Assessing groundwater storage changes in the Nubian aquifer using GRACE data

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) level two (L2) data is used in estimating the groundwater storage changes (GWSC) in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS). This set of data consists of spherical harmonics coefficients with specific degree and order. The GRACE data is de-correlated using a sixth degree polynomial in order to reduce the effect of the noise error resulting from the correlation between the spherical harmonics coefficients with the same degree parity. The GRACE estimates of GWSC are smoothed using Gaussian filter with half width of 1000 km. This half width is chosen in order to maximize the correlation between the GRACE estimates of GWSC and previous modeling results of the NSAS. The loss in groundwater storage occurring in each of the four countries sharing the NSAS is calculated to assess the sustainability of using the NSAS as a water resource in each country. The overarching finding in this study is that NSAS is losing its groundwater storage at a very high rate. Also, it is found that Egypt is the fastest in losing its groundwater storage from the NSAS. This loss of groundwater storage in Egypt may not necessarily be resulting from in-country extractions because of the trans-boundary nature of this aquifer. The GRACE-based estimates are found to be close to available data and previous modeling results of the NSAS.     

Latitudinal change in benthic foraminiferal fauna by ITCZ movement along the ~131°W transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

Modern and fossil benthic foraminifera were examined from nine surface sediments and two piston cores along the ~131°W transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This study was conducted to clarify the biotic response of abyssal benthic foraminifera during the last 220 ka to changes in the seasonal extent of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The abundance of modern benthic foraminifera was high at stations between the equator and 6°N, whereas it was low at stations north of 6°N, which is generally consistent with the latitudinal CaCO₃ distribution of surface sediments. The northward increase of Epistominella exigua from the equator to ~6°N is similar to the seasonal variations in chlorophyll-a concentrations in the surface water and ITCZ position along ~131°W. This species was more common at core PC5103 (~6°N) than at core PC5101 (~2°N) after ~130 ka, when the Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) between the two cores started to diverge. Hence, the presentday latitudinal difference in benthic foraminifera (E. exigua and species diversity) between ~2°N and ~6°N along ~131°W has been generally established since ~130 ka. According to the modern relationship between the seasonality of primary production and seasonal ITCZ variations in the northern margin of the ITCZ, the latitudinal divergence of benthic foraminiferal fauna between ~2°N and ~6°N since ~130 ka appear to have been induced by more distinct variations in the seasonal movement of ITCZ.     

Linking multi-temporal analysis and community consultation to evaluate the response to the impact of Hurricane Stan in coffee areas of Chiapas,Mexico

This paper analyses the responses related to land use of coffee growers in Chiapas, Mexico to the impact of Hurricane Stan (October 2005). A multi-temporal analysis of the effect on land cover was performed through the combination of unsupervised classification of SPOT multispectral images and visual interpretation of panchromatic images (8 months previous to the hurricane, and 2, 14, and 40 months after the hurricane). The information provided by this geographic analysis was interpreted in light of information gathered though household surveys. Although the hurricane wrecked havoc across the region, the main impact in the study area was in the riparian zones where the extent of the loss experienced in terms of coffee harvest and soil was such that, even 14 months after the event, households with land in those areas were struggling to recover. Nevertheless, after 40 months, the zones that had suffered total soil loss began to support soil and vegetation, indicating the possibility of replanting coffee in those areas. Although the hurricane occurred when the coffee sector was particularly fragile as a result of the preceding several years of poor prices, the impact did not trigger extensive land use change. The surveys showed, however, that people are now more informed of the risk of living and farming on the river margins and are now performing soil conservation practices and planting trees to reduce risk.     

A 150-year isotopic record of lead deposition in Yancheng coastal wetland,China

Radioactive markers are useful in dating lead(Pb) deposition patterns from industrialization in sedimentary archives. As a well-known natural reserve in the world, Yancheng coastal wetland in Jiangsu Province is one of areas most sensitive to global sea level change and is located in the most developed and polluted region of China. Two cores were collected in Yancheng wetland in October 2013 and dated using ~(210)Pb and ~(137)Cs radiometric techniques. Sediments in both cores were sectioned into depth bands and examined systematically for dry bulk density, water content, magnetic susceptibility and grain-size. Multiple elements including Pb were also measured using inductively coupled plasma systems. Unsupported ~(210)Pb activities decreased with depth in both of the two cores, and ~(210)Pb chronologies were established(covering 150 years) using the constant rate of supply(CRS) model. The measured Pb contents ranged from 14.97 mg/kg to 29.40 mg/kg with average values of 17.17–22.79 mg/kg, and the Pb fluxes ranged from 41.70 mg/(m~2·yr) to 172.70 mg/(m~2·yr) with averages of 95.59–123.41 mg/(m~2·yr). Temporal variations of Pb flux, enrichment factors and Pb isotopes show a gradual and continuous increase over time and clearly reflect increased emissions from anthropogenic activities in the region. The Pb isotopic compositions show that most of Pb deposition in Yancheng wetland is input from natural sources by water flows and has the same levels of Pb as in the surface sediment of the Yangtze River and the Pacific mineral aerosol. We also stress the anthropogenic Pb contribution in Yangcheng wetland sediment and the reason of our Pb isotopes not showing anthropogenic signature is likely the instability of anthropogenic Pb in high Fe/Mn oxide conditions. Therefore, more attention should be paid to current local pollution problems, and society should take action to seek a balance between economic development and environmental protection.     

