Panta Rhei 2013–2015: global perspectives on hydrology,society and change

ABSTRACT

In 2013, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) launched the hydrological decade 2013–2022 with the theme “Panta Rhei: Change in Hydrology and Society”. The decade recognizes the urgency of hydrological research to understand and predict the interactions of society and water, to support sustainable water resource use under changing climatic and environmental conditions. This paper reports on the first Panta Rhei biennium 2013–2015, providing a comprehensive resource that describes the scope and direction of Panta Rhei. We bring together the knowledge of all the Panta Rhei working groups, to summarize the most pressing research questions and how the hydrological community is progressing towards those goals. We draw out interconnections between different strands of research, and reflect on the need to take a global view on hydrology in the current era of human impacts and environmental change. Finally, we look back to the six driving science questions identified at the outset of Panta Rhei, to quantify progress towards those aims.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor not assigned     

What is the future fate of estuaries given nutrient over-enrichment,freshwater diversion and low flows?

Freshwater inflow is central to the definition of estuaries and if we lose control of the quantity of freshwater flow or discharge (including seasonal timing) to estuaries, then freshwater water quality has the potential to become a moot issue in estuarine ecosystems (Definition of estuaries: estuaries (aestus = tide) are physico-chemically, geomorphically, and biotically diverse ecosystems. Although numerous definitions of estuaries exist, we prefer the following: an estuary is a partially enclosed coastal water body in which freshwater runoff, often seasonally and episodically pulsed, dilutes salty ocean water and the biotic structure is influenced by dynamic tidal action and associated salinity gradients and reef building organisms and wetlands influence development and evolution of ecological structure and function (see for expanded definition)).     

Pb,Hf and Nd isotope compositions of the two Réunion volcanoes (Indian Ocean): A tale of two small-scale mantle “blobs”?

Pb, Hf, Nd and Sr isotopes of basaltic lavas from the two Réunion Island volcanoes are reported in order to examine the origin of the sources feeding these volcanoes and to detect possible changes through time. Samples, chosen to cover the whole lifetime of the two volcanoes (from 2 Ma to present), yield a chemically restricted (compared to OIB lavas) but complex distribution. Réunion plume isotopic characteristics have been defined on the basis of the composition of uncontaminated shield-building lavas from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. The average ?_Nd, ?_Hf, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb isotope ratios calculated for this component are + 4.4, + 9.1, 0.70411, 18.97, 15.59 and 39.03, respectively. In Pb–Pb isotope space, each volcano defines a distinct linear trend but slight variations are also detected within the various volcanic sequences. The Piton des Neiges volcano yields a distinct and significantly more scattered isotopic distribution than Piton de la Fournaise for both Pb, Hf and Nd isotope tracers. A principal component analysis of the Pb isotope data from Piton de la Fournaise reveals a major contribution of the C and EM-1 components (with a clear Dupal flavor) as main components for the modern Réunion plume. The same components have been identified for Piton des Neiges but with a stronger participation of a depleted mantle component and a weaker EM-1 contribution. The compositional change of the lavas erupted by the Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise volcanoes is attributed to the impingement of two small-scale blobs of plume material at the base of the Réunion lithosphere. Compared to other hot-spots worldwide, in particular Hawaii and Kerguelen, magmas beneath Réunion are generated from a considerably more homogeneous, compositionally more primitive plume higher in ²⁰⁶Pb. Although shallow-level contamination processes have been locally detected they did not alter significantly the composition of the plume magmas. This is tentatively attributed to mantle dynamics producing small, high-velocity blobs that ascend rapidly through the lithosphere, and to the lack of a well-developed magma chamber at depth in the lithosphere.     

Crabs,leeches and trypanosomes: an unholy trinity?

The red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus was deliberately introduced to the Barents Sea in the 1960s and 1970s from its native area in the North Pacific. The carapace of these crabs is a favoured substrate for the leech Johanssonia arctica to deposit its eggs, and the leech is a vector for a trypanosome blood parasite of marine fish, including cod. We examined cod for trypanosome infections during annual cruises along the coast of Finnmark in North Norway over three successive years from stations along a gradient of over 1000 km. In every year the level of trypanosome infection in cod was significantly highest in the area with the greatest density of king crabs. We propose the hypothesis that the burgeoning population of red king crabs in this area is indirectly responsible for increased transmission of trypanosomes to cod by promoting an increase in the population of the leech vector.     

Burning molten metallic spheres: One class of ball lightning?

