Evidence for climatic variability and its impact on human development during the Neolithic from Loughmeenaghan,County Sligo,Ireland

High‐resolution pollen and geochemical analyses conducted on a sediment profile from a small lake in County Sligo, Ireland, revealed that human development during the Neolithic was influenced by pronounced climatic oscillations. The primeval woodland around the lake experienced a considerable transformation coinciding with the elm decline at 3810 BC. The subsequent increase in summer temperatures and decrease in precipitation favoured wheat cultivation in the lake's catchment area, which was practised for approximately 140 years. A shift towards pastoral farming took place with the establishment of exceptionally dry conditions between 3650 and 3560 BC, when lake level and influx of allochthonous material were notably low. The onset of cool and wet conditions at the transition from the Early to Middle Neolithic possibly caused the initial decline of human activity in the area. Periods of particularly high precipitation during the Middle and early Late Neolithic contributed to the abandonment of the area by the first farmers. Comparison of the proxy record from the study site with other palynological and archaeological records from Ireland suggests that climatic variability on the decadal to centennial scale represented a primary control on the nature and duration of farming practices during the Neolithic. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

European precipitation connections with large-scale mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) fields

Abstract

To advance understanding of hydroclimatological processes, this paper links spatiotemporal variability in gridded European precipitation and large-scale mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) time series (1957–2002) using monthly concurrent correlation. Strong negative (positive) correlation near Iceland and (the Azores) is apparent for precipitation in northwest Europe, confirming a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) association. An opposing pattern is found for southwest Europe, and the Mediterranean in winter. In the lee of mountains, MSLP correlation is lower reflecting reduced influence of westerlies on precipitation generation. Importantly, European precipitation is shown to be controlled by physically interpretable climate patterns that change in extent and position from month to month. In spring, MSLP–precipitation correlation patterns move and shrink, reaching a minimum in summer, before expanding in the autumn, and forming an NAO-like dipole in winter. These space–time shifts in correlation regions explain why fixed-point NAO indices have limited ability to resolve precipitation for some European locations and seasons.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor A. Montanari

Citation Lavers, D., Prudhomme, C., and Hannah, D.M., 2013. European precipitation connections with large-scale mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) fields. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (2), 310–327.     

Spatial and temporal variability of the hydrological response in a small Mediterranean research catchment (Vallcebre,Eastern Pyrenees)

This paper analyses the spatial and temporal variability of the hydrological response in a small Mediterranean catchment (Cal Rodó). The first part of the analysis focuses on the rainfall–runoff relationship at seasonal and monthly scale, using an 8‐year data set. Then, using storm‐flow volume and coefficient, the temporal variability of the rainfall–runoff relationship and its relationship with several hydrological variables are analysed at the event scale from hydrographs observed over a 3‐year period. Finally, the spatial non‐linearity of the hydrological response is examined by comparing the Cal Rodó hydrological response with the Can Vila sub‐catchment response at the event scale. Results show that, on a seasonal and monthly scale, there is no simple relationship between rainfall and runoff depths, and that evapotranspiration is a factor that introduced some non‐linearity in the rainfall–runoff relationship. The analysis of monthly values also reveals the existence of a threshold in the relationship between rainfall and runoff depths, denoting a more contrasted hydrological response than the one usually observed in humid catchments. At the event scale, the storm‐flow coefficient has a clear seasonal pattern with an alternance between a wet period, when the catchment is hydrologically responsive, and a dry summer period, when the catchment is much less reactive to any rainfall. The relationship between the storm‐flow coefficient and rainfall depth, rainfall maximum intensity and base‐flow shows that observed correlations are the same as those observed for humid conditions, even if correlation coefficients are notably lower. Comparison with the Can Vila sub‐catchment highlights the spatial heterogeneity of the rainfall‐runoff relationship at the small catchment scale. Although interpretation in terms of runoff processes remains delicate, heterogeneities between the two catchments seem to be related to changes in the ratio between infiltration excess and saturation processes in runoff formation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An ANN‐based model for spatiotemporal groundwater level forecasting

This paper evaluates the feasibility of using an artificial neural network (ANN) methodology for estimating the groundwater levels in some piezometers placed in an aquifer in north‐western Iran. This aquifer is multilayer and has a high groundwater level in urban areas. Spatiotemporal groundwater level simulation in a multilayer aquifer is regarded as difficult in hydrogeology due to the complexity of the different aquifer materials. In the present research the performance of different neural networks for groundwater level forecasting is examined in order to identify an optimal ANN architecture that can simulate the piezometers water levels. Six different types of network architectures and training algorithms are investigated and compared in terms of model prediction efficiency and accuracy. The results of different experiments show that accurate predictions can be achieved with a standard feedforward neural network trained usung the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. The structure and spatial regressions of the ANN parameters (weights and biases) are then used for spatiotemporal model presentation. The efficiency of the spatio‐temporal ANN (STANN) model is compared with two hybrid neural‐geostatistics (NG) and multivariate time series‐geostatistics (TSG) models. It is found in this study that the ANNs provide the most accurate predictions in comparison with the other models. Based on the nonlinear intrinsic ANN approach, the developed STANN model gives acceptable results for the Tabriz multilayer aquifer. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectropolarimetry of hot,luminous stars

I review polarimetric observations of presumably single, hot, luminous stars. The stellar types discussed are OB stars, B[e] supergiants, Luminous Blue Variables (LBV), Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars, and type II supernovae (SN). It is shown that variable, intrinsic polarization is a common phenomenon in that part of the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram which these stars occupy. However, much observational work remains to be done before we can answer the most basic, statistical questions about the polarimetric properties of different groups of hot, luminous stars. Insight into the diagnostic power of polarization observations has been gained, but cannot be exploited without detailed models. Thus, while polarimetric observations do tell us that the mass-loss processes of all types of massive stars are time-dependent and anisotropic, the significance that this might have for the accuracy of their stellar parameters and evolutionary paths remains elusive.     

