Discovering the ancient lakelet of the archeological site of pasargadae in Iran using a multi-layer technique

Pasargadae complex had been the main center of Persian history during the Achaemenian period (560–330 bc), registered as one of the world heritage sites by UNESCO in 2004. This research is an attempt to recognize the natural setting and landscape of Pasargadae during the Achaemenian period, in Iran. The method is based on the application of a multi-layer technique. Collected data by fieldwork, especially in geology, hydrology, and hydrogeology, along with the analysis of aerial data and satellite information provided the baseline information for preparing historic and environmental layers and have made it possible to recognize a natural lakelet in the this area. The results show that the geometry of lakelet together with the ancient river of Pasargadae had been the main elements that formed the character of the site; they were also important in the locations of buildings in the Pasargadae complex.     

APPLICATION OF ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS TO ASSESSING THE ECOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY OF WETLANDS IN THE JIANGHAN PLAIN

Wetlands in the Jianghan Plain are important components of wetland types in lake area in the middle and lower reaches the Changjiang (Yangtze) River and they fulfill many uses and functions related to hydrology,waste assimilation, ecosystem productivity and biodiversity. Owing to natural factors and human activities, especially excessive reclamation from lakes, the shrinking process of the lakes has been accelerated. Wetland ecosystem has shown the characteristics of vulnerability. According to the analysis of wetland ecological function in the Jianghan Plain, this paper presented an index system related to productivity, stability and environmental capacity. By using the method of Analytic Hierarchy Process, we computed the values of the relative weights of the indexes, and evaluated the vulnerability level of the wetland ecosystem by the method of multi-indexes. The case study showed that the fragile extent of wetland ecosystem in the Jianghan Plain is 5.6. This means that the wetland ecosystem in the Jiang-han Plain is laid to the state of middle vulnerability. Therefore, the wetland conservation and eco-rehabilitation in the JiangJaan Plain should be paid attention to.     

Distinct groundwater recharge sources and geochemical evolution of two adjacent sub-basins in the lower Shule River Basin,northwest China

Based on analysis of groundwater hydrogeochemical and isotopic data, this study aims to identify the recharge sources and understand geochemical evolution of groundwater along the downstream section of the Shule River, northwest China, including two sub-basins. Groundwater samples from the Tashi sub-basin show markedly depleted stable isotopes compared to those in the Guazhou sub-basin. This difference suggests that groundwater in the Tashi sub-basin mainly originates from meltwater in the Qilian Mountains, while the groundwater in the Guazhou sub-basin may be recharged by seepage of the Shule River water. During the groundwater flow process in the Tashi sub-basin, minerals within the aquifer material (e.g., halite, calcite, dolomite, gypsum) dissolve in groundwater. Mineral dissolution leads to strongly linear relationships between Na⁺ and Cl^? and between Mg²⁺+ Ca²⁺ and SO₄ ^2??+?HCO₃ ^?, with stoichiometry ratios of approximately 1:1 in both cases. The ion-exchange reaction plays a dominant role in hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in the Guazhou sub-basin and causes a good linear relationship between (Mg²⁺+ Ca²⁺)–(SO₄ ^2??+?HCO₃ ^?) and (Na⁺+ K⁺)–Cl^? with a slope of ?0.89 and also results in positive chloroalkaline indices CAI 1 and CAI 2. The scientific results have implications for groundwater management in the downstream section of Shule River. As an important irrigation district in Hexi Corridor, groundwater in the Guazhou sub-basin should be used sustainably and rationally because its recharge source is not as abundant as expected. It is recommended that the surface water should be used efficiently and routinely, while groundwater exploitation should be limited as much as possible.     

