Streamflow dynamics in a Mediterranean temporary river

Abstract

Mediterranean rivers are characterized by the irregularity of flow, harsh hydrological fluctuations and a profound transformation as the result of human activity. In this study, we investigate the streamflow response of a Mediterranean temporary river in which different groundwater, agriculture and urban contributions play an important role. Streamflow was measured at three nested gauging stations installed along Na Borges River, a lowland agricultural catchment (319 km²) on the island of Mallorca. Based on two hydrological years (2004/05 and 2005/06), potential evapotranspiration and surface water–groundwater interaction generated a succession of four different hydrological periods playing an important role in baseflow dynamics. The runoff coefficients were very low (<5%). At the event scale, groundwater also controlled runoff response, being very different according to hydrogeology, antecedent conditions and human impacts. During dry seasons, wastewater and karstic spring discharges maintain an influent regime into some streams. As a result, intense rainstorms in late summer generated water volumes over the impervious urban surfaces involved, with the result that quickflow was significant because the hydrological pathways were active. Citation Estrany, J., Garcia, C. & Alberich, R. (2010 Estrany, J., Garcia, C. and Batalla, R. J. 2010. Hydrological response of a small Mediterranean agricultural catchment. J. Hydrol., 380(1-2): 180–190. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.10.035[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) Streamflow dynamics in a Mediterranean temporary river. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(5), 717–736.      

Regionalization of heavy rainfall to improve climatic design values for infrastructure: case study in Southern Ontario,Canada

Abstract

Southern Ontario, Canada, has been impacted in recent years by many heavy rainfall and flooding events that have exceeded existing historical estimates of infrastructure design rainfall intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) values. These recent events and the limited number of short-duration recording raingauges have prompted the need to research the climatology of heavy rainfall events within the study area, review the existing design IDF methodologies, and evaluate alternative approaches to traditional point-based heavy rainfall IDF curves, such as regional IDF design values. The use of additional data and the regional frequency analysis methodology were explored for the study area, with the objective of validating identified clusters or homogeneous regions of extreme rainfall amounts through Ward's method. As the results illustrate, nine homogeneous regions were identified in Southern Ontario using the annual maximum series (AMS) for daily and 24-h rainfall data from climate and rate-of-rainfall or tipping bucket raingauge (TBRG) stations, respectively. In most cases, the generalized extreme value and logistic distributions were identified as the statistical distributions that provide the best fit for the 24-h and sub-daily rainfall data in the study area. A connection was observed between extreme rainfall variability, temporal scale of heavy rainfall events and location of each homogeneous region. Moreover, the analysis indicated that scaling factors cannot be used reliably to estimate sub-daily and sub-hourly values from 24- and 1-h data in Southern Ontario.

Citation Paixao, E., Auld, H., Mirza, M.M.Q., Klaassen, J. & Shephard, M.W. (2011) Regionalization of heavy rainfall to improve climatic design values for infrastructure: case study in Southern Ontario, Canada. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1067–1089.     

Deep incision in an Aptian carbonate succession indicates major sea‐level fall in the Cretaceous

Long‐term relative sea‐level cycles (0·5 to 6 Myr) have yet to be fully understood for the Cretaceous. During the Aptian, in the northern Maestrat Basin (Eastern Iberian Peninsula), fault‐controlled subsidence created depositional space, but eustasy governed changes in depositional trends. Relative sea‐level history was reconstructed by sequence stratigraphic analysis. Two forced regressive stages of relative sea‐level were recognized within three depositional sequences. The first stage is late Early Aptian age (intra Dufrenoyia furcata Zone) and is characterized by foreshore to upper shoreface sedimentary wedges, which occur detached from a highstand carbonate platform, and were deposited above basin marls. The amplitude of relative sea‐level drop was in the order of tens of metres, with a duration of <1 Myr. The second stage of relative sea‐level fall occurred within the Late Aptian and is recorded by an incised valley that, when restored to its pre‐contractional attitude, was >2 km wide and cut ≥115 m down into the underlying Aptian succession. With the subsequent transgression, the incision was backfilled with peritidal to shallow subtidal deposits. The changes in depositional trends, lithofacies evolution and geometric relation of the stratigraphic units characterized are similar to those observed in coeval rocks within the Maestrat Basin, as well as in other correlative basins elsewhere. The pace and magnitude of the two relative sea‐level drops identified fall within the glacio‐eustatic domain. In the Maestrat Basin, terrestrial palynological studies provide evidence that the late Early and Late Aptian climate was cooler than the earliest part of the Early Aptian and the Albian Stage, which were characterized by warmer environmental conditions. The outcrops documented here are significant because they preserve the results of Aptian long‐term sea‐level trends that are often only recognizable on larger scales (i.e. seismic), such as for the Arabian Plate.     

