimator and steady-state probabilities of Markov Chain

Natural Hazards - The increase of frequency and severity of extreme weather events due to climate change gives evidence of severe challenges faced by infrastructure systems. Among them, the...     

Application of Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) at different temporal scales to reduce the uncertainty level in modelled river flows

ABSTRACT

In this study, the distributed catchment-scale model, DiCaSM, was applied on five catchments across the UK. Given its importance, river flow was selected to study the uncertainty in streamflow prediction using the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology at different timescales (daily, monthly, seasonal and annual). The uncertainty analysis showed that the observed river flows were within the predicted bounds/envelope of 5% and 95% percentiles. These predicted river flow bounds contained most of the observed river flows, as expressed by the high containment ratio, CR. In addition to CR, other uncertainty indices – bandwidth B, relative bandwidth RB, degrees of asymmetry S and T, deviation amplitude D, relative deviation amplitude RD and the R factor – also indicated that the predicted river flows have acceptable uncertainty levels. The results show lower uncertainty in predicted river flows when increasing the timescale from daily to monthly to seasonal, with the lowest uncertainty associated with annual flows.     

Provisional Elemental Values for IAEA‐Sewage Sludge by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organised a proficiency test (PT), IAEA‐CU‐2010‐02, for the determination of elements in sewage sludge. The PT sample was analysed by semi‐absolute standardless k₀‐instrumental neutron activation analysis (k₀‐INAA). Results for seven elements (As, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Se, Zn) were submitted to the IAEA by our laboratory. All of our results were scored ‘acceptable’ by the ‘result evaluation criteria’ adopted by the IAEA. The same analytical methodology produced quantitative results for twenty‐six additional elements. In total, thirty‐six elements were determined with uncertainty varying from 4 to 11%. This paper presents the provisional mass fractions of twenty‐six additional elements (Ag, Al, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Dy, Eu, Ga, Hf, I, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, V, U, W) not reported by the IAEA. The analytical methodology was discussed with important sources of spectral, nuclear and fission‐product interferences. It was shown that the important components of uncertainties were the k₀ factor, Q₀ factor, detector efficiency, mass and counting statistics. The methodology was validated by analysing the IAEA‐S7 reference material.     

Composition and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mangrove sediments of Peninsular Malaysia: indication of anthropogenic input

This is a comprehensive study of the composition, origin and sources of specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of mangrove estuary in the western part of Peninsular Malaysia. Mangrove sediments were analyzed for 17 PAHs by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Total PAH concentrations in the sediments ranged from 20 to 112 ng/g on a dry-weight basis. High molecular weight PAHs were abundant in the sediments. Parent PAH ratios revealed that pyrogenic input has important contribution to the sedimentary PAHs. Ratios of alkylated PAHs indicate that the sedimentary PAHs were influenced by petrogenic PAHs, which implies that petrogenic input has contribution to the sedimentary PAHs but that it is not a major factor in distribution of PAHs within the estuary. Combustion-derived PAHs show a positive and very strong correlation with total PAHs (R ² = 0.926, p < 0.05). Total methylphenanthrenes show very weak correlation with total PAHs (R ² = 0.0928, p < 0.05). The PAH concentrations were found to increase with distance from the upstream of the estuary to the coastal area of the Straits of Malacca. For the assessment of sediment contamination using biological thresholds, none of the individual studied PAH compounds exceeded the values of the effect range low–effect range median guideline and the threshold effects level–probable effects level guideline. This study demonstrates that the sediments of the mangrove ecosystem facing the Straits of Malacca and Sumatra are influenced by anthropogenic PAH inputs as a result of human activities such as biomass burning, vehicle emissions and boating activities.