Effects of critical source area on sediment yield and streamflow

The spatial discretization scale determines the degree to which the spatial heterogeneity of the surface condition and the stream network can be represented. Discretization scale can have a significant impact on watershed model results, with respect to both hydrology and water quality. The impact of critical source area (CSA) on simulated water yield for each cell can be assessed for streamflow and run‐off using the Annualized Agricultural Non‐Point Source (AnnAGNPS) model. The total number of cells simulated for the six watersheds ranged from 8 to 352 for various CSA combinations. Increasing the number of subwatersheds increased water and sediment yield in many watersheds. Increasing the number of cells influences the depiction of land use and soil type accordingly and therefore influences run‐off. The applied CSAs were also compared with topographic parameters such as average cell slope, average channel slope and length to width ratio of each watershed.     

基于网格的道路网交通量统计算法及其在VISUM中的实现

道路交通流量数据的记录、统计一般是基于路段的。在城市道路规划、建设与管理工作中,需要从区域的角度对道路交通相关数据进行统计,就需要一种简便的工具将基于路段的数据纳入不同区域范围的对象中。由此提出一种基于网格的道路网交通量统计算法,并在VISUM软件中通过编写脚本文件实现该算法的应用。该方法为路段数据提供更多的空间统计信息,可辅助用于城市道路网规划、建设、管理相关工作的决策。     

基于GIS的公路安全信息管理系统研究及应用

利用GIS技术手段建立了唐山市道路信息电子数据库和道路网络,在Visual Stidio2008平台基础上,进行Web GIS唐山市公路安全信息管理系统的开发,实现了集城市公路安全评价决策分析、交通事故影响范围缓冲分析、交通事故紧急救援最佳路径分析等功能于一体的数字化公路安全信息管理系统。     

基于GIS区域边坡失稳灾害预测与评价

 滑坡和泥石流是边坡失稳后两种主要的运动方式,是山区重大的地质灾害。对既往滑坡和泥石流进行研究,以此作为基础来预测和评价本地区潜在的滑坡和泥石流灾害,是防灾减灾的一个重要措施。大多数泥石流是在强降雨的情况下,由滑坡滑入山谷河道而形成的。基于地理信息系统(GIS)和数值模型相结合的方法,采用两步骤方法预测和评价日本熊本县水俣市宝川区集地区的滑坡和泥石流灾害。首先分析该区域可能存在的新滑坡,然后假定这些滑坡在遇到强降雨时形成泥石流,利用数值模拟流动过程分析其在三维复杂地形下的泛滥过程,预测可能受害的房屋和路段。     

滑坡发生地周围类似滑坡再发分析及灾害评价

在具有相同和类似工程地质条件的山丘地区，其边坡破坏形式及滑坡灾害往往表现为相同和相近的特征，因此在分析大范围山丘区域内的滑坡灾害时，对既往滑坡破坏及灾害的研究可用于邻近区域滑坡灾害再发可能性分析。在调查和分析了发生于日本熊本地区的一边坡破坏及其灾害的机理后，采用边坡三维稳定性分析推求了适应邻近区域边坡稳定性分析的物理力学参数；同时将邻近的研究区域划分为边坡单元，对各边坡单元采用Monte Carlo模拟方法并基于边坡稳定性分析的极限平衡模型搜索了最不利的三维滑体；对照既往滑坡破坏及灾害的影响范围，对整个区域内的可能不稳定滑体的可能影响溪流及影响范围进行了分析，同时在与该地区的道路建筑物等地理信息系统数据集进行叠加后得出了今后可能受灾的民宅及路段。     

