An assessment of human versus climatic impacts on Holocene soil erosion in NE Peloponnese, Greece

Soil erosion is a natural geomorphological process, which can be triggered by both natural (climate, tectonics, or both) and anthropogenic (e.g., agriculture) perturbation of the ecosystem. Evidence has accrued that the Holocene climate experienced large fluctuations in amplitude and suggestions of human impact on the ecosystem provided by the Neolithic revolution dating back to the early Holocene have been made. The question of whether man or climate was the dominant factor responsible for Holocene soil erosion remains unresolved. To resolve the reasons for Holocene sediment redistribution, high-resolution chronometric data on sediments derived from colluvial and alluvial archives from southern Greece were obtained and combined with available archaeological and paleoclimatic data from the eastern Mediterranean. These data show a significant correlation between sedimentation rates and settlement history. Climatic fluctuations are only weakly correlated with sedimentation history. The results show high sedimentation rates during the Early Neolithic (7th millennium BC) in southern Greece, suggesting that Holocene soil erosion was triggered by human activity and then amplified by enhanced precipitation. This would explain the high sedimentation rates during the Early Neolithic in connection with enhanced precipitation in the eastern Mediterranean, which continued until the mid-Holocene.     

Some rainfall-related thresholds for erosion and sediment yield in the upper Yangtze River basin

This study examines rainfall thresholds for erosion and sediment yield in the upper Yangtze River basin. Sediment reduction effects of soil conservation measures depend on the magnitudes of rainstorm. When the latter is less than a critical threshold, sediment reduction effects of soil conservation measures are positive; when this magnitude is exceeded, the effect is negative. An analysis based on data from the Jialingjiang River shows that the sediment reduction by soil conservation measures increased with annual precipitation to a peak, and then decreased to a negative value. The annual precipitation at the peak and zero values of sediment reduction are 970 and 1,180 mm, respectively, which can be regarded as two thresholds. Annual precipitation at the zero-value of sediment reduction has a return period of 25 years. In general, the design standard of soil conservation works in China is related with rainstorms with return periods of 10–20 years. When the magnitude of rainstorm exceeds this, the soil conservation works may be partly or totally destroyed by rainstorms, and the previously trapped sediment may be released, resulting in a sharp increase in sediment yield. It was also found in the lower Jinshajiang River that when annual precipitation exceeds 1,050 mm or high-flow season precipitation exceeds 850 mm, the annual sediment yield increased sharply. These can also be regarded as key rainfall thresholds for erosion and sediment yields. When precipitation is less than the two thresholds, dominant erosion types are sheet, rill and gully erosions. When precipitation crosses the two thresholds, debris flows may occur more frequently. As a result, the previously stored loose sediment is released and sediment yield increases sharply.     

长江上游流域降水结构时空演变特性

为研究气候变化和人类活动背景下的长江上游流域降水结构时空分布特性,利用长江上游流域67个气象站点1961—2005年45年的日降水资料,分析了各种不同历时连续降水的时空演变特征。通过Trend Free Pre-Whitening方法消除降水时间序列中的自相关成分,利用非参数的Mann-Kendall法检验了降水结构的变化趋势。结果表明:① 长江上游流域及各分区各历时降水发生率随降水历时增加呈指数递减趋势,贡献率先增加后降低,以短历时降水为主;② 长江上游短历时（1 d和2 d）降水贡献率发生突变的时间在1976年,长历时（6 d和10 d）降水发生率发生突变的时间为1984年,贡献率发生突变的时间为1999年;③ 长江上游短历时降水集中出现的次数增加,降水强度增大,降水量占总降水量的比例较大,而长历时降水出现频次降低,降水量占总降水量比例下降,其中岷沱江流域、大渡河流域、长江干流区间通过了显著性检验。     

