The spring soil moisture and the summer rainfall in eastern China

The relation between the soil moisture in spring and the rainfall in summer in eastern China is investi- gated. Results show that the summer rainfall in eastern China is closely related to the spring soil moisture in the area from North China to the lower reaches of Yangtze River (NCYR). When spring soil moisture anomalies over NCYR are positive, the summer precipitation exhibits positive anomalies in Northeast China and the lower reaches of Yangtze River, and negative anomalies in southern China and North China. The higher soil moisture over NCYR cools land surface and reduces the land-sea tem- perature gradient, which weakens East Asian summer monsoon. The western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) is located to the south and shifts westward, resulting in more rainfall in the lower reaches of Yangtze River and less in southern China and North China.     

Some evidence of drying trend over northern China from 1951 to 2004

The surface wetness index, Palmer drought sererity index and the retrieval of soil moisture over China were calculated using monthly precipitation and monthly mean surface air temperature. Based on the contrast analysis of the variation of the above three indices and precipitation, the dry/wet spatio-temporal pattern of northern China in the last 54 years was revealed, and the evidence of drying trend over northern China was analyzed, especially. The results show the following four facts: (1) The drying trend is the main characteristic of the eastern part of Northwest China and the central part of North China since the 1980s and it was enhanced in the last 15 years mainly due to the precipitation decrease and the temperature increase; (2) During the last 54 years, there was only one dry/wet shift at the interdecadal scale occurring in the eastern part of Northwest China and the central part of North China in the late 1970s, which was related to 1977/1978 global abrupt change, whereas there were three shifts in Northeast China, one was in the mid 1990s and the other two were in 1965 and 1983, respectively; (3) Unlike the variation trend of other subregions of northern China, the western part of Northwest China is currently located in a relatively wetting period, which is weak-ened due to the temperature increase; (4) The extreme drought frequency is obviously increasing in the eastern part of Northwest China, the central part of North China and Northeast China since the 1980s, which is closely related to the precipitation decrease and temperature increase in these subregions.     

Development of renewable energy in China： significance ＆ strategic objectives

Based on CAE＇s research report, this paper illustrates the background and purposes of the development strategy research of renewable energy in China, emphasizes the significance of developing renewable energy in China, gives the strategic positions and development objectives of renewable energy in China in the first half of 21^st century and contributes to green house gas emissions reduction and environmental protection in China.     

Regional characteristics of the interdecadal turning of winter/summer climate modes in Chinese mainland

Tomé and Miranda’s climate trend turning discriminatory model is used to identify the spatial-temporal characteristics of the interdecadal turning of winter/summer climate modes at stations and in eight sub-areas over Chinese mainland based on the 1961–2000 observations. It is found that the stations with close occurrence years of the interdecadal trend turning (ITT) and coincident trends after the ITT exhibit a zonal distribution. A view is accordingly proposed that the interdecadal turnings of climate modes in China have remarkably regional structures. The research results show that after the early 1980s, winter climate over Chinese mainland overall trends towards a “warm-wet” mode, while summer climate had an abrupt change into “warm wet” mode in the late 1980s, suggesting that the time of the “warm-wet” mode turning for winter climate is earlier than that for summer climate. The regional characteristics and test results of the ITTs in eight sub-areas suggest that winter climate exhibits a distinctive “warm-dry” trend in North China after the late 1970s, and a slight “warm-dry” trend in Northeast China, South China, and Southwest China after the late 1980s. A “warm-wet” trend appears in the rest four sub-areas (the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River Valley, briefly Jianghuai, the east of the Tibetan plateau, and the east and west of Northwest China) after the early 1980s. The summer climate trends towards a “warm-dry” mode in Northeast China, North China and the east of Northwest China after the late 1980s, but a “warm-wet” mode appears in Southwest China and the east of the Tibetan plateau after the middle 1970s, as well as in Jianghuai and the west of Northwest China after the early 1980s. Specially, summer climate in South China started a “cold-wet” trend in 1984.     

Global and China temperature changes associated with the inter-decadal variations of East Asian summer monsoon advances

The modern atmospheric observation and literatural historical drought-flood records were used to extract the inter-decadal signals of dry-wet modes in eastern China and reveal the possible relationship of global and China temperature changes associated with the East Asian summer monsoon advances.A climate pattern of "wet-north and dry-south" in eastern China and cool period in China and globe are associated with the strong summer monsoon that can advance further to the northernmost part in the East Asian monsoon region.On the contrary,a climate pattern of "dry-north and wet-south" in eastern China and a warm period in China and globe are associated with the weaker summer monsoon that only reaches the southern part in the region.An interdecadal oscillation with the timescale about 60 years was found dominating in both the dry-wet mode index series of the East Asian summer monsoon and the global temperature series after the secular climate states and long-term trend over inter-centennial timescales have been removed.     

