On the Role of Spatial,Temporal, and Climatic Forces on Stream Sediment Loading from Rural and Urban Ecosystems

In this study, we characterize the greatest sediment loading events by their sediment delivery behavior; dominant climate, watershed, and antecedent conditions; and their seasonal distribution for rural and urban land uses. The study area is Paradise Creek Watershed, a mixed land use watershed in northern Idaho dominated by saturation excess processes in the upstream rural area and infiltration excess in the downstream urban area. We analyzed 12 years of continuous streamflow, precipitation, and watershed data at two monitoring stations. We identified 137 sediment loading events in the upstream rural section of the watershed and 191 events in the downstream urban section. During the majority of these events conditions were transport limited and the sediment flush occurred early in the event, generally in the first 20% of elapsed event time. Statistical analysis including two dozen explanatory variables showed peak discharge, event duration, and antecedent baseflow explained most of the variation in event sediment load at both stations and for the watershed as a whole (R² = 0.73‐0.78). In the rural area, saturated soils combined with spring snowmelt in March led to the greatest loading events. The urban area load contribution peaked in January, which could be a re‐suspension of streambed sediments from the previous water year. Throughout the study period, one event contributed, on average, 33% of the annual sediment load but only accounted for 2% of the time in a year.     

Estimating Root Zone Soil Moisture at Continental Scale Using Neural Networks

This study investigates the feasibility of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to retrieve root zone soil moisture (RZSM) at the depths of 20 cm (SM20) and 50 cm (SM50) at a continental scale, using surface information. To train the ANNs to capture interactions between land surface and various climatic patterns, data of 557 stations over the continental United States were collected. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the ANNs were able to identify input variables that directly affect the water and energy balance in root zone. The data important for RZSM retrieval in a large area included soil texture, surface soil moisture, and the cumulative values of air temperature, surface soil temperature, rainfall, and snowfall. The results showed that the ANNs had high skill in retrieving SM20 with a correlation coefficient above 0.7 in most cases, but were less effective at estimating SM50. The comparison of the ANNs showed that using soil texture data improved the model performance, especially for the estimation of SM50. It was demonstrated that the ANNs had high flexibility for applications in different climatic regions. The method was used to generate RZSM in North America using Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture data, and achieved a spatial soil moisture pattern comparable to that of Global Land Data Assimilation System Noah model with comparable performance to the SMOS surface soil moisture retrievals. The models can be efficient alternatives to assimilate remote sensing soil moisture data for shallow RZSM retrieval.     

Evaluating Flow Metric‐Based Stream Classification Systems to Support the Determination of Ecological Flows in North Carolina

Hydroecological classification systems are typically based on an assemblage of streamflow metrics and seek to divide streams into ecologically relevant classes. Assignment of streams to classes is suggested as an initial step in the process of establishing ecological flow standards. We used two distinct hydroecological river classification systems available within North Carolina to evaluate the ability of a hydrologic model to assign the same classes as those determined by observed streamflows and to assess the transferability of such systems to ungaged streams. Class assignments were examined by rate of overall matches, rate of class matches, spatial variability in matches, and time period used in class assignment. The findings of this study indicate assignments of stream class: (1) are inconsistent among different classification systems; (2) differ between observed and modeled data; and (3) are sensitive to the period of record within observed data. One clear source of inconsistency/sensitivity in class assignments lies with the use of threshold values for metrics that distinguish stream classes, such that even small changes in metric values can result in different class assignments. Because these two hydroecological classification systems are representative of other classification systems that rely on quantitative decision thresholds, it can be surmised that the use of such systems based on stream flow metrics is not a reliable approach for guiding ecological flow determinations.     

Continental‐Scale River Flow Modeling of the Mississippi River Basin Using High‐Resolution NHDPlus Dataset

As a key component of the National Flood Interoperability Experiment (NFIE), this article presents the continental scale river flow modeling of the Mississippi River Basin (MRB), using high‐resolution river data from NHDPlus. The Routing Application for Parallel computatIon of Discharge (RAPID) was applied to the MRB with more than 1.2 million river reaches for a 10‐year study (2005‐2014). Runoff data from the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model was used as input to RAPID. This article investigates the effect of topography on RAPID performance, the differences between the VIC‐RAPID streamflow simulations in the HUC‐2 regions of the MRB, and the impact of major dams on the streamflow simulations. The model performance improved when initial parameter values, especially the Muskingum K parameter, were estimated by taking topography into account. The statistical summary indicates the RAPID model performs better in the Ohio and Tennessee Regions and the Upper and Lower Mississippi River Regions in comparison to the western part of the MRB, due to the better performance of the VIC model. The model accuracy also increases when lakes and reservoirs are considered in the modeling framework. In general, results show the VIC‐RAPID streamflow simulation is satisfactory at the continental scale of the MRB.     

Spatiotemporal Variability of Snow Depletion Curves Derived from SNODAS for the Conterminous United States, 2004‐2013

Assessment of water resources at a national scale is critical for understanding their vulnerability to future change in policy and climate. Representation of the spatiotemporal variability in snowmelt processes in continental‐scale hydrologic models is critical for assessment of water resource response to continued climate change. Continental‐extent hydrologic models such as the U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrologic Model (NHM) represent snowmelt processes through the application of snow depletion curves (SDCs). SDCs relate normalized snow water equivalent (SWE) to normalized snow covered area (SCA) over a snowmelt season for a given modeling unit. SDCs were derived using output from the operational Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) snow model as daily 1‐km gridded SWE over the conterminous United States. Daily SNODAS output were aggregated to a predefined watershed‐scale geospatial fabric and used to also calculate SCA from October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2013. The spatiotemporal variability in SNODAS output at the watershed scale was evaluated through the spatial distribution of the median and standard deviation for the time period. Representative SDCs for each watershed‐scale modeling unit over the conterminous United States (n = 54,104) were selected using a consistent methodology and used to create categories of snowmelt based on SDC shape. The relation of SDC categories to the topographic and climatic variables allow for national‐scale categorization of snowmelt processes.     

