The HNCO ring in the Sgr B2 region

The large-scale structure associated with the 2′N HNCO peak in Sgr B2 [Minh, Y.C., Haikala, L., Hjalmarson, Å., Irvine, W.M., 1998. ApJ 498, 261 (Paper I)] has been investigated. A ring-like morphology of the HNCO emission has been found; this structure may be colliding with the Principal Cloud of Sgr B2. This “HNCO Ring” appears to be centered at (l,b) = (0.7°,−0.07°), with a radius of 5 pc and a total mass of 1.0 × 10⁵ to 1.6 × 10⁶ M. The expansion velocity of the Ring is estimated to be 30–40 km s⁻¹, which gives an expansion time scale of 1.5 × 10⁵ year. The morphology suggests that collision between the Ring and the Principal Cloud may be triggering the massive star formation in the Sgr B2 cloud sequentially, with the latest star formation taking place at the 2′N position. The chemistry related to HNCO is not certain yet, but if it forms mainly via reaction with the evaporated OCN⁻ from icy grain mantles, the observed enhancement of the HNCO abundance can be understood as resulting from shocks associated with the collision between the Principal Cloud and the expanding HNCO Ring.     

Circumstellar shocks

The presence of shocks in a wide variety of circumstellar phenomena will be illustrated and discussed.     

The project “spice”

Proposed to both the French and the European Space Agency as one possible small mission, SPICE is a project for a dedicated small satellite for a near-IR spectroscopic all-sky survey. The instrument would cover the spectral range 1.8 - 3.6µm, possibly extended to 1.8 - 7µm, at a resolution of 100, with pixels of 1 arc-min. The excellent sensitivity (0.02 MJy sr-1) results from: i) the quasi-zero level of background due to the efficient passive cooling of the whole experiment; ii) the use of large format arrays; iii) the non-stop observing mode (drift-scanning). The spectral domain, complementing the one of ISO, partially opaque from the ground, is specially rich in spectral features tracing stars and all components of the Interstellar Medium (molecular, atomic and ionized gas, dust). With a cooling below 80 K of the focal instrument, then it becomes possible to consider doubling the spectral domain and to cover the whole 1.8 - 7µm range.     

青海省湟水盆地历史地震调查及研究

通过对青海省湟水盆地影响较大的5次破坏性历史地震的重新考证，确定了每次地震的宏观震中、震级大小、发震断层以及地震等震线，从而得出盆地东部一平安至民和块体及其周边地区，基底介质强度较弱，为中强地震活动水平较高的危险地区。     

参考大气谱方法在国家气象中心谱模式上的应用

参考大气引入中期谱模式，能有效地减少截谱误差，提高预报精度。文章主要叙述了参考大气在国家气象中心业务预报谱模式上的进一步发展。计算结果表明，引入参考大气后，T63预报质量和降水的TS评分均有一定程度的提高。     

福州地区的Q结构和它的横向不均匀性

本文利用人工爆破地震资料,在频率域中,用波组频谱比方法计算了福州地区的Q结构,结果发现:该区中地壳低速层Q值明显偏低,仅为40——80,且存在横向变化,地壳上部和下部Q均为200左右;福州盆地与永泰——梧桐地段地壳平均Q也明显偏低,且福州盆地中部Q仅120—150,为全区最低值,低Q区与温泉分布和断裂位置有良好的对应关系。     

我国大陆及其邻区6级以上地震的“缺震事件”——一种大地震中期预测指标的分析研究

在内陆强震活动的起伏中,6级以上地震的大范围长时间缺震,具有重要的意义。有的研究者已将其作为将发生7级地震前的标志之一。作者系统地清理了1897—1988年8月间中国大陆及其邻区6级以上地震“缺震事件”的始末,较多的震例表明,限定“缺震事件”起止的地震具有中期预报意义。它们在地震构造上的原因可能是代表区域最活跃的破裂,突然处于阻碍、闭锁状态,其持续时间大于10个月,再次发生6级以上地震为解锁,并随即出现新的一轮大地震活动。故可以作为一种大地震中期预测的指标。     

随州-信阳ML4.2地震前定点形变异常特征

分析了2000年1月28日随州和信阳交界处发生的ML4．2地震前，信阳地震台（△＝35km)定点形变中短期及临震异常特征。分析研究表明：该次地震前信阳台目视水管倾斜仪EW向测值从1999年6开始出现反向变化，NS向测值从1999年3月开始出现加速变化；水平摆倾余仪EW向和NS向测值分别从1999年2月和1999年6月开始出现反向变化。这些异常于2000年下半年结束。震前3天水管倾斜仪EW向测值出现加速变化；震前5－8天NS向测值除了出现加速变化外，还出现突跳。城前约20天，水平摆倾斜仪2个方向测值构出现了准周期性波动变化。另外，形变固体潮潮汐因子也有明显异常。     

实测天然气扩散系数在地层条件下的校正

在研究天然气在地下岩石中扩散机理及扩散系数测试方法的基础上，指出了实测天然气扩散系数与地层条件下的差异，利用实测饱和水和干样条件下人造石英粉砂岩的扩散系数值的比值与其物性之间的关系，利用爱因斯坦方程产实测天然气扩散系数的饱和介质转换和温度校正方法，该方法的实际应用表明，校正结果符合地质规律，表明该校正方法是可行的。     

Upscaling: Effective Medium Theory, Numerical Methods and the Fractal Dream

Upscaling is a major issue regarding mechanical and transport properties of rocks. This paper examines three issues relative to upscaling. The first one is a brief overview of Effective Medium Theory (EMT), which is a key tool to predict average rock properties at a macroscopic scale in the case of a statistically homogeneous medium. EMT is of particular interest in the calculation of elastic properties. As discussed in this paper, EMT can thus provide a possible way to perform upscaling, although it is by no means the only one, and in particular it is irrelevant if the medium does not adhere to statistical homogeneity. This last circumstance is examined in part two of the paper. We focus on the example of constructing a hydrocarbon reservoir model. Such a construction is a required step in the process of making reasonable predictions for oil production. Taking into account rock permeability, lithological units and various structural discontinuities at different scales is part of this construction. The result is that stochastic reservoir models are built that rely on various numerical upscaling methods. These methods are reviewed. They provide techniques which make it possible to deal with upscaling on a general basis. Finally, a last case in which upscaling is trivial is considered in the third part of the paper. This is the fractal case. Fractal models have become popular precisely because they are free of the assumption of statistical homogeneity and yet do not involve numerical methods. It is suggested that using a physical criterion as a means to discriminate whether fractality is a dream or reality would be more satisfactory than relying on a limited data set alone.