A pile foundation is commonly adopted in geotechnical engineering to support structures, and its application has been extended to cold-regions engineering. In past decades, a host of scholars investigated pile behaviors and proposed design guidelines for seasonally frozen ground or permafrost. This paper reviews the research with respect to pile performance and engineering practice in cold regions, organized as follows: (1) creep tests and bearing capacity, (2) frost-jacking hazards, (3) laterally loaded piles, (4) dynamic responses, (5) refreezing due to concrete-hydration heat, and (6) improved countermeasures and design methods. We first summarize previous research and recent progress; then, predict the development trend of pile foundations in cold regions and recommend further research.
Air quality was improved considerably and the so-called "Lanzhou Blue" appeared frequently in Lanzhou due to implementation of some strict emission-control measures in recent years. To better understand whether the concentration of each air pollutant had decreased significantly and then give some suggestions as to urban air-quality improvement in the near future, the variations of the Air Quality Index (AQI) and six criterion air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO2, NO2, and O3) at five state-controlled monitoring sites of Lanzhou were studied from 2013 to 2016. The AQI, PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 gradually decreased from 2013 to 2016, while CO and NO2 concentrations had slightly increasing trends, especially in urban areas, due to the large number of motor vehicles, which had an annual growth rate of 30.87%. The variations of the air pollutants in the no-domestic-heating season were more significant than those in the domestic-heating season. The increase of ozone concentration for the domestic-heating season at a background station was the most significant among the five monitoring sites. The vehicle-exhaust and ozone pollution was increasingly severe with the rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles. The particulate-matter pollution became slight in the formerly highly polluted Lanzhou City. Some synergetic measures in urban and rural areas of Lanzhou should be taken by the local government in the near future to control fine particulate-matter (PM2.5) and ozone pollution.
The Tianshan Mountains is a wet island in arid central Asia, and precipitation amount across the mountains is much larger than that in the surrounding low-lying areas. To investigate the regional water cycle in arid central Asia, stable isotope composition in precipitation has received increased attention during the past decades. This paper reviewed current knowledge of observed and simulated stable isotope ratios in precipitation across the Tianshan Mountains. The temperature effect of stable isotopes in precipitation has been widely accepted in arid central Asia and can be applied to paleoclimate reconstruction using ice cores. The seasonality of precipitation isotopically enriched in summer months and depleted in winter months is usually attributed to westerly-dominated moisture, but different trajectory paths to the northern and southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains can still be modelled. The proportional contribution and its uncertainty of surface evaporation and transpiration to local precipitation can be estimated using the isotope approach, and transpiration plays a dominant role in recycled moisture for oasis sites. The impact of below-cloud evaporation on precipitation stable isotopes on the southern slope is usually larger than that on the northern slope.
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important component of ice cores but is currently poorly characterized. DOM from one Holocene sample (HS, aged at 1600-4500 B.P.) and one Last Glacial Maximum sample (LS, aged at 21000-25000 B.P.) from the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) ice core were analyzed by ultra-high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). CHO compounds contributed 50% of the compounds identified in negative-ionization mode in these two samples, with significant contributions from organic N, S, and P compounds, likely suggesting that marine DOM was an important source in these samples. Overall, the chemical compositions are similar between these two samples, suggesting their consistent DOM sources. However, subtle differences in the DOM between these two samples are apparent and could indicate differences in source strength or chemistry occurring through both pre- and post-depositional processes. For example, higher relative amounts of condensed carbon compounds in the HS DOM (5%), compared to the LS DOM (2%), suggest potentially important contributions from terrestrial sources. Greater incorporation of P in the observed DOM in the LS DOM (22%), compared to the HS DOM (13%), indicate more active microbiological processes that likely contribute to phosphorus incorporation into the DOM pool. Although these two samples present only a preliminary analysis of DOM in glacial/interglacial periods, the data indicate a need to expand the analysis into a broader range of ice-core samples, geographical locations, and glacial/interglacial periods.
