Wind tunnel simulation of the effects of freeze–thaw cycles on soil erosion in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Intense freezing and thawing actions occur in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau because of its high elevation and cold temperature. The plateau's unique environment makes it easy to generate wind erosion under dry, windy weather conditions, resulting in the emergence of desertification. As a major form of freeze–thaw erosion, freeze–thaw and wind erosion is displayed prominently on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Therefore, in this study, soil samples were collected from the surface of the plateau to undergo freeze–thaw and wind erosion simulation experiments. Results show that wind erosion strength increases with an increasing number of freeze–thaw cycles, water content in the freezing–thawing process, and the difference in freeze–thaw temperatures. Therefore, in the conditions of water participation, the main reason for the freeze–thaw and wind erosion in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is the damage to the soil structure by repeated, fierce freeze–thaw actions, and the sand-bearing wind is the main driving force for this process. The research results have theoretical significance for exploring the formation mechanism of freeze–thaw and wind erosion in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, and provide a scientific basis for freeze–thaw desertification control in the plateau.     

Cracking in an expansive soil under freeze–thaw cycles

Expansive soils located in cold regions can easily endure the action of frost heaving and cyclic freezing–thawing. Cracking can also occur in expansive clayey soils under freeze–thaw cycles, of which little attention has been paid on this issue.In this study, laboratory experiment and cracking analysis were performed on an expansive soil. Crack patterns were quantitatively analyzed using the fractal concept. The relationships among crack pattern, water loss, number of freeze–thaw cycles, and fractal dimension were discussed. It was found that crack patterns on the surface exhibit a hierarchical network structure that is fractal at a statistical level. Cracks induced by freeze–thaw cycles are shorter, more irregularly oriented,and slowly evolves from an irregularly rectilinear pattern towards a polygonal or quasi–hexagonal one; water loss, closely related to specimen thickness, plays a significant role in the process of soil cracking; crack development under freeze-thaw cycles are not only attributed to capillary effect, but also to expansion and absorption effects.     

Numerical analysis of applying special pavements to solve the frost heave diseases of high-speed railway roadbedsin seasonally frozen ground regions

The Haerbin-Dalian Passenger Dedicated Line is the first high-speed railway constructed in the seasonally frozen ground regions of northeastern China. Frost heave diseases occurred in the first winter of its operation(between October 2012 and January 2013), and frost heave was observed mainly in the roadbed fills that were considered not susceptible to frost heave. This paper proposes applying two special pavements — black pavement and insulation-black pavement — to improve the thermal regime of the roadbed. Three numerical models of the roadbed temperature field were built based on the field conditions of the Changchun section(D3K692+840 to D3K692+860). The results show that:(1) Compared with cement pavement, black pavement and insulation-black pavement could reduce the freezing index at the roadbed surface by 37% and 64%, respectively, which could influence the maximum frozen depth;(2) the maximum frozen depths under the black pavement and insulation-black pavement were respectively 1.3–1.4 m and 1 m. Compared with cement pavement, they could reduce the maximum frozen depth by 0.4 m and 0.7–0.8 m, respectively, which would reduce the permitted amount of frost heave by 4 mm and 7–8 mm, which would meet the deformation limit established by the Code for Design on Special Subgrade of Railway;(3) the freezing periods of the black pavement and the insulation-black pavement were, respectively, approximately four months and two months. Compared with cement pavement, they could reduce the freezing period by approximately 19 days and 40 days, respectively, and delay the initial freezing time by 9 days and 18 days; and(4) compared with cement pavement, black pavement and black-insulation pavement could reduce the frozen areas of roadbeds in the cold season, which suggests that these two special pavements could provide better thermal stability for roadbeds.     

