Effects of combined drip irrigation and sub-surface pipe drainage on water and salt transport of saline-alkali soil in Xinjiang, China

Developing effective irrigation and drainage strategies to improve the quality of saline-alkali soil is vital for enhancing agricultural production and increasing economic returns. In this study, we explored how irrigation and drainage modes (flood irrigation, drip irrigation, and sub-surface pipe drainage under drip irrigation) improve the saline-alkali soil in Xinjiang, China. We aimed to study the transport characteristics of soil water and salt under different irrigation and drainage modes, and analyze the effects of the combination of irrigation and drainage on soil salt leaching, as well as its impacts on the growth of oil sunflower. Our results show that sub-surface pipe drainage under drip irrigation significantly reduced the soil salt content and soil water content at the 0–200 cm soil depth. Under sub-surface pipe drainage combined with drip irrigation, the mean soil salt content was reduced to below 10 g/kg after the second irrigation, and the soil salt content decreased as sub-surface pipe distance decreased. The mean soil salt content of flood irrigation exceeded 25 g/kg, and the mean soil desalination efficiency was 3.28%, which was lower than that of drip irrigation. The mean soil desalination rate under drip irrigation and sub-surface pipe drainage under drip irrigation was 19.30% and 58.12%, respectively. After sub-surface drainage regulation under drip irrigation, the germination percentage of oil sunflower seedlings was increased to more than 50%, which further confirmed that combined drip irrigation and sub-surface pipe drainage is very effective in improving the quality of saline-alkali soil and increasing the productivity of agricultural crops.

Heavy Metals Removal from Swine Wastewater Using Constructed Wetlands with Horizontal Sub-Surface Flow

The removal efficiency of Cu and Zn from swine wastewater was evaluated as effected by three variables: the hydraulic retention time (HRT) (24, 48, 72 and 96 hours), two different plant species (Typha domingensis Pers. and Eleocharis cellulosa) and two different sizes of filter media (5 and 15 mm) using a horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetland. From the results, a significant difference was observed in the removal efficiency of Cu and Zn with respect to different hydraulic retention times. The best results were obtained in the HRT of 96 hours for Zn where 96% removal of Zn with Typha domingensis Pers. specie with gravel of 15 mm (experimental unit 6) was achieved. For Cu, at 72 hours of HRT, the efficiency was nearly 100% in five of the six study units (1, 2, 3, 5 and 6). In contrast, in experimental unit 4 with gravel of 15 mm and without plants, only 86% Cu removal was achieved.

Sound Scattering From Rough Bubbly Ocean Surface Based on Modified Sea Surface Acoustic Simulator and Consideration of Various Incident Angles and Sub-surface Bubbles＇ Radii

The aim of the present study is to improve the capabilities and precision of a recently introduced Sea Surface Acoustic Simulator(SSAS) developed based on optimization of the Helmholtz–Kirchhoff–Fresnel(HKF) method. The improved acoustic simulator, hereby known as the Modified SSAS(MSSAS), is capable of determining sound scattering from the sea surface and includes an extended Hall–Novarini model and optimized HKF method. The extended Hall–Novarini model is used for considering the effects of sub-surface bubbles over a wider range of radii of sub-surface bubbles compared to the previous SSAS version. Furthermore, MSSAS has the capability of making a three-dimensional simulation of scattered sound from the rough bubbly sea surface with less error than that of the Critical Sea Tests(CST) experiments. Also, it presents scattered pressure levels from the rough bubbly sea surface based on various incident angles of sound. Wind speed, frequency, incident angle, and pressure level of the sound source are considered as input data, and scattered pressure levels and scattering coefficients are provided. Finally, different parametric studies were conducted on wind speeds, frequencies, and incident angles to indicate that MSSAS is quite capable of simulating sound scattering from the rough bubbly sea surface, according to the scattering mechanisms determined by Ogden and Erskine. Therefore, it is concluded that MSSAS is valid for both scattering mechanisms and the transition region between them that are defined by Ogden and Erskine.

