Land use effects on soil organic carbon,microbial biomass and microbial activity in Changbai Mountains of Northeast China

Land use changes are known to alter soil organic carbon （SOC） and microbial properties, however, information about how conversion of natural forest to agricultural land use as well as plantations affects SOC and microbial properties in the Changbai Moun- tains of Northeast China is meager. Soil carbon content, microbial biomass carbon （MBC）, basal respiration and soil carbon mineraliza- tion were studied in five selected types of land use： natural old-growth broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest （NF）; spruce plantation （SP） established following clear-cutting of NF; cropland （CL）; ginseng farmland （GF） previously under NF; and a five-year Mongolian oak young forest （YF） reforested on an abandoned GF, in the Changbai Mountains of Northeast China in 2011. Results showed that SOC content was significantly lower in SP, CL, GF, and YF than in NF. MBC ranged from 304.4 mg/kg in CL to 1350.3 mg/kg in NF, which was significantly higher in the soil of NF than any soil of the other four land use types. The SOC and MBC contents were higher in SP soil than in CL, GF, and YF soils, yielding a significant difference between SP and CL. The value of basal respiration was also higher in NF than in SP, CL, GF, and YF. Simultaneously, higher values of the metabolic quotient were detected in CL, GF, and YF soils, indicat- ing low substrate utilization of the soil microbial community compared with that in NF and SP soil. The values of cumulative mineral- ized carbon and potentially mineralized carbon （Co） in NF were significantly higher than those in CL and GF, while no significant dif- ference was observed between NF and SP. In addition, YF had higher values of Co and C mineralization rate compared with GF. The results indicate that conversion from NF into agricultural land （CL and GF） uses and plantation may lead to a reduction in soil nutrients （SOC and MBC） and substrate utilization efficiency of the microbial community. By contrast, soils below SP were more conducive to the preservation of soil organic matter, which was reflected in the comparison of microbial indicators among CL, GF, and YF land uses. This study can provide data for evaluating soils nutrients under different land use types, and serve as references for the rational land use of natural forest in the study area.     

多年冻土区L型挡墙水平冻胀效应计算方法与分析

针对多年冻土区L型挡墙设计中水平冻胀力计算方法不完善的问题,基于利夫金地基模型及挡墙?土体之间的协同变形原理,分别建立了墙后有无换填土两种情况下的L型挡墙水平冻胀效应计算模型,利用叠加原理及有限差分法对所提出的计算模型进行了求解,并依托MATLAB自行编制了水?热?力耦合分析软件。结合工程实例,应用提出的L型挡墙水平冻胀效应计算方法得到的水平冻胀力值分别与现场实测值、修正土压力值、规范经验值及水?热?力耦合软件模拟值进行对比分析,结果表明：提出L型挡墙水平冻胀效应计算方法得到的水平冻胀力值与现场实测值及数值模拟值在大体趋势上吻合较好,修正土压力值、规范经验值低估了水平冻胀力对挡墙的作用;相比规范经验值及现场实测值,提出的L型挡墙水平冻胀效应计算方法得到的水平冻胀力沿墙高呈抛物线和梯形两种分布模式,更具有普遍性;通过多场耦合分析可知,所提出L型挡墙水平冻胀效应计算方法与水?热?力耦合方法得到冻胀力趋势相似,表明了计算方法的可行性,可为多年冻土区L型挡墙设计提供一定的理论支持和指导。     

多年冻土区输油管道-管周冻土热力相互作用研究进展

冻土区管道工程建设面临冻土工程特性及相关地质问题的严重挑战,开展管道-冻土相互作用研究对于解决管道稳定性问题具有重要的实际指导意义。综述国内外输油管道-冻土热力相互作用研究进展发现,目前研究集中在特定（定值或周期变化）油温下管周土温度场的定量描述以及差异冻胀/融沉下交界面处管道力学响应规律的解耦分析,缺乏完整时空序列的现场综合观测与管土界面特性及其动态演化研究。对管道防融沉措施进行归纳总结发现,各措施应用效果缺乏管道应力与变形数据的有效支持。应加强管道本身与管道沿线次生冻融灾害监测及相关数据获取,以此为校验开展管土界面特性及演化规律的系统研究,以便构建更为合理的管土接触面单元模型,将其和具有普适性的冻土模型相结合,植入有限元软件提高管土相互作用模型计算可靠性,并建议立足管道变形角度对防融沉措施的工程应用效果予以综合评价。     

