一次黄海爆发性气旋的观测分析和数值模拟研究

本文利用再分析资料和WRFV3.9模式（Weather Research and Forecasting Model）对2020年7月22－24日发生在黄海海域的一次爆发性气旋进行了研究,并对其演变过程和发展机制进行了详细分析。该气旋22日12UTC在山东南部生成,入海后开始爆发性发展,最大加深率达到1.2 Bergeron,23日在黄海中部气压降至最低990 hPa左右,24日在韩国登陆。高空强辐散、低层的暖舌结构、水汽输送和下垫面热通量的变化增强了大气斜压性,使其迅速发展。使用WRF模式对气旋进行模拟,涡度的诊断分析表明,大气低层强斜压性主要通过涡度方程的散度项对气旋的发展起作用,对流项在涡度发展旺盛的时刻也有一定影响。海温的敏感性试验表明,海温变化对气旋移动路径和中心气压影响明显。     

The use of 3D modeling for the prediction of the seismic demands on the gravity dams

Seismic behavior of gravity dams has long been evaluated using a representative two‐dimensional (2D) system. Formulated for the gravity dams built in wide canyons, the assumption is nevertheless utilized extensively for almost all concrete dams due to the established procedures as well as the expected computational costs of a three‐dimensional model. However, a significant number of roller‐compacted concrete dams, characterized as such systems, do not conform to the basic assumptions of these methods by violating the conditions on canyon dimensions and joint‐spacing/details. Based on the premise that the 2D modeling assumption is overstretched for practical purposes in a variety of settings, the purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the use of 2D modeling for the prediction of the seismic demands on these systems. Using a rigorous soil–structure interaction approach, the difference between the two and three‐dimensional response for gravity dams was investigated first in the frequency domain for a range of canyon widths and foundation to dam moduli ratios. Then, the time domain differences between the crest displacements and the maximum principal stress were obtained using 70 different ground motions in order to show the possible bias introduced into the analysis results due to the modeling approach. The results of the study show that even for relatively wide canyons, the 2D analysis can lead to misleading predictions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic performance of buildings retrofitted with nonlinear viscous dampers and adjacent reaction towers

An effective strategy of seismic retrofitting consists of installing nonlinear viscous dampers between the existing building, with insufficient lateral resistance, and some auxiliary towers, specially designed and erected as reaction structures. This allows improving the seismic performance of the existing building without any major alteration to its structural and nonstructural elements, which makes this approach particularly appealing for buildings with heritage value. In this paper, the nonlinear governing equations of the coupled lateral‐torsional seismic motion are derived from first principles for the general case of a multistory building connected at various locations in plan and in elevation to an arbitrary number of multistory towers. This formulation is then used to assess the performance of the proposed retrofitting strategy for a real case study, namely, a 5‐story student hall of residence in the city of Messina, Italy. The results of extensive time‐history analyses highlight the key design considerations associated with the stiffness of the reaction towers and the mechanical parameters of the nonlinear viscous dampers, confirming the validity of this approach.     

Dating of rockfall damage in trees yields insights into meteorological triggers of process activity in the French Alps

Rockfall release is a rather unpredictable process. As a result, the occurrence of rockfall often threatens humans and (infra)structures. The assessment of potential drivers of rockfall activity therefore remains a major challenge, even if the relative influence of rainfall, snowmelt, or freeze–thaw cycles has long been identified in short-term monitoring projects. In the absence of longer-term assessments of rockfall triggers and possible changes thereof, our knowledge of rockfall dynamics remains still lacunary as a result of the persisting scarcity of exhaustive and precise rockfall databases. Over the last decades, several studies have employed growth disturbances (GDs) in tree-ring series to reconstruct rockfall activity. Paradoxically, these series were only rarely compared to meteorological records. In this study, we capitalize on the homogeneity of a centennial-old reforestation plot to develop two reconstructions – R1 including only growth suppressions, and R2 based on injuries – with limited biases related to decreasing sample size and changes in exposed diameters back in time. By doing so, our study also and quite clearly highlights the large potential that protection forests have in terms of yielding reliable, multidecadal rockfall reconstructions. From a methodological perspective, we find no synchronicity between R1 and R2, as well as an absence of meteorological controls on rockfall processes in R1. This observation pleads for a careful selection of GDs in future reconstructions. In terms of process dynamics, we demonstrate that summer intense rainfall events (>10 mm day⁻¹) are the main drivers for rockfall activity at our study site. Despite the stringency of our detection procedure, correlations between rockfall activity and meteorological variables remain comparable to those reported in previous studies, as a result of the complexity and multiplicity of triggering factors. We therefore call for a more systematic coupling of tree-ring analysis with rockfall and microclimatic monitoring in future studies. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic reliability assessment and the nonergodicity in the modelling parameter uncertainties

