Video‐based gravel transport measurements with a flume mounted light table

The study of bedload transport processes is constrained by an inability to monitor the mass, volume and grain size distribution of sediment in transport at high temporal frequencies. Building upon a previously published design, we have integrated a high‐resolution (1392 × 1024 pixels) video camera with a light table to continuously capture images of 2–181 mm material exiting a flume. The images are continuously recorded at a rate of 15 to 20 frames per second and are post‐processed using LabView^(?) software, yielding continuous grain‐size‐specific transport information on a per second basis. The video capture rate is sufficient to record multiple images of each grain leaving the flume so that particle velocities can be measured automatically. No manual image processing is required. After calibration the method is accurate and precise for sediment in the 2 mm through to 45 mm grain size classes compared with other means of measuring bedload. Based on a set of validation samples, no statistically significant difference existed between the D₁₀, D₁₆, D₂₅, D₅₀, D₇₅, D₈₄, D₉₀ and D₉₅ determined by sieving captured samples and the D_i values determined with the system. On average the system overpredicted transport by 4 per cent (n = 206, SD = 42%). This error can be corrected easily by simply weighing the mass of sediment that leaves the flume. The technology is relatively inexpensive and provides high‐resolution data on coarse sediment transport out of a flume. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An easy approach to assess the susceptibility of a landslide by utilizing simple raster overlay methods: A case study on Huangtupo landslide (P.R. China)

Semi qualitative index based methods using rankings and ratings are commonly used in susceptibility estimations over a wide area. However, generalized ranking and ratings are not applicable for one single landslide. This paper gives an easy and transferable approach to a susceptibility assessment of Huangtupo landslide (P.R. China), using raster addition without taking account for ranking and ratings. Slope, aspect, curvature, location and drainage buffer distance raster data sets have been obtained out of open source digital elevation models using ESRI’s ArcGIS. These conditioning factor raster data sets have been translated into raster data sets including simple yes or no criteria, referring to triggering or not. Subsequently they have been added by raster math to acquire a simple raster overlay map. After that this map is compared to initial displacement measurements, obtained by using a ground based synthetic aperture radar device. Acquired data is recalculated to a raster data set using the same spatial extent, to provide the possibility of comparison of the two raster data sets. The results reveal, that 76.35% of all measured movements occur in areas where raster cells include three or more conditioning factors, indicating that easy raster math operations can lead to satisfying results in local scale.     

Calculation of the structures, stabilities, and vibrational spectra of arsenites, thioarsenites and thioarsenates in aqueous solution

Structures, stabilities and vibrational spectra have been calculated using molecular quantum mechanical methods for As(OH)₃, AsO(OH)₃, As(SH)₃, AsS(SH)₃ and their conjugate bases and for several species with partial substitution of S for O. Properties for the neutral gas-phase molecules are calculated with state-of-the-art methods which yield AsL distances within 0. 01 Å and AsL stretching frequencies within 10 cm⁻¹ of experiment. Similar accuracy is obtained for neutral molecules in solution using a polarizable continuum model (PCM). For monoanions such as and frequencies can be calculated to within 20 cm⁻¹ of experiment using the polarizable continuum model. Multiply charged anions remain a challenge for accurate frequency calculations, but we have obtained results within the PCM model which at least semiquantitatively reproduce the available data. This allows us to assign the controversial features D, E and F in the Raman data of (Wood S. A., Tait C. D. and Janecky D. R. (2002) A Raman spectroscopic study of arsenite and thioarsenite species in aqueous solution at 25 °C. Geochem. Trans. 3, 31-39).To help in the assignment of the arsenic sulfide spectra we have also calculated energetics for the oxidation of As(III) to As(V) compounds by polysulfides, disproportionation of As(III) compounds and for the dissociation of the oxo- and thio-acids. We have determined that As(III) oxyacids can be transformed to thioacids which can in turn be oxidized to As(V) sulfides by polysulfides and that the pK_a1s of the acids involved can be ordered as follows: AsS(SH)₃ < As(SH)₃ < AsO(OH)₃ < As(OH)₃ in order of increasing pK_a1. We have also established from the calculated energies that the most stable form of the As(III) oxyacid in acidic aqueous solution is indeed As(OH)₃, consistent with previous assignments.     

The Effects of Temperature and Pressure on the Porosity Evolution of Flechtinger Sandstone

A porosity change influences the transport properties and the elastic moduli of rock while circulating water in a geothermal reservoir. The static and dynamic elastic moduli can be derived from the slope of stress–strain curves and velocity measurements, respectively. Consequently, the acoustic velocities were measured while performing hydrostatic drained tests. The effect of temperature on static and dynamic elastic moduli and porosity variations of Flechtinger sandstone was investigated in a wide range of confining pressure from 2 to 55 MPa. The experiments were carried out in a conventional triaxial system whereas the pore pressure remained constant, confining pressure was cycled, and temperature was increased step wise (25, 60, 90, 120, and 140 °C). The porosity variation was calculated by employing two different theories: poroelasticity and crack closure. The porosity variation and crack porosity were determined by the first derivative of stress–strain curves and the integral of the second derivative of stress–strain curves, respectively. The crack porosity analysis confirms the creation of new cracks at high temperatures. The porosity variation was increasing with an increase in temperature at low effective pressures and was decreasing with a rise in temperature at high effective pressures. Both compressional and shear wave velocities were increasing with increasing pressure due to progressive crack closure. Furthermore, the thermomechanical behavior of Flechtinger sandstone was characterized by an inversion effect where the sign of the temperature derivative of the drained bulk modulus changes.     

