Parameters of Land-Surface Processes for Gobi in North-West China

Using data from the intensive observation period (May–June 2000) of the NWC-ALIEX (The Field Experiment on Interaction between Land and Atmosphere in Arid Region of North-west China), the characteristics and mechanisms of some key land-surface process over Gobi in a typical arid region of north-west China are analyzed and several parameters of land-surface processes are calculated. The weighted mean of the surface albedo over a typical arid region of the Dunhuang Gobi is calculated using the relative reflection as a weighting factor, and its value is 0.255 ± 0.021. After removing the influence of precipitation, the mean soil heat capacity over a typical arid region of the Dunhuang Gobi is 1.12 × 10⁶ J m^-3 K^-1,which is smaller than that observed in the Heihe (China) River basin Field Experiment (HEIFE). The mean soil heat diffusivity and conductivity are about half of those observed in HEIFE.     

Space-time mapping of soil salinity using probabilistic bayesian maximum entropy

The mapping of saline soils is the first task before any reclamation effort. Reclamation is based on the knowledge of soil salinity in space and how it evolves with time. Soil salinity is traditionally determined by soil sampling and laboratory analysis. Recently, it became possible to complement these hard data with soft secondary data made available using field sensors like electrode probes. In this study, we had two data sets. The first includes measurements of field salinity (EC_a) at 413 locations and 19 time instants. The second, which is a subset of the first (13 to 20 locations), contains, in addition to EC_a, salinity determined in the laboratory (EC_2.5). Based on a procedure of cross-validation, we compared the prediction performance in the space-time domain of 3 methods: kriging using either only hard data (HK) or hard and mid interval soft data (HMIK), and Bayesian maximum entropy (BME) using probabilistic soft data. We found that BME was less biased, more accurate and giving estimates, which were better correlated with the observed values than the two kriging techniques. In addition, BME allowed one to delineate with better detail saline from non-saline areas.     

In-plane and anti-plane strong shaking of soil systems and structures

The concept of in-plane and anti-plane shaking is introduced with a rigid block on a plane surface with Coulomb friction. Using a hypoplastic constitutive relation to model the mechanical behaviour of the soil, numerical solutions for a rigid block on a thin dry or saturated soil layer are obtained. The coupled nature of dynamic problems involving granular materials is shown, i.e. the motion of the block changes the soil state—skeleton stresses and density—which in turn affects the block motion. Motions of the block as well as soil response can be more realistically calculated by the new model. The same constitutive equation is applied to the numerical simulation of the propagation of plane waves in homogeneous and layered level soil deposits induced by a wave coming from below. Experiments with a novel laminar shake box as well as real seismic records from well-documented sites during strong earthquakes are used to verify the adequacy of the hypoplasticity-based numerical model for the prediction of soil response during strong earthquakes. The response of a homogeneous earth dam subjected to in-plane and anti-plane shaking is investigated numerically. In-plane and anti-plane shaking is shown to cause nearly the same spreading of a sand dam under drained conditions, whereas under undrained conditions anti-plane shaking causes stronger spreading of the dam. The dynamic behaviour of a breakwater founded on rockfill and soft clay during the 1995 Kobe earthquake is back-calculated to show the good performance of the proposed numerical model also with a structure. Section 9 deals with buildings on mattresses of densified cohesionless soils or fine-grained soils with granular columns, slopes with ‘hidden’ dams and structures on piles traversing clayey slopes to show the suitability of hypoplasticity-based models for the earthquake-resistant design and safety assessment of geotechnical systems.     

小秦岭金矿含金石英脉中黄铁矿晶体的表面微形貌研究

利用微分干涉显微镜、扫描电镜、透射电镜等对小秦岭金矿含金石英脉中黄铁矿晶体的表面微形貌进行了研究。黄铁矿晶体的{210}面上发育自由生长层，表明{210}面是F面，其生长机理受二维成核层生长所制约。除简单的五角十二面体外，其他形态黄铁矿晶体的{210}面上也发育有自由生长层。{210}面上的正条纹有些是由{100}面上生长层的边缘台阶在{210}面上叠堆形成，另一些正条纹则是{210}面上生长层边缘台阶堆叠的产物。透射电镜和电子衍射花样研究表明，负条纹黄铁矿晶体是由30～50nm大小的核团经自动定向附生作用形成，每个核团不是单晶体，而是由许多早先在溶液中形成的小微晶聚合而成。这些特征表明负条纹黄铁矿晶体是在溶液过饱和度极高和温度梯度小的理想环境中形成，它的形成与杂质无关。PBC理论和唐纳-哈克定律能较好地解释自然界中黄铁矿晶体{100}面上普遍发育自由生长层、而{210}面上自由生长层极为罕见的原因。除日本释迦内矿区黑矿之上的浮岩凝灰岩中产生出负条纹黄铁矿晶体外，在石英脉型金矿床中也有负条纹黄铁矿晶体产出。     

