Turbulence Statistics Inside and Over Forest: Influence on Footprint Prediction

Observations of wind statistics within and above a Scots pine forest are comparedwith those predicted from an analytical second-order closure model. The roughnesssublayer (RSL) effects, and the influence of stability on similarity functions, arestudied using observations. The commonly accepted forms of similarity functionsdescribe the influence of diabatic effects above the RSL well. According to earlierstudies they are expected also to apply within the RSL. As an exception, the averagewind speed normalised with friction velocity was found to be invariant with stabilityclose to the canopy top under unstable conditions. Lagrangian stochastic trajectorysimulations were used to evaluate the influence of canopy turbulence profiles onfootprint prediction. The main uncertainty was found to arise from parameterisationof the random forcing term in the Lagrangian velocity equation. The influence ofdiabatic conditions was studied, and it was found that thermal stability affectssignificantly the footprint function above the forest canopy, but significantuncertainty exists because of uncertainties in the formulation of stability functions.     

环境因子对敦煌莫高窟洞窟水分蒸发的影响

环境因子对洞窟水分蒸发有重要影响.在敦煌莫高窟72窟蒸发水分的收集过程中,通过对窟内温度和湿度的控制,分析窟内温湿度对水分蒸发的影响及作用机理,并根据围岩水分蒸发机理,探讨影响水分蒸发的外部环境因子.结果表明,洞窟2.0℃的温度变化即可对水分蒸发产生显著影响,短期内蒸发量可增大1倍以上.温度高、蒸发量大,可导致窟内相对湿度增加,因此目前全球性的气温升高对洞窟文物将产生不利影响.敦煌地区降雨量的增加增大了空气潮湿过程激活壁画盐分的可能.莫高窟所处的地理位置、地热、地形结构、围岩孔隙度和洞窟结构本身对围岩水分蒸发有重要影响.本文从环境因素揭示了莫高窟壁画能够保存至今的关键原因,为今后洞窟文物的更好保护提供了新思路.     

岩石爆破的相对损伤与损伤累积计算

为了便于工程应用,利用损伤变量定义,确定既真实反映力学作用过程,又易于获取和进行客观度量损伤变量的一种方法。通过提出的相对损伤概念,用相对损伤变量表示含损伤材料在载荷作用下损伤扩展程度和不同部位的相对损伤程度,使衡量受力作用程度的损伤变量确定更易实现。同时,提出了一种基于裂纹扩展的损伤累积计算方法,并用实例计算说明了其合理可行。     

Fault induced permanent ground deformations: Experimental verification of wet and dry soil, numerical findings’ relation to field observations of tunnel damage and implications for design

Few building codes contains provisions fault surface ruptures and accompanying soil deformations which constitutes a great risk to human lives, buildings and infrastructure. A numerical and experimental comparison show a fair agreement of result. Analysis of “real” scale show the how water increases the incompressibility of wet soil causing shear deformations to become larger and conjugate ruptures to appear for reverse faults. Field observations and numerical analysis indicates that horizontal compression of soil surrounding underground structures should be taken into account in design.     

Comparison of 15 evaporation methods applied to a small mountain lake in the northeastern USA

Few detailed evaporation studies exist for small lakes or reservoirs in mountainous settings. A detailed evaporation study was conducted at Mirror Lake, a 0.15 km² lake in New Hampshire, northeastern USA, as part of a long-term investigation of lake hydrology. Evaporation was determined using 14 alternate evaporation methods during six open-water seasons and compared with values from the Bowen-ratio energy-budget (BREB) method, considered the standard. Values from the Priestley–Taylor, deBruin–Keijman, and Penman methods compared most favorably with BREB-determined values. Differences from BREB values averaged 0.19, 0.27, and 0.20 mm d⁻¹, respectively, and results were within 20% of BREB values during more than 90% of the 37 monthly comparison periods. All three methods require measurement of net radiation, air temperature, change in heat stored in the lake, and vapor pressure, making them relatively data intensive. Several of the methods had substantial bias when compared with BREB values and were subsequently modified to eliminate bias. Methods that rely only on measurement of air temperature, or air temperature and solar radiation, were relatively cost-effective options for measuring evaporation at this small New England lake, outperforming some methods that require measurement of a greater number of variables. It is likely that the atmosphere above Mirror Lake was affected by occasional formation of separation eddies on the lee side of nearby high terrain, although those influences do not appear to be significant to measured evaporation from the lake when averaged over monthly periods.     

