Catchment chemostasis revisited: Water quality responds differently to variations in weather and climate

Solute concentrations in streamflow typically vary systematically with stream discharge, and the resulting concentration–discharge relationships are important signatures of catchment biogeochemical processes. Solutes derived from mineral weathering often exhibit decreasing concentrations with increasing flows, suggesting dilution of a kinetically limited weathering flux by a variable flux of water. However, previous work showed that concentration–discharge relationships of weathering‐derived solutes in 59 headwater catchments were much weaker than this simple dilution model would predict. Instead, catchments behaved as chemostats, with rates of solute production and/or mobilization that were nearly proportional to water fluxes, on both event and interannual timescales. Here, we re‐examine these findings using data for a wider range of solutes from 2,186 catchments, ranging from ~10 to >1,000,000 km² in drainage area and spanning a wide range of lithologic and climatic settings. Concentration–discharge relationships among this much larger set of larger catchments are broadly consistent with the previously described chemostatic behaviour, at least on event and interannual timescales for weathering‐derived solutes. Among these same catchments, however, site‐to‐site variations in mean concentrations of weathering‐derived solutes exhibit strong negative correlations with long‐term average precipitation and discharge, reflecting strong climatic control on long‐term leaching of the critical zone. We use multiple regression of site characteristics including discharge to identify potential controls on long‐term mean concentrations and find that lithologic and land cover controls are significant predictors for many analytes. The picture that emerges is one in which, on event and interannual timescales, weathering‐derived stream solute concentrations are chemostatically buffered by groundwater storage and fast chemical reactions, but each catchment's chemostatic “set point” reflects site‐to‐site differences in climatically driven evolution of the critical zone. In contrast to these weathering products, some nutrients and particulates are often near‐chemostatic across all timescales, and their long‐term mean concentrations correlate more strongly with land use than climatic characteristics.     

Analytical stress and displacement due to twin tunneling in an elastic semi‐infinite ground subjected to surcharge loads

The construction of twin tunnels at shallow depth has become increasingly common in urban areas. In general, twin tunnels are usually near each other, in which the interaction between tunnels is too significant to be ignored on their stability. The equivalent arbitrarily distributed loads imposed on ground surface were considered in this study, and a new analytical approach was provided to efficiently predict the elastic stresses and displacements around the twin tunnels. The interaction between 2 tunnels of different radii with various arrangements was taken into account in the analysis. We used the Schwartz alternating method in this study to reduce the twin‐tunnel problem to a series of problems where only 1 tunnel was contained in half‐plane. The convergent and highly accurate analytical solutions were achieved by superposing the solutions of the reduced single‐tunnel problems. The analytical solutions were then verified by the good agreement between analytical and numerical results. Furthermore, by the comparison on initial plastic zone and surface settlement between analytical solution and numerical/measured results of elastoplastic cases, it was proven that the analytical solution can accurately predict the initial plastic zone and its propagation direction and can qualitatively provide the reliable ground settlements. A parametric study was finally performed to investigate the influence of locations of surcharge load and the tunnel arrangement on the ground stresses and displacements. The new solution proposed in this study provides an insight into the interaction of shallow twin tunnels under surcharge loads, and it can be used as an alternative approach for the preliminary design of future shallow tunnels excavated in rock or medium/stiff clay.     

Ice cover exists: A quick method to delineate groundwater inputs in running waters for cold and temperate regions

Groundwater can be important in regulating stream thermal regimes in cold, temperate regions, and as such, it can be a significant factor for aquatic biota habits and habitats. Groundwater typically remains at a constant temperature through time; that is, it is warmer than surface water in winter and cooler in summer. Further, small tributaries are often dominated by groundwater during low flows of winter and summer. We exploit these thermal patterns to identify and delineate tributary/groundwater inputs along a frozen river (ice‐on) using publically available satellite data, and we tested the findings against airborne, thermal infrared (TIR) data. We utilize a supervised maximum likelihood classification (sMLC) to identify possible groundwater inputs while the river is in a frozen state (kappa coefficient of 96.77 when compared with visually delineated possible groundwater inputs). We then compare sMLC‐identified possible groundwater inputs with TIR‐classified groundwater inputs, which confirmed that there was no statistical difference (χ² = .78), that is, confirming that groundwater inputs can be delineated in north temperate river systems using available satellite imagery of the system's frozen state. Our results also established the spatial extent and influence of possible groundwater inputs in two seasons. The thermal plumes were longer and narrower in winter; this is likely related to seasonal differences in dispersion regimes. We hypothesize that differences between summer and winter is related to either (a) tributaries that are modulated by shading in summer or (b) aquifer disconnection from the river in winter owing to frozen ground conditions and lack of aquifer recharge. This method of establishing tributary/groundwater inputs and contributions to surface water thermal regimes is relatively simple and can be useful for science and management as long as “ice cover exists”; that is, the system can achieve a frozen state.     

