Analytical investigation of the exact groundwater divide between rivers beyond the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation

The groundwater divide is a key feature of river basins and significantly influenced by subsurface hydrological processes. For an unconfined aquifer between two parallel rivers or ditches, it has long been defined as the top of the water table based on the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation. However, the exact groundwater divide is subject to the interface between two local flow systems transporting groundwater to rivers from the infiltration recharge. This study contributes a new analytical model for two-dimensional groundwater flow between rivers of different water levels. The flownet is delineated in the model to identify groundwater flow systems and the exact groundwater divide. Formulas with two dimensionless parameters are derived to determine the distributed hydraulic head, the top of the water table and the groundwater divide. The locations of the groundwater divide and the top of the water table are not the same. The distance between them in horizontal can reach up to 8.9% of the distance between rivers. Numerical verifications indicate that simplifications in the analytical model do not significantly cause misestimates in the location of the groundwater divide. In contrast, the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation yields an incorrect water table shape. The new analytical model is applied to investigate groundwater divides in the Loess Plateau, China, with a Monte Carlo simulation process taking into account the uncertainties in the parameters.     

Rainfall intensity affects runoff responses in a semi-arid catchment

The source and hydrochemical makeup of a stream reflects the connectivity between rainfall, groundwater, the stream, and is reflected to water quantity and quality of the catchment. However, in a semi-arid, thick, loess covered catchment, temporal variation of stream source and event associated behaviours are lesser known. Thus, the isotopic and chemical hydrographs in a widely distributed, deep loess, semi-arid catchment of the northern Chinese Loess Plateau were characterized to determine the source and hydrochemical behaviours of the stream during intra-rainfall events. Rainfall and streamflow were sampled during six hydrologic events coupled with measurements of stream baseflow and groundwater. The deuterium isotope (²H), major ions (Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, Ca²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and Na⁺) were evaluated in water samples obtained during rainfall events. Temporal variation of ²H and Cl⁻ measured in the groundwater and stream baseflow prior to rainfall was similar; however, the isotope compositions of the streamflow fluctuated significantly and responded quickly to rainfall events, likely due to an infiltration excess, overland dominated surface runoff during torrential rainfall events. Time source separation using ²H demonstrated greater than 72% on average, the stream composition was event water during torrential rainfall events, with the proportion increasing with rainfall intensity. Solutes concentrations in the stream had loglinear relationships with stream discharge, with an outling anomaly with an example of an intra-rainfall event on Oct. 24, 2015. Stream Cl⁻ behaved nonconservative during rainfall events, temporal variation of Cl⁻ indicated a flush and washout at the onset of small rainfall events, a dilution but still high concentration pattern in high discharge and old water dominated in regression flow period. This study indicates rainfall intensity affects runoff responses in a semi-arid catchment, and the stored water in the thick, loess covered areas was less connected with stream runoff. Solute transport may threaten water quality in the area, requiring further analysis of the performance of the eco-restoration project.     

北京城市绿化的时空动态分析

城市绿化覆盖是城市生态系统的重要组成部分,合理的绿化率和绿化布局可以改善城市环境,提高城市人居适宜性。研究中将2005、2010、2015年北京市土地利用（LUC）数据中的城市居民用地作为城区范围,应用Landsat 5、GF-1影像数据和MODIS产品,利用支持向量机的监督分类方法,提取了2005、2010、2015年的北京市城市绿化覆盖数据,并获取了同期的植被指数（NDVI）数据;继而以城市绿化覆盖率、绿化覆盖均匀度和植被指数为评价指标,在公里栅格和行政区2个尺度上探讨了北京市城市绿化覆盖的空间分布格局和时间变化动态特征。研究表明：① 3个指标在空间和时间2个维度、区县和栅格2个尺度上都表现一致。这反映北京市过去10年中,在绿化面积增加的同时,绿化的空间布局得到优化改善,绿化的质量得到提高。② 2005-2015年,北京市城市绿化覆盖面积由518.93 km² 增加到1405.54 km²,绿化覆盖率由39.9%增加到49.13%,绿化覆盖均匀度由0.598增加到0.653,植被指数由0.42增加至0.5。③ 北京市城市绿化建设存在明显的时空差异。中心城区绿化建设缓慢,成效不明显;重大绿化建设成果主要集中在城市边缘地区和远郊区县。城市绿化改善过程主要发生在2005-2010年。     

