Evaluation of distributed recharge in an upland semi-arid karst system: the West Bank Mountain Aquifer,Middle East

Assessment of recharge in a structurally complex upland karst limestone aquifer situated in a semi-arid environment is difficult. Resort to surrogate indicators such as measurement of spring outflow and borehole discharge, is a common alternative, and attempts to apply conventional soil moisture deficit analysis may not adequately account for the intermittent spate conditions that arise in such environments. A modelling approach has been made using the West Bank Mountain Aquifer system in the Middle East as a trial. The model uses object oriented software which allows various objects to be switched on and off. Each of the main recharge processes identified in the West Bank is incorporated. The model allows either conventional soil moisture deficit analysis calculations or wetting threshold calculations to be made as appropriate, and accommodates both direct recharge and secondary recharge. Daily time steps enable recharge and runoff routing to be calculated for each node. Model runs have enabled a series of simulations for each of the three aquifer basins in the West Bank and for the whole of the West Bank. These provide recharge estimates comparable to those prepared by earlier workers by conventional means. The model is adaptable and has been successfully used in other environments.     

Groundwater resources in the Jabal Al Hass region,northwest Syria: an assessment of past use and future potential

In many cases, the development of groundwater resources to boost agricultural production in dry areas has led to a continuous decline in groundwater levels; this has called into question the sustainability of such exploitation. In developing countries, limited budgets and scarce hydrological data often do not allow groundwater resources to be assessed through groundwater modeling. A case study is presented of a low-cost water-balance approach to groundwater resource assessments in a 1,550 km² semi-arid region in northwestern Syria. The past development of irrigated agriculture and its effect on the groundwater system were studied by analysis of Landsat images and long-term groundwater level changes, respectively. All components of the groundwater balance were determined. Groundwater recharge was estimated using the chloride mass balance method. Over the past three decades, groundwater levels have declined, on average, 23 m, coinciding with a two-fold increase in the groundwater-irrigated area. Groundwater resources are currently depleted by a value that lies between 9.5×10⁶ and 118×10⁶ m³ year^?1, which is larger than can be compensated for by a future decrease in natural discharge or changes in boundary conditions. However, groundwater resources are likely to be sufficient to supply domestic and livestock needs in the area.     

SOME NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF LAND-SURFACE PROCESSES IN ARID AREA FROM THE HEIFE*

The survey for the HEIFE(Atmosphere-Land Surface Processes Experiment at Heihe River Basin,Western China) is given in the paper.The following basic subjects for land-surface processes in arid areas are studied:(1) the general characteristics of the energy budget on ground surface in arid areas;(2) the parameterization of the land surface processes;(3) the interaction between oasis and its desert circumstances,a special phenomenon in arid areas.The analysis shows that the sensible heat flux in the surface energy budget is in the majority,and the latent heat flux may be neglected.The influence of atmospheric stratification stability on the turbulent transfer of energy and substance must be considered in parameterization of land surface processes in arid areas.The "cold island effect" phenomenon in oasis and the "humidity inversion" phenomenon in desert near oasis are the result of the interaction between them.The results would improve the understanding of land surface processes in arid areas.     

On solving Kepler's equation for nearly parabolic orbits

We deal here with the efficient starting points for Kepler's equation in the special case of nearly parabolic orbits. Our approach provides with very simple formulas that allow calculating these points on a scientific vest-pocket calculator. Moreover, srtarting with these points in the Newton's method we can calculate a root of Kepler's equation with an accuracy greater than 0.001 in 0–2 iterations. This accuracy holds for the true anomaly || 135° and |e – 1| 0.01. We explain the reason for this effect also.Dedicated to the memory of Professor G.N. Duboshin (1903–1986).     

Extension of the solution of Kepler's equation to high eccentricities

The classic Lagrange's expansion of the solutionE(e, M) of Kepler's equation in powers of eccentricity is extended to highly eccentric orbits, 0.6627 ... <e<1. The solutionE(e, M) is developed in powers of (e–e*), wheree* is a fixed value of the eccentricity. The coefficients of the expansion are given in terms of the derivatives of the Bessel functionsJ _n (ne). The expansion is convergent for values of the eccentricity such that |e–e*|<(e*), where the radius of convergence (e*) is a positive real number, which is calculated numerically.     

