Simulating a lake as a high-conductivity variably saturated porous medium

One approach for simulating ground water–lake interactions is to incorporate the lake into the ground water solution domain as a high-conductivity region. Previous studies have developed this approach using fully saturated models. This study extends this approach to variably saturated models, so that ground water–lake interactions may be more easily simulated with commonly used or public domain variably saturated codes that do not explicitly support coupled lake–water balance modeling. General guidelines are developed for the choices of saturated hydraulic conductivity and moisture retention and relative permeability curves for the lake region. When applied to an example ground water–lake system, model results are very similar to those from a model in which the lake is represented as a specified head boundary continuously updated by a lake mass balance. The high-conductivity region approach is most suitable for relatively simple geometries and lakes with slower and smaller fluctuations when the overall flow pattern and system fluxes, rather than the detailed flow pattern around the intersection of the lake and land surfaces, are of interest.     

Does use of tropical beaches by tourists and island residents result in damage to fringing coral reefs? A case study in Moorea French Polynesia

Although coral reefs worldwide are subject to increasing global threats, humans also impact coral reefs directly through localized activities such as snorkeling, kayaking and fishing. We investigated five sites on the northern shore of Moorea, French Polynesia, and quantified the number of visitors on the beach and in shallow water. In field surveys, we measured total coral cover and colony sizes of two common genera, Porites and Acropora, a massive and branching morphology, respectively. One site, which hosted over an order of magnitude more people than the other four, had significantly less total coral cover and supported very little branching Acropora. In addition, size frequency distributions of both the branching and massive genera were skewed toward smaller colony sizes at the high use site. Our results demonstrated that the use of tropical beaches may result in less coral cover, with branching colonies rare and small.     

Algorithms for GPS operation indoors and downtown

The proliferation of mobile devices and the emergence of wireless location-based services has generated consumer demand for availability of GPS in urban and indoor environments. This demand calls for enhanced GPS algorithms that accommodate high degrees of signal attenuation and multipath effects unique to the "urban channel." This paper overviews the market for location-based services and discusses algorithmic innovations that address challenges posed by urban environments. Electronic Publication     

1994年南海夏季风爆发的数值模拟和分析研究

1994年南海夏季风建立于5月第一候,利用MM5成功地模拟了这一过程,并通过敏感性试验,讨论了中纬度系统和中南半岛及其附近地区的积云对流对夏季风环流建立的影响,结果表明:(1)南下接近副热带一定强度的中纬度槽-锋系统的强迫,可引起南海地区副热带高压脊的减弱东撤,因而有利于南海夏季风的建立;(2)东移的中纬度高压脊与南亚高压的同相叠加是触发夏季风建立的重要因子之一,它引起南亚高压中心迅速北移至中南半岛的北部;(3)中南半岛及其附近地区的积云对流加热,对南海地区夏季风环流的建立也有重要的影响.     

Thresholds of Adverse Effects of Macroalgal Abundance and Sediment Organic Matter on Benthic Habitat Quality in Estuarine Intertidal Flats

Confidence in the use of macroalgae as an indicator of estuarine eutrophication is limited by the lack of quantitative data on the thresholds of its adverse effects on benthic habitat quality. In the present study, we utilized sediment profile imagery (SPI) to identify thresholds of adverse effects of macroalgal biomass, sediment organic carbon (% OC) and sediment nitrogen (% N) concentrations on the apparent Redox Potential Discontinuity (aRPD), the depth that marks the boundary between oxic near-surface sediment and the underlying suboxic or anoxic sediment. At 16 sites in eight California estuaries, SPI, macroalgal biomass, sediment percent fines, % OC, and % N were analyzed at 20 locations along an intertidal transect. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was used to identify step thresholds associated with a transition from "reference" or natural background levels of macroalgae, defined as that range in which no effect on aRPD was detected. Ranges of 3–15 g dw macroalgae m^?2, 0.4–0.7 % OC and 0.05–0.07 % N were identified as transition zones from reference conditions across these estuaries. Piecewise regression analysis was used to identify exhaustion thresholds, defined as a region along the stress–response curve where severe adverse effects occur; levels of 175 g dw macroalgae m^?2, 1.1 % OC and 0.1 % N were identified as thresholds associated with a shallowing of aRPD to near zero depths. As an indicator of ecosystem condition, shallow aRPD has been related to reduced volume and quality for benthic infauna and alteration in community structure. These effects have been linked to reduced availability of forage for fish, birds and other invertebrates, as well as to undesirable changes in biogeochemical cycling.     

