High Water Levels Research Articles

Soil bacteria, archaea, and enzymatic activity of natural and rewetted peatlands display varying patterns in response to water levels

Peatland restoration is an efficient approach to enhance soil carbon sequestration and mitigate climate change. However, successful restoration outcomes require an in-depth comprehension of the underlying soil ecological processes following restoration. To gain a processed perspective on the distinctions between natural and rewetted peatlands, this study compared the soil properties, enzymatic activities, and bacterial and archaeal community structures under uniform water level gradients. The results confirmed our hypothesis that the ecological processes between rewetted and natural peatlands vary significantly. Although the rewetted peatland exhibited different soil properties compared to the natural peatland, increasing water levels resulted in a shift in soil physicochemical properties and hydrolase activities toward those of the natural peatland. This highlights the importance of maintaining a high water level for successful peatland restoration. However, enzymatic activities in the rewetted and natural peatlands exhibited opposite trends with increased water levels, with the natural peatland exhibiting lower polyphenol oxidase activity (-56.7%), higher archaeal diversity (7.3%) and lower bacterial diversity (-2.1%). As the water level increased, ecological processes in the natural peatland shifted from bacteria-dominated faster processes to archaea-dominated slower processes, while no such trends were observed in the rewetted peatland. The study suggest that the lower pH and more restrictive nutrient conditions in the natural peatland, which were altered by rice cultivation with fertilization and vegetation deterioration in the rewetted peatland, may contribute to the biological differences between the two peatland types. These differences may hinder the restoration process after rewetting. Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness of peatland restoration, particularly in the context of rich fens, it is necessary to consider measures that can promote the development of a nutrient-limited and acidic environment aside from rewetting.

Water Sowing and harvesting application for water management on the slopes of a volcano

The present study aims to elaborate a hydrogeological characterisation in the Water Sowing and Harvesting context. The study is focused on rural parishes in the Ecuadorian Andes that, despite their proximity to snow sources (Chimborazo glaciers), need more supply of this resource, to satisfy the demand of a population of 70,466 inhabitants. The study is based on hydrology and geomorphological analysis, a geophysical exploration, and a definition of water management strategies. The application of non-destructive geophysical methods and Geographic Information Systems support the hydrogeological study and the proposal of strategies for sustainable water management on the slopes of the Chimborazo volcano. An aquifer potential was identified (sand, gravel and fractured porphyritic andesites) with resistivity values between 51.3 and 157 Ω m at an approximate depth of 30 m from the geophysical characterisation addressed. This potential saturated zone is on the southern slope of the Chimborazo volcano within the hydrographic watershed, with favourable drainage networks for water accumulation. The aquifer shows a high-water saturation level but uncontrolled losses. As a consequence of these characteristics, alternatives for managing water resources are proposed, such as wells construction, using Water Sowing and Harvesting system methods (“camellones”) based on Nature-Based Solutions, dam construction and environmental education. The different proposals are associated with the four sustainability axes of Brundtland (economic, social, environmental and cultural axis) and contribute to the sixth objective of the Sustainable Development Goal 2030 Agenda.

Multispectral Imaging for Identification of High-Water Marks in Postdisaster Flood Reconnaissance

Multispectral Imaging for Identification of High-Water Marks in Postdisaster Flood Reconnaissance

