Shear-Stress Partitioning in Live Plant Canopies and Modifications to Raupach’s Model

The spatial peak surface shear stress t_S^￠￠{\tau _S^{\prime\prime}} on the ground beneath vegetation canopies is responsible for the onset of particle entrainment and its precise and accurate prediction is essential when modelling soil, snow or sand erosion. This study investigates shear-stress partitioning, i.e. the fraction of the total fluid stress on the entire canopy that acts directly on the surface, for live vegetation canopies (plant species: Lolium perenne) using measurements in a controlled wind-tunnel environment. Rigid, non-porous wooden blocks instead of the plants were additionally tested for the purpose of comparison since previous wind-tunnel studies used exclusively artificial plant imitations for their experiments on shear-stress partitioning. The drag partitioning model presented by Raupach (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 60:375–395, 1992) and Raupach et al. (J Geophys Res 98:3023–3029, 1993), which allows the prediction of the total shear stress τ on the entire canopy as well as the peak (t_S ^￠￠/t)^1/2{(\tau _S ^{\prime\prime}/\tau )^{1/2}} and the average (t_S^￠/t)^1/2{(\tau _S^{\prime}/\tau )^{1/2}} shear-stress ratios, is tested against measurements to determine the model parameters and the model’s ability to account for shape differences of various roughness elements. It was found that the constant c, needed to determine the total stress τ and which was unspecified to date, can be assumed a value of about c = 0.27. Values for the model parameter m, which accounts for the difference between the spatial surface average t_S^￠{\tau _S^{\prime}} and the peak t_S ^￠￠{\tau _S ^{\prime\prime}} shear stress, are difficult to determine because m is a function of the roughness density, the wind velocity and the roughness element shape. A new definition for a parameter a is suggested as a substitute for m. This a parameter is found to be more closely universal and solely a function of the roughness element shape. It is able to predict the peak surface shear stress accurately. Finally, a method is presented to determine the new a parameter for different kinds of roughness elements.     

On the correspondence between morphological and hydrodynamical patterns of groyne fields

This paper examines a variety of recirculation flow patterns that develop in the groyne fields on rivers. A comprehensive data set was obtained from flume experiments at Delft University of Technology and field measurements performed on the Elbe River in Germany. The analysis focuses on patterns of velocity, scour and deposition, and corresponding change of riverbed morphology. The results show that velocity patterns in the groyne fields depend mainly on the aspect ratio between groyne length and length of groyne field. When the aspect ratio is greater than 0·5, a one‐gyre pattern of recirculation develops, while at groyne fields with aspect ratios less than 0·5 a two‐gyre recirculation pattern emerges. The spatial distribution of fine‐sediment deposition between the groynes coincides with the locations of gyres. Moreover, the thickness of the fine‐sediment layer decreases toward the gyre margins where recirculation velocities are greatest. Although the total concentration of suspended sediment in the river does not change considerably as the flow moves through the groyne field, the biological and gravimetrical composition of the suspended material changes substantially within the groyne field. These changes are due to preferential deposition of coarse mineral particles and the replacement of those minerals with finer organic material. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Marine VHR 2.5-D Seismic Brute Stack Cube as a Feasible Tool for Low Budget Investigation and Research

Between 1997 and 1999 several marine seismic surveys were carried out in Kiel Bay aimed towards the development of a three-dimensional acquisition and interpretation technique for small scale subsurface structures using high-frequency sources and multichannel streamers. The data set was recently revisited by the author and reprocessed to obtain a multichannel stacked seismic data cube. Nominal hydrophone positions are deduced by determining offsets from first arrival times and estimating the hydrophone positions under consideration of the ships track. Processing towards a ‘seismic cube’ mainly comprised CMP sorting, constant velocity NMO correction and stacking. The resulting VHR 3-D seismic ‘brute stack cube’ reveals rich structural details. The fluvial Pleistocene channel system already documented in an earlier publication was tracked further to the north. It is situated below a flat cover of gas-bearing Holocene sediments, which locally constitute the seafloor. This till-horizon is superimposed on a second till layer showing strong topographic variations. Seismic signal phase and shielding effects indicate the possible presence of gas in these formations. This case history demonstrates that the VHR 3-D seismic method is a feasible tool for low budget investigation and research.     

Inter-Annual Variability and Decadal Trends in Alpine Spring Phenology: A Multivariate Analysis Approach

Plant phenological observations are of increasing value as indicators of climate change and variability. We developed a robust multispecies estimate for Swiss Alpine spring phenology for the period 1965–2002 by applying empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis on a combination of 15 spring phases. The impact of climate parameters such as temperature and precipitation on the phenological development was investigated using a multivariate statistical model. This multispecies estimate proved to be a good approach to assess the pattern of spring appearance during the last 40 years. It revealed an earlier onset of spring in recent years, mainly since 1988 when a clear shift in spring appearance occurred. The mean overall trend of 1.5 days per decade was clearly driven by winter and spring temperatures whereas precipitation showed no significant influence. The dominant EOF patterns suggested a general climate forcing for the observed inter-annual variability independent of single plant phases. A more regional phenology signal was found in the second EOF mode, indicating slightly weaker phenological trends in southern Switzerland as well as in higher altitudes. Both, temperature and precipitation contributed to this pattern significantly. Analysis of single phases confirmed the pattern of the multispecies estimate. All species showed trends towards earlier appearance ranging from −1 to −2.8 days per decade and the appearance dates had a very high covariance with temperature.