Reconstruction of atmospheric CO2 from ice-core data and the deep-sea record of ontong Java plateau: the Milankovitch chron

We provide a reconstruction of atmospheric CO₂ from deep-sea sediments, for the past 625000 years (Milankovitch chron). Our database consists of a Milankovitch template of sea-level variation in combination with a unique data set for the deep-sea record for Ontong Java plateau in the western equatorial Pacific. We redate the Vostok ice-core data of Barnola et al. (1987). To make the reconstructions we employ multiple regression between deep-sea data, on one hand, and ice-core CO₂ data in Antarctica, on the other. The patterns of correlation suggest that the main factors controlling atmospheric CO₂ can be described as a combination of sea-level state and sea-level change. For best results squared values of state and change are used. The square-of-sea-level rule agrees with the concept that shelf processes are important modulators of atmospheric CO₂ (e.g., budgets of shelf organic carbon and shelf carbonate, nitrate reduction). The square-of-change rule implies that, on short timescales, any major disturbance of the system results in a temporary rise in atmospheric CO₂.     

The effective number of cycles of earthquake ground motion

The seismic response of any system that accumulates damage under cyclic loading is dependent not only on the maximum amplitude of the motion but also its duration. This is explicitly recognized in methods for estimating the liquefaction potential of soil deposits. Many researchers have proposed that the effective number of cycles of the ground motion is a more robust indicator of the destructive capacity of the shaking than the duration. However, as is the case with strong‐motion duration, there is no universally accepted approach to determining the effective number of cycles of motion, and the different methods that have been proposed can give widely varying results for a particular accelerogram. Definitions of the effective number of cycles of motion are reviewed, classified and compared. Measurements are found to differ particularly for accelerograms with broad‐banded frequency content, which contain a significant number of non‐zero crossing peaks. The key seismological parameters influencing the number of cycles of motion and associated equations for predicting this quantity for future earthquakes are identified. Correlations between cycle counts and different duration measures are explored and found to be rather poor in the absence of additional parameters. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

材料状态对干砂小应变特性的影响

利用注能虚拟质量(EIVM)共振柱系统进行了干砂小应变特性试验,研究了有效平均正应力、土样密度、剪应变幅值以及荷载往复次数对剪切模量和阻尼比的影响。试验结果表明,剪切模量随有效平均正应力与土样密度的增加而增加,而阻尼比的变化规律则与之相反,并且有效平均正应力对干砂小应变特性的影响程度比土样密度的影响程度大得多;随着剪应变的增加,剪切模量越来越小,而阻尼比越来越大;荷载往复次数对剪切模量基本没有影响,而对阻尼比有较大影响。     

中国大地构造区划及若干问题

在"新全球构造"思想的指导下,以板块构造学说为基础,以大陆动力学为线索,对中国区域地质构造和演化进行讨论并进行构造区划。由于板块构造随着时间的推移不断地发生变化,本文的构造区划以古生代时中国的板块构造格局为基础,同时考虑前古生代和后古生代时期中国的地壳构造演化,将中国划分为7个一级构造单元(板块)和30个二级构造单元,包括克拉通(或微陆块)和不同时期的造山带。在此基础上讨论了它们的边界和相互关系。     

Flooding of the continental shelves as a contributor to deglacial CH4 rise

The transition from the last glacial and beginning of Bølling–Allerød and Pre‐Boreal periods in particular is marked by rapid increases in atmospheric methane (CH₄) concentrations. The CH₄ concentrations reached during these intervals, ～650–750 ppb, is twice that at the last glacial maximum and is not exceeded until the onset of industrialization at the end of the Holocene. Periods of rapid sea‐level rise as the Last Glacial Maximum ice sheets retreated and associated with ‘melt‐water pulses’ appear to coincide with the onset of elevated concentrations of CH₄, suggestive of a potential causative link. Here we identify and outline a mechanism involving the flooding of the continental shelves that were exposed and vegetated during the glacial sea‐level low stand and that can help account for some of these observations. Specifically, we hypothesize that waterlogging (and later, flooding) of large tracts of forest and savanna in the Tropics and Subtropics during the deglacial transition and early Holocene would have resulted in rapid anaerobic decomposition of standing biomass and emission of methane to the atmosphere. This novel mechanism, akin to the consequences of filling new hydroelectric reservoirs, provides a mechanistic explanation for the apparent synchronicity between rate of sea‐level rise and occurrence of elevated concentrations of ice core CH₄. However, shelf flooding and the creation of transient wetlands are unlikely to explain more than ～60 ppb of the increase in atmospheric CH₄ during the deglacial transition, requiring additional mechanisms to explain the bulk of the glacial to interglacial increase. Similarly, this mechanism has the potential also to play some role in the rapid changes in atmospheric methane associated with the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中更新世气候转型时期南海生态环境的南北差异

中更新世气候转型在南海浮游有孔虫、氧同位素和其它生物记录上主要反映在900 ka BP前后发生高频率变化,特别是指示表层水骤然降温。北部冬季表层水温从24~25℃降至17~28℃,而南部也从26~27℃降至23~24℃。总的降温趋势与开放西太平洋一致,直接反映了西太平洋暖池在900 ka BP之后MIS22期间有明显的减弱。表层水大幅度降温还发生在后继的MIS 20、18、16几大冰期,说明主要冰期旋回周期由41 ka转变为100 ka经历了长达400 ka的过渡时期,并且冬季风增强也在过渡时期的后半段最明显。南海南北生物组合和δ18O值的差异,突出了中更新世气候转型期边缘海区南北气候梯度反差和冬季风在冰期增强的讯号。结论是：生态环境系统反应总体表现与冰期旋回一致的同时,还包含了独特的地区性系统演变特征。但是,南海—西太平洋地区在0.9 Ma BP前后表层海水盐度因东亚冬季风和海平面下降的定量变化,以及这些变化对气候转型时期海—气耦合过程和生态环境系统的影响,尚缺乏足够的资料和证据。     