Investigation of the effect of water temperature on water consumption of cats

Cats can naturally obtain their water requirements on the water content of their food. The wild cats usually do not need to drink water, because their prey (e.g., birds, small rodents, insects) contains about 70-75% body water. The same situation is applied for domestic cats too, which eat canned wet food that contains high level of water. However, if the water level of the diet is less than 60%, cats need additional drinking water. A mature cat must consume 60ml/kg/day water to maintain its body functions without any problem. Otherwise cats will be easily dehydrated and chronic dehydration can lead some health problems such as bladder and renal diseases and circulatory problems. Any practical method that could increase cats water consumption, would have a reducing effect on the before mentioned diseases.
 Regarding the water consumption, the taste of water has been found as effective as the other physiological stimulants such as mouth dryness, plasma osmolality and blood volume. Temperature is considered to be very important for the taste perception of animals. The preference for the water temperature varies among the animal species. 
 So we hypothesized that, cooling the drinking water can encourage cats to drink more water and we aimed to investigate the effect of the water temperature on water consumption of cats. 
 This research has conducted with 8 domestic, mature and healthy pet cats (Felis domesticus) that live indoor. We measured the water consumption of cats for two weeks. During the first week, temperature of water has not been intervened, and the cats' normal water consumption were measured. On the 1st day, 500 ml water, measured with graduated cylinder, was provided in a standard water bowl. After 24 hours, the remained water has been measured and noted. After each measurement, cat owners refreshed the drinking water. In the 2nd week, we started to add four ice cubes to the water bowl, three times in a day. First week, cat’s average normal water consumption has found 142,26±8,09 ml/kg/day. (p

Christopher R. Seitz. Essays on Prophecy and Canon

Christopher R. Seitz. <i>Essays on Prophecy and Canon</i>

Experimental and numerical modeling of pile-rock breakwater gap arrangement for optimal coastal erosion protection in deltaic coasts

Pile-Rock breakwaters (PRBW) have been constructed as long continuous features in the West Sea of the Mekong Delta. Optimising the gap arrangement and spatial orientation of these continuous breakwaters can result in positive impacts on the velocity field, sediment distribution, and shoreline morphology. In this study, experimental and numerical modelling was performed to investigate the effect of breakwater gaps on bedload sediment transport and nearshore bed morphology. The gap width across various hydrodynamic conditions was found to have a significant impact on bedload sediment transport and nearshore bed morphology. This study found breakwater gaps can result in high current speed and flow due to wave diffraction, which subsequently also accelerates the shoreline and bed erosion process. The gaps also have a positive impact by facilitating sediment supply behind the breakwaters, which enhances the living shoreline. The sediment exchange rate was higher in low water conditions for the emerged breakwater caused by wave circulation stirring up the sediment with higher wave amplitude. During high-water conditions, the results showed a relatively smaller area of sedimentation behind the breakwater. Under high water level conditions, the ability to stir up sediment decreases, resulting in low sediment transport. The findings from this study can be used to optimize the design of pile-rock breakwaters and their performance on the deltaic coast.

APPLICATION OF MORPHOLOGIC ANALYSIS TO QUANTIFY DIVERSION OF FLOOD WATERFLOW AND POTENTIAL ELECTRICAL ENERGY

As significant catchment of flood water, this study examined important morphological structures of Lake Buhi (LB) catchment area which is a part of Bicol River Basin Area (BRBA). The information taken was used to derive a mathematical model which was then used in analysing the hydrologic event in the area. Different scenarios were investigated to provide solutions and avoid major risks and damages in BRBA during extreme precipitation. The method used to gather the data are Geographical Information System (GIS), digital elevation modelling (DEM), hydrologic modelling, site visit, and remote sensing. It was found that the morphology is well structured to collect and impound vast amount of rainwater flow and form huge body of water known as the LB. The area has immense number of streams that directs surface runoff into the impounded body of water having low drainage density. Enormous amount is needed to discharge away and prevent high water level rise and stop flood in the nearby villages. The capacity of the outflow river is sufficient in most cases of the forecasted precipitation while during the time of typhoon event was found insufficient. However, there are three options to divert away the accumulated floodwater and become a potential source of electrical energy.