A sub-surface eddy at inertial current layer in the Canada Basin,Arctic Ocean

An Arctic Ocean eddy in sub-surface layer is analyzed in this paper by use of temperature, salinity and current profiles data obtained at an ice camp in the Canada Basin during the second Chinese Arctic Expedition in summer of 2003. In the vertical temperature section, the eddy shows itself as an isolated cold water block at depth of 60 m with a minimum temperature of - 1.5℃, about 0.5℃ colder than the ambient water. Isopycnals in the eddy form a pattern of convex, which indicates the eddy is anticyclonic. Although maximum velocity near 0.4 m s^-1 occurs in the current records observed synchronously, the current pattern is far away from a typical eddy. By further analysis, inertial frequency osci/lations with amplitudes comparable with the eddy velocity are found in the sub-surface layer currents. After filter the inertial current and mean current, an axisymmetric current pattern of an eddy with maximum velocity radius of 5 km is obtained. The analysis of the T-S characteristics of the eddy core water and its ambient waters supports the conclusion that the eddy was formed on the Chukchi Shelf and migrated northeastward into the northern Canada Basin.

Sub-Surface Drip Irrigation in Associated with H_(2)O_(2) Improved the Productivity of Maize under Clay-Rich Soil of Adana, Turkey

Maize being sub-tropical crop is sensitive to water deficit during the early growth stages;particularly clay-rich soil,due to the compaction of the soil.It is well-documented that potential sub-surface drip irrigation(SDI)(Full irrigation;SDIFull(100%field capacity(FC)),Deficit irrigation;SDIDeficit(70%FC))improves water use efficiency,which leads to increased crop productivity;since it has a constraint that SDI excludes soil air around the root-zone during irrigation events,which alter the root function and crop performance.Additionally,in clay-rich soils,the root system of plants generally suffers the limitation of oxygen,particularly the temporal hypoxia,and occasionally from root anoxia;while SDI system accomplishes with the aerating stream of irrigation in the rhizosphere could provide oxygen root environment.The oxygen can be introduced into the irrigation stream of SDI through two ways:the venturi principle,or by using solutions of hydrogen peroxide through the air injection system.Therefore,the application of hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2);HP)can mitigate the adverse effect of soil compactness and also lead to improving the growth,yield and yield attributes of maize in clay-rich soil.Considering the burning issue,a field study was conducted in consecutive two seasons of 2017 and 2018;where hybrid maize was cultivated as a second crop,to evaluate the effect of liquid-injection of H_(2)O_(2)(HP)into the irrigation stream of SDI on the performance of maize in a clay-rich soil field of Adana,Turkey.When soil water content decreased in 50%of avail-able water,irrigation was performed.The amount of water applied to reach the soil water content to the field capacity is SDIFull(100%FC)and 70%FC of this water is SDIDeficit(70%FC).In the irrigation program,hydrogen peroxide(HP)was applied at intervals of 7 days on average according to available water with and without HP:SDIFull(100%FC)+0 ppm HP with full SDI irrigation;SDIFull(100%FC)+250 ppm HP with deficit SDI irrigation;SDIDeficit(70%FC)+0 ppm HP,SDIDeficit(70%FC)+250 ppm HP and SDIDeficit(70%FC)+500 ppm HP.Deficit irrigation(SDIDeficit(70%FC))program was started from tasseling stage and continued up to the physiological maturity stage with sub-soil drip irrigation.H_(2)O_(2) was applied 3 times during the growing season.Two years’results revealed that the liquid-injection of H_(2)O_(2) into the irrigation stream of SDI improved the growth and yield-related attributes and grain yield of maize.Based on the obtained results,during the extreme climatic condition in the year 2017,SDIFull(100%FC)+250 ppm HP was more effective than SDIFull(100%FC)+0 ppm HP on all traits for relative to full irrigation.While,during the favourable climatic condition in the 2018 season,SDIFull(100%FC)+250 ppm HP was more effective than full irrigation with SDIFull(100%FC)+0 ppm HP for the grain yield,grains,and SPAD value.Accordingly,the most effective treatment was SDIFull(100%FC)+250 ppm HP,as it gave the highest growth and yield-related attributes and grain yield of maize followed by SDIDeficit(70%FC)+250 ppm HP.Therefore,SDIFull with 250 ppm H_(2)O_(2) using as liquid-injection may be recommended to mitigate the adverse effect of soil compactness particularly water-deficit stress in clay-rich soil for the sustainability of maize production.

