Field instrumentation for high‐resolution parallel monitoring of bedrock erosion and bedload transport

River incision is fundamental in shaping the Earth's surface. In mountainous regions with steep river beds, fluvial bedrock erosion by bedload transport is an important mechanism forming channels. However, there are only a few complete field datasets that can be used to improve process understanding and evaluate erosion models, especially at the process scale. To provide a simultaneous dataset of hydraulics, bedload transport and bedrock erosion at high temporal and spatial resolution, a new measuring device has been installed in the Erlenbach, a gauged stream in the Swiss Pre‐Alps. In this stream, bedload transport rates can be calculated from surveying deposits and from geophone plate sensors and bedload transport samples can be taken directly by an automated moving basket system. To measure bedrock erosion rates simultaneously, two natural stone slabs were mounted flush with the channel bed in a steel frame hosting various measurement devices. Force sensors below the slabs record normal stress and shear stress. At‐a‐point erosion rates on the slab surfaces are continuously measured at sub‐millimetre precision at three locations on each slab. In addition, the slab topography is monitored following erosive flood events. In this article (i) the ‘erosion scale’ device is described, (ii) data resolution and data quality is assessed by means of tests and event data, and (iii) the first transport event is discussed. The erosion scales are confirmed to provide data at high spatio‐temporal resolution for process analysis. The preliminary data show evidence for the tools effect in bedrock erosion. The bedrock slabs can be exchanged to obtain measurements for catchments with different lithologies for comparison. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial reconstruction of rainfall fields from rain gauge and radar data

Rainfall is a phenomenon difficult to model and predict, for the strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity and the presence of many zero values. We deal with hourly rainfall data provided by rain gauges, sparsely distributed on the ground, and radar data available on a fine grid of pixels. Radar data overcome the problem of sparseness of the rain gauge network, but are not reliable for the assessment of rain amounts. In this work we investigate how to calibrate radar measurements via rain gauge data and make spatial predictions for hourly rainfall, by means of Monte Carlo Markov Chain algorithms in a Bayesian hierarchical framework. We use zero-inflated distributions for taking zero-measurements into account. Several models are compared both in terms of data fitting and predictive performances on a set of validation sites. Finally, rainfall fields are reconstructed and standard error estimates at each prediction site are shown via easy-to-read spatial maps.     

前陆褶皱冲断带厚皮缩短盐构造运动的物理模拟

尺度物理实验用干石英砂和聚合硅树脂为实验材料,模拟了前陆褶皱冲断带厚皮缩短盐构造,并与薄皮缩短盐构造及无盐层的褶皱冲断带构造模型进行了对比。实验表明,由于塑性盐层的存在,厚皮缩短盐构造呈3层式结构模式。盐上层主要形成敞开褶皱、箱状褶皱、前冲和背冲断层以及冲垒构造,盐下层形成逆冲断层及冲垒构造,断层通常都终止于盐层中。尽管盐层局部变薄或增厚,但不形成刺穿型盐构造。褶皱冲断带不具构造指向特征,其楔形库仑锥剖面呈平台与斜坡两段式形态。模型对比表明,厚皮缩短与薄皮缩短所产生的盐上层构造形态相似,不易区分;但二者的库仑锥剖面有所不同。厚皮前陆褶皱冲断盐构造与无盐层的褶皱冲断构造无论是其几何形态、还是库仑锥剖面都有极大的差别,极易区分：实验结果对解释前陆褶皱冲断构造和寻找盐下油气圈闭都有着重要的指导意义。     

Frequency‐dependent multi‐offset phase analysis of surface waves: an example of high‐resolution characterization of a riparian aquifer

Multi‐offset phase analysis of seismic surface waves is an established technique for the extraction of dispersion curves with high spatial resolution and, consequently, for the investigation of the subsurface in terms of shear wave velocity distribution. However, field applications are rarely documented in the published literature. In this paper, we discuss an implementation of the multi‐offset phase analysis consisting of the estimation of the Rayleigh wave velocity by means of a moving window with a frequency‐dependent length. This allows maximizing the lateral resolution at high frequencies while warranting stability at the lower frequencies. In this way, we can retrieve the shallow lateral variability with high accuracy and, at the same time, obtain a robust surface‐wave velocity measurement at depth. In this paper, we apply this methodology to a dataset collected for hydrogeophysical purposes and compare the inversion results with those obtained by using refraction seismics and electrical resistivity tomography. The surface‐wave results are in good agreement with those provided by the other methods and demonstrate a superior capability in retrieving both lateral and vertical velocity variations, including inversions. Our results are further corroborated by the lithological information from a borehole drilled on the acquisition line. The availability of multi‐offset phase analysis data also allows disentangling a fairly complex interpretation of the other geophysical results.     