Initial Population Analysis and Mycorrhizal Fungi of the Leafless Epiphytic Orchid, Campylocentrum pachyrrhizum, in Florida

Campylocentrum pachyrrhizum Rchb.f. Rolfe, also known as the ribbon orchid, is native to southern Florida, the West Indies, and northern South America. In Florida, it is restricted to the Fakahatchee Strand and is currently state-listed as endangered, but virtually nothing is known about the orchid’s biology, ecology, and current status. The purpose of this study was to document ribbon orchid populations within the northern portion of the Fakahatchee Strand (Florida Panther NWR) and to identify some of the biotic and abiotic factors critical to its survival. During 2016–2022, a total of 118 ribbon orchids were recorded at five sites on 21 host trees comprising two species (Annona glabra, Fraxinus caroliniana). The majority (80%) were rooted on pop ash, and over half (54%) were rooted at the base of trees 100–150 cm above the high water mark. The number of orchids decreased from year to year, with the largest drop (2017–2018) coinciding with damage from Hurricane Irma. At the end of the 2022 survey, only 44 orchids remained. Mycorrhizal fungi isolated from two plants were identified as a Ceratobasidium species. We urge land managers to take immediate action to safeguard this species throughout southern Florida.

Impact of urban geology on model simulations of shallow groundwater levels and flow paths

Abstract. This study examines the impact of urban geology and spatial discretization on the simulation of shallow groundwater levels and flow paths at the city scale. The study uses an integrated hydrological model based on the MIKE SHE code that couples surface water and 3D groundwater simulations with a leaky sewer system. The effect of the geological configuration was analyzed by applying three geological models to an otherwise identical hydrological model. The effect of spatial discretization was examined by using two different horizontal discretizations for the hydrological models of 50 and 10 m, respectively. The impact of the geological configuration and spatial discretization was analyzed based on model calibration, simulations of high water levels, and particle tracking. The results show that a representation of the subsurface infrastructure, and near-terrain soil types, in the geological model impacts the simulation of the high water levels when the hydrological model is simulated in a 10 m discretization. This was detectable even though the difference between the geological models only occurs in 7 % of the volume of the geological models. When the hydrological model was run in a 50 m horizontal discretization, the impact of the urban geology on the high water levels was smoothed out. Results from particle tracking show that representing the subsurface infrastructure in the hydrological model changed the particles' flow paths and travel time to sinks in both the 50 and 10 m horizontal discretization of the hydrological model. It caused less recharge to deeper aquifers and increased the percentage of particles flowing to saturated-zone drains and leaky sewer pipes. In conclusion, the results indicate that even though the subsurface infrastructure and fill material only occupy a small fraction of the shallow geology, it affects the simulation of local water levels and substantially alters the flow paths. The comparison of the spatial discretization demonstrates that, to simulate this effect, the spatial discretization needs to be of a scale that represents the local variability in the shallow urban geology.

Study of Urban Flooding Response under Superstandard Conditions

Superstandard conditions refer to extreme rainfall and river flooding that exceed the flood control system or flood control works. In order to explore the influence of superstandard conditions on urban waterlogging, based on the MIKE FLOOD platform, this paper takes the downtown area of Zhoukou as the research object, and it conducts waterlogging simulation in this area under the extreme rainfall conditions of once in 20 years and once in 50 years combined with the ultra-high water level of the river. The simulation results of inundation depth, inundation range and drainage capacity of a self-flowing river are compared and analyzed. The results show that heavy rainfall is the main cause of waterlogging disaster. When extreme rainfall and river flood occur at the same time, the artesian drainage capacity of the pipeline is seriously affected due to the high water level of the river. The city has a large amount of water, and when the river embankment overflows, it poses a serious threat to the safety of the city.