箱型框架桥顶进工作基坑的变形预测

既有铁路或公路下箱型框架顶进工作基坑的稳定性问题,具有不同于一般基坑的显著特征。依据变形预测理论,根据既有铁路下箱型框架顶进施工工作基坑的变形特征,建立了箱型框架桥顶进施工工作基坑的变形预测模型和方法。某既有铁路下箱型框架顶进工作基坑围护结构顶部与周边地下管线沉降和围护结构侧向水平位移的预测结果表明,所建立的箱型框架桥顶进工作基坑预测方法具有良好的预测效果,具有利用时间序列中的前一区间中的数据精确地预测随后区间的变形、并能及时地将预测进行修正的特点,可为类似于箱型框架桥顶进工作基坑这类施工工况特殊、周边环境复杂、变形量大且变形变化迅速的基坑施工提供即时预测。     

Reducing sediment inputs to Scottish streams: a review of the efficacy of soil conservation practices in upland forestry

The historical process by which a soil conservation strategy has evolved within the UK forestry industry is briefly reviewed. Particular attention is given to the development of practical and effective guidelines to prevent both soil damage and sediment entering water courses. It is concluded that the 'Forest and Water Guidelines', together with other forest industry manuals, largely provide adequate protection for aquatic habitats from pre-afforestation cultivation and from harvesting activities. The problem of soil erosion owing to ploughing of open furrows has largely been obviated by improved drainage network design coupled with the use of vegetated buffer strips and sediment catchpits. Alternative site preparation techniques, such as 'moling' or 'dolloping' of afforestation sites, are now preferred. However, the effects on slope hydrology and the improved soil conservation associated with these methods require quantifying. Additional understanding of effective buffer strip function, for example, on a variety of slope angles, soil types and vegetation associations would be beneficial. The design of forest roads and the associated network of drains, culverts and sediment catchpits is addressed in forestry guidelines. Future potential in this area may involve the use of Geographical Information Systems in the effective design of road networks which minimise adverse effects on slope hydrology. Similarly computer simulation of flow routing might aid in the design of road drain networks. At the more local scale there remains scope for further research aimed at minimising soil disturbance by machinery. Consideration should also be given to the long-term sustainability of the soil structure through second and subsequent crop rotations.     

The effects of unpaved roads on suspended sediment concentration at varying spatial scales – a case study from Southern Brazil

Unpaved roads may induce adverse effects on downstream water resources by increasing suspended sediment concentration (SSC). This study documents the localized impacts on stream SSC of six unpaved road–stream crossings in the rural Guabiroba River Catchment, in southern Brazil. Results demonstrated that SSC values downstream of road–stream crossings was between 3.5 and 10 times higher than upstream SSC at all third‐ and fourth‐order stream locations. However, downstream values were statistically undistinguishable from those collected upstream of road–stream crossings at fifth‐order sampling sites. These findings suggest that localized road effects on stream SSCs are scale‐dependent in that these are important for low‐order headwater streams yet undetectable for their higher order counterparts. Findings point to the importance of low‐order stream crossings in increasing SSC and the need to further explore the role of unpaved roads as agents of water quality degradation in agriculturally active rural settings.     

高架下匝道与前方地面跨线桥交织长度验算

介绍了高架道路下匝道设置与地面道路的3种关系模型。以下匝道设置在地面道路中间、部分地面车流提前分流至匝道外侧这种模型为例,提出了下匝道前方有地面跨线桥的地面道路模型。嘉闵高架在曹安公路节点处设置的1对匝道,受净空限制,下匝道与前方跨线桥之间的间距仅120 m。根据交通流量预测资料,应用VISUM软件验算交织长度是否满足流量需求。结果显示,交织段交织车辆的平均行驶速度可以达到40 km/h,能够满足交织段的需求,为工程设计提供了理论依据。     

Impact of different parts of unpaved forest roads on runoff and sediment yield in a Mediterranean area

