Sensitive response of desert vegetation to moisture change based on a near-annual resolution pollen record from Gahai Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China

We present a 50-year pollen record at near-annual resolution from Gahai Lake in the Qaidam Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Chronology of a 22-cm short core was established by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs analysis. The pollen results at 0.5 cm intervals show large changes in Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) ratios from < 0.2 to 0.95 in the last 50 years. High (low) A/C ratios represent increase (decrease) in steppe pollen production, which correspond to high (low) relative humidity observed at nearby Delingha weather station. On the basis of good correspondence with instrumental records and carbonate content from Gahai Lake, we conclude that A/C ratio is sensitive to moisture change and can be a very useful index in reconstructing paleoclimate of arid regions. Comparison with pollen and snow accumulation data from Dunde ice core suggests that effective moisture at low and high elevations shows the opposite relationship when mountain precipitation was extremely high, possibly due to topography-induced uplifting and subsiding air dynamics.     

克里格法的土壤水分遥感尺度转换

 尺度效应往往会制约着定量遥感反演的精度,对地学信息进行空间尺度转换是生产实践的必然要求,而常用的尺度转换模型多利用光谱数据进行差值计算,不适合升尺度和降尺度转换。由于土壤含水量数据具有区域变化量的随机性和结构性特点,本文以15m分辨率的ASTER图像像元为基本单元,采用点克里格法完成ASTER 15m至7.5m分辨率的土壤含水量数据降尺度转换,从分维数的相似程度上来看,转换结果是合理的;并利用块状克里格法对地面实测样点数据进行点到7.5m分辨率的面数据升尺度转换,将升尺度和降尺度转换结果与实测样点均值相比较,结果表明:7.5m分辨率的实测样点土壤水均值误差在1.5782-5.019之间,块状克里格法获取的升尺度土壤含水量数据与点克里格法获取的降尺度土壤含水量数据之间误差则为1.2825-5.0481,可见克里格法考虑了点与周边的关系,所获得的土壤含水量值要优于未考虑空间异质性的土壤含水量平均值。     

2006年台风“碧利斯”与“格美”的降水差异性比较

对2006年7月登陆,西移影响粤东的路径相似、降水过程强度和范围不同的2次台风过程,从环流形势,台风环流本身、结构以及降水性质等方面进行了对比分析.结果表明,"碧利斯"的降水是一典型的和西南季风相结合的降水,而"格美"的降水仅仅是台风本身环流的降水.同时发现两者在登陆2 d内500 hPa平均高度场、水汽通量垂直剖面图,水汽输送时间序列图上均有显著差异.指出水汽输送的强弱,决定了登陆台风的维持时间和降雨强度.     

UHV/VHF波段SAR对次地表层土壤湿度探测与反演

首先采用一层非球形粒子植被模型,计算各波段矢量辐射传输方程Mueller矩阵一阶散射解,对比微扰法所得各波段地表粗糙面直接后向散射解,结果证明L波段植被层的散射对观测结果仍有影响,与下垫土壤粗糙表面的散射不易分离.因此,宜采用更低频率的UHF和VHF波段,对地表和次地表层能有较大的渗透深度,并可忽略植被层影响.接着,运用矢量辐射传输的3层土壤全极化Mueller矩阵解,计算UHF/VHF波段分层土壤的散射与传输,分析该两波段探测深度的差异,证实UHF波段可探测大致10-60cm深处的土壤湿度,而VHF波段探测深度能更大一些.根据第3层中土壤体湿度变化0.1时能否引起土壤表面观测的后向散射系数变化0.1dB这一判据,分析VHF波段反演第3层土壤体湿度的必要条件,证实当第2层的体湿度较小时(<0.25)才能反演层3的体温度.基于UHF/VHF两波段探测深度的差异,耗散土壤层的贡献有不同的权重,先后采用UHF和VHF,迭代法实现3层土壤湿度廓线反演.误差分析表明,该方法是有意义的.     

陕西黄土高原人工林土壤干层及形成原因

1 Introduction Abroad, a lot of research on soil water removal, seeping and evaporation has been done (Ole, 1998; Rapp, 2000). A seeping model of soil water was suggested (Yuin, 1998) and it was known that water removal is very slow in the unsaturated zon…     

Analysis of the contributions of topographic,soil, and vegetation features on the spatial distributions of surface soil moisture in a steep natural forested headwater catchment

