The Eltanin asteroid impact: possible South Pacific palaeomegatsunami footprint and potential implications for the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition     

James Goff  Catherine Chagué‐Goff  Michael Archer  Dale Dominey‐Howes  Chris Turney 《第四纪科学杂志》2012,27(7):660-670

Large asteroid impacts are rare, and those into the deep ocean are rarer still. The Eltanin asteroid impact around 2.51 ± 0.07 Ma occurred at a time of great climatic and geological change associated with the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. Numerical models of the event indicate that a megatsunami was generated, although there is debate concerning its magnitude and the region‐wide extent of its influence. We summarise the existing evidence for possible Eltanin megatsunami deposits in Antarctica, Chile and New Zealand, while also examining other potential sites from several locations, mainly around the South Pacific region. In reviewing these data we note that these events were unfolding at the same time as those associated with the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary and, as such, most of the geological evidence from that time has a climatic interpretation. The potential climatic and geological ramifications of the Eltanin asteroid impact, however, have failed to be considered by most researchers studying this time period. Although we are not advocating that all geological activity at that time is connected with the Eltanin asteroid impact, it raises interesting questions about the role potentially played by such catastrophic events in contributing to or even triggering epochal transitions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Anticipating the effects of groundwater withdrawal on seawater intrusion and soil settlement in urban coastal areas     

Josep Mas‐Pla  Agustí Rodríguez‐Florit  Manel Zamorano  Carles Roqué  Anna Menció  David Brusi 《水文研究》2013,27(16):2352-2366

Intensive pumping in urban coastal areas is a common threat to water resource quality due to seawater intrusion. In those areas where subsurface water resources are not usually used for human consumption or irrigation, intensive pumping is associated with other activities like the lowering of the water table necessary to support underground structures and building foundations. This activity also increases the likelihood of soil settlement that affects building stability and the corrosion of concrete structures due to groundwater salinity. Under these circumstances, the awareness of a certain municipality (Calonge, NE Spain) of the potential effects of groundwater withdrawal upon foundations has led to an integrated approach to anticipate seawater intrusion related to urban development. Geological mapping and correlation of borehole logs, electrical resistivity tomography, and hydrochemical data provide comprehensive knowledge of the geology and hydrogeology of the area and act as screening tools necessary to discern the influence of hydrological processes in coastal areas. Developing Strack's analytical solution, new comprehensive, dimensionless expressions are herein derived to determine the critical pumping rate necessary to prevent seawater intrusion, as well as to reproduce the evolution of the wedge toe and the water table stagnation point under different withdrawal rates. Furthermore, the Dupuit–Forchheimer well discharge formula allows the estimation of the effects of the water table lowering due to such critical pumping in the surrounding building foundations. Field data from the Calonge coastal plain illustrate this approach and provide assessment criteria for future urban development and planning. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Parallelization of the distinct lattice spring model     

Gao‐Feng Zhao  Jiannong Fang  Liang Sun  Jian Zhao 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2013,37(1):51-74

The distinct lattice spring model (DLSM) is a newly developed numerical tool for modeling rock dynamics problems, i.e. dynamic failure and wave propagation. In this paper, parallelization of DLSM is presented. With the development of parallel computing technologies in both hardware and software, parallelization of a code is becoming easier than before. There are many available choices now. In this paper, Open Multi‐Processing (OpenMP) with multicore personal computer (PC) and message passing interface (MPI) with cluster are selected as the environments to parallelize DLSM. Performances of these parallel DLSM codes are tested on different computers. It is found that the parallel DLSM code with OpenMP can reach a maximum speed‐up of 4.68× on a quad‐core PC. The parallel DLSM code with MPI can achieve a speed‐up of 40.886× when 256 CPUs are used on a cluster. At the end of this paper, a high‐resolution model with four million particles, which is too big to handle by the serial code, is simulated by using the parallel DLSM code on a cluster. It is concluded that the parallelization of DLSM is successful. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

The response of vegetation at the end of the last glacial period (MIS 3 and MIS 2) in littoral areas of NW Iberia     

Luis Gómez‐Orellana  Pablo Ramil‐Rego  Castor Muñoz Sobrino 《Boreas: An International Journal of Quaternary Research》2013,42(3):729-744

