Experimental study of the response of a gravel streambed to increased sediment supply

If increased sediment supply to a river channel exceeds its transport capacity, deposition necessarily occurs as the bed adjusts to accommodate the increased supply. Both the mean and spatial patterns in bed elevation and grain size may change and an ability to understand their relative importance is needed to predict bed response. We report on an experiment in a field‐scale flume in which sediment supply is increased to a gravel bed with alternate bars. Sediment was recirculated in the experiments, but augmented in two steps, after which the bed was allowed to reach a new steady state. The transport rate at the end of the experiment was three times larger than at the start. High‐resolution sediment flux and topographic measurements, grain size derived from photographs, and hydrodynamic modeling allow us to document the topographic and textural response of the bed to increased sediment supply. The spatial patterns of bed topography and texture were forced by the flume setup and the initial and final steady states included long stationary alternate bars with associated grain size sorting. The transient bed contained several scales of shorter wavelength migrating bedforms superimposed on, and temporarily replacing the stationary alternate bars. Bed topography and textural patterns adjusted to increased sediment supply over different timescales. Bed slope and mean stress increased directly with sediment supply rate to produce a new transport steady state in a time about 2.5 times the minimum needed to deposit the required sediment wedge, indicating a trap efficiency of about 40% for the aggrading wedge. Adjustments in local topography and sorting, primarily in the form of smaller, migrating bars, continued for a period approximately equal to that required to initially reach transport steady state. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of soil erosion in a tropical mountain river basin of the southern Western Ghats,India using RUSLE and GIS

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE) model coupled with transport limited sediment delivery(TLSD) function was used to predict the longtime average annual soil loss, and to identify the critical erosion-/deposition-prone areas in a tropical mountain river basin, viz., Muthirapuzha River Basin(MRB; area=271.75 km~2), in the southern Western Ghats, India. Mean gross soil erosion in MRB is 14.36 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1), whereas mean net soil erosion(i.e., gross erosion-deposition) is only 3.60 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1)(i.e., roughly 25% of the gross erosion). Majority of the basin area(~86%) experiences only slight erosion(5 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1)), and nearly 3% of the area functions as depositional environment for the eroded sediments(e.g., the terraces of stream reaches, the gentle plains as well as the foot slopes of the plateau scarps and the terrain with concordant summits). Although mean gross soil erosion rates in the natural vegetation belts are relatively higher, compared to agriculture, settlement/built-up areas and tea plantation, the sediment transport efficiency in agricultural areas and tea plantation is significantly high,reflecting the role of human activities on accelerated soil erosion. In MRB, on a mean basis, 0.42 t of soil organic carbon(SOC) content is being eroded per hectare annually, and SOC loss from the 4th order subbasins shows considerable differences, mainly due to the spatial variability in the gross soil erosion rates among the sub-basins. The quantitative results, on soil erosion and deposition, modelled using RUSLE and TLSD, are expected to be beneficial while formulating comprehensive land management strategies for reducing the extent of soil degradation in tropical mountain river basins.     

Supraglacial weathering crust dynamics inferred from cryoconite hole hydrology

Water levels in cryoconite holes were monitored at high resolution over a 3‐week period on Austre Brøggerbreen (Svalbard). These data were combined with melt and energy balance modelling, providing insights into the evolution of the glacier's near‐surface hydrology and confirming that the hydrology of the near‐surface, porous ice known as the ‘weathering crust’ is dynamic and analogous to a shallow‐perched aquifer. A positive correlation between radiative forcing of melt and drainage efficiency was found within the weathering crust. This likely resulted from diurnal contraction and dilation of interstitial pore spaces driven by variations in radiative and turbulent fluxes in the surface energy balance, occasionally causing ‘sudden drainage events’. A linear decrease in water levels in cryoconite holes was also observed and attributed to cumulative increases in near‐surface ice porosity over the measurement period. The transport of particulate matter and microbes between cryoconite holes through the porous weathering crust is shown to be dependent upon weathering crust hydraulics and particle size. Cryoconite holes therefore yield an indication of the hydrological dynamics of the weathering crust and provide long‐term storage loci for cryoconite at the glacier surface. This study highlights the importance of the weathering crust as a crucial component of the hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry of the glacier ecosystem and glacierized regions and demonstrates the utility of cryoconite holes as natural piezometers on glacier surfaces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Miscellaneous information 1989 (Addendum)

Miscellaneous information 1989 (Addendum)     

