Effects of spatially structured vegetation patterns on hillslope erosion in a semiarid Mediterranean environment: a simulation study

A general trend of decreasing soil loss rates with increasing vegetation cover fraction is widely accepted. Field observations and experimental work, however, show that the form of the cover‐erosion function can vary considerably, in particular for low cover conditions that prevail on arid and semiarid hillslopes. In this paper the structured spatial distribution of the vegetation cover and associated soil attributes is proposed as one of the possible causes of variation in cover–erosion relationships, in particular in dryland environments where patchy vegetation covers are common. A simulation approach was used to test the hypothesis that hillslope discharge and soil loss could be affected by variation in the spatial correlation structure of coupled vegetation cover and soil patterns alone. The Limburg Soil Erosion Model (LISEM) was parameterized and verified for a small catchment with discontinuous vegetation cover at Rambla Honda, SE Spain. Using the same parameter sets LISEM was subsequently used to simulate water and sediment fluxes on 1 ha hypothetical hillslopes with simulated spatial distributions of vegetation and soil parameters. Storms of constant rainfall intensity in the range of 30–70 mm h^?1 and 10–30 min duration were applied. To quantify the effect of the spatial correlation structure of the vegetation and soil patterns, predicted discharge and soil loss rates from hillslopes with spatially structured distributions of vegetation and soil parameters were compared with those from hillslopes with spatially uniform distributions. The results showed that the spatial organization of bare and vegetated surfaces alone can have a substantial impact on predicted storm discharge and erosion. In general, water and sediment yields from hillslopes with spatially structured distributions of vegetation and soil parameters were greater than from identical hillslopes with spatially uniform distributions. Within a storm the effect of spatially structured vegetation and soil patterns was observed to be highly dynamic, and to depend on rainfall intensity and slope gradient. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国地震海浪初步分析

总结了我国地震海浪的25次记录,在做初步分析后认为我国的地震海浪多由近海海洋地震引起,其多发地区为渤海沿岸与东南沿海一带.随着对沿海地区开发的深入,这类记载逐渐增多,受灾程度加大.另外分析了在社会历史变迁中,国家对海洋的开发政策、沿海开发下城市近海地理位置、沿海港口及海洋贸易的规模与地震海浪受灾程度之间的关系.     

Wavelet analysis and interpretation of gravity data in Sichuan-Yunnan region, China

Introduction Sichuan-Yunnan region, located in the east margin of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetean) Plateau, is a transitional zone between the rapidly upheaving Tibetean Plateau and relatively steady Yangtze Platform. Under the pressure exerted by the northward movement of Indian Plate, Sichuan-Yunnan region has been undergone strong deformation and regmagenesis, becoming one of the regions with the most intensive seismicity in the world. The research on the tectonics and seismicity there is alw…     

A study on the focal parameters of Shidian M =5.9 earthquake sequences in 2001

On the basis of about 300 earthquake wave forms observed in the Shidian M _S=5.9 sequences on April 12, 2001 recorded in Kunming Digital Seismic Network, the spectra of shear wave have been used to estimate the focal parameters of these earthquake sequences. The results show that within the magnitude range of 1.5–5.3, the seismic moments are 10¹⁰–10¹⁶ N·m, the corner frequencies are 0.2–0.8 Hz, radii of the focal rupture are 200–2 500 m and the stress drops are 0.1×10⁵–20×10⁵Pa. Through the statistical analyses of variation of corner frequency f _c and stress drop Δσ with time, it is discovered that the average corner frequency of the foreshock sequences is obviously lower than that of the aftershock sequences. Contrarily, the average stress drops Δσ of the foreshock sequences are clearly higher than that of the aftershocks. It is considered that these variation characteristics of average corner frequency and stress drops before and after the main shock have index significance to the precursory information before a strong earthquake. The higher stress drops for the foreshock sequences show that the higher shear stresses have been stored in the area of main shock. After the main shock, most of the stresses have been released, so the aftershock sequences show a rupture process of lower stresses. Foundation item: Scientific and Technological Key Project of Yunnan Province (2001NG46)     

Energetic Particles Observed in the CUSP Region During a Storm Recovery Phase

In this paper we report energetic ion behavior and its composition variations observed by the Cluster/RAPID instrument when the spacecraft was travelling in the high latitude magnetospheric boundary region on the day of the 31 March, 2001, strongest magnetic storm in the past 50 years. The Dst index reached −360 nT at about 09:00 UT. During its early recovery phase, large amounts of oxygen and helium ions were observed; the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in the RAPID energy range reached as high as 250%, which suggests that the observed energetic particles might be of magnetospheric origin. The observations further show that enhanced energetic electron fluxes are confined in a very narrow region, while protons have occupied a larger region, and heavy ions have been observed in an even larger region. The flux of energetic electrons show a slight enhancement in a region where the magnetic field magnitude is around zero. These observed energetic ions could be quasi-trapped by the current sheet in the stagnation region of the cusp.     

