The Present Space-Time Motion and Deformation Features of the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Xizang（Tibet） Block and Its Adjacent Area

On the basis of Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA), and considering the moderate intrusion of specific block boundaries to different extents, the first-order block motion model is established for the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) block and the kinematical model for depicting deformation of small regions as well by using GPS observations of three periods (1991, 1999 and 2001). By simulating, we obtained the motion features of the firstorder blocks between the large WWN faults on the sides of the studied region, the distribution features of the principal strain rate field and the inhomogeneous motion features with spacetime of the faults in the northern boundary of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) block.     

A Preliminary Analysis of Relations Between Tectonic Deformation of Sedimentary Cover and Basement in Kuqa Depression

Study of seismic activity in the Kuqa area enables us to infer some possible active faults in basement from the epicentral distribution on different profiles. The relations between active faults in the basement and surface structures are analyzed and the difference between sedimentary cover and basement in their deformation characteristics and the genesis are discussed. The following conclusions have been drawn : ( 1 ) the epicentral distribution indicates that, the east Qiulitag and south and north Qiulitag deep faults in the basement correspond to the east and west Qiulitag anticlines, respectively. Moreover, deep faults also exist beneath the Yiqiklik and Yaken anticlines. It indicates that the formation of surface structures is controlled by deep structures; (2) A NE-trending strike-slip fault develops along the line from the western termination of Yiqiklik structure to Dongqiu Well 5 and a NW-trending active fault on the western side of Baicbeng. The two active faults across the tectonic strike are the main causes for tectonic segmentation of the Kuqa depression and possibly the cause for the middle segment (Kuqa-Baicheng) of the depression to be more shortened than both its eastern and western terminations; (3) The difference between the sedimentary cover and basement in their deformation characteristics depends mainly on the different properties of media between them.The lithospheric strength of the basement in the basin is fairly high, which determines the basement deformation to be mainly of brittle fracture seismic activity. While the strength of sedimentary cover is low, where there exist weak thin layers, such as coal and gyps. Under the effect of strong tectonic compression, the sedimentary rocks may undergo strong viscous or plastic flow deformation; meanwhile, an aseismic detachment may take place along the weak layers.     

Sequence of faulting and deformation during the 2000 eruptions of the Usu Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan—interpretation and image analyses of aerial photographs

Significant faulting and deformation of the ground surface has been rarely known during volcanic eruptions. Usu Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan, is a unique example of deformation due to felsic magma intrusion. Usu Volcano has a history of such types of eruptions as phreatic, pumice eruption (Plinian type), pyroclastic flowing and lava doming since 1663. On March 31, 2000, phreatomagmatic to phreatic eruptions took place after 23 years of dormancy in the western piedmont, followed by explosions on the western flank of Usu Volcano. They were associated with significant deformation including faulting and uplift. The eruptions and deformation were continuing up to the end of May 2000.We identified the faulting using total nine sets of aerial photographs taken from before the eruption (March 31, 2000) to more than 1 year (April 27, 2001) after the end of the activity, and traced deformation processes through image processing using aerial photographs. We found that some of the new faults and the associated phreatic eruptions were related to old faults formed during the 1977–1981 eruptive episode.The image processing has revealed that the surface deformation is coincident with the area of faulting forming small grabens and the phreatic explosion vents. However, the faulting and main explosive eruptions did not take place in the highest uplift area, but along the margin. This suggests that the faulting and explosive activities were affected by small feeder channels diverging from the main magma body which caused the highest uplift.     

2003年2月14日石河子M5.4地震地形变异常及其演化分析

分析了新疆石河子M5.4地震前震中250 km范围内定点形变的观测资料,认为从2002年5月到震前,单测项异常随时间起伏,多台异常在时间上连续发展并呈增加趋势,震前20天位于震中附近的台站出现临震突变;异常在空间呈现由西向东、由南向北,逐渐向震中区发展的态势.与1996年沙湾M5.2地震前的形变异常进行比较,认为存在较大的差异.     

Analysis of earth dams affected by the 2001 Bhuj Earthquake

An earthquake of magnitude of 7.6 (M_w 7.6) occurred in Bhuj, India on January 26, 2001. This event inflicted damages of varying extents to a large number of small to moderate size multi-zone earth dams in the vicinity of the epicenter. Some of the distress was due to the liquefaction of saturated alluvium in foundation. Liquefaction was relatively localized for the majority of these dams because the earthquake struck in the middle of a prolonged dry season when the reservoirs behind these dams were nearly empty and shallow alluvium soils underneath the downstream portions of the dams were partly dry. Otherwise, liquefaction of foundation soils would have been more extensive and damage to these dams more significant. Six such dams have been examined in this paper. Four of these facilities, Chang, Shivlakha, Suvi, and Tapar were within the 50 km of epicenter region. These dams underwent free-field ground motion with peak ground accelerations between 0.28g to 0.52g. Of these Chang Dam underwent severe slumping, whereas Shivlakha, Suvi, and Tapar Dams were affected severely especially over the upstream sections. Fatehgadh Dam and Kaswati Dam were affected relatively less severely. Foundation conditions underneath these dams were first examined for assessing liquefaction potential. A limited amount of subsurface information available from investigations undertaken prior to the earthquake indicates that, although the foundation soils within the top 2.0 to 2.5 m underneath these dams were susceptible to liquefaction, Bhuj Earthquake did not trigger liquefaction because of lack of saturation of these layers underneath the downstream portions of these dams. These dams were then analyzed using a simple sliding block procedure using appropriate estimates of undrained soil strength parameters. The results of this analysis for these structures were found to be in general agreement with the observed deformation patterns.     