Baja California 边缘PC14 岩芯海水表层温度及生产力变化的百年尺度记录

加利福尼亚流是北太平洋环流的重要组成部分,它的变化对全球气候及碳循环有重要影响.对位于东北太平洋低纬区BajaCalifornia外海的PC14柱状样进行了有机地球化学分析,重建了过去14ka来这一地区百年尺度的海水表面温度及生产力变化,发现其存在明显的B/A(Bling-Aller)和YD(Younger Drays)事件,但B/A和YD事件温度变化幅度小于中纬度地区.与中纬度加利福尼亚流系早中全新世温度降低不同,PC14全新世温度无明显变化趋势.这些结果表明了东太平洋低纬地区对高纬地区的气候响应以及沿岸上升流和ENSO现象对加利福尼亚流系中纬和低纬地区的影响不同.从冰消期到全新世,PC14生产力呈现阶段上升趋势,指示了由E1 Nino气候向La Nifia气候的转化以及沿岸上升流加强的总体趋势.在全新世中后期(6.5-3.8ka)生产力的降低,则可能是受ENSO加强的影响.在B/A暖期,PC14生产力增加不多,但氧最小层强度增加,这表明生产力变化不是东太平洋边缘海的氧最小层强化的控制因素.     

Atmospheric forcing of the eastern tropical Pacific: A review

The increase in marine, land surface, atmospheric and satellite data during recent decades has led to an improved understanding of the air–sea interaction processes in the eastern tropical Pacific. This is also thanks to extensive diagnoses from conceptual and coupled ocean–atmosphere numerical models. In this paper, mean fields of atmospheric variables, such as incoming solar radiation, sea level pressure, winds, wind stress curl, precipitation, evaporation, and surface energy fluxes, are derived from global atmospheric data sets in order to examine the dominant features of the low level atmospheric circulations of the region. The seasonal march of the atmospheric circulations is presented to depict the role of radiative forcing on atmospheric perturbations, especially those dominating the atmosphere at low levels.In the tropics, the trade winds constitute an important north–south energy and moisture exchange mechanism (as part of the low level branch of the Hadley circulation), that determines to a large extent the precipitation distribution in the region, i.e., that associated with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Monsoonal circulations also play an important role in determining the warm season precipitation distribution over the eastern tropical Pacific through a large variety of air–sea–land interaction mechanisms. Westward traveling waves, tropical cyclones, low latitude cold air intrusions, and other synoptic and mesoscale perturbations associated with the ITCZ are also important elements that modulate the annual rainfall cycle. The low-level jets of the Gulf of California, the Intra-Americas Sea (Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea) and Chocó, Colombia are prominent features of the eastern tropical Pacific low-level circulations related to sub-regional and regional scale precipitation patterns. Observations show that the Intra-Americas Low-Level Jet intensity varies with El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases, however its origin and role in the westward propagation and development of disturbances that may hit the eastern tropical Pacific, such as easterly waves and tropical cyclones, are still unclear. Changes in the intensity of the trade winds in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (associated with eastern tropical Pacific wind jets) exert an important control on precipitation by means of wind–topography interactions. Gaps in the mountains of southern Mexico and Central America allow strong wind jets to pass over the continent imprinting a unique signal in sea surface temperatures and ocean dynamics of the eastern tropical Pacific.The warm pools of the Americas constitute an important source of moisture for the North American Monsoon System. The northeastern tropical Pacific is a region of intense cyclogenetic activity, just west of the coast of Mesoamerica. Over the oceanic regions, large-scale properties of key variables such as precipitation, moisture, surface energy fluxes and wind stress curl are still uncertain, which inhibits a more comprehensive view of the region and stresses the importance of regional field experiments. Progress has been substantial in the understanding of the ocean and atmospheric dynamics of the eastern tropical Pacific, however, recent observational evidence such as that of a shallow meridional circulation cell in that region, in contrast to the classic concept of the Hadley-type deep meridional circulation, suggests that more in situ observations to validate theories are still necessary.This paper is part of a comprehensive review of the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.     

Economic benefit of the protection program for the Steller sea lion

This paper examines willingness to pay (WTP) for an endangered species across geographically nested samples using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). The three samples range from (1) the boroughs that contain critical habitat for the Steller sea lion to (2) the state that contains these boroughs to and (3) the entire United States. Depending on the assumptions of the model, WTP varies tremendously from sample to sample. WTP for the United States is the highest and it is the lowest for the boroughs. The null hypotheses that mean WTP estimates are greater then zero were rejected for the boroughs and the state but were not rejected for the United States based on the 95% confidence intervals.     

