Landscape controls on long‐term runoff in subhumid heterogeneous Boreal Plains catchments

We compared median runoff (R) and precipitation (P) relationships over 25 years from 20 mesoscale (50 to 5,000 km²) catchments on the Boreal Plains, Alberta, Canada, to understand controls on water sink and source dynamics in water‐limited, low‐relief northern environments. Long‐term catchment R and runoff efficiency (RP^?1) were low and varied spatially by over an order of magnitude (3 to 119 mm/year, 1 to 27%). Intercatchment differences were not associated with small variations in climate. The partitioning of P into evapotranspiration (ET) and R instead reflected the interplay between underlying glacial deposit texture, overlying soil‐vegetation land cover, and regional slope. Correlation and principal component analyses results show that peatland‐swamp wetlands were the major source areas of water. The lowest estimates of median annual catchment ET (321 to 395 mm) and greatest R (60 to 119 mm, 13 to 27% of P) were observed in low‐relief, peatland‐swamp dominated catchments, within both fine‐textured clay‐plain and coarse‐textured glacial deposits. In contrast, open‐water wetlands and deciduous‐mixedwood forest land covers acted as water sinks, and less catchment R was observed with increases in proportional coverage of these land covers. In catchments dominated by hummocky moraines, long‐term runoff was restricted to 10 mm/year, or 2% of P. This reflects the poor surface‐drainage networks and slightly greater regional slope of the fine‐textured glacial deposit, coupled with the large soil‐water and depression storage and higher actual ET of associated shallow open‐water marsh wetland and deciduous‐forest land covers. This intercatchment study enhances current conceptual frameworks for predicting water yield in the Boreal Plains based on the sink and source functions of glacial landforms and soil‐vegetation land covers. It offers the capability within this hydro‐geoclimatic region to design reclaimed catchments with desired hydrological functionality and associated tolerances to climate or land‐use changes and inform land management decisions based on effective catchment‐scale conceptual understanding.     

Impact of reach geometry on stream channel sensitivity to extreme floods

Predicting spatial and temporal variations in bank erosion due to extreme floods presents a long‐standing challenge in geomorphology. We develop two methodologies for rapid, regional‐scale assessments of stream reaches susceptible to channel widening. The first proposes that channel widening occurs when unit stream power exceeds a critical threshold (300 W/m²). The second is motivated by the observation that widening often occurs at channel bends. We introduce a new metric, the bend stress parameter, which is proportional to the centripetal force exerted on a concave bank. We propose that high centripetal forces generate locally high bank shear forces and enhance channel bank erosion. We test both metrics using the geomorphic signature of Tropical Storm Irene (2011) on the White and the Saxtons Rivers, Vermont. Specifically, we test if reaches where significant channel widening occurred during Irene required one or both metrics to exceed threshold values. We observe two distinct styles of channel widening. Where unit stream power and bend stress parameter are high, widening is usually due to bank retreat. Elsewhere widening is usually due to the stripping of the upstream end of mid‐channel islands. Excluding widening associated with the stripping of the heads of mid‐channel islands, almost all the widening (> 98%) occurred along reaches identified as susceptible to widening. The combined metrics identify up to one‐quarter of the reaches lacking susceptibility to channel widening. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary-layer structure near the cold front of a marine cyclone during “ERICA”

The boundary layer in the warm sector of a moderately deepening winter cyclone during the Experiment on Rapidly Intensifying Cyclones over the Atlantic (ERICA) is studied near the cold front. Data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Electra research aircraft are used to examine mean and turbulence quantities. The aircraft data and supplemental data from ships, drifting buoys and moored buoys reveal an equivalent-barotropic pressure field. The area is found to be dominated by gradients in temperature and in turbulent fluxes, with changes occurring over 100 km horizontally being comparable to changes over 350 m vertically. The horizontal components of the gradients are found to be a maximum in a direction perpendicular to the front. Cross-sections perpendicular to the front are used to illustrate boundary-layer structure. Profiles of wind speed, stress, wind direction and stress direction are estimated from an Ekman model that is modified to take into account the equivalent-barotropic pressure field. Comparison of profiles from the model to the aircraft-measured data show reasonable agreement far from the front (100 km) when the model uses a constant eddy viscosity of approximately 6 kg m^–1 s^–1. Near the front there is less agreement with the model. Profiles of turbulent fluxes of momentum, heat and latent heat are divergent, with along-wind momentum flux negative and decreasing upward, cross-wind momentum flux positive and increasing upward, and heat flux and latent heat flux small, positive and decreasing upward. Far from the front, the turbulent kinetic energy budget shows that dissipation balances shear production. However, near-front behavior has an imbalance at low altitude, with shear production appearing as a TKE sink.     

