CORRELATION BETWEEN PEAK INTENSITY OF EXTREME AFTERNOON SHORT-DURATION RAINFALL AND HUMIDITY AND SURFACE AIR TEMPERATURE IN SOUTHEAST COAST OF CHINA

Using hourly rainfall intensity, daily surface air temperature, humidity and low-level dew point depressions at 55 stations in the southeast coast of China, and sea surface temperature from reanalysis in the coastal region, this paper analyzes the connection between peak intensity of extreme afternoon short-duration rainfall (EASR) and humidity as well as surface air temperature. The dependency of extreme peak intensity of EASR on temperature has a significant transition. When daily highest surface temperature is below (above) 29°C, the peak rainfall intensity shows an ascending (descending) tendency with rising temperature. Having investigated the role of moisture condition in the variation of EASR and temperature, this paper discovered that the decrease of peak rainfall intensity with temperature rising is connected with the variation of relative humidity. At higher temperatures, the land surface relative humidity decreases dramatically as temperature further increases. During this process, the sea surface temperature maintains basically unchanged, resulting in indistinct variations of water vapor content at seas. As water vapor over land is mainly contributed by the quantitative moisture transport from adjacent seas, the decline of relative humidity over land will be consequently caused by the further rise of surface air temperature.     

乌鲁木齐1991-2010年降雨特征分析

 利用1991—2010年5—9月乌鲁木齐市气象站降水量资料,分析了乌鲁木齐近20 a降雨特征。结果表明,逐小时降水量和降水频次呈现较为一致的日变化特征,均以20时以后至翌日11时左右为高值区,在下午16时达最低值;1 h降水频次最多的是量级≤1.0 mm的降水,其次是1.1 mm≤R1≤3.0 mm,但1.1 mm≤R1≤3.0 mm量级的降水贡献率最高,其次是R1≤1.0 mm。不同量级降水过程均有较为明显的年际差异,小雨过程发生的频次最多,其次为中雨、大雨和暴雨过程。前半夜为小雨、中雨和大雨过程最易发生时段,下午为暴雨过程最易发生时段。小雨、中雨、大雨和暴雨过程发生最多的时段分别为7月中旬、5月中旬、5月中下旬、5月上中旬与7月中旬及8月下旬。短时性降水(1~3 h)主要集中在前半夜,持续4~6 h和7~9 h降水多集中在前半夜到后半夜,持续10~12 h及以上的降水多发生在下午至后半夜。20 a来雨日年际变化不明显,后10 a和前10 a相比,暴雨日数有所增加,而其他量级及总雨日均减少。     

中国地区日照时数近50年来的变化特征

根据国家气象信息中心给出的逐日日照时数资料, 利用经验正交函数分解(EOF)和Mann-Kendall方法分析了1956～2005年中国地区日照时数的变化趋势、突变情况、时空分布和季节变化特征。研究表明:中国绝大部分地区近50年来日照时数总量呈减少的趋势, 在1980年前后大部分观测站显示有突变, 20世纪 90年代之后减少趋势有所缓解, 保持在稳定偏低的状态;此类变化趋势在东南地区较西北地区更为显著。且日照时数的上述变化主要由于夏季日照的变化造成的。     

多前兆出现时间综合概率法在地震预报中的应用研究

四川、滇江地区２０多种曾在的Ｍ≥６级地震前出现过异常的前兆项目的１００多个数据，初步建立起三期异常持续时间Ｔ＿ｐ的概率分布模型。以此为基础，应用宇津等人发展的综合概率方法对１９８９年巴塘６．７级地震和１９８９年小金６．６级地震作了回顾性预报检验。结果表明这种以各学科观测异常资料为基础的综合概率方法，可能是一种对强震进行异常势态跟踪和预报的较好途径。     

吉首台近震持续时间震级公式

利用吉首台ＤＤ—１型短周期地震仪记录的１９８７—１９９２年间的１２５次近震的垂直向尾波持续时间，用最小二乘法求出了该台的近震持续震级公式。实际验检结果表明，应用该公式不仅能快速地算出地震震级，而且结果较为准确。     

Duration Magnitude Scale and Site Residuals for Northern Morocco

— The first empirical duration magnitude (M_D) formula is developed and tested for the Northern Morocco Seismic Network (NMSNET). This relationship is obtained by relating the IGN (Instituto Geografico National, Madrid) body-waves mbLg^IGN to the duration (), and the epicentral distance (), at 25 analogue stations of the NMSNET for 479 earthquakes with 2.5 mb 5.4, from March 1992 to February 2001. M_D estimates are significantly more precise while introducing a correction term for each of these stations, cSta_j. The magnitude for the i^th event (M_D)_i is the mean value of individual M_Dij=–0.14+1.63log₁₀(_ij)+0.031(_ij)+cSta_j. The cSta_j corrections reduce considerably the local site effects which influence the recorded durations and cause stations to either overestimate, or underestimate M_D up to 0.5 magnitude units. Average station M_D residuals (–cSta_j) are found to be independent of the distance from the epicenter to at least 10 degrees. It seems evident that regional geological features in the immediate behavior of stations have a systematic effect on the corresponding obtained residuals: older well-consolidated Precambrian crystalline rocks produce high negative residuals (shorter durations), younger unconsolidated sediments produce high positive residuals (longer durations), whereas, intermediate M_D site residuals appear to be the result of the effect of various factors, principally age and state of consolidation of the bedrock, combined with the local tectonic.     

