A preliminary investigation of strong-motion data from the French Antilles

Strong-motion networks have been operating in the Caribbean region since the 1970s, however, until the mid-1990s only a few analogue stations were operational and the quantity of data recorded was very low. Since the mid-1990s, digital accelerometric networks have been established on islands within the region. At present there are thought to be about 160 stations operating in this region with a handful on Cuba, 65 on the French Antilles (mainly Guadeloupe and Martinique), eight on Jamaica, 78 on Puerto Rico (plus others on adjacent islands) and four on Trinidad.After briefly summarising the available data from the Caribbean islands, this article is mainly concerned with analysing the data that has been recorded by the networks operating on the French Antilles in terms of their distribution with respect to magnitude, source-to-site distance, focal depth and event type; site effects at certain stations; and also with respect to their predictability by ground motion estimation equations developed using data from different regions of the world. More than 300 good quality triaxial acceleration time-histories have been recorded on Guadeloupe and Martinique at a large number of stations from earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 4.8, however, most of the records are from considerable source-to-site distances. From the data available it is found that many of the commonly-used ground motion estimation equations for shallow crustal earthquakes poorly estimate the observed ground motions on the two islands; ground motions on Guadeloupe and Martinique have smaller amplitudes and are more variable than expected. This difference could be due to regional dependence of ground motions because of, for example, differing tectonics or crustal structures or because the ground motions so far recorded are, in general, from smaller earthquakes and greater distances than the range of applicability of the investigated equations.     

Comments on: ‘The Neutral, Barotropic Planetary Boundary Layer, Capped by a Low-Level Inversion’ by G. D. Hess, Boundary-Layer Meteorology (2004) 110, pp. 319–355

Precision measurements indicate that the stability capping of the neutral planetary boundary layer (PBL) that leads to a reduced PBL height is caused by the very stable upper part of the PBL, rather than by an overlying inversion. Radiative processes related to liquid water in boundary-layer clouds seem to play the key role for the formation of the stable upper PBL. The famous Leipzig Profile – generally considered as an example of a neutral PBL – has been included in Hess’s analysis because its PBL height is considerably lower than the ca. 3000 m to be expected by numerical models in truly neutral conditions. An analysis of the original observations reveals that the Leipzig PBL was stable and that it can be consistently treated as a ‘normal’ stable PBL with a height of ca. 700 m. A further finding is that the super-geostrophic PBL wind speed maxima predicted by almost all models are not observed in near-steady-state conditions. For the ‘ranking’ of analytical models versus numerical models, the comparisons with measurements show that the analytical models perform comparably well and even partially better than the numerical models.     

Saturation of the Large Aperture Scintillometer

The saturation aspects of a large aperture (0.3 m) scintillometer operating over a 10-km path were investigated. Measurements were made over mainly forested, hilly terrain with typical maximum sensible heat fluxes of 300–400 W m ⁻², and over flat terrain with mainly grass, and typical maximum heat fluxes of 100–150 W m⁻². Scintillometer-based fluxes were compared with eddy-correlation observations. Two different schemes for calculating the reduction of scintillation caused by saturation were applied: one based on the work of Hill and Clifford, the other based on Frehlich and Ochs. Without saturation correction, the scintillation fluxes were lower than the eddy-correlation fluxes; the saturation correction according to Frehlich and Ochs increased the scintillometer fluxes to an unrealistic level. Correcting the fluxes after the theory of the Hill and Clifford gave satisfying results     

A three-dimensional finite-element model of wind effects upon higher harmonics of the internal tide

A non-linear three-dimensional unstructured grid model of the M₂ tide in the shelf edge area off the west coast of Scotland is used to examine the spatial distribution of the M₂ internal tide and its higher harmonics in the region. In addition, the spatial variability of the tidally induced turbulent kinetic energy and associated mixing in the area are considered. Initial calculations involve only tidal forcing, although subsequent calculations are performed with up-welling and down-welling favourable winds to examine how these influence the tidal distribution (particularly the higher harmonics) and mixing in the region. Both short- and long-duration winds are used in these calculations. Tidal calculations show that there is significant small-scale spatial variability particularly in the higher harmonics of the internal tide in the region. In addition, turbulence energy and mixing exhibit appreciable spatial variability in regions of rapidly changing topography, with increased mixing occurring above seamounts. Wind effects significantly change the distribution of the M₂ internal tide and its higher harmonics, with appreciable differences found between up- and down-welling winds and long- and short-duration winds because of differences in mixing and the presence of wind-induced flows. The implications for model validation, particularly in terms of energy transfer to higher harmonics, and mixing are briefly discussed.     

The topographic bias by analytical continuation in physical geodesy

This study emphasizes that the harmonic downward continuation of an external representation of the Earth’s gravity potential to sea level through the topographic masses implies a topographic bias. It is shown that the bias is only dependent on the topographic density along the geocentric radius at the computation point. The bias corresponds to the combined topographic geoid effect, i.e., the sum of the direct and indirect topographic effects. For a laterally variable topographic density function, the combined geoid effect is proportional to terms of powers two and three of the topographic height, while all higher order terms vanish. The result is useful in geoid determination by analytical continuation, e.g., from an Earth gravity model, Stokes’s formula or a combination thereof.     

