Elastic solutions for stresses in a transversely isotropic half‐space subjected to three‐dimensional buried parabolic rectangular loads

In many areas of engineering practice, applied loads are not uniformly distributed but often concentrated towards the centre of a foundation. Thus, loads are more realistically depicted as distributed as linearly varying or as parabola of revolution. Solutions for stresses in a transversely isotropic half‐space caused by concave and convex parabolic loads that act on a rectangle have not been derived. This work proposes analytical solutions for stresses in a transversely isotropic half‐space, induced by three‐dimensional, buried, linearly varying/uniform/parabolic rectangular loads. Load types include an upwardly and a downwardly linearly varying load, a uniform load, a concave and a convex parabolic load, all distributed over a rectangular area. These solutions are obtained by integrating the point load solutions in a Cartesian co‐ordinate system for a transversely isotropic half‐space. The buried depth, the dimensions of the loaded area, the type and degree of material anisotropy and the loading type for transversely isotropic half‐spaces influence the proposed solutions. An illustrative example is presented to elucidate the effect of the dimensions of the loaded area, the type and degree of rock anisotropy, and the type of loading on the vertical stress in the isotropic/transversely isotropic rocks subjected to a linearly varying/uniform/parabolic rectangular load. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observations on the ecological importance of salt marshes in the Cumberland Basin,a macrotidal estuary in the Bay of Fundy

The Cumberland Basin, a 118 km² estuary at the head of the Bay of Fundy which has an average tidal range of about 11m, contains large tracts of salt marsh (15% of the area below highest high water). Low marsh (below about 0·9 m above mean high water) is composed almost exclusively of Spartina alterniflora while the vegetation on high marsh is more diverse but dominated by Spartina patens. Because of its higher elevation, high marsh is flooded infrequently for short periods by only extreme high tides. Low marsh is inundated much more frequently by water as much as 4m deep for periods as long as 4 h per tide. Temporal variability in the occurrence of extreme tides influences the flooding frequency of high marsh for any given month and year. Using a modification of Smalley's method, the mean annual net aerial primary production (NAPP) of low and high marsh is estimated to be 272 and 172 g C m^?2, respectively. Vegetation turnover times average 1·0 and 2·0 y for low and high marsh, respectively. Because of abundant tidal energy, much of the low marsh production appears to be exported and distributed widely about the estuary. Since high levels of turbidity suppress phytoplankton production, salt marshes produce approximately half of the carbon fixed photosynthetically in the Cumberland Basin. It is concluded that salt marshes play a major ecological role in the Cumberland Basin.     

Progress in Earthquake Science and Technology in China: Review and Prospects (Ⅰ)

In the article the author looks back the hard development course and great progress in earth quake science and technology in China during the last near a half of century and expounds the following 3 aspects: (1) The strong desire of the whole society to mitigate seismic disasters and reduce the effect of earthquakes on social-economic live is a great driving force to push forward the development of earthquake science and technology in China; (2) To better ensure people‘ s life and property, sustainable economic development, and social stability is an essential purpose to drive the development of earthquake science and technology in China; and (3) To insist on the dialectical connection of setup of technical system for seismic monitoring with the scientific research of earthquakes and to better handle the relation between crucial task, current scientif ic level, and the feasibility are the important principles to advance the earthquake science and technology in China. Some success and many setbacks in earthquake disaster mitigation consistently enrich our knowledge regarding the complexity of the conditions for earthquake occurrence and the process of earthquake preparation, promote the reconstruction and modernization of technical system for earthquake monitoring, and deepen the scientific research of earthquakes. During the last 5 years, the improvement and modernization of technical system for earthquake monitoring have clearly provided the technical support to study and practice of earthquake prediction and pre caution, give prominence to key problems and broaden the field of scientific research of earth quakes. These have enabled us to get some new recognition of the conditions for earthquake oc currence and process of earthquake preparation, characteristics of seismic disaster, and mecha nism for earthquake generation in China‘s continent. The progress we have made not only en courages us to enhance the effectiveness of earthquake disaster mitigation, but also provides a basis for accelerating further development of earthquake science and technology in China in the new century, especially in the 10th five-year plan. Based on the history reviewed, the author sets forth a general requirement for develop ment of earthquake science and technology in China and brings out 10 aspects to be stressed and strengthened at present and in the future. These are: upgrade and setup of the network of digitized seismic observation; upgrade and setup of the network for observation of seismic pre cursors; setup of the network for observation of strong motion; setup of the laboratories for ex periment on seismic regime; establishment of technical system for seismic information, emer gency command and urgent rescue; research on short-term and imminent earthquake predic tion; research on intermediate- and long-term earthquake prediction; research on attenuation of seismic ground motion, mechanism for seismic disaster, and control on seismic disaster; ba sic research fields related to seismology and geoscience. We expect that these efforts will signifi cantly elevate the level of earthquake science and technology in China to the advanced interna tional level, improve theories, techniques, and methods for earthquake precaution and predic tion, and enhance the effectiveness of earthquake disaster mitigation.     

