Depth Gradient (depth + gradient)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Errors of kinematic wave and diffusion wave approximations for time-independent flows with infiltration and momentum exchange included

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 9 2005
V. P. Singh
Abstract Error equations for kinematic wave and diffusion wave approximations were derived for time-independent flows on infiltrating planes and channels under one upstream boundary and two downstream boundary conditions: zero flow at the upstream boundary, and critical flow depth and zero depth gradient at the downstream boundary. These equations specify error in the flow hydrograph as a function of space. The diffusion wave approximation was found to be in excellent agreement with the dynamic wave approximation, with errors below 2% for values of KF (e.g. KF , 7·5), where K is the kinematic wave number and F is the Froude number. Even for small values of KF (e.g. KF = 2·5), the errors were typically less than 3%. The accuracy of the diffusive approximation was greatly influenced by the downstream boundary condition. For critical flow depth downstream boundary condition, the error of the kinematic wave approximation was found to be less than 10% for KF , 7·5 and greater than 20% for smaller values of KF. This error increased with strong downstream boundary control. The analytical solution of the diffusion wave approximation is adequate only for small values of K. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A method for the non-destructive analysis of gradients of mechanical stresses by X-ray diffraction measurements at fixed penetration/information depths

JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2006
A. Kumar
A rigorous measurement strategy for (X-ray) diffraction stress measurements at fixed penetration/information depths has been developed. Thereby errors caused by lack of penetration-depth control in traditional (X-ray) diffraction (sin2,) measurements have been annulled. The range of accessible penetration/information depths and experimental aspects have been discussed. As a practical example, the depth gradient of the state of residual stress in a sputter-deposited nickel layer of 2,µm thickness has been investigated by diffraction stress measurements with uncontrolled penetration/information depth and two controlled penetration/information depths corresponding to about one quarter and one tenth of the layer thickness, respectively. The decrease of the planar tensile stress in the direction towards the surface could be well established quantitatively. [source]


VARIABILITY IN THE ECOPHYSIOLOGY OF HALIMEDA SPP. (CHLOROPHYTA, BRYOPSIDALES) ON CONCH REEF, FLORIDA KEYS, USA,

JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 4 2003
Kevin Beach
The photosynthetic performance, pigmentation, and growth of a Halimeda community were studied over a depth gradient on Conch Reef, Florida Keys, USA during summer,fall periods of 5 consecutive years. The physiology and growth of H. tuna (Ellis & Solander) Lamouroux and H. opuntia (L.) Lamouroux on this algal dominated reef were highly variable. Maximum rate of net photosynthesis (Pmax), respiration rate, and quantum efficiency (,) did not differ between populations of either species at 7 versus 21 m, even though the 21-m site received a 66% lower photon flux density (PFD). Physiological parameters, as well as levels of photosynthetic pigments, varied temporally. Pmax, saturation irradiance, compensation irradiance, and growth were greatest in summer months, whereas ,, chl a, chl b, and carotenoid concentrations were elevated each fall. Halimeda tuna growth rates were higher at 7 m compared with 21 m for only two of five growth trials. This may have arisen from variability in light and nutrient availability. Individuals growing at 7 m received a 29% greater PFD in August 2001 than in 1999. In August 1999 and 2001 seawater temperatures were uniform over the 14-m gradient, whereas in August 2000 cold water regularly intruded upon the 21-m but not the 7-m site. These results illustrate the potentially dynamic relationship between nutrients, irradiance, and algal productivity. This suggests the necessity of long-term monitoring over spatial and temporal gradients to accurately characterize factors that impact productivity. [source]


Organic carbon and carbon isotopes in modern and 100-year-old-soil archives of the Russian steppe

