Cuttability assessment of hard coal seams

Summary A number of field and laboratory tests have been carried out on more than 15 coal seams of compressive strengths ranging from 19 MPa to 44 MPa to evolve methods which would help in the selection of suitable coaling machines for hard coal seams. The effect of physico-mechanical properties on cuttability were studied in the laboratory for all these coal seams to identify the relevant parameters affecting the specific energy of coal cuttability. These data were subjected to regression analysis to find the best fit for estimation of laboratory specific energy of coal samples on the basis of simple laboratory and field tests for the strength parameters. Field studies were also conducted over a large number of active mechanized coal faces to study in situ cuttability along with the geo-mining conditions of the site. The field and the laboratory data so generated were correlated and an attempt is made to establish a relationship for estimating the field specific energy for a particular capacity of coaling machines by considering the geo-mining domain of the field in totality.     

An engineering geological appraisal of the sandstones of the Clarens Formation,Lesotho, in relation to tunnelling

Summary The Delivery Tunnel South forms part of a system of tunnels for conveying water from Lesotho to South Africa. The tunnel was excavated primarily by tunnel boring machine in the sandstones of the Clarens Formation. These sandstones are uniformly graded and fine grained with quartz being the most abundant mineral. They are mostly of aeolian origin. Their unconfined compressive strength varies appreciably, from moderately strong to extremely strong. The boreability of the sandstones was investigated by the Norwegian Institute of Technology tests and the total hardness. These tests showed that these sandstones would be relatively easy to bore, although moderately abrasive. The prediction proved correct. In fact, excavation of the tunnel was completed 20 months ahead of schedule, the rock conditions being better than expected. The long-term durability of these sandstones was investigated to establish criteria for concrete lining of the tunnel. A series of tests were undertaken to evaluate the durability. These included a number of soaking tests using different fluid media, wet and dry testing, erosion tests and brushing tests. This testing programme suggested that concrete lining of the intact sandstone was probably only required where the strength of the sandstone was less than 20 MPa and that therefore only a small percentage of the tunnel need be lined.     

能源基地晋陕蒙接壤地区地质环境质量定量研究

本文基于地质环境是由诸多因素有机组合而成,其质量也是各因素质量的复杂组合,是一种模糊现象,难以精确评价,但又存在明显差异的认识,采用模糊数学理论,即以环境地质亚区为单元,考虑多因素的综合影响。采用数量化的动态聚类法,对晋陕蒙接壤地区地质环境质量进行了评价:包括自然条件下地质环境质量评价和煤炭、水资源开发后地质环境质量的相对变化评价。     

Influence of southern oscillation index on the variability and predictability of Indian monsoon. A reappraisal

The relationship between the monsoon rainfall throughout all India, northwest India and peninsular India as well as the onset dates of the monsoon and two indices of southern oscillation (SOI), namely Isla de Pascua minus Darwin (I-D) and Tahiti minus Darwin (T-D) pressure anomaly have been studied for different periods. The study indicates that the monsoon rainfall shows a strong and significant direct relationship with SOI for the concurrent, succeeding autumn and succeeding winter seasons. The magnitude of the direct correlation coefficient for the SOI using (I-D) is enhanced over all India and peninsular India if the above seasons happen to be associated with an easterly phase of the QBO (Quasi-Biennial Oscillation) at 50 mb. The result indicates that the strength of the monsoon plays an important role in the following southern oscillation events in the Pacific Ocean. The premonsoon tendency of the SOI anomaly spring minus winter SOI shows a significant positive correlation with monsoon rainfall over all India, northwest India and peninsular India. The absolute value of the positive correlation coefficient becomes highly enhanced over all India, northwest India as well as peninsular India if the 6-month period from December to March is associated with the westerly phase of the QBO. Hence, the premonsoon SOI tendency parameter can be a useful predictor of Indian monsoon rainfall especially if it happens to be associated with the westerly QBO. Significant negative association is also found between the anomaly of monsoon onset dates and SOI of the previous spring season, the absolute value being higher for SOI (T-D) than for SOI (I-D). The negative correlation coefficient becomes enhanced if the previous springs are associated with a westerly phase of the QBO. It shows that the previous spring SOI has some predictive value for the onset date of Indian monsoon, a positive SOI followed by an early onset of monsoon, andvice versa, especially if it is associated with a westerly phase of the QBO.     

