Hydro-geochemistry of groundwater and surface water in Dschang town(West Cameroon): Alkali and alkaline-earth elements ascertain lithological and anthropogenic constraints

This study focuses on the sources of alkali and alkaline-earth elements based on the geochemistry of groundwater and surface water in Dschang concerning environmental and anthropogenic constraints. A comprehensive set of 50 samples from groundwater and surface water were analyzed by ICPMS and processed by spatial interpolation in a GIS environment. The results highlight a geochemical anomaly at the center of the densely inhabited area subject to a profusion of open dumps discharges. This anomaly with the highest spatial contents of Be(Cs, Rb, Mg) suggests an anthropogenic source that demarcates with the lowest alkali and alkaline-earth elements on the peripheral area of Dschang. Other findings include lithological constraints with volcanic rocks being the main source compared to granitoid.The study points out good correlations between Be, Cs, Rb and Mg spatial distributions and physicochemical parameters of waters(K, EC, TDS), and inversely with the lowest p H. p H is established as the most functioning physico-chemical constraint of alkali and alkaline-earth mobility in Dschang. The p H lowest values within the geochemical anomaly also highlight the impact of human activities on water acidity, which later enhance elements mobility and enrichment. Despite low elements contents relative to WHO standards, our findings point out an example of anthropogenic impact on water geochemistry linked to solid waste pollution; it also demonstrates significant anthropogenic changes of environmental physicochemical parameters of prime importance in the mobility and distribution of elements in the study area.Similar assessments should be extended in major towns in Cameroon.     

An Operational Precipitable Water Vapor Retrieval Algorithm for Fengyun-2F/VISSR Using a Modified Three-Band Physical Split-Window Method

The Visible and Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer(VISSR) onboard the Fengyun-2(FY-2) satellite can provide valuable thermal infrared observations to help create a precipitable water vapor(PWV) product with high spatial and temporal resolutions. The current FY-2/VISSR PWV product in operation is produced by using a traditional two-band physical split-window(PSW) method, which produces low quality results under dry atmospheric conditions. Based on the sensitivity characteristics of FY-2 F/VISSR water vapor channel and two split-window channels to atmospheric water vapor, this study developed a new, robust operational PWV retrieval algorithm for FY-2 F to improve the operational precision of the current PWV product. The algorithm uses a modified three-band PSW method, which adds a scale for the water vapor channel in the improved three-band PSW method. Integrated PWV products from the radiosonde data in 2016 are used here to validate the precision of the PWV retrieved by the modified three-band and traditional two-band PSW methods. The mean bias, root mean square error(RMSE), and correlation coefficient of the PWV retrieved by the modified three-band PSW method are 0.28 mm, 4.53 mm, and 0.969, respectively. The accuracy is much better than the PWV retrieved by the two-band method, whose mean bias, RMSE, and correlation coefficient are 12.67 mm, 29.35 mm, and 0.23. Especially, in mid-or high-latitude regions, the RMSE of the PWV is improved from 10 to 2 mm by changing the inversion in the two-band method to the modified three-band PSW method. Furthermore, the modified three-band PSW results show a better consistency with the radiosonde PWV at any zonal belt and season than the two-band PSW results. This new algorithm could significantly improve the quality of the current FY-2 F/VISSR PWV product, especially at sites where the actual PWV are lower than 15 mm.     

三江源区大气可降水量时空特征及其与降水关系

利用1979—2016年欧洲中期天气预报中心(ECMWF) ERA-Interim (1°×1°)再分析资料中的经、纬向水汽通量和大气可降水量(precipitation water vapor,PWV)数据,采用相关性分析、趋势分析法、累积距平、IDW等方法,分析三江源地区PWV与水汽通量的时空分布特征、降水转化率(precipitati-on conversion efficiency,PCE)变化规律。结果表明:过去的38 a,经、纬向多年平均水汽通量分别为50. 2、196. 7 kg·m-1·s^(-1),纬向水汽通量气候倾向率比经向大。南边界为纬向主要水汽输入边界,东边界为经向主要水汽输出边界,纬向水汽输送大于经向输送。多年平均PWV为1998. 3 mm,近38 aPWV呈现微弱增加趋势,1979—1997年,PWV呈下降趋势,1998年后PWV呈增加趋势,同期降水也在增加,说明该时段三江源地区气候转湿。PWV与水汽通量的年际变化趋势和转折年相一致。三江源区多年平均PCE为24. 57%,1989年PCE最高,达32. 76%,各季节平均PCE空间分布与年平均PCE分布一致,均表现出南部、东南部高,西部、东北部低的变化特征,各季节PCE大小差异明显,春季多年平均PCE为15. 92%,夏季25. 67%,秋季21. 01%,冬季仅7. 03%。     

