Using Sequential Self-Calibration Method to Identify Conductivity Distribution: Conditioning on Tracer Test data

An iterative inverse method, the sequential self-calibration method, is developed for mapping spatial distribution of a hydraulic conductivity field by conditioning on nonreactive tracer breakthrough curves. A streamline-based, semi-analytical simulator is adopted to simulate solute transport in a heterogeneous aquifer. The simulation is used as the forward modeling step. In this study, the hydraulic conductivity is assumed to be a deterministic or random variable. Within the framework of the streamline-based simulator, the efficient semi-analytical method is used to calculate sensitivity coefficients of the solute concentration with respect to the hydraulic conductivity variation. The calculated sensitivities account for spatial correlations between the solute concentration and parameters. The performance of the inverse method is assessed by two synthetic tracer tests conducted in an aquifer with a distinct spatial pattern of heterogeneity. The study results indicate that the developed iterative inverse method is able to identify and reproduce the large-scale heterogeneity pattern of the aquifer given appropriate observation wells in these synthetic cases.     

Characterization,modeling, and remediation of karst in a changing environment

This introductory editorial paper provides a review and prospective outlook of the achievements and challenges in karst research under a changing environment. A brief discussion of the past and future karst research has been focused on: (1) data and new technologies; (2) modeling of karst flow and reactive transport; (3) responses of karst hydrosystems to climate variability and changes across scales.     

砂泥岩裂隙岩体埋深和岩性对渗透性影响分析

采用表征岩体渗透性的单位吸水量ω为参数,有效地分析了砂泥岩裂隙岩体中相对埋深和岩性对渗透性空间分布规律的影响.研究区内,在不同深度单位吸水量的最大值和最小值相差3-4个数量级,渗透性表现出显著的随机特征.通过将压水试验数据离散化并在不同深度上取logω的平均值,凸现了渗透性的结构特征.ω均值在一定范围内随相对深度表现出负指数分布规律;剔除logω的线性趋势项后,logω残差表现出与地层内部岩性相对应的规律.此外,研究还发现,渗透性参数随相对深度呈负指数分布规律是由含裂隙的砂岩介质引起的.这些规律为裂隙岩体的渗流计算和模拟奠定了基础.文章所提出的对压水试验数据离散化并在不同深度取均值以找出渗透性和深度关系,以及去除线性趋势项研究渗透性和岩性之间关系等方法具有广泛的应用价值.     

Geographies of the Firm and Transnational Agro-food Corporations in East Asia

Agro-food transnational corporations (TNCs) are pivotal players in the emergent regulatory structures of the East Asian agro-food system, but there has been little explicit concern to account theoretically or empirically for their prevailing socio-spatial practices and strategies. This paper uses the case of Nestlé in South East Asia to make three claims. First, transnational corporate strategy is best understood as comprising an interaction of restructuring processes within the arenas of production, realisation (sales), and reproduction (corporate finance and investment). Second, the analysis of agro-food transnationals in Asia requires elevated attention to the local regulation of food systems. Third, in Nestlé's case at least, the articulation of global strategies with local arenas of production and markets encourages corporate finance to play a key role in the generation of profit. This is evidenced through the extensive use of intra-firm trade and royalty payments (or, related party transactions) by Nestlé in Thailand.     

Distribution characteristics and factors influencing microbial communities in the core soils of a seawater intrusion area in Longkou City,China

Microbes live throughout the soil profile. Microbial communities in subsurface horizons are impacted by a saltwater–freshwater transition zone formed by seawater intrusion (SWI) in coastal regions. The main purpose of this study is to explore the changes in microbial communities within the soil profile because of SWI. The study characterizes the depth-dependent distributions of bacterial and archaeal communities through high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons by collecting surface soil and deep core samples at nine soil depths in Longkou City, China. The results showed that although microbial communities were considerably impacted by SWI in both horizontal and vertical domains, the extent of these effects was variable. The soil depth strongly influenced the microbial communities, and the microbial diversity and community structure were significantly different (p < 0.05) at various depths. Compared with SWI, soil depth was a greater influencing factor for microbial diversity and community structure. Furthermore, soil microbial community structure was closely related to the environmental conditions, among which the most significant environmental factors were soil depth, pH, organic carbon, and total nitrogen.

     

Simulating the moderating effect of a lake on downwind temperatures

A steady-state, two-dimensional numerical model is used to simulate air temperatures and humidity downwind of a lake at night. Thermal effects of the lake were modelled for the case of moderate and low surface winds under the cold-air advective conditions that occur following the passage of a cold front. Surface temperatures were found to be in good agreement with observations. A comparison of model results with thermal imagery indicated the model successfully predicts the downwind distance for which thermal effects due to the lake are significant.     

Simulating flow in karst aquifers at laboratory and sub-regional scales using MODFLOW-CFP

Groundwater flow in a well-developed karst aquifer dominantly occurs through bedding planes, fractures, conduits, and caves created by and/or enlarged by dissolution. Conventional groundwater modeling methods assume that groundwater flow is described by Darcian principles where primary porosity (i.e. matrix porosity) and laminar flow are dominant. However, in well-developed karst aquifers, the assumption of Darcian flow can be questionable. While Darcian flow generally occurs in the matrix portion of the karst aquifer, flow through conduits can be non-laminar where the relation between specific discharge and hydraulic gradient is non-linear. MODFLOW-CFP is a relatively new modeling program that accounts for non-laminar and laminar flow in pipes, like karst caves, within an aquifer. In this study, results from MODFLOW-CFP are compared to those from MODFLOW-2000/2005, a numerical code based on Darcy’s law, to evaluate the accuracy that CFP can achieve when modeling flows in karst aquifers at laboratory and sub-regional (Woodville Karst Plain, Florida, USA) scales. In comparison with laboratory experiments, simulation results by MODFLOW-CFP are more accurate than MODFLOW 2005. At the sub-regional scale, MODFLOW-CFP was more accurate than MODFLOW-2000 for simulating field measurements of peak flow at one spring and total discharges at two springs for an observed storm event.