Meteorological causes of Harmattan dust in West Africa

We investigated the temporal dynamics of dust entrainment in the Bodélé Depression, Central Sahara, to better understand the intra-annual variability of aerosol emission in the world's largest dust source. The linkages between dust entrainment and large-scale meteorological factors were examined by correlating several meteorological variables in the Mediterranean and Africa north of the equator with the aerosol concentrations in the Bodélé Depression separately for winter and summer. The methodological tools applied are NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the aerosol index of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS-AI), available for 15 years from 1978 to 1993. We found that dust mobilisation during the Harmattan season is highly dependent on air pressure variability in the Mediterranean area. High pressure to the north of the Bodélé intensifies the NE trade winds, leading to an increased entrainment of dust in the Bodélé Depression. In summer, dust mobilization cannot be explained by the large scale meteorological conditions. This highlights the importance of local to regional wind systems linked to the northernmost position of the intertropical convection zone (ITCZ) during this time.     

Quasi-static analysis of strike fault growth in layered media

We study the effects of structural inhomogeneity on the quasi-static growth of strike-slip faults. A layered medium is considered, made up of an upper layer bounded by a free surface and welded to a lower half-space with different elastic property. Mode III crack is employed as a mathematical model of strike-slip fault, which is nucleated in the lower half-space and then propagates towards the interface. We adopt FEM-β, newly proposed analysis method for failure, to simulate the quasi-statistic crack growth governed by the stress distribution in layered media. Our results show that along planar traces across interfaces a compliant upper layer has significant effects on promoting/suppressing crack growth before/after its extension into the layer and vice versa for a rigid one. This proposes a possibility that surface breaks due to strike-slip faulting could be arrested by deposit layers at the topmost part of the Earth's crust.     

Seismic radiation from dynamic coalescence, and the reconstruction of dynamic source parameters on a planar fault

The dynamic coalescence of two mode II cracks on a planar fault is simulated here using the elastodynamic boundary integral equation method. We focus on the complexity of the resultant slip rate and seismic radiation in the crack coalescence model (CCM) and on the reconstruction of a single crack model (SCM) that can reproduce the CCM waveforms from heterogeneous source parameters rather than coalescence. Simulation results reveal that localized higher slip rates are generated by coalescence as a result of stress interaction between the approaching crack tips. The synthesized seismic radiation exhibits a distinct coalescence phase that has striking similarities to stopping phases in the radiation and propagation properties. The corresponding SCM yields a singular increase in the stress drop distribution, which is accompanied by a sudden decrease in it across the point of coalescence in the CCM. This implies that the generation of high-frequency radiation is more efficient from coalescence than from stopping, although both phenomena exhibit the same strong  ω⁻²  -type displacement spectra.     

碎石桩处理软土地基临界填筑高度的研究

目前计算碎石桩处理软土地基临界填筑高度的方法并不完善,没有考虑软基经碎石桩处理后复合地基强度的增加和地基排水固结能力的提高,基于此,依据固结理论,引入碎石桩复合地基固结计算的简化方法,修正按变形控制的临界填筑高度计算公式;并结合四川省遂-资高速公路软基变形监测数据,得出软基厚度在6.5～11.0 m范围内,观测所得的临界填筑高度为4.5～6.5 m,该观测值与修正公式计算值差异性不显著,证实所推导的解析式是切实可行的;在此基础上,初步探讨影响路堤临界填筑高度变化的因素,得出软基厚度、桩间距对其影响较为明显。     

等双轴拉应变对无纺土工织物孔径变化的影响

无纺土工织物作为一种反滤材料,在工程中常受土体作用产生平面双轴拉应变,导致织物孔径变化。基于无纺织物空间网络孔径模型,改进Rawal公式中织物孔径结构总层数的算法,并提出等双轴拉伸下织物孔径分布曲线的解析解。利用自主研发的双轴拉伸仪,将两种针刺无纺织物等双轴拉伸至应变为3%、5%、10%,采用应变控制下的干筛法,进行织物孔径分布曲线测试。将解析解与试验结果进行对比分析,解析解孔径值偏大,所得解析曲线与测试曲线对于较薄织物吻合更好。研究结果表明,随着双轴拉应变的增加,无纺织物孔径增大,其特征孔径O95、O50、O30都近似与拉伸应变呈线性变化关系。     

Soil moisture dynamics across landscape types in an arid inland river basin of Northwest China

