Causes of Land Subsidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The occurrence of land subsidence in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is either natural or man-made. Natural land subsidence occurs due to the development of subterranean voids by a solution of host rocks in carbonate and evaporite terrains, over many areas of Saudi Arabia. Man-induced land subsidence is either due to the removal of groundwater in the agricultural areas or to wetting of unstable soils. Therefore, earth fissures and a lowering of the ground surface in unconsolidated sediments took place in alluvial plains and volcanic vent terrains. Unstable soils include Sabkha soils and loess sediments. These types of soils occur in coastal plains, desert areas and volcanic terrains. When this soil is wetted either during agricultural activities, waste disposal or even during a rain storm, subsidence takes place due to either the removal of salts from the Sabkha soil or the rearrangement of soil particles in loess sediments.     

Metropolitan growth and labor markets in Mexico

The objective of this paper is to examine the main changes in the metropolitan labor markets associated with economic restructuring in Mexico during the late 1980s and beginning of the 1990s. The analysis refers particularly to the four largest metropoles of the country, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Puebla, looking for common characteristics in their emergent employment structures now strongly differentiated in terms of rewards, stability in employment relations and conditions of access to jobs. The analysis reveals that largest metropolitan areas have been the most profoundly affected by the economic restructuring resulting from globalization, through a rapid de-industrialization and the expansion of the tertiary sector. Metropolitan labor markets in Mexico, at the time that show signs of social polarization in the formal sector, put in evidence a general process of precarization – less labor stability, replacement of permanent by part-time jobs, and increasing subcontracting –, segmentation of the labor force, and an increasing informal conditions of economic activities with small businesses and unskilled, temporarly and poorly paid jobs. The labor force segmentation and its more precarious and casual conditions are mostly explained by the impact of recent neoliberal policies, and recurrent economic crisis during the 1980s and 1990s which highly contributes to social inequality.     

Relocation of the October 9, 1505 Earthquake with M63/4

There have been 12 possible locations of the earthquakes occurring in the South Yellow Sea since 1505.In this paper,the location of the earthquake that occurred in 1505 has been determined by the collection of more historical data of the influenced field,referring the isoseismal data of earthquakes with the epicentral intensityⅨ and combining geophysical field data with tectonic condition,due to its great influence on seismic safety assessment of some significant engineering.     

Magnetostratigraphy and palaeoclimate of Red Clay sequences from Chinese Loess Plateau

Two Red Clay profiles near Xi’an and Xifeng were investigated in an attempt to determine magnetostratigraphic and palaeoclimatic records. The results show that aeolian dust accumulation and the related East Asia palaeomonsoon system had begun by 6.5 Ma, and it is deduced that the Tibetan Plateau had reached a significant elevation at that time. The late Tertiary palaeoclimatic history of the Red Clay as reflected by magnetic susceptibility is reconstructed during the period of 6.5–2.5 Ma. Stepwise increase in susceptibility of aeolian dust accumulation appears to have a close correlation to the uplift processes of the Tibetan Plateau. The remarkable increase of aeolian dust accumulation at 3.2 Ma appears to be due to the influence of global ice volume on the East Asia monsoon. Palaeomonsoon variation during the late Tertiary as recorded in the Red Clay sequences from the Chinese Loess Plateau can be regarded as the product of a number of interacting factors, such as uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, solar radiation, global ice volume, etc. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Foundation of Xi’an Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

Untersuchung der Sorptionseigenschaften des Kationenaustauschers KB-2M mit Makronetzstruktur zur Abtrennung von Zinkionen aus Ab- und Spülwässern

