Discharge‐sediment processes of the Zhadang glacier on the Tibetan Plateau measured with a high frequency data acquisition system

In high elevation cold regions of the Tibetan Plateau, suspended sediment transfer from glacier meltwater erosion is one of the important hydrological components. The Zhadang glacier is a typical valley‐type glacier in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains on the Tibetan Plateau. To make frequent and long period records of meltwater runoff and sediment processes in the very high elevation and isolated regions, an automatic system was installed near the glacier snout (5400 m a.s.l) in August 2013, to measure the transient discharge and sediment processes at 5‐min interval, which is shorter than the time span for the water flow to traverse the catchment from the farthest end to the watershed outlet. Diurnal variations of discharge, and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) were recorded at high frequency for the Zhadang glacier, before suspended sediment load (SSL) was computed. Hourly SSC varied from the range of 0.2 kg/m³ to 0.5 kg/m³ (at 8:00–9:00) to the range of 2.0 kg/m³ to 4.0 kg/m³ (at 17:00–18:00). The daily SSL was 32.24 t during the intense ablation period. Hourly SSC was linearly correlated with discharge (r = 0.885**, n = 18, p < 0.01). A digit‐eight hysteresis loop was observed for the sediment transport in the glacier area. Air temperature fluctuations influence discharge, and then result in the sediment variations. The results of this study provide insight into the responses of suspended sediment delivery processes with a high frequency data in the high elevation cold regions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Risk evaluation of geological hazards of mountainous tourist area: a case study of Mengshan,China

Natural Hazards - Risk evaluation is crucial for the construction projects in the areas with high risk of geological hazards. In this paper, based on the projects of Mengshan tourism area,...     

Influence of a coarse interlayer on seawater intrusion and contaminant migration in coastal aquifers

Vertical 2D slice laboratory experiments were carried out in homogenous and layered sand tanks to elucidate the effects of a highly permeable (coarse‐grained sand) interlayer on seawater intrusion and transport of contaminants to a coastal sea. Tidal fluctuations produced oscillations in the seawater–freshwater transition zone, fluctuations of the contaminant infiltration rate and a zigzag contaminant plume outline. The seawater wedge became discontinuous at the (vertical) edges of the interlayer because of increased lateral movement of the seawater–freshwater interface within the interlayer. The contaminant plume formed a tail within the interlayer depending on the tidal stage, and similar to the wedge, its movement was accentuated. A simple analytical model that neglected vertical flow reliably predicted steady‐state seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifer. Numerical modeling was used to gain insight into the groundwater hydrodynamics and contaminant migration. The numerical results confirmed the experimental findings, i.e. that a highly permeable interlayer can provide a rapid transit path for contaminants to reach the seaward boundary and that the interlayer amplifies the effects of tidal fluctuations, resulting in wider transition zones for the seawater wedge and contaminant plume. Numerical simulations further showed that, with increasing interlayer hydraulic conductivity, the maximum seawater intrusion distance inside the interlayer increases approximately linearly. For the fixed‐head contaminant injection condition used, the model showed that contaminant infiltration increases approximately logarithmically with increasing interlayer hydraulic conductivity (other factors held fixed). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Piecewise prediction model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events on the Loess Plateau,China

Establishing a universal watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield prediction model represents a frontier field in erosion and soil/water conservation. The research presented here was conducted on the Chabagou watershed, which is located in the first sub‐region of the hill‐gully area of the Loess Plateau, China. A back‐propagation artificial neural model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield was established, with the accuracy of the model, then compared with that of multiple linear regression. The sensitivity degree of various factors to erosion and sediment yield was quantitatively analysed using the default factor test. On the basis of the sensitive factors and the fractal information dimension, the piecewise prediction model for erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events was established and further verified. The results revealed the back‐propagation artificial neural network model to perform better than the multiple linear regression model in terms of predicting the erosion modulus, with the former able to effectively characterize dynamic changes in sediment yield under comprehensive factor conditions. The sensitivity of runoff erosion power and runoff depth to the erosion and sediment yield associated with individual rainfall events was found to be related to the complexity of surface topography. The characteristics of such a hydrological response are thus closely related to topography. When the fractal information dimension is greater than the topographic threshold, the accuracy of prediction using runoff erosion power is higher than that of using runoff depth. In contrast, when the fractal information dimension is smaller than the topographic threshold, the accuracy of prediction using runoff depth is higher than that of using runoff erosion power. The developed piecewise prediction model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events, which introduces runoff erosion power and runoff depth using the fractal information dimension as a boundary, can be considered feasible and reliable and has a high prediction accuracy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical variations and transport mechanism of soil moisture in response to vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau of China

