How much does an extreme rainfall event cost? Material damage and relationships between insurance,rainfall, land cover and urban flooding

This research aims to understand how insurance, rainfall, land cover and urban flooding are related and how these variables influenced the material damage in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) during the 2000–2011 period. Correlation coefficients show strong relationships between built-up areas and claims (0.94) and payouts (0.88). Despite no significant relationships being found between rainfall and the amount of material damage per event, three likelihood levels of flooding were determined for hourly rainfall. Unlike the studied period, the number of claims and their spatial distribution during the 2008 extreme rainfall event were strongly dependent on rainfall. Flooding related to the old watercourses assumed greater importance during this extreme event, recovering a more natural/ancient hydrological behaviour. In the LMA, the greatest material damage was the result of high-magnitude/low-probability rainfall events. Lower magnitude events can trigger numerous claims in heavily built-up areas, but they are hardly capable of producing large material damage.     

汤东活动断裂带土壤H2、Rn地球化学特征

为研究汤东断裂带土壤气体地球化学特征及其所反映的构造地球化学背景, 采用野外监测的方法分析了张河村与邢李庄村两条测线的土壤H₂、 Rn分布特征。 结果表明, 张河村H₂浓度、 Rn活度浓度的分布范围分别为0.24×10^-6～174.7×10^-6、 13.3～69.8 kBq·m^-3, 背景值分别为14.26×10^-6, 24.8 kBq·m^-3。 邢李庄测线H₂浓度、 Rn活度浓度的分布范围11.8×10^-6～67.06×10^-6、 43.6～72.6 kBq·m^-3, 背景值分别为37.13×10^-6、 72.6 kBq·m^-3。 张河村测线在90～105 m处, H₂、 Rn出现强烈高值异常, 而120～150 m处出现高值异常。 异常值位于断裂带附近, H₂、 Rn气体测值对断裂位置具有良好的指示作用。 气体异常主要受汤东活动断裂构造控制, 汤东断裂下方的深大断裂和汤阴地堑中下地壳的低速体对深部气体释放有重要作用。     

天然胶体的水环境行为

胶体是一种分散相粒子具有特定粒径(通常为1 nm~1μm)的混合物,天然水体中的胶体通常是指水环境中普遍存在,而又符合“胶体”形态定义的物质的总和.因为具有特殊的表面性质以及独特的水动力学特点,天然水体中的胶体被认为是一种重要的污染物载体,尤其在促进重金属类的污染物迁移以及性质转化的过程中具有重要作用.本文归纳总结了水环境研究领域中胶体概念的提出与发展,讨论了现有研究中对胶体的定义与理解,比较了当前几种主要的胶体提取手段的特点.同时,针对胶体在水环境中的环境行为,详细归纳了河湖水体中胶体的物质组成、特征以及相应的检测手段,重点总结了胶体在水环境中对污染物的结合作用、胶体污染物的生物效应、胶体自身的团聚规律以及胶体对污染物迁移的影响机制.本文提出了胶体在水环境中复杂的组成成分与动态变化在胶体研究中的重要性,并对进一步揭示胶体环境效应的研究思路以及方法手段进行了展望.     

郯庐断裂带新沂——泗洪段土壤气Rn体积活度和CO_2浓度特征研究

郯庐断裂带江苏段地区4个剖面进行了土壤气Rn体积活度和CO_2浓度测量结果显示,自北向南土壤气Rn体积活度均值分别为22.9kBq/m^3、35.5kBq/m^3、40.2kBq/m^3、26.6kBq/m^3;自北向南土壤气CO_2浓度均值分别为0.669%、0.400%、0.503%、1.109%。土壤气Rn体积活度和CO_2的浓度在空间分布上具有较好的一致性,这可能与CO_2是Rn的载气有关。综合分析土壤气Rn和CO_2测量结果以及水准资料可得,2017年土壤气Rn高值出现在晓店段可能与区域应力应变调整有关。本研究不仅为研究区以后的土壤气研究提供了参考,同时也可为研究区的构造活动研究提供地球化学资料参考。     

