Glacier changes in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range of Tibetan Plateau from 1975 to 2013

Maritime-type glaciers in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, located in the southeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, are an important water source for downstream residents and ecological systems. To better understand the variability of glaciers in this region, we used the band ratio threshold(TM3/TM5 for the Landsat TM /ETM+ and TM4/TM6 for Landsat OLI) to extract glacier outlines in ~1999 and ~2013. After that, we also generated a series of glacier boundaries and monitored glacier variations in the past 40 years with the help of the Chinese Glacier Inventory data(1975) and Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI data. The total glacier area decreased by 37.69 ± 2.84% from 1975 to 2013. The annual percentage area change(APAC) was ~1.32% a-1 and ~1.29% a-1 in the periods 1975-1999 and 1999-2013, respectively. According to the lag theory, the reaction time is probably about 10 years and we discuss the variations of temperature and precipitation between 1965 and 2011. Temperature and precipitation increased between 1965 and 2011 at a rate of 0.34°C /10 a and 15.4 mm/10 a, respectively. Extensive meteorological data show that the glacier shrinkage rate over the period may be mainly due to increasing air temperature, while the increasing precipitation partly made up for the mass loss of glacier ice resulting from increasing temperature may also lead to the low APAC between 1999 and 2013. The lag theory suggests that glacier shrinkage may accelerate in the next 10 years. Small glaciers were more sensitive to climate change, and there was a normal distribution between glacier area and elevation. Glaciers shrank in all aspects, and south aspects diminished faster than others.     

高空急流对一次强沙尘暴过程沙尘传输的影响

使用GRAPES_SDM沙尘暴数值模式,对2011年4月28-30日中国北方强沙尘暴天气进行分析,讨论高空急流在此次过程中对沙尘传输的影响,得出以下结论:（1）GRAPES_SDM沙尘暴模式较好地模拟了此次沙尘暴过程的范围和强沙尘暴中心,整体模拟效果较好;（2）沙尘天气发生时间及移动路径与200 hPa高空急流的加强、移动发展有很好的对应关系;（3）高空强纬向风速的加强能够促使中低层形成垂直环流圈,其下沉支流使高空动量有效下传到近地面,进而在地面形成大风及扬沙和沙尘暴天气,强沙尘暴中心位于此垂直环流圈的下沉支;（4）等熵位涡与高空急流及地面沙尘浓度分布演变有很好的对应关系,等熵位涡位于高空急流北侧,地面沙尘浓度中心位于高空急流出口区、等熵位涡中心西南侧、等值线密集带;高层高值位涡区向下延伸的路径与高空急流北侧纬向风速等值线密集带有非常好的对应关系。本文还通过对高空急流轴线动力、热力结构垂直剖面的分析,探讨了高空急流对大范围沙尘天气影响的可能机制。     

Biogeochemical records of paleoenvironmental changes in Nainital Lake,Kumaun Himalayas,India

Rapid urbanization and increased tourism around Nainital Lake in the Kumaun Himalayan region in north India has raised concerns about sediment and water pollution. Lead-210 dated sediment cores from the lake represent ~95 years of accumulation and yield a mean sedimentation rate of ~4.7 mm year⁻¹. Total organic carbon (TOC), percent N and S and their atomic C/N and C/S ratios, stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S), and specific biomarkers (n-alkanes and pigments) were measured in the core. Organic matter is primarily derived from in-lake algal production and TOC flux varies from 1.0 to 3.5 g m⁻² year⁻¹. Sediments are anoxic (Eh −328 to −187 mV) and have low (0.10–0.30 g m⁻² year⁻¹) N, but high (0.37–1.0 g m⁻² year⁻¹) S flux. Shifts in δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S suggest in-lake microbial processes dominated by denitrification and sulfate reduction. The sediments are dominated by short-chain hydrocarbons with low Carbon Preference Index values. The pigments indicate a gradual shift to cyanobacterial domination of the phytoplankton community in recent years. Despite an increase in external input of nutrients, the trophic state of the lake has remained largely unchanged, and the perceived human-induced impacts are limited.     

Stress Responses to Rapid Temperature Changes of the Juvenile Sea Cucumber （Apostichopusjaponicus Selenka）

Activities of hexokinase （HK）, pyruvate kinase （PK）, superoxide dismutase （SOD） and catalase （CAT） and Hsp70 level were measured to evaluate the response of the commercially important sea cucumber （Apostichopus japonicus Selenka） to rapid temperature changes in laboratory. Animals were subjected to a higher temperature （from 10 to 20℃） （Tinc treatment） or to a lower temperature （from 20 to 10℃） （Tddec treatment） for 72 h. At 1, 3, 12, 24, 72 h of exposure, animals were removed and prepared for further analysis. Results showed that the effect of acute temperature changes on enzyme activities was significant. In Tinc treatment, activities of SOD and CAT increased immediately. The significant enhancement of SOD and CAT activities suggested that oxidative stress increases significantly when ambient temperature increasing from 10 to 20℃. The up-regulation of Flsp70 in Tinc and Tdec treatments indicated that Hsp70 was a bioindicator of thermal stress in the sea cucumber, and the expression pattern depended on the thermal treatment.     

