Quantifying suitable dynamic water levels in marsh wetlands based on hydrodynamic modelling

The water level of marsh wetlands is a dominant force controlling the wetland ecosystem function, especially for aquatic habitat. For different species, water level requirements vary in time and space, and therefore ensuring suitable water levels in different periods is crucial for the maintenance of biodiversity in marsh wetlands. Based on hydrodynamic modelling and habitat suitability assessment, we determined suitable dynamic water levels considering aquatic habitat service at different periods in marsh wetlands. The two-dimensional hydrodynamic model was used to simulate the temporal and spatial variation of water level. The habitat suitability for target species at various water levels was evaluated to obtain the fitting curves between Weighted Usable Area (WUA) and water levels. And then suitable water levels throughout the year were proposed according to the fitting curves. Using the Zhalong Wetland (located in northeastern China) as a case study, we confirmed that the proposed MIKE 21 model can successfully be used to simulate the water level process in the wetland. Suitable water levels were identified as being from 143.9–144.2 m for April to May, 144.1–144.3 m for June to September, and 144.3–144.4 m for October to November (before the freezing season). Furthermore, proposed water diversion schemes have been identified which can effectively sustain the proposed dynamic water levels. This study is expected to provide appropriate guidance for the determination of environmental flows and water management strategies in marsh wetlands.     

Numerical evaluation of soft inter‐slab joint in concrete‐faced rockfill dam with dual mortar finite element method

Recently constructed concrete‐faced rockfill dams (CFRDs) often use soft inter‐slab joints to prevent axial compression‐induced extrusion damage in the concrete face. Due to the complexity of the multibody contact and the lack of information on the actual behavior of soft joints, it is highly challenging to numerically assess the effect of soft joints in CFRDs. In this paper, we present a numerical approach for the three‐dimensional modeling of CFRDs with hard and soft joints. A dual mortar finite element method with Lagrange multiplier is developed to treat the multibody contact in hard joints with impenetrability condition. The soft joint slab‐filler‐slab contact system is modeled using an equivalent contact interface approach, where the soft contact constraints are imposed using a perturbed Lagrange formulation. Through a series of laboratory tests, the mechanical behavior of soft joint is investigated. An extrusion model for the soft joint is presented and implemented in the dual mortar finite element method. The proposed numerical method is applied to the three‐dimensional analysis of Tianshengqiao‐1 CFRD. Despite the complex multibody contact and strong material and geometry nonlinearities in the CFRD, the proposed method is stable and capable of capturing salient characteristics of the CFRD. Numerical results show that in Tianshengqiao‐1, the employment of soft joints can effectively reduce the axial compression stress, thus greatly alleviating the risk of extrusion damage in the concrete face.     

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.     

Modelling the time‐dependent behaviour of granular material with hypoplasticity

This paper presents a constitutive model for time‐dependent behaviour of granular material. The model consists of 2 parts representing the inviscid and viscous behaviour of granular materials. The inviscid part is a rate‐independent hypoplastic constitutive model. The viscous part is represented by a rheological model, which contains a high‐order term denoting the strain acceleration. The proposed model is validated by simulating some element tests on granular soils. Our model is able to model not only the non‐isotach behaviour but also the 3 creep stages, namely, primary, secondary, and tertiary creep, in a unified way.     

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.     

山西夏季不同等级降水时空演变特征及其影响要素研究

基于1961—2018年降水观测资料,应用经验正交函数分解（EOF）、大气诊断等方法对山西夏季不同等级降水时空演变特征及其影响要素进行分析。结果表明：① 山西夏季降水量主要由大雨贡献（51.9%）,但在降水频次上以小雨为主。山西大雨与小雨事件存在显著差异。小雨多年平均雨量由南至北递增,而大雨却由南至北递减。此外,EOF表明全区一致型均是不同等级降水中的主空间模态,但在小雨和大雨中高载荷区存在明显差异。② ENSO在影响山西降水特别是大雨中占据主导,而NAO在小雨中作用更为突出。对大气环流异常结构的诊断分析表明,冷（暖）ENSO位相时,源于热带西太平洋并经由南海北上的季风水汽输送增强（减弱）,同时在ENSO和中高纬度大气活动联动调控下,在东亚地区建立的异常反气旋（气旋）可通过其西支南（北）风气流引导（抑制）季风水汽向山西进一步纵深推进,两者共同调配使得山西大雨事件增多（减少）;NAO主要通过一条沿西欧?东欧?乌拉尔山?蒙古高原的高纬度路径对降水施加影响,NAO正（负）位相时,在蒙古高原甚至山西建立的深厚异常（反）气旋通过其南支西（东）风一方面阻挡低纬度季风水汽进入山西,另一方面增强（减弱）山西有限的内陆水汽供应,从而引起山西小雨事件的增多（减少）。     

长三角地区港口腹地范围演化及其影响机制

本文尝试将海港和内河港的腹地范围演化纳入统一的研究框架。运用场强模型划分2001年、2008年和2016年长三角主要海港和内河港口的直接腹地范围,分析其演化特征,总结演化最显著的两大龙头港口——上海港和宁波港的腹地演化影响机制。结果表明：① 港口场强分布特征是以三大海港为龙头形成三大高场强集聚区。② 港口直接腹地演化最明显的特征是宁波港扩张的腹地范围基本来自上海港收缩的腹地范围。③ 上海港的直接腹地范围不断被宁波港袭夺是因为上海港通过市场主导和行政协调的机制,扩展了沿着长江布局的内河港口群水水中转的间接腹地,而非直接陆地腹地;相反,宁波港主要依靠行政机制和逐渐强化的市场力量,使直接陆地腹地范围逐渐延展到浙江全省。     

长三角地区城市投资联系水平的时空动态及影响因素

基于2003—2018年企业股权关联投资数据,融合社会网络分析、马尔可夫链分析和空间计量方法,从全球、全国和区域尺度探析长三角地区城市投资联系水平的时空动态特征及影响因素。研究发现：① 长三角地区各尺度的城际投资规模大幅提升,与关境外地区、关境内地区和长三角区域内的投资联系分别呈现服务业驱动型、制造业驱动型和行业均衡型特征。② 各尺度城市投资网络呈现区域指向性和多中心演化特征,上海、杭州、南京等在长三角地区逐渐发挥对外辐合全球和全国投资、对长三角地区内部辐射区域的作用。③ 与关境外、关境内和区域内的城市投资联系水平空间分布不均,以沪宁合杭甬发展廊道为支撑的空间结构逐渐凸显,并分别呈现低水平区集中连片分布、改善空间先沿海后内陆扩张、中低水平区广域化扩张的突出特征。④ 城市投资联系水平整体呈现向邻近较高水平方向转移态势,很难实现跨越式转移,存在显著的俱乐部趋同效应和马太效应。随着空间尺度的扩大,向较高水平方向转移的难度随之增大,俱乐部趋同效应和马太效应也随之增强。地理空间格局在各尺度的城市投资联系水平状态转移中发挥着重要作用,发展水平较高和较低的城市对周边城市分别产生正向和负向的空间溢出效应。⑤ 产业基础、劳动力成本、城市行政级别对各尺度的城市投资联系水平均有显著影响,创新能力对各尺度的城市投资联系水平均未产生显著影响,时间距离对全球和全国尺度的城市投资联系水平影响显著,经济全球化仅对全球尺度的城市投资联系水平产生显著影响。