The evolution of pore pressure fields around standard and ball penetrometers: influence of penetration rate

Rate effects are examined in the steady pore pressure distribution induced as a result of penetration of standard and ball penetrometers. The incompressible flow field, which develops around the penetrometer is used to define the approximate soil velocity field local to the penetrometer tip. This prescribes the Lagrangian framework for the migration of the fluid saturated porous medium, defining the advection of induced pore pressures relative to the pressure‐monitoring locations present on the probe face. In two separate approaches, different source functions are used to define the undrained pore fluid pressures developed either (i) on the face of the penetrometer or (ii) in the material comprising the failure zone surrounding the penetrometer tip. In the first, the sources applied at the tip face balance the volume of fluid mobilized by the piston displacement of the advancing penetrometer. Alternately, a fluid source distribution is evaluated from plasticity solutions and distributed throughout the tip process zone: for a standard penetrometer, the solution is for the expansion of a spherical cavity, and for the ball penetrometer, the solution is an elastic distribution of stresses conditioned by the limit load embedded within an infinite medium. For the standard penetrometer, the transition from drained to undrained behavior occurs over about two orders of magnitude in penetration rate for pore pressures recorded at the tip (U1) and about two‐and‐a‐half orders of magnitude for the shoulder (U2). This response is strongly influenced by the rigidity of the soil and slightly influenced by the model linking induced total stresses to pore pressures. For the ball penetrometer, the transition from drained to undrained behavior also transits two‐and‐a‐half orders of magnitude in penetration rate, although it is offset to higher dimensionless penetration rates than for standard penetration. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

烟台市套子湾污水处理厂排海管道有关参数的确定

利用海洋处置城市污水是沿海地区一种把海洋水体的环境容量和自净能力用于环保的可行方法。烟台市套子湾污水处理厂1998年10月建成正式投入运转,日处理能力为25万m3,其污水排海管道工程是该厂重要组成部分,对污水排海管道的有关参数进行计算,可供沿海城市污水处理工程参考。     

Impact of soil and water conservation measures on catchment hydrological response—a case in north Ethiopia

Impact studies of catchment management in the developing world rarely include detailed hydrological components. Here, changes in the hydrological response of a 200‐ha catchment in north Ethiopia are investigated. The management included various soil and water conservation measures such as the construction of dry masonry stone bunds and check dams, the abandonment of post‐harvest grazing, and the establishment of woody vegetation. Measurements at the catchment outlet indicated a runoff depth of 5 mm or a runoff coefficient (RC) of 1·6% in the rainy season of 2006. Combined with runoff measurements at plot scale, this allowed calculating the runoff curve number (CN) for various land uses and land management techniques. The pre‐implementation runoff depth was then predicted using the CN values and a ponding adjustment factor, representing the abstraction of runoff induced by the 242 check dams in gullies. Using the 2006 rainfall depths, the runoff depth for the 2000 land management situation was predicted to be 26·5 mm (RC = 8%), in line with current RCs of nearby catchments. Monitoring of the ground water level indicated a rise after catchment management. The yearly rise in water table after the onset of the rains (ΔT) relative to the water surplus (WS) over the same period increased between 2002–2003 (ΔT/WS = 3·4) and 2006 (ΔT/WS >11·1). Emerging wells and irrigation are other indicators for improved water supply in the managed catchment. Cropped fields in the gullies indicate that farmers are less frightened for the destructive effects of flash floods. Due to increased soil water content, the crop growing period is prolonged. It can be concluded that this catchment management has resulted in a higher infiltration rate and a reduction of direct runoff volume by 81% which has had a positive influence on the catchment water balance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of pore size and geometry on peat unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from 3D computed tomography image analysis

