Hydroclimatic change disparity of Peruvian Pacific drainage catchments

Peruvian Pacific drainage catchments only benefit from 2% of the total national available freshwater while they concentrate almost 50% of the population of the country. This situation is likely to lead a severe water scarcity and also constitutes an obstacle to economic development. Catchment runoff fluctuations in response to climate variability and/or human activities can be reflected in extreme events, representing a serious concern (like floods, erosion, droughts) in the study area. To document this crucial issue for Peru, we present here an insightful analysis of the water quantity resource variability of this region, exploring the links between this variability and climate and/or anthropogenic pressure. We first present a detailed analysis of the hydroclimatologic variability at annual timescale and at basin scale over the 1970–2008 period. In addition to corroborating the influence of extreme El Niño events over precipitation and runoff in northern catchments, a mean warming of 0.2 °C per decade over all catchments was found. Also, higher values of temperature and potential and actual evapotranspiration were found over northern latitudes. We chose to apply the Budyko-Zhang framework that characterizes the water cycle as a function of climate only, allowing the identification of catchments with significant climatic and anthropogenic influence on water balance. The Budyko-Zhang methodology revealed that 11 out of 26 initial catchments are characterized by low water balance disparity related to minor climatic and anthropogenic influence. These 11 catchments were suitable for identifying catchments with contrasting change in their hydroclimatic behavior using the Budyko trajectories. Our analysis further reveals that six hydrological catchment responses can be characterized by high sensitivity to climate variability and land use changes.     

Remote Sensing Observations of Effects of Mountain Blocking on Travelling Gravity-Shear Waves and Associated Clouds

Trapped Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) waves and vortices were monitored as they were generated immediately upwind of a mountain and driven into the barrier by a low-level jet. A stratus cloud visually revealed the embedded, propagating, gravity-shear waves. Interactions of the waves with the mountain were deciphered using remote sensing measurements of the structure, motions, and microphysics within the cloud and conceptual models based on existing theories. The observations show that the mountain acted as a dam to the flow that was primed for, but did not spontaneously induce, the waves. In response to the blocking, the waves spatially developed a pattern of formation, amplification, and breakdown between the upstream flow and the barrier, and altered the associated clouds in the process. Notably, radar signatures of velocity variance depicted organized, intertwined ribbons of relatively large vorticity within the wave layer. These provided measured evidence of the vortex sheet and streamwise vortex tubes predicted by advanced K–Hinstability theory, the three-dimensional version of Scorer's `stripe', the layer of rotational fluid between opposed flows that led to the wave generation. A theory of resonant interaction of wave trains, but with blocking imposed, appears to explain the internal structure of the pile-up of the flow and wave amplification approaching the barrier. Evolution of the supporting atmospheric thermal structure and introduction of a boundary-layer flow reversal follow a current model of blocking, although some features may have developed more directly from wave-driven mixing. The remote sensors also measured the influence of the waves on the cloud liquid water, including a cumulative enlargement of droplets as they were carried through a series of waves.     

Impacts of in-stream aggregate mining on the distributary channels of the alluvial fans of Tafí valley (Northwest Argentina)

In-stream mining is a common aggregate mining practice around the world. However, the impacts of such practice are not always taken into account when the mines are established, and the environmental cost of in-stream aggregate mining is generally not assessed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impacts of aggregate mining conducted in La Puerta River (Tafí valley, Northwest Argentina), a dry-pit in-stream mine, by considering the geomorphological, geoarchaeological, and human effects. Multitemporal analysis of the area using remote sensors (aerial photographs and satellite images 1970–2020), high-resolution drone digital elevation models and orthomosaics (2018–2019), and an intensive survey demonstrated that the mining area grew exponentially between 2002 and 2020 under unregulated mining. As a result, this practice exerts great environmental impact, including channel section alterations and destabilization of riverbanks, soil loss, river profile changes, and the formation of lag deposits of discarded materials, thus increasing environmental hazard under unpredictable flows. Finally, this is a highly touristic area that has suffered substantial landscape degradation and irreversible archaeological damage.     

Quaternary drainage network reorganization in the Colombian Eastern Cordillera plateau

Dramatic drainage reorganization from initial longitudinal to transversal domains has occurred in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. We perform a regional analysis of drainage basin geometry and transformed river profiles based on the integral form of the slope-area scaling, to investigate the dynamic state of drainage networks and to predict the degree of drainage reorganization in this region. We propose a new model of drainage rearrangement for the Eastern Cordillera, based on the analyses of knickpoint distribution, normalized river profiles, landforms characteristic of river capture, erosion rates and palaeodrainage data. We establish that the oldest longitudinal basin captured by the Magdalena River network was the Suárez Basin at ≈409 ka, inferring the timing of abandonment of a river terrace using in situ produced cosmogenic beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) depth profiles and providing a first estimation of incision rate of 0.07 mm/yr. We integrate published geochronologic data and interpret the last capture of the Sabana de Bogotá, providing a minimum age of the basin opening to the Magdalena drainage at ≈38 ka. Our results suggest that the Magdalena basin Increased its drainage area by integrating the closed basins from the western flank of the Eastern Cordillera. Our study also suggests that the Magdalena basin is an aggressor compared to the basins located in the eastern flank of the orogen and provides a framework for examining drainage reorganization within the Eastern Cordillera and in similar orogenic settings. The results improve our understanding of headward integration of closed basins across orogenic plateaux. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A practical review of geostatistical processing applied to geophysical data: methods and applications

