Optimized Computation of Transfer Coefficients in Surface Layer with Different Momentum and Heat Roughness Lengths

A new method for computing the surface transfer coefficients is proposed, based on state-of-the-art empirical flux-profile relationships. The influence of the roughness length ratio is first demonstrated with the classical iterative calculation method. Then a non-iterative algorithm is developed, taking into account the difference between momentum and heat roughness lengths.The new method is validated by comparison with the reference iterative computation. The large gain-in computer processing time (CPU) time gain for the calculation of surface fluxes in Eulerian grid models is finally assessed.     

Analytical models for the rigid body motions of skew bridges

The rigid body motions of the bridge deck, along with the impact between the bridge deck and the abutments, were the source of extensive damage on skew highway bridges during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. In this paper, a model for the rigid body motions of skew bridges is presented and analysed. The focus of the model is the appropriate representation of the impact between the bridge deck and the abutments and the explanation of the inducement of in-plane rotational vibrations of the bridge deck as the result of this impact. A simplified model is briefly described first, and the kinematic mechanism of the problem is explained. Then, the analysis of a more detailed and realistic model follows. This model is applied on a short skew bridge located in Riverside, California. The response of this bridge to several earthquake shakings revealed that the planar rigid body rotations of the deck are induced primarily as a result of the skewness of the deck and the impact between the deck and the abutments.     

Local erosion rates versus active tectonics: cosmic ray exposure modelling in Provence (south-east France)

Over the past decade, in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides have revolutionised the study of landscape evolution. In particular, numerous studies have demonstrated that, in active tectonic settings, cosmic ray exposure dating of deformed or displaced geomorphic features makes it possible to quantify long-term deformation rates. In western European countries, erosion due to climatically driven processes and human activities is probably the factor that most limits the accuracy of exposure ages and landscape modification rates. In this study, we present the results of a depth-profiling technique applied to alluvial terraces located along the Rhône and the Moyenne Durance rivers. The expected decrease with depth of the measured ¹⁰Be concentrations has been modelled using a χ² inversion method in order to constrain the exposure history of the alluvial sediments. The results suggest that: (1) over the Quaternary, the local surface erosion rates including both regional uplift and climatically driven processes acting on landforms are on the order of 30 m/Myr in southeastern France, and (2) providing a fairly good bracketing of the exposure age, the modelled abandonment age of alluvial terraces affected by the Moyenne Durance Fault allows estimating incision rates, comparing the alluvial terrace elevations with topographic river profiles, and a minimum vertical slip rate value of roughly 0.02 mm/yr for the southern segment of the Moyenne Durance Fault.     

Development of a high resolution runoff routing model, calibration and application to assess runoff from the LMD GCM

Large-scale runoff routing models (RRMs) are important as a validation tool for GCMs, and to close the hydrological cycle in fully-coupled climate models. The model RiTHM was developed to simulate the discharge of large rivers from the total runoff simulated by the LMD GCM. It uses a 1024×800 grid, nested in the 64×50 grid of the LMD GCM. The runoff simulated in a GCM grid cell is uniformly distributed over the underlying cells, where a series of two reservoirs accounts for the delay related to infiltration through the unsaturated zone and aquifers. The resulting riverflow is routed assuming pure translation along the drainage network, extracted with a GIS from a 5 min DEM. The transfer time from a cell to the outlet depends on topography, and on a basin-wide parameter, the time of concentration. RiTHM was calibrated in 11 river basins, using a realistic runoff forcing (computed by the land surface model SECHIBA from reanalyzed meteorological forcing). This led to a very satisfactory reproduction of observed hydrographs. The main problems were related to hydraulic processes neglected in RiTHM (reservoirs, diversion of riverflow because of flooding or irrigation). These results helped to validate SECHIBA, except for its snow processes, shown to be too simple. With the same parameters, RiTHM was also forced with runoff from the LMD GCM. This induced an important degradation of the simulated hydrographs, regarding both volume and timing. It was largely explained by errors in precipitation, and more generally climate, in the GCM. The direct calibration of RiTHM under the GCM-runoff forcing markedly improved the timing of simulated discharge, which could be interesting for land–atmosphere–ocean coupling. This work demonstrated that the usefulness of RRMs for GCMs strongly depends on their adequate calibration.     

Spatial Association of Mineral Occurrences and Curvilinear Geological Features

Qualitative and quantitative knowledge about the spatial association between mineral occurrences and geological features are important in mineral potential mapping. Two existing methods for quantifying spatial association between mineral occurrences and curvilinear geological features are applied to the Baguio district of the Philippines. An experimental method is described and applied to the study area as well. The results of the three methods are highly similar, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the experimental method presented here for quantifying spatial association between mineral occurrences and curvilinear geological features. It is shown that gold occurrence in the Baguio district are strongly spatially associated with northeasterly trending faults/fractures rather than with northwesterly trending faults/fractures. It is also shown that the spatial association between the gold occurrence and older batholithic intrusives is stronger than the spatial association between gold occurrence and younger porphyry intrusives. These spatial geoinformation characteristics can be used as evidential data layers in GIS-based mineral potential mapping.     

