A note on estimating urban roof runoff with a forest evaporation model

A model developed for estimating the evaporation of rainfall intercepted by forest canopies is applied to estimate measurements of the average runoff from the roofs of six houses made in a previous study of hydrological processes in an urban environment. The model is applied using values of the mean rates of wet canopy evaporation and rainfall derived previously for forests and an estimate of the roof storage capacity derived from the data collected in the previous study. Although the model prediction is sensitive to the value of storage capacity, close correlation between the modelled and measured runoff indicates that the model captures the essential processes. It is concluded that the process of evaporation from an urban roof is sufficiently similar to that from a forest canopy for forest evaporation models to be used to give a useful estimate of urban roof runoff. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy distribution of a stringy charged black hole

The energy distribution associated with a stringy charged black hole is studied using Møller’s energy-momentum complex. Our result is reasonable and it differs from that known in literature using Einstein’s energy-momentum complex.     

Geochemical characteristics and hydrocarbon generation modeling of the Jurassic source rocks in the Shoushan Basin, north Western Desert, Egypt

The Shoushan Basin is an important hydrocarbon province in the Western Desert, Egypt, but the origin of the hydrocarbons is not fully understood. In this study, organic matter content, type and maturity of the Jurassic source rocks exposed in the Shoushan Basin have been evaluated and integrated with the results of basin modeling to improve our understanding of burial history and timing of hydrocarbon generation. The Jurassic source rock succession comprises the Ras Qattara and Khatatba Formations, which are composed mainly of shales and sandstones with coal seams. The TOC contents are high and reached a maximum up to 50%. The TOC values of the Ras Qattara Formation range from 2 to 54 wt.%, while Khatatba Formation has TOC values in the range 1-47 wt.%. The Ras Qattara and Khatatba Formations have HI values ranging from 90 to 261 mgHC/gTOC, suggesting Types II-III and III kerogen. Vitrinite reflectance values range between 0.79 and 1.12 VRr %. Rock−Eval T_max values in the range 438-458 °C indicate a thermal maturity level sufficient for hydrocarbon generation. Thermal and burial history models indicate that the Jurassic source rocks entered the mature to late mature stage for hydrocarbon generation in the Late Cretaceous to Tertiary. Hydrocarbon generation began in the Late Cretaceous and maximum rates of oil with significant gas have been generated during the early Tertiary (Paleogene). The peak gas generation occurred during the late Tertiary (Neogene).     

Experimental study of water fluxes in a residential area: 1. Rainfall,roof runoff and evaporation: the effect of slope and aspect

An experimental study of water fluxes from roofs in a residential area has quantified water fluxes from different types of roof and identified the major controls on the process. Roofs with pitches of 0°, 22° and 50° and orientations of 15° (from true north) (NNE) and 103° (ESE) were selected. A novel automatic system for monitoring has been developed. Noticeable differences in rainfall, runoff and evaporation were found for different roof slopes, aspects and heights. Depending on height, flat roofs collected 90 to 99% of rainfall recorded at ground level. Roofs with a 22° slope; facing south‐south‐west (i.e. facing the prevailing wind) captured most rain, whereas east‐south‐east facing roofs with slopes of 50° received the least. Depending on the roof slope, the average rainfall captured ranged from 62 to 93% of that at ground level. For the same slope, the results indicated that from roofs orientated normal to the prevailing wind; (i) captured rainfall was higher, (ii) evaporation was higher and (iii) runoff was less than that from roofs having other aspects. Monthly variations in the runoff–rainfall ratio followed the rainfall distribution, being lowest in summer and highest in winter. The highest mean ratio (0·91) was associated with the steeper roof slope; the lowest ratio (0·61) was for roofs facing the prevailing wind direction. For the same amount of rainfall, the runoff generated from a steeper roof was significantly higher than that generated by a moderate roof slope, but the lowest runoff was from roofs facing the prevailing wind. The results have also shown that the amount of runoff collected (under UK climatic condition) was sufficient to supply an average household in the studied area with the major part of its annual water requirements. The use of this water not only represents a financial gain for house owners but also will help protect the environment by reducing demand on water resources through the reduction of groundwater abstraction, construction of new reservoirs, and a reduction of the flood risk as its in situ use is considered a preventive measure known as a source control. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismo-stratigraphic and structural interpretation of seismic data of Titas gas field,Bengal basin,Bangladesh

In the present study, seismic interpretation has been carried out over Titas structure of Bengal basin, Bangladesh to figure out its seismo-stratigraphic and structural behavior. Seven well marked reflecting horizons (R-01 to R-07) have been identified within the Neogene sedimentary sequences using 18 seismic sections and well log data. A new seismic stratigraphy of Neogene sequences has been proposed for the Titas structure ruling out the traditional lithostratigraphy. The studied structure has been divided into 3 megasequences (MS1, MS2 and MS3). Reflector R-01 and R-03 represent the tops of the megasequence 2 (MS2) and megasequence 1 (MS1) respectively. These well marked reflectors are correlated with the top of the traditional litho-groups called Tipam and Surma. Reflectors R-02 and R-04 represent acoustic impedance boundaries within MS2 and MS1 due to lithological gradation. However, R-02 and R-04 are not considered as sequence/ formation boundaries because geologically these are not well defined. Reflectors R-05, R-06 and R-07 represent top of the gasbearing zones A, B and C that belongs to MS1. All these interfaces or reflectors are anti-form with a central long crestal zone. It forms a north-south trending semi-domal sub-surface anticlinal structure having a semi-dome shaped closure. The structure is asymmetric with steeper eastern flank and gentler western flank. The crestal region is essentially plain with discontinuous reflection. The semidomal nature of the anticline is in contrast to the neighboring narrow anticlines. Structural pattern suggests its development in relation to the NE-SW trending stress field due to convergence of Indian plate with Burmese plate. Structures of the shallower and deeper reflectors are formed at different phases of structural development.     

