Hydrological impacts of flow regulation associated with the Upper Nepean water supply scheme,NSW

The upper Nepean River has been progressively regulated for water supply to Sydney and Wollongong since 1886 by the Upper Nepean Water Supply Scheme which consists of four large dams, two small dams and two diversion weirs. Secular rainfall changes produced periods of high rainfall and large floods (flood‐dominated regimes) between 1857 and 1900 and 1947 and the present, and an intervening period (1901–46) of low rainfall and small floods (drought‐dominated regime). Upstream impoundment and flow regulation significantly reduced flood magnitudes for most return periods during both types of flood regimes. The probability distribution of mean daily flows was also changed significantly by flow regulation such that during the drought‐dominated regime, the high and low frequency flows were reduced substantially but the moderate frequency flows were increased due to dam releases; the change from a regulated drought‐dominated regime to a regulated flood‐ dominated regime resulted in a substantial increase in discharge for most durations; and increased water diversions to Wollongong during the current flood‐dominated regime produced a marked downward shift in the whole flow duration curve. Nepean Dam reduced downstream suspended sediment yields by two orders of magnitude because it traps in excess of 99 per cent of the inflowing suspended sediment load. Streamflow releases are urgently required from the two diversion weirs to improve downstream water quality and to ensure the viability of the resident ‘potentially threatened’ eastern Macquarie perch (Macquaria nov. sp.).     

1950-2016年印度洪涝灾害时空分异特征

洪涝是影响印度社会经济发展的首要自然灾害。本文基于全球紧急事件数据库（Emergency Events Database,简称EM-DAT）,通过识别洪涝事件,利用频次分析方法,分析了1950-2016年印度洪涝灾害事件频次的时空变化,揭示了印度洪涝灾害的时间和空间分异特征和因灾致死人口的变化特征。结果发现：（1）印度洪涝灾害呈现鲜明的季节变化特征,7-9月为高发季节,占总频次的65.704%,峰值出现在7月,占24.549%;1950-2016年洪涝频次总体呈增加趋势。（2）印度北部,特别是东北部,是洪涝灾害的高发区。（3）1950-2016年洪涝灾害致死人口随洪涝频次增加而增加,但单次死亡人口最大值和年最大死亡人口值均明显降低。由此表明,20世纪中叶以来印度抵御洪涝灾害的能力逐渐增强。本研究为进一步分析印度社会的脆弱性和未来气候变化情景下的洪涝灾害风险奠定了基础。     

Downstream hydrologic and geomorphic effects of large dams on American rivers

The hydrology and geomorphology of large rivers in America reflect the pervasive influence of an extensive water control infrastructure including more than 75,000 dams. One hundred thirty-seven of the very large dams, each storing 1.2 km³ (10⁶ acre feet) of water or more, alter the flows of every large river in the country. The hydrologic effects of these very large dams emerge from an analysis of the stream gage records of 72 river reaches organized into 36 pairs. One member of each pair is an unregulated reach above a dam, whereas the other is a regulated reach downstream from the same structure. Comparison of the regulated and unregulated reaches shows that very large dams, on average, reduce annual peak discharges 67% (in some individual cases up to 90%), decrease the ratio of annual maximum/mean flow 60%, decrease the range of daily discharges 64%, increase the number of reversals in discharge by 34%, and reduce the daily rates of ramping as much as 60%. Dams alter the timing of high and low flows and change the timing of the yearly maximum and minimum flows, in some cases by as much as half a year. Regional variation in rivers, dams, and responses are substantial: rivers in the Great Plains and Ozark/Ouachita regions have annual maximum/mean flow ratios that are 7 times greater than ratios for rivers in the Pacific Northwest. At the same time, the ratio of storage capacity/mean annual water yield for dams is greatest for Interior Western, Ozark/Ouachita and Great Plains rivers and least for Pacific Northwest streams. Thus, in many cases those rivers with the highest annual variability have the greatest potential impact from dams because structures can exert substantial control over downstream hydrology. The hydrologic changes by dams have fostered dramatic geomorphic differences between regulated and unregulated reaches. When compared to similar unregulated reaches, regulated reaches have 32% larger low flow channels, 50% smaller high flow channels, 79% less active flood plain area, and 3.6 times more inactive flood plain area. Dams also affect the area of active areas, the functional surfaces that are functionally connected to the present regime of the river. Regulated reaches have active areas that are 72 smaller than the active areas of similar unregulated reaches. The geomorphic complexity (number of separate functional surfaces per unit of channel length) is 37% less in regulated reaches. Reductions in the size of hydrologically active functional surfaces are greatest in rivers in the Great Plains and least in Eastern streams. The largest differences in geomorphic complexity are in interior western rivers. The shrunken, simplified geomorphology of regulated large rivers has had direct effects on riparian ecology, producing spatially smaller, less diverse riparian ecosystems compared to the larger, more complex ecosystems along unregulated reaches of rivers.     

