Tree species identity and interaction determine vertical forest structure in young planted forests measured by terrestrial laser scanning

Vertical forest structure is closely linked to multiple ecosystem characteristics,such as biodiversity,habitat,and productivity.Mixing tree species in planted forests has the potential to create diverse vertical forest structures due to the different physiological and morphological traits of the composing tree species.However,the relative importance of species richness,species identity and species interactions for the variation in vertical forest structure remains unclear,mainly because traditional forest inventories do not observe vertical stand structure in detail.Terrestrial laser scanning(TLS),however,allows to study vertical forest structure in an unprecedented way.Therefore,we used TLS single scan data from 126 plots across three experimental planted forests of a largescale tree diversity experiment in Belgium to study the drivers of vertical forest structure.These plots were 9–11years old young pure and mixed forests,characterized by four levels of tree species richness ranging from monocultures to four-species mixtures,across twenty composition levels.We generated vertical plant profiles from the TLS data and derived six stand structural variables.Linear mixed models were used to test the effect of species richness on structural variables.Employing a hierarchical diversity interaction modelling framework,we further assessed species identity effect and various species interaction effects on the six stand structural variables.Our results showed that species richness did not significantly influence most of the stand structure variables,except for canopy height and foliage height diversity.Species identity on the other hand exhibited a significant impact on vertical forest structure across all sites.Species interaction effects were observed to be site-dependent due to varying site conditions and species pools,and rapidly growing tree species tend to dominate these interactions.Overall,our results highlighted the importance of considering both species identity and interaction effects in choosing suitable species combinations for forest management practices aimed at enhancing vertical forest structure.

Beads-on-string hierarchical structured electrocatalysts for efficient oxygen reduction reaction

Rational design of hierarchically structured electrocatalysts is particularly important for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).Here,ZIF-67 crystals are stringed on core-shell Ag@C nanocables using a coordinationmodulated process.Upon pyrolysis,Ag@C strings of Co nanoparticles embedded with three-dimensional porous carbon with beads-on-string hierarchical structures are developed.Due to the advantages of the rich electrochemical active sites of Co-based“beads”and the efficient electron transfer pathways via Ag@C“strings,”the resultant NH_(3)-Ag@C@Co-N-C-700 catalyst shows an improved electrocatalytic activity toward ORR.NH_(3)-Ag@C@Co-N-C-700 shows a high onset potential of 0.99 V versus RHE,a high half-wave potential of 0.88 V versus RHE,and a large limiting current of 5.8 mA cm^(-2),which are better than those of commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts.Additionally,the NH_(3)-Ag@C@Co-N-C-700 catalyst shows high stability and preeminent methanol tolerance,which makes NH_(3)-Ag@C@Co-N-C-700 a promising catalyst for oxygen electrocatalysis in fuel cell applications.

Different Turbulent Regimes and Vertical Turbulence Structures of the Urban Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer

Turbulence in the nocturnal boundary layer(NBL)is still not well characterized,especially over complex underlying surfaces.Herein,gradient tower data and eddy covariance data collected by the Beijing 325-m tower were used to better understand the differentiating characteristics of turbulence regimes and vertical turbulence structure of urban the NBL.As for heights above the urban canopy layer(UCL),the relationship between turbulence velocity scale(VTKE)and wind speed(V)was consistent with the“HOckey-Stick”(HOST)theory proposed for a relatively flat area.Four regimes have been identified according to urban nocturnal stable boundary layer.Regime 1 occurs where local shear plays a leading role for weak turbulence under the constraint that the wind speed V<VT(threshold wind speed).Regime 2 is determined by the existence of strong turbulence that occurs when V>VT and is mainly driven by bulk shear.Regime 3 is identified by the existence of moderate turbulence when upside-down turbulence sporadic bursts occur in the presence of otherwise weak turbulence.Regime 4 is identified as buoyancy turbulence,when V>VT,and the turbulence regime is affected by a combination of local wind shear,bulk shear and buoyancy turbulence.The turbulence activities demonstrated a weak thermal stratification dependency in regime 1,for which within the UCL,the turbulence intensity was strongly affected by local wind shear when V<VT.This study further showed typical examples of different stable boundary layers and the variations between turbulence regimes by analyzing the evolution of wind vectors.Partly because of the influence of large-scale motions,the power spectral density of vertical velocity for upsidedown structure showed an increase at low frequencies.The upside-down structures were also characterized by the highest frequency of the stable stratifications in the higher layer.