长江流域极端水文气象事件时空变化特征及其对植被的影响

利用1982-2015年高时空分辨率地面气象再分析数据,识别以降水和大气饱和水气压差（VPD）为指标的极端干旱（Dry-VPD和Dry-PRE）和极端湿润（Wet-VPD和Wet-PRE）事件,分析其年际变化趋势;结合归一化植被指数（NDVI）,探讨植被与不同极端事件发生频数的相关关系与差异。结果表明:除Wet-VPD外,Dry-VPD、Wet-PRE和Dry-PRE总体呈上升趋势,特别是1998年以后Dry-VPD在长江上、下游流域显著增加;长江流域植被对极端干旱事件的敏感性（以负相关为主）高于极端湿润事件,且长江上游植被对Dry-VPD敏感,而中下游植被对Dry-PRE敏感。综上,长江流域极端干旱事件日趋严重,相较于降水干旱限制植被生长的传统认识,本研究指出在长江上游地区大气干旱对植被的负效应更加明显。     

An integrated assessment of soil erosion dynamics with special emphasis on gully erosion in the Mazayjan basin,southwestern Iran

Soil erosion by water is a significant problem in arid and semi-arid areas of large parts of Iran. Water erosion is one of the most effective phenomena that leads to decreasing soil productivity and pollution of water resources; especially, in the Mazayjan watershed in the southwest of Fars Province gully erosion contributes to the sediment dynamics in a significant way. Consequently, the intention of this research is to identify the different types of soil erosion processes acting in the area and to assess the process dynamics in an integrative way. Therefore, we applied GIS and satellite image analysis techniques to derive input information for the numeric models. For sheet and rill erosion the Unit Stream Power-based Erosion Deposition Model (USPED) was utilized. The spatial distribution of gully erosion was assessed using a statistical approach, which used three variables (stream power index, slope, and flow accumulation) to predict the spatial distribution of gullies in the study area. The eroded gully volumes were estimated for a 7-year period by fieldwork and Google Earth high-resolution images. Finally the gully retreat rates were integrated into the USPED model. The results show that the integration of the SPI approach to quantify gully erosion with the USPED model is a suitable method to qualitatively and quantitatively assess water erosion processes. The application of GIS and stochastic model approaches to spatialize the USPED model input yields valuable results for the prediction of soil erosion in the Mazayjan catchment. The results of this research help to develop an appropriate management of soil and water resources in the southwestern parts of Iran.     

An assessment study of heavy metal distribution within soil in upper course of Zarqa River basin/Jordan

Levels of heavy metals are found in soils and waters of the major tributary valleys of the Jordan Valley. Heavy metal content in soils irrigated by treated waste water were measured for a 40 km reach of Zarqa River. Soil samples from eight different sites along the upper course of this river were analyzed to determine the concentration of selected heavy metals (CO, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn). Silt forms the major component of the soils with an average of 54%. Clay fractions show an increase with depth from 17 to 41%. Trends in particle size distribution and metal contents were compared across sample sites. Samples contained moderate to considerable levels of Pb and Ni. Concentrations of Cu and Cr ranged between 33–59 and 65–90 ppm, respectively. These values represent a slight to moderate class of pollution. The concentration of Cr shows a decrease with depth and distance from the waste water plant. Cu, Zn, and Ni show increasing concentrations with depth but Pb and CO do not. The concentrations of the measured heavy metals increases near the waste water treatment plant but decreases with distance from the plant due to precipitation in the stream bed and dilution with stream water. This decline in metal content with distance from the treatment plant suggests that most metals reaching floodplain soils may derive from the same source. Although current metal concentrations are low to moderate, floodplain surface soils in this area should be regarded as a potential source for future heavy metal pollution downstream.     

Risk assessment of water soil erosion in upper basin of Miyun Reservoir,Beijing, China

This research selected water soil erosion indicators (land cover, vegetation cover, slope) to assess the risk of soil erosion, ARCMAP GIS ver.9.0 environments and ERDAS ver.9.0 were used to manage and process satellite images and thematic tabular data. Landsat TM images in 2003 were used to produce land/cover maps of the study area based on visual interpreting method and derived vegetation cover maps, and the relief map at the scale of 1:50,000 to calculate the slope gradient maps. The area of water soil erosion was classified into six grades by an integration of slope gradients, land cover types, and vegetation cover fraction. All the data were integrated into a cross-tabular format to carry out the grid-based analysis of soil erosion risk. Results showed that the upper basin of Miyun Reservoir, in general, is exposed to a moderate risk of soil erosion, there is 715,848 ha of land suffered from water soil erosion in 2003, occupied 46.62% of total area, and most of the soil erosion area is on the slight and moderate risk, occupied 45.60 and 47.58% of soil erosion area, respectively.     

