Spatial variability in specific discharge and streamwater chemistry during low flows: Results from snapshot sampling campaigns in eleven Swiss catchments

Catchments consist of distinct landforms that affect the storage and release of subsurface water. Certain landforms may be the main contributors to streamflow during extended dry periods, and these may vary for different catchments in a given region. We present a unique dataset from snapshot field campaigns during low‐flow conditions in 11 catchments across Switzerland to illustrate this. The catchments differed in size (10 to 110 km²), varied from predominantly agricultural lowlands to Alpine areas, and covered a range of physical characteristics. During each snapshot campaign, we jointly measured streamflow and collected water samples for the analysis of major ions and stable water isotopes. For every sampling location (basin), we determined several landscape characteristics from national geo‐datasets, including drainage area, elevation, slope, flowpath length, dominant land use, and geological and geomorphological characteristics, such as the lithology and fraction of quaternary deposits. The results demonstrate very large spatial variability in specific low‐flow discharge and water chemistry: Neighboring sampling locations could differ significantly in their specific discharge, isotopic composition, and ion concentrations, indicating that different sources contribute to streamflow during extended dry periods. However, none of the landscape characteristics that we analysed could explain the spatial variability in specific discharge or streamwater chemistry in multiple catchments. This suggests that local features determine the spatial differences in discharge and water chemistry during low‐flow conditions and that this variability cannot be assessed a priori from available geodata and statistical relations to landscape characteristics. The results furthermore suggest that measurements at the catchment outlet during low‐flow conditions do not reflect the heterogeneity of the different source areas in the catchment that contribute to streamflow.     

Modeling the influence of hydroperiod and vegetation on the cross-sectional formation of tidal channels

The evolution of the cross section of a salt-marsh channel is explored using a numerical model. Deposition on the marsh platform and erosion and deposition in the channel affect the tidal prism flowing through the cross section, such that the model captures the evolution of the stage–discharge relationship as the channel and marsh platform evolve. The model also captures the growth of salt-marsh vegetation on the marsh platform, and how this vegetation affects flow resistance and the rate of sedimentation. The model is utilized to study the influence of hydroperiod and vegetation encroachment on channel cross section. Numerical results show that a reduction in hydroperiod due to the emergence of the marsh platform causes an infilling of the channel. Vegetation encroachment on the marsh surface produces an increase in flow resistance and accretion due to organic and mineral sedimentation, with important consequences for the shape of the channel cross section. Finally, modeling results indicate that in microtidal marshes with vegetation dominated by Spartina alterniflora, the width-to-depth ratio of the channels decreases when the tidal flats evolve in salt marshes, whereas the cross-sectional area remains proportional to the tidal peak discharge throughout channel evolution.     

Luminescence dating of Middle Pleistocene proglacial deposits from northern Switzerland: methodological aspects and stratigraphical conclusions

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to proglacial deposits from the Klettgau Valley in northern Switzerland, which is understood to record several phases of glaciation prior to the Last Interglacial. The aim was to provide an independent chronology for the different sedimentary units to understand better the complex depositional history of the region. This time range requires care when assessing the reliability of the luminescence protocols applied. Equivalent doses for fine‐ and coarse‐grain quartz remained below 300 Gy, while dose response curves for both fractions continued to display growth above 500 Gy. Dose recovery tests confirmed the ability of the single aliquot regenerative (SAR) protocol to recover laboratory doses of a similar size to burial doses, and isothermal decay measurements confirmed the stability of the quartz signal. Having passed rigorous testing criteria, quartz OSL ages of up to ～200 ka were considered reliable but significantly underestimated expected ages and prompt a reconsideration of earlier interpretations of the stratigraphy for this site. Rather than representing three separate glaciations, quartz luminescence ages instead suggest that these deposits record up to four independent ice advances during Marine Isotope Stage 6. For both single grain and single aliquot feldspar dating, it was not possible to separate the conflicting influences of anomalous fading and partial bleaching. However, uncorrected feldspar central age model ages were found to be in reasonable agreement with quartz age estimates, and suggest that feldspar ages may still offer useful additional information in this region.     

Distribution patterns of subsurface copepods and the impact of environmental parameters

The ecosystem dynamics in the vadose zone, the unsaturated layer between the surface and the groundwater table, was studied in five caves located in northwestern Romania. Hypogean and epigean copepod assemblages collected in drip water and in the associated pools were analyzed over a period of 12 and 7 months, respectively. The temporal variation of fauna in both habitats was related to a series of environmental parameters (pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, forest cover, precipitation, type of limestone, hydrographic basin, substrate and volume of the pools). Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to explore the relationships. Over the year, total abundances in pools were much lower than the abundances observed in drips and showed steep raising values in December only. It is shown that forest cover might be one of the most important driving factor influencing the copepod diversity and abundance. Occurrence of epigean species underground was influenced by precipitation and drip rates. The occurrence of hypogean species was related to electrical conductivity, as an indicator of residence time of water in the vadose zone. Pools on limestone harbored a more diverse and abundant fauna than those with clay sediments. Pools with calcite precipitation were preferred by hypogean species.     

