Jason-1 global statistical evaluation and performance assessment: Calibration and cross-calibration results

Since Jason-1launch, extensive validation of Jason-1 data and cross-calibration relative to TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) have been performed by the CLS validation team within the CNES Jason-1 project. These validation activities are routinely operated as part of the Jason-1 ground segment, and often lead to in-depth studies to understand all validation conclusions. This paper presents the main results in terms of Jason-1 data quality: verification of data availability and validity, monitoring of the most relevant altimeter and radiometer parameters, assessment of the Jason-1 altimeter system performances. From global statistical analysis of more than 2 years of Jason-1 GDR data, results for all components of the altimeter measurement are derived in terms of bias, trend and precision. This work also represents a contribution to the estimation of the Jason-1 error budget. Thorough studies have been more focused on specific issues in relation to data quality: this is the case for the analysis of the high frequency content of the Jason-1 data and its impact on the T/P to Jason-1 comparison. From the results presented in this paper, it is demonstrated that the Jason-1 mission fulfils the requirements of high precision altimetry. In particular, it allows continuing the observation of the Mean Sea Level (MSL) variations at the same accuracy as T/P, which was one of the challenges of the Jason-1 mission. Potential improvements and open issues are also identified, with the objective of still making progress in terms of altimeter data quality.     

Phytoplankton community adaptation to changing light levels in the southern Beaufort Sea,Canadian Arctic

The chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient of phytoplankton, a_φ^∗(λ) is an important parameter to determine for primary production models and for the estimation of phytoplankton physiological condition. Knowledge of this parameter at high latitudes where nutrient rich cold water submitted to low incident light is a common environment is almost nonexistent. To address this issue, we investigated the light absorption properties of phytoplankton as a function of irradiance, temperature, and nutrients using a large data set in the southern Beaufort Sea during the open water to ice cover transition period. The a_φ^∗(λ) tended to increase from autumn when open water still existed to early winter when sea ice cover was formed, resulting from a biological selection of smaller-size phytoplankton more efficient to absorb light. There was no significant correlation between a_φ^∗(λ) and irradiance or temperature for both seasons. However, a_φ^∗(λ) showed a significant positive correlation with NO₃ + NO₂. Implications of the results for phytoplankton community adaptation to changing light levels are discussed.     

Floating marine debris surface drift: Convergence and accumulation toward the South Pacific subtropical gyre

Whatever its origin is, a floating particle at the sea surface is advected by ocean currents. Surface currents could be derived from in situ observations or combined with satellite data. For a better resolution in time and space, we use satellite-derived sea-surface height and wind stress fields with a 1/3° grid from 1993 to 2001 to determine the surface circulation of the South Pacific Ocean. Surface currents are then used to compute the Lagrangian trajectories of floating debris. Results show an accumulation of the debris in the eastern-centre region of the South Pacific subtropical gyre ([120°W; 80°W]–[20°S; 40°S]), resulting from a three-step process: in the first two years, mostly forced by Ekman drift, the debris drift towards the tropical convergence zone (30°S). Then they are advected eastward mostly forced by geostrophic currents. They finally reach the eastern-centre region of the South Pacific subtropical gyre from where they could not escape.     

Nonlinear Flow in Karst Formations

The variation of effective hydraulic conductivity as a function of specific discharge in several 0.2-m and 0.3-m cubes of Key Largo Limestone was investigated. The experimental results closely match the Forchheimer equation. Defining the pore-size length scale in terms of Forchheimer parameters, it is demonstrated that significant deviations from Darcian flow will occur when the Reynolds number exceeds 0.11. A particular threshold model previously proposed for use in karstic formations does not show strong agreement with the data near the onset of nonlinear flow.     

Sensitivity analysis of 2D steady-state shallow water flow. Application to free surface flow model calibration

This paper presents the analytical properties of the solutions of the sensitivity equations for steady-state, two-dimensional shallow water flow. These analytical properties are used to provide guidelines for model calibration and validation. The sensitivity of the water depth/level and that of the longitudinal unit discharge are shown to contain redundant information. Under subcritical conditions, the sensitivities of the flow variables are shown to obey an anisotropic elliptic equation. The main directions of the contour lines for water depth and the longitudinal unit discharge sensitivity are parallel and perpendicular to the flow, while they are diagonal to the flow for the transverse unit discharge sensitivity. Moreover, the sensitivity for all three variables extends farther in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction, the anisotropy ratio being a function of the sole Froude number. For supercritical flow, the sensitivity obeys an anisotropic hyperbolic equation. These findings are confirmed by application examples on idealized and real-world simulations. The sensitivities to the geometry, friction coefficient or model boundary conditions are shown to behave in different ways, thus providing different types of information for model calibration and validation.     

