A critical state model for sands dependent on stress and density

An elastoplastic model for sands is presented in this paper, which can describe stress–strain behaviour dependent on mean effective stress level and void ratio. The main features of the proposed model are: (a) a new state parameter, which is dependent on the initial void ratio and initial mean stress, is proposed and applied to the yield function in order to predict the plastic deformation for very loose sands; and (b) another new state parameter, which is used to determine the peak strength and describe the critical state behaviour of sands during shearing, is proposed in order to predict simply negative/positive dilatancy and the hardening/softening behaviour of medium or dense sands. In addition, the proposed model can also predict the stress–strain behaviour of sands under three-dimensional stress conditions by using a transformed stress tensor instead of ordinary stress tensor. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multistep matched-field inversion for broad-band data from ASIAEX2001

This paper discusses the results of geoacoustic inversion carried out using explosive charge data from the Asian Seas International Acoustic Experiment (ASIAEX) East China Sea (ECS) Experiment. A multifrequency incoherent matched-field inversion processor and a genetic algorithm (GA) are used for the inversion. A multistep matched field inversion approach is presented, which makes use of the varying sensitivities of wave fields at various frequencies to reduce the inversion problem into a sequence of smaller inversions with fewer unknowns to estimate at each stage. Different parameters are estimated using data at different frequencies according to their sensitivities. Inversion results for different areas in the ECS region are summarized and compared with core data.     

A neural network approach to ship track-keeping control

This paper presents an on-line trained neural net work controller for ship track-keeping problems. Following a brief review of the ship track-keeping control development since the 1980's, an analysis of various existing backpropagation-based neural controllers is provided. We then propose a single-input multioutput (SIMO) neural control strategy for situations where the exact mathematical dynamics of the ship are not available. The aim of this study is to build an autonomous neural controller which uses rudder to regulate both the tracking error and heading error. During the whole control process, the proposed SIMO neural controller adapts itself on-line from a direct evaluation of the control accuracy, and hence the need for a “teacher” or an off-line training process can be removed. With a relatively modest amount of quantitative knowledge of the ship behavior, the design philosophy enables real time control of a nonlinear ship model under random wind disturbances and measurement noise. Three different track-keeping tasks have been simulated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the training method and the robust performance of the proposed neural control strategy     

COORDINATING DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE TROPIC REGION IN YUNNAN PROVINCE

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Dissipationless mergers of elliptical galaxies and the evolution of the fundamental plane

We carry out numerical simulations of dissipationless major mergers of elliptical galaxies using initial galaxy models that consist of a dark matter haloes and a stellar bulge with properties consistent with the observed fundamental plane. By varying the density profile of the dark matter haloes [standard Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) profile versus adiabatically contracted NFW profile], the global stellar to dark matter mass ratio and the orbit of the merging galaxies, we are able to assess the impact of each of these factors on the structure of the merger remnant. Our results indicate that the properties of the remnant bulge depend primarily on the angular momentum and energy of the orbit; for a cosmologically motivated orbit, the effective radius and velocity dispersion of the remnant bulge remain approximately on the fundamental plane. This indicates that the observed properties of elliptical galaxies are consistent with significant growth via late dissipationless mergers. We also find that the dark matter fraction within the effective radius of our remnants increases after the merger, consistent with the hypothesis that the tilt of the fundamental plane from the virial theorem is due to a varying dark matter fraction as a function of galaxy mass.     

地球化学景观吸引子的发现及其意义

勘查地球化学对异常评价的最大不确定性源于对地球化学景观特性的认识不够。我们应用构造相空间的方法分析了浙江儒岙幅（1:5万）水系沉积物测量的Ag含量数据，揭示了地球化学景观是具有低维吸引子（DZ≈2．9）的混饨系统。这一发现将对勘查地球化学中采样密度的选择、地球化学场模拟、异常评价等根本性问题产生重大影响。     

Impact evaluation on groundwater of the infiltration of an urban wastewater geopurification system placed over a detrital aquifer in a semiarid region (Spain)

Over a period of 4 years and 4 months, the geopurification installations at Dehesas de Guadix (Granada, Spain) were monitored to determine the impact on soil and groundwater of the controlled discharge of urban wastewater, and also to identify the best indicators of the entry of the recharged water into the aquifer. The installations are located in an area where the climate is Mediterranean sub-arid, with an average precipitation of less than 287 mm/year, and a rate of evapotranspiration that is almost three times greater. The system was controlled by determining the balance of majority nutrients and boron in the soil and in the groundwater, both at the points affected directly by the wastewater discharge and at others. The quantity of mass discharged was relatively large (COD 14,656 g/m², NO₃ 85 g/m², NO₂ 4 g/m², NH₄ 2,425 g/m², PO₄ 1,143 g/m², K 1,531 g/m², B 63 g/m²). It was observed that the elimination of nutrients within the soil (COD 97.5%, PO₄ 94.4%, K 59.17%, N _total 18.8%, B 12.69%) was very efficient except for the nitrogen, which nevertheless did not reach the groundwater, as it was eliminated at deep levels of the unsaturated zone. Only 12.69% of the boron was removed, and appreciable, increasing amounts of this element did reach the groundwater. Unexpectedly, none of the majority nutrients behaved as a reliable indicator of the impact on groundwater; despite this, the boron and the bicarbonate did clearly reflect the arrival of the recharged water, and are proposed as the best indicators.     

