A novel computational approach for large deformation and post‐failure analyses of segmental retaining wall systems

Segmental retaining wall (SRW) systems are commonly used in geotechnical practice to stabilize cut and fill slopes. Because of their flexibility, these systems can tolerate minor movements and settlements without incurring damage or crack. Despite these advantages, very few numerical studies of large deformations and post‐failure behavior of SRW systems are found in the current literature. Traditional numerical methods, such as the finite element method, suffer from mesh entanglement, thus are unable to simulate large deformations and flexible behavior of retaining wall blocks in SRW systems. To overcome the above limitations, a novel computational framework based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method was developed to simulate large deformations and post‐failure behavior of soils and retaining wall blocks in SRW systems. The proposed numerical framework is a hybrid continuum/discontinuum approach that can model soil as an elasto‐plastic material and retaining wall blocks as independent rigid bodies associated with both translational and rotational degrees of freedom. A new contact model is proposed within the SPH framework to simulate the interaction between the soil and the blocks and between the blocks. As an application of the proposed numerical method, a two‐dimensional simulation of an SRW collapse was simulated and compared to experimental results conducted under the same conditions. The results showed that the proposed computational approach provided satisfactory agreement with the experiment. This suggests that the new framework is a promising numerical approach to model SRW systems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical modelling of stream–aquifer interaction: Quantifying the impact of transient streambed permeability and aquifer heterogeneity

Stream–aquifer interaction plays a vital role in the water cycle, and a proper study of this interaction is needed for understanding groundwater recharge, contaminants migration, and for managing surface water and groundwater resources. A model‐based investigation of a field experiment in a riparian zone of the Schwarzbach river, a tributary of the Rhine River in Germany, was conducted to understand stream–aquifer interaction under alternative gaining and losing streamflow conditions. An equivalent streambed permeability, estimated by inverting aquifer responses to flood waves, shows that streambed permeability increased during infiltration of stream water to aquifer and decreased during exfiltration. Aquifer permeability realizations generated by multiple‐point geostatistics exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity and anisotropy. A coupled surface water groundwater flow model was developed incorporating the time‐varying streambed permeability and heterogeneous aquifer permeability realizations. The model was able to reproduce varying pressure heads at two observation wells near the stream over a period of 55 days. A Monte Carlo analysis was also carried out to simulate groundwater flow, its age distribution, and the release of a hypothetical wastewater plume into the aquifer from the stream. Results of this uncertainty analysis suggest (a) stream–aquifer exchange flux during the infiltration periods was constrained by aquifer permeability; (b) during exfiltration, this flux was constrained by the reduced streambed permeability; (c) the effect of temporally variable streambed permeability and aquifer heterogeneity were found important to improve the accurate capture of the uncertainty; and (d) probabilistic infiltration paths in the aquifer reveal that such pathways and the associated prediction of the extent of the contaminant plume are highly dependent on aquifer heterogeneity.     

Quantitative analysis of riverbank groundwater flow for the Qinhuai River,China, and its influence factors

