Suspended sediment transport regime in a debris‐flow gully on Vancouver Island,British Columbia

In debris‐flow‐prone channels, normal fluvial sediment transport occurs (nearly exclusively in suspended mode) between episodic debris‐flow events. Observations of suspended sediment transport through a winter season in a steepland gully in logged terrain revealed two event types. When flows exceeded a threshold of 270 l s⁻¹, events yielded significant quantities of sediment and suspended sediment concentration increased with flow. Smaller events were strongly ‘supply limited’; sediment concentration decreased as flow increased. Overall, there is no consistent correlation between runoff and sediment yield. Within the season, three subseasons were identified (demarcated by periods of freezing weather) within which a pattern of fine sediment replenishment and evacuation occurred. Finally, a signature of fine sediment mobilization and exhaustion was observed within individual events. Fine sediment transport occurred in discrete pulses within storm periods, most of the yield occurring within 5 to 15% of storm runoff duration, so that it is unlikely that scheduled sampling programs would identify significant transport. Significant events are, however, generally forecastable on the basis of regional heavy rainfall warnings, providing a basis for targeted observations. Radiative snowmelt events and rain‐on‐snow remain difficult to forecast, since the projection of temperatures from the nearest regular weather station yields variable results. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

断尾沟和断错水系及断错速率的商讨

能形成所谓“肘状拐弯”的断错水系,必是先有冲沟,后被断错的水系。而先有断层,后溯源侵蚀发育的冲沟则不能形成”肘状拐弯“的断错水系。因此,断层一侧沟的长度—断尾沟长度与断层年龄无关,最终与断层运动速率之间的关系也不易确定。     

Gully‐head erosion processes on a semi‐arid valley floor in Kenya: a case study into temporal variation and sediment budgeting

A three year monitoring programme of gully‐head retreat was established to assess the significance of sediment production in a drainage network that expanded rapidly by gully‐head erosion on the low‐angled alluvio‐lacustrine Njemps Flats in semi‐arid Baringo District, Kenya. This paper discusses the factors controlling the large observed spatial and temporal variation in gully‐head retreat rates, ranging from 0 to 15 m a^?1. The selected gullies differed in planform and in runoff‐contributing catchment area but soil material and land use were similar. The data were analysed at event and annual timescales. The results show that at annual timescale rainfall amount appears to be a good indicator of gully‐head retreat, while at storm‐event timescale rainfall distribution has to be taken into account. A model is proposed, including only rainfall (P) and the number of dry days (DD) between storms: which explains 56 per cent of the variation in retreat rate of the single‐headed gully of Lam1. A detailed sediment budget has been established for Lam1 and its runoff‐contributing area (RCA). By measuring sediment input from the RCA, the sediment output by channelized flow and linear retreat of the gully head for nine storms, it can be seen that erosion shifts between different components of the budget depending on the duration of the dry period (DD) between storms. Sediment input from the RCA was usually the largest component for the smaller storms. The erosion of the gully head occurred as a direct effect of runoff falling over the edge (GH_waterfall) and of the indirect destabilization of the adjacent walls by the waterfall erosion and by saturation (GH_mass/storage). The latter component (GH_mass/storage) was usually much larger that the former (GH_waterfall). The sediment output from the gully was strongly related to the runoff volume while the linear retreat, because of its complex behaviour, was not. Overall, the results show that the annual retreat is the optimal timescale to predict retreat patterns. More detailed knowledge about relevant processes and interactions is necessary if gully‐head erosion is to be included in event‐based soil erosion models. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

威连滩冲沟砂黄土的风蚀与降雨侵蚀模拟实验

 通过风洞与模拟降雨实验，研究了风力与降雨对青海省贵南县威连滩冲沟砂黄土的复合侵蚀作用。实验得出：①风蚀后的降雨使砂黄土表面在风干过程中形成了一层较为坚硬的结壳，增大了土壤的抗蚀性，降低了第二次风洞实验后期的风蚀率;②土壤水分与人为扰动是影响土壤风蚀的两个重要因素。当土壤水分较小时，风蚀率受人为扰动影响巨大;当土壤水分较大时，人为扰动对土壤风蚀的影响较小;③在持续降雨的实验条件下，砂黄土的产流、产沙量随着雨强的变化而改变。这种变化与表土的侵蚀率、可蚀性物质的多少、土壤水分以及土壤的入渗率等都有很大的关系。     

