Are catch-up reefs an artefact of coring?

Drill cores through modern coral reefs commonly show a time lag in reef initiation followed by a phase of rapid accretion to sea level from submerged foundations – the so-called ‘catch-up response’. But because of the difficulty of drilling in these environments, core distribution is usually restricted to accessible areas that may not fully represent reef history, especially if the reef initiated in patches or developed with a prograde or retrograde geometry. As a consequence, core data have the potential to give a misleading impression of reef development, particularly with respect to the timing of initiation and response to sea-level rise. Here, we use computer models to simulate keep-up reef development and, from them, quantify variations in the timing of reef initiation and accretion rate using mock cores taken through the completed simulations. The results demonstrate that cores consistently underestimate the timing of reef initiation and overestimate the reef accretion rate so that, statistically, a core through a keep-up reef will most likely produce a catch-up pattern – an initiation lag followed by a phase of rapid accretion to sea level. This implies that catch-up signatures may be an artefact of coring and that keep-up reefs are significantly more common than previous core studies claim.     

The red bed controversy revisited: shape analysis of Colorado Plateau units suggests long magnetization times

Several Triassic and earliest Jurassic sedimentary units from the Colorado Plateau region have distributions of virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) that are highly elongate along the path of apparent polar wander (APW). This suggests that the remanent magnetizations measured in these units were acquired over an extended period of time, possibly approaching 35 m.y., and are not precisely coeval with the stratigraphic age of the rock. Comparison with other paleomagnetic studies shows that the observed elongation is not a general attribute of the age of the rock, nor is it related to paleolatitude. The rocks that yield elongate VGP distributions are dominantly red to brown mudstones, and it is possible that their remanence is dominated by a slowly acquired chemical remanent magnetization, as suggested by Larson et al. [J. Geophys. Res. 87 (1982) 1081] and other authors. However, several superficially similar units from the Colorado Plateau have nearly circular VGP distributions. The process by which remanence is acquired in clastic sedimentary rocks merits further study.     

A statistical approach to evaluating distance metrics and analog assignments for pollen records

The modern analog technique typically uses a distance metric to determine the dissimilarity between fossil and modern biological assemblages. Despite this quantitative approach, interpretation of distance metrics is usually qualitative and rules for selection of analogs tend to be ad hoc. We present a statistical tool, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, which provides a framework for identifying analogs from distance metrics. If modern assemblages are placed into groups (e.g., biomes), this method can (1) evaluate the ability of different distance metrics to distinguish among groups, (2) objectively identify thresholds of the distance metric for determining analogs, and (3) compute a likelihood ratio and a Bayesian probability that a modern group is an analog for an unknown (fossil) assemblage. Applied to a set of 1689 modern pollen assemblages from eastern North America classified into eight biomes, ROC analysis confirmed that the squared-chord distance (SCD) outperforms most other distance metrics. The optimal threshold increased when more dissimilar biomes were compared. The probability of an analog vs no-analog result (a likelihood ratio) increased sharply when SCD decreased below the optimal threshold, indicating a nonlinear relationship between SCD and the probability of analog. Probabilities of analog computed for a postglacial pollen record at Tannersville Bog (Pennsylvania, USA) identified transitions between biomes and periods of no analog.     

岩溶地区桩基的有限元分析

岩溶地区长桩存在着遇洞率的问题。为了研究岩溶地区桩的受力特点,采用有限元法模拟岩溶地区桩基的工作方式,分析了岩层厚度对桩的影响以及桩的受力状态,并研究了去桩的可能性。计算结果表明:岩层厚度对桩的影响较大,岩层的位置对桩的应力不产生影响,仅对桩的位移产生影响。     

溪洛渡水电站坝址区岩体蠕变特性试验研究

介绍了溪洛渡水电站坝址区岩体柔性板法蠕变试验方法及试验结果,给出了岩体蠕变模型及其参数,为工程设计提供了参考依据。     

京珠高速公路东西湖段软基处理数值分析

采用等效地基固结系数法,对京珠高速公路东西湖段软土地基,进行了比奥固结平面有限元分析。计算值与实测值比较接近。计算结果为选择地基处理措施和确定道面施工时间提供了依据,保证了竣工后该路段的工后沉降满足设计要求。     

饱水黄土隧道变形规律研究

新松树湾隧道位于饱和的砂粘土中,土体的稳定性极差,施工难度较大。为此,在隧道施工期间,通过土工试验、隧道收敛和围岩内部位移的现场监测、隧道变形的三维有限元仿真计算等手段,对该隧道的变形规律进行了系统研究,获得了大量试验数据。研究成果对隧道的施工组织和支护参数的确定起到了重要作用,为此类隧道的施工积累了经验。     

小湾电站高边坡系统锚固与排水的优化设计方法

据小湾电站地下厂房进水口开挖高边坡的岩体结构与工程地质特征,采用基于结构面网络模拟的随机楔体稳定分析方法对边坡的稳定性进行了三维分析。进一步运用风险分析理论对边坡系统锚杆与预应力锚索的布置进行了优化设计,最后运用结构面网络模拟理论对排水方案进行了优化设计。     

土钉支护结构的优化设计

根据复形优化原理,提出了基于Bishop法的土钉支护结构的优化分析方法,编写了优化分析程序。工程实例计算表明,该方法是进行土钉优化设计的有效方法。     

宜兴抽水蓄能电站试验洞的反分析研究

结合江苏宜兴抽水蓄能电站地下厂房试验洞量测资料的分析,研究了成层各向异性岩体中洞室工程问题的反分析方法。采用分层均质模型进行反分析计算。计算区域的各层岩层均被分别视为均质各向同性体,初始地应力假设呈线性分布。有限元分析中,对倾斜成层的岩层、软弱夹层及断层节理等分别划分了单元,据以模拟成层岩体的各向异性特征。为使计算过程简化,对离洞室较远的岩层拟按地质资料对材料特性参数赋值,反分析计算的目标未知数为初始地应力和试验洞相邻围岩的弹性模量。结果表明,与工程实践符合较好。