Comparison of two stream gauging systems for measuring runoff and sediment yield for a semi‐arid watershed

Our ability to understand erosion processes in semi‐arid ecosystems depends on establishing relationships between rainfall and runoff. This requires collection of extensive and accurate hydrologic and sediment data sets. A supercritical flume with a total load traversing slot sediment sampler used on several sites at the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) near Tombstone, AZ has proven to be a reliable way to measure flow and sediment discharge from small watersheds. However, it requires installation of a costly structure that is only suitable for relatively small flows. A more commonly used method based on ease of installation and expense is the pump sampler. One example of this is a set of instrumentation developed by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), in which the pump sediment sampler is part of an in‐channel, fully automated system for measuring water velocity, depth, turbidity and collecting runoff samples. A 3.7 ha arid watershed at WGEW was instrumented with both systems and hydrologic and sediment data were collected and compared during a 2 year period. Total sediment yield for the entire period measured by the CSIRO pump sampler (11.6 t ha^‐1) was similar to that by traversing slot sampler (11.5 t ha^‐1). The pump sampler accurately estimated the amount of fine (< 0.5 mm) sediment fractions exported, but consistently underestimated the coarse (>0.5 mm) sediment fractions. Median sediment diameter of samples collected by traversing slot and pump sampler were 0.32 and 0.22 mm, respectively. This study outlines the benefits and limitations of the pump sampler based system for monitoring sediment concentration and yield in high‐energy headwater catchments, and makes recommendations for improvement of its performance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Critical assessment and validation of a time‐integrating fluvial suspended sediment sampler

Delivery of fine sediment to fluvial systems is of considerable concern given the physical and ecological impacts of elevated levels in drainage networks. Although it is possible to measure the transfer of fine sediment at high frequency by using a range of surrogate and automated technologies, the demands for assessing sediment flux and sediment properties at multiple spatially distributed locations across catchments can often not be met using established sampling techniques. The time‐integrated mass‐flux sampler (TIMS) has the potential to bridge this gap and further our understanding of fine sediment delivery in fluvial systems. However, these devices have undergone limited testing in the field. The aim of this paper was to provide a critical validation of TIMS as a technique for assessing fluvial fine sediment transfer. Fine sediment flux and sediment properties were assessed over 2 years with individual sampling periods of approximately 30 days. Underestimation of sediment flux ranged between 66% and 99% demonstrating that TIMS is unsuitable for assessing absolute sediment loads. However, assessment of relative efficiency showed that six of seven samplers produced statistically strong relationships with the reference sediment load (P < 0.05). Aggregated data from all sites produced a highly significant relationship between reference and TIMS loads (R² = 0.80; P < 0.001) demonstrating TIMS may be suitable for characterizing patterns of suspended sediment transfer. Testing also illustrated a consistency in sediment properties between multiple samplers in the same channel cross section. TIMS offers a useful means of assessing spatial and temporal patterns of fine sediment transfer across catchments where expensive monitoring frameworks cannot be commissioned. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Joint venture schemes in Limpopo Province and their outcomes on smallholder farmers livelihoods

Joint Venture schemes based on the floppy irrigation technology are being promoted in the post-Apartheid South Africa's Limpopo Province. Access to land and water resources in South Africa are largely viewed as a mechanism for re-dressing the Apartheid injustices. This research was part of a broader applied research to help inform irrigation practise in the Limpopo Province. The research used literature review, key informant interviews and a questionnaire survey. The overall research question sought to understand how the Joint Venture Schemes had benefited the smallholder farmers. This paper argues that the joint venture partnership created a new injustice. Firstly, the Joint Venture Scheme design is fundamentally a bad idea which disempower farmers not only to water access but also land as well. The choice of the ‘efficient’ floppy irrigation technology was made by the state and entailed that land had to be managed as a single unit. In order to make more effective use of this highly sophisticated new technology, the smallholder farmers also needed to go into a joint venture partnership with a white commercial farmer. By virtue of signing the Joint Venture agreement the farmers were also forfeiting their land and water rights to be used for crop production. The smallholder farmers lost access to their water and land resources and were largely relegated to sharing profits – when they exist - with hardly any skills development despite what was initially envisaged in the Joint Venture partnership. Secondly, the implementation of the JVS has been skewed from the start which explains the bad results. This paper further shows how the negative outcomes affected women in particular. As the smallholder farmers argue the technological options chosen by the state have excluded both male and female farmers from accessing and utilising their land and water resources in order to improve their livelihoods; it has entrenched the role of the state and the private interests at the expense of the smallholder male and female farmers in whose name the irrigation funding was justified. The paper concludes by offering recommendations on how joint venture schemes can be genuinely participatory and meaningfully address the rural livelihoods.     

