Thermal–moisture dynamics and thermal stability of active layer in response to wet/dry conditions in the central region of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau,China

The amount of rainfall varies unevenly in different regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with some regions becoming wetter and others drier. Precipitation has an important impact on the process of surface energy balance and the energy-water transfer within soils. To clarify the thermal-moisture dynamics and thermal stability of the active layer in permafrost regions under wet/dry conditions, the verified water-vapour-heat coupling model was used. Changes in the surface energy balance, energy-water transfer within the soil, and thickness of the active layer were quantitatively analyzed. The results demonstrate that rainfall changes significantly affect the Bowen ratio, which in turn affects surface energy exchange. Under wet/dry conditions, there is a positive correlation between rainfall and liquid water flux under the hydraulic gradient;water vapour migration is the main form under the temperature gradient, which indicates that the influence of water vapour migration on thermalmoisture dynamics of the active layer cannot be neglected. Concurrently, regardless of wet or dry conditions,disturbance of the heat transport by conduction caused by rainfall is stronger than that of convection by liquid water. In addition, when rainfall decreases by 1.5 times(212 mm) and increases by 1.5 times(477 mm), the thickness of the active layer increases by 0.12 m and decreases by 0.21 m, respectively. The results show that dry conditions are not conducive to the preservation of frozen soil;however, wet conditions are conducive to the preservation of frozen soil, although there is a threshold value. When this threshold value is exceeded, rainfall is unfavourable for the development of frozen soil.

Molecular dynamics simulations on the wet/dry self-latching and electric fields triggered wet/dry transitions between nanosheets:A non-volatile memory nanostructure

We design a nanostructure composing of two nanoscale graphene sheets parallelly immersed in water.Using molecular dynamics simulations,we demonstrate that the wet/dry state between the graphene sheets can be self-latched;moreover,the wet→dry/dry→wet transition takes place when applying an external electric field perpendicular/parallel to the graphene sheets(E;/E;).This structure works like a flash memory device(a non-volatile memory):the stored information(wet and dry states)of the system can be kept spontaneously,and can also be rewritten by external electric fields.On the one hand,when the distance between the two nanosheets is close to a certain distance,the free energy barriers for the transitions dry→wet and wet→dry can be quite large.As a result,the wet and dry states are self-latched.On the other hand,an E;and an E;will respectively increase and decrease the free energy of the water located in-between the two nanosheets.Consequently,the wet→dry and dry→wet transitions are observed.Our results may be useful for designing novel information memory devices.

Transformation and mechanisms of climate wet/dry change on the northern Tibetan Plateau under global warming:A perspective from paleoclimatology

The northern Tibetan Plateau is a climatically sensitive zone influenced by monsoon and westerly winds.In summer,water vapor transport can reach Qinghai Lake and the eastern section of the Qilian Mountains;in winter,westerly winds mainly control the climate.This article compares the wet/dry changes in the region during the mid-Holocene(MH)warm period,the medieval climate anomaly(MCA),the current warm period(CWP),and the future warm period from the perspective of paleoclimate.We found that the MH warm period was mainly affected by the orbit-controlled East Asian summer monsoon,and the region showed warm and humid climate characteristics.The MCA was mainly controlled by solar radiation,and there was a warm and dry phenomenon.The CWP and the future warm period are mainly controlled by the rise in temperature caused by the increase in greenhouse gases,and the climate is becoming more arid.The wet/dry patterns in the CWP and the future warm period in the next century on the northern Tibetan Plateau are similar to those in the MCA.Continued warming will lead to the expansion of the westerly belt and a gradually humid climate.The future wet/dry changes will be more similar to the MH warm period.

Change in Grain-Size Composition of Lignite under Cyclic Freezing-Thawing and Wetting-Drying

The paper presents the change in grain-size composition of lignite under cyclic freezing-thawing (FTC) and wetting-drying (WDC). The article shows that in the spring and autumn periods the lignites can be subjected to repeated freezing-thawing and wetting-drying, which determines the possibility of changing their grain-size composition and structure. Experimental studies in laboratory conditions on the influence of cyclic freezing-thawing (FTC) and wetting-drying (WDC) on the quality indicators of lignites have been carried out, their granulometric (fractional) composition has been studied. Freezing-thawing cycle conditions are as follows (FTC): minimum exposure temperature: -20°C;maximum: +5°C;relative humidity: 30%;number of processing cycles: 3. Wetting-drying cycles are as follows (WDC): drying temperatures are +20, +40, +60, +80°C, drying time 90 minutes, the coals are further subjected to rain (soaking) for a period of water saturation to humidity of 30% - 40% and dry again. The number of wetting-drying cycles is 3 times. The tests have revealed the destructive effects of FTC and WDC on the samples of lower metamorphic grade coal, and the cycles of wet-dry lead to the much higher yield of fine sizes (-6+0;-13+0 mm) than the cycles of freeze-thaw. Furthermore, it is found that the increase in the yield of fines depends on the heating temperature: coal disintegration proceeds more intensively at a higher temperature of drying.

