Wetlands and low-gradient topography are associated with longer hydrologic transit times in Precambrian Shield headwater catchments

The estimation of hydrologic transit times in a catchment provides insights into the integrated effects of water storage, mixing dynamics, and runoff generation processes. There has been limited effort to estimate transit times in southern boreal Precambrian Shield landscapes, which are characteristically heterogeneous with surface cover including till, thin soils, bedrock outcrops, and depressional wetland features that play contrasting hydrologic roles. This study presents approximately 3.5 years of precipitation and streamflow water isotope data and estimates mean transit times (MTTs) and the young water fraction (p_y) across six small catchments in the Muskoka-Haliburton region of south-central Ontario. The main objectives were to define a typical range of MTTs for headwater catchments in this region and to identify landscape variables that best explain differences in MTTs/p_y using airborne light detection and ranging and digital terrain analysis. Of the transit time distributions, the two parallel linear reservoir and gamma distributions best describe the hydrology of these catchments, particularly because of their ability to capture more extreme changes related to events such as snowmelt. The estimated MTTs, regardless of the modelling approach or distribution used, are positively associated with the percent wetland area and negatively with mean slope in the catchments. In this landscape, low-gradient features such as wetlands increase catchment scale water storage when antecedent conditions are dryer and decrease transit times when there is a moisture surplus, which plausibly explains the increases in MTTs and mean annual runoff from catchments with significant coverage of these landscape features.     

Changes in hillslope hydrology in a perched,shallow soil system due to clearcutting and residual biomass removal

Sustainable fuels legislation and volatility in energy prices have put additional pressures on the forestry sector to intensify the harvesting of biomass for “advanced biofuel” production. To better understand how residual biomass removal after harvest affects forest hydrology in relatively low slope terrain, a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study was conducted in the USDA Forest Service's Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, USA. Hydrological measurements were made from 2010–2013 on a forested hillslope that was divided into three treatment blocks, where one block was harvested and residual biomass removed (Biomass Removed), the second was harvested and residual biomass left (Biomass Left), and the last block was left as an Unharvested Control. The pre-harvest period (2 years) was 2010–11 and post-harvest (2 years) was 2012–13. Water table elevation at the upslope and downslope position, subsurface runoff, and soil moisture were measured between May–November. Mixed effect statistical models were used to compare both the before-after and “control” treatment ratios (ratios between harvested hillslopes and the Unharvested Control hillslope). Subsurface runoff significantly increased (p < .05) at both harvested hillslopes but to a greater degree on the Biomass Left hillslope. Greater subsurface runoff volumes at both harvested hillslopes were driven by substantial increases during fall, with additional significant increases during summer on the Biomass Left hillslope. The hydrological connectivity, inferred from event runoff ratios, increased due to harvesting at both hillslopes but only significantly on the Biomass Left hillslope. The winter harvest minimized soil disturbance, resulting in no change to the effective hydraulic conductivity distribution with depth. Thus, the observed hydrological changes were driven by increased effective precipitation and decreased evapotranspiration, increasing the duration that both harvested hillslopes were hydrologically active. The harvesting of residual biomass appears to lessen hydrological connectivity relative to leaving residual biomass on the hillslope, potentially decreasing downstream hydrological impacts of similar forestry operations.     

Colorful Planets,Cometary Tail,and Nuclear Winter

After the 1967 flight of the Venera-4 automatic interplanetary station (AIS), the study of planetary atmospheres became one of the key areas of scientific research at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAPh), USSR Academy of Sciences. The goal of the Venera-4 mission was to deliver a descent vehicle into the atmosphere of Venus and study the physical parameters and chemical composition of the atmosphere. IAPh scientists published several articles on the analysis of these measurements, with A.M. Obukhov himself directly involved in writing some of these articles. An analysis of the properties of the Martian surface and atmosphere from the data of the Mars-2, Mars-3, and Mariner-9 missions in November–December 1971 set the stage for a series of studies on the atmospheric effects of Martian dust storms. Based on the study of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, IAPh scientists developed a simple model for the nuclear winter phenomenon, i.e., a long-term cooling due to massive fires caused by nuclear explosions. Obukhov took a keen interest in this subject and participated in the publication of review articles on the possible atmospheric and climatic effects of a nuclear war. In another publication, Obukhov and his coauthors provided a theoretical analysis of the possible causes for the tail from Halley’s comet ripping off, as was observed in January 1986. The present article gives a brief overview of the IAPh works on Solar System research and on the possible consequences of a nuclear conflict, which were published in the 1960s–1980s while Obukhov was alive.     

河西走廊西段戈壁灌木群落多样性及其分布格局研究

通过野外样方调查河西走廊西段荒漠戈壁典型灌木群落多样性状况，研究探讨了 8 种典型 灌木群落物种多样性的空间分布格局及其与地理因子的关系，对荒漠戈壁植物群落的多样性的保 护和可持续发展具有重要意义。结果表明：(1) 8 个典型灌木群落 Shannon-Wiener 指数、Simpson 指 数、Margalef 指数和 Pielou 指数从高到低为：盐爪爪群落>麻黄群落>合头草群落>红砂群落>梭梭群 落>泡泡刺群落>多枝柽柳群落>沙拐枣群落；波动范围分别为 0.314 ~ 1.355、0.179 ~ 0.666、0.334 ~ 1.222 和 0.051 ~ 0.218，说明荒漠戈壁灌木群落物种多样性指数偏低，群落结构简单，物种组成稀 少。(2) 不同灌木群落内物种数越多，群落间 Jaccard 相似性系数越大。大部分灌木群落类型间 Jac? card 相似性在 0.20 ~ 0.60 之间，群落间相似水平较低，群落相对稳定。(3) 随着海拔的升高，Margalef 指数、Pielou 指数和 Shannon-Wiener 指数均呈先增加后降低的单峰型分布格局，最大值出现在海拔 2 000 m，且与海拔显著相关（P<0.05）；在经度梯度上，从东到西，Margalef 指数、Pielou 指数和 Shan? non-Wiener 指数呈递增格局，但与经度无显著相关性（P>0.05）；在纬度梯度上，从南到北，Margalef 指数、Pielou 指数和 Shannon-Wiener 指数呈显著递增趋势（P<0.05）。总体上，荒漠戈壁灌木群落物 种多样性呈现出明显的垂直（海拔）和纬度地带性分布格局。     

