Mapping mineralogy in evaporite basins through time using multispectral Landsat data: Examples from the Bonneville basin,Utah, USA

The Bonneville basin, located in north-western Utah, is a vast evaporite basin which is home to the world-renowned Bonneville Salt Flats international speedway and is a highly valued landscape undergoing rapid change and anthropogenic influence. Air quality, snowpack, the local hydrological system, and state tourism are all impacted by the nature of the surface sediments exposed in the Bonneville basin. Mapping the Bonneville basin over time with remote sensing methods provides insight into the dynamics and impacts of the changing surface landscape. Utilizing the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors, a set of band math indices are empirically established to map the predominant halite, gypsum, and carbonates mineralogical zones of the Bonneville basin. Spectral comparisons of representative samples from the study area and image-derived spectra indicate the halite of the Bonneville basin is wet and that gypsum deposits are slightly mixed with halite. The established indices are assessed in four ways, all of which support the ability of the indices to accentuate the associated mineralogical endmembers. Two study areas within the Bonneville basin are investigated temporally from 1986, 1995, 2005, and 2016 and show changing patterns in mineral distribution that align with surface processes active through these timescales. These indices provide a resource for mapping mineralogy though time in evaporite basins globally with diverse applications for questions about land use and environmental change.     

井下圆球运动分析与新型试压体设计

在油、气、水井井下作业中,圆球广泛地应用于管柱试压、坐封和分段(层)压裂等施工作业。为准确计算现场施工时圆球到达设计点时间（即候球时间）,通过对圆球运动过程和受力分析得出新的候球时间计算公式,并指出圆球绕流阻力系数、圆球直径、圆球密度和压井液性能等是影响候球时间的关键因素,为优化施工设计提供了依据;同时提出了一种能减少候球和反洗球时间的新型管柱试压体设计构思,为进一步优化施工作业奠定了基础。     

A new algorithm to find raster-based least-cost paths using cut and fill operations

We developed a least-cost path analysis algorithm that satisfies a slope threshold condition in hilly terrain. The new algorithm uses an expanding moving-window to explore a combination of cells that satisfy an elevation threshold condition and then supplements this by executing cut and fill operations when there are obstacle cells between source and destination cells. Cut and fill factors regarding the difference in the actual elevation and revised elevation are considered and a least-cost path is analyzed after calculating the accumulated travel cost to the destination point. After applying the developed algorithm to synthetic and real-world data, the least accumulated travel cost from the source point can then be calculated for all cells on the raster surface by considering various slope thresholds, moving-window sizes and raster data resolutions. This algorithm can be implemented as a useful tool in GIS software as well as engineering design software utilized in the construction and mining industries.     

A one‐dimensional process‐based approach to study reservoir sediment dynamics during management operations

A comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of erosion and sedimentation in reservoirs under different management conditions is required to anticipate sedimentation issues and implement effective sediment management strategies. This paper describes a unique approach combining fluvial geomorphology tools and morphodynamic modeling for analyzing the sediment dynamics of an elongated hydropower reservoir subjected to management operations: the Génissiat Reservoir on the Rhône River. Functional sub‐reaches representative of the reservoir morphodynamics were delineated by adapting natural river segmentation methods to elongated reservoirs. The segmentation revealed the link between the spatial and temporal reservoir changes and the variability of longitudinal flow conditions during reservoir management operations. An innovative modeling strategy, incorporating the reservoir segmentation into two sediment transport codes, was implemented to simulate the dynamics of erosion and sedimentation at the reach scale during historic events. One code used a bedload approach, based on the Exner equation with a transport capacity formula, and the other used a suspended load approach based on the advection–dispersion equation. This strategy provided a fair quantification of the dynamics of erosion and sedimentation at the reach scale during different management operations. This study showed that the reservoir morphodynamics is controlled by bedload transport in upper reaches, graded suspended load transport of sand in middle reaches and suspended load transport of fine sediments in lower reaches. Eventually, it allowed a better understanding of the impact of dam management on sediment dynamics. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

国外军事地质学热点问题

近年来以美国为代表的西方军事强国在军事地质学领域已取得了很大进展,尤其在应对未来战争方面作了许多准备。通过系统搜集国际军事地球科学会议(ICMG)和美国地质学会(GSA)有关军事地质学的最新专题研讨会论文与其他公开出版资料,梳理了当前国外军事地质学研究的热点问题并阐述了其新进展,其中作战领域包括地形情报研究、军事基地选址、潜在特殊战场环境调查、地下重要设施评价、非常规作战环境调查;非作战领域则包括抢险救灾、生态环境保护和环境安全评价等。最后分析了当前军事地质学研究存在的问题,并指出了其未来发展趋势。     