In organic soils, hydraulic conductivity is related to the degree of decomposition and soil compression, which reduce the effective pore diameter and consequently restrict water flow. This study investigates how the size distribution and geometry of air‐filled pores control the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of peat soils using high‐resolution (45 µm) three‐dimensional (3D) X‐ray computed tomography (CT) and digital image processing of four peat sub‐samples from varying depths under a constant soil water pressure head. Pore structure and configuration in peat were found to be irregular, with volume and cross‐sectional area showing fractal behaviour that suggests pores having smaller values of the fractal dimension in deeper, more decomposed peat, have higher tortuosity and lower connectivity, which influences hydraulic conductivity. The image analysis showed that the large reduction of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity with depth is essentially controlled by air‐filled pore hydraulic radius, tortuosity, air‐filled pore density and the fractal dimension due to degree of decomposition and compression of the organic matter. The comparisons between unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from the air‐filled pore size and geometric distribution showed satisfactory agreement with direct measurements using the permeameter method. This understanding is important in characterizing peat properties and its heterogeneity for monitoring the progress of complex flow processes at the field scale in peatlands. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-Term Variability of Volume and Heat Transport in the Nordic Seas: A Model Study

This article presents results from a model study of interannual and decadal variability in the Nordic Seas. Fifty years of simulations were conducted in an initial condition ensemble mode forced with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis. We studied two major events in the interannual and interdecadal variability of the Nordic Seas during the past fifty years: the Great Salinity Anomaly in the 1960s and early 1970s and the warming of the Arctic and subarctic oceans in the late 1990s.

Previous studies demonstrated that the Great Salinity Anomaly observed in the subarctic ocean in 1960 was originally generated by intensified sea-ice and freshwater inflow from the Arctic Ocean. Our model results demonstrate that the increase in the transport of fresh and cold waters through Fram Strait in the 1960s was concurrent with a reduction in the meridional water exchange over the Greenland–Scotland Ridge. The resulting imbalance in salinity and heat fluxes through the strait and over the ridge also contributed to the freshening of the water masses of the Nordic Seas and intensified the Great Salinity Anomaly in the Nordic Seas.

The warming of the Atlantic Waters in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean during the past two decades had an important impact on the variability of these two ocean basins. Some previous observational and model studies demonstrated that the warming of the subpolar Atlantic Ocean in the late 1990s and the meridional transport of the Atlantic Water mass (AW) into the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean contributed to this process. At the same time, observations show that the warming of the AW in the Nordic Seas started in the 1980s (i.e., earlier than the warming of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean). Our model results suggest that this process was triggered by an imbalance in the lateral heat fluxes through Fram Strait and over the Greenland–Scotland Ridge. In the late 1980s the AW transport over the Greenland–Scotland Ridge was stronger than normal while the exchange through Fram Strait was close to normal. The related imbalance in the lateral heat fluxes through the strait and over the ridge warmed the Nordic Seas and caused an increase in the temperature of the AW inflow to the Arctic Ocean in the late 1980s (i.e., about a decade earlier than the warming of the source of the AW in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean). Thus the model results suggest that the imbalance in lateral heat and salinity fluxes through the strait and over the ridge connecting the Nordic Seas to the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans could amplify the interannual variability in the subarctic ocean.

[Traduit par la rédaction] Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude par modèle de la variabilité interannuelle et décennale dans les mers nordiques. Nous avons effectué des simulations sur une période de cinquante ans en mode d'ensemble de conditions initiales forcé avec les réanalyses des NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction). Nous avons étudié deux événements majeurs survenus dans la variabilité interannuelle et décennale des mers nordiques au cours des cinquante dernières années : la grande anomalie de salinité des années 1960 et du début des années 1970 et le réchauffement des océans Arctique et subarctique vers la fin des années 1990.

Des études précédentes ont démontrées que la grande anomalie de salinité observée dans l'océan subarctique en 1960 a été causée par une intensification de l'apport de glace de mer et d'eau douce depuis l'océan Arctique. Les résultats que nous avons obtenus du modèle montrent que l'accroissement du transport d'eau douce et froide à travers le détroit de Fram dans les années 1960 s'est produit en même temps qu'une réduction dans l’échange méridien d'eau au-dessus de la crête Groenland–Écosse. Le déséquilibre résultant dans les flux de salinité et de chaleur à travers le détroit et au-dessus de la crête a aussi contribué à l'adoucissement des masses d'eau des mers nordiques et a intensifié la grande anomalie de salinité dans les mers nordiques.

