Reponses and sensitivities of maize phenology to climate change from 1981 to 2009 in Henan Province,China

With the global warming, crop phenological shifts in responses to climate change have become a hot research topic. Based on the long-term observed agro-meteorological phenological data (1981–2009) and meteorological data, we quantitatively analyzed temporal and spatial shifts in maize phenology and their sensitivities to key climate factors change using climate tendency rate and sensitivity analysis methods. Results indicated that the sowing date was significantly delayed and the delay tendency rate was 9.0 d·10a^-1. But the stages from emergence to maturity occurred earlier (0.1 d·10a^-1<θ<1.7 d·10a^-1, θ is the change slope of maize phenology). The length of vegetative period (VPL) (from emergence to tasseling) was shortened by 0.9 d·10a^-1, while the length of generative period (GPL) (from tasseling to maturity) was lengthened by 1.7 d·10a^-1. The growing season length (GSL) (from emergence to maturity) was lengthened by 0.4 d·10a^-1. Correlation analysis indicated that maize phenology was significantly correlated with average temperature, precipitation, sunshine duration and growing degree days (GDD) (p<0.01). Average temperature had significant negative correlation relationship, while precipitation, sunshine duration and growing degree days had significant positive correlations with maize phenology. Sensitivity analysis indicated that maize phenology showed different responses to variations in key climate factors, especially at different sites. The conclusions of this research could provide scientific supports for agricultural adaptation to climate change to address the global food security issue.     

Coupled DEM-CFD investigation on the formation of landslide dams in narrow rivers

Large-scale landslide dams can induce significant hazards to human lives by blocking the river flows and causing inundation upstream. They may trigger severe outburst flooding that may devastate downstream areas once failed. Thus, the advancement in understanding the formation of landslide dams is highly necessary. This paper presents 3D numerical investigations of the formation of landslide dams in open fluid channels via the discrete element method (DEM) coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). By employing this model, the influence of flow velocity on granular depositional morphology has been clarified. As the grains settle downwards in the fluid channel, positive excess water pressures are generated at the bottom region, reducing the total forces acting on the granular mass. In the meantime, the particle sedimentations into the fluid channel with high impacting velocities can generate fluid streams to flow backwards and forwards. The coupled hydraulic effects of excess water pressure and fluid flow would entrain the solid grains to move long distances along the channel. For simulations using different flow velocities, the larger the flow velocity is, the further distance the grains can be transported to. In this process, the solid grains move as a series of surges, with decreasing deposit lengths for the successive surges. The granular flux into the fluid channel has very little influence on the depositional pattern of particles, while it affects the particle–fluid interactions significantly. The results obtained from the DEM-CFD coupled simulations can reasonably explain the mechanisms of granular transportation and deposition in the formation of landslide dams in narrow rivers.     

近断层应力变化快速计算方法及对强余震空间分布的指示意义:以M_w7.9汶川地震为例

构造地震一般由断层摩擦失稳所致.断层内部及周边所累积的剪切形变则通过同震滑动位移得到局部释放.因此,震后断层内部及近断层周边的静态剪切应力变化量的空间分布可通过断层面上的滑动位移分布计算得到.本文采用傅氏变换方法(FTM)计算单一有限断层同震滑移场所形成的静态剪切应力变化分布,近断层两侧的应力变化计算可由波数域内应力近似算法获得.结果表明,FTM快速有效、易于实现,有效地避免了常规应力计算中奇异值的出现.以2008年Mw7.9中国汶川大地震为例,采用前人所得有限断层滑动位移模型,得到了断层面和近断层周边准3D剪切应力分布解,并同主震后中强余震的空间分布特征作了比较.结果表明,大部分的中强余震震源位置处于剪切应力变化值为正的区域,由同震位移所产生的局部应力降峰值和均值大小同应力变化的正值大致相当,从而表明了快速且有效地计算断层内部及近断层附近的应力变化分布可以为主震后强余震发生的潜在区域提供指示意义.需要强调的是,应力变化空间分布特征的获取强烈地依赖于有限断层滑移模型解.有关滑动位移反演解的多解性对应力变化计算结果的影响,本文作了必要的讨论.     

