Movement and strain conditions of active blocks in the Chinese mainland

The definition of active block is given from the angles of crustal deformation and strain. The movement and strain parameters of active blocks are estimated according to the unified velocity field composed of the velocities at 1598 GPS stations obtained from GPS measurements carried out in the past years in the Chinese mainland and the surrounding areas. The movement and strain conditions of the blocks are analyzed. The active blocks in the Chinese mainland have a consistent E-trending movement component, but its N and S components are not consistent. The blocks in the western part have a consistent N-trending movement and the blocks in the eastern part have a consistent S-trending movement. In the area to the east of 90°E, that is the area from Himalayas block towards NE, the movement direction of the blocks rotates clockwisely and the movement rates of the blocks are different. Generally, the movement rate is large in the west and south and small in the east and north with a difference of 3 to 4 times between the rates in the west and east. The distributions of principal compressive strain directions of the blocks are also different. The principal strain of the blocks located to the west of 90oE is basically in the SN direction, the principal compressive strain of the blocks in the northeastern part of Qingzang plateau is roughly in the NE direction and the direction of principal compressive strain of the blocks in the southeastern part of Qingzang plateau rounds clockwisely the east end of Himalayas structure. In addition, the principal strain and shear strain rates of the blocks are also different. The Himalayas and Tianshan blocks have the largest principal compressive strain and the maximum shear strain rate. Then, Lhasa, Qiangtang, Southwest Yunnan (SW Yunnan), Qilian and Sichuan-Yunan (Chuan-Dian) blocks followed. The strain rate of the blocks in the eastern part is smaller. The estimation based on the stain condition indicates that Himalayas block is still the area with the most intensive tectonic activity and it shortens in the NS direction at the rate of 15.2±1.5 mm/a. Tianshan block ranks the second and it shortens in the NS direction at the rate of 10.1±0.9 mm/a. At present, the two blocks are still uprising. It can be seen from superficial strain that the Chinese mainland is predominated by superficial expansion. Almost the total area in the eastern part of the Chinese mainland is expanded, while in the western part, the superficial compression and expansion are alternatively distributed from the south to the north. In the Chinese mainland, most EW-trending or proximate EW-trending faults have the left-lateral or left-lateral strike-slip relative movements along both sides, and most NS-trending faults have the right-lateral or right-lateral strike-slip relative movements along both sides. According to the data from GPS measurements the left-lateral strike-slip rate is 4.8±1.3 mm/a in the central part of Altun fault and 9.8±2.2 mm/a on Xianshuihe fault. The movement of the fault along the block boundary has provided the condition for block movement, so the movements of the block and its boundary are consistent, but the movement levels of the blocks are different. The statistic results indicate that the relative movement between most blocks is quite significant, which proves that active blocks exist. Himalayas, Tianshan, Qiangtang and SW Yunnan blocks have the most intensive movement; China-Mongolia, China-Korea (China-Korea), Alxa and South China blocks are rather stable. The mutual action of India, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates versus Eurasia plate is the principal driving force to the block movement in the Chinese mainland. Under the NNE-trending intensive press from India plate, the crustal matter of Qingzang plateau moves to the NNE and NE directions, then is hindered by the blocks located in the northern, northeastern and eastern parts. The crustal matter moves towards the Indian Ocean by the southeastern part of the plateau.     

Calibration of an oscillating nozzle‐type rainfall simulator

Nozzle‐type rainfall simulators are commonly used in hydrologic and soil erosion research. Simulated rainfall intensity, originating from the nozzle, increases as the distance between the point of measurement and the source is decreased. Hence, rainfall measured using rain gauges would systematically overestimate the rainfall received at the ground level. A simple model was developed to adjust rainfall measured anywhere under the simulator to plot‐wide average rainfall at the ground level. Nozzle height, plot width, gauge diameter and height, and gauge location are required to compute this adjustment factor. Results from 15 runs at different rain intensities and durations, and with different rain gauge layouts, showed that a simple average of measured rain would overestimate the plot‐wide rain by about 20 per cent. Using the adjustment factor to convert measured rainfall for individual gauges before averaging improved the estimate of plot‐wide rainfall considerably. For the 15 runs considered, overall discrepancy between actual and measured rain is reduced to less than 1 per cent with a standard error of 0·97 mm. This model can be easily tested in the ?eld by comparing rainfall depths of different sized gauges. With the adjustment factor they should all give very similar values. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water and sediment outbursts from advanced Franz Josef Glacier,New Zealand

