Connectivity of post-fire runoff and sediment from nested hillslopes and watersheds

Wildfire increases the potential connectivity of runoff and sediment throughout watersheds due to greater bare soil, runoff and erosion as compared to pre-fire conditions. This research examines the connectivity of post-fire runoff and sediment from hillslopes (< 1.5 ha; n = 31) and catchments (< 1000 ha; n = 10) within two watersheds (< 1500 ha) burned by the 2012 High Park Fire in northcentral Colorado, USA. Our objectives were to: (1) identify sources and quantify magnitudes of post-fire runoff and erosion at nested hillslopes and watersheds for two rain storms with varied duration, intensity and antecedent precipitation; and (2) assess the factors affecting the magnitude and connectivity of runoff and sediment across spatial scales for these two rain storms. The two summer storms that are the focus of this research occurred during the third summer after burning. The first storm had low intensity rainfall over 11 hours (return interval <1–2 years), whereas the second event had high intensity rainfall over 1 hour (return interval <1–10 years). The lower intensity storm was preceded by high antecedent rainfall and led to low hillslope sediment yields and channel incision at most locations, whereas the high intensity storm led to infiltration-excess overland flow, high sediment yields, in-stream sediment deposition and channel substrate fining. For both storms, hillslope-to-stream sediment delivery ratios and area-normalised cross-sectional channel change increased with the percent of catchment that burned at high severity. For the high intensity storm, hillslope-to-stream sediment delivery ratios decreased with unconfined channel length (%). The findings quantify post-fire connectivity and sediment delivery from hillslopes and streams, and highlight how different types of storms can cause varying magnitues and spatial patterns of sediment transport and deposition from hillslopes through stream channel networks.     

Monitoring and modelling of hydrological processes in the semiarid region of Brazil: The Cariri experimental basins

Catchments have highly variable yields of runoff and soil erosion. The size, land use and the surface cover play a significant role and influence the catchment response and parameter values of simulation models. Two experimental basins—the Cariri basins—were equipped in a semi-arid region of Brazil, for obtaining runoff and sediment yield at different catchment scales, as well as, to evaluate the influence of the land use and surface cover. In the first basin, located in the municipality of Sumé, the field studies were carried out at two different scales: four micro-catchments with an area of around 0.5 ha and nine standard Wischmeier-type erosion plots of 100 m². The experimental units had varied vegetation and management. They were subjected only to natural rainfall events, and were monitored from 1982 to 1991. The total runoff and total sediment yield were determined for each of the events. The installations in the second basin, in the municipality of São João do Cariri, from 1999, include two erosion plots, three micro-catchments, and two sub-catchments of a small basin. These basins are still being monitored for runoff and sediment production. Among the micro-catchments two are nested to detect any scale effect at the micro-catchment level. Nearly 600 events of precipitation, that produced runoff in at least one of the experimental units, have been registered. These data have been used to evaluate the influence of various factors, including cultivation practices and to calibrate hydrological models for plots and micro-catchments. Parameters have been tested by means of cross validations among micro-catchments and sub-catchments. The data sets are made available to all the catchment hydrology researchers and others at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4690886 .     

Using LM‐OSL of quartz to distinguish sediments derived from surface‐soil and channel erosion

This study describes the use of linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM‐OSL) to distinguish surface‐soil derived sediments from those derived from channel bank erosion. LM‐OSL signals from quartz extracted from 15 surface‐soil and five channel bank samples were analysed and compared to signals from samples collected from two downstream river sites. Discriminant analysis showed that the detrapping probabilities of fast, first slow and second slow components of the LM‐OSL signal can be used to differentiate between the samples collected from the channel bank and surface‐soil sources. We show that for each of these source end members these components are all normally distributed. These distributions are then used to estimate the relative contribution of surface‐soil derived and channel bank derived sediment to the river bed sediments. The results indicate that channel bank derived sediments dominate the sediment sources at both sites, with 90.1 ± 3% and 91.9 ± 1.9% contributions. These results are in agreement with a previous study which used measurements of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex fallout radionuclides to estimate the relative contribution from these two sources. This result shows that LM‐OSL may be a useful method, at least in the studied catchment, to estimate the relative contribution of surface soil and channel erosion to river sediments. However, further research in different settings is required to test the difference of OSL signals in distinguishing these sediment sources. And if generally acceptable, this technique may provide an alternative to the use of fallout radionuclides for source tracing. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of storm movement on infiltration,runoff and soil erosion in a semi-arid catchment

Rainfall characteristics are key factors influencing infiltration and runoff generation in catchment hydrology, particularly for arid and semiarid catchments. Although the effect of storm movement on rainfall-runoff processes has been evaluated and emphasized since the 1960s, the effect on the infiltration process has barely been considered. In this study, a physically based distributed hydrological model (InHM) was applied to a typical semi-arid catchment (Shejiagou, 4.26 km²) located in the Loess Plateau, China, to investigate the effect of storm movement on infiltration, runoff and soil erosion at the catchment scale. Simulations of 84 scenarios of storm movement were conducted, including storms moving across the catchment in both the upstream and downstream directions along the main channel, while in each direction considering four storm moving speeds, three rainfall depths and two storm ranges. The simulation results showed that, on both the hillslopes facing downstream (facing south) and in the main channel, the duration of the overland flow process under the upstream-moving storms was longer than that under the downstream-moving storms. Thus, the duration and volume of infiltration under upstream-moving storms were larger in these areas. For the Shejiagou catchment, as there are more hillslopes facing downstream, more infiltration occurred under the upstream-moving storms than the downstream-moving storms. Therefore, downstream-moving storms generated up to 69% larger total runoff and up to 351% more soil loss in the catchment than upstream-moving storms. The difference in infiltration between the storms moving upstream and downstream decreased as the storm moving speed increased. The relative difference in total runoff and sediment yield between the storms moving upstream and downstream decreased with increasing rainfall depth and storm speed. The results of this study revealed that the infiltration differences under moving storms largely influenced the total runoff and sediment yield at the catchment scale, which is of importance in runoff prediction and flood management. The infiltration differences may be a potential factor leading to different groundwater, vegetation cover and ecology conditions for the different sides of the hillslopes.     