澜沧江典型对比流域水力侵蚀快速调查与评价

根据水力侵蚀面蚀和沟蚀两种不同侵蚀形态发生过程尺度空间大小不一的侵蚀特点,确定了研究区面蚀和沟蚀的不同调查评价方法.面蚀的发生过程空间尺度小,选用小区调查方法进行,而沟蚀的发生过程尺度空间大,在典型调查小流域尺度进行全面调查.然后在两种尺度下,分析形成沟蚀和面蚀的影响因素,进行沟蚀程度和面蚀强度分级,并把研究成果展延到澜沧江凤庆河流域和晓街河流域.最后,以在典型调查小流域的研究结果为对照判别依据,判断风庆河和晓街河流域的土壤侵蚀状况.结果显示,澜沧江典型流域的面蚀强度差异不大,沟蚀是造成不同流域土壤侵蚀和沟道输沙差异的主要水力侵蚀形式.     

Impact of root architecture on the erosion‐reducing potential of roots during concentrated flow

Many studies focus on the effects of vegetation cover on water erosion rates, whereas little attention has been paid to the effects of the below ground biomass. Recent research indicates that roots can reduce concentrated flow erosion rates significantly. In order to predict this root effect more accurately, this experimental study aims at gaining more insight into the importance of root architecture, soil and flow characteristics to the erosion‐reducing potential of roots during concentrated flow. Treatments were (1) bare, (2) grass (representing a fine‐branched root system), (3) carrots (representing a tap root system) and (4) carrots and fine‐branched weeds (representing both tap and fine‐branched roots). The soil types tested were a sandy loam and a silt loam. For each treatment, root density, root length density and mean root diameter (D) were assessed. Relative soil detachment rates and mean bottom flow shear stress were calculated. The results indicate that tap roots reduce the erosion rates to a lesser extent compared with fine‐branched roots. Different relationships linking relative soil detachment rate with root density could be established for different root diameter classes. Carrots with very fine roots (D < 5 mm) show a similar negative exponential relationship between root density and relative soil detachment rate to grass roots. With increasing root diameter (5 < D < 15 mm) the erosion‐reducing effect of carrot type roots becomes less pronounced. Additionally, an equation estimating the erosion‐reducing potential of root systems containing both tap roots and fine‐branched roots could be established. Moreover, the erosion‐reducing potential of grass roots is less pronounced for a sandy loam soil compared with a silt loam soil and a larger erosion‐reducing potential for both grass and carrot roots was found for initially wet soils. For carrots grown on a sandy loam soil, the erosion‐reducing effect of roots decreases with increasing flow shear stress. For grasses, grown on both soil types, no significant differences could be found according to flow shear stress. The erosion‐reducing effect of roots during concentrated flow is much more pronounced than suggested in previous studies dealing with interrill and rill erosion. Root density and root diameter explain the observed erosion rates during concentrated flow well for the different soil types tested. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江上游土地利用变化与冲沟发生和演变

冲沟侵蚀是中国西部山区一个重要的环境问题。小流域研究表明，黄河和长江中的泥沙主要是冲沟侵蚀引起的。目前，长江上游80%的冲沟因被幼林草植被覆盖而处于非活跃期。到底这些冲沟系统是什么时候形成的？未来的暴雨和径流是否会激活这些冲沟系统？土地利用与景观结构对冲沟系统的发生、演变有何关系？基于这些问题，近几年来在中科院山地环境学“百人计划”和“国外引进杰出人才”项目及德国洪堡基金的资助下，中德科学工作者进行了合作研究。本文介绍了长江上游地区土地利用变化与冲沟发生、演变的部分研究成果。我们在西昌安宁河干暖河谷选择了两个冲沟系统一个位于西溪乡长山岭，一个位于大青梁子。为了定量评价土地利用对冲沟发育的影响，我们对研究小流域的航片、土壤剖面、泥沙堆积与土地利用历史等进行了详尽的综合对比分析。同时，对两个冲沟系统的大小和土壤流失的体积进行了详细的野外调查、测定和计算。据此，获得了研究流域的冲沟侵蚀速率。研究结果表明，长江上游数百年的持续景观演变，尤其是20世纪中期人为强烈的不合理农业垦殖和利用土地，造成了四川西南部大量冲沟系统的形成和发展，研究流域的冲沟侵蚀速率高达375t/hm2*a-1。采取成功的水土保持措施以控制冲沟侵蚀，对中国西南山地退化环境的生态修复具有重大实践意义。     

