Spatial Calibration and Temporal Validation of Flow for Regional Scale Hydrologic Modeling1

Abstract: Physically based regional scale hydrologic modeling is gaining importance for planning and management of water resources. Calibration and validation of such regional scale model is necessary before applying it for scenario assessment. However, in most regional scale hydrologic modeling, flow validation is performed at the river basin outlet without accounting for spatial variations in hydrological parameters within the subunits. In this study, we calibrated the model to capture the spatial variations in runoff at subwatershed level to assure local water balance, and validated the streamflow at key gaging stations along the river to assure temporal variability. Ohio and Arkansas‐White‐Red River Basins of the United States were modeled using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for the period from 1961 to 1990. R² values of average annual runoff at subwatersheds were 0.78 and 0.99 for the Ohio and Arkansas Basins. Observed and simulated annual and monthly streamflow from 1961 to 1990 is used for temporal validation at the gages. R² values estimated were greater than 0.6. In summary, spatially distributed calibration at subwatersheds and temporal validation at the stream gages accounted for the spatial and temporal hydrological patterns reasonably well in the two river basins. This study highlights the importance of spatially distributed calibration and validation in large river basins.     

Assessing coastal vulnerability to climate change: comparing segmentation at global and regional scales

Recent concerns about potential climate-change effects on coastal systems require the application of vulnerability assessment tools in order to define suitable adaptation strategies and improve coastal zone management effectiveness. In fact, while various research efforts were devoted to evaluate coastal vulnerability to climate change on a national to global level, fewer applications were carried out so far to develop more comprehensive and site-specific vulnerability assessments suitable to plan possible adaptation measures at the regional scale. In this respect, specific indicators are needed to address climate-change-related issues for coastal zones and to identify vulnerable areas at the regional level. Two sets of coastal vulnerability indicators were selected, one for regional and one for global studies, respectively, concerning the same features of coastal systems, including topography and slope, geomorphological characteristics, presence and distribution of wetlands and vegetation cover, density of coastal population and number of coastal inhabitants. The proposed set of indicators for the regional scale was chosen taking into account the availability of environmental and territorial data for the whole coastal area of the Veneto region and was based on site-specific datasets characterized by a spatial resolution appropriate for a regional analysis. Moreover, a GIS-based segmentation procedure was applied to divide the coastline into linear segments, homogeneous in terms of vulnerability to climate change and sea-level rise at the regional scale. This approach allowed to divide the Veneto shoreline into 140 segments with an average length of about 1 km, while the global scale approach identified four coastal segments with an average length of about 66 km. The performed comparison indicated how the more detailed approach adopted at the regional scale is essential to understand and manage the complexities of the specific study area. In fact, the 25-m DEM employed at the regional scale provided a more accurate differentiation of the coastal area's elevation and thus of coastal susceptibility to the inundation risks, compared to the 1-km DEM used at the global level. Moreover, at the regional level the use of a 1:20,000 geomorphological map allowed to differentiate the unique landform class detected at the global level (e.g., fluvial plain) in a variety of more detailed coastal typologies (e.g., open coast eroding sandy shores backed by bedrock) characterized by a different sensitivity to climate change and sea-level rise. Accordingly, the information provided by regional indicators can support decision-makers in improving the management of coastal resources by considering the potential impacts of climate change and in the definition of appropriate actions to reduce inundation risks, to avoid the potential loss of valuable wetlands and vegetation and to plan the nourishment of sandy beaches subject to erosion processes.     

自然资源禀赋与城市化水平关系的多尺度考察

通过对单体区域在时间序列上的分析和对多个区域面板数据集综合水平的横向比较，本文在多个尺度上验证了自然资源禀赋在区域城市化过程的“资源诅咒”假说，并且通过在省际层面上建立经济计量模型进行理论检验，也得出“资源诅咒”效应在一定程度上的确存在的结论。文章还分析了城市化过程中自然资源产生限制作用的作用机理。认为这种效应是多种要素综合作用的结果，并提出了相应的政策建议。这项研究在理论上丰富了城市化动力机制和“资源诅咒”假说的研究，在实践上也具有一定的现实意义。     

陕西省环保投资绩效DEA实证分析

为优化环保投资结构,有效使用环保投资,借助于数据包络分析方法 (DEA)对陕西省2002～2009年的环保投资绩效进行实证分析。实证分析结果表明,这些年陕西省环保投资技术效率的均值为0.985,其在规模效率上处于规模合理或规模递增阶段占75%,在技术效率上处于最佳和有效状态的占75%。说明陕西省环保投资绩效保持在一个较好的水平,但陕西省环保投资还没有充分发挥作用,环保投资对经济发展和社会进步的贡献偏低,人才队伍建设力度水平亟待提高。陕西省政府可采取一些措施使陕西环保绩效进一步提高。     

PREDICTABILITY OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION LOADING IN PENNSYLVANIA USING WATERSHED‐BASED LANDSCAPE MEASUREMENTS1

ABSTRACT: We formally evaluated the relationship between landscape characteristics and surface water quality in the state of Pennsylvania (USA) by regressing two different types of pollutant responses on landscape variables that were measured for whole watersheds. One response was the monthly exported mass of nitrogen estimated from field measurements, while the other response was a GIS‐modeled pollution potential index. Regression models were built by the stepwise selection protocol, choosing an optimal set of landscape predictors. After factoring out the effect of physiography, the dominant predictors were the proportion of “annual herbaceous” land and “total herbaceous” land for the nitrogen loading and pollution potential index, respectively. The strength of these single predictors is encouraging because the marginal land cover proportions are the simplest landscape measurements to obtain once a land cover map is in hand; however, the optimal set of predictors also included several measurements of spatial pattern. Thus, for watersheds at this general hierarchical scale, gross landscape pattern may be an important influence on instream pollution loading. Overall, there is strong evidence that using landscape measurements alone, obtained solely from remotely sensed data, can explain most of the water quality variability (R²= approx. 0.75) within these watersheds.     

臭氧对中温循环冷却水系统的缓蚀性能研究

循环冷却水系统中普遍存在结垢腐蚀现象,目前常用的解决方法是在系统中加入缓蚀阻垢药剂,臭氧(O3)对循环水冷却系统同时具备阻垢、缓蚀、杀菌等多重功能。采用臭氧处理中温循环冷却水,研究在不同臭氧投加量时系统的腐蚀情况,确定最佳投加量。结果表明:当臭氧投加量为4.5 mg/L时,20碳钢和铸铁的缓蚀能力最佳。20碳钢腐蚀率最低为0.228 mm/a,比空白对照组降低了75%;铸铁的最低腐蚀率为0.282 mm/a,比空白对照组降低了61.5%。当臭氧投加量为9.0 mg/L时,镀锌试片的腐蚀率在0.206~0.275 mm/a,比空白对照组降低了38.2%左右,缓蚀效果较为明显。     

燃煤电厂除灰系统灰浆池中碳酸钙反应预期转化

燃煤电厂粉煤灰浆中碳酸钙的沉淀过程伴随着粉煤灰中游离氧化钙的溶解为了研究这一多相体系的反应动力学过程,以总无机碳含量为检测因子,利用批式实验的方法取得了反应的动力学数据在此基础上,把灰浆他作为一个非理想的反应器,通过对其流动特性的测试和对反应动力学数据的拟合,预测了反应在灰浆池中的转化率结果表明,模拟结果与现场实测结果一致本研究对于燃煤电厂输灰管道的防垢设计和灰浆池标准化研究具有指导作用.     

加强联合 振兴环保产业

企业规模小 ,投资比较分散 ,规模效益不明显是我国环保产业发展、上水平的制约因素。要应付入关后的挑战 ,必须扶持、培植掌握高新技术 ,并能推动技术进步的环保骨干企业。     

Using a sub-grid scale modeling approach to simulate the transport and fate of toxic air pollutants

Several air toxics are emitted from mobile sources on roadways and these emissions account for a significant fraction of the health risks to the population. In addition, health effect studies are now becoming more comprehensive and some account for the spatial heterogeneities of air pollutant concentration fields (as is the case near roadways). Standard models can simulate either the near-source concentration fields or the urban background, but no model can handle both spatial scales in the vicinity of roadways in a coherent and scientifically correct manner. Here, we present a model that provides such an integrated treatment by combining a grid-based air quality model of the urban background with a plume-in-grid representation of roadway emissions. The model is applied to simulate near-roadway concentrations due to emissions from a busy interstate highway in New York City. Qualitative comparisons with typical measured concentration profiles show that the model captures the observed features of toxic air pollutant concentrations near roadways.     

Parameterization of the roughness length over the sea in forced and free convection

In the condition of free convection, the Charnock relation is inadequate. In this paper we extend the Charnock relation to include the effect of free convection on the roughness length. As a result, the singularity in the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory can be avoided. This paper shows two approaches to derive the roughness length formula in the forced and free convections. The first approach is based on the mixing length theory and the use of the observational data of the vertical velocity variance. We introduce a new vertical velocity scale based on the vertical velocity variance; this velocity variance is well behaved in the atmospheric boundary layer and easy to obtain from field experiments. The second approach is based on the theoretical framework of Sykes et al. (Q R Met Soc, 119: 409–421). From that framework, we develop a theory to obtain the roughness length formula. The results of these two approaches are in agreement with each other. In the past, a multiplication factor associated with free convection was considered to be a constant. This paper shows that this multiplication factor is, in fact, also dependent on the depth of the mixing height. In previous studies, experimental works were often conducted without taking into account the depth of the mixing height. Not taking into account the mixing height in the estimation of the roughness length in free convection would result in an inaccurate estimate of the roughness length and hence the drag coefficient. An erratum to this article can be found at