乌兰布和沙漠东南缘白沙蒿(Artemisia sphaerocphala)灌丛沙堆形态特征与固沙能力

白沙蒿(Artemisia sphaerocphala)灌丛沙堆是乌兰布和沙漠最为广泛分布的典型荒漠灌丛沙堆之一。本研究对白沙蒿灌丛的灌丛形态参数、沙堆形态参数进行了野外测定,探讨沙堆形态发育及固沙能力与白沙蒿灌丛形态的关系。结果表明:白沙蒿灌丛高度随着灌丛半径的增加而呈对数曲线增加,在灌丛较小时灌丛高度增长较快,随后渐趋于稳定,其水平方向发育速度大于垂直方向;白沙蒿灌丛沙堆半径及高度随灌丛半径和高度增加而增加,二者呈显著线性关系,沙堆水平方向发育受到灌丛冠幅的影响,沙堆垂直方向的发育水平取决于灌丛高度;随白沙蒿地上部分鲜重的增加,灌丛沙堆底面积、高度、沙堆体积和固沙效率均呈极显著线性增加(p0.01);白沙蒿灌丛越大其固积沙堆也越大,固沙率越高,不同大小灌丛白沙蒿间的固沙效率差异显著(p0.05);白沙蒿灌丛背风侧的积沙宽度(y)与积沙距离(x)显著相关(R2=0.9917),其线性回归方程为y=-19.654x+122.41,在距离灌丛背风面6~7倍高度的地方,积沙接近消失。     

Simulation of Titan haze formation using a photochemical flow reactor: The optical constants of the polymer

Solar UV is the principal energy source impinging the atmosphere of Titan while the energy from the electrons in Saturn's magnetosphere is less than 0.5% of the UV light. Titan haze analogs were prepared by the photolysis of a mixture of gases that simulate the composition of its atmosphere (nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, acetylene, ethylene, and cyanoacetylene). The real (n) and imaginary (k) parts of the complex refractive index of haze analogs formed from four different gas mixtures were calculated from the spectral properties of the solid polymer in UV-visible, near infrared and infrared wavelength spectral regions. The value of n was constant at 1.6±0.1 throughout the 0.2-2.5 μm region. The variation of k with wavelength for the values derived for Titan has a lower error than the absolute values of k so the more significant comparisons are with the slopes of the k(λ) plots in the UV-VIS region. Three of the photochemical Titan haze analogs had slopes comparable to those derived for Titan from the Voyager data (Rages and Pollack, 1980, Icarus 41, 119-130; McKay and Toon, 1992, in: Proceedings of the Symposium on Titan, in: ESA SP, Vol. 338, pp. 185-190). The slopes of the k(λ) plots for haze analogs prepared by spark discharge (Khare et al., 1984, Icarus 60, 127-137) and plasma discharge (Ramirez et al., 2002, Icarus 156, 515-529) were also comparable to Titan's. These finding show that the k(λ) plots do not differentiate between different laboratory simulations of atmospheric chemistry on Titan in the UV-VIS near IR region (0.2-2.5 microns). There is a large difference between the k(λ) in the infrared between the haze analogs prepared photochemically and analogs prepared using a plasma discharges (Khare et al., 1984, Icarus 60, 127-137; Coll et al., 1999, Planet. Space Sci. 47, 1331-1340; Khare et al., 2002, Icarus 160, 172-182). The C/N ratio in the haze analog prepared by discharges is in the 2-11 range while that of the photochemical analogs is in the 18-24 range. The use of discharges and UV light for initiating the chemistry in Titan's atmosphere is discussed.     

System analysis in calculation of cantilever retaining walls

The paper is concerned with the solution and determination of the optimum shape of a retaining wall modelled by the co-ordinates of a set of points which belongs to a certain permissible space. An optimum design method is formulated as a non-linear multiobjective optimization problem. The following two objective functions, which are mutually conflicting and non-commensurable with each other, are considered: (a) to minimize the total weight of the wall, (b) to maximize the structure stability. A set of Pareto optimum solutions is derived numerically by adopting a logical algorithm, and a Pereto optimum solution is obtained by investigating the trade-off relationships among design objectives.     

