THE PALEOSEISMIC SURFACE RUPTURE AT SOUTH OF CENTRAL ALTYN TAGH FAULT AND ITS TECTONIC IMPLICATION

In this study, we described a 14km-long paleoearthquakes surface rupture across the salt flats of western Qaidam Basin, 10km south of the Xorkol segment of the central Altyn Tagh Fault, with satellite images interpretation and field investigation methods. The surface rupture strikes on average about N80°E sub-parallel to the main Altyn Tagh Fault, but is composed of several stepping segments with markedly different strike ranging from 68°N~87°E. The surface rupture is marked by pressure ridges, sub-fault strands, tension-gashes, pull-apart and faulted basins, likely caused by left-lateral strike-slip faulting. More than 30 pressure ridges can be distinguished with various rectangular, elliptical or elongated shapes. Most long axis of the ridges are oblique(90°N~140°E)to, but a few are nearly parallel to the surface rupture strike. The ridge sizes vary also, with heights from 1 to 15m, widths from several to 60m, and lengths from 10 to 100m. The overall size of these pressure ridges is similar to those found along the Altyn Tagh Fault, for instance, south of Pingding Shan or across Xorkol. Right-stepping 0.5~1m-deep gashes or sub-faults, with lengths from a few meters to several hundred meters, are distributed obliquely between ridges at an angle reaching 30°. The sub-faults are characterized with SE or NW facing 0.5~1m-high scarps. Several pull-apart and faulted basins are bounded by faults along the eastern part of the surface rupture. One large pull-apart basins are 6~7m deep and 400m wide. A faulted basin, 80m wide, 500m long and 3m deep, is bounded by 2 left-stepping left-lateral faults and 4 right-stepping normal faults. Two to three m-wide gashes are often seen on pressure ridges, and some ridges are left-laterally faulted and cut into several parts, probably owing to the occurrence of repetitive earthquakes. The OSL dating indicates that the most recent rupture might occur during Holocene.
Southwestwards the rupture trace disappears a few hundred meters north of a south dipping thrust scarp bounding uplifted and folded Plio-Quaternary sediments to the south. Thrust scarps can be followed southwestward for another 12km and suggest a connection with the south Pingding Shan Fault, a left-lateral splay of the main Altyn Tagh Fault. To the northeast the rupture trace progressively veers to the east and is seen cross-cutting the bajada south of Datonggou Nanshan and merging with active thrusts clearly outlined by south facing cumulative scarps across the fans. The geometry of this strike-slip fault trace and the clear young seismic geomorphology typifies the present and tectonically active link between left-lateral strike-slip faulting and thrusting along the eastern termination of the Altyn Tagh Fault, a process responsible for the growth of the Tibetan plateau at its northeastern margin. The discrete relation between thrusting and strike-slip faulting suggests discontinuous transfer of strain from strike-slip faulting to thrusting and thus stepwise northeastward slip-rate decrease along the Altyn Tagh Fault after each strike-slip/thrust junction.     

QINGHAI-XIZANG SURFACE LONG-WAVE RADIATION PARAMETERIZATION WITH ITS CLIMATIC CALCULATION*

In the context of August 1982- July 1983 radiation balance data of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, detailed study is made of the relation between the active-surface temperature and surface temperature, proposing two parameterization schemes on surface long-wave radiation(SLWR)of the form U=kδσ(T₀+273)⁴ and U=δσ[(T₀+273)⁴+△T)]⁴, where k and △T are indicated by parameterization equations, separately, others being in conventional notation. Retrieved verification shows the two formulae to be of the same fitting accuracy with the mean relative error of 3.6% and suitable for computing instantaneous and mean flux density, alongside analyzed daily and annual variations of k and △T. Eventually. SLWR in the target area is investigated and its climatic characteristics examined.     

NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ON TROPICAL CYCLONE INTENSITY-PART I:NUMERICAL EXPERIMENT OF THE TROPICAL CYCLONE INTENSITY RELATED TO SST Duan Yihong;Qin Zenghao;Gu dianfeng;Li Yongping, Shanghai Typhoon Institute.Shangh

In the context of a model of tropical cyclone intensity based on an improved meso-scaleatmospheric model, numerical simulation is performed of the track and intensity variation oftropical cyclones (TC) arising from sea surface temperature (SST) variation over a specified searegion. Evidence suggests that the model is capable of modeling quite welt the track and intensityof TC: SST variation leads to an abrupt change in the cyclone intensity: the response of thecyclone to the abrupt SST change lasts 8—12 h.     