Evaluating post-wildfire logging-slash cover treatment to reduce hillslope erosion after salvage logging using ground measurements and remote sensing

Continuing long and extensive wildfire seasons in the Western US emphasize the need for better understanding of wildfire impacts including post-fire management scenarios. Advancements in our understanding of post-fire hillslope erosion and watershed response such as flooding, sediment yield, and debris flows have recently received considerable attention. The potential impacts of removing dead trees, called salvage logging, has been studied, however the use of remotely sensed imagery after salvage logging to evaluate spatial patterns and recovery is novel. The 2015 North Star Fire provided an opportunity to evaluate hillslope erosion reduction using two field experiments and coincidental remotely sensed imagery over 3 years. Simulated rill experiments with four flow rates were used to quantify hillslope erosion on skidder trails with and without added logging slash compared with a burned-only control. Seven replicated hillslope silt fence plots with the same treatments were also evaluated for natural rainfall events. WorldView-2 satellite imagery was used to relate ground cover and erodible bare soil between the two experiments using multi-temporal Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) values. Results indicate that the skid trails produced significantly more sediment (0.70 g s⁻¹) than either the slash treated skid trail (0.34 g s⁻¹) or controls (0.04 g s⁻¹) with the simulated rill experiment. Similarly, under natural rainfall conditions sediment yield from hillslope silt fence plots was significantly greater for the skid trail (3.42 Mg ha⁻¹) than either the slash treated skid trail (0.18 Mg ha⁻¹) or controls (0 Mg ha⁻¹). An NDVI value of 0.32 on all plots over all years corresponded to a ground cover of about 60% which is an established threshold for erosion reduction. Significant relationships between NDVI, ground cover, and sediment values suggest that NDVI may help managers evaluate ground cover and erosion potential remotely after disturbances such as a wildfire or salvage logging.     

人居环境气候舒适度对城市创新的影响分析

以中国创新水平较高的91个地级及以上城市为研究对象,探讨人居环境气候舒适度对城市创新的影响程度。以城市发明专利申请数代表城市创新水平,采用温湿指数和风效指数的组合模型,参照相应的分级标准计算各城市年气候舒适期,分析城市人居环境气候舒适度与城市创新的关系。结果表明:气候舒适期每增加1%,发明专利申请数仅平均增加0.012%,相对于GDP、R&D人员全时当量、R&D经费等影响城市创新的关键因素,城市人居环境气候舒适度对城市创新有一定影响,但影响并不十分显著。因此,创新政策的着眼点在于关注城市创新投入、人力资本、经济规模等影响城市创新的关键因素。在此基础上,创新布局也应考虑人居环境气候舒适度因素。     

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。     

郑州市市区风环境模拟研究

城市风环境是城市微气候研究的一个重要方向,对分析城市热岛效应、空气流通等具有重要意义。本文以郑州市市区为例,使用1971—2018年气象观测数据、2018年建筑分布数据（OSM）和2016年资源三号卫星数据作为数据源,通过运用气象学和GIS技术结合的方法,探究潜在通风廊道,科学量化城市形态对风环境的影响。研究首先借助WindNinja软件,对城市背景风环境进行模拟分析,该计算方法提高了风道定位的精度。然后利用卫星遥感数据制作了数字高程模型（DSM）,结合OSM计算下垫面地表粗糙度。进一步借助ArcGIS软件,利用最小成本路径法（LCP）确定城市潜在通风廊道的位置。结果表明：① 郑州市近年来平均风速缓慢下降,平均每10年下降0.26 m/s;全年主导风向东北风进入城市后受城市形态影响在京广铁路线附近以西逐渐转为东北偏东风,其中在京广快速路以东风速较高,在京广快速路以西风速较低;② 金水区西部、中原区、二七区以及管城区的地表粗糙度较高,通风环境较差;金水区东部和惠济区的地表粗糙度较低,通风环境较好;③根据盛行风向模拟的潜在通风廊道,其共同特点是趋向于低粗糙度的地区。     

喜马拉雅山脉与我国东部中低山区冰蚀地貌对比研究

我国东部中低山区第四纪冰川的存在与否一直存在争议,但冰川必然对山体进行冰蚀作用形成冰蚀地貌。为了分析我国东部中低山区的山体地貌是否具有冰蚀特征,该文选取了现代冰川集中发育区-喜马拉雅山脉作为冰蚀地貌的研究对象,通过宏观分析,除了由缩口、三角脊、残弧组成的冰斗系统外,还发现冰蚀作用过程存在避谷、吞脊、切壁、穿梁等特殊习性。分析认为冰蚀过程主要受制于雪线高程、积雪高程与坡向坡角三方面因素的控制。以此为基础,对我国东部的江西庐山、山东蒙山、大兴安岭主峰黄岗梁三个地区的山体地貌进行对比分析,发现这些山区的山体地貌与喜马拉雅山脉的冰蚀地貌具有一致性。文章从冰蚀过程的角度确认了我国东部中低山区存在第四纪冰川的事实。