scholarly journals Temperature effects on heavy rainfall modify catchment hydro-morphological response

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Peleg ◽  
Chris Skinner ◽  
Simone Fatichi ◽  
Peter Molnar

Abstract. Heavy rainfall is expected to intensify with increasing temperatures, which will likely affect the rainfall spatial characteristics. The spatial variability of rainfall can affect streamflow and sediment transport volumes and peaks. Yet, the effect of climate change on the small-scale spatial structure of heavy rainfall and how those impacts hydrology and geomorphology remains largely unexplored. In this study, the sensitivity of the hydro-morphological response to heavy rainfall at the small-scale of minutes and hundreds of meters was investigated. A numerical experiment was conducted, in which synthetic rainfall fields representing heavy rainfall events of two types, stratiform and convective, were simulated using a space-time rainfall generator model. The rainfall fields were modified to follow different spatial rainfall scenarios, associated with increasing temperatures, and used as inputs into a landscape evolution model. The experiment was conducted over a complex topography medium-size (477 km2) Alpine catchment in central Switzerland. The results highlight that the response of the streamflow and sediment yields are highly sensitive to changes in the rainfall structure at the small-scale, in particular to changes in the areal rainfall intensity and in the area of heavy rainfall, which alters the total rainfall volume, and to a lesser extent to changes in the peak rainfall intensity. The hydro-morphological response is enhanced (reduced) when the local peak rainfall intensified and the area of heavy rainfall increased (decreased). The hydro-morphological response was found to be more sensitive to convective rainfall than stratiform rainfall because of localized runoff and erosion production. It is further shown that assuming heavy rainfall to intensify with increasing temperatures without introducing changes in the rainfall spatial structure might lead to over-estimation of future climate impacts on basin hydro-morphology.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Peleg ◽  
Chris Skinner ◽  
Simone Fatichi ◽  
Peter Molnar

Abstract. Heavy rainfall is expected to intensify with increasing temperatures, which will likely affect rainfall spatial characteristics. The spatial variability of rainfall can affect streamflow and sediment transport volumes and peaks. Yet, the effect of climate change on the small-scale spatial structure of heavy rainfall and subsequent impacts on hydrology and geomorphology remain largely unexplored. In this study, the sensitivity of the hydro-morphological response to heavy rainfall at the small-scale resolution of minutes and hundreds of metres was investigated. A numerical experiment was conducted in which synthetic rainfall fields representing heavy rainfall events of two types, stratiform and convective, were simulated using a space-time rainfall generator model. The rainfall fields were modified to follow different spatial rainfall scenarios associated with increasing temperatures and used as inputs into a landscape evolution model. The experiment was conducted over a complex topography, a medium-sized (477 km2) Alpine catchment in central Switzerland. It was found that the responses of the streamflow and sediment yields are highly sensitive to changes in total rainfall volume and to a lesser extent to changes in local peak rainfall intensities. The results highlight that the morphological components are more sensitive to changes in rainfall spatial structure in comparison to the hydrological components. The hydro-morphological features were found to respond more to convective rainfall than stratiform rainfall because of localized runoff and erosion production. It is further shown that assuming heavy rainfall to intensify with increasing temperatures without introducing changes in the rainfall spatial structure might lead to overestimation of future climate impacts on basin hydro-morphology.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Peleg ◽  
Chris Skinner ◽  
Simone Fatichi ◽  
Peter Molnar