Optimizing the Interpretation of Sub-surface Resistivity in Relation with Borehole Productivity in Basement Area Applied to Seno Province （Burkina Faso）

This study aims at identifying possible correlations between shapes, types of geophysical anomalies and borehole productivity according to geological and hydrogeotogical contexts. The methodology adopted was a two-pronged one--the first step sought to： （1） interpret the electrical resistivity values from horizontal profiling and vertical electrical sounding implemented in Seno province that preceded the drilling of 513 boreholes; （ii） interpret data from pumping tests carried out on boreholes having a discharge superior to 1 m3/h （＂positive borehole＂） by using Cooper-Jacob＇s method. In the second step, according to geology, authors tried to identify possible correlations between each of the qualitative geophysical parameters： ~shape of anomaly〉〉, tttype of anomaly〉〉 and ~〈type curve〉〉 on the one hand, and hydrogeological parameters such as discharge, alteration thickness, transmissivity and saturated level on the other. The results of this study have shown that the chances of having a positive borehole in Seno province are higher when the type of anomaly is TCC （80%）, shape of anomaly is ＂W＂ and when type curve is ＂H＂ （80%） for all geological formations. Granitic formations are those that record higher discharges while schists record high transmissivity values.

The Variation of Warm Pool in the Equatorial Western Pacific and Its Impacts on Climate

The variation of warm pool ocean temperature in the equatorial western Pacific and its impacts on climatic change are studied in the present paper. The SSTs in the warm pool region not only have seasonal variation but also have interannual variation more clearly; The influence of anomalies of SST in the warm pool region on the East Asian monsoon is studied with data analysis; And the impact of SSTA in the warm pool region on the teleconnection (wave-train) in the atmospheric circulation is still investigated. The influence of ocean temperature anomalies in the warm pool subsurface on the occurrence of ENSO is also discussed by using data analysis and modelling with CGCM. All above-mentioned studies show that the situation of ocean temperature in the warm pool region in the equatorial western Pacific plays an important role in the global climatic variation.

A Web-based system enabling the integration,analysis,and 3D sub-surface visualization of groundwater monitoring data and geological models

The 3D Water Chemistry Atlas is an intuitive,open source,Web-based system that enables the three-dimensional(3D)sub-surface visualization of ground water monitoring data,overlaid on the local geological model(formation and aquifer strata).This paper firstly describes the results of evaluating existing virtual globe technologies,which led to the decision to use the Cesium open source WebGL Virtual Globe and Map Engine as the underlying platform.Next it describes the backend database and search,filtering,browse and analysis tools that were developed to enable users to interactively explore the groundwater monitoring data and interpret it spatially and temporally relative to the local geological formations and aquifers via the Cesium interface.The result is an integrated 3D visualization system that enables environmental managers and regulators to assess groundwater conditions,identify inconsistencies in the data,manage impacts and risks and make more informed decisions about coal seam gas extraction,waste water extraction,and water reuse.

Evolution of real area of contact due to combined normal load and sub-surface straining in sheet metal

Understanding asperity flattening is vital for a reliable macro-scale modeling of friction and wear.In sheet metal forming processes,sheet surface asperities are deformed due to contact forces between the tools and the workpiece.In addition,as the sheet metal is strained while retaining the normal load,the asperity deformation increases significantly.Deformation of the asperities determines the real area of contact which influences the friction and wear at the tool-sheet metal contact.The real area of contact between two contacting rough surfaces depends on type of loading,material behavior,and topography of the contacting surfaces.In this study,an experimental setup is developed to investigate the effect of a combined normal load and sub-surface strain on real area of contact.Uncoated and zinc coated steel sheets(GI)with different coating thicknesses,surface topographies,and substrate materials are used in the experimental study.Finite element(FE)analyses are performed on measured surface profiles to further analyze the behavior observed in the experiments and to understand the effect of surface topography,and coating thickness on the evolution of the real area of contact.Finally,an analytical model is presented to determine the real area contact under combined normal load and sub-surface strain.The results show that accounting for combined normal load and sub-surface straining effects is necessary for accurate predictions of the real area of contact.

