Effects of soil degradation on infiltration rates in grazed semiarid rangelands of northeastern Patagonia, Argentina

In grazed semiarid ecosystems, considerable spatial variability in soil infiltration exists as a result of vegetation and soil patchiness. Despite widespread recognition that important interactions and feedbacks occur between vegetation, runoff and erosion, currently there is only limited quantitative information on the control mechanisms that lead to differences in infiltration from different vegetation types. In this paper, we determine (i) the relationship between vegetation and soil surface characteristics and (ii) the soil infiltration rate by using rainfall simulations on runoff plots (0.60 × 1.67 m) in three plant communities of northeastern Patagonia: grass (GS), degraded grass with scattered shrubs (DGS), and degraded shrub steppes (DSS). Our results clearly indicate that vegetation and soil infiltration are closely coupled. Total infiltration was significantly higher in the GS (69.6 mm) compared with the DGS and DSS (42.9 and 28.5 mm, respectively). In the GS, soil infiltration rate declined more slowly than the others communities, reaching a terminal infiltration rate significantly greater (57.7 mm) than those of DGS and DSS (25.7 and 12.9 mm, respectively). The high rate of water losses via overland-flow may limit the possibilities for grass seedling emergence and establishment and favor the persistent dominance of shrubs.     

Inner-shell photoionization of O iii

A 25-state R -matrix calculation is performed to obtain photoionization cross-sections for transitions from the 1s²2s²2p²³P ground state of the O  iii ion. Results are obtained for a range of photon energies, including those at which K-shell photoionization processes take place. We compare our results with those from previous calculations. Excellent agreement is obtained. We also consider resonances owing to transitions of a 1s electron excited into the 2p orbital and compare with a recent calculation.     

Impact cratering on Titan II. Global melt, escaping ejecta, and aqueous alteration of surface organics

New three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of hypervelocity impacts into the crust of Titan were undertaken to determine the fraction of liquid water generated on the surface of Saturn's largest moon over its history and, hence, the potential for surface—modification of hydrocarbons and nitriles by exposure to liquid water. We model in detail an individual impact event in terms of ejecta produced and melt generated, and use this to estimate melt production over Titan's history, taking into account the total flux of the impactors and its decay over time. Our estimates show that a global melt layer at any time after the very beginning of Titan's history is improbable; but transient melting local to newly formed craters has occurred over large parts of the surface. Local maxima of the melt are connected with the largest impact events. We also calculate the amount of volatiles delivered at the impact with various impact velocities (from 3 km/s for possible Hyperion fragments to 11 km/s for Jupiter family comets) and their retention as a possible source of Titan's atmosphere. We find the probability of impact ejecta escaping Titan with its modern dense and thick atmosphere is rather low, and dispersal of Titan organics throughout the rest of the Solar System requires impactors tens of kilometers in diameter. Water ice melting and exposure of organics to liquid water has been widespread because of impacts, but burial or obscuration of craters by organic deposits or cryovolcanism is aided by viscous relaxation. The largest impactors may breach an ammonia-water mantle layer, creating a circular albedo contrast rather than a crater.     

Hydrological model parameter (in)stability – “crash testing” the HBV model under contrasting flood seasonality conditions

This paper investigates the transferability of calibrated HBV model parameters under stable and contrasting conditions in terms of flood seasonality and flood generating processes (FGP) in five Norwegian catchments with mixed snowmelt/rainfall regimes. We apply a series of generalized (differential) split-sample tests using a 6-year moving window over (i) the entire runoff observation periods, and (ii) two subsets of runoff observations distinguished by the seasonal occurrence of annual maximum floods during either spring or autumn. The results indicate a general model performance loss due to the transfer of calibrated parameters to independent validation periods of ?5 to ?17%, on average. However, there is no indication that contrasting flood seasonality exacerbates performance losses, which contradicts the assumption that optimized parameter sets for snowmelt-dominated floods (during spring) perform particularly poorly on validation periods with rainfall-dominated floods (during autumn) and vice versa.     

Modelling runoff and erosion for a semi-arid catchment using a multi-scale approach based on hydrological connectivity

Runoff and erosion processes are often non-linear and scale dependent, which complicate runoff and erosion modelling at the catchment scale. One of the reasons for scale dependency is the influence of sinks, i.e. areas of infiltration and sedimentation, which lower hydrological connectivity and decrease the area-specific runoff and sediment yield. The objective of our study was to model runoff and erosion for a semi-arid catchment using a multi-scale approach based on hydrological connectivity. We simulated runoff and sediment dynamics at the catchment scale with the LAPSUS model and included plot and hillslope scale features that influenced hydrological connectivity. The semi-arid Carcavo catchment in Southeast Spain was selected as the study area, where vegetation patches and agricultural terraces are the relevant sinks at the plot and hillslope scales, respectively. We elaborated the infiltration module to integrate these runoff sinks, by adapting the parameters runoff threshold and runoff coefficient, which were derived from a rainfall simulation database. The results showed that the spatial distribution of vegetation patches and agricultural terraces largely determined hydrological connectivity at the catchment scale. Runoff and sediment yield for the scenario without agricultural terraces were, respectively, a factor four and nine higher compared to the current situation. Distributed hydrological and erosion models should therefore take account of relevant sinks at finer scales in order to correctly simulate runoff and erosion-sedimentation patterns.     