<p>Spatial characteristics of extreme rainfall are expected to change with increasing temperatures. Extreme rainfall directly affects streamflow and sediment transport volumes and peaks, yet the effect of climate change on the small-scale spatial structure of extreme rainfall and subsequent impacts on hydrology and geomorphology remain largely unexplored. Motivated by this knowledge gap, we conducted a numerical experiment in which synthetic rainfall fields representing extreme rainfall events of two types, stratiform and convective, were simulated using a space-time rainfall generator model (AWE-GEN-2d). The rainfall fields were modified to follow different spatial rainfall scenarios, associated with increasing temperatures, and used as inputs into a landscape evolution model (CAESAR-Lisflood). We found that the response of the streamflow and sediment yields are highly sensitive to changes in total rainfall volume and to a lesser extent to changes in localized peak rainfall intensities. The morphological (erosion and sediment transport) components were found to be more sensitive to changes in rainfall spatial structure in comparison to the hydrological components, and more sensitive to convective rainfall than stratiform rainfall because of localized runoff generation and erosion production. In addition, we showed that assuming extreme rainfall events to intensify with increasing temperatures without introducing a change in the rainfall spatial structure might lead to over-estimation of future climate impacts on basin-wide hydro-geomorphology.</p>


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Lombardo ◽  
F. Napolitano ◽  
F. Russo

Abstract. In order to estimate the rainfall fields over an entire basin raingauge, pointwise measurements need to be interpolated and the small-scale variability of rainfall fields can lead to biases in the rain rate estimation over an entire basin, above all for small or medium size mountainous and urban catchments. For these reasons, several raingauges should be installed in different places in order to determine the spatial rainfall distribution during the evolution of the natural phenomena over the selected area. In technical applications, many empirical relations are used in order to deduce heavy areal rainfall, when just one raingauge is available. In this work, we studied the areal reduction factor (ARF) using radar reflectivity maps collected with the Polar 55C, a C-band Doppler dual polarized coherent weather radar with polarization agility and with a 0.9° beamwidth. The radar rainfall estimates, for an area of 1 km2, were integrated for heavy rainfall with an upscaling process, until we had rainfall estimate for an area of 900 km2. The results obtained for a significant amount of data by using this technique are compared with the most important relations of the areal reduction factor reported in the literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2293
Author(s):  
Marina Amadori ◽  
Virginia Zamparelli ◽  
Giacomo De Carolis ◽  
Gianfranco Fornaro ◽  
Marco Toffolon ◽  
...  

The SAR Doppler frequencies are directly related to the motion of the scatterers in the illuminated area and have already been used in marine applications to monitor moving water surfaces. Here we investigate the possibility of retrieving surface water velocity from SAR Doppler analysis in medium-size lakes. ENVISAT images of the test site (Lake Garda) are processed and the Doppler Centroid Anomaly technique is adopted. The resulting surface velocity maps are compared with the outputs of a hydrodynamic model specifically validated for the case study. Thermal images from MODIS Terra are used in support of the modeling results. The surface velocity retrieved from SAR is found to overestimate the numerical results and the existence of a bias is investigated. In marine applications, such bias is traditionally removed through Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) by ascribing it to a fully developed wind waves spectrum. We found that such an assumption is not supported in our case study, due to the small-scale variations of topography and wind. The role of wind intensity and duration on the results from SAR is evaluated, and the inclusion of lake bathymetry and the SAR backscatter gradient is recommended for the future development of GMFs suitable for lake environments.


Significance It will increase rainfall variability and extreme events such as droughts and floods, as well as raising temperatures. These effects may trigger cascading risks to economic, social and political stability. Impacts The EU could play a key role in moderating climate effects as it shapes migration and security policy in the Sahel. The likelihood and severity of climate impacts will depend on socio-economic and political conditions in the region. Small-scale irrigation, climate-adapted seeds and traditional soil conservation techniques can help increase resilience to climate change.


