Impact of physico-geographical factors and climate variability on flow intermittency in the rivers of water surplus zone

Climate change is inevitably altering the hydrological regime of water bodies. The interest in changing behaviour of intermittent rivers is increasing in many countries. This research was focused on intermittent rivers (rivers which naturally, periodically cease to flow) in Lithuania. The purpose of this research was to provide an overview of flow intermittency phenomena according to available data in a historical period and to evaluate the impact of catchment geographical features and climate variability on zero-flow events. The calculated indices of flow intermittency showed that the selected rivers had very different flow regimes. The threshold for the separation of typically intermittent rivers from only occasionally intermittent ones was suggested. Multiple linear regression analysis defined the crucial role of catchment size and watercourse slope on the river cessation process in Lithuania. The applied non-parametric Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test revealed the significance of the relationship between precipitation (in June–September) and zero-flow duration. Flow intermittency phenomena in Lithuanian rivers were linked to a low-frequency teleconnection pattern (SCAND index). A methodology of estimating the relation between river intermittency and large-scale atmospheric circulation pattern (based on SCAND index) was created. The generated regression equations between flow intermittency indices and catchment characteristics might be useful for the estimation of zero-flows in ungauged river catchments. The main aspect of future investigations might be related to forecasting flow intermittency using modern hydrological models and climate scenarios as well as the defined relationships between zero-flow indices and physico-geographical features of river catchments.     

Prograde and retrograde metamorphic fabrics – a key for understanding burial and exhumation in orogens (Bohemian Massif)

In the Orlica–?nie?nik Dome (NE Bohemian massif), alternating belts of orthogneiss with high‐pressure rocks and belts of mid‐crustal metasedimentary–metavolcanic rocks commonly display a dominant subvertical fabric deformed into a subhorizontal foliation. The first macroscopic foliation is subvertical, strikes NE–SW and is heterogeneously folded by open to isoclinal folds with subhorizontal axial planes parallel to the heterogeneously developed flat‐lying foliation. The metamorphic evolution of the mid‐crustal metasedimentary rocks involved successive crystallization of chlorite–muscovite–ilmenite–plagioclase–garnet, followed by staurolite‐bearing and then kyanite‐bearing assemblages in the subvertical fabric. This was followed by garnet retrogression, with syntectonic crystallization of sillimanite and andalusite parallel to the shallow‐dipping foliation. Elsewhere, andalusite and cordierite statically overgrew the flat‐lying fabric. With reference to a P–T pseudosection for a representative sample, the prograde succession of mineral assemblages and the garnet zoning pattern with decreasing grossular, spessartine and X_Fe are compatible with a P–T path from 3.5–5 kbar/490–520 °C to peak conditions of 6–7 kbar/～630 °C suggesting burial from 12 to 25 km with increasing temperature. Using the same pseudosection, the retrograde succession of minerals shows decompression to sillimanite stability at ～4 kbar/～630 °C and to andalusite–cordierite stability at 2–3 kbar indicating exhumation from 25 km to around 9–12 km. Subsequent exhumation to ～6 km occurred without apparent formation of a deformation fabric. The structure and petrology together with the spatial distribution of the metasedimentary–metavolcanic rocks, and gneissic and high‐pressure belts are compatible with a model of burial of limited parts of the upper and middle crust in narrow cusp‐like synclines, synchronous with the exhumation of orogenic lower crust represented by the gneissic and high‐pressure rocks in lobe‐shaped and volumetrically more important anticlines. Converging P–T–D paths for the metasedimentary rocks and the adjacent high‐pressure rocks are due to vertical exchanges between cold and hot vertically moving masses. Finally, the retrograde shallow‐dipping fabric affects both the metasedimentary–metavolcanic rocks and the gneissic and high‐pressure rocks, and indicates that the ～15‐km exhumation was mostly accommodated by heterogeneous ductile thinning associated with unroofing of a buoyant crustal root.