Use of multi‐platform,multi‐temporal remote‐sensing data for calibration of a distributed hydrological model: an application in the Arno basin,Italy

Images from satellite platforms are a valid aid in order to obtain distributed information about hydrological surface states and parameters needed in calibration and validation of the water balance and flood forecasting. Remotely sensed data are easily available on large areas and with a frequency compatible with land cover changes. In this paper, remotely sensed images from different types of sensor have been utilized as a support to the calibration of the distributed hydrological model MOBIDIC, currently used in the experimental system of flood forecasting of the Arno River Basin Authority. Six radar images from ERS‐2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors (three for summer 2002 and three for spring–summer 2003) have been utilized and a relationship between soil saturation indexes and backscatter coefficient from SAR images has been investigated. Analysis has been performed only on pixels with meagre or no vegetation cover, in order to legitimize the assumption that water content of the soil is the main variable that influences the backscatter coefficient. Such pixels have been obtained by considering vegetation indexes (NDVI) and land cover maps produced by optical sensors (Landsat‐ETM). In order to calibrate the soil moisture model based on information provided by SAR images, an optimization algorithm has been utilized to minimize the regression error between saturation indexes from model and SAR data and error between measured and modelled discharge flows. Utilizing this procedure, model parameters that rule soil moisture fluxes have been calibrated, obtaining not only a good match with remotely sensed data, but also an enhancement of model performance in flow prediction with respect to a previous calibration with river discharge data only. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of bathymetry and directional wave conditions on observed crescentic bar dynamics

Nearshore sandbars are important features in the surf zone of many beaches because they strongly influence the mean circulation and evolving morphology. Due to variations in wave conditions, sandbars can experience cross-shore migration and vary in shape from alongshore uniform (shore-parallel) to alongshore rhythmic (crescentic). Sandbar dynamics have been studied extensively, but existing observational studies usually do not quantify the processes leading to crescentic bar formation and straightening. This study analyses the dynamics of crescentic bar events at the fetch-limited beach of Castelldefels (northwestern Mediterranean Sea, Spain) using 7.5 years of hourly time-exposure video images and detailed wave conditions. The results show that, despite the generally calm wave conditions, the sandbars were very dynamic in the cross-shore and longshore directions. They often migrated rapidly offshore during storms (up to 70 m in one day) and more slowly onshore during post-storm conditions. Crescentic bars were often present at the study site (48% of the time), but only when the sandbar was at least 10 m from the shoreline. They displayed a large variability in wavelengths (100–700 m), alongshore migration speeds (0–50 m/day) and cross-shore amplitudes (5–20 m). Wavelengths increased for larger bar–shoreline distances and the alongshore migration speeds were strongly correlated with the alongshore component of the radiation stresses. Crescentic patterns typically developed during low–medium energetic waves with limited obliquity ( $\theta \lesssim 20$° at 10 m depth), while bar straightening occurred during medium–high energetic waves with strong oblique angles of incidence ( $\theta \gtrsim 15$°). Overall, this study provides further proof for the important role of wave direction in crescentic bar dynamics and highlights the strong dependence of crescentic bar development on the initial bathymetric configuration.     

Changes in extremes and hydroclimatic regimes in the CREMA ensemble projections

We analyze changes of four extreme hydroclimatic indices in the RCP8.5 projections of the Phase I CREMA experiment, which includes 21st century projections over 5 CORDEX domains (Africa, Central America, South America, South Asia, Mediterranean) with the ICTP regional model RegCM4 driven by three CMIP5 global models. The indices are: Heat Wave Day Index (HWD), Maximum Consecutive Dry Day index (CDD), fraction of precipitation above the 95th intensity percentile (R95) and Hydroclimatic Intensity index (HY-INT). Comparison with coarse (GPCP) and high (TRMM) resolution daily precipitation data for the present day conditions shows that the precipitation intensity distributions from the GCMs are close to the GPCP data, while the RegCM4 ones are closer to TRMM, illustrating the added value of the increased resolution of the regional model. All global and regional model simulations project predominant increases in HWD, CDD, R95 and HY-INT, implying a regime shift towards more intense, less frequent rain events and increasing risk of heat wave, drought and flood with global warming. However, the magnitudes of the changes are generally larger in the global than the regional models, likely because of the relatively low “climate sensitivity” of the RegCM4, especially when using the CLM land surface scheme. In addition, pronounced regional differences in the change signals are found. The data from these simulations are available for use in impact assessment studies.     

Hierarchical simulation of aquifer heterogeneity: implications of different simulation settings on solute-transport modeling

The fine-scale heterogeneity of porous media affects the large-scale transport of solutes and contaminants in groundwater and it can be reproduced by means of several geostatistical simulation tools. However, including the available geological information in these tools is often cumbersome. A hierarchical simulation procedure based on a binary tree is proposed and tested on two real-world blocks of alluvial sediments, of a few cubic meters volume, that represent small-scale aquifer analogs. The procedure is implemented using the sequential indicator simulation, but it is so general that it can be adapted to various geostatistical simulation tools, improving their capability to incorporate geological information, i.e., the sedimentological and architectural characterization of heterogeneity. When compared with a standard sequential indicator approach on bi-dimensional simulations, in terms of proportions and connectivity indicators, the proposed procedure yields reliable results, closer to the reference observations. Different ensembles of three-dimensional simulations based on different hierarchical sequences are used to perform numerical experiments of conservative solute transport and to obtain ensembles of equivalent pore velocity and dispersion coefficient at the scale length of the blocks (meter). Their statistics are used to estimate the impact of the variability of the transport properties of the simulated blocks on contaminant transport modeled on bigger domains (hectometer). This is investigated with a one-dimensional transport modeling based on the Kolmogorov-Dmitriev theory of branching stochastic processes. Applying the proposed approach with diverse binary trees and different simulation settings provides a great flexibility, which is revealed by the differences in the breakthrough curves.     