Wind stress forcing of the North Sea 'pole tide'

We conduct numerical simulations of the wind forcing of sea level variations in the North Sea using a barotropic ocean model with realistic geography and bathymetry to examine the forcing of the 14 month 'pole tide', which is known to be anomalously large along the Denmark–Netherlands coast. The simulation input is the monthly mean surface wind stress field from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis for the 40 year period 1958–1997. The ocean model output sea level response is then compared with 10 coastal tide gauge records from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) over the same period of time. Besides the strong seasonal variations, several prominent quasi-periodicities exist near 7 years, 3 years, 14 months, 9 months and 6.5 months. Correlations and spectral analyses show remarkable agreement between the model output and the observations, particularly in the 14 month, or Chandler, period band. The latter indicates that the enhanced pole tide found in the North Sea along the Denmark–Netherlands coast is actually the coastal set-up response to wind stress forcing with a periodicity of around 14 months. We find no need to invoke a geophysical explanation involving resonance enhancement of the pole tide in the North Sea to explain the observations.     

Life In Space: An Introduction To Space Life Sciences And The International Space Station

The impact of the space environment upon living organisms is profound. Its effects range from alterations in sub-cellular processes to changes in the structure and function of whole organ systems. As the number of astronaut and cosmonaut crews flown in space has grown, so to has our understanding of the effects of the space environment upon biological systems. There are many parallels between the physiology of space flight and terrestrial disease processes, and the response of astronaut crews themselves to long-duration space deployment is therefore of central interest. In the next 15 years the International Space Station (ISS) will serve as a permanently manned dedicated life and physical sciences platform for the further investigation of these phenomena. The European Space Agency's Columbus module will hold the bulk of the ISS life science capability and, in combination with NASA's Human Research Facility (HRF) will accommodate the rack mounted experimental apparatus. The programme of experimentation will include efforts in fundamental biology, human physiology, behavioural science and space biomedical research. In the four decades since Yuri Gagarin first orbited the Earth, space life science has emerged as a field of study in its own right. The ISS takes us into the next era of human space exploration, and it is hoped that its programme of research will yield new insights, novel therapeutic interventions, and improved biotechnology for terrestrial application. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

南海夏季风撤退期的气候特征Ⅰ——40年平均

用NCAR/NCEP1958～1997年共40年资料对南海夏季风撤退的气候特征进行了分析.8月上旬西伯利亚冷空气开始南进,由于青藏高原的阻挡作用,在我国东部大陆推进得很快,到达南海后继续向南推进,最后导致9月中旬左右南海夏季风从南海撤退.就个别年份而言,最早的撤退时间是8月中,最晚的是10月中,可以差两个月.南海夏季风撤退与建立过程是很不相同的,南海夏季风和夏季风雨带的建立都是爆发性的,在全区域几乎是同时建立,但撤退是由北向南缓慢撤退的,历时一个月左右.在撤退期间,南海降水形势变化不大,但在撤退之后,南海夏季风雨季转变为ITCZ雨季,其相应和雨区随着太阳南移向南推进.南海夏季风撤退后,南海降水30～60天振荡明显减弱,而准两周振荡仍比较活跃.     

Modelling sediment trapping in vegetative filter strips on steep slopes

The slope effects on sediment trapping process in vegetative filter strips (VFS) are usually neglected in current modelling practices for VFS operation, which hamper the VFS design and performance evaluation, especially on steep slopes. To fill the knowledge gap, 12 laboratory experiments of sediment trapping in VFS were conducted with three different inflow discharge (80, 100, and 120 ml s⁻¹) and four slope angles (5,10, 15, and 20°). The experimental results show that, on steep slopes (10, 15, and 20°), a part of trapped sediment particles in VFS can be eroded again and then dragged to the downstream as bed load, whilst they do not move on gentle slope (5°). To describe the complex processes, a simple and effective modelling framework was developed for sloped VFS by coupling the slope infiltration, runoff, and modified sediment transport model. The model was tested against the experimental results and good agreements between the modelled and observed results were found in both runoff and sediment transport processes for all cases. On steep slopes, the sediment trapping performance of VFS decreases significantly because the erosion of deposited sediment particles can account for more than 60% of the sediment load in the outflow. The slope effect on sediment trapping efficiency of VFS varies greatly with soil, VFS, and slope properties. The model was compared with previous sediment transport equation and found that both methods can satisfactorily predict the sediment trapping of VFS on gentle slopes, but previous sediment transport equation is likely to overestimate the sediment trapping efficiency in VFS on steep slopes. This model is expected to provide a more realistic and accurate method for predicting runoff and sediment reduction in VFS on sloping surfaces.