Design of stable drainage networks in upland forestry plantations

Erosion of man-made, forestry drainage channels occurs when the plough cuts through the surface peat layer into the underlying erodible mineral soil. A procedure is developed, based on hydraulic considerations, which will allow the drainage engineer to design stable drainage networks in upland forestry plantations. An example design chart is given for an erodible sandy loam type soil.     

Invariance and scaling properties in the distributions of contributing area and energy in drainage basins

The cumulative probability distributions for stream order, stream length, contributing area, and energy dissipation per unit length of channel are derived, for an ordered drainage system, from Horton's laws of network composition. It is shown how these distributions can be related to the fractal nature of single rivers and river networks. Finally, it is shown that the structure proposed here for these probability distributions is able to fit the observed frequency distributions, and their deviations from straight lines in a log-log plot.     

Subsidence due to peat oxidation and impact on drainage infrastructures in a farmland catchment south of the Venice Lagoon

Large agricultural areas reclaimed in the past century, south of the Venice Lagoon, have experienced significant land subsidence due to oxidation of peat organic soils. This has exposed the region to flood hazard particularly during severe storms and has contributed to increase the marginal management cost of the infrastructures (ditches, levees, pumping stations) designed to operate the drainage system. Direct measurements and indirect evidence from the channel network suggest a land settlement between 1.5 and 2 m over the past 70 years. This paper provides an overview of the problem with important information on its most recent evolution.     

Fan beheading and drainage diversion as evidence of a 3200-2800 BP earthquake event in the Esmeraldas-Tumaco seismic zone: A case study for the effects of great subduction earthquakes

The San Lorenzo area belongs to the Esmeraldas–Tumaco seismic zone where some of the strongest earthquakes of South America occurred during the 20th century. This paper provides evidence for a succession of geomorphic changes characterized by the disruption of the Quaternary drainage network and the reshaping of the Cayapas–Santiago estuary. The rise of the La Boca uplift bordered by the La Boca and San Lorenzo faults is responsible for the southward diversion of the Palabi, Tululbi, Bogotá and Carolina rivers toward the Santiago and Cayapas rivers. The increase of the discharge directed to the Cayapas River generated the change of the channel pattern downstream from the confluence, and the avulsion of a new estuary through the coastal plain. According to the dating of beach ridges the avulsion occurred in the period 3200–2800 BP. This period corresponds also to a faster accretion of the beach ridge margin, interpreted as a response to a small uplift of the shore. The coherency of the three morphologic evidences—diversion of drainage network, avulsion and increase of coastal accretion—suggest a unique morphotectonic event, in relation with the activity of the Esmaraldas–Tumaco seismic zone. The opening of a direct communication through the mangrove margin may have brought favorable conditions for the development of the La Tolita archaeological site after 3000 BP.     

Observations Of Nocturnal Drainage Flow In A Shallow Gully

The formation of cold air drainage flows in a shallow gully is studied during CASES-99 (Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study). Fast and slow response wind and temperature measurements were obtained on an instrumented 10-m tower located in the gully and from a network of thermistors and two-dimensional sonic anemometers, situated across the gully. Gully flow formed on clear nights even with significant synoptic flow. Large variations in surface temperature developed within an hour after sunset and in situ cooling was the dominant factor in wind sheltered locations. The depth of the drainage flow and the height of the down-gully wind speed maximum were found to be largest when the external wind speed above the gully flow is less than 2 m s^-1. The shallow drainage current is restricted to a depth of a few metres, and is deepest when the stratification is stronger and the external flow is weaker. During the night the drainage flow breaks down, sometimes on several occasions, due to intermittent turbulence and downward fluxes of heat and momentum. The near surface temperature may increase by 6 ° C in less than 30 min due to the vertical convergence of downward heat flux. The mixing events are related to acceleration of the flow above the gully flow and decreased Richardson number. These warming events also lead to warming of the near surface soil and reduction of the upward soil heat flux. To examine the relative importance of different physical mechanisms that could contribute to the rapid warming, and to characterize the turbulence generated during the intermittent turbulent periods, the sensible heat budget is analyzed and the behaviour of different turbulent parameters is discussed.     

Drainage in finite-sized unsaturated zones

After the initiation of gravity drainage, water is often assumed to be either (a) draining under unit gradient, or (b) at capillary/gravity equilibrium. Both of these simplifications can be useful, but the regimes of validity of each assumption must be delineated. Water pressures are measured versus time and distance as water drains out of a 1.6 m long sand column to determine the relative effects of capillary and gravitational forces during drainage. For medium sized sands (0.15–0.3 mm in diameter), the capillary pressure is constant in space in a large region of the column for over 12 days, and the water continues to flow under unit gradient for relatively long time scales. Similar results are seen for finer sands, but with a much faster approach to equilibrium. Numerical simulations and analytical estimates are presented and compare favorably to the measurements. Together, the experimental, theoretical and analytical results are used to calculate when capillary/gravity equilibrium is reached as a function of porous media properties and length of the unsaturated zone. The ratio of the length of the unsaturated zone to the bubbling pressure is a key parameter in determining the drainage regime, and that even for relatively short unsaturated zones the equilibrium time scale can be on the order of years.     

