Assessment of flow paths and confluences for saltwater intrusion in a deltaic river network

Saltwater intrusion is a serious issue in estuarine deltas all over the world due to rapid urban sprawl and water shortage. Therefore, detecting the major flow paths or locations at risk of saltwater intrusion in estuarine ecosystems is important for mitigating saltwater intrusion. In this paper, we introduce a centrality index, the betweenness centrality (BC), to address this problem. Using the BC as the weighted attribute of the river network, we identify the critical confluences for saltwater intrusion and detect the preferential flow paths for saltwater intrusion through the least‐cost‐path algorithm from a graph theory approach. Moreover, we analyse the responses of the BC values of confluences calculated in the river network to salinity. Our results show that the major flow paths and critical confluences for saltwater intrusion in a deltaic river network can be represented by the least cost paths and the BC values of confluences, respectively. In addition, a significant positive correlation between the BC values of confluences and salinity is determined in the Pearl River Delta. Changes in the salinity can produce significant variation in the BC values of confluences. Therefore, freshwater can be diverted into these major flow paths and critical confluences to improve river network management under saltwater intrusion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of daily stream water temperatures with a Bayesian regression approach

Stream water temperature plays a significant role in aquatic ecosystems where it controls many important biological and physical processes. Reliable estimates of water temperature at the daily time step are critical in managing water resources. We developed a parsimonious piecewise Bayesian model for estimating daily stream water temperatures that account for temporal autocorrelation and both linear and nonlinear relationships with air temperature and discharge. The model was tested at 8 climatically different basins of the USA and at 34 sites within the mountainous Boise River Basin (Idaho, USA). The results show that the proposed model is robust with an average root mean square error of 1.25 °C and Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient of 0.92 over a 2‐year period. Our approach can be used to predict historic daily stream water temperatures in any location using observed daily stream temperature and regional air temperature data.     

Modeling the 2D behavior of dry‐stone retaining walls by a fully discrete element method

The dry‐stone retaining walls (DSRW) have been tipped as a promising solution for sustainable development. However, before recently, their behavior is relatively obscure. In this study, discrete element method (DEM) approach was applied to simulate the plane strain failure of these walls. A commercial DEM package (PFC2D™) was used throughout this study. The authors used a fully discrete approach; thus, both the wall and the backfill were modeled as discrete elements. The methodology for obtaining the micromechanical parameters was discussed in detail; this includes the three mechanical sub‐systems of DSRWs: wall, backfill and interface. The models were loaded progressively until failure, and then the results were compared with the full‐scale experimental results where the walls were loaded, respectively, with hydrostatic load and backfill. Despite its complexity and its intensive calculation time, DEM model can then be used to validate a more simplified approach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the elevation of saltwater wedge due to subsurface dams

Subsurface dams are rather effective and used for the prevention of saltwater intrusion in coastal regions around the world. We carried out the laboratory experiments to investigate the elevation of saltwater wedge after the construction of subsurface dams. The elevation of saltwater wedge refers to the upward movement of the downstream saltwater wedge because the subsurface dams obstruct the regional groundwater flow and reduce the freshwater discharge. Consequently, the saltwater wedge cannot further extend in the longitudinal direction but rises in the vertical profile resulting in significant downstream aquifer salinization. In order to quantitatively address this issue, field-scale numerical simulations were conducted to explore the influence of various dam heights, distances, and hydraulic gradients on the elevation of saltwater wedge. Our investigation shows that the upward movement of the saltwater wedge and its areal extension in the vertical domain of the downstream aquifer become more severe with a higher dam and performed a great dependence on the freshwater discharge. Furthermore, the increase of the hydraulic gradient and the dam distance from the sea boundary leads to a more pronounced wedge elevation. This phenomenon comes from the variation of the freshwater discharge due to the modification of dam height, location, and hydraulic gradient. Large freshwater discharge can generate greater repulsive force to restrain the elevation of saltwater wedge. These conclusions provide theoretical references for the behaviour of the freshwater–seawater interface after the construction of subsurface dams and help optimize the design strategy to better utilize the coastal groundwater resources.     

