Operational Implementation of the ATOVS Processing Procedure in KMA and Its Validation

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has processed the data from the advanced TOVS(ATOVS) onboard NOAA-16 satellite since May 2001. The operational production utilizes the AAPP(ATOVS and AVHRR Processing Package) of EUMETSAT and IAPP (International ATOVS ProcessingPackage) of the University of Wisconsin. For the initial guess profiles, the predicted fields (usually 6 to 12hour forecasted fields) from the global aviation model of NOAA/NCEP are used. The average number ofprofiles retrieved from the ATOVS data is about 1,300 for each morning and afternoon orbit at about 18 and06 UTC, respectively. The retrieved temperature and dew point temperatures are provided to forecastersin real time and used for initialization of prediction models. With the advanced microwave sensor (AMSU;Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit), accuracy of the ATOVS products is expected to be better than thatof the TOVS products, especially in cloudy conditions. Indeed, the preliminary results from a validationstudy with the collocated radiosonde data during a 8-month period, from May to December 2001, for theEast Asia region show an improved accuracy of the ATOVS products for cloudy skies versus the TOVS,especially for higher altitudes. The RMS (Root Mean Square) difference between the ATOVS productsand radiosonde data is about 1.3℃ for both clear and cloudy conditions, except for near the ground and athigher altitudes, at around 200 hPa. There is no significant temporal variation of the error statistics at allpressure levels. In case of the water vapor mixing ratio, the largest difference is shown at lower altitudes,while the accuracy is much better for the clear sky cases than the cloudy sky cases. The bias and RMSEat lower altitudes is about 0.557 g kg-1 and 2.5 g kg-1 and decrease significantly with increasing altitude.     

Validation of Spatial Prediction Models for Landslide Hazard Mapping

This contribution discusses the problemof providing measures of significance ofprediction results when the predictionswere generated from spatial databases forlandslide hazard mapping. The spatialdatabases usually contain map informationon lithologic units, land-cover units,topographic elevation and derived attributes(slope, aspect, etc.) and the distributionin space and in time of clearly identifiedmass movements. In prediction modelling wetransform the multi-layered databaseinto an aggregation of functional values toobtain an index of propensity of the landto failure. Assuming then that the informationin the database is sufficiently representativeof the typical conditions in which the massmovements originated in space and in time,the problem then, is to confirm the validity ofthe results of some models over otherones, or of particular experiments that seem touse more significant data. A core pointof measuring the significance of a prediction isthat it allows interpreting the results.Without a validation no interpretation is possible,no support of the method or of theinput information can be provided. In particularwith validation, the added value canbe assessed of a prediction either in a fixedtime interval, or in an open-ended time orwithin the confined space of a study area.Validation must be of guidance in datacollection and field practice for landslidehazard mapping.     

A mathematical basis for the convergence of the capacity spectrum method

The capacity spectrum method is adopted by the ATC‐40 document for evaluating the inelastic deformation demands of reinforced concrete structures. Several studies have shown that the iterative procedure needed in the method may not give convergent outcomes in some cases. This paper focuses on the convergence of the capacity spectrum method in the constant velocity region of the response spectrum. The results obtained from the examples discussed in this study show that the convergent characteristics of this method depend on the elastic period, the hysteretic damping model, the yield displacement and the ductility ratio of the system analyzed. The capacity spectrum method can converge only for the case that the absolute value of the first derivative of the government equation derived from the demand and capacity diagrams of structures is smaller than 1.0. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic characteristics of metabasites from central Hainan Island, South China and their tectonic significance

