An anomalous warm weather event in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys on 18 March 2022 created an opportunity to characterize soil biota communities most sensitive to freeze-thaw stress. This event caused unseasonal melt within Taylor Valley, activating stream water and microbial mats around Canada Stream. Liquid water availability in this polar desert is a driver of soil biota distribution and activity. Because climate change impacts hydrological regimes, we aimed to determine the effect on soil communities. We sampled soils identified from this event that experienced thaw, nearby hyper-arid areas, and wetted areas that did not experience thaw to compare soil bacterial and invertebrate communities. Areas that exhibited evidence of freeze-thaw supported the highest live and dead nematode counts and were composed of soil taxa from hyper-arid landscapes and wetted areas. They received water inputs from snowpacks, hyporheic water, or glacial melt, contributing to community differences associated with organic matter and salinity gradients. Inundated soils had higher organic matter and lower conductivity (p < .02) and hosted the most diverse microbial and invertebrate communities on average. Our findings suggest that as liquid water becomes more available under predicted climate change, soil communities adapted to the hyper-arid landscape will shift toward diverse, wetted soil communities.

To investigate the coupled time effects of root reinforcement and wet-dry deterioration in herbaceous plant-loess composites, as well as their microscopic mechanisms, this study focused on alfalfa root-loess composites at different growth stages cultivated under controlled conditions. The research included measuring root morphological parameters, conducting wet-dry cycling tests, and performing triaxial compression tests and microscopic analyses (CT scanning and nuclear magnetic resonance) on both bare loess and root-loess composites under various wet-dry cycling conditions. By obtaining shear strength parameters and microstructural indices, the study analyzed the temporal evolution of the shear strength and microstructural characteristics of root-loess composites under wet-dry cycling. The findings indicated that the alfalfa root-loess composite effective cohesion was significantly higher than that of the plain soil in the same growth stage. The alfalfa root-loess composite effective cohesion increased during the growth stage in the same dry-wet cycles. The alfalfa root-loess composite effective cohesion in the same growth stage was negatively correlated with the number of dry-wet cycles. The fatigue damage of the soil's microstructure (pore coarsening, cement hydrolysis, and crack development) increased continuously with the number of dry-wet cycles. However, due to the difference in mechanical properties between roots and the soil, the root-soil composite prevented the deterioration of the soil matrix strength by the dry-wet cycles. As the herbaceous plants grow, the time effect observed in the shear strength of the root-soil composite under the action of dry-wet cycles is the result of the interaction and dynamic coordination between the soil-stabilizing function of the herbaceous plant roots and the deterioration caused by drywet cycles.

Expansive soil, characterized by significant swelling-shrinkage behavior, is prone to cracking under wet-dry cycles, severely compromising engineering stability. This study combines experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation approaches to systematically investigate the improvement effects and micromechanisms of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on expansive soil. First, direct shear tests were conducted to analyze the effects of PVA content (0 %-4 %) and moisture content (30 %-50 %) on the shear strength, cohesive force, and internal friction angle of modified soil. Results show that PVA significantly enhances soil cohesive force, with optimal improvement achieved at 3 % PVA content. Second, wet-dry cycle experiments revealed that PVA effectively suppresses crack propagation by improving tensile strength and water retention. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations uncovered the distribution of PVA between montmorillonite (MMT) layers and its influence on interfacial friction behavior. The simulations demonstrated that PVA forms hydrogen bonding networks, enhancing interlayer interactions and frictional resistance. The improved mechanical performance of PVAmodified soil is attributed to both nanoscale bonding effects and macroscale structural reinforcement. This study provides theoretical insights and technical support for expansive soil stabilization.

