Temporal trends in agricultural water use and the relationships to hydroclimatic factors in the High Plains aquifer region

The High Plains aquifer (HPA) is the primary water source for agricultural irrigation in the US Great Plains. The water levels in many locations of the aquifer have declined steadily over the past several decades because the rate of water withdrawals exceeds recharge, which has been a serious concern to the water resources management in the region. We evaluated temporal trends and variations in agricultural water use and hydroclimatic variables including precipitation, air temperature, reference evapotranspiration, runoff, groundwater level, and terrestrial water storage across the HPA region for different periods from 1985 to 2020 at the grid, county, or region scale. The results showed that water withdrawals decreased from 21.3 km³/year in 1985 to 18.2 km³/year in 2015, while irrigated croplands increased from 71,928 km² in 1985 to 78,464 km² in 2015 in the entire HPA. The hydroclimatic time-series showed wetting trends in most of the northern HPA, but drying and warming trends in the southern region from 1985 to 2020. The groundwater level time-series indicated flat trends in the north, but significant declining in the central and southern HPA. Trends in irrigation water withdrawals and irrigation area across the HPA were controlled by the advancement of irrigation systems and technologies and the management of sustainable water use, but also were affected by dynamical changes in the hydroclimatic conditions.     

Effect of admixture of solid inertant on fire hazard of dust layers oriented at varying degrees of inclination

Unlike metallic dust layers, the layer flammability levels (LFL) of non-metallic dust layers exhibit a wide range from Class 1 (No self-sustained combustion) to Class 6 (explosive combustion). However, determinations of layer flammability have not considered the effect of inclination angle, thereby potentially underestimating fire hazard of combustible dust layers in many industrial situations. In this research, inclined dust layers showed greater fire hazard than did horizontally oriented dust layers. For example, LFL of wood dust jumped from class 3 to class 5 when layers were positioned with an incline. Flame spread rate of PMMA dust layers increased from 1.8 to 3.6 mm/s when the angle of inclination increased from 0 to 40°. Even small amounts of solid inertant significantly decreased surface layer fires. The required amount of inertant to completely inert layer fires was far less than that for smoldering layer fires or dust explosions.     

Confidence-based quantitative risk analysis for offshore accidental hydrocarbon release events

Quantitative risk analysis (QRA) has been widely used to conduct the assessment of offshore accidental risks. However, the accuracy and validity of QRA is significantly affected by uncertainties when subjective judgments are involved. Therefore, it is unrealistic to determine the probability of a hazardous event by using one single explicit value when safety experts have a relatively low confidence level in their judgments. This paper proposes a new methodology for incorporating uncertainties into conventional QRA using the concept of confidence level. Offshore hydrocarbon release hazards are focused on and a barrier and operational risk analysis (BORA-Release) method is selected as the basic model to illustrate the proposed methodology. A left–right (L–R) bell-shaped fuzzy number is employed and its membership curve is able to control its shape to represent different confidence levels. As to the complex geometry of the bell-shaped fuzzy number, an α-cut operation is introduced to conduct the arithmetic operations of the fuzzy number, and a defuzzification method with total integral value is chosen to match the α-cut operations and acquire complete information for the fuzzy numbers. In the meantime, an optimism index is used to describe the attitude of the decision-maker. One case study is provided in this paper to demonstrate the implementation of this method.     

高突矿井大采高工作面瓦斯抽采技术及实践

为解决大采高厚煤层工作面回采期间瓦斯超限难题,应用顶板走向长钻孔中位钻孔和下临近层底板定向长钻孔等瓦斯抽采措施,对回采面瓦斯进行了多源头治理。通过对顶板走向长钻孔的抽采效果考察,确定其垂直层位为40±5 m范围、水平层位为50±10 m范围为最佳瓦斯抽采区域;中位钻孔合理的垂直层位为20 m左右,水平层位为45~50 m范围抽采效果最佳;下临近层底板定向长钻孔是拦截下部5#煤和7#煤向上部采掘空间涌出瓦斯的有效手段,其最佳的水平层位为距巷道轮廓线20 m范围,垂直层位为钻孔布置在下临近层煤层中。通过对3种不同瓦斯治理措施的综合评价考察,确定顶板走向长钻孔是治理回采面最为有效的措施,其抽采量占工作面回采期间总抽采量的79.6%,中位钻孔抽采和下临近层底板定向长钻孔抽采是回采面回采期间的辅助性措施。措施使用后,工作面上隅角瓦斯浓度保持在0.4%~0.6%之间,有效保证了工作面的安全高效回采。     