Reconstruction of hydrocarbons accumulation in sediments affected by the oil refinery industry: the case of Tehuantepec Gulf (Mexico)

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec corresponds to the shortest distance (~200?km) between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean in Southern Mexico, and the main economical activity of this region is oil extraction and refining. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) were determined in a ²¹⁰Pb dated sediment core collected from the continental shelf of Tehuantepec Gulf, in the vicinity of the oil refinery of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, the main oil refining facility of the country. The sediments were mostly of coarse nature and hence PAHs and TPHs concentrations throughout the core (61?C404???g?g^?1 and 29?C154?mg?kg^?1, respectively) were below international quality benchmarks. Depth profiles of both PAHs and TPHs concentrations showed increasing trends since the early 1900s but the higher values were found from the 1950s to present. PAH congener ratios showed that these contaminants had both petrogenic and pyrolitic sources, although the former has been predominant since the 1970s. The Salina Cruz refinery started operations in 1978 but the oil industry activities in the Tehuantepec Isthmus go back to the beginning of the twentieth century with the operation of Minatitlan refinery in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of Tehuantepec being the main conduit for oil distribution in the Pacific coast. The observed changes in contaminant distributions described well the oil industry development in the area.     

Groundwater control on the suspended sediment load in the Na Borges River, Mallorca, Spain

Groundwater dominance has important effects on the hydrological and geomorphological characteristics of river systems. Low suspended sediment concentrations and high water clarity are expected because significant inputs of sediment-free spring water dilute the suspended sediment generated by storms. However, in many Mediterranean rivers, groundwater dominance is characterised by seasonal alternations of influent and effluent discharge involving significant variability on the sediment transport regimes. Such areas are often subject to soil and water conservation practices over the centuries that have reduced the sediment contribution from agricultural fields and favour subsurface flow to rivers. Moreover, urbanisation during the twentieth century has changed the catchment hydrology and altered basic river processes due to its ‘flashy’ regime. In this context, we monitored suspended sediment fluxes during a two-year period in the Na Borges River, a lowland agricultural catchment (319 km²) on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was lower when the base flow index (i.e., relative proportion of baseflow compared to stormflow, BFI) was higher. Therefore, strong seasonal contrasts explain the high SSC coefficient of variation, which is clearly related to dilution effects associated with different groundwater and surface water seasonal interactions. A lack of correlation in the Q-SSC rating curves shows that factors other than discharge control sediment transport. As a result, at the event scale, multiple regressions illustrate that groundwater and surface water interactions are involved in the sedimentary response of flood events. In the winter, the stability of baseflow driven by groundwater contributions and agricultural and urban spills causes hydraulic variables (i.e., maximum discharge) to exert the most important control on events, whereas in the summer, it is necessary to accumulate important volumes of rainfall, creating a minimum of wet conditions in the catchment to activate hydrological pathways and deliver sediment to the drainage network. The BFI is also related to sediment delivery processes, as the loads are higher with lower BFI, corroborating the fact that most sediment movement is caused by stormflow and its related factors. Overall, suspended sediment yields were very low (i.e., < 1 t km^− 2 yr^− 1) at all measuring sites. Such values are the consequence of the limited sediment delivery attributable to soil conservation practices, low surface runoff coefficients and specific geomorphic features of groundwater-dominated rivers, such as low drainage density, low gradient, steep valley walls and flat valley floors.     