Soil moisture potential and water content in the unsaturated zone within the arid Ejina Oasis in Northwest China

Three soil profiles were selected in the Ejina Oasis, northwest China, to determine water content profiles and evolution of soil moisture potentials in the unsaturated zone within the arid area. The total soil moisture potentials have been monitored for about 3 months in 2001 at different depths in the soil profiles. The occurrence and movement of water in the unsaturated zone was analyzed using the zero flux plane (ZFP) method. It is shown that convergent ZFPs and divergent ZFPs may occur at depths between 0.5 and 3.0 m, and that the depth of the ZFPs was controlled by the root zone of plants growing on the land surface. Profiles of the total soil moisture potentials were observed to be coincident with those of the water contents at the three experimental sites. The total soil moisture potential showed a slight increasing trend and the ZFPs tend to vanish from summer to winter as the water extraction by roots decreased. Evapotranspiration through vegetation has an important bearing on the water content and the total potential in the unsaturated zone.     

深层水泥土搅拦桩在软土地基处理中的应用

通过对深层水泥土搅拌桩的加固机理及复合地基承载力性状的简要分析,根据国家现行规范,结合具体地基处理工程实例,对深层水泥搅拌桩在软土地区地基加固处理中的方案选择、设计、施工及检测中的常见技术要点作初步探讨。     

Vegetation dynamics during the late Pleistocene in the Barreirinhas region, Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil, based on carbon isotopes in soil organic matter

The study place is in the Barreirinhas region, Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil. A vegetation transect of 78 km was studied among four vegetation types: Restinga (coastal vegetation), Cerrado (woody savanna), Cerradão (dense woody savanna), and Forest, as well as three forested sites around Lagoa do Caçó, located approximately 10 km of the transect. Soil profiles in this transect were sampled for δ¹³C analysis, as well as buried charcoal fragments were used for ¹⁴C dating. The data interpretation indicated that approximately between 15,000 and ∼9000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., arboreal vegetation prevailed in the whole transect, probably due to the presence of a humid climate. Approximately between ∼9000 and 4000-3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., there was the expansion of the savanna, probably related to the presence of drier climate. From ∼4000-3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. to the present, the results indicated an increase in the arboreal density in the area, due to the return to a more humid and probably similar climate to the present. The presence of buried charcoal fragments in several soil depths suggested the occurrence of palaeofires during the Holocene. The vegetation dynamic inferred in this study for northeastern Brazil is in agreement with the results obtained in areas of Amazon region, based on pollen analysis of lake sediments and carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter (SOM), implying than similar climatic conditions have affected these areas during the late Pleistocene until the present.     

A model of Cs activity profile for soil erosion studies in uncultivated soils of Mediterranean environments

A model to simulate ¹³⁷Cs profiles in soils during the time in which they are being eroded is proposed. The model uses one parameter to characterize the cesium transference in the soil and another to express the erosion rate. To test the model, ¹³⁷Cs profiles of stable and eroded soils were collected at sampling sites located on semi-arid and temperate slopes in the Central Ebro basin, Spain. The ¹³⁷Cs profiles, corresponding to uncultivated soils with natural vegetation cover, were simulated using this model. The ¹³⁷Cs inventories and profiles calculated with the model are very similar to those measured experimentally, and thus it is possible to calculate soil erosion rates in physiographically diverse Mediterranean environments.     

Changes in soil organic carbon and other physical soil properties along adjacent Mediterranean forest, grassland, and cropland ecosystems in Turkey

Cultivation, overgrazing, and overharvesting are seriously degrading forest and grassland ecosystems in the Taurus Mountains of the southern Mediterranean region of Turkey. This study investigated the effects of changes on soil organic carbon (SOC) content and other physical soil properties over a 12-year period in three adjacent ecosystems in a Mediterranean plateau. The ecosystems were cropland (converted from grasslands in 1990), open forest, and grassland. Soil samples from two depths, 0–10 and 10–20 cm, were collected for chemical and physical analyses at each of cropland, open forest, and grassland ecosystems. SOC pools at the 0–20 cm depth of cropland, forest, and grassland ecosystems were estimated at 32,636, 56,480, and 57,317 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Conversion of grassland into cropland during the 12-year period increased the bulk density by 10.5% and soil erodibility by 46.2%; it decreased SOM by 48.8%, SOC content by 43%, available water capacity (AWC) by 30.5%, and total porosity by 9.1% for the 0–20 cm soil depth (p<0.001). The correlation matrix revealed that SOC content was positively correlated with AWC, total porosity, mean weight diameter (MWD), forest, and grassland, and negatively with bulk density, pH, soil erodibility factor, and cropland. The multiple regression (MLR) models indicated that any two of the three ecosystems and one of the two soil depths accounted for 86.5% of variation in mean SOC values ((p<0.001).