长江水质地球化学

文章在对1958—1990年期间长江水系191个站点水质监测资料进行统计分析的基础上,研究了长江主要离子的地球化学。结果表明,长江水系各地河水总溶解性固体(TDS)含量的差别达一个数量级(49·7~518·1mg/L),TDS的平均值为205·9mg/L,是全球河流均值的3倍。相比之下,河水TDS含量的季节性变化并不大,尽管河水流量的季节变化很大。长江的主要离子化学主要受岩石风化作用,尤其是碳酸盐矿物的溶解作用所控制。长江中上游的川贵地区酸雨严重。酸雨作用于当地广泛分布的石灰岩和富含碳酸盐的三叠纪砂页岩,导致近半个世纪来长江水质的酸化趋势,使大部分河段SO24-和Ca2+含量增高,总硬度与总碱度的比值增高。     

Assessing sediment regime alteration of the upper Yangtze River

Employing the histogram matching approach, the sediment regime alteration of the upper Yangtze River was assessed and its possible causes and environmental influences were discussed. Daily sediment load and flow data from 1950 to 2008 were collected from Yichang hydrometric station. The annual sediment load series was segmented by heuristic segmentation algorithm in 1986 and 2003, and the multi-year mean values of the three phases were 5.28 × 10⁸, 3.89 × 10⁸ and 0.57 × 10⁸ t, respectively. One change point was found by cross wavelet transform in 2003 when the cross wavelet power became insignificant, which indicates the interruption of the common annual cycle of the sediment load and flow series. The sediment regime from 1986 to 2002 was altered by a total of 41 % compared with the regime from 1950 to 1985. It may be mainly attributed to numerous dams constructed in the tributaries, the Gezhouba Dam constructed in the mainstream, and land use and land cover change, e.g., the increased grassland with a coverage density larger than 50 %. The sediment regime alteration after 2003, assessed to be a total of 83 %, may be mainly attributed to the Three Gorges Reservoir. It breaks the natural process of sediment transport, reduces sediment concentration and releases clear water to the downstream which may result in some environmental problems, e.g., limited nutrients availability, river bed erosion, benthic habitat destruction, etc. The assessment of sediment regime alteration may provide some references for the environmental management and conservation of the Yangtze River.     

Hydrological responses to rainfall variability and dam construction: a case study of the upper Senegal River basin

The understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamic of river systems is essential for developing sustainable water resource management plan. For the Senegal River, this subject is very complex according to the context of (1) transboundary basin, (2) several contrasted climatic zones (Guinea, South Sudanian, North Sudanian and Sahelian) with high rainfall variability and (3) high human pressures (dam construction and water uses). From 1954 to 2000, 80% (mean value) of the Senegal River flows recorded downstream part of the basin are provided by three majors tributaries (Bafing, Bakoye and Faléme) located in the upstream part. Then, in our study, this upper Senegal River basin was chosen in order to investigate the hydrological responses to rainfall variability and dam construction. Two nonparametric statistical methods, Mann–Kendall and Hubert test, were used to detect the long-term changes in the time series of precipitation and water discharge (1954–2000) at the annual and seasonal scales. The continuous wavelet transform (Morlet Wavelet) was employed to characterize the different mode in the water discharge variability. Flow duration curve and cumulative curve methods were used to assess the impact of dams on the hydrological regime of the Senegal River. Results showed that the Senegal River flows have been changing under the influence of both rainfall variation and dam construction. The long-term evolution of water discharge depend on long-term rainfall variability: The wet periods of the 1950s and 1960s correspond to periods of higher river flows, while the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s led to unprecedented river flows deficits. The new period, since 1994, show a high inter-annual variability of rainfall and discharge without clear trend. At seasonal scale, the results showed also a strong relationship between rainfall and runoff (R ² > 0.8) resulting from alternating wet and dry seasons and rapid hydrological responses according to annual rainfall. Nevertheless, the observed flows during dry seasons highlighted the influence of water storage and restitution of infiltrated waters in soils and surficial formations during wet seasons. In the dry seasons, the water budget of the three upstream tributaries showed a water deficit at the downstream gauging station. This deficit was characterized by water loss to underlying aquifers and highlighted the influence of geological setting on water balance. However, in this context, water restitution during the dry season remained dependent on climatic zone and on the total annual rainfall volume during the previous wet season. The results have highlighted an impact of the Manantali dam previously obscured: The dam has no effect on the regulation of high river flows. That is what explains that since its construction in 1988, flooding of coastal cities, like Saint-louis, by seasonal river floods has not ceased. The flooding risk in coastal cities is not avoided, and the dams caused hyper-salinization of the Senegal lower estuary. The breach created in the coastal barrier of the Langue of Barbary in October 2003 promotes direct export of excess floodwater to the sea and reduces this risk of flooding in the delta area. But, this solution led to considerable loss of potential water resources, and the authors recommend a new water management plan with a global focus. However, this study shows the positives impacts of the two dams. They allow the availability of freshwater in order to support agricultural irrigation in the valley and delta zone, in particular during low flows periods.     

