Reproducibility of river water quality measurements: inter-agency comparisons for quality assurance

We assessed the reproducibility of river state-of-environment (SoE) water quality measurements in the Wellington Region, New Zealand (NZ). Field staff from GWRC and NIWA conducted 29 side-by-side water sampling and in-situ measurements at six river sites of diverse water quality for 12 variables measured routinely in river SoE monitoring across NZ. Field measurements of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and visual clarity agreed closely with strong numerical similarity (within 10%). Numerical similarity ranged widely for laboratory measurements, from strong for nitrate-nitrite-nitrogen to weak for turbidity, dissolved reactive phosphorus, and ammoniacal-nitrogen. Numerical agreement was very weak for laboratory pH (which is problematic) and E. coli–which is ‘tolerable’ for many applications given good correlation (R?=?0.94) over a 2000-fold concentration range. The findings of our inter-agency comparison have contributed to quality assurance recommendations in the NZ National Environmental Monitoring Standard (NEMS) for water quality.     

结合有人和无人驾驶船观测以及长期定点观测计算寒潮过境引起的海水输运

高分辨率的数据对于理解近海的复杂过程以及制定有效的管理措施日益重要,特别是考虑到恶劣气象的长期效应。这种长期效应的积累可以与潮汐的长期效应一样重要。本文讨论的即是一个大气锋面过境的过程对于Vermilion Bay水输运的影响。我们的研究采用了有人船和自制的无人船作为载具来测量流速剖面。这种自制无人船造价低廉、简单实用、可控性好,可以做比有人船更精确的测量。我们采用安装在这些观测载具上的多普勒流速剖面仪在一个潮周期内反复对流速的横向和垂向断面的水通量做高分辨率的精准测量,然后与一个定点的多普勒流速剖面仪的流速做相关分析得出相关系数。利用所求相关系数把水通量的计算扩展到总共717天的定点观测时间段,以此讨论在这个期间最强的一次大气寒潮过境时产生的水输运并阐述此类过程的重要性。     

Circulation and Mixing of Water Masses of Tatar Strait and the Northwestern Boundary Region of the Japan Sea

The deep waters of the northern portions of the Japan Sea are examined. It is found that the flow regime south of the southern Tatar Strait region is generally cyclonic in the upper ocean, with only weak flows present below depths of a few hundred meters. The Japan Sea appears to be remarkably well-mixed below depths of a few hundred meters, both horizontally and vertically. Based on chlorofluorocarbon measurements, it is concluded that the deep waters of the Japan Sea have been only weakly ventilated in recent decades. Results from a simple box model suggest two possible scenarios for the ventilation of the Japan Sea since the 1930s. In the first scenario, deep ventilation of the Japan Sea was relatively weak, but constant, from the 1930s to the present, with a deep-water residence time of approximately 500 years. In the second scenario, ventilation was relatively vigorous through the mid-1960s, with a deep-water residence time of approximately 100 years; after the mid-1960s, the ventilation of the deep waters stopped. The model results are consistent with the idea that presently the ventilation of the deep water of the Japan Sea is weak or nonexistent. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Expectations for Cassini observations of ring material with nearby moons

This paper describes N-body simulations of two regions of the saturnian ring system and examines what we might expect the Cassini orbiter to see in those areas. The first region is the edge of the Encke gap in the A ring that is perturbed by the satellite, Pan. Our previous simulations of this region neglected particle self-gravity [Lewis and Stewart, 2000a, Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 34, 883]. Here we examine the interactions of the wakes caused by Pan with the wakes that form from local gravitational instabilities. We find that the two phenomena do not normally coexist and predict that measurements of particle sizes between the moon wakes should reflect the true particle size distribution of the region and not what is caused by gravitational aggregation. The region between the Encke gap edge and the first wake peak is an exception to this rule because our simulations exhibit the formation of exceptionally large gravity-induced wakes in this region. We also describe simulations of the F ring and explain the nature of braid-like structures that form naturally when the ring is perturbed by a single moon on an eccentric orbit. Finally, we discuss the very dynamic nature of the F ring system and how this should be taken into account when interpreting observations and even when planning future observations of this system.     

Velocities of shallow overland flow on semiarid hillslopes

A series of 188 rainfall plot simulations was conducted on grass, shrub, oak savanna, and juniper sites in Arizona and Nevada. A total of 897 flow velocity measurements were obtained on 3.6% to 39.6% slopes with values ranging from 0.007 m s^‐1 to 0.115 m s^‐1. The experimental data showed that shallow flow velocity on rangelands was related to discharge and ground litter cover and was largely independent of slope gradient or soil characteristics. A power model was proposed to express this relationship. These findings support the slope–velocity equilibrium hypothesis. Namely, eroding soil surfaces evolve such that steeper areas develop greater hydraulic roughness. As a result overland flow velocity becomes independent of the slope gradient over time. Our findings have implications for soil erosion modeling suggesting that hydraulic friction is a dynamic, slope and discharge dependent property. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulating a century of soil erosion for agricultural catchment management

