Impact of Possible Climate Change on Extreme Annual Runoff from River Basins Located in Different Regions of the Globe

Water Resources - For 11 large river basins (the Rhine, Tagus, Ganges, Lena, Upper Yellow, Upper Yangtze, Niger, Mackenzie, Upper Mississippi, Upper Amazon and Darling) located on different...     

Projected Changes in Water Balance Components of 11 Large River Basins during the 21st Century and Their Uncertainties

Water Resources - Changes in the water balance components of 11 large-scale river basins due to possible climate change during the 21st century were simulated with the land surface model SWAP and...     

Present-Day Water Economy Balances of Major River Basins in the Russian Federation

Water economy balances of the major river basins in the Russian Federation for 1998–2002 are considered and their possible changes in the period up to 2010 are discussed. Consumptive water use and the feasibility of steady functioning of water users are assessed. River basins on the southern slope of the European Russia are examined in detail.     

Global Estimates of Changes in the Terrestrial Water Balance Components in the Context of Possible Climate Changes

Water Resources - Materials of ISI-MIP International Project were used for global simulations of water balance components for the entire Earth surface (except for Antarctica) with a spatial...     

On the Problem of Environmental Rehabilitation of River Basins

Ways to improve methods of developing designs for solving environmental problems of river basins (river systems and drainage areas) subject to considerable anthropogenic load are considered. The Ural Economic Region and the Moskva River basin are used as examples.     

The Changing Cold Regions Network:Observation,diagnosis and prediction of environmental change in the Saskatchewan and Mackenzie River Basins,Canada

Climate change is causing rapid and severe changes to many Earth systems and processes,with widespread cryospheric,ecological,and hydrological impacts globally,and especially in high northern latitudes.This is of major societal concern and there is an urgent need for improved understanding and predictive tools for environmental management.The Changing Cold Regions Network(CCRN)is a Canadian research consortium with a focus to integrate existing and new experimental data with modelling and remote sensing products to understand,diagnose,and predict changing land,water,and climate,and their interactions and feedbacks over the geographic domain of the Mackenzie and Saskatchewan River Basins in Canada.The network operates a set of 14 unique and focused Water,Ecosystem,Cryosphere and Climate(WECC)observatories within this region,which provide opportunities to observe and understand processes and their interaction,as well as develop and test numerical simulation models,and provide validation data for remote sensing products.This paper describes this network and its observational,experimental,and modelling programme.An overview of many of the recent Earth system changes observed across the study region is provided,and some local insights from WECC observatories that may partly explain regional patterns and trends are described.Several of the model products being developed are discussed,and linkages with the local to international user community are reviewed—In particular,the use of WECC data towards model and remote sensing product calibration and validation is highlighted.Some future activities and prospects for the network are also presented at the end of the paper.     

A Comparative Assessment of River Water Quality in Mountain Regions of Russia and Armenia

Water Resources - The paper highlights results obtained from collation between river water quality in mountain regions of Russia and Armenia employing two different methodological approaches: a...     

Multidimensional Data Analysis in the Assessment of Ice-Jam Formation in River Basins

Water Resources - The analysis and evaluation of the factors that have an effect on the frequency of ice jams and the characteristics of the accompanying floods have been shown to remain an...     

Sediment Balance in the Danube River Mouth

The sediment balance in the mouth of the Kiliya Branch was analyzed on the basis of new data on the Danube sediment runoff and its distribution among branches. Through the comparison of variations in the fan volume in the branch mouth with the sediment runoff of this branch it was found that the sediment runoff data were underestimated, because they did not take into account the tractional load. The introduction of an appropriate correction made it possible not only to assess the sediment balance components for the Kiliya Branch mouth, but also to specify average long-term values of sediment runoff of the Danube River proper.     

