Numerical Simulation of Andhra Severe Cyclone (2003): Model Sensitivity to the Boundary Layer and Convection Parameterization

The Andhra severe cyclonic storm (2003) is simulated to study its evolution, structure, intensity and movement using the Penn State/NCAR non-hydrostatic mesoscale atmospheric model MM5. The model is used with three interactive nested domains at 81, 27 and 9 km resolutions covering the Bay of Bengal and adjoining Indian Peninsula. The performance of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) and convective parameterization on the simulated features of the cyclone is studied by conducting sensitivity experiments. Results indicate that while the boundary layer processes play a significant role in determining both the intensity and movement, the convective processes especially control the movement of the model storm. The Mellor-Yamada scheme is found to yield the most intensive cyclone. While the combination of Mellor-Yamada (MY) PBL and Kain-Fritsch 2 (KF2) convection schemes gives the most intensive storm, the MRF PBL with KF2 convection scheme produces the best simulation in terms of intensity and track. Results of the simulation with the combination of MRF scheme for PBL and KF2 for convection show the evolution and major features of a mature tropical storm. The model has very nearly simulated the intensity of the storm though slightly overpredicted. Simulated core vertical temperature structure, winds at different heights, vertical winds in and around the core, vorticity and divergence fields at the lower and upper levels—all support the characteristics of a mature storm. The model storm has moved towards the west of the observed track during the development phase although the location of the storm in the initial and final phases agreed with the observations. The simulated rainfall distribution associated with the storm agreed reasonably with observations.     

Constraining the stepwise migration of the eastern Tibetan Plateau margin by apatite fission track thermochronology

Granites sampled from Garzê-Litang thrust, Longmen Shan thrust, Garzê and Litang strike-slip faults in the eastern Tibetan Plateau have been analyzed with apatite fission track thermochronological method in this study. The measured fission track apparent ages, combined with the simulated annealing mod- eling of the thermal history, have been used to reconstruct the thermal evolutionary histories of the samples and interpret the active history of the thrusts and faults in these areas. Thermal history mod- eling shows that earlier tectonic cooling occurred in the Garzê-Litang thrust in Miocene (~20―16 Ma) whereas the later cooling occurred mainly in the Longmen Shan thrust since ~5 Ma. Our study sug- gests that the margin of eastern Tibetan Plateau was extended by stages: through strike-slip faults deformations and related thrusts, the upper crust formed the Garzê-Litang margin in the Miocene epoch and then moved to the Longmen Shan margin since ~5 Ma. During this process, the deformations of different phases in the eastern Tibetan Plateau were absorbed by the thrusts within them and conse- quently the tectonic events of long-distance slip and extrusion up to hundreds of kilometers have not been found.     

From source terrains of the Eastern Alps to the Molasse Basin: Detrital record of non-steady-state exhumation

Fission-track cooling ages of detrital apatite (AFT) in the East Alpine Molasse Basin display age groups corresponding to geodynamic events in the orogen since Jurassic times. These age groups are typical of certain thermotectonic units, which formed a patchwork in the Swiss and Eastern Alps. By a combination of petrographic and thermochronologic data, progressive erosion of source terrains is monitored in different catchments since the Oligocene. The AFT cooling ages show a decrease in lag time until when rapidly cooled debris derived from tectonically exhumed core complexes became exposed. After termination of tectonic exhumation, lag times of debris derived from the core complexes increased. Neither on the scale of the entire Eastern Alps, or on the scale of individual catchments, steady-state exhumation is observed, due to the highly dynamic changes of exhumation rates since Late Eocene collision.     

