Biogeochemical conversion of sulfur species in saline lakes of Steppe Altai

The aim of the present research is to identify the main mechanisms of sulfur behavior in saline lakes in the course of time and followed transformations in their chemical composition. The influence of water on chemical composition of biochemical processes involved in decomposition of organic matter was determined by the study of behavior of reduced forms of sulfur in lakes. The determination of reduced forms of sulfur was carried out by successive transfer of each form of sulfur to hydrogen sulfide followed by photometric measurements. The other chemical components were determined by standard methods(atomic absorption, potentiometric method, titration method and others). The salt lakes of the Altai steppe were studied in summer season 2013–2015. Analysis of the chemical composition of the saline lakes of Altai Krai has shown that carbonate-, hydrocarbonate-and chloride ions dominate among anions; sodium is main cation; sulfates are found in subordinate amounts. Reduced forms of sulfur occur everywhere: hydrogen and hydrosulfide sulfur S~(2-) prevail in the bottom sediments; its derivative—elemental S~0—prevails in the lakes water. The second important species in water of soda lakes is hydrosulfide sulfur S~(2-), and in chloride lakes is thiosulfate sulfur S_2O_2~(3ˉ). The lag in the accumulation of sulfates in soda lakes in comparison to chloride lakes can be explained by their bacterial reduction, followed by the formation and deposition of iron sulfides in sediments. In chloride lakes gypsum is a predominantly barrier for sulfates.     

Two-dimensional numerical simulation of flow around three-stranded rope

Three-stranded rope is widely used in fishing gear and mooring system. Results of numerical simulation are presented for flow around a three-stranded rope in uniform flow. The simulation was carried out to study the hydrodynamic characteristics of pressure and velocity fields of steady incompressible laminar and turbulent wakes behind a three-stranded rope. A three-cylinder configuration and single circular cylinder configuration are used to model the three-stranded rope in the two-dimensional simulation. The governing equations, Navier-Stokes equations, are solved by using two-dimensional finite volume method. The turbulence flow is simulated using Standard κ-ε model and Shear-Stress Transport κ-ω(SST) model. The drag of the three-cylinder model and single cylinder model is calculated for different Reynolds numbers by using control volume analysis method. The pressure coefficient is also calculated for the turbulent model and laminar model based on the control surface method. From the comparison of the drag coefficient and the pressure of the single cylinder and three-cylinder models, it is found that the drag coefficients of the three-cylinder model are generally 1.3–1.5 times those of the single circular cylinder for different Reynolds numbers. Comparing the numerical results with water tank test data, the results of the three-cylinder model are closer to the experiment results than the single cylinder model results.     

Numerical simulation and experimental study of the hydrodynamics of a modeled reef located within a current

The hydrodynamic forces and flow field of artificial reef models in steady flow were numerically investigated using the RNG k–εturbulent model.The numerical simulation results are consistent with results observed by experimental means.A comparative study indicates that the corresponding errors of forces between calculated values and values observed in the experiment vary in the range of 2.3%–11.2%and that the corresponding errors of velocities vary in the range of 1.3%–15.8%. The flow field numerical result...     

Characterizing spatial patterns of precipitation based on corrected TRMM 3B43 data over the mid Tianshan Mountains of China

The poor distribution of meteorological stations results in a limited understanding of the precipitation pattern in the Tianshan Mountains. The spatial patterns of precipitation over the mid Tianshan Mountains were characterized based on the TRMM 3B43 monthly precipitation data. By comparing satellite estimates with observed data, it shows that TRMM 3B43 data underestimate the precipitation in mountain region. Regression models were developed to improve the TRMM 3B43 data, using geographic location and topographic variables extracted from DEM using GIS technology. The explained variance in observed precipitation was improved from 64% (from TRMM 3B43 products alone) to over 82% and the bias reduced by over 30% when location and topographic variables were added. We recalculated all the TRMM 3B43 monthly precipitation grids for the period 1998 to 2009 using the best regression models, and then studied the variation patterns of precipitation over the mid Tianshan Mountains. The results are well explained by a general understanding of the patterns of precipitation and orographic effects. This indicated that the Tianshan Mountains strongly influences the amount and distribution of precipitation in the region. This is highlighted by the confinement of the precipitation maxima to the windward (northern slope). And complex vertical changes in the provenance and distribution of precipitation, like that a negative increasing rate of precipitation in the vertical direction exists in the north but does not in south. The results have also revealed large gradients and different patterns in seasonal precipitation that are not simply related to elevation, the distribution of precipitation may also be affected by other seasonal factors such as the sources of moist air, wind direction and temperature.     