Surface runoff and sediment production on unpaved forest roads in a humid Mediterranean mountainous area has been studied using a simple portable rainfall simulator at an intensity of 90 mm h^− 1. Thirty six rainfall simulations were carried out on road plots: on the roadbank (12), on the sidecast fill (12), and on the roadbed (12). On the roadbanks, the steady-state runoff coefficient was 85.9% and runoff flow appeared after 63 s on average. On the sidecast fills, the steady-state runoff coefficient was 58.6% and mean time to runoff was 48 s. Finally, on the roadbeds, the steady-state runoff coefficient was 21.5% and mean time to runoff was 41 s. The highest soil loss rate was found on the roadbanks (486.7 g m^− 2), mainly due to low plant cover, soil texture and rock fragments. The total soil erosion on the roadbanks was 3 and 18 times higher than those from the roadbeds and the sidecast fills, respectively. As a consequence, roadbanks can be considered the main source of sediments on the studied sites, but the function of unpaved forest roads as source points for runoff generation is more important.     

Agricultural sediment reduction using natural herbaceous buffer strips: a case study of the east African highland

Buffer strips are permanently vegetated areas situated immediately adjacent to streams and provide an efficient and economical way to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural areas, but no studies exist of their effectiveness from the East African highlands. We thus evaluated the sediment filtering capabilities of natural herbaceous buffer strips under tropical highland climatic conditions. Overland flow samples were collected at field edges and at various positions in herbaceous buffers and tested for total suspended sediment, nitrate‐nitrogen and total phosphorus. There was a significant effect (P < 0.05) of distance from field edge on the mean values of nutrients. On average, a 10.0 m herbaceous buffer reduced the total phosphorus by 99%, total suspended sediment by 94% and nitrate‐nitrogen by 85%. Altogether, the results suggest that herbaceous buffer strips are important to include in watershed management in agriculturally dominated tropical highlands in order to control sediment loss, stream siltation and the washout of nutrients.     

Fine sediment influence on salmonid spawning habitat in a lowland agricultural stream: a preliminary assessment

Spawning habitat utilized by Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) and Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) was characterized in a 1.6-km reach of the Newmills Burn, a small, highly canalized tributary of the River Don in Aberdeenshire. The Newmills Burn is typical of the intensively farmed lower sub-catchments of the major salmon rivers on the east coast of Scotland. Such streams have substantial potential in providing spawning and juvenile habitat for salmonids, with high redd densities resulting in egg deposition rates of > 5 m2. However, in comparison with upland spawning tributaries draining less intensively managed catchments, canalization and intensive cultivation has seriously degraded the physical characteristics of aquatic habitats in many streams. In the Newmills Burn, spawning gravels have a relatively high (> 20% by mass) fine sediment (< 2 mm in size) content. The burn is characterized by hydraulic conditions that are suitable for salmonid spawning, with modal velocities of 0.50-0.65 m s(-1) and depths of 0.20-0.25 m. However, infiltration of fine sediments into gravels is rapid during hydrological events in the winter months. Thus, complete siltation of open gravel matrices (simulated redds) can occur within a week, and probably within a single moderate to large storm event. Appreciable, but small, deposition of organic and silt/clay particles can also affect spawning gravels. Egg mortalities in redds following spawning are variable, but can be as high as 86% in the Newmills Burn. This may be related to fine sediment infiltration, reduced permeability of spawning gravels and reduced oxygen supply to ova. It appears that the main cause of high influx is sediment loads mobilized from intensively managed land. It is suggested that fundamental changes to the management of agricultural land is required if fish habitats are to be improved and degraded streams are allowed to re-naturalize. The need for closely focused investigations of the causal relationships between fine sediment infiltration and egg survival is stressed.     

