Subsurface multi-physical characterization of mountain excavation and city construction in loess plateau with a fiber-optic sensing system

Mountain excavation and city construction(MECC)projects being launched in the Loess Plateau in China involve the creation of large-scale artificial land.Understanding the subsurface evolution characteristics of the artificial land is essential,yet challenging.Here,we use an improved fiber-optic monitoring system for its subsurface multi-physical characterization.The system enables us to gather spatiotemporal distribution of various parameters,including strata deformation,temperature,and moisture.Yan’an New District was selected as a case study to conduct refined in-situ monitoring through a 77 m-deep borehole and a 30 m-long trench.Findings reveal that the ground settlement involves both the deformation of the filling loess and the underlying intact loess.Notably,the filling loess exhibits a stronger creep capability compared to underlying intact loess.The deformation along the profile is unevenly distributed,with a positive correlation with soil moisture.Water accumulation has been observed at the interface between the filling loess and the underlying intact loess,leading to a significant deformation.Moreover,the temperature and moisture in the filling loess have reached a new equilibrium state,with their depths influenced by atmospheric conditions measuring at 31 m and 26 m,respectively.The refined investigation allows us to identify critical layers that matter the sustainable development of newly created urban areas,and provide improved insights into the evolution mechanisms of land creation.

The Scale of Constructing Mountainous Cities in Yunnan Province based on “Benchmark” Farmlands

In 2011, Yunnan provincial committee and government proposed the strat- egy of constructing mountainous cities in order to protect farmlands and guarantee crop safety, which makes full use of hills and gentle-slopes and transforms land use pattern. However, social and economic development performs unevenly in Yun- nan, supplemented by varied geographical conditions, so that constructing mountain- ous cities should proceed as per local conditions. The research proposed the con- trol of constructing mountainous cities provided crop safety under the principle of farmland protection and measured the quantities of demanded construction lands ac- cording to science of population prediction and ekistics, based on which the control scales of constructing mountainous cities were determined by multiplying basic farm- land coefficient and the area of newly increased construction lands. The research is of significance for guiding the construction of mountainous cities and avoiding the occupation of construction lands on farmlands.