The growing spherical seismic source     

Jeffry L. Stevens 《Geophysical Journal International》1982,69(1):121-135

Summary. A solution is found for the seismic radiation from an arbitrarily growing spherical source in an inhomogeneously prestressed elastic medium. The general problem of the growing seismic source in a prestressed medium is formulated as a boundary value problem. For the special case of the growing spherical source, an expansion in vector spherical harmonics reduces the problem to a set of one-dimensional Volterra integral equations. The equations can be easily formed through the use of Bessel function recursion relations. The integral equations for a growing spherical cavity are solved numerically. Waveforms are then computed for homogeneous and inhomogeneous stress fields for several growth histories. The resulting waveforms are similar to the waveforms of the corresponding instantaneous problem, but stretched out in time and reduced in amplitude. The effects of diffraction and the overshoot of equilibrium are reduced with a reduction in growth rate. The effects caused by inhomogeneity of the stress field are quite strong for the growing as well as for the instantaneous seismic source.  相似文献   

Fate and effects of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in marine environments   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Stevens C  Powell DE  Mäkelä P  Karman C 《Marine pollution bulletin》2001,42(7):536-543

Polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) defoamers are used to improve process efficiency under extreme conditions during gas-oil separation, when other chemicals fail to perform. They are also used to reduce the oil content of process waters discharged to the marine environment, thereby serving an important function in reducing oil pollution. As a consequence of these applications small quantities of PDMS may also be released into the environment. This paper reviews the fate of PDMS in the marine environment and the extensive effect studies that have been conducted. These demonstrate the absence of adverse effects on a wide range of marine species.  相似文献   

Comparisons of two global built area land cover datasets in methods to disaggregate human population in eleven countries from the global South     

Forrest R. Stevens  Andrea E. Gaughan  Jeremiah J. Nieves  Adam King  Alessandro Sorichetta  Catherine Linard 《International Journal of Digital Earth》2020,13(1):78-100

ABSTRACT

Mapping built land cover at unprecedented detail has been facilitated by increasing availability of global high-resolution imagery and image processing methods. These advances in urban feature extraction and built-area detection can refine the mapping of human population densities, especially in lower income countries where rapid urbanization and changing population is accompanied by frequently out-of-date or inaccurate census data. However, in these contexts it is unclear how best to use built-area data to disaggregate areal, count-based census data. Here we tested two methods using remotely sensed, built-area land cover data to disaggregate population data. These included simple, areal weighting and more complex statistical models with other ancillary information. Outcomes were assessed across eleven countries, representing different world regions varying in population densities, types of built infrastructure, and environmental characteristics. We found that for seven of 11 countries a Random Forest-based, machine learning approach outperforms simple, binary dasymetric disaggregation into remotely-sensed built areas. For these more complex models there was little evidence to support using any single built land cover input over the rest, and in most cases using more than one built-area data product resulted in higher predictive capacity. We discuss these results and implications for future population modeling approaches.  相似文献   

Dispersion Modelling of the Kilauea Plume   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Annette T. Hollingshead  Steven Businger  Roland Draxler  John Porter  Duane Stevens 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》2003,108(1):121-144

Emissions from the Kilauea volcano pose significant environmental and health risksto the Hawaiian community. This paper describes progress toward simulating theconcentration and dispersion of plumes of volcanic aerosol after they emanate from thePu'u O'o vent of the Kilauea volcano.In order to produce an accurate regional forecast of the concentration and dispersionof volcanic aerosol, the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory(HY-SPLIT) model was used. Wind fields and thermodynamic data from the non-hydrostatic Mesoscale Spectral Model (MSM) were employed as input for theHY-SPLIT model. A combination of satellite remote sensing, aircraft, and ground-based observations collected during a field experiment was used to validate the model simulation of aerosol distribution.The HY-SPLIT model shows skill in reproducing the plume shape, orientation, and concentration gradients as deduced from satellite images of aerosol optical depth.Comparison of the modelled and observed values suggests that the model was able to produce reasonable plume concentrations and spatial gradients downwind of the source. Model concentrations were generally less than those observed on the leeward side of the Island of Hawaii. This deficiency may be explained by a lack of (i) background concentrations, (ii) local sources of pollution and/or (iii) sea-breeze circulation in the prognostic input wind field. These results represent early progress toward the goal of future operational application of the HY-SPLIT model to predict volcanic aerosol concentrations in Hawaii. This may help mitigate their negative impacts of plumes respiratory health, agriculture, and general aviation.  相似文献   

