Soil moisture estimation using ERS 2 SAR data: a case study in the Solani River catchment/Estimation de l’humidité du sol grâce à des données ERS-2 SAR: étude de cas dans le bassin de la rivière Solani

Abstract

Abstract The information regarding spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture in a catchment is of utmost importance in hydrological, as well as many other studies. Point measurements from gravimetric and other methods for soil moisture determination are insufficient to understand the spatial behaviour of soil moisture in a region. Microwave remote sensing data from active sensors on board various satellites are increasingly being used to map spatial distribution of soil moisture within the 0–10 cm top surface. The northern part of India has a network of large rivers and canals and, therefore, spatial and temporal distribution of soil moisture in this region has a significant bearing on the hydrology of the region. In this paper, results on estimation of soil moisture from an ERS-2 SAR image in the catchment of the Solani River (a tributary to the River Ganga) in and around the town of Roorkee, India, have been presented. The radar backscatter coefficient for each pixel of the image has been modelled from the digital numbers of the SAR image. Gravimetric measurements have been made simultaneously during the satellite pass to determine the concurrent value of volumetric soil moisture at a large number of sample points within the satellite sweep area. The backscatter coefficient is found to vary from –30 dB to –42 dB for a variation in soil moisture from 30 to 75%. Regression analyses between volumetric soil moisture and both the digital numbers and backscatter coefficients were performed. Strong correlations between volumetric soil moisture and digital number were observed with R ² values of 0.84, 0.75 and 0.83 for bare soil, vegetative and combined surfaces, respectively. A similar trend was observed with the relationship between backscatter and volumetric soil moisture with R ² values of 0.60, 0.89 and 0.67 for bare soil, vegetative and combined surfaces, respectively. These results demonstrate the utilization of SAR data for estimation of spatial distribution of soil moisture in the region of the present study.     

20世纪末中国土壤侵蚀的空间分布特征

通过对中国2000年第二次土壤侵蚀遥感调查成果的分析,讨论了20世纪末中国土壤侵蚀空间分布特点。结果表明,水土流失仍然是我国持续影响面最大的环境问题。西部是我国土壤侵蚀的主要分布地区,轻度侵蚀对整个土壤侵蚀格局影响最大。水蚀的分布明显体现出地形的影响,轻度水蚀基本上分布在山地丘陵区 (含黄土地形区),严重水蚀近半分布在黄土地形区。轻度水蚀主要分布在耕地、林地、草地。严重水蚀、轻度风蚀面积均约半数分布在草地,各类草地的保护与整治均应是水、风蚀区水土保持的重要内容。土壤资源中,黄绵土是受到土壤侵蚀威胁最严重的类型。但对我国土壤侵蚀的进一步分析还需要更多对方法和相关数据分析的研究工作。     

Comparing the stream re-aeration coefficient estimated from ANN and empirical models / Comparaison d'estimations par un RNA et par des modèles empiriques du coefficient de réaération en cours d'eau

Abstract

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most useful indices of river's health and the stream re-aeration coefficient is an important input to computations related to DO. Normally, this coefficient is expressed as a function of several variables, such as mean stream velocity, shear stress velocity, bed slope, flow depth, and Froude number. However, in free surface flows, some of these variables are interrelated, and it is possible to obtain simplified stream re-aeration equations. In recent years, different functional forms have been advanced to represent the re-aeration coefficient for different data sets. In the present study, the artificial neural network (ANN) technique has been applied to estimate the re-aeration coefficient (K ₂) using data sets measured at different reaches of the Kali River in India and values obtained from the literature. Observed stream/channel velocity, bed slope, flow depth, cross-sectional area and re-aeration coefficient data were used for the analysis. Different combinations of variables were tested to obtain the re-aeration coefficient using an ANN. The performance of the ANN was compared with other estimation methods. It was found that the re-aeration coefficient estimated by using an ANN was much closer to the observed values as compared with the other techniques.     

TR method (TRM): A separation and stress inversion method for heterogeneous fault-slip data driven by Andersonian extensional and compressional stress regimes

The recently proposed TR method (TRM) which uses the slip preference of the faults to separate heterogeneous fault-slip data in extensional and compressional Andersonian stress regimes, is enhanced so as to determine stress tensors with the use of the Wallace–Bott slip criterion. Published natural fault-slip data from the extensional region of Tympaki, Crete, Greece and artificial fault-slip data modeled from the Chelungpu thrust, activated during the 1999 Chi–Chi earthquake in Taiwan, have been used as case studies. In the first case, the fault-slip data previously considered as homogeneous might actually be of heterogeneous origin as they determine two distinct stress tensors that both fit well with the neotectonic faulting deformation of the region. In the second case, where the fault-slip data belonging to three different subsets are of low diversity, the TRM succeeds in defining the driving stress tensors. The Misfit Angle minimization criterion can adequately separate the fault-slip data between two subsets when the percentage of the “Stress Tensor Discriminator Faults” is higher than approximately 70%.     