Current situation and development of solar heating technology in China

It is introduced the current situation and development for solar heating technology including passive solar heating and solar heating combisystems in China in this paper. Combined with the engineering application projects, the author gave the technical and economic analysis of the passive solar and solar heating combisystems in China and summarized the developing obstacle and the spreading tactics for raising marketing of the solar heating in China.     

Grain-size evidence for multiple origins of the reticulate red clay in southern China

The loess-paleosol sequences in Chinese Loess Plateau record the multi-cyclic paleo-climatic changes in the Quaternary period[1]. Presently, what interests people most is that at what degrees and scales the climates in southern China had corresponded to the alternating changes be-tween the glacial and interglacial climates in northern China in the Quaternary period. Many researchers[2―10] hope to find some potential Quaternary sediment materials in southern China, just as the loess-paleoso…     

Formation and evolution of Precambrian continental crust in South China

The occurrence of zircons with U-Pb ages of ~3.8 Ga and Hf model ages of ~4.0 Ga in South China suggests the existence of the Hadean crustal remnants in South China. Furthermore, a detrital zircon with a U-Pb age as old as 4.1 Ga has been found in Tibet. This is the oldest zircon so far reported in China. These results imply that continental crust was more widespread than previously thought in the late Hadean, but its majority was efficiently reworked into Archean continental crust. On the basis of available zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotope data, it appears that the growth of continental crust in South China started since the early Archean, but a stable cratonic block through reworking did not occur until the Paleoproterozoic. Thus the operation of some form of plate tectonics may occur in China conti- nents since Eoarchean. The initial destruction of the South China craton was caused by intensive magmatic activity in association with the assembly and breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia during the Neoproterozoic. However, most of the Archean and Paleoproterozoic crustal materials in South China do not occur as surface rocks, but exist as sporadic crustal remnants. Nevertheless, the occur- rence of Neoproterozoic magmatism is still a signature to distinguish South China from North China.     

Rainfall spectrum change in North China and its possible mechanism

The seasonal distribution of the rainfall in North China has changed greatly since 1977, with more rainfall in spring and less in July, August, and September (JAS). Wavelet analysis showed that the JAS rainfall underwent an abrupt spectrum change in the mid-1960s. Its interannual variability has declined while the interdecadal component has become the dominant mode, associated with the dry climate. Correlation analysis found that the JAS rainfall is negatively correlated with the departures of the 500 hPa geopotential height significantly over the northwest and southwest of China, and positively correlated with the suer monsoon over eastern China. Therefore, the interdecadal ascending of the air pressure in northwestern China and the monsoon decaying over East Asia in the past 20 years may be the two major causes of North China drought.     

Critical Thinking of Applying CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) in ELT Classroom for English Teachers in China

This paper critically explores the problem of applying CLT in ELT in China. Because of the great differences in ELT contexts between China and ENL (English as native language) countries, it is impractical and inappropriate to adopt the full package of CLT in China.     

Fine three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the capital region and deep environment for the nucleation of strong earthquakes

A detailed 3-D P-wave velocity model of the crust and uppermost mantle under the capitol region is determined with a spatial resolution of 25 km in the horizontal direction and 4-17 km in depth. We used 48750 precise P-wave arrival time data from 2973 events of local crustal earthquakes, controlled seismic explosions and quarry blasts. These events were recorded by 123 seismic stations. The data are analyzed by using a 3-D seismic tomography method. Our tomographic model provides new information on the geological structure and complex seismotectonics of this region. Different patterns of velocity structures show up in the North China Basin, the Taihangshan and the Yanshan Mountainous areas. The velocity images of the upper crust reflect well the surface geological, topographic and lithological features. In the North China Basin, the depression and uplift areas are imaged as slow and fast velocity belts, respectively, which are oriented in NE-SW direction. The trend of velocity anomalies is the same as that of major structure and tectonics. Paleozoic strata and Pre-Cambrian basement rocks outcrop widely in the Taihangshan and Yanshan uplift areas, which exhibit strong and broad high-velocity anomalies in our tomographic images, while the Quaternary intermountain basins show up as small low-velocity anomalies. Most of large earthquakes, such as the 1976 Tangshan earthquake (M 7.8) and the 1679 Sanhe earthquake (M 8.0), generally occurred in high-velocity areas in the upper to middle crust. However, in the lower crust to the uppermost mantle under the source zones of the large earthquakes, low-velocity and high-conductivity anomalies exist, which are considered to be associated with fluids, just like the 1995 Kobe earthquake (M 7.2) and the 2001 Indian Bhuj earthquake (M 7.8). The fluids in the lower crust may cause the weakening of the seismogenic layer in the upper and middle crust and thus contribute to the initiation of the large crustal earthquakes.     

