Water and sediment dynamics in the estuary and mouth area of the Seine River

The principal features of the hydrological regime of the Seine River mouth area are discussed. Attention is focused on studying the dynamics of water and sediments in the estuary of the Seine River and in its tidal mouth area under the combined effect of seasonal variations in river runoff and tides. The history of development and improvement of the estuary is described.     

Detecting multi-scale riverine topographic variability and its influence on Chinook salmon habitat selection

Quantifying geomorphic conditions that impact riverine ecosystems is critical in river management due to degraded riverine habitat, changing flow and thermal conditions, and increasing anthropogenic pressure. Geomorphic complexity at different scales directly impacts habitat heterogeneity and affects aquatic biodiversity resilience. Here we showed that the combination of continuous spatial survey at high resolution, topobathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and continuous wavelet analysis can help identify and characterize that complexity. We used a continuous wavelet analysis on 1-m resolution topobathymetry in three rivers in the Salmon River Basin, Idaho (USA), to identify different scales of topographic variability and the potential effects of this variability on salmonid redd site selection. On each river, wavelet scales characterized the topographic variability by portraying repeating patterns in the longitudinal profile. We found three major representative spatial wavelet scales of topographic variability in each river: a small wavelet scale associated with local morphology such as pools and riffles, a mid-wavelet scale that identified larger channel unit features, and a large wavelet scale related to valley-scale controls. The small wavelet scale was used to identify pools and riffles along the entire lengths of each river as well as areas with differing riffle-pool development. Areas along the rivers with high local topographic variability (high wavelet power) at all wavelet scales contained the largest features (i.e., deepest or longest pools) in the systems. By comparing the wavelet power for each wavelet scale to Chinook salmon redd locations, we found that higher small-scale wavelet power, which is related to pool-riffle topography, is important for redd site selection. The continuous wavelet methodology objectively identified scales of topographic variability present in these rivers, performed efficient channel-unit identification, and provided geomorphic assessment without laborious field surveys.     

Geospatial Investigation into Groundwater Pollution and Water Quality Supported by Satellite Data: A Case Study from the Evros River (Eastern Mediterranean)

Managing water resources, in terms of both quality and quantity, in transboundary rivers is a difficult and challenging task that requires efficient cross-border cooperation and transparency. Groundwater pollution risk assessment and mapping techniques over the full catchment area are important tools that could be used as part of these water resource management efforts, to estimate pollution pressures and optimize land planning processes. The Evros river catchment is the second largest river in Eastern Europe and sustains a population of 3.6 million people in three different countries (Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece). This study provides detailed information on the main pollution sources and pressures in the Evros catchment and, for the first time, applies, assesses and evaluates a groundwater pollution risk mapping technique using satellite observations (Landsat NDVI) and an extensive dataset of field measurements covering different seasons and multiple years. We found that approximately 40 % of the Greek part of the Evros catchment is characterized as of high and very high pollution risk, while 14 % of the study area is classified as of moderate risk. Both the modeled and measured water quality status of the river showed large spatiotemporal variations consistent with the strong anthropogenic pressures in this system, especially on the northern and central segments of the catchment. The pollutants identified illustrate inputs of agrochemicals and urban wastes in the river. High correlation coefficients (R between 0.79 and 0.85) were found between estimated pollution risks and measured concentrations of those chemical parameters that are mainly attributed to anthropogenic activities rather than in situ biogeochemical processes. The pollution risk method described here could be used elsewhere as a decision support tool for mitigating the impact of hazardous human activities and improving management of groundwater resources.     

