‘We are at the mercy of the floods!’ : Extreme weather events,disrupted mobilities,and everyday navigation in urban Ghana

This paper examines how extreme weather events affect the mobility of low-income urban residents in Ghana. Bringing together scholarship on extreme weather and mobilities, it explores the differential impact of flooding on their everyday lives as they navigate the cities of Accra and Tamale. A range of qualitative methods were drawn on, including semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and follow-along-participant observations in selected communities of both cities. Three key themes emerged: disrupted road and transport infrastructure, everyday mobility challenges, and coping/adaptive strategies. In flooding conditions, residents experienced difficulties leaving/returning home, engaging in income-generating activities, and accessing transport services and other key urban infrastructure. Conceptually, the paper reveals how disruption to urban residents’ daily movements and activities (re)produces new forms of mobilities and immobilities, which have three relational elements: postponed, improvised and assisted. Throughout the analysis, we show how these mobilities/immobilities vary by age and gender: all urban residents, (though women in particular), experience postponed mobility; young people especially engage in improvised mobility; and children and the elderly are in greatest need of assisted mobility. The paper thus contributes to scholarship on extreme weather events and mobility by providing a more spatially nuanced understanding of the multi-faceted domains in which flooding, socio-economic conditions and adaptive strategies intersect to influence urban mobility in resource poor settings.     

基于城市内涝仿真模型的天津风暴潮灾害评估

基于城市内涝仿真模型,根据天津沿海地区的地形、地貌特征以及排水系统等对城市内涝仿真模型进行改进,在沿海边界和河口设置时变水位,使得模型拓展到既能模拟暴雨产生的内涝,也能模拟由于风暴潮侵袭造成的淹没情景。该模型对天津沿海地区历史上典型风暴潮个例以及10年、20年、50年、100年一遇重现期风暴潮产生的积水范围和积水深度进行了模拟,并对2012年8月3日台风达维 (1210) 造成的天津沿海风暴潮进行了业务试应用。将历史风暴潮个例模拟结果以及2012年8月3日的评估结果与实际灾情进行对比,结果显示模型具有较好的模拟能力,可应用于风暴潮灾害的评估和预估业务中,为相关部门和行业提供决策参考。     

贵州省安龙县戈塘镇大海子岩溶洪涝的治理及其工程意义

贵州岩溶石山区岩溶洪涝洼地发育、内涝灾害造成了大量的耕地破。查明洪涝洼地成因并有效进行治理,对防灾减灾、生态环境治理、促进石山区经济社会发展具有重大意义。本文阐述了大海子岩溶洪涝的特征及其危害,探讨了洪涝洼地的成因,有针对性地提了治理方案。可为同类型治理工程提供借鉴。     

黄河宁夏段凌汛期气温变化特征

利用宁夏1991~2010年20 a凌汛期水文和气温序列资料,研究了宁夏凌汛期特征、凌汛灾害发生主要时段,黄河封河、开河集中期与日平均气温之间的关系。结果表明:宁夏凌汛特征为封开河时序相反,小流量、高水位行洪,受强冷空气影响较大;凌汛灾害主要发生在封河和开河期间;日平均气温正负转化日期与封、开河期有对应关系,宁夏封河集中期在12月20日至1月19日;开河集中日期在2月13~20日。在凌汛关键期结合MODIS遥感数据对凌汛灾害监测防范有一定指导意义。     

Effects of different operational modes on the flood‐induced turbidity current of a canyon‐shaped reservoir: case study on Liuxihe Reservoir,South China

Suspended matter is an important indicator of water quality in freshwater systems. The flood‐induced turbidity current plays a dominant role in the seasonal dynamic of suspended matter in the Liuxihe Reservoir (23°45′50″N; 113°46′52″E), a large, stratified reservoir at the Tropic of Cancer in southern China. Field measurements show that loading and distribution of suspended matter in the reservoir differ in typical wet, dry and medium years, as a result of different discharge volumes and water level variation patterns. Using historical data and the practical demand for water supply and flood control, we generalized two feasible reservoir operational modes: flood impounding mode (drawing down the reservoir to a low level before flood events to impound inflow during the flooding season) and moderate level change mode (drawing down the reservoir to a moderate level before flood events, then keeping the level within the flood control level during runoff events). To examine the effects of different operational modes and outlet depths on the reservoir's flood‐induced turbidity current, a numerical simulation model was applied in three types of hydrological conditions. The results show that the mode with moderate drawdown and recharge processes can decrease loading of suspended matter in spring and promote turbidity current release during flood events, and upper withdrawal can improve the effects of turbid water release. We suggest that more attention should be focused on water quality management in the reservoir operation stage, severe artificial water level fluctuation being avoided and selective withdrawal becoming an optional management measure. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A broad‐scale assessment of the effect of improved soil management on catchment baseflow index