Geomorphological and sedimentological analysis of a catastrophic flash flood in the Arás drainage basin (Central Pyrenees, Spain)

On August 7th, 1996, an intense and short-duration convective storm occurred over the 18.6-km² Arás drainage basin (Central Pyrenees, Spain). This high relief basin is composed of three subbasins, Aso, Betés and La Selva, and feeds the Arás alluvial fan, in the Gállego river valley. This alluvial fan had been drained by an artificial channel (about 125 m³/s at bank-full capacity). More than 30 check dams in its feeder channel, the Arás barranco, had been previously filled by earlier sediments. The heaviest rain was over the Betés subbasin (total rainfall 178.4 mm; maximum rainfall intensity of 153 mm/h for a 10-min time interval was estimated). Most of the rainfall fell in a 70-min period. This storm resulted in high runoff, causing catastrophic damage and significant geomorphic changes in the drainage basin, especially in the Betés subbasin. The high discharge, concentrated in the Arás barranco, destroyed most of the check dams, flushing out a great amount of debris. Major channel trenching and widening occurred in this barranco. When the confined sediment-laden flash flood reached the basin mouth, it sheet-flooded the southern sector of the Arás fan depositing a massive amount of debris. On this fan 87 people lost their lives and the direct physical damage has been estimated at 55 million dollars. Two stages in the development of the flood have been differentiated from the sedimentological and morphological analysis of the flooded fan lobe. A first stage (peak discharge) of sheet-flooding deposited a coarse boulder lobe, burying the artificial channel at the fan head and causing a darnming effect on the water flood. During the second stage (discharge decline) the flood made its way through the fan head, incising the previous debris accumulation and splitting into two main flow paths.     

Changes and continuity of wood-pastures in the lowland landscape in Czechia

The term wood-pastures is usually applied to areas with trees or other woody vegetation, scattered through a mainly grazed grassland area, and reflects one of the oldest land use types in Europe, which plays important ecological, agricultural and socio-cultural roles. However, a rapid decline in their area due to changes in land use and a lack of tree regeneration has recently been observed all over Europe, which has led to the necessity of a deeper understanding of their behaviour in relation to different factors via a detailed analysis of the history of the changes in their distribution over space and time. Despite the recent increase in the number of related studies, information on historic patterns of wood-pastures in many European locations, such as Czechia, remains incomplete. The goal of this study is to assess the habitat continuity of current wood-pastures and to analyse the land-use/land-cover changes of historical and current wood-pastures in lowlands and warm landscapes of hills and basins of Czechia. To achieve this, nine sites covering a total area of 98.6 km² were studied in Czechia. The situation on three time horizons (1820–1840s, the early 1950s and today) was analysed. The results have shown that almost all wood-pastures from the 1st half of the 19th century have now been lost and most of the currently existing ones were formed from the 1950s till today. Most wood-pastures, which were lost by the 1950s, were turned into open habitats, such as arable lands, and the ones lost from 1950 were turned into forest. New wood-pastures are mostly formed from open habitats, often in former military areas.     