The value of a physically based model versus an empirical approach in the prediction of ephemeral gully erosion for loess-derived soils

A data set on soil losses and controlling factors for 58 ephemeral gullies has been collected in the Belgian loess belt from March 1997 to March 1999. Of the observed ephemeral gullies, 32 developed at the end of winter or in early spring (winter gullies) and 26 ephemeral gullies developed during summer (summer gullies). The assessed data have been used to test the physically based Ephemeral Gully Erosion Model (EGEM) and to compare its performance with the value of simple topographical and morphological indices in the prediction of ephemeral gully erosion.Analysis shows that EGEM is not capable of predicting ephemeral gully cross-sections well. Although conditions for input parameter assessment were ideal, some parameters such as channel erodibility, critical flow shear stress and local rainfall depth showed great uncertainty. Rather than revealing EGEM's inability of predicting ephemeral gully erosion, this analysis stresses the problematic nature of physically based models, since they often require input parameters that are not available or can hardly be obtained.With respect to the value of simple topographical and morphological indices in predicting ephemeral gully erosion, this study shows that for winter gullies and summer gullies, respectively, over 80% and about 75% of the variation in ephemeral gully volume can be explained when ephemeral gully length is known. Moreover, when previously collected data for ephemeral gullies in two Mediterranean study areas and the data for summer gullies formed in the Belgian loess belt are pooled, it appears that one single length (L)–volume (V) relation exists (V=0.048 L^1.29; R²=0.91). These findings imply that predicting ephemeral gully length is a valuable alternative for the prediction of ephemeral gully volume. A simple procedure to predict ephemeral gully length based on topographical thresholds is presented here. Secondly, the empirical length–volume relation can also be used to convert ephemeral gully length data extracted from aerial photos into ephemeral gully volumes.     

新疆北天山晚古生代洋盆演化与推覆构造

通过实地考察并综合区域及深部物探资料,研究了北天山逆冲推覆系统的构造样式、结构特征和组合方式;认为北天山晚古代洋盆为板内地壳扩张活动形成的裂陷构造产物,存在时限短暂、对生物群迁移基本没有阻隔作用,不应具有分隔岩石圈板块的大地构造意义。     

Gullying and erosion control at archaeological sites in Grand Canyon,Arizona

Gully erosion of cultural sites in Grand Canyon National Park is an urgent management problem that has intensified in recent decades, potentially related to the effects of Glen Canyon Dam. We studied 25 gullies at nine sites in Grand Canyon over the 2002 monsoon–erosion season to better understand the geomorphology of the gully erosion and the effectiveness of erosion‐control structures (ECS) installed by the park under the direction of the Zuni Conservation Program. Field results indicate that Hortonian overland flow leads to concentrated flow in gullies and erosion focused at knickpoints along channels as well as at gully heads. Though groundcover type, soil shear strength and permeability vary systemat‐ically across catchments, gradient and, to a lesser degree, contributing drainage area seem to be the first‐order controls on gully extent, location of new knickpoints, and ECS damage. The installed ECS do reduce erosion relative to reaches without them and initial data suggest woody checkdams are preferable to rock linings, but maintenance is essential because damaged structures can exacerbate erosion. Topographic data from intensive field surveys and detailed photogrammetry provide slope–contributing area data for gully heads that have a trend consistent with previous empirical and theoretical formulations from a variety of landscapes. The same scaling holds below gully heads for knickpoint and ECS topographic data, with threshold coefficients the lowest for gully heads, slightly higher for knickpoints, and notably higher for damaged ECS. These topographic thresholds were used with 10‐cm digital elevation models to create simple predictive models for gully extent and structure damage. The model predictions accounted for the observed gullies but there are also many false‐positives. Purely topographical models are probably inadequate at this scale and application, but models that also parameterize the variable soil properties across sites would be useful for predicting erosion problems and ECS failure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.