Identifying Controls on Water Chemistry of Tropical Cloud Forest Catchments: Combining Descriptive Approaches and Multivariate Analysis

We investigated controls on the water chemistry of a South Ecuadorian cloud forest catchment which is partly pristine, and partly converted to extensive pasture. From April 2007 to May 2008 water samples were taken weekly to biweekly at nine different subcatchments, and were screened for differences in electric conductivity, pH, anion, as well as element composition. A principal component analysis was conducted to reduce dimensionality of the data set and define major factors explaining variation in the data. Three main factors were isolated by a subset of 10 elements (Ca²⁺, Ce, Gd, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, Nd, Rb, Sr, Y), explaining around 90% of the data variation. Land-use was the major factor controlling and changing water chemistry of the subcatchments. A second factor was associated with the concentration of rare earth elements in water, presumably highlighting other anthropogenic influences such as gravel excavation or road construction. Around 12% of the variation was explained by the third component, which was defined by the occurrence of Rb and K and represents the influence of vegetation dynamics on element accumulation and wash-out. Comparison of base- and fast flow concentrations led to the assumption that a significant portion of soil water from around 30 cm depth contributes to storm flow, as revealed by increased rare earth element concentrations in fast flow samples. Our findings demonstrate the utility of multi-tracer principal component analysis to study tropical headwater streams, and emphasize the need for effective land management in cloud forest catchments.     

Structure of the Padul-Nigüelas Basin (S Spain) from H/V Ratios of Ambient Noise: Application of the Method to Study Peat and Coarse Sediments

—?This paper presents the results of the application of a technique of geophysical surveying based on resonance frequency of materials, in a small basin within the Internal Zones of the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain). The frequencies determined have enabled the main features of the basin's structure to be delineated, clearly identifying its asymmetry due to variations in the position of the rigid basement in different sectors. The results show that this method does not guarantee a perfect identification of coarse sediments, unless these overlie substantial more rigid materials. On the other hand, the same method was very effective for studying very soft sediments (peat), and it was possible to establish a quantitative relationship for determining the thickness of these sediments based on their resonance frequency. This relationship was then used to map peat thickness in the basin. The results have been compared with gravity studies and mechanical drillings undertaken in the region.     

Using historical source data to understand urban flood risk: a socio-hydrological modelling application at Gregório Creek,Brazil

ABSTRACT

The city of São Carlos, state of São Paulo, Brazil, has a historical coexistence between society and floods. Unplanned urbanization in this area is a representative feature of how Brazilian cities have developed, undermining the impact of natural hazards. The Gregório Creek catchment is an enigma of complex dynamics concerning the relationship between humans and water in Brazilian cities. Our hypothesis is that social memory of floods can improve future resilience. In this paper we analyse flood risk dynamics in a small urban catchment, identify the impacts of social memory on building resilience and propose measures to reduce the risk of floods. We applied a socio-hydrological model using data collected from newspapers from 1940 to 2018. The model was able to elucidate human–water processes in the catchment and the historical source data proved to be a useful tool to fill gaps in the data in small urban basins.     

Neyman-Scott cluster model for daily rainfall processes in lower extremadura (Spain): Rainfall Generating Mechanisms

Summary A Neyman-Scott cluster model was fitted to the daily rainfall data recorded at the observatory of Badajoz (southwestern Spain) for the period 1901–1990. The data were previously homogenized. The goodness of the fit that indicated the daily rainfall process follows some Rainfall Generating Mechanism (RGM). Having decided on the criteria that a block of rainfall must fulfill to be considered as a RGM, a method was proposed to classify the days that belong to RGMs according to the 500 hPa and the surface topography. In this method each day is characterized by a string of 22 alphanumeric characters. From the subsequent analysis, the structure of the synoptic patterns associated with each RGM was deduced.With 3 Figures     

Decadal-scale changes in suspended wood after riparian recruitment in managed stands in headwater streams of coastal British Columbia,Canada