近600年来巢湖流域旱涝灾害研究

基于历史文献中的水旱灾害记录,重建巢湖流域1370~1988年旱涝灾害等级序列,并进行连续功率谱分析。结果表明:近600多a来,巢湖流域涝灾和旱灾发生的频率几乎相当,平均为2.28~2.40 a一遇;但特大涝灾和大涝灾的频率远高于特大旱灾和大旱灾。巢湖流域水旱灾害存在准周期的变化,主要为:2~3、7~10 a,这与长江中下游的洪涝灾害变化步调基本一致。自然气候因素和人类活动对环境演变的影响是今后进一步研究的主要方向。     

Complex channel responses to changes in stream flow and sediment supply on the lower Duchesne River, Utah

Channel responses to flow depletions in the lower Duchesne River over the past 100 years have been highly complex and variable in space and time. In general, sand-bed reaches adjusted to all perturbations with bed-level changes, whereas the gravel-bed reaches adjusted primarily through width changes. Gravel-bed reaches aggraded only when gravel was supplied to the channel through local bank erosion and degraded only during extreme flood events.A 50% reduction in stream flow and an increase in fine sediment supply to the study area occurred in the first third of the 20th century. The gravel-bed reach responded primarily with channel narrowing, whereas bed aggradation and four large-scale avulsions occurred in the sand-bed reaches. These avulsions almost completely replaced a section of sinuous channel about 14 km long with a straighter section about 7 km long. The most upstream avulsion, located near a break in valley slope and the transition from a gravel bed upstream and a sand bed downstream, transformed a sinuous sand-bed reach into a braided gravel-bed reach and eventually into a meandering gravel-bed reach over a 30-year period. Later, an increase in flood magnitudes and durations caused widening and secondary bed aggradation in the gravel-bed reaches, whereas the sand-bed reaches incised and narrowed. Water diversions since the 1950s have progressively eliminated moderate flood events, whereas larger floods have been less affected. The loss of frequent flooding has increased the duration and severity of drought periods during which riparian vegetation can establish along the channel margins. As a result, the channel has gradually narrowed throughout the study area since the late 1960s, despite the occasional occurrence of large floods. No tributaries enter the Duchesne River within the study area, so all reaches have experienced identical changes in stream flow and upstream sediment supply.     

Formation and failure of volcanic debris dams in the Chakachatna River valley associated with eruptions of the Spurr volcanic complex, Alaska

The formation of lahars and a debris avalanche during Holocene eruptions of the Spurr volcanic complex in south-central Alaska have led to the development of volcanic debris dams in the Chakachatna River valley. Debris dams composed of lahar and debris-avalanche deposits formed at least five times in the last 8000–10,000 years and most recently during eruptions of Crater Peak vent in 1953 and 1992. Water impounded by a large debris avalanche of early Holocene (?) age may have destabilized an upstream glacier-dammed lake causing a catastrophic flood on the Chakachatna River. A large alluvial fan just downstream of the debris-avalanche deposit is strewn with boulders and blocks and is probably the deposit generated by this flood. Application of a physically based dam-break model yields estimates of peak discharge (Q_p) attained during failure of the debris-avalanche dam in the range 10⁴<Q_p<10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ for plausible breach erosion rates of 10–100 m h⁻¹. Smaller, short-lived, lahar dams that formed during historical eruptions in 1953, and 1992, impounded smaller lakes in the upper Chakachatna River valley and peak flows attained during failure of these volcanic debris dams were in the range 10³<Q_p<10⁴ m³ s⁻¹ for plausible breach erosion rates.Volcanic debris dams have formed at other volcanoes in the Cook Inlet region, Aleutian arc, and Wrangell Mountains but apparently did not fail rapidly or result in large or catastrophic outflows. Steep valley topography and frequent eruptions at volcanoes in this region make for significant hazards associated with the formation and failure of volcanic debris dams.     

