Flooding of the continental shelves as a contributor to deglacial CH4 rise

The transition from the last glacial and beginning of Bølling–Allerød and Pre‐Boreal periods in particular is marked by rapid increases in atmospheric methane (CH₄) concentrations. The CH₄ concentrations reached during these intervals, ～650–750 ppb, is twice that at the last glacial maximum and is not exceeded until the onset of industrialization at the end of the Holocene. Periods of rapid sea‐level rise as the Last Glacial Maximum ice sheets retreated and associated with ‘melt‐water pulses’ appear to coincide with the onset of elevated concentrations of CH₄, suggestive of a potential causative link. Here we identify and outline a mechanism involving the flooding of the continental shelves that were exposed and vegetated during the glacial sea‐level low stand and that can help account for some of these observations. Specifically, we hypothesize that waterlogging (and later, flooding) of large tracts of forest and savanna in the Tropics and Subtropics during the deglacial transition and early Holocene would have resulted in rapid anaerobic decomposition of standing biomass and emission of methane to the atmosphere. This novel mechanism, akin to the consequences of filling new hydroelectric reservoirs, provides a mechanistic explanation for the apparent synchronicity between rate of sea‐level rise and occurrence of elevated concentrations of ice core CH₄. However, shelf flooding and the creation of transient wetlands are unlikely to explain more than ～60 ppb of the increase in atmospheric CH₄ during the deglacial transition, requiring additional mechanisms to explain the bulk of the glacial to interglacial increase. Similarly, this mechanism has the potential also to play some role in the rapid changes in atmospheric methane associated with the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

典型天然粗粒盐渍土盐胀微观机制分析

为研究经多次冻融循环后天然粗粒盐渍土的盐胀特性及盐胀机制,对取自甘肃河西走廊地区嘉安一级公路沿线的某天然料场的粗粒盐渍土进行了室内基本工程性质试验和大尺寸多次冻融循环盐胀模型试验,并对经过多次冻融循环试验以后的天然盐渍土进行水盐迁移及扫描电镜分析。试验结果表明,粗粒盐渍土在降温阶段土体产生盐胀后亦会出现下陷,最终土体溶陷量大于盐胀量,冻融循环次数的增加会使粗粒盐渍土大颗粒骨架塌陷破坏及一维土柱体从上而下表现出热筛效应;多次冻融循环后的水分盐分在粗粒土柱剖面中的迁移呈现出不完全对应的分布关系。     

变化中的地球所面临的挑战:全球变化的科学理解(英文)

简要介绍了变化中的地球所面临的挑战 ,并在描述地球系统科学近年来所取得成就的基础上给出了全球变化的科学理解。同时也简要介绍了世界正在面临的主要环境问题 ;描述了气候系统研究所达成的共识、面临的挑战及所取得的研究进展 ;并从大气、海洋和陆地间的CO2 交换、转换、不确定性等方面阐述了碳循环 ;然后 ,简单描述了全球水循环研究进展 ;最后 ,展望了在变化的地球中生存所要面临的挑战与机遇。     

新地球观

One of the most important achivements on science in 20th century is the new recognition on the Earth:the Earth,out of the other planets, exhibits very peculiar features because it has an extremely complex and active periphery part (surfacial layers). This periphery part is an open system sustained by inputting solar energe , which is captured , transfered and stored by life. Through the system , cyclings of matters and energe flow are driven and regulated by life activities. This system is self-equilibrated,self-controlled and far away from astrophysical and thermodynamic equilibria mainly because of life and life activities.
Development of human calture influences increasingly on流Earth's periphery system , at last , the natural biosphere that has existed for 3 billion years on the Earth's surface will inavoidably be replaced by so called "noosphere",which is man一reconstructed,man-controlled and unstable system. Thus the fate of the Earth,to a great extent,will be determined by the direction of human calture evolution.
     