Le réchauffement des eaux atlantiques dans les mers nordiques et dans l'océan Arctique au cours des deux dernières décennies a eu un impact important sur la variabilité de ces deux bassins océaniques. Des études observationnelles et par modèle précédentes ont établi que le réchauffement de l'océan Atlantique subpolaire dans les années 1990 et le transport méridien de la masse d'eau atlantique dans les mers nordiques et dans l'océan Arctique ont contribué à ce processus. En même temps, les observations montrent que le réchauffement des eaux atlantiques dans les mers nordiques a commencé dans les années 1980 (c.–à–d. plus tôt que le réchauffement de l'océan Nord-Atlantique subpolaire). Les résultats du modèle suggèrent que ce processus a été déclenché par un déséquilibre dans les flux de chaleur latéraux à travers le détroit de Fram et au-dessus de la crête Groenland–Écosse. À la fin des années 1980, le transport des eaux atlantiques au-dessus de la crête Groenland–Écosse était plus fort que la normale alors que l’échange à travers le détroit de Fram était près de la normale. Le déséquilibre résultant dans les flux de chaleur latéraux à travers le détroit et au-dessus de la crête a réchauffé les mers nordiques et causé une augmentation de la température des eaux atlantiques parvenant à l'océan Arctique à la fin des années 1980 (c.-à-d. environ une décennie avant le réchauffement de la source d'eaux atlantiques dans l'océan Nord-Atlantique subpolaire). Donc, les résultats du modèle suggèrent que le déséquilibre dans les flux de chaleur et de salinité latéraux à travers le détroit et au-dessus de la crête reliant les mers nordiques à l'Atlantique Nord et à l'Arctique pourrait amplifier la variabilité interannuelle dans l'océan subarctique.     

珠江磨刀门水道咸潮上溯加剧的原因

对磨刀门水道不同年份地形资料和多年枯季潮位资料进行了对比分析,结果表明:大规模的河床采砂,引起磨刀门上游河段河床大幅下切,河道深泓平均加深0.59~2.25 m,河槽容积平均增加8.91×106~12.11×106m3,使该河段枯季潮差增大,进潮量增加,潮汐动力增强,导致咸水界向上游河段推移;口门围垦整治后,磨刀门口门区由众多岛屿环抱而成的内海区变成人工导堤控制的"一主一支"两条水道,水域面积减少了80%,河槽容积减少了40%,深槽趋于顺直加深,使口门区的"调淡"作用消失,这是咸潮上溯的重要原因;根据多年水文频率分析,发生严重咸潮灾害时,西、北江枯季流量并非都是枯水流量,因此枯季上游来水量变化并不是近年来咸潮灾害加剧的主要原因。     

聚合物驱组合段塞分注实验研究

萨尔图油田南二区东部140号断层以东地区葡11—4油层，以多段多韵律和正韵律沉积为主，平均孔隙度30．0％，平均空气渗透率1980×10^-3μm2。水驱结束时该油层平均含水92％，采出程度39．5％。计划对该区块实施聚合物驱开采。以往经验认为，组合段塞调整注聚技术能够有效改善流度控制作用。然而对组合注入情况下如何进一步提高驱油效果、注入井分注时机、层段注入强度对开发效果有何影响却很少探讨。通过室内驱油实验，在聚驱的组合段塞注入不同时机（水驱空白阶段、含水下降阶段、含水稳定阶段、含水回升阶段）下调整注入强度实施分注以及在含水回升分注基础上进一步调整注入强度，同时对比不分注实验，评价各方案驱油效果。实验表明：不实施分注时聚驱采收率在水驱基础上提高了19．07个百分点，而组合段塞注入时实施分注均能够在不分注基础上进一步提高驱油效果；空白水驱时实施分注采收率提高幅度最大，为26．55个百分点；随着分注时机的滞后采收率提高幅度增加值依次递减，分注时机越早越好。     

