Suitability of airborne laser scanning for the assessment of forest protection effect against rockfall

Rockfall simulation models are now able to quantify the protective effect of forest with the integration of rock impacts on trees. Those models require spatially explicit forest characteristics which are costly to acquire in operational conditions. The present study compares rockfall simulation results obtained with different forest input data sources: field data with different levels of spatial detail and two methods based on airborne Lidar data. Three different forest stands are tested with several virtual terrain configurations. When rockfall energies are below 200 kJ, the forest protection effect is significant. For higher energies, it also exists but it is minor compared to the effects of topography and rock volume. For all forest input data sources, the estimated rockfall intensity is within ?13 and 16 % of the reference value, whereas the frequency is generally overestimated. Both Lidar methods yield a satisfactory forest protection effect evaluation, but single tree detection tends to underestimate it. Improvements are possible regarding the spatial heterogeneity of stem density and the diameter distribution by tree species.     

Estimation of undrained shear strength in moderately OC clays based on field vane test data

The undrained shear strength (s _u) of cohesive soils is a crucial parameter for many geotechnical engineering applications. Due to the complexities and uncertainties associated with laboratory and in situ tests, it is a challenging task to obtain the undrained shear strength in a reliable and economical manner. In this study, a probabilistic model for the s _u of moderately overconsolidated clays is developed using the Bayesian model class selection approach. The model is based on a comprehensive geotechnical database compiled for this study with field measurements of field vane strength (s _u), plastic limit (PL), natural water content (W _n), liquid limit (LL), vertical effective overburden stress (\(\sigma_{\nu }^{\prime }\)), preconsolidation pressure (\(\sigma_{\text{p}}^{\prime }\)) and overconsolidated ratio (OCR). Comparison study shows that the proposed model is superior to some well-known empirical relationships for OC clays. The proposed probabilistic model not only provides reliable and economical estimation of s _u but also facilitates reliability-based analysis and design for performance-based engineering applications.     

遥感数据的高斯金字塔尺度上推方法研究

尺度转换是遥感信息科学领域的研究热点,其传统研究方法大多局限于统计模型,对数据的空间结构信息考虑较少,很难满足遥感数据的多尺度表达要求。基于此,针对遥感数据的尺度不一致问题,本文提出了一种利用高斯金字塔的图像模糊特性进行遥感数据尺度上推的方法,在对金字塔每一层的数据高斯模糊的基础上,通过多次连续的降采样,得到一系列不同尺度的数据,从而满足实际应用的空间分辨率要求。为了验证本文所提方法的有效性,本文选择Landsat7 ETM影像和ASTER GDEM为研究数据进行尺度上推,并与传统的最邻近、双线性以及立方卷积等方法进行了实验对比,采用均值、方差、均方根误差、平均绝对误差等评价指标,以及相同分辨率的ASTER GDEM和SRTM DEM的等高线套合结果来衡量高斯金字塔方法的性能。实验结果表明,本文使用的高斯金字塔尺度上推方法能够有效地实现连续遥感数据的尺度转换,在保持遥感数据局部细节特征的基础上,较好地保持了原始遥感数据的信息量以及空间结构特征。     

Relict glacial landscape in the Sierra Baguales Mountain Range(50°-51° S): evidence of glaciation dynamics and types in the eastern foothills of the southern Patagonian Andes

The glacial morphology of southern South American presents invaluable evidence to reconstruct former glacier behaviour and its relation to climate and environmental changes. However, there are still spatial and temporal gaps in the reconstruction of the Holocene Patagonian glacial landscape. Here we present the first geomorphological record for the Sierra Baguales Mountain Range(SBMR), forming the eastern foothills of the Southern Patagonian Andes 200 km from the Pacific coast. This area is topographically isolated from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field(SPIF), and is affected by the Westerly Winds. The study area shows evidence of ice sheet and alpine glaciations related to Andean uplift,which caused a marked climatic contrast between its western and eastern flanks since the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM). The regional rock mass strength and precipitation gradient acted as a controlling factor in the glacial cirque distribution and sizes, as well as in the development of glaciation types. We report new radiocarbon dates associated with warm/dry to cold/wet climatic changes during the middle Holocene, when former small alpine glaciers were located in the uppermost section of the SBMR basins, and eventually converged to form a small ice field or a composite valley glacier at lower elevations.This can be explained by an estimated regional temperature drop of 3.8°C±0.8°C, based on a 585±26m Equilibrium Line Altitude(ELA) descent, inferred by geomorphological evidence and the Accumulation Area Ratio(AAR), in addition to a free-air adiabatic lapse rate. Subsequently, the glaciers receded due to climatic factors including a rise in temperature, as well as non-climatic factors, mainly the glacier bedrock topography.     

A new model for flow in shale-gas reservoirs including natural and hydraulic fractures

In this work, we construct a new coupled Multiscale/Discrete Fracture Model for compressible flow in a multiporosity shale gas reservoir containing networks of natural and hydraulic fractures. The geological formation is characterized by four distinct length scales and levels of porosity. The window of observation of the finest (nanoscale) portraits the nanopores within organic matter containing adsorbed gas. At the microscale, the medium is formed by two solid phases: organic, composed by kerogen aggregates, and inorganic (clay, quartz, calcite). Such phases are separated by the network of partially-saturated interparticle pores where microscopic free gas flow influenced by Knudsen effects along with gas diffusion in the immobile water phase occur simultaneously. The upscaling of the local flow to the mesoscale gives rise to a nonlinear homogenized pressure equation in the shale matrix which lies adjacent to the system of natural fractures. Homogenization of the coupled matrix/preexisting fractures to the macroscale leads to a microstructural model of dual porosity type. Such homogenized model is subsequently coupled with the hydrodynamics in the network of induced fractures which, in the context of the discrete fracture modeling, are treated as (n ? 1), (n = 2, 3) lower dimensional objects. In order to handle numerically the nonlinear interaction between the different flow equations, we adopt a superposition argument, firstly proposed by Arbogast (1996), in each iteration of a fixed-point algorithm. The resultant governing equations are discretized by the finite element method and numerical simulations of gas production in stratified arrangements of the fracture networks are presented to illustrate the potential of the multiscale approach.     