规则池塘群的复杂直线模式识别

针对现有面要素直线模式识别方法难以解决规则池塘中破碎区域的问题,提出了一种规则池塘群的复杂直线模式识别方法。首先,分析了规则池塘群的空间特征和认知特点,提出了“主次关系→并列关系→直线模式→复杂直线模式”的多层次认知顺序;其次,设计了主次关系池塘组、并列关系池塘组、直线模式池塘群的识别方法;最后,构建了复杂直线模式池塘群的识别模型。试验表明:本文方法能够消除破碎区域对规则池塘群直线模式提取的不利影响,有效提升复杂直线模式识别的质量。     

Subsurface flow measurements using passive flux meters in variably-saturated cold-regions landscapes

To date, passive flux meters have predominantly been applied in temperate environments for tracking the movement of contaminants in groundwater. This study applies these instruments to reduce uncertainty in (typically instantaneous) flux measurements made in a low-gradient, wetland dominated, discontinuous permafrost environment. This method supports improved estimation of unsaturated and over-winter subsurface flows which are very difficult to quantify using hydraulic gradient-based approaches. Improved subsurface flow estimates can play a key role in understanding the water budget of this landscape.     

生态地理学概念界定及其经典案例分析

对生态地理学的概念进行了详细讨论和辨析,并将它与相近学科如生物地理学、生态地理区划、宏生态学等进行了比较分析,界定了生态地理学的概念。研究认为：生态地理学是生态学和地理学的交叉学科,是研究生态系统各组分关系和生态过程的地理空间分布格局或/和时间演变规律及其与地理环境耦合机制的学科。生态地理学的目的是揭示不同环境梯度下或不同时间尺度上生态系统各组分关系和生态过程的普适性规律及其成因。同时,结合国内外野外实验平台介绍,在全球变化等研究领域列举了经典案例进行分析：① 全球不同气候带森林凋落物分解和碳汇功能的研究;② 中国不同陆地生态系统碳通量和碳汇功能研究;③ 中国东北样带和南北样带陆地生态系统的脆弱性与适应性研究;④ 中国北方草地样带尺度的生态系统生态学研究。主要目的是在辨析生态地理学概念的基础上指出未来发展方向,推动生态地理学的发展。     

Effects of the geometry of two‐dimensional fractures on their hydraulic aperture and on the validity of the local cubic law

Flow through rough fractures is investigated numerically in order to assess the validity of the local cubic law for different fracture geometries. Two‐dimensional channels with sinusoidal walls having different geometrical properties defined by the aperture, the amplitude, and the wavelength of the walls' corrugations, the corrugations asymmetry, and the phase shift between the two walls are considered to represent different fracture geometries. First, it is analytically shown that the hydraulic aperture clearly deviates from the mean aperture when the walls' roughness, the phase shift, and/or the asymmetry between the fracture walls are relatively high. The continuity and the Navier–Stokes equations are then solved by means of the finite element method and the numerical solutions compared to the theoretical predictions of the local cubic law. Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.066 to 66.66 are investigated so as to focus more particularly on the effect of flow inertial effects on the validity of the local cubic law. For low Reynolds number, typically less than 15, the local cubic law properly describes the fracture flow, especially when the fracture walls have small corrugation amplitudes. For Reynolds numbers higher than 15, the local cubic law is valid under the conditions that the fracture presents a low aspect ratio, small corrugation amplitudes, and a moderate phase lag between its walls.     

