Using Time‐Lapse near Surface Geophysics to Image the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services of Soils and the Vadose Zone

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Robinson ◽  
Oliver Kuras ◽  
Barry Rawlins ◽  
Andrew Tye ◽  
Michael Raines ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Vadose Zone ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Near Surface Geophysics

4D-Quantification of alpine permafrost degradation in a bedrock ridge using multiple inversion schemes and deformation measurements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maike Offer ◽  
Riccardo Scandroglio ◽  
Daniel Draebing ◽  
Michael Krautblatter
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Regularization Parameter ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Permafrost Degradation ◽  
Thermal Dynamics ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Data Error ◽  
Near Surface Geophysics ◽  
Thawing Rate

<p>Warming of permafrost in steep rock walls decreases their mechanical stability and could triggers rockfalls and rockslides. However, the direct link between climate change and permafrost degradation is seldom quantified with precise monitoring techniques and long-term time series. Where boreholes are not possible, laboratory-calibrated Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is presumably the most accurate quantitative permafrost monitoring technique providing a sensitive record for frozen vs. unfrozen bedrock. Recently, 4D inversions allow also quantification of frozen bedrock extension and of its changes with time (Scandroglio et al., in review).</p><p>In this study we (i) evaluate the influence of the inversion parameters on the volumes and (ii) connect the volumetric changes with measured mechanical consequences.</p><p>The ERT time-serie was recorded between 2006 and 2019 in steep bedrock at the permafrost affected Steintälli Ridge (3100 m asl). Accurately positioned 205 drilled-in steel electrodes in 5 parallel lines across the rock ridge have been repeatedly measured with similar hardware and are compared to laboratory temperature-resistivity (T–ρ) calibration of water-saturated samples from the field. Inversions were conducted using the open-source software BERT for the first time with the aim of estimating permafrost volumetric changes over a decade.</p><p>(i) Here we present a sensitivity analysis of the outcomes by testing various plausible inversion set-ups. Results are computed with different input data filters, data error model, regularization parameter (λ), model roughness reweighting and time-lapse constraints. The model with the largest permafrost degradation was obtained without any time-lapse constraints, whereas constraining each model with the prior measurement results in the smallest degradation. Important changes are also connected to the data error estimation, while other setting seems to have less influence on the frozen volume. All inversions confirmed a drastic permafrost degradation in the last 13 years with an average reduction of 3.900±600 m<sup>3</sup> (60±10% of the starting volume), well in agreement with the measured air temperatures increase.</p><p>(ii) Average bedrock thawing rate of ~300 m<sup>3</sup>/a is expected to significantly influence the stability of the ridge. Resistivity changes are especially evident on the south-west exposed side and in the core of the ridge and are here connected to deformations measured with tape extensometer, in order to precisely estimate the mechanical consequences of bedrock warming.</p><p>In summary, the strong degradation of permafrost in the last decade it’s here confirmed since inversion settings only have minor influence on volume quantification. Internal thermal dynamics need correlation with measured external deformation for a correct interpretation of stability consequences. These results are a fundamental benchmark for evaluating mountain permafrost degradation in relation to climate change and demonstrate the key role of temperature-calibrated 4D ERT.</p><p> </p><p>Reference:</p><p>Scandroglio, R. et al. (in review) ‘4D-Quantification of alpine permafrost degradation in steep rock walls using a laboratory-calibrated ERT approach’, <em>Near Surface Geophysics</em>.</p>

scholarly journals Time-Lapse Seismic and Electrical Monitoring of the Vadose Zone during a Controlled Infiltration Experiment at the Ploemeur Hydrological Observatory, France

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1230
Author(s):  
Lara Blazevic ◽  
Ludovic Bodet ◽  
Sylvain Pasquet ◽  
Niklas Linde ◽  
Damien Jougnot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Vadose Zone ◽  
Unsaturated Flow ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Time ◽  
Infiltration Experiment

The vadose zone is the main host of surface and subsurface water exchange and has important implications for ecosystems functioning, climate sciences, geotechnical engineering, and water availability issues. Geophysics provides a means for investigating the subsurface in a non-invasive way and at larger spatial scales than conventional hydrological sensors. Time-lapse hydrogeophysical applications are especially useful for monitoring flow and water content dynamics. Largely dominated by electrical and electromagnetic methods, such applications increasingly rely on seismic methods as a complementary approach to describe the structure and behavior of the vadose zone. To further explore the applicability of active seismics to retrieve quantitative information about dynamic processes in near-surface time-lapse settings, we designed a controlled water infiltration experiment at the Ploemeur Hydrological Observatory (France) during which successive periods of infiltration were followed by surface-based seismic and electrical resistivity acquisitions. Water content was monitored throughout the experiment by means of sensors at different depths to relate the derived seismic and electrical properties to water saturation changes. We observe comparable trends in the electrical and seismic responses during the experiment, highlighting the utility of the seismic method to monitor hydrological processes and unsaturated flow. Moreover, petrophysical relationships seem promising in providing quantitative results.

scholarly journals Near-surface real-time seismic imaging using parsimonious interferometry

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherif M. Hanafy ◽  
Hussein Hoteit ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Gerard T. Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Seismic Imaging ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Recording Time ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Order Of Magnitude

AbstractResults are presented for real-time seismic imaging of subsurface fluid flow by parsimonious refraction and surface-wave interferometry. Each subsurface velocity image inverted from time-lapse seismic data only requires several minutes of recording time, which is less than the time-scale of the fluid-induced changes in the rock properties. In this sense this is real-time imaging. The images are P-velocity tomograms inverted from the first-arrival times and the S-velocity tomograms inverted from dispersion curves. Compared to conventional seismic imaging, parsimonious interferometry reduces the recording time and increases the temporal resolution of time-lapse seismic images by more than an order-of-magnitude. In our seismic experiment, we recorded 90 sparse data sets over 4.5 h while injecting 12-tons of water into a sand dune. Results show that the percolation of water is mostly along layered boundaries down to a depth of a few meters, which is consistent with our 3D computational fluid flow simulations and laboratory experiments. The significance of parsimonious interferometry is that it provides more than an order-of-magnitude increase of temporal resolution in time-lapse seismic imaging. We believe that real-time seismic imaging will have important applications for non-destructive characterization in environmental, biomedical, and subsurface imaging.

scholarly journals Time-lapse imaging of CO2 migration within near-surface sediments during a controlled sub-seabed release experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 103363
Author(s):  
Ben Roche ◽  
Jonathan M. Bull ◽  
Hector Marin-Moreno ◽  
Timothy G. Leighton ◽  
Ismael H. Falcon-Suarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Release Experiment ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging

scholarly journals Trends and Evolution in the Concept of Marine Ecosystem Services: An Overview

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2060
Author(s):  
Elvira Buonocore ◽  
Umberto Grande ◽  
Pier Paolo Franzese ◽  
Giovanni F. Russo
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Policy Dialogue ◽  
Marine Ecosystem Services

The biotic and abiotic assets of the marine environment form the “marine natural capital” embedded in the global ocean. Marine natural capital provides the flow of “marine ecosystem services” that are directly used or enjoyed by people providing benefits to human well-being. They include provisioning services (e.g., food), regulation and maintenance services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage, and coastal protection), and cultural services (e.g., tourism and recreational benefits). In recent decades, human activities have increased the pressures on marine ecosystems, often leading to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and, in turn, affecting their ability to provide benefits to humans. Therefore, effective management strategies are crucial to the conservation of healthy and diverse marine ecosystems and to ensuring their long-term generation of goods and services. Biophysical, economic, and sociocultural assessments of marine ecosystem services are much needed to convey the importance of natural resources to managers and policy makers supporting the development and implementation of policies oriented for the sustainable management of marine resources. In addition, the accounting of marine ecosystem service values can be usefully complemented by their mapping to enable the identification of priority areas and management strategies and to facilitate science–policy dialogue. Given this premise, this study aims to review trends and evolution in the concept of marine ecosystem services. In particular, the global scientific literature on marine ecosystem services is explored by focusing on the following main aspects: the definition and classification of marine ecosystem services; their loss due to anthropogenic pressures, alternative assessment, and mapping approaches; and the inclusion of marine ecosystem services into policy and decision-making processes.

Environmental impacts of smart local energy systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Robinson ◽  
Alona Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Degraded Ecosystems

<p>Energy systems around the world are rapidly transitioning towards decentralised and digitalised systems as countries aim to decarbonise their economies. However, broader environmental effects of the upscaling of these smart local energy systems (SLES) beyond reducing carbon emissions remain unclear. Land-use change associated with increased deployment of renewables, new infrastructures required for energy distribution and storage, and resource extraction for emerging energy technologies may have significant environmental impacts, including consequences for ecosystems within and beyond energy system project localities. This has major implications for biodiversity, natural capital stocks and provision of ecosystem services, the importance of which are increasingly recognised in development policy at local to international scales. This study assessed current understanding of the broader environmental impacts and potential co-benefits of SLES through a global Rapid Evidence Assessment of peer-reviewed academic literature, with a critical evaluation and synthesis of existing knowledge of effects of SLES on biodiversity, natural capital and ecosystem services. There was a striking overall lack of evidence of the environmental impacts of SLES. The vast majority of studies identified considered only energy technology CO<sub>2</sub> emissions through simulation modelling; almost no studies made explicit reference to effects on ecosystems. This highlights an urgent need to improve whole system understanding of environmental impacts of SLES, crucial to avoid unintended ecosystem degradation as a result of climate change mitigation. This will also help to identify potential techno-ecological synergies and opportunities for improvement of degraded ecosystems alongside reaching decarbonisation goals.</p>

Vulnerability and Importance of Arctic Wetlands as large-scale nature-based solutions for Sustainability in a Changing Climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisie Kåresdotter ◽  
Zahra Kalantari
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Arctic Wetlands

<p>Wetlands as large-scale nature-based solutions (NBS) provide multiple ecosystem services of local, regional, and global importance. Knowledge concerning location and vulnerability of wetlands, specifically in the Arctic, is vital to understand and assess the current status and future potential changes in the Arctic. Using available high-resolution wetland databases together with datasets on soil wetness and soil types, we created the first high-resolution map with full coverage of Arctic wetlands. Arctic wetlands' vulnerability is assessed for the years 2050, 2075, and 2100 by utilizing datasets of permafrost extent and projected mean annual average temperature from HadGEM2-ES climate model outputs for three change scenarios (RCP2.6, 4.5, and 8.5). With approximately 25% of Arctic landmass covered with wetlands and 99% being in permafrost areas, Arctic wetlands are highly vulnerable to changes in all scenarios, apart from RCP2.6 where wetlands remain largely stable. Climate change threatens Arctic wetlands and can impact wetland functions and services. These changes can adversely affect the multiple services this sort of NBS can provide in terms of great social, economic, and environmental benefits to human beings. Consequently, negative changes in Arctic wetland ecosystems can escalate land-use conflicts resulting from natural capital exploitation when new areas become more accessible for use. Limiting changes to Arctic wetlands can help maintain their ecosystem services and limit societal challenges arising from thawing permafrost wetlands, especially for indigenous populations dependent on their ecosystem services. This study highlights areas subject to changes and provides useful information to better plan for a sustainable and social-ecological resilient Arctic.</p><p>Keywords: Arctic wetlands, permafrost thaw, regime shift vulnerability, climate projection</p>

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