Search results for "Science and technology"
showing 10 items of 1592 documents
Origin of clay minerals in soils on pyroclastic deposits in the island of Lipari (Italy)
2005
The island of Lipari (Italy) is characterized by calc-alkaline to potassic volcanism and a Mediterranean-type climate. The mineralogical and chemical features of two different soil profiles with ages of 92,000 and 10,000–40,000 y, respectively, have been investigated. There were no Andisols, but Vitric and Vertic Cambisols have developed at both sites. Although the morphology of the soils was similar, remarkable differences in the clay mineralogy between the two sites were observed. The site with the Vitric Cambisol was associated with the weathering sequence: glass → halloysite → kaolinite or interstratified kaolinite-2:1 clay minerals. Both sites had smectite in the clay fraction and, to …
Observations and snow model simulations of winter energy balance terms within and between different coniferous forests in Southern Boreal Finland
2015
Variation of canopy properties between different forest types is seldom taken into account in hydrological and climate models, and consideration of variation inside a forest is normally omitted. In this work, three data sets on near surface energy balance terms (incoming shortwave and longwave radiation; air and snow–soil interface temperatures) were collected in the southern boreal coniferous zone in Finland during three winters below different types of forest canopies. The aim was to evaluate the ability of a snow mass and energy balance model with a canopy module to reproduce the observed differences in below-canopy incoming radiations and snow–soil interface temperature. Clear differenc…
Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets in experimental grasslands of variable diversity.
2007
Previous research has shown that plant diversity influences N and P cycles. However, the effect of plant diversity on complete ecosystem N and P budgets has not yet been assessed. For 20 plots of artificially established grassland mixtures differing in plant diversity, we determined N and P inputs by bulk and dry deposition and N and P losses by mowing (and subsequent removal of the biomass) and leaching from April 2003 to March 2004. Total deposition of N and P was 2.3 +/- 0.1 and 0.2 +/- 0.01 g m(-2) yr(-1), respectively. Mowing was the main N and P loss. The net N and P budgets were negative (-6.3 +/- 1.1 g N and -1.9 +/- 0.2 g P m(-2) yr(-1)). For N, this included a conservative estimat…
Spatial throughfall heterogeneity in a montane rain forest in Ecuador: Extent, temporal stability and drivers
2009
Summary The drivers of spatial throughfall heterogeneity are still not fully understood. At an undisturbed forest site in the Ecuadorian Andes with ca. 2600 mm of annual rainfall we determined the accuracy of throughfall measurements by comparing Hellmann-type funnel gauges with troughs. At the same undisturbed and a managed, selectively-logged forest site we determined spatial variability of throughfall, temporal stability of spatial variability and the controls of spatial throughfall variability using a 4-year dataset in weekly resolution. There were no systematic differences between the collected volumes of funnel gauges and troughs. Based on the statistical distribution of annual throug…
Laboratory Measurements of Flow and Turbulence in Discontinuous Distributions of Ligulate Seagrass
2007
Turbulent flow characteristics were investigated in laboratory flume studies of a ligulate plant canopy interrupted by a gap representing discontinuities observed in seagrass prairies. The reliability of velocity measurements obtained using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter within the canopy was shown using specifically designed experiments. In relatively fast flow (mean velocity 5.5 cm s−1), the mean flow profile was logarithmic above the canopy, had an inflection point near its top, and uniformly low values within it. Within the gap, a recirculation cell formed. Reynolds stress maxima were approximately coincident with the mean flow inflection point. Quadrant analysis revealed an ejection-d…
Determination of Evapotranspiration and Annual Biomass Productivity of a Cactus Pear [Opuntia ficus-indica L. (Mill.)] Orchard in a Semiarid Environm…
2013
A micrometeorological approach based on the surface energy balance was adopted to estimate evapotranspiration fluxes and crop coefficient data from an irrigated cactus pear [Opuntia ficus-indica L. (Mill.)] orchard under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Highfrequency temperature readings were taken above the canopy top to get sensible heat flux values (HSR) using the surface renewal technique. These values were compared against eddy covariance sensible heat fluxes (HEC) for calibration. Latent heat flux (or evapotranspiration, ET) was obtained by solving the daily energy balance equation. Measurements of soil hydraulic components were integrated with the analysis of the surface energy flu…
Spatio-temporal variation of throughfall in a hyrcanian plain forest stand in Northern Iran
2018
Abstract Elucidating segregation of precipitation in different components in forest stands is important for proper forest ecosystems management. However, there is a lack of information on important rainfall components viz. throughfall, interception and stemflow in forest watersheds particularly in developing countries. We therefore investigated the spatiotemporal variation of important component of throughfall for a forest stand in a Hyrcanian plain forest in Noor City, northern Iran. The study area contained five species of Quercus castaneifolia, Carpinus betulus, Populus caspica and Parrotia persica. The research was conducted from July 2013 to July 2014 using a systematic sampling method…
Simplified Interception/Evaporation Model
2021
It is known that at the event scale, evaporation losses of rainfall intercepted by canopy are a few millimeters, which is often not much in comparison to other stocks in the water balance. Nevertheless, at yearly scale, the number of times that the canopy is filled by rainfall and then depleted can be so large that the interception flux may become an important fraction of rainfall. Many accurate interception models and models that describe evaporation by wet canopy have been proposed. However, they often require parameters that are difficult to obtain, especially for large-scale applications. In this paper, a simplified interception/evaporation model is proposed, which considers a modified …
Dimensional analysis and upscaling of two-phase flow in porous media with piecewise constant heterogeneities
2004
Dimensional analysis of the traditional equations of motion for two-phase flow in porous media allows to quantify the influence of heterogeneities. The heterogeneities are represented by position dependent capillary entry pressures and position dependent permeabilities. Dimensionless groups quantifying the influence of random heterogeneities are identified. For the case of heterogeneities with piecewise constant constitutive parameters (e.g., permeabilities, capillary pressures) we find that the upscaling ratio defined as the ratio of system size and the scale at which the constitutive parameters are known has to be smaller than the fluctuation strength of the heterogeneities defined, e.g.,…