Geochemical indices of soil development on basalt rocks in arid to sub-humid climosequence of Central Iran

Quantitative weathering indices are efficient tools in determining the soil development from the underlying rocks. In order to evaluate the effects of climate on the soils developed under an arid to sub-humid climosequence in central Iran, twenty soil-development indices were compared. Twentyfour samples from six pedons were analyzed for routine physico-chemical and geochemical analyses using X-ray fluorescence(XRF). The lowest and highest calculated soil development indices were observed in the arid and sub-humid regions respectively. Among the studied indices, fifteen indices showed similar trends concerning the intensity of weathering. The consistency of such trends reveals the feasibility of using these indices to evaluate basalt weathering rate and soil development in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid regions. This study demonstrated that, among the evaluated weathering indices, the Weathering Index of Parker(WIP) and mass transfer coefficient(τ) were the most proper indices for predicting basalt weathering intensity. This is due to the fact that these indices use the highly mobile earth elements which are the most sensitive elements in basalt chemical weathering. The calculated indices were subdivided into three subgroups including the ratios of mobile/immobile, mobile/mobile and immobile/mobile elements based on the elements used in their calculation. The state of soil evolution was more accurately predicted compared to the other subgroups using the mobile/immobile subgroup of indices. Overall, the weathering indices calculated using the mobile elements are better indicators of weathering intensity, soil formation and the exogenous processes across the arid to sub-humid climosequence.     

Meridional Variation of the 1955-2003 Sea Level Anomalies in the Tropical Pacific Ocean Associated with El Nifio Events

The Sea Level Anomaly-Torque （SLAT, relative to a reference location in the Pacific Ocean）, which means the total torque of the gravity forces of sea waters with depths equal to the Sea Level Anomaly （S/A） in the tropical Pacific Ocean, is defined in this study. The time series of the SLAT from merged altimeter data （1993-2003） had a great meridional variation during the 1997-1998 E1 Nifio event. By using historical upper layer temperature data （1955-2003） for the tropical Pacific Ocean, the temperature-based SLAT is also calculated and the meridional variation can be found in the historical E1 Nifio events （1955-2003）, which suggests that the meridional shifts of the sea level anomaly are also intrinsic oscillating modes of the E1 Nifio cycles like the zonal shifts.     

Determinants of public goods investment in rural communities in mountainous areas of Sichuan Province,China

This study aims to investigate two important issues： what are the determinants of public goods investment and what is the government＇s investment behavior in mountainous areas. The impacts of natural conditions, target, and demand elements on public goods investment are analyzed with statistical method, and the determinants of public goods investment in the areas are obtained by using population-weighted and stepwise regression models with Eviews6.0 software with survey data in 2008 and calculated data based on GIS of 20 typical villages in mountainous regions in Sichuan, China. The results showed： （1） natural conditions are the important determinants of public investment. Mountainous villages with steep slope have relatively high levels of investment; （2） concentration of population and the educational levels of the village leaders also have important impacts on public goods investment; （3） the government is more concerned with public investment resources particularly in areas characterized by fragile ecological environment and poor agricultural output. These results suggest that the current investment strategy helps to reduce disparities in regional development.     

