Effect of light and nutrients on interspecific interactions between submerged macrophytes:implications for restoration of multispecies aquatic vegetation in eutrophic lakes

Constructing multispecies submerged vegetation systems and maintaining stable seasonal succession is crucial for restoring shallow eutrophic lakes.However,little is known about the interactions between successional and existing species of different growth forms,particularly under the low light and high nutrient conditions of eutrophic lakes.We measured the functional traits of mature Vallisneria natans(Lour.)Hara plants and Potamogeton crispus L.shoots in monoculture and mosaic patterns under different light and nutrient conditions.The effect of light on functional traits of the submerged macrophyte species was more significant than that of nutrients,but the reverse was true for P.crispus biomass allocation.Moreover,interspecific interactions affected only the submerged macrophytes under the low light condition and varied with species.Specifically,the interaction of P.crispus to V.natans was biased towards competition,while the interaction of V.natans to P.crispus was converted from facilitation to competition by eutrophication,particularly in the homogenous mosaic growth pattern.This study demonstrates that sufficient light is a prerequisite and patch planting is an effective means to form a multispecies submerged vegetation system.In addition,we emphasize that the coexistence of eutrophication and low light will likely result in a competition between submerged macrophytes thus simplifying the vegetation,even if their growth forms and growing seasons are different.These findings help explain the collapse of multispecies submerged vegetation and guide the restoration of aquatic plants in eutrophic lakes.

Blast resistance of air-backed RC slab against underwater contact explosion

Reinforced concrete(RC)structures are common in engineering,and usually exposed to air or water,may be subjected to various blast scenarios.This paper aims to investigate the blast resistance of an airbacked RC slab against underwater contact explosions(UWCEs).A detailed numerical model based on CLE method considering explosive,water,air,and RC slab is developed to examine the structural behavior of the air-backed RC slab due to UWCEs.At first,the reliability of the numerical method is validated by comparing the numerical results of an UWCE test with experimental data.Then,the difference in dynamic behavior of air-backed and water-backed RC slabs due to UWCEs is explored with the calibrated model.The results indicate that the blast response of the air-backed slab induced by UWCE is fiercer than that of water-backed slab with equal charge mass.In addition,parametric studies are also conducted to explore the effects of the charge mass,standoff distance,reinforcement spacing,concrete compression strength,and boundary condition on the blast performance of the air-backed RC slab.

Analysis of terrestrial water storage changes in the Shaan-Gan-Ning Region using GPS and GRACE/GFO

Both the Global Positioning System(GPS)and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(GRACE)/GRACE Follow-On(GFO)provide effective tools to infer surface mass changes.In this paper,we combined GPS,GRACE/GFO spherical harmonic(SH)solutions and GRACE/GFO mascon solutions to analyze the total surface mass changes and terrestrial water storage(TWS)changes in the Shaan-Gan-Ning Region(SGNR)over the period from December 2010 to February 2021.To improve the reliability of GPS inversion results,an improved regularization Laplace matrix and monthly optimal regularization parameter estimation strategy were employed to solve the ill-posed problem.The results show that the improved Laplace matrix can suppress the edge effects better than that of the traditional Laplace matrix,and the corre-lation coefficient and standard deviation(STD)between the original signal and inversion results from the traditional and improved Laplace matrix are 0.84 and 0.88,and 17.49 mm and 15.16 mm,respectively.The spatial distributions of annual amplitudes and time series changes for total surface mass changes derived from GPS agree well with GRACE/GFO SH solutions and mascon solutions,and the correlation coefficients of total surface mass change time series between GPS and GRACE/GFO SH solutions,GPS and GRACE/GFO mascon solutions are 0.80 and 0.77.However,the obvious differences still exist in local regions.In addition,the seasonal characteristics,increasing and decreasing rate of TWS change time series derived from GPS,GRACE/GFO SH and mascon solutions agree well with the Global Land Data Assimilation System(GLDAS)hydrological model in the studied area,and generally consistent with the precipitation data.Meanwhile,TWS changes derived from GPS and GRACE mascon solutions in the SGNR are more reliable than those of GRACE SH solutions over the period from January 2016 to June 2017(the final operation phase of the GRACE mission).