Longues séries d'insolation homogénéisées en France

Prior to have long-term sunshine-duration series, data rescue effort has to be engaged. Eighteen series have been homogenized over the period 1931–2000. These series complete the set of diagnoses on climate change at a regional scale, confirm part of the diagnosis established for the temperatures, and offer new tracks for the mechanisms of climate change. To cite this article: J.-M. Moisselin, C. Canellas, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Particle clusters in gravel‐bed rivers: an experimental morphological approach to bed material transport and stability concepts

Structured gravel river beds clearly exert a major influence on bed stability. Indexing structural stability by field measurements of bed strength neglects the processes operating to entrain and transport bed material in different parts of each structure. This study takes a morphological approach to interpreting the critical processes, using particle tracing to determine the movement of individual cluster particles over a range of flood event magnitudes and durations. The experiment was carried out on the River South Tyne, UK; it uses flow hydrographs measured nearby and also benefits from previous studies of historical development, channel morphology and sediment transport at the same site. More than 30 clusters were monitored over a seven‐month period during which clusters occupied 7–16 per cent of the bed. Threshold flows delimiting three apparently contrasting bed sediment process regimes for cluster particles are tentatively set at 100 m³ s^?1 and 183 m³ s^?1; durations of flow at these levels are critical for cluster development, rather than flow peak values. Wake particles are transported most easily. Flow straightening in the wandering channel planform reduces the stability of clusters, since mechanical strength is markedly reduced by this change of direction. The overall area covered by clusters between significant transport events varies little, implying a dynamic equilibrium condition. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Restoring landscapes: the authenticity problem

Philosophical concerns about restoring landscapes often revolve around two, connected, issues. First is the idea that a restored landscape, even if it is a perfect replica, has lost some of its value. The claim might appeal to a break in the continuity of the landscape and that continuity is part of what is valuable. Alternatively, often in the case of natural landscapes, the appeal is that any human manipulation is inauthentic; here the analogy is sometimes made with the art world and the restoration is deemed a fake. The second problem highlighted in philosophical debates is that the greater the success of restoration projects, the more threatened natural landscapes become: any claim that something must be preserved in its pristine or historically layered state is undermined by the claim that it could be put back again. Initially I discuss two opposing potential responses to these claims: (1) that humans are part of nature and thus cannot be an alien dominating force outside of nature; and (2) that nature is itself a social construct. Neither of these positions is entirely satisfactory, but what they jointly reveal is the reality of our fluid and multifaceted relationship with the world. I then show that Elliot's claim of the additional value of pristine nature is actually not based on an inherent value, but is dependent on the human valuation of it. I propose an alternative that places the source of value in the thing itself and thus arrive at a positive role for restoration as the setting in train and guiding of positive relationships above and beyond their social or public amenity value to us. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnitude estimation of Koyna-Warna earthquakes, India

The paper presents the current state of magnitude estimation for Koyna earthquakes exceeding magnitude 3.0. We estimate coda duration magnitude from analogue seismograms recorded on the short period vertical (SPZ) seismometer at Hyderabad seismic observatory HYB and determine moment magnitude using very broad-band (VBB) data from the Geoscope station (HYB)and short period digital data from the local seismic network of NationalGeophysical Research Institute (NGRI) around the Koyna and Warna reservoirs.Firstly, the seismograms of 97 Koyna earthquakes exceeding magnitude 4.0 havebeen used to establish a new empirical coda duration magnitude scale which includes the higher order terms of log₁₀, where is the coda length in seconds. Four background noise levels (1, 2, 6 and 10 mm) areconsidered to estimate the coda duration. We found that the duration magnitudes for 1 mm background level are more stable than those for 2, 6 and 10 mm. The new coda duration magnitude (M_dnew) scale, for 1 mmlevel, is:M_dnew = –0.594 + 2.04 log₁₀ – 0.0435 (log₁₀)²The estimated M_dnew are compatible with the reported M_S values of the NGRI observatory and the m_b values of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). These magnitudes can be obtained within the standard deviation of ± 0.26 units of M_S (NGRI). A new relatively homogeneous catalog for Koyna earthquakes of M_dnew 4.0 is obtained. The momentmagnitudes for 34 Koyna-Warna events of M_dnew ranging from 3.0 to 5.4 have been estimated using two techniques. The first utilizes amplitudes of band-pass filtered (between 15 and 30 sec) velocity traces of moderate Koyna-Warna earthquakes of M_W} 4.4 to 5.4, we abbreviate the magnitude using M_A. The second is based on the S-wave spectrum of short period seismograms of local earthquakes (M_W < 3.8). Moment magnitudes estimated by spectral analysis mainly depend on the estimation of event's long-period spectral level and appears to saturate for moderate Koyna-Warnaearthquakes (M_W > 3.8). We recommend the use of both techniques whenever possible. The estimated moment magnitudes and M_dnew show an almost linear relationship with a standard deviation of ± 0.05.