River water quality in weathered limestone: A case study in upper Mahanadi basin, India

Stromatolitic limestone and calcareous shale belonging to Chattisgarh Supergroup of Proterozoic age dominate the upper part of the Mahanadi river basin. X-ray diffractogram (XRD) of limestone rocks show presence of a significant amount of calcite, dolomite and ankerite. Shales of various colours contain calcite and dolomite. It is observed that congruent dissolution of carbonate minerals in the Charmuria pure limestone has given rise to a typical karst topography. On the other hand, limestones are also seen to support red and black soil profiles. This indicates that the limestone bedrock undergoes a parallel incongruent weathering, which leaves a residue of decomposed rock. The XRD analyses reveal that the limestone soils thus formed contain an assemblage of quartz, clays and Fe-oxides. It is likely that the silicate component trapped during deposition of the stromatolitic limestone weathers incongruently resulting in diverse soil profiles. Carbonate and silicate mineral weathering schemes have been worked out to explain the soil formation, fixation of Al in clay minerals, and Fe in goethite. The water quality parameters such as Ca, Mg and HCO₃ in the river water suggest under saturation with respect to calcite and dolomite. The mineral stability diagrams indicate that kaolinite and Ca-smectite are stable in the river water environment, hence they occur in suspended sediments and soils. The dominant influence of carbonate weathering on the water quality is observed even in the downstream part of the river outside the limestone terrain.     

气候变化对黄河流域生态径流影响预估

人类活动和气候变化严重改变了黄河水文情势和生态径流,分析未来气候变化对河流生态的影响对流域水资源管理和长期规划意义重大。本文对第六次国际耦合模式比较计划（CMIP6）的13个全球气候模式数据进行偏差订正,驱动水文模型进行径流模拟,应用流量历时曲线方法分析SSP1-2.6、SSP2-4.5、SSP5-8.5情景下2026年至21世纪末年、季节尺度的花园口生态径流变化。结果表明:订正能明显降低降水、气温模拟偏差;人类活动严重影响了1986-2010年花园口生态径流;2026-2100年年均气温和年降水量增加趋势显著,低排放情景增速慢,高排放情景增速快;气候变化可在一定程度上缓解水库调控、水土保持等人类活动对生态径流的负面影响,SSP5-8.5情景缓解程度最高,冬季缓解程度最高,夏、秋季最低。     

