Length Scales of Scalar Diffusion in the Convective Boundary Layer: Laboratory Observations

A laboratory study of scalar diffusion in the convective boundary layer has found results that are consistent with a 1999 large-eddy simulation (LES) study by Jonker, Duynkerke and Cuijpers. For bottom-up and top-down scalars (introduced as ‘infinite’ area sources of passive tracer at the surface and inversion, respectively) the dominant length scale was found to be much larger than the length scale for density fluctuations, the latter being equal to the boundary-layer depth h. The variance of the normalized passive scalar grew continuously with time and its magnitude was about 3–5 times larger for the top-down case than for the bottom-up case. The vertical profiles of the normalized passive scalar variance were found to be approximately constant through the convective boundary layer (CBL) with a value of about 3–8c_*² for bottom-up and 10–50c_*² for top-down diffusion. Finally, there was some evidence of a minimum in the variance and dominant length scale for scalar flux ratios (top-down to bottom-up flux) close to −0.5. All these convection tank results confirm the LES results and support the hypothesis that there is a distinct difference in behaviour between the dynamic and passive variables in the CBL.     

Verification of linear theory for particle velocities in wind waves based on field measurements

Analyses are presented of field measurements of spectral transfer functions between surface elevation and subsurface three-dimensional particle velocity in wind-generated waves, in conditions ranging from young seas to old swells. The results are in agreement with the linear theory predictions to within the measurement error margin, which is estimated to be ± 5% for the gain functions and ± 4° in phase as far as the possible systemic errors are concerned. No correlation is found of the degree of agreement between measurements and linear theory with wave age or wave sleepness.     

Seasonal-scale nearshore morphological evolution: Field observations and numerical modeling

A coupled waves–currents-bathymetric evolution model (DELFT-3D) is compared with field measurements to test hypotheses regarding the processes responsible for alongshore varying nearshore morphological changes at seasonal time scales. A 2001 field experiment, along the beaches adjacent to Grays Harbor, Washington, USA, captured the transition between the high-energy erosive conditions of winter and the low-energy beach-building conditions typical of summer. The experiment documented shoreline progradation on the order of 10–20 m and on average approximately 70 m of onshore sandbar migration during a four-month period. Significant alongshore variability was observed in the morphological response of the sandbar over a 4 km reach of coast with sandbar movement ranging from 20 m of offshore migration to over 175 m of onshore bar migration, the largest seasonal-scale onshore migration event observed in a natural setting. Both observations and model results suggest that, in the case investigated here, alongshore variations in initial bathymetry are primarily responsible for the observed alongshore variable morphological changes. Alongshore varying incident hydrodynamic forcing, occasionally significant in this region due to a tidal inlet and associated ebb-tidal delta, was relatively minor during the study period and appears to play an insignificant role in the observed alongshore variability in sandbar behavior at kilometer-scale. The role of fully three-dimensional cell circulation patterns in explaining the observed morphological variability also appears to be minor, at least in the case investigated here.     

Problems in predicting the mobility of slow-moving landslides

This paper discusses problems in predicting the mobility of slow-moving landslides. Three case studies are presented here where research has been carried out by the Utrecht University: The La Valette landslide complex in the French Alps, the La Mure landslide in the French pre-Alps near Grenoble and the Hau landslide in Switzerland.To predict field velocities of these slow-moving landslides the viscosity parameters of the material of these landslides were determined by strain-controlled tests in a ring shear apparatus based on Bishop's design at Utrecht University. The viscosity parameters from the laboratory proved to be 10 to 1000 times lower than viscosities obtained from back analyses on the observed velocities in the field. This discrepancy may be explained by the development of negative pore pressures when the plastic material slides over a rigid, wavy slip surface and/or by convergent flow effects. The associated gain in strength results in a higher apparent viscosity.A more detailed analysis is made for the movements of the La Valette landslide. Observed velocities at the La Valette landslide are difficult to describe by one parameter set as the response to a change in groundwater level is not the same during a rise or fall in the piezometric level. This deviation may be explained by rapid changes in total stresses and consequently changes in pore pressure under (partly) undrained conditions. The emerging hysteresis with local and temporal variations in pore pressure makes it difficult to predict in detail the moving pattern of landslides.     

Rainfall measurement using cell phone links: classification of wet and dry periods using geostationary satellites

Commercial cellular telecommunication networks can be used for rainfall estimation by measuring the attenuation of electromagnetic signals transmitted between antennas from microwave links. However, as the received link signal may also decrease during dry periods, a method to separate wet and dry periods is required. Methods utilizing ground-based radar rainfall intensities or nearby link data cannot always be used. Geostationary satellites can provide a good alternative. A combination of two Meteosat Second Generation satellite precipitation products, Precipitating Clouds and Cloud Physical Properties, is employed to decide whether a 15-min time interval for a given link is rainy or not. A 12-d dataset of link-based rainfall maps for the Netherlands is validated against gauge-adjusted radar rainfall maps. Results clearly improve upon the case when no wet–dry classification is applied and thus the method shows potential for application to large areas of the world where the other methods cannot be applied.     

