Abstract: The insufficiency of distributed in situ hydrological measurements is a major challenge for hydrological studies in many regions of the world. Satellite missions such as the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) can be used to improve our understanding of water resources beyond surface water in poorly gauged basins. In this study we combined GRACE and TRMM to investigate monthly estimates of evaporation plus runoff (sink terms) using the water balance equation for the period from January 2005 to December 2010 within the Volta Basin. These estimates have been validated by comparison with time series of sink terms (evaporation plus surface and subsurface runoff) from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). The results, for the period under consideration, show strong agreement between both time series, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 20.2 mm/month (0.67 mm/d) and a correlation coefficient of 0.85. This illustrates the ability of GRACE to predict hydrological quantities, e.g. evaporation, in the Volta Basin. The water storage change data from GRACE and precipitation data from TRMM all show qualitative agreement, with evidence of basin saturation at approximately 73 mm in the equivalent water column at the annual and semi-annual time scales.
Abstract: Three stochastic mathematical models for calculation of the reservoir flood regulation process, river course flood release, and flood risk rate under flood control were established based on the theory of stochastic differential equations and features of flood control systems in the middle reach of the Huaihe River from Xixian to the Bengbu floodgate, comprehensively considering uncertain factors of hydrology, hydraulics, and engineering control. They were used to calculate the flood risk rate with flood regulation of five key reservoirs, including the Meishan, Xianghongdian, Nianyushan, Mozitan, and Foziling reservoirs in the middle reach of the Huaihe River under different flood frequencies, the flood risk rate with river course flood release under design and check floods for the trunk of the Huaihe River in conjunction with relevant flood storage areas, and the flood risk rate with operation of the Linhuaigang Project under design and check floods. The calculated results show that (1) the five reservoirs can withstand design floods, but the Xianghongdian and Foziling reservoirs will suffer overtopping accidents under check floods; (2) considering the service of flood storage areas under the design flood conditions of the Huaihe River, the mean flood risk rate with flood regulation of dykes and dams from Xixian to the Bengbu floodgate is about 0.2, and the trunk of the Huaihe River can generally withstand design floods; and (3) under a check flood with the flood return period of 1 000 years, the risk rate of overtopping accidents of the Linhuaigang Project is not larger than 0.15, indicating that it has a high flood regulation capacity. Through regulation and application of the flood control system of the Linhuigang Project, the Huaihe River Basin can withstand large floods, and the safety of the protected area can be ensured.
Abstract: This paper deals with a stochastic representation of the rainfall process. The analysis of a rainfall time series shows that cumulative representation of a rainfall time series can be modeled as a non-Gaussian random walk with a log-normal jump distribution and a time-waiting distribution following a tempered α-stable probability law. Based on the random walk model, a fractional Fokker-Planck equation (FFPE) with tempered α-stable waiting times was obtained. Through the comparison of observed data and simulated results from the random walk model and FFPE model with tempered α-stable waiting times, it can be concluded that the behavior of the rainfall process is globally reproduced, and the FFPE model with tempered α-stable waiting times is more efficient in reproducing the observed behavior.
Abstract: In order to analyze the impact of the water surface area of a watershed on the design flood, the watershed was classified into a land watershed and a water surface watershed for flood flow calculation at the same time interval. Then, the design flood of the whole watershed was obtained by adding the two flood flows together. Using this method, we calculated design floods with different water surface areas of three reservoirs and analyzed the impact of water surface area on the flood volume and peak flow. The results indicate that larger water surface areas lead to greater impacts on the flood volume and peak flow. For the same watershed area, the impact of water surface area on the flood volume and peak flow is positively proportional to the flood frequency, i.e., the higher the frequency, the greater the impact becomes.
Abstract: Based on the fundamental principles of total amount control of water use, the harmony theory was used in this study to develop a concept of the degree of harmony of total amount control of water use. Based on this concept, the harmoniousness of total amount control of water use was analyzed in terms of the supply and demand of water resources, water resources management, water use benefits, and water-saving level. An evaluation index system of the degree of harmony of total amount control of water use was established, and a method for calculation of the degree of harmony of total amount control of water use was developed based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive analysis (FCA) methods. The new evaluation index system was applied to a certain area in Jiangsu Province, China. The degree of harmony of total amount control of water use over this area was calculated for different years. Results indicate that the evaluation index system and calculation method proposed in this study are feasible, and such a harmoniousness analysis can provide scientific references for the strict water resources management system that will be implemented in China in the near future.