德国降水预报产品的应用和检验

利用德国降水预报输出的24和48h降水预报产品,对2005年1—12月巴音郭楞蒙古自治州(简称巴州,下同)9个气象站分别进行了降水预报效果的检验分析,统计分析其在各月、各季、年的降水预报能力,得出其空报率较大,准确率和漏报率较低,但对巴州南部地区的大降水天气有一定的指导意义。     

大气季节内振荡的数值模拟 II. 全球变暖的影响

利用中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室（LASG）发展的耦合气候模式FGOALS1.0_g控制试验、二氧化碳（CO2）浓度加倍试验模拟结果及实测结果（NCEP/NCAR逐日再分析资料）研究了全球变暖对大气季节内振荡（ISO）特征变化的影响。通过对比分析控制试验、二氧化碳浓度加倍试验模拟结果及观测结果发现:（1）FGOALS1.0_g耦合气候模式具有一定的模拟季节内振荡的能力，主要表现为模式能够模拟出ISO活跃区的位置、中心位置的季节变动以及强度的季节变化，其缺陷是模拟的ISO强度偏弱，模拟的ISO周期不显著且偏高频；（2）实测资料诊断分析得到的近六十年来偏暖阶段ISO活跃区强度增强及范围扩大可能不是人类活动影响使温室气体增加所导致的，它可能是大气ISO本身的年代际尺度变化；（3）近六十年来纬向东传波（西传波）的能量的存在增长（减少）趋势的主要原因可能是人类活动影响引起温室气体增加所导致的；（4）由于FGOALS1.0_g耦合气候模式在模拟ISO主周期及强度方面时存在不足，因此实测结果诊断分析得到的偏暖阶段ISO小波能量强，主周期范围大，偏冷阶段反之的结论用FGOALS1.0_g耦合气候模式尚难以证实。     

On the use of microtremor recordings in seismic microzonation

Experimental methods involving microtremor recordings are useful for determining site effects in regions of moderate seismic activity where ground motion records are few, and in urban or industrial contexts where the noise level is high. The aim of this study is to establish a microzonation by using the Nogoshi–Nakamura method,[1, 2] a simple experimental technique based on microtremor recordings. Since the physical phenomena underlying the method are only partially understood, the spectral responses obtained cannot be used alone. We, therefore, complete our experimental results by comparing them with the solutions of a one-dimensional numerical simulation (SHAKE91).[3, 4] The experimental programme was carried out on a plain near the Rhone Delta (South of France). H/V spectral ratios were calculated at 137 noise measurement points. In addition, we were able to compute the numerical transfer functions from soil columns defined by geotechnical characteristics inside the studied region. A comparison of the results obtained by the experimental and numerical methods showed that the fundamental frequencies are in good agreement, but that the amplitudes obtained by the two techniques are sometimes different. The analysis of H/V spectral ratios enabled us to establish maps to characterize the region: a resonance frequency map and maps of amplification levels as a function of frequency range, leading to a seismic microzonation for the whole of the region.     

Comparison of Galerkin-type discretization techniques for two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

A comparison of Standard Galerkin, Petrov-Galerkin, and Fully-Upwind Galerkin methods for the simulation of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media is presented. On the basis of the coupled pressure-saturation equations, a generalized formulation for all three finite element methods is derived and analysed. For flow in homogeneous media, the Petrov-Galerkin method gives excellent results. But this method fails miserably for problems with heterogeneous media. This is because it is not able to capture correctly processes that take place at interfaces when, for instance, the capillary pressure-saturation relationship after Brooks and Corey is assumed. The Fully-Upwind Galerkin method is superior to the Petrov-Galerkin approach because it is able to give correct results for flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous media for the two models of van Genuchten and Brooks-Corey. The widely used formulation which is correct for the homogeneous case cannot be used for heterogeneous media. Instead the straightforward approach of gradp_c in combination with a chord-slope technique must be utilized.     

Sodium beacon tip–tilt determination with Rayleigh-aided auxiliary telescope technique

The usefulness of tracking the Rayleigh portion of a mesospheric sodium laser guide star as reference for absolute tip–tilt recovery in the frame of the auxiliary telescopes technique is shown. This approach leads to the reduction of the ground occupation needed to attain a given sky coverage by more than one order of magnitude. Speed, tracking precision, and the number of auxiliary telescopes are also reduced, making this new approach a more attractive one. The use of a low-altitude Rayleigh spot reinforces the fundamental limitations affecting this and other techniques, thus degrading significantly the quality of the recovered tip–tilt. However, it is shown that, provided adequate care is taken in the collection and treatment of data, an interesting tilt signal can still be retrieved.