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENT OF IMPACT OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA AND WARM POOL/WEST PACIFIC ON EAST ASIAN SUMMER MONSOON

By using the NCAR CCM1 model, we have designed six sensitive experiments, which areincreased and decreased SST (sea surface temperature) by 1℃ each in the SCS (South China Sea)and in the West Pacific warm pool, increased and decreased SST by 1℃ in the warm pool withincreased SST by 1℃ in the SCS. All experiments are integrated from April to July. Comparingwith the control experiment, we have analyzed the anomalies of the wind field at the upper andlower layers, the anomalies of the seasonal variability of the monsoon and precipitation for eachexperiment. In the result, we have found that the SST anomaly (SSTA) in the SCS greatly affectsthe seasonal variability of the SCS monsoon and precipitation in China, especially during the coldperiod of SST in the SCS. The impact of SSTA in the warm pool on SCS monsoon is also found.but is weak as compared to the effect of SST anomaly in the SCS. Besides, its impact on rainfall inChina is uncertain.     

陆面生态过程的一维数值模拟

建立了一个研究大气、植被、土壤相互作用的传播模式。模式是由多层大气模式、多层土壤模式和植被模式通过界面上能量、水汽传输平衡方程耦合而成。对植被和土壤的不同性质,进行了一系列的数值试验。结果表明,不同的植被覆盖以及降水等因子会对大气、植被、地表界面上能量、水汽传输以及热状态产生显著的影响。此模式还可以耦合进中尺度模式用以研究非均匀区域陆面过程和大气的相互作用。     

海温异常对热带内外环流相互作用影响的对比分析

运用ECMWF的风场和高度场及TBB资料,用相关方法对比分析了热带太平洋海温分布东冷西暖（1984～1985年冬季）和东暖西冷（1982～1983年冬季）两种不同背景下,热带西太平洋对流活动与中高纬环流在季内时间尺度下相互作用的特点。结果表明,不同的海温分布其对应的大尺度环流场包括Hadley和Walker环流的位置及强弱均有较大的差别。冬季热带西太平洋对流活动与热带外大气的季内相互作用过程也有明显差异。     

包含局地自由对流的Monin—Obukhov相似性函数

本文从湍流产生和发展的本质出发,以湍流动能和湍流混合长为湍流输送的决定因子,用因次分析的方法得到了一套可包括局地自由对流在内的不稳定大气近地层Monin－Obukhov相似性函数。这套相似性函数不仅有较充分的理论依据,而且还有较明确的物理含意。它能在极端情况下自动蜕化出局地自由对流相似性预测形式。     

1992—2007全球海平面变化

引起全球海平面变化的因素是复杂多样的，大气压、风、大洋环流以及海水密度的变化，都会引起海平面在时间、空间上的变化，而海水温度的变化是海平面变化的主要原因。该文利用法国Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic data（AVISO）的海表面高度异常数据，计算了1992年10月至2007年1月间，全球海平面的平均上升速度，同时详细解算海平面上升速度的全球空间分布，分析全球海平面的变化趋势并将海平面变化同美国国家海洋大气署（NOAA）的Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature （OISST）海表面温度数据进行了比对和相关分析。     

Antarctic dry valleys: Microclimate zonation, variable geomorphic processes, and implications for assessing climate change on Mars

The Antarctic Dry Valleys (ADV) are generally classified as a hyper-arid, cold-polar desert. The region has long been considered an important terrestrial analog for Mars because of its generally cold and dry climate and because it contains a suite of landforms at macro-, meso-, and microscales that closely resemble those occurring on the martian surface. The extreme hyperaridity of both Mars and the ADV has focused attention on the importance of salts and brines on soil development, phase transitions from liquid water to water ice, and ultimately, on process geomorphology and landscape evolution at a range of scales on both planets. The ADV can be subdivided into three microclimate zones: a coastal thaw zone, an inland mixed zone, and a stable upland zone; zones are defined on the basis of summertime measurements of atmospheric temperature, soil moisture, and relative humidity. Subtle variations in these climate parameters result in considerable differences in the distribution and morphology of: (1) macroscale features (e.g., slopes and gullies); (2) mesoscale features (e.g., polygons, including ice-wedge, sand-wedge, and sublimation-type polygons, as well as viscous-flow features, including solifluction lobes, gelifluction lobes, and debris-covered glaciers); and (3) microscale features (e.g., rock-weathering processes/features, including salt weathering, wind erosion, and surface pitting). Equilibrium landforms are those features that formed in balance with environmental conditions within fixed microclimate zones. Some equilibrium landforms, such as sublimation polygons, indicate the presence of extensive near-surface ice; identification of similar landforms on Mars may also provide a basis for detecting the location of shallow ice. Landforms that today appear in disequilibrium with local microclimate conditions in the ADV signify past and/or ongoing shifts in climate zonation; understanding these shifts is assisting in the documentation of the climate record for the ADV. A similar type of landform analysis can be applied to the surface of Mars where analogous microclimates and equilibrium landforms occur (1) in a variety of local environments, (2) in different latitudinal bands, and (3) in units of different ages. Documenting the nature and evolution of the ADV microclimate zones and their associated geomorphic processes is helping to provide a quantitative framework for assessing the evolution of climate on Mars.