Diurnal cycle of surface energy fluxes in high mountain terrain: High-resolution fully coupled atmosphere-hydrology modelling and impact of lateral flow

Water and energy fluxes are inextricably interlinked within the interface of the land surface and the atmosphere. In the regional earth system models, the lower boundary parameterization of land surface neglects lateral hydrological processes, which may inadequately depict the surface water and energy fluxes variations, thus affecting the simulated atmospheric system through land-atmosphere feedbacks. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the hydrologically enhanced regional climate modelling in order to represent the diurnal cycle of surface energy fluxes in high spatial and temporal resolution. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) and coupled WRF Hydrological modelling system (WRF-Hydro) are applied in a high alpine catchment in Northeastern Tibetan Plateau, the headwater area of the Heihe River. By evaluating and intercomparing model results by both models, the role of lateral flow processes on the surface energy fluxes dynamics is investigated. The model evaluations suggest that both WRF and coupled WRF-Hydro reasonably represent the diurnal variations of the near-surface meteorological fields, surface energy fluxes and hourly partitioning of available energy. By incorporating additional lateral flow processes, the coupled WRF-Hydro simulates higher surface soil moisture over the mountainous area, resulting in increased latent heat flux and decreased sensible heat flux of around 20–50 W/m² in their diurnal peak values during summertime, although the net radiation and ground heat fluxes remain almost unchanged. The simulation results show that the diurnal cycle of surface energy fluxes follows the local terrain and vegetation features. This highlights the importance of consideration of lateral flow processes over areas with heterogeneous terrain and land surfaces.     

A possible E-W asymmetry of the coronal emission line intensities and K-corona brightness

The analysis of the daily measurements of the coronal green and red line intensities as well as the K-corona brightness, which have been collected by the Pic-du-Midi Observatory, for the time period 1944–1974, has revealed some very interesting features. North-South (N-S) asymmetries for all these coronal intensities are confirmed again for this time period. The main point of this analysis is a strong evidence of longitudinal distribution of the coronal intensities as derived from the data record. In our effort to confirm this asymmetry, we have examined the yearly and monthly distribution of the asymmetry coefficient in each solar quadrant showing that the northeast (NE) quadrant appears the most active of all. We have also examined the intensity ratios measured at the East and West solar limbs which is continuously greater than the unit.A seasonal variation of this ratio has also been reported with a maximum during the winter period and a minimum during the summer period.     

Le réseau de fracturation,facteur initial de la karstification des craies dans les collines du Perche : l’exemple du site de la Mansonnière (Bellou-sur-Huisne,Orne, France)

Résumé

Le facteur tectonique est reconnu depuis longtemps comme initiateur de la première phase de karstification, mais sans que ceci n’ait jamais été démontré car les témoignages des premières phases sont détruits par le développement de la karstification. Les qualités hydrologiques mixtes de la craie permettent de conserver une grande variété de formes spécifiques, illustrant différents stades d’évolution, depuis l’originel « primokarst » jusqu’au classique drain polyphasé.

Dans les collines du Perche, de très récentes recherches ont mis en évidence des galeries endokarstiques particulières, comblées de sables et d’argiles. Les analyses physiques, chimiques et rayons X ont démontré que ces remplissages résultent non pas d’un processus classique de dépôt fluviatile, mais au contraire d’un processus d’altération soulignant la progression d’un front d’altération dans la craie, jusqu’à la surface piézo- métrique. Les remplissages ne sont pas des dépôts sédimentaires, mais représentent une sorte de « fantôme de roche », résultant d’une transformation in situ de la craie, sans aucun transport de matière solide.

