搭建地震方法和大地测量方法所检测的慢地震之间的桥梁

最近观测到的异常地震事件——深部低频地震和颤动、甚低频地震及慢滑动事件——形成了慢震群,而这个慢震群受控于不同于普通地震的标定律。根据这个标定律,我们在日本西部的纪伊半岛下方观测到了之前未知的事件,其震源持续时间约20-200s,矩震级为3～4级。这些地震在2～8Hz的频带范围内辐射能量,直接与其地震矩率成比例,但这个比例常数比一般地震小4～5个数量级。这个地区的慢地震可能是由大量的剪切滑动事件组成的,从地震方法上看,总体上会呈现为颤动或长达200s持续时间的较长独立事件,从大地测量方法上看,是慢滑动事件。     

Effects of slope gradient on runoff from bare-fallow purple soil in China under natural rainfall conditions

Purple soil is highly susceptible for overland flow and surface erosion, therefore understanding surface runoff and soil erosion processes in the purple soil region are important to mitigate flooding and erosion hazards. Slope angle is an important parameter that affects the magnitude of runoff and thus surface erosion in hilly landscapes or bare land area. However, the effect of slope on runoff generation remains unclear in many different soils including Chinese purple soil. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between different slope gradients and surface runoff for bare-fallow purple soil, using 5 m × 1.5 m experimental plots under natural rainfall conditions. Four experimental plots(10°, 16°, 20° and 26°) were established in theYanting Agro-ecological Experimental Station of Chinese Academy of Science in central Sichuan Basin. The plot was equipped with water storage tank to monitor water level change. Field monitoring from July 1 to October 31, 2012 observed 42 rainfall events which produced surface runoff from the experimental plots. These water level changes were converted to runoff. The representative eight rainfall events were selected for further analysis, the relationship between slope and runoff coefficient were determined using ANOVA, F-test, and z-score analysis. The results indicated a strong correlation between rainfall and runoff in cumulative amount basis. The mean value of the measured runoff coefficient for four experimental plots was around 0.1. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between slope and runoff coefficient. We reviewed the relationship between slope and runoff in many previous studiesand calculated z-score to compare with our experimental results. The results of z-score analysis indicated that both positive and negative effects of slope on runoff coefficient were obtained, however a moderate gradient(16°-20° in this study) could be a threshold of runoff generation for many different soils including the Chinese purple soil.     

The height of the maximum ionospheric electron density over the MU radar

Ionospheric F₂-layer peak height h_mF₂ variations, as measured over 1986–1995 by the MU radar (34.85°N, 136.1°E) and as calculated with a theoretical model, are discussed. The diurnal variations of the measured peak height for different seasons and levels of solar activity are compared with those estimated from ionosonde M3000F₂ and IRI predictions. Also given are the measured ion drift velocities and meridional neutral winds needed to understand the dynamic behavior of the F₂-layer. It is found that: (1) h_mF₂ is generally higher during periods of the solar maximum than during periods of the solar minimum, and higher in summer than in winter; (2) for the solar maximum, h_mF₂ drops markedly in the morning and in the afternoon, while, for the solar minimum, the h_mF₂ minimum occurs in the morning during summer and usually in the afternoon during winter. In general, the measured h_mF₂ is well reproduced by our model when we use the observed drift velocities and plasma temperatures as inputs. Our modeling study shows that the neutral wind contributes strongly to the diurnal variation of h_mF₂ in winter by lowering the ionization layer by day, particularly for the solar maximum; it also helps to enlarge the day–night difference of h_mF₂ in summer. The northward electromagnetic drifts that usually cancel the neutral wind effect have only a minor effect for the location of the MU radar. Other features of the observed h_mF₂ variations, e.g., the solar maximum–minimum difference, the summer–winter difference, and the morning and afternoon drops, are explained by the basic processes of O⁺ production, loss and diffusion, as influenced by the atomic oxygen concentration and neutral and plasma temperatures.     

Three–Dimensional Isotopic Characteristics of Crystalline Limestone around the Sakonishi Zn Ore Bodies in the Kamioka Mining District, Japan