Land use scenario development and stakeholder involvement as tools for watershed management within the Havel River Basin

The implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) will address land use issues in river catchments in order to reduce diffuse pollution and work towards the aim of achieving good ecological status, or good ecological potential in surface water bodies. The WFD also requires the active involvement of all interested parties in developing the best approach to achieve its objectives. The paper demonstrates how scenario analysis can be applied to investigate the impacts of land use changes and how stakeholder interviews can be used to evaluate the results of the scenarios.The study was carried out in the Havel Basin in the northeast of Germany. ‘Landscape-ecological spatial units’ were derived from similar characteristics of soil and groundwater conditions, ground relief and inundation to enable spatial allocation of potential land use and link different scales when describing possible changes in land use. As a first step, in three sub-catchments of the Havel River (distinguished by different physical characteristics) detailed surveys were carried out to investigate the various interests of the stakeholders. The interviews were used to identify the key problems of each area with respect to water quality and quantity and facilitated stakeholder engagement with the catchment planning issues in the Havel River Basin. The information from the stakeholder interviews was used to determine the initial conditions for the land use scenarios which were developed to demonstrate possible changes to land use for achieving better water quality. The land use scenarios also were required as an input into the hydrological modelling of their effects on water quality and to calculate their socio-economic effects. In a second survey, the results of the scenarios and the hydrological modelling were presented to the stakeholders. The consultation process identified the priorities of the stakeholders which could then be taken into account when developing management options.     

Climate change impact assessment of a river basin using CMIP5 climate models and the VIC hydrological model

Climate change has significant impacts on water availability in larger river basins. The present study evaluates the possible impacts of projected future daily rainfall (2011–2099) on the hydrology of a major river basin in peninsular India, the Godavari River Basin, (GRB), under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The study highlights a criteria-based approach for selecting the CMIP5 GCMs, based on their fidelity in simulating the Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall. The nonparametric kernel regression based statistical downscaling model is employed to project future daily rainfall and the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrological model is used for hydrological simulations. The results indicate an increase in future rainfall without significant change in the spatial pattern of hydrological variables in the GRB. The climate-change-induced projected hydrological changes provide a crucial input to define water resource policies in the GRB. This methodology can be adopted for the climate change impacts assessment of larger river basins worldwide.     

Impact of environmental factors on water quality at multiple spatial scales and its spatial variation in Huai River Basin,China

Quantitative assessment of water quality and its spatial variation identification, as well as the discernment of primary factors affecting water quality are in its urgent in water environment management. In this study, four key water quality indicators,namely, ammonia nitrogen(NH_4~+-N), permanganate index(COD_(Mn)), total phosphorus(TP) and total nitrogen(TN) at 71 sampling sites were selected to evaluate water quality and its spatial variation identification. More concerns were emphasized on the anthropogenic factors(land use pattern) and natural factors(river density, elevation and precipitation) to quantify the overall water quality variations at different spatial scales. Results showed that the Yi-Shu-Si River sub-basin had a better water quality status than the Huai River sub-basin. The moderate polluted area nearly distributed in the upper and middle reaches of the Shaying River and Guo River. The high cluster centers which were surrounded with COD_(Mn), NH_4~+-N, TN and TP mainly also distributed in the upper and middle reaches of the Shaying River and Guo River. Redundancy analysis showed that the 200 m buffer area acted as the most sensitive area, which was easily subjected to pollution. The precipitation was identified as the most important variables among all the studied hydrological units, followed by farmland, urban land or elevation. The point source pollution was still existed although the non-point source pollution was also identified. The urban surface runoff pollution was severer than farmland fertilizer loss at the sub-basin scale in flood season, while the farmland showed "small-scale" effects for explaining overall water quality variations. This research is helpful for identifying the overall water quality variations from the scale-process interactions and providing a scientific basis for pollution control and decision making for the Huai River Basin.     

Interactions between dam‐regulated river flow and riparian groundwater: a case study from the Yellow River,China

