Emplacement of the 1907 Mauna Loa basalt flow as derived from precision topography and satellite imaging

An eruption in January of 1907, from the southwest rift zone of Mauna Loa, produced a substantial lava flow field. Satellite images and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) survey data, along with observations and photographs from the field, are combined to provide a new perspective on the 1907 eruption. Boundaries of the flow field from the satellite data, combined with field measurements of flow thickness, indicate an area of 25.1 km² and a volume of 86.6 million m³. The eastern lobe of the flow field covers an area of 13.1 km², with a volume of 55.0 million m³, and was emplaced with an average effusion rate of 119 m³/s (at least, for the upper portion of the lobe). Ten DGPS topographic profiles across the eastern lobe aid in distinguishing the characteristics of, and transitions between, the zones identified during the emplacement of the 1984 Mauna Loa flow. Several subdivisions have been built directly on top of or adjacent to the 1907 lava flow. The strong likelihood of future eruptions from the Mauna Loa southwest rift zone makes these housing developments of particular importance for assessments of potential volcanic hazards.     

Topographic and atmospheric effects on goce gradiometric data in a local north-oriented frame: A case study in Fennoscandia and Iran

Satellite gradiometry is an observation technique providing data that allow for evaluation of Stokes’ (geopotential) coefficients. This technique is capable of determining higher degrees/orders of the geopotential coefficients than can be achieved by traditional dynamic satellite geodesy. The satellite gradiometry data include topographic and atmospheric effects. By removing those effects, the satellite data becomes smoother and harmonic outside sea level and therefore more suitable for downward continuation to the Earth’s surface. For example, in this way one may determine a set of spherical harmonics of the gravity field that is harmonic in the exterior to sea level. This article deals with the above effects on the satellite gravity gradients in the local north-oriented frame. The conventional expressions of the gradients in this frame have a rather complicated form, depending on the first-and second-order derivatives of the associated Legendre functions, which contain singular factors when approaching the poles. On the contrary, we express the harmonic series of atmospheric and topographic effects as non-singular expressions. The theory is applied to the regions of Fennoscandia and Iran, where maps of such effects and their statistics are presented and discussed.     

Erosional unloading,hillslope geometry,and the height of the Cascade Range,Washington State,USA

Peaks in the Cascade Range in northern Washington State are on average ～800 m higher than in southern Washington. The influences of differential valley excavation and variations in hillslope length and average slope on these altitudinal trends were tested using a 3‐dimensional model for isostatic rock uplift and calculations of hillslope length and slope respectively. The magnitude of isostatic peak uplift calculated by the model is highly dependent on the flexural rigidity (D) and the related effective elastic thickness (T_e) of the crust of this region. Crustal rigidity was constrained using published estimates and by estimating the depth of the seismogenic zone in the area (D > 1 × 10²³ Nm and T_e > 24 km). With these constraints, isostatic compensation due to differential erosion added < 700 m and 300 m, or < 25% overall, of height to peaks in the northern and southern Cascades, respectively. Deeper valley incision in the northern Cascades accounts for < 300 m of the 800 m difference in peak altitudes between north and south. Similarly, variation in valley spacing and slope account for < 350 m of the difference in mean altitude between northern and southern regions. Hence, at least several hundred m difference in altitude between the northern and southern regions of the Cascades in Washington must be due to tectonic, geologic, or geophysical factors rather than surficial and geomorphic effects like isostatic response to valley incision and hillslope geometry. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling Internal Solitary Waves in the Coastal Ocean

In the coastal oceans, the interaction of currents (such as the barotropic tide) with topography can generate large-amplitude, horizontally propagating internal solitary waves. These waves often occur in regions where the waveguide properties vary in the direction of propagation. We consider the modelling of these waves by nonlinear evolution equations of the Korteweg–de Vries type with variable coefficients, and we describe how these models are used to describe the shoaling of internal solitary waves over the continental shelf and slope. The theories are compared with various numerical simulations.     

Testing new sources of topographic data for flood propagation modelling under structural,parameter and observation uncertainty

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the utility of EUDEM, a recently released digital elevation model, to support flood inundation modelling. To this end, a comparison with other topographic data sources was performed (i.e. LIDAR, light detection and ranging; SRTM, Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) on a 98-km reach of the River Po, between Cremona and Borgoforte (Italy). This comparison was implemented using different model structures while explicitly accounting for uncertainty in model parameters and upstream boundary conditions. This approach facilitated a comprehensive assessment of the uncertainty associated with hydraulic modelling of floods. For this test site, our results showed that the flood inundation models built on coarse resolutions data (EUDEM and SRTM) and simple one-dimensional model structure performed well during model evaluation.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor S. Weijs     

金沙江断裂带新活动和巴塘6.5级地震震中的确定

作者通过对区域地质调查资料的分析研究和实地考察,对金沙江断裂带的展布范围进行了划分,认为金沙江断裂带是川西规模巨大的断裂带,从地震活动、断裂地貌特征、水系扭曲、第四纪地层形变和温泉沿断裂分布等表明它是一个活动断裂带。通过对历史地震实地访问调查,获得了1923年巴塘6.5级地震的震害情况,并发现了这次地震在地表所产生的地裂缝,从而确定了这次地震的宏观震中位置,探讨了地震与断裂的关系。无疑对金沙江断裂带活动性的认识、地震预报和地震烈度区划工作具有现实意义。     

