Evidence for repeated re‐activation of old landslides under forest

Local reactivations of landslides in forests are rarely reported in landslide catalogues. The occurrence of hillslope sections with fresh morphological landslide features in forested old, deep‐seated landslides, however, suggests that landslide reactivations are not restricted to residential areas. In this study, a dendrogeomorphological analysis of beech stands was used to investigate the periods of reactivation of a deep‐seated rotational slide in the Koppenberg forest (Flemish Ardennes, Belgium). The relation to rainfall and the correspondence to landslide reactivations reported in a nearby built‐up area were also analysed. A dendrometrical study preceding the dendrochronological analysis proved that, compared with the nearby reference site, trees on the Koppenberg forest landslide site were significantly more inclined and showed more knees, indicating that the landslide site has not stabilized yet. As the sampled trees are younger than the landslide, dendrochronology did not allow determination of the year in which the landslide was initiated, but analysis of two different tree ring width parameters (i.e. ring eccentricity and growth change) calculated for trees sampled on the Koppenberg landslide and the reference site proved to be of great help in determining the temporal sequence of landslide reactivation. During the past 80 years, several periods indicative of local reactivations (i.e. 1943–1945, 1949–1952, 1967–1970, 1972–1977, 1979–1981, 1988–1997) were found within the investigated landslide, but delineation of the spatial extent of the reactivations during these indicative periods was not straightforward. These periods generally correspond to years with above‐average rainfall. Finally, the fact that at least 34% of the years indicative of reactivation of the Koppenberg forest landslide correspond to a year in which a landslide reactivation was reported in the Flemish Ardennes suggests that in built‐up areas, apart from anthropogenic interventions, natural triggering factors remain very important. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new technique for understanding magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling using directional derivatives of SuperDARN convection flow

The purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate a new technique to better understand ionospheric convection and it’s magnetospheric drivers using convection maps derived from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN). We postulate that the directional derivative of the SuperDARN ionospheric convection flow can be used as a technique for understanding solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling by identifying regions of strong acceleration/deceleration of plasma flow associated with drivers of magnetospheric convection such as magnetic reconnection. Thus, the technique may be used to identify the open–closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) in certain circumstances. In this study, directional derivatives of the SuperDARN ionospheric convection flow over a four and a half hour interval on Nov. 04, 2001, is presented during which the interplanetary magnetic field was predominantly southward. At each one-minute time point in the interval the positive peak in the directional derivative of flow is identified and evaluated via comparison with known indicators of the OCB including the poleward boundary of ultraviolet emissions from three FUV detectors onboard the IMAGE spacecraft as well as the SuperDARN spectral widths. Good comparison is found between the location of the peak in the directional derivative of SuperDARN flow and the poleward boundary of ultraviolet emissions confirming that acceleration of ionospheric plasma flow is associated with magnetic reconnection and the open–closed boundary.     

A microscale three-dimensional urban energy balance model for studying surface temperatures

A microscale three-dimensional (3-D) urban energy balance model, Temperatures of Urban Facets in 3-D (TUF-3D), is developed to predict urban surface temperatures for a variety of surface geometries and properties, weather conditions, and solar angles. The surface is composed of plane-parallel facets: roofs, walls, and streets, which are further sub-divided into identical square patches, resulting in a 3-D raster-type model geometry. The model code is structured into radiation, conduction and convection sub-models. The radiation sub-model uses the radiosity approach and accounts for multiple reflections and shading of direct solar radiation. Conduction is solved by finite differencing of the heat conduction equation, and convection is modelled by empirically relating patch heat transfer coefficients to the momentum forcing and the building morphology. The radiation and conduction sub-models are tested individually against measurements, and the complete model is tested against full-scale urban surface temperature and energy balance observations. Modelled surface temperatures perform well at both the facet-average and the sub-facet scales given the precision of the observations and the uncertainties in the model inputs. The model has several potential applications, such as the calculation of radiative loads, and the investigation of effective thermal anisotropy (when combined with a sensor-view model).     

On the Derivation of Input Parameters for Urban Canopy Models from Urban Morphological Datasets

Two techniques are analysed to derive mean street width and mean building width from morphological data of real cities: one based on a two-dimensional simplified morphology, and the other based on a three-dimensional regular simplified morphology. For each simplified morphology (two-dimensional and three-dimensional), the sky-view factors (street-to-sky) are computed and compared with the sky-view factors derived from the real morphology for selected districts of three European and two North American cities. The two-dimensional simplified morphology reproduces the real sky-view factors better than the three-dimensional morphology. Since many urban canopy parameterizations represent the city using simplified morphologies, this can be useful information for the derivation of input parameters for urban canopy parameterizations from real morphological data.     