Modelling hyperconcentrated flow in the Yellow River

A large amount of the total sediment load in the Chinese Yellow River is transported during hyperconcentrated floods. These floods are characterized by very high suspended sediment concentrations and rapid morphological changes with alternating sedimentation and erosion in the main channel, and persistent sedimentation on the floodplain. However, the physical mechanisms driving these hyperconcentrated floods are still poorly understood. Numerical modelling experiments of these floods reveal that sedimentation is largely caused by large vertical concentration gradients, both in the channel during the rising stage of the flood, as well as on the floodplains, during a later stage of the flood. These vertical concentration gradients are large because the turbulent mixing rates are reduced by the increased sediment‐induced density gradients, resulting in a positive feedback mechanism that produces high deposition rates. Erosion prevails when the sediment is largely held in suspension due to hindered settling, and is strengthened by the reduced wetted cross‐section caused by massive sedimentation on the floodplain. Observed patterns of erosion and sedimentation during these floods can be qualitatively reproduced with a numerical model in which sediment‐induced density effects and hindered settling are included. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mass Balance Study on Phosphorus Removal in Constructed Wetland Microcosms Treating Polluted River Water

A number of studies have showed that the mass removal rates of phosphorus (P) in different constructed wetlands (CWs) varied significantly, and it is essential to quantify the contributions of major P removal processes in order to improve system design. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vegetation, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and water temperature on P removal from polluted river water and to quantify the contributions of different P removal pathways in surface CWs. Results showed that the average total P removal rates ranged between 2.69 and 20.84 mg/(m² day) in different seasons and were influenced significantly by vegetation, HRT, and water temperature. According to the mass balance approach, plant uptake removed 4.81–22.33% of P input, while media storage contributed 36.16–49.66%. Other P removal processes such as microbiota uptake removed around 0.26–4.13%. Media storage and plant uptake were identified as the main P removal processes in surface CWs treating polluted river water. This illustrated the importance of selecting media and plants in CWs for future practical application.     

Mapping of the Natural and Anthropogenic Landscapes of River Deltas in Different Regions of the World Using Satellite Imagery

Water Resources - The article suggests a method of mapping the natural and anthropogenic landscapes of river deltas based on satellite imagery in the publicly accessible information system Google...     

Modeling Water and Heat Balance Components for Large Agricultural Region Utilizing Information from Meteorological Satellites

The method has been developed to evaluate water and heat balance components for vegetation covered area of regional scale based on the refined physical-mathematical model of vertical water and heat exchange between land surface and atmosphere (Land Surface Model, LSM) for vegetation season adapted to satellite information on land surface and meteorological conditions. The LSM is accommodated for utilizing satellite-derived estimates of vegetation and meteorological characteristics as model parameters and input variables. Estimates of these characteristics presented as distributions of their values over the study area have been obtained from AVHRR/NOAA, MODIS/EOS Terra and Aqua, SEVIRI/Meteosat-9, -10 data. To build such estimates methods and technologies have been developed and refined using results of thematic processing measurement data from these sensors. Among them the original Multi Threshold Method (MTM) has been developed and tested to calculate daily precipitation sums using rainfall intensity estimates retrieved from AVHRR and SEVIRI data with subsequent replacement of ground-measured rainfall amounts by these daily rainfalls. All technologies have been adapted to the study area with square of 227300 km² being the part of the Central Black Earth Region of European Russia. Developed earlier procedures of utilizing satellitederived estimates of vegetation and meteorological characteristics (including precipitation) in the model have been refined and verified. Final result of modeling is the fields of soil water content, evapotranspiration and other water and heat balance components of the region under study for years 2012–2014 vegetation seasons.     