Telemetric System for Hydrology and Water Quality Monitoring in Watersheds of Northern New Mexico, Usa

This study utilized telemetric systems to sample microbes and pathogens in forest, burned forest, rangeland, and urban watersheds to assess surface water quality in northern New Mexico. Four sites included remote mountainous watersheds, prairie rangelands, and a small urban area. The telemetric system was linked to dataloggers with automated event monitoring equipment to monitor discharge, turbidity, electrical conductivity, water temperature, and rainfall during base flow and storm events. Site data stored in dataloggers was uploaded to one of three types of telemetry: 1) radio in rangeland and urban settings; 2) a conventional phone/modem system with a modem positioned at the urban/forest interface; and 3) a satellite system used in a remote mountainous burned forest watershed. The major variables affecting selection of each system were site access, distance, technology, and cost. The systems were compared based on operation and cost. Utilization of telecommunications systems in this varied geographic area facilitated the gathering of hydrologic and water quality data on a timely basis.     

聚合氯化铁-腐殖酸(PFC-HA)冷冻干燥絮体的表面与孔分形研究

采用低温急速冷冻-真空干燥技术制备了PFC-HA絮体的粉末样品,研究了这些样品的物理与分形特征.结果表明,PFC-HA絮体具有晶体结构,SEM图象中有方块状形体;絮体主要组成元素为C、O、Fe,所含的特征官能团保留了絮体组成原料的一些特征;絮体的干燥样品的BET比表面积为51～92 m2·g-1,BJH累积吸附孔体积为0.0638～0.108 cm3·g-1,BJH脱附平均孔径为3.53～4.60nm,PSD峰值对应孔径3.9nm(4#样品还有另外一个PSD峰值53.2nm).PFC-HA絮体的干燥样品具有自相似性的粗糙表面,呈现多尺度分形特征;图象法确定的表面分形维数Ds值远低于N2吸附/脱附等温线法确定的结果,分别为2.14～2.22、2.90～2.96;前者的分形尺度大约处于23～390nm之间,主要属于絮体干燥样品的外表面尺度,后者的分形特征尺度区间的下限大约为0.2nm,属于孔表面尺度,因此,PFC-HA絮体干燥样品的表面粗糙度主要集中于孔表面.另外,对同一絮体,N2吸附法和脱附法确定的孔表面分形维数基本相同.通过热力学模型计算出的4#样品的Ds值接近于FHH理论计算出的结果,但分形尺度的区间变小了.     

泛比电阻电除尘器收尘性能实验研究

泛比电阻电除尘器是一种具有辅助电极和交错平板收尘电极的新型电除尘器.通过对其伏安特性及除尘效率的试验研究,并与传统线板式静电除尘器进行比较,结果表明辅助电极对电晕电流具有明显的抑制作用,在相同的外加电压下,泛比电阻电除尘器对高比电阻锅炉飞灰的收尘效率比普通的线板式电除尘器明显要高.     

现行监测方法标准与监测技术规范中存在的问题与改进

研究与分析了现行有效的环境监测方法标准与监测技术规范,指出了一些较早颁布的环境监测方法标准如最经常使用的《水质化学需氧量的测定重铬酸盐法》(GB 11914—1989)等存在的未明确给出检出限、测定下限(即未给出方法的定性、半定量以及定量监测范围)以及使用术语不统一、不规范等问题。研究发现,《地表水和污水监测技术规范》(HJ/T 91—2002)等监测技术规范普遍存在的最大缺陷是没有引入测定下限的概念,未考虑与规定半定量区间内的监测结果报出问题。此外,这些规范也存在着术语使用不统一、不规范的现象,且对于低于检出限的监测结果应如何报出与参与统计的规定存在不一致现象。研究列举了一些存在问题的环境监测方法标准和环境监测技术规范,对其进行剖析,揭示问题,并对其下一步的修改、完善提出建议。     

颗粒物表面酸碱特性与孔表面分形的研究

通过电位滴定试验,证明了5种颗粒物的表面存在着一定量的OH-受体,其表面位浓度(Hs)在0.1219～0.3134 mmo.·L-1之间,表面位密度(DoH)在0.8586～2.1305个·nm-2之间,且不同采样点的颗粒物,其表面位浓度和表面位密度差别很大.所采集的5种颗粒物的孔结构接近平行板狭缝,孔尺寸分布不是均一的,平均孔径分布范围较宽(1.8～76nm);BET比表面积为9.5669～34.5605 m2·g-1,累积脱附孔体积为0.01729～0.06711 cm3·g-1,BJH脱附平均孔径为5.6768～7.7388nm,处于中孔范围,且平均孔径均大于其PSD峰值对应的孔径.通过分形FHH方程模拟N2吸附和脱附等温线数据计算出这些颗粒物的孔表面分形维数Ds比较接近(2.68～2.82之间),但它们的分形标度区间不同.另外,采用热力学模型和分形FHH理论计算出的表面分形维数的差异主要归因于这些样品孔尺寸分布的不均一性.