Factors affecting longitudinal dispersion in estuaries of different scale

Traditionally, the overall diluting capacity of an estuary is characterized using a coefficient of longitudinal dispersion, K_xe, which is given by the ratio of the dispersive flux of a dissolved substance to its tidally averaged longitudinal gradient. A steady-state model, which assumes a balance between the dispersive and non-dispersive fluxes and an exponential increase in estuary cross-sectional area towards the sea, has been used to derive expressions for the axial salinity distribution and the dispersive flux of salt. The model was set up assuming either a constant dispersion coefficient along the estuary or one that increased with distance towards the sea. By comparing salinity predictions with data from five UK estuaries, estimates were made of the maximum dispersive salt flux and the corresponding maximum salinity gradient for each system. The results indicated that there was an approximately linear relation between the fluxes and gradients, and the slope of a line plotted through the origin provided an estimate of a common K_xe for all five estuaries. The magnitude of K_xe was found to be about 90 m² s^–1 with a standard deviation of approximately ±32 m² s^–1. It is concluded that a representative value of 100 m² s^–1 for K_xe is a reasonable first choice when setting up a cross-sectionally averaged estuary model. The results also showed that larger systems, such as the Thames, had lower salinity gradients and lower dispersive salt fluxes, whilst smaller estuaries displayed the opposite characteristics. The model was used to predict the variation in the non-advective flux of salt along an estuary. The distribution was found to be similar to the corresponding flux distribution estimated from observations at the seaward end of the Tees estuary, despite appreciable spatial variations in the individual flux components. Allowing for a small decrease in freshwater flow, the model indicated that there was a decrease in the maximum dispersive flux between neap and spring tides. It is argued that such a reduction in flux can result in a seaward shift in the salinity distribution to a region of greater cross-section, where the freshwater transport per unit area again balances the reduced upstream dispersive flux, as found in the neap to spring response in the Tees estuary.Responsible Editor: Hans Burchard     

INTÉERÉET D'ÉETUDES HYDROLOGIQUES APPROFONDIES SUR DES BASSINS EXPÉERIMENTAUX OCCUPANT PLUSIEURS MILLIERS DE KM2

Abstract

A relationship of hydrologic variables with stream salinity was determined statistically for two ephemeral streams located in western Oklahoma. The hydrologic variables employed in this study are measures of streamflow, precipitation, anteccedent conditions, and agricultural land use.

The best single estimate of stream salinity was achieved by use of those variables classed as direct measures of precipitation, with the greatest variability in stream salinity (51%) being predicted by maximum daily P, the maximum amount of precipitation received at any rain gage zone in the watershed during one month. Maximum daily P predicts nearly double the variability in stream salinity predicted by flow. Antecedent conditions did not correlate well with stream salinity, except for the variable describing the antecedent stream salinity. Similarly, the areal location of precipitation within the watershed and agricultural land use did not correlate significantly with stream salinity, except for a variable designating the distance between the stream gaging station and the rain gage zone receiving the most precipitation for the month.

The best overall estimate of salinity was given by a multiple regression equation chosen on the basis of a factor analysis. This equation accounted for 65 percent of the variability in salinity and emphasized the contribution of variables classed as direct measures of precipitation. In comparing the two streams, the watershed having the most intensive rain gage network produced the best prediction equation.     

Effect of stiffness variability on the response of isolated structures

Results are presented of an investigation, the objective of which was to determine the relationship between the stiffness variability of the bearings of an isolation system and the response variability of the structure. The system is modeled as a rigid, rectangular structure that is free to translate and rotate. The isolation system consists of N isolation bearings arranged in a rectangular pattern, each with a stiffness k_i that is an independent, normally distributed, random variable. Response spectrum analysis is used to obtain the analytical solution for the structure response. Approximate closed‐form expressions are obtained for the variance of the centreline displacement, rotation, corner displacement and base shear, that are in terms of the variability of the isolator stiffness, aspect ratio of the structure, and the number and layout of isolation bearings. Results show that the standard deviation of the centreline displacement and base shear decrease with increasing number of isolation bearings, and are independent of the aspect ratio and layout of isolators, and in all cases are less than 1/4 the standard deviation of the isolator stiffness. The standard deviation of the corner displacement is a function of all of the system parameters, and is bounded below by the standard deviation of the centreline displacement and above by the standard deviation of a bar aligned perpendicular to the direction of ground motion with m isolation bearings distributed along the length. The approximate expressions are shown to be in good agreement with the results of Monte Carlo simulations. The results should be of use to designers of isolated structures and manufacturers of isolation systems, in assessing the significance of stiffness variability on the response of the isolated structure. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