Evaluation of temperature trends over India / Evaluation de tendances de température en Inde

Abstract

Abstract The impact of climate change is projected to have different effects within and between countries. Information about such change is required at global, regional and basin scales for a variety of purposes. An investigation was carried out to identify trends in temperature time series of 125 stations distributed over the whole of India. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test was applied to detect monotonic trends in annual average and seasonal temperatures. Three variables related to temperature, viz. mean, mean maximum and mean minimum, were considered for analysis on both an annual and a seasonal basis. Each year was divided into four principal seasons, viz. winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon. The percentages of significant trends obtained for each parameter in the different seasons are presented. Temperature anomalies are plotted, and it is observed that annual mean temperature, mean maximum temperature and mean minimum temperature have increased at the rate of 0.42, 0.92 and 0.09°C (100 year)^-1, respectively. On a regional basis, stations of southern and western India show a rising trend of 1.06 and 0.36°C (100 year)^-1, respectively, while stations of the north Indian plains show a falling trend of –0.38°C (100 year)^-1. The seasonal mean temperature has increased by 0.94°C (100 year)^-1 for the post-monsoon season and by 1.1°C (100 year)^-1 for the winter season.     

Isobar Attenuation Using Anion–Gas Reactions for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and Application to 36Cl

Preliminary tests of a prototype radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) collision cell system, known as an isobar separator for anions (ISA), for the removal of isobaric interferences for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and for studies of anion–gas interactions are reported. The ISA decelerated a mass-analysed beam of anions from an energy (∼ 20 keV) typically generated by an AMS ion source to < 10 eV. RFQs and electrostatic lenses then guided the ions through the collision cell where ion-gas collisions reduced both the energy and energy spread of the ion beam (cooled the ions) and ion-gas reactions attenuated most of the unwanted isobars. The anions were then re-accelerated to their original energy for injection into the rest of the AMS system. With the ISA installed on a full 3 MV AMS system, attenuations of ³²S^-, ¹²C₃^- and ³⁹K^- by six, seven and greater than ten orders of magnitude, respectively were achieved using 0.7–1 Pa NO₂ gas in the collision cell, while maintaining approximately 10–30% of the chlorine anion transmission. A further measurement of a ³⁶Cl/Cl = 4.1 × 10^-11 RM is also described. The results suggest that the ³⁶Cl/Cl lower detection limit of the current system was 10^-14–10^-15 for samples that could be prepared with S/Cl ratios below 10 μg g^-1.     

Experimental analysis of groundwater flow through a landslide slip surface using natural and artificial water chemical tracers

Artificial and natural tracer tests combined with high accurate electronic distancemeter measurements are conducted on a small landslide with a well known slip surface geometry. Outflow yields and chemical contents are monitored for all the experiment duration and they analyzed to estimate the slip surface hydraulic parameters. The main result is that the slip surface acts as a drain for groundwater flows that evacuates interstitial pressures in the slope and brings the sliding mass to be more stable one. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Approche des relations tectonique-karst-hydrodynamisme par l’analyse de traçages réalisés dans l’aquifère crayeux du Boulonnais (Escalles,Nord de la France)

Résumé

En 1989, un traçage a été réalisé sur la commune d’Escalles (Boulonnais) par injection d’uranine dans la partie non saturée de T aquifère crayeux. Les vitesses de transfert élevées (42 m h^?1) obtenues et les directions d’écoulement mises en évidence étaient contradictoires avec ce qui était connu à ce moment-là du point de vue du fonctionnement hydrodynamique de l’aquifère. Les courbes de restitution obtenues, toutes à pics multiples, posaient le problème de l’existence possible de cheminements multiples au sein de la zone non saturée et de l’aquifère. En mars 1997 nous avons procédé à une triple injection de traceur en milieu saturé ce qui a permis de définir exactement les directions des axes de transfert souterrain et les vitesses associées, d’affiner la cartographie piézométrique du secteur, le rôle de la zone non saturée, de trancher entre drainage fissurai et drainage karstique et enfin de percevoir en partie les rôles exercés par certaines failles sur les écoulements souterrains. © 1999 Editions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Interactions eaux de surface–eaux souterraines: bassin versant de l'Oued Mikkes (Maroc)

Résumé

Le bassin de l'Oued Mikkès est situé au centre-nord du Maroc. Il comporte trois zones distinctes présentant des géologies assez diversifiées et abritant des nappes souterraines; une nappe phréatique et une autre captive dans le bassin du Sais et une nappe libre dans le causse Moyen Atlasique. Il correspond à un régime simple pluvial océanique soutenu par les eaux souterraines. La baisse importante du niveau des nappes du bassin de Mikkès observée depuis le début des années 1980 est probablement due à l'effet combiné de la sécheresse et de la surexploitation. Ceci a une influence sur les débits des sources et sur celui de l'oued. Pour la nappe phréatique du Sais, la corrélation positive et la proximité des courbes de fluctuations temporelles entre le débit de la rivière et le niveau piézométrique en dehors des périodes de crues suggère une relation d'alimentation–drainage entre la nappe et la rivière. La ressemblance des courbes de variations du niveau piézométrique de la nappe phréatique et du niveau de la nappe profonde laisse supposer l'existence d'une connexion hydraulique entre la nappe profonde et la rivière. Cependant, le reflet d'une très forte infiltration au sein du causse Moyen Atlasique ne permet pas de démontrer une corrélation positive entre le niveau de la rivière et celui de la nappe.

Citation Belhassan, K., Hessane, M. A. & Essahlaoui, A. (2010) Interactions eaux de surface–eaux souterraines: bassin versant de l'Oued Mikkes (Maroc). Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(8), 1371–1384.