Prediction of river water temperature: a comparison between a new family of hybrid models and statistical approaches

River water temperature is a key physical variable controlling several chemical, biological and ecological processes. Its reliable prediction is a main issue in many environmental applications, which however is hampered by data scarcity, when using data‐demanding deterministic models, and modelling limitations, when using simpler statistical models. In this work we test a suite of models belonging to air2stream family, which are characterized by a hybrid formulation that combines a physical derivation of the key equation with a stochastic calibration of parameters. The air2stream models rely solely on air temperature and streamflow, and are of similar complexity as standard statistical models. The performances of the different versions of air2stream in predicting river water temperature are compared with those of the most common statistical models typically used in the literature. To this aim, a dataset of 38 Swiss rivers is used, which includes rivers classified into four different categories according to their hydrological characteristics: low‐land natural rivers, lake outlets, snow‐fed rivers and regulated rivers. The results of the analysis provide practical indications regarding the type of model that is most suitable to simulate river water temperature across different time scales (from daily to seasonal) and for different hydrological regimes. A model intercomparison exercise suggests that the family of air2stream hybrid models generally outperforms statistical models, while cross‐validation conducted over a 30‐year period indicates that they can be suitably adopted for long‐term analyses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of a coarse interlayer on seawater intrusion and contaminant migration in coastal aquifers

Vertical 2D slice laboratory experiments were carried out in homogenous and layered sand tanks to elucidate the effects of a highly permeable (coarse‐grained sand) interlayer on seawater intrusion and transport of contaminants to a coastal sea. Tidal fluctuations produced oscillations in the seawater–freshwater transition zone, fluctuations of the contaminant infiltration rate and a zigzag contaminant plume outline. The seawater wedge became discontinuous at the (vertical) edges of the interlayer because of increased lateral movement of the seawater–freshwater interface within the interlayer. The contaminant plume formed a tail within the interlayer depending on the tidal stage, and similar to the wedge, its movement was accentuated. A simple analytical model that neglected vertical flow reliably predicted steady‐state seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifer. Numerical modeling was used to gain insight into the groundwater hydrodynamics and contaminant migration. The numerical results confirmed the experimental findings, i.e. that a highly permeable interlayer can provide a rapid transit path for contaminants to reach the seaward boundary and that the interlayer amplifies the effects of tidal fluctuations, resulting in wider transition zones for the seawater wedge and contaminant plume. Numerical simulations further showed that, with increasing interlayer hydraulic conductivity, the maximum seawater intrusion distance inside the interlayer increases approximately linearly. For the fixed‐head contaminant injection condition used, the model showed that contaminant infiltration increases approximately logarithmically with increasing interlayer hydraulic conductivity (other factors held fixed). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trends and multi‐annual variability of water temperatures in the river Danube,Serbia

The relationship between air (Ta) and water temperature (Tw) is very important because it shows how the temperature of a water body might respond to future changes in surface Ta. Mean monthly Tw records of three gauging stations (Bezdan, Bogojevo i Veliko Gradi?te) were analysed alongside mean monthly discharge (Q) for the same stations. Additionally, Ta series from two meteorological stations (Sombor and Veliko Gradi?te) were correlated with Tw variations over the period 1950–2012. Locally weighted scatter point smoothing (LOWESS) was used to investigate long‐term trends in the raw data, alongside the Mann–Kendall (MK) trend test. Trend significance was established using Yue–Pilon's pre‐whitening approaches to determine trends in climate data. Also, the rescaled adjusted partial sums (RAPS) method was used to detect dates of possible changes in the time series. Statistically significant warming trends were observed for annual and seasonal minimum and maximum Tw at all investigated sites. The strongest warming was observed at Bogojevo gauging station for seasonal maximum Tw, with +0.05 °C per year on average. RAPS established that the trend began in the 1980s. This behaviour is linked to climate patterns in the North and East Atlantic which determine the amount of heat advected onto mainland Europe. Statistically significant correlations were found for all Tw on an annual basis. Overall, the strongest correlations (p < 0.01) between Tw residuals and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) were recorded for the winter period. These findings suggest possible predictability of Tw over seasonal time‐scales. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于RS与GIS的茂县地区干旱河谷范围变化监测

