The role of various ionization sources in the A3 lf radio-wave absorption in middle latitudes

Summary The 272 kHz ionospheric absorption has been measured at the Prhonice Observatory by the A3 method (oblique incidence) for a long period. The results of the comparison of these absorption data with indices of solar, geomagnetic and cosmic ray activity are presented for large solar zenith angles. The day-time absorption (x 75° – 85°) is described well by these indices and appears to be affected particularly by direct solar Lyman- radiation. The night-time absorption (x>100°), however, is not described sufficiently by the indices used.     

Sedimentary Deposits from the 17 July 2006 Western Java Tsunami,Indonesia: Use of Grain Size Analyses to Assess Tsunami Flow Depth,Speed, and Traction Carpet Characteristics

The 2006 western Java tsunami deposited a discontinuous sheet of sand up to 20 cm thick, flooded coastal southern Java to a depth of at least 8 m and inundated up to 1 km inland. In most places the primarily heavy mineral sand sheet is normally graded, and in some it contains complex internal stratigraphy. Structures within the sand sheet probably record the passage of up to two individual waves, a point noted in eyewitness accounts. We studied the 2006 tsunami deposits in detail along a flow parallel transect about 750 m long, 15 km east of Cilacap. The tsunami deposit first becomes discernable from the underlying sediment 70 m from the shoreline. From 75 to 300 m inland the deposit has been laid down in rice paddies, and maintains a thickness of 10–20 cm. Landward of 300 m the deposit thins dramatically, reaching 1 mm by 450 m inland. From 450 m to the edge of deposition (around 700 m inland) the deposit remains <1 mm thick. Deposition generally attended inundation—along the transect, the tsunami deposited sand to within about 40 m of the inundation limit. The thicker part of the deposit contains primarily sand indistinguishable from that found on the beach 3 weeks after the event, but after about 450 m (and roughly coinciding with the decrease in thickness) the tsunami sediment shifts to become more like the underlying paddy soil than the beach sand. Grain sizes within the deposit tend to fine upward and landward, although overall upward fining takes place in two discrete pulses, with an initial section of inverse grading followed by a section of normal grading. The two inversely graded sections are also density graded, with denser grains at the base, and less dense grains at the top. The two normally graded sections show no trends in density. The inversely graded sections show high density sediment to the base and become less dense upward and represents traction carpet flows at the base of the tsunami. These are suggestive of high shear rates in the flow. Because of the grain sorting in the traction carpet, the landward-fining trends usually seen in tsunami deposits are masked, although lateral changes of mean sediment grain size along the transect do show overall landward fining, with more variation as the deposit tapers off. The deposit is also thicker in the more seaward portions than would be produced by tsunamis lacking traction carpets.     

A general weighted total Kalman filter algorithm with numerical evaluation

An applicable algorithm for Total Kalman Filter (TKF) approach is proposed. Meanwhile, we extend it to the case in which we can consider arbitrary weight matrixes for the observation vector, the random design matrix and possible correlation between them. Also the updated dispersion matrix of the predicted unknown is given. This approach makes use of condition equations and straightforward variance propagation rules. It is applicable to data fusion within a dynamic errors-in-variables (DEIV) model, which usually appears in the determination of the position and attitude of mobile sensors. Then, we apply for the first time the TKF algorithm and its extended version named WTKF to a DEIV model and compare the results. The results show the efficiency of the proposed WTKF algorithm. In particular in the case of large weights, WTKF shows approximately 25% improvement in contrast to TKF approach.     

Seismic evaluation of an existing complex RC building

The seismic evaluation of existing buildings is a more difficult task than the seismic design of new buildings. Non-linear methods are needed if realistic results are to be obtained. However, the application to real complex structures of various evaluation procedures, which have usually been tested on highly idealized structural models, is by no means straightforward. In the paper, a practice-oriented procedure for the seismic evaluation of building structures, based on the N2 method, is presented, together with the application of this method to an existing multi-storey reinforced concrete building. This building, which is asymmetric in plan and irregular in elevation, consists of structural walls and frames. It was designed in 1962 for gravity loads and a minimum horizontal loading (2% of the total weight). The main results presented in terms of the global and local seismic demands are compared with the results of non-linear dynamic response-history analyses. As expected, the structure would fail if subjected to the design seismic action according to Eurocode 8. The shear capacity of the structural walls is the most critical. If the shear capacity of these elements was adequate, the structure would be able to survive the design ground motion according to Eurocode 8, in spite of the very low level of design horizontal forces. The applied approach proved to be a feasible tool for the seismic evaluation of complex structures. However, due to the large randomness and uncertainty which are involved in the determination of both the seismic demand and the seismic capacity, only rough estimates of the seismic behaviour of such structures can be obtained.     

