构造、气候与砾岩* ——以积石山和临夏盆地为例

探讨构造、气候与砾岩的关系对于研究青藏高原隆升的时间和方式具有重要意义。裂变径迹热年代学表明积石山地区于8MaB.P.开始构造变形,与碎屑颗粒裂变径迹结果和生长地层结果一致,而明显早于积石砾岩出现的时间(3.6MaB.P.)。通过区分岩体隆升与地面隆升之间的差别,文章提出一种新的模型,以解释隆升、气候和砾岩之间的关系。积石山岩体于8MaB.P.开始隆升,隆升初期,尽管岩体隆升1500~2000m,但是由于积石山上覆的新生代地层易于剥蚀,在花岗岩基底被剥露到地表之前,地表只有少量隆升或没有隆升。随着沉积地层被剥蚀殆尽,基岩暴露于地表,地面隆升速率加快。约3.6MaB.P.,积石山隆升约200~900m,造成了地形雨和发源于积石山的横向河流的出现,这些横向河流把积石山的花岗岩搬运到盆地中沉积下来,形成积石砾岩。     

Discovery of Paleogene marine stratum along the southern side of Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone and its implications in tectonics

The final withering of Tibetan Tethys predicated the absolute retreat of seawater from Tibet, one of the most direct and valid marks of which is the age of the latest marine deposits in the area. Therefore, the dis-cussion on the closing age of Tibetan Tethys actuallyis the dating of the latest marine sediment in the area. In the study of late evolution of Tethys, the study on the latest marine sediments in southern Tibet is the major object of geologists. In this field, a lot of works have…     

Use of GIS in Optimizing Timber Thinning Strategies in the Eastern Sierra Nevada*

This paper demonstrates the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to develop timber thinning strategies on the Kyburz Planning Area of the Tahoe National Forest in northeastern California. The primary criteria used in an assessment of selective thinning potential were forest health and fire hazard ratings. By eliminating environmentally sensitive, economically unfeasible, or low fire hazard areas from consideration, the use of GIS reduced the area that was considered appropriate for thinning by approximately 58%. GIS offers considerable potential for improving resource management strategies.     

Fast tidal cycling and the origin of life

Replicating prebiotic polymers are thought to predate the emergence of true life-forms. The initial mode of replication, a prerequisite for Darwinian selection, is unknown, but demands an explanation based on local physicochemistry. Dual consideration of the conditions of the early terrestrial surface, with the unusual physicochemical properties of nucleic acids like DNA, could explain the emergence of nucleic acids as key biomolecules. The early impact that produced the Moon, and fast terrestrial rotation, subjected coastal areas 3.9 Ga ago to rapid tidal flooding (dilution) and drying (concentration), with a likely periodicity in the range of 2-6 h, and could have provided a driving force for cyclic replication of early biomolecules. Such a mechanism applies only to molecules capable of association/polymerization at high salt concentration, and of dissociation at low salinity. Nucleic acids meet these criteria. It is suggested that tidal cycling, resembling the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mechanism, could only replicate and amplify DNA-like polymers. This mechanism suggests constraints on the evolution of extra-terrestrial life.     

Long-Term Confidence in Ground Water Monitoring Systems

State-of-the-art analytical techniques are capable of detecting contamination In the part per billion (ppb) range or lower. At these levels, a truly representative ground water sample Is essential to precisely evaluate ground water quality. The design specifications of a ground water monitoring system are critical in ensuring the collection of representative samples, particularly throughout the long-term monitoring period.
The potential interfaces from commonly used synthetic well casings require a thorough assessment of site, hydrogeology and the geochemical properties of ground water. Once designed, the monitoring system must be installed following guidelines that ensure adequate seals to prevent contaminant migration during the installation process or at some time in the future. Additionally, maintaining the system so the wells are in hydraulic connection with the monitored zone as well as periodically Inspecting the physical integrity of the system can prolong the usefulness of the wells for ground water quality. When ground water quality data become suspect due to potential interferences from existing monitoring wells, an appropriate abandonment technique must be employed to adequately remove or destroy the well while completely sealing the borehole.
The results of an inspection of a monitoring system comprised of six 4-inch diameter PVC monitoring wells at a hazardous well facility Indicated that the wells were improperly installed and in some cases provided a pathway for contamination. Subsequent down hole television inspections confirmed inaccuracies between construction logs and the existing system as well as identified defects in casing materials. An abandonment program was designed which destroyed the well casings in place while simultaneously providing a competent seal of the re-drilled borehole.     

Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change on the Water Resources of the Columbia River Basin

The potential effects of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Columbia River Basin (CRB) were evaluated using simulations from the U.S. Department of Energy and National Center for Atmospheric Research Parallel Climate Model (DOE/NCAR PCM). This study focuses on three climate projections for the 21st century based on a `business as usual' (BAU) global emissions scenario, evaluated with respect to a control climate scenario based on static 1995 emissions. Time-varying monthly PCM temperature and precipitation changes were statistically downscaled and temporally disaggregated to produce daily forcings that drove a macro-scale hydrologic simulation model of the Columbia River basin at 1/4-degree spatial resolution. For comparison with the direct statistical downscaling approach, a dynamical downscaling approach using a regional climate model (RCM) was also used to derive hydrologic model forcings for 20-year subsets from the PCM control climate (1995–2015) scenario and from the three BAU climate(2040–2060) projections. The statistically downscaled PCM scenario results were assessed for three analysis periods (denoted Periods 1–3: 2010–2039,2040–2069, 2070–2098) in which changes in annual average temperature were +0.5,+1.3 and +2.1 °C, respectively, while critical winter season precipitation changes were –3, +5 and +1 percent. For RCM, the predicted temperature change for the 2040–2060 period was +1.2 °C and the average winter precipitation change was –3 percent, relative to the RCM controlclimate. Due to the modest changes in winter precipitation, temperature changes dominated the simulated hydrologic effects by reducing winter snow accumulation, thus shifting summer streamflow to the winter. The hydrologic changes caused increased competition for reservoir storage between firm hydropower and instream flow targets developed pursuant to the Endangered Species Act listing of Columbia River salmonids. We examined several alternative reservoir operating policies designed to mitigate reservoir system performance losses. In general, the combination of earlier reservoir refill with greater storage allocations for instream flow targets mitigated some of the negative impacts to flow, but only with significant losses in firm hydropower production (ranging from –9 percent in Period1 to –35 percent for RCM). Simulated hydropower revenue changes were lessthan 5 percent for all scenarios, however, primarily due to small changes inannual runoff.     

The possible impacts on wheat production of a recurrence of the 1930s drought in the U.S. Great Plains

What would be the impacts on wheat production if the U.S. Great Plains were to suffer another severe, prolonged drought? The 1930s drought is chosen as a worst-case scenario, and two sets of crop-yield regression models are employed to simulate yields using actual 1932–40 weather values and assuming constant 1975 technology. The results are first compared to normal or expected yields in each of 53 crop reporting districts in order to determine the range and spatial variation in yield departures over the nine-year period. Assuming a 1976 crop area, wheat production levels are then calculated and aggregated to give Plains-wide estimates for each year. It is found that the sequence of 1930s weather results in continuous, prolonged declines in expected production. Plains-wide yields are below normal (on average about 9–14%) for nine consecutive years. In the poorest years, the impacts are areally widespread with about nine-tenths of the Plains experiencing yield declines. The spatial variation in yields is substantial, however, ranging from over 100% to below 40% of expected even in the poorest years. In the worst year (1936), simulated production is sharply reduced by about -25%, or 9.6 million metric tonnes. The cumulative deficit over the nine-year period is roughly equivalent to a full year's wheat production. The major conclusion is that a return of a 1930s-type drought would still inflict widespread, heavy damage on wheat production in the Great Plains.     

2008年汶川MS8.0地震反应谱平台值衰减特性研究

2008年汶川M_S8.0地震获得了大量的强震动记录, 为研究反应谱特征参数衰减特性提供了重要的基础资料. 本文对已知场地条件的174个台站的记录进行研究, 计算其加速度反应谱并按照最小二乘分段拟合方法进行标定, 进而拟合了反应谱平台值的衰减关系;对比分析了水平方向与竖直方向反应谱平台值的衰减特性, 提出用“平台值的场地衰减影响系数”来定量研究不同场地类型对反应谱平台值的影响, 用“衰减曲线下降速率”来定量分析不同衰减曲线的衰减速率. 通过计算得出水平向Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ类场地的平台值场地衰减影响系数平均值分别为0.5358, 1和1.579, 且Ⅲ类场地的加速度平台值衰减曲线的衰减速率最小.      

断陷湖盆浅水三角洲沉积特征:以Muglad盆地Unity凹陷Aradeiba组为例

浅水三角洲是沉积学和油气勘探开发领域的热点,目前研究主要集中在大型坳陷型盆地内,部分学者研究证明在断陷湖盆萎缩期或裂陷初期也存在浅水三角洲沉积,但研究较为薄弱.本文利用岩心、测井、地震以及分析化验资料,对Muglad盆地研究区内Aradeiba组浅水三角洲的沉积有利条件、沉积特征以及垂向演化特征进行了深入剖析,结合湖平...     

The coronal transient of 16 June 1972

On 16 June 1972, the Naval Research Laboratory's coronagraph aboard OSO-7 tracked a huge coronal cloud moving outward from the Sun. Concurrent observations of the inner corona made by the High Altitude Observatory at Mauna Loa showed bifurcation of the underlying coronal structure. Together, these observations can be interpreted as evidence for the stretching of the closed fields into a magnetic bottle, extending to at least eight radii from the center of the Sun.