Diurnal and seasonal variations of meteorology and aerosol concentrations in the foothills of the nepal himalayas (Nagarkot: 1,900 m asl)

A 10-months long monitoring experiment to investigate the diurnal and seasonal variation of aerosol size distribution at Nagarkot (1,900 m asl) in the Kathmadu Valley was carried out as part of a study on katabatic and anabatic influence on pollution dispersion mechanisms. Seasonal means show total aerosol number concentration was highest during post-monsoon season (775 ± 417 cm^?3) followed by pre-monsoon (644 ± 429 cm^?3) and monsoon (293 ± 205 cm^?3) periods. Fine particle concentration (0.25 μm ≤ D_P ≤ 2.5 μm) dominated in all seasons, however, contribution by coarse particles (3.0 μm ≤ D_P ≤ 10.0 μm) is more significant in the monsoon season with contributions from particles larger than 10.0 μm being negligible. Our results show a regular diurnal pattern of aerosol concentration in the valley with a morning and an evening peak. The daily twin peaks are attributed to calm conditions followed by transitional growth and break down of the valley boundary layer below. The peaks are generally associated with enhancement of the coarse particle fraction. The evening peak is generally higher than the morning peak, and is caused by fresh evening pollution from the valley associated with increased local activities coupled with recirculation of these trapped pollutants. Relatively clean air masses from neighbouring valleys contribute to the smaller morning peak. Gap flows through the western passes of the Kathmandu Valley, which sweep away the valley pollutants towards the eastern passes modulated by the mountain - valley wind system, are mainly responsible for the dominant pollutant circulation patterns exhibited within the valley.     

Assessment of a hydrologic model's reliability in simulating flow regime alterations in a changing climate

It is a common practice to employ hydrologic models for assessing present and future states of watersheds and assess the degree of alterations for a range of hydrologic indicators. Previous studies indicate that the hydrologic model may not be able to replicate some of the indicators of interest, which raises questions on the reliability of model simulated changes. Hence, we initiated a study to evaluate the replicability of the streamflow changes by employing the widely used variable infiltration capacity hydrologic model for sub‐basins and mainstem of the Fraser River Basin, Canada. Given that the hydrologic regime of the region is known to be influenced by teleconnections to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), we used hydrologic responses to the PDO and ENSO states as analogues for evaluating the model's ability to simulate climate‐induced changes. The results revealed that the qualitative patterns of response, such as lower flows for the warm PDO state compared to the cool state, and progressively higher flows for the warm, neutral and cool ENSO states, were generally well reproduced for most hydrologic indicators. Additionally, while the directions of change between the different PDO and ENSO states were mostly well replicated, the magnitude of change for some of the indicators showed considerable differences. Hence, replicability of both magnitude and direction of change need to be carefully examined before using the simulated indicators for assessing future hydrologic changes, and a reliable replication increases the confidence of projected changes. Copyright © 2016 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Hydrological Processes. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scenario analysis for assessing the impact of hydraulic fracturing on stream low flows using the SWAT model

Scientists and water users are concerned about the potential impact on water resources, particularly during low-flow periods, of freshwater withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Therefore, the objective of this paper is to assess the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing on water resources in the Muskingum watershed of Eastern Ohio, USA, especially due to the trend of increased withdrawals for hydraulic fracking during drought years. The Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) was used to generate 30 years of plausible future daily weather series in order to capture the possible dry periods. The data generated were incorporated in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to examine the level of impact due to fracking at various scales. Analyses showed that water withdrawal due to hydraulic fracking had a noticeable impact, especially during low-flow periods. Clear changes in the 7-day minimum flows were detected among baseline, current and future scenarios when the worst-case scenario was implemented. The headwater streams in the sub-watersheds were highly affected, with significant decrease in 7-day low flows. The flow alteration in hydrologically-based (7Q10, i.e. 7-day 10-year low flow) or biologically-based (4B3 and 1B3) design flows due to hydraulic fracking increased with decrease in the drainage area, indicating that the relative impact may not be as great for higher order streams. Nevertheless, change in the annual mean flow was limited to 10%.     

Identifying threshold storm events and quantifying potential impacts of climate change on sediment yield in a small upland agricultural watershed of Ontario