Velocity structure of the crust and uppermost mantle in the boundary area of the Tianshan Mountains and the Tarim Basin

A portable 3-component broadband digital seismic array was deployed across the Tianshan orogenic belt (TOB) to investigate the lithospheric structure. Based on receiver function analysis of the teleseismic P-wave data, a 2-D S-wave velocity profile of the boundary area of the TOB and the Tarim Basin was obtained at the depths of 0--80 km.Our results reveal a vertical and lateral inhomogeneity in the crust and uppermost mantle. Four velocity interfaces divide the crystalline crust into the upper, middle and lower crust. A low velocity zone is widely observed in the upper-middle crust. The depth of Moho varies between 42 and 52 km. At the north end of the profile the Moho dips northward with a vertical offset of 4--6 km, which implies a subduction front of the Tarim Basin into the TOB. The Moho generally appears as a velocity transitional zone except beneath two stations in the northern Tarim Basin, where the Moho is characterized by a typical velocity discontinuity. The fine velocity structure and the deep contact deformation of the crust and upper most mantle delineate the north-south lithospheric shortening and thickening in the boundary area of the TOB and the Tarim Basin, which would be helpful to constructing the geodynamical model of the intracontinental mountain-basin-coupling system.     

Evidence of crustal ＇channel flow＇ in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau from MT measurements

Magnetotelluric （MT） survey has been carried out in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its neighboring Shimian-Leshan area, Sichuan Province. Analysis of this MT data reveals that the electric structure of the Tibetan Plateau differ much from that of the Sichuan block. In general, the electric resistivity of crust beneath the Sichuan block in the east is larger than that of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. The crust of the plateau is divided into upper, middle, and lower layers. The middle crust is a low resistivity layer with minimum down to 3-10Ωm about 10-15 km thick. It presumably contains partial melt and/or salt-bearing fluids with low viscosity, prone to deform and flow, producing a ＂channel flow＂ under the southeastward squeeze of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This low-resistivity layer makes the upper crust decoupled mechanically from the lower crust. In the brittle upper crust, faults are dominated by left-lateral strike-slip and thrust motions, leading to surface rising and shallow earthquakes. The low-resistivity layer also cut the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zone into two sections vertically. In this region, the thicknesses of upper, middle, and lower crust vary laterally, producing a transitional zone in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau characterized by thicker crust and higher elevation in the west and thinner crust and lower elevation in the east.     

下地幔可以发生地震吗?

大部分的地震发生在比较浅的位置,但是部分地震的深度可以达到600 km以上.目前已有的破裂机制预测地震只存在于上地幔中,但是一些地震的初步定位深度却可以超过670 km(1998年2月9号Okhotsk海地震,地震目录中被定为678 km).研究表明大多数浅震是由于断层失稳,沿着已有的断层面突然滑动引发的,而深震的发震机制目前尚无定论,尤其是下地幔中是否发生地震对于研究深震机制可以提供重要的约束.因为地球中的横向不均匀性,地震的绝对深度有较大的误差,所以我们根据观测地震图中明显的三重值特征,对上述那次深地震进行波形模拟,把相对深度和绝对深度结合起来,最终确定地震实际发生在670公里间断面以上,因此我们认为目前目录中那些最深的地震仍然发生在上地幔中.     

Bending-related faulting and mantle serpentinization at the Middle America trench

The dehydration of subducting oceanic crust and upper mantle has been inferred both to promote the partial melting leading to arc magmatism and to induce intraslab intermediate-depth earthquakes, at depths of 50-300 km. Yet there is still no consensus about how slab hydration occurs or where and how much chemically bound water is stored within the crust and mantle of the incoming plate. Here we document that bending-related faulting of the incoming plate at the Middle America trench creates a pervasive tectonic fabric that cuts across the crust, penetrating deep into the mantle. Faulting is active across the entire ocean trench slope, promoting hydration of the cold crust and upper mantle surrounding these deep active faults. The along-strike length and depth of penetration of these faults are also similar to the dimensions of the rupture area of intermediate-depth earthquakes.     