Abrahamson and Dinniss [2000. Ball lightning caused by oxidation of nanoparticle networks from normal lightning strikes on soil. Nature 403, 519–521] proposed a theory of ball lighting in which silicon nanoparticles undergo slow oxidation and emit light. Paiva et al. [2007. Production of ball-lightning-like luminous balls by electrical discharges in silicon. Physical Review Letters 98, 048501] reported that an electric arc to silicon produced long-lasting luminous white spheres showing many characteristics of ball lightning. We show experimentally that these consist of burning molten silicon spheres with diameters in the 0.1–1 mm range. The evidence of our experiments leads us to propose that a subset of ball lightning events may consist of macro-scale molten spheres of burning metallic materials likely to be ejected from a conventional lightning strike to earth.     

European freshwater mussels (Unio spp., Unionidae) in Siberia and Kazakhstan: Pleistocene relicts or recent invaders?

Unionidae is a species-rich family of large freshwater mussels with an almost worldwide distribution. In many regions of the world, these mussels are imperiled. Northern Asia, excluding the Far East, is an excellent example of a region with a sharply impoverished fauna of the Unionidae as recently thought with one native species. Since the end of the 19th century, two freshwater mussel species of the genus Unio (U. pictorum and U. tumidus) were repeatedly recorded in Siberia. In the course of this study, these finds are confirmed both morphologically and genetically, the number of known occurrences of these mussels in the waterbodies of Asiatic Russia and Kazakhstan has drastically increased, and the third species, globally endangered U. crassus, was found in the Ob’ River basin. The unique U. tumidus haplotype discovered from the Upper Irtysh River basin is of probable relic origin, which may indicate the presence of a Pleistocene refugium there. Due to natural environmental changes during the last century, several genera of freshwater Mollusca that previously inhabited Western Siberia, but went completely extinct in the Pleistocene, have started to recover the North Asiatic part of their former ranges. The case of Unio is exceptional since the recovery of its lost range goes not exclusively with the humans’ help but also involves the natural mechanisms of dispersal and range extension, and also because these mussels are disappearing in other parts of the world and are placed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.     

Influence of attenuation and site on microearthquakes’ spectra in Shillong region, of Northeast, India: A case study

We examine the influence of attenuation and site on the spectra of microearthquakes having origin within the Shillong region. The ratios of spectral amplitudes at lower and higher frequencies are measured for three different stations at varying epicentral distances to estimate Q value for both P- and S-wave in near and sub-surface layer. The average estimates of Q _P and Q _S are found to be 178 and 195. The ratio of Q _S to Q _P emerges to be greater than unity in major parts of the Shillong area, suggesting dominance of dry crust prevailing in Shillong region. The variation in corner frequencies for these spectra is inferred to be characteristics of the site. Besides, the disparity in spectral content with reference to hard rock site yields the inference that the incoming seismic signals get amplified considerably while traversing from southern part to northeastern part of Shillong, best outlined at 2 to 5 Hz, which is well corroborated by the existing lithology.     

Organochlorine pesticides in soil and air at and around a compound contaminated site: vertical distribution,soil–air exchange and risk evaluation

The control of soil pollution in China has become an issue, and in this study, a compound contaminated site was selected and focus on the site and its nearby environment, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were investigated in both soil (top and deep soil) and air samples. The main pollutants in top soils at site are dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs, 0.05–104 mg/kg d.w., avg: 14.5 mg/kg d.w.) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB, 0.02–4.85 mg/kg d.w., avg: 0.72 mg/kg d.w.) which is in accordance with its production history. As for the deep soils, ΣOCPs at site were found concentrated at workshops especially the technical pesticide workshop (5.29–22.1 mg/kg d.w., avg: 9.15 mg/kg d.w.) and the history DDTs’ workshop (4.00–64.8 mg/kg d.w., avg: 20.4 mg/kg d.w). Around site, OCPs were mainly concentrated at layers of −20 cm and the −40 cm and decreased with distance being far away, at 5000 m, the ΣOCPs was comparable with normal agriculture soil (22.1−91.4 ng/g d.w., avg: 55.4 ng/g d.w.). ΣOCPs in the air samples ranged 64.6–823 ng/m³ (avg: 459 ng/m³) at site and 9.93–176 ng/m³ (avg: 50.8 ng/m³) around site which are all dominated with DDTs and HCHs. Soil–air exchange fugacity was calculated to judge the transportation of the OCPs and the results showed soils at the site and its nearby areas (within 5000 m) are releasing most of the OCPs into air, and accordingly through evaluation, inhalation was found to be the major source for human health risk, which is a great threat to the workers at site and the nearby residents.