青藏高原陆相介形类的分布特征及其对生态环境的响应

统计分析了青藏高原不同区域水体环境表层沉积物陆相介形类的属种分布特征,探讨了介形类在不同水环境下（盐度、pH值及水深）对生态环境的响应.结果显示,青藏高原现生介形类共计21属67种,其中Candona candida、Ilyocypris bradyi、Eucypris inflata、Limnocythere dubiosa、Limnocythere inopinata、Paracypricerus angulata、Leucocytherella sinensis和Leucocythere mirabilis为青藏高原地区的常见种.湖泊、河流、洼地和湿地4类水体环境中,湖泊中介形类最为丰富,达19属62种;青藏高原东北部（祁连山和柴达木盆地）、北部（昆仑山）、西部和南部不同区域的介形类常见种存在较大差异,可能是区域海拔、pH值和盐度综合作用的结果.淡水和微咸水环境介形类属种数量较咸水及盐湖中丰富,分别有17属41种和13属42种,Limnocythere dubiosa （0.52~90.6 g/L）和Leucocythere mirabilis（0.51~174.63 g/L）在淡水、咸水及盐湖中均有出现,适应盐度范围较广;pH值在8.0~10.0范围内介形类属种多样性最丰富,表明大部分介形类具有嗜碱性的特征;青藏高原陆相介形类属种多样性随水深的增加而降低,浅湖（0~15 m）中介形类属种最为丰富,达到17属52种,其中Candona candida（0.2~80 m）和Leucocythere dorsotuberosa（0.3~110 m）从滨湖至深湖区均有分布,二者均具有较大的水深适应范围.     

Salinity and periodic inundation controls on the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum of gray mangroves

Salinity and periodic inundation are both known to have a major role in shaping the ecohydrology of mangroves through their controls on water uptake, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, gas exchanges, and nutrient availability. Salinity, in particular, can be considered one of the main abiotic regulating factors for halophytes and salt‐tolerant species, due to its influence on water use patterns and growth rate. Ecohydrological literature has rarely focused on the effects of salinity on plant transpiration, based on the fact that the terrestrial plants mostly thrive in low‐saline, unsaturated soils where the role of osmotic potential can be considered negligible. However, the effect of salinity cannot be neglected in the case of tidal species like mangroves, which have to cope with hyperosmotic conditions and waterlogging. We introduce here a first‐order ecohydrological model of the soil/plant‐atmosphere continuum of Avicennia marina—also known as gray mangrove—a highly salt‐tolerant pioneer species able to adapt to hyperarid intertidal zones and characterized by unique morphological and ecophysiological traits. The A. marina's soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum takes explicitly into account the role of water head, osmotic water potential, and water salinity in governing plant water fluxes. A. marina's transpiration is thus modeled as a function of salinity based on a simple parameterization of salt exclusion mechanisms at the root level and a modified Jarvis' expression accounting for the effects of salinity on stomatal conductance. Consistently with previous studies investigating the physiology of mangroves in response to different environmental drivers, our results highlight the major influence of salinity on mangrove transpiration when contrasted with other potential stressors such as waterlogging and water stress.     

Effects of Salinity and Mangrove Detritus on Desorption of Metals from Brackish Water Desorption of Metals from Brackish Water and Shrimp

