Missing precipitation data estimation using optimal proximity metric-based imputation,nearest-neighbour classification and cluster-based interpolation methods

Abstract

New optimal proximity-based imputation, K-nearest neighbour (K-NN) classification and K-means clustering methods are proposed and developed for estimation of missing daily precipitation records. Mathematical programming formulations are developed to optimize the weighting, classification and clustering schemes used in these methods. Ten different binary and real-valued distance metrics are used as proximity measures. Two climatic regions, Kentucky and Florida, (temperate and tropical) in the USA, with different gauge density and network structure, are used as case studies to evaluate the new methods. A comprehensive exercise is undertaken to compare the performances of the new methods with those of several deterministic and stochastic spatial interpolation methods. The results from these comparisons indicate that the proposed methods performed better than existing methods. Use of optimal proximity metrics as weights, spatial clustering of observation sites and classification of precipitation data resulted in improvement of missing data estimates.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor C. Onof     

基于TM遥感影像的闽西山区土地利用景观格局分析

根据1985年和2000年TM影像进行人工解译,提取各土地利用类型数据,计算了研究区的斑块指数、多样性指数、优势度、破碎度、分维度及形状指数等景观格局指标,并进行分析。结果表明,研究区有林地在整体景观格局上起基质作用;各主要景观类型均具有较大的边界曲折性;在研究时段内斑块总数下降,多样性也下降,反映土地利用向大景观要素集中。     

Rockfall hazard in the Daisekkei Valley, the northern Japanese Alps, on 11 August 2005

This paper describes a rockfall event in the Daisekkei Valley of Mount Shirouma-dake (2,932 m), the northern Japanese Alps. The rockfall occurred on a steep cliff comprising well-jointed felsites and produced debris of ≥8,000 m³. Most debris was deposited on an elongated snowpatch located immediately beneath the cliff, and it caused casualties among people who were trekking along a trail on the snowpatch. Additionally, a large rock block slipped 1 km on the snowpatch. The rockfall could have been due to the differential retreat of the rockwall, which contains areas of high- and low-density joints. Seasonal and diurnal freeze–thaw activities and snow avalanches and wash appear to be important factors responsible for the retreat. Although some rock blocks that can collapse further remain on the rockwall, the position of the mountain trail in the Daisekkei Valley is fixed. Fundamental reform of tourism systems for climbers, including education on natural hazards, is required.     

How do streamflow generation mechanisms affect watershed hypsometry?

Several studies have shown that the dominant streamflow generation mechanism in a river basin can leave distinct geomorphological signatures in basin topography. In particular, it has been suggested previously that basins generated by groundwater discharge tend to have a larger hypsometric integral than surface runoff basins because fluvial erosion is more focused in the valleys where groundwater discharge tends to occur. In this analysis, we aim to clarify this relationship by developing an alternative method to quantify the effects of streamflow generation mechanisms on basin hypsometry and by using a numerical model that can generate streamflow by different processes to evaluate the sensitivity of the results to the hydrological and geomorphological properties of the basin. The model results suggest that the hypsometric characteristics that are usually associated with groundwater discharge basins, such as a larger hypsometric integral, occur primarily when drainage networks are still advancing in the watershed. During later stages of development, an additional factor such as lithological controls or a distinct geomorphological process would be needed to preserve these features. The model results also show that the hypsometric effects are stronger when the parameters of the fluvial erosion process promote the influence of small discharge rates. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long‐term landscape evolution: linking tectonics and surface processes