Biofilm in the sediment phase of a sanitary gravity sewer

Microbial activity of the sediment phase in a 1.5-km-long concrete sewer section with a cement pipe in a 540-mm diameter was investigated in this paper. SEM examinations and elementary composition analyses of the sediment samples have identified the presence of a biofilm layer at the sediment surface. Bacterial counting results with a DNA-staining technique have revealed that the amount of bacteria in this layer was 2.1 x 10(11)cellg(-1) dry wt, which is close to that of activated sludge. ATP content in the sewer biofilm was found relatively high, demonstrating that the sewer biofilm is active. Throughout the entire 1.5-km sewer section, the biofilm activity was maintained at almost the same level. Lab-scale sediment oxygen uptake flux (SOUF) tests showed that the shear flow velocity above the sediment phase linearly increases the SOUF, which of the potential value was determined to be 32gO(2)m(-2) day(-1) at an estimated shear flow velocity of 0.055ms(-1) at 25 degrees C in the sewer line, provided that the mean flow velocity was 1.5ms(-1), and the mean water depth was 220mm. Such a high SOUF value further endorsed the existence of the active sewer biofilm.     

A model for predicting resuspension of Escherichia coli from streambed sediments

To improve the modeling of water quality in watersheds, a model is developed to predict resuspension of Escherichia coli from sediment beds in streams. The resuspension rate is expressed as the product of the concentration of E. coli attached to sediment particles and an erosion rate adapted from work on sediment transport. The model uses parameter values mostly taken from previous work, and it accounts for properties of the flow through the bottom shear stress and properties of the sediment through the critical shear stresses for cohesive and non-cohesive sediment. Predictions were compared to resuspension rates inferred from a steady mass balance applied to measurements at sixteen locations in a watershed. The model’s predictions matched the inferred rates well, especially when the diameter of particles to which E. coli attach was allowed to depend on the bottom shear stress. The model’s sensitivity to the parameters depends on the contributions of particle packing and binding effects of clay to the critical shear stress. For the current data set, the uncertainty in the predictions is controlled by the concentration of E. coli attached to sediment particles and the slope used to estimate the bottom shear stress.     

动态路径智能泊车引导系统(IPGS)的结构与模型

实际生活中停车场中的空车位是实时变化的,道路交通状况也是一个动态变化的不定值。本文首先介绍了在这些动态变化的约束条件下,基于GIS的城市智能泊车引导系统的结构;其次针对城市交通路网的复杂性和不确定性,提出了一种基于模糊综合评判(FCE)的动态路径引导模型。利用该模型对一组模拟道路信息和路况信息进行了预测,并对预测结果进行了比较和分析。该模型算法简捷,预测结果精度较高。     

Wavelet and ANN combination model for prediction of daily suspended sediment load in rivers

In this research, a new wavelet artificial neural network (WANN) model was proposed for daily suspended sediment load (SSL) prediction in rivers. In the developed model, wavelet analysis was linked to an artificial neural network (ANN). For this purpose, daily observed time series of river discharge (Q) and SSL in Yadkin River at Yadkin College, NC station in the USA were decomposed to some sub-time series at different levels by wavelet analysis. Then, these sub-time series were imposed to the ANN technique for SSL time series modeling. To evaluate the model accuracy, the proposed model was compared with ANN, multi linear regression (MLR), and conventional sediment rating curve (SRC) models. The comparison of prediction accuracy of the models illustrated that the WANN was the most accurate model in SSL prediction. Results presented that the WANN model could satisfactorily simulate hysteresis phenomenon, acceptably estimate cumulative SSL, and reasonably predict high SSL values.     

Development of a Data‐Driven Framework for Real‐Time Travel Time Prediction

Travel time prediction is one of the most important components in Intelligent Transportation Systems implementation. Various related techniques have been developed, but the efforts for improving the applicability of long‐term prediction in a real‐time manner have been lacking. Existing methods do not fully utilize the advantages of the state‐of‐the‐art cloud system and large amount of data due to computation issues. We propose a new prediction framework for real‐time travel time services in the cloud system. A distinctive feature is that the prediction is done with the entire data of a road section to stably and accurately produce the long‐term (at least 6‐hour prediction horizon) predicted value. Another distinctive feature is that the framework uses a hierarchical pattern matching called Multilevel k‐nearest neighbor (Mk‐NN) method which is compared with the conventional k‐NN method and Nearest Historical average method. The results show that the method can more accurately and robustly predict the long‐term travel time with shorter computation time.     

