The impacts of mountain pine beetle disturbance on the energy balance of snow during the melt period

Mountain snowpacks provide most of the annual discharge of western US rivers, but the future of water resources in the western USA is tenuous, as climatic changes have resulted in earlier spring melts that have exacerbated summer droughts. Compounding changes to the physical environment are biotic disturbances including that of the mountain pine beetle (MPB), which has decimated millions of acres of western North American forests. At the watershed scale, MPB disturbance increases the peak hydrograph, and at the stand scale, the ‘grey’ phase of MPB canopy disturbance decreases canopy snow interception, increases snow albedo, increases net shortwave radiation, and decreases net longwave radiation versus the ‘red’ phase. Fewer studies have been conducted on the red phase of MPB disturbance and in the mixed coniferous stands that may follow MPB‐damaged forests. We measured the energy balance of four snowpacks representing different stages of MPB damage, management, and recovery: a lodgepole pine stand, an MPB‐infested stand in the red phase, a mixed coniferous stand (representing one successional trajectory), and a clear‐cut (representing reactive management) in the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest in Montana, USA. Net longwave radiation was lower in the MPB‐infested stand despite higher basal area and plant area index of the other forests, suggesting that the desiccated needles serve as a less effective thermal buffer against longwave radiative losses. Eddy covariance observations of sensible and latent heat flux indicate that they are of similar but opposite magnitude, on the order of 20 MJ m^?2 during the melt period. Further analyses reveal that net turbulent energy fluxes were near zero because of the temperature and atmospheric vapour pressure encountered during the melt period. Future research should place snow science in the context of forest succession and management and address important uncertainties regarding the timing and magnitude of needlefall events. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Access to electricity for all and the role of decentralized solar power in sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT

Several hundred million people in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of being without access to electricity by 2030 despite the ongoing work aimed at achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7—sustainable energy for all. Based on qualitative interviews, quantitative surveys, observation, and participation in Kenya and Senegal between 2010 and 2018, the author aims to explain why the rate of progress is slower than intended. The findings highlight three strong hindrances: lack of affordability due to extreme poverty, mismatch between the village-level outreach of grid-based electricity systems and the geography of settlements, and lack of consideration given to gender inequality. The findings also provide new insights into the ways that decentralized small-scale solar power increasingly meets some of the shortcomings of centralized grids in addressing these three issues, even in rural areas where grids are already present. The author concludes that the ways in which village communities have combined the use of solar-powered energy with grid-supplied energy indicates the importance of the former and the need to intensify efforts to improve solar power delivery models and integrate them fully in energy sector strategies.     

Near‐surface hydraulic conductivity of northern hemisphere glaciers

The hydrology of near‐surface glacier ice remains a neglected aspect of glacier hydrology despite its role in modulating meltwater delivery to downstream environments. To elucidate the hydrological characteristics of this near‐surface glacial weathering crust, we describe the design and operation of a capacitance‐based piezometer that enables rapid, economical deployment across multiple sites and provides an accurate, high‐resolution record of near‐surface water‐level fluctuations. Piezometers were employed at 10 northern hemisphere glaciers, and through the application of standard bail–recharge techniques, we derive hydraulic conductivity (K) values from 0.003 to 3.519 m day^?1, with a mean of 0.185 ± 0.019 m day^?1. These results are comparable to those obtained in other discrete studies of glacier near‐surface ice, and for firn, and indicate that the weathering crust represents a hydrologically inefficient aquifer. Hydraulic conductivity correlated positively with water table height but negatively with altitude and cumulative short‐wave radiation since the last synoptic period of either negative air temperatures or turbulent energy flux dominance. The large range of K observed suggests complex interactions between meteorological influences and differences arising from variability in ice structure and crystallography. Our data demonstrate a greater complexity of near‐surface ice hydrology than hitherto appreciated and support the notion that the weathering crust can regulate the supraglacial discharge response to melt production. The conductivities reported here, coupled with typical supraglacial channel spacing, suggest that meltwater can be retained within the weathering crust for at least several days. Not only does this have implications for the accuracy of predictive meltwater run‐off models, but we also argue for biogeochemical processes and transfers that are strongly conditioned by water residence time and the efficacy of the cascade of sediments, impurities, microbes, and nutrients to downstream ecosystems. Because continued atmospheric warming will incur rising snowline elevations and glacier thinning, the supraglacial hydrological system may assume greater importance in many mountainous regions, and consequently, detailing weathering crust hydraulics represents a research priority because the flow path it represents remains poorly constrained.     

多尺度视角下中国新能源汽车产业创新空间格局及网络特征

创新活动与创新网络的多尺度空间模式是创新经济地理学关注的焦点。论文选择在知识分类上兼具隐性和显性知识特征的新能源汽车产业作为研究对象,利用来自国家知识产权局的相关专利数据,分析了2001—2015年中国新能源汽车产业独立创新活动和合作创新网络在“区域—省域—市域”的多尺度空间特征,并对其进行空间分类。结果显示：① 创新活动在城市层面最具解释力度,中国新能源汽车产业技术创新活动主要集中在东部和北部沿海地区,市域尺度上的创新活动存在较大差异;② 内部创新网络和外部创新网络在区域层面最具解释力度,创新网络集中在东部和北部沿海地区,市域尺度上的创新网络变异明显;③ 在不同尺度上,创新网络与创新活动之间存在不同程度的差异。地方创新环境与创新主体性质是造成上述格局差异的重要原因。仅停留在空间上的分析很难深入解释创新网络格局,应从更微观的创新主体层面探究创新结网的过程和机理。此外,创新活动和创新网络分别具有“多尺度结构性嵌套”和“多尺度能动性交换”特征,未来研究应对两者之间的差别给予更多关注。     

