Investigation of the groundwater modelling component of the Integrated Water Flow Model (IWFM)

ABSTRACT

The Integrated Water Flow Model (IWFM), developed by the California Department of Water Resources, is an integrated hydrological model that simulates key flow processes including groundwater flows, streamflow, stream–aquifer interactions, rainfall–runoff and infiltration. It also simulates the agricultural water demand as a function of soil, crop and climatic characteristics, as well as irrigation practices, and allows the user to meet these demands through pumping and stream diversions. This study investigates the modelling performance of the groundwater module of IWFM using several hypothetical test problems that cover a wide range of settings and boundary conditions, by comparing the simulation results with analytical solutions, field and laboratory observations, or with results from MODFLOW outputs. The comparisons demonstrate that IWFM is capable of simulating various hydrological processes reliably.

EDITOR M.C. Acreman; ASSOCIATE EDITOR A. Efstratiadis     

Convection with heat flux prescribed on the boundaries of the system. I. The effect of temperature dependence of material properties

Abstract

We study the bifurcation to steady two-dimensional convection with the heat flux prescribed on the fluid boundaries. The fluid is weakly non-Boussinesq on account of a slight temperature dependence of its material properties. Using expansions in the spirit of shallow water theory based on the preference for large horizontal scales in fixed flux convection, we derive an evolution equation for the horizontal structure of convective cells. In the steady state, this reduces to a simple nonlinear ordinary differential equation. When the horizontal scales of the cells exceed a certain critical size, the bifurcation to steady convection is subcritical and the degree of subcriticality increases with increasing cell size.     

Stochastic modelling of unresolved eddy fluxes

A subgrid-scale parameterization scheme motivated by statistical closure theory, but employing statistics obtained from high-resolution direct numerical simulations, is applied to large eddy simulations of two-level quasigeostrophic turbulence on the sphere. It is shown that these parameterizations are consistent with the phenomenology of quasigeostrophic turbulence. The parameterizations consist of 2 × 2 dissipation and stochastic forcing covariance matrices at each wavenumber, with the off-diagonal elements of the matrices representing vertical mixing. Two flow regimes, characterized by their deformation scales, are considered, namely atmospheric and oceanic. In the former, the deformation scale is fully resolved, and the truncation scale is within the enstrophy cascading interial range. In the latter, the deformation scale is not fully resolved, and the truncation scale is within the energy cascading inertial range. It is demonstrated through numerical experiments that both stochastic and deterministic variants of the scheme give comparable results for the energy spectra in the atmospheric regime. In the oceanic regime, the stochastic variant again gives excellent results, but the deterministic variant is found to be numerically unstable.     

Detrimental effects of reduced seawater pH on the early development of the Pacific abalone

The hatching process of the Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai was prolonged at a pH of 7.6 and pH 7.3, and the embryonic developmental success was reduced. The hatching rate at pH 7.3 was significantly (10.8%) lower than that of the control (pH 8.2). The malformation rates at pH 7.9 and pH 8.2 were less than 20% but were 53.8% and 77.3% at pH 7.6 and pH 7.3, respectively. When newly hatched larvae were incubated for 48 h at pH 7.3, only 2.7% of the larvae settled, while more than 70% of the larvae completed settlement in the other three pH treatments. However, most 24 h old larvae could complete metamorphosis in all four pH treatments. Overall, a 0.3-unit reduction in water pH will produce no negative effect on the early development of the Pacific abalone, but further reduction in pH to the values predicted for seawater by the end of this century will have strong detrimental effects.     

Impact of elevated levels of CO2 on animal mediated ecosystem function: The modification of sediment nutrient fluxes by burrowing urchins

A mesocosm experiment was conducted to quantify the relationships between the presence and body size of two burrowing heart urchins (Brissopsis lyrifera and Echinocardium cordatum) and rates of sediment nutrient flux. Furthermore, the impact of seawater acidification on these relationships was determined during this 40-day exposure experiment. Using carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas, seawater was acidified to pH_NBS 7.6, 7.2 or 6.8. Control treatments were maintained in natural seawater (pH ≈ 8.0). Under normocapnic conditions, burrowing urchins were seen to reduce the sediment uptake of nitrite or nitrate whilst enhancing the release of silicate and phosphate. In acidified (hypercapnic) treatments, the biological control of biogeochemical cycles by urchins was significantly affected, probably through the combined impacts of high CO₂ on nitrifying bacteria, benthic algae and urchin behaviour. This study highlights the importance of considering biological interactions when predicting the consequences of seawater acidification on ecosystem function.     

