Snow mechanics and avalanche formation: field experiments on the dynamic response of the snow cover

Knowledge about snow mechanics and snow avalanche formation forms the basis of any hazard mitigation measures. The crucial point is the snow stability. The most relevant mechanical properties - the compressive, tensile and shear strength of the individual snow layers within the snow cover - vary substantially in space and time. Among other things the strength of the snow layers depends strongly on the state of stress and the strain rate. The evaluation of the stability of the snow cover is hence a difficult task involving many extrapolations.To gain insight in the release mechanism of slab avalanches triggered by skiers, the skier's impact is measured with a load cell at different depths within the snow cover and for different snow conditions. The study focused on the effects of the dynamic loading and of the damping by snow compaction. In accordance with earlier finite-element (FE) calculations the results show the importance of the depth of the weak layer or interface and the snow conditions, especially the sublayering.In order to directly measure the impact force and to study the snow properties in more detail, a new instrument, called rammrutsch was developed. It combines the properties of the rutschblock with the defined impact properties of the rammsonde. The mechanical properties are determined using (i) the impact energy of the rammrutsch and (ii) the deformations of the snow cover measured with accelerometers and digital image processing of video sequences. The new method is well suited to detect and to measure the mechanical processes and properties of the fracturing layers. The duration of one test is around 10 minutes and the method seems appropriate for determining the spatial variability of the snow cover. A series of experiments in a forest opening showed a clear difference in the snow stability between sites below trees and ones in the free field of the opening.     

Badgastein spa—Austrian central Alps

The Badgastein spa shows almost all the special geological and hydrological features existing in the northeastern central Alps. Situated within the Tauern window, the open joint system enables the infiltration of surface water to great depths. There it becomes heated and loaded with radon and trace elements such as fluor. The water discharges as thermal water springs at the steep right flank of the cascade of the Gastein-Ache. This hydraulic process occurs during a span of 3600–3800 years. The springs are captured in galleries, and the largest discharge is in gallery IX (2518 m³/d^–1). The spa became known worldwide in the 19th century by visiting aristocrats from Central and Eastern Europe. The most important event in the 20th century was the discovery of the heat joint in the Böckstein gallery. In 1940 an effort to reactivate gold mining in the Radhausberg near Böckstein south of Badgastein failed. However, the miners had the unexpected experience of being cured of rheumatism. A connection between the great depth and high temperature in the gallery was made by the discovery of the joint set with heat and radon emanation. In the medical stations of the Böckstein gallery treatment of polyarthritis has become especially successful.     

Ergebnisse von Versuchen der EAWAG mit dem «Kombibecken»

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Some results of short wave insolation measurements during the IGY along the 10° E meridian and a comparison with theoretical values

Summary The observational material of 138 stations, which had during the July 1957 to December 1958 IGY period made obervations of global radiation along the longitude 10°E (±10°) between the latitudes 47°S and 70°N, had been evaluated to obtain mean monthly and annual totals of global radiation for 12 different latitudes along thea/n-meridian. The sums are compared with theoretical results obtained byBudyko, Black, andBernhardt andPhilipps. These theoretically computed values are drawn graphically or numerically from charts or tables of thea/n-authors for the coordinates corresponding to the means of the relevant IGY stations. In hardly a case the measured annual totals deviate by more than 10% from theoretical values. In hardly a case the measured annual totals deviate by more than 10% from theoretical values. TheBudyko data are the nearest approximation to the measured ones;Black's computation shows the greatest deviation. In the 0 to 47° S zone theoretical values are actually exceeded by to 20%.The annual variation is marked by the following deviations as compared to the theoretical results: In the region north to 50° latitude in October, November and January only 80% of the theoretically computed amount of radiation was observed, while in the remaining months the monthly totals are within a ±10% boundary of the theoretical values; in March about 20% above normal global radiation was observed. Between 30° and 50°N the measured data in autumn, winter and spring 10 to 20% below the theoretical values, in the remaining time of the year the deviation is less than ±10%. A comparison with cloud conditions (relative sunshine duration) suggests that deviations cannot be interpreted merely by deviating cloud conditions of this zone. Between 0° and 30°N only January and February are 10% below theoretical values, while in August to October the totals were 10 to 15% above. South of the equator from October to May (southern summer) the radiation totals were too high by up to 25%, while in the remaining time of the year the data were about 10% below theoretical values; it should be noted that deviation increases with increasing southern latitude. For comparison theAshbel IGY global radiation charts were used which indicate similar deviations from theoretical values; there are also some differences to microcard values.There is reason to suggest that there is a complex relation between the observed deviations and variation of the large-scale circulation during IGY. The results of the small number of available turbidity measurements (Central European area only) can be interpreted in the same way. To what extent the observed deviations from theoretical values are due to weather conditions deviating during the IGY period from normal or originate from inconsistencies in the theoretical consideration cannot definition be said until inspection of the complete IGY cloud and turbidity data and the availability of the climatological material which served for the theoretical work. The latter was only the case in theBernhardt andPhilipps paper.

