The value of a physically based model versus an empirical approach in the prediction of ephemeral gully erosion for loess-derived soils

A data set on soil losses and controlling factors for 58 ephemeral gullies has been collected in the Belgian loess belt from March 1997 to March 1999. Of the observed ephemeral gullies, 32 developed at the end of winter or in early spring (winter gullies) and 26 ephemeral gullies developed during summer (summer gullies). The assessed data have been used to test the physically based Ephemeral Gully Erosion Model (EGEM) and to compare its performance with the value of simple topographical and morphological indices in the prediction of ephemeral gully erosion.Analysis shows that EGEM is not capable of predicting ephemeral gully cross-sections well. Although conditions for input parameter assessment were ideal, some parameters such as channel erodibility, critical flow shear stress and local rainfall depth showed great uncertainty. Rather than revealing EGEM's inability of predicting ephemeral gully erosion, this analysis stresses the problematic nature of physically based models, since they often require input parameters that are not available or can hardly be obtained.With respect to the value of simple topographical and morphological indices in predicting ephemeral gully erosion, this study shows that for winter gullies and summer gullies, respectively, over 80% and about 75% of the variation in ephemeral gully volume can be explained when ephemeral gully length is known. Moreover, when previously collected data for ephemeral gullies in two Mediterranean study areas and the data for summer gullies formed in the Belgian loess belt are pooled, it appears that one single length (L)–volume (V) relation exists (V=0.048 L^1.29; R²=0.91). These findings imply that predicting ephemeral gully length is a valuable alternative for the prediction of ephemeral gully volume. A simple procedure to predict ephemeral gully length based on topographical thresholds is presented here. Secondly, the empirical length–volume relation can also be used to convert ephemeral gully length data extracted from aerial photos into ephemeral gully volumes.     

新疆北天山晚古生代洋盆演化与推覆构造

通过实地考察并综合区域及深部物探资料,研究了北天山逆冲推覆系统的构造样式、结构特征和组合方式;认为北天山晚古代洋盆为板内地壳扩张活动形成的裂陷构造产物,存在时限短暂、对生物群迁移基本没有阻隔作用,不应具有分隔岩石圈板块的大地构造意义。     

Gullying and erosion control at archaeological sites in Grand Canyon,Arizona

Gully erosion of cultural sites in Grand Canyon National Park is an urgent management problem that has intensified in recent decades, potentially related to the effects of Glen Canyon Dam. We studied 25 gullies at nine sites in Grand Canyon over the 2002 monsoon–erosion season to better understand the geomorphology of the gully erosion and the effectiveness of erosion‐control structures (ECS) installed by the park under the direction of the Zuni Conservation Program. Field results indicate that Hortonian overland flow leads to concentrated flow in gullies and erosion focused at knickpoints along channels as well as at gully heads. Though groundcover type, soil shear strength and permeability vary systemat‐ically across catchments, gradient and, to a lesser degree, contributing drainage area seem to be the first‐order controls on gully extent, location of new knickpoints, and ECS damage. The installed ECS do reduce erosion relative to reaches without them and initial data suggest woody checkdams are preferable to rock linings, but maintenance is essential because damaged structures can exacerbate erosion. Topographic data from intensive field surveys and detailed photogrammetry provide slope–contributing area data for gully heads that have a trend consistent with previous empirical and theoretical formulations from a variety of landscapes. The same scaling holds below gully heads for knickpoint and ECS topographic data, with threshold coefficients the lowest for gully heads, slightly higher for knickpoints, and notably higher for damaged ECS. These topographic thresholds were used with 10‐cm digital elevation models to create simple predictive models for gully extent and structure damage. The model predictions accounted for the observed gullies but there are also many false‐positives. Purely topographical models are probably inadequate at this scale and application, but models that also parameterize the variable soil properties across sites would be useful for predicting erosion problems and ECS failure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of gully erosion rates through interviews and measurements: a case study from northern Ethiopia

