Movements of the Western Pacific Warm Pool Centroid and Their Relationship to Sea Surface Temperature Changes in Ni(n)o Regions

By using monthly historical sea surface temperature (SST) data for the years from 1950 to 2000, the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) climatology and anomalies are studied in this paper. The analysis of WPWP centroid (WPWPC) movement anomalies and the Nino-3 region SST anomalies( SSTA) seems to reveal a close, linear relation between the zonal WPWPC and Nino-3 region SSTA, which suggests that a 9' anomaly of the zonal displacement from the climatological position of the WPWPC corresponds to about a 1 ℃ anomaly in the Nino-3 region area-mean SST. This study connects the WPWPC zonal displacement with the Nino-3 SSTA, and it may be helpful in better understanding the fact that the WPWP eastward extension is conducive to the Nino-3 region SST increase during an El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event.     

The fragmentation of expanding shells – I. Limitations of the thin-shell approximation

We investigate the gravitational fragmentation of expanding shells in the context of the linear thin-shell analysis. We make use of two very different numerical schemes; the flash adaptive mesh refinement code and a version of the Benz smoothed particle hydrodynamics code. We find that the agreement between the two codes is excellent. We use our numerical results to test the thin-shell approximation and we find that the external pressure applied to the shell has a strong effect on the fragmentation process. In cases where shells are not pressure-confined, the shells thicken as they expand and hydrodynamic flows perpendicular to the plane of the shell suppress fragmentation at short wavelengths. If the shells are pressure-confined internally and externally, so that their thickness remains approximately constant during their expansion, the agreement with the analytical solution is better.     

THE FREQUENCY CHARACTERISTICS OF WARM AND COLD EPISODES IN THE NI(N)O REGIONS

On the basis of NOAA/CPC data of sea surface temperature anomaly in the Nino regions during Jan. 1950 - Dec. 2003, the wavelet power spectrum of SST were studied with significance and confidence testing at different scales in this paper. It shows that the SST are provided with multi-time scales structure nested one another, and vary on scales of 2 - 7 years, 8 - 20 years and ＞30 years. The most significant variation of the warm and cold episodes is in the 4-year band of period. The power, frequency structure and confidence of the same episode are different in different Nino regions. The intensity of oscillations is increasing at low frequency bands and decreasing at high frequency bands from east to west in the Nino regions, especially after 1970.     

不同因素对排水沟渠水平冻胀力的影响

多年冻土地区的排水沟渠经常遭受水平冻胀力的破坏,严重影响构筑物的服役性能。根据青藏高原多年冻土区路基坡脚U型槽排水沟渠的现场试验,并通过数值计算与理论分析,分析了结构埋深、粗颗粒换填范围以及结构形式对其温度场和水平冻胀力的影响。结果表明：改变工况,对土体温度场分布的形状影响较小,仅对其大小有一定影响。不同工况下水平冻胀力均沿深度非均匀分布,最大水平冻胀力主要出现在结构中部,而其上部和下部较小,结构侧壁在1/2至1/3处易发生冻胀破坏。梯形结构所受的水平冻胀力较U型结构增大13%～15%左右,但其分布形式基本相同。因此,U型结构在降低水平冻胀力方面优于梯形结构。随着换填范围增大,排水沟渠的水平冻胀力最大值逐渐减小;对于埋深1.7 m的排水沟渠来说,其侧边的0～2.8 m是影响水平冻胀力的主要换填宽度范围,而当换填宽度超过2.8 m后,水平冻胀力几乎不再降低。     

Size scaling patterns of species richness and carbon biomass for marine phytoplankton functional groups

Phytoplankton assemblages were clustered into associations according to functional taxonomic (diatoms, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores) and “ataxonomic” unimodal (nanoplankton, microplankton and macroplankton) size‐based criteria. Scaling relations of species richness‐cell size were performed in terms of histogram and log‐transformed data analyses for both taxonomic and ataxonomic groups. Frequency distribution histograms were fitted to a negative power function, which was strongly unimodal and right skewed and invariant across taxonomic and ataxonomic units. Regression analyses of the log‐transformed data were fitted to negative linear curves, which had common patterns and they were independent of taxonomic or ataxonomic affiliation. Species carbon biomass–cell size spectra produced by log transformation of the relevant data yielded positive slopes for both taxonomic and ataxonomic groups. In contrast, comparisons of the relative cell abundance, cell volume and carbon biomass levels showed large differences among these variables across taxonomic and ataxonomic groups. This work demonstrates that phytoplankton taxonomic and ataxonomic functional group relationships should be considered when developing future models of phytoplankton community structure.     

Overview of Ecological Restoration Technologies and Evaluation Systems

Ecological degradation is a global problem, and ecological restoration technologies have played and will continue to play an important role in its mitigation. However, the lack of systematic research and evaluations of ecological technologies has thus far affected their effective application in vulnerable ecological regions. This study therefore provides an overview of the main technologies for remediating soil and water erosion, desertification, and rock desertification in China and throughout the world. It addresses key issues and recommends approaches for evaluating ecological restoration technologies. Restoration technology emerged as early as 1800. Over the years such technology has changed from single objective applications to multi-purpose, multi-objective applications employing strategies that take into account ecosystem rehabilitation and integrated ecological and socioeconomic development. Along with this technological evolution, different countries have taken pertinent actions as part of their restoration initiatives. However, key issues remain, including the lack of location-specific restoration technologies and a methodological strategy to assess and prioritize existing technologies. This study proposes a four-level analytical hierarchical framework in conjunction with an indicator system that highlights the establishment and adaptation of associative indicators, while also recommending a three-phase evaluation method (TheMert), targeting TheMert to qualitative (quick and extensive) and quantitative (detailed) evaluations in order to select the most appropriate restoration technologies available. This study can also be used as a basis for understanding the evaluation and prioritization of restoration technologies, while increasing the awareness of decision makers and the public on the role of technology in restoring degraded ecosystems.     