Interactions of surface water and groundwater (SW–GW) play an important role in the physical, chemical, and ecological processes of riparian zones. The main objective of this study was to describe the two‐dimensional characteristics of riverbank SW–GW interactions and to quantify their influence factors. The SW–GW exchange fluxes for six sections (S1 to S6) of the Qinhuai River, China, were estimated using a heat tracing method, and field hydrogeological and thermodynamic parameters were obtained via inverse modelling. Global sensitivity analysis was performed to compare the effects of layered heterogeneity of hydraulic conductivity and river stage variation on SW–GW exchange. Under the condition of varied river stage, only the lateral exchange fluxes at S1 apparently decreased during the monitoring period, probably resulting from its relatively higher hydraulic conductivity. Meanwhile, the SW–GW exchanges for the other five sections were quite stable over time. The lateral exchange fluxes were higher than the vertical ones. The riverbank groundwater flow showed different spatial variation characteristics for the six sections, but most of the higher exchange fluxes occurred in the lower area of a section. The section with larger hydraulic conductivity has an apparent dynamic response to surface water and groundwater level differences, whereas lower permeabilities severely reduced the response of groundwater flow. The influence of boundary conditions on SW–GW interactions was restricted to a limited extent, and the impact extent will expand with the increase of peak water level and hydraulic conductivity. The SW–GW head difference was the main influence factors in SW–GW interactions, and the influence of both SW–GW head difference and hydraulic conductivity decreased with an increase of the distance from the surface water boundary. For each layer of riverbank sediment, its hydraulic conductivity had greater influence on its groundwater flow than the other layers, whereas it had negligible effects on its overlying/underlying layers. Consequently, the variations in river stage and hydraulic conductivity were the main factors influencing the spatial and temporal characteristics of riverbank groundwater flow, respectively.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books Reviewed in this article: Lob Trees in the Wilderness . Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren . Satellite Microwave Remote Sensing . T. D. Allan , ed. Sunbelt Cities: Politics and Growth Since World War II . Richard M. Bernard and Bradley R. Rice , eds. Legacy of Minneapolis: Preservation Amid Change . John R. Borchert , David Gebhard , David Lanegran , and Judith A. Martin . Bloomington, MN: Preparing a Historic Preservation Ordinance. Richard J. Roddewig . The Mountains of Northeastern Tasmania, A Study of Alpine Geomorphology . Nel Caine . Introductory Cartography . John Campbell . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Changing Climate . Manual of Remote Sensing, Second Edition . 2 Vols. Robert N. Colwell , ed.-in-chief; David S. Simonett and John E. Estes , vol. eds. Remote Sensing in Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology . A. P. Cracknell , ed. Multidimensional Scaling . Mark L. Davison . Environmental Karst . Percy H. Dougherty , ed. The Urban Environment . Ian Douglas . Geomorphology of Europe . Clifford Embleton , ed. An Introduction to South Asia . B. H. Farmer . Great Geological Controversies . A. Hallam . Hazardous Waste Management: In Whose Backyard? Michalann Harthill , ed. Energy for Subsistence . Margaret Haswell . Perspective on Ratzel's Political Geography . James M. Hunter . Economic Deposits and their Tectonic Setting . Charles S. Hutchison . Energy Risk Assessment . Herbert Inhaber . Discovering the Vernacular Landscape . John Brinckerhoff Jackson . Climate and Energy Systems: A Review of Their Interactions . Jill Jäger . Dilemmas in Regional Policy . Antoni Kuklinski and J. G. Lambooy , eds. California Farmland: A History of Large Agricultural Landholdings . Ellen Liebman . The Spatial Organization of New Land Settlement in Latin America . Jacob O. Maos . Dark Continent: Africa as Seen by Americans . Michael McCarthy . Westport, CT: Climatology: An Introduction . John E. Oliver and John J. Hidore . Columbus, OH: The Geography of Warfare . Patrick O'Sullivan and Jesse W. Miller . The Expanding City. Essays in Honour of Professor Jean Gottmann . John Patten , ed. Scotland's Environment During the Last 30,000 Years . Robert J. Price . Integrated Urban Models . S. H. Putman . Development and the Environmental Crisis: Red or Green Alternatives? Michael Redclift .     

A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE TIDE-SURGE INTERACTION IN THE EAST CHINA SEA AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

Nearshore sea levels in the East China Sea(ECS) and the South China Sea(SCS) during tropical cyclones-Typhoon 8007(Joe, 1980) and Typhoon 7209(Betty 1972) were simulated. The tide-surge interactions in the two regions are remarkable and locally produced. The corresponding nonlinear effects were derived from the different nonlinear terms. The contribution of the quadratic friction term is the most important, the shallow term comes second the convective term is the least; the phases of the interactions generated by the various nonlinear terms are asynchronous. Both the quadratic friction and the convective term can stimulate and aggravate the surge structure with more peaks. The bottom friction features have crucial influences on tides and surges, and the interaction is sensitive to the changes of tide and surge.     

Are Io's Alfvén wings filamented? Galileo observations

The interaction of Io with the Jovian magnetosphere generates auroral and radio emissions. The underlying electron acceleration process is not understood and few observations exist to constrain the theoretical models. The source of energy for the electron acceleration is in all likelihood supplied from the Alfvén wings that stretch out from both poles of Io into the two Jovian hemispheres. The form of the current system associated with the Alfvén wings has been disputed, some suggesting that the greatly slowed flow near Io implies that a steady current loop links Io to Jupiter's ionosphere, others arguing that the return waves appear only downstream of Io and others suggesting that both forms develop. Given the finite inclination of the Alfvén wings implied by the finite value of the Alfvén Mach number and the strong reflection that occurs at the boundary of the Io torus, we argue that no steady current loop can be invoked between Io and Jupiter's ionosphere. However, the energetics of the auroral and radio emissions imply that most of the energy in the Alfvén wings is transformed into electron acceleration at high-latitudes, that is, outside the Io torus. The dilemma then is to understand how a large fraction of the power penetrates the reflecting boundary. We present data from Galileo's multiple flybys of Io that suggest that the coupling with the Jovian ionosphere is mediated by filamentary Alfvén wings associated with electromagnetic waves propagating out of the torus. In particular, we report on the systematic observation, within the cross-section of Io's Alfvén wings and in their immediate vicinity, of intense electromagnetic waves at frequencies up to several times the proton gyrofrequency. We interpret these “high-frequency/small-scale” waves as the signature of a strong filamentation/fragmentation of the Alfvén wings before they reflect off of the sharp boundary gradient of the Io torus. As a consequence, we suggest that most of the primary energy is converted into “high-frequency/small-scale” electromagnetic waves that can propagate out from the torus toward Jupiter's ionosphere. Reaching high-latitudes, these waves are able to accelerate electrons to almost relativistic speeds.     