中国跨境风电项目的建设模式、梯度转移及减排潜力研究

作为“一带一路”倡议的样板工程和旗舰项目,中巴经济走廊中的风电项目建设已经初现规模。中国在巴基斯坦的工程建设中,风电优先项目涉及的项目金额约为6.47亿元,运营期累计发电量可以达到近180亿千瓦时,可累计减少二氧化碳排放13.90兆吨。伴随跨境风电项目的梯度转移,中国可再生能源项目落地并网取决于东道国的政策制度安排、建设运营模式、设备供应体系以及电价收购协议等。本研究有助于协助沿线国家完善能源政策制度、加快清洁电力发展、应对气候变化、落实碳减排承诺,为绿色“一带一路”建设中可再生能源项目的推广提供借鉴。     

能源地缘政治与能源权力研究

围绕油气资源的权力博弈仍然是当今世界最主要的能源权力争夺,但不同时代的能源权力的属性有所不同,能源安全与能源战略内涵也有所不同。论文在系统梳理能源地缘政治基础上,提出了能源权力的概念,并从地缘政治格局、能源安全观、能源网络和全球能源治理4个方面进行了具体阐述。研究认为：① 以能源分布、产销空间变化及其规律性总结是传统能源地缘政治研究的核心,油气资源地理分布的不平衡性是能源权力产生的最直接因素。② 从石油危机时代到未来新能源时代,能源安全观的不同是影响国际能源地缘政治权力变化的重要因素。③ 能源的商品属性和地缘属性决定了能源贸易不仅是经济行为,其空间的流动与国际政治关系密切。生产与消费的分离使得油气二次分配过程中的贸易控制和通道控制对能源权力重构产生重要影响。④ 全球能源权力巨变和复杂错综的能源权力网络将引发全球能源治理体系的新秩序。权力的主体从国家、国际组织、跨国公司转变为全球能源网络中利益共同体,能源治理的主题从一国之利益走向了全球能源权力的再分配过程。展望未来,如何在理论上建构新时代的能源权力的理论体系,深化气候变化和新能源等因素影响下的世界能源权力的演变、地理空间与权力的相互依赖关系、权力秩序的重构及其效应、全球能源治理机制及其治理模式等研究,对科学认知和研判世界能源形势与能源战略的演化具有重要的意义,也是能源地缘政治学研究的重要方向性命题。     

机载多光谱影像语义分割模型在农田防护林提取中的应用

农田防护林是农田生态系统的屏障,其健康状况的监测与评估在我国北方农田林网管理中尤为重要。本文以新疆生产建设兵团第三师51团为研究区,使用复合翼无人机CW-20搭载Micro MCA12 Snap多光谱相机获取农田防护林的多光谱影像,经辐射校正、裁剪等预处理,通过优选有效特征和模型比较,提出农田防护林提取的有效方法。首先,基于原始12波段,依据相关性系数矩阵和最佳指数因子（Optimum Index Factor,OIF）选取最优3波段和植被指数特征进行组合,构建8种农田防护林提取方案;然后,通过建立语义分割Deeplabv3+模型进行精度评价,得到最优3波段组合6（波长710 nm）、8（波长800 nm）、 11（波长900 nm）波段为最佳特征组合;最后,以最优3波段为基础,将Deeplabv3+模型与U-Net、ENVINet5模型进行对比分析。结果表明：Deeplabv3+模型能够更深层次的挖掘光谱中潜在的信息,相比其他模型,能够较好地处理正负样本不均衡问题,获得最高MIoU值85.54%,比U-Net、ENVINet5的MIoU值则分别高出21.21%、27.19%。该研究结果可为基于多光谱遥感影像的语义分割在农田防护林提取及健康状况监测的应用提供借鉴和参考。     

丹江口水库面积季节变化遥感监测

基于2014年2月19日、2014年6月7日和2014年10月8日的三景资源三号卫星影像分别作为春季、夏季和秋季的代表,以河南省内的丹江口水库为研究区域,采用面向对象的遥感影像监督分类方法进行影像的分割和分类,提取出遥感影像中的水体,并结合南水北调中线工程对水域面积和周围地物的影响对这3个时期的影像进行比较和分析,得出这3个时期水域面积的变化数据。     

基于LiDAR的海岛岸线自动提取研究

为了探讨栅格化方法与图像分割法对海岛岸线提取的效果,本文主要研究了基于Li DAR数据利用这两种方法对某岛进行瞬时海岸线的提取。利用栅格化方法通过对Li DAR点云数据进行粗差剔除、滤波去噪、构建Terrain数据集、创建栅格表面、生成TIN模型及自动生成等高线,从而实现了瞬时海岸线的提取;利用图像分割法是通过对Li DAR点云数据进行粗差剔除、滤波处理、构建TIN模型、生成二值栅格图像、图像处理与图像边缘提取的过程实现瞬时海岸线的提取。对两种方法提取的海岸线进行叠加显示分析,试验结果表明:两种方法提取的海岸线形态结构基本吻合,海岸线提取效率较传统方法均有提高,但栅格化方法提取的海岸线比图像分割方法提取的海岸线更平滑、更细化,边缘信息较为丰富,与实际海岸线更贴切,效果更加理想。