Simulating the effect of hydrate dissociation on wellhead stability during oil and gas development in deepwater

It is well known that methane hydrate has been identified as an alternative resource due to its massive reserves and clean property. However, hydrate dissociation during oil and gas development (OGD) process in deep water can affect the stability of subsea equipment and formation. Currently, there is a serious lack of studies over quantitative assessment on the effects of hydrate dissociation on wellhead stability. In order to solve this problem, ABAQUS finite element software was used to develop a model and to evaluate the behavior of wellhead caused by hydrate dissociation. The factors that affect the wellhead stability include dissociation range, depth of hydrate formation and mechanical properties of dissociated hydrate region. Based on these, series of simulations were carried out to determine the wellhead displacement. The results revealed that, continuous dissociation of hydrate in homogeneous and isotropic formations can causes the non-linear increment in vertical displacement of wellhead. The displacement of wellhead showed good agreement with the settlement of overlying formations under the same conditions. In addition, the shallower and thicker hydrate formation can aggravate the influence of hydrate dissociation on the wellhead stability. Further, it was observed that with the declining elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio, the wellhead displacement increases. Hence, these findings not only confirm the effect of hydrate dissociation on the wellhead stability, but also lend support to the actions, such as cooling the drilling fluid, which can reduce the hydrate dissociation range and further make deepwater operations safer and more efficient.     

Post-Newtonian effect on the variation of time of periastron passage of binary stars in three gravitational theories

The equation for the variation of the time of a periastron passage of binary stars has been solved by using the perturbation approach. The post-Newtonian effect on the variation of the time of a periastron passage has been examined within three gravitational theories. The results clearly show that the periastron passage of a binary star occurs earlier (advances) at each revolution. This effect has been calculated and discussed for ten binary stars.     

三峡库区龙门寨危岩体崩塌产生涌浪研究

长江两岸高耸的危岩体对航道、沿岸居民带来巨大安全隐患。大宁河属于长江一级支流,龙门寨危岩体位于大宁河上,距离巫山县城仅1 km。利用FLOW-3D软件,模拟了145 m、175 m两种水位工况下龙门寨危岩体崩塌产生涌浪过程和涌浪传播过程。模拟结果表明,涌浪在145 m水位工况下最大浪高约为17.9 m,175 m水位工况下最大浪高约为11.6 m;在巫山县的五个码头处,两种水位工况最大涌浪爬高分别约为10.9 m、3.8 m;根据涌浪高度,对大宁河进行危险分区,145 m水位工况下极高危险区长度约4.4 km,很高危险区长度约1.9 km;175 m水位工况下极高危险区长度约3.0 km,很高危险区长度约1.0 km。研究结果有助于防控龙门寨危岩体潜在涌浪灾害危害,保障大宁河航道和巫山县码头安全,同时也为三峡库区滑坡涌浪灾害提供了预警依据。     

An overview of dry-wet climate variability among monsoon-westerly regions and the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone in China

Climate in mainland China can be divided into the monsoon region in the southeast and the westerly region in the northwest as well as the intercross zone, i.e., the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone that is oriented from Southwest China to the upper Yellow River, North China, and Northeast China. In the three regions, dry-wet climate changes are directly linked to the interaction of the southerly monsoon flow on the east side of the Tibetan Plateau and the westerly flow on the north side of the Plateau from the inter-annual to inter-decadal timescales. Some basic features of climate variability in the three regions for the last half century and the historical hundreds of years are reviewed in this paper. In the last half century, an increasing trend of summer precipitation associated with the enhancing westerly flow is found in the westerly region from Xinjiang to northern parts of North China and Northeast China. On the other hand, an increasing trend of summer precipitation along the Yangtze River and a decreasing trend of summer precipitation along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone are associated with the weakening monsoon flow in East Asia. Historical documents are widely distributed in the monsoon region for hundreds of years and natural climate proxies are constructed in the non-monsoon region, while two types of climate proxies can be commonly found over the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone. In the monsoon region, dry-wet variation centers are altered among North China, the lower Yangtze River, and South China from one century to another. Dry or wet anomalies are firstly observed along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone and shifted southward or southeastward to the Yangtze River valley and South China in about a 70-year timescale. Severe drought events are experienced along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone during the last 5 centuries. Inter-decadal dry-wet variations are depicted by natural proxies for the last 4--5 centuries in several areas over the non-monsoon region. Some questions, such as the impact of global warming on dry-wet regime changes in China, complex interactions between the monsoon and westerly flows in Northeast China, and the integrated multi-proxy analysis throughout all of China, are proposed.     