Surface soil moisture has been extensively studied for various land uses and landforms. Although many studies have reported potential factors that control surface soil moisture over space or time, the findings have not always been consistent, indicating a need for identification of the main factors. This study focused on the static controls of topographic, soil, and vegetation features on surface soil moisture in a steep natural forested headwater catchment consisting of three hillslope units of a gully area, side slope, and valley‐head slope. Using a simple correlation analysis to investigate the effects of the static factors on surface soil moisture at depths of 0–20 cm at 470 points in 13 surveys, we addressed the characteristics of surface soil moisture and its main controlling factors. The results indicated that the mean of surface soil moisture was in the decreasing order of gully area > valley‐head slope > side slope. The relationship between the mean and standard deviation of surface soil moisture showed a convex‐upward shape in the headwater catchment, a negative curvilinear shape in the gully area, and positive curvilinear shapes at the side and valley‐head slopes. At the headwater catchment and valley‐head slope, positive contributions of soil porosity and negative contributions of slope gradient and saturated hydraulic conductivity were the main controlling factors of surface soil moisture under wetter conditions, whereas positive contributions of topographic wetness index and negative contributions of vegetation density were the main controlling factors of surface soil moisture under drier conditions. At the side slope underlain by fractured bedrocks, only saturated hydraulic conductivity and vegetation density were observed to be the controlling factors. Surface soil moisture in the gully area was mainly affected by runoff rather than were static features. Thus, using hillslope units is effective for approximately estimating the hydrological behaviours of surface moisture on a larger scale, whereas dependency between the main static factors and moisture conditions is helpful for estimating the spatial distributions of surface moisture on a smaller scale.     

Transpiration and plant water relations of evergreen woody vegetation on a recently constructed artificial ecosystem under seasonally dry conditions in Western Australia

Understanding transpiration and plant physiological responses to environmental conditions is crucial for the design and management of vegetated engineered covers. Engineered covers rely on sustained transpiration to reduce the risk of deep drainage into potentially hazardous wastes, thereby minimizing contamination of water resources. This study quantified temporal trends of plant water potential (ψ_p), stomatal conductance (g_s), and transpiration in a 4‐year‐old evergreen woody vegetation growing on an artificial sandy substrate at a mine waste disposal facility. Transpiration averaged 0.7 mm day^?1 in winter, when rainfall was frequent, but declined to 0.2 mm day^?1 in the dry summer, when the plants were quite stressed. In winter, the mean ψ_p was ?0.6 MPa at predawn and ?1.5 MPa at midday, which were much higher than the corresponding summer values of ?2.0 MPa and ?4.8 MPa, respectively. The g_s was also higher in winter (72.1–95.0 mmol m^?2 s^?1) than in summer (<30 mmol m^?2 s^?1), and negatively correlated with ψ_p (p < 0.05, r² = 0.71–0.75), indicating strong stomatal control of transpiration in response to moisture stress. Total annual transpiration (147.2 mm) accounted for only 22% of the annual rainfall (673 mm), compared with 77% to 99% for woody vegetation in Western Australia. The low annual transpiration was attributed to the collective effects of a sparse and young vegetation, low moisture retention of the sandy substrate, and a superficial root system constrained by high subsoil pH. Amending the substrate with fine‐textured materials should improve water storage of the substrate and enhance canopy growth and deep rooting, while further reducing the risk of deep drainage during the early stages of vegetation establishment and in the long term. Overall, this study highlights the need to understand substrate properties, vegetation characteristics, and rainfall patterns when designing artificial ecosystems to achieve specific hydrological functions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential Influence of a Developing La Niña on the Sea-Ice Reduction in the Barents–Kara Seas

Abstract

The potential influence of a developing La Niña on Arctic sea-ice annual variability is investigated using both observational data and an atmospheric general circulation model. It is found that during the developing phase of an eastern Pacific (EP) La Niña event in June, July, and August (JJA) and September, October, and November (SON), the sea-ice concentration (SIC) over the Barents–Kara Seas declines more than 15%. The local atmospheric circulation pattern associated with the EP La Niña is characterized as a weak decrease in geopotential height over the Barents–Kara Seas, combined with an anticyclone in the North Atlantic. The corresponding southerly winds push warm waters northward into the key sea-ice reduction region and directly accelerate sea-ice melt. Meanwhile, the abundant moisture contained in the lower troposphere is transported into the Arctic region by winds resulting from the local barotropic structure. The humid atmosphere contributes to both net shortwave and longwave radiation and thus indirectly accelerates the decline in sea ice. Simulations by the European Centre Hamburg Model, version 5.4, are forced by observed sea surface temperature anomalies associated with EP La Niña events. The results of the simulations capture the North Atlantic anticyclone and reproduce the moisture transport, which supports the premise that an EP La Niña plays a crucial role in sea-ice reduction over the Barents–Kara sector from the perspective of atmospheric circulation and net surface heat flux.     

On the role of soil moisture in daytime evolution of temperatures

This paper explores the relationship between temperature, evaporation and soil moisture using a planetary boundary layer (PBL) model. It focuses on illustrating and quantifying the effect of soil moisture on the evolution of daytime temperatures. A simple convective PBL model coupled with the Penman–Monteith (PM) equation is used to estimate evapotranspiration. Following calibration and sensitivity analysis, the model was used to simulate the relative impact of dry and wet soil moisture conditions on daytime temperatures by changing the surface resistance parameter in the PM equation. It was found that the maximum temperature that can be reached during a day is constrained by the amount of soil moisture and the available net radiation, confirming previously published results. Higher temperatures can be reached with greater net radiation and dry soil moisture conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.