Effect of asymmetry and irregularity of seismic waves on earthquake-induced differential settlement of buildings on natural subsoil

The effect of asymmetry and irregularity of the inputted seismic waves on the earthquake-induced differential settlement of the buildings on natural subsoil is investigated in terms of the earthquake damage phenomena, theoretical analyses, dynamic triaxial tests and shaking table tests. A conclusion can be drawn from the investigation results that, the asymmetrical and irregular character of the inputted seismic waves themselves may have a significant contribution to the differential settlement of subsoil and buildings in some cases, and this is a necessary factor to be considered in reasonable evaluation for the differential settlement and other problems relating to the soil deformation due to earthquakes.     

The importance of plant root characteristics in controlling concentrated flow erosion rates

While it has been demonstrated in numerous studies that the aboveground characteristics of the vegetation are of particular importance with respect to soil erosion control, this study argues the importance of separating the influence of vegetation on soil erosion rates into two parts: the impact of leaves and stems (aboveground biomass) and the influence of roots (belowground biomass). Although both plant parameters form inseparable constituents of the total plant organism, most studies attribute the impact of vegetation on soil erosion rates mainly to the characteristics of the aboveground biomass. This triggers the question whether the belowground biomass is of no or negligible importance with respect to soil erosion by concentrated flow. This study tried to answer this question by comparing cross‐sectional areas of concentrated flow channels (rills and ephemeral gullies) in the Belgian Loess Belt for different cereal and grass plant densities. The results of these measurements highlighted the fact that both an increase in shoot density as well as an increase in root density resulted in an exponential decrease of concentrated flow erosion rates. Since protection of the soil surface in the early plant growth stages is crucial with respect to the reduction of water erosion rates, increasing the plant root density in the topsoil could be a viable erosion control strategy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanisms of riverbank failure along the Arno River,central Italy

Riverbanks along the Arno River have been investigated with the aims of de?ning the main mechanisms of failure and retreat, their spatial distribution, and their causes. Geomorphological aspects were investigated by a reconnaissance of riverbank processes, for a number (26) of representative sites. Laboratory and in situ tests were then performed on a selected number of riverbanks (15). Based on the material characteristics, six main typologies of riverbanks have been de?ned, with homogeneous ?ne‐grained and composite banks representing the most frequent types. Slab‐type failures are the most frequent mechanism observed on ?ne‐grained banks, while cantilever failures prevail on composite banks. The role of river stage and related pore water pressure distributions in triggering the main observed mechanisms of failure has been investigated using two different types of stability analysis. The ?rst was conducted for 15 riverbanks, using the limit equilibrium method and considering simpli?ed hypotheses for pore water pressure distribution (annulment of negative pore pressures in the portion of the bank between low water stage and peak stage). Stability conditions and predicted mechanisms of failure are shown to be in reasonably good agreement with ?eld observations. Three riverbanks, representative of the main alluvial reaches of the river, were then selected for a more detailed bank stability analysis, consisting of: (a) de?nition of characteristic hydrographs of the reach with different return periods; (b) modelling of saturated and unsaturated ?ow using ?nite element seepage analysis; and (c) stability analysis with the limit equilibrium method, by adopting pore water pressure values derived from the seepage analysis. The results are compared to those obtained from the previous simpli?ed analysis, and are used to investigate the different responses, in terms of stability, to different hydrological and riverbank conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of marine boundary layer characteristics using a 1-D PBL model over the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-99

The characteristic features of the marine boundary layer (MBL) over the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon and the factors influencing it are investigated. The Bay of Bengal and Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) carried out during July–August 1999 is the first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP). A very high-resolution data in the vertical was obtained during this experiment, which was used to study the MBL characteristics off the east coast of India in the north and south Bay of Bengal. Spells of active and suppressed convection over the Bay were observed, of which, three representative convective episodes were considered for the study. For this purpose a one-dimensional multi-level PBL model with a TKE-ε closure scheme was used. The soundings, viz., the vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, zonal and meridional component of wind, obtained onboard ORV Sagar Kanya and from coastal stations along the east coast are used for the study. The temporal evolution of turbulent kinetic energy, marine boundary layer height (MBLH), sensible and latent heat fluxes and drag coefficient of momentum are simulated for different epochs of monsoon and monsoon depressions during BOBMEX-99.The model also generates the vertical profiles of potential temperature, specific humidity, zonal and meridional wind. These simulated values compared reasonably well with the observations available from BOBMEX.     