Autocorrelation properties of the sunshine number and sunshine stability number

Two new Boolean parameters are defined: the sunshine number (related to the state of the sky) and the sunshine stability number (which is as a measure of the fluctuation of the radiative regime). Elementary statistical and sequential properties of both parameters are presented in this paper. Actinometric and meteorological data measured at 15?s lag during 2009 in Timisoara (Romania, southeastern Europe) are used. The yearly series of daily averaged sunshine number has negative skewness and kurtosis. The series of daily averaged sunshine stability number has positive skewness and kurtosis. The series of daily averaged values of sunshine number are best described by an ARIMA(0,1,2) model. ARIMA(0,1,0) and ARIMA(0,2,0) models (associated with an appropriately defined white noise) may be used for synthesis of the sunshine number time series. The first model is to be preferred for practical reasons. The series of daily averaged values of sunshine stability number are best described by an ARIMA(2,2,1) model. The ARIMA(0,0,0) model is recommended to be used for generating time series of sunshine stability number. This model may be used for any particular day during the year and the only parameter depending on the day is the white noise standard deviation. A relationship between the white noise standard deviation and the daily averaged sunshine stability number is proposed.     

Speciation and role of iron in cloud droplets at the puy de Dôme station

Iron is the most abundant transition metal in the atmosphere and can play a significant role in cloudwater chemistry where its reactivity is closely related to the partitioning between Fe(II) and Fe(III). The objective of this work is to determine the total iron content and the iron speciation in a free tropospheric site, and to understand which factors influence these parameters. We collected 147 samples of cloudwater during 34 cloud events over a period of four years at the puy de Dôme summit. Besides iron we measured other chemical compounds, solar radiation, physico-chemical and meteorological parameters potentially connected with iron reactivity. The total iron concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 9.1 μM with the major frequency occurring at low levels. The pH and presence of organic complexants seem to be the most significant factors connected with total dissolved iron; while the iron oxidation state seems to be an independent factor. Light intensity, presence of complexants or oxidants (H₂O₂) do not influence the Fe(II)/Fe(Total) ratio, that was quite constant at about 0.75. This could be due to the potential redox that forces the Fe(II)-Fe(III) couple to the reduced form or, more probably to the complexation by Natural Organic Matter, that can stabilize iron in its reduced form and prevent further oxidation. Our field measurements did not show the diurnal cycle observed in surface water and predicted by models of atmospheric chemistry. This result prompts a more careful review of the role of iron and, by analogy, all the transition metals in atmospheric liquid phase, often over-estimated in the literature.     

Procedure of embedding biological action functions into the atmospheric transmittance

In order to perform calculations of biologically effective irradiance, the usual procedure is to modulate the ground-measured spectral solar irradiance with a specific biological action function. The inconvenience is that only a few meteorological stations worldwide are equipped to measure the spectral solar irradiance in the ultraviolet range. This motivates the search for a numerical substitute, which constitutes the subject of this report. An innovative approach based on generalized mean is used to infer the effective atmospheric transmittance. Its illustration resulted in a new parametric model for computing the biological dose under clear sky. The action spectrum for the growth response of plants, as a carrier of biological effects, is encapsulated into the atmospheric transmittance, leading to the calculation of the effective irradiance by simple algebra. The overall results indicate that the new parametric model performs accurately enough to be routinely used in practice. The procedure is general; therefore, it is described in detail to guide potential users in developing similar models incorporating other biological action spectra as needed. For speed-intensive applications, an executable file intended to run on any PC, which computes the effective irradiance with the proposed model, is provided.     

An automated testing device for continuous measurement of the hysteretic water retention curve of granular media

Acta Geotechnica - The water retention curve (WRC), representing an important key for the modelling of hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils, is still not fully understood, because it...     

Resolving frontal structures: on the payoff using a less diffusive but computationally more expensive advection scheme

This article presents some advantages using a shape-preserving total variation diminishing (TVD) advection scheme in an ecosystem model. The superbee flux-limiter has been used to the second-order Lax–Wendroff advection scheme to make it TVD. We performed simulations for three shelf sea regions with different characteristic time scales, namely, the North Sea, the Barents Sea, and the Baltic Sea. To explore the advantages, we also performed reference runs with the much simpler and computationally cheaper upwind advection scheme. Frontal structures are much better resolved with the TVD scheme. The bottom salinity in the Baltic Sea stays at realistic values throughout the 10-year simulation with the TVD scheme, while with the upwind scheme, it drifts towards lower values and the permanent haline stratification in the Baltic is almost completely eroded within one seasonal cycle. Only when applying TVD for both the vertical and horizontal advections the model succeeded to preserve haline stratification in the decadal simulation. Lower trophic level patterns are far better reproduced with the TVD scheme, and for the estimated cod larval survival, the advantages seem to be even stronger. Simulations using the TVD-derived prey fields identified distinct regions such as Dogger Bank to favor potential larvae survival (PLS), which did not appear as particularly favorable in the upstream simulations. The TVD scheme needs about 25 % more time on the central processing unit (CPU) in case of a pure hydrodynamic setup with only two scalar state variables (Barents Sea application). The additional CPU time cost increases for a coupled physical–biological model application with a large number of state variables. However, this is more than compensated by all the advantages found, and, hence, we conclude that it is worthwhile to use the TVD scheme in our ecosystem model.