The effect of the variation of river water levels on the estimation of groundwater recharge in the Hsinhuwei River,Taiwan

Land subsidence is a serious problem in Taiwan’s Yunlin area due to groundwater overpumping. There are safety risks in the high-speed railway structures in the areas of Siluo, Huwei, Tuku, and Yuanchang towns that run from north to south in the Yunlin area. Therefore, it is important to increase the groundwater recharge and to remedy the land subsidence in this area. The purpose of this study is to use the stream-flow estimation model (SF) and the groundwater flow numerical software MODFLOW (MF) to estimate the stream infiltration with consideration to the variation of the river water level in the Hsinhuwei River. The Ferris analytical model (FA) and MF are used to estimate the increased stream infiltration after the water level of the river rises. The hydraulic parameters required for each model are obtained from field observations and laboratory experiments. The results indicate that the assessment of the stream infiltration obtained through the SF and MF models are 264.2 × 10⁴ and 170.9 × 10⁴ m³/year, respectively. When the river water level increases by about 2.5 m, the annual stream infiltration obtained through the FA and MF models significantly increases by 31.6 × 10⁴ and 26.4 × 10⁴ m³/year, respectively. Taken together, the stream storages estimated using these two models indicate that an increasing efficiency of groundwater recharge is within the range of 10.0–18.5%.     

Galaxies with supermassive binary black holes: (I) a possible model for the centers of core galaxies

The dynamics of galactic systems with central binary black holes is studied. The model is a modification from the restricted three body problem, in which a galactic potential is added as an external potential. Considering the case with an equal mass binary black holes, the conditions of existence of equilibrium points, including Lagrange Points and additional new equilibrium points, i.e. Jiang-Yeh Points, are investigated. A critical mass is discovered to be fundamentally important. That is, Jiang-Yeh Points exist if and only if the galactic mass is larger than the critical mass. The stability analysis is performed for all equilibrium points. The results that Jiang-Yeh Points are unstable could lead to the core formation in the centers of galaxies.     

Using multivariate statistical techniques and geochemical modelling to identify factors controlling the evolution of groundwater chemistry in a typical transitional area between Taihang Mountains and North China Plain

Identifying the key factors controlling groundwater chemical evolution in mountain-plain transitional areas is crucial for the security of groundwater resources in both headwater basins and downstream plains. In this study, multivariate statistical techniques and geochemical modelling were used to analyse the groundwater chemical data from a typical headwater basin of the North China Plain. Groundwater samples were divided into three groups, which evolved from Group A with low mineralized Ca-HCO₃ water, through Group B with moderate mineralized Ca-SO₄-HCO₃ water, to Group C with highly saline Ca-SO₄ and Ca-Cl water. Water-rock interaction and nitrate contamination were mainly responsible for the variation in groundwater chemistry. Groundwater chemical compositions in Group A were mainly influenced by dissolution of carbonates and cation exchange, and suffered less nitrate contamination, closely relating to their locations in woodland and grassland with less pronounced human interference. Chemical evolution of groundwater in Groups B and C was gradually predominated by the dissolution of evaporites, reverse ion exchange, and anthropogenic factors. Additionally, the results of the inverse geochemical model showed that dedolomitization caused by gypsum dissolution, played a key role in the geochemical evolution from Group A to Group B. Heavy nitrate enrichment in most groundwater samples of Groups B and C was closely associated with the land-use patterns of farmland and residential areas. Apart from the high loads of chemical fertilizers in irrigation return flow as the main source for nitrate contamination, the stagnant zones, flood irrigation pattern, mine drainage, and groundwater-exploitation reduction program were also important contributors for such high mineralization and heavy NO₃⁻ contents in Group C. The important findings of this work not only provide the conceptual framework for the headwater basin but also have important implications for sustainable management of groundwater resources in other headwater basins of the North China Plain.     

Groundwater response to tidal fluctuations in a leaky confined coastal aquifer with a finite length

The study on the hydraulic properties of coastal aquifers has significant implications both in hydrological sciences and environmental engineering. Although many analytical solutions are available, most of them are based on the same basic assumption that assumes aquifers extend landward semi‐infinitely, which does not necessarily reflect the reality. In this study, the general solutions for a leaky confined coastal aquifer have been developed that consider both finitely landward constant‐head and no‐flow boundaries. The newly developed solutions were then used to examine theoretically the joint effects of leakage and aquifer length on hydraulic head fluctuations within the leaky confined aquifer, and the validity of using the simplified solution, which assumes the aquifer is semi‐infinite. The results illustrated that the use of the simplified solution may cause significant errors, depending on joint effects of leakage and aquifer length. A dimensionless characteristic parameter was then proposed as an index for judging the applicability of the simplified solution. In addition, practical application of the general solution for the constant‐head inland boundary was used to characterize the hydraulic properties of a leaky confined aquifer using the data collected from a field site at the Seine River estuary, France, and the versatility of the general solution was further justified.     