Study of Sorptional Properties of the Cation Exchanger KB-2M with Macroreticular Structure for Recovery of Zinc Ions from Sewage and Rinsing Water Although a number of ion-exchange methods have been employed for the recovery of some transition metals from industrial effluents, knowledge about ion-exchange resins with macroreticular structure is poor. The present paper describes the mechanism of sorption on such exchangers and their application for recovery of zinc from sewage rinsing water. Ion exchanger of macroreticular structure are polymers with long-chained cross-linking agents. We have synthesized carboxylic ion-exchange resins by hydrolysis of copolymerisates of methyl acrylate with different cross-linking agents: divinylbenzene, divinyl sulfide, divinyl ester of ethylene glycol and divinyl ester of di- or triethylene glycol. The sorption process on modifications of the carboxylic resins KB-2 of various structure was studied with different methods: potentiometric titration, infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray structural analysis. The initial zinc concentration in rinsing water was 0.05 mol/L at pH from 3 to 6. For the sorption, 0.2…1.0 g of resin were equilibrated with 100 mL of zinc solution. After equilibrium (12 h), the resin was separated from solution. The zinc ions were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry after stripping with 100 mL of 10% sulfuric acid. The distribution ratio D was calculated (D: mmole of Zn sorbed per gram of resin divided by mmole of Zn per millilitre of solution). By means of infrared spectroscopy, the mechanism of sorption of zinc ions from rinsing water was determined. There may be a possibility of the formation of complexes in the cation-exchange resin phase. It was found out in this paper that the cation-exchanger KB-2M of macroreticular structure is the most effective for the sorption of the Zn²⁺-ions from sewage and rinsing water.     

热液矿床石英铅同位素组成及其地质意义

作者以若尔盖铀矿床为例，研究了含矿热液形成的石英脉石英的铅同位素组成，并将其作为联系母源铅同位素组成的桥梁，判别铀的来源。结果表明，矿床中石英铅同位素组成与含矿黄铁矿和中酸性构造－岩浆成因的花岗岩铅同位素组成具线性演化关系。由此提出含矿热液中的铀来自中酸性构造－岩浆岩而不是地层岩石的新见解，同时提出利用热液石英铅同位素组成判别非放射性矿床成矿元素来源的可能性。     

Separate Analysis of Remote Sensing Information of Structures of Different Geological Periods and Quantitative Study of Corresponding Tectonic Stress Fields

The structural feature shown on a remote sensing image is a synthetic result ofcombination of the deformations produced during the entire geological history of an area.Therefore, the respective tectonic stress field of each of the different stages in the complexdeformation of an area can be reconstructed in three steps: (1) geological structures formed atdifferent times are distinguished in remote sensing image interpretation; (2) structuraldeformation fields at different stages are determined by analyzing relationships betweenmicrostructures (joints and fractures) and the related structures (folds and faults); and (3)tectonic stress fields at different stages are respectively recovered through a study of the featuresof structural deformation fields in different periods. Circular structures and related circlular and radial joints are correlated in space to con-cealed structural rises. The authors propose a new method for establishing a natural model ofthe concealed structural rises and calculating the tectonic stress field by using quantitative dataof the remote sensing information of circular structures and related linear structures.     

2003年5月4日新疆伽师-岳普湖5.8级地震烈度分布及建筑物结构破坏特点

新疆伽师-岳普湖5．8级地震宏观震中位于岳普湖县的铁热木乡和兵团农三师42团的北面，震中烈度为Ⅶ度。本次地震影响范围位于巴楚-伽师6．8级地震Ⅵ-Ⅶ度影响区域内，累计破坏效应造成了较为严重的房屋破坏。通过对大量震害资料和强震记录的分析，根据建筑物的破坏情况和场地峰值加速度衰减特征，在尽可能排除累计破坏效应的基础上确定了地震烈度分布，分析了不同烈度区中的建筑物结构破坏特点及其与地震动影响场的关系。     

中强震与江苏新沂地震台地电阻率异常的关系研究

运用速率法、滑动富氏法对江苏省新沂地震台1990年至1999年地电阻率观测资料进行了分析，研究了电阻率异常与江苏省及其邻近地区的中强震的关系。结果表明．从1994年到1997年之间发生的中强震，新沂地震台地电阻率3个测向有不同程度的异常与之对应。研究结果表明．资料异常呈现出的各向异性和其对应性与地球自转加速年份、孕震期的应力状态、震区构造、介质结栖有关。     

CHARACTERISTICS OF ATMOSPHERIC HEAT SOURCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUMMER MONSOON ONSET OVER THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND THE POSSIBLE MECHANISM RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS LATE OR EARLY ONSET

The characteristics of atmospheric heat source associated with the summer monsoon onset in the South China Sea (SCS) are studied using ECMWF reanalysis data from 1979 to 1993. A criterion of the SCS summer monsoon onset is defined by the atmospheric hea…