Three-dimensional crustal velocity structure of P-wave in East China from wide-angle reflection and refraction surveys

The 3-D crustal structure of P-wave velocity in East China is studied based on the data obtained by wide-angle seismic reflection and refraction surveys.The results suggest that a deep Moho disconti-nuity exists in the western zone of the study region,being 35―48 thick.High-velocity structure zones exist in the upper crust shallower than 20 km beneath the Sulu and Dabie regions.The cause of high-velocity zones is attributable to high-pressure metamorphic(HPM) and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic(UHPM) terran...     

利用接收函数方法研究大盈江断裂两侧S波速度结构

 利用研究区(24.2°~25.2°N,97.5°~98.5°E)内大盈江断裂两侧5个流动数字地震台站记录到的宽频带远震P波波形数据进行接收函数反演,得到台站下方0~100km深度范围内地壳、上地幔S波速度细结构.结果表明:研究区内,以大盈江断裂为界,其西北侧Moho面深度约为38km;东南侧Moho面深度为40~42km.断裂两侧地壳、上地幔S波速度结构存在显著差异,东南侧台站下方地壳和上地幔均存在大范围低速区;西北侧台站下方地壳内存在低速层,而上地幔中无明显低速层.研究区内的S波速度结构存在明显的横向非均匀性.     

The role of fluids in lower-crustal earthquakes near continental rifts

The occurrence of earthquakes in the lower crust near continental rifts has long been puzzling, as the lower crust is generally thought to be too hot for brittle failure to occur. Such anomalous events have usually been explained in terms of the lower crust being cooler than normal. But if the lower crust is indeed cold enough to produce earthquakes, then the uppermost mantle beneath it should also be cold enough, and yet uppermost mantle earthquakes are not observed. Numerous lower-crustal earthquakes occur near the southwestern termination of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), an active continental rift in New Zealand. Here we present three-dimensional tomographic imaging of seismic velocities and seismic attenuation in this region using data from a dense seismograph deployment. We find that crustal earthquakes accurately relocated with our three-dimensional seismic velocity model form a continuous band along the rift, deepening from mostly less than 10 km in the central TVZ to depths of 30-40 km in the lower crust, 30 km southwest of the termination of the volcanic zone. These earthquakes often occur in swarms, suggesting fluid movement in critically loaded fault zones. Seismic velocities within the band are also consistent with the presence of fluids, and the deepening seismicity parallels the boundary between high seismic attenuation (interpreted as partial melt) within the central TVZ and low seismic attenuation in the crust to the southwest. This linking of upper and lower-crustal seismicity and crustal structure allows us to propose a common explanation for all the seismicity, involving the weakening of faults on the periphery of an otherwise dry, mafic crust by hot fluids, including those exsolved from underlying melt. Such fluids may generally be an important driver of lower-crustal seismicity near continental rifts.     

The subducted slab of Yangtze continental block beneath the Tethyan orogen in western Yunnan

The western Yunnan area is a natural laboratory with fully developed and best preserved Tethyan orogen in the world. Seismic tomography reveals a slab-like high velocity anomaly down to 250 km beneath the western Yunnan Tethyan orogen, to its west there is a low-velocity column about 300 km wide. In the region from Lancangjiang to Mojiang an obvious low velocity in the lower crust and uppermost mantle overlies on the slab. Synthesizing the available geological and geochemical results, the present paper demonstrates that this slab-like high velocity anomaly is a part of the subducted plate of Yangtze continental segment after the closure of Paleotethys. The collision of India and Eurasia continent starting from 50–60 MaBP might trigger thermal disturbance in the upper mantle and cause the uprising of asthenosphere, in that case the subducted Yangtze plate could be broken off, causing Cenozoic magmatic activities and underplating in the Lancangjiang-Mojiang region.     

面波波形反演中的模拟退火法

采用求解非线性全局优化问题的模拟退火法作为反演手段 ,对面波波形进行反演 ,研究青藏高原地壳上地幔速度结构。通过青藏高原的面波波形振幅谱显示出在周期为 2 0 s和4 0 s时存在两个极小值 ,这可能是由地壳中存在低速层引起的。面波波形反演得到的速度模型也证实了青藏高原在 2 0 km深度左右普遍存在低速层 ;喜马拉雅山造山带在 6 0 km深度附近也存在一低速层。壳内低速层是青藏高原变形及隆升过程最重要的动力学边界条件之一