Nowadays, geostatistics is commonly applied for numerous gridding or modelling tasks. However, it is still under used and unknown for classical geophysical applications. This paper highlights the main geostatistical methods relevant for geophysical issues, for instance to improve the quality of seismic data such as velocity cubes or interpreted horizons. These methods are then illustrated through four examples. The first example, based on a gravity survey presents how a geostatistical interpolation can be used to filter out a global trend, in order to better define real anomalies. In the second case study, dedicated to refraction surveying, geostatistical filtering is used to filter out acquisition artefacts and identify the main geological structures. The third one is an example of porosity being integrated geostatistically with a seismic acoustic impedance map. The last example deals with geostatistical time to depth conversion; the interest of performing geostatistical simulations is finally discussed.     

Parallel optimal choropleth map classification in PySAL

In this article, we report on our experiences with refactoring a spatial analysis library to support parallelization. Python Spatial Analysis Library (PySAL) is a library of spatial analytical functions written in the open-source language, Python. As part of a larger scale effort toward developing cyberinfrastructure of GIScience, we examine the particular case of choropleth map classification through alternative parallel implementations of the Fisher-Jenks optimal classification method using a multi-core, single desktop environment. The implementations rely on three different parallel Python libraries, PyOpenCL, Parallel Python, (PP) and Multiprocessing. Our results point to the dominance of the CPU-based Parallel Python and Multiprocessing implementations over the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)-based PyOpenCL approach.     

Reconstructing Phreatic Palaeogroundwater Levels in a Geoarchaeological Context: A Case Study in Flanders,Belgium

The complex debate on prehistoric settlement decisions is no longer tackled from a purely archaeological perspective but from a more landscape‐oriented manner combined with archaeological evidence. Therefore, reconstruction of several components of the former landscape is needed. Here, we focus on the reconstruction of the groundwater table based on modeling. The depth of the phreatic aquifer influences, for example, soil formation processes and vegetation type. Furthermore, it directly influences settlement by the wetness of a site. Palaeogroundwater modeling of the phreatic aquifer was carried out to produce a series of full‐coverage maps of the mean water table depth between 12.7 ka and the middle of the 20th century (1953) in Flanders, Belgium. The research focuses on the reconstruction of the input data and boundary conditions of the model and the model calibration. The model was calibrated for the 1924–1953 time period using drainage class maps. Archaeological site data and podzol occurrence data act as proxies for local drainage conditions over periods in the past. They also served as a control on the simulated phreatic palaeogroundwater levels. Model quality testing on an independent validation data set showed that the model predicts phreatic water table levels at the time of soil mapping well (mean error of 1.8 cm; root mean square error of 65.6 cm). Simulated hydrological conditions were in agreement with the occurrence of archaeological sites of Mesolithic to Roman age at 96% of the validation locations, and also with the occurrence of well‐drained podzols at 97% of the validation locations.     

Effects of bears on rockshelter sediments at Tanay Sur‐les‐Creux,southwestern Switzerland

Sur‐les‐Creux rockshelter is located in the Prealps of southwestern Switzerland. The sequence of deposits in the rockshelter is 80 cm thick and consists of weathered gravels in a phosphate‐rich matrix. A few Middle Palaeolithic artifacts and the bones of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) were recorded in the fill. We present the results of sedimentological, geochemical, and micromorphological analyses of the rockshelter sediment. All analyses suggest an endokarstic origin of the sediments. The alteration cortices of the gravels imply in situ weathering over a long period. The phosphates are essentially biogenic and have an apatitelike nature. Phosphatization and intense mixing of the sediment are attributed to cave bear (digging of lairs, input of excrements, and carcasses). Only rare carnivore coprolites (lynx) were preserved in the cave deposits. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A multi-distribution approach to POT methods for determining extreme wave heights

Determination of extreme wave heights using a Peaks-Over-Threshold (POT) approach is revisited. Firstly, the GPD-Poisson model is recalled. A double threshold is presented and justified, with objective tools for determining the high threshold. This model is then extended to other statistical distributions, namely the Weibull and Gamma distributions. Objective criteria (BIC and AIC) based upon likelihood are used to select the best-fitting distribution. This method is tested on two locations: the historical IAHR Haltenbanken dataset and a location at the entry of the Strait of Gibraltar. Finally, sensitivity analyses are carried out with respect to the high threshold and to the duration of the dataset to estimate the robustness of the approach presented.