Water,restite and granite mineralisation

Dehydration (vapour absent) partial melting reactions in the Earth's crust produce a hydrous granitic melt phase, new anhydrous minerals that are mostly pyroxenes, and new plagioclase more calcic than the initial plagioclase. These solid phases of the melt reaction are restite. If the restite is carried to high levels in the crust as a component of the magma, cooling and crystallisation to granite will result in back reactions in which the H₂O in the melt phase is consumed and is not then available to form a hydrothermal solution. Even in magmas in which some restite has been removed there will be some back reaction and again less H₂O. Only fractional crystallisation will enrich the H₂O in the magma in sufficient amounts to form a substantial quantity of hydrothermal solution and possible mineralisation.     

Long‐term final void salinity prediction for a post‐mining landscape in the Hunter Valley,New South Wales,Australia

Opencast mining alters surface and subsurface hydrology of a landscape both during and post‐mining. At mine closure, following opencast mining in mines with low overburden to coal ratios, a void is left in the final landform. This final void is the location of the active mine pit at closure. Voids are generally not infilled within the mines' lifetime, because of the prohibitive cost of earthwork operations, and they become post‐mining water bodies or pit lakes. Water quality is a significant issue for pit lakes. Groundwater within coal seams and associated rocks can be saline, depending on the nature of the strata and groundwater circulation patterns. This groundwater may be preferentially drawn to and collected in the final void. Surface runoff to the void will not only collect salts from rainfall and atmospheric fallout, but also from the ground surface and the weathering of fresh rock. As the void water level rises, its evaporative surface area increases, concentrating salts that are held in solution. This paper presents a study of the long term, water quality trends in a post‐mining final void in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. This process is complex and occurs long term, and modelling offers the only method of evaluating water quality. Using available geochemical, climate and hydrogeological data as inputs into a mass‐balance model, water quality in the final void was found to increase rapidly in salinity through time (2452 to 8909 mg l⁻¹ over 500 years) as evaporation concentrates the salt in the void and regional groundwater containing high loads of salt continues to flow into the void. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mosaic desert pavement influences water infiltration and vegetation distribution on fluvial fan surfaces

Desert pavements (DPs) are critical for maintaining ecological stability and promoting near-surface hydrological cycling in arid regions. However, few studies have focused on eco-hydrological processes of DPs in the ecological systems of fluvial fans. Although DP surfaces appear to be barren and flat, we found that the surfaces are characterized by surface mosaic patterns of desert pavement (mosaic DP) and bare ground (mosaic BG). We investigated the effects of mosaic DP on water infiltration and vegetation distribution at six sites in fluvial fans (one on a hillside and five within the sectors of fans) along a southwest belt transect in northern Linze County, in the central Hexi Corridor (China). We found significant differences in mosaic DP between the hillside and sector sites in terms of pavement thickness and vesicular horizon thickness (Av thickness), particle composition, and bulk density, although significant differences were absent for mass soil water content, gravel coverage, and surface gravel size. The mosaic DP inhibited water infiltration by the pavement layer, where the sorptivity (S), initial infiltration rate (i_int), steady-state infiltration rate (i_sat) and infiltration time (T) averaged 1.19 cm/min^-0.5, 0.64 cm/min, 0.13 cm/min and 12.76 min, respectively. Where the pavement layer was scalped, the S, i_int, and i_sat increased by 0.27 cm/min^-0.5, 0.52 cm/min, and 0.40 cm/min, respectively, and the T reduced by 7.42 min. Water infiltration was mainly controlled by the pavement layer thickness (+), Av thickness (−), surface gravel coverage (−), fine earth (+) and fine gravel (−) in the pavement layer. The DP surfaces only had a sparse covering of shrubs, but an abundance of herbs. Few shrubs were present on the mosaic DP, but a greater number of shrubs and herbs grew on the mosaic BG. It can be concluded that DPs can maintain vegetation stability for different surface mosaic patterns. This study deepens our understanding of the eco-hydrological cycle of DP landscapes in arid regions.