Multi-year observations of the high mountain water cycle in the Langtang catchment,Central Himalaya     

Jakob F. Steiner  Tika R. Gurung  Sharad P. Joshi  Inka Koch  Tuomo Saloranta  Joseph Shea  Arun B. Shrestha  Emmy Stigter  Walter W. Immerzeel 《水文研究》2021,35(5):e14189

The Langtang catchment is a high mountain, third order catchment in the Gandaki basin in the Central Himalaya (28.2°N, 85.5°E), that eventually drains into the Ganges. The catchment spans an elevation range from 1400 to 7234 m a.s.l. and approximately one quarter of the area is glacierized. Numerous research projects have been conducted in the valley during the last four decades, with a strong focus on the cryospheric components of the catchment water balance. Since 2012 multiple weather stations and discharge stations provide measurements of atmospheric and hydrologic variables. Full weather stations are used to monitor at an hourly resolution all four radiation components (incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation; SW_in/out and LW_in/out), air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and precipitation, and cover an elevational range of 3862–5330 m a.s.l. Air temperature and precipitation are monitored along elevation gradients for investigations of the spatial variability of the high mountain meteorology. Dedicated point-scale observations of snow cover, depth and water equivalent as well as ice loss have been carried out over multiple years and complement the observations of the water cycle. All data presented is openly available in a database and will be updated annually.  相似文献   

Heterogeneous timing of freshwater input into Kobbefjord,a low-arctic fjord in Greenland     

Jakob Abermann  Kirsty Langley  Sille M. Myreng  Kerstin Rasmussen  Dorthe Petersen 《水文研究》2021,35(11):e14413

The majority of freshwater input from Greenland to the global ocean stems from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Currently, almost a quarter of the freshwater flowing from Greenland is derived from catchments that are disconnected from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Despite their importance to the total freshwater flux and influence on fjord geochemistry, there is relatively little monitoring data available for those catchments and therefore the drivers of regional differences in export are largely unknown. We present a dataset of 12 years of discharge of four catchments less than 15 km apart, that are different in size (between 7 and 32 km²), local glacier coverage (4%–11%) and lake cover (0%–5%). They all drain into Kobbefjord, a well-studied fjord in West Greenland, near Greenland's capital Nuuk. Between catchments, the magnitude of discharge varies at annual, seasonal and sub-daily timescales, due to differences in physical catchment properties as well as local climate variability. We find that annual specific discharges vary greatly (between 1.2 and 1.9 m/year on a 12-year average) due to a longitudinal precipitation gradient from West to East caused by different amount of orographic precipitation shading. The seasonal cycle of discharge (amplitude, timing and minimum flow) differs among the sites mainly due to different exposure to solar radiation as a driver for major snowmelt; the small ice coverage in the catchments plays only a minor role in discharge variability. Dry years generally increase the relative differences in annual specific discharge and no significant temporal trends have been found in the studied catchments. On a sub-daily timescale, the difference in timing of maximum discharge during fair-weather days (>80% maximum solar radiation and no precipitation) ranged between 7 and 12 h, which is attributed to differences between the presence and elevation of lakes among the catchments. The response of discharge to major precipitation events is discussed, where a delay of between 5 and 7 h is found for the catchments that do not contain lakes near the gauge.  相似文献   

The role of local government in promoting sustainable urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen     

Afton Halloran  Jakob Magid 《Geografisk tidskrift / udgivet af Bestyrelsen for Det Kongelige danske geografiske selskab》2013,113(2):121-132

As a multifunctional activity and land use, urban agriculture supports a range of objectives, from urban greening to food security. However, it is often left out of urban policy. As a result of the highly contextual and cross-cutting nature of urban agriculture, there are relatively few comprehensive and formalized regulatory tools to draw from. Different cities around the world are now deciding how to fit urban agriculture into the urban agenda; however, in many places urban agriculture continues to operate in the absence of legitimization due to its relatively mobile and dynamic nature. This article looks at the importance of local and central governments in promoting sustainable urban agriculture. Through participatory action research, it examines the cases of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Copenhagen, Denmark to understand stakeholder interactions, as well as present and future barriers to the conservation of existing urban agriculture and future initiatives. The findings suggest that municipal recognition and institutional support for urban agriculture is an important component in increasing the sustainability of related initiatives. Local and central government plays a role in the legitimization and institutionalization of urban agriculture through the facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes, policy development and the conservation and allocation of land.  相似文献   

Debris flood risk assessment for Mosquito Creek, British Columbia, Canada   总被引：2，自引：2，他引：0  

Matthias Jakob  Kris Holm  Hamish Weatherly  Shielan Liu  Neil Ripley 《Natural Hazards》2013,65(3):1653-1681