A stepwise method for determining the number of component distributions in a mixture

This paper considers the problem of estimatingm, the number of components in a finite mixture of distributions from a parametric family. A step-up procedure using the bootstrap method is proposed. Some properties of the procedure are illustrated with simulation studies. An example of the method, applied to orientation of beach clasts, is given.     

Survival,growth and shell deformities of copper- and cadmium-exposed mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) in brackish water

Mussels, Mytilus edulis L., were exposed to elevated concentrations of copper or cadmium in the laboratory, then placed in cages in the sea (salinity 7‰). One year later maximum lengths of the mussels were measured and shells screened for deformities. Growth was 0·6 cm year^?1 in the control cages and retarded in cages of exposed mussels. A total of 63% of cadmium-exposed and 46% of copper-exposed mussels had shell deformities. In the control cages 26% were deformed while in a natural population only 3% were deformed. The proportion of deformities to growth was inversely related. Low concentrations showed their injuriousness in this long-term test, probably due to the closing of the valves during exposure to high concentrations.     

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Macrobrachium petersi (Hilgendorf) in the Keiskamma River and estuary,South Africa

A dry (1979–1980) and a wet (1980–1981) season had a marked effect on the freshwater inflow into the Keiskamma estuary. Under low inflow conditions, which results in elevated salinities in the upper reaches, an upstream migration of adult Macrobrachium petersi (Hilgendorf) to freshwater takes place. During periods of increased river inflow adult M. petersi move downstream to the more saline reaches of the estuary. These two migratory responses have been interpreted as (a) a breeding migration under high inflow conditions which ensures that larvae are in close proximity to salinities that favour growth and development, and (b) an adult upstream migration back to freshwater to escape elevated estuarine salinities as a result of the low freshwater inflow.     

Numerical prediction of blast‐induced stress wave from large‐scale underground explosion

This paper presents a numerical model for predicting the dynamic response of rock mass subjected to large‐scale underground explosion. The model is calibrated against data obtained from large‐scale field tests. The Hugoniot equation of state for rock mass is adopted to calculate the pressure as a function of mass density. A piecewise linear Drucker–Prager strength criterion including the strain rate effect is employed to model the rock mass behaviour subjected to blast loading. A double scalar damage model accounting for both the compression and tension damage is introduced to simulate the damage zone around the charge chamber caused by blast loading. The model is incorporated into Autodyn3D through its user subroutines. The numerical model is then used to predict the dynamic response of rock mass, in terms of the peak particle velocity (PPV) and peak particle acceleration (PPA) attenuation laws, the damage zone, the particle velocity time histories and their frequency contents for large‐scale underground explosion tests. The computed results are found in good agreement with the field measured data; hence, the proposed model is proven to be adequate for simulating the dynamic response of rock mass subjected to large‐scale underground explosion. Extended numerical analyses indicate that, apart from the charge loading density, the stress wave intensity is also affected, but to a lesser extent, by the charge weight and the charge chamber geometry for large‐scale underground explosions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recharge and salinization in the Madrid Basin

The purpose of this work was to reinvestigate the existing hydrogeological conceptual model of the basin of Madrid, Spain. A cumulative chemical isotopic diagram which enabled the distinction between different groups of water as well as calculation of the mode of their blending was used for this investigation. It was found that the groups of discharge were lighter in their isotopic composition than that of recharge. The previous explanation of this fact, backed by carbon-14 dating, was the long residence time due to flow lines going down to depths of more than 1000 m. This flow model assumes homogenous conditions to these depths. This assumption can not be supported by evidence from deep wells. Thus a modified model is suggested which maintains homogenous conditions only to about 300 m and a deep confined aquifer below containing paleowater. The higher degree of depletion of this water has been explained by a colder climate on top of an altitude effect. Another interesting observation was the correlation between the isotopic composition of the rains, the month of the rain event and the composition of the recharge group groundwater. It could be seen that the winter rains resemble the groundwater composition, which shows that practically all the spring and summer rains were evapotranspirated.     

A laboratory test of the soil chemical submodels of two models of catchment acidification

Parameters for ion exchange selectivity and aluminium hydroxide dissolution in the soil chemical submodels used in applications of the Birkenes model and of MAGIC are compared and several discrepancies identified for organic soils. A laboratory column simulation of the soil chemical submodels is proposed and applied to soils from the Loch Dee area in Galloway. Experimental results were well predicted by a simplified version of MAGIC, with ion exchange selectivity parameters similar to those used in a previous simulation of one subcatchment of Loch Dee. The aluminium hydroxide dissolution parameter used previously was found to be too low for the organic soil materials, where a value of 106 predicted the experimental results more closely. The model developed also included a simple silicate weathering reaction to release base cations into the system. It is concluded that such simple laboratory simulations are useful for independent calibration of the soil chemical submodel of catchment models.