Large wood (LW) affects several ecological and hydrogeomorphic processes in streams. The main source of LW is riparian trees falling inside channels. However, in confined valley floors, falling trees are more likely to be suspended above the channel. Eventually, these suspended trees will decompose and break to finally fall into the channel to better provide functions for streams. We evaluated changes in wood decay, length, diameter, and suspended status (suspended or non-suspended) 17 years post-harvest and nine years after the first sampling occurred in 2006 in 12 headwater streams of coastal British Columbia, Canada. We also evaluated whether changes differed among riparian management treatments (no-harvest buffers of 10 and 30 m in width, thinning, and unharvested reference sites), and identified the factors affecting wood changes and suspended status. Wood pieces advanced in decay, became shorter, and 34% of them (n = 108) changed status from suspended to non-suspended. Non-suspended wood pieces were more decayed and shorter than suspended wood. Suspended wood was longer, thicker, less decayed, and represented 46.5% (n = 147) of the wood sampled in 2006. Our findings revealed limited influences of riparian management on many aspects of wood changes considered in this study. Changes in wood characteristics were more likely for pieces that were smaller in diameter, longer, and suspended closer to the water. The transition from suspended to non-suspended LW can be a long-term process that can increase wood residence time and reduce LW in-stream functions particularly in confined stream valleys. The suspended stage is also an important mechanism underlying time lags in stream ecosystem responses to riparian tree fall. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preliminary paleolimnological study of rocha lagoon, SE Uruguay

Physical, chemical and biological data from a sedimentary profile of Rocha lagoon (Uruguay) are presented. Analyses of silica remains showed that opal phytoliths, diatoms, sponge spicules and chrysophyte cysts were the most important contributors to biogenic silica. Organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were used to infer past trophic development. Physical analysis of sediments allowed us to identify five lithological units related to sea level variation and climatic events.     

Ray-traced slant factors for mitigating the tropospheric delay at the observation level

Three-dimensional ray tracing through a numerical weather model has been applied to a global precise point positioning (PPP) campaign for modeling both the elevation angle- and azimuth-dependence of the tropospheric delay. Rather than applying the ray-traced slant delays directly, the delay has been parameterized in terms of slant factors, which are applied in a similar manner to traditional mapping functions, but which can account for the azimuthal asymmetry of the delay. Five strategies are considered: (1) Vienna Mapping Functions 1 (VMF1) and estimation of a residual zenith delay parameter; (2) VMF1, estimation of a residual zenith delay and estimation of two tropospheric gradient parameters; (3) three-dimensional ray-traced slant factors and estimation of a residual zenith delay; (4) using only ray-traced slant factors and no estimation of any tropospheric parameters and; (5) using both ray-traced slant factors and estimating a residual zenith delay and two tropospheric gradient parameters. The use of the ray-traced slant factors (solution 3) showed a 3.8% improvement in the repeatability of the up component when compared to the assumption of a symmetric atmosphere (solution 1), while the estimation of two tropospheric gradient parameters gave the best results showing an 7.6% improvement over solution 1 in the up component. Solution 4 performed well in the horizontal domain, allowing for sub-centimeter repeatability but the up component was degraded due to deficiencies in the modeling of the zenith delay, particularly for stations located at equatorial latitudes. The magnitude of the differences in the mean coordinates between solution 2 and solution 3, and the strong correlation with the differences between the north component and the ray-traced gradients (coefficient of correlation of 0.83), as well as the impact of observation geometry on the gradient solution indicate that the use of the ray-traced slant factors could have an implication on the realization of reference frames. The estimated tropospheric products from the PPP solutions were compared to those derived from ray tracing. For the zenith delay, a root mean square (RMS) of 5.4 mm was found, while for the gradient terms, a correlation coefficient of 0.46 for the N–S and 0.42 for the E–W was found for the north–south and east–west components, suggesting that there are still important differences in the gradient parameters which could be due to either errors in the NWM or to non-tropospheric error sources leaking into the PPP-estimated gradients.     

A new computational strategy for solving two‐phase flow in strongly heterogeneous poroelastic media of evolving scales

We develop a new computational methodology for solving two‐phase flow in highly heterogeneous porous media incorporating geomechanical coupling subject to uncertainty in the poromechanical parameters. Within the framework of a staggered‐in‐time coupling algorithm, the numerical method proposed herein relies on a Petrov–Galerkin postprocessing approach projected on the Raviart–Thomas space to compute the Darcy velocity of the mixture in conjunction with a locally conservative higher order finite volume discretization of the nonlinear transport equation for the saturation and an operator splitting procedure based on the difference in the time‐scales of transport and geomechanics to compute the effects of transient porosity upon saturation. Notable features of the numerical modeling proposed herein are the local conservation properties inherited by the discrete fluxes that are crucial to correctly capture the fingering patterns arising from the interaction between heterogeneity and nonlinear viscous coupling. Water flooding in a poroelastic formation subject to an overburden is simulated with the geology characterized by multiscale self‐similar permeability and Young modulus random fields with power‐law covariance structure. Statistical moments of the poromechanical unknowns are computed within the framework of a high‐resolution Monte Carlo method. Numerical results illustrate the necessity of adopting locally conservative schemes to obtain reliable predictions of secondary recovery and finger growth in strongly heterogeneous deformable reservoirs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.