Annual floods in New England (USA) and Atlantic Canada: synoptic climatology and generating mechanisms

New England and Atlantic Canada are characterized by mixed flood regimes that reflect different storm types, antecedent land surface conditions, and flood seasonality. Mixed flood regimes are known to complicate flood risk analyses, yet the synoptic climatology and precipitation mechanisms that generate annual floods in this region have not been described in detail. We analyzed a set of long-term annual flood records at climate-sensitive stream gauges across the region and classified the synoptic climatology of each annual flood, quantitatively describing the precipitation mechanisms, and characterize flood seasonality. We find that annual floods here are dominantly generated by Great Lakes-sourced storms and Coastal lows, known locally as ‘nor’easters.’ Great Lakes storms tend to be associated with lower magnitude annual floods (<75th percentile) and Coastal lows are more clearly associated with higher magnitude events (>75th percentile). Tropical cyclones account for few of all annual floods, including extreme events, despite causing some of the region’s largest and most destructive floods. Late winter/early spring is when the greatest number of annual floods occur region wide, and rainfall is the dominant flood-producing mechanism. Rainfall in combination with snowmelt is also important. Both mechanisms are expected to be impacted by projected regional climate change. We find little evidence for associations between flood-producing synoptic storm types or precipitation mechanisms and large-scale atmospheric circulation indices or time periods, despite upward trends in New England annual flood magnitudes. To more completely investigate such associations, partial duration flood series that include more floods than just the largest of each year, and their associated synoptic climatologies and precipitation mechanisms, should be analyzed.     

Environmental Changes at the Desert Margin: An Assessment of Recent Paleolimnological Records in Lake Qarun, Middle Egypt

Lake Qarun has been profoundly affected by a combination of human activities and climatic changes during the past 5000 years. Instrumental records available for the 20th century show that during most of this period both lake water level and salinity increased and that by the late 1980s lake water salinity was approximately that of seawater. Sediment cores (c. 1 m long) were collected from this shallow (Z_max 8.4 m) saline lake in 1998 and the master core (QARU1) was used to examine the potential of paleolimnology for reconstructing the recent environmental history of the site. According to ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb radio-assay, the recent sediment accumulation rate in QARU1 was around 5 mm year⁻¹ during the latter half of the 20th century but radionuclide levels were low. Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) were present in the upper c. 30 cm of QARU1 and indicates contamination by low level particulate pollution, probably beginning around 1950. The record of exotic pollen (Casuarina) indicated that sediment at 51–52 cm depth dated to around 1930. Otherwise the pollen spectra indicated a strongly disturbed landscape with high ruderals and increased tree planting particularly since c. 1950. Diatom records were strongly affected by taphonomic processes including reworking and differential preservation but typical marine diatoms increased after the 1920s. Instrumental records show that the lake became more saline at this time. Freshwater taxa were present at approximately similar abundances throughout the core. This distribution probably reflected a combination of processes. Reworking of ancient freshwater diatomites is one likely source for freshwater diatoms in QARU1 but some taxa must also be contributed via the freshwater inflows. Overall, the diatom stratigraphy indicated increasingly salinity since the 1920s but provided no firm evidence of lake eutrophication. Diatom inferred salinity reconstructions were in only partial agreement with instrumental records but inferred for the lower section of the core (pre 20th century to the 1960s) accord with measured water salinity values. Surficial sediments of Lake Qarun contain environmental change records for the 20th century period but high sediment accumulation rate and pollen reflect the high degree of human disturbance in the region. Because of poor preservation and evidence of reworking, the relationships between diatom records and past water quality changes require careful interpretation, especially in the upper section of the core. Nevertheless, early to mid 20th century measurements of increasing lake water salinity are well supported by sediment records, a change that is probably linked to ingress of saline ground water     