Sea erosion at Ada Foah: assessment of impacts and proposed mitigation measures

Sea erosion is a serious threat to life and property in coastal towns. The coastline of Ada Foah has been facing sea erosion and occasional flooding for several decades. This research investigated the socio-economic and environmental impacts of these geomorphic processes using social survey methods of data collection and shoreline change analysis. The main research tools used include questionnaire survey, interviews and Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) 4.2 software using extracted shorelines of 1926 ground survey sheet and 2008 Landsat ETM+ image to determine shoreline change between the periods. The research identified some environmental and socio-economic impacts of the sea erosion on the coastal community, and these include the destruction of coastal ecosystems and infrastructure such as offices of institutions, school blocks and roads. The ramifications of these problems include homelessness, unemployment and poverty, which compel victims to migrate. Results of shoreline change analysis indicate that, the Ada Foah shoreline has been receding since 1926 to date with a mean change in shoreline of 280.49?m and an average annual rate of 3.46?m/year. To protect the coastline from the battering sea, a sea defence project, comprising sand nourishment and the construction of groynes, is being undertaken.     

岸滩侧蚀对航道条件影响的三维数值模拟——以长江中游太平口水道为例

长江中游河道岸滩侧蚀现象普遍,易对航道稳定形成不利影响,深入研究岸滩侧蚀冲刷机理及其航道响应过程具有重要意义。建立了考虑相邻土体影响的黏性岸滩侧蚀坍塌力学模式,以长江中游太平口水道为例,基于局部网格可动技术,构建了岸滩侧蚀及其河床冲淤变化的三维水沙动力学模型;在模型验证相似的基础上,分析了清水冲刷条件下腊林洲边滩侧蚀对太平口水道航道格局的影响。研究结果表明:模型可较好地模拟由岸滩侧蚀所引发的河势演变过程;上游来沙减少后,太平口水道河床以及未守护低滩部位将进一步产生冲刷;腊林洲边滩稳定与否,对太平口水道“南槽-北汊”航道格局的稳定具有重要作用。     

Precipitation variability assessment of northeast China: Songhua River basin

Variability in precipitation is critical for the management of water resources. In this study, the research entropy base concept was applied to investigate spatial and temporal variability of the precipitation during 1964–2013 in the Songhua River basin of Heilongjiang Province in China. Sample entropy was applied on precipitation data on a monthly, seasonally, annually, decade scale and the number of rainy days for each selected station. Intensity entropy and apportionment entropy were used to calculate the variability over individual year and decade, respectively. Subsequently, Spearman’s Rho and Mann–Kendall tests were applied to observe for trends in the precipitation time series. The statistics of sample disorder index showed that the precipitation during February (mean 1.09, max. 1.26 and min. 0.80), April (mean 1.12, max. 1.29 and min. 0.99) and July (mean 1.10, max. 1.20 and min. 0.98) contributed significantly higher than those of other months. Overall, the contribution of the winter season was considerably high with a standard deviation of 0.10. The precipitation variability on decade basis was observed to increase from decade 1964–1973 and 1994–2003 with a mean value of decadal apportionment disorder index 0.023 and 0.053, respectively. In addition, the Mann–Kendall test value (1.90) showed a significant positive trend only at the Shangzhi station.     

Research on eco-environmental vulnerability evaluation of the Anning River Basin in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River

The Anning River Basin is located in the transitional zone of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau and Sichuan Basin. This transitional zone is an important ecological barrier of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and plays a significant role in the ecological security and ecological construction of Sichuan Province. However, the innate vulnerability of the eco-environment combined with the unreasonable development and use of minerals, hydropower, agriculture and animal husbandry resources contribute to prominent eco-environmental problems. In support of remote sensing and geographical information system, this study uses the spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) method to build the evaluation model for the vulnerability evaluation and analysis of the eco-environment in the Anning River Basin. The following indicators are selected for the SPCA: elevation, slope, vegetation index, land use, soil type, soil erosion, precipitation, temperature, and population density. Thereafter, the first four principal components are selected and their corresponding weights are determined. The eco-environmental vulnerability comprehensive index of the Anning River Basin is calculated by using these data. According to the calculated results, the eco-environmental vulnerability of the Anning River Basin is divided into five levels, namely, potential vulnerability, slight vulnerability, light vulnerability, moderate vulnerability, and high vulnerability. Eco-environmental changes for the past 20 years (from 1990 to 2010) are discussed and analyzed as well as the driving forces. The analysis shows that the eco-environmental vulnerability of the Anning River Basin is at the moderate level, and exhibits obvious vertical distribution characteristics. The main reasons that cause eco-environmental changes are mainly human factors, socioeconomic factors, and environmental protection policies like “Natural Forests Protection” and “Grain-for-Green”. Based on the vulnerability classification results, the Anning River Basin is divided into three partitions for different degrees of eco-environmental reconstruction and protection, which provides foundation for the local eco-environmental reconstruction so as to reconstruct in order of the importance and urgency.     

