A site evaluation campaign for a ground based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope in Romania

Around the world, several scientific projects share the interest of a global network of small Cherenkov telescopes for monitoring observations of the brightest blazars??the DWARF network. A small, ground based, imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of last generation is intended to be installed and operated in Romania as a component of the DWARF network. To prepare the construction of the observatory, two support projects have been initiated. Within the framework of these projects, we have assessed a number of possible sites where to settle the observatory. In this paper we submit a brief report on the general characteristics of the best four sites selected after the local infrastructure, the nearby facilities and the social impact criteria have been applied.     

Tracing sediment redistribution across a break in slope using rare earth elements

Experimentally determined spatial patterns of soil redistribution across a break in slope derived using 10 rare earth element (REE) oxides as sediment tracers are presented. An erosion experiment was conducted using simulated rainfall within a laboratory slope model measuring 2·5 m wide by 6 m long with a gradient of 15° declining to 2°. Soil was tagged with multiple REE and placed in different locations over the slope and at the end of the experiment REE concentrations were measured in samples collected spatially. A new method was developed to quantify the erosion and deposition depths spatially, the relative source contributions to deposited sediment and the sediment transport distances. Particle‐size selectivity over an area of net deposition was also investigated, by combining downslope changes in particle‐size distributions with changes in sediment REE composition within a flow pathway. During the experiment, the surface morphology evolved through upslope propagation of rill headcuts, which gradually incised the different REE‐tagged zones and led to sediment deposition at the break in slope and the development of a fan extending over the shallow slope segment. The spatial patterns in REE concentrations, the derived erosion and deposition depths, the relative source contributions to deposition zones and the sediment transport distances, corroborate the morphological observations and demonstrate the potential of using REE for quantifying sediment transport processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial and temporal controls on historical channel responses – study of an atypical case: Someşu Mic River,Romania

In this paper the spatial and temporal responses of the Some?u Mic River (Romania) to natural and anthropogenic controls over the past 150 years are analysed, based on a series of morphometric parameters extracted from five successive sets of topographic maps and one set of orthophotos. Prior to the intensive hydrotechnical interventions of the last four decades, the river was characterized by a complex alternation of different channel types, resulting in a mixture of alluvial and mixed sinuous – meandering – sinuous anabranched – meandering anabranched reaches, each a few hundred metres to a few kilometres long. The main cause for this spatial behaviour was the local geology. Its effects were intensified by a larger scale slope, slightly higher than along a longitudinal profile with normal concavity, as a consequence of the presence of a 400 m elevation knick‐point located in the catchment area. A generalized maintenance of river in the floodplain perimeter during the entire interval of study (centennial scale), with local planform adjustments and lack of median scale avulsion in lateral tilting areas and along the anabranched reaches, channel lengthening and meander development during hydrological stable periods and channel shortening and increasing of natural cutoffs during periods with higher incidence of floods (decadal scale), and the incapacity of local morphologic changes resulted from human interventions to completely counterbalance general trends (decadal scale), supports the idea of decreasing the amplitude and frequency of important floods, after the end of the Little Ice Age. Channel metamorphosis by canalization, diminishing/elimination of overflows and medium‐scale avulsions by changes in flow regimes (dams) and the presence of dykes in the floodplain perimeter, channel narrowing (43%) and incision (at least after 1945) downstream from dams, and probably because of in‐channel gravel mining are the main anthropically induced changes along the Some?u Mic River. Even if human impact is important, both at the drainage basin scale and along the Some?u Mic River, it has only local impacts, subordinated to climate. The low level of human impact on this river could be the consequence of the higher general slope downstream from 400 m elevation knick‐point, which probably forces the positioning of its effects under an important internal threshold of the fluvial system. This boundary condition defines Some?u Mic River as an atypical river. This study supports the idea that climate has a more important role in the post‐Little Ice Age (LIA) rivers' behaviour than currently accepted. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Storylines: an alternative approach to representing uncertainty in physical aspects of climate change

Investigating the relationships between climate extremes and crop yield can help us understand how unfavourable climatic conditions affect crop production. In this study, two statistical models, multiple linear regression and random forest, were used to identify rainfall extremes indices affecting wheat yield in three different regions of the New South Wales wheat belt. The results show that the random forest model explained 41–67% of the year-to-year yield variation, whereas the multiple linear regression model explained 34–58%. In the two models, 3-month timescale standardized precipitation index of Jun.–Aug. (SPI_JJA), Sep.–Nov. (SPI_SON), and consecutive dry days (CDDs) were identified as the three most important indices which can explain yield variability for most of the wheat belt. Our results indicated that the inter-annual variability of rainfall in winter and spring was largely responsible for wheat yield variation, and pre-growing season rainfall played a secondary role. Frequent shortages of rainfall posed a greater threat to crop growth than excessive rainfall in eastern Australia. We concluded that the comparison between multiple linear regression and machine learning algorithm proposed in the present study would be useful to provide robust prediction of yields and new insights of the effects of various rainfall extremes, when suitable climate and yield datasets are available.     

