Rainfall intensity characteristics at coastal and high altitude stations in Kerala

Rainfall intensities measured at a few stations in Kerala during 2001–2005 using a disdrometer were found to be in reasonable agreement with the total rainfall measured using a manual rain gauge. The temporal distributions of rainfall intensity at different places and during different months show that rainfall is of low intensity (< 10 mm/hr), 65% to 90% of the time. This could be an indication of the relative prevalence of stratiform and cumuliform clouds. Rainfall was of intensity < 5 mm/hr for more than 95% of the time in Kochi in July 2002, which was a month seriously deficient in rainfall, indicating that the deficiency was probably due to the relative absence of cumuliform clouds. Cumulative distribution graphs are also plotted and fitted with the Weibull distribution. The fit parameters do not appear to have any consistent pattern. The higher intensities also contributed significantly to total rainfall most of the time, except in Munnar (a hill station). In this analysis also, the rainfall in Kochi in July 2002 was found to have less presence of high intensities. This supports the hypothesis that the rainfall deficiency was probably caused by the absence of conditions that favoured the formation of cumuliform clouds.     

Application of bivariate extreme value distribution to flood frequency analysis: a case study of Northwestern Mexico

In Mexico, poverty has forced people to live almost on the water of rivers. This situation along with the occurrence of floods is a serious problem for the local governments. In order to protect their lives and goods, it is very important to account with a mathematical tool that may reduce the uncertainties in computing the design events for different return periods. In this paper, the Logistic model for bivariate extreme value distribution with Weibull-2 and Mixed Weibull marginals is proposed for the case of flood frequency analysis. A procedure to estimate their parameters based on the maximum likelihood method is developed. A region in Northwestern Mexico with 16 gauging stations has been selected to apply the model and regional at-site quantiles were estimated. A significant improvement occurs, measured through the use of a goodness-of-fit test, when parameters are estimated using the bivariate distribution instead of its univariate counterpart. Results suggest that it is very important to consider the Mixed Weibull distribution and its bivariate option when analyzing floods generated by a␣mixture of two populations.     

Spatial distribution characteristics of stable carbon isotope compositions in desert plant Reaumuria soongorica (Pall.) Maxim

In order to investigate the distribution characteristics of stable carbon isotope ratios (δ ¹³C) in the desert plant Reaumuria soongorica, the δ ¹³C values of leaves were measured in 407 individuals of 21 populations. Soil physicochemical properties including soil water content, soil total dissolved solids, soil total nitrogen, soil total phosphorus and soil organic content were also analyzed in order to survey the major factors influencing δ ¹³C values on spatial variation. Leaves and soil samples were simultaneously collected from the ten major distribution areas in Northwest China at altitudes from 394 m to 1 987 m above sea level, at latitudes from 36°10′N to 44°33′N, and at longitudes from 81°43′E to 106°37′E. These ten areas include Shihezi, Baicheng, Yiwu areas in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; Anxi, Zhangye, Baiyin, Lanzhou areas in Gansu Province; Shapotou, Yinchuan areas in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region; and Alashan County in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The results show that the δ ¹³C value of R. soongorica ranges from −22.77‰ to −29.85‰ with an average of −26.52‰. Foliar d13C values in R. soongorica are not significantly correlated with altitude, latitude or longitude, and a spatial distribution trend of d13C values of R. soongorica is not obvious on a large scale. However, when d13C values of two R. soongorica populations under the same climate conditions are compared, δ ¹³C values increase obviously from east to west and from north to south. As none of the soil total dissolved solids, soil total nitrogen, soil total phosphorus, and soil organic content shows a uniform trend from east to west and from north to south, we suppose that the small-scaled spatial distribution pattern of δ ¹³C values of R. soongorica is mainly controlled by the soil water content. Translated from Quaternary Sciences, 2006, 26(6): 947–954 [译自: 第四纪研究]     

河西走廊风能时空特征

利用河西走廊地区1970-2004年风速气候资料和2004年9月-2005年8月周年风塔精细资料,采用气候订正和即时风速订正,得到接近自然的风速,依此研究了该区域近地面70 m层内风能分布。结果表明:河西走廊区域风速变幅较小、气候变化趋势较稳定;有效风速(≥3 m/s)时数在6 000 h/a,10 m高度风能大多在150 w/m2以上,风能随高度线形增长(在70 m高度层内),平均每升高10 m风能增加28 w/m2;10~70 m层内总风能年储量相当丰富,普遍在1.5×1016kWh/m2(千瓦时/平方米)以上,潜在年产值达千万亿元。河西走廊风能存在明显周日和月季变化,风能和有效风速时数存在空间差异,其时空差异与河西走廊独特的戈壁下垫面关系密切。     