Comparative analysis and phylogenetic and evolutionary implications of mitogenomes of Chinese Sinocyclocheilus cavefish(Cypriniformes:Cyprinidae)

DEAR EDITOR,Cavefish are of considerable interest due to the remarkable morphological changes that occurred during their adaptation to cave or subterranean river habitats.These changes are thought to involve trade-offs in metabolic requirements and energy utilization.Mitochondria play a vital role in oxygen use and energy metabolism;thus,mitochondrial genes are likely to have experienced specific selective pressures during cavefish evolution.In this study,we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of Sinocyclocheilus sanxiaensis,a typical cavefish species in China.Using this sequence and other available mitogenomes from the NCBI database,we reconstructed an updated phylogeny of Sinocyclocheilus based on 29 species.Five species groups were revealed,with the recently erected S.microphthalmus species group supported.To determine whether divergent selective pressures have acted on the protein-coding genes(PCGs)of the 29 Sinocyclocheilus species exhibiting different morphological features(including eye shape and body color),the fish were classified into three groups according to their cave-related traits.The branch model test revealed higher nonsynonymous/synonymous substitution ratios(ω)in the cave-dwelling groups,potentially resulting from a balance between adaptive selection and relaxed functional constraints.Sophisticated analysis using site and branch-site models identified 24 highly credible positive selection sites located on nine PCGs,with most sites also showing radical changes in amino acid properties.This study sheds light on the phylogeny and mitogenomic evolution of Sinocyclocheilus cavefish,highlighting their successful adaptation and survival in subterranean environments.

Long-term deformation analysis of Shuibuya concrete face rockfill dam based on response surface method and improved genetic algorithm

Due to the size effects of rockfill materials, the settlement difference between numerical simulation and in situ monitoring of rockfill dams is a topic of general concern.The constitutive model parameters obtained from laboratory triaxial tests often underestimate the deformation of high rockfill dams.Therefore, constitutive model parameters obtained by back analysis were used to calculate and predict the long-term deformation of rockfill dams.Instead of using artificial neural networks (ANNs), the response surface method (RSM) was employed to replace the finite element simulation used in the optimization iteration.Only 27 training samples were required for RSM, improving computational efficiency compared with ANN, which required 300 training samples.RSM can be used to describe the relationship between the constitutive model parameters and dam settlements.The inversion results of the Shuibuya concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD) show that the calculated settlements agree with the measured data, indicating the accuracy and efficiency of RSM.

Preparation and characterization of a specialized lunar regolith simulant for use in lunar low gravity simulation

Lunar in-situ resource utilization(ISRU)has been put on the agenda by many countries.Due to the special material nature and low gravity environment,the lunar regolith demonstrates significantly different behavior from terrestrial geomaterials.However,the systematic understanding of its geotechnical behavior is now seriously restricted by the scarcity of lunar regolith and the difficulty in simulating lunar gravity.A new lunar regolith simulant,termed as China University of Mining and Technology Number One(CUMT-1),has been developed to recover properties of the lunar regolith and simulate the lunar gravity by adopting the recently advanced geotechnical magnetic-similitude-gravity model testing(GMMT)method.The CUMT-1 simulant was prepared by reproducing the in-situ formation and fragmentation of the lunar matrix,which plays a key role in the irregular particle morphology.The mineralogical compositions,particle morphology and gradation,specific gravity,bulk density,void ratio,shear strength,and compressibility were determined.After quantifying the magnetization and magnetic-similitude-gravity characteristics,an application of the cone penetration resistance under low gravity was further given.The obtained results are compared to the values known for lunar regolith samples and other simulants,which demonstrates promising characteristics for use in geotechnical engineering-based and scientificbased applications,especially considering the influence of lunar gravity.