The Xiaolangdi Dam, completed in 2000, is second in scale in China to the Three Gorges Project. It has generated remarkable economic and social benefits but with profound impacts to the riverine and regional environments. This paper reports field monitoring of riparian groundwater in the Kouma section of the Yellow River to illustrate the interactions between dam‐regulated river flow and riparian groundwater. The results show that the hydrological condition in riparian zones downstream from the dam has changed from a typical wet–dry cycle to a condition of semi‐permanent dryness, resulting in degradation of the typical attributes and functions of the wetland ecosystem. Hydrological processes in the riparian zone have changed from a complex multiple flooding regime to a simple regime of dominant groundwater drainage towards the river, which only reverses temporarily during the water and sediment regulation period of the dam. Data on groundwater level and groundwater quality show that there are two key points, at ca 200 and 400 m from the river bank, which distinguish zones with different sensitivity to changes of river flow and indicate different interactions between river water and groundwater. The shallow groundwater quality also is negatively affected by the intensive agricultural development that has occurred since the dam was completed. Ecological restoration needs to be carried out to construct a protective natural riparian zone within ca 200 m from the river, this being an ecotone, which is key to the protection of both riparian groundwater and the river. The riparian zone from 200 to 400 m also should be treated as a transitional zone. In addition, ecologically sensitive agriculture and ecotourism organized by local communities would be beneficial in the area beyond 400 m. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

River flux uncertainties predicted by hydrological variability and riverine material behaviour

Data on riverine fluxes are essential for calculating element cycles (carbon, nutrients, pollutants) and erosion rates from regional to global scales. At most water‐quality stations throughout the world, riverine fluxes are calculated from continuous flow data (q) and discrete concentration data (C), the latter being the main cause of sometimes large uncertainties. This article offers a comprehensive approach for predicting the magnitude of these uncertainties for water‐quality stations in medium to large basins (drainage basin area > 1000 km²) based on the commonly used discharge‐weighted method. Uncertainty levels – biases and imprecisions – for sampling intervals of 3 to 60 days are correlated first through a nomograph with a flux variability indicator, the quantity of riverine material discharged in 2% of time (M_2%). In turn, M_2% is estimated from the combination of a hydrological reactivity index, W_2% (the cumulative flow volume discharged during the upper 2% of highest daily flow) and the truncated b_50sup exponent, quantifying the concentration versus discharge relationship for the upper half of flow values (C = a q ^b50sup, for q > q₅₀, where q₅₀ is the median flow): M_2% = W_2% + 27.6b_50sup. W_2% can be calculated from continuous flow measurements, and the b_50sup indicator can be calculated from infrequent sampling, which makes it possible to predict a priori the level of uncertainty at any station, for any type of riverine material either concentrated (b_50sup > 0) or diluted (b_50sup > 0) with flow. A large data base of daily surveys, 125 station variables of suspended particulate matter (SPM), total dissolved solids (TDS) and dissolved and particulate nutrients, was used to determine uncertainties from simulated discrete surveys and to establish relationships between indicators. Results show, for example, that for the same relatively reactive basin (W_2% > 25%), calculated fluxes from monthly sampling would yield uncertainties approaching ±100% for SPM (b_50sup > 1.4) fluxes and ±10% for TDS (b_50sup = ?0.2). The application to the nitrate survey of the river Seine shows significant trends for the 1972–2009 records. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling of variations in river runoff on the East European Plain under different climates of the past

The results of modeling of the annual river runoff on the East European Plain, performed with the help of atmospheric general circulation models for the conditions of the present-day climate, the Atlantic Optimum of the Holocene, and the Cryochrone of the Late Pleistocene, are analyzed. The quality of modeling the present-day climate is assessed; the spatial scales, within which the model results are appropriate for using in hydrological calculations, are determined. The genesis of variations in the river runoff on the East European Plain in the epochs of the Holocene Optimum and Late-Pleistocene Cryochrone is investigated.     

