Analytical investigation of the exact groundwater divide between rivers beyond the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation

The groundwater divide is a key feature of river basins and significantly influenced by subsurface hydrological processes. For an unconfined aquifer between two parallel rivers or ditches, it has long been defined as the top of the water table based on the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation. However, the exact groundwater divide is subject to the interface between two local flow systems transporting groundwater to rivers from the infiltration recharge. This study contributes a new analytical model for two-dimensional groundwater flow between rivers of different water levels. The flownet is delineated in the model to identify groundwater flow systems and the exact groundwater divide. Formulas with two dimensionless parameters are derived to determine the distributed hydraulic head, the top of the water table and the groundwater divide. The locations of the groundwater divide and the top of the water table are not the same. The distance between them in horizontal can reach up to 8.9% of the distance between rivers. Numerical verifications indicate that simplifications in the analytical model do not significantly cause misestimates in the location of the groundwater divide. In contrast, the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation yields an incorrect water table shape. The new analytical model is applied to investigate groundwater divides in the Loess Plateau, China, with a Monte Carlo simulation process taking into account the uncertainties in the parameters.     

2007-2017年中国沙尘气溶胶的三维分布特征及输送过程

利用最新发布的CALIPSO产品，构建了2007-2017年中国沙尘气溶胶的三维分布，并结合HYSPLIT-4模式和再分析数据，探讨了沙尘的三维输送过程。结果表明：中国的沙尘排放源区主要是塔克拉玛干沙漠和巴丹吉林沙漠，沙尘气溶胶出现频率分别为60%和35%。塔克拉玛干沙漠排放的沙尘主要（50%~70%）停留在源地0~6 000 m高度，少部分向东输送至甘肃和内蒙古；巴丹吉林沙漠排放的沙尘则主要向东输送。中国沙尘排放量在春季最大，向东输送最强；夏季，东亚夏季风限制了沙尘向东输送；秋季，沙尘排放减弱，输送强度和夏季相当；沙尘排放量在冬季最小，输送最弱。夏季，沙尘在输送过程中可被抬升至高度5 000 m以上，春季次之，秋、冬季的沙尘主要在低层大气输送。沙尘在向东输送的过程中被抬升并和当地人为污染物混合变为污染性沙尘，华北地区污染性沙尘出现频率高达30%；输送到海洋的沙尘也会与洋面上（0~3 000 m高度）的海盐气溶胶混合，出现频率约为10%。     

Experimental partitioning of trace elements into schreibersite with applications to IIG iron meteorites

Some of the defining characteristics of the IIG iron meteorite group are their high bulk P contents and massive, coarse schreibersite, which have been calculated to make up roughly 11–14 wt% of each specimen. In this study, we produced two data sets to investigate the formation of schreibersites in IIG irons: measurements of trace elements in the IIG iron meteorite Twannberg and experimental determinations of trace element partitioning into schreibersite. The schreibersite‐bearing experiments were conducted with schreibersite in equilibrium with a P‐rich melt and with bulk Ni contents ranging from 0 to 40 wt%. The partitioning behavior for the 20 elements measured in this study did not vary with Ni content. Comparison of the Twannberg measurements with the experimental results required a correction factor to account for the fact that the experiments were conducted in a simplified system that did not contain a solid metal phase. Previously determined solid metal/P‐rich melt partition coefficients were applied to infer schreibersite/solid metal partitioning behavior from the experiments, and once this correction was applied, the two data sets showed broad similarities between the schreibersite/solid metal distribution of elements. However, there were also differences noted, in particular between the Ni and P contents of the solid metal relative to the schreibersite inferred from the experiments compared to that measured in the Twannberg sample. These differences support previous interpretations that subsolidus schreibersite evolution has strongly influenced the Ni and P content now present in the solid metal phase of IIG irons. Quantitative attempts to match the IIG solid metal composition to that of late‐stage IIAB irons through subsolidus schreibersite growth were not successful, but qualitatively, this study corroborates the striking similarities between the IIAB and IIG groups, which are highly suggestive of a possible genetic link between the groups as has been previously proposed.     

