Are peatlands in different states with respect to their thermodynamic behaviour? A simple test of peatland energy and entropy budgets

Whilst all ecosystems must obey the second law of thermodynamics, these physical bounds and controls on ecosystem evolution and development are largely ignored across the ecohydrological literature. To unravel the importance of these underlying restraints on ecosystem form and function, and their power to inform our scientific understanding, we have calculated the entropy budget of a range of peat ecosystems. We hypothesize that less disturbed peatlands are ‘near equilibrium’ with respect to the second law of thermodynamics and thus respond to change by minimizing entropy production. This ‘near equilibrium’ state is best achieved by limiting evaporative losses. Alternatively, peatlands ‘far-from-equilibrium’ respond to a change in energy inputs by maximizing entropy production which is best achieved by increasing evapotranspiration. To test these alternatives this study examined the energy balance time series from seven peatlands across a disturbance gradient. We estimate the entropy budgets for each and determine how a change in net radiation (ΔR_n) was transferred to a change in latent heat flux (ΔλE). The study showed that: (i) The transfer of net radiation to latent heat differed significantly between peatlands. One group transferred up to 64% of the change in net radiation to a change in latent heat flux, while the second transferred as little as 27%. (ii) Sites that transferred the most energy to latent heat flux were those that produced the greatest entropy. The study shows that an ecosystem could be ‘near equilibrium’ rather than ‘far from equilibrium’.     

Effects of differing coverage of moss‐dominated soil crusts on hydrological processes and implications for disturbance in the Mu Us Sandland,China

To study the effects of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on hydrological processes and their implications for disturbance in the Mu Us Sandland, the water infiltration, evaporation and soil moisture of high coverage (100% BSCs), middle coverage (40% BSCs) and low coverage (0% BSCs, bare sand) of moss‐dominated crusts were conducted in this study, respectively. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the main effects of moss‐dominated crusts in the Mu Us Sandland on the infiltration of rainwater were to reduce the infiltration depths and to retain the limited rainwater in shallow soil; (2) moss‐dominated crusts have no significant effects on daily evaporation when the volumetric water content at 4 cm depth in 100% BSCs (VWC4) was over 24.7%, on enhanced daily evaporation when the VWC4 ranged from 6.5% to 24.7% and on reduced daily evaporation when the VWC4 was less than 6.5%; and (3) decreasing the coverage of moss‐dominated crusts (from 100% to 40%) did not significantly change its effects on infiltration, evaporation and soil moisture. Our results demonstrated that for the growth and regeneration of shrubs, which were dominated by Artemisia ordosica in the Mu Us Sandland, high coverage of moss‐dominated crusts has negative effects on hydrological processes, and these negative effects could not be significantly reduced by decreasing the coverage of moss‐dominated crusts from 100% to 40%. Therefore, for the sustained and healthy development of shrub communities in the Mu Us Sandland, it is necessary to take appropriate measures for the well‐developed BSCs in the sites with high vegetation coverage in the rainy season. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new approach to estimate canopy evaporation and canopy interception capacity from evapotranspiration and sap flow measurements during and following wetting

Canopy interception and its evaporation into the atmosphere during irrigation or a rainfall event are important in irrigation scheduling, but are challenging to estimate using conventional methods. This study introduces a new approach to estimate the canopy interception from measurements of actual total evapotranspiration (ET) using eddy covariance and estimation of the transpiration from measurements of sap flow. The measurements were conducted over a small‐scale sprinkler‐irrigated cotton field before, during and after sprinkler irrigation. Evaporation and sap flow dynamics during irrigation show that the total ET during irrigation increased significantly because of the evaporation of free intercepted water while transpiration was suppressed almost completely. The difference between actual ET and transpiration (sap flow) during and immediately following irrigation (post irrigation) represents the total canopy evaporation while the canopy interception capacity was calculated as the difference between actual ET and transpiration (sap flow) during drying (post irrigation) following cessation of the irrigation. The canopy evaporation of cotton canopy was calculated as 0.8 mm, and the interception capacity was estimated to be 0.31 mm of water. The measurement uncertainty in both the non‐dimensional ET and non‐dimensional sap flow was shown to be very low. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

River evaporation,condensation and heat fluxes within a first‐order tributary of Catamaran Brook (New Brunswick,Canada)

Stream temperature plays an important role in many biotic and abiotic processes, as it influences many physical, chemical and biological properties in rivers. As such, a good understanding of the thermal regime of rivers is essential for effective fisheries management and the protection aquatic habitats. Moreover, a thorough understanding of underlying physical processes and river heat fluxes is essential in the development of better and more adaptive water temperature models. Very few studies have measured river evaporation and condensation and subsequently calculated corresponding heat fluxes in small tributary streams, mainly because microclimate data (data collected within the stream environment) are essential and rarely available. As such, the present study will address these issues by measuring river evaporation and condensation in tributary 1 (Trib 1, a small tributary within Catamaran Brook) using floating minipans. The latent heat flux and other important fluxes were calculated. Results showed that evaporation was low within the small Trib 1 of Catamaran Brook, less than 0.07 mm day^?1. Results showed that condensation played an important role in the latent heat flux. In fact, condensation was present during 34 of 92 days (37%) during the summer, which occurred when air temperature was greater than water temperature by 4–6 °C. Heat fluxes within this small stream showed that solar radiation dominated the heat gains and long‐wave radiation dominated the heat losses. © 2015 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Hydrological Processes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in potential evapotranspiration and surface runoff in 1981–2010 and the driving factors in Upper Heihe River Basin in Northwest China

