Atmospheric aerosol pollution across China: a spatiotemporal analysis of satellite-based aerosol optical depth during 2000–2016

ABSTRACT

Increasing attention has been paid to the deterioration of air quality in China during the past decade. This study presents the spatiotemporal variations of aerosol concentration across China during 2000–2016 using aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the atmospheric product of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Percentile thresholds are applied to define AOD days with different loadings. Temporally, aerosol concentration has increased since 2000 and reached the highest level in 2011; then it has declined from 2011 to 2016. Seasonally, aerosol concentration is the highest in summer and the lowest in winter. Spatially, North China and Sichuan Basin are featured by high aerosol concentration with increasing trends in North China and decreasing trends in Sichuan Basin. North, Southeast and Southwest China have been through increasing days with low AOD loading; however, Northeast China has experienced increasing days with high AOD loading. It is likely that air quality influenced by aerosols has notably improved over North China in spring and summer, over Southwest and Southeast China in autumn, but has degraded over Northeast China in autumn.     

2012年9月7日云南彝良Ms5.7、Ms5.6地震震源破裂特征与发震构造研究

基于中国国家和区域数字地震台网记录,采用CAP方法反演了2012年9月7日云南彝良5.7、5.6级地震的震源机制解和震源深度,并利用IRIS提供的远震记录深度震相(P、_PP、_SP)进一步确定了震源深度,最后结合地震序列分布、地震烈度分布和区域地质背景讨论了发震构造.结果显示彝良5.7级地震的震源机制解为节面I走向243°、倾角62°、滑动角149°,节面Ⅱ走向349°、倾角63°、滑动角32°;5.6级地震的震源机制解为节面I走向241°、倾角37°、滑动角162°,节面Ⅱ走向346°、倾角79°、滑动角54°,这两次地震的发震构造均为NE走向的石门断裂,震源矩心深度均为6 km左右,表明地震的能量释放主要发生在地壳浅部,这也是导致震区严重灾害的一个重要原因.     

Measurements of upper mantle shear wave anisotropy from a permanent network in southern Mexico

Upper mantle shear wave anisotropy under stations in southern Mexico was measured using records of SKS phases. Fast polarization directions where the Cocos plate subducts subhorizontally are oriented in the direction of the relative motion between the Cocos and North American plates, and are trench-perpendicular. This pattern is interpreted as subslab entrained flow, and is similar to that observed at the Cascadia subduction zone. Earlier studies have pointed out that both regions have in common the young age of the subducting lithosphere. Changes in the orientation of the fast axes are observed where the subducting plates change dip and/or are torn, and are thus indicative of 3-D flow around the slab edges. They are consistent with slab rollback, as previously shown by other authors. Some stations located away from the plate boundaries have their fast directions controlled by the absolute motion of the North American plate. The fast axis for station ZAIG, located in the Mesa Central, is oriented WNW-ESE and is different from all the other measurements in this study.     

Slope control on the frequency distribution of shallow landslides and associated soil properties,North Island,New Zealand

The extrapolation of results from field trials to larger areas of land for purposes of regional impact assessment is an important issue in geomorphology, particularly for landform properties that show high stochastic variability in space and time, such as shallow landslide erosion. It is shown in this study, that by identifying the main driver for spatial variability in shallow landslide erosion at field scales, namely slope angle, it is possible to develop a set of generic functions for assessing the impact of landslides on selected soil properties at larger spatial scales and over longer time periods. Research was conducted within an area of pastoral soft‐rock Tertiary hill country in the North Island of New Zealand that is subject to infrequent high intensity rainfall events, producing numerous landslides, most of which are smaller than several hundred square metres in size and remove soil to shallow depths. All landslides were mapped within a 0·6 km² area and registered to a high resolution (2 m) slope map to show that few landslides occur on slopes < 20° and 95% were on slopes > 24°. The areal density of landslides from all historical events showed an approximately linear increase with slope above 24°. Integrating landslide densities with soil recovery data demonstrates that the average value of a soil property fluctuates in a ‘saw‐tooth’ fashion through time with the overall shape of the curve controlled by the frequency of landslide inducing storm events and recovery rate of the soil property between events. Despite such fluctuations, there are gradual declines of 7·5% in average total carbon content of topsoil and 9·5% in average soil depth to bedrock, since the time of forest clearance. Results have application to large‐scale sediment budget and water quality models and to the New Zealand Soil Carbon Monitoring System (CMS). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving the calibration strategy of the physically-based model WaSiM-ETH using critical events

Abstract

The use of a physically-based hydrological model for streamflow forecasting is limited by the complexity in the model structure and the data requirements for model calibration. The calibration of such models is a difficult task, and running a complex model for a single simulation can take up to several days, depending on the simulation period and model complexity. The information contained in a time series is not uniformly distributed. Therefore, if we can find the critical events that are important for identification of model parameters, we can facilitate the calibration process. The aim of this study is to test the applicability of the Identification of Critical Events (ICE) algorithm for physically-based models and to test whether ICE algorithm-based calibration depends on any optimization algorithm. The ICE algorithm, which uses the data depth function, was used herein to identify the critical events from a time series. Low depth in multivariate data is an unusual combination and this concept was used to identify the critical events on which the model was then calibrated. The concept is demonstrated by applying the physically-based hydrological model WaSiM-ETH on the Rems catchment, Germany. The model was calibrated on the whole available data, and on critical events selected by the ICE algorithm. In both calibration cases, three different optimization algorithms, shuffled complex evolution (SCE-UA), parameter estimation (PEST) and robust parameter estimation (ROPE), were used. It was found that, for all the optimization algorithms, calibration using only critical events gave very similar performance to that using the whole time series. Hence, the ICE algorithm-based calibration is suitable for physically-based models; it does not depend much on the kind of optimization algorithm. These findings may be useful for calibrating physically-based models on much fewer data.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor A. Montanari

Citation Singh, S.K., Liang, J.Y., and Bárdossy, A., 2012. Improving calibration strategy of physically-based model WaSiM-ETH using critical events. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (8), 1487–1505.     