Agricultural land management requires strategies to reduce impacts on soil and water resources while maintaining food production. Models that capture the effects of agricultural and conservation practices on soil erosion and sediment delivery can help to address this challenge. Historic records of climatic variability and agricultural change over the last century also offer valuable information for establishing extended baselines against which to evaluate management scenarios. Here, we present an approach that combines centennial‐scale reconstructions of climate and agricultural land cover with modelling across four lake catchments in the UK where radiometric dating provides a record of lake sedimentation. We compare simulations using MMF‐TWI, a catchment‐scale model developed for humid agricultural landscapes that incorporates representation of seasonal variability in vegetation cover, soil water balance, runoff and sediment contributing areas. MMF‐TWI produced mean annual sediment exports within 9–20% of sediment core‐based records without calibration and using guide parameter values to represent vegetation cover. Simulations of land management scenarios compare upland afforestation and lowland field‐scale conservation measures to reconstructed historic baselines. Oak woodland versus conifer afforestation showed similar reductions in mean annual surface runoff (8–16%) compared to current moorland vegetation but a larger reduction in sediment exports (26–46 versus 4–30%). Riparian woodland buffers reduced upland sediment yields by 15–41%, depending on understorey cover levels, but had only minor effect on surface runoff. Planting of winter cover crops in the lowland arable catchment halved historic sediment exports. Permanent grass margins applied to sets of arable fields across 15% or more of the catchment led to further significant reduction in exports. Our findings show the potential for reducing sediment delivery at the catchment scale with land management interventions. We also demonstrate how MMF‐TWI can support hydrologically‐informed decision making to better target conservation measures in humid agricultural environments. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hummock corridors in the south‐central sector of the Fennoscandian ice sheet,morphometry and pattern

Subglacial conditions strongly influence the flow of ice‐sheets, in part due to the availability of melt water. Contemporary ice sheets are retreating and are affected by increased melting as climate warms. The south Swedish uplands (SSU) were deglaciated during the relatively warm Bølling‐Allerød interval, and by studying the glacial landforms there it is possible to increase the understanding of the subglacial environment during this period of warming. Across the study area, vast tracts of hummocks have long been recognized. However, recent mapping shows a pattern of elongated zones of hummocks radially oriented, hereafter referred to as ‘hummock corridors’. Morphometric parameters were measured on the hummock corridors using a 2 m horizontal resolution digital elevation model. Corridor width varies between 0.2 and 4.9 km and their length between 1.5 and 11.8 km. A majority of hummock corridors are incised in drumlinised till surfaces. The pattern of hummock corridors shows a clear relation to the overall ice‐flow. Further, hummock corridors do not follow topographic gradients, and in at least one place an esker overlies hummocks on the corridor floor. The lateral spacing of hummock corridors and corridor morphology are similar to tunnel valleys, eskers and glaciofluvial corridors reported elsewhere. Such relationships support a subglacial genesis of the corridors in the SSU by water driven by the subglacial hydraulic gradient and that hummock corridors are forms that can be identified as tunnel valleys and glaciofluvial corridors (GFC). Ages were assigned to hummock‐corridor cross‐sections from a deglacial reconstruction of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. By comparing the frequency of corridors per age interval with climate variations from a Greenland ice core, we hypothesize that an increase in the number of corridors is related to the Bølling‐Allerød warming, indicating a higher rate of delivery of surface melt water to the bed at this time. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does hillslope trenching enhance groundwater recharge and baseflow in the Peruvian Andes?

As Andean glaciers rapidly retreat due to climate change, the balance of groundwater and glacial meltwater contributions to stream discharge in tropical, proglacial watersheds will change, potentially increasing vulnerability of water resources. The Shullcas River Watershed, near Huancayo, Peru, is fed only partly by the rapidly receding Huaytapallana glaciers (<20% of dry season flow). To potentially increase recharge and therefore increase groundwater derived baseflow, the government and not‐for‐profit organizations have installed trenches along large swaths of hillslope in the Shullcas Watershed. Our study focuses on a nonglacierized subcatchment of the Shullcas River Watershed and has 2 objectives: (a) create a model of the Shullcas groundwater system and assess the controls on stream discharge and (b) investigate the impact of the infiltration trenches on recharge and baseflow. We first collected hydrologic data from the field including a year‐long hydrograph (2015–2016), meteorological data (2011–2016), and infiltration measurements. We use a recharge model to evaluate the impact of trenched hillslopes on infiltration and runoff processes. Finally, we use a 3‐dimensional groundwater model, calibrated to the measured dry season baseflow, to determine the impact of trenching on the catchment. Simulations show that trenched hillslopes receive approximately 3.5% more recharge, relative to precipitation, compared with unaltered hillslopes. The groundwater model indicates that because the groundwater flow system is fast and shallow, incorporating trenched hillslopes (~2% of study subcatchment area) only slightly increases baseflow in the dry season. Furthermore, the location of trenching is an important consideration: Trenching higher in the catchment (further from the river) and in flatter terrain provides more baseflow during the dry season. The results of this study may have important implications for Andean landscape management and water resources.