Application of Remote Sensing in Flood Management with Special Reference to Monsoon Asia: A Review

The conventional means to record hydrological parameters of aflood often fail to record an extreme event. Remote sensingtechnology along with geographic information system (GIS)has become the key tool for flood monitoring in recent years.Development in this field has evolved from optical to radarremote sensing, which has provided all weather capabilitycompared to the optical sensors for the purpose of flood mapping.The central focus in this field revolves around delineation of floodzones and preparation of flood hazard maps for the vulnerable areas.In this exercise flood depth is considered crucial for flood hazardmapping and a digital elevation model (DEM) is considered to bethe most effective means to estimate flood depth from remotelysensed or hydrological data. In a flat terrain accuracy of floodestimation depends primarily on the resolution of the DEM. Riverflooding in the developing countries of monsoon Asia is very acutebecause of their heavy dependence on agriculture but any floodestimation or hazard mapping attempt in this region is handicappedby poor availability of high resolution DEMs. This paper presents areview of application of remote sensing and GIS in flood managementwith particular focus on the developing countries of Asia.     

Active faulting at the Eurasian, North American and Pacific plates junction

The active faults known and inferred in the area where the major Pacific, North American and Eurasian plates come together group into two belts. One of them comprises the faults striking roughly parallel to the Pacific ocean margin. The extreme members of the belt are the longitudinal faults of islands arcs, in its oceanic flank, and the faults along the continental margins of marginal seas, in its continental flank. The available data show that all these faults move with some strike-slip component, which is always right-lateral. We suggest that characteristic right-lateral, either partially or dominantly, kinematics of the fault movements has its source in oblique convergence of the Pacific plate with continental Eurasian and North American plates. The second belt of active faults transverses the extreme northeast Asia as a continental extension of the active mid-Arctic spreading ridge. The two active fault belts do not cross but come close to each other at the northern margin of the Sea of Okhotsk marking thus the point where the Pacific, North American and Eurasian plates meet.     

L'accident du Toulourenc : une limite tectonique entre la plate-forme provençale et le Bassin vocontien à l'Aptien–Albien (SE France)

The WNW–ESE trending Toulourenc Fault Zone (TFZ) is the western segment of the major Ventoux–Lure Fault Zone, which separates the Provençal platform from the Baronnies Vocontian Basin. The TFZ was subject to polyphased Mid-Cretaceous movements, during the Early Aptian and Middle–Late Albian times. The latter faulting episode generated conglomerates and olistoliths resulting from dismantled faultscarps cutting Barremian–Bedoulian limestones. The deformation is related to compressional wrench faulting (NE–SW sinistral faults; dextral component for the TFZ). It induced the uplift of the northwestern corner of the platform, as indicated by a mid-Cretaceous hiatus (Early Aptian pro parte to Early Albian) narrowly delimited in space. The opening of submeridian grabens within the platform favoured the northward transit of channelised coarse-grained Albian sands originating from a southern area. To cite this article: C. Montenat et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

亚、欧两大洲自然地理环境结构的整体性和差异性教学初探

地理环境的结构，是指地理环境各组成要素之间和各组成部分之间相互关系性质的组合，它包括既有联系、又有区别的两个方面，即地理环境结构的整体性和差异性。笔者在亚、欧两洲自然地理数年的教学实践中，从自然环境结构的整体性和差异性特征入手，得出分析、综合、概括归纳和对比研究等方法是学习世界区域地理的主要方法。     

Seasonal Variation of the East Asian Subtropical Westerly Jet and Its Association with the Heating Field over East Asia

The structure and seasonal variation of the East Asian Subtropical Westerly Jet （EAWJ） and associations with heating fields over East Asia are examined by using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Obvious differences exist in the westerly jet intensity and location in different regions and seasons due to the ocean-land distribution and seasonal thermal contrast, as well as the dynamic and thermodynamic impacts of the Tibetan Plateau. In winter, the EAWJ center is situated over the western Pacific Ocean and the intensity is reduced gradually from east to west over the East Asian region. In summer, the EAWJ center is located over the north of the Tibetan Plateau and the jet intensity is reduced evidently compared with that in winter. The EAWJ seasonal evolution is characterized by the obvious longitudinal inconsistency of the northward migration and in-phase southward retreat of the EAWJ axis. A good correspondence between the seasonal variations of EAWJ and the meridional differences of air temperature （MDT） in the mid-upper troposphere demonstrates that the MDT is the basic reason for the seasonal variation of EAWJ. Correlation analyses indicate that the Kuroshio Current region to the south of Japan and the Tibetan Plateau are the key areas for the variations of the EAWJ intensities in winter and in summer, respectively. The strong sensible and latent heating in the Kuroshio Current region is closely related to the intensification of EAWJ in winter. In summer, strong sensible heating in the Tibetan Plateau corresponds to the EAWJ strengthening and southward shift, while the weak sensible heating in the Tibetan Plateau is consistent with the EAWJ weakening and northward migration.     

