Piecewise prediction model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events on the Loess Plateau,China

Establishing a universal watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield prediction model represents a frontier field in erosion and soil/water conservation. The research presented here was conducted on the Chabagou watershed, which is located in the first sub‐region of the hill‐gully area of the Loess Plateau, China. A back‐propagation artificial neural model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield was established, with the accuracy of the model, then compared with that of multiple linear regression. The sensitivity degree of various factors to erosion and sediment yield was quantitatively analysed using the default factor test. On the basis of the sensitive factors and the fractal information dimension, the piecewise prediction model for erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events was established and further verified. The results revealed the back‐propagation artificial neural network model to perform better than the multiple linear regression model in terms of predicting the erosion modulus, with the former able to effectively characterize dynamic changes in sediment yield under comprehensive factor conditions. The sensitivity of runoff erosion power and runoff depth to the erosion and sediment yield associated with individual rainfall events was found to be related to the complexity of surface topography. The characteristics of such a hydrological response are thus closely related to topography. When the fractal information dimension is greater than the topographic threshold, the accuracy of prediction using runoff erosion power is higher than that of using runoff depth. In contrast, when the fractal information dimension is smaller than the topographic threshold, the accuracy of prediction using runoff depth is higher than that of using runoff erosion power. The developed piecewise prediction model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events, which introduces runoff erosion power and runoff depth using the fractal information dimension as a boundary, can be considered feasible and reliable and has a high prediction accuracy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Balancing trade‐off issues in land use change and the impact on streamflow and salinity management

The south‐west region of the Goulburn–Broken catchment in the south‐eastern Murray–Darling Basin in Australia faces a range of natural resource challenges. A balanced strategy is required to achieve the contrasting objectives of remediation of land salinization and reducing salt export, while maintaining water supply security to satisfy human consumption and support ecosystems. This study linked the Catchment Analysis Tool (CAT), comprising a suite of farming system models, to the catchment‐scale CATNode hydrological model to investigate the effects of land use change and climate variation on catchment streamflow and salt export. The modelling explored and contrasted the impacts of a series of different revegetation and climate scenarios. The results indicated that targeted revegetation to only satisfy biodiversity outcomes within a catchment is unlikely to have much greater impact on streamflow and salt load in comparison with simple random plantings. Additionally, the results also indicated that revegetation to achieve salt export reduction can effectively reduce salt export while having a disproportionately smaller affect on streamflows. Furthermore, streamflow declines can be minimized by targeting revegetation activities without significantly altering salt export. The study also found that climate change scenarios will have an equal if not more significant impact on these issues over the next 70 years. Uncertainty in CATNode streamflow predictions was investigated because of the effect of parameter uncertainty. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal variations in infiltrability of moss‐dominated biocrusts on aeolian sand and loess soil in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Biocrust effects on soil infiltration have attracted increasing attention in dryland ecosystems, but their seasonal variations in infiltrability have not yet been well understood. On the Chinese Loess Plateau, soil infiltrability indicated by saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) of biocrusts and bare soil, both on aeolian sand and loess soil, was determined by disc infiltrometer in late spring (SPR), midsummer (SUM), and early fall (FAL). Then their correlations with soil biological and physiochemical properties and water repellency index (RI) were analysed. The results showed that the biocrusts significantly decreased K_s both on sand during SPR, SUM, and FAL (by 43%, 66%, and 35%, respectively; P < .05) and on loess (by 42%, 92%, and 10%, respectively; P <.05). As compared with the bare soil, the decreased K_s in the biocrusted surfaces was mostly attributed to the microorganism biomass and also to the increasing content of fine particles and organic matter. Most importantly, both the biocrusts and bare soil exhibited significant (F ≥ 11.89, P ≤ .003) seasonal variations in K_s, but their patterns were quite different. Specifically, the K_s of bare soil gradually decreased from SPR to SUM (32% and 42% for sand and loess, respectively) and FAL (29% and 39%); the K_s of biocrusts also decreased from SPR to SUM (59% and 92%) but then increased in FAL (36% and 588%). Whereas the seasonal variations in K_s of the biocrusts were closely correlated with the seasonal variations in RI, the RI values were not high enough to point at hydrophobicity. Instead of that, the seasonal variations of K_s were principally explained by the changes in the crust biomass and possibly by the microbial exopolysaccharides. We conclude that the biocrusts significantly decreased soil infiltrability and exhibited a different seasonal variation pattern, which should be carefully considered in future analyses of hydropedological processes.     

Lateral extrusion along the Altyn Tagh Fault,Qilian Shan (NE Tibet): insight from a 3D crustal budget

The lithospheric strike‐slip Altyn Tagh Fault has accommodated hundreds of kilometres of displacement between the Qaidam and Tarim blocks since its Eocene reactivation. However, the way the deformation is accommodated in the Qilian Shan and further east remains uncertain. Based on 360 km of north‐eastward migration of the relatively rigid Qaidam block along the Altyn Tagh Fault and 3D isovolumetric balancing of the crustal deformation within the Altyn Tagh Fault–Qilian Shan system, we demonstrate that 250 ± 28 km (43.8–49.4%) of N20E directed crustal shortening and an additional ~250–370 km of eastward motion of the Qilian Shan crust must be accounted for by strike‐slip faulting in the Qilian Shan and crustal thickening in the Qinling area, as well as by extension in the adjoining North China block graben systems.     

