Climate change impacts on bedload transport in alpine drainage basins with hydropower exploitation

Sediment transport is known to have a significant impact on hydropower infrastructures and changes in sediment transport rates are important for sediment management measures and hydroelectricity production. In this study, we present how climate change may affect bedload transport in 66 high alpine catchments used by hydropower companies in the Valais, Switzerland. Future sediment yield is estimated with a runoff‐based sediment transport model for the two future 30 year time periods 2021–2050 and 2070–2099. The analysis is integrated into a modelling chain in which error‐corrected and downscaled climate scenarios generated in the framework of the ENSEMBLES project are coupled to the hydrological model PREVAH, glacier retreat and bedload transport. To calibrate the sediment transport model, we used the observed sediment volumes in water intakes and reservoirs if such data were available. The results obtained show on average a decrease of sediment yield due to the reduced runoff generation during summer, especially for the scenario period 2070–2099. A shift of the seasonal sediment transport regime with a current maximum during July and August to earlier months in the year is predicted. Projections of future sediment yield rely on the accuracy of the individual modeling chain elements. The different sources of uncertainty are discussed qualitatively. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-velocity dust collisions: forming planetesimals in a fragmentation cascade with final accretion

In laboratory experiments we determine the mass gain and loss in central collisions between centimetre- to decimetre-size SiO₂ dust targets and submillimetre- to centimetre-size SiO₂ dust projectiles of varying mass, size, shape and at different collision velocities up to ∼56.5 m s⁻¹. Dust projectiles much larger than 1 mm lead to a small amount of erosion of the target but decimetre targets do not break up. Collisions produce ejecta, which are smaller than the incoming projectile. Projectiles smaller than 1 mm are accreted by a target even at the highest collision velocities. This implies that net accretion of decimetre and larger bodies is possible. Independent of the original size of a considered projectile, after several collisions, all fragments will be of submillimetre size which might then be (re)accreted in the next collision with a larger body. The experimental data suggest that collisional growth through fragmentation and reaccretion is a viable mechanism to form planetesimals.     

Energy balance closure for the LITFASS-2003 experiment

In the first part, this paper synthesises the main results from a series of previous studies on the closure of the local energy balance at low-vegetation sites during the LITFASS-2003 experiment. A residual of up to 25% of the available energy has been found which cannot be fully explained either by the measurement uncertainty of the single components of the surface energy balance or by the length of the flux-averaging period. In the second part, secondary circulations due to heterogeneities in the surface characteristics (roughness, thermal and moisture properties) are discussed as a possible cause for the observed energy balance non-closure. This hypothesis seems to be supported from the fluxes derived from area-averaging measurement techniques (scintillometers, aircraft).     

A computationally efficient approach for estimating high-rate satellite clock corrections in realtime

Realtime satellite clock corrections are usually estimated using undifferenced phase and range observations from a global network. Because a large number of ambiguity parameters must be estimated, the computation is time-consuming. Consequently, only a sparse global network of limited number of stations is processed by most IGS Realtime Analysis Centers with an update rate of 5 s. In addition, it is very desirable to build the capability to simultaneously estimate clock corrections for multi-GNSS constellations. Although the estimation can be sped up by epoch-differenced observations that eliminate ambiguities, the derived clocks can contain a satellite-specific bias that diminishes the contribution of range observations. We introduce a computationally efficient approach for realtime clock estimation. Both the epoch-differenced phase and undifferenced range observations are used together to estimate the epoch-differenced satellite clocks and the initial clock bias for each satellite and receiver. The biased clock corrections accumulated from the estimated epoch-differenced clocks are then aligned with the estimated clock biases and provided as the final clock corrections to users. The algorithm is incorporated into the EPOS-RT software developed at GFZ (GeoForschungsZentrum) and experimentally validated with the IGS global network. The comparison with the GFZ rapid products shows that the accuracy of the clock estimation with the new approach is comparable with that of the undifferenced approach, whereas the computation time is reduced to one-tenth. As a result, estimation of high-rate satellite clocks from a large reference network and tracking satellites of multi-GNSS constellations becomes achievable.     

Intrusive origin for Upper Group (UG1, UG2) stratiform chromitite seams in the Dwars River area, Bushveld Complex, South Africa

Detailed geological mapping, core logging and petrographic analysis are supplemented with geochemical data to evaluate the petrogenesis of the Upper Group (UG1, UG2) stratiform chromitite seams in the Dwars River area, Bushveld Complex. Seven important and widespread features of UG1 and UG2 chromitite are addressed: (1) chromitite seams are dissociated from specific silicate successions and enclosed in Cr-rich silicates with a common genetic origin, (2) chromitite seams cut structures and textures in host silicates, have vein-like structures and host xenoliths, (3) chromitite seams are braided, (4) chromite grain distributions suggest flow segregation, (5) silicates in chromitite seams have modal proportions, forms and compositions different from those in binding silicate rocks, (6) PGE distributions in UG2 chromitite suggest flow segregation, and (7) chromitite seams are bound by coarse-grained silicates possibly formed through contact heating and/or de-volatization. These features are integrated into a model whereby UG chromitite seams developed from the intrusion of chromite crystal slurries. This model proposes that chromite grains first accumulated within structural traps of the Bushveld conduits, and that these accumulations were then re-mobilized with silicate melt (± sulfides and/or fluids?) to spread laterally as chromite crystal slurries within the layered ultramafic-mafic cumulates of the Bushveld Complex.     

