Diagnosing snow accumulation errors in a rain‐snow transitional environment with snow board observations

Diagnosing the source of errors in snow models requires intensive observations, a flexible model framework to test competing hypotheses, and a methodology to systematically test the dominant snow processes. We present a novel process‐based approach to diagnose model errors through an example that focuses on snow accumulation processes (precipitation partitioning, new snow density, and snow compaction). Twelve years of meteorological and snow board measurements were used to identify the main source of model error on each snow accumulation day. Results show that modeled values of new snow density were outside observational uncertainties in 52% of days available for evaluation, while precipitation partitioning and compaction were in error 45% and 16% of the time, respectively. Precipitation partitioning errors mattered more for total winter accumulation during the anomalously warm winter of 2014–2015, when a higher fraction of precipitation fell within the temperature range where partition methods had the largest error. These results demonstrate how isolating individual model processes can identify the primary source(s) of model error, which helps prioritize future research.     

HYDROGEOLOGY & ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

正1.HYDROGEOLOGY20142452Chang Chengcao(Institute of Coalfield Geological Survey and Design of Jilin Province,Changchun 130062,China)Hydrogeological Type Division of Coal Mine No.2Mine in Yitong Manchu Autonomous County,Jilin Province(Jilin Geology,ISSN1001-2427,CN22-1099/P,32(4),2013,p.129-131,3refs.)     

Response of soil aggregate disintegration to the different content of organic carbon and its fractions during splash erosion

Aggregate disintegration is a critical process in soil splash erosion. However, the effect of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions on soil aggregates disintegration is still not clear. In this study, five soils with similar clay contents and different contents of SOC have been used. The effects of slaking and mechanical striking on splash erosion were distinguished by using deionized water and 95% ethanol as raindrops. The simulated rainfall experiments were carried out in four heights (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m). The result indicated that the soil aggregate stability increased with the increases of SOC and light fraction organic carbon (LFOC). The relative slaking and the mechanical striking index increased with the decreases of SOC and LFOC. The reduction of macroaggregates in eroded soil gradually decreased with the increase of SOC and LFOC, especially in alcohol test. The amount of macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) in deionized water tests were significantly less than that in alcohol tests under the same rainfall heights. The contribution of slaking to splash erosion increased with the decrease of heavy fractions organic carbon. The contribution of mechanical striking was dominant when the rainfall kinetic energy increased to a range of threshold between 9 J m⁻² mm⁻¹ and 12 m⁻² mm⁻¹. This study could provide the scientific basis for deeply understanding the mechanism of soil aggregates disintegration and splash erosion.     

ISA model: A constitutive model for soils with yield surface in the intergranular strain space

In this article, a new constitutive model for soils is proposed. It is formulated by means of plasticity, but in contrast to the precedent works, it presents a yield function describing a surface within the intergranular strain space. This latter is a state variable providing information of the recent strain history. An expression for the plastic strain rate has been proposed to guarantee the stress rate continuity. Under the application of medium or large strain amplitudes, the constitutive equation becomes independent of the intergranular strain and delivers a mathematical structure similar to some Karlsruhe hypoplastic models. Some simulations of monotonic and cyclic triaxial test are provided to evaluate and analyze the model performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weakness and mechanical anisotropy of phyllosilicate-rich cataclasites developed after mylonites of a low-angle normal fault (Simplon Line,Western Alps)