Corrosion Behavior of Weathering Test Steel for Bridge Under the Neutral Wet/Dry Alternate Condition

The corrosion behaviors of the high-performance weathering test steel for bridge and the reference (09CuPCrNi-A) were symmetrically studied under 3.5% NaCl neutral wet/dry alternate condition,revealing their dynamics line tendency of primary corrosion and the rusting flow in the simulative marine atmosphere environment.By observing the corrosion evolution of surface microstructures and composition by the scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and the energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) at the different stages,the corrosion mechanism was further discussed in details.

Moderate wetting and drying increases rice yield and reduces water use, grain arsenic level, and methane emission

To meet the major challenge of increasing rice production to feed a growing population under increasing water scarcity,many water-saving regimes have been introduced in irrigated rice,such as an aerobic rice system,non-flooded mulching cultivation,and alternate wetting and drying(AWD).These regimes could substantially enhance water use efficiency(WUE) by reducing irrigation water.However,such enhancements greatly compromise grain yield.Recent work has shown that moderate AWD,in which photosynthesis is not severely inhibited and plants can rehydrate overnight during the soil drying period,or plants are rewatered at a soil water potential of-10 to-15 k Pa,or midday leaf potential is approximately-0.60 to-0.80 MPa,or the water table is maintained at 10 to 15 cm below the soil surface,could increase not only WUE but also grain yield.Increases in grain yield WUE under moderate AWD are due mainly to reduced redundant vegetative growth;improved canopy structure and root growth;elevated hormonal levels,in particular increases in abscisic acid levels during soil drying and cytokinin levels during rewatering;and enhanced carbon remobilization from vegetative tissues to grain.Moderate AWD could also improve rice quality,including reductions in grain arsenic accumulation,and reduce methane emissions from paddies.Adoption of moderate AWD with an appropriate nitrogen application rate may exert a synergistic effect on grain yield and result in higher WUE and nitrogen use efficiency.Further research is needed to understand root–soil interaction and evaluate the long-term effects of moderate AWD on sustainable agriculture.

Grain yield and water use efficiency of super rice under soil water deficit and alternate wetting and drying irrigation

This study investigated if super rice could better cope with soil water deficit and if it could have better yield performance and water use efficiency （WUE） under alternate wetting and drying （AWD） irrigation than check rice. Two super rice cultivars and two elite check rice cultivars were grown in pots with three soil moisture levels, well watered （WW）, moderate water deficit （MWD） and severe water deficit （SWD）. Two cultivars, each for super rice and check rice, were grown in field with three irrigation regimes, alternate wetting and moderate drying （AWMD）, alternate wetting and severe drying （AWSD） and conventional irrigation （CI）. Compared with that under WW, grain yield was significantly decreased under MWD and SWD treatments, with less reduction for super rice than for check rice. Super rice had higher percentage of productive tillers, deeper root distribution, higher root oxidation activity, and greater aboveground biomass production at mid and late growth stages than check rice, especially under WMD and WSD. Compared with CI,AWMD increased, whereasAWSD decreased grain yield, with more increase or less decrease for super rice than for check rice. Both MWD and SWD treatments and eitherAWMD orAWSD regime significantly increased WUE compared with WW treatment or CI regime, with more increase for super rice than for check rice. The results suggest that super rice has a stronger ability to cope with soil water deficit and holds greater promising to increase both grain yield and WUE by adoption of moderate AWD irrigation.

THE WET-DRY CHANGES IN RECENT 40YEARS IN TAKLIMAKAN AREA

Using the precipitation data in recent 40 years of 48 meteorological stations in Taklimakan area and neighboring areas, this paper analyzes the stage and periodicity of the wet-dry changes in a year and four seasons. The paper also compares the correlativity of precipitation between Taklimakan area and around Mountains, and obtained some statisticconclusions as follows. (1) The precipitation changes of a year and four seasons in Taklimakan area have different wet-dryperiods and change periodicities. (2) Summer precipitation has well directive sense to annual precipitation in Taklimakanarea with a correlation coefficient 0. 901, and the negative correlation between precipitation and temperature in summer isvery remarkable. (3) There is definite correlation between annual precipitation in Taklimakan area and position of polarvortex. When longitude of polar vortex is partial west in February and its latitude is partial north in September of the lastyear, annual precipitation is above its mean in the area. In addition, it is beneficial to obtain more summer precipitation inthe area when position of polar vortex is partial west in February.

