Decadal seesaw of the Central and Subtropical Mode Water formation associated with the Kuroshio Extension variability

Available Argo profiling float data from 2002 to 2011 were analyzed to examine the effect of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) current system variability on the formation of the Central Mode Water. Just north of the upstream portion of the KE at 140–152°E, formation of a lighter variety of the Central Mode Water in winter was active during the unstable period of the upstream KE in 2006–2009 and was reduced when the upstream KE was in the stable period of 2002–2005 and 2010–2011. This decadal formation variability is out of phase with that of the Subtropical Mode Water just south of the KE.     

Synthetically adaptive robust filtering for satellite orbit determination

The precise orbit information is the premise of the application of satellite, and the precise orbit deter- mination includes dynamic and geometric methods. The dynamic method estimates the position and veloc-ity of a satellite at one epoch by extending the obser-vational arc in order to include more observations of different epochs in it. It is realized by integrating the dynamic equation of the satellite so that the observa-tions at different epochs are related to the particular state. The dy…     

Talc mineralisation associated with soft hematite ore, Gongo Soco deposit, Minas Gerais, Brazil: petrography, mineral chemistry and boron-isotope composition of tourmaline

Talc mineralisation occurs as hematite–talc schist between soft hematite ore and dolomitic itabirite at Gongo Soco, Quadrilátero Ferrífero of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The hematite–talc schist and soft hematite have a prominent tectonic foliation of tabular hematite. Tabular hematite without preferential orientation is superimposed on the tectonic foliation. The talcose schist is enriched in F and has a constant Fe/S ratio. Electron-microprobe analyses indicate trace amounts of S in different generations of hematite. The whole-rock Fe/S ratio possibly represents sulfate S from hematite-hosted fluid inclusions. Fluid inclusions in foliation-overprinting hematite and chlorite geothermometry from talcose rocks suggest, respectively, temperatures from <200°C to ~300°C. Tourmaline, a rarely observed mineral in the hematite–talc schist, belongs to the alkali group and falls in the dravite compositional field. Boron-isotope determinations of tourmaline crystals, using secondary ion mass spectrometry, vary from −20‰ to −12‰ δ¹¹B. This compositional isotopic range and the tourmaline chemical composition suggest a meta-evaporitic origin. A non-marine evaporitic setting is the most likely source of acidic, highly oxidising fluids, which resulted in the abundant F-bearing talc and the presence of otherwise immobile Ti in hematite. Oxidising brines were channelled along shear zones and converted dolomitic itabirite into the Gongo Soco soft hematite and the talc mineralisation. The latter is envisaged as the hydrothermal wall-rock alteration of dolomitic itabirite, which gave rise to the soft hematite ore.     

Sudden enhancement of sedimentation flux of <Superscript>210</Superscript>Pb<Subscript>ex</Subscript> as an indicator of lake productivity as exemplified by Lake Chenghai

The fundamental assumption of ²¹⁰Pb sediment dating is the stable flux of ²¹⁰Pb_ex, which was derived from atmosphere and then transferred into sediments via lake water. When the sedimentation rate is relatively constant, the ²¹⁰Pb_ex activity in sediments will be exponentially reduced with sedimentation age. ²¹⁰Pb_ex in lake water is incorporated into sediments mainly via organic particulates. If the sedimentation flux of organic matter in lake water is suddenly increased, ²¹⁰Pb_ex will be significantly deposited and then transferred into sediments. On the one hand such sudden purification effect is obviously unfit for the fundamental assumption of ²¹⁰Pb dating; on the other hand, the sudden enhancement of ²¹⁰Pb_ex flux would be indicative of the conspicuous variation of primary productivity of lake water. This problem will be discussed in accordance with the variation trend of ²¹⁰Pb_ex in the vertical profile of recent sediments of Lake Chenghai, Yunnan Province. The sediment core was collected from the deep-water area of Lake Chenghai in June 1997. The vertical profile of ¹³⁷Cs activity is characterized by a tree-peak pattern. This profile gave reliable ages, and also showed the stability of sediment accumulation in the recent ten years. The vertical profile of ²¹⁰Pb_ex activity displays a specific distribution of peaks, and is similar to the vertical profile of C_org. This phenomenon seems to be related to the mechanism of constraining the transfer of ²¹⁰Pb_ex into lake sediments. The average atomic ratios of H_org/C_org and C_org/N_org in Lake Chenghai sediments are 5.51 and 7.04, respectively, indicating that the organic matter was predominantly derived from the remains of endogenic algae. In terms of the three-stage evolutionary characteristics of organic matter in sediments, i.e., “deposition-de-composition-accumulation”, the sedimentation fluxes (F(C_org)) of organic carbon (C_org) since 1970 were calculated by modeling. The sedimentation fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb_ex (F(²¹⁰Pb_ex)) in different years display good synchronous relations with the sedimentation flux of organic carbon (F(C_org)), especially in the years of 1972–1974 and 1986–1989. The variation of F(C_org) led to the variation of F(²¹⁰Pb_ex); the variation of F(²¹⁰Pb_ex) reflects, to some extent, the historical variation of lake productivity.     