Abstract: Predominant Zn-rich ore bodies were found to a deep part of the Sakonishi area in the Kamioka mining district, Japan. The ore mineralization was recognized at 230 to 300m above sea level in the Sakonishi area. Since crystalline limestone is broadly distributed over the area, and the variation in isotopic composition is easily detected, the isotopic prospecting should be powerful in surveying of the extent of the ore bodies and the related hydrothermal system. Although isotopic anomalies have been extracted two-dimensionally so far, three-dimensional information is possibly more powerful. In this paper, Zn-rich ore bodies in the Sakonishi area are treated as hydrothermal ore deposits, and the importance of the activity of hydrothermal fluids during mineralization is emphasized. Oxygen and carbon isotopic ‘iso–surfaces’ are three-dimensionally calculated for the Sakonishi area. The δ¹⁸O values of crystalline limestone from the surface and from the drill holes range from +8. 1 to +21. 1% and from –2. 7 to +20. 4%, respectively. The δ¹³C values of crystalline limestone from the surface and from the drill holes range from –1. 0 to +5. 3% and from –7. 7 to +4. 6%, respectively. The oxygen and carbon iso-topic ratios at the mineralization level are extremely low, but there are exceptions as to carbon isotopes. The oxygen isotopic ratios of crystalline limestone may decrease by isotopic exchange reaction with a hydrothermal fluid, while the carbon isotopic ratios slightly change. Since the precipitated calcite from a hydrothermal fluid has low carbon isotopic ratio and various oxygen isotopic ratio depending on the formation temperature, the bulk sample of crystalline limestone containing the precipitated calcite has oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios of relatively low values accordingly. Thus the decrease mechanism for carbon isotopic ratio of crystalline limestone is different from that for oxygen isotopic ratio. Samples with the carbon isotopic ratio of –4 to –8% are considered to be crystallized from hydrothermal fluids. Since the oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios of crystalline limestone at the ore mineralization level are low, the ore bodies are considered to have formed by a prominent hydrothermal activity. Thus oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios of crystalline limestone can be used as an indicator of the related hydrothermal activity. The alteration such as chloritization is intense near fractures in the Sakonishi area, showing that the hydrothermal system is controlled by a fracture system. It is assumed that the decreased isotopic ratios indicate the high degree of reactivity with hydrothermal fluids, and the depleted zone in oxygen and carbon isotopes may correspond to the conduit of the hydrothermal fluids.     

Geoarchaeological investigations at the upper Paleolithic site of Kamihoronai‐Moi,Hokkaido, Japan

In order to better understand modern human behavioral variability in Hokkaido, Japan, we consider the geoarchaeology of the Kamihoronai‐Moi site in terms of its geochronology, stratigraphy, depositional environments, and post‐depositional disturbances. A Paleolithic component is stratigraphically situated between the Eniwa‐a (15,000–17,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) and the Tarumae‐d (8000–9000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) tephras. Moreover, six AMS ¹⁴C ages on charcoal from a Pleistocene‐aged hearth feature are between 14,400 and 14,800 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Quantitative examinations of patterns in artifact distributions show a low degree of vertical and horizontal displacement of chipped‐stone artifacts, suggesting that post‐depositional movement of the cultural material was insufficient to disrupt the original pattern of artifact distribution. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Tornado shelter-seeking behavior and tornado shelter options among mobile home residents in the United States

Residents of 401 mobile homes in Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois, and Oklahoma were surveyed after they heard a tornado warning. Most residents (69%) did not seek shelter during the warning. Half of those who sought shelter went to the frame house of a friend, neighbor, or relative, and 25% of those sought shelter in a basement or underground shelter. Some of the places where residents sought shelter were of dubious quality, such as their own mobile home, another mobile home, or in an out-building. Twenty-one percent of mobile home residents believed that they had a basement or underground shelter available as shelter during a tornado warning, and about half of those said they would drive to the shelter. Residents said they would drive if the shelter was more than 200 m away. Fifteen percent actually had a basement or underground shelter suitable as shelter within 200 m of their mobile home, but only 43% of the residents would use those shelters. The most common reason cited for not using the shelters was that they did not know the people who lived there. Likewise, a frame house or other sturdy building was within 200 m of 58% of the mobile homes, but only 35% of the residents stated they would use those houses for shelter. Thirty-one percent of mobile home residents had a ditch that was at least 0.5 m deep within 200 m of the mobile home. However, 44% of these ditches had utility lines overhead, 23% had water in them, and 20% had trees overhead. The limited tornado shelter options among mobile home residents in the United States needs to be incorporated into safety instructions so that residents without nearby shelter are allowed to drive to safer shelter.     

Design and adoption of household tornado shelters for Bangladesh

Death tolls from tornadoes in Bangladesh are the highest in the world due to lack of storm warnings, poor communication, weak housing, and lack of shelters from strong winds in tornadoes and nor’westers. Based on surveys of housing types and designs in the Tangail district, a household tornado shelter is proposed to be placed in the elevated storage platform that is common in houses. The shelter is 2 m tall, 1.2 m wide, and 2–4 m long (4.8–9.6 m³ in volume) with the floor of the shelter placed one meter below the floor of the house. Walls are 7–10 cm thick and made of concrete or an earthen wall stabilized with cement or strengthened with bamboo or bricks. A survey of 200 residents of the region found nearly universal acceptance for the shelter design, and residents were eager for installation of the household shelters. The shelter cost is 2,500–10,000 taka (US50 to50 to 200) depending on local material and labor costs but residents were willing to pay an average of only 1,071 taka (US$21) toward the cost of the shelter. Families with greater income and land holdings and families in villages with recent tornado experience were willing to spend more for a shelter. A pilot project to install household tornado shelters in selected villages and monitor their use, along with continued efforts to issue storm warnings, communicate the warnings, and improve education about storm hazards, will prevent injuries and save lives in Bangladesh and reduce the descent into poverty that results from losses in severe local storms.