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Zusammenfassung Aus 138 Stationen auf dem Meridian 10°E (±10°) zwischen –47° und +70° Breite, die während der IGJ-Periode die Globalstrahlung beobachtet haben, wurden mittlere Monats-und Jahressummen der Globalstrahlung für 12 verschiedene Breiten auf diesem Meridian berechnet. Diese Summen wurden mit den theoretischen Werten vonBudyko, Black, undBernhardt undPhilipps verglichen. Die gemessenen Summen weichen meist um höchstens 10% von den theoretischen Werten ab. Die Werte vonBudyko kommen den gemessenen am nächsten, die vonBlack zeigen die grössten Abweichungen. Für die Zone zwischen 0° und 47° südlicher Breite liegen die gemessenen Werte jedoch durchwegs um 8 bis 20% über den theoretischen. Im jahreszeitlichen Verlauf traten folgende bemerkenswerte Abweichungen gegen die theoretischen Werte auf: Nördlich 50° Breite erhielten die Monate Oktober, November und Januar nur etwa 80% der theoretischen Strahlungssummen, in den anderen Monaten stimmten die Summen innerhalb 10% mit den theoretischen Werten überein, der März erhielt etwa 20% übernormale Globalstrahlung. Zwischen 30° und 50° nördlicher Breite lagen die gemessenen Werte besonders im Herbst, Winter und Frühling 10 bis 20% unter den theoretischen. Die Abweichungen können nicht allein der Bewölkung in dieser Zone zugeschrieben werden. Südlich des Äquators wiesen die Monate Oktober bis Mai (Südsommer!) bis zu 25% zu hohe Strahlungssummen auf. Die zum Vergleich herangezogenen Karten vonAshbel ergeben ähnliche Abweichungen gegen die theoretischen Werte, wenn auch einige Unterschiede gegen die hier veröffentlichten Summen auftreten.Ein komplexer Zusammenhang zwischen diesen Abweichungen und der grossräumigen Zirkulation im IGJ scheint zu bestehen. Auch die wenigen Trübungsmessungen (nur mitteleuropäische Stationen) können im gleichen Sinne gedeutet werden. Inwieweit die beobachteten Abweichungen der Strahlung von den theoretischen Werten auf den im Mittel abweichenden Witterungsverhältnissen der IGJ-Periode beruhen oder auf Unstimmigkeiten der theoretischen Werte, lässt sich aus dem vorliegenden Material noch nicht definitiv entscheiden.

     

Assessing parameter identifiability for multiple performance criteria to constrain model parameters

ABSTRACT

Reliable simulations of hydrological models require that model parameters are precisely identified. In constraining model parameters to small ranges, high parameter identifiability is achieved. In this study, it is investigated how precisely model parameters can be constrained in relation to a set of contrasting performance criteria. For this, model simulations with identical parameter samplings are carried out with a hydrological model (SWAT) applied to three contrasting catchments in Germany (lowland, mid-range mountains, alpine regions). Ten performance criteria including statistical metrics and signature measures are calculated for each model simulation. Based on the parameter identifiability that is computed separately for each performance criterion, model parameters are constrained to smaller ranges individually for each catchment. An iterative repetition of model simulations with successively constrained parameter ranges leads to more precise parameter identifiability and improves model performance. Based on these results, a more consistent handling of model parameters is achieved for model calibration.     

Internal constitution and evolution of the moon

The composition, structure and evolution of the moon's interior are narrowly constrained by a large assortment of physical and chemical data. Models of the thermal evolution of the moon that fit the chronology of igneous activity on the lunar surface, the stress history of the lunar lithosphere implied by the presence of mascons, and the surface concentrations of radioactive elements, involve extensive differentiation early in lunar history. This differentiation may be the result of rapid accretion and large-scale melting or of primary chemical layering during accretion; differences in present-day temperatures for these two possibilities are significant only in the inner 1000 km of the moon and may not be resolvable. If the Apollo 15 heat-flow result is representative of the moon, the average uranium concentration in the moon is 0.05–0.08 p.p.m.Density models for the moon, including the effects of temperature and pressure, can be made to satisfy the mass and moment of inertia of the moon and the presence of a low-density crust inferred from seismic refraction studies only if the lunar mantle is chemically or mineralogically inhomogeneous. The upper mantle must exceed the density of the lower mantle at similar conditions by at least 5%. The average mantle density is that of a pyroxenite or olivine pyroxenite, though the density of the upper mantle may exceed 3.5 g/cm³. The density of the lower mantle is less than that of the combined crust and upper mantle at similar temperature and pressure, thus reinforcing arguments for early moon-wide differentiation of both major and minor elements. The suggested density inversion is gravitationally unstable and implies stresses in the mantle 2–5 times those associated with the lunar gravitational field, a difficulty that can be explained or avoided by: (1) adopting lower values for the moment of inertia and/or crustal thickness, or (2) postulating that the strength of the lower mantle increases with depth or with time, either of which is possible for certain combinations of composition and thermal evolution.A small iron-rich core in the moon cannot be excluded by the moon's mass and moment of inertia. If such a core were molten at the time lunar surface rocks acquired remanent magnetization, then thermal-history models with initially cold interiors strongly depleted in radioactive heat sources as a primary accretional feature must be excluded. Further, the presence of ～||pre|40 K in a FeFeS core could significantly alter the thermal evolution and estimated present-day temperatures of the deep lunar interior.     

Principles and possibilities of a new method of ozone measurements within the Huggins bands

With the evaluation of sunlight or skylight spectra within the Huggins bands the amount of ozone along the optical path, as well as its average temperature, can be derived from the contrast of the measured bands independently. By sufficient resolving power of the spectrograph and an appropriate choice of measuring points within the spectrum the influence of all other extinctions can be eliminated with a very small interpolation error. Therefore this method is adequate as a reference measurement to the other usual methods of ozone measuring. A spectrograph with the properties to be postulated was built. Preliminary experiences and results are reported and the accuracy which may be expected for this method is discussed.     

Gedenktage

Ohne Zusammenfassung