Cold-Air Pool Processes in the Inn Valley During Föhn: A Comparison of Four Cases During the PIANO Campaign

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - We present a comprehensive analysis of four south föhn events observed during the Penetration and Interruption of Alpine Foehn (PIANO) field campaign in the Inn...     

Enhancement and mensuration of space imagery to document environmental change: Omo Delta,Africa

This paper presents results from applying a hierarchical segmentation algorithm to two agricultural data sets characterised by small fields. Several new techniques were developed over the course of this project. These include a new supervised classification technique for identifying segments and the inclusion of other information derived from the segmentation process. In addition, a technique for including cartographic information to help structure the segmentation is also described. The results indicate that significant improvement in classification accuracy can be achieved.

A number of problems which arise when working with segmentation data are also reported and discussed. These problems appear to be different enough from those encountered in pixel classifications to be worth describing in greater detail. The paper concludes with the lines of research being pursued to circumvent these problems and to further increase the fidelity of the segmentation results.     

Nature and Estimated Human Toxicity of Polar Metabolite Mixtures in Groundwater Quantified as TPHd/DRO at Biodegrading Fuel Release Sites

Polar metabolites resulting from petroleum biodegradation are measured in groundwater samples as TPHd unless a silica gel cleanup (SGC) is used on the sample extract to isolate hydrocarbons. Even though the metabolites can be the vast majority of the dissolved organics present in groundwater, SGC has been inconsistently applied because of regulatory concern about the nature and toxicity of the metabolites. A two‐step approach was used to identify polar compounds that were measured as TPHd in groundwater extracts at five sites with biodegrading fuel sources. First, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) was used to identify and quantify 57 individual target polar metabolites. Only one of these compounds—dodecanoic acid, which has low potential human toxicity—was detected. Second, nontargeted analysis was used to identify as many polar metabolites as possible using both GC‐MS and GC×GC‐MS. The nontargeted analysis revealed that the mixture of polar metabolites identified in groundwater source areas at these five sites is composed of approximately equal average percentages of organic acids, alcohols and ketones, with few phenols and aldehydes. The mixture identified in downgradient areas at these five sites is dominated by acids, with fewer alcohols, far fewer ketones, and very few aldehydes and phenols. A ranking system consistent with systems used by USEPA and the United Nations was developed for evaluating the potential chronic oral toxicity to humans of the different classes of identified polar metabolites. The vast majority of the identified polar metabolites have a “Low” toxicity profile, and the mixture of identified polar metabolites present in groundwater extracts at these five sites is unlikely to present a significant risk to human health.     

Decadal morphological evolution of the mouth zone of the Yangtze Estuary in response to human interventions

The morphology of the Yangtze Estuary has changed substantially at decadal time scales in response to natural processes, local human interference and reduced sediment supply. Due to its high sediment load, the morphodynamic response time of the estuary is short, providing a valuable semi-natural system to evaluate large-scale estuarine morphodynamic responses to interference. Previous studies primarily addressed local morphologic changes within the estuary, but since an overall sediment balance is missing, it remains unclear whether the estuary as a whole has shifted from sedimentation to erosion in response to reduced riverine sediment supply (e.g. resulting from construction of the Three Gorges Dam). In this paper we examine the morphological changes of two large shoals in the mouth zone (i.e. the Hengsha flat and the Jiuduan shoal) using bathymetric data collected between 1953 and 2016 and a series of satellite images. We observe that the two shoals accreted at different rates before 2010 but reverted to erosion thereafter. Human activities such as dredging and dumping contribute to erosion, masking the impacts of sediment source reduction. The effects of local human intervention (such as the construction of a navigation channel) are instantaneous and are likely to have already resulted in new dynamic equilibrium conditions. The morphodynamic response time of the mouth zone to riverine sediment decrease is further suggested to be >30 years (starting from the mid-1980s). Accounting for the different adaptation time scales of various human activities is essential when interpreting morphodynamic changes in large-scale estuaries and deltas. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Air circulation in deep fractures and the temperature field of an alpine rock slope

The subsurface temperature field of a rock slope is a key variable influencing both bedrock fracturing and slope stability. However, significant unknowns remain relating to the effect of air and water fracture flow, which can rapidly transmit temperature changes to appreciable depths. In this work, we analyze a unique set of temperature measurements from an alpine rock slope at ~2400 m a.s.l. in southern Switzerland. The monitored area encompasses part of an active slope instability above the village of Randa (VS) and is traversed by a network of open cracks, some of which have been traced to >80 m depth. We first describe distributed temperature measurements and borehole profiles, highlighting deep steady temperatures and different transient effects, and then use these data to approximate the conductive temperature field at the site. In a second step, we analyze the impact of air and water circulation in deep open fractures on the subsurface thermal field. On multiple visits to the study site in winter, we consistently noted the presence of warm air vents in the snowpack following the trace of deep tension cracks. Measurements showed that venting air changed temperature gradually from ~3 to 2 °C between December and May, which is similar to the rock temperature at around 50 m depth. Comparison with ambient air temperature suggests that winter conditions favor buoyancy‐driven convective air flow in these fractures, which acts to cool the deep subsurface as the rock gives up heat to incoming air. The potential impact of this process on the local thermal field is revealed by a disturbed temperature profile in one borehole and transient signals observed at depths well below the thermal active layer. Seasonal water infiltration during snowmelt appears to have little impact on the temperature field in the monitored area. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2015 and 2016

This report summarizes the seismicity in Switzerland and surrounding regions in the years 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the Swiss Seismological Service detected and located 735 earthquakes in the region under consideration. With a total of 20 earthquakes of magnitude M_L ≥ 2.5, the seismic activity of potentially felt events in 2015 was close to the average of 23 earthquakes over the previous 40 years. Seismic activity was above average in 2016 with 872 located earthquakes of which 31 events had M_L ≥ 2.5. The strongest event in the analyzed period was the M_L 4.1 Salgesch earthquake, which occurred northeast of Sierre (VS) in October 2016. The event was felt in large parts of Switzerland and had a maximum intensity of V. Derived focal mechanisms and relative hypocenter relocations of aftershocks image a SSE dipping reverse fault, which likely also hosted an M_L 3.9 earthquake in 2003. Another remarkable earthquake sequence in the Valais occurred close to Sion with four felt events (M_L 2.7–3.2) in 2015/16. We associate this sequence with a system of WNW-ESE striking fault segments north of the Rhône valley. Similarities with a sequence in 2011, which was located about 10 km to the NE, suggest the existence of an en-echelon system of basement faults accommodating dextral slip along the Rhône-Simplon line in this area. Another exceptional earthquake sequence occurred close to Singen (Germany) in November 2016. Relocated hypocenters and focal mechanisms image a SW dipping transtensional fault segment, which is likely associated with a branch of the Hegau-Bodensee Graben. On the western boundary of this graben, micro-earthquakes close to Schlattingen (TG) in 2015/16 are possibly related to a NE dipping branch of the Neuhausen Fault. Other cases of earthquakes felt by the public during 2015/16 include earthquakes in the region of Biel, Vallorcine, Solothurn, and Savognin.