汶川M_S8.0地震河谷地形对汉源县城高烈度异常的影响

汉源县城位于汶川M_S8.0特大地震六度区内唯一的八度异常区,为典型且罕见的远震高烈度异常区.汉源县城处于流沙河的河流阶地之上,河谷地形对地震震害有显著的影响.为定量分析河谷地形对汶川大地震汉源县高烈度异常的影响,基于汉源县城震害科学考察和场地勘察获取的资料,根据震害分布特征和流沙河谷地形的特点,选取1条实测得到的横切汉源县城并垂直流沙河河谷方向的典型剖面作为计算模型,以脉冲作为基底输入,采用有限差分方法研究了该剖面的场地放大效应,分析了地形对高烈度异常的影响.计算结果表明:汉源县城场地对地震动放大效应的显著频段是1.0~10Hz,且这一频段老县城场地的放大效应比新县城场地显著;汉源老县城场地对汶川M_S8.0地震主震的地震动有显著的放大效应,地表峰值加速度大大超过了抗震设计规范的规定值;汉源场地地形放大效应显著频段与汶川M_S8.0地震的能量集中频段基本吻合,汉源老县城建筑物的自振频率恰恰位于该频段,产生共振效应,从而造成更显著的放大效应,这也是汉源震害异常的主要原因之一.由此可见,河谷地形对地表地震动有重要的影响,在工程选址和抗震设计时应考虑其影响.     

起伏地表叠前逆时偏移理论及GPU加速技术

从起伏地表直接进行叠前逆时偏移是解决地表起伏大并且地下构造复杂这种双复杂结构地区成像问题的有力工具.本文给出了起伏地表直接进行叠前逆时偏移的实现过程,针对有限差分方法处理起伏地表自由边界条件的复杂性,采用了一种简化的自由边界条件,避免了大量的逻辑判断,在此基础上,采用图形处理器(Graphic Processing Unit,简称GPU)将算法加速,比传统的CPU计算速度提高了一个数量级.文中对理论模型进行了计算,并与起伏地表直接进行单程波叠前偏移方法做比较,结果表明:起伏地表叠前逆时偏移有效突破了成像倾角限制,对起伏地表浅层构造以及地下高陡构造成像效果显著提高.关于逆时偏移成像噪音去除以及存储量等问题,笔者已有文章介绍,本文将不再涉及.     

Tidal circulation and energy dissipation in a shallow, sinuous estuary

The tidal dynamics in a pristine, mesotidal (>2 m range), marsh-dominated estuary are examined using moored and moving vessel field observations. Analysis focuses on the structure of the M ₂ tide that accounts for approximately 80% of the observed tidal energy, and indicates a transition in character from a near standing wave on the continental shelf to a more progressive wave within the estuary. A slight maximum in water level (WL) occurs in the estuary 10–20 km from the mouth. M ₂ WL amplitude decreases at 0.015 m/km landward of this point, implying head of tide approximately 75 km from the mouth. In contrast, tidal currents in the main channel 25 km inland are twice those at the estuary mouth. Analysis suggests the tidal character is consistent with a strongly convergent estuarine geometry controlling the tidal response in the estuary. First harmonic (M ₄) current amplitude follows the M ₂ WL distribution, peaking at mid-estuary, whereas M ₄ WL is greatest farther inland. The major axis current amplitude is strongly influenced by local bathymetry and topography. On most bends a momentum core shifts from the inside to outside of the bend moving seaward, similar to that seen in unidirectional river flow but with point bars shifted seaward of the bends. Dissipation rate estimates, based on changes in energy flux, are 0.18–1.65 W m⁻² or 40–175 μW kg^–1. A strong (0.1 m/s), depth-averaged residual flow is produced at the bends, which resembles flow around headlands, forming counter-rotating eddies that meet at the apex of the bends. A large sub-basin in the estuary exhibits remarkably different tidal characteristics and may be resonant at a harmonic of the M ₂ tide.     

三维地形直流电阻率有限元法模拟

基于稳定电流场的基本方程、三维区域满足的边值问题以及相应的变分问题,研究了三维起伏地形条件下电阻率的有限单元数值模拟算法. 离散积分区域时,以三棱柱为最小研究单元,推导了含有地形特征信息的三线性插值型函数以及单元刚度矩阵. 采用变带宽、一维数组方式只存储稀疏刚度矩阵中非零元素,能够节约内存. 利用Cholesky分解法只分解一次大型稀疏矩阵,通过回代可以求出方程组的全部解,当求解有多个供电点的测深问题时可以缩短计算时间. 模型计算表明,在水平层状介质模型上,三维计算结果与解析解或二维数值解十分吻合,计算精度满足误差要求. 在二维山脊上的二极剖面或三维山谷上的中间梯度剖面上,其三维计算结果与相应模型的土槽实验结果或边界元法计算结果也非常接近.