HASSET: a probability event tree tool to evaluate future volcanic scenarios using Bayesian inference

Event tree structures constitute one of the most useful and necessary tools in modern volcanology for assessment of hazards from future volcanic scenarios (those that culminate in an eruptive event as well as those that do not). They are particularly relevant for evaluation of long- and short-term probabilities of occurrence of possible volcanic scenarios and their potential impacts on urbanized areas. In this paper, we introduce Hazard Assessment Event Tree (HASSET), a probability tool, built on an event tree structure that uses Bayesian inference to estimate the probability of occurrence of a future volcanic scenario and to evaluate the most relevant sources of uncertainty from the corresponding volcanic system. HASSET includes hazard assessment of noneruptive and nonmagmatic volcanic scenarios, that is, episodes of unrest that do not evolve into volcanic eruption but have an associated volcanic hazard (e.g., sector collapse and phreatic explosion), as well as unrest episodes triggered by external triggers rather than the magmatic system alone. Additionally, HASSET introduces the Delta method to assess precision of the probability estimates, by reporting a 1 standard deviation variability interval around the expected value for each scenario. HASSET is presented as a free software package in the form of a plug-in for the open source geographic information system Quantum Gis (QGIS), providing a graphically supported computation of the event tree structure in an interactive and user-friendly way. We also include further in-depth explanations for each node together with an application of HASSET to Teide-Pico Viejo volcanic complex (Spain).     

Contrasts among macrophyte riparian species in their use of stream water nitrate and ammonium: insights from 15N natural abundance

We examined the relevance of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) forms (nitrate and ammonium) in stream water as N sources for different macrophyte species. To do this, we investigated the variability and relationships between ¹⁵N natural abundance of DIN forms and of four different macrophyte species in five different streams influenced by inputs from wastewater treatment plants and over time within one of these streams. Results showed that ¹⁵N signatures were similar in species of submersed and amphibious macrophytes and in stream water DIN, whereas ¹⁵N signatures of the riparian species were not. ¹⁵N signatures of macrophytes were generally closer to ¹⁵N signatures of nitrate, regardless of the species considered. Our results showed significant relationships between ¹⁵N signatures of DIN and those of submersed Callitriche stagnalis and amphibious Veronica beccabunga and Apium nodiflorum, suggesting stream water DIN as a relevant N source for these two functional groups. Moreover, results from a mixing model suggested that stream water DIN taken up by the submersed and amphibious species was mostly in the form of nitrate. Together, these results suggest different contribution to in-stream N uptake among the spatially-segregated species of macrophytes. While submersed and amphibious species can contribute to in-stream N uptake by assimilation of DIN, macrophyte species located at stream channel edges do not seem to rely on stream water DIN as an N source. Ultimately, these results add a functional dimension to the current use of macrophytes for the restoration of stream channel morphology, indicating that they can also contribute to reduce excess DIN in streams.     

Geochronology of Quaternary glaciations from the tropical Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru

The Cordillera Huayhuash in the central Peruvian Andes (10.3°S, 76.9°W) is an ideal mountain range in which to study regional climate through variations in paleoglacier extents. The range trends nearly north-south with modern glaciers confined to peaks >4800 m a.s.l. Geomorphology and geochronology in the nearby Cordillera Blanca and Junin Plain reveal that the Peruvian Andes preserve a detailed record of tropical glaciation. Here, we use ASTER imagery, aerial photographs, and GPS to map and date glacial features in both the western and eastern drainages of the Cordillera Huayhuash. We have used in situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be concentrations in quartz bearing erratics on moraine crests and ice-polished bedrock surfaces to develop an exposure age chronology for Pleistocene glaciation within the range. We have also collected sediment cores from moraine-dammed lakes and bogs to provide limiting ¹⁴C ages for glacial deposits. In contrast to the ranges to the north and south, most glacial features within the Cordillera Huayhuash are Lateglacial in age, however we have identified features with ages that span 0.2 to 38 ka with moraine sets marking the onset of glacier retreat at 0.3 ka, 9–10 ka, 13–14 ka, 20–22 ka, and >26 ka. The range displays a pronounced east-west variation in maximum down-valley distance from the headwall of moraine crests with considerably longer paleoglaciers in the eastern drainages. Importantly, Lateglacial paleoglaciers reached a terminal elevation of 4000 m a.s.l. on both sides of the Cordillera Huayhuash; suggesting that temperature may have been a dominant factor in controlling the maximum glacier extent. We suggest that valley morphology, specifically valley slope, strongly influences down-valley distance to the maximum glacier extent and potential for moraine preservation. While regionally there is an extensive record of older (>50 ka) advances to the north (Cordillera Blanca) and to the south (Junin region), the apparent lack of old moraines in this locality may be explained by the confined morphology of the Cordillera Huayhuash valleys that has inhibited the preservation of older glacial geomorphic features.