Applicability of an ultra-long-range terrestrial laser scanner to monitor the mass balance of Muz Taw Glacier, Sawir Mountains, China

Glacier mass balance is a key component of glacier monitoring programs. Information on the mass balance of Sawir Mountains is poor due to a dearth of in-situ measurements. This paper introduces the applicability of an ultra-long-range terrestrial laser scanner(TLS) to monitor the mass balance of Muz Taw Glacier, Sawir Mountains, China. The Riegl VZ?-6000 TLS is exceptionally well-suited for measuring snowy and icy terrain. Here, we use TLS to create repeated high spatiotemporal resolution DEMs, focusing on the annual mass balance(June 2, 2015 to July 25, 2016). According to TLS-derived high spatial resolution point clouds, the front variation(glacier retreat) of Muz Taw Glacier was 9.3 m. The mean geodetic elevation change was 4.55 m at the ablation area. By comparing with glaciological measurements, the glaciological elevation change of individual stakes and the TLS-derived geodetic elevation change of corresponding points matched closely, and the calculated balance was-3.864±0.378 m w.e.. This data indicates that TLS provides accurate results and is therefore suitable to monitor mass balance evolution of Muz Taw Glacier.     

G-WADI—the first decade

The G-WADI network by UNESCO promotes the global capacity for management of water resources in arid and semi-arid areas. The primary aim has been to build a comprehensive global network to promote regional and international cooperation so as to increase knowledge and improve management practices through the sharing of information. The G-WADI objectives and achievements of the past 10 years are reviewed. A number of key initiatives have been implemented––the formation of five regional networks, the creation of a central G-WADI web site, promotion of near-real-time rainfall distribution software enhanced by the inclusion of satellite based precipitation estimations, as well as workshop and web-based activities on chemical and isotopic tracers and on rain water harvesting. Two workshops on surface and on groundwater modeling, supported by publications have been held in India and China. The Asian G-WADI network remains very active, but activities in the other three regions are developing (Africa, Arab Region, Latin America and the Caribbean).     

Flood frequency analysis of river swat using Log Pearson type 3, Generalized Extreme Value,Normal, and Gumbel Max distribution methods

In Pakistan, floods are among the most devastating and recurring natural hazards. Flood hazard assessment requires flood event magnitude and probability of occurrence. Flood frequency analysis is the most common technique used for the at-site estimation of flood recurrence magnitude. This paper evaluates four most commonly used distribution methods, i.e., Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), Log Pearson 3 (LP3), Gumbel Max, and Normal for the flood frequency and estimation of flood recurrence. Different hydrological stations data namely Khwazakhela, Chakdarra, Panjkora, and Munda Headwork located at Swat river was taken from Provincial Irrigation Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The analysis is done for 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, and 100-year return periods by using annual maximum discharge data from 1980 to 2016 (37 yr). Three goodness-of-fit tests were applied to the fitted distributions, i.e., Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Anderson–Darling, and Chi-squared at 5% significance level. Results indicate that LP3 and GEV were ranked top two distributions at all locations while Gumbel Max and Normal were the least fitted having rank 3 and 4, respectively. Based on the goodness-of-fit ranking, LP3 was selected for the estimation of flood magnitude and return periods at Khwazakhela. Designed hydrographs based on probabilistic approach and flood 2010 hydrograph are presented for flood simulation.     

Electrostatic solitons in rotating dusty plasmas with anisotropic ion pressure

The Zakharov-Kuznetsov (ZK) equation is derived for electrostatic wave in a rotating magnetoplasma with anisotropic ion pressure and in the presence of stationary charged dust particles. The anisotropic ion pressure is defined using double adiabatic Chew-Golberger-Low (CGL) theory. The reductive perturbation method is employed to study the dynamics of obliquely propagating low frequency ion acoustic wave with adiabatic ions. It is found that the ion pressure anisotropy, polarity, density of the dust particles and rotational frequency have significant effects on the formation nonlinear structures in rotating magnetized dusty plasmas. The numerical results are also presented for illustration.     

A modified model for interstellar extinction

It is shown that available optical and ultraviolet data relating to the interstellar dust are elegantly explained on the basis of a modified microbal grain model. A model comprised of two biologically derived components, modified under interstellar conditions. Data on interstellar extinction, albedo and polarization may be accounted for by this model.     

Robust approach for optimal positioning and ranking potential rainwater harvesting structure (RWH): a case study of Iraq

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) structure is considered as the best solution to conserve water for arid regions. The selection of RWH location is based on several key determinants such as hydrology, environment, topography, and socio-economic. This study proposed a robust methodology to identify and select the location of RWH using geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) with multi-criteria decision techniques in areas where data are scarce. Several thematic maps were extracted such as vegetation cover, soil group, slope, land use, and digital elevation (DEM). The RWH sites were ranked based on four major indexes: evaporation, cost-benefit, sediment, and hydrological index. Sensitivity analysis shows that the variance inverse (VI) and rank order method (ROM) considered all indices that effect ranking as compared to the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy-AHP. Sensitivity analysis also proved that the proposed method is suitable to be used for RWH site selection in arid regions.