Wheat straw burning and its associated impacts on Beijing air quality

Based on MODIS images, large-scale flow field charts and environmental monitoring data, we thor- oughly analyzed the spatial distribution of wheat straw burning in North China, with focus on its envi- ronmental impacts on the air quality of Beijing and pollution transport paths. And we anatomized changes of air quality in Beijing under the impacts of pollution generated by wheat straw burning around. The results indicate that: (1) The North China Plain, a winter-wheat growing area, is the main source of pollutants induced by wheat straw burning in Beijing. The direction of south-west is the dominant heavy pollution transport path. (2) Impacts of wheat straw burning on air quality are mainly manifested by significantly increasing CO concentration. (3) Precursors of O3 generated by wheat straw burning, combining with favorable meteorological conditions, can induce increasing O3 concentration greatly. NO concentration will be greatly increased due to decreasing O3 concentration at night. (4) Atmospheric particles, especially the fine ones, from wheat straw burning exert considerable influ- ence on Beijing air quality. (5) Different contributions of wheat straw burning to pollutants are identified. Ratios of PM10/SO2, CO/SO2, etc., can be applied to indicate pollution extent of wheat straw burning. High ratios of PM10/SO2 and CO/SO2 show that the air quality was heavily impacted by wheat straw burning and these ratios can be employed as indicators of contribution of wheat straw burning to the degradation of Beijing air quality. (6) Randomness of wheat straw burning activities renders random outbreak of air pollution of this type. Regional and extensive wheat straw burning activities can cause serious air pollution event.     

多次覆盖技术在探地雷达勘探中的应用

多次覆盖技术作为一种增强信号、压制干扰的方法,广泛用于地震勘探工作中,可以大大提高有用信号的信噪比。本文作者把多次覆盖技术引入探地雷达测量工作中,通过与剖面法作对比试验来论证多次覆盖技术在探地雷达勘探中应用的可行性及优缺点。作者根据试验资料总结探地雷达工作中雷达波传播规律、工作参数、资料处理方法,对丰富探地雷达勘探技术作了一次有益的尝试。     

Intercalibration of international and domestic 40Ar/39Ar dating standards

Four international standards, Ga1550, MMhb-1, Lp-6, Bem 4M, and one domestic standard BT-1 have been intercalibrated. The repeated measurements on MMhb-1 with different mass demonstrate that MMhb-1 is inhomogeneous in age and its average age is 519.8 Ma. The results of Bern 4M and Lp-6 reflect that they have an invariable value of ⁴⁰Ar*/³⁹Ar_k (F) and the ages we obtained are consensus with their K-Ar age: Lp-6=127.7Ma; Bern 4M=18.2 Ma. Analyses of BT-1 age spectra, Ca/K and Cl/K spectra as well as inverse isochrons indicate that the sample is homogeneous and invariable and keeps close chemically, with its trapped argon isotope composition close to the atmosphere. The dating results show that age values are reproducible and steady, total fusion age, step-heating age, plateau age and isochron age are in accord with each other within the error range (2σ). Therefore, we recommend 28.7 Ma as the calibrated age of BT-1. We also discuss the variation in neutron flux gradients of Beijing 49-2 reactor. It was found that the neutron flux gradient varies considerably, and more monitors (standard samples) are needed to fix the trend of variation. The coefficient of the 49-2 reactor that transfers the ratio of production rate of ³⁷Ar_Ca/³⁹Ar_K into Ca/K ratio is 1.78. This is different from that reported earlier, 2.0, which may be caused by the reconstruction of the reactor.     

Experimental determination of saltating glass particle dispersion in a turbulent boundary layer

A horizontal saltation layer of glass particles in air is investigated experimentally over a flat bed and also over a triangular ridge in a wind tunnel. Particle concentrations are measured by light scattering diffusion (LSD) and digital image processing, and velocities using particle image velocimetry (PIV). All the statistical moments of the particle concentration are determined such as mean concentration, root mean square concentration fluctuations, skewness and flatness coefficients. Over the flat bed, it is confirmed that the mean concentration decreases exponentially with height, the mean dispersion height being a significant length scale. It is shown that the concentration distribution follows quite well a lognormal distribution. Over the ridge, measurements were made at the top of the ridge and in the cavity region and are compared with measurements without the ridge. On the hill crest, particles are retarded, the saltation layer decreases in thickness and concentration is increased. Downwind of the ridge, particle flow behaves like a jet, in particular no particle return flow is observed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The generation and its sealing condition of natural gas in the Tadong area

Focusing on the two natural gas exploration geological problems with abundant source of oil cracking gas in the late stage and the sealing condition of the oil cracking gas reservoir, the kinetics of oil cracking gas and the evaluation parameters of gas cap rock are adopted to the study on the natural gas accumulation conditions in the Tadong area. Both the study on the kinetics of oil cracking gas and the statistical results of reservoir bitumen reveal that the geological formation of oil cracking gas in the Tadong area is located in the top of Cambrian. Two kinds of oil cracking gas geological models at least, namely well Mandong-1’s early rapid generation model (Middle Ordovician-end Silurian) and peak cracking model (with the natural gas conversion rate >90%), namely well Yingnan-2’s two-stage generation model of oil cracking gas, have been set up. The oil cracking gas of Yingnan-2 in the late stage is very significant in the evaluation of natural gas exploration in the Tadong area. The evaluation results of the cap rock show that the microscopic parameters of cap rock from the lower assemblage of Cambrian-Ordovician are better than those from the upper assemblage. The former has strong capillary sealing ability and higher cap rock breakthrough pressure than the upper assemblage, with strong sealing ability, so that natural gas dissipates mainly by diffusion. According to the above investigations, the lower assemblage Cambrian-Ordovician natural gas of Kongquehe slope, Tadong low uplift and Yingjisu depression in the Tadong area prospects well.     