The Simplon Fault Zone is a late-collisional low-angle normal fault (LANF) of the Western Alps. The hanging wall shows evidence of brittle deformation only, while the footwall is characterized by a c. 1 km-thick shear zone (the Simplon Fault Zone), which continuously evolved, during exhumation and cooling, from amphibolite facies conditions to brittle-cataclastic deformations. Due to progressive localization of the active section of the shear zone, the thermal-rheological evolution of the footwall resulted in a layered structure, with higher temperature mylonites preserved at the periphery of the shear zone, and cataclasites occurring at the core (indicated as the Simplon Line). In order to investigate the weakness of the Simplon Line, we studied the evolution of brittle/cataclastic fault rocks, from nucleation to the most mature ones. Cataclasites are superposed on greenschist facies mylonites, and their nucleation can be studied at the periphery of the brittle fault zone. This is characterized by fractures, micro-faults and foliated ultracataclasite seams that develop along the mylonitic SCC′ fabric, exploiting the weak phases mainly represented by muscovite and chlorite. Approaching the fault core, both the thickness and frequency of cataclasite horizons increase, and, as their thickness increases, they become less and less foliated. The fault core itself is represented by a thicker non-foliated cataclasite horizon. No Andersonian faults or fractures can be found in the footwall damage zone and core zone, whilst they are present in the hanging wall and in the footwall further from the fault. Applying a stress model based on slip tendency, we have been able to calculate that the friction coefficient of the Simplon Line cataclasites was <0.25, hence this fault zone is absolutely weak. In contrast with other fault zones, the weakening effect of fluids was of secondary importance, since they accessed the fault zone only after an interconnected fracture network developed exploiting the cataclasite network.     

DEM simulations of methane hydrate exploitation by thermal recovery and depressurization methods

Methane hydrate (MH, also called fiery ice) exists in forms of pore filling, cementing and load-bearing skeleton in the methane hydrate bearing sediment (MHBS) and affects its mechanical behavior greatly. To study the changes of macro-scale and micro-scale mechanical behaviors of MHBS during exploitation by thermal recovery and depressurization methods, a novel 2D thermo-hydro-mechanical bonded contact model was proposed and implemented into a platform of distinct element method (DEM), PFC2D. MHBS samples were first biaxially compressed to different deviator stress levels to model different in-situ stress conditions. With the deviator stress maintained at constant, the temperature was then raised to simulate the thermal recovery process or the pore water pressure (i.e. confining pressure for MH bond) was decreased to simulate the depressurization process. DEM simulation results showed that: during exploitation, the axial strain increased with the increase of temperature (in the thermal recovery method) or decrease of pore water pressure (in the depressurization method); sample collapsed during MH dissociation if the deviator stress applied was larger than the compression strength of a pure host sand sample; sample experienced volume contraction but its void ratio was slightly larger than the pure host sand sample at the same axial strain throughout the test. By comparison with the laboratory test results, the new model was validated to be capable of reproducing the exploitation process by thermal recovery and depressurization methods. In addition, some micro-scale parameters, such as contact distribution, bond distribution, and averaged pure rotation rate, were also analyzed to investigate their relationships with the macroscopic responses.     

利用压密方程计算分析西安市地面沉降特征

利用西安市地下水位监测资料,基于水文地质三维结构模型,在不考虑粘土层滞后压缩变形的理想情况下,采用压密方程计算获得西安市抽取地下水可引起的理论地面沉降量及沉降分布特征,结果表明:计算所得沉降显著区位于西安市西南部的高新区及东南部的曲江新区,沉降量呈由北向南递增的特征,与InSAR监测结果整体趋势具有较好的一致性;地面沉降分布特征受到活动地裂缝影响,沉降曲线呈近NE向偏转展布。研究结果可为沉降灾害预防研究提供宏观的参考信息。     

Does compaction-induced subsidence control accommodation space at the top of prograding carbonate platforms? Constraints from the numerical modelling of the Triassic Esino Limestone (Southern Alps,Italy)

