The effect of long-term aerial exposure on intertidal mudflat erodibility

Intertidal zones by definition are exposed to air at low tide, and the exposure duration can be weeks (e.g. during neap tides) depending on water level and bed elevation. Here we investigated the effect of varying exposure duration (6 h to 10 days) on intertidal mudflat erosion (measured using the EROMES device), where the effects of water content and biofilm biomass (using chlorophyll-a content as a proxy, Chl-a μg g⁻¹) were taken into account. Sediments were collected between spring and summer (in October 2018, January 2019 and February 2019) from an intertidal site in the Firth of Thames, New Zealand. Longer exposure duration resulted in more stable sediments [higher erosion threshold (Ƭ_cr, N m⁻²) and lower erosion rate (ER, g m⁻² s⁻¹)]. After 10 days, exposure increased Ƭ_cr by 1.7 to 4.4 times and decreased ER by 11.6 to 21.5 times compared with 6 h of exposure. Chl-a and water content changed with exposure duration and were significantly correlated with changes in Ƭ_cr and ER. The stability of sediments after two re-submersion periods following exposure was also examined and showed that the stabilizing effect of exposure persisted even though water content had increased to non-exposure levels. Re-submersion was associated with an increase in Chl-a content, which likely counteracted the destabilizing influence of increased water content. A site-specific model, which included the interplay between evaporation and biofilm biomass, was developed to predict water content as a function of exposure duration. The modelled water content (W_Mod.) explained 98% of the observed variation in water content (W_Obs.). These results highlight how the exposure period can cause subtle changes to erosion regimes of sediments. An understanding of these effects (e.g. in sediment transport modelling) is critical to predicting the resilience of intertidal zones into the future, when sea-level rise is believed to exacerbate erosion in low-lying areas. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

波浪作用下湖泊底泥的输沙试验研究

湖泊底泥的运动过程产生内源污染,加剧湖泊生态环境的恶化.研究湖泊底泥在波浪作用下的输沙规律,可为研究湖泊的水质变化成因及生态环境治理提供参考依据.利用大型波浪水槽,在波浪作用条件下对太湖、龙感湖、巢湖的底泥进行了起动和输沙试验,对多组波浪水文条件下湖泊底泥的输沙试验结果进行分析,详细地阐述了太湖、龙感湖、巢湖底泥在波浪作用下的输沙变化规律.分析整理试验数据,得出输沙率变化公式,为3个湖泊的水质变化成因分析及生态环境治理提供参考依据.     

冬、春季芦苇(Phragmites australis)和狭叶香蒲(Typha angustifolia)的腐解过程及其对水质的影响

水生植物修复已经成为水体富营养化修复的重要手段,但其周期性的衰亡也给水体带来不容忽视的负效应.以府河流域丘陵地带农业区小水系自然生长的芦苇(Phragmites australis)和狭叶香蒲(Typha angustifolia)为研究对象,通过模拟实验,研究其冬季和春季腐烂分解过程的差异以及对水体营养盐水平的影响.结果表明,2种挺水植物的剩余干物质量整体上都呈现先快速下降再缓慢下降的趋势,芦苇和狭叶香蒲春季的分解速率分别为0.0251和0.0169 d~(-1),分别明显高于冬季分解速率(0.0027和0.0052 d~(-1));且腐烂分解速率与植物初始氮磷含量和氮磷比都有一定相关性.2种植物在冬季和春季磷的矿化速率都明显高于氮的矿化速率.实验水体的总氮和总磷浓度在腐解过程呈现初期迅速上升、中期迅速下降、后期缓慢下降的趋势.总体来看,芦苇和狭叶香蒲的腐烂分解受季节和初始氮磷浓度的影响较大,芦苇反应较香蒲更敏感且对水质的影响具有时效性.     