Soil moisture is essential for vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid regions. Ascertaining the vertical distribution and transportation of soil moisture under different vegetation types has a profound effect on the ecological construction. In this study, the soil moisture at a depth of 500 cm for four typical vegetation types, including Robinia pseudoacacia, Caragana korshinskii, Stipa bungeana, and corn, were investigated and compared in the Zhifanggou watershed of the Loess plateau. Additionally, hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes were detected to identify the transport mechanism of soil moisture. The results showed vertical distribution and transportation of soil moisture were different under different vegetation types. Depth-averaged soil moisture under S. bungeana and corn generally increased along the profile, while C. korshinskii and R. pseudoacacia showed weakly increasing and relatively stable after an obvious decreasing trend (0–40 cm). The soil moisture under R. pseudoacacia was lower than that under other vegetation types, especially in deep layer. However, the effect of R. pseudoacacia on soil moisture in the topsoil (< 30 cm) could be positive. For R. pseudoacacia (160–500 cm), C. korshinskii (0–500 cm), and S. bungeana (0–100 cm), the soil moisture declined with increased in vegetation age. Planting arbor species such as R. pseudoacacia intensified the decline of soil moisture on the Loess Plateau. The capacity of evaporation fractionation of soil moisture followed the sequence: corn > S. bungeana > R. pseudoacacia > C. korshinskii. The δ¹⁸O values in soil water fluctuated across the profile. The δ¹⁸O values changed sharply in upper layer and generally remained stable in deep layer. However, in middle layer, the vertical distribution characteristics of the δ¹⁸O values were different under different vegetation types. We estimated that piston flow was the main mode of precipitation infiltration, and the occurrence of preferential flow was related to vegetation types. These results were helpful to improve the understanding of the response of deep soil moisture to vegetation restoration and inform practices for sustainable water management.     

Measurement of stream cross section using ground penetration radar with Hilbert–Huang transform

This study presents a new method to measure stream cross section without having contact with water. Compared with conventional measurement methods which apply instruments such as sounding weight, ground penetration radar (GPR), used in this study, is a non‐contact measurement method. This non‐contact measurement method can reduce the risk to hydrologists when they are conducting measurements, particularly in high flow period. However, the original signals obtained by using GPR are very complex, different from studies in the past where the measured data were mostly interpreted by experts with special skill or knowledge of GPR so that the results obtained were less objective. This study employs Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT) to process GPR signals which are difficult to interpret by hydrologists. HHT is a newly developed signal processing method that can not only process the nonlinear and non‐stationary complex signals, but also maintain the physical significance of the signal itself. Using GPR with HHT, this study establishes a non‐contact stream cross‐section measurement method with the ability to measure stream cross‐sectional areas precisely and quickly. Also, in comparison with the conventional method, no significant difference in results is found to exist between the two methods, but the new method can considerably reduce risk, measurement time, and manpower. It is proven that the non‐contact method combining GPR with HHT is applicable to quickly and accurately measure stream cross section. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing regression‐based statistical approaches for downscaling precipitation over North America

This paper assesses linear regression‐based methods in downscaling daily precipitation from the general circulation model (GCM) scale to a regional climate model (RCM) scale (45‐ and 15‐km grids) and down to a station scale across North America. Traditional downscaling experiments (linking reanalysis/dynamical model predictors to station precipitation) as well as nontraditional experiments such as predicting dynamic model precipitation from larger‐scale dynamic model predictors or downscaling dynamic model precipitation from predictors at the same scale are conducted. The latter experiments were performed to address predictability limit and scale issues. The results showed that the downscaling of daily precipitation occurrence was rarely successful at all scales, although results did constantly improve with the increased resolution of climate models. The explained variances for downscaled precipitation amounts at the station scales were low, and they became progressively better when using predictors from a higher‐resolution climate model, thus showing a clear advantage in using predictors from RCMs driven by reanalysis at its boundaries, instead of directly using reanalysis data. The low percentage of explained variances resulted in considerable underestimation of daily precipitation mean and standard deviation. Although downscaling GCM precipitation from GCM predictors (or RCM precipitation from RCM predictors) cannot really be considered downscaling, as there is no change in scale, the exercise yields interesting information as to the limit in predictive ability at the station scale. This was especially clear at the GCM scale, where the inability of downscaling GCM precipitation from GCM predictors demonstrates that GCM precipitation‐generating processes are largely at the subgrid scale (especially so for convective events), thus indicating that downscaling precipitation at the station scale from GCM scale is unlikely to be successful. Although results became better at the RCM scale, the results indicate that, overall, regression‐based approaches did not perform well in downscaling precipitation over North America. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dissolved organic matter in surface runoff in the Loess Plateau of China: The role of rainfall events and land-use

Exploring the chemical characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is important for understanding the fate of laterally transported organic matter in watersheds. We hypothesized that differences in water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) in soils of varying land uses and rainfall events may significantly affect the quality and the quantity of stream DOM. To test our hypotheses, characteristics of rainfall-runoff DOM and WEOM of source materials (topsoil from different land uses and gullies, as well as typical vegetation) were investigated at two adjacent catchments in the Loess Plateau of China, using ultraviolet–visible absorbance and excitation emission matrix fluorescence with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Results indicated that land-use types may significantly affect the chemical composition of soil WEOM, including its aromaticity, molecular weight, and degree of humification. The PARAFAC analysis demonstrated that the soils and stream water were dominated by terrestrial/allochthonous humic-like substances and microbial transformable humic-like fluorophores. Shifts in the fluorescence properties of stream DOM suggested a pronounced change in the relative proportion of allochthonous versus autochthonous material under different rainfall patterns and land uses. For example, high proportions of forestland could provide more allochthonous DOM input. This study highlights the relevance of soils and hydrological dynamics on the composition and fluxes of DOM issuing from watersheds. The composition of DOM in soils was influenced by land-use type. Precipitation patterns influenced the proportion of terrestrial versus microbial origins of DOM in surface runoff. Contributions of allochthonous, terrestrially derived DOM inputs were highest from forested landscapes.