EFFECT OF DAMS ON MOUNTAINOUS BEDROCK RIVERS

This study examines the adjustment of river systems in the Golan Heights to reservoir construction in small basaltic mountainous catchments where total water flow is impounded, and discusses comparisons with the effects of large dams on alluvial rivers. Annual rainfall ranges from 500 mm to 900 mm, and no major springs are found in the area. About 3/4 of total runoff is in the form of floods caused by rainstorms. The 11 dams receive drainage from about 20% of the total catchment, and a third of the total runoff. Changes in the river channels were studied at 28 field stations. Flood marks provided peak stage levels for largest season discharge, and 8 nearby hydrometric stations provided a continuous hydrological record. Bed material was sampled at each cross-section site. The main effect of river impoundment is a sharp decrease in flood peaks below the reservoirs to about one-third of their previous natural regime. The channel cross-sectional area decreased, but no temporal adjustment can be established, as most of the reservoirs were built in the last 5–8 years. Channel-flow hydraulics are competent enough to transport the suspended material, but evidence of aggradation was found in the channel reaches close to the dams. Bedload transport and the size of transported cobbles and boulders decreased downstream from the dams. Increased vegetation cover downstream from the dams was the most pronounced effect. Adjustment of the fluvial system to dam building in mountainous streams seems to be less sensitive than in alluvial channels. [Key words: fluvial geomorphology, dams, water reservoirs, environmental changes, Israel.]     

Estimation of water conductivity of the natural flood channels on the Tisza flood-plain, the Great Hungarian Plain

The rapidly subsiding central part of the Pannonian Basin, the flood-plain system of the Tisza River, is analyzed. Natural flood-conducting channels that were functioning prior to the construction of the water control measures of the 19th century have been identified and mapped. By now these channels have mostly disappeared; only small traces of them can be found on modern maps. The identification of these channels was achieved by studying historical maps of the region and by geomorphologic studies. Drawing the outline of the channels and the estimation of their initial meander size was supported by elevation models and satellite imagery. Eight flood breakout points and five independent channel systems were identified. The flood conveying capacity of each channel was also estimated, based on meander wavelengths. The reliability of this estimation is discussed. The channels functioned as anabranches, conducting the floods of the Tisza to its tributary, the Körös River. The efficiency of the flood control system could be increased by regeneration of these natural channels. The summarized water conveying capacity of the abandoned channels is estimated as 1000 m³/s, a value that is slightly under a half of the flood discharge of the Tisza River.     

Modelling the impact of land-use change and farm dam construction on hillslope sediment delivery to rivers at the regional scale

Landscapes in southeastern Australia have changed dramatically since the spread of European colonisation in the 19th century. Due to widespread forest clearance for cultivation and grazing, erosion and sediment yields have increased by a factor of more than 150. In the 20th century, erosion and sediment yield were reduced again due to an increasing vegetative cover. Furthermore, during the last decades, thousands of small farm dams were constructed to provide drinking water for cattle. These dams trap a lot of sediment, thereby further reducing sediment delivery from hillslopes to river channels. Changes in sediment delivery since European colonisation are documented in sediment archives. Within this study, these changing rates in hillslope erosion and sediment delivery were modelled using a spatially distributed erosion and sediment delivery model (WATEM/SEDEM) that was calibrated for Australian ecosystems using sediment yield data derived from sedimentation rates in 26 small farm dams. The model was applied to the Murrumbidgee river basin (30,000 km²) under different land-use scenarios. First, the erosion and sediment yield under pre-European land-use was modelled. Secondly, recent land-use patterns were used in the model. Finally, recent land-use including the impact of farm dams and large reservoirs was simulated. The results show that the WATEM/SEDEM model is capable of predicting the intensity of the geomorphic response to changes in land-use through time. Changes in hillslope erosion and hillslope sediment delivery rates are not equal, illustrating the non-linear response of the catchment. Current hillslope sediment supply to the river channel network is predicted to be 370% higher compared to the pre-European settlement period, yet farm dams have reduced this back to 2.5 times the pre-19th century values. The role of larger reservoirs is even more important as they have reduced the current sediment supply downstream to their pre-European values, thus completely masking the increased hillslope erosion rates from land-use change. However, the model does so far not include valley widening and sediment storage in river systems. Therefore, modelled rates of sediment delivery are lower than observed values.     

