基于压汞法的冻融循环对土体孔隙特征影响的试验研究

冻融循环会改变土的微观结构, 孔隙特征的变化是其结构性发生改变的重要体现. 以青藏铁路沿线粉质黏土为研究对象, 借助压汞技术对不同冻融次数下重塑土样的孔隙特征进行了研究. 结果表明:土体孔隙特征分布曲线表现出明显的双峰特征, 据此可将土样的孔隙分为大孔和小孔两大类; 冻融循环次数对小孔隙的影响较小, 小孔隙直径和体积基本保持不变; 冻融循环次数对大孔隙的影响较大, 特别是孔径为20～40 μm的孔隙, 其直径和体积均随冻融次数的增加而增大. 试样的孔隙率随冻融次数的增加并无明显规律, 但总体的变化趋势是先增大后减小. 由孔隙分形维数计算结果可知, 冻融循环在改变土体孔隙结构的同时, 使孔隙内壁的粗糙程度及孔隙结构的复杂程度降低.     

冻融循环对土结构性影响的试验研究及影响机制分析

基于室内试验,研究了土颗粒与土孔隙在冻融循环过程中的变化情况,发现在反复冻融过程中,土样产生了颗粒破碎,从而导致土的液塑限、塑性指数、比表面积均有所增大。通过压汞试验,发现冻融循环还会使土样中的大、中孔隙含量总体增加,小孔隙的含量减少,而微孔隙的含量基本保持不变。在经历了15次冻融循环后,颗粒组成、孔隙分布及比表面积等均趋于稳定。通过分析土的三相组成在水分相变和迁移过程中的相互影响和作用,认为土的三相组成是冻融过程中水分相变和迁移的基础,冻融过程中水分相变、冰晶生长和水分迁移对土颗粒和孔隙的反作用力,是冻融循环对土结构性影响的根本原因。     

Analysis of ship life cycles—The impact of economic cycles and ship inspections

Due to the shipping industry's international legal framework, there are loopholes in the system, which can increase the risk of incidents with high economic costs due to the substandard operation of vessels. This article uses duration analysis and through the creation of ship life cycles provides insight into the effectiveness of inspections on prolonging ship lives. The analysis accounts for fluctuations in the relevant economic environment and the (possibly time-varying) ship particulars. It is based on a unique dataset containing information on the timing of accidents, inspections and ship particular changes of more than 50,000 vessels over a 29-year time period (1978–2007). The results reveal that the shipping industry is a relatively safe industry but there is a possible over-inspection of vessels. The effect of inspections varies across ship types and the prevention of incidents with high economic costs can be improved by a coordinated approach of all types of inspections that are performed which allows the decrease of unnecessary inspections. Further, more emphasis should be placed on the rectification and follow-up of deficiencies and the implementation of the ISM code. Another added benefit for the industry would be to improve transparency related to class withdrawals and class transfers for all classification societies. Another interesting finding is that for the majority of ship types, an increase in earnings decreases the incident rate. This is in contrast to the industry perception of the impact of earnings.     

Fatigue Behaviour of Tubular Joints Made of China-Made Platform Steel

In China, a nationwide research program on fatigue behaviour of tubular joints made of China-made platform steel was carried out from 1983 to 1990, which was set by the Tubular Joint Research Committee for Offshore Structures (TJCOS) of China. This paper gives an outline of the basic properties of the China-made platform steel and fatigue test of tubular joints, including test specimens, test particulars and test results. A p-S-N curve based on the test results was established which reveals that the fatigue strength of tubular joints is fairly good. The thickness effect and effect of corrosion on fatigue strength in sea water are briefly discussed.     

Mesoscale eddies off Peru in altimeter records: Identification algorithms and eddy spatio-temporal patterns

Relatively little is known about coherent vortices in the eastern South-Pacific along the Peruvian coast, even with regard to basic facts about their frequency of occurrence, longevity and structure. This study addresses these issues with nearly 15 years of relatively high-resolution satellite altimetry measurements.We first compare two distinct automated methods for eddy identification. The objective validation protocol shows that the rarely-used geometrical or “winding-angle method”, based on the curvature of the streamline functions, is more accurate than the commonly-used “Okubo–Weiss algorithm”, which defines a vortex as a simple connected region with values of Okubo–Weiss parameter weaker than a given threshold.We then investigate vortices off Peru using more than 20,000 mesoscale eddies identified by the winding-angle method. Coherent eddies, characterized by a high ratio of vorticity to deformation rate, are typically formed along the coast and propagate westward at 3–6 cm s⁻¹. The vortices have a mean radius of 80 km, increasing northward, and are most frequently observed off of Chimbote (9°S) and south of San Juan (15°S). The mean eddy lifetime is about 1 month, but if eddies survive at least 2 months, the probability for surviving an additional week (or month) is constant at 90% (or 67%). Anticyclonic eddies tend to propagate northwestward whereas cyclonic vortices migrate southwestward. In general, cyclones and anticyclones are similar, except for eddies surviving at least 6 months. In this case, after a similar 3–4 months of radius and amplitude growth, amplitudes (or sizes) decay particularly rapidly for anticyclonic (or cyclonic) eddies. In terms of intensity, cyclonic eddies show a rapid decay during the first 3 months before arriving at a quasi-constant value, whereas anticyclones exhibit steady decline. Finally, eddy temporal variations were examined at seasonal and interannual scales in the “coastal” region favorable to the formation of energetic mesoscale structures. On seasonal scales, eddy activity is maximal in fall and minimum in spring. At interannual scales, the eddy activity index was maximal during the strong El Niño of 1997–1998 but another strong maximum of eddy activity also occurred late in 2004. These temporal variations are probably associated with the intensification of the upwelling thermal front and with the passage of coastal-trapped waves which generate baroclinic instabilities. Further investigation of the mechanisms involved on the eddy genesis is needed.     

