Comparison and history of Polydora websteri and P. haswelli (Polychaeta: Spionidae) as mud-blister worms in New Zealand shellfish

Shells of commercially valued bivalves in New Zealand, Crassostrea gigas, Perna canaliculus and Pecten novaezelandiae, are damaged by blister-causing Polydora polychaete species known to be close in morphology to the widely recorded oyster pest Polydora websteri Hartman. Recent New Zealand occurrences are here confirmed to relate to two species, P. websteri, and a second similar species, Polydora haswelli Blake & Kudenov, a new record for New Zealand, previously known only from Australia; the two species are described and compared. The worms have limited distributions, with P. websteri confirmed only for Pacific oysters (C. gigas) in northern New Zealand, although prior reports indicate it may also occur on scallops and have reached the northern South Island. Polydora haswelli has been found only in northern New Zealand, occurring on subtidal mussels and scallops and native oysters (Perna canaliculus, Pecten novaezelandiae, Ostrea chilensis), as well as co-existing with intertidal P. websteri on Pacific oysters. The worms are not present in Foveaux Strait O. chilensis beds, a major source of past oyster exports to Australia. The history of mud-blister worm outbreaks in Australasia is examined. While trans-Tasman exports of live oysters from New Zealand were commonplace during the nineteenth century, there is no evidence that mud-blister worms were present in New Zealand then. The earliest reports only date from the early 1970s and only from northern New Zealand, whereas a century earlier in the 1870s at least one of these pest worms had become widespread along eastern Australian coasts.     

A procedure on ground motion selection and scaling for nonlinear response of simple structural systems

This study presents a ground-motion selection and scaling methodology that preserves the basic seismological features of the scaled records with reduced scatter in the nonlinear structural response. The methodology modifies each strong-motion recording with known fundamental seismological parameters using the estimations of ground-motion prediction equations for a given target hazard level. It provides robust estimations on target building response through scaled ground motions and calculates the dispersion about this target. This alternative procedure is not only useful for record scaling and selection but, upon its further refinement, can also be advantageous for the probabilistic methods that assess the engineering demand parameters for a given target hazard level. Case studies that compare the performance of the proposed procedure with some other record selection and scaling methods suggest its usefulness for building performance assessment and loss models. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Principal aspects of the Ordovician biotic radiation

The Ordovician radiation is among the major bioevents in earth history that have drawn great attention from geologists all over the world, and there have been hundreds of publications treating various aspects of this radiation. The study of the event involves a broad spectrum of research fields and concerns many scientific questions. Many opinions and hypotheses have been proposed on the triggering and controlling factors of the radiation. Herein the authors critically review the study of the Ordovician rad...     

强震动作用下土体非线性动力特征研究发展与展望

浅地表覆盖土层动力特性对地震动影响显著,软厚土层会明显改变地震动强度及频谱特性。由于观测数据匮乏,强震动作用下土体非线性动力特征研究长期以来均以室内试验为主,但在实验室中难以可靠地模拟实际地震历程中土体承受的加载路径、边界条件、排水条件等复杂因素。近二十年来竖向台阵(至少包含一个地表测点和一个井下基岩测点)记录数据大量增加,为土体非线性动力学研究提供了新的基础数据与发展机遇,使基于现场观测的土体非线性动力特征实证研究成为可能。     

宁洱6．4级地震强震动观测记录异常场地影响分析

“十五”期间建设并投入试运行的中国数字强震动台网云南区域台网有20多个强震动台站记录到宁洱6．4级地震产生的地面运动。但值得注意的是,位于实地考察得到的Ⅵ度以上烈度区内或者其附近的4个强震台站,从加速度峰值、速度峰值与烈度的对应关系来看,与实际震害现象反映出的烈度有一定差异。究其原因,地震动幅值的大小和震级的大小有着直接的关系,但同时也和地震波的传播途径及场地条件等因素有关。因此,从场地因素的角度出发,从覆盖土层、地形地貌和地质构造条件等方面对造成强震动记录值偏大的原因进行了调查分析。在此基础上,对今后云南地区地震动研究场地影响的考虑提出了一些思路和建议。     

兰州观象台存放台阵汶川M_S8.0强震动记录与分析

兰州观象台存放台阵在汶川特大地震中获取了10组三分量数字强震动加速度记录.本文依据这些实际观测资料研究了黄土场地在地震发生后的自由场地面运动加速度过程及其特征.结果表明在震源、场地和震中距相同情况下,场地上不同测点记录的加速度峰值存在一定程度的差异,较明显地反映了场地地形对EW分向地面自由场加速度的影响.10个测点的峰值加速度(PGA)均显示EW向大于NS向,而垂直向最小;各测点的傅里叶谱值,尤其是在小于1 Hz频段范围内,差异极小.     

