Since hydraulic conductivity significantly influences the compression and deformation characteristics of granular terrains, this study examines the variations in permeability (k20) of granular soils under one-dimensional compression. Two uniformly graded calcareous soil samples were tested: one with grain sizes of 9.50-12.70 mm, and another of 4.75-9.50 mm. Both samples were subjected to one-dimensional compression and constanthead permeability tests. Key soil properties affecting permeability (k20), including absorption (n), specific surface area (Ss), relative density (Dr), void ratio (e), uniformity coefficient (Cu), effective grain size (d10), and mean grain size (d50), were analyzed. The virgin compression line (VCL) of the soil samples was identified within an oedometric stress (sigma VCL) range of 4.00-14.00 MPa, where the rate of change in soil properties affecting permeability was most pronounced. As oedometric stress increased, the instantaneous absorption (ni) of the soil samples increased linearly, with a slope (alpha n) of 0.055-0.061. Similarly, the instantaneous specific surface area (Ss,i) of the soil samples increased linearly, with a slope (alpha s) of 1.229-1.388. In addition, practical equations were developed to predict the instantaneous relative density (Dr,i), instantaneous grain size distribution curve, and instantaneous permeability (k20,i) of granular soils under one-dimensional compression.

The use of biodiesel as a replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel has gained interest as a strategy for greenhouse gas emission reductions, energy security, and economic advantage. Biodiesel adoption may also reduce particulate elemental carbon (EC) emissions from conventional diesel engines that are not equipped with after-treatment devices. This study examines the impact of biodiesel blends on EC emissions from a commercial off-road diesel engine and simulates the potential public health benefits and climate benefits. EC emissions from the commercial off-road engine decreased by 76% when ultra-low sulfur commercial diesel (ULSD) fuel was replaced by biodiesel. Model calculations predict that reduced EC emissions translate directly into reduced EC concentrations in the atmosphere, but the concentration of secondary particulate matter was not directly affected by this fuel change. Redistribution of secondary particulate matter components to particles emitted from other sources did change the size distribution and therefore deposition rates of those components. Modification of meteorological variables such as water content and temperature influenced secondary particulate matter formation. Simulations with a source-oriented WRF/Chem model (SOWC) for a severe air pollution episode in California that adopted 75% biodiesel blended with ULSD in all non-road diesel engines reduced surface EC concentrations by up to 50% but changed nitrate and total PM2.5 mass concentrations by less than +/- 5%. These changes in concentrations will have public health benefits but did not significantly affect radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere. The removal of EC due to the adoption of biodiesel produced larger coatings of secondary particulate matter on other atmospheric particles containing residual EC leading to enhanced absorption associated with those particles. The net effect was a minor change in atmospheric optical properties despite a large change in atmospheric EC concentrations. These results emphasize the importance of considering EC mixing state in climate research. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trails created by off-road vehicles (ORV) in boreal lowlands are known to cause local impacts, such as denuded vegetation, soil erosion, and permafrost thaw, but impacts on stream and watershed processes are less certain. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), Alaska, ORV trails have caused local resource damage in intermountain lowlands with permafrost soils and abundant wetlands and there is a need to know whether these impacts are more extensive. Comparison of aerial photography from 1957, 1981, and 2004 coupled with ground surveys in 2009 reveal an increase in trail length and number and show an upslope expansion of a trail system around points of stream channel initiation. We hypothesized that these impacts could also cause premature initiation and headward expansion of channels because of lowered soil resistance and greater runoff accumulation as trails migrate upslope. Soil monitoring showed earlier and deeper thaw of the active layer in and adjacent to trails compared to reference sites. Several rainfall-runoff events during the summer of 2009 showed increased and sustained flow accumulation below trail crossings and channel shear forces sufficient to cause headward erosion of silt and peat soils. These observations of trail evolution relative to stream and wetland crossings together with process studies suggest that ORV trails are altering watershed processes. These changes in watershed processes appear to result in increasing drainage density and may also alter downstream flow regimes, water quality, and aquatic habitat. Addressing local land-use disturbances in boreal and arctic parklands with permafrost soils, such as WRST, where responses to climate change may be causing concurrent shifts in watershed processes, represents an important challenge facing resource managers.