A combination of field measurements, continuous monitoring and numerical modelling was used to evaluate soil moisture regimes at four sites across a landscape gradient of the Heihe River Basin. Recorded data of precipitation, irrigation and floods were used to build the model, and an optimization technique was employed to calibrate the parameters. Based on the optimized parameters and estimates of future scenarios, the modelling structure was employed to predict the changes in the growing season soil moisture regimes due to climate change and intensive management. The results suggest that the upper‐reach Yeniugou and Xishui sites will become wetter because of alterations in the precipitation regime, and this trend could be strengthened by the expected amplified interannual variability. Precipitation features at middle‐reach Linze and lower‐reach Ejina, however, are not expected to change in the future. We assumed that a more water‐saving irrigation system will replace the current traditional one, and hence, the soil moisture probability density function at the Linze site would tend to be narrowed to ranges around either the wilting point or the point of incipient water stress, depending on how the intervention point and target level are settled. Ejina is expected to experience the most extreme ecological conversion effects in the future, and soil moisture would be more frequently recharged by water delivery. However, the soil moisture regime would not change much because of the poor water‐holding capacity and intensive evaporation. The revealed patterns and predicted shifts in soil moisture dynamics could provide a useful reference for identifying robust long‐term water resource management strategies for the Heihe River Basin. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐frequency water quality monitoring in an urban catchment: hydrochemical dynamics,primary production and implications for the Water Framework Directive

This paper describes the hydrochemistry of a lowland, urbanised river‐system, The Cut in England, using in situ sub‐daily sampling. The Cut receives effluent discharges from four major sewage treatment works serving around 190 000 people. These discharges consist largely of treated water, originally abstracted from the River Thames and returned via the water supply network, substantially increasing the natural flow. The hourly water quality data were supplemented by weekly manual sampling with laboratory analysis to check the hourly data and measure further determinands. Mean phosphorus and nitrate concentrations were very high, breaching standards set by EU legislation. Although 56% of the catchment area is agricultural, the hydrochemical dynamics were significantly impacted by effluent discharges which accounted for approximately 50% of the annual P catchment input loads and, on average, 59% of river flow at the monitoring point. Diurnal dissolved oxygen data demonstrated high in‐stream productivity. From a comparison of high frequency and conventional monitoring data, it is inferred that much of the primary production was dominated by benthic algae, largely diatoms. Despite the high productivity and nutrient concentrations, the river water did not become anoxic, and major phytoplankton blooms were not observed. The strong diurnal and annual variation observed showed that assessments of water quality made under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) are sensitive to the time and season of sampling. It is recommended that specific sampling time windows be specified for each determinand, and that WFD targets should be applied in combination to help identify periods of greatest ecological risk. © 2015 The Authors. Hydrological Processes published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Pile driving formulas based on pile wave equation analyses

Pile driving formulas, which directly relate the pile set resulting from a hammer blow to the static load capacity of the pile, are often used to decide whether a pile will have the required design capacity. However, existing formulas do not consider soil or pile type, and do not, in general, reliably predict pile capacity. In this paper, an advanced model for dynamic pile driving analysis was used to develop accurate pile driving formulas. The proposed driving formulas are validated through well-documented case histories. Comparisons of predictions from the proposed formulas with results from static and dynamic load tests show that they produce reasonably accurate predictions of pile capacity based on pile set observations.     

能源盆地沉积学及其前沿科学问题

赋存油、气、煤和（或）铀能源矿产的沉积盆地,称为能源盆地。沉积作用及建造是影响油气煤铀同盆共存、成藏及分布的重要因素和物质基础。能源等沉积矿产及其形成,是沉积学的重要组成部分。通过讨论能源盆地沉积建造与油气煤铀赋存成藏及分布的内在联系,提出成煤建造在盆地演化和空间分布上,总体处于成油气建造和成铀建造的过渡、衔接部位和承前启后的演化阶段。并探讨了厚煤层的初始成煤物质来源与成因,蚀源区物源对盆地沉积建造、油气储层和铀成矿的重要影响。分析认为当前存在重先进技术观测测试,轻露头区精细剖析的倾向;对后期改造的影响程度和原盆古沉积面貌恢复的水平尚需重视和提高。能源盆地沉积学内涵的自然外延领域广阔,与之相关的前沿科学问题颇多。应将沉积学置于盆地形成演化和改造的时空过程中,兼顾地球环境和生物演变进程,进行整体、动态、综合研究。重点讨论了其中部分相关前沿科学问题,如:沉积盆地动力学、地球环境及生命演变对沉积和成矿作用的影响、有机与无机相互作用对能源矿产形成的影响、事件沉积学及深部作用与成矿作用的关联、能源矿产空间分区性及偏富极形成的沉积学环境、沉积建造和沉积矿产年代学等。