Research in landscape evolution over millions to tens of millions of years slowed considerably in the mid‐20th century, when Davisian and other approaches to geomorphology were replaced by functional, morphometric and ultimately process‐based approaches. Hack's scheme of dynamic equilibrium in landscape evolution was perhaps the major theoretical contribution to long‐term landscape evolution between the 1950s and about 1990, but it essentially ‘looked back’ to Davis for its springboard to a viewpoint contrary to that of Davis, as did less widely known schemes, such as Crickmay's hypothesis of unequal activity. Since about 1990, the field of long‐term landscape evolution has blossomed again, stimulated by the plate tectonics revolution and its re‐forging of the link between tectonics and topography, and by the development of numerical models that explore the links between tectonic processes and surface processes. This numerical modelling of landscape evolution has been built around formulation of bedrock river processes and slope processes, and has mostly focused on high‐elevation passive continental margins and convergent zones; these models now routinely include flexural and denudational isostasy. Major breakthroughs in analytical and geochronological techniques have been of profound relevance to all of the above. Low‐temperature thermochronology, and in particular apatite fission track analysis and (U–Th)/He analysis in apatite, have enabled rates of rock uplift and denudational exhumation from relatively shallow crustal depths (up to about 4 km) to be determined directly from, in effect, rock hand specimens. In a few situations, (U–Th)/He analysis has been used to determine the antiquity of major, long‐wavelength topography. Cosmogenic isotope analysis has enabled the determination of the ‘ages’ of bedrock and sedimentary surfaces, and/or the rates of denudation of these surfaces. These latter advances represent in some ways a ‘holy grail’ in geomorphology in that they enable determination of ‘dates and rates’ of geomorphological processes directly from rock surfaces. The increasing availability of analytical techniques such as cosmogenic isotope analysis should mean that much larger data sets become possible and lead to more sophisticated analyses, such as probability density functions (PDFs) of cosmogenic ages and even of cosmogenic isotope concentrations (CICs). PDFs of isotope concentrations must be a function of catchment area geomorphology (including tectonics) and it is at least theoretically possible to infer aspects of source area geomorphology and geomorphological processes from PDFs of CICs in sediments (‘detrital CICs’). Thus it may be possible to use PDFs of detrital CICs in basin sediments as a tool to infer aspects of the sediments' source area geomorphology and tectonics, complementing the standard sedimentological textural and compositional approaches to such issues. One of the most stimulating of recent conceptual advances has followed the considerations of the relationships between tectonics, climate and surface processes and especially the recognition of the importance of denudational isostasy in driving rock uplift (i.e. in driving tectonics and crustal processes). Attention has been focused very directly on surface processes and on the ways in which they may ‘drive’ rock uplift and thus even influence sub‐surface crustal conditions, such as pressure and temperature. Consequently, the broader geoscience communities are looking to geomorphologists to provide more detailed information on rates and processes of bedrock channel incision, as well as on catchment responses to such bedrock channel processes. More sophisticated numerical models of processes in bedrock channels and on their flanking hillslopes are required. In current numerical models of long‐term evolution of hillslopes and interfluves, for example, the simple dependency on slope of both the fluvial and hillslope components of these models means that a Davisian‐type of landscape evolution characterized by slope lowering is inevitably ‘confirmed’ by the models. In numerical modelling, the next advances will require better parameterized algorithms for hillslope processes, and more sophisticated formulations of bedrock channel incision processes, incorporating, for example, the effects of sediment shielding of the bed. Such increasing sophistication must be matched by careful assessment and testing of model outputs using pre‐established criteria and tests. Confirmation by these more sophisticated Davisian‐type numerical models of slope lowering under conditions of tectonic stability (no active rock uplift), and of constant slope angle and steady‐state landscape under conditions of ongoing rock uplift, will indicate that the Davis and Hack models are not mutually exclusive. A Hack‐type model (or a variant of it, incorporating slope adjustment to rock strength rather than to regolith strength) will apply to active settings where there is sufficient stream power and/or sediment flux for channels to incise at the rate of rock uplift. Post‐orogenic settings of decreased (or zero) active rock uplift would be characterized by a Davisian scheme of declining slope angles and non‐steady‐state (or transient) landscapes. Such post‐orogenic landscapes deserve much more attention than they have received of late, not least because the intriguing questions they pose about the preservation of ancient landscapes were hinted at in passing in the 1960s and have recently re‐surfaced. As we begin to ask again some of the grand questions that lay at the heart of geomorphology in its earliest days, large‐scale geomorphology is on the threshold of another ‘golden’ era to match that of the first half of the 20th century, when cyclical approaches underpinned virtually all geomorphological work. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial analysis of instream nitrogen loads and factors controlling nitrogen delivery to streams in the southeastern United States using spatially referenced regression on watershed attributes (SPARROW) and regional classification frameworks

Understanding how nitrogen transport across the landscape varies with landscape characteristics is important for developing sound nitrogen management policies. We used a spatially referenced regression analysis (SPARROW) to examine landscape characteristics influencing delivery of nitrogen from sources in a watershed to stream channels. Modelled landscape delivery ratio varies widely (by a factor of 4) among watersheds in the southeastern United States—higher in the western part (Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi) than in the eastern part, and the average value for the region is lower compared to other parts of the nation. When we model landscape delivery ratio as a continuous function of local‐scale landscape characteristics, we estimate a spatial pattern that varies as a function of soil and climate characteristics but exhibits spatial structure in residuals (observed load minus predicted load). The spatial pattern of modelled landscape delivery ratio and the spatial pattern of residuals coincide spatially with Level III ecoregions and also with hydrologic landscape regions. Subsequent incorporation into the model of these frameworks as regional scale variables improves estimation of landscape delivery ratio, evidenced by reduced spatial bias in residuals, and suggests that cross‐scale processes affect nitrogen attenuation on the landscape. The model‐fitted coefficient values are logically consistent with the hypothesis that broad‐scale classifications of hydrologic response help to explain differential rates of nitrogen attenuation, controlling for local‐scale landscape characteristics. Negative model coefficients for hydrologic landscape regions where the primary flow path is shallow ground water suggest that a lower fraction of nitrogen mass will be delivered to streams; this relation is reversed for regions where the primary flow path is overland flow. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The topographic imprint of a transient climate episode: the western Andean flank between 15·5° and 41·5°S

