The impact of resolution on the accuracy of hydrologic data derived from DEMs

1 Introduction Automated extraction of drainage features from DEMs is an effective alternative to the tedious manual mapping from topographic maps. The derived hydrologic characteristics include stream-channel networks, delineation of catchment boundaries, catchment area, catchment length, stream-channel long profiles and stream order etc. Other important characteristics of river catchments, such as the stream-channel density, stream-channel bifurcation ratios, stream-channel order, number…     

Long-term hydrological,biogeochemical, and climatological data from Walker Branch Watershed,East Tennessee,USA

In 1967, the original Walker Branch Watershed (WBW) project was established to study elemental cycling and mass balances in a relatively unimpacted watershed. Over the next 50+ years, findings from additional experimental studies and long-term observations on WBW advanced understanding of catchment hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecology and established WBW as a seminal site for catchment science. The 97.5-ha WBW is located in East Tennessee, USA, on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation. Vegetation on the watershed is characteristic of an eastern deciduous, second-growth forest. The watershed is divided into two subcatchments: the West Fork (38.4 ha) and the East Fork (59.1 ha). Headwater streams draining these subcatchments are fed by multiple springs, and thus flow is perennial. Stream water is high in base cations due to weathering of dolomite bedrock and nutrient concentrations are low. Long-term observations of climate, hydrology, and biogeochemistry include daily (1969–2014) and 15-min (1994–2014) stream discharge and annual runoff (1969–2014); hourly, daily, and annual rainfall (1969–2012); daily climate and soil temperature (1993–2010); and weekly stream water chemistry (1989–2013). These long-term datasets are publicly available on the WBW website (https://walkerbranch.ornl.gov/long-term-data/ ). While collection of these data has ceased, related long-term measurements continue through the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), where WBW is the core terrestrial and aquatic site in the Appalachian and Cumberland Plateau region (NEON's Domain 7) of the United States. These long-term datasets have been and will continue to be important in evaluating the influence of climatic and environmental drivers on catchment processes.     

Water and salt balance modelling to predict the effects of land-use changes in forested catchments. 1. Small catchment water balance model

A long-term water balance model has been developed to predict the hydrological effects of land-use change (especially forest clearing) in small experimental catchments in the south-west of Western Australia. This small catchment model has been used as the building block for the development of a large catchment-scale model, and has also formed the basis for a coupled water and salt balance model, developed to predict the changes in stream salinity resulting from land-use and climate change. The application of the coupled salt and water balance model to predict stream salinities in two small experimental catchments, and the application of the large catchment-scale model to predict changes in water yield in a medium-sized catchment that is being mined for bauxite, are presented in Parts 2 and 3, respectively, of this series of papers. The small catchment model has been designed as a simple, robust, conceptually based model of the basic daily water balance fluxes in forested catchments. The responses of the catchment to rainfall and pan evaporation are conceptualized in terms of three interdependent subsurface stores A, B and F. Store A depicts a near-stream perched aquifer system; B represents a deeper, permanent groundwater system; and F is an intermediate, unsaturated infiltration store. The responses of these stores are characterized by a set of constitutive relations which involves a number of conceptual parameters. These parameters are estimated by calibration by comparing observed and predicted runoff. The model has performed very well in simulations carried out on Salmon and Wights, two small experimental catchments in the Collie River basin in south-west Western Australia. The results from the application of the model to these small catchments are presented in this paper.     

黄河源区土地沙漠化及其对土壤碳库的影响研究

沙漠化过程不仅影响着区域社会经济稳定、可持续发展,而且对地球表层物质循环和能量转换过程产生重要的影响。因此,沙漠化对草地生态系统土壤碳库汇效应有重要的影响。结合黄河源区沙漠化过程的定量研究,探讨土地沙漠化过程对高寒草甸生态系统土壤碳库的影响。研究结果表明,从1990—2000年黄河源区沙漠化不仅表现为面积的扩展,而且表现为沙漠化程度的加重,沙漠化扩展和程度加重面积达1 067.69 km²。根据野外实测土壤剖面样品的理化分析测试确定的不同沙漠化土地的土壤有机碳密度,结合沙漠化土地的变化,获得从1990—2000年黄河源区沙漠化导致土壤有机碳流失量达4.11×10⁶ t,每年从土壤中流失的有机碳平均为0.41×10⁶ t。认为自然与人为因素导致的青藏高原高寒草甸生态系统的退化,不仅影响了高原区域可持续发展,而且将由碳汇转变为碳源并对全球气候的变化产生重大的影响。     

黑河干流洪水预报模型研究

黑河干流上游区水文站点稀少,区间部分支流洪水过程无法控制,中游区河流沿程大量引水灌溉、取水口甚多用水量无法获得,使得以水量平衡原理为基础的洪水演算方法难以应用。针对上述情况,笔者应用系统水文模型理论并对其进行了改进。通过引入系统存贮变量,建立了一个新的黑河干流洪水预报模型-河道洪水演算模型。经1996年,1998年两次特大洪水试报检验,结果表明该模型的预报精度较高,对黑河干流防洪减灾、水利工程科学管理以及水资源优化配置具有重要的作用。     

Development of ST:REAM: a reach‐based stream power balance approach for predicting alluvial river channel adjustment

