A Participatory GIS Approach to Identify Critical Land Degradation Areas and Prioritize Soil Conservation for Mountainous Olive Groves （Case Study）

Climate change scenarios predict an increase in the frequency of heavy rainfall events in some areas. This will increase runoff and soil erosion, and reduce agricultural productivity, particularly on vulnerable mountainous agricultural lands that is already exhibiting high rates of soil erosion. Haphazard implementation of soil and water conservation （SWC） interventions on scattered fields is inefficient in reducing soil erosion. The objective of this study was to identify areas at high risk of erosion to aid the design and implementation of sustainable SWC using GIS analysis and farmers＇ participation approach. A 25 m digital elevation model （DEM） was used to derive layers of flow accumulation, slope steepness and land curvature, which were used to derive an erosion-risk （priority） map for the whole watershed. Boundaries of farmers＇ fields were mapped and verified by the community and each field was classified into high, moderate or low erosion risk. Fields with low flow accumulation （top of hill） and/or steep slope and/or convex slope were assigned high erosion risk and therefore high implementation priority. The study showed that more than 54% of the fields were classified into high erosion risk areas. Accordingly, a community-watershed plan was established, revised and approved by the community.Incentive loans to implement SWC measures were distributed to 100 farmers based on the priorities of their fields. Judged by local farmers and using 16 randomly selected fields, 90% of the targeted areas were correctly identified using the erosion risk map. After two years, the conservation measures had led to marked improvement of soil conservation. The approach is simple and easy to comprehend by the community and provides scientific basis to prioritize the implementation of SWC and to target the most degraded areas, which amplify the impact of these in reducing the vulnerability to land degradation.     

Experimental study on the velocity-dependent dispersion of the solute transport in different porous media

The hydrodynamic dispersion is an important factor influencing the reactive solute transport in the porous media, and many previous studies assumed that it linearly varied with the average velocity of the groundwater flow. Actually, such linear relationship has been challenged by more and more experimental observations, even in homogeneous media. In this study, we aim to investigate the relationship between hydrodynamics dispersion and the flow velocity in different types of porous media through a laboratory-controlled experiment. The results indicate that (1) the dispersion coefficient should not be a linear function of the flow velocity when the relationship between the flow velocity and the hydraulic gradient can be described by Darcy’s law satisfactorily; (2) Power function works well in describing the dispersion coefficient changing with the flow velocity for different types of porous media, and the power value is between 1.0-2.0 for different particle sizes.     

Simulation of freefall water entry of a finite wedge with flow detachment

A two-dimensional finite wedge entering water obliquely in freefall with three degrees of freedom is considered through the velocity potential theory for the incompressible liquid. The problem is solved by using the boundary element method in the time domain. The scheme of the stretched coordinate system is adopted at the initial stages when only a small part of the wedge near its tip has entered water. The auxiliary function method is adopted to decouple the nonlinear mutual dependence between the body motions in three degrees of freedom and the fluid flow. When the liquid has detached from the knuckle of the wedge, the free jet is treated through the momentum equation. The developed method is verified through existing results for one degree of freedom in vertical motion. Various case studies are undertaken for a wedge entering water vertically, obliquely and with rotational angles. Results are provided the accelerations, velocities, pressure distribution and free surface deformation, and the physical implications are discussed.     

基于浮游植物流式细胞仪对胶州湾春季浮游植物的研究

本文基于浮游植物流式细胞仪Cyto Sub对2014年春季胶州湾浮游植物功能群组成及其与环境因子的关系开展研究。Cyto Sub共检测出6个浮游植物类群,分别是聚球藻、微微型真核浮游植物、隐藻、微型单细胞藻、小型单细胞藻和链状藻。多元统计分析显示胶州湾春季浮游植物可划分为两个群落,群落1主要由湾外站位组成,浮游植物生物量浓度为15.15μg/L(以碳含量计,以下同),以小型单细胞藻、链状藻和微型单细胞藻为主;群落2主要由湾内站位组成,浮游植物生物量浓度为72.83μg/L,以链状藻为主。胶州湾的优势类群为链状藻,其丰度与水温和营养盐浓度呈显著正相关关系。与其他浮游植物粒级研究方法的比较表明,当调查海域优势种为小粒径的链状藻时,该方法能够快速、准确地测量出各个浮游植物类群的粒径参数,从而推算出浮游植物群落的粒级结构。     

Contrasting sediment gravity flow processes in the late Llandovery,Rhuddnant Grits turbidite system,Welsh Basin

The Rhuddnant Grits turbidite system was deposited within an elongate, fault-bounded trough in the late Llandovery (Telychian) Welsh Basin. Two groups of sandstones are identified within the system: high-matrix sandstones and laminated sandstones. The high-matrix sandstones are medium to very thick bedded, fine to very coarse-grained muddy sandstones. The high-matrix sandstone beds are almost entirely structureless and have several features indicative of deposition from high density turbidity currents, probably undergoing late stage debris flow behaviour (e.g. grain size discontinuities, inverse grading, floating clasts). The laminated sandstones are thin to very thin bedded, fine-grained and have a distinctive mud/silt lamination. Tractional structures and convolution are common in these beds. They were probably deposited by slow moving, dilute turbidity currents. Dissimilar palaeocurrent vectors and estimates of flow properties from the two types of sandstone support the contrasting nature of the depositing flows. A coarsening and thickening upwards trend is identified in the laminated sandstones of the Rhuddnant Grits Formation. This trend is not reflected in the high-matrix sandstone beds. Although the high-matrix sandstones appear in packets or groups within the laminated sandstone background, they were otherwise deposited in an entirely random manner throughout the exposed system. This may suggest that the two types of sandstone are the result of different triggering mechanisms at source, or of contrasting flow properties developed early in the flow histories.     

Multi-hazard susceptibility mapping based on Convolutional Neural Networks

Multi-hazard susceptibility prediction is an important component of disasters risk management plan. An effective multi-hazard risk mitigation strategy includes assessing individual hazards as well as their interactions. However, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, multi-hazard susceptibility prediction techniques based on machine learning has encountered a huge bottleneck. In order to effectively solve this problem, this study proposes a multi-hazard susceptibility mapping framework using the classical deep learning algorithm of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). First, we use historical flash flood, debris flow and landslide locations based on Google Earth images, extensive field surveys, topography, hydrology, and environmental data sets to train and validate the proposed CNN method. Next, the proposed CNN method is assessed in comparison to conventional logistic regression and k-nearest neighbor methods using several objective criteria, i.e., coefficient of determination, overall accuracy, mean absolute error and the root mean square error. Experimental results show that the CNN method outperforms the conventional machine learning algorithms in predicting probability of flash floods, debris flows and landslides. Finally, the susceptibility maps of the three hazards based on CNN are combined to create a multi-hazard susceptibility map. It can be observed from the map that 62.43% of the study area are prone to hazards, while 37.57% of the study area are harmless. In hazard-prone areas, 16.14%, 4.94% and 30.66% of the study area are susceptible to flash floods, debris flows and landslides, respectively. In terms of concurrent hazards, 0.28%, 7.11% and 3.13% of the study area are susceptible to the joint occurrence of flash floods and debris flow, debris flow and landslides, and flash floods and landslides, respectively, whereas, 0.18% of the study area is subject to all the three hazards. The results of this study can benefit engineers, disaster managers and local government officials involved in sustainable land management and disaster risk mitigation.