Probabilistic rainfall thresholds for flood forecasting: evaluating different methodologies for modelling rainfall spatial correlation (or dependence)

Rainfall threshold (RT) method is one of the evolving flood forecasting approaches. When the cumulative rainfall depth for a given initial soil moisture condition intersects the threshold rainfall curve, the peak discharge is expected to be equal or greater than the threshold discharge for flooding at the target site. Besides the total rainfall depth, spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall impacts the flood peak discharge and the time to peak. To revisit a previous study conducted by the authors, in which spatially independent rainfall pattern was assumed, the spatial distribution of rainfall was simulated following a Monte Carlo approach. The structure of the spatial dependence among sub‐watersheds' rainfalls was taken into account under three different scenarios, namely independent, bivariate copula (2copula) and multivariate Gaussian copula (MGC). For each set of generated random dimensionless rainfalls, the probabilistic RT curves were derived for dry moisture condition. Results were evaluated with both historical and simulated events. For the simulated events, threshold curves were assessed by means of categorical statistics, such as hit rate, false rate and critical success index (CSI). Results revealed that the best performance based on the CSI criterion corresponded to 50% curve in 2copula and MGC scenarios as well as 90% curve in the independent scenario. The recognition of 50% curve in 2copula and MGC scenarios is in agreement with our expectations that the mean probable curve should have the best performance. Moreover, the proposed inclusion of spatially dependent rainfall scenario improved the performance of RT curves by about 25% in comparison with the presumed spatially uniform rainfall scenario. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

高烈度地震区岩土体边坡崩塌动力学特性研究

"5·12"汶川特大地震引发的次生山地灾害中以山体崩塌数量最多.本文在对国道213线都江堰至映秀段以及水磨支线公路边坡地震崩塌调查研究的基础上,分析总结了岩土体边坡的崩塌成灾模式、崩塌作用机理以及崩塌自组织临界(SOC)动力学特性.调查范围包括Ⅸ～Ⅺ度地震区,工点105个.对崩塌体方量、崩塌深度进行统计分析后发现,在Ⅸ度区崩塌体方量和崩塌深度都符合负幂律分布,呈现出明显的自组织临界动力学特性;而Ⅹ、Ⅺ度地震区不呈现该崩塌特性,其崩塌动力学性质受地震的强扰作用控制.     

川滇及其邻区中强地震烈度衰减关系适用性研究

本文选取川滇及邻区作为研究区域,根据地震构造环境和震害分布特点,将该地区分为西南地区和盆地地区,选取该地区6级以上的典型历史震例,将其数字化得到等震线数据,通过对这些数据的统计回归分析,分别建立两个区域的地震烈度沿长轴与短轴的衰减关系、各烈度面积与地震震级的关系、破裂长度与震级的关系.同时,综合利用上述关系建立不同的地...     

中外烈度表“人的感觉”和“器物的反应”对比研究

随着震害经验的积累以及人们对地震认识的深化,不断修改烈度标准,使烈度评定更加客观与科学是地震工程界一直所追求的.人的感觉和器物的反应都是评定一次地震时相应烈度的宏观标志,是烈度表的重要组成部分.鉴于此,本文简要介绍了中国历代地震烈度表(《新的中国地震烈度表》、《中国地震烈度表(1980)》、《中国地震烈度表( 1999...     

Evaluation model of landslide hazards induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake using strong motion data

Landslides induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in the Longmenshan area were relatively well instrumented,which makes it possible to investigate the landslides using ground motion records.Firstly,this paper analyzes the data from Wenchuan earthquake on both regional and local site scale.The analyses show that the Newmark accumulative displacement calculated from the ground motion recorded in a particular geological hazard zone corresponds to the hazard intensity in that zone;the larger the displacemen...     

地震有效峰值加速度与地震烈度相关性研究

利用2008年5月12日发生的汶川8·0级以及2008年8月30日凉山州会理县—攀枝花市间6·1级地震中获取的四川省境内的地震加速度记录数据,分析了有效峰值加速度（EPA）与加速度峰值（PGA）对比结果及加速度数据有效值与地震烈度的相关性。得出了有效峰值加速度（EPA）与烈度的相关性较之地震峰值加速度（PGA）与烈度的...     