Estuarine classification and response to nitrogen loading: Insights from simple ecological models

Estuaries exhibit a large range in their responses to nitrogen loadings determined in part by characteristics of the driver, such as magnitude and frequency, but also by such intrinsic characteristics as physical/chemical factors (e.g., depth, volume, hypsometry, salinity, turbidity) and biological factors (e.g., nature of ecological communities, trophic interactions). To address the richness of estuarine response to driver variables, the aim ultimately is to establish a simple estuarine classification scheme, beginning with a river-dominated subset of estuarine systems and focusing on the role of water residence time in the estuary. Residence time (or flushing time) is related to other drivers (streamflow, nutrient, and sediment loads) and drives much of the biological response of estuaries because of flushing effects on plankton, temperature, nutrients, and light. Toward this goal, nutrient–phytoplankton–zooplankton (NPZ) models have been used to examine a range of subjects including effects of nutrient limitation and zooplankton predation on phytoplankton dynamics and fish predation. This class of model can admit a wide range of behavior, including multiple steady-states and oscillatory behavior. The NPZ equations include terms for nutrient recycling, phytoplankton settling, benthic regeneration, and zooplankton mortality. Analysis of the equations suggests that both the nature of nitrogen loading (i.e., whether it is correlated with discharge or independent of it) and residence time are critical in determining the steady-state response of the system.     

Responses of humpback whales to a changing climate in the Southern Hemisphere: Priorities for research efforts

Globally, baleen whales were severely depleted by historic whaling. Recovering populations have been observed to alter their behaviour. These changes have been attributed to climate change in some cases and raise concerns over the successful recovery of baleen whale populations. Current data-driven statistical habitat and behavioural models have proven useful for addressing questions of whale distribution changes within their limitations. Given observed changes in oceanic conditions, a new approach to managing baleen whale population recovery is necessary. Model predictions of future whale movements and distributions under climate change scenarios are vital to enable adequate conservation management. This paper presents a new perspective on understanding the impacts of climate change on humpback whales, arguing the need for a system-based multidisciplinary research approach. Our approach includes coupled, mechanistic models based upon robust ecological principles, and integrates key physical, biogeochemical, biological and ecological modules to address long-term changes associated with climate change. To illustrate the need for this system-based multidisciplinary approach, we focus on Southern Hemisphere humpback whales, the recovery of which may be impacted by rapid changes in habitat conditions brought about by anthropogenic climate change.     

Daily and inter-tidal variations of Fe,Mn and Hg in the water column of a contaminated salt marsh: Halophytes effect

It has been shown that salt marshes may function as efficient sinks for contaminants, namely for mercury. At the rhizo-sediment Hg may be associated with Mn and Fe oxyhydroxides, precipitated as sulphides or incorporated into organic matter. However, to our knowledge, in situ studies have not focused on the related processes at a daily or tidal cycle scales. Thus, the present work aims to study the effect of a common salt marsh halophyte in temperate latitudes (Sarcocornia perennis) on dissolved Fe, Mn and Hg concentrations in the water column. The in situ approach was carried out at a mercury-contaminated salt marsh and at the adjacent non-vegetated area (distance ≤ 4 m), covering two consecutive tidal cycles in order to include the photosynthetic active period and the night processes. During high tide no daily or spatial effects were observed on the concentrations of Mn, Fe and Hg in the water column, due to the dilution effect of the incoming seawater. During low tide the concentrations of Mn, Fe and Hg were significantly higher in the overlaying water column of the salt marsh. At S. perennis mats the concentration of dissolved total Hg was significantly related with the concentration of Mn (r = 0.459, p = 0.028, n = 23), but not with that of Fe (r = 0.367, p = 0.085, n = 23) while no significant relations were found at the adjacent non-vegetated sediments.