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in biotite, muscovite and chlorite single crystals

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of single crystals of biotite, muscovite and chlorite has been measured in order to provide accurate values of the magnetic anisotropy properties for these common rock-forming minerals. The low-field AMS and the high-field paramagnetic susceptibility are defined. For the high-field values, it is necessary to combine the paramagnetic deviatoric tensor obtained from the high-field torque magnetometer with the paramagnetic bulk susceptibility measured from magnetization curves of the crystals. This leads to the full paramagnetic susceptibility ellipsoid due to the anisotropic distribution of iron cations in the silicate lattice. The ellipsoid of paramagnetic susceptibility, which was obtained for the three phyllosilicates, is highly oblate in shape and the minimum susceptibility direction is subparallel to the crystallographic c-axes. The anisotropy of the susceptibility within the basal plane of the biotite has been evaluated and found to be isotropic within the accuracy of the instrumental measurements. The degree of anisotropy of biotite and chlorite is compatible with previously reported values while for muscovite the smaller than previously published values. The shape of the chlorite AMS ellipsoid for all the samples is near-perfect oblate in contrast with a wide distribution of oblate and prolate values reported in earlier studies. Reliable values are important for deriving models of the magnetic anisotropy where it reflects mineral fabrics and deformation of rocks.     

兴山县龙王嘴边坡稳定性分析与加固设计

龙王嘴边坡系坡高达70 m、坡角达70 °的高陡岩质边坡。分析了宜-秭公路石峡段龙王嘴高边坡变形的地质条件,在定量评价龙王嘴高边坡稳定性的基础上,进行了该高边坡的施工图加固设计。根据其特点将350 m长的坡段分为A,B,C三个区,分别采取预应力锚索与锚杆加固、挂网喷射混凝土支护和喷射混凝土支护等措施,实践证明,工程治理效果良好。     

Spectral and Multiscale Signal-to-Noise Thresholding of Spherical Vector Fields

The basic concepts of spectral and multiscale selective reconstruction of (geophysically relevant) vector fields on the sphere from error-affected data is outlined in detail. The reconstruction mechanism is formulated under the assumption that spectral as well as multiscale approximation is well-representable in terms of only a certain number of expansion coefficients at the various resolution levels. It is shown that spectral denoising by means of orthogonal expansions in terms of vector spherical harmonics reflects global a priori information of the noise (e.g., in form of a covariance tensor field), whereas multiscale signal-to-noise thresholding can be performed under locally dependent noise information within a multiresolution analysis in terms of spherical vector wavelets. An application of the multiscale formalism to Earth's magnetic field determination is presented.     

月降水量的神经网络混合预报模型研究

以均生函数表征预报量自身周期变化，结合500hPa月平均高度场和月平均海温场预报因子，采用神经网络方法建立了一种新的短期气候预报模型。分别以广西桂北、桂中和桂南6月降水量作为预报对象进行预报试验，结果表明，这种新的预报方法比均生函数回归预报模型及高度场、海温场预报因子的回归预报模型，具有更好的物理基础和预报能力。     

对下扬子与华南边界结合带东延问题的地球物理探讨

以江山-绍兴、铅山-宜春等断裂带作为华南与扬子块体之间的边界结合带，这种认识目前已基本为大家所接受．但是，这条边界结合带向东延伸入海之后的位置与去向一直是多年来研究的热点．本文基于黄、东海研究区的地球物理数据(空间重力数据、布格重力数据和地震层析成像结果)，利用方向导数等处理方法，对研究区的地球物理数据进行处理，并对研究区的地球物理场进行了分析，划分出不同的区块．结合研究区的磁力与地质资料，利用各种成图、成像技术，形成一系列分析图件．在此基础上对华南与扬子块体之间的边界结合带进行了追踪．研究结果认为：该结合带的位置有可能比传统认识中自长江口至大黑山群岛的位置更向南一些，在杭州湾-长崎、对马海峡一线，并呈现向北略微凸出的弓形．边界结合带在深度上属于深大断裂带，一直可以追索到上地幔的顶部．与中朝与扬子块体之间的边界结合带相比较，本条结合带的踪迹不是十分清晰．表明加里东运动之后，该结合带的运动明显减弱．