The peaks and gaps in the redshift distributions of active galactic nuclei and quasars

The distributionsf(z) of the redshifts for active galaxies (Seyfert galaxies, radio galaxies, and quasars) have been studied. Some statistically-significant maxima and minima are observed in the distributionsf(z) for these objects. The significance of peaks and gaps increases for the brighter objects, for which the samples are more complete. The clustering of the Seyfert galaxies is significantly different from that of the nearby normal galaxies. The distributionf(z) for the radio galaxies is similar to the analogous distribution for the galaxy clusters. Three of the five peaks in the distributionf(z) for the radio quasars may be caused by the selection effects. Two peaks within the intervalsz (0.5, 0.7) and (1.0, 1.1) are probably real. The corresponding scales of the QSO clustering along the line-of-sight are about 100h ^–1 Mpc (h is the Hubble constant in the units of 75 km s^–1 Mpc^–1). The possibility of some global quasi-periodical cycles for the processes of activity is discussed. The period of a cycle for the Seyfert and radio galaxies is about 1×10⁸ years that corresponds to the distances of about 30h ^–1 Mpc between the shells.     

Effect of land–ocean contrast on the structure of anomaly tropical circulation

While the important role of land–ocean contrast (LOC) in the mean atmospheric circulation is well-known, an intriguing question remains as to whether LOC can also significantly influence the anomaly circulation. This question is particularly important in the tropics, where a large part of the variabilities is known to be due to convective internal dynamics, which in turn can be significantly affected by LOC. In the present work, we investigate this question using a model of convectively driven anomaly circulation in the tropics. Emphasizing the lower tropospheric flow, we adopt a model describing the horizontal dynamics of the first baroclinic mode on an equatorial β-plane, in the presence of moist feedbacks. We introduce LOC in both latitudinal and longitudinal directions. Land surface dryness is taken into account in the moisture budget through the control of evaporative flux. A constant non-latent heating term is used over land in order to represent radiative and sensible heating effects. First, a control run is performed, numerically, without any LOC using random initial perturbations. The gravest mode that emerges from the control run, which is a wave-2 feature with a period around 20 days, is then used as the initial field for the model runs with LOC. The results show that LOC can significantly influence even the tropical variabilities. A latitudinal LOC, with a land mass in the northern hemisphere (north of 10°N), tends to shift the region of maximum precipitation slightly north of the equator with accompanying steeper gradients near the land–ocean boundary. The implications of this result for our understanding of Asian summer monsoon conditions are discussed. When LOC is only in the longitudinal direction, the dominant wave structure that emerges from the model run has wavenumber one and a period of about 35 days, very similar to the observed 30–60 day oscillation. In our final experiment, which is nearer to the realistic land–ocean configuration in the tropics, it is found that both latitudinal and longitudinal effects of LOC are important aspects of the tropical anomaly circulation. It is suggested that some of the patterns in the precipitation distribution, observed in the tropics and simulated using general circulation models are results of convectively induced internal dynamics, modulated by LOC.     

Determination of ammonia emission rates from a tunnel ventilated chicken house using passive samplers and a Gaussian dispersion model

Atmospheric deposition can provide a significant fraction of the nitrogen loading to coastal waters. The Delmarva Peninsula, on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is a region with intense poultry production that may supply a significant source of atmospheric ammonia (NH₃). There is a need to quantify ammonia NH₃ from representative growing methods in this region in order to more accurately estimate agricultural NH₃ emissions and to develop best management practices. In this study, NH₃ emissions were determined at an 18,600-bird tunnel-ventilated chicken house using a modified sampling grid (a planar arrangement normal to the length of the house) with Ogawa passive samplers to characterize the emission plume downwind from the house. This improvement in the sampling strategy, compared to a previous study, simplified the inverse Gaussian plume analysis which improved the confidence in the emission factors. In this study, a total of four separate plume characterizations were conducted over the final 3 weeks of the 6-week broiler grow-out cycle. The mean emission factor observed at the tunnel-ventilated house, 0.13 g NH₃–N/bird-day, was an order of magnitude lower than that previously observed at a nearby side-wall ventilated house. Although not all growing variables were measured, the large difference in emission factors between the two ventilation regimes suggest that modern, tunnel-ventilated houses may result in a significant decrease in NH₃ emissions compared with traditional growing methods. This variability in emission factors underscores the need for characterizing chicken houses under various conditions and determining the factors that control these atmospheric emissions.