Surface energy balance of Bayi Ice Cap in the middle of Qilian Mountains,China

Energy balance at the glacier surface is important for understanding the impacts of climate change on glaciers. Here, we analyzed the characteristics of the glacier surface energy fluxes along with their contributions to glacier melt on Bayi Ice Cap in Qilian Mountains by using a point-scale energy balance model. The half-hourly meteorological data from an automatic weather station (AWS) located on the glacier was used to drive the energy balance model. The model simulated results could accurately represent the mass-balance observations from the stake near the weather station during summer 2016. Our results showed the net radiation (86%) played an important role in the surface energy balance, and the contribution of the turbulent heat fluxes (14%) to the energy budget was relatively less important. A distinct behavior of energy balance, as compared to other continental glaciers in China (e.g., two adjacent glaciers Laohugou No. 12 Glacier and Qiyi Glacier), is the fact that a sustained period of positive turbulent latent flux exists on Bayi Ice Cap during August, causing faster melt rate in the month of August. Our study also presented the effect of frequent summer snowfall in slowing down surface melt by changing the surface albedo during the beginning of the melting season.     

The ECORS-Truc Vert’08 nearshore field experiment: presentation of a three-dimensional morphologic system in a macro-tidal environment during consecutive extreme storm conditions

A large multi-institutional nearshore field experiment was conducted at Truc Vert, on the Atlantic coast of France in early 2008. Truc Vert’08 was designed to measure beach change on a long, sandy stretch of coast without engineering works with emphasis on large winter waves (offshore significant wave height up to 8 m), a three-dimensional morphology, and macro-tidal conditions. Nearshore wave transformation, circulation and bathymetric changes involve coupled processes at many spatial and temporal scales thus implying the need to improve our knowledge for the full spectrum of scales to achieve a comprehensive view of the natural system. This experiment is unique when compared with existing experiments because of the simultaneous investigation of processes at different scales, both spatially (from ripples to sand banks) and temporally (from single swash events to several spring-neap tidal cycles, including a major storm event). The purpose of this paper is to provide background information on the experiment by providing detailed presentation of the instrument layout and snapshots of preliminary results.     

Land readjustment for minimizing public expenditures on school lands: a case study of Turkey

Education infrastructure issues have been one of the most important topics in developing countries that have difficulty reserving money for education infrastructure needs, especially Turkey. Development plans have a crucial role in meeting school infrastructure needs in Turkey. Generally, the expropriation method has been used for land transitions from private to public ownership. However, scarcity of monetary resources for such land transitions and legal/technical deficiencies delays the process. The main objectives of this paper are to respond to the need of the education sector by using land management tools and to identify the most suitable land management tool for allocating basic and primary school lands free of charge. Current trends, education indicators, management responsibility and financial resources, statistical and economical information, education infrastructure needs, and qualitative-quantitative characteristics of the pupils in the Turkish education system are analyzed based on national and international reports. Then, the property right problems experienced in the process of allocating school lands are defined. Methods of transferring school lands to public ownership are examined, and the benefit-cost relationships are revealed. Land readjustment (LR) would make an important contribution to planning decisions and the implementation stage in the sustainable management of school lands.     

Effect of reclamation time and land use on soil properties in Changjiang River Estuary,China

The objective of this study is to analyze soil physical and chemical properties,soil comprehensive functions and impact factors after different years of reclamation.Based on the survey data taken from 216 soil sampling points in the Fengxian Reclamation Area of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River Estuary,China in April 2009 and remotely sensed TM data in 2006,while by virtue of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA),geo-statistical analysis (GA),prin-cipal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA),it was concluded that:1) With the in-crease in reclamation time,soil moisture,soil salinity,soil electric conductivity and soil particle size tended to decline,yet soil organic matter tended to increase.Soil available phosphorous tended to increase in the early reclamation period,yet it tended to decline after about 49 years of reclamation.Soil nitrate nitrogen,soil ammonia nitrogen and pH changed slightly in different reclamation years.Soil physical and chemical properties reached a steady state after about 30 years of reclamation.2) According to the results of PCA analysis,the weighted value (0.97 in total) that represents soil nutrient factors (soil nitrate nitrogen,soil organic matter,soil available phosphorous,soil ammonia nitrogen,pH and soil particle size) were higher than the weighted value (0.48 in total) of soil limiting factors (soil salinity,soil elec-tric conductivity and soil moisture).The higher the F value is,the better the soil quality is.3) Different land use types play different roles in the soil function maturity process,with farmlands providing the best contribution.4) Soil physi-cal and chemical properties in the reclamation area were mainly influenced by reclamation time,and then by land use types.The correlation (0.1905) of the composite index of soil function (F) with reclamation time was greater than that with land use types (-0.1161).     

Tracing of water movement through the unsaturated zone of a coarse gravel aquifer by means of dye and deuterated water

To better understand the movement and transport of water and pollution through the coarse gravel unsaturated zone, the presented research was conducted to estimate water flow and transport processes with a tracing experiment in a lysimeter in the Selniška Dobrava. A combined tracing experiment was performed with deuterated water and the fluorescent dye—uranine. The fastest and dominant flow velocities were calculated based on injection time, the first tracer appearance time and the time of highest concentration. Mean flow velocity and vertical dispersion were estimated by an analytical best-fit method using one-dimensional convection–dispersion model. Deuterium was confirmed as an ideal conservative tracer and a more suitable tracer than dye (uranine) for the study of water flow in the unsaturated zone of a coarse gravel aquifer. The retardation factor of the dye as compared with deuterium was 1.13–1.75, which is in agreement with previously published results. Artificial tracers, especially deuterated water, were also identified as a very useful tool to assess other properties and differences in water flow in the unsaturated zone of a coarse gravel aquifer such as velocity and dispersion.