Development of statistical seasonal prediction models of Arctic Sea Ice concentration using CERES absorbed solar radiation

Statistical seasonal prediction models for the Arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) were developed for the late summer (August-October) when the downward trend is dramatic. The absorbed solar radiation (ASR) at the top of the atmosphere in June has a significant seasonal leading role on the SIC. Based on the lagged ASR-SIC relationship, two simple statistical models were established: the Markovian stochastic and the linear regression models. Crossvalidated hindcasts of SIC from 1979 to 2014 by the two models were compared with each other and observation. The hindcasts showed general agreement between the models as they share a common predictor, ASR in June and the observed SIC was well reproduced, especially over the relatively thin-ice regions (of one- or multi-year sea ice). The robust predictability confirms the functional role of ASR in the prediction of SIC. In particular, the SIC prediction in October was quite promising probably due to the pronounced icealbedo feedback. The temporal correlation coefficients between the predicted SIC and the observed SIC were 0.79 and 0.82 by the Markovian and regression models, respectively. Small differences were observed between the two models; the regression model performed slightly better in August and September in terms of temporal correlation coefficients. Meanwhile, the prediction skills of the Markovian model in October were higher in the north of Chukchi, the East Siberian, and the Laptev Seas. A strong non-linear relationship between ASR in June and SIC in October in these areas would have increased the predictability of the Markovian model.     

Determination of ammonia emission rates from a tunnel ventilated chicken house using passive samplers and a Gaussian dispersion model

Atmospheric deposition can provide a significant fraction of the nitrogen loading to coastal waters. The Delmarva Peninsula, on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is a region with intense poultry production that may supply a significant source of atmospheric ammonia (NH₃). There is a need to quantify ammonia NH₃ from representative growing methods in this region in order to more accurately estimate agricultural NH₃ emissions and to develop best management practices. In this study, NH₃ emissions were determined at an 18,600-bird tunnel-ventilated chicken house using a modified sampling grid (a planar arrangement normal to the length of the house) with Ogawa passive samplers to characterize the emission plume downwind from the house. This improvement in the sampling strategy, compared to a previous study, simplified the inverse Gaussian plume analysis which improved the confidence in the emission factors. In this study, a total of four separate plume characterizations were conducted over the final 3 weeks of the 6-week broiler grow-out cycle. The mean emission factor observed at the tunnel-ventilated house, 0.13 g NH₃–N/bird-day, was an order of magnitude lower than that previously observed at a nearby side-wall ventilated house. Although not all growing variables were measured, the large difference in emission factors between the two ventilation regimes suggest that modern, tunnel-ventilated houses may result in a significant decrease in NH₃ emissions compared with traditional growing methods. This variability in emission factors underscores the need for characterizing chicken houses under various conditions and determining the factors that control these atmospheric emissions.     

Recent trends in pre-monsoon daily temperature extremes over India

Extreme climate and weather events are increasingly being recognized as key aspects of climate change. Pre-monsoon season (March–May) is the hottest part of the year over almost the entire South Asian region, in which hot weather extremes including heat waves are recurring natural hazards having serious societal impacts, particularly on human health. In the present paper, recent trends in extreme temperature events for the pre-monsoon season have been studied using daily data on maximum and minimum temperatures over a well-distributed network of 121 stations for the period 1970–2005. For this purpose, time series of extreme temperature events have been constructed for India as a whole and seven homogeneous regions, viz., Western Himalaya (WH), Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), North Central (NC), East coast (EC), West coast (WC) and Interior Peninsula (IP).     

A double-differenced cycle slip detection and repair method for GNSS CORS network

The difficulty to detect and repair cycle slip of carrier phase measurements is a key limit for continuously high accuracy of GNSS positioning and navigation services. We propose an automated cycle slip detection and repair method for data preprocessing of a CORS network. The method jointly uses double-differenced (DD) geometry-free (GF) combination and ionospheric-free observation corrected for the computed geometrical distance (IF-OMC) to estimate the cycle slips in dual-frequency observations. The DD GF combination, which is only affected by the ionospheric residual, can be used to detect cycle slips with high reliability except for special pairs such as (77, 60) on GPS L1/L2 frequencies. The detection principle of the IF-OMC observable is such that there is a large discontinuity related to the previous epoch when cycle slips occur at the present epoch. The disadvantages of these two combinations can be overcome employing the proposed detection method. The cycle slip pair (77, 60) has no effect on the GF combination, while a change of 14.65 m is derived from GPS L1/L2 observations using the IF-OMC algorithm. Using pre-determined station coordinates as precise values, we found that the accuracy of the DD IF-OMC combination was 18 mm for a 200-km CORS baseline. Therefore, cycle slips in dual-frequency observations can be correctly and uniquely determined using DD GF and IF-OMC equations. The proposed method was verified by adding simulated cycle slips in observations collected from the CORS network under a quiet ionosphere and shown to be effective. Moreover, the method was assessed with observations made during intense ionospheric activity, which generated extensive cycle slips. The results show that the algorithm can detect and repair all cycle slips apart from two exceptions relating to long data gaps.     

Long term shoreline oscillation and changes of Cauvery delta coastline inferred from satellite imageries

Coastal zone is highly volatile ecosystem which is always in adjustments. Loss of shore line will cause severe impact on human life and as well as their properties. Remote sensing is a reliable technique to study the historical shoreline changes. Therefore in this paper long term shoreline oscillations of Cauvery delta shorelines at Poompuhar, Tharangambadi and Nagapattinam were studied using satellite imageries and the same was physically observed at the above three locations with the help of reference pillars and compared mutually. It was observed that the shoreline at Poompuhar is under accretion at the rate of 1.79m/ year and other shoreline stretches at Tharangambadi and Nagapattinam were under erosion at 0.4888m/ year and 0.4985m/ year respectively. It was also observed that the remote sensing study qualitatively matches with the physical observation for all the three coastal stretches of the study area.