Environmental Impacts of the Akosombo Dam and Effects of Climate Change on the Lake Levels

The Akosombo dam was constructed on the Volta river primarily for the generation of hydropower. The resultant Volta lake which was formed between 1962 and 1966 in Ghana will probably long be one of the greatest man-made lakes. It produces 912MW of electricity at its maximum operating capacity. The Akosombo hydroelectric project (HEP) was meant among others to open up Ghana to rapid industrialization and hence modern development. Other positive impacts of the HEP include fishing, farming, transportation and tourism. However, there are equally negative impacts, some of which the project did not envisage and these are felt on the physical, biological and human subsystems within the immediate project environments and places much more distant from them. Recently, there have been declines in the lake levels resulting most probably from inadequate rainfall and/or runoff from the river catchments that feed the lake, and also from the observed rising temperatures. Comparisons of the runoff from two most important tributaries of the Volta (White Volta and Oti) for two time periods of 1951–1970 and 1971–1990 showed reductions in mean streamflows of 23.1% on the White Volta and 32.5% on the Oti. Similarly, a plot of the mean annual temperatures for the upper Volta basin indicated a 1^C rise in temperature from 1945–1993.     

秦皇岛市50年气候变化与可持续发展战略研究

秦皇岛市50年来气候变暖变干，年平均气温提高2．3℃，≥10℃年积温增加11．4％，无霜期延长22天，但年平均降水量却减少12．6％。这对农业和工业的影响弊大于利，对旅游业的影响则有利有弊。为此应趋利避害，加强水资源的开源节流，发展节水经济和循环经济，发展休闲度假旅游，延长旺季。     

古代黄河中游的环境变化和灾害——对都城迁移发展的影响

都城的选址、建设和迁移发展必须以环境资源为基础。我国古代的国家都城在黄河中游反复迁移，以至最后东迁南迁。在这个过程中，环境变迁和灾害一直是重要的驱动因素之一。通过统计分析历史时期洪涝和干旱灾害，以及气候水文变化资料，结合古都所在地的环境资源条件分析讨论，揭示了黄河中游环境变化和灾害对都城迁移发展的影响。都城在长安与洛阳之间的反复迁移，以及后来的东移开封，和南移到长江下游平原，环境的变迁是重要的驱动力之一。     

Upland Controls on the Hydrological Functioning of Riparian Zones in Glacial Till Valleys of the Midwest1

Abstract: Identifying relationships between landscape hydrogeological setting, riparian hydrological functioning and riparian zone sensitivity to climate and water quality changes is critical in order to best use riparian zones as best management practices in the future. In this study, we investigate water table dynamics, water flow path and the relative importance of precipitation, deep ground water (DG) and seep water as sources of water to a riparian zone in a deeply incised glacial till valley of the Midwest. Data indicate that water table fluctuations are strongly influenced by soil texture and to a lesser extent by upland sediment stratigraphy producing seeps near the slope bottom. The occurrence of till in the upland and at 1.7‐2 m in the riparian zone contributes to maintaining flow parallel to the ground surface at this site. Lateral ground‐water fluxes at this site with a steep topography in the upland (16%) and loam soil near the slope bottom are small (<10 l/d/m stream length) and intermittent. A shift in flow path from a lateral direction to a down valley direction is observed in the summer despite the steep concave topography and the occurrence of seeps at the slope bottom. Principal component and discriminant analysis indicate that riparian water is most similar to seep water throughout the year and that DG originating from imbedded sand and gravel layers in the lower till unit is not a major source of water to riparian zones in this setting. Water quality data and the dependence of the riparian zone for recharge on seep water suggest that sites in this setting may be highly sensitive to changes in precipitation and water quality in the upland in the future. A conceptual framework describing the hydrological functioning of riparian zones on this setting is presented to generalize the finding of this study.     

近49年中国夏季制冷度日数的变化

利用全国531个气象站1960~2008年逐日平均气温资料，分析了近49 a来我国夏季制冷度日数的变化趋势，并以浙江省为例分析了制冷度日数与夏季空调降温电力负荷的关系。主要结论如下：我国日平均温度等于或高于26℃的日数（1971~2000年平均）大于10 d，夏季有制冷需求的站点主要分布在新疆、四川盆地和太行山 巫山 雪峰山一线以东地区，以及云南干热河谷地区。1960~2008年我国黄河以北地区夏季有制冷需求的站点6~9月平均气温从20世纪90年代中期开始呈现出较明显的上升趋势，使得制冷日数和度日数都相应增加；黄河以南、南岭以北地区近49 a来6~9月平均气温线性趋势不明显，制冷度日数变化不大；南岭以南地区6~9月气温持续上升，夏季制冷度日数的增加最为显著。以浙江省为例的分析显示，制冷度日数与夏季空调降温电力负荷有很好的线性相关关系，可以用来预测降温耗电量。
     

