Mechanisms of riverbank failure along the Arno River,central Italy

Riverbanks along the Arno River have been investigated with the aims of de?ning the main mechanisms of failure and retreat, their spatial distribution, and their causes. Geomorphological aspects were investigated by a reconnaissance of riverbank processes, for a number (26) of representative sites. Laboratory and in situ tests were then performed on a selected number of riverbanks (15). Based on the material characteristics, six main typologies of riverbanks have been de?ned, with homogeneous ?ne‐grained and composite banks representing the most frequent types. Slab‐type failures are the most frequent mechanism observed on ?ne‐grained banks, while cantilever failures prevail on composite banks. The role of river stage and related pore water pressure distributions in triggering the main observed mechanisms of failure has been investigated using two different types of stability analysis. The ?rst was conducted for 15 riverbanks, using the limit equilibrium method and considering simpli?ed hypotheses for pore water pressure distribution (annulment of negative pore pressures in the portion of the bank between low water stage and peak stage). Stability conditions and predicted mechanisms of failure are shown to be in reasonably good agreement with ?eld observations. Three riverbanks, representative of the main alluvial reaches of the river, were then selected for a more detailed bank stability analysis, consisting of: (a) de?nition of characteristic hydrographs of the reach with different return periods; (b) modelling of saturated and unsaturated ?ow using ?nite element seepage analysis; and (c) stability analysis with the limit equilibrium method, by adopting pore water pressure values derived from the seepage analysis. The results are compared to those obtained from the previous simpli?ed analysis, and are used to investigate the different responses, in terms of stability, to different hydrological and riverbank conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Old inherited origin for the present near-bimodal topography of Africa

Africa’s landscape is dominated by a manifold of second-order epeirogenic structures superimposed on a first-order bimodal topography. Bivariate regression analysis of Africa’s surface topography shows that this is a complexly folded surface with regionally elevated areas in southern and eastern Africa, and a topographically low northern and western Africa. The apparent spatial relationships between these features are analysed using anomaly correlation between surface topography and free-air gravity anomalies. Occurrences of positively correlated features between gravity and topography in Africa are found to be limited to second-order epeirogenic features. Geophysical modelling and geologic evidence indicate that Africa’s bimodal topography is genetically distinct from these second-order features, and linked to sources as deep as the sublithospheric mantle. The age, measured and modelled elevation of the bimodal topography require that topographic uplift of south-central Africa be episodic. We infer from our findings together with relative sea-level changes, that the near-bimodality of Africa’s topography is an ancient feature inherited at least from upper Paleozoic times. Our reconstructed paleotopography suggests that Africa was largely a low-lying continent dominated by its cratons, and that basement distribution disregards the present-day uplift patterns of Africa.     

Rivers, chemical weathering and Earth's climate

We detail the results of recent studies describing and quantifying the large-scale chemical weathering of the main types of continental silicate rocks: granites and basalts. These studies aim at establishing chemical weathering laws for these two lithologies, describing the dependence of chemical weathering on environmental parameters, such as climate and mechanical erosion. As shown within this contribution, such mathematical laws are of primary importance for numerical models calculating the evolution of the partial pressure of atmospheric CO₂ and the Earth climate at geological timescales. The major results can be summarized as follow: (1) weathering of continental basaltic lithologies accounts for about 30% of the total consumption of atmospheric CO₂ through weathering of continental silicate rocks. This is related to their high weatherability (about eight times greater than the granite weatherability); (2) a simple weathering law has been established for basaltic lithologies, giving the consumption of atmospheric CO₂ as a function of regional continental runoff, and mean annual regional temperature; (3) no such simple weathering law can be proposed for granitic lithologies, since the effect of temperature can only be identified for regions displaying high continental runoff; (4) a general law relating mechanical erosion and chemical weathering has been validated on small and large catchments. The consequences of these major advances on the climatic evolution of the Earth are discussed. Particularly, the impacts of the onset of the Deccan trapps and the Himalayan orogeny on the global carbon cycle are reinvestigated. To cite this article: B. Dupré et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

