Pattern,style and timing of British–Irish Ice Sheet advance and retreat over the last 45 000 years: evidence from NW Scotland and the adjacent continental shelf

Predicting the future response of ice sheets to climate warming and rising global sea level is important but difficult. This is especially so when fast-flowing glaciers or ice streams, buffered by ice shelves, are grounded on beds below sea level. What happens when these ice shelves are removed? And how do the ice stream and the surrounding ice sheet respond to the abruptly altered boundary conditions? To address these questions and others we present new geological, geomorphological, geophysical and geochronological data from the ice-stream-dominated NW sector of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The study area covers around 45 000 km² of NW Scotland and the surrounding continental shelf. Alongside seabed geomorphological mapping and Quaternary sediment analysis, we use a suite of over 100 new absolute ages (including cosmogenic-nuclide exposure ages, optically stimulated luminescence ages and radiocarbon dates) collected from onshore and offshore, to build a sector-wide ice-sheet reconstruction combining all available evidence with Bayesian chronosequence modelling. Using this information we present a detailed assessment of ice-sheet advance/retreat history, and the glaciological connections between different areas of the NW BIIS sector, at different times during the last glacial cycle. The results show a highly dynamic, partly marine, partly terrestrial, ice-sheet sector undergoing large size variations in response to sub-millennial-scale climatic (Dansgaard–Oeschger) cycles over the last 45 000 years. Superimposed on these trends we identify internally driven instabilities, operating at higher frequency, conditioned by local topographic factors, tidewater dynamics and glaciological feedbacks during deglaciation. Specifically, our new evidence indicates extensive marine-terminating ice-sheet glaciation of the NW BIIS sector during Greenland Stadials 12 to 9 – prior to the main ‘Late Weichselian’ ice-sheet glaciation. After a period of restricted glaciation, in Greenland Interstadials 8 to 6, we find good evidence for rapid renewed ice-sheet build-up in NW Scotland, with the Minch ice-stream terminus reaching the continental shelf edge in Greenland Stadial 5, perhaps only briefly. Deglaciation of the NW sector took place in numerous stages. Several grounding-zone wedges and moraines on the mid- and inner continental shelf attest to significant stabilizations of the ice-sheet grounding line, or ice margin, during overall retreat in Greenland Stadials 3 and 2, and to the development of ice shelves. NW Lewis was the first substantial present-day land area to deglaciate, in the first half of Greenland Stadial 3 at a time of globally reduced sea-level c. 26 kabp , followed by Cape Wrath at c. 24 kabp. The topographic confinement of the Minch straits probably promoted ice-shelf development in early Greenland Stadial 2, providing the ice stream with additional support and buffering it somewhat from external drivers. However, c. 20–19 kabp , as the grounding-line migrated into shoreward deepening water, coinciding with a marked change in marine geology and bed strength, the ice stream became unstable. We find that, once underway, grounding-line retreat proceeded in an uninterrupted fashion with the rapid loss of fronting ice shelves – first in the west, then the east troughs – before eventual glacier stabilization at fjord mouths in NW Scotland by ~17 kabp. Around the same time, ~19–17 kabp , ice-sheet lobes readvanced into the East Minch – possibly a glaciological response to the marine-instability-triggered loss of adjacent ice stream (and/or ice shelf) support in the Minch trough. An independent ice cap on Lewis also experienced margin oscillations during mid-Greenland Stadial 2, with an ice-accumulation centre in West Lewis existing into the latter part of Heinrich Stadial 1. Final ice-sheet deglaciation of NW mainland Scotland was punctuated by at least one other coherent readvance at c. 15.5 kabp , before significant ice-mass losses thereafter. At the glacial termination, c. 14.5 kabp , glaciers fed outwash sediment to now-abandoned coastal deltas in NW mainland Scotland around the time of global Meltwater Pulse 1A. Overall, this work on the BIIS NW sector reconstructs a highly dynamic ice-sheet oscillating in extent and volume for much of the last 45 000 years. Periods of expansive ice-sheet glaciation dominated by ice-streaming were interspersed with periods of much more restricted ice-cap or tidewater/fjordic glaciation. Finally, this work indicates that the role of ice streams in ice-sheet evolution is complex but mechanistically important throughout the lifetime of an ice sheet – with ice streams contributing to the regulation of ice-sheet health but also to the acceleration of ice-sheet demise via marine ice-sheet instabilities.     

