A model of oscillatory transport in granular soils, with application to barometric pumping and earth tides

A simple algebraic model is proposed to estimate the transport of a volatile or soluble chemical caused by oscillatory flow of fluid in a porous medium. The model is applied to the barometric pumping of vapors in the vadose zone, and to the transport of dissolved species by earth tides in an aquifer. In the model, the fluid moves sinusoidally with time in the porosity of the soil. The chemical concentration in the mobile fluid is considered to equilibrate with the concentration in the surrounding matrix according to a characteristic time governed by diffusion, sorption, or other rate processes. The model provides a closed form solution, to which barometric pressure data are applied in an example of pore gas motion in the vadose zone. The model predicts that the additional diffusivity due barometric pumping in an unfractured vadose zone would be comparable to the diffusivity in stagnant pore gas if the equilibration time is 1 day or longer. Water motion due to the M2 lunar tide is examined as an example of oscillatory transport in an aquifer. It is shown that the tidal motion of the water in an aquifer might significantly increase the vertical diffusivity of dissolved species when compared to diffusion in an absolutely stagnant aquifer, but the hydrodynamic dispersivity due to tidal motion or gravitational flow would probably exceed the diffusivity due to oscillatory advection.     

利用Google Earth研究构造对喀斯特地貌的控制和对碳酸盐岩岩系风化成土的影响

通过互联网Google Earth欧洲卫星图像资料的观察,发现贵州喀斯特地区碳酸盐岩风化成土能力与地层岩性、构造和地貌等密切相关。二叠系生物礁石漠化显著,成土能力差;三叠系大冶组薄层灰岩成土能力高,很少有石漠化;地层倾角大的碳酸盐岩区,石漠化不显著;地层平缓的碳酸盐岩区,石漠化强或中等,碳酸盐岩风化成土能力中等。另外,大型节理带对碳酸盐岩风化成土具有明显的控制作用,节理带碳酸盐岩溶蚀相对强烈,常形成低洼地形,碳酸盐岩风化成土速率较高,红粘土堆积相对厚,不容易石漠化;而节理带间的区域往往地形较高,是石漠化易发育的区域。     

电梯接地保护与检验

良好的接地保护是维护电梯正常运行的重要措施,同时为检修作业人员的安全提供强有力的保障,因此是电梯检验中一个重要的项目。文章先对接地保护的概念进行澄清,接着介绍低压系统的几种接地型式,通过比较得出适用于电梯的接地系统,最后结合检规的要求介绍了有关的检验方法并指出日常检验中接地线存在的问题。     

外源稀土在土壤中各形态的动态变化

在小麦整个生长期内定期测定外源稀土进入土壤后各形态稀土随时间的变化,结果为:外源稀土进入土壤后可交换态稀土含量随时间的延长显著降低,减少的可交换态稀土一部分被小麦吸收,一部分被土壤所吸附,其中在分蘖期减少得最快;根系的分泌活动明显影响土壤中稀土元素的存在形态,铁锰氧化物结合态稀土含量在拔节期前逐渐增加,拔节期后略有下降;碳酸盐结合态稀土含量随时间的延长而降低,但下降幅度较小;有机物结合态与残渣态稀土含量随时间的延长没有发现明显的变化.     

低能耗低成本排气消声器的研制

利用正交设计方法对汽车的排气消声器进行优化设计 ,弄清了不同参数对消声器性能的影响和变化规律。通过正交设计 ,使新消声器的各项指标得到提高。     

The influence of air–fuel ratio on engine performance and pollutant emission of an SI engine using ethanol–gasoline-blended fuels

Ethanol–gasoline-blended fuel was tested in a conventional engine under various air–fuel equivalence ratios (λ) for its performance and emissions. The amount of fuel injection was adjusted manually by an open-loop control system using a CONSULT controller. It was found that without changing throttle opening and injection strategy, λ could be extended to a leaner condition as ethanol content increased. The results of engine performance tests showed that torque output would increase slightly at small throttle valve opening when ethanol–gasoline-blended fuel was used. It was also shown that CO and HC emissions were reduced with the increase of ethanol content in the blended fuel, which resulted from oxygen enrichment. At an air–fuel equivalence ratio slightly larger than one, the smallest amounts of CO and HC and the largest amounts of CO₂ resulted. It was noted that under the lean combustion condition, CO₂ emission was controlled by air–fuel equivalence ratio; while under the rich combustion condition, CO₂ emission is offset by CO emission. It was also found that CO₂ emission per unit horse power output for blended fuel was similar or less than that for gasoline fuel. From the experimental data, the optimal ethanol content in the gasoline and air–fuel equivalence ratio in terms of engine performance and air pollution was found.     

