The impact of persistent volcanic degassing on vegetation: A case study at Turrialba volcano,Costa Rica

Although the impacts of large volcanic eruptions on the global environment have been frequently studied, the impacts of lower tropospheric emissions from persistently degassing volcanoes remain poorly understood. Gas emissions from persistent degassing exceed those from sporadic eruptive activity, and can have significant long-term (years to decades) effects on local and regional scales, both on humans and the environment. Here, we exploit a variety of high temporal and high spatial resolution satellite-based time series and complementary ground-based measurements of element deposition and surveys of species richness, to enable a comprehensive spatio-temporal assessment of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions and their associated impacts on vegetation at Turrialba volcano (Costa Rica) from 2000 to 2013. We observe increased emissions of SO₂ coincident with a decline in vegetation health downwind of the vents, in accordance with the prevalent wind direction at Turrialba. We also find that satellite-derived vegetation indices at various spatial resolutions are able to accurately define the vegetation kill zone, the extent of which is independently confirmed by ground-based sampling, and monitor its expansion over time. In addition, ecological impacts in terms of vegetation composition and diversity and physiological damage to vegetation, all spatially correspond to fumigation by Turrialba’s plume. This study shows that analyzing and relating satellite observations to conditions and impacts on the ground can provide an increased understanding of volcanic degassing, its impacts in terms of the long-term vegetation response and the potential of satellite-based monitoring to inform hazard management strategies related to land use.     

Spectral detection of stress-related pigments in salt-lake succulent halophytic shrubs

The spectral detection of vegetation pigment concentrations has a high potential value, but it is still underdeveloped, especially for pigments other than chlorophylls. In this study, the seasonal pigment dynamics of two Tecticornia species (samphires; halophytic shrubs) from north-western Australia were correlated with spectral indices that best document the pigment changes over time. Pigment dynamics were assessed by analysing betacyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations at plant level and by measuring reflectance at contrasting seasonal dates. Plant reflectance was used to define a new reflectance index that was most sensitive to the seasonal shifts in Tecticornia pigment concentrations. The two Tecticornia species turned from green to red-pinkish for the period March–August 2012 when betacyanins increased almost nine times in both species. Chlorophyll levels showed the opposite pattern to that of betacyanins, whereas carotenoid levels were relatively stable. Normalised difference indices correlated well with betacyanin (r = 0.805, using bands at 600 and 620 nm) and chlorophyll (r = 0.809, using bands at 737 and 726 nm). Using knowledge of chlorophyll concentrations slightly improved the ability of the spectral index to predict betacyanin concentration (r = 0.822 at bands 606 and 620 nm, in the case of chemically determined chlorophyll, r = 0.809 when using remotely sensed chlorophyll). Our results suggest that this new spectral index can reliably detect changes in betacyanin concentrations in vegetation, with potential applications in ecological studies and environmental impact monitoring.     

L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery performs better than optical datasets at retrieving woody fractional cover in deciduous,dry savannahs

Woody canopy cover (CC) is the simplest two dimensional metric for assessing the presence of the woody component in savannahs, but detailed validated maps are not currently available in southern African savannahs. A number of international EO programs (including in savannah landscapes) advocate and use optical LandSAT imagery for regional to country-wide mapping of woody canopy cover. However, previous research has shown that L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) provides good performance at retrieving woody canopy cover in southern African savannahs. This study’s objective was to evaluate, compare and use in combination L-band ALOS PALSAR and LandSAT-5 TM, in a Random Forest environment, to assess the benefits of using LandSAT compared to ALOS PALSAR. Additional objectives saw the testing of LandSAT-5 image seasonality, spectral vegetation indices and image textures for improved CC modelling. Results showed that LandSAT-5 imagery acquired in the summer and autumn seasons yielded the highest single season modelling accuracies (R² between 0.47 and 0.65), depending on the year but the combination of multi-seasonal images yielded higher accuracies (R² between 0.57 and 0.72). The derivation of spectral vegetation indices and image textures and their combinations with optical reflectance bands provided minimal improvement with no optical-only result exceeding the winter SAR L-band backscatter alone results (R² of ∼0.8). The integration of seasonally appropriate LandSAT-5 image reflectance and L-band HH and HV backscatter data does provide a significant improvement for CC modelling at the higher end of the model performance (R² between 0.83 and 0.88), but we conclude that L-band only based CC modelling be recommended for South African regions.     

地貌形态指数反映的青藏高原东北部宛川河流域新构造活动

宛川河为黄河的一级支流,位于青藏高原东北部的兰州盆地东部.该区域历史时期曾发生多次6级以上地震.以DEM数据为基础,通过河流水系分析和地貌形态指数的计算,讨论了区域新构造活动特征.山前曲折度指数(SMF)在宛川河北为1.03~1.18,在兴隆山北前缘为1.83~2.88;河谷宽高比指数(VF)在宛川河北部为0.36~2.34,在南部的兴隆山为0.55~13.SMF与VF值的大小和分布特征表明研究区新构造活动活跃,且宛川河以北(前人推测有断层存在)新构造活动的活跃程度更高.流域盆地非对称性指数(AF)在宛川河北部东南端的异常揭示存在掀斜断块和褶皱运动;结合裂点分布和沟谷错断等地貌特征,发现宛川河北正断裂的东南端也存在西北--东南向走滑活动.     

