Natural and human forcing in recent geomorphic change; case studies in the Rio de la Plata basin

An analysis of geomorphic system's response to change in human and natural drivers in some areas within the Río de la Plata basin is presented. The aim is to determine whether an acceleration of geomorphic processes has taken place in recent years and, if so, to what extent it is due to natural (climate) or human (land-use) drivers. Study areas of different size, socio-economic and geomorphic conditions have been selected: the Río de la Plata estuary and three sub-basins within its watershed. Sediment cores were extracted and dated (²¹⁰Pb) to determine sedimentation rates since the end of the 19th century. Rates were compared with time series on rainfall as well as human drivers such as population, GDP, livestock load, crop area, energy consumption or cement consumption, all of them related to human capacity to disturb land surface. Data on river discharge were also gathered. Results obtained indicate that sedimentation rates during the last century have remained essentially constant in a remote Andean basin, whereas they show important increases in the other two, particularly one located by the São Paulo metropolitan area. Rates in the estuary are somewhere in between. It appears that there is an intensification of denudation/sedimentation processes within the basin.Rainfall remained stable or varied very slightly during the period analysed and does not seem to explain increases of sedimentation rates observed. Human drivers, particularly those more directly related to capacity to disturb land surface (GDP, energy or cement consumption) show variations that suggest human forcing is a more likely explanation for the observed change in geomorphic processes. It appears that a marked increase in denudation, of a “technological” nature, is taking place in this basin and leading to an acceleration of sediment supply. This is coherent with similar increases observed in other regions.     

五大发展理念视角下的南流江流域综合管理研究

随着"创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享"五大发展理念的提出,广西壮族自治区在新时期对重要江河的流域管理方面有了新的要求。为了适应新的发展理念,以南流江流域为例,开展了流域综合管理方面的专项分析研究。研究发现,南流江流域存在着水文灾害多发、环境污染较严重、地下水超采、水土流失等一些自然问题以及法律法规不健全、流域管理机构单薄、规划不完善、忽视公众力量和缺乏新技术支撑等一些社会管理方面的问题,在这种背景下以前的流域管理模式显然已不再适用。因此,针对研究结果,基于五大发展理念,借鉴国外成功的经验并结合南流江流域的实际情况提出了一些相应的对策与建议,以提升流域的综合管理水平。     

吐哈盆地致密砂岩气成藏条件与有利勘探领域分析

结合致密砂岩气藏特征及成藏条件,认为哈密四道沟低产含气区为典型的致密砂岩气藏发育区,有望通过新型大型压裂试油采出工艺技术攻关,获得稳定的工业气流,盘活哈密四道沟大型致密砂岩气藏。根据致密砂岩气勘探理论,认为吐哈盆地具备发育大型致密砂岩气藏的基本地质条件。分析认为吐哈盆地发育胜北、丘东、小草湖、哈密、托克逊五大成煤领域,气源岩条件优越,源储一体,紧密接触,致密砂岩气藏成藏条件好;巴喀水西沟群气藏的发现及大面积活跃的油气显示展示了吐哈盆地巨大的致密砂岩气勘探潜力。     

3D Numerical Simulation for Water Flows and Sediment Deposition in Dam Areas of the Three Gorges Project

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) mathematical model for suspended load transport in turbulent flows. Based on the stochastic theory of turbulent flow proposed by Dou, numerical schemes of Reynolds stresses for anisotropic turbulent flows are obtained. Instead of a logarithmic law, a specific wall function is used to describe the velocity profile close to wall boundaries. The equations for two-dimensional suspended load motion and sorting of bed material have been improved for a 3D case. Numerical results are in good agreement with the measured data of the Gezhouba Project. The present method has been employed to simulate sediment erosion and deposition in the vicinity of the Three Gorges Dam. The size distribution of the deposits and bed material, and flow and sediment concentration at different times and elevations, are predicted. The results agree well with the observations in physical experiments. Thus, a new method is established for 3D simulation of sediment motion in the vicinity of dams.     