Prediction of permafrost distribution on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the next 50 and 100 years

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)has the highestand largest permafrost coverage in the low-middlelatitudes all over the world.With the progress ofChina’s Western Development,human activities areincreasing significantly on the QTP.For instance,theQinghai-Tibet Railway project started in June2001iscurrently under construction,but permafrost problemwill be one of the critical factors for the engineeringconstruction.Frost heave and permafrost settlementmay destroy engineering construction[1,2]…     

Identification of changes in heavy rainfall events in Ontario,Canada

To assess whether changes in the frequency of heavy rainfall events are occurring over time, annual maximum records from 21 rainfall gauges in Ontario are examined using frequency analysis methods. Relative RMSE and related boxplots are used to characterize assessment for selecting distributions; the Gumbel distribution is verified as one of the most suitable distributions to provide accurate quantile estimates. Records were divided into two time periods, and tested using the Mann-Kendall test and lag-1 autocorrelations to ensure that data in each period are identically distributed. The confidence intervals of design rainfalls for each return period (2, 5, 10, and 25-year) are derived by using resampling method, and compared at 90 % confidence levels. The changes in heavy rainfall intensities are tested at gauges across the Province of Ontario. Several significant decreases in heavy rainfall intensities are identified in central and southern Ontario. Increases in heavy rainfall intensities are identified in gauges at Sioux Lookout and Belleville. The sensitivity analysis of changes identified with respect to the year of splitting indicates changes are occurring during the 1980s and 1990s.     

System structure and calibration models of intelligent photogrammetron

This paper describes the structure,geometric model and geo-metric calibration of Photogrammetron I-the first type of photogrammetron which is designed to be a coherent stereo photogrammetric system in which two cameras are mounted on a physical base but driven by an intelligent agent architecture.The system calibration is divided into two parts:the in-lab calibration determines the fixed parameters in advance of system operation,and the insitu calibration keeps tracking the free parameters in real-time during the system operation.In a video surveillance set-up, prepared control points are tracked in stereo image sequences,so that the free parameters of the system can be continuously updated through iterative bundle adjustment and kalman filtering.     

The sedimentary characteristics and formation mechanism of shell ridges along the southwest coast of Bohai Bay

The present paper studies the sedimentary characteristics and mechanism of the shell ridges on the southwestern coast of Bohai Bay, which are the largest and have the highest shell (or shell fragment) content in the world. These shell ridges are composed of two sedimentary subfacies: the ridge subfacies and the ridge infill subfacies with different inner textures and sedimentary structures. The ridge subfacies primarily consists of fresh shells and/or shell fragments with parallel beddings and high-angle oblique beddings. The ridge infill subfacies consists of finer shell fragments and silty sand with parallel beddings oblique to land. The evolution of the shell ridge is controlled by the accumulation of substantial shell material,the relative slow erosion of shoreline, storm waves, winds and the shift of river routes. Wind tunnel tests indicate that the critical movement velocity of shell is lower than that of quartz sand of the same grain size. Deltaic progradation alternates with shell ridge growth. While the Yellow River empties into the sea through this area, accompanied by deltaic progradating, the shell material is scarce, which is unfavorable to the growth of the shell ridge. Conversely, erosion occurs along an abandoned delta coast where a shell ridge may develop, e.g. the shell ridge on the southwest of Bohai Bay.     

华北强震前地下流体长趋势变化特征及其产生机理的研究

分析了华北地区自1976年以来MS≥6.0地震前地下流体长趋势变化的形态、演化特征。结果表明:地下流体长趋势变化出现时间早、范围广,具有协调性、重复性、迁移性等特性,主要沿构造带迁移,迁移方向为外围向内迁移或内部向外迁移;形态主要为趋势转折、破年变、加速等,其中绝对大多数为趋势转折变化;地下水位分析表明长趋势变化绝大部分呈现为缓慢上升或下降减缓的走势。对比研究了地壳形变与地下流体长趋势变化,发现地壳形变长趋势时间早于地下流体;形变出现张压变化与水位变化有比较密切的关系,即形变绝大部分出现缓慢压性变化或张性减缓变化,水位绝大部分出现缓慢上升或下降减缓变化。最后讨论了强震前地下流体长趋势变化产生的机理:在地震孕育过程初(早)期,构造应力的缓慢增强将使岩体所含裂缝闭合,地壳发生变形,从而改变岩体的空隙率及相应的孔隙压力和渗透率,引起诸如地下流体长趋势动态异常变化;构造应力缓慢增强并向未来震中聚集,造成地下流体长趋势动态异常变化向震中迁移;而深部物质的不断上涌和影响范围增大致使地下流体长趋势动态异常变化向外围迁移。