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.

     

环青藏高原盆山体系东段新构造变形特征——以川西为例

介于扬子板块与青藏高原之间的川西前陆冲断带是环青藏高原盆山体系东段的重要组成部分,它是研究喜马拉雅构造运动对青藏高原东缘沉积盆地构造作用的重要场所。本文分别选取川西南段、川西北段和川北西段米仓山前的区域构造地质剖面来研究沉积地层在喜马拉雅运动中发生的构造变形特征。通过前陆冲断构造变形带的宽度、水平缩短量,山体隆升、盆地沉降,新构造对早期古构造的叠加与改造关系的研究,揭示出在环青藏高原盆山体系内,造山带与盆地边缘的冲断构造变形从造山带向克拉通盆地内扩展的同时受欧亚大陆与印度板块碰撞及其远程效应的空间位置限制,靠近青藏高原的川西南段到远离它的川北西段,新构造变形强度、新构造变形范围、盆山耦合程度具有依次降低等特征。这种受环青藏高原盆山体系控制的前陆冲断带构造变形具有明显的资环效应,特别是对油气资源的聚集与分布有重要的影响,控制了川西南段晚期次生气藏发育,川西北段和川北西段的早期原生气藏的发育。     

Studying the viscosity of lower crust of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau according to post-seismic deformation

The viscosity of lower crust of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on earth should be determined. It has become a predominant problem in quantitative research on geodynamics. Its order of magnitude will have a great influence on the results of quantitative modeling. To obtain the viscosity of lower crust of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, this parameter was calculated by three methods. The first is based on the estimation on the temperature state of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the deep part, and the viscosity of lower crust of northern Plateau was recomputed with strain rate derived from rheology law and GPS observation. Effective viscosity of middle crust in Kunlun region is between 10²⁰ and 10²² Pa·s, and that of lower crust is between 10¹⁹ and 10²¹ Pa·s; the second is based on three kinds of rheological models used to fit the post-seismic deformation recorded by cross-over fault GPS sites set after M _s8.1 Kunlun earthquake in 2001. The viscosity of lower crust obtained by this method is of 10¹⁷ Pa·s order of magnitude. However, higher viscosity is required to fit the data of south fault better, and the lower one is required to fit the data of north fault better. The viscosity of lower crust, which was obtained by fitting the cross-over fault post-seismic deformation after M _s7.6 Luhuo earthquake in 1973, is of 10¹⁹ Pa·s order of magnitude. Non-linear relationship between effective viscosity and strain rate is ignored in the former research of effective viscosity. This research shows the difference of effective viscosity obtained from laboratory experiment, and shorter and longer time post-seismic deformation after large earthquakes can be explained in phase. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB418405), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40774048), Important Direction Item of Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-123) and Basic Scientific Research Project of Earthquake (Grant No. 02076902-05)