The Franz Josef Glacier, Westland, New Zealand, has a history of catastrophic sediment‐laden outburst ?oods associated with extreme rainfall events when the glacier toe is advanced over its own sediments. Consideration of these events and inspection of recent sediment deposits suggest that there are three distinct modes of outburst. The ?rst is associated with fans fed by over?ow along the glacier margin. As the glacier has advanced across its own fore?eld gravels, it is inferred that the primary drainage conduit has developed a reach of negative slope. In high ?ows massive boulders can block the conduit, trapping lesser clasts. The resulting backup of water causes over?ows through marginal moulins, producing the fan type of deposit. The second type of outburst deposits massive imbricated boulders at a greater or lesser distance from the glacier portal. In this case, pressure buildup drives the blockage out of the portal where the boulders deposit. Smaller materials are generally carried away. The third type consists of very shallow ?ows, and produces massive gravel deposits of uncertain provenance. In this condition, the excess pressure in the conduit results in slight uplift of the glacier and widespread discharge of water and sediment below the glacier snout; gravels and smaller sediments are laid down in a massive deposit across the fore?eld. The massive, boulder‐veneered deposit from the December 1995 outburst is interpreted in the light of the above mechanisms as a hyperconcentrated ?ow deposit from hydraulic jacking, overlain by boulders emplaced by a subsequent conduit outburst. A possible association of outbursts with the present advanced position of the glacier is suggested. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observed daily large-scale rainfall patterns during BOBMEX-1999

A daily rainfall dataset and the corresponding rainfall maps have been produced by objective analysis of rainfall data. The satellite estimate of rainfall and the raingauge values are merged to form the final analysis. Associated with epochs of monsoon these rainfall maps are able to show the rainfall activities over India and the Bay of Bengal region during the BOBMEX period. The intra-seasonal variations of rainfall during BOBMEX are also seen using these data. This dataset over the oceanic region compares well with other available popular datasets like GPCP and CMAP. Over land this dataset brings out the features of monsoon in more detail due to the availability of more local raingauge stations.     

中尺度自忆模式在强降水预报中的应用

根据大气自忆性原理提出的回溯时间积分格式应用于中尺度格点模式MM5,构建了中尺度自忆模式SMM5并做了短期强降水预报的实验.结果表明,SMM5模式与MM5模式相比,由于使用了多个时刻的场资料,预报精度有了明显的提高, SMM5预报的最大雨区的中心位置与降水量也比MM5更接近实际观测场.     

黄河流域夏季分区面雨量预报研究

介绍黄河流域分区夏季面雨量预报的研究成果，精心挑选51个具有较好代表性的测站对黄河流域夏季降水的时空演变特征进行分析，使用K均值动态聚类对黄河流域的夏季降水进行了客观分区，并计算出各流域夏季面雨量。通过对黄河流域夏季雨量与500hPa环流，海温、OLR、中纬阻高，高原积雪，欧亚积雪等重要影响因子的关系分析，结合黄河流域夏季面雨量年降和年代际演变特征的分析，研究出黄河流域分区夏季面雨量预测的基本方法和模型，并通过客观化的数学方法建立黄河流域夏季面雨量预测系统，预测系统十年回报的结果显示出具有较的预测技巧。     

广西异常暴雨天气事件之异常指数初探

对广西异常暴雨天气事件之“异常指数”的设置进行了初步探讨，提出暴雨天气事件中过程日最大暴雨范围，过程持续时间，过程强降雨，特强降雨发生范围等四项异常分指数，然后统计同一过程分指数之和，得总指数，在此基础上分别选出了4－10月各月广西异常暴雨天气事件。     

“2002.6.30”滇中低涡暴雨的中尺度分析

利用MICAPS常规资料和GMS卫星云图，3830—C多普勒雷达观测资料，对2002年6月30日发生于滇中地区的暴雨天气过程进行诊断和分析，发现暴雨过程由中低层低涡切变造成，暴雨区与垂直速度及涡度所表现的强烈上升区对应，并伴有高能高湿条件；同时卫星云图上有中尺度低涡云团发展。多普勒雷达回波资料分析表明，暴雨过程中出现了明显的中尺度系统，如中尺度辐合线、中尺度气旋、逆风区等，具有典型的对流型特征。     

北极涛动对东亚夏季降水的预测意义

分析了春季北极涛动(AO)指数的变化对梅雨—Changma——Baiu带夏季降水年际变化的影响。对观测的东亚10个站的降水长序列资料(1899—1999年)，进行滤波处理，保留10年以下的年际时间尺度的变化，再进行相关分析。结果表明，近百年的5月北极涛动指数与10站夏季平均降水相关最高达—0．45，超过99％信度水平。当北极涛动偏强一个标准差时，整个长江中下游地区到日本南部一带，降水减少平均约8％左右。降水的这种变化与对流层东亚急流的变化密切相关：春季北极涛动强时，随后夏季急流位置通常偏北，雨带位置也北移，从而造成梅雨—Changma——Baiu带降水减少，反之亦然。较强的AO异常对降水的影响更明显，而较弱的AO与降水异常的对应关系并不显著。这对东亚夏季年际降水异常具有一定的预测意义。     

2002年7～8月海河流域面雨量预报的误差分析

对天津市气象台和河北省气象台在2002年7—8月的海河流域面雨量24h、48h预报进行了误差对比分析，列举了几种预报误差，并利用模糊数学中的综合评判法，计算了它们的模糊评分。结果表明：海河流域的面雨量预报有一定的可信度，把其作为水文模式的初值，有较高的利用价值；对于各气象台各自辖区内的预报，范围越小，预报越准确；在对面雨量预报效果的评估上，80％(或80)这一数值是客观、可信的。