Slow mass movement in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Nepal Himalaya

Abstract   The rates of the accumulated and continuous displacement of solifluction lobes in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Nepal Himalaya, were determined using glass fiber tubes and a strain probe. Ground temperature, precipitation and soil moisture were monitored at two sites, whose altitude differed by approximately 100 m, to understand the solifluction process. The average movement rate of the glass fiber tubes on a 31° slope at altitudes of 5412–5414 m a.s.l. was approximately 11 mm/year, being almost threefold greater than that observed on a 22° slope at 5322–5325 ma.s.l. There was no significant difference in the depth of displacement at these sites. The continuous displacement measurement near the ground surface at 5414 m showed permanent downslope movement from early July. Such movement may be attributed to additional moisture supply during the monsoon season. The amplitude of the displacement cycle was highest at the ground surface, and decreased to virtually zero at and below 20 cm in depth. Probable factors leading to the relatively slow rates of downslope displacement at the surface and depth at the studied altitudes are the lack of concurrence of the freeze–thaw cycles and the high moisture condition in the soil, and the low moisture retention capacity of the soil because of steep slopes and superficial desiccation. The rate of displacement may be more pronounced at altitudes above 5600 m because of the freeze–thaw cycles during the summer season.     

锦州地震台体积式钻孔应变仪的映震情况

论述了张北MS6.2、沈阳ML4.1、内蒙古ML5.9、日本北海道MS8.0、俄蒙中交界MS7.9、青海昆仑山MS8.1地震前后,锦州地震台体积式钻孔应变仪观测震前异常的变化规律。通过计算潮汐因子、振幅因子、3点线性平滑滤波残差值等方法,识别异常。结果表明,体应变异常资料与地震有一定的相关性。     

Assessing the Comparability of Ammonium,Nitrate and Sulfate Concentrations Measured by Three Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Airborne fine particulate matter across the United States is monitored by different networks, the three prevalent ones presently being the Clean Air Status and Trend Network (CASTNet), the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment Network (IMPROVE) and the Speciation and Trend Network (STN). If combined, these three networks provide speciated fine particulate data at several hundred locations throughout the United States. Yet, differences in sampling protocols and samples handling may not allow their joint use. With these concerns in mind, the objective of this study is to assess the spatial and temporal comparability of the sulfate, nitrate and ammonium concentrations reported by each of these networks. One of the major differences between networks is the sampling frequency they adopted. While CASTNet measures pollution levels on seven-day integrated samples, STN and IMPROVE data pertain to 24-hour samples collected every three days. STN and IMPROVE data therefore exhibit considerably more short-term variability than their CASTNet counterpart. We show that, despite their apparent incongruity, averaging the data with a window size of four to six weeks is sufficient to remove the effects of differences in sampling frequency and duration and allow meaningful comparison of the signals reported by the three networks of concern. After averaging, all the sulfate and, to a lesser degree, ammonium concentrations reported are fairly similar. Nitrate concentrations, on the other hand, are still divergent. We speculate that this divergence originates from the different types of filters used to collect particulate nitrate. Finally, using a rotated principal component technique (RPCA), we determined the number and the geographical organization of the significant temporal modes of variation (clusters) detected by each network for the three pollutants of interest. For sulfate and ammonium, the clusters’ geographical boundaries established for each network and the modes of variations within each cluster seem to correspond. RPCA erformed on nitrate concentrations revealed that, for the CASTNet and IMPROVE networks, the modes of variation do not correspond to unified geographical regions but are found more sporadically. For STN, the clustered areas are unified and easily delineable. We conclude that the possibility of jointly using the data collected by CASTNet, IMPROVE and STN has to be weighed pollutant by pollutant. While sulfate and ammonium data show some potential for joint use, at this point, combining the nitrate data from these monitoring networks may not be a judicious choice.     

Strain accumulation in sand due to cyclic loading: drained triaxial tests

Our aim is the prediction of the accumulation of strain and/or stress under cyclic loading with many (thousands to millions) cycles and relatively small amplitudes. A high-cycle constitutive model is used for this purpose. Its formulas are based on numerous cyclic tests. This paper describes drained tests with triaxial compression and uniaxial stress cycles. The influence of the strain amplitude, the average stress, the density, the cyclic preloading history and the grain size distribution on the direction and the intensity of strain accumulation is discussed.     