Water balance modelling in lateritic terrain

An analytical approximate model for unsaturated flow in a spatially variable field, coupled with infiltration and evapotranspiration at the upper boundary and a fluctuating water-table at the lower boundary, has been developed. The unsaturated flow equations depend on parameterizations of θ(Φ) and K(Φ). They are based on the notion of a moving, discontinuous front. The field heterogeneity refers to saturated hydraulic conductivity only. Horizontal variability is considered, and the flow medium is approximated as a set of uncorrelated, vertically homogeneous columns. Expectations and variances obtained with this approach have been compared with observations of the field hydrological processes. Three important aspects of the hydrology in this lateritic terrain are rapid water-table response, Hortonian surface runoff generation and soil suction variability. The stochastic conceptualization used explains to a high degree these characteristics, although some limitations are demonstrated.     

Efficient stochastic analysis of unsaturated slopes subjected to various rainfall intensities and patterns

Rainfall infiltration poses a disastrous threat to the slope stability in many regions around the world. This paper proposes an extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)-based stochastic analysis framework to estimate the rainfall-induced slope failure probability. An unsaturated slope under rainfall infiltration in spatially varying soils is selected in this study to investigate the influences of the spatial variability of soil properties (including effective cohesion c′, effective friction angle φ′ and saturated hydraulic conductivity k_s), as well as rainfall intensity and rainfall pattern on the slope failure probability. Results show that the proposed framework in this study is capable of computing the failure probability with accuracy and high efficiency. The spatial variability of k_s cannot be overlooked in the reliability analysis. Otherwise, the rainfall-induced slope failure probability will be underestimated. It is found that the rainfall intensity and rainfall pattern have significant effect on the probability of failure. Moreover, the failure probabilities under various rainfall intensities and patterns can be easily obtained with the aid of the proposed framework, which can provide timely guidance for the landslide emergency management departments.     

里下河地区极端降水时空变化及未来趋势分析

随着全球变暖,极端天气事件逐渐增加,影响着社会经济发展,揭示区域极端降水时空变化对防洪减灾具有重要意义。基于1960—2019年的逐日降水,通过MK趋势检验、小波分析、重标极差以及克里金插值方法,从强度、频率和持续性三方面分析里下河地区的极端降水指数,并进一步探究其未来趋势变化。结果表明：（1）里下河地区多年平均降水为1017.25 mm,呈不显著增加趋势;空间分布差异明显,总体呈自西北向东南逐渐增加的分布。（2）研究区内各站点极端降水指数变化不同,总体而言,极端降水强度、频率均呈现增加趋势,持续性呈减少趋势。（3）极端降水指数变化过程中存在3类尺度的周期性变化,在整个时间尺度上存在3个偏多中心和2个偏少中心。（4）除R10mm和R20mm未来变化趋势与过去趋势相反且呈弱持续性,其他极端降水指数未来变化趋势与过去相一致,且过去总体趋势对未来趋势的影响时间长度在9~16年左右。研究结果为里下河地区科学合理应对气象灾害、合理配置水资源提供依据。     

东南亚地震活动与b 值的时空分布特征

东南亚地区是“21世纪海上丝绸之路”（以下简称“海洋丝路”）的重要组成部分,该区历史上曾发生十余次巨大地震,地震及其次生地质灾害是威胁东南亚地区经济社会发展和国际合作的主要自然灾害。系统梳理该区地震活动的时空分布特征及评估未来灾害风险格局,对于推进“一带一路”倡议实施及区域经济社会可持续发展具有重要意义。文章基于东南亚地区1900年以来M≥5地震的时空分布统计分析和地震b值计算,揭示出该区的地震活动在时间上表现出活跃期与平静期交替变化的特征;空间上表现出明显的聚集效应,成丛性强且主要集中在5个地震统计区内,其中印尼—马来多岛弧盆系地震区和菲律宾群岛地震区的地震活动最为活跃。总体而言,东南亚5个地震区的b值偏低,在0.42~0.91之间。该区内的地震b值也存在时空差异,受大地震事件、俯冲带年龄、活动断裂带和震源深度等众多因素影响,但主控因素在不同区域有所不同。地震b值时空变化特征对区域地震活动预测具有启示作用。上述认识为推进“海洋丝路”工程建设和“一带一路”防灾减灾对策提供了科学支撑。     

ISO2394:2015 Annex D (Reliability of Geotechnical Structures)

ISO2394:2015 contains a new informative Annex D on “Reliability of Geotechnical Structures”. The emphasis in Annex D is to identify and characterize critical elements of the geotechnical reliability-based design process, while respecting the diversity of geotechnical engineering practice. This paper highlights the main features of Annex D and gaps for future work.