Abstract: Complex water movement and insufficient observation stations are the unfavorable factors in improving the accuracy of flow calculation of river networks. A water level updating model for river networks was set up based on a three-step method at key nodes, and model correction values were collected from gauge stations. To improve the accuracy of water level and discharge forecasts for the entire network, the discrete coefficients of the Saint-Venant equations for river sections were regarded as the media carrying the correction values from observation locations to other cross-sections of the river network system. To examine the applicability, the updating model was applied to flow calculation of an ideal river network and the Chengtong section of the Yangtze River. Comparison of the forecast results with the observed data demonstrates that this updating model can improve the forecast accuracy in both ideal and real river networks.
Abstract: Since the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir in 2003, algal blooms have frequently been observed in it. The chlorophyll a concentration is an important parameter for evaluating algal blooms. In this study, the chlorophyll a concentration in Xiangxi Bay, in the Three Gorges Reservoir, was predicted using HJ-1 satellite imagery. Several models were established based on a correlation analysis between in situ measurements of the chlorophyll a concentration and the values obtained from satellite images of the study area from January 2010 to December 2011. Chlorophyll a concentrations in Xiangxi Bay were predicted based on the established models. The results show that the maximum correlation is between the reflectance of the band combination of B4/(B2+B3) and in situ measurements of chlorophyll a concentration. The root mean square errors of the predicted values using the linear and quadratic models are 18.49 mg/m3 and 18.52 mg/m3, respectively, and the average relative errors are 37.79% and 36.79%, respectively. The results provide a reference for water bloom prediction in typical tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir and contribute to large-scale remote sensing monitoring and water quality management.
Abstract: An experiment was carried out to investigate the anti-ammonium shock load capacity of a biological aerated filter (BAF) composed of a double-layer bed. This bed was made up of a top layer of ceramic and a bottom layer of zeolite. The experiment shows that the anti-ammonium shock load process can be divided into two processes: adsorption and release. In the adsorption process, the total removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen by zeolite and ceramic was 94%. In the release process, the ammonia nitrogen concentration increased significantly and then gradually returned to the normal level four hours after the shock load. The results indicated that the double-layer BAF had a high level of adaptability to the short-term ammonium shock load and long-term operation. The main factors influencing the dynamic process of ammonia nitrogen adsorption were the filter bed height, ammonia nitrogen concentration of influent, and flow rate. The bed depth service time (BDST) model was used to predict the relationship between the filter bed height and breakthrough time at different flow rates, and the results are reliable.
Abstract: River ice is a natural phenomenon in cold regions, influenced by meteorology, geomorphology, and hydraulic conditions. River ice processes involve complex interactions between hydrodynamic, mechanical, and thermal processes, and they are also influenced by weather and hydrologic conditions. Because natural rivers are serpentine, with bends, narrows, and straight reaches, the commonly-used one-dimensional river ice models and two-dimensional models based on the rectangular Cartesian coordinates are incapable of simulating the physical phenomena accurately. In order to accurately simulate the complicated river geometry and overcome the difficulties of numerical simulation resulting from both complex boundaries and differences between length and width scales, a two-dimensional river ice numerical model based on a boundary-fitted coordinate transformation method was developed. The presented model considers the influence of the frazil ice accumulation under ice cover and the shape of the leading edge of ice cover during the freezing process. The model is capable of determining the velocity field, the distribution of water temperature, the concentration distribution of frazil ice, the transport of floating ice, the progression, stability, and thawing of ice cover, and the transport, accumulation, and erosion of ice under ice cover. A MacCormack scheme was used to solve the equations numerically. The model was validated with field observations from the Hequ Reach of the Yellow River. Comparison of simulation results with field data indicates that the model is capable of simulating the river ice process with high accuracy.
Abstract: In this study, several kinds of flexible protective materials sprayed with polyurea elastomers (hereinafter referred to as polyurea elastomer protective material) were adopted to meet the abrasion resistance requirement of hydraulic structures, and their abrasion resistances against the water flow with suspended load or bed load were studied systematically through tests. Natural basalt stones were adopted as the abrasive for simulation of the abrasion effect of the water flow with bed load, and test results indicate that the basalt stone is suitable for use in the abrasion resistance test of the flexible protective material. The wear process of the polyurea elastomer protective material is stable, and the wear loss is linear with the time of abrasion. If the wear thickness is regarded as the abrasion resistance evaluation factor, the abrasion resistance of the 351 pure polyurea is about twice those of pure polyurea with a high level of hardness and aliphatic polyurea, and over five times that of high-performance abrasion-resistant concrete under the abrasion of the water flow with suspended load. It is also about 50 times that of high-performance abrasion-resistant concrete under the abrasion of the water flow with bed load. Overall, the abrasion resistance of pure polyurea presented a decreasing trend with increasing hardness. Pure polyurea with a Shore hardness of D30 has the best abrasion resistance, which is 60 to 70 times that of high-performance abrasion-resistant concrete under the abrasion of the water flow with bed load, and has been recommended, among the five kinds of pure polyurea materials with different hardness, in anti-abrasion protection of hydraulic structures.
