Global method for stability analysis of anchored slopes

Based on the global method, an approach is proposed to consider the effect of anchor reinforcement on slope stability, where equilibrium conditions are formulated in terms of the whole slip body. Anchor pre-tension is assumed to be undertaken by the whole slip body instead of individual slices, causing internal force within slope more realistic. Meanwhile, the optimization model for locating the critical slip surface is of weak nonlinearity and easy to solve using the conventional optimization procedures. The effects of anchoring orientation and position are thoroughly investigated, and interesting results are obtained.     

Changes in run‐off and sediment load in the three parts of the Yellow River basin,in response to climate change and human activities

Hydrological regimes in the Yellow River have changed significantly because of climate change and intensive human interventions. These changes present severe challenges to water resource utilization and ecological development. Variation of run‐off, suspended sediment load (SSL), and eight precipitation indices (P1: 0–12 mm·day^?1, P12: 12–25 mm·day^?1, P25: 25–50 mm·day^?1, P50: P ≥ 50 mm·day^?1 and corresponding rainfall day: Pd1, Pd12, Pd25, Pd50 day year^?1) in three critical parts of the Yellow River basin (source region: SRYRB, upper reaches: URYRB, middle reaches: MRYRB) were investigated for the period from 1960 to 2015. The results show that run‐off and SSL significantly decreased (P < 0.01) in the URYRB and the MRYRB, whereas their decline in the SRYRB was insignificant (P > 0.05). Moreover, run‐off in the URYRB had one change point in 1987, and SSL in the URYRB as well as run‐off and SSL in the MRYRB had two change points (in the 1970s and the 1990s). Over the same period, only Pd1 and Pd12 in the SRYRB showed significant increasing trends, and an abrupt change appeared in 1981. The optimal precipitation indices for assessing the effects of precipitation on run‐off and SSL in the URYRB and MRYRB were Pd50 and P12, respectively. A double‐mass curve analysis showed that precipitation and human activities contributed to approximately 20% and 80% of the reduction in run‐off, respectively, for both the SRYRB and the MRYRB. However, the contribution rate of precipitation and human activities on SSL reduction was approximately 40% and 60% in the URYRB and 5% and 95% in the MRYRB, respectively. Human activities, primarily soil and water conservation measures and water extraction (diversion), were the main factors (>50%) that reduced the run‐off. However, the dominant driving factors for SSL reduction were soil and water conservation measures and reservoir interception, for which the contribution rate was higher than 70% in the MRYRB. This work strengthens the understanding of hydrological responses to precipitation change and provides a useful reference for regional water resource utilization.     

A motion planning algorithm for the feed support system of FAST

The paper relates to a motion planning algorithm for the feed support system of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST).To enhance the stability of the feed support system,the start/termination planning segments are adopted with an acceleration and deceleration section.The source switching planning adopts a combination of a line segment and focal segment to realize stable control of the feed support system.Besides,during the observation trajectory,a transition segment which is not used for observation data is planned with a required time.Through an example simulation,a smooth change is realized via the motion planning algorithm and presented in this paper.     

Intraguild predation by polyps of three scyphozoan jellyfish: Nemopilema nomurai,Aurelia coerulea,and Rhopilema esculentum

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Jellyfish blooms occur worldwide and have resulted in serious problems in tourism, fisheries, coastal industries, and the marine ecosystem. The life cycle of...     

Analysis of nonstationarity in low flow in the Loess Plateau of China

An approach for nonstationary low‐flow frequency analysis is developed and demonstrated on a dataset from the rivers on the Loess Plateau of China. Nonstationary low‐flow frequency analysis has drawn significant attention in recent years by establishing relationships between low‐flow series and explanatory variables series, but few studies have tested whether the time‐varying moments of low flow can be fully described by the time‐varying moments of the explanatory variables. In this research, the low‐flow distributions are analytically derived from the 2 basic explanatory variables—the recession duration and the recession coefficient—with the assumption that the recession duration and recession coefficient variables follow exponential and gamma distributions, respectively; the derived low‐flow distributions are applied to test whether the time‐varying moments of explanatory variables can explain the nonstationarities found in the low‐flow variable. The effects of ecosystem construction measures, that is, check dam, terrace, forest, and grassland, on the recession duration and recession coefficient are further discussed. Daily flow series from 11 hydrological stations from the Loess Plateau are used and processed with a moving average technique. Low‐flow data are extracted following the pit under threshold approach. Six of the 11 low‐flow series show significant nonstationarities at the 5% significance level, and the trend curves of the moments of low flow are in close agreement with the curves estimated from the derived distribution with time‐dependent moments of the recession duration and time‐constant moments of the recession coefficient. It is indicated that the nonstationarity in the low‐flow distribution results from the nonstationarity in the recession duration in all 6 cases, and the increase in the recession duration is resulted from large‐scale ecosystem constructions rather than climate change. The large‐scale ecosystem constructions are found to have more influence on the decrease in streamflow than on the increase in watershed storage, thus resulting in the reduction of low flow. A high return period for the initial fixed design value decreases dramatically with an increasing recession duration.     