Pitting and galvanic corrosion behavior of stainless steel with weld in wet-dry environment containing Cl^-

Accelerated corrosion test of stainless steel with weld was carried out to investigate the corrosion behavior under the wetdry cyclic condition in the atmosphere containing Cl^-. In the surface morphology, corrosion products were analyzed by metallographic observation, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The results show that the damage to stainless steel with weld in the atmosphere containing Cl^- is due to localized corrosion, especially pitting and galvanic corrosion, Weld acts as the anode, whereas matrix acts as the cathode in the corrosion process. The pitting corrosion, including the nucleation and growth of a stable pit, is promoted by the presence of wet-dry cycles, especially during the drying stage. Pits centralizing in weld are found to be grouped together like colonies, with a number of smaller pits surrounding a larger pit. The composition of the corrosion products is Fe2O3, Cr2O3, Fe3O4, NiCrO4, etc.

Simulation of Wetting and Drying Processes in A Depth Integrated Shallow Water Flow Model by Slot Method

A particular porosity method named ＂slot method＂ is implemented in a depth-integrated shallow water flow model （DIVAST） to simulate wetting and drying processes. Discussed is the relationship between the shape factors of the ＂slot＂ and the preset depth used in ＂wetting-drying＂ algorithm. Two typical tests are conducted to examine the performance of the method with the effect of the shape factors of the ＂slot＂ being checked in detail in the first test. Numerical results demonstrate that： 1 ） no additional effort to improve the finite difference scheme is needed to implement ＂slot method＂ in DIVAST, and 2） ＂slot method＂ will simulate wetting and diying processes correctly if the shape factors of the ＂slot＂ being selected properly.

Effect of SAP on Properties of High Performance Concrete under Marine Wetting and Drying Cycles

The internal curing effect of superabsorbent polymer(SAP) on the properties of high performance concrete(HPC) under marine wetting and drying cycles(WD cycles) was investigated. Compressive strength, hydration and chloride migration were experimentally investigated and the results were evaluated by compasison with those under fresh water curing(FW). Water absorption and porosity were also evaluated only under WD cycles. The results showed the important influence of wetting and drying cycles on the properties of SAP modified HPC properties. Carefully designed, SAP minimized the long-term compressive strength of HPC under marine WD cycles. The hydration rate was faster in the initial curing, but became lower as compared with that cured in FW. In addition, SAP improved the long-term water absorption resistance and chloride migration resistance of HPC under marine WD cycles. The examination of the porosity showed a lower increase of the volume of capillary pores in SAP modified HPC under long term WD cycles compared with that without SAP. Therefore, internal curing by SAP could improve the durability properties of HPC under marine WD cycles.

An Overview of Dry-wet Climate Variability among Monsoon-Westerly Regions and the Monsoon Northernmost Marginal Active Zone in China

Climate in China's Mainland can be divided into the monsoon region in the southeast and the westerly region in the northwest as well as the intercross zone, i.e., the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone that is oriented from Southwest China to the upper Yellow River, North China, and Northeast China. In the three regions, dry-wet climate changes are directly linked to the interaction of the southerly monsoon flow on the east side of the Tibetan Plateau and the westerly flow on the north side of the Plateau from the inter-annual to inter-decadal timescales. Some basic features of climate variability in the three regions for the last half century and the historical hundreds of years are reviewed in this paper. In the last half century, an increasing trend of summer precipitation associated with the enhancing westerly flow is found in the westerly region from Xinjiang to northern parts of North China and Northeast China. On the other hand, an increasing trend of summer precipitation along the Yangtze River and a decreasing trend of summer precipitation along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone are associated with the weakening monsoon flow in East Asia. Historical documents are widely distributed in the monsoon region for hundreds of years and natural climate proxies are constructed in the non-monsoon region, while two types of climate proxies can be commonly found over the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone. In the monsoon region, dry-wet variation centers are altered among North China, the lower Yangtze River, and South China from one century to another. Dry or wet anomalies are firstly observed along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone and shifted southward or southeastward to the Yangtze River valley and South China in about a 70-year timescale. Severe drought events are experienced along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone during the last 5 centuries. Inter-decadal dry-wet variations are depicted by natural proxies for the last 4-5 centuries in several areas over the non-monsoon region. Some questions, such as the impact of global warming on dry-wet regime changes in China, complex interactions between the monsoon and westerly flows in Northeast China, and the integrated multi-proxy analysis throughout all of China, are proposed.

