Aerodynamic Parameters of a UK City Derived from Morphological Data

Detailed three-dimensional building data and a morphometric model are used to estimate the aerodynamic roughness length z ₀ and displacement height d over a major UK city (Leeds). Firstly, using an adaptive grid, the city is divided into neighbourhood regions that are each of a relatively consistent geometry throughout. Secondly, for each neighbourhood, a number of geometric parameters are calculated. Finally, these are used as input into a morphometric model that considers the influence of height variability to predict aerodynamic roughness length and displacement height. Predictions are compared with estimations made using standard tables of aerodynamic parameters. The comparison suggests that the accuracy of plan-area-density based tables is likely to be limited, and that height-based tables of aerodynamic parameters may be more accurate for UK cities. The displacement heights in the standard tables are shown to be lower than the current predictions. The importance of geometric details in determining z ₀ and d is then explored. Height variability is observed to greatly increase the predicted values. However, building footprint shape only has a significant influence upon the predictions when height variability is not considered. Finally, we develop simple relations to quantify the influence of height variation upon predicted z ₀ and d via the standard deviation of building heights. The difference in these predictions compared to the more complex approach highlights the importance of considering the specific shape of the building-height distributions. Collectively, these results suggest that to accurately predict aerodynamic parameters of real urban areas, height variability must be considered in detail, but it may be acceptable to make simple assumptions about building layout and footprint shape.     

Radiative Processes in the Stable Boundary Layer: Part I. Radiative Aspects

The structure of the radiatively dominated stable boundary layer is analysed using idealized calculations at high vertical and spectral resolution. The temperature profile of a nocturnal radiative boundary layer, developing after the evening transition, is found to be well described in terms of radiative cooling to the surface, although radiative exchanges within the atmosphere become increasingly important with time. The treatment of non-black surfaces is discussed in some detail and it is shown that the effect of reducing the surface emissivity is to decrease rather than to increase the radiative cooling rate in the surface layer. It is also argued that an accurate assessment of the impact of non-black surfaces requires careful attention to the spectral and directional characteristics of the surface emissivity. A polar nocturnal boundary layer, developing above snow-covered ground, is simulated and found to reach a slowly evolving state characterized by a strong radiative divergence near the surface that is comparable to observed values. Radiative boundary layers are characterized by large temperature gradients near the surface. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Origin of well-rounded gravels in glacial deposits from Brøggerhalvøya, northwest Spitsbergen: potential problems caused by sediment reworking in the glacial environment

Well-rounded gravels are described from moraine-mound complexes, diamicton forefields and modern englacial thrusts at the margins of four glaciers on the northern side of Brøggerhalvøya, northwest Spitsbergen. Their shape charcteristics are compared with modern and fossil glacigenic, modern beach and Early Weichselian beach gravels from this peninsula. The best discriminators of the well-rounded gravels have been found to be the percentage-frequency roundness histograms, the roundness mid-point and roundness range diagrams and the sphericity-roundness plots. It is concluded that the gravels have been derived by englacial thrusting from Early Weichselian or last interglacial beaches in the inner parts of the fjord and in the low level cirques when sea level reached at least 50m a.s.l. and deposited the beach gravels. The discrimination between gravel in basal diamictons, proglacial outwash and modern beaches is difficult as the reworking has resulted in little particle shape change. The potential major problem caused by reworking in the glacial environment is emphasised. especially when clast shape comparisons from modern environments to older sediments are used.     

