Basinga: A cell-by-cell GIS toolbox for computing basin average scaling factors,cosmogenic production rates and denudation rates

The calculation of denudation rates from the measured cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in river sediments requires assumptions and approximations. Several different approaches and numerical tools are available in the literature. A widely used analytical approach represents the muogenic production with one or two exponentials, assumes the attenuation length of muons to be constant and also neglects temporal variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The denudation rates are then calculated directly and analytically from the measured concentrations. A second numerical and iterative approach was more recently proposed and considers a more rigorous muogenic production law based on pre-calculated variable attenuation length of muons and accounts for temporal changes of the magnetic field. It also assumes a specific distribution of denudation rates throughout the basin and uses an iterative approach to calculate the basin average denudation rates. We tested the two approaches across several natural basins and found that both approaches provide similar denudation results. Hence, assuming exponential muogenic production and constant attenuation length of muons in the rock has little impact on the derived denudation rates. Therefore, unless a priori known distributions of denudation rates are to be tested, there does not appear to be any particular gain from using the second iterative method which is computationally less effective. Based on these findings, we developed and describe here Basinga , a new ArcGIS® and QGIS toolbox which computes the basin average scaling factors, cosmogenic production rates and denudation rates for several tens of drainage basins together. Basinga follows either the Lal/Stone or the Lifton/Sato/Dunai scaling schemes and includes several optional tools for correcting for topographic shielding, ice cover and lithology. We have also developed an original method for correcting the cosmogenic production rates for past variations in the Earth's magnetic field. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mainshock-consistent ground motion record selection for aftershock sequences

In recent years, the additional risk posed to the built environment due to aftershock sequences and triggered events has been brought to attention, and several efforts have been directed towards developing fragility functions for structures in damaged conditions. Despite this rise of interest, a rather fundamental component for such tasks, namely that of aftershock ground motion record selection, has remained under-scrutinized. Herein, we propose a pragmatic procedure that can be applied for the selection of mainshock-aftershock ground motion pairs using consistent causal parameters and accounting for the correlation between their spectral accelerations. In addition, a structural analysis strategy that can be employed for the analytical derivation of damage-dependent fragility functions is outlined and presented through a case study. A more conventional back-to-back IDA analysis is also carried out in order to compare the derived damage-dependent fragility functions with the ones obtained with the proposed procedure. The results indicate that record selection remains a crucial factor even when assessing the structural vulnerability of damaged buildings, and should thus be treated cautiously.     

Resistant rock layers amplify cosmogenically-determined erosion rates

Prior numerical modeling work has suggested that incision into sub-horizontal layered stratigraphy with variable erodibility induces non-uniform erosion rates even if base-level fall is steady and sustained. Erosion rates of cliff bands formed in the stronger rocks in a stratigraphic sequence can greatly exceed the rate of base-level fall. Where quartz in downstream sediment is sourced primarily from the stronger, cliff-forming units, erosion rates estimated from concentrations of cosmogenic beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) in detrital sediment will reflect the locally high erosion rates in retreating cliff bands. We derive theoretical relationships for threshold hillslopes and channels described by the stream-power incision model as a quantitative guide to the potential magnitude of this amplification of ¹⁰Be-derived erosion rates above the rate of base-level fall. Our analyses predict that the degree of erosion rate amplification is a function of bedding dip and either the ratio of rock erodibility in alternating strong and weak layers in the channel network, or the ratio of cliff to intervening-slope gradient on threshold hillslopes. We test our predictions in the cliff-and-bench landscape of the Grand Staircase in southern Utah, USA. We show that detrital cosmogenic erosion rates in this landscape are significantly higher (median 300 m/Ma) than the base-level fall rate (~75 m/Ma) determined from the incision rate of a trunk stream into a ~0.6 Ma basalt flow emplaced along a 16 km reach of the channel. We infer a 3–6-fold range in rock strength from near-surface P-wave velocity measurements. The approximately four-fold difference between the median ¹⁰Be-derived erosion rate and the long-term rate of base-level fall is consistent with our model and the observation that the stronger, cliff-forming lithologies in this landscape are the primary source of quartz in detrital sediments. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of seismic strain rates on the co- and post-seismic response of civil engineering buildings