影响上海地区热带气旋频数的预测水平评估

在文献「１」研究的基础上，探讨了热带气旋频数预测水平的评估方法，定义了三个更适合于评估每年热带气旋预测性能的参数，对影响上海地区热带气旋频数的预测水平进行了评估，并与“九五”攻关前的业务预测性进行了比较。     

Effect of Macroalgal Expansion and Marine Protected Areas on Coral Recovery Following a Climatic Disturbance

Disturbance plays an important role in structuring marine ecosystems, and there is a need to understand how conservation practices, such as the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), facilitate postdisturbance recovery. We evaluated the association of MPAs, herbivorous fish biomass, substrate type, postdisturbance coral cover, and change in macroalgal cover with coral recovery on the fringing reefs of the inner Seychelle islands, where coral mortality after a 1998 bleaching event was extensive. We visually estimated benthic cover and fish biomass at 9 sites in MPAs where fishing is banned and at 12 sites where fishing is permitted in 1994, 2005, 2008, and 2011. We used analysis of variance to examine spatial and temporal variations in coral cover and generalized additive models to identify relations between coral recovery and the aforementioned factors that may promote recovery. Coral recovery occurred on all substrate types, but it was highly variable among sites and times. Between 2005 and 2011 the increase in coral cover averaged 1%/year across 21 sites, and the maximum increase was 4%/year. However, mean coral cover across the study area (14%) remained at half of 1994 levels (28%). Sites within MPAs had faster rates of coral recovery than sites in fished areas only where cover of macroalgae was low and had not increased over time. In MPAs where macroalgae cover expanded since 1998 there was no recovery. Where coral was recovering on granite reefs there was a shift in relative prevalence of colony life‐form from branching to encrusting species. This simplification of reef structure may affect associated reef fauna even if predisturbance levels of coral cover are attained. Efecto de la Expansión de Macroalgas y Áreas Marinas Protegidas sobre la Recuperación de Coral Después de una Perturbación Climática     

Climate dynamics and extreme precipitation and flood events in Central Europe

Past changes and possible future variations in the nature of extreme precipitation and flood events in Central Europe and the Alpine region are examined from a physical standpoint. An overview is given of the following key contributory physical processes: (1) the variability of the large-scale atmospheric flow and the associated changes of the North-Atlantic storm track; (2) the feedback process between climate warming and the water cycle, and in particular the potential for more frequent heavy precipitation events; and (3) the catchment-scale hydrological processes associated with variations in major river flooding events and that are related to land-use changes, river training measures, and shifts in the proportion of rain to snowfall. In this context an account is provided of the possible future forecasting and warning methodologies based upon high-resolution weather prediction and runoff models. Also consideration is given to the detectability of past (future) changes in observed (modeled) extreme events. It is shown that their rarity and natural fluctuation largely impedes a detection of systematic variations. These effects restrict trend analysis of such events to return periods of below a few months. An illustration using daily precipitation from the Swiss Alps does yield evidence for pronounced trends of intense precipitation events (return period 30 days), while trends of stronger event classes are not detectable (but nevertheless can not be excluded). The small detection probability for extreme events limits possible mitigation of future damage costs through an abatement of climate change alone, and points to the desirability of developing improved early forecasting/warning systems as an additional no-regret strategy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Montane Meadows as Indicators of Environmental Change

We used a time series of satellite multispectral imagery for mapping and monitoring six classes of montane meadows arrayed along a moisture gradient (from hydric to mesic to xeric). We hypothesized that mesic meadows would support the highest species diversity of plants, birds, and butterflies because they are more moderate environments. We also hypothesized that mesic meadows would exhibit the greatest seasonal and interannual variability in spectral response across years. Field sampling in each of the meadow types was conducted for plants, birds, and butterflies in 1997 and 1998. Mesic meadows supported the highest plant species diversity, but there was no significant difference in bird or butterfly species diversity among meadow types. These data show that it may be easier to detect significant differences in more species rich taxa (e.g., plants) than taxa that are represented by fewer species (e.g., butterflies and birds). Mesic meadows also showed the greatest seasonal and interannual variability in spectral response. Given the rich biodiversity of mesic montane meadows and their sensitivity to variations in temperature and moisture, they may be important to monitor in the context of environmental change