近50多年来淮河流域气候水分盈亏时空变化

水分盈亏是区域干湿气候划分的重要依据。基于淮河流域63个气象台站1957—2014年逐日观测数据,运用累积距平、Mann-Kendall突变分析、Morlet小波分析及ArcGIS反权重空间插值法,结合Penman-Monteith蒸散计算模型获得淮河流域水分盈亏量的周期特征、突变特征及其时空分布特征,并分析其主要影响因子。结果表明:(1)水分盈亏月变化基本符合5月最低,7月最高。(2)从季节分布来看,水分亏缺面积秋季春季冬季夏季,亏缺程度春季最强。从平均年水分盈亏量分布来看,水分盈亏量由南向北递减。且不论季节还是年状况,山地及河流对区域水分盈亏量的南北递减存在滞后作用。(3)从各因子气候倾向率的时空分布来看,江苏东南部、山东西部、河南大部、湖北中部水分盈亏量变化的主导因子为潜在蒸散量,其他区域的主导因子为降雨量。(4)淮河流域水分盈亏量存在周期特征,第一主周期为10 a。     

台风“摩羯”与“温比亚”环流中龙卷小尺度涡旋特征及可预警性分析

利用多普勒天气雷达探测资料,结合常规气象观测资料和天气实况及灾情调查,对2018年8月14日台风“摩羯”（1814）和8月19日台风“温比亚”（1818）产生龙卷的环境物理量及龙卷风暴强度结构特征进行了分析,对诱发龙卷和未诱发龙卷的小尺度气旋性涡旋特征进行了对比。结果表明：两次台风减弱低压东北象限是龙卷发生的关键区,低层高湿,强的低层垂直风切变和大的相对风暴螺旋度是关键物理量;龙卷出现时都伴有ΔV＞20.0 m·s-1的小尺度气旋性涡旋,且基本出现在2.0 km高度以下,但并不是所有这种低层小尺度气旋性涡旋都能诱发龙卷;以ΔV＞20.0 m·s-1为阈值,龙卷识别具有较高的命中率,识别准确率为31.8%,空报率为67.4%,漏报率为6.7%;约35.7%的龙卷没有识别时间提前量,半数龙卷几乎没有预警时间提前量。     

THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF SOIL TILLAGE AND OVERLAND FLOW EROSION TO SOIL REDISTRIBUTION ON AGRICULTURAL LAND

This study uses evidence for the long-term (35 years) pattern of soil redistribution within two agricultural fields in the UK to identify the relative importance of tillage and overland flow erosion. Spatially distributed long-term total soil redistribution data for the fields (Dalicott Farm and Rufford Forest Farm) were obtained using the caesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) technique. These data were compared with predicted patterns of soil redistribution. Recent studies have demonstrated that the redistribution of soil by tillage may be described as a diffusive process. A two-component model was, therefore, developed which accounts for soil redistribution by both overland flow and diffusive processes. Comparison of the predicted patterns of overland flow erosion alone with the observed (¹³⁷Cs-derived) data indicated a poor agreement (r² = 0.17 and 0.11). In contrast, a good agreement exists between the predicted pattern of diffusive redistribution and the observed data (r² = 0.43 and 0.41). These results give a clear indication that diffusive processes are dominant in soil redistribution within these fields. Possible diffusive processes include splash erosion, soil creep and tillage. However, the magnitude of the diffusion coefficients for the optimum predicted pattern (c. 350–400 kg m⁻¹ a⁻¹) demonstrates that tillage is the only process capable of explaining the very significant soil redistribution which is indicated by the ¹³⁷Cs data. Consideration is given to the implications of these results for both soil erosion prediction and landscape interpretation.     