Slope stability evaluation using Back Propagation Neural Networks

The Yudonghe landslide, located in western Hubei Province of China, consists of eastern and western subunits as well as a main landslide mass with upper and lower slip surfaces. As an important landslide close to Shuibuya Dam on the Qing River, its stability is crucial, as the slide might reactivate because of a change in ground-water level caused by filling of the Shuibuya Reservoir. Existing weakness zones, growth of ruptures, the downslope attitude of geologic strata, and water infiltration, which reduced the strength of rocks and soils, have been found to be the most important factors contributing to the Yudonghe landslide. With regard to the landslide processes, it can be noted that the original large-scale slide activity was due to erosion by the Qing River, the second sliding resulted from the fall of blocks from the head scarp, and the final activity was the growth of the eastern and western secondary slides. A base failure was the main type of slope movement, however, it was obvious that more than one sliding event occurred, as inferred from striations and fractures detected by microstructure analysis of soils along the failure surfaces. Slope instability was evaluated by the method of Back Propagation Neural Networks (BPNN), in which a four-layer BPNN model with five input nodes, two hidden layers, and two output nodes was constructed using a training data set of landslide samples throughout the Qing River area. The predicted results of this analysis showed that the factor of safety was 1.10, which indicates that the Yudonghe landslide is currently in a marginally stable condition.     

Long‐term monitoring of a mercury contaminated estuary (Ria de Aveiro,Portugal): the effect of weather events and management in mercury transport

The main aim of this research was to assess the mercury transport from an estuarine basin with a background of anthropogenic contamination during a spring tidal cycle (year 2009) and compare it with two previous tidal cycles (years 1994 and 1999), as part of a long‐term monitoring program. Results showed that effective mercury transport occurs both in the dissolved and particulate fractions (0.18 and 0.20 kg per tidal cycle, respectively), and despite an overall decrease in environmental contamination, results more than double previous findings on particulate transport in the system. These findings result essentially from changes in the tidal prism (net export of 2 million m³ of water), given that both dissolved and particulate concentrations did not increase over time. Hydrodynamic simulations were performed to evaluate the effect of physical disturbance (dredging) and weather events (increased freshwater flow) in these processes, and results suggest the increased freshwater flow into the system as the main forcing function for the mercury transport increment. These results highlight the importance of long‐term monitoring programs, since despite an overall improvement in local contamination levels, the enhancement of transport processes through hydrological changes increases environmental pressure away from the contamination source. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deformation structures associated with the Trachyte Mesa intrusion,Henry Mountains,Utah: Implications for sill and laccolith emplacement mechanisms

Deformation structures in the wall rocks of igneous intrusions emplaced at shallow crustal depths preserve an important record of how space was created for magma in the host rocks. Trachyte Mesa, a small Oligocene age intrusion in the Henry Mountains, Utah, is composed of a series of stacked tabular, sheet-like intrusions emplaced at 3–3.5 km depth into sandstone-dominated sedimentary sequences of late Palaeozoic–Mesozoic age. New structural analysis of the spatial distribution, geometry, kinematics and relative timings of deformation structures in the host rocks of the intrusion has enabled the recognition of distinct pre-, syn-, and late-stage-emplacement deformation phases. Our observations suggest a two-stage growth mechanism for individual sheets where radial growth of a thin sheet was followed by vertical inflation. Dip-slip faults formed during vertical inflation; they are restricted to the tips of individual sheets due to strain localisation, with magma preferentially exploiting these faults, initiating sill (sheet) climbing. The order in which sheets are stacked impacts on the intrusion geometry and associated deformation of wall rocks. Our results offer new insights into the incremental intrusion geometries of shallow-level magmatic bodies and the potential impact of their emplacement on surrounding host rocks.     

基于均一化资料的中国大陆极端温度的长期趋势

近百年来,全球气候变暖。这与暖日和暖夜增加,冷日和冷夜减少相关联。文章研究结果进一步证实了这一发现。本文基于1960-2012年中国大陆542个台站均一化气温资料,通过将中国大陆划分为8个次区域,利用百分位定义法计算了极端温度指数序列,同时,运用时间趋势分析法,对中国大陆各区域极端温度和极端温度指数的时空分布及变化趋势特征进行了分析。结果表明:在全球变暖的背景下,从地理分布而言,中国大陆在过去53年除西南地区外,大部分地区最低和最高温度有显著的升高趋势,其中,东北温度升高最为明显;从季节而言,冬季极端温度升高最为明显,夏季升高最少;最低温度明显升高,最高温度也有所升高,但是最低温度的升高幅度更大。冷夜和冷日出现频率呈减少趋势,暖夜和暖日出现频率呈增加趋势,其中以冷夜指数变化最为突出,均呈现一种区域差异的现象。本文利用更新的资料验证了前人的工作,也进一步分区分析,结果可为更多地区评估以及进一步的相关研究提供参考。     

顾及周期项误差和起点偏差修正的北斗卫星钟差预报

根据北斗卫星导航系统星载原子钟自身的物理特性,采用武汉大学IGS数据中心发布的2016年1月1日至2016年11月1日共306天的事后钟差产品进行谱分析。分析结果表明:北斗卫星导航系统的3类卫星钟都存在一定的周期特性;其中GEO和IGSO卫星钟的主周期相对较为明显;GEO卫星钟的主周期依次为12、24、8和6h;IGSO的主周期为24、12、8和6h;而MEO的3个主周期为12.9、6.4和24h。依据各类原子钟的周期特性,同时对各天之间钟差的起始点偏差进行修正,并利用修正模型对北斗卫星钟差进行预报和精度分析。试验结果表明,改进的预报模型能显著提升北斗卫星的钟差预报精度,北斗卫星钟差24h、12h、6h的平均预报精度分别能达到6.55ns、3.17ns和1.76ns。