Use of stable water isotopes to assess sources and influences of slope groundwater on slope failure

This study employs stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes as natural tracers to assess the headwater of a landslide next to a drainage divide and the importance of the slope's headwater in the study area. The study is undertaken near Wu‐She Township in the mountains of central Taiwan. Because a reservoir is located on the other side of the divide, this study evaluates the relationship between the reservoir water and headwater of the landslide as well. Over a 1‐year period, water samples from September 2008 to September 2009, including local precipitation (LP), Wu‐She Reservoir's water (WSRW), slope groundwater (SGW), upper‐reach stream water (USTW), and down‐reach stream water (DSTW), were analysed for deuterium (δD) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) stable isotopes. Results indicate that WSRW is the predominant component in SGW: approximately 70% of SGW originates from WSRW and 30% from LP based on a two end‐member mass‐balance mixing model for δ¹⁸O. The similar two end‐member mixing model is also employed to assess the contributions of USTW and SGW to DSTW. Model results indicate that SGW is the major source of DSTW with a contribution of about 67%. Accordingly, about 47% of DSTW sources from the WSRW. In short, owing to reservoir leakage, WSRW contributes the greater part of both SGW and DSTW. Plentiful WSRW in SGW threatens the stability of the slope in the divide area. To avoid subsequent continuous slope failure, necessary mitigation steps are required. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Daily river water temperature forecast model with a k‐nearest neighbour approach

Water temperature is a key abiotic variable that modulates both water chemistry and aquatic life in rivers and streams. For this reason, numerous water temperature models have been developed in recent years. In this paper, a k‐nearest neighbour model (KNN) is proposed and validated to simulate and eventually produce a one‐day forecast of mean water temperature on the Moisie River, a watercourse with an important salmon population in eastern Canada. Numerous KNN model configurations were compared by selecting different attributes and testing different weight combinations for neighbours. It was found that the best model uses attributes that include water temperature from the two previous days and an indicator of seasonality (day of the year) to select nearest neighbours. Three neighbours were used to calculate the estimated temperature, and the weighting combination that yielded the best results was an equal weight on all three nearest neighbours. This nonparametric model provided lower Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE = 1·57 °C), Higher Nash coefficient (NTD = 0·93) and lower Relative Bias (RB = ? 1·5%) than a nonlinear regression model (RMSE = 2·45 °C, NTD = 0·83, RB = ? 3%). The k‐nearest neighbour model appears to be a promising tool to simulate of forecast water temperature where long time series are available. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RAPTOR‐UAV: Real‐time particle tracking in rivers using an unmanned aerial vehicle

River system measurement and mapping using UAVs is both lean and agile, with the added advantage of increased safety for the surveying crew. A common parameter of fluvial geomorphological studies is the flow velocity, which is a major driver of sediment behavior. Advances in fluid mechanics now include metrics describing the presence and interaction of coherent structures within a flow field and along its boundaries. These metrics have proven to be useful in studying the complex turbulent flows but require time‐resolved flow field data, which is normally unavailable in geomorphological studies. Contactless UAV‐based velocity measurement provides a new source of velocity field data for measurements of extreme hydrological events at a safe distance, and could allow for measurements of inaccessible areas. Recent works have successfully applied large‐scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) using UAVs in rivers, focusing predominantly on surficial flow estimation by tracking intensity differences between georeferenced images. The objective of this work is to introduce a methodology for UAV based real‐time particle tracking in rivers (RAPTOR) in a case study along a short test reach of the Brigach River in the German Black Forest. This methodology allows for large‐scale particle tracking velocimetry (LSPTV) using a combination of floating, infrared light‐emitting particles and a programmable embedded color vision sensor in order to simultaneously detect and track the positions of objects. The main advantage of this approach is its ability to rapidly collect and process the position data, which can be done in real time. The disadvantages are that the method requires the use of specialized light‐emitting particles, which in some cases cannot be retrieved from the investigation area, and that the method returns velocity data in unscaled units of px/s. This work introduces the RAPTOR system with its hardware, data processing workflow, and provides an example of unscaled velocity field estimation using the proposed method. First experiences with the method show that the tracking rate of 50 Hz allows for position estimation with sub‐pixel accuracy, even considering UAV self‐motion. A comparison of the unscaled tracks after Savitzky–Golay filtering shows that although the time‐averaged velocities remain virtually the same, the filter reduces the standard deviation by more than 40% and the maxima by 20%. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic response of road pavement resting on a layered poroelastic half‐space to a moving traffic load

This paper is dedicated to study the dynamic response of a thin‐plate resting on a layered poroelastic half‐space under a moving traffic load. Based on the dynamic poroelastic theory of Biot, the general solutions of the homogeneous poroelastic foundation are obtained by Fourier translation. By using the transmission and reflection matrices method in the frequency domain, the equivalent stiffness of the layered poroelastic half‐space is presented. Kirchhoff's hypotheses are applied to obtain the vertical displacement of the thin plate. By using the inverse Fourier transform, the time domain solution is obtained. As an example of three layers, the influences of the load velocity, the material properties of poroelastic layers, and the flexural rigidity of the plate on the response of the pavement system are examined. Analyses show that a soft intermediate layer results in the significant increase of vertical displacement of road pavement. Comparison with the existing work validates the present model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response of benthic opportunistic polychaetes and amphipods index to different perturbations in coastal oligotrophic areas (Canary archipelago,North East Atlantic Ocean)