三峡库区土地利用对河流溶解性有机质的多时空尺度影响

三峡库区拥有目前世界上规模最大的水利枢纽工程,自投入使用以来,为长江流域提供了丰富的水源及电力,促进了经济的发展,但同时也对该区域的生态环境造成了严重的冲击。澎溪河流域作为三峡库区长江流域干流的典型回水区和消落带,是众多学者研究三峡库区生态环境变化的重点区域。为探究不同时空尺度下土地利用对河流溶解性有机质（DOM）的影响,以澎溪河流域为研究对象,基于紫外-可见光谱分析和三维荧光光谱矩阵-平行因子分析,结合河段缓冲区、河岸带缓冲区及子流域3种空间尺度的二级土地利用类型,解析了旱雨季水体DOM的组成及来源特征,并采用相关分析和冗余分析方法探讨了3种空间尺度下土地利用方式对旱雨季水体DOM的多时空尺度影响。结果表明：（1）旱季水体DOM荧光组分以陆源类腐殖质所占比例更大,雨季水体DOM荧光组分以富里酸贡献为主。（2）流域内陆源输入和内源产生对水体DOM丰度均有贡献,雨季较旱季水体DOM的陆源性更强,自生源特征较弱。（3）土地利用在雨季和子流域尺度下对水体DOM的影响更显著,其中,雨季子流域尺度下,土地利用指数对水体DOM参数的解释率为90.35%。（4）不同土地利用方式对水体DOM产生的影响...     

Sediment export from French rivers to the sea

Knowledge of sediment exports from continental areas is essential for estimating denudation rates and biogeochemical cycles. However, the estimation of current sediment fluxes to the sea is often limited by the availability and quality of sediment discharge data. This study aims to quantify the relative contributions of French rivers to the sediment discharge to the ocean. Sediment fluxes were assessed using the French river quality database, which is characterized by a low temporal resolution but long‐term measurement periods. An improved rating curve approach (IRCA) using daily discharge data, which allows the estimation of mean annual sediment loads from infrequent sediment concentration data, was used to calculate sediment fluxes. The resulting mean annual sediment loads show that French rivers export c. 16.21 Mt yr^‐1 of sediments to the sea. Among the 88 defined French rivers flowing to the sea, the four largest basins (Loire, Rhone, Garonne and Seine) export 13.2 Mt yr^‐1, which corresponds to 81.3% of total exports. No relationship was found between the mass of exported sediment and the size of the drainage basins. This is due to the variety of river basin typologies among these rivers, including lowland rivers in temperate climates, such as the Seine on the one hand and rivers draining mountainous areas in Alpine/Mediterranean areas on the other hand, such as the Rhone. The latter contributes 60% to the total sediment export for France while its drainage area is only 19% of the total area considered. Differences between the river basins considered are also shown by temporal indicators describing the duration of the exports, which may be linked with sediment production processes over drained areas. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent changes in estuarine benthic and suprabenthic communities resulting from the development of harbour infrastructure

Using a Before/During/After sampling protocol, the effects of the Le Havre harbour extension, which was started at the end of 2001, on the macrobenthic and suprabenthic communities in the eastern Bay of Seine (English Channel) were examined. As the construction phase has not yet been completed, the results presented here reflect only the data collected before and during the operations (September 2000 and 2002 for benthos sampling and March 2001, September 2001, October 2002 and March 2003 for suprabenthos sampling). Although bio-sedimentary changes did occur at the mouth of the Seine river, an analysis of benthic assemblages reveals that the dredging and construction operations do not seem to have influenced assemblage structure or the spatial distribution of organisms. Comparisons of the suprabenthic assemblages at each sampling date indicate that seasonal dynamics was mainly responsible for determining species distribution. We conclude that, 1 year into the harbour management plan, the observed changes in benthic and suprabenthic assemblage abundance do not exceed the range of spatial variability that exists naturally in the Seine estuary. Despite this compensatory actions designed to protect the aquatic habitats and to preserve a sustainable and healthy ecosystem have been added to the infrastructure development plan.     

邛海入湖河流水质及其湖区响应特征(2011—2021年)

邛海是云贵高原水域面积>25 km²的11个天然湖泊之一。基于邛海入湖河流与湖区水质监测数据,揭示入湖河流水质特征,并探究其湖区响应。结果表明:2021年,邛海入湖河流水质空间异质性显著,且分为自然型、农业型和城镇型3种类型河流。官坝河等3条自然型河流水质优良,而高仓河等8条城镇型和农业型河流(R4～R11)水质较差,污染物浓度超标严重。2011—2021年,邛海主要入湖河流(官坝河、鹅掌河、小青河)的营养盐浓度呈下降或先增加后下降趋势,水质逐渐改善。流域土地利用变化是导致邛海入湖河流水质空间异质性的主要因素,同时也是河流水质在2011—2021年改善的原因之一。受湖泊水文环境与入湖河流污染类型影响,2017—2021年邛海湖区水环境及其与河流水质响应关系差异性明显:高枧湾水域(L5)水深浅、水环境容量小,主要受纳城镇污水,因而湖区营养盐与叶绿素a浓度高,在2021年达富营养状态;官坝河、鹅掌河与小青河入湖影响区(L1～L3)与小渔村(L4)水域湖水深、水环境容量大,污染物浓度与营养状态指数低,但因汇入的河流污染类型不同,湖区营养水平与河流水质响应存在季节性...     