Desorption and bioaccumulation of Cd, Zn, and Pb were studied using naturally contaminated sediment from a brackish water pond in the Sunderban Biosphere Reserve in India. Pattern of desorption of the metals from the sediment and bioaccumulation in fingerlings of the teleost Oreochromis mossambicusand postlarvae of the shrimp Penaeus monodon were studied as a function of salinity and loading of detritus of a mangrove plant. Effects of both salinity and loading of detritus on bioaccumulation of the metals were studied under two conditions: either the animals were allowed free access to the sediment or access was denied. Ninety‐six hour experiments showed that desorption of Cd and Pb from sediment into water increased with salinity of the medium while desorption of Zn decreased. Salinity of the medium also had a significant effect on the bioaccumulation of metals by fish; Cd and Pb accumulation decreased in saline medium while the accumulation of Zn increased. Conditions of access to sediment had no effect on the bioaccumulation of metals by fish; effect of interaction between salinity and access condition was also insignificant. The access conditions, however, significantly influenced accumulation of metal by the shrimp postlarvae. The effect of interaction between salinity and access condition was insignificant in influencing the bioaccumulation of all metals except Zn. The accumulation of Zn increased as a function of the salinity of the medium when shrimp postlarvae were allowed access to the sediment. Desorption of metals from sediment to water were below detection limits when detritus of a mangrove plant was added to the medium. Both the level of detritus and the conditions of access influenced accumulation of metals by fish, but the effect of interaction between the two factors were found to be insignificant. Shrimp postlarvae showed net accumulation only of Pb in the presence of detritus and the accumulation of Pb increased when the larvae were separated from the sediment. The results are important in understanding the mobility of metals between solid and aqueous phases in brackish water environments that experience periodic fluctuations in salinity and fluxes of organic load in the form of mangrove detritus.     

SMOS reveals the signature of Indian Ocean Dipole events

The tropical Indian Ocean experiences an interannual mode of climatic variability, known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The signature of this variability in ocean salinity is hypothesized based on modeling and assimilation studies, on account of scanty observations. Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite has been designed to take up the challenge of sea surface salinity remote sensing. We show that SMOS data can be used to infer the pattern of salinity variability linked with the IOD events. The core of maximum variability is located in the central tropical basin, south of the equator. This region is anomalously salty during the 2010 negative IOD event, and anomalously fresh during the 2011 positive IOD event. The peak-to-peak anomaly exceeds one salinity unit, between late 2010 and late 2011. In conjunction with other observational datasets, SMOS data allow us to draw the salt budget of the area. It turns out that the horizontal advection is the main driver of salinity anomalies. This finding is confirmed by the analysis of the outputs of a numerical model. This study shows that the advent of SMOS makes it feasible the quantitative assessment of the mechanisms of ocean surface salinity variability in the tropical basins, at interannual timescales.

     

Single-station standard deviation analysis of 2010–2012 strong-motion data from the Canterbury region, New Zealand

A systematic analysis was conducted of the different variability components that affect the prediction of $\text{ log }_{10}(PSA)$ (i.e., Pseudo-Spectral Acceleration) ordinates on (mostly) deep sedimentary soil sites using a sizable set of strong motion data recorded in the strong earthquake sequences of 2010 and 2012 in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Following recent, well established approaches of residual analysis of ground motion predictions, as well as recent GMPEs based on a global dataset, it was found that the event-corrected single-station standard deviation (“sigma”) is strongly decreased, for all selected stations, with respect to the uncorrected sigma. Likewise, the event-corrected intraevent sigma estimated for the entire dataset is significantly reduced compared to the standard deviation associated to ground motion prediction models, i.e. the “ergodic” sigma, for all spectral periods. The event-corrected sigma values for the present dataset are surprisingly consistent with those recently derived using KiK-Net strong motion data from Japan and those by Boore and Atkinson (Earthq Spectra 34(1):99–138, 2008) GMPE, and remain fairly constant with respect to the spectral period at about $0.15\sim 0.2$ . An interpretation was provided of the physical meaning of the site correction term ( ${\delta }S2S)_{s}$ indicating a plausible correlation with prevailing geological conditions in the site area.     

Daily salinity fluctuation alleviates salt stress on seedlings of the mangrove Bruguiera gymnorhiza

