The influence of dunes on mixing in a migrating salt‐wedge: Fraser River estuary,Canada

Dune bedforms and salt‐wedge intrusions are common features in many estuaries with sand beds, and yet little is known about the interactions between the two. Flow visualization with an echosounder and velocity measurements with an acoustic Doppler current profiler over areas of flat‐bed and sand dunes in the highly‐stratified Fraser River estuary, Canada, were used to examine the effect of dunes on interfacial mixing. As the salt‐wedge migrates upstream over the flat‐bed, mixing is restricted to the lower portion of the water column. However, as the salt‐wedge migrates into the dune field from the flat bed, there is a dramatic change in the flow, and large internal in‐phase waves develop over each of the larger dunes, with water from the salt‐wedge reaching the surface of the estuary. The friction Richardson number shows that bed friction is more important in interfacial mixing over the dunes than over the flat‐bed, and a plot of internal Froude Number versus obstacle (dune) height shows that the salt‐wedge flow over the dunes is mainly supercritical. Such bedforms can be expected to cause similar effects in interfacial mixing in other estuaries and sediment‐laden density currents, and may thus be influential in fluid mixing and sediment transport. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetic Modelling of the Removal of Seven Common Pollutants in Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands

The main removal mechanisms for the degradations of seven pollutants in wastewater treatment wetlands were analysed, and a mathematical model was established to quantify the removal of each pollutant, based on its main removal mechanisms. Subsurface horizontal flow wetlands were treated as a series of continuous stirred - tank reactors (CSTRs). Kinetic models for the removal of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, total nitrogen and faecal coliforms were established by combining Monod or first - order kinetics with CSTR assumptions. These tentative models account for a wide range of factors that affect wetland performance, but the models have not been proven by ex periment data. Depending on the derivation of various coefficients in the models and verification by actual performance data, this study may provide a starting point for an integrated pollutant removal model to be developed, and experimen tally verified, thereby making a step forward from the current greenbox' approach of wetland design.     

Channel response to an extreme flood and sediment pulse in a mixed bedrock and gravel‐bed river

We exploit a natural experiment caused by an extreme flood (~500 year recurrence interval) and sediment pulse derived from more than 2500 concurrent landslides to explore the influence of valley‐scale geomorphic controls on sediment slug evolution and the impact of sediment pulse passage and slug deposition and dispersion on channel stability and channel form. Sediment slug movement is a crucial process that shapes gravel‐bed rivers and alluvial valleys and is an important mechanism of downstream bed material transport. Further, increased bed material transport rates during slug deposition can trigger channel responses including increases in lateral mobility, channel width, and alluvial bar dominance. Pre‐ and post‐flood LiDAR and aerial photographs bracketing the 2007 flood on the Chehalis River in south‐western Washington State, USA, document the channel response with high spatial and temporal definition. The sediment slug behaved as a Gilbert Wave, with both channel aggradation and sequestration of large volumes of material in floodplains of headwaters' reaches and reaches where confined valleys enter into broad alluvial valleys. Differences between the valley form of two separate sub‐basins impacted by the pulse highlight the important role channel and channel‐floodplain connectivity play in governing downstream movement of sediment slug material. Finally, channel response to the extreme flood and sediment pulse illustrate the connection between bed material transport and channel form. Specifically, the channel widened, lateral channel mobility increased, and the proportion of the active channel covered by bars increased in all reaches in the study area. The response scaled tightly with the relative amount of bed material sediment transport through individual reaches, indicating that the amount of morphological change caused by the flood was conditioned by the simultaneous introduction of a sediment pulse to the channel network. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Challenges to the representation of suspended sediment transfer using a depth‐averaged flux