Sediment budget-based estimates of trace metal inputs to a Chesapeake estuary

This article evaluates whether a sediment budget for the South River, Maryland, can be coupled with metals data from sediment cores to identify and quantify sources of historic metal inputs to marsh and subtidal sediments along the estuary. Metal inputs to estuarine marsh sediments come from fluvial runoff and atmospheric deposition. Metal inputs to subtidal sediments come from atmospheric deposition, fluvial runoff, coastal erosion, and estuarine waters. The metals budget for the estuary indicates that metal inputs from coastal erosion have remained relatively constant since 1840. Historical variations in metal contents of marsh sediments have probably resulted primarily from increasing atmospheric deposition in this century, but prior to 1900 may reflect changing fluvial sources, atmospheric inputs, or factors not quantified by the budget. Residual Pb, Cu, and Zn in the marsh sediments not accounted for by fluvial inputs was low to moderate in 1840, decreased to near zero circa 1910, and by 1987 had increased to levels that were one to ten times greater than those of 1840. Sources of variability in subtidal cores could not be clearly discerned because of geochemical fluxes, turbulent mixing, and bioturbation within the cores. The sediment-metal budgeting approach appears to be a viable method for delineating metal sources in small, relatively simple estuarine systems like the South River and in systems where recent deposition (for example, prograding marshes) prevents use of deep core analysis to identify background levels of metal. In larger systems or systems with more variable sources of sediment and metal input, however, assumptions and measurement errors in the metal budgeting approach suggest that deep core analysis and normalization techniques are probably preferable for identifying anthropogenic impacts.Field and laboratory research conducted at the Department of Geography, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USAField and laboratory research conducted at the Marine and Estuarine Environmental Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USA     

On the periodic solutions of a particular Lame equation

We consider the Hill's equation: % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGGipm0dc9vqaqpepu0xbbG8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaaSaaaeaaca% WGKbWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIYaaaaOGaeqOVdGhabaGaamizaiaadsha% daahaaWcbeqaaiaaikdaaaaaaOGaey4kaSYaaSaaaeaacaWGTbGaai% ikaiaad2gacqGHRaWkcaaIXaGaaiykaaqaaiaaikdaaaGaam4qamaa% CaaaleqabaGaaGOmaaaakiaacIcacaWG0bGaaiykaiabe67a4jabg2% da9iaaicdaaaa!4973!\[\frac{{d^2 \xi }}{{dt^2 }} + \frac{{m(m + 1)}}{2}C^2 (t)\xi = 0\]Where C(t) = Cn (t, {frbuilt|1/2}) is the elliptic function of Jacobi and m a given real number. It is a particular case of theame equation. By the change of variable from t to defined by: % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGGipm0dc9vqaqpepu0xbbG8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaqcaawaaOWaaiqaaq% aabeqaamaalaaajaaybaGaamizaGGaaiab-z6agbqaaiaadsgacaWG% 0baaaiabg2da9OWaaOaaaKaaGfaacaGGOaqcKbaG-laaigdajaaycq% GHsislkmaaleaajeaybaGaaGymaaqaaiaaikdaaaqcaaMaaeiiaiaa% bohacaqGPbGaaeOBaOWaaWbaaKqaGfqabaGaaeOmaaaajaaycqWFMo% GrcqWFPaqkaKqaGfqaaaqcaawaaiab-z6agjab-HcaOiab-bdaWiab% -LcaPiab-1da9iab-bdaWaaakiaawUhaaaaa!51F5!\[\left\{ \begin{array}{l}\frac{{d\Phi }}{{dt}} = \sqrt {(1 - {\textstyle{1 \over 2}}{\rm{ sin}}^{\rm{2}} \Phi )} \\\Phi (0) = 0 \\\end{array} \right.\]it is transformed to the Ince equation: (1 + · cos(2)) y + b · sin(2) · y + (c + d · cos(2)) y = 0 where % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGGipm0dc9vqaqpepu0xbbG8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaqcaawaaiaadggacq% GH9aqpcqGHsislcaWGIbGaeyypa0JcdaWcgaqaaiaaigdaaeaacaaI% ZaGaaiilaiaabccacaWGJbGaeyypa0Jaamizaiabg2da9aaacaqGGa% WaaSaaaKaaGfaacaWGTbGaaiikaiaad2gacqGHRaWkcaaIXaGaaiyk% aaqaaiaaiodaaaaaaa!4777!\[a = - b = {1 \mathord{\left/{\vphantom {1 {3,{\rm{ }}c = d = }}} \right.\kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {3,{\rm{ }}c = d = }}{\rm{ }}\frac{{m(m + 1)}}{3}\]In the neighbourhood of the poles, we give the expression of the solutions.The periodic solutions of the Equation (1) correspond to the periodic solutions of the Equation (3). Magnus and Winkler give us a theory of their existence. By comparing these results to those of our study in the case of the Hill's equation, we can find the development in Fourier series of periodic solutions in function of the variable and deduce the development of solutions of (1) in function of C(t).     