Microscopic morphology and size distribution of particles in PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> of Guangzhou City

Samples of airborne PM_2.5 particles in Guangzhou urban area were collected during the autumn of 2006 and the spring of 2007. The morphologies and elemental compositions of individual particles were determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (SEM-EDX). The obtained images were further analyzed for size distribution by an image analysis system. Based on the morphology, particles in PM_2.5 were classified into four groups: soot aggregates, minerals, fly ash and others. The amount of soot aggregates and minerals were higher than that of fly ashes. The distributions of particles by number and size in two seasons were bimodal with 90% less than 1.0 μm in diameter. The primary peak from the autumn samples was in the size range of 0.4 ~ 0.5 μm, and 0.3 ~ 0.4 μm for the spring samples. More soot aggregates (36.1%) and minerals (61.5%) were found than fly ash (2.4%) in autumn, but soot aggregates (89.9%) was the dominant particle type in spring. The size distribution of particles according to the volume was generally opposite to that according to the number. Particles less than 1.0 μm were as high as 89.5% in number but contributed only 18.9% in volume, indicating that fine particles contributed relatively little in volume although existing in large numbers.     

甘肃省夏季层状云微物理特征个例分析

对2004年6月12日甘肃河西地区一次降水性层状云的云物理飞机探测结果进行了分析,通过对云中粒子的浓度、直径、二维图像以及谱型变化地研究,并结合宏观观测记录,详细分析了云系的垂直和水平微物理特征.观测资料分析表明:此次云系为Ac-Sc结构,上层Ac云为纯冷云,下层Sc云为纯暖云,两层云之间存在较厚的干层.云中微物理量的垂直和水平变化均具有明显的不均匀性,整个探测过程中,FSSP-100所测云粒子的浓度和平均直径变化范围分别为0.1～-232.6cm-3和3.5～45.5μm,OAP-2D-GA2所测云粒子浓度及平均直径变化范围分别为0.01～116.7cm-3和32.2～995.7μm.粒子二维图像表明,上层高积云中冰相粒子的凇附、粘连现象普遍,说明云中存在较多的过冷水.图像及谱型分析表明,6000m以上某些区域有冰晶高浓度区存在,大量冰晶的成长消耗了云中过冷水,不利于大云粒子的形成和成长;这次降水雨滴主要由纯暖性Sc云中暖云成雨过程形成,冷云过程只在Sc云顶附近有一定作用,本次降水主要机制为下层层积云中的暖云过程.     

Effects of riverbed incision on the hydrology of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

The hydrogeomorphology of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) has been significantly altered by natural and anthropogenic drivers. In this study, the spatiotemporal changes of the flow regime were examined by analysing the long-term daily, monthly, annual and extreme discharges and water levels from 1980 to 2018, supported by further investigation of the long-term annual sediment load (from the 1960s to 2015), river bathymetric data (in 1998, 2014 and 2017) and daily salinity concentration (from the 1990s to 2015) using various statistical methods and a coupled numerical model. Then, the effects of riverbed incision on the hydrology were investigated. The results show that the dry season discharge (i.e., in March–June) of the Tien River increased by up to 23% from the predam period (1980–1992) to the postdam period (1993–2018) but that the dry season water level at My Thuan decreased by up to −46%. The annual mean and monthly water levels in June at Tan Chau and in January and June–October at My Thuan in the Tien River decreased statistically, even though the respective discharges increased significantly. These decreased water levels instead of the increased discharges were attributed to the accelerated riverbed incision upstream from My Thuan, which increased by more than three times, from a mean rate of −0.16 m/year (−16.7 Mm³/year) in 1998–2014 to −0.5 m/year (−52.5 Mm³/year) in 2014–2017. This accelerated riverbed incision was likely caused by the reduction in the sediment load of the VMD (from 166.7 Mt/year in the predam period to 57.6 Mt/year in the postdam period) and increase in sand mining (from 3.9 Mm³ in 2012 to 13.43 Mm³ in 2018). Collectively, the decreased dry season water level in the Tien River is likely one of the main causes of the enhanced salinity intrusion.     

