On the structural age of the Rhoscolyn antiform,Anglesey, North Wales

In the Rhoscolyn area of Anglesey, the late Precambrian interbedded psammites and pelites of the Monian Supergroup are folded into a kilometre‐scale antiform, plunging about 25°NE and with an axial surface dipping about 40°NW. Numerous folds of up to a few tens of metres in wavelength are present on both limbs of this antiform. These smaller‐scale folds also plunge about 25°NE but clearly belong to two separate episodes of folding, and it has become a matter of longstanding controversy as to whether the larger antiform belongs to the first or second of these episodes. Close examination of the cleavage/bedding asymmetries from all the lithologies, however, shows that the large antiform is a second‐generation structure, and that on the gently dipping northwest limb, the sense of cleavage/bedding asymmetry of the earlier cleavage in the psammitic units has been almost uniformly and homogeneously reversed (so that it appears to be axial planar to the antiform), while in the pelitic units the sense of cleavage/bedding asymmetry of the earlier cleavage has been preserved. Many of the small‐scale complexities of the observed cleavage/bedding relationships may be explained by appealing to differences in the timing of the formation of buckling instabilities relative to this reorientation of the early cleavage in the psammites during the second deformation. A first‐order analysis of the finite strains from around the large‐scale antiform shows that the orientation of the first cleavage prior to the second deformation was steeply dipping to the southeast. The second deformation correlates with the southeast‐verging Caledonian deformation affecting the Monian and Ordovician units elsewhere in northwest Anglesey, while the northwest‐verging first deformation event, which is not present in the Ordovician rocks, must have occurred before they were deposited. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

潮汐汊道形态动力过程研究综述

潮汐汊道是潮流作用占优势的沉积环境之一。潮汐汊道系统的口门水道往往是天然航道,在海港建设上具有重要性。从动力地貌学的观点来看,口门水道形态特征和演化研究涉及多种关键的海岸动力过程,因而具有重要的理论意义。均衡态下的潮汐汊道的口门过水断面面积与纳潮量之间存在着幂函数关系,当用传统的O′Brien方法来确定幂函数曲线时,指数n的值变化范围较大,这是由于参与统计分析的部分汊道系统未达到均衡态而造成的;而应用沉积动力学方法,所获的n值稳定在1.15左右,能更好地代表均衡态断面面积。在断面形状上,小型潮汐汊道可以形成宽浅水道中镶嵌次级水道的形态,以适应沉积物输运和堆积过程,提高汊道系统的稳定性。因此,小型潮汐汊道具有不同于大型潮汐汊道的时间—流速不对称特征。这些研究结果在小型汊道的开发和整治工程上具有应用价值。由于口门断面形态是与口门水道和潮流三角洲的整体特征及其动态相联系的,因此,今后的研究重点应是水动力条件、沉积物输运和堆积过程、水道形态之间的反馈关系,以及与纳潮海湾充填同步的潮流三角洲的生长过程,从而使水道地貌演化能够被定量地模拟。     

韧性剪切带糜棱岩中不对称旋转碎斑系剪切指向模拟实验韧性剪切带糜棱岩中不对称旋转碎斑系剪切指向模拟实验研究现状及其问题

韧性剪切带是大陆变形过程中形成于地壳深层次的重要构造变形形迹,是重建构造变形温压环境、变形几何学、运动学及动力学的重要研究对象。剪切变形方向的确定是韧性剪切带研究的基础环节之一。尽管指示韧性剪切带剪切方向的标志很多,但是由于韧性剪切带变形过程的复杂性,实际工作中往往很难准确地限定剪切方向,甚至常常会发现同一条韧性剪切带中发育指向相反的剪切标志。在变形岩石中,不对称旋转碎斑系被认为是判断韧性剪切带剪切方向的可靠标志。根据有拖尾的旋转碎斑系判断剪切指向要比“云母鱼”、“多米诺”等组构可靠得多。总结前人的理论和模拟试验成果,可以清楚地认识到,碎斑系的演化是其形态、轴率、初始方位、基质及其界面性质、运动学涡度、剪应变强度、剪切带的厚度、碎斑短轴比等因素综合作用的结果。深刻认识不对称旋转碎斑系在韧性剪切带形成过程中的发育过程、限制条件、影响因素,将有助于准确地运用它们来判断韧性剪切变形的构造指向,以便进一步研究与该韧性剪切变形相关的大陆动力学。     

Glacier Distribution in the Alps: Statistical Modelling of Altitude and Aspect

Mass balance of glaciers in mountain areas varies not only with altitude and regional position but also with aspect, gradient, glacier size, glacier type and detailed topographic position. These factors are combined here in models of how glacier altitude varies, tested with data for the Alps edited from the World Glacier Inventory. An overall northward tendency in glacier numbers (toward 005 ± 4°) and lower altitudes (013 ± 5°) is maintained across a range of glacier sizes, types, altitudes and the major divisions of the Alps. Variation with aspect of glacier altitude (and, by implication, of glacier balance) in the Alps is essentially unimodal, and north‐facing glaciers average 220 m lower in middle altitude than south‐facing: 148 m in the Western Alps, 232 m in the West‐central, 252 m in the East‐central, and 268 m in the Eastern Alps. For smaller subdivisions, confidence intervals on estimates are broader and many differences lack statistical significance. Contrasts are greater in the higher massifs, with greater relief, and lower in cloudy, windward areas. There are small windrelated tendencies east of north along the northern and western fringes, but trends across space are weak: position is thus treated by subdivision into districts and groups. Mid‐altitude averages 2891 m overall and varies from 2552 to 3127 m for 27 glacier districts, and from 2124 to 3209 m for 103 glacier groups. Glacier mid‐altitude varies also with glacier form, nourishment, height range and area, which account for over two‐thirds of variance in combined models.     