A Significant Look at the Effects of Persian Gulf Environmental Conditions on Sound Scattering Based on Small Perturbation Method

The main goal of this paper is to investigate sound scattering from the sea surface, by Kuo＇s small perturbation method （SPM）, in the Persian Gulf＇s environmental conditions. Accordingly the SPM method is reviewed, then it is demonstrated how it can accurately model sound scattering from the sea surface. Since in Kuo＇s approach, the effects of surface roughness and sub-surface bubble plumes on incident sounds can be studied separately, it is possible to investigate the importance of each mechanism in various scattering regimes. To conduct this study, wind and wave information reported by Arzanah station as well as some numerical atmospheric models for the Persian Gulf are presented and applied to examine sound scattering from the sea surface in the Persian Gulf region. Plots of scattering strength by Kuo＇s SPM method versus grazing angle for various frequencies, wave heights, and wind speeds are presented. The calculated scattering strength by the SPM method for various frequencies and wind speeds are compared against the results of critical sea tests 7 （CST-7）. The favorable agreement achieved for sound scattering in the Persian Gulf region is indicative of the fact that the SPM method can quite accurately model and predict sound scattering from the sea surface.

Microbiomes of Top and Sub-Layers of Semi-Arid Soils in North-Eastern Nigeria Are Rich in Firmicutes and Proteobacteria with Surprisingly High Diversity of Rare Species

Borno state is the second largest state in Nigeria with over 70,000 square kilometers of diverse ecosystems including parts of the fertile Lake Chad basin. However, more than 2/3 of this landmass is threatened with drought, advancing desertification and degraded soils. Most restoration efforts involve revegetation, which in the past has met with limited success. Microbial communities of soils play a pivotal role in soil fertility and plant cover. We conducted the first metagenomic amplicon sequencing study, comparing two soil depths to determine whether soil bacteria abundance and diversity in the harsh bare soils were sufficient to sustain greening efforts. The goal was to glean insights to guide microbial inoculant formulation needed in the region. Samples from top (0 - 15 cm) and sub (16 - 65 cm) soils were collected from five strategic locations in the state. Using next generation Illumina sequencing protocols, total DNA extracted directly from the soils was sequenced and analyzed by QIIME. Metadata collected from site showed scorching temperatures of over 46?C, near zero moisture level and a pH of about 6 for top soil. At 65 cm depth, the temperature averaged 32?C with a pH of 5 and significantly higher soil moisture of 0.1%. The bacterial community structure was unexpectedly very diverse at both soil depths samples, recording a ChaO1 index ranging from 909 to 4296 and a Shannon diversity range of 3.54 to 6.33. The most abundant phyla in both soil depths were the Firmicutes and Proteobacteria;however the relative abundance of composite lower taxa was strikingly different. Operational taxonomic units and diversity indices were highest for top soils and were dominated by members of resilient groups of Actinobacteria, Firmucutes, Acidobacteria and numerous other less well-known taxa whose individual relative abundance did not exceed 3% of total population. The high diversity and richness of Proteobacteria (at 65 cm depth), some of which are key to soil fertility, suggest that revegetation efforts could be improved by shifting the gradient of these microbiota upwards using shades and micro-irrigation. Soils in semi-arid regions in Nigeria contain numerous operational taxonomic bacterial groups with potential thermophilic and drought genetic resources to be mined. Microbial community structure beneath the top soil appears stable and should be the target sample for the assessments of climatic change impact on microbial community structure in environments like this.

