Correlations between heavy metals and organic carbon extracted by dry oxidation procedure in urban roadside soils

The organic fraction in soils has a significant influence on heavy metal transport. In this study, the organic carbon content was measured by dry oxidation procedure from 21 Xuzhou urban roadside soils to assess the relationships between the concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cr) and the amount of organic carbon. The anthropogenic heavy metals (e.g. Pb, Cu, Zn) were strongly correlated with organic carbon (denoted by C_org−c) extracted by dry oxidation while natural heavy metal (e.g. Cr) showed no correlation to the C_org−c. The anthropogenic heavy metals were also strongly correlated with the amount of the total carbon. These results show that the anthropogenic heavy metals are mainly enriched in the organic matter in the Xuzhou urban roadside soils.     

Drought and institutional adaptation in the Great Plains of Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914–1939

Agriculture in the southern Great Plains of Canada has been particularly vulnerable to prolonged episodes of drought. Using climate data and a precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration index, the extent of the region’s exposure to drought is examined. Between 1914 and 1917, the Dry Belt was particularly vulnerable to drought, whereas after 1928, a much larger region known as the Palliser Triangle covering most of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan was much more exposed to drought. These droughts provoked major institutional adaptation, in particular the establishment of the Special Areas Board by the Government of Alberta, and the creation of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration by the Government of Canada. Both organizations have proved to be relatively permanent public adaptations to the natural hazard of drought in the region. Moreover, these earlier experiences with prolonged drought as well as institution-building may be of value in helping the residents of the Palliser Triangle adapt to predicted climate changes in the future as well as anticipate some of the barriers to effective institutional adaptation.     

An alternative approach to the structural motion analysis of wedge-beam offshore structures supporting a load

For convenience of dynamic analysis, some offshore structures such as fixed-type platforms are often modeled as the wedge beams supporting tip lumped masses. It is well-known that, due to the effect of the surrounding water, the natural frequencies of a beam in air (or dry beam) are different from those of the same beam immersed in water (or wet beam). However, if the natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes of a dry beam are calculated by taking account of the “added mass” for the immersed beam, then the last natural frequencies and mode shapes will be equal to the corresponding ones of the wet beam. Based on the last concept, the closed form solutions for natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes of the dry beam were determined first, then the partial differential equation of motion for the wet beam was transformed into a matrix equation by using the expansion theorem and the foregoing closed form solutions of free vibration responses for the dry beam. Solving the last matrix equation will give the required natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes of the wet beam. The formulation of this paper is available for the fully or partially immersed double tapered beams with either circular, square or rectangular cross-sections. The taper ratio for width and that for depth may be equal or unequal. The numerical results of this paper were compared with the existing results or the finite-element-method results and good agreement was achieved.     

利用雷电定位系统进行电网雷击故障快速查询(英文)

At present, lightning is one of the 10 natural disasters, and it is also the top environmental factor of power interruption. It often causes huge losses to the electric system. The Wuhan High Voltage Institute of the State Grid Corporation of China and Huazhong University of Science and Technology have been researching and developing lightning location systems （LLSs） since the late 1980s. In the mid-1990s, a lightning detection network was created in 29 provinces and cities in China. It is primarily applied to rapidly find lightning accidents, which greatly reduces power interruption. Also, it ensures high efficiency and safe operation of the electricity system. Remarkable benefit is achieved. China＇s LLS went through an ＂orientation positioning - time difference positioning - integrated positioning＂ development process. The positioning precision, detection efficiency, degree of automation, practicability and applied range are improved. Also, a lightning information system plan of the national network has been implemented, which services the whole society.     

基于遥感影像大数据、卷积神经网络的福建省有效致灾雷电分布模型及应用

为了研究福建省有效致灾雷电的分布情况，基于福建省2004—2012年闪电定位数据及雷击人员伤亡数据、福建省L17级谷歌遥感影像瓦片，引入卷积神经网络模型对遥感影像所在区域是否属于人员活动的属性进行建模、训练和预测，得到福建省人员活动属性的格点产品，结合福建省历史雷电数据对有效致灾的雷电分布情况进行了分析，结果表明：①设计的遥感影像+CNN识别模型具有一定的可行性和准确率，通过显著性水平为0.01的假设检验；②福建省有63.55%的格点为无人员活动区域；③平均有45.36%的闪电落在无人员活动的区域，因地制宜地对其他致灾闪电进行预警是提高应急减灾服务效果的可行途径；④有效致灾雷电密度与历史雷击人员伤亡数据的相关性远大于常规雷电密度与历史雷击人员伤亡数据的相关性，有效致灾雷电分布在表征雷电灾害上比常规雷电分布更具有指示意义。     

人工触发闪电电流测量及特征性分析

通过对１９９３年７月２７日的人工触发闪电电流、跨步电压的直接测量结果的分析发现,在正电场下触发的慢型放电过程由连续电流和双极性的电流脉冲过程组成,其放电特性与雷暴的电特性有关。闪电电流最大值为１．２ｋＡ,持续时间为２５ｍｓ,中和电荷量为８．９Ｃ。跨步电压与电流的测量结果相一致,是一种间接测量电流的方法。     

Passage time, viability, and germination of seeds ingested by foxes

Seed passage through the gut of vertebrates is critical for endozoochorus seed dispersal because it may influence seed viability and germination capacity. Foxes are important fruit-eaters and presumed seed dispersers in the Chaco ecoregion. We experimentally assessed the seed passage time (SPT) and its effect on seed viability and germination in two fox species (Pseudalopex gymnocercus and Cerdocyon thous) that occur in the Chaco. Passage time was measured using both artificial seeds of three sizes and wild seeds of four native fleshy-fruit species commonly consumed by foxes (Ziziphus mistol, Acacia aroma, Celtis tala, and Syagrus romanzoffiana). The average SPT was 6.8 h for the Pampa fox and 7.7 h for the crab-eating fox. Passage time did not differ either among seeds of different sizes or between fox species. Passage through digestive tract of both fox species did not affect seed survival, whereas germination rate was slightly improved. Our data suggest that both fox species are legitimate seed dispersers of the four species studied, having a positive effect on both germination rate and dispersal distance from the parent plant.     

Construction techniques for the Taklamakan Desert Highway: research on the construction materials and the results of field tests

After conducting many laboratory and field experiments, several key technical issues related to the construction of China’s Taklamakan Desert Highway have been satisfactorily resolved. In particular, considerable progress has been made on the dry compaction of a sand sub-base, road design parameters, the creation of a structure that combines a sub-grade and asphalt pavement, analysis of the stability of a sand sub-base strengthened with geotextiles, and on the development of a complete set of construction techniques. The achievements of this research were successfully applied for the first time in the Taklamakan Desert, where the environmental conditions are extremely harsh. The results suggest that the construction of this highway was economical and that the simple construction methods produced a reliable highway. The resulting highway is believed to be the world’s first long-distance graded highway running through a huge desert with migrating dunes.     

北京及其周边地区夏季地闪活动时空特征分析

利用M-LDARS闪电定位系统对北京及其周边地区1995～1997年6～9月的闪电观测数据, 分析闪电活动的时空分布特征。结果表明:闪电活动在时间分布上存在两个峰值时段, 13 :00～21:00和23:00～次日05 :00。通过对总地闪、分时段及峰值时段的地闪密度分析, 发现北京及周边地区闪电活动有几个明显的集中区域, 地闪高密度区主要出现在下垫面为山脉和水体的地方, 闪电活动与下垫面的水汽条件关系密切, 且正、负地闪的空间分布也呈现较大差异, 表明雷暴云的电荷结构存在一定差异。