Risk analysis for clustered check dams due to heavy rainfall

Check dams are commonly constructed around the world for alleviating soil erosion and preventing sedimentation of downstream rivers and reservoirs.Check dams are more vulnerable to failure due to their less stringent flood control standards compared to other dams.Determining the critical precipitation that will result in overtopping of a dam is a useful approach to assessing the risk of failure on a probabilistic basis and for providing early warning in case of an emergency.However,many check dams are built in groups,spreading in several tributaries in cascade forms,comprising a complex network.Determining the critical precipitation for dam overtopping requires a knowledge of its upstream dams on whether they survived or were overtopped during the same storm,while these upstream dams in turn need the information for their upstream dams.The current paper presents an approach of decomposing the dam cluster into(1)the heading dam,(2)border dams,and(3)intermediate dams.The algorithm begins with the border dams that have no upstream dams and proceeds with upgraded maps without the previous border dams until all the dams have been checked.It is believed that this approach is applicable for small-scale check dam systems where the time lag of flood routing can be neglected.As a pilot study,the current paper presents the analytical results for the Wangmaogou Check Dam System that has 22 dams connected in series and parallel.The algorithm clearly identified 7 surviving dams,with the remaining ones being overtopped for a storm of 179.6 mm in 12 h,which is associated with a return period of one in 200 years.     

Titan's atmospheric chemistry: Photolysis of gas mixtures containing hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide at 185 and 254 nm

The formation of organic compounds in the atmosphere of Titan is an ongoing process of the generation of complex organics from the simplest hydrocarbon, methane. Solar radiation and magnetosphere electrons are the main energy sources that drive the reactions in Titan's atmosphere. Since energy from solar radiation is 200 times greater than that from magnetosphere electrons, we have investigated the products formed by the action of UV radiation (185 and 254 nm) on a mixture of gases containing nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, acetylene, ethylene, and cyanoacetylene, the basic gas mixture (BGM) that simulates aspects of Titan's atmosphere using a flow reactor [Tran, B.N., Ferris, J.P., Chera, J.J., 2003a. Icarus 162, 114-124; Tran, B.N., Joseph, J.C., Force, M., Briggs, R.G., Vuitton, V., Ferris, J.P., 2005. Icarus 177, 106-115]. The present research extends these studies by the addition of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide to the BGM. Quantum yields for the loss of reactants and the formation of volatile products were determined and compared with those measured in the absence of the hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. The GCMS analyses of the volatile photolysis products from the BGM, with added hydrogen cyanide, had a composition similar to that of the BGM while the photolysis products of the BGM with added carbon monoxide contained many oxygenated compounds. The infrared spectrum of the corresponding solid product revealed the absorption band of a ketone group, which was probably formed from the reaction of carbon monoxide with the free radicals generated by photolysis of acetylene and ethylene. Of particular interest was the observation that the addition of HCN to the gas mixture only resulted in a very small change in the C/N ratio and in the intensity of the CN frequency at 2210 cm⁻¹ in the infrared spectrum suggesting that little HCN is incorporated into the haze analog. The C/N ratio of the haze analogs was found to be in the 10-12 range. The UV spectra of the solid products formed when HCN or CO added to the BGM is similar to the UV absorption formed from the BGM alone. This result is consistent with absence of additional UV chromophores to the solid product when these mixtures are photolyzed. The following photoproducts, which were not starting materials in our photochemical studies, have been observed on Titan: acetonitrile, benzene, diacetylene, ethane, propene, propane, and propyne.