Seasonal controls of meltwater runoff chemistry and chemical weathering at Urumqi Glacier No.1 in central Asia

Temporal variation of runoff chemistry and its seasonal controls relating to chemical weathering processes and drainage system evolution were examined at Urumqi Glacier No.1 in Xinjiang, China, over a full melt season. The dominant ions in meltwater runoff are HCO₃^?, Ca²⁺, and SO₄^2?; and Fe, Sr, and Al are dominant elements. Concentrations of major ions and some elements show periodic variations with seasons and negatively correlate with discharge, whereas other elements (e.g., Al, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) show a random change, providing insights into the hydrological and physicochemical controls. HCO₃^? and Ca²⁺ are primarily derived from calcite, SO₄^2? and Fe mainly come from pyrite, and Sr and Al principally originate from silicate. Hydrochemical fluxes of solutes exhibit strong seasonality but are positively related to discharge, suggesting an increasing release of solutes during higher flow conditions. Solute yields, cation denudation rate, and chemical weathering intensity observed at Urumqi Glacier No.1 are higher than those at most basins worldwide. This suggests that chemical weathering in central Asia may be stronger than at other glacial basins with similar specific discharge. Concentrations of some elements (e.g., Fe, Al, As, Pb, and Zn) are close to or exceed the guidelines for drinking water standards in meltwater‐fed rivers. These rivers may face future challenges of water quality degradation, and relationships between changing flow and water quality conditions should be established soon, given that development of channelized flow is expected to be earlier over a melt season in a warming climate.     

玉龙雪山白水1号冰川运动速度测量与研究

采用玉龙雪山白水1号冰川2011年6～9月的高精度GPS实测数据,对白水1号冰川的运动速度进行了探索性研究,并与其他数条典型冰川作了对比分析。结果表明,与北半球典型大陆性冰川相比,玉龙雪山白水1号冰川运动速度明显偏快,介于2.34～4.74 m/月之间,是同规模大陆性冰川的月运动速度的6～10倍,有独特的海洋性冰川运动特征。与藏东南同一类型的帕隆94冰川相比,玉龙雪山白水1号冰川运动速度约为其一半,这说明海洋性冰川的运动速度与规模成正比。同时,白水1号冰川末端平均海拔为4 381 m,近10年几乎保持了相同的退缩速度,说明在当今气候变化背景下,白水1号冰川对气候变暖的响应程度相同。     

The Features of Climate Variation and Glacier Response in Mt.Yulong,Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

The Features of climate change in Mt.Yulong, southeasten Tibetan Plateau were analyzed using linear regression, Mann Kendall abrupt test and Morlet wavelet analyses. In addition, the relationship between glacier retreating (Baishui Glacier No.1) and climate warming wasalso analyzed in this study. The main results are showedas follow: ① The annual mean temperature, precipitation have an increasing trend, withinclination rates being 0.15℃/10a and 9.0 mm/10a;annual temperaturedramatically ascend in 1998 with the change values 0.7 ℃; Morlet waveletsin annual temperature andtemperature in dry season mainly have a 10 to 15 year periods,while annual precipitation amount and the precipitation in rainy season presented a quasi 10 year periods. ②Prior to 1998, the important meteorological factor influencing the change of Baishui Glacier No.1 are temperature and precipitation, while in the following years, temperature plays a more important role in affecting its retreat and advance; The main characteristic ofvertical climate change in Mt. Yulong (1982/2009) is that the cold season shortens and temperature rises with elevation, and the maximal value of increased temperature in glacier zone is 2.2~2.5 ℃, resulting in greatly accelerated glacier ablation.     

The Precambrian rocks

Bauxite deposits in Gippsland are small, low in grade, and buried under a thick cover of Tertiary sands. Occurring at various stratigraphic levels in the Thorpdale volcanic sequence, they are also texturally and compositionally primitive and hence now presumably fossilised. Although broadly comparable with deposits in Tasmania and New England, they show few obvious analogies with other Australian bauxites. Profile studies reveal a somewhat erratic vertical mineralogical zonation which can, at least in part, be accounted for by assuming a degree of post‐bauxitisation planation so that some profiles are now truncated. Some profiles show gibbsite increasing with depth and at least in the Boolarra profile this has significant genetic implications. Here, during submergence of the lateritic surface, rising carbonated connate waters precipitated scarbroite and this, with subsequent renewed leaching, decomposed initially to form nordstrandite, and finally gibbsite.     