Mosquito Creek drains a 15.5 km² watershed on the North Shore Mountains north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and flows through the densely urbanized District and then City of North Vancouver. Previous studies determined that the creek is subject to debris floods (hyperconcentrated flows). The National Research Council of Canada is applying multi-hazard risk assessment procedures for various regions in B.C. and chose Mosquito Creek as one of its target areas. As part of its natural hazard management plan, the District of North Vancouver (DNV) requested an assessment of debris flood hazards and associated risk to life. Using a combination of empirical methods, dendrochronology and some judgment, BGC Engineering Inc. assessed debris flood hazard extent, velocity and depth for estimated 100-, 200-, 500- and 2,500-year debris flow return periods. Based on the results from the hazard assessment, risk for individuals and groups living within the hazard area, including residential homes and a fire hall, was estimated. Compared to risk tolerance criteria accepted on an interim basis by the DNV, we estimate that societal risk exceeds tolerable standards and that individual risk exceeds tolerable standards for 10 homes. The results from the risk to loss of life study have prompted DNV to implement a series of risk reduction measures including installation of a debris containment net and watershed restoration measures.  相似文献   

Percolation and Particle Transport in the Unsaturated Zone of a Karst Aquifer   总被引：14，自引：0，他引：14  

by Michiel Pronk  Nico Goldscheider  Jakob Zopfi  and François Zwahlen 《Ground water》2009,47(3):361-369

Recharge and contamination of karst aquifers often occur via the unsaturated zone, but the functioning of this zone has not yet been fully understood. Therefore, irrigation and tracer experiments, along with monitoring of rainfall events, were used to examine water percolation and the transport of solutes, particles, and fecal bacteria between the land surface and a water outlet into a shallow cave. Monitored parameters included discharge, electrical conductivity, temperature, organic carbon, turbidity, particle-size distribution (PSD), fecal indicator bacteria, chloride, bromide, and uranine. Percolation following rainfall or irrigation can be subdivided into a lag phase (no response at the outlet), a piston-flow phase (release of epikarst storage water by pressure transfer), and a mixed-flow phase (increasing contribution of freshly infiltrated water), starting between 20 min and a few hours after the start of recharge event. Concerning particle and bacteria transport, results demonstrate that (1) a first turbidity signal occurs during increasing discharge due to remobilization of particles from fractures (pulse-through turbidity); (2) a second turbidity signal is caused by direct particle transfer from the soil (flow-through turbidity), often accompanied by high levels of fecal indicator bacteria, up to 17,000 Escherichia coli /100 mL; and (3) PSD allows differentiation between the two types of turbidity. A relative increase of fine particles (0.9 to 1.5 μm) coincides with microbial contamination. These findings help quantify water storage and percolation in the epikarst and better understand contaminant transport and attenuation. The use of PSD as "early-warning parameter" for microbial contamination in karst water is confirmed.  相似文献   

On the Formation of an Elevated Nocturnal Inversion Layer in the Presence of a Low-Level Jet: A Case Study   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Jakob Kutsher  Nitsa Haikin  Avi Sharon  Eyal Heifetz 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》2012,144(3):441-449

We report on observed nocturnal profiles, in which an inversion layer is located at the core of a low-level jet, bounded between two well-mixed layers. High-resolution vertical profiles were collected during a field campaign in a small plain in the Israeli desert (Negev), distant 100 km from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. During the evening hours, the synoptic flow, superposed on the late sea breeze, forms a low-level jet characterized by a maximum wind speed of 12 m s ⁻¹ at an altitude of 150 m above the ground. The strong wind shear at the jet maximum generates downward heat fluxes that act against the nocturnal ground cooling. As a result, the typical ground-based nocturnal inversion is “elevated” towards the jet centre, hence a typical early morning thermal profile is observed a few hours after sunset. Since the jet is advected into the region, its formation does not depend on the presence of a surface nocturnal inversion layer to decouple the jet from surface friction. On the contrary, here the advected low-level jet acts to hinder the formation of such an inversion. These unusual temperature and wind profiles are expected to affect near-ground dispersion processes.  相似文献   

Empirical-statistical downscaling and error correction of regional climate models and its impact on the climate change signal   总被引：7，自引：3，他引：4  

Matthias Jakob Themeßl  Andreas Gobiet  Georg Heinrich 《Climatic change》2012,112(2):449-468

Realizing the error characteristics of regional climate models (RCMs) and the consequent limitations in their direct utilization in climate change impact research, this study analyzes a quantile-based empirical-statistical error correction method (quantile mapping, QM) for RCMs in the context of climate change. In particular the success of QM in mitigating systematic RCM errors, its ability to generate “new extremes” (values outside the calibration range), and its impact on the climate change signal (CCS) are investigated. In a cross-validation framework based on a RCM control simulation over Europe, QM reduces the bias of daily mean, minimum, and maximum temperature, precipitation amount, and derived indices of extremes by about one order of magnitude and strongly improves the shapes of the related frequency distributions. In addition, a simple extrapolation of the error correction function enables QM to reproduce “new extremes” without deterioration and mostly with improvement of the original RCM quality. QM only moderately modifies the CCS of the corrected parameters. The changes are related to trends in the scenarios and magnitude-dependent error characteristics. Additionally, QM has a large impact on CCSs of non-linearly derived indices of extremes, such as threshold indices.  相似文献   

Reconstruction of floodplain sedimentation rates: a combination of methods to optimize estimates     

Noortje Hobo  Bart Makaske  Hans Middelkoop  Jakob Wallinga 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2010,35(13):1499-1515