Recent morphological channel changes in a deltaı̈c environment. The case of the Rhône River,France

Channel morphological changes were measured at two sites within the Rhône delta along the main channel of the Rhône River over one century. Results show an average erosion rate of 2.8 mm year⁻¹ during the 20th century and decreasing to <1.5 mm year⁻¹ since the 1960s. Erosion affected site 2 more than site 1 but cross-sections can alternately be in erosion or accretion depending on bed topography and/or floor lithology. Riverbed adjustments are partly explained by the boundary shear stress and specific stream power but local factors also influence the Rhône River evolution. Results compared with those obtained upstream or in other European rivers suggest that the lower Rhône River has developed an original response to external stresses: the first part of the 20th century is characterised by an important degradation followed by a decrease in the incision rate since the 1960s. The initiation of the erosion phase is assumed to be linked to the end of the Little Ice Age, to the reforestation of the alpine hillsides, to the earlier management and to the reduction of the sedimentary yield (according to the literature). The second phase possibly corresponds to the relaxation period. In this perspective, the effects of dams are probably less significant than we would suppose up to now. It implies that such a large river records morphological responses which may vary all along the fluvial system in relation to the time and space scales involved.     

Annihilation of both place and sense of place: the experience of the Cheslatta T'En Canadian First Nation within the context of large-scale environmental projects

The water resources of Canada are today, and have always been, of major importance to the welfare of Canadians. Throughout most of Canada's history, these resources have been viewed within a supply–management framework and, frequently, exploited through the construction of 'megaprojects', often with little or no concern for issues such as environmental harm and social and community disruption. As in many parts of the world, those most affected by such large-scale water resource developments have been aboriginals (in Canada, 'First Nations' peoples). Although the issues of environmental, social and economic damage to First Nations as a result of water megaprojects have been investigated, little has been written about the impact of such projects – especially dam construction – on the loss of sense of place of deracinated peoples. This paper investigates one example of such loss of sense of place, that of the Cheslatta T'En forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the 1950s so as to allow for the construction of a private hydroelectric dam by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan).     

Downstream geomorphic impacts of large dams: the case of Glenbawn Dam,NSW

Downstream hydrologic effects since the closure of Glenbawn Dam, a large dual-purpose storage for water conservation and flood mitigation, include: (i) a reduction in mean annual runoff of about 21 × 10⁶ m³; (ii) a change in the probability distribution of mean daily flows involving a truncation of flows >;8 × 10⁶ m³ d^?1, a much reduced frequency of flows >7 × 10⁵ m³ d^?1 and an increased frequency of flows <7 × 10⁵ m³ d^?1; and (iii) a reduction in flood magnitude of at least 80 per cent for all probabilities of exceedance. From suspended sediment samples collected before and after dam closure, sediment trap efficiency has been estimated at 99 per cent.An accommodation adjustment of the channel has occurred upstream of the first unregulated tributary because the bed is armoured, the banks are well vegetated, some bedrock and concrete controls are present and all regulated releases are incompetent to transport the bed material. Immediately downstream of the first unregulated tributary, the channel has contracted by up to 45 per cent and degraded by up to 69 per cent during lateral migration. Further downstream no channel changes were recorded although the bed material has progressively coarsened over time.     

Sediment deposition in the flood plain of Stemple Creek Watershed, northern California

Over the past 150 years, major land use changes have occurred in the Stemple Creek Watershed in northern California that have caused erosion to move soils from the upland to the flood plain, stream channels, and the bay. The purpose of this study is to document the recent (1954 to present) sediment deposition patterns in the flood plain area adjacent to Stemple Creek using the ¹³⁷Cesium technique. Sediment deposition ranged from 0.26 to 1.84 cm year⁻¹ for the period from 1964 to 2002 with an average of 0.85±0.41 cm year⁻¹. Sediment deposition rates were higher for the 1954 to 1964 period with a range of 0.31–3.50 cm year⁻¹ and an average of 1.29±1.04 cm year⁻¹. These data indicate that sediment deposition in the flood plain has decreased since the middle 1950s, probably related to reduction in row crop agriculture and an increase in pasturelands. This study shows that the flood plains in the Stemple Creek Watershed are a significant sink for the soils being eroded from the upland area. Given the significance of the flood plain for trapping eroded materials before they reach the stream channels or the bay, efforts need to be made to manage these flood plain areas to insure that they do not change and become a source rather than a sink for eroded materials as improved management practices on the upland areas reduce sediment input to the flood plain.     