Digital model of corrected accumulated flow for peak discharge data acquisition and drainage system design

The design of a drainage system for a roofing slate quarry was implemented by the enhancement of discharge peak estimation, and the uncertainty inevitably associated with the engineering model was reduced.

The development of a topographical, geological, and vegetation cover database developed from a Geographical Information System (GIS) allowed for the definition of the drainage network for a hydraulic system, along with the calculation of the runoff coefficient. This is applied to the digital model of accumulated flow (DMF) as a weight correction coefficient, using a matrix-based model at 5×5 m resolution. The new digital model of corrected accumulated flow (DMCF) is the result of combining the thematic maps with the map of slope <3%, which was previously created from the slope model. It is demonstrated that this new model allows to apply the “Rational Method” on cartographic units defined by the GIS.

The DMCF is compared with other traditional applications of the Rational Method based on the calculation of the discharge peak considering: (1) the drainage basin as a single watershed or (2) defining an average runoff coefficient in each sub-watershed. Both approaches have bigger discharge peaks than those obtained by the DMCF since the slope, lithology, and vegetation cover have average values, and the runoff coefficient is poorly defined, increasing the uncertainty in the discharge peak.     

甘肃陇南市武都区小水沟泥石流治理防治工程

2008年"5.12"汶川特大地震对甘肃省陇南市造成了严重危害。震后次生地质灾害对陇南市城镇村庄、交通和人民群众生命财产安全造成严重威胁。武都区蒲池乡小水沟震后产生了大量的崩塌、滑塌堆积体,一旦遭遇暴雨,极易发生泥石流灾害,直接危及小水沟沟口左岸九年制义务学校一座及沟口两岸居民,因此治理该泥石流沟是十分必要的。通过对当地暴雨特征、地层岩性、地质构造、泥石流固体物质源及形成的踏勘,针对该泥石流具有危险度高,流量大的特点,执行全面规划、重点治理的设计思路,采取了防护、生物工程相结合的综合防治措施。拦挡工程为有效发挥工程泻洪、拦渣、调节、固床、稳坡和控制固体物质补给量,预防沟道下切及沟壑发展,减少泥石流对下游村庄危害,起到了积极作用;生物工程的主要作用是稳固堤前砂土、减缓水石流流速、减小水石流对护堤的直接冲蚀和破坏、保障堤内居民生命财产安全和耕地的正常使用、增大植被覆盖率,绿化环境等。     

一种新的近似平行沟渠群的典型化方法

提出并实现了一种针对近似平行沟渠群的典型化方法。首先,建立沟渠的方位关系图,通过生成关系图中各连通分量的极大完全子图,提取近似平行的沟渠;然后,依据视觉认知规律定义沟渠间的认知距离,并基于最小生成树的剪枝对沟渠进行分组;接着,运用K-means ++算法对分组后的沟渠进行重新表达;最后,通过比较综合前后沟渠群的外轮廓相似性以及沟渠分布密度的差异,对典型化结果进行了评价。对广州市数据进行了实验,结果表明该方法能有效进行近似平行的沟渠群的典型化。     

Variable complexity of the US Continental Divide trace

Abstract

Map-view complexity of 65 contiguous segments of the conterminous US Continental Divide trace was evaluated by the divider method, with each segment’s geometry approximated by a fractal dimension (D) value, or two D values applying to fine and coarse scales of inspection. Results support a generalization that D values in the range 1.05–1.12 are typical for drainage divides viewed at regional to national scales. However about 20% of cases reviewed in this study are smoother (D = 1.01–1.04) or more complex (D = 1.13–1.18) traces. Complexities of these watershed boundary segments show no significant correlation with physiographic province or local relief. The primary influence of bedrock lithology and surface process is seen in zones of Quaternary volcanism, where uncommonly smooth and highly complex divide trace segments are more the rule than exception. Uncommonly smooth divide traces are also found descending mountain pediments in areas of parallel drainage, and some of the most tortuous traces are associated with drainage patterns disrupted by non-fluvial processes. Divide trace segments crossing terrain with uniform lithology show decreased complexity, but traces with the broadest range of complexity, including highest D values, occur in areas with moderate, not extreme, degrees of bedrock diversity.