Hydrodynamic Assessment of A New Nature-Based Armour Unit on Rubble Mound Breakwater for Coastal Protection

This research proposes a novel nature-based design of a new concrete armour unit for the cover layer of a rubblemoundbreakwater. Armour units are versatile with respect to shape, orientation, surface condition details, and porosity.Therefore, a detailed analysis is required to investigate the exact state of their hydraulic interactions and structuralresponses. In this regard, the performance results of several traditional armour units, including the Antifer cube,Tetrapod, X-block and natural stone, are considered for the first step of this study. Then, the related observed resultsare compared with those obtained for a newly designed (artificial coral) armour unit. The research methodology utilizesthe common wave flume test procedure. Furthermore, several verified numerical models in OpenFOAM code areused to gain the extra required data. The proposed armour is configured to provide an effective shore protection as anenvironmental-friendly coastal structure. Thus it is designed with a main trunk including deep grooves to imitate thetypical geometry of a coral type configuration, so as to attain desirable performance. The observed results and ananalytic hierarchy process (AHP) concept are used to compare the hydraulic performance of the studied traditionaland newly proposed (artificial coral) armour units. The results indicate that the artificial coral armour unit demonstratesacceptable performance. The widely used traditional armour units might be replaced by newer designs for betterwave energy dissipation, and more importantly, for fewer adverse effects on the marine environment.

The Damaging Effects of Abstracting the Deep Aquifers’Groundwater in Jordan-Quality Constraints

The deep aquifers in Jordan contain non-renewable and fossil groundwater and their extraction is quasi a mining process, which ends in the depletion of these resources. Although aquifers in the majority of groundwater basins in Jordan are vertically and horizontally interconnected stratification in different water quality horizons with generally increasing water salinity with the depth is observed. Many officials and planners advocate the extraction of deep salty and brackish water to be desalinated and used in household, industrial, and agricultural uses. In this article, the quality of the groundwater in the different deep aquifers and areas in Jordan is discussed. The results of this study show that the consequences of the deep groundwater exploitation are not restricted to depletion of the deep aquifers but also that the overlying fresh groundwater will, due to vertical and horizontal interconnectedness of the different aquifers, percolate down to replace the extracted deep groundwater. This will cause the down-percolating fresh groundwater to become salinized in the deep saline aquifers, which means that extracting the deep brackish and saline groundwater is not only an emptying process of the deep groundwater but also it is an emptying process of the fresh groundwater overlying them. The results allow to conclude that any extraction of the deep groundwater in areas lying to the north of Ras en Naqab Escarpment will have damaging impacts on the fresh groundwater in the overlying fresh groundwater aquifers. This article strongly advises not to extract the deep brackish and saline groundwater, but to conserve that groundwater as a base supporting the overlying fresh groundwater resources, and that will help in protecting the thermal mineralized water springs used in spas originating from these deep aquifers. The increasing water needs of the country can be covered by the desalination of seawater at Aqaba, which is the only viable option for Jordan at present and in the coming decades.

Agricultural Water Footprint of Southern Highbush Blueberry Produced Commercially with Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Frost Protection

A study was conducted from 2010 to 2017 to determine the water footprint for producing blueberries in the Entre Ríos province of Argentina. Three cultivars of southern highbush blueberry (hybrid cross of Vaccinium sp.) were evaluated in the study, including “Star”, “Emerald”, and “Snowchaser”. In each case, the plants were irrigated by drip and protected from frost using overhead sprinklers. Water requirements for irrigation and frost protection varied among the cultivars due to differences in the timing of flowering and fruit development. The annual water footprint for fruit production in each cultivar is expressed in units of cubic meters of water used to produce one ton of fresh fruit and ranged from 212 - 578 m3∙t−1 for “Star”, 296 - 985 m3∙t−1 for “Emerald”, and 536 - 4066 m3∙t−1 for “Snowchaser”. “Snowchaser” flowered earlier than the other cultivars and, therefore, needed more water for frost protection. “Star”, on the other hand, ripened the latest among the cultivars and required little to no water for frost protection. Frost protection required a minimum of 30 m3∙h−1 of water per hectare and in addition to drip irrigation was a major component of the water footprint.