以遥感(RS)和地理信息系统(GIS)为平台,选取茂县地区两期Landsat卫星影像,利用ENVI对影像数据进行监督分类,提取区域内植被覆盖图。利用Arc GIS结合茂县地区河谷分布图,界定出茂县地区两个时期内干旱河谷的分布范围。结果表明:整个茂县地区干旱河谷的范围呈缩减趋势,2005年干旱河谷面积457 619 400 m2,2015年干旱河谷面积为381 971 125 m~2,干旱河谷范围缩减了75 648 275 m~2。准确地界定出干旱河谷的范围变化,对指导川西地区生态环境综合治理以及西部广大山区的生态环境可持续发展战略的实施具有重要意义。     

内蒙古火龙沟铅锌矿床成矿岩体年代学、地球化学及其地质意义

内蒙古火龙沟铅锌矿床是近期勘查发现、预期可达中型规模以上的铅锌矿床之一,笔者对该矿区的侵入岩——正长花岗岩进行了LA-MC-ICP-MS锆石U_Pb定年和主量、微量元素分析,锆石U_Pb定年结果为(224.0±2.5)Ma,表明,该岩体侵位于晚三叠世。岩石地球化学研究结果显示火龙沟正长花岗岩体具有明显富Si O2和ALK、贫Mg O和TFe的特点,A/NK-A/CNK图解显示正长花岗岩属于准铝质花岗岩。微量元素蛛网图显示富集大离子亲石元素Rb、Th、U、K,亏损高场强元素Nb、Ta、Ti。稀土元素配分模式表现出富集LREE,亏损HREE的右倾型,LREE/HREE=8.04~10.40,具有明显Eu的负异常。花岗岩锆饱和温度计算结果表明该花岗岩岩浆形成温度为820℃,属于高温花岗岩,以上地球化学特征和高温的特点表明该花岗岩为A型花岗岩。结合区域构造演化历史,笔者认为该花岗岩体形成于古亚洲洋闭合后的造山后垮塌岩石圈伸展构造环境。     

中条山地区郭家沟基性-超基性岩体的岩石成因及地质意义

文章通过对中条山地区郭家沟基性-超基性岩体的岩石学、矿物学和岩石地球化学方面的分析研究,讨论了该岩体的形成时代、岩石成因、及其地质意义。郭家沟岩体侵入时代为元古代,可能与绛县群形成时代较为相近(2200Ma左右)。郭家沟岩体具有岩相分带现象,边缘相为辉长岩,向内渐变过渡为含长辉石岩、变余辉石岩(角闪石岩)等,在岩体的中心发育着磁铁透闪石岩;岩石中Mg O与其他主量元素线性相关,各类岩石地球化学特征较为相似,显示出岩石受分离结晶作用的影响,具有岩浆同源演化的趋势;岩石总体显示出低硅、低镁、高铁、高钛、高钙的特征,相对富集LREE和LILE,而亏损HREE和Nb、Ta、Zr、Y等高场强元素,轻重稀土分馏明显,具有较弱的Eu异常,V含量较高,具有阿拉斯加型侵入岩体和与火山弧相关的岩浆特征。从岩石组合及地球化学特征结合区域构造演化,认为岩体形成于大陆边缘弧的构造环境,从侧面也说明绛县群的形成环境应该是大陆边缘俯冲后的伸展环境,而非陆内裂谷。