A novel approach for estimating karst groundwater recharge in mountainous regions and its application in Switzerland

A pragmatic and simple approach for estimating the groundwater recharge of karst aquifers in mountainous regions by extrapolation of the hydrological regimes of gauged and well‐documented systems is presented. Specific discharge rates are derived using annual precipitation and spring measurements by taking into account catchment size and elevation, which are assumed to be the dominant factors. Reference sites with high data reliability are used for calibration and regional extrapolation. This is performed with normalized values employing spatial precipitation deviations and correlation with the elevation of the catchment areas. A tiered step procedure provides minimum and maximum normalized gradients for the relationship between recharge quantity and elevation for karst regions. The normalized recharge can therefore be obtained and extrapolated for any location using the spatial precipitation variability to provide an estimate of annual groundwater recharge. The approach was applied to Switzerland (approximately 7500 km² of karst terrain situated between 200 and over 4000 m a.s.l.) using annual precipitation data from meteorological stations for the years 2000 to 2011. Results show that the average recharge rates of different Swiss karst domains range from 20 to 46 L/km²s, which corresponds to an infiltration ratio between 0.6 and 0.9 of total precipitation. Despite uncertainties inherent in the approach, these results provide a benchmark for renewable karst groundwater resources in Switzerland of about 8.4 km³/year. The approach can be applied to any other mountainous karst region, that is, where a clear relationship between elevation, precipitation and recharge can be assumed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The June 2013 Alberta catastrophic flooding event – part 2: fine‐scale precipitation and associated features

Data obtained from a variety of sources including the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, weather radars, weather stations and operational numerical weather model analyses were used to address the evolution of precipitation during the June 2013 southern Alberta flood. The event was linked to a mid‐level closed low pressure system to the west of the region and a surface low pressure region initially to its south. This configuration brought warm, moist unstable air into the region that led to dramatic, organized convection with an abundance of lightning and some hail. Such conditions occurred in the southern parts of the region whereas the northern parts were devoid of lightning. Initially, precipitation rates were high (extreme 15‐min rainfall rates up to 102 mm h^?1 were measured) but decreased to lower values as the precipitation shifted to long‐lived stratiform conditions. Both the convective and stratiform precipitation components were affected by the topography. Similar flooding events, such as June 2002, have occurred over this region although the 2002 event was colder and precipitation was not associated with substantial convection over southwest Alberta. Copyright © 2016 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Hydrological Processes. © John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal evaluation of rainfall estimation by four cumulus parameterization schemes and their sensitivity analysis

Sustainable water resources management require scientifically sound information on precipitation, as it plays a key role in hydrological responses in a catchment. In recent years, mesoscale weather models in conjunction with hydrological models have gained great attention as they can provide high‐resolution downscaled weather variables. Many cumulus parameterization schemes (CPSs) have been developed and incorporated into three‐dimensional Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU/NCAR) mesoscale model 5 (MM5). This study has performed a comprehensive evaluation of four CPSs (the Anthes–Kuo, Grell, Betts–Miller and Kain–Fritsch93 schemes) to identify how their inclusion influences the mesoscale model's precipitation estimation capabilities. The study has also compared these four CPSs in terms of variability in rainfall estimation at various horizontal and vertical levels. For this purpose, the MM5 was nested down to resolution of 81 km for Domain 1 (domain span 21 × 81 km) and 3 km for Domain 4 (domain span 16 × 3 km), respectively, with vertical resolutions at 23, 40 and 53 vertical levels. The study was carried out at the Brue catchment in Southwest England using both the ERA‐40 reanalysis data and the land‐based observation data. The performances of four CPs were evaluated in terms of their ability to simulate the amount of cumulative rainfall in 4 months in 1995 representing the four seasonal months, namely, January (winter), March (spring), July (summer) and October (autumn). It is observed that the Anthes–Kuo scheme has produced inferior precipitation values during spring and autumn seasons while simulations during winter and summer were consistently good. The Betts–Miller scheme has produced some reasonable results, particularly at the small‐scale domain (3 km grid size) during winter and summer. The KF2 scheme was the best scheme for the larger‐scale (81 km grid size) domain during winter season at both 23 and 53 vertical levels. This scheme tended to underestimate rainfall for other seasons including the small‐scale domain (3 km grid size) in the mesoscale. The Grell scheme was the best scheme in simulating rainfall rates, and was found to be superior to other three schemes with consistently better results in all four seasons and in different domain scales. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using stable isotopes to understand seasonal and interannual dynamics in moisture sources and atmospheric circulation in precipitation

Stable isotopes in precipitation are useful tracers to strengthen understanding of climate change and hydrological processes. In this study, the moisture sources of 190 precipitation events in Beijing were analysed using the Hybrid Single‐particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model, based on which we studied the relation between variations in precipitation δ¹⁸O and dynamics in moisture sources and atmospheric circulation in seasonal and interannual timescales. Categorization of 7 groups of moisture sources was performed, among which oceanic moisture sources presented lower δ¹⁸O in precipitation than continental moisture sources. The results show that seasonal variations of precipitation δ¹⁸O were caused by changes of moisture sources. In summer, moisture from proximal oceans dominated vapour transport to Beijing due to increasing monsoon strength and resulted in a relatively small variation of precipitation δ¹⁸O. At the interannual timescale, the variations of δ¹⁸O in summer precipitation were related to dynamics in oceanic moistures, showing depleted values when the contribution of oceanic moistures, especially the proportion of long‐distance oceanic moisture, was high. Further analysis indicated that changes of oceanic moisture sources were controlled by the strength of summer monsoons. These findings address the complexity of moisture sources in midlatitude monsoon areas and suggest that isotopic signals in precipitation have the potential to deduce changes in moisture sources and atmospheric circulation and can therefore serve for palaeoclimate reconstruction.     

