Changes of P, Ca, Al and Fe contents in fringe marshes along a pedogenic chronosequence in the Pearl River estuary, South China

Soil and plant samples were collected in four fringe marsh zones (i.e., A, B, C and D zones) along a pedogenic chronosequence in the Pearl River estuary in the Spring of 2009. Samples were subjected to a total digestion technique and analyzed for P, Ca, Al and Fe in order to study the changes of nutrient contents, storages in soils and their bioavailabilities to wetland plants (e.g. Cyperus malaccensis) in four zones. Results showed that soil Ca increased with depth along soil profiles, while P, Al and Fe generally kept constant in soil profiles in four zones. Al and Fe contents in the top 10 cm soils showed significant decreases from D to A zone, while a significant increase in Ca contents (P<0.05). Significant increases along pedogenic chronosequence for P, Al and Fe at 30-40 cm soil horizons were also observed. Ca was mainly accumulated in plant aboveground parts; Al and Fe were accumulated in the belowground parts; while P was homogenously distributed among the tissues of C. malaccensis. C. malaccensis in D zone had lower Bio-concentration factors (BCFs) of P in the shoots and Al and Fe in the roots, and higher values of Ca in the shoots than those in older zones (P<0.05). Compared to Al and Fe, both Ca and P had relatively higher translocation capacities for C. malaccensis, while only lower TFs for P and higher values for Al and Fe in D zone were observed than those in A and B zones (P<0.05). Except for Al with no significant changes, the total BCFs for P and Fe showed an increasing trend with soil ages, while a decreasing trend for Ca. The total bio-storage factors (TBSFs) of P and Ca declined with the pedogenic time, whereas an increase for Fe. The results of this study can contribute to the wetland conservation and management in the Pearl River estuarine region.     

河南新郑—太康断裂东段土壤气体地球化学特征

土壤气浓度测量能够揭示断裂位置和活动特征。 由于河南新郑—太康断裂北西向隐伏断裂带空间定位精度有待提高, 以及2016年5月该区出现地下逸出气异常的宏观现象, 在太康县西近垂直于断裂走向布设了一条长约13 km的NE—NNE走向的地球化学观测剖面, 用于分析隐伏断层浅层位置及其与地下逸出气宏观异常的关系。 观测结果表明: 该剖面的异常段与该区浅层地震勘探显示的断裂带地表出露位置相吻合, 其中Rn体积活度和H₂、 CO₂浓度异常揭示出南段有4条断层, 北段有2条断层, 且均具有高角度特征, 南段的CO₂浓度异常区与地下逸出气宏观异常位置相符, 但代表构造特征的Rn体积活度和H₂浓度没有出现异常, 认为与构造关系不密切。     

青藏高原蒸散年际变化及其对西风和季风环流的响应

在评估4种蒸散格点资料（GLDAS,GLEAM,MERRA-2,CRET）在青藏高原适用性的基础上,以精度最高的CRET（R²为0.83,RMSE为14.76 mm）及同期气象环境数据,在年际尺度上分析了青藏高原蒸散变化特征及其受大尺度西风和季风环流的影响.结果表明,青藏高原年平均蒸散为414.2±18.32 mm,具有明显的年际变率和变化趋势,且区域（西风区、季风区和过渡区）间差异明显.蒸散年际变化与西风和季风环流强弱的年际变化密切相关,且季风和西风对蒸散的影响存在显著的区域差异.西风和季风通过调节局地气候环境因子影响蒸散：土壤湿度、归一化植被指数（NDVI）和风速三个局地气候环境要素是青藏高原蒸散主要调控因子,蒸散与土壤湿度和NDVI呈显著正相关,与风速在高原西部呈显著负相关、在高原东部呈显著正相关;研究WYI（Webster-Yang Index）和WI（Westerly Index）与影响蒸散的主导气候环境因子的关系发现,WYI与土壤湿度和NDVI呈显著正相关,且WYI与NDVI的相关系数在高原中部和南部较大,使得WYI对蒸散影响在中部分过渡区和南部季风区较大,WI也与土壤湿度和NDVI呈显著正相关,但WI与NDVI的相关系数在中部和北部较大,WI对蒸散影响在中部过渡区和北部西风区较大,同时,WI与风速在大部分高原显著相关,WI在高原东部通过风速对蒸散变化具有正贡献,使得季风区东部蒸散年际变化也受WI影响,最终使得WI对蒸散的影响在除季风区西部以外的区域较大.该研究结果可加深认识青藏高原水循环变化及其机理,为区域水资源和生态系统管理提供科学依据.