Geochemical reconstruction of late Holocene drainage and mixing in Kluane Lake,Yukon Territory

The level of Kluane Lake in southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, has fluctuated tens of metres during the late Holocene. Contributions of sediment from different watersheds in the basin over the past 5,000 years were inferred from the elemental geochemistry of Kluane Lake sediment cores. Elements associated with organic material and oxyhydroxides were used to reconstruct redox fluctuations in the hypolimnion of the lake. The data reveal complex relationships between climate and river discharge during the late Holocene. A period of influx of Duke River sediment coincides with a relatively warm climate around 1,300 years BP. Discharge of Slims River into Kluane Lake occurred when Kaskawulsh Glacier advanced to the present drainage divide separating flow to the Pacific Ocean via Kaskawulsh and Alsek rivers from flow to Bering Sea via tributaries of Yukon River. During periods when neither Duke nor Slims river discharged into Kluane Lake, the level of the lake was low and stable thermal stratification developed, with anoxic and eventually euxinic conditions in the hypolimnion.     

川东地区嘉陵江组四段膏盐岩分布的沉积环境分析

四川盆地东部地区嘉陵江组嘉四段沉积环境是局限海台地蒸发岩相,水体封闭,有利成盐。以川东地区油气勘探的500余口实际钻井资料为基础,通过岩性微相的研究,探讨川东地区的古地貌特征,寻找成盐的微环境因素,有助于从区域上预测盐类的分布。T1j4盐湖主要分布在蒸发岩沉积中心——膏盆相,但位于膏盆相的周缘地带和膏盆内部堤坝周围,少部分分布在膏盆边缘相,区域上则主要分布在宣汉、达州、万县、云阳、垫江及渠县等地区,有一定的继承性。     

CATASTROPHIC ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE SONGNEN PLAIN, NORTHEASTERN CHINA SINCE 1900S

Although the Songnen Plain in the northeastern China was developed relatively late in the temperate zone of the world, its eco-environment has changed greatly. This paper analyzes the changes of land cover and the rates and trends ofdesertification during the past 100 years in the Songnen Plain. According to the macroscopic analysis, we find that the eco-environment in the plain has reached to the threshold of catastrophic change since the 1950s. The Thorn Needle Catastrophic Model was used to determine and validate this conclusion. Human activities, including large-scale construction projects, such as huge dams and dikes, and excessive grazing were the primary factors contributing to regional eco-environmental catastrophe. And irrational reclamation of the wilderness also affected the eco-environmental change. The results reveal the complex human-land interactions.     

Logarithmic spiral trajectories generated by Solar sails

Analytic solutions to continuous thrust-propelled trajectories are available in a few cases only. An interesting case is offered by the logarithmic spiral, that is, a trajectory characterized by a constant flight path angle and a fixed thrust vector direction in an orbital reference frame. The logarithmic spiral is important from a practical point of view, because it may be passively maintained by a Solar sail-based spacecraft. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic study concerning the possibility of inserting a Solar sail-based spacecraft into a heliocentric logarithmic spiral trajectory without using any impulsive maneuver. The required conditions to be met by the sail in terms of attitude angle, propulsive performance, parking orbit characteristics, and initial position are thoroughly investigated. The closed-form variations of the osculating orbital parameters are analyzed, and the obtained analytical results are used for investigating the phasing maneuver of a Solar sail along an elliptic heliocentric orbit. In this mission scenario, the phasing orbit is composed of two symmetric logarithmic spiral trajectories connected with a coasting arc.     

内蒙古贺根山蛇纹岩化流体来源的H-O-B同位素地球化学制约

对内蒙古贺根山蛇绿岩带内3个采样点的蛇纹岩样品开展了主量、微量元素和H-O-B同位素分析,以揭示其构造属性、蛇纹石化温度和流体来源。贺根山蛇纹岩具有低Al_2O_3含量(0.2%~1.3%)、高Mg~#(89~92)特征,为难熔地幔残余。蛇纹岩的U型稀土元素配分模式、相对富集LILE和亏损HFSE的微量元素地球化学特点,反映其原岩为化学成分高度亏损的俯冲带型(SSZ)超基性岩。样品的dD值相对均一(dD=-120‰~-133‰);理论计算显示,这些蛇纹岩的H同位素组成可能是蛇绿岩剥露地表后与区域大气降水发生再平衡作用的结果。贺根山蛇纹岩的d~(18)O变化在4.3‰~9.8‰之间,反映不同地点蛇纹石化的温度存在差别:其中贺根山东样品具有相对较高的d~(18)O值(d~(18)O=7.7‰~9.8‰),蛇纹石化温度为90~130℃,同时部分样品中出现碳酸盐矿物,表明蛇纹石化作用发生在近海底环境;小坝梁样品具有最低的d~(18)O值(d~(18)O=4.3‰~5.0‰),其蛇纹石化温度在205~235℃之间;贺根山南样品的d~(18)O值变化范围较大(d~(18)O=6.0‰~9.7‰),其蛇纹石化温度在90~170℃之间。3个采样点蛇纹岩的d~(11)B值也显示出一定的变化(d~(11)B=9.1‰~14.7‰),指示蛇纹石化流体来源于脱水的蚀变洋壳和海底沉积物;理论模拟和计算结果显示,这些板片流体的d~(11)B值变化在15‰~25‰之间。     

Application of saddlepoint approximation in reliability analysis of dynamic systems

The application of the saddlepoint approximation to reliability analysis of dynamic systems is investigated. The failure event in reliability problems is formulated as the exceedance of a single performance variable over a prescribed threshold level. The saddlepoint approximation technique provides a choice to estimate the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the performance variable. The failure probability is obtained as the value of the complement CDF at a specif ied threshold. The method requires computing the saddlepoint from a simple algebraic equation that depends on the cumulant generating function (CGF) of the performance variable. A method for calculating the saddlepoint using random samples of the performance variable is presented. The applicable region of the saddlepoint approximation is discussed in detail. A 10-story shear building model with white noise excitation illustrates the accuracy and effi ciency of the proposed methodology.