GPS应变率场计算方法研究进展

基于大地测量资料获取地壳运动与应变积累定量结果一直是国内外重视的地震中长期预测的技术途径。 针对地震变形过程的准确描述问题, 国内外学者基于GPS资料, 发展了多种应变率场解算方法。 本文首先简要介绍了GPS应变率计算的基本原理, 然后系统梳理了国内外多种计算方法的优势和不足, 结果表明: 应变率计算的数学方法只考虑几何关系, 其中整体方法主要适合数据密度和分布较好条件下获取区域地壳变形分布与趋势, 局部方法主要适用于数据较为稀疏情况下描述构造块体的变形特征; 应变率计算的物理方法既考虑几何关系又考虑物理关系, 其中, 位错方法根据主要适合于研究区域存在主控断层的情况(研究区域的变形主要由少数断层控制); 数值模拟方法(如有限元法)主要适用于区域地质、 地球物理的资料比较完备的情况。     

中甸-大具断裂南东段晚第四纪活动的地质地貌证据

中甸-大具断裂南东段位于哈巴和玉龙雪山北麓,属于川西北次级块体西南边界,断裂总体走向310°~320°,是一条重要的边界断裂。了解该断裂的活动性质、活动时代和滑动速率等对分析川西北次级块体运动,研究该断裂与玉龙雪山东麓断裂的交切关系等问题具有重要意义。文中基于1︰5万活动断层地质填图,对断裂沿线地层地貌、陡坎地貌、地表破裂、典型断层剖面以及河流阶地等进行了详细的研究。研究表明:1)中甸-大具断裂南东段按几何结构、断错地貌表现、断裂活动性可分为马家村—大具次级段和大具—大东次级段。2)通过野外地质调查发现,马家村—大具次级段断错了全新世冲洪积扇,形成了地表破裂,为全新世活动段;而大具—大东次级段虽然也断错了晚更新—全新世地层,但其断错规模及滑动速率均较小,由此认为其全新世以来活动较弱。3)通过分析断裂沿线断层陡坎、水平位错及地表破裂等地质地貌问题,认为马家村—大具次级段的活动性质为右旋走滑兼正断,其晚更新世以来的垂直滑动速率为0.4~0.8mm/a,水平滑动速率为1.5~2.4mm/a;大具—大东次级段以右旋走滑为主、正断为辅,其晚更新世晚期以来的垂直滑动速率为0.1mm/a。4)在大具盆地内发现的NW向地表破裂带的形成时代很年轻,不排除是1966年中甸6.4级地震或1996年丽江7.0级地震造成的地表破裂。     

Partition-coordinated control of soil and water loss for chestnut forests in the Yanshan Mountain Region,China

Soil erosion from chestnut forests is one of the most important factors causing land degradation in the Yanshan Mountain Region. A 2-year field study was done to compare the effects on erosion of a control plot(CP), a repaired and maintained horizontal ditch built with an engineering baffle every 6 m(MP 1),and a repaired and maintained horizontal ditch built with an engineering baffle every 8 m(MP 2). The results showed that the slope runoff of chestnut forests was influenced by rainfall characteristic factors.No single rainfall characteristic factor showed dominance for hill slope runoff. The runoff reduction effect of the partition-coordinated erosion control measures(MP 1 and MP 2) was substantial for chestnut forests under high rainfall intensity conditions. However, the runoff reduction efficiency was higher under the conditions of heavy rainfall and low average rainfall intensity than for storms with higher intensity and lower total rainfall. The reduction effect of the partition-coordinated erosion control measures on the runoff and sediment yield of chestnut forest slopes was MP 2 > MP 1 > CP. The runoff reduction rate and erosion reduction rate of MP 2 reached 61.70% and 97.41%, respectively, and that for MP 1 was 54.15% and 85.31%, respectively. Therefore, after a comprehensive comparison, MP 2 was determined to be more effective for soil erosion control for a sloping chestnut forest.     

Strength matters: Resisting erosion across upland landscapes

Soil-covered upland landscapes comprise a critical part of the habitable world and our understanding of their evolution as a function of different climatic, tectonic, and geologic regimes is important across a wide range of disciplines. Soil production and transport play essential roles in controlling the spatial variation of soil depth and therefore hillslope hydrological processes, distribution of vegetation, and soil biological activity. Field-based confirmation of the hypothesized relationship between soil thickness and soil production is relatively recent, however, and here we quantify a direct, material strength-based influence on variable soil production across landscapes. We report clear empirical linkages between the shear strength of the parent material (its erodibility) and the overlying soil thickness. Specifically, we use a cone penetrometer and a shear vane to determine saprolite resistance to shear. We find that saprolite shear strength increases systematically with overlying soil thickness across three very different field sites where we previously quantified soil production rates. At these sites, soil production rates, determined from in situ produced beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) and aluminum-26 (²⁶Al), decrease with overlying soil thickness and we therefore infer that the efficiency of soil production must decrease with increasing parent material shear strength. We use our field-based data to help explain the linkages between biogenic processes, chemical weathering, hillslope hydrology, and the evolution of the Earth's surface. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unpaved rural roads as source areas of sediment in a watershed of the Brazilian semi-arid region

