Microtextural analysis of a glacially ‘deformed’ bedrock: implications for inheritance of preferred clast orientations in diamictons

Although analysis of clast macrofabrics has been used to differentiate between different types of glacial diamictons and to determine palaeo‐ice flow directions, no account appears to have been made of preferred clast orientations inherited from the parental source material. Clast macrofabrics in tills are typically interpreted as having developed in response to an imposed subglacial deformation and as such provide a link between the sedimentary record and glacier dynamics. They rely on the assumption that any preferred clast orientation is a result of deformation/flow. The results of the micromorphological study of the Langholm Till exposed at North Corbelly near Dumfries (southwestern Scotland) clearly demonstrate that bedrock structure can influence clast orientation (macrofabric) within diamictons. In the lower part of the till, the orientation of elongate clasts preserves the geometry of the tectonic cleavage present within the underlying bedrock. The intensity of this steeply inclined, ‘inherited’ clast fabric decreases upward through the till, to be replaced by a more complex pattern of successive generations of clast microfabrics developed in response to deformation/flow. These results indicate potential limitations of applying clast macrofabric or microfabric analysis in isolation to establish till genesis or palaeo ice‐flow directions. Consequently, due account should be made of other glacial palaeo‐environmental and ice flow indicators, as well as rockhead depth and morphology in relation to the selection of fabric measurements sites. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2007. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shapes and Pole Orientations of Asteroids (360) Carlova and (209) Dido

Several light-curves of asteroid (360) Carlova and (209) Dido in different epochs were analyzed to determine shapes and pole orientations by means of AM-method and least squares method. New values of a/b, b/c, λ _p and β _p for asteroid (360) Carlova were obtained, which are 1.52°, 1.5°, 120 ± 6° and 66 ± 7°, respectively. We report a first determination of the parameters of (209) Dido which are 1.3°, 1.1°, 221 ± 6° and 37 ± 3°, respectively.     

Orientation of Galaxies in the Local Supercluster: A Review

The progress of the studies on the orientation of galaxies in the Local Supercluster (LSC) is reviewed and a summary of recent results is given. Following a brief introduction of the LSC, we describe the results of early studies based on two-dimensional analysis, which were mostly not conclusive. We describe next the three-dimensional analysis, which is used widely today. Difficulties and systematic effects are explained and the importance of selection effects is described. Then, results based on the new method and modern databases are given, which are summarized as follows. When the LSC is seen as a whole, galaxy planes tend to align perpendicular to the LSC plane with lenticulars showing the most pronounced tendency. Projections onto the LSC plane of the spin vectors of Virgo cluster member galaxies, and to some extent, those of the total LSC galaxies, tend to point to the Virgo cluster center. This tendency is more pronounced for lenticulars than for spirals. It is suggested that ‘field’ galaxies, i.e., those which do not belong to groups with more than three members, may be better objects than other galaxies to probe the information at the early epoch of the LSC formation through the analysis of galaxy orientations. Field lenticulars show a pronounced anisotropic distribution of spin vectors in the sense that they lay their spin vectors parallel to the LSC plane while field spirals show an isotropic spin-vector distribution.     

Prediction of application scope of vertical fracture strike based on scattered wave fracture orientation function

Fracture system plays a very important role in the enrichment and accumulation of oil and gas in the reservoirs. Based on scattering wave information,Fracture Orientation Function( FOF) was built,which can be used to predict the fracture orientations. However,this method has only been verified by physical experiments without studies on the application scope. In this study,based on the linear sliding theory,FOF of the scattering wave was applied to the numerical simulation and the application scope was further studied according to fracture flexibility tensor. According to the fractures filled with gas and liquid,numerical simulation was conducted on the models with various fracture flexibilities. Numerical simulation results were used to inverse fracture orientation with the aid of the FOF of the scattering wave. The results show that it is workable to predict the vertical fracture orientation with the FOF of the scattering wave. Application of this method is more effective when the fractures are filled with gas than liquid. Moreover,the application scope can be predicted by the fracture flexibility.     

Determination of the crop row orientations from Formosat-2 multi-temporal and panchromatic images

