Physical Aspects of Soil Water and Salts in Ecosystems


Book Description

The papers collected in this book were given and discussed at the symposium on "Soil water physics and technology", which was held in Rehovot, Israel, from August 19th-September 4th, 1971. It was sponsored by the International Society of Soil Science (1.S.S.S.) through its Commissions I (soil physics) and VI (soil technology), and organized by the Israeli Soil Science Society. Thanks are due to the Editors for having assembled contributions and discussion remarks into a well-rounded, coherent book. The subjects covered in this book are the theoretical and practical aspects of the following topics: water movement in soils, soil-water interactions, evaporation from soil and plants, water requirements of crops, ion activity and migration in soils, soilwater management and salinity. In as much as these contributions were not solicited, they represent ideas and subjects considered important by the authors and debators. In science, one often finds a gap between basic research and practical application. If reading this book creates a feeling of an apparent lack of balance between theory and practice, this represents the state of our science today, and the thoughtful reader can and will recognize that much remains to be done. W. R. GARDNER T.]. MAR5HAL President, Commission I President, Commission VI 1.5.5.5.







Freezing of Soil with an Unfrozen Water Content and Variable Thermal Properties


Book Description

While many materials undergo phase change at a fixed temperature, soil systems exhibit a definite zone of phase change. The variation of unfrozen water with temperature causes a soil system to freeze of thaw over a finite temperature range. Exact and approximate solutions are given for conduction phase change of plane layers of soil with unfrozen water contents that vary linearly and quadratically with temperature. The temperature and phase change depths were found to vary significantly from those predicted for the constant-temperature or Neumann problem. The thermal conductivity and specific heat of the soil within the mushy zone varied as a function of unfrozen water content. It was found that the effect of specific heat is negligible, while the effect of variable thermal conductivity can be accounted for by a proper choice of thermal properties used in the constant-thermal-property solution. Keywords: Frozen soils; Phase change; Soils.




Soil Behavior on Freezing, with and Without Additives


Book Description

Paper 1: Results obtained from freezing experiments on soil systems at various porosities are described. Paper 2: Studies in permafrost areas show that a particle-size sorting occurs in saturated granular soils due to freeze-thaw cycling. This phenomenon is evidenced by a gradual change in size of soil grains, with the fines at the bottom of the active layer and the coarse at the surface.




An Introduction to Frozen Ground Engineering


Book Description

Frozen Ground Engineering first introduces the reader to the frozen environment and the behavior of frozen soil as an engineering material. In subsequent chapters this information is used in the analysis and design of ground support systems, foundations, and embankments. These and other topics make this book suitable for use by civil engineering students in a one-semester course on frozen ground engineering at the senior or first-year-graduate level. Students are assumed to have a working knowledge of undergraduate mechanics (statics and mechanics of materials) and geotechnical engineering (usual two-course sequence). A knowledge of basic geology would be helpful but is not essential. This book will also be useful to advanced students in other disciplines and to engineers who desire an introduction to frozen ground engineering or references to selected technical publications in the field. BACKGROUND Frozen ground engineering has developed rapidly in the past several decades under the pressure of necessity. As practical problems involving frozen soils broadened in scope, the inadequacy of earlier methods for coping became increasingly apparent. The application of ground freezing to geotechnical projects throughout the world continues to grow as significant advances have been made in ground freezing technology. Freezing is a useful and versatile technique for temporary earth support, groundwater control in difficult soil or rock strata, and the formation of subsurface containment barriers suitable for use in groundwater remediation projects.







Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechnology


Book Description

Cold adaptation includes a complex range of structural and functional adaptations at the level of all cellular constituents, and these adaptations render cold-adapted organisms particularly useful for biotechnological applications. This book presents the most recent knowledge of (i) boundary conditions for microbial life in the cold, (ii) microbial diversity in various cold ecosystems, (iii) molecular cold adaptation mechanisms and (iv) the resulting biotechnological perspectives.




Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model


Book Description

Coupled climate system models are of central importance for climate studies. A new model known as FGOALS ( the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model), has been developed by the Sate Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LASG/IAP, CAS), a first-tier national geophysical laboratory. It serves as a powerful tool, both for deepening our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of the climate system and for making decadal prediction and scenario projections of future climate change. "Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model: A Modeling Tool for the Climate Change Research Community” is the first book to offer systematic evaluations of this model’s performance. It is comprehensive in scope, covering both developmental and application-oriented aspects of this climate system model. It also provides an outlook of future development of FGOALS and offers an overview of how to employ the model. It represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working within the related areas of climate variability and change. Prof. Tianjun Zhou, Yongqiang Yu, Yimin Liu and Bin Wang work at LASG, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.




USA CRREL Technical Publications


Book Description