Investigation of factors affecting rural drinking water consumption using intelligent hybrid models

Identifying the factors affecting drinking water consumption is essential to the rational management of water resources and effective environment protection. In this study, the effects of the factors on rural drinking water demand were studied using the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and hybrid models, such as the ANFIS-genetic algorithm (GA), ANFIS-particle swarm optimization (PSO), and support vector machine (SVM)-simulated annealing (SA). The rural areas of Hamadan Province in Iran were selected for the case study. Five drinking water consumption factors were selected for the assessment according to the literature, data availability, and the characteristics of the study area (such as precipitation, relative humidity, temperature, the number of subscribers, and water price). The results showed that the standard errors of ANFIS, ANFIS-GA, ANFIS-PSO, and SVM-SA were 0.669, 0.619, 0.705, and 0.578, respectively. Therefore, the hybrid model SVM-SA outperformed other models. The sensitivity analysis showed that of the parameters affecting drinking water consumption, the number of subscribers significantly affected the water consumption rate, while the average temperature was the least significant factor. Water price was a factor that could be easily controlled, but it was always one of the least effective parameters due to the low water fee.

Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULC) in the North Talihya River Watershed (Lubero Territory, Eastern DR Congo)

On the Equator, the Talihya North watershed is a vast area of nearly 581.7 km2 that extends from the Cool Highlands on the Congo-Nile Crest in Lubero Territory to the Rift Valley in the Virunga National Park in Beni Territory. This vast territory has an agropastoral vocation. Indeed, agricultural activities combined with the high population density in this watershed generate modifications in the landscape structure. The objective of this paper is to study the dynamics of land use from 1987 to 2020. To achieve this, two Landsat TM+ and ETM+ images and one Sentinel-2 image were analyzed. After the classification of the images based on the Maximum Likelihood algorithm, this study shows that two processes are evident in the landscape of the North Talihya watershed: deforestation and savannization. Forests that occupied 253.11 km2 in 1987 have decreased to 201.12 km2 in 2001 and to 123.04 km2 in 2020. These area balances indicate that the natural forest formations in the North Talihya watershed have been converted primarily to croplands and fallows. The estimated annual deforestation rate between 1987 and 2020 is 2.18%. With this high rate of deforestation, mechanisms to restore degraded forest ecosystems in this watershed will need to be put in place. The sustainable management of residual forest ecosystems that have escaped human pressure is necessary for the conservation of biodiversity for future generations.

Assessment of rehabilitation strategies for lakes affected by anthropogenic and climatic changes: A case study of the Urmia Lake, Iran

Over the last three decades,more than half of the world's large lakes and wetlands have experienced significant shrinkage,primarily due to climate change and extensive water consumption for agriculture and other human needs.The desiccation of lakes leads to severe environmental,economic,and social repercussions.Urmia Lake,located in northwestern Iran and representing a vital natural ecosystem,has experienced a volume reduction of over 90.0%.Our research evaluated diverse water management strategies within the Urmia Lake basin and prospects of inter-basin water transfers.This study focused on strategies to safeguard the environmental water rights of the Urmia Lake by utilizing the modeling and simulating(MODSIM)model.The model simulated changes in the lake's water volume under various scenarios.These included diverting water from incoming rivers,cutting agricultural water use by 40.0%,releasing dam water in non-agricultural seasons,treated wastewater utilization,and inter-basin transfers.Analytical hierarchy process(AHP)was utilized to analyze the simulation results.Expert opinions with AHP analysis,acted as a multi-criteria decision-making tool to evaluate the simulation and determine the optimal water supply source priority for the Urmia Lake.Our findings underscore the critical importance of reducing agricultural water consumption as the foremost step in preserving the lake.Following this,inter-basin water transfers are suggested,with a detailed consideration of the inherent challenges and limitations faced by the source watersheds.It is imperative to conduct assessments on the impacts of these transfers on the downstream users and the potential environmental risks,advocating for a diplomatic and cooperative approach with adjacent country.This study also aims to forecast the volumes of water that can be transferred under different climatic conditions—drought,normal,and wet years—to inform strategic water management planning for the Urmia Lake.According to our projection,implementing the strategic scenarios outlined could significantly augment the lake's level and volume,potentially by 3.57×109–9.38×109 m3 over the coming 10 a and 3.57×109–10.70×109 m3 in the subsequent 15 a.

