Challenged by rapidly changing climate in combination with an increase in anthropogenic pressures, karst groundwater resources in the Old Town of Lijiang (OTLJ), SW China, are diminishing. Higher frequency and longer duration of dried-up periods have been observed at the Heilongtan Park (HP) Springs in recent years. Thus, there is an urgent need for an artificial recharge scheme, aimed at replenishing groundwater in the aquifer and increasing the outflow of the springs to ensure effective water resources management. Evaluation of the scheme feasibility, prior to its implementation, is important. In this study, tracer tests were conducted between the recharge area and receiving springs in order to gain insight into the transport mechanisms of karst groundwater and the structural characteristics of the aquifer. Multiple underground flow paths, exhibiting high conductivity between the recharge area and HP Springs, were revealed by the interpretation of tracer breakthrough curves. Three springs considered as the leakages of the scheme were identified. Moreover, the outflow of springs at HP and OTLJ were predicted to be increased by the artificially recharged water after 9.2 and 12.5 days, respectively. Quantitative analysis of tracer recoveries demonstrates that the springs to be recharged and the springs considered as leakages, respectively, share 45 and 55% of the increased outflow. The feasibility of the scheme has been confirmed by the tracer tests. This report provides references for the evaluation of artificial groundwater recharge and protection strategies, particularly in large and poorly investigated karst spring fields.
Weathered rockfill materials, characterized by a mixture of soil matrix and rock aggregates, are widely distributed in mountainous areas. These soils are frequently used for subgrade or riprap in engineering practice, and the mobilized shear strength is crucial for analyzing the displacement and stability of these geo-structures. A series of direct shear tests are performed on a gap-graded soil with a full range of coarse fraction. The behavior of gap-graded soils is analyzed, and a simple model is proposed for the evolution of mobilized stress ratio during direct shearing process based on mixture theory. The change of inter-aggregate configuration is incorporated by introducing a structure variable which increases with coarse fraction and decreases approximately linearly with the overall horizontal shear strain in double logarithmic plot. It reasonably reflects a gradually transformation from a matrix-sustained structure into an aggregate-sustained one with the increase of coarse fraction. The model has four parameters, and at least two direct shear tests need to be done for the calibration. Validation of the model is done by using the test data in this work and those from the literature.