Assessment of frozen-ground conditions for engineering geology along the Qinghai–Tibet highway and railway, China

The Qinghai–Tibet Highway and Railway (the Corridor) across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau traverses 670 km of permafrost and seasonally frozen-ground in the interior of the Plateau, which is sensitive to climatic and anthropogenic environmental changes. The frozen-ground conditions for engineering geology along the Corridor is complicated by the variability in the near-surface lithology, and the mosaic presence of warm permafrost and talik in a periglacial environment. Differential settlement is the major frost-effect problem encountered over permafrost areas. The traditional classification of frozen ground based on the areal distribution of permafrost is too generalized for engineering purposes and a more refined classification is necessary for engineering design and construction. A proposed classification of 51 zones, sub-zones, and sections of frozen ground has been widely adopted for the design and construction of foundations in the portion of the Corridor studied. The mean annual ground temperature (MAGT), near-surface soil types and moisture content, and active faults and topography are most commonly the primary controlling factors in this classification. However, other factors, such as local microreliefs, drainage conditions, and snow and vegetation covers also exert important influences on the features of frozen ground. About 60% of the total length of the Corridor studied possesses reasonably good frozen-ground conditions, which do not need special mitigative measures for frost hazards. However, other sections, such as warm and ice-rich or -saturated permafrost, particularly in the sections in wetlands, ground improvement measures such as elevated land bridges and passive or proactive cooling techniques need to be applied to ensure the long-term stability of thermally unstable, thick permafrost subsoils, and/or refill with non-frost-susceptible soils. Due to the long-history of the construction and management of the Corridor by various government departments, adverse impacts of construction and operation on the permafrost environment have been resulted. It is recommended that an integrated, executable plan for the routing of major construction projects within this transportation corridor be established and long-term monitoring networks installed for evaluating and mitigating the impact from anthropogenic and climatic changes in frozen-ground conditions.     

A reliable and sensitive closing gear

The model QQC_(2-2) plankton net closing gear is a device designed to control the stratifiedsampling of the plankton net by means of a messenger. The device in its fie1d use has met with98% success in 766 times of strtified sampling of plankton at 157 stations during separatesurveys of Fujian coast zone, the Taiwan Strait, and the central section of the South China Sea,     

青藏铁路对西藏各经济部门发展影响的定量评估

青藏铁路对西藏经济发展影响重大,定量评估其对各经济部门发展的影响程度,是全面评价铁路交通基础设施效益、分析未来冰冻圈变化对线性工程及经济社会重大影响的基础。将灰色关联分析法与投入产出法相结合,既填补了关联度分析的黑箱式缺陷,又弥补了西藏投入产出调查缺乏长时间序列数据的问题,以此来认识青藏铁路对西藏经济发展的影响机理与路径。以2006-2016年统计数据为基础,采用灰色关联度模型计算青藏铁路与西藏各经济部门发展的灰色关联度值,表明铁路运输水平与西藏地区生产总值（GDP）、第三产业高度相关,其中与货运邮电业、住宿餐饮业两个部门关联度达到了0.9以上。在灰色关联度结果的基础上,运用西藏2012年投入产出表及投入产出模型计算铁路的直接作用,以及对各经济部门的间接波及作用,研究发现：青藏铁路建设及运营的劳动密集程度高,且通过灰色关联度较高行业的产品及服务影响其他行业,以直接作用、后向和前向波及作用、消费波及作用三种路径对区域经济的发展产生重要影响,扣除消费波及作用的总体贡献达到41.7亿元,相当于2012年西藏GDP的5.95%。由于铁路交通基础设施重要的直接作用及间接波及作用,建议在工程条件适宜地区加快铁路运输网络建设,同时,将工程设施的社会经济效益纳入冰冻圈服务功能核算中。     

多年冻土工程地质制图的阶梯发展

多年冻土工程地质制图是区域和历史冻土学研究的基础内容之一。多年冻土工程地质制图是根据需要和制图原则,在特定时空尺度分析多年冻土特征,以及各种自然、工程、环境要素共同影响下的多年冻土属性的量化描述。多年冻土工程地质制图所解决的科学问题从多年冻土的分布、规律和格局、冻土功能,认识不断提高。制图的内容从研究多年冻土的基本要素,特征要素,到功能要素,制图的实用性不断增强。制图方法从基本地理和工程地质方法逐步发展到系统论方法。总之,多年冻土工程地质制图表现出时间尺度上阶段性和空间坐标上的台阶性,在认识的深度和广度上均不断深化。为多年冻土区基础科学研究、工程建设、寒区资源环境等方面的工作提供基础数据和技术支持。     

北极多年冻土区埋地输气管道周边温度场数值分析

以北极规划输气管道工程为依托,建立埋地管道与冻土热交换相互作用数值计算模型,探究了埋地管道在连续多年冻土区、非连续多年冻土区和季节冻土区内,按照不同操作温度(5、-1和-5℃)运行情况下管道周围冻土温度演化过程.计算结果表明:同一区域不同管温对冻土上限值影响差异较大,尤其是在非连续多年冻土区,无论管道是正温输送还是负温输送,由于管道的运营,极大地影响了冻土上限值.5℃正温管道将导致冻土上限下降1～3倍管径;-1℃和-5℃负温管道将有助于提高冻土人为上限.建议在连续多年冻土区管道采用-1℃输送温度;在非连续多年冻土区冬季采用-1℃输送温度,夏季可以是正温,接近环境大气温度,但全年输气平均温度要小于0℃;在季节冻土区,若按照负温输送,反而容易引起管基土冻胀,建议输气温度不作特别控制,与温带地区管道类似,正温输送.希望能够为北极多年冻土区天然气管道建设提供新的思路.     