This paper presents a technique developed for the retrieval of the orientation of crop rows, over anthropic lands dedicated to agriculture in order to further improve estimate of crop production and soil erosion management. Five crop types are considered: wheat, barley, rapeseed, sunflower, corn and hemp. The study is part of the multi-sensor crop-monitoring experiment, conducted in 2010 throughout the agricultural season (MCM’10) over an area located in southwestern France, near Toulouse. The proposed methodology is based on the use of satellite images acquired by Formosat-2, at high spatial resolution in panchromatic and multispectral modes (with spatial resolution of 2 and 8 m, respectively). Orientations are derived and evaluated for each image and for each plot, using directional spatial filters (45° and 135°) and mathematical morphology algorithms. “Single-date” and “multi-temporal” approaches are considered. The single-date analyses confirm the good performances of the proposed method, but emphasize the limitation of the approach for estimating the crop row orientation over the whole landscape with only one date. The multi-date analyses allow (1) determining the most suitable agricultural period for the detection of the row orientations, and (2) extending the estimation to the entire footprint of the study area. For the winter crops (wheat, barley and rapeseed), best results are obtained with images acquired just after harvest, when surfaces are covered by stubbles or during the period of deep tillage (0.27 > R² > 0.99 and 7.15° > RMSE > 43.02°). For the summer crops (sunflower, corn and hemp), results are strongly crop and date dependents (0 > R² > 0.96, 10.22° > RMSE > 80°), with a well-marked impact of flowering, irrigation equipment and/or maximum crop development. Last, the extent of the method to the whole studied zone allows mapping 90% of the crop row orientations (more than 45,000 ha) with an error inferior to 40°, associated to a confidence index ranging from 1 to 5 for each agricultural plot.     

Politics eclipses climate extremes for climate change perceptions

Whether or not actual shifts in climate influence public perceptions of climate change remains an open question, one with important implications for societal response to climate change. We use the most comprehensive public opinion survey data on climate change available for the US to examine effects of annual and seasonal climate variation. Our results show that political orientation has the most important effect in shaping public perceptions about the timing and seriousness of climate change. Objective climatic conditions do not influence Americans’ perceptions of the timing of climate change and only have a negligible effect on perceptions about the seriousness of climate change. These results suggest that further changes in climatic conditions are unlikely to produce noticeable shifts in Americans’ climate change perceptions.     

地质导向技术在煤层气水平井中的应用——以柳林区块某多分支水平井为例

地质导向技术能有效提高煤层气水平井施工成功率和煤层钻遇率,但由于其具有导向参数多、工艺要求高、易受地质因素影响等特点,使其在实际应用中还存在诸多难点。以柳林区块内某多分支水平井为例,针对该井现场地质导向作业面临的资料缺乏、参数受欠平衡钻进干扰、煤层结构复杂等难点,建立合适的地质导向模型,优选合理的导向参数和导向系统,对地质导向技术在实际应用中的工艺与流程进行了系统论述。实践表明,地质导向技术在该井的应用效果良好:煤层钻遇率达到了93.1%;截至目前,该井的产气量达8600m3/d,且还在进一步提升。     

Pore orientation of granular materials during biaxial compression

The local pore spaces in granular materials tend to be aligned parallel to the major principal stress direction upon particle mobilization. Manifestation of this response has been numerically validated in our previous studies with the aid of discrete element method modeling and image processing techniques during creep and shearing. We now extend the modeling of pore geometry, constructed with spherical particles, to assemblies of particle clumps. Two-dimensional simulations are performed for both loose and dense assemblies of spherical particles and particle clumps. Each particle packing is bound by rigid or flexible walls and subjected to biaxial compression and the particle mobilization effect on the evolution of pore orientation is explored. Randomly shaped pores surrounded by adjacent particles are geometrically quantified by Delaunay tessellation and fitted with ellipses. Results show that localization is apparent in dense assemblies, in particular for clumped particle packing, while loose assemblies exhibit diffusive failure. Small pores within well-defined shear bands tend to align either parallel to the direction of the shear band or perpendicular to the major principal stress. On the other hand, small pores within the blocks and large pores have a tendency to become elongate towards the major principal stress direction. This study reveals for the first time that pore orientation is dependent upon particle shape, pore size, and assembly conditions on the pore and global scales.     

极化方位角补偿信息支持下的植被参数反演

SAR图像中散射目标的散射矩阵受极化方位角(POA)的影响会改变散射体的散射特性,散射矩阵是极化干涉SAR (PolInSAR)估计不同极化状态下复相干性的基础。本文根据极化方位角产生机制,建立了多视情况下基于极化方位角补偿的极化干涉相干性估计模型,分析了极化方位角补偿对相干性估计方法和不同散射机制下相干性估计的影响程度,研究了基于三阶段法与极化方位角补偿的植被参数反演。利用L波段SIRC全极化SAR图像为实验数据验证极化方位角补偿对极化干涉相干性估计和植被参数反演的可行性。实验结果表明,极化方位角补偿能够改变不同极化状态相干性分布规律,提高相干直线拟合精度,改善植被参数反演的可靠性和合理性。     

IMU/DGPS数据在1∶50000 DOM生产中的应用

IMU/DGPS(惯导测量仪/差分全球定位系统)技术航测成图法可直接获取外方位元素,缩短航测成图周期,降低航测成本。通过相应的试验及具体生产的实施,阐明利用该技术获取的控制数据进行1∶50000DOM制作的技术流程及作业过程中出现问题的处理方法。