Storm phosphorus concentrations and fluxes in artificially drained landscapes of the US Midwest

This study investigates phosphorus (P) concentrations and fluxes in tile drains, overland flow, and streamflow at a high temporal resolution during 7 spring storms in anagricultural watershed in Indiana, USA. Research goals include a better understanding of 1) how bulk precipitation and antecedent moisture conditions affect P concentrations and fluxes at the watershed scale;2) how P concentrations and fluxes measured in tile drains translate to the whole watershed scale;3) whether P losses to the stream are significantly affected by overland flow. Results indicate that bulk precipitation and antecedent moisture conditions are not good predictors of SRP or TP losses (either concentration or flux) to the stream. However, along with previously published storm data in this watershed, results indicate a threshold-based behavior whereby SRP and TP fluxes significantly increase with precipitation when bulk precipitation exceeds 4 cm. Although total SRP and TP fluxes are very much driven by flow, SRP and TP fluxes are somewhat limited by the amount of P available for leaching for most storms. On average, SRP fluxes in tile drains are 13% greater than in the stream, and stream SRP fluxes account for 45% of TP fluxes at the watershed scale. Our results indicate that when P is the primary concern, best management practices aimed at reducing P losses via tile drains are likely to have the most effect on P exports at the watershed scale.

The Response of Chickpea to Irrigation with Treated Waste Water

In a three-year study, the response of four cultivars of chickpea, Bulgarit, WIR-32, Jordan and ICC 11293 to irrigation with TW （treated wastewater） and FW （freshwater）, using surface and subsurface drip irrigation was investigated. Wastewater generated from Al-Quds university campus included black, grey and storm water was treated by small scale pilot plant. The wastewater pilot plant consists of tailored made secondary biological activated sludge process with daily capacity of 50 m3. The influent and effluent chemical and biological quality parameters were routinely monitored and analyzed. The data reveal that the average values for BOD, COD and EC for the effluent are 50 ppm, 136 ppm and 1.4 mS/cm over 2 years period. The results of chickpea growth parameters and the chemical and biological analysis of the seeds and leaves indicate that the cultivars Bulgarit and ICC 11293 can be irrigated with TW without any loss in yield and quality. Factor analysis reasonably favored Bulgarit Cultivar irrigated with treated effluent over other cultivars. WIR-32 and Jordan cultivars showed significant reduction in their growth parameters when irrigated with TW as compared with FW. Surface and subsurface drip irrigation gave similar results in most cases. Soil analysis in this study showed no significant difference between irrigation with TW and FW.

On-Farm Effects of Drainage System on the Productivity of Chinese Cabbage(Brassica pekinensis L.Rupr.)of Farmers in Svay Rieng Province,Cambodia

The vegetable production in Cambodia has been plagued with poor productivity and broken chain,leaving the comparative advantage to the neighboring countries,namely Vietnam and Thailand.Poor soil condition during wet season has been significantly impacting the productivity of vegetable production in Cambodia which leads to an introduction of sub-surface drainage system at the root zone of Chinese cabbage under this paper.The aim of the experiment is to determine the possibility in increasing the effectiveness and productivity during wet season of Cambodian vegetable producers.The results of the experiment indicate positive improvement in terms of yield and growth of the Chinese cabbage at a rate of 24%and 34%for T2 and T3,respectively.There are,however,limited practicality and generalization for the research due to the controlling factors during the experiment and the detailed experimental setting which need further analysis,especially economic analysis and following up research work.