油气地化指标得分和方法在油气化探异常评价中的应用

以我国华北某油区油气勘探为例,介绍了油气地球化学异常评价标志及依据,并利用这些评价标志——异常形态、异常组合、异常规模(N4P)、变异系数、构造圈闭等在油气地化异常评价中的作用,给出不同的分值,按评分标准对圈定的异常求出累积得分和,据此对油气化探异常所圈定的远景区进行排序,为进一步的油气勘查提供地球化学依据,并取得了较好的效果。     

南亚高压强度与邻近地区垂直速度的相互依赖关系

利用ERA-Interim 1979—2018年6—8月的再分析资料,通过相关分析、信息流、合成分析等方法研究了南亚高压强度与其邻近地区垂直速度的相互依赖关系.结果表明：南亚高压在上对流层-下平流层区域具有上冷下暖的热力结构,冷、暖中心分别在70 hPa和250 hPa,以这两层的温度异常建立的温差指数可以反映南亚高压的强度.在不同时间尺度上,南亚高压强度与其邻近地区垂直速度的相互依赖关系是不同的.在月时间尺度上,南亚高压强度通过动力作用影响邻近地区的垂直速度,南亚高压增强（减弱）时,其东部地区的上升运动和西部地区的下沉运动同步增强（减弱）;在日时间尺度上,南亚高压中部的垂直速度通过热力强迫影响南亚高压强度,南亚高压中部地区上升运动增强（减弱）时,南亚高压增强（减弱）且位置偏西（偏东）.     

Ia超新星的几个问题

首先利用Ａｓｉａｇｏ 超新星星表对Ｉａ 超新星作了统计分析。其次用具有精确测光的Ｉａ 超新星对其均匀性及多样性进行了研究。旋涡星系中Ｉａ 超新星的产生率比椭圆星系的要高。最亮的Ｉａ 超新星只出现于晚型旋涡星系中;而旋涡星系及早型的椭圆星系都是暗Ｉａ 超新星的寄主星系。离星系中心越近Ｉａ 超新星的光度弥散有增加的趋势,但这一趋势对蓝Ｉａ 超新星不明显。利用色指数可将Ｉａ 超新星划分为蓝超新星及红超新星。蓝Ｉａ 超新星构成了相对均匀的Ｉａ 超新星样本,是较好的距离指示器;而红Ｉａ 超新星的存在则表明了Ｉａ 超新星整体多样性的特点。最后,我们还探讨了Ｉａ 超新星中碳点火的非线性问题。     

Groundwater storage change detection from in situ and GRACE-based estimates in major river basins across India

ABSTRACT

India has been the subject of many recent groundwater studies due to the rapid depletion of groundwater in large parts of the country. However, few if any of these studies have examined groundwater storage conditions in all of India’s river basins individually. Herein we assess groundwater storage changes in all 22 of India’s major river basins using in situ data from 3420 observation locations for the period 2003–2014. One-month and 12-month standardized precipitation index measures (SPI-1 and SPI-12) indicate fluctuations in the long-term pattern. The Ganges and Brahmaputra basins experienced long-term decreasing trends in precipitation in both 1961–2014 and the study period, 2003–2014. Indeterminate or increasing precipitation trends occurred in other basins. Satellite-based and in situ groundwater storage time series exhibited similar patterns, with increases in most of the basins. However, diminishing groundwater storage (at rates of >0.4 km³/year) was revealed in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin based on in situ observations, which is particularly important due to its agricultural productivity.     

Drought assessment in a south Mediterranean transboundary catchment

ABSTRACT

Predicting the impacts of climate change on water resources remains a challenging task and requires a good understanding of the dynamics of the forcing terms in the past. In this study, the variability of precipitation and drought patterns is studied over the Mediterranean catchment of the Medjerda in Tunisia based on an observed rainfall dataset collected at 41 raingauges during the period 1973–2012. The standardized precipitation index and the aridity index were used to characterize drought variability. Multivariate and geostatistical techniques were further employed to identify the spatial variability of annual rainfall. The results show that the Medjerda is marked by a significant spatio-temporal variability of drought, with varying extreme wet and dry events. Four regions with distinct rainfall regimes are identified by utilizing the K-means cluster analysis. A principal component analysis identifies the variables that are responsible for the relationships between precipitation and drought variability.     

Evaluating simulated daily discharge for operational hydrological drought monitoring in the Global Drought Observatory (GDO)

ABSTRACT

Hydrological drought is currently underrepresented in global monitoring systems, mainly due the shortage of near real-time estimates of river discharge at the global scale. In this study, the outputs of the Lisflood model are used to define a low-flow drought index, which shows a good correspondence with long-term records of the Global Runoff Data Centre in the period 1980–2014, as well as with verified information from the literature on six major drought events (covering different regions and watershed sizes). In contrast, the near real-time simulation (from 2015 onward) provides temporally inconsistent estimates over about 20% of the modelled cells (mostly over South America and Central Africa), even if reasonable results are obtained over other regions, as confirmed by intercomparison with the operational outcomes of the European Drought Observatory for the 2018 drought. In spite of the highlighted limitations, valuable information for operational drought monitoring can be retrieved from these simulations.