Esta pesquisa apresenta um sistema de suporte a decisão (SSD) para o planejamento e gerenciamento integrado de bacias hidrográficas, denominado Riverhelp!, e também sugere nova metodologia para o uso desse tipo de ferramenta de análise. O objetivo geral é desenvolver um SSD que possa auxiliar a gestão de recursos hídricos. Para isso o SSD utiliza e integra tecnologias avançadas em um só sistema computacional flexível e que pode ser utilizado e entendido por especialistas e outros participantes do processo decisório. O programa é composto por quatro módulos principais e tem código aberto baseado na tecnologia OpenMI o que permite aos usuários alterar e incluir funções. Outra propriedade que merece destaque é sua completa integração com um sistema de informações geográficas permitindo a análise temporal e espacial da bacia hidrográfica. Essa ferramenta pode, por exemplo, ser usada para análises de disponibilidade de água em quantidade e qualidade, para o estudo de ecossistemas, para a otimização e operação de reservatórios e para auxiliar no processo de outorga de direito de uso da água. Uma aplicação do Riverhelp! para as bacias hidrográficas dos rios Piracicaba, Capivari e Jundiaí ilustra as diversas possibilidades de uso do sistema. Os resultados dessa investigação reforçam a importância e a necessidade de uma nova geração de SSD que considerem e analisem de maneira integrada os complexos assuntos relacionados à gestão da bacia hidrográfica. O desenvolvimento do Riverhelp! contribui significativamente para o avanço das pesquisas relacionadas ao tema de planejamento e gerenciamento integrado de recursos hídricos fornecendo um SSD com características únicas, que associa ferramentas para avaliação ambiental, modelos de simulação e otimização de qualidade e quantidade de água superficial e subterrânea, sistema de informações geográficas, diferentes bancos de dados, funções para análises estatísticas e técnicas multiobjetivo para análise de cenários. / This research presents a decision support system (DSS) for integrated water resources planning and management (IWRM) named Riverhelp! and suggests new methodology for the use of this kind of analysis tool as well. The general goal is to develop an appropriate DSS that can help IWRM process. In order to do so, the DSS uses and combines advanced technologies and techniques currently available. It integrates different methodologies in just one computational system, which is flexible and can be used and understood not only by specialists but also by general users who are not familiar with modelling. The DSS Riverhelp! has four main building blocks and an open computational core based on the OpenMI technology which allows users to access it programmatically and to add new tools or to change computations in almost any way they want. Another important characteristic is that the DSS Riverhelp! is fully integrated with a geographic information system (GIS). Most of all, it puts time and spatial information together and is therefore a great package for data management of river basins. This system can be used for hydrological analyses, assessment of water availability, water resources planning, water quality and quantity studies, reservoir systems nonlinear optimization and so on. In this research a Riverhelp! application for the Piraciaba, Capivari and Jundiaí river basins shows several possibilities for its use. The results of this study emphasize the importance and necessity of a new generation of decision support systems that are able to analyze and take into account the complex issues associated to river basin management in an integrated approach. The Riverhelp! development makes significant contributions for research advance in the integrated water resources planning and management field providing a DDS with unique characteristics that combines environmental assessment tools, water quality and quantity simulation and optimization models for surface water and groundwater, geographic information system, sophisticated databases, statistical tools and multicriteria techniques for scenario analyses.

