Effect of Groundwater Fluctuations on Pore Pressures and Earth Pressures on Coastal Excavation Retaining Walls

Pore water and earth pressures acting on retaining structures are investigated using an efficient coastal double-layered excavation model to determine offshore excavation responses to groundwater fluctuations outside foundation pits. Total pore water pressure includes excess pore water pressure (due to groundwater fluctuations) and steady pore water pressure (due to steady seepage) determined using one-dimensional consolidation theory of double-layered soil and one-dimensional steady-state flow theory, respectively. Rankine's active and passive earth pressures are obtained from pore water pressure. This method is applicable to arbitrary groundwater fluctuation conditions. How physical parameters affect pore water pressure is numerically investigated using examples, demonstrating the method's practicality for calculating pore water and earth pressures.     

深海细菌太平洋火色杆菌中α-淀粉酶基因amy608的克隆表达及其酶学性质研究

从来自深海沉积物的太平洋火色杆菌(Flammeovirga pacifica)的基因组中发现了一个全长为1 875 bp的α-淀粉酶基因amy608.该基因在数据库中找不到具有同源性的序列,而所编码的Amy608蛋白与已注册蛋白的氨基酸序列相似性最高仅为56%,但具有α-淀粉酶水解活性所必需的保守基序DXEXD.进化树分析表明其属于糖苷水解酶13(GH13)家族第二亚家族.构建了p ColdΙ-amy608表达载体,在大肠杆菌中进行重组Amy608蛋白的异源表达,并采用镍离子亲和层析柱对重组蛋白进行了纯化.酶学性质分析表明,重组酶Amy608的最适作用温度为40℃,在40℃保温4 d后,仍保留70%以上的酶活,显示出良好的中温热稳定性;最适p H值为7.0,p H值范围在6~9时仍保留60%以上的酶活力,表明该酶具有较宽的p H值作用范围.Ca2+、Na+、K+对α-淀粉酶Amy608有激活作用,尤其是Ca2+可使酶活显著提高40%.薄层色谱分析结果显示该酶水解可溶性淀粉的最终产物以葡萄糖为主,表明该酶是一个糖化型淀粉水解内切酶.这些结果表明Amy608为GH13家族第二亚家族中一个新型的α-淀粉酶.     

Involvement of cyclic electron flow in irradiance stress responding and its potential regulation of the mechanisms in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyropia yezoensis</Emphasis>

Pyropia yezoensis, belongs to the genus of Porphyra before 2011, inhabit on intertidal zone rocks where irradiation changes dramatically, implying that the seaweed has gained certain mechanisms to survive a harsh environment. Based on the photosynthetic parameters with or without the inhibitors determined by a Dual-PAM-100 apparatus, we investigated the photosynthetic performance and the changes in electron flow that occurred during the algae were stressed with different light intensities previously. When the irradiation saturation was approaching, the CEF around PS I became crucial since the addition of inhibitors usually led to an increase in non-photochemical quenching. The inhibitor experiments showed that there were at least three different CEF pathways in Py. yezoensis and these pathways compensated each other. In addition to maintaining a proper ratio of ATP/NAD(P)H to support efficient photosynthesis, the potential roles of CEF might also include the regulation of different photoprotective mechanisms in Py. yezoensis. Under the regulation of CEF, chlororespiration is thought to transport electrons from the reduced plastoquinone (PQ) pool to oxygen in order to mitigate the reduction in the electron transfer chain. When irradiation was up to the high-grade stress conditions, the relative value of CEF began to decrease, which implied that the NADP⁺ pool or PQ⁺ pool was very small and that the electrons were transferred from reduced PS I to oxygen. The scavenging enzymes might be activated and the water-water cycle probably became an effective means of removing the active oxygen produced by the irradiation stressed Py. yezoensis. We believe that the different mechanisms could make up the photoprotective network to allow Py. yezoensis for survival in a highly variable light stress habitat, which may enlighten scientists in future studies on irradiance stress in other algae species.     