Tidal Stress/Strain and the b-values of Acoustic Emissions at the Underground Research Laboratory, Canada

The correlation between the b-values of acoustic emissions (AEs) and the phase of the moon was investigated at the Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in Canada. The same data as those used in Iwata (2002) were examined, which showed that the occurrence of AEs is correlated with the phase of the moon. It was expected, therefore, that the b-value of the AEs would also be sensitive to tidal stress/strain fluctuations. We investigated the variation of the b-values as a function of the phase of the moon. Results show that b-values immediately following the times of full/new moon are higher than those at other times. Using AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) and random (Monte Carlo) simulations, it was confirmed that this feature is statistically significant. We also investigated whether or not there was a change in the b-values immediately before the times of full/new moon, but no statistically significant change was observed. The results suggest that the effect of stress/strain fluctuations on AE occurrences at the URL is asymmetric to the times of full/new moon.All authors are members of the Academic Robotics Group. In listing The Academic Robotics Group, the authors are endeavoring to place each of the participant institutions on an equal footing in terms of effort and authorship. M. A. Talamini is serving as presenter.     

形变数字化观测曲线畸变与处理——兼论资料预处理中遇到的一些问题

数字化形变台站日常下载、处理直至管理数据,都应用《数字化通讯控制软件》、《形变前兆台站(网)数据处理系统》及《形变前兆数据库服务软件(台站版)》等三个软件交互进行,在实际使用过程中会遇到一些棘手的问题。本文结合我台的观测工作的实践,总结经验,以供台站同行共享。     

吉林省辉南地区含金韧性剪切带的构造地质特征

吉林省辉南地区韧性剪切带岩石变形特征复杂多样。通过对剪切带内岩石的有限应变测量和变形环境的分析,认为本区韧性剪切带发育在地壳浅层次的低温低压环境,为逆冲推覆韧性变形,其变形变质作用相当于低绿片岩相,具有独特的构造组合和岩石变形特征,差异应力值为４５－５４ＭＰａ,剪切位移量约为１２．５ｋｍ,形成时间为中元古宙。     

A Comparative Study of Landsat‐7 and Landsat‐8 Data Using Image Processing Methods for Hydrothermal Alteration Mapping

Comparing spaceborne satellite images of Landsat‐8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat‐7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) was undertaken to investigate the relative accuracy of mapping hydrothermal alteration minerals. The study investigated the northern part of Rabor, which contains copper mineralization occurrences, and is located in the Kerman Cenozoic magmatic assemblage (KCMA), Iran. Image processing methods of band ratio, principal component analysis (PCA), and spectral angle mapper (SAM) were used to map the distribution of hydrothermally altered rocks associated with the porphyry copper mineralization. The band ratio combination of both sensors for mapping altered areas showed similar outcomes. PCA exposed variations in the spatial distribution of hydroxyl‐bearing minerals. The representation of hydrothermal areas using OLI data was more satisfactory than when using ETM+ data. SAM analysis found similar results for mapping hydroxyl‐bearing zones. Verification of the results came through ground investigation and laboratory studies. Rock samples (n = 56) were collected to validate results using thin sections, X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and spectral analyses. Field observations and laboratory analysis revealed that phyllic and propylitic alterations dominate the alteration zones in the study area. Argillic and iron oxides/hydroxides alterations were observed to a lesser degree. The results indicate that alteration maps prepared by OLI data using PCA for visual interpretation are more suitable than those of ETM+ due to a higher radiometric resolution and lower interference between vegetation and altered areas. As the spectral bandwidth of ETM+ band 7 covers absorption feature of propylitic alteration, better mapping of propylitic alterations is achieved using ETM+ data.     

火山岩坡残积土地区暴雨滑坡泥石流的形成机理

暴雨条件诱发的浅层坡残积土质斜坡破坏的机理受控于土体在低有效围压条件下的应力应变特性。1993年11月4～5日,香港大屿山地区特大局部性暴雨导致在120km2范围内产生自然滑坡泥石流800余处,且绝大多数发生于火山岩风化坡残积土地区。本文对火山岩风化坡残积土开展了室内偏压固结不排水剪和偏压固结常剪应力排水剪试验,揭示了该类土的应力应变特性;在此基础上,分析了暴雨滑坡泥石流的形成机理和过程。     

主成分分析法在判定新立矿井海水渗入中的应用

为了判定新立矿井海水渗入情况,在详细的水文地质调查、取样测试的基础上,应用主成分分析法将7个水质测试指标进行了降维处理,分析了主成分的实际意义,并根据综合主成分指标进行了水样的分类。结果表明,7个指标可以综合为两个主成分,Cl^-,Mg^2＋,Na^＋和SO4^2-四个变量在第一主成分上具有类似的、较高的载荷值,反映海水的浓缩效应,K^＋在第二主成分上显示较高的载荷值,反映离子交换吸附效应;矿坑涌水中K^＋、Na^＋等指标即可反映海水渗入的物理、化学特征,通过涌水水质的监测可以判定海水渗入情况。