Charred forests accelerate snow albedo decay: parameterizing the post‐fire radiative forcing on snow for three years following fire

As large, high‐severity forest fires increase and snowpacks become more vulnerable to climate change across the western USA, it is important to understand post‐fire disturbance impacts on snow hydrology. Here, we examine, quantify, parameterize, model, and assess the post‐fire radiative forcing effects on snow to improve hydrologic modelling of snow‐dominated watersheds having experienced severe forest fires. Following a 2011 high‐severity forest fire in the Oregon Cascades, we measured snow albedo, monitored snow, and micrometeorological conditions, sampled snow surface debris, and modelled snowpack energy and mass balance in adjacent burned forest (BF) and unburned forest sites. For three winters following the fire, charred debris in the BF reduced snow albedo, accelerated snow albedo decay, and increased snowmelt rates thereby advancing the date of snow disappearance compared with the unburned forest. We demonstrate a new parameterization of post‐fire snow albedo as a function of days‐since‐snowfall and net snowpack energy balance using an empirically based exponential decay function. Incorporating our new post‐fire snow albedo decay parameterization in a spatially distributed energy and mass balance snow model, we show significantly improved predictions of snow cover duration and spatial variability of snow water equivalent across the BF, particularly during the late snowmelt period. Field measurements, snow model results, and remote sensing data demonstrate that charred forests increase the radiative forcing to snow and advance the timing of snow disappearance for several years following fire. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selected Trace Elements in Snowpack on Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tianshan, China: As Yielded by Leaching Treatment Representative of Real-World Environmental Conditions

To investigate the seasonal variability and potential environmental significance of trace elements in mountain glaciers, the surface snow and snow pit samples were collected at Urumqi Glacier No. 1 (43o06'N, 86o49'E, 4 130 m a.s.l.), eastern Tianshan (天山), from September 2002 to September 2003, and analyzed for Li, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, and Ba. The samples were acidified (leached) in a manner intended to reasonably approximate the extent to which the natural hydrologic and weathering cycles would liberate elem...     

Influential factors on the repose angle of desert sands

The repose angle is one of the most significant macroscopic parameters in describing the behavior of granular materials. Under a static condition, the repose angle is the steepest angle at which sediment particles can rest without motion. In this paper, we use existing data and aeolian physics to analyze the main factors that influence the repose angle of sand dunes, and we investigate different repose angles involving various states and types of materials. We have determined that different factors have differential influence on the magnitude of the repose angle. Our results show that for powdery (<400-μm diameter) desert sands, the main influential factor on the magnitude of repose angle is the molecular force among particles. Particle size does not influence the repose angle of desert sands directly, but has an indirect impact by affecting the grit sphericity and surface roughness, of which the grit sphericity acts as a major factor. Even at the same average particle size, the repose angle differs with different grain compositions. Furthermore, with increasing unevenness in grain composition, the repose angle increases correspondingly. Sand texture also has a direct influence on the repose angle of desert sands. In two sand samples having the same grain composition but different textures, the repose angles may be different. Water content has a stronger influence on the repose angle than any other factor. However, the relationship between the repose angle and water content is not a simple direct proportion. In fact, with increasing water content, the repose angle first increases and then decreases. These research results will be useful for understanding the mechanisms of dune transport, variations of dune morphology, and the stability and fluidity of dune sands.     