Modelling uncertainty can significantly affect the structural seismic reliability assessment. However, the limit state excursion due to this type of uncertainty may not be described by a Poisson process as it lacks renewal properties with the occurrence of each earthquake event. Furthermore, considering uncertainties related to ground motion representation by employing recorded ground motions together with modelling uncertainties is not a trivial task. Robust fragility assessment, proposed previously by the authors, employs the structural response to recorded ground motion as data in order to update prescribed seismic fragility models. Robust fragility can be extremely efficient for considering also the structural modelling uncertainties by creating a dataset of one-to-one assignments of structural model realizations and as-recorded ground motions. This can reduce the computational effort by more than 1 order of magnitude. However, it should be kept in mind that the fragility concept itself is based on the underlying assumption of Poisson-type renewal. Using the concept of updated robust reliability, considering both the uncertainty in ground motion representation based on as-recorded ground motion and non ergodic modelling uncertainties, the error introduced through structural reliability assessment by using the robust fragility is quantified. It is shown through specific application to an existing RC frame that this error is quite small when the product of the time interval and the standard deviation of failure rate is small and is on the conservative side.     

Middle pleistocene interglacial sediments at Tye green,Stansted Airport,Essex, England

Interglacial lake deposits at Tye Green, Stansted, resting on unweathered till and overlain by a weathered diamicton are correlated with the temperate Hoxnian Stage. The sediments represent the infilling of an isolated kettle-hole type of lake basin formed at the end of the cold Anglian Stage. Through the temperate period this basin was infilled by inorganic and organic sediments that record the development and decline of deciduous forest. Later periglacial conditions are indicated by the final infilling of the basin by reworked till. The sedimentary sequence and vegetational development recorded in the sediments at Tye Green are compared with other Hoxnian sites in eastern England. Changes in deposition rates are interpreted as representing water-table fluctuations resulting from changes in precipitation. The deposits at Tye Green provide a useful stratigraphical marker in the glacial sequence of the district. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical distribution of bacteria and archaea in a CO2-rich meromictic lake: A case study of Lake Monoun

In order to assess the diversity and spatial distribution of bacterial and archaeal communities in a CO₂-rich and meromictic lake, samples were collected along the water column of Lake Monoun and analyzed using PCR-DGGE and quantitative analyses of the 16S rRNA gene. The retrieved sequences were affiliated to 6 bacterial phyla and two archaeal phyla which plausible environmental functions map with the physico-chemical parameters of the lake. Unclassified sequences were also detected. This suggests heterogeneity in community composition and existence of potential candidate divisions. For instance, amongst the bacterial sequences, 18.2% matched with methanotrophic bacteria of the order methylococcales and amongst the archaeal sequences, 16.6% matched with methanogenic species of the order methanomicrobiales. Hence, evidencing the existence of methane-related prokaryotes in the lake, a finding that would play a key role in our understanding of the methane puzzle of Lake Monoun. Other groups capable of a wide range of metal and nutrients transformations were also detected, as well as those of unknown functions. The layering of microbial communities also appeared to directly or indirectly depend on oxygen availability. DGGE and qPCR analyses both suggested a scarcity of archaea in the surface samples. Furthermore, qPCR revealed that bacteria were numerically more important than archaea in all the samples. The general distribution along the water column indicated that archaeal abundance increases with depth.     

