The role of extreme rain events in driving tree growth across a continental‐scale climatic range in Australia

A problem for drainage systems managers is the increase in extreme rain events that are increasing in various parts of the world. Their occurrence produces hydraulic overload in the drainage system and consequently floods. Adapting the existing infrastructure to be able to receive extreme rains without generating consequences for cities’ inhabitants has become a necessity. This research shows a new way to improve drainage systems with minimal investment costs, using for this purpose a novel methodology that considers the inclusion of hydraulic control elements in the network, the installation of storm tanks and the replacement of pipes. The presented methodology uses the Storm Water Management Model for the hydraulic analysis of the network and a modified Genetic Algorithm to optimize the network. In this algorithm, called the Pseudo-Genetic Algorithm, the coding of the chromosomes is integral and has been used in previous studies of hydraulic optimization. This work evaluates the cost of the required infrastructure and the damage caused by floods to find the optimal solution. The main conclusion of this study is that the inclusion of hydraulic controls can reduce the cost of network rehabilitation and decrease flood levels.

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Disentangling the role of competition, light interception, and functional traits in tree growth rate variation in South Asian tropical moist forests

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118908 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 483 ◽

pp. 118908

Author(s):

Mizanur Rahman ◽

Masum Billah ◽

Md Obydur Rahman ◽

Debit Datta ◽

Muhammad Ahsanuzzaman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Functional Traits ◽

South Asian ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Light Interception ◽

Rate Variation ◽

Tree Growth Rate

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Changes in Intense Precipitation over the Central United States

Journal of Hydrometeorology ◽

10.1175/jhm-d-11-039.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 47-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 137

Author(s):

Pavel Ya. Groisman ◽

Richard W. Knight ◽

Thomas R. Karl

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Extreme Precipitation ◽

Heavy Precipitation ◽

The Past ◽

Extreme Precipitation Events ◽

Intense Precipitation ◽

Central United States ◽

Extreme Rain ◽

Rain Events ◽

Precipitation Events

Abstract In examining intense precipitation over the central United States, the authors consider only days with precipitation when the daily total is above 12.7 mm and focus only on these days and multiday events constructed from such consecutive precipitation days. Analyses show that over the central United States, a statistically significant redistribution in the spectra of intense precipitation days/events during the past decades has occurred. Moderately heavy precipitation events (within a 12.7–25.4 mm day−1 range) became less frequent compared to days and events with precipitation totals above 25.4 mm. During the past 31 yr (compared to the 1948–78 period), significant increases occurred in the frequency of “very heavy” (the daily rain events above 76.2 mm) and extreme precipitation events (defined as daily and multiday rain events with totals above 154.9 mm or 6 in.), with up to 40% increases in the frequency of days and multiday extreme rain events. Tropical cyclones associated with extreme precipitation do not significantly contribute to the changes reported in this study. With time, the internal precipitation structure (e.g., mean and maximum hourly precipitation rates within each preselected range of daily or multiday event totals) did not noticeably change. Several possible causes of observed changes in intense precipitation over the central United States are discussed and/or tested.

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Climate as the great equalizer of continental-scale erosion

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13718 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gilby Jepson ◽

Barbara Carrapa ◽

Jack Gillespie ◽

Ran Feng ◽

Peter DeCelles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Continental Scale ◽