一次自动站异常数据的处理

通过对一次自动气象站异常数据的界定与判断,分析了产生异常记录的原因,并提出了处理方法,为提高报表预审质量提供参考。     

中国木叶鲽属鱼类一新纪录种

2008年8月,在浙江舟山附近海域(东海)采集到4尾木叶鲽属鱼类,经鉴定为中国鱼类新纪录种——长木叶鲽,其主要特征为:体棕褐色,有眼侧和无眼侧颞上枝前端有小分枝,鳞片小但不狭长,背鳍鳍条数72~74(73.3);臀鳍鳍条数56~59(57.5);有眼侧胸鳍鳍条数8~10(8.8),无眼侧胸鳍鳍条数为8;有眼侧与无眼侧腹鳍鳍条数均为6;尾鳍鳍条数19~20(19.5),脊椎骨数为36;鳃耙数为3+7。基于线粒体COI基因片段得到的长木叶鲽与角木叶鲽的K2P遗传距离为9.4%,2种间遗传分化达到了种间水平。     

Tectonic Taphrogenesis and Paleoseismic Records from the Yishu Fault Zone in the Initial Stage of the Caledonian Movement

The Yishu fault zone (mid-segment of the Tanlu fault zone) was formed in the Presinian. Periodic tectonic activities and strong seismic events have occurred along the fault zone. During the initial stage of the Caledonian Movement, with the proceeding of the marine transgression from the Yishu paleo-channel to the western Shandong, uneven thick sediments, composed mainly of sand, mud and carbonates of littoral, lagoon, and neritic facies, were deposited in the Yishu fault zone and western Shandong, and constructed the bottom part of the Lower Cambrian consisting of the Liguan and Zhushadong formations. Through field observations and the lab-examinations, various paleoseismic records have been discovered in the Liguan Formation and the Zhushadong Formations of the Yishu fault zone and its vicinity, including some layers with syn-sedimentary deformation structures that were triggered by strong earthquakes (i.e. seismite, seismo-olistostrome, and seismo-turbidite). Paleoseismic records developed in the Zhushadong Formation are mainly seismites with soft-sediment deformation structures, such as liquefied diapir, small liquefied-carbonate lime-mud volcano, liquefied vein, liquefied breccia, convolute deformation (seismic fold), graded fault, soft siliceous vein, and deformation stromatolite, as well as seismites with brittle deformation structures of semiconsolidated sediments. Paleoseismic records preserved in the Liguan Formation are not only seismo-olistostrome with a slump fold, load structure, and ball-and-pillows, but also seismo-turbidite with convolution bedding, graded bedding and wavy-bedding. However, in the western Shandong area, the closer to the Yishu fault zone, the greater the thickness of the Liguan Formation and the Zhushadong Formation, the greater the number and type of layers with paleoseismic records, and the higher the earthquake intensity reflected by associations of seismic records. This evidence indicates that tectonic taphrogenesis accompanied by strong earthquake events occurred in the Yishu fault zone during the initial stage of the Caledonian Movement, which embodied the break-up of the Sino-Korean Plate along the Paleo-Tanlu fault zone at that time.     

Original technologies for proven performances for the new LCPC earthquake simulator

The European Quaker project has been a powerful opportunity to accelerate the development of the ability to carry out earthquake simulations at reduced scale in the centrifuge in LCPC—France. This paper summarizes the main original technologies of this simulator. The quality of the checked performances is demonstrated in terms of ability to perform since earthquakes as well as to simulate scaled records of real earthquakes. The consistancy of the results is presented in the time and in the frequency domains.