Repeated high flows drive morphological change in rivers in recently deglaciated catchments

Climate change is decreasing glacier cover and increasing the frequency and magnitude of precipitation-driven high flows and floods in many regions of the world. Precipitation may become the dominant water source for river systems in recently deglaciated catchments, with major rainfall events driving significant changes in river channel morphology. Few studies, however, have examined river channel response to repeated precipitation-driven high flows. In this study, we measured the geomorphological condition of four low-order rivers in recently deglaciated catchments (70–210 years ice free) before and after a series of repeated precipitation-driven high flows during summer 2014. High flows drove substantial initial morphological change, with up to 75% change in baseflow channel planform position and active channel form change from pre- to post-high flow. Post-high flow years were associated with increased instream wood and geomorphological complexity at all but the youngest river. Channel changes were part of an active relaxation stage at all rivers, where channels continued to migrate, and complexity varied through time. Overall, these measurements permit us to propose a conceptual model of the role of geomorphologically effective high flows in the context of paraglacial adjustment theory. Specifically, we suggest that older rivers in recently deglaciated catchments can undergo a short-term (<10 years) increase in the rate of geomorphological development as a result of the recruitment of instream wood and channel migration during and following repeated precipitation-driven high flows. Enhancing our knowledge of these geomorphological and paraglacial processes in response to high flows is important for the effective management of riverine water and ecosystem resources in rapidly changing environments.     

Quality assessment for building footprints data on OpenStreetMap

In the past two years, several applications of generating three-dimensional (3D) buildings from OpenStreetMap (OSM) have been made available, for instance, OSM-3D, OSM2World, OSM Building, etc. In these projects, 3D buildings are reconstructed using the buildings’ footprints and information about their attributes, which are documented as tags in OSM. Therefore, the quality of 3D buildings relies strongly on the quality of the building footprints data in OSM. This article is dedicated to a quality assessment of building footprints data in OSM for the German city of Munich, which is one of the most developed cities in OSM. The data are evaluated in terms of completeness, semantic accuracy, position accuracy, and shape accuracy by using building footprints in ATKIS (German Authority Topographic–Cartographic Information System) as reference data. The process contains three steps: finding correspondence between OSM and ATKIS data, calculating parameters of the four quality criteria, and statistical analysis. The results show that OSM footprint data in Munich have a high completeness and semantic accuracy. There is an offset of about four meters on average in terms of position accuracy. With respect to shape, OSM building footprints have a high similarity to those in ATKIS data. However, some architectural details are missing; hence, the OSM footprints can be regarded as a simplified version of those in ATKIS data.     

Effects of low temperatures on strength and power input into rock failure

Study results of low temperature effects on the strength index and specific power input into rock failure are presented.It has been experimentally determined that within the range of-5 °С to-15 °С,there is a local minimum at which the compression strength and specific power input into failure of some rocks are 10%-50% lower than those at positive temperatures.     

Sources,transport, and sinks of SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> over the equatorial Pacific during the Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment

The Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment (PASE) is the first sulfur-budget field experiment to feature simultaneous flux measurements of DMS marine emissions and SO₂ deposition to the ocean surface. We make use of these data to constrain a 1-D chemical transport model to study the production and loss pathways for DMS and SO₂ over the equatorial Pacific. Model results suggest that OH is the main sink for DMS in the boundary layer (BL), and the average DMS-to-SO₂ conversion efficiency is ~73%. In an exploratory run involving the addition of 1 pptv of BrO as a second oxidant, a 14% increase in the DMS flux is needed beyond that based on OH oxidation alone. This BrO addition also reduces the DMS-to-SO₂ conversion efficiency from 73% to 60%. The possibility of non-DMS sources of marine sulfur influencing the estimated conversion efficiency was explored and found to be unconvincing. For BL conditions, SO₂ losses consist of 48% dry deposition, while transport loss to the BuL and aerosol scavenging each account for another 19%. The conversion of SO₂ to H₂SO₄ consumes the final 14%. In the BuL, cloud scavenging removes 85% of the SO₂, thus resulting in a decreasing vertical profile for SO₂. The average SO₂ dry deposition velocity from direct measurements (i.e., 0.36 cm sec⁻¹) is approximately 50% of what is calculated from the 1-D model and the global GEOS-Chem model. This suggests that the current generation of global models may be significantly overestimating SO₂ deposition rates over some tropical marine areas. Although the specific mechanism cannot be determined, speculation here is that the dry deposition anomalous results may point to the presence of a micro-surface chemical phenomenon involving partial saturation with either S(IV) and/or S(VI) DMS oxidation products. This could also appear as a pH drop in the ocean’s surface microfilm layer in this region. Finally, we propose that the enhanced SO₂ level observed in the lower free troposphere versus that in the upper BuL during PASE is most likely the result of transported DMS/SO₂-rich free-tropospheric air parcels from the east of the PASE sampling area, rather than an inadequate representation in the model of local convection.     