Extraction of hysteretic properties of seismically isolated bridges from quick‐release field tests

A simple procedure for identifying hysteretic properties of seismically isolated bridges from full‐scale quick‐release tests is presented in this paper. An analytical solution for the quick‐release response of a SDOF system with a bilinear spring is derived. Based on the solution, some characteristics of such systems are obtained. A time domain optimization method is employed to identify the hysteretic properties of the lead–rubber bearings installed in seismically isolated bridges. The total damping effects of the isolation system are expressed as a combination of the rate‐independent (hysteretic) damping and the linear viscous damping. The Menegotto–Pinto (MP) model and bilinear model are used to represent the force–displacement relation of the lead–rubber bearings. In both the longitudinal and transverse directions the bridges have been idealized as single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems. Time histories recorded from the field quick‐release tests on two bridges are used for the examples presented herein. The hysteretic loops of the isolators obtained from laboratory tests are compared with those obtained using the optimization method, and they agree well. In conclusion, the procedure shown in this paper can be used to identify the essential in situ hysteretic characteristics of isolation bearings from quick‐release field testing. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Glacial and Holocene chironomid assemblages in Lac Long Inférieur (southern France, 2090 m): palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic implications

Changes in lake water temperature and trophic states were inferred using chironomid fossil assemblages from Lac Long Inférieur (Southern Alps, France). In the Late Glacial, a colder period, possibly analogous to the Younger Dryas, is characterised by a peak in Micropsectra, a cold stenothermic taxon. The increase in temperatures during the Late Glacial interstadial is indicated by a decrease in the percentages of cold stenothermic taxa (Tanytarsus lugens/Corynocera oliveri grp.) and by an increase in taxa linked to the development of vegetation in the littoral zone. The beginning of the Holocene is marked by the presence of taxa adapted to warmer and more eutrophic waters. During the Holocene, the progressive warming of the climate and increase in lake trophic status were indicated by the increase of eutrophic and warmer water indicators. An increase in tributary inflow into Lac Long Inférieur was also inferred by the increase in rheophilous taxa, reflecting increased snowmelt. During the Subatlantic, the composition of the chironomid spectra suggests a re-cooling of the climate and/or a decrease in lake trophic status.     

The beam attenuation to chlorophyll ratio: an optical index of phytoplankton physiology in the surface ocean?

The particulate beam attenuation coefficient (c_p) is proportional to the concentration of suspended particles in a size domain overlapping that of the phytoplankton assemblage. c_p is largely insensitive to changes in intracellular chlorophyll concentration, which varies with growth irradiance (a process termed ‘photoacclimation’). Earlier studies have shown that the ratio of c_p:chlorophyll (i.e., c_p^*) exhibits depth-dependent changes that are consistent with photoacclimation. Similar relationships may likewise be expected in the horizontal and temporal dimensions, reflecting changes in mixing depth, incident irradiance, and light attenuation. A link between c_p^* and more robust photoadaptive variables has never been explicitly tested in the field. Here we use five historical field data sets to directly compare spatial and temporal variability in c_p^* with two independent indices of photoacclimation: the light-saturated, chlorophyll-normalized photosynthetic rate, P^b_opt, and the light-saturation index, E_k. For the variety of oceanographic conditions considered, a first-order correlation emerged between c_p^* and P^b_opt or E_k. These simple empirical results suggest that a relationship exists between a bio-optical variable that can potentially be retrieved remotely (c_p^*) and physiological variables crucial for estimating primary productivity in the sea.     

Video-monitoring of wood discharge: first inter-basin comparison and recommendations to install video cameras

Wood in rivers plays a major role both ecologically and morphologically. In recent decades, due to human activities in the river channels and along the riparian zone, wood obstruction and jamming has exacerbated flooding hazards and infrastructure damage. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify the wood flux and discharge in rivers to improve wood hazard management. Among the various methods for monitoring the wood flux in a river, the streamside videography technique is effective given its high temporal and spatial resolution. Previous work monitored the wood discharge (m³/s) using this technique in the Ain River (France) during three floods (MacVicar and Piégay, 2012), and the same method is implemented on the Isère River (France) to obtain the statistics of wood discharge for two floods. Comparison between the two sites supports the generalization of both the monitoring technique and the link between wood discharge and flood characteristics. We first show that the maximum wood discharge is observed at bankfull discharge, and we confirm the three stage model proposed by MacVicar and Piégay (2012). Additionally, transverse distributions of the number of wood pieces and corresponding wood length appear to be similar for different flood magnitudes on each site. As a technical contribution, the use of the same technique on two sites allows for recommendations on key decisions related to the location and implementation of the equipment. Both statistical and technical contributions can be used by decision makers to implement this monitoring technique, acquire the wood transport parameters, and evaluate the potential wood hazards at local scale or along a river. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Improved Data-Driven Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Procedure for Spatial Modeling of Mineral Prospectivity: Adaption of Prediction–Area Plot and Logistic Functions

Natural Resources Research - Assigning realistic weights to targeting criteria in order to synthesize various geo-spatial datasets is one of the most important challenging tasks for mineral...