Potential ecological risk of cadmium, lead and arsenic in agricultural black soil in Jilin Province, China

Potential ecological risk of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) in agricultural black soil in Jilin Province, China was analyzed by the methods of risk assessment based on dose–effect relationships and ecological risk index. Heavy Cd-contamination occurred mainly around the coal mine region. The accumulation area for Pb appeared mostly in the suburbs and roadsides, whereas the higher As content was mainly found in the farmland of suburb and coal mine vicinity. In acute toxicity test, Cd, Pb and As in the soil had adverse effects on both roots and shoots growth in soybean with the greatest toxicity of arsenic and the least toxicity of lead at the same concentration levels. Exposed to Cd, Pb and As, the EC₅₀ (50% effective concentration) values for the growth of soybean root (shoot) were 212.59 (376.70), 528.53 (828.69) and 194.60 (299.03) mg/kg, respectively. Results of potential ecological risk index showed that soil contamination from Cd in some samples had very high potential ecological risk; Pb contamination for almost all sampling sites had moderate ecological risk; while soil contamination from As had low ecological risk. With the present accumulation rate, concentrations of Cd, Pb and As in agricultural black soil near coal mine would reach the threshold values in 68, 175 and 120 years, respectively.     

渤海及邻近地区各主要断块近期地震活动分析

渤海及邻近地区是我国东部地震较活跃的地区之一,历史上曾发生过多次强震,现今小震活动也较活跃.因该区域主要处在郯庐断裂带和燕渤断裂带上,且这两大断裂带在渤海内交汇,故造成该区域地震活动频发.本文主要是分析了该地区近期地震活动的空间、时间和强度3个方面,总结了地震活动的空间、时间和强度的特征.为本地区地震灾害的防御,减灾等方面工作提供依据.     

Interaction of a river plume with coastal upwelling in the northeastern South China Sea

Observational and modeling studies were conducted to investigate the Pearl River plume and its interaction with the southwesterly driven upwelling circulation in the northern South China Sea during the summer. After exiting the Pearl River Estuary, the discharged freshwater generates a nearly stationary bulge of freshwater near the entrance of the estuary. Forced by the wind-driven coastal upwelling current, the freshwater in the outer part of the bulge flows downstream at the speed of the current and forms a widening and deepening buoyant plume over the shelf. The plume axis gradually shifts offshore of the current maximum as a result of currents induced by the contrasting density at the nose of plume and by the intensified Ekman drift in the plume. In this plume–current system, the fraction of the discharged freshwater volume accumulated in the bulge reaches a steady state and the volume of newly discharged freshwater is transported downstream by the upwelling current. Enhancement of stratification by the plume thins the surface frictional layer and enhances the cross-shelf circulation in the upper water column such that the surface Ekman current and compensating flow beneath the plume are amplified while the shoaling of the deeper dense water in the upwelling region changes minimally. The pressure gradient generated between the buoyant plume and ambient seawater accelerates the wind-driven current along the inshore edge of the plume but retards it along the offshore edge. Along the plume, downward momentum advection is strong near the highly nonlinear source region and a weaker upward momentum advection occurs in the far field over the shelf. Typically, the plume is shaped by the current over the shelf while the current itself is adjusting to a new dynamic balance invoked by the plume-induced changes of vertical viscosity and the horizontal pressure gradient. The spatial variation of this new balance leads to a coherent change in the cross-isobath transport in the upper water column during upwelling.     

Turbulence fields in the lee of two‐dimensional transverse dunes simulated in a wind tunnel

The turbulence field of airflow in the lee of a dune has significant impacts on dune dynamics and related processes. We used particle image velocimetry in a wind tunnel simulation to obtain detailed velocity measurements in the lee of two‐dimensional transverse dune models, then used the results to analyse their turbulence fields. The dune models used in this study had a single lee angle of 30°, and a total of six stoss angles: 3°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20° and 25°. We used vorticity, turbulence intensity, Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy to characterize the turbulence fields. These parameters were functions of stoss angle, wind velocity, distance from the dune crest and height above the ground surface. The stoss angles could generally be divided into two groups based on the profiles of mean velocity, turbulence and Reynolds stress. Stoss angles of 3° and 5° usually had similar profiles, and angles of 15°, 20° and 25° formed a second group with similar profiles. The profiles for the stoss angle of 10° were usually transitional and were intermediate between the two groups. Vorticity, Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy increased monotonically with increasing free‐stream wind velocity, but their variations with respect to the stoss angle were complex. The stoss angles of 15° and 20° had the maximum values of these three parameters, thus these angles may have special significance in dune development given the characteristics of the mean velocity fields and turbulence fields they produce within the lee airflow. It is the streamwise velocity component and its turbulence that determine the surface shear stress. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.     

Inversion of focal mechanism and events identification using an improved relative amplitude method

The relative amplitude method(RAM) is more suitable for source inversion of low magnitude earthquakes because it avoids the modeling of short-period waveforms.We introduced an improved relative amplitude method(IRAM) which is more robust in practical cases.The IRAM uses a certain function to quantify the fitness between the observed and the predicted relative amplitudes among direct P wave,surface reflected pP and sP waves for a given focal mechanism.Using the IRAM,we got the fault-plane solutions of two ea...