Investigating the impact of initial soil moisture conditions on total infiltration by using an adapted double-ring infiltrometer

ABSTRACT

This study presents an adaptation of the double-ring infiltrometer (DRI) device, which allows several infiltration experiments to be conducted at the same location. Hence, it becomes possible to use the DRI method to investigate infiltration behaviour under different initial soil moisture conditions. The main feature is the splitting of the inner ring into two parts. While the lower part remains in the soil throughout the investigation period, the upper part is attached to the lower one just before the infiltration experiment. This method was applied to eight test sites in an Alpine catchment, covering different land-use/cover types. The results demonstrated the applicability of the adapted system and showed correlations between total water infiltration and initial soil moisture conditions on pastures, independent of the underlying soil type. In contrast, no correlation was found at forest sites or wetlands. Thus, the study emphasizes the importance of paying special attention to the impact of initial soil moisture conditions on the infiltration—and consequently the runoff behaviour—at managed areas. Given the differences in the total infiltrated water of between 30 and 1306 mm, consideration of the interplay between initial soil moisture conditions, land-use/cover type, and soil properties in rainfall–runoff models is a prerequisite to predict runoff production accurately.

EDITOR Z.W. Kundzewicz; ASSOCIATE EDITOR not assigned     

Effects of global irrigation on the near-surface climate

Irrigation delivers about 2,600 km³ of water to the land surface each year, or about 2% of annual precipitation over land. We investigated how this redistribution of water affects the global climate, focusing on its effects on near-surface temperatures. Using the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) coupled to the Community Land Model (CLM), we compared global simulations with and without irrigation. To approximate actual irrigation amounts and locations as closely as possible, we used national-level census data of agricultural water withdrawals, disaggregated with maps of croplands, areas equipped for irrigation, and climatic water deficits. We further investigated the sensitivity of our results to the timing and spatial extent of irrigation. We found that irrigation alters climate significantly in some regions, but has a negligible effect on global-average near-surface temperatures. Irrigation cooled the northern mid-latitudes; the central and southeast United States, portions of southeast China and portions of southern and southeast Asia cooled by ~0.5 K averaged over the year. Much of northern Canada, on the other hand, warmed by ~1 K. The cooling effect of irrigation seemed to be dominated by indirect effects like an increase in cloud cover, rather than by direct evaporative cooling. The regional effects of irrigation were as large as those seen in previous studies of land cover change, showing that changes in land management can be as important as changes in land cover in terms of their climatic effects. Our results were sensitive to the area of irrigation, but were insensitive to the details of irrigation timing and delivery.     

Along-strike shear-sense reversal in the Vals-Scaradra Shear Zone at the front of the Adula Nappe (Central Alps,Switzerland)

The Adula Nappe in the Central Alps comprises pre-Mesozoic basement and minor Mesozoic sediments, overprinted by Paleogene eclogite-facies metamorphism. Peak pressures increase southward from ca. 1.2 GPa to values over 3 GPa, which is interpreted to reflect exhumation from a south-dipping subduction zone. The over- and underlying nappes experienced much lower Alpine pressures. To the north, the Adula Nappe ends in a lobe surrounded by Mesozoic metasediments. The external shape of the lobe is simple but the internal structure highly complicated. The frontal boundary of the nappe represents a discontinuity in metamorphic peak temperatures, between higher T in the Adula Nappe and lower T outside. A shear zone with steeply dipping foliation and shallowly-plunging, WSW-ENE oriented, i.e. orogen-parallel stretching lineation overprinted the northernmost part of the Adula Nappe and the adjacent Mesozoic metasediments (Vals-Scaradra Shear Zone). It formed during the local Leis deformation phase. The shear sense in the Vals-Scaradra Shear Zone changes along strike; from sinistral in the W to dextral in the E. Quartz textures also vary along strike. In the W, they indicate sinistral shearing with a component of coaxial (flattening) strain. A texture from the middle part of the shear zone is symmetric and indicates coaxial flattening. Textures from the eastern part show strong, single c-axis maxima indicating dextral shearing. These relations reflect complex flow within the Adula Nappe during a late stage of its exhumation. The structures and reconstructed flow field indicate that the Adula basement protruded upward and northward into the surrounding metasediments, spread laterally, and expelled the metasediments in front towards west and east.     

