Application of data assimilation for improving forecast of water levels and residual currents in Singapore regional waters

Hydrodynamic models are commonly used for predicting water levels and currents in the deep ocean, ocean margins and shelf seas. Their accuracy is typically limited by factors, such as the complexity of the coastal geometry and bathymetry, plus the uncertainty in the flow forcing (deep ocean tide, winds and pressure). In Southeast Asian waters with its strongly hydrodynamic characteristics, the lack of detailed marine observations (bathymetry and tides) for model validation is an additional factor limiting flow representation. This paper deals with the application of ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF)-based data assimilation with the purpose of improving the deterministic model forecast. The efficacy of the EnKF is analysed via a twin experiment conducted with the 2D barotropic Singapore regional model. The results show that the applied data assimilation can improve the forecasts significantly in this complex flow regime.     

5•12汶川地震中山区公路桥梁震害及启示

桥梁结构的振动特性受场地条件及土—结相互作用影响显著,为提高桥梁结构的抗震性能,减少因结构破坏而产生的经济损失,进一步开展考虑场地土体非线性以及土—结相互作用对桥梁结构地震反应影响的研究工作十分必要。本文以一典型桥梁结构为例,着重介绍了美国太平洋地震工程研究中心基于性能的桥梁有限元模拟平台BridgePBEE应用中所涉及的地震动选取、桥梁结构建模、土体本构选择以及基于构件的桩—土—桥梁结构体系损伤评估方法,为研究震后桥梁结构经济损失分析方法提供可行性方案。     

The age and thermal history of Cerro Rico de Potosi, Bolivia

 Cerro Rico de Potosi, Bolivia, is the world’s largest silver deposit and has been mined since the sixteenth century for silver, and for tin and zinc during the twentieth century, together with by-product copper and lead. The deposit consists primarily of veins that cut an altered igneous body that we interpret to be a dacitic volcanic dome and its underlying tuff ring and explosion breccia. The deposit is compositionally and thermally zoned, having a core of cassiterite, wolframite, bismuthinite, and arsenopyrite surrounded by a peripheral, lower-temperature mineral assemblage consisting principally of sphalerite, galena, lead sulfosalt, and silver minerals. The low-temperature assemblage also was superimposed on the high-temperature assemblage in response to cooling of the main hydrothermal system. Both the dacite dome and the ore fluids were derived from a larger magmatic/hydrothermal source at depth. The dome was repeatedly fractured by recurrent movement on the fault system that guided its initial emplacement. The dome was extruded at 13.8±0.2 Ma (2σ), based on U-Th-Pb dating of zircon. Mineralization and alteration occurred within about 0.3 my of dome emplacement, as indicated by a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar date of 13.76±0.10 Ma (1σ) for sericite from the pervasive quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration associated with the main-stage, high-temperature, mineralization. The last thermal event able to reset zircon fission tracks occurred no later than 12.5±1.1 Ma (1σ), as indicated by fission-tract dating. Minor sericite, and magmatic-steam alunite veins, were episodically formed around 11 Ma and between 8.3 and 5.7 Ma; the younger episodes occurring at the time of extensional fracturing at Cerro Rico and widespread volcanism in the adjacent Los Frailes volcanic field. None of these younger events appear to be significant thermal/mineralizing events; the exceptionally flat thermal release pattern of ³⁹Ar from sericite and the results of the fission-tract dating of zircon show that none of the younger events was hot enough, and lasted long enough, to cause significant loss of Ar or annealing of zircon fission tracks. U-Th-Pb dating of zircon cores indicates a Precambrian progenitor for some zircons, and REE analyses of dated samples of hydrothermally altered dacite show the presence of a prominent positive Eu anomaly, which constrains interpretations of the origin and evolution of the magmatic/hydrothermal system. Received: 14 October 1995/Accepted: 29 January 1996     

Distribution of suspended particulate matter in the northern Bohai Bay in summer and its relation with thermocline

Field observations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Bohai Bay, China have not been widely reported. The aim of this paper is to describe the horizontal and vertical distribution of mass and volume concentrations of SPM, respectively, based on observed data at 312 stations in the northern Bohai Bay during summer of 2006. A numerical model ECOMSED coupled with a sediment transport module was also established to further discuss the mechanism of the thermocline effect on the vertical distribution of SPM. The mass concentrations of SPM exhibited high inshore values and low offshore values in the horizontal distribution; while in the vertical direction, characteristics of the volume concentration of SPM can be divided into two types: one with a sharp peak at depth of 10–15 m and another without. The peak value at the depth of the thermocline was resulted from concentrated phytoplankton. A numerical experiment further displayed that the thermocline can also prevent particles from being resuspended upward.     