The Middle Triassic evolution of the Bangong–Nujiang Tethyan Ocean: evidence from analyses of OIB-type basalts and OIB-derived phonolites in northern Tibet

International Journal of Earth Sciences - In this paper, we present new major and trace element chemical data for the basalts and phonolites of the Nare ocean island fragment (NaOI), as well as...     

A robust mesh optimisation method for multiphase porous media flows

Flows of multiple fluid phases are common in many subsurface reservoirs. Numerical simulation of these flows can be challenging and computationally expensive. Dynamic adaptive mesh optimisation and related approaches, such as adaptive grid refinement can increase solution accuracy at reduced computational cost. However, in models or parts of the model domain, where the local Courant number is large, the solution may propagate beyond the region in which the mesh is refined, resulting in reduced solution accuracy, which can never be recovered. A methodology is presented here to modify the mesh within the non-linear solver. The method allows efficient application of dynamic mesh adaptivity techniques even with high Courant numbers. These high Courant numbers may not be desired but a consequence of the heterogeneity of the domain. Therefore, the method presented can be considered as a more robust and accurate version of the standard dynamic mesh adaptivity techniques.     

Landslides triggered by the 2016 Mj 7.3 Kumamoto,Japan, earthquake

The aim of this study is to establish a detailed and complete inventory of the landslides triggered by the Mj 7.3 (Mw 7.0) Kumamoto, Japan, earthquake sequence of 15 April 2016 (16 April in JST). Based on high-resolution (0.5–2 m) optical satellite images, we delineated 3,467 individual landslides triggered by the earthquake, occupying an area of about 6.9 km². Then they were validated by aerial photographs with very high-resolution (better than 0.5 m) and oblique field photos. Of them, 3,460 landslides are distributed in an elliptical area about 6000 km², with a NE-SW directed 120-km-long long axis and a 60-km-long NW-SE trending short axis. Most of the landslides are shallow, disrupted falls and slides, with a few flow-type slides and rock and soil avalanches. The analysis of correlation between the landslides and several control factors shows the areas of elevation 1000–1200 m, stratum of Q₃-Hvf, seismic intensity VIII and VIII+, and peak ground acceleration (PGA) 0.4–0.6 g register the highest landslide abundance. This study also discussed the relationship between the spatial pattern of the landslides and the seismotectonic structure featured by a strike-slip fault with a normal component and the volcanism in the study area.     

Early Carboniferous ophiolite in central Qiangtang,northern Tibet: record of an oceanic back-arc system in the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean

Zircon U–Pb dating of two samples of metagabbro from the Riwanchaka ophiolite yielded early Carboniferous ages of 354.4 ± 2.3 Ma and 356.7 ± 1.9 Ma. Their positive zircon εHf(t) values (+7.9 to +9.9) indicate that these rocks were derived from a relatively depleted mantle. The metagabbros can be considered as two types: R1 and R2. Both types are tholeiitic, with depletion of high-field-strength elements (HFSE) and enrichment of large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) similar to those of typical back-arc basin basalts (BABB), such as Mariana BABB and East Scotia Ridge BABB. Geochemical and isotopic characteristics indicate that the R1 metagabbro originated from a back-arc basin spreading ridge with addition of slab-derived fluids, whereas the R2 metagabbro was derived from a back-arc basin mantle source, with involvement of melts and fluids from subducted ocean crust. The Riwanchaka ophiolite exhibits both mid-ocean ridge basalts- and arc-like geochemical affinities, consistent with coeval ophiolites from central Qiangtang. Observations indicate that the Qiangtang ophiolites developed during the Late Devonian–early Carboniferous (D₃–C₁) in a back-arc spreading ridge above an intra-oceanic subduction zone. Based on our data and previous studies, we propose that an oceanic back-arc basin system existed in the Longmuco–Shuanghu–Lancang Palaeo-Tethys Ocean during the D₃–C₁ period.     