Deformation and Failure Mechanism of Phyllite under the Effects of THM Coupling and Unloading

Although the study of TM(Thermo Mechanics),HM(Hydraulic-Mechanics) and THM(Thermo-Hydraulic-Mechanics) coupling under a loading test have been under development,rock failure analysis under THM coupling and unloading is an emerging topic.Based on a high temperature triaxial unloading seep test for phyllite,this paper discusses the deformation and failure mechanism of phyllites under the "H M,T→H,T→M" incomplete coupling model with unloading conditions.The results indicate that the elastic modulus and initial permeability decrease and the Poisson's ratio increases with increasing temperature;the elastic modulus decreases and the Poisson's ratio and initial permeability increase with increasing water pressure.During the unloading process,rock penetrability is small at the initial elastic deformation phase,but the penetrability increases near the end of the elastic deformation phase;mechanisms involving temperature and water pressure affect penetrability differently.Phyllite failure occurs from the initial thermal damage of the rock materials,splitting and softening(which is caused by pore water pressure),and the pressure difference which is formed from the loading axial pressure and unloading confining pressure.The phyllite failure mechanism is a transtensional(tension-shearing) failure.

Hydration properties and thermal analysis of cement-based materials containing limestone powder

The hydration and thermal properties of cement-based materials containing various proportions of limestone powder as a partial replacement for ordinary Portland cement, were investigated and reported. Both compressive and flexural strengths of cement mortar with various contents of limestone powder were tested to study the influence of limestone powder on the strength development of resulting mixtures. The hydration heat and its rate of evolution were also tested, which clearly showed that the replacement percentage of limestone powder had significant effects on the total hydration heat but only a modest influence on the rate of heat evolution of cement-limestone binder. Importantly, the reduction coefficient of limestone powder on the hydration heat, needed for estimation of adiabatic temperature rise of cement-limestone binder, was found to be approximately 0.51. Fundamental thermal properties of these concrete mixtures containing limestone powder were also studied. Increasing the percentage of limestone powder resulted in a significant reduction in the adiabatic temperature rise but only a slight increase in other thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat. In addition, thermal analysis using finite-element modelling indicated that inclusion of limestone powder did not significantly affect the rate of temperature rise nor the occurrence time of the highest temperature at early ages.

Estimating submarine groundwater discharge and associated nutrient inputs into Daya Bay during spring using radium isotopes

Daya Bay, a semi-enclosed bay in the South China Sea, is well known for its aquaculture, agriculture, and tourism. In recent years, many environmental problems have emerged, such as the frequent(almost yearly) occurrence of harmful algal blooms and red tides. Therefore,investigations of submarine groundwater discharge(SGD) and associated nutrient inputs to this bay have important theoretical and practical significance to the protection of the ecological system. Such a study was conducted using short-lived radium isotopes ^(223)Ra and ^(224)Ra. The estimated SGD fluxes were 2.89 × 10~7 m^3/d and 3.05 × 10~7 m^3/d based on ^(223)Ra and ^(224)Ra, respectively. The average SGD flux was about 35 times greater than that of all the local rivers. The SGD-associated dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus(DIP)fluxes ranged from 1.95 × 10~6 to 2.06 × 10~6 mol/d and from 5.72 × 10~4 to 6.04 × 10~4 mol/d, respectively. The average ratio of DIN to DIP fluxes in SGD was 34, much higher than that in local rivers(about 6.46), and about twice as large as the Redfield ratio(16). Our results indicate that SGD is a significant source of nutrients to the bay and may cause frequent occurrence of harmful algal blooms. This study provides baseline data for evaluating potential environmental effects due to urbanization and economic growth in this region.

