Environmental significance of C/C and O/O ratios of modern land-snail shells from the southern great plains of North America

¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of aragonite shells of modern land snails from the southern Great Plains of North America were measured for samples from twelve localities in a narrow east-west corridor that extended from the Flint Hills in North Central Oklahoma to the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Northern New Mexico, USA. Across the study area, shell δ¹⁸O values (PDB scale) ranged from −4.1‰ to 1.2‰, while δ¹³C values ranged from −13.2‰ to 0.0‰. δ¹⁸O values of the shell aragonite were predicted with a published, steady state, evaporative flux balance model. The predicted values differed (with one exception) by less than 1‰ from locality averages of measured δ¹⁸O values. This similarity suggests that relative humidity at the time of snail activity is an important control on the δ¹⁸O values of the aragonite and emphasizes the seasonal nature of the climatic information preserved in the shells. Correlated δ¹³C values of coexisting Vallonia and Gastrocopta suggest similar feeding habits and imply that these genera can provide information on variations in southern Great Plains plant ecology. Although there is considerable scatter, multispecies, transect average δ¹³C values of the modern aragonite shells are related to variations in the type of photosynthesis (i.e., C₃, C₄) in the local plant communities. The results of this study emphasize the desirability of obtaining isotope ratios representing averages of many shells in a locale to reduce possible biases associated with local variations among individuals, species, etc., and thus better represent the “neighborhood” scale temporal and/or spatial environmental variations of interest in studies of modern and ancient systems.     

Three dimensional numerical simulation of residential building on shrink–swell soils in response to climatic conditions

Shrink–swell soils can cause distresses in buildings, and every year, the economic loss associated with this problem is huge. This paper presents a comprehensive system for simulating the soil–foundation–building system and its response to daily weather conditions. Weather data include rainfall, solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed, all of which are readily available from a local weather station or the Internet. These data are used to determine simulation flux boundary conditions. Different methods are proposed to simulate different boundary conditions: bare soil, trees, and vegetation. A coupled hydro‐mechanical stress analysis is used to simulate the volume change of shrink–swell soils due to both mechanical stress and water content variations. Coupled hydro‐mechanical stress‐jointed elements are used to simulate the interaction between the soil and the slab, and general shell elements are used to simulate structural behavior. All the models are combined into one finite element program to predict the entire system's behavior. This paper first described the theory for the simulations. A site in Arlington, Texas, is then selected to demonstrate the application of the proposed system. Simulation results are shown, and a comparison between measured and predicted movements for four footings in Arlington, Texas, over a 2‐year period is presented. Finally, a three‐dimensional simulation is made for a virtual residential building on shrink–swell soils to identify the influence of various factors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental characterization of the impact of temperature and humidity on the breakdown of soil water repellency in sandy soils and composts

Soil water repellency is a widespread phenomenon with the capacity to alter hydrological and geomorphological processes. Water repellency decays with time, and the consequences are only of concern during the timescale at which the water repellency persists. This study aimed to characterize the influence of temperature and humidity on the breakdown of water repellency. Apparent contact angle measurements were carried out on samples consisting of sand treated with stearic acid as well as naturally repellent dune sands and composts. Temperature and humidity were controlled using a cooled incubator and a purpose designed enclosed box in which humidity could be raised or lowered. Results showed the contact angle of the stearic‐acid‐treated sands decayed with time and that there was a significant increase with stearic acid concentration. For all samples, the decay in apparent contact angle could be described with a continuous breakdown model. The stearic‐acid‐treated sands showed a significant increase in contact angle with relative humidity at a temperature of 10 and 20 °C. These differences diminished with increasing temperature. Similar results were seen for the dune sands and composts. Despite the influence of temperature and humidity on contact angles, there was no significant change in the rate at which the contact angle decayed in any sample. Absolute humidity was found to provide a more relevant indicator than relative humidity when assessing the influence of humidity on repellency over a range of temperatures. The contact angle initially increased with absolute humidity before plateauing owing to the confounding effect of temperature. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