Hydromagnetic buoyancy force in the solar atmosphere

An extraneous magnetized body, either a flux tube or a plasmoid, immersed in the solar atmosphere is subjected to a hydromagnetic buoyancy force. It results from the peripheral inhomogeneity of ambient hydromagnetic pressure, which is caused or enhanced by the presence of the extraneous body. This extra-caused force acts at various mass elements of the immersed body through its distribution as a nearly uniform force density, just like the gravitational force. Since hydromagnetic buoyancy force comprises hydrostatic buoyancy force, hydrodynamic lift force, and magnetostatic diamagnetic force, this constitutes a magnetohydrodynamic generalization of Archimedes' principle which deals with hydrostatic buoyancy force.In the solar atmosphere hydromagnetic buoyancy force has an obliquely upward direction, with a component in the direction opposite to the downward gravity. It provides an upward force to counterbalance or even to exceed the downward gravitational force. Such an upward force is the dynamic cause for the stationary equilibrium of quiescent prominences and outward motion of coronal transients.     

元胞自动机在城市模拟中的误差传递与不确定性的特征分析

元胞自动机(Cellular Automata,简称CA)已越来越多地用于地理现象的模拟中,如城市系统的演化等。城市模拟经常要使用GIS数据库中的空间信息,数据源中的误差将会通过CA模拟过程发生传递。此外,CA 模型只是对现实世界的近似模拟,这就使得其本身也具有不确定性。这些不确定因素将对城市模拟的结果产生较大的影响,有必要探讨CA在模拟过程中的误差传递与不确定性问题。本文采用蒙特卡罗方法模拟了CA误差的传递特征,并从转换规则、邻域结构、模拟时间以及随机变量等几个方面分析了CA不确定性产生的根源。发现与传统的GIS模型相比,城市CA模型中的误差和不确定性的很多性质是非常独特的。例如,在模拟过程中由于邻域函数平均化的影响,数据源误差将减小;随着可用的土地越来越少,该限制也使城市模拟的误差随时间而减小;模拟结果的不确定性主要体现在城市的边缘。这些分析结果有助于城市建模和规划者更好地理解CA建模的特点。     

Investigation of non-linear site amplification at two downhole strong ground motion arrays in Taiwan

Non-linear seismic response of soil is studied by comparing the spectral ratios of surface to downhole horizontal accelerations on weak and strong motion. Data from two boreholes are analysed. One is drilled in the alluvial deposits in the south–west quadrant of the SMART 1 array. The second one penetrates Pleistocene terrace deposits in the northern part of the SMART2 array. Observed weak and strong motion spectral ratios are compared with the theoretical ones predicted by the geotechnical soil model which postulates a hysteretic constitutive law. A significant non-linear response is found at the first site for the events with surface peak acceleration exceeding roughly 0–15g. Deamplification of the strong motion occurred in the frequency range from approximately 1 to 10 Hz. The maximum observed difference between the average weak and strong motion amplification functions of an 11 m-thick near-surface stratum is a factor of 2–3. Nonlinear response characteristics are in qualitative agreement with the model. An additional corollary is that the amplification function calculated from the shear wave coda is equivalent to the average amplification calculated over the ensemble of small earthquakes. No statistically significant non-linear response is detected on the second array, that is tentatively accounted for by the stiffer soil conditions and weaker accelerations achieved at the SMART2 site. The results indicate that the non-linear amplification can be detectable at certain soil conditions above a threshold acceleration level.     

Using Standardized Groundwater Index and Standardized Precipitation Index to Assess Drought Characteristics of the Kaoping River Basin,Taiwan

Water Resources - In the present study, long-term monitoring data were collected from the study area of the Kaoping River Basin, Taiwan. Specifically, data from six selected groundwater level...     

Copula‐based flood frequency (COFF) analysis at the confluences of river systems

Many civil infrastructures are located near the confluence of two streams, where they may be subject to inundation by high flows from either stream or both. These infrastructures, such as highway bridges, are designed to meet specified performance objectives for floods of a specified return period (e.g. the 100 year flood). Because the flooding of structures on one stream can be affected by high flows on the other stream, it is important to know the relationship between the coincident exceedence probabilities on the confluent stream pair in many hydrological engineering practices. Currently, the National Flood Frequency Program (NFF), which was developed by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and based on regional analysis, is probably the most popular model for ungauged site flood estimation and could be employed to estimate flood probabilities at the confluence points. The need for improved infrastructure design at such sites has motivated a renewed interest in the development of more rigorous joint probability distributions of the coincident flows. To accomplish this, a practical procedure is needed to determine the crucial bivariate distributions of design flows at stream confluences. In the past, the copula method provided a way to construct multivariate distribution functions. This paper aims to develop the Copula‐based Flood Frequency (COFF) method at the confluence points with any type of marginal distributions via the use of Archimedean copulas and dependent parameters. The practical implementation was assessed and tested against the standard NFF approach by a case study in Iowa's Des Moines River. Monte Carlo simulations proved the success of the generalized copula‐based joint distribution algorithm. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.