Flooding lowers the emissions of CO2 and CH4 during the freeze-thaw process in a lacustrine wetland

The frequency and strength of soil freeze–thaw alternation have been increasing with the aggravation of climate change, which will affect soil physicochemical properties and biological characteristics and in turn alter soil carbon (C) emissions. The emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are often influenced by the water level in wetland ecosystems. However, the effects of soil freeze–thaw alternation under different water levels on soil C emissions in wetland ecosystems are still not clear. We examined the impacts of soil freeze–thaw alternation under different water levels on the emission of CO2 and CH4 in a wetland dominated by Phragmites australis, and the soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities were studied. The results showed that freeze–thaw treatments promoted soil carbon emissions, and flooding significantly lowered soil CO2 and CH4 emissions under freeze–thaw treatments. The soil water content (SWC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the activities of β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and peroxidase (PER) were the main predictors of soil carbon emissions under freeze–thaw treatments. Flooding played a direct role in carbon emissions during the freeze–thaw processes, and the interpretation rates of soil CO2 and CH4 emissions were 65% and 37%, respectively. The high-water level indicated fewer carbon emissions during the freeze–thaw period. Therefore, appropriately raising the water level is conducive to reducing carbon emissions from wetlands in areas of seasonal frost.

A Verification Methodology for the Arm® Confidential Computing Architecture: From a Secure Specification to Safe Implementations

We present Arm's efforts in verifying the specification and prototype reference implementation of the Realm Management Monitor (RMM), an essential firmware component of Arm Confidential Computing Architecture (Arm CCA), the recently-announced Confidential Computing technologies incorporated in the Armv9-A architecture. Arm CCA introduced the Realm Management Extension (RME), an architectural extension for Armv9-A, and a technology that will eventually be deployed in hundreds of millions of devices. Given the security-critical nature of the RMM, and its taxing threat model, we use a combination of interactive theorem proving, model checking, and concurrency-aware testing to validate and verify security and safety properties of both the specification and a prototype implementation of the RMM. Crucially, our verification efforts were, and are still being, developed and refined contemporaneously with active development of both specification and implementation, and have been adopted by Arm's product teams. We describe our major achievements, realized through the application of formal techniques, as well as challenges that remain for future work. We believe that the work reported in this paper is the most thorough application of formal techniques to the design and implementation of any current commercially-viable Confidential Computing implementation, setting a new high-water mark for work in this area.

Influence of early melting of the ice cover and high water level on functioning of the coastal rookery for baikal seal (&lt;i&gt;Pusa sibirica&lt;/i&gt; Gm.) on Dolgiy Island (Lake Baikal), on materials of 2020

Functioning of a coastal seal rookery is considered on example of those located on Dolgiy Island in Lake Baikal, regularly visited by baikal seal &lt;i&gt;Pusa sibirica&lt;/i&gt; Gm., which is constantly monitored by video surveillance. A case of the year 2020 with extremely early (comparing to 2011–2019) destruction and disappearance of ice in the northern part of the lake and rapid rise of the water level in summer-autumn is analyzed. Timing of the seals haul onshore and their abundance in rookery depend on the ice conditions: the lower ice cover – the earlier hauling-out and the higher abundance. Since the beginning of the rookery formation in May, up to 400 animals roosted there at the same time. Too early disappearance of the floating ice caused an abnormally large portion of individuals with incomplete molting on the rookery, and the delay in molting affected likely negatively on the animals health. Other negative factor was the deficit of available solid substrate for hauling-out because of rapid rise of the water level, particular in early summer. However, a large number of very well-fed adult females and males was observed on the rookery in May; presumably they did not participate in reproduction of population in 2020.

Peak Water Levels Rise Less Than Mean Sea Level in Tidal Channels Subject to Depth Convergence by Deepening

AbstractEffects of sea‐level rise (SLR) on future peak water levels in tidal deltas and estuaries are largely unknown, despite these areas being densely populated and at high risk of flooding. While the rates of SLR accelerate, many channels simultaneously experience channel deepening for navigation. With globally decreasing sediment supplies, most channels are at risk of becoming deeper when the rate of SLR accelerates and sedimentation cannot keep pace with SLR. These factors potentially favor amplification of the tides and thereby increase flood risk, but the extent to which they will do so is unknown. Here, we introduce and use a validated model for an artificially deepened multi‐branch delta to get a mechanistic understanding of non‐linear SLR‐effects on peak water levels. Results show that, when the current deepened bed level will be maintained, peak water levels do not rise on par with mean sea‐level. Thus flood risk increases less than what can be expected from the predictions of the mean sea‐level increase. The reason is that SLR causes a proportional reduction in convergence of channel area. This mechanism reduces tidal amplification. Nevertheless, SLR effects extend far beyond the range of present‐day seasonal variations, with future low water levels being equal to present‐day high water levels, while the tidal range slightly reduces. This will have consequences not only for flood risk, but also for freshwater availability, navigation and ecology.

