Increasingly important role of numerical modeling in oceanic observation design strategy: A review

Science China Earth Sciences - Oceanic observation design is of considerable significance and has made remarkable progress during the past several decades. This study addresses the critical role of...     

How soil texture,channel shape and cross-sectional area affect moisture dynamics and water loss in irrigation channels

To enhance the utilization efficiency of farmland irrigation water and reduce the leakage of water conveyance channels, the leakage process of channels was simulated dynamically. The simulated results were compared with data measured in laboratory experiments, and the performance of the model was evaluated. The results indicated that the simulated values of the model were consistent with the observation values, and the R² values varied between 0.91 and 0.99. In addition, based on the laboratory experiments, a water supply system (Mariotte bottles) and soil box were built using plexiglass. Three influencing factors, namely, the channel form, soil texture and channel cross-sectional area, were varied to observe and calculate the resulting cumulative infiltration amount, infiltration rate and wetting front migration distance. HYDRUS-3D software was used to solve the three-dimensional soil water movement equation under different initial conditions. The results demonstrated that the U-shaped channel was more effective than the trapezoidal channel in increasing the utilization efficiency of the water resources. A U-shaped channel with a small channel cross-sectional area should be adopted and the soil particle size should be prioritized in the construction of water conveyance channels for farmlands. The simulation results were in agreement with the observed results, which indicates that HYDRUS-3D is a reliable tool that can accurately simulate the soil moisture movement in water conveyance channels. The research results can provide a reference for the design and operation of farmland irrigation systems.     

Dynamics of coastline changes in Mexico

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The goal of our work was to locate and quantify changes that occurred in 66% of the Mexican coastline, based on four land cover maps generated by the Mexican...     

A Nonlinear Representation of Model Uncertainty in a Convective-Scale Ensemble Prediction System

How to accurately address model uncertainties with consideration of the rapid nonlinear error growth characteristics in a convection-allowing system is a crucial issue for performing convection-scale ensemble forecasts. In this study, a new nonlinear model perturbation technique for convective-scale ensemble forecasts is developed to consider a nonlinear representation of model errors in the Global and Regional Assimilation and Prediction Enhanced System (GRAPES) Convection-Allowing Ensemble Prediction System (CAEPS). The nonlinear forcing singular vector (NFSV) approach, that is, conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation-forcing (CNOP-F), is applied in this study, to construct a nonlinear model perturbation method for GRAPES-CAEPS. Three experiments are performed: One of them is the CTL experiment, without adding any model perturbation; the other two are NFSV-perturbed experiments, which are perturbed by NFSV with two different groups of constraint radii to test the sensitivity of the perturbation magnitude constraint. Verification results show that the NFSV-perturbed experiments achieve an overall improvement and produce more skillful forecasts compared to the CTL experiment, which indicates that the nonlinear NFSV-perturbed method can be used as an effective model perturbation method for convection-scale ensemble forecasts. Additionally, the NFSV-L experiment with large perturbation constraints generally performs better than the NFSV-S experiment with small perturbation constraints in the verification for upper-air and surface weather variables. But for precipitation verification, the NFSV-S experiment performs better in forecasts for light precipitation, and the NFSV-L experiment performs better in forecasts for heavier precipitation, indicating that for different precipitation events, the perturbation magnitude constraint must be carefully selected. All the findings above lay a foundation for the design of nonlinear model perturbation methods for future CAEPSs.     

基于动力学震源模型的三维沉积盆地直下型断层地震动模拟

沉积盆地与近断层地震共同作用会增加地震破坏的风险水平,尤其是盆地下方直下型断层发震情况。采用动力学震源模型刻画断层破裂发震过程,开展沉积盆地直下型断层谱元法地震动模拟研究,探讨不同断层面初始剪应力和成核区位置下三维沉积盆地地表响应规律。研究结果表明,断层面应力降对盆地地表地震动的影响显著,在断层面强度一定的情况下,随着初始剪应力的增大,即应力降增大,盆地地表峰值响应增大,原因在于应力降的改变影响了断层破裂释放能量,进而引起断层破裂速度改变,最终导致盆地地表响应发生变化;改变断层面成核区位置会对盆地内部地震动分布规律产生影响,当成核区位置从断层中间向断层左侧移动时,盆地左侧地震动逐渐减小,而右侧地震动逐渐增大,最终表现为盆地右侧地震动显著高于盆地左侧,原因在于改变成核区位置后,导致近断层地震动的方向性效应发生变化。     

Analysis of the microseismicity characteristics in landslide dam failure flume tests: implications for early warning and dynamics inversion

Landslides - Determining the premonitory and dynamic characteristics of landslide dam failures can provide an early warning as well the identification of the evolution of the failure process, and...     