     

Soil quality changes in land degradation as indicated by soil chemical, biochemical and microbiological properties in a karst area of southwest Guizhou, China

Not only the nutritional status and biological activity but also the soil ecological functioning or soil health has been impacted profoundly by land degradation in the karst area of southwest China where the karst ecosystems are generally considered as extremely vulnerable to land degradation under intensified land-use changes. The objectives of this study are to elucidate the changes in overall soil quality by a holistic approach of soil nutritional, biological activity, and soil health indicators in the karst area as impacted by intense cultivation and vegetation degradation. Topsoil samples were collected on selected eco-tesserae in a sequence of land degradation in a karst area of southwest Guizhou in 2004. The soil nutrient pools of organic carbon (C_org), extractable extracellular carbon (C_ext), total soil nitrogen (N_t), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (N_ah), total phosphorus (P_t), available phosphorus (P_a) were analyzed by wet soil chemistry. The soil biological properties were studied by means of measurements of microbial biomass carbon (both by fumigation–extraction, FE-C_mic, and by calculation from substrate-incubation respiration, SIR-C_mic) of respiration [respiration without addition of substrates, basal respiration (BR), and potential respiration (PR) with substrate-incubation] and of soil enzyme activities (invertase, urease, and alkaline phosphatase). Soil health status was assessed by simple indices of C_mic/C_org and BR/C_mic in conjunction with bacterial community structures determined by polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. While the nutritional pool parameters, such as C_org and C_ext, described basically the changes in soil life-supporting capacity with cultivation interference and vegetation declined, those parameters of biological activity such as FE-C_mic, SIR, and SIR-C_mic as well as bacterial community structures measured by molecular method evidenced well the changes in soil functioning for ecosystem health with the land degradation.     

Reliability of mooring lines and piles for a permanently manned vessel in a tropical cyclone environment

The factors of safety for stationkeeping systems in current standards (ISO, API) are not derived or validated using reliability analyses. As the oil and gas exploration and production is breaking new boundaries, deploying new floating systems and moving into regions with harsher environments, it is of paramount importance to understand what level of reliability these new marine structures are achieving. This paper presents a reliability analysis of the mooring system of a Floating LNG (FLNG) vessel permanently moored and permanently manned offshore North West Australia in a tropical cyclone environment. The reliability analysis addresses both the mooring chain and the pile foundation. The analysis accounts for the long term characteristics of the environment, including the short term variability, in response to a given sea state and the variability and uncertainty in strength of the mooring chain and the pile. The stationkeeping system was analysed using detailed time domain simulations, capturing system non-linearities and low frequency oscillations as well as wave frequency responses and, thereby, reducing modelling uncertainties to a minimum.It is found that for the conditions modelled, neither the chain nor the pile meet a target reliability of 10⁻⁴/annum using the factors of safety commonly used in design following current ISO and API standards. New factors of safety are proposed to achieve this target reliability. For the pile design, one complicating factor is that current design standards do not explicitly define the exceedance probability that should be associated with the characteristic value of the undrained shear strength to be used in the design. It is demonstrated that the required factor of safety is crucially dependent on the definition of this characteristic value and on the level and the type of uncertainty in the soil strength profile. A recommendation is made regarding the definition of this characteristic value and the associated factor of safety. Furthermore, it is found that designing the mooring system to an environmental condition with a return period of 10,000 yr (as an Abnormal Limit State event), and setting the factor of safety to unity, meets the target reliability of 10⁻⁴/annum for the pile, if the characteristic undrained shear strength is a lower bound, defined in this paper by the 10th percentile value. For the chain however, this target reliability is not achieved.     

Chemical effects of a near-to-nature detention pond on a small urban headwater

The near-to-nature approach has been established as best practice for stormwater management. However, pollutant mobility within such systems and its impact on small receiving waters are partly unexplained. The study takes place in an urbanised headwater catchment in south-western Germany with an area of 0.4 km². Runoff from roofs, roads, parking lots and gardens is collected in wells or trenches and stored in private and public dry detention basins. Accordingly, this study investigates pollutant input to a detention pond, removal efficiency and the associated effects on the receiving water.Grab samples with high temporal resolution of the receiving water (16 flood events with 315 samples and 41 baseflow samples), the three inflows of the detention basin and its outflow (four flood events with 64 samples) were taken. The outflow of the dry pond is recovered in the hydro- and chemographs of the receiving water. Runoff from roads with increased traffic volume caused the highest PAH inputs and runoff from the residential area showed the highest zinc concentrations, which partly infringe European Environmental Quality Standards. Yearly pollutant inputs (DOC, TSS, PAH, nutrients, metals) from the settlement into the tributary are reduced in the detention pond by up to 80%.     