The impact of climatic and non-climatic factors on land surface temperature in southwestern Romania

Land surface temperature is one of the most important parameters related to global warming. It depends mainly on soil type, discontinuous vegetation cover, or lack of precipitation. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between high LST, synoptic conditions and air masses trajectories, vegetation cover, and soil type in one of the driest region in Romania. In order to calculate the land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index, five satellite images of LANDSAT missions 5 and 7, covering a period of 26 years (1986–2011), were selected, all of them collected in the month of June. The areas with low vegetation density were derived from normalized difference vegetation index, while soil types have been extracted from Corine Land Cover database. HYSPLIT application was employed to identify the air masses origin based on their backward trajectories for each of the five study cases. Pearson, logarithmic, and quadratic correlations were used to detect the relationships between land surface temperature and observed ground temperatures, as well as between land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index. The most important findings are: strong correlation between land surface temperature derived from satellite images and maximum ground temperature recorded in a weather station located in the area, as well as between areas with land surface temperature equal to or higher than 40.0 °C and those with lack of vegetation; the sandy soils are the most prone to high land surface temperature and lack of vegetation, followed by the chernozems and brown soils; extremely severe drought events may occur in the region.     

A new approach to soil characterisation for hydrology–stability analysis models

Landslide stability analysis increasingly utilises high-resolution coupled hydrology–slope stability models (CHASM) to improve stability assessments in areas subject to dynamic pore pressure regimes. In such environments, the estimation of soil hydraulic conductivity (K) is a key parameter but one which is not always readily available or determined with the required resolution. By using basic soil particle-size distribution (PSD) data, we evaluate the microscopic composition of the actual soil, and applying the analytical relations obtain by a Self-Consistent Method (SCM) approach, we determine an appropriate value of K. This is of importance in that it allows within-soil type variability to be reflected in terms of K and hence within the model structure. The SCM methodology is briefly reviewed and an illustrative application is undertaken for a slope typical of Hong Kong. The results show model output sensitivity in terms of moisture content and factor of safety (FOS) when comparing K values determined using the SCM approach and the conventional field determination. In attempting to determine slope hydrological processes and attendant stability conditions, we conclude that the application of SCM approach offers a novel methodology for potentially improving the parameterisation of hydrology–slope stability models.     

Definition of areas of probable risk to human health posed by As and Pb in soils and ground-level dusts of the surrounding area of an abandoned As-sulfide mine in the north of Portugal: part 1

The aim of this study is to assess the potential health risk posed by As and Pb in the soils of the Pintor mine area. The site was never remediated but a residential area is being constructed in the mine land, next to the smelters, a fact that raised some concern about the probable risk posed by potentially harmful elements in the soil to the health of the residents. 132 samples were collected and analyzed by ICP-MS to determine total metal concentrations. The soluble fraction of As in the soil was obtained using 1 M NH₄ Acetate, pH 4.5. To assess the probable risk, total concentrations are compared with the soil guideline value established for the UK. Exposure through soil ingestion is probable in and around the residential area that has higher As and Pb concentrations, and therefore is classified as area with a potential health risk.     

Distribution patterns of subsurface copepods and the impact of environmental parameters

The ecosystem dynamics in the vadose zone, the unsaturated layer between the surface and the groundwater table, was studied in five caves located in northwestern Romania. Hypogean and epigean copepod assemblages collected in drip water and in the associated pools were analyzed over a period of 12 and 7 months, respectively. The temporal variation of fauna in both habitats was related to a series of environmental parameters (pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, forest cover, precipitation, type of limestone, hydrographic basin, substrate and volume of the pools). Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to explore the relationships. Over the year, total abundances in pools were much lower than the abundances observed in drips and showed steep raising values in December only. It is shown that forest cover might be one of the most important driving factor influencing the copepod diversity and abundance. Occurrence of epigean species underground was influenced by precipitation and drip rates. The occurrence of hypogean species was related to electrical conductivity, as an indicator of residence time of water in the vadose zone. Pools on limestone harbored a more diverse and abundant fauna than those with clay sediments. Pools with calcite precipitation were preferred by hypogean species.