River channel sediment dynamics are important in integrated catchment management because changes in channel morphology resulting from sediment transfer have important implications for many river functions. However, application of existing approaches that account for catchment‐scale sediment dynamics has been limited, largely due to the difficulty in obtaining data necessary to support them. It is within this context that this study develops a new, reach‐based, stream power balance approach for predicting river channel adjustment. The new approach, named ST:REAM (sediment transport: reach equilibrium assessment method), is based upon calculations of unit bed area stream power (ω) derived from remotely sensed slope, width and discharge datasets. ST:REAM applies a zonation algorithm to values of ω that are spaced every 50 m along the catchment network in order to divide the branches of the network up into relatively homogenous reaches. ST:REAM then compares each reach's ω value with the ω of its upstream neighbour in order to predict whether or not the reach is likely to be either erosion dominated or deposition dominated. The paper describes the application of ST:REAM to the River Taff in South Wales, UK. This test study demonstrated that ST:REAM can be rapidly applied using remotely sensed data that are available across many river catchments and that ST:REAM correctly predicted the status of 87.5% of sites within the Taff catchment that field observations had defined as being either erosion or deposition dominated. However, there are currently a number of factors that limit the usefulness of ST:REAM, including inconsistent performance and the need for additional, resource intensive, data to be collected to both calibrate the model and aid interpretation of its results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Glacial flood pulse effects on benthic fauna in equatorial high‐Andean streams

Equatorial glacier‐fed streams present unique hydraulic patterns when compared to glacier‐fed observed in temperate regions as the main variability in discharge occurs on a daily basis. To assess how benthic fauna respond to these specific hydraulic conditions, we investigated the relationships between flow regime, hydraulic conditions (boundary Reynolds number, Re*), and macroinvertebrate communities (taxon richness and abundance) in a tropical glacier‐fed stream located in the high Ecuadorian Andes (> 4000 m). Both physical and biotic variables were measured under four discharge conditions (base‐flow and glacial flood pulses of various intensities), at 30 random points, in two sites whose hydraulic conditions were representative to those found in other streams of the study catchment. While daily glacial flood pulses significantly increased hydraulic stress in the benthic habitats (appearance of Re* > 2000), low stress areas still persisted even during extreme flood events (Re* < 500). In contrast to previous research in temperate glacier‐fed streams, taxon richness and abundance were not significantly affected by changes in hydraulic conditions induced by daily glacial flood pulses. However, we found that a few rare taxa, in particular rare ones, preferentially occurred in highly stressed hydraulic habitats. Monte‐Carlo simulations of benthic communities under glacial flood reduction scenarios predicted that taxon richness would be significantly reduced by the loss of high hydraulic stress habitats following glacier shrinking. This pioneer study on the relationship between hydraulic conditions and benthic diversity in an equatorial glacial stream evidenced unknown effects of climate change on singular yet endangered aquatic systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hadley环流强度与我国中东部气温的相关分析

利用NCEP／NCAR再分析月平均风场资料和国家气候中心提供的中国160个气象站的月平均气温资料,用质量流函数计算方法描述平均经圈环流,用环流中心值大小表征其强度,分析Hadley环流强度1951--2010年的趋势变化及其与我国中东部气温的关系。结果表明：1）质量流函数能很好地表征平均经圈环流的特征,且环流中心值大小能形象地反映环流强度。2）近60a来,冬季北半球Hadley环流强度呈线性增强的趋势;夏季南半球Hadley环流在20世纪80年代初发生了由减弱趋势转变为显著增强趋势的年代际转折。3）我国中东部大部分地区气温的年代际变化能很好地被Hadley环流强度变化所解释,二者基本呈正相关关系,但显著相关区域随季节变化有所不同。     

TRMM卫星降水数据在小尺度流域的评估与应用

选取史灌河流域上游黄泥庄站以上集水区域为研究流域,以地面站点观测为基准数据,评估TRMM 3B42V7版本卫星降水数据的精度,并采用上述两种降水数据驱动栅格型新安江模型,模拟黄泥庄站日径流和月径流过程。结果表明:2001~2010年TRMM 3B42V7降水数据与雨量站数据累积量的偏差不大,仅为1.71%,但相关系数较低,采用TRMM降水数据模拟的日径流能基本再现黄泥庄站的日径流过程,但对洪峰的模拟精度较低;TRMM月降水数据精度较高,相关系数为0.96,能够较为精确地模拟黄泥庄站的月径流过程。     

遵义市冬末初春两次寒潮降雪天气过程对比分析

利用Micaps常规观测资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、区域站加密观测资料,对遵义市2016年3月8—9日(过程Ⅰ)和2017年2月21—22日(过程Ⅱ)的两次寒潮降雪天气过程进行对比分析。结果表明:(1)500 h Pa横槽转竖和低槽东移是两次寒潮爆发的重要引导系统,过程Ⅰ属于横槽转竖型寒潮天气过程,过程Ⅱ寒潮属小槽发展型。(2)地面冷高压中心强度(冷源)及南下速度是预报寒潮的关键。(3)700 h Pa切变影响与降雪时段对应较好,在今后降雪预报中应作为重要影响系统加以关注。(4)湿层深厚,整层水汽含量高为降雪的显著特征。(5)有无融化层和融化层厚薄应作为降雪预报温度条件的关注重点。