On shear-wave triplication in transversely isotropic media

The exact solution to the problem of qSV triplication in homogenous transversely isotropic media has been long known, but the result is algebraically complex and is seldom applied in practice. We present an appropriate approximation (not assuming weak qSV-anisotropy) that simplifies the conditions for the onset of off-axis triplication as anisotropy is increased, identifying the anisotropy parameter σ as the controlling parameter. It follows that commonly reported surface-seismic P-wave move-out measurements imply that many formations in the earth's sedimentary crust support off-axis qSV triplications. For typical Vp/Vs velocity ratios and a horizontally stratified earth, however, off-axis qSV triplications appear to only occur for shear-wave incidence angles too far from the vertical to be sampled by surface-seismic converted-wave survey geometries.     

Late Neogene loess deposition in southern Tarim Basin: tectonic and palaeoenvironmental implications

Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau during the late Cainozoic resulted in a thick apron of molassic sediments along the northern piedmonts of the Kunlun and Altyn Mountains in the southern Tarim Basin. Early Neogene sediments are characterised by sandstone, siltstone and red mudstone, representing floodplain to distal alluvial fan environments. The Early Pliocene Artux Formation consists of medium-grained sandstone and sandy mudstone with thin layers of fine pebbly gritstone. The Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Xiyu Formation is dominated by pebble to boulder conglomerate typical of alluvial fan debris flow deposits. Sedimentological investigation, together with grain size and chemical analyses of siltstone bands intercalated with sandstone and conglomerate in the Xiyu and Artux Formations, point to an aeolian origin, suggesting desertic conditions in the Tarim Basin by the Early Pliocene. The onset of aeolian sedimentation in the southern Tarim Basin coincided with uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from the lithofacies change from fine-grained mudstone and sandstone to coarse clasts. Tibetan Plateau uplift resulted in the shift of sedimentary environments northwards into the southern Tarim Basin, and could well have triggered the onset of full aridity in the Taklimakan region as a whole.     

Silurian to mid-Devonian basin development of the Melbourne Zone, Lachlan Fold Belt, southeastern Australia

The Melbourne Zone comprises Early Ordovician to Early Devonian marine turbidites, which pass conformably upward into a mid-Devonian fluviatile succession. There are four pulses of Silurian to mid-Devonian deep-marine sandstone-dominated sedimentation: Early Silurian (late Llandovery), Late Silurian (Ludlow), earliest Devonian (Lochkovian) and late Early Devonian (Emsian). Two dispersal patterns have been defined using more than 1100 palaeocurrent measurements, mainly from sole marks and cross-laminations in graded beds, together with sandstone compositions. The older pattern, of Silurian to earliest Devonian age, contains the lowest three sandstone pulses. Palaeocurrents and provenance define a wedge of southwesterly derived sediment, of largely cratonic provenance, thinning eastward. This older dispersal pattern is part of an Early Ordovician to earliest Devonian east-facing passive continental margin succession. Palaeocurrents and provenance in the Emsian sandstone pulse comprise three patterns: (1) west- to southwesterly directed palaeocurrents associated with fine- to coarse-grained, locally conglomeratic, lithic sandstones containing a high proportion of volcanic detritus; (2) east- to northeasterly directed palaeocurrents associated with fine- to medium-grained quartz-lithic sandstones; (3) north- to northwesterly and south- to southeasterly directed palaeocurrents associated with fine- to medium-grained sandstones of variable lithic composition. The palaeocurrent and provenance pattern defines a NNW-elongate basin with a tectonically active eastern margin, and is similar to the coeval Mathinna basin of northeastern Tasmania. Both basins are part of the same system of wrench basins, which developed along the western side of the Wagga–Omeo Metamorphic Belt during the earliest Devonian to Middle Devonian. The change in tectonic setting in the earliest Devonian appears to have occurred during an interval of significant dextral translation of the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt towards the SSE along the Governor and associated fault zones.     

Fractionation of bulk rock composition due to porphyroblast growth: effects on eclogite facies mineral equilibria, Pam Peninsula, New Caledonia

Chemically zoned porphyroblasts in metamorphic rocks indicate that diffusional processes could not maintain equilibrium conditions on a grain scale during porphyroblast growth or establish it afterwards. An effect of this inability to maintain equilibrium is the progressive removal of elements forming garnet cores from any metamorphic reaction that occurs at the porphyroblast boundaries or in the matrix of the rock. To examine this effect on mineral assemblages, the Bence–Albee matrix correction was applied to X‐ray intensity maps collected using eclogite samples from northern New Caledonia in order to determine the chemical composition of all parts of the sample. The manipulation of these element maps allows a quantitative analysis of the fractionation of the bulk rock composition between garnet cores and the matrix. A series of calculated equilibrium‐volume compositions represents the change in matrix chemistry with progressive elemental fractionation as a consequence of prograde garnet growth under high‐P conditions. Pressure–temperature pseudosections are calculated for these compositions, in the CaO–Na₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O system. Assemblages, modal proportions and mineral textures observed in the New Caledonian eclogites can be closely modelled by progressively ‘removing’ elements forming garnet cores from the bulk rock composition. The pseudosections demonstrate how chemical fractionation effects the peak metamorphic assemblage, prograde textures and the development of retrograde assemblages.     