The elastic properties of buildings change during earthquakes. In particular, fundamental frequencies are observed to shift rapidly during the co-seismic phase and to recover slowly once the strong motion has finished. Although the frequency shift is usually correlated with loading amplitude, the co-seismic frequency variations observed in real structures are not only determined by the absolute amplitude of the strain value. In order to interpret the uncertainties of the prediction of engineering demand parameters for a given intensity measure, we analyze the influence of loading rates (i.e., strain rates) on resonance frequency variations in buildings with different structural states during the loading and unloading phases caused by seismic events. Our observations suggest the existence of a strain rate threshold that activates the nonlinear response of the structure, characterizing the activation of cracking and indicating a strong nexus between the elastic structural response, structural state, and the loading process.     

郯庐断裂带安徽段及“霍山窗”断层活动特征与地震关联性研究

利用郯庐断裂带安徽段及“霍山窗”区域的跨断层水准测量资料,运用断层形变累积率及年滑动速率比方法计算各测线近20 a的观测数据,研究区域内断层活动及能量积累的整体空间演化特征,梳理各测点所跨断裂带的断层形变特征及变化过程,从空间分布和时间演化的角度探讨断层活动特征与安徽及邻近地区中强地震的关联性。结果显示：1）郯庐断裂带安徽段断层形变累积率总体高于“霍山窗”区域,震前存在高值聚集、区域分界、高密度低值梯度带等特征,显示震前的应力积累背景;2）安徽地区断层活动明显受郯庐断裂带整体活动的影响,区域性差异和阶段性变化显著;3）断层形变的年滑动速率比异常对地震活动的判断具有一定的指示作用,主要表现为震前2个月~1 a的高值异常及多个测点的群体性异常等特征,随着震级的增大,异常分布范围和变化幅度均有所增大。     

大面积连续分布是页岩层系油气的标志特征——以鄂尔多斯盆地为例

非常规页岩层系油气资源大面积连续分布,是未来全球油气供应的重要接替领域。提出了页岩层系油气的地质内涵,即烃源层系生成、滞留或就近聚集在生烃层系内部或紧邻生烃层系的致密储集层中,利用新技术可实现工业开采的连续分布油气资源,包括源储一体型和源储紧邻型两种资源类型。鄂尔多斯盆地是致密油气、页岩油气等非常规页岩层系油气资源的有利发育区,中生界三叠系延长组、上古生界石炭系—二叠系源储接触面积大,页岩油气、致密油气主要在源内或近源大面积连续分布,具有“普遍含油气、储层致密、低压、低丰度”的典型地质特征,具有稳定平缓的构造面貌、较高成熟源岩广布式生排烃和大面积致密储层叠置分布的有利成藏地质背景,致密油气“甜点区(段)”主要受生烃中心和厚层砂岩分布共同控制,页岩油气“甜点区(段)”主要受富有机质页岩规模、热演化程度、天然裂缝等共同控制。随着页岩层系油气的深入勘探开发,以大面积连续分布为标志特征的页岩层系油气地质理论将深入发展,成为石油天然气地质学的下一次大飞跃。     

The Light Regime Effect on Triacylglycerol Accumulation of Isochrysis zhangjiangensis

Stress state of microalgal cells is caused under unfavorable conditions such as disordered light regime and depleted nitrogen. The stress state can impair photosynthetic efficiency, inhibit cell growth and result in the accumulation of triacylglycerol(TAG) from protective mechanisms. Continuous light or nitrogen starvation was applied on microalgae and performed effectively on inducing TAG production. To evaluate the light regime effect on inducing TAG production, the effect of different light regimes on nitrogen-starved Isochrysis zhangjiangensis was investigated in this work. The continuous light and nitrogen starvation elevated TAG content of biomass by 73% and 193%, respectively. Furthermore, the TAG accumulation of I. zhangjiangensis cell under nitrogen starvation decreased under aggravated stress from continuous illumination. Our results demonstrated that culturing the cells with 14 L: 10 D light regime under nitrogen starvation is the optimal mode to achieve maximal accumulation of TAG. A recovery in light regime was necessary for I. zhangjiangensis cultivation.     