Considering river structure and stability in the light of evolution: feedbacks between riparian vegetation and hydrogeomorphology

River ecological functioning can be conceptualized according to a four‐dimensional framework, based on the responses of aquatic and riparian communities to hydrogeomorphic constraints along the longitudinal, transverse, vertical and temporal dimensions of rivers. Contemporary riparian vegetation responds to river dynamics at ecological timescales, but riparian vegetation, in one form or another, has existed on Earth since at least the Middle Ordovician (c. 450 Ma) and has been a significant controlling factor on river geomorphology since the Late Silurian (c. 420 Ma). On such evolutionary timescales, plant adaptations to the fluvial environment and the subsequent effects of these adaptations on fluvial sediment and landform dynamics resulted in the emergence, from the Silurian to the Carboniferous, of a variety of contrasted fluvial biogeomorphic types where water flow, morphodynamics and vegetation interacted to different degrees. Here we identify several of these types and describe the consequences for biogeomorphic structure and stability (i.e. resistance and resilience), along the four river dimensions, of feedbacks between riparian plants and hydrogeomorphic processes on contrasting ecological and evolutionary timescales. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于功能区的行政区划调整研究——以绍兴城市群为例

本文构建了基于功能区的行政区划调整研究框架。首先,运用功能区思想,以大城市地区的街道或乡镇为空间单元,采集相关的自然、历史、文化、产业、客流和信息流数据,进行要素功能区的分析,准确获取不同层次相互依赖的功能空间单元,使城市在空间上充分适应和支撑多变的社会经济环境,为城市的多样性提供充分的弹性空间依据。其次,在城市基层单元的要素功能区的基础上,进一步采用因子分析和聚类分析方法,进行城市功能区的划分,可以为行政区划调整提供基于城市功能区有机的空间组织科学依据。在上述行政区划调整研究框架的基础上,以绍兴市为例进行了案例研究,结果表明,绍兴市域内自然、文化功能区清晰,块状经济特征明显,基层区之间的经济、文化、通勤和信息联系已经突破现在的市县行政区边界,按照综合功能区的思想进行行政区划调整。总体上说,基于功能区的行政区划调整,对大城市地区或城市群地区,保证其物质环境和社会空间的快速和谐发展,有效利用资源,具有重要的科学意义和实用价值。     

Use of fly ash with no water consumption for cold regions transportation infrastructure

The construction period in cold regions is very short due to problems related to excavation and use of frozen soils in embankment construction, which leads to excessive deformations upon thawing. Also, handling of compaction water is critical due to freezing temperatures. Coalburning thermal power plants are very common in cold regions to supply electricity. The inorganic part of the pulverized coal after burning produces fly ash, which is available in large volumes. Due to excavation difficulties and the poor engineering behavior of frozen soils in cold regions, the utilization of fly ash when it is readily available must be promoted. Any construction technique which utilizes alternative materials like fly ash and minimizes water consumption has a potential to extend the short construction season and even allow service and maintenance during extreme weather conditions. This paper presents two potential techniques to solve the moisture affinity of silt-sized materials like fly ash. One technique involves in-plant production of fly ash pellets using cold-bonding pelletization to manufacture aggregates of up to 40,000-μm diameter from 15- to 60-μm-diameter fly ash grains. Large disc pelletizers have annual production capacities of up to one million ton at a reasonable cost. The product has adequate strength for embankment construction even when no water is used and no compaction is applied. The second technique is an in situ mixing technique which uses snow instead of compaction water for fly ash. The snow is the main element in this technique to compact the embankment. Water is needed for the hydration reactions to form cementitious minerals in fly ash. The slower the hydration reaction, the greater the crystal growth of cementitious minerals. In the proposed technique, in situ snow is mixed with fly ash and is compacted on-site. The temperature increase due to the hydration reaction of fly ash upon contact with snow crystals provides water for continued long-term hydration, which results in high strength, a high void ratio, light weight, and high thermal insulation capability. The presented techniques have the potential to extend the short construction season in cold regions and will provide fill material, decreasing the need for excavation. Both techniques are well documented under laboratory conditions, the research results have been published, and the techniques are ready for field trials to assess implementability.     

结构型式对寒区高铁路基冻结特征影响试验研究

哈尔滨至大连客运专线是我国在中-深季节冻土地区设计、建造和运营的第一条高速铁路,其独特的工程地质条件以及在低温环境下线路的苛刻要求引发的工程需求对寒区路基的稳定性问题提出了新的严峻挑战。通过在不同冻深区选择典型性路基断面,以用来监测路基的稳定性和冻结特征。并通过对运营后第1个冻融期内的监测数据分析发现,路基的结构型式对寒区高铁路基的冻结特征有着显著的差别性影响和制约作用。结果表明：对比路堑段的中部及其临近路堑进出口处的路堤段,路堤段存续有较长时间和较厚的冻结夹层,其堑-堤地温差值也随着纬度的增加而增加。同时发现在4月份的路基中存在有一定厚度的高温冻结夹层。而同一区域内,路堑的最大冻结深度要较路堤的冻结深度浅20～50 cm,但相反的是,路堑的最大变形却较路堤的要大2～5 mm,这种差值越向北越明显。同时在春融期内,路堑段的冻深变化速率在0上下剧烈波动,此时变形产生了突变式上升,而路堤段的冻深变化速率却在负值区内变化,变形并未发生明显的突变。