一种新型浅地层剖面仪试验平台的设计与应用

为探讨浅地层剖面声学影像形成原理,探索不同类型沉积物声学影像特征,厘清不同沉积物厚度的识别算法,采用模块化设计理念研发一套新型浅地层剖面仪室内试验平台。综合室内定位技术、浅剖试验平台尺寸合理性分析技术、直线轨道与换能器之间的固定连接技术和海底声学参数反演技术,形成一个试验高效的新型平台。通过铺设沉积物和布设障碍物,利用浅地层剖面仪进行走航测试,精确识别了沉积物的厚度和障碍物的位置。该平台可为开展理想环境下沉积物厚度和障碍物识别提供较好的测试环境,为声学海洋设备性能检测提供测试平台,也为高校学生和技术人员提供设备使用培训场所。     

Steady Lateral Growth of Three-Dimensional Particle Laden Density Currents

In this paper the steady lateral growth of three-dimensional turbulent inclined turbidity current is investigated. To simulate the current, an experimental setup is developed to analyze the turbidity current for different regimes in the particle laden density currents environment. The Buckingham's π theorem together with a dimensional analysis is implemented to derive the appropriate non-dimensional variables. The experimental results were normalized and plotted in the form of non-dimensional graphs from which a theoretical model is developed and analyzed. Based on the results obtained for the steady lateral growth, three different regimes, namely, inertia-viscous one as the first regime, buoyancy-viscous and gravity-viscous as the second and third regimes are distinguished within the current.In these regimes, the force balance is between the driving and resisting forces. Namely, in the first regime, the force balance is between the inertia and viscous forces, in the second regime, the buoyancy and viscous forces, and in the third regime, gravity and viscous forces are balanced. The experimental results indicate that the lateral growth rate in the first regime is smaller than that in the second and third regimes due to the magnitude and type of the forces involved in those regimes. According to the graphical results, the three different lateral growth rates appear when the normalized current length is smaller than about 3, between about 3 and 10, and larger than about 10. In those regions,the slopes of the data are different with respect to one another.     

Projectile preservation during oblique hypervelocity impacts

Impact angle plays a significant role in determining the fate of the projectile. In this study, we use a suite of hypervelocity impact experiments to reveal how impact angle affects the preservation, distribution, and physical state of projectile residues in impact craters. Diverse types of projectiles, including amorphous silicates, crystalline silicates, and aluminum, in two sizes (6.35 and 12.7 mm), were launched into blocks of copper or 6061 aluminum at speeds between 1.9 and 5.7 km s⁻¹. Crater interiors preserve projectile residues in all cases, including conditions relevant to the asteroid belt. These residues consist of projectile fragments or projectile-rich glasses, depending on impact conditions. During oblique impacts at 30° and 45°, the uprange crater wall preserves crystalline fragments of the projectile. The fragments of water-rich projectiles such as antigorite remain hydrated. Several factors contribute to enhanced preservation on the uprange wall, including a weaker shock uprange, uprange acceleration as the shock reflects off the back of the projectile, and rapid quenching of melts along the projectile–target interface. These findings have two broader implications. First, the results suggest a new collection strategy for flyby sample return missions. Second, these results predict that the M-type asteroid Psyche should bear exogenic, impactor-derived debris.     

Solution for a plane strain rough‐walled hydraulic fracture driven by turbulent fluid through impermeable rock

The impact of turbulent flow on plane strain fluid‐driven crack propagation is an important but still poorly understood consideration in hydraulic fracture modeling. The changes that hydraulic fracturing has experienced over the past decade, especially in the area of fracturing fluids, have played a major role in the transition of the typical fluid regime from laminar to turbulent flow. Motivated by the increasing preponderance of high‐rate, water‐driven hydraulic fractures with high Reynolds number, we present a semianalytical solution for the propagation of a plane strain hydraulic fracture driven by a turbulent fluid in an impermeable formation. The formulation uses a power law relationship between the Darcy‐Weisbach friction factor and the scale of the fracture roughness, where one specific manifestation of this generalized friction factor is the classical Gauckler‐Manning‐Strickler approximation for turbulent flow in a rough‐walled channel. Conservation of mass, elasticity, and crack propagation are also solved simultaneously. We obtain a semianalytical solution using an orthogonal polynomial series. An approximate closed‐form solution is enabled by a choice of orthogonal polynomials embedding the near‐tip asymptotic behavior and thus giving very rapid convergence; a precise solution is obtained with 2 terms of the series. By comparison with numerical simulations, we show that the transition region between the laminar and turbulent regimes can be relatively small so that full solutions can often be well approximated by either a fully laminar or fully turbulent solution.