北麓河多年冻土区降水及河水稳定同位素特征分析

为了进一步全面理解和探索青藏高原水文水循环过程,采用同位素方法并结合气象资料对青藏高原北麓河区域2011年6~12月降水和河水稳定同位素时空特征进行分析。探讨了北麓河降水同位素与日平均气温、降水量之间的相互关系,同时也对比分析了北麓河降水和河水的同位素变化特征。结果表明:北麓河降水同位素在整个观测期内总体受温度控制,但存在季节变化,其中6~9月降水同位素受到温度和降水量效应的共同控制,9月以后则主要受温度的影响。河水同位素与降水同位素相似的变化特征,体现了降水补给特征,另外降水量也能够影响河水同位素变化:降水量小则降水对其影响较小,反之则大。与北麓河降水线相比,河水δ18O~δD关系的斜率和截距偏大,揭示该区域河水除了受大气降水的补给外,还受到区域水体内循环和蒸发分馏作用的影响。     

时域反射仪（TDR）测定土壤含水量标定曲线评价与方案推荐

时域反射仪（Time Domain Reflectometry）可用于室内和田间快速、 准确、 自动测定土壤含水量, 是目前应用最广泛的土壤含水量测定方法之一。适宜的土壤含水量标定曲线（即土壤表观介电常数和土壤含水量之间的关系）是TDR准确测定土壤含水量的关键。目前文献中存在大量的土壤含水量标定曲线, 但尚未有研究对这些标定曲线进行系统的验证和分析评价。因此, 它们的准确性和适用范围尚不明晰, 严重影响到与土壤含水量测定相关的研究。通过查阅大量国内外文献, 收集整理了一系列土壤含水量标定曲线的经验公式（19个）和半经验半物理模型（5个）, 并利用大量的文献实测数据对其进行综合评价。同时运用均方根差（RMSE）, 平均误差（AD）, 纳什效率系数（NSE）等三个指标对比分析和评价这些标定曲线的准确性和可靠性。研究结果表明： 经验公式中Topp、 Roth（1992）2、 Jacobosen、 Yoshikawa2、 Alharathi模型和半经验模型中Malicki1公式及其修订模型综合性能较好。研究成果可为利用TDR准确测定土壤含水量及土壤含水量标定曲线的选择提供参考和指导。     

一种新的土壤冻融特征曲线模型

土壤冻融特征曲线（SFTC）可以描述冻融过程中未冻水含量随负温的变化关系。准确刻画土壤冻融特征曲线对土壤的冻融过程及相关的水热耦合运移研究至关重要。以往研究中土壤冻融特征曲线适用范围较窄,无法满足实际需要。通过类比水分特征曲线,考虑初始含水量和溶质浓度对未冻水含量的影响,提出了一种新的冻融特征曲线模型,经广泛的文献数据验证表明,新模型能准确拟合观测数据,平均纳什效率系数高于0.95。与另外五种土壤冻融特征曲线模型相比,新模型在不同质地、初始含水量、溶质含量的土壤中表现良好。此外,敏感性分析显示,影响模型性能的主要因素为土壤自身物理特性、土壤溶质浓度以及残余水含量。新模型及研究结果有助于更好地理解土壤冻融过程中的水热传输过程,可为气候变化条件下冻融区生产建设和环境研究奠定坚实的理论基础,并为寒区工程相关数值模拟提供参考。     

Mapping the permafrost stability on the Tibetan Plateau for 2005–2015

Data scarcity is a major obstacle for high-resolution mapping of permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau(TP).This study produces a new permafrost stability distribution map for the 2010 s(2005–2015)derived from the predicted mean annual ground temperature(MAGT)at a depth of zero annual amplitude(10–25 m)by integrating remotely sensed freezing degree-days and thawing degree-days,snow cover days,leaf area index,soil bulk density,high-accuracy soil moisture data,and in situ MAGT measurements from 237 boreholes on the TP by using an ensemble learning method that employs a support vector regression model based on distance-blocked resampled training data with 200 repetitions.Validation of the new permafrost map indicates that it is probably the most accurate of all currently available maps.This map shows that the total area of permafrost on the TP,excluding glaciers and lakes,is approximately 115.02(105.47–129.59)×10^4 km^2.The areas corresponding to the very stable,stable,semi-stable,transitional,and unstable types are 0.86×10^4,9.62×10^4,38.45×10^4,42.29×10^4,and 23.80×10^4 km^2,respectively.This new map is of fundamental importance for engineering planning and design,ecosystem management,and evaluation of the permafrost change in the future on the TP as a baseline.