Abstract   Major and trace elements and Sm–Nd isotopic data are presented for metabasites that are present as lenses within Paleozoic metasediments in the Chenxing and Bangxi regions, central Hainan Island, Southeast (SE) China. Most metabasites are metamorphosed cumulated gabbroic rocks tholeiitic in nature, and characterized by varying degrees of depletion in Th, Nb, Ta and light rare earth elements (LREE). Moreover, they show high positive ∈Nd(T) values of approximately +7, similar to those of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). A Sm–Nd isochron age of 333 ± 12 Ma obtained for the metabasites is interpreted as their crystallization age. The combined geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic data suggest that the metabasites were generated by dynamic partial melting from a MORB-like mantle source in an oceanic regime. These rocks probably represent remnants of fragmented oceanic crust of the eastern part of Paleo-Tethys. They were obducted onto the continental crust as part of the 'Shilu Mélange' in earliest Mesozoic time when southern Hainan (part of the Indochina block) collided with northern Hainan (part of South China). Alternatively, they could be formed in a volcanic rifted passive margin at the sea-floor spreading stage as part of MORB-like seaward-dipping reflector break-up packages.     

Plasticity‐fibre model for steel triangular plate energy dissipating devices

Properly fabricated triangular‐plate added damping and stiffness (TADAS) devices can sustain a large number of yield reversals without strength degradation, thereby dissipating a significant amount of earthquake‐induced energy. A pronounced isotropic‐hardening effect is recognized in the force‐deformation relationships of the TADAS devices made from two grades of low yield strength steel. The proposed plasticity‐fibre model employing two surfaces (a yield surface and a bounding surface) in plasticity theory accurately predicts the experimental responses of the TADAS devices. This model is also implemented into a computer program DRAIN2D+ to investigate a frame response with the TADAS devices. Substructure pseudo‐dynamic tests and analytical studies of a two‐storey steel frame constructed with the low yield strength steel, LYP‐100 or LYP‐235 grade, TADAS devices confirm that the dynamic structural response can only be predicted if the proposed plasticity‐fibre model is used for LYP‐100 steel TADAS device. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pn velocity and partial melting—discussion

The seismologically observed P_n velocity anomalies in the conterminous United States are restricted to the lithosphere, but the observed teleseismic delay-time variations are due principally to the regional variations in the physical state (i.e., thickness of lowvelocity zone and/or percent melt, etc.) of the asthenosphere. The observed low P_n velocity has been attributed to partial melting in the upper mantle, but it is shown that the partial-melting model alone cannot explain the seismologically observed Pn velocities in such an anomalous region as the Basin and Range Province. The present structure of the Basin and Range Province is possibly a result of rifting in the western conterminous United States; under it there may lie a mixed structure of old crust and mantle materials. The low-velocity zone under the Basin and Range Province would then be caused by downward chemical transition from the sub-Moho pyrolitic mantle material into a plagioclase-rich ophiolitic (old oceanic crust and upper mantle) composition and associated meltingand then into a peridotitic composition at the bottom of the lowvelocity zone. This mixed material model, with partial melting, would explain the low P_n velocity and low seismic Q in the region, as well as other geophysical observations.     

Excess222Rn and the benthic boundary layer in the western and southern Indian Ocean

We present 9 bottom²²²Rn profiles measured from the western and southern Indian Ocean during the 1977–1978 GEOSECS expedition. These profiles can be grouped into three cypes: one-layer, two-layer, and irregular types. The one-layer profiles with quasi-exponential distributions allow one to estimate the apparent vertical eddy diffusivity,K_v, with a simple model. The two-layer profiles show that there is a benthic boundary layer of the order of 50–100 m in which the excess²²²Rn distribution shows a vertical gradient much smaller than that of the layer immediately above. Within the boundary layer, the STD potential temperature (θ) and density(σ₄) profiles are practically constant, and theK_v values are of the order of 1000 cm²/s. The STD profiles for the water column above the boundary layer show gradients of increasing stability, and theK_v values are of the order of 100 cm²/s. Modeling of the Rn data in the water column above the boundary layer indicates that there is a transition layer which effectively reduces the penetration of excess Rn from the benthic boundary layer into the upper layer.Sarmiento et al. [10] have shown that the buoyancy gradient or stability is inversely correlated with the apparent vertical eddy diffusivity, and the resulting buoyancy flux is fairly uniform, ranging from 1 to 14 × 10^?6 cm²/s³ in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However, Sarmiento et al. [11] show that a much higher buoyancy flux is associated with an intensified flow of the bottom water through a passage. In the Indian Ocean basins, we have found that the buoyancy flux has a comparable range (3–14 × 10^?6 cm²/s³), except for a couple of stations where both stability and apparent vertical diffusivity are higher, resulting in a much higher buoyancy flux, probably indicative of rapid bottom water flow.     

