A dual-porosity model for nitrogen leaching from a watershed/Un modèle à double porosité pour le lessivage de l’azote d’un bassin versant

Abstract

Abstract The MASONW (MACRO + SOILN + Watershed) model describing nitrogen leaching in watersheds was developed and tested. The model is based on the MACRO and SOILN models. The dual-porosity model MACRO simulates water flow on the field scale. The SOILN model describes turnover and leaching of nitrogen. Two main features of a watershed have been added into these two models: (a) the existence of a river system, and (b) variable thickness of the aeration zone within a watershed. Good agreement between the output of the MASONW model and observed data for water discharge and nitrate concentrations were achieved in the Odense watershed (496 km²) in Denmark.     

Trend detection in river flow series: 1. Annual maximum flow / Détection de tendance dans des séries de débit fluvial: 1. Débit maximum annuel

Abstract

Results of a study on change detection in hydrological time series of annual maximum river flow are presented. Out of more than a thousand long time series made available by the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) in Koblenz, Germany, a worldwide data set consisting of 195 long series of daily mean flow records was selected, based on such criteria as length of series, currency, lack of gaps and missing values, adequate geographical distribution, and priority to smaller catchments. The analysis of annual maximum flows does not support the hypothesis of ubiquitous growth of high flows. Although 27 cases of strong, statistically significant increase were identified by the Mann-Kendall test, there are 31 decreases as well, and most (137) time series do not show any significant changes (at the 10% level). Caution is advised in interpreting these results as flooding is a complex phenomenon, caused by a number of factors that can be associated with local, regional, and hemispheric climatic processes. Moreover, river flow has strong natural variability and exhibits long-term persistence which can confound the results of trend and significance tests.     

Mosaic desert pavement influences water infiltration and vegetation distribution on fluvial fan surfaces

Desert pavements (DPs) are critical for maintaining ecological stability and promoting near-surface hydrological cycling in arid regions. However, few studies have focused on eco-hydrological processes of DPs in the ecological systems of fluvial fans. Although DP surfaces appear to be barren and flat, we found that the surfaces are characterized by surface mosaic patterns of desert pavement (mosaic DP) and bare ground (mosaic BG). We investigated the effects of mosaic DP on water infiltration and vegetation distribution at six sites in fluvial fans (one on a hillside and five within the sectors of fans) along a southwest belt transect in northern Linze County, in the central Hexi Corridor (China). We found significant differences in mosaic DP between the hillside and sector sites in terms of pavement thickness and vesicular horizon thickness (Av thickness), particle composition, and bulk density, although significant differences were absent for mass soil water content, gravel coverage, and surface gravel size. The mosaic DP inhibited water infiltration by the pavement layer, where the sorptivity (S), initial infiltration rate (i_int), steady-state infiltration rate (i_sat) and infiltration time (T) averaged 1.19 cm/min^-0.5, 0.64 cm/min, 0.13 cm/min and 12.76 min, respectively. Where the pavement layer was scalped, the S, i_int, and i_sat increased by 0.27 cm/min^-0.5, 0.52 cm/min, and 0.40 cm/min, respectively, and the T reduced by 7.42 min. Water infiltration was mainly controlled by the pavement layer thickness (+), Av thickness (−), surface gravel coverage (−), fine earth (+) and fine gravel (−) in the pavement layer. The DP surfaces only had a sparse covering of shrubs, but an abundance of herbs. Few shrubs were present on the mosaic DP, but a greater number of shrubs and herbs grew on the mosaic BG. It can be concluded that DPs can maintain vegetation stability for different surface mosaic patterns. This study deepens our understanding of the eco-hydrological cycle of DP landscapes in arid regions.     

Stream nitrate uptake and transient storage over a gradient of geomorphic complexity,north‐central Colorado,USA

The understanding of nutrient uptake in streams is impeded by a limited understanding of how geomorphic setting and flow regime interact with biogeochemical processing. This study investigated these interactions as they relate to transient storage and nitrate uptake in small agricultural and urban streams. Sites were selected across a gradient of channel conditions and management modifications and included three 180‐m long geomorphically distinct reaches on each of two streams in north‐central Colorado. The agricultural stream has been subject to historically variable cattle‐grazing practices, and the urban stream exhibits various levels of stabilisation and planform alteration. Reach‐scale geomorphic complexity was characterised using highly detailed surveys of channel morphology, substrate, hydraulics and habitat units. Breakthrough‐curve modelling of conservative bromide (Br^?) and nonconservative nitrate (NO₃^?) tracer injections characterised transient storage and nitrate uptake along each reach. Longitudinal roughness and flow depth were positively associated with transient storage, which was related to nitrate uptake, thus underscoring the importance of geomorphic influences on stream biogeochemical processes. In addition, changes in geomorphic characteristics due to temporal discharge variation led to complex responses in nitrate uptake. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A revised approach to the UKIH method for the calculation of baseflow / Une approche améliorée de la méthode de l'UKIH pour le calcul de l'écoulement de base