The present paper sets out a comparative analysis of carbon emission and economic benefit of different performance gradients solid waste based solidification material (SSM). The macro properties of SSM were the focus of systematic study, with the aim of gaining deeper insight into the response of the SSM to conditions such as freeze-thaw cycles, seawater erosion, dry-wet cycles and dry shrinkage. In order to facilitate this study, a range of analytical techniques were employed, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The findings indicate that, in comparison with cement, the carbon emissions of SSM (A1) are diminished by 77.7 %, amounting to 190 kg/t, the carbon-performance ratio (24.4 kg/ MPa), the cost-performance ratio (32.1RMB/MPa) and the carbon-cost ratio (0.76kg/RMB) are reduced by 86 %, 56 % and 68 % respectively. SSM demonstrated better performance in terms of freeze-thaw resistance, seawater erosion resistance and dry-wet resistance when compared to cement. The dry shrinkage value of SSM solidified soil was reduced by approximately 35 % at 40 days compared to cement solidified soil, due to compensatory shrinkage and a reduction in pores. In contrast to the relatively minor impact of seawater erosion and the moderate effects of the wet-dry cycle, freeze-thaw cycles have been shown to cause the most severe structural damage to the micro-structure of solidified soil. The conduction of durability tests resulted in increased porosity and the most probable aperture. The increase in pores and micro-structure leads to the attenuation of macroscopic mechanical properties of SSM solidified soil. The engineering application verified that with the content of SSM of 50 kg/m, 4.5 % and 3 %, the strength, bearing capacity and bending value of SSM modified soil were 1.9 MPa, 180 kPa and 158, respectively in deep mixing piles, shallow in-situ solidification, and roadbed modified soil field.

This study examines permafrost thermal regimes and hydrological responses to climate change in the Navarro Valley, Chile's Dry Central Andes, using a decade of ground temperature data (2013-2022) from two rock glaciers-RG1 (3805 m) and RG2 (4047 m)-alongside short-term meltwater conductivity records, meteorological data, and long-term streamflow records. We assess permafrost stability and climatic sensitivity by analyzing thermal offset data (2017-2022) and ground temperature trends. Both sites show sustained warming, but RG1 exhibits accelerated warming (+ 2.84 degrees C/decade), frequent freeze-thaw cycles, and extended thaw periods, indicating a transitional regime. In contrast, RG2 shows fewer freeze-thaw cycles and greater thermal buffering, consistent with cold permafrost. The statistical model overestimated thaw dynamics at RG2, highlighting the importance of field-based data for accurate classification. Hydrological signals at RG1-including cold, mineralized meltwater and rapid ground surface temperature stream coupling-are attributed to thawing and deeper flowpaths. Conductivity data (2014-2015) reveal solute pulses consistent with early melt events and debris interaction. Meanwhile, long-term streamflow trends indicate declining discharge. These findings suggest feedback between permafrost loss and water availability. This study underscores the divergent evolution of adjacent rock glaciers under warming by integrating thermal, hydrological, and climatic data. RG1 shows signs of degradation, while RG2 may act as a temporary refuge. Continued monitoring is essential for managing water security in vulnerable mountain regions like the Dry Andes.Graphical AbstractThis graphical abstract visually summarizes a ten-year monitoring effort of mountain permafrost and glacier hydrology in the Navarro Valley, Dry Andes (32 degrees S), with implications for water security under climate change. The left panel situates the study area within the upper Aconcagua Basin, identifying two instrumented sites within the Tres Gemelos rock glacier complex-RG1 (3805 m) and RG2 (4047 m)-and an automatic weather station. These sites were selected for continuous monitoring of ground temperature and streamflow to assess permafrost behavior in a water-stressed mountain catchment. Moving to the center, the image presents an integrated monitoring framework that links temperature-depth profiles, surface-subsurface thermal dynamics, and discharge records. Key indicators such as freeze-thaw cycle counts and thawed-day metrics are used to classify thermal regimes and detect warming trends. The upper-right panel features a conceptual model that connects permafrost degradation to hydrological responses: RG1, characterized as transitional, shows signs of enhanced shallow flow and seasonal meltwater pulses, while RG2 retains cold, thermally buffered conditions that support greater storage stability. These contrasts are further illustrated by temperature trend graphs, which reveal faster warming at RG1 (+ 2.84 degrees C/decade) compared to RG2 (+ 1.92 degrees C/decade), as well as increased thaw metrics. Below, a long-term streamflow graph (1970-2023) documents declining discharge, visually supported by a field photo of a dry riverbed. The bottom panel summarizes the study's key finding: RG1 and RG2 are evolving along divergent thermal and hydrological trajectories, underscoring the need for high-resolution monitoring to guide water resource planning in an era of warming and drought.

