Sediment-activation depth values for gentle and steep beaches

This paper analyzes methods and terminologies used in literature for the determination and characterization of vertical distribution of sediment-activation depth, which is bottom sediment layer affected by hydrodynamic processes. Studies on this topic include assessments carried out during short time spans, from minutes to few hours or longer periods, from a tidal cycle to several days. In the first case, activation is generally named “mixing depth” and is calculated by evaluating vertical distribution of fluorescent tracers. In the second case, it is referred to as “disturbance depth” and is generally evaluated using plugs of marked sand and rods, or rods with a loose-fitting washer. Vertical cross and longshore distribution of mixing and disturbance depth values, recorded in different works with different techniques, were also analyzed highlighting the conceptual differences between used methods and obtained results. In a further step, a data set from literature on this topic was gathered to obtain new formulations between disturbance depth and beach and wave characteristics as well as morphodynamic beach state, expressed throughout the surf scaling parameter and the surf similarity index. Good linear regressions were observed between these variables, obtaining expressions that can be easily used in a wide range of beach states, from dissipative and intermediate to reflective ones.     

Changes in soils and vegetation in a Mediterranean coastal salt marsh impacted by human activities

This paper reports changes in vegetation distribution and species cover in relation to soil factors and hydrology in a semiarid Mediterranean salt marsh adjacent to the Mar Menor saline lagoon. Species cover, soil salinity, and the groundwater level were monitored between 1991 and 1993 and between 2002 and 2004, and total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrates, ammonium and exchangeable phosphorus were measured in the soils in both study periods. In addition, three soil profiles were described in August 1992 and August 2004. The results indicate an elevation of the water table throughout the 13-year period, which was attributable to water flowing from areas with intensive agriculture. Flooding increased and soil salinity dropped in the most saline sites and increased in the least saline ones. The morphology of the soil profiles reflected the increase in flooding periods, due to the appearance of a greyer matrix in the deeper horizons and a more diffuse pattern of Fe mottles. Following these environmental changes, Sarcocornia fruticosa, Phragmites australis and Juncus maritimus strongly expanded at the wettest sites, which led to the disappearance of the original zonation pattern. The cover of Limonium delicatulum, in turn, decreased with the increase in moisture but increased following the increase in salinity. Changes in soil nutrients were only very evident in the sandy soils of the beach, probably due to the influence of organic debris deposited on the shoreline by the storms and due to the strong increase in the colonisation of this habitat by perennial species. According to the results obtained, control measures are needed in order to preserve habitat diversity in this and other salt marshes of this area. Monitoring of the vegetation distribution could be a useful tool to identify environmental impacts, in order to implement remedial actions.     

A response‐based decoupling criterion for multiply‐supported secondary systems

It is often infeasible to carry out coupled analyses of multiply‐supported secondary systems for earthquake excitations. ‘Approximate’ decoupled analyses are then resorted to, unless the response errors due to those are significantly high. This study proposes a decoupling criterion to identify such cases where these errors are likely to be larger than an acceptable level. The proposed criterion is based on the errors in the primary system response due to decoupling and has been obtained by assuming (i) the input excitation to be an ideal white noise process, (ii) cross‐modal correlation to be negligible, and (iii) the combined system to be classically damped. It uses the modal properties of the undamped combined system, and therefore, a perturbation approach has been formulated to determine the combined system properties in case of light to moderately heavy secondary systems. A numerical study has been carried out to illustrate the accuracy achieved with the proposed perturbation formulation. The proposed decoupling criterion has been validated with the help of two example primary‐secondary systems and four example excitation processes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The palaeolimnology of Lake Fidler, a meromictic lake in south-west Tasmania and the significance of recent human impact

Three meromictic lakes in the World Heritage Area of south-west Tasmania possess unusual microbiological communities. Their meromixis is maintained by periodic incursions of brackish water from the nearby Gordon River which, in its lower reaches, is a salt-wedge estuary. In 1977 the construction of a dam in the middle reaches of the river restricted penetration of the salt-wedge and meromixis rapidly declined in all three lakes. A palaeolimnological study was carried out on one of the lakes, Lake Fidler, firstly to determine the history of meromixis and its associated microbiological communities, and secondly to assess whether the recent and rapid decline of meromixis is inconsistent with natural rates of development of the Gordon River meromictic lakes. One part of this study included the analysis of the stratigraphy of fossil diatoms from a 17-metre sediment core dating back 8000 yrs. Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Analog Matching were used to compare diatom species assemblages in core samples with diatom samples from a reference dataset consisting of a selection of lake and river sites in the lower Gordon River valley. Five distinct stratigraphic zones were identified in the core. These zones indicated specific stages in the development of the Gordon River lakes from river backwaters to ectogenically-maintained meromictic lakes which will, finally, become terrestrialised by encroaching rainforest. The onset of a stratified water column was identified by the emergence of a dominant freshwater algal flora which suggested that the lake had developed a mixolimnion and become meromictic ca. 2070 ± 50 ¹⁴C yrs ago. In the context of this long history of meromixis, the rapid demise in meromictic stability following construction of the dam is judged to be inconsistent with natural rates of development. The palaeolimnological studies, of which this paper is one part, prompt recommendations for a management strategy to prevent the further decay of these meromictic lakes in the World Heritage Area.     