微生物-CMC无固相钻井液固壁作用与机理初探

松散破碎性地层孔壁失稳一直是困扰钻探工程界的难题之一,增强该类地层的胶结性,提高其力学性能是有效解决孔壁失稳的技术关键。本文将微生物诱导碳酸钙沉积（MICP）技术与CMC无固相钻井液相结合,构建微生物-CMC无固相钻井液体系。通过岩心浸泡实验、X射线衍射实验（XRD）以及扫描电镜分析两种微观分析手段对微生物-CMC无固相钻井液的固壁作用与机理进行了初探。结果表明：微生物-CMC无固相钻井液对松散破碎性地层具有较明显的加固作用,且作用时间越长,初始菌种浓度越高,钙源浓度越大,固壁效果越好。在固壁过程中,微生物随钻井液渗透进入试样内部,在松散颗粒之间诱导生成碳酸钙晶体,填充孔隙空间,将松散颗粒胶结成整体,并具有一定的力学强度,从而达到加固孔壁的目的。本研究结果为解决松散破碎性地层孔壁失稳提供了新的钻井液技术方案。     

塔里木盆地东北缘一次强对流天气过程中的阵风锋特征研究

利用地面自动站逐小时观测、多普勒天气雷达及WRF模式高分辨率数值模拟,分析2016年7月塔里木盆地东北缘一次强对流天气过程中的阵风锋特征。结果表明,阵风锋前沿较强的辐合抬升运动不断触发多个对流单体,其中大部分单体与其后方的对流系统合并且进一步发展,使得强对流天气不断发展和维持。在对流系统快速发展阶段,阵风锋前沿水平风的垂直切变造成湿位涡的斜压分量显著增强,从而增强局地的条件对称不稳定,为对流系统的发展和维持提供了重要的不稳定能量。不稳定能量释放需要的锋生强迫作用主要是由阵风锋前方的辐合辐散项和倾斜项决定,而阵风锋前沿附近的水平形变项及其上方的非绝热加热项提供相对较弱的贡献。     

火山活动状态及其机理的初步探讨

根据火山喷发实例总结了火山喷发在不同阶段的活动状态,并探讨了可能的物理机理。火山活动从岩浆补给到岩浆喷发的物理过程可分为3个阶段:1)岩浆补给阶段,岩浆囊压力差或过剩压力的大小决定了火山活动是否休眠或扰动,岩浆补给速率对压力差起了决定性的作用;2)通道形成阶段,当过剩压力超过围岩破裂强度时,围岩开始破裂,之后水热活动起了重要的作用;3)岩浆运移与失稳喷发阶段,主要是岩浆运移与地壳盖层的相互作用与失稳的过程。文中还讨论了火山活动状态与火山喷发危险性等级之间的关系,7个危险性等级分别对应于火山活动的7种状态,即休眠、平静、扰动、动荡、临界、活动、灾变     

潜孔锤偏心跟管钻进法在卵砾石地层岩土工程勘察中的应用

卵砾石地层是钻探工程中常见的一种典型的难钻进不稳定地层。通过采用潜孔锤偏心跟管钻进法,从根本上解决了卵砾石地层难以钻进的难题,结合都匀市区岩土工程勘察实例,笔者认为潜孔锤偏心跟管钻进法是在卵砾石地层钻进中行之有效的一种钻进法。     

Hill Instability Analysis of TLP Tether Subjected to Combined Platform Surge and Heave Motions

This paper presents the Hill instability analysis of Tension keg Platform （TLP） tether in deep sea. The 2-D nonlinear beanl model, which is undergoing coupled axial and transverse vibrations, is applied. The governing equations are reduced to nonlinear Hill equation by use of the Galerkin＇ s method and the modes superposition principle. The Hill instability charted up to large parameters is obtained. An important parameter M is defined and can be expressed as the functions of tether length, the platform surge and heave motion amplitudes. Some example studies are performed for various envirotnnental conditions. The results demonstrate that the nonlinear coupling between the axial and transverse vibrations has a significant effect on the response of structure. It needs to be considered for the accurate dynamic analysis of long TI2 tether subjected to the combined platfolna surge and heave motions.     