Although the importance of sustainable soil management is recognized, there are many threats to soils including widespread soil structural degradation. This reduces infiltration through the soil surface and/or the percolation of water through the soil profile, with important consequences for crop yields, nutrient cycling and the hydrological response of catchments. This article describes a broad‐scale modelling approach to assess the potential effect that improved agricultural soil management, through reduced soil structural degradation, may have on the baseflow index (BFI) of catchments across England and Wales. A daily soil–water balance model was used to simulate the indicative BFI of 45 696 thirty‐year model runs for different combinations of soil type, soil/field condition, land cover class and climate which encapsulate the variability across England and Wales. The indicative BFI of catchments was then calculated by upscaling the results by spatial weighting. WaSim model outputs of indicative BFI were within the 95% confidence intervals of the national‐average BFI values given for the Hydrology of Soil Type (HOST ? ) classes for 26 of the 28 classes. At the catchment scale, the concordance correlation coefficient between the BFI from the WaSim model outputs and those derived from HOST was 0·83. Plausible improvements in agricultural soil/field condition produced modest simulated increases of up to 10% in the indicative BFI in most catchments across England and Wales, although for much of southern and northern England the increases were less than 5%. The results suggest that improved soil management might partially mitigate the expected adverse effects of climate change on baseflow to rivers. Healthy, well‐functioning soils produce many additional benefits such as better agricultural yields and reduced pollutant movement, so improved soil management should provide win‐win opportunities for society, agricultural systems and the environment and provide resilience to some of the expected environmental impacts of climate change. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The spatial distribution of groundwater flooding in a chalk catchment in southern England

Groundwater flooding occurred in the upper parts of many chalk rivers in the UK during the exceptionally wet winter of 2000–01. This provided a rare opportunity to investigate the spatial distribution of groundwater discharge and flooding along the normally dry intermittent headwaters of a chalk catchment. The extent of flooding along the River Pang, upstream of the seasonal head, was mapped using aerial photography, and point measurements of flow and water temperature were used to identify the contributing reaches of the river. The results are discussed in the context of the geological and groundwater conditions. The occurrence of flooding can largely be explained by the regional groundwater flow directions, but increased flow in some locations may be as a result of preferential groundwater flow along lines of geological structure. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Key Problems and Countermeasures in CO2 Flooding and Storage

Based on literature research in combination with the practice of CO₂ flooding and storage in Jilin Oilfield, this study assesses the key problems in CO₂ flooding and storage, proposing the corresponding countermeasures from five aspects of CO₂ gas source condition, namely geological condition evaluation, scheme design incoordination with other production methods, economic and effectiveness evaluation, together with dynamic monitoring and safety evaluation. The re...     

Flood magnification on the River Rhine

Flooding on the German Rhine during the 20th century was tested for trends and assessed to identify causal mechanisms driving worsening of flooding. A review of previous research outlines the range of impacts due to climate change, land‐use shifts, and river regulation. Analysis of hydrologic data, especially of the long record at Cologne, documents statistically significant increases in both flood magnitudes and frequencies. Specific‐gauge analysis, which isolates the effects of channel modification, documents that 20th century river engineering has caused little of the observed increase in flooding on the German Rhine. Precipitation records from the Rhine basin confirm that flood magnification has been driven by upstream factors, including an increase in flood‐producing precipitation of roughly 25% during the past 100 years and increases in runoff yields. In addition, agricultural land‐use records suggest that flood magnification can be partially explained by 20th century trends documenting intensification and industrialization of German agriculture. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

瞬变电磁方法在山西某煤矿区水患调查的应用

由于历史原因,煤炭资源整合矿区老窑采空区分布及积水情况不清,成为煤矿安全生产的重大隐患。利用煤炭采空区电性特征,选择以瞬变电磁勘探为主的大面积勘探,可以发挥其高效率、高精度的特点,辅以其它勘探手段进行综合勘查,能快速有效地确定采空区的位置及赋水情况。本次研究是采用瞬变电磁勘探为主的勘探方法对山西一煤矿区水患情况进行调查。首先根据矿区的测井资料对地电条件进行分析,通过针对性的试验,选择合理的施工参数。利用多种方法将采集数据进行处理分析,得到反应不同地质特征的剖面及平面图件,特别是利用专用软件得到煤层富水性目标分析对比图,更明确直观地反应采空区的位置及富水性。此次水患调查,基本查明了矿区内采空区及积水区位置、范围等情况,部分分析成果得到钻孔验证,证明采用瞬变电磁法勘探为主的勘查手段,在本矿区进行水患调查成果显著,为矿井的水患防治工作提供了可靠的资料依据。