Evaluation of an interrill soil erosion model using laboratory catchment data

Physically based soil erosion simulation models require input parameters of soil detachment and sediment transport owing to the action and interactions of both raindrops and overland flow. A simple interrill soil water transport model is applied to a laboratory catchment to investigate the application of raindrop detachment and transport in interrill areas explicitly. A controlled laboratory rainfall simulation study with slope length simulation by flow addition was used to assess the raindrop detachment and transport of detached soil by overland flow in interrill areas. Artificial rainfall of moderate to high intensity was used to simulate intense rain storms. However, experiments were restricted to conditions where rilling and channelling did not occur and where overland flow covered most of the surface. A simple equation with a rainfall intensity term for raindrop detachment, and a simple sediment transport equation with unit discharge and a slope term were found to be applicable to the situation where clear water is added at the upper end of a small plot to simulate increased slope length. The proposed generic relationships can be used to predict raindrop detachment and the sediment transport capacity of interrill flow and can therefore contribute to the development of physically‐based erosion models. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preliminary groundwater quality assessment in the central region of Ghana

Insufficient knowledge of the hydrogeochemistry of aquifers in the Central Region of Ghana has necessitated a preliminary water quality assessment in some parts of the region. Major and minor ions, and trace metal compositions of groundwater have been studied with the aim of evaluating hydrogeochemical processes that are likely to impair the quality of water in the study area. The results show that groundwater in the area is weakly acidic with mean acidity being 5.83 pH units. The dominant cation in the area is Na, followed by K, Ca, and Mg, and the dominant anion is Cl^?, followed by HCO₃ ^? and SO₄ ^2?. Two major hydrochemical facies have been identified as Na–Cl and Na–HCO_3, water types. Multivariate statistical techniques such as cluster analysis (CA) and factor analysis/principal component analysis (PCA), in R mode, were employed to examine the chemical compositions of groundwater and to identify factors that influenced each. Q-mode CA analysis resulted in two distinct water types as established by the hydrochemical facies. Cluster 1 waters contain predominantly Na–Cl. Cluster 2 waters contain Na–HCO₃ and Na–Cl. Cluster 2 waters are fresher and of good quality than cluster 1. Factor analysis yielded five significant factors, explaining 86.56% of the total variance. PC1 explains 41.95% of the variance and is contributed by temperature, electrical conductivity, TDS, turbidity, SO₄ ^2?, Cl^?, Na, K, Ca, Mg, and Mn and influenced by geochemical processes such as weathering, mineral dissolution, cation exchange, and oxidation–reduction reactions. PC2 explains 16.43% of the total variance and is characterized by high positive loadings of pH and HCO₃ ^?. This results from biogenic activities taking place to generate gaseous carbon dioxide that reacts with infiltrating water to generate HCO₃ ^?, which intend affect the pH. PC3 explains 11.17% of the total variance and is negatively loaded on PO₄ ^3? and NO₃ ^? indicating anthropogenic influence. The R-mode PCA, supported by R-mode CA, have revealed hydrogeochemical processes as the major sources of ions in the groundwater. Factor score plot revealed a possible flow direction from the northern sections of the study area, marked by higher topography, to the south. Compositional relations confirmed the predominant geochemical process responsible for the various ions in the groundwater as mineral dissolution and thus agree with the multivariate analysis.     

Hydrogeochemical evaluation and statistical analysis of groundwater of Sylhet,north-eastern Bangladesh

Acta Geochimica - To investigate the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater 23 shallow, 30 intermediate and 38 deep wells samples were collected from Sylhet district of Bangladesh, and...     

Analysis of flood vulnerability and assessment of the impacts in coastal zones of Bangladesh due to potential sea-level rise

The 4th IPCC report highlights the increased vulnerability of the coastal areas from floods due to sea-level rise (SLR). The existing coastal flood control structures in Bangladesh are not adequate to adapt these changes and new measures are urgently necessary. It is important to determine the impacts of SLR on flooding to analyse the performance of the existing structures and corresponding impact to plan for suitable adaptation and mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of floods on coastal zone. The study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the possible effects of SLR on floods in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. A hydrodynamic model, which is a combination of surface and river parts, was utilized for flood simulation. The tool was applied under a range of future scenarios, and results indicate both spatial variability of risk and changes in flood characteristics between now and under SLR. Estimated impact on population, infrastructure and transportation is also exposed. These types of impact estimation would be of value to flood plain management authorities to minimize the socio-economic impact.     

A two-dimensional pedestrian navigation solution aided with a visual gyroscope and a visual odometer

Integration of different positioning systems such as wireless local area networks (WLAN) and INS has proven to be the most promising approach for navigation in global navigation satellite system challenging environments. However, the integrated solution suffers from the errors induced by the sensors in the INS and the low availability and infrastructure dependency of the WLAN. Visual aiding is a complementary method for augmenting these systems, because it suffers from errors and availability problems of a different nature. We introduce the concept of a “visual gyroscope” and a “visual odometer,” based on recovering user information by tracking the feature motion between consecutive images. All calculations are of sufficiently low complexity to be adoptable for navigation with current smartphones. The camera orientation is observed using the vanishing point locations, and this information is transformed into user heading change information and also used for visual odometer calculations. The visual odometer retrieves the camera translation information based on a special camera configuration and the motion of the matched scale-invariant feature transform features. The performance of both of these tools is evaluated. Experiments in selected environments have proven that visual aiding with a visual gyroscope and visual odometer improves the two-dimensional navigation solution significantly.     

