Genesis of monazite and Y zoning in garnet from the Black Hills, South Dakota

The paragenesis of monazite in metapelitic rocks from the contact aureole of the Harney Peak Granite, Black Hills, South Dakota, was investigated using zoning patterns of monazite and garnet, electron microprobe dating of monazite, bulk-rock compositions, and major phase mineral equilibria. The area is characterized by low-pressure and high-temperature metamorphism with metamorphic zones ranging from garnet to sillimanite zones. Garnet porphyroblasts containing euhedral Y annuli are observed from the garnet to sillimanite zones. Although major phase mineral equilibria predict resorption of garnet at the staurolite isograd and regrowth at the andalusite isograd, textural and mass balance analyses suggest that the formation of the Y annuli is not related to the resorption-and-regrowth of garnet having formed instead during garnet growth in the garnet zone. Monazite grains in Black Hills pelites were divided into two generations on the basis of zoning patterns of Y and U: monazite 1 with low-Y and -U and monazite 2 with high-Y and -U. Monazite 1 occurs in the garnet zone and persists into the sillimanite zone as cores shielded by monazite 2 which starts to form in the andalusite zone. Pelites containing garnet porphyroblasts with Y annuli and monazite 1 with patchy Th zoning are more calcic than those with garnet with no Y annuli and monazite with concentric Th zoning. Monazite 1 is attributed to breakdown of allanite in the garnet zone, additionally giving rise to the Y annuli observed in garnet. Monazite 2 grows in the andalusite zone, probably at the expense of garnet and monazite 1 in the andalusite and sillimanite zones. The ages of the two different generations of monazite are within the precision of chemical dating of electron microprobe. The electron microprobe ages of all monazites from the Black Hills show a single ca. 1713 Ma population, close to the intrusion age of the Harney Peak Granite (1715 Ma). This study demonstrates that Y zoning in garnet and monazite are critical to the interpretation of monazite petrogenesis and therefore monazite ages.     

Modeling of rainfall-triggered shallow landslide

By integrating hydrological modeling with the infinite slope stability analysis, a rainfall-triggered shallow landslide model was developed by Iverson (Water Resour Res 36:1897-1910, 2000). In Iverson’s model, the infiltration capacity is assumed to be equivalent to the saturated hydraulic conductivity for finding pressure heads analytically. However, for general infiltration process, the infiltration capacity should vary with time during the period of rain, and the infiltration rate is significantly related to the variable infiltration capacity. To avoid the unrealistically high pressure heads, Iverson employed the beta-line correction by specifying that the simulated pressure heads cannot exceed those given by the beta line. In this study, the suitability of constant infiltration capacity together with the beta-line correction for hydrological modeling and landslide modeling of hillslope subjected to a rainfall is examined. By amending the boundary condition at ground surface of hillslope in Iverson’s model, the modified Iverson’s model with considering general infiltration process is developed to conduct this examination. The results show that the unrealistically high pressure heads from Iverson’s model occur due to the overestimation of infiltration rate induced from the assumption that the infiltration capacity is identical to the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Considering with the general infiltration process, the modified Iverson’s model gives acceptable results. In addition, even though the beta-line correction is applied, the Iverson’s model still produces greater simulated pressure heads and overestimates soil failure potential as compared with the modified Iverson’s model. Therefore, for assessing rainfall-triggered shallow landslide, the use of constant infiltration capacity together with the beta-line correction needs to be replaced by the consideration of general infiltration process.     

Ammonium regeneration in intertidal sediments of the Yangtze estuary during air-exposure

The influences of exposure to the atmosphere on ammonium cycle in the intertidal surface sediments were in situ studied with a geochemical approach at a typical station in the Yangtze Estuary during three tidal cycles in September 2003. During an about 8-h emersion period of each diurnal tide, six high-resolution vertical profiles of adsorbed and dissolved ammonium were measured. It was observed that both adsorbed and dissolved ammonium generally had an increasing trend in sediment cores during the exposure. The rate of ammonium regeneration in sediments was estimated using the accumulation amount of ammonium including adsorbed and soluble fractions during the daytime emersion. The calculation result showed that there was relatively high ammonification rate (˜500 nmol N cm⁻³ day⁻¹), which reflected that organic nitrogen in sediments was quickly decomposed with a residence time of ˜52.7 days. Due to the dramatic temperature difference observed in sediment profiles, free convection was considered an important mechanism of regulating the efflux of produced ammonium into overlying waters. The total estimated amount of regenerated ammonium was ˜1.35×10⁵ t N year⁻¹ in the intertidal flat of the Yangtze Estuary, which occupied 7.6% of the total inorganic nitrogen annually transported to the estuarine ecosystem.     

用逐步回归预测棉铃虫发生期和发生量

收集了1973年至2000年的气象，农作物、棉铃虫虫害等196年因子，以运城、汾阳和临汾为山西省代表站，利用最优二分割法把发生量分为10级，5级和不分级3种情况；使用逐步回归计算了219个模型，从中选出27个棉铃虫二、三代发生期，发生量最优模型，在农气服务中应用，预报准确率为95％，效果良好。     

Parameter identification of inelastic structures under dynamic loads

The generalized model of differential hysteresis contains 13 control parameters with which it can curve‐fit practically any hysteretic trace. Three identification algorithms are developed to estimate the control parameters of hysteresis for different classes of inelastic structures. These algorithms are based upon the simplex, extended Kalman filter, and generalized reduced gradient methods. Novel techniques such as global search and internal constraints are incorporated to facilitate convergence and stability. Effectiveness of the devised algorithms is demonstrated through simulations of two inelastic systems with both pinching and degradation characteristics in their hysteretic traces. Owing to very modest computing requirements, these identification algorithms may become acceptable as a design tool for mapping the hysteretic traces of inelastic structures. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Horizontal and vertical components of earthquake ground motions at liquefiable sites