Tripartite climate reversal in Central Europe 5600-5300 years ago

The history of variations in water level of Lake Constance, as reconstructed from sediment and pollen analysis of a sediment sequence from the archaeological site of Arbon-Bleiche 3, shows an abrupt rise in lake level dendrochronologically dated to 5375 yr ago (5320 yr relative to AD 1950). This event, paralleled by the destruction of the Neolithic village by fire, provoked the abandonment of this prehistoric lake-shore location established in the former shallow bay of Arbon-Bleiche, and was the last of a series of three episodes of successively higher lake level, the first occurring at 5600-5500 cal yr B.P. The dendrochronologically dated rise event was synchronous with an abrupt increase in atmospheric ¹⁴C. This supports the hypothesis of an abrupt climate change forced by varying solar activity. Moreover, the three successive episodes of higher lake level between 5600 and 5300 cal yr B.P. at Arbon-Bleiche 3 coincided with climatic cooling and/or changes in moisture conditions in various regions of both hemispheres. This period corresponds to the mid-Holocene climate transition (onset of the Neoglaciation) and suggests inter-hemispheric linkages for the climate variations recorded at Arbon-Bleiche 3. This mid-Holocene climate reversal may have resulted from complex interactions between changes in orbital forcing, ocean circulation and solar activity. Finally, despite different seasonal hydrological regimes, the similarities between lake-level records from Lake Constance and from Jurassian lakes over the mid-Holocene period point to time scale as a crucial factor in considering the possible impact of climate change on environments.     

Large eddy simulation of hydrocyclone—prediction of air-core diameter and shape

Hydrocyclones are widely used in the mining and chemical industries. An attempt has been made in this study, to develop a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model, which is capable of predicting the flow patterns inside the hydrocyclone, including accurate prediction of flow split as well as the size of the air-core. The flow velocities and air-core diameters are predicted by DRSM (differential Reynolds stress model) and LES (large eddy simulations) models were compared to experimental results. The predicted water splits and air-core diameter with LES and RSM turbulence models along with VOF (volume of fluid) model for the air phase, through the outlets for various inlet pressures were also analyzed. The LES turbulence model led to an improved turbulence field prediction and thereby to more accurate prediction of pressure and velocity fields. This improvement was distinctive for the axial profile of pressure, indicating that air-core development is principally a transport effect rather than a pressure effect.     

Mais comment s'écoule donc un glacier ? Aperçu historique

Ice and snow have often helped physicists understand the world. On the contrary it has taken them a very long time to understand the flow of the glaciers. Naturalists only began to take an interest in glaciers at the beginning of the 19th century during the last phase of glacier advances. When the glacier flow from the upslope direction became obvious, it was then necessary to understand how it flowed. It was only in 1840, the year of the Antarctica ice sheet discovery by Dumont d'Urville, that two books laid the basis for the future field of glaciology: one by Agassiz on the ice age and glaciers, the other one by canon Rendu on glacier theory. During the 19th century, ice flow theories, adopted by most of the leading scientists, were based on melting/refreezing processes. Even though the word ‘fluid’ was first used in 1773 to describe ice, more the 130 years would have to go by before the laws of fluid mechanics were applied to ice. Even now, the parameter of Glen's law, which is used by glaciologists to model ice deformation, can take a very wide range of values, so that no unique ice flow law has yet been defined. To cite this article: F. Rémy, L. Testut, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).