Epicenter and magnitude of large earthquake determined from high-rate GPS observations: A case study of the 2008 M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

For earthquake and tsunami early warning and emergency response,the earthquake epicenter and magnitude should be determined rapidly and correctly.Using high-rate GPS observations,we can readily obtain precise and high resolution displacement time series and the seismic waveforms during the earthquake.In this paper,a new algorithm is proposed for estimating the earthquake epicenter and magnitude with the seismic waveforms derived from high-rate GPS data during the earthquake.A case study of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is conducted from 1 Hz GPS data and the epicenter and magnitude are determined.Compared with the results issued by the China Seismological Bureau,the estimation error of the epicenter and the magnitude is about 12 km and 0.1 magnitude unit,respectively.It has shown that high-rate GPS could be a new tool feasible for estimating the earthquake epicenter and magnitude,independent of or combined with seismometers.     

Characteristics of China’s oil and gas pool formation in latest geological history

The structural activities took place extensively in the Asia continent during the Cenozoic era owing to the strong continent-to-continent collision and continuous compression between the India Plate and the Eurasia Plate. Huang Jiqing called such structural activities Himalayan movement. China’s sedimentary basins developed and took shape mainly during the Himalayan movement period. It is also the main period for formation and development of the oil and gas reservoirs. Of 366 large and medium-sized oil and gas fields currently found in China, 212 reservoirs were formed in the Neogene-Quaternary period. The proportion is as high as 68.2%. The oil and gas migration and accumulation in the latest geological period, which were controlled by the times, properties, styles and strength of the Himalayan movement, took place mainly in eight regions, such as the low uplift area of Bohai Sea, the onshore faulted sag area of Bohai Bay, anticlinorium zone in Daqing, the foreland fold-and-thrust belt in West China, the tilted structural zone in West China, the cratonic palaeohigh in the Tarim Basin, the zone of fault and fold belt in the East Sichuan Basin, and the biological gas zone in the East Qaidam Basin. The oil and gas pool formations in those regions have their own characteristics. With the great potential and broad prospect, those regions are the main exploration areas in China in the future.     

河西经济带建设在大西北开发中的地位与作用

本文论述了建设河西经济带对开发大西北，维护社会稳定和国家统一，缩小东西部差异，减轻人口压力及发展边境贸易等方面的重大意义．     

Has climate change driven spatio-temporal changes of cropland in northern China since the 1970s?

Improving the understanding of cropland change and its driving factors is a current focus for policy decision-makers in China. The datasets of cropland and cropland changes from the 1970s to the 2000s were used to explore whether climate change has produced spatio-temporal changes to cropland in northern China since the 1970s. Two representative indicators of heat and water resources, which are important determinants of crop growth and productivity, were considered to track climate change, including active accumulated temperatures ≥10 °C (AAT10) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). Our results showed that rapid cropland change has occurred in northern China since the 1970s, and the area of cropland reclamation (10.23 million ha) was much greater than that of abandoned cropland (2.94 million ha). In the 2000s, the area of cropland with AAT10 higher than 3,000 °C·d increased, while the area of cropland with an SPEI greater than 0.25 decreased compared to the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. It appears that climate warming has provided thermal conditions that have aided rapid cropland reclamation in northern China since the 1970s, and drier climatic conditions did not become a limiting factor for cropland reclamation, especially from the 1990s to the 2000s. Approximately 70 % of cropland reclamation areas were located in warmer but drier regions from the 1990s to the 2000s, and approximately 40 % of cropland abandonment occurred in warmer and wetter conditions that were suitable for agriculture during the periods from the 1970s to the 1980s and the 1990s to the 2000s. Our results suggest that climate change can be considered a driving factor of cropland change in the past several decades in northern China, in addition to socioeconomic factors.     