Approximately 80% of the road network in Brazil is unpaved and shows evidences of a high erosion potential. In the semi-arid Caatinga Biome in the northeast of the country, a monitoring programme has been done for two years in order to analyze runoff and sediment production from unpaved rural road-ways and from embankments. Sediment production ranged from 0.30 to 0.92 Mg/ha yr, higher than in undisturbed areas, but generally lower than that reported for unpaved roads in other regions. However, this is a semi-arid area with low rainfall and runoff and, hence, with a limited hydrological connectivity and sediment production. Sediment production on an embankment with no vegetation was around ten times higher than on an embankment with vegetation. On the road surface, annual sediment production (normalized for gradient) in a section with traffic was three times higher than for a road surface without traffic. In addition, events that occurred after roadway maintenance activities generated peaks of sedi-ment concentration of over 5000 mg/L. These results suggest that sediment production from roads and embankments with bare surfaces is at least one order of magnitude higher than in undisturbed catch-ment areas. Maintenance activity and vehicle traffic contribute to an increase in sediment availability and impact on the sediment concentration, but less intensely on sediment loads, which depend on the runoff magnitude of the events occurring after roadway maintenance. It was also found that the natural vegetation of the semi-arid region potentially captures sediment on roadway embankments;thereby playing an important role in breaking connectivity between the sediment flow from unpaved roads and the natural drainage system of the catchment.     

循环荷载作用下红黏土累积变形研究

通过GDS动三轴设备对赣南红黏土进行了一系列排水条件下的大次数循环试验,研究不同循环应力比、固结应力比及围压对赣南红黏土累积变形特性的影响。结果表明：在不同固结应力比、固结压力和循环应力比条件下,红黏土的累积应变都呈现出先迅速累积,后增长变缓,最终稳定的趋势;在一定的循环次数之后,不同初始固结应力和不同初始应力比条件下累积应变与循环次数之间的变形规律呈现为线性关系,且初始固结应力和初始固结应力比越小,其线性相关性越好;不同循环应力比下赣南红黏土的平均累积应变速率与循环次数之间也呈现出明显的线性关系。此外,基于以上关系建立了赣南红黏土在长期循环荷载作用下的累积变形预测模型,并通过对比验证了该模型的可行性。     

2011年日本东北大地震（M_W=9.0）震间与震前变形场特征及其对强震预测的启示

强震震前(preseismic)动力学过程的研究对于地震预测具有十分重要的意义,但由于观测资料的限制,目前对强震前孕震区力学状态及其演化过程的认识还非常有限.2011年日本东北9.0特大地震(Tohoku-Oki)发生在GPS观测台站最为密集的地区,为研究特大地震震间(interseismic)与震前的变形状态提供了难得的机会.文中将利用日本东北大地震之前连续的GPS观测资料,分别计算震间与震前的速度场与变形场.通过对比分析发现,日本东北地区(Tohoku)震前的应变状态与震间的有很大的不同,震间的变形主要受到太平洋板块向日本海沟北西西向的俯冲挤压作用所控制,其主压应变以近东西向压缩为主,日本东北地区的运动方向与太平洋板块的运动方向大体一致.但是,临近地震前(震前)日本东北地区的运动方向发生了很大变化,震前30天的连续GPS观测结果显示,速度场的优势方向经常变换,间歇性地出现与太平洋板块运动方向相反的情况.这意味着震前孕震区的力学状态发生了很大的改变.这种变化可能与震前破裂成核或慢滑移及慢地震等过程有关,这些过程将加速或促进大地震的发生,从而为大地震的发生准备了力学条件.值得特别强调的是,这些现象都是可以通过直接观测能够发现的大地震之前的异常现象.由此可见,加密GPS站点进行连续观测,寻找震前变形异常区以及探索异常的物理机制对于地震预测预报有重要的科学意义.