Identifying effects of local and nonlocal factors of soil water storage using cyclical correlation analysis

There are various factors governing the spatial and temporal variability of soil water storage including soil properties, topography and vegetation. Some factors act locally, whereas others act nonlocally, which means that a factor measured at one location has effect on soil water storage at another location. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of local and nonlocal controls of soil water storage in a hummocky landscape using cyclical correlation analysis. Soil water storage, soil properties and terrain indices were measured along a 128‐point transect of 576 m long from the semiarid, hummocky, prairie pothole region of North America. There are large coefficients of determination (r²) between soil water storage and sand content (r² = 0.32–0.53), organic carbon content (r² = 0.22–0.56), depth to carbonate layer (r² = 0.13–0.63), wetness index (r² = 0.25–0.45) and other variables at the measurement scale at different times, indicating strong local effects from these variables. The correlation coefficients were also calculated by physically shifting the spatial series of soil water storage with respect to that of controlling factors. The shifting improves the correlation between the spatial series, and the length of shifting indicated the difference in the response of soil water to its controlling factors. For example, the value of r² increased more than eightfold (r² = 0.47–0.64) after shifting the spatial series of soil water storage by 54 m, almost equal to the average length of existing slope, compared with the very weak correlation (r² = 0.02–0.08) at the measurement scale. This indicated the nonlocal effect from the relative elevation. The identification of nonlocal effects from factors improves the prediction of soil water storage. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecohydrology-a challenging multidisciplinary research perspective / Ecohydrologie: une perspective stimulante de recherche multidisciplinaire

Abstract

Ecohydrology is the science that studies the mutual interaction between the hydrological cycle and ecosystems. Such an interaction is especially intense in water-controlled ecosystems, where water may be a limiting factor, not only because of its scarcity, but also because of its intermittent and unpredictable appearance. Soil moisture is the key variable modulating the complex dynamics of the climate-soil-vegetation system and controlling the spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation. In this note the authors' perspective to the field is discussed and some open questions are outlined.     

Falling sphere observations of anisotropic gravity wave motions in the upper stratosphere over Australia

A study of inertial scale gravity wave motions in the region of the atmosphere between 30 and 60 km has been undertaken, using wind and temperature data derived from rocket-borne falling sphere density experiments performed over Woomera, Australia between 1962 nad 1976. The gross features of the wave field compare favorably with those found in similar northern hemispheric studies. Wave propagation is found to be both vertically and horizontally anisotropic. A rotary spectral analysis indicates predominately upgoing wave energy, suggesting that the majority of sources of these waves lie below 30 km. A detailed statistical investigation of the waves, made using the Stokes parameters technique, reveals that phase progression is also highly directional in the horizontal, with a significant zonal component in summer, but with a strong meridional component in winter. Propagation towards the southeast is inferred in summer, with the waves possibly emanating from tropospheric sources in equatorial regions to the north of Australia. The technique also shows that, on average, the waves appear to have mean ellipse eccentricities (=f/) around 0.4–0.45. Indirect estimates of a number of important wave parameters are made. In particular,v andw flux estimates are made over several height intervals. The vertical gradient of density weighted flux implies wave-induced mean flow accelerations of the order 0.1–1 ms^–1day^–1. This suggests that dissipating gravity waves are a significant source of the momentum residuals that are encountered in studies of satellite data from this region.     

漳州地热普查区地球化学异常的讨论

本文以漳州热田为例,通过对该区的地质及构造特征、地下热水分布、水化学特征及土壤地球化学异常的分析对照,论证了化探工作在地热勘查中的应用效果。同时,对热田的化探异常成因进行了初浅的探讨。     

Issues of Spatial and Temporal Variability in Climate Impact Studies

The accuracy of impact estimates relating climate change to regional-scale agricultural production is constrained by the temporal and spatial resolution of climate change projections. Several techniques have been used to compensate for these limitations in order to provide reasonable estimates of the impact of climate change on crop yield. One approach assumes that variability over time can substitute for spatial variability, thereby reducing the need to estimate the impacts at a spatially dense network of stations—an assumption that has not been generally tested. This study evaluates this assumption using methods similar to those employed in the climate impact literature. The findings suggest that current practices are generally defensible if the goal is to provide a range of possible crop responses to climate change. However, the results also show that the assumption is highly sensitive to specific interactions at the soil-plant-atmosphere interface and, consequently, does not hold under certain circumstances.     

Influence of local geological conditions on the macroseismic effects in the town of Strazhitza

Damage caused by the earthquake of 7 December 1986 (M = 5.7) and its aftershocks in low-storey residential buildings in the town of Strazhitza, Bulgaria, situated in the epicentral zone are systematized. A scale of damages is compiled for two types of buildings which is coordinated with the MSK-64 scale. The territorial distribution of the seismic intensity is compared with the results of the detailed engineering-geological study. A correlation between the Quarternary deposit thickness and the observed seismic intensity is obtained.Paper presented at the 21st general assembly of the European Seismological Commission held in Sofia, 1988.     

Multivariable variogram and its application to the linear model of coregionalization

In this article, we present the multivariable variogram, which is defined in a way similar to that of the traditional variogram, by the expected value of a distance, squared, in a space withp dimensions. Combined with the linear model of coregionalization, this tool provides a way for finding the elementary variograms that characterize the different spatial scales contained in a set of data withp variables. In the case in which the number of elementary components is less than or equal to the number of variables, it is possible, by means of nonlinear regression of variograms and cross-variograms, to estimate the coregionalization parameters directly in order to obtain the elementary variables themselves, either by cokriging or by direct matrix inversion. This new tool greatly simplifies the procedure proposed by Matheron (1982) and Wackernagel (1985). The search for the elementary variograms is carried out using only one variogram (multivariable), as opposed to thep(p + 1)/2 required by the Matheron approach. Direct estimation of the linear coregionalization model parameters involves the creation of semipositive definite coregionalization matrices of rank 1.     

中国大陆8级巨震生成背景研究

中国大陆８级巨震群体活动的盛衰起伏，紧随全球整体活动的变化而变，并明显地受到太阳活动长期变化的调制。就个体巨震孕育而言，其供能机制可造成周围数千公里构造应力场持续多年的剧烈增强。因此，对于震级为８级的巨大地震的预测问题，必须在极为广阔的研究视野中探讨。     

变比例尺地图投影系统

本文对编制城市游览图提出了变比例尺地图投影系统。通过由普通城市平面图向辅助球面作逆投影A,再由辅助球面向平面作非A投影,构成了变比例尺地图的数学基础。由不同性质的投影的组合,能起到适应不同城市街区结构的特点。使本系统具有相当的灵活性。文中还讨论了辅助球适宜的大小和不同方位投影之间的变换公式。文末试作了北京市的变比例尺地图。     

区域航空γ能谱场地球化学解释及预测方法的探讨

本文以“铀矿区域评价准则”为依据,试用因子分析主成分比值法,铀对钍(钾)的区域相对场法和铀成矿有利指数法,对我国YW-10和YW-10B两个测区的区域航空γ能谱场进行了地球化学解释及预测方法的研究,与已知矿区660测区从宏观上做了对比分析,并研究了γ能谱参数在走向长270km,宽50—70km空间上的分布变化规律。研究结果表明,这些方法对了解成岩时原始铀的分布及后期铀的地球化学活动规律,估计成岩、成矿阶段铀源岩可能提供的生铀量,识别铀成矿有利地区是有用的。