Spatial patch structure and adaptive strategy for desert shrub of Reaumuria soongorica in arid ecosystem of the Heihe River Basin

In many arid ecosystems, vegetation frequently occurs in high-cover patches interspersed in a matrix of low plant cover. However, theoretical explanations for shrub patch pattern dynamics along climate gradients remain unclear on a large scale. This context aimed to assess the variance of the Reaumuria soongorica patch structure along the precipitation gradient and the factors that affect patch structure formation in the middle and lower Heihe River Basin (HRB). Field investigations on vegetation patterns and heterogeneity in soil properties were conducted during 2014 and 2015. The results showed that patch height, size and plant-to-patch distance were smaller in high precipitation habitats than in low precipitation sites. Climate, soil and vegetation explained 82.5% of the variance in patch structure. Spatially, R. soongorica shifted from a clumped to a random pattern on the landscape towards the MAP gradient, and heterogeneity in the surface soil properties (the ratio of biological soil crust (BSC) to bare gravels (BG)) determined the R. soongorica population distribution pattern in the middle and lower HRB. A conceptual model, which integrated water availability and plant facilitation and competition effects, was revealed that R. soongorica changed from a flexible water use strategy in high precipitation regions to a consistent water use strategy in low precipitation areas. Our study provides a comprehensive quantification of the variance in shrub patch structure along a precipitation gradient and may improve our understanding of vegetation pattern dynamics in the Gobi Desert under future climate change.

     

Time–space fractional governing equations of transient groundwater flow in confined aquifers: Numerical investigation

In order to model non‐Fickian transport behaviour in groundwater aquifers, various forms of the time–space fractional advection–dispersion equation have been developed and used by several researchers in the last decade. The solute transport in groundwater aquifers in fractional time–space takes place by means of an underlying groundwater flow field. However, the governing equations for such groundwater flow in fractional time–space are yet to be developed in a comprehensive framework. In this study, a finite difference numerical scheme based on Caputo fractional derivative is proposed to investigate the properties of a newly developed time–space fractional governing equations of transient groundwater flow in confined aquifers in terms of the time–space fractional mass conservation equation and the time–space fractional water flux equation. Here, we apply these time–space fractional governing equations numerically to transient groundwater flow in a confined aquifer for different boundary conditions to explore their behaviour in modelling groundwater flow in fractional time–space. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed time–space fractional governing equation for groundwater flow in confined aquifers may provide a new perspective on modelling groundwater flow and on interpreting the dynamics of groundwater level fluctuations. Additionally, the numerical results may imply that the newly derived fractional groundwater governing equation may help explain the observed heavy‐tailed solute transport behaviour in groundwater flow by incorporating nonlocal or long‐range dependence of the underlying groundwater flow field.     

300 BC-1900 AD无定河流域城镇时空格局演变

通过分析和整理从战国中晚期（约300 BC）至清末（约1900 AD）无定河流域历代县级及以上城址的位置、兴废年代数据,结合行政区划沿革、经济社会发展、政权更迭等资料,分析流域城镇格局的时空演变过程。研究表明：① 受气候周期性波动影响,无定河流域城镇的兴起与衰废具有明显的周期性特征,城镇几何中心的移动轨迹具有明显的“西北—东南”向潮汐性运动特征;② 城址存续年限普遍较短,具有明显的阶段性特征,流域内曾存在过4个阶段性中心城镇,中心城镇移动的方向和过程与城镇几何中心的潮汐性移动过程趋势一致;③ 流域城镇空间格局可分为3种类型,即秦汉与隋唐时期的沿河流谷地分布,宋、明两代的沿边境线与长城分布,以及元、清两代集中于流域下游分布。流域城镇未来的发展布局应重视气候变化对城镇分布的长期影响,关注区域环境的脆弱性,合理安排城镇体系发展规模与布局。