Influence of fines content on the anti-frost properties of coarse-grained soil

This paper aims to determine the optimal fines content of coarse-grained soil required to simultaneously achieve weaker frost susceptibility and better bearing capacity. We studied the frost susceptibility and strength properties of coarse-grained soil by means of frost heaving tests and static triaxial tests, and the results are as follows:(1) the freezing temperature of coarse-grained soil decreased gradually and then leveled off with incremental increases in the percent content of fines; (2) the fines content proved to be an important factor influencing the frost heave susceptibility and strength properties of coarse-grained soil. With incremental increases in the percent content of fines, the frost heave ratio increased gradually and the cohesion function of fines effectively enhanced the shear strength of coarse-grained soil before freeze-thaw, but the frost susceptibility of fines weakened the shear strength of coarse-grained soil after freeze-thaw; (3) with increasing numbers of freeze-thaw cycles,the shear strength of coarse-grained soil decreased and then stabilized after the ninth freeze-thaw cycle, and therefore the mechanical indexes of the ninth freeze-thaw cycle are recommended for the engineering design values; and (4) considering frost susceptibility and strength properties as a whole, the optimal fines content of 5% is recommended for railway subgrade coarse-grained soil fillings in frozen regions.     

Determination of allowable subgrade frost heave with the pavement roughness index in numerical analysis

Frost heave is an upward swelling of soil during cryogenic conditions in cold regions. It is caused by the accumulation of ice crystals in subgrade soil, which grow upwards when freezing temperatures penetrate into the subgrade. This study establishes the allowable soil subgrade frost heave based on the roughness standard of asphalt pavement in China, and aims to balance the pavement design and frost heave resistance of subgrades in cold regions. We formulated a mechanical model of pavement supported by the boundary conditions of differential frost heave, based on the elastic layered system theory. The differential soil subgrade frost heave was modeled as a sinusoidal function, and the allowable frost heave and the roughness index were modeled as the displacement boundaries for the top and bottom of the pavement structure. Then the allowable frost heave was back-calculated according to the roughness standard. Numerical results show that the allowable frost heave depends on the pavement structure, material properties, the highway grade, and other factors. In order to ensure that the actual soil subgrade frost heave is lower than the allowable frost heave, pavement structures and materials need to be selected and designed carefully. The numerical method proposed here can be applied to establish the frost heave resistance of subgrade when the pavement structure and materials are determined.     

LABORATORY OBSERVATIONS OF SEDIMENT ENTRAINMENT BY FREEZING SUPERCOOLED WATER

Debris in basal ice produced by glaciohydraulic supercooling is typically characterized by high proportions of silt. A prominent hypothesis for this silt‐dominance is that frazil ice growing in supercooled water preferentially traps silt from sediment‐laden water percolating through it. It has therefore been suggested that silt‐dominance may be diagnostic of glaciohydraulic supercooling. The aim of our work is to test this hypothesis that freezing sediment‐laden supercooled water necessarily produces ice dominated by silt. We do this by simulating two freezing processes under laboratory conditions: (1) percolation of sediment‐laden water through frazil ice; (2) turbulent supercooling and subsequent freezing of sediment‐laden water. In experiments repeated using different particle sizes (sand, silt and clay in individual experiments) both processes entrained sand most effectively and silt least effectively. In experiments using a sediment mixture dominated by medium to coarse silt, both processes produced ice facies dominated by particle sizes between fine sand and coarse silt. These results suggest that silt‐dominance should therefore not be expected for supercooled freeze‐on, and is not a reliable diagnostic signature for supercooling. The silt‐dominated character of basal ice types associated with supercooling may result from other controls such as a silt‐dominated sediment supply or subglacial water flow rates, rather than the freezing process.     