1736年以来南京逐季降水量的重建及变化特征

基于清代雨雪档案和现代气象观测资料,利用自然降水入渗试验结果及雨雪分寸与降水量统计关系,重建南京1736~2006年逐季和年降水量。分析显示:(1) 18世纪春、冬季为多雨期,秋季为少雨期;19世纪秋、冬季和全年为多雨期,春季为少雨期;20世纪上半叶,4季和全年均为少雨期;自20世纪末期始夏季和全年进入多雨期。(2) 年降水变化存在2~5 a周期,经历1851~1860年和1893~1894年两次突变。研究结果与区域内其他旱涝等级或降水量序列有较好可比性。绝大多数粮食欠收年对应于降水异常年,生长期为干旱异常的欠收年数量多于为洪涝异常的欠收年。     

Multiple ecological and hydrological changes recorded in varved sediments from Sanagak Lake,Nunavut, Canada

A combination of biotic, sedimentary and biogeochemical proxies was used to investigate the timing and causes of post-18th century changes in the stratigraphic record of a large, deep lake on the Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada (70°15′ N, 94°30′ W). A varve chronology verified with radioisotopic dating (²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs) revealed a complex pattern of environmental dynamics since c. AD 1830. An increase in the diatoms Asterionella formosa, Stephanodiscus minutulus and Cyclotella atomus and a decrease in Aulacoseira taxa in the uppermost centimetre of sediment suggested that environmental conditions have favoured the growth of smaller and/or lighter planktonic species since the 1980s. Longer term changes in some benthic species, the chrysophyte cysts to diatom valve ratio, %C, and C/N ratios suggest declined river inflow and a relative reduction in allochthonous inputs during the last century. Higher than average δ¹⁵N values in the late 19th to early 20th centuries coincide with changes in bulk carbon and nitrogen profiles, and below average values since approximately 1950 may be associated with increased atmospheric N loading or reduced productivity. Biogenic silica and organic carbon accumulation in the sediments suggest a possible decline in lake production during the 20th century that may be associated with changes in the river discharge regime. The short and long-term ecological and biogeochemical trends were also reflected in the sedimentary structure through declining varve thickness for the duration of the record and an abrupt change in sedimentology in the uppermost 1 cm, coinciding with deposition since ca. AD 1987. Together, these biological and physical changes suggest changes in hydroclimatic conditions in the 20th century, and an increase in planktonic diatom taxa since the 1980s that coincides with a distinct period of climate warming.     

陕西榆林地区无定河流域淤地坝遥感解译

淤地坝是黄土高原水土流失防治的主要措施之一,明确淤地坝的分布、规模等重要参数信息对流域水土保持研究具有重要意义。利用遥感技术（RS）和地理信息系统（GIS）技术,结合陕北地区无定河流域高分二号卫星影像、野外踏勘及资料收集到的研究区淤地坝情况,对其进行预处理获取矢量数据,通过对比分析,得到淤地坝解译标志。针对榆林地区无定河流域淤地坝进行遥感解译,利用遥感及GIS软件实现淤地坝数目、淤地坝位置、水面面积、控制面积等主要信息的提取,获取淤地坝在定边、靖边、米脂、绥德、横山、榆阳、子洲和清涧8个县（区）分布状况。结果显示：研究区共解译出疑似淤地坝图斑1257个,其中榆阳区60个,横山区85个,定边县65个,靖边县19个,米脂县470个,子州县99个,绥德县316个,清涧县143个。由此发现,淤地坝主要分布于无定河下游区域的绥德、米脂、子洲和清涧4县的沟道内,且沟道内多存在耕地或水域。将淤地坝分布情况与地形、年均降雨量、农业种植面积和地质灾害等进行比较分析,显示其分布状况与这些因素相关联,表现为沟壑纵横的区域淤地坝较多,农业种植面积较少的区域淤地坝较多,年均降雨量和耕种面积比值较大区域淤地坝较多。由此,总结其分布规律,为未来淤地坝的维护和修建提供重要支持。