Behaviour of Different Molecular-weight Fractions of DOC of Elbe River Water during River Bank Infiltration

This paper reports changes in dissolved organic carbon concentration β(DOC) and the relation between UV-active and non-UV-active components determined for Elbe river water and river bank infiltrate in the Torgau river basin between 1992 and 1994. Using an ultrafiltration method, the fractionation of the DOC content was obtained for the fractions > 10 000 g/mol, 1 000…10 000 g/mol, and < 1 000 g/mol. The spectral absorption coefficient at 254 nm a₂₅₄ of the molecular-weight fractions was also measured. The mean total DOC concentration of Elbe river water decreased from 6.0 mg/L to below 3.9 mg/L along two investigated flowpaths. Two thirds of the decrease occurred within the first few metres of the river bed and one third along the 350 m length of the groundwater flowpaths. The a₂₅₄ values showed a significant decrease from 14.8 1/m in Elbe river water to 7.8 1/m in the aquifer. Along a flowpath, the proportion of low-molecular weight fraction of DOC increased, the proportion of high-molecular weight fraction decreased, and the proportion of the 1 000…10 000 g/mol molecular-weight fraction remained relatively stable. The Elbe river water contained the main portion of UV-active compounds in the fraction 1 000…10 000 g/mol, and this was also the case for samples of river infiltrate. For the high-molecular weight fraction, mainly non-UV-active compounds were attenuated in the river bed sediment.     

Assessment of Chemical Input into the Drainage Network from Karelian River Basins

Outflow of chemical substances from the catchment area of the Karelian drainage network is discussed using hydrochemical data obtained in more than 80 rivers of Karelia over the period of many years. Weighted average characteristics of river water composition were found for ten large basins and for the entire region. Specific outflow was defined and its value was compared with atmospheric chemical precipitation; the difference made it possible to reveal the real input of chemicals from the catchment areas of Karelia.     

Scenario Projections of Changes in Snow Water Equivalent Due to Possible Climate Changes in Different Regions of the Earth

Water Resources - The study was carried out under the international Earth System Model–Snow Model Intercomparison Project on ten experimental well-instrumented snow sites in different parts...     

Modelling the Kinetics of Calcium Hydroxide Dissolution in Water

In water treatment calcium hydroxide is used in softening and decarbonization techniques as well as in stabilization processes. Due to its slight solubility calcium hydroxide is applied as suspension. The dissolution kinetics plays a major role in these processes. For the characterization of calcium hydroxide dissolution empirical methods exist. These methods allow relative comparison of different calcium hydroxide products. Thus in this study a dissolution rate model is presented that is based on the chemical reactions determining the dissolution. This model allows to predict the dissolution with respect to particle diameter and temperature. However, the most important factor is the particle diameter i.e. the total surface of particles in solution. Furthermore an effect of the dosed amount of calcium hydroxide particles on the solubility was found.     

Modelling the rainfall–runoff process of the Mara River basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool

The delicate balance between human utilization and sustaining its pristine biodiversity in the Mara River basin (MRB) is being threatened because of the expansion of agriculture, deforestation, human settlement, erosion and sedimentation and extreme flow events. This study assessed the applicability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for long‐term rainfall–runoff simulation in MRB. The possibilities of combining/extending gage rainfall data with satellite rainfall estimates were investigated. Monthly satellite rainfall estimates not only overestimated but also lacked the variability of observed rainfall to substitute gage rainfall in model simulation. Uncertainties related to the quality and availability of input data were addressed. Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis was reported for alternative model components and hydrologic parameters used in SWAT. Mean sensitivity indices of SWAT parameters in MRB varied with and without observed discharge data. The manual assessment of individual parameters indicated heterogeneous response among sub‐basins of MRB. SWAT was calibrated and validated with 10 years of discharge data at Bomet (Nyangores River), Mulot (Amala River) and Mara Mines (Mara River) stations. Model performance varied from satisfactory at Mara Mines to fair at Bomet and weak at Mulot. The (Nash–Sutcliff efficiency, coefficient of determination) results of calibration and validation at Mara Mines were (0.68, 0.69) and (0.43, 0.44), respectively. Two years of moving time window and flow frequency analysis showed that SWAT performance in MRB heavily relied on quality and abundance of discharge data. Given the 5.5% area contribution of Amala sub‐basin as well as uncertainty and scarcity of input data, SWAT has the potential to simulate the rainfall runoff process in the MRB. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.