Mountain bedload yields in the United Kingdom: Further information from undisturbed fluvial environments

Further medium-term estimates of bedload yield are derived from gravel traps formerly operated to keep watercourses open in the Lake District of England. They are compared with the results presented by Richards and McCaig (preceding communication).     

Variable hillslope-channel coupling and channel characteristics of forested mountain streams in glaciated landscapes

Channel morphology of forested, mountain streams in glaciated landscapes is regulated by a complex suite of processes, and remains difficult to predict. Here, we analyze models of channel geometry against a comprehensive field dataset collected in two previously glaciated basins in Haida Gwaii, B.C., to explore the influence of variable hillslope–channel coupling imposed by the glacial legacy on channel form. Our objective is to better understand the relation between hillslope–channel coupling and stream character within glaciated basins. We find that the glacial legacy on landscape structure is characterized by relatively large spatial variation in hillslope–channel coupling. Spatial differences in coupling influence the frequency and magnitude of coarse sediment and woody material delivery to the channel network. Analyses using a model for channel gradient and multiple models for width and depth show that hillslope–channel coupling and high wood loading induce deviations from standard downstream predictions for all three variables in the study basins. Examination of model residuals using Boosted Regression Trees and nine additional channel variables indicates that ~10 to ~40% of residual variance can be explained by logjam variables, ~15–40% by the degree of hillslope–channel coupling, and 10–20% by proximity to slope failures. These results indicate that channel classification systems incorporating hillslope–channel coupling, and, indirectly, the catchment glacial legacy, may present a more complete understanding of mountain channels. From these results, we propose a conceptual framework which describes the linkages between landscape history, hillslope–channel coupling, and channel form. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impulse response of the kinematic diffusion model as a probability distribution of hydrologic samples with zero values

It is hypothesized that the unit impulse response of a linearized kinematic diffusion (KD) model is a probability distribution suitable for frequency analysis of hydrologic samples with zero values. Such samples may include data on monthly precipitation in dry seasons, annual low flow, and annual maximum peak discharge observed in arid and semiarid regions. The hypothesized probability distribution has two parameters, which are estimated using the methods of moments (MOM) and maximum likelihood (MLM). Also estimated are errors in quantiles for MOM and MLM. The distribution shows an equivalency of MOM and MLM with respect to the mean value—an important property for ML-estimation in the case of the unknown true distribution function. The hypothesized KD distribution is tested on 44 discharge data series and compared with the Muskingum-like (M-like) probability distribution function. A comparison of empirical distribution with KD and M-like distributions shows that MOM better reproduces the upper tail of the distribution, while MLM is more robust for higher sample values and more conditioned on the value of the probability of the zero value event. The KD-model is suitable for frequency analysis of short samples with zero values and it is more universal than the M-like model as its modal value cannot be only equaled to zero value but also to any positive value.     

Differential bedload transport rates in a gravel-bed stream: A grain-size distribution approach

Two methods that were recently proposed for calculating fractional bedload transport rates in gravel-bed streams are examined closely. Both of them employ the Oak Creek bedload data. The Diplas (PD) method is guided by dimensional analysis and, therefore, can be used to predict bedload transport in different gravel rivers. The only requirement for using this method is the knowledge of the subsurface material size distribution of the stream of interest. The expression for the fractional bedload transport obtained by the Shih and Komar (SK) method for Oak Creek cannot be used for other streams. Its use for a given stream requires information that is rarely available. For the Oak Creek case both methods demonstrate similar predictive ability.     

盆地内大面积砂体分布的一种成因机理--干旱气候下季节性河流沉积

我国西部新疆地区侏罗系-下白垩统大面积、厚层状砂岩油气勘探获得了重大发现, 大面积厚层状砂体及泥岩红层沉积的成因机理受到长期关注。结合现今准噶尔南缘多条季节性河流的沉积体系、砂体展布特征分析, 并对比郝家沟-头屯河剖面、玛纳斯河剖面上侏罗统齐古组、喀拉扎组的岩相组合、岩石颜色、砂泥岩沉积构造、沉积序列与古环境分析, 认为干旱气候下头屯河组上部-喀拉扎组的季节性曲流河-季节性辫状河沉积是上侏罗统大面积厚层状砂砾岩体及厚层状泥岩红层沉积的重要成因机理, 进而建立了季节性河流的砂体构型和成因模式。准噶尔盆地南缘季节性河流沉积砂体构型和成因模式的建立, 对进一步认识我国古代季节性河流沉积提供了有益参考。     

The resilience of logjams to floods

Logjams that span the bankfull channel strongly influence hydraulics and downstream fluxes of diverse materials. Several studies quantify the longitudinal distribution of channel-spanning logjams, but fewer studies examine changes in longitudinal distribution in response to disturbances such as floods. We use 10 years of annual surveys of a population of channel-spanning logjams along mountain streams in the Southern Rocky Mountains. Surveys from 2010 to 2019 bracket substantial interannual variability in the snowmelt peak flow as well as a rainfall flood in 2013. We characterised the number of logjams per unit length of valley (logjam distribution density) within and between reaches designated based on longitudinally consistent channel and valley geometry. Our primary objectives are to evaluate the influences on logjam distribution density of (i) spatial variations in valley and channel geometry and (ii) temporal variations in peak annual flow. We hypothesized that logjam distribution densities are resilient to disturbance at both spatial scales. At the creek scale, logjam distribution density correlates significantly with increasing ratio of floodplain width to channel width and wood piece length to channel width. Wide, low gradient reaches with greater distribution density exhibit greater interannual variation in distribution density. These reaches lost jams during the 2013 flood but returned to pre-flood distribution density values by the end of the study. The pattern of greater logjam distribution density in unconfined reaches relative to confined and partially confined reaches is also consistent over the period of the study. We interpret these results as indicating the resilience of logjam distributions to disturbance. The persistence of greater numbers of logjams in wide, low gradient reaches suggests that river restoration employing engineered logjams and wood reintroduction can focus most effectively on these reaches.     