The sediment saturation recovery process (i.e. the adaptation of suspended sediment concentration [SSC] to local forcing) is the main feature of the non‐equilibrium suspended sediment transport (SST) frequently occurring in fluvial, estuarine and coastal waters. In order to quantitatively describe this phenomenon, a series solution is analytically derived, including the evolution of both vertical SSC profile and near‐bed sediment flux (NBSF), and is verified by net erosion and net deposition experiments, respectively. The results suggest that the sediment saturation recovery process involves vertically varying fluxes that are not represented correctly by depth‐averaging. Consequently, a vertical two‐dimensional (2D) combined scheme is established and applied respectively in to a dredged trench and to a sand wave feature to demonstrate this argument. By analyzing the variations of the calculated depth‐averaged SSC and NBSF we reveal that the equilibrium state presented by the sediment carrying capacity (SCC) form of the NBSF, which is usually applied in depth‐integrated SST models, lags behind the actual dynamic bed equilibrium state. Moreover, the key factor α, the so‐called saturation recovery coefficient within this form, is not only a function of local Rouse number but also is influenced by the local SSC profile. Finally, a three‐dimensional (3D) non‐orthogonal curvilinear body‐fitted SST model is developed and validated in the Yangtze estuary, China, combined with the in situ hourly hydrographic data from August 14–15, 2007 during spring tide in the wet season. Model results confirm that the vertically varying sediment saturation recovery process, the discrepancies between the actual and SCC form of NBSF and non‐constant value of α are significant in actual real geomorphic cases. The quantitative morphological change resulting from variations in environmental conditions may not be correctly represented by uncorrected depth‐integrated SST models if they do not treat the effects of vertical motion on the sediment saturation recovery process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

掺砾黏土拉伸断裂细观特性研究

掺砾黏土在高心墙堆石坝工程中的应用越来越广泛,其拉伸断裂特性对心墙的安全至关重要。将掺砾黏土视作四相复合材料,基于图像处理和随机投放建立了考虑真实砾石形态的细观数值模型,结合物理试验的结果验证了其有效性,并分析了掺砾黏土拉伸断裂的宏细观特性。应力位移曲线的宏观非线性是细观非均质性的体现,砾石的掺入大幅减低了抗拉强度,但提高了峰后抗拉性能;土石界面是微裂缝发展的源头,拉伸断裂是一个微裂缝萌生、扩展以至汇集形成宏观裂缝的过程;拉伸断裂发生在一个区域,即断裂过程区,该区域的形成与砾石的随机分布有关。最后,采用数值试验分析了随机砾石投放和掺砾量对掺砾黏土宏细观力学行为的影响。     

对江苏沛县新庄铁矿区富水性规律的初步认识

江苏沛县新庄铁矿属于典型的矽卡岩类接触交代型铁矿,矿区主要富水含水层为奥陶系灰岩。分析了该矿区地下水补径排条件、矿区含水层特征及断层富水性特征,初步总结了该矿区富水性规律。认为矿坑涌水主要受上覆灰岩控制,其次受构造断层控制; 断层的涌水量受裂隙充填影响变化较大,增加了突水、透水的风险性,将直接威胁矿山的生产安全。总结该矿区富水性规律,可为国内相同类型矿山的前期勘查及后期矿床开采提供参考。     

不同砾石覆盖度戈壁床面风蚀速率定量模拟

通过风洞实验,利用称重传感器自动记录风蚀观测样方重量变化过程,对供沙条件下不同砾石覆盖度戈壁床面风蚀速率进行了定量模拟研究。结果表明:砾石覆盖度是影响戈壁风蚀速率的关键因子,戈壁床面风蚀速率随砾石覆盖度增加按指数规律递减。各实验风速下,砾石覆盖度>50%时,戈壁床面风蚀速率随砾石覆盖度增加而减小量有限,甚至无风蚀发生;而盖度从10%到50%时,风蚀速率显著减小。因此,两种实验粒径砾石(3 cm与4 cm)至少在50%盖度时才能达到较好的风蚀防治效果。戈壁风蚀防护机理主要是砾石覆盖度的增加增大了砾石间沙粒的临界起动剪切风速,而且减少了作用在砾石间可蚀地表的剪切压。与沙质对照床面相比,10%~90%砾石盖度戈壁床面沙粒临界起动剪切风速增大了0.8~3.4倍,只有0.5％~28%的剪切压作用在砾石间可蚀地表。     

伊宁盆地的“红层”与找煤方向

伊宁盆地是新疆主要聚煤盆地之一,预测煤炭资源总量2178.8亿t。通过对含煤盆地岩石地层分析,发现研究区发育三套红层,即三叠系小泉沟群（T2-3xq）红层,侏罗系水西沟群（J1-2sh）红层及古近系红层,三套红层分属于两个构造层。根据红层与煤系地层的关系分析,认为古近系红层覆盖区最有可能发现隐伏的整装大煤田。查清红层的层序,对指导找煤及加速进行煤田地质勘查有着重要意义。     

砂卵石层帷幕堵漏在四川洪雅城东电站坝基施工中的应用

四川省地质工程勘察院在洪雅城东电站坝基砂卵石层中施工帷幕堵漏取得了很好的效果,本文介绍了帷幕堵漏的成孔工艺、灌浆工艺及工程效果评价。