长江上游多站日流量随机模拟方法

随着梯级水库和水库群的建设,不仅需要单站的信息,而且需要流域内各站的综合信息,迫切需要发展多站的随机模拟模型。基于多变量分析理论提出了一种新的多站随机模拟方法。采用季节性自回归模型模拟主站的日流量序列,建立多维Copula函数描述主站和从站之间的时空相关性特征,依据Copula函数,生成从站的日流量序列。以长江上游为研究对象,建立了长江宜昌站、金沙江屏山站、岷江高场站、沱江李家湾站、嘉陵江北碚站和乌江武隆站的多站随机模拟模型,并与现有的主站法进行比较分析。结果表明,模拟与实测序列的统计特征值差别不大,模拟效果优于现有的主站法。     

长江流域20cm蒸发皿蒸发量的时空变化

利用长江流域107个气象站1951-2000年的20cm口径蒸发皿逐日蒸发资料,采用Mann-Kendall趋势检验法和IDW反距离权重空间插值法分析了近50年来,尤其是20世纪90年代长江流域的年和季节蒸发皿蒸发量的时空变化.50年来,长江流域以年平均、夏季和秋季蒸发皿蒸发量显著下降为主要特点,尤以20世纪90年代最为显著,是年平均和夏季蒸发皿蒸发量最小的时期,比前0年平均值分别低-25.9mm和-36.1mm,这种趋势中下游地区比上游地区明显得多,尤其是在鄱阳湖流域.     

长江流域矿产资源特征及成矿规律

长江流域分布着我国很多重要的矿产资源基地。在长江流域不搞大开发的前提下，如何合理地开发利用矿产资源以保障国家的能源资源安全，同时又要保护生态环境，达到人类与环境和谐共赢的目的，是当前迫切需要研究的新课题。本文系统梳理了长江流域已发现的128种矿产、14683处矿产地信息，总结了长江流域矿产资源分布特征，系统分析了长江领域矿产资源的时空演化规律。长江流域矿产种类较齐全，能源矿产总体不发育但页岩气有潜力，金属矿产以铁、有色金属为主，矿物类和岩石类非金属矿产都比较发育，水气矿产潜力很大。时间上，成矿历史悠久，按构造演化时段，可分为太古宙、元古宙、晚古生代、早古生代、中生代、新生代6个时段，以中生代和晚古生代为主要成矿期；空间上，可划分八大资源集中区，上游矿产地数量较多，但下游成矿密度更大。只要合理布局，科学谋划，加强法制，严格管控，通过矿产资源的高端开发利用，不但可以为社会经济的高质量发展提供资源保障，也可以为环境保护作出新的贡献。     

An 1800-yr record of decadal-scale hydroclimatic variability in the upper Arkansas River basin from bristlecone pine

Bristlecone pine trees are exceptionally long-lived, and with the incorporation of remnant material have been used to construct multi-millennial length ring–width chronologies. These chronologies can provide valuable information about past temperature and moisture variability. In this study, we outline a method to build a moisture-sensitive bristlecone chronology and assess the robustness and consistency of this sensitivity over the past 1200 yr using new reconstructions of Arkansas River flow (AD 1275–2002 and 1577–2002) and the summer Palmer Drought Sensitivity Index. The chronology, a composite built from parts of three collections in the central Rocky Mountains, is a proxy for decadal-scale moisture variability for the past 18 centuries. Since the sample size is small in some portions of the time series, the chronology should be considered preliminary; the timing and duration of drought events are likely the most robust characteristics. This chronology suggests that the region experienced increased aridity during the medieval period, as did much of western North America, but that the timing and duration of drought episodes within this period were somewhat different from those in other western locations, such as the upper Colorado River basin.