The Dynamics of Low-Perihelion Meteoroid Streams

The Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) has collected information on a number of weak meteor showers that have not been well characterized in the literature. A subsample of these showers (1) do not show a strong orbital resemblance to any known comets or asteroids, (2) have highly inclined orbits, (3) are at low perihelion distances ( AU) and (4) are at small semimajor axes (<2 AU). Though one might conclude that the absence of a parent object could be the result of its disruption, it is unclear how this relatively inaccessible (dynamically speaking) region of phase space might have been populated by parents in the first place. It will be shown that the Kozai secular resonance and/or Poynting–Robertson drag can modify meteor stream orbits rapidly (on time scales comparable to a precession cycle) and may be responsible for placing some of these streams into their current locations. These same effects are also argued to act on these streams so as to contribute to the high-ecliptic latitude north and south toroidal sporadic meteor sources. There remain some differences between the simple model results presented here and observations, but there may be no need to invoke a substantial population of high-inclination parents for the observed high-inclination meteoroid streams with small perihelion distances.     

Long-term large wood load fluctuations in two low-order streams in Southern Chile

The eco-hydrogeomorphic significance of large wood (LW) and its potential for increasing downstream hazards during extreme floods have been widely recognized. We used LW data collected for a 10-year period from the two low-order streams of Pichún (Pi) and Vuelta de Zorra (VZ) in Southern Chile to (a) determine if the abundance and dimensions of individual LW pieces change with time, (b) quantify wood load fluctuations during the 10-year period, and (c) assess the role of LW recruitment from the riparian forests to explain wood load fluctuations during the study period. Nine years after the first survey, the number of LW pieces in Pi and VZ diminished by 60 and 40%, respectively. Despite the reduction in these numbers, in Pi, the LW dimensions did not change significantly during the study. In VZ, the dimensions exhibited statistically significant differences, despite being within the same class. In both catchments, the LW load fluctuated during a 10-year period, but the drivers of change differed. Although tree toppling was the recruitment mechanism responsible for LW in both stream cases, the high wood load measured in Pi at the beginning of the study suggested massive tree recruitments before the first survey, followed by wood exports which were higher than inputs in the subsequent 10-year period. In VZ, LW load decreased during the first 9 years (mean annual rate of ~9.2 m³ year⁻¹) and then increased by ~12.1 m³ year⁻¹ in year 10. At VZ, the inputs consisted of single trees that were recruited from the riparian area and by upstream flotation, while exports occurred by downstream fluvial transport. Wood inputs and exports occurred asynchronously and led to LW load fluctuations at decadal and annual intervals. Land management and tree species thus exert a major influence on wood inventory and budget in streams. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太阳质量损失对流星群轨道改变的长期影响

将作者在变质量天体力学所得理论结果应用于太阳质量损失对流星群轨道根数变化的长期效应上。太阳质量损失包括光子辐射和太阳风造成的质量损失。利用G—M型变质量天体轨道根数变化方程的一阶和二阶解对15个流星群轨道半长轴、近日点距离、轨道周期和近日点经度因太阳质量损失造成的每世纪的长期改变效应做了数值计算,并得出计算结果。其计算结果表明,太阳质量损失使流星群轨道半长轴每世纪的改变效应较明显,它们同太阳距离的扩大影响值得关注,但对轨道周期的拉长每世纪的影响甚小,对近日点经度只有量级变化小到可以略而不计。     

A catchment-scale model of mountain stream channel morphologies in southeast Australia

The position of mountain streams high in the channel network and their proportional dominance mean that channel modifications and adjustments within these systems will have important implications for downstream processes and linkages. This study develops an analysis framework for examining the catchment-scale distribution of reach morphologies, and the relationship among reach type, catchment lithology and flow competence in southeast Australian mountain streams. The analysis framework is applied to three catchments which have contrasting proportions of the two dominant lithologies of the region, Devonian granites and Ordovician metasediments.The model successfully delineated 68% of reach types, and the resultant spatial maps allowed the effects of stream network position and catchment specific controls on channel morphology to be evaluated. Maximum lengths of the majority of reach morphology types were in second-order streams and the maximum number of morphology types (six) was present in third-order streams, with dramatic reductions in reach type variability as the network expands. The position of catchment lithology within the channel network structure was recognized as more important than the aerial extent of a particular lithology on the distribution and abundance of reach morphologies. The model provides an important tool in the management of channel networks for the protection or restoration of ecological diversity, by identifying river segments and tributaries with high morphological diversity.