Measures of Parameter Uncertainty in Geostatistical Estimation and Geostatistical Optimal Design

Studies of site exploration, data assimilation, or geostatistical inversion measure parameter uncertainty in order to assess the optimality of a suggested scheme. This study reviews and discusses measures for parameter uncertainty in spatial estimation. Most measures originate from alphabetic criteria in optimal design and were transferred to geostatistical estimation. Further rather intuitive measures can be found in the geostatistical literature, and some new measures will be suggested in this study. It is shown how these measures relate to the optimality alphabet and to relative entropy. Issues of physical and statistical significance are addressed whenever they arise. Computational feasibility and efficient ways to evaluate the above measures are discussed in this paper, and an illustrative synthetic case study is provided. A major conclusion is that the mean estimation variance and the averaged conditional integral scale are a powerful duo for characterizing conditional parameter uncertainty, with direct correspondence to the well-understood optimality alphabet. This study is based on cokriging generalized to uncertain mean and trends because it is the most general representative of linear spatial estimation within the Bayesian framework. Generalization to kriging and quasi-linear schemes is straightforward. Options for application to non-Gaussian and non-linear problems are discussed.     

High-precision repeat-groundtrack orbit design and maintenance for Earth observation missions

The focus of this paper is the design and station keeping of repeat-groundtrack orbits for Sun-synchronous satellites. A method to compute the semimajor axis of the orbit is presented together with a station-keeping strategy to compensate for the perturbation due to the atmospheric drag. The results show that the nodal period converges gradually with the increase of the order used in the zonal perturbations up to \(J_{15}\). A differential correction algorithm is performed to obtain the nominal semimajor axis of the reference orbit from the inputs of the desired nodal period, eccentricity, inclination and argument of perigee. To keep the satellite in the proximity of the repeat-groundtrack condition, a practical orbit maintenance strategy is proposed in the presence of errors in the orbital measurements and control, as well as in the estimation of the semimajor axis decay rate. The performance of the maintenance strategy is assessed via the Monte Carlo simulation and the validation in a high fidelity model. Numerical simulations substantiate the validity of proposed mean-elements-based orbit maintenance strategy for repeat-groundtrack orbits.     

Formation Mechanism of Mud Bank Along the Southwest Coast of India

Mud bank formation during the southwest monsoon along the southwest coast of India remains an enigma to the researchers and coastal community in spite of several earlier studies. The present study attempts to unravel the mystery through a high-frequency, season-long time-series observation at Alappuzha, located at the southern part of the west coast of India, a region of frequent occurrence of mud bank. Using 7-month-long weekly time-series observation, we identified strong winds and high waves associated with onset of the southwest monsoon and subsequent three episodic atmospheric low-pressure events (LPEs).With the help of in situ time-series data, we show that the strong winds and high waves associated with southwest monsoon pre-conditions the near shore bottom sediment to bring it into suspension. The high amplitude waves associated with the southwest monsoon, while propagating from the deep water to shallow water region, interact with the bottom initiating bottom-sediment movement and its suspension due to wave refraction and shoaling. The sporadic occurrence of the atmospheric LPEs enhances the process of suspension of bottom sediment in the near shore region leading to the formation of fluid mud. Simulations with a cohesive sediment transport model yielded realistic estimates of sediment transport, in the presence of an onshore current, a pre-requisite for transporting the fluid mud toward the coast. The prevailing onshore upwelling current during the southwest monsoon provides the favorable pre-requisite conditions for transporting the fluid mud through depression channel network towards the coast. Once sufficient quantity and thickness of fluid mud is accumulated in the near shore region, it acts as a wave damper for subsequent high monsoon waves, as indicated by the time-series wave data, leading to the formation of tranquil mud bank region. Depression channel networks extending from the shelf to the coast off Alappuzha, Kochi, Ponnani, Beypore, and Ullal were found in the bathymetric charts, thus explaining why mud banks occur only at few locations in spite of the prevalence of similar monsoon conditions.     

Expression of putative zinc-finger protein lcn61 gene in lymphocystis disease virus China （LCDV-cn） genome

An open reading frame (lcn61) of lymphocystis disease virus China (LCDV-cn), probably responsible for encoding putative zinc-finger proteins was amplified and inserted into pET24a (+) vector. Then it expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3), and His-tag fusion protein of high yield was obtained. It was found that the fusion protein existed in E. coli mainly as inclusion bodies. The bioinformatics analysis indicates that LCN61 is C2H2 type zinc-finger protein containing four C2H2 zinc-finger motifs. This work provides a theory for functional research of lcn61 gene. Supported by High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, No. 2006AA100309)     

3D Step-by-step inversion strategy for audio magnetotellurics data based on unstructured mesh

A three-dimensional (3D) step-by-step inversion strategy for audio magnetotellurics(AMT) is investigated in this study.The objective function is minimized by it...     

Recognition of Significant Surface Soil Geochemical Anomalies Via Weighted 3D Shortest-Distance Field of Subsurface Orebodies: A Case Study in the Hongtoushan Copper Mine,NE China

Natural Resources Research - Quantitative prediction of concealed mineralization is always confronted with difficulties in comprehensive analysis between 2D and 3D data and between qualitative and...     

The magmatic activity mechanism of the fossil spreading center in the Southwest sub-basin,South China Sea

Petrogeochemical data indicate that after the end of seafloor spreading,residual magmatic activity still exists in the deep basin of the South China Sea.By using different viscous structure models beneath the fossil spreading center of the Southwest sub-basin we simulated the amount of melt produced,the length of the melting period,and the thermal evolution process in terms of geothermics and the buoyant decompression melting mechanism.We compared the results of our model with observed heat flow,seismic,and petrogeochemistry data.The results show that depletion buoyancy induced by buoyant decompression melting plays an important role in the melting process,while retention buoyancy,thermal buoyancy,and viscous shear force have only a weak influence on the melting process.From the length of the melting period,we determined that for the three viscous structures models the magmatic activity lasted about 5,12,and 15 Ma.Under the effect of buoyant depression melting,local high-temperature areas will develop under the basin,which can explain the low-velocity layer detected by seismic exploration in the middle and upper lithosphere of the Southwest sub-basin.We also simulated the possible lithology distribution beneath the fossil spreading center with the physical conditions of different viscous structure,different temperature structure,and different melting fraction,which provided a greater understanding of the rock petrogeochemical data of the deep sea basin in the South China Sea.     

关于辽宁地区b值方法定量预测的研究

本文利用地震学分析预报方法程式指南和“八五”攻关成果中提出的地震b值定量预测方法,对辽宁及邻区1969年以来发生的8次地震震例作了回顾性检验研究。在此基础上,根据震前b值的变化特征,总结出了可能适用于辽宁地区半年左右尺度的b值预测方法的异常羊别指标及预报规则。