CO2 clouds, CAPE and convection on Mars: Observations and general circulation modeling

The thermal emission spectrometer (TES) and the radio science (RS) experiment flying on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft have made observations of atmospheric temperatures below the saturation temperature of carbon dioxide (CO₂). This supersaturated air provides a source of convective available potential energy (CAPE), which, when realized may result in vigorous convective mixing. To this point, most Mars atmospheric models have assumed vertical mixing only when the dry adiabatic lapse rate is exceeded. Mixing associated with the formation of CO₂ clouds could have a profound effect on the vertical structure of the polar night, altering the distribution of temperature, aerosols, and gasses.Presented in this work are estimates of the total planetary inventory of CAPE and the potential convective energy flux (PCEF) derived from RS and TES temperature profiles. A new Mars Global Circulation Model (MGCM) CO₂ cloud model is developed to better understand the distribution of observed CAPE and its potential effect on Martian polar dynamics and heat exchange, as well as effects on the climate as a whole. The new CO₂ cloud model takes into account the necessary cloud microphysics that allow for supersaturation to occur and includes a parameterization for CO₂ cloud convection. It is found that when CO₂ cloud convective mixing is included, model results are in much better agreement with the observations of the total integrated CAPE as well as total column non-condensable gas concentrations presented by Sprague et al. [2005a, GRS measurements of Ar in Mars’ atmosphere, American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #37, #24.08, and 2005b, Distribution and Abundance of Mars’ Atmospheric Argon, 36th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, #2085] When the radiative effects of water ice clouds are included the agreement is further improved.     

新近系保德阶建阶研究新进展

根据与古地磁极性年表的对比 ,山西保德冀家沟剖面含保德动物群的保德组上界年龄为 5 .30 Ma,底界年龄不超过 10 Ma,其红黏土的底界为 8Ma,显示该剖面不存在定义的保德阶 11.2 Ma的下界 ,也没有保存保德阶下部的沉积。《国际地层指南》提倡用选择下界的界线层型来确定年代地层单位 ,其上界应该由后续单位的下界来确定。冀家沟剖面显然不具备保德阶的下界 ,但甘肃临夏盆地郭泥沟剖面含三趾马动物群的红黏土之下还有发育的中中新世沉积出露 ,因此 ,后一个地点应存在保德阶的下界 ,并有保德阶最底部的化石和适合于作古地磁分析的沉积物 ,所以临夏盆地是一个有可能建立保德阶下界界线层型的有利地点     

纳米碘化银在人工影响天气的应用研究III: 表征实验研究

针对新型纳米碘化银催化剂在人工影响天气中有较大的应用前景,采用粉末化学液相沉淀法在常温常压条件下制备了与冰晶具有相近结构的纳米碘化银(AgI)粉末,采用场发射透射电子显微镜和X射线衍射谱等对碘化银粒子的结构特性、尺寸分布和比表面积等进行了与成冰性能相关的实验表征.与目前用的常规碘化银进行了表征特征对比表明,该纳米碘化银粒子的晶格常数更接近于冰,尺寸在30～90 nm之间,具有较高的吸附能力和比表面积.     

幕阜山西南缘黄柏山稀有金属伟晶岩密集区的发现及意义

幕阜山地区是中国重要的稀有金属矿集区。中国地质科学院矿产资源研究所与湖南省核工业地质局三一一大队在总结区域稀有金属成矿规律的基础上,于2019年度在幕阜山西南缘黄柏山地区新发现稀有金属伟晶岩密集区一处。区内伟晶岩呈现出良好的铌钽锂成矿性,易于开采、分选及运输,具有较高的经济价值。区域伟晶岩具较高的岩浆分异演化程度,且呈现出较为清晰的稀有金属矿化分带,具有良好的成矿潜力。     

微生物沉积碳酸钙固化砂质黏性紫色土试验研究

重庆紫色土是一种砂质黏性土,地区降雨集中,水力冲蚀作用剧烈,极易产生水土流失,微生物诱导方解石沉积(MICP)技术因能耗低、污染小而广泛应用于土体加固中。通过正交试验优化了巨大芽孢杆菌(BNCC 336739)的培养基和培养条件,活菌数增长126%,活性良好。采用巨大芽孢杆菌,进行低水压(9.8kPa)灌注固化砂质黏性紫色土试验,探究了固化效果的变化规律。结果表明:随固化次数增加,碳酸钙生成量和干密度逐级增加,无侧限抗压强度与碳酸钙生成量正相关;碳酸钙有效沉积越来越少,强度提高趋于稳定,固化9次后强度提高77%;随孔隙被碳酸钙填充和上下碳酸钙硬壳的形成,渗透性不断降低,最终下降两个数量级;通过试样上、中、下三部分碳酸钙生成量C的样本标准差s来反映碳酸钙分布离散程度,发现割线弹性模量在s的影响下随C增加而波动上升,波动表现为在C相近或s相差很大时,s越小割线弹性模量越大。研究成果可以为MICP技术在紫色土地区的地基、边坡加固和水土流失防护等工程应用提供科学依据和参考。