WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATION USING SURVEILLANCE CAMERA

Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster that cause loss of life and damages to personal property and eventually affect the economic state of the country. Researchers around the world have been made significant efforts in dealing with the flood issue. Computer vision is one of the common approaches being employed which include the use of image segmentation techniques for image understanding and image analysis. The technique has been used in various fields including in flood disaster applications. This paper explores the use of a hybrid segmentation technique in detecting water regions from surveillance images and introduces a flood index calculation to study water level fluctuations. The flood index was evaluated by comparing the result with water level measured by sensor on-site. The experimental results demonstrated that the flood index reflects the trend of water levels of the river. Thus, the proposed technique can be used in detecting water regions and monitoring the water level fluctuation of the river.

A delay nonautonomous model for the effects of fear and refuge on predator–prey interactions with water-level fluctuations

The interaction of prey (small fish) and predator (large fish) in lakes/ponds at temperate and tropical regions varies when water level fluctuates naturally during seasonal time. We relate the perceptible effect of fear and anti-predator behavior of prey with the water-level fluctuations and describe how these are influenced by the seasonal changing of water level. So, we consider these as time-dependent functions to make the system more realistic. Also, we incorporate the time-dependent delay in the negative growth rate of prey in predator–prey model with Crowley–Martin-type functional response. We clearly provide the basic dynamics of the system such as positiveness, permanence and nonpersistence. The existence of positive periodic solution is studied using Continuation theorem, and suffiecient conditions for globally attractivity of positive periodic solution are also derived. To make the system more comprehensive, we establish numerical simulations, and compare the dynamics of autonomous and nonautonomous systems in the absence as well as the presence of time delay. Our results show that seasonality and time delay create the occurrence of complex behavior such as prevalence of chaotic disorder which can be potentially suppressed by the cost of fear and prey refuge. Also, if time delay increases, then system leads a boundary periodic solution. Our findings assert that the predation, fear of predator and prey refuge are correlated with water-level variations, and give some reasonable biological interpretations for persistence as well as extinction of species due to water-level variations.

Impact of Water Level Fluctuations on Landslide Deformation at Longyangxia Reservoir, Qinghai Province, China

The construction of Longyangxia Reservoir has altered the hydrogeological conditions of its banks. Infiltration and erosion caused by the periodic rise and fall of the water level leads to collapse of the reservoir banks and local deformation of the landslide. Due to heterogeneous topographic characteristics across the region, water level also varies between different location. Previous research on the influence of fluctuations in reservoir water level on landslide deformation has focused on single-point monitoring of specific slopes, and single-point water level monitoring data have often been used instead of water level data for the entire reservoir region. In addition, integrated remote sensing methods have seldom been used for regional analysis. In this study, the freely-available Landsat8 OLI and Sentinel-2 data were used to extract the water level of Longyangxia Reservoir using the NDWI method, and Sentinel-1A data were used to obtain landslide deformation time series using SBAS-InSAR technology. Taking the Chana, Chaxi, and Mangla River Estuary landslides (each having different reservoir water level depths) as typical examples, the influence of changes in reservoir water level on the deformation of three wading landslides was analyzed. Our main conclusions are as follows: First, the change in water level is the primary external factor controlling the deformation velocity and trend of landslides in the Longyangxia Reservoir, with falling water levels having the greatest influence. Second, the displacement of the Longyangxia Reservoir landslides lags water level changes by 0 to 62 days. Finally, this study provides a new method applicable other areas without water level monitoring data.

Proximity to Riparian Wetlands Increases Mercury Burden in Fish in the Upper St. Lawrence River

Mercury deposited in the Upper St. Lawrence River watershed by atmospheric deposition accumulated in riparian wetlands and is at risk of remobilization due to water level fluctuations. To examine if riparian wetlands are a source of mercury to fish, 174 yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and 145 round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) were collected in 2019 from eight wetland and seven non-wetland habitats throughout the Upper St. Lawrence River. Mercury levels were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in fish collected from wetlands than those collected from non-wetland habitats for both yellow perch and round goby. Perch had mercury concentrations of 74.5 ± 35.4 ng/g dry wt in wetlands compared to 59.9 ± 23.0 ng/g dry wt in non-wetlands. Goby had mercury concentrations of 55.4 ± 13.8 ng/g dry wt in wetlands and non-wetland concentrations of 41.0 ± 14.0 ng/g dry wt. Riparian wetlands are areas of elevated mercury methylation and mobilization in the Upper St. Lawrence River and consequences to predators should be considered from the perspective of both wildlife preservation as well as fish consumption advisories for public health concerns.