A fugacity based continuous and dynamic fate and transport model for river networks and its application to Altamaha River

In this paper, a continuous and dynamic fugacity-based contaminant fate and transport model is developed. The dynamic interactions among all phases in the physical domain are addressed through the use of the fugacity approach instead of the use of concentration as the unknown variable. The full form of Saint Venant equations is used in order to solve for the hydrodynamic conditions in the river network. Then a fugacity-based advection-dispersion equation is modeled to examine the fate and transport of contaminants in the river network for all phases.The fugacity-based, dynamic and continuous contaminant fate and transport model developed here is applied to Altamaha River in Georgia, USA to demonstrate its use in environmental exposure analysis. Altamaha River is the largest river system east of Mississippi which offers habitat for many species, including about 100 rare endangered species, along its 140 mile course. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a highly hydrophobic and toxic chemical ubiquitous in nature, and atrazine, the most commonly-used agricultural pesticide are modeled as contaminants in this demonstration. Through this approach the concentration distribution of PCBs and atrazine in the water column of Altamaha River as well as the sediments can be obtained with relative ease, which is an improvement over concentration based analysis of phase distribution of contaminants.     

The Distribution Characteristics and Geological Significance of Inclusion Trace Elements in Silurian Oil-containing Sandstones in the Central Tarim Basin

Trace elements of fluid inclusion in 16 Silurian oil-containing sandstones from 10 wells in Tazhong area were performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), the distribution characteristics were analyzed, and their demonstrative geological significance was deeply discussed. The results show that the abundance of trace element varied markedly in the same well field or different well fields, the distribution rule of the main trace elements is that the abundance is increasing as a whole from down structure location to structural high. Variation characteristics of single trace element are consistent with the trace element suite, which reflects Silurian hydrocarbons in Tazhong area migrated toward structural high or stratigraphic pinch-out direction, from northwest to southeast on the plane. Therefore, trace elements of fluid inclusion can provide effective evidence for studying oil and gas migratory direction.     

长江口水域砂矿资源及其合理开发利用

长江河口地区水下砂体发育形成了良好的砂矿资源,具有开发利用前景.分析砂矿资源的分布特点、沉积规律与物质组成,探讨合理利用的途径及其开发过程中须注意的环境地质问题.水域砂矿资源可为长江口岸带经济圈的基础建设与土地增殖提供重要物质来源.     

USGS Streamflow Data and Modeling Sand-Bed Rivers

United States Geological Survey streamflow data are commonly used for hydraulic model calibration and boundary conditions. The transitory nature of sand-bed rivers’ bathymetry is problematic for the traditional automated stream gauging methods used by the USGS. This note seeks to assess the limitations of streamflow measurements for use in hydraulic models. An overview of USGS rating-curve development and use is presented with a focus on the specific challenges of sand-bed rivers. Measurements from three consecutive USGS gauges for a storm event on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, illustrate the outlined problems with rating curves. These gauges are utilized to study the impact of uncertainty in rating-curve discharges on hydraulic model results. A one dimensional hydraulic model of the study reach indicates up to 25% reduction in the calculated flow depth if questionable rating-curve discharges are used as model input. Recommendations for using USGS streamflow data in hydraulic models are outlined.     

Measurement of the flood discharge of a small-sized river using an existing digital video recording system

In this study, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system, installed for surveillance purposes, is utilized to measure the flow rate during a flood. The procedure to determine both the angle and scale-factor of the camera is described. Then, image analysis techniques, namely the direct visual measurement method, Large-Scale PIV (LSPIV) and Space-Time Image Velocimetry (STIV), are applied to the video images recorded by the CCTV camera. The results of these methods and the conventional float measurement are compared. In addition, the accuracy of the respective methods is discussed. A set of low-quality video images of a flood during a thunderstorm that occurred under the dark ambient conditions (midnight) is analyzed using three image-based methods. The transition of the flow rate during the event is successfully estimated.