钛铁矿化学成分标准物质研制

当前我国没有钛铁矿化学成分标准物质,只有与其相似的钒钛磁铁矿石标准物质,国外钛铁矿标准样品主要是钛铁矿精矿,不能有效地进行分析质量控制,因此迫切急需研制钛铁矿化学成分标准物质。本文研制了5个钛铁矿化学成分标准物质。样品采自山东省莒县棋山钛铁矿矿区、山东省沂水常庄钛铁矿矿区和河北省承德黑山钛铁矿矿区,采用流化床对撞式气流粉碎磨将样品细碎至粒度小于50μm,混合均匀后进行均匀性和稳定性检验,代表性元素的电感耦合等离子体发射光谱和电感耦合等离子体质谱分析结果表明方差检验的F值小于临界值,样品均匀性良好;所检验的元素经18个月6次分析,均未发现统计学意义的明显变化,样品的短期和长期稳定性良好;烘样温度(20~60℃)对亚铁(FeO)的稳定性并无影响,亚铁不会发生氧化。选择11家具有资质的实验室,采取经典分析方法与现代仪器分析技术相结合的方式,选用两种以上不同原理的准确度高的可靠方法对该标准物质联合定值,依照JJF 1343—2012和一级标准物质技术规范,5个钛铁矿化学成分标准物质给出了46项组分(包括主量、痕量和全部稀土元素)的认定值和不确定度,TiO2的含量范围为2.97%~19.76%,TFe的含量范围为18.88%~51.30%,基本涵盖了我国钛铁矿成矿类型,能够满足钛铁矿勘查、评价和开发的需求。     

Changing Properties of Snowpack in the Great Salt Lake Basin,Western United States,from a 26-Year SNOTEL Record

Daily observations from automated snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) stations from within the drainage basin of the Great Salt Lake over the period from 1982 to 2007 are analyzed. The major finding is a shift toward an earlier date of peak snow water equivalent (SWE) by around fifteen days. Less robust findings are reductions in the amounts of peak SWE and 1 April SWE. This suggests increased chances of late-summer water shortages, especially when combined with rapid recent population growth. Less freshwater is likely to be available to flow into the Great Salt Lake, increasing its salinity and potentially affecting its ecology.     

基于地统计学的路基连续压实均匀性评价

传统的路基压实质量均匀性评价方法均基于变异系数等概率统计指标,未能考虑检测数据的空间分布特性,难以准确评价路基压实质量的不均匀性。基于地统计学理论,建立半变异函数模型描述连续压实检测数据的空间变异性,采用指数模型对半变异函数曲线进行最优拟合,并提出偏基台值C作为路基压实均匀性控制指标。分别采用地统计方法与传统数理统计法对沪昆客运专线芷江试验段的路基进行压实均匀性评价。结果表明：在压路机振动频率波动或存在压实薄弱区域的情况下,与传统数理统计指标变异系数Cv相比,地统计指标C可消除系统误差等随机性因素对均匀性评价结果的影响,更能客观反映不同工况下的填筑土体在空间上的不均匀压实状态,其结果为铁路路基压实均匀性评价提供了新的思路。     

THE FEATURES OF SEA-ICE COVER, SNOW DISTRIBUTION AND ITS DENSIFICATION IN THE CENTRAL ARCTIC OCEAN

I.INTKODUCTIONTheArcticOcean,withanareaofapproximately9.5X106krnZ,ispredominantlysea--icecoveredthroughouttheyearinitscentralarea,whilethesouthedgeofmarginalicezone(MIZ)variesseasonally.ThemaxinltlmofIcecoverextentoccursbetweenFebruaryandMarch,whilethemininlunlisbetweenAugustandseptember.Placingtheiceedgeto8%iceconcentration(percentarealcoveragesofseaice)isopleths,variationofextentofsea--icecoveroftheArcticOceanisI)etween9X106--16X106kmZIbytheobservationofasatellite--bornescanningm…     

Assessing the effects of forest biomass reductions on forest health and streamflow