Preliminary study on assessment of nutrient transport in the Taihu Basin based on SWAT modeling

With the Taihu Basin as a study area, using the spatially distributed and mechanism-based SWAT model, preliminary simulations of nutrient transport in the Taihu Basin during the period of 1995:_2002 has been carried out. The topography, soil, meteorology and land use with industrial point pollution discharge, the loss of agricultural fertilizers, urban sewerage, and livestock drainages were all considered in the boundary conditions of the simulations. The model was calibrated and validated against water quality monitoring data from 2001 to 2002. The results show that the annual total productions of nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) into Lake Taihu are 40000t and 2000t respectively. Nutrient from the Huxi Region is a major resource for Lake Taihu. The non-point source (surface source) pollution is the main form of catchment sources of nutrients into Lake Taihu, occupied TN 53% and TP 56% respectively. TN and TP nutrients from industrial point pollution discharge are 30% and 16%, and sewerage in both forms of point source and non-point source are TN 31% and TP 47%. Both the loss of agricultural fertilizers and livestock drainages from the catchment should be paid more attention as an important nutrient source. The results also show that SWAT is an effective model for the simulation of temporally and spatially nutrient changes and for the assessment of the trends in a catchment scale.     

Application of <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs fingerprinting technique to interpreting sediment production records from reservoir deposits in a small catchment of the Hilly Loess Plateau,China

According to variations of 137Cs and clay contents, 44 flood couplets were identified in a profile of reservoir deposit with a vertical length of 28.12 m in the Yuntaishan Gully. Couplet 27 at the middle of the profile had the highest average 137Cs content of 12.65 Bq kg-1, which indicated the 1963s' deposits, then 137Cs content decreased both downward and upward in the profile. The second top and bottom couplets had average 137Cs contents of 2.15 Bq kg-1 and 0.92 Bq kg-1, respectively. By integrated analysis of reservoir construction and management history, variations of 137Cs contents over the profile, sediment yields of flood couplets and rainfall data during the period of 1958-1970, individual storms related to the flood couplets were identified. 44 floods with a total sediment yield of 2.36×104 m3 occurred and flood events in a year varied between 1 and 10 times during the period of 1960-1970. 7-10 flood events occurred during the wet period of 1961-1964 with very wet autumn, while only 1-2 events during the dry period of 1965-1969. Average annual specific sediment yield was 1.29×104 t km-2 a-1 for the Yuntaishan Gully during the period of 1960-1970, which was slightly higher than 1.11 ×104 t km-2 a-1 for the Upper Yanhe River Basin above the Ganguyi Hydrological Station and slightly lower than 1.40 ×104 t km-2 a-1 for the nearby Zhifang Gully during the same period. Annual specific sediment yields for the Yuntaishan Gully were correlated to the wet season's rainfalls well.     

Geocenter variations derived from a combined processing of LEO- and ground-based GPS observations

GNSS observations provided by the global tracking network of the International GNSS Service (IGS, Dow et al. in J Geod 83(3):191–198, 2009) play an important role in the realization of a unique terrestrial reference frame that is accurate enough to allow a detailed monitoring of the Earth’s system. Combining these ground-based data with GPS observations tracked by high-quality dual-frequency receivers on-board low earth orbiters (LEOs) is a promising way to further improve the realization of the terrestrial reference frame and the estimation of geocenter coordinates, GPS satellite orbits and Earth rotation parameters. To assess the scope of the improvement on the geocenter coordinates, we processed a network of 53 globally distributed and stable IGS stations together with four LEOs (GRACE-A, GRACE-B, OSTM/Jason-2 and GOCE) over a time interval of 3 years (2010–2012). To ensure fully consistent solutions, the zero-difference phase observations of the ground stations and LEOs were processed in a common least-squares adjustment, estimating all the relevant parameters such as GPS and LEO orbits, station coordinates, Earth rotation parameters and geocenter motion. We present the significant impact of the individual LEO and a combination of all four LEOs on the geocenter coordinates. The formal errors are reduced by around 20% due to the inclusion of one LEO into the ground-only solution, while in a solution with four LEOs LEO-specific characteristics are significantly reduced. We compare the derived geocenter coordinates w.r.t. LAGEOS results and external solutions based on GPS and SLR data. We found good agreement in the amplitudes of all components; however, the phases in x- and z-direction do not agree well.     

