Along channel flow and sediment dynamics at North Inlet, South Carolina

In May of 2005, an observational program was carried out to investigate the along channel hydrodynamics and suspended sediment transport patterns at North Inlet, South Carolina. Along channel variability, which is important in establishing sediment transport pathways, has not been characterized for this system. Measurements of water column currents, salinity, bed sediment, suspended sediment concentration, and particle size distribution were obtained over a complete tidal cycle along the thalweg of the inlet entrance. Along channel currents, shear stress and bed sediment distributions vary significantly in space and time along a 3 km section bracketing the inlet throat. Most of the variability is consistent with geomorphic controls such as bed elevation variability and channel width. The highest velocities, shear stresses, suspended sediment concentration and bed sediment grain size are observed in the narrowest section of the inlet throat. Magnitudes systematically decrease along the channel toward the marsh as changes in channel geometry and branching reduces flow energy. Due to tidal asymmetry, the ebb phase contains significantly higher currents and associated sediment transport. Over the complete tidal cycle, depth integrated transport is directed towards the marsh landward of the intersection of Town and Debidue Creek. In contrast, net transport is out of the inlet seaward of this intersection. Sediment grain size distributions show 35% more material less than 63 μm on flood, suggesting net landward transport of fines.     

水声扩谱通讯中的自适应多普勒补偿方法

本文介绍了一种水声扩谱通讯中，应用子波对多普勒效应进行补偿的方法。针对多普勒效应本身是否会随时间变化，分别应用直接估计、自适应估计的方法。其中自适应多普勒补偿方法同自适应信道均衡算法结合在一起，对多普勒漂移、信道参数进行联合估计。两种方法都应用了子波变换对多普勒展宽程度进行估计并用线性插值进行补偿。计算机仿真结果令人满意。     

海洋声层析研究的两个热点问题

综述了目前海洋声层析研究的两个热点问题 ,归纳了用声学方法监测气候变化和反演内波两个领域所取得的研究进展 ,总结了研究过程中存在的问题     

Sea-surface acoustic backscattering measurement at 6–25 kHz in the Yellow Sea

Sea-surface acoustic backscattering measurements at moderate to high frequencies were performed in the shallow water of the south Yellow Sea, using omnidirectional spherical sources and omnidirectional hydrophones. Sea-surface backscattering data for frequencies in the 6–25 k Hz range and wind speeds of(3.0±0.5)and(4.5±1.0) m/s were obtained from two adjacent experimental sites, respectively. Computation of sea-surface backscattering strength using bistatic transducer is described. Finally, we calculated sea-surface backscattering strengths at grazing angles in the range of 16°–85°. We find that the measured backscattering strengths agree reasonably well with those predicted by using second order small-roughness perturbation approximation method with "PM" roughness spectrum for all frequencies at grazing angles ranged from 40° to 80°. The backscattering strengths varied slightly at grazing angles of 16°–40°, and were much stronger than roughness scattering. It is speculated that scattering from bubbles dominates the backscattering strengths at high wind speeds and small grazing angles. At the same frequencies and moderate to high grazing angles, the results show that the backscattering strengths at a wind speed of(4.5±1.0) m/s were approximately 5 d B higher than those at a wind speed of(3.0±0.5) m/s. However, the discrepancies of backscattering strength at low grazing angles were more than 10 d B. Furthermore the backscattering strengths exhibited no significant frequency dependence at 3 m/s wind speed. At a wind speed of 4.5 m/s, the scattering strengths increased at low grazing angles but decreased at high grazing angles with increasing grazing angle.     