Salinity is a vital factor that regulates leaf photosynthesis and growth of mangroves, and it frequently undergoes large seasonal and daily fluctuations creating a range of environments – oligohaline to hyperhaline. Here, we examined the hypotheses that mangroves benefit opportunistically from low salinity resulting from daily fluctuations and as such, mangroves under daily fluctuating salinity (FS) grow better than those under constant salinity (CS) conditions. We compared growth, salt accumulation, gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence of leaves of mangrove Bruguiera gymnorhiza seedlings growing in freshwater (FW), CS (15 practical salinity units, PSU), and daily FS (0–30 PSU, average of 4.8 PSU) conditions. The traits of FS-treated leaves were measured in seedlings under 15 PSU. FS-treated seedlings had greater leaf biomass than those in other treatment groups. Moreover, leaf photosynthetic rate, capacity to regulate photoelectron uptake/transfer, and leaf succulence were significantly higher in FS than in CS treatment. However, leaf water-use efficiency showed the opposite trend. In addition to higher concentrations of Na⁺ and Cl⁻, FS-treated leaves accumulated more Ca²⁺ and K⁺. We concluded that daily FS can enhance water absorption, photosynthesis, and growth of leaves, as well as alter plant biomass allocation patterns, thereby positively affecting B. gymnorhiza. Mangroves that experience daily FS may increase their adaptability by reducing salt build-up and water deficits when their roots are temporally subjected to low salinity or FW and by absorbing sufficient amounts of Na⁺ and Cl⁻ for osmotic adjustment when their roots are subsequently exposed to saline water.     

Experimental investigation of injectivity alteration due to salt precipitation during CO2 sequestration in saline aquifers

Injection of CO₂ into saline aquifers causes the geochemical reaction of rock-fluid and salt precipitation due to the evaporation of water as a physical process. Well injectivity is an important issue in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects because large volumes of CO₂ must be stored for a long time and salt precipitation can significantly reduce injectivity by reducing the permeability. The impact of salt precipitation on the injectivity must therefore be specified in order to maintain the security of CCS projects and enable them to perform at a high level of practicality. The objective of this work is to investigate the influence of the injection rate and brine salinity on injectivity reduction due to evaporation and salt precipitation. In this study, we injected supercritical CO₂ into a sandstone rock sample fully saturated with NaCl brine to characterize the salt precipitation induced by the evaporation process.Evaporation is investigated by mass measurement of the water and vapor produced. The extension in time of salt precipitation and the precipitation profile are analyzed by drying rate measurement, Capillary number and Peclet number. The consequences of salt precipitation on injectivity are specified by permeability and relative permeability analysis. The results show that a high drying rate in the early stage of injection induces rapid salt precipitation. The level of salt precipitation increases with salinity, within a permeability reduction range of 21–66%, and decreases with the injection rate, within a permeability reduction range of 43–62%. The relative permeability of CO₂ is affected by both the injection rate and salinity.     

金沙江下游支流黑水河松新电站幼鱼下行过坝研究

梯级小水电的开发一定程度上破坏了河流连通性并阻碍了鱼类洄游通道。黑水河流域松新坝址为了满足鱼类上行产卵修建了松新鱼道,然而作为洄游物种生命周期中的关键行为,鱼类下行洄游的需求也同等重要。为了寻求一种可行、高效、低损伤的下行过鱼方式,了解河流中不同环境因素对鱼类下行效率的影响,本研究在金沙江下游支流黑水河松新水电站补水通道开展鱼类下行过坝效果评估研究。针对两种鲤科鱼类(棒花鱼Abbottina rivularis和短须裂腹鱼Schizothorax wangchiachii)幼鱼和两种鳅科鱼类(短体副鳅Paracobitis potanini和红尾副鳅Paracobitis variegatus)幼鱼各放鱼90尾,定量分析鱼种、水体透明度、放鱼位置、流量、水温、水位等因素对鱼类下行效率的影响。结果表明:棒花鱼、短须裂腹鱼、短体副鳅、红尾副鳅的下行率依次为22.22%(20尾)、28.89%(26尾)、8.89%(8尾)、15.56%(14尾);幼鱼下行成功率与上游河道水温呈正相关趋势,且放鱼位置、鱼种、上游河道水温和流量均对鱼类下行成功率有显著影响。通过构建二元Logistic回归模型识...     