地幔不均一性与地幔循环的多维表征和原因思考

地幔早先经核- 幔- 壳分异形成,后受不同尺度对流和循环的影响,因而具有不均一性特征。近三十年来,地幔化学通过研究大洋玄武岩发现了多样地幔端元和非放射性同位素证据并证明了地幔不均一性,逐渐建全了地幔地球化学体系。然而,地幔不均一性如何对应于时空尺度的地幔循环,以及地球演化如何影响地幔不均一性等,仍不清楚。此外,地球物理研究显示,岩石圈厚度差异、中下地幔的波速异常体以及俯冲板片形态的观测为纵横向对流系统提供了空间不均一性证据支持。联合地球化学和地球物理手段对研究地幔不均一性至关重要,用好透视地幔成分与结构的“双目镜”已成为共识。本文从地幔不均一性结合地球化学场、地球物理的不同表现形式,以及现今及历史时期的洋陆格局的对比,多维度联系地幔循环和演化,思考了超大陆旋回与地幔不均一化的内在逻辑。强调了从全球演化角度看地幔不均一性的重要性和提出多手段联合建立地幔循环驱动模型的展望。     

Facies character and geochemical signature in the late Quaternary meteoric diagenetic carbonate succession at the Xisha Islands,South China Sea

The late Quaternary shallow-water carbonates have been altered by a variety of diagenetic processes, and further influenced by high-amplitude global and regional sea level changes. This study utilizes a new borehole drilled on the Yongxing Island, Xisha Islands to investigate meteoric diagenetic alteration in the late Quaternary shallowwater carbonates. Petrographic, mineralogical, stable isotopic and elemental data provide new insights into the meteoric diagenetic processes of the reef limestone. The results show the variation in the distribution of aragonite,high-Mg calcite(HMC) and low-Mg calcite(LMC) divides the shallow-water carbonates in Core SSZK1 into three intervals, which are Unit I(31.20–55.92 m, LMC), Unit II(18.39–31.20 m, aragonite and LMC) and Unit III(upper 18.39 m of core, aragonite, LMC and HMC). Various degrees of meteoric diagenesis exist in the identified three units. The lowermost Unit I has suffered almost complete freshwater diagenesis, whereas the overlying Units II and III have undergone incompletely meteoric diagenesis. The amount of time that limestone has been in the freshwater diagenetic environment has the largest impact on the degree of meteoric diagenesis. Approximately four intact facies/water depth cycles are recognized. The cumulative depletion of elements such as strontium(Sr),sodium(Na) and sulphur(S) caused by duplicated meteoric diagenesis in the older reef sequences are distinguished from the younger reef sequences. This study provides a new record of meteoric diagenesis, which is well reflected by whole-rock mineralogy and geochemistry.     

Artificial neural networks and nonlinear regression techniques to assess the influence of slake durability cycles on the prediction of uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity for carbonate rocks

Understanding rock material characterizations and solving relevant problems are quite difficult tasks because of their complex behavior, which sometimes cannot be identified without intelligent, numerical, and analytical approaches. Because of that, some prediction techniques, like artificial neural networks (ANN) and nonlinear regression techniques, can be utilized to solve those problems. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the cycling integer of slake durability index test on intact rock behavior and estimate some rock properties, such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and modulus of elasticity (E) from known rock index parameters using ANN and various regression techniques. Further, new performance index (PI) and degree of consistency (Cd) are introduced to examine the accuracy of generated models. For these purposes, intact rock dataset is established by performing rock tests including uniaxial compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Schmidt hammer, effective porosity, dry unit weight, p‐wave velocity, and slake durability index tests on selected carbonate rocks. Afterward, the models are developed using ANN and nonlinear regression techniques. The concluding remark given is that four‐cycle slake durability index (I_d4) provides more accurate results to evaluate material characterization of carbonate rocks, and it is one of the reliable input variables to estimate UCS and E of carbonate rocks; introduced performance indices, both PI and Cd, may be accepted as good indicators to assess the accuracy of the complex models, and further, the ANN models have more prediction capability than the regression techniques to estimate relevant rock properties. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

干湿循环作用下膨胀土裂隙演化规律试验研究

对南阳膨胀土在反复干湿循环作用下的裂隙演化规律进行了室内试验研究。试验中采用烘干法模拟脱湿过程,采用抽气饱和法模拟饱和过程。在脱湿过程中,定时对土样进行称重、定点拍照,以记录裂隙发育状况。利用矢量图技术对裂隙照片进行矢量化处理,以提取裂隙的各种几何要素,继而进行裂隙度计算。裂隙度变化规律分析结果表明,影响裂隙张开程度的关键因素并非土体含水率,而是含水率梯度,而脱湿速率的空间分布、土块渗透特性以及土块尺寸大小则是决定含水率梯度大小的关键因素;膨胀土裂隙在干湿循环的作用下会逐步发育,主要体现在裂隙总面积与总长度的增加,但此作用有限,裂隙的发育达到一定程度以后便会因为土块尺寸过小而停止;反复干湿循环会使土体产生范性变形,该范性变形与完整土块的胀缩特性并无直接联系,其主要成因是裂隙的发育与土体完整性的破坏,裂隙越发育,土体范性变形量越大