Numerical model of convection in sills

The numerical model of convection in magma sills is developed. The model is based on a full system of equations of fluid dynamics and includes heat transfer, buoyancy effects and diffusion of some minor component (marker). Solidification is treated as a phase transition. The results indicate that there are some qualitative differences between very thin sills with Rayleigh number Ra = 10⁵ and thin sills with Ra = 10⁶. For a basaltic magma the first case corresponds to the thickness of the sills of approximately 30 cm and the second case corresponds to the thickness of 60 cm. In the first case mixing is inefficient and conduction is the dominant form of heat transfer. In the second case mixing is efficient and convection is the dominant form of heat transfer. Some of the results can be scaled for the more viscous magmas in thicker sills.     

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.     

Study on the Source Parameters of Earthquakes in the Middle Eastern Area of North Tianshan in Xinjiang

INTRODUCTIONThe study of source parameters is usually based oninversionfromobservational seismic waveformdata.Seismic wave affected bygeometric spreading,inelastic attenuation,scatteringandsite effects ofthe mediumontheir way fromsource to station.Therefo…     

在卸荷产生拉剪情况下裂隙岩体的力学行为

据岩体在卸荷情况下的拉剪应力状态,确定了节理岩体的线弹性断裂力学模型。依照此模型,可以得到相对远离裂隙(该位置的点到裂隙中心的距离比裂缝长度大)且受裂隙影响区域内应力、应变和变形方程。这些对评估裂隙岩石变形有重要的参考意义。通过用理论方程的计算结果和卸荷情况下试验观测所得的数据对比,证明该模型应用于实际工程中具有可行性。     

An invariance in the carbazoles of petroleum

A remarkable invariance in the ratio of 1,3-dimethylcarbazole （DMC） to 1,6-DMC was discovered in crude oils from the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. The remarkably invariant ratio is kept at a constant of about unity regardless of their concentrations, sources or maturities for the sampies. In combination with the molecular structures of 1,3- and 1,6-DMCs, the invariance might indicate that the nitrogen compounds share a common precursor with a skeleton of 1-methylcarbazole and are formed through methylation at C3 and C6 with an essentially identical rate.     

采空区二维超声波物理模型实验研究

由于对资源矿产的过度开采使得矿山地区(尤其是煤矿)出现了采空区,从而引起地表塌陷等地质灾害。为了深入了解地震方法在采空区调查中的应用效果,从超声波物理模型实验研究出发,论述了物理模型的原理和制作,研究了采空区的地震波场特征,并利用W inse is软件对所采集的二维超声波实验数据进行了处理。由叠偏剖面推断的采空区的位置与实际模型相符,从而验证了超声波采空区物理模型试验是有效的、可信的;同时可以为实际探测采空区提供进一步的理论依据。     

ASSESSING THE SUITABILITY OF THE EPIC CROP MODEL FOR USE IN THE STUDY OF IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN WEST AFRICA

The EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator) crop model, developed by scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has been successfully applied to the study of erosion, water pollution, crop growth and production in the US but is yet to be introduced for serious research purposes in other countries or regions. This paper reports on the applicability of the EPIC 8120 crop model for the assessment of the potential impacts of climate variability and climate change on crop productivity in sub‐Saharan West Africa, using Nigeria as the case study. Among the crops whose productivity has been successfully simulated with this model are five of West Africa's staple food crops: maize, millet, sorghum (guinea corn), rice and cassava. Thus, using the model, the sensitivities of maize, sorghum and millet to seasonal rainfall were demonstrated with coefficients of correlation significant at over 98 per cent confidence limits. The validation tests were based on a comparison of the observed and the model‐generated yields of rice and maize. The main problems of validation relate to the multiplicity of crop varieties with contrasting performances under similar field conditions. There are also the difficulties in representing micro‐environments in the model. Thus, some gaps appear between the observed and the simulated yields, arising from data or model deficiencies, or both. Based on the results of the sensitivity and validation tests, the EPIC crop model could be satisfactorily employed in assessing the impacts of and adaptations to climate variability and climate change. Its use for the estimation of production and the assessment of vulnerabilities need to be pursued with further field surveys and field experimentation.     