Deformation behavior of in situ permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Creep is an important mechanical behavior of frozen soils, one which can cause many problems for the infrastructures in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. To access the natural creep properties of in situ permafrost for explaining the engineering instability and predicting long-term deformation, conducting field tests is necessary. The paper reports on a group of plate loading tests we carried out over many years on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results show that the ground temperature at the loading plates ranged from-0.29 °C to-3.03 °C, and the mean annual ground temperature increased year by year in a linear fashion. Affected by the ground-temperature variations, two forms of deformation curves, a step-form and a wave-form occurred, depending on the relative extent of settlement in warm seasons and frost heave in cold seasons. Overall, the deformations of permafrost were characterized by settlement. The deformation magnitudes and curve styles of permafrost are different at different locations attributing to the influence of ground temperature and moisture content. Due to the existence of much unfrozen water in warm frozen soils, consolidation resulting from migration of unfrozen water along seepage channels may play a significant role in the settlement of permafrost. The research can provide a credible reference for engineering in the permafrost regions and the numerical computation of settlement.     

Numerical simulation of vibrational response characteristics of railway subgrades with insulation boards

This study presents a numerical method based on the surface temperature data and the ground temperature increase in Daqing for predicting temperature field distribution in the Binzhou Railway subgrade and analyzing the temporal and spatial distribution of freeze?thaw status of railway subgrade.The calibrated numerical method is applied to simulate the temperature field distribution and roadbed vibrational response of the railway subgrade with a thermal insulation layer at different seasons.The results show the following:(1)The thermal insulation layer can remarkably increase the soil temperature below it and maximum frost depth in the subgrade.(2)Thermal insulation can effectively reduce the subgrade vibration and protect it from frost damage.(3)Given that the strength requirements are met,the insulation layer should be buried as shallow as possible to effectively reduce the subgrade vibration response.The research findings provide theoretical support for the frost damage prevention of railway subgrades in seasonally frozen regions.     

Concrete durability under different circumstances based on multi-factor effects

Concrete durability has become a hot research field in civil engineering. Concrete structures suffer salt-erosion damage to different degrees in the semi-arid region of North China. The environmental condition is one of the important factors affecting the durability of concrete constructions. To realize fully the interaction between various environmental factors, this paper researched concrete durability in the salt environment under combined actions(immersing, freeze–thaw cycles, and wet–dry cycles). According to the laboratory test data, the concrete-durability degradation law under coupling-effect factors was investigated. The results show that concrete's compressive strength decreases with the increase of salt concentration and immersion time. No matter what the environmental conditions were, the compressive strength-loss ratio increased with the test time. The compressive strength-test results indicate that sodium sulfate has the strongest corrosive effect on concrete durability, followed by calcium chloride, with sodium chloride having the weakest corrosion. Compared with the other two environmental factors, the wet–dry cycle is the key factor affecting concrete durability. Therefore, in engineering practice, the influence of environment conditions on the strength and durability of concrete should be taken into full consideration, especially in the wet–dry environment with salt conditions.     

Experimental study on mechanical and frost heave behaviors of silty clay improved by polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene fiber

Silty clay is widely used as subgrade filler in cold regions, which suffer from frost heave in winter and mud pumping in spring. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) and polypropylene(PP) fiber were used to improve the mechanical and frost heave behavior of silty clay in cold regions, and the direct shear test and one-dimensional frost heave test were employed in studying improvement effects. Moreover, improvement mechanisms of PVA and PP fiber were analyzed based on test results. The main find...     

Problems and countermeasures in construction of transmission line projects in permafrost regions

Construction of power transmission lines is becoming an important part of permafrost engineering in China.This paper reviews the construction status and problems of transmission lines in different countries,as well as corresponding solutions that would be of practical significance for sustainable engineering practices.Russia has the longest history of transmission line construction in permafrost areas,with transmission lines（mainly 220 kV and 500 kV） spanning approximately 100,000 km.However,all countries suffer from permafrost-related tower foundation stability problems caused by freezing-thawing hazards such as frost heave and thaw settlement,frost lifting,and harmful cryogenic phenomena.As point-line transmission line constructions,the lines,poles and towers should be reasonably selected and installed with a comprehensive consideration of frozen soil characteristics to effectively reduce the occurrence of freezing-thawing disasters.Reinforced concrete pile foundations are widely used in the permafrost regions,and construction in winter is also a universal practice.Moreover,facilitating engineering measures like thermosyphons are an effective way to reduce freezing-thawing hazards and to maintain the stability of tower foundations.     