P2000型测氡仪在气氡连续观测中记录的潮汐现象

利用宁波地震台ZK03井的原气氡观测系统,将P2000型测氡仪应用于气氡连续观测试验,记录到较明显的潮汐现象且其波动幅度较大。功率谱估计结果显示,观测数据存在显著的固体潮效应。同时,与同井观测的动水位、同台观测的VS垂直摆NS向记录的潮汐波形进行对比,发现曲线变化趋势基本一致,每天都有两峰两谷,但存在约2h的时间差。P2000型测氡仪具有自动扣除本底污染的功能,其记录到的波形能更真实地反应地下流体中气氡浓度的动态变化过程,可应用于地震流体气氡的连续观测。     

Generalized diffraction‐stack migration and filtering of coherent noise

We reformulate the equation of reverse‐time migration so that it can be interpreted as summing data along a series of hyperbola‐like curves, each one representing a different type of event such as a reflection or multiple. This is a generalization of the familiar diffraction‐stack migration algorithm where the migration image at a point is computed by the sum of trace amplitudes along an appropriate hyperbola‐like curve. Instead of summing along the curve associated with the primary reflection, the sum is over all scattering events and so this method is named generalized diffraction‐stack migration. This formulation leads to filters that can be applied to the generalized diffraction‐stack migration operator to mitigate coherent migration artefacts due to, e.g., crosstalk and aliasing. Results with both synthetic and field data show that generalized diffraction‐stack migration images have fewer artefacts than those computed by the standard reverse‐time migration algorithm. The main drawback is that generalized diffraction‐stack migration is much more memory intensive and I/O limited than the standard reverse‐time migration method.     

Diving associated coral breakage in Hong Kong: Differential susceptibility to damage

We conducted the first quantitative assessment of coral breakage along a gradient of diving activities in Hong Kong, the most densely populated city in southern China. A survey of six 1 × 25 m transects at seven sites revealed a total of 81 broken corals, among which 44% were branching, 44% plate-like and 12% massive. There were 3–19 broken colonies per site. At most study sites, the percentage of broken corals exceeded the recommended no-action threshold of 4%, suggesting that management intervention is justified. There was a significant positive correlation between the number of broken coral colonies and the number of divers visiting the site. The branching Acropora and the plate-like Montipora suffered from much higher frequency of damage than their relative abundance, raising the concern that the cumulative impact of such differential susceptibility to breakage may affect coral community composition.     

Acute hypoxic exposure affects gamete quality and subsequent fertilization success and embryonic development in a serpulid polychaete

Hypoxia likely compromises the reproductive success of those marine organisms carrying out external fertilization because their gametes and embryos are inevitably exposed to the external environment. Hydroides elegans, a dominant serpulid polychaete in Hong Kong waters, can spawn throughout the year but the number of recruits drops during summer when hypoxia commonly occurs. This study attempted to explain such observation by investigating the gamete quality, including sperm motility, egg size, complexity and viability, after 1-h hypoxic exposure (1 mg O₂ l⁻¹). In addition, how gamete quality affects fertilization success and embryonic development was examined. After 1-h hypoxic exposure, sperm motility was significantly reduced, compromising fertilization success. Although the eggs remained viable, more malformed embryos and retarded embryonic development were observed. We interpreted that the harmful effect of hypoxia on embryonic development was attributed to the teratogenicity and induced oxidative stress, ultimately causing the reduction in recruitment during summer.     

