Effect of 2D spatial variability on slope reliability: A simplified FORM analysis

To meet the high demand for reliability based design of slopes, we present in this paper a simplified HLRF(Hasofere Linde Rackwitze Fiessler) iterative algorithm for first-order reliability method(FORM). It is simply formulated in x-space and requires neither transformation of correlated random variables nor optimization tools. The solution can be easily improved by iteratively adjusting the step length. The algorithm is particularly useful to practicing engineers for geotechnical reliability analysis where standalone(deterministic) numerical packages are used. Based on the proposed algorithm and through direct perturbation analysis of random variables, we conducted a case study of earth slope reliability with complete consideration of soil uncertainty and spatial variability.     

Intraseasonal oscillation of the rainfall variability over Rwanda and evaluation of its subseasonal forecasting skill

非洲中东部地区的经济主要依靠自给农业支撑,该地区农业经济对降水的变化尤为敏感.本文以卢旺达为例,观测分析指出卢旺达的次季节降雨主要集中在10-25天;根据次季节尺度降水变率的单点相关方法,发现卢旺达的次季节降水变率和周围区域变化一致;进一步合成结果显示该地区次季节降水变率与异常西风有关,这可追溯到赤道地区西传的赤道Rossby波.最后,本文评估了当前动力模式ECMWF对 卢旺达地区(即非洲中东部)次季节降水变率的预报能力,发现EC模式在对该区域降水和相关风场指数的预报技巧都在18天左右,且预报技巧表现出一定的年际差异,这可能与热带太平洋的背景海温信号有关.该工作增进了当 前对非洲中东部地区的次季节降水变率和预测水平的认知,并且对该地区国家粮食安全和防灾减灾具有启示性意义.     

Satellite estimates and subpixel variability of rainfall in a semi-arid grassland

卫星估雨精度的不确定性受到当地降雨类型和像元内降雨非均匀性影响,而结合这两个关键因素开展半干旱草原卫星估雨的研究有限.2009年夏,我们在中国锡林郭勒半干旱草原用多部微雨雷达和雨量计构建了9 km卫星像元降雨观测网,观测了像元内降雨非均匀性(空间变异系数CV),并评估了卫星估雨精度.结果表明:(1)CV值受像元内平均降雨量,降雨类型,降雨云面积及移向等影响,如高Cv值的降雨过程大多为平均降雨量小,对流性降雨过程,降雨云边缘像元CV值较高;(2)TRMM 3B42V7卫星估雨产品适用性较好,CMORPH和PERSIANN次之,但TRMM 3B42V7易在半干旱草原湖泊处高估降雨.     

节理分布空间变异的地下洞室稳定性概率分析

以岩土材料力学参数空间变异性的"点估计-有限元"分析方法为基础,结合节理分析时自身存在几何模型、网格划分等特性,扩展了该方法在节理分布空间变异性分析方面的适用性,明确了具体的研究步骤与方法。以某抽水蓄能水电站为例,通过分析节理空间变异性对围岩变形与塑性区的影响,验证了扩展后该方法的准确性和合理性。对工程案例开挖揭露的1400余条节理进行概率统计,建立了节理空间变异性的有限元分析模型;采用扩展后的概率分析方法,研究了节理分布对地下洞室群围岩开挖稳定性的影响。研究结果表明:(1)对比概率分析得到的围岩变形概率分布与现场监测结果,发现剔除变形异常点后监测变形量值大部分位于得到的位移概率分布范围内,说明节理的空间变异性是导致监测变形波动的主要影响因素;(2)围岩变形概率分布的标准差能有效识别出围岩开挖变形受节理空间变异性的影响程度,对于所给出的案例依次为:机窝>边墙>顶拱;(3)围岩塑性区的概率分区能合理判断地下洞室群开挖时受节理影响较大的区域和范围,为工程施工的支护设计提供依据。     

模式内部变率引起的1.5℃和2℃升温阈值出现时间模拟的不确定性研究

模式内部变率是模拟结果不确定性的重要来源,然而它对于1.5℃和2℃升温阈值出现时间不确定性的影响尚不清楚。因此,基于耦合模式比较计划第五阶段(CMIP5)的多模式数据研究了模式内部变率对1.5℃和2℃升温阈值出现时间不确定性的影响以及对未来排放情景的敏感性。结果表明,模式内部变率对升温阈值出现时间模拟的影响与外强迫的影响相当,单个模式内部不同成员达到全球平均1.5℃或2℃增温的年份相差2~12年;其影响具有明显的空间差异,影响极大值出现在欧亚大陆以北洋面、白令海峡周围区域、北美东北部及其与格陵兰岛之间的海域、南半球高纬地区等;低排放情景下模式内部变率的影响大于高排放情景。     

INTERDECADAL VARIABILITY OF QUASI-BIENNIAL OSCILLATION OF STRATOSPHERIC ZONAL WIND

This study investigates the interdecadal variability of Quasi-biennial Oscillation (QBO) based on the sounding data in the stratosphere, ERA-40 and ERA-interim reanalysis data in the past 62 years. The QBO periodicity experiences a significant interdecadal variability; the longer (shorter) the mean period, the smaller (larger) the amplitude of variation is. The QBO amplitude varies in a cycle around 10 to 15 years and in an out-of-phase correlation with the period. In addition, there is an increasing trend of the QBO amplitude in 30 to 10 hPa, while a little declining trend in 70 to 40 hPa. The deviation of the QBO zonal wind extremum centers from the equator also shows interdecadal variability. The deviation location of the easterly core is generally in the reverse side to the westerly core, which means that when the easterly core is on one side of a hemisphere, the westerly core is on the other side.     