Experimental study of the dynamic behavior of high-grade highway-subgrade soil in a seasonally frozen area

Regarding the freezing damage of high-grade highway subgrade in seasonally frozen area,the thesis explores the effect on the dynamic behavior of subgrade soil under freeze–thaw cycles and draws the change law of parameters(including dynamic strength,dynamic cohesion,and internal friction angle;and dynamic elastic modulus)of high-grade highway-subgrade soil with the number of freeze–thaw cycles.It aims to provide the reference for operation and maintenance of a high-grade highway.Conclusions:(1)Dynamic strength tends to decline evidently after freeze–thaw cycles,with 60%~70%decline after three cycles,and remains stable after five to seven cycles.(2)With the number of freeze–thaw cycles increasing,the internal friction angle fluctuates within a certain range without an obvious change law,only presenting the tendency of dropping off.The dynamic cohesion declines obviously,about 20%~40%after seven freeze–thaw cycles,and then tends to be stable.(3)With the number of freeze-thaw cycles increasing,the dynamic elastic modulus and maximum dynamic elastic modulus are inclined to decrease distinctly.After five freeze–thaw cycles,the former declines 30%~40%and then remains stable.Meanwhile,the latter falls 20%~40%.     

Experimental study of the effects of non-uniformly distributed fine soil on mechanical properties of Shenyang–Dandong Railway coarse-grained soil

The stress produced by repeated train loads decreases with increasing railway subgrade bed depth, and slightly weathered coarse particles of subgrade bed fillings can be broken at different levels under continuous load. Thus, the mass of fine soil, with a diameter of not more than 0.075 mm, is different at different depths. Fine soil is also sensitive to frost heave and thaw settlement. In order to study the effects of non-uniformly distributed fine soil on the mechanical properties of coarse-grained soil of the Shenyang-Dandong Railway, triaxial tests were conducted with three types of specimens, undergoing six freeze-thaw cycle numbers(0, 1, 3, 7, 9, 12) and three confining pressures(100, 200, 300 k Pa). The freezing temperature is-5 °C and the thawing temperature is +15 °C. The stress-strain behavior, static strength, resilient modulus, cohesive force and the angle of internal friction were measured for different tested specimens. As a result, the law of static strength and resilient modulus of different specimens following the increase of freeze-thaw cycles under three confining pressures is obtained. The changing law of cohesive force and friction angle of three specimens following the increase of freeze-thaw cycles is also calculated, and the different results of different specimens are also compared.     

A semi-analytical solution for frost heave prediction of clay soil

Frost heave is one of the main freezing problems for construction in permafrost regions.The Konrad-Morgenstern segregation potential（SP） model is being used in practice for frost heave using numerical techniques.However,the heat release from in-situ and migrated water in the freezing zone could result in some numerical instability,so the simulation of frost fringe is not ideal.In this study,a semi-analytical solution is developed for frost heave prediction of clay soil.The prediction results to the two tests with different freezing mode with clay soil agree well with the tested behavior,which indicates the feasibility of the solution.     