Effect of geomorphologic features and climate change on vegetation distribution in the arid hot valleys of Jinsha River,Southwest China

Rapid change of climate in vertical and considerable geomorphologic features form a typical diversity and distribution of biota in mountain ecosystems,i.e.,the subalpine forest zone(SFZ),the valley savanna zone(VSZ),and the transition zone between them.The arid hot valley in the middle and lower reaches of Jinsha River,China represents a well target area to study distribution and the driving factors in these typical mountain ecosystems.Therefore,this study selects four sub-sample areas in the arid-hot valley to explore the distinctive changes of vegetation during 1990 to 2020,and their driving factors in the three different vegetation zones on spatiotemporal scales.On the spatial scale,the Moran’s index was applied to identify the transition zone between the SFZ and the VSZ.Results show that the VSZ at low altitudes(less than 600-1000 m from the valley bottom)is mainly affected by geomorphologic features,especially the slope aspect.With increase in altitude,the climate factors(e.g.,humidity,temperature,etc.)play a more significant role in the development of the SFZ,while the effect of geomorphologic features gradually weakens.On the time scale,The SFZ at higher altitudes experienced more rapid changes in temperature(temperature increase of 1.41°C over the last 60 years)than the VSZ at lower altitudes(temperature increase of 0.172°C over the past 60 years).It caused the forest cover increase faster than that of savanna grassland.Humidity and heat conditions are altered by topography and climate conditions,which shapes the development and physiology of plants as they adapt to the different climatic zones.Furthermore,according to the driving factors(geomorphologic and climate factors)of vegetation distribution found in this study,it suggests that suitable tree species should be planted in the transition zone to evolve into the forest zone and making the forest zone to recover from high to low altitudes gradually.

Hydrological Processes of Storm Runoff from Catchments of Different Land Uses

In this paper, a novel and efficient study on the hydrological processes of storm runoff from catchments of different land uses is conducted. The motivation is to precisely simulate the hydrological processes of storm runoff in the agricultural catchments with different patterns of land uses, i.e., forest, paddy, and upland, respectively. As it is discussed in this paper, different land use leads to different characteristics of storm runoff. In order to understand the changes in the hydrological processes of storm runoff from catchments of different land uses, the effects of rainfall intensity, initial soil moisture deficit, evapotranspiration rate, percolation rate, and retention capacity on hydrological processes of the catchments are taken into consideration. According to the principle of water balance, a general model to connect the separate hydrological processes is developed; then, the individual hydrological process is studied in detail： Firstly, the daily evaporation is calculated according to the relation between the actual evapotranspiration and the potential evapotranspiration rate; Secondly, the retention of storm runoff is plotted against the total rainfall, and the maximum storage is calculated; Thirdly, the percolation rate is calculated for each catchment.

A study of cavitation nucleation in pure water using molecular dynamics simulation

To discover the microscopic mechanism responsible for cavitation nucleation in pure water,nucleation processes in pure water are simulated using the molecular dynamics method.Cavitation nucleation is generated by uniformly stretching the system under isothermal conditions,and the formation and development of cavitation nuclei are simulated and discussed at the molecular level.The processes of energy,pressure,and density are analyzed,and the tensile strength of the pure water and the critical volume of the bubble nuclei are investigated.The results show that critical states exist in the process of cavitation nucleation.In the critical state,the energy,density,and pressure of the system change abruptly,and a stable cavitation nucleus is produced if the energy barrier is broken and the critical volume is exceeded.System pressure and water density are the key factors in the generation of cavitation nuclei.When the critical state is surpassed,the liquid is completely ruptured,and the volume of the cavitation nucleus rapidly increases to larger than 100 nm^(3);at this point,the surface tension of the bubble dominates the cavitation nucleus,instead of intermolecular forces.The negative critical pressure for bubble nucleation is-198.6 MPa,the corresponding critical volume is 13.84 nm^(3),and the nucleation rate is 2.42×10^(32)m^(-3)·s^(-1)in pure water at 300 K.Temperature has a significant effect on nucleation:as the temperature rises,nucleation thresholds decrease,and cavitation nucleation occurs earlier.

On the treatment of thermal cracks in lining concrete of water conveyance system of Three Gorges Project permanent ship locks

A comprehensive investigation was performed for repairing the different types of cracks appearing on the surface or inside the concrete lining at various depths.The mate- rial properties used in grouting and two methods for crack repair were discussed in details, and consequently reliable repair measures were proposed and implemented.It is a better choice to adopt the hole-drilling method for the relatively regular crack.The grouting pres- sure should not be too high and it is generally between 0.4～0.6 MPa.For the second time grouting,the pressure maybe increased to 0.8 MPa.Other method is the pasting nozzles method which is more suitable for irregular cracks such as cracks with intensive density and crossing cracks.Its grouting pressure is generally between 0.6～1.0 MPa.The in-situ tests in Three Gorges Project demonstrate favorably the feasibility and applicability of the proposed methods for crack repair within the lining concrete.