绿色机动车—燃料电池汽车

简要叙述了燃料电池汽车的技术特点，主要有：能量转化效率高，ＣＯ２排放量比内燃机汽车低，基本不产生有毒气体，不要充电。在此基础上较详细地介绍了世界各国的燃料电池汽车研究现状，并针对上海市机动车污染严重的现状，提出了发展燃料电池汽车及其相关产业的建议。     

Considering connections between Hollywood and biodiversity conservation

Cinema offers a substantial opportunity to share messages with a wide audience. However, there is little research or evidence about the potential benefits and risks of cinema for conservation. Given their global reach, cinematic representations could be important in raising awareness of conservation issues and species of concern, as well as encouraging greater audience engagement due to their heightened emotional impact on viewers. Yet there are also risks associated with increased exposure, including heightened visitor pressure to environmentally sensitive areas or changes to consumer demand for endangered species. Conservationists can better understand and engage with the film industry by studying the impact of movies on audience awareness and behavior, identifying measurable impacts on conservation outcomes, and engaging directly with the movie industry, for example, in an advisory capacity. This improved understanding and engagement can harness the industry's potential to enhance the positive impacts of movies featuring species, sites, and issues of conservation concern and to mitigate any negative effects. A robust evidence base for evaluating and planning these engagements, and for informing related policy and management decisions, needs to be built.     

The effects of relative humidity on the insecticidal properties of a diatomite‐based dust

Abstract

The feasibility of using diatomaceous earth (diatomite) as an insecticidal dust was investigated under conditions of high (80%) and low (10%) relative humidity, using the adult red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Tested were diatomite and two lots of a commercial formulation of the same diatomite, containing 0.2% pyrethrins and 1.0% piperonyl butoxide. For comparison, talcum and a talcum‐based commercial formulation, containing the same concentrations of pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide, were included in the tests. The insects were exposed to 0.08 mg/cm² of each material tested, equivalent to the label recommendation of 7 lb/acre for the diatomite‐based commercial insecticide. At 10% RH, higher doses of diatomite were also tested. Mortalities were determined at intervals for up to 84 hours.

Diatomite caused no mortalities at the experimental concentration, regardless of RH. At about four times that rate and 10% RH, it caused less than 5% mortality.

At 80% RH, the diatomite‐based product (P. C. P. Act #14074) was significantly more effective than the talcum‐based one (#13074). At 10% RH, however, the latter acted more quickly than the diatomite‐based formulations, but all produced nearly 100% mortality after 68 hours.

The results are discussed in terms of the physical characteristics of diatomite and in terms of the modes of insecticidal actions of diatomite and pyrethrins. It is concluded that diatomite alone, despite its attractiveness to environmental interests, is not likely to become an effective agent for controlling red flour beetles and other pest insects with similar water‐proofing mechanisms.     

Democratising planetary boundaries: experts,social values and deliberative risk evaluation in Earth system governance

ABSTRACT

Recent debates about the concept of planetary boundaries recall longstanding concerns about whether ecological limits are compatible with ecological democracy. The planetary boundaries framework (originally set out in Rockström et al., 2009a, 2009b) defines values for key Earth-system processes such as climate change and biodiversity that aim to maintain a ‘safe’ distance from thresholds or levels that could endanger human wellbeing. Despite having a significant impact in policy debates, the framework has been criticised as implying an expert-driven approach to governing global environmental risks that lacks democratic legitimacy. Drawing on research on deliberative democracy and the role of science in democratic societies, we argue that planetary boundaries can be interpreted in ways that remain consistent with democratic decision-making. We show how an iterative, dialogical process to formulate planetary boundaries and negotiate ‘planetary targets’ could form the basis for a democratically legitimate division of labour among experts, citizens and policy-makers in evaluating and responding to Earth-system risks. Crucial to this division of evaluative labour is opening up space for deliberative contestation about the value judgments inherent in collective responses to Earth-system risks, while also safeguarding the ability of experts to issue warnings about what they consider to be unacceptable risks.