Agricultural zones are significant sediment sources, but it is crucial to identify critical source areas (CSAs) of sediment yield within these zones where best management practices (BMPs) can be applied to the best effect in reducing sediment delivery to receiving water bodies rather than the economically nonviable alternative of randomly or sweepingly implementing BMPs. A storm event of a specific magnitude and hyetograph profile may, at different times, generate a greater or lesser sediment yield. The widely used agricultural nonpoint source (AGNPS) model was used to identify CSAs for sediment losses in Southwestern Ontario's agriculture‐dominated 374‐ha Holtby watershed. A storm threshold approach was adopted to identify critical periods for higher sediment losses. An AGNPS model for the Holtby watershed was set up, calibrated, and validated for run‐off volume, peak flow rate, and sediment yield for several storms. The calibrated and validated model was run for storms of increasing return periods to identify threshold storm events that would generate sediment yield greater than an acceptable value for early and late spring, summer, and fall seasons. Finally, to evaluate the potential impacts of climate change, we shifted shorter duration summer storms into spring conditions and quantified the changes in sediment yield dynamics. A 6‐hr, 7.5‐year early spring storm would generate sediment losses exceeding the acceptable limit of 0.34 t ha^?1 for the season. However, summer storms (2 hr, up to 100 years) tended to generate sediment yields below those of an identifiable threshold storm. If such shorter duration summer storms occurred in spring, the sediment yield would increase by more than fivefold. A 5‐year future storm would generate an equivalent effect of a 100‐year current spring event. The high sediment delivery to be expected will have significant implications regarding the future management of water quality of receiving waters. Appropriate placement of BMPs at CSAs will thus be needed to reduce such high sediment delivery to receiving waters.     

Stakeholder perspectives on use, trade, and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa district of central Nepal

People’s livelihood in several Himalayan regions largely depends on collection, use, and trade of medicinal plants. Traditional use is generally not a problem, but commercial gathering of selected species to meet increasing national and international demand can result in over-exploitation. Sustainable management of medicinal plants requires a clear understanding of the respective roles, responsibilities and viewpoints of the various stakeholders involved. Through personal interviews and group discussions, this study aimed at investigating the views of two stakeholder groups on use, trade and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Local people and district and national organizations agreed that medicinal plants are collected for a combination of commercial and personal uses. Perceptions on market availability differed significantly: 100 % of the respondents from district and national organizations saw markets as easily available, against only 36 % for local people. This could explain why medicinal plants were perceived by local people to contribute less to income generation than to livelihood improvement. Different viewpoints were also expressed concerning the status of medicinal plants in the district: 81 % of the respondents from district and national organizations considered that medicinal plants were threatened, compared to only 28 % for local people. Despite this disparity, both stakeholder groups agreed upon potential threats to medicinal plants: over-harvesting; habitat loss due to land-use change and deforestation; and over-grazing by livestock. Several challenges were identified regarding sustainable management of medicinal plants, such as ambiguous policies; lack of resources, information and infrastructures; habitat degradation; and over-exploitation. Despite these challenges, respondents agreed that the medicinal plants sector offers huge opportunities in the Rasuwa district, given resource availability, community awareness and motivation, and the priority given to the sector by governments and other agencies. Proper collaboration, communication and coordination among stakeholders are needed to grab these opportunities.     

Seismic wave propagation analysis in vertical arrays at Kashiwazaki–Kariwa nuclear power plant site by using modified normalized input–output minimization (mod‐NIOM) method

A new approach on numerical modeling of wave propagation is introduced and is used to analyze the effect of earthquake magnitudes (ground motion amplitudes) on wave propagation. In this method, the sum of the maximum amplitudes of the first output model at time 0 s and rest of the output models at different times are normalized to unity. Considering this as a constraint, the sum of the weighted‐squared Fourier amplitudes is minimized by using the Lagrange multiplier method. The proposed method can reveal the relationship of actual time histories by showing simple clear peaks. This method is used to analyze the time histories of various earthquake events at different vertical array sites of the Kashiwazaki–Kariwa nuclear power plant of Tokyo electric power company (TEPCO). The wave arrival times obtained from this method and down‐hole measurements are compared. The results show increase in the arrival times at surface layer when the magnitude of earthquake is large. The results reveal that the amplitudes of small magnitude earthquakes at depths are small and are largely amplified at surface, whereas in case of large magnitude earthquakes, the amplitudes are large at depths and are deamplified at surface reflecting the effects of the strain‐dependent soil properties that result in non‐linear site response to strong shaking. The results also show that the reflected peak amplitudes are higher for small magnitude earthquakes than for large magnitude earthquakes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

电子束CT三维重建技术与颅颌面外科

目的 探讨电子束CT三维重建技术在颅颌面外科的适应症和应用价值。方法 采用美国Imatron公司的电子束CT(electron beam CT,以下简称EBCT)C-150,对76例严重颅颌面病人实行薄层CT容积扫描。将所获CT图象经数字接口传至加拿大ISG公司生产的Allegro工作站进行三维重建。结果EBCT成像技术能立体的、详尽和精确的显示机体组织三维解剖结构极其相互关系。其再现畸形或病体模型的程度可以达到近乎解剖学的精度,为准确了解和掌握病情并制定合理的手术治疗计划提供了极为重要的依据,提高了手术治疗效果。结论EBCT三维重建技术是现代颅颌面外科最主要的诊断方法之一并具有重要的临床应用价值。