Field observations on ground motions from recent earthquakes imply that current knowledge is limited with regard to relating vertical and horizontal motions at liquefiable sites. This paper describes a study with the purpose of clarifying this emerging issue to some extent. A series of numerical analyses is carried out on a liquefiable soil deposit with a verified, fully coupled, nonlinear procedure. It is shown that the transformation of vertical motions in the deposit differs considerably from the transformation of horizontal motions. Both the amplitude and frequency content of the horizontal motions are strongly dependent on the shaking level or the associated nonlinear soil behavior. The transfer function for vertical motions is however likely to be independent of the intensity of input motions; no reduction in the amplitude occurs even in the case of strong shaking. The results are shown to be in consistence with the laboratory observations on shaking table tests and recent field observations that less nonlinearity exists for vertical motions. It is also shown that the possibility exists for using information on spectral ratios between the horizontal and vertical surface motions to quickly identify in situ soil behavior and liquefaction that are not readily covered by conventional field or laboratory experimentation procedures.     

Computational modeling of cyclic mobility and post-liquefaction site response

Under seismic excitation, liquefied clean medium to dense cohesionless soils may regain a high level of shear resistance at large shear strain excursions. This pattern of response, known as a form of cyclic mobility, has been documented by a large body of laboratory sample tests and centrifuge experiments. A plasticity-based constitutive model is developed with emphasis on simulating the cyclic mobility response mechanism and associated pattern of shear strain accumulation. This constitutive model is incorporated into a two-phase (solid–fluid), fully coupled finite element code. Calibration of the constitutive model is described, based on a unique set of laboratory triaxial tests (monotonic and cyclic) and dynamic centrifuge experiments. In this experimental series, Nevada sand at a relative density of about 40% is employed. The calibration effort focused on reproducing the salient characteristics of dynamic site response as dictated by the cyclic mobility mechanism. Finally, using the calibrated model, a numerical simulation is conducted to highlight the effect of excitation frequency content on post-liquefaction ground deformations.     

Identification of Mining Blasts at Mid- to Far-regional Distances Using Low Frequency Seismic Signals

—?This paper reports results from two recent monitoring experiments in Wyoming. Broadband seismic recordings of kiloton class delay-fired cast blasts and instantaneous calibration shots in the Black Thunder coal mine were made at four azimuths at ranges from 1° to 2°. The primary focus of this experiment was to observe and to explain low-frequency signals that can be seen at all azimuths and should routinely propagate above noise to mid-regional distances where most events will be recorded by International Monitoring System (IMS) stations.¶The recordings clearly demonstrate that large millisecond delay-fired cast blasts routinely produce seismic signals that have significant spectral modulations below 10?Hz. These modulations are independent of time, the azimuth from the source and the orientation of the sensor. Low-frequency modulations below 5?Hz are seen beyond 9°. The modulations are not due to resonance as they are not produced by the calibration shots. Linear elastic modeling of the blasts that is guided by mine-blast reports fails to reproduce the fine detail of these modulations but clearly indicates that the enhanced “spectral roughness” is due to long interrow delays and source finiteness. The mismatch between the data and the synthetics is likely due to source processes, such as nonlinear interactions between shots, that are poorly understood and to other effects, such as variations of shot time and yield from planned values, that are known to be omnipresent but cannot be described accurately. A variant of the Automated Time-Frequency Discriminant (Hedlin, 1998b), which uses low-frequency spectral modulations, effectively separates these events from the calibration shots.¶The experiment also provided evidence that kiloton class cast blasts consistently yield energetic 2–10 second surface waves. The surface waves are strongly dependent on azimuth but are seen beyond 9°. Physical modeling of these events indicates that the surface waves are due mainly to the extended source duration and to a lesser extent to the slap-down of spalled material. The directionality is largely a path effect. A discriminant that is based on the partitioning of energy between surface and body waves routinely separates these events from the calibration shots.¶The Powder River Basin has essentially no natural seismic activity. How these mining events compare to earthquake observations remains to be determined.     

层序地层学研究及隐蔽油气藏预测--以南阳凹陷古近系为例

高精度层序地层学已被证明是寻找隐蔽圈闭行之有效的理论方法．运用该理论对南阳凹陷进行了研究，对地震剖面中反射界面的追踪，在古近系中识别出了各级别的层序界面，结合周缘露头、钻井、测井等资料，分析了主要目的层序内体系域的构成及高频单元变化规律，建立了层序地层模式，在此基础上预测南部陡崖式断坡带和北部缓坡式弯折带是低位域砂体和隐蔽岩性油气藏形成的有利区带．     

油田开发中的相态特征及流体组份研究--以大张坨凝析气藏为例

大张坨凝析气藏是在我国发现的高含量凝析气藏之—．开发中据相态特征及流体组份研究结果，适时调整开发方式．1994年开始试采，1995年初实施循环注气开发．该气藏的开发经历了衰竭试采循环注气2个开采过程，开发过程中定期取地层流体样品进行相态特征和流体组份研究，并注重其成果的应用，凝折油采出率29．0％，取得了较好的开发效果．证实了相态研究在凝析气藏循环注气开发全过程应用的重要性．