La genèse résulte de la progression de fronts d’altération installés sur le réseau de fissures de la zone d’introduction (de la surface jusqu’au toit de la nappe). À la rencontre de la nappe de la craie, le mélange des eaux produit une activité chimique qui ouvre la fissure originelle. Des galeries comblées, semblables à celles du karst classique, se forment, sans jamais avoir connu de drainage fluviatile. Ces galeries illustrent le premier degré d’une évolution karstique classique, juste avant qu’un flux draine la galerie constituant un nouveau degré de karstification : le conduit drainé. La spécificité de la région du Perche est que la karstification s’y est arrêtée au premier stade, illustrant le « primokarst » modélisé mais jamais décrit jusqu’alors. Les conditions de cette genèse sont acquises lorsque le site offre un réseau de fractures bien développé, une absence de formations superficielles, une perméabilité élevée du sol, une absence de drainage superficiel (pas de perte concentrée), et un encaissant relativement poreux. © Elsevier, Paris     

Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) ostracods from Highway A16 (NW Switzerland): taxonomy, stratigraphy, ecology, and biogeography

Ostracods are a common microfaunal element of the Kimmeridgian of the Jura Mountains in NW Switzerland. The stratigraphical subdivision within the Kimmeridgian can as clearly be inferred from ostracods as it is the case from the ammonite biozonation. This proves the utiliy of the ostracod biozonation, especially where ammonites are not available or rare. The ostracod-bearing layers of the sequence under study (middle part of the Reuchenette Formation = Banné Member, Courtedoux Member and Lower Virgula Marls) have been deposited in waters with highly brackish to marine salinities (high in the pliohaline range to—predominanttly—brachyhaline according to the Venice System, Oertli 1964). From the base of the section (base of the Banné Member, high brachyhaline in average), salinities slowly decreased, with lowest salinities in the lower dinosaur track levels of Courtedoux Member (high pliohaline on average). They then increased again to higher salinities (high brachyhaline on average) above the upper dinosaur track levels of the Courtedoux Member and the Lower Virgula Marls (lowermost A. eudoxus Zone). These trends perfectly correlate with the increased occurence of ammonites above the upper dinosaur track levels. In terms of Kimmeridgian ostracod palaeobiogeography, the fauna of the NW Swiss Jura Mountains described in this work is most similar to the Aquitan and Paris Basins, a little less to Northern Germany, and even less (with not even half of the species in common) to Southern Germany. The NW Swiss Jura Mountains still belong to a largely boreally influenced “Western and Central European subprovince”, whereas Southern Germany (though located more to the north) was subjected to an enhanced tethyan influence.     

How Collaborative Approaches to Environmental Problem Solving View Indigenous Peoples: A Systematic Review

Collaborative approaches to environmental problem solving are becoming commonplace around the world. These processes often occur in the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples. Hence, how Indigenous peoples are viewed in the collaboration literature is important because of the distinctive position they hold in many societies. In this article we conducted a systematic review of the collaboration literature that focused on environmental concerns and referred to Indigenous peoples. The goals were to identify how Indigenous peoples are discussed in this literature, and to reveal the assumptions that are made about the roles and views of Indigenous peoples and nations. The Indigenous governance literature was used to highlight the contrasting perspectives of Indigenous peoples. The systematic review revealed discordant assumptions about the roles of Indigenous peoples between these two bodies of literature. Implications for the theory and practice collaborative environmental problem solving are identified.     

An assessment of the mixed layer salinity budget in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Observations and modelling (1990–2009)

This paper investigates mechanisms controlling the mixed-layer salinity (MLS) in the tropical Pacific during 1990–2009. We use monthly 1°?×?1° gridded observations of salinity, horizontal current and fresh water flux, and a validated ocean general circulation model with no direct MLS relaxation in both its full resolution (0.25° and 5 days) and re-sampled as the observation time/space grid resolution. The present study shows that the mean spatial distribution of MLS results from a subtle balance between surface forcing (E???P, evaporation minus precipitation), horizontal advection (at low and high frequencies) and subsurface forcing (entrainment and mixing), all terms being of analogous importance. Large-scale seasonal MLS variability is found mainly in the Intertropical and South Pacific Convergence Zones due to changes in their meridional location (and related heavy P), in the North Equatorial Counter Currents, and partly in the subsurface forcing. Maximum interannual variability is found in the western Pacific warm pool and in both convergence zones, in relation to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. In the equatorial band, this later variability is due chiefly to the horizontal advection of low salinity waters from the western to the central-eastern basin during El Niño (and vice versa during La Niña), with contrasted evolution for the Eastern and Central Pacific ENSO types. Our findings reveal that all terms of the MLS equation, including high-frequency (<1 month) salinity advection, have to be considered to close the salinity budget, ruling out the use of MLS (or sea surface salinity) only to directly infer the mean, seasonal and/or interannual fresh water fluxes.     