Oligotrophic areas harbour low macrofaunal abundance and patchy distribution. In these areas it is necessary to test the reliability of biological indicators, especially those based on taxonomic sufficiency where the level of identification is balanced against the need for ecological information and could affect the efficiency of bioindicators. The BOPA (benthic opportunistic polychaetes and amphipods) index was applied in five coastal areas subjected to different perturbations (aquaculture, harbour, brine, sewage, and thermal pollution) in the Canary archipelago, an oligotrophic area of the Atlantic Ocean. Significant differences in the BOPA index between impact and control sites were only found in the area affected by a harbour. Perturbations such as aquaculture, brine or sewage discharge produce only a weak response of the BOPA index, whereas no effects were observed at thermal pollution‐impacted locations. The BOPA index should be used with caution to establish the ecological status of coastal water bodies in the Canary Islands, since it was only reliable in strongly impacted regions (enlargement harbour works), but did not respond clearly to other man‐induced perturbations.     

Generation of Power by Microbial Fuel Cell with Ferricyanide in Biodegradation of Benzene

The power generation potential of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) during the process of benzene biodegradation with potassium ferricyanide (0–200 mM) as the terminal electron acceptor was evaluated. Experimental results demonstrate that benzene was used as the sole carbon source in generating electricity by a mixed culture. The power density increased from 0.0276 to 2.1 mW m^?2 as the concentration of potassium ferricyanide in the cathode chamber was increased from 0 to 200 mM. With a benzene concentration of 10.87 mg L^?1 and a potassium ferricyanide concentration of between 0 and 150 mM, complete degradation of benzene was achieved in 22–24.5 h. However, when the concentration of potassium ferricyanide was raised to 200 mM, the time required for complete benzene degradation was prolonged to 35 h. The results of this investigation can be used as a basis for future assessments of the power generation capacity of MFCs that are used to treat benzene‐contaminated wastewater.     

Evidence of central Alpine glacier advances during the Younger Dryas–early Holocene transition period

The transition phase from Lateglacial to Holocene climate conditions was accompanied by a pronounced reorganization of climate patterns in the Northern Hemisphere. Evidence of Alpine palaeoglaciers provides a basis for understanding climate downturns during a time of generally warming conditions. In this context a series of well‐preserved and previously undated moraines were investigated in the small Falgin cirque located in the central Alpine Langtaufers Valley (South Tyrol, Italy) and in the neighbouring Hinteres Bergle cirque of the Radurschl Valley (North Tyrol, Austria). Both localities are situated in the driest area of the eastern Alps. They lie well above prominent moraines associated with the Younger Dryas (YD) cold phase and represent the first moraines below Little Ice Age (LIA) positions. The corresponding equilibrium line altitude of the palaeoglaciers in both cirques was 100–120 m lower than during the LIA. Surface exposure dating (¹⁰Be) of the inner Falgin moraines shows a mean stabilization age of 11.2±0.9 ka, which is similar to the deglaciation age of 10.9±0.8 ka for the Hinteres Bergle cirque. The ages indicate glacier activity most likely during the earliest Holocene or the YD/Holocene transition. These findings point to a climate with mean summer temperatures about 1.5 °C lower than during the 20th century in the Alps.     

Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds in Vertical Flow Filters: Predictions from Reactive Transport Modeling

Vertical flow filters are containers filled with porous medium that are recharged from top and drained at the bottom, and are operated at partly saturated conditions. They have recently been suggested as treatment technology for groundwater containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Numerical reactive transport simulations were performed to investigate the relevance of different filter operation modes on biodegradation and/or volatilization of the contaminants and to evaluate the potential limitation of such remediation mean due to volatile emissions. On the basis of the data from a pilot‐scale vertical flow filter intermittently fed with domestic waste water, model predictions on the system’s performance for the treatment of contaminated groundwater were derived. These simulations considered the transport and aerobic degradation of ammonium and two VOCs, benzene and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). In addition, the advective‐diffusive gas‐phase transport of volatile compounds as well as oxygen was simulated. Model predictions addressed the influence of depth and frequency of the intermittent groundwater injection, degradation rate kinetics, and the composition of the filter material. Simulation results show that for unfavorable operation conditions significant VOC emissions have to be considered and that operation modes limiting VOC emissions may limit aerobic biodegradation. However, a suitable combination of injection depth and composition of the filter material does facilitate high biodegradation rates while only little VOC emissions take place. Using such optimized operation modes would allow using vertical flow filter systems as remediation technology suitable for groundwater contaminated with volatile compounds.