Influences of climate,terrain and land cover on stream salinity in southeastern Australia,and implications for management through reforestation

Reforestation of cleared land has the potential to reduce groundwater recharge, salt mobilization and streamflow. Stream salinity change is the net result of changes in stream salt load and streamflow. The net effect of these changes varies spatially as a function of climate, terrain and land cover. Successful natural resource management requires methods to map the spatial variability of reforestation impacts. We investigated salinity data from 2000 bores and streamflow and salinity measurements from 27 catchments in the Goulburn–Broken region in southeast Australia to assess the main factors determining stream salinity and opportunities for management through reforestation. For groundwater systems of similar geology, relationships were found between average annual rainfall and groundwater salinity and between groundwater salinity and low‐flow salinity. Despite its simplicity, we found that the steady‐state component of a simple conceptual coupled water–salt mass balance model (BC2C) adequately explained the spatial variation in streamflow and salinity. The model results suggest the efficiency of afforestation to reduce stream salinity could be increased by more than an order of magnitude through spatial planning. However, appreciable reductions in stream salinity in large rivers through land cover change alone would still require reforestation on an unprecedented scale. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of salinity on hysteresis of soil water‐retention curves

Taiwan is surrounded by the sea, and the southwestern seashores are suffering from a growing land subsidence problem caused by the excessive extraction of groundwater. There is also very serious intrusion by seawater along the coastline. These circumstances obstruct any land use, soil remediation or agriculture development in the area. When seawater intrudes, salt gets into the soil. The infiltration, evapotranspiration and the distribution of salinity in the unsaturated soil become a very complex problem. It is vital to investigate the hysteresis of soil water‐retention curves, combined with the salinity in these areas. Therefore, this study's main focus will be the calibration of variations in salinity and their effect on the hysteresis of soil water‐retention curves. In the wetting processes, the salty soil water‐retention curves undergo an upper shift compared with the original soil water‐retention curves because of the higher tension of saltwater. In the drying processes, there is also an upper shift compared with the original curves because the salinity influences the air‐entry pressure. The saltwater's high salinity causes the hysteresis of soil water‐retention curves to experience a greater shift. The changes in salinity also cause changes to the hysteresis curves’ shape factors, which conforms to Huang's model (developed by Huang H.C., Y.C. Tan, C.W. Liu, and C.H. Chen in 2005), the values of α and n. The value of α decreases with the increased salinity. The trend of the n value presents an irregular result. A linear regression of the α^w and α^d values was advanced where the R‐square values of α^w and α^d exceeded 0.97. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Free Amino Acids Content in Some Halophytes under Salinity Stress in Arid Environment,Jordan

The variation in free amino acids concentration was examined in halophytes under salt stress conditions during spring and autumn in an arid environment, Jordan. The experiment was conducted in the southern region of the Jordan valley, using four different halophytes namely: Atriplex halimus, Atriplex nummularia, Tamarix aphylla L., and Portulaca oleracea L. Free amino acid concentrations showed changeable patterns under salinity stress conditions compared to the non‐stress (control) with respect to plant species and seasonal variation. In general, the amino acid pool during the spring experienced increases in A. halimus with increasing salinity; and decreased in A. nummularia, P. oleracea L., and T. aphylla L., respectively. Whereas, during the autumn, the overall amino acids decreased in A. halimus and A. nummularia, and increased in T. aphylla L. and P. oleracea with increasing salinity. The amino acid pool concentrations of A. halimus L. during the autumn was similar to that in spring under stress condition. Similarly, T. aphylla L. and P. oleracea showed higher rates in the autumn. In contrast, A. nummularia L. exhibited a slight increase in amino acid composition in the autumn under stress conditions. The plantation of salt tolerant plants such as halophytes in saline sodic soils showed an effective decline in soil salinity and can be recommended to be used as a bioreclamation method instead of the traditional leaching method, which requires large amount of fresh water.     

Simulated changes due to global warming in the variability of precipitation, and their interpretation using a gamma-distributed stochastic model