过去百年青藏高原耕地时空变化及其对土壤保持功能的影响（英文）

Geographically explicit historical land use and land cover datasets are increasingly required in studies of climatic and ecological effects of human activities. In this study, using historical population data as a proxy, the provincial cropland areas of Qinghai province and the Tibet Autonomous Region(TAR) for 1900, 1930, and 1950 were estimated. The cropland areas of Qinghai and the TAR for 1980 and 2000 were obtained from published statistical data with revisions. Using a land suitability for cultivation model, the provincial cropland areas for the 20 th century were converted into crop cover datasets with a resolution of 1 × 1 km. Finally, changes of sediment retention due to crop cover change were assessed using the sediment delivery ratio module of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs(InVEST) model(version 3.3.1). There were two main results.(1) For 1950–1980 the fractional cropland area increased from 0.32% to 0.48% and land use clearly intensified in the Tibetan Plateau(TP), especially in the Yellow River–Huangshui River Valley(YHRV) and the midstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and its two tributaries valley(YRTT). For other periods of the 20 th century, stability was the main trend.(2) For 1950–1980, sediment export increased rapidly in the Minhe autonomous county of the YHRV, and in the Nianchu River and Lhasa River basins of the YRTT, which means that sediment retention clearly decreased in these regions over this period. The results of this assessment provide scientific support for conservation planning, development planning, or restoration activities.     

Case studies: Frozen ground design and construction in Kotzebue, Alaska

Alaska has many construction design challenges due to permafrost. Due to either climate changes or human activities and development, permafrost often becomes unstable. Unstable soils can cause thaw settlement, frost jacking, or heaving. These can cause damage to infrastructure, increase maintenance costs, and decrease the life of construction projects. Kotzebue, Alaska, a remote village in the northwest arctic part of Alaska, is ideal for observing such permafrost effects on infrastructure. Three case studies of Kotzebue construction projects are reviewed here： the Front Loop Water Main Extension, which shows the importance of both passive and active freeze thaw protection for water service pipes and how to minimize differential movement between pipes and buildings; the Wastewater Lift Station Replacement, which describes methods for reducing thaw settlement in buildings over time when it is not feasible to prevent thaw settlement, and compares the benefits of frozen ground excavation over traditional excavation practices; and the Ted Stevens Way Rehabilitation, which discusses the effectiveness of 2001 best design practices for gravel road construction over tundra and permafrost, identifies their design and construction failures, and proposes future solutions.     

Effects of freeze–thaw cycles on soil N_2O concentration and flux in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Nitrous oxide(N_2 O) is one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; freeze–thaw cycles(FTCs) might strongly influence the emission of soil N_2 O on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau(QTP). However, there is a lack of in situ research on the characteristics of soil N_2 O concentration and flux in response to variations in soil properties caused by FTCs.Here, we report the effect of FTC-induced changes in soil properties on the soil N_2 O concentration and flux in the permafrost region of the higher reaches of the Shule River Basin on the northeastern margin of the QTP. We measured chemical properties of the topsoil, activities of soil microorganisms, and air temperature(AT), as well as soil N_2 O concentration and flux, over an annual cycle from July 31, 2011, to July 30, 2012. The results showed that soil N_2 O concentration was significantly affected by soil temperature(ST), soil moisture(SM), soil salinity(SS), soil polyphenol oxidase(SPO), soil alkaline phosphatase(SAP), and soil culturable actinomycetes(SCA), ranked as SMSSSTSPOSAPSCA, whereas ST significantly increased soil N_2 O flux, compared with SS. Overall, our study indicated that the soil N_2 O concentration and flux in permafrost zone FTCs were strongly affected by soil properties, especially soil moisture, soil salinity, and soil temperature.     

中国近期主要农业自然灾害的时空变化分析(英文)

