Abstract: Long-term variations of phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), nutrients, and suspended solids (SS) in Taihu Lake, a large shallow freshwater lake in China, during algal bloom seasons from May to August were analyzed using the monthly investigated data from 1999 to 2007. The effective accumulated water temperature (EAWT) in months from March to June was calculated with daily monitoring data from the Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem Research (TLLER). The concentrations of Chl-a and nutrients significantly decreased from Meiliang Bay to Central Lake. Annual averages of the total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and Chl-a concentrations, and EAWT generally increased in the nine years. In Meiliang Bay, the concentration of Chl-a was significantly correlated with EAWT, ammonia nitrogen ( ), TN, the soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), TP, and SS. In Central Lake, however, the concentration of Chl-a was only correlated with EAWT, TP, and SS. Multiple stepwise linear regression revealed that EAWT, dissolved total phosphorus (DTP), and TP explained 99.2% of the variation of Chl-a in Meiliang Bay, and that EAWT, , and TP explained 98.7% of the variation of Chl-a in Central Lake. Thus EAWT is an important factor influencing the annual change of phytoplankton biomass. Extreme climate change, such as extremely hot springs or cold springs, could cause very different bloom intensities in different years. It is also suggested that both nutrients and EAWT played important roles in the growth of phytoplankton in Taihu Lake. The climate factors and nutrients dually controlled the risk of harmful algal blooms in Taihu Lake. Cutting down phosphorus and nitrogen loadings from catchments should be a fundamental strategy to reduce the risk of blooms in Taihu Lake.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to isolate algicidal bacteria so as to control harmful cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) blooms using biological methods. Nine bacterial strains were isolated to inhibit the growth of M. aeruginosa, among which the MaI11-5 bacterial strain exhibited remarkable algicidal activity against M. aeruginosa cells during the test. Based on the 16S rDNA analysis, the isolated MaI11-5 was identified as Pedobacter sp. through morphology and homology research. The results of cocultivation of the cyanobacteria with MaI11-5 algicidal isolates showed obvious algicidal activity against cyanobacterial cells. The algicidal effect of MaI11-5 exceeded 50% after two days, exceeded 70% after four days, and reached 80% after seven days. The observation results with a scanning electron microscope showed that the cyanobacterial cells aggregated and produced mucous-like substances when cocultivated with the algicidal bacteria. The results indicated that the MaI11-5 bacterial strain may possess a novel function for controlling harmful blooms and further studies will provide new insights into its role in water environment.
Abstract: This paper presents a review of the state-of-the-art research and its applications developed at Hohai University relating to the hydrodynamic and morphological processes in the Yangtze Estuary. Longitudinal, lateral, and horizontal flow circulations have been revealed based on the measurements with acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP). The hydrodynamic mechanism at diversion points as well as the changing patterns of flow and sediment flux in the Yangtze Estuary has been investigated through long-term data analysis. A field survey has been carried out to detect the saltwater intrusion from the North Branch to South Branch. Different numerical models of flow motion, sediment transport, and saltwater intrusion have been developed to simulate the complicated processes and to evaluate the effects of engineering projects. The morphological processes of wetlands over a time scale of decades have been analyzed with an established database. Ideas for further research on the bio-geomorphological model system and long-term evolution mechanisms are put forward.
Abstract: Flow discharge from the river basin into the sea has severe impacts on the immediate vicinity of river channels, estuaries, and coastal areas. This paper analyzes the features and temporal trends of flow discharge at Pearl River’s three main gauge stations: the Wuzhou, Shijiao, and Boluo gauge stations on the West River, North River, and East River, respectively. The results show no significant trend in annual mean discharge into the sea at the three gauge stations. Changes of monthly mean discharge at the Boluo Gauge Station are evident, and a majority of monthly discharge in the dry season displays significant increasing trends. Furthermore, changes of the extreme discharge are quite evident, with a significant decreasing trend in the annual maximum discharge and a significant increasing trend in the minimum one. The significantly decreasing ratio of the flood discharge to annual discharge at the Boluo Gauge Station indicates that the flow discharge from the East River has increased in the dry season and decreased in the flood season since the construction of dams and reservoirs. At the other two gauge stations, the Wuzhou and Shijiao gauge stations, the seasonal discharge generally does not change perceptibly. Human impacts, especially those pertaining to reservoir and dam construction, appear to be responsible for the seasonal variation of flow discharge. The results indicate that the construction and operation of dams and reservoirs in the East River have a greater influence on flow discharge, which can well explain why the seasonal variation of flow discharge from the East River is more evident.