Understanding coastal wetland hydrology with a new regional‐scale,process‐based hydrological model

Coastal wetlands represent an ecotone between ocean and terrestrial ecosystems, providing important services, including flood mitigation, fresh water supply, erosion control, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. The environmental setting of a wetland and the hydrological connectivity between a wetland and adjacent terrestrial and aquatic systems together determine wetland hydrology. Yet little is known about regional‐scale hydrological interactions among uplands, coastal wetlands, and coastal processes, such as tides, sea level rise, and saltwater intrusion, which together control the dynamics of wetland hydrology. This study presents a new regional‐scale, physically based, distributed wetland hydrological model, PIHM‐Wetland, which integrates the surface and subsurface hydrology with coastal processes and accounts for the influence of wetland inundation on energy budgets and evapotranspiration (ET). The model was validated using in situ hydro‐meteorological measurements and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ET data for a forested and herbaceous wetland in North Carolina, USA, which confirmed that the model accurately represents the major wetland hydrological behaviours. Modelling results indicate that topographic gradient is a primary control of groundwater flow direction in adjacent uplands. However, seasonal climate patterns become the dominant control of groundwater flow at lower coastal plain and land–ocean interface. We found that coastal processes largely influence groundwater table (GWT) dynamics in the coastal zone, 300 to 800 m from the coastline in our study area. Among all the coastal processes, tides are the dominant control on GWT variation. Because of inundation, forested and herbaceous wetlands absorb an additional 6% and 10%, respectively, of shortwave radiation annually, resulting in a significant increase in ET. Inundation alters ET partitioning through canopy evaporation, transpiration, and soil evaporation, the effect of which is stronger in cool seasons than in warm seasons. The PIHM‐Wetland model provides a new tool that improves the understanding of wetland hydrological processes on a regional scale. Insights from this modelling study provide benchmarks for future research on the effects of sea level rise and climate change on coastal wetland functions and services.     

基于滨海环境资源特点的大连旅游承载状态评价

旅游环境承载力涉及多维度属性相互制约影响,而传统方法中对于各属性间影响程度及游客偏好选择的判定则较多依赖于个体的主观感知。因此,针对处理多属性综合评价中存在的模糊性及主观性,提出基于蒙特卡罗模拟修正的模糊综合评价模型。结果表明,借助上述模糊综合评价修正模型针对大连滨海旅游环境承载力进行解释与分析,成功缓解了在模型度量与数据分析环节所出现的主观偏误缺陷,从而有效提升了大连市滨海旅游景区有关阈值综合评价体系的科学性与稳健性。评价结果表明,当前大连市滨海旅游环境承载力状态可以判定为“适载”;在影响滨海旅游环境承载力的6项要素中,游憩环境要素与气候要素的评价分数较高,最低评分数值指标为景区游客管理状态。     

内蒙古大克泊碱湖氮移除及其影响因素

为了研究碱湖N₂O释放速率及其对盐度与pH的响应,选取内蒙古大克泊碱湖的五个沉积物样点,采用¹⁵N同位素标记模拟实验,研究反硝化和厌氧氨氧化的速率、相对比例和气体产生情况,揭示高盐和高pH对碱湖氮移除的影响。发现大克泊湖潜在氮移除速率为0~16.06 n mol N mL-1 h-1,潜在反硝化速率为0~12.62 n mol N mL-1 h-1,潜在厌氧氨氧化速率为0~9.81 n mol N mL-1 h-1;当盐度34.00 g·L-1与pH 10.22时,厌氧氨氧化对氮移除贡献较大,达到43.18%~71.79%。反硝化过程气体产物以N₂为主,几乎无N₂O气体释出。另外,该区域潜在氮移除速率与pH呈正相关关系,与TOC、NO-₃、HCO-₃呈负相关关系;未发现氮移除速率与盐度之间的相关关系。因此,在研究的碱湖中,氮移除过程中主要为N₂排放,而N₂O低于检测水平;氮移除过程的影响因素复杂且不限于最主要的环境变量(盐度与pH)。这些结果为研究湖泊N₂O排放提供了数据基础。     

An optimized baseflow separation method for assessment of seasonal and spatial variability of baseflow and the driving factors

Baseflow is an important component of river or streamflow. It plays a vital role in water utilization and management. An improved Eckhardt recursive digital filter(IERDF) is proposed in this study. The key filter parameter and maximum baseflow index(BFImax) were estimated using the minimum smoothing method to improve baseflow estimation accuracy. The generally considered BFImax of 0.80, 0.50 and 0.25 according to the drainage basin's predominant geological characteristics often leads to significant errors in the regions that have complex subsurface and hydrologic conditions. The IERDF improved baseflow estimation accuracy by avoiding arbitrary parameter values. The proposed method was applied for baseflow separation in the upstream of Yitong River, a tributary of the Second Songhua River, and its performance was evaluated by comparing the results obtained using isotope-tracer data. The performance of IERDF was also compared with nine baseflow separation techniques belonging to filter, BFI and HYSEP methods. The IERDF was also applied for baseflow separation and calculation of rainfall infiltration recharge coefficient at different locations along the Second Songhua River's mainstream for the period 2000–2016. The results showed that the minimum smoothing method significantly improved BFImax estimation accuracy. The baseflow process line obtained using IEDRF method was consistent with that obtained using isotope 18 O. The IERDF estimated baseflow also showed stability and reliability when applied in the mainstream of the Second Songhua River. The BFI alone in the river showed an increase from the upstream to the downstream. The proportion of baseflow to total flow showed a decrease with time. The intra-annual variability of BFI was different at different locations of the river due to varying climatic conditions and subsurface characteristics. The highest BFI was observed at the middle reaches of the river in summer due to a water surplus from power generation. The research provided valuable information on baseflow characteristics and runoff mode determination, which can be used for water resources assessment and optimization of economic activity distribution in the region.     

Evaluation of Rockburst Hazard in Deep Coalmines with Large Protective Island Coal Pillars

Natural Resources Research - As the cover depth of coalmines in China increases, large protective coal pillars are widely used to support the overlying strata during mining. After the longwall...