Vertical structure of tidal currents in the Xuliujing Section of Changjiang River Estuary

Three long-term fixed acoustic Doppler current profilers were first used for investigating the vertical structure of tidal currents in Xuliujing Section of Changjiang River Estuary.Moreover,three different periods(spring,summer and fall)were also considered for investigating seasonal variations.The semi-diurnal tides were the most energetic,with along-channel speed of up to 80 cm/s for M_(2)constituent,which dominates at all stations with percent energy up to 65%–75%during seasons.The shape of tidal ellipses of the most energetic semi-diurnal constituent M_(2)showed obvious polarization of the flow paralleling to the riverbank,with the minor semi-axis being generally less than 20%of the major one.The maximum velocity of mean current is appeared in top layers at all the three stations,and the velocity decreased with the depth.The seasonal variations of direction are also observed,which is probably caused by complex local topography since the erosion and deposition in riverbed.Observed vertical variation of four parameters of M_(2)ellipses,agreed well with the optimally fit frictional solutions in top and middle layers.However,there was an obvious difference between frictional model and observed data in the lower water column.Discrepancies are probably on account of stratification,which strengthens in summer and fall due to the freshening influence of the Changjiang River Estuary outflow.

Influence of Vertical Irregularity on the Seismic Behavior of Base Isolated RC Structures with Lead Rubber Bearings under Pulse-Like Earthquakes

Nowadays,an extensive number of studies related to the performance of base isolation systems implemented in regular reinforced concrete structures subjected to various types of earthquakes can be found in the literature.On the other hand,investigations regarding the irregular base-isolated reinforced concrete structures’performance when subjected to pulse-like earthquakes are very scarce.The severity of pulse-like earthquakes emerges from their ability to destabilize the base-isolated structure by remarkably increasing the displacement demands.Thus,this study is intended to investigate the effects of pulse-like earthquake characteristics on the behavior of low-rise irregular base-isolated reinforced concrete structures.Within the study scope,investigations related to the impact of the pulse-like earthquake characteristics,irregularity type,and isolator properties will be conducted.To do so,different values of damping ratios of the base isolation system were selected to investigate the efficiency of the lead rubber-bearing isolator.In general,the outcomes of the study have shown the significance of vertical irregularity on the performance of base-isolated structures and the considerable effect of pulse-like ground motions on the buildings’behavior.

Vertical structure of variabilities in the tropical easterly jet and associated factors

热带东风急流为热带上对流层-下平流层内夏季出现的一支强东风带,其垂直范围为300-70hPa,目前其垂直结构的变化特征有待研究.本文利用经验正交函数分解研究了热带东风急流纬向垂直剖面的主要模态。第一模态表现为垂直方向上急流强度的一致变化.ENSO对第一模态的年际分量具有主导贡献,而大西洋年代际振荡和太平洋年代际振荡可能调制其年代际分量第二模态表现为热带东风急流垂直位移的年际变化.热带平流层准两年振荡不同位相的相继下传既可以直接影响对流层顶的纬向风异常,也可以通过改变海洋性大陆附近的对流异常影响热带东风急流的垂直位置.

TP-PROFILE: Monitoring the Thermodynamic Structure of the Troposphere over the Third Pole

Ground-based microwave radiometers(MWRs)operating in the K-and V-bands(20–60 GHz)can help us obtain temperature and humidity profiles in the troposphere.Aside from some soundings from local meteorological observatories,the tropospheric atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau(TP)has never been continuously observed.As part of the Chinese Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(STEP),the Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Profile(TPPROFILE)project aims to construct a comprehensive MWR troposphere observation network to study the synoptic processes and environmental changes on the TP.This initiative has collected three years of data from the MWR network.This paper introduces the data information,the data quality,and data downloading.Some applications of the data obtained from these MWRs were also demonstrated.Our comparisons of MWR against the nearest radiosonde observation demonstrate that the TP-PROFILE MWR system is adequate for monitoring the thermal and moisture variability of the troposphere over the TP.The continuous temperature and moisture profiles derived from the MWR data provide a unique perspective on the evolution of the thermodynamic structure associated with the heating of the TP.The TP-PROFILE project reveals that the low-temporal resolution instruments are prone to large uncertainties in their vapor estimation in the mountain valleys on the TP.