Prediction of scour depth at piers with debris accumulation effects using linear genetic programming

Abstract

Exact evaluation of scour depth around piers under debris accumulation is crucial for the safe design of pier structures. Experimental studies on scouring around pier bridges with debris accumulation have been conducted to estimate the maximum scour depth using various empirical relationships. However, due to the oversimplification of a complex process, the proposed relationships have not always been able to accurately predict the pier scour depth. This research proposes linear genetic programming (LGP) approach as an extension of the genetic programming to predict the scour depth around bridge piers. Among the artificial intelligence techniques, LGP and locally weighted linear regression (LWLR) models have not been used to predict the scour depth at bridge piers. Literature experimental data were collected and used to develop the models. The performance of the LGP method was compared with gene-expression programming, LWLR, multilinear regression and empirical equations using rigorous statistical criteria. The correlation coefficient (R) and the root mean squared error (RMSE) were (R?=?0.962, RMSE =0.31) and (R?=?0.885, RMSE =0.542) for the LGP and LWLR, respectively. The results demonstrated the superiority of the LGP method for increasing the accuracy of the predicted scour depth in comparison with the other models.     

Impact of vehicles on benthic macrofauna on a subtropical sand beach

Our study aimed to identify possible relationships between the structure of the benthic macrofauna and the intense use of vehicles in Cassino Beach. Physical changes in the sediment were identified, with high compaction in the sector most affected by the vehicles, especially during the summer. The benthic macrofauna was significantly affected by vehicles, with lower densities observed in the most impacted sector, mainly in the summer, unlike the control sector, where higher densities were observed during the pre-summer and summer. We concluded that the vehicle traffic changes the physical environment of the beach and consequently affects the benthic community in the face of this disturbance. We conclude that the benthic macrofauna is highly impacted by vehicle traffic at Cassino Beach, mainly in the period with the highest traffic, and alternatives are needed for this impact, helping to recover this ecosystem.     

Spatio-temporal variability of benthic macroalgae in a coral reef system highly influenced by fluvial discharge: Veracruz,Gulf of Mexico

The Veracruz Reef System, in the southern Gulf of Mexico, is a suitable area for the study of the temporal and spatial variability of macroalgae abundance, at reef settings influenced by the fluvial discharge of the Jamapa River, and by human activities in the city and port of Veracruz. With this purpose, the bottom cover of each morpho-functional group of benthic macroalgae (frondoses, turf, and crustose corallines), and hermatypic corals, was determined at ten selected coral reefs, on a seasonal basis (rainy and dry seasons), for the 2009–2015 period. The average cover of benthic macroalgae was high (53.1%), with turf as the dominant morpho-functional group (31.9%), as in several reef ecosystems in the tropical Atlantic, followed by crustose corallines (15.2%), and frondoses (6.1%). Although turf macroalgae is dominant, due to their high temporal and spatial variability, the Veracruz Reef System could not be considered to be in a stable state, but just in an intermediate unstable equilibrium state, which is highly influenced by a high sediment load. As expected, nearshore reefs presented higher macroalgae covers, and unexpectedly, the outer-shelf reefs presented the highest cover of frondoses. Despite fluvial discharge influence, no differences in cover were found between the rainy and dry seasons. There was a negative and significantly correlation between the cover of frondoses and turf, which suggests that the driver/s of the abundance of these macroalgae, act in opposite ways for each group. Three clusters of reefs, defined by community structure and conservation degree, were determined: nearshore or degraded, offshore or moderately conserved, and conserved; and the entire Veracruz Reef System is considered to be in a moderately state of conservation.