梯级筑坝对黑河水质时空分布特征的影响

为探究梯级大坝建设对河流水质变化规律的影响,将黑河上中游划分为坝上河段、坝下河段及自然河段,于2017年12月-2018年8月选取了24个主要控制断面进行水质调查,并采用多元统计的方法对比分析了不同时空尺度上的水质分布特征.结果表明:黑河上中游水质时空变化的主要影响因子为水温(WT)、pH值、溶解氧(DO)、电导率(EC)、总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和五日生化需氧量(BOD_5).空间尺度上,WT、EC、BOD_5、高锰酸盐指数(CODMn)、TN等指标具有显著性差异,其中坝上河段受BOD_5、CODMn影响较大,自然河段WT、EC和TN为关键指标,而各个因子对坝下河段水质影响较小.时间尺度上,WT、EC、BOD_5、氨氮与季节变化存在明显相关性,是不同河段水质时间变化的控制因子,且大多数水质因子在非汛期变化最明显.降水、温度、水文条件等季节性影响因素和梯级水库联合运用模式是该区域水质时间差异的主要原因;空间差异主要受祁连、张掖地区外源性污染物排放以及筑坝环境下水动力条件改变而产生的沉积滞留效应和沿程累积效应影响.研究表明,外源性污染源依然是导致水质变差的主要因素,梯级筑坝则是导致水质变差的间接因素.因此控制该区域人类活动所造成的外源性污染源,并针对不同种类污染物的季节变化特征实施合理的水库运行方式是改善水电梯级开发河段水质状况的关键.     

Changes in the long-term hydrological regimes and the impacts of human activities in the main Wei River,China

ABSTRACT

Under the combined influence of climate changes and human activities, the hydrological regime of the Wei River shows remarkable variations which have caused many issues in the Wei River in recent decades, such as a lack of freshwater, water pollution, disastrous flooding and channel sedimentation. Hence, hydrological regime changes and potential human-induced impacts have been drawing increasing attention from local government and hydrologists. This study investigates hydrological regime changes in the natural and measured runoff series at four hydrological stations on the main Wei River and quantifies features of their long-term change by analysing their historical annual and seasonal runoff data using several approaches, i.e., continuous wavelet transform, cross-wavelet, wavelet coherence, trend-free pre-whitening Mann-Kendall test and detrended fluctuation analysis. By contrasting two different analysis results between natural and measured river runoff series, the impacts of human activities on the long-term hydrological regime were investigated via the changes of spatio-temporal distribution in dominant periods, the trends and long-range memory of river runoff. The results show : (a) that periodic properties of the streamflow changes are the result of climate, referring to precipitation changes in particular, while human activities play a minor role; (b) a significant decreasing trend can be observed in the natural streamflow series along the entire main stream of the Wei River and the more serious decrease emerging in measured flow should result from human-induced influences in recent decades; and (c) continuous decreasing streamflow in the Wei River will trigger serious shortages of freshwater in the future, which may challenge the sustainability and safety of water resources development in the river basin, and should be paid great attention before 2020.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor K. Hamed     

Development of conceptual semi-distributed hydrological models and estimation of their parameters with the aid of GIS

Abstract

Conceptual semi-distributed hydrological models are developed for a limited consideration of spatial heterogeneity of hydrological characteristics within a river basin. This heterogeneity can be described by area distribution functions of hydrological characteristics which can be estimated in a most effective way by a Geographical Information System (GIS). It is shown how the application of a GIS can support the development and the calibration of a conceptual hydrological model. GIS information is used to establish the criteria for sub-division of the river basin and for estimation of model structures (especially for further horizontal divisions of each basin into more homogeneous parts). That information is also used for estimation of basin characteristics and their differences between sub-basins as a support for parameter calibration by optimization. The methodology presented can be used for the development of a model structure on an objective basis and for model calibration which considers the physical explanation of model parameters. The proposed method was successfully applied to a river basin within the Mosel basin (Germany).     