Experimental investigation on thermochemical sulfate reduction by H2S initiation

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is known to catalyze thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) by hydrocarbons (HC), but the reaction mechanism remains unclear. To understand the mechanism of this catalytic reaction, a series of isothermal gold-tube hydrous pyrolysis experiments were conducted at 330 °C for 24 h under a constant confining pressure of 24.1 MPa. The reactants used were saturated HC (sulfur-free) and CaSO₄ in the presence of variable H₂S partial pressures at three different pH conditions. The experimental results showed that the in-situ pH of the aqueous solution (herein, in-situ pH refers to the calculated pH of aqueous solution under the experimental conditions) can significantly affect the rate of the TSR reaction. A substantial increase in the TSR reaction rate was recorded with a decrease in the in-situ pH value of the aqueous solution involved. A positive correlation between the rate of TSR and the initial partial pressure of H₂S occurred under acidic conditions (at pH ∼3-3.5). However, sulfate reduction at pH ∼5.0 was undetectable even at high initial H₂S concentrations. To investigate whether the reaction of H₂S_(aq) and occurs at pH ∼3, an additional series of isothermal hydrous pyrolysis experiments was conducted with CaSO₄ and variable H₂S partial pressures in the absence of HC at the same experimental temperature and pressure conditions. CaSO₄ reduction was not measurable in the absence of paraffin even with high H₂S pressure and acidic conditions. These experimental observations indicate that the formation of organosulfur intermediates from H₂S reacting with hydrocarbons may play a significant role in sulfate reduction under our experimental conditions rather than the formation of elemental sulfur from H₂S reacting with sulfate as has been suggested previously (Toland W. G. (1960) Oxidation of organic compounds with aqueous sulphate. J. Am. Chem. Soc.82, 1911-1916).Quantification of labile organosulfur compounds (LSC), such as thiols and sulfides, was performed on the products of the reaction of H₂S and HC from a series of gold-tube non-isothermal hydrous pyrolysis experiments conducted at about pH 3 from 300 to 370 °C and a 0.1-°C/h heating rate. Incorporation of sulfur into HC resulted in an appreciable amount of thiol and sulfide formation. The rate of LSC formation positively correlated with the initial H₂S pressure. Thus, we propose that the LSC produced from H₂S reaction with HC are most likely the reactive intermediates for H₂S initiation of sulfate reduction. We further propose a three-step reaction scheme of sulfate reduction by HC under reservoir conditions, and discuss the geological implications of our experimental findings with regard to the effect of formation water and oil chemistry, in particular LSC content.     

Formation and abundance of doubly-substituted methane isotopologues (CH3D) in natural gas systems

Formation of the Carbon-13 (¹³C) and deuterium (D) doubly-substituted methane isotopologues (¹³CH₃D) in natural gases is studied utilizing both first-principle quantum mechanism molecular calculation and direct FTIR laboratorial measurements of specifically synthesized high isotope concentration methane gas. For ¹³CH₃D, the symmetrically breathing mode A₀ emerges as IR-detectable attributed to the molecular symmetry lowering to C_3v from T_d of the non-isotopic methane (CH₄), along with a large vibrational frequency shift from ∼3000 to ∼2250 cm⁻¹. Our studies also indicate that the concentration of ¹³CH₃D is dependent on the environmental temperature through isotope exchanges among methane isotopologues; and the Gibbs’ Free Energy difference due to Quantum Mechanics Zero-Point vibrational motions has the major contribution to this temperature dependency. Potential geologic applications of the ¹³CH₃D measurement to natural gas exploration and assessments are also discussed. In order to detect the ¹³CH₃D concentration change of each 50 °C in the natural gas system, a 10⁻⁹ resolution is desirable. Such a measurement could provide important add-on information to distinguish natural gas origin and distribution.     

Identifying China’s leading world city: a network approach

This paper reports our research on China’s world cities. Formal network analysis of air passenger linkages for recent years among China’s most populous cities and among many of the world’s largest cities allows us to identify the country’s leading world city from among the leading Mainland candidates, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. We theorize our findings about China’s world cities in relation to both global forces (and China’s increasing entanglement with them) and the policies and actions of the national state. We examine the national and global urban network through a longitudinal, two-level analysis of airline passenger travel for four time points between about 1990 and 2005. We show that Beijing was China’s leading world city at the beginning of the time period, a status it lost nationally in as early as 1995, and then globally 10 years later. On the other hand Shanghai became China’s leading world city, and it acquired this status first nationally in 2000, and then globally in 2005. The changing status of the Chinese capital corresponds to the country’s increasing involvement with the capitalist world economy. Shanghai’s ascendance as the leading world city in China may indicate that global forces have come to play an increasingly important role relative to that of the developmental state.