Gullying has been widespread in the Ethiopian Highlands during the 20th century. It threatens the soil resource, lowers crop yields in intergully areas through enhanced drainage and desiccation, and aggravates flooding and reservoir siltation. Knowing the age and rates of gully development during the last few decades will help explain the reasons for current land degradation. In the absence of historical written or photographic documentation, the AGERTIM method (Assessment of Gully Erosion Rates Through Interviews and Measurements) has been developed. It comprises measurements of contemporary gully volumes, monitoring of gully evolution over several years and semi‐structured interview techniques. Gully erosion rates in the Dogu'a Tembien District, Tigray, Ethiopia, were estimated in three representative case‐study areas. In Dingilet, gullying started around 1965 after gradual environmental changes (removal of vegetation from cropland in the catchment and eucalyptus plantation in the valley bottom); rill‐like incisions grew into a gully, which increased rapidly in the drier period between 1977 and 1990. The estimated evolution of the total gully volume in the other areas show patterns similar to those of the Dingilet gully. Average gully erosion rate over the last 50 years is 6·2 t ha^?1 a^?1. Since 1995, no new gullies have developed in the study area. Area‐specific short‐term gully erosion rates are now on average 1·1 t ha^?1 a^?1. The successful application of the AGERTIM method requires an understanding of the geomorphology of the study area and an integration of the researchers with the rural society. It reveals that rapid gully development in the study area is some 50 years old and is mainly caused by human‐induced environmental degradation. Under the present‐day conditions of ‘normal’ rain and catchment‐wide soil and water conservation, gully erosion rates are decreasing. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing RUSLE to include runoff‐driven phenomena

RUSLE2 (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) is the most recent in the family of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)/RUSLE/RUSLE2 models proven to provide robust estimates of average annual sheet and rill erosion from a wide range of land use, soil, and climatic conditions. RUSLE2's capabilities have been expanded over earlier versions using methods of estimating time‐varying runoff and process‐based sediment transport routines so that it can estimate sediment transport/deposition/delivery on complex hillslopes. In this report we propose and evaluate a method of predicting a series of representative runoff events whose sizes, durations, and timings are estimated from information already in the RUSLE2 database. The methods were derived from analysis of 30‐year simulations using a widely accepted climate generator and runoff model and were validated against additional independent simulations not used in developing the index events, as well as against long‐term measured monthly rainfall/runoff sets. Comparison of measured and RUSLE2‐predicted monthly runoff suggested that the procedures outlined may underestimate plot‐scale runoff during periods of the year with greater than average rainfall intensity, and a modification to improve predictions was developed. In order to illustrate the potential of coupling RUSLE2 with a process‐based channel erosion model, the resulting set of representative storms was used as an input to the channel routines used in Chemicals, Runoff, and Erosion from Agricultural Management Systems (CREAMS) to calculate ephemeral gully erosion. The method was applied to a hypothetical 5‐ha field cropped to cotton in Marshall County, MS, bisected by a potential ephemeral gully having channel slopes ranging from 0·5 to 5% and with hillslopes on both sides of the channel with 5% steepness and 22·1 m length. Results showed the representative storm sequence produced reasonable results in CREAMS indicating that ephemeral gully erosion may be of the same order of magnitude as sheet and rill erosion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

东海陆架盆地伸展率和压缩率及构造跃迁

东海陆架盆地位于欧亚板块的东南缘和西太平洋活动大陆边缘,本文选取了东海陆架盆地主要凹陷的17条地震剖面,采用平衡剖面技术,计算了主要凹陷新生代不同演化阶段的伸展率和压缩率。分析表明,东海陆架盆地构造演化总体由西向东跃迁。晚白垩世至晚古新世东海陆架盆地裂陷中心在西部坳陷带,始新世东迁至东部坳陷带,上新世东迁至东海陆架盆地东侧的冲绳海槽盆地。古新世中后期东海陆架盆地西部坳陷带北侧昆山凹陷反转;中新世东部坳陷带的西湖凹陷反转。东海陆架盆地西部坳陷带与东部坳陷带构造演化不同,证明了东海陆架盆地的东西分带。西部坳陷带北部的长江坳陷和南部的台北坳陷构造演化不同,东部坳陷带北部的西湖凹陷和南部的钓北凹陷构造演化不同,证明了东海陆架盆地的南北分块。     