The remarkable surface homogeneity of the Dawn mission target (1) Ceres

Dwarf-planet (1) Ceres is one of the two targets, along with (4) Vesta, that will be studied by the NASA Dawn spacecraft via imaging, visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, and gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy. While Ceres’ visible and near-infrared disk-integrated spectra have been well characterized, little has been done about quantifying spectral variations over the surface. Any spectral variation would give us insights on the geographical variation of the composition and/or the surface age. The only work so far was that of Rivkin and Volquardsen ([2010], Icarus 206, 327) who reported rotationally-resolved spectroscopic (disk-integrated) observations in the 2.2–4.0 μm range; their observations showed evidence for a relatively uniform surface.Here, we report disk-resolved observations of Ceres with SINFONI (ESO VLT) in the 1.17–1.32 μm and 1.45–2.35 μm wavelength ranges. The observations were made under excellent seeing conditions (0.6″), allowing us to reach a spatial resolution of ～75 km on Ceres’ surface. We do not find any spectral variation above a 3% level, suggesting a homogeneous surface at our spatial resolution. Slight variations (about 2%) of the spectral slope are detected, geographically correlated with the albedo markings reported from the analysis of the HST and Keck disk-resolved images of Ceres (Li et al. [2006], Icarus 182, 143; Carry et al. [2008], Astron. Astrophys. 478, 235). Given the lack of constraints on the surface composition of Ceres, however, we cannot assert the causes of these variations.     

离心场中土体图像采集与位移测量系统的研制与应用

以存储前移为主要思路,开发了离心场中高质量图像高速采集与位移非接触测量系统。该系统由图像采集、数据存储、通讯控制、分析处理和辅助制样5个子系统组成,能够克服高速旋转的离心场的干扰,在离心模型试验过程中高速采集高质量图像。该系统能够对多点同时进行测量,从而得到土体表面任意时刻、任意区域的位移场,并具有对土体无干扰、测量精度高、前期准备工作量小、自动化程度高等优点。使用该系统对土坡破坏离心模型试验中的土坡变形过程进行了测量,结果表明,土坡的破坏过程可分为均匀变形、应变局部化和破坏后变形3个阶段,加载过程中首先在坡顶和坡脚产生应变局部化。     

坡顶加载时黏性土坡土钉加固前后的离心模型试验比较研究

为研究坡顶加载条件下黏性土坡的承载特性和变形规律,进行了素土坡和土钉加固土坡的加载离心模型试验。测量了土坡的承载和变形过程。通过对比两种土坡的承载特性和变性规律,土钉的加固作用体现在：限制了土坡向坡面方向的位移,使土坡的承载能力得到了明显提高;在加固土坡内形成的土钉影响区域改善了加载底板边缘处的薄弱程度;增大了土坡中上部土体的竖向压缩变形,减小了剪切变形,增强了土坡的稳定性。土坡上部土钉的加固效果随着坡顶荷载的增大而越明显;土坡中下部土与土钉的相互作用越靠近坡面越强     

降雨条件下土坡变形机制的离心模型试验研究

自行研制了离心场降雨模拟设备,进行了降雨条件下边坡的离心模型试验。试验模型在离心机中加载到50g,然后开始降雨。采用非接触位移测量系统测量了试验过程中边坡的位移场变化,通过T5张力计测量边坡中典型点的吸力变化。试验结果表明,边坡的位移随降雨量的增大逐渐发展,发生明显变形的区域也逐渐变大,主要集中在边坡表面。边坡某处应变迅速变化的时刻与土体含水率迅速增大的时刻相一致。边坡某点的应变随降雨量的增加不断增大,并存在2个拐点,形成湿润锋和稳定锋2个锋面,并把边坡分成3个区域,通过锋面的变化反映降雨条件下边坡的变形过程。