Die Blei-Zinkerzlagerstätten des Pflerschtals

The stratabound lead zinc ore deposits of the Pflersch Valley (Eastern Alps) are intercalated in pre-Triassic folded and metamorphosed pelitic sediments of the ötztal-Stubaier Masse. The ores (sphalerite, galena, pyrrhotite etc.) are stratigraphically controled by graphitic shists and tuffitic layers. The thickness of the ore bodies varies between some centimeters to some meters. As part of the regional setting these orebearing strata were metamorphosed during several metamorphic episodes together with these metasediments. Field observations, supplimented by microscopic studies, and the calculation of p-T-conditions indicate that now partly mobilized ores probably had their origin during the last pre-Triassic metamorphic events. These ores probably came in part as sulfide melts. There seems also a possibility of an additional alpine ore mobilization process. On the basis of age determinations and petrographic studies carried out in the ötztal-Stubaier Masse by other authors it is possible to say that the ore-bearing former sediments belong to Silurian or even pre-Silurian age (>410my).     

Raexcess/Ba growth rates and U-Th-Ra-Ba systematic of Baltic Mn/Fe crusts

We analyzed ²³⁸U, ²³⁴U, ²³²Th, ²³⁰Th, and ²²⁶Ra by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and Ba by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) on eight Mn/Fe crusts from the Mecklenburg Bay (SW Baltic) and on one from the Bothnian Bay (N Baltic) to test the ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba ratio as potential geochronometer. ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba ratios decrease as a function of depth within the concretions in all analyzed profiles. Calculated diffusion coefficients are relatively low (∼9 · 10⁻⁷ cm²/yr for Ra and 5 · 10⁻⁷ cm²/yr for Ba) and suggest that diffusion is negligible for the Ra and Ba record. In addition, ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba ages are consistent and independent from the growth rate and growth direction within a crust. Thus, the decline in ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba ratio is most likely due to radioactive decay of ²²⁶Ra_ex, although the influence of varying oxic conditions has still to be evaluated. ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba growth rates range from 0.021 to 0.0017 mm/yr and tend to be lower than those calculated and based on stratigraphic methods (1 to 0.013 mm/yr). ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba ages of concretions from shallow water environment (20 m depth, Mecklenburg Bay/SW Baltic) cover a time interval from 990 ± 140 yr to 4310 ± 310 yr BP corresponding to the stabilization of the sea level close to the present position about 5500 to 4500 yr ago. One sample from greater depth (70 m, Bothnian Bay-/N Baltic) showed a higher ²²⁶Ra_ex/Ba age of 6460 ± 520 yr BP.     

Spatial distribution of surface conditions and runoff generation in small arid watersheds, Zin Valley Badlands, Israel

High rill density may be regarded as indicative of frequent and integrated runoff along a drainage network. However, field observations of soil development and rill geometry in small, first-order catchments (0.1 to 1 ha) of the Zin Valley Badlands, northern Negev, Israel, suggest a pattern of partial area contribution and frequent flow discontinuities along hillslopes and channels. Changing soil properties, associated with an increase of slope angle and slope length, appear to be responsible for high infiltration on the slopes, leading to nonuniform runoff generation within small drainage basins. Runoff observation, sprinkling tests, and soil analysis along ridges and sideslopes were carried out to test this hypothesis. The results confirmed that infiltration capacity on the sideslopes is significantly higher than on the ridges. Under current rainfall conditions, only extreme rainfall intensities are sufficient to generate runoff along entire slopes. The discontinuous nature of most runoff events causes erosion on ridges and deposition on slopes, which enhances soil development on the valley sideslopes, creating a positive feedback on infiltration rate and depth. This demonstrates that the links between within-storm rainfall conditions and spatial distribution of soil characteristics have to be incorporated into our understanding of landscape development in badlands.     

Erodibility of soil and organic matter: independence of organic matter resistance to interrill erosion

The enrichment of organic matter in interrill sediment is well documented; however, the respective roles of soil organic matter (SOM) and interrill erosion processes for the enrichment are unclear. In this study, organic matter content of sediment generated on two silts with almost identical textures, but different organic matter contents and aggregations, was tested. Artificial rainfall was applied to the soils in wet, dry and crusted initial conditions to determine the effects of soil moisture and rainfall and drying history on organic matter enrichment in interrill sediment. While erosional response of the soils varied significantly, organic matter enrichment of sediment was not sensitive to initial soil conditions. However, enrichment was higher on the silt with a lower organic matter content and lower interrill erodibility. The results show that enrichment of organic matter in interrill sediment is not directly related to either SOM content or soil interrill erodibility, but is dominated by interrill erosion processes. As a consequence of the complex interaction between soil, organic matter and interrill erosion processes, erodibility of organic matter should be treated as a separate variable in erosion models. Further research on aggregate breakdown, in particular the content and fate of the organic matter in the soil fragments, is required. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Cretaceous eclogite in the Eastern Rhodopes (Bulgaria): evidence for subduction under the Sredna Gora magmatic arc

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The Rhodopes in Bulgaria and Greece represent a nappe stack of high-grade units with polymetamorphic history. Constraining the time of metamorphism in...