M.Sc. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The Sustut Group within the study area is a nonmarine succession of fine to coarse grained elastics, deposited in an alluvial fan environment. Regionally, the Sustut Group is divisible into the Tango Creek and Brothers Peak Formations. In the study area, the two formations are entirely Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian) in age, based on palynological evidence. In the southern Sustut Basin, only the uppermost 400 m of the Tatlatui Member of the Tango Creek Formation is exposed. Sediments of the Tatlatui Member are divided into fine and coarse grained lithofacies. The fine grained lithofacies is composed of interbedded mudstone, siltstone and fine grained sandstone, which is interpreted as an alluvial plain deposit. Pebble conglomerate interbedded with coarse to medium grained sandstone comprise the coarse grained lithofacies which is considered to be a braided river deposit. The Brothers Peak Formation comprises 1 000 m of diverse elastics and tuffs, which are divisible into the lower and upper Laslui Member, and the overlying Spatsizi Member. The lower Laslui Member conformably overlies the Tatlatui Member of the Tango Creek Formation, and is characterized by several fining upwards sequences of cobble conglomerate to medium grained sandstone, attributed to deposition by high energy braided streams in the mid-fan region of an alluvial fan complex. Sediments of the upper Laslui Member are divided into a fine grained lithofacies consisting of mudstone, interbedded with lesser amounts of siltstone, fine grained sandstone and tuff beds, and a coarse grained lithofacies composed of orthoconglomerate, paracong1omerate and coarse grained sandstone. The fine grained lithofacies comprises the majority of the sequence and is interpreted as an alluvial plain deposit. Coarse grained sediments of the upper Laslui Member were likely deposited during stages of high water discharge, by major distributaries, sheetfloods and debris flows. The Spatsizi Member is gradational from the upper Laslui Member and is composed of sandstone/mudstone sequences interpreted as sandy braided stream deposits of an alluvial plain. Detrital components of the Tango Creek and Brothers Peak sandstones are mainly chert, quartz, plagioclase and volcanic rock fragments. Paleocurrent measurements and provenance considerations suggest source terranes were located to the east during Tango Creek deposition, and to the west during Brothers Peak deposition. In the southern Sustut Basin, the Tango Creek Formation documents uplift and erosion in the Omineca Belt and Paleozoic rock units, following accretion of the first composite terrane (terrane I) to the North American Margin. The Brothers Peak Formation is considered a result of local uplift and volcanic activity, accompanying the accretion of a second composite terrane (terrane II). / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

Esta pesquisa apresenta um sistema de suporte a decisão (SSD) para o planejamento e gerenciamento integrado de bacias hidrográficas, denominado Riverhelp!, e também sugere nova metodologia para o uso desse tipo de ferramenta de análise. O objetivo geral é desenvolver um SSD que possa auxiliar a gestão de recursos hídricos. Para isso o SSD utiliza e integra tecnologias avançadas em um só sistema computacional flexível e que pode ser utilizado e entendido por especialistas e outros participantes do processo decisório. O programa é composto por quatro módulos principais e tem código aberto baseado na tecnologia OpenMI o que permite aos usuários alterar e incluir funções. Outra propriedade que merece destaque é sua completa integração com um sistema de informações geográficas permitindo a análise temporal e espacial da bacia hidrográfica. Essa ferramenta pode, por exemplo, ser usada para análises de disponibilidade de água em quantidade e qualidade, para o estudo de ecossistemas, para a otimização e operação de reservatórios e para auxiliar no processo de outorga de direito de uso da água. Uma aplicação do Riverhelp! para as bacias hidrográficas dos rios Piracicaba, Capivari e Jundiaí ilustra as diversas possibilidades de uso do sistema. Os resultados dessa investigação reforçam a importância e a necessidade de uma nova geração de SSD que considerem e analisem de maneira integrada os complexos assuntos relacionados à gestão da bacia hidrográfica. O desenvolvimento do Riverhelp! contribui significativamente para o avanço das pesquisas relacionadas ao tema de planejamento e gerenciamento integrado de recursos hídricos fornecendo um SSD com características únicas, que associa ferramentas para avaliação ambiental, modelos de simulação e otimização de qualidade