Study on deepwater conductor jet excavation mechanism in cohesive soil

Conductor casing jetting technique has been increasingly applied in deepwater drilling. The insight into the jetting excavation mechanisms is critical in guiding a successful conductor casing jetting operation. The real- time continuous jet excavation process is simulated with the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase method of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) ANSYS Fluent calculation software in the current study. The cohesive soil is modelled by using a kind of viscous fluid with Herschel-Bulkley model. In addition, a laboratory half round nozzle jet excavation test is designed for verification by comparison of the observed jet excavation profile with the numerical results. The sensitivity parameters affecting the conductor jetting excavation mechanism in cohesive soil are thus investigated. It is found that the application of Herschel-Bulkley (HB) model for cohesive soil and the VOF method of Fluent can provide a good simulation of jet excavation process. The maximum excavation depth can be determined by the undrained ultimate bearing capacity of the circular foundation with a bearing capacity factor of 6.7. The nozzle position, jet velocity and soil strength have significantly influence on the depth and width of the jet excavation profile in conductor oblique jet.     

Coupled analysis for response and instability of sloping seabed under wave action

Wave-induced instability of seabed may cause damage to coastal and offshore structures. This issue has been investigated mostly for mildly sloping ($<5^{°}$) seabed considering uncoupled or one-way coupled response of wave and seabed interaction. However, some of the marine structures are founded on seabed with steeper slopes. In this study, the wave-induced response and instability of sloping seabed are evaluated using a coupled finite element model. The interaction between fluid and porous seabed accounting for the effect of fluid motion on the seabed response, and conversely the effect of seabed response on the fluid motion (but not on the surface wave profile) is considered. The results indicate that the system response (fluid pressure, stresses, etc.) and the extent of instantaneously liquefied zone within the sloping seabed with significant steepness are lesser than those for horizontal seabed. Moreover, for typical sediment and wave characteristics, for the flat seabed, the response obtained from fully coupled analysis is not significantly different from those obtained by uncoupled analysis. For the sloping bed, such difference is slightly greater as compared to that for the flat bed.     

华南锋面与暖区暴雨个例对比分析

分析了1961～1999年亚洲热带近海海温与云南降水的关系.通过研究云南夏季降水对近海海温异常的响应,发现云南初夏的降水与亚洲热带近海海温有明显的负相关关系,这种降水减少海温正距平的情况在北印度洋西部和阿拉伯海表现比孟加拉湾和南海更显著,但是在盛夏相关关系不显著.同时发现云南西南部的夏季降水与前期盂加拉湾海温有显著的正相关,而与其它海域的海温相关不显著.滇东南的夏季降水只与前期南海的海温有显著的正相关.     

山西2006年雨季天气气候特征分析

2005年6月17～24日,华南地区发生了连续多日的暴雨天气过程,其显著特征是存在着南北两条雨带,北支雨带(福建中北部)由准静止的梅雨锋造成,南支雨带(广东中东部)发生在锋前暖区之中,这种连续多日共存的双雨带现象引起了气象学家的广泛关注.为了探究锋面和锋前暖区暴雨的成因,加深这两类不同性质暴雨的认识,利用NCEP每6 h一次的1°×1°经纬度再分析资料以及华南地区加密观测的逐小时地面降水等资料,以此次连续多日维持的双雨带降水过程为例,详细分析了锋面附近与锋前暖湿区内暴雨系统的主要物理差异.结果发现:梅雨锋暴雨和锋前暖区暴雨不仅在中尺度雨团活动、系统动力结构、大气不稳定机制和大气加热结构等存在明显的差异,而且在水汽输送、中尺度环境以及与暴雨有关的垂直环流之间也存在着不同点,这些差异可能是造成锋前暖区暴雨难以模拟和预报的主要原因.