Impact of the sampling duration on the uncertainty of averaged velocity measurements with acoustic instruments

Average velocity in streams is a key variable for the analysis and modelling of hydrological and hydraulic processes underpinning water resources science and practice. The present study evaluates the impact of the sampling duration on the quality of average velocity measurements acquired with contemporary instruments such as Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADV) an Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP). The evaluation combines considerations on turbulent flows and principles and configurations of acoustic instruments with practical experience in conducting customized analysis for uncertainty analysis purposes. The study sheds new insights on the spatial and temporal variability of the uncertainty in the measurement of average velocities due to variable sampling durations acting in isolation from other sources of uncertainties. Sampling durations of 90 and 150 s are found sufficient for ADV and ADCP, respectively, to obtain reliable average velocities in a flow affected only by natural turbulence and instrument noise. Larger sampling durations are needed for measurements in most of the natural streams exposed to additional sources of data variability.     

弧形海岸裂流的数值模拟研究

弧形海岸波浪产生的裂流严重危害人类活动，但是目前对其特征缺乏充分认识。本文对Haller物理模型实验和三亚大东海的数值模拟表明FUNWAVE模式具有较好的裂流模拟能力。基于该模式进行了多种弧形海岸条件的裂流数值模拟，给出裂流的一些特征：（1）海岸弯曲度增大，裂流增强；（2）海岸坡度对裂流有比较大的影响，太陡或太平缓的海岸不利于形成裂流；（3）海岸尺寸减小，裂流减弱；（4）波高和波周期增大，裂流增强，但是对于某些海岸而言，0.4m波高可能就存在危害比较大的裂流。     

基于SODA资料的南海表层风能输入的空间分布与长期趋势研究

海面风不仅是驱动上层海洋运动的主要动力, 其能量也是维持海洋表层流动的主要机械能来源。为了分析南海表层流风能输入的变化, 用SODA(Simple Ocean Data Assimilation)(1901—2010)资料估算了风向南海表层流(表层地转流+表层非地转流)的能量输入。结果表明, 风向南海表层流、表层地转流和表层非地转流输入的能量总体均呈减少趋势, 110年间分别减小了约56%、65%和49%。导致风能输入减小的最主要因素是风应力的减弱(减小了35%)。由于南海受季风系统的控制, 风向表层流及其各成分输入的能量呈现出显著的季节性变化。冬季风能输入最强, 高值区位于南海西部及北部区域, 呈一个显著的“回力镖”状结构。这些结果对深入认识南海环流具有理论意义。     

路网约束条件下热力规则设计与试验

热力图是一种能直观准确展示空间观测值的有效工具，在多个领域具有广泛应用。本文在分析设定不同道路层权重、道路技术等级分类的基础上，以反距离权重、直方图均衡化、密度补偿、参数多次迭代等方法，研究构建了以热力方式展示道路网分布及发达程度的相关规则体系。热力规则通过道路赋权、路线曲面化、密度协调、图面综合等多套规则的有机结合，实现了道路网总体发达水平信息的提取与展示，并以全球地理信息资源建设项目路网成果中的亚洲和非洲部分国家数据为例，进行了信息提取与热力分布试验。     

Species Diversity Characteristics of a Natural Pinus taiwanensis Community with Different Diameter Classes and Forest Densities

Pinus taiwanensis is a species endemic to China. This study selected four typical plots of Pinus taiwanensis in the natural secondary forest around Macheng City, in order to reveal the characteristics of and the relationships between different diameter classes (determined based on the diameter at breast height or DBH), forest densities and species diversity, as well as the similarities of species diversity of different plots within the community. The result showed that Pinus taiwanensis was the dominant species in the community. The ratio of Pinus taiwanensis trees of diameter class IV reached a peak of 19.46% of the total followed by diameter class VII at 18.92%. The study recorded 156 species of vascular plants from 130 genera of 71 families; Pinus taiwanensis was the dominant species in the community. When the forest density was 1200 trees ha ^-1 with the largest average diameter of DBH=36.779±4.444 cm, the diversity (Shannon index H'=1.6716) and the evenness (Pielou index E=0.6727) of the tree layer was the highest. When the forest density reached 1525 trees ha ^-1 with the lowest average diameter of DBH=18.957±5.141 cm, the richness (D_ma=5.4308), the diversity (H'=2.9612) and the evenness (E=0.8985) of all shrub layers climbed to the maximum. When the forest density was 1325 trees ha ^-1, the richness (D_ma=5.8132), the diversity (H'=3.0697) and the evenness (E=0.9025) of all herb layers peaked. In terms of vertical structure, the average diversity indexes were herb layer>shrub layer>tree layer. High canopy density weakened light intensity in the community, causing a reduction in the species diversities of herbs and shrubs. The average similarity coefficient between the sample plots was 0.3356, which was at the medium dissimilarity level. External disturbances and improper management were major contributors to the low species diversity of the community. The implementation of scientific management measures is urgently needed to optimize the forest structures of Pinus taiwanensis, create a benign community environment, and promote species diversities and establish a stable forest community structure.     

