Control of lunar and martian dust - Experimental insights from artificial and natural cyanobacterial and algal crusts in the desert of Inner Mongolia, China

Studies on the colonization of environmentally extreme ground surfaces were conducted in a Mars-like desert area of Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, with microalgae and cyanobacteria. We collected and mass-cultured cyanobacterial strains from these regions and investigated their ability to form desert crusts artificially. These crusts had the capacity to resist sand wind erosion after just 15 days of growth. Similar to the surface of some Chinese deserts, the surface of Mars is characterized by a layer of fine dust, which will challenge future human exploration activities, particularly in confined spaces that will include greenhouses and habitats. We discuss the use of such crusts for the local control of desert sands in enclosed spaces on Mars. These experiments suggest innovative new directions in the applied use of microbe-mineral interactions to advance the human exploration and settlement of space.

Size and time of day affect the response of postlarvae and early juvenile grooved tiger prawns Penaeus semisulcatus De Haan (Decapoda:Penaeidae) to natural and artificial seagrass in the laboratory

Juvenile tiger prawns (Penaeus semisulcatus De Haan and P. esculentus Haswell) show a strong association with vegetated habitats and are rarely caught on non-vegetated areas. This pattern of distribution may be caused by postlarvae selecting vegetation when they settle, or to differences in post-settlement mortality in different habitats. In this study, we examined whether the postlarvae and early juvenile stages of P. semisulcatus would distinguish between seagrass (Zostera capricorni Aschers) without epiphytes, artificial seagrass and bare substratum in the laboratory. The responses of prawns reared from the egg to different stages of postlarval and juvenile development were tested to determine whether, and when, each size class showed a response to a particular habitat. Five size classes of postlarvae (average carapace lengths [CL] of 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7 and 2.0 mm) were offered a choice between Z. capricorni and bare sand. Small size classes of postlarvae either did not respond to Z. capricorni (1.2 and 1.6 mm CL), or were more abundant on bare substratum than Z. capricorni. In contrast, the largest size classes of postlarvae (1.7 and 2.0 mm CL) were more abundant on Z. capricorni during the day but not at night. The behaviour of postlarvae changed markedly at a size of 1.7 mm CL (22 days from the first nauplius): smaller postlarvae frequently swam in the water column; 1.7 and 2.0 mm CL postlarvae spent much more. time resting on the substrate and perched on seagrass leaves. This size at which postlarvae first respond to seagrass during the day, and show mainly benthic behaviour, is similar to the size at which they are found on shallow seagrass beds in northern Australia. Large postlarvae (2.7 mm CL) and juveniles (4.1 mm CL) both were more abundant on artificial seagrass than bare sand during the day but not at night, indicating that they respond to structured habitats. When large postlarvae (2.4 mm CL) and juveniles (3.5 mm CL) were offered a choice between Z. capricorni without epiphytes and artificial seagrass, they were more abundant on the Z. capricorni, which suggests that chemical cues from seagrass may explain some of the responses of P. semisulcatus to seagrass. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Modern changes of tidal troughs among the radial sand ridges in northern Jiangsu coastal zone

Using satellite images taken on different dates, GIS analysis of aerial photos, bathymetric maps and other field survey data, tidal troughs and major sand ridges in the northern Jiangsu coastal area were contrasted. The results show that there have been three types of movement or migration of tidal trough in this area: (1) Periodic and restricted, this type of trough usually developed along the beaches with immobile gully head as a result of the artificial dams and the swing range increased from gully head to the low reaches, so they have been obviously impacted by human activity and have longer swing periods; (2) Periodic and actively, this kind of trough, which swung with a fast rate and moved periodically on sand ridges, were mainly controlled by the swings of the host tidal troughs and hydrodynamic forces upon tidal sand ridge and influenced slightly by human constructions; (3) Steadily and slowly, they are the main tidal troughs with large scale and a steady orientation in this area and have slow lateral movement. The differences in migration mode of tidal trough shift result in different rates of migration and impact upon tidal sand ridges. Lateral accumulation on current tidal trough and deposition on abandoned tidal troughs are the two types of sedimentation of the tidal sand ridges formation. The whole radial sand ridge was generally prone to division and retreat although sand ridges fluctuated by the analysis of changes in talwegs of tidal troughs and shorelines of sand ridges.