断层相互作用的初步讨论

给出了半无限介质中任意倾角的多个已发震矩形断层对邻近任意倾角的潜在活断层共同作用的合应力的解析表达式，从而可以计算震后合应力的调整值，为判断潜在活断层的稳定性提供依据。合应力Ｓｒ中既包括了作用在断层面上的正应力，又包括了断层面上的剪应力，它比单独用一个应力描述应力场更有效。最后，用１９７３年２月６日炉霍地震后的实际震例说明了地震断层错动对周围孕震区的触发作用     

23个CMIP5模式对厄尔尼诺事件生命史模拟能力的评估

利用23个CMIP5气候模式历史模拟试验数据,评估模式对于厄尔尼诺事件生命史的模拟能力。评估结果显示,有1/3的模式可以很好地再现厄尔尼诺生命史演变过程,而另有1/3的模式对厄尔尼诺生命史模拟能力较弱。观测分析结果表明,动力(海洋温度平流)和热力(海洋表面热量通量)强迫作用对厄尔尼诺快速衰减过程都有贡献。前者主要与西北太平洋区域风场响应有关,而后者主要与"云—辐射—海温"负反馈过程有关。模拟能力较强的CMIP5模式中海温距平中心相对偏东,因此海洋纬向平流负反馈和短波辐射负反馈作用较强,衰减阶段中海温衰减更快。而模拟能力较弱的气候模式中海温距平中心相对偏西,因此动力和热力过程较弱,海温衰减缓慢。由于衰减变率不同,前者海表温度距平在发展年次年夏季时符号发生改变,而后者依然维持相同的符号。由季节决定的大气—海洋相互作用所引发的不稳定增长过程在北半球秋季时期进一步参与其中,因此较好的模式中负海温距平继续增长并转变成拉尼娜,而模拟能力较弱的模式中始终维持暖海温距平,没有形成拉尼娜。分析结果同时表明,仍然有1/3的气候模式不能很好地模拟出厄尔尼诺事件位相锁定特征。     

Atmospheric Response to Mesoscale Ocean Eddies over the South China Sea

The South China Sea(SCS) is an eddy-active area. Composite analyses based on 438 mesoscale ocean eddies during 2000–2012 revealed the status of the atmospheric boundary layer is influenced remarkably by such eddies. The results showed cold-core cyclonic(warm-core anticyclonic) eddies tend to cool(warm) the overlying atmosphere and cause surface winds to decelerate(accelerate). More than 5% of the total variance of turbulent heat fluxes, surface wind speed and evaporation rate are induced by mesoscale eddies. Furthermore, mesoscale eddies locally affect the columnar water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rate. Dynamical analyses indicated that both variations of atmospheric boundary layer stability and sea level pressure are responsible for atmospheric anomalies over mesoscale eddies. To reveal further details about the mechanisms of atmospheric responses to mesoscale eddies, atmospheric manifestations over a pair of cold and warm eddies in the southwestern SCS were simulated. Eddy-induced heat flux anomalies lead to changes in atmospheric stability. Thus, anomalous turbulence kinetic energy and friction velocity arise over the eddy dipole, which reduce(enhance) the vertical momentum transport over the cold(warm) eddy, resulting in the decrease(increase) of sea surface wind. Diagnoses of the model's momentum balance suggested that wind speed anomalies directly over the eddy dipole are dominated by vertical mixing terms within the atmospheric boundary layer, while wind anomalies on the edges of eddies are produced by atmospheric pressure gradient forces and atmospheric horizontal advection terms.     

大气边界层物理研究进展(2012~2017年)

本文总结了2012~2017年中国科学院大气物理研究所大气边界层物理和大气化学国家重点实验室大气边界层物理研究的最新进展,主要包括不同下垫面（城市、青藏高原、草原、沙漠、湖泊、海洋等）大气边界层观测实验、大气湍流和阵风相干结构的理论研究以及大气数值模拟的参数化改进等,同时对未来几年内大气边界层物理的发展方向做了展望。