WATER BUDGETS FOR SMALL DIKED MARSHES1

ABSTRACT: This paper reports an analysis of the water budgets of 10 small (5–6 ha) diked areas (cells) within the Delta Marsh in southcentral Manitoba, Canada. The important terms in the water budget equation in this study were precipitation (P), water pumped in (SWI), evapotranspiration (ET), seepage in (GWI) and out (GWO), and change in storage (ΔS). P, SWI, and S were measured directly, and the sum of ET and GWO determined by difference. Estimating ET as 0.7 pan evaporation gave a seepage loss of 2.9 mm/day from the most intensively studied cell. Other methods of estimating ET produced estimates of GWO ranging from 2.4 to 3.8 mm/day. Water budgets for less intensively studied cells indicated seepage loss increased as perimeter available for seepage increased, but not proportionately. Efforts to measure seepage directly or estimate it from measured hydraulic gradients and hydraulic conductivity produced estimates much lower than the estimates from the water budget equation. Hydraulic conductivities were very heterogeneous, reflecting the sorting of water deposited sediments. Comparison of the hydraulic conductivities with seepage estimates from the water budget strongly suggests water movement downward as well as laterally from these diked areas.     

USE OF GEOSTATISTICS TO EVALUATE WATER QUALITY CHANGES DUE TO COAL MINING1

ABSTRACT: Large variability of water quality data often makes it difficult to judge whether or not the conditions in an aquifier or a stream are deteriorating or not the conditions in an aquifer or a stream are deteriorating or improving. A technique for separation of variograms into positive and negative difference components is proposed. This technique was applied to water quality data from a requality improved with time on the stripmined and undisturbed areas, declined in a seep and an adjoining stream and remained about the same in the deep mined zone.     

EVALUATING INTERDEPENDENT WATERSHED CONSERVATION AND GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT REFORMS1

Abstract: Conserving the watershed can help to preserve ground water recharge. Preventing overuse of available water through pricing reforms can also substantially increase the value of an aquifer. Inasmuch as users are accustomed to low prices, efficiency pricing may be politically infeasible, and watershed conservation may be considered as an alternative. We estimate and compare welfare gains from pricing reform and watershed conservation for a water management district in Oahu that obtains its water supply from the Pearl Harbor aquifer. We find that pricing reform is welfare superior to watershed conservation unless the latter is able to prevent very large recharge losses. Watershed conservation that yields net gains in combination with pricing reform may cause net losses without the pricing reform. If adoption of watershed conservation delays the implementation of pricing reform, the benefits of the latter are significantly reduced.     

ANALYTICAL REGRESSION STAGE ANALYSIS FOR DEVILS HOLE,DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK,NEVADA1

ABSTRACT: Devils Hole is a collapse depression connected to the regional carbonate aquifer of the Death Valley ground water flow system. Devils Hole pool is home to an endangered pupfish that was threatened when irrigation pumping in nearby Ash Meadows lowered the pool stage in the 1960s. Pumping at Ash Meadows ultimately ceased, and the stage recovered until 1988, when it began to decline, a trend that continued until at least 2004. Regional ground water pumping and changes in recharge are considered the principal potential stresses causing long term stage changes. A regression was found between pumpage and Devils Hole water levels. Though precipitation in distant mountain ranges is the source of recharge to the flow system, the stage of Devils Hole shows small change in stage from 1937 to 1963, a period during which ground water withdrawals were small and the major stress on stage would have been recharge. Multiple regression analyses, made by including the cumulative departure from normal precipitation with pumpage as independent variables, did not improve the regression. Drawdown at Devils Hole was calculated by the Theis Equation for nearby pumping centers to incorporate time delay and drawdown attenuation. The Theis drawdowns were used as surrogates for pumpage in multiple regression analyses. The model coefficient for the regression, R²= 0.982, indicated that changes in Devils Hole were largely due to effects of pumping at Ash Meadows, Amargosa Desert, and Army 1.     

NITRATE CONTAMINATION IN OREGON WELL WATER: GEOLOGIC VARIABILITY AND THE PUBLIC'S PERCEPTION1

ABSTRACT: Approximately 4.5 million people in the United States who rely on well water are exposed to nitrate‐N concentrations exceeding the 10 mg/l standard. In this study in the Southern Willamette Valley in Oregon we reassessed nitrate‐N in rural wells sampled in 2000–2001, compared nitrate‐N concentrations among geological units, and surveyed residents about their perceptions of well water quality. Nitrate‐N concentrations were again sampled in 2002 and found to have increased significantly from the previous period. With rapid population growth in the area, the potential health risk in drinking well water that exceeds 10 mg/l nitrate‐N warrants continued public education. Nitrate‐N concentrations were found to be higher in the Holocene alluvium of the Willamette River and the Pleistocene sand and gravel post‐Missoula Flood deposits. Researchers conducting future studies may choose to stratify and monitor wells by geologic unit and by other parameters that estimate input of nutrients to the environment. Opinions differed between agricultural landowners and nonagricultural landowners with regard to the impact that agricultural fertilizers may have on water quality. Participants were supportive of a range of regulatory actions that might be used by homeowners or landowners to address ground water contamination. Given that the area is now designated a Groundwater Management Area, understanding local stakeholders’perceptions is critical and strategic and has the potential to help public agencies manage potential conflicts of opinion among stakeholders, build consensus, and help guide the approach to restoring ground water quality.     

AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF GROUND WATER RECHARGE IN THE TUCSON BASIN1

ABSTRACT: Bringing water from Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project was perceived as the sole solution for Tucson Basin's water problem. Soon after Central Arizona Project's water arrived in Tucson in 1992, its quality provoked a quarrel over its use for potable purposes. A significant outcome of that quarrel was the enactment of the 1995 Proposition 200. The Proposition 200 precludes the use of Central Arizona Project's water for potable purposes, unless it is treated. Yet, it encourages using it for non‐potable purposes and for replenishing the Tucson aquifer through recharge. This paper examines the economic issues involved in utilizing Central Arizona Project's water for recharge. Four planning scenarios were designed to measure and compare the costs and benefits with and without Central Arizona Project's water recharge. Cost‐benefit analysis was utilized to measure recharge costs and benefits and to derive a rough estimate of cost savings from preventing land subsidence. The results indicate that the institutional requirements can be met with Central Arizona Project's water recharge. The economic benefits from reducing pumping cost and saving groundwater are not economically significant. Yet, when combining the use of Central Arizona Project's water for recharge and non‐potable purposes, it demonstrates positive net economic benefits.     

OPTIMIZING WELL PLACEMENT IN A COASTAL AQUIFER: OUTER CAPE COD,MASSACHUSETTS1

ABSTRACT: An inverse‐simulation approach is used to determine optimal strategies for developing public water‐supply systems in a shallow, coastal aquifer on the outermost arm of the Cape Cod peninsula in Massachusetts. Typically a forward simulation (or “trial and error”) approach is used to find best pumping strategies, but the chances of finding success with this tact diminish as the number of potential options grows large. Well locations and pumping rates are optimized with respect to: (1) providing sufficient water to areas of water‐quality impairment, (2) minimizing impacts to nearby surface waters, (3) preventing saltwater contamination due to overpumping, and (4) minimizing financial cost of well development. Potential well sites and water‐supply scenarios are separated into “politically‐based” and “resource‐based” categories to gain insight into the degree that pre‐existing political boundaries hinder best management practices. The approach provides a promising tool in transboundary water‐resources settings because it allows stakeholders to find solutions that best meet everyone's goals, as opposed to pursuing options that will create conflict, or are less than optimal.     

北京沙尘天气与源地气象条件的关系

本介绍了影响北京地区沙尘天气的沙尘源地,沙尘暴发生的条件和传输路径,分析了沙尘暴源地的气候要素特征及其对北京地区沙尘天气的影响,说明了北京沙尘天气发生和加剧的原因,影响北京地区沙尘天气的境外源地主要位于哈萨克斯坦,俄罗斯以及蒙古国境内,境内源地主要位于内蒙古和新疆,以及甘肃和青海的部分地区,沙尘天气发生必须具备三个条件：沙源,大风,气流辐合（垂直对流）,有沙源不一定起沙,但无沙源一定不起沙,沙尘暴源地的气候特征主要表现为冬季寒冷,夏季炎热,全年降水稀水,影响北京的沙尘传输路径,最主要的有两条,即西路传输和北路传输,北京沙尘天气与沙尘暴源地的春季降水比较结果表明,北京地区沙尘暴和浮尘天气发生次数与沙尘源区春季大气降水量有比较显的负相关关系,北京扬沙天气的发生与沙源区冬春季降水量相关关系不显,说明北京扬沙天气起因与源区降水没有明显的关系,北京扬沙天气主要受本地的自然条件和人为活动的影响。     

江苏地区地下水位固体潮加卸载响应比的时空演变特征及预测意义

根据加卸载响应比理论,通过对1991～1996年江苏省部分井孔观测资料固体潮加卸载响应比的计算发现,在中强地震前一年左右的时间震中区附近的井孔出现了响应比高值异常。通过空间图像扫描可以看出:在苍山地震前一年左右,徐州、宿迁地区出现了加卸载响应比的高值集中区;在南黄海地震前一年左右,在镇江、苏州地区出现了高值集中区,之后高值集中区有自西向东迁移即有向震中区迁移的迹象。     

大兴安岭林区地下火形成火环境研究

地下火作为森林中一种难以控制的燃烧现象,其形成机理极为复杂。我国大兴安岭林区是森林地下火的多发地区。对该地区2002年发生的地下火研究表明：丰富的近土壤层和地下可燃物是森林地下火发生的物质条件,气象条件促进了森林地下火的发生,特别是在遇到降水少、长期干旱、地面温度增加、相对湿度降低和可燃物干燥的情况下,就很容易引起地下火灾。地下火有地理和时间分布特征。地表火主要发生在原始森林区域,如针叶林、阔叶林或针阔混交林,都有可能发生地下火。地下火一般燃烧速度慢,持续时间长,燃烧充分,具有隐蔽性强、燃烧不连续、方向易变等特点,地下火在所有火灾中对森林危害最大,特别是对落叶松、樟子松、云杉等的破坏更为严重。