Influence of Seed Priming on Performance and Water Productivity of Direct Seeded Rice in Alternating Wetting and Drying

Direct seeded rice is promising alternative to traditional transplanting, but requires appropriate crop and water management to maintain yield performance and achieve high water productivity. Present study evaluated the effect of seed priming and irrigation on crop establishment, tillering, agronomic traits, paddy yield, grain quality and water productivity of direct seeded rice in alternate wetting and drying （DSR-AWD） in comparison with direct seeded rice at field capacity （DSR- FC）. Seed priming treatments were osmo-priming with KCI （2.2%）, CaCI2 （2.2%） and moringa leaf extracts （MLE, 3.3%） including hydro-priming as control. Among the treatments, seed osmo-primed with MLE emerged earlier and had higher final emergence, followed by osmo-priming with CaCI2. Tillering emergence rate and number of tillers per plant were the highest for seed priming with CaCI2 in DSR- AWD. Total productive and non-productive tillers, panicle length, biological and grain yields, harvest index were highest for seed priming with MLE or CaCI2 in DSR-AWD. Similarly, grain quality, estimated in terms of normal grains, abortive and chalky grains, was also the highest in DSR-AWD with MLE osmo-priming. Benefit cost ratio and water productivity was also the highest in DSR-AWD for seed priming with MLE. In conclusion, seed priming with MLE or CaCI2 can be successfully employed to improve the direct seeded rice performance when practiced with alternate wetting and drying irrigation.

Effect of incubation temperature and wet-dry cycle on the availabilities of Cd,Pb and Zn in soil

The effect of incubation temperature and wet-dry cycle on the availabilities of Cd, Pb and Zn was studied. Three soils with pH ranging from 3.8 to 7.3, organic carbon （OC） from 0.7% to 2.4%, and clay from 12.3% to 35.6% were selected. Soils were spiked with reagent grade Cd（NO3）2, Pb（NO3）2, and Zn（NO3）2 at concentrations of 30 mg Cd/kg soil, 300 mg Zn/kg soil and 2000 mg Pb/kg soil. The soils were incubated at 35, 60, 105℃, respectively and went through four wet-dry cycles. Metal availability in soils was estimated by soil extraction with 0.1 mol/L Ca（NO3）2. According to this study, the effect of the spiking temperature on the metal availabilities was different among the metals, soils and wet-dry cycles. Mostly, 35 ~C was the first recommended spiking temperature for Cd and Pb while no spiking temperature was obviously better than others for Zn. Three wet-dry cycles was recommended regardless of the type of metals and incubation temperature.

Dry reusing and wet reclaiming of used sodium silicate sand

Based on the characteristics of used sodium silicate sand and the different use requirements for recycled sand, "dry reusing and wet reclaiming of used sodium silicate sand" is considered as the most suitable technique for the used sand. When the recycled sand is used as support sand, the used sand is only reused by dry process including breaking, screening, dust-removal, etc., and it is not necessary that the used sand is reclaimed with strongly rubbing and scraping method, but when the recycled sand is used as facing sand (or single sand), the used sand must be reclaimed by wet method for higher removal rate of the residual binders. The characteristics and the properties of the dry reused sand are compared with the wet reclaimed sand after combining the different use requirements of support sand and facing sand (or single sand), and above the most adaptive scheme has also been validated.

Initial corrosion behavior of AZ91 magnesium alloy in simulating acid rain under wet-dry cyclic condition

Corrosion behavior of AZ91 magnesium alloy in simulating acid rain under wet-dry cyclic condition was investigated.The results show that corrosion potential shifts positively and the corrosion current density decreases at low wet-dry cyclic time.Further increase of the cyclic time results in the negative movement of corrosion potential and the increase of current density.SEM observation indicates that corrosion occurs only inαphase,βphase is inert in corrosive medium,and the corrosion of AZ91 magnesium appears in uniform characteristic.XPS analysis suggests that the corrosion product is mainly composed of oxide and hydroxide of magnesium and aluminum,and a small amount of sulfate is also contained in the film.