China is a disaster prone country, and a comprehensive understanding of change of disasters is very important for China’s agricultural development. In this study, statistical techniques and geographic information system tools are employed to quantify the main agriculture disasters changes and effects on grain production in China during the period of 1990–2011. The results show that China’s grain production was severely affected by disasters including drought, flood, hail, frost and typhoon. The annual area covered by these disasters reached up to 48.7×106 ha during the study period, which accounted for 44.8% of the total sown area, and about 55.1% of the per unit area grain yield change was caused by disasters. In addition, all of the disasters showed high variability, different changing trends, and spatial distribution. Drought, flood, and hail showed significantly decreasing trends, while frost and typhoon showed increasing trends. Drought and flood showed gradual changes and were distributed across the country, and disasters became more diversified from north to south. Drought was the dominated disaster type in northern China, while flood was the most important disaster type in the southern part. Hail was mainly observed in central and northern China, and frost was mainly distributed in southern China. Typhoon was greatly limited to the southeast coast. Furthermore, the resilience of grain production of each province was quite different, especially in several major grain producing areas, such as Shandong, Liaoning, Jilin and Jiangsu, where grain production was seriously affected by disasters. One reason for the difference of resilience of grain production was that grain production was marginalized in developed provinces when the economy underwent rapid development. For China’s agricultural development and grain security, we suggest that governments should place more emphasis on grain production, and invest more money in disaster prevention and mitigation, especially in the major grain producing provinces.     

Multi-scale temperature variations and their regional differences in China during the Medieval Climate Anomaly

The Medieval Climate Anomaly(MCA, AD950–1250) is the most recent warm period lasting for several hundred years and is regarded as a reference scenario when studying the impact of and adaptation to global and regional warming. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of temperature variations on decadal–centennial scales during the MCA for four regions(Northeast, Northwest, Central-east, and Tibetan Plateau) in China, based on high-resolution temperature reconstructions and related warm–cold records from historical documents. The ensemble empirical mode decomposition method is used to analyze the time series. The results showed that for China as a whole, the longest warm period during the last 2000 years occurred in the 10 th–13 th centuries, although there were multi-decadal cold intervals in the middle to late 12 th century. However, in the beginning and ending decades, warm peaks and phases on the decadal scale of the MCA for different regions were not consistent with each other. On the inter-decadal scale, regional temperature variations were similar from 950 to 1130; moreover, their amplitudes became smaller, and the phases did not agree well from 1130 to 1250. On the multi-decadal to centennial scale, all four regions began to warm in the early 10 th century and experienced two cold intervals during the MCA. However, the Northwest and Central-east China were in step with each other while the warm periods in the Northeast China and Tibetan Plateau ended about 40-50 years earlier. On the multi-centennial scale, the mean temperature difference between the MCA and Little Ice Age was significant in Northeast and Central-east China but not in the Northwest China and Tibetan Plateau. Compared to the mean temperature of the 20 th century, a comparable warmth in the MCA was found in the Central-east China, but there was a little cooling in Northeast China; meanwhile, there were significantly lower temperatures in Northwest China and Tibetan Plateau.     

Study on the adaptability of block-rock embankment in permafrost regions

As an effective solution for protecting the underlying permafrost and preventing roadway damages, the block-rock embankment(BRE) has been widely used on the Qinghai–Tibet Railway, Qinghai–Tibet Highway, and Ching–Hong Road;and it will be promoted for other roadways in the future. To evaluate the adaptability of BRE, the catastrophe-progression method was adopted for the evaluation. By analyzing the factors affecting the stability of BRE and utilizing engineering experience, we were able to establish the mathematical model and divide the adaptability of BRE into five grades. After the verifying analysis of 28 practical engineering examples, the evaluation results are broadly in line with practical application effects. Therefore, the adaptability of BRE can be evaluated and predicted more accurately with this evaluation model.     