Energy distribution of a stationary beam of light

Aguirregabiria et al. showed that Einstein, Landau and Lifshitz, Papapetrou, and Weinberg energy-momentum complexes coincide for all Kerr-Schild metric. Bringely used their general expression of the Kerr-Schild class and found energy and momentum densities for the Bonnor metric. In this paper the latter results are obtained without using Aguirregabiria et al results. This also supports Aguirregabiria et al results as well as Cooperstock hypothesis. We obtain further the energy distribution of the space-time under consideration.     

A comprehensive assessment framework for attributing trends in streamflow and groundwater storage to climatic and anthropogenic changes: A case study in the typical semi-arid catchments of southern India

The clearest signs of hydrologic change can be observed from the trends in streamflow and groundwater levels in a catchment. During 1980–2007, significant declines in streamflow (−3.03 mm/year) and groundwater levels (−0.22 m/year) were observed in Himayat Sagar (HS) catchment, India. We examined the degree to which hydrologic changes observed in the HS catchment can be attributed to various internal and external drivers of change (climatic and anthropogenic changes). This study used an investigative approach to attribute hydrologic changes. First, it involves to develop a model and test its ability to predict hydrologic trends in a catchment that has undergone significant changes. Second, it examines the relative importance of different causes of change on the hydrologic response. The analysis was carried out using Modified Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a semi-distributed rainfall-runoff model coupled with a lumped groundwater model for each sub- catchment. The model results indicated that the decline in potential evapotranspiration (PET) appears to be partially offset by a significant response to changes in rainfall. Measures that enhance recharge, such as watershed hydrological structures, have had limited success in terms of reducing impacts on the catchment-scale water balance. Groundwater storage has declined at a rate of 5 mm/y due to impact of land use changes and this was replaced by a net addition of 2 mm/y by hydrological structures. The impact of land use change on streamflow is an order of magnitude larger than the impact of hydrological structures and about is 2.5 times higher in terms of groundwater impact. Model results indicate that both exogenous and endogenous changes can have large impacts on catchment hydrology and should be considered together. The proposed comprehensive framework and approach demonstrated here is valuable in attributing trends in streamflow and groundwater levels to catchment climatic and anthropogenic changes.     

IHMS—Integrated Hydrological Modelling System. Part 1. Hydrological processes and general structure

A newly Integrated Hydrological Modelling System (IHMS) has been developed to study the impact of changes in climate, land use and water management on groundwater and seawater intrusion (SWI) into coastal areas. The system represents the combination of three models, which can, if required, be run separately. It has been designed to assess the combined impact of climate, land use and groundwater abstraction changes on river, drainage and groundwater flows, groundwater levels and, where appropriate, SWI. The approach is interdisciplinary and reflects an integrated water management approach. The system comprises three packages: the Distributed Catchment Scale Model (DiCaSM), MODFLOW (96 and 2000) and SWI models. In addition to estimating all water balance components, DiCaSM, produces the recharge data that are used as input to the groundwater flow model of the US Geological Survey, MODFLOW. The latter subsequently generates the head distribution and groundwater flows that are used as input to the SWI model, SWI. Thus, any changes in land use, rainfall, water management, abstraction, etc. at the surface are first handled by DiCaSM, then by MODFLOW and finally by the SWI. The three models operate at different spatial and temporal scales and a facility (interface utilities between models) to aggregate/disaggregate input/output data to meet a desired spatial and temporal scale was developed allowing smooth and easy communication between the three models. As MODFLOW and SWI are published and in the public domain, this article focuses on DiCaSM, the newly developed unsaturated zone DiCaSM and equally important the interfacing utilities between the three models. DiCaSM simulates a number of hydrological processes: rainfall interception, evapotranspiration, surface runoff, infiltration, soil water movement in the root zone, plant water uptake, crop growth, stream flow and groundwater recharge. Input requirements include distributed data sets of rainfall, land use, soil types and digital terrain; climate data input can be either distributed or non‐distributed. The model produces distributed and time series output of all water balance components including potential evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration, rainfall interception, infiltration, plant water uptake, transpiration, soil water content, soil moisture (SM) deficit, groundwater recharge rate, stream flow and surface runoff. This article focuses on details of the hydrological processes and the various equations used in DiCaSM, as well as the nature of the interface to the MODFLOW and SWI models. Furthermore, the results of preliminary tests of DiCaSM are reported; these include tests related to the ability of the model to predict the SM content of surface and subsurface soil layers, as well as groundwater levels. The latter demonstrates how the groundwater recharge calculated from DiCaSM can be used as input into the groundwater model MODFLOW using aggregation and disaggregation algorithms (built into the interface utility). SWI has also been run successfully with hypothetical examples and was able to reproduce the results of some of the original examples of Bakker and Schaars ( 2005 ). In the subsequent articles, the results of applications to different catchments will be reported. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On stationary axially symmetric solutions of a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation

In this paper we obtain the general axially symmetric space-times in scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Sáez and Ballester. The only possible solutions of these space-times in this theory are dust solutions. One of the obtained solutions here has a similar considerations to Van Stockum dust solution. A detailed study of geometric and kinematical properties of the obtained solutions are carried out. Furthermore, closed timelike curves are present in these solutions.