Subsurface dams to harvest rainwater— a case study of the Swarnamukhi River basin, Southern India

Declining water level trends and yields of wells, deterioration of groundwater quality and drying up of shallow wells are common in many parts of India. This is mainly attributed to the recurrence of drought years, over exploitation of groundwater, increase in the number of groundwater structures and explosion of population. In this subcontinent, the saving of water has to be done on the days it rains. India receives much of its rainfall in just 100 h in a year mostly during the monsoon period. If this water is not captured or stored, the rest of the year experiences a precarious situation manifest in water scarcity. The main objective behind the construction of subsurface dams in the Swarnamukhi River basin was to harvest the base flow infiltrating into sandy alluvium as waste to the sea and thereby to increase groundwater potential for meeting future water demands. An analysis of hydrographs of piezometers of four subsurface dams, monitored during October 2001–December 2002, reveals that there is an average rise of 1.44 m in post-monsoon and 1.80 m in the pre-monsoon period after the subsurface dams were constructed. Further, during the pre-monsoon month of June, much before construction of subsurface dams in October 2001, the water level was found fluctuating in the range of 3.1–10 m, in contrast to the fluctuation ranging from 0.4 to 3.1 m during the period following the construction of dams. Hence, the planning of rainwater harvesting structures entails thorough scientific investigations for identifying the most suitable locations for subsurface dams.     

Variations of U and Sr isotope ratios in Alsace and Luxembourg rain waters: origin and hydrogeochemical implications

Major and trace element concentrations, as well as Sr and U isotope ratios, were measured in rainwater samples collected in three different locations in Alsace (East of France) and Luxembourg: a mid-altitude mountain site (Aubure Environment HydroGeochemical Observatory), an urban site (Strasbourg) and a peri-urban site located in an area of well developed industrial activity (Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg). Results highlight the quite high spatial and temporal variability of the chemical and isotopic characteristics of rainwater at the regional scale. They also suggest a quite systematic contribution of a local component in the chemical composition of rainwater. In urban and peri-urban sites, the local component is certainly linked to human activities, as it is well illustrated in this study with the Esch-sur-Alzette samples. On the other hand, for the Aubure site, i.e. a small forested watershed of mid-altitude mountain, data presented in this study demonstrate the influence of the vegetation on the chemical composition of rainwater for alkali and calc-alkali elements, as well as for the Sr isotope ratios. Such a result questions the reliability of the method classically used to estimate the rainwater contribution on the river chemical budget. In addition, data of the present study confirm the very low content of uranium in rainwater and demonstrate, especially through the U isotope analysis of Aubure rainwater, the negligible effect of rainwater on U budget of river waters. This work thus outlines the property of U to be a geochemical tracer specific of weathering fluxes carried by rivers. To cite this article: F. Chabaux et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

A dual site study of the rainwater chemistry within the Western Pacific region

The two-year (1999–2000) rainwater chemistry at two monitoring sites in nearby coastal areas [Taiwan (TW) and Hong Kong (HK)] within the Western Pacific region has been studied. The volume weighted average pH values for the entire sampling period in TW and HK were 4.6 and 4.2, respectively. Sea salt Na⁺ and Cl⁻ were the most abundant species in the TW samples but and H⁺ were the most abundant in the HK samples. The sea salt and concentrations at TW were higher than those at HK both in the cold and warm seasons. Chloride depletion was minimal in the rainwater samples at both sites. Non seasalt- was associated with . Under the influence of the East Asian Winter Monsoon, the back-trajectory studies revealed that elevated anthropogenic species concentrations were associated with trajectories (1) very near to the continental boundary layer of Mainland China; or (2) along the coastline of Eastern China where large cities/industrial areas are located or (3) passing through the region of stagnant air over Northern/Eastern China. The lowest anthropogenic and crustal species concentrations measured in HK are associated with the summer monsoon and are attributed not only to the clean marine air masses but also to the relatively low SO₂, NO _x and NH₃ emissions from the South/ South East Asian countries, as well as infrequent biomass burning activities and wet scavenging at sources during the summer months. Approaching tropical cyclones led to the lowest pH values (4.2 in TW and 3.8 in HK) amongst the other weather categories. The findings here have been compared with other studies within East Asia and elsewhere.     

抚顺市区酸雨分布特征研究

降水酸度在一定程度上反映了降水和大气的污染程度。以煤烟型城市抚顺为研究对象,分析了抚顺市区降水污染的现状及降水pH值的频率、时间、空间的分布特征,以此为城市环境治理提供参考依据。结果表明:抚顺的酸雨主要出现在10月和12月,降水污染主要受局地影响。降水月平均pH值与同期降水量有关,酸雨频率的季节分布与空气中的SO2和NOX浓度的季节分布状况相一致。     

同位素在饮马河流域示踪地下水的应用

本文阐述了环境同位素在地下水研究中的作用和饮马河流域水文地质概况。运用稳定同位素D和~(18)O千分偏差值分析了地下水成因、地表水与地下水的补排关系。采用放射性同位素~3H、~(14)C和地下水动力学等方法计算了地下水年龄。通过分析和讨论,对地下水成因和地下水循环周期有了新认识。因此利用环境同位素示踪地下水,对选择供水水源地具有重要意义。     

Exploration on compound water circulation system to solve water resources problems of North China Plain

In order to solve water resources problems in the North China Plain, this paper explored human-nature compound water circulation system from three aspects including urban flood control, surface drainage and saline water in the central and eastern of the North China Plain. Results show that: (1) The technical methods have achieved zero increase in rainwater runoff in urban areas, (2) surface drainage depletion problems can be solved through abandoned water and river water separation method, (3) and technical method through promoting rainwater infiltration would be used to solve problem of saline water in the central and eastern parts. This research provides a new perspective to the ultimate solutions to water resources problems in the North China Plain, and a fresh research direction for the development of hydro-geological science.     

生物炭作为海绵城市雨水滞留池填料的效果初探

生物炭吸附性强、抗氧化,在海绵城市建设中具有广阔的应用前景。通过模拟渗水实验,对土壤、生物炭和土壤生物炭混合物等对雨水吸持和净化效果进行研究。结果表明:以生物炭作为滞留池填料,具有较好的储水能力,储水量达0.45 mL/mL;能够缓冲酸性地表径流雨水的pH值,模拟雨水pH值从6.34提升至7.82;对雨水中总氮、总磷和铵氮的截留率分别为34.4%、48.0%和35.0%。因此,生物炭可作为海绵城市建设中雨水滞留池的新型填料。     

一次伴有雷暴大风的飑线天气过程分析及数值模拟研究

利用NCEP/NCAR(1°×1°)的逐6 h再分析资料、WRF中尺度预报模式,对2014年7月30—31日发生在江淮地区的一次强飑线天气过程进天气学分析和数值模拟研究。研究结果表明,此次飑线过程是在高空槽后有强冷空气输送、中层阶梯槽引导干冷空气南下并叠加在低层暖湿气流之上的有利背景条件下产生的,低空切变线是此次飑线过程的重要触发机制。在飑线成熟阶段,气流下沉速度极大值区在高(低)层与霰(雨水)混合比极大值区有很好的对应关系,水凝物粒子下落时对周围空气的拖曳作用是下沉气流形成的关键。雨水蒸发率影响飑线维持期间地面冷池的强度和分布,雨水蒸发率越大,地面冷池强度越强、范围越广;雨水蒸发率越小,地面冷池越弱,甚至消失。雨水蒸发率与地面风速也有很好的正相关性,增大雨水蒸发率可使地面风速增大,使模拟的地面最大风速更接近实况。     

Surface-active substances on rainwater and atmospheric particles

The surface tension lowering by surface-active substances has been measured on rainwater, melted snow, and dispersions of atmospheric particles in water, with a film balance and a tensiometer. The precipitation water was sampled during 1979, 1980, and 1981 in the city of Frankfurt/Main. From measurements with the film balance technique, normalized concentrations of insoluble and weakly soluble surface-active substances have been estimated. Soluble surface-active substances were determined from measurements with a tensiometer. It was found that the normalized concentration of theinsoluble and weakly soluble surface-active material on rainwater or melted snow shows a maximum during late spring of about 2.5 · 10⁻⁷ moles/l and a minimum during wintertime of about 5 · 10⁻⁸ moles/l. These concentrations are too low to influence significantly the condensation of water vapour on cloud droplets or the evaporation of water from them. Thesoluble surface-active material on rainwater or melted snow was found to have concentrations of the order of 2 · 10⁻⁶ moles/l. These concentrations are also too small to have a significant influence on cloud physical processes.     

西峰区雨水集蓄利用可行性研究

雨水集蓄利用是缓解城市水资源压力的一条经济、快捷、有效的途径。通过对西峰区下垫面类型和降雨条件综合分析,在降水保证率为75%时,该区不透水集雨面可收集雨水量为2 964.96万m3,其中李岭村雨水可收集量为14.328万m3,对李岭村雨水可收集量进行经济效益分析可知,每年大约可为该村用水费用节约25万元,并结合西峰区自身特点,提出雨水综合利用的基本途径和措施,这对解决西峰区资源性缺水问题、减少洪涝灾害、改善生态环境、实现节水型社会的建设和水资源的可持续利用具有一定的指导意义。