Sand burial is a ubiquitous disturbance that influences the ecological and hydrological properties of moss crusts in many sandy desert areas. There is little available information regarding the effect of sand burial on the water repellency (WR) of moss crusts in desert areas. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of sand burial (sand depths of 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 10 mm) followed by three simulated precipitation regimes (through applying 4 and 6 mm, 2 and 3 mm, and 1 and 1.5 mm of distilled water at 8-day intervals in spring and autumn, respectively) on the WR of a widespread moss crust dominated by Bryum argenteum Hedw. in a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert, China. The results showed moss crust WR remained subcritical during the whole experiment, and that it considerably decreased immediately after sand burial, even though the values of WR were significantly higher in autumn than those in spring under the same treatment (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the depth threshold (TD) values for sand burials that reduced WR to zero were 1 and 2 mm in spring and autumn, respectively. After a recovery period of nearly one-season (72 days), the WR of the moss crust significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, sand burial had two separate effects on moss crust WR. Specifically, shallower sand burial (burial depth less than 0.5 mm) increased moss crust WR, whereas deeper sand burial (burial depth exceeds 0.5 mm) decreased it. The TD values also significantly increased to 2 and 4 mm in spring and autumn, respectively. These findings about the effects of sand burial on moss crust WR provide additional information that can be used to better understand the influence of sand burial on moss crust colonization and maintenance in arid sandburial- stressed ecosystems, and to help explain why there are some contrasting viewpoints on biocrust WR.
Hillslope hydrology in agricultural landscapes is complex due to a variety of hydropedological processes and field management possibilities. The aim was to test if there are any differences in soil properties and water regime along the hillslope and to compare vineyard rows (vine) with inter-rows (grass) area for those properties. The study determined that there are significant differences in the contents of soil particle fractions, pH, and humus content along the slope (P < 0.0001), with lower confidence level in bulk density (P < 0.05). Differences between row and inter-row space were significant for the pH, humus, and silt content, but for sand and clay content, and bulk density differences were not determined. The study determined differences in soil water content among five slope positions (P < 0.0001), and between row and inter-row vineyard space (all with P < 0.05). Where in the upper slope positions (e. g., P1) soil water content was higher than on lower slope positions. Higher soil water content was observed at higher slope positions, associated with clay content. However, it can be concluded that the retention of moisture on the slope is more influenced by local-scale soil properties (primarily soil texture) and variability of the crop (row/inter-row) than the position on the slope.
An open channel flume with a central 180-degree bend with a rigid bed is designed to obtain a better understanding of the complex flow pattern around a T-shaped spur dike located in a sharp bend. The 3-dimensional velocities are measured by using an acoustic Doppler velocimetry under clear-water conditions. This study's primary objective is to compare variations of the mean flow pattern along a 180-degree bend with a variety of T-shaped spur dike lengths. In order to do so, parameters such as streamlines, the maximum velocity distribution, and the secondary flow strength under the influence of three T-shaped spur dike lengths will be analyzed and then compared with the case where no spur dikes are implemented. The results show that with the spur dike placed at the bend apex, the mean secondary flow strength at that range increases by approximately 2.5 times. In addition, a 67% increase in the length of the wing and web of the spur dike leads to a 27% growth in the mean secondary flow strength along the bend.
Accurate estimates of infiltration and groundwater recharge are critical for many hydrologic, agricultural and environmental applications. Anticipated climate change in many regions of the world, especially in tropical areas, is expected to increase the frequency of high-intensity, short-duration precipitation events, which in turn will affect the groundwater recharge rate. Estimates of recharge are often obtained using monthly or even annually averaged meteorological time series data. In this study we employed the HYDRUS-1D software package to assess the sensitivity of groundwater recharge calculations to using meteorological time series of different temporal resolutions (i.e., hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly averaged precipitation and potential evaporation rates). Calculations were applied to three sites in Brazil having different climatological conditions: a tropical savanna (the Cerrado), a humid subtropical area (the temperate southern part of Brazil), and a very wet tropical area (Amazonia). To simplify our current analysis, we did not consider any land use effects by ignoring root water uptake. Temporal averaging of meteorological data was found to lead to significant bias in predictions of groundwater recharge, with much greater estimated recharge rates in case of very uneven temporal rainfall distributions during the year involving distinct wet and dry seasons. For example, at the Cerrado site, using daily averaged data produced recharge rates of up to 9 times greater than using yearly averaged data. In all cases, an increase in the time of averaging of meteorological data led to lower estimates of groundwater recharge, especially at sites having coarse-textured soils. Our results show that temporal averaging limits the ability of simulations to predict deep penetration of moisture in response to precipitation, so that water remains in the upper part of the vadose zone subject to upward flow and evaporation.