Contrasting weathering and climate regimes in forested and cleared sandstone temples of the Angkor region

Comparative assessment of stone weathering intensities and bioclimatic conditions was conducted at four temples located in cleared and forested sites of the Angkor Park, based on similar protocols. Four thousand sculpted lotus petals carved in the same grey sandstone were categorized by using two customized scales of weathering intensity, and climate monitoring was conducted from December 2008 to November 2009. Whereas 70% of the sandstone lotus petals are almost completely destroyed by mechanical weathering in cleared areas, 74% of petals located in forested environments appear to be totally free of mechanical weathering and are only affected by superficial biochemical weathering. Ambient conditions are also contrasting, with the magnitude of the diurnal surface temperature and relative humidity ranges being three times higher at cleared sites than in wooded areas. As wetting–drying cycles are the driving force of sandstone decay at Angkor, causal links are suggested between weathering and climate regimes. In wooded areas, the microclimate is buffered by the forest and the associated lithobionts, which maintain constant humidity levels, reduce thermal stresses at the stone surface and induce a slow biochemical weathering regime. In cleared areas, direct exposure to sunshine and monsoon rains induces pronounced wetting–drying cycles conducive to swelling–shrinking movements and other potential processes, provoking the rapid mechanical decay of the sandstone. Even if local damage can be caused by tree roots, the forest cover and the associated lithobionts obviously play an overall protective role. Additionally, microtopographical factors related to architectural designs and post‐building events probably explain intra‐site and between site minor differences in the amount of sandstone decay, by influencing key factors such as the water residence time at the stone surface. Last, the contrasting weathering regimes in forested and cleared sites are but a trend, for besides overwhelming mechanical weathering, chemical weathering is also operative at cleared sites, as indicated by salt efflorescences and ferric oxidation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment export from French rivers to the sea

Knowledge of sediment exports from continental areas is essential for estimating denudation rates and biogeochemical cycles. However, the estimation of current sediment fluxes to the sea is often limited by the availability and quality of sediment discharge data. This study aims to quantify the relative contributions of French rivers to the sediment discharge to the ocean. Sediment fluxes were assessed using the French river quality database, which is characterized by a low temporal resolution but long‐term measurement periods. An improved rating curve approach (IRCA) using daily discharge data, which allows the estimation of mean annual sediment loads from infrequent sediment concentration data, was used to calculate sediment fluxes. The resulting mean annual sediment loads show that French rivers export c. 16.21 Mt yr^‐1 of sediments to the sea. Among the 88 defined French rivers flowing to the sea, the four largest basins (Loire, Rhone, Garonne and Seine) export 13.2 Mt yr^‐1, which corresponds to 81.3% of total exports. No relationship was found between the mass of exported sediment and the size of the drainage basins. This is due to the variety of river basin typologies among these rivers, including lowland rivers in temperate climates, such as the Seine on the one hand and rivers draining mountainous areas in Alpine/Mediterranean areas on the other hand, such as the Rhone. The latter contributes 60% to the total sediment export for France while its drainage area is only 19% of the total area considered. Differences between the river basins considered are also shown by temporal indicators describing the duration of the exports, which may be linked with sediment production processes over drained areas. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: A cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch programme

The common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was selected as unique biomonitor species to implement a regional monitoring programme, the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW), in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As of today, and upon standardization of the methodological approach, the MMW Network has been able to quantify ¹³⁷Cs levels in mussels from 60 coastal stations and to produce the first distribution map of this artificial radionuclide at the scale of the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas. While measured ¹³⁷Cs levels were found to be very low (usually <1 Bq kg⁻¹ wet wt) ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in the Black Sea and North Aegean Sea were up to two orders of magnitude higher than those in the western Mediterranean Basin. Such effects, far from representing a threat to human populations or the environment, reflect a persistent signature of the Chernobyl fallout in this area.     

Daily hydrological modeling in the Amazon basin using TRMM rainfall estimates

Rainfall measurements by conventional raingauges provide relatively accurate estimates at a few points of a region. The actual rainfield can be approximated by interpolating the available raingauge data to the remaining of the area of interest. In places with relatively low gauge density such interpolated rainfields will be very rough estimates of the actual events. This is especially true for tropical regions where most rainfall has a convective origin with high spatial variability at the daily level. Estimates of rainfall by remote sensing can be very useful in regions such as the Amazon basin, where raingauge density is very low and rainfall highly variable. This paper evaluates the rainfall estimates of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite over the Tapajós river basin, a major tributary of the Amazon. Three-hour TRMM rainfall estimates were aggregated to daily values and were compared with catch of ground-level precipitation gauges on a daily basis after interpolating both data to a regular grid. Both daily TRMM and raingauge-interpolated rainfields were then used as input to a large-scale hydrological model for the whole basin; the calculated hydrographs were then compared to observations at several streamgauges along the river Tapajos and its main tributaries. Results of the rainfield comparisons showed that satellite estimates can be a practical tool for identifying damaged or aberrant raingauges at a basin-wide scale. Results of the hydrological modeling showed that TRMM-based calculated hydrographs are comparable with those obtained using raingauge data.