Analytical solutions of one‐dimensional infiltration before and after ponding

This paper is a continuation of previous research, which obtained a convenient solution for arbitrary surface fluxes before ponding. By means of Fourier Transformation this has been extended to derive analytical solutions of a linearized Richards' equation for arbitrary input fluxes after surface saturation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distribution of QSO absorption lines and its implications

The distribution of L absorption lines has been investigated in the fractal scheme. It is found that (1) the L absorption clouds distribute completely different from that of galaxies; (2) the L absorption clouds are anti-associated with galaxies and quasars. These results may imply that there are two kinds of objects formed by different processes of clustering. This is favourable for the cosmic-string theory on the formation of large-scale structure of the Universe. In the string model, the objects can be divided into two kinds according to their clustering with or without string loops as their initial density perturbation.On leave from the Center of Astrophysics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China. Y. Chu is a research fellow of Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation.     

FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC science mission update

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission is a microsatellite mission for weather forecast, climate monitoring, and atmospheric, ionospheric and geodesy research. This mission is a collaborative Taiwan-USA science experiment to deploy a constellation of six microsatellites in low Earth orbits. The mission life is 2 years with a goal of 5 years. The final mission orbit has an altitude of 750–800 km. Each satellite consists of three science payloads: global positioning system (GPS) occultation experiment (GOX) payload, tiny ionospheric photometer (TIP) and tri-band beacon (TBB). The GOX will collect the GPS signals for the study on atmosphere, ionosphere, and geodesy. The TIP and TBB can provide the electron distribution information for ionospheric research. The deployment of the FORMOSAT-3 constellation and the resulting influence on the occultation sounding distributions are reported. Details are also given on GOX, TIP, and TBB payload operations and the contributions of the Taiwan Science Team.     

Efficacy of Annual Bacteria Monitoring and Shock Chlorination in Wells Finished in a Floodplain Aquifer

Public health authorities generally recommend annual water-quality monitoring of rural water wells and shock chlorination if coliforms are detected. It is implicitly assumed that shock chlorination is effective in ridding most wells of bacteriological pathogens for months to years. Neither annual monitoring nor shock chlorination was effective in addressing coliform contamination of selected water wells in a small town developed on an alluvial aquifer where septic system effluents are impacting well water quality. Considerable temporal variation in total and fecal coliforms was observed in water wells monitored for a six-month period. Individual wells intermittently met and exceeded the drinking water criteria, indicating annual sampling was insufficient. Shock chlorination of three contaminated wells and their associated distribution systems proved ineffective because colonies apparently originated from outside the wells and reappeared over relatively short time periods (ranging from less than one week up to 21 weeks). The relatively fast and similar rate of recovery of total heterotrophic bacteria suggested they are related to biofilm formation in the wells and not to ground water contamination.     

面向多区域高效搜索的UUV集群任务分配

UUV 集群在执行大范围搜索任务时分配方案的优劣对于提高任务执行效率至关重要。研究解决 UUV 集群同时进行多区域搜索中的任务分配问题,使得全部区域搜索完成时长最小。针对传统匈牙利算法无法高效解决不平衡任务分配的问题,提出一种改进匈牙利多轮分配算法。该算法通过多轮任务分配,实现空闲 UUV 高效利用和目标区域合理分配,通过在代价函数中引入边际代价和保守估计时长,大大减小了全部区域搜索完成时长。仿真实验结果表明：提出的算法相比传统匈牙利算法能够合理分配空闲 UUV,提高分配效率。此外,相较于仅采用搜索时长为代价函数,在代价函数中引入边际代价和保守估计时长能够针对耗时长的区域最大限度缩短搜索时长,保证随着 UUV 数量的增加,全部区域搜索完成时长单调递减。     

Influence of heterogeneity on unsaturated hydraulic properties: (1) local heterogeneity and scale effect

Spatial heterogeneity is ubiquitous in nature, which may significantly affect the soil hydraulic property curves. The models of a closed‐form functional relationship of soil hydraulic property curves (e.g. VG model or exponential model) are valid at point or local scale based on a point‐scale hydrological process, but how do scale effects of heterogeneity have an influence on the parameters of these models when the models are used in a larger scale process? This paper uses a two‐dimensional variably saturated flow and solute transport finite element model (VSAFT2) to simulate variations of pressure and moisture content in the soil flume under a constant head boundary condition. By changing different numerical simulation block sizes, a quantitative evaluation of parameter variations in the VG model, resulting from the scale effects, is presented. Results show that the parameters of soil hydraulic properties are independent of scale in homogeneous media. Parameters of α and n in homogeneous media, which are estimated by using the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve (UHC) or the soil water retention curve (WRC), are identical. Variations of local heterogeneities strongly affect the soil hydraulic properties, and the scale affects the results of the parameter estimations when numerical experiments are conducted. Furthermore, the discrepancy of each curve becomes considerable when moisture content becomes closer to a dry situation. Parameters estimated by UHC are totally different from the ones estimated by WRC. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

加拿大萨斯喀彻温亚盆地某钾盐矿地质特征及其成因探讨

加拿大萨斯喀彻温亚盆地某矿区含钾盐矿层的属性母岩——草原蒸发岩具有良好的连续性,深度通常小于960m。矿石品级相对较高,K_2O舍量在9.26%~58.20%。草原蒸发岩内含有三个钾盐成矿段,分别为耐心湖(Patience Lake)含钾岩段、贝尔平原(Belle Prairie)含钾岩段、埃斯特黑齐(Esterhazy)含钾岩段。根据萨省的地球物理测井资料得出的钾盐厚度和品位数据,以及萨省政府最近发布的评估萨省钾盐资源潜力的资料,作者研究整理了萨省某区的地震、钻孔数据,预测了某区的优先勘探靶区,并对该地区的钾盐矿床地质成因做了初步探讨。