The amphipod Talitrus saltator as a bioindicator of human trampling on sandy beaches

The present paper assesses the use of the supralittoral amphipod Talitrus saltator as a bioindicator of the effects of human trampling on the supralittoral sandy band. Samplings in delimited areas were carried out at sites subjected to different human impact. The results showed a strong negative correlation between the number of swimmers and the sandhopper population density, while there was no clear relationship between sandhopper abundance and the other factors considered: granulometry, compactness and organic carbon content of the sand, and trace metal contents in the sand and sandhoppers. A field test of trampling conducted in a confined space showed its direct negative effect on sandhopper survival. However, trace metal analysis confirmed the ability of T. saltator to bioaccumulate some elements (Hg, Zn, Cu, Cd). Our study demonstrates that T. saltator is a good bioindicator of human impact in the supralittoral zone of sandy shores.     

Hydrogen isotope ratios of leaf wax n-alkanes in grasses are insensitive to transpiration

We analyzed hydrogen isotope ratios of high-molecular weight n-alkanes (δD_l) and oxygen isotope ratios of α-cellulose (δ¹⁸O_C) for C₃ and C₄ grasses grown in the field and in controlled-environment growth chambers. The relatively firm understanding of ¹⁸O-enrichment in leaf water and α-cellulose was used to elucidate fractionation patterns of δD_l signatures. In the different relative humidity environments of the growth chambers, we observed clear and predictable effects of leaf-water enrichment on δ¹⁸O_C values. Using a Craig-Gordon model, we demonstrate that leaf water in the growth chamber grasses should have experienced significant D-enriched due to transpiration. Nonetheless, we found no effect of transpirational D-enrichment on the δD_l values. In field samples, we saw clear evidence of enrichment (correlating with relative humidity of the field sites) in both δ¹⁸O_C and δD_l. These seemingly contrasting results could be explained if leaf waxes are synthesized in an environment that is isotopically similar to water entering plant roots due to either temporal or spatial isolation from evaporatively enriched leaf waters. For grasses in the controlled environment, there was no enrichment of source water, whereas enrichment of grass source water via evaporation from soils and/or stems was likely for grass samples grown in the field.Based on these results, evaporation from soils and/or stems appears to affect δD_l, but transpiration from leaves does not. Further evidence for this conclusion is found in modeling expected net evapotranspirational enrichment. A Craig-Gordon model applied to each of the field sites yields leaf water oxygen isotope ratios that can be used to accurately predict the observed δ¹⁸O_C values. In contrast, the calculated leaf water hydrogen isotope ratios are more enriched than what is required to predict observed δD_l values. These calculations lend support to the conclusion that while δ¹⁸O_C reflects both soil evaporation and transpiration, δD_l appears to only record evaporation from soils and/or stems. Therefore, the δD of n-alkanes can likely be used to reconstruct the δD of water entering a leaf, supporting the soil-enrichment model of Smith and Freeman (2006). In both the field and controlled studies, we found significant photosynthetic pathway effects on n-alkane δD suggesting that biochemical pathways or plant phylogeny have a greater effect on leaf wax δD than leaf-water enrichment in grasses.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water, seston and copepods in a harbour area in the Western Mediterranean (Ligurian Sea)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic pollutants that can significantly affect ecosystems and exert an influence on marine planktonic and benthic communities as well as on higher organisms such as fish and mammals, including humans. In this paper the concentrations of six PAHs in water, seston and copepods were examined in a harbour zone of the Genova Gulf (Ligurian Sea) from November 1997 to June 1998. The importance of freshwater inputs coming from a polluted stream and the influence of seasonal and atmospheric factors were also considered. Highest PAH values were recorded during spring. Fluoranthene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene and Benzo[k]fluoranthene were the most abundant PAHs either in water, seston or copepods. The concentration of total PAHs in seawater was often lower than the detection limit: recorded values ranged between 0.001 and 0.06 ppb. In seston, total PAHs ranged between 0.033 and 6.26 ng·g^?1 and in copepods between 0.01 and 2.34 ng·g^?1. With this study, PAH contamination in the harbour zone of Genova Sestri‐Ponente and the importance of inputs of organic pollutants coming from land and freshwaters have been emphasized.     

On the structure of the globular cluster M4

On the basis of the work by Greenstein on the globular cluster M 4, the spatial distribution for groups of cluster stars in different stages of evolution is investigated. The comparison between the various samples is made using the apparent distributions. The results are discussed.

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Riassunto Sulla base dello studio di Greenstein sull'ammasso globulare M4, è stata riesaminata la distribuzione spaziale di gruppi di stelle di questo ammasso evolutivamente significativi. Si puntualizza come sia possibile operare un confronto tra le distribuzioni dei vari gruppi sulla base delle distribuzioni apparenti anzichè su quelle reali senza alterare la sostanza dei risultati. Si discutono i risultati.

     

On the interpretation of white dwarf spectra

Following the line of research outlined by Strittmatter and Wickramasinghe (1971) and recently by Shipman (1972), attention was drawn to the study of convective zones in white dwarfs for various masses and chemical compositions, in order to understand some observational features of their spectra. According to the results, convection strongly depends on the mass of the star, forM<0.5 M_⊙, and low hydrogen abundancesX?0.2) are sufficient to decrease the extension of the He-convection zones with respect to pure-He models. It is shown that the existence of DB white dwarfs seems not in agreement with the accretion rates predicted by Bondi (1952), and that DB's must evolve into H-lacking white dwarfs.