Model calibration using hydropedological insights to improve the simulation of internal hydrological processes using SWAT+

Soils affect the distribution of hydrological processes by partitioning precipitation into different components of the water balance. Therefore, understanding soil-water dynamics at a catchment scale remains imperative to future water resource management. In this study, the value of hydropedological insights was examined to calibrate a processes-based model. Soil morphology was used as soft data to assist in the calibration of the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) model at five different catchment scales (48, 56, 174, 674, and 2421 km²) in the Sabie River catchment, South Africa. The aim of this study was to calibrate the SWAT+ model to accurately simulate long-term monthly streamflow predictions as well as to reflect internal soil hydrological processes using a procedure focusing on hydropedology as a calibration tool in a multigauge system. Results indicated that calibration improved streamflow predictions where R² improved by 2%–8%. Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) improved from negative correlations to values exceeding 0.5 at four of the five catchment scales compared to the uncalibrated model. Results confirm that soil mapping units can be calibrated individually within SWAT+ to improve the representation of hydrological processes. Particularly, the spatial linkage between hydropedology and hydrological processes, which is captured within the soil map of the catchment, can be adequately reflected within the model simulations after calibration. This research will lead to an improved understanding of hydropedology as soft data to improve hydrological modelling accuracy.     

Flood risk perceptions and spatial multi-criteria analysis: an exploratory research for hazard mitigation

The conventional method of risk analysis (with risk as a product of probability and consequences) does not allow for a pluralistic approach that includes the various risk perceptions of stakeholders or lay people within a given social system. This article introduces a methodology that combines the virtues of three different methods: the quantifiable conventional approach to risk; the taxonomic analysis of perceived risk; and the analytical framework of a spatial multi-criteria analysis. This combination of methods is applied to the case study ‘Ebro Delta’ in Spain as part of the European sixth framework project ‘Floodsite’. First, a typology for flood hazards is developed based on individual and/or stakeholders’ judgements. Awareness, worry and preparedness are the three characteristics that typify a community to reflect various levels of ignorance, perceived security, perceived control or desired risk reduction. Applying ‘worry’ as the central characteristic, a trade-off is hypothesized between Worry and the benefits groups in society receive from a risky situation. Second, this trade-off is applied in Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis (SMCA). MCA is the vehicle that often accompanies participatory processes, where governmental bodies have to decide on issues in which local stakeholders have a say. By using risk perception-scores as weights in a standard MCA procedure a new decision framework for risk assessment is developed. Finally, the case of sea-level rise in the Ebro Delta in Spain serves as an illustration of the applied methodology. Risk perception information has been collected with help of an on-site survey. Risk perception enters the multi-criteria analysis as complementary weights for the criteria risk and benefit. The results of the survey are applied to a set of scenarios representing both sea-level rise and land subsidence for a time span of 50 years. Land use alternatives have been presented to stakeholders in order to provide the regional decision maker with societal preferences for handling risk. Even with limited resources a characteristic ‘risk profile’ could be drawn that enables the decision maker to develop a suitable land use policy.     

First evidence for the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2, ‘Bonarelli’ event) from the Ionian Zone,western continental Greece

Integrated biostratigraphic (planktonic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils), chemostratigraphic (bulk C and O isotopes) and compound-specific organic geochemical studies of a mid-Cretaceous pelagic carbonate—black shale succession of the Ionian Zone (western Greece), provide the first evidence for the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2, ‘Bonarelli’ event) in mainland Greece. The event is manifested by the occurrence of a relatively thin (35 cm), yet exceptionally organic carbon-rich (44.5 wt% TOC), carbonate-free black shale, near the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary within the Vigla limestone formation (Berriasian–Turonian). Compared to the ‘Bonarelli’ black-shale interval from the type locality of OAE2 in Marche–Umbria, Italy, this black shale exhibits greatly reduced stratigraphic thickness, coupled with a considerable relative enrichment in TOC. Isotopically, enriched δ¹³C values for both bulk organic matter (−22.2‰) and specific organic compounds are up to 5‰ higher than those of underlying organic-rich strata of the Aptian-lower Albian Vigla Shale member, and thus compare very well with similar values of Cenomanian–Turonian black shale occurrences elsewhere. The relative predominance of bacterial hopanoids in the saturated, apolar lipid fraction of the OAE2 black shale of the Ionian Zone supports recent findings suggesting the abundance of N₂-fixing cyanobacteria in Cretaceous oceans during the Cenomanian–Turonian and early Aptian oceanic anoxic events.     

STAGES: the Space Telescope A901/2 Galaxy Evolution Survey

We present an overview of the Space Telescope A901/2 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES). STAGES is a multiwavelength project designed to probe physical drivers of galaxy evolution across a wide range of environments and luminosity. A complex multicluster system at   z ∼ 0.165  has been the subject of an 80-orbit F606W Hubble Space Telescope (HST) /Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) mosaic covering the full     span of the supercluster. Extensive multiwavelength observations with XMM–Newton , GALEX, Spitzer , 2dF, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and the 17-band COMBO-17 photometric redshift survey complement the HST imaging. Our survey goals include simultaneously linking galaxy morphology with other observables such as age, star formation rate, nuclear activity and stellar mass. In addition, with the multiwavelength data set and new high-resolution mass maps from gravitational lensing, we are able to disentangle the large-scale structure of the system. By examining all aspects of an environment we will be able to evaluate the relative importance of the dark matter haloes, the local galaxy density and the hot X-ray gas in driving galaxy transformation. This paper describes the HST imaging, data reduction and creation of a master catalogue. We perform the Sérsic fitting on the HST images and conduct associated simulations to quantify completeness. In addition, we present the COMBO-17 photometric redshift catalogue and estimates of stellar masses and star formation rates for this field. We define galaxy and cluster sample selection criteria, which will be the basis for forthcoming science analyses, and present a compilation of notable objects in the field. Finally, we describe the further multiwavelength observations and announce public access to the data and catalogues.