Time–frequency analysis to profile hydrological regimes: application to Haiti

Abstract

Comprehensive characterization of its flow rates is prerequisite to a proper understanding and water management of a given hydrological region. Several studies question the soundness of stationarity in time series and suggest the need for a quantification of the events and non-stationary features in flow rate time series. In this study, we combine statistical and time–frequency (TF) analyses to characterize and classify the flow rates of an understudied region, namely Haiti. Wavelet transforms and cyclostationarity analyses were combined with principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering to identify three groups of hydrological regimes in the country, suggesting similar management: (1) relatively stable flow rates with TF behaviour; (2) periodic and strongly seasonal flow rates; and (3) unstable flow rates. We argue that the TF methodology can yield additional information in regard to flow events and multiscale behaviour, even for short records. Flow rate characterization would benefit from the exhaustive approach described here.

EDITOR Z.W. Kundzewicz ASSOCIATE EDITOR E. Toth     

Spatial and temporal controls on historical channel responses – study of an atypical case: Someşu Mic River,Romania

In this paper the spatial and temporal responses of the Some?u Mic River (Romania) to natural and anthropogenic controls over the past 150 years are analysed, based on a series of morphometric parameters extracted from five successive sets of topographic maps and one set of orthophotos. Prior to the intensive hydrotechnical interventions of the last four decades, the river was characterized by a complex alternation of different channel types, resulting in a mixture of alluvial and mixed sinuous – meandering – sinuous anabranched – meandering anabranched reaches, each a few hundred metres to a few kilometres long. The main cause for this spatial behaviour was the local geology. Its effects were intensified by a larger scale slope, slightly higher than along a longitudinal profile with normal concavity, as a consequence of the presence of a 400 m elevation knick‐point located in the catchment area. A generalized maintenance of river in the floodplain perimeter during the entire interval of study (centennial scale), with local planform adjustments and lack of median scale avulsion in lateral tilting areas and along the anabranched reaches, channel lengthening and meander development during hydrological stable periods and channel shortening and increasing of natural cutoffs during periods with higher incidence of floods (decadal scale), and the incapacity of local morphologic changes resulted from human interventions to completely counterbalance general trends (decadal scale), supports the idea of decreasing the amplitude and frequency of important floods, after the end of the Little Ice Age. Channel metamorphosis by canalization, diminishing/elimination of overflows and medium‐scale avulsions by changes in flow regimes (dams) and the presence of dykes in the floodplain perimeter, channel narrowing (43%) and incision (at least after 1945) downstream from dams, and probably because of in‐channel gravel mining are the main anthropically induced changes along the Some?u Mic River. Even if human impact is important, both at the drainage basin scale and along the Some?u Mic River, it has only local impacts, subordinated to climate. The low level of human impact on this river could be the consequence of the higher general slope downstream from 400 m elevation knick‐point, which probably forces the positioning of its effects under an important internal threshold of the fluvial system. This boundary condition defines Some?u Mic River as an atypical river. This study supports the idea that climate has a more important role in the post‐Little Ice Age (LIA) rivers' behaviour than currently accepted. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-term residence and movement patterns of the annular seabream Diplodus annularis in a temperate marine reserve

The short-term movements of a small temperate fish, the annular seabream Diplodus annularis (Linnaeus 1758), were examined using standard tag-recapture and passive acoustic telemetry in Palma Bay (NW Mediterranean), a marine protected area (MPA). The study aimed to provide valuable information for assessing the recreational fishery and its results suggest that MPAs can be used to protect the adult stock of D. annularis. All the fish tagged with standard tags were recaptured near the release locations, with a maximum distance of ∼300 m. The maximum time between release and recapture was 185 d. Two different arrays of acoustic receivers were deployed, one in 2008 and another in 2009, within the MPA. Twenty adults were surgically tagged with acoustic transmitters. Fish monitored in 2008 (n = 12) were translocated from the point of capture to analyse the movement behaviour after artificial displacement. Upon release at displaced locations, 67% of the fish moved towards the original capture location using a time of return that ranged from 0.75 to 15.25 h. Fish monitored in 2009 (n = 8) were released at the point of capture. They showed high site fidelity with a maximum period of 27 d between the first time and the last time they were detected.     

Estimation of load reduction factors for clay masonry walls

The in‐plane cyclic behaviour of three types of unreinforced clay masonry was characterized by means of laboratory tests on full‐scale specimens. The masonry walls were assembled with various bonding arrangements (head joints made with mortar pockets, dry head joints with mechanical interlocking, thin‐layer mortar bed joints), which are not yet inserted in seismic codes. Experimental behaviour was modelled with an analytical hysteretic model able to predict lateral load–displacement curves in case of shear failure of the unreinforced walls. According to the experimental results and those of the selected analytical model, parametric study to evaluate the reduction in lateral strength demand produced by non‐linear behaviour in masonry walls, i.e. the load reduction factor was carried out by non‐linear dynamic analyses. The calculated values of the load reduction factor were modest. The differences in values found for the three masonry types, although consistent with them, were not great. This may indicate that, in the ultimate limit state, the type of masonry cannot significantly affect the behaviour of an entire building. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical modelling of the transverse dynamic behaviour of circular tunnels in clayey soils