Reconstruction of overbank sedimentation rates over the past decades gives insight into floodplain dynamics, and thereby provides a basis for efficient and sustainable floodplain management. We compared the results of four independent reconstruction methods – optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, caesium‐137 (¹³⁷Cs) dating, heavy metal analysis, and flood bed interpretation – applied at three embanked floodplain sites along lower Rhine River distributaries in the Netherlands. All methods indicate significant sedimentation rates on the floodplains, varying between 2–7 mm/a in the distal zones and 3–9 mm/a in the proximal zones. On a rapidly developing sand bar along a natural levee sedimentation rates of 9 to 25 mm/a were found. Except for some minor inconsistencies in ¹³⁷Cs dating results, all methods show decreasing sedimentation rates with increasing distance from the river channel. Intercomparison of the results of the different dating methods revealed the potential errors associated with each method, particularly where disagreement among the results were found. Uncertainties may arise due to (1) grain‐size dependent downward migration of ¹³⁷Cs, (2) smoothing of the vertical heavy metal and ¹³⁷Cs profiles, (3) delayed sediment‐associated input of ¹³⁷Cs in addition to direct atmospheric fall‐out, (4) overestimation of the burial age in OSL dating due to incomplete resetting of the OSL signal, or (5) non‐linear relationships between sediment deposition and flood magnitude in the count‐from‐the‐top correlation between sediment lamination and past observed flood records. Still, taking the uncertainties associated with each method into account, the results are generally in good agreement. Using the results we indicate the optimal spatial range of application of each method, depending on sediment texture and sedimentation rate. The optimal spatial and temporal ranges differ for each method, but show significant overlap. A combination of the methods will thus provide maximum information for accurate estimation of sedimentation rates on a decadal time scale. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

A debris-flow alarm system for the Alpine Illgraben catchment: design and performance   总被引：3，自引：2，他引：1  

Alexandre Badoux  Christoph Graf  Jakob Rhyner  Richard Kuntner  Brian W. McArdell 《Natural Hazards》2009,49(3):517-539

We describe the development, implementation, and first analyses of the performance of a debris-flow warning system for the Illgraben catchment and debris fan area. The Illgraben catchment (9.5 km²), located in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in the Rhone River valley, is characterized by frequent and voluminous sediment transport and debris-flow activity, and is one of the most active debris-flow catchments in the Alps. It is the site of an instrumented debris-flow observation station in operation since the year 2000. The residents in Susten (municipality Leuk), tourists, and other land users, are exposed to a significant hazard. The warning system consists of four modules: community organizational planning (hazard awareness and preparedness), event detection and alerting, geomorphic catchment observation, and applied research to facilitate the development of an early warning system based on weather forecasting. The system presently provides automated alert signals near the active channel prior to (5–15 min) the arrival of a debris flow or flash flood at the uppermost frequently used channel crossing. It is intended to provide data to support decision-making for warning and evacuation, especially when unusually large debris flows are expected to leave the channel near populated areas. First-year results of the detection and alert module in comparison with the data from the independent debris-flow observation station are generally favorable. Twenty automated alerts (alarms) were issued, which triggered flashing lights and sirens at all major footpaths crossing the channel bed, for three debris flows and 16 flood flows. Only one false alarm was issued. The major difficulty we encountered is related to the variability and complexity of the events (e.g., events consisting of multiple surges) and can be largely solved by increasing the duration of the alarm. All of the alarms for hazardous events were produced by storms with a rainfall duration and intensity larger than the threshold for debris-flow activity that was defined in an earlier study, supporting our intention to investigate the use of rainfall forecasts to increase the time available for warning and implementation of active countermeasures.  相似文献   

Use of particulate surrogates for assessing microbial mobility in subsurface ecosystems     

Michael Sinreich  Raymond Flynn  Jakob Zopfi 《Hydrogeology Journal》2009,17(1):49-59

Mass fluxes from the ground surface can play a vital role in influencing groundwater ecosystems. Rates of delivery may influence intact ecosystem composition, while fluxes of substances associated with anthropogenic activity may critically alter the functioning of associated microbial assemblages. Field-based tracing experiments offer a valuable means of understanding mass transport rates and mechanisms, particularly in complex heterogeneous epikarst systems overlying vulnerable fissured aquifers. A short-term tracer experiment monitoring solute and particle tracer concentrations after they passed through a 10-m-thick sequence of limestone, capped by a thin soil, revealed rapid travel times and variable attenuation rates for the substances employed. Results demonstrated that particle tracers have shorter average travel times and can reach the subsurface in higher concentrations and over shorter times than non-reactive solutes. High recovery rates for the bacterial tracer Ralstonia eutropha H16 contrasted strongly with those of similarly sized fluorescent polystyrene microspheres, highlighting the importance of physico-chemical surface characteristics of particle tracers. Complementary laboratory batch experiments examined the role played by organic and inorganic soil/rock surfaces on particle tracer attenuation. Findings suggest that biofilms may significantly promote transport of particulate material below ground, i.e., the delivery of allochthonous microorganisms to karst groundwater.  相似文献