Comparison and effects of different climate-vegetation models in areas of complex terrain under climate change

Identifying the impacts of climate change is important for conservation of ecosystems under climate change, particularly in mountain regions. Holdridge life zone system and K?ppen classification provide two effective methods to assess impacts of climate change on ecosystems, as typical climate-vegetation models. Meanwhile, these previous studies are insufficient to assess the complex terrain as well as there are some uncertainties in results while using the given methods. Analysis of the impacts of the prevailing climate conditions in an area on shifts of ecosystems may reduce uncertainties in projecting climate change. In this study, we used different models to depict changes in ecosystems at 1 km × 1 km resolution in Sichuan Province, China during 1961–2010. The results indicate that changes in climate data during the past 50 years were sufficient to cause shifts in the spatial distribution of ecosystems. The trend of shift was from low temperature ecosystems to high temperature ecosystems. Compared with K?ppen classification, the Holdridge system has better adaptation to assess the impacts of climate change on ecosystems in low elevation(0–1000 m). Moreover, we found that changed areas in ecosystems were easily affected by climate change than unchanged areas by calculating current climate condition.     

Numerical Simulation of Typhoon Muifa(2011) Using a Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport(COAWST) Modeling System

The newly developed Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport(COAWST) Modeling System is applied to investigate typhoon-ocean interactions in this study. The COAWST modeling system represents the state-of-the-art numerical simulation technique comprising several coupled models to study coastal and environmental processes. The modeling system is applied to simulate Typhoon Muifa(2011), which strengthened from a tropical storm to a super typhoon in the Northwestern Pacific, to explore the heat fluxes exchanged among the processes simulated using the atmosphere model WRF, ocean model ROMS and wave model SWAN. These three models adopted the same horizontal grid. Three numerical experiments with different coupling configurations are performed in order to investigate the impact of typhoon-ocean interaction on the intensity and ocean response to typhoon. The simulated typhoon tracks and intensities agree with observations. Comparisons of the simulated variables with available atmospheric and oceanic observations show the good performance of using the coupled modeling system for simulating the ocean and atmosphere processes during a typhoon event. The fully coupled simulation that includes a ocean model identifies a decreased SST as a result of the typhoon-forced entrainment. Typhoon intensity and wind speed are reduced due to the decrease of the sea surface temperature when using a coupled ocean model. The experiments with ocean coupled to atmosphere also results in decreased sea surface heat flux and air temperature. The heat flux decreases by about 29% compared to the WRF only case. The reduction of the energy induced by SST decreases, resulting in weakening of the typhoon. Coupling of the waves to the atmosphere and ocean model induces a slight increase of SST in the typhoon center area with the ocean-atmosphere interaction increased as a result of wave feedback to atmosphere.     

THEORETICAL CALCULATION OF THE COEFFICIENT OF VISCOSITY OF WATER BY NONEQUILIBRIUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS OF SIMPLE LIQUID

The liquid state, especially water, has long been regarded as the most formidable problem in the field of statistical mechanics. The coefficient of viscosity of water is calculated using a simplified model based on the microstructure of water and methods similar to that used by Rice et al. (1961) who studied the non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of simple liquids, such as liquid argon. derived From the Liouville equation. This work's singlet and doublet equations are somewhat different From those derived by Rice et al. (1961) and solutions were obtained by the perturbation method. The calculated coefficient of viscosity of water at different temperature. using this method agree well with standard values.     

A nonlinear vortex induced vibration model of marine risers

With the exploitation of oil and gas in deep water, the traditional vortex induced vibration (VIV) theory is challenged by the unprecedented flexibility of risers. A nonlinear time-dependent VIV model is developed in this paper based on a VIV lift force model and the Morison equation. Both the inline vibration induced by the flow due to vortex shedding and the fluid-structure interaction in the transverse direction are included in the model. One of the characteristics of the model is the response-dependent lift force with nonlinear damping, which is different from other VIV models. The calculations show that the model can well describe the VIV of deepwater risers with the results agreeing with those calculated by other models.     