Abstract

A revised approach to the calculation of baseflow using the method originally proposed by the United Kingdom Institute of Hydrology is presented. The revisions resolve two aspects of the method that lead to less than optimal results; that is, the calculation of values of baseflow that exceed the corresponding values of streamflow and the dependence of the calculated values on the origin of the five-day segmentation of the input streamflow data. The approach is illustrated using streamflow monitoring information that is typical for areas of southern Ontario, Canada, where baseflow is primarily the result of groundwater discharge.     

PAN－S光度法测定水和河泥中微量锰

本文研究了ＰＡＮ－Ｓ与锰的显色反应。配合物的最大吸收峰位于５３８ｎｍ波长处，表观摩尔吸光系数为２．９×１０￣４Ｌ·ｍｏｌ￣（－１）·ｃｍ￣（－１），锰量在０─１．６μｇ／ｍｌ范围内符合比尔定律，方法用于水和河泥中微量锰的测定，结果良好。     

A thermo-plastic constitutive law for brittle-plastic behavior of rocks at high temperatures

Mechanical properties of rocks change under the influence of, temperature. Stress at the onset of yielding, ultimate strength, dilatancy, strain hardening and softening, and the confining pressure at brittle-ductile transition are all reduced by the increasing temperature. This study presents a framework of constitutive modeling of thermo-brittle-plastic behavior of rocks which encompasses these changes. The constitutive law is based on a thermo-plasticity theory first proposed for metals byPrager (1958). Two phenomenological mechanisms have been identified as central for the modeling: temperature dependence of the yield locus (thermal softening), and temperature dependence of the strain-hardening function (thermally enhanced ductility). Material parameters for two rocks, Carrara marble and Westerly granite, were determined on the basis of additional hypotheses. These parameters are used in numerical simulations of triaxial tests at different temperatures. The obtained stress-strain curves compare well to the experimental results. The changes with temperature in the stress at the onset of yielding are more accurately reproduced that the evolution of hardening or softening. Suggestions for possible improvements and future research directions are indicated.     

A hypothesis for the seismogenesis of a double seismic zone

The seismogenesis of a double seismic zone, in particular the lower layer of a double seismic zone, has not been adequately explained in the literature. On the basis of seismic data and geothermal structures along three well-studied cross-sections in the Kuril-Kamchatka and Japan subduction zones, we investigate the temperature/pressure conditions associated with seismogenic structures of the double seismic zones. the corresponding T/P loci seem to suggest that earthquakes observed in the lower layer and in the lower part (below approximately 130 ± 20 km) of the top layer of a double seismic zone were caused by metastable phase transition-a mechanism similar to that responsible for deep-focus earthquakes only at lower temperature/pressure conditions. Under this hypothesis, the wedge-shaped configuration of a double seismic zone is interpreted to represent the loci of the kinetic boundary of the phase transition. According to theoretical/experimental studies and the constraints imposed by our observations, a likely candidate for such a phase transition is the metastable Al-rich enstatite decomposing into the assemblage of Al-poor enstatite plus garnet. Earthquakes in the upper part of the top layer were most probably due to conventional mechanisms such as dehydration of subducted materials and/or facies change from basalt to eclogite. That the top layer involves more than one seismogenic mechanism is also implied by the distinct behaviour of seismicity in the vicinity of 130 ± 20 km. Because the presence of deviatoric stress is critical to the reaction rate of a metastable phase transition, it is inferred that single seismic zones are also caused by the same mechanisms, except that the implicit layer of a supposed double seismic zone is missing, due to the insufficient amount of appropriate metastable minerals or to the lack of appropriate deviatoric stresses in the source region.     

Transient electromagnetic response due to a pair of horizontal conducting sheets in a loop field

The transient electromagnetic response due to a pair of horizontal conducting sheets induced by a loop field is obtained. The response characteristics in the three different regions (above the upper sheet, between the two sheets and below the lower sheet) are briefly discussed. In the first and second regions the composite response is characterised by an overburden response asymptote during early times and a target response asymptote during late times. The transition zones are characterised by shoulder-like bends. In the third region, the composite response increases in direct proportion to the induction number, eventually merging with the target response for large values of the induction number.