Effects of rainfall patterns on runoff and rainfall-induced erosion

Rainfall-induced erosion involves the detachment of soil particles by raindrop impact and their transport by the combined action of the shallow surface runoff and raindrop impact.Although temporal variation in rainfall intensity(pattern)during natural rainstorms is a common phenomenon,the available information is inadequate to understand its effects on runoff and rainfall-induced erosion processes.To address this issue,four simulated rainfall patterns(constant,increasing,decreasing,and increasing-decreasing)with the same total kinetic energy were designed.Two soil types(sandy and sandy loam)were subjected to simulated rainfall using 15 cm×30 cm long detachment trays under infiltration conditions.For each simulation,runoff and sediment concentration were sampled at regular intervals.No obvious difference was observed in runoff across the two soil types,but there were significant differences in soil losses among the different rainfall patterns and stages.For varying-intensity rainfall patterns,the dominant sediment transport mechanism was not only influenced by raindrop detachment but also was affected by raindrop-induced shallow flow transport.Moreover,the efficiency of equations that predict the interrill erosion rate increased when the integrated raindrop impact and surface runoff rate were applied.Although the processes of interrill erosion are complex,the findings in this study may provide useful insight for developing models that predict the effects of rainfall pattern on runoff and erosion.     

Partition-coordinated control of soil and water loss for chestnut forests in the Yanshan Mountain Region,China

Soil erosion from chestnut forests is one of the most important factors causing land degradation in the Yanshan Mountain Region. A 2-year field study was done to compare the effects on erosion of a control plot(CP), a repaired and maintained horizontal ditch built with an engineering baffle every 6 m(MP 1),and a repaired and maintained horizontal ditch built with an engineering baffle every 8 m(MP 2). The results showed that the slope runoff of chestnut forests was influenced by rainfall characteristic factors.No single rainfall characteristic factor showed dominance for hill slope runoff. The runoff reduction effect of the partition-coordinated erosion control measures(MP 1 and MP 2) was substantial for chestnut forests under high rainfall intensity conditions. However, the runoff reduction efficiency was higher under the conditions of heavy rainfall and low average rainfall intensity than for storms with higher intensity and lower total rainfall. The reduction effect of the partition-coordinated erosion control measures on the runoff and sediment yield of chestnut forest slopes was MP 2 > MP 1 > CP. The runoff reduction rate and erosion reduction rate of MP 2 reached 61.70% and 97.41%, respectively, and that for MP 1 was 54.15% and 85.31%, respectively. Therefore, after a comprehensive comparison, MP 2 was determined to be more effective for soil erosion control for a sloping chestnut forest.     

Source and supply of sediment to a shoreline salient in a fringing reef environment

Reef-associated landforms are coupled to the health of the reef ecosystem which produces the sediment that forms and maintains these landforms. However, this connection can make reef-fronted coastlines sensitive to the impacts of climate change, given that any decline in ecosystem health (e.g. decreasing sediment supply) or changes to physical processes (e.g. sea level rise, increasing wave energy) could drive the sediment budgets of these systems into a net erosive state. Therefore, knowledge of both the sediment sources and transport mechanisms is required to predict the sensitivity of reef-associated landforms to future climate change. Here, we examine the benthic habitat composition, sediment characteristics (composition, texture, and age), and transport mechanisms and pathways to understand the interconnections between coastal morphology and the reef system at Tantabiddi, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Benthic surveys and sediment composition analysis revealed that although live coral accounts for less than 5% of the benthic cover, coral is the dominant sediment constituent (34% on average). Sediment ages (²³⁸U/²³⁰Th) were mostly found to be thousands of years old, suggesting that the primary sediment source is relic reef material (e.g. Holocene reef framework). Sediment transport across the lagoon was quantified through measurements of ripple migration rates, which were found to be shoreward migrating and responsible for feeding the large shoreline salient in the lee of the reef. The derived sediment fluxes were comparable with previously measured rates of sediment production by bioerosion. These results suggest that sediment budgets of systems dependent on old (>10³ years) source materials may be more resilient to climate change as present-day reef health and community composition (i.e. sources of ‘new’ carbonate production) have limited influence on sediment supply. Therefore, the vulnerability of reef-associated landforms in these systems will be dictated by future changes to mechanisms of sediment generation (e.g. bioerosion) and/or physical processes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of submersed aquatic vegetation on the development of river mouth bars