Soil Research ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Müller ◽  
M. Trolove ◽  
T. K. James ◽  
A. Rahman

Runoff potential of 5 herbicides (acetochlor, atrazine, hexazinone, pendimethalin, and terbuthylazine) was evaluated in a small-scale study under simulated rainfall on a cultivated Hamilton clay loam soil. At 24 h after herbicide application, rainfall events of different intensities were simulated to 0.5-m2 field plots with 20% (70, 88, and 111 mm/h) and 30% (60, 70, and 80 mm/h) slope, respectively. The objective of this study was to compare the behaviour of pesticides covering a range of properties under identical hydrodynamic conditions. Sediment amounts and herbicide concentrations were determined in the runoff samples. As the transported sediment amounts were not sufficient for chemical analyses, herbicide residues attached to sediment were estimated using Kd values determined locally for the soil. Whereas pendimethalin concentrations followed no noticeable pattern, the concentrations for the other herbicides were highest in the first runoff samples, and decreased exponentially with further rain. Results show that herbicides were primarily transported in their dissolved form with the exception of pendimethalin. Slope affected cumulative runoff, sediment, and herbicide losses significantly (P < 0.05). The impact of increased rainfall intensity on runoff initiation followed a similar trend, but herbicide losses from plots exposed to different intensities were not always significant. Losses dissolved in runoff from plots with 20% slope were ≤1% of the applied herbicide, whereas on plots with 30% slope the maximum recorded loss was 65%. Here, losses for all herbicides ranged between 1 and 7% at 60 mm/h and 8 and 65% at 80 mm/h. Exports of herbicides with moderate solubility were negatively correlated with their Kd values and their water solubility.


Author(s):  
Mihaela Antofie ◽  
Camelia Sand Sava

‘Roșie de Făgăraș’ is a red onion landrace originating from the old region Făgăraș Country situated in South East Transylvania. It was officially included in the National Official Catalogue for cultivars and hybrids in 1952, for almost 50 years, and erased before 2004 without applying in situ conservation measures. However, food security depends on the appropriate management of all genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). Thus they have to be conserved and sustainable used and efforts have to be done for the recognition of this landrace as a PGRFA and therefore to be maintained "under conservation" into the Official Catalogue. The study focused on analysing data from three localities recognized for cultivating ‘Roșie de Făgăraș’, in order to evaluate morphometric characteristics of mature onion bulbs according to the UPOV Standard TG/46/7, productivity, land cultivation and socio-economic vulnerabilities. The analysis of morphometric measurements results support that ‘Roșie de Făgăraș’ is a medium size red onion that may have the chance to enter the market place, at least at the small scale, according to the current regulatory framework of the European Union regarding the conservation of landraces and provided by: Directive 2008/62/EC, Directive 2009/145/EC and Directive 2010/60/EU. The analysis of productivity, and land cultivation revealed dramatic land use change associated with the decline of cultivated area as following: 76.27% in Mândra, 50% in Recea and 33.34% in Beclean. With an increasing aging population, lack of political support for entering the market place, decrease of landowners cultivating ‘Roșie de Făgăraș’ for trade will increase vulnerability of traditional knowledge related to the conservation of this landrace.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Keisar ◽  
B. Eilan ◽  
D. Greenblatt

Abstract A novel positive displacement, high pressure, vertical axis wind pump (HP-VAWP) was evaluated for the application of stand-alone high-pressure reverse-osmosis desalination and drip irrigation systems. The direct interface between a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and a positive displacement pump that delivers a constant liquid volume per revolution has never been studied before. Understanding the interaction between turbine and pump efficiencies, where delivery pressure is determined by back-pressure alone, is critical for efficient design. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted on a small-scale two-bladed turbine (0.4 m2 cross-sectional area) that operated on a dynamic stall principle. At these small laboratory scales, the turbine and pump peak efficiencies were relatively low (15% and 28%, respectively); nevertheless, the system produced nearly constant pressures in excess of 1.5 bar for a broad operational range. Moreover, the system exhibited a basic self-priming capability, and the turbine could easily be braked by overloading the pump. A conservative field-scale analysis of an HP-VAWP system indicated that a medium-size turbine (12.5 m2 cross-sectional area) could attain a peak efficiency of 12.9%. Realistic efficiencies greater than 20% are attainable, significantly exceeding the 4%–8% typical peak efficiency of the widely used American multibladed wind pumps. Indeed, our research indicates that an HP-VAWP system is viable and requires further development. The benefits of zero carbon emissions during operation, high relative efficiency, and easy manufacturing and maintenance render the HP-VAWP ideal for stand-alone or off-grid environments.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2268
Author(s):  
Wenbin Ding ◽  
Fei Wang ◽  
Kai Jin ◽  
Jianqiao Han ◽  
Qiang Yu ◽  
...  

