Hydrological trends and the evolution of catchment research in the Alptal valley,central Switzerland

When the observation of small headwater catchments in the pre-Alpine Alptal valley (central Switzerland) started in the late 1960s, the researchers were mainly interested in questions related to floods and forest management. Investigations of geomorphological processes in the steep torrent channels followed in the 1980s, along with detailed observations of biogeochemical and ecohydrological processes in individual forest stands. More recently, research in the Alptal has addressed the impacts of climate change on water supply and runoff generation. In this article, we describe, for the first time, the evolution of catchment research at Alptal, and present new analyses of long-term trends and short-term hydrologic behaviour. Hydrometeorological time series from the past 50 years show substantial interannual variability, but only minimal long-term trends, except for the ~2°C increase in mean annual air temperature over the 50-year period, and a corresponding shift towards earlier snowmelt. Similar to previous studies in larger Alpine catchments, the decadal variations in mean annual runoff in Alptal's small research catchments reflect the long-term variability in annual precipitation. In the Alptal valley, the most evident hydrological trends were observed in late spring and are related to the substantial change in the duration of the snow cover. Streamflow and water quality are highly variable within and between hydrological events, suggesting rapid shifts in flow pathways and mixing, as well as changing connectivity of runoff-generating areas. This overview illustrates how catchment research in the Alptal has evolved in response to changing societal concerns and emerging scientific questions.     

珠江口近30a的SST变化特征分析

根据珠江口多个定点站近30a表层海水温度（SST）实测资料和气象站观测的气温资料，使用功率谱和小波分析方法，计算分析珠江口SST变化特点、上升趋势及其与El Nino／La Nino的响应关系．结果表明各月SST存在着1-2℃的海域差异，SST的年较差达10～11℃，SST的季节变化与全球气候变暖呈显著相关．1971-2003年SST呈显著上升趋势，其线性上升率为0．019～0．034℃／a，且珠江口外高于口内．El Nino／La Nino事件对珠江口SST变化的影响并非单一的对应关系．     

Anomalous change of the Antarctic sea ice and global sea level change

ＡｎｏｍａｌｏｕｓｃｈａｎｇｅｏｆｔｈｅＡｎｔａｒｃｔｉｃｓｅａｉｃｅａｎｄｇｌｏｂａｌｓｅａｌｅｖｅｌｃｈａｎｇｅ￥ＸｉｅＳｉｍｅｉ;ＺｏｕＢｉｎｇ;ＷａｎｇＹｉａｎｄＢａｏＣｈｅｎｇｌａｎ（１．ＮａｔｉｏｎａｌＭａｒｉｎｅＥｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔＦ...     

Effects of a Short-term Environmental Change on a Brackish-water Polychaete Community

Abstract. Aquatina lake is a brackish basin, connected with the Adriatic Sea along the mast of Apulia (Italy), with a mean salinity of 26%. The abundance and biomass of fifteen polychaete species were recorded by monthly samples in a pilot area of the lake from February 1989 to February 1990. Naineris laevigata was dominant, both in number of individuals and biomass. During 1990, obstruction of freshwater inflow to the lake caused an increase in salinity up to 4O%, followed by some changes in the polychaete community. Noromasrus hiericeus became dominant, and the abundances of the other species decreased except for Naineris laevipru . Salinity assumed normal values after three months, but community responded slowly becauie the massive presence of N. latericeus inhibited the recovery of other species. An abiotic disturbance, followed by a biotic disturbance, altered the structure of the polychaete community.     

Water mass formation variability in the intermediate layer of the east sea

Long-term variability in the intermediate layer of the eastern Japan Basin has been investigated to understand the variability of water mass formation in the East Sea. The simultaneous decrease of temperature at shallower depths and oxygen increasing at deeper depths in the intermediate layer took place in the late 1960’s and the mid-1980’s. Records of winter sea surface temperatures and air temperatures showed that there were cold winters that persisted for several years during those periods. Therefore, it was assumed that a large amount of newly-formed water was supplied to the intermediate layer during those cold winters. Close analysis suggests that the formation of the Upper Portion of Proper Water occurred in the late 1960’s and the Central Water in the mid-1980’s.     

Determining the age of water and long-term transport timescale of the Chesapeake Bay

The concept of age of water (AW) is applied to the Chesapeake Bay to investigate the long-term transport properties for dissolved substances. A real-time calibrated hydrodynamic Chesapeake Bay model in 3 Dimensions (CH3D), employing a boundary-fitted curvilinear grid, is used for the study. The long-term transport properties, represented by AW, are investigated under the conditions of low river inflow of 1995 and high river inflow of 1996, as well as for constant mean inflows. The influences of freshwater, density-induced circulation, and wind-induced transport on age distribution have been investigated. Model results show that river inflows, wind stress, and density-induced circulation play important roles in controlling the long-term transport in the Bay. The model results shows that it requires 120–300 days for a marked change in the characteristics of the pollutant source discharged into the Bay from the Susquehanna River to affect significantly the conditions near the mouth under different hydrodynamic conditions. An increase of river discharge results in increases of downstream residual current and gravitational circulation, and thus reduces AW. The density-induced circulation contributes to the transport substantially. The dissolved substances discharged into the Bay are transported out of the Bay more rapidly when the estuary becomes more stratified. Southeasterly and southwesterly winds have strong impacts on the transport compared to the northeasterly and northwesterly winds. The former increases lateral and vertical mixing significantly. Consequently, the gravitational circulation is reduced and the transport time is increased by 50%. The model results provide useful information for understanding the long-term transport processes in the Bay.