考虑空间尺度效应的云南异龙湖流域主要入湖河流污染源解析

定量解析污染源对水质影响的贡献是水环境精细化管理的重要基础。目前多通过水质和土地利用类型的关系以解析水体污染源的研究,忽略了空间尺度的差异性,引发景观配置不合理的后果。为此,本研究依据考虑空间尺度效应的污染源解析方法,基于异龙湖流域3条主要入湖河流的入湖口监测断面对雨季和旱季的水质数据进行研究。同时利用绝对主成分—多元线性回归模型(APCS-MLR)和bioenv分析揭示河道不同尺度缓冲区的土地利用变化对水质的影响并解析河流主要污染源。研究结果表明:(1)异龙湖主要入湖河流水质表现出季节性差异,旱季期间3条主要入湖河流的浊度、化学需氧量(COD_Cr)、氨氮(NH₃-N)、总磷(TP)和总氮(TN)浓度平均值相比于雨季减幅分别为39.53%、39.93%、94.48%、38.29%和1.72%。其中,入湖河流水体中的TN在旱季和雨季的超标率分别为58%和74%,成为首要污染物;(2)在旱季,20 m缓冲区尺度内河流水质受耕地和裸地占比影响较大,随着空间尺度的扩大,至50～300 m缓冲区尺度时建设用地、林地及水体占比对水质的影响增加;在雨季,C...     

Scaling aspects of river flow routing

Scaling aspects of river flow routing are studied by comparing two flow routing schemes, one designed for use in coupled general circulation models (GCMs) and operated at large spatial scales (～350 km), and the other designed for use in typical hydrological applications at small spatial scales (～25 km). The same runoff data are used as input into the two routing schemes, and comparisons are made between mean annual, mean monthly and daily streamflow simulated at four locations within the Mackenzie River Basin. The results suggest that for the purpose of realistically modelling monthly streamflow at the mouth of the rivers in GCMs, flow routing at large spatial scales gives similar results. However, the amplitude of the annual streamflow cycle is slightly but characteristically larger, when routing is performed at large spatial scales. Flow routing at large spatial scales also results in overestimation of high flows, while low flows are underestimated. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of continental scale hydrological models and their suitability for drought forecasting in (sub-Saharan) Africa

The aim of this review is to provide a basis for selecting a suitable hydrological model, or combination of models, for hydrological drought forecasting in Africa at different temporal and spatial scales; for example short and medium range (1–10 days or monthly) forecasts at medium to large river basin scales or seasonal forecasts at the Pan-African scale. Several global hydrological models are currently available with different levels of complexity and data requirements. However, most of these models are likely to fail to properly represent the water balance components that are particularly relevant in arid and semi-arid basins in sub-Saharan Africa. This review critically looks at weaknesses and strengths in the representation of different hydrological processes and fluxes of each model. The major criteria used for assessing the suitability of the models are (1) the representation of the processes that are most relevant for simulating drought conditions, such as interception, evaporation, surface water-groundwater interactions in wetland areas and flood plains and soil moisture dynamics; (2) the capability of the model to be downscaled from a continental scale to a large river basin scale model; and (3) the applicability of the model to be used operationally for drought early warning, given the data availability of the region. This review provides a framework for selecting models for hydrological drought forecasting, conditional on spatial scale, data availability and end-user forecast requirements. Among 16 well known hydrological and land surface models selected for this review, PCR-GLOBWB, GWAVA, HTESSEL, LISFLOOD and SWAT show higher potential and suitability for hydrological drought forecasting in Africa based on the criteria used in this evaluation.