Stress Path Analysis of Deep-Sea Sediments Under the Compression-Shear Coupling Load of Crawler Collectors

The mechanical properties of deep-sea sediments during the driving process of crawler collectors are essential factors in the design of mining systems.In this study,a crawler load is divided into a normal compression load and a horizontal shear load.Then,the internal stress state of sedimentary soil is examined through a theoretical calculation and finite element numerical simulation.Finally,the driving of crawlers is simulated by changing the relative spatial position between the load and stress unit,obtaining the stress path of the soil unit.Based on the calculation results,the effect of the horizontal shear load on the soil stress response is analyzed at different depths,and the spatial variation law of the soil stress path is examined.The results demonstrate that the horizontal shear load has a significant effect on the rotation of the principal stress,and the reverse rotation of the principal stress axis becomes obvious with the increase in the burial depth.The stress path curve of the soil is different at various depths.The spatial variation rule of the stress path of the shallow soil is complex,whereas the stress path curve of the deep soil tends to shrink as the depth increases.The stress path of the corresponding depth should be selected according to the actual research purpose and applied to the laboratory test.

Influence of different mining layouts on the mechanical properties of coal

Non-pillar mining,top-coal caving and protected coal seam mining are the most popular mining methods in coal exploitation,and the different mining layouts will change the stress state and failure mechanism of coal in front of the working face.In this paper,mining-induced mechanical behaviors under three mining layouts have been simulated in the laboratory to investigate the effects of mining layouts on the deformation and strength of coal.Furthermore,the coal failure mechanism under different mining layouts is analyzed microscopically.The experimental results indicate that the stage characteristics of the coal deformation are obvious.Under the serial action of non-pillar mining,top-coal caving and protected coal seam mining layouts,the values of radial deformation,volume strain and Poisson's ratio increase,while the peak strength and deformation modulus decrease at the same buried depth,and the peak strength under non-pillar mining,top-coal caving and protected coal seam mining is about 3.0,2.5 and 2.0 times of the initial confining pressure,respectively.The results also indicate that the trend of the coal deformation decreases with the increase of the buried depth under the same mining layout,while the strength and deformation modulus increase,and the failure mechanism under three mining layouts is dominated with shear/tensile failure.

Space-time evolution rules of acoustic emission location of unloaded coal sample at different loading rates

By using MTS815 rock mechanics test system,a series of acoustic emission(AE) location experiments were performed under unloading confining pressure,increasing the axial stress.The AE space-time evolution regularities and energy releasing characteristics during deformation and failure process of coal of different loading rates are compared,the influence mechanism of loading rates on the microscopic crack evolution were studied,combining the AE characteristics and the macroscopic failure modes of the specimens,and the precursory characteristics of coal failure were also analyzed quantitatively.The results indicate that as the loading rate is higher,the AE activity and the main fracture will begin earlier.The destruction of coal body is mainly the function of shear strain at lower loading rate and tension strain at higher rate,and will transform from brittleness to ductility at critical velocities.When the deformation of the coal is mainly plasticity,the amplitude of the AE ringing counting rate increases largely and the AE energy curves appear an obvious ''step'',which can be defined as the first failure precursor point.Statics of AE information shows that the strongest AE activity begins when the axial stress level was 92-98%,which can be defined as the other failure precursor point.As the loading rate is smaller,the coal more easily reaches the latter precursor point after the first one,so attention should be aroused to prevent dynamic disaster in coal mining when the AE activity reaches the first precursor point.

