Experimental study of water migration characteristics in compacted loess subjected to rainfall infiltration

Shibin Zhang; Tielin Han; Yani Lu; Chengzhi Huang; Peng Zhao

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0274265

Peer Review History

Original SubmissionMay 14, 2022
28 Jun 2022 Decision Letter - Chun Liu, Editor PONE-D-22-12253Experimental Study of Water Migration Characteristics in Compacted Loess Subjected to Rainfall InfiltrationPLOS ONE Dear Dr. Han, Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process. Please submit your revised manuscript by Aug 12 2022 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file. 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Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice. [Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.] Reviewers' comments: Reviewer's Responses to Questions Comments to the Author 1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. Reviewer #1: Yes ******** 2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? Reviewer #1: Yes ****** 3. 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Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here. Reviewer #1: Yes ****** 5. Review Comments to the Author Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters) Reviewer #1: In this paper, the water migration characteristics of compacted loess under different rainfall conditions were studied, and the corresponding results were obtained. However, there are still some confusions about the article, as follows. I recommend that the article should be published after a substantial revision. 1. Introduction: Authors cite some papers here for literature review. However, most of the text is a brief introduction to these studies and the generalization and summary of these studies are relatively lacking. In this case, the necessity of the article is unconvincing. Authors are advised to make a substantial revision of the Introduction, systematically review of previous research and highlight the innovation are necessary. 2. Line 71: ‘were’ not ‘was’ 3. Fig. 1: Figure b should also add a corresponding legend description. 4. Fig. 2: ‘processes’ not ‘process’ 5. Line 149: The latitude and longitude coordinates of the sampling point need to be given. 6. Line 155: Please explain the reasons for these three dry density choices. 7. Eq. 5 and 6: The format is different from other formulas 8. Authors shows a lot of results in the results section, but some phenomena are not further explained. E.g., line 223-229: No further analysis on conductivity changes is given here. 9. As the authors say, understanding the water transport properties of loess has important practical significance. In the discussion, however, I did not find the authors to make any practical recommendations based on the research results. ****** 6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files. If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public. Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy. Reviewer #1: No ******** [NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.] While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step. Attachments Attachment Submitted filename: review(PONE-D-22-12253).docx https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274265.r001
Revision 1
19 Jul 2022 Author Response Summary of amendments Re: “Experimental Study of Water Migration Characteristics in Compacted Loess Subjected to Rainfall Infiltration” For PLOS ONE Ref.: MS No: PONE-D-22-12253 Many thanks for your letter and for the editor and reviewers’ constructive comments concerning our manuscript. We feel that the editor and reviewers’ comments have greatly benefited the manuscript. We have studied comments carefully, and these comments and suggestion have been carefully incorporated into the current manuscript. The point-to-point reply for the comments: Reviewers' comments: Comment 1. Introduction: Authors cite some papers here for literature review. However, most of the text is a brief introduction to these studies and the generalization and summary of these studies are relatively lacking. In this case, the necessity of the article is unconvincing. Authors are advised to make a substantial revision of the Introduction, systematically review of previous research and highlight the innovation are necessary. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. The section of introduction has been significantly modified in the current manuscript according to the reviewer’s suggestion. Please see Lines 32-35: By analyzing the stability of slopes under different rainfall intensities, Shimada et al. [9] concluded that the increase of saturation in the slope led to the reduction of matrix suction under rainfall, which had a great impact on the stability of the slope. Lines 36-38: and concluded that the increase of pore water pressure (the reduction of suction) was mainly concentrated near the slope in the process of rainfall infiltration. Lines 45-48: Sun et al. [15] studied the influence of rainfall infiltration on the slope stability and the seepage field by using the finite element and limit equilibrium methods, and concluded that rainfall infiltration led to significant changes in the seepage field, especially when the pore water pressure of slope increased greatly, the deep slope failure was prone to occur. Lines 48-50: The stability analysis mechanism of unsaturated soil slope is complicated and greatly affected by various factors under rainfall infiltration. Lines 58-59: and concluded that the safety factor of slope was changing during rainfall infiltration. Lines 59-60: The wetting depth of slope is an important index to evaluate the slope instability induced by rainfall. Lines 63-64: It was necessary to characterize the field infiltration and wet front movement induced by natural rainfall. Lines 70-72: and the results showed that the water infiltration depth and infiltration rate increase with the increase of rainfall intensity during rainfall. Comment 2. Line 71: ‘were’ not ‘was’. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. According to the reviewer’s comments, the relevant content has been revised. Comment 3. Fig. 1: Figure b should also add a corresponding legend description. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. The authors have made some revision about it according to reviewer’s suggestion, as shown in Fig. 1(b). Comment 4. Fig. 2: ‘processes’ not ‘process’. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. The authors have made some revision about it according to reviewer’s suggestion. Line 132: Sample preparation processes. Comment 5. Line 149: The latitude and longitude coordinates of the sampling point need to be given. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. The authors have made some revision about it according to reviewer’s suggestion. Lines 158-159: The loess samples were taken from the construction site of loess slope engineering with a latitude and longitude of 36°38′ N, 109°32′ E in New District of Yan'an in China. Comment 6. Line 155: Please explain the reasons for these three dry density choices. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. Lines 165-170: Three dry densities represent the loess columns with different compaction degree, and the increase of dry density in turn can reflect the gradual compaction of the loess columns. The loess column with dry density of 1.42 g/cm3 is easy to be compacted, while it is difficult to be compacted at dry density of 1.58 g/cm3 in the actual sample preparation process. And the dry density of 1.50 g/cm3 is chosen because it is located in the middle of 1.42 g/cm3 and 1.58 g/cm3. Comment 7. Eq. 5 and 6: The format is different from other formulas. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. According to the reviewer’s comments, the format of Eq. 5 and 6 have been revised. Comment 8. Authors shows a lot of results in the results section, but some phenomena are not further explained. E.g., line 223-229: No further analysis on conductivity changes is given here. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. According to the reviewer’s comments, the relevant contents have been added in the manuscript. Please see Lines 226-231: When the dry density of the loess column is small, its compaction degree is low, and the porosity of soil is relatively large. Under the same amount of rainfall, the rainfall infiltration rate is faster. With the increase of dry density of loess column, the soil is gradually compacted and the porosity of soil decreases. The water infiltration rate decreases and the water transport capacity is poor. Therefore, the time required for the rainfall infiltration to reach the basic stable state increases significantly during water migration in the loess column. Lines 246-251: At the initial moment of rainfall, the amount of water in the surface layer of the loess column increases sharply, and it is too late for the water to infiltrate into the deep layer of the loess column. The saturation of surface soil rapidly increases, which makes the resistivity greatly decrease. As the rain infiltrates into the deep layer of the loess column, the saturation of the surface soil gradually decreases until it reaches an equilibrium state, while the saturation of the deep soil gradually increases, and the resistivity of soil changes accordingly. Lines 253-256: This also reflects that as the rain infiltrates into the deep layer of the loess column, the water volume between soil pores increases rapidly at first and then decreases gradually until the water no longer migrates to the deeper layer, reaching a basic equilibrium state. Comment 9. As the authors say, understanding the water transport properties of loess has important practical significance. In the discussion, however, I did not find the authors to make any practical recommendations based on the research results. Response: Thanks for your kindly suggestion. The authors have made some revision about it according to reviewer’s suggestion. Lines 393-397: In the loess high-filling practical engineering, the change of resistivity can be monitored by embedding resistivity sensors at different depths of the site, and then the purpose of predicting the change law of soil saturation or water field can be achieved from the evolution process of resistivity at different depths of the site, which is of great value for studying the change law and deformation mechanism of water field in the site of loess high-filling engineering. Lines 452-455: Through real-time understanding of the variation law of water migration in the practical engineering site, the variation law of water field can be quickly obtained, and the deformation and stability of deep loess high-filling engineering or high slope engineering can be monitored for long-term, which is convenient for safety early warning and disaster prevention. Attachments Attachment Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274265.r002
25 Aug 2022 Decision Letter - Chun Liu, Editor Experimental Study of Water Migration Characteristics in Compacted Loess Subjected to Rainfall Infiltration PONE-D-22-12253R1 Dear Dr. Han, We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements. Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication. An invoice for payment will follow shortly after the formal acceptance. To ensure an efficient process, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/, click the 'Update My Information' link at the top of the page, and double check that your user information is up-to-date. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org. Kind regards, Chun Liu Academic Editor PLOS ONE Additional Editor Comments (optional): Reviewers' comments: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274265.r003
Formally Accepted
30 Aug 2022 Acceptance Letter - Chun Liu, Editor PONE-D-22-12253R1 Experimental Study of Water Migration Characteristics in Compacted Loess Subjected to Rainfall Infiltration Dear Dr. Han: I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact onepress@plos.org. If we can help with anything else, please email us at plosone@plos.org. Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access. Kind regards, PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff on behalf of Dr. Chun Liu Academic Editor PLOS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274265.r004

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