高低频系统相互作用对Rossby波破碎过程的影响

利用美国国家环境预报中心和能源部（NCEP/DOE）的逐日再分析资料（NCEP-DOE AMIP-Ⅱ）,对2010年12月20日发生在北太平洋一次典型的反气旋式波破碎（AWB）事件进行研究,分析了波破碎过程中等熵位涡场的演变特征,揭示了波破碎过程中高频扰动以及低频信号的逐日演变特征,并对2010年冬季350 K等熵面上逐日高频位涡（PV）扰动和低频变化做经验正交函数（EOF）分析,得到了其主要模态,并从等熵位涡方程出发研究了波破碎过程中位涡高、低频变化的原因。研究表明,波破碎过程中高频低PV空气从北太平洋西部日本附近沿东北方向向对流层上层侵入,而来自阿拉斯加湾附近的高频高PV空气向对流层下层侵入。高频位涡场EOF分解得到的前两个模态共同描述了北太平洋中纬度地区自西向东移动的天气尺度波列;低频位涡场EOF分解的第一模态在北太平洋呈弧形波列结构。天气尺度波在传播过程中受到低频场的平流作用逐渐偏离其传播主要模态的位置,并发生破碎,同时高频流场对高频位涡的平流可以产生低频变化,使得低频变化的空间形态向其冬季主要模态转变。     

Interannual Salinity Variability in the Tropical Pacific in CMIP5 Simulations

Salinity variability and its causes in the tropical Pacific are analyzed using observations, reanalysis products and model simulations. The mixed-layer salinity(MLS) budget analyses from observations and reanalysis products indicate that its interannual evolution is closely related to ENSO and is predominantly governed by surface forcing and surface advection in the western-central equatorial Pacific. It is found that the observed MLS tendency leads Nin?o3.4 by about 12 months due to the effect of negative freshwater flux(evaporation minus precipitation). These observation-based analyses are used to evaluate the corresponding simulation using GFDL-ESM2 M. It is evident that the model can simulate the spatiotemporal variations of MLS with some discrepancies compared to observations. In the warm pool of the equatorial Pacific the MLS tendency in the model is sensitive to ocean dynamics, however model biases cause the tendency to be underestimated. In particular, the freshwater flux is overestimated while the ocean surface zonal current and vertical velocity at the base of the mixed layer are underestimated. Due to model biases in representing the related physics, the effects of surface forcing on the simulated MLS budget are overestimated and those of subsurface and surface advection are relatively weak. Due to weaker surface advection and subsurface forcing than observed, the simulated compensations for surface forcing are suppressed, and the simulated MLS tendency that leads Nin?o3.4 by 8–10 months, which is shorter than the observed lead time. These results are useful for the interpretation of observational analyses and other model simulations in the tropical Pacific.     

Surface current field and seasonal variability in the Kuroshio and adjacent regions derived from satellite-tracked drifter data

The muhiyear averaged surface current field and seasonal variability in the Kuroshio and adjacent regions are studied. The data used are trajectories and （1/4） ° latitude by （1/4） ° longitude mean currents derived from 323 Argos drifters deployed by Chinese institutions and world ocean circulation experiment from 1979 to 2003. The results show that the Kuroshio surface path adapts well to the western boundary topography and exhibits six great turnings. The branching occurs frequently near anticyclonic turnings rather than near cyclonic ones. In the Luzon Strait, the surface water intrusion into the South China Sea occurs only in fall and winter. The Kuroshio surface path east of Taiwan, China appears nearly as straight lines in summer, fall, and winter, when anticyclonic eddies coexist on its right side; while the path may cyclonically turning in spring when no eddy exists. The Kuroshio intrusion northeast of Taiwan often occurs in fall and winter, but not in summer. The running direction, width and velocity of the middle segment of the Kuroshio surface currents in the East China Sea vary seasonally. The northward intrusion of the Kuroshio surface water southwest of Kyushu occurs in spring and fall, but not in summer. The northmost position of the Kuroshio surface path southwest of Kyushu occurs in fall, but never goes beyond 31 °N. The northward surface current east of the Ryukyu Islands exists only along Okinawa-Amami Islands from spring to fall. In particular, it appears as an arm of an anti- cyclonic eddy in fall.     

Inter-season and interannual variations in fish and macrocrustacean community structure on a eastern English Channel sandy beach: Influence of environmental factors

The intertidal zone of an exposed sandy beach on the French coast of the English Channel was sampled with a 1.5 m beam-trawl over five years (2000 and 2003–2006) at weekly intervals. The fish and macrocrustacean catches were analysed to determine the inter-season and interannual variation in community structure and relate these variations to changes in the major environmental variables. Only six species (plaice Pleuronectes platessa, common goby Pomatoschistus microps, sprat Sprattus sprattus, sand eel Ammodytes tobianus, brown shrimp Crangon crangon and shore crab Carcinus maenas) from the 27 species captured can be considered as dominant species of the intertidal zone, and they accounted for >90% of total numbers. Most individuals caught were young-of-the-year or juvenile. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) and similarities percentage (SIMPER) indicated that inter-season variability of community structure (mean average similarity = 47%) was more pronounced than interannual variability (mean average similarity = 65%). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicates that a substantial component (32.2%) of the measured inter-season variation in community structure can be explained by environmental factors (mainly water temperature). The main inter-season changes in the abundance and community structure were due to the variation of the six key species and reflect the different times of their recruitment. During the five years of the study, the structure of the fish and macrocrustacean spring community persisted from year to year, with the dominant species reappearing consistently even though their abundances fluctuated from year to year. This interannual variation probably reflects variable recruitment success influenced by physico-chemical conditions. In spite of the considerable interannual variation (40 times) in the spring bloom of the prymnesiophyte alga Phaeocystis globosa we found no effect of this bloom on either fish and macrocrustacean species densities or diversity index.