Changes in the spatial scale of Beijing UHI and urban development

The seasonal and interannual variations of Beijing urban heat island (UHI) are investigated in this paper using the temperature data from 1960 to 2000 at 20 meteorological stations in the Beijing region, and then the relationship between the intensity and spatial scale of UHI and Beijing urbanization indices is analyzed and discussed. Main conclusions are the followings. First, Beijing UHI shows obvious seasonal variations, and it is strongest in winter, next in spring and autumn, and least in summer. The seasonal variation of the UHI mainly occurs in the urban area. The UHI intensity at the center of Beijing is more than 0.8℃ in winter, and only 0.5℃ in summer. Second, the intensity of Beijing HUI exhibits a clear interannual warming trend with its mean growth rate (MGR) being 0.3088℃/10 a. The MGR of HUI is largest in winter, next in spring and autumn, and least in summer, and the urban temperature increase makes a major contribution to the growth of HUI intensity. Third, since the Reform and Opening, the urbanization indices have grown several ten times or even one hundred times, the intensity of HUI has increased dramatically, and its spatial scale also expanded distinctively along with the expansion of urban architectural complexes. Fourth, the interannual variation of urbanization indices is very similar with that of HUI intensity, and their linear correlation coefficients are significant at a more than 0.001 confidence level.     

湖南千里山-大义山-九嶷山成矿金三角的控矿意义

在综合前人资料的基础上，结合千里山-大义山-九嶷山地区典型矿区的实际调查，以矿床成矿系列理论为指导，根据壳源改造型和壳幔混熔型两类不同性质花岗岩(包括过渡产物)分异演化活动的成岩成矿规律以及矿源层与成矿的关系，揭示了本区成矿物质在区域地质构造不断演化过程中的行为，即成矿物质组合的变化、分散或富集规律，指出该地区今后地质找矿的六个重点区域。     

三峡水库区巫山新县城库岸综合治理设计回顾

三峡水库区巫山新县域库岸综合治理工程范围内涉及到滑坡、泥石流、塌岸等多种地质灾害。治理工程综合运用了多种技术与结构措拖，工程的复杂性和典型性在整个三峡库区具有极强的代表意义。笔者对整个治理方案的布置情况进行了归纳总结，并以翔实的第一手资料对治理工程设计过程中出现的几种典型问题一一进行了分析与论述．提出了相应的解决方案与合理化建议。结论认为，库岸综合治理工作，必须根据不同的地形特征，结合城区总体布局及沿线市政工程建设，综合考虑，有机结合，做到治理和利用相结合，最大限度地改善新城建设用地环境和城市生态环境。设计人员必须依照现场实际条件进行动态设计，确保工程方案合理、可靠、经济。文中讨论的问题和实践经检对同类工程具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Correlation Fractal and Multifractal Characteristics of Seismic Activity in the Taiwan Area, China

Based on the analysis of newly collected data of plate tectonics, distribution of active faults and crustal deformation, the Taiwan area is divided into two seismic regions and six seismic belts. Then, correlation fractal dimensions of all the regions and belts are calculated, and the fractal characteristics of hypocenteral distribution can be quantitatively analyzed. Finally, multifractal dimensions Dq and f(α) are calculated by using the earthquake catalog of the past 11 years in the Taiwan area. This study indicates that (1) there exists a favorable corresponding relationship between spatial images of seismic activity described with correlation fractal dimension analysis and tectonic settings; (2) the temporal structure of earthquakes is not single but multifractal fractal, and the pattern of Dq variation with time is a good indicator for predicting strong earthquake events.     

Environmental variables related to wheat yields in the semiarid pampa region of Argentina

The current paper analyses various environmental parameters in relation to wheat yields in Bordenave, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The variables used are: precipitation (ppt), maximum (Tx) and minimum temperature (Tmi) as well as those obtained by applying the Palmer model. Decadic and phenological scales are used for data corresponding to the period 1977–2000. The stepwise method is used to obtain a multi-variate equation to calculate yield taking into account environmental variables only. For a five variates model the coefficient of determination, R² equals 95.79% and the standard error of estimation is 129.0 kg ha⁻¹. In the sample yields, the incidence of total variability for thermal variables is 42.7% and for hydrological variables, 53%. The value and sign of the correlation coefficients were analysed throughout the cultivation cycle. The α coefficient is mainly responsible for yield variance during tillering and stem elongation. There is good correlation with the values of Palmer's Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the flowering and grain filling stages.