Drought characteristics of Henan province in 1961-2013 based on Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index

Drought is one of the most complex natural hazards affecting agriculture, water resources, natural ecosystems, and society. The negative societal consequences of drought include severe economic losses, famine, epidemics, and land degradation. However, few studies have analyzed the complexity of drought characteristics, both at multiple time scales and with variations in evapotranspiration. In this study, drought occurrences were quantified using a new drought index, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), based on observed data of monthly mean temperature and precipitation from 1961 to 2013 in Henan province, central China. Based on the SPEI values of each weather station in the study, the frequency and severity of meteorological droughts were computed, and the monthly, seasonal, and annual drought frequency and intensity over a 53-year period were analyzed. The spatial and temporal evolution, intensity, and the primary causes of drought occurrence in Henan were revealed. The results showed that the SPEI values effectively reflected the spatial and temporal pattern of drought occurrence. As the time scale decreased, the amplitude of the SPEI increased and droughts became more frequent. Since 1961, drought has occurred at the annual, seasonal, and monthly scales, and the occurrence of drought has increased. However, regional distribution has been uneven. The highest drought frequency, 35%, was observed in the Zhoukou region, while the lowest value, ~26%, was measured in central and western Henan. The most severe droughts occurred in the spring and summer, followed by autumn. Annually, wide-ranging droughts occurred in 1966–1968, 1998–2000, and 2011–2013. The drought intensity showed higher values in north and west Henan, and lower values in its east and south. The maximum drought intensity value was recorded in Anyang, and the minimum occurred in Zhumadian, at 22.18% and 16.60%, respectively. The factors with the greatest influence on drought occurrence are increasing temperatures, the Eurasian atmospheric circulation patterns, and the El Niño effect.     

基于PPT战略的广东省乐昌市生态旅游扶贫模式探讨

以贫困人口受益为出发点,基于有利于贫困人口发展的旅游(Pro-Poor Tourism,PPT)战略,以广东省乐昌市为例,开展适用于中国南方林区生态旅游扶贫开发的发展模式和旅游扶贫产业的发展路径研究.结果表明:1)政府部门、旅游企业、乡村社区和非营利社会组织都应在提升贫困人口参与度、减轻贫困和生态保护方面承担责任,具体...     

论聚土免耕生态工程在川中丘陵区农业生态系统中的地位和作用

详细阐述了川中丘陵区农业生态系统的结构和功能特征 ,指出旱地子系统是该区问题最多而又最具有开发潜力的子系统。通过分析旱地聚土免耕法的功能特点及其开发利用和保护机制 ,得出它是川中丘陵区旱地恢复重建良性生态系统的技术依托。同时也提出了旱地聚土免耕生态工程目前存在的问题和应用前景。     

古尔班通古特沙漠生境对植物群落格局的影响

This paper reports a geomorphologic landscape investigation, vegetation survey and soil sampling at 14 sites across the Gurbantunggut Desert between 87°37′09"-88°24′04"E and 44°14′04"-45°41′52′Nl. The study encountered 8 species of low trees and shrubs, 5 of perennial herbs, 8of annual plants and 48 of ephemeral and ephemeroid plants. These species of plants represent one-third of the species found in the Gurbantunggut Desert, and their communities make up a large proportion of desert vegetation with great landscape significance. In the investigation we found that the plant communities are accordingly succeeded with the spatial variation of macro-ecoenvironment.Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Correlation Analysis (CA) we found that the micro-ecoenvironment heterogeneity of aeolian sandy soil′s physical and chemical properties such as soil nutrient, soil moisture, soil salt, pH etc. only impacted the diversity of herb synusia (PIEherb) of the desert, with a negative correlation. Meanwhile, the impact of microhabitat on the plant community pattern with an antagonistic interaction made vegetation′s eco-distribution in a temporary equilibrium.     

A Statistical Comparison of the Westerly Wind Bursts between the Positive and Negative Phases of the PDO

To understand the diversity of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) under the background of Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) during recent decades, characteristics of westerly wind bursts (WWBs) during positive and negative phases of the PDO were analyzed. It is shown that, during the ENSO developing period, the El Niño evolution may be affected by stronger or more frequent WWBs in the positive PDO phase than in the negative PDO phase. The sustained effects of atmospheric dynamics on the equatorial ocean can be indicated by the accumulated WWB strength, which contains most WWB characteristics, including the accumulated days, occurrence frequency, strength, and spatial range of WWBs. The synoptic/climate systems that are directly related to WWBs show a wider spatial distribution in the positive PDO phase than in the negative PDO phase.