Predictions of future hydrological conditions and contribution of snow and ice melt in total discharge of Shigar River Basin in Central Karakoram, Pakistan

The high mountains of Hindu-Kush Karakoram and Himalaya(HKKH) contain a large volume of snow and ice, which are the primary sources of water for the entire mountainous population of HKKH. Thus, knowledge of these available resources is very important in relation to their sustainable use. A Modified Positive Degree Day Model was used to simulate daily discharge with the contribution of snow and ice melt from the Shigar River Basin, Central Karakoram, Pakistan. The basin covers an area of 6,921 km2 with an elevation range of 2,204 to 8,611 m a.s.l.. Forty percent of the total area is glaciated among which 20% is covered by debris and remaining 80% by clean ice and permanent snow. To simulate daily discharge, the entire basin was divided into 26 altitude belts. Remotely sensed land cover types are derived by classifying Landsat images of 2009. Daily temperature and precipitation from Skardu meteorological station is used to calibrate the glacio-hydrological model as an input variable after correlating data with the Shigar station data(r=0.88). Local temperature lapse rate of 0.0075 °C/m is used. 2 °C critical temperature is used to separate rain and snow from precipitation. The model is calibrated for 1988~1991 and validated for 1992~1997. The model shows a good Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and volume difference in calibration(0.86% and 0.90%) and validation(0.78% and 6.85%). Contribution of snow and ice melt in discharge is 32.37% in calibration period and 33.01% is validation period. The model is also used to predict future hydrological regime up to 2099 by using CORDEX South Asia RCM considering RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios.Predicted future snow and ice melt contributions in both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are 36% and 37%, respectively. Temperature seems to be more sensitive as compared to other input variables, which is why the contribution of snow and ice in discharge varies significantly throughout the whole century.     

Simultaneous measurements of the two-dimensional distribution of infrared laser intensity and temperature in a single-sided laser-heated diamond anvil cell

In this report, we demonstrate that combining the laser heating system in a diamond anvil cell (LH-DAC) with a tandem acoustic-optical tunable filter (LH-DAC–TAOTF) allows for the simultaneous measurement of (a) the relative infrared (IR, 1070 nm) power distribution on a specimen surface in the DAC; (b) the temperature distribution under laser heating of a specimen under high-pressure in a DAC; it also (c) provides an opportunity to control the shape of the IR laser spot on the surface of the heated specimen. The effect of the π-shaper on the shape and the position of the focus of the IR laser beam on a specimen using a TAOTF is also presented. For a 10× long-working distance objective, the smallest diameter of the IR laser was found to be around 10 μm, when the focal plane coincides with that of the imaging optical system of LH-DAC. The highest diameter of the IR laser was shown to be 20 μm when the rim of the π-shaper was set at 3 μm. It is demonstrated also that the TAOFT not only permits to measure the two-dimensional (2-D) distribution of the IR laser power, but also allows for the alignment of the laser before each heating event at different pressures.     

Mountain pastures and grasslands in the SW Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan �� Floristic patterns, environmental gradients, phytogeography, and grazing impact

Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain agriculture of local farmers.Accordingly,these pastures are subject to an increasing utilization pressure reflecting the changing political and social conditions in the transformation process from a Soviet republic to an independent state.A first detailed analysis of mountain pasture vegetation in the Ferghana Range answers the following questions:What are the main plant community types among Kyrgyzstan’s mountain pastures? What are the main environmental gradients that shape their species composition? Which phytogeographical distribution types are predominant? How does grazing affect community composition and species richness in these grasslands? Species composition was classified by cluster analysis;underlying environmental gradients were explored using DCA.A dataset of 395 relevés was used for classification,and a subset of 79 relevés was used in a DCA to analyze the correlation between vegetation,environment,and grazing impact.The investigated pastures were classified into four distinctive plant communities.The site factors altitude,heat load,inclination and grazing impact were found to be the major determinants of the vegetation pattern.A significant overlap between floristic composition and structural and spatial properties was shown.The majority of the species pool consisted of Middle Asian endemics and Eurosiberian species.However,disturbance-tolerant species played a significant role with respect to species composition and coverage of the herbaceous layer in vast areas of southern Kyrgyzstan’s mountain pastures.In general,an intense grazing impact is clearly reflected by both species composition and structural variables of plant communities.The highly diverse and unique ecosystem is modified by an increasing utilization pressure.In order to maintain vital processes and functioning of this valuable ecosystem-in both economical and ecological terms-,it is indispensable to adopt appropriate pasture management strategies.     

Characterizing the vadose zone and a perched aquifer near the Vosges ridge at the La Soutte experimental site,Obernai, France

We consider a series of hydrogeophysical techniques that provide a multiscale investigation of the water content in the vadose zone and of the perched aquifer at the experimental site of “La Soutte” in the Vosges Mountains (France). It is located in a catchment area where several springs and streams occur along fractured volcanic and weathered plutonic rocks. The site is the object of a long-term study that uses both continuous and repeated measurements to monitor hydrogeological processes. The main results from AMT and DC resistivity techniques allow the determination of a high-resolution 3D resistivity model over a large range of depths (from 10⁰ to 10³ m). We discuss their use and propose a hydrogeological model (porosity, water conductivity and water content). We also use MRS and GPR for a detailed investigation of the shallow part of the catchment that consists of soil and weathered rocks of highly varying thickness (0 to 15 m). MRS is used to map the thickness and total water volume content by unit surface of the saturated weathered zone. It also yields estimates of the vadose zone thickness through the depth to the top of the saturated zone. Moreover, we show results from GPR CMP measurements that yield estimates of the water content and porosity in the shallowest layer (0–30 cm) by simple interpretation of the ground direct wave.     

Groundwater investigation on sand dunes area in southern part of Vietnam by magnetic resonance sounding

In the last five years, magnetic resonance sounding (MRS), as a non-invasive geophysical method, has emerged as a new technique for ground water investigation in Vietnam. In this paper, we present the general theoretical basis of this method together with acquisition, processing, and interpretation of the MRS data. We show a case study of MRS surveys in sand dunes area in order to characterize aquifers situated in the southern part of Vietnam. From the interpretation of MRS soundings we delimited an aquifer layer in the subsurface with strong lateral variations for which we determined the depth at 44 m and water content between 3% and 9.5%. The longitudinal relaxation constant T*₁ is about 250 m s, while the transverse relaxation T*₂ is between 150–200 m s. That indicates fine to medium grain size and thus low to medium hydraulic permeability. These results are confirmed by the observations from the well LK1 between 45 to 70 m. The results of other MRS measurements showed the presence of a low water bearing aquifer and were confirmed by the observations in two other wells.