Influence of discrete step size on wind setup component of storm surge

Open coast storm surge water levels consist of wind setup due to wind shear at the water surface; a wave setup component caused by wind induced waves transferring momentum to the water column; an atmospheric pressure head component due to the atmospheric pressure deficit over the spatial extent of the storm system; a Coriolis forced setup or setdown component due to the effects of the rotation of the earth acting on the wind driven alongshore current at the coast; a possible seiche component due to resonance effects initiated by moving wind system, and, if astronomical tides are present, an astronomical tide component (although the tide is typically considered to be a forced astronomical event and not really a direct part of the external wind-driven meteorological component of storm surge). Typically the most important component of a storm surge is the wind setup component, especially on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico shorelines. In many approaches to storm surge modeling, a constant depth approximation is invoked over a limited step size in the computational domain. The use of a constant depth approximation has received little attention in the literature although can be very important to the resulting magnitude of the computed storm surge. The importance of discrete step size to the wind setup storm surge component is considered herein with a simple case computation of the wind setup component on a linear slope offshore profile. The present study findings show that the constant depth approximation to wind setup storm surge estimation is biased on the low side (except in extremely shallow water depths) and can provide large errors if discrete step size is not sufficiently resolved. Guidance has been provided on the error that one might encounter for various step sizes on different slopes.     

Benthic macrofauna and productivity regimes in the Barents Sea — Ecological implications in a changing Arctic

Benthic faunal assemblages were analysed from 47 stations in the central and southern parts of the Barents Sea, together with sedimentary and water column parameters, daily ice records and modelled integrated primary productivity. Sampling spanned areas influenced by Atlantic Water (AW) to those lying under Arctic Water (ArW), and included stations with mixed water masses. Ice cover suppressed water column productivity in the northern areas. Three main faunal groups were identified, based on similarity of numerical faunal composition. The northern and southern faunal groups were separated by the northernmost penetration of AW in the bottom water and the third group, the Hopen group, was influenced by modified bank water. Faunal abundances were significantly higher within the southern faunal group relative to the northern group, but the numbers of taxa present were similar. The particularly rich fauna of the Hopen group reflected sediment heterogeneity and tight pelagic–benthic coupling. These results suggest that a retreat and thinning of the ice cover in the Barents Sea likely will result in the northern parts of the Barents Sea becoming more Atlantic in character, with a higher productivity at the sea floor.     

基于开放互操作标准的分布式地理空间模型共享研究

传统的单机环境和封闭式网络环境由于有限的资源利用能力, 难以充分支持分散地学数据、模型等资源的共享与应用集成。基于网络环境的信息交换特点, 提出了分布式地理空间模型共享的服务体系。该体系以数据、模型、元数据等互操作要素为核心, 通过网络将数据、模型等网络节点进行开放式耦合。针对地理空间模型服务的互操作问题, 提出了分布式环境下的模型共享服务交互接口, 该接口定义了模型服务元数据、模型服务的交互操作、模型服务的通讯方式等交互规则, 尽可能地降低模型服务与模型终端之间在数据交换、功能调用等方面的互操作困难。为了降低将模型共享为模型服务的实现难度, 设计和开发了地理空间模型共享平台, 并介绍了在该平台上发布地理空间模型的2种方法。最后介绍了研究成果在Prairie生态模型共享方面的应用实践。     

Acidic deposition impacts mediated by sulfur cycling in a coastal plain forest ecosystem

Deposition in the New Jersey Pinelands was very acidic (pH=4.17) and contained high levels of SO₂ ⁻² based on bulk deposition measurementsfrom July 1984–July 1986. Streamwater over the same interval in undisturbed watersheds was less acidic (pH =4.52) and had proportionately less SO₄ ⁻². A preliminary alkalinity budget for undisturbed watersheds suggested that SO₄ ⁻² retention within Pinelands watersheds accounted for a large portion of the total alkalinity generated and thereby lessened the impact of acidic deposition on surface waters. The only process capable of explaining the retention of SO₄ ⁻² was microbial sulfate reduction in the extensive wetlands surrounding Pinelands streams which occurred at high rates.     

Soft rock pillars

Summary Soft rock pillars can be designed by several methods available in the mining literature. All of these methods include the effect of shape, or geometry, on the average strength of specimens and pillars. All of the pillar design methods include some measurement of the strength of specimens of the pillar rock. The most common rock specimen strength property measured is the unconfined compressive strength. However, the average strength of triaxially confined rock specimens is much greater than the unconfined specimen strength, which can be more important to pillar strength. The estimation of the strength of a pillar is complicated by the decrease in rock specimen strength with increase in specimen size.Editor's note: In common with North American engineering practise, the paper uses English units throughout, where feasible conversions are included in the text. Where not, the following factors may be used: 1 inch=25.4 mm; 1 ft=0.3048 m; 1 lbf/in.^–2=6.895 kn/m^–2; 1Tonf.=8.896 kN.     