Active Tectonic ◽

Tectonically Active ◽

High Precipitation ◽

Tectonic Boundaries ◽

Great Equalizer ◽

Tian Shan

Central Asia is one of the most tectonically active and orographically diverse regions in the world and is the location of the highest topography on Earth resulting from major plate tectonic collisional events. Yet the role of tectonics versus climate on erosion remains one of the greatest debates of our time. We present the first regional scale analysis of 2526 published low-temperature thermochronometric dates from Central Asia spanning the Altai-Sayan, Tian Shan, Tibet, Pamir, and Himalaya. We compare these dates to tectonic processes (proximity to tectonic boundaries, crustal thickness, seismicity) and state-of-the-art paleoclimate simulations in order to constrain the relative influences of climate and tectonics on the topographic architecture and erosion of Central Asia. Predominance of pre-Cenozoic ages in much of the interior of central Asia suggests that significant topography was created prior to the India-Eurasia collision and implies limited subsequent erosion. Increasingly young cooling ages are associated with increasing proximity to active tectonic boundaries, suggesting a first-order control of tectonics on erosion. However, areas that have been sheltered from significant precipitation for extensive periods of time retain old cooling ages. This suggests that ultimately climate is the great equalizer of erosion. Climate plays a key role by enhancing erosion in areas with developed topography and high precipitation such as the Tian Shan and Altai-Sayan during the Mesozoic and the Himalaya during the Cenozoic. Older thermochronometric dates are associated with sustained aridity following more humid periods.

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Has erosion globally increased? Long-term erosion rates as a function of climate derived from the impact crater inventory

10.5194/esurf-2018-59 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Stefan Hergarten ◽

Thomas Kenkmann

Keyword(s):

Time Scale ◽

Impact Crater ◽

Regional Effect ◽

Tropical Zone ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Continental Scale ◽

River Loads ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Worldwide erosion rates seem to have increased strongly since the beginning of the Quaternary, but there is still discussion about the role of glaciation as a potential driver and even whether the increase is real at all or an artefact due to losses in the long-term sedimentary record. In this study we derive estimates of average erosion rates on the time scale of some tens of million years from the terrestrial impact crater inventory. This approach is completely independent from all other methods to infer erosion rates such as river loads, preserved sediments, cosmogenic nuclides and thermochronometry. Our approach yields average erosion rates as a function of present-day topography and climate. The results confirm that topography accounts for the main part of the huge variation of erosion on Earth, but also identifies a significant systematic dependence on climate in contrast to several previous studies. We found a fivefold increase in erosional efficacy from the cold regimes to the tropical zone and that temperate and arid climates are very similar in this context. Combining our results to a worldwide mean erosion rate we found that erosion rates on the time scale of some tens of million years are at least as high as present-day rates and suggest that glaciation has a rather regional effect with a limited impact at the continental scale.

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Application of SpectralWeather to prediction of flood and extreme rain events in the Maritime Continent

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-14574 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Beata Latos ◽

Thierry Lefort ◽

Maria K. Flatau ◽

Piotr J. Flatau ◽

Dariusz B. Baranowski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Hazards ◽

Mesoscale Convective System ◽

Heavy Rain ◽

Convective System ◽

Kelvin Wave ◽

Maritime Continent ◽

Equatorial Wave ◽

Extreme Rain ◽

Rain Events ◽

Tropical Weather

Monitoring of equatorial wave activity and understanding their nature is of high priority for scientists, weather forecasters and policy makers because these waves and their interactions can serve as precursors for weather-driven natural hazards, such as extreme rain and flood events. We studied such precursors of the January 2019 heavy rain and deadly flood in the central Maritime Continent region of southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is shown that a convectively coupled Kelvin wave (CCKW) and a convectively coupled equatorial Rossby wave (CCERW) embedded within the larger-scale envelope of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), contributed to the onset of a mesoscale convective system. The latest developed over the Java Sea and propagated onshore, resulting in extreme rain and devastating flood.&#160;For the analysis of the January 2019 flood, we explored large datasets and detected interesting features to find multivariate relationships through visualization. We used SpectralWeather &#8211; a new tool supporting tropical weather training, research and forecasting, easily accessible at https://www.spectralweather.com. Extending Cameron Beccario's earth.nullschool.net project, SpectralWeather focuses on spectral decomposition of meteorological and oceanic fields into equatorial waves &#8211; CCKW, MJO, CCERW and Mixed Rossby-Gravity waves. SpectralWeather uses ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at several levels, NASA GPM rainfall datasets, OMI OLR index, NEMO SST, AVISO sea surface height, and OSCAR currents.This new visualization tool can help to quantify and understand factors triggering natural hazards in the global tropics. We will discuss its interface and available features, based on the example of the January 2019 Sulawesi flood and other flood and extreme rain events in the Maritime Continent.&#160;&#160;&#160;

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Performance of a constructed floating wetland in mesocosm scale: nutrient removal under shock load and water level oscillation

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9133 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joana Postal Pasqualini ◽

Jucimara Andreza Rigotti ◽

Lucia Ribeiro Rodrigues

Keyword(s):

Water Level ◽

High Capacity ◽

Shock Load ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Technical Improvement ◽

Temperature Conductivity ◽

Show Evidence ◽

Extreme Rain ◽

Indispensable Tool ◽

Rain Events

Constructed Floating Wetland (CFW) has shown a high capacity to transform, recycle, retain and remove different types of pollutants, especially nutrients. A CFW was developed in mesocosms at the Institute of Hydraulic Research at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in order to evaluate the functionality of the system on treating synthetic effluent with nutrient concentrations simulating urban surface runoff. Two species of emergent macrophytes, Typha domingensis Pers. and Schoenoplectus californicus &#160;were employed. The CFW was evaluated under changes in nutrient concentration and water level during two subsequent experiments, identified as &#8220;shock load&#8221; in order to simulate extreme rain events, accidental spills of pollutants or illegal discharges that are common in drainage systems and urban rivers worldwide. Comparative evaluations between species and the system responses were evaluated in different hydraulic retention time (HRT). The system was exposed to 24 h of HRT, with 20 cm of water level and 1.8 mg/L of TP, 4.9 mg/L of TN (mean concentration). After sampling, the tanks were filled to 40 cm, with 3.0 mg/L of TP and 13.8 mg/L of TN concentration . Samples were collected within 2 and 4 h to quantify the system's response to shock-load. After sampling, the level was reduced to 20 cm, followed by exposure for the remaining 6 days, when final samples were collected. Temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and redox potential were measured in situ. Turbidity, color and pH was measured immediately after collection in the laboratory. Total phosphorus (TP), orthophosphate (PO43-), total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon (TOC), chlorophyll-a and pheophytin were also quantified. Only orthophosphate presented significant differences between initial and final concentrations, after the first 24h (F&#160;= 6.106,&#160;df&#160;= 1,&#160;p&#160;= 0.024). The shock load demonstrated significant differences between initial and final concentrations for TN (F&#160;= 10.097,&#160;df&#160;= 1,&#160;p&#160;= 0.005), for TP (F&#160;= 9.392,&#160;df&#160;= 1,&#160;p&#160;= 0.0067) and for TOC (F = 9.817, df&#160; = 1, p = 0.005). As to final batch, significant differences between input shock load and output values were found for TN (F&#160;= 103.45,&#160;df&#160;= 1,&#160;p&#160;< 0.001), for TP (F&#160;= 7.584,&#160;df&#160;= 1,&#160;p&#160;= 0.0067), for PO43- (F&#160;= 6.864,&#160;df&#160;= 1,&#160;p&#160;= 0.017) and for TOC (F&#160;= 73.608,&#160;df&#160;= 1, p < 0.001). After 6 days, average removal rates for TN were about 28% for S. californicus and 87% for T. domingensis, for TP such removals were 29% and 55%, respectively. T. domingensis superior root development in association with the biofilm in the rhizosphere of the plants, were responsible for the best efficiency. The results show evidence of the benefits related to the ecosystem service associated with the CFW built in mesocosms. The understanding of the performance of compensatory techniques in controlled situations represents an indispensable tool for the knowledge of the limitations and the consequent technical improvement necessary for the feasibility of implementing nature-based solutions as the CFW.&#160;

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Cloudburst, weather bomb or water bomb? A review of terminology for extreme rain events and the media effect

Weather ◽

10.1002/wea.2923 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 72 (6) ◽

pp. 155-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andrew J. L. Harris ◽

Massimo Lanfranco

Keyword(s):

Media Effect ◽

Extreme Rain ◽

The Media ◽

Rain Events

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