Snow and climate trends and their impact on seasonal runoff and hydrological drought types in selected mountain catchments in Central Europe

ABSTRACT

This study investigates changes in seasonal runoff and low flows related to changes in snow and climate variables in mountainous catchments in Central Europe. The period 1966–2012 was used to assess trends in climate and streamflow characteristics using a modified Mann–Kendall test. Droughts were classified into nine classes according to key snow and climate drivers. The results showed an increase in air temperature, decrease in snowfall fraction and snow depth, and changes in precipitation. This resulted in increased winter runoff and decreased late spring runoff due to earlier snowmelt, especially at elevations from 1000 to 1500 m a.s.l. Most of the hydrological droughts were connected to either low air temperatures and precipitation during winter or high winter air temperatures which caused below-average snow storages. Our findings show that, besides precipitation and air temperature, snow plays an important role in summer streamflow and drought occurrence in selected mountainous catchments.     

柴达木盆地新生代以来的气候变化研究:来自碳氧同位素的证据

青藏高原北缘柴达木盆地内部始新世—更新世的碳酸盐中的碳、氧同位素分析结果显示了几次与区域性气候变化和构造运动相关的地质事件,包括青藏高原形成和隆升。新生代厚层的湖相-陆相沉积物记录了在中新世时气候以干旱条件为主。红三旱剖面中出现了两个较短1 Ma到3 Ma的δ13C变化周期。通过稳定同位素的研究可以识别出4个明显的构造事件:(1)上干柴沟组晚期δ13C和δ18O出现明显的增加,反映周边山脉的隆升;(2)上干柴沟组和下油砂山组界限处δ13C和δ18O的剧减,反映了整个柴达木盆地的总体抬升和喜马拉雅山在24 Ma左右的隆起;(3)19~18 Ma同位素数据出现的正异常峰值应该和阿尔金山的强烈隆起有关,同时盆地相对沉降,地貌高差增大,气候变得干旱;(4)12 Ma的明显负异常反映了整个柴达木盆地的海拔又一次增高,而盆地本身相对沉降周边山脉隆升。     

Enhancing preparedness for managing debris from earthquakes: lessons from Italy

Natural Hazards - Earthquakes can generate large volumes of debris which may threaten public health, hinder reconstruction and impact the environment. The present paper aims at investigating how...     

On the efficiency and effectiveness of automatic deep drainage systems during an extreme rainfall event: the Mendatica landslide case study (western Liguria,Italy)

Landslides - This study presents the employment of automatic deep drainage systems to stabilize the Mendatica landslide, one of the largest relict landslides of western Liguria (north-western...     

River tributaries as sediment sinks: Processes operating where the Tapajós and Xingu rivers meet the Amazon tidal river

The Amazon River is the largest fluvial source of fresh water and sediment to the global ocean and has the longest tidally influenced reach in the world. Two major rivers, the Tapajós and Xingu, enter the Amazon along its tidal reach. However, unlike most fluvial confluences, these are not one‐way conduits through which water and sediment flow downstream towards the sea. The drowned‐river valleys (rias) at the confluences of the Tapajós and Xingu with the Amazon River experience water‐level fluctuations associated not only with the seasonal rise and fall of the river network, but also with semidiurnal tides that propagate as far as 800 km up the Amazon River. Superimposed seasonal and tidal forcing, distinct sediment and temperature signatures of Amazon and tributary waters, and antecedent geomorphology combine to create mainstem–tributary confluences that act as sediment traps rather than sources of sediment. Hydrodynamic measurements are combined with data from sediment cores to determine the distribution of tributary‐derived and Amazon‐derived sediment within the ria basins, characterize the sediment‐transport mechanisms within the confluence areas and estimate rates of sediment accumulation within both rias. The Tapajós and Xingu ria basins trap the majority of the sediment carried by the tributaries themselves in addition to ca 20 Mt year^?1 of sediment sourced from the Amazon River. These findings have implications for the interpretation of stratigraphy associated with incised‐valley systems, such as those that dominated the transfer of sediment to the oceans during lowstands in sea level.     

Probabilistic Analysis of Suture Lines Developed in Ammonites: The Jurassic Examples of Hildocerataceae and Hammatocerataceae

Ammonites are extinct molluscs belonging to Class Cephalopoda which lived during the Mesozoic Era. Their usefulness in Jurassic and Cretaceous paleontology and biostratigraphy studies has been widely proved. They have been studied by several authors worldwide to achieve information regarding their habitats and the climate of the world in past eras. A probabilistic analysis of the paleo-environmental causes that generated complex suture lines in ammonites has been made by means of coherent upper conditional previsions defined with respect to Hausdorff outer measures. In particular, studies have centered on the role of hydrostatic pressure.