Evaluation of geochemical behavior and heavy metal distribution of sediments：The case study of the Tirumalairajan river estuary,southeast coast of India

The purpose of this study was to assess the chemical partitioning of selected heavy metals(Fe,Mn,Cu,Zn,Pb,Cr,Co and Ni) in 10 surface sediments at Tirumalairajan River Estuary in the southeastern coast of India.A five-step sequential extraction technique was used to assess the environmental status of heavy metals.Most of metals were considered to be immobile due to the high availability in the residual fraction of heavy metals.The sediments of Tirumalairajan River estuary had not been polluted by heavy metals,and they didn’t pose any high ecological risk.The seasonal variations of heavy metals were slightly higher in summer than in monsoon season.Factor analysis was also carned out to understand the associations of metals in different fractions with sand,silt,clay,organic matter,pH,salinity and other metals.The relationship between the Q-mode and R-mode cluster analyses was useful for identifying the pollution levels in both seasons.It was proved that the enrichment of heavy metals was related with geogenic and anthropogenic sources.The information on total metal concentrations in sediments was not sufficient for assessing the metal behavior in the environment,but the sequential extraction technique was more effective in estimating the environmental impact of contaminated sediments.     

封顶覆盖黄土气体渗透特性测试及填埋气一维运移分析

黄土在我国西北地区广泛分布,是当地垃圾填埋场封顶覆盖层的主要材料,该材料的气体渗透特性直接影响了覆盖层对填埋气释放的控制效果。利用渗析技术和自制的气体渗透系数测量装置,模拟和测试了干湿气象条件下覆盖黄土服役含水率变化及其对气体渗透系数的影响,并建立填埋气在垃圾体和覆盖层中的一维稳态运移模型,分析了覆盖层气体渗透系数和抽气速率对填埋气释放控制效果的影响。研究结果表明：渗析技术能有效模拟覆盖黄土服役含水率的变化,压实黄土试样的气体渗透系数介于10-17～10-12 m2量级,随服役含水率的增加而降低,且对于压实度比较高的黄土降低得更加明显;覆盖层底部的填埋气压随气体渗透系数的减小而增大,通过覆盖层下部的气体扩散层负压抽气等措施,可有效减小覆盖层底部气压和填埋气的释放量。     

Trend analyses with river sediment rating curves

Sediment rating curves, which are fitted relationships between river discharge (Q) and suspended‐sediment concentration (C), are commonly used to assess patterns and trends in river water quality. In many of these studies, it is assumed that rating curves have a power‐law form (i.e. C = aQ^b, where a and b are fitted parameters). Two fundamental questions about the utility of these techniques are assessed in this paper: (i) how well to the parameters, a and b, characterize trends in the data, and (ii) are trends in rating curves diagnostic of changes to river water or sediment discharge? As noted in previous research, the offset parameter, a, is not an independent variable for most rivers but rather strongly dependent on b and Q. Here, it is shown that a is a poor metric for trends in the vertical offset of a rating curve, and a new parameter, â, as determined by the discharge‐normalized power function [C = â (Q/Q_GM)^b], where Q_GM is the geometric mean of the Q‐values sampled, provides a better characterization of trends. However, these techniques must be applied carefully, because curvature in the relationship between log(Q) and log(C), which exists for many rivers, can produce false trends in â and b. Also, it is shown that trends in â and b are not uniquely diagnostic of river water or sediment supply conditions. For example, an increase in â can be caused by an increase in sediment supply, a decrease in water supply or a combination of these conditions. Large changes in water and sediment supplies can occur without any change in the parameters, â and b. Thus, trend analyses using sediment rating curves must include additional assessments of the time‐dependent rates and trends of river water, sediment concentrations and sediment discharge. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Hydrological Processes published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.