U形管采样技术研究

深部流体样品是深井工程的重要组成部分,介绍了获取深部流体样品的一种方法---U形管采样技术。通过对U形管采样技术原理进行研究分析,设计研制U形管取样器具并进行野外试验,取样深度达到井深500 m,最大流量达到40 L/h,取得了较好的效果。     

风险投资网络与绿色技术创新网络的时空耦合及其影响因素——以长三角城市群为例

利用2005—2018年长三角城市群27个城市风险投资事件和联合专利申请数据,构建风险投资网络和绿色技术创新网络,采用二次指派程序方法探究地理、经济、制度和社会邻近性对风险投资网络和绿色技术创新网络耦合协调发展的影响。结果表明：研究期内,风险投资网络与绿色技术创新网络耦合协调水平不断上升,高协调水平区域在空间上呈“Z”型格局,整体协调水平从内陆城市向沿海城市逐渐提高;4项邻近性指标对2个网络耦合协调发展的影响存在差异：经济邻近性、风险投资网络的社会邻近性和制度邻近性对2个网络耦合协调发展有显著促进作用,绿色技术创新网络的社会邻近性和制度邻近性对2个网络耦合协调发展影响不显著。     

Modeling nutrients profiles at the sediment–water interface. Calibration and validation from two climatically contrasted estuaries: Seine (France) and Somone (Senegal)

The dialysis porewater sampler, type Hesslein, allows sampling of sediment interstitial water according to a continuous gradient between sediment and the water column. Its equilibration time fluctuates according to the nature of sediment, so it has to be measured in each kind of sediment. The aim of this work is to develop a physical diffusion model in order to determine an equilibration time without using extensive field experiments. The model is validated by real nutrient concentration profiles obtained on two estuaries under different climates, moderate climate (estuary of the Seine) and tropical dry climate (estuary of Somone, Senegal). The results highlight that the equilibration of the dialysis porewater sampler is not homogeneous over the full sediment height investigated. Other sediment characteristics as compaction, rate of bioturbation or bacterial density must be taken into account in order to find a well-calculated value of the equilibration time.     

High rates of sediment transport by flashfloods in the Southern Judean Desert,Israel

A system has been installed to automatically monitor rainfall, streamflow, bedload discharge and suspended sediment concentration in the arid to hyper‐arid setting of Nahal Rahaf, Southern Judean Desert in Israel. The Rahaf gauging station is located in a relatively steep, wide channel with an unsteady bed driven by flash floods. It is an attempt to deploy modern automatic equipment for continuous sediment transport monitoring in harsh, arid fluvial environments. Unit bedload discharges are the highest recorded hitherto, suggesting they may represent an upper end member in the worldwide climate–bedload discharge relationship. Suspended sediment concentration is much higher than is typical of perennial fluvial humid environments. There is high correlation between suspended sediment concentration and water discharge on an event scale, with diverse intra‐event relations. The sediment yield of individual events is large, but the small number of floods limits the mean annual sediment yield to low values in this arid environment. This also has environmental implications, as large‐scale quarrying requires a long period of self‐restoration in such an arid fluvial setting. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新型深水天然气水合物保真筒保压特性研究

为解决国内现有天然气水合物采样器无法实现大深度保真取样的问题,提出一种配套气垫式保真筒的深海天然气水合物采样器,并以气垫式保真筒的保压特性作为研究重点。在考虑采样过程中样品自身体积膨胀因素的基础上,建立了不含气垫保真筒和气垫式保真筒的数学模型,并通过仿真计算,对不含气垫保真筒和气垫式保真筒的保压特性进行了分析。实验结果表明基于样品自身体积膨胀的不含气垫的保真筒和气垫式保真筒保压特性理论研究是正确的,同时,也表明气垫式保真筒具有良好的保压性能,极具开发价值。     

Simulation of mineral grades with hard and soft conditioning data: application to a porphyry copper deposit

This work deals with the geostatistical simulation of mineral grades whose distribution exhibits spatial trends within the ore deposit. It is suggested that these trends can be reproduced by using a stationary random field model and by conditioning the realizations to data that incorporate the available information on the local grade distribution. These can be hard data (e.g., assays on samples) or soft data (e.g., rock-type information) that account for expert geological knowledge and supply the lack of hard data in scarcely sampled areas. Two algorithms are proposed, depending on the kind of soft data under consideration: interval constraints or local moment constraints. An application to a porphyry copper deposit is presented, in which it is shown that the incorporation of soft conditioning data associated with the prevailing rock type improves the modeling of the uncertainty in the actual copper grades.     

海底天然气水合物取样器冷却技术研究现状

天然气水合物是一种潜力巨大的替代性能源,其可以稳定地存在于一定的低温高压条件之下。在天然气水合物钻探作业中,冷却保温技术是天然气水合物钻探的关键技术之一。低温可以抑制天然气水合物分解,这对获取水合物样品有着十分重要的作用。本文首先概述了海底天然气水合物取样器保温冷却技术研究现状,并对取样器冷却保温技术进行深入的调查研究和分析。然后对日本的PTCS取样器中的冷却保温技术和国内具有冷却保温功能的取样器进行了详细介绍,并对相关技术进行分析和总结,最后对海底天然气水合物取样器冷却保温技术的发展做了总结与展望。