Vertical atmospheric structure of the late summer clear days over the east Gansu loess plateau in China

In this paper, by using the sounding data collected in LOPEX05, we have analyzed the vertical atmospheric structure and boundary layer characteristics of temperature and humidity in the late summer over the east Gansu loess plateau. The results show that the bottom of the stratosphere is at about 16 500 m and varies between 14 000 m and 18 000 m above the ground. The center of the westerly jet is located between 8300 m and 14 300 m above the ground and its direction moves between 260° and 305°. There is an ...     

A synergic algorithm for retrieval of aerosol optical depth over land

In this paper, a novel algorithm for aerosol optical depth(AOD) retrieval with a 1 km spatial resolution over land is presented using the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) dual-view capability at 0.55, 0.66 and 0.87 μm, in combination with the Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model, a product of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The BRDF characteristics of the land surface, i.e. prior input parameters for this algorithm, are computed by extracti...     

Regional Distribution of Perceived Temperatures Estimated by the Human Heat Budget Model （the Klima-Michel Model） in South Korea

The regional distribution of perceived temperatures (PT) for 28 major weather stations in South Korea during the past 22 years (1983–2004) was investigated by employing a human heat budget model, the Klima-Michel model. The frequencies of a cold stress and a heat load by each region were compared. The sensitivity of PT in terms of the input of synoptic meteorological variables were successfully tested. Seogwipo in Jeju Island appears to be the most comfortable city in Korea. Busan also shows a high frequenc...     

A Note on Reviving the Goddard Satellite-Based Surface Turbulent Fluxes （GSSTF） Dataset

Accurate sea surface flux measurements are crucial for understanding the global water and energy cycles. The oceanic evaporation, which is a major component of the global oceanic fresh water flux, is useful for predicting oceanic circulation and transport. The global Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes Version-2 (GSSTF2; July 1987--December 2000) dateset that was officially released in 2001 has been widely used by scientific community for global energy and water cycle research, and regional and short period data analyses. We have recently been funded by NASA to resume processing the GSSTF dataset with an objective of continually producing a uniform dataset of sea surface turbulent fluxes, derived from remote sensing data. The dataset is to be reprocessed and brought up-to-date (GSSTF2b) using improved input datasets such as a recently upgraded NCEP/DOE sea surface temperature reanalysis, and an upgraded surface wind and microwave brightness temperature V6 dataset (Version 6) from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) produced by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS). A second new product (GSSTF3) is further proposed with a finer temporal (12-h) and spatial (0.25^ox0.25^o) resolution. GSSTF2b (July 1987--December 2008) and GSSTF3 (July 1999--December 2009) will be released for the research community to use by late 2009 and early 2011, respectively.     

面向地震巨灾保险的建筑特性快速提取方法

房屋建筑分类是抗震设计和地震风险分析的基础,是巨灾保险的纽带环节,也是结构易损性准确、完备分析的前驱保障,快速获取建筑特性参数非常关键。基于影像数据获取结构特性相比传统手段具有显著优势,然而其准确性具有一定挑战性,从影像数据得到实时的、较准确的结构特性成为地震保险数据获取技术的关注焦点。本文采用深度学习方法开展从影像数据中提取面向地震保险需求的建筑特性数据,构建基于深度学习方法的建筑高度识别模型和基于机器视觉的建筑高度识别方法,运用基于Xception神经网络深度学习和机器视觉的模型,对北京地区的建筑高度进行模型测试,该方法可为地震保险分析提供重要的基础数据支持。