Methods for determining minimum freshwater inflow needs of Texas bays and estuaries

In response to legislative directives beginning in 1975, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) jointly established and currently maintain a data collection and analytical study program focused on determining the effects of and needs for freshwater inflows into the state's 10 bay and estuary systems. Study elements include hydrographic surveys, hydrodynamic modeling of circulation and salinity patterns, sediment analyses, nutrient analyses, fisheries analyses, freshwater inflow optimization modeling, and verification of needs. For determining the needs, statistical regression models are developed among freshwater inflows, salinities, and coastal fisheries. Results from the models and analyses are placed into the Texas Estuarine Mathematical Programming (TxEMP) model, along with information on salinity viability limits, nutrient budgets, fishery biomass ratios, and inflow bounds. The numerical relationships are solved within the constraints and limits, and optimized to meet state management objectives for maintenance of biological productivity and overall ecological health. Solution curves from the TxEMP model are verified by TWDB’s hydrodynamic simulation of estuarine circulation and salinity structure, which is evaluated against TPWD’s analysis of species abundance and distribution patterns in each bay and estuary system. An adequate system-wide match initially verifies the inflow solution. Long-term monitoring is recommended in order to verify that implementation of future water management strategies maintain ecological health of the estuaries and to provide an early warning of needs for adaptive management strategies.     

森林生态服务市场的开发

<正> 森林提供许多有价值的生态服务,诸如保护流域和生物多样性以及贮存碳素等,现已引起企业、政府乃至个人越来越多的关注,同时人们也意识到随着森林这些功能的退化甚至丧失所带来的危险和代价。这种退化既能引起洪水、山崩之类的局部灾难,也会导致全球气候变化之类的广泛影响。     

Mapping distortion of detectors in UVIT onboard AstroSat observatory

Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) is one of the payloads onboard AstroSat, India’s first multi-wavelength Astronomy mission. UVIT is primarily designed to make high resolution images in wide field, in three wavelength channels simultaneously: FUV (130–180 nm), NUV (200–300 nm) and VIS (320–550 nm). The intensified imagers used in UVIT suffer from distortions, and a correction is necessary for these to achieve good astrometry. In this article we describe the methodology and calculations used to estimate the distortions in ground calibrations.     

Does the permeability of gravel river beds affect near‐bed hydrodynamics?

The permeability of river beds is an important control on hyporheic flow and the movement of fine sediment and solutes into and out of the bed. However, relatively little is known about the effect of bed permeability on overlying near‐bed flow dynamics, and thus on fluid advection at the sediment–water interface. This study provides the first quantification of this effect for water‐worked gravel beds. Laboratory experiments in a recirculating flume revealed that flows over permeable beds exhibit fundamental differences compared with flows over impermeable beds of the same topography. The turbulence over permeable beds is less intense, more organised and more efficient at momentum transfer because eddies are more coherent. Furthermore, turbulent kinetic energy is lower, meaning that less energy is extracted from the mean flow by this turbulence. Consequently, the double‐averaged velocity is higher and the bulk flow resistance is lower over permeable beds, and there is a difference in how momentum is conveyed from the overlying flow to the bed surface. The main implications of these results are three‐fold. First, local pressure gradients, and therefore rates of material transport, across the sediment–water interface are likely to differ between impermeable and permeable beds. Second, near‐bed and hyporheic flows are unlikely to be adequately predicted by numerical models that represent the bed as an impermeable boundary. Third, more sophisticated flow resistance models are required for coarse‐grained rivers that consider not only the bed surface but also the underlying permeable structure. Overall, our results suggest that the effects of bed permeability have critical implications for hyporheic exchange, fluvial sediment dynamics and benthic habitat availability. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Journey‐to‐Work Patterns in the Age of Sprawl: Evidence from Two Midsize Southern Metropolitan Areas*

Among others, one commonly identified negative consequence of urban sprawl is an increase in the length of the journey to work. However, there has been more discussion of this than serious scrutiny, hence the relationship between urban sprawl and commuting patterns, especially at the intraurban level, remains unclear. Using the 2000 Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) data for two Southeastern metropolitan areas, this research investigates the extent to which workers living in sprawl areas commute farther to work than those living in higher density areas. The analysis of variance confirms that workers commuting from sprawl areas to urban areas experience a longer commute in terms of time as well as mileage, though this varies when workplace and home locations are taken into account. However, multivariate statistical results suggest that there are limits to the utility of sprawl as a predictor of travel behavior compared to workers' socioeconomic characteristics, as other factors appear to be equally or more important.