相对湿度和PM2.5浓度对大气能见度的影响研究:基于小时资料的多站对比分析

为了全面分析浙江省不同区域能见度变化基本特征及影响机理,基于杭州、宁波、温州3个国家基本气象站2013-2014年逐时能见度观测资料,比较分析了3市能见度变化的基本特征。发现3市不同等级能见度出现频率基本一致,随着能见度等级的提高,出现频率逐渐降低;从能见度的日变化来看,07时（北京时）前后最低,之后缓慢上升,14-15时达到最高,随后逐渐下降;全年有两个能见度较低时段,分别出现在12月-次年2月和5-6月;总体而言,宁波能见度最优,杭州和温州大体相当。功率谱分析结果表明,3市能见度均有显著的日周期,高频波段呈现出多个显著谱峰,低频波段存在若干显著谱峰。进一步开展机理分析,发现相对湿度和PM_2.5浓度是调制大气能见度的关键因子,相对湿度增大、PM_2.5浓度升高导致能见度降低。在同一相对湿度等级下,初始阶段能见度随PM_2.5浓度的升高迅速降低,到达“拐点”之后降低速率趋于缓慢。在同一PM_2.5浓度水平下,相对湿度越大,能见度越低,说明水汽对能见度也有重要影响。基于相对湿度和PM_2.5浓度两个因子,采用非线性拟合方案构建了大气能见度定量统计模型,总体而言模型拟合效果较好。最后针对研究中存在的不足和未来值得进一步发掘的科学问题进行了讨论。     

中国中东部冬季霾日的形成与东亚冬季风和大气湿度的关系

利用1961-2013年中国地面台站长期观测资料和同期NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,以华北、江淮和华南为研究区,分析了中国中东部冬季霾日的形成与东亚冬季风以及大气湿度的关系。结果表明:(1)冬季霾日与东亚冬季风强度成显著的负相关。首先,东亚冬季风强度的减弱使得地面风速减小,进而导致冬季霾日增多。其中,华北7-8 m/s最大风速日数和江淮6-8 m/s最大风速日数的减少,及华南≤2 m/s最大风速日数的增多对各区冬季霾日的增多作用较大。其次,东亚冬季风减弱引起冬季气温的持续升高,易导致冬季霾日的增多,这在华北地区较之在江淮和华南更为明显。(2)由于气候变暖,冬季气温升高,使得近地面相对湿度减小。在江淮和华南地区,冬季霾日的增多与近地面相对湿度的减小显著相关,而在华北地区这种相关较弱。(3)冬季气温升高也有利于大气层结稳定度的增强,3个区域冬季霾日的增多均与大气层结稳定度的增强显著相关,特别是与对流层中低层(850-500 hPa)大气饱和度的降低显著相关。(4)冬季霾日数变化与区域水汽输送关系密切。其中,华北地区的冬季霾日数与水汽总收入成显著正相关,江淮地区与纬向水汽收入成显著正相关,与经向水汽收入成显著负相关,华南地区与经向水汽收入成显著负相关。     

中国东部夏季暴雨的年代际跃变及其大尺度环流背景

本文利用1960~2011年中国东部地面测站的逐日降水资料和JRA-55再分析资料探讨了夏季暴雨分布的年代际跃变及其相关联的大尺度环流异常特征。基于暴雨频数和占比(夏季暴雨占比是指5~8月暴雨降水量对总降水量的贡献百分比)的分析结果表明:中国东部夏季暴雨分布在20世纪70年代末和90年代初经历两次反相的经向"三极子"跃变。中国东部夏季暴雨的年代际演变过程可分为三个时段:1960~1979年为华南和华北暴雨偏多、江淮流域暴雨偏少的经向"三极子"分布;1980~1991年为南方和华北暴雨偏少、江淮流域暴雨偏多的经向三极子"分布;1992~2011年为南方暴雨显著偏多、华北暴雨持续偏少,逐渐形成经向"偶极子"分布,并导致近十多年我国夏季"南涝北旱"的整体格局。1970年代末(1990年代初)跃变相关联的大尺度环流异常配置:东亚夏季风的减弱(增强),西太平洋副高的增强西伸但南撤(北抬),南亚高压的减弱南缩(增强东扩),以及蒙古高原中低层的气旋式(反气旋式)环流异常。与此同时,低层局地环流也发生调整:华北和黄淮地区以及华南和江南地区均为反气旋式(气旋式)环流异常,而江淮流域和四川盆地受控于风场切变式辐合(辐散)异常;涡度场发生相应变化,南北方大部分地区的负(正)涡度异常不(有)利于低涡的发展,而江淮流域和四川盆地的正(负)涡度异常有(不)利于低涡的发展,进而引发江南和华南暴雨减少(增加)、江淮流域和四川盆地暴雨增加(减少)、黄淮和华北暴雨减少(增加)的经向"三极子"跃变。     