Late Neoproterozoic to Holocene thermal history of the Precambrian Georgetown Inlier,northeast Australia

Carboniferous‐Permian volcanic complexes and isolated patches of Upper Jurassic — Lower Cretaceous sedimentary units provide a means to qualitatively assess the exhumation history of the Georgetown Inlier since ca 350 Ma. However, it is difficult to quantify its exhumation and tectonic history for earlier times. Thermochronological methods provide a means for assessing this problem. Biotite and alkali feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and apatite fission track data from the inlier record a protracted and non‐linear cooling history since ca 750 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages vary from 380 to 735 Ma, apatite fission track ages vary between 132 and 258 Ma and mean track lengths vary between 10.89 and 13.11 μm. These results record up to four periods of localised accelerated cooling within the temperature range of ～320–60°C and up to ～14 km of crustal exhumation in parts of the inlier since the Neoproterozoic, depending on how the geotherm varied with time. Accelerated cooling and exhumation rates (0.19–0.05 km/10⁶ years) are observed to have occurred during the Devonian, late Carboniferous‐Permian and mid‐Cretaceous — Holocene periods. A more poorly defined Neoproterozoic cooling event was possibly a response to the separation of Laurentia and Gondwana. The inlier may also have been reactivated in response to Delamerian‐age orogenesis. The Late Palaeozoic events were associated with tectonic accretion of terranes east of the Proterozoic basement. Post mid‐Cretaceous exhumation may be a far‐field response to extensional tectonism at the southern and eastern margins of the Australian plate. The spatial variation in data from the present‐day erosion surface suggests small‐scale fault‐bounded blocks experienced variable cooling histories. This is attributed to vertical displacement of up to ～2 km on faults, including sections of the Delaney Fault, during Late Palaeozoic and mid‐Cretaceous times.     

冬季菲律宾周围对流活动与北太平洋风暴轴联系的数值模拟

通过利用IAP 2-L AGCM进行的数值模拟,进一步揭示了冬季菲律宾周围对流活动异常对北太平洋风暴轴变化的影响及其二者联系的物理机制和物理过程。结果表明:当菲律宾周围对流活动增强时,在500 hPa等压面图上强迫产生一个自赤道西太平洋开始,经我国东部、堪察加半岛、白令海,到美国西海岸的异常波列;位于西太平洋的经向三圈环流增强,位置北移;在风暴轴的西半部和东端斜压性增强;从而导致了北太平洋风暴轴增强、北抬、东伸。     

冬季西北太平洋海表温度异常对太平洋风暴轴影响的数值试验

采用Ｔ２１Ｌ５大气环流模式，详细探讨了冬季西北太平洋海表温度异常对太平洋风暴轴的影响。结果表明：冬季西北太平洋暖海表温度异常能显著增强异常区北侧及下游地区的斜压性，天气尺度扰动方差、扰动动能以及涡动热量通量等也在此风暴轴入口区得到增强，由此揭示出外热源强迫对太平洋风暴轴的维持和发展起重要作用。     

一种改进的高铁无砟轨道检测方法

无砟轨道的静态检测通常是沿着轨道线路对轨枕逐个检测,这样做虽然能够满足工程精度的需要但是工作效率较低。文中通过比较不同的插值方法的优缺点,最终选择通过三次样条插值对静态轨道检测的隔轨数据进行处理,并结合贵广高铁检测工程在采用不同的测量方案下,对高铁线路直线段和曲线段的插值结果进行分析。并且用内插后的轨检数据结果与连续测量后得到的轨检数据进行比较,得出不同条件下最有效、最准确的测量与数据处理的实施方案,工程实践证明,文中提出的检测与数据处理手段具有准确性和高效性。     

青藏高原的剥蚀与构造抬升*

利用宇宙成因核素¹⁰ Be和²⁶ Al对西昆仑和可可西里北部地表基岩的剥蚀速率进行了测定,得到的结果是:西昆仑的平均剥蚀速率为12m/Ma, 可可西里北部的平均剥蚀速率为15m/Ma。裂变径迹和宇宙成因核素这两种手段所得到的平均剥蚀速率的时间尺度是不同的,前者得到的是几个至数十百万年的平均剥蚀速率,而后者得到的是十几至几十万年的平均剥蚀速率。比较通过这两种手段得到的青藏高原北部和中部的平均剥蚀速率可以发现其平均剥蚀速率从20Ma以来的100m/Ma以上减少到了最近几十万年以来的10m/Ma,我们认为这一剥蚀速率下降的趋势反映了青藏高原从中新世到第四纪晚期构造活动的减弱,据此推断青藏高原北部和中部的隆升应该主要发生在第四纪晚期之前,而不是在最近的几十万年。     