A Numerical Study of Tidal Asymmetry： Preferable Asymmetry of Nonlinear Mechanisms in Xiangshan Bay,East China Sea

In-situ measurements in Xiangshan Bay, the East China Sea, show that the duration of the rising tide is shorter than that of the falling tide around the bay mouth, while it becomes much longer in the inner bay. A finite volume coastal ocean model（FVCOM） with an unstructured mesh was applied to simulate the asymmetric tidal field of Xiangshan Bay. The model reproduced the observed tidal elevations and currents successfully. Several numerical experiments were conducted to clarify the roles of primary mechanisms underlying the asymmetric tidal field. According to the model results, the time-varying channel depth and nonlinear advection prefer shorter duration of the rising tide in Xiangshan Bay, while the time-varying bay width favors longer duration of the rising tide. The overtides generated by these two opposite types of nonlinear mechanisms are out of phase, resulting in smaller M4 amplitude than the sumfold of each individual contribution. Although the bottom friction as a nonlinear mechanism contributes little to the generation of overtide M4, it is regarded as a mechanism that could cause a shorter duration of the rising tide, for it can slow down the M2 phase speed much more than it slows down the M4 phase speed. The time-varying depth, nonlinear advection and bottom friction are dominating factors around the bay mouth, while the time-varying width dominates in the inner bay, causing the tidal elevation asymmetry to be inverted along the bay.     

A laboratory study of formative conditions for characteristic ripple patterns associated with a change in wave conditions

A wave‐?ume experiment was conducted to examine the formative condition for three types of distinctive bedforms that emerged through deformation of existing ripples due to waning wave power. They were ripple marks with: (1) a single secondary crest, (2) double secondary crests, and (3) a rounded crest. Data were analysed using two parameters, kh and d₀/λ_*, where k is the wave number, h is the water depth, d₀ is the near‐bottom orbital diameter, and λ_* is the spacing of existing ripples. The former quantity, kh, was employed as a surrogate for the degree of ?ow asymmetry. The result showed that ripples with secondary crests developed under a rather symmetrical ?ow ?eld with kh ? 0·7, if d₀/λ_* ? 1·2, whereas rounded‐crest ripples emerged under asymmetrical ?ow ?eld with kh ? 0·7, if d₀/λ_* ? ?2·9 kh + 3·2. The number of secondary crests, which initially occurred in each trough, was single if d₀/λ_* ? 0·8, or double if d₀/λ_* ? 0·8. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A numerical model for shore-normal sediment size variation on a macrotidal beach

This paper describes a computer simulation model which is designed to predict the selective shore-normal sorting of grain sizes in the nearshore environment. The model simulates wave shoaling, wave height attenuation due to frictional losses and breaking, using linear theory up to the break point and a breaker decay model in the surf zone. Peak horizontal orbital velocities at the bed are calculated from Stokes second-order wave theory. The peak onshore and offshore velocities are used with the threshold expression of Komar and Miller (1975) to generate a spatial pattern of size variation of threshold grain diameter along a profile normal to the shore from deep water to the swash zone. The predicted grain size is used in an hydraulic interpretation of grain size distribution on the intertidal profile, based on the hydrodynamic variations over a tidal cycle on a macrotidal beach. The model is successful in predicting the broad pattern of increasing grain size in the onshore direction which has been observed in nature. Comparisons between measured and predicted grain size distributions indicate that the predictions of the model are better than those of previous models, but the model is more successful at predicting sediment size distributions than at predicting mean sizes on a beach profile.     

Tidal flow asymmetry in the diurnal regime: bed-load transport and morphologic changes around the Red River Delta

The relation between tidal flow asymmetry and net transport of sediment in the semidiurnal regime has been extensively described. This study reveals that in the diurnal regime, the direction of long-term net bed-load transport and resulting morphologic changes is partly determined by the phase-angle relationship of O₁, K₁, and M₂. Simple analytical formulations of time-averaged bed-load transport were derived which separate the relative contributions of tidal asymmetry from that of residual flow with tidal stirring. In this particular case, the Red River Delta in Vietnam, transports related to tidal asymmetry are larger than those induced by the monsoon currents, and are an order of magnitude larger than those associated with topographic residual flow around the delta. Tide-induced morphologic changes dominate at water depths between 10 and 25 m, of which the patterns of erosion and deposition overlap with observed bathymetric changes. Additional observed changes that occur in more shallow water cannot be explained by tidal asymmetry and are probably related to wave action and to deposition from the buoyant river plume.Responsible Editor: Jens Kappenberg     

Seismic behaviour of asymmetric buildings with supplemental damping

This paper investigates the response of asymmetric‐plan buildings with supplemental viscous damping to harmonic ground motion using modal analysis techniques. It is shown that most modal parameters, except dynamic amplification factors (DAFs), are affected very little by the plan‐wise distribution of supplemental damping in the practical range of system parameters. Plan‐wise distribution of supplemental damping significantly influences the DAFs, which, in turn, influence the modal deformations. These trends are directly related to the apparent modal damping ratios; the first modal damping ratio increases while the second decreases as CSD moves from right to left of the system plan, and their values increase with larger plan‐wise spread of the supplemental damping. The largest reduction in the flexible edge deformation occurs when damping in the first mode is maximized by distributing the supplemental damping such that the damping eccentricity takes on the largest value with algebraic sign opposite to the structural eccentricity. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.