Multi-material Bio-inspired Soft Octopus Robot for Underwater Synchronous Swimming

Inspired by the simple yet amazing morphology of the Octopus, we propose the design, fabrication, and characterization of multi-material bio-inspired soft Octopus robot (Octobot). 3D printed molds for tentacles and head were used. The tentacles of the Octobot were casted using Ecoflex-0030 while head was fabricated using relatively flexible material, i.e., OOMOO-25. The head is attached to the functionally responsive tentacles (each tentacle is of 79.12 mm length and 7 void space diameter), whereas Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) muscle wires of 0.5 mm thickness are used in Octobot tentacles for dual thrust generation and actuation of Octobot. The tentacles were separated in two groups and were synchronously actuated. Each tentacle of the developed Octobot contains a pair of SMA muscles (SMA-α and SMA-β). SMA-α muscles being the main actuator, was powered by 9 V, 350 mA power supply, whereas SMA-β was used to provide back thrust and thus helps to increase the actuation frequency. Simulation work of the proposed model was performed in the SolidWorks environment to verify the vertical velocity using the octopus tentacle actuation. The design morphology of Octobot was optimized using simulation and TRACKER software by analyzing the experimental data of angle, displacement, and velocity of real octopus. The as-developed Octobot can swim at variable frequencies (0.5–2 Hz) with the average speed of 25 mm/s (0.5 BLS). Therefore, the proposed soft Octopus robot showed an excellent capability of mimicking the gait pattern of its natural counterpart.

Study on blister of the coating on solid cantilevers of hydraulic supports for coal mining

In this work, blister of the Cu-Sn plus Cr coating on solid cantilevers of hydraulic supports for coal mining was investigated by hydrogen-charging, Devanathan-Stachurski method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement. It was found that the permeation hydrogen during the pickling process and the electroplating process was responsible for the blisters. The residual tensile stress due to the machining process would increase the permeation hydrogen amount during pickling and electroplating processes.

Uncertainty analysis and visualization of geological subsurface and its application in metro station construction

To visualize and analyze the impact of uncertainty on the geological subsurface,on the term of the geological attribute probabilities(GAP),a vector parameters-based method is presented.Perturbing local data with error distribution,a GAP isosurface suite is first obtained by the Monte Carlo simulation.Several vector parameters including normal vector,curvatures and their entropy are used to measure uncertainties of the isosurface suite.The vector parameters except curvature and curvature entropy are visualized as line features by distributing them over their respective equivalent structure surfaces or concentrating on the initial surface.The curvature and curvature entropy presented with color map to reveal the geometrical variation on the perturbed zone.The multiple-dimensional scaling(MDS)method is used to map GAP isosurfaces to a set of points in lowdimensional space to obtain the total diversity among these equivalent probability surfaces.An example of a bedrock surface structure in a metro station shows that the presented method is applicable to quantitative description and visualization of uncertainties in geological subsurface.MDS plots shows differences of total diversity caused by different error distribution parameters or different distribution types.

Rhodotorula mucilaginosa BPT1 can form arthrospore in response to cold-temperature

Objective:To study carbon and nitrogen utilization pattern and arthrospore formation in a psychrotolerant yeast isolate Rhodotorula mucilaginosa(R.mucilaginosa)BPT1.Methods:Growth of the yeast on minimal synthetic medium supplemented with various carbon and nitrogen compounds as sole carbon or nitrogen source has been studied.Various physico-chemical parameters such as pH,restricted oxygen supply,temperatures,media composition and presence of methionine were tested to examine their effect on arthrospore formation by this known opportunistic pathogen.Results:The psychrotolerant isolate BPT1 identified on the basis of D1/D2 domain of large rDNA sequence characteristics as R.mucilaginosa showed some deviation in carbon and nitrogen utilization patterns from those of other strains of R.mucilaginosa in the CBS data base.Intriguingly,the isolate produced sub-surface hyphal rays around its colony at lower temperatures(4℃and 20℃)on PDA medium;the ray was found to be linearly arranged arthrospores.The arthrospore was not produced in liquid medium,or in presence of methionine or under micro-aerobic condition or at higher temperature.Conclusions:The investigation showed a novel feature i.e.arthrospore was formed by this yeast isolate under specific set of conditions.The results reiterated that only physiological and morphological characteristics were not sufficient to identify a yeast.The ability of R.mucilaginosa to form arthrospores seems to be an adaptive feature in response to extreme environmental condition,and represents adaptive ability having something to do with its ubiquity.