Interdecadal fluctuation of dry and wet climate boundaries in China in the past 50 years

Based on the mean yearly precipitation and the total yearly evaporation data of 295 meteorological stations in China in 1951-1999, the aridity index is calculated in this paper. According to the aridity index, the climatic regions in China are classified into three types, namely, arid region, semi-arid region and humid region. Dry and wet climate boundaries in China fluctuate markedly and differentiate greatly in each region in the past 50 years. The fluctuation amplitudes are 20-400 km in Northeast China, 40-400 km in North China, 30-350 km in the eastern part of Northwest China and 40-370 km in Southwest China. Before the 1980s (including 1980), the climate tended to be dry in Northeast China and North China, to be wet in the eastern part of Northwest China and very wet in Southwest China. Since the 1990s there have been dry signs in Southwest China, the eastern part of Northwest China and North China. The climate becomes wetter in Northeast China. Semi-arid region is the transitional zone between humid and arid regions, the monsoon edge belt in China, and the susceptible region of environmental evolution. At the end of the 1960s dry and wet climate in China witnessed abrupt changes, changing wetness into dryness. Dry and wet climate boundaries show the fluctuation characteristics of the whole shifts and the opposite fluctuations of eastward, westward, southward and northward directions. The fluctuations of climatic boundaries and the dry and wet variations of climate have distinctive interdecadal features.

Precipitation Changes in Wet and Dry Seasons over the 20th Century Simulated by Two Versions of the FGOALS Model

Seasonal precipitation changes over the globe during the 20th century simulated by two versions of the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System （FGOALS） model are assessed. The two model versions differ in terms of their AGCM component, but the remaining parts of the system are almost identical. Both models reasonably reproduce the mean-state features of the timings of the wet and dry seasons and related precipitation amounts, with pattern correlation coefficients of 0.65-0.84 with observations. Globally averaged seasonal precipitation changes are analyzed. The results show that wet sea- sons get wetter and the annual range （precipitation difference between wet and dry seasons） increases during the 20th century in the two models, with positive trends covering most parts of the globe, which is consistent with observations. However, both models show a moistening dry season, which is opposite to observations. Analysis of the globally averaged moisture budget in the historical climate simulations of the two models shows little change in the horizontal moisture advection in both the wet and dry seasons. The globally averaged seasonal precipitation changes are mainly dominated by the changes in evaporation and vertical moisture advection. Evaporation and vertical moisture advection combine to make wet seasons wetter and enhance the annual range. In the dry season, the opposite change of evaporation and vertical moisture advection leads to an insignificant change in precipitation. Vertical moisture advection is the most important term that determines the changes in precipitation, wherein the thermodynamic component is dominant and the dynamic component tends to offset the effect of the thermodynamic component.

Changes in terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions on the Loess Plateau(China) during the last half century

This paper, using a revised Penman-Monteith model, computed the terrestrial surface humidity index of the Loess Plateau （China） based on climatic factors of monthly mean temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed and sunshine duration observed on the plateau from 1961 to 2008. The temporal-spatial distribution, anomaly distribution and sub-regional temporal variations of the terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions were analyzed as well. The results showed a decreasing trend in the annual average surface humidity from the southeast to the northwest in the research anna. Over the period of 1961-2008, an aridification tendency appeared sharply in the central interior region of the Loess Plateau, and less sharply in the middle part of the region. The border region showed the weakest tendency ol; aridification. It is clear that aridification diffused in all directions from the interior region. The spatial anomaly distribution of the terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions on the Loess Plateau can be divided into three key areas： the southern, western and eastern regions. The terrestrial annual humidity index displayed a significantly descending trend and showed remarkable abrupt changes from wet to dry in the years 1967, 1977 and 1979. In the above mentioned three key areas for dry and wet conditions, the terrestrial annual humidity index exhibited a fluctuation period of 3-4 years, while in the southern region, a fluctuation period of 7-8 years existed at the same time.

Analysis on the Evolution of Dry and Wet Degree in Benxi Area in Recent 57 Years

[Objective] The research aimed to analyze the evolution situation of dry and wet degree in Benxi area in recent 57 years.[Method] By using the annual,quarterly and monthly temperature and precipitation data in Benxi area during 1953-2009,the interdecadal variations of temperature,precipitation,dry and wet index were analyzed.[Result] The annual average temperature in Benxi area displayed the obvious increase trend,and the linear trend rate was 0.29 ℃/10 a.But the precipitation showed the obvious decrease trend,and the linear trend rate was-29.01 mm/10 a.The dry and wet index showed the decrease trend,and the linear trend rate was-33.61 mm/10 a,which closely related to the rise of temperature and the decrease of precipitation after the 1980s.[Conclusion] It showed the warming-drying development trend in Benxi area.