Dynamics of plankton biocenoses under water level fluctuations in steppe lakes

Barun-Torey and Zun-Torey lakes are located in the arid steppe zone of the Central (Inner) Asia, Eastern Siberia, Russia. The Torey lakes are characterizes unstable hydrological regime. The water level variation is explained by the periodic filling and drying of the lakes due to cyclical climatic changes in humidity and temperature. We conducted our studies various water level phases of the climatic cycle: from high water level (1999, 2003) to drying out and the initial filling phase (2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020). The aim of this paper is to present long-term research results on changes in the plankton biocenoses of the Torey lakes during a climate cycle, the drying and initial filling of basins. Succession of plankton dominant species is in the direction of: diatoms+green algae and rotifers+crustaceans → green algae and crustaceans → green algae+cyanobacteria and crustaceans → no planktonic algae and invertebrates → cyanobacteria+diatoms+green algae and rotifers+cladocerans+copepods.

Composite microbialites: Thrombolite, dendrolite, and stromatolite associations in a modern environment, Pozo Bravo lake, Salar de Antofalla, Catamarca Puna, Argentina

ABSTRACT Pozo Bravo is a high-altitude Andean lake that harbors modern microbialites thriving in hypersaline conditions in the Salar de Antofalla, one of the driest sites on Earth and located in the Puna region of Catamarca, northwest Argentine. Due to the lake physiography, microbialites are restricted to a narrow belt following Pozo Bravo lake variations. Microbialites exhibit a wide range of external morphologies including domal, discoidal, tabular, and horseshoe-like bioherms which vary considerably in size, as well as large biostromal terraces. As documented by other studies on modern microbialites, external morphology appears to be mainly the product of the environmental setting. In Pozo Bravo lake, high evaporation rates and hypersalinity (driven by high temperature and strong winds), water-level fluctuations, and lake-bottom topography are major controlling factors. The distinctive feature of Pozo Bravo microbialites is their internal structure, showing a gradual transition from a thrombolitic core to dendrolitic structures and to a sharply overlying stromatolitic layer within a single microbialite. We suggest that these various microbialite textures represent a gradual change within an environmental gradient based on lake-level variations, and the influence of these environmental factors on biological activity, mainly by cyanobacteria and diatoms. The study of this site is particularly relevant given that it represents an active system where progressive changes in microbialite type (from thrombolites to dendrolites and stromatolites) are recorded, providing an excellent natural laboratory to study these textural changes from a mechanistic perspective, and it may provide insights for better understanding of the microbialite geological record. In addition, given that these systems are threatened by human activities (mining of lithium-rich brines), its study and preservation are necessary.

EFFECT OF ADDITIONAL FOOD ON PREDATOR–PREY INTERACTIONS WITH WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATION

Significant variations of the water-level of the lake can have a strong impact on the persistence of species. Indeed, when the water-level is low, during the autumn, the contact between the predator and the prey is more frequent, and the predation increases. Conversely, when the water-level is high, in the spring, it is more difficult for the predator to find a prey and the predation decreases. In this paper, we consider a seasonally varying predator–prey model to study the influence of water-level variations on the interaction between two species of fishes in an artificial lake. A seasonal variation of the water-level is introduced in the predation rate. The predator population is provided some additional food apart from the focal prey, and follows logistic growth in the absence of prey population. As control upon the over predation, the predator population is harvested. Sensitivity analysis shows that the biomass of predator population is highly sensitive to the additional food and water variations. In the absence of additional food, our results show bursting patterns of fishes whereas positive periodic solution arises if the additional food is available in sufficient amount. The positive periodic solution is shown to be globally stable. Higher values of water-level fluctuations induce double periodic oscillations. Our findings show that providing additional food source to the generalist predator together with water-level fluctuations exerts a strong influence on the interaction between fishes.

Nitrogen Migration and Transformation Mechanism in the Groundwater Level Fluctuation Zone of Typical Medium

Because of the nitrogen pollution problem in groundwater, the migration conversion mechanism of nitrogen in groundwater level fluctuations was analyzed. Technology and methods through indoor experiments and theoretical analysis were used to study coarse sand, medium sand, and fine sand groundwater level fluctuation in the aeration zone and saturated zone under the situation of nitrogen distribution characteristics, revealing groundwater level fluctuation with the nitrogen migration mechanism. The experimental results showed that the variation range of the nitrate-nitrogen (NO3−−N) concentration with the water level is medium sand > fine sand > coarse sand. The ammonium nitrogen (NH4+−N) concentration showed a downward trend after water level fluctuations, and there were more apparent fluctuations in coarse sand and medium sand. The nitrite nitrogen (NO2−−N) in coarse sand and medium sand first increased the water level and then gradually reached a balance. The sampling points below the water level in fine sand showed a downward trend with fluctuation of the water level, and then gradually reached equilibrium. The results provide a scientific basis for the remediation and treatment of soil and groundwater pollution.