This work is inspired by the sudden resurgence of the submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) bed in the Chesapeake Bay (USA). Because the SAV bed occurs at the mouth of the Bay's main tributary (Susquehanna River), it plays a significant role in modulating sediment and nutrient inputs from the Susquehanna to the Bay. Previous model studies on the impact of submersed aquatic vegetation on the development of river mouth bars lacked a complete mechanistic understanding. This study takes advantage of new advances in 3D computational models that include explicit physical-sedimentological feedbacks to obtain this understanding. Specifically, we used Delft3D, a state-of-the-art hydrodynamic model that provides fine-scale computations of three-dimensional flow velocity and bed shear stress, which can be linked to sediment deposition and erosion. Vegetation is modeled using a parameterization of hydraulic roughness that depends on vegetation height, stem density, diameter, and drag coefficient. We evaluate the hydrodynamics, bed shear stresses, and sediment dynamics for different vegetation scenarios under conditions of low and high river discharge. Model runs vary the vegetation height, density, river discharge, and suspended-sediment concentration. Numerical results from the idealized model show that dense SAV on river mouth bars substantially diverts river discharge into adjacent channels and promotes sediment deposition at ridge margins, as well as upstream bar migration. Increasing vegetation height and density forms sandier bars closer to the river mouth and alteration of the bar shape. Thus, this study highlights the important role of SAV in shaping estuarine geomorphology, which is especially relevant for coastal management. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Revisiting the morphological method in two-dimensions to quantify bed-material transport in braided rivers

Research in the 1990s showed that bed-material transport rates could be estimated at the reach scale in both one-dimension and, over small spatial scales (10s of m), in two-dimensions. The limit on the latter was the spatial scale over which it was possible to obtain distributed data on morphological change. Here, we revisit the morphological method given progress in both topographical data acquisition and hydraulic modelling. The bed-material transport needed to conserve mass is calculated in both one and two dimensions for a 1600 m × 300 m Alpine braided river “laboratory”. High-resolution topographical data were acquired by laser scanning to quantify Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and morphological changes caused by the flushing of the water intake were derived from repeated surveys. Based on DEMs of differences, 1D bed-material transport rates were calculated using the morphological method. Then, a 2D hydraulic model was combined with a topographic correction to route sediment through the network of braided channels and to obtain a spatially variable estimate of transport in both downstream and cross-stream directions. Monte Carlo simulation was applied to the routing model parameters, allowing identification of the most probable parameter values needed to minimize negative transport. The results show that within-section spatial compensation of erosion and deposition using the 1D treatment leads to substantial local errors in transport rate estimates, to a degree related to braiding intensity. Even though the 2D application showed that a large proportion of the total transport was actually concentrated into one main channel during the studied low flow event, the proportion of transport in secondary anabranches is substantial when the river starts braiding. Investigations of the effects of DEM resolution, competent flow duration and survey frequency related to ‘travelling bedload’ and sequential erosion-deposition emphasized the critical importance of careful data collection in the application of the morphological method. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Post-wildfire sediment cascades: A modeling framework linking debris flow generation and network-scale sediment routing

Wildfires represent one of the largest disturbances in watersheds of the Intermountain West. Yet, we lack models capable of predicting post-wildfire impacts on downstream ecosystems and infrastructure. Here we present a novel modeling framework that links new and existing models to simulate the post-wildfire sediment cascade, including spatially explicit predictions of debris flows, storage of debris flow sediment within valleys, delivery of debris flow sediment to active channels, and the downstream routing of sediment through river networks. We apply the model to sediment dynamics in Clear Creek watershed following the 2010 Twitchell Canyon Fire in the Tushar Mountains of southern Utah. The debris flow generation model performed well, correctly predicting 19 out of 20 debris flows from the largest catchments, with only four false positives and two false negatives at observed rainfall intensities. In total, the model predicts the occurrence of 160 post-wildfire debris flows across the Clear Creek watershed, generating more than 650 000 m³ of sediment. Our new storage and delivery model predicts the vast majority of this sediment is stored within valleys, and only 13% is delivered to the river network. The sediment routing model identifies numerous sediment bottlenecks within the network, which alter transport dynamics and may be hotspots for aggradation and aquatic habitat alteration. The volume of sediment exported from the watershed after seven years of simulation totals 17% of that delivered, or 2% of the total generated debris flow sediment. In the case of the Twitchell Canyon Fire, this highlights that significant post-wildfire sediment volumes can be stored in valleys (87%) and within the stream network (11%). Finally, we discuss useful insights that can be gleaned from the model framework, as well as the limitations and need for more monitoring and theory development in order to better constrain essential inputs, process rates, and morphodynamics. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.