Variations of the temperature and solar activity in China

In this paper we analyze daily mean, minimum, and maximum temperature data collected at 119 meteorological stations over five regions of China during the period 1951-2010. The series of minimum, maximum, and mean temperatures from each climatic region have similar signatures, but there are differences among the five regions and the countrywide average. The results indicate that the periods of faster warming were not synchronous across the regions studied： warming in northeast China and Tibet began in 1986, while in central-east, southeast, and northwest China the warming emerged in 1995. Furthermore, central-east and northwest China, and Tibet, have warmed continuously since 2000, but the temperature has decreased during this period in southeast China. We evaluated the evolution of these temperature series using a novel nonlinear filtering technique based on the concept of the lifetime of temperature curves. The decadal to secular evolution of solar activity and temperature variation had similar signatures in the northeast, southeast, and northwest re- gions and the average across the whole country, indicating that solar activity is a significant control on climate change over secular time scales in these regions. In comparison with these regions, the signatures were different in central-east China and Tibet because of regional differences （e.g., landforms and elevation） and indirect effects （e.g., cloud cover influencing the radiation balance, thereby inducing climate change）. Furthermore, the results of wavelet analysis indicated that the El Nino Southem Oscillation （ENSO） has had a significant impact on climate change, but at different times among the regions, and these changes were most probably induced by differing responses of the atmospheric system to solar forcing.     

2000-2016年青海湖湖冰物候特征变化（英文）

Lake ice phenology is considered a sensitive indicator of regional climate change. We utilized time series information of this kind extracted from a series of multi-source remote sensing(RS) datasets including the MOD09 GQ surface reflectance product, Landsat TM/ETM_+ images, and meteorological records to analyze spatiotemporal variations of ice phenology of Qinghai Lake between 2000 and 2016 applying both RS and GIS technology. We also identified the climatic factors that have influenced lake ice phenology over time and draw a number of conclusions. First, data show that freeze-up start(FUS), freeze-up end(FUE), break-up start(BUS), and break-up end(BUE) on Qinghai Lake usually occurred in mid-December, early January, mid-to-late March, and early April, respectively. The average freezing duration(FD, between FUE and BUE), complete freezing duration(CFD, between FUE and BUS), ice coverage duration(ICD, between FUS and BUE), and ablation duration(AD, between BUS and BUE) were 88 days, 77 days, 108 days and 10 days, respectively. Second, while the results of this analysis reveal considerable differences in ice phenology on Qinghai Lake between 2000 and 2016, there has been relatively little variation in FUS times. Data show that FUE dates had also tended to fluctuate over time, initially advancing and then being delayed, while the opposite was the case for BUS dates as these advanced between 2012 and 2016. Overall, there was a shortening trend of Qinghai Lake's FD in two periods, 2000–2005 and 2010–2016, which was shorter than those seen on other lakes within the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau. Third, Qinghai Lake can be characterized by similar spatial patterns in both freeze-up(FU) and break-up(BU) processes, as parts of the surface which freeze earlier also start to melt first, distinctly different from some other lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. A further feature of Qinghai Lake ice phenology is that FU duration(between 18 days and 31 days) is about 10 days longer than BU duration(between 7 days and 20 days). Fourth, data show that negative temperature accumulated during the winter half year(between October and the following April) also plays a dominant role in ice phenology variations of Qinghai Lake. Precipitation and wind speed both also exert direct influences on the formation and melting of lake ice cover and also cannot be neglected.     

京津冀干旱时空演变规律分析（英文）

Spatio-temporal patterns of drought from 1961 to 2013 over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH) region of China were analyzed using the Palmer Drought Severity index(PDSI) based on 21 meteorological stations. Overall, changes in the mean-state of drought detected in recent decades were due to decreases in precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. The Empirical Orthogonal Functions(EOF) method was used to decompose drought into spatio-temporal patterns, and the first two EOF modes were analyzed. According to the first leading EOF mode(48.5%), the temporal variability(Principal Components, PC1) was highly positively correlated with annual series of PDSI(r=+0.99). The variance decomposition method was further applied to explain the inter-decadal temporal and spatial variations of drought relative to the total variation. We find that 90% of total variance was explained by time variance, and both total and time variance dramatically decreased from 1982 to 2013. The total variance was consistent with extreme climate events at the inter-decadal scale(r=0.71, p0.01). Comparing the influence of climate change on the annual drought in two different long-term periods characterized by dramatic global warming(P1: 1961–1989 and P2: 1990–2013), we find that temperature sensitivity in the P2 was three times more than that in the P1.