Slope excavation quality assessment and excavated volume calculation in hydraulic projects based on laser scanning technology

Slope excavation is one of the most crucial steps in the construction of a hydraulic project. Excavation project quality assessment and excavated volume calculation are critical in construction management. The positioning of excavation projects using traditional instruments is inefficient and may cause error. To improve the efficiency and precision of calculation and assessment, three-dimensional laser scanning technology was used for slope excavation quality assessment. An efficient data acquisition, processing, and management workflow was presented in this study. Based on the quality control indices, including the average gradient, slope toe elevation, and overbreak and underbreak,cross-sectional quality assessment and holistic quality assessment methods were proposed to assess the slope excavation quality with laserscanned data. An algorithm was also presented to calculate the excavated volume with laser-scanned data. A field application and a laboratory experiment were carried out to verify the feasibility of these methods for excavation quality assessment and excavated volume calculation. The results show that the quality assessment indices can be obtained rapidly and accurately with design parameters and scanned data, and the results of holistic quality assessment are consistent with those of cross-sectional quality assessment. In addition, the time consumption in excavation quality assessment with the laser scanning technology can be reduced by 70%e90%, as compared with the traditional method. The excavated volume calculated with the scanned data only slightly differs from measured data, demonstrating the applicability of the excavated volume calculation method presented in this study.

A cultivated area forecasting approach in artificial oases under climate change and human activities

The cultivated area in artificial oases is deeply influenced by global climate change and human activities.Thus,forecasting cultivated area in artificial oases under climate change and human activities is of great significance.In this study,an approach named GD-HM-PSWROAM,consisting of general circulation model downscaling(GD),hydrological model(HM),and planting structure and water resource optimal allocation model(PSWROAM),was developed and applied in the irrigation district of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China to forecast the cultivated area tendency.Furthermore,the catchment export of the MIKE11 HD/NAM model was set to the Kensiwate hydrological station.The results show that the downscaling effects of temperature can be fairly satisfying,while those of precipitation may be not satisfying but acceptable.Simulation capacity of the MIKE11 HD/NAM model on the discharge in the Kensiwate hydrological station can meet the requirements of running the PSWROAM.The accuracy of the PSWROAM indicated that this model can perform well in predicting the change of cultivated area at the decadal scale.The cultivated area in the Manas River Basin under current human activities may be generally decreasing due to the climate change.But the adverse effects of climate change can be weakened or even eliminated through positive human activities.The cultivated area in the Manas River Basin may even be increasing under assumed human activities and future climate scenarios.The effects of human activities in the future can be generally predicted and quantified according to the cultivated area trends under current human activities and the situations in the study area.Overall,it is rational and acceptable to forecast the cultivated area tendency in artificial oases under future climate change and human activities through the GD-HM-PSWROAM approach.

MAXIMIN EFFICIENCY ROBUST TEST FOR MULTIPLE NUISANCE PARAMETERS AND ITS STATISTICAL PROPERTIES

We propose the maximin efficiency robust test（MERT） for multiple nuisance parameters based on theories about the maximin efficiency robust test for only one nuisance parameter and investigate some theoretical properties about this robust test.We explore some theoretical properties about the power of the MERT for multiple nuisance parameters in a specified scenario intuitively further more.We also propose a meaningful example from statistical genetic field to which the MERT for multiple nuisance parameters can be well applied.Extensive simulation studies are conducted to testify the robustness of the MERT for multiple nuisance parameters.

Sinocyclocheilus sanxiaensis, a new blind fish from the Three Gorges of Yangtze River provides insights into speciation of Chinese cavefish

DEAR EDITOR,A blind fish of Sinocyclocheilus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)was caught in open water in the Three Gorges (Sanxia)reservoir, at a depth of 20 m in the mainstream of YangtzeRiver in Zigui County, Hubei Province, China. This fish can beeasily distinguished from all other congeners by externalmorphological characteristics, and is estimated to havediverged from its sister group about 0.55 million years ago(Ma). The geologically well separated locality of this specieshas expanded the distribution of Sinocyclocheilus cavefishfrom around N25°(latitude) to above N30°. Herein, wedescribe this new species as Sinocyclocheilus sanxiaensis sp.nov., and discuss the possible reasons why the speciesappears, surprisingly, in the Three Gorges reservoir.