Joint inversion of gravity and vertical gradient data based on modified structural similarity index for the structural and petrophysical consistency constraint

Joint inversion is one of the most effective methods for reducing non-uniqueness for geophysical inversion.The current joint inversion methods can be divided into the structural consistency constraint and petrophysical consistency constraint methods,which are mutually independent.Currently,there is a need for joint inversion methods that can comprehensively consider the structural consistency constraints and petrophysical consistency constraints.This paper develops the structural similarity index(SSIM)as a new structural and petrophysical consistency constraint for the joint inversion of gravity and vertical gradient data.The SSIM constraint is in the form of a fraction,which may have analytical singularities.Therefore,converting the fractional form to the subtractive form can solve the problem of analytic singularity and finally form a modified structural consistency index of the joint inversion,which enhances the stability of the SSIM constraint applied to the joint inversion.Compared to the reconstructed results from the cross-gradient inversion,the proposed method presents good performance and stability.The SSIM algorithm is a new joint inversion method for petrophysical and structural constraints.It can promote the consistency of the recovered models from the distribution and the structure of the physical property values.Then,applications to synthetic data illustrate that the algorithm proposed in this paper can well process the synthetic data and acquire good reconstructed results.

Vertical Structures of Convective and Stratiform Clouds in Boreal Summer over the Tibetan Plateau and Its Neighboring Regions

Cloud is essential in the atmosphere, condensing water vapor and generating strong convective or large-scale persistent precipitation. In this work, the relationships between cloud vertical macro- or microphysical properties, radiative heating rate, and precipitation for convective and stratiform clouds in boreal summer over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are analyzed and compared with its neighboring land and tropical oceans based on CloudSat/CALIPSO satellite measurements and TRMM precipitation data. The precipitation intensity caused by convective clouds is twofold stronger than that by stratiform clouds. The vertical macrophysics of both cloud types show similar features over the TP, with the region weakening the precipitation intensity and compressing the cloud vertical expansion and variation in cloud top height, but having an uplift effect on the average cloud top height. The vertical microphysics of both cloud types under conditions of no rain over the TP are characterized by lower-level ice water, ice particles with a relatively larger range of sizes, and a relatively lower occurrence of denser ice particles. The features are similar to other regions when precipitation enhances, but convective clouds gather denser and larger ice particles than stratiform clouds over the TP. The atmospheric shortwave (longwave) heating (cooling) rate strengthens with increased precipitation for both cloud types. The longwave cooling layer is thicker when the rainfall rate is less than 100 mm d?1, but the net heating layer is typically compressed for the profiles of both cloud types over the TP. This study provides insights into the associations between clouds and precipitation, and an observational basis for improving the simulation of convective and stratiform clouds over the TP in climate models.

Micro-Pulse Lidar Measurements of Aerosol Vertical Structure over the Loess Plateau

Knowledge of the vertical distribution of aerosols in the free troposphere is important for estimating their impact on climate. In this study, direct observations of the vertical distribution of aerosols in the free troposphere are made using surface Micro-Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements. The MPL measurements were made at the Loess Plateau (35.95°N, 104.1°E), which is near the major dust source regions of the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts. The vertical distribution of the MPL backscattering suggested that nondust aerosols floated from ground level to an altitude of approximately 9 km around the source regions. Early morning hours are characterized by a shallow aerosol layer of a few hundred meters thick. As the day progresses, strong convective eddies transport the aero- sols vertically to more than 1500 m.