Hydrogeological factors: their association and relationship with seasonal water-table fluctuation in the composite hardrock Aravalli terrain,India

Seasonal rise of groundwater level manifests aquifer recharge through infiltration. Spatial variation of aquifer recharge within the same basin or terrain is a function of terrain heterogeneity governed by different hydrogeological factors. However, assessment of relations between water-level fluctuations (WLF) with various hydrogeological factors is not straightforward. In the present study, various hydrogeological factors that could influence aquifer recharge in the deformed crystalline Aravalli terrain of India have been analysed. Frequency plots have been used to assess the variations in WLF under different geological parameter classes. Seasonal WLF associated with these factors have been compared using various statistical parameters. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests have been used to determine the statistical significance of fluctuation difference. The study infers that saturated thickness, lineament, lineament-intersection, and drainage beside surface elevation and well depth are the main geological factors influencing aquifer recharge in the Aravalli terrain. Median values under these factors are integrated and compared with the interpolated values of mean WLF at hypothetical well locations. They are found to closely resemble each other. This infers capability and applicability of the technique in identifying key factors governing WLF, and in predicting WLF at unexplored locations.     

Monitoring drought dynamics in the Aravalli region (India) using different indices based on ground and remote sensing data

The hard-rock hilly Aravalli terrain of Rajasthan province of India suffers with frequent drought due to poor and delayed monsoon, abnormally high summer-temperature and insufficient water resources. In the present study, detailed analysis of meteorological and hydrological data of the Aravalli region has been carried out for the years 1984–2003. Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) has been used to quantify the precipitation deficit. Standardised Water-Level Index (SWI) has been developed to assess ground-water recharge-deficit. Vegetative drought indices like Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI) and Vegetation Health Index (VHI) have been computed using NDVI values obtained from Global Vegetation Index (GVI) and thermal channel data of NOAA AVHRR satellite. Detailed analyses of spatial and temporal drought dynamics during monsoon and non-monsoon seasons have been carried out through drought index maps generated in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment. Analysis and interpretation of these maps reveal that negative SPI anomalies not always correspond to drought. In the Aravalli region, aquifer-stress shifts its position time to time, and in certain pockets it is more frequent. In comparison to hydrological stress, vegetative stress in the Aravalli region is found to be slower to begin but quicker to withdraw.     

Active fault traces along Bhuj Fault and Katrol Hill Fault, and trenching survey at Wandhay, Kachchh, Gujarat, India

Several new active fault traces were identified along Katrol Hill Fault (KHF). A new fault (named as Bhuj Fault, BF) that extends into the Bhuj Plain was also identified. These fault traces were identified based on satellite photo interpretation and field survey. Trenches were excavated to identify the paleoseismic events, pattern of faulting and the nature of deformation. New active fault traces were recognized about 1km north of the topographic boundary between the Katrol Hill and the plain area. The fault exposure along the left bank of Khari River with 10m wide shear zone in the Mesozoic rocks and showing displacement of the overlying Quaternary deposits is indicative of continued tectonic activity along the ancient fault. The E-W trending active fault traces along the KHF in the western part changes to NE-SW or ENE-WSW near Wandhay village. Trenching survey across a low scarp near Wandhay village reveals three major fault strands F1, F2, and F3. These fault strands displaced the older terrace deposits comprising Sand, Silt and Gravel units along with overlying younger deposits from units 1 to 5 made of gravel, sand and silt. Stratigraphic relationship indicates at least three large magnitude earthquakes along KHF during Late Holocene or recent historic past.     

Short-term droughts forecast using Markov chain model in Victoria,Australia

A comprehensive risk management strategy for dealing with drought should include both short-term and long-term planning. The objective of this paper is to present an early warning method to forecast drought using the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) and a non-homogeneous Markov chain model. A model such as this is useful for short-term planning. The developed method has been used to forecast droughts at a number of meteorological monitoring stations that have been regionalised into six (6) homogenous clusters with similar drought characteristics based on SPI. The non-homogeneous Markov chain model was used to estimate drought probabilities and drought predictions up to 3 months ahead. The drought severity classes defined using the SPI were computed at a 12-month time scale. The drought probabilities and the predictions were computed for six clusters that depict similar drought characteristics in Victoria, Australia. Overall, the drought severity class predicted was quite similar for all the clusters, with the non-drought class probabilities ranging from 49 to 57 %. For all clusters, the near normal class had a probability of occurrence varying from 27 to 38 %. For the more moderate and severe classes, the probabilities ranged from 2 to 13 % and 3 to 1 %, respectively. The developed model predicted drought situations 1 month ahead reasonably well. However, 2 and 3 months ahead predictions should be used with caution until the models are developed further.