On the Conversion of Antarctic Ice-Mass Change to Sea Level Equivalent

This technical note aims to provide a quick reference and some computational examples for the conversion between Antarctic ice-mass changes and global sea level equivalent (SLE) changes using a few assumptions that computationally simplify this complex problem and that acknowledge gaps in our knowledge of the Antarctic environment. A number of factors involved in the conversion process are discussed, and the sensitivity of the conversion result to certain aspects is analyzed. It was found that the global ocean area calculated from a recently improved global shoreline dataset has little impact on the uncertainty of the SLE estimation. SLE estimation using satellite gravity observations, such as those by GRACE, are sensitive to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models. One more important result from the computation is that the effective density of the volume that is gained or lost during mass change may greatly affect the outcome of the conversion if it differs greatly from the actual density of the firn/ice layers. Finally, a table of computational examples is provided for reference under some assumptions for simplifying the computation.     

Field Study on the Behavior of Destructive and Non-Destructive Piles Under Compression

This paper presents a series of full-scale load tests on long bored piles instrumented with strain gauges along the shafts, including eight field tests of piles loaded to failure and one non-destructive pile load test. The load-displacement response, skin friction, end resistance, and the threshold of the pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance were discussed. A simple softening model was proposed to describe the degradation behavior of the skin friction along the pile-soil interface and the load-displacement relationship developed at the pile base. It is found that the shaft resistance degradation investigated in the non-destructive load test only occurs at a shallow depth, and the skin friction of deeper soil is not fully developed. However, unlike the results of the non-destructive load tests, the softening is accompanied by a reduction in skin friction and observed to be along the whole pile depth. The thresholds of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistances in different soils have been found to be in the range 0.6% to 2.4% of the pile diameter. Moreover, in practical applications, a bilinear model is assumed to be feasible in analyzing the load-settlement relationship developed at the end of non-destructive pile, whereas the load transmission curve of the soils below the pile base corresponds to a softening model in the field tests of piles loaded to failure.     

Field and Theoretical Analysis on the Response of Destructive Pile Subjected to Tension Load

Most field tests are carried out using working piles for verification purposes in China, and loading tests are terminated before achieving true pile capacity. In this work, two full-scale destructive loading tests on tension piles instrumented with strain gauges were conducted to capture true pile capacity. The load-displacement response, load transfer, and threshold of the pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance in the uplift case were discussed. It was found that the shaft resistance degradation is observed to be along the pile depth with a reduction factor of 0.905 to 0.931, and the thresholds of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance of the tension pile in different soils are found to be in the range 0.67% to 1.34% of the pile diameter. Based on the field test results, a simple softening model was proposed to describe the degradation behavior of skin friction along the pile-soil interface. Further study was conducted to assess the influence of the threshold of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin friction and the reduction factor on the skin friction. As to the analysis of the response of single pile subjected to tension load, a highly effective iterative computer program was developed using the proposed skin friction softening model. Comparisons of the load-settlement response for the well-instrumented tests were given to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed simple method.     

Effects of frequency and confining pressure on consolidation drainage behavior of soft marine clays

Abstract

This article presents an experimental investigation on the dynamic consolidation (DC) drainage behavior of soft marine clays. A sinusoidal harmonic load with different frequencies was applied to simulate the DC method in which the conventional impact load was replaced by the cyclic load. Four geotextile-filter strips were used to form the side drainage channels simulating the wick drain method. A series of loading tests were conducted on soft soil specimens at different confining pressures (i.e., 20, 40, 70, and 100?kPa) and different vibration frequencies (i.e., 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 5?Hz). Test results showed that both confining pressure and frequency have significant influences on the drainage behavior of soft marine clay specimens. The magnitude of drainage volume consistently decreases linearly with increasing confining pressure. Compared to static loading condition, specimens under cyclic loading condition at different frequencies show a better drainage performance. Specimen at applied frequency of 1?Hz exhibits the maximum cumulative drainage volume due to the resonant effect.     

A Lagrangian particle random walk model for simulating a deep-sea hydrothermal plume with both buoyant and non-buoyant features

This paper presents a computational model of simulating a deep-sea hydrothermal plume based on a Lagrangian particle random walk algorithm. This model achieves the efficient process to calculate a numerical plume developed in a fluid-advected environment with the characteristics such as significant filament intermittency and significant plume meander due to flow variation with both time and location. Especially, this model addresses both non-buoyant and buoyant features of a deep-sea hydrothermal plume in three dimensions, which significantly challenge a strategy for tracing the deep-sea hydrothermal plume and localizing its source. This paper also systematically discusses stochastic initial and boundary conditions that are critical to generate a proper numerical plume. The developed model is a powerful tool to evaluate and optimize strategies for the tracking of a deep-sea hydrothermal plume via an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).     

Theoretical and experimental study of breaking wave on sloping bottoms

This paper studies the continuous evolution of breaking wave for the surface water waves propagating on a sloping beach. A Lagrangian asymptotic solution is derived. According to the solution coupled with the wave breaking criteria and the equations of water particles motion, the wave deformation and the continuous wave breaking processes for the progressive water waves propagating on a sloping bottom can be derived. A series of experiments are also conducted to compare with the theoretical solution. The results show that the present solution can reasonably describe the plunging or spilling wave breaking phenomenon.     

莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩形成过程及沙滩养护建议

利用2010 2012年两年4季莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩综合勘测结果,分析上述沙滩形成过程,并进行了沙滩近期变化特征探讨.结果表明,莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩年际及年内季节性变化规律均表现出带状冲刷特征,黄金海岸沙滩及其近海海域表现为普遍冲刷特征,冲刷厚度平均＜1.2 m/a.基于莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩近期变化特征,建议尽早开展以抛沙养滩为主,并适当辅以硬工程的沙滩养护方案,注重海滩养护工程前期调查,修复和人工再造三阶段的工作,特别应根据设计方案向沙滩开展大量抛沙、保沙和稳沙工作,使受蚀海滩逐步恢复.     

基于分布式检测与决策融合的海底油气管线检漏

利用多传感器的信息融合思想,提出分布式检测与决策融合方法进行长距离海底管线泄漏监测。试验水管和天然气／凝析油管线现场数据分析表明此算法不仅降低了误报警概率,且对流体在输送过程中动态变化具有稳健性。     

CMIP5模式对南海SST的模拟和预估

分析了32个CMIP5模式对南海历史海表温度(SST)的模拟能力和不同排放情景下未来SST变化的预估。通过检验各气候模式对南海历史SST增温趋势和均方差的模拟,发现大部分模式都能较好地模拟出南海20世纪历史SST的基本特征和变化规律,但也有部分模式的模拟存在较大偏差。尽管这些模拟偏差较大的模式对SST多模式集合平均的影响不大,但会增加未来情景预估的不确定性。剔除15个模式后,分析了南海SST在RCP26、RCP45和RCP85三种排放情景下的变化趋势,发现在未来百年呈明显的增温趋势,多模式集合平均的增温趋势分别为0.42、1.50和3.30℃/(100a)。这些增温趋势在空间上变化不大,但随时间并不是均匀变化的。在前两种排放情景下,21世纪前期的增温趋势明显强于后期,而在RCP85情景下,21世纪后期的增温趋势强于前期。