Models of passive margin inversion: implications for the Rhenohercynian fold-and-thrust belt, Belgium and Germany

Positive tectonic inversion is related to the transmission of compressional stresses along a décollement into the foreland of an orogenic zone. This stress and strain concentration in regions remote from the main orogenic front is commonly related to the presence of pre-existing rheological heterogeneities such as normal syn-depositional faults. During inversion, these pre-existing normal faults are reactivated as reverse faults. Tectonic inversion in the Rhenohercynian fold-and-thrust belt during the Variscan Orogeny shows that inversion is likely synchronous with the onset of collision in the hinterland. Here, we present the results of a simplified thermo-mechanical model (STM) which allows one to study strain partitioning between two orogenic zones. We show that, if the two orogenic zones have the same mechanical properties, the viscosity of the décollement, which links them, controls the initial strain partitioning. During subsequent finite shortening, erosional processes determine the partitioning of strain rate. The presence of a weak structure in the inverted zone and of a low-viscosity décollement leads to initial strain concentration in the inverted track rather than in the collision zone and a progressive decrease in strain partitioning between the two orogenic zones. The STM results are in good agreement with results of a 2D finite-element model. We conclude that, in the western part of the Rhenohercynian Massif, simultaneous uplift and deformation within the Mid-German Crystalline Rise (the main collision zone) and the Ardenne Anticlinorium (the inverted zone) lead to interpreting this orogenic event as a case of vice tectonic rather than the propagation of a ‘wave of folding’ towards the Variscan front, as suggested by previous authors.     

黄海及其沿岸历史地震初步研究

黄海及其边缘，经历史地震资料整理，地震参数估定与编目，截至1949年8月，共有M≥3级地震2187次，其中M≥43/4级地震259次，资料显示大致有三个相对集中活跃区，16世纪曾有过历史地震活动高潮。     

山西北部至晋冀蒙交界地区几次中强地震前4.0级地震活动的研究

对山西北部至晋冀蒙交界地区中强地震前的 4 .0级地震进行了研究 ,得出其特征为异常增强—异常平静—信号地震的结论 ,认为该区某些 4 .0级地震活动似可作为某些中强地震的前兆地震而进行进一步的研究。     

人类活动对黄河中游高含沙水流的影响

以黄河中游干流和渭河、无定河的资料研究了人类活动对黄土高原河流高含沙水流的发生频率的影响。人类破坏森林植被，大量拦截黄河上游清水来源区的清水基流，使得高含沙水流发生频率增大，大规模水土保持措施的实施则使高含沙水流发生频率迅速减小。近50年来黄河干流和一些支流的高含沙水流随时间的变化可以用一个三阶段模式来概括，即20世纪50-60年代，由于人类破坏植被，使高含水流频率增大；20世纪60年代末至80年代中期，大规模水土保持措施的实施使高含沙水流发生的频率减小；20世纪80年代末期以来，人类大量拦截利用清水资源，使高含沙水流的发生频率又复增大。     

新疆宏观生态的空间分异与变化

根据新疆环境和生态特点，将新疆划分为14个二级生态区进行了研究。结果表明，新疆荒漠与非荒漠生态景观面积大致相当，但空间分异较大。新疆北部荒漠景观占全区域的约1／3，非荒漠景观占2／3，宏观生态相对稳定；新疆东部荒漠景观占全区域的2／3以上，宏观生态十分严峻；新疆南部荒漠景观占全区域的1／2，宏观生态稳定性差。沙漠、绿洲、水体三种主要景观类型中，北疆阿尔泰山南坡、伊犁盆地及南疆叶尔羌－喀什河三角洲地区沙漠化呈降低趋势；天山北坡各段及准噶尔盆地西部，20世纪90年代以来沙漠化明显减缓；新疆东部及南部其余各地区沙漠化均呈现增强趋势。新疆水体景观的变化表现为天然和人工水体面积的消长。近50年来，新疆修建的水库和坑塘等人工水体总面积与同期天然水体缩小的面积基本相当，表明新疆水体景观再近50年来的变化主要体现为水体的空间位移。绿洲景观的变化表明，北疆地区天然绿洲与人工绿洲面积的比例已经从50年代的5：1以上下降到约1：1，南疆由6：1以上下降到3：1左右。天然绿洲的减少是绿洲生态局部劣变的标志。研究还表明，新疆宏观生态的空间分异主要受自然因素的影响，其中，区域降水量的影响最为重要。     