This paper describes and discusses the palaeobotanical data obtained from organic levels of two exposed deposits on the Atlantic shore of the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Radiocarbon dating assigns these levels to a period of marine regression at the end of MIS 3 and the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum. The pollen record shows an initial predominance of tree taxa (mainly deciduous, including the presence of Fagus far from its current limit), followed by an episode of partial forest retraction related to the end of MIS 3 and the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum. However, the presence of numerous tree taxa in the record, even during the cold intervals associated with Heinrich events, points to the existence of sheltered refugia for these species during this period, in keeping with the conclusions of recent reviews of the vegetation dynamics of this region for the Lateglacial and the Holocene.  相似文献   

Palaeoceanographic changes in the North Atlantic during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition (MIS 31–19) as inferred from planktonic foraminiferal and calcium carbonate records     

Iván Hernández‐Almeida  Francisco Javier Sierro  José‐Abel Flores  Isabel Cacho  Gabriel Michael Filippelli 《Boreas: An International Journal of Quaternary Research》2013,42(1):140-159

Marine sediments from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Project (IODP) Site U1314 (56.36°N, 27.88°W), in the subpolar North Atlantic, were studied for their planktonic foraminifera, calcium carbonate content, and Neogloboqudrina pachyderma sinistral (sin.) δ¹³C records in order to reconstruct surface and intermediate conditions in this region during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Variations in the palaeoceanography and regional dynamics of the Arctic Front were estimated by comparing CaCO₃ content, planktonic foraminiferal species abundances, carbon isotopes and ice‐rafted debris (IRD) data from Site U1314 with published data from other North Atlantic sites. Site U1314 exhibited high abundances of the polar planktonic foraminifera N. pachyderma sin. and low CaCO₃ content until Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 26, indicating a relatively southeastward position of the Arctic Front (AF) and penetration of colder and low‐salinity surface arctic water‐masses. Changing conditions after MIS 25, with oscillations in the position of the AF, caused an increase in the northward export of the warmer North Atlantic Current (NAC), indicated by greater abundances of non‐polar planktonic foraminifera and higher CaCO₃. The N. pachyderma sin. δ¹³C data indicate good ventilation of the upper part of the intermediate water layer in the eastern North Atlantic during both glacial and interglacial stages, except during Terminations 24/23, 22/21 and 20/1. In addition, for N. pachyderma (sin.) we distinguished two morphotypes: non‐encrusted and heavily encrusted test. Results indicate that increases in the encrusted morphotype and lower planktonic foraminiferal diversity are related to the intensification of glacial conditions (lower sea‐surface temperatures, sea‐ice formation) during MIS 22 and 20.  相似文献   

One‐dimensional consolidation with a threshold gradient: a Stefan problem with rate‐dependent latent heat     

Yang Zhou  Wan‐kui Bu  Meng‐meng Lu 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2013,37(16):2825-2832

During the process of one‐dimensional consolidation with a threshold gradient, the seepage front moves downward gradually, and the problem is indicated as a Stefan problem. The novel feature in this Stefan problem is a latent heat that varies inversely with the rate of the moving boundary. An exact solution for the external load that increases in proportion to the square root of time is constructed using the similarity transformation technique. Computational examples concerning the effect of different parameters on the motion of the seepage front are presented. The exact solution provides a worthwhile benchmark for verifying the accuracy of numerical and approximate methods. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Internal erosion of chemically reinforced granular materials: a mathematical modeling approach     

Tony Khalil  Nadia Saiyouri  Bogdan Muresan  Pierre‐Yves Hicher 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2013,37(5):491-502

Internal erosion (IE) affects the stability of natural and reinforced materials by causing instability within their granular structure. The dislodgement and transport of eroded particles affect both the particulate concentration of eroding fluid and the pore network of eroded material. In this study, we examined these modifications using a transport model with a finite element code. First, IE tests on chemically reinforced sand columns were performed to obtain information about eroded material loss of mass, particulate concentration of effluent, porosity and permeability modifications, and existing IE stages. Second, based on experimental results, a mathematical one‐dimensional model has been formulated to monitor the evolution and spatial distribution of erodible solids, fluidized particles, porosity, permeability, and seepage stresses. The model consists of a set of coupled nonlinear differential equations solved in sequence. It provides valuable information about the extent and the dynamics of structural changes, which can be used to estimate an IE time for the hydraulic work to reach failure. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Characterizing the hydraulic properties of unsaturated sand considering various porosities and drying‐wetting paths of the retention curve     