Towards Operational Repeat-Pass SAR Interferometry at Active Volcanoes     

N. F. Stevens  G. Wadge 《Natural Hazards》2004,33(1):47-76

Measurement of volcanic surface movement is an operational technique at many volcano observatories to help understand internal processes and to aid in eruption forecasting. The potential of differential radar interferometry (DInSAR) to map patterns of surface deformation on volcanoes is well-proven. However, the technique has not yet become operational, partly because current spaceborne radars were not designed for the task. We discuss the limitations of the European Space Agency's ERS SARs for this purpose in terms of: radar system constraints, volcano surface characteristics, interpretational uncertainties and the operational context. We illustrate the drawbacks at typical stratovolcanoes in South America, chosen to represent a range of conditions. For non expert users of DInSAR, knowing how well DInSAR will work on a particular volcano is important. Freely-available global datasets of vegetation cover and atmospheric water vapour content can be used as proxy measures of coherence and path delay effects, which are the two main determinants of data quality. Operational volcano DInSAR is still years away, but many of the characteristics of such a system can be specified based on the experience learned from earlier radars.  相似文献   

Short-term effects of a low dissolved oxygen event on estuarine fish assemblages following the passage of hurricane Charley     

Philip W. Stevens  David A. Blewett  J. Patrick Casey 《Estuaries and Coasts》2006,29(6):997-1003

Hurricane Charley, a category 4 storm, passed directly over the Charlotte Harbor estuary and Peace River watershed on August 13, 2004. Following the storm's passage, dissolved oxygen in the Peace River fell below 1 mg l⁻¹ and hypoxic conditions (<2mgl⁻¹) extended into Charlotte Harbor. A long-term fisheries-independent monitoring program (1989 to present) was already in place in Charlotte Harbor, and sampling was intensified during the month after the storm. Changes in fish assemblages that resulted from the hypoxic event were determined using nonmetric multidimensional scaling and similarity percentages analysis. At the mouth of the Peace River and upper Charlotte Harbor, fish abundance decreased dramatically after the hurricane, and typical estuarine fish assemblages were replaced by those dominated by a few resilient estuarine and freshwater species, including the nonindigenous brown hoplo (Hoplosternum littorale) and sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp.). Fish assemblages in the estuarine portion of the Maykka River, located only a few kilometers west of the Peace River, were unaffected. The hypoxic event was short lived; dissolved oxygen and estuarine fish assemblages in the Peace River and upper Charlotte Harbor recovered within a month. The results of this study are consistent with other hurricane-related hypoxic events in the literature which have reported acute effects to estuarine systems in the short term, rapid recoveries, and long-term resilience.  相似文献   

中国北方晚第四纪气候变化的沙漠与黄土记录^* ——以光释光年代为基础的直接对比   总被引：8，自引：11，他引：8       下载免费PDF全文

鹿化煜  周亚利  J.Mason  T.Stevens  弋双文  J.Swinehart 《第四纪研究》2006,26(6):888-894

中国北方有约200×10⁴km²的面积被黄土、沙漠和荒漠戈壁沉积物覆盖,这些地区堆积物的形成变化与第四纪气候变化密切相关。关于中国北方沙漠与黄土记录晚第四纪古气候变化的研究不少,但是,由于受到方法和条件等限制,系统的(高密度的)和独立的年代学工作比较薄弱,从而使诸多已经发表的关于沙漠-黄土记录的亚轨道时间尺度气候变化的结论受到质疑。文章通过对黄土高原代表性的4个末次冰期以来的黄土剖面以及毛乌素、浑善达克和科尔沁沙地的20多个末次冰期-全新世的沙-砂质古土壤剖面的研究,获得了150多个独立的光释光年龄数据。在此基础上,结合200多个样品的粒度、有机质含量和磁化率数据,重建末次冰期以来中国北方气候变化过程,对比分析沙地与黄土古气候记录的联系。结果表明,中国北方古气候在57.5~52.5kaB.P.相对干旱,41.5~37.3kaB.P.相对湿润,26~22kaB.P.逐渐干旱,22~18kaB.P.极端干旱,15~10kaB.P.干旱,10~8kaB.P.为干旱减弱的时期,8.0~2.4kaB.P.相对湿润,而2.4kaB.P.以来气候为相对干旱。其间,在8.0~2.4kaB.P.的湿润时期有几次干旱事件,而2.4kaB.P.以来气候变化频繁。具有独立年代控制的黄土和沙漠记录表明,中国北方的气候变化对轨道时间尺度的太阳辐射变化有大约3~4ka的滞后。  相似文献   