Evaluation of Cloud Vertical Structure Simulated by Recent BCC_AGCM Versions through Comparison With CALIPSO-GOCCP Data

ABSTRACT The abilities of BCC-AGCM2.1 and BCC_AGCM2.2 to simulate the annual-mean cloud vertical structure （CVS） were evaluated through comparison with GCM-Oriented CALIPSO Cloud Product （CALIPSO-GOCCP） data. BCC-AGCM2.2 has a dynamical core and physical processes that are consistent with BCC-AGCM2.1, but has a higher horizontal resolution. Results showed that both BCC-AGCM versions underestimated the global-mean total cloud cover （TCC）, middle cloud cover （MCC） and low cloud cover （LCC）, and that BCC_AGCM2.2 underestimated the global-mean high cloud cover （HCC）. The global-mean cloud cover shows a systematic decrease from BCCA-GCM2.1 to BCC_AGCM2.2, especially for HCC. Geographically, HCC is significantly overestimated in the tropics, particularly by BCC_AGCM2,1, while LCC is generally overestimated over extra-tropical lands, but significantly underestimated over most of the oceans, especially for subtropical marine stratocumulus clouds. The leading EOF modes of CVS were extracted. The BCC_AGCMs perform well in reproducing EOF1, but with a larger variance explained. The two models also capture the basic features of EOF3, except an obvious deficiency in eigen- vector peaks. EOF2 has the largest simulation biases in both position and strength of eigenvector peaks. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of CVS on relative shortwave and longwave cloud radiative forcing （RSCRF and RLCRF）. Both BCC_AGCM versions successfully reproduce the sign of regression coefficients, except for RLCRF in PC1. However, the RSCRF relative contributions from PC1 and PC2 are overestimated, while the relative contribution from PC3 is underes timated in both BCC_AGCM versions. The RLCRF relative contribution is underestimated for PC2 and overestimated for PC3.

Design and test of a protective structure for the double vertical explosive welding of large titanium/steel plate

A comprehensive protective structure with rigidity and flexibility was put forward and designed in view of the quality and safety problems for the double vertical explosive welding of large titanium/steel cladding plate.The movement speed and displacement of the protective structure was calculated by establishing its physics model.The dynamics and stabilization properties were analyzed,and the protective structure parameters were optimized and devised.The comprehensive protective structure,which is composed of rigidity unit and flexibility wall,can bear the impact of detonation wave and the high-speed movement of the cladding plate.There are no damage and deformation in the protective structure and the cladding plate.The protective structure can be used many times.The bonding rate of the Ti/steel plate obtained was nearly 100%,and there is no deformation,surface cracks,and big wave and micro-defects.Therefore,the protective problems of the double vertical explosive welding can be solved effectively by the protective structure.

Solidified structure of thin-walled titanium parts by vertical centrifugal casting

The solidified structure of the thin-walled and complicated Ti-6AI-4V castings produced by the vertical centrifugal casting process was studied in the present work. The results show that the wall thickness of the section is featured with homogeneously distributed fine equiaxial grains, compared with the microstructure of the thick-walled section. The grain size of the castings has a tendency to decrease gradually with the increasing of the centrifugal radius. The inter-lamellar space in thick-walled casting parts is bigger than that of the thin-walled parts, and the profile of inter-lamellar space is not susceptible to the centrifugal radius.

Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Interaction Between Ice and Wide Vertical Structure Based on Peridynamics

In the ice-covered oceanic region,the collision between sea ice and offshore structures will occur,causing the crushing failure of ice and the vibration of structures.The vibration can result in fatigue damage of structure and even endanger the crews’health.It is no doubt that this ice-structure interaction has been noted with great interest by the academic community for a long time and numerous studies have been done through theoretical analysis,experimental statistics and numerical simulation.In this paper,the bond-based Peridynamics method is applied to simulate the interaction between sea ice and wide vertical structures,where sea ice is modeled as elastic-plastic material,with a certain yield condition and failure criterion.Oscillation equation of single-degree-of-freedom is considered to investigate the vibration features of the structure during the interaction process.The damage of ice,ice forces and vibration responses of structure in the duration are obtained through numerical simulation.A parametric investigation is undertaken to identify the key parameters,such as ice thickness,the diameter of structure and relative velocity that trigger the ice crushing,ice forces and vibration responses of the structure.Results indicate that all three parameters have a positive correlation with the overall level of ice force and vibration displacement.Besides,a velocity coefficient is proposed to predict the vibration displacement based on its relation with ice speed.