The paper deals with the effect of the parameters of aqueous slurries of particulate matter on the functional relationship between the specific energy and the flow rate of hydrodynamic dredge pumps. The empirical conversion equations available from literature are reviewed. The methods of converting the pump characteristics at clear water to those which apply for slurries have been incorporated into a straightforward, user-friendly computer program which can be run on a PC. The program may be adopted in the design of hydro-transportation systems involving hydrodynamic dredge pumps. The program computes the specific pump energy as a function of flow rate at given rotary speed, for specific operating conditions of the pump, i.e., for specific parameters of the slurry.The paper deals with the effect of the parameters of aqueous slurries of particulate matter on the functional relationship between the specific energy and the flow rate of hydrodynamic dredge pumps. The empirical conversion equations available from literature are reviewed. The methods of converting the pump characteristics at clear water to those which apply for slurries have been incorporated into a straightforward, user-friendly computer program which can be run on a PC. The program may be adopted in the design of hydro-transportation systems involving hydrodynamic dredge pumps. The program computes the specific pump energy as a function of flow rate at given rotary speed, for specific operating conditions of the pump, i.e., for specific parameters of the slurry. and Článek pojednává o vlivu parametrů hydrosměsi písku na funkční vztah měrná energie - průtok hydrodynamických bagrovacích čerpadel. Uvádí přehled empirických přepočtových vztahů v dostupných literárních podkladech. Metody přepočtu charakteristik čerpadla z čisté vody na hydrosměs byly zapracovány do uživatelsky jednoduchého výpočtového programu pro osobní počítač. Program lze využít při návrhu hydrodopravních systémů s hydrodynamickými bagrovacími čerpadly. Výstupem programu jsou závislosti měrné energie čerpadla na průtoku při daných otáčkách pro konkrétní podmínky provozu čerpadla, resp. pro konkrétní parametry suspenze.
This paper reports the results of experimental investigations of flow-induced loading on perforated and solid flat plates at zero incidence with respect to the incoming flow. The plates had a streamwise length to transverse thickness ratio of 23.5. The effect of the perforations was investigated for three different perforation diameters. The results corresponding to the perforated plates were compared with the reference case of the solid plate (no perforations) at five inflow velocities. We quantified the effect of the perforations on the unsteady fluid loading on the plate in terms of the variations of the corresponding Strouhal number, the mean drag coefficient and the fluctuating lift coefficient as functions of the Reynolds number and the perforation diameter. The results indicate that the loading was dominated by the dynamics of the wake. In particular, increasing the perforation diameter resulted in a wider wake, corresponding to the increase in mean drag coefficient and the decrease in the Strouhal number. Onset of coupling between the vortex shedding and the transverse oscillations of the plate was manifested as a rapid increase in the fluctuating lift coefficient, as the perforation diameter exceeds the plate thickness.
The aim of the study was to assess the possibility of using the empirical formulas to determine the roughness coefficient in gravel-bed streams, the bed slopes of which range from 0.006 to 0.047. Another aim was to determine the impact of taking into account the conditions of non-uniform flow on the application of these formulas and to develop the correlation relationships between the roughness coefficient and water surface slope and also between the roughness coefficient and friction slope in order to estimate the roughness coefficient n in gravel-bed streams. The studies were conducted in eight measuring sections of streams located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, southern Poland. The roughness coefficient n0 for these sections was calculated from the transformed Bernoulli equation based on the results of surveys and hydrometric measurements. The values of n0 were compared with the calculation results obtained from fourteen empirical formulas presenting the roughness coefficient as a function of slope. The Lacey, Riggs, Bray and Sauer formulas were found to provide an approximate estimate of the n value, while the best roughness coefficient estimation results were obtained using the Riggs formula. It was also found that taking into account the non-uniform flow and using the friction slope in the formulas instead of the bed slope or water surface slope did not improve the estimated values of the roughness coefficient using the tested formulas. It was shown that the lack of differences in the RMSE and MAE error values calculated for the developed correlation equations between the roughness coefficient and the friction slope or with the water surface slope also indicate no influence of the assumed friction slope or water surface slope on the value of the estimated roughness coefficient.