Results from the Big Spring basin water quality monitoring and demonstration projects,Iowa, USA

Agricultural practices, hydrology, and water quality of the 267-km² Big Spring groundwater drainage basin in Clayton County, Iowa, have been monitored since 1981. Land use is agricultural; nitrate-nitrogen (-N) and herbicides are the resulting contaminants in groundwater and surface water. Ordovician Galena Group carbonate rocks comprise the main aquifer in the basin. Recharge to this karstic aquifer is by infiltration, augmented by sinkhole-captured runoff. Groundwater is discharged at Big Spring, where quantity and quality of the discharge are monitored. Monitoring has shown a threefold increase in groundwater nitrate-N concentrations from the 1960s to the early 1980s. The nitrate-N discharged from the basin typically is equivalent to over one-third of the nitrogen fertilizer applied, with larger losses during wetter years. Atrazine is present in groundwater all year; however, contaminant concentrations in the groundwater respond directly to recharge events, and unique chemical signatures of infiltration versus runoff recharge are detectable in the discharge from Big Spring. Education and demonstration efforts have reduced nitrogen fertilizer application rates by one-third since 1981. Relating declines in nitrate and pesticide concentrations to inputs of nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides at Big Spring is problematic. Annual recharge has varied five-fold during monitoring, overshadowing any water-quality improvements resulting from incrementally decreased inputs. Electronic Publication     

一种用于海底类型聚类的新方法

By using sonar imaging, this paper presents a new algorithm for the clustering of seabed types based on the self-organizing feature maps （SOFM） neural network. The theory as well as data processing is studied in detail. Some valuable conclusions and suggestions are given     

Volatile-induced transport of HFSE, REE, Th and U in arc magmas: evidence from zirconolite-bearing vesicles in potassic lavas of Lewotolo volcano (Indonesia)

Potassium-rich calc-alkaline lavas of Lewotolo volcano, situated in the East Sunda Arc, Indonesia, contain the rare mineral zirconolite (CaZrTi₂O₇). Samples in which tiny grains of this mineral (3–25 μm in size) were found span the entire range of lava compositions (47–62 wt% SiO₂). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of primary zirconolite in juvenile arc volcanics. The mineral forms part of a vesicle-filling assemblage consisting of a network of quenched feldspar crystals and an SiO₂ phase, probably cristobalite. High contents of Th, U and REE (up to 9.3, 4.3 and 15.6 wt% oxide respectively) and very high Fe contents (up to 13.5 wt% Fe₂O₃) distinguish these zirconolites from those of other rock types. The extraction of volatile-rich phases with changing compositions in successive stages is considered to be responsible for the zirconolite formation. We hypothesise that a fluid capable of transporting HFSE, REE, Th and U was extracted from the magma and (partly) crystallised within voids which had formed earlier upon saturation of an aqueous fluid. Assuming that zirconolite compositions largely reflect trace metal contents of the coexisting fluid phase, significant amounts of `immobile' elements must have been transported on a macroscopic scale. Our findings thus point to a late-stage transfer of HFSE, REE, Th and U between different domains in a cooling magma body. Such a volatile-induced redistribution of trace elements at shallow levels of high-K volcanic systems may be significant for conventional geochemical modelling of magma evolution and for Th–U disequilibrium studies. Received: 3 November 1999 / Accepted: 29 February 2000     

A Directed-Line-Segment-Based Photogrammetry Method to Survey the Tunneling Working Surface of Mine Roadway

Absolute orientation is a basic technical work in digital image geologic logging of underground coal mine. Traditional control-point-based absolute orientation method requires setting object space control points of the known three-dimensional coordinates, which may lead to low efficiency. Therefore, this paper proposed a point-free close-range photogrammetry absolute orientation algorithm, which utilized direction line segments including plumb line segments and line segments with known directions and lengths to identify the dimensional orientation of a stereoscopic model. Experiment results show that the precision of the orientation results is favorable. σ _X and σ _Y are as high as 0.5 mm, and σ _Z is 0.3 mm. Finally, this paper introduced the application of the proposed algorithm in rapid geological logging of coal mine roadway, which was fast and reliable, convenient and feasible.     

Real-time envelope cross-correlation detector: application to induced seismicity in the Insheim and Landau deep geothermal reservoirs

We develop and test a real-time envelope cross-correlation detector for use in seismic response plans to mitigate hazard of induced seismicity. The incoming seismological data are cross-correlated in real-time with a set of previously recorded master events. For robustness against small changes in the earthquake source locations or in the focal mechanisms we cross-correlate the envelopes of the seismograms rather than the seismograms themselves. Two sequenced detection conditions are implemented: After passing a single trace cross-correlation condition, a network cross-correlation is calculated taking amplitude ratios between stations into account. Besides detecting the earthquake and assigning it to the respective reservoir, real-time magnitudes are important for seismic response plans. We estimate the magnitudes of induced microseismicity using the relative amplitudes between master event and detected event. The real-time detector is implemented as a SeisComP3 module. We carry out offline and online performance tests using seismic monitoring data of the Insheim and Landau geothermal power plants (Upper Rhine Graben, Germany), also including blasts from a nearby quarry. The comparison of the automatic real-time catalogue with a manually processed catalogue shows, that with the implemented parameters events are always correctly assigned to the respective reservoir (4 km distance between reservoirs) or the quarry (8 km and 10 km distance, respectively, from the reservoirs). The real-time catalogue achieves a magnitude of completeness around 0.0. Four per cent of the events assigned to the Insheim reservoir and zero per cent of the Landau events are misdetections. All wrong detections are local tectonic events, whereas none are caused by seismic noise.     

Allowed Quantity of Explosive Charge Depending on the Distance from the Blast

This paper analyses results of trial, construction and quarry blasting, carried out in sediment rock deposits, mainly limestone and dolomite. Based on results of seismic measurements and engineering geological observations in sedimentary formation, an empirical relationship was established between ground vibration and geological strength index (GSI). The charge weight of explosive that may be detonated per delay for any given distance of nearby structures from the blast is approximately determined by using the concept of the scaled distance (SD) along with the DIN 4150 standard.