Understanding the evolution of permafrost extent and active layer thickness (ALT) surrounding Antarctica is critical to global climate change and ecosystem transformations in the polar regions. However, due to the remoteness and harsh environment of Antarctica, most studies lack long-term and a regional perspective on the variations of ALT in Antarctica, resulting in hindering accurate assessment of ALT dynamics. In this study, based on MODIS land surface temperature (LST) and soil climate station data, we used the Stefan model to reconstruct ALT in the ice-free area of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) in East Antarctica from 2003 to 2022. The modeled ALT was verified against ground observations showing a good correlation (R) of 0.72 (p < 0.001), with an RMSE of 12.66 cm. The results indicate that the ALT exhibits a decreasing trend from coastal to inland, ranging from a maximum of 60 cm near the coastal area to zero in the polar plateau. Furthermore, within the inland valleys, deeper ALT values are mainly distributed in the lower elevation areas, reaching up to 60 cm at the lowest altitudes. During the period from 2003 to 2022, the interannual variability in ALT was notable, especially in coastal areas, with a maximum amplitude close to 30 cm in the years 2012 and 2016. Our study proved that the Stefan model with parameters estimated by MODIS LST and soil climate station data has good potential to reconstruct large-scale ALT in the ice-free area of Antarctica.

In the northwestern saline soils and coastal areas, cement soil (CS) materials are inevitably subjected to various factors including salt erosion, dry-wet cycle (DWC), temperature fluctuations and dynamic loading during its service life, which the coupling effect of these unfavourable factors seriously threatened the durability and engineering reliability of CS materials. Additionally, combined with the substantially extensive application prospects of rubber cementitious material, as a resource-efficient civil engineering material and fibre-reinforced composites, consequently, in order to address aforementioned issues, this investigation proposed to consider the incorporation of rubber particles composite basalt fiber (BF) to CS materials as an innovative engineering solution to effectively enhance the mechanical and durability properties of CS materials for prolonging its service life. In this study, sulphate ions were utilized to simulate external erosive environment and basalt fibre rubber cement soil (BFRCS) specimens were subjected to various DWC numbers (0, 1, 4, 7, 11 and 15) in diverse concentrations (0 g/L, 6 g/L and 18 g/L) of Na2SO4 solution, and specimens that had completed the corresponding DWC number were then conducted both unconfined and dynamic compressive strength tests simultaneously to analyze static and dynamic stress-strain curves, static and dynamic compressive strength, apparent morphological deterioration characteristics and energy absorption properties of BFRCS specimens. Furthermore, further qualitative and quantitative damage assessments of pore distribution and microscopic morphology of BFRCS specimens under various DWC sulphate erosion environments were carried out from the fine and microscopic perspectives through pore structure test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test, respectively. The test results indicated that the static, dynamic compressive strength and specific energy absorption (SEA) of BFRCS specimens exhibited a slight increase followed by a progressive decline as DWC number increased. Additionally, compared to 4 mm BFRCS specimens, those with 0.106 mm rubber particle size demonstrated more favorable resistance to DWC sulphate erosion. The air content, bubble spacing coefficient and average bubble chord length of BFRCS specimens all progressively grew as DWC number increased, while the specific surface area of pores gradually decreased. The effective combination of BF with CS matrix significantly diminished pores and weak areas within specimen, and its synergistic interaction with rubber particles efficiently mitigated the stresses associated with expansive, contraction, crystallization and osmosis subjected by specimen. Simultaneously, more ettringite (AFt) had been observed within BFRCS specimens in 18 g/L sulphate erosive environments. These findings will facilitate the design and construction of CS subgrade engineering in northwestern saline soils and coastal regions, promoting sustainable and durable solutions while reducing the detrimental environmental impact of waste rubber.