Annual growth of Fagus orientalis is limited by spring drought conditions in Iran’s Golestan Province

Due to the lack of a uniform and accurate defi-nition of‘drought’,several indicators have been introduced based on different variables and methods,and the efficiency of each of these is determined according to their relationship with drought.The relationship between two drought indices,SPI(standardized precipitation index)and SPEI(standard-ized precipitation-evapotranspiration index)in different sea-sons was investigated using annual rings of 15 tree samples to determine the effect of drought on the growth of oriental beech(Fagus orientalis Lipsky)in the Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran.The different evapotranspiration calcula-tion methods were evaluated on SPEI efficiency based on Hargreaves-Samani,Thornthwaite,and Penman-Monteith methods using the step-by-step M5 decision tree regression method.The results show that SPEI based on the Penman-Monteith in a three-month time scale(spring)had similar temporal changes and a better relationship with annual tree rings(R^(2)=0.81)at a 0.05 significant level.Abrupt change and a decreasing trend in the time series of annual tree rings are similar to the variation in the SPEI based on the Penman-Monteith method.Factors affecting evapotranspiration,temperature,wind speed,and sunshine hours(used in the Penman-Monteith method),increased but precipitation decreased.Using non-linear modeling methods,SPEI based on Penman-Monteith best illustrated climate changes affecting tree growth.

Sacrificial piles as a countermeasure against local scour around underwater pipelines

Local scour around pipelines crossing rivers or in marine environments is a significant concern.It can lead to failure of the pipelines resulting in environmental side effects and economic losses.This study developed an experimental method to reduce local scour around pipelines with a steady flow of clear water by installing cylindrical and cubical sacrificial piles.Three sizes of sacrificial piles were examined in a linear arrangement.Sacrificial piles were installed on the upstream side of the pipeline at three distances.Maximum scour depth reduction rates below the pipeline were computed.The results showed that sacrificial piles could protect a pipeline from local scour.A portion of scoured sediment around the sacrificial piles was deposited beneath the pipeline.This sediment accumulation reduced the scour depth beneath the pipeline.Analysis of the experimental results demonstrated that the size of piles(d),the spacing between piles,and the distance between the pipe and piles(Xp)were the variables that reduced the maximum scour beneath the pipeline with a diameter of D.For the piles with d=0.40D and 0.64D,X_(p)=4OD was the optimal distance to install a group of piles,and cubical piles could mitigate scour more effectively than cylindrical piles under similar conditions.For the piles with d=D,the greatest reduction in scour depth was achieved at X_(p)=50D with any desired spacings between piles,and cylindrical piles in this dimension could protect the pipeline against scour more effectively than cubical piles.

Assessment of runoff changes in the sub-basin of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin, China based on multiple methods

Quantitative assessment of the impact of climate variability and human activities on runoff plays a pivotal role in water resource management and maintaining ecosystem integrity.This study considered six sub-basins in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin,China,to reveal the trend of the runoff evolution and clarify the driving factors of the changes during 1956–2020.Linear regression,Mann-Kendall test,and sliding t-test were used to study the trend of the hydrometeorological elements,while cumulative distance level and ordered clustering methods were applied to identify mutation points.The contributions of climate change and human disturbance to runoff changes were quantitatively assessed using three methods,i.e.,the rainfall-runoff relationship method,slope variation method,and variable infiltration capacity(Budyko)hypothesis method.Then,the availability and stability of the three methods were compared.The results showed that the runoff in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin exhibited a decreasing trend from 1956 to 2020,with an abrupt change in 1985.For attribution analysis,the runoff series could be divided into two phases,i.e.,1961–1985(baseline period)and 1986–2020(changing period);and it was found that the rainfall-runoff relationship method with precipitation as the representative of climate factors had limited usability compared with the other two methods,while the slope variation and Budyko hypothesis methods had highly consistent results.Different factors showed different effects in the sub-basins of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin.Moreover,human disturbance was the main factor that contributed to the runoff changes,accounting for 53.0%–82.0%;and the contribution of climate factors to the runoff change was 17.0%–47.0%,making it the secondary factor,in which precipitation was the most representative climate factor.These results provide insights into how climate and anthropogenic changes synergistically influence the runoff of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin.

Hydrogeological Investigations of Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions in the Berg River Catchment, Western Cape, South Africa

The Berg River Catchment based in the Western Cape Province,South Africa services the greater Cape Town area with water,subsequent to supplying the vast agricultural activities that exist in the middle and the lower reaches.This study thus investigates the hydrogeochemical interactions between surface and groundwater in the Berg River Catchment with the aim of establishing trends and transfer of constituents between the surface and groundwater systems,investigates the role that geology plays in water chemistry as well as identifies the geochemical processes controlling surface and groundwater chemistry in the catchment.This study was carried out using three types of research designs namely i)experimental research design;ii)field research design and meta-analysis research design.Furthermore,the study made use of hydrochemical data ranging from 2003 to 2013 obtained from the National Water Monitoring Database owned and maintained by the Department of Water and Sanitation and data that were sampled in 2016 by authors and analyzed using the ICP-MS Technique Ground Water Chart,Arc-GIS and Geosoft(Oasis Montaj)were further employed to model the data.The results indicated that:i)in the Upper Berg there is not much interaction and transfer of constituents between surface and groundwater;ii)the Middle Berg,however,indicated a degree of interaction with the sharing of constituents between the two water systems and iii)the Lower Berg indicated only NaCl water type also noting that the area situated near the river mouth whereby there is the mixing of river and seawater.

In situ digital testing method for quality assessment of soft soil improvement with polyurethane

This study purposes an in situ testing method on quality assessment of soil improvement.Factual drilling data includes the spatial distribution and in situ strength of untreated and treated soil along three different drillholes measured by on-site drilling monitoring method.These factual drilling data can characterize the degree of soil improvement by penetration injection with permeable polyurethane.Result from on-site drilling monitoring shows that the linear zones represent constant drilling speeds shown in the plot of drill bit advancement vs.net drilling time,which indicates the spatial distributions of soil profile.The soil profile at the study site is composed of four layers,which includes fill,untreated silty clay,treated silty clay,and mucky soil.The results of soil profile are verified by the parallel site loggings.The constant drilling speeds profile the coring-resistant strength of drilled soils.By comparing with the untreated silty clay,the constant drilling speeds of the treated silty clay have been decreased by 13.0-62.8%.Two drilling-speed-based indices of 61.2%and 65.6%are proposed to assess the decreased average drilling speed and the increased in situ strength of treated silty clay.Laboratory tests,i.e.uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)test,have been performed with core sample to investigate and characterize in situ strength by comparing that with drilling speeds.Results show that the average predicted strengths of treated silty clay are 2.4-6.9 times higher than the average measured strength of untreated silty clay.The UCS-based indices of 374.5%and 344.2%verified the quality assessment(QA)results by this new in situ method.This method provides a cost-effective tool for quality assessment of soil improvement by utilizing the digital drilling data.

Stochastic Analysis and Modeling of Velocity Observations in Turbulent Flows

Highly turbulent water flows,often encountered near human constructions like bridge piers,spillways,and weirs,display intricate dynamics characterized by the formation of eddies and vortices.These formations,varying in sizes and lifespans,significantly influence the distribution of fluid velocities within the flow.Subsequently,the rapid velocity fluctuations in highly turbulent flows lead to elevated shear and normal stress levels.For this reason,to meticulously study these dynamics,more often than not,physical modeling is employed for studying the impact of turbulent flows on the stability and longevity of nearby structures.Despite the effectiveness of physical modeling,various monitoring challenges arise,including flow disruption,the necessity for concurrent gauging at multiple locations,and the duration of measurements.Addressing these challenges,image velocimetry emerges as an ideal method in fluid mechanics,particularly for studying turbulent flows.To account for measurement duration,a probabilistic approach utilizing a probability density function(PDF)is suggested to mitigate uncertainty in estimated average and maximum values.However,it becomes evident that deriving the PDF is not straightforward for all turbulence-induced stresses.In response,this study proposes a novel approach by combining image velocimetry with a stochastic model to provide a generic yet accurate description of flow dynamics in such applications.This integration enables an approach based on the probability of failure,facilitating a more comprehensive analysis of turbulent flows.Such an approach is essential for estimating both short-and long-term stresses on hydraulic constructions under assessment.

Evaluation of Rainfall Tendency for the Twentieth Century over Indira Sagar Region in Central India

The study investigates long-term changes in annual and seasonal rainfall patterns in the Indira Sagar Region of Madhya Pradesh, India, from 1901 to 2010. Agriculture sustainability, food supply, natural resource development, and hydropower system reliability in the region rely heavily on monsoon rainfall. Monthly rainfall data from three stations (East Nimar, Barwani, and West Nimar) were analyzed. Initially, the pre-whitening method was applied to eliminate serial correlation effects from the rainfall data series. Subsequently, statistical trends in annual and seasonal rainfall were assessed using both parametric (student-t test) and non-parametric tests [Mann-Kendall, Sen’s slope estimator, and Cumulative Sum (CUSUM)]. The magnitude of the rainfall trend was determined using Theil-Sen’s slope estimator. Spatial analysis of the Mann-Kendall test on an annual basis revealed a statistically insignificant decreasing trend for Barwani and East Nimar and an increasing trend for West Nimar. On a seasonal basis, the monsoon season contributes a significant percentage (88.33%) to the total annual rainfall. The CUSUM test results indicated a shift change detection in annual rainfall data for Barwani in 1997, while shifts were observed in West and East Nimar stations in 1929. These findings offer valuable insights into regional rainfall behavior, aiding in the planning and management of water resources and ecological systems.

Geospatial Variability of Cholera Cases in Malawi Based on Climatic and Socioeconomic Influences

Cholera remains a public health threat in most developing countries in Asia and Africa including Malawi with seasonal recurrent outbreaks. Malawi’s recent Cholera outbreak in 2022 and 2023, exhibited higher morbidity and mortality rates than the past two decades. Lack of spatiotemporal-based technology and variability assessment tools in Malawi’s Cholera monitoring and management, limit our understanding of the disease’s epidemiology. The present work developed a spatiotemporal variability model for Cholera disease at district level and its relationship to socioeconomic and climatic factors based on cumulative confirmed Cholera cases in Malawi from March 2022 to July 2023 using Z-score statistic and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) in a Geographical Information System (GIS). We found out that socioeconomic factors such as access to safe drinking water, population density and poverty level, and climatic factors including temperature and rainfall strongly influenced Cholera prevalence in a complex and multifaceted manner. The model shows that Lilongwe, Mangochi, Blantyre and Balaka districts were highly vulnerable to Cholera disease followed by lakeshore districts of Salima, Nkhotakota, Nkhata-Bay and Karonga than other districts. We recommend strategic measures such as Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions, community awareness on proper water storage, Cholera case management, vaccination campaigns and spatial-based surveillance systems in the most affected districts. This research has shown that MGWR, as a surveillance system, has the potential of providing insights on the disease’s spatial patterns for public health authorities to identify high-risk districts and implement early response interventions to reduce the spread of the disease.

Granulometry Assessment of Lom Pangar Dam Sediments (East-Cameroon)

The Lom Pangar dam, the largest reservoir in Cameroon with a storage capacity of 6 km3 and a 30 MW hydropower plant, primarily regulates the hydrologic regime of the Sanaga River to maintain hydropower efficiency during dry seasons and enhance downstream hydropower plant performance. Understanding and managing sediments are crucial for the sustainability of dams, as indicated by numerous studies. This study assessed the granulometry of the sediments transported across the reservoir. For that purpose, 6 samples of fresh sediments were collected in the lacustrine and transitional sections of the reservoir using the standard method. Particles size was assessed using the laser diffusion technic after a 3 mm sieving. Various granulometric parameters were derived from the literature to analyze and characterize those sediments. Results show that silts are more than 70% of particles size and range between 2.19 - 60.26 µm. Size distribution also shows the same trend with D75 less than 51 µm. This is confirmed by the low values of Inman Skewness SkΦ (−0.168 to 0.303). The Sorting index S0 ranges from 0.31 to 0.53 µm, showing a very well-sorted sediments, aligning with low values of Krumbein index (0.906 - 1.683) that express the low heterometry of the particles. The consequence on the dam will be a quick clogging of the bottom of the reservoir. Their pH varies from 7.0 to 7.5. It also appears that the sandy fraction trend is higher in the right bank of the dam and reaches 22% on the right bank of Pangar River due to crystalline geology. Fraction greater than 3000 µm is negligible. The management of the dam has to keep attention to these results as siltation may close the safety outlet of the dam, damage turbines, and provoke recurrent technical and safety issues. Further, the clogging of the bottom of the reservoir may lead to an ecological problem with the limitation of hyporheic flow. Thus, water exchange with the underground water table and the natural purification of water reduce, while increasing sediments deposits change the biogeochemistry processes.

Origin and Distribution of Groundwater Chemical Fields of the Oilfield in the Songliao Basin,NE China

There are many factors affecting the chemical characteristics of groundwater in the forming process of groundwater chemical fields, such as freshening due to meteoric water leaching downwards, freshening due to mudstone compaction and water release, concentration due to infiltration and freshening due to dehydration of clay minerals. As a result, the groundwater chemical fields are characterized by lengthwise stages and planar selectivity. The former arouses vertical chemical zonality of groundwater. Five units could be identified downwards in the Songliao basin： （1） freshening zone due to downward-leaching meteoric water, （2） concentration zone due to evaporation near the ground surface, （3） freshening zone due to mudstone compaction and water release, and concentration zone due to compaction and infiltration, （4） freshening zone due to dehydration of clay minerals, and （5） filtration-concentration zone; whereas the latter determines the planar division of groundwater chemical fields： （1） the freshening area due to meteoric water, asymmetrically on the margin of the basin, （2） the freshening area due to mudstone compaction and water release in the central part of the basin, （3） the leaky area, which is a transitional zone, and （4） leakage-evaporation area, which is a concentration zone. In the direction of centrifugal flows caused by mudstone compaction in the depression area, the mineralization degree, concentrations of Na^＋ and Cl^-, and salinity coefficient （SC） increase, while concentrations of （CO3^2- ＋HCO3^-） and SO4^2-, metamorphism coefficient （MC） and desulfuration coefficient （DSC） decrease. However, all these parameters increase in the direction of gravity-induced centripetal flows.

Calculation and Simulation of Evapotranspiration of Applied Water

The University of California, Davis and the California Department of Water Resources have developed a weather generator application program “SIMETAW” to simulate weather data from climatic records and to estimate reference evapotranspiration （ETo） and crop evapotranspiration （ETc） with the generated simulation data or with observed data. A database of default soil depth and water holding characteristics, effective crop rooting depths, and crop coefficient （Kc） values to convert ETo to ETc are input into the program. After calculating daily ETc, the input and derived data are used to determine effective rainfall and to generate hypothetical irrigation schedules to estimate the seasonal and annual evapotranspiration of applied water （ETaw）, where ETaw is the net amount of irrigation water needed to produce a crop. in this paper, we will discuss the simulation model and how it determines ETaw for use in water resources planning.

California Simulation of Evapotranspiration of Applied Water and Agricultural Energy Use in California

The California Simulation of Evapotranspiration of Applied Water （CaI-SIMETAW） model is a new tool developed by the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California, Davis to perform daily soil water balance and determine crop evapotranspiration （ETo）, evapotranspiration of applied water （ETaw）, and applied water （AW） for use in California water resources planning. ETaw is a seasonal estimate of the water needed to irrigate a crop assuming 100% irrigation efficiency. The model accounts for soils, crop coefficients, rooting depths, seepage, etc. that influence crop water balance. It provides spatial soil and climate information and it uses historical crop and land-use category information to provide seasonal water balance estimates by combinations of detailed analysis unit and county （DAU/County） over Califomia. The result is a large data base of ETc and ETaw that will be used to update information in the new California Water Plan （CWP）. The application uses the daily climate data, i.e., maximum （Tx） and minimum （Tn） temperature and precipitation （Pcp）, which were derived from monthly USDA-NRCS PRISM data （PRISM Group 2011） and daily US National Climate Data Center （NCDC） climate station data to cover California on a 4 kmx4 km change grid spacing. The application uses daily weather data to determine reference evapotranspiration （ETo）, using the Hargreaves-Samani （HS） equation （Hargreaves and Samani 1982, 1985）. Because the HS equation is based on temperature only, ETo from the HS equation were compared with CIMIS ETo at the same locations using available CIMIS data to determine correction factors to estimate CIMIS ETo from the HS ETo to account for spatial climate differences. CaI-SIMETAW also employs near real-time reference evapotranspiration （ETo） information from Spatial CIMIS, which is a model that combines weather station data and remote sensing to provide a grid of ETo information. A second database containing the available soil water holding capacity and soil depth information for all of California was also developed from the USDA-NRCS SSURGO database. The Cal-SIMETAW program also has the ability to generate daily weather data from monthly mean values for use in studying climate change scenarios and their possible impacts on water demand in the state. The key objective of this project is to improve the accuracy of water use estimates for the California Water Plan （CWP）, which provides a comprehensive report on water supply, demand, and management in California. In this paper, we will discuss the model and how it determines ETaw for use in water resources planning.

Hydrogeochemical characterization and quality assessment of groundwater using self-organizing maps in the Hangjinqi gasfield area,Ordos Basin,NW China

Water resources are scarce in arid or semiarid areas,which not only limits economic development,but also threatens the survival of mankind.The local communities around the Hangjinqi gasfield depend on groundwater sources for water supply.A clear understanding of the groundwater hydrogeochemical characteristics and the groundwater quality and its seasonal cycle is invaluable and indispensable for groundwater protection and management.In this study,self-organizing maps were used in combination with the quantization and topographic errors and K-means clustering method to investigate groundwater chemistry datasets.The Piper and Gibbs diagrams and saturation index were systematically applied to investigate the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater from both rainy and dry seasons.Further,the entropy-weighted theory was used to characterize groundwater quality and assess its seasonal variability and suitability for drinking purposes.Our hydrochemical groundwater dataset,consisting of 10 parameters measured during both dry and rainy seasons,was classified into 6 clusters,and the Piper diagram revealed three hydrochemical facies:Cl-Na type(clusters 1,2 and 3),mixed type(clusters 4 and 5),and HCO3-Ca type(cluster 6).The Gibbs diagram and saturation index suggested thatweathering of rock-forming mineralswere the primary process controlling groundwater chemical composition and validated the credibility and practicality of the clustering results.Two-thirds of 45 groundwater samples were categorized as excellent-or good-quality and were suitable as drinking water.Cluster changes within the same and different clusters from the dry season to the rainy season were detected in approximately 78%of the collected samples.The main factors affecting the groundwater quality were hydrogeochemical characteristics,and dry season groundwater quality was better than rainy season groundwater quality.Based on this work,such results can be used to investigate the seasonal variation of hydrogeochemical characteristics and assess water quality accurately in the others similar area.

Phosphorus Sorption-desorption Characteristics of Ditch Sediments from Different Land Uses in a Small Headwater Catchment in the Central Sichuan Basin of China

Investigation of phosphorus (P) sorption-desorption characteristics of drainage ditch sediments is important for better understanding on sediment P transport behaviors in ditches. Surface ditch sediment samples were collected from headwater sub-catchment of forestland, sloping cropland, paddy field, and residential area in a representative catchment in the central Sichuan Basin. These sediment samples were used for determination of P sorption-desorption characteristics by a batch equilibrium technique. Results showed that the maximum P sorption capacities (Qm) in the sediments ranged from 159.7 to 263.7 mg/kg, while higher Qm were observed in the ditch sediments from the paddy fields. The Qm was significantly and positively correlated with oxalate-extractable Fe and Al oxides (r=0.97 and 0.98, p < 0.01), clay fraction (r = 0.78, p < 0.05) and organic matter (r = 0.95, p < 0.01). Sediment pH, clay and organic matter influenced the P sorption through amorphous Fe and Al oxides. CaCO3 content was negatively correlated with the Qm (r = -0.83, p < 0.05), implying that saturated CaCO3 (> 50 g/kg) would not increase P sorption capacity in the ditch sediments. The ditch sediments featured a linear desorption curve, suggesting that P release risk would be enhanced with the increase of the P adsorption. The P desorption rate was positively correlated with Olsen P (r = 0.94, p < 0.01), but negatively related to the fine particle-size fractions (r = -0.92, p < 0.01), the sum of the amorphous Fe and Al oxides (r = -0.67, p < 0.05) and the P sorption capacity (r = -0.59, p < 0.05). The ditch sediments from residential area had a higher P release risk than that from the other ditches of forestland, sloping cropland and paddy field. The P sorption index (PSI) derived from single-point measurement was significantly correlated with the P sorption capacity (r = 0.99, p < 0.01), and could be used for estimating Qm as 1.64 times PSI plus 24.0 (Qm = 1.64 PSI + 24.0) for similar sediments with highly calcareous soils and sediments. Ditch cleaning and sediment removal for the ditch in residential area were recommended in this area to reduce the P release risk.