Introduction to ��Tsunamis in the World Ocean: Past, Present, and Future. Volume I��

Eighteen papers are included in Volume 1 of a PAGEOPH topical issue Tsunamis in the World Ocean: Past, Present, and Future. These papers are briefly introduced. They are grouped into three categories: case studies of earthquake-generated tsunamis; tsunami forecast and hazard assessments; and theoretical and computational modeling of tsunami generation, propagation, and coastal behavior. Most of the papers were presented at the 24th International Tsunami Symposium held 14?C16 July 2009 in Novosibirsk, Russia, and reflect the current state of tsunami science.     

Introduction to “Tsunamis in the World Ocean: Past,Present, and Future. Volume II”

Fifteen papers are included in Volume 2 of a PAGEOPH topical issue Tsunamis in the World Ocean: Past, Present, and Future. These papers are briefly introduced. They are grouped into three categories: reports and studies of recent tsunamis, studies on tsunami statistics and application to tsunami warning, and modeling studies of tsunami runup and inundation. Most of the papers were presented at the 24th International Tsunami Symposium held 14–16 July 2009 in Novosibirsk, Russia, and reflect the current state of tsunami science.     

Trace metal contamination of Beaufort's Dyke, North Channel, Irish Sea: a legacy of ordnance disposal

Beaufort’s Dyke is a disused ordnance disposal ground within the North Channel of the Irish Sea. Over 1 million tonnes of ordnance were disposed of in the dyke over a 40 year period representing a substantial volume of trace metal pollutants introduced to the seabed. Utilising particle transport modelling software we simulated the potential transport of metal particles from Beaufort’s Dyke over a 3 month period. This demonstrated that Beaufort’s Dyke has the potential to act as a source for trace metal contamination to areas beyond the submarine valley. Trace metal analysis of sediments from the Dyke and surrounding National Marine Monitoring Programme areas demonstrate that the Dyke is not the most contaminated site in the region. Particle transport modelling enables the transport pathways of trace metal contaminants to be predicted. Implementation of the technique in other munitions disposal grounds will provide valuable information for the selection of monitoring stations.     

Alternative climate data sources for distributed hydrological modelling on a daily time step

Two major criteria in choosing climate data for use in hydrological modelling are the period of record of the data set and the proximity of the collection platform(s) to the basin under study. Conventional data sets are derived from weather stations; however, in many cases there are no weather stations sufficiently close to a basin to be representative of climate conditions in that basin. In addition, it is often the case either that the period of record for the weather station(s) does not cover the period of the proposed simulation or that there are gaps in the data. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to investigate alternative climate data sources for use in hydrological modelling and to develop a protocol for creating hydrological data sets that are spatially and temporally harmonized. The methods we used for constructing daily, spatially distributed, climatic data sets of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, potential evapotranspiration, and relative humidity are described. The model used in this study was the Soil and Water Assessment Tool implemented on the Mimbres River Basin located in southwestern New Mexico, USA, for the period 2003–2006. Our hydrological simulations showed that two events in January and February 2005 were missed, while an event in August 2006 was well simulated. We have also investigated the usefulness of several other precipitation data sets and compared the simulation results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tidal and wind-driven surface currents in the German Bight: HFR observations versus model simulations

Tidal and wind-driven surface currents in the German Bight between shallow mudflats of the North Frisian islands and the island of Helgoland are studied using coastal high-frequency radar (HFR) observations and hindcasts from a primitive equation numerical model. The setup of the observational system is described, and estimates of expected measurement errors are given. A quantitative comparison of numerical model results and observations is performed. The dominant tidal components are extracted from the two data sources using tidal harmonic analysis and the corresponding tidal ellipses are defined. Results show that the spatial patterns of different tidal ellipse parameters are consistent in the two data sets. Model sensitivity studies with constant and variable salinity and temperature distributions are used to study density-related mechanisms of circulation. Furthermore, the role of the surface wind field in driving the German Bight circulation is investigated using the complex correlation between wind and surface current vectors. The observed change of the respective correlation patterns from the coastal to open ocean is shown to be due to a combination of density effects, the coastline and topography. The overall conclusion is that HFR observations resolve the small-scale and rapidly evolving characteristics of coastal currents well in the studied area and could present an important component for regional operational oceanography when combined with numerical modelling. Some unresolved issues associated with the complex circulation and large instability of circulation in front of the Elbe River Estuary justify further considerations of this area using dedicated surveys and modelling efforts.