e quantidade de água superficial e subterrânea, sistema de informações geográficas, diferentes bancos de dados, funções para análises estatísticas e técnicas multiobjetivo para análise de cenários. / This research presents a decision support system (DSS) for integrated water resources planning and management (IWRM) named Riverhelp! and suggests new methodology for the use of this kind of analysis tool as well. The general goal is to develop an appropriate DSS that can help IWRM process. In order to do so, the DSS uses and combines advanced technologies and techniques currently available. It integrates different methodologies in just one computational system, which is flexible and can be used and understood not only by specialists but also by general users who are not familiar with modelling. The DSS Riverhelp! has four main building blocks and an open computational core based on the OpenMI technology which allows users to access it programmatically and to add new tools or to change computations in almost any way they want. Another important characteristic is that the DSS Riverhelp! is fully integrated with a geographic information system (GIS). Most of all, it puts time and spatial information together and is therefore a great package for data management of river basins. This system can be used for hydrological analyses, assessment of water availability, water resources planning, water quality and quantity studies, reservoir systems nonlinear optimization and so on. In this research a Riverhelp! application for the Piraciaba, Capivari and Jundiaí river basins shows several possibilities for its use. The results of this study emphasize the importance and necessity of a new generation of decision support systems that are able to analyze and take into account the complex issues associated to river basin management in an integrated approach. The Riverhelp! development makes significant contributions for research advance in the integrated water resources planning and management field providing a DDS with unique characteristics that combines environmental assessment tools, water quality and quantity simulation and optimization models for surface water and groundwater, geographic information system, sophisticated databases, statistical tools and multicriteria techniques for scenario analyses.

The Alvord Valley Known Geothermal Resources Area (KGRA) , located east of the Steens Mountain-Pueblo Mountains fault block in southeastern Oregon, is within the northern Basin and Range province. This investigation focuses on three thermal areas in the Alvord Basin: Borax Lake and the hot springs north of Borax Lake, Alvord Hot Springs and Mickey Springs. Mickey Springs and the springs north of Borax Lake are boiling at the surface (94 and 95° C, respectively). Inflow temperatures to Borax Lake, measured at a depth of 30 m, are greater than 100° C. Surface temperatures for Alvord Hot Springs and a flowing well northeast of Borax Lake are 78 and 59° C, respectively. Thermal fluids issue from Quaternary lacustrine and alluvial deposits. While silica sinter deposits are present at all three thermal areas, sinter is not presently being deposited. Minor calcite is being deposited at the springs north of Borax Lake. The springs discharge from N to NEstriking, high-angle, basin-bounding faults along the base of Steens Mountain and Mickey Mountain and NE-striking intrabasinal faults south of Alvord Lake. The thermal waters are dilute sodium-bicarbonate waters with significant amounts of sulfate and chloride. Conservative element plots (B, F, and Li vs. Cl) indicate good correlation between Cl and the other conservative elements. These correlations could result from mixing of thermal water with a dilute cold water or fluid evolution due to increased fluid-rock interaction, evaporation, and steam loss due to boiling. The small variations in chloride concentrations of thermal fluids during the sampling period argues against mixing of thermal fluids with cold water. The geothermal system is a hot-water rather than a vapordominated system. The ỎD content of thermal fluids is similar to the ỎD content of local cold water wells, springs, basinal pore fluids at a depth of 4 to 5 m, and perennial streams. Similarities in ỎD values indicate recharge for geothermal fluids is precipitation from the Steens Mountain fault block. The Ỏ18 content of thermal fluids is shifted 2 to 3°/oo to the right of the world meteoric water line indicating fluid-rock interaction at elevated temperatures in the reservoir. Tritium contents indicate relatively long residence times and/or low-velocity circulation of meteoric water through basement rocks. Values range from 0 to 0.25 T.U. The application of two end-member