Measurement of stream cross section using ground penetration radar with Hilbert–Huang transform

This study presents a new method to measure stream cross section without having contact with water. Compared with conventional measurement methods which apply instruments such as sounding weight, ground penetration radar (GPR), used in this study, is a non‐contact measurement method. This non‐contact measurement method can reduce the risk to hydrologists when they are conducting measurements, particularly in high flow period. However, the original signals obtained by using GPR are very complex, different from studies in the past where the measured data were mostly interpreted by experts with special skill or knowledge of GPR so that the results obtained were less objective. This study employs Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT) to process GPR signals which are difficult to interpret by hydrologists. HHT is a newly developed signal processing method that can not only process the nonlinear and non‐stationary complex signals, but also maintain the physical significance of the signal itself. Using GPR with HHT, this study establishes a non‐contact stream cross‐section measurement method with the ability to measure stream cross‐sectional areas precisely and quickly. Also, in comparison with the conventional method, no significant difference in results is found to exist between the two methods, but the new method can considerably reduce risk, measurement time, and manpower. It is proven that the non‐contact method combining GPR with HHT is applicable to quickly and accurately measure stream cross section. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new standardized Palmer drought index for hydro‐meteorological use

Accepting the concept of standardization introduced by the standardized precipitation index, similar methodologies have been developed to construct some other standardized drought indices such as the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). In this study, the authors provided deep insight into the SPEI and recognized potential deficiencies/limitations in relating to the climatic water balance it used. By coupling another well‐known Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), we proposed a new standardized Palmer drought index (SPDI) through a moisture departure probabilistic approach, which allows multi‐scalar calculation for accurate temporal and spatial comparison of the hydro‐meteorological conditions of different locations. Using datasets of monthly precipitation, temperature and soil available water capacity, the moisture deficit/surplus was calculated at multiple temporal scales, and a couple of techniques were adopted to adjust corresponding time series to a generalized extreme value distribution out of several candidates. Results of the historical records (1900–2012) for diverse climates by multiple indices showed that the SPDI was highly consistent and correlated with the SPEI and self‐calibrated PDSI at most analysed time scales. Furthermore, a simple experiment of hypothetical temperature and/or precipitation change scenarios also verified the effectiveness of this newly derived SPDI in response to climate change impacts. Being more robust and preferable in spatial consistency and comparability as well as combining the simplicity of calculation with sufficient accounting of the physical nature of water supply and demand relating to droughts, the SPDI is promising to serve as a competent reference and an alternative for drought assessment and monitoring. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Watershed delineation using hydrographic features and a DEM in plain river network region

Watershed delineation is a required step when conducting any spatially distributed hydrological modelling. Automated approaches are often proposed to delineate a watershed based on a river network extracted from the digital elevation model (DEM) using the deterministic eight‐neighbour (D8) method. However, a realistic river network cannot be derived from conventional DEM processing methods for a large flat area with a complex network of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and polders, referred to as a plain river network region (PRNR). In this study, a new approach, which uses both hydrographic features and DEM, has been developed to address the problems of watershed delineation in PRNR. It extracts the river nodes and determines the flow directions of the river network based on a vector‐based hydrographic feature data model. The river network, lakes, reservoirs, and polders are then used to modify the flow directions of grid cells determined by D8 approach. The watershed is eventually delineated into four types of catchments including lakes, reservoirs, polders, and overland catchments based on the flow direction matrix and the location of river nodes. Multiple flow directions of grid cells are represented using a multi‐direction encoding method, and multiple outflows of catchments are also reflected in the topology of catchments. The proposed approach is applied to the western Taihu watershed in China. Comparisons between the results obtained from the D8 approach, the ‘stream burning’ approach, and those from the proposed approach clearly demonstrate an improvement of the new approach over the conventional approaches. This approach will benefit the development of distributed hydrological models in PRNR for the consideration of different types and multiple inlets and outlets of catchments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

求解GM(1,1)模型新总体最小二乘算法

在GM(1,1)模型中系数矩阵和观测向量都是由原始序列组成的。系数矩阵中同样是有误差的,与观测向量中的误差一样,亦来源于原始序列,即它们误差同源。不同位置的相同元素应该有相同的改正数,采用传统总体最小二乘求解则不能达到此目的。针对这一缺陷,推导了一种新的总体最小二乘算法;并且通过算例验证了新方法的可行性和有效性。     

渝东南下古生界页岩构造裂缝形成及分布控制因素

天然裂缝对页岩气储集和渗流有重要影响,但目前对页岩构造裂缝研究不够深入。本文通过露头、岩心裂缝观察和分析,探讨了渝东南下古生界页岩构造裂缝类型、形成机理及分布控制因素。基于裂缝特征及力学成因,将剪切裂缝分为高角度剪切裂缝、倾斜滑脱裂缝和水平滑脱裂缝。倾斜滑脱裂缝是在上覆岩层重力和水平构造应力共同作用下沿应力集中的软弱面发生剪切滑动形成,水平滑脱裂缝是在构造挤压应力作用条件下主要沿页理面方向的剪切或层间滑动形成;页理发育程度及岩层曲率是控制水平滑脱裂缝形成的关键因素,岩石矿物组成、构造作用及岩层厚度是控制其它类型构造裂缝形成和分布的主要因素,页岩岩石力学层的划分需要根据裂缝特征、岩性变化特征、岩石力学参数及沉积界面等综合确定,岩层厚度与层间构造裂缝密度呈负相关关系。