Causes and controlling pattern of sand hazards at the Danghe Reservoir of Dunhuang in Northwest China

Sand hazards are serious at the Danghe Reservoir of Dunhuang,and efforts to control sand are ineffective because disaster-causing mechanisms are currently unclear.The source of sandy materials,dynamic environment of blown sand,and controlling measures of the reservoir area are investigated using different methods,such as granularity analyses,wind regime and sand transport field observation and analyses,sand drift potential calculation.Accordingly,the sandy materials are found to derive chiefly from the Mingsha Mountain on the north side of the reservoir area.In addition,sand grain in the range of 0.50-0.25 mm and 0.25-0.10 mm are dominant.The prevailing sand-moving wind originates from the N direction,accounting for 15.38% of the yearly total,which coincides in the same direction with sand source,thereby increasing the severity of sand hazards in the reservoir area.The yearly sand DP is 1386.59 VU,the yearly RDP is 567.31 VU,the yearly RDP/DP is 0.41,and the yearly RDD is 183.15°.In the windy season(mainly in summer),sand materials are blown by wind from north to south,and then blocked by the Danghe River.The sand materials then move with an approximate east-west trend into the river channel and produce sediment,thereby causing adisaster.We propose that the sand-controlling pattern of the Danghe Reservoir is dominated by sand blocking in the outer fringe and sand fixing in the inner fringe.Applying windbreak and sand fixation to control sandy material movement into the river channel plays an important role in retarding sedimentation and extending the useful life of the Danghe Reservoir.

Sand Grain Size and Organic Matter Concentration in the Intertidal Zones on the Southwest Coast of Taiwan

From April 2013 to April 2014, the average pH and water temperature of the Taisi oyster cultivation area (TS, Yunlin County, Taiwan) were 8.05 (7.35 - 8.45) and 24.7˚C (13.7˚C - 32.8˚C) (N = 8226) The average organic matter (OM) concentration at sites TS-A and TS-B were 6.9% ± 1.3% and 6.9% ± 1.2%, and the weight of drift sand was 40.3 ± 19.1 g/d/m2 and 28.5 ± 34.3 g/d/m2 (N = 27). Considerable sand drifting typically occurs during the southwest monsoon season in summer. The average OM concentration at five dunes from Zhuoshui estuary to Zengwun estuary was 23.9 ± 4.5 g/kg. The percentage of sand grain weight of 0.15 - 0.25 mm and 0.25 - 0.60 mm was 82.5% ± 14.2% and 10.5% ± 12.0%. In the spring and autumn of 2015, the average OM concentration at the eight intertidal zones from Hanbao to Cigu was 49.8 ± 34.1 g/kg (N = 177), and the OM concentrations at Huwei estuary and Hanbao and Fangyuan intertidal zones were relatively high. The OM concentration (95.3 ± 75.7 g/kg) of the low tide zone of Huwei estuary was the highest among all tidal zones. The OM concentration during spring (59.4 ± 41.7 g/kg, N = 95) was higher than that in autumn (39.1 ± 17.8 g/kg, N = 84). For sand grain size ranges 0.15 - 0.25 and 0.063 - 0.15 mm, the weight ratio of intertidal sediment was 39.4% ± 26.9% and 27.6% ± 20.1%, respectively. The broad and flat intertidal zone was marked by fine sand and long intertidal zone;the weight ratio of SGSs < 0.25 mm exceeded 65%, and the OM concentration was between 20 and 30 g/kg. Coastal habitat diversity creates differences in biological communities, especially among crabs and benthic organisms. A greater understanding of coastal environments can aid in the management of coastal wetlands.

Thermodynamic Effects on Particle Movement:Wind Tunnel Simulation Results

Sand/dust storms are some of the main hazards in arid and semi-arid zones. These storms also influence global environmental changes. By field observations, empirical statistics, and numerical simulations, pioneer researchers on these natural events have concluded the existence of a positive relationship between thermodynamic effects and sand/dust storms. Thermodynamic effects induce an unsteady stratified atmosphere to influence the process of these storms. However, studies on the relationship of thermodynamic effects with particles (i.e., sand and dust) are limited. In this article, wind tunnel with heating was used to simulate the quantitative relationship between thermodynamic effects and particle movement on different surfaces. Compared with the cold state, the threshold wind velocity of particles is found to be significantly decrease under the hot state. The largest decrease percentage exceedes 9% on fine and coarse sand surfaces. The wind velocity also has a three-power function in the sand transport rate under the hot state with increased sand transport. Thermodynamic effects are stronger on loose surfaces and fine particles, but weaker on compacted surfaces and coarse particles.

Wind tunnel simulation experiment and investigation on the electrification of sandstorms

Electric discharge phenomenon is often observed during the passage of sandstorms over desert regions and sometimes does great damage to human beings. Based on previous researches on the electrification of sandstorms by the scholars both at home and aboard,the authors conducted the simulation experiments on the electric fields of sandstorm-triggered creeping-saltating sand, suspending sand and watered suspending sand in the large-scale wind tunnel. According to the experimental results the electric field structure and its formation mechanism were analysed and discussed, the quantity of electric charges and electric field strengthwere measured and calculated, and finally several conclusions were drawn.