models, which calculate fluid residence times, generate a minimum of 57 years and a maximum of greater than 10,000 years. Estimated reservoir temperatures based on cation and silica geothermometry are between 170 and 200°C. Oxygensulfate isotope geothermometer estimates indicate reservoir temperatures between 198 and 207' C for Borax Lake and Alvord Hot Springs. Mickey Springs and a flowing well northeast of Borax Lake yield temperature estimates of 168 and 150° C, respectively. These values indicate partial reequilibration of the isotopic system. The Ỏ13C contents of carbon dioxide and methane of gas discharges from the thermal areas are similar to geothermal fluids from other sites. The Ỏ13C of methane indicate "normal" geothermal methane for Alvord Hot Springs and Mickey Springs (-27.8 and -27.6, respectively). The Ỏ13C of CH4 for springs north of Borax Lake (-33.6) indicates a small amount of thermogenic methane may be contributed by thermal alteration of organics in basinal sediments. The Ỏ13C contents for C02 at Alvord Hot Springs and Borax Lake are within the range expected for atmospheric, fumarolic, or mantle derived C02 (-6.5 and -6.6, respectively). The Ỏ13C content of C02 from Mickey Springs is isotopically lighter than gas released from fumaroles or the mantle (-9.4). N2/Ar ratios for Mickey Springs and Borax Lake gases (39.2 and 40.8, respectively) indicate interaction with airsaturated ground water during flow through the the zone of aeration. Helium is enriched relative to Ar and N2 in gas discharges from Alvord Hot Springs, indicating longer fluid residence times and/or increased crustal interaction at high temperatures. Ratios of B/Cl indicate the fluid reservoir is hosted in volcanic rocks. The Li/Cs ratios for the Borax Lake thermal area are consistent with a reservoir located in rhyoli tic rocks. The 228Ra/226Ra content of Borax Lake thermal fluids (1.14 ± 0.13 dpm/kg) indicates interaction with volcanic rocks for Borax Lake. The 228Ra/226Ra content of thermal fluids from Alvord Hot Springs and Mickey Springs (0.38~0.02 and 0.17 ~ 0.09) are lower than those expected for volcanic rocks and may indicate local uranium accumulation in the reservoir or zones of upflow. The 87Sr / 86Sr values for thermal waters and stratigraphic uni ts indicate the fluid reservoir is located in volcanic rocks beneath Steens Basalt. Equilibration of fluids in these units argues for thermal water circulation depths of 2 to 2.5 km in the Borax Lake thermal area, greater than 3 km in the Alvord Hot Springs area and 1 to 2 km in the Mickey Springs area. Data presented in this study do not preclude a single large deep reservoir system discharging at these three thermal areas in the Alvord basin. Differences in the chemical and isotopic composition of discharge from the three thermal areas are produced during upf low from the reservoir. During upflow, thermal waters follow a complex pathway of vertical and lateral fractures which includes short residence times in shallow reservoirs before reaching the surface. Boiling, mixing with condensate, oxidation, mixing with 1-3% tritium-bearing, near-surface cold water, relative differences in flow rate and volume, and slow cooling without vigorous boiling are processes that modify fluid composition during upflow from the deep geothermal reservoir.

No description available.

The nutrient status of the soils in Shenchong Basin and the effects of soil erosion were examined during the summer of 1987. Eight raingauges and two thermographs provided meteorological data. Soil samples were collected from different land use categories in the uplands and lowlands, including agricultural areas. Water and sediment samples were collected from 1) surface discharge from the upland slope, rills and a gully during storms and 2) surface and ground waters during dry weather. Analysis was carried out on water samples to determine ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, orthophosphate, soluble iron, calcium and potassium concentrations. The soil and sediment samples were analyzed for nitrate-nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. Concentrations of nitrate and orthophosphate in the water samples were very low. Potassium showed the highest concentrations. Ammonia was the dominant inorganic nitrogen species in water and possibly the soils. The soils were highly acidic (pH < 5) and the soluble iron concentrations were high in the upland soils. Total aluminum concentrations were also high. Potassium concentrations were high in soils from vegetated areas. The higher levels of calcium and magnesium in the agricultural soils were were related to lime additions. Available phosphorus concentrations were very low. Nitrate showed no spