River water quality assessment using environmentric techniques: case study of Jakara River Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustapha, Adamu; Aris, Ahmad Zaharin; Juahir, Hafizan; Ramli, Mohammad Firuz; Kura, Nura Umar

2013-08-01

Jakara River Basin has been extensively studied to assess the overall water quality and to identify the major variables responsible for water quality variations in the basin. A total of 27 sampling points were selected in the riverine network of the Upper Jakara River Basin. Water samples were collected in triplicate and analyzed for physicochemical variables. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship of water quality parameters and revealed a significant relationship between salinity, conductivity with dissolved solids (DS) and 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and nitrogen in form of ammonia (NH4). Partial correlation analysis (r p) results showed that there is a strong relationship between salinity and turbidity (r p=0.930, p=0.001) and BOD5 and COD (r p=0.839, p=0.001) controlling for the linear effects of conductivity and NH4, respectively. Principal component analysis and or factor analysis was used to investigate the origin of each water quality parameter in the Jakara Basin and identified three major factors explaining 68.11 % of the total variance in water quality. The major variations are related to anthropogenic activities (irrigation agricultural, construction activities, clearing of land, and domestic waste disposal) and natural processes (erosion of river bank and runoff). Discriminant analysis (DA) was applied on the dataset to maximize the similarities between group relative to within-group variance of the parameters. DA provided better results with great discriminatory ability using eight variables (DO, BOD5, COD, SS, NH4, conductivity, salinity, and DS) as the most statistically significantly responsible for surface water quality variation in the area. The present study, however, makes several noteworthy contributions to the existing knowledge on the spatial variations of surface water quality and is believed to serve as a baseline data for further studies. Future

Water equivalent of snow survey of the Red River Basin and Heart/Cannonball River Basin, March 1978

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feimster, E.L.

1979-10-01

The water equivalent of accumulated snow was estimated in the Red River and Heart/Cannonball River basins and surrounding areas in North Dakota during the period 8 to 17 March 1978. A total of 570 km were flown, covering a 274 km section of the Red River Basin watershed. These lines had been surveyed in March 1974. Twelve flight lines were flown over the North Dakota side of the Red River from a point 23 km south of the Canadian border southward to the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The eight flight lines flown over the Minnesota side of the Red River extended from 23 km south of the Canadian border southward to Breckenridge, Minnesota. Using six flight lines, a total of 120 km were flown in the Heart/Cannonball River Basin, an area southwest of the city of Bismark, North Dakota. This was the first such flight in the Heart/Cannonball River Basin area. Computed weighted average water equivalents on each flight line in the Red River Basin ranged from 4.8 cm to 12.7 cm of water, averaging 7.6 cm for all lines. In the Heart/Cannonball River Basin, the weighted water equivalent ranged from 8.9 cm to 19.1 cm of water, averaging 12.7 cm for all lines. The method used employs the measurement of the natural gamma rays both before and after snow covers the ground

River basin planning as an instrument for the preservation and restoration of rivers. The case of the river Francoli; La planificacion de espacios fluviales como instrumento para la preservacion y restauracion de rios. Caso del rio Francoli

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gode, L.; Gracia, A.; Garcia, E.; Borras, G.

2007-07-01

According to the Water Directive, River Basin Planning (RBP) is an instrument to be applied to ensure that water masses achieve a good ecological state. the instrument identifies flood able areas, risk maps and their management, and, in this case, takes into account the Regulations of the Catalan Town Planning Act governing the permitted uses of the river basins whose limits are set by the appropriate water administration board. These RBP projects are the results of interdisciplinary work integrating hydrological, hydraulic, morpho dynamic and environmental factors. Such projects have already been drawn up for various Catalan river basins (Tordera, Baix Llobregat and Anoia, Baix Ter, etc) or are under way in others (Muga, Foix, Gaia, Besos, Fluvia, Garona, Ondara, Ridaura-riera de Calonge, etc). This is the case of the one for the river Francoli which is described in this article. (Author) 10 refs.

Integrated river basin management of Južna Morava River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borisavljević Ana

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In the last decade in particular, Serbia encountered the problems of drinking water supply, which influenced the perception of professional public about the water crisis but also started more intensive work on water resource perseverance as well as the implementation of European Water Directive. One of the main demands of the Directive focuses on integrated river basin management (IRBM, which is a complex and a large task. The need to collect data on water quality and quantity, specific and key issues of water management in Južna Morava river basin, pressures on river ecosystem, flood risks and erosion problems, cross-border issues, socioeconomic processes, agricultural development as well as protected areas, and also to give the measures for solving problems and pressures recognized in the basin, is undisputable. This paper focuses on detailed analysis of specific pressures on river ecosystem and composition of recommendations for integrated management of Južna Morava river basin as cross-border river basin, taking into the account European experiences in IRBM. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43007: Istraživanje klimatskih promena na životnu sredinu - praćenje uticaja, adaptacija i ublažavanje, podprojekat br. 9: Učestalost bujičnih poplava, degradacija zemljišta i voda kao posledica globalnih promena

Climate change adaptation in European river basins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huntjens, P.; Pahl-Wostl, C.; Grin, J.

2010-01-01

This paper contains an assessment and standardized comparative analysis of the current water management regimes in four case-studies in three European river basins: the Hungarian part of the Upper Tisza, the Ukrainian part of the Upper Tisza (also called Zacarpathian Tisza), Alentejo Region

Struggling with scales: revisiting the boundaries of river basin management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warner, J.F.; Wester, P.; Hoogesteger van Dijk, J.D.

2014-01-01

This article reviews, illustrated by two case studies, how struggles around scales play out in three globally hegemonic trends in river governance: (1) stakeholder participation for (2) integrated water resources management (IWRM), conceived at (3) the watershed or river basin level. This ‘holy

Modeling discharge and water quality in a temporary river basin using SWAT model: A case-study on the Ardila river

OpenAIRE

Durão, Anabela; Serafim, António; Brito, David; Morais, Manuela

2012-01-01

Temporary rivers have a hydrologic variability, which are characterized by long drought periods and short floods events, that influences water quality. Analysis of river flow generated in the Ardila river basin (temporary regime) using precipitation data (from 1931 to 2003) from a weather station, located within the basin, at the Portuguese side (which represents only 22% of the study area) showed a discrepancy between the modeled and observed runoff since 1981. It was also revealed a satisfa...

A proposal for an administrative set up of river basin management in the Sittaung River Basin

OpenAIRE

Tun, Zaw Lwin; Ni, Bo; Tun, Sein; Nesheim, Ingrid

2016-01-01

The purpose of this report is to present a proposal for how an administrative approach based on River Basin Management can be implemented in Myanmar. The Sittaung River Basin has been used as an example area to investigate how the basin can be administered according to the IWRM principles of cooperation between the different sectors and the administrative units, including stakeholder involvement. Ministry of Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar Norwegian Ministry of For...

Misrepresenting the Jordan River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clemens Messerschmid

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article advances a critique of the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia’s (ESCWA’s representation of the Jordan River Basin, as contained in its recently published Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia. We argue that ESCWA’s representation of the Jordan Basin is marked by serious technical errors and a systematic bias in favour of one riparian, Israel, and against the Jordan River’s four Arab riparians. We demonstrate this in relation to ESCWA’s account of the political geography of the Jordan River Basin, which foregrounds Israel and its perspectives and narratives; in relation to hydrology, where Israel’s contribution to the basin is overstated, whilst that of Arab riparians is understated; and in relation to development and abstraction, where Israel’s transformation and use of the basin are underplayed, while Arab impacts are exaggerated. Taken together, this bundle of misrepresentations conveys the impression that it is Israel which is the main contributor to the Jordan River Basin, Arab riparians its chief exploiters. This impression is, we argue, not just false but also surprising, given that the Inventory is in the name of an organisation of Arab states. The evidence discussed here provides a striking illustration of how hegemonic hydro-political narratives are reproduced, including by actors other than basin hegemons themselves.

Klamath River Basin water-quality data

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Cassandra D.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Orzol, Leonard L.; Sobieszczyk, Steven

2018-05-29

The Klamath River Basin stretches from the mountains and inland basins of south-central Oregon and northern California to the Pacific Ocean, spanning multiple climatic regions and encompassing a variety of ecosystems. Water quantity and water quality are important topics in the basin, because water is a critical resource for farming and municipal use, power generation, and for the support of wildlife, aquatic ecosystems, and endangered species. Upper Klamath Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Oregon (112 square miles) and is known for its seasonal algal blooms. The Klamath River has dams for hydropower and the upper basin requires irrigation water to support agriculture and grazing. Multiple species of endangered fish inhabit the rivers and lakes, and the marshes are key stops on the Pacific flyway for migrating birds. For these and other reasons, the water resources in this basin have been studied and monitored to support their management distribution.

Implementing Integrated River Basin Management in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boekhorst, D.G.J. te; Smits, A.J.M.; Yu, X.; Lifeng, L.; Lei, G.; Zhang, C.

2010-01-01

This paper examines the role of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature China as policy entrepreneur in China. It illustrates the ways in which the World Wildlife Fund for Nature is active in promoting integrated river basin management in the Yangtze River basin and how the efforts at basin level are

The politics of river basin organizations: institutional design choices, coalitions, and consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dave Huitema

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The idea that ecosystem management should be approached at the bioregional scale is central to the thinking on adaptive governance. Taken to the domain of water management, a bioregional approach implies the foundation of river basin organizations (RBOs, a notion that has been warmly welcomed by scholars and practitioners alike. However, it appears that river basin organizations come in various shapes and sizes, their intended foundation often leads to resistance, and their actual performance is understudied. Through this special feature we seek to advance the state of our knowledge in this respect. Through this introduction we lay the foundation for the case studies that follow in the special feature and for the conclusions. We do so by presenting a worked typology of river basin organizations. This typology helps us differentiate between various kinds of proposals that are all referred to as river basin organizations, but that are actually quite different in nature. In addition, in this introduction we present an approach to dissecting the inevitable political debates that ensue once a proposal to found a river basin organization is made, something that is often ill understood by the proponents of river basin organizations. After this, we explain the criteria that one could use to assess the performance of river basin organizations that actually come into being. Although the thinking in adaptive governance is strongly concerned with ecological effectiveness, we do show that other criteria can be applied too. Finally, we briefly introduce the various contributions to the special feature.

Range extension of Moenkhausia oligolepis (Günther,1864 to the Pindaré river drainage, of Mearim river basin, and Itapecuru river basin of northeastern Brazil (Characiformes: Characidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erick Cristofore Guimarães

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The present study reports range extansion of Moenkhausia oligolepis to the Pindaré river drainage, of the Mearim river basin, and Itapecuru river basin, Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil. This species was previously known only from Venezuela, Guianas, and the Amazon River basins. In addition, we present some meristic and morphometric data of the specimens herein examined and discuss on its diagnostic characters.

Social-ecological resilience and law in the Platte River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Birge, Hannah E.; Allen, Craig R.; Craig, Robin; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Hamm, Joseph A.; Babbitt, Christina; Nemec, Kristine T.; Schlager, Edella

2014-01-01

Efficiency and resistance to rapid change are hallmarks of both the judicial and legislative branches of the United States government. These defining characteristics, while bringing stability and predictability, pose challenges when it comes to managing dynamic natural systems. As our understanding of ecosystems improves, we must devise ways to account for the non-linearities and uncertainties rife in complex social-ecological systems. This paper takes an in-depth look at the Platte River basin over time to explore how the system's resilience—the capacity to absorb disturbance without losing defining structures and functions—responds to human driven change. Beginning with pre-European settlement, the paper explores how water laws, policies, and infrastructure influenced the region's ecology and society. While much of the post-European development in the Platte River basin came at a high ecological cost to the system, the recent tri-state and federal collaborative Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program is a first step towards flexible and adaptive management of the social-ecological system. Using the Platte River basin as an example, we make the case that inherent flexibility and adaptability are vital for the next iteration of natural resources management policies affecting stressed basins. We argue that this can be accomplished by nesting policy in a resilience framework, which we describe and attempt to operationalize for use across systems and at different levels of jurisdiction. As our current natural resources policies fail under the weight of looming global change, unprecedented demand for natural resources, and shifting land use, the need for a new generation of adaptive, flexible natural resources govern-ance emerges. Here we offer a prescription for just that, rooted in the social , ecological and political realities of the Platte River basin. Social-Ecological Resilience and Law in the Platte River Basin (PDF Download Available). Available

Towards a digital watershed, with a case study in the Heihe River Basin of northwest China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Cheng, G.-D.; Ma, M.-G.; Lu, L.; Ge, Y.-C.

2003-04-01

Integrated watershed study and river basin management needs integrated database and integrated hydrological and water resource models. We define digital watershed as a web-based information system that integrates data from different sources and in different scales through both information technology and hydrological modeling. In the last two years, a “digital basin” of the Heihe River Basin, which is a well-studied in-land catchment in China’s arid region was established. More than 6 Gb of in situ observation data, GIS maps, and remotely sensed data have been uploaded to the Heihe web site. Various database and dynamic web techniques such as PHP, ASP, XML, VRML are being used for data service. In addition, the DIAL (Data and Information Access Link), IMS (Internet Map Server) and other Web-GISs are used to make GIS and remote sensing datasets of the Heihe River Basin available and accessible on the Internet. We also have developed models for estimating the evapotranspiration, bio-physical parameters, and snow runoff. These methods can be considered as the elements to build up the integrated watershed model that can be used for integrated management of the Heihe River Basin. The official domain name of the digital Heihe River Basin is heihe.westgis.ac.cn

Implementing Integrated River Basin Management in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorri G. J. te Boekhorst

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the role of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature China as policy entrepreneur in China. It illustrates the ways in which the World Wildlife Fund for Nature is active in promoting integrated river basin management in the Yangtze River basin and how the efforts at basin level are matched with the advice of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development task force on integrated river basin management to the national government of China. This article demonstrates that the World Wildlife Fund for Nature uses various strategies of different types to support a transition process towards integrated river basin management. Successful deployment of these strategies for change in environmental policy requires special skills, actions, and attitudes on the part of the policy entrepreneur, especially in China, where the government has a dominant role regarding water management and the position of policy entrepeneurs is delicate.

Case study on rehabilitation of a polluted urban water body in Yangtze River Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Juan; Cheng, Shuiping; Li, Zhu; Guo, Weijie; Zhong, Fei; Yin, Daqiang

2013-10-01

In the past three decades, the fast development of economy and urbanization has caused increasingly severe pollutions of urban water bodies in China. Consequently, eutrophication and deterioration of aquatic ecosystem, which is especially significant for aquatic vegetation, inevitably became a pervasive problem across the Yangtze River Basin. To rehabilitate the degraded urban water bodies, vegetation replanting is an important issue to improve water quality and to rehabilitate ecosystem. As a case study, a representative polluted urban river, Nanfeihe River, in Hefei City, Anhui Province, was chosen to be a rehabilitation target. In October 2009 and May 2010, 13 species of indigenous and prevalent macrophytes, including seven species emergent, one species floating leaved, and five species submersed macrophytes, were planted along the bank slopes and in the river. Through 1.5 years' replanting practice, the water quality and biodiversity of the river had been improved. The concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia nitrogen (NH4 (+)-N) declined by 46.0, 39.5, and 60.4 %, respectively. The species of macrophytes increased from 14 to 60, and the biodiversity of phytoplankton rose significantly in the river (purban waters restoration in the middle-downstream area of Yangtze River Base.

A market-based approach to share water and benefits in transboundary river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Arjoon, Diane; Tilmant, Amaury; Herrmann, Markus

2016-04-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived as efficient, as well as equitable, in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature falls short of providing practical, institutional arrangements that ensure maximum economic welfare as well as collaboratively developed methods for encouraging the equitable sharing of benefits. In this study we define an institutional arrangement that distributes welfare in a river basin by maximizing the economic benefits of water use and then sharing these benefits in an equitable manner using a method developed through stakeholder involvement. In this methodology (i) a hydro-economic model is used to efficiently allocate scarce water resources to water users in a transboundary basin, (ii) water users are obliged to pay for water, and (iii) the total of these water charges are equitably redistributed as monetary compensation to users. The amount of monetary compensation, for each water user, is determined through the application of a sharing method developed by stakeholder input, based on a stakeholder vision of fairness, using an axiomatic approach. The whole system is overseen by a river basin authority. The methodology is applied to the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The technique ensures economic efficiency and may lead to more equitable solutions in the sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins because the definition of the sharing rule is not in question, as would be the case if existing methods, such as game theory, were applied, with their inherent definitions of fairness.

River Basin Scale Management and Governance: Competing Interests for Western Water

Science.gov (United States)

Lindquist, Eric

2015-04-01

One of the most significant issues in regard to how social scientists understand environmental and resource management is the question of scale: what is the appropriate scale at which to consider environmental problems, and associated stakeholders (including hydrologists) and their interests, in order to "govern" them? Issues of scale touch on the reality of political boundaries, from the international to the local, and their overlap and conflict across jurisdictions. This presentation will consider the questions of environmental management and governance at the river basin scale through the case of the Boise River Basin (BRB), in southwest Idaho. The river basin scale provides a viable, and generalizable, unit of analysis with which to consider theoretical and empirical questions associated with governance and the role of hydrological science in decision making. As a unit of analysis, the "river basin" is common among engineers and hydrologists. Indeed, hydrological data is often collected and assessed at the basin level, not at an institutional or jurisdictional level. In the case of the BRB much is known from the technical perspective, such as infrastructure and engineering factors, who manages the river and how, and economic perspectives, in regard to benefits in support of major agricultural interests in the region. The same level of knowledge cannot be said about the political and societal factors, and related concepts of institutions and power. Compounding the situation is the increasing probability of climate change impacts in the American West. The geographic focus on the Boise River Basin provides a compelling example of what the future might hold in the American West, and how resource managers and other vested interests make or influence river basin policy in the region. The BRB represents a complex and dynamic environment covering approximately 4,100 square miles of land. The BRB is a highly managed basin, with multiple dams and diversions, and is

Impact of farm dams on river flows; A case study in the Limpopo River basin, Southern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijer, E.; Querner, E.P.; Boesveld, H.

2013-01-01

The study analysed the impact of a farm dam on the river flow in the Limpopo River basin. Two methods are used to calculate the water inflow: one uses the runoff component from the catchment water balance; the other uses the drainage output of the SIMFLOW model. The impact on the flow in a

A framework model for water-sharing among co-basin states of a river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, N. K.; Azad, Shambhu

2018-05-01

A new framework model is presented in this study for sharing of water in a river basin using certain governing variables, in an effort to enhance the objectivity for a reasonable and equitable allocation of water among co-basin states. The governing variables were normalised to reduce the governing variables of different co-basin states of a river basin on same scale. In the absence of objective methods for evaluating the weights to be assigned to co-basin states for water allocation, a framework was conceptualised and formulated to determine the normalised weighting factors of different co-basin states as a function of the governing variables. The water allocation to any co-basin state had been assumed to be proportional to its struggle for equity, which in turn was assumed to be a function of the normalised discontent, satisfaction, and weighting factors of each co-basin state. System dynamics was used effectively to represent and solve the proposed model formulation. The proposed model was successfully applied to the Vamsadhara river basin located in the South-Eastern part of India, and a sensitivity analysis of the proposed model parameters was carried out to prove its robustness in terms of the proposed model convergence and validity over the broad spectrum values of the proposed model parameters. The solution converged quickly to a final allocation of 1444 million cubic metre (MCM) in the case of the Odisha co-basin state, and to 1067 MCM for the Andhra Pradesh co-basin state. The sensitivity analysis showed that the proposed model's allocation varied from 1584 MCM to 1336 MCM for Odisha state and from 927 to 1175 MCM for Andhra, depending upon the importance weights given to the governing variables for the calculation of the weighting factors. Thus, the proposed model was found to be very flexible to explore various policy options to arrive at a decision in a water sharing problem. It can therefore be effectively applied to any trans-boundary problem where

75 FR 38833 - Walker River Basin Acquisition Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-06

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Walker River Basin Acquisition Program AGENCY... (Reclamation) is canceling work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Walker River Basin... Walker River, primarily for irrigated agriculture, have resulted in a steadily declining surface...

Application of the ELOHA Framework to Regulated Rivers in the Upper Tennessee River Basin: A Case Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McManamay, Ryan A [ORNL; Orth, Dr. Donald J [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech); Dolloff, Dr. Charles A [USDA Forest Service, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Tech; Mathews, David C [Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

2013-01-01

In order for habitat restoration in regulated rivers to be effective at large scales, broadly applicable frameworks are needed that provide measurable objectives and contexts for management. The Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) framework was created as a template to assess hydrologic alterations, develop relationships between altered streamflow and ecology, and establish environmental flow standards. We tested the utility of ELOHA in informing flow restoration applications for fish and riparian communities in regulated rivers in the Upper Tennessee River Basin (UTRB). We followed the steps of ELOHA to generate flow alteration-ecological response relationships and then determined whether those relationships could predict fish and riparian responses to flow restoration in the Cheoah River, a regulated system within the UTRB. Although ELOHA provided a robust template to construct hydrologic information and predict hydrology for ungaged locations, our results do not support the assertion that over-generalized univariate relationships between flow and ecology can produce results sufficient to guide management in regulated rivers. After constructing multivariate models, we successfully developed predictive relationships between flow alterations and fish/riparian responses. In accordance with model predictions, riparian encroachment displayed consistent decreases with increases in flow magnitude in the Cheoah River; however, fish richness did not increase as predicted four years post- restoration. Our results suggest that altered temperature and substrate and the current disturbance regime may have reduced opportunities for fish species colonization. Our case study highlights the need for interdisciplinary science in defining environmental flows for regulated rivers and the need for adaptive management approaches once flows are restored.

Effects of urbanization on agricultural lands and river basins: case study of Mersin (South of Turkey).

Science.gov (United States)

Duran, Celalettin; Gunek, Halil; Sandal, Ersin Kaya

2012-04-01

Largely, Turkey is a hilly and mountainous country. Many rivers rise from the mountains and flow into the seas surrounding the country. Mean while along fertile plains around the rivers and coastal floodplains of Turkey were densely populated than the other parts of the country. These characteristics show that there is a significant relationship between river basins and population or settlements. It is understood from this point of view, Mersin city and its vicinity (coastal floodplain and nearby river basins) show similar relationship. The city of Mersin was built on the southwest comer of Cukurova where Delicay and Efrenk creeks create narrow coastal floodplain. The plain has rich potential for agricultural practices with fertile alluvial soils and suitable climate. However, establishment of the port at the shore have increased commercial activity. Agricultural and commercial potential have attracted people to the area, and eventually has caused rapid spatial expansion of the city, and the urban sprawls over fertile agricultural lands along coastal floodplain and nearby river basins of the city. But unplanned, uncontrolled and illegal urbanization process has been causing degradation of agricultural areas and river basins, and also causing flooding in the city of Mersin and its vicinity. Especially in the basins, urbanization increases impervious surfaces throughout watersheds that increase erosion and runoff of surface water. In this study, the city of Mersin and its vicinity are examined in different ways, such as land use, urbanization, morphology and flows of the streams and given some directions for suitable urbanization.

South Fork Holston River basin 1988 biomonitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saylor, C.F.; Ahlstedt, S.A.

1990-06-01

There is concern over the effects of shifts in land use use practices on the aquatic fauna of streams in the South Fork Holston River basin in northwestern North Carolina and southwestern Virginia. Trout reproduction has noticeably declined in the Watauga River subbasin. The Watauga River and Elk River subbasins have been subjected to commercial and resort development. The Middle fork Holston River and the upper South Fork Holston River subbasins have been affected by agricultural and mining activities, respectively (Cox, 1986). To aid reclamation and management of the South Fork Holston basin, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) biologists conducted biomonitoring--including index of biotic integrity and macroinvertebrate sampling--on the Middle Fork Holston, South Fork Holston, Watauga, and Elk Rivers to assess cumulative impairment related to changes in habitat and pollutant loading in these subbasins. Biomonitoring can detect environmental degradation, help document problem areas, and assist in development of strategies for managing water quality. This report discusses the methods and materials and results of the biomonitoring of South Fork Holston River Basin. 13 refs., 5 figs., 12 tabs.

Hydroclimatic variability in East Asia: A case study in the Yangtze river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, K. P.; Fok, H. S.; Sapriza Azuri, G.; Klaus, J.; Mamet, S.

2017-12-01

New regional patterns of droughts and flooding are emerging at south and east Asia river basins, but the causal climatic mechanisms underlying these new hydrological extreme events are yet unknown. The Southern Oscillation, monsoons, and sea surface temperatures affect hydrological conditions in Asia at different spatiotemporal scales. During the negative phase of the Southern Oscillation, anticyclone systems occur more frequently and modulate precipitation patterns near the southeast coast of China. Monsoons related to the Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) locations have been used to explain regional droughts and flooding. Moreover, sea surface temperatures affect wind anomalies and thermocline adjustments across the Pacific and Indian oceans. Here we propose using a major catchment in China, the Yangtze river basin, to understand regional modes of climate variability influencing local hydrological dynamics in Asia. By decomposing the variance of precipitation and hydrological time series, we are able to quantify the relative contributions of the Southern Oscillation, monsoons, and sea surface temperatures to the Yangtze river discharges. Our results suggest that the Southern Oscillation has a relatively weak effect on discharges, whereas the Indian and western North Pacific monsoons are important for the upstream and downstream Yangtze river, respectively. Furthermore, rising Pacific sea surface temperatures may be related to more intensive precipitation at the downstream basin. Based on the hydroclimatic relationships identified here, we discuss future scenarios of changing environmental conditions in the region.

Fishes of the Taquari-Antas river basin (Patos Lagoon basin, southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FG. Becker

Full Text Available The aquatic habitats of the Taquari-Antas river basin (in the Patos Lagoon basin, southern Brazil are under marked environmental transformation because of river damming for hydropower production. In order to provide an information baseline on the fish fauna of the Taquari-Antas basin, we provide a comprehensive survey of fish species based on primary and secondary data. We found 5,299 valid records of fish species in the basin, representing 119 species and 519 sampling sites. There are 13 non-native species, six of which are native to other Neotropical river basins. About 24% of the total native species are still lacking a taxonomic description at the species level. Three native long-distance migratory species were recorded (Leporinus obtusidens, Prochilodus lineatus, Salminus brasiliensis, as well as two potential mid-distance migrators (Parapimelodus nigribarbis and Pimelodus pintado. Although there is only one officially endangered species in the basin (S. brasiliensis, restricted range species (21.7% of total species should be considered in conservation efforts.

Assessing Vulnerability under Uncertainty in the Colorado River Basin: The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study

Science.gov (United States)

Jerla, C.; Adams, P.; Butler, A.; Nowak, K.; Prairie, J. R.

2013-12-01

Spanning parts of the seven states, of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, the Colorado River is one of the most critical sources of water in the western United States. Colorado River allocations exceed the long-term supply and since the 1950s, there have been a number of years when the annual water use in the Colorado River Basin exceeded the yield. The Basin is entering its second decade of drought conditions which brings challenges that will only be compounded if projections of climate change are realized. It was against this backdrop that the Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study was conducted. The Study's objectives are to define current and future imbalances in the Basin over the next 50 years and to develop and analyze adaptation and mitigation strategies to resolve those imbalances. Long-term planning in the Basin involves the integration of uncertainty with respect to a changing climate and other uncertainties such as future demand and how policies may be modified to adapt to changing reliability. The Study adopted a scenario planning approach to address this uncertainty in which thousands of scenarios were developed to encompass a wide range of plausible future water supply and demand conditions. Using Reclamation's long-term planning model, the Colorado River Simulation System, the reliability of the system to meet Basin resource needs under these future conditions was projected both with and without additional future adaptation strategies in place. System reliability metrics were developed in order to define system vulnerabilities, the conditions that lead to those vulnerabilities, and sign posts to indicate if the system is approaching a vulnerable state. Options and strategies that reduce these vulnerabilities and improve system reliability were explored through the development of portfolios. Four portfolios, each with different management strategies, were analyzed to assess their effectiveness at

Beyond water, beyond boundaries: spaces of water management in the Krishna river basin, South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Venot, Jean-Philippe; Bharati, Luna; Giordano, Mark; Molle, François

2011-01-01

As demand and competition for water resources increase, the river basin has become the primary unit for water management and planning. While appealing in principle, practical implementation of river basin management and allocation has often been problematic. This paper examines the case of the Krishna basin in South India. It highlights that conflicts over basin water are embedded in a broad reality of planning and development where multiple scales of decisionmaking and non-water issues are at play. While this defines the river basin as a disputed "space of dependence", the river basin has yet to acquire a social reality. It is not yet a "space of engagement" in and for which multiple actors take actions. This explains the endurance of an interstate dispute over the sharing of the Krishna waters and sets limits to what can be achieved through further basin water allocation and adjudication mechanisms – tribunals – that are too narrowly defined. There is a need to extend the domain of negotiation from that of a single river basin to multiple scales and to non-water sectors. Institutional arrangements for basin management need to internalise the political spaces of the Indian polity: the states and the panchayats. This re-scaling process is more likely to shape the river basin as a space of engagement in which partial agreements can be iteratively renegotiated, and constitute a promising alternative to the current interstate stalemate.

The "normal" elongation of river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Castelltort, Sebastien

2013-04-01

The spacing between major transverse rivers at the front of Earth's linear mountain belts consistently scales with about half of the mountain half-width [1], despite strong differences in climate and rock uplift rates. Like other empirical measures describing drainage network geometry this result seems to indicate that the form of river basins, among other properties of landscapes, is invariant. Paradoxically, in many current landscape evolution models, the patterns of drainage network organization, as seen for example in drainage density and channel spacing, seem to depend on both climate [2-4] and tectonics [5]. Hovius' observation [1] is one of several unexplained "laws" in geomorphology that still sheds mystery on how water, and rivers in particular, shape the Earth's landscapes. This narrow range of drainage network shapes found in the Earth's orogens is classicaly regarded as an optimal catchment geometry that embodies a "most probable state" in the uplift-erosion system of a linear mountain belt. River basins currently having an aspect away from this geometry are usually considered unstable and expected to re-equilibrate over geological time-scales. Here I show that the Length/Width~2 aspect ratio of drainage basins in linear mountain belts is the natural expectation of sampling a uniform or normal distribution of basin shapes, and bears no information on the geomorphic processes responsible for landscape development. This finding also applies to Hack's [6] law of river basins areas and lengths, a close parent of Hovius' law. [1]Hovius, N. Basin Res. 8, 29-44 (1996) [2]Simpson, G. & Schlunegger, F. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 2300 (2003) [3]Tucker, G. & Bras, R. Water Resour. Res. 34, 2751-2764 (1998) [4]Tucker, G. & Slingerland, R. Water Resour. Res. 33, 2031-2047 (1997) [5]Tucker, G. E. & Whipple, K. X. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1-1 (2002) [6]Hack, J. US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 294-B (1957)

Drainage divides, Massachusetts; Blackstone and Thames River basins

Science.gov (United States)

Krejmas, Bruce E.; Wandle, S. William

1982-01-01

Drainage boundaries for selected subbasins of the Blackstone and Thames River basins in eastern Hampden, eastern Hampshire, western Norfolk, southern Middlesex, and southern Worcester Counties, Massachusetts, are delineated on 12 topographic quadrangle maps at a scale of 1:24,000. Drainage basins are shown for all U.S. Geological Survey data-collection sites and for mouths of major rivers. Drainage basins are shown for the outlets of lakes or ponds and for streams where the drainage area is greater than 3 square miles. Successive sites along watercourses are indicated where the intervening area is at least 6 miles on tributary streams or 15 square miles along the Blackstone River, French River, or Quinebaug River. (USGS)

Managing Basin Interdependencies in a Heterogeneous, Highly Utilized and Data Scarce River Basin in Semi-Arid Africa : The case of the Pangani River Basin, Eastern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiptala, J.K.

2016-01-01

For integrated water resources management both blue and green water resources in a river basin and their spatial and temporal distribution have to be considered. This is because green and blue water uses are interdependent. In sub-Saharan Africa, the upper landscapes are often dominated by rainfed

Managing Basin Interdependencies in a Heterogeneous, Highly Utilized and Data Scarce River Basin in Semi-Arid Africa: The Case of the Pangani River Basin, Eastern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiptala, J.K.

2016-01-01

For integrated water resources management both blue and green water resources in a river basin and their spatial and temporal distribution have to be considered. This is because green and blue water uses are interdependent. In sub-Saharan Africa, the upper landscapes are often dominated by rainfed

Study on Law of Groundwater Evolution under Natural and Artificial Forcing with Case study of Haihe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

You, Jinjun; Gan, Hong; Wang, Lin; Bi, Xue; Du, Sisi

2010-05-01

The evolution of groundwater is one of the key problems of water cycle study. It is a result of joint effect of natural condition and human activities, but until now the driving forces of groundwater system evolution were not fully understood due to the complexity of groundwater system structures and the uncertainty of affecting factors. Geology, precipitation and human activity are the main factors affecting the groundwater system evolution and interact each other, but the influence of such three factors on groundwater system are not clarified clearly on a macroscopic scale. The precipitation changes the volume of water recharge and the groundwater pumping effect the discharge of groundwater. Another important factor influencing balance of groundwater storage is the underlaying that affects the renewablility of groundwater. The underlaying is decided mainly by geological attributes but also influenced by human activited. The macroscopic environment of groundwater evolves under the natural and anthropic factors. This paper study the general law of groundwater evolution among the factors based on the case study in Haihe River Basin, a typical area with dramatic groundwater change under natural precipitation attenuation and gradually increase of water suuply. Haihe River Basin is located in north-China, covers an area of 320,041 km2 with over 40% plain areas. The plain area of Haihe Basin is densely populated with many large and medium-sized cities, including metropolis of Beijing and Tianjin, and concentrated irrigated areas, playing important roles in China's economy and food production. It is the unique basin where groundwater occupies majority of total water supply in China. Long-term groundwater over-exploitation causes a series of ecological and environmental problems that threats the sustainable development. In this paper, the historical process of groundwater balance in Haihe Basin is divided into three phases by decrease of rainfall and increase of water

Water pollution control in river basin by interactive fuzzy interval multiobjective programming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, N.B.; Chen, H.W. [National Cheng-Kung Univ., Tainan (Taiwan, Province of China). Dept. of Environmental Engineering; Shaw, D.G.; Yang, C.H. [Academia Sinica, Taipei (Taiwan, Province of China). Inst. of Economics

1997-12-01

The potential conflict between protection of water quality and economic development by different uses of land within river basins is a common problem in regional planning. Many studies have applied multiobjective decision analysis under uncertainty to problems of this kind. This paper presents the interactive fuzzy interval multiobjective mixed integer programming (IFIMOMIP) model to evaluate optimal strategies of wastewater treatment levels within a river system by considering the uncertainties in decision analysis. The interactive fuzzy interval multiobjective mixed integer programming approach is illustrated in a case study for the evaluation of optimal wastewater treatment strategies for water pollution control in a river basin. In particular, it demonstrates how different types of uncertainty in a water pollution control system can be quantified and combined through the use of interval numbers and membership functions. The results indicate that such an approach is useful for handling system complexity and generating more flexible policies for water quality management in river basins.

Geographical Information Systems for International River Basin Management in the Third World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kammerud, Terje Andre

1998-12-31

This thesis discusses implementation and application of Geographical Information systems (GIS) in international River Basin Organizations (RBOs) in the Third World. Third World countries sharing the same river basin are increasingly experiencing conflicts because they exploit the same water resource. Empirical knowledge is derived from two case studies. (1) The Mekong River Commission Secretariat`s experiences in applying GIS are investigated. The conditions assessed are related to institutional, funding, expertise, training and technology issues for successful application of GIS. (2) The prospects for the implementation of GIS at a future WATERNET Centre in Amman are investigated. Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have decided to establish a regional GIS Centre in the lower Jordan River Basin. The study assesses political, legal and institutional conditions for the successful implementation of GIS. It is concluded that implementing and applying GIS successfully in RBOs in the Third World is challenging, although not for technological reasons. 265 refs., 28 figs., 13 tabs.

Geographical Information Systems for International River Basin Management in the Third World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kammerud, Terje Andre

1997-12-31

This thesis discusses implementation and application of Geographical Information systems (GIS) in international River Basin Organizations (RBOs) in the Third World. Third World countries sharing the same river basin are increasingly experiencing conflicts because they exploit the same water resource. Empirical knowledge is derived from two case studies. (1) The Mekong River Commission Secretariat`s experiences in applying GIS are investigated. The conditions assessed are related to institutional, funding, expertise, training and technology issues for successful application of GIS. (2) The prospects for the implementation of GIS at a future WATERNET Centre in Amman are investigated. Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have decided to establish a regional GIS Centre in the lower Jordan River Basin. The study assesses political, legal and institutional conditions for the successful implementation of GIS. It is concluded that implementing and applying GIS successfully in RBOs in the Third World is challenging, although not for technological reasons. 265 refs., 28 figs., 13 tabs.

Water Induced Hazard Mapping in Nepal: A Case Study of East Rapti River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Neupane, N.

2010-12-01

This paper presents illustration on typical water induced hazard mapping of East Rapti River Basin under the DWIDP, GON. The basin covers an area of 2398 sq km. The methodology includes making of base map of water induced disaster in the basin. Landslide hazard maps were prepared by SINMAP approach. Debris flow hazard maps were prepared by considering geology, slope, and saturation. Flood hazard maps were prepared by using two approaches: HEC-RAS and Satellite Imagery Interpretation. The composite water-induced hazard maps were produced by compiling the hazards rendered by landslide, debris flow, and flood. The monsoon average rainfall in the basin is 1907 mm whereas maximum 24 hours precipitation is 456.8 mm. The peak discharge of the Rapati River in the year of 1993 at station was 1220 cu m/sec. This discharge nearly corresponds to the discharge of 100-year return period. The landslides, floods, and debris flows triggered by the heavy rain of July 1993 claimed 265 lives, affected 148516 people, and damaged 1500 houses in the basin. The field investigation and integrated GIS interpretation showed that the very high and high landslide hazard zones collectively cover 38.38% and debris flow hazard zone constitutes 6.58%. High flood hazard zone occupies 4.28% area of the watershed. Mitigation measures are recommendated according to Integrated Watershed Management Approach under which the non-structural and structural measures are proposed. The non-structural measures includes: disaster management training, formulation of evacuation system (arrangement of information plan about disaster), agriculture management practices, protection of water sources, slope protections and removal of excessive bed load from the river channel. Similarly, structural measures such as dike, spur, rehabilitation of existing preventive measures and river training at some locations are recommendated. The major factors that have contributed to induce high incidences of various types of mass

The water footprint of agricultural products in European river basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanham, D; Bidoglio, G

2014-01-01

This work quantifies the agricultural water footprint (WF) of production (WF prod, agr ) and consumption (WF cons, agr ) and the resulting net virtual water import (netVW i, agr ) of 365 European river basins for a reference period (REF, 1996–2005) and two diet scenarios (a healthy diet based upon food-based dietary guidelines (HEALTHY) and a vegetarian (VEG) diet). In addition to total (tot) amounts, a differentiation is also made between the green (gn), blue (bl) and grey (gy) components. River basins where the REF WF cons, agr, tot exceeds the WF prod, agr, tot (resulting in positive netVW i, agr, tot values), are found along the London–Milan axis. These include the Thames, Scheldt, Meuse, Seine, Rhine and Po basins. River basins where the WF prod, agr, tot exceeds the WF cons, agr, tot are found in Western France, the Iberian Peninsula and the Baltic region. These include the Loire, Ebro and Nemunas basins. Under the HEALTHY diet scenario, the WF cons, agr, tot of most river basins decreases (max −32%), although it was found to increase in some basins in northern and eastern Europe. This results in 22 river basins, including the Danube, shifting from being net VW importers to being net VW exporters. A reduction (max −46%) in WF cons, agr, tot is observed for all but one river basin under the VEG diet scenario. In total, 50 river basins shift from being net VW importers to being net exporters, including the Danube, Seine, Rhone and Elbe basins. Similar observations are made when only the gn + bl and gn components are assessed. When analysing only the bl component, a different river basin pattern is observed. (letters)

Hotspots within the Transboundary Selenga River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kasimov, Nikolay; Lychagin, Mikhail; Chalov, Sergey

2013-04-01

Gathering the efficient information on water pollution of transboundary river systems remains the crucial task in international water management, environmental pollution control and prevention health problems. Countries, located in the low parts of the river basins, depend on the water strategy and water use in the adjacent countries, located upstream. Surface water pollution is considered to be the most serious problem, facing the above-mentioned countries. Large efforts in terms of field measurement campaigns and (numerical) transport modeling are then typically needed for relevant pollution prediction and prevention. Russian rivers take inflow from 8 neighboring countries. Among them there are 2 developing economies - People Republic of China and Mongolia, which are located in water-scarce areas and thus solve their water-related problems through the consumption of international water. Negative change of water runoff and water quality in the foreign part of transboundary river is appeared inside Russian territory with more or less delay. The transboundary river system of Selenga is particularly challenging, being the biggest tributary of Lake Baikal which is the largest freshwater reservoir in the world. Selenga River contributes about 50 % of the total inflow into Baikal. It originates in the mountainous part of Mongolia and then drains into Russia. There are numerous industries and agricultural activities within the Selenga drainage basin that affect the water quality of the river system. Absence of the single monitoring system and predictive tools for pollutants transport in river system requires large efforts in understanding sources of water pollution and implemented data on the relevant numerical systems for the pollution prediction and prevention. Special investigations in the Selenga river basin (Mongolia and Russia) were done to assess hot spots and understand state-of-the art in sediment load, water chemistry and hydrobiology of transboundary systems

77 FR 45653 - Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group; Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

... Basin Conservation Advisory Group, Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, established by the... Water Conservation Program. DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, from 1 p.m. to... the implementation of the Water Conservation Program, including the applicable water conservation...

A comparison of integrated river basin management strategies: A global perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chunhong; Wang, Pei; Zhang, Guanghong

In order to achieve the integrated river basin management in the arid and rapid developing region, the Heihe River Basin (HRB) in Northwestern China, one of critical river basins were selected as a representative example, while the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia and the Colorado River Basin (CRB) in the USA were selected for comparative analysis in this paper. Firstly, the comparable characters and hydrological contexts of these three watersheds were introduced in this paper. Then, based on comparative studies on the river basin challenges in terms of the drought, intensive irrigation, and rapid industrialization, the hydrological background of the MDB, the CRB and the HRB was presented. Subsequently, the river management strategies were compared in three aspects: water allocation, water organizations, and water act and scientific projects. Finally, we proposed recommendations for integrated river basin management for the HRB: (1) Water allocation strategies should be based on laws and markets on the whole basin; (2) Public participation should be stressed by the channels between governance organizations and local communities; (3) Scientific research should be integrated into river management to understand the interactions between the human and nature.

River habitat assessment for ecological restoration of Wei River Basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tao; Wang, Shuo; Li, Xiaoping; Wu, Ting; Li, Li; Chen, Jia

2018-04-11

As an important composition component of river ecosystems, river habitats must undergo quality assessment to potentially provide scientific basis for river ecological restoration. Substrate composition, habitat complexity, bank erosion degree, river meandering degree, human activity intensity, vegetation buffer width, water quality, and water condition were determined as indicators for river habitat assessment. The comprehensive habitat quality index (CHQI) was established for the Wei River Basin. In addition, the indicator values were determined on the basis of a field investigation at 12 national hydrological stations distributed across the Wei, Jing, and Beiluo Rivers. The analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the indicator weights and thus distinguish the relative importance of the assessment indicator system. Results indicated that the average CHQIs for the Wei, Jing, and Beiluo Rivers were 0.417, 0.508, and 0.304, respectively. The river habitat quality for the three rivers was well. As for the whole river basin, the river habitat quality for 25% of the cross section was very well, the other 25% was well, and the 50% remaining was in critical state. The river habitat quality of the Jing River was better than that of the Wei and Beiluo Rivers.

Northern part, Ten Mile and Taunton River basins

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, John R.; Willey, Richard E.

1967-01-01

The northern part of the Ten Mile and Taunton River basins is an area of about 195 square miles within Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol Counties in southeastern Massachusetts. The northern boundary of the area (plate 1) is the drainage divide separating these basins from that of the Charles, Neponset, and Weymouth River basins. The western boundary is, for the most part, the divide separating the basins from the Blackstone River basin. The eastern boundary is at the edge of the Brockton-Pembroke area (Petersen, 1962; Petersen and Shaw, 1961). The southern boundary in Seekonk is the northern limit of the East Providence quadrangle, for which a ground-water map was prepared by Allen and Gorman (1959); eastward, the southern boundaries of the city of Attleboro and the towns of Norton, Easton, and West Bridgewater form the southern boundary of the area.

Dynamic water accounting in heavily committed river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmant, Amaury; Marques, Guilherme

2014-05-01

Many river basins throughout the world are increasingly under pressure as water demands keep rising due to population growth, industrialization, urbanization and rising living standards. In the past, the typical answer to meet those demands focused on the supply-side and involved the construction of hydraulic infrastructures to capture more water from surface water bodies and from aquifers. As river basins were being more and more developed, downstream water users and ecosystems have become increasingly dependant on the management actions taken by upstream users. The increased interconnectedness between water users, aquatic ecosystems and the built environment is further compounded by climate change and its impact on the water cycle. Those pressures mean that it has become increasingly important to measure and account for changes in water fluxes and their corresponding economic value as they progress throughout the river system. Such basin water accounting should provide policy makers with important information regarding the relative contribution of each water user, infrastructure and management decision to the overall economic value of the river basin. This paper presents a dynamic water accounting approach whereby the entire river basin is considered as a value chain with multiple services including production and storage. Water users and reservoirs operators are considered as economic agents who can exchange water with their hydraulic neighbors at a price corresponding to the marginal value of water. Effective water accounting is made possible by keeping track of all water fluxes and their corresponding transactions using the results of a hydro-economic model. The proposed approach is illustrated with the Eastern Nile River basin in Africa.

How different institutional arrangements promote integrated river basin management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Helle Ørsted; Frederiksen, Pia; Saarikoski, Heli

2013-01-01

Management Planning processes in six countries around the Baltic Sea. We use theories on multi-level governance, regime interplay and institutional effectiveness. We find that, in most cases, central governments have played a dominant role in the formulation of river basin management plans, while local......, member states must therefore address both the roles of different institutional actors and the interplay among institutions. In this paper, we will explore strengths and weaknesses of different institutional arrangements for integrated water management through a comparative analysis of River Basin...... influence has been somewhat limited. The tight procedural deadlines of the di-rective appear to have pushed for more centralisation than originally intended by the countries. But the analysis also shows that interplay mechanisms such as norms, ideas and incentives do promote effective institutional...

Pechora River basin integrated system management PRISM; biodiversity assessment for the Pechora River basin; Cluster B: biodiversity, land use & forestry modeling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluis, van der T.

2005-01-01

This report describes the biodiversity for the Pechora River basin Integrated System Management (PRISM). The Pechora River Basin, situated just west of the Ural Mountains, Russia, consists of vast boreal forests and tundra landscapes, partly pristine and undisturbed. The concept of biodiversity is

Modeling and analysis of Soil Erosion processes by the River Basins model: The Case Study of the Krivacki Potok Watershed, Montenegro

Science.gov (United States)

Vujacic, Dusko; Barovic, Goran; Mijanovic, Dragica; Spalevic, Velibor; Curovic, Milic; Tanaskovic, Vjekoslav; Djurovic, Nevenka

2016-04-01

The objective of this research was to study soil erosion processes in one of Northern Montenegrin watersheds, the Krivacki Potok Watershed of the Polimlje River Basin, using modeling techniques: the River Basins computer-graphic model, based on the analytical Erosion Potential Method (EPM) of Gavrilovic for calculation of runoff and soil loss. Our findings indicate a low potential of soil erosion risk, with 554 m³ yr-1 of annual sediment yield; an area-specific sediment yield of 180 m³km-2 yr-1. The calculation outcomes were validated for the entire 57 River Basins of Polimlje, through measurements of lake sediment deposition at the Potpec hydropower plant dam. According to our analysis, the Krivacki Potok drainage basin is with the relatively low sediment discharge; according to the erosion type, it is mixed erosion. The value of the Z coefficient was calculated on 0.297, what indicates that the river basin belongs to 4th destruction category (of five). The calculated peak discharge from the river basin was 73 m3s-1 for the incidence of 100 years and there is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied river basin. Using the adequate computer-graphic and analytical modeling tools, we improved the knowledge on the soil erosion processes of the river basins of this part of Montenegro. The computer-graphic River Basins model of Spalevic, which is based on the EPM analytical method of Gavrilovic, is highly recommended for soil erosion modelling in other river basins of the Southeastern Europe. This is because of its reliable detection and appropriate classification of the areas affected by the soil loss caused by soil erosion, at the same time taking into consideration interactions between the various environmental elements such as Physical-Geographical Features, Climate, Geological, Pedological characteristics, including the analysis of Land Use, all calculated at the catchment scale.

Fishes of the White River basin, Indiana

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Charles G.; Lydy, Michael J.; Frey, Jeffrey W.

1996-01-01

Since 1875, researchers have reported 158 species of fish belonging to 25 families in the White River Basin. Of these species, 6 have not been reported since 1900 and 10 have not been reported since 1943. Since the 1820's, fish communities in the White River Basin have been affected by the alteration of stream habitat, overfishing, the introduction of non-native species, agriculture, and urbanization. Erosion resulting from conversion of forest land to cropland in the 1800's led to siltation of streambeds and resulted in the loss of some silt-sensitive species. In the early 1900's, the water quality of the White River was seriously degraded for 100 miles by untreated sewage from the City of Indianapolis. During the last 25 years, water quality in the basin has improved because of efforts to control water pollution. Fish communities in the basin have responded favorably to the improved water quality.

Harmonic analyses of stream temperatures in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, T.D.

1985-01-01

Harmonic analyses were made for available daily water-temperature records for 36 measurement sites on major streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin and for 14 measurement sites on streams in the Piceance structural basin. Generally (88 percent of the station years analyzed), more than 80 percent of the annual variability of temperatures of streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin was explained by the simple-harmonic function. Significant trends were determined for 6 of the 26 site records having 8 years or more record. In most cases, these trends resulted from construction and operation of upstream surface-water impoundments occurring during the period of record. Regional analysis of water-temperature characteristics at the 14 streamflow sites in the Piceance structural basin indicated similarities in water-temperature characteristics for a small range of measurement-site elevations. Evaluation of information content of the daily records indicated that less-than-daily measurement intervals should be considered, resulting in substantial savings in measurement and data-processing costs. (USGS)

The tritium balance of the Ems river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krause, W.J.

1989-01-01

For the Ems river basin, as a fine example of a Central European lowland basin, an inventory of the tritium distribution is presented for the hydrologic years 1951 to 1983. On the basis of a balance model, the tritium contents in surface waters and groundwater of the Ems river basin are calculated, using known and extrapolated tritium input data and comparing them with the corresponding values measured since 1974. A survey of tritium flows occurring in this basin is presented, taking meteorologic and hydrologic facts into account. (orig.)

Heavy metal transport in large river systems: heavy metal emissions and loads in the Rhine and Elbe river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Vink, Rona; Behrendt, Horst

2002-11-01

Pollutant transport and management in the Rhine and Elbe basins is still of international concern, since certain target levels set by the international committees for protection of both rivers have not been reached. The analysis of the chain of emissions of point and diffuse sources to river loads will provide policy makers with a tool for effective management of river basins. The analysis of large river basins such as the Elbe and Rhine requires information on the spatial and temporal characteristics of both emissions and physical information of the entire river basin. In this paper, an analysis has been made of heavy metal emissions from various point and diffuse sources in the Rhine and Elbe drainage areas. Different point and diffuse pathways are considered in the model, such as inputs from industry, wastewater treatment plants, urban areas, erosion, groundwater, atmospheric deposition, tile drainage, and runoff. In most cases the measured heavy metal loads at monitoring stations are lower than the sum of the heavy metal emissions. This behaviour in large river systems can largely be explained by retention processes (e.g. sedimentation) and is dependent on the specific runoff of a catchment. Independent of the method used to estimate emissions, the source apportionment analysis of observed loads was used to determine the share of point and diffuse sources in the heavy metal load at a monitoring station by establishing a discharge dependency. The results from both the emission analysis and the source apportionment analysis of observed loads were compared and gave similar results. Between 51% (for Hg) and 74% (for Pb) of the total transport in the Elbe basin is supplied by inputs from diffuse sources. In the Rhine basin diffuse source inputs dominate the total transport and deliver more than 70% of the total transport. The diffuse hydrological pathways with the highest share are erosion and urban areas.

Zinc and Its Isotopes in the Loire River Basin, France

Science.gov (United States)

Millot, R.; Desaulty, A. M.; Bourrain, X.

2014-12-01

The contribution of human activities such as industries, agriculture and domestic inputs, becomes more and more significant in the chemical composition of the dissolved load of rivers. Human factors act as a supplementary key process. Therefore the mass-balance for the budget of catchments and river basins include anthropogenic disturbances. The Loire River in central France is approximately 1010 km long and drains an area of 117,800 km2. In the upper basin, the bedrock is old plutonic rock overlain by much younger volcanic rocks. The intermediate basin includes three major tributaries flowing into the Loire River from the left bank: the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne rivers; the main stream flows westward and its valley stretches toward the Atlantic Ocean. Here, the Loire River drains the sedimentary series of the Paris Basin, mainly carbonate deposits. The lower Loire basin drains pre-Mesozoic basement of the Armorican Massif and its overlying Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary deposits. The Loire River is one of the main European riverine inputs to the Atlantic ocean. Here we are reporting concentration and isotope data for Zn in river waters and suspended sediments from the Loire River Basin. In addition, we also report concentration and isotope data for the different industrial sources within the Loire Basin, as well as data for biota samples such as mussels and oysters from the Bay of Biscay and North Brittany. These organisms are known to be natural accumulators of metal pollutants. Zinc isotopic compositions are rather homogeneous in river waters with δ66Zn values ranging from 0.21 to 0.39‰. This range of variation is very different from anthropogenic signature (industrial and/or agriculture release) that displays δ66Zn values between 0.02 to 0.14‰. This result is in agreement with a geogenic origin and the low Zn concentrations in the Loire River Basin (from 0.8 to 6 µg/L).

Streamflow distribution maps for the Cannon River drainage basin, southeast Minnesota, and the St. Louis River drainage basin, northeast Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Erik A.; Sanocki, Chris A.; Lorenz, David L.; Jacobsen, Katrin E.

2017-12-27

Streamflow distribution maps for the Cannon River and St. Louis River drainage basins were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, to illustrate relative and cumulative streamflow distributions. The Cannon River was selected to provide baseline data to assess the effects of potential surficial sand mining, and the St. Louis River was selected to determine the effects of ongoing Mesabi Iron Range mining. Each drainage basin (Cannon, St. Louis) was subdivided into nested drainage basins: the Cannon River was subdivided into 152 nested drainage basins, and the St. Louis River was subdivided into 353 nested drainage basins. For each smaller drainage basin, the estimated volumes of groundwater discharge (as base flow) and surface runoff flowing into all surface-water features were displayed under the following conditions: (1) extreme low-flow conditions, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.95; (2) low-flow conditions, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.90; (3) a median condition, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.50; and (4) a high-flow condition, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.02.Streamflow distribution maps were developed using flow-duration curve exceedance-probability quantiles in conjunction with Soil-Water-Balance model outputs; both the flow-duration curve and Soil-Water-Balance models were built upon previously published U.S. Geological Survey reports. The selected streamflow distribution maps provide a proactive water management tool for State cooperators by illustrating flow rates during a range of hydraulic conditions. Furthermore, after the nested drainage basins are highlighted in terms of surface-water flows, the streamflows can be evaluated in the context of meeting specific ecological flows under different flow regimes and potentially assist with decisions regarding groundwater and surface

Arthropods in Decomposing Wood of the Atchafalaya River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

B.G. Lockaby; B.D. Keeland; John A. Stanturf; M.D. Rice; G. Hodges; R.M. Governo

2002-01-01

Changes in arthropod populations (numbers of individuals identified to the family level in most cases) were studied during the decomposition of coarse woody debris (CWD) in the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana. The arthropod study was linked with a CWD decomposition study installed after disturbance by Hurricane Andrew. Arthropod numbers were compared between two...

Time still to restore the polluted Piracicaba river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favaro, P.C.; De Nadai Fernandes, E.A.; Ferraz, E.S.B.; Falotico, M.H.B.

2004-01-01

Over the last decades the acceleration of the industrialization and urbanization processes together with the intensive agricultural practices have resulted in an impact on the Piracicaba river basin, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The source rivers drain from an area of low population density, absence of heavy industries, non-significant agriculture, native forest and reforestation, the opposite is found in the middle part of the basin. Samples of riverbed sediments were collected along the basin for chemical analysis. Results showed that the source rivers still preserve their natural characteristics, while the Atibaia river in the middle part shows signs of pollution from the agricultural activity, industrial effluents and urban sewage. (author)

Process-based distributed modeling approach for analysis of sediment dynamics in a river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. A. Kabir

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Modeling of sediment dynamics for developing best management practices of reducing soil erosion and of sediment control has become essential for sustainable management of watersheds. Precise estimation of sediment dynamics is very important since soils are a major component of enormous environmental processes and sediment transport controls lake and river pollution extensively. Different hydrological processes govern sediment dynamics in a river basin, which are highly variable in spatial and temporal scales. This paper presents a process-based distributed modeling approach for analysis of sediment dynamics at river basin scale by integrating sediment processes (soil erosion, sediment transport and deposition with an existing process-based distributed hydrological model. In this modeling approach, the watershed is divided into an array of homogeneous grids to capture the catchment spatial heterogeneity. Hillslope and river sediment dynamic processes have been modeled separately and linked to each other consistently. Water flow and sediment transport at different land grids and river nodes are modeled using one dimensional kinematic wave approximation of Saint-Venant equations. The mechanics of sediment dynamics are integrated into the model using representative physical equations after a comprehensive review. The model has been tested on river basins in two different hydro climatic areas, the Abukuma River Basin, Japan and Latrobe River Basin, Australia. Sediment transport and deposition are modeled using Govers transport capacity equation. All spatial datasets, such as, Digital Elevation Model (DEM, land use and soil classification data, etc., have been prepared using raster "Geographic Information System (GIS" tools. The results of relevant statistical checks (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and R–squared value indicate that the model simulates basin hydrology and its associated sediment dynamics reasonably well. This paper presents the

Two Case Studies to Quantify Resilience across Food-Energy-Water Systems: the Columbia River Treaty and Adaptation in Yakima River Basin Irrigation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Malek, K.; Adam, J. C.; Richey, A.; Rushi, B. R.; Stockle, C.; Yoder, J.; Barik, M.; Lee, S. Y.; Rajagopalan, K.; Brady, M.; Barber, M. E.; Boll, J.; Padowski, J.

2017-12-01

The U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) plays a significant role in meeting agricultural and hydroelectric demands nationwide. Climatic and anthropogenic stressors, however, potentially threaten the productivity, resilience, and environmental health of the region. Our objective is to understand how resilience of each Food-Energy-Water (FEW) sector, and the combined Nexus, respond to exogenous perturbations and the extent to which technological and institutional advances can buffer these perturbations. In the process of taking information from complex integrated models and assessing resilience across FEW sectors, we start with two case studies: 1) Columbia River Treaty (CRT) with Canada that determines how multiple reservoirs in the Columbia River basin (CRB) are operated, and 2) climate change adaptation actions in the Yakima River basin (YRB). We discuss these case studies in terms of the similarities and contrasts related to FEW sectors and management complexities. Both the CRB and YBP systems are highly sensitive to climate change (they are both snowmelt-dominant) and already experience water conflict. The CRT is currently undergoing renegotiation; a new CRT will need to consider a much more comprehensive approach, e.g., treating environmental flows explicitly. The YRB also already experiences significant water conflict and thus the comprehensive Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP) is being pursued. We apply a new modeling framework that mechanistically captures the interactions between the FEW sectors to quantify the impacts of CRT and YBIP planning (as well as adaptation decisions taken by individuals, e.g., irrigators) on resilience in each sector. Proposed modification to the CRT may relieve impacts to multiple sectors. However, in the YRB, irrigators' actions to adapt to climate change (through investing in more efficient irrigation technology) could reduce downstream water availability for other users. Developing a process to quantify resilience to perturbations

Adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana to the Yangtze River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Yu-Pan; Hou, Xing-Hui; Wu, Qiong; Chen, Jia-Fu; Li, Zi-Wen; Han, Ting-Shen; Niu, Xiao-Min; Yang, Li; Xu, Yong-Chao; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Fu-Min; Tan, Dunyan; Tian, Zhixi; Gu, Hongya; Guo, Ya-Long

2017-12-28

Organisms need to adapt to keep pace with a changing environment. Examining recent range expansion aids our understanding of how organisms evolve to overcome environmental constraints. However, how organisms adapt to climate changes is a crucial biological question that is still largely unanswered. The plant Arabidopsis thaliana is an excellent system to study this fundamental question. Its origin is in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, but it has spread to the Far East, including the most south-eastern edge of its native habitats, the Yangtze River basin, where the climate is very different. We sequenced 118 A. thaliana strains from the region surrounding the Yangtze River basin. We found that the Yangtze River basin population is a unique population and diverged about 61,409 years ago, with gene flows occurring at two different time points, followed by a population dispersion into the Yangtze River basin in the last few thousands of years. Positive selection analyses revealed that biological regulation processes, such as flowering time, immune and defense response processes could be correlated with the adaptation event. In particular, we found that the flowering time gene SVP has contributed to A. thaliana adaptation to the Yangtze River basin based on genetic mapping. A. thaliana adapted to the Yangtze River basin habitat by promoting the onset of flowering, a finding that sheds light on how a species can adapt to locales with very different climates.

Cross-Border organisations as an adaptive water management response to clmate change: the case of the Guadiana river basin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cots, F.; Tabara, J.D.; McEvoy, D.; Werners, S.E.; Roca, E.

2009-01-01

In this paper we analyse the role played by cross-border organisations in the Guadiana river basin in Iberia, and the extent to which new emerging institutional arrangements carry on adaptive management practice as a response to mounting climate change risks in the river basin. Particular attention

River and Reservoir Operations Model, Truckee River basin, California and Nevada, 1998

Science.gov (United States)

Berris, Steven N.; Hess, Glen W.; Bohman, Larry R.

2001-01-01

The demand for all uses of water in the Truckee River Basin, California and Nevada, commonly is greater than can be supplied. Storage reservoirs in the system have a maximum effective total capacity equivalent to less than two years of average river flows, so longer-term droughts can result in substantial water-supply shortages for irrigation and municipal users and may stress fish and wildlife ecosystems. Title II of Public Law (P.L.) 101-618, the Truckee?Carson?Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, provides a foundation for negotiating and developing operating criteria, known as the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA), to balance interstate and interbasin allocation of water rights among the many interests competing for water from the Truckee River. In addition to TROA, the Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement (WQSA), signed in 1996, provides for acquisition of water rights to resolve water-quality problems during low flows along the Truckee River in Nevada. Efficient execution of many of the planning, management, or environmental assessment requirements of TROA and WQSA will require detailed water-resources data coupled with sound analytical tools. Analytical modeling tools constructed and evaluated with such data could help assess effects of alternative operational scenarios related to reservoir and river operations, water-rights transfers, and changes in irrigation practices. The Truckee?Carson Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, to support U.S. Department of the Interior implementation of P.L. 101-618, is developing a modeling system to support efficient water-resources planning, management, and allocation. The daily operations model documented herein is a part of the modeling system that includes a database management program, a graphical user interface program, and a program with modules that simulate river/reservoir operations and a variety of hydrologic processes. The operations module is capable of simulating lake

Flood Risk Index Assessment in Johor River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi; Hafizan Juahir; Azman Azid; Fazureen Azaman; Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi

2015-01-01

This study is focusing on constructing the flood risk index in the Johor river basin. The application of statistical methods such as factor analysis (FA), statistical process control (SPC) and artificial neural network (ANN) had revealed the most efficient flood risk index. The result in FA was water level has correlation coefficient of 0.738 and the most practicable variable to be used for the warning alert system. The upper control limits (UCL) for the water level in the river basin Johor is 4.423 m and the risk index for the water level has been set by this method consisting of 0-100.The accuracy of prediction has been evaluated by using ANN and the accuracy of the test result was R"2 = 0.96408 with RMSE= 2.5736. The future prediction for UCL in Johor river basin has been predicted and the value was 3.75 m. This model can shows the current and future prediction for flood risk index in the Johor river basin and can help local authorities for flood control and prevention of the state of Johor. (author)

A Simplified Nitrogen Assessment in Tagus River Basin: A Management Focused Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudia M. d. S. Cordovil

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Interactions among nitrogen (N management and water resources quality are complex and enhanced in transboundary river basins. This is the case of Tagus River, which is an important river flowing from Spain to Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula. The aim was to provide a N assessment review along the Tagus River Basin regarding mostly agriculture, livestock, and urban activities. To estimate reactive nitrogen (Nr load into surface waters, emission factor approaches were applied. Nr pressures are much higher in Spain than in Portugal (~13 times, which is mostly because of livestock intensification. Some policy and technical measures have been defined aiming at solving this problem. Main policy responses were the designation of Nitrate Vulnerable and Sensitive Zones, according to European Union (EU directives. Nitrate Vulnerable Zone comprise approximately one third of both territories. On the contrary, Sensitive Zones are more extended in Spain, attaining 60% of the watershed, against only 30% in Portugal. Technical measures comprised advanced urban and industrial wastewater treatment that was designed to remove N compounds before discharge in the water bodies. Given this assessment, Tagus River Basin sustainability can only be guaranteed through load inputs reductions and effective transnational management processes of water flows.

Glacial lakes in the Horgos river basin and their outbreak risk assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. P. Medeu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The river Khorgos (in Kazakhstan – Korgas is a boundary river between Kazakhstan and China. Its basin is located in the central part of southern slope of Dzhungarskiy (Zhetysu Alatau range. According to agreement between Kazakhstan and China at the boundary transition of Khorgos in the floodplain of the river Khorgos the large Center of Frontier Cooperation is erected. Estimation of safety of the mentioned object including connection with possible glacial lakes outbursts has the importance of political-economical value. Nowadays development of glacial lakes in the overhead part of Khorgos river basin has reached apogee. As a roof we can mention the maximum of total glacial lakes area (1,7 million m² in 41 lakes and emptied kettles of former glacial lakes. Six lakes reached highly dangerous outburst stage: the volume of lakes reached some million m³, maximum depth up to 30–40 m. Focal ground filtration of the water from lakes takes place. Development of glacial lakes in Khorgos river basin will continue, and these lakes give and will give real danger for the Center of Frontier Cooperation in case of outburst of naturally dammed lake Kazankol with the similar mechanism of Issyk lake outburst, occurred in 1963 in ZailijskiyAlatau (Ile Alatau.

Colorado River basin sensitivity to disturbance impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, K. E.; Urrego-Blanco, J. R.; Jonko, A. K.; Vano, J. A.; Newman, A. J.; Bohn, T. J.; Middleton, R. S.

2017-12-01

The Colorado River basin is an important river for the food-energy-water nexus in the United States and is projected to change under future scenarios of increased CO2emissions and warming. Streamflow estimates to consider climate impacts occurring as a result of this warming are often provided using modeling tools which rely on uncertain inputs—to fully understand impacts on streamflow sensitivity analysis can help determine how models respond under changing disturbances such as climate and vegetation. In this study, we conduct a global sensitivity analysis with a space-filling Latin Hypercube sampling of the model parameter space and statistical emulation of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model to relate changes in runoff, evapotranspiration, snow water equivalent and soil moisture to model parameters in VIC. Additionally, we examine sensitivities of basin-wide model simulations using an approach that incorporates changes in temperature, precipitation and vegetation to consider impact responses for snow-dominated headwater catchments, low elevation arid basins, and for the upper and lower river basins. We find that for the Colorado River basin, snow-dominated regions are more sensitive to uncertainties. New parameter sensitivities identified include runoff/evapotranspiration sensitivity to albedo, while changes in snow water equivalent are sensitive to canopy fraction and Leaf Area Index (LAI). Basin-wide streamflow sensitivities to precipitation, temperature and vegetation are variable seasonally and also between sub-basins; with the largest sensitivities for smaller, snow-driven headwater systems where forests are dense. For a major headwater basin, a 1ºC of warming equaled a 30% loss of forest cover, while a 10% precipitation loss equaled a 90% forest cover decline. Scenarios utilizing multiple disturbances led to unexpected results where changes could either magnify or diminish extremes, such as low and peak flows and streamflow timing

How Widely Applicable is River Basin Management? An Analysis of Wastewater Management in an Arid Transboundary Case

Science.gov (United States)

Dombrowsky, Ines; Almog, Ram; Becker, Nir; Feitelson, Eran; Klawitter, Simone; Lindemann, Stefan; Mutlak, Natalie

2010-05-01

The basin scale has been promoted universally as the optimal management unit that allows for the internalization of all external effects caused by multiple water uses. However, the basin scale has been put forward largely on the basis of experience in temperate zones. Hence whether the basin scale is the best scale for management in other settings remains questionable. To address these questions this paper analyzes the economic viability and the political feasibility of alternative management options in the Kidron/Wadi Nar region. The Kidron/Wadi Nar is a small basin in which wastewater from eastern Jerusalem flows through the desert to the Dead Sea. Various options for managing these wastewater flows were analyzed ex ante on the basis of both a cost benefit and a multi-criteria analysis. The paper finds that due to economies of scale, a pure basin approach is not desirable from a physical and economic perspective. Furthermore, in terms of political feasibility, it seems that the option which prompts the fewest objections from influential stakeholder groups in the two entities under the current asymmetrical political setting is not a basin solution either, but a two plant solution based on an outsourcing arrangement. These findings imply that the river basin management approach can not be considered the best management approach for the arid transboundary case at hand, and hence is not unequivocally universally applicable.

Susquehanna River Basin Flood Control Review Study

Science.gov (United States)

1980-08-01

and made recommendations for an intergrated water plan for the Basin and included a specific Early Action Plan. Concerning flood damage reduction, the...transportation and by agriculture as a source of income and occupation. The river served as a source of transportation for trade and commerce and also as a... trade patterns, and labor market areas. The Susquehanna River Basin is largely comprised of BEA economic areas 011, 012, 013, and 016. Figure II shows the

Policy and Practice – River Basins

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Ms Suruchi Bhadwal

nature of rivers in the northern belt- inextricably linked. Exacerbated water stress in some areas. Increasing demands – food and drinking water needs. Socioeconomics. CC Impacts. Glacier-fed basins in the. North. Glacier melt and river flooding,. GLOFs, landslides. Unique socio-cultural settings and political differences.

Simulation of the catastrophic floods caused by extreme rainfall events - Uh River basin case study

OpenAIRE

Pekárová, Pavla; Halmová, Dana; Mitková, Veronika

2005-01-01

The extreme rainfall events in Central and East Europe on August 2002 rise the question, how other basins would respond on such rainfall situations. Such theorisation helps us to arrange in advance the necessary activity in the basin to reduce the consequence of the assumed disaster. The aim of the study is to recognise a reaction of the Uh River basin (Slovakia, Ukraine) to the simulated catastrophic rainfall events from August 2002. Two precipitation scenarios, sc1 and sc2, were created. Th...

Raptors of the Izdrevaya River Basin, Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elvira G. Nikolenko

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This article compiles the results of episodic visits of the aurhoes to the basin of the Izdrevaya river during 2012–2016. The main goals of those visits were: to figure out the species composition of nesting fauna of birds of prey, estabishing the manner of nesting pairs’ distribution and designing a system of nestboxes for different species of birds of prey and owls. 8 species of Falconiformes are present in the Izdrevaya river basin, 4 of which are nesting, and 3 species of Strigiformes, 2 of which are nesting. The Black Kite (Milvus migrans has maximum density in the Izdrevaya river basin – 51.83 ind./100km2 (n=93. The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo is the second in number after the Black Kite, its density being 8.88 ind/100km2 of the total area. The Ural Owl (Strix uralensis, encountered only on two territories in 2012, inhabited 4 nestboxes in 2013 as the result of biotechnical measures taken, and its number increased to 8 pairs successfully breeding in the nextboxes in 2016. Main negative factors for birds of prey in the Izdrevaya river basin were established: electrocution on power lines, illegal logging, illegal construction of dams and the construction of waste-sorting plant with a range of solid municipal waste.

Challenges of linking scientific knowledge to river basin management policy: AquaTerra as a case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slob, A.; Rijnveld, M.

2007-01-01

The EU Project AquaTerra generates knowledge about the river-soil-sediment-groundwater system and delivers scientific information of value for river basin management. In this article, the use and ignorance of scientific knowledge in decision making is explored by a theoretical review. We elaborate

Development of streamflow projections under changing climate conditions over Colorado River basin headwaters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. P. Miller

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The current drought over the Colorado River Basin has raised concerns that the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation may impose water shortages over the lower portion of the basin for the first time in history. The guidelines that determine levels of shortage are affected by relatively short-term (3 to 7 month forecasts determined by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC using the National Weather Service (NWS River Forecasting System (RFS hydrologic model. While these forecasts by the CBRFC are useful, water managers within the basin are interested in long-term projections of streamflow, particularly under changing climate conditions. In this study, a bias-corrected, statistically downscaled dataset of projected climate is used to force the NWS RFS utilized by the CBRFC to derive projections of streamflow over the Green, Gunnison, and San Juan River headwater basins located within the Colorado River Basin. This study evaluates the impact of changing climate to evapotranspiration rates and contributes to a better understanding of how hydrologic processes change under varying climate conditions. The impact to evapotranspiration rates is taken into consideration and incorporated into the development of streamflow projections over Colorado River headwater basins in this study. Additionally, the NWS RFS is modified to account for impacts to evapotranspiration due to changing temperature over the basin. Adjusting evapotranspiration demands resulted in a 6 % to 13 % average decrease in runoff over the Gunnison River Basin when compared to static evapotranspiration rates. Streamflow projections derived using projections of future climate and the NWS RFS provided by the CBRFC resulted in decreased runoff in 2 of the 3 basins considered. Over the Gunnison and San Juan River basins, a 10 % to 15 % average decrease in basin runoff is projected through the year 2099. However, over the Green River basin, a 5 % to 8

Hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Erika K.; Woodhouse, Connie A.; McCabe, Gregory; Pederson, Gregory T.; St. Jacques, Jeannine-Marie

2018-01-01

Despite the importance of the Missouri River for navigation, recreation, habitat, hydroelectric power, and agriculture, relatively little is known about the basic hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin (MRB). This is of particular concern given the droughts and floods that have occurred over the past several decades and the potential future exacerbation of these extremes by climate change. Here, observed and modeled hydroclimatic data and estimated natural flow records in the MRB are used to 1) assess the major source regions of MRB flow, 2) describe the climatic controls on streamflow in the upper and lower basins , and 3) investigate trends over the instrumental period. Analyses indicate that 72% of MRB runoff is generated by the headwaters in the upper basin and by the lowest portion of the basin near the mouth. Spring precipitation and temperature and winter precipitation impacted by changes in zonal versus meridional flow from the Pacific Ocean play key roles in surface water supply variability in the upper basin. Lower basin flow is significantly correlated with precipitation in late spring and early summer, indicative of Atlantic-influenced circulation variability affecting the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Although increases in precipitation in the lower basin are currently overriding the effects of warming temperatures on total MRB flow, the upper basin’s long-term trend toward decreasing flows, reduction in snow versus rain fraction, and warming spring temperatures suggest that the upper basin may less often provide important flow supplements to the lower basin in the future.

Transport and Retention of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Carbon in North America’s Largest River Swamp Basin, the Atchafalaya River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Jun Xu

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Floodplains and river corridor wetlands may be effectively managed for reducing nutrients and carbon. However, our understanding is limited to the reduction potential of these natural riverine systems. This study utilized the long-term (1978–2004 river discharge and water quality records from an upriver and a downriver location of the Atchafalaya River to quantify the inflow, outflow, and inflow–outflow mass balance of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN = organic nitrogen + ammonia nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite nitrogen (NO3 + NO2, total phosphorous (TP, and total organic carbon (TOC through the largest river swamp basin in North America. The study found that, over the past 27 years, the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB acted as a significant sink for TKN (annual retention: 24%, TP (41%, and TOC (12%, but a source for NO3 + NO2 nitrogen (6%. On an annual basis, ARB retained 48,500 t TKN, 16,900 t TP, and 167,100 t TOC from the river water. The retention rates were closely and positively related to the river discharge with highs during the winter and spring and lows in the late summer. The higher NO3 + NO2 mass outflow occurred throughout spring and summer, indicating an active role of biological processes on nitrogen as water and air temperatures in the basin rise.

Multi-tracer investigation of river and groundwater interactions: a case study in Nalenggele River basin, northwest China

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei; Su, Xiaosi; Dai, Zhenxue; Yang, Fengtian; Zhu, Pucheng; Huang, Yong

2017-11-01

Environmental tracers (such as major ions, stable and radiogenic isotopes, and heat) monitored in natural waters provide valuable information for understanding the processes of river-groundwater interactions in arid areas. An integrated framework is presented for interpreting multi-tracer data (major ions, stable isotopes (2H, 18O), the radioactive isotope 222Rn, and heat) for delineating the river-groundwater interactions in Nalenggele River basin, northwest China. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were undertaken to estimate the bidirectional water exchange associated with small-scale interactions between groundwater and surface water. Along the river stretch, groundwater and river water exchange readily. From the high mountain zone to the alluvial fan, groundwater discharge to the river is detected by tracer methods and end-member mixing models, but the river has also been identified as a losing river using discharge measurements, i.e. discharge is bidirectional. On the delta-front of the alluvial fan and in the alluvial plain, in the downstream area, the characteristics of total dissolved solids values, 222Rn concentrations and δ18O values in the surface water, and patterns derived from a heat-tracing method, indicate that groundwater discharges into the river. With the environmental tracers, the processes of river-groundwater interaction have been identified in detail for better understanding of overall hydrogeological processes and of the impacts on water allocation policies.

Water security evaluation in Yellow River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Guiqin; He, Liyuan; Jing, Juan

2018-03-01

Water security is an important basis for making water security protection strategy, which concerns regional economic and social sustainable development. In this paper, watershed water security evaluation index system including 3 levels of 5 criterion layers (water resources security, water ecological security and water environment security, water disasters prevention and control security and social economic security) and 24 indicators were constructed. The entropy weight method was used to determine the weights of the indexes in the system. The water security index of 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 in Yellow River basin were calculated by linear weighting method based on the relative data. Results show that the water security conditions continue to improve in Yellow River basin but still in a basic security state. There is still a long way to enhance the water security in Yellow River basin, especially the water prevention and control security, the water ecological security and water environment security need to be promoted vigorously.

Development of river flood model in lower reach of urbanized river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Kouhei; Tajima, Yoshimitsu; Sanuki, Hiroshi; Shibuo, Yoshihiro; Sato, Shinji; Lee, SungAe; Furumai, Hiroaki; Koike, Toshio

2014-05-01

Japan, with its natural mountainous landscape, has demographic feature that population is concentrated in lower reach of elevation close to the coast, and therefore flood damage with large socio-economic value tends to occur in low-lying region. Modeling of river flood in such low-lying urbanized river basin is complex due to the following reasons. In upstream it has been experienced urbanization, which changed land covers from natural forest or agricultural fields to residential or industrial area. Hence rate of infiltration and runoff are quite different from natural hydrological settings. In downstream, paved covers and construct of sewerage system in urbanized areas affect direct discharges and it enhances higher and faster flood peak arrival. Also tidal effect from river mouth strongly affects water levels in rivers, which must be taken into account. We develop an integrated river flood model in lower reach of urbanized areas to be able to address above described complex feature, by integrating model components: LSM coupled distributed hydrological model that models anthropogenic influence on river discharges to downstream; urban hydrological model that simulates run off response in urbanized areas; Saint Venant's equation approximated river model that integrates upstream and urban hydrological models with considering tidal effect from downstream. These features are integrated in a common modeling framework so that model interaction can be directly performed. The model is applied to the Tsurumi river basin, urbanized low-lying river basin in Yokohama and model results show that it can simulate water levels in rivers with acceptable model errors. Furthermore the model is able to install miscellaneous water planning constructs, such as runoff reduction pond in urbanized area, flood control field along the river channel, levee, etc. This can be a useful tool to investigate cost performance of hypothetical water management plan against impact of climate change in

Assessment of climate change impact on river flow regimes in The Red River Delta, Vietnam – A case study of the Nhue-Day River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phan Cao Duong

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Global warming has caused dramatic changes in regional climate variability, particularly regarding fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. Thus, it is predicted that river flow regimes will be altered accordingly. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of modeling such changes by simulating discharge using the HEC-HMS model. The precipitation was projected using super-high resolution multiple climate models (20 km resolution with newly updated emission scenarios as the input for the HEC-HMS model for flow analysis at the Red River Basin in the northern area of Vietnam. The findings showed that climate change impact on the river flow regimes tend towards a decrease in the dry season and a longer duration of flood flow. A slight runoff reduction is simulated for November while a considerable runoff increase is modeled for July and August amounting to 30% and 25%, respectively. The discharge scenarios serve as a basis for water managers to develop suitable adaptation methods and responses on the river basin scale.

RESERVES IN WESTERN BASINS PART IV: WIND RIVER BASIN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert Caldwell

1998-04-01

Vast quantities of natural gas are entrapped within various tight formations in the Rocky Mountain area. This report seeks to quantify what proportion of that resource can be considered recoverable under today's technological and economic conditions and discusses factors controlling recovery. The ultimate goal of this project is to encourage development of tight gas reserves by industry through reducing the technical and economic risks of locating, drilling and completing commercial tight gas wells. This report is the fourth in a series and focuses on the Wind River Basin located in west central Wyoming. The first three reports presented analyses of the tight gas reserves and resources in the Greater Green River Basin (Scotia, 1993), Piceance Basin (Scotia, 1995) and the Uinta Basin (Scotia, 1995). Since each report is a stand-alone document, duplication of language will exist where common aspects are discussed. This study, and the previous three, describe basin-centered gas deposits (Masters, 1979) which contain vast quantities of natural gas entrapped in low permeability (tight), overpressured sandstones occupying a central basin location. Such deposits are generally continuous and are not conventionally trapped by a structural or stratigraphic seal. Rather, the tight character of the reservoirs prevents rapid migration of the gas, and where rates of gas generation exceed rates of escape, an overpressured basin-centered gas deposit results (Spencer, 1987). Since the temperature is a primary controlling factor for the onset and rate of gas generation, these deposits exist in the deeper, central parts of a basin where temperatures generally exceed 200 F and drill depths exceed 8,000 feet. The abbreviation OPT (overpressured tight) is used when referring to sandstone reservoirs that comprise the basin-centered gas deposit. Because the gas resources trapped in this setting are so large, they represent an important source of future gas supply, prompting studies

Susquehanna River Basin Hydrologic Observing System (SRBHOS)

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, P. M.; Duffy, C. J.; Dressler, K. A.

2004-12-01

In response to the NSF-CUAHSI initiative for a national network of Hydrologic Observatories, we propose to initiate the Susquehanna River Basin Hydrologic Observing System (SRBHOS), as the northeast node. The Susquehanna has a drainage area of 71, 410 km2. From the headwaters near Cooperstown, NY, the river is formed within the glaciated Appalachian Plateau physiographic province, crossing the Valley and Ridge, then the Piedmont, before finishing its' 444 mile journey in the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehanna is the major source of water and nutrients to the Chesapeake. It has a rich history in resource development (logging, mining, coal, agriculture, urban and heavy industry), with an unusual resilience to environmental degradation, which continues today. The shallow Susquehanna is one of the most flood-ravaged rivers in the US with a decadal regularity of major damage from hurricane floods and rain-on-snow events. As a result of this history, it has an enormous infrastructure for climate, surface water and groundwater monitoring already in place, including the nations only regional groundwater monitoring system for drought detection. Thirty-six research institutions have formed the SRBHOS partnership to collaborate on a basin-wide network design for a new scientific observing system. Researchers at the partner universities have conducted major NSF research projects within the basin, setting the stage and showing the need for a new terrestrial hydrologic observing system. The ultimate goal of SRBHOS is to close water, energy and solute budgets from the boundary layer to the water table, extending across plot, hillslope, watershed, and river basin scales. SRBHOS is organized around an existing network of testbeds (legacy watershed sites) run by the partner universities, and research institutions. The design of the observing system, when complete, will address fundamental science questions within major physiographic regions of the basin. A nested

Potential relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gaoxu; Zeng, Xiaofan; Zhao, Na; He, Qifang; Bai, Yiran; Zhang, Ruoyu

2018-02-01

The relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin are discussed in this study. In addition, the future precipitation trend from 2011-2050 and its potential influence on the river discharge are analysed by applying the CCLM-modelled precipitation. According to the observed river discharge and precipitation, the annual river discharge at the two main hydrological stations displays good correlations with the annual precipitation in the Jinsha River basin. The predicted future precipitation tends to change similarly as the change that occurred during the observation period, whereas the monthly distributions over a year could be more uneven, which is unfavourable for water resources management.

Environmental education for river-basin planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saha, S K

1980-08-01

Harmonious intervention in land use, a result of environmental education and good planning, can increase the social and economic benefits without precluding development. Modern river basin planning began as a US innovation in 1874 over the subject of water regulation in the west. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was devised as a state tool for comprehensive river basin planning and development. The TVA example was not repeated in the other 10 US basins by the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, although the concept of unified development has survived as a three-part relationship of physical,biological, and human forces in which any malfunctioning of one subsystem affects the others. This is evident in problems of water transfer from agricultural to industrial functions and changes to drainage patterns. The potential damage from ignoring these relationships can be avoided with true interdisciplinary communications. 24 references, 2 tables. (DCK)

Analysis of efficiency of pollution reduction measures in rural basin using MIKE Basin model. Case study: Olšava River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaiglová Jana

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of testing the applicability of the MIKE Basin model for simulating the efficiency of scenarios for reducing water pollution. The model has been tested on the Olšava River Basin (520 km2 which is a typical rural region with a heterogeneous mix of pollution sources with variable topography and land use. The study proved that the model can be calibrated successfully using even the limited amount of data typically available in rural basins. The scenarios of pollution reduction were based on implementation and intensification of municipal wastewater treatment and conversion of arable land on fields under the risk of soil erosion to permanent grassland. The application of simulation results of these scenarios with proposed measures proved decreasing concentrations in downstream monitoring stations. Due to the practical applicability of proposed measures, these could lead to fulfilment of the water pollution limits required by the Czech and EU legislation. However, there are factors of uncertainty that are discussed that may delay or limit the effect of adopted measures in small rural basins.

Transboundary water issues: The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Debasri; Goswami, A.B.; Bose, Balaram

2004-01-01

Sharing of water of transboundary rivers among riparian nations has become a cause of major concern in different parts of the globe for quite sometime. The issue in the recent decades has been transformed into a source of international tensions and disputes resulting in strained relationships between riparian nations. Conflicts over sharing of water of the international rivers, like the Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan in the Middle East, the Nile in Northern Africa, the Mekong in South-East Asia, the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna in the Indian subcontinent are widely known. The present paper discusses the water sharing -issue in the Ganga- Brahmaputra-Meghna basin located in the Indian sub continent covering five sovereign countries (namely India, Nepal, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh). Rapidly growing population, expanding agricultural and industrial activities besides the impacts of climate change have resulted in stressed condition in the arena of fresh water availability in the basin. Again occurrence of arsenic in sub-surface water in the lower reaches of the basin in India and Bangladesh has also added a new dimension to the problem. All the rivers of the GBM system exhibit wide variations between peak and lean flows as major part of the basin belongs to the monsoon region, where 80%-90 % of annual rainfall is concentrated in 4-5 months of South -West monsoon in the subcontinent. Over and above, the rivers in GBM system carry huge loads of sediments along with the floodwater and receive huge quantum of different kinds of wastes contaminating the water of the rivers. Again high rate of sedimentation of the major rivers and their tributaries have been affecting not only the carrying capacity of the rivers but also drastically reduced their retention capacity. Almost every year during monsoon about 27% and nearly 60% of the GBM basin lying in India and Bangladesh respectively experience flood. The year round navigation in many rivers has also been affected. All these have

Assessing Management Regimes in Transboundary River Basins: Do They Support Adaptive Management?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.T. (Tom Raadgever

2008-06-01

Full Text Available River basin management is faced with complex problems that are characterized by uncertainty and change. In transboundary river basins, historical, legal, and cultural differences add to the complexity. The literature on adaptive management gives several suggestions for handling this complexity. It recognizes the importance of management regimes as enabling or limiting adaptive management, but there is no comprehensive overview of regime features that support adaptive management. This paper presents such an overview, focused on transboundary river basin management. It inventories the features that have been claimed to be central to effective transboundary river basin management and refines them using adaptive management literature. It then collates these features into a framework describing actor networks, policy processes, information management, and legal and financial aspects. Subsequently, this framework is applied to the Orange and Rhine basins. The paper concludes that the framework provides a consistent and comprehensive perspective on transboundary river basin management regimes, and can be used for assessing their capacity to support adaptive management.

Multi-linear model of transformation of runoff in river-basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szolgay, J.; Kubes, R.

2005-01-01

The component part of atmospheric precipitations-runoff model of Hron River is a individual model of transformation of flows in river network, too, which transforms runoff from separate partial catchment basin into terminal profile. This component of precipitations-runoff model can also be used as individual hydrologic transformation model of runoff waves in river-basin. Identification and calibration of this model is realised independently on precipitations-runoff model of Hron River, which is described in this chapter in detail.

Use of the RHS method in Golijska Moravica river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milanović Ana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available River Habitat Survey (RHS is terrain method developed in UK in 1994. for determination of physical character of rivers and river basin. This method is applied for the first time in Golijska Moravica river basin. Two indices which broadly describe the diversity of river habitat and landscape features (Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA and extent and severity of artificial modification to the channel (Habitat Modification Class (HMC has been developed for reporting purposes. These are based on simple scoring systems which have been agreed by technical experts.

Foundations of the participatory approach in the Mekong River basin management.

Science.gov (United States)

Budryte, Paulina; Heldt, Sonja; Denecke, Martin

2018-05-01

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) was acknowledged as a leading concept in the water management for the last two decades by academia, political decision-makers and experts. It strongly promotes holistic management and participatory approaches. The flexibility and adaptability of IWRM concept are especially important for large, transboundary river basins - e.g. the Mekong river basin - where natural processes and hazards, as well as, human-made "disasters" are demanding for a comprehensive approach. In the Mekong river basin, the development and especially the enforcement of one common strategy has always been a struggle. The past holds some unsuccessful experiences. In 2016 Mekong River Commission published IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy 2016-2020 and The Mekong River Commission Strategic Plan 2016-2020. They should be the main guiding document for the Mekong river development in the near future. This study analyzes how the concept of public participation resembles the original IWRM participatory approach in these documents. Therefore, IWRM criteria for public participation in international literature and official documents from the Mekong river basin are compared. As there is often a difference between "de jure" and "de facto" implementation of public participation in management concepts, the perception of local stakeholders was assessed in addition. The results of social survey give an insight if local people are aware of Mekong river basin development and present their dominant attitudes about the issue. The findings enable recommendations how to mitigate obstacles in the implementation of common development strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A case study on the diagnosis and consequences of flash floods in south-western Romania: The upper basin of Desnatui River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morosanu Gabriela Adina

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the flash floods that may appear in a representative river basin occupying the south-western Romania and also feature an example of the most recent flash flood from 2005-2006, more specifically, its causes and consequences. In order to accomplish the objectives, hydrological data were used to identify the characteristics of the floods. Finally, the case study of the flash flood was delivered through the field research, observational method, discussion with the authorities and investigation of the meteorological and hydrological available data. The research offers an insight on the dimension of damages triggered by a flash flood event, based on the statistical data provided by the village hall and the few remaining places preserving the traces of the floods (houses, bridges. Because we could not provide all the necessary data in order to determine the frequency and scale of such risk phenomena, the analysis is assessed on general hydrological statistics of flood events between 1964 to 2011. By leading the research, it resulted that the specific feature of the upper basin of Desnatui River is its temporary drainage and that in the periods of high flow, the capacity of the river channels is diminshed and the floods may occur. The paper succeeds to revive the insufficient scientific concerns on this kind of hydrological risks issued in the space occupied by the upper basin of Desnatui River and eventually, to supply the need for such study in the context of modern hydrological research preoccupations.

Rural Settlement Development and Environment Carrying Capacity Changes in Progo River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su Ritohardoyo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Generally the broader rural settlement the heavier population pressure on agricultural land. It indicates that carrying capacity of the rural environment threatened lower. The spatial distribution of the threat in a river basin is quite important as one of the river basin management inputs. Therefore, this article aims at exposing result of research about influence rural population growth and rural settlement land changes to environment carrying capacity. This research was carried out in the rural area in Progo river basin consists 56 sub districts (34 sub districts part of Jawa Tengah Province, and 22 sub districts part of Yogyakarta Special Region. The whole sub districts are such as unit analysis, and research method is based on secondary data analysis. Several data consist Districts Region in Figure 1997 and 2003 (Temanggung, Magelang, Kulon Progo, Sleman and Bantul such as secondary data analysis. Data analysis employs of frequency and cross tabulation, statistics of regression and test. Result of the research shows that population growth of the rural areas in Progo river basin are about 0.72% annum; or the household growth about 3.15% annum as long as five years (1996-2003. Spatial distribution of the population growth in the upper part of the Progo river basin is higher than in the middle and lower part of the basin. The number proportion of farmer in every sub district area in this river basin have increased from 69.95% in 1997 to 70.81% in the year of 2003. It means that work opportunities broadening are still sluggish. However, the number proportion of farmers in the upper part of the Progo river basin is lower than in the middle and lower part of the basin. The rates of settlement land areas changes (0.32 ha/annum as long as five years (1997-2003 is not as fast as the rates of agricultural land areas changes (0.47 ha/annum. Spatial land settlement areas changes in the lower (6.1 ha/annum and middle parts (2.4 ha/annum faster than

Changing climatic conditions in the Upper Thames River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonovic, S.P.

2009-01-01

'Full text:' Many climate change impact studies have been conducted using a top-down approach. First, outputs from Global Circulation Models (GCMs) are considered which are downscaled in a second step to the river basin scale using either a statistical/empirical or a dynamic approach. The local climatic signal that is obtained is then used as input into a hydrological model to assess the direct consequences in the basin. Problems related to this approach include: a high degree of uncertainty associated with GCM outputs; and an increase in uncertainty due to the downscaling approach. An original inverse approach is developed in this work in order to improve the understanding of the processes leading to hydrological hazards, including both flood and drought events. The developed approach starts with the analysis of existing guidelines and management practices in a river basin with respect to critical hydrological exposures that may lead to failure of the water resources system or parts thereof. This implies that vulnerable components of the river basin have to be identified together with the risk exposure. In the next step the critical hydrologic exposures (flood levels for example) are transformed into corresponding critical meteorological conditions (extreme precipitation events for example). These local weather scenarios are then be statistically linked to possible large-scale climate conditions that are available from the GCMs. The developed procedure allows for the assessment of the vulnerability of river basins with respect to climate forcing. It also provides a tool for identifying the spatial distribution of the vulnerability and risk. Vulnerability is here characterized by the incremental losses, expressed either quantitatively or qualitatively, due to a change in the probability and magnitude of hazard events driven by climatic forcing. Vulnerability is seen as the basis for risk mitigation measures for hydrologic extremes at the basin level. The

Environmental Tritium (3H) and hydrochemical investigations to evaluate groundwater in Varahi and Markandeya river basins, Karnataka, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravikumar, P.; Somashekar, R.K.

2011-01-01

The present study aimed at assessing the activity of natural radionuclides ( 3 H) and hydrochemical parameters (viz., pH, EC, F - , NO 3 - , Cl - , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ) in the groundwater used for domestic and irrigation purposes in the Varahi and Markandeya river basins to understand the levels of hydrochemical parameters in terms of the relative age(s) of the groundwater contained within the study area. The recorded environmental 3 H content in Varahi and Markandeya river basins varied from 1.95 ± 0.25 T.U. to 11.35 ± 0.44 T.U. and 1.49 ± 0.75 T.U. to 9.17 ± 1.13 T.U. respectively. Majority of the samples in Varahi (93.34%) and Markandeya (93.75%) river basins being pre-modern water with modern recharge, significantly influenced by precipitation and river inflowing/sea water intrusion. The EC-Tritium and Tritium-Fluoride plots confirmed the existence of higher total dissolved solids (SEC > 500 μS/cm) and high fluoride (MAC > 1.5 mg/L) in groundwater of Markandeya river basin, attributed to relatively longer residence time of groundwater interacting with rock formations and vice versa in case of Varahi river basin. The tritium-EC and tritium-chloride plots indicated shallow and deep circulating groundwater types in Markandeya river basin and only shallow circulating groundwater type in Varahi river basin. Increasing Mg relative to Ca with decreasing tritium indicated the influence of incongruent dissolution of a dolomite phase. The samples with high nitrate (MAC > 45 mg/L) are waters that are actually mixtures of fresh water (containing very high nitrate, possibly from agricultural fertilizers) and older 'unpolluted' waters (containing low nitrate levels), strongly influenced by surface source. - Research highlights: → It is evident that majority of the samples in Varahi (93.34%) and Markandeya (93.75%) river basins exhibited radioactive decay (1-8 T.U.) having a mixture of pre-modern (viz., old water) water with modern (viz., new water) recharge, significantly

The Role of Cooperation and Information Exchange in Transnational River Basins: the Zambezi River case

Science.gov (United States)

Castelletti, A.; Giuliani, M.; Soncini-Sessa, R.

2012-12-01

The presence of multiple, institutionally independent but physically interconnected decision-makers is a distinctive features of many water resources systems, especially of transnational river basins. The adoption of a centralized approach to study the optimal operation of these systems, as mostly done in the water resources literature, is conceptually interesting to quantify the best achievable performance, but of little practical impact given the real political and institutional setting. Centralized management indeed assumes a cooperative attitude and full information exchange by the involved parties. However, when decision-makers belong to different countries or institutions, it is very likely that they act considering only their local objectives, producing global externalities that negatively impact on other objectives. In this work we adopt a Multi-Agent Systems framework, which naturally allows to represent a set of self-interested agents (decision-makers and/or stakeholders) acting in a distributed decision-making process. According to this agent-based approach, each agent represents a decision-maker, whose decisions are defined by an explicit optimization problem considering only the agent's local interests. In particular, this work assesses the role of information exchange and increasing level of cooperation among originally non-cooperative agents. The Zambezi River basin is used to illustrate the methodology: the four largest reservoirs in the basin (Ithezhithezhi, Kafue-Gorge, Kariba and Cahora Bassa) are mainly operated for maximizing the economic revenue from hydropower energy production with considerably negative effects on the aquatic ecosystem in the Zambezi delta due to the alteration of the natural flow regime. We comparatively analyse the ideal centralized solution and the current situation where all the decision-makers act independently and non-cooperatively. Indeed, although a new basin-level institution called Zambezi Watercourse Commission

Drainage areas of the Potomac River basin, West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, Jeffrey B.; Hunt, Michelle L.; Stewart, Donald K.

1996-01-01

This report contains data for 776 drainage-area divisions of the Potomac River Basin, from the headwaters to the confluence of the Potomac River and the Shenandoah River. Data, compiled in downstream order, are listed for streams with a drainage area of approximately 2 square miles or larger within West Virginia and for U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. The data presented are the stream name, the geographical limits in river miles, the latitude and longitude of the point, the name of the county, and the 7 1/2-minute quadrangle in which the point lies, and the drainage area of that site. The total drainage area of the Potomac River Basin downstream of the confluence of the Shenandoah River at the State boundary is 9,367.29 square miles.

Morphometric analysis of the Marmara Sea river basins, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Elbaşı, Emre; Ozdemir, Hasan

2014-05-01

The drainage basin, the fundamental unit of the fluvial landscape, has been focus of research aimed at understanding the geometric characteristics of the master channel and its tributary network. This geometry is referred to as the basin morphometry and is nicely reviewed by Abrahams (1984). A great amount of research has focused on geometric characteristic of drainage basins, including the topology of the stream networks, and quantitative description of drainage texture, pattern, shape, and relief characteristics. Evaluation of morphometric parameters necessitates the analysis of various drainage parameters such as ordering of the various streams, measurement of basin area and perimeter, length of drainage channels, drainage density (Dd), stream frequency (Fs), bifurcation ratio (Rb), texture ratio (T), basin relief (Bh), Ruggedness number (Rn), time of concentration (Tc), hypsometric curve and integral (Hc and Hi) (Horton, 1932, Schumn, 1956, Strahler, 1957; Verstappen 1983; Keller and Pinter, 2002; Ozdemir and Bird, 2009). These morphometric parameters have generally been used to predict flood peaks, to assess sediment yield, and to estimate erosion rates in the basins. River basins of the Marmara Sea, has an area of approximately 40,000 sqkm, are the most important basins in Turkey based on their dense populations, industry and transportation systems. The primary aim of this study is to determine and analyse of morphometric characteristics of the Marmara Sea river basins using 10 m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and to evaluate of the results. For these purposes, digital 10 m contour maps scaled 1:25000 and geological maps scaled 1:100000 were used as the main data sources in the study. 10 m resolution DEM data were created using the contour maps and then drainage networks and their watersheds were extracted using D8 pour point model. Finally, linear, areal and relief morphometries were applied to the river basins using Geographic Information Systems

The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Monocentric and Polycentric River Basin Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Lankford

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Two contemporary theories of river basin management are compared. One is centralised 'regulatory river basin management' with an apex authority that seeks hydrometric data and nationally agreed standards and procedures in decisions over water quality and allocation. This model is commonplace and can be identified in many water training curricula and derivatives of basin management policy. The other, 'polycentric river basin management', is institutionally, organisationally and geographically more decentralised, emphasising local, collective ownership and reference to locally agreed standards. The polycentric model is constructed from the creation of appropriate managerial subunits within river basins. This model emphasises the deployment of hydrologists, scientists and other service providers as mediating agents of environmental and institutional transformation, tackling issues arising within and between the basin subunits such as water allocation and distribution, productivity improvement and conflict resolution. Significantly, it considers water allocation between subunits rather than between sectors and to do this promulgates an experimental, step-wise pragmatic approach, building on local ideas to make tangible progress in basins where data monitoring is limited, basin office resources are constrained and regulatory planning has stalled. To explore these issues, the paper employs the 'Cathedral and Bazaar' metaphor of Eric Raymond. The discussion is informed by observations from Tanzania, Nigeria and the UK.

An ecological economic assessment of flow regimes in a hydropower dominated river basin: the case of the lower Zambezi River, Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Fanaian, Safa; Graas, Susan; Jiang, Yong; van der Zaag, Pieter

2015-02-01

The flow regime of rivers, being an integral part of aquatic ecosystems, provides many important services benefiting humans in catchments. Past water resource developments characterized by river embankments and dams, however, were often dominated by one (or few) economic use(s) of water. This results in a dramatically changed flow regime negatively affecting the provision of other ecosystem services sustained by the river flow. This study is intended to demonstrate the value of alternative flow regimes in a river that is highly modified by the presence of large hydropower dams and reservoirs, explicitly accounting for a broad range of flow-dependent ecosystem services. In this study, we propose a holistic approach for conducting an ecological economic assessment of a river's flow regime. This integrates recent advances in the conceptualization and classification of ecosystem services (UK NEA, 2011) with the flow regime evaluation technique developed by Korsgaard (2006). This integrated approach allows for a systematic comparison of the economic values of alternative flow regimes, including those that are considered beneficial for aquatic ecosystems. As an illustration, we applied this combined approach to the Lower Zambezi Basin, Mozambique. Empirical analysis shows that even though re-operating dams to create environmentally friendly flow regimes reduces hydropower benefits, the gains to goods derived from the aquatic ecosystem may offset the forgone hydropower benefits, thereby increasing the total economic value of river flow to society. The proposed integrated flow assessment approach can be a useful tool for welfare-improving decision-making in managing river basins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long-term tritium monitoring to study river basin dynamics: case of the Danube River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Pradeep; Araguas, Luis; Groening, Manfred; Newman, Brent; Kurttas, Turker; Papesch, Wolfgang; Rank, Dieter; Suckow, Axel; Vitvar, Tomas

2010-05-01

During the last five decades, isotope concentrations (O-18, D, tritium) have been extensively measured in precipitation, surface- and ground-waters to derive information on residence times of water in aquifers and rivers, recharge processes, and groundwater dynamics. The unique properties of the isotopes of the water molecule as tracers are especially useful for understanding the retention of water in river basins, which is a key parameter for assessing water resources availability, addressing quality issues, investigating interconnections between surface- and ground-waters, and for predicting possible hydrological shifts related to human activities and climate change. Detailed information of the spatial and temporal changes of isotope contents in precipitation at a global scale was one of the initial aims of the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP), which has provided a detailed chronicle of tritium and stable isotope contents in precipitation since the 1960s. Accurate information of tritium contents resulting of the thermonuclear atmospheric tests in the 1950s and 1960s is available in GNIP for stations distributed world-wide. Use of this dataset for hydrological dating or as an indicator of recent recharge has been extensive in shallow groundwaters. However, its use has been more limited in surface waters, due to the absence of specific monitoring programmes of tritium and stable isotopes in rivers, lakes and other surface water bodies. The IAEA has recently been compiling new and archival isotope data measured in groundwaters, rivers, lakes and other water bodies as part of its web based Water Isotope System for Data Analysis, Visualization and Electronic Retrieval (WISER). Recent additions to the Global Network of Isotopes in Rivers (GNIR) contained within WISER now make detailed studies in rivers possible. For this study, we are re-examining residence time estimates for the Danube in central Europe. Tritium data are available in GNIR from 15

33 CFR 207.10 - Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission. 207.10 Section 207.10 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NAVIGATION REGULATIONS § 207.10 Charles River, Mass.; dam of...

Northern Rivers Basins human health monitoring program : report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabos, S.

1999-04-01

The Northern River Basins Human Health Monitoring Program was established in 1994 to investigate the possible relationships between various environmental risk factors and the health of northern residents in the province. This report presents the initial analysis of the health program and examines the differences in health outcomes across the province and compares the Northern Rivers Basin Study (NRBS) area with the other areas of the province. A series of maps and graphs showed the prevalence of certain diseases and disorders within the Peace and Athabasca river basins. The focus of the report was on reproductive health, congenital anomalies, respiratory ailments, circulatory diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine and metabolic disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. The study showed that compared to other areas of the province, the NRBS area had higher incidences of endometriosis, selected congenital anomalies, bronchitis, pneumonia, peptic ulcers and epilepsy. There were three potential exposure pathways to environmental contaminants. These were through ingestion of water or food, inhalation of air and through dermal exposure. refs., tabs., figs

Northern Rivers Basins human health monitoring program : report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabos, S. [Alberta Health, Edmonton, AB (Canada). Health Surveillance

1999-04-01

The Northern River Basins Human Health Monitoring Program was established in 1994 to investigate the possible relationships between various environmental risk factors and the health of northern residents in the province. This report presents the initial analysis of the health program and examines the differences in health outcomes across the province and compares the Northern Rivers Basin Study (NRBS) area with the other areas of the province. A series of maps and graphs showed the prevalence of certain diseases and disorders within the Peace and Athabasca river basins. The focus of the report was on reproductive health, congenital anomalies, respiratory ailments, circulatory diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine and metabolic disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. The study showed that compared to other areas of the province, the NRBS area had higher incidences of endometriosis, selected congenital anomalies, bronchitis, pneumonia, peptic ulcers and epilepsy. There were three potential exposure pathways to environmental contaminants. These were through ingestion of water or food, inhalation of air and through dermal exposure. refs., tabs., figs.

FLOOD VULNERABILITY IN BODVA RIVER BASIN IN SLOVAKIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZELENAKOVA MARTINA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to generate a composite map for decision makers using selected factors, mainly of natural character, causing floods. In the analyses, some of the causative factors for flooding in a catchment area are taken into account, such as soil type, precipitation, land use, size of catchment and basin slope. A case study of flood vulnerability identification in the Bodva river basin in eastern Slovakia is employed to illustrate the different approaches. A geographical information system (GIS is integrated with multicriteria analysis (MCA in the paper. The identification of flood vulnerability consists of two basic phases. Firstly, the effective factors causing floods are identified. Secondly several approaches to MCA in a GIS environment are applied and these approaches are evaluated in order to prepared flood vulnerability map.

Soil erosion assessment of a Himalayan river basin using TRMM data

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, A.; Mishra, S. K.; Gautam, A. K.; Kumar, D.

2015-04-01

In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the soil erosion of a Himalayan river basin, the Karnali basin, Nepal, using rainfall erosivity (R-factor) derived from satellite-based rainfall estimates (TRMM-3B42 V7). Average annual sediment yield was estimated using the well-known Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The eight-year annual average rainfall erosivity factor (R) for the Karnali River basin was found to be 2620.84 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1. Using intensity-erosivity relationships and eight years of the TRMM daily rainfall dataset (1998-2005), average annual soil erosion was also estimated for Karnali River basin. The minimum and maximum values of the rainfall erosivity factor were 1108.7 and 4868.49 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1, respectively, during the assessment period. The average annual soil loss of the Karnali River basin was found to be 38.17 t ha-1 year-1. Finally, the basin area was categorized according to the following scale of erosion severity classes: Slight (0 to 5 t ha-1 year-1), Moderate (5 to 10 t ha-1 year-1), High (10 to 20 t ha-1 year-1), Very High (20 to 40 t ha-1 year-1), Severe (40 to 80 t ha-1 year-1) and Very Severe (>80 t ha-1 year-1). About 30.86% of the river basin area was found to be in the slight erosion class. The areas covered by the moderate, high, very high, severe and very severe erosion potential zones were 13.09%, 6.36%, 11.09%, 22.02% and 16.64% respectively. The study revealed that approximately 69% of the Karnali River basin needs immediate attention from a soil conservation point of view.

Challenges of linking scientific knowledge to river basin management policy: AquaTerra as a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slob, A.F.L.; Rijnveld, M.; Chapman, A.S.; Strosser, P.

2007-01-01

The EU Project AquaTerra generates knowledge about the river-soil-sediment-groundwater system and delivers scientific information of value for river basin management. In this article, the use and ignorance of scientific knowledge in decision making is explored by a theoretical review. We elaborate on the 'two-communities theory', which explains the problems of the policy-science interface by relating and comparing the different cultures, contexts, and languages of researchers and policy makers. Within AquaTerra, the EUPOL subproject examines the policy-science interface with the aim of achieving a good connection between the scientific output of the project and EU policies. We have found two major barriers, namely language and resources, as well as two types of relevant relationships: those between different research communities and those between researchers and policy makers. - Using scientific output in River Basin Management requires researchers and policy makers to acknowledge the multiple rationalities and different viewpoints that are brought in by the variety of stakeholders involved

Morphometric analyses of the river basins in Goa

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Iyer, S.D.; Wagle, B.G.

Morphometric analyses of seven river basins in Goa, India have been carried out. The linear and areal aspects of these basins are reported here. The plots of stream order versus stream numbers and stream orders versus mean stream lengths are found...

Resilience in Transboundary Water Governance: the Okavango River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivia O. Green

2013-06-01

Full Text Available When the availability of a vital resource varies between times of overabundance and extreme scarcity, management regimes must manifest flexibility and authority to adapt while maintaining legitimacy. Unfortunately, the need for adaptability often conflicts with the desire for certainty in legal and regulatory regimes, and laws that fail to account for variability often result in conflict when the inevitable disturbance occurs. Additional keys to resilience are collaboration among physical scientists, political actors, local leaders, and other stakeholders, and, when the commons is shared among sovereign states, collaboration between and among institutions with authority to act at different scales or with respect to different aspects of an ecological system. At the scale of transboundary river basins, where treaties govern water utilization, particular treaty mechanisms can reduce conflict potential by fostering collaboration and accounting for change. One necessary element is a mechanism for coordination and collaboration at the scale of the basin. This could be satisfied by mechanisms ranging from informal networks to the establishment of an international commission to jointly manage water, but a mechanism for collaboration at the basin scale alone does not ensure sound water management. To better guide resource management, study of applied resilience theory has revealed a number of management practices that are integral for adaptive governance. Here, we describe key resilience principles for treaty design and adaptive governance and then apply the principles to a case study of one transboundary basin where the need and willingness to manage collaboratively and iteratively is high - the Okavango River Basin of southwest Africa. This descriptive and applied approach should be particularly instructive for treaty negotiators, transboundary resource managers, and should aid program developers.

Human activities and its Responses to Glacier Melt Water Over Tarim River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

He, Hai; Zhou, Shenbei; Bai, Minghao

2017-04-01

Tarim River Basin lies in the south area of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the north-west area of China. It is the longest inland river of China. Being far away from ocean and embraced by high mountains, Tarim River Basin is the typical arid region in the world. The intensity of human activities increased rapidly in Tarim River Basin since 1980's and water resources lacking is the major issue restricting the development of social economy. The glacier melt water plays an important role for the regional social and economic development, and it accounts for 40% of mountain-pass runoff. It is a fragile mutual-dependent relationship between local sustainable development and runoff. Under the background of global change glacier melt water process has also changed especially in the arid and semi-arid region. Due to climate change, glacier in Tarim River Basin has melted in an observed way since 1980s, together with increasing trend of annual rainfall and virgin flow in mountain basins. Correspondingly, human activity gets more frequent since 1970s, resulting into the obvious fragile mutual-dependent relationship between basin runoff and water use amount. Through an analysis of meteorological, hydrological and geographical observation data from 1985 to 2015, this thesis make a multi-factor variance analysis of population, cultivation area, industrial development and runoff in upstream and mid-stream of Tarim River under changing conditions. Furthermore, the regulation function of natural factors and water demand management factors on relationship between runoff and water using amount are discussed, including temperature, rainfall, and evaporation, water conservation technology and soil-water exploitation administrative institutions. It concludes that: first, increase in glacier runoff, rainfall amount, and virgin flow haven't notably relieved ecological issue in Tarim River Basin, and even has promoted water use behaviour in different flowing areas and noticeably reduced

River levels derived with CryoSat-2 SAR data classification - A case study in the Mekong River Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boergens, Eva; Nielsen, Karina; Andersen, Ole Baltazar

2017-01-01

becomes smaller. Therefore, we developed a classification approach to divide the observations into water and land returns based solely on the data. The classification is done with an unsupervised classification algorithm, and it is based on features derived from the SAR and range-integrated power (RIP......) waveforms. After the classification, classes representing water and land are identified. Better results are obtained when the Mekong River Basin is divided into different geographical regions: upstream, middle stream, and downstream. The measurements classified as water are used in a next step to estimate...... water levels for each crossing over a river in the Mekong River network. The resulting water levels are validated and compared to gauge data, Envisat data, and CryoSat-2 water levels derived with a land-water mask. The CryoSat-2 water levels derived with the classification lead to more valid...

Key issues for determining the exploitable water resources in a Mediterranean river basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedro-Monzonís, María; Ferrer, Javier; Solera, Abel; Estrela, Teodoro; Paredes-Arquiola, Javier

2015-01-15

One of the major difficulties in water planning is to determine the water availability in a water resource system in order to distribute water sustainably. In this paper, we analyze the key issues for determining the exploitable water resources as an indicator of water availability in a Mediterranean river basin. Historically, these territories are characterized by heavily regulated water resources and the extensive use of unconventional resources (desalination and wastewater reuse); hence, emulating the hydrological cycle is not enough. This analysis considers the Jucar River Basin as a case study. We have analyzed the different possible combinations between the streamflow time series, the length of the simulation period and the reliability criteria. As expected, the results show a wide dispersion, proving the great influence of the reliability criteria used for the quantification and localization of the exploitable water resources in the system. Therefore, it is considered risky to provide a single value to represent the water availability in the Jucar water resource system. In this sense, it is necessary that policymakers and stakeholders make a decision about the methodology used to determine the exploitable water resources in a river basin. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GRACE-based estimates of water discharge over the Yellow River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiong Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available As critical component of hydrologic cycle, basin discharge is a key issue for understanding the hydrological and climatologic related to water and energy cycles. Combining GRACE gravity field models with ET from GLDAS models and precipitation from GPCP, discharge of the Yellow River basin are estimated from the water balance equation. While comparing the results with discharge from GLDAS model and in situ measurements, the results reveal that discharge from Mosaic and CLM GLDAS model can partially represent the river discharge and the discharge estimation from water balance equation could reflect the discharge from precipitation over the Yellow River basin.

Numerical representation of rainfall field in the Yarmouk River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Shentsis, Isabella; Inbar, Nimrod; Magri, Fabien; Rosenthal, Eliyahu

2017-04-01

Rainfall is the decisive factors in evaluating the water balance of river basins and aquifers. Accepted methods rely on interpolation and extrapolation of gauged rain to regular grid with high dependence on the density and regularity of network, considering the relief complexity. We propose an alternative method that makes up to those restrictions by taking into account additional physical features of the rain field. The method applies to areas with (i) complex plain- and mountainous topography, which means inhomogeneity of the rainfall field and (ii) non-uniform distribution of a rain gauge network with partial lack of observations. The rain model is implemented in two steps: 1. Study of the rainfall field, based on the climatic data (mean annual precipitation), its description by the function of elevation and other factors, and estimation of model parameters (normalized coefficients of the Taylor series); 2. Estimation of rainfall in each historical year using the available data (less complete and irregular versus climatic data) as well as the a-priori known parameters (by the basic hypothesis on inter-annual stability of the model parameters). The proposed method was developed by Shentsis (1990) for hydrological forecasting in Central Asia and was later adapted to the Lake Kinneret Basin. Here this model (the first step) is applied to the Yarmouk River Basin. The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. Its transboundary basin (6,833 sq. km) extends over Syria (5,257 sq.km), Jordan (1,379 sq. km) and Israel (197 sq. km). Altitude varies from 1800 m (and more) to -235 m asl. The total number of rain stations in use is 36 (17 in Syria, 19 in Jordan). There is evidently lack and non-uniform distribution of a rain gauge network in Syria. The Yarmouk Basin was divided into five regions considering typical relationship between mean annual rain and elevation for each region. Generally, the borders of regions correspond to the common topographic

Arsenic occurrence in water bodies in Kharaa river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azzaya T

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Distribution of arsenic (As and its compound and related toxicology are serious concerns nowadays. Gold mining activity is one of the anthropogenic sources of environmental contamination regarding As and other heavy metals. In Mongolia, the most productive gold mining sites are placed in the Kharaa river basin. A hundred water samples were collected from river, spring and deep wells in this river basin. Along with total As and its species-As(III and As(V, examination of concentration levels of other key parameters, 21 heavy metals with pH, total hardness, electric conductivity, anion and cations, was also carried out. In respect to the permissible limit formulated by the Mongolian National Drinking water quality standard (MNS 0900:2005, As10 µg/l, the present study showed that most of samples were found no contamination. In Kharaa river basin, an average concentration of total As in surface water was 4.04 µg/l with wide range in 0.07−30.30 µg/l whereas it was 2.24 µg/l in groundwater. As analysis in surface water in licensed area of Gatsuurt gold mining showed a mean concentration with 24.90 µg/l presenting higher value than that of value in river basin by 6 orders of magnitude and it was 2 times higher than permissible level as well. In Boroo river nearby Boroo gold mining area, As concentration in water was ranged in 6.05−6.25 µg/l. Ammonia pollution may have present at estuary of Zuunmod river in Mandal sum with above the permissible level described in national water quality standard. Geological formation of the rocks and minerals affected to change of heavy metal concentration, especially As and uranium (U at spring water nearby Gatsuurt-Boroo improved road.

Decreased runoff response to precipitation, Little Missouri River Basin, northern Great Plains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Eleanor R.; Friedman, Jonathan M.

2017-01-01

High variability in precipitation and streamflow in the semiarid northern Great Plains causes large uncertainty in water availability. This uncertainty is compounded by potential effects of future climate change. We examined historical variability in annual and growing season precipitation, temperature, and streamflow within the Little Missouri River Basin and identified differences in the runoff response to precipitation for the period 1976-2012 compared to 1939-1975 (n = 37 years in both cases). Computed mean values for the second half of the record showed little change (precipitation, but average annual runoff at the basin outlet decreased by 22%, with 66% of the reduction in flow occurring during the growing season. Our results show a statistically significant (p runoff response to precipitation (runoff ratio). Surface-water withdrawals for various uses appear to account for 1°C increases in January through March, are the dominant driver of the observed decrease in runoff response to precipitation in the Little Missouri River Basin.

Causes and possible solutions to water resource conflicts in the Okavango River Basin: The case of Angola, Namibia and Botswana

Science.gov (United States)

Mbaiwa, Joseph E.

This paper reviews available literature concerning water resources use in the Okavango River Basin (ORB). It describes a number of common arguments regarding possibilities for the emergence of violent conflict in and among Basin states, particularly those states party to the Okavango River Basin Commission (Okacom)-Angola, Botswana and Namibia. The paper presents data concerning present and future water demands and examines a number of formal, institutional steps taken by global and regional actors to facilitate sustainable development, natural resources management and peaceful cooperation in the Basin. Contrary to trends in much of the literature, the paper suggests that there is great scope for enhanced inter-state cooperation in the Basin. It argues that to achieve sustainable utilisation of water resources and avoid violent conflict in the ORB, an integrated management plan for the entire basin needs to be developed. In addition, each basin member-state should observe international and regional conventions and treaties governing the use of water resources when designing national water development projects that require the use of water from the ORB.

Diversion Canal to Decrease Flooding (Case Study : Kebon Jati-Kalibata Segment, Ciliwung River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indrawati Dian

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The flood in Jakarta has become a national concern in Indonesia. It is a haunting disaster, with a high probability to happen when heavy rainfalls in Jakarta and/or its upstream area. Based on data that was provided by Public Work Agency of DKI Jakarta, there are 78 vulnerable points of inundation in which, most of them are located in Ciliwung river basin, commonly in the meandering segments. One of the worst flooding occurs in Pancoran, at Kebonjati to Kalibata segment in particular. The river discharge in this segment is much higher as compared to the carrying capacity. In addition, this area has a high density of population and thus, difficult to increase the *river capacity* by enlarging the river dimension. In this research, a closed diversion canal is proposed as a solution. The effectiveness of the solution is evaluated using a numerical model, HEC-RAS 4.1. The diversion canal is designed as two culverts, with 2.0 m in diameter. Nevertheless, hydraulic jump may occur at the outlet of the canal due to the relatively steep slope. Therefore, the canal outlet should be designed accordingly. A Hydraulic structure such as a stilling basin can be employed to reduce the energy. The results show that the diversion canal has a good performance in decreasing water level and flood discharge in the study area. The canal has the capacity of 17,72 m3/sec and succesfully decreases the water level by 4.71 – 5.66 m from flood level for 2 – 100 years returned period.

Planning the development of the Mekong river basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chomchai, P [Mekong Secretariat, Bangkok (Thailand)

1992-10-01

In planning to develop the vast potential of the Mekong river in Southeast Asia, a number of institutional aspects need to be addressed, and the sometimes diverging interests of the riparian countries need to be carefully balanced. The Mekong river is an extremely valuable natural resource: its potential for irrigation, hydropower, navigation, fisheries and related development is more than adequate to raise significantly the standards of living of the people of the lower Mekong basin and in the riparian countries outside the river's catchment area. The Mekong's catchment area of 795 000 km[sup 2] encompasses parts of China and Myanmar, the whole of Laos and Cambodia, one third of Thailand and one fifth of Viet Nam. The population of the Mekong basin is around 100 million, about half of whom live in the lower basin. It could be said that these impoverished inhabitants of the basin depend significantly on the Mekong for an improvement in their livelihood, and this places a heavy responsibility on those involved in developing its water resources. The Mekong Committee, since its establishment in 1957 and in its present interim status since 1977, is dedicated to the co-ordinated development of the basin's resources, on the basis of reasonable and equitable sharing between the riparian states as stated in the Committee's declaration of principles. With the establishment of the Mekon Committee, serious efforts have been made aimed at rational management of water resources use. (author).

A Combined Hydrological and Hydraulic Model for Flood Prediction in Vietnam Applied to the Huong River Basin as a Test Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dang Thanh Mai

2017-11-01

Full Text Available A combined hydrological and hydraulic model is presented for flood prediction in Vietnam. This model is applied to the Huong river basin as a test case study. Observed flood flows and water surface levels of the 2002–2005 flood seasons are used for model calibration, and those of the 2006–2007 flood seasons are used for validation of the model. The physically based distributed hydrologic model WetSpa is used for predicting the generation and propagation of flood flows in the mountainous upper sub-basins, and proves to predict flood flows accurately. The Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS hydraulic model is applied to simulate flood flows and inundation levels in the downstream floodplain, and also proves to predict water levels accurately. The predicted water profiles are used for mapping of inundations in the floodplain. The model may be useful in developing flood forecasting and early warning systems to mitigate losses due to flooding in Vietnam.

RUNOFF POTENTIAL OF MUREŞ RIVER UPPER BASIN TRIBUTARIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. SOROCOVSCHI

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Runoff Potential of Mureş River Upper Basin Tributaries. The upper basin of the Mureş River includes a significant area of the Eastern Carpathians central western part with different runoff formation conditions. In assessing the average annual runoff potential we used data from six gauging stations and made assessments on three distinct periods. Identifying the appropriate areas of the obtained correlations curves (between specific average runoff and catchments mean altitude allowed the assessment of potential runoff at catchment level and on geographical units. The potential average runoff is also assessed on altitude intervals of the mentioned areas. The runoff potential analysis on hydrographic basins, geographical units and altitude intervals highlights the variant spatial distribution of this general water resources indicator in the different studied areas.

Water Quality Evaluation of the Yellow River Basin Based on Gray Clustering Method

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, X. Q.; Zou, Z. H.

2018-03-01

Evaluating the water quality of 12 monitoring sections in the Yellow River Basin comprehensively by grey clustering method based on the water quality monitoring data from the Ministry of environmental protection of China in May 2016 and the environmental quality standard of surface water. The results can reflect the water quality of the Yellow River Basin objectively. Furthermore, the evaluation results are basically the same when compared with the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results also show that the overall water quality of the Yellow River Basin is good and coincident with the actual situation of the Yellow River basin. Overall, gray clustering method for water quality evaluation is reasonable and feasible and it is also convenient to calculate.

Identification of basin characteristics influencing spatial variation of river flows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mazvimavi, D.; Burgers, S.L.G.E.; Stein, A.

2006-01-01

The selection of basin characteristics that explain spatial variation of river flows is important for hydrological regionalization as this enables estimation of flow statistics of ungauged basins. A direct gradient analysis method, redundancy analysis, is used to identify basin characteristics,

Integrated resource assessment of the Drina River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Almulla, Youssef; Ramos, Eunice; Gardumi, Francesco; Howells, Mark

2017-04-01

The integrated assessment and management of resources: water, energy, food and environment is of fundamental importance, yet it is a very challenging task especially when it is carried out on the transboundary level. This study focuses on the Drina River Basin (DRB) which is a transboundary basin in South East Europe spreading across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro with a total surface area of 19,982 km2. Water resources from the Drina River Basin are shared among many activities in the basin: domestic water supply, electricity generation, fishery, tourism and, to a lesser extent, irrigation, industry and mining. The region has recently experienced repeated events of floods and droughts causing significant damage to the economy, showing a high vulnerability of the area to the effects of climate change. The assessment of the Drina River Basin is carried out in the framework of the project "Water food energy ecosystems nexus in transboundary river basins" under the UNECE Water Convention. This study aims to: 1) Improve the cooperation in the operation of dams and hydropower plants in the DRB for optimized production; 2) Explore the opportunities generated by electricity trade between the DRB countries as a mechanism to enhance cooperation and as an enabler for the synchronised operation of hydropower plants; 3) Motivate the implementation of energy efficiency measures to reduce the electricity production requirement from hydro and thermal power. In order to achieve that, a multi-country electricity system model was developed for the three countries of Drina river basin using the Open Source energy MOdelling SYStem (OSeMOSYS). The model represents the whole electricity system of each country, with special cascade representation of hydropower plants along Drina river and its tributaries. The results show that, in a scenario of synchronised operation of all power plants along Drina and its tributaries, those downstream can significantly increase their

Turbidity and suspended-sediment transport in the Russian River Basin, California

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, John R.; Brown, William M.

1971-01-01

The Russian River in north coastal California has a persistent turbidness, which has reportedly caused a decline in the success of the sports fishermen. As a consequence, the number of sports fishermen angling in the river has declined, and industries dependent on their business have suffered. To determine the source of the turbidity and the rate of sediment transport in the basin, a network of sampling station was established in February 1964 along the river, on some of its tributaries, and near Lake Pillsbury in the upper Eel River basin.

The future of the reservoirs in the Siret River Basin considering the sediment transport of rivers (ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petru OLARIU

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The Siret River Basin is characterized by an important use of hydro potential, resulted in the number of reservoirs constructed and operational. The cascade power stage of the reservoirs on Bistrita and Siret rivers indicate the anthropic interventions with different purposes (hydro energy, water supply, irrigation etc. in the Siret River Basin. In terms of the capacity in the Siret River Basin there is a dominance of the small capacity reservoirs, which is given by the less than 20 mil m³ volumes. Only two lakes have capacities over 200 mil m³: Izvoru Muntelui on Bistrita River and Siriu on Buzau River. Based on the monitoring of the alluvial flow at the hydrometric stations, from the Siret River Basin, there have been analysed the sediment yield formation and the solid transit dimensions in order to obtain typical values for the geographical areas of this territory. The silting of these reservoirs was monitored by successive topobatimetric measurements performed by the Bureau of Prognosis, Hydrology and Hydrogeology and a compartment within Hidroelectrica S.A. Piatra Neamt Subsidiary. The quantities of the deposited sediments are very impressive. The annual rates range betwee3 000 – 2 000 000 t/year, depending on the size of the hydrographical basin, the capacity of the reservoirs, the liquid flow and many other factors which may influence the upstream transport of sediments. These rates of sedimentation lead to a high degree of silting in the reservoirs. Many of them are silted over 50% of the initial capacity and the others even more. The effects of the silting have an important impact when analysing the effective exploitation of the reservoirs. 

M-area basin closure-Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMullin, S.R.; Horvath, J.G.

1991-01-01

M-Area, on the Savannah River Site, processes raw materials and manufactures fuel and target rods for reactor use. Effluent from these processes were discharged into the M-Area settling basin and Lost Lake, a natural wetland. The closure of this basin began in 1988 and included the removal and stabilization of basin fluids, excavation of all contaminated soils from affected areas and Lost Lake, and placement of all materials in the bottom of the emptied basin. These materials were covered with a RCRA style cap, employing redundant barriers of kaolin clay and geosynthetic material. Restoration of excavated uplands and wetlands is currently underway

Evaluation of Environmental Flows in Rivers Using Hydrological Methods (Case study: The Barandozchi River- Urmia Lake Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Mostafavi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction Development of water resources projects are accompanied by several environmental impacts, among them, the changes in the natural flow regime and the reduction of downstream water flows. With respect to the water shortages and non-uniform distribution of rainfall, sustainable management of water resources would be inevitable. In order to prevent negative effects on long-term river ecosystems, it is necessary to preserve the ecological requirements of the river systems. The assessment of environmental flow requirements in a river ecosystem is a challenging practice all over the world, and in particular, in developing countries such as Iran. Environmental requirements of rivers are often defined as a suite of flow discharges of certain magnitude, timing, frequency and duration. These flows ensure a flow regime capable of sustaining a complex set of aquatic habitats and ecosystem processes and are referred to as "environmental flows". There are several methods for determining environmental flows. The majority of these methods can be grouped into four reasonably distinct categories, namely as: hydrological, hydraulic rating, habitat simulation (or rating, and holistic methodologies. However, the current knowledge of river ecology and existing data on the needs of aquatic habitats for water quantity and quality is very limited. It is considered that there is no unique and universal method to adapt to different rivers and/or different reaches in a river. The main aim of the present study was to provide with a framework to determine environmental flow requirements of a typical perennial river using eco-hydrological methods. The Barandozchi River was selected as an important water body in the Urmia Lake Basin, Iran. The preservation of the river lives, the restoration of the internationally recognized Urmia Lake, and the elimination of negative impact from the construction of the Barandoz dam on this river were the main concerns in this

Grande Ronde Basin Supplementation Program; Lostine River, 2000 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onjukka, Sam T. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR); Harbeck, Jim (Nez Perce Tribe, Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Enterprise, OR)

2003-03-01

The Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) identified supplementation as a high priority to achieve its goal of increasing runs of anadromous fish in the Columbia Basin. Supplementation activities in the Lostine River and associated monitoring and evaluation conducted by the Nez Perce Tribe relate directly to the needs addressed in the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994). Measure 7.4L.1 of the Program mandates that appropriate research accompany any proposed supplementation. In addition, measure 7.3B.2 of the Program stresses the need for evaluating supplementation projects to assess their ability to increase production. Finally, Section 7.4D.3 encourages the study of hatchery rearing and release strategies to improve survival and adaptation of cultured fish. In 1997, Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (ODFW) requested a modification of Permit 1011 to allow the take of adult spring chinook salmon. In 1998, the Nez Perce Tribe also requested a permit specific to activities on Lostine River. The permit was issued in 2000. A special condition in the permits required the development of a long term management plan for the spring chinook salmon of the Grande Ronde Basin. The Nez Perce Tribe, ODFW, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) completed a formal long range plan entitled ''Grande Ronde Basin Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Program''. The program proposes to increase the survival of spring chinook salmon in the Grand Ronde Basin through hatchery intervention. Adult salmon from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, and the Upper Grande Ronde River are used for a conventional supplementation program in the basin. The Nez Perce program currently operates under the ESA Section 10 Permit 1149.

Grande Ronde Basin Supplementation Program; Lostine River, 2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onjukka, Sam T. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR); Harbeck, Jim (Nez Perce Tribe, Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Enterprise, OR)

2003-03-01

The Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) identified supplementation as a high priority to achieve its goal of increasing runs of anadromous fish in the Columbia Basin. Supplementation activities in the Lostine River and associated monitoring and evaluation conducted by the Nez Perce Tribe relate directly to the needs addressed in the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994). Measure 7.4L.1 of the Program mandates that appropriate research accompany any proposed supplementation. In addition, measure 7.3B.2 of the Program stresses the need for evaluating supplementation projects to assess their ability to increase production. Finally, Section 7.4D.3 encourages the study of hatchery rearing and release strategies to improve survival and adaptation of cultured fish. In 1997, Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (ODFW) requested a modification of Permit 1011 to allow the take of adult spring chinook salmon. In 1998, the Nez Perce Tribe also requested a permit specific to activities on Lostine River. The permit was issued in 2000. A special condition in the permits required the development of a long term management plan for the spring chinook salmon of the Grande Ronde Basin. The Nez Perce Tribe, ODFW, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) completed a formal long range plan entitled ''Grande Ronde Basin Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Program''. The program proposes to increase the survival of spring chinook salmon in the Grand Ronde Basin through hatchery intervention. Adult salmon from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, and the Upper Grande Ronde River are used for a conventional supplementation program in the basin. The Nez Perce program currently operates under the ESA Section 10 Permit 1149.

Water-energy-food nexus in Large Asian River Basins

OpenAIRE

Keskinen, Marko; Varis, Olli

2016-01-01

The water-energy-food nexus ("nexus") is promoted as an approach to look at the linkages between water, energy and food. The articles of Water's Special Issue "Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Large Asian River Basins" look at the applicability of the nexus approach in different regions and rivers basins in Asia. The articles provide practical examples of the various roles and importance of water-energy-food linkages, but also discuss the theoretical aspects related to the nexus. While it is eviden...

Fish, Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira river basins, São Paulo State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Braga, F. M. S.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Fish were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira subjected to strong human pressure, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça river, Lapa stream, Passa-Cinco river, and Corumbataí river; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá stream, Jacaré-Pepira river, and Água Branca stream. A total of 4,050 specimens belonging to 48 species and 13 families were caught and analyzed.

Hydrological Modeling in temporary streams: A case study in Pardiela basin, Southern Portugal

OpenAIRE

PEDRO, A.; MORAIS, M.; ROSADO, J.; SILVA, H.; SERAFIM, A.; NEVES, R.; BRITO, D.; POTES, M.; SALGADO, R.; LILLEBØ, I.; CHAMBEL, A.

2011-01-01

The project “Conservation and rehabilitation strategies for temporary Mediterranean river corridors: a case study on Pardiela basin, southern Portugal (Guadiana basin)", is being carried out,with the collaboration of researchers from diverse scientific areas, in order to increase the knowledge on temporary streams. The project includes different approaches at reach and basin scales, regarding the study of temporal interactions among different ecological components such as climate, morph...

Environmental Setting of the Lower Merced River Basin, California

Science.gov (United States)

Gronberg, Jo Ann M.; Kratzer, Charles R.

2006-01-01

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey began to study the effects of natural and anthropogenic influences on the quality of ground water, surface water, biology, and ecology as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. As part of this program, the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins study unit is assessing parts of the lower Merced River Basin, California. This report provides descriptions of natural and anthropogenic features of this basin as background information to assess the influence of these and other factors on water quality. The lower Merced River Basin, which encompasses the Mustang Creek Subbasin, gently slopes from the northeast to the southwest toward the San Joaquin River. The arid to semiarid climate is characterized by hot summers (highs of mid 90 degrees Fahrenheit) and mild winters (lows of mid 30 degrees Fahrenheit). Annual precipitation is highly variable, with long periods of drought and above normal precipitation. Population is estimated at about 39,230 for 2000. The watershed is predominately agricultural on the valley floor. Approximately 2.2 million pounds active ingredient of pesticides and an estimated 17.6 million pounds active ingredient of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer is applied annually to the agricultural land.

Mapping Water Resources, Allocation and Consumption in the Mills River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Hodes, J.; Jeuland, M. A.; Barros, A. P.

2014-12-01

Mountain basins and the headwaters of river basins along the foothills of major mountain ranges are undergoing rapid environmental change due to urban development, land acquisition by investors, population increase, and climate change. Classical water infrastructure in these regions is primarily designed to meet human water demand associated with agriculture, tourism, and economic development. Often overlooked and ignored is the fundamental interdependence of human water demand, ecosystem water demand, water rights and allocation, and water supply. A truly sustainable system for water resources takes into account ecosystem demand along with human infrastructure and economic demand, as well as the feedbacks that exist between them. Allocation policies need to take into account basin resilience that is the amount of stress the system can handle under varying future scenarios. Changes in stress on the system can be anthropogenic in the form of population increase, land use change, economic development, or may be natural in the form of climate change and decrease in water supply due to changes in precipitation. Mapping the water rights, supply, and demands within the basin can help determine the resiliency and sustainability of the basin. Here, we present a coupled natural human system project based in the French Broad River Basin, in the Southern Appalachians. In the first phase of the project, we are developing and implementing a coupled hydro-economics modeling framework in the Mills River Basin (MRB), a tributary of the French Broad. The Mills River Basin was selected as the core basin for implementing a sustainable system of water allocation that is adaptive and reflects the interdependence of water dependent sectors. The headwaters of the Mills River are in the foothills of the Appalachians, and are currently under substantial land use land cover (LULC) change pressure for agricultural purposes. In this regard, the MRB is representative of similar headwater

Using remotely sensed imagery to estimate potential annual pollutant loads in river basins.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bin; Oki, Kazuo; Wang, Yi; Oki, Taikan

2009-01-01

Land cover changes around river basins have caused serious environmental degradation in global surface water areas, in which the direct monitoring and numerical modeling is inherently difficult. Prediction of pollutant loads is therefore crucial to river environmental management under the impact of climate change and intensified human activities. This research analyzed the relationship between land cover types estimated from NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery and the potential annual pollutant loads of river basins in Japan. Then an empirical approach, which estimates annual pollutant loads directly from satellite imagery and hydrological data, was investigated. Six water quality indicators were examined, including total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), suspended sediment (SS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO). The pollutant loads of TN, TP, SS, BOD, COD, and DO were then estimated for 30 river basins in Japan. Results show that the proposed simulation technique can be used to predict the pollutant loads of river basins in Japan. These results may be useful in establishing total maximum annual pollutant loads and developing best management strategies for surface water pollution at river basin scale.

Morphometric analysis of Suketi river basin, Himachal Himalaya, India

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The entire Suketi river basin has been divided into five sub-basins based on the catchment areas of ..... with equilibrium profile, where driving force is equivalent to the .... need attention for revival and sustenance by taking suitable artificial ...

Understanding Socio-Hydrology System in the Kissimmee River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, X.; Wang, D.; Tian, F.; Sivapalan, M.

2014-12-01

This study is to develop a conceptual socio-hydrology model for the Kissimmee River Basin. The Kissimmee River located in Florida was channelized in mid-20 century for flood protection. However, the environmental issues caused by channelization led Floridians to conduct a restoration project recently, focusing on wetland recovery. As a complex coupled human-water system, Kissimmee River Basin shows the typical socio-hydrology interactions. Hypothetically, the major reason to drive the system from channelization to restoration is that the community sensitivity towards the environment has changed from controlling to restoring. The model developed in this study includes 5 components: water balance, flood risk, wetland area, crop land area, and community sensitivity. Furthermore, urban population and rural population in the basin have different community sensitivities towards the hydrologic system. The urban population, who live further away from the river are more sensitive to wetland restoration; while the rural population, who live closer to the river are more sensitive to flood protection. The power dynamics between the two groups and its impact on management decision making is described in the model. The model is calibrated based on the observed watershed outflow, wetland area and crop land area. The results show that the overall focus of community sensitivity has changed from flood protection to wetland restoration in the past 60 years in Kissimmee River Basin, which confirms the study hypothesis. There are two main reasons for the community sensitivity change. Firstly, people's flood memory is fading because of the effective flood protection, while the continuously shrinking wetland and the decreasing bird and fish population draw more and more attention. Secondly, in the last 60 years, the urban population in Florida drastically increased compared with a much slower increase of rural population. As a result, the community sensitivity of urban population towards

The Role of Forests in Regulating the River Flow Regime of Large Basins of the World

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar, J. F.; Villegas, J. C.; Mercado-Bettin, D. A.; Rodríguez, E.

2017-12-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we explore potential linkages between the presence of forests and the capacity of river basins for regulating river flows. Regulation is defined here as the capacity of river basins to attenuate the amplitude of the river flow regime, that is to reduce the difference between high and low flows. We first use scaling theory to show how scaling properties of observed river flows can be used to classify river basins as regulated or unregulated. This parsimonious classification is based on a physical interpretation of the scaling properties (particularly the scaling exponents) that is novel (most previous studies have focused on the interpretation of the scaling exponents for floods only), and widely-applicable to different basins (the only assumption is that river flows in a given river basin exhibit scaling properties through well-known power laws). Then we show how this scaling framework can be used to explore global-change-induced temporal variations in the regulation capacity of river basins. Finally, we propose a conceptual hypothesis (the "Forest reservoir concept") to explain how large-scale forests can exert important effects on the long-term water balance partitioning and regulation capacity of large basins of the world. Our quantitative results are based on data analysis (river flows and land cover features) from 22 large basins of the world, with emphasis in the Amazon river and its main tributaries. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that forest cover enhances the capacity of large river basins to maintain relatively high mean river flows, as well as to regulate (ameliorate) extreme river flows. Advancing towards this quantitative understanding of the relation between forest cover and river flow regimes is

opulation growth and deforestation in the Volta River basin of Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Volta River basin in Ghana, about 160,000 km2, is experiencing rapid deforestation. Paper uses satellite, household survey and population census data to relate trends and patterns of population in the Volta River sub-basins to forest cover. It assesses amount of forest available in 1990 and 2000, and the relationship ...

FOXO3 variants are beneficial for longevity in Southern Chinese living in the Red River Basin: A case-control study and meta-analysis

OpenAIRE

Sun, Liang; Hu, Caiyou; Zheng, Chenguang; Qian, Yu; Liang, Qinghua; Lv, Zeping; Huang, Zezhi; Qi, KeYan; Gong, Huan; Zhang, Zheng; Huang, Jin; Zhou, Qin; Yang, Ze

2015-01-01

Forkhead box class O (FOXO) transcription factors play a crucial role in longevity across species. Several polymorphisms in FOXO3 were previously reported to be associated with human longevity. However, only one Chinese replication study has been performed so far. To verify the role of FOXO3 in southern Chinese in the Red River Basin, a community-based case-control study was conducted, and seven polymorphisms were genotyped in 1336 participants, followed by a meta-analysis of eight case-contr...

Pb-Zn-Cd-Hg multi isotopic characterization of the Loire River Basin, France

Science.gov (United States)

Millot, R.; Widory, D.; Innocent, C.; Guerrot, C.; Bourrain, X.; Johnson, T. M.

2012-12-01

The contribution of human activities such as industries, agriculture and domestic inputs, becomes more and more significant in the chemical composition (major ions and pollutants such as metals) of the dissolved load of rivers. Furthermore, this influence can also be evidenced in the suspended solid matter known to play an important role in the transport of heavy metals through river systems. Human factors act as a supplementary key process. Therefore the mass-balance for the budget of catchments and river basins include anthropogenic disturbances. The Loire River in central France is approximately 1010 km long and drains an area of 117,800 km2. Initially, the Loire upstream flows in a south to north direction originating in the Massif Central, and continues up to the city of Orléans, 650 km from the source. In the upper basin, the bedrock is old plutonic rock overlain by much younger volcanic rocks. The Loire River then follows a general east to west direction to the Atlantic Ocean. The intermediate basin includes three major tributaries flowing into the Loire River from the left bank: the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne rivers; the main stream flows westward and its valley stretches toward the Atlantic Ocean. Here, the Loire River drains the sedimentary series of the Paris Basin, mainly carbonate deposits. The lower Loire basin drains pre-Mesozoic basement of the Armorican Massif and its overlying Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary deposits. The Loire River is one of the main European riverine inputs to the Atlantic ocean. Here we are reporting concentration and isotope data for heavy metals Zn-Cd-Pb-Hg in river waters and suspended sediments from the Loire River Basin. In addition, we also report concentration and isotope data for these metals for the different industrial sources within the Loire Basin, as well as data for biota samples such as mussels and oysters from the Bay of Biscay and North Brittany. These organisms are known to be natural accumulators of

Hydrological impacts of precipitation extremes in the Huaihe River Basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mangen; Chen, Xing; Cheng, Chad Shouquan

2016-01-01

Precipitation extremes play a key role in flooding risks over the Huaihe River Basin, which is important to understand their hydrological impacts. Based on observed daily precipitation and streamflow data from 1958 to 2009, eight precipitation indices and three streamflow indices were calculated for the study of hydrological impacts of precipitation extremes. The results indicate that the wet condition intensified in the summer wet season and the drought condition was getting worse in the autumn dry season in the later years of the past 50 years. The river basin had experienced higher heavy rainfall-related flooding risks in summer and more severe drought in autumn in the later of the period. The extreme precipitation events or consecutive heavy rain day events led to the substantial increases in streamflow extremes, which are the main causes of frequent floods in the Huaihe River Basin. The large inter-annual variation of precipitation anomalies in the upper and central Huaihe River Basin are the major contributor for the regional frequent floods and droughts.

Flood of May 23, 2004, in the Turkey and Maquoketa River basins, northeast Iowa

Science.gov (United States)

Eash, David A.

2006-01-01

Severe flooding occurred on May 23, 2004, in the Turkey River Basin in Clayton County and in the Maquoketa River Basin in Delaware County following intense thunderstorms over northeast Iowa. Rain gages at Postville and Waucoma, Iowa, recorded 72-hour rainfall of 6.32 and 6.55 inches, respectively, on May 23. Unofficial rainfall totals of 8 to 10 inches were reported in the Turkey River Basin. The peak discharge on May 23 at the Turkey River at Garber streamflow-gaging station was 66,700 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval greater than 500 years) and is the largest flood on record in the Turkey River Basin. The timing of flood crests on the Turkey and Volga Rivers, and local tributaries, coincided to produce a record flood on the lower part of the Turkey River. Three large floods have occurred at the Turkey River at Garber gaging station in a 13-year period. Peak discharges of the floods of June 1991 and May 1999 were 49,900 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 150 years) and 53,900 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 220 years), respectively. The peak discharge on May 23 at the Maquoketa River at Manchester gaging station was 26,000 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 100 years) and is the largest known flood in the upper part of the Maquoketa River Basin.

Regional and Household Adaptation Strategies to Climate Extremes: the Case Study of the Beava River Basin, the Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Duží, Barbora; Stojanov, Robert; Vikhrov, Dmytro

2013-04-01

We investigate regional and household adaptation strategies in the region affected by climate extremes, focusing on floods occurrence during past 15 years period. The main research question is: What is the overall state of adaptation measurements to climate extremes on the Bečva river basin? Target area is located along upper and middle part of the Bečva river basin in the east of the Czech Republic. The main theoretical concepts draw from differentiations between coping/adaptation strategies to climate extremes and theory of focusing event as a starter of changes in attention and agenda of problem solution. We apply mixed empirical research and case study approach. First we use qualitative research to serve as an initial entrance to the issue, to find out the perception of adaptation progress and preparedness to climate extremes on regional level. We conducted deep interviews (N=20) with relevant stakeholders. We proceed with quantitative research through the conducting face-to face questionnaires with household residents (N=305) in no, low and no risk area in relation to flood occurrence. We designed set of questions to find out relation among experiences with flood, the level of damages and applied emergency and adaptation measurements.

On geo-basis of river regulation——A case study for the middle reaches of the Yangtze River

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2008-01-01

From the point of view that people have to obey the river’s geo-attributes in the river regulation, the definition and the meaning of the geo-attributes of a river are discussed. The geo-basis of the river regulation of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is expounded in five aspects, including the structural geomorphology environment of flood storage and discharge, the distribution characteristics of subsidence and the sedimentation areas of Dongting Basin, the history evolution of Jianghan Basin, the function of Jianghan Basin and Dongting Basin as the flood water detention areas of Jingjiang River reach in ancient time, and the geological characteristic of Jingjiang River reach. Based on the geo-attributes of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, some ideas about the middle reach regulation of the Yangtze River are put forward: to process the interchange between the lakes and diked marsh areas in Dongting Basin, to canal the new river route as the flood diversion channel of Jingjiang River reach with the paleo river, to recover the function of Jianghan Basin as flood detention area of the middle reaches. And we should take into consideration the geo-environment of the whole Yangtze River in the river regulation of middle reaches.

Socio-Hydrology of Channel Flows in Complex River Basins: Rivers, Canals, and Distributaries in Punjab, Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Wescoat, James L.; Siddiqi, Afreen; Muhammad, Abubakr

2018-01-01

This paper presents a socio-hydrologic analysis of channel flows in Punjab province of the Indus River basin in Pakistan. The Indus has undergone profound transformations, from large-scale canal irrigation in the mid-nineteenth century to partition and development of the international river basin in the mid-twentieth century, systems modeling in the late-twentieth century, and new technologies for discharge measurement and data analytics in the early twenty-first century. We address these processes through a socio-hydrologic framework that couples historical geographic and analytical methods at three levels of flow in the Punjab. The first level assesses Indus River inflows analysis from its origins in 1922 to the present. The second level shows how river inflows translate into 10-daily canal command deliveries that vary widely in their conformity with canal entitlements. The third level of analysis shows how new flow measurement technologies raise questions about the performance of established methods of water scheduling (warabandi) on local distributaries. We show how near real-time measurement sheds light on the efficiency and transparency of surface water management. These local socio-hydrologic changes have implications in turn for the larger scales of canal and river inflow management in complex river basins.

Geographic Information System and Geoportal «River basins of the European Russia»

Science.gov (United States)

Yermolaev, O. P.; Mukharamova, S. S.; Maltsev, K. A.; Ivanov, M. A.; Ermolaeva, P. O.; Gayazov, A. I.; Mozzherin, V. V.; Kharchenko, S. V.; Marinina, O. A.; Lisetskii, F. N.

2018-01-01

Geographic Information System (GIS) and Geoportal with open access «River basins of the European Russia» were implemented. GIS and Geoportal are based on the map of basins of small rivers of the European Russia with information about natural and anthropogenic characteristics, namely geomorphometry of basins relief; climatic parameters, representing averages, variation, seasonal variation, extreme values of temperature and precipitation; land cover types; soil characteristics; type and subtype of landscape; population density. The GIS includes results of spatial analysis and modelling, in particular, assessment of anthropogenic impact on river basins; evaluation of water runoff and sediment runoff; climatic, geomorphological and landscape zoning for the European part of Russia.

Integrated flood damage modelling in the Ebro river basin under hydrodynamic, socio-economic and environmental factors

Science.gov (United States)

Foudi, S.; Galarraga, I.; Osés, N.

2012-04-01

This paper presents a model of flood damage measurement. It studies the socio-economic and environmental potential damage of floods in the Ebro river basin. We estimate the damage to the urban, rural and environmental sectors. In these sectors, we make distinctions between residential, non residential, cultural, agricultural, public facilities and utilities, environmental and human subsectors. We focus on both the direct, indirect, tangible and intangible impacts. The residential damages refer to the damages on housing, costs of repair and cleaning as direct effects and the re-housing costs as an indirect effect. The non residential and agricultural impacts concern the losses to the economic sectors (industry, business, agricultural): production, capital losses, costs of cleaning and repairs for the direct costs and the consequences of the suspension of activities for the indirect costs. For the human sector, we refer to the physical impacts (injuries and death) in the direct tangible effects and to the posttraumatic stress as indirect intangible impact. The environmental impacts focus on a site of Community Interests (pSCIs) in the case study area. The case study is located the Ebro river basin, Spain. The Ebro river basin is the larger river basin in term of surface and water discharge. The Ebro river system is subject to Atlantic and Mediterranean climatic influences. It gathers most of its water from the north of Spain (in the Pyrenees Mountains) and is the most important river basin of Spain in term of water resources. Most of the flooding occurs during the winter period. Between 1900- 2010, the National Catalogue of Historical Floods identifies 372 events: meanly 33 events every 10 years and up to 58 during the 1990-2000. Natural floods have two origins: (i) persistent rainfalls in large sub basins raised up by high temperature giving rise to a rapid thaw in the Pyrenees, (ii) local rainfalls of short duration and high intensity that gives rise to rapid and

Eco-hydrological Responses to Soil and Water Conservation in the Jinghe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, H.; Jia, Y.; Qiu, Y.

2011-12-01

The Jinghe River Basin is one of the most serious soil erosion areas in the Loess Plateau. Many measures of soil and water conservation were applied in the basin. Terrestrial ecosystem model BIOME-BGC and distributed hydrological model WEP-L were used to build eco-hydrological model and verified by field observation and literature values. The model was applied in the Jinghe River Basin to analyze eco-hydrological responses under the scenarios of vegetation type change due to soil and water conservation polices. Four scenarios were set under the measures of conversion of cropland to forest, forestation on bare land, forestation on slope wasteland and planting grass on bare land. Analysis results show that the soil and water conservation has significant effects on runoff and the carbon cycle in the Jinghe River Basin: the average annual runoff would decrease and the average annual NPP and carbon storage would increase. Key words: soil and water conservation; conversion of cropland to forest; eco-hydrology response; the Jinghe River Basin

Future Climate Change Impacts on Streamflows of Two Main West Africa River Basins: Senegal and Gambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ansoumana Bodian

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This research investigated the effect of climate change on the two main river basins of Senegal in West Africa: the Senegal and Gambia River Basins. We used downscaled projected future rainfall and potential evapotranspiration based on projected temperature from six General Circulation Models (CanESM2, CNRM, CSIRO, HadGEM2-CC, HadGEM2-ES, and MIROC5 and two scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 to force the GR4J model. The GR4J model was calibrated and validated using observed daily rainfall, potential evapotranspiration from observed daily temperature, and streamflow data. For the cross-validation, two periods for each river basin were considered: 1961–1982 and 1983–2004 for the Senegal River Basin at Bafing Makana, and 1969–1985 and 1986–2000 for the Gambia River Basin at Mako. Model efficiency is evaluated using a multi-criteria function (Fagg which aggregates Nash and Sutcliffe criteria, cumulative volume error, and mean volume error. Alternating periods of simulation for calibration and validation were used. This process allows us to choose the parameters that best reflect the rainfall-runoff relationship. Once the model was calibrated and validated, we simulated streamflow at Bafing Makana and Mako stations in the near future at a daily scale. The characteristic flow rates were calculated to evaluate their possible evolution under the projected climate scenarios at the 2050 horizon. For the near future (2050 horizon, compared to the 1971–2000 reference period, results showed that for both river basins, multi-model ensemble predicted a decrease of annual streamflow from 8% (Senegal River Basin to 22% (Gambia River Basin under the RCP4.5 scenario. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the decrease is more pronounced: 16% (Senegal River Basin and 26% (Gambia River Basin. The Gambia River Basin will be more affected by the climate change.

Investigating the evolutionary history of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe River Basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, S.; Wei, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Zheng, H.

2017-12-01

Human's innovative abilities do not only enable rapid expansion of civilization, but also lead to enormous modifications on the natural environment. Technology, while a key factor embedded in socioeconomic developments, its impacts have been rarely appropriately considered in river basin management. This research aims to examine the evolutionary history of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe River Basin, China, and how its characteristics interacted with the river basin environment. It adopts a content analysis approach to collect and summarize quantitative technological information in the Heihe River Basin across a time span of more than 2000 years from the Han Dynasty (206 BC) to 2015. Two Chinese academic research databases: Wan Fang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were chosen as data sources. The results show that irrigated agricultural technologies in Heihe River Basin have shifted from focusing on developing new farming tools and cultivation methods to adapting modernized, water-saving irrigation methods and water diversion infrastructures. In additions, the center of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe river basin has moved from downstream to middle stream since the Ming Dynasty (1368AD) as a result of degraded natural environment. The developing trend of technology in the Heihe River Basin thus coincides with the change of societal focus from agricultural production efficiency to the human-water balance and environmental remediation. This research demonstrates that irrigated agricultural technologies had a twisted evolutionary history in the Heihe River Basin, influenced by a diverse range of environmental and socioeconomic factors. It provides insights into the fact that technology exhibits a co-evolutionary characteristic with the social development history in the region, pointing towards the urgent need to maintain the balance between human and environment.

Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in the Guadalquivir River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Yeste Donaire, P.; García-Valdecasas-Ojeda, M.; Góngora García, T. M.; Gámiz-Fortis, S. R.; Castro-Diez, Y.; Esteban-Parra, M. J.

2017-12-01

Climate change has lead to a decrease of precipitation and an increase of temperature in the Mediterranean Basin during the last fifty years. These changes will be more intense over the course of the 21thcentury according to global climate projections. As a consequence, water resources are expected to decrease, particularly in the Guadalquivir River Basin. This study focuses on the hydrological response of the Guadalquivir River Basin to the climate change. For this end, firstly, the implementation of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model in the Basin was carried out. The VIC model was calibrated with a dataset of daily precipitation, temperature and streamflow for the period 1990-2000. Precipitation and temperature data were extracted from SPAIN02, a dataset that covers the Peninsular Spain at 0.11º of spatial resolution. Streamflow data were gathered for a representative subset of gauging stations in the basin. These data were provided by the Spanish Center for Public Work Experimentation and Study (CEDEX). Subsequently, the VIC model was validated for the period 2000-2005 in order to verify that the model outputs fit well with the observational data. After the validation of the VIC model for present climate, secondly, the effect of climate change on the Guadalquivir River Basin will be analyzed by developing several simulations of the streamflow for future climate. Precipitation and temperature data will be obtained in this case from future projections coming from high resolution (at 0.088º) simulations carried out with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for the Iberian Peninsula. These last simulations will be driven under two different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 for the periods 2021-50 and 2071-2100. The first results of this work show that the VIC model outputs are in good agreement with the observed streamflow for both the calibration and validation periods. In the context of climate

Hydrological assessment of freshwater resource areas in the Zambezi River Basin

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mwenge Kahinda, Jean-Marc

2012-10-01

Full Text Available characterisation of the degree of regulation of the river system, followed by an assessment of high water yielding areas (water towers), groundwater recharge and base flow index. To understand the environmental patterns and processes that occur in the river... to hydrogeology, IAH Publ. 8, Verlag Heinz Heisse. Xu, Y. and Beekman, H.E. (Eds). 2003. Groundwater recharge estimation in southern Africa. UNESCO IHP Series No. 64. UNESCO Paris. Figure 1: The Zambezi River Basin and its 13 sub basins Figure 3: High water...

Integrated water resources management : A case study in the Hehei river basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Siqi; Deng, Xiangzheng

2017-04-01

The lack of water resources experienced in different parts of the world has now been recognized and analyzed by different international organizations such as WHO, the World Bank, etc. Add to this the growing urbanization and the fast socio-economic development, the water supply of many urban areas is already or will be severely threatened. Recently published documents from the UN Environmental Program confirms that severe water shortage affects 400 million people today and will affect 4 billion people by 2050. Water nowadays is getting scarce, and access to clean drinking water and water for agricultural usage is unequally distributed. The biggest opportunity and challenge for future water management is how to achieve water sustainability to reduce water consumption. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. We take the Heibe river basin where agriculture water there accounted for 90% of total water consumption as an example to study the impacts of IWRM on regional water resources. We calculated the elasticity of substitution values between labor and land, water by each irrigation areas to find the variable elastic value among irrigation areas, and the water-use efficiency based on NPP estimation with the C-fix model and WUE estimation with NPP and ET. The empirical analysis indicated that the moderate scale of farmland is 0.27-0.53hm2 under the condition of technical efficiency of irrigation water and production. Agricultural water use accounted for 94% of the social and economic water consumption in 2012, but water efficiency and water productivity were both at a low stage. In conclusion, land use forms at present in Heihe river basin have a detrimental impact on the availability of ecological water use. promoting water

Hydrological forecast of maximal water level in Lepenica river basin and flood control measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milanović Ana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Lepenica river basin territory has became axis of economic and urban development of Šumadija district. However, considering Lepenica River with its tributaries, and their disordered river regime, there is insufficient of water for water supply and irrigation, while on the other hand, this area is suffering big flood and torrent damages (especially Kragujevac basin. The paper presents flood problems in the river basin, maximum water level forecasts, and flood control measures carried out until now. Some of the potential solutions, aiming to achieve the effective flood control, are suggested as well.

Nutrient mitigation in a temporary river basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzoraki, Ourania; Nikolaidis, Nikolaos P; Cooper, David; Kassotaki, Elissavet

2014-04-01

We estimate the nutrient budget in a temporary Mediterranean river basin. We use field monitoring and modelling tools to estimate nutrient sources and transfer in both high and low flow conditions. Inverse modelling by the help of PHREEQC model validated the hypothesis of a losing stream during the dry period. Soil and Water Assessment Tool model captured the water quality of the basin. The 'total daily maximum load' approach is used to estimate the nutrient flux status by flow class, indicating that almost 60% of the river network fails to meet nitrogen criteria and 50% phosphate criteria. We recommend that existing well-documented remediation measures such as reforestation of the riparian area or composting of food process biosolids should be implemented to achieve load reduction in close conjunction with social needs.

Mass-movement deposits in the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, western Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2015-01-01

The Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in two large Eocene saline lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. Here we will discuss mass-movement deposits in just the Piceance Basin part of Lake Uinta.

Systematic impact assessment on inter-basin water transfer projects of the Hanjiang River Basin in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yanlai; Guo, Shenglian; Hong, Xingjun; Chang, Fi-John

2017-10-01

China's inter-basin water transfer projects have gained increasing attention in recent years. This study proposes an intelligent water allocation methodology for establishing optimal inter-basin water allocation schemes and assessing the impacts of water transfer projects on water-demanding sectors in the Hanjiang River Basin of China. We first analyze water demands for water allocation purpose, and then search optimal water allocation strategies for maximizing the water supply to water-demanding sectors and mitigating the negative impacts by using the Standard Genetic Algorithm (SGA) and Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA), respectively. Lastly, the performance indexes of the water supply system are evaluated under different scenarios of inter-basin water transfer projects. The results indicate that: the AGA with adaptive crossover and mutation operators could increase the average annual water transfer from the Hanjiang River by 0.79 billion m3 (8.8%), the average annual water transfer from the Changjiang River by 0.18 billion m3 (6.5%), and the average annual hydropower generation by 0.49 billion kW h (5.4%) as well as reduce the average annual unmet water demand by 0.40 billion m3 (9.7%), as compared with the those of the SGA. We demonstrate that the proposed intelligent water allocation schemes can significantly mitigate the negative impacts of inter-basin water transfer projects on the reliability, vulnerability and resilience of water supply to the demanding sectors in water-supplying basins. This study has a direct bearing on more intelligent and effectual water allocation management under various scenarios of inter-basin water transfer projects.

Basin of the river Oskil as a tourist-recreational area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Валентина Клименко

2017-09-01

Full Text Available At the current stage of Ukraine’s economic development tourism is a priority sector of our country’s economy. Due to the fact that Ukraine has set a high priority goal - to join the European Union, we should pay attention to the conditions of various areas and sectors of our economy, in particular, the quality of tourism services, whether the recreational sector meets European standards. Many economically developed countries make tourism the most important among other sectors to fill the budget and closely monitor the quality of tourist services. Due to the rapid development of the tourism industry in our country the question has arisen as to conformity of recreational facilities conditions with international standards and finding new places of recreation, including water tourism. The aim of the study is to highlight the Oskil River Basin (within Kharkiv region as a tourist and recreational area and the use of the study materials in the learning process. The article deals with problems of insufficiently studied use of the river Oskil basin both as a tourist, and a recreational area. The hydrographic characteristics of the reservoir have been studied to illustrate the conformity of water objects with the standards and requirements of tourist and recreational activities; methods and techniques of water resources assessment have been analyzed for recreation; the river Oskil (within Ukraine and Chervono-Oskil reservoir have been assessed on the possibility of tourist-recreational use. The ways to use the study materials in education have been determined. Recreational potential of the river and the reservoir should not be underestimated. Thus, analyzing resources of the Oskil river basin and Chervono-Oskil reservoir in terms of recreation, we can conclude that the water of the river is not equally suitable for recreational purposes. The river basin can be used as an object of beach-bathing leisure, tourist boating and rafting, sport rafting

Climate-driven disturbances in the San Juan River sub-basin of the Colorado River

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Katrina E.; Bohn, Theodore J.; Solander, Kurt; McDowell, Nathan G.; Xu, Chonggang; Vivoni, Enrique; Middleton, Richard S.

2018-01-01

Accelerated climate change and associated forest disturbances in the southwestern USA are anticipated to have substantial impacts on regional water resources. Few studies have quantified the impact of both climate change and land cover disturbances on water balances on the basin scale, and none on the regional scale. In this work, we evaluate the impacts of forest disturbances and climate change on a headwater basin to the Colorado River, the San Juan River watershed, using a robustly calibrated (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency 0.76) hydrologic model run with updated formulations that improve estimates of evapotranspiration for semi-arid regions. Our results show that future disturbances will have a substantial impact on streamflow with implications for water resource management. Our findings are in contradiction with conventional thinking that forest disturbances reduce evapotranspiration and increase streamflow. In this study, annual average regional streamflow under the coupled climate-disturbance scenarios is at least 6-11 % lower than those scenarios accounting for climate change alone; for forested zones of the San Juan River basin, streamflow is 15-21 % lower. The monthly signals of altered streamflow point to an emergent streamflow pattern related to changes in forests of the disturbed systems. Exacerbated reductions of mean and low flows under disturbance scenarios indicate a high risk of low water availability for forested headwater systems of the Colorado River basin. These findings also indicate that explicit representation of land cover disturbances is required in modeling efforts that consider the impact of climate change on water resources.

Quality of surface waters in the lower Columbia River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, John F.

1965-01-01

This report, made during 1959-60, provides reconnaissance data on the quality of waters in the lower Columbia River basin ; information on present and future water problems in the basin; and data that can be employed both in water-use studies and in planning future industrial, municipal, and agricultural expansion within this area. The lower Columbia River basin consists of approximately 46,000 square miles downstream from the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers The region can be divided into three geographic areas. The first is the heavily forested, sparsely populated mountain regions in which quality of water in general is related to geologic and climatological factors. The second is a semiarid plateau east of the Cascade Mountains; there differences in geology and precipitation, together with more intensive use of available water for irrigation, bring about marked differences in water quality. The third is the Willamette-Puget trough area in which are concentrated most of the industry and population and in which water quality is influenced by sewage and industrial waste disposal. The majority of the streams in the lower Columbia River basin are calcium magnesium bicarbonate waters. In general, the rivers rising in the. Coast Range and on the west slope of the Cascade Range contain less than 100 parts per million of dissolved solids, and hardness of the water is less than 50 parts per million. Headwater reaches of the streams on the east slope of the Cascade Range are similar to those on the west slope; but, downstream, irrigation return flows cause the dissolved-solids content and hardness to increase. Most of the waters, however, remain calcium magnesium bicarbonate in type. The highest observed dissolved-solids concentrations and also some changes in chemical composition occur in the streams draining the more arid parts of the area. In these parts, irrigation is chiefly responsible for increasing the dissolved-solids concentration and altering the

An environmental streamflow assessment for the Santiam River basin, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Risley, John C.; Wallick, J. Rose; Mangano, Joseph F.; Jones, Krista L.

2012-01-01

The Santiam River is a tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon and drains an area of 1,810 square miles. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates four dams in the basin, which are used primarily for flood control, hydropower production, recreation, and water-quality improvement. The Detroit and Big Cliff Dams were constructed in 1953 on the North Santiam River. The Green Peter and Foster Dams were completed in 1967 on the South Santiam River. The impacts of the structures have included a decrease in the frequency and magnitude of floods and an increase in low flows. For three North Santiam River reaches, the median of annual 1-day maximum streamflows decreased 42–50 percent because of regulated streamflow conditions. Likewise, for three reaches in the South Santiam River basin, the median of annual 1-day maximum streamflows decreased 39–52 percent because of regulation. In contrast to their effect on high flows, the dams increased low flows. The median of annual 7-day minimum flows in six of the seven study reaches increased under regulated streamflow conditions between 60 and 334 percent. On a seasonal basis, median monthly streamflows decreased from February to May and increased from September to January in all the reaches. However, the magnitude of these impacts usually decreased farther downstream from dams because of cumulative inflow from unregulated tributaries and groundwater entering the North, South, and main-stem Santiam Rivers below the dams. A Wilcox rank-sum test of monthly precipitation data from Salem, Oregon, and Waterloo, Oregon, found no significant difference between the pre-and post-dam periods, which suggests that the construction and operation of the dams since the 1950s and 1960s are a primary cause of alterations to the Santiam River basin streamflow regime. In addition to the streamflow analysis, this report provides a geomorphic characterization of the Santiam River basin and the associated conceptual

Dealing with variability in water availability: the case of the Verde Grande River basin, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Collischonn

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a water resources management strategy developed by the Brazilian National Water Agency (ANA to cope with the conflicts between water users in the Verde Grande River basin, located at the southern border of the Brazilian semi-arid region. The basin is dominated by water-demanding fruit irrigation agriculture, which has grown significantly and without adequate water use control, over the last 30 years. The current water demand for irrigation exceeds water availability (understood as a 95 % percentile of the flow duration curve in a ratio of three to one, meaning that downstream water users are experiencing more frequent water shortages than upstream ones. The management strategy implemented in 2008 has the objective of equalizing risk for all water users and consists of a set of rules designed to restrict water withdrawals according to current river water level (indicative of water availability and water demand. Under that rule, larger farmers have proportionally larger reductions in water use, preserving small subsistence irrigators. Moreover, dry season streamflow is forecasted at strategic points by the end of every rainy season, providing evaluation of shortage risk. Thus, water users are informed about the forecasts and corresponding restrictions well in advance, allowing for anticipated planning of irrigated areas and practices. In order to enforce restriction rules, water meters were installed in all larger water users and inefficient farmers were obligated to improve their irrigation systems’ performance. Finally, increases in irrigated area are only allowed in the case of annual crops and during months of higher water availability (November to June. The strategy differs from convectional approached based only on water use priority and has been successful in dealing with natural variability of water availability, allowing more water to be used in wet years and managing risk in an isonomic manner during dry years.

Fish, Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira river basins, São Paulo State, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Gomiero, Leandro; Braga, Francisco

2006-01-01

Fish were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira) subjected to strong human pressure, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça river, Lapa stream, Passa-Cinco river, and Corumbataí river; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá stream, Jacaré-Pepira river, and Água Branca stream. A total of 4,050 specimens belonging to 48 species and 13 families were caught and analyzed....

Interlinking feasibility of five river basins of Rajasthan in India

OpenAIRE

Vyas, Sunil Kumar; Sharma, Gunwant; Mathur, Y.P.; Chandwani, Vinay

2016-01-01

The increasing population and large scale growth with the development of modern science and technology has indicated very high stress on water sector in Rajasthan in India. Availability of water and uniformity of rainfall distribution is changing day by day due to shifting of monsoon in Rajasthan. The spatial and temporal variations in the rainfall in different river basins in Rajasthan are drastic due to which flood situation arises in the tributaries of Chambal river basin every year. Simul...

Using a map-based assesment tool for the development of cost-effective WFD river basin action programmes in a changing climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaspersen, Bjarke Stoltze; Vammen Jacobsen, Torsten; Brian Butts, Michael

2016-01-01

For the 2nd and 3rd river basin management cycles (2015–2027) of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), EU Member States are required to fully integrate climate change into the process of river basin management planning (RBMP). Complying with the main WFD objective of achieving ‘good ecological...... Basin in the north east of Denmark. The tool facilitates assessments of the application of agri-environmental measures that are targeted towards low retention agricultural areas, where limited or no surface and subsurface N reduction takes place. Effects of climate change on nitrate leaching were...... evaluated using the dynamic agro-ecosystem model ‘Daisy’. Results show that nitrate leaching rates increase by approx. 25% under current management practices. This impact outweighs the expected total N reduction effect of Baseline 2015 and the first RBMP in the case study river basin. The particular Po...

Comparison of the abiotic preferences of macroinvertebrates in tropical river basins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gert Everaert

Full Text Available We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics.

Contamination of Piracicaba river basin source by Zn, Cr and Co

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favaro, P.C.; Ferraz, E.S.B.

1999-01-01

The growth of the industrialization, urbanization and modernization of the agricultural practices in the last decades, has been causing a great impact in the basin of the Piracicaba river, the second economic pole of the country, area that shelters important urban centers like Campinas and Piracicaba. there are 45 headquarters of municipal districts in area of 12.400 km 2 with more than 3,5 million inhabitants. The present work studies one of the source of the basin, the sub-basin of the high Atibaia river, one of the former of the river Piracicaba, in low impacted area due to low demographic density, absence of load industries and non significant agriculture. The objective is to establish parameters for comparison with other areas of the basin, intensely modified. Samples of bottom sediments on the former rivers and of soils of the area they were analyzed by neutronic activation for the identification of about 20 elements line. The results showed that the area already presents signs of preoccupying anthropic pollution because the contaminations with Zn, Cr and Co are already significant, probably due to the agricultural activity and to the urban sewer. (author)

FOXO3 variants are beneficial for longevity in Southern Chinese living in the Red River Basin: A case-control study and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Liang; Hu, Caiyou; Zheng, Chenguang; Qian, Yu; Liang, Qinghua; Lv, Zeping; Huang, Zezhi; Qi, KeYan; Gong, Huan; Zhang, Zheng; Huang, Jin; Zhou, Qin; Yang, Ze

2015-04-27

Forkhead box class O (FOXO) transcription factors play a crucial role in longevity across species. Several polymorphisms in FOXO3 were previously reported to be associated with human longevity. However, only one Chinese replication study has been performed so far. To verify the role of FOXO3 in southern Chinese in the Red River Basin, a community-based case-control study was conducted, and seven polymorphisms were genotyped in 1336 participants, followed by a meta-analysis of eight case-control studies that included 5327 longevity cases and 4608 controls. In our case-control study, we found rs2802288*A and rs2802292*G were beneficial to longevity after Bonferroni correction (pallele = 0.005, OR = 1.266; pallele = 0.026, OR = 1.207). In addition, in the longevity group, carriers with rs2802288*A and rs2802292*G presented reduced HbA1c (p = 0.001), and homozygotes of rs2802292*GG presented improved HOMA-IR (p = 0.014). The meta-analysis further revealed the overall contribution of rs2802288*A and rs2802292*G to longevity. However, our stratified analysis revealed that rs2802292*G might act more strongly in Asians than Europeans, for enhancement of longevity. In conclusion, our study provides convincing evidence for a significant association between the rs2802288*A and rs2802292*G gene variants in FOXO3 and human longevity, and adds the Southern Chinese in the Red River Basin to the growing number of human replication populations.

Export of Nitrogen From the Yukon River Basin to the Bering Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Dornblaser, M. M.; Striegl, R. G.

2005-12-01

The US Geological Survey measured nitrogen export from the 831,400 km2 Yukon River basin during 2001-04 as part of a five year water quality study of the Yukon River and its major tributaries. Concentrations of NO2+NO3, NH4+DON, and particulate N were measured ~6 times annually during open water and once under ice cover at three locations on the Yukon River, and on the Porcupine and Tanana Rivers. Concentration and continuous flow data were used to generate daily and annual loads of N species. NH4 concentration was generally negligible when compared to DON concentration, allowing for comparison of the relative importance of DIN vs. DON export at various watershed scales. NO2 concentration was also small compared to NO3. At Pilot Station, the last site on the Yukon before it flows into the Yukon Delta and the Bering Sea, DIN, DON, and particulate N loads averaged 19.3 × 106 kg/yr, 52.6 × 106 kg/yr, and 39.1 × 106 kg/yr, respectively. Normalized for the watershed area at Pilot Station, corresponding N yields were 1.65, 4.52, and 3.35 mmol/m2/yr. DIN yield for the Yukon at Pilot Station is substantially less than the NO3 flux reported for tropical/temperate rivers such as the Amazon, the Yangtze, and the Mississippi. DIN yield in the upper Yukon River basin is similar to that of the Mackenzie and other arctic rivers, but increases substantially downstream. This is likely due to development around Fairbanks in the Tanana River basin. When compared to other headwater basins in the upper Yukon, the Tanana basin yields about four times more DIN and two times more particulate N, while DON yields are only slightly elevated.

UV filters bioaccumulation in fish from Iberian river basins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gago-Ferrero, Pablo [Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15771 Athens (Greece); Díaz-Cruz, M. Silvia, E-mail: sdcqam@cid.csic.es [Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Barceló, Damià [Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, C/ Emili Grahit, 101 Edifici H2O, E-17003 Girona (Spain)

2015-06-15

The occurrence of eight organic UV filters (UV-Fs) was assessed in fish from four Iberian river basins. This group of compounds is extensively used in cosmetic products and other industrial goods to avoid the damaging effects of UV radiation, and has been found to be ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. In particular, fish are considered by the scientific community to be the most feasible organism for contamination monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Despite that, studies on the bioaccumulation of UV-F are scarce. In this study fish samples from four Iberian river basins under high anthropogenic pressure were analysed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). Benzophenone-3 (BP3), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) and octocrylene (OC) were the predominant pollutants in the fish samples, with concentrations in the range of ng/g dry weight (d.w.). The results indicated that most polluted area corresponded to Guadalquivir River basin, where maximum concentrations were found for EHMC (241.7 ng/g d.w.). Sediments from this river basin were also analysed. Lower values were observed in relation to fish for OC and EHMC, ranging from below the limits of detection to 23 ng/g d.w. Accumulation levels of UV-F in the fish were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). These values were always below 1, in the range of 0.04–0.3, indicating that the target UV-Fs are excreted by fish only to some extent. The fact that the highest concentrations were determined in predators suggests that biomagnification of UV-F may take place along the freshwater food web. - Highlights: • First evidence of UV filters in fish from Iberian rivers • Biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) were always below 1. • Predator species presented higher UV-F concentrations suggesting trophic magnification.

UV filters bioaccumulation in fish from Iberian river basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gago-Ferrero, Pablo; Díaz-Cruz, M. Silvia; Barceló, Damià

2015-01-01

The occurrence of eight organic UV filters (UV-Fs) was assessed in fish from four Iberian river basins. This group of compounds is extensively used in cosmetic products and other industrial goods to avoid the damaging effects of UV radiation, and has been found to be ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. In particular, fish are considered by the scientific community to be the most feasible organism for contamination monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Despite that, studies on the bioaccumulation of UV-F are scarce. In this study fish samples from four Iberian river basins under high anthropogenic pressure were analysed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). Benzophenone-3 (BP3), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) and octocrylene (OC) were the predominant pollutants in the fish samples, with concentrations in the range of ng/g dry weight (d.w.). The results indicated that most polluted area corresponded to Guadalquivir River basin, where maximum concentrations were found for EHMC (241.7 ng/g d.w.). Sediments from this river basin were also analysed. Lower values were observed in relation to fish for OC and EHMC, ranging from below the limits of detection to 23 ng/g d.w. Accumulation levels of UV-F in the fish were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). These values were always below 1, in the range of 0.04–0.3, indicating that the target UV-Fs are excreted by fish only to some extent. The fact that the highest concentrations were determined in predators suggests that biomagnification of UV-F may take place along the freshwater food web. - Highlights: • First evidence of UV filters in fish from Iberian rivers • Biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) were always below 1. • Predator species presented higher UV-F concentrations suggesting trophic magnification

Variation of Probable Maximum Precipitation in Brazos River Basin, TX

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, N.; Singh, V. P.

2017-12-01

The Brazos River basin, the second-largest river basin by area in Texas, generates the highest amount of flow volume of any river in a given year in Texas. With its headwaters located at the confluence of Double Mountain and Salt forks in Stonewall County, the third-longest flowline of the Brazos River traverses within narrow valleys in the area of rolling topography of west Texas, and flows through rugged terrains in mainly featureless plains of central Texas, before its confluence with Gulf of Mexico. Along its major flow network, the river basin covers six different climate regions characterized on the basis of similar attributes of vegetation, temperature, humidity, rainfall, and seasonal weather changes, by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Our previous research on Texas climatology illustrated intensified precipitation regimes, which tend to result in extreme flood events. Such events have caused huge losses of lives and infrastructure in the Brazos River basin. Therefore, a region-specific investigation is required for analyzing precipitation regimes along the geographically-diverse river network. Owing to the topographical and hydroclimatological variations along the flow network, 24-hour Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) was estimated for different hydrologic units along the river network, using the revised Hershfield's method devised by Lan et al. (2017). The method incorporates the use of a standardized variable describing the maximum deviation from the average of a sample scaled by the standard deviation of the sample. The hydrometeorological literature identifies this method as more reasonable and consistent with the frequency equation. With respect to the calculation of stable data size required for statistically reliable results, this study also quantified the respective uncertainty associated with PMP values in different hydrologic units. The corresponding range of return periods of PMPs in different hydrologic units was

Framework for Assessing Water Resource Sustainability in River Basins

Science.gov (United States)

Borden, J.; Goodwin, P.; Swanson, D.

2013-12-01

As the anthropogenic footprint increases on Earth, the wise use, maintenance, and protection of freshwater resources will be a key element in the sustainability of development. Borne from efforts to promote sustainable development of water resources is Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), which promotes efficiency of water resources, equity in water allocation across different social and economic groups, and environmental sustainability. Methodologies supporting IWRM implementation have largely focused on the overall process, but have had limited attention on the evaluation methods for ecologic, economic, and social conditions (the sustainability criterion). Thus, assessment frameworks are needed to support the analysis of water resources and evaluation of sustainable solutions in the IWRM process. To address this need, the River Basin Analysis Framework (RBAF) provides a structure for understanding water related issues and testing the sustainability of proposed solutions in river basins. The RBAF merges three approaches: the UN GEO 4 DPSIR approach, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment approach, and the principles of sustainable development. Merging these approaches enables users to understand the spatiotemporal interactions between the hydrologic and ecologic systems, evaluate the impacts of disturbances (drivers, pressures) on the ecosystem goods and services (EGS) and constituents of human well-being (HWB), and identify and employ analytical methods and indicators in the assessments. The RBAF is comprised of a conceptual component (RBAF-C) and an analytical component (RBAF-A). For each disturbance type, the RBAF-C shows the potential directional change in the hydrologic cycle (peak flows, seasonality, etc.), EGS (drinking water supply, water purification, recreational opportunities, etc.), and HWB (safety, health, access to a basic materials), thus allowing users insight into potential impacts as well as providing technical guidance on the methods and

Monitoring Water Levels and Discharges Using Radar Altimetry in an Ungauged River Basin: The Case of the Ogooué

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakaros Bogning

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Radar altimetry is now commonly used for the monitoring of water levels in large river basins. In this study, an altimetry-based network of virtual stations was defined in the quasi ungauged Ogooué river basin, located in Gabon, Central Africa, using data from seven altimetry missions (Jason-2 and 3, ERS-2, ENVISAT, Cryosat-2, SARAL, Sentinel-3A from 1995 to 2017. The performance of the five latter altimetry missions to retrieve water stages and discharges was assessed through comparisons against gauge station records. All missions exhibited a good agreement with gauge records, but the most recent missions showed an increase of data availability (only 6 virtual stations (VS with ERS-2 compared to 16 VS for ENVISAT and SARAL and accuracy (RMSE lower than 1.05, 0.48 and 0.33 and R² higher than 0.55, 0.83 and 0.91 for ERS-2, ENVISAT and SARAL respectively. The concept of VS is extended to the case of drifting orbits using the data from Cryosat-2 in several close locations. Good agreement was also found with the gauge station in Lambaréné (RMSE = 0.25 m and R2 = 0.96. Very good results were obtained using only one year and a half of Sentinel-3 data (RMSE < 0.41 m and R2 > 0.89. The combination of data from all the radar altimetry missions near Lamabréné resulted in a long-term (May 1995 to August 2017 and significantly improved water-level time series (R² = 0.96 and RMSE = 0.38 m. The increase in data sampling in the river basin leads to a better water level peak to peak characterization and hence to a more accurate annual discharge over the common observation period with only a 1.4 m3·s−1 difference (i.e., 0.03% between the altimetry-based and the in situ mean annual discharge.

Combining Multifunctionality and Ecosystem Services into a Win-Win Solution. The Case Study of the Serchio River Basin (Tuscany—Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Rovai

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Post-war development—characterized by intensive processes of urbanization, concentration of agriculture on the most fertile lands, and abandonment of mountainous and marginal areas—brought about negative environmental and socio-economic consequences. They have been particularly severe in terms of increase of hydrogeological risk, which is high in most Italian regions. Over time, there has been an increasing awareness of the multiple functions played by agriculture in terms of provision of Ecosystem Services (ES, which contribute fundamentally to human well-being. In particular, some ES provided by farmers may help to reduce the hydrogeological risk of territories prone to landslides and floods. In this framework, the paper presents as a case study the project “Farmers as Custodians of a Territory.” This project was implemented in the Serchio River basin, Tuscany (Italy, and combines a multifunctional farm strategy of diversification with the provision of Ecosystem Services related to the hydraulic and hydrogeological protection of the river-basin territory. Although this case study should be read within the framework of the theories of agricultural multifunctionality and ES provision, it nevertheless took a very pragmatic and innovative approach, which differentiates it from most of the case studies given in the literature. Results of our analysis show that, by involving farmers as custodians of the territory, it is possible to reach a “win-win” solution characterized, on the one hand, by better services for the community at a lower cost for the Land Reclamation Consortia involved with hydrogeological risk prevention, thus improving the effectiveness and efficiency of ES provision; and on the other hand, by improving the economic situation and survival chances of local farms.

Floods of July 23-26, 2010, in the Little Maquoketa River and Maquoketa River Basins, Northeast Iowa

Science.gov (United States)

Eash, David A.

2012-01-01

Minor flooding occurred July 23, 2010, in the Little Maquoketa River Basin and major flooding occurred July 23–26, 2010, in the Maquoketa River Basin in northeast Iowa following severe thunderstorm activity over the region during July 22–24. A breach of the Lake Delhi Dam on July 24 aggravated flooding on the Maquoketa River. Rain gages at Manchester and Strawberry Point, Iowa, recorded 72-hour-rainfall amounts of 7.33 and 12.23 inches, respectively, on July 24. The majority of the rainfall occurred during a 48-hour period. Within the Little Maquoketa River Basin, a peak-discharge estimate of 19,000 cubic feet per second (annual flood-probability estimate of 4 to 10 percent) at the discontinued 05414500 Little Maquoketa River near Durango, Iowa streamgage on July 23 is the sixth largest flood on record. Within the Maquoketa River Basin, peak discharges of 26,600 cubic feet per second (annual flood-probability estimate of 0.2 to 1 percent) at the 05416900 Maquoketa River at Manchester, Iowa streamgage on July 24, and of 25,000 cubic feet per second (annual flood-probability estimate of 1 to 2 percent) at the 05418400 North Fork Maquoketa River near Fulton, Iowa streamgage on July 24 are the largest floods on record for these sites. A peak discharge affected by the Lake Delhi Dam breach on July 24 at the 05418500 Maquoketa River near Maquoketa, Iowa streamgage, located downstream of Lake Delhi, of 46,000 cubic feet per second on July 26 is the third highest on record. High-water marks were measured at five locations along the Little Maquoketa and North Fork Little Maquoketa Rivers between U.S. Highway 52 near Dubuque and County Road Y21 near Rickardsville, a distance of 19 river miles. Highwater marks were measured at 28 locations along the Maquoketa River between U.S. Highway 52 near Green Island and State Highway 187 near Arlington, a distance of 142 river miles. High-water marks were measured at 13 locations along the North Fork Maquoketa River between

Scaling issues in sustainable river basin management

Science.gov (United States)

Timmerman, Jos; Froebich, Jochen

2014-05-01

Sustainable river basin management implies considering the whole river basin when managing the water resources. Management measures target at dividing the water over different uses (nature, agriculture, industry, households) thereby avoiding calamities like having too much, too little or bad quality water. Water management measures are taken at the local level, usually considering the sub-national and sometimes national effects of such measures. A large part of the world's freshwater resources, however, is contained in river basins and groundwater systems that are shared by two or more countries. Sustainable river basin management consequently has to encompass local, regional, national and international scales. This requires coordination over and cooperation between these levels that is currently compressed into the term 'water governance' . Governance takes into account that a large number of stakeholders in different regimes (the principles, rules and procedures that steer management) contribute to policy and management of a resource. Governance includes the increasing importance of basically non-hierarchical modes of governing, where non-state actors (formal organizations like NGOs, private companies, consumer associations, etc.) participate in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Land use determines the run-off generation and use of irrigation water. Land use is increasingly determined by private sector initiatives at local scale. This is a complicating factor in the governance issue, as in comparison to former developments of large scale irrigation systems, planning institutions at state level have then less insight on actual water consumption. The water management regime of a basin consequently has to account for the different scales of water management and within these different scales with both state and non-state actors. The central elements of regimes include the policy setting (the policies and water management strategies), legal setting

Coalbed Methane Extraction and Soil Suitability Concerns in the Powder River Basin, Montana and Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

,

2006-01-01

The Powder River Basin is located in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. It is an area of approximately 55,000 square kilometers. Extraction of methane gas from the coal seams that underlie the Powder River Basin began in Wyoming in the late 1980s and in Montana in the late 1990s. About 100-200 barrels of co-produced water per day are being extracted from each active well in the Powder River Basin, which comes to over 1.5 million barrels of water per day for all the active coalbed methane wells in the Basin. Lab testing indicates that Powder River Basin co-produced water is potable but is high in sodium and other salts, especially in the western and northern parts of the Powder River Basin. Common water management strategies include discharge of co-produced water into drainages, stock ponds, evaporation ponds, or infiltration ponds; treatment to remove sodium; or application of the water directly on the land surface via irrigation equipment or atomizers. Problems may arise because much of the Powder River Basin contains soils with high amounts of swelling clays. As part of the USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center's hyperspectral research program, researchers are investigating whether hyperspectral remote sensing data can be beneficial in locating areas of swelling clays. Using detailed hyperspectral data collected over parts of the Powder River Basin and applying our knowledge of how the clays of interest reflect energy, we will attempt to identify and map areas of swelling clays. If successful, such information will be useful to resource and land managers.

Sediment budget in the Ucayali River basin, an Andean tributary of the Amazon River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Santini

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Formation of mountain ranges results from complex coupling between lithospheric deformation, mechanisms linked to subduction and surface processes: weathering, erosion, and climate. Today, erosion of the eastern Andean cordillera and sub-Andean foothills supplies over 99% of the sediment load passing through the Amazon Basin. Denudation rates in the upper Ucayali basin are rapid, favoured by a marked seasonality in this region and extreme precipitation cells above sedimentary strata, uplifted during Neogene times by a still active sub-Andean tectonic thrust. Around 40% of those sediments are trapped in the Ucayali retro-foreland basin system. Recent advances in remote sensing for Amazonian large rivers now allow us to complete the ground hydrological data. In this work, we propose a first estimation of the erosion and sedimentation budget of the Ucayali River catchment, based on spatial and conventional HYBAM Observatory network.

Emergence, concept, and understanding of Pan-River-Basin (PRB

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ning Liu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, the concept of Pan-River-Basin (PRB for water resource management is proposed with a discussion on the emergence, concept, and application of PRB. The formation and application of PRB is also discussed, including perspectives on the river contribution rates, harmonious levels of watershed systems, and water resource availability in PRB system. Understanding PRB is helpful for reconsidering river development and categorizing river studies by the influences from human projects. The sustainable development of water resources and the harmonization between humans and rivers also requires PRB.

Holocene provenance shift of suspended particulate matter in the Amazon River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Höppner, Natalie; Lucassen, Friedrich; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Sawakuchi, André O.; Kasemann, Simone A.

2018-06-01

The strontium (Sr), neodymium (Nd) and lead (Pb) isotope signatures of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in rivers reflect the radiogenic isotope signatures of the rivers' drainage basin. These signatures are not significantly affected by weathering, transport or depositional cycles, but document the sedimentary contributions of the respective sources. We report new Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios and element concentrations of modern SPM from the Brazilian Amazon River basin and document the past evolution of the basin by analyzing radiogenic isotopes of a marine sediment core from the slope off French Guiana archiving the last 40 kyr of Amazon River SPM, and the Holocene section of sediment cores raised between the Amazon River mouth and the slope off French Guiana. The composition of modern SPM confirms two main source areas, the Andes and the cratonic Shield. In the marine sediment core notable changes occurred during the second phase of Heinrich Stadial 1 (i.e. increased proportion of Shield rivers SPM) and during the last deglaciation (i.e. increased proportion of Madeira River SPM) together with elsewhere constant source contributions. Furthermore, we report a prominent offset in Sr and Nd isotopic composition between the average core value (εNd: -11.7 ± 0.9 (2SD), 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7229 ± 0.0016 (2SD)) and the average modern Amazon River SPM signal (εNd: -10.5 ± 0.5 (2SD), 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7213 ± 0.0036 (2SD)). We suggest that a permanent change in the Amazon River basin sediment supply during the late Holocene to a more Andean dominated SPM was responsible for the offset.

Water resource management model for a river basin

OpenAIRE

Jelisejevienė, Emilija

2005-01-01

The objective is to develop river basin management model that ensures integrated analysis of existing water resource problems and promotes implementation of sustainable development principles in water resources management.

Hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

Tulane and Xavier Universities have singled out the environment as a major strategic focus for research and training for now and by the year 2000. In December, 1992, the Tulane/Xavier CBR was awarded a five year grant to study pollution in the Mississippi River system. The ''Hazardous Materials in Aquatic Environments of the Mississippi River Basin'' project is a broad research and education program aimed at elucidating the nature and magnitude of toxic materials that contaminate aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Studies include defining the complex interactions that occur during the transport of contaminants, the actual and potential impact on ecological systems and health, and the mechanisms through which these impacts might be remediated. The Mississippi River Basin represents a model system for analyzing and solving contamination problems that are found in aquatic systems world-wide. These research and education projects are particularly relevant to the US Department of Energy's programs aimed at addressing aquatic pollution problems associated with DOE National Laboratories. First year funding supported seven collaborative cluster projects and twelve initiation projects. This report summarizes research results for period December 1992--December 1993

Principles for an interactive multi-scale assessment of sustainable production limits - lessons from the Limpopo river basin case, South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Froebrich, Jochen; de Cleccq, Willem; Veraart, Jeroen; Vullings, Wies

2015-04-01

About 7.2 billion people currently live on the Earth and the population is projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, that growth will be mainly in developing countries, with more than half in Africa (United Nations 2013). Any local extension of irrigated agriculture in a region of scarce natural resources may potentially restrict the possibility to extend land and water use at another location of the same river basin. In order to support, develop and to assess such future interventions, it is important to define limits until which a sustainable production can take place at a given location, taking into account competing claims on natural resources, human welfare and impacts on environmental quality. We define Sustainable production limits as limits for the possible resource use, within which a production can be extended without restricting the growth opportunities at a neighboured location. The more threatened the natural resources become, the more important it is to consider the effect of other upcoming interventions within the same region. As a consequence, interventions for future resource use have to be assessed against the future available natural resources. This is of particular relevance for evaluating possible extensions of irrigation areas within a river basin. Investigating possible limits for extending irrigated agriculture at local scale requires an understanding of the complexity, including boundaries, activities, stakeholders, and opportunities at river basin scale, and more. Switching between the scales in this information, in a participatory process, appears to be a challenge in its own. Within the Limpopo River basin (South Africa), we analysed (i) possible interventions at local scale (transdisciplinary innovation of irrigation by smallholders, launching of PPPs), (ii) restrictions for developing irrigation at the Letaba sub basin scale, and (iii) water balance at the scale of the Limpopo basin. Experiences from the Limpopo case revealed, that

Informed Decision Making Process for Managing Environmental Flows in Small River Basins

Science.gov (United States)

Padikkal, S.; Rema, K. P.

2013-03-01

Numerous examples exist worldwide of partial or complete alteration to the natural flow regime of river systems as a consequence of large scale water abstraction from upstream reaches. The effects may not be conspicuous in the case of very large rivers, but the ecosystems of smaller rivers or streams may be completely destroyed over a period of time. While restoration of the natural flow regime may not be possible, at present there is increased effort to implement restoration by regulating environmental flow. This study investigates the development of an environmental flow management model at an icon site in the small river basin of Bharathapuzha, west India. To determine optimal environmental flow regimes, a historic flow model based on data assimilated since 1978 indicated a satisfactory minimum flow depth for river ecosystem sustenance is 0.907 m (28.8 m3/s), a value also obtained from the hydraulic model; however, as three of the reservoirs were already operational at this time a flow depth of 0.922 m is considered a more viable estimate. Analysis of daily stream flow in 1997-2006, indicated adequate flow regimes during the monsoons in June-November, but that sections of the river dried out in December-May with alarming water quality conditions near the river mouth. Furthermore, the preferred minimum `dream' flow regime expressed by stakeholders of the region is a water depth of 1.548 m, which exceeds 50 % of the flood discharge in July. Water could potentially be conserved for environmental flow purposes by (1) the de-siltation of existing reservoirs or (2) reducing water spillage in the transfer between river basins. Ultimately environmental flow management of the region requires the establishment of a co-ordinated management body and the regular assimilation of water flow information from which science based decisions are made, to ensure both economic and environmental concerns are adequately addressed.

Quantifying River Channel Stability at the Basin Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip J. Soar

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the feasibility of a basin‐scale scheme for characterising and quantifying river reaches in terms of their geomorphological stability status and potential for morphological adjustment based on auditing stream energy. A River Energy Audit Scheme (REAS is explored, which involves integrating stream power with flow duration to investigate the downstream distribution of Annual Geomorphic Energy (AGE. This measure represents the average annual energy available with which to perform geomorphological work in reshaping the channel boundary. Changes in AGE between successive reaches might indicate whether adjustments are likely to be led by erosion or deposition at the channel perimeter. A case study of the River Kent in Cumbria, UK, demonstrates that basin‐wide application is achievable without excessive field work and data processing. However, in addressing the basin scale, the research found that this is inevitably at the cost of a number of assumptions and limitations, which are discussed herein. Technological advances in remotely sensed data capture, developments in image processing and emerging GIS tools provide the near‐term prospect of fully quantifying river channel stability at the basin scale, although as yet not fully realized. Potential applications of this type of approach include system‐wide assessment of river channel stability and sensitivity to land‐use or climate change, and informing strategic planning for river channel and flood risk management.

A Heuristic Dynamically Dimensioned Search with Sensitivity Information (HDDS-S and Application to River Basin Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinggang Chu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available River basin simulation and multi-reservoir optimal operation have been critical for river basin management. Due to the intense interaction between human activities and river basin systems, the river basin model and multi-reservoir operation model are complicated with a large number of parameters. Therefore, fast and stable optimization algorithms are required for river basin management under the changing conditions of climate and current human activities. This study presents a new global optimization algorithm, named as heuristic dynamically dimensioned search with sensitivity information (HDDS-S, to effectively perform river basin simulation and multi-reservoir optimal operation during river basin management. The HDDS-S algorithm is built on the dynamically dimensioned search (DDS algorithm; and has an improved computational efficiency while maintaining its search capacity compared to the original DDS algorithm. This is mainly due to the non-uniform probability assigned to each decision variable on the basis of its changing sensitivity to the optimization objectives during the adaptive change from global to local search with dimensionality reduced. This study evaluates the new algorithm by comparing its performance with the DDS algorithm on a river basin model calibration problem and a multi-reservoir optimal operation problem. The results obtained indicate that the HDDS-S algorithm outperforms the DDS algorithm in terms of search ability and computational efficiency in the two specific problems. In addition; similar to the DDS algorithm; the HDDS-S algorithm is easy to use as it does not require any parameter tuning and automatically adjusts its search to find good solutions given an available computational budget.

The main factors of water pollution in Danube River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Gasparotti

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The paper proposed herewith aims to give an overview on the pollution along the Danube River. Water quality in Danube River basin (DRB is under a great pressure due to the diverse range of the human activities including large urban center, industrial, agriculture, transport and mining activities. The most important aspects of the water pollution are: organic, nutrient and microbial pollution, , hazardous substances, and hydro-morphological alteration. Analysis of the pressures on the Danube River showed that a large part of the Danube River is subject to multiple pressures and there are important risks for not reaching good ecological status and good chemical status of the water in the foreseeable future. In 2009, the evaluation based on the results of the Trans National Monitoring Network showed for the length of water bodies from the Danube River basin that 22% achieved good ecological status or ecological potential and 45% river water bodies achieved good chemical status. Another important issue is related to the policy of water pollution.

Transition in governance of river basin management in The Netherlands through multi-level social learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Herk, S.; Rijke, J.S.; Zevenbergen, C.; Ashley, R.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a case study of a new adaptive, multi-level governance approach that supported a transition in river basin management in the Netherlands. The floods of 1993 and 1995 in the Netherlands triggered a paradigm shift in flood management. The 2.3 billion Euro flood safety programme

Scaling up watershed model parameters--Flow and load simulations of the Edisto River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Feaster, Toby D.; Benedict, Stephen T.; Clark, Jimmy M.; Bradley, Paul M.; Conrads, Paul

2014-01-01

The Edisto River is the longest and largest river system completely contained in South Carolina and is one of the longest free flowing blackwater rivers in the United States. The Edisto River basin also has fish-tissue mercury concentrations that are some of the highest recorded in the United States. As part of an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to expand the understanding of relations among hydrologic, geochemical, and ecological processes that affect fish-tissue mercury concentrations within the Edisto River basin, analyses and simulations of the hydrology of the Edisto River basin were made with the topography-based hydrological model (TOPMODEL). The potential for scaling up a previous application of TOPMODEL for the McTier Creek watershed, which is a small headwater catchment to the Edisto River basin, was assessed. Scaling up was done in a step-wise process beginning with applying the calibration parameters, meteorological data, and topographic wetness index data from the McTier Creek TOPMODEL to the Edisto River TOPMODEL. Additional changes were made with subsequent simulations culminating in the best simulation, which included meteorological and topographic wetness index data from the Edisto River basin and updated calibration parameters for some of the TOPMODEL calibration parameters. Comparison of goodness-of-fit statistics between measured and simulated daily mean streamflow for the two models showed that with calibration, the Edisto River TOPMODEL produced slightly better results than the McTier Creek model, despite the significant difference in the drainage-area size at the outlet locations for the two models (30.7 and 2,725 square miles, respectively). Along with the TOPMODEL hydrologic simulations, a visualization tool (the Edisto River Data Viewer) was developed to help assess trends and influencing variables in the stream ecosystem. Incorporated into the visualization tool were the water-quality load models TOPLOAD, TOPLOAD-H, and LOADEST

Radioactivity in the environment; a case study of the Puerco and Little Colorado River basins, Arizona and New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Wirt, Laurie

1994-01-01

This report, written for the nontechnical reader, summarizes the results of a study from 1988-91 of the occurrence and transport of selected radionuclides and other chemical constituents in the Puerco and Little Colorado River basins, Arizona and New Mexico. More than two decades of uranium mining and the 1979 failure of an earthen dam containing mine tailings released high levels of radionuclides and other chemical constituents to the Puerco River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River. Releases caused public concern that ground water and streamflow downstream from mining were contaminated. Study findings show which radioactive elements are present, how these elements are distributed between water and sediment in the environment, how concentrations of radioactive elements vary naturally within basins, and how levels of radioactivity have changed since the end of mining. Although levels of radioactive elements and other trace elements measured in streamflow commonly exceed drinking-water standards, no evidence was found to indicate that the high concentrations were still related to uraniurn mining. Sediment radioactivity was higher at sample sites on streams that drain the eastern part of the Little Colorado River basin than that of samples from the western part. Radioactivity of suspended sediment measured in this study, therefore, represents natural conditions for the streams sampled rather than an effect of mining. Because ground water beneath the Puerco River channel is shallow, the aquifer is vulnerable to contamination. A narrow zone of ground water beneath the Puerco River containing elevated uranium concentrations was identified during the study. The highest concentrations were nearest the mines and in samples collected in the first few feet beneath the streambed. Natuxal radiation levels in a few areas of the underlying sedimentary aquifer not connected to the Puerco River also exceeded water quality standards. Water testing would enable those residents

Radioactivity in the environment: a case study of the Puerco and Little Colorado River Basins, Arizona and New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirt, L.

1994-01-01

This report, written for the nontechnical reader, summarizes the results of a study from 1988-91 of the occurrence and transport of selected radionuclides and other chemical constituents in the Puerco and Little Colorado River basins, Arizona and New Mexico. More than two decades of uranium mining and the 1979 failure of an earthen dam containing mine tailings released high levels of radionuclides and other chemical constituents to the Puerco River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River. Releases caused public concern that ground water and streamflow downstream from mining were contaminated. Study findings show which radioactive elements are present, how these elements are distributed between water and sediment in the environment, how concentrations of radioactive elements vary naturally within basins, and how levels of radioactivity have changed since the end of mining. Although levels of radioactive elements and other trace elements measured in streamflow commonly exceed drinking-water standards, no evidence was found to indicate that the high concentrations were still related to uraniurn mining. Sediment radioactivity was higher at sample sites on streams that drain the eastern part of the Little Colorado River basin than that of samples from the western part. Radioactivity of suspended sediment measured in this study, therefore, represents natural conditions for the streams sampled rather than an effect of mining. Because ground water beneath the Puerco River channel is shallow, the aquifer is vulnerable to contamination. A narrow zone of ground water beneath the Puerco River containing elevated uranium concentrations was identified during the study. The highest concentrations were nearest the mines and in samples collected in the first few feet beneath the streambed. Natuxal radiation levels in a few areas of the underlying sedimentary aquifer not connected to the Puerco River also exceeded water quality standards. Water testing would enable those residents

Source apportionment of heavy metals and their ecological risk in a tropical river basin system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Balwant; Singh, Umesh Kumar

2018-06-27

Surface water and sediment samples were collected from Ajay River basin to appraise the behavior of heavy metals with surrounding environments and their inter-elemental relationships. Parameters like pH and organic carbon are having a minimal role in heavy metal distribution while some elements like Fe and Cu showed great affinity for organic matter based on linear regression analysis (LRA). Ficklin diagram justified that river basin is not contaminated through acidic pollutants. The river basin is highly enriched with Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni which were much higher than world average values, average shale standard, effect range low (ERL), and threshold effect level (TEL). PCA and LRA verified that Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni were mainly derived from anthropogenic inputs, and others like Fe, Mn, Zn, and Co came from geogenic sources. Pollution indices revealed that river basin is moderately to highly contaminated by Cu, Cd, and Ni. Furthermore, Ajay River basin is under strong potential ecological risk based on the obtained value of risk index and probable effect level/effect range median quotient index. However, river basin is strongly influenced by lithological properties, diversified hydrogeological settings, mineralization and mobilization of subsurface materials, and urban and industrial effluents which are controlling the heavy metals.

UV filters bioaccumulation in fish from Iberian river basins.

Science.gov (United States)

Gago-Ferrero, Pablo; Díaz-Cruz, M Silvia; Barceló, Damià

2015-06-15

The occurrence of eight organic UV filters (UV-Fs) was assessed in fish from four Iberian river basins. This group of compounds is extensively used in cosmetic products and other industrial goods to avoid the damaging effects of UV radiation, and has been found to be ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. In particular, fish are considered by the scientific community to be the most feasible organism for contamination monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Despite that, studies on the bioaccumulation of UV-F are scarce. In this study fish samples from four Iberian river basins under high anthropogenic pressure were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Benzophenone-3 (BP3), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) and octocrylene (OC) were the predominant pollutants in the fish samples, with concentrations in the range of ng/g dry weight (d.w.). The results indicated that most polluted area corresponded to Guadalquivir River basin, where maximum concentrations were found for EHMC (241.7 ng/gd.w.). Sediments from this river basin were also analysed. Lower values were observed in relation to fish for OC and EHMC, ranging from below the limits of detection to 23 ng/gd.w. Accumulation levels of UV-F in the fish were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). These values were always below 1, in the range of 0.04-0.3, indicating that the target UV-Fs are excreted by fish only to some extent. The fact that the highest concentrations were determined in predators suggests that biomagnification of UV-F may take place along the freshwater food web. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Hydrological long-term dry and wet periods in the Xijiang River basin, South China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Fischer

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, hydrological long-term dry and wet periods are analyzed for the Xijiang River basin in South China. Daily precipitation data of 118 stations and data on daily discharge at Gaoyao hydrological station at the mouth of the Xijiang River for the period 1961–2007 are used. At a 24-month timescale, the standardized precipitation index (SPI-24 for the six sub-basins of the Xijiang River and the standardized discharge index (SDI-24 for Gaoyao station are applied. The monthly values of the SPI-24 averaged for the Xijiang River basin correlate highly with the monthly values of the SDI-24. Distinct long-term dry and wet sequences can be detected.

The principal component analysis is applied and shows spatial disparities in dry and wet periods for the six sub-basins. The correlation between the SPI-24 of the six sub-basins and the first principal component score shows that 67% of the variability within the sub-basins can be explained by dry and wet periods in the east of the Xijiang River basin. The spatial dipole conditions (second and third principal component explain spatiotemporal disparities in the variability of dry and wet periods. All sub-basins contribute to hydrological dry periods, while mainly the northeastern sub-basins cause wet periods in the Xijiang River. We can also conclude that long-term dry events are larger in spatial extent and cover all sub-basins while long-term wet events are regional phenomena.

A spectral analysis is applied for the SPI-24 and the SDI-24. The results show significant peaks in periodicities of 11–14.7 yr, 2.8 yr, 3.4–3.7 yr, and 6.3–7.3 yr. The same periodic cycles can be found in the SPI-24 of the six sub-basins but with some variability in the mean magnitude. A wavelet analysis shows that significant periodicities have been stable over time since the 1980s. Extrapolations of the reconstructed SPI-24 and SDI-24 represent the continuation of observed significant periodicities

Tracing nutrient sources in the Mississippi River Basin, U.S.A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kendall, C.; Silva, S.R.; Chang, C.C.Y.; Wankel, S.D.; Hooper, R.P.; Frey, J.W.; Crain, A.S.; Delong, M.D.

2003-01-01

Full text: Periodic hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River is of increasing concern. The condition is thought to be primarily the result of nitrate delivered to the Gulf by the Mississippi River. However, as much as half of the nitrogen transported by large rivers to coastal areas is in dissolved or particulate organic form, with the remainder primarily as nitrate. Nitrate is thought to be conservatively transported in the Mississippi and other large rivers, but reduction can occur in marshy pools and backwater channels. Thus, it is important to examine all forms of nitrogen and their potential transformations, in both in groundwater and in riverine environments. To provide critically needed information for the development of management strategies to reduce N loads and enhance N attenuation mechanisms, we have been using isotopic techniques to investigate the sources and cycling of nutrients at a number of sites in the Mississippi Basin (which includes the Ohio and Missouri River Basins) since 1996, in collaboration with several national monitoring programs. One of our most noteworthy finding was that about half of the POM in the Mississippi (and other big rivers in the USA) is composed of plankton and/or heterotrophic bacteria. This suggests that in-situ productivity may be a significant source of bioavailable organic matter contributing to the hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Monthly samples from 19 river sites in the Basin sampled over 5 years showed that δ 15 N and δ 13 C were quite useful in discriminating among four major categories of POM: terrestrial soil, fresh terrestrial vegetation, aquatic macrophytes, and plankton/bacteria. The δ 13 C values for the sites ranged from about -35 to -20 per mille, and the δ 15 N values ranged from about -15 to +15 per mille. The isotopic data, along with ancillary chemical and hydrologic measurements, were also useful for documenting seasonal changes in in-situ processes. A pilot study in

River monitoring from satellite radar altimetry in the Zambezi River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. I. Michailovsky

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Satellite radar altimetry can be used to monitor surface water levels from space. While current and past altimetry missions were designed to study oceans, retracking the waveforms returned over land allows data to be retrieved for smaller water bodies or narrow rivers. The objective of this study is the assessment of the potential for river monitoring from radar altimetry in terms of water level and discharge in the Zambezi River basin. Retracked Envisat altimetry data were extracted over the Zambezi River basin using a detailed river mask based on Landsat imagery. This allowed for stage measurements to be obtained for rivers down to 80 m wide with an RMSE relative to in situ levels of 0.32 to 0.72 m at different locations. The altimetric levels were then converted to discharge using three different methods adapted to different data-availability scenarios: first with an in situ rating curve available, secondly with one simultaneous field measurement of cross-section and discharge, and finally with only historical discharge data available. For the two locations at which all three methods could be applied, the accuracies of the different methods were found to be comparable, with RMSE values ranging from 4.1 to 6.5% of the mean annual in situ gauged amplitude for the first method and from 6.9 to 13.8% for the second and third methods. The precision obtained with the different methods was analyzed by running Monte Carlo simulations and also showed comparable values for the three approaches with standard deviations found between 5.7 and 7.2% of the mean annual in situ gauged amplitude for the first method and from 8.7 to 13.0% for the second and third methods.

A hydrogeomorphic river network model predicts where and why hyporheic exchange is important in large basins

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Velez, Jesus D.; Harvey, Judson W.

2014-09-01

Hyporheic exchange has been hypothesized to have basin-scale consequences; however, predictions throughout river networks are limited by available geomorphic and hydrogeologic data and by models that can analyze and aggregate hyporheic exchange flows across large spatial scales. We developed a parsimonious but physically based model of hyporheic flow for application in large river basins: Networks with EXchange and Subsurface Storage (NEXSS). We applied NEXSS across a broad range of geomorphic diversity in river reaches and synthetic river networks. NEXSS demonstrates that vertical exchange beneath submerged bed forms rather than lateral exchange through meanders dominates hyporheic fluxes and turnover rates along river corridors. Per kilometer, low-order streams have a biogeochemical potential at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than higher-order streams. However, when biogeochemical potential is examined per average length of each stream order, low- and high-order streams were often found to be comparable. As a result, the hyporheic zone's intrinsic potential for biogeochemical transformations is comparable across different stream orders, but the greater river miles and larger total streambed area of lower order streams result in the highest cumulative impact from low-order streams. Lateral exchange through meander banks may be important in some cases but generally only in large rivers.

A hydrogeomorphic river network model predicts where and why hyporheic exchange is important in large basins

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Velez, Jesus D.; Harvey, Judson

2014-01-01

Hyporheic exchange has been hypothesized to have basin-scale consequences; however, predictions throughout river networks are limited by available geomorphic and hydrogeologic data and by models that can analyze and aggregate hyporheic exchange flows across large spatial scales. We developed a parsimonious but physically based model of hyporheic flow for application in large river basins: Networks with EXchange and Subsurface Storage (NEXSS). We applied NEXSS across a broad range of geomorphic diversity in river reaches and synthetic river networks. NEXSS demonstrates that vertical exchange beneath submerged bed forms rather than lateral exchange through meanders dominates hyporheic fluxes and turnover rates along river corridors. Per kilometer, low-order streams have a biogeochemical potential at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than higher-order streams. However, when biogeochemical potential is examined per average length of each stream order, low- and high-order streams were often found to be comparable. As a result, the hyporheic zone's intrinsic potential for biogeochemical transformations is comparable across different stream orders, but the greater river miles and larger total streambed area of lower order streams result in the highest cumulative impact from low-order streams. Lateral exchange through meander banks may be important in some cases but generally only in large rivers.

Trends in suspended-sediment loads and concentrations in the Mississippi River Basin, 1950–2009

Science.gov (United States)

Heimann, David C.; Sprague, Lori A.; Blevins, Dale W.

2011-01-01

Trends in loads and concentrations of suspended sediment and suspended sand generally were downward for stations within the Mississippi River Basin during the 60-, 34-, and 12-year periods analyzed. Sediment transport in the lower Mississippi River has historically been, and continues to be, most closely correlative to sediment contributions from the Missouri River, which generally carried the largest annual suspended-sediment load of the major Mississippi River subbasins. The closure of Fort Randall Dam in the upper Missouri River in 1952 was the single largest event in the recorded historical decline of suspended-sediment loads in the Mississippi River Basin. Impoundments on tributaries and sediment reductions as a result of implementation of agricultural conservation practices throughout the basin likely account for much of the remaining Mississippi River sediment transport decline. Scour of the main-stem channel downstream from the upper Missouri River impoundments is likely the largest source of suspended sand in the lower Missouri River. The Ohio River was second to the Missouri River in terms of sediment contributions, followed by the upper Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers. Declines in sediment loads and concentrations continued through the most recent analysis period (1998–2009) at available Mississippi River Basin stations. Analyses of flow-adjusted concentrations of suspended sediment indicate the recent downward temporal changes generally can be explained by corresponding decreases in streamflows.

Groundwater Discharge to Upper Barataria Basin Driven by Mississippi River Stage

Science.gov (United States)

Cable, J. E.; Kim, J.; Johannesson, K. H.; Kolker, A.; Telfeyan, K.; Breaux, A.

2017-12-01

Groundwater flow into deltaic wetlands occurs despite the heterogeneous and anisotropic depositional environment of deltas. Along the Mississippi River this groundwater flow is augmented by the vast alluvial aquifer and the levees which confine the river to a zone much more narrow than the historical floodplain. The effect of the levees has been to force the river stage to as much as 10 m above the adjacent back-levee wetlands. Consequently, the head difference created by higher river stages can drive groundwater flow into these wetlands, especially during flood seasons. We measured Rn-222 in the surface waters of a bayou draining a bottomland hardwood swamp in the lower Mississippi River valley over a 14-month period. With a half-life of 3.83 days and its conservative geochemical behavior, Rn-222 is a well-known tracer for groundwater inputs in both fresh and marine environments. Transects from the mouth to the headwaters of the bayou were monitored for Rn-222 in real-time using Rad-7s on a semi-monthly basis. We found that Rn-222 decreased exponentially from the swamp at the headwaters to the mouth of the bayou. Using a mass balance approach, we calculated groundwater inputs to the bayou headwaters and compared these discharge estimates to variations in Mississippi River stage. Groundwater inputs to the Barataria Basin, Louisiana, represent a significant fraction of the freshwater budget of the basin. The flow appears to occur through the sandy Point Bar Aquifer that lies adjacent to the river and underlies many of the freshwater swamps of the Basin. Tracer measurements throughout the Basin in these swamp areas appear to confirm our hypothesis about the outlet for groundwater in this deltaic environment.

Impacts of golden alga Prymnesium parvum on fish populations in reservoirs of the upper Colorado River and Brazos River basins, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

VanLandeghem, Matthew M.; Farooqi, Mukhtar; Farquhar, B.; Patino, Reynaldo

2013-01-01

Several reservoirs in the upper Colorado River and Brazos River basins in Texas have experienced toxic blooms of golden alga Prymnesium parvum and associated fish kills since 2001. There is a paucity of information, however, regarding the population-level effects of such kills in large reservoirs, species-specific resistance to or recovery from kills, or potential differences in the patterns of impacts among basins. We used multiple before-after, control-impact analysis to determine whether repeated golden alga blooms have led to declines in the relative abundance and size structure of fish populations. Sustained declines were noted for 9 of 12 fish species surveyed in the upper Colorado River, whereas only one of eight species was impacted by golden alga in the Brazos River. In the upper Colorado River, White Bass Morone chrysops, White Crappie Pomoxis annularis, Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio, Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens, Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris, and Blue Catfish I. furcatus exhibited sustained declines in relative abundance, size structure, or both; Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum, Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus, and Common Carp Cyprinus carpio did not exhibit those declines. In the Brazos River, only the relative abundance of Blue Catfish was impacted. Overall, toxic golden alga blooms can negatively impact fish populations over the long-term, but the patterns of impact can vary considerably among river basins and species. In the Brazos River, populations of most fish species appear to be healthy, suggesting a positive angling outlook for this basin. In the upper Colorado River, fish populations have been severely impacted, and angling opportunities have been reduced. Basin-specific management plans aimed at improving water quality and quantity will likely reduce bloom intensity and allow recovery of fish populations to the

Modeling the hydrologic effects of land and water development interventions: a case study of the upper Blue Nile river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Haregeweyn, Nigussie; Tsunekawa, Atsushi; Tsubo, Mitsuru; Meshesha, Derege; Adgo, Enyew; Poesen, Jean; Schütt, Brigitta

2014-05-01

Over 67% of the Ethiopian landmass has been identified as very vulnerable to climate variability and land degradation. These problems are more prevalent in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN, often called Abay) river basin covering a drainage area of about 199,800 km2. The UBN River runs from Lake Tana (NW Ethiopia) to the Ethiopia-Sudan border. To enhance the adaptive capacity to the high climate variability and land degradation in the basin, different land and water management measures (stone/soil bunds, runoff collector trenches, exclosures) have been extensively implemented, especially since recent years. Moreover, multipurpose water harvesting schemes including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD, reservoir area of ca. 4000 km2) and 17 other similar projects are being or to be implemented by 2025. However, impact studies on land and water management aspects rarely include detailed hydrological components especially at river basin scale, although it is generally regarded as a major determinant of hydrological processes. The main aim of this study is therefore to model the significance of land and water management interventions in surface runoff response at scale of UBN river basin and to suggest some recommendations. Spatially-distributed annual surface runoff was simulated for both present-day and future (2025) land and water management conditions using calibrated values of the proportional loss model in ArcGIS environment. Average annual rainfall map (1998-2012) was produced from calibrated TRMM satellite source and shows high spatial variability of rainfall ranging between ca. 1000 mm in the Eastern part of the basin to ca. 2000 mm in the southern part of the basin. Present-day land use day condition was obtained from Abay Basin Master Plan study. The future land use map was created taking into account the land and water development interventions to be implemented by 2025. Under present-day conditions, high spatial variability of annual runoff depth was observed

River Basin Water Assessment and Balance in fast developing areas in Viet Nam

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Van Chin; Ranzi, Roberto

2010-05-01

Uneven precipitation in space and time together with mismanagement and lack of knowledge about quantity and quality of water resources, have caused water shortages for water supply to large cities and irrigation areas in many regions of Viet Nam in the dry season. The rainy season (from June to October) counts for 80% of the total annual rainfall, while the water volume of dry season (from November to May of the following year) accounts for 20% only. Lack of sufficient water volumes occurs in some areas where the pressure of a fast increasing population (1.3% per year on average in the last decade in Viet Nam), intensive agricultural and industrial uses is one of the major problems facing sustainable development. For those areas an accurate water assessment and balance at the riverbasin scale is needed to manage the exploitation and appropriate use of water resources and plan future development. The paper describes the preliminary phase of the pilot development of the river basin water balance for the Day River Basin in the Red River delta in Viet Nam. The Day river basin includes a 7,897 km² area in the south-western part of the Red River in Viet Nam. The total population in the Day river basin exceeds 8 millions inhabitants, including the Hanoi capital, Nam Dinh and other large towns. Agricultural land covered 390,294 ha in 2000 and this area is going to be increased by 14,000 ha in 2010 due to land reclamation and expansion toward the sea. Agricultural uses exploit about 90% of surface water resources in the Day river basin but have to compete with industrial and civil needs in the recent years. At the background of the brief characterization of the Day River Basin, we concentrate on the application of a water balance model integrated by an assessment of water quality after consumptive uses for civil, agricultural and industrial needs to assist water management in the basin. In addition, future development scenarios are taken into account, considering less

From information to participation and self-organization: Visions for European river basin management.

Science.gov (United States)

Euler, Johannes; Heldt, Sonja

2018-04-15

The European Union Water Framework Directive (EU WFD, 2000) calls for active inclusion of the public in the governance of waterbodies to enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of water management schemes across the EU. As complex socio-ecological systems, river basins in western Europe could benefit from further support for inclusive management schemes. This paper makes use of case studies from Germany, England and Spain to explore the potential opportunities and challenges of different participatory management approaches. Grounded in theoretical considerations around participation within ecological management schemes, including Arnstein's Ladder of Participation and commons theories, this work provides an evaluation of each case study based on key indicators, such as inclusivity, representativeness, self-organization, decision-making power, spatial fit and temporal continuity. As investors and the public develop a heightened awareness for long-term sustainability of industrial projects, this analysis supports the suggestion that increased participatory river basin management is both desirable and economically feasible, and should thus be considered a viable option for future projects aiming to move beyond current requirements of the European Union Water Framework Directive. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Water resources inventory of Connecticut Part 2: Shetucket River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Mendall P.; Bednar, Gene A.; Thomas, Chester E.; Wilson, William E.

1967-01-01

The Shetucket River basin has a relatively abundant supply of water of generally good quality which is derived from precipitation that has fallen on the basin. Annual precipitation has ranged from about 30 inches to 75 inches and has averaged about 45 inches over a 35-year period. Approximately 20 inches of water are returned to the atmosphere each year by evaporation and transpiration; the remainder of the annual precipitation either flows overland to streams or percolates downward to the water table and ultimately flows out of the basin in the Shetucket River or as underflow through the deposits beneath. During the autumn and winter months precipitation normally is sufficient to cause a substantial increase in the amount of water stored underground and in surface reservoirs within the basins whereas in the summer most of the precipitation is lost through evaporation and transpiration, resulting in sharply reduced streamflow and lowered groundwater levels. The mean monthly storage of water in the basin on an average is 3.5 inches higher in November than it is in June.

The evolution and performance of river basin management in the Murray-Darling Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Ross

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We explore bioregional management in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB in Australia through the institutional design characteristics of the MDB River Basin Organization (RBO, the actors and organizations who supported and resisted the establishment of the RBO, and the effectiveness of the RBO. During the last 25 years, there has been a major structural reform in the MDB RBO, which has changed from an interstate coordinating body to an Australian government agency. Responsibility for basin management has been centralized under the leadership of the Australian government, and a comprehensive integrated Basin plan has been adopted. The driving forces for this centralization include national policy to restore river basins to sustainable levels of extraction, state government difficulties in reversing overallocation of water entitlements, the millennium drought and its effects, political expediency on the part of the Australian government and state governments, and a major injection of Australian government funding. The increasing hierarchy and centralization of the MDB RBO does not follow a general trend toward multilevel participative governance of RBOs, but decentralization should not be overstated because of the special circumstances at the time of the centralization and the continuing existence of some decentralized elements, such as catchment water plans, land use planning, and water quality. Further swings in the centralization-decentralization pendulum could occur. The MDB reform has succeeded in rebalancing Basin water allocations, including an allocation for the environment and reduced diversion limits. There are some longer term risks to the implementation of reform, including lack of cooperation by state governments, vertical coordination difficulties, and perceived reductions in the accountability and legitimacy of reform at the local level. If implementation of the Basin plan is diverted or delayed, a new institution, the Commonwealth

Human impacts on river water quality- comparative research in the catchment areas of the Tone River and the Mur River-

Science.gov (United States)

Kogure, K.

2013-12-01

Human activities in river basin affect river water quality as water discharges into river with pollutant after we use it. By detecting pollutants source, pathway, and influential factor of human activities, it will be possible to consider proper river basin management. In this study, material flow analysis was done first and then nutrient emission modeling by MONERIS was conducted. So as to clarify land use contribution and climate condition, comparison of Japanese and European river basin area has been made. The model MONERIS (MOdelling Nutrient Emissions in RIver Systems; Behrendt et al., 2000) was applied to estimate the nutrient emissions in the Danube river basin by point sources and various diffuse pathways. Work for the Mur River Basin in Austria was already carried out by the Institute of Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management at the Vienna University of Technology. This study treats data collection, modelling for the Tone River in Japan, and comparative analysis for these two river basins. The estimation of the nutrient emissions was carried out for 11 different sub catchment areas covering the Tone River Basin for the time period 2000 to 2006. TN emissions into the Tone river basin were 51 kt/y. 67% was via ground water and dominant for all sub catchments. Urban area was also important emission pathway. Human effect is observed in urban structure and agricultural activity. Water supply and sewer system make urban water cycle with pipeline structure. Excess evapotranspiration in arable land is also influential in water cycle. As share of arable land is 37% and there provides agricultural products, it is thought that N emission from agricultural activity is main pollution source. Assumption case of 10% N surplus was simulated and the result was 99% identical to the actual. Even though N surplus reduction does not show drastic impact on N emission, it is of importance to reduce excess of fertilization and to encourage effective agricultural activity

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, T. H.; Yin, Z.; Song, Y. Z.

2012-11-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, T h; Yin, Z; Song, Y Z

2012-01-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Regime Shift Identification of Runoff and Sediment Loads in the Yellow River Basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Wang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Runoff and sediment loads have exhibited significant changes over the past six decades in the Yellow River Basin, China. The current study evaluates the changing trends and regime shifts in runoff and sediment loads at both the annual and monthly time scales. The associated spatial and temporal variations are analyzed by a sequential t-test analysis of the regime shifts (STARS approach and the “breaks for additive seasonal and trend” (BFAST model using hydrological data at eight stations from the 1950s to 2011. Both runoff and sediment loads exhibit significant declines (p < 0.05, except in the upper reaches of the river near the Tangnaihai station. The regime shifts detected by the STARS approach are not completely consistent with the results from the BFAST method. In most cases, the regime shifts occurred in 1969 and 1986, due to the construction of large reservoirs. Climate change and other human activities, such as large-scale soil and water conservation measures, can result in abrupt changes in hydrological series at some stations. The trapping effects of reservoirs not only cause regime shifts of runoff and sediment loads, but also adjust their inter-annual and seasonal distributions. Various soil and water conservation measures are responsible for the significant reduction in runoff and sediment loads in the mid-lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. In addition, water withdrawals from both river runoff and ground water play a critical role in the changing trends in runoff and indirectly alter the sediment loads. The findings provide a good reference for the effective promotion of climate change adaptation, water resources planning and river basin management.

Ecosystem based river basin management planning in critical water catchment in Mongolia

Science.gov (United States)

Tugjamba, Navchaa; Sereeter, Erdenetuul; Gonchigjav, Sarantuya

2014-05-01

Developing the ecosystem based adaptation strategies to maintain water security in critical water catchments in Mongolia would be very significant. It will be base by reducing the vulnerability. "Ecosystem Based adaptation" is quite a new term in Mongolia and the ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. To strengthen equitable economic development, food security, climate resilience and protection of the environment, the implementation of sustainable river basin management in critical water catchments is challenging in Mongolia. The Ulz river basin is considered one of the critical water catchments due to the temperature has increased by in average 1.30Ñ over the period 1976 to 2011. It is more intense than the global warming rate (0.740C/100 years) and a bit higher than the warming rate over whole Mongolia as well. From long-term observations and measurements it is clear that Ulz River has low water in a period of 1970-1980 and since the end of 1980s and middle of 1990s there were dominated years of the flood. However, under the influence of the global warming, climate changes of Mongolia and continuation of drought years with low water since the end of 1990s until today river water was sharply fallen and dried up. For the last ten years rivers are dried up and annual mean run-off is less by 3-5 times from long term mean value. The Ulz is the transboundary river basin and taking its origin from Ikh and Baga Burd springs on territory of Norovlin soum of Khentii province that flows through Khentii and Dornod provinces to the northeast, crossing the state border it flows in Baruun Tari located in Tari Lake concavity in Russia. Based on the integrative baseline study on the 'The Ulz River Basin Environmental and Socioeconomic condition', ecosystem based river basin management was planned. 'Water demand Calculator 3' (WDC) software was used to

Linking Governance to Sustainable Management Outcomes: Applying Dynamic Indicator Profiles to River Basin Organization Case Studies around the World.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Y.; Bouckaert, F. W.

2017-12-01

Institutional best practice for integrated river basin management advocates the river basin organisation (RBO) model as pivotal to achieve sustainable management outcomes and stakeholder engagement. The model has been widely practiced in transboundary settings and is increasingly adopted at national scales, though its effectiveness remains poorly studied. A meta-analysis of four river basins has been conducted to assess governance models and linking it to evaluation of biophysical management outcomes. The analysis is based on a Theory of Change framework, and includes functional dynamic governance indicator profiles, coupled to sustainable ecosystem management outcome profiles. The governance and outcome profiles, informed by context specific indicators, demand that targets for setting objectives are required in multiple dimensions, and trajectory outlines are a useful tool to track progress along the journey mapped out by the Theory of Change framework. Priorities, trade-offs and objectives vary in each basin, but the diagnostics tool allows comparison between basins in their capacity to reach targets through successive evaluations. The distance between capacity and target scores determines how program planning should be prioritized and resources allocated for implementation; this is a dynamic process requiring regular evaluations and adaptive management. The findings of this study provide a conceptual framework for combining dimensions of integrated water management principles that bridge tensions between (i) stakeholder engagement and participatory management (bottom-up approach) using localized knowledge and (ii) decision-making, control-and-command, system-scale, accountable and equitable management (top-down approach).The notion of adaptive management is broadened to include whole-of-program learnings, rather than single hypothesis based learning adjustments. This triple loop learning combines exploitative methods refinement with explorative evaluation of

Estimation of potential runoff-contributing areas in the Kansas-Lower Republican River Basin, Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Juracek, Kyle E.

1999-01-01

Digital soils and topographic data were used to estimate and compare potential runoff-contributing areas for 19 selected subbasins representing soil, slope, and runoff variability within the Kansas-Lower Republican (KLR) River Basin. Potential runoff-contributing areas were estimated separately and collectively for the processes of infiltration-excess and saturation-excess overland flow using a set of environmental conditions that represented high, moderate, and low potential runoff. For infiltration-excess overland flow, various rainfall intensities and soil permeabilities were used. For saturation-excess overland flow, antecedent soil-moisture conditions and a topographic wetness index were used. Results indicated that the subbasins with relatively high potential runoff are located in the central part of the KLR River Basin. These subbasins are Black Vermillion River, Clarks Creek, Delaware River upstream from Muscotah, Grasshopper Creek, Mill Creek (Wabaunsee County), Soldier Creek, Vermillion Creek (Pottawatomie County), and Wildcat Creek. The subbasins with relatively low potential runoff are located in the western one-third of the KLR River Basin, with one exception, and are Buffalo Creek, Little Blue River upstream from Barnes, Mill Creek (Washington County), Republican River between Concordia and Clay Center, Republican River upstream from Concordia, Wakarusa River downstream from Clinton Lake (exception), and White Rock Creek. The ability to distinguish the subbasins as having relatively high or low potential runoff was possible mostly due to the variability of soil permeability across the KLR River Basin.

Evaluation of ecological instream flow considering hydrological alterations in the Yellow River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Zongjiao; Shi, Peijun; Singh, Vijay P.; Gu, Xihui

2018-01-01

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China and is the important source for water supply in the northwestern and northern China. It is often regarded as the mother river of China. Owing to climatic change and intensifying human activities, such as increasing withdrawal of water for meeting growing agricultural irrigation needs since 1986, the flow of Yellow River has decreased, with serious impacts on the ecological environment. Using multiple hydrological indicators and Flow Duration Curve (DFC)-based ecodeficit and ecosurplus, this study investigates the impact of hydrological alterations, such as the impact of water reservoirs or dams, on downstream ecological instream flow. Results indicate that: (1) due to the impoundment and hydrological regulations of water reservoirs, occurrence rates and magnitudes of high flow regimes have decreased and the decrease is also found in the magnitudes of low flow events. These changes tend to be more evident from the upper to the lower Yellow River basin; (2) human activities tend to enhance the instream flow variability, particularly after the 1980s;(3) the ecological environment in different parts of the Yellow River basin is under different degrees of ecological risk. In general, lower to higher ecological risk can be detected due to hydrological alterations from the upper to the lower Yellow River basin. This shows that conservation of ecological environment and river health is facing a serious challenge in the lower Yellow River basin; (4) ecological instream flow indices, such as ecodeficit and ecosurplus, and IHA32 hydrological indicators are in strong relationships, suggesting that ecodeficit and ecosurplus can be regarded as appropriate ecological indicators for developing measures for mitigating the adverse impact of human activities on the conservation of ecological environment in the Yellow River basin.

Sharing water and benefits in transboundary river basins

OpenAIRE

D. Arjoon; A. Tilmant; M. Herrmann

2016-01-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to solve disputes among riparian countries and to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit-sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived not only as efficient, but also as equitable in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature mainly describes what is meant by the term benefit sharing in the cont...

The politics of water payments and stakeholder participation in the Limpopo River Basin, Mozambique

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alba, Rossella; Bolding, Alex; Ducrot, Raphaëlle

2017-01-01

Drawing from the experience of the Limpopo River Basin in Mozambique, the chapter analyses the articulation of a water rights framework in the context of decentralised river basin governance and IWRM-inspired reforms. The nexus between financial autonomy, service provision, stakeholder participation

The politics of water payments and stakeholder participation in the Limpopo River Basin, Mozambique

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alba, R.; Bolding, J.A.; Ducrot, R.

2016-01-01

Drawing from the experience of the Limpopo River Basin in Mozambique, the paper analyses the articulation of a water rights framework in the context of decentralised river basin governance and IWRM-inspired reforms. The nexus between financial autonomy, service provision, stakeholder participation

Irrigation Depletions 1928-1989 : 1990 Level of Irrigation, Snake Yakima and Deschutes River Basins.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administation; A.G. Crook Company

1993-07-01

The vast amount of irrigation in relation to the available water and extensive system of reservoirs located in the Snake River Basin above Brownlee reservoir precludes this area from using methods such as Blaney-Criddle for estimating irrigation depletions. Also the hydrology, irrigation growth patterns, and water supply problems are unique and complex. Therefore regulation studies were utilized to reflect the net effect on streamflow of the changes in irrigated acreage in terms of corresponding changes in storage regulation and in the amount of water depleted and diverted from and returned to the river system. The regulation study for 1990 conditions was conducted by the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The end product of the basin simulation is 61 years of regulated flows at various points in the river system that are based on 1990 conditions. Data used by the Idaho Department of Water Resources is presented in this section and includes natural gains to the river system and diversions from the river system based on a 1990 level of development and operation criteria. Additional information can be obtained for an Idaho Department of Water Resources Open-File Report ``Stream Flows in the Snake River Basin 1989 Conditions of Use and Management`` dated June 1991. Similar considerations apply to the Yakima and Deschutes river basins.

Long-term fish monitoring in large rivers: Utility of “benchmarking” across basins

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, David L.; Casper, Andrew F.; Counihan, Timothy D.; Bayer, Jennifer M.; Waite, Ian R.; Kosovich, John J.; Chapman, Colin; Irwin, Elise R.; Sauer, Jennifer S.; Ickes, Brian; McKerrow, Alexa

2017-01-01

In business, benchmarking is a widely used practice of comparing your own business processes to those of other comparable companies and incorporating identified best practices to improve performance. Biologists and resource managers designing and conducting monitoring programs for fish in large river systems tend to focus on single river basins or segments of large rivers, missing opportunities to learn from those conducting fish monitoring in other rivers. We briefly examine five long-term fish monitoring programs in large rivers in the United States (Colorado, Columbia, Mississippi, Illinois, and Tallapoosa rivers) and identify opportunities for learning across programs by detailing best monitoring practices and why these practices were chosen. Although monitoring objectives, methods, and program maturity differ between each river system, examples from these five case studies illustrate the important role that long-term monitoring programs play in interpreting temporal and spatial shifts in fish populations for both established objectives and newly emerging questions. We suggest that deliberate efforts to develop a broader collaborative network through benchmarking will facilitate sharing of ideas and development of more effective monitoring programs.

Hydrogeologic framework and selected components of the groundwater budget for the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, Nora B.; Ely, Kate; Mehta, Smita; Stonewall, Adam J.; Risley, John C.; Hinkle, Stephen R.; Conlon, Terrence D.

2017-05-31

Executive SummaryThis report presents a summary of the hydrogeology of the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon, based on characterization of the hydrogeologic framework, horizontal and vertical directions of groundwater flow, trends in groundwater levels, and components of the groundwater budget. The conceptual model of the groundwater flow system integrates available data and information on the groundwater resources of the upper Umatilla River Basin and provides insights regarding key hydrologic processes, such as the interaction between the groundwater and surface water systems and the hydrologic budget.The conceptual groundwater model developed for the study area divides the groundwater flow system into five hydrogeologic units: a sedimentary unit, three Columbia River basalt units, and a basement rock unit. The sedimentary unit, which is not widely used as a source of groundwater in the upper basin, is present primarily in the lowlands and consists of conglomerate, loess, silt and sand deposits, and recent alluvium. The Columbia River Basalt Group is a series of Miocene flood basalts that are present throughout the study area. The basalt is uplifted in the southeastern half of the study area, and either underlies the sedimentary unit, or is exposed at the surface. The interflow zones of the flood basalts are the primary aquifers in the study area. Beneath the flood basalts are basement rocks composed of Paleogene to Pre-Tertiary sedimentary, volcanic, igneous, and metamorphic rocks that are not used as a source of groundwater in the upper Umatilla River Basin.The major components of the groundwater budget in the upper Umatilla River Basin are (1) groundwater recharge, (2) groundwater discharge to surface water and wells, (3) subsurface flow into and out of the basin, and (4) changes in groundwater storage.Recharge from precipitation occurs primarily in the upland areas of the Blue Mountains. Mean annual recharge from infiltration of precipitation for the upper

Assessment of environmental flow requirements for river basin planning in Zimbabwe

Science.gov (United States)

Mazvimavi, D.; Madamombe, E.; Makurira, H.

There is a growing awareness and understanding of the need to allocate water along a river to maintain ecological processes that provide goods and services. Legislation in Zimbabwe requires water resources management plans to include the amount of water to be reserved for environmental purposes in each river basin. This paper aims to estimate the amount of water that should be reserved for environmental purposes in each of the 151 sub-basins or water management units of Zimbabwe. A desktop hydrological method is used to estimate the environmental flow requirement (EFR). The estimated EFRs decrease with increasing flow variability, and increase with the increasing contribution of base flows to total flows. The study has established that in order to maintain slightly modified to natural habitats along rivers, the EFR should be 30-60% of mean annual runoff (MAR) in regions with perennial rivers, while this is 20-30% in the dry parts of the country with rivers, which only flow during the wet season. The inclusion of EFRs in water resources management plans will not drastically change the proportion of the available water allocated to water permits, since the amount of water allocated to water permit holders is less than 50% of the MAR on 77% of the sub-basins in the country.

Temporal and Spatial Variation of Water Yield Modulus in the Yangtze River Basin in Recent 60 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Xiaoqing; Weng, Baisha; Qin, Tianling

2018-01-01

The Yangtze River Basin is the largest river basin of Asia and the third largest river basin of the world, the gross water resources amount ranks first in the river basins of the country, and it occupies an important position in the national water resources strategic layout. Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the water cycle has changed. The temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation in the basin is more uneven and the floods are frequent. In order to explore the water yield condition in the Yangtze River Basin, we selected the Water Yield Modulus (WYM) as the evaluation index, then analyzed the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the WYM in the Yangtze River Basin by using the climate tendency method and the M-K trend test method. The results showed that the average WYM of the Yangtze River Basin in 1956-2015 are between 103,600 and 1,262,900 m3/km2, with an average value of 562,300 m3/km2, which is greater than the national average value of 295,000 m3/km2. The minimum value appeared in the northwestern part of the Tongtian River district, the maximum value appeared in the northeastern of Dongting Lake district. The rate of change in 1956-2015 is between -0.68/a and 0.79/a, it showed a downward trend in the western part but not significantly, an upward trend in the eastern part reached a significance level of α=0.01. The minimum value appeared in the Tongtian River district, the largest value appeared in the Hangjia Lake district, and the average tendency rate is 0.04/a in the whole basin.

Strategic planning for instream flow restoration: a case study of potential climate change impacts in the central Columbia River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Donley, Erin E; Naiman, Robert J; Marineau, Mathieu D

2012-10-01

We provide a case study prioritizing instream flow restoration activities by sub-basin according to the habitat needs of Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmonids relative to climate change in the central Columbia River basin in Washington State (USA). The objective is to employ scenario analysis to inform and improve existing instream flow restoration projects. We assess the sensitivity of late summer (July, August, and September) flows to the following scenario simulations - singly or in combination: climate change, changes in the quantity of water used for irrigation and possible changes to existing water resource policy. Flows for four sub-basins were modeled using the Water Evaluation and Planning system (WEAP) under historical and projected conditions of 2020 and 2040 for each scenario. Results indicate that Yakima will be the most flow-limited sub-basin with average reductions in streamflow of 41% under climate conditions of 2020 and 56% under 2040 conditions; 1.3-2.5 times greater than those of other sub-basins. In addition, irrigation plays a key role in the hydrology of the Yakima sub-basin - with flow reductions ranging from 78% to 90% under severe to extreme (i.e., 20-40%) increases in agricultural water use (2.0-4.4 times the reductions in the other sub-basins). The Yakima and Okanogan sub-basins are the most responsive to simulations of flow-bolstering policy change (providing salmon with first priority water allocation and at biologically relevant flows), as demonstrated by 91-100% target flows attained. The Wenatchee and Methow sub-basins do not exhibit similar responsiveness to simulated policy changes. Considering climate change only, we conclude that flow restoration should be prioritized first in the Yakima and Wenatchee sub-basins, and second in the Okanogan and Methow. Considering both climate change and possible policy changes, we recommend that the Yakima sub-basin receive the highest priority for flow restoration activities to sustain

A Water Resources Planning Tool for the Jordan River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Bonzi

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The Jordan River basin is subject to extreme and increasing water scarcity. Management of transboundary water resources in the basin is closely intertwined with political conflicts in the region. We have jointly developed with stakeholders and experts from the riparian countries, a new dynamic consensus database and—supported by hydro-climatological model simulations and participatory scenario exercises in the GLOWA (Global Change and the Hydrological Cycle Jordan River project—a basin-wide Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP tool, which will allow testing of various unilateral and multilateral adaptation options under climate and socio-economic change. We present its validation and initial (climate and socio-economic scenario analyses with this budget and allocation tool, and invite further adaptation and application of the tool for specific Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM problems.

Modeling of Flood Mitigation Structures for Sarawak River Sub-basin Using Info Works River Simulation (RS)

OpenAIRE

Rosmina Bustami; Charles Bong; Darrien Mah; Afnie Hamzah; Marina Patrick

2009-01-01

The distressing flood scenarios that occur in recent years at the surrounding areas of Sarawak River have left damages of properties and indirectly caused disruptions of productive activities. This study is meant to reconstruct a 100-year flood event that took place in this river basin. Sarawak River Subbasin was chosen and modeled using the one-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling approach using InfoWorks River Simulation (RS), in combination with Geographical Information S...

MULTI-TEMPORAL LAND USE GENERATION FOR THE OHIO RIVER BASIN

Science.gov (United States)

A set of backcast and forecast land use maps of the Ohio River Basin (ORB) was developed that could be used to assess the spatial-temporal patterns of land use/land cover (LULC) change in this important basin. This approach was taken to facilitate assessment of integrated sustain...

Spatial heterogeneity study of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lijuan; Zhong, Bo; Guo, Liyu; Zhao, Xiangwei

2014-11-01

Spatial heterogeneity of the animal-landscape system has three major components: heterogeneity of resource distributions in the physical environment, heterogeneity of plant tissue chemistry, heterogeneity of movement modes by the animal. Furthermore, all three different types of heterogeneity interact each other and can either reinforce or offset one another, thereby affecting system stability and dynamics. In previous studies, the study areas are investigated by field sampling, which costs a large amount of manpower. In addition, uncertain in sampling affects the quality of field data, which leads to unsatisfactory results during the entire study. In this study, remote sensing data is used to guide the sampling for research on heterogeneity of vegetation coverage to avoid errors caused by randomness of field sampling. Semi-variance and fractal dimension analysis are used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin. The spherical model with nugget is used to fit the semivariogram of vegetation coverage. Based on the experiment above, it is found, (1)there is a strong correlation between vegetation coverage and distance of vegetation populations within the range of 0-28051.3188m at Heihe River Basin, but the correlation loses suddenly when the distance greater than 28051.3188m. (2)The degree of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium. (3)Spatial distribution variability of vegetation occurs mainly on small scales. (4)The degree of spatial autocorrelation is 72.29% between 25% and 75%, which means that spatial correlation of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium high.

THE CONFLUENCE RATIO OF THE TRANSYLVANIAN BASIN RIVERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ROŞIAN GH.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available There are many possibilities to assess the hydrological and geomorphological evolution of a territory. Among them, one remarks the confluence ratio of the rivers belonging to different catchment areas. The values of this indicator may provide information regarding the stage of evolution of the fluvial landforms in the Transylvanian Basin. Also, the values may serve for the calculation of other parameters of catchment areas like: the degree of finishing of the drainage basin for its corresponding order, the density of river segments within a catchment area etc. To calculate the confluence ratio, 35 catchment areas of different orders have been selected. The confluence ratio varies between 3.04 and 6.07. The large range of values demonstrates the existence of a heterogeneous lithology and of morphological and hydrographical contrasts from one catchment area to the other. The existence of values above 5, correlated also with observations in the field, reveals an accelerated dynamics of the geomorphological processes in those catchment areas. This dynamic is mainly supported by the high landform fragmentation due to the first order rivers. In contrast, the catchment areas that have a confluence ratio below 5 are in a more advanced stage of evolution with stable slopes, unable to initiate new first order river segments.

seasonal variation in water quality of orle river basin, sw nigeria.

African Journals Online (AJOL)

LUCY

The seasonal variation of water quality of Orle River and its tributatries in S.W. Nigeria was investigated forthnightly or two ... KEYWORD: water quality, river basin, wet and dry seasons; pollution. ..... Environmental Modeling and Software,.

Estimation of reservoir inflow in data scarce region by using Sacramento rainfall runoff model - A case study for Sittaung River Basin, Myanmar

Science.gov (United States)

Myo Lin, Nay; Rutten, Martine

2017-04-01

The Sittaung River is one of four major rivers in Myanmar. This river basin is developing fast and facing problems with flood, sedimentation, river bank erosion and salt intrusion. At present, more than 20 numbers of reservoirs have already been constructed for multiple purposes such as irrigation, domestic water supply, hydro-power generation, and flood control. The rainfall runoff models are required for the operational management of this reservoir system. In this study, the river basin is divided into (64) sub-catchments and the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SAC-SMA) models are developed by using satellite rainfall and Geographic Information System (GIS) data. The SAC-SMA model has sixteen calibration parameters, and also uses a unit hydrograph for surface flow routing. The Sobek software package is used for SAC-SMA modelling and simulation of river system. The models are calibrated and tested by using observed discharge and water level data. The statistical results show that the model is applicable to use for data scarce region. Keywords: Sacramento, Sobek, rainfall runoff, reservoir

Groundwater quality in the Delaware and St. Lawrence River Basins, New York, 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Nystrom, Elizabeth A.

2012-01-01

Water samples were collected from 10 production and domestic wells in the Delaware River Basin in New York and from 20 production and domestic wells in the St. Lawrence River Basin in New York from August through November 2010 to characterize groundwater quality in the basins. The samples were collected and processed by standard U.S. Geological Survey procedures and were analyzed for 147 physiochemical properties and constituents, including major ions, nutrients, trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radionuclides, and indicator bacteria.

Web-Based Water Accounting Scenario Platform to Address Uncertainties in Water Resources Management in the Mekong : A Case Study in Ca River Basin, Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Apirumanekul, C.; Purkey, D. R.; Pudashine, J.; Seifollahi-Aghmiuni, S.; Wang, D.; Ate, P.; Meechaiya, C.

2017-12-01

Rapid economic development in the Mekong Region is placing pressure on environmental resources. Uncertain changes in land-use, increasing urbanization, infrastructure development, migration patterns and climate risks s combined with scarce water resources are increasing water demand in various sectors. More appropriate policies, strategies and planning for sustainable water resource management are urgently needed. Over the last five years, Vietnam has experienced more frequent and intense droughts affecting agricultural and domestic water use during the dry season. The Ca River Basin is the third largest river basin in Vietnam with 35% of its area located in Lao PDR. The delta landscape comprises natural vegetation, forest, paddy fields, farming and urban areas. The Ca River Basin is experiencing ongoing water scarcity that impacts on crop production, farming livelihoods and household water consumption. Water scarcity is exacerbated by uncertainties in policy changes (e.g. changes in land-use, crop types), basin development (e.g. reservoir construction, urban expansion), and climate change (e.g. changes in rainfall patterns and onset of monsoon). The Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model, with inputs from satellite-based information and institutional data, is used to estimate water supply, water use and water allocation in various sectors (e.g. household, crops, irrigation and flood control) under a wide range of plausible future scenarios in the Ca River Basin. Web-Based Water Allocation Scenario Platform is an online implementation of WEAP model structured in terms of a gaming experience. The online game, as an educational tool, helps key agencies relevant to water resources management understand and explore the complexity of integrated system of river basin under a wide range of scenarios. Performance of the different water resources strategies in Ca River Basin (e.g. change of dam operation to address needs in various sectors, construction of dams, changes

Optimization of wetland restoration siting and zoning in flood retention areas of river basins in China: A case study in Mengwa, Huaihe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaolei; Song, Yuqin

2014-11-01

Wetland restoration in floodplains is an ecological solution that can address basin-wide flooding issues and minimize flooding and damages to riverine and downstream areas. High population densities, large economic outputs, and heavy reliance on water resources make flood retention and management pressing issues in China. To balance flood control and sustainable development economically, socially, and politically, flood retention areas have been established to increase watershed flood storage capacities and enhance the public welfare for the populace living in the areas. However, conflicts between flood storage functions and human habitation appear irreconcilable. We developed a site-specific methodology for identifying potential sites and functional zones for wetland restoration in a flood retention area in middle and eastern China, optimizing the spatial distribution and functional zones to maximize flood control and human and regional development. This methodology was applied to Mengwa, one of 21 flood retention areas in China's Huaihe River Basin, using nine scenarios that reflected different flood, climatic, and hydraulic conditions. The results demonstrated improved flood retention and ecological functions, as well as increased economic benefits.

Interlinking feasibility of five river basins of Rajasthan in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunil Kumar Vyas

2016-09-01

Annual surplus water of about 1437 MCM in the river Chambal is going waste and ultimately reaches to sea after creating flood situations in various places in India including Rajasthan, while on the other hand 1077 MCM water is a requirement in the four other basins in Rajasthan i.e. Banas, Banganga, Gambhir and Parbati at 75% dependability. Interlinking and water transfer from Chambal to these four river basins is the prime solution for which 372 km link channel including 9 km tunnel of design capacity of 300 cumec with 64 m lift is required.

Estimation of Soil loss by USLE Model using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques: A case study of Muhuri River Basin, Tripura, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amit Bera

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Soil erosion is a most severe environmental problem in humid sub-tropical hilly state Tripura. The present study is carried out on Muhuri river basin of Tripura state, North east India having an area of 614.54 Sq.km. In this paper, Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE model, with Geographic Information System (GIS and Remote Sensing (RS have been used to quantify the soil loss in the Muhuri river basin. Five essential parameters such as Runoff-rainfall erosivity factor (R, soil erodibility Factor (K, slope length and steepness (LS, cropping management factor (C, and support practice factor (P have been used to estimate soil loss amount in the study area. All of these layers have been prepared in GIS and RS platform (Mainly Arc GIS 10.1 using various data sources and data preparation methods. In these study DEM and LISS satellite data have been used. The daily rainfall data (2001-2010 of 6 rain gauge stations have been used to predict the R factor. Soil erodibility (K factor in Basin area ranged from 0.15 to 0.36. The spatial distribution map of soil loss of Muhuri river basin has been generated and classified into six categories according to intensity level of soil loss. The average annual predicted soil loss ranges between 0 to and 650 t/ha/y. Low soil loss areas (70 t/ha/y of soil erosion was found along the main course of Muhuri River.

Pyomyositis in the upper Negro river basin, Brazilian Amazonia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borges, Alvaro Humberto Diniz; Faragher, Brian; Lalloo, David G

2012-01-01

Pyomyositis remains poorly documented in tropical Latin America. We therefore performed a retrospective review of cases admitted to a hospital in the upper Negro river basin during 2002-2006. Seasonality was assessed by the cosinor model and independent predictors of outcome were identified...... lesions). Staphylococcus aureus was the only identified infecting organism (18 of 20 culture results, 90%). Complications occurred in 17 patients (20.7%) and the case fatality rate was 2.4%. Children were more likely to present with eosinophilia than adults (OR= 4.20, 95% CI 1.08-16.32, p=0.......048), but no other significant differences regarding clinical presentation and outcomes were observed. The time-to-fever resolution was the only independent determinant of poor outcome (OR=1.52, 95% CI 1.22-1.92, p...

Boundaries of Consent: Stakeholder Representation in River Basin Management in Mexico and South Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wester, P.; Merrey, D.J.; Lange, M.

2003-01-01

Increasing the capacity of water users to influence decision-making is crucial in river basin management reforms. This article assesses emerging forums for river basin management in Mexico and South Africa and concludes that the pace of democratization of water management in both is slow. Mexico is

Water resources in the Blackstone River basin, Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Eugene H.; Krejmas, Bruce E.

1983-01-01

The Blackstone River heads in brooks 6 miles northwest of Worcester and drains about 330 square miles of central Massachusetts before crossing into Rhode Island at Woonsocket. The primary source of the Worcester water supply is reservoirs, but for the remaining 23 communities in the basin, the primary source is wells. Bedrock consists of granitic and metamorphic rocks. Till mantles the uplands and extends beneath stratified drift in the valleys. Stratified glacial drift, consisting of clay, silt, and fine sand deposited in lakes and coarse-textured sand and gravel deposited by streams, is found in lowlands and valleys. The bedrock aquifer is capable of sustaining rural domestic supplies throughout the Blackstone River basin. Bedrock wells yield an average of 10 gallons per minute, but some wells, especially those in lowlands where bedrock probably contains more fractures and receives more recharge than in the upland areas, yield as much as 100 gallons per minute. Glacial sand and gravel is the principal aquifer. It is capable of sustaining municipal supplies. Average daily pumpage from this aquifer in the Blackstone River basin was 10.4 million gallons per day in 1978. The median yield of large-diameter wells in the aquifer is 325 gallons per minute. The range of yields from these wells is 45 to 3,300 gallons per minute. The median specific capacity is about 30 gallons per minute per foot of drawdown.

Santa Lucia River basin. Development of water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1970-01-01

The main objective of this study was to orient the development of water resources of the Santa Lucia River basin to maximum benefit in accordance with the priorities established by Government in relation to the National Development Plans

Groundwater quality in the Mohawk River Basin, New York, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Scott, Tia-Marie

2013-01-01

Water samples were collected from 21 production and domestic wells in the Mohawk River Basin in New York in July 2011 to characterize groundwater quality in the basin. The samples were collected and processed using standard U.S. Geological Survey procedures and were analyzed for 148 physiochemical properties and constituents, including dissolved gases, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radionuclides, and indicator bacteria. The Mohawk River Basin covers 3,500 square miles in New York and is underlain by shale, sandstone, carbonate, and crystalline bedrock. The bedrock is overlain by till in much of the basin, but surficial deposits of saturated sand and gravel are present in some areas. Nine of the wells sampled in the Mohawk River Basin are completed in sand and gravel deposits, and 12 are completed in bedrock. Groundwater in the Mohawk River Basin was typically neutral or slightly basic; the water typically was very hard. Bicarbonate, chloride, calcium, and sodium were the major ions with the greatest median concentrations; the dominant nutrient was nitrate. Methane was detected in 15 samples. Strontium, iron, barium, boron, and manganese were the trace elements with the highest median concentrations. Four pesticides, all herbicides or their degradates, were detected in four samples at trace levels; three VOCs, including chloroform and two solvents, were detected in four samples. The greatest radon-222 activity, 2,300 picocuries per liter, was measured in a sample from a bedrock well, but the median radon activity was higher in samples from sand and gravel wells than in samples from bedrock wells. Coliform bacteria were detected in five samples with a maximum of 92 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters. Water quality in the Mohawk River Basin is generally good, but concentrations of some constituents equaled or exceeded current or proposed Federal or New York State drinking-water standards. The standards

Predicted channel types - Potential for Habitat Improvement in the Columbia River Basin

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Basin-wide analysis of potential to improve tributary habitats in the Columbia River basin through restoration of habitat-forming processes. Identification of...

Predicted riparian vegetation - Potential for Habitat Improvement in the Columbia River Basin

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Basin-wide analysis of potential to improve tributary habitats in the Columbia River basin through restoration of habitat-forming processes. Identification of...

Tidal River Management (TRM and Tidal Basin Management (TBM: A case study on Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Talchabhadel Rocky

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Bangladesh is the biggest delta of the world. Construction of numbers of polders is one of the flood resilient approach. But the presence of coastal polders de-linked the flood plain. The siltation in river causes riverbeds to become higher than the adjacent crop lands, and vast area under the polders became permanently water logged rendering large tract of land uncultivable. The current practice is temporarily de-poldering by cutting embankment. This is a natural water management process with very little human interventions but it needs strong participation and consensus with a great deal of sacrifice by the stakeholders for a specific period (3 to 5 years or even more[1]. An attempt has been made to study the phenomena of tidal basin management reviewing some secondary data and processes involved in successfully operated tidal basins of Bangladesh. And preliminary laboratory experiments are carried out to precisely look into the suspended sediment transport. With varying outflow discharge and sediment supply, the transport processes are investigated. 3D sediment transport model developed using openFOAM has good agreement with experimental result and can be used to better understand effectiveness of tidal basin management.

Differential Rate of Deforestation in Two Adjoining Indian River Basins: Does Resource Availability Matters?

Science.gov (United States)

Das, P.; Behera, M. D.

2017-12-01

Deforestation is one of the key factors of global climate change by altering the surface albedo reduces the evapotranspiration and surface roughness leads to warming in tropical regions. River basins are always subjected to LULC changes, especially decline in forest cover to give way for agricultural expansion, urbanisation, industrialisation etc. We generated LULC maps at three decadal intervals i.e., 1985, 1995 and 2005 in two major river basins of India using Landsat data employing on-screen visual image interpretation technique. In Rain-fed, Mahanadi river basin (MRB), 30.64% forest cover in 1985 was reduced to 30.13% in 2005, wherein glacier-fed, Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) this change was 63.44% to 62.32% during 1985 to 2005. Though conversion of forest land for agricultural activities was the major LULC changes in both the basins, the rate was more than two times higher in BRB than MRB. Scrub land in few zones acted as an intermediate class for mixed forest conversion to cropland land in both the basins. Analysing the drivers, in deforestation we observed the proximity zones around habitat and socio-economic drivers contributed higher compared to topographic, edaphic and climate. Using Dyna-CLUE modelling approach, we have predicted the LULC for 2025. For validation, comparing the predicted result with actual LULC of 2005, we obtained > 97% modeling accuracy; therefore it is expected that the Dyna-CLUE model has very well predicted the LULC for the year 2025. The predicted LULC of 2025 captured the similar trend of deforestation around 0.52% in MRB and 1.18% in BRB during 2005 to 2025. Acting as early warning, and with the past 2-decadal change analysis this study is believed to help the land use planners for improved regional planning to create balanced ecosystem, especially in a changing climate. On the basis of driver analysis, we believe that availability of more forest resources in Brahmaputra River basin provided extra liberty for higher

Sustainable Land Management in the Lim River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Grujic, Gordana; Petkovic, Sava; Tatomir, Uros

2017-04-01

In the cross-border belt between Serbia and Montenegro are located more than one hundred torrential water flows that belong to the Lim River Basin. Under extreme climate events they turned into floods of destructive power and great energy causing enormous damage on the environment and socio-economic development in the wider region of the Western Balkans. In addition, anthropogenic factors influence the land instability, erosion of river beds and loss of topsoil. Consequently, this whole area is affected by pluvial and fluvial erosion of various types and intensity. Terrain on the slopes over 5% is affected by intensive degree of erosion, while strong to medium degree covers 70% of the area. Moreover, in the Lim River Basin were built several hydro-energetic systems and accumulations which may to a certain extent successfully regulate the water regime downstream and to reduce the negative impact on the processes of water erosion. However, siltation of accumulation reduces their useful volume and threatens the basic functions (water reservoirs), especially those ones for water supply, irrigation and energy production that have lost a significant part of the usable volume due to accumulated sediments. Facing the negative impacts of climate change and human activities on the process of land degradation in the Lim River basin imposes urgent need of adequate preventive and protective measures at the local and regional level, which can be effectively applied only through enhanced cross-border cooperation among affected communities in the region. The following set of activities were analyzed to improve the actual management of river catchment: Identifying priorities in the spatial planning, land use and water resources management while respecting the needs of local people and the communities in the cross border region; development of cooperation and partnership between the local population, owners and users of real estate (pastures, agricultural land, forests, fisheries

Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

Science.gov (United States)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H. A.; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka,M.; Wada, Yoshihide; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analyzed in many of these international river basins, this has not been systematically done at the global scale using coherent and comparable datasets. In this study, we aim to assess the change in downstream water stress due to upstream water use in the world's transboundary river basins. Water stress was first calculated considering only local water use of each sub-basin based on country-basin mesh, then compared with the situation when upstream water use was subtracted from downstream water availability. Wefound that water stress was generally already high when considering only local water use, affecting 0.95-1.44 billion people or 33%-51% of the population in transboundary river basins. After accounting for upstream water use, stress level increased by at least 1 percentage-point for 30-65 sub-basins, affecting 0.29-1.13 billion people. Altogether 288 out of 298 middle-stream and downstream sub-basin areas experienced some change in stress level. Further, we assessed whether there is a link between increased water stress due to upstream water use and the number of conflictive and cooperative events in the transboundary river basins, as captured by two prominent databases. No direct relationship was found. This supports the argument that conflicts and cooperation events originate from a combination of different drivers, among which upstream-induced water stress may play a role. Our findings contribute to better understanding of upstream-downstream dynamics in water stress to help address water allocation problems.

Appropriate modelling in DSSs for river basin management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Xu, YuePing; Booij, Martijn J.; Pahl-Wostl, Claudia; Schmidt, Sonja; Rizzoli, Andrea E.; Jakeman, Anthony J.

2004-01-01

There is increasing interest in the development of decision support systems (DSSs) for river basin management. Moreover, new ideas and techniques such as sustainability, adaptive management, Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing and participations of new stakeholders have stimulated their

Impact of Water Scarcity on the Fenhe River Basin and Mitigation Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Shao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study produced a drought map for the Fenhe River basin covering the period from 150 BC to 2012 using regional historical drought records. Based on meteorological and hydrological features, the characteristics and causes of water scarcity in the Fenhe River basin were examined, along with their impact on the national economy and ecological environment. The effects of water scarcity in the basin on the national economy were determined from agricultural, industrial, and domestic perspectives. The impact on aquatic ecosystems was ascertained through an evolution trend analysis of surface water systems, including rivers, wetlands, and slope ecosystems, and subterranean water systems, including groundwater and karst springs. As a result of these analyses, strategies are presented for coping with water scarcity in this basin, including engineering countermeasures, such as the construction of a water network in Shanxi, and the non-engineering approach of groundwater resource preservation. These comprehensive coping strategies are proposed with the aim of assisting the prevention and control of water scarcity in the arid and semi-arid areas of China.

Rural Settlement Development and Environment Carrying Capacity Changes in Progo River Basin

OpenAIRE

Su Ritohardoyo; P Priyono

2016-01-01

Generally the broader rural settlement the heavier population pressure on agricultural land. It indicates that carrying capacity of the rural environment threatened lower. The spatial distribution of the threat in a river basin is quite important as one of the river basin management inputs. Therefore, this article aims at exposing result of research about influence rural population growth and rural settlement land changes to environment carrying capacity. This research was carried out in the ...

Genetic and Phenotype [Phenotypic] Catalog of Native Resident Trout of the interior Columbia River Basin : FY-99 Report : Populations of the Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Sanpoil River Basins of Colville National Forest.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trotter, Patrick C.

2001-05-01

The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project is to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-99 was year two of a five-year project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-99 we worked in collaboration with the Colville National Forest and Kalispel Indian Tribe to catalog populations in the northeastern corner of Washington State.

Hydrochemistry of the Densu River Basin of Ghana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adomako, D.; Osae, S.; Fianko, J. R.

2007-01-01

Planned hydrochemical assessment of groundwater quality have been carried out to understand the sources of dissolved ions in the aquifers supporting groundwater systems in the Densu River basin. The basin is underlain mainly by the proterozoic basin type granitoids with associated gnesis, with dominant mineral such as plagioclase feldspars. The groundwater is Ca-HCO 3 and Na-HCO 3 facies, due to weathering and ion-exchange of minerals underlying the aquifers. The enrichment of the cation and anions are Na>Ca>Mg>K and HCO 3 >Cl>SO 4 >NO 3 respectively. Some of the elevated values of both cations and anions may be due to seawater intrusions, ion-exchange, oxidation and anthropogenic activities. Based on these studies, proper management would be recommended to address groundwater quality in the basin. (au)

Spatio-temporal trends of rainfall across Indian river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Bisht, Deepak Singh; Chatterjee, Chandranath; Raghuwanshi, Narendra Singh; Sridhar, Venkataramana

2018-04-01

Daily gridded high-resolution rainfall data of India Meteorological Department at 0.25° spatial resolution (1901-2015) was analyzed to detect the trend in seasonal, annual, and maximum cumulative rainfall for 1, 2, 3, and 5 days. The present study was carried out for 85 river basins of India during 1901-2015 and pre- and post-urbanization era, i.e., 1901-1970 and 1971-2015, respectively. Mann-Kendall ( α = 0.05) and Theil-Sen's tests were employed for detecting the trend and percentage of change over the period of time, respectively. Daily extreme rainfall events, above 95 and 99 percentile threshold, were also analyzed to detect any trend in their magnitude and number of occurrences. The upward trend was found for the majority of the sub-basins for 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-day maximum cumulative rainfall during the post-urbanization era. The magnitude of extreme threshold events is also found to be increasing in the majority of the river basins during the post-urbanization era. A 30-year moving window analysis further revealed a widespread upward trend in a number of extreme threshold rainfall events possibly due to urbanization and climatic factors. Overall trends studied against intra-basin trend across Ganga basin reveal the mixed pattern of trends due to inherent spatial heterogeneity of rainfall, therefore, highlighting the importance of scale for such studies.

Parameterization and Uncertainty Analysis of SWAT model in Hydrological Simulation of Chaohe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Jie, M.; Zhang, J.; Guo, B. B.

2017-12-01

As a typical distributed hydrological model, the SWAT model also has a challenge in calibrating parameters and analysis their uncertainty. This paper chooses the Chaohe River Basin China as the study area, through the establishment of the SWAT model, loading the DEM data of the Chaohe river basin, the watershed is automatically divided into several sub-basins. Analyzing the land use, soil and slope which are on the basis of the sub-basins and calculating the hydrological response unit (HRU) of the study area, after running SWAT model, the runoff simulation values in the watershed are obtained. On this basis, using weather data, known daily runoff of three hydrological stations, combined with the SWAT-CUP automatic program and the manual adjustment method are used to analyze the multi-site calibration of the model parameters. Furthermore, the GLUE algorithm is used to analyze the parameters uncertainty of the SWAT model. Through the sensitivity analysis, calibration and uncertainty study of SWAT, the results indicate that the parameterization of the hydrological characteristics of the Chaohe river is successful and feasible which can be used to simulate the Chaohe river basin.

Hydrochemistry of the Parauari-Maues Acu river basin (Amazon region, Brazil)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bringel, S.R.B.

1980-08-01

The chemical composition of the Parauari-Maues Acu basin is studied through the determination of pH, calcium, magnesium, iron, chloride, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese. Four expeditions were made and samples were collected in 16 different points of the main course. Chemical analysis of the rivers waters shows seasonal flutuations of the concentrations of the elements in the main river as well as in the main afluents like Nambi river, Amana river and Urupadi river. (Author) [pt

Population trends of smallmouth bass in the upper Colorado River basin with an evaluation of removal effects

Science.gov (United States)

Breton, André R.; Winkelman, Dana L.; Hawkins, John A.; Bestgen, Kevin R.

2014-01-01

Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu were rare in the upper Colorado River basin until the early 1990’s when their abundance dramatically increased in the Yampa River sub-basin. Increased abundance was due primarily to colonization from Elkhead Reservoir, which was rapidly drawn down twice, first to make improvements to the dam (1992) and a second time for reservoir expansion (2005), and allowed escapement of resident bass to the river through an unscreened outlet. Elkhead Reservoir is located on Elkhead Creek, a tributary of the Yampa River. The rapid Elkhead Reservoir drawdown in 1992 was followed by a period of drought years with low, early runoff in the Yampa River sub-basin that benefitted smallmouth bass reproduction. This combination of factors allowed smallmouth bass to establish a self-sustaining population in the Yampa River. Subsequently, successful recruitment allowed smallmouth bass to disperse upstream and downstream in the Yampa River and eventually move into the downstream Green River. Smallmouth bass were also likely introduced, by unknown means, into the upper Colorado River and have since dispersed in this sub-basin. The rapid increase of smallmouth bass in the upper Colorado River basin overlapped with significant reductions in native fish populations in some locations. The threat to these native fishes initiated intensive mechanical removal of smallmouth bass by the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program.In general, three factors explain fluctuating patterns in smallmouth bass density in the upper Colorado River basin in the last decade: reductions due to electrofishing removal, bass recovery after exploitation due to recruitment and immigration, and changes due to environmental factors not related to electrofishing and other management actions. Our analyses indicated that smallmouth bass densities were substantially reduced in most years by 7 electrofishing removal efforts. Less often, but dramatically in some cases

Aquifer depletion in the Lower Mississippi River Basin: challenges and solutions

Science.gov (United States)

The Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB) is a nationally- and internationally-important region of intensive agricultural production that relies heavily on the underlying Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) for row crop irrigation. Extensive irrigation coupled with the region’s geology ...

Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) of the Columbia River basin assessment area.

Science.gov (United States)

Sam. James

2000-01-01

Earthworms are key components of many terrestrial ecosystems; however, little is known of their ecology, distribution, and taxonomy in the eastern interior Columbia River basin assessment area (hereafter referred to as the basin assessment area). This report summarizes the main issues about the ecology of earthworms and their impact on the physical and chemical status...

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in a Transboundary River Basin: The Case of Tonle Sap Lake, Mekong River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko Keskinen

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The water-energy-food nexus is promoted as a new approach for research and policy-making. But what does the nexus mean in practice and what kinds of benefits does it bring? In this article we share our experiences with using a nexus approach in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake area. We conclude that water, energy and food security are very closely linked, both in the Tonle Sap and in the transboundary Mekong River Basin generally. The current drive for large-scale hydropower threatens water and food security at both local and national scales. Hence, the nexus provides a relevant starting point for promoting sustainable development in the Mekong. We also identify and discuss two parallel dimensions for the nexus, with one focusing on research and analysis and the other on integrated planning and cross-sectoral collaboration. In our study, the nexus approach was particularly useful in facilitating collaboration and stakeholder engagement. This was because the nexus approach clearly defines the main themes included in the process, and at the same time widens the discussion from mere water resource management into the broader aspects of water, energy and food security.

[Effect of hydrochemistry characteristics under impact of human activity: a case study in the upper reaches of the Xijiang River basin].

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Shil; Sun, Ping-an; Du, Wen-yue; He, Shi-yi; Li, Rui

2015-01-01

In this paper, observation and sampling were taken three times a month in a hydrological year for three typical sections of the middle and upper reaches of the Xijiang River basin, based on the data of hydrochemistry and flow, the article mainly discusses the evolution process of hydrochemistry in river under natural process and impact of human activity. Hydrochemical characteristics of 116. samples were analyzed in the study area. The hydrochemistry type in the middle and upper reaches of the Xijiang River basin belonged to HCO3- -Ca2+ type, and the chemical weathering type mainly came from carbonate rock weathering. Ca2+ and HCO3- were the main cations and anions, which reflected that hydrochemical characteristics of river in karst area mainly affected by the dissolution of carbonate rock. Na, Mg2, Ca2+ and Cl- mainly affected by natural conditions, the impact of human activity was little. K+, NO3-, SO4(2-) and HCO3- were affected by human activity in different degrees, and it showed different influence ways. This study had an important significance for the change of river hydrochemistry, water quality characteristics, and the effect on substance transported fluxes in the downstream of Pearl River and water quality protection in South China Monsoon Area.

Ecological aspects of nematode parasites of introduced salmonids from Valdivia river basin, Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricio Torres

1991-03-01

Full Text Available Between 1986 and 1987 fishes distributed among the following species introduced in Chile, and from different sectors of the Valdivia river basin (39º30' - 40º00', 73º30' - 71º45'W, were examined: 348 Salmo trutta, 242 Salmo gairdneri, 24 Cyprinus carpio and 52 Gambusia affinis holbrooki. The presence of Camallanus corderoi and Contracaecum sp. in S. gairdneri and of C. corderoi in S. trutta is recorded in Chile for the first time. Cyprinus carpio and G. a. holbrooki did not present infections by nematodes. The prevalence and mean intensity of the infections by nematodes presented significant differences among some sectors of the Valdivia river basin. In general, the prevalence and intensity of the infections by C. corderoi were greater than those by Contracaecum sp. The infections in S. gairdneri were higher than in S. trutta. The sex of the hosts had no influence on the prevalence and intensity of the infections by both nematodes. The length of the hosts did have an influence, except in the case of the infections by Contracaecum sp. in S, gairdneri. The infrapopulations of both nematode species showed over dispersion in most cases. The diet of the examined salmonids suggests that they would become infected principally throught the consuption of autochthonous fishes.

Documentation of input datasets for the soil-water balance groundwater recharge model of the Upper Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Tillman, Fred D.

2015-01-01

The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating more than 4.5 million acres of farmland, and generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin, encompassing more than 110,000 square miles (mi2), contains the headwaters of the Colorado River (also known as the River) and is an important source of snowmelt runoff to the River. Groundwater discharge also is an important source of water in the River and its tributaries, with estimates ranging from 21 to 58 percent of streamflow in the upper basin. Planning for the sustainable management of the Colorado River in future climates requires an understanding of the Upper Colorado River Basin groundwater system. This report documents input datasets for a Soil-Water Balance groundwater recharge model that was developed for the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Radiocesium dynamics in the Hirose River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kuramoto, T.; Taniguchi, K.; Arai, H.; Onuma, S.; Onishi, Y.

2017-12-01

A significant amount of radiocesium was deposited in Fukushima Prefecture during the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In river systems, radiocesium is transported to downstream in rivers. For the safe use of river and its water, it is needed to clarify the dynamics of radiocesium in river systems. We started the monitoring of the Hirose River from December 2015. The Hirose River is a tributary of the Abukuma River flowing into the Pacific Ocean, and its catchment is close to areas where a large amount of radiocesium was deposited. We set up nine monitoring points in the Hirose River watershed. The Water level and turbidity data are continuously observed at each monitoring point. We regularly collected about 100 liters of water at each monitoring point. Radiocesium in water samples was separated into two forms; the one is the dissolved form, and the other is the suspended particulate form. Radionuclide concentrations of radiocesium in both forms were measured by a germanium semiconductor detector. Furthermore, we applied the TODAM (Time-dependent One-dimensional Degradation And Migration) code to the Hirose River basin using the monitoring data. The objectives of the modeling are to understand a redistribution pattern of radiocesium adsorbed by sediments during flooding events and to determine the amount of radiocesium flux into the Abukuma River.

Impacts of Rainfall and Land Use on Sediment Regime in a Semi-Arid Region: Case Study of the Wuqi Catchment in the Upper Beiluo River Basin, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhu, J.; Gao, P.; Geissen, V.; Maroulis, J.; Ritsema, C.J.; Mu, X.; Zhao, G.

2015-01-01

The middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin transport the vast majority of sediment (>85% of the basin's total available sediment load), which has had profound effects on the characteristics of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. With recent land use and land cover change, the

Applicability of GLDAS in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin under Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, L.; Hong, Z.; Linglei, Z.; Yun, D.

2017-12-01

The change of runoff has a great influence on global water cycle, and migration or transformation of biogenic matters. As the Tibet's most important economic region, the Yarlung Zangbo River basin is extremely sensitive and fragile to the global climate change. But the river is a typical lack-data basin, where the quantity of available runoff data is extremely limited and the spatial and temporal resolutions are very low. This study Chooses middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River basin as the study area, 4 models of Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and the water balance equation are used to calculate surface runoff of Nuxia hydrological station from year of 2009 to 2013. Through the analysis of hydrological elements change, the impact of climate factors to surface runoff is discussed. At last, Statistical method is used to compare correlation and error between the 4 models results and in situ runoff observation. The Broke ranking method is applied to evaluate data quality and applicability of the 4 models in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. The results reveal that the total runoff calculated from 4 models all have similar change cycle around 12 months, and the values all tend to have slight increase as in situ runoff data during research period. Moreover, it can conclude that the runoff time series show obvious period and mutation characters. During study period, monthly mean precipitation and temperature both have obvious seasonal variability, and the variation trend is relatively consistent. Through the analysis of the runoff affecting factors, it shows that the changes of precipitation and temperature are the most direct factors affecting runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Correlation between precipitations, temperature with runoff of Nuxia hydrological station is good, and the correlation coefficients are in the range of 0.727 to 0.924.It shows that climate change controls basin runoff change to some extent. At last, runoff estimated from GLDAS

Malheur River Basin cooperative bull trout/redband trout research project, annual report FY 1999; ANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwabe, Lawrence; Tiley, Mark

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study is to document the seasonal distribution of adult/sub-adult bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the Malheur River basin. Due to the decline of bull trout in the Columbia Basin, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed bull trout as a threatened species in June 1998. Past land management activities; construction of dams; and fish eradication projects in the North Fork and Middle Fork Malheur River by poisoning have worked in concert to cumulatively impact native species in the Malheur Basin (Bowers et. al. 1993). Survival of the remaining bull trout populations is severely threatened (Buchanan 1997). 1999 Research Objects are: (1) Document the migratory patterns of adult/sub-adult bull trout in the North Fork Malheur River; (2) Determine the seasonal bull trout use of Beulah Reservoir and bull trout entrainment; and (3) Timing and location of bull trout spawning in the North Fork Malheur River basin. The study area includes the Malheur basin from the mouth of the Malheur River located near Ontario, Oregon to the headwaters of the North Fork Malheur River (Map 1). All fish collected and most of the telemetry effort was done on the North Fork Malheur River subbasin (Map 2). Fish collection was conducted on the North Fork Malheur River at the tailwaters of Beulah Reservoir (RK 29), Beulah Reservoir (RK 29-RK 33), and in the North Fork Malheur River at Crane Crossing (RK 69) to the headwaters of the North Fork Malheur. Radio telemetry was done from the mouth of the Malheur River in Ontario, Oregon to the headwaters of the North Fork Malheur. This report will reflect all migration data collected from 3/1/99 to 12/31/99

The Human Threat to River Ecosystems at the Watershed Scale: An Ecological Security Assessment of the Songhua River Basin, Northeast China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Shen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Human disturbances impact river basins by reducing the quality of, and services provided by, aquatic ecosystems. Conducting quantitative assessments of ecological security at the watershed scale is important for enhancing the water quality of river basins and promoting environmental management. In this study, China’s Songhua River Basin was divided into 204 assessment units by combining watershed and administrative boundaries. Ten human threat factors were identified based on their significant influence on the river ecosystem. A modified ecological threat index was used to synthetically evaluate the ecological security, where frequency was weighted by flow length from the grids to the main rivers, while severity was weighted by the potential hazard of the factors on variables of river ecosystem integrity. The results showed that individual factors related to urbanization, agricultural development and facility construction presented different spatial distribution characteristics. At the center of the plain area, the provincial capital cities posed the highest level of threat, as did the municipal districts of prefecture-level cities. The spatial relationships between hot spot locations of the ecological threat index and water quality, as well as the distribution areas of critically endangered species, were analyzed. The sensitivity analysis illustrated that alteration of agricultural development largely changed the ecological security level of the basin. By offering a reference for assessing ecological security, this study can enhance water environmental planning and management.

Mapping the Soil Texture in the Heihe River Basin Based on Fuzzy Logic and Data Fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Lu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Mapping soil texture in a river basin is critically important for eco-hydrological studies and water resource management at the watershed scale. However, due to the scarcity of in situ observation of soil texture, it is very difficult to map the soil texture in high resolution using traditional methods. Here, we used an integrated method based on fuzzy logic theory and data fusion to map the soil texture in the Heihe River basin in an arid region of Northwest China, by combining in situ soil texture measurement data, environmental factors, a previous soil texture map, and other thematic maps. Considering the different landscape characteristics over the whole Heihe River basin, different mapping schemes have been used to extract the soil texture in the upstream, middle, and downstream areas of the Heihe River basin, respectively. The validation results indicate that the soil texture map achieved an accuracy of 69% for test data from the midstream area of the Heihe River basin, which represents a much higher accuracy than that of another existing soil map in the Heihe River basin. In addition, compared with the time-consuming and expensive traditional soil mapping method, this new method could ensure greater efficiency and a better representation of the explicitly spatial distribution of soil texture and can, therefore, satisfy the requirements of regional modeling.

Modeling of extreme freshwater outflow from the north-eastern Japanese river basins to western Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Troselj, Josko; Sayama, Takahiro; Varlamov, Sergey M.; Sasaki, Toshiharu; Racault, Marie-Fanny; Takara, Kaoru; Miyazawa, Yasumasa; Kuroki, Ryusuke; Yamagata, Toshio; Yamashiki, Yosuke

2017-12-01

This study demonstrates the importance of accurate extreme discharge input in hydrological and oceanographic combined modeling by introducing two extreme typhoon events. We investigated the effects of extreme freshwater outflow events from river mouths on sea surface salinity distribution (SSS) in the coastal zone of the north-eastern Japan. Previous studies have used observed discharge at the river mouth, as well as seasonally averaged inter-annual, annual, monthly or daily simulated data. Here, we reproduced the hourly peak discharge during two typhoon events for a targeted set of nine rivers and compared their impact on SSS in the coastal zone based on observed, climatological and simulated freshwater outflows in conjunction with verification of the results using satellite remote-sensing data. We created a set of hourly simulated freshwater outflow data from nine first-class Japanese river basins flowing to the western Pacific Ocean for the two targeted typhoon events (Chataan and Roke) and used it with the integrated hydrological (CDRMV3.1.1) and oceanographic (JCOPE-T) model, to compare the case using climatological mean monthly discharges as freshwater input from rivers with the case using our hydrological model simulated discharges. By using the CDRMV model optimized with the SCE-UA method, we successfully reproduced hindcasts for peak discharges of extreme typhoon events at the river mouths and could consider multiple river basin locations. Modeled SSS results were verified by comparison with Chlorophyll-a distribution, observed by satellite remote sensing. The projection of SSS in the coastal zone became more realistic than without including extreme freshwater outflow. These results suggest that our hydrological models with optimized model parameters calibrated to the Typhoon Roke and Chataan cases can be successfully used to predict runoff values from other extreme precipitation events with similar physical characteristics. Proper simulation of extreme

Umatilla River Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement Project : 1993 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, R. Todd

1993-04-01

The Umatilla Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement Project is funded under the Northwest Power Planning Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Measure 704 (d) (1) 34.02 and targets the improvement of water quality and restoration of riparian areas, holding, spawning and rearing habitats of steelhead, spring and fall chinook and coho salmon. The project focused on implementing instream and riparian habitat improvements on private lands on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (hereafter referred to as Reservation) from April 1, 1988 to March 31, 1992. These efforts resulted in enhancement of the lower 1/4 mile of Boston Canyon Creek, the lower 4 river miles of Meacham Creek and 3.2 river miles of the Umatilla River (downstream of the Meacham Creek confluence upstream to the Reservation East Boundary). In 1993, the project shifted emphasis to a comprehensive watershed approach consistent with other basin efforts and began to identify upland and riparian watershed-wide causative factors impacting fisheries habitat and natural fisheries production capabilities throughout the Umatilla River Watershed. Maintenance of existing habitat improvement projects was included under this comprehensive approach. Maintenance of existing gravel traps, instream and bank stabilization structures was required within project areas during the reporting period due to spring flooding damage and high bedload movement. Maintenance activities were completed between river mile (RM) 0.0 and RM 0.25 Boston Canyon Creek, between RM 0.0 and RM 4 Meacham Creek and between RM 78.5 and RM 79 Umatilla River. Habitat enhancement areas were seeded with native grass, legume, shrub and wildflower mixes and planted with willow cuttings to assist in floodplain recovery, stream channel stability and filtering of sediments during high flow periods. Water quality monitoring continued for temperature and turbidity throughout the upper Umatilla River Watershed. Survey of cross sections and

Relation between environmental variables and the fish community structure in streams of das Mortes and Xingu river basins – MT, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priscylla Rodrigues Matos

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Environmental variables may determine and structure the composition of fish fauna. Studies comparing differences between physical and chemical variables of water between close river basins are few. This paper aimed to check which limnological variables are related to the distribution of fish species in two river basins. For this, 20 streams were sampled, divided between das Mortes and Xingu river basins. At each point one measured a total of 8 environmental variables. Fishes were collected through trawl. Total richness was 57 species, 29 of them from Xingu river basin, 35 from das Mortes river basin, and 7 species common to both river basins. The analyses showed that the streams in these two basins have distinct limnological and faunal features. The streams in Xingu river basin had lower pH values which may have been influenced by the high rates of organic decomposition. The streams of das Mortes river showed higher values of suspended matter and chlorophyll, probably due to higher degradation of streams and lower vegetation cover levels.

Clay mineralogy of surface sediments as a tool for deciphering river contributions to the Cariaco Basin (Venezuela)

Science.gov (United States)

Bout-Roumazeilles, V.; Riboulleau, A.; du Châtelet, E. Armynot; Lorenzoni, L.; Tribovillard, N.; Murray, R. W.; Müller-Karger, F.; Astor, Y. M.

2013-02-01

The mineralogical composition of 95 surface sediment samples from the Cariaco Basin continental shelf and Orinoco delta was investigated in order to constrain the clay-mineral main provenance and distribution within the Cariaco Basin. The spatial variability of the data set was studied using a geo-statistical approach that allows drawing representative clay-mineral distribution maps. These maps are used to identify present-day dominant sources for each clay-mineral species in agreement with the geological characteristics of the main river watersheds emptying into the basin. This approach allows (1) identifying the most distinctive clay-mineral species/ratios that determine particle provenance, (2) evaluating the respective contribution of local rivers, and (3) confirming the minimal present-day influence of the Orinoco plume on the Cariaco Basin sedimentation. The Tuy, Unare, and Neveri Rivers are the main sources of clay particles to the Cariaco Basin sedimentation. At present, the Tuy River is the main contributor of illite to the western part of the southern Cariaco Basin continental shelf. The Unare River plume, carrying smectite and kaolinite, has a wide westward propagation, whereas the Neveri River contribution is less extended, providing kaolinite and illite toward the eastern Cariaco Basin. The Manzanares, Araya, Tortuga, and Margarita areas are secondary sources of local influence. These insights shed light on the origin of present-day terrigenous sediments of the Cariaco Basin and help to propose alternative explanations for the temporal variability of clay mineralogy observed in previously published studies.

Concentration Assessment of Chromium and Arsenic Heavy Metals in Rivers Basins of Baft and Rabor Dams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Malakootian

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Heavy metals are regarded as toxic stable elements in the environment that with the entry into water sources, finally it enters into the biological cycle of life and develops some adverse effects. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the concentration of chromium and arsenic heavy metals in the river basins of Baft and Ravar dams. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2013 to June 2014. During the field surveys of the river basins, 4 sampling stations of river basins of Baft and Rabor dams were selected. One combined sample was taken on 15th of each month from the mentioned river basins as well as Baft and Rabor dams. The chromium and arsenic concentrations were measured for 12 months in river basins of Baft and Rabar dams by Furnace Atomic Absorption device, and the study data were analyzed applying SPSS software. Results:. The mean concentration of chromium was reported 5.01 and 5.19 in the river basins of Baft dam and 5.44, 5.5, 5.42 and 5.45 ppb in river basins of Rabor dam. The mean concentration of arsenic in the river basins was demonstrated to be 16.52 and 11.71 ppb in Baft dam, and 12.28, 13.6, 7.13 and 8.78 ppb in Rabor dam. In addition, the mean concentration of chromium was reported 5.02 and 5.38, and arsenic concentration was obtained 23.53 and 9.12 ppb, respectively in Baft and Rabar dams. Conclusion: Based on the study results, the chromium concentration in the studied stations was demonstrated to be significantly less than guidelines of WHO, EPA and Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran, whereas arsenic concentration was demonstrated to be significantly higher compared to these guidelines(p<0.0001. As a result, this difference needs to be diminished via implementing the required plans.

The costs of uncoordinated infrastructure management in multi-reservoir river basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeuland, Marc; Baker, Justin; Bartlett, Ryan; Lacombe, Guillaume

2014-01-01

Though there are surprisingly few estimates of the economic benefits of coordinated infrastructure development and operations in international river basins, there is a widespread belief that improved cooperation is beneficial for managing water scarcity and variability. Hydro-economic optimization models are commonly-used for identifying efficient allocation of water across time and space, but such models typically assume full coordination. In the real world, investment and operational decisions for specific projects are often made without full consideration of potential downstream impacts. This paper describes a tractable methodology for evaluating the economic benefits of infrastructure coordination. We demonstrate its application over a range of water availability scenarios in a catchment of the Mekong located in Lao PDR, the Nam Ngum River Basin. Results from this basin suggest that coordination improves system net benefits from irrigation and hydropower by approximately 3–12% (or US$12-53 million/yr) assuming moderate levels of flood control, and that the magnitude of coordination benefits generally increases with the level of water availability and with inflow variability. Similar analyses would be useful for developing a systematic understanding of the factors that increase the costs of non-cooperation in river basin systems worldwide, and would likely help to improve targeting of efforts to stimulate complicated negotiations over water resources. (paper)

Global surveys of reservoirs and lakes from satellites and regional application to the Syrdarya river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Jean-François, Crétaux; Sylvain, Biancamaria; Adalbert, Arsen; Muriel, Bergé-Nguyen; Mélanie, Becker

2015-01-01

Large reservoirs along rivers regulate downstream flows to generate hydropower but may also store water for irrigation and urban sectors. Reservoir management therefore becomes critical, particularly for transboundary basins, where coordination between riparian countries is needed. Reservoir management is even more important in semiarid regions where downstream water users may be totally reliant on upstream reservoir releases. If the water resources are shared between upstream and downstream countries, potentially opposite interests arise as is the case in the Syrdarya river in Central Asia. In this case study, remote sensing data (radar altimetry and optical imagery) are used to highlight the potential of satellite data to monitor water resources: water height, areal extent and storage variations. New results from 20 years of monitoring using satellites over the Syrdarya basin are presented. The accuracy of satellite data is 0.6 km3 using a combination of MODIS data and satellite altimetry, and only 0.2 km3 with Landsat images representing 2-4% of average annual reservoir volume variations in the reservoirs in the Syrdarya basin. With future missions such as Sentinel-3A (S3A), Sentinel-3B (S3B) and surface water and ocean topography (SWOT), significant improvement is expected. The SWOT mission’s main payload (a radar interferometer in Ka band) will furthermore provide 2D maps of water height, reservoirs, lakes, rivers and floodplains, with a temporal resolution of 21 days. At the global scale, the SWOT mission will cover reservoirs with areal extents greater than 250 × 250 m with 20 cm accuracy.

Global surveys of reservoirs and lakes from satellites and regional application to the Syrdarya river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jean-François, Crétaux; Adalbert, Arsen; Muriel, Bergé-Nguyen; Sylvain, Biancamaria; Mélanie, Becker

2015-01-01

Large reservoirs along rivers regulate downstream flows to generate hydropower but may also store water for irrigation and urban sectors. Reservoir management therefore becomes critical, particularly for transboundary basins, where coordination between riparian countries is needed. Reservoir management is even more important in semiarid regions where downstream water users may be totally reliant on upstream reservoir releases. If the water resources are shared between upstream and downstream countries, potentially opposite interests arise as is the case in the Syrdarya river in Central Asia. In this case study, remote sensing data (radar altimetry and optical imagery) are used to highlight the potential of satellite data to monitor water resources: water height, areal extent and storage variations. New results from 20 years of monitoring using satellites over the Syrdarya basin are presented. The accuracy of satellite data is 0.6 km 3 using a combination of MODIS data and satellite altimetry, and only 0.2 km 3 with Landsat images representing 2–4% of average annual reservoir volume variations in the reservoirs in the Syrdarya basin. With future missions such as Sentinel-3A (S3A), Sentinel-3B (S3B) and surface water and ocean topography (SWOT), significant improvement is expected. The SWOT mission’s main payload (a radar interferometer in Ka band) will furthermore provide 2D maps of water height, reservoirs, lakes, rivers and floodplains, with a temporal resolution of 21 days. At the global scale, the SWOT mission will cover reservoirs with areal extents greater than 250  ×  250 m with 20 cm accuracy. (letter)

Climatology of the interior Columbia River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Sue A. Ferguson

1999-01-01

This work describes climate means and trends in each of three major ecological zones and 13 ecological reporting units in the interior Columbia River basin. Widely differing climates help define each major zone and reporting unit, the pattern of which is controlled by three competing air masses: marine, continental, and arctic. Paleoclimatic evidence and historical...

Use of remote sensing data in distributed hydrological models: applications in the Senegal River basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandholt, Inge; Andersen, Jens Asger; Gybkjær, Gorm

1999-01-01

Earth observation, remote sensing, hydrology, distributed hydrological modelling, West Africa, Senegal river basin, land cover, soil moisture, NOAA AVHRR, SPOT, Mike-she......Earth observation, remote sensing, hydrology, distributed hydrological modelling, West Africa, Senegal river basin, land cover, soil moisture, NOAA AVHRR, SPOT, Mike-she...

Water stress in global transboundary river basins : Significance of upstream water use on downstream stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H A; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka, M.; Wada, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/341387819; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analysed in many of these international river basins, this has

Rainfall characteristics and their implications for rain-fed agriculture : a case study in the Upper Zambezi River Basin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beyer, M.; Wallner, M.; Bahlmann, L.; Thiemig, V.; Dietrich, J.; Billib, M.

2016-01-01

This study investigates rainfall characteristics in the Upper Zambezi River Basin and implications for rain-fed agriculture. Seventeen indices describing the character of each rainy season were calculated using a bias-corrected version of TRMM-B42 v6 rainfall estimate for 1998–2010. These were

Dynamics of meteorological and hydrological droughts in the Neman river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rimkus, Egidijus; Stonevičius, Edvinas; Kažys, Justas; Valiuškevičius, Gintaras; Korneev, Vladimir; Pakhomau, Aliaksandr

2013-01-01

The analysis of drought dynamics in the Neman river basin allows an assessment of extreme regional climate changes. Meteorological and hydrological warm period droughts were analyzed in this study. Meteorological droughts were identified using the standardized precipitation index, and hydrological droughts using the streamflow drought index. The whole river basin was analyzed over the period from 1961 to 2010. Precipitation data from Vilnius meteorological station (from 1887) and discharge data from Smalininkai (Neman) hydrological station (from 1811) were used for an evaluation of meteorological and hydrological drought recurrence over a long-term period. It was found that the total area dryness has decreased over the last 50 years. A statistically significant increase in standardized precipitation index values was observed in some river sub-basins. An analysis of drought recurrence dynamics showed that there was no indication that the number of dangerous drought was increased. It was determined that the standardized precipitation index cannot successfully identify the hydrological summer droughts in an area where the spring snowmelt forms a large part of the annual flow. In particular, the weak relationship between the indices was recorded in the first half of the summer, when a large part of the river runoff depends on accumulated water during the spring thaw. (letter)

Evaluation of Managed Aquifer Recharge Scenarios using Treated Wastewater: a Case study of the Zarqa River Basin, Jordan

Science.gov (United States)

El-Rawy, Mustafa; Zlotnik, Vitaly; Al-Maktoumi, Ali; Al-Raggad, Marwan; Kacimov, Anvar; Abdalla, Osman

2016-04-01

Jordan is an arid country, facing great challenges due to limited water resources. The shortage of water resources constrains economy, especially agriculture that consumes the largest amount of available water (about 53 % of the total demand). According to the Jordan Water Strategy 2008 - 2022, groundwater is twice greater than the recharge rate. Therefore, the government charged the planners to consider treated wastewater (TWW) as a choice in the water resources management and development strategies. In Jordan, there are 31 TWW plants. Among them, As Samra plant serving the two major cities, Amman and Zarqa, is the largest, with projected maximum capacity of 135 Million m3/year. This plant is located upstream of the Zarqa River basin that accepts all TWW discharges. The Zarqa River is considered the most important source of surface water in Jordan and more than 78 % of its current is composed of TWW. The main objectives were to develop a conceptual model for a selected part of the Zarqa River basin, including the As Samrapant, and to provide insights to water resources management in the area using TWW. The groundwater flow model was developed using MODFLOW 2005 and used to assess changes in the aquifer and the Zarqa River under a set of different increments in discharge rates from the As Samra plant and different groundwater pumping rates. The results show that the water table in the study area underwent an average water table decline of 29 m prior to the As Samra plant construction, comparing with the current situation (with annual TWW discharge of 110 Million m3). The analysis of the TWW rate increase to 135 million m3/year (maximum capacity of the As Samra plant) shows that the average groundwater level will rise 0.55 m, compared to the current conditions. We found that the best practices require conjunctive use management of surface- and groundwater. The simulated scenarios highlight the significant role of TWW in augmenting the aquifer storage, improving

Placentation in dolphins from the Amazon River Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

da Silva, Vera M F; Carter, Anthony M; Ambrosio, Carlos E

2007-01-01

A recent reassessment of the phylogenetic affinities of cetaceans makes it timely to compare their placentation with that of the artiodactyls. We studied the placentae of two sympatric species of dolphin from the Amazon River Basin, representing two distinct families. The umbilical cord branched ...

Fishes and aquatic habitats of the Orinoco River Basin: diversity and conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lasso, C A; Machado-Allison, A; Taphorn, D C

2016-07-01

About 1000 freshwater fishes have been found so far in the Orinoco River Basin of Venezuela and Colombia. This high ichthyological diversity reflects the wide range of landscapes and aquatic ecosystems included in the basin. Mountain streams descend from the high Andes to become rapid-flowing foothill rivers that burst out upon vast savannah flatlands where they slowly make their way to the sea. These white-water rivers are heavily laden with sediments from the geologically young Andes. Because their sediment deposits have formed the richest soils of the basin, they have attracted the highest density of human populations, along with the greatest levels of deforestation, wildfires, agricultural biocides and fertilizers, sewage and all the other impacts associated with urban centres, agriculture and cattle ranching. In the southern portion of the basin, human populations are much smaller, where often the only inhabitants are indigenous peoples. The ancient rocks and sands of the Guiana Shield yield clear and black water streams of very different quality. Here, sediment loads are miniscule, pH is very acid and fish biomass is only a fraction of that observed in the rich Andean tributaries to the north. For each region of the basin, the current state of knowledge about fish diversity is assessed, fish sampling density evaluated, the presence of endemic species and economically important species (for human consumption or ornamental purposes) described and gaps in knowledge are pointed out. Current trends in the fishery for human consumption are analysed, noting that stocks of many species are in steep decline, and that current fishing practices are not sustainable. Finally, the major impacts and threats faced by the fishes and aquatic ecosystems of the Orinoco River Basin are summarized, and the creation of bi-national commissions to promote standardized fishing laws in both countries is recommended. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Evolution of tertiary intermontane fluvial system of Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores, R.M.; Ethridge, F.G.

1985-01-01

Exploration and development of economic coal and uranium deposits of the Tertiary Fort Union and Wasatch Formations provided data related to the evolution of depositional systems in the Powder River Basin. In ascending order, the Paleocene Fort Union Formation consists of the Tullock, Lebo, and Tongue River Members. The overlying Eocene Wasatch Formation consists of the conglomeratic Kingsbury and Moncrief Members and laterally equivalent finer grained deposits. Evolution of fluvial deposition in the basin was determined from sandstone percent maps. A high proportion of sandstones in the Tullock Member and combined Tongue River Member and Wasatch Formation formed in interconnected east-west and north-south belts. The east-west belts represent alluvial fans, as well as braided and meandering tributary streams. The north-south belts reflect meandering and anastomosing trunk streams fed by basin margin tributaries. The sandstones of the Lebo Shale show east-west trends and represent deposits of fluvio-deltaic systems that filled a western, closed-lacustrine basin. The lake in this basin may have formed during localized subsidence along the Buffalo deep fault. These contrasting styles of fluvial deposition were largely controlled by extrabasinal and intrabasinal tectonics associated with Laramide orogeny

Radioecological study of the interest zones in Somes river hydrographic basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daraban, L.; Fiat, T.; Znamirovschi, V.; Cosma, C.; Bayer, Marta; Daraban, Laura

2000-01-01

Our research refers to the transfer of radioelements from water and mud to talophitae and unicellular algae organisms. The measurement of these elements was done for delimiting the radioactive zones of interest in the hydrographic basin of Somes. We demonstrated that the algae are biological indicators of the radioactivity in a river basin. A series of samples were examined by high-resolution gamma spectroscopy in our laboratory and at VUB Cyclotron Brussels with a Ge-Re detector for intercomparing. Uranium and its descendants were analyzed, as well as 137 Cs resulting from the Chernobyl fallout, which we found again accumulated in the mud of mountain lakes. A migration of the radionuclides from old barren gangue deposits of old polymetallic mines in the Somes river basin was noticed. (authors)

Assessing regional climate simulations of the last 30 years (1982-2012) over Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Khandu; Awange, Joseph L.; Anyah, Richard; Kuhn, Michael; Fukuda, Yoichi

2017-10-01

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basin presents a spatially diverse hydrological regime due to it's complex topography and escalating demand for freshwater resources. This presents a big challenge in applying the current state-of-the-art regional climate models (RCMs) for climate change impact studies in the GBM River Basin. In this study, several RCM simulations generated by RegCM4.4 and PRECIS are assessed for their seasonal and interannual variations, onset/withdrawal of the Indian monsoon, and long-term trends in precipitation and temperature from 1982 to 2012. The results indicate that in general, RegCM4.4 and PRECIS simulations appear to reasonably reproduce the mean seasonal distribution of precipitation and temperature across the GBM River Basin, although the two RCMs are integrated over a different domain size. On average, the RegCM4.4 simulations overestimate monsoon precipitation by {˜ }26 and {˜ }5% in the Ganges and Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin, respectively, while PRECIS simulations underestimate (overestimate) the same by {˜ }7% ({˜ }16%). Both RegCM4.4 and PRECIS simulations indicate an intense cold bias (up to 10° C) in the Himalayas, and are generally stronger in the RegCM4.4 simulations. Additionally, they tend to produce high precipitation between April and May in the Ganges (RegCM4.4 simulations) and Brahmaputra-Meghna (PRECIS simulations) River Basins, resulting in early onset of the Indian monsoon in the Ganges River Basin. PRECIS simulations exhibit a delayed monsoon withdrawal in the Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin. Despite large spatial variations in onset and withdrawal periods across the GBM River Basin, the basin-averaged results agree reasonably well with the observed periods. Although global climate model (GCM) driven simulations are generally poor in representing the interannual variability of precipitation and winter temperature variations, they tend to agree well with observed precipitation anomalies when driven by

Environmental setting and its relations to water quality in the Kanawha River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Messinger, Terence; Hughes, C.A.

2000-01-01

The Kanawha River and its major tributary, the New River, drain 12,233 mi2 in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Altitude ranges from about 550 ft to more than 4,700 ft. The Kanawha River Basin is mountainous, and includes parts of three physiographic provinces, the Blue Ridge (17 percent), Valley and Ridge (23 percent), and Appalachian Plateaus (60 percent). In the Appalachian Plateaus Province, little of the land is flat, and most of the flat land is in the flood plains and terraces of streams; this has caused most development in this part of the basin to be near streams. The Blue Ridge Province is composed of crystalline rocks, and the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateaus Provinces contain both carbonate and clastic rocks. Annual precipitation ranges from about 36 in. to more than 60 in., and is orographically affected, both locally and regionally. Average annual air temperature ranges from about 43?F to about 55?F, and varies with altitude but not physiographic province. Precipitation is greatest in the summer and least in the winter, and has the least seasonal variation in the Blue Ridge Province. In 1990, the population of the basin was about 870,000, of whom about 25 percent lived in the Charleston, W. Va. metropolitan area. About 75 million tons of coal were mined in the Kanawha River Basin in 1998. This figure represents about 45 percent of the coal mined in West Virginia, and about seven percent of the coal mined in the United States. Dominant forest types in the basin are Northern Hardwood, Oak-Pine, and Mixed Mesophytic. Agricultural land use is more common in the Valley and Ridge and Blue Ridge Provinces than in the Appalachian Plateaus Province. Cattle are the principal agricultural products of the basin. Streams in the Blue Ridge Province and Allegheny Highlands have the most runoff in the basin, and streams in the Valley and Ridge Province and the southwestern Appalachian Plateaus have the least runoff. Streamflow is greatest in the

Phylogeography of Hypostomus strigaticeps (Siluriformes: Loricariidae inferred by mitochondrial DNA reveals its distribution in the upper Paraná River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Splendore de Borba

Full Text Available In this study, phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of populations identified as Hypostomus strigaticeps from the upper Paraná River basin were conducted in order to test whether these different populations comprises cryptic species or structured populations and to assess their genetic variability. The sequences of the mitochondrial DNA ATP sintetase (subunits 6/8 of 27 specimens from 10 populations (one from Mogi-Guaçu River, five from Paranapanema River, three from Tietê River and one from Peixe River were analyzed. The phylogeographic analysis showed the existence of eight haplotypes (A-H, and despite the ancestral haplotype includes only individuals from the Tietê River basin, the distribution of H. strigaticeps was not restricted to this basin. Haplotypes A, B and F were the most frequent. Haplotypes D, E, F, G, and H were present in the sub-basin of Paranapanema, two (A and B were present in the sub-basin of the Tietê River, one (C was exclusively distributed in the sub-basin of the Peixe River, and one (B was also present in the sub-basin of the Grande River. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the populations of H. strigaticeps indeed form a monophyletic unit comprising two lineages: TG, with representatives from the Tietê, Mogi-Guaçu and Peixe Rivers; and PP, with specimens from the Paranapanema River. The observed degree of genetic divergence within the TG and PP lineages was 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, whereas the genetic divergence between the two lineages themselves was approximately 1%. The results of the phylogenetic analysis do not support the hypothesis of existence of crypt species and the phylogeographic analysis confirm the presence of H. strigaticeps in other sub-basins of the upper Paraná River: Grande, Peixe, and Paranapanema sub-basins.

Assessment of uncertainties in soil erosion and sediment yield estimates at ungauged basins: an application to the Garra River basin, India

Science.gov (United States)

Swarnkar, Somil; Malini, Anshu; Tripathi, Shivam; Sinha, Rajiv

2018-04-01

High soil erosion and excessive sediment load are serious problems in several Himalayan river basins. To apply mitigation procedures, precise estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield with associated uncertainties are needed. Here, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) equations are used to estimate the spatial pattern of soil erosion (SE) and sediment yield (SY) in the Garra River basin, a small Himalayan tributary of the River Ganga. A methodology is proposed for quantifying and propagating uncertainties in SE, SDR and SY estimates. Expressions for uncertainty propagation are derived by first-order uncertainty analysis, making the method viable even for large river basins. The methodology is applied to investigate the relative importance of different RUSLE factors in estimating the magnitude and uncertainties in SE over two distinct morphoclimatic regimes of the Garra River basin, namely the upper mountainous region and the lower alluvial plains. Our results suggest that average SE in the basin is very high (23 ± 4.7 t ha-1 yr-1) with higher values in the upper mountainous region (92 ± 15.2 t ha-1 yr-1) compared to the lower alluvial plains (19.3 ± 4 t ha-1 yr-1). Furthermore, the topographic steepness (LS) and crop practice (CP) factors exhibit higher uncertainties than other RUSLE factors. The annual average SY is estimated at two locations in the basin - Nanak Sagar Dam (NSD) for the period 1962-2008 and Husepur gauging station (HGS) for 1987-2002. The SY at NSD and HGS are estimated to be 6.9 ± 1.2 × 105 t yr-1 and 6.7 ± 1.4 × 106 t yr-1, respectively, and the estimated 90 % interval contains the observed values of 6.4 × 105 t yr-1 and 7.2 × 106 t yr-1, respectively. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed methodology for quantifying uncertainty in SE and SY estimates at ungauged basins.

Study on groundwater flow system in a sedimentary rock area. Case study for the Yoro river basin, Chiba Prefecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakai, Ryutaro; Munakata, Masahiro; Kimura, Hideo

2007-01-01

In the safety assessment for a geological disposal of long-lived radioactive waste such as high-level radioactive waste and TRU waste etc, it is important to estimate radionuclide migration to human society associated with groundwater flow. Groundwater flow systems for many domestic areas including Tono Mine, Kamaishi Mine and Horonobe district have been studied, but deep groundwater flow circumstances, and mixing between deep groundwater and shallow groundwater flow system are not well understood. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has started to investigate a sedimentary rock area in the Yoro river basin, in Chiba Prefecture, where the topographic and geological features are relatively simple for mathematical modeling, and hydraulic data as well as data from river and well water are available. Hydro-chemical conditions of the regional groundwater were discussed based on temperature, chemical compositions, isotopic ratios of hydrogen and oxygen, and the isotopic age of radioactive carbon for water samples collected from wells, rivers and springs in the Yoro river basin. It was found that the groundwater system in this basin consists of types of water: Ca-HCO 3 type water, Na-HCO 3 type water and NaCl type water. The Ca-HCO 3 type water is meteoric water cultivated several thousand years or after, the Na-HCO 3 type water is meteoric water cultivated under cold climates several to twenty thousand years ago. The NaCl type water is fossil brine water formed twenty thousand years ago. It was also observed that the Na-HCO 3 type water upwelled at the surface originates from GL-200m to -400m. This observation indicates that the Na-HCO 3 type water upwelled through the Ca-HCO 3 type water area with the both waters partially mixed. (author)

Geochemical behavior of radionuclides and heavy metals in soils from Corumbatai River basin (SP), Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conceicao, Fabiano Tomazini da

2004-01-01

The purpose of this research was to study the geochemical behavior of radionuclides and heavy metals in soils of agricultural use at Corumbatai River basin (SP). The natural concentration and variability in sedimentary rocks at Corumbatai river basin follow the trend Ca > Mg > K > Na, with the concentration of heavy metals and radionuclides. The distribution of exposure rate in soils shows the occurrence of higher values towards south of the Corumbatai river basin, region where are applied phosphate fertilizers, amendments and 'vinhaca' in sugar cane crops. Heavy metals and radionuclides incorporated in phosphate fertilizers and amendments are annually added during the fertilization process in the sugar cane crops, but if they are utilized in accordance with the recommended rate, they do not rise the concentration levels in soils up to hazards levels. Thus, they are lower transferred from soils to sugar cane at Corumbatai river basin, not offering hazard to the ecosystem and animal or human health. (author)

Modelling the effects of spatial and temporal resolution of rainfall and basin model on extreme river discharge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Booij, Martijn J.

2002-01-01

Important characteristics of an appropriate river basin model, intended to study the effect of climate change on basin response, are the spatial and temporal resolution of the model and the rainfall input. The effects of input and model resolution on extreme discharge of a large river basin are

137Cs distribution and geochemistry of Lena River (Siberia) drainage basin lake sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson-Pyrtle, A.; Scott, M.R.; Laing, T.E.; Smol, J.P.

2000-01-01

The Lena River is the second largest river that discharges into the Arctic Ocean. It is therefore important to determine not only the direct impact its discharge has on the 137Cs concentration of the Arctic, but also the potential its drainage basin has as a 137Cs source. 137Cs surface sediment concentrations and inventory values, which range from 4.97 to 338 Bq kg -1 and 357 to 1732 Bq m -2 , respectively, were determined for the Lena River drainage basin lake samples, via gamma analysis. The average geochemical and mineralogical composition of a subset of samples was also determined using neutron activation analysis, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry techniques. Results of these geochemical analyses allowed for the identification of key geochemical factors that influence the distribution of 137Cs in the Lena River drainage basin. 137Cs profiles indicate that Lena River drainage basin lacustrine sediments serve as a record of 137Cs fallout. Based on the downcore 137Cs, %illite, %smectite, %Al and %Mn distribution patterns, it was concluded that a small fraction of non-selectively bound 137Cs was remobilized at depth in some cores. Inconsistencies between the actual 137Cs fallout record and the 137Cs profiles determined for the lake sediments were attributed to 137Cs remobilization in subsurface sediments. In addition to establishing the agreement between the global atmospheric fallout record and the downcore 137Cs distribution patterns determined for these sediments, results indicate that 137Cs deposited during periods of maximum atmospheric release was buried and is not susceptible to surface erosion processes. However, mean 137Cs concentrations of the lacustrine surface sediments (125 Bq kg -1 ) are still significantly higher than those of the nearby Lena River estuary (11.22 Bq kg -1 ) and Laptev Sea (6.00 Bq kg -1 ). Our study suggests that the Lena River drainage basin has the potential to serve as a source of 137Cs to the adjacent Arctic

Searching for the optimal drought index and timescale combination to detect drought: a case study from the lower Jinsha River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Fluixá-Sanmartín, Javier; Pan, Deng; Fischer, Luzia; Orlowsky, Boris; García-Hernández, Javier; Jordan, Frédéric; Haemmig, Christoph; Zhang, Fangwei; Xu, Jijun

2018-02-01

Drought indices based on precipitation are commonly used to identify and characterize droughts. Due to the general complexity of droughts, the comparison of index-identified events with droughts at different levels of the complete system, including soil humidity or river discharges, relies typically on model simulations of the latter, entailing potentially significant uncertainties. The present study explores the potential of using precipitation-based indices to reproduce observed droughts in the lower part of the Jinsha River basin (JRB), proposing an innovative approach for a catchment-wide drought detection and characterization. Two indicators, namely the Overall Drought Extension (ODE) and the Overall Drought Indicator (ODI), have been defined. These indicators aim at identifying and characterizing drought events on the basin scale, using results from four meteorological drought indices (standardized precipitation index, SPI; rainfall anomaly index, RAI; percent of normal precipitation, PN; deciles, DEC) calculated at different locations of the basin and for different timescales. Collected historical information on drought events is used to contrast results obtained with the indicators. This method has been successfully applied to the lower Jinsha River basin in China, a region prone to frequent and severe droughts. Historical drought events that occurred from 1960 to 2014 have been compiled and cataloged from different sources, in a challenging process. The analysis of the indicators shows a good agreement with the recorded historical drought events on the basin scale. It has been found that the timescale that best reproduces observed events across all the indices is the 6-month timescale.

Cooperative and adaptive transboundary water governance in Canada's Mackenzie River Basin: status and prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Morris

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Canada's Mackenzie River Basin (MRB is one of the largest relatively pristine ecosystems in North America. Home to indigenous peoples for millennia, the basin is also the site of increasing resource development, notably fossil fuels, hydroelectric power resources, minerals, and forests. Three provinces, three territories, the Canadian federal government, and Aboriginal governments (under Canada's constitution, indigenous peoples are referred to as "Aboriginal" have responsibilities for water in the basin, making the MRB a significant setting for cooperative, transboundary water governance. A framework agreement that provides broad principles and establishes a river basin organization, the MRB Board, has been in place since 1997. However, significant progress on completing bilateral agreements under the 1997 Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement has only occurred since 2010. We considered the performance of the MRB Board relative to its coordination function, accountability, legitimacy, and overall environmental effectiveness. This allowed us to address the extent to which governance based on river basin boundaries, a bioregional approach, could contribute to adaptive governance in the MRB. Insights were based on analysis of key documents and published studies, 19 key informant interviews, and additional interactions with parties involved in basin governance. We found that the MRB Board's composition, its lack of funding and staffing, and the unwillingness of the governments to empower it to play the role envisioned in the Master Agreement mean that as constituted, the board faces challenges in implementing a basin-wide vision. This appears to be by design. The MRB governments have instead used the bilateral agreements under the Master Agreement as the primary mechanism through which transboundary governance will occur. A commitment to coordinating across the bilateral agreements is needed to enhance the prospects for

Technical analysis of a river basin-based model of advanced power plant cooling technologies for mitigating water management challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stillwell, Ashlynn S; Clayton, Mary E; Webber, Michael E

2011-01-01

Thermoelectric power plants require large volumes of water for cooling, which can introduce drought vulnerability and compete with other water needs. Alternative cooling technologies, such as cooling towers and hybrid wet-dry or dry cooling, present opportunities to reduce water diversions. This case study uses a custom, geographically resolved river basin-based model for eleven river basins in the state of Texas (the Brazos and San Jacinto-Brazos, Colorado and Colorado-Brazos, Cypress, Neches, Nueces, Red, Sabine, San Jacinto, and Trinity River basins), focusing on the Brazos River basin, to analyze water availability during drought. We utilized two existing water availability models for our analysis: (1) the full execution of water rights-a scenario where each water rights holder diverts the full permitted volume with zero return flow, and (2) current conditions-a scenario reflecting actual diversions with associated return flows. Our model results show that switching the cooling technologies at power plants in the eleven analyzed river basins to less water-intensive alternative designs can potentially reduce annual water diversions by 247-703 million m 3 -enough water for 1.3-3.6 million people annually. We consider these results in a geographic context using geographic information system tools and then analyze volume reliability, which is a policymaker's metric that indicates the percentage of total demand actually supplied over a given period. This geographic and volume reliability analysis serves as a measure of drought susceptibility in response to changes in thermoelectric cooling technologies. While these water diversion savings do not alleviate all reliability concerns, the additional streamflow from the use of dry cooling alleviates drought concerns for some municipal water rights holders and might also be sufficient to uphold instream flow requirements for important bays and estuaries on the Texas Gulf coast.

Spatial and temporal characteristics of droughts in Luanhe River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yixuan; Zhang, Ting; Chen, Xu; Li, Jianzhu; Feng, Ping

2018-02-01

The spatial and temporal characteristics of drought are investigated for Luanhe River basin, using monthly precipitation data from 26 stations covering the common period of 1958-2011. The spatial pattern of drought was assessed by applying principal component analysis (PCA) to the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) computed on 3- and 12-month time scales. In addition, annual SPI and seasonal SPIs (including spring SPI, summer SPI, autumn SPI, and winter SPI) were also defined and considered in this study to characterize seasonal and annual drought conditions, respectively. For all seven SPI cases, three distinctive sub-regions with different temporal evolutions of droughts are well identified, respectively, representing the southeast, middle, and northwest of the Luanhe River basin. The Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test with a trend-free pre-whitening (TFPW) procedure and Sen's method were used to determine the temporal trends in the annual and seasonal SPI time series. The continuous wavelet transform (CWT) was employed for further detecting the periodical features of drought condition in each sub-region. Results of MK and Sen's tests show a general tendency of intensification in summer drought over the entire basin, while a significant mitigating trend in spring drought. On the whole, an aggravating trend of inter-annual drought is discovered across the basin. Based on the CWT, the drought variability in the basin is generally dominated by 16- to 64-month cycles, and the 2- to 6-year cycles appear to be obvious when concerned with annual and seasonal droughts. Furthermore, a cross wavelet analysis was performed to examine the possible links between the drought conditions and large-scale climate patterns. The teleconnections of ENSO, NAO, PDO, and AMO show significant influences on the regional droughts principally concentrated in the 16- to 64-month period, maybe responsible for the physical causes of the cyclical behavior of drought occurrences. PDO and AMO also

A systematic overview of the coincidences of river sinuosity changes and tectonically active structures in the Pannonian Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Petrovszki, Judit; Székely, Balázs; Timár, Gábor

2012-12-01

As tectonic movements change the valley slope (low-gradient reaches of valleys, in sedimentary basins), the alluvial rivers, as sensitive indicators, respond to these changes, by varying their courses to accommodate this forcing. In our study sinuosity values, a commonly used characteristic parameter to detect river pattern changes, were studied for the major rivers in the Pannonian Basin in order to reveal neotectonic influence on their planform shape. Our study area comprises the entire Pannonian Basin (330,000 km2) located in eastern Central-Europe, bounded by the Alps, Carpathians and Dinarides. The studied rivers were mostly in their natural meandering state before the main river regulations of the 19th century. The last quasi-natural, non-regulated river planforms were surveyed somewhat earlier, during the Second Military Survey of the Habsburg Empire. Using the digitized river sections of that survey, the sinuosities of the rivers were calculated with different sample section sizes ranging from 5 km to 80 km. Depending on the bank-full discharge, also a 'most representative' section size is given, which can be connected to the neotectonic activity. In total, the meandering reaches of 28 rivers were studied; their combined length is 7406 km. The places where the river sinuosity changed were compared to the structural lines of the "Atlas of the present-day geodynamics of the Pannonian Basin" (Horváth et al., 2006). 36 junctions along 26 structural lines were identified where the fault lines of this neotectonic map crossed the rivers. Across these points the mean sinuosity changed. Depending on the direction of the relative vertical movements, the sinuosity values increased or decreased. There were some points, where the sinuosity changed in an opposite way. Along these sections, the rivers belong to the range of unorganized meandering or there are lithological margins. Assuming that the rivers indicate on-going faulting accurately, some places were found

Regional Cooperation Efforts in the Mekong River Basin: Mitigating river-related security threats and promoting regional development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Schmeier

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The development of international rivers is often perceived as leading to conflicts or even water wars. However, as the development of the Mekong River shows, cooperation has not only prevailed in the last decades, but River Basin Organizations (RBOs, established to mitigate river-related conflicts and/or develop the river basin, have also contributed to the emergence of more general cooperation structures, mainly by creating spill-over effects in other issue-areas, bringing cooperation to policy fields beyond the river itself. This article assesses the contribution of the Mekong River Commission (MRC and the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS to the sustainable development of the Mekong Region as well as to the promotion of regional cooperation in mainland South-East Asia in general. --- Die Entwicklung grenzüberschreitender Flüsse wird oft mit Konflikten oder gar Kriegen um Wasser assoziiert. Wie jedoch die Entwicklung im Mekong-Becken zeigt, waren die vergangenen Jahrzehnte nicht nur von Kooperation gezeichnet, sondern Flussbeckenorganisationen konnten außerdem dazu beitragen, weitreichendere Kooperationsstrukturen zu entwickeln, die sich auf andere Politikfelder ausdehnen. Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich mit dem Beitrag der Mekong River Commission (MRC und der Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung in der Mekong Region sowie zur Förderung allgemeiner regionaler Kooperation im Festländischen Südostasien.

Validation studies on indexed sequential modeling for the Colorado River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labadie, J.W.; Fontane, D.G.; Salas, J.D.; Ouarda, T.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on a method called indexed sequential modeling (ISM) that has been developed by the Western Area Power Administration to estimate reliable levels of project dependable power capacity (PDC) and applied to several federal hydro systems in the Western U.S. The validity of ISM in relation to more commonly accepted stochastic modeling approaches is analyzed by applying it to the Colorado River Basin using the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Performance of ISM is compared with results from input of stochastically generated data using the LAST Applied Stochastic Techniques Package. Results indicate that output generated from ISM synthetically generated sequences display an acceptable correspondence with results obtained from final convergent stochastically generated hydrology for the Colorado River Basin

Contaminants of emerging concern in the lower Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington, 2008-11

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Richard J.; Moran, Patrick W.; Zaugg, Steven D.; Sevigny, Jennifer M.; Pope, Judy M.

2014-01-01

A series of discrete water-quality samples were collected in the lower Stillaguamish River Basin near the city of Arlington, Washington, through a partnership with the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. These samples included surface waters of the Stillaguamish River, adjacent tributary streams, and paired inflow and outflow sampling at three wastewater treatment plants in the lower river basin. Chemical analysis of these samples focused on chemicals of emerging concern, including wastewater compounds, human-health pharmaceuticals, steroidal hormones, and halogenated organic compounds on solids and sediment. This report presents the methods used and data results from the chemical analysis of these samples

The Portland Basin: A (big) river runs through it

Science.gov (United States)

Evarts, Russell C.; O'Connor, Jim E.; Wells, Ray E.; Madin, Ian P.

2009-01-01

Metropolitan Portland, Oregon, USA, lies within a small Neogene to Holocene basin in the forearc of the Cascadia subduction system. Although the basin owes its existence and structural development to its convergent-margin tectonic setting, the stratigraphic architecture of basin-fill deposits chiefly reflects its physiographic position along the lower reaches of the continental-scale Columbia River system. As a result of this globally unique setting, the basin preserves a complex record of aggradation and incision in response to distant as well as local tectonic, volcanic, and climatic events. Voluminous flood basalts, continental and locally derived sediment and volcanic debris, and catastrophic flood deposits all accumulated in an area influenced by contemporaneous tectonic deformation and variations in regional and local base level.

Impact of river basin management on coastal water quality and ecosystem services: A southern Baltic estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Schernewski, Gerald; Hürdler, Jens; Neumann, Thomas; Stybel, Nardine; Venohr, Markus

2010-05-01

Eutrophication management is still a major challenge in the Baltic Sea region. Estuaries or coastal waters linked to large rivers cannot be managed independently. Nutrient loads into these coastal ecosystems depend on processes, utilisation, structure and management in the river basin. In practise this means that we need a large scale approach and integrated models and tools to analyse, assess and evaluate the effects of nutrient loads on coastal water quality as well as the efficiency of river basin management measures on surface waters and especially lagoons and estuaries. The Odra river basin, the Szczecin Lagoon and its coastal waters cover an area of about 150,000 km² and are an eutrophication hot-spot in the Baltic region. To be able to carry out large scale, spatially integrative analyses, we linked the river basin nutrient flux model MONERIS to the coastal 3D-hydrodynamic and ecosystem model ERGOM. Objectives were a) to analyse the eutrophication history in the river basin and the resulting functional changes in the coastal waters between early 1960's and today and b) to analyse the effects of an optimal nitrogen and phosphorus management scenario in the Oder/Odra river basin on coastal water quality. The models show that an optimal river basin management with reduced nutrient loads (e.g. N-load reduction of 35 %) would have positive effects on coastal water quality and algae biomass. The availability of nutrients, N/P ratios and processes like denitrification and nitrogen-fixation would show spatial and temporal changes. It would have positive consequences for ecosystems functions, like the nutrient retention capacity, as well. However, this optimal scenario is by far not sufficient to ensure a good coastal water quality according to the European Water Framework Directive. A "good" water quality in the river will not be sufficient to ensure a "good" water quality in the coastal waters. Further, nitrogen load reductions bear the risk of increased

Invertebrates of the Columbia River basin assessment area.

Science.gov (United States)

Christine G. Niwa; Roger E. Sandquist; Rod Crawford; et al.

2001-01-01

A general background on functional groups of invertebrates in the Columbia River basin and how they affect sustainability and productivity of their ecological communities is presented. The functional groups include detritivores, predators, pollinators, and grassland and forest herbivores. Invertebrate biodiversity and species of conservation interest are discussed....

A method for developing a large-scale sediment yield index for European river basins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delmas, Magalie; Cerdan, Olivier; Garcin, Manuel [BRGM ARN/ESL, Orleans (France); Mouchel, Jean-Marie [UMR Sisyphe, Univ. P and M Curie, Paris (France)

2009-12-15

Background, aim, and scope: Sediment fluxes within continental areas play a major role in biogeochemical cycles and are often the cause of soil surface degradation as well as water and ecosystem pollution. In a situation where a high proportion of the land surface is experiencing significant global land use and climate changes, it appears important to establish sediment budgets considering the major processes forcing sediment redistribution within drainage areas. In this context, the aim of this study is to test a methodology to estimate a sediment yield index at a large spatial resolution for European river basins. Data and methods: Four indicators representing processes respectively considered as sources (mass movement and hillslope erosion), sinks (deposits), and transfers of sediments (drainage density) are defined using distributed data. Using these indicators we propose a basic conceptual approach to test the possibility of explaining sediment yield observed at the outlet of 29 selected European river basins. We propose an index which adds the two sources and transfers, and subsequently subtracts the sink term. This index is then compared to observed sediment yield data. Results: With this approach, variability between river basins is observed and the evolution of each indicator analyzed. A linear regression shows a correlation coefficient of 0.83 linking observed specific sediment yield (SSY) with the SSY index. Discussion: To improve this approach at this large river basin scale, basin classification is further refined using the relation between the observed SSY and the index obtained from the four indicators. It allows a refinement of the results. Conclusions: This study presents a conceptual approach offering the advantages of using spatially distributed data combined with major sediment redistribution processes to estimate the sediment yield observed at the outlet of river basins. Recommendations and perspectives: Inclusion of better information on

Degradation and damages from utilizing ecosystem services in a river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Travis W. Warziniack

2012-01-01

We examine the tradeoffs between utilizing multiple ecosystem services in an economic model of the Lower Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin. We show how economic development in the basin degraded the ecosystem, but diversified the economy. A degraded ecosystem and more employment opportunities elsewhere reduced the region's reliance on agriculture and other...

Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tingju Zhu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the effects of climate change on water availability and use in the Limpopo River Basin of Southern Africa, using a linked modeling system consisting of a semi-distributed global hydrological model and the Water Simulation Module (WSM of the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT. Although the WSM simulates all major water use sectors, the focus of this study is to evaluate the implications of climate change on irrigation water supply in the catchments of the Limpopo River Basin within the four riparian countries: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The analysis found that water resources of the Limpopo River Basin are already stressed under today’s climate conditions. Projected water infrastructure and management interventions are expected to improve the situation by 2050 if current climate conditions continue into the future. However, under the climate change scenarios studied here, water supply availability is expected to worsen considerably by 2050. Assessing hydrological impacts of climate change is crucial given that expansion of irrigated areas has been postulated as a key adaptation strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. Such expansion will need to take into account future changes in water availability in African river basins.

Priority targets for environmental research in the Sinos River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FR. Spilki

Full Text Available The Sinos River Basin is often mentioned as a highly degraded watershed. A series of impacts on water quality, soil and air has been reported in this environment on a recurring basis over the years. This situation of environmental degradation has its origins in a process of huge economic development uncoupled from environmental conservation concerns. The intense consequent urbanization observed for the municipalities within the watershed was not preceded by urban planning proper zoning. The time has arrived for initiatives in scientific research in the Sinos River basin that are applicable to a more efficient and integrated management and recovery of the basin. In this article, a set of targets for research is suggested which the authors consider as the main priorities for the next few years, aiming for better knowledge and better management of the watershed. Some are still in course, while others have to be initiated as soon as possible.

The susceptibility of large river basins to orogenic and climatic drivers

Science.gov (United States)

Haedke, Hanna; Wittmann, Hella; von Blanckenburg, Friedhelm

2017-04-01

Large rivers are known to buffer pulses in sediment production driven by changes in climate as sediment is transported through lowlands. Our new dataset of in situ cosmogenic nuclide concentration and chemical composition of 62 sandy bedload samples from the world largest rivers integrates over 25% of Earth's terrestrial surface, distributed over a variety of climatic zones across all continents, and represents the millennial-scale denudation rate of the sediment's source area. We can show that these denudation rates do not respond to climatic forcing, but faithfully record orogenic forcing, when analyzed with respective variables representing orogeny (strain rate, relief, bouguer anomaly, free-air anomaly), and climate (runoff, temperature, precipitation) and basin properties (floodplain response time, drainage area). In contrast to this orogenic forcing of denudation rates, elemental bedload chemistry from the fine-grained portion of the same samples correlates with climate-related variables (precipitation, runoff) and floodplain response times. It is also well-known from previous compilations of river-gauged sediment loads that the short-term basin-integrated sediment export is also climatically controlled. The chemical composition of detrital sediment shows a climate control that can originate in the rivers source area, but this signal is likely overprinted during transfer through the lowlands because we also find correlation with floodplain response times. At the same time, cosmogenic nuclides robustly preserve the orogenic forcing of the source area denudation signal through of the floodplain buffer. Conversely, previous global compilations of cosmogenic nuclides in small river basins show the preservation of climate drivers in their analysis, but these are buffered in large lowland rivers. Hence, we can confirm the assumption that cosmogenic nuclides in large rivers are poorly susceptible to climate changes, but are at the same time highly suited to detect

Selecting quantitative water management measures at the river basin scale in a global change context

Science.gov (United States)

Girard, Corentin; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Caballero, Yvan; Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel

2013-04-01

One of the main challenges in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the European Union is the definition of programme of measures to reach the good status of the European water bodies. In areas where water scarcity is an issue, one of these challenges is the selection of water conservation and capacity expansion measures to ensure minimum environmental in-stream flow requirements. At the same time, the WFD calls for the use of economic analysis to identify the most cost-effective combination of measures at the river basin scale to achieve its objective. With this respect, hydro-economic river basin models, by integrating economics, environmental and hydrological aspects at the river basin scale in a consistent framework, represent a promising approach. This article presents a least-cost river basin optimization model (LCRBOM) that selects the combination of quantitative water management measures to meet environmental flows for future scenarios of agricultural and urban demand taken into account the impact of the climate change. The model has been implemented in a case study on a Mediterranean basin in the south of France, the Orb River basin. The water basin has been identified as in need for quantitative water management measures in order to reach the good status of its water bodies. The LCRBOM has been developed using GAMS, applying Mixed Integer Linear Programming. It is run to select the set of measures that minimizes the total annualized cost of the applied measures, while meeting the demands and minimum in-stream flow constraints. For the economic analysis, the programme of measures is composed of water conservation measures on agricultural and urban water demands. It compares them with measures mobilizing new water resources coming from groundwater, inter-basin transfers and improvement in reservoir operating rules. The total annual cost of each measure is calculated for each demand unit considering operation, maintenance and

The Importance of Water Temperature Fluctuations in Relation to the Hydrological Factor. Case Study – Bistrita River Basin (Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cojoc Gianina Maria

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The increase in most components of the climate over the past 50 years, including air and water temperature, is a real phenomenon, as attested by the numerous specialized researches according to IPCC (2013. The water temperature is one of the most important climatic components in analyzing the hydrological regime of the Bistrita River (Romania. The thermal regime of the Bistrita River basin and the frost phenomena associated with the risk factor are particularly important and frequently appear in this area. In recent years, under the Siret Water Basin Administration, this parameter was permanently monitored, so we could do an analysis, which shows that the water temperature fluctuations, influenced by air temperature, lead to the emergence of the ice jam phenomenon. The present study aims to analyze the water temperature, as compared to the air temperature, and the effect of these components on the liquid flow regime (the values were recorded at the hydrological stations on the main course of the Bistrita River. The negative effects resulted from the ice jam phenomenon require developing methods of damage prevention and defense. The frost phenomena recorded after the construction of the Bicaz dam are analyzed in this article

Forecasting domestic water demand in the Haihe river basin under changing environment

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiao-Jun; Zhang, Jian-Yun; Shahid, Shamsuddin; Xie, Yu-Xuan; Zhang, Xu

2018-02-01

A statistical model has been developed for forecasting domestic water demand in Haihe river basin of China due to population growth, technological advances and climate change. Historical records of domestic water use, climate, population and urbanization are used for the development of model. An ensemble of seven general circulation models (GCMs) namely, BCC-CSM1-1, BNU-ESM, CNRM-CM5, GISS-E2-R, MIROC-ESM, PI-ESM-LR, MRI-CGCM3 were used for the projection of climate and the changes in water demand in the Haihe River basin under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5. The results showed that domestic water demand in different sub-basins of the Haihe river basin will gradually increase due to continuous increase of population and rise in temperature. It is projected to increase maximum 136.22 × 108 m3 by GCM BNU-ESM and the minimum 107.25 × 108 m3 by CNRM-CM5 in 2030. In spite of uncertainty in projection, it can be remarked that climate change and population growth would cause increase in water demand and consequently, reduce the gap between water supply and demand, which eventually aggravate the condition of existing water stress in the basin. Water demand management should be emphasized for adaptation to ever increasing water demand and mitigation of the impacts of environmental changes.

Sensitivity of the hydrologic cycle in Tana river basin to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutua, F.M.

1998-01-01

The Tana River basin in Kenya has four distinct climates along it's gradient from cool humid in mount Kenya region through arid and semi arid in the lower plains to semi humid coastal climate. From the highlands of mount Kenya to the plateau on the lowlands, the river traverses some sections which have high potential for hydro-electric power generation. The government has constructed water reovirus to collect water for electricity generation. The influence of the reovirus have also caused climate modification. The aim of the study was to investigate the sensitivity of the river flows in the Tana river to climate change. The study indicates that, as long as temperature increment of up to 2 degrees centigrade are accompanied by positive changes (greater than 10%) in rainfall over the basin, then the hydrologic cycle adjust itself accordingly to give a positive response (increased runoff) in terms of the river at the outlet

Analysis of trends in selected streamflow statistics for the Concho River Basin, Texas, 1916-2009

Science.gov (United States)

Barbie, Dana L.; Wehmeyer, Loren L.; May, Jayne E.

2012-01-01

The Concho River Basin is part of the upper Colorado River Basin in west-central Texas. Monotonic trends in streamflow statistics during various time intervals from 1916-2009 were analyzed to determine whether substantial changes in selected streamflow statistics have occurred within the Concho River Basin. Two types of U.S. Geological Survey streamflow data comprise the foundational data for this report: (1) daily mean discharge (daily discharge) and (2) annual instantaneous peak discharge. Trend directions are reported for the following streamflow statistics: (1) annual mean daily discharge, (2) annual 1-day minimum discharge, (3) annual 7-day minimum discharge, (4) annual maximum daily discharge, and (5) annual instantaneous peak discharge.

Maintaining healthy rivers and lakes through water diversion from Yangtze River to Taihu Lake in Taihu Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Haoyun

2008-09-01

Full Text Available On the basis of the Taihu water resources assessment, an analysis of the importance and rationality of the water diversion from the Yangtze River to Taihu Lake in solving the water problem and establishing a harmonious eco-environment in the Taihu Basin is performed. The water quantity and water quality conjunctive dispatching decision-making support system, which ensures flood control, water supply and eco-aimed dispatching, is built by combining the water diversion with flood control dispatching and strengthening water resources monitoring and forecasting. With the practice and effect assessment, measures such as setting the integrated basin management format, further developing water diversion and improving the hydraulic engineering projects system and water monitoring system are proposed in order to maintain healthy rivers and guarantee the development of the economy and society in the Taihu Basin.

Hydrogeologic reconnaissance of the San Miguel River basin, southwestern Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Ackerman, D.J.; Rush, F.E.

1984-01-01

The San Miguel River Basin encompasses 4,130 square kilometers of which about two-thirds is in the southeastern part of the Paradox Basin. The Paradox Basin is a part of the Colorado Plateaus that is underlain by a thick sequence of evaporite beds of Pennsylvanian age. The rock units that underlie the area have been grouped into hydrogeologic units based on their water-transmitting ability. Evaporite beds of mostly salt are both overlain and underlain by confining beds. Aquifers are present above and below the confining-bed sequence. The principal element of ground-water outflow from the upper aquifer is flow to the San Miguel River and its tributaries; this averages about 90 million cubic meters per year. A water budget for the lower aquifer has only two equal, unestimated elements, subsurface outflow and recharge from precipitation. The aquifers are generally isolated from the evaporite beds by the bounding confining beds; as a result, most ground water has little if any contact with the evaporites. No brines have been sampled and no brine discharges have been identified in the basin. Salt water has been reported for petroleum-exploration wells, but no active salt solution has been identified. (USGS)

Detailed measured sections, cross sections, and paleogeographic reconstructions of the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary nonmarine interval, Wind River Basin, Wyoming: Chapter 10 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas resources in the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ronald C.

2007-01-01

Detailed measured sections and regional stratigraphic cross sections are used to reconstruct facies maps and interpret paleogeographic settings for the interval from the base of Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation to top of lower member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming. The Mesaverde Formation spans the time during which the Upper Cretaceous seaway retreated eastward out of central Wyoming in Campanian time and the initial stages of the Lewis transgression in earliest Maastrichtian time. This retreat stalled for a considerable period of time during deposition of the lower part of the Mesaverde, creating a thick buildup of marginal marine sandstones and coaly coastal plain deposits across the western part of the basin. The Lewis sea transgressed into the northeast part of Wind River Basin, beginning in early Maastrichtian time during deposition of the Teapot Sandstone Member of the Mesaverde Formation. The Meeteetse Formation, which overlies the Teapot, was deposited in a poorly-drained coastal plain setting southwest of the Lewis seaway. The Lewis seaway, at maximum transgression, covered much of the northeast half of the Wind River Basin area but was clearly deflected around the present site of the Wind River Range, southwest of the basin, providing the first direct evidence of Laramide uplift on that range. Uplift of the Wind River Range continued during deposition of the overlying Maastrichtian Lance Formation. The Granite Mountains south of the basin also became a positive feature during this time. A rapidly subsiding trough during the Maastrichtian time formed near the presentday trough of the Wind River Basin in which more than 6,000 feet of Lance was deposited. The development of this trough appears to have begun before the adjacent Owl Creek Mountains to the north started to rise; however, a muddy facies in the upper part of Lance in the deep subsurface, just to the south, might be interpreted to indicate that the

Landscape Ecological Risk Responses to Land Use Change in the Luanhe River Basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Li

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Land use change has large effects on natural ecosystems, which is considered to be the main factor in eco-environment change. We analyzed the future characters of land use change by the CLUE-S model and explored landscape ecological risk responses to land use change by the landscape ecological risk index method. Using the Luanhe River Basin as a case study, we simulated future land use change from 2010 to 2030 under 3 scenarios (i.e., trend, high economic growth, and ecological security, and identified the hotspots of land use change. Afterward, we quantitatively investigated the degree of land use development and landscape ecological risk patterns that have occured since 2000 and that are expected to occur until 2030. Results revealed that, under the three scenarios, construction land and forest are expanding mainly at the expense of agriculture land and grassland. The hotspots of land use change are located in the vicinity of Shuangluan and Shuangqiao District of Chengde City in the midstream of the Luanhe River Basin, where urbanization has been strong since 2000 and is projected to continue that way until 2030. During this time period, hotspots of land use development have been gradually transferring from the downstream to the midstream since 2000 and, again, is expected to continue that way until 2030, which will impact the spatial distribution of landscape ecological risk. We found that the landscape ecological risk of the entire basin has shown a negative trend. However, a few areas still have serious ecological risk, which are mainly located in the east of upstream (Duolun County and Weichang County, the middle region (Shuangluan and Shuangqiao District, Chengde County, and Xinglong County, and the downstream (Qinglong County. These can provide key information for land use management, and for helping to prepare future eco-environmental policies in the Luanhe River Basin.

Salmonid Gamete Preservation in the Snake River Basin, 2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, Robyn; Kucera, Paul

2002-06-01

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations in the Northwest are decreasing. Genetic diversity is being lost at an alarming rate. Along with reduced population and genetic variability, the loss of biodiversity means a diminished environmental adaptability. The Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe) strives to ensure availability of genetic samples of the existing male salmonid population by establishing and maintaining a germplasm repository. The sampling strategy, initiated in 1992, has been to collect and preserve male salmon and steelhead genetic diversity across the geographic landscape by sampling within the major river subbasins in the Snake River basin, assuming a metapopulation structure existed historically. Gamete cryopreservation conserves genetic diversity in a germplasm repository, but is not a recovery action for listed fish species. The Tribe was funded in 2001 by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) to coordinate gene banking of male gametes from Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed steelhead and spring and summer chinook salmon in the Snake River basin. In 2001, a total of 398 viable chinook salmon semen samples from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, Lookingglass Hatchery (Imnaha River stock), Lake Creek, the South Fork Salmon River weir, Johnson Creek, Big Creek, Capehorn Creek, Marsh Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery, and Sawtooth Hatchery (upper Salmon River stock) were cryopreserved. Also, 295 samples of male steelhead gametes from Dworshak Hatchery, Fish Creek, Grande Ronde River, Little Sheep Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery and Oxbow Hatchery were also cryopreserved. The Grande Ronde chinook salmon captive broodstock program stores 680 cryopreserved samples at the University of Idaho as a long-term archive, half of the total samples. A total of 3,206 cryopreserved samples from Snake River basin steelhead and

Monitoring of perfluoroalkyl substances in the Ebro and Guadalquivir River basins (Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzo, Maria; Campo, Julian; Andreu, Vicente; Pico, Yolanda; Farre, Marinella; Barcelo, Damia

2015-04-01

Relevant concentrations of a broad range of pollutants have been found in Spanish Mediterranean River basins, as consequence of anthropogenic pressures and overexploitation (Campo et al., 2014). In this study, the occurrence and sources of 21 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were determined in water and sediment of the Ebro and Guadalquivir River basins (Spain). PFASs are persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic, which make them a hazard to human health and wildlife. The Ebro and Guadalquivir Rivers are the two most important rivers of Spain. They are representative examples of Mediterranean rivers heavily managed, and previous researches have reported their high pesticide contamination (Masiá et al., 2013). Analytes were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE) and determined by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS). In water samples, from 21 analytes screened, 11 were found in Ebro samples and 9 in Guadalquivir ones. In both basins, the most frequents were PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxS and PFOS. Maximum concentration was detected for PFBA, with 251.3 ng L-1 in Ebro and 742.9 ng L-1 in Guadalquivir. Regarding the sediment samples, 8 PFASs were detected in those coming from Ebro basin and 9 in those from Guadalquivir. The PFASs most frequently detected were PFBA, PFPeA, PFOS and PFBS. Maximum concentration in Ebro samples was detected for PFOA, with 32.4 ng g-1 dw, and in Guadalquivir samples for PFBA with 63.8 ng g-1 dw. Ubiquity of these compounds in the environment was proved with high PFAS concentration values detected in upper parts of the rivers. Results confirm that most of the PFASs are only partially eliminated during the secondary treatment suggesting that they can be a focal point of contamination to the rivers where they can bio-accumulate and produce adverse effects on wildlife and humans. Acknowledgment The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness has supported this work through the projects SCARCE-CSD2009-00065, CGL2011

Using radar altimetry to update a large-scale hydrological model of the Brahmaputra river basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Finsen, F.; Milzow, Christian; Smith, R.

2014-01-01

Measurements of river and lake water levels from space-borne radar altimeters (past missions include ERS, Envisat, Jason, Topex) are useful for calibration and validation of large-scale hydrological models in poorly gauged river basins. Altimetry data availability over the downstream reaches...... of the Brahmaputra is excellent (17 high-quality virtual stations from ERS-2, 6 from Topex and 10 from Envisat are available for the Brahmaputra). In this study, altimetry data are used to update a large-scale Budyko-type hydrological model of the Brahmaputra river basin in real time. Altimetry measurements...... improved model performance considerably. The Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency increased from 0.77 to 0.83. Real-time river basin modelling using radar altimetry has the potential to improve the predictive capability of large-scale hydrological models elsewhere on the planet....

Frost risks in the Mantaro river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Trasmonte

2008-04-01

Full Text Available As part of the study on the Mantaro river basin's (central Andes of Perú current vulnerability to climate change, the temporal and spatial characteristics of frosts were analysed. These characteristics included intensity, frequency, duration, frost-free periods, area distribution and historical trends. Maps of frost risk were determined for the entire river basin, by means of mathematical algorithms and GIS (Geographic Information Systems tools, using minimum temperature – 1960 to 2002 period, geomorphology, slope, land-use, types of soils, vegetation and life zones, emphasizing the rainy season (September to April, when the impacts of frost on agriculture are most severe. We recognized four categories of frost risks: low, moderate, high and critical. The critical risks (with a very high probability of occurrence were related to high altitudes on the basin (altitudes higher than 3800 m a.s.l., while the low (or null probability of occurring risks were found in the lower zones (less than 2500 m a.s.l.. Because of the very intense agricultural activity and the high sensitivity of the main crops (Maize, potato, artichoke in the Mantaro valley (altitudes between 3100 and 3300 m a.s.l., moderate to high frost risks can be expected, with a low to moderate probability of occurrence. Another significant result was a positive trend of 8 days per decade in the number of frost days during the rainy season.

Bedrock geologic map of the Spring Valley, West Plains, and parts of the Piedmont and Poplar Bluff 30'x60' quadrangles, Missouri, including the upper Current River and Eleven Point River drainage basins

Science.gov (United States)

Weary, David J.; Harrison, Richard W.; Orndorff, Randall C.; Weems, Robert E.; Schindler, J. Stephen; Repetski, John E.; Pierce, Herbert A.

2015-01-01

This map covers the drainage basins of the upper Current River and the Eleven Point River in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province of southeastern Missouri. The two surface drainage basins are contiguous in their headwaters regions, but are separated in their lower reaches by the lower Black River basin in the southeast corner of the map area. Numerous dye-trace studies demonstrate that in the contiguous headwaters areas, groundwater flows from the Eleven Point River basin into the Current River basin. Much of the groundwater discharge of the Eleven Point River basin emanates from Big Spring, located on the Current River. This geologic map and cross sections were produced to help fulfill a need to understand the geologic framework of the region in which this subsurface flow occurs.

Monitoring mass changes in the Volta River basin using GRACE satellite gravity and TRMM precipitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vagner G. Ferreira

Full Text Available GRACE satellite gravity data was used to estimate mass changes within the Volta River basin in West African for the period of January, 2005 to December, 2010. We also used the precipitation data from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM to determine relative contributions source to the seasonal hydrological balance within the Volta River basin. We found out that the seasonal mass change tends to be detected by GRACE for periods from 1 month in the south to 4 months in the north of the basin after the rainfall events. The results suggested a significant gain in water storage in the basin at reference epoch 2007.5 and a dominant annual cycle for the period under consideration for both in the mass changes and rainfall time series. However, there was a low correlation between mass changes and rainfall implying that there must be other processes which cause mass changes without rainfall in the upstream of the Volta River basin.

Water utilization in the Snake River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyt, William Glenn; Stabler, Herman

1935-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe the present utilization of the water in the Snake River Basin with special reference to irrigation and power and to present essential facts concerning possible future utilization. No detailed plan of development is suggested. An attempt has been made, however, to discuss features that should be taken into account in the formulation of a definite plan of development. On account of the size of the area involved, which is practically as large as the New England States and New York combined, and the magnitude of present development and future possibilities, considerable details have of necessity been omitted. The records of stream flow in the basin are contained in the reports on surface water supply published annually by the Geological Survey. These records are of the greatest value in connection with the present and future regulation and utilization of the basin's largest asset water.

Changes and Relationships of Climatic and Hydrological Droughts in the Jialing River Basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Xiaofan; Zhao, Na; Sun, Huaiwei; Ye, Lei; Zhai, Jianqing

2015-01-01

The comprehensive assessment of climatic and hydrological droughts in terms of their temporal and spatial evolutions is very important for water resources management and social development in the basin scale. To study the spatial and temporal changes of climatic and hydrological droughts and the relationships between them, the SPEI and SDI are adopted to assess the changes and the correlations of climatic and hydrological droughts by selecting the Jialing River basin, China as the research area. The SPEI and SDI at different time scales are assessed both at the entire Jialing River basin and at the regional levels of the three sub basins. The results show that the SPEI and SDI are very suitable for assessing the changes and relationships of climatic and hydrological droughts in large basins. Based on the assessment, for the Jialing River basin, climatic and hydrological droughts have the increasing tendency during recent several decades, and the increasing trend of climatic droughts is significant or extremely significant in the western and northern basin, while hydrological drought has a less significant increasing trend. Additionally, climatic and hydrological droughts tend to increase in the next few years. The results also show that on short time scales, climatic droughts have one or two months lag impact on hydrological droughts in the north-west area of the basin, and have one month lag impact in south-east area of the basin. The assessment of climatic and hydrological droughts based on the SPEI and SDI could be very useful for water resources management and climate change adaptation at large basin scale.

Changes and Relationships of Climatic and Hydrological Droughts in the Jialing River Basin, China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaofan Zeng

Full Text Available The comprehensive assessment of climatic and hydrological droughts in terms of their temporal and spatial evolutions is very important for water resources management and social development in the basin scale. To study the spatial and temporal changes of climatic and hydrological droughts and the relationships between them, the SPEI and SDI are adopted to assess the changes and the correlations of climatic and hydrological droughts by selecting the Jialing River basin, China as the research area. The SPEI and SDI at different time scales are assessed both at the entire Jialing River basin and at the regional levels of the three sub basins. The results show that the SPEI and SDI are very suitable for assessing the changes and relationships of climatic and hydrological droughts in large basins. Based on the assessment, for the Jialing River basin, climatic and hydrological droughts have the increasing tendency during recent several decades, and the increasing trend of climatic droughts is significant or extremely significant in the western and northern basin, while hydrological drought has a less significant increasing trend. Additionally, climatic and hydrological droughts tend to increase in the next few years. The results also show that on short time scales, climatic droughts have one or two months lag impact on hydrological droughts in the north-west area of the basin, and have one month lag impact in south-east area of the basin. The assessment of climatic and hydrological droughts based on the SPEI and SDI could be very useful for water resources management and climate change adaptation at large basin scale.

Isotopic fingerprint of the middle Olt River basin, Romania.

Science.gov (United States)

Popescu, Raluca; Costinel, Diana; Ionete, Roxana Elena; Axente, Damian

2014-01-01

One of the most important tributaries of the Danube River in Romania, the Olt River, was characterized in its middle catchment in terms of the isotopic composition using continuous flow-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF-IRMS). Throughout a period of 10 months, from November 2010 to August 2011, water samples from the Olt River and its more important tributaries were collected in order to investigate the seasonal and spatial isotope patterns of the basin waters. The results revealed a significant difference between the Olt River and its tributaries, by the fact that the Olt River waters show smaller seasonal variations in the stable isotopic composition and are more depleted in (18)O and (2)H. The waters present an overall enrichment in heavy isotopes during the warm seasons.

Upper Illinois River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Friedel, Michael J.

1998-01-01

During the past 25 years, industry and government made large financial investments that resulted in better water quality across the Nation; however, many water-quality concerns remain. Following a 1986 pilot project, the U.S. Geological Survey began implementation of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991. This program differs from other national water-quality assessment studies in that the NAWQA integrates monitoring of surface- and ground-water quality with the study of aquatic ecosystems. The goals of the NAWQA Program are to (1) describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams and aquifers (water-bearing sediments and rocks), (2) describe how water quality is changing over time, and (3) improve our understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting water quality.The Upper Illinois River Basin National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) study will increase the scientific understanding of surface- and ground-water quality and the factors that affect water quality in the basin. The study also will provide information needed by water-resource managers to implement effective water-quality management actions and evaluate long-term changes in water quality.

FLOODPLAIN PLANNING BASED ON STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TILPARA BARRAGE DISCHARGE: A CASE STUDY ON MAYURAKSHI RIVER BASIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vibhash Chandra Jha

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Floods in the West Bengal are responsible for colossal loss of human life, crops, and property. In recent years, various measures of flood control and management have been adopted. However, flooding in such rivers like Brahmani profoundly challenges flood-hazard management, because of the inadequacy of conventional data and high spatio-temporal variability of floods. To understand flood hazards and environmental change it is imperative that engineers and hydrologists utilize historical and paleoflood records to improve risk analyses as well as to estimate probable maximum flood on rivers such as these in a highly flood-prone region(Parkar,2000. The flood frequency analysis, probable peak discharge analysis, its return period analysis and floodplain zoning based on ancillary data will help better management of flood in the Mayurakshi River basin situated in the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad.

Morphotectonics of the Jamini River basin, Bundelkhand Craton, Central India; using remote sensing and GIS technique

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, K.; Mohanty, T.; Pati, J. K.; Singh, S.; Chaubey, K.

2017-11-01

Morphological and morphotectonic analyses have been used to obtain information that influence hydrographic basins, predominantly these are modifications of tectonic elements and the quantitative description of landforms. Discrimination of morphotectonic indices of active tectonics of the Jamini river basin consists the analyses of asymmetry factor, ruggedness number, basin relief, gradient, basin elongation ratio, drainage density analysis, and drainage pattern analysis, which have been completed for each drainage basin using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The Jamini river is one of the major tributaries of the Betwa river in central India. The Jamini river basin is divided into five subwatersheds viz. Jamrar, Onri, Sainam, Shahzad and Baragl subwatershed. The quantitative approach of watershed development of the Jamini river basin, and its four sixth (SW1-SW4) and one fifth (SW5) order subwatersheds, was carried out using Survey of India toposheets (parts of 54I, 54K, 54L, 54O, and 54P), Landsat 7 ETM+, ASTER (GDEM) data, and field data. The Jamini river has low bifurcation index which is a positive marker of tectonic imprint on the hydrographic network. The analyses show that the geomorphological progression of the study area was robustly influenced by tectonics. The analysis demonstrates to extensional tectonics system with the following alignments: NE-SW, NW-SE, NNE-SSW, ENE-WSW, E-W, and N-S. Three major trends are followed by lower order streams viz. NE-SW, NW-SE, and E-W directions which advocate that these tectonic trends were active at least up to the Late Pleistocene. The assessment of morphotectonic indices may be used to evaluate the control of active faults on the hydrographic system. The analysis points out westward tilting of the drainage basins with strong asymmetry in some reaches, marked elongation ratio of subwatersheds, and lower order streams having close alignment with lineaments (active faults). The study facilitated to considerate the

The cost of noncooperation in international river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmant, A.; Kinzelbach, W.

2012-01-01

In recent years there has been a renewed interest for water supply enhancement strategies in order to deal with the exploding demand for water in some regions, particularly in Asia and Africa. Within such strategies, reservoirs, especially multipurpose ones, are expected to play a key role in enhancing water security. This renewed impetus for the traditional supply-side approach to water management may indeed contribute to socioeconomic development and poverty reduction if the planning process considers the lessons learned from the past, which led to the recommendations by the World Commission on Dams and other relevant policy initiatives. More specifically, the issues dealing with benefit sharing within an efficient and equitable utilization of water resources are key elements toward the successful development of those river basins. Hence, there is a need for improved coordination and cooperation among water users, sectors, and riparian countries. However, few studies have explicitly tried to quantify, in monetary terms, the economic costs of noncooperation, which we believe to be important information for water managers and policy makers, especially at a time when major developments are planned. In this paper we propose a methodology to assess the economic costs of noncooperation when managing large-scale water resources systems involving multiple reservoirs, and where the dominant uses are hydropower generation and irrigated agriculture. An analysis of the Zambezi River basin, one of the largest river basins in Africa that is likely to see major developments in the coming decades, is carried out. This valuation exercise reveals that the yearly average cost of noncooperation would reach 350 million US$/a, which is 10% of the annual benefits derived from the system.

Energy development and water options in the Yellowstone River Basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narayanan, R.; MacIntyre, D.D.; Torpy, M.F.

1980-08-01

Using a mixed-integer programming model, the impacts of institutional constraints on the marginal capacity for energy development in the Yellowstone River Basin and consequent hydrologic changes were examined. Under average annual flow conditions, energy outputs in the Yellowstone Basin can increase roughly nine times by 1985 and 12 to 18 times by 2000. In contrast, water availability is limiting energy development in the Tongue and Powder River Basins in Wyoming. Variability in hydrologic regime causes model solutions to change drastically. If flows decrease to 80 and 60% of average annual levels, the energy production is decreased by 17 and 95%, respectively. If development strategies in the basin are followed on the basis of 80% average annual flows, the Buffalo Bill enlargement (271,300 acre-ft), Tongue River Modification (58,000 acre-ft), and the two reservoirs at Sweetgrass Creek (each 27,000 acre-ft) will be necessary, in addition to several small storage facilities, to best meet the instream flow needs in Montana and to deliver the waters apportioned by compact between Wyoming and Montana. Furthermore, the results indicate that relaxing the instream flow requirements from recommended levels by 10% could increase regional energy output by 19% in 1985 and 35% in 2000. This model illustrates that modifications in institutional restrictions to achieve greater water mobility between users in a given state, as well as flexible practices for transferring water between states, can assist economic growth. Thus, the probability for restricted energy development at this juncture appears to be affected to a greater degree by institutional constraints than by water availability constraints.

Elements for an integrated resource planning in the framework of river basins: a study for the Cuiaba River Basin; Elementos para um planejamento integrado de recursos no ambito de bacias hidrograficas: um estudo para a bacia do rio Cuiaba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dorileo, Ivo Leandro; Bajay, Sergio Valdir [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (NIPE/UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Nucleo Interdisciplinar de Planejamento Energetico. Dept. de Energia], e-mail: ildorileo@sigmanet.com.br, e-mail: bajay@fem.unicamp.br

2008-07-01

A new approach in energy planning in Brazil, IRP - Integrated Resources Planning for River Basins, gathers three main determinants of development: water, electricity and piped gas. This paper argues, briefly, the need of this planning, of indicative character, integrated with the River Basin Plans, and it presents a retrospective analysis concerning water, electricity and LPG demands of the economy sectors from Cuiaba River Basin region, priority elements to aid the prospective studies and to carry out process related to the IRP. (author)

Distributed hydrological modelling of the Senegal river basin - model construction and validation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, J.; Refsgaard, J.C.; Jensen, Karsten Høgh

2001-01-01

A modified version of the physically-based distributed MIKE SHE model code was applied to the 375,000 km(2) Senegal River Basin. On the basis of conventional data from meteorological stations and readily accessible databases on topography, soil types, vegetation type, etc. three models with diffe......A modified version of the physically-based distributed MIKE SHE model code was applied to the 375,000 km(2) Senegal River Basin. On the basis of conventional data from meteorological stations and readily accessible databases on topography, soil types, vegetation type, etc. three models...

Stationarity of annual flood peaks during 1951-2010 in the Pearl River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiang; Gu, Xihui; Singh, Vijay P.; Xiao, Mingzhong; Xu, Chong-Yu

2014-11-01

The assumption of stationarity of annual peak flood (APF) records at 28 hydrological stations across the Pearl River basin, China, is tested. Abrupt changes in mean and variance are tested using the Pettitt technique and the Loess method. Trends of APFs are analyzed using the Mann-Kendall method and the Spearman technique. And then the stationarity of the APF series is further investigated by GAMLSS models and long-term persistence. Results indicate that: (1) abrupt changes in mean and variance have similar influences on the changing properties of APFs, such as stationarity. Abrupt changes in mean and variance are only field significant in the East River basin; (2) the change points have a considerable impact on the detection of trends, and these may be attributed to the fact that a abrupt increase or decrease in mean values will affect the trend variations. Besides, for the APF series being free of change points and trend, the GAMLSS models also corroborate stationarity of the APF series; (3) the nonstationarity in the Pearl River basin is mainly due to the existence of the change point. However, the APF series with change points in mean and/or variance are also characterized by long-term persistence, and thus it is infeasible to assert that the abrupt behaviors and/or trends of the APF series are the result of human activities or long-term persistence, especially in the East River basin. Results of this study will provide information for management of water resources and design of hydraulic facilities in the Pearl River basin in a changing environment.

Gazetteer of hydrologic characteristics of streams in Massachusetts; Blackstone River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wandle, S.W.; Phipps, A.F.

1984-01-01

The Blackstone River basin encompasses 335 square miles in south-central Massachusetts, including parts of Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester Counties. Drainage areas, using the latest available 1:24,000 scale topographic maps, were computed for the first time for streams draining more than 3 square miles and were recomputed for data-collection sites. Streamflow characteristics, were calculated using a new data base with records through 1980. These characteristics include annual and monthly flow statistics, duration of daily flow values, and the annual 7-day mean low flow at the 2-year and 10-year recurrence intervals. The 7-day, 10-year low-flow values are presented for 31 partial-record sites and the procedures used to determine the hydrologic characteristics of the basin are summarized. Basin characteristics representing 14 commonly used indices to estimate various streamflows are presented for the six gaged streams in the Blackstone River basin. This gazetteer will aid in the planning and siting of water-resources-related activities and will provide a common data base for governmental agencies and the engineering and planning communities. (USGS)