Directions of preferential flow in a hillslope soil, 1. Quasi‐steady flow

Preferred infiltration is mainly perceived as vertically down whereas subsurface storm flow is thought to occur parallel to slopes. The transition from vertical to lateral flow in a layered hillslope soil is the focus of the contribution. Transient flow is assumed to move as a wetting front. Three time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) wave‐guides, each 0·15 m long, were mounted in the shape of a truncated tetrahedron with its peak pointing down. Each wave‐guide focuses the front velocity along its axis. The three front‐velocity vectors are decomposed into their x, y and z components, which are then assembled to the resultant velocity vector. The volume density flux of preferred flow is the product of the front velocity and the mobile water content. The latter is the amplitude of transient soil moisture measured with each wave‐guide. The resultant vector of the volume flux density is computed similarly to the velocity vector. The experimental approach allows for the rapid assessment of transient flows without relying on the variation of water potentials. The experiments indicate that the directions of the resultant vectors of velocity and volume flux density can be estimated if the moisture variations of the three TDR wave‐guides are strongly correlated during the passing of the wetting front. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatio-temporal patterns of the interaction between groundwater and surface water in plains

The study of the dynamics of anthropic disturbances that have an effect on the hydrological systems in plains requires integral simulation tools for their diagnosis. The objective of this article is, first, to analyse and reproduce the spatio-temporal interactions between groundwater (GW) and surface water, net recharge, GW level, surface run-off, and evapotranspiration in the upper creek basin of Del Azul, which is located in the centre of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and second, to obtain insights to apply the methodology to other similar situations. For this purpose, a model coupling the semidistributed hydrological model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool [SWAT]) and the hydrogeological model (MODFLOW) has been used. A simulation was carried out for a period of 13 years (2003–2015) on a daily scale. The application of the SWAT–MODFLOW coupling gave good results based on the adjustment between the calculated flows and levels, reaching a Nash–Sutcliffe of 0.6 and R²0.6 at the Seminario hydrometric station located at the watershed outlet point. According to the annual average balance, out of the total rainfall, evapotranspiration accounts for 85%, recharge accounts for 10.2%, and surface run-off accounts for 4.8%. Annual and monthly trends of the stream–aquifer interaction were determined, obtaining on average an annual GW discharge of 34 mm and an annual average recharge of the stream to the aquifer of 1.4 mm. Monthly GW discharges are higher in winter–spring (July to December with an average of 3.3 mm) and lower in summer–autumn (January to June with an average of 2.8 mm). The monthly average recharge of the stream towards the aquifer varies from 0.02 to 0.36 mm and is higher in March, May, and August, when water excess is produced in the basin. Through the analysis of coupled modelling, it is possible to analyse and reproduce the spatio-temporal transitions of flow existing between the stream, the hyporheic zone, and the aquifer.     

Identification of steps and pools from stream longitudinal profile data

Field research on step–pool channels has largely focused on the dimensions and sequence of steps and pools and how these features vary with slope, grain sizes and other governing variables. Measurements by different investigators are frequently compared, yet no means to identify steps and pools objectively have been used. Automated surveying instruments record the morphology of streams in unprecedented detail making it possible to objectively identify steps and pools, provided an appropriate classification procedure can be developed.To achieve objective identification of steps and pools from long profile survey data, we applied a series of scale-free geometric rules that include minimum step length (2.25% of bankfull width (W_b)), minimum pool length (10% of W_b), minimum residual depth (0.23% of W_b), minimum drop height (3.3% of W_b), and minimum step slope (10° greater than the mean slope). The rules perform as well as the mean response of 11 step–pool researchers who were asked to classify four long profiles, and the results correspond well with the channel morphologies identified during the field surveys from which the long profiles were generated. The method outperforms four other techniques that have been proposed. Sensitivity analysis shows that the method is most sensitive to the choice of minimum pool length and minimum drop height.Detailed bed scans of a step–pool channel created in a flume reveal that a single long profile with a fixed sampling interval poorly characterizes the steps and pools; five or more long profiles spread across the channel are required if a fixed sampling interval is used and the data suggest that survey points should be located more frequently than the diameter of the step-forming material. A single long profile collected by a surveyor who chooses breaks in slope and representative survey points was found to adequately characterize the mean bed profile.