The variation of sediments organic carbon content in Chongming east tidal flat during Scirpus mariqueter growing stage

The investigations on the organic carbon (OC) of core sediments were carried out in Chongming east tidal flat (CM) during Scirpus mariqueter growing stage (from April to December 2004) in Yangtze Estuary. The Yangtze River annually transports a runoff discharge of 30,000 m3/s, carrying about 480 million tons of sediments to the estuarine and coastal area, which formed a great OC pool. In the sampling spots, seven quadrats of 50 cm × 50 cm and five sediments cores of 20 cm deep (40 cm deep in December) were randomly established in order to collect vegetations and core sediments samples during the low tide each month except November. After pretreatment, the core sediments were sieved and their OC contents were measured according to the potassium dichromate method. The results show that the higher surface sediment OC content in summer comes from allochthonous terrigenous particle settlements on the Chongming east middle tidal flat S. mariqueter zone. In autumn and winter, the decomposing of the defoliated S. mariqueter increases the surface sediments OC content. Settling velocity, sediment temperature and S. mariqueter growth are the main factors that can control the sediment carbon content. Summer is the "carbon losing" period of the tidal flat sediments, while from September, it changes into the "carbon accumulating" period of sediment OC pool because of the decomposing of dead S. mariqueter community in the sediments. From this alternation of "carbon losing" period and "carbon accumulating" period, we conclude that carbon in the OC pool of the middle tidal flat S. mariqueter zone sediments mainly comes from the atmospheric carbon rooted by S. mariqueter photosynthesis.     

Sedimentation rates in the Wanggang salt marshes, Jiangsu

1 IntroductionLand-ocean interaction in coastalzone is one of the key m atters of the International G eosphereand Biosphere Program (IG BP). The key problem s of the second phase in the next decadeinclude the m aterial cycle, the system evolution process …     

Soil–rock-forming processes and engineering mechanical properties of the ancient gravel stratum near Nanjing, China

The ancient gravel stratum near Nanjing, China, is a major stratum of Cenozoic age along the middle–lower reaches of the Yangtze River. This paper first presents a typical geological profile and material composition of the ancient gravel stratum, and then discusses its geologic origin, soil–rock-forming processes, engineering mechanical properties, and their relations. These analyses are useful for city planning, geotechnical engineering, construction, and characterization of the geological environment in the Nanjing area.     

Analysis of rock structure stability in coal mines

In this paper, the theory of limit point instability is used to analyse the stability of rock structures in coal mines. A general method of analysing stability of rock structures is put forward and a uniform instability condition of rock structures is set up. Some instability phenomena, such as rock bursts in circular roadways, pillars and long walls, and the outburst of coal and gas from circular roadways, are discussed analytically. At a later stage, the critical point of rock structure instability is determined. The influence of relative parameters (such as the mechanical properties of rock, coal, and the geometric sizes) on the stability of the rock structures is carefully analysed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

固沙林庇护区内降尘特征的初步观测

采用野外定位实测法,连续两年对科尔沁沙地24龄人工固沙杨树(Populussimonii)林庇护区内4～6月份及强沙尘暴事件中的降尘特征进行了观测研究。结果表明:(1)林地庇护区内4、5月份的降尘量较多,分别为273和437kg/hm2,6月份的降尘量较少,为171kg/hm2。(2)林地中央的滞尘效应在风蚀季节和强沙尘暴天气过程中十分显著。(3)林地庇护区内的降尘中粒径<0.02mm颗粒含量占60.7%,降尘中的全C、全N和速效P含量分别高达1.676%、0.163%和210.66mg/kg,这对风沙土表层土壤的细化和养分的积累具有重要的生态学意义。     

An alternative Boussinesq equation considering the effect of hysteresis on coastal groundwater waves

This paper presents an alternative Boussinesq equation considering hysteresis effect via a third‐order derivative term. By introducing an improved moisture–pressure retention function, this equation describes, with reasonable precision, groundwater propagation in coastal aquifers subject to Dirichlet boundary condition of different oscillation frequencies. Test results confirmed that it is necessary to consider horizontal and vertical flows in unsaturated zone, because of their variable influences on hysteresis. Hysteresis in unsaturated zone can affect the water table wave number of groundwater wave motion, such as wave damping rate and phase lag. Oscillations with different periods exert different hysteresis effect on wave propagation. Truncation/shrinkage of unsaturated zones also affects the strength of hysteresis. These impacts can be reflected in the alternative Boussinesq equation by adjusting the parameter representing the variation rate of moisture associated with pressure change, as opposed to traditional computationally expensive hysteresis algorithms. The present Boussinesq equation is simple to use and can provide feasible basis for future coupling of groundwater and surface water models. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantifying the impact of landscape changes on hydrological variables in the alpine and cold region using hydrological model and remote sensing data

Quantifying the impact of landscape on hydrological variables is essential for the sustainable development of water resources. Understanding how landscape changes influence hydrological variables will greatly enhance the understanding of hydrological processes. Important vegetation parameters are considered in this study by using remote sensing data and VIC-CAS model to analyse the impact of landscape changes on hydrology in upper reaches of the Shule River Basin (URSLB). The results show there are differences in the runoff generation of landscape both in space and time. With increasing altitude, the runoff yields increased, with approximately 79.9% of the total runoff generated in the high mountains (4200–5900 m), and mainly consumed in the mid-low mountain region. Glacier landscape produced the largest runoff yields (24.9% of the total runoff), followed by low-coverage grassland (LG; 22.5%), alpine cold desert (AL; 19.6%), mid-coverage grassland (MG; 15.6%), bare land (12.5%), high-coverage grassland (HG; 4.5%) and shrubbery (0.4%). The relative capacity of runoff generation by landscapes, from high to low, was the glaciers, AL, LG, HG, MG, shrubbery and bare land. Furthermore, changes in landscapes cause hydrological variables changes, including evapotranspiration, runoff and baseflow. The study revealed that HG, MG, and bare land have a positive impact on evapotranspiration and a negative impact on runoff and baseflow, whereas AL and LG have a positive impact on runoff and baseflow and a negative impact on evapotranspiration. In contrast, glaciers have a positive impact on runoff. After the simulation in four vegetation scenarios, we concluded that the runoff regulation ability of grassland is greater than that of bare land. The grassland landscape is essential since it reduced the flood peak and conserved the soil and water.     

A numerical study of mechanical behavior of a cement paste under mechanical loading and chemical leaching

Based on relevant experimental data of a petroleum cement paste under mechanical loading and chemical leaching, an elastic‐plastic model is first proposed by taking into account plastic shearing and pore collapse. The degradation of mechanical properties induced by the chemical leaching is characterized by a chemical damage variable which is defined as the increase of porosity. Both elastic and plastic properties of the cement paste are affected by the chemical damage. The proposed model is calibrated from and applied to describe mechanical responses in triaxial compression tests respectively on sound and fully leached samples. In the second part, a phenomenological chemical model is defined to establish the relationship between porosity change and calcium dissolution process. The dissolution kinetics is governed by a diffusion law taking into account the variation of diffusion coefficient with calcium concentration. The chemical model is coupled with the mechanical model, and both are applied to describe mechanical response of cement paste samples subjected to progressive chemical leaching and compressive stresses. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical results are presented.     

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.