Andean evolution at the Guañacos and Chos Malal fold and thrust belts (36°30′–37°s)

The Andes between 36°30′ and 37°S represent a Cretaceous fold and thrust belt strongly reactivated in the late Miocene. Most of the features that absorbed Neogene shortening were already uplifted in the late Cretaceous, as revealed by field mapping and confirmed by previous fission track analysis. This Andean section is formed by two sectors: a western-inner sector generated by the closure of the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene intra-arc Cura Mallín basin between the middle and late Miocene (Guañacos fold and thrust belt), and an eastern-outer sector, where late Triassic-early Jurassic extensional depocenters were exhumed in two discrete phases of contraction, in the latest early Cretaceous and late Miocene to the Present, respectively (Chos Malal fold and thrust belt). Late Miocene deformation has not homogeneously reactivated Cretaceous compressive structures, being minimal south of 37°30′S through the eastern-outer sector (southern continuation of the Chos Malal fold and thrust belt). The reason for such an inhomogeneous deformational evolution seems to be related to the development of a late Miocene shallow subduction regime between 34°30′ and 37°45′S, as it was proposed in previous studies. This shallow subduction zone is evidenced by the eastward expansion of the arc that was accompanied by the eastern displacement of the orogenic front at these latitudes. As a result, the Cretaceous fold and thrust belt were strongly reactivated north of 37°30′S producing the major topographic break along the Southern Central Andes.     

Spatial and temporal structure of the Denmark Strait Overflow revealed by acoustic observations

In spite of the fundamental role the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays for global climate stability, no direct current measurement of the Denmark Strait Overflow, which is the densest part of the AMOC, has been available until recently that resolve the cross-stream structure at the sill for long periods. Since 1999, an array of bottom-mounted acoustic instruments measuring current velocity and bottom-to-surface acoustic travel times was deployed at the sill. Here, the optimization of the array configuration based on a numerical overflow model is discussed. The simulation proves that more than 80% of the dense water transport variability is captured by two to three acoustic current profilers (ADCPs). The results are compared with time series from ADCPs and Inverted Echo Sounders deployed from 1999 to 2003, confirming that the dense overflow plume can be reliably measured by bottom-mounted instruments and that the overflow is largely geostrophically balanced at the sill.     

Analysis of Physical and Chemical Parameters for Discrimination of Water Origin in a Hydroelectric Reservoir

Seventeen physical and chemical parameters were obtained from a hydroelectric reservoir located in a tropical region in the south of Brazil. Multivariate Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Group Analysis (HGA) were used to identify the parameters discriminating the origin of water from the Tibagi and the Primeiro de Maio River, after it has passed the mixing region. The study was conducted during the dry and rainy seasons in July 2002 and February 2003 at three depths and three sampling sites located 0, 5, and 10 km away from the mixing region. The statistical methods showed to be appropriate for identifying the contribution of each tributary in the water mixing site of a complex water system. The most important discriminating parameter was the absorbance relation A(253 nm)/A(203 nm), followed by the concentrations of Fe(III), Mn(III), and Ni(II). An anthropogenic interference was found in the reservoir due to high Ni(II) and orthophosphate concentrations caused by a nearby town sewage discharge. The interference was more important during the dry periods due to the lower dispersion of the pollutants. Urgent initiatives should be taken from the state government to build treatment stations for the wastewater of the small cities around the Capivara hydroelectric reservoir to prevent the drinking water quality from deteriorating.     

Analysis of the weightiness of site effects on reinforced concrete (RC) building seismic behaviour: The Adra town example (SE Spain)

The damage distribution in Adra town (south‐eastern Spain) during the 1993 and 1994 Adra earthquakes (5.0 magnitude), that reached a maximum intensity degree of VII (European Macroseismic Scale (EMS scale)), was concentrated mainly in the south‐east zone of the town and the most relevant damage occurred in reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with four or five storeys. In order to evaluate the influence of ground condition on RC building behaviour, geological, geomorphological and geophysical surveys were carried out, and a detailed map of ground surface structure was obtained. Short‐period microtremor observations were performed in 160 sites on a 100m × 100m dimension grid and Nakamura's method was applied in order to determine a distribution map of soil predominant periods. Shorter predominant periods (0.1–0.3 s) were found in mountainous and neighbouring zones and larger periods (greater than 0.5 s) in thicker Holocene alluvial fans. A relationship T = (0.049 ± 0.001)N, where T is the natural period of swaying motion and N is the number of storeys, has been empirically obtained by using microtremor measurements at the top of 38 RC buildings (ranging from 2 to 9 storeys). 1‐D simulation of strong motion on different soil conditions and for several typical RC buildings were computed, using the acceleration record in Adra town of the 1993 earthquake. It is noteworthy that all the aforementioned results show the influence of site effects in the degree and distribution of observed building damage. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Possibilities of GPS Kinematic Measurements for Geological Survey in East Slovakia

This paper deals with transformation procedures for observed GPS data from the world geodetic system WGS-84 into the national geodetic grid datum S-UTCN(system of united trigonometric cadaster network) and Baa(the Baltic Sea after adjustment).Transformation from WGS-84 into SUTCN is performed most frequently by means of the 7-element Helmert transformation with three identical points.Geodetic network was adjusted by two ways.     

藏北高原陆面过程的模拟试验

利用NCAR陆面过程模式(Land Surface Model)和1998年"青藏高原能量与水分观测实验"加强观测期(GAME/Tibet IOP)的观测资料对青藏高原地区陆面过程进行了模拟研究.结果表明,在观测资料的强迫下模式能够较好地模拟出地表特征量的变化趋势,深层的土壤温度的模拟对初始场在0℃左右的变化敏感.模拟的感热通量、潜热通量以及地表反射的太阳辐射较观测值偏大.在高原地区地表类型分布状况的真实描述及植被、土壤参数的选取可能是提高该地区效果的首要问题;草地下垫面的陆面特征有待进一步研究;对土壤水热运动的真实描述,及冻土过程的加入对大气环流模式(GCM)跨季节的数值模拟会有所改进.     

中纬度夏季一次深厚对流过程的数值模拟研究:高空热力层结和风切变影响

针对一次发生在中纬度夏季的深厚对流过程进行的数值模拟研究的结果,引入一个较详细描述深厚对流状态下云微物理过程的参数化方案,对一个有限差分三维非静力弹性大气数值模式进行了改进.数值模拟得到了与天气雷达观测一致的结果.结果还显示,对于这次穿透高度超过了对流层顶的深厚对流过程,与高空斜压扰动有关的上对流层弱稳定热力层结对系统的维持起到了重要的作用.另外,还发现强烈的对流发展到对流层顶的高度时,受上曳体的驱动,在对流层顶附近的稳定层结中产生浮力性的扰动;它们与风切变相结合,进而对系统的水平移动产生控制作用.     

干旱条件下夏玉米耗水分析

根据田间试验结果，分析干旱年份夏玉米不同发育阶段耗水状况，对比了不同日降水量对玉米田3米剖面的水分分布状况的影响，讨论了土壤失熵过程中的不同深度的水分的变化以及土壤水对玉米干物质积累的影响，为干旱年份玉米水分的科学管理提供依据。