降雨资料Kriging与IDW插值对比分析—以漓江流域为例

降水空间化信息在很多领域都具有重要意义,而进行空间插值方法形成降水空间化信息是当代较为常用的方式。面对众多的插值方法其插值精度成为我们是否采用的关键,就kirging插值法与IDW(Inverse Distance Weighting)插值进行研究以探讨其插值效果,为此类科学研究提供依据。研究以漓江流域内各气象站点降水统计资料为基础分别采用上述两种方法进行插值处理,通过与预留实测站点比较评判方法的插值效果的优劣。结果表明,多年月平均降水量作为时间步长时,降水丰沛的月份使用kriging插值法较优于IDW插值法,而枯水月份则使用IDW插值法较优于kriging插值法。     

城市水利工程对京杭大运河无锡段水位影响分析

根据京杭大运河无锡段历年河流水位与降水量的关联,结合城市水利工程,分析了京杭大运河无锡段水位变化规律。重点研究了2003年前后水位变化的形成机制,推求出水利工程和气候条件下水位的变化特点,总结了城市水利工程对京杭大运河流向产生的影响。为本地区研究城市水利工程影响下河流水位变化情况及防汛应用提供了数据支持。     

前冬戴维斯海峡—巴芬湾区域海冰异常对中国东部春季极端降水频次的可能影响及预测价值

本文研究了前期冬季北极海冰与中国东部春季极端降水频次的联系及其可能机制,并进一步探讨了海冰异常信号对极端降水的预测价值。结果表明,前冬戴维斯海峡—巴芬湾区域海冰异常与中国东部春季极端降水频次经验正交分解第一模态(EOF1)之间存在密切联系。当前冬戴维斯海峡—巴芬湾区域海冰异常偏多时,冬季大气环流呈现出类北大西洋涛动(NAO)正位相的异常分布,并伴随经向的北大西洋三极型海温异常。该海温异常可以从冬季持续到春季,进而激发出从北大西洋到欧亚中纬度的纬向遥相关波列,在东亚地区引起气旋型环流异常。该气旋型环流异常会引起中国东部地区湿度显著增加,上升运动增强,从而为该地区极端降水的发生提供了有利的背景条件。相反,当前冬戴维斯海峡—巴芬湾区域海冰异常偏少时,其滞后引起的春季环流异常则不利于中国东部地区极端降水的发生。进一步的交叉检验结果表明,前冬戴维斯海峡—巴芬湾区域海冰异常信号对中国东部春季极端降水具有重要的预测价值。     

Element budgets of pine stands on lignite and pyrite containing mine soils

To analyze the development of pine ecosystems on lignite and pyrite containing mine soils, four pine stands with ages of 3–35 years were investigated in a chronosequence approach. Bulk precipitation, throughfall and soil solution in depths of 20, 40, 70 and 100 cm were studied over a three-year period to determine element fluxes in these forest ecosystems on extreme acidic and saline soils.Element budgets are controlled by the processes induced by pyrite oxidation such as intensive weathering of primary minerals, precipitation and leaching of secondary phases.Despite low water fluxes, element outputs can reach extraordinary high values due to very high concentrations in the soil solution. Although element outputs decrease drastically with stand age, respectively, site age, they exceed those of comparable pine stands on non-mine sites. Nitrogen release from the lignite fraction represents a special characteristic of the examined substrates. Nitrogen losses beneath the rooted zone can be 34 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in 100 cm depth. Element input and output in the examined ecosystems are far from balance. Closed cycling of nutrients seems to be recognizable in the case of potassium.     

微生物地质工程技术及其应用

微生物地质工程技术是将微生物参与的生化过程加以控制和利用,来解决工程地质问题的一类新型岩土体水—力学特性改性技术。研究表明该技术具有低成本、环境友好、低能耗和过程可控的优点,是工程地质界近些年的一个热门研究内容,也是现代工程地质学科的重要发展方向。文章基于当前该技术取得的研究进展,系统总结了能被加以控制和高效利用的三种代表性微生物地质工程技术（微生物成矿作用、微生物膜作用及微生物产气作用）的原理及其应用领域。着重对研究最多、应用前景最广的微生物成矿作用改性岩土体力学特性、渗透特性、抗侵蚀性等工程性质及机理进行了阐述,并深入探讨了影响微生物成矿作用改性效果的关键因素（细菌种类、菌液浓度、环境温度、pH值、胶结液、土体性质及灌浆工艺）。此外,文章还详细论述了微生物成矿作用在地基处理、岛礁建设、防风固沙、水土保持、抗裂防渗、文物保护、地灾防治等领域的应用现状,并探讨了该技术当前面临的主要挑战及未来的重点研究方向。     

滞后补给权函数：降雨补给潜水滞后性处理方法

本文分析了当前数值模型中处理降雨入渗补给潜水方法中存在的问题,提出一种能刻画滞后补给且使用方便的方法－滞后补给权函数法。