A paleo-seismological study of the Dauki fault at Jaflong,Sylhet, Bangladesh: Historical seismic events and an attempted rupture segmentation model

A paleo-seismological study was conducted at Jaflong, Sylhet, Bangladesh, which is on the eastern part of the Dauki fault. The geomorphology around Jaflong is divided into the Shillong Plateau, the foothills, the lower terraces, and the alluvial plain from north to south. Because the foothills and lower terraces are considered to be uplifted tectonically, an active fault is inferred to the south of the lower terraces. This fault, which branches from the Dauki fault as a foreland migration, is known as the Jaflong fault in this paper. The trench investigation was conducted at the southern edge of the lower terrace. The angular unconformity accompanied by folding, which is thought to be the top of the growth strata, was identified in the trench. An asymmetric anticline with a steep southern limb and gentle northern limb is inferred from the back-tilted lower terrace and the folding of the gravel layer parallel to the lower terrace surface. The timing of the seismic event which formed the folding and unconformity is dated to between AD 840 and 920.The trench investigation at Gabrakhari, on the western part of the Dauki fault, revealed that the Dauki fault ruptured in AD 1548 (Morino et al., 2011). Because the 1897 great Indian earthquake (M ⩾ 8.0; Yeats et al., 1997) was caused by the rupture of the Dauki fault (Oldham, 1899), it is clear that the Dauki fault has ruptured three times in the past one thousand years. The timing of these seismic events coincides with that of the paleo-liquefactions confirmed on the Shillong Plateau. It is essential for the paleo-seismological study of the Dauki fault to determine the surface ruptures of the 1897 earthquake. The Dauki fault might be divided into four rupture segments, the western, central, eastern, and easternmost segments. The eastern and western segments ruptured in AD 840–920 and in 1548, respectively. The 1897 earthquake might have been caused by the rupture of the central segment.     

Dating Micrometre‐Thin Rims Using a LA‐ICP‐MS Depth Profiling Technique on Zircon from an Archaean Metasediment: Comparison with the SIMS Depth Profiling Method

Laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) was examined as a tool for measuring isotopic variation as a function of ablation depth in unpolished zircon from an Archaean metasediment specimen. This technique was able to identify micrometre‐thin (> 3 μm) isotopically distinct mineral domains characterised by ca. 100 Myr younger ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages associated with 2s age uncertainties as low ~ 0.2%, as well as elevated U content relative to grain interiors (up to an order of magnitude). Our calculated drilling rate suggests that each laser pulse excavated depths of ~ 0.06 μm. Ages resolved through the LA‐ICP‐MS methods overlap the 2s uncertainties of ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages measured using SIMS depth profiling on the same zircon population. The rims were further evinced by the detection of relative enrichment (> 3 orders of magnitude) in REE in the outermost micrometres of the same zircon, measured using a different and independent LA‐ICP‐MS depth profiling technique. We propose a LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb technique capable of quickly identifying and quantifying rims, which are indication of late, yet geologically significant, fluid events that are otherwise undefined.     

李三台子铁矿普查2500m深孔钻孔结构设计

介绍钻孔结构设计的依据和原则,提出李三台子深孔钻孔结构设计口径与套管级配关系和考虑的因素。钻孔设计结构和实际结构对比分析,换径及下套管所要注意的问题。建议深孔钻进必须下套管,加大开孔直径,留足下套管隔离复杂地层的空间,下套管做好细节工作,为处理井内事故和起拔套管时打好基础。     

新疆玛河安集海灌区给水度变化规律及试验研究

在对新疆玛纳斯河流域安集海灌区进行地表水地下水转换机理和联合调度研究及利用各类集总式、分布式水文模型进行地下水数值模拟时,给水度都是一个十分重要的输入参数。分析研究区的基本地质情况,选取比较有代表性的地块,利用给水度参数测定装置分别测定常值给水度、变值给水度,揭示该区域给水度随地下水埋深的变化规律。试验得出：在计算地下水降雨入渗补给量和灌溉入渗补给量时要用到给水度这一参数,特别是在地下水埋深不大的地区,对计算成果有比较明显的影响;在地表排水沟设计中,如果考虑了给水度随埋深而变的情况,排水沟的尺寸就会发生变化。     

影响金属矿勘查中土壤测量效果的主要问题探讨

国内外实践证明,用于金属矿勘查的常规土壤地球化学测量是一种经济快速有效的勘查手段之一。但是实际工作中一些直接影响其工作效果的技术问题往往被忽视,造成其结果与客观实际不符,严重制约了该方法在金属矿勘查中的作用发挥。笔者仅就自己的一些工作经验和粗浅认识,对影响用于金属矿勘查的土壤地球化学测量工作效果的7个主要技术问题进行总结探讨,以供参考。