Spatially estimating flooding depths from damage reports

It is important that a sustainable community better prepare for and design mitigation processes for major flooding events, particularly as the climate is non-stationary. In recent years, there have been major storm events in the USA with record amounts of rainfall that some refer to as stalled storms. These stalled storms frequently result in flooding of urban areas which are not subject to riverine or storm surge flooding. This research focuses on using flood damage reports in conjunction with contour maps, geographical information systems, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data, photographs, and spatial averaging to develop total (high) flood elevation data sets for two neighborhoods for Tropical Storm Imelda in Beaumont, Texas. When various sources of data such as insurance or Federal Emergency Management Agency damage reports, updated LiDAR elevation sets, and coordination data are readily available, this may be an economical method of estimating maximum flood elevations. High-water marks are frequently collected by various agencies as soon as possible after a flooding event, but these data sets might provide even additional information and validation many months or years post an event.

Felipe Valencia. The Melancholy Void: Lyric and Masculinity in the Age of Góngora

Felipe Valencia. <i>The Melancholy Void: Lyric and Masculinity in the Age of Góngora</i>

Southeast Asian States Have Their Own Views on the Ukraine War

Southeast Asian States Have Their Own Views on the Ukraine War Jeffrey Reeves (bio) Just as Southeast Asia has emerged as the center of gravity for the countries of the global West's respective Indo-Pacific strategies, so too has the region become a priority area for Western diplomacy on the Russia-Ukraine war. Since the start of the conflict, the United States, in particular, has lobbied Southeast Asian states and the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to condemn Russia's aggression and to comply with Western sanctions against Moscow. In May 2022, for example, the Biden administration raised the Ukraine war in discussions with Southeast Asian leaders at their summit in Washington and tried to insert language in a joint U.S.-ASEAN vision statement criticizing Russia's militarism, ultimately having to settle instead for more vague language on support for territorial sovereignty and international law.1 Similarly, in 2022, the entire Western cohort of the G-20 pressured then host Indonesia to include language criticizing Russia's invasion in the group's joint statement. According to one European sous-sherpa involved in the statement's drafting, China and India also partially supported this language, which therefore made it possible to include.2 In at least one instance, however, European leaders were unable to bring their Southeast Asian counterparts on side with their criticism of Russia. In a December 2022 joint statement following an EU-ASEAN summit, negotiators failed to draft a common critique of Russia's actions.3 Neither have Western leaders had much success in securing Southeast Asian state support in condemnation of the war at the bilateral level, aside from Singapore, which is unique in the region for its relative acceptance [End Page 55] of Western views on the Ukraine war. Indeed, for all the West's efforts to propagate a distinctly critical narrative of Russia in Southeast Asia, regional media, scholarship, and leadership remain either noncommittal to the idea of Russian censure or sympathetic to what they perceive as Russia's strategic logic. As the Ukraine war passed its one-year anniversary in February 2023, Southeast Asian states were decidedly less interested in the war and in criticizing Russia than before. Although in a March 2022 UN General Assembly resolution eight ASEAN members voted to condemn Russia (Vietnam and Laos abstained), polling now shows that Southeast Asian states lead the world in their disinterest toward the war.4 Large majorities of the public in Thailand (60%) and Malaysia (56%) and sizable numbers in Singapore (44%) and Indonesia (48%) believe that the war is not their business and that their states should not interfere.5 Far from being a region that is sympathetic to Western narratives on the Ukraine war, Southeast Asia stands out for its perceived detachment from the conflict. How can one explain Southeast Asian states' apathy toward the war at a time that stands out in many ways as a high-water mark for Western states' attention? While the diversity within and between Southeast Asian states makes it nearly impossible to answer this question comprehensively in short form, there are several trends and characteristics across the region that provide some degree of insight. First, there is a clear lack of consensus on the origins, strategic direction, and global impact of the Russia-Ukraine war among Southeast Asian states and within ASEAN. Second, most Southeast Asian states remain open to and interested in maintaining economic, political, and social ties with Russia despite Western pressure to limit or restrict engagement. Third, Southeast Asian states are, in general, more cynical about Western intentions toward the war than other states, particularly with respect to Washington's proclivity to use the conflict to justify the further isolation of China and NATO's attempt to use the conflict to expand its influence in Asia. In this essay, the author will draw on polling data, official statements, media, and scholarship from across Southeast Asia to detail regional states' contemporary views on the Ukraine war and demonstrate that Southeast Asian states are generally less concerned about Russia's invasion [End Page 56] of Ukraine than their European and North American counterparts, more critical of the war's...