Gamma-Hadron Separation using Čerenkov Photon Density Fluctuations

In the atmospheric Čerenkov technique γ-rays are detected against the abundant background produced by hadronic showers. In order to improve the signal to noise ratio of theexperiment, it is necessary to reject a significant fraction of hadronic showers. Traditional background rejection methods based on image shape parameters have been extensively used for the data from imaging telescopes. However, non-imaging Čerenkov telescopes have to develop very different means of statistically identifying and removing cosmic ray events. Some of the parameters, which could be potentially important for non-imaging arrays, are the temporal and spectral differences, the lateral distributions and density fluctuations of Čerenkov photons generated by γ-ray and hadron primaries. Here we study the differences in fluctuations of Čerenkov photon density in the light pool at the observation level from showers initiated by photons and those initiated by protons or heavier nuclei. The database of simulated events for the PACT array has been used to evaluate the efficiency of the new technique. Various types of density fluctuations like the short range and medium range fluctuations as well as flatness parameter are studied. The estimated quality factors reflect the efficiencies with which the hadrons can be rejected from the data. Since some of these parameters are independent, the cuts may be applied in tandem and we demonstrate that the proton rejection efficiency of ∼90% can be achieved. Use of density fluctuations is particularly suited for wavefront sampling observations and it seems to be a good technique to improve the signal to noise ratio. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nutrient transports in a Swedish estuary

Himmerfjärd is a Swedish estuary bordering on the Baltic. The estuary lacks astronomical tides and its circulation is driven by winds and freshwater runoff. Because of a tertiary sewage treatment plant located at its inner end, the estuary is becoming increasingly eutrophic. A field study was carried out for a 78-day period in late summer and early fall of 1977 to determine rates of nutrient transport and to construct nutrient budgets. Since physical parameters (current velocity, temperature, salinity, winds and water level changes) were measured more frequently than nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium) it was necessary to develop a suitable method to calculate nutrient flux time series and net nutrient fluxes. Over the study period, Himmerfjärd imported phosphorus and exported nitrogen. Direction of nutrient fluxes and changes in flux direction were consistent with the structure of the baroclinic currents.     

利用自回归模型检测地球极移重力效应

同时采用4个台站的国际超导重力仪长期连续重力观测资料和国际地球自转服务中心提供的同步地球自转参数，研究了极移引起的地球重力场变化特征。利用自回归模型估计了各序列的功率谱密度和积谱密度，结果表明极移导致的重力效应的主要能量集中在Chandler摆动和周年项附近，叠积后实际重力观测与极移重力信号理论值之间的差异分别为0．4％和3．9％，说明超导重力仪可有效监测极移导致的重力变化。     

A critical state model for sands dependent on stress and density

An elastoplastic model for sands is presented in this paper, which can describe stress–strain behaviour dependent on mean effective stress level and void ratio. The main features of the proposed model are: (a) a new state parameter, which is dependent on the initial void ratio and initial mean stress, is proposed and applied to the yield function in order to predict the plastic deformation for very loose sands; and (b) another new state parameter, which is used to determine the peak strength and describe the critical state behaviour of sands during shearing, is proposed in order to predict simply negative/positive dilatancy and the hardening/softening behaviour of medium or dense sands. In addition, the proposed model can also predict the stress–strain behaviour of sands under three-dimensional stress conditions by using a transformed stress tensor instead of ordinary stress tensor. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GRADATION AND ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGE DEGREE OF NATURAL LANDSCAPE IN XING, AN COUNTY, GUANGXI

A new technique designed to help quantify the degree of damage to the landscape from one area to another shows a close relationship between population density and the degree of landscape damage. The technique establishes a scale of damage from 0 to 5 (zero = no damage; 5 = severe damage) using data from aerial photographs, land-use maps, and field data. The related formula allows one to compare the relative degree of damage across regions using a combination of an absolute index, a theoretical index, a relative index, and population density. Xing'an County is used to demonstrate the technique.