A strontium,neodymium and oxygen isotope study of hydrothermal metamorphism and crustal anatexis in the Trois Seigneurs Massif,Pyrenees, France

Nd, Sr, and O isotope analyses have been made on metamorphic and igneous rocks and minerals from a 310–340 Ma Hercynian-age metamorphic terrane in the Pyrenees, France. Lower Paleozoic shales and phyllites have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of 0.707–0.717 at 310 Ma, but model values at 310 Ma of 0.709–0.736 (based on assumed depositional age of 450 Ma and an initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.707). On a regional scale, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr was homogenized to about 0.713 to 0.717 in the higher-grade pelitic schists during metamorphism. Much of this ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr exchange occurred at very low grades (below the biotite isograd), but significant changes also accompanied the δ ¹⁸O lowering of the phyllites (+13 to +16) during their transformation to andalusite- and sillimanite-grade schists (δ ¹⁸O=+11 to +12); all of these effects are attributed to pervasive interactions with hydrothermal fluids (Wickham and Taylor 1985). The data also show that a syn-metamorphic plutonic complex, dominated by a biotite granite body, was derived by mixing of a relatively mafic magmatic end-member (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr～ 0.7025–0.7050 and δ ¹⁸O～ +7.5 to +8.0) with two metasedimentary sources, both having ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr～0.715 and δ ¹⁸O～ +10.0 to +12.0, but with one being more homogeneous than the other. The more homogeneous component and the (mantle-derived?) magmatic end-member dominate at low structural levels within the complex. The less homogeneous end-member that dominates at high levels is clearly derived from the local Paleozoic pelitic schists. A Rb-Sr age of 330±20 Ma was obtained on hornblende from a deep level within the complex, which fixes this age for the regional metamorphism, as well. Although a post-metamorphic granodiorite magma body at Trois Seigneurs also displays heterogeneities in δ ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (and thus does not give a clear-cut Rb-Sr isochron), the data are consistent with an emplacement age between 260 and 310 Ma, similar to ages of other late granodiorites in the Pyrenees. ¹⁴³Nd/ ¹⁴⁴Nd is very uniform within the Hercynian crust, both at Trois Seigneurs (? _Nd=?3 to ?7) and elsewhere in the Pyrenees; almost all igneous lithologies have depleted-mantle, mid-Proterozoic model ages, consistent with efficient recycling of crustal material following original crustal accretion in this area at about 1600 Ma or earlier. Rb-Sr mineral ages exhibit a complex cooling history reflecting late Hercynian and Mesozoic thermal events. Our results show that profound homogenization of the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of large volumes of the crust can occur during regional metamorphism and crustal anatexis, particularly in regions undergoing extensional tectonics. Such processes can significantly modify the isotopic compositions of the protoliths of granitic magmas; this may explain why many peraluminous Hercynian granitoids of Western Europe have anomalously low (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) initial values compared to their probable sedimentary parent rocks.     

Estimating the crush zone size under a cutting tool in coal

Summary As part of an effort to understand the mechanics of fine fragment formation in coal, which is important in studies of respirable dust due to mining, fracture toughness measurements and the strain energy density (SED) theory were applied to calculate the crush zone size under a cutting tool in coal. This zone is the major source of fine fragments in the 1 to 10 µm size range. The model used in these calculations is a boundary element program containing a failure criterion based on the SED theory. The boundary element program calculates linear elastic stresses at numerous points in the coal material ahead of a cutting bit. These stresses are then input to a subroutine called critical flaw length and orientation (CFLO) which uses the SED theory to determine the CFLO for a small crack at the boundary element stress computation point. The extent of crushing is based on earlier postulates about the role of inherent flaws in a fragmentation process. To form 1 to 10 µm fragments requires firstly a local stress strong enough to activate flaws with a characteristic length less than 1 to 10 µm and secondly, a flaw density sufficient to provide an average spacing between flaws also on the order of 1 to 10 µm. The locus of active 10 µm flaws represents the maximum possible extent of fine fragmentation in the 10 µm or less size range assuming that a sufficient inherent flaw density exists. The approach offers a first order approximation to the extent of crushing under a tool tip. The size and shape of the crush zone volume is affected by the attack angle and geometry of the tool.     

The macungie Sinkhole,Lehigh valley Pennsylvania: Cause and repair

A dramatic sinkhole collapse measuring some 100 feet in diameter by 41 feet deep occurred suddenly in the Borough of Macungie on June 23, 1986. The sinkhole collapse resulted in a major disruption of traffic, utility services, as well as a major health and safety hazard. Continual growth of the sinkhole could have resulted in almost certain damage or loss to more than 17 residences adjacent to the sinkhole collapse. Stabilization and repair costs totaled some $450,000 and required almost three months to restore utility services, roadway, and parking areas.     

Temporal features in thunder days in the United States

1901–80 data for the contiguous U.S. show that secular variability of thunder days was very much less than that of precipitation or of frequency of extra tropical cyclones. Overall, there may have been a slight decline, but more evident was an increase to the thirties followed by a falling off, broken only by a peak in the seventies. These up-and-down movements were evident in most months of the year and regions of the U.S. The general decrease, however, was clear only in the South East and replaced by an increase in the Upper Great Lakes region. Secular variation in thunder day frequency was slightly correlated positively with that of extra tropical cyclone frequency and negatively with sea level pressure. The analysis also confirmed well known seasonal and regional patterns of thunder activity.     

Fractal analysis of long-range paleoclimatic data: Oxygen isotope record of pacific core V28-239

R/S analysis of the oxygen isotope curve of Pacific core V28-239 yields a fractal dimension of 1.22. This value is considered to characterize global climatic change over the last 2 million years as expressed by changing O¹⁸ ratios and confirms that climatic variations are characterized by long-term persistence. The fractal dimension of 1.22 compares favorably with the approximate fractal dimension of 1.26 for annual precipitation records for nine major cities in the United States. Although the precipitation and oxygen isotope data are measured in different physical units and recorded at different time scales, fractal analysis allows for a mathematical comparison of the two phenomena. Additionally, since the fractal dimensions of the oxygen isotope and precipitation records are similar, it is implied that such fractal dimensions are characteristic of climate change over the spectral range of 10 to 10⁶ years. Given this temperature curves based on fractal parameters of long-term O¹⁸ data could be constructed which would allow examination of characteristics of temperature variation over tens and hundreds of years. Such studies may allow the establishment of limits on natural temperature variation and document the persistence of temperature trends through time. If these trends and limits can be resolved, long-range climatic prediction is feasible.