Hydrology and hydrogeology of Sakaryabaşı Karstic springs, Çifteler, Turkey

The Sakarya River is one of the largest rivers in Turkey and is fed mainly from Sakaryabaşı springs. The Sakaryabaşı springs are located in the Central Anatolia and issue from confined/semi-confined karst having a thermal component and therefore, having quite different hydrogeological characteristics as compared to the Taurus Karst region, a typical example of the Mediterranean type of karst. The karstic carbonate rocks that form the groundwater reservoir are overlain by a thick semi-pervious overburden of mainly clastics of Neogene age. Tectonics is the major factor controlling the occurrence of the karst springs in the area where topography is rather flat. This study aimed at explaining the occurrence and movement of the karst groundwater within the system by use of hydrogeological, chemical, and isotopic tools. Isotopic composition of the waters revealed that all waters in the region are of meteoric origin and the thermal component is due to deep circulation. The catchment area of the hydrogeological system extends to the south and groundwater movement is towards the outlets, which are in a depression along a major fault. The movement of the groundwater, based on analysis of remotely sensed images, is controlled mainly by structural elements.     

土结构性本构模型研究现状综述

土本构模型的建立是一个重要而又复杂的问题,到目前为止,国内外学者们已提出数以百计的土本构模型,诸多文献也对这些模型进行了评述和归纳。然而这些土本构模型多是在扰动土或砂土的基础上发展和建立起来的,它们难以描述由于土结构性引起的各种非线性行为,其计算结果与实际情况相差甚远。天然土体一般都具有一定的结构性,所以有必要建立考虑土结构性影响的土本构模型。针对这个现实,目前有些学者已基于各种理论和方法,提出了一些可以考虑土结构性影响的土本构模型,并得了较好的应用。但在目前的文献中还很少有对土的结构性本构模型研究进行归纳,基于此,本文简要介绍了一下目前土的结构性本构模型研究现状,并提出了这些本构模型在应用中所存在的问题。     

中国土壤有机质含量变异性与空间尺度的关系

以中国土种志资料为基础,分析了土壤有机质含量变异与空间尺度的关系及土类内和土类间的变异程度,探讨了不同空间尺度单元下,土壤有机质平均含量与土壤性质的相关性。结果表明,以土壤剖面为单元,随着土壤剖面数的增加,土壤有机质含量的变异系数增大;行政区域尺度单元内部土壤有机质变异程度大于单元间土壤有机质含量的变异程度。以土壤分类单元为空间单元,土类内的有机质含量变异程度小于土类间的变异程度。随着统计单元空间尺度的增大,土壤有机质含量与土壤性质之间的相关性减弱。因此,采用网格法或行政区划分空间区域,获得空间区域单元内土壤有机质含量或贮量的精确估算需要较多的剖面,但外推至数据不足的空间区域时,估算的不确定较小;采用土壤分类单元为空间区域单元,结果则相反。     

非饱和黄土渗透性规律的土柱试验研究

黄土边坡的变形破坏一般与地表水入渗导致的地下水位上升有关。然而,现场观测发现黄土地区地表水入渗深度有限,降雨的湿润峰一般在2m以内。自湿润峰以下至地下水位之间很长一段的含水率是不变的,那么地表水是如何补给地下水的,一直存在争议。为此,本文利用甘肃正宁县地区的Q3黄土重塑样进行非饱和渗透特性的土柱试验。在一个4m高的玻璃桶内制备土样,土柱上按一定间距插入水分计探头,在顶部按每天1000mL水量均匀渗入水,测得给定时间沿土柱的含水率剖面。结果发现,随着补给时间的延长,湿润峰下移,湿润峰经过的上半土柱含水率几乎不变,当湿润峰到达土柱底部时,形成潜水位,这和现场观察的现象一致。这说明在地表活动带以下,饱和带以上,虽然土的含水率不变,但存在着稳定非饱和渗流,这是黄土地区地下水的唯一补给方式。