Evolution of cool skin and direct air-sea gas transfer coefficient during daytime

Absorption of solar radiation within the thermal molecular sublayer of the ocean can modify the temperature difference across the cool skin as well as the air-sea gas transfer. Our model of renewal type is based on the assumption that the thermal and diffusive molecular sublayers below the ocean surface undergo cyclic growth and destruction, the heat and gas transfer between the successive burst events are performed by molecular diffusion. The model has been upgraded to include heating due to solar radiation. The renewal time is parameterized as a function of the surface Richardson number and the Keulegan number. A Rayleigh number criterion characterizes the convective instability of the cool skin under solar heating. Under low wind speed conditions, the solar heating can damp the convective instability, strongly increasing the renewal time and correspondingly decreasing the interfacial gas exchange. In the ocean, an additional convective instability caused by salinity flux due to evaporation becomes of importance in such cases. The new parameterization is compared with the cool skin data obtained in the western equatorial Pacific during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment in February 1993. In combination with a model of the diurnal thermocline it describes main features of the field data both in nighttime and daytime. Under low wind speed conditions (< 5 m s^-1) diurnal variations of the sea surface temperature due to the formation of a diurnal thermocline were substantially larger than those across the cool skin. Under wind speeds > 5 m s^-1, diurnal variations of the surface temperature due to the variations of the thermal molecular sublayer become more important.     

Earthquake rupture complexity due to dynamic nucleation and interaction of subsidiary faults

We numerically study the dynamic interaction of propagating cracks. It is assumed that propagating cracks can nucleate and drive subsidiary cracks because of shear strain enhancement near the propagating crack tips. The critical strain fracture criterion is assumed in the analysis. Intense interaction is expected to occur among the cracks. All the cracks are assumed to be parallel and antiplane strain deformation is assumed in the computation.In the interaction of two non-coplanar cracks, a strain shadow is formed in the neighborhood of each crack because of the strain release by the introduction of the crack. The growth of each crack is accelerated when the propagating tips of each crack are outside of the strain shadow of the other crack. In general, the crack tips enter the strain shadow, and the crack tips decelerate. The calculation shows that only one of the two cracks can continue to grow, and the other's growth is decelerated and arrested. If we can assume that the suite of cracks interact in a pairwise manner only, then this may suggest that only a limited number of cracks can continue to grow during the final stage of the rupture process. Hence the crack interaction causes complexity in dynamic earthquake faulting. The concepts of barrier and asperity have been employed by many researchers for the interpretation of complex seismic wave data. However, the physical realities of such concepts are obscure. Our calculations show that dynamic crack interactions can produce barriers and asperities in some cases; the crack tip deceleration or arrest due to the interactions among non-coplanar cracks can be interpreted as being due to a barrier. The dynamic coalescence among the coplanar cracks can be regarded as an asperity.Umeda found a localized area that strongly radiates high-frequency seismic waves in the epicentral areas of some large shallow earthquakes. He defined this as an earthquake bright spot. Our analysis implies that only a limited number of cracks continue to grow when many interactive cracks nucleate, and that all other cracks stop extending soon after nucleation. Hence, if the nucleation and termination of several cracks occur in a localized area, it will be observed seismologically as an earthquake bright spot. This is because it is theoretically known that the sudden termination of crack growth and dynamic crack coalescence efficiently emits high-frequency elastic waves.     

胶东海阳所超镁铁岩中强亲铁元素的地球化学特征及其构造环境探讨

强亲铁元素与亲石元素具有不同的地球化学行为，因此能够从不同的角度为造山带中超镁铁岩的成因及演化提供重要信息。位于苏鲁造山带东北端的胶东海阳所超镁铁岩主要由橄榄岩和辉石岩组成，它们常以团块状赋存于花岗质片麻岩中。虽然前人对这些超镁铁岩已经开展大量岩石学研究，但关于其成因及构造属性仍存在较大争议。本文开展了海阳所超镁铁岩的全岩主微量元素、强亲铁元素及Re-Os同位素的分析工作，结果显示蛇纹石化橄榄岩具有较高的MgO和Fe₂O₃^T含量，较低的Al₂O₃、TiO₂和CaO含量，明显富集流体迁移元素（U、Pb），亏损高场强元素（Zr、Hf），强亲铁元素没有发生明显分异，但Ru显示正异常，表明海阳所蛇纹石化橄榄岩是经历了低-中等程度部分熔融及熔/流体交代作用影响的残余地幔橄榄岩。海阳所辉石岩的主量元素表现出明显的结晶分异特征，稀土元素较原始地幔富集，铂族元素（PGEs）含量较低且发生了明显的分异，表明辉石岩的地幔源区经历过高程度的部分熔融和硫化物的分离。海阳所蛇纹石化橄榄岩的Os同位素地球化学特征表现出大洋亲和性，与辉石岩不具有熔体-残留体的关系。由于该地区发育较深层次的韧性剪切带，蛇纹石化橄榄岩中的橄榄石与辉石表现出韧性变形的特征，同时有辉石岩侵入到橄榄岩的现象，表明该地区的蛇纹石化地幔橄榄岩与辉石岩既不同时，也不同源，因此，暗示了该套岩石组合可能形成于大洋核杂岩（OCC）与洋脊型蛇绿岩（MOR）堆晶岩交互发育环境。     