The impact of subsurface conceptualization on land energy fluxes

There is a significant body of work demonstrating the importance of hydrologic control on land energy feedbacks. Yet, quantitative data on aquifer conductivity can be difficult to assemble. Furthermore, how subsurface uncertainty propagates into land-surface processes is not well understood. This study analyzes the impact of aquifer characterization on land energy fluxes, using a coupled hydrology–land-surface model. Four gridded subsurface conductivity fields are developed for the Upper Klamath basin using two data sources and different levels of imposed heterogeneity. Each model is forced with the same transient, observed meteorology for 3 years prior to the final year presented here. Results are analyzed to quantify the impact of subsurface heterogeneity on groundwater surface water interactions and spatial patterns in hydrologic variables. Analysis shows that heterogeneity does not fundamentally alter the connection between groundwater and land surface processes. However, differences between scenarios impact the extent and location of the critical zone.     

整体式GNSS接收机多路径效应分析

探讨了GNSS接收机天线多路径效应的计算和分析方法,分别运用由多路径计算原理编制的数据分析软件和TEQC软件处理整体式GNSS接收机获取的数据,并进行对比分析,其结果说明多路径效应的大小与高度角存在线性关系。在实际数据预处理中,可通过分析软件代替TEQC,简单方便地获得站点的多路径信息,对站点的数据评定提供有效的质量信息。     

China Digital Ocean Prototype System

Abstract

Digital Ocean is a new research domain of Digital Earth. Because of the spatio-temporal, three-dimensional (3D) and intrinsically dynamic nature of ocean data, it is more difficult to make a breakthrough in this domain. The construction of the China Digital Ocean Prototype System (CDOPS) pushes Digital Ocean a step forward from its operation as a mere concept to its achievement as a realistic system. In this paper, the technical framework of the CDOPS is discussed, including its data, function, and application layers. Then, two key technologies are studied in detail that will enable the construction of the 3D ocean environment and the visualization of the ocean model output data. Practical demonstrations show that the CDOPS provides a technical reference for the development of Digital Ocean. This paper is based on an ongoing research project of the development of CDOPS that aims at the facilitation, integration, sharing, accessing, visualization, and use of the ocean data and model computing data from the Digital Earth perspective.     

钻井液侵入海洋含水合物地层的一维数值模拟研究

本文以墨西哥湾水合物区域为背景,利用数值模拟方法研究了过平衡钻井条件下,当钻井液温度高于地层中水合物稳定温度时,水基钻井液侵入海洋含水合物地层的动态过程及其一般性规律.与侵入常规油气地层相比,耦合水合物分解和再形成是钻井液侵入海洋含水合物地层的主要特征.模拟结果表明,钻井液密度、温度和盐度都对侵入过程有影响.在一定条件下,钻井液密度越大,温度和含盐量越高,则钻井液侵入程度越深,热量传递越远,水合物分解程度越大.分解的水气在合适条件下又会重新形成水合物,影响了钻井液进一步侵入.而重新形成的水合物的饱和度甚至可能高于原位水合物饱和度,在井周形成一个"高饱水合物"环带.这一现象归因于钻井液侵入的驱替推挤、水合物分解的吸热以及地层传热的滞后等因素共同作用.在地层物性一定的条件下,高饱水合物环带的出现与否主要受钻井液温度和盐度控制.水合物分解以及高饱水合物环带的出现对井壁稳定和电阻率测井解释有很大影响.因此,为维护井壁稳定、确保测井准确和减少水合物储层伤害,就必须对钻井液密度、温度和滤失量进行严格控制,防止地层中的水合物大量分解.最好采用控制压力钻井(MPD)和深侧向测井方式,同时尽量选用低矿化度的含水合物动力学抑制剂的钻井液体系,采取低温快速循环方式.     

Distinguishing the Regional Atmospheric Controls on Precipitation Isotopic Variability in the Central-Southeast Portion of Brazil

Precipitation isotope ratios (O and H) record the history of water phase transitions and fractionation processes during moisture transport and rainfall formation. Here, we evaluated the isotopic composition of precipitation over the central-southeastern region of Brazil at different timescales. Monthly isotopic compositions were associated with classical effects (rainfall amount, seasonality, and continentality), demonstrating the importance of vapor recirculation processes and different regional atmospheric systems (South American Convergence Zone-SACZ and Cold Fronts-CF). While moisture recycling and regional atmospheric processes may also be observed on a daily timescale, classical effects such as the amount effect were not strongly correlated (δ¹⁸O-precipitation rate r ≤ –0.37). Daily variability revealed specific climatic features, such as δ¹⁸O depleted values (~ –6‰ to –8‰) during the wet season were associated with strong convective activity and large moisture availability. Daily isotopic analysis revealed the role of different moisture sources and transport effects. Isotope ratios combined with d-excess explain how atmospheric recirculation processes interact with convective activity during rainfall formation processes. Our findings provide a new understanding of rainfall sampling timescales and highlight the importance of water isotopes to decipher key hydrometeorological processes in a complex spatial and temporal context in central-southeastern Brazil.