How to Find Actionable Static Analysis Warnings: A Case Study With FindBugs

Automatically generated static code warnings suffer from a large number of false alarms. Hence, developers only take action on a small percent of those warnings. To better predict which static code warnings should <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">n</i> ot be ignored, we suggest that analysts need to look deeper into their algorithms to find choices that better improve the particulars of their specific problem. Specifically, we show here that effective predictors of such warnings can be created by methods that <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">l</i> ocally adjust the decision boundary (between actionable warnings and others). These methods yield a new high water-mark for recognizing actionable static code warnings. For eight open-source Java projects (cassandra, jmeter, commons, lucene-solr, maven, ant, tomcat, derby) we achieve perfect test results on 4/8 datasets and, overall, a median AUC (area under the true negatives, true positives curve) of 92%.

Efficiency of non-revenue water reduction in improving water supply performance in Indian metropolises

Abstract Many cities around the world face water crisis. Poor management contributes more to water crises than resource constraints. Multiple Indian metropolitan cities face severe water crises. These cities usually have high non-revenue water (NRW) levels. The present study estimates the efficiency of the extent of NRW management to improve per capita water supply (PCS) and cost recovery (CR) in 55 Indian metropolises with more than one million population. The study considered variable-returns-to-scale data envelopment analysis (DEA) using input orientation (I/P DEA). NRW has been used as the input variable, while the PCS and CR are studied as the output variables. The DEA model recommends that reduced NRW levels can address the water crisis in Indian cities. According to the DEA findings, about 38 Indian cities (68.09%) could reduce NRW levels by more than 50% while improving PCS and CR levels substantially. Around 47 cities (85.45%) can fulfil the water supply benchmark value of 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd). Three cities can improve the cost recovery by more than 100%. The findings suggest that water supply utilities in Indian cities should focus on reducing NRW levels substantially to improve the PCS and CR.

Mary Louise Roberts. Sheer Misery: Soldiers in Battle in WWII.

War inescapably degrades and destroys human life. Although conflict’s architects and apologists often obfuscate the character of armed violence, the infliction of damage constitutes the essence of warfare. In Sheer Misery, Mary Louise Roberts places soldier bodies—variously stinking, aching, oozing, or lifeless—under the microscope, magnifying both the vulnerability and resilience of men in uniform and in extremis. Roberts’s subjects fought in some of the bloodiest European engagements of World War II. These “high-water marks for infantry misery” (4) encompass the winter campaign fought in Italy over the grim months spanning 1943 and 1944, the summer battles waged in Normandy after the D-Day landings, and the Allies’s final push through Belgium and Luxembourg toward Germany. French and German soldiers make intermittent appearances, but Roberts’s principals are British and American infantrymen, along with a handful of senior commanders and surgeons, whose letters, diaries, and memoirs she has filleted to reconstruct a “somatic history of war” (3).