Seasonal variation of atmospheric dimethylsulfide at Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean

Daily measurements of atmospheric concentrations of dimethylsulfide (DMS) were carried out for two years in a marine site at remote area: the Amsterdam Island (37°50S–77°31E) located in the southern Indian Ocean. DMS concentrations were also measured in seawater. A seasonal variation is observed for both DMS in the atmosphere and in the sea-surface. The monthly averages of DMS concentrations in the surface coastal seawater and in the atmosphere ranged, respectively, from 0.3 to 2.0 nmol l^-1 and from 1.4 to 11.3 nmol m^-3 (34 to 274 pptv), with the highest values in summer. The monthly variation of sea-to-air flux of DMS from the southern Indian Ocean ranges from 0.7 to 4.4 mol m^-2 d^-1. A factor of 2.3 is observed between summer and winter with mean DMS fluxes of 3.0 and 1.3 mol m^-2 d^-1, respectively.     

近50 a渭河流域洪水成因分析及防治对策

 通过对近50 a渭河流域洪水的年际变化、月际变化和潼关高程变化的综合分析得出，造成该流域洪水灾害的原因有降水量年内分配不均和年际变化大，滩面淤积加重，支流河口淤塞以及河势、流态的恶化等。针对这些原因，根据渭河流域洪水灾害的特点，提出了相应的防治措施，即降低下游高程，减少河道的淤积，增大河道泄洪能力；利用水库进行调水调沙，引进客水冲刷渭河下游；防洪工程要除险加固，提高防洪标准与抗洪能力；恢复林草植被，遏止水土流失，从源头上控制泥沙入河等。     

The acid neutralizing capacity （ANC） of South Africa＇s freshwater ecosystems

Acidification is considered the most important one of the primary chemical stress factors that impact on freshwater ecosystems. In unpolluted freshwater systems, the primary controls on the degree of acidification are factors such as the geological substrate of the catchment area, the presence of organic acids secreted by vegetation in the river system, and equilibrium exchange of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere. Anthropogenic factors that can impact on the degree of acidification of freshwater systems include agricultural, mining and industrial activities, either through direct runoff into river systems or through deposition of atmospheric pollutants from these sources. The capacity factors alkalinity and acidity, which represent the acid- and base-neutralizing capacity （ANC and BCN） of an aqueous system, have been used as more reliable measures of the acidic character of freshwater systems than pH. Unlike pH, ANC and BNC are not affected by parameters such as temperature and pressure. Therefore, ANC has been employed as a predictor of biological status in critical load assessments. Freshwater systems with ANC＇s eq/L isμeq/L are considered sensitive to acidification, ANC=0 μbelow 150 commonly used as the predictor for fish species such as trout in lakes, and an eq/L as more realistic for streams. Acid-neutralizing capacity μANC value of 40 （ANC） can be determined by titration with a strong acid to a preselected equivalence point. Alternatively, it can be calculated as the difference between base cations （[BC]） and strong acid anions （[SAA]）： ANC=[BC]- [SAA]=[Ca^2＋]＋[Mg^2＋]＋[Na^＋]＋[K^＋]-[SO4^2-]-[NO3^-]-[Cl^-] To date, there has been no attempt to establish the ANC of South Africa＇s freshwater ecosystems or variability therein, despite the fact that long-term water quality monitoring data exist for all the parameters needed to calculate it according to the above equations. As a result, the relationship between the acid neutralizing capacity of freshwater ecosystems in South Africa and biodiversity factors, such as fish status, is unknown. Results of the first comprehensive （country-wide scale） evaluation of the acid neutralizing capacity of river systems in South Africa will be presented. Long-term monitoring data obtained from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry （DWAF） from most of South Africa＇s river systems were used to establish geographic and temporal variabilities in ANC. The results show that the Berg and Breede River systems are most susceptible to acidification, and that geological substrate appears to explain most of the geographic variabilities observed.     