Examining the potential of high sampling resolution OSL dating of Chinese loess   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Thomas Stevens  Simon J. Armitage  Huayu Lu  David S.G. Thomas 《Quaternary Geochronology》2007,2(1-4):15-22

Detailed analysis of the depositional characteristics of Chinese loess is required to determine the nature of the paleoclimate record preserved in these extensive sediments. High sampling resolution optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has the potential to facilitate such an analysis. However, high-resolution dating is extremely time consuming and therefore of limited practical applicability. This study assesses the luminescence characteristics of loess from three sections on the Chinese Loess Plateau in an attempt to identify methods of increasing sample throughput without compromising data quality. Using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose technique, samples yield internally consistent results. However, dose recovery data indicate that care is required in selecting preheating regimes for different sections. The standardized growth curve approach was tested and found to be applicable within, but not between, sites. Nonetheless, the use of standardized growth curves offers increases in sample throughput that will allow more routine high-resolution dating of Chinese loess. High-resolution dose rates calculated using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) methods show relative homogeneity of radioisotope concentrations and are comparable to lower resolution field gamma-spectrometry measurements. Consequently, high-resolution OSL dating has great potential to elucidate the depositional characteristics of Chinese loess and facilitate more precise use of the paleoclimatic information it preserves.  相似文献   

Evidence of free convection in groundwater: Field-based measurements beneath wind-tidal flats     

Joel D. Stevens  John M. Sharp Jr.  Craig T. Simmons  T.R. Fenstemaker   《Journal of Hydrology》2009,375(3-4):394-409

Free convection caused by salinity differences had not been conclusively detected or measured in the field. A field experiment at wind-tidal flats on Padre Island National Seashore, Texas, documents salinity-driven free convection with both direct (head and salinity data) and indirect (time-lapse 3-D resistivity) methods. Evaporative concentration of groundwater near the water table created unstable inverted density gradients, reduced groundwater levels, and reversed hydraulic gradients. These factors allowed plumes or fingers of more saline, denser fluid to flow downward into less-dense fluid as observed in monitoring wells and 3-D surveys. The development of density inversions can overcome the dissipating forces of dispersion and diffusion to create a sufficiently large unstable gradient to induce free convection. The development of free convective flow of variable-density fluids in groundwater can be detected and monitored through field techniques.  相似文献   

Mechanisms and Model Diversity of Trade-Wind Shallow Cumulus Cloud Feedbacks: A Review     

Jessica Vial  Sandrine Bony  Bjorn Stevens  Raphaela Vogel 《Surveys in Geophysics》2017,38(6):1331-1353

Shallow cumulus clouds in the trade-wind regions are at the heart of the long standing uncertainty in climate sensitivity estimates. In current climate models, cloud feedbacks are strongly influenced by cloud-base cloud amount in the trades. Therefore, understanding the key factors controlling cloudiness near cloud-base in shallow convective regimes has emerged as an important topic of investigation. We review physical understanding of these key controlling factors and discuss the value of the different approaches that have been developed so far, based on global and high-resolution model experimentations and process-oriented analyses across a range of models and for observations. The trade-wind cloud feedbacks appear to depend on two important aspects: (1) how cloudiness near cloud-base is controlled by the local interplay between turbulent, convective and radiative processes; (2) how these processes interact with their surrounding environment and are influenced by mesoscale organization. Our synthesis of studies that have explored these aspects suggests that the large diversity of model responses is related to fundamental differences in how the processes controlling trade cumulus operate in models, notably, whether they are parameterized or resolved. In models with parameterized convection, cloudiness near cloud-base is very sensitive to the vigor of convective mixing in response to changes in environmental conditions. This is in contrast with results from high-resolution models, which suggest that cloudiness near cloud-base is nearly invariant with warming and independent of large-scale environmental changes. Uncertainties are difficult to narrow using current observations, as the trade cumulus variability and its relation to large-scale environmental factors strongly depend on the time and/or spatial scales at which the mechanisms are evaluated. New opportunities for testing physical understanding of the factors controlling shallow cumulus cloud responses using observations and high-resolution modeling on large domains are discussed.  相似文献