Vertical Structure of Interannual Variability in Cross-Equatorial Flows over the Maritime Continent and Indian Ocean in Boreal Summer

This study investigates the vertical structure of variability in the cross-equatorial flows(CEFs)over the Maritime Continent and Indian Ocean in boreal summer,based on three reanalysis datasets:ERA-Interim,JRA-55 and NCEP-2.The results show a high consistency in the interannual variability among the reanalysis datasets,especially between ERAInterim and JRA-55,while great uncertainty exists in the decadal or long-term changes of CEFs.Further analyses on the interannual variability in CEFs indicate that there is a significant negative relationship between the upper-and lower-level CEFs over the Maritime Continent—that is,the northerlies at the upper level and southerlies at the lower level are both enhanced or weakened.This seesaw pattern is also significantly related to the CEFs over the Indian Ocean at the upper level and lower level(i.e.,the Somali jet).This close relationship between the upper-and lower-level CEFs and between the Maritime Continent and Indian Ocean is manifested as the leading mode of equatorial meridional winds in the vertical-zonal section over the Maritime Continent and Indian Ocean.Finally,it is found that ENSO is closely related to the vertical leading mode,and to all the CEFs at the upper and lower levels over the Maritime Continent and Indian Ocean.

Interaction of Oblique Waves and A Rectangular Structure with An Opening Near A Vertical Wall

With the method of separation of variables and the eigenfunction expansion employed, an analytical solution is presented for the radiation and diffraction of a rectangular structure with an opening near a vertical wall in oblique seas, in which the unknown coefficients are determined by the boundary conditions and matching requirement on the interface. The effects of the width of the opening and the angle of incidence on the hydrodynamic characteristics of a rectangular structure with an opening near a vertical wall are mainly studied. The comparisons of the calculation results with wall-present and with wall-absent are also made. The results indicate that the variation trends of the heave added mass and excitation force with wall-present are almost the same as those with wall-absent, and that the peak values in the former case are obviously larger than those in the latter due to the reflection of the vertical wall.

THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF VIBRATION STRUCTURE OF VERTICAL DYNAMIC BALANCING MACHINE

A new type of vibration structure (i.e. supporting system, called swing frame cus- tomarily) of vertical dynamic balancing machine has been designed, which is based on an analysis for the swing frame of a traditional double-plane vertical dynamic balancing machine. The static unbalance and couple unbalance can be e?ectively separated by using the new dynamic balancing machine with the new swing frame. By building the dynamics model, the advantages of the new structure are discussed in detail. The modal and harmonic response are analyzed by using the ANSYS7.0. By comparing the ?nite element modal analysis with the experimental modal analy- sis, the natural frequencies and vibration modes are found. There are many spring boards in the new swing frame. Their sti?nesses are di?erent and assorted with each other. Furthermore, there are three sensors on the measuring points. Therefore, the new dynamic balancing machine can measure static unbalance and coupling unbalance directly, and the interaction between them is faint. The result shows that the new vertical dynamic balancing machine is suitable for inertial measurement of ?ying objects, and can overcome the shortcomings of traditional double-plane vertical dynamic balancing machines, which the e?ect of plane-separation is inferior. The vertical dynamic balancing machine with the new vibration structure can ?nd wide application in the future. The modelling and analysis of the new vibration structure will provide theoretical basis and practical experience for designing new-type vertical dynamic balancing machines.