Peak discharge of a Pleistocene lava-dam outburst flood in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

The failure of a lava dam 165,000 yr ago produced the largest known flood on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. The Hyaloclastite Dam was up to 366 m high, and geochemical evidence linked this structure to outburst-flood deposits that occurred for 32 km downstream. Using the Hyaloclastite outburst-flood deposits as paleostage indicators, we used dam-failure and unsteady flow modeling to estimate a peak discharge and flow hydrograph. Failure of the Hyaloclastite Dam released a maximum 11 × 10⁹ m³ of water in 31 h. Peak discharges, estimated from uncertainty in channel geometry, dam height, and hydraulic characteristics, ranged from 2.3 to 5.3 × 10⁵ m³ s⁻¹ for the Hyaloclastite outburst flood. This discharge is an order of magnitude greater than the largest known discharge on the Colorado River (1.4 × 10⁴ m³ s⁻¹) and the largest peak discharge resulting from failure of a constructed dam in the USA (6.5 × 10⁴ m³ s⁻¹). Moreover, the Hyaloclastite outburst flood is the oldest documented Quaternary flood and one of the largest to have occurred in the continental USA. The peak discharge for this flood ranks in the top 30 floods (>10⁵ m³ s⁻¹) known worldwide and in the top ten largest floods in North America.     

Water–rock interaction during the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field, Liaoning, China

In the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil, the injected water, at high temperature and under high pressure, reacts intensively with the host rock. This kind of water–rock interaction in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field was studied on the basis of analysis of water composition changes, laboratory experiments, mineral saturation indices analysis, and mass balance calculation. Compared with the injected water, the changes of the composition of discharged water are mainly the distinct decrease of pH, Na⁺, SiO₂ and Cl⁻, as well as the increase of K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, SO ₄ ²⁻ and HCO ₃ ⁻ . Laboratory experiments under field conditions showed: the dissolution sequence of minerals quantitatively is quartz>potassium feldspar>albite, and the main change of clay minerals is the conversion of kaolinite to analcime. Mass balance calculation indicated during the process of steam stimulation, large quantities of analcime are precipitated with the dissolution of large amounts of quartz, kaolinite, potassium feldspar, and CO₂. These results correlated very well with the experimental results. The calculated results of Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field showed that during the steam stimulation for viscous crude oil, the amounts of minerals dissolved (precipitated) are huge. To control the clogging of pore spaces of oil reservoirs, increased study of water–rock interaction is needed.     

Assessing potential abiotic and biotic complications of crayfish-induced gravel transport in experimental streams

Biogeomorphology adds the element “biological dynamics” (of populations or communities) to chemical and physical geomorphic factors and thus complicates the framework of geomorphic processes. Such biological complications of the animal-induced transport of solids in streams should be particularly important in crayfish, as crayfish affect this transport through their overall activity and intraspecific aggression levels, which could be modified by shelter availability or the establishment of dominance hierarchies among individuals not knowing each other. Using experimental streams, we tested these hypotheses by measuring how shelter availability or residential crayfish group invasion by unknown individuals affected the impact of the crayfish Orconectes limosus on the (i) transport of gravel at baseflow (during 12 experimental days); (ii) sediment surface characteristics (after 12 days); and (iii) critical shear stress causing incipient gravel motion during simulated floods (after 12 days). The two potentially important factors shelter availability or residential group invasion negligibly affected the crayfish impact on gravel sediments, suggesting that habitat unfamiliarity (a third potentially important factor affecting crayfish activity) should increase the crayfish-induced sediment transport. Because habitat unfamiliarity is associated with sporadic long-distance migrations of a few crayfish individuals, this third factor should play a minor role in real streams, where crayfish biomass should be a key factor in relations with crayfish effects on sediments. Therefore, we combined the results of this study with those of previous crayfish experiments to assess how crayfish biomass could serve in modelling the gravel transport. Crayfish biomass explained 47% of the variability in the baseflow gravel transport and, in combination with the coefficient of variation of the bed elevation and algal cover, 72% of the variability in the critical gravel shear stress. These results encourage more research on the topic, as an increasing number of eliminations of abiotic and biotic factors that could complicate the animal-induced sediment transport in streams would facilitate the use of biological variables (e.g., bioturbator biomass) in future modelling of the transport of solids.     

Mongolian gerbils and Daurian pikas responded differently to changes in precipitation in the Inner Mongolian grasslands

Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) and Daurian pikas (Ochotona dauurica) are two key small mammal species in the Inner Mongolian grasslands, China. Mongolian gerbils displayed density-dependent population growth, but the time lag of density dependence was short and within season. The spring–autumn population growth rate was inversely related to population density in Mongolian gerbils of the Erdos desert grasslands. The autumn–spring population growth rate of Mongolian gerbils was inversely related to winter precipitation. Precipitation had stronger effects on the population growth of gerbils during the non-breeding season. The monthly population growth rate of Daurian pikas was positively related to the monthly precipitation and was inversely related to population density in central Inner Mongolia. Daurian pikas select habitats with tall plants. Increased precipitation enhances plant production and increases the height of plants in arid and semi-arid regions. This enhancement of plant height might increase the population growth of Daurian pikas. Mongolian gerbils live in short grasslands. Increased winter precipitation might result in higher winter mortality of Mongolia gerbils, or taller plants might supress gerbil population growth in wet years. Therefore, responses of small mammal species to changes in precipitation depend on the life history of small mammals and changes in vegetation induced by climatic changes.