汶川8．0级特大地震汉源县震害特点与烈度异常成因探讨

本文在汉源县地震灾害调查的基础上,通过收集前人在该区已取得的成果资料,采用综合分析、类比等方法,对汉源县地震烈度异常区震害及造成异常的原因进行了分析探讨。汉源县建筑物破坏形式以水平地震作用造成的“X”型剪切破坏为主,竖向地震造成的破坏较少。地震波传播路径、场地土层条件和地形地貌条件三者的耦合是造成汉源县烈度异常的主要原因,其中场地土层中占优势厚度的砾石层是造成场地地震波放大的主要内因。本文取得的初步结论为更加深入地科学研究本区地震烈度异常的原因提供了新思路。     

新疆乌恰5.1级地震强震动记录及震中区烈度考察对比分析

2011年1月1日新疆乌恰县西南发生MS 5.1地震,新疆强震动台网布设在震中附近的10个强震动固定台获取了这次地震完整的加速度记录,记录的最大加速度为80.08 cm.s-2。对10个强震动台的加速度记录进行了常规数据处理,计算了地震烈度,并将计算的仪器烈度与现场地震宏观考察烈度进行了比较,有较好的一致性。     

Impact of subsurface rock fragments on runoff and interrill soil loss from cultivated soils

Field and laboratory studies have indicated that rock fragments in the topsoil may have a large impact on soil properties, soil quality, hydraulic, hydrological and erosion processes. In most studies, the rock fragments investigated still remain visible at the soil surface and only properties of these visible rock fragments are used for predicting runoff and soil loss. However, there are indications that rock fragments completely incorporated in the topsoil could also significantly influence the percolation and water distribution in stony soils and therefore, also infiltration, runoff and soil loss rates. Therefore, in this study interrill laboratory experiments with simulated rainfall for 60 min were conducted to assess the influence of subsurface rock fragments incorporated in a disturbed silt loam soil at different depths below the soil surface (i.e. 0.001, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.10 m), on infiltration, surface runoff and interrill erosion processes for small and large rock fragment sizes (i.e. mean diameter 0.04 and 0.20 m, respectively). Although only small differences in infiltration rate and runoff volume are observed between the soil without rock fragments (control) and the one with subsurface rock fragments, considerable differences in total interrill soil loss are observed between the control treatment and both contrasting rock fragments sizes. This is explained by a rapid increase in soil moisture in the areas above the rock fragments and therefore a decrease in topsoil cohesion compared with the control soil profile. The observed differences in runoff volume and interrill soil loss between the control plots and those with subsurface rock fragments is largest after a cumulative rainfall (P_cum) of 11 mm and progressively decreases with increasing P_cum. The results highlight the impacts and complexity of subsurface rock fragments on the production of runoff volume and soil loss and requires their inclusion in process‐based runoff and erosion models. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of intensity change in tropical cyclones affecting the South China Sea from 1977 to 2007

The best track data of tropical cyclones (TCs) provided by Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) Tokyo for the South China Sea (SCS) from 1977 to 2007 are employed to study the spatiotemporal variations (for a period of 12 hours) and the rapid (slow) intensification (RI/SI) of TCs with different intensity. The main results are as follows. (1) Over this period, the tropical storms (TSs) and severe tropical storms (STSs) mostly intensify or are steady while the typhoons (TYs) mostly weaken. The stronger a TC is initially, the more observation of its intensification and the less its variability will be; the more observation of its weakening is, the larger its variability will be. (2) The TC intensifies the fastest at 0000 UTC while weakening the fastest at 1200 UTC. (3) In the intensifying state, TSs, STSs, and TYs are mainly active in the northeastern, central-eastern, and central SCS respectively. The weakening cases mainly distribute over waters east off Hainan Island and Vietnam and west off the Philippines. Some cases of TSs and STSs weaken over the central SCS. (4) The RI cases form farther south in contrast to the SI cases. The RI cases are observed in regions where there are weaker vertical shear and easterly components at 200 hPa. The RI cases also have stronger mid-and lower-level warm-core structure and smaller radii of 15.4 m/s winds. The SI cases have slightly higher SST.