This study presents the results of 32 laboratory experiments on local scour at a single pile and a 1 × 4 pile group for both uniform and non-uniform sediments under clear water conditions. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of different sediment beds made up of mixtures of sand and gravel (four-bed configurations) in d50 (1–3.5 mm) and gradation (1.4–3) ranges on scour depth for different flow discharges and flow depths. Further, the findings of the experiments are deployed to describe the effects of pile spacing and flow conditions on the local pier scour for both uniform and non-uniform bed granulometries. In addition, this study addresses the performance of some existing scourdepth predictors. Also, the corresponding results are suitable for validating the numerical models in local pier scour prediction importantly with non-uniform sediments. In summary, the results show that effects of sediment gradation dampen with increasing flow shallowness. Furthermore, the maximum scour depth at pile groups generally increases as pile spacing decreases for uniform sediments, whereas the mentioned trend was not observed for non-uniform sediments for the same flow and sediment conditions. Moreover, the experimental results revealed that bed sediment gradation is a controlling factor in the pile’s scour. Thus, the existing scour depth predictions could be highly improved by considering sediment gradation in the predictions. Finally, the conclusions drawn from this study provide crucial evidence for the protection of bridge foundations not only at the front pile but also at rear piles.
CO2 injection is a well-known Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique that has been used for years to improve oil extraction from carbonate rock and other oil reservoirs. Optimal functioning of CO2 injection requires a thorough understanding of how this method affects the petrophysical properties of the rocks. We evaluated pore-scale changes in these properties, notably porosity and absolute permeability, following injection of CO2-saturated water in two coquina outcrop samples from the Morro do Chaves Formation in Brazil. The coquinas are close analogues of Presalt oil reservoirs off the coast of southern Brazil. The effects of carbonated water injection were evaluated using a series of experimental and numerical steps before and after coreflooding: cleaning, basic petrophysics, microtomography (microCT) imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses, and pore network modeling (PNM). Our study was motivated by an earlier experiment which did not show the development of a wormhole in the center of the sample, with a concomitant increase in permeability of the coquina as often noted in the literature. We instead observed a substantial decrease in the absolute permeability (between 71 and 77%), but with little effect on the porosity and no wormhole formation. While all tests were carried out on both samples, here we present a comprehensive analysis for one of the samples to illustrate changes at the pore network level. Different techniques were used for the pore-scale analyses, including pore network modeling using PoreStudio, and software developed by the authors to enable a statistical analysis of the pore network. Results provided much insight in how injected carbonated water affects the pore network of carbonate rocks.
Environmental conditions play a major role for effects of olive mill wastewater (OMW) application to soil. Choosing a different season for OMW application than the commonly practiced winter, may help avoid negative effects. However, understanding of the OMW-soil interaction during different seasons is still incomplete due to the lack of comparative data. In this study, an 18 months field experiment was carried out in an olive orchard in West Bank. Degree and persistence of soil salinization, acidification, accumulation of phenolic compounds and soil water repellency were investigated as a function of soil depth and time elapsed after OMW application, which was performed either in spring, summer (with and without irrigation) or winter. The persistence of negative effects increased with duration of the hot and dry period following the application due to accumulation and polymerization of OMW. On the other hand, leaching of OMW components to groundwater is favored during the rainy season and by formation of preferential flow paths before the rain season starts. The risks of groundwater contamination and persistent negative effects decrease with increasing time under conditions favoring biological activity. Therefore, OMW application in spring if improved by a careful irrigation is considered as the most suitable under semiarid conditions for clay loam soils.