Determination of subcatchment and watershed boundaries in a complex and highly urbanized landscape

Urban development significantly alters the landscape by introducing widespread impervious surfaces, which quickly convey surface run‐off to streams via stormwater sewer networks, resulting in “flashy” hydrological responses. Here, we present the inadequacies of using raster‐based digital elevation models and flow‐direction algorithms to delineate large and highly urbanized watersheds and propose an alternative approach that accounts for the influence of anthropogenically modified land cover. We use a semi‐automated approach that incorporates conventional drainage networks into overland flow paths and define the maximal run‐off contributing area. In this approach, stormwater pipes are clustered according to their slope attributes, which define flow direction. Land areas drained by each cluster and contributing (or exporting) flow to a topographically delineated catchment were determined. These land masses were subsequently added or removed from the catchment, modifying both the shape and the size. Our results in a highly urbanized Toronto, Canada, area watershed indicate a moderate net increase in the directly connected watershed area by 3% relative to a topographically forced method; however, differences across three smaller scale subcatchments are greater. Compared to topographic delineation, the directly connected watershed areas of both the upper and middle subcatchments decrease by 5% and 8%, respectively, whereas the lower subcatchment area increases by 15%. This is directly related to subsurface storm sewer pipes that cross topographic boundaries. When directly connected subcatchment area is plotted against total streamflow and flashiness indices using this method, the coefficients of variation are greater (0.93 to 0.97) compared to the use of digital elevation model‐derived subcatchment areas (0.78 to 0.85). The accurate identification of watershed and subcatchment boundaries should incorporate ancillary data such as stormwater sewer networks and retention basin drainage areas to reduce water budget errors in urban systems.     

Alterations in hepatic metallothionein content in perch, Perca fluviatilis, environmentally exposed to cadmium

During recent years laboratory studies have demonstrated the presence of metallothionein in several species of teleosts.^1–3 The role of metallothionein (MT) in protection against cadmium toxicity has been investigated by exposing fish to high levels of cadmium in the water.^4–6 So far, however, few field studies have focused on the existence of MT and its role in subcellular distribution of cadmium.⁷ In the present study the synthesis of MT as a possible mechanism by which perch adapt to cadmium contamination was investigated in a wild population of perch. An increased MT content of perch liver was found to correlate to an increase in cadmium present in the liver.     

Ice-core pollen record of climatic changes in the central Andes during the last 400 yr

This paper presents a high-resolution ice-core pollen record from the Sajama Ice Cap, Bolivia, that spans the last 400 yr. The pollen record corroborates the oxygen isotopic and ice accumulation records from the Quelccaya Ice Cap and supports the scenario that the Little Ice Age (LIA) consisted of two distinct phases—a wet period from AD 1500 to 1700, and a dry period from AD 1700 to 1880. During the dry period xerophytic shrubs expanded to replace puna grasses on the Altiplano, as suggested by a dramatic drop in the Poaceae/Asteraceae (P/A) pollen ratio. The environment around Sajama was probably similar to the desert-like shrublands of the Southern Bolivian Highlands and western Andean slopes today. The striking similarity between the Sajama and Quelccaya proxy records suggests that climatic changes during the Little Ice Age occurred synchronously across the Altiplano.     

Combining shock barometry with numerical modeling: Insights into complex crater formation—The example of the Siljan impact structure (Sweden)

Siljan, central Sweden, is the largest known impact structure in Europe. It was formed at about 380 Ma, in the late Devonian period. The structure has been heavily eroded to a level originally located underneath the crater floor, and to date, important questions about the original size and morphology of Siljan remain unanswered. Here we present the results of a shock barometry study of quartz‐bearing surface and drill core samples combined with numerical modeling using iSALE. The investigated 13 bedrock granitoid samples show that the recorded shock pressure decreases with increasing depth from 15 to 20 GPa near the (present) surface, to 10–15 GPa at 600 m depth. A best‐fit model that is consistent with observational constraints relating to the present size of the structure, the location of the downfaulted sediments, and the observed surface and vertical shock barometry profiles is presented. The best‐fit model results in a final crater (rim‐to‐rim) diameter of ~65 km. According to our simulations, the original Siljan impact structure would have been a peak‐ring crater. Siljan was formed in a mixed target of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks overlaying crystalline basement. Our modeling suggests that, at the time of impact, the sedimentary sequence was approximately 3 km thick. Since then, there has been around 4 km of erosion of the structure.     