Forest biomass reductions in overgrown forests have the potential to provide hydrologic benefits in the form of improved forest health and increased streamflow production in water-limited systems. Biomass reductions may also alter evaporation. These changes are generated when water that previously would have been transpired or evaporated from the canopy of the removed vegetation is transferred to transpiration of the remaining vegetation, streamflow, and/or non-canopy evaporation. In this study, we combined a new vegetation-change water-balance approach with lumped hydrologic modelling outputs to examine the effects of forest biomass reductions on transpiration of the remaining vegetation and streamflow in California's Sierra Nevada. We found that on average, 102 mm and 263 mm (8.0% and 20.6% of mean annual precipitation [MAP]) of water were made available following 20% and 50% forest biomass-reduction scenarios, respectively. This water was then partitioned to both streamflow and transpiration of the remaining forest, but to varying degrees depending on post-biomass-reduction precipitation levels and forest biomass-reduction intensity. During dry periods, most of the water (approximately 200 mm [15.7% on MAP] for the 50% biomass-reduction scenario) was partitioned to transpiration of the remaining trees, while less than 50 mm (3.9% on MAP) was partitioned to streamflow. This increase in transpiration during dry periods would likely help trees maintain forest productivity and resistance to drought. During wet periods, the hydrologic benefits of forest biomass reductions shifted to streamflow (200 mm [15.7% on MAP]) and away from transpiration (less than 150 mm [11.8% on MAP]) as the remaining trees became less water stressed. We also found that streamflow benefits per unit of forest biomass reduction increased with biomass-reduction intensity, whereas transpiration benefits decreased. By accounting for changes in vegetation, the vegetation-change water balance developed in this study provided an improved assessment of watershed-scale forest health benefits associated with forest biomass reductions.     

Hydrologic connectivity at the hillslope scale through intra-snowpack flow paths during snowmelt

The seasonal snowmelt period is a critical component of the hydrologic cycle for many mountainous areas. Changes in the timing and rate of snowmelt as a result of physical hydrologic flow paths, such as longitudinal intra-snowpack flow paths, can have strong implications on the partitioning of meltwater amongst streamflow, groundwater recharge, and soil moisture storage. However, intra-snowpack flow paths are highly spatially and temporally variable and thus difficult to observe. This study utilizes new methods to non-destructively observe spatio-temporal changes in the liquid water content of snow in combination with plot experiments to address the research question: What is the scale of influence that intra-snowpack flow paths have on the downslope movement of liquid water during snowmelt across an elevational gradient? This research took place in northern Colorado with study plots spanning from the rain-snow transition zone up to the high alpine. Results indicate an increasing scale of influence from intra-snowpack flow paths with elevation, showing higher hillslope connectivity producing larger intra-snowpack contributing areas for meltwater accumulation, quantified as the upslope contributing area required to produce observed changes in liquid water content from melt rate estimates. The total effective intra-snowpack contributing area of accumulating liquid water was found to be 17, 6, and 0 m² for the above tree line, near tree line, and below tree line plots, respectively. Dye tracer experiments show capillary and permeability barriers result in increased number and thickness of intra-snowpack flow paths at higher elevations. We additionally utilized aerial photogrammetry in combination with ground penetrating radar surveys to investigate the role of this hydrologic process at the small watershed scale. Results here indicate that intra-snowpack flow paths have influence beyond the plot scale, impacting the storage and transmission of liquid water within the snowpack at the small watershed scale.     

Preferential exchange rate effect of isotopic fractionation in a melting snowpack

Stable isotope exchange processes between solid and liquid phases of a natural melting snowpack are investigated in detail by separating the liquid water from snow grains at different depths of the snowpack and collecting the bottom discharge using a lysimeter. In the melting–freezing mass exchange process between the two phases, the theoretical slope of the δD? δ¹⁸O line for newly refrozen ice is calculated to be nearly that of pore water. However, based on observations of the isotopic evolution and snow grain coarsening of the snowpack, it is demonstrated that the slope of the δD? δ¹⁸O line for newly refrozen ice is equal to that of the original ice. This is proved to be due to preferential water flow in the snowpack, which leads to relatively more deuterium and less oxygen‐18 in the mobile water than the immobile water because of the kinetic effect. Higher mass exchange rate in the mobile water region results in excess deuterium in the bulk refrozen ice, compared with the fractionation of uniform fractionation factors and exchange rate. This effect, which is termed the ‘preferential exchange rate effect of isotopic fractionation’, is shown to be larger in the lower part than the upper part of the snowpack. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.