Multiple magnetic clouds in interplanetary space

An interplanetary magnetic cloud (MC) is usually considered the byproduct of a coronal mass ejection (CME). Due to the frequent occurrence of CMEs, multiple magnetic clouds (multi-MCs), in which one MC catches up with another, should be a relatively common phenomenon. A simple flux rope model is used to get the primary magnetic field features of multi-MCs. Results indicate that the magnetic field configuration of multi-MCs mainly depends on the magnetic field characteristics of each member of multi-MCs. It may be entirely different in another situation. Moreover, we fit the data from the Wind spacecraft by using this model. Comparing the model with the observations, we verify the existence of multi-MCs, and propose some suggestions for further work.     

Using large radio telescopes at decametre wavelengths

With the aim of evaluating the actual possibilities of doing, from the ground, sensitive radio astronomy at decametre wavelengths (particularly below ), an extensive program of radio observations was carried out, in 1999–2002, by using digital spectral and waveform analysers (DSP) of new generation, connected to several of the largest, decametre radio telescopes in the world (i.e., the UTR-2 and URANs arrays in Ukraine, and the Nançay Decametre Array in France).

We report and briefly discuss some new findings, dealing with decametre radiation from Jupiter and the Solar Corona: namely the discovery of new kinds of hyper fine structures in spectrograms of the active Sun, and a new characterisation of Jupiter's “millisecond” radiation, whose waveform samples, with time resolution down to 40 ns, and correlated measurements, by using far distant antennas (3000 km), have been obtained. In addition, scattering effects, caused by the terrestrial ionosphere and the interplanetary medium, could be disentangled through high time resolution and wide-band analyses of solar, planetary and strong galactic radio sources. Consequences for decametre wavelength imaging at high spatial resolution (VLBI) are outlined. Furthermore, in spite of the very unfavourable electromagnetic environment in this frequency range, a substantial increase in the quality of the observations was shown to be provided by using new generation spectrometers, based on sophisticated digital techniques. Indeed, the available, high dynamic range of such devices greatly decreases the effects of artificial and natural radio interference. We give several examples of successful signal detection in the case of much weaker radio sources than Solar System ones, down to the intensity level.

In summary, we conclude that searching for sensitivity improvement at the decametre wavelength is scientifically quite justified, and is now technically feasible, in particular by building giant, phased antenna arrays of much larger collecting area (as in the LOFAR project). In this task, one must be careful of some specifics of this wavelength range—somewhat unusual in “classical” radio astronomy—i.e., very high level and density of radio interference (telecommunications) and the variable terrestrial ionosphere.     

Investigation of Barred Galaxies. VII. Comparative Statistics of SB and SA Galaxies. Near and Mid-IR Regions

The near and mid-IR properties of barred and unbarred spiral galaxies are discussed on the basis of complete samples that were compiled earlier. The two types of spirals are shown not to differ from one another in emission power in the near and mid-IR ranges. Multiple regression and principal component analysis have been applied to investigate near and mid-IR properties of SB and SA galaxies, particularly their relation to X-ray and radio continuum emissions. There are definite differences between SB and SA spirals in the near and mid-IR. In the case of SB galaxies, the compactness of 10 m emission is closely related to the J - H color index, and the redder J - H color corresponds to relatively more extended emission at 10 m. It is assumed that these are caused by the bar itself, which stimulates enhanced star formation in a barred galaxy with respect to unbarred spiral.     

Excitation of whistler waves by reflected auroral electrons

Excitation of electron cyclotron waves and whistlers by reflected auroral electrons which possess a loss-cone distribution is investigated. Based on a given magnetic field and density model, the instability problem is studied over a broad region along the auroral field lines. This region covers altitudes ranging from one quarter of an Earth radius to five Earth radii. It is found that the growth rate is significant only in the region of low altitude, say below the source region of the auroral kilometric radiation. In the high altitude region the instability is insignificant either because of low refractive indices or because of small loss cone angles.