Glacier mass balance is a key component of glacier monitoring programs. Information on the mass balance of Sawir Mountains is poor due to a dearth of in-situ measurements. This paper introduces the applicability of an ultra-long-range terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to monitor the mass balance of Muz Taw Glacier, Sawir Mountains, China. The Riegl VZ®-6000 TLS is exceptionally well-suited for measuring snowy and icy terrain. Here, we use TLS to create repeated high spatiotemporal resolution DEMs, focusing on the annual mass balance (June 2, 2015 to July 25, 2016). According to TLS-derived high spatial resolution point clouds, the front variation (glacier retreat) of Muz Taw Glacier was 9.3 m. The mean geodetic elevation change was 4.55 m at the ablation area. By comparing with glaciological measurements, the glaciological elevation change of individual stakes and the TLS-derived geodetic elevation change of corresponding points matched closely, and the calculated balance was -3.864±0.378 m w.e.. This data indicates that TLS provides accurate results and is therefore suitable to monitor mass balance evolution of Muz Taw Glacier.
Probable maximum precipitation (PMP) is widely used by hydrologists for appraisal of probable maximum flood (PMF) used for soil and water conservation structures, and design of dam spillways. A number of methods such as empirical, statistical and dynamic are used to estimate PMP, the most favored being statistical and hydro-meteorological. In this paper, PMP estimation in mountainous regions of Pakistan is studied using statistical as well as physically based hydro-meteorological approaches. Daily precipitation, dew point, wind speed and temperature data is processed to estimate PMP for a one-day duration. Maximum precipitation for different return periods is estimated by using statistical approaches such as Gumble and Log-Pearson type-III (LP-III) distribution. Goodness of fit (GOF) test, chi-square test, correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination were applied to Gumble and LP-III distributions. Results reveal that among statistical approaches, Gumble distribution performed the best result compared to LP-III distribution. Isohyetal maps of the study area at different return periods are produced by using the GIS tool, and PMP in mountainous regions varies from 150 to 320 mm at an average value of 230.83 mm. The ratio of PMP for one-day duration to highest observed rainfall (HOR) varied from 1.08 to 1.29 with an average value of 1.18. An appropriate frequency factor (Km) is very important which is a function of mean for observed precipitation and PMP for 1-day duration, and Km values varies from 2.54 to 4.68. The coefficient of variability (Cv) varies from minimum value of 28% to maximum value of 43.35%. It was concluded that the statistical approach gives higher results compared to moisture maximization (MM) approach. In the hydro-meteorological approach, moisture maximization (MM) and wind moisture maximization (WMM) techniques were applied and it was concluded that wind moisture maximization approach gives higher results of PMP as compared to moisture maximization approach as well as for Hershfield technique. Therefore, it is suggested that MM approach is the most favored in the study area for PMP estimation, which leads to acceptable results, compared to WMM and statistical approaches.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) might strongly influence the emission of soil N2O on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). However, there is a lack of in situ research on the characteristics of soil N2O concentration and flux in response to variations in soil properties caused by FTCs. Here, we report the effect of FTC-induced changes in soil properties on the soil N2O concentration and flux in the permafrost region of the higher reaches of the Shule River Basin on the northeastern margin of the QTP. We measured chemical properties of the topsoil, activities of soil microorganisms, and air temperature (AT), as well as soil N2O concentration and flux, over an annual cycle from July 31, 2011, to July 30, 2012. The results showed that soil N2O concentration was significantly affected by soil temperature (ST), soil moisture (SM), soil salinity (SS), soil polyphenol oxidase (SPO), soil alkaline phosphatase (SAP), and soil culturable actinomycetes (SCA), ranked as SM> SS> ST> SPO> SAP> SCA, whereas ST significantly increased soil N2O flux, compared with SS. Overall, our study indicated that the soil N2O concentration and flux in permafrost zone FTCs were strongly affected by soil properties, especially soil moisture, soil salinity, and soil temperature.
The simulation of soil temperature on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays a dominant role in the performance of both global climate and numerical weather forecast models. To improve the simulation of soil temperature on the TP, the Johansen soil thermal conductivity parameterization scheme was introduced into Community Land Model 3.5 (CLM3.5) and Regional Climatic Model 4 (RegCM4). The improved CLM3.5 and RegCM4-CLM were utilized to conduct offline and regional simulation experiments on the TP. Comparison of the new and old schemes revealed that CLM3.5 provides high thermal conductivity parameters of mineral soil solid on the TP. The Johansen scheme is more practical for the TP than the soil thermal conductivity parameterization in CLM3.5. The simulation of soil temperature and liquid water content was improved in offline experiment. The improved parameterization scheme can also reduce the simulation error of soil temperature in winter throughout the entire TP.