Sheathed prokaryotic filaments,major components of Mid-Cretaceous French amber microcoenoses

Prokaryotes were the first organisms to colonize Earth, but little evidence of their existence has been found in the fossil record. Recent studies of amber, a fossil resin from gymnosperms or angiosperms, have revealed a number of rarely fossilized microorganisms. Several amber-bearing localities of Mid-Cretaceous age in southwestern France (Charentes and Aude regions) led to the discovery of a rich and diverse biota of resin-preserved microorganisms. These amber microcoenoses are dominated by sheathed prokaryotic filaments similar to those of the cyanobacterium Palaeocolteronema cenomanensis Breton and Tostain (2005) and to those of the bacterium Leptotrichites resinatus Schmidt 2005. These sheathed filaments appear as peripheral cortexes around some pieces of amber from the Charentes outcrops and as peripheral dark areas on amber from the Aude locality. Macroscopic and microscopic features, as well as measurements of phycocyanin concentrations from the filaments, made it possible to identify two different taxa. The sheathed filaments from Charentes correspond to P. cenomanensis. They were growing in freshwater ponds when amber trapped them. Those of the Aude outcrop represent L. resinatus. The latter were probably trapped in less humid environments than were P. cenomanensis filaments.     

Anti-plane （SH） waves diffraction by cavity： analytical an underground semi-circular solution

Diffraction of a two-dimensional (2D) semi-circular cavity in a half-space under incident SH-waves is studied using the classic wave function expansion method with a new de-coupling technique. This so-called “improved cosine halfrange expansion” algorithm exhibits an excellent performance in reducing displacement residual errors at two rim points of concern. The governing equations are developed in a manner that minimizes the residues of the boundary conditions. Detailed derivation and analysis procedures as well as truncation of infinite linear governing equations are presented. The semi-circular cavity model presented in this paper, due to its simple profile, is expected to be used in seismic wave propagation studies as a benchmark for examining the accuracies of various analytical or numerical methods for mixed-boundary wave propagation problems.     

A discontinuous finite element baroclinic marine model on unstructured prismatic meshes

We describe the space discretization of a three-dimensional baroclinic finite element model, based upon a discontinuous Galerkin method, while the companion paper (Comblen et al. 2010a) describes the discretization in time. We solve the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations governing marine flows on a mesh made up of triangles extruded from the surface toward the seabed to obtain prismatic three-dimensional elements. Diffusion is implemented using the symmetric interior penalty method. The tracer equation is consistent with the continuity equation. A Lax–Friedrichs flux is used to take into account internal wave propagation. By way of illustration, a flow exhibiting internal waves in the lee of an isolated seamount on the sphere is simulated. This enables us to show the advantages of using an unstructured mesh, where the resolution is higher in areas where the flow varies rapidly in space, the mesh being coarser far from the region of interest. The solution exhibits the expected wave structure. Linear and quadratic shape functions are used, and the extension to higher-order discretization is straightforward.     

Recycled water for augmenting urban streams in mediterranean-climate regions: a potential approach for riparian ecosystem enhancement

Abstract

The scarcity of water in mediterranean-climate regions makes flow management in the rehabilitation of urban streams problematic. To explore potential applications of using recycled water for stream enhancement, we examine streams in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA, to characterize: (a) historic flow regimes at the regional scale, (b) potential unintended ecological effects and (c) specific issues related to recycled water. We analysed historic flow regimes in five basins, performed a streamflow augmentation experiment and monitored benthic macroinvertebrates above and below a recycled-water discharge. Streamflow augmentation with recycled water can provide improved aesthetics and aquatic habitat, but there are caveats to consider. Implications of inputs of recycled water in streams, whether direct or indirect, require detailed analysis of trade-offs. Augmentation is unlikely to harm the ecology of urban streams that are now just barely flowing perennially with pools of stagnant, contaminated water, and it may reduce public health problems from mosquitoes.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor M. Acreman

Citation Lawrence, J.E., Pavia, C.P.W., Kaing, S., Bischel, H.N., Luthy, R.G., and Resh, V.H., 2014. Recycled water for augmenting urban streams in mediterranean-climate regions: a potential approach for riparian ecosystem enhancement. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 488–501.