贵州空域自动化批复系统

人工影响天气作业(以下简称“人影作业”)的申请与批复是人影作业实施的重要环节,是一项涉及多行业、多环节,对安全性要求极高的技术工作。目前,空中交通日益繁忙,日航班量达1700余次,全省人影作业高炮及固定火箭达480余门,是20 a前的3~4倍,通过电话、甚高频无线电台进行人影作业空域申请的传统工作方式已无法满足目前人影作业空域申报和管理的要求。为提高人影作业的效率,缩短作业申请与批复信息的传递时耗,开发建成了贵州省空域自动化批复系统,实现了人影作业多点同时申请与批复,解决了电话占线等问题。简化了业务流程,缩短了人影作业申请与批复时间,从以往一个申请过程至少需打8个电话缩短到2个电话,实现了禁射区的自动批复,完成了人影工作由传统型向信息化转变,大大提高了人影作业时效。     

The value of updating ensemble streamflow prediction in reservoir operations

This study proposes a new monthly ensemble streamflow prediction (ESP) forecasting system that can update the ESP in the middle of a month to reflect the meteorological and hydrological variations during that month. The reservoir operating policies derived from a sampling stochastic dynamic programming model using ESP scenarios updated three times a month were applied to the Geum River basin to measure the value of updated ESP for 21 years with 100 initial storage combinations. The results clearly demonstrate that updating the ESP scenario improves the accuracy of the forecasts and consequently their operational benefit. This study also proves that the accuracy of the ESP scenario, particularly when high flows occur, has a considerable effect on the reservoir operations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow-ecology modelling to inform reservoir releases for riparian restoration and management

Linked hydrologic, hydraulic, and ecological models can facilitate planning and implementing water releases from reservoirs to achieve ecological objectives along rivers. We applied a flow-ecology model, the Ecosystem Functions Model (HEC-EFM), to the Bill Williams River in southwestern USA to estimate areas suitable for recruitment of riparian tree seedlings in the context of managing flow releases from a large dam for riparian restoration. Ecological variables in the model included timing of seed dispersal, tolerable rates of flow recession, and tolerable duration of inundation following germination and early seedling establishment for native Fremont cottonwood and Goodding's willow, and non-native tamarisk. Hydrological variables included peak flow timing, rate of flow recession following the peak, and duration of inundation. A one-dimensional hydraulic model was applied to estimate stage-discharge relationships along ~58 river kilometres. We then used HEC-EFM to apply relationships between seedling ecology and streamflow to link hydrological dynamics with ecological response. We developed and validated HEC-EFM based on an examination of seedling recruitment following an experimental flow release from Alamo Dam in spring 2006. The model predicted the largest area of potential recruitment for cottonwood (280–481 ha), with smaller areas predicted for willow (174–188 ha) and tamarisk (59–60 ha). Correlations between observed and predicted patches with successful seedling recruitment for areas within 40 m of the main channel ranged from 0.66 to 0.94. Finally, we examined arrays of hydrographs to identify which are most conducive to seedling recruitment along the river, given different combinations of peak flow, recession rate, and water volume released. Similar application of this model could be useful for informing reservoir management in the context of riparian restoration along other rivers facing similar challenges.     

Flood Management Strategy for the Upper and Middle Odra River Basin: Feasibility Study of Raciborz Reservoir

The river Odra, which rises in the Czech Republic and disgorges into the Baltic, suffered an extreme flood in July 1997 which was responsible for the loss of 55 lives and over a billion dollars worth of damage in southern Poland. The return period of the flood is variously estimated between 250 and 1000 years. The paper describes the hydrological and hydraulic studies undertaken for a flood reservoir (storage capacity is approximately 180,000,000 m³) to be constructed on the River Odra just upstream the ancient town of Raciborz, on the border between Poland and Czech Republic. These studies included the hydrodynamic modelling of a 220 km stretch of the river down to the city of Wroclaw where most of the damage occurred, flood damage analysis with and without the proposed reservoir, sensitivity analysis of operating rules for Nysa reservoirs and improvement of flood control capacity of existing channels and polders. Cost-benefits analysis, environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans, in addition to the engineering studies of the dam itself, were also carried out during the project stage but have not been included in the present paper.