Seismic hazard assessment for Mymensingh,Bangladesh

Mymensingh municipality lies in one of the most earthquake-prone areas of Bangladesh. The town was completely destroyed during the Great Indian Earthquake of 12 June 1897, for which the surface-wave magnitude was 8.1. In this study the 1897 Great Indian Earthquake was used as a scenario event for developing seismic microzonation maps for Mymensingh. For microzonation purposes SPT data from 87 boreholes were collected from different relevant organizations. To verify those data ten boreholes of depth up to 30 m were drilled. Intensity values obtained for different events were calibrated against attenuation laws to check applicability to the study area. Vibration characteristics at diverse points of the study area were estimated by employing the one-dimensional wave-propagation software SHAKE. SHAKE discretizes the soil profile into several layers and uses an iterative technique to represent the non-linear behavior of the soil by adjusting the material properties at each iteration step. The required input information includes depth, shear wave velocity, damping factor, and unit weight of each soil layer. The liquefaction resistance factor and the resulting liquefaction potential were estimated to quantify the severity of liquefaction. Quantification of secondary site effects and the weighting scheme for combining the various seismic hazards were heuristic, based on judgment and expert opinion.     

湖北宜昌樟村坪埃迪卡拉系陡山沱组硅磷质结核中的微体化石

本文报道的微体化石产于湖北宜昌樟村坪万家沟剖面埃迪卡拉纪陡山沱组第10层的硅磷质结核中,化石组合包括疑源类Appendisphaera grandis、Ericiasphaera spjeldnaesii、Knollisphaeridium maxi mum、Leiosphaeridia tenuissi ma、Meghystrichosphaeridium perfectum、Tianzhushania polysiphonia、T.spinosa、T.ornata;丝状蓝藻Oscillatoriopsis obtusa、Polytrichoides induviatus、P.lineatus、Salome hubeiensis、Siphonophycustypicum;多细胞藻类Sarcinophycus palilloformis、Wengania minuta。该微体化石组合面貌与黄陵背斜东、南翼陡山沱组二段硅质结核中以大型具刺疑源类Tianzhushania为特征的组合相同,与贵州瓮安地区陡山沱组上磷块岩下部保存的微体化石组合面貌基本一致。     

Simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generating potential of various source rocks on the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin,Qinghai, China

The northern margin of the Qaidam Basin is one of the main oil-gas exploration areas in western China, where source rocks are composed mostly of Middle and Lower Jurassic dark mud shale, carbargillite and coal. A large number of subsurface and outcrop samples differing in lithology with different types of organic matter were selected for resource evaluation, research and calculation. And among them, 13 samples were used for simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generating potential of various source rocks. At first, two kinds of heating modes were compared through simulation experiment, including single temperature-step heating and continual heating. Perhaps, the process of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion occurred naturally between a close system and an open system. In addition, the first heating mode was convenient, and all its reaction products were involved in the whole thermal evolution, and the final simulation experimental results were basically in consistency with the natural evolution trend Therefore, the first heating mode was adopted and the hydrocarbon yield of every sample was worked out. According to the type and lithology of organic matter and the hydrocarbon yield of samples for simulation experiment, hydrocarbon generation and expulsion mode with three kinds of lithology and five types of source rock has been established to provide the basis for hydrocarbon generation evaluation, research and resource calculation.     

Role of land state in a high resolution mesoscale model for simulating the Uttarakhand heavy rainfall event over India

In 2013, Indian summer monsoon witnessed a very heavy rainfall event (>30 cm/day) over Uttarakhand in north India, claiming more than 5000 lives and property damage worth approximately 40 billion USD. This event was associated with the interaction of two synoptic systems, i.e., intensified subtropical westerly trough over north India and north-westward moving monsoon depression formed over the Bay of Bengal. The event had occurred over highly variable terrain and land surface characteristics. Although global models predicted the large scale event, they failed to predict realistic location, timing, amount, intensity and distribution of rainfall over the region. The goal of this study is to assess the impact of land state conditions in simulating this severe event using a high resolution mesoscale model. The land conditions such as multi-layer soil moisture and soil temperature fields were generated from High Resolution Land Data Assimilation (HRLDAS) modelling system. Two experiments were conducted namely, (1) CNTL (Control, without land data assimilation) and (2) LDAS, with land data assimilation (i.e., with HRLDAS-based soil moisture and temperature fields) using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) modelling system. Initial soil moisture correlation and root mean square error for LDAS is 0.73 and 0.05, whereas for CNTL it is 0.63 and 0.053 respectively, with a stronger heat low in LDAS. The differences in wind and moisture transport in LDAS favoured increased moisture transport from Arabian Sea through a convectively unstable region embedded within two low pressure centers over Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The improvement in rainfall is significantly correlated to the persistent generation of potential vorticity (PV) in LDAS. Further, PV tendency analysis confirmed that the increased generation of PV is due to the enhanced horizontal PV advection component rather than the diabatic heating terms due to modified flow fields. These results suggest that, two different synoptic systems merged by the strong interaction of moving PV columns resulted in the strengthening and further amplification of the system over the region in LDAS. This study highlights the importance of better representation of the land surface fields for improved prediction of localized anomalous weather event over India.     