基于RTK-GPS技术的干热河谷冲沟沟头形态特征

采用高精度实时动态差分GPS(以下简称RTK-GPS)技术对干热河谷冲沟进行野外调查,获取36个不同活跃度类型沟头的形态参数,研究不同活跃度类型之间沟头的形态特征差异,并分析集水区、沟床植被盖度与形态特征之间的关系。结果表明:1.沟头不同活跃度类型之间,其跌坎高差、沟床比降差异最为显著,可作为沟头活跃度类型野外判别的主要参考指标;沟壁坡度、宽-深比等的差异较为显著,亦可在一定程度上表征沟头活跃程度。2.沟床植被盖度与各形态特征参数的相关性显著,表明沟床植被盖度可作为形态参数的综合替代性指标。同一活跃度类型的沟头,其跌坎高差、沟床比降等与沟床植被盖度呈极显著负相关关系,说明随着沟床植被盖度的增加(或减小),跌坎高差、沟床比降均呈减小(或增加)趋势。3.集水区植被盖度与各形态特征参数的关系不显著,表明干热河谷集水区植被盖度对沟头发育的贡献有限。     

平衡地质剖面技术发展现状与实际应用——以苏北盆地溱潼凹陷为例

平衡剖面技术广泛应用于构造解释合理性检验和构造演化史分析。平衡剖面发展历史与现状表明,二维平衡剖面技术理论与应用已趋于成熟,真三维平衡恢复算法的精确实现和实际应用是今后的主要发展方向。在详细总结二维平衡剖面技术原理和制作过程后,以苏北盆地溱潼凹陷为例,紧密结合区域地质与地球物理资料、选择合理的剖面走向、采用变速时深转换,多次修改地震构造解释方案并最终制作平衡剖面。结果表明,合理运用平衡剖面技术可检验地震构造解释的合理性并分析构造演化历史,指导油气资源勘探。     

CFD-based numerical analysis of a variable cross-section cylinder

Using ANSYS-CFX, a general purpose fluid dynamics program, the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a variable cross-section cylinder is simulated under uniform current with high Reynolds numbers. Large eddy simulation (LES) is conducted for studying the fluid-structure interaction. The vortex shedding in the wake, the motion trajectories of a cylinder, the variation of drag and lift forces on the cylinder are analyzed. The results show that the vortices of variable cross-section cylinder are chaotic and are varying along the cylinder. In places where cross-sections are changing significantly, the vortices are more irregular. The motion trail of the cylinder is almost the same but irregular. The drag and lift coefficients of the cylinder are varying with the changes of diameters.     

自然泥石流与矿渣泥石流复合效应与防治对策

石棉县后沟是一条典型的自然泥石流和矿渣泥石流并存的泥石流沟。本文以石棉后沟为例,结合早期自然泥石流、矿产开采以来矿渣泥石流、以及2013年7 4复合型泥石流,总结了自然泥石流和矿渣泥石流的复合效应,包括泥石流物源补给的多元效应、泥石流发展演化的逆转效应、泥石流起动发生的复杂效应、泥石流动力沿程的放大效应、泥石流致灾破坏的链式效应。对照泥石流对已建防治工程的破坏,提出了自然泥石流和矿渣泥石流复合型泥石流沟防治对策,建议充分利用起动位置和物源集中补给位置的差异,加强对中上游及支沟自然泥石流起动和运动的拦挡防治,最大限度减小自然泥石流对下游矿渣防护工程的基底侵蚀和冲击破坏,从而保障综合防治工程的有效性。