中尺度模式中各种湿物理过程的数值模拟

利用PSU／NCAR的MM5对1999年6月下旬发生在江淮流域的梅雨锋暴雨进行数值模拟试验，研究MM5中不同湿物理过程中对MM5模拟梅雨锋暴雨的影响。试验结果显示：中尺度模式MM5能一定程度再现一些观测的中尺度特征，对流参数化方案对网格格距的大小比较敏感；显式云物理方案考虑冰相后可明显改善模式对暴雨的模拟能力，尤其是采用Reisner包含霰的混合相双变参数谱方案的双重嵌套网格对降水量的模拟取得较好的效果。     

2002年6月9日汉中区域性暴雨过程分析

通过分析2002年6月8～9日汉中大暴雨的环流背景、物理量场的特征及其演变，表明热力、水汽条件在降水开始前24小时有一定的反映，中低层大的正涡度和高空的负涡度集中在非常狭窄的同一地区，是产生强降水的原因之一。     

2001年7月27日临汾区域性暴雨天气过程分析

本文应用数值预报产品，常规天气图，卫星云图及大气探测等资料，对2001年7月27日临汾区域性暴雨天气过程产生的环流形势，水汽和热力条件及动力机制进行了分析和研究，进一步揭示临汾市暴雨发生的环境流场和物理量场的特征。     

HUBEX强化观测期雷达测雨在水文过程模拟中的应用(英)

选择全球能量与水循环亚洲季风试验区的淮河黄泥庄水文站控制的史河流域(805 km2)为研究区域,基于数字高程模型,生成栅格水流流向,构建数字流域及空间拓扑关系;然后,将阜阳雷达观测数据经过订正校准后作为研究区内每一栅格单元上的雨量输入,并在每一栅格上应用新安江模型构建产流模型;再根据每一栅格至流域出口断面-黄泥庄水文站的距离,运用Muskingum方法进行汇流演算,从而获得黄泥庄站的流量过程。计算结果显示,从1998年5月31日-8月3日的强化观测期内模型确定性系数为92.41％,其间4场洪水的确定性系数分别为85.64％、86.62％、92.57％和83.91％,高于应用地面雨量计观测的数据计算的结果。这说明雷达测雨数据具有较高的时空分辨率,当它应用于水文过程模拟时优于地面雨量计资料,基于栅格的水文模型为充分利用雷达数据提供了良好平台。     

SHOULD BESTOW MORE PHYSICAL CONNOTATION ON GRAIN SIZE PARAMETER

1.INTRODUCnONSAn~sizeplaysanimpo~roleinmanyfields,SUChasinndmeDt-laden~ordebrisflow.TheStateofsedimentmovementwhateVertheyaresugunded.jUInpingorbed-loading,isoftencloselyrelatedtOtheirSizes.Thebodyor~forcesbornacaglainareOftendiredproponionedtotheabcorSq~sizeofthisgrain.Thereforesedimentsizeisanimpohalltindextoesedimentcharacteristics.Besides,depositsizeanditsdistributionimplysome~infonnationdepositingfonnationenvironmentandcauseing~hyandgeqlogy.Ina~on.thesizeanditsdistributionareeac…     

数字滤波方法在月尺度数值预报中的应用：II.保留不同低频过程的效果比较

用数字滤波方法对观测资料序列进行处理，得到初始场用于Ｔ４２Ｌ９全球谱模式的月预报，以去除误差增长较快的高频扰动对低频过程的影响，并且利用多时刻的观测资料提取低频过程的信息。对冬季和夏季两个不同个例进行了实例，并比较了取不同长度的观测序列，截取不同周期的过程作为初值对预报效果的影响。结果说明，经过滤波后对低频分量和平均场的预报都有显著的改进。而且对于较长时效的预报，应保留更低频的过程（比如１０ｄ以上     

国外中期数值预报业务模式的性能及发展趋势

作者简单介绍了国内预报员较为熟悉的欧洲中期天气预报中心，美国国家气象中心和日本气象厅三个中期预报模式的性能及预报效果，包括近几年颇为流行的半拉格朗日时间积分方案，物理过程参数化方案的完善和改进，中期数值预报业务模式的发展趋势等。