Abstract: The split-step pseudo-spectral method is a useful method for solving nonlinear wave equations. However, it is not widely used because of the limitation of the periodic boundary condition. In this paper, the method is modified at its second step by avoiding transforming the wave height function into a frequency domain function. Thus, the periodic boundary condition is not required, and the new method is easy to implement. In order to validate its performance, the proposed method was used to solve the nonlinear parabolic mild-slope equation and the spatial modified nonlinear Schrödinger (MNLS) equation, which were used to model the wave propagation under different bathymetric conditions. Good agreement between the numerical and experimental results shows that the present method is effective and efficient in solving nonlinear wave equations.
Abstract: A series of experiments on the instability of steep water wave trains in water with finite water depths and infinite water depths in a wide wave basin were performed. It was found that under the coupled development of modulational instability and class-II instability, the initial two-dimensional steep wave trains evolved into three-dimensional crescent waves, followed by the occurrence of disordered water surfaces, and that the wave energy transferred to sidebands in the amplitude spectrum of the water surface elevation. The results also show that water depth has a significant effect on the growth of modulational instability and the evolution of crescent waves. The larger the water depth, the more quickly the modulational instability suppresses class-II instability.
Abstract: Combining sea level anomalies with the mean dynamic topography derived from the geoid of the EGM08 global gravity field model and the CLS01 mean sea surface height, this study examined the characteristics of global geostrophic surface currents and the seasonal and interannual variabilities of the mean velocity of the Kuroshio (the Kuroshio source and Kuroshio extension). The patterns of global geostrophic surface currents we derived and the actual ocean circulation are basically the same. The mean velocity of the Kuroshio source is high in winter and low in fall, and its seasonal variability accounts for 18% of its total change. The mean velocity of the Kuroshio extension is high in summer and low in winter, and its seasonal variability accounts for 25% of its total change. The interannual variabilities of the mean velocity of the Kuroshio source and Kuroshio extension are significant. The mean velocity of the Kuroshio source and ENSO index are inversely correlated. However, the relationship between the mean velocity of the Kuroshio extension and the ENSO index is not clear. Overall, the velocity of the Kuroshio increases when La Niña occurs and decreases when El Niño occurs.
Abstract: For the evaluation of construction quality and the verification of the design of water conservancy and hydropower engineering projects, and especially for the control of dam safety operation behavior, safety monitoring sensors are employed in a majority of engineering projects. These sensors are used to monitor the project during the dam construction and operation periods, and play an important role in reservoir safety operation and producing benefits. With the changing of operating environments and run-time of projects, there are some factors affecting the operation and management of projects, such as a certain amount of damaged sensors and instability of the measured data. Therefore, it is urgent to evaluate existing safety monitoring sensors in water conservancy and hydropower engineering projects. However, there are neither standards nor evaluation guidelines at present. Based on engineering practice, this study examined some key techniques for the evaluation of safety monitoring sensors, including the evaluation process of the safety monitoring system, on-site detection methods of two typical pieces of equipment, the differential resistor sensor and vibrating wire sensor, the on-site detection methods of communication cable faults, and a validity test of the sensor measured data. These key techniques were applied in the Xiaolangdi Water Control Project and Xiaoxi Hydropower Project. The results show that the measured data of a majority of sensors are reliable and reasonable, and can reasonably reflect the structural change behavior in the project operating process, indicating that the availabilities of the safety monitoring sensors of the two projects are high.
Abstract: Accurate assessment of water deficit and related uncertainties in water-scarce areas is strategically important in various fields of water resources management. This study developed a hybrid approach integrating conceptual water balance model and econometric regression to estimate water shortage and its related uncertainties in water-scarce areas. This hybrid approach was used to assess the agricultural water deficit of Beijing, an extremely water-scarce area in China. A predictive model of agricultural water demand was developed using the stepwise multiple regression method, and was validated by comparing the predicted values with observed data. Scenario analysis was employed to investigate the uncertainties of agricultural water shortage and agricultural water demand. This modeling approach can assist water administration in creating sustainable water allocation strategies in water-scarce areas.
Abstract: The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project is a significant engineering project meant to solve water shortage problems in North China. Faced with market operations management of the water diversion system, this study defined the supply chain system for the SNWD Project, considering the actual project conditions, built a decentralized decision model and a centralized decision model with strategic customer behavior (SCB) using a floating pricing mechanism (FPM), and constructed a coordination mechanism via a revenue-sharing contract. The results suggest the following: (1) owing to water shortage supplements and the excess water sale policy provided by the FPM, the optimal ordering quantity of water resources is less than that without the FPM, and the optimal profits of the whole supply chain, supplier, and external distributor are higher than they would be without the FPM; (2) wholesale pricing and supplementary wholesale pricing with SCB are higher than those without SCB, and the optimal profits of the whole supply chain, supplier, and external distributor are higher than they would be without SCB; and (3) considering SCB and introducing the FPM help increase the optimal profits of the whole supply chain, supplier, and external distributor, and improve the efficiency of water resources usage.