Variations in glacier volume and snow cover and their impact on lake storage in the Paiku Co Basin,in the Central Himalayas

Glaciers and snow cover are important constituents of the surface of the Tibetan Plateau. The responses of these phenomena to global environmental changes are sensitive, rapid and intensive due to the high altitudes and arid cold climate of the Tibetan Plateau. Based on multisource remote sensing data, including Landsat images, MOD10A2 snow product, ICESat, Cryosat-2 altimetry data and long-term ground climate observations, we analysed the dynamic changes of glaciers, snow melting and lake in the Paiku Co basin using extraction methods for glaciers and lake, the degree-day model and the ice and lake volume method. The interaction among the climate, ice-snow and the hydrological elements in Paiku Co is revealed. From 2000 to 2018, the basin tended to be drier, and rainfall decreased at a rate of −3.07 mm/a. The seasonal temperature difference in the basin increased, the maximum temperature increased at a rate of 0.02°C/a and the minimum temperature decreased at a rate of −0.06°C/a, which accelerated the melting from glaciers and snow at rates of 0.55 × 10⁷ m³/a and 0.29 × 10⁷ m³/a, respectively. The rate of contribution to the lake from rainfall, snow and glacier melted water was 55.6, 27.7 and 16.7%, respectively. In the past 18 years, the warmer and drier climate has caused the lake to shrink. The water level of the lake continued to decline at a rate of −0.02 m/a, and the lake water volume decreased by 4.85 × 10⁸ m³ at a rate of −0.27 × 10⁸ m³/a from 2000 to 2018. This evaluation is important for understanding how the snow and ice melting in the central Himalayas affect the regional water cycle.     

Benthic foraminiferal fauna and sediment provenance of Eocene syn-rift sequences in Taiwan: implication for onset of Asian epi-continental marginal seas off China coast

Marine Geophysical Research - Early Cenozoic rift basins developed commonly on the Mesozoic basement along the SE Asia Continent. However, Eocene–Oligocene sequences were only exposed widely...     

乌鲁木齐大气混合层厚度和稳定度与大气污染的关系

利用乌鲁木齐市4座10层100 m梯度气象塔2013年6月~2014年4月气象观测资料和7个环境监测站[WTBX]AQI[WTBZ]资料，计算并分析了大气混合层厚度和稳定度特征，探讨了大气混合层厚度和稳定度与污染的关系。结果表明：乌鲁木齐市混合层厚度夏季郊区高、城区低，冬季从南郊—城区—北郊随地势降低依次降低；夏季和冬季分别在1 559～1 772 m和526～1 156 m之间。地面至2 km以上每500 m高度间隔统计混合层厚度，500～1 000 m出现频率最多；月变化为6～9月基本在500 m以上，且每个高度区间其概率均超过10%，10月～次年2月1 500 m以上区间概率明显减小；日变化为中午13:00～16:00达到最高值，下午和傍晚迅速下降。白天较大的感热输送提供充足的热力条件，这也体现出白天以不稳定层结为主，夜间则以稳定层结为主。大气稳定度分类结果，夏季郊区和城区不稳定（A～C类）所占比例差不多，冬季北郊稳定（E、F类）所占比较最大、城区最弱。[WTBX]AQI指数冬季最大，从南郊—城区—北郊依次增大，这与采暖期污染物多、南郊比北郊地势高有利于扩散输送有关。总体来看，乌鲁木齐大气混合层厚度空间分布与气象要素、大气稳定度、地形等密切相关，对AQI[WTBZ]指数分布有重要影响，这对近地层大气污染状况预报有着重要的指导意义。     

Creating an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum from a giant impact