Expression of putative zinc-finger protein lcn61 gene in lymphocystis disease virus China （LCDV-cn） genome

An open reading frame (lcn61) of lymphocystis disease virus China (LCDV-cn), probably responsible for encoding putative zinc-finger proteins was amplified and inserted into pET24a (+) vector. Then it expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3), and His-tag fusion protein of high yield was obtained. It was found that the fusion protein existed in E. coli mainly as inclusion bodies. The bioinformatics analysis indicates that LCN61 is C2H2 type zinc-finger protein containing four C2H2 zinc-finger motifs. This work provides a theory for functional research of lcn61 gene. Supported by High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, No. 2006AA100309)     

Environmental isotopic and hydrochemical study of water in the karst aquifer and submarine springs of the Syrian coast

The groundwater of major karst systems and submarine springs in the coastal limestone aquifer of Syria has been investigated using chemical and isotopic techniques. The δ¹⁸O values of groundwater range from ?6.8 to ?5.05‰, while those for submarine springs vary from ?6.34 to +1.08‰ (eastern Mediterranean seawater samples have a mean of +1.7‰). Groundwater originates from the direct infiltration of atmospheric water. Stable isotopes show that the elevation of the recharge zones feeding the Banyas area (400–600 m a.s.l.) is higher than that feeding the Amrit area (100–300 m a.s.l.). The ¹⁸O_extracted (¹⁸O content of the seawater contribution) for the major submarine springs suggests a mean recharge area elevation of 600–700 m a.s.l., and lower than 400 m a.s.l. for the spring close to Amrit. Based on the measured velocity and the percentage of fresh water at the submarine springs outlet, the estimated discharge rate is 350 million m³/year. The tritium concentrations in groundwater (1.6–5.9 TU) are low and very close to the current rainfall values (2.9–5.6 TU). Adopting a model with exponential time distribution, the mean turnover time of groundwater in the Al-sen spring was evaluated to be 60 years. A value of about 3.7 billion m³ was obtained for the maximum groundwater reservoir size.     

What is responsible for increasing flood risks? The case of Gangwon Province,Korea

We examined the anthropogenic and natural causes of flood risks in six representative cities in the Gangwon Province of Korea. Flood damage per capita is mostly explained by cumulative upper 5% summer precipitation amount and the year. The increasing flood damage is also associated with deforestation in upstream areas and intensive land use in lowlands. Human encroachment on floodplains made these urban communities more vulnerable to floods. Without changes in the current flood management systems of these cities, their vulnerability to flood risks will remain and may even increase under changing climate conditions.     

Comparison of the Salinity Structure of the Chesapeake Bay,the Delaware Bay and Long Island Sound Using a Linearly Tapered Advection-Dispersion Model

Long records of monthly salinity observations along the axis of Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and Long Island Sound are used to test a simple advection–dispersion model of the salt distribution in linearly tapered estuaries developed in a previous paper. We subdivide each estuary into three to five segments, each with linear taper allowing a distributed input of fresh water, and evaluate the dispersion in each segment. While Delaware Bay has weak dispersion and a classical sigmoidal salinity structure, Long Island Sound and Chesapeake Bay are more dispersive and have relatively small gradients in the central stretches. Long Island Sound is distinguished by having a net volume and salt flux out of its low-salinity end resulting in a smaller range of salinity and increasing axial gradients at its head rather than the usual asymptotic approach to zero salinity. Estimates of residence times based on model transport coefficients show that Long Island Sound has the most rapid response to fresh-water flux variations. It also has the largest amplitude cycle in river discharge fluctuation. In combination, these cause the large seasonal variation in the salinity structure relative to interannual variability in Long Island Sound as compared with Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay.