Interferometric measurement of ionization in a grassfire

Grassfire plumes are weakly ionized gas. The ionization in the fire plume is due to thermal and chemi-ionization of incumbent species, which may include graphitic carbon, alkalis and thermally excited radicals, e.g., methyl. The presence of alkalis (e.g., potassium and sodium) in the fires makes thermal ionization a predominant electron producing mechanism in the combustion zone. Alkalis have low dissociation and ionization potentials and therefore require little energy to thermally decompose and give electrons. Assuming a Maxwellian velocity distribution of flame particles and electron-neutral collision frequency much higher than plasma frequency, the propagation of radio waves through a grassfire is predicted to have attenuation and phase shift. Radio wave propagation measurements were performed in a moderate intensity (554 kW m^?1) controlled grassfire at 30- and 151-MHz frequencies on a 44 m path using a radio wave interferometer. The maximum temperature measured in the controlled burn was 1071 K and the observed fire depth was 0.9 m. The radio wave interferometer measured attenuation coefficients of 0.033 and 0.054 dB m^?1 for 30- and 151-MHz, respectively. At collision frequency of 1.0 × 10¹¹ s^?1, maximum electron density was determined to be 5.061 × 10¹⁵ m^?3.     

Very high resolution rainfall patterns measured by TRMM precipitation radar: seasonal and diurnal cycles

The TRMM Precipitation Radar is used to construct a high resolution (0.05°?×?0.05°) climatology of rainfall over the latitude band extending to about 36° North and South. This study describes climatological patterns of rainfall frequency and intensity at high spatial resolution, with special focus on the seasonal and diurnal cycles in the frequency of rainfall events. We use this Tropics-wide dataset to highlight small-scale precipitation features that are too fine to be captured by the most widely used satellite-based rainfall datasets. The results shed light on the roles of changes in the wind direction, the land-sea thermal contrast, small-scale variations in sea surface temperature, and orography in shaping the seasonal and diurnal cycles of rainfall. In some regions of the tropics, diurnally locked local circulations are largely responsible for sharp gradients in the spatial distribution of seasonal mean precipitation. In other regions, we show that climatological rainfall frequency changes very sharply at coastlines, even though rainfall in these regions is expected to be controlled by relatively large scale weather systems.     

Brønsted reactions on oxide mineral surfaces and the temperature-dependence of their dissolution rates

The pH-dependence of oxide dissolution rates is controlled by Brønsted acid-base reactions at the mineral surface. These reactions are rapid but depend explicitly on temperature, as do the subsequent slow rates of bond hydrolysis. The net result is that dissolution rates vary in a complicated fashion with temperature and solution pH. The enthalpy changes of acid-base reactions on oxide materials are sufficiently similar, however, that general statements can be made about their contribution. The enthalpy changes from proton adsorption to a hydroxyl functional group (SOH), or to a deprotonated functional group (SO ^–), are generally exothermic. The enthalpy changes become increasingly endothermic, however, as charge accumulates on the mineral surface and the charged species interact electrostatically. The result is that mineral dissolution rates are least sensitive to temperature, as measured with an Arrhenius-like rate law, at pH conditions near the Point of Zero Net Proton Charge.     

Assessing the potential of reservoir outflow management to reduce sedimentation using continuous turbidity monitoring and reservoir modelling

In‐stream sensors are increasingly deployed as part of ambient water quality‐monitoring networks. Temporally dense data from these networks can be used to better understand the transport of constituents through streams, lakes or reservoirs. Data from existing, continuously recording in‐stream flow and water quality monitoring stations were coupled with the two‐dimensional hydrodynamic CE‐QUAL‐W2 model to assess the potential of altered reservoir outflow management to reduce sediment trapping in John Redmond Reservoir, located in east‐central Kansas. Monitoring stations upstream and downstream from the reservoir were used to estimate 5.6 million metric tons of sediment transported to John Redmond Reservoir from 2007 through 2010, 88% of which was trapped within the reservoir. The two‐dimensional model was used to estimate the residence time of 55 equal‐volume releases from the reservoir; sediment trapping for these releases varied from 48% to 97%. Smaller trapping efficiencies were observed when the reservoir was maintained near the normal operating capacity (relative to higher flood pool levels) and when average residence times were relatively short. An idealized, alternative outflow management scenario was constructed, which minimized reservoir elevations and the length of time water was in the reservoir, while continuing to meet downstream flood control end points identified in the reservoir water control manual. The alternative scenario is projected to reduce sediment trapping in the reservoir by approximately 3%, preventing approximately 45 000 metric tons of sediment from being deposited within the reservoir annually. This article presents an approach to quantify the potential of reservoir management using existing in‐stream data; actual management decisions need to consider the effects on other reservoir benefits, such as downstream flood control and aquatic life. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beaver dam analogues drive heterogeneous groundwater–surface water interactions

Beaver dam analogues (BDAs) are a cost-effective stream restoration approach that leverages the recognized environmental benefits of natural beaver dams on channel stability and local hydrology. Although natural beaver dams are known to exert considerable influence on the hydrologic conditions of a stream system by mediating geomorphic processes, nutrient cycling, and groundwater–surface water interactions, the impacts of beaver-derived restoration methods on groundwater–surface water exchange are poorly characterized. To address this deficit, we monitored hyporheic exchange fluxes and streambed porewater biogeochemistry across a sequence of BDAs installed along a central Wyoming stream during the summer of 2019. Streambed fluxes were quantified by heat tracing methods and vertical hydraulic gradients. Biogeochemical activity was evaluated using major ion porewater chemistry and principal component analysis. Vertical fluxes of approximately 1.0 m/day were observed around the BDAs, as was the development of spatially heterogeneous zones of nitrate production, groundwater upwelling, and anaerobic reduction. Strong contrasts in hyporheic zone processes were observed across BDAs of differing sizes. This suggests that structures may function with size-dependent behaviour, only altering groundwater–surface water interactions after a threshold hydraulic step height is exceeded. Patterns of hyporheic exchange and biogeochemical cycling around the studied BDAs resemble those around natural beaver dams, suggesting that BDAs may provide comparable benefits to channel complexity and near-stream function over a 1-year period.     

Seasonal dynamics of water and nutrient fluxes in an agricultural peatland

The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is an important part of the cultural heritage and economy of Southeastern Massachusetts, yet water quality concerns and wetland protection laws challenge its commercial production. Here, we report inputs and outputs of water, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) for a 2.12‐ha cranberry bed over a 2‐year period from 2013 to 2015. Water‐budget analysis indicated that precipitation contributed 40%, floodwater 37%, irrigation 15%, and groundwater 8% of water inputs to the cranberry bed. Minor annual variation in surface water discharge (~90 mm·year^?1 or 3%) contrasted with large decreases in net (= outputs ? inputs) nutrient export, from 16.2 to 9.1 kg N·ha^?1·year^?1 for total (dissolved + suspended particulate) nitrogen (TN) and from 3.34 to 1.47 kg P·ha^?1·year^?1 for total phosphorus (TP) between Years 1 and 2. Annual variation in net TN and TP export was tied to decreases in spring and summer nutrient export and controlled by the combined effects of fertilizer management, soil biogeochemistry, and hydrology. The relatively high spring TN export in Year 1 was associated with coincident increases in soil temperature and rainfall. A second factor was the timing of fertilizer application, which occurred 1 day prior to a major summer storm (i.e., third largest daily rainfall since 1926) and was responsible for up to 15% and 9% of the Year 1 TN and TP export, respectively. Nutrient budgets, which balanced water and fertilizer inputs with water, fruit, and vegetative outputs, were consistent with the burial of 21.6 kg N·ha^?1·year^?1 and 7.27 kg P·ha^?1·year^?1. Field measurements indicated that burial would increase TN and TP in the shallow (0–5 cm) rooting zone by 14% and 6%, respectively, which seemed plausible based on the relatively young age of the bed (4–5 years) and new root growth patterns in Vaccinium plants.     

Evaluating the performance of ground-based and remotely sensed near real-time rainfall fields from a hydrological perspective

Abstract

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issues routine experimental, near real-time rainfall maps from daily raingauge networks, radar networks and satellite images, as well as merged rainfall fields. These products are potentially useful for near real-time forecasting, especially in areas of fast hydrological response, and also to simulate the “now state” of various hydrological state variables such as soil moisture content, streamflow, and reservoir inflows. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate their skill as inputs to hydrological simulations and, in particular, the skill of the merged field in terms of better hydrological results relative to the individual products. Rainfall fields derived from raingauge, radar, satellite, conditioned satellite and the merged (gauge/radar/satellite) were evaluated for two selected days with relatively high amounts of rainfall, as well as for a continuous period of 90 days in the Mgeni catchment, South Africa. Streamflows simulated with the ACRU model indicate that the use of raingauge as well as merged fields of satellite/raingauge and satellite/radars/raingauge provides relatively realistic rainfall results, without much difference in their hydrological outputs, whereas the radar and raw satellite information by themselves cannot be used in operational hydrological application in their current status.

Citation Ghile, Y., Schulze, R. & Brown, C. (2010) Evaluating the performance of ground-based and remotely sensed near real-time rainfall fields from a hydrological perspective. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(4), 497–511.     

A loess-paleosol record of climate and glacial history over the past two glacial-interglacial cycles (~ 150 ka), southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Loess accumulated on a Bull Lake outwash terrace of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6) age in southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The 9 m section displays eight intervals of loess deposition (Loess 1 to Loess 8, oldest), each followed by soil development. Our age-depth model is constrained by thermoluminescence, meteoric ¹⁰Be accumulation in soils, and cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages. We use particle size, geochemical, mineral-magnetic, and clay mineralogical data to interpret loess sources and pedogenesis. Deposition of MIS 6 loess was followed by a tripartite soil/thin loess complex (Soils 8, 7, and 6) apparently reflecting the large climatic oscillations of MIS 5. Soil 8 (MIS 5e) shows the strongest development. Loess 5 accumulated during a glacial interval (~ 76-69 ka; MIS 4) followed by soil development under conditions wetter and probably colder than present. Deposition of thick Loess 3 (~ 43-51 ka, MIS 3) was followed by soil development comparable with that observed in Soil 1. Loess 1 (MIS 2) accumulated during the Pinedale glaciation and was followed by development of Soil 1 under a semiarid climate. This record of alternating loess deposition and soil development is compatible with the history of Yellowstone vegetation and the glacial flour record from the Sierra Nevada.     

The Young Geographers And Their Research: 1936–1943*

The Young Geographers, an informal organization of American geographers, flourished from 1936 to 1943. One of its projects in 1940 and 1941 was the compilation and publication of lists of contemplated research by some 170 Young Geographers. Their listed research interests were relatively narrow in subject and geographical area. The successor of the Young Geographers was the American Society for Professional Geographers which merged with the Association of American Geographers in 1948 under a democratic constitution which assured that young geographers and their research would be recognized.