In this paper, different approaches aimed at investigating the dynamic behaviour of circular tunnels in the transverse direction are presented. The analysed cases refer to a shallow tunnel built in two different clayey deposits. The adopted approaches include 1D numerical analyses performed modelling the soil as a single-phase visco-elastic non-linear medium, the results of which are then used to evaluate the input data for selected analytical solutions proposed in the literature (uncoupled approach), and 2D fully coupled FE simulations adopting visco-elastic and visco-elasto-plastic effective stress models for the soil (coupled approach). The results are proposed in terms of seismic-induced loads in the transverse direction of the tunnel lining. The different constitutive hypotheses adopted in the coupled numerical approach prove to play a significant role on the results. In particular, the plasticity-based analyses indicate that a seismic event can produce a substantial modification of loads acting in the lining, leading to permanent increments of both hoop force and bending moment.     

Shear effects on hollow section piers under seismic actions: experimental and numerical analysis

Shear effects are often a very important issue on the seismic behaviour of piers, particularly for hollow section bridge piers. In fact, for this type of piers the cyclic response is similar to that of a structural wall in which both the transverse reinforcement ratio and the detailing can play an important role on its performance, even likely to be determinant in terms of the failure mechanism. On the other hand, codes and design guidelines are usually very conservative concerning shear capacity in order to avoid any shear failure mechanism likely to trigger well known catastrophic consequences. Therefore, research studies on this topic are still needed for a better understanding of pier cyclic shear response and also for improvement of the performance under seismic actions. Pursuing this general objective, this paper partially reports on an experimental/numerical campaign carried out on 1:4 reduced scale bridge piers in order to highlight and investigate shear-type problems. Within the scope of this paper, two specimens types were selected having equal rectangular hollow section (900 × 450 mm², 75 mm thick) but different transverse reinforcement detailing, namely one with a single stirrup per wall (representative of typical bridge construction without seismic design requirements) and another with multiple stirrups, according to Eurocode 8 provisions. Numerical simulations of the experimental results were also conducted aiming at contributing for complete and consistent interpretations of experimental results. Detailed modelling was performed allowing for realistic simulations of the non linear behaviour, particularly suitable when a significant shear component is involved. Therefore, the numerical strategy was based on a detailed 3D FEM discretization using a two-scalar variable damage model for the concrete constitutive law and a suitable cyclic behaviour law for steel bars represented by truss elements. Results have shown that shear deformation and failure modes are well simulated, while providing detailed insight concerning concrete damage pattern and distribution of yielding on the transverse and longitudinal reinforcement.     

厦门文昌鱼人工繁殖和幼虫发育及其变态的研究

用组织学和胚胎学方法对厦门国家级自然保护区文昌鱼的生殖季节、胚胎发育和幼虫培育进行详细研究,结果表明,自然保护区文昌鱼生殖季节可分为两个繁殖时期,从6月初开始至7月初为繁殖高峰期,8和9月为繁殖小产期.观察人工繁殖得出,文昌鱼(Branchiostoma belcheri)产卵时间在傍晚19:00前后,可以观察到雌、雄文昌鱼的产卵和排精行为:雄性文昌鱼先离开沙,并跃出水面快速游动和排精,接着雌鱼也跃出水面,所有的卵通过破裂的性腺壁进入到围鳃腔并通过围鳃孔到水中受精,受精率在98.5%以上,还观察了文昌鱼幼虫发育并变态为幼鱼(长度为1.05～13.5mm)的全过程.     

固结过程对冻土应力-应变特性的影响

选用四种不同固结方式,并在－５０℃条件下,对冻结砂土样进行三轴压缩试验,试验发现固结过程对冻土的强度与变表有明显影响。经历Ｋ０ＤＣＦ的冻土其强度最大,友坏变形最小,经历ＦＣ的试样强度最小,破坏变形最大;经历ＥＤＣＦ和ＥＵＤＣＦ的产介于中间。     

膏溶角砾岩侧限膨胀特性试验研究

研究了膏溶角砾岩的侧限膨胀特性及其影响因素。这种岩石受到扰动后可吸水发生膨胀变形使其结构发生变形甚至破坏。通过GDG高压固结仪采用平衡加压法和充分膨胀法研究了侧限情况下岩石的膨胀力指标, 解释了充分膨胀法膨胀力指标大于平衡加压法膨胀力指标的原因。通过试验研究了供水充足条件下膏溶角砾岩侧限自由膨胀变形演化规律, 阐述了膏溶角砾岩侧限膨胀变形的影响因素。岩石试样采自山西石太客运专线太行山隧道, 试验结果表明, 膏溶角砾岩的膨胀特性不同于常规的膨胀岩, 其轴向膨胀变形随含水率增加而增加, 随密度增大而减小。