Impacts of Climate Change on Extreme Precipitation Events Over Flamingo Tropicana Watershed1

Abstract: Climate change, particularly the projected changes to precipitation patterns, is likely to affect runoff both regionally and temporally. Extreme rainfall events are expected to become more intense in the future in arid urban areas and this will likely lead to higher streamflow. Through hydrological modeling, this article simulates an urban basin response to the most intense storm under anthropogenic climate change conditions. This study performs an event‐based simulation for shorter duration storms in the Flamingo Tropicana (FT) watershed in Las Vegas, Nevada. An extreme storm, defined as a 100‐year return period storm, is selected from historical records and perturbed to future climatic conditions with respect to multimodel multiscenario (A1B, A2, B1) bias corrected and spatially disaggregated data from the World Climate Research Programme's (WCRP's) database. The cumulative annual precipitation for each 30‐year period shows a continuous decrease from 2011 to 2099; however, the summer convective storms, which are considered as extreme storms for the study area, are expected to be more intense in future. Extreme storm events show larger changes in streamflow under different climate scenarios and time periods. The simulated peak streamflow and total runoff volume shows an increase from 40% to more than 150% (during 2041‐2099) for different climate scenarios. This type of analysis can help evaluate the vulnerability of existing flood control system and flood control policies.     

Assessment of Residential Rain Barrel Water Quality and Use in Cincinnati,Ohio1

The collection, storage, and reuse of rainwater collected in rain barrels from urban rooftop areas assists municipalities in achieving stormwater management objectives and in some areas also serves as an adjunct resource for domestic water supplies. In this study, rainwater reuse and levels of select microbial indicators were monitored for six residential rain barrels located in the Shepherd Creek watershed of Cincinnati, Ohio. Water from rain barrels typically had poor microbial quality and was used for watering indoor and outdoor plants. Rain barrel water chemistry was slightly acidic, exhibited wide ranges in conductivity, turbidity, and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations and gave no evidence of the presence of cyanobacterial microcystin toxins. Selected microbial water‐quality indicators indicated that counts of total coliform and enterococci were consistently above U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for secondary recreational contact water‐quality standards. Residential rain barrels can provide water appropriate for low‐contact reuses (such as plant watering), although there may be transient periods of high levels of indicator bacteria in the collected water.     

Modeling Nutrient Export From Coastal California Watersheds

Nitrate and phosphate export coefficient models were developed for coastal watersheds along the Santa Barbara Channel in central California. One approach was based on measurements of nutrient fluxes in streams from specific land use classes and included a watershed response function that scaled export up or down depending on antecedent moisture conditions. The second approach for nutrient export coefficient modeling used anthropogenic nutrient loading for land use classes and atmospheric nutrient deposition to model export. In an application of the first approach to one watershed, the nitrate and phosphate models were within 20% of measured values for most storms. When applied to another year, both nitrate and phosphate models generally performed adequately with annual, storm‐flow, and base‐flow values within 20% of measured nutrient loadings. Less satisfactory results were found when applied to neighboring watersheds with difference percentages of land use and hydrologic conditions. Application of the second approach was less successful than the first approach.     

Estimation of Daily Streamflow of Southeastern Coastal Plain Watersheds by Combining Estimated Magnitude and Sequence

Commonly used methods to predict streamflow at ungauged watersheds implicitly predict streamflow magnitude and temporal sequence concurrently. An alternative approach that has not been fully explored is the conceptualization of streamflow as a composite of two separable components of magnitude and sequence, where each component is estimated separately and then combined. Magnitude is modeled using the flow duration curve (FDC), whereas sequence is modeled by transferring streamflow sequence of gauged watershed(s). This study tests the applicability of the approach on watersheds ranging in size from about 25‐7,226 km² in Southeastern Coastal Plain (U.S.) with substantial surface storage of wetlands. A 19‐point regionalized FDC is developed to estimate streamflow magnitude using the three most selected variables (drainage area, hydrologic soil index, and maximum 24‐h precipitation with a recurrence interval of 100 years) by a greedy‐heuristic search process. The results of validation on four watersheds (Trent River, North Carolina: 02092500; Satilla River, Georgia: 02226500; Black River, South Carolina: 02136000; and Coosawhatchie River, South Carolina: 02176500) yielded Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency values of 0.86‐0.98 for the predicted magnitude and 0.09‐0.84 for the predicted daily streamflow over a simulation period of 1960‐2010. The prediction accuracy of the method on two headwater watersheds at Santee Experimental Forest in coastal South Carolina was weak, but comparable to simulations by MIKE‐SHE.     

A Two‐Decade Watershed Approach to Stream Restoration Log Jam Design and Stream Recovery Monitoring: Finney Creek,Washington

A federal, state, and private partnership leveraged resources and employed a long‐term, systematic approach to improve aquatic habitat degraded by decades of intensive forest management in Finney Creek, a tributary to the Skagit River of Northwest Washington State. After more than a decade of work to reduce sediment sources and the risk of landslides within the watershed, log jam installation commenced in 1999 and progressed downstream through 2010. Log jam design was adapted as experience was gained. A total of 181 log jams, including 60 floating log ballasted jams, were constructed along 12 km of channel. The goal was to alter hydraulic processes that affect aquatic habitat formation along 39 km of stream with emphasis on 18.5 km of lower Finney Creek. Aquatic habitat surveys over a five‐year period show an increase in the area of large pools and an accompanying increase in residual and maximum pool depth in the lower river reach. Channel cross sections show a generally deeper channel at the log jams, better channel definition in the gravel deposits at the head of the log jams, and improved riffle and thalweg development below the log jams. Stream temperature in the upper river decreased by 1.0°F in the first three years, and 1.1°F in the lowest treated reach over nine years. There is a trend of less stream heating over the restoration time period. Photo points show that riparian vegetation is recolonizing gravel bars.     

The role of community-based watershed development in reducing farmers’ vulnerability to climate change and variability in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

Community-based watershed development (CBWD) has been implemented in Ethiopia since the last three decades. However, the benefits of these watershed development interventions for climate change adaptation are not well documented. This study, therefore, assesses the contributions of CBWD in reducing farmers’ vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and variability in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Data were collected from systematically selected 157 households using questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of questions on climate, ecosystem and households’ livelihood capital. Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change Livelihood Vulnerability Index (IPCC-LVI) methods were used to generate vulnerability indices. Vulnerability indices computed for three conserved watersheds were compared with one non-conserved watershed using one-way ANOVA test. LVI score for ecosystem related indicators was significantly low for Adef Wuha compared to the non-conserved watershed. Similarly, LVI scores generated from agriculture, wealth and social indicators were low for Tija Baji and Guansa watersheds. On the other hand, the IPCC-LVI result did not show significant differences in exposure; however, sensitivity scores of conserved watersheds were significantly lower compared to the non-conserved. The adaptive capacities of two conserved watersheds (Guansa and Tija Baji) were also significantly lower as compared to the non-conserved. The overall (composite) vulnerability of watersheds generated from both methods (LVI and IPCC-LVI) showed that the conserved watersheds were less vulnerable to climate change compared to the non-conserved. The findings suggest that CBWD is an important strategy to reduce vulnerability of smallholder farmers to the ongoing and future climate change.     

黄河河流生命需水量浅析

通过对河流健康意义、黄河健康现状的分析,提出了黄河河流生命需水量的概念。在一定的水量和流量范围内,河流自身具有一定的自我调节能力和抵御破坏的能力,随着水量(流量)的下降,其抵御破坏的能力也逐渐下降。文章强调“一旦河流水量(流量)低于其生命需水量,河流系统就不能自控而产生恶变或崩溃”,强调“河流抵御洪水能力的极端重要性”和“洪水对恢复河道过流能力的特殊意义”,强调“依靠河流自身的抵抗能力已难以恢复其生命活力,必须借助外力”,强调“人类必须无条件设法满足此水量”。目前,围绕河流生命各方面需水量的确定和维护河流生命的技术措施研究尚处于初级阶段。     

流域、生态区和景观构架及其在海河流域生态评价中的应用

流域、生态区和景观是评估大尺度区域生态质量的构架,阐述了三者合理结合的理论基础. 流域是解决水生态环境问题的整体性构架,但是流域研究的成果缺乏外推的依据. 生态区提供了合适的外推机制,与流域结合使用,可以解决小尺度成果的尺度上推和预测问题. 景观范围界定的主观随机性,使其可以与行政区、生态区和流域等空间范围结合,用于区域生态质量评估. 以海河流域为例,验证了流域、生态区、景观相结合的区域生态质量评估方法体系,包括3个步骤:流域生态区划分;建立以遥感影像为数据源的景观生态质量评价指标体系,并对生态区内的典型行政区开展景观生态质量评估;将评估结果外推到所在生态区. 以流域生态过程为核心整体统筹各生态区,提出上游山区水土保持、平原节水并修复河流和地下水系统、下游湿地保护并增加入海流量的水生态系统恢复对策.      

流域水生态功能区概念、特点与实施策略

我国正处在从传统的水质管理向水生态管理转变的关键阶段,水生态功能区是实施流域水生态系统管理的基本单元. 结合区划理论的发展,对国内外区划研究进展进行了系统总结,界定了水生态功能区的基本概念,提出了水生态功能区的基本特点及其在环境管理中的主要作用,辨析了水生态功能区与水功能区、生态功能区和主体功能区的关系,提出了水生态功能区实施的政策保障体系. 结果表明,水生态功能区是开展水生态系统健康评估、识别水生态功能和确定水生态保护目标的基本单元,具有基于流域单元进行划分、以水生态系统等级结构为主线、区域区划与类型区划相统一、陆地与水体保持一致性等特点;不同功能区在基本概念、法律和政策依据、分区目的、分区体系、分区指标和方法及其在管理中的作用等方面差异显著,水生态功能区是对上述功能区的发展、补充和完善;作为一个崭新概念,水生态功能区的实施需要从法律、机构、政策和技术等方面全面保障,在此基础上构建流域水环境综合管理技术体系,支撑流域生态文明建设.      

渭河流域关中段河水和沉积物中微塑料的污染特征对比研究

微塑料作为一种新兴污染物,广泛存在于全球多种环境介质中.本研究选择渭河流域关中段作为研究对象,借助体视显微镜和拉曼光谱仪对河水和沉积物中微塑料的污染状况进行表征.结果表明,河水及沉积物中微塑料丰度分别为2960～10320粒·m^-3和4.774×10⁵～6.163×10⁶粒·m^-3.沉积物中微塑料丰度约为河水中的500倍,表明沉积物是河流微塑料的“汇”.河水和沉积物中均以小粒径微塑料(<0.5 mm)为主,且小粒径微塑料在沉积物中的占比约为河水中的1.5倍.纤维和碎片是河流和沉积物中微塑料常见的形状,且河水中纤维状微塑料占比较沉积物中高.河水中微塑料以有色和白色为主,而沉积物中以透明微塑料为主.经拉曼光谱仪鉴定,河水中检出聚丙烯、聚乙烯、聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯、聚苯乙烯,而沉积物中仅检出聚丙烯和聚乙烯.沉积物中微塑料可能经过了长期的环境作用(风化、氧化、磨损),人类生产和生活中广泛使用的塑料制品是渭河流域关中段的主要来源.微塑料丰度与沉积物颗粒大小及沉积物在水下的沉积体积相关.