Recent glacier variations on active ice capped volcanoes in the Southern Volcanic Zone (37°–46°S), Chilean Andes

Glaciers in the southern province of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) of Chile (37–46°S) have experienced significant frontal retreats and area losses in recent decades which have been primarily triggered by tropospheric warming and precipitation decrease. The resulting altitudinal increase of the Equilibrium Line Altitude or ELA of glaciers has lead to varied responses to climate, although the predominant volcanic stratocone morphologies prevent drastic changes in their Accumulation Area Ratios or AAR. Superimposed on climate changes however, glacier variations have been influenced by frequent eruptive activity. Explosive eruptions of ice capped volcanoes have the strongest potential to destroy glaciers, with the most intense activity in historical times being recorded at Nevados de Chillán, Villarrica and Hudson. The total glacier area located on top of the 26 active volcanoes in the study area is ca. 500 km². Glacier areal reductions ranged from a minimum of −0.07 km² a ⁻¹ at Mentolat, a volcano with one of the smallest ice caps, up to a maximum of −1.16 km² a ⁻¹ at Volcán Hudson. Extreme and contrasting glacier–volcano interactions are summarised with the cases ranging from the abnormal ice frontal advances at Michinmahuida, following the Chaitén eruption in 2008, to the rapid melting of the Hudson intracaldera ice following its plinian eruption of 1991. The net effect of climate changes and volcanic activity are negative mass balances, ice thinning and glacier area shrinkage. This paper summarizes the glacier changes on selected volcanoes within the region, and discusses climatic versus volcanic induced changes. This is crucial in a volcanic country like Chile due to the hazards imposed by lahars and other volcanic processes.     

Dam risk assessment based on univariate versus bivariate statistical approaches: a case study for Argentina

Abstract

Considering floods as multivariate events allows a better statistical representation of their complexity. In this work the relevance of multivariate analysis of floods for designing or assessing the safety of hydraulic structures is discussed. A flood event is characterized by its peak flow and volume. The dependence between the variables is modelled with a copula. One thousand random pairs of variables are transformed to hydrographs, applying the Beta distribution function. Synthetic floods are routed through a reservoir to assess the risk of overtopping a dam. The resulting maximum water levels are compared to estimations considering the peak flow and volume separately. The analysis is performed using daily flows observed in the River Agrio in Neuquén Province, Argentina, a catchment area of 7300 km². The bivariate approach results in higher maximum water level values. Therefore the multivariate approach should be preferred for the estimation of design variables.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Grimaldi     

Present-day sediment dynamics of the Sanaga catchment (Cameroon): from the total suspended sediment (TSS) to erosion balance

ABSTRACT

Total suspended sediment (TSS) data for 1960–1970 and from recent investigations (1990–2000) are used to evaluate the variability in sediment yield of the Sanaga catchment (Cameroon) and the equivalent rates of erosion. At the annual and seasonal time scales, total suspended sediment concentrations for the Mbam sub-catchment are three to four times higher than for the Sanaga basin, reflecting the higher sensitivity of the former to erosion. Classical clockwise hysteresis loops are observed in both sub-catchments, despite a significant increase in human-induced catchment changes. At the multi-year time frame (over a 40-year period), it appears that the second half of the 1990s is marked by a downward trend in TSS. This shift is due to the control infrastructures (river impoundments and ponds) installed in certain parts of the whole catchment, combined with a drop in annual rainfall and river discharge.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor not assigned     

基于人工蜂群算法一逐步回归模型的大坝变形监测

在大坝变形监测统计模型研究的基础上,针对传统大坝变形监测回归模型存在的不足,将逐步回归模型与智能优化算法相结合,提出．了一种基于人工蜂群算法一逐步回归分析的大坝变形监控模型。该模型以逐步回归方法为基础,利用相关性分析、多重共线性分析等方法对观测数据进行处理,进而对大坝回归模型的荷载集变量进行筛选和评价,并将改进的人工蜂群算法引入回归模型分析,对荷载集系数进行优化和重新评估。人工蜂群算法是一种新型的群体智能优化方法,具有全局智能性搜索、鲁棒性强等优点,将其引入大坝安全监控建模领域,同时为改进人工蜂群算法的局部搜索性能,引入了单纯形操作算子。实例分析表明,与同类模型相比,所提出模型在一定程度上改善了拟合效果,达到了简化模型、提高拟合精度和增强模型预测能力的目的。     

Incremental dynamic analysis of concrete gravity dams including base and lift joints

The growth in computer processing power has made it possible to use time-consuming analysis methods such as incremental dynamic analysis(IDA) with higher accuracy in less time.In an IDA study,a series of earthquake records are applied to a structure at successively increasing intensity levels,which causes the structure to shift from the elastic state into the inelastic state and finally into collapse.In this way,the limit-states and capacity of a structure can be determined.In the present research,the IDA of a concrete gravity dam considering a nonlinear concrete behavior,and sliding planes within the dam body and at the dam-foundation interface,is performed.The influence of the friction angle and lift joint slope on the response parameters are investigated and the various limit-states of the dam are recognized.It is observed that by introducing a lift joint,the tensile damage can be avoided for the dam structure.The lift joint sliding is essentially independent of the base joint friction angle and the upper ligament over the inclined lift joint slides into the upstream direction in strong earthquakes.