Effect of different land use on soil erosion in the pre-alpine fringe (North-East Italy): Ion budget and sediment yield

Data concerning ion budget from rainfall, runoff and soil loss measurements from two experimental plots located in North-East Italy, under different land cover (beech forest and vineyard, respectively), are reported. The chemical composition of rainfall, soil solution and runoff was determined to study the solute cycle within the soil, and the relationships between water, soil and vegetation. The forest ecosystem is more prone to acidification than the agricultural one; the elemental concentration of runoff water is considerably lower than that of soil solution. Comparing the ion input (rainfall) and output (runoff) at the two sites, it was possible to estimate the ion budget in the two soil-vegetation systems. The runoff amount and the ion balance are related to rainfall volumes and composition; the measured runoff under vineyard is 59% in comparison to the one under beech. The soil loss at the two experimental sites (170 kg/ha and 132 kg/ha, respectively) is quite limited. The measured sediment yield of the two catchments (0.24-0.19 t/ha/year, respectively) is consistent with data reported for native forests of western Europe. Comparing rainfall and soil loss at the two sites proved that maintenance of some form of land cover is advisable if runoff and erosion are to be minimized. In the European context, where the most important consequences of erosion are sedimentation downstream and loss of productivity, this type of data will yield valuable information for the understanding of such processes occurring at catchment scale, and will help policy-makers develop appropriate programs for the territory safeguard.     

Waterway transitions at US bridges

Stream and river management projects are implemented to improve water quality, stream function, aquatic habitat and aesthetics, and provide mitigation for road construction. In contrast, bridge maintenance activities are undertaken to convey water, sediment and debris beneath bridges at high flows. Road crossings can have a significant influence on local hydraulics and sediment transport, resulting in an altered flow pattern that can cause backwater, increased erosion, debris and sediment deposition and channel instability. Thus, managing rivers and streams that include one or more road crossings requires some knowledge of the flow hydraulics over a range of flows in order to create a smooth, stable transition through the bridge opening. In-stream structures, such as vanes and weirs, can help to transition flow, sediment and debris through a bridge opening. The use of these in-stream structures at road crossings, and scenarios for planning projects where road crossings intercept the project reach, are presented.     

Soil erosion and sediment yield and their relationships with vegetation cover in upper stream of the Yellow River

Soil erosion is a significant concern when considering regional environmental protection, especially in the Yellow River Basin in China. This study evaluated the temporal-spatial interaction of land cover status with soil erosion characteristics in the Longliu Catchment of China, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. SWAT is a physical hydrological model which uses the RUSLE equation as a sediment algorithm. Considering the spatial and temporal scale of the relationship between soil erosion and sediment yield, simulations were undertaken at monthly and annual temporal scales and basin and sub-basin spatial scales. The corresponding temporal and spatial Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) information was summarized from MODIS data, which can integrate regional land cover and climatic features. The SWAT simulation revealed that the annual soil erosion and sediment yield showed similar spatial distribution patterns, but the monthly variation fluctuated significantly. The monthly basin soil erosion varied from almost no erosion load to 3.92 t/ha and the maximum monthly sediment yield was 47,540 tones. The inter-annual simulation focused on the spatial difference and relationship with the corresponding vegetation NDVI value for every sub-basin. It is concluded that, for this continental monsoon climate basin, the higher NDVI vegetation zones prevented sediment transport, but at the same time they also contributed considerable soil erosion. The monthly basin soil erosion and sediment yield both correlated with NDVI, and the determination coefficients of their exponential correlation model were 0.446 and 0.426, respectively. The relationships between soil erosion and sediment yield with vegetation NDVI indicated that the vegetation status has a significant impact on sediment formation and transport. The findings can be used to develop soil erosion conservation programs for the study area.