Physical model experiments for sediment supply to the old Rhine through induced bank erosion

A mobile-bed, undistorted physical model （1：40） has been used to investigate different sediment supply strategies to the Old Rhine through bank protection removal and modifications of groyne dimensions and configuration, which cause bank erosion. This trained channel was previously the main bed of the upper Rhine downstream of Basel （Switzerland）, but it has an artificially low flow regime since the construction of the Grand Canal d＇Alsace, a navigation canal, and a flow control dam at Kembs （France）. Training works and subsequent channel incision have also greatly reduced sediment transport rates and created a heavily armoured bed. The modelled pilot site has a groyne field on the left bank. Results show that the currently existing groynes at the site are not effective in creating high bank-side velocities conducive to bank erosion, even for flow rates significantly higher than the mean annual flow rate. The river bank has also proved to be more resistant than previously thought, allowing long stretches of bank protection to be safely removed. The physical model testing process has produced a new configuration for the groyne field, where two higher, larger island groynes are placed further apart than the three existing attached groynes. This innovative approach has proved effective, causing bank erosion for flow rates below the mean annual flow rate, with consistent erosion being observed. It has also been found that such a configuration does not pose a hazard for the Grand Canal d＇Alsace, which is situated next to the Old Rhine, through excessive bank erosion during high flow events.     

Modelling larval dispersal of the king scallop (Pecten maximus) in the English Channel: examples from the bay of Saint-Brieuc and the bay of Seine

The king scallop (Pecten maximus) is one of the most important benthic species of the English Channel as it constitutes the first fishery in terms of landings in this area. To support strategies of spatial fishery management, we develop a high-resolution biophysical model to study scallop dispersal in two bays along the French coasts of the English Channel (i.e. the bay of Saint-Brieuc and the bay of Seine) and to quantify the relative roles of local hydrodynamic processes, temperature-dependent planktonic larval duration (PLD) and active swimming behaviour (SB). The two bays are chosen for three reasons: (1) the distribution of the scallop stocks in these areas is well known from annual scallop stock surveys, (2) these two bays harbour important fisheries and (3) scallops in these two areas present some differences in terms of reproductive cycle and spawning duration. The English Channel currents and temperature are simulated for 10 years (2000–2010) with the MARS-3D code and then used by the Lagrangian module of MARS-3D to model the transport. Results were analysed in terms of larval distribution at settlement and connectivity rates. While larval transport in the two bays depended both on the tidal residual circulation and the wind-induced currents, the relative role of these two hydrodynamic processes varied among bays. In the bay of Saint-Brieuc, the main patterns of larval dispersal were due to tides, the wind being only a source of variability in the extent of larval patch and the local retention rate. Conversely, in the bay of Seine, wind-induced currents altered both the direction and the extent of larval transport. The main effect of a variable PLD in relation to the thermal history of each larva was to reduce the spread of dispersal and consequently increase the local retention by about 10 % on average. Although swimming behaviour could influence larval dispersal during the first days of the PLD when larvae are mainly located in surface waters, it has a minor role on larval distribution at settlement and retention rates. The analysis of the connectivity between subpopulations within each bay allows identifying the main sources of larvae which depend on both the characteristics of local hydrodynamics and the spatial heterogeneity in the reproductive outputs.     

Modeling Variably Saturated Subsurface Solute Transport with MODFLOW‐UZF and MT3DMS

The MT3DMS groundwater solute transport model was modified to simulate solute transport in the unsaturated zone by incorporating the unsaturated‐zone flow (UZF1) package developed for MODFLOW. The modified MT3DMS code uses a volume‐averaged approach in which Lagrangian‐based UZF1 fluid fluxes and storage changes are mapped onto a fixed grid. Referred to as UZF‐MT3DMS, the linked model was tested against published benchmarks solved analytically as well as against other published codes, most frequently the U.S. Geological Survey's Variably‐Saturated Two‐Dimensional Flow and Transport Model. Results from a suite of test cases demonstrate that the modified code accurately simulates solute advection, dispersion, and reaction in the unsaturated zone. Two‐ and three‐dimensional simulations also were investigated to ensure unsaturated‐saturated zone interaction was simulated correctly. Because the UZF1 solution is analytical, large‐scale flow and transport investigations can be performed free from the computational and data burdens required by numerical solutions to Richards' equation. Results demonstrate that significant simulation runtime savings can be achieved with UZF‐MT3DMS, an important development when hundreds or thousands of model runs are required during parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis. Three‐dimensional variably saturated flow and transport simulations revealed UZF‐MT3DMS to have runtimes that are less than one tenth of the time required by models that rely on Richards' equation. Given its accuracy and efficiency, and the wide‐spread use of both MODFLOW and MT3DMS, the added capability of unsaturated‐zone transport in this familiar modeling framework stands to benefit a broad user‐ship.     