资源环境与社会经济协调发展探析

文章首先回顾了资源环境与社会经济发展的理论，提出资源环境与社会经济协调发展内涵：一方面，要在资源环境承载力范围内发展社会经济，追求社会经济发展的最大化，另一方面，环境承载力是动态的，要依靠社会经济发展不断提高，这两个方面是相互作用、相互制约的。在此基础上，详细论述了资源环境与社会经济协调发展的内容,并从社会经济发展、资源环境管理等角度探讨了资源环境与社会经济协调发展的政策调控，通过建立节约型国民经济体系、深化资源环境管理，实现区域一体化，以保证资源环境与社会经济协调发展的实现。     

Some Aspects of Resource Uncertainty and Their Economic Consequences in Assessment of the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Natural Resources Research - Exploration ventures in frontier areas have high risks. Before committing to them, firms prepare regional resource assessments to evaluate the potential payoffs. With...     

On the spatial relationship between landslides and causative factors on Lantau Island, Hong Kong

This paper presents a statistical approach to study the spatial relationship between landslides and their causative factors at the regional level. The approach is based on digital databases, and incorporates such methods as statistics, spatial pattern analysis, and interactive mapping. Firstly, the authors propose an object-oriented conceptual model for describing a landslide event, and a combined database of landslides and environmental factors is constructed by integrating the various databases within such a conceptual framework. The statistical histogram, spatial overlay, and dynamic mapping methods are linked together to interactively evaluate the spatial pattern of the relationship between landslides and their causative factors. A case study of an extreme event in 1993 on Lantau Island indicates that rainfall intensity and the migration of the center of the rainstorm greatly influence the occurrence of landslides on Lantau Island. A regional difference in the relationship between landslides and topography is identified. Most of the landslides in the middle and western parts of the island occurred on slopes with slope angles of 25–35°, while in the eastern part, the corresponding range is 30–35°. Overlaying landslide data with land cover reveals that a large number of landslides occurred in the bareland and shrub-covered area, and in the transition zones between different vegetation types. The proposed approach can be used not only to analyze the general characteristics of such a relationship, but also to depict its spatial distribution and variation, thereby providing a sound basis for regional landslide prediction.     

Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies

Commercial alpine medicinal plants are collected from the wild by local rural households throughout the Himalaya and sold in order to increase household incomes. Recent studies indicate that this annual trade amounts to thousands of tonnes of roots, rhizomes, tubers, leaves, etc., worth millions of US dollars. The main market is in India. Based on a national survey, including the most commonly traded species, and a village study this paper investigates the importance of the alpine medicinal plant trade at national and local levels in Nepal. The national survey included standardized open-ended interviews with 232 harvesters, 64 local traders, 66 central wholesalers, 47 regional wholesalers, and 16 production companies. The village survey is based on the daily records of household activities in 15 households in a one-year period. The annual Nepalese alpine and sub-alpine medicinal plant trade is conservatively estimated to vary from 480 to 2500 t with a total harvester value of US$0.8–3.3 million; the average harvester value is estimated at US$66.0 ± 99.0. The trade in 1997/98 amounted to 1600 t with a harvester value of US$2.3 million and an export value equivalent to 2.5% of total export from Nepal. Medicinal plant harvesting was found to constitute an integrated part of local livelihood strategies, contributing from 3 to 44% (average of 12%) of the annual household income. Importance at household level depended on land and animal holdings, and the availability of adult male labour. The validity and reliability of methods and analyses is evaluated, and issues of conservation and management of alpine medicinal plant species under the community forestry scheme are discussed.