The interannual variability of monthly mean January and July precipitation and its possible change due to global warming are assessed using a five-member ensemble of climate for the period 1871–2100, simulated by the CSIRO Mark 2 global coupled atmosphere–ocean model. In the 1961–1990 climate, for much of the middle to high latitudes the standard deviation of precipitation for both months is roughly proportional to the mean, with the coefficient of variation (C) typically 0.3–0.5. The variability there is shown to be largely consistent with that from a first-order Markov chain model of the daily rainfall occurrence, with the distribution of wet-day amounts approximated by a gamma distribution. Global distributions of Mark 2-based parameters of this stochastic model, commonly used in weather generators, are presented. In low latitudes, however, the variability from the coupled model is typically double that anticipated by the stochastic model, as quantified by an ‘overdispersion ratio’. C often exceeds one at subtropical locations, where rain is less frequent, but sometimes relatively heavy.The standard deviation of monthly mean precipitation S generally increases as the global model warms, with the global mean S in 2071–2100 in January (July) being 9.0% (11.5%) larger than in 1961–1990. Decreases in some subtropical locations occur, particularly where mean precipitation decreases. The global pattern of overdispersion is largely unchanged, however, and the changes in S can be related to those in the stochastic model parameters. Much of the increase in S is associated with increases in the scale parameter of the gamma distribution of wet-day amounts. Changes in C, which is unaffected by this parameter, are generally small. Increases in C in several subtropical bands and over northern midlatitude land in July are related to a decreased frequency of precipitation, and (to a lesser degree) changes in the gamma shape parameter. Some potential applications of the results to downscaling are discussed, and illustrated using observed rainfall from southeast Australia.     

Mixing at the interface between fresh and salt waters in 3D steady flow with application to a pumping well in a coastal aquifer

We consider 3D steady flow of fresh water over a salt water body in a confined aquifer of constant thickness D, with application to a pumping well in a coastal aquifer. With neglect of mixing, a sharp interface separates the two fluid bodies and an existing analytical solution, based on the Dupuit assumption, is adopted. The aim is to solve for the mixing between the fresh and salt waters for α_T/D  1 (α_T transverse dispersivity), as field studies indicate that α_T = O(10⁻³ − 10⁻² m). The mixing zone around the interface is narrow and solutions by existing codes experience numerical difficulties. The problem is solved by the boundary layer (BL) approximation, extending a method, applied previously to two-dimensional flows. The BL equations of variable-density flow are solved by using the Von Karman integral method, to determine the BL thickness and the rate of entrainment of salt water along the interface. Application to the pumping well problem yields the salinity of the pumped water, as function of the parameters of the problem (well discharge, seaward discharge, well distance from the coast and density difference).     

Modification of the Penman method for computing bare soil evaporation

The Penman equation, which calculates potential evaporation, was modified by Staple (1974, Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 38 : 837) to include in it the relative vapour pressure h_s of an unsaturated soil to predict actual evaporation from a soil surface. This improved the prediction when the difference between the temperature of the soil surface and ambient air is relatively small. The objectives of this study were (i) to revise it further using the actual temperature of the soil surface and air to provide the upper boundary condition in computing evaporative flux from the soil surface and (ii) to determine the range of water content for which the modified form of the Penman equation is applicable. The method adopted was tested by a series of outdoor experiments with a clay soil. The method of Staple (1974) overestimated the rate of evaporation above the water content 0·14 m³ m^?3 (up to 30% deviation), whereas the new method agreed well with the measured rates (maximum 7% deviation). Below 0·14 m³ m^?3 water content, both methods underestimated, but the Staple (1974) method deviated more from the measured values: the deviations were above 70% and around 30% for the Staple (1974) and the new methods respectively. Although the new method provided accurate solutions for a wider range of water content from saturation to the lower limit of the liquid phase of a particular soil, the modification did not respond to the vapour phase of the soil moisture. Therefore, in the dry range (i.e. in the vapour phase in which the flow was entirely as vapour), either resistance models or a Fickian equation should be used. Although the effect of salinity on the measured rates was significant, the model erroneously calculated the same rates for both saline and non‐saline conditions. The effect of soil texture can easily be accounted by defining appropriate matric potential water content ψ_m(θ) and soil relative humidity water content h_s(θ) relationships. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ground motion prediction equations derived from the Italian strong motion database

We present a set of ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) derived for the geometrical mean of the horizontal components and the vertical, considering the latest release of the strong motion database for Italy. The regressions are performed over the magnitude range 4?C6.9 and considering distances up to 200?km. The equations are derived for peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and 5%-damped spectral acceleration at periods between 0.04 and 2?s. The total standard deviation (sigma) varies between 0.34 and 0.38?log₁₀ unit, confirming the large variability of ground shaking parameters when regional data sets containing small to moderate magnitude events (M?<?6) are used. The between-stations variability provides the largest values for periods shorter than 0.2?s while, for longer periods, the between-events and between-stations distributions of error provide similar contribution to the total variability.