冻融试验对土中含水量分布的影响

The silty clay and silty loam are two typical soil types obtained from two test sites along the Qinghai-Tibet railway. The two types of soil have been designed various initial dry densities, water eontents, temperature conditions in repeated freezing and thawing tests with free access to water at the bottom. Afterfreeze-thaw cycles, the moisture content in the freeze-thaw zone increases more than that in the unfrozen zone to the peak approximately at the top of the samples. With comparison of the water contents in the frozen and thawed states, the moisture content in the upper freeze-thaw zone in the frozen state is greater than that in the thawed state, while that in unfrozen zone in the frozen state is smaller than that in the thawed state. Within the region of the frost front, the water content in frozen state is smaller than that in thawed state. These findings help to study the freeze-thaw mechanisms deeply and perfect the forecasting module of moisture transferring in freeze-thaw cycles.     

冻融循环对土体强度变形参数的影响

在寒区工程建设中,冻融循环会引起土强度和变形特性发生改变。为了研究多次冻融循环后土的强度和变形参数的变化量,本文以冻融和非冻融的粉质粘土饱和试样为研究对象,通过固结排水三轴剪切试验、三轴等向压缩试验和弹性模量试验,比较了冻融循环对土样强度参数和变形参数的影响。试验结果显示：冻融和非冻融试样的应力—应变关系曲线均呈应变硬化型,对于原状试样冻融作用破坏了其结构性;冻融作用导致土体强度的降低,主要体现在粘聚力的降低,约降低了55.6%;冻融循环对变形参数有明显的影响,其中最明显的是弹性模量的降低,降低了31.2%。该研究结论可为工程冻害处理提供参考,也可为相关研究的数值计算提供试验参数。     

干湿循环效应下玄武岩纤维加筋黄土三轴剪切力学行为研究

通过干湿循环效应下的数字图像三轴剪切试验、CT扫描试验及扫描电镜SEM(scanning electron microscopy)试验,研究了玄武岩纤维加筋黄土干湿循环过程的三轴剪切力学行为及微细观结构演化机制。结果表明:随干湿循环次数增加,纤维含量较高试样的三轴剪切鼓胀破坏形态转变为剪切带破坏;干湿循环早期阶段,剪切破坏形态随纤维含量增加,由剪切带破坏转变为鼓胀破坏。干湿循环作用和纤维含量对应力-应变曲线的类型及特征无明显影响,均表现为应变硬化型。破坏偏应力随干湿循环次数增加而逐渐减小,但衰减速率逐渐减小;破坏偏应力随纤维含量增大先增加而后减小,呈抛物线变化特征,存在一个最佳纤维含量为0.6%。CT数均值ME值呈现与破坏偏应力相似的变化规律。干湿循环作用下筋-土界面产生一定的开裂和松弛现象,弱化了纤维的加筋效应,但与素黄土相比,纤维加筋黄土的微观结构表现出显著的整体稳定性。构建了干湿循环效应下玄武岩纤维加筋黄土的宏细观损伤变量,其表现出一致的变化规律。     

冻融循环下加筋膨胀土边坡稳定性模型试验

控制边坡在冻融循环中的劣化作用,可保障季节冻土区域膨胀土边坡长期稳定。为确定土工格栅对膨胀土边坡在冻融循环过程中的稳定效果与工程意义,本文开展了膨胀土边坡模型试验,对比冻融过程中边坡内土压力、含水率、位移、温度变化。结果表明：土工格栅可约束膨胀土冻融裂缝,使裂缝发育更为均匀一致,同时减小边坡位移;加筋材料能抑制边坡水分迁移与热传导并减小土压力变化;对膨胀土边坡加筋处理可显著降低含水率波动幅值,从而减小膨胀土受含水率变化引发的胀缩劣化;不同于普通黏土,膨胀土边坡冻融循环中呈现冻缩融胀特点,而边坡加筋可有效提升冻土区膨胀土边坡的冻融稳定性,具有工程应用价值。     

硫酸盐渍土在多次冻融循环时的盐胀累加规律

通过室内模拟试验,研究了硫酸盐渍土在历经多次冻融循环时的盐胀累加规律,得出了盐胀累加的不同类型,给出了累加盐胀率与循环次烽之间的关系式,进一步揭示了盐胀累加的 和影响因素。