Recent Changes in Stream Flashiness and Flooding,and Effects of Flood Management in North Carolina and Virginia

The southeastern United States has undergone anthropogenic changes in landscape structure, with the potential to increase (e.g., urbanization) and decrease (e.g., reservoir construction) stream flashiness and flooding. Assessment of the outcome of such change can provide insight into the efficacy of current strategies and policies to manage water resources. We (1) examined trends in precipitation, floods, and stream flashiness and (2) assessed the relative influence of land cover and flow‐regulating features (e.g., best management practices and artificial water bodies) on stream flashiness from 1991 to 2013. We found mean annual precipitation decreased, which coincided with decreasing trends in floods. In contrast, stream flashiness, overall, showed an increasing trend during the period of study. However, upon closer examination, 20 watersheds showed stable stream flashiness, whereas 5 increased and 6 decreased in flashiness. Urban watersheds were among those that increased or decreased in flashiness. Watersheds that increased in stream flashiness gained more urban cover, lost more forested cover and had fewer best management practices installed than urban watersheds that decreased in stream flashiness. We found best management practices are more effective than artificial water bodies in regulating flashy floods. Flashiness index is a valuable and straightforward metric to characterize changes in streamflow and help to assess the efficacy of management interventions.     

Testing and Improving Temperature Thresholds for Snow and Rain Prediction in the Western United States

The phase of precipitation at the land surface is critical to determine the timing and amount of water available for hydrological and ecological systems. However, there are few techniques to directly observe the precipitation phase and many prediction tools apply a single temperature threshold (e.g., 0°C) to determine phase. In this paper, we asked two questions: (1) what is the accuracy of default and station optimized daily temperature thresholds for predicting precipitation phase and (2) what are the regions and conditions in which typical temperature‐based precipitation phase predictions are most suited. We developed a ground truth dataset of rain vs. snow using an expert decision‐making system based on precipitation, snow depth, and snow water equivalent observations. This dataset was used to evaluate the accuracy of three temperature‐threshold‐based techniques of phase classification. Optimizing the temperature threshold improved the prediction of precipitation phase by 34% compared to using 0°C threshold. Developing a temperature threshold based on station elevation improved the error by 12% compared with using the 0°C temperature threshold. We also found the probability of snow as a function of temperature differed among ecoregions, which suggests a varied response to future climate change. These results highlight a current weakness in our ability to predict the effects of regional warming that could have uneven impacts on water and ecological resources.     

Energy efficiency and appliance’s characteristics considered prior to purchase: Differences and similarities between the United Kingdom,Germany, Portugal,Greece, Poland,Spain and Italy

This article reports country differences in the consumer’s most considered characteristics when choosing electrical appliances, including but not restricted to the energy efficiency aspect. A survey was performed to store customers from 7 countries: the United Kingdom; Germany; Portugal; Greece; Poland; Spain; Italy. Results showed consistency between countries in the top three characteristics considered: cost; quality; and a balance between price and quality. Differences were found for reported environmental attitudes and behaviours, purchase motives, and store employees evaluation. The results may support national policies and store level energy efficiency interventions. Specifically, they can provide input for store employee’s training, in persuading customers towards the purchase of energy efficient appliances.     

Robustness of Meteorological Droughts in Dynamically Downscaled Climate Simulations

We examine the robustness of a suite of regional climate models (RCMs) in simulating meteorological droughts and associated metrics in present‐day climate (1971‐2003) over the conterminous United States (U.S.). The RCMs that are part of North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) simulations are compared with multiple observations over the climatologically homogeneous regions of the U.S. The seasonal precipitation, climatology, drought attributes, and trends have been assessed. The reanalysis‐based multi‐model median RCM reasonably simulates observed statistical attributes of drought and the regional detail due to topographic forcing. However, models fail to simulate significant drying trend over the Southwest and West. Further, reanalysis‐based NARCCAP runs underestimate the observed drought frequency overall, with the exception of the Southwest; whereas they underestimate persistence in the drought‐affected areas over the Southwest and West‐North Central regions. However, global climate model‐driven NARCCAP ensembles tend to overestimate regional drought frequencies. Models exhibit considerable uncertainties while reproducing meteorological drought statistics, as evidenced by a general lack of agreement in the Hurst exponent, which in turn controls drought persistence. Water resources managers need to be aware of the limitations of current climate models, while regional climate modelers may want to fine‐tune their parameters to address impact‐relevant metrics.     

中度污染水资源用于电厂循环冷却系统工艺研究

采用曝气生物滤池与高效混凝沉淀工艺对城市污水厂二级处理出水进行了2 m3/h规模的中试研究,并在此基础上对被污染的地表水进行了600m3/h规模的工程试验研究。研究表明,中度污染水资源通过这一工艺处理,可以满足电厂循环冷却水补给水的水质要求,并可以取得较高的处理效率。工程试验证实,此工艺运行稳定,系统易启动,抗冲击能力强,管理方便,具有推广应用的价值。     

偏电压对Ti/TiO2光电催化氧化富里酸的影响

采用光电催化反应器对水中天然有机物富里酸(FA)进行降解试验,考察了外加阳极偏电压对光电催化反应器降解富里酸的影响.结果表明,当外加电压为1.2V时,具有最佳的UV254和有机碳TOC去除率,当反应时间为2h时,富里酸的UV254和总有机碳TOC的去除率分别为77.4%和45.4%.另外,在反应初期(前1h内)富里酸光电催化反应动力学常数主要受外加偏电压的影响.     

好氧颗粒污泥在生物强化除磷中的应用

结合近年来好氧颗粒污泥的最新研究成果,分析了好氧颗粒污泥的物理、化学、生物学、结构特征,并从生物除磷、反硝化除磷和沉淀作用三方面对好氧颗粒污泥除磷现象进行探讨。旨在为好氧颗粒污泥在生物强化除磷中的实际应用提供理论知识。     

典型梅雨持续性降水事件的水汽同位素特征及其成因

梅雨期持续性强降水是江淮地区重要的灾害天气,往往给降水地区带来巨大的生命与经济损失。2016年7月1—7日,南京地区经历了一场历时7 d的典型梅雨降雨过程,本文针对此次降水事件的大气水汽稳定同位素变化特征及其成因进行相关研究。研究发现：水汽稳定同位素的变化特征与大尺度有组织对流活动和大气环流有良好的对应关系。水汽稳定同位素随时间分别呈现δ¹⁸O的“U型”演化和过量氘的波动变化,二者在不同降雨阶段的演化特征可以指示产生降雨的天气系统的移动与切换,其中水汽过量氘随时间变化的极大值和极小值转折点分别反映了低涡系统开始与结束影响研究区、冷切变线消散、槽线过境以及台风外围水汽抵达研究区的时间。结果表明：多个天气系统连续作用于研究区及其带来的不同水汽源的持续供给,是此次梅雨期降水持续维持的重要条件。     

降水过量氘指示的北极冬季海冰消融及水汽变化

在全球变暖背景下,持续减少的海冰正在通过降水和蒸发改变着北极水循环。降水同位素及其过量氘参数（d）作为水循环示踪剂对北极水文气候变化研究具有重要帮助,但由于观测资料匮乏,目前有关北极水循环的同位素示踪研究鲜有报道。本文以冬季海冰主要消融区——巴伦支—格陵兰海（BGS）为例,调查了BGS冬季降水d值与海冰和大气环流的关系。结果表明：BGS降水d值与海冰范围呈显著正相关,而与巴伦支—喀拉海（BKS）反气旋指数呈显著负相关。BGS降水d主要受海冰变化导致的局地蒸发控制,当海冰减少时,局地蒸发水汽增加,贡献了更多低d的降水。增强的BKS反气旋通过绝热下沉增温和向极的水热输送,加强了BGS海冰消融与局地蒸发,降低了降水d值;而较低纬地区输送水汽以高的d值为特征,其对BGS降水的直接贡献有限。该项研究从同位素的视角厘清了局地蒸发与较低纬地区水汽输送对北极降水的相对重要性,不仅有助于理解海冰减少对北极水循环的影响,也对北极古气候重建具有重要启示。     

Effect of humic substances on the precipitation of calcium phosphate

For phosphorus （P） recovery from wastewater, the effect of humic substances （HS） on the precipitation of calcium phosphate was studied. Batch experiments of calcium phosphate precipitation were undertaken with synthetic water that contained 20 mg/L phosphate （as P） and 20 mg/L HS （as dissolved organic carbon, DOC） at a constant pH value in the range of 8.0-10.0. The concentration variations of phosphate, calcium （Ca） and HS were measured in the precipitation process; the crystalline state and compositions of the precipitates were analysed by powder X-ray diffraction （XRD） and chemical methods, respectively. It showed that at solution pH 8.0, the precipitation rate and removal efficiency of phosphate were greatly reduced by HS, but at solution pH ≥9.0, the effect of HS was very small. The Ca consumption for the precipitation of phosphate increased when HS was added; HS was also removed from solution with the precipitation of calcium phosphate. At solution pH 8.0 and HS concentrations ≤3.5 mg/L, and at pH ≥ 9.0 and HS concentrations ≤ 10 mg/L, the final precipitates were proved to be hydroxyapatite （HAP） by XRD. The increases of solution pH value and initial Ca/P ratio helped reduce the influence of HS on the precipitation of phosphate.