The magnitude and spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation are the main drivers of hydrologic and agricultural processes in soil moisture, runoff generation, soil erosion, vegetation growth and agriculture activities on the Loess Plateau (LP). This study detects the spatiotemporal variations of individual rainfall events during a rainy season (RS) from May to September based on the hourly precipitation data measured at 87 stations on the LP from 1983 to 2012. The incidence and contribution rates were calculated for all classes of rainfall duration and intensity to identify the dominant contribution to the rainfall amount and frequency variations. The trend rates of regional mean annual total rainfall amount (ATR) and annual mean rainfall intensity (ARI) were 0.43 mm/year and 0.002 mm/h/year in the RS for 1983–2012, respectively. However, the regional mean annual total rainfall frequency (ARF) and rainfall events (ATE) were −0.27 h/year and −0.11 times/year, respectively. In terms of spatial patterns, an increase in ATR appeared in most areas except for the southwest, while the ARI increased throughout the study region, with particularly higher values in the northwest and southeast. Areas of decreasing ARF occurred mainly in the northwest and central south of the LP, while ATE was found in most areas except for the northeast. Short-duration (≤6 h) and light rainfall events occurred mostly on the LP, accounting for 69.89% and 72.48% of total rainfall events, respectively. Long-duration (≥7 h) and moderate rainfall events contributed to the total rainfall amount by 70.64% and 66.73% of the total rainfall amount, respectively. Rainfall frequency contributed the most to the variations of rainfall amount for light and moderate rainfall events, while rainfall intensity played an important role in heavy rainfall and rainstorms. The variation in rainfall frequency for moderate rainfall, heavy rainfall, and rainstorms is mainly affected by rainfall duration, while rainfall event was identified as a critical factor for light rainfall. The characteristics in rainfall variations on the Loess Plateau revealed in this study can provide useful information for sustainable water resources management and plans.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1277-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hwan-Jin Song ◽  
Byunghwan Lim ◽  
Sangwon Joo

Abstract Heavy rainfall events account for most socioeconomic damages caused by natural disasters in South Korea. However, the microphysical understanding of heavy rain is still lacking, leading to uncertainties in quantitative rainfall prediction. This study is aimed at evaluating rainfall forecasts in the Local Data Assimilation and Prediction System (LDAPS), a high-resolution configuration of the Unified Model over the Korean Peninsula. The rainfall of LDAPS forecasts was evaluated with observations based on two types of heavy rain events classified from K-means clustering for the relationship between surface rainfall intensity and cloud-top height. LDAPS forecasts were characterized by more heavy rain cases with high cloud-top heights (cold-type heavy rain) in contrast to observations showing frequent moderate-intensity rain systems with relatively lower cloud-top heights (warm-type heavy rain) over South Korea. The observed cold-type and warm-type events accounted for 32.7% and 67.3% of total rainfall, whereas LDAPS forecasts accounted for 65.3% and 34.7%, respectively. This indicates severe overestimation and underestimation of total rainfall for the cold-type and warm-type forecast events, respectively. The overestimation of cold-type heavy rainfall was mainly due to its frequent occurrence, whereas the underestimation of warm-type heavy rainfall was affected by both its low occurrence and weak intensity. The rainfall forecast skill for the warm-type events was much lower than for the cold-type events, due to the lower rainfall intensity and smaller rain area of the warm-type. Therefore, cloud parameterizations for warm-type heavy rain should be improved to enhance rainfall forecasts over the Korean Peninsula.


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