Towards an impact assessment of bauxite red mud waste on the knowledge of the structure and functions of bathyal ecosystems: The example of the Cassidaigne canyon (north-western Mediterranean Sea)

Since 1967, the alumina plants in the Marseilles area (Barasse and Gardanne) have been discharging the mineral residue (i.e., red mud) resulting from the alkaline processing of bauxite into the submarine Cassidaigne canyon (north-western Mediterranean Sea) through pipes situated at 320-330 m in depth. The Barasse pipe stopped being used in 1988. From 1987 to 1996, many decrees and regulations were promulgated by the French State to rule the conditions under which the Gardanne alumina refinery was authorized to dispose of the bauxite residue in the sea. The refinery was required: (i) to study the hydrodynamic circulation in the Cassidaigne canyon to evaluate the potential dispersion and transport of fine elements discharged into the water mass and their impact on the pelagic ecosystem; (ii) to survey the marine environment every five years to control the expansion and thickness of the red mud deposit and compare the evolution of the benthic macrofauna at representative sampling sites in the environment affected by the red mud discharge with that of reference sites outside of the red mud plume; (iii) to study the effect of the discharge on fishing activities; and (iv) to investigate the toxicity of the red mud, particularly its persistence, accumulation, interaction and effect on the marine ecosystem, paying special attention to the bio-accumulation of chromium and vanadium. A Scientific Committee was created to insure an independent evaluation of the studies promised by the manufacturer in response to the State’s regulations. Since the beginning of the 1960s, data have been accumulating on the structure and long-term functioning of the Cassidaigne bathyal ecosystem. This paper presents the collaborative efforts of the State-Manufacturer-Committee triplet and summarizes the main results obtained during the last period’s sea campaigns (1991-2007). This paper also illustrates how national regulations concerning manufacturers, such as Gardanne alumina refinery, have provided new knowledge about the structure and functioning of a bathyal ecosystem in the Cassidaigne canyon in the north-western Mediterranean Sea.     

Sensitivity analysis of two-dimensional steady-state aquifer flow equations. Implications for groundwater flow model calibration and validation

This paper presents the analytical properties of the sensitivity of the two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater flow equation to the flow parameters and to the boundary conditions, based on the perturbation approach. These analytical properties are used to provide guidelines for model design, model calibration and monitoring network design. The sensitivity patterns are shown to depend on the nature of both the perturbed parameter and the variable investigated. Indeed, the sensitivity of the hydraulic head to the hydraulic conductivity extends mainly in the flow direction, while the sensitivity to the recharge spreads radially. Besides, the sensitivity of the flow longitudinal velocity to the hydraulic conductivity propagates in both the longitudinal and transverse directions, whereas the sensitivity of the flow transverse velocity propagates in the diagonal directions to the flow. The analytical results are confirmed by application examples on idealized and real-world simulations. These analytical findings allow some general rules to be established for model design, model calibration and monitoring network design. In particular, the optimal location of measurement points depends on the nature of the variable of interest. Measurement network design thus proves to be problem-dependent. Moreover, adequate monitoring well network design may allow to discriminate between the possible sources of error.     

求解二阶线性常微分方程的一个显式差分格式

在求解常微分方程的方法中,有限差分法是使用最广泛的方法之一。考虑一个二阶线性常微分方程的边值问题,利用有限差分法,建立了一个具有二阶精度的显式差分格式。首先,通过讨论该显式差分格式的系数矩阵,证明了该显式差分格式解的存在性。然后,通过定义的3种不同范数之间的关系,证明了显式差分格式解的收敛性和稳定性。最后,通过计算机编程对实例的计算,验证了该显式差分格式的数值结果具有二阶精度,并且该显式格式数值结果绘制的图形稳定、光滑,与解析结果吻合较好。     

汶川 Ms8.0地震同震倾斜应变变化分析

对汶川地震震中附近450 km范围内倾斜仪、应变仪记录到的同震变化做了筛选统计,并根据弹性半无限空间矩形位错模型,分别采用远场地震波资料、近场大地测量资料反演的同震滑移分布模型,正演计算震中附近台站的同震倾斜、应变变化.通过对实际观测与模拟计算结果的比较,初步表明:实际观测的同震倾斜变化方向与模拟计算结果存在75%的一致性,实际观测的同震倾斜变化比模拟值大约1～2个量级;实际观测的同震应变方向与模拟计算结果仅有33.3%的一致性,实际观测的同震应变变化与模拟计算值相当或仅大1个数量级.     