Leaf area index retrieval based on canopy reflectance and vegetation index in eastern China

The aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using Landsat TM data to retrieve leaf area index (LAI). To get a LAI retrieval model based ground reflectance and vegetation index, detailed field data were collected in the study area of eastern China, dominated by bamboo, tea plant and greengage. Plant canopy reflectance of Landsat TM wavelength bands has been inversed using software of 6S. LAI is an important ecological parameter. In this paper, atmospheric corrected Landsat TM imagery was utilized to calculate different vegetation indices (VI), such as simple ratio vegetation index (SR), shortwave infrared modified simple ratio (MSR), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Data of 53 samples of LAI were measured by LAI-2000 (LI-COR) in the study area. LAI was modeled based on different reflectances of bands and different vegetation indices from Landsat TM and LAI samples data. There are certainly correlations between LAI and the reflectance of Tm3, TM4, TM5 and TM7. The best model through analyzing the results is LAI = 1.2097*MSR + 0.4741 using the method of regression analysis. The result shows that the correlation coefficient R2 is 0.5157, and average accuracy is 85.75%. However, whether the model of this paper is suitable for application in subtropics needs to be verified in the future.     

Rivers turned to rock: Late Quaternary alluvial induration influencing the behaviour and morphology of an anabranching river in the Australian monsoon tropics

Late Quaternary alluvial induration has greatly influenced contemporary channel morphology on the anabranching Gilbert River in the monsoon tropics of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Gilbert, one of a number of rivers in this region, has contributed to an extensive system of coalescing low-gradient and partly indurated riverine plains. Extensive channel sands were deposited by enhanced flow conditions during marine oxygen isotope (OI) Stage 5. Subsequent flow declined, probably associated with increased aridity, however, enhanced runoff recurred again in OI Stages 4–3 (65–50 ka). Aridity then capped these plains with 4–7 m of mud. A widespread network of sandy distributary channels was incised into this muddy surface from sometime after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the mid Holocene during a fluvial episode more active than the present but less so than those of OI Stages 5 and 3. This network is still partly active but with channel avulsion and abandonment now occurring largely proximal to the main Gilbert flow path.A tropical climate and reactive catchment lithology have enhanced chemical weathering and lithification of alluvium along the river resulting in the formation of small rapids, waterfalls and inset gorges, features characteristic more of bedrock than alluvial systems. Thermoluminescence (TL) and comparative optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of the sediments are presented along with U/Th ages of pedogenic calcrete and Fe/Mn oxyhydroxide/ oxide accumulations. They show that calcrete precipitated during the Late Quaternary at times similar to those that favoured ferricrete formation, possibly because of an alternating wet–dry climate. Intense chemical alteration of the alluvium leading to induration appears to have prevailed for much of the Late Quaternary but, probably due to exceptional dryness, not during the LGM. The result has been restricted channel migration and a reduced capacity for the channel to adjust and accommodate sudden changes in bedload. Consequent avulsions have caused local stream powers to increase by an order of magnitude, inducing knickpoint erosion, local incision and the sudden influx of additional bedload that has triggered further avulsions. The Gilbert River, while less energetic than its Pleistocene ancestors, is clearly an avulsive system, and emphasizes the importance in some tropical rivers of alluvial induration for reinforcing the banks, generating nickpoints, reworking sediment and thereby developing and maintaining an indurated and anabranching river style.     

From water to tillage erosion dominated landform evolution

While water and wind erosion are still considered to be the dominant soil erosion processes on agricultural land, there is growing recognition that tillage erosion plays an important role in the redistribution of soil on agricultural land. In this study, we examined soil redistribution rates and patterns for an agricultural field in the Belgian loess belt. ¹³⁷Cs derived soil erosion rates have been confronted with historical patterns of soil erosion based on soil profile truncation. This allowed an assessment of historical and contemporary landform evolution on agricultural land and its interpretation in relation to the dominant geomorphic process. The results clearly show that an important shift in the relative contribution of tillage and water erosion to total soil redistribution on agricultural land has occurred during recent decades. Historical soil redistribution is dominated by high losses on steep midslope positions and concavities as a result of water erosion, leading to landscape incision and steepening of the topography. In contrast, contemporary soil redistribution is dominated by high losses on convex upperslopes and infilling of slope and valley concavities as a result of tillage, resulting in topographic flattening. This shift must be attributed to the increased mechanization of agriculture during recent decades. This study shows that the typical topographical dependency of soil redistribution processes and their spatial interactions must be accounted for when assessing landform and soil profile evolution.