Short-term morphological changes after sand-digging during a sand sculpture activity

The morphology of the beach backshore and foreshore at Huiquan Bay, Qingdao, China, is characterized by a single intertidal sandbar system with a spring tide range of 4.59 m. The beach was measured with a laser total station of Leica TPS402. Contours of the beach were generated using data collected in March and November 2005. The survey method provided 2 mm measuring accuracy and 4-10 m horizontal spacing. The net accretion volume of the foreshore was about 11, 215 m(3) from March to November. After sand sculpture activity, the axis of the sand trough migrated onshore from about 3.5 m to 17.5 m on the foreshore beach in November. At the same time, the axis of the sandbar crest migrated onshore no more than 42.25 m on the northwest foreshore; and it migrated offshore no more than 23.75 m on the southeast foreshore. On the northwest and southeast foreshore beach, two strips of erosion areas with a thickness of 0-0.2 m appeared on the sandbar crest. Accretion occurred at the bottom of the sand trough with a thickness of similar to 0.2-0.6 m. The sandbar height decreased after sand sculpture activity, and it was no more than 0.7 m in March and 0.6 m in November. Human activities, such as sand digging on the sandbar crest during sand sculpture activity, also can disturb the beach morphology of intertidal bar systems. This phenomenon also was validated by comparison of beach morphology, the results of a color artificial tracer experiment and a sediment transportation trend prediction.

The Liquefaction and Displacement of Highly Saturated Sand under Water Pressure Oscillation

In order to investigate the characteristics of water wave induced liquefaction in highly saturated sand in vertical direction, a one-dimensional model of highly saturated sand to water pressure oscillation is presented based oil the two-phase continuous media theory. The development of the effective stresses and the liquefaction thickness are analyzed. It is shown that water pressure oscillating loading affects liquefaction severely and the developing rate of liquefaction increases with the decreasing of the sand strength or the increasing of the loading strength. It is shown also that there is obvious phase lag in the sand Column. If the sand permeability is non-uniform, the pore pressure and the strain rise sharply at which the smallest permeability occurs. This solution may explain Why the fracture occurs in the sand column in some conditions.

Saltation in wind blown sand

The Boltzmann equation of the sand particle velocity distribution function in wind-blown sand two-phase flow is established based on the motion equation of single particle in air. And then, the generalized balance law of particle property in single phase granular flow is extended to gas-particle two-phase flow. The velocity distribution function of particle phase is expanded into an infinite series by means of Grad's method and the Gauss distribution is used to replace Maxwell distribution. In the case of truncation at the third-order terms, a closed third-order moment dynamical equation system is constructed. The theory is further simplified according to the measurement results obtained by stroboscopic photography in wind tunnel tests.

Numerical Simulation of Particle Separation in An Oil-Sand Separator

The gathering systems of crude oil are greatly endangered by the fine sand and soil in oil. Up to now , how to separate sand from the viscid oil is still a technical problem for oil production home or abroad. Recently , Institute of Mechanics in Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new type of oil-sand separator , which has been applied successfully in oil field in situ. In this paper, the numerical method of vortex-stream function is used to predict the liquid-solid separating course and the efficiency for this oil-sand separator. Results show that the viscosity and particle diameter have much influence on the particle motion. The calculating separating efficiency is compared with that of experiment and indicates that this method can be used to model the complex two-phase flow in the separator.

Liquefaction and Displacement of Saturated Sand Under Vertical Vibration Loading

In order to investigate the influence of the vertical vibration loading on the liquefaction of saturated sand, one dimensional model for the saturated sand with a vertical vibration is presented based on the two phase continuous media theory. The development of the liquefaction and the liquefaction region are analyzed. It is shown that the vertical vibration loading could induce liquefaction. The rate of the liquefaction increases with the increase of the initial limit strain or initial porosity or amplitude and frequency of loading, and increases with the decrease of the permeability or initial modulus. It is shown also that there is a phase lag in the sand column. When the sand permeability distribution is non-uniform, the pore pressure and the strain will rise sharply where the permeability is the smallest, and fracture might be induced. With the development of liquefaction, the strength of the soil foundation becomes smaller and smaller. In the limiting case, landslides or debris flows could occur.

Formation Mechanism of Cracks in Saturated Sand

The formation mechanism of “water film” (or crack) in saturated sand is analyzed theoretically and numerically. The theoretical analysis shows that there will be no stable “water film” in the saturated sand if the strength of the skeleton is zero and no positions are choked. It is shown by numerical simulation that stable water films initiate and grow if the choking state keeps unchanged once the fluid velocities decrease to zero in the liquefied sand column. The developments of “water film” based on the model presented in this paper are compared with experimental results.