洮儿河扇形地地表水与地下水资源的转化关系

洮儿河扇形地地表水与地下水的转化关系十分复杂,主要表现在转化量的确定和转化关系影响因素的分析。通过水量平衡法、地下水均衡法分析计算了河水向地下水的转化量。在水量平衡法计算中,首先确定了区间产流,然后建立地表水均衡方程,以此确定转化量;在地下水均衡法计算中,主要通过建立第四系孔隙潜水均衡方程来求取转化量。地表水向地下水转化关系的影响因素主要有地层岩性、降水量、上游来水量、地下水开采量。地层岩性对转化关系的影响属于稳定因素,而上游来水量和地下水开采量属于非稳定因素,直接影响了转化关系的变化规律。     

Numerical simulation of three‐dimensional flow hydraulics in a braided channel

Results are presented from a numerical simulation of three‐dimensional flow hydraulics around a mid‐channel bar carried out using the FLUENT/UNS computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package. FLUENT/UNS solves the three‐dimensional Reynolds‐averaged form of the Navier–Stokes equations. Turbulence closure is achieved using a RNG k–ϵ model. Simulated flow velocities are compared with measured two‐dimensional velocities (downstream and cross‐stream) obtained using an electromagnetic current meter (ECM). The results of the simulation are qualitatively consistent with the flow structures observed in the field. Quantitative comparison of the simulated and measured velocity magnitudes indicates a strong positive correlation between the two (r=0·88) and a mean difference of 0·09 m s⁻¹. Deviations between simulated and measured velocities may be identified that are both random and systematic. The former may reflect a number of factors including subgrid‐scale natural spatial variability in flow velocities associated with local bed structures and measurement uncertainty resulting from problems of ECM orientation. Model mesh configuration, roughness parameterization and inlet boundary condition uncertainty may each contribute to systematic differences between simulated and measured flow velocities. These results illustrate the potential for using CFD software to simulate flow hydraulics in natural channels with complex configurations. They also highlight the need for detailed spatially distributed datasets of three‐dimensional flow variables to establish the accuracy and applicability of CFD software. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fractal approach applied to calculate hour‐glass eigenvalue of elastic square 4‐node quad

It is shown that the property of the scale invariance of the eigenvalues and eigenmodes of a finite element can be used as a basis to calculate good approximations to the analytical magnitudes of eigenvalues. This requires the subdivision of the element into a mesh of small elements with the same shape as the large element, the enforcement of the modal boundary displacements of the large element to the mesh of small elements and finally the application of the conditions of both the nodal equilibrium and the equality of the nodal work at both scales. Due to the self‐similarity of the elements at all scales the authors propose to call this method the fractal approach. The method is applied to calculate the hour‐glass eigenvalue of a plane square 4‐node quad for isotropic linear elastic material. The resulting hour‐glass eigenvalue is shown to be a good approximation of the analytical magnitude as derived in a companion paper. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Bayesian probabilistic approach for structure damage detection

A Bayesian probabilistic approach is presented for the damage detection of multistorey frame structures. In this paper, a Bayesian probabilistic approach is applied to identify multiple damage locations using estimated modal parameters when (1) the measurement data are potentially corrupted with noise, (2) only a small number of degrees of freedom are measured, and (3) a few fundamental modes are estimated. To reduce the potentially intensive computational cost of the proposed method, a branch-and-bound search scheme is proposed and a simplified approach for the modelling of multistorey frame structures is employed. A six-storey shear frame example and two multistorey frame examples, with multiple damage locations, are presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generalized extreme value shape parameter and its nature for extreme precipitation using long time series and the Bayesian approach

Assessing the probability of extreme precipitation events is consequential in civil planning. This requires an understanding of how return values change with return periods, which is essentially described by the generalized extreme value (GEV) shape parameter. Some works in the field suggest a constant shape parameter, while our analysis indicates a non-universal value. We re-analysed an older precipitation dataset (169 stations) extended by Norwegian data (71 stations). We showed that while each set seems to have a constant shape parameter, it differs between the two datasets, indicating regional differences. For a more comprehensive analysis of spatial effects, we examined a global dataset (1495 stations). We provided shape parameter maps for two models and found clear evidence that the shape parameter depends on elevation, while the effect of latitude remains uncertain. Our results confirm an explanation in terms of dominating precipitation systems based on a proxy derived from the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR not assigned     

基于重力卫星数据监测地表质量变化的三维点质量模型法

利用卫星重力测量手段监测全球质量变化取得了巨大成功,本文基于牛顿万有引力定律在三维空间直角坐标系中导出利用重力卫星观测数据监测全球质量变化的三维点质量模型法,该方法可直接利用重力卫星的轨道和星间观测数据或时变重力场模型计算全球质量变化,由于利用卫星观测数据计算地表质量变化的向下延拓过程以及观测数据噪声的影响,需要采用合适的空间约束方程或正则化技术对解算结果进行约束或平滑处理.利用合成全球质量变化模型模拟一个月的GRACE双星轨道和星间距离变率数据计算全球质量变化,对三维点质量模型法进行分析验证,采用零阶Tikhonov正则化技术处理病态问题.结果表明,三维点质量模型法可有效用于重力卫星观测数据监测全球质量变化,为利用重力卫星观测数据监测全球质量变化提供一种可选的途径.