MODELING HEADCUT DEVELOPMENT AND MIGRATION IN UPLAND CONCENTRATED FLOWS

On hillslopes and agricultural fields, discrete areas of intense, localized soil erosion commonly take place in the form of migrating headcuts. These erosional features significantly increase soil loss and landscape degradation, yet the unsteady, transient, and migratory habits of headcuts complicate their phenomenological and erosional characterization. Here a unique experimental facility was constructed to examine actively migrating headcuts typical of upland concentrated flows. Essential components of the facility include a deep soil cavity with external drainage, rainfall simulator, capacity for overland flow, and a video recording technique for data collection. Results from these experiments show that： （1） after a short period of adjustment, headcut migration attained a steady-state condition, where the rate of migration, scour hole geometry, and sediment discharge remain constant with time; （2） boundary conditions of higher rates of overland flow, steeper bed slopes, and larger initial headcut heights produced systematically larger scour holes with higher rates of soil erosion; and （3） during migration, the turbulent flow structure within the scour hole remained unchanged, consisting of an overfall nappe at the brink transitioning into a reattached wall jet with two recirculation eddies within the plunge pool. The systematic behavior of headcut development and migration enabled the application of modified jet impingement theory to predict with good success the characteristics of the impinging jet, the depth of maximum scour, the rate of headcut migration, and the rate of sediment erosion. These laboratory data and the analytical formulation can be used in conjunction with soil erosion prediction technology to improve the management of agricultural areas impacted by headcut development and ephemeral gully erosion.     

Statistics of low frequency currents over the western Norwegian shelf and slope II: Model

We examine velocity statistics from a numerical simulation of the Nordic Seas with 4 km resolution, with a focus on the Norwegian shelf and slope. The model mean flow is dominated by its version of the Norwegian Atlantic Current, with two branches, one near the shelfbreak and the other near the 2000 m isobath. The model variances are surface-intensified and increase with water depth over the shelf; the variance ellipses also indicate topographic steering. Seasonality is more pronounced on the shelf than on the slope and the velocity probability distributions are weakly non-Gaussian, reflecting an excess of extreme velocities. All these aspects are broadly consistent with the observations. There are, however, differences with the observations. The topographic steering of the mean flow and of the variance ellipses is less pronounced in the model, a probable consequence of the model bathymetry, etopo5, being too smooth. The temporal and spatial coherence scales are too large by about a factor of 2, probably due to the model resolution. And correlations between velocity time series from the model and in situ moorings are generally small, despite the model having realistic forcing. The low predictability presumably reflects the degree of chaos in the flow and highlights the need for data assimilation.     

Hydrochemical and Multivariate Statistical Evaluation of Heavy Metals in Shallow Alluvial Aquifers of North Brahmaputra Plain,India

The aim of this study was to display distribution and relationships of heavy elements in the unconfined, shallow alluvial aquifers of the lower Jia Bharali catchment and adjoining areas in central part of North Brahmaputra Plain (NBP), India using hydrochemical as well as multivariate statistical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. The original matrix was made up of 10 trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni and Zn) estimated from 50 shallow alluvial dug wells in both the wet and the dry season for a duration of 3 hydrological years (2008–2011). Except As, Cu and Zn all the other toxic metals in the shallow aquifers were found exceeding the WHO maximum permissible limits for drinking water. PCA extracted five varimax factors as geogenic, agricultural and anthropogenic explaining about 71.2% of the total variance in the wet season and 69.3% total variance in the dry season. Hierarchical cluster analysis classified the dug wells into two groups in the wet season and three groups in the dry season with respect to the heavy elements. The results emphasized the need for routine monitoring and management in order to avoid contamination of groundwater sources in the NBP with respect to the dissolved trace elements.     

Improvement of the geoid in local areas by satellite gradiometry

Summary Satellite gradiometry is studied as a means to improve the geoid in local areas from a limited data coverage. Least-squares collocation is used for this purpose because it allows to combine heterogeneous data in a consistent way and to estimate the integrated effect of the attenuated spectrum. In this way accuracy studies can be performed in a general and reliable manner. It is shown that only three second-order gradients contribute significantly to the estimation of the geoidal undulations and that it is sufficient to have gradiometer data in a 5°×5° area around the estimation point. The accuracy of the geoid determination is strongly dependent on the degree and order of the reference field used. An accuracy of about ±1 m can be achieved with a reference field of (12, 12). There is an optimal satellite altitude for each reference field and this altitude may be higher than 300 km for a field of low degree and order. The influence of measuring errors is discussed and it is shown that only gradiometer data with accuracies better than ±0.05 E will give a significant improvement of the geoid. Finally, some results on the combination of satellite gradiometry and terrestrial gravity measurements are given. The proposed method seems to be well suited for local geoid determinations down to the meter range. It is especially interesting for unsurveyed and difficult areas because no terrestrial measurements are necessary. Furthermore, it has the practical advantage that only a local data coverage is needed.