226Ra and210Pb in the Weddell Sea

²²⁶Ra and²¹⁰Pb were measured in sections and profiles collected in the Weddell Sea during the International Weddell Sea Oceanographic Expedition in 1973. The results can be correlated with the circulation and mixing schemes deduced from hydrographic observations. Along the surface cyclonic gyre the Ra activities are fairly uniform at about 17 dpm/100 kg, quite similar to those of the Circumpolar surface water south of the Antarctic Convergence. The²¹⁰Pb activities in the northern flank of the gyre, probably influenced by the high²¹⁰Pb-bearing Circumpolar Deep Water in the north, are as high as 12 dpm/100 kg. At the central gyre and its southern flank, the surface water²¹⁰Pb activities are about 7 dpm/100 kg. The warmer surface water at the central gyre has a Ra activity of about 19 dpm/100 kg, slightly higher than the colder surface water at the flanks. Thus lower²¹⁰Pb/²²⁶Ra activity ratios are observed in the central gyre, and higher ratios in its flanks. Similar relationships between Ra and Pb are noted in the Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW): lower Pb associated with higher Ra in the center; higher Pb with slightly lower Ra in the flanks.Vertical profiles along the cyclonic gyre show lower Ra and Pb activities in the southwestern Weddell Basin where lower temperature and lower silicate are observed. Similar to Ba, both Ra and Si are non-conservative in the Weddell Sea, with significant input from the bottom sediments and particulate dissolution during subsurface mixing.Each water mass or type in the Weddell Sea is well characterized by its Ra content, but not well by its Pb content. Ra and Si are crudely correlated with a slope of about 7 × 10^?4 dpm Ra per μmole of Si. The fact that the WSBW values fall on the slope suggests that the net input rate for Ra (corrected for the decay rate) is proportional to that of Si. The linear extrapolation to zero Si gives a Ra value of 13 dpm/100 kg. These relationships are quite similar to those observed in the Circumpolar waters.     

Variation of seismic source parameters and stress drops within a descending slab and its implications in plate mechanics

A least-squares searching technique has been developed to estimate the source dimensions of intermediate and deep focus earthquakes using azimuthal variations of body wave pulse-widths. With this method and also amplitude data, modes of rupture propagation, seismic moments, and stress drops of 17 intermediate and deep focus earthquakes in the Tonga-Kermadec region have been determined in order to investigate variations in source properties and the state of stress within the descending slab there. Three different modes of rupture; unilateral, bilateral, and circular faults, are compared and tested against observations. Results indicate that the unilateral fault is the best model for most of the earthquakes studied. Stress drops of the 17 events vary within a very large range, from 20 bar to about 4.6 kbar, and change significantly with depth. The magnitude of stress drops for depths between 220 and 430 km is very much higher than at shallower depths. This change in stress drop magnitude at about 220 km-depth seems to reflect a change in material properties both in the mantle and within the slab. Two regions of high stress drop are observed at depths of about 360 and 640 km. A relative minimum of stress drop is found at about 450–560 km where the earthquake frequency is particularly high. Earthquakes at the northern end to the Tonga arc, where the Benioff zone is laterally bent, show systematically higher stress drops than other events at comparable depths, but away from the bend. Also, events in regions of low seismicity appear to have higher stress drops than those in regions of high seismicity. The upper bound of seismic efficiency is found to decrease with depth, implying an increase of frictional force with depth at the earthquake source.