Application du réseau des neurones artificiels à la prévision des débits horaires: Cas du bassin versant de l’Eure,France

RÉSUMÉ

Les modèles pluie–débit sont fortement utilisés dans la gestion des risques hydrologiques et la prévision des crues. Dans cette étude, nous présentons un modèle pluie–débit pour la prévision des débits horaires basé sur la technique des réseaux de neurones artificiels (RNA). Ce modèle a été développé et appliqué sur le bassin versant de l’Eure au Nord-Ouest de la France afin de dépasser les problèmes dus à la non-linéarité de la relation pluie–débit et à l’imprécision des données collectées. La création de ce modèle a nécessité plusieurs étapes pendant lesquelles nous avons pu déterminer les paramètres du modèle permettant la compréhension de la complexité hydrologique et la production des informations nécessaires à la prévision. Elles ont abouti à un modèle de réseau de neurones artificiels capable d’effectuer, en quelques secondes, des prévisions des crues efficaces jusqu’à un horizon de prévision de 48 h. Ces résultats confirment que les modèles RNA peuvent jouer un rôle important dans le domaine de la prévision car capables de modéliser la non-linéarité des relations pluie–débit rencontrées sur certains bassins hydrologiques.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz Associate editor E. Gargouri     

Direct dating of thick‐ and thin‐skin thrusts in the Peruvian Subandean zone through apatite (U–Th)/He and fission track thermochronometry

Although the structure of the central Peruvian Subandean zone is well defined, the timing of thrust‐related exhumation and Cenozoic sedimentation remain poorly constrained. In this study, we report new apatite (U–Th)/He (AHe) and fission track (AFT) ages from thrust‐belt and foreland strata along three published balanced cross sections. AHe data from the northern, thick‐skinned domain (i.e. Shira Mountain, Otishi Cordillera and Ucayali Basin) show young AHe ages (ranging from 2.6 ± 0.2 to 13.1 ± 0.8 Ma) compared with AFT ages (ranging from 101 ± 5 to 133 ± 11 Ma). In the southern Camisea Basin, where deformation is mainly thin‐skinned, AHe and AFT ages have been both reset and show young cooling ages (3.7 ± 0.8 Ma and 8 ± 2 Ma respectively). Using low‐temperature thermochronology data and the latest fission track annealing and He diffusion codes, the thermal history of the study area has been reconstructed using inverse modelling. This history includes two steps of erosion: Early Cretaceous and late Neogene, but only Neogene sedimentation and exhumation varies in the different sectors of the study area. From a methodological point of view, large AHe data dispersion point to the need for refinement of AHe damage and annealing models. The influence of grain chemistry on damage annealing, multiple age components and the possibility of fission tracks as traps for He need further consideration. For the central Peruvian Subandes, AHe and AFT ages combined with balanced cross sections emphasize the dominant control of Paleozoic inheritance rather than climate on Cenozoic infilling and exhumation histories. Finally, our data provide the first field example of how thick‐skinned thrust‐related deformation and exhumation in the Subandes can be directly dated through AHe thermochronology.     

Hyperspectral remote sensing analysis of short rotation woody crops grown with controlled nutrient and irrigation treatments

Hyperspectral remote sensing research was conducted to document the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of controlled forest plots subjected to various nutrient and irrigation treatments. The experimental plots were located on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC. AISA hyperspectral imagery were analysed using three approaches, including: (1) normalized difference vegetation index based simple linear regression (NSLR), (2) partial least squares regression (PLSR) and (3) machine-learning regression trees (MLRT) to predict the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of the crops (leaf area index, stem biomass and five leaf nutrients concentrations). The calibration and cross-validation results were compared between the three techniques. The PLSR approach generally resulted in good predictive performance. The MLRT approach appeared to be a useful method to predict characteristics in a complex environment (i.e. many tree species and numerous fertilization and/or irrigation treatments) due to its powerful adaptability.     

Bertin’s matrix concepts reconsidered: transformations of semantics and semiotics to support geovisualization use

A system for managing and visualizing archaeological finds and their spatio-temporal properties is presented. The system is an attempt to combine archaeologists' interest to keep track of time with interests related to the representation and visualization of the spatio-temporal component of archaeological excavations, with the help of cartographic and GIS methods and techniques. Several parameters of a prehistoric excavation such as finds, their thematic characteristics, and their spatio-temporal distributions are examined. A three-dimensional GIS/cartographic environment and its user interface to the excavation database have been developed as a tool for enhancing archaeological interpretation in an exploratory environment. The development of the system is an ongoing task; the article describes its current use as a prototype.     

On the Importance of High-Resolution in Large-Scale Ocean Models

Eddying global ocean models are now routinely used for ocean prediction, and the value-added of a better representation of the observed ocean variability and western boundary currents at that resolution is currently being evaluated in climate models. This overview article begins with a brief summary of the impact on ocean model biases of resolving eddies in several global ocean–sea ice numerical simulations. Then, a series of North and Equatorial Atlantic configurations are used to show that an increase of the horizontal resolution from eddy-resolving to submesoscale-enabled together with the inclusion of high-resolution bathymetry and tides significantly improve the models' abilities to represent the observed ocean variability and western boundary currents. However, the computational cost of these simulations is extremely large, and for these simulations to become routine, close collaborations with computer scientists are essential to ensure that numerical codes can take full advantage of the latest computing architecture.