基于超热因子的中国热浪事件气候特征分析

采用世界气象组织气候委员会推荐基于超热因子(excess heat factor,EHF)的热浪指标并加以拓展,对中国1958—2013年的热浪事件气候变化进行分析。结果表明:华中、华东和西北地区的平均热浪次数要略多于中国其他地区;华东和华中地区的热浪最长持续天数和热浪总天数最多;热浪EHF最大值、年均EHF值和EHF中位数值有北高南低的分布特征;华东、华中地区的轻度、中度热浪天数较多,重度热浪天数较少,中国北部和西部则相反;中国热浪EHF年总量有增加的趋势、准3年的年际变化周期和明显的年代际突变;中国大部分地区的高温热浪有增加趋势,但在华中、华北、东北的部分地区变化不显著。以云南德钦站为例说明中国西部高原地区不仅存在高温热浪事件,而且在进入21世纪后日益严重。     

东亚夏季风模式跨季预测的EOF-相似误差订正

利用国家气候中心第2代季节气候预测模式BCC_CSM1.1(m) 的1991—2010年每年2月起报的历史回算资料集,考察模式对于5个夏季风指数的预测能力,并通过发展基于经验正交函数分解与相似分析的EOF-相似误差订正方法,对5个夏季风指数的模式预测进行再修正。交叉检验和独立样本检验结果表明:该模式对1991—2010年东亚夏季风指数与西北太平洋夏季风指数预测技巧较高;EOF-相似误差订正方法适用于模式预测技巧较低的指数,这些指数经订正后预测效果均有不同程度改进,而预测技巧较高的夏季风指数经订正后改进效果不明显;在交叉检验中,线性部分订正多优于非线性部分订正效果,而对于独立试报的年份,非线性部分订正多优于线性部分订正效果,显示出良好的应用前景。     

基于南海夏季风季节内振荡的降水延伸预报试验

利用代表南海夏季风季节内振荡特征的850 hPa纬向风EOF分解的前两个主成分,定义南海夏季风季节内振荡指数,并利用美国国家环境预测中心第2代气候预报系统 (NCEP Climate Forecast System Version 2, NCEP/CFSv2) 提供的1982—2009年逐日回算预报场计算了南海夏季风季节内振荡指数的预报值,用于我国南方地区持续性强降水的预报试验。试验结果表明:利用南海夏季风季节内振荡实时监测指数与模式直接预报降水量相结合的统计动力延伸预报方法,能够有效提高季节内降水分量的预报效果。同时,该方法能够避免末端数据损失,修正了对模式预报降水直接进行带通滤波而导致的负相关现象,并起到消除模式系统误差的作用。     

SENTINEL-2A red-edge spectral indices suitability for discriminating burn severity

Fires are a problematic and recurrent issue in Mediterranean ecosystems. Accurate discrimination between burn severity levels is essential for the rehabilitation planning of burned areas. Sentinel-2A MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) record data in three red-edge wavelengths, spectral domain especially useful on agriculture and vegetation applications. Our objective is to find out whether Sentinel-2A MSI red-edge wavelengths are suitable for burn severity discrimination. As study area, we used the 2015 Sierra Gata wildfire (Spain) that burned approximately 80 km². A Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS)-grading map with four burn severity levels was considered as reference truth. Cox and Snell, Nagelkerke and McFadde pseudo-R² statistics obtained by Multinomial Logistic Regression showed the superiority of red-edge spectral indices (particularly, Modified Simple Ratio Red-edge, Chlorophyll Index Red-edge, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Red-edge) over conventional spectral indices. Fisher's Least Significant Difference test confirmed that Sentinel-2A MSI red-edge spectral indices are adequate to discriminate four burn severity levels.     

泥石流源地土抗剪强度指标φ、C值同含水量Q的关系

源地上抗剪强度指标φ、C值对泥石流的发生具有重要意义,为探索源地上抗剪强度与主体含水量关系而做的主体φ、C值随含水量变化的试验表明,在源地土含水量达到塑限以前,φ值随含水量的变化不是线性的,而是主要呈上凸和下凹两种曲线形式;C值随含水量的变化基本上是单调上升的.     

考虑指标变异性时开采覆岩破坏高度预计探讨

本文应用工程可靠度理论,推导出考虑指标变异性时开采覆岩破坏带高度的概率表达式,初步用实例验证了其可信性后,将其应用于金乡矿区北区覆岩破坏高度的预测。