Towards a political geography of United Nations peacekeeping: Some considerations

Peacekeeping missions should be viewed from various political and spatial perspectives. Firstly, there is the macro-level perspective of the UN Organization itself, particularly the respective interests of the most powerful members of the UN and permanent seat holders on the Security Council. Secondly, there are the national perspectives of the various resources and troop-contributing states to specific UN operations. Thirdly, there are the interests of the conflicting parties themselves, including governments, national armies, local militia groups, factional political leaders and local communities. An analysis of UN peacekeeping involves a complex multi-dimensional geopolitical framework that incorporates the linkages and contradictions between all these differing perspectives, from macro to micro-spatial scales. Peacekeepers themselves are not passive figures in the political and human landscapes within which they operate. Many of the activities of UN blue helmets alter landscapes and conflict scenarios. Whilst some of these changes are deliberate, such as the creation of demilitarized zones, many are unforeseen and less visible, such as the ways in which local civilian populations are affected by the presence of large numbers of foreign peacekeepers. This paper examines some of the political, social and economic consequences of peacekeeping missions in places as diverse as Cambodia, Somalia, the Lebanon and Cyprus.     

Changes in hillslope hydrology in a perched,shallow soil system due to clearcutting and residual biomass removal

Sustainable fuels legislation and volatility in energy prices have put additional pressures on the forestry sector to intensify the harvesting of biomass for “advanced biofuel” production. To better understand how residual biomass removal after harvest affects forest hydrology in relatively low slope terrain, a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study was conducted in the USDA Forest Service's Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, USA. Hydrological measurements were made from 2010–2013 on a forested hillslope that was divided into three treatment blocks, where one block was harvested and residual biomass removed (Biomass Removed), the second was harvested and residual biomass left (Biomass Left), and the last block was left as an Unharvested Control. The pre-harvest period (2 years) was 2010–11 and post-harvest (2 years) was 2012–13. Water table elevation at the upslope and downslope position, subsurface runoff, and soil moisture were measured between May–November. Mixed effect statistical models were used to compare both the before-after and “control” treatment ratios (ratios between harvested hillslopes and the Unharvested Control hillslope). Subsurface runoff significantly increased (p < .05) at both harvested hillslopes but to a greater degree on the Biomass Left hillslope. Greater subsurface runoff volumes at both harvested hillslopes were driven by substantial increases during fall, with additional significant increases during summer on the Biomass Left hillslope. The hydrological connectivity, inferred from event runoff ratios, increased due to harvesting at both hillslopes but only significantly on the Biomass Left hillslope. The winter harvest minimized soil disturbance, resulting in no change to the effective hydraulic conductivity distribution with depth. Thus, the observed hydrological changes were driven by increased effective precipitation and decreased evapotranspiration, increasing the duration that both harvested hillslopes were hydrologically active. The harvesting of residual biomass appears to lessen hydrological connectivity relative to leaving residual biomass on the hillslope, potentially decreasing downstream hydrological impacts of similar forestry operations.     

Plastic buckling of ring-stiffened conical shells under external hydrostatic pressure

The paper describes experimental tests carried out on three ring-stiffened cones that were tested to destruction under external hydrostatic pressure. The cones were carefully machined from EN1A Steel. All three cones failed by plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling in a mode commonly known as general instability. In this mode the entire ring-shell combination buckles bodily.The paper also provides a design chart using the results obtained from these three vessels, together with the results of six other vessels obtained from other tests. The design chart allows the possibility of obtaining a plastic knock down factor, so that the theoretical buckling pressures, based on elastic theory, can be divided by the plastic knockdown factor, to give the predicted buckling pressure. This method can also be used for the design of full-scale vessels.