Pattern and chronology of glacial Lake Peace shorelines and implications for isostacy and ice‐sheet configuration in northeastern British Columbia,Canada

Recognition of positions of glacial lakes along the margin of continental ice sheets is critical in reconstructing ice configuration during deglaciation. Advances in remote sensing technology (e.g. LiDAR) have enabled the generation of accurate digital‐elevation models (DEMs) that reveal unprecedented geomorphic detail. Combined with geographical information systems, these tools have considerably advanced the mapping and correlation of geomorphic features such as relict shorelines. Shorelines of glacial Lake Peace (GLP) developed between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets in northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta. Shoreline mapping from high resolution DEMs produced more than 55 500 elevation data points from 3231 shorelines, enabling the identification of four major phases of GLP: Phase I (altitude 960–990 m a.s.l.); Phase II (890–915 m a.s.l.); Phase III (810–865 m a.s.l.); and Phase IV (724–733 m a.s.l.). The timing of Phase II of GLP is estimated by two optical ages of <16.0±2.5 and 14.2±0.5 ka BP. Extensive mapping of the shorelines allows for measuring of glacial isostatic adjustment as ice retreated. Shorelines currently dip to the northeast at around 0.4–0.5 m km^?1. This slope reflects the asynchronous retreat of the Cordilleran (CIS) and Laurentide (LIS) ice sheets. The relative uplift in the southwest of the study area within the Rocky Mountains and foothills suggests that the Late Wisconsinan (MIS 2) CIS persisted in the foothill after the LIS lost mass and retreated, or that the Late Wisconsinan CIS was very thick and caused deep crustal loading, which resulted in more uplift in the southwest before reaching equilibrium during, or shortly after deglaciation.     

Assessing the effectiveness of imperviousness on stormwater runoff in micro urban catchments by model simulation

Imperviousness, considered as a critical indicator of the hydrologic impacts of urbanization, has gained increasing attention both in the research field and in practice. However, the effectiveness of imperviousness on rainfall–runoff dynamics has not been fully determined in a fine spatiotemporal scale. In this study, 69 drainage subareas <1 ha of a typical residential catchment in Beijing were selected to evaluate the hydrologic impacts of imperviousness, under a typical storm event with a 3‐year return period. Two metrics, total impervious area (TIA) and effective impervious area (EIA), were identified to represent the impervious characteristics of the selected subareas. Three runoff variables, total runoff depth (TR), peak runoff depth (PR), and lag time (LT), were simulated by using a validated hydrologic model. Regression analyses were developed to explore the quantitative associations between imperviousness and runoff variables. Then, three scenarios were established to test the applicability of the results in considering the different infiltration conditions. Our results showed that runoff variables are significantly related to imperviousness. However, the hydrologic performances of TIA and EIA were scale dependent. Specifically, with finer spatial scale and the condition heavy rainfall, TIA rather than EIA was found to contribute more to TR and PR. EIA tended to have a greater impact on LT and showed a negative relationship. Moreover, the relative significance of TIA and EIA was maintained under the different infiltration conditions. These findings may provide potential implications for landscape and drainage design in urban areas, which help to mitigate the runoff risk. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrologic and water isotope characterization of a regulated Canadian Shield river basin

Stable water isotope surveys have increasingly been integrated into river basins studies, but fewer have used them to evaluate impact of hydropower regulation. This study applies hydrologic and water isotope survey approaches to a Canadian Shield river basin with both regulated and natural flows. Historical streamflow records were used to evaluate the influence of three hydroelectric reservoirs and unregulated portions of the basin on downstream flows and changes in water level management implemented after an extreme flood year (1979). In 2013, water isotope surveys of surface and source waters (e.g., rainfall, groundwater, snowmelt) were conducted to examine spatial and temporal variation in contributions to river flow. Seasonal changes in relative groundwater contribution were assessed using a water‐isotope mass balance approach. Within the basin, two regulated reservoirs exhibited inverted hydrographs with augmented winter flows, whereas a third exhibited a hydrograph dominated by spring snowmelt. In 2013, spatial variation in rain‐on‐snow and air temperatures resulted in a critical lag in snowmelt initiation in the southern and northern portions of the basin resulting in a dispersed, double peak spring hydrograph, contrasting with 1979 when a combination of rain‐on‐snow and coincident snowmelt led to the highest flood on record. Although eastern basin reservoirs become seasonally enriched in δ¹⁸O and δ²H values, unregulated western basin flows remain less variable due to groundwater driven baseflow with increasing influence downstream. Combined analysis of historical streamflow (e.g., flood of 1979, drought of 2010) and the 2013 water isotope surveys illustrate extreme meteorological conditions that current management activities are unable to prevent. In this study, the influence of evaporative fractionation on large surface water reservoirs provides important evidence of streamflow partitioning, illustrating the value of stable water isotope tracers for study of larger catchments.     

In‐situ analysis of trace elements and Sr–Pb isotopes of K‐feldspars from Tongshankou Cu–Mo deposit,SE Hubei Province,China: Insights into early potassic alteration of the porphyry mineralization system

In the Tongshankou porphyry deposit (SE Hubei Province, South China), three types of K‐feldspars are recognized: (I) the phenocryst type in the porphyry that crystalized during the magmatic stage, (II) the megacryst type and (III) the vein type in the altered porphyry and orebody that was produced by hydrothermal fluids. A detailed in‐situ analysis of trace elements and Sr–Pb isotopes was carried out on K‐feldspars in an attempt to unravel their formation processes and to trace the element sources during potassic alteration. The Type III K‐feldspars show lower Sr contents and Sr‐isotope ratios but higher Pb contents and Pb‐isotope ratios than the Type I and II K‐feldspars, possibly reflecting a contribution from the country carbonate rocks with less radiogenic Sr but more radiogenic Pb sources, and indicate that the ore‐forming fluids and materials may have been partially derived from external sources such as the host sedimentary rocks during the early potassic alteration stage.