驾驶机舱LED灯光色温与人员警觉度关系仿真实验研究

为了探讨驾驶机舱内LED灯光色温与人员警觉度的联系,在A320模拟驾驶舱内设置2 500～2 700 K,3 000～3 200 K,6 000～6 500 K 3种不同色温的LED灯光环境,采用卡斯罗林嗜睡量表（KSS）、闪光融合临界频率仪（CFF）、视觉舒适度评分量表（VCS）,对5名被试人员在不同灯光环境的疲劳程度和视觉舒适度进行实时测量。针对测量结果,采用方差分析及描述性统计的数据分析方法,评价被试人员于不同灯光环境下的疲劳程度、视觉舒适度的差异性及变化情况。研究结果表明:高色温LED灯光环境下,人员的主观嗜睡感受及客观疲劳感受较低,且有着较低的疲劳感受增长率;高色温LED光源下人员的视觉舒适度也较高;增高LED灯光色温可一定程度上提升人员的警觉性。     

天空蓝色饱和程度与城市空气质量等级的相关性

以大气散射理论为基础,结合颜色学、大气环境监测及城市空气质量日报等相关原理,从理论分析与实证研究2个方面证实了天空蓝色饱和程度与城市空气质量等级之间存在着显著的负相关性,即:天空蓝色饱和程度越低,空气污染等级越高,空气质量状况越差;天空蓝色饱和程度越高,空气污染等级较低,空气质量状况越好;通过相关及回归分析与检验,制得“城市空气质量等级目测色卡”,适用于晴朗天气肉眼观察天空颜色,进而目测估计空气质量等级状况,以采取必要防护措施。     

Morphologic development, relative sea level rise and sustainable management of water and sediment in the Ebre Delta, Spain

The Ebre (Ebro) Delta is one of the most important wetland areas in the western Mediterranean. Ca. 40 % of the delta plain is less than 0.5 m above mean sea level and part of the southern margin of the delta is at mean sea level in an area protected by dikes. Both mean rates of secular subsidence in the Ebre Delta and eustatic sea level rise are ca. 1 – 2 mm/yr. Thus, the present annual relative sea level rise (RSLR) rate in the Ebre Delta may be at least 3 mm/yr. Measured accretion rates in the delta range from 4 mm/yr in the wetlands surrounding the river mouth to <0.1 mm/yr in impounded salt marshes and rice fields. The annual sediment deficit in the delta plain to offset RSLR is close to 1 million m³/yr. Accretion rates in the rice fields prior to the construction of large dams in the Ebre watershed were higher than RSLR rates, from 3 – 15 mm/yr. At present, >99 % of the riverine sediments are retained in the reservoirs and rice fields are losing ca. 0.2 mm/yr. Future management plans should take RSLR into account and include control of freshwater and sediment flows from the river in order to offset negative effects from waterlogging and salt intrusion, and maintain land elevation. This will include the partial removal of sediments trapped behind the Ribarroja and Mequinença dams. Stocks and inputs of sediments in the corresponding reservoirs are large enough for land elevation of ca. 50 cm in the whole delta plain. Advantages of this solution include (1) new sediments to the delta to offset subsidence (via rice fields) and coastal retreat, (2) enhanced functioning of the delta (productivity and nutrient processing), (3) avoidance of accumulation of sediments in the reservoirs. Hence, it is important to manage river discharges at the dams from an integrated viewpoint, whereas currently only hydropower and agricultural requirements are considered. It is also crucial to maintain periods of high discharge, to have enough river energy to transport as much sediments as possible.     

中国农田生态系统土壤碳库的饱和水平及其固碳潜力

在利用反硝化-分解(DNDC)模型估算中国分县农田土壤碳库及其变化量的基础上,分析中国分省农田土壤碳库的饱和水平,估算各省市自治区农田土壤的固碳潜力,比较旱田与水田固碳能力的差异。结果表明:笔者所得到的中国农田土壤碳库的饱和水平可代表在1990年的土地利用方式、耕作措施、施肥水平和气候条件不变的情况下农田土壤经过耕种后所能达到的碳含量的平衡值,为农田选择土地利用方式、耕作栽培措施和施肥方式以固定更多的碳素提供依据。在分布上,中国农田土壤碳库的饱和水平以华北地区较低,以华北地区为中心向外呈辐射状递增。在1990年的土地利用方式、耕作措施、施肥水平和气候条件不变的情况下,中国农田土壤的固碳潜力为-0.969 Pg。从单位面积的固碳潜力看,以西藏自治区最高,黑龙江省最低;从分布看,从南向北有逐渐递减的趋势。中国水田比旱田有更大的固碳能力。     

某矿区老硐口毁闭爆破空气冲击波效应的评价

本文就某金矿区在对非法开采的平硐进行毁闭爆破时产生的空气冲击波的效应进行了分析评价,指出空气冲击波对附近村庄民房不构成破坏,只是由于强烈的爆破噪音给人以恐怖感,干扰了附近居民宁静正常的生活和生产。     

乌江流域县域社会经济发展的综合评价与分析

在简要阐述了县域社会经济发展综合评价原则的基础上,建立了悬域社会经济发展综合评价的指标体系,利用层次分析法确定了各评价因子的权重。接着以乌江流域为例,对流域内４０个县域的社会经济发展水平进行了定量评价,指出了流域内县域社会经济发展中存在的问题,并提出了相应的对策,旨在为促进乌江流域的县域社会经济协调发展提供某些科学依据。