南海海岛自动气象站防护应用技术探索

立足海南及南海的自然条件,结合海岛自动气象站在南海高温、高湿、高盐雾、强辐射、强风等恶劣气候环境下使用情况,通过对历年来海岛自动气象站故障及失效模式的统计和分析,总结分析故障原因。根据设备维护人员多年气象设备保障工作积累总结的经验,从海岛自动气象站结构和防护要求出发,集成应用市场上优质材料、先进工艺和多种成熟、关键设备防护技术,形成一些气象设备防护的有效方法措施,以提高海岛自动气象站对海洋环境的适应性和性能,延长设备使用寿命。     

Calibration of cyclic constitutive models by oscillating functions

Most structures are subjected to more cyclic loads during their life time than static loads. These cyclic action could be a result of either natural or man-made activities and may lead to soil failure. In order to understand the response of the foundation and its interaction with these complex cyclic loadings, various researchers have over the years developed different constitutive models. Although a lot of research is being carried out on these relatively new models, little or no details exist in literature about the model-based identification of the cyclic constitutive parameters which to a large extent govern the quality of the model output. This could be attributed to the difficulties and complexities of the inverse modeling of such complex phenomena. A variety of optimisation strategies are available for the solution of the sum of least-squares problems as usually done in the field of model calibration. However, for the back analysis (calibration) of the soil response to oscillatory load functions, this article gives insight into the model calibration challenges and also puts forward a method for the inverse modeling of cyclic loaded foundation response such that high-quality solutions are obtained with minimum computational effort.     

不同覆盖措施对高寒地区剥离的草皮块堆放温湿度及成活的影响

重大工程建设会扰动高寒草地,法规要求扰动区草皮层应予以剥离,待工程建设后再用于恢复原生植被,当前对剥离草皮堆放成活的影响研究较少。试验设计遮阳网与穿孔膜两种覆盖条件,探讨分析其对剥离的草皮块堆放与铺植利用后土壤温湿度及草皮块返青覆盖度的影响,研究结果表明：遮阳网覆盖堆体较自然地表日均土壤温度显著降低,同时各深度层极大延长冻结期,降水对土壤水分的补充效应延后,并造成堆放期水分大量损失;穿孔膜覆盖堆体较自然地表提高了土壤温度,阻碍了降水对土壤水分的补充,并造成堆放后土壤吸持水能力降低。遮阳网覆盖的草皮块返青覆盖度显著高于穿孔膜覆盖的返青覆盖度,堆放期日平均土壤温度>0 ℃的堆放日数与草皮块返青覆盖度的线性拟合较好。工程建设中应尽量缩短堆放时长,采用透水透气类覆盖材料,增加土壤与空气热量交换,以维持更长的冻结期,并适时补充水分,提高草皮块铺植的恢复成效。     

四川省旅游气候舒适度评价

为了更好地发展旅游事业,本文以四川省2006~2016年21个站点的气象数据为基础数据,运用奥利弗温湿指数和IDW空间插值法对四川省旅游气候舒适度进行评价。结果表明:(1)从总体上看,四川省旅游气候舒适度差异显著,呈现出西部较高、东部较低的特征;(2)从季节上看,四川省春、秋季舒适度较高,最适合人们旅游;夏、冬季舒适度较差,最不适合旅游;(3)从旅游地上看,除了甘孜州、阿坝州和凉山州的最舒适时期为7月,最不舒适时期为1月。四川省典型旅游地最舒适时期大都为4月和10月,最不舒适时期主要为1月和7月。因此,除甘孜州,阿坝州和凉山州外,4月和10月四川省适合旅游;相反,1月和7月四川省不适合旅游。