Channel precipitation dynamics in a forested Pennsylvania headwater catchment (USA)

Seasonal and event variations in stream channel area and the contributions of channel precipitation to stream flow were studied on a 106‐ha forested headwater catchment in central Pennsylvania. Variations in stream velocity, flowing stream surface width and widths of near‐stream saturated areas were periodically monitored at 61 channel transects over a two‐year period. The area of flowing stream surface and near‐stream saturated zones combined, ranged from 0·07% of basin area during summer low flows to 0·60% of total basin area during peak storm flows. Near‐stream saturated zones generally represented about half of the total channel area available to intercept throughfall and generate channel precipitation. Contributions of routed channel precipitation from the flowing stream surface and near‐stream zones, calculated using the Penn State Runoff Model (PSRM, v. 95), represented from 1·1 to 6·4% of total stream flow and 2·5–29% of total storm flow (stream flow–antecedent baseflow) during the six events. Areas of near‐stream saturated zones contributed 35–52% of the computed channel precipitation during the six events. Channel precipitation contributed a higher percentage of stream flow for events with low antecedent baseflow when storm flow generated by subsurface sources was relatively low. Expansion of channel area and consequent increases in volumes of channel precipitation with flow increases during events was non‐linear, with greater rates of change occurring at lower than at higher discharge rates. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validity of the Bouchet’s complementary relationship at 102 observatories across China

Bouchet in 1963 hypothesized that for large homogeneous land surface with minimum advection of heat and moisture, there exists a 1:1 complementary relationship of potential and actual evaporation coupled through land-atmosphere feedbacks. The complementary relationship has been widely used to estimate regional actual evaporation and explain the pan evaporation paradox. We examine the standardized potential evaporation (potential evaporation divided by wet environment evaporation) at 102 observatories at different elevations across China. Generally, the relationship is appropriate at the low elevations (<1000 m). With the increase of elevation, vapor transfer power becomes much less than radiation energy budget because of lower vapor pressure deficit and stronger global solar radiation. As a result, at the high elevations (over 1000 m), the excess energy resulted by limited moisture availability is not enough to be converted into drying power of the air. This result suggests that the complementary relationship is asymmetric at the high elevations. Supported by the Presidential Special Award Foundation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. O7R70020SD) and the National Key Technology R & D Program (Grant No. 2006BAC08B0408)     

The extent of desertification on Saudi Arabia

Desertification is the process that turns productive deserts into non-productive deserts as a result of poor land-management. Desertification reduces the ability of land to support life, affecting wild species, domestic animals, agricultural crops and humans. The reduction in plant cover that accompanies desertification leads to accelerated soil erosion by wind and water. South Africa is losing approximately 300–400 million tons of topsoil every year. As vegetation cover and soil layer are reduced, rain fall impact and run-off increases. This paper discusses the extent of desertification, its potential threat to sustained irrigated agriculture and possible measures adopted to control ongoing desertification processes to minimize the loss of agricultural productivity in an arid country such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.     

On Some Simplifications of Cokriging Neighborhood

Choosing the cokriging neighborhood is often difficult. A poor choice, ignoring influent data, can result in a loss of information as well as in artifacts in simulations based on cokriging. Then it is convenient to use if possible, or to refer to models that lead to simplified cokriging neighborhood. We essentially consider the case of two stationary variables, a target variable and an auxiliary one. By examining possible simplifications, we set up a list of models (essentially models with residuals) that, in general or under specific configurations, lead to simplifications of cokriging neighborhood. Collocated, dislocated, and other types of neighborhood are identified, that are optimal in some models and configurations. Possible extensions to cokriging with unknown means, and to more variables, are included.     

胶东山城金矿地质与地球化学变量的关系

为研究胶东地区山城金矿的控制因素和预测隐伏矿体,利用R型因子分析和聚类分析揭示了各种地质和地球化学变量的关系。同时,针对聚类分析中难以有效显示变量间负相关问题提出了反序变换的方法。结果表明,该矿的黄铜矿化、脉状黄铁矿化、Au-Ag-Cu组合与As-Sb-Hg组合相关,并受主构造面走向波动控制;而较厚石英脉、菱铁矿化、星散状黄铁矿化、Pb-Ba组合与Co-Ni组合相关,并受主构造面倾向波动控制。这些结果与地质结论一致,但研究方法更简便快捷。