我国深海矿产研究:进展与发现(2011—2020)

深海矿产是地球上尚未被人类充分认识和利用的最大潜在战略矿产资源,近十年我国在该领域的研究取得了重要进展。在太平洋国际海底区域申请到2块多金属结核勘探区、1块富钴结壳勘探区,在西南印度洋中脊申请到1块多金属硫化物勘探区。研究阐明了我国多金属结核和富钴结壳勘探区小尺度成矿规律,揭示了其成矿作用过程及古海洋古气候记录,探讨了关键金属元素富集机制。在西南印度洋、西北印度洋和南大西洋中脊发现了多处热液区,阐述了其成矿作用及控制因素,建立了超慢速扩洋中脊热液循环模型,探讨了拆离断层型热液成矿系统的成矿机制。在太平洋和印度洋划分了4个深海稀土成矿带,在中印度洋海盆、东南太平洋和西太平洋深海盆地发现了大面积富稀土沉积区,初步揭示了深海稀土的富集特征、分布规律、赋存状态和成矿机理。今后在继续加大深海矿产资源调查研究的同时,应聚焦深海关键金属成矿作用研究。     

Effects of different soil and water conservation measures on hydrological extremes and flood processes in the Yanhe River,Loess Plateau,China

The runoff and sediment load of the Loess Plateau have changed significantly due to the implementation of soil and water conservation measures since the 1970s. However, the effects of soil and water conservation measures on hydrological extremes have rarely been considered. In this study, we investigated the variations in hydrological extremes and flood processes during different periods in the Yanhe River Basin (a tributary of the Loess Plateau) based on the daily mean runoff and 117 flood event data from 1956 to 2013. The study periods were divided into reference period (1956–1969), engineering measures period (1970–1995), and biological control measures period (1996–2013) according to the change points of the annual streamflow and the actual human activity in the basin. The results of the hydrological high extremes (HF1_max, HF3_max, HF7_max) exhibit a decreasing trend (P?<?0.01), whereas the hydrological low extremes (HBF1_min, HBF3_min, HBF7_min) show an increasing trend during 1956–2013. Compared with the hydrological extremes during the reference period, the hydrological high extremes increased during the engineering measures period at low (<?15%) and high frequency (>?80%), whereas decreased during the biological control measures period at almost all frequencies. The hydrological low extremes generally increased during both the engineering measures and biological control measures periods, particularly during the latter period. At the flood event scale, most flood event indices in connection with the runoff and sediment during the engineering measures period were significantly higher than those during the biological control measures period. The above results indicate that the ability to withstand hydrological extremes for the biological control measures was greater than that for the engineering measures in the studied basin. This work reveals the effects of different soil and water conservation measures on hydrological extremes in a typical basin of the Loess Plateau and hence can provide a useful reference for regional soil erosion control and disaster prevention policy-making.

     

Three decades of landslide activity in western Nepal: new insights into trends and climate drivers

In recent decades, landslide disasters in the Himalayas, as in other mountain regions, are widely reported to have increased. While some studies have suggested a link to increasing heavy rainfall under a warmer climate, others pointed to anthropogenic influences on slope stability, and increasing exposure of people and assets located in harm’s way. A lack of sufficiently high-resolution regional landslide inventories, both spatially and temporally, has prevented any robust consensus so far. Focusing on Far-Western Nepal, we draw on remote sensing techniques to create a regional inventory of 26,350 single landslide events, of which 8778 date to the period 1992–2018. These events serve as a basis for the analyses of landslide frequency relationships and trends in relation to precipitation and temperature datasets. Results show a strong correlation between the annual number of shallow landslides and the accumulated monsoon precipitation (r = 0.74). Furthermore, warm and dry monsoons followed by especially rainy monsoons produce the highest incidence of shallow landslides (r = 0.77). However, we find strong spatial variability in the strength of these relationships, which is linked to recent demographic development in the region. This highlights the role of anthropogenic drivers, and in particular road cutting and land-use change, in amplifying the seasonal monsoon influence on slope stability. In parallel, the absence of any long-term trends in landslide activity, despite widely reported increase in landslide disasters, points strongly to increasing exposure of people and infrastructure as the main driver of landslide disasters in this region of Nepal. By contrast, no climate change signal is evident from the data.