Search results for "Fall"
showing 10 items of 964 documents
Co-evolution of hydrological components under climate change scenarios in the Mediterranean area
2015
ABSTRACT The Mediterranean area is historically characterized by high human pressure on water resources. Today, while climate is projected to be modified in the future, through precipitation decrease and temperature increase, that jointly and non-linearly may affect runoff, concerns about water availability are increasing. For these reasons, quantitative assessment of future modifications in the mean annual water availability are important; likewise, the description of the future interannual variability of some hydrological components such as runoff and evapotranspiration are highly wished for water management and ecosystems dynamics analyses. This study investigates at basin spatial scale …
Production and turnover of organic matter in three southern European Fagus sylvatica L
1999
Above-ground biomass, litterfall and litter accumulation and decomposition at the soil surface were studied within three Mediterranean beech forests from Italy, France and Spain in order to better understand the recycling of elements associated with the turnover organic matter Above-ground tree biomass amounted to 131.9 Mg ha-1 at Etna (Italy), 134.2 Mg ha-1 at Sierra de la Demanda (Spain) and 223.9 Mg ha-1 at Mont Lozère (France). The highest amount of total litterfall was observed at Sierra de la Demanda (4.7 Mg ha-1 year-1), followed by the Mont Lozère (4.4 Mg ha-1 year-1) and Etna (3.9 Mg ha-1 year-1). Total organic matter accumulated on the soil surface in the three beech forests amoun…
Classification of Extreme Rainfall for a Mediterranean Region by Means of Atmospheric Circulation Patterns and Reanalysis Data
2020
AbstractThe atmospheric circulation can be recognized as one of the causes of severe rainfall events occurrence. Such events, especially when are characterized by short durations and high intensities, result in flood events in the Mediterranean area. It is very important to understand how these heavy rainfall events, which can be usually identified with convective rainfall, are related to the different types of atmospheric circulation. In order to do this, some weather circulation patterns (WPs), which have been derived for the Europe, have been first connected with the rainfall annual maxima (AMAX) recorded over the Sicily. The analyses allowed to identify those WPs that are more likely to…
Scale effects on plot runoff and soil erosion in a mediterranean environment
2017
Explaining scale effects for runoff and erosion improves our understanding of hydrological and erosion processes. In this investigation, plot-scale effects on event runoff per unit area, Qe, sediment concentration, Ce, and soil loss per unit area, SLe, were checked at the Sparacia (Italy) site. Similar information on the scale effects was obtained with different dependent variables, i.e., individual values of Qe, Ce, and SLe for each plot or the mean of their replicated values, and scale indicators, i.e., plot length, l, or plot area, A. The most common result, occurring for 57 to 62% of the events depending on the considered variable, was the lack of any scale effect. When scale effects we…
Influence of the rainfall measurement interval on the erosivity determinations in the Mediterranean area
2006
Summary The single-storm erosion index, EI, of the USLE and RUSLE models may vary appreciably with the rainfall measurement interval, Δ t . However, the effect of Δ t on EI has not been investigated in the Mediterranean area. Approximately 700 erosive events and 1.5 years of rainfall energies measured by a rainfall impact measurement device were used to evaluate the effect of the rainfall measurement interval (5 min ⩽ Δ t ⩽ 60 min) on the erosivity determinations in the Mediterranean semi-arid area of Sicily. According to both literature and practical considerations, a reference time interval equal to 15 min was used in this investigation. Hourly rainfall data led to an appreciable underes…
Rainfall-runoff modelling of ephemeral streams in the Valencia region (eastern Spain)
2002
This paper presents preliminary results from the application of a transfer-function rainfall–runoff model to ephemeral streams in Mediterranean Spain. Flow simulations have been conducted for two small catchments (Carraixet and Poyo basins), located in close proximity to one another yet with significantly different geological characteristics. Analysis of flow simulations for a number of high-flow events has revealed the dominant influence of the rainfall on the catchment response, particularly for high-rainfall events. Particular success has been attained modelling the highest magnitude events in both catchments and for all events in the faster responding (Poyo) catchment. In order to inves…
Re-evaluation of moisture sources for the August 2002 extreme rainfall episode in central Europe: Evaporation from falling precipitation included in …
2015
Summary Discriminating moisture sources with precision is an important requirement to better understand the processes involved in extreme rainfall episodes. In a previous contribution by Gangoiti et al. (2011b), an innovative technique was presented to assess surface moisture sources contributing to a target precipitation within a Lagrangian framework. The technique was based in transporting parcels of vapor, representing the target precipitation, across a set of nested grids covering a large area at different resolutions. A mesoscale model estimated the meteorological variables to transport and redistribute the vapor back into its original sources, all of them assumed to be at the surface.…
Rainfall statistics changes in Sicily
2013
Abstract. Changes in rainfall characteristics are one of the most relevant signs of current climate alterations. Many studies have demonstrated an increase in rainfall intensity and a reduction of frequency in several areas of the world, including Mediterranean areas. Rainfall characteristics may be crucial for vegetation patterns formation and evolution in Mediterranean ecosystems, with important implications, for example, in vegetation water stress or coexistence and competition dynamics. At the same time, characteristics of extreme rainfall events are fundamental for the estimation of flood peaks and quantiles which can be used in many hydrological applications, such as design of the mos…
The immediate effectiveness of barley straw mulch in reducing soil erodibility and surface runoff generation in Mediterranean vineyards
2016
Soil and water loss in agriculture is a major problem throughout the world, and especially in Mediterranean areas. Non-conservation agricultural practices have further aggravated the situation, especially in vineyards, which are affected by one of the highest rates of soil loss among cultivated lands. Therefore, it is necessary to find the right soil practices for more sustainable viticulture. In this regard, straw mulching has proven to be effective in other crop and fire affected soils, but, nonetheless, little research has been carried out in vineyards. This research tests the effect of barley straw mulching on soil erosion and surface runoff on vineyards in Eastern Spain where the soil …
Sea level and climate forcing of the Sr isotope composition of late Miocene Mediterranean marine basins
2014
Sr isotope records from marginal marine basins track the mixing between seawater and local continental runoff, potentially recording the effects of sea level, tectonic, and climate forcing in marine fossils and sediments. Our 110 new Sr-87/Sr-86 analyses on oyster and foraminifera samples from six late Miocene stratigraphic sections in southern Turkey, Crete, and Sicily show that Sr-87/Sr-86 fell below global seawater values in the basins several million years before the Messinian Salinity Crisis, coinciding with tectonic uplift and basin shallowing. 87Sr/86Sr from more centrally located basins (away from the Mediterranean coast) drop below global seawater values only during the Messinian S…