Effects of wind input and wave dissipation formulations on the steady Ekman current solution

The effects of different wind input and wave dissipation formulations on the steady Ekman current solution are described. Two formulations are considered： one from the wave modeling （WAM） program proposed by Hasselmann and Komen and the other provided by Tsagareli and Babanin. The solution adopted for our study was presented by Song for the wave-modified Ekman current model that included the Stokes drift, wind input, and wave dissipation with eddy viscosity increasing linearly with depth. Using the Combi spectrum with tail effects, the solutions are calculated using two formulations for wind input and wave dissipation, and compared. Differences in the results are not negligible. Furthermore, the solution presented by Song and Xu for the eddy viscosity formulated using the K-Profile Parameterization scheme under wind input and wave dissipation given by Tsagareli and Babanin is compared with that obtained for a depth-dependent eddy viscosity. The solutions are further compared with the available well-known observational data. The result indicates that the Tsagareli and Babanin scheme is more suitable for use in the model when capillary waves are included, and the solution calculated using the K-Profile Parameterization scheme agrees best with observations.     

Meridional Variation of the 1955-2003 Sea Level Anomalies in the Tropical Pacific Ocean Associated with El Nio Events

The Sea Level Anomaly-Torque (SLAT, relative to a reference location in the Pacific Ocean), which means the total torque of the gravity forces of sea waters with depths equal to the Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) in the tropical Pacific Ocean, is defined in this study. The time series of the SLAT from merged altimeter data (1993-2003) had a great meridional variation during the 1997-1998 El Nio event. By using historical upper layer temperature data (1955-2003) for the tropical Pacific Ocean, the tempera- ture-based SLAT is also calculated and the meridional variation can be found in the historical El Nio events (1955-2003), which suggests that the meridional shifts of the sea level anomaly are also intrinsic oscillating modes of the El Nio cycles like the zonal shifts.     

MASS BALANCES OF MAJOR CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS IN BOHAI SEA WATER I. SOURCES

Because of the almast enclosed nature of the Bohai Sea, rivers are considered as the sources of the major seawater chemical constituents there. The annual quantities of river-derived solutes and solids in Bohai Sea water are accurately calculated in this paper.     

UNUSUAL DISTRIBUTION OF TRITERPANE AND STERANE TERRESTRIAL BIOMARKERS IN YACHENG CONDENSATES FROM YING-QIONG BASINS, SOUTH CHINA SEA

The condensates from the Yacheng Gas Field, Ying-Qiong Basins, have unusual chemical characteristics, with distribution dominated by terpanes and steranes derived from higher-plants. Pr/Ph ratios (6- 11 ) are very high. Drimane, cadinanes and homocadinanes exist in high concentration. Anomalously abundant 18α(H)-oleanane and remarkably abundant bicadinanes are present in Yacheng condensates, while 17α( H)-hopanes are in extremely low concentration. Taraxastane and significantlyabundant 17α(H)-diabopanes occur in the condensates. In addition, a number of C29 and C30 unknown pentacyclic triterpanes were monitored in the condensates, some of which are abundant. The unknown compounds may be terrestrial biomarkers or their occurrence may suggest a sub-oxic (dyacrobic) clay-rich depositional environment. C29 homologues are relatively predominant in regular and rearranged steranes. The concentration of diasteranes is markedly higher than that of regular steranes. The characteristics of Yacheng condensates are indicative of terrestrial source input. Based on condensate-condensate and con-densate-rock correlations, combined with results of studies on sedimentary facies. Yacheng condensates may be sourced from Yacheng and Lingshui Formations in the Qiongdongnan Basin. The maturity of Yacheng condensate is relatively high, at late oil window stage ( corresponding to 0.9 % - 1.3 % R0 ),based on sterane and terpane maturity parameters.     

Study of the Wind Conditions in the South China Sea and Its Adjacent Sea Area

An increasing number of marine structures have been built for coastal protection and marine development in recent years,and wind,which is crucial to marine structures,should be analyzed.Therefore,typhoon frequency,wind climate,wind energy assess-ment,and extreme wind speed in the South China Sea(SCS)are investigated in detail in this study.The data are obtained from the China Meteorological Administration,the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts,and the National Centers for Envi-ronmental Prediction.The offshore wind energy potential is analyzed at five sites near the coast.The spatial and monthly frequencies of tropical cyclones for different intensity categories are analyzed.The extreme wind speed is fitted by five distribution models,and the generalized extreme value(GEV)distribution is selected as the most suitable function according to the goodness of fit.The spa-tial distributions of extreme wind speeds in the SCS are plotted on the basis of the GEV distribution and ERA5 data sets.The influ-ences of the distribution models and data sets on the calculated results are discussed.Moreover,the monthly extreme wind speed and comparison with the results of previous studies are analyzed.This study provides a reference for the design of wind turbines.     