RIVER SYSTEM AND DISTURBANCE FACTORS IN THE LAKE TOBA

Situated at an elevation of 905 m above sea level in the Province of North Sumatra, Lake Toba and its surrounding landscapes are regarded as a natural heritage in a certain extent, as a quoted national treasure. Unfortunately degradation of the land and water resources in the watershed along Lake Toba is taking place at an alarming and totally unacceptable rate. The quality of the lake is partly depended on input the quality of the rivers. When compared to the control area the water quality that influenced by the piggeries are highly polluted. It can be concluded that the Salbe River at the downstream of the piggeries has been polluted and apparently it is a serious problem to the catchment area management. It should be noted that the polluted river would influence the water quality of the Lake Toba. Based on calculation, the permissible BOD5 according to B- river standard is 238 mg/L, it means the river still in B standard but the condition and quality are decreasing continuously. Following the Indonesian health standard the permissible BOD is - 461 mg/L. It means BOD in the river should be reduced 461 mg/L or clean program is needed.     

SIMULATION OF BOUNDARY LAYER EFFECTS ON A HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT CAUSED BY A MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM OVER THE YELLOW RIVER MIDSTREAM AREA

A heavy rainfall event caused by a mesoscale convective system (MCS), which occurred over the Yellow River midstream area during 7–9 July 2016, was analyzed using observational, high-resolution satellite, NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, and numerical simulation data. This heavy rainfall event was caused by one mesoscale convective complex (MCC) and five MCSs successively. The MCC rainstorm occurred when southwesterly winds strengthened into a jet. The MCS rainstorms occurred when low-level wind fields weakened, but their easterly components in the lower and boundary layers increased continuously. Numerical analysis revealed that there were obvious differences between the MCC and MCS rainstorms, including their three-dimensional airflow structure, disturbances in wind fields and vapor distributions, and characteristics of energy conversion and propagation. Formation of the MCC was related to southerly conveyed water vapor and energy to the north, with obvious water vapor exchange between the free atmosphere and the boundary layer. Continuous regeneration and development of the MCSs mainly relied on maintenance of an upward extension of a positive water vapor disturbance. The MCC rainstorm was triggered by large range of convergent ascending motion caused by a southerly jet, and easterly disturbance within the boundary layer. While a southerly fluctuation and easterly disturbance in the boundary layer were important triggers of the MCS rainstorms. Maintenance and development of the MCC and MCSs were linked to secondary circulation, resulting from convergence of Ekman non-equilibrium flow in the boundary layer. Both intensity and motion of the convergence centers in MCC and MCS cases were different. Clearly, sub-synoptic scale systems in the middle troposphere played a leading role in determining precipitation distribution during this event. Although mesoscale systems triggered by the sub-synoptic scale system induced the heavy rainfall, small-scale disturbances within the boundary layer determined its intensity and location.     

基于三维激光扫描技术的钢结构扰度检测及应用

钢结构在长期荷载及不均匀受力的作用下会产生空间变形,其中扰度是其重要的衡量指标。通常采用全站仪采集钢结构轴线上若干特征点进行分析、计算,由于钢结构特征点难以捕捉,测量存在误差,并且有限的空间离散点难以全面反应钢结构空间变形。本文采用徕卡RTC360三维激光扫描进行钢结构扰度测量;介绍了其作业流程及数据处理方法;利用标靶将各个测站的三维点云拼接成一个整体;采用拟合的方法提取空间特征点及轴线;利用三维点云构建空间模型,并与设计模型进行碰撞分析;可全面地反映钢结构的空间变形情况。     

中国大陆密度和地震波速扰动异常的年龄属性研究

大陆动力学研究需要物质随空间和时间的变化的信息。三维密度和地震波速度扰动图像反映岩石圈物质的空间分布,要和大地构造学中的时间尺度信息综合起来,才能恢复动力学作用的过程。本文通过对比不同构造期的构造图和地壳不同深度的地球物理性质图像,研究中国大陆密度以及地震波速度扰动和构造事件的相关度。研究表明,岩石圈地幔的密度和波速扰动和现今板块构造的相关度是高的,说明岩石圈地幔的密度大黏度高,不仅地震波速快得多,物质蠕动的速度也比下地壳慢得多,板块运动产生的变形保存时间比较久。中国大陆中地壳的密度扰动和白垩纪以来的构造事件的相关度是高的,说明中地壳的密度扰动主要反映了白垩纪以来的构造事件。中国大陆上地壳结晶基底的密度扰动和侏罗纪以来的构造事件的相关度是高的,说明上地壳的密度扰动可以反映燕山期的构造事件。对于中国大陆而言,下地壳的波速变化和板块构造没有明显的相关性;不过下地壳深层的密度扰动也反映新构造期的构造事件。其原因可能是因为下地壳的物质黏度比较低,物质蠕动的速度比岩石圈地幔快得多,板块运动产生的变形不容易保存。总之,应用不同深度的密度扰动图像分别推测不同地质时期的地壳构造运动发生的地点和范围是可...