浅海声反射损失的实验研究

本文介绍在水深40—90米的浅海海域中三种类型沉积层海底上,用爆炸声源进行的海底反射损失的实验研究结果。实验结果与按均匀半空间底模型计算所得海底反射损失的理论曲线作了比较。结果表明:反射损失值明显地与底的类型有关,细砂底的反射损失较小,粉砂质泥次之,而粉砂质粘土的反射损失较大;对于同类型的海底,孔隙度大者反射损失也较大。此外,还讨论了沉积物中场速的两种经验公式的适用性。     

Self-organised criticality and fluid-rock interactions in the brittle field

The concept of self-organised criticality (SOC) has recently been suggested as a paradigm for the long-term behaviour of earthquakes, even though many of the currently-proposed models require some tuning of the state variables or local conservation rules to produce the universally-observed Gutenberg-Richter frequency-magnitude distribution witha b value near 1. For example, a systematic negative correlation is predicted between modelb values and the degree of conservation of local force after the slip of a single element in an elastic spring/block/frictional slider model. A similar relation is described here for a cellular automaton model with constitutive laws based on fracture mechanics. Such systems, although critical phenomena in the sense of producing order on all scales, are clearly not universal, and may not in general even be true examples of SOC. Nevertheless they adequately reproduce both the observed power-law (fractal or multifractal) scaling and its reported short-term fluctuation.We also present experimental and field evidence for similar systematic variations inb value with the degree of force conservation (expressed in terms of a normalised crack extension force) during subcritical crack growth involving the physical and chemical influence of pore fluids during a single cycle of failure both in tension and compression. We find that the level of conservation is strongly influenced by fluid-rock interaction under stress, allowing energy partition into processes such as: physico-chemical stress corrosion reactions; the dissolution and precipitation of mineral species on crack surfaces; and the purely mechnical phenomenon of dilatant hardening. All of these are known to occur in the Earth on a local scale, but few have been explicitly included in automaton models of seismicity. The implication is that over long time periods pore fluids may exert a strong physical and chemical influence on the universal state of SOC which the system evolves in a complex interplay of local feedback mechanisms keeping the system near criticality, perhaps most strikingly due to the valve action of faults. In the short term, crustal fluids might nevertheless be responsible for systematic local fluctuations about this average state.     

Effect of Injected Water on Hydraulic Fracturing Deduced from Acoustic Emission Monitoring

—In order to investigate the effects of injected water in hydraulic fracturing, experiments were conducted on cubic granite specimens, comparing fracturings induced by conventional water injection with those induced by pressurization of a urethane sleeve, thereby realizing "hydraulic fracturing" without the use of fracturing fluid. In both experiments, a shear type mechanism was found to be dominant in fault plane solutions of AE events. However, in the case of water injection, cracks extended rapidly with large drops in hole water pressure and bursts of AE, whereas in pressurization by the urethane sleeve, cracks extended stepwise with no such large drops in hole pressure and no bursts of AE. The difference in crack extension in the two experiments can be analyzed by comparing relations between crack length and stress intensity factor of mode I at a crack tip. The observation and analysis indicate that existence of fracturing fluid like water helps initiated cracks to extend rapidly and widely in hydraulic fracturing in actual HDR fields. Received September 12, 1996, accepted January 24, 1997     

Time domain scattering of acoustic plane waves by vertical faults

Acoustic plane wave scattering at a vertical fault structure represents the simplest two-dimensional model of geophysical exploration that can be investigated by analytical techniques. The exact and complete solution, in the time domain, for the scattering of the pressure field of an acoustic plane wave normally incident on a vertical fault structure is determined adapting previous results given for the frequency domain. The wave form of the pressure field of the incident plane wave is expressed by a causal time function that decays exponentially with time at every point above the fault (z<0). The zero-order term of the scattered pressure field has been computed above the fault. This zero-order term consists of an inverse Fourier transform which reduces to a closed expression forx=0, and contains an integral of a Hankel function forx#0. The high frequency part of the inverse Fourier transform forx#0 is computed employing asymptotic expressions for the Hankel function. The integral of the asymptotic expression of the Hankel function reduces to: (i) a Fresnel integral which contains a plane wave term for |x||z|; and (ii) a stationary point plane wave term plus an upper limit term for |x|=O(|z|). For the latter case the plane wave term cancels, leaving a cylindrical wave emanated from the edge of the fault. The wave front is well defined in shape, in phase and in amplitude. The amplitude of the scattered field is discontinuous atx=0, presents a jump and is well defined for |x| small and is rather smooth for |x| large.