Water and salt balance modelling to predict the effects of land-use changes in forested catchments. 1. Small catchment water balance model

A long-term water balance model has been developed to predict the hydrological effects of land-use change (especially forest clearing) in small experimental catchments in the south-west of Western Australia. This small catchment model has been used as the building block for the development of a large catchment-scale model, and has also formed the basis for a coupled water and salt balance model, developed to predict the changes in stream salinity resulting from land-use and climate change. The application of the coupled salt and water balance model to predict stream salinities in two small experimental catchments, and the application of the large catchment-scale model to predict changes in water yield in a medium-sized catchment that is being mined for bauxite, are presented in Parts 2 and 3, respectively, of this series of papers. The small catchment model has been designed as a simple, robust, conceptually based model of the basic daily water balance fluxes in forested catchments. The responses of the catchment to rainfall and pan evaporation are conceptualized in terms of three interdependent subsurface stores A, B and F. Store A depicts a near-stream perched aquifer system; B represents a deeper, permanent groundwater system; and F is an intermediate, unsaturated infiltration store. The responses of these stores are characterized by a set of constitutive relations which involves a number of conceptual parameters. These parameters are estimated by calibration by comparing observed and predicted runoff. The model has performed very well in simulations carried out on Salmon and Wights, two small experimental catchments in the Collie River basin in south-west Western Australia. The results from the application of the model to these small catchments are presented in this paper.     

Trends in stream and river temperature

Information on past and likely future trends in water temperature from different parts of the world is collated. The potential causes of trends in the thermal regimes of streams and rivers are many, but the existing database of water temperature information is inadequate to provide a global perspective on changes during the recent, let alone the more remote, past. Data from Europe suggest that warming of up to ca. 1°C in mean river temperatures has occurred during the 20th century, but that this trend has not been continuous, is distorted by extreme hydrological events, is not correlated with simple hydrometeorological factors and has been influenced by a variety of human activities. Predictive studies indicate that an accelerated rise in stream and river temperatures will occur during the next century as a consequence of global warming. However, forecasts must be tentative because future climatic conditions are uncertain and interactions between climate, hydrological and vegetation changes are complex.     

IN SITU MEASUREMENTS OF BASAL WATER QUALITY AND PRESSURE AS AN INDICATOR OF THE CHARACTER OF SUBGLACIAL DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

Continuous subglacial measurements of turbidity and electrical conductivity — two indicators of basal water quality — can be used to help characterize subglacial drainage systems. These indicators of water quality yield information that complements that provided by water pressure measurements. Quantitative attributes of subglacial drainage systems, such as water velocity and subglacial residence time, as well as qualitative behaviour — for example, spatial and temporal variations in system morphology — can be deduced using water quality measurements. Interpretation is complicated by the many potential influences on turbidity and electrical conductivity, but when these complications are appreciated a richer interpretation results. To demonstrate the utility of basal water quality measurements, observations from Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada were examined. The data reveal complex behaviour of the drainage system, but constraints imposed by basal water quality measurements help to clarify the nature of the subglacial flow system. The measurement and interpretation methods described and demonstrated are applicable to other glaciers. As such, they should prove useful for characterizing different subglacial drainage configurations and behaviours, thereby improving our general understanding of the hydrology and dynamics of wet-based glaciers.     

MEASURING AND MODELLING OF SOIL WATER DYNAMICS AND RUNOFF GENERATION IN AN AGRICULTURAL LOESSIAL HILLSLOPE

Surface runoff may be generated when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, or when the soil profile is saturated with water. Indications exist that both types of overland flow may occur in hilly agricultural loess regions. Here, for a loessial hillslope under maize in the southern part of The Netherlands, it was shown, with pressure head and runoff measurements, that Hortonian overland flow occurs during typical summer rain events. Surface runoff was initiated after saturation of the top 5–10 cm of the soil. Deeper in the soil, unsaturated conditions prevailed while runoff took place. Peak runoff discharges at the outlet of the subcatchment occurred a few minutes after peak rainfall intensities were measured. It appeared that SWMS_2D, a two-dimensional water flow model, was capable in simulating observed pressure head changes and runoff. Simulated potential runoff for the transect studied was higher by a magnitude of three than the measured areal average. This indicates effects of surface ponding, and the probable location of this particular transect in a region with high runoff production.