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2002
Margaret S. Torn
Abstract Archived soils can provide valuable information about changes in the carbon and carbon isotope content of soils during the past century. We characterized soil carbon dynamics in a Russian steppe preserve using a 100-year-old-soil archive and modern samples collected from the same site. The site has been protected since 1885 to the present, during which time the region has experienced widespread conversion to cultivation, a decrease in fire frequency, and a trend of increasing precipitation. In the preserve, the amount of organic carbon did not change appreciably between the 1900 and 1997 sampling dates, with 32 kg C/m2 in the top meter and a third of that in the top 20 cm. Carbon and nitrogen stocks varied by less than 6% between two replicate modern soil pits or between the modern sites and the archive. Radiocarbon content decreased with depth in all sites and the modern SOM had positive , values near the surface due to nuclear weapons testing in the early 1960s. In the upper 10 cm, most of the SOM had a turnover time of 6,10 years, according to a model fit to the radiocarbon content. Below about 10 cm, the organic matter was almost all passive material with long (millennial) turnover times. Soil respiration ,14CO2 on a summer day was 106,109,, an isotopic disequilibrium of about 9, relative to atmospheric 14CO2. In both the modern and archive soil, the relative abundance of 13C in organic matter increased with depth by 2, in the upper meter from ,13C = --26, at 5 cm to --24, below a meter. In addition, the slope of ,13C vs. depth below 5 cm was the same for both soils. Given the age of the soil archive, these results give clear evidence that the depth gradients are not due to depletion of atmospheric 13CO2 by fossil fuel emissions but must instead be caused by isotopic fractionation between plant litter inputs and preservation of SOM. Overall, the data show that these soils have a large reservoir of recalcitrant C and stocks had not changed between sampling dates 100 years apart. [source]


An eigenvector-based linear reconstruction scheme for the shallow-water equations on two-dimensional unstructured meshes

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 1 2007
Sandra Soares Frazão
Abstract This paper presents a new approach to MUSCL reconstruction for solving the shallow-water equations on two-dimensional unstructured meshes. The approach takes advantage of the particular structure of the shallow-water equations. Indeed, their hyperbolic nature allows the flow variables to be expressed as a linear combination of the eigenvectors of the system. The particularity of the shallow-water equations is that the coefficients of this combination only depend upon the water depth. Reconstructing only the water depth with second-order accuracy and using only a first-order reconstruction for the flow velocity proves to be as accurate as the classical MUSCL approach. The method also appears to be more robust in cases with very strong depth gradients such as the propagation of a wave on a dry bed. Since only one reconstruction is needed (against three reconstructions in the MUSCL approach) the EVR method is shown to be 1.4,5 times as fast as the classical MUSCL scheme, depending on the computational application. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Clay-Turbid Interactions May Not Cascade,A Reminder for Lake Managers

RESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
Jukka Horppila
Abstract Food web management is a frequently used lake restoration method, which aims to reduce phytoplankton biomass by strengthening herbivorous zooplankton through reduction of planktivorous fish. However, in clay-turbid lakes several factors may reduce the effectivity of food web management. Increasing turbidity reduces the effectivity of fish predation and weakens the link between zooplankton and phytoplankton. Therefore, the effects of fish stock manipulations may not cascade to lower trophic levels as expected. Additionally, in clay-turbid conditions invertebrate predators may coexist in high densities with planktivorous fish and negate the effects of fish reductions. For instance, in the stratifying regions of the clay-turbid Lake Hiidenvesi, Chaoborus flavicans is the main regulator of cladocerans and occupies the water column throughout the day, although planktivorous Osmerus eperlanus is very abundant. The coexistence of chaoborids and fish is facilitated by a metalimnetic turbidity peak, which prevents efficient predation by fish. In the shallow parts of the lake, chaoborids are absent despite high water turbidity. We suggest that, generally, the importance of invertebrate predators in relation to vertebrate predators may change along turbidity and depth gradients. The importance of fish predation is highest in shallow waters with low turbidity. When water depth increases, the importance of fish in the top-down regulation of zooplankton declines, whereas that of chaoborids increases, the change along the depth gradient being moderate in clear-water lakes and steep in highly turbid lakes. Thus, especially deep clay-turbid lakes may be problematic for implementing food web management as a restoration tool. [source]