Sensitivity of Chinese Industrial Wastewater Discharge Reduction to Direct Input Coefficients in an Input-output Context

Industrial wastewater discharge in China is increasing with the country′s economic development and it is worthy of concern. The discharge is primarily relevant to the direct discharge coefficient of each sector of the economy, its direct input coefficient and the final demand in input-output models. In this study, we calculated the sensitivity of the reduction in the Chinese industrial wastewater discharge using the direct input coefficients based on the theory of error-transmission in an input-output framework. Using input-output models, we calculated the direct and total industrial wastewater discharge coefficients. Analysis of 2007 input-output data of 30 sectors of the Chinese economy and of 30 provincial regions of China indicates that by lowering their direct input coefficients, the manufacturers of textiles, paper and paper products, chemical products, smelting and metal pressing, telecommunication equipment, computers and other electronic equipment will significantly reduce their amounts of industrial wastewater discharge. By lowering intra-provincial direct input coefficients to industrial sectors themselves of Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang, there will be a significant reduction in industrial wastewater discharge for the country as a whole. Investment in production technology and improvement in organizational efficiency in these sectors and in these provinces can help lessen the direct input coefficients, thereby effectively achieving a reduction in industrial wastewater discharge in China via industrial restructuring.     

Empirical-statistical models based on remote sensing for estimating the volume of landslides induced by the Wenchuan earthquake

The Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake on May 12, 2008 induced a huge number of landslides. The distribution and volume of the landslides are very important for assessing risks and understanding the landslide - debris flow - barrier lake - bursts flood disaster chain. The number and the area of landslides in a wide region can be easily obtained by remote sensing technique, while the volume is relatively difficult to obtain because it requires some detailed geometric information of slope failure surface and sub-surface. Different empirical models for estimating landslide volume were discussed based on the data of 107 landslides in the earthquake-stricken area. The volume data of these landslides were collected by field survey. Their areas were obtained by interpreting remote sensing images while their apparent friction coefficients and height were extracted from the images unifying DEM (digital elevation model). By analyzing the relationships between the volume and the area, apparent friction coefficients, and the height, two models were established, one for the adaptation of a magnitude scale landslide events in a wide range of region, another for the adaptation in a small scope. The correlation coefficients (R2) are 0.7977 and 0.8913, respectively. The results estimated by the two models agree well with the measurement data.     

Lake water storage change estimation and its linkage with terrestrial water storage change in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Tibetan Plateau(TP) lakes are important water resources, which are experiencing quick expansion in recent decades. Previous researches mainly focus on analyzing the relationship between terrestrial water storage(TWS) change and lake water storage(LWS) change in the total inner TP, it is still lack of researches about the spatial difference and the characteristic of sub-region in the inner TP. In this study, we estimated the area change of 34 lakes by using Landsat images in the northeastern TP during 1976–2013, and LWS change by using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission(SRTM). The results suggested that LWS had shrunk from 1976 to 1994, and then expanded quickly until 2013. LWS had a serious decrease by 13.6 Gt during 1976–1994, and then it increased quickly by 35.4 Gt during 1994–2013. We estimated TWS change, soil moisture change, and permafrost degradation based on the satellite data and related models during 2003–2013. The results indicated that their changing rates were 1.86 Gt/y, 0.22 Gt/y, and –0.19 Gt/y, respectively. We also calculated the change of groundwater based on the mass balance with a decreasing trend of –0.054 Gt/y. The results suggested that the cause of TWS change was the increase of LWS. We analyzed the cause of lake change according to water balance, and found that the primary cause of lake expansion was the increasing precipitation(80.7%), followed by glacier meltwater(10.3%) and permafrost degradation(9%). The spatial difference between LWS change and TWS change should be studied further, which is important to understand the driving mechanism of water resources change.