EFFECTIVE USE OF LANDSAT DATA IN HYDROLOGIC MODELS1

ABSTRACT: In a cooperative demonstration project, NASA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) compared conventional and Landsat-derived land-use data for use in hydrologic models, and the resulting discharge frequency curves were analyzed. When a grid-based data-management system was used on a cell-by-cell basis (size about 1.1 acres or 0.45 hectare), Landsat classification accuracy was only 64 percent, but, when the grid cells were aggregated into watersheds, the classification accuracy increased to about 95 percent. When both conventional and Landsat land-use data were input to the HEC-1 model for generating discharge frequency curves, the differences in calculated discharge were judged insignificant for subbasins as small as 1.0mi² (2.59 km²). For basins larger than 10mi² (25.9km²), use of the Landsat approach is more cost-effective than use of conventional methods. Digital Landsat data can also be used effectively by local and regional agencies for hydrologic analysis by incorporating the data into grid-based data-management systems. The transfer of this new technology is well under way through inclusion in some Corps training courses and through use by both county government personnel and private consultants.     

OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT OF A REGIONAL AQUIFER IN EASTERN SAUDI ARABIA1

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the formulation and application of a ground-water hydraulic management model to determine the optimal development and operating policies of a regional aquifer in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The hydraulic response of the aquifer system is represented by a simulation model that is linked to an optimization management model using response functions. Yearly optimal ground-water extraction rates over a planning horizon of 15 years are determined for four scenarios, each reflecting alternative ground-water development policies. The results are presented in the form of tradeoff curves, relating drawdowns to optimal pumpage, which may enhance the decisionmaker's ability to select the best development policy from a set of alternatives. The results illustrate how various optimal management schemes can be devised to increase the total withdrawal from the aquifer while preventing excessive de-watering.     

Rapid Assessment of Plant Diversity Patterns: A Methodology for Landscapes

We present a rapid, cost-efficient methodology to link plantdiversity surveys from plots to landscapes using: (1) unbiasedsite selection based on remotely sensed information; (2) multi-scale field techniques to assess plant diversity; (3)mathematical models (species-area curves) to estimate thenumber of species in larger areas corrected for within-typeheterogeneity; and (4) mathematical techniques to estimatetotal species richness and patterns of plant diversity in alandscape. We demonstrate the methodology in a 754 ha studyarea in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, U.S.A.,using four 0.025 ha and twenty-one 0.1 ha multi-scalevegetation plots. We recorded 330 plant species (1/3 thenumber of plants recorded in the 1074 km² Park) in the2.2 ha area within the plots: this represents a samplingintensity of 0.29% of the 754 ha study site. We estimated 552plant species, about half the plant species recorded in the Park,in just 0.7% of the Parks area. We show how this rapid,cost-efficient methodology: (1) produces a rich informationbase on the patterns of native plant diversity and thedistribution of non-native plant species and keystoneecosystems; and (2) can be easily adapted for other nationaland state parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and nature reserves.     

Rates of environmental problem generation: Thoughts on a new research direction

Environmental scientists are continually discovering new and emerging environmental problems. There have been many studies of how a particular environmental problem has occurred, its costs to society, and its (potential) resolution. However, to date there have been few studies of the rate at which new environmental problems are generated by human technological innovations. In this note, I present a conceptual framework that will help quantify how many now-unknown problems we may expect to occur in a given sector. Two brief case studies illustrate the difficulty of finding appropriate dataset for fitting the full model, however. Policy implications of the conceptual framework are discussed, with different kinds of economic sectors requiring different approaches.     

APPLICATION OF THE HEC-4 MONTHLY STREAM FLOW SIMULATION MODEL1

ABSTRACT: The HEC-4 monthly stream flow simulation model, developed by the Hydrologic Engineering Center, Davis, California, is used to extend the available historical stream flow records in the Central Ohio area. The principal objective of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the HEC-4 model in generating synthetic monthly flows. Important statistical parameters are evaluated in order to relate the statistical properties of the historical and generated flows. In doing so, it is observed that the mean, standard deviation, and skewness of the generated flows are consistently larger than the corresponding estimates based on historical flows. However, results show that these statistics, as well as the lag-1 serial correlation, are generally well maintained by the generated sequences. The degree to which any statistical dissimilarities would be critical, from an engineering design point of view, is demonstrated by utilizing their low flow characteristics. Estimates of reservoir safe-yields, based on a nonsequential mass-curve analysis of the historical and generated low flows, indicate a nominal difference in this particular study.     

DETERMINISTIC-SYSTEMIC RELATIONSHIPS IN OVERLAND FLOW ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: An analysis of storm runoff is presented, giving primary attention to deterministic-systemic relationships. So that system aspects can be emphasized, other aspects are kept simple; analysis is made for uniform rainfall on a strip of uniform width, limiting direct applicability to small areas. Two relationships between excess rain and time of concentration, one based on hydraulic parameters, the other on hydrologic characteristics, are combined in a solution for peak discharge. The hydraulic expression gives the interrelationship of time of concentration, excess rain, friction, length, and slope. The hydrologic relationship is achieved by converting ordinary intensity-duration curves to corresponding excess rain intensity-duration curves, thereby interrelating excess rain, time of concentration, and loss characteristics. The resulting solution for peak discharge allows for systemic feedback among both hydraulic and hydrologic parameters.     

Predicting Plant Extinction Based on Species-Area Curves in Prairie Fragments with High Beta Richness

Abstract:  Species-area relationships and island biogeography theory are commonly used to predict how species richness will decline with fragmentation. There are a variety of largely untested assumptions in these approaches, including the assumptions that populations are distributed uniformly before fragmentation, and that local extinctions are due to effects of small population sizes. If populations are not distributed uniformly, then populations can be abundant locally but rare globally. This would cause extinction rates to be smaller than predicted. We tested extinction theory by developing estimates of the number of plant species that should be present in small tallgrass prairie fragments and then testing the uniformity assumption by partitioning species richness into α (within site) and β (among site) components in Iowa prairies. Many more native prairie plant species were present in surveys of prairie fragments (491) than was predicted based on theory (27–207). A large proportion (75%) of the total species richness was β richness. We suggest that the high proportion of β richness was responsible for the shallow species-area slopes and the lower than expected number of species losses and that a better understanding of what determines β diversity will improve predictions of fragmentation effects on richness of plants. We also suggest that plants in prairie remnants may be best conserved by protecting different prairie types rather than by protecting a few large areas containing a single prairie type.     

辽东湾网采浮游植物粒级结构的胁迫响应

基于2012~2014年春、夏、秋、冬季辽东湾网采浮游植物及环境因子的调查资料,对辽东湾南、北2个区域的浮游植物粒级结构分布规律及其环境胁迫响应进行了分析,并评估了浮游植物群落结构的稳定性.结果表明,辽东湾海域浮游植物春、夏、秋季丰度主要集中在小粒径范围,冬季主要集中在中粒径范围;生物量春、夏、秋季主要集中在中粒径范围,冬季主要集中在大粒径范围,南部区域浮游植物粒径整体上大于北部区域.寡营养水域以及较低的水温环境更适于大粒径浮游植物生存.春、秋、冬季浮游植物群落结构比较稳定,但夏季偏离平衡点.南部区域群落结构整体上比北部区域稳定,网采中、大粒径组的W统计量可以作为浮游植物群落结构稳定性的评估指标.     

杀虫剂三唑磷在室内淡水微宇宙中的生态效应

作为一种中等毒性的有机磷杀虫剂,三唑磷在稻区的使用十分普遍。为弄清其对淡水生态系统的影响,选择5组浓度(0、0.35、1.75、17.5、52.5μg·L~(-1)),在以藻类作为营养源的室内微宇宙系统内进行研究,采用多变量分析软件CANOCO 5对数据进行分析。非限制性排序和多重比较的结果表明,给药后0~6 d,三唑磷对于浮游动物群落的最高无作用浓度(NOEC_(community))和最低有效浓度(LOEC_(community))分别为17.5μg·L~(-1)和52.5μg·L~(-1)。给药后第9天,最高浓度组(52.5μg·L~(-1))的群落结构开始恢复,此刻三唑磷在水中的实测浓度平均值为4.35μg·L~(-1)。对于单个物种种群密度做差异显著性分析和多重比较,结果显示浮游动物当中受影响最大的是绿色湖湾介Strandesia viridis。给药30 d后,该物种在52.5μg·L~(-1)处理组的种群密度明显下降,历时57 d的试验结束时,种群密度仍未恢复到对照水平。对于藻类,非限制性排序和多重比较的结果显示三唑磷在群落层次的影响未达到能够明显区分NOEC_(community)和LOEC_(community)的程度。在单物种层面,在给药后9~12 d,三唑磷对单细胞的羊角月牙藻Selenastrum capricornutum种群有刺激作用。其NOECspecies和LOECspecies分别为1.75μg·L~(-1)和17.5μg·L~(-1)。没有迹象表明三唑磷的引入能够明显改变水体pH、电导、浊度和水体C循环状况。结合暴露评估软件GNEEC(Version 2.0)输出的环境浓度(峰值为2.44μg·L~(-1)),本研究结果显示三唑磷在正常使用剂量下有可能对稻田周边浮游动物群落的内部结构造成扰动,但是它不会对整个系统造成不可恢复的影响。     

U-shaped microRNA expression pattern could be a new concept biomarker for environmental estrogen

Many studies have focused on environmental estrogen-related diseases. However, no consistent gene markers or signatures for estrogenicity have been discovered in mammals. This study investigated the estrogenic effects of 17β-estradiol on the prostate in immature male mice. Consistent U-shaped responses were seen in bodyweight, ventral prostate epithelial morphology, and miRNA expression levels. Specifically, most estradiol regulated miRNAs were downregulated at low doses of estradiol (0.2 and 2 mg·kg^–1), and whose expression returned to the control level at a larger dose (200 mg·kg^–1). The function of these regulated miRNAs is related to the prostate cancer and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, which is consistent with the function of estradiol. Furthermore, the miRNA-processing machinery, Drosha, in the prostate was also regulated in a similar pattern, which could be a part of the U-shaped miRNA expression mechanism. All of these data indicate that the prostate is a reliable organ for evaluating estrogenic activity and that the typical nonmonotonic dose-response relationship could be used as a novel biomarker for estrogenicity.

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