     

Study on inelastic attenuation coefficient, site response and source parameters in Shanxi region

Introduction Seismic recording is the information recorded by seismograph when earthquake occurs, which is a kind of comprehensive information, including the characteristics of earthquake focus, propagation path of seismic wave and site response, etc. Therefore, we must try to distinguish source effect, propagation path and site response in the seismic recordings in order to obtain accu-rate parameters. The method of Atkinson has better solved the problem (Atkinson, Mereu, 1992), which is bas…     

The inversion of anelastic coefficient, source parameters and site respond using genetic algorithm

It gradually becomes a common work using large seismic wave data to obtain source parameters, such as seismic moment, break radius, stress drop, with completing of digital seismic network in China (Hough, et al, 1999; Bindi, et al, 2001). These parameters are useful on earthquake prediction and seismic hazard analysis. Although the computation methods of source parameters are simple in principle and the many research works have been done, it is not easy to obtain the parameters accurately. Th…     

The inversion of anelastic coefficient,source parameters and site respond using genetic algorithm

It gradually becomes a common work using large seismic wave data to obtain source parameters, such as seismic moment, break radius, stress drop, with completingof digital seismic network in China (Hough, et al, 1999; Bindi, et al, 2001). These parameters are useful on earthquake prediction and seismic hazard analysis.Although the computation methods of source parameters are simple in principle and the many research works have been done, it is not easy to obtain the parameters accurately. There are two factors affecting the stability of computation results. The first one is the effect of spread path and site respond on signal. According to the research results, there are different geometrical spreading coefficients on different epicenter distance. The better method is to introduce trilinear geometrical spreading model (Atkinson, Mereu, 1992; Atkinson, Boore, 1995; WONG, et al, 2002). In addition, traditional site respond is estimated by comparing with rock station, such as linear inversion method (Andrews, 1982), but the comparative estimation will introduce some errors when selecting different stations. Some recent research results show that site respond is not flat for rock station (Moya, et al, 2000; ZHANG,. et al, 2001; JIN, et al, 2000; Dutta, et al, 2001). The second factor is to obtain low-frequency level and corner frequency fromdisplacement spectrum. Because the source spectrum model is nonlinear function,these values are obtained by eye. The subjectivity is strong. The small change of corner frequency will affect significantly the result of stress drop.     

Effects of freshwater inputs on the lower trophic levels of a temperate estuary: physical, physiological or trophic forcing?

The aim of this 6?year study was to assess whether freshwater inputs (rainfall and dam discharges) were acting as physical, physiological or trophic forcing factors on phytoplankton pigment concentrations and the dominant mysids of a temperate estuary (Guadalquivir estuary; SW, Spain). The effects of natural and human-controlled freshwater inputs modified the physico-chemical conditions and consequently biological production (bottom up control). Nutrient (nitrogen hypernutrification), suspended particulate matter and allochthonous photosynthetic pigment imports linked to freshwater inputs from adjacent habitats were observed, as well as light-limited autochthonous primary production. Seasonal and/or spatial patterns were shown by all study variables, including mysids. Freshwater management effects on dominant mysids differed depending on the species?? salinity tolerance (physiological forcing) and preferred prey availability (trophic forcing). Moreover, high inorganic matter content had a negative effect on the density of Mesopodopsis slabberi (physical forcing), which led to an increased detritivory/herbivory ratio (Neomysis integer/M. slabberi ratio). In conclusion, freshwater inputs appeared to effect estuarine lower trophic levels via a combination of different forcing mechanisms. Although several general patterns can be derived, the response of the system to freshwater inputs was not always univocal.     

Multi-parametric survey for archaeology: how and why,or how and why not?