Sedimentation Process of Saturated Sand under Impact Loading

The initial small inhomogeneity of saturated sand could be amplified during the sedimentation process after liquefaction, and cracks could be observed in the sand column. Layers of fine sand could also be found at the exact place where cracks developed and disappeared. The phenomena and the whole process were experimentally shown by X-rays images. To account for the phenomena, a linearized stability analysis of the sedimentation of saturated sand was conducted; however, it did not produce a satisfactory result. A three-phase flow model describing the transportation of fine sand is presented in this paper. It is shown that such a kind of erosion/deposition model was qualitatively in good agreement with the experimental observation.

On the mechanism of the formation of horizontal cracks in a vertical column of saturated sand

Extended horizontal cracks have! been observed experimentally in a vertical column of saturated sand when a flow of water is forced to percolate upward through it. This paper provides a theory for this phenomenon. It will be shown that the presence of inhomogeneity in permeability along the length of the column is essential for such cracks to develop. It will also be shown that small initial inhomogeneity may be magnified through the transport of the finer component of the sand by percolation. Under certain conditions liquefaction takes place at a section of the sand column causing a crack to initiate and grow there. This theory is found to be in good qualitative agreement with the experimental findings.

Sand-Dust Storm and Two-Phase Flows

从稀相气固两相流理论出发,针对沙尘暴问题的特点,给出描述固相拟流体本构关系和气固相间相互作用的方法,探讨确定沙尘悬浮临界判据的途径,导出多场耦合下含尘大气运动的基本方程,从而可为定量预报沙尘暴系统结构特征和长距离输送传播提供理论基础。

Experimental Investigation Of Particle Velocity Distributions In Windblown Sand Movement

With the PDPA (Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer) measurement technology, the probability distributions of particle impact and lift-off velocities on bed surface and the particle velocity distributions at different heights are detected in a wind tunnel. The results show that the probability distribution of impact and lift-off velocities of sand grains can be expressed by a log-normal function, and that of impact and lift-off angles complies with an exponential function. The mean impact angle is between 28 degrees and 39 degrees, and the mean lift-off angle ranges from 30 degrees to 44 degrees. The mean lift-off velocity is 0.81-0.9 times the mean impact velocity. The proportion of backward-impacting particles is 0.05-0.11, and that of backward-entrained particles ranges from 0.04 to 0.13. The probability distribution of particle horizontal velocity at 4 mm height is positive skew, the horizontal velocity of particles at 20 mm height varies widely, and the variation of the particle horizontal velocity at 80 mm height is less than that at 20 mm height. The probability distribution of particle vertical velocity at different heights can be described as a normal function.

Wind Tunnel Experimental Investigation Of Sand Velocity In Aeolian Sand Transport

Sand velocity in aeolian sand transport was measured using the laser Doppler technique of PDPA (Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer) in a wind tunnel. The sand velocity profile, probability distribution of particle velocity, particle velocity fluctuation and particle turbulence were analyzed in detail. The experimental results verified that the sand horizontal velocity profile can be expressed by a logarithmic function above 0.01 in, while a deviation occurs below 0.01 m. The mean vertical velocity of grains generally ranges from -0.2 m/s to 0.2 m/s, and is downward at the lower height, upward at the higher height. The probability distributions of the horizontal velocity of ascending and descending particles have a typical peak and are right-skewed at a height of 4 turn in the lower part of saltation layer. The vertical profile of the horizontal RMS velocity fluctuation of particles shows a single peak. The horizontal RMS velocity fluctuation of sand particles is generally larger than the vertical RMS velocity fluctuation. The RMS velocity fluctuations of grains in both horizontal and vertical directions increase with wind velocity. The particle turbulence intensity decreases with height. The present investigation is helpful in understanding the sand movement mechanism in windblown sand transport and also provides a reference for the study of blowing sand velocity. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Flow pattern in chandler loop - the artificial thrombus formation

In this paper a hydrodynamic approach is used to analyse carefully the flow field inChandler loop--the artificial thrombus formation. The results obtained show that near thelower meniscus where the thrombus is formed, there is a back flow accompanied with asecondary flow and its mainflow is toward the meniscus, thus providing a favourable condi-tion for corpuscle aggregation. Our finding is valuable for studying the mechanism ofthrombus formation in artificial organ and in vivo.