Mountain‐range topography is determined by the complex interplay between tectonics and climate. However, often it is not clear to what extent climate forces topographic evolution and how past climatic episodes are reflected in present‐day relief. The Andes are a tectonically active mountain belt encompassing various climatic zones with pronounced differences in rainfall, erosion, and glacier extent under similar plate‐boundary conditions. In the central to south‐western Andes, climatic zones range from hyperarid desert with mean annual rainfall of 5 mm/a (22·5°S) to year‐round humidity with 2500 mm/a (40°S). The Andes thus provide a unique setting for investigating the relationship between tectonics, climate, and topography. We present an analysis of 120 catchments along the western Andean watersheds between 15·5° and 41·5°S, which is based on SRTMV3‐90m data and new medium‐resolution rainfall, tropical rainfall measurement mission (TRMM) dataset. For each basin, we extracted geometry, relief, and climate parameters to test whether Andean topography shows a climatic imprint and to analyze how climate influences relief. Our data document that elevation and relief decrease with increasing rainfall and descending snowline elevation. Furthermore, we show that local relief reaches high values of 750 m in a zone between 28°S to 35°S. During Pleistocene glacial stages this region was affected by the northward shifting southern hemisphere Westerlies, which provided moisture for valley‐glacier formation and extended glacial coverage as well as glacial erosion. In contrast, the southern regions between 35°S to 40°S receive higher rainfall and have a lower local relief of 200 m, probably related to an increased drainage density. We distinguish two different, climatically‐controlled mechanisms shaping topography: (1) fluvial erosion by prolonged channel‐hillslope coupling, which smoothes relief, and (2) erosion by valley glaciers that generates relief. Finally, Our results suggests that the catchment‐scale relief of the Andes between 28°S to 35°S is characterized by a pronounced transient component reflecting past climatic conditions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于ALOS数据的乌鲁木齐市绿地景观格局研究

以乌鲁木齐市2009年的ALOS卫星影像为研究数据,在地理信息系统(GIS)及遥感(RS)技术的支持下,提取绿地信息,建立乌鲁木齐市区绿地景观的空间数据库,应用景观生态学的理论和研究方法,选取景观分维数、破碎度、分离度等景观指数来定量分析乌鲁木齐市区的绿地景观格局。结果表明,整个研究区内的绿地类型以公园绿地和单位附属绿地为主,市区绿地景观多样性较低,各类型绿地景观所占比例不均匀,公共绿地数量少,趋于团聚分布,形成许多绿化服务盲区;各类型绿地景观分维数较高,形状较不规则;单位附属绿地和居住绿地的破碎度较高,因为它们受人类的影响较大、形状相对多样、不规则。     

LANDSCAPE PERMANENCE AND NUCLEAR WARNINGS

ABSTRACT. From the perspective of a human lifetime, the hazards of some nuclear wastes are permanent, so the warnings we place at contaminated nuclear sites must be permanent too. I address questions of how best to provide one hundred centuries of public warning at the first facility for permanent disposal, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. Scenarios of intrusion developed to guide the design of warning markers predicted that most of the changes in the area will be social and cultural. Because blatant and permanent markers will increase, not reduce, the probability of inadvertent intrusion, the most appropriate warning is a “landscape of illusion.” Such a landscape needs not permanent surface markers but underground warning devices beneath a soft surface marker. No warning can guarantee deterrence for 10,000 years, however.     

北京郊区生态安全动态评价与分析

以京郊三个具有不同功能的区(县)为例,基于景观生态学的基本理论,探讨在GIS和RS技术支持下从景观格局角度进行快速城市化地区的生态安全动态评价方法.首先,根据遥感数据解译出1996和2005两期土地利用图;然后计算景观干扰指数和景观脆弱度指数,它们合成景观稳定性指数,在此基础上,构建生态安全指数(ESI);最后,利用空间分析方法对生态安全指数进行空间化,并对生态安全指数的采样结果进行半变异函数分析和空间插值分析.结果表明:(1)1996-2005年研究区的各景观类型呈不同的变化趋势,其主要的景观变化特征为建设用地景观持续增加、耕地景观大量减少,尤其以建设用地景观变化最快;(2)研究区的斑块数量、破碎度、多样性指数和分形维数都表现出增加的趋势;(3)生态安全指数受人为干扰影响较大,局部区域的景观类型从1996年的零散分布发展至2005年的连片分布,整体生态安全强度的空间分布不均匀性增强;(4)生态安全指数值从城市功能拓展区(朝阳区)到远郊城市发展新区(顺义区)和生态涵养发展区(密云县),呈现出由低而高的变化趋势,其低值区域随着城市化进程的加快而逐渐扩大.表明生态安全指数能够定量评价区域生态环境的状况及其演变方向.