冬季北太平洋风暴轴和北大西洋风暴轴的协同变化及其与同期海气系统的空间耦合关系

基于1960~2014年NCEP/NCAR（美国环境预报中心和国家大气研究中心）的逐日再分析资料以及NCPC（美国气候预报中心）的海温资料和大气环流及海洋指数,通过风暴轴指数、经验证交分解（EOF）等方法,研究了冬季北半球北太平洋风暴轴（PST）和北大西洋风暴轴（AST）之间不同时间尺度下的协同变化特征,并利用回归和相关分析对风暴轴的年际和年代际协同变化特征与同期海气系统的空间耦合关系进行了探讨。主要结论概括如下:（1）从所定义的冬季北半球两大洋风暴轴的纬度、经度和强度指数来看:三个指数均存在明显的年际变化和年代际变化,其中年际分量的方差贡献远大于年代际分量;对于单个风暴轴来讲,无论是滤波方差场原始序列还是其年际分量和年代际分量序列,每个风暴轴各自的纬度指数和经度指数均呈显著正相关,表明每个风暴轴各自的南北位移和东西位移具有很好的协同性;虽然从原始序列来看,两个风暴轴之间各指数之间的相关关系均并不显著,但是对于年际分量序列和年代际分量序列,两个风暴轴之间均具有显著的协同性变化,其中,在年际尺度上,两者仅强度变化之间具有显著的正相关,而在年代际尺度上,AST的经度（纬度）变化与PST的强度（纬度及强度）变化均具有显著的负相关。（2）EOF结果表明,两个风暴轴之间协同变化的空间结构在年际尺度上反映的主要是强度的变化,第一模态为两者强度在其气候平均位置附近同时减弱（增强）并伴随AST整体和PST东部均略有北抬（南压）,第二模态为两者强度在其气候平均位置附近同时减弱（增强）并仅伴随AST整体略有南压（北抬）;而在年代际尺度上,第一模态为AST整体偏北（南）中东部偏强（弱）与PST整体偏南（北）中东部偏弱（强）的反位相协同变化;第二模态为两个风暴轴的强度在其气候平均位置附近同时增强（减弱）的一致性协同变化。（3）进一步分析表明,两个风暴轴之间以不同模态协同变化时,与同期海温、遥相关型及环流异常等海气系统之间均呈现出很好的空间耦合关系,但具有不同的特点。     

Unravelling a long-term multi-event thermal record in the cratonic interior of southern Finland through apatite fission track thermochronology

Apatite fission track thermochronology (AFTT) has been applied to the Precambrian basement rocks of southern Finland in an attempt to detect within the long-term thermal history, thermal manifestations in the cratonic interior of tectonic events at the craton margin. The likely subtle magnitude of these manifestations means that AFTT is a useful technique for such a study due to its low temperature sensitivity. A total of 10 samples have been analysed, generating AFTT ages, length statistics and thermal models. Ages range from 313 ± 22 to 848 ± 60 Ma and mean track lengths range from 11.0 ± 1.6 to 13.3 ± 1.8 μm. The data suggests the presence of thermal overprinting of an earlier cooling event. Thermal modelling produces similar results for all samples and typically contains the following major events: (1) two phases of Late-Proterozoic cooling, (2) Late-Silurian re-heating, (3) Cenozoic cooling. The first phase of Late-Proterozoic cooling is interpreted to be due to aulacogen inversion as a result of stress propagation from the collisional tectonics of the Sveconorwegian orogeny. The second phase is discussed in relation to passive margin formation and possible asthenospheric diaper induced relief and exhumation. The Late-Silurian re-heating coincides in time with a proposed Caledonian foreland basin. The Cenozoic cooling is interpreted to represent the latest exposure resulting from North Atlantic Margin formation induced uplift and associated denudation.