Spatiotemporal change patterns of urban lakes in China’s major cities between 1990 and 2015

China has experienced unprecedented urbanization in the past decades, resulting in dramatic changes in the physical, limnological, and hydrological characteristics of lakes in urban landscapes. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics in distribution and abundance of urban lakes in China remain poorly understood. Here, we characterized the spatiotemporal change patterns of urban lakes in China’s major cities between 1990 and 2015 using remote-sensing data and landscape metrics. The results showed that the urban lake landscape patterns have experienced drastic changes over the past 25 years. The total surface area of the urban lakes has decreased by 17,620.02?ha, a decrease of 24.22%, with a significant increase in the landscape fragmentation and a reduction in shape complexity. We defined three lake-shrinkage types and found that vanishment was the most common lake-shrinkage pattern, followed by edge-shrinkage and tunneling in terms of lake area. Moreover, we also found that urban sprawl was the dominant driver of the lake shrinkage, accounting for 67.89% of the total area loss, and the transition from lakes to cropland was also an important factor (19.86%). This study has potential for providing critical baseline information for government decision-making in lake resources management and urban landscape design.     

长江中下游六省大气甲烷柱浓度时空分布

甲烷(CH4)是造成气候变暖的主要温室气体之一。为了了解长江中下游水稻种植区CH4浓度的分布情况,本次研究基于温室气体观测卫星(greenhouse gases observing satellite,GOSAT)和大气红外探测仪(atmospheric infrared sounder,AIRS)卫星反演的数据产品,对我国长江中下游六省大气CH4柱浓度的时空分布特征进行了研究。研究结果表明,由GOSAT反演的长江中下游六省大气CH4浓度呈逐年增长趋势,其年均浓度由2011年的1817×10^?9增长至2018年的1875×10^?9,高于东三省、华北平原和全国平均水平。区域平均年增长量为8.2×10^?9 a^?1。各省年际增长幅度略有差异,纬度偏低的江西、湖南和浙江三省大气CH4浓度高且增长量偏大,纬度偏高的湖北、安徽和江苏三省大气CH4浓度略低且增长量偏小。长江中下游六省大气CH4呈现较强的季节变化特征,湖北、湖南、江西和浙江峰值出现在9月,安徽、江苏峰值出现在8月。垂直方向上长江中下游六省CH4浓度随气压降低,浓度逐渐减小,呈现出明显的季节变化特征,近地面层GOSAT反演的最高值出现在夏季,最低值出现在春季;高层最高值出现在秋季,最低值出现在春季。AIRS反演的大气CH4浓度空间分布上北高南低,与GOSAT反演结果不一致,可能由于AIRS主要反映了对流层中层大气状况而GOSAT更多的反映了近地面层大气CH4的变化。其垂直方向上呈现高度越高,浓度越低,不同高度上秋季浓度均最高。     

硫介导细菌还原载砷铁矿对砷迁移转化的影响

硫在铁和砷的生物地球化学循环中发挥着重要作用,但地下水系统中硫循环的中间产物S(0)对细菌转化铁和砷的影响尚不清楚.采用室内模拟实验,研究硫参与下细菌D2201对液相和载砷针铁矿中Fe(III)和As(V)的还原作用.结果表明:细菌D2201具有很强的铁还原能力,可以将液相中74%的Fe(III)还原;加入硫后,细菌还原S(0)产生的S(-II)使铁还原率提高到94%.但是,硫没有明显影响细菌对砷的还原.在实验初期,细菌明显加速了载砷针铁矿的还原,最终还原释放到液相中的Fe(II)浓度为32.12 μmol/L;硫的加入增强了细菌对载砷针铁矿的还原,还原溶解的Fe(II)增加至284.13 μmol/L,同时,砷的释放量也增加了1.6倍.这些结果表明硫显著促进了细菌对针铁矿的还原溶解并加速砷的释放.XRD和SEM-EDS结果显示,细菌还原针铁矿但不改变其矿相,而硫的加入也仅使矿物发生一定程度的团聚,并没有使其转变为其他矿物,也未导致砷的再吸附.