Many papers or conference presentations, particularly over the last ten years, have referred to multi-parametric geophysical surveys and integrated interpretations in archaeological prospection. Several experiments of this kind have been undertaken by our laboratory, with mostly fascinating results, but our experience leads us to be rather suspicious of the over-systematic choice of extreme solutions and we would recommend an appropriate and balanced choice, within the limits of the budget available for an operation, between the two following procedures: 1) Routine survey with an extremely large variety of instruments: this allows a better understanding of the underground situation than survey with a single instrument but reduces the area that can be surveyed. A limited number of specific circumstances should lead one to adopt this option. They include: previous knowledge or equally previous ignorance of the targets under investigation, preliminary selection of the most efficient method on a scientific and economic basis, comparative experiments for the validation of new tools, specific detection of targets of different nature into the ground as well as uncertainty about the efficiency of each available method for the actual nature of the investigated site. 2) Survey of a much larger area with only one method, chosen because it is particularly fast and efficient: there is an obvious value in extensive exploration in order to evaluate the size, distribution and limits of a large number of archaeological features. The strict selection of appropriate methods, chosen to meet the aims of a project should consider not only geophysics but all kinds of conventional or non-conventional archaeological methods as well, brought together to permit an integrated interpretation. This highly specialized job does not fall within the normal experience of exploration geophysicists who usually deal with geological features or most field archaeologists who are mainly involved in excavations. It must be undertaken by particularly trained operators, whether they belong to private companies (under appropriate official control) or to public organizations.     

Catchment properties,function, and conceptual model representation: is there a correspondence?

This study investigates the possible correspondence between catchment structure, as represented by perceptual hydrological models developed from fieldwork investigations, and mathematical model structures, selected on the basis of reproducing observed catchment hydrographs. Three Luxembourgish headwater catchments are considered, where previous fieldwork suggested distinct flow‐generating mechanisms and hydrological dynamics. A set of lumped conceptual model structures are hypothesized and implemented using the SUPERFLEX framework. Following parameter calibration, the model performance is examined in terms of predictive accuracy, quantification of uncertainty, and the ability to reproduce the flow–duration curve signature. Our key research question is whether differences in the performance of the conceptual model structures can be interpreted based on the dominant catchment processes suggested from fieldwork investigations. For example, we propose that the permeable bedrock and the presence of multiple aquifers in the Huewelerbach catchment may explain the superior performance of model structures with storage elements connected in parallel. Conversely, model structures with serial connections perform better in the Weierbach and Wollefsbach catchments, which are characterized by impermeable bedrock and dominated by lateral flow. The presence of threshold dynamics in the Weierbach and Wollefsbach catchments may favour nonlinear models, while the smoother dynamics of the larger Huewelerbach catchment were suitably reproduced by linear models. It is also shown how hydrologically distinct processes can be effectively described by the same mathematical model components. Major research questions are reviewed, including the correspondence between hydrological processes at different levels of scale and how best to synthesize the experimentalist's and modeller's perspectives. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are the eastern and western basins of the English Channel two separate ecosystems?

The English Channel is part of the "Greater North Sea" sub-region in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. However, the Channel is characterized by hydrologic, oceanographic and biogeographic features that support its division into two main entities: the western basin and the eastern basin. This paper summarizes the Channel's main natural features and principal human activities to examine the similarities and differences between both basins. The differences between the basins support an ecosystem-based management approach at the combined basin scale, rather than the present approach of separating the France and UK sides.     

Attenuation,source parameters and site effects in the Irpinia–Basilicata region (southern Apennines,Italy)

We derive S-wave attenuation characteristics, earthquake source parameters and site amplification functions at seismic stations used for earthquake early warning in the Irpinia–Basilicata region, using non-parametric spectral inversion of seismograms from 49 local events with M _L = 1.5–3.1. We obtain relatively low Q values (Q ₀ = 28 at a frequency of 1 Hz) in conjunction with a strong frequency-dependence (close to linear). The source spectra can be satisfactorily modeled using the omega-square model, with stress drops ranging between 0.01–2 MPa, and in the narrow magnitude range available for analysis, the source spectra seem to scale self-similarly. The local magnitude M _L shows a linear correlation with moment magnitude M _W, however with a systematic underestimation by about 0.5-magnitude units. The results obtained in this work provide important insights into the ground-motion characteristics that are required for appropriate seismic hazard assessment and are of practical relevance for a suite of applications, such as the calibration of ground-motion prediction equations or the correction for site amplification in earthquake early warning and rapid calculation of shake-maps for seismic emergency management.     

First record of freshwater sponge Trochospongilla horrida Weltner, 1893 in Serbia – A morphological and genetic study

Trochospongilla horrida Weltner, 1893 (Spongillidae, Spongillida) has a relatively wide, though discontinuous, distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. The aim of this paper was to report the first finding of T. horrida in Serbia. During 2017, research was carried out on ten tributaries of the Sava and the Danube. T. horrida was identified at three localities in Tisa, Juzna Morava and Zapadna Morava rivers, out of 51 inspected sites. For the first time ribosomal 28S DNA was used for T. horrida identification.