To study the degree of strength parameter deterioration (DSPD) of Lushi swelling rock in the high slope area under wetting-drying cycles, 114 samples are remodeled. Wetting-drying cycle and triaxial tests are conducted to comprehensively analyze the influence of dry density, wetting-drying cycle path, and number of wetting-drying cycles on the strength deterioration characteristics of Lushi swelling rock. Using the fitting analysis and function superposition methods, the DSPD model of Lushi swelling rock under wetting-drying cycles is established, which considers the previous four influencing factors. The influence of the DSPD of Lushi swelling rock on the stability of high slopes under rainfall seepage and circulation conditions is studied. Lushi swelling rock exhibits significant strength deterioration characteristics under wetting-drying cycles. The overall DSPD for cohesion is higher than that of the internal friction angle. Under rainstorm conditions, strength deterioration leads to a shallower depth of the critical slip surface of the slope and a smaller safety factor. After eight rounds of rainfall seepage and circulation, the safety factor gradually decreases by approximately 14%-28%. This study provides and verifies the DSPD model of Lushi swelling rock under wetting-drying cycles, and the results could provide a basis for disaster prediction and the optimization design of swelling rock slopes.

Granite residual soils (GRS) are often encountered in geotechnical projects in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (briefly written as the Greater Bay Area, or abbreviated as GBA). The rea experiences frequent rainfall, leading to wetting-drying cycles that progressively diminish the shear strength of GRS. This weakening effect is not only significant but also accumulates, exhibiting a direct positive correlation with the number of cycles. Current studies on the soil strength attenuation due to wetting-drying cycles are typically limited to no more than 10 cycles, which is rather insufficient to uncover the long-term water-weakening behaviors and their accumulative impacts on GRS. To address this gap, typical GRS samples were first taken from the GBA and then prepared by making them go through a certain number of wetting-drying cycles (maximum of up to 100). Next, a total of 552 small- and large-scale direct shear tests were conducted to investigate the mechanisms of water-weakening effects on soil internal friction angle, cohesion, and shear strength. The degree of saturation and number of cycles were also examined to see their effects on the cumulation of water weakening. Based on results from the small-scale direct shear tests, a model was developed for assessing the weakening impact of water on soil strength. The accuracy of the model prediction was statistically evaluated. Last, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed model were demonstrated by validating against the results from the large-scale direct shear tests.

The treatment of excavated soil using the dry sieving method to produce recycled sand is an effective approach for resource utilization. Currently, the hot-air drying process used in this method exhibits high energy consumption. To address this issue, this study proposes a microwave drying technology to dry the excavated soil. Comparative experiments on microwave (1-6 kW) and hot-air (105-205 degrees C) drying of the excavated soil were conducted. The drying behavior and specific energy consumption of the excavated soil were investigated. The Weibull-Fick combined method was recommended for the segmental determination of the effective moisture diffusion coefficient, and the question of whether microwave drying adversely affects sand particles in the excavated soil was answered. The results revealed the following: Compared with hot-air drying, microwave drying demonstrated shorter drying time (3.5-38 min vs 75-1200 min), lower specific energy consumption (6.2-11.5 MJ/kg vs 22.3-55.4 MJ/kg), and a higher range of effective moisture diffusion coefficient (10-8-10-7 m2/s vs 10-9-10-8 m2/s). With increasing microwave power (3-6 kW), the time required for complete drying of the sample was reduced by up to 56 %. Under microwave drying, relaxing the termination moisture content criterion from 0 to 0.01 resulted in a 17 %-32 % reduction in specific energy consumption, accompanied by a 24 %-36 % decrease in drying time. Microwave drying did not damage sand particles within the excavated soil.