Drought and institutional adaptation in the Great Plains of Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914–1939

Agriculture in the southern Great Plains of Canada has been particularly vulnerable to prolonged episodes of drought. Using climate data and a precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration index, the extent of the region’s exposure to drought is examined. Between 1914 and 1917, the Dry Belt was particularly vulnerable to drought, whereas after 1928, a much larger region known as the Palliser Triangle covering most of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan was much more exposed to drought. These droughts provoked major institutional adaptation, in particular the establishment of the Special Areas Board by the Government of Alberta, and the creation of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration by the Government of Canada. Both organizations have proved to be relatively permanent public adaptations to the natural hazard of drought in the region. Moreover, these earlier experiences with prolonged drought as well as institution-building may be of value in helping the residents of the Palliser Triangle adapt to predicted climate changes in the future as well as anticipate some of the barriers to effective institutional adaptation.     

Probabilistic modeling of disrupted infrastructures due to fallen trees subjected to extreme winds in urban community

Natural Hazards - Tree failures due to strong winds in urban areas cause extensive direct and indirect economic and environmental loss, including disrupting adjacent infrastructures, such as...     

The effect of willow control using a glyphosate formulation on aquatic invertebrates within a New Zealand wetland

Exotic trees, such as willow (Salix spp.), have become invasive around New Zealand waterways. Lowland wetlands in particular are vulnerable, with invasions changing hydrology and causing biodiversity loss. Applying herbicide to the willow canopy is a cost-effective control method, however uncertainty remains around effects on wetland aquatic invertebrates. Within a North Island, New Zealand, wetland, we conducted a paired before-after, control-impact study to determine if aerially applied glyphosate (with adjuvants) affected invertebrate assemblages. No effect on communities was detected during the first year after glyphosate treatment, however significant differences between control and spray-exposed communities were found during the second year, coinciding with a significant drought event in March 2013. By the third year, no statistically significant differences were found between communities from control and spray-exposed sites. This study suggests that glyphosate use, in comparable environments, is unlikely to affect aquatic invertebrates. Furthermore, the study illustrates invertebrate communities’ resilience to drought events.     

Emigrating larvae of koaro,Galaxias brevipinnis Günther (Teleostei: Galaxiidae), from the Otira River,New Zealand

Fish larvae were collected in stream benthic invertebrate drift nets from the Otira River, near Arthur's Pass, New Zealand during a study of benthic drift. They are identified as probably those of koaro (Galaxias brevipinnis Gunther) on the basis of estimates of myomere counts (indicating Galaxiidae or Retropinnidae); by a process of elimination of likely species on the basis of distance up stream, elevation, and habitat characteristics; and by determining fish species in the Otira River tributaries upstream of the sampling location. This comprises the first likely record of emigrating larvae of koaro, a species known to be diadromous by the return migrations from the sea of whitebait juveniles during spring. A newly hatched larva of koaro is described and figured.     

遥感图像因子分析的环境意义

本文是一份实验和理论分析报告。六种地理环境类型的遥感图像用因子分析算法作了处理。并介绍了图像因素和Tasseled Cap空间基之间的关系。一般来说第一因素矢量和SB最相似,而第二因素矢量和GV最相似。但在平原农业环境出现相反的结果。 为分析实验的成果,我们试图从理论上进行探讨。假设地面地理特征是一个二维零均值的平稳随机过程,IFOV卷积效应使初级环境景观因子信号被增强,而二级环境因子相对地在传感器的观察下是递降的。 在第二步工作中,发展了一种基于环境景观学概念的方法,它相当于图像处理的奇异值分解(SVD变换),它将用来处理遥感图像的环境信息。     

我国温石棉的种类、结构及性能

本文系统地介绍了我国温石棉的种类、结构特点和重要的工业技术特性。研究结果表明,我国存在6种温石棉变种,其中波伏棱型正温石棉系国内首次发现。文中对我国温石棉主要性能进行的测试和研究,对温石棉的工业应用具有实际意义。     

Using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to improve the ocean circulation from a GCM 20<Superscript>th</Superscript> century simulation

Global coupled climate models are generally capable of reproducing the observed trends in the globally averaged atmospheric temperature. However, the global models do not perform as well on regional scales. Here, we present results from a 20-year, high-resolution ocean model experiment for the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The atmospheric forcing is taken from the final 20 years of a twentieth-century control run with a coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model. The ocean model results from the regional ocean model are validated using observations of hydrography from repeat cruises in the Barents Sea. Validation is performed for average quantities and for probability distributions in space and time. The validation results reveal that, though the regional model is forced by a coupled global model that has a noticeable sea ice bias in the Barents Sea, the hydrography and its variability are reproduced with an encouraging quality. We attribute this improvement to the realistic transport of warm, salty waters into the Barents Sea in the regional model. These lateral fluxes in the ocean are severely underestimated by the global model. The added value with the regional model that we have documented here lends hope to advance the quality of oceanic climate change impact studies.     

Temporal variation of invertebrate communities in perennial wetlands

Temporal variability of wetland invertebrates was examined at two scales—inter-annual and seasonal—to determine whether it could confound results of spatially extensive wetland surveys. The inter-annual study collected samples from the Bullock Creek wetland (BCW) each summer for 4 years; the seasonal study collected samples quarterly for 14 months from two wetlands (Mahinapua and Shearer). Water pH, temperature and conductivity were also measured concurrently. Three site groupings were identified in BCW, reflecting differences in physical–chemical parameters, which varied temporally but never converged. Few annual differences were found in invertebrate relative abundances in BCW, and ordination produced three sample groups, each of which contained distinct invertebrate communities. Water pH differed consistently between Mahinapua and Shearer. Relative abundances of nine taxa varied seasonally; however, ordination showed that both wetlands always supported discrete invertebrate communities. These results suggest that temporal fluctuations of invertebrates do not affect our ability to discriminate between wetlands.