An Improved Approach for Parameterizing Surface-Layer Turbulent Transfer Coefficients in Numerical Models

Based on classic iterative computation results, new equations to calculate the surface turbulent transfer coefficients are proposed, which allow for large ratios of the momentum and heat roughness lengths. Compared to the Launiainen scheme, our proposed scheme generates results closer to classical iterative computations. Under unstable stratification, the relative error in the Launiainen scheme increases linearly with increasing instability, even exceeding 15%, while the relative error of the present scheme is always less than 8.5%. Under stable stratification, the Launiainen scheme uses two equations, one for 0 < Ri _B ≤ 0.08 and another for 0.08 < Ri _B ≤ 0.2, and does not consider the condition that Ri _B > 0.2, while its relative errors in the region 0 < Ri _B ≤ 0.2 exceed 31 and 24% for momentum and heat transfer coefficients, respectively. In contrast, the present scheme uses only one equation for 0 < Ri _B ≤ 0.2 and another equation for Ri _B > 0.2, and the relative error of the present scheme is always less than 14%.     

Impacts of the leading modes of tropical Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomaly on sub-seasonal evolution of the circulation and rainfall over East Asia during boreal spring and summer

The two leading modes of the interannual variability of the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly are the Indian Ocean basin mode (IOBM) and the Indian Ocean dipole mode (IODM) from March to August. In this paper, the relationship between the TIO SST anomaly and the sub-seasonal evolution of the circulation and rainfall over East Asia during boreal spring and summer is investigated by using correlation analysis and composite analysis based on multi-source observation data from 1979 to 2013, together with numerical simulations from an atmospheric general circulation model. The results indicate that the impacts of the IOBM on the circulation and rainfall over East Asia vary remarkably from spring to summer. The anomalous anticyclone over the tropical Northwest Pacific induced by the warm IOBM is closely linked with the Pacific–Japan or East Asia–Pacific teleconnection pattern, which persists from March to August. In the upper troposphere over East Asia, the warm phase of the IOBM generates a significant anticyclonic response from March to May. In June and July, however, the circulation response is characterized by enhanced subtropical westerly flow. A distinct anomalous cyclone is found in August. Overall, the IOBM can exert significant influence on the western North Pacific subtropical high, the South Asian high, and the East Asian jet, which collectively modulate the precipitation anomaly over East Asia. In contrast, the effects of the IODM on the climate anomaly over East Asia are relatively weak in boreal spring and summer. Therefore, studying the impacts of the TIO SST anomaly on the climate anomaly in East Asia should take full account of the different sub-seasonal response during boreal spring and summer.     

Assessment of PPP integer ambiguity resolution using GPS,GLONASS and BeiDou (IGSO,MEO) constellations

Although integer ambiguity resolution (IAR) can improve positioning accuracy considerably and shorten the convergence time of precise point positioning (PPP), it requires an initialization time of over 30 min. With the full operation of GLONASS globally and BDS in the Asia–Pacific region, it is necessary to assess the PPP–IAR performance by simultaneous fixing of GPS, GLONASS, and BDS ambiguities. This study proposed a GPS + GLONASS + BDS combined PPP–IAR strategy and processed PPP–IAR kinematically and statically using one week of data collected at 20 static stations. The undifferenced wide- and narrow-lane fractional cycle biases for GPS, GLONASS, and BDS were estimated using a regional network, and undifferenced PPP ambiguity resolution was performed to assess the contribution of multi-GNSSs. Generally, over 99% of a posteriori residuals of wide-lane ambiguities were within ±0.25 cycles for both GPS and BDS, while the value was 91.5% for GLONASS. Over 96% of narrow-lane residuals were within ±0.15 cycles for GPS, GLONASS, and BDS. For kinematic PPP with a 10-min observation time, only 16.2% of all cases could be fixed with GPS alone. However, adding GLONASS improved the percentage considerably to 75.9%, and it reached 90.0% when using GPS + GLONASS + BDS. Not all epochs could be fixed with a correct set of ambiguities; therefore, we defined the ratio of the number of epochs with correctly fixed ambiguities to the number of all fixed epochs as the correct fixing rate (CFR). Because partial ambiguity fixing was used, when more than five ambiguities were fixed correctly, we considered the epoch correctly fixed. For the small ratio criteria of 2.0, the CFR improved considerably from 51.7% for GPS alone, to 98.3% when using GPS + GLONASS + BDS combined solutions.