The demise of the high-relief, steep-slope, prograding Ladinian-Early Carnian carbonate platforms of the Esino Limestone (Central Southern Alps of Italy) is marked by subaerial exposure of the platform top associated with different erosional (mainly karst-related), depositional and diagenetic processes (Calcare Rosso). The exposure-related deposits consist of three major facies associations: 1) residual soils with thin lenses of conglomerates with black pebbles, and, locally, weathered vulcanites; 2) chaotic breccia lenses irregularly distributed in the uppermost part of the Esino Limestone carbonate platform, interpreted as collapse breccias in karstic setting: 3) inter-supratidal carbonate cycles with dissolution and development of paleosols and tepee structures.Facies distribution follows the sub-environments of the underlying Esino Limestone. Facies 1 and 2 typically characterize the core of the platform, covering the underlying inner platform facies. Facies 3 instead develops toward the edge of the platform, above reef-upper slope facies of the prograding facies of the Esino Limestone. The thickness of facies 3 decreases toward the core of the platform. Facies distribution reflects differences in the accommodation space and sedimentary processes from the rim (highest accommodation, favouring the deposition of peritidal-supratidal carbonates) to the core (reduced accommodation, causing pedogenesis and karstification) of the carbonate system.The observed thickness changes may be controlled by different factors: 1) syndepositional tectonics, 2) subsidence induced by magmatic activity or 3) differential subsidence controlled by the stratigraphic architecture of the Esino Limestone platform and adjoining basins. As evidence of tectonics was not observed and the presence of volcanic bodies is only documented tens of km away from the study area, the scenario involving the creation of accommodation space by compaction of the basinal sediments (resedimented, fine-grained calciturbidites) during the progradation of the carbonate platform is here investigated. Numerical modelling was performed to verify the compatibility of compaction-induced subsidence with the observed depositional architecture. The models were built to simulate the architectural evolution of the platform by progressively adding layers from deepest to shallowest, while compacting the underlying sediments, in order to evaluate compaction-induced subsidence (and accommodation space for the Calcare Rosso) after the deposition of the youngest platform strata. Modelling results allow us to conclude that the wedge geometry of the Calcare Rosso, deposited on top of the extinct Esino carbonate platform, can be explained by subsidence controlled by compaction of the basinal sediments present below the early-cemented, fast prograding platform slope deposits.     

沁水盆地原始水动力场类型及其对煤层气排采的影响

水动力场研究在煤层气勘探开发中具有重要作用。本文首先讨论了基于煤层气井排采资料的水动力场研究方法,在分析沁水盆地柿庄区块原始水动力场特点的基础上,结合前人在盆地其他区块水动力场的研究成果,分析了沁水盆地原始水动力场的类型,进而探讨了水动力场类型对煤层气排采的控制作用。研究表明:沁水盆地自边缘向腹部依次存在重力驱动型、滞流型和压实驱动型三种类型的区域原始水动力场;重力驱动型和滞流型水动力场具备煤层气保存条件,含气量高,煤层气排采效果相对较好,而压实驱动型水动力场虽具备一定的保存条件,但因地层压力较高,煤层气井排水降压困难,产气效果较差;无论是在重力驱动型还是滞流型的区域水动力场中,局部的低势汇聚区具备煤层气保存和排采的有利条件,煤层气开发效果一般较好。在未来煤层气勘探开发过程中,应将重力流驱型或滞流型水动力场所在区域中的局部低势汇聚区作为煤层气开发的甜点区。     

冻土机械切削破碎机理的研究进展

冻土开挖困难、破碎效率低是高寒地区工程建设、地基施工等面临的技术难题。冻土机械切削破碎是冻土开挖的主要方法,其机理研究是提高冻土破碎效率的前提和基础。首先总结了温度、含水率、围压等对冻土复杂力学特性的影响,进而调研分析了冻土机械切削破碎的典型切削力学模型,发现冻土切削机械破碎模式不仅与冻土力学特性密切相关,也与切削参数和刀具结构直接相关,冻土切削过程中存在着最优的切削前角（30°~60°）,且深切削和浅切削时冻土内部受力方式存在差异也会导致破坏形式的不同;温度、含水率、围压所造成的冻土力学性能变化会直接导致冻土破坏过程和切削破碎机理的改变,冻土强度随着温度降低表现出先升高然后保持稳定的特性,随着含水率升高呈现出先升高后降低的趋势,冻土破碎存在脆性、塑脆过渡及塑性等不同破坏形式。通过系统总结冻土切削破碎机理研究进展,进一步明确了冻土力学性质主要影响因素、变化特点及其切削破坏损伤特征,为冻土机械切削破碎的切削参数和切削具结构优化提供了设计依据。