Kai‐yuan Ke  Yih‐Chi Tan  Chu‐Hui Chen  Hsien‐Tsung Lin 《水文研究》2013,27(4):592-604

Previous studies have shown that water retention curve (WRC) and the hydraulic conductivity vary because of changes of the void ratio or porosity of soil. However, limited documents pointed out the change of hydraulic properties of soil when compacted to different porosities while considering both of the drying and wetting processes of the WRC. This information is sometimes necessary for research like finger flow analysis or the occurrence of wetting and drying cycles as what would be seen in the field. Therefore, this study aims to examine the change of WRC characteristics with varied porosity considering both of the drying and wetting path in WRC by conducting a sand box experiment. Results show that the same type of sand compacted to various porosities have different hydraulic parameters. Hydraulic conductivities generally decrease with reduced porosities; shape parameter α of the van Genuchten equation (1980) linearly decreases with declining porosity and shape parameter n in a reversal manner for the sands of interest whether in the drying process or wetting process. The unsaturated properties of sand are further characterized by inspecting the variations of moisture content, matric suction and vertical displacement of soil body subject to periodic changes of the water level by another sand box experiment. The outcomes suggest that the saturated water content and residual water content are changing during the wetting–drying process, which can be an implication of the changed properties of WRC. The characteristics of volumetric deformation might be varied as well because of the observation of the dissimilar patterns of the changing vertical displacements among each wetting–drying process. Infiltration patterns of the sands also are identified through numerical modelling by introducing a constant infiltration flux from the surface followed by a no‐influx condition. Results indicate that less water accumulates in the sand near the surface for the sand compacted to higher porosity, but water can move deeper. Hydraulic conductivity is found as the prime factor dominating the evolvement of wetting fronts. However, shape parameters of water retention curves also affect the infiltration pattern to some extent. In addition, different sands with similar porosities can have quite different infiltrating characteristics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Abrupt behaviours of streamflow and sediment load variations of the Yangtze River basin,China     

Qiang Zhang  Vijay P. Singh  Chong‐Yu Xu  Xiaohong Chen 《水文研究》2013,27(3):444-452

Monthly sediment load and streamflow series spanning 1963–2004 from four hydrological stations situation in the main stem of the Yangtze River, China, are analysed using scanning t‐test and the simple two‐phase linear regression scheme. Results indicate significant changes in the sediment load and streamflow from the upper reach to the lower reach of the Yangtze River. Relatively consistent positive coherency relations can be detected between streamflow and sediment load in the upper reach and negative coherency in the middle and lower reaches. Interestingly, negative coherency is found mainly for larger time scales. Changes in sediment load are the result mainly of human influence; specifically, the construction of water reservoirs may be the major cause of negative coherency. Accentuating the human influence from the upper to the lower reach results in inconsistent correlations between sediment load and streamflow. Decreasing sediment load being observed in recent years has the potential to alter the topographical properties of the river channel and the consequent development and recession of the Yangtze Delta. Results of this study are of practical significance for river channel management and evaluation of the influence of human activities on the hydrological regimes of large rivers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Modelling combined open channel flow by artificial neural networks     

Han‐Chung Yang  Fi‐John Chang 《水文研究》2005,19(18):3747-3762

Combined open channel flow is encountered in many hydraulic engineering structures and processes, such as irrigation ditches and wastewater treatment facilities. Extensive experimental studies have conducted to investigate combined flow characteristics. Nevertheless, there is no simple relationship that can fully describe the velocity profiles in a turbulent flow. The artificial neural network (ANN) has great computational capability for solving various complex problems, such as function approximation. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the applicability of the ANN for simulating velocity profiles, velocity contours and estimating the discharges accordingly. The velocity profiles measured by an acoustic doppler velocimeter in the open channel of the Chihtan purification plant, Taipei, with different discharges at fixed measuring section and different depths are presented. The total number of data sets is 640 and the data sets are split into two subsets, i.e. training and validation sets. The backpropagation algorithm is used to construct the neural network. The results demonstrate that the velocity profiles can be modelled by the ANN, and the ANN constructed can nicely fit the velocity profiles and can precisely predict the discharges for the conditions investigated. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献