Ice processes on medium‐sized north‐temperate lakes

Lake ice supports a range of socio‐economic and cultural activities including transportation and winter recreational actives. The influence of weather patterns on ice‐cover dynamics of temperate lakes requires further understanding for determining how changes in ice composition will impact ice safety and the range of ecosystem services provided by seasonal ice cover. An investigation of lake ice formation and decay for three lakes in Central Ontario, Canada, took place over the course of two winters, 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, through the use of outdoor digital cameras, a Shallow Water Ice Profiler (upward‐looking sonar), and weekly field measurements. Temperature fluctuations across 0°C promoted substantial early season white ice growth, with lesser amounts of black ice forming later in the season. Ice thickening processes observed were mainly through meltwater, or midwinter rain, refreezing on the ice surface. Snow redistribution was limited, with frequent melt events limiting the duration of fresh snow on the ice, leading to a fairly uniform distribution of white ice across the lakes in 2015–2016 (standard deviations week to week ranging from 3 to 5 cm), but with slightly more variability in 2016–2017 when more snow accumulated over the season (5 to 11 cm). White ice dominated the end‐of‐season ice composition for both seasons representing more than 70% of the total ice thickness, which is a stark contrast to Arctic lake ice that is composed mainly of black ice. This research has provided the first detailed lake ice processes and conditions from medium‐sized north‐temperate lakes and provided important information on temperate region lake ice characteristics that will enhance the understanding of the response of temperate lake ice to climate and provide insight on potential changes to more northern ice regimes under continued climate warming.     

On Fröhlich's solution for Boussinesq's problem

The concentration factor introduced by O. K. Fröhlich is visualized as a procedure for examining the pattern of load transfer from surface loads to the interior of a geomaterial. The historical details that led to the introduction of the concentration factor are scant although it is widely used in the area of soil mechanics problems associated with tillage‐induced soil compaction. The purpose of this note is to examine the concentration factor in terms of the geomechanics of an elastic continuum and to identify the precise conditions that are satisfied by the distribution of stresses and strains that accommodate the concentration factor. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic response of road pavement resting on a layered poroelastic half‐space to a moving traffic load

This paper is dedicated to study the dynamic response of a thin‐plate resting on a layered poroelastic half‐space under a moving traffic load. Based on the dynamic poroelastic theory of Biot, the general solutions of the homogeneous poroelastic foundation are obtained by Fourier translation. By using the transmission and reflection matrices method in the frequency domain, the equivalent stiffness of the layered poroelastic half‐space is presented. Kirchhoff's hypotheses are applied to obtain the vertical displacement of the thin plate. By using the inverse Fourier transform, the time domain solution is obtained. As an example of three layers, the influences of the load velocity, the material properties of poroelastic layers, and the flexural rigidity of the plate on the response of the pavement system are examined. Analyses show that a soft intermediate layer results in the significant increase of vertical displacement of road pavement. Comparison with the existing work validates the present model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the effect of catchment characteristics on suspended sediment dynamics during flood events

Hysteresis in the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and flow during run-off events is commonly used to inform on sediment sources and hydrological pathways. Less attention, however, has been paid to comparing the water and sediment hydrographs, which provide a more direct appreciation of in-event sediment dynamics and their relationship with the upstream catchment characteristics. The aim of this study is to better understand the catchment and hydrological controls on the phasing of water and sediment discharges during events and, in particular, to explore what controls sediment concentrations late on event recessions. Continuous records of flow and turbidity data (calibrated to suspended sediment concentration) were collected from 17 catchments across New Zealand for this purpose. Relationships between event sediment yield and peak flow showed, as anticipated, higher event sediment loads were generated in pasture compared with forested catchments and were also higher from catchments in more erodible terrain. One novel result was that these differences were greater during smaller, more frequent events, whereas the loads from larger flood events tended to converge between pasture and forest catchments. Another novel result was that event sediment load tends to be evenly split between rising and falling stages of the hydrograph in pasture catchments, but forested catchments yield more of their event loads on flood recessions, probably because of delayed erosion or more sediment sources remote from the channel network. Land cover, distance of the sediment sources from the monitoring site, and size of the catchments control sediment concentrations late on event recession. Pasture-dominated and more erodible catchments show longer sediment recessions and therefore stay dirtier for longer time periods. In addition, the size of previous flood events appeared to control the extent of sediment exhaustion after the flood peaks in some catchments.     

Application of the Load/Unload Response Ratio Theory to Predictions of Moderate Earthquakes (7.0>M≥6.0)

The variation in load/unload response ratio before some moderate earthquakes is analyzed based on the theory of the load/unload response ratio.The results show that the load-unload response ratio increases noticeably before moderate earthquakes,and there are three kinds of patterns in which the load/unload response ratio varies and the duration of noticeable increase in load/unload response ratio ranges from half a year to two years.     

船舶轴系的最佳轴承间距

通过对影响轴承负荷的轴承支点、螺旋桨重量、轴段重量、轴承负荷的影响数等有关因素的研究，来合理布置各道轴承的间距，从而使轴承在最佳负荷下工作。强调提出不能任意增加轴承的宽度来满足轴承的比压值。