水成物分析及在数值模式中的应用综述

利用NCEP/NCAR逐候再分析资料,定义并计算了反映亚洲夏季风系统中各成员变化活动的指标参数,在此基础上用时滞相关分析方法,对亚洲夏季风系统诸成员与西太平洋副高面积指数的相关性进行了诊断分析,给出了夏季风系统成员之间相互影响、相互制约的基本作用过程。分析结果表明,亚洲夏季风系统成员与西太平洋副高指数之间存在着不同程度的显著时滞相关,各系统成员与西太平洋副高相互作用、互为反馈,构成了亚洲夏季风系统有机的活动整体。     

基于CMIP5的东亚地区降雪量变化特征分析

利用JMA的JRA-55降雪量及CMIP5的6个模式模拟的降雪量资料, 分析了东亚地区降雪量年变化特征及年际变化特征. 结果表明: 东亚地区降雪量在1958-2004年期间具有明显的年际变化特征及区域分布特征; 降雪主要集中在11月至翌年的4月, 这6个月中降雪量占年总降雪量的82%; 年际变化特征呈现出一种波动变化略有增加的趋势, 但是增加的幅度有所不同. 从区域分布特征来看, 东亚地区降雪主要分布在东北亚、青藏高原及新疆等3个区域. CMIP5的6个模式对东亚区域及其子区域东北亚、青藏高原、新疆1850-2004年降雪量年际变化特征的模拟差异较大. 多模式集合预报的结果表现为, 在过去155 a(1850-2004年)东亚区域降雪量呈现明显减小趋势, 东北亚和青藏高原降雪量为波动略有减小趋势, 新疆降雪量为明显增加趋势.     

中亚巴尔喀什成矿带晚古生代岩浆活动与斑岩铜矿成矿时代

巴尔喀什成矿带是中亚成矿域重要的晚古生代斑岩铜钼成矿带。通过该成矿带科翁腊德、博尔雷和阿克斗卡地区与斑岩铜成矿作用密切相关的花岗斑岩类岩体锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年,主量、稀土和微量元素地球化学,Sr、Nd同位素示踪分析,进一步厘定了斑岩铜成矿作用的时代,并推测了板块构造环境。斑岩铜成矿时代分为两期：早期约为327 Ma,形成科翁腊德和阿克斗卡超大型斑岩铜矿床;晚期约为316 Ma,形成博尔雷大型斑岩铜矿床。与成矿有关的斑岩类主要为高钾钙碱性系列花岗岩,可能为火山岛弧环境,部分具有埃达克岩特征和经典岛弧花岗岩类特征。斑岩类ε_Sr(t)和ε_Nd(t)的变化范围分别为-6.35~34.03和-0.46~5.53。其中,科翁腊德-博尔雷地区斑岩类来源于亏损地幔与大陆地壳表层物质（老地壳物质）的显著混染作用,而阿克斗卡地区斑岩类直接来自于亏损地幔。将巴尔喀什成矿带与我国西准噶尔成矿带进行了对比,认为可能属于同一个晚古生代斑岩铜钼成矿带。     

Changes in Global Monsoon Circulations Since 1950

We examined changes in several independent intensity indices of four majortropical monsoonal circulations for the period 1950–1998. Theseintensity indices included observed land surface precipitation andobserved ocean surface pressure in the monsoon regions aswell as upper-level divergence calculated at severalstandard levels from the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis. These values wereaveraged seasonally over appropriate regions of southeastern Asian, western Africa, eastern Africa and the Australia/Maritime continent and adjacent ocean areas. Asa consistency check we also examined two secondary indices: mean sea level pressure trends and low level convergence both from theNCEP reanalysis.We find that in each of the four regions examined, a consistentpicture emerges indicating significantly diminished monsoonalcirculations over the period of record, evidence of diminished spatialmaxima in the global hydrological cycle since 1950. Trends since 1979,the period of strongest reported surface warming, do not indicate any change inmonsoon circulations. When strong ENSO years are removed from each of the time series the trends still show a general, significant reduction of monsoon intensity indicating that ENSO variability is not the direct cause for the observed weakening.Most previously reported model simulations of theeffects of rising CO₂ show an increase in monsoonal activity withrising global surface temperature. We find no support in these datafor an increasing hydrological cycle or increasing extremes as hypothesized bygreenhouse warming scenarios.