福建仙游地震序列的震源机制解

2010年8月4日至2013年10月4日福建仙游共记录到地震1209次,其中最大地震为2013年9月4日发生的ML5.0地震。为了加强对仙游地震序列的研究,更好地了解仙游地震的发震构造及震区的区域应力场,本文利用福建数字地震台网宽频带地震记录,采用矩张量反演方法,得到仙游地震序列中ML3.5的6次地震的震源机制解。这6次地震的震源机制解结果较为一致,都为走滑型地震,断层走向为NW向,倾角陡立,主压应力轴方向为近SN向。反演得到的主压应力轴方向与福建地区的区域应力场并不一致,本文认为仙游地震是由位于震区的金钟水库蓄水造成震区应力调整而引起的。     

Failure time variation derived from R–S relation: the role of the static stress perturbation

In general, earthquake cycle related to earthquake faulting could include four major processes which could be described by (1) fault locking, (2) self-acceleration or nucleation (possible foreshocks), (3) coseismic slip, and (4) post-stress relaxation and afterslip. A sudden static stress change/perturbation in the surrounding crust can advance/delay the fault instability or failure time and modify earthquake rates. Based on a simple one-dimensional spring-slider block model with the combination of rate-and-state-dependent friction relation, in this study, we have approximately derived the simple analytical solutions of clock advance/delay of fault failures caused by a sudden static Coulomb stress change applied in the different temporal evolution periods during an earthquake faulting. The results have been used in the physics-based explanation of delayed characteristic earthquake in Parkfield region, California, in which the next characteristic earthquake of M 6.0 after 1966 occurred in 2004 instead of around 1988 according to its characteristic return period of 22 years. At the same time, the analytical solutions also indicate that the time advance/delay in Coulomb stress change derived by the dislocation model has a certain limitation and fundamental flaw. Furthermore, we discussed the essential difference between rate- and state-variable constitutive (R–S) model and Coulomb stress model used commonly in current earthquake triggering study, and demonstrated that, in fact, the Coulomb stress model could be involved in the R–S model. The results, we have obtained in this study, could be used in the development of time-dependent fault interaction model and the probability calculation related to the time-dependent and renewal earthquake prediction model.     

山东半岛蓝色经济区土壤有机碳储量及固碳潜力分析

土壤碳储量研究在碳循环和全球变化中具有重要意义,但以往碳储量计算结果受到数据来源的制约。山东省多目标区域地球化学调查采用双层网格化采样和分析,获取了大密度、高精度土壤有机碳数据,为土壤碳库的准确计算奠定了基础。笔者利用这些数据计算了山东半岛蓝色经济区表层（0～20 cm）、中上层（0～100 cm）及全层（0～160 cm）的土壤有机碳（SOC）密度和储量,并对其空间分布特征及固碳潜力进行了研究。结果显示,经济区内3种土壤层次的碳库组成不同,表层SOC储量占总碳（TC）储量的71.67%,随深度增加所占比例逐渐减小,而无机碳(SIC)储量所占比例逐渐增加,全层二者所占比率较为接近:表层SOC储量为132.64 Mt,碳密度为2.06 kg/m²;中上层为458.27 Mt,碳密度为7.11 kg/m²;全层为619.96 Mt,碳密度为9.61 kg/m²。各层SOC密度处于全国偏低水平,且在不同土壤类型、地貌类型、土地利用类型之间有一定差异:褐土土表层SOC密度最高（2.48 kg/m²）,风沙土最低（0.91 kg/m²）;灌溉水田表层SOC密度最高（3.45 kg/m²）,菜地最低（1.61 kg/m²）。表层SOC密度分布总体上呈现为沿海地区低、鲁北平原和胶莱盆地中等、山地丘陵和中低山区偏高的分布格局。从第二次土壤普查和本次多目标调查数据所建立的回归方程分析发现,在今后一定时期内,本区表层土壤总体表现为“碳汇”效应,未来可净增总有机碳（TOC）量60.94 Mt,其中“碳源”量5.07 Mt,“碳汇”量65.97 Mt。