Reconstruction of vertical thermal structure from several subsurface temperatures in the China Seas and adjacent waters

Empirical Orthogonal Function （EOF） analysis is used in this study to generate main eigenvector fields of historical temperature for the China Seas （here referring to Chinese marine territories） and adjacent waters from 1930 to 2002 （510 143 profiles）. A good temperature profile is reconstructed based on several subsurface in situ temperature observations and the thermocline was estimated using the model. The results show that： 1） For the study area, the former four principal components can explain 95% of the overall variance, and the vertical distribution of temperature is most stable using the in situ temperature observations near the surface. 2） The model verifications based on the observed CTD data from the East China Sea （ECS）, South China Sea （SCS） and the areas around Taiwan Island show that the reconstructed profiles have high correlation with the observed ones with the confidence level 〉95%, especially to describe the characteristics of the thermocline well. The average errors between the reconstructed and observed profiles in these three areas are 0.69℃, 0.52℃ and 1.18℃ respectively. It also shows the model RMS error is less than or close to the climatological error. The statistical model can be used to well estimate the temperature profile vertical structure. 3） Comparing the thermocline characteristics between the reconstructed and observed profiles, the results in the ECS show that the average absolute errors are 1.5m, 1.4 m and 0.17~C/m, and the average relative errors are 24.7%, 8.9% and 22.6% for the upper, lower thermocline boundaries and the gradient, respectively. Although the relative errors are obvious, the absolute error is small. In the SCS, the average absolute errors are 4.1 m, 27.7 m and 0.007℃/m, and the average relative errors are 16.1%, 16.8% and 9.5% for the upper, lower thermocline boundaries and the gradient, respectively. The average relative errors are all 〈20%. Although the average absolute error of the lower thermocline boundary is considerable, but contrast to the spatial scale of average depth of the lower thermocline boundary （165 m）, the average relative error is small （16.8%）. Therefore the model can be used to well estimate the thermocline.

Identification of the sensitive area for targeted observation to improve vertical thermal structure prediction in summer in the Yellow Sea

The sensitive area of targeted observations for short-term(7 d)prediction of vertical thermal structure(VTS)in summer in the Yellow Sea was investigated.We applied the Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbation(CNOP)method and an adjoint-free algorithm with the Regional Ocean Modeling System(ROMS).We used vertical integration of CNOP-type temperature errors to locate the sensitive areas,where reduction of initial errors is expected to yield the greatest improvement in VTS prediction for the selected verification area.The identified sensitive areas were northeast−southwest orientated northeast to the verification area,which were possibly related to the southwestward background currents.Then,we performed a series of sensitivity experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the identified sensitive areas.Results show that initial errors in the identified sensitive areas had the greatest negative effect on VTS prediction in the verification area compared to errors in other areas(e.g.,the verification area and areas to its east and northeast).Moreover,removal of initial errors through deploying simulated observations in the identified sensitive areas led to more refined prediction than correction of initial conditions in the verification area itself.Our results suggest that implementation of targeted observation in the CNOP-based sensitive areas is an effective method to improve short-term prediction of VTS in summer in the Yellow Sea.

NEW TYPE OF VIBRATION STRUCTURE OF VERTICAL DYNAMIC BALANCING MACHINE

A new type of vibration structure of vertical dynamic balancing machine isdesigned, which is based on the analysis for swing frame of a traditional vertical dynamic balancingmachine. The static unbalance and couple unbalance can be separated effectively by using the newmachine with the new swing frame. By building the dynamics model, the advantages of the newstructure are discussed in detail. The modal and harmonic response are analyzed by using theANSYS7.0. By comparing the finite element modal analysis with the experimental modal analysis, thenatural frequencies and vibration modes are found out. There are many spring boards in the new swingframe. Their stiffness is different and assort with each other. Furthermore, there are threesensors on the measurement points. Therefore, the new dynamic balancing machine can measure thestatic unbalance and couple unbalance directly, and the influence between them is faint. The newstructure has the function of belt-strain compensation to improve the measurement precision. Thepractical result indicates that the new vertical dynamic balancing machine is suitable for inertialmeasurement of flying objects, and can overcome the shortcomings of traditional double-planevertical dynamic balancing machines. The vertical dynamic balancing machine with the new vibrationstructure can be widely used in the future applications. The modeling and analysis of the newvibration structure provide theoretic instruction and practical experience for designing new type ofvertical dynamic balancing machines. Based on the design principles such as stiffness-matching,frequency-adjacence and strain-compensation and so on, various new type of vibration structures canbe designed.