Groundwater monitoring in Denmark: characteristics, perspectives and comparison with other countries

More than 99% of water use in Denmark is based on groundwater. Denmark has had a comprehensive national groundwater-monitoring programme since 1988 based on 74 well catchment areas and six small agricultural catchments with more than 1,500 screens at different depths for regular, mostly annual, water quality sampling. In addition, water samples from 10,000 abstraction wells are analysed every 3–5 years. The water is analysed for main components, inorganic trace elements, organic micro pollutants, and pesticides and their metabolites. A unique feature is the 20-year time-series data of inorganic pollutants. Groundwater modelling supports traditional monitoring to improve the conceptual geological understanding and to assess the quantitative status and the interaction between groundwater and surface water. The programme has been continuously adjusted to incorporate new knowledge from research programmes and meet new policy demands, currently the European Union Water Framework Directive, particularly with respect to an increased focus on quantitative aspects and on the groundwater/surface water interaction. The strengths and weaknesses of the Danish programme are assessed and compared with other national groundwater-monitoring programmes. Issues discussed include: strategic considerations for monitoring design, the link between research and monitoring, and adoption of responses to climate changes.     

Implications of tree species–environment relationships for the responsiveness of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate change

Climate warming is expected to advance treelines to higher elevations. However, empirical studies in diverse mountain ranges give evidence of both advancing alpine treelines as well as rather insignificant responses. In this context, we aim at investigating the sensitivity and responsiveness of the near-natural treeline ecotone in Rolwaling Himal, Nepal, to climate warming. We analysed population densities of tree species along the treeline ecotone from closed forest stands via the krummholz belt to alpine dwarf shrub heaths (3700-4200 m) at 50 plots in 2013 and 2014. We quantified species - environment relationships, i.e. the change of environmental conditions (e.g., nutrient and thermal deficits, plant interactions) across the ecotone by means of redundancy analyses, variation partitioning and distance-based Moran's eigenvector maps. In particular, we focus on explaining the high competitiveness of Rhododendron campanulatum forming a dense krummholz belt and on the implications for the responsiveness of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate change. Results indicate that treeline trees in the ecotone show species-specific responses to the influence of environmental parameters, and that juvenile and adult tree responses are modulated by environmental constraints in differing intensity. Moreover, the species - environment relationships suggest that the investigated krummholz belt will largely prevent the upward migration of other tree species and thus constrain the future response of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate warming.     

Hydro-micromechanical modeling of wave propagation in saturated granular crystals

Biot theory predicts wave velocities in a saturated granular medium using the pore geometry, viscosity, densities, and elastic moduli of the solid skeleton and pore fluid, neglecting the interaction between constituent particles and local flow, which becomes essential as the wavelength decreases. Here, a hydro-micromechanical model, for direct numerical simulations of wave propagation in saturated granular media, is implemented by two-way coupling the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the discrete element method (DEM), which resolve the pore-scale hydrodynamics and intergranular behavior, respectively. The coupling scheme is benchmarked with the terminal velocity of a single sphere settling in a fluid. In order to mimic a small amplitude pressure wave entering a saturated granular medium, an oscillating pressure boundary on the fluid is implemented and benchmarked with the one-dimensional wave equation. The effects of input waveforms and frequencies on the dispersion relations in 3D saturated poroelastic media are investigated with granular face-centered-cubic crystals. Finally, the pressure and shear wave velocities predicted by the numerical model at various effective confining pressures are found to be in excellent agreement with Biot analytical solutions, including his prediction for slow compressional waves.     

Monitoring well interception with fractures in clayey till

When using monitoring wells for investigation of contaminant sources in clayey till, there is a high risk that fractures may cause mobile contaminants to bypass the monitoring wells. This paper indicates that the probability of interception between monitoring wells and hydraulic conductive fractures is often significantly less than 50%. Based on a field experiment and application of a calibrated discrete fracture matrix diffusion numerical model (FRAC3Dvs), the paper also evaluates pesticide-monitoring results for different positions of monitoring well screen relative to fractures. For well screens situated 0.25 and 2 m from a conductive fracture, the first concentrations of the pesticide metabolite (2,6 dichlorobenzamide, "BAM") would be measured two years and 18 years, respectively, after the contaminant had been transported into an underlying aquifer. In this way, underlying aquifers may be subjected to contamination by downward moving contamination without being observed in monitoring wells in the till.