Changes in potential evapotranspiration and surface runoff can have profound implications for hydrological processes in arid and semiarid regions. In this study, we investigated the response of hydrological processes to climate change in Upper Heihe River Basin in Northwest China for the period from 1981 to 2010. We used agronomic, climatic and hydrological data to drive the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model for changes in potential evapotranspiration (ET₀) and surface runoff and the driving factors in the study area. The results showed that increasing autumn temperature increased snow melt, resulting in increased surface runoff, especially in September and October. The spatial distribution of annual runoff was different from that of seasonal runoff, with the highest runoff in Yeniugou River, followed by Babaohe River and then the tributaries in the northern of the basin. There was no evaporation paradox at annual and seasonal time scales, and annual ET₀ was driven mainly by wind speed. ET₀ was driven by relative humidity in spring, sunshine hour duration in autumn and both sunshine hour duration and relative humility in summer. Surface runoff was controlled by temperature in spring and winter and by precipitation in summer (flood season). Although surface runoff increased in autumn with increasing temperature, it depended on rainfall in September and on temperature in October and November. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅析运营期间电力隧道自动化监测技术

针对城市电力隧道结构、走向多变、电缆设施多、电磁干扰大等因素,常规的监测方法难以顺利完成的现状,对目前先进的3种隧道结构自动化监测系统进行深入的研究比较,光纤传感自动技术解决了电力隧道结构监测点布设困难,数据受电磁干扰大的问题,能实时有效、可靠、高精度地监控电力隧道,及时掌握隧道的应力、应变及振动等主要结构参数,确保隧道结构安全。研究对类似的城市电力隧道自动化监测具有一定的参考意义。     

AEKF在星敏感器低频误差补偿中的应用

高分辨率对地观测卫星需要精确的姿态信息来满足后续对地定位等工作,因此姿态确定精度十分重要。星敏感器的低频误差是影响卫星姿态确定精度的重要因素之一,主要是由空间周期性的热环境变化引起的。为进一步提高卫星姿态确定精度,对星敏感器的低频误差产生机理即星敏感器主光轴做周期性扰动进行了分析,设计了星敏感器低频误差补偿方案,建立了考虑星敏感器低频误差在内的组合定姿模型,利用拓维卡尔曼滤波(AEKF)对低频误差进行补偿,并引入RTS平滑滤波进一步提高姿态确定精度。仿真实验表明,设计的星敏感器低频误差补偿方案能有效对其进行补偿,提高卫星姿态确定精度。     

一种新的温度传感器湿度补偿方法

针对温度传感器测量中易受湿度影响的问题,通过对思维进化算法（Mind Evolutionary Algorithm,MEA）中的趋同操作、异化操作及收敛条件进行研究改进,对趋同操作中的散布权值进行自适应调整,在异化操作中引入差分进化算法的变异操作,并考虑收敛条件中搜索平面平缓的情况,提出了基于改进思维进化算法的BP神经网络湿度补偿方法.由湿度影响检定实验得到的样本数据,利用此补偿方法建立湿度补偿模型,将补偿结果与未经优化的BP神经网络模型的结果进行比较研究.结果表明,基于改进思维进化算法的BP神经网络模型补偿精度较高,收敛速度快,计算量小,可有效提高温度传感器的测量精度和可靠性,便于实际应用.     

FDR土壤水分传感器原状土壤标定方法研究

为获得测站准确的土壤水分传感器标定参数,利用自动土壤水分站点的大型原状土壤为样本,在实验室同时进行人工称重观测和仪器自动对比观测,得到一系列的人工自动测量数据,以人工称重数据为准对自动土壤水分传感器进行订正。由于采用原状土壤,样本土壤的质地、密度、土壤颗粒和结合紧密度基本没有受到破坏,订正后的自动土壤体积含水量值能更加真实反映台站实际土壤墒情,能够修订人工对比观测期间由于样本空间不足导致的不合理的田间标定方程。     

FDR自动土壤水分数据标定问题及解决方法

针对目前FDR自动土壤水分数据可用性低的实际情况,本文从FDR自动土壤水分站传感器原理出发,结合数据处理流程与方法对湖南60个站点不同层次的标定参数及部分站点的相关观测数据进行了分析,指出目前田间标定法在自然条件下几乎无法得到覆盖土壤各个湿度区间的均匀样本数据,导致二次标定参数不合理是造成FDR自动土壤水分站数据可用性差的根本原因。二次标定方程参数不合理主要表现为方程斜率过大、过小、负值3种情况,导致观测数据增幅过大、常年不变、与实际土壤湿度变化趋势完全相反等问题。最后针对该问题提出了大样本原状取土,实验室标定的解决方法,并对方法进行了初步验证,结果表明该方法能从源头上有效改善土壤水分站观测数据质量。