钠基蒙脱土水合演化机制

为了查明钠基蒙脱土的水合演化过程,以天然钠基蒙脱土为研究对象,开展在相对湿度（ ）为0～0.98区间的水汽等温吸-脱附试验,通过吸附速率曲线、BET曲线界定钠基蒙脱土各水合阶段及相应的水合主控因素;通过测定晶层 值变化规律,从吸附水影响黏土矿物晶层厚度的角度探讨钠基蒙脱土的水合演化特征;基于傅里叶红外光谱,从水分子结构伸缩振动信息角度对钠基蒙脱土水合演化过程进行定性定量验证;通过热重/差热分析,以吸附水相变所需能量与吸附水重量变化的角度解释钠基蒙脱土的吸附水特征与其水合机制的关系。试验结果表明：在较低相对湿度下（0 0.15）,以钠基蒙脱土矿物外表面吸附为主,形成表面吸附水;0.15 0.40为钠基蒙脱土层间阳离子水合阶段;0.40 0.98,为晶层内外表面水合阶段,水分子逐步完整的包裹蒙脱土,形成多层吸附层。钠基蒙脱土的水合演化过程受控于层间钠离子与晶层基面,层间钠离子的水合能影响了钠基蒙脱土水合演化的起始顺序。     

Meltwater discharge during the Holocene from the Wilkes subglacial basin revealed by beryllium isotope analysis of marine sediments

Understanding Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics related to global climate change is of scientific and societal interest as the future behaviour of the ice sheet under the currently changing climate is unknown. We present beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be) analysis of a high‐resolution marine sediment core from the Adélie Basin near the eastern Wilkes Land margin, which is susceptible to marine ice sheet instability due to the low‐lying nature and down‐sloping trough of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Combined with a newly constructed age model using compound specific radiocarbon dates, the data reveal three events associated with high meteoric ¹⁰Be at ca. ~10 ka, ca. ~6.5 ka and from ca. ~4 ka. We interpret these high meteoric ¹⁰Be events to be derived from the deposition of ¹⁰Be released from the ice sheet during meltwater discharge. In particular, the shift to higher meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration at~4 ka may correspond to changes in climate patterns at this time. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of deforestation and weather on diurnal frost heave processes on the steep mountain slopes in south central Japan

Freezing and thawing processes play an important role for the gravitational transport of surface materials on steep mountain slopes in Japan. The effects of deforestation on frost heave activity were observed through the 2012/2013 winter season in Ikawa University Forest, a southern mountainous area in central Japan (1180–1310 m above sea level). During periods without snow cover, needle ice development prevailed at a clear‐cut site, and the downslope sediment movement of upper soil was 10 to 15 cm through the winter season. At a non‐cut site, rise and fall in the ground surface level prevailed on a weekly scale, with no evident downslope movements at the surface; ice lens formation in the soil layer is assumed. Abrupt changes in the radiation budget, such as the strengthening of nighttime radiative cooling and increases in daytime direct insolation, induced frequent development/deformation of needle ice at the clear‐cut site. In snow‐free periods, the day‐to‐day variability in needle ice growth length and in nighttime averaged net radiation showed significant correlations; cloudy weather with warmer and moist air intrusion associated with synoptic disturbances prevented the occurrence of needle ice. Namely, day‐to‐day weather changes directly affected the mass movement of the upper soil after deforestation. Shallow snow cover occurred discontinuously through the winter and is likely an important factor in keeping the soil moisture sufficiently high in the upper soil layer for initiating needle ice during snow‐free periods. We also discuss contributions of coastal extratropical cyclone activities providing both snow cover and cloudy weather in the southern mountain areas of central Japan to the intra‐seasonal variability in frost heave and its indirect effect on soil creep and landslides on the deforested steep slopes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.