新疆地区表土孢粉分布规律及其与植被关系研究

对中国新疆地区218个样点进行植被调查及表土孢粉分析的研究结果表明,新疆地区温带山地针叶林、高寒草甸及盐生草甸、温带草原、荒漠以及荒漠-沙漠过渡带均具有相对特殊的孢粉组合,新疆南北向样带的孢粉图式揭示出表土孢粉从北到南随地形、纬度和植被的改变而发生的空间变化。针叶林区表土孢粉浓度平均值为22 602粒/g、草原为3 834粒/g、荒漠为1 762粒/g、沙漠为0-10粒/g。但在同一植被类型中,特别是在草原和荒漠中,孢粉浓度与植被盖度之间并不呈现线性相关关系。根据大空间尺度样品的A/C(蒿Artemisia/藜Chenopodiaceae)值的中位数统计,草原为1.264、荒漠为0.565、沙漠为0.243。Ep/C(麻黄Ephedra/藜Chenopodiaceae)比值的中位数在荒漠为0.098、草原为0.063。     

旅游区位与市场拓展关系的研究——以西安市日本入境市场为例

旅游区位的理论已被广泛地运用到旅游空间的优化和布局中.就旅游区位的5个因子方面分析了日本客源市场的现状、发展前景;并根据对西安入境外国人进行的1008份市场调查问卷、通过数理方法分析比较取得的结果,探讨了以增长极、中心地、点-轴、带状、网状等多层次、多边的西安旅游市场开发的空间布局和旅游线路优化组合的模式.最后就开发西安的日本市场,提出了相应的对策和建议,对细分旅游市场和有针对性的市场促销有一定的参考价值.     

Spatial variability of liquefaction potential in regional mapping using CPT and SPT data

Cone penetration test (CPT) and standard penetration test (SPT) are widely used for the site specific evaluation of liquefaction potential and are getting increased use in the regional mapping of liquefaction hazard. This paper compares CPT and SPT-based liquefaction potential characterizations of regional geologic units using the liquefaction potential index (LPI) across the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay, California, USA and examines the statistical and spatial variability of LPI across and within geologic units. Overall, CPT-based LPI characterizations result in higher hazard than those derived from the SPT. This bias may result from either mis-classifications of soil type in the CPT or a bias in the CPT simplified procedure for liquefaction potential. Regional mapping based on cumulative distribution of LPI values show different results depending on which dataset is used. For both SPT and CPT-based characterizations, the geologic units in the area have broad LPI distributions that overlap between units and are not distinct from the population as a whole. Regional liquefaction classifications should therefore give a distribution, rather than a single hazard rating that does not provide for variability within the area. The CPT-based LPI values have a higher degree of spatial correlation and a lower variance over a greater distance than those estimated from SPTs. As a result, geostatistical interpolation can provide a detailed map of LPI when densely sampled CPT data are available. The statistical distribution of LPI within specific geologic units and interpolated maps of LPI can be used to understand the spatial variability of liquefaction potential.     

Geochemistry and spatial distribution of OIB and MORB in A’nyemaqen ophiolite zone: Evidence of Majixueshan ancient ridge-centered hotspot

The mafic volcanic association is made up of OIB, E-MORB and N-MORB in the A'nyemaqen Paleozoic ophiolites. Compared with the same type rocks in the world, the mafic rocks generally display lower Nb/U and Ce/Pb ratios and some have Nb depletion and Pb enrichment. The OIB are LREE-enriched with (La/Yb)N =5―20, N-MORB are LREE-depleted with (La/Yb)N = 0.41―0.5. The OIB are featured by incompatible element enrichment and the N-MORB are obviously depleted with some metasomatic effect, and E-MORB are geochemically intermediated. These rocks are distributed around the Majixueshan OIB and gabbros in a thickness greater than a thousand meters and transitionally change along the ophiolite extension in a west-east direction, showing a symmetric distribution pattern as centered by the Majixueshan OIB, that is, from N-MORB, OIB and E-MORB association in the Dur'ngoi area to OIB in the Majixueshan area and then to N-MORB, OIB and E-MORB assemblage again in the Buqingshan area. By consideration of the rock association, the rock spatial distribution and the thickness of the mafic rocks in the Majixueshan, coupled with the metasomatic relationship between the OIB and MORB sources, it can be argued that the Majixueshan probably corresponds to an ancient hotspot or an ocean island formed by mantle plume on the A'nyemaqeh ocean ridge, that is the ridge-centered hotspot, tectonically similar to the present-day Iceland hotspot.