The giant impact hypothesis is the dominant theory explaining the formation of our Moon. However, the inability to produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum has cast a shadow on its validity. Computer-generated impacts have been successful in producing virtual systems that possess many of the observed physical properties. However, addressing the isotopic similarities between the Earth and Moon coupled with correct angular momentum has proven to be challenging. Equilibration and evection resonance have been proposed as means of reconciling the models. In the summer of 2013, the Royal Society called a meeting solely to discuss the formation of the Moon. In this meeting, evection resonance and equilibration were both questioned as viable means of removing the deficiencies from giant impact models. The main concerns were that models were multi-staged and too complex. We present here initial impact conditions that produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum. This is done in a single-staged simulation. The initial parameters are straightforward and the results evolve solely from the impact. This was accomplished by colliding two roughly half-Earth-sized impactors, rotating in approximately the same plane in a high-energy, off-centered impact, where both impactors spin into the collision.     

Three-dimensional finite element simulation of fracture propagation in rock specimens with pre-existing fissure(s) under compression and their strength analysis

A FORTRAN program, consistent with the commercially available finite element (FE) code ABAQUS, is developed based on a three-dimensional (3D) linear elastic brittle damage constitutive model with two damage criteria. To consider the heterogeneity of rock, the developed FORTRAN program is used to set the stiffness and strength properties of each element of the FE model following a Weibull distribution function. The reliability of the program is assessed against available experimental results for granite cylindrical specimens with a throughgoing, flat and inclined fissure. The calibration procedure of the material parameters is explained in detail, and it is shown that the compressive to tensile strength ratio can have a substantial influence on the failure response of the specimens. Numerical simulations are conducted for models with different levels of heterogeneity. The results show a smaller load bearing capacity for models with less homogeneity, representing gradual coalescence of fully damaged elements forming throughout the models during loading. The maximum load bearing capacity is studied for various combinations of inclination angles of two centrally aligned, throughgoing and flat fissures of equal length embedded in cylindrical models under uniaxial and multiaxial loading conditions. The key role of the compressive to tensile strength ratio is highlighted by repeating certain simulations with a lower compressive to tensile strength ratio. It is proven that the peak loads of the rock models with sufficiently small compressive to tensile strength ratios containing two throughgoing fissures of equal length are similar, provided that the minimum inclination angles of the models are the same. The results are presented and discussed with respect to the existing experimental findings in the literature, suggesting that the numerical model applied in this study can provide useful insight into the failure behaviour of rock-like materials.     

Spatial patch structure and adaptive strategy for desert shrub of Reaumuria soongorica in arid ecosystem of the Heihe River Basin

In many arid ecosystems, vegetation frequently occurs in high-cover patches interspersed in a matrix of low plant cover. However, theoretical explanations for shrub patch pattern dynamics along climate gradients remain unclear on a large scale. This context aimed to assess the variance of the Reaumuria soongorica patch structure along the precipitation gradient and the factors that affect patch structure formation in the middle and lower Heihe River Basin (HRB). Field investigations on vegetation patterns and heterogeneity in soil properties were conducted during 2014 and 2015. The results showed that patch height, size and plant-to-patch distance were smaller in high precipitation habitats than in low precipitation sites. Climate, soil and vegetation explained 82.5% of the variance in patch structure. Spatially, R. soongorica shifted from a clumped to a random pattern on the landscape towards the MAP gradient, and heterogeneity in the surface soil properties (the ratio of biological soil crust (BSC) to bare gravels (BG)) determined the R. soongorica population distribution pattern in the middle and lower HRB. A conceptual model, which integrated water availability and plant facilitation and competition effects, was revealed that R. soongorica changed from a flexible water use strategy in high precipitation regions to a consistent water use strategy in low precipitation areas. Our study provides a comprehensive quantification of the variance in shrub patch structure along a precipitation gradient and may improve our understanding of vegetation pattern dynamics in the Gobi Desert under future climate change.