Remote sensing parameterization of the processes of energy and water cycle over desertification areas

In order to understand the processes of land surface-atmosphere interaction over desertification area, it is indispensable to utilize of satellite remote sensing. Two scenes of Landsat TM were used to produce a set of maps of surface reflectance, MSAVI, vegetation coverage, surface temperature, net radiation, soil heat flux, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux. Statistical analysis based on these maps revealed some quantitative significant land surface characteristics. Future developments of the method are also discussed.     

Kosa (yellow sand) components in precipitation collected at central Japan

In east Asia, acidic gases derived from fossil fuel combustion have increased in the past decades. On the other hand, the Asian dust, also called Kosa (yellow sand) is transported following windstorms from arid lands in the Asian continent. Many researchers have been interested in the reaction between acidic aerosols and Kosa aerosols as well as the long-range transport of these emissions. To investigate the characteristics of chemical components in precipitation on a long-term basis over Japan, precipitation was sequentially collected from April 1984 to March 1997 at Kanazawa located near the coast of the Sea of Japan. Precipitation samples were collected at 1 mm intervals for the first 5 mm rainfall and all volume of rainwater after 6 mm for all precipitation events with an automatic wet only precipitation collector. According to the analyses of precipitation including Kosa aerosols during Kosa periods, the reaction in the air between Kosa and acidic components during the long-range transport was discussed.     

Damage and recovery of the Gurbantunggut Desert vegetation following engineering activities

The fragile ecological environment of the Gurbantunggut Desert is damaged/disturbed by human activities relating to the development of oil-gas resources and the constructions of desert road and great engineering in the Jungger Basin. It was mainly represented: soil compaction, vegetation cleaning, burial of vegetation, oil polluting, and soil disturbance. With investigation and experiment, we found that when the way and intensity of engineering activities disturbing the eco-environment does not make its ecological stability disintegrated, the desert vegetation has a capacity of natural recovery. To speed and strengthen the process of vegetation recovery efficient assistant measurements, including stabilizing mobile sands promptly and sowing seeds of shrub and herb plants in good time will be needed.     

Expansion and contraction of Chinese deserts during the Quaternary

Episodic dune formations during the Quaternary are found in many deserts of China. The causes of desert expansions on different time scales are not the same. Desert extension at about 1.1 and 0.9 Ma ago were the response to the active tectonic movements, whereas the desert evolutions on the ten-thousand years time scale were the response to the orbital scale climatic changes. Spatial scale studies on desert evolution indicate that desert margins shifted greatly during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Holocene optimum, its changing from 125°E of the LGM to 105°E of the climatic optimum. Historical desertification in the semiarid China is not a response to climate drought but largely associated with the human impacts (mainly over-cultivation) since about 2300 years ago, which leads to the reworking of the underlying LGM sands.     

Utilization of water resources,ecological balance and land desertification in the Tarim Basin,Xinjiang

Because of the human exploitation and utilization of water resources in the Tarim Basin, the water resources consumption has changed from mainly natural ecosystem to artificial oasis ecosystem, and the environment has changed correspondingly. The basic changes are: desertification and oasis development coexist, both “the human being advance and the desert retreat” and “the desert advance and the human being retreat” coexist, but the latter is dominant. In the upper reaches, water volume drawing to irrigated agricultural areas has increased, artificial oases have been enlarging and moving from the deltas in the lower reaches of many rivers to the piedmont plains. In the middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River, the stream flow has decreased, old oases have declined, natural vegetations have been degenerating, desertification has been enlarging, and the environment has deteriorated. The transition regions, which consist of forestlands, grasslands and waters between the desert and the oases, have been decreasing continuously, their shelter function to the oases has been weakened, and the desert is threatening the oases seriously.     

Getting ‘holistic’ about land rehabilitation in hot arid regions

The paper describes Western Australian examples and causes of land degradation. It outlines shortcomings in the methodologies used to rehabilitate these areas. From this a protocol is suggested for an ‘holistic’ approach to land rehabilitation.     

中国西南及邻区上地幔P波三维速度结构/

利用ISC报告以及中国和NEIC基本测震台网报告中的80974条P波初至到时资料（地震数为7053，台站数为165，且地震和台站都分布在研究区内），对中国西南及邻区（北纬10～36、东经70～110）的深至400km的上地幔三维速度结构进行了研究，分辨率达22．初步结果表明:①研究区速度的横向不均匀性，虽随深度增加而减弱，但至400km深度时仍很明显；②在北纬16和24的纵剖面上，可以看到与印度板块向东和欧亚板块相碰撞挤压相对应的速度结构，以及印度板块与欧亚板块速度结构的差异．在东经90的纵剖面上，与印度板块向北俯冲到欧亚板块（青藏高原）之下相对应的速度结构也比较明显；③在90ｋｍ深度的横剖面上，由缅甸的密支那至越南的洞海的低速条带，可能与红河断裂带有关；④ 提出并使用了能够更为准确直观地描述分辨率好坏的图示方法．      

依据剖面资料求解断层的水平位移

提出依据开挖剖面中的楔形体在受到断层作用时其厚度的变化量求解断层水平位移的方法。分析表明断层水平位移量S与楔形体在断层两侧厚度变化量Δh满足关系式S＝Δh/ρsinβ。式中ρ为楔形体在断层走向上的尖灭系数，β为断层的倾角，该关系式不仅能满足纯走滑运动的断层，而且也满足一般斜滑断层，同时提出了在剖面上判断断层水平运动性质的方法。     

The experimental studies on electrical con-ductivities and P-wave velocities of anortho-site at high pressure and high temperature

Introduction The measurements of the compressional wave velocity and electrical conductivity of minerals and rocks are of fundamental importance to look into the earths interior, including composition, geotherm, generation and distribution of fluids and melts. Hydrous minerals formed by metamatu-siom are abundant within the earth. Previous studies have been carried out on the dehydration effect on the electrical conductivity and wave velocity of rocks such as serpentine, amphibole, most of whi…