On the band-to-continuum intensity ratio in the infrared spectra of interstellar carbonaceous dust

Published interpretations of the relative intensity variations of the unidentified infrared bands (UIBs) and their underlying continuum are discussed. An alternative model is proposed, in which a single carrier for both emits (a) mostly a continuum when it is electronically excited by photons (visible or UV), or (b) exclusively the UIBs, when only chemical energy is deposited by H capture on its surface, inducing only nuclear vibrations. The bands will dominate in atomic H regions but will be overcome by thermal continuum radiation when the ambient field is strong but lacks dissociating photons (900–1100 Å). The model applies to photodissociation regions as well as to limbs of molecular clouds in the interstellar medium and agrees quantitatively with recent satellite observations. It gives indications on atomic H density and UIB intensity provided the ambient radiation field is known. It invokes no chemical, electronic, structural or size change to interpret the observed intensity variations.     

Cellular modelling as a tool for interpreting historic braided river evolution

Results are presented from a new cellular model of braided river dynamics that simulates flow, sediment transport, morphological change and the effects of braidplain vegetation. This model is used to investigate the effect of changes in upstream sediment supply on braided river systems over simulation periods of 200 years. Modelled changes in channel morphology, associated with both aggradation and degradation, were seen to be consistent with those reported in the literature. In addition, simulation results allowed the identification of diagnostic characteristics of aggrading and degrading reaches, in the form of relationships between the age, extent and relative elevation of fluvial surfaces. Interpretation of spatial patterns of valley floor surface characteristics in the Avoca River, New Zealand, on the basis of these relationships, allowed the identification of channel reaches that appear to be experiencing either aggradation or degradation. These inferences are shown to be consistent with independent evidence of spatial patterns of sediment supply to the main valley floor, derived from aerial photographs and an existing sediment source inventory. These results illustrate the potential for using cellular models to develop an improved understanding of natural river behaviour.     

关于喀斯特石漠和石漠化概念的讨论

喀斯特石漠化是近年来所认识到的一种地质生态灾害，所造成的经济、环境乃至社会影响越来越大，受到国家的广泛关注，但却存在生态建设超前、基础研究落后的严峻现实。本文总结了当前石漠化的类型划分和存在问题，从喀斯特生态系统运行的地学过程、生物学过程和人为过程出发，提出石漠化过程存在地质石漠化过程、生态系统石漠化过程和人为加速石漠化过程，对不同类型的石漠化宜分别采取保护、恢复、重建、维持措施。石漠和石漠化表达的时空范畴不同，是石漠化这一土地退化过程的最后或顶极结果，自然条件下其形成多与地表坡度较大有关，而人为加速石漠化过程中石漠化土地空间分布与地形坡度、地貌部位并无直接联系。建议以“干扰方式 植被 土壤 地貌”对人为加速石漠化过程导致的石漠化土地进行类型划分，评价的土地应分为非石漠化土地、行漠化土地和逆转优化的“基准化”土地。     

[Ti ii] and [Ni ii] emission from the strontium filament of η Carinae

We study the nature of the [Ti  ii ] and [Ni  ii ] emission from the so-called strontium filament found in the ejecta of η Carinae. To this purpose, we employ multilevel models of the Ti  ii and Ni  ii systems, which are used to investigate the physical condition of the filament and the excitation mechanisms of the observed lines. For the Ti  ii ion, for which no atomic data were previously available, we carry out ab initio calculations of radiative transition rates and electron impact excitation rate coefficients. It is found that the observed spectrum is consistent with the lines being excited in a mostly neutral region with an electron density of the order of 10⁷ cm⁻³ and a temperature around 6000 K. In analysing three observations with different slit orientations recorded between 2000 March and 2001 November, we find line ratios that change among various observations, in a way consistent with changes of up to an order of magnitude in the strength of the continuum radiation field. These changes result from different samplings of the extended filament due to the different slit orientations used for each observation, and yield clues on the spatial extent and optical depth of the filament. The observed emission indicates a large Ti/Ni abundance ratio relative to solar abundances. It is suggested that the observed high Ti/Ni ratio in gas is caused by dust–gas fractionation processes and does not reflect the absolute Ti/Ni ratio in the ejecta of η Carinae. We study the condensation chemistry of Ti, Ni and Fe within the filament and suggest that the observed gas phase overabundance of Ti is likely the result of selective photoevaporation of Ti-bearing grains. Some mechanisms for such a scenario are proposed.