A soil moisture monitoring network to assess controls on runoff generation during atmospheric river events

Soil moisture is a key modifier of runoff generation from rainfall excess, including during extreme precipitation events associated with Atmospheric Rivers (ARs). This paper presents a new, publicly available dataset from a soil moisture monitoring network in Northern California's Russian River Basin, designed to assess soil moisture controls on runoff generation under AR conditions. The observations consist of 2-min volumetric soil moisture at 19 sites and 6 depths (5, 10, 15, 20, 50, and 100 cm), starting in summer 2017. The goals of this monitoring network are to aid the development of research applications and situational awareness tools for Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations at Lake Mendocino. We present short analyses of these data to demonstrate their capability to characterize soil moisture responses to precipitation across sites and depths, including time series analysis, correlation analysis, and identification of soil saturation thresholds that induce runoff. Our results show strong inter-site Pearson's correlations (>0.8) at the seasonal timescale. Correlations are strong (>0.8) during events with high antecedent soil moisture and during drydown periods, and weak (<0.5) otherwise. High event runoff ratios are observed when antecedent soil moisture thresholds are exceeded, and when antecedent runoff is high. Although local heterogeneity in soil moisture can limit the utility of point source data in some hydrologic model applications, our analyses indicate three ways in which soil moisture data are valuable for model design: (1) sensors installed at 6 depths per location enable us to identify the soil depth below which evapotranspiration and saturation dynamics change, and therefore choose model soil layer depths, (2) time series analysis indicates the role of soil moisture processes in controlling runoff ratio during precipitation, which hydrologic models should replicate, and (3) spatial correlation analysis of the soil moisture fluctuations helps identify when and where distributed hydrologic modelling may be beneficial.     

CANOPEX: A Canadian hydrometeorological watershed database

Over the past few years, many international initiatives and collaborations were launched to improve and share knowledge in hydrology research. Large databases allowed finding patterns and relationships across regions and scales. This paper introduces the Canadian model parameter experiment (CANOPEX) database, which is adapted from the US MOPEX project data and methods. The CANOPEX database includes meteorological and hydrometric data as well as watershed boundaries for 698 basins. Two sets of basin‐averaged meteorological data (Maximum and minimum temperature and precipitation) are provided. The first dataset is directly taken from Environment Canada's weather stations whereas the second is extracted from the Natural Resources Canada gridded climate data product. Data are provided in MOPEX and Matlab formats. CANOPEX watersheds are well distributed over Canada, which allows investigating a variety of physiological and climatological conditions. The CANOPEX database can be used in a variety of hydrologic research projects such as climate change impact studies, model comparisons, multi‐modelling, ensemble streamflow prediction and model parameter estimation. CANOPEX could be used to generalize findings to other cold climate catchments as well as assess the robustness of research methodologies and procedures. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vibroseis productivity: shake and go

We use both model and field data to compare three methods for increasing vibroseis productivity and decreasing acquisition costs. The first method, HFVS (high-fidelity vibratory seismic), allows us to separate the responses from individual vibrators when multiple vibrators are operating simultaneously. The data quality of the separated records is superior to that of conventional correlated data because they are processed with measured ground-force signals, but the number of sweeps must be greater than or equal to the number of vibrators. The second method, cascaded sweep, eliminates the listening time between multiple sweeps and partially mitigates harmonic noise observed at later times on near-offset traces. Finally, a combined method, continuous-HFVS (C-HFVS), allows source separation with a single, long, segmented sweep. Separation is as good as with HFVS and interference noise is limited to times near the end of a sweep-segment length. All three methods produce acceptable seismic images for post-stack and prestack amplitude interpretation.
The choice of which option to use depends upon the area being investigated. HFVS has numerous benefits, especially when fine sampling is required to mitigate static problems and elevation changes. Due to the ability to separate individual responses, fine sampling can be achieved without sacrificing productivity. For deeper targets, cascaded sweep can be more efficient but data quality suffers from harmonic noise. C-HFVS, which combines features of HFVS and cascaded sweep, has the potential to result in the highest productivity, without sacrificing either fine sampling or data quality.     

Optimized friction pendulum and precast-prestressed pile to base-isolate a Chilean masonry house

In this study friction pendulum system (FPS) bearings and precast-prestressed pile (PPP) isolators are considered as base isolation devices for a Chilean confined masonry house. The house is numerically modeled using a multiple degree-of-freedom approach that is calibrated with experimental data. Dynamic behavior of the FPS and PPP isolators is simulated using analytical formulations based on laboratory testing. Optimization of the isolators is performed using an earthquake that is generated to match the design spectrum for the house based on Chilean seismic code. A non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is applied to carry out the optimization. Seismic response of the base-isolated structure subjected to a suite of ground motions is compared to the performance of the traditionally-constructed structure by means of several performance indices (PIs). Numerical simulations indicate that the PPP isolation system is more effective in reducing the base and structural shear, interstory drift, and floor acceleration of the structure than the FPS isolation system, although both systems result in substantial reductions of the response.     

Broadening the teaching of development in the classroom

Abstract: A key objective in the New Zealand Curriculum, in the learning area of the social sciences, is that students are taught the knowledge and skills to enable them to explore and analyse people's values and perspectives. A specific achievement standard for the NCEA at Level 2 (year 12) concerns learning about disparities in development within or between countries. This article raises the issue of how the concept of ‘development’ is taught. It outlines some of the historical uses of the term and discusses how the concept is constructed in the curriculum. It explores what students learn about development in the classroom and possibilities for broadening how the concept might be taught.     

The effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger-driven starbursts

We employ numerical simulations of galaxy mergers to explore the effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger-driven starbursts. Our numerical simulations include radiative cooling of gas, star formation, and stellar feedback to follow the interaction and merger of four disc galaxies. The galaxy models span a factor of 23 in total mass and are designed to be representative of typical galaxies in the local universe. We find that the merger-driven star formation is a strong function of merger mass ratio, with very little, if any, induced star formation for large mass ratio mergers. We define a burst efficiency that is useful to characterize the merger-driven star formation and test that it is insensitive to uncertainties in the feedback parametrization. In accord with previous work we find that the burst efficiency depends on the structure of the primary galaxy. In particular, the presence of a massive stellar bulge stabilizes the disc and suppresses merger-driven star formation for large mass ratio mergers. Direct, coplanar merging orbits produce the largest tidal disturbance and yield the most intense burst of star formation. Contrary to naive expectations, a more compact distribution of gas or an increased gas fraction both decrease the burst efficiency. Owing to the efficient feedback model and the newer version of smoothed particle hydrodynamics employed here, the burst efficiencies of the mergers presented here are smaller than in previous studies.     

Observations of circumstellar disks with infrared interferometry

The study of circumstellar disks around young stellar objects is arguably the area of astrophysics on which the technique of infrared interferometry has had the biggest impact. Here I will review the existing set of observations in this field, concentrating on disks but also including jets/winds and stellar properties. At the end, there is a brief discussion of how ongoing technical developments and observational improvements will expand the impact of infrared interferometry on the study of star formation.     

GeV gamma-ray attenuation and the high-redshift UV background

We present new calculations of the evolving UV background out to the epoch of cosmological reionization and make predictions for the amount of GeV gamma-ray attenuation by electron–positron pair production. Our results are based on recent semi-analytic models of galaxy formation, which provide predictions of the dust-extinguished UV radiation field due to starlight, and empirical estimates of the contribution due to quasars. We account for the reprocessing of ionizing photons by the intergalactic medium. We test whether our models can reproduce estimates of the ionizing background at high redshift from flux decrement analysis and proximity effect measurements from quasar spectra, and identify a range of models that can satisfy these constraints. Pair production against soft diffuse photons leads to a spectral cut-off feature for gamma rays observed between 10 and 100 GeV. This cut-off varies with redshift and the assumed star formation and quasar evolution models. We find only negligible amounts of absorption for gamma rays observed below 10 GeV for any emission redshift. With observations of high-redshift sources in sufficient numbers by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and new ground-based instruments, it should be possible to constrain the extragalactic background light in the UV and optical portion of the spectrum.     

Galaxy density profiles and shapes – II. Selection biases in strong lensing surveys

Many current and future astronomical surveys will rely on samples of strong gravitational lens systems to draw conclusions about galaxy mass distributions. We use a new strong lensing pipeline (presented in Paper I of this series) to explore selection biases that may cause the population of strong lensing systems to differ from the general galaxy population. Our focus is on point-source lensing by early-type galaxies with two mass components (stellar and dark matter) that have a variety of density profiles and shapes motivated by observational and theoretical studies of galaxy properties. We seek not only to quantify but also to understand the physics behind selection biases related to: galaxy mass, orientation and shape; dark matter profile parameters such as inner slope and concentration; and adiabatic contraction. We study how all of these properties affect the lensing Einstein radius, total cross-section, quad/double ratio and image separation distribution, with a flexible treatment of magnification bias to mimic different survey strategies. We present our results for two families of density profiles: cusped and deprojected Sérsic models. While we use fixed lens and source redshifts for most of the analysis, we show that the results are applicable to other redshift combinations, and we also explore the physics of how our results change for very different redshifts. We find significant (factors of several) selection biases with mass; orientation, for a given galaxy shape at fixed mass; cusped dark matter profile inner slope and concentration; concentration of the stellar and dark matter deprojected Sérsic models. Interestingly, the intrinsic shape of a galaxy does not strongly influence its lensing cross-section when we average over viewing angles. Our results are an important first step towards understanding how strong lens systems relate to the general galaxy population.     

Host‐dependent differences in resource use associated with Anilocra spp. parasitism in two coral reef fishes,as revealed by stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses

The role of parasites in trophic ecology is poorly understood in marine ecosystems. Stable isotope analyses (SIA) have been widely used in studies of trophic ecology, but have rarely been applied to study the role of parasites. Considering that some parasites are associated with altered host foraging patterns, SIA can help elucidate whether parasitism influences host trophic interactions. French grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum), an abundant Caribbean coral reef fish, contributes greatly to trophic connectivity. They typically depart the reef at dusk, feed overnight in seagrass beds, and return to the reef at dawn. The large parasitic isopod Anilocra haemuli commonly infects French grunt, and infected fish are less likely to complete their diel migration, and are in poorer condition than uninfected conspecifics. Brown chromis (Chromis multilineata) are diurnally feeding planktivores and infection by Anilocra chromis does not influence host condition. To determine if Anilocra infection influences host diet and foraging locality, we conducted stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses on scale, muscle, heart and gill tissues of infected and uninfected French grunt and brown chromis. We determined that all French grunt had δ¹³C values representative of seagrass habitats, but infected French grunt were significantly enriched in ¹³C and ¹⁵N compared to uninfected conspecifics. This suggests that compared to uninfected conspecifics, infected French grunt forage in seagrass, but on isotopically enriched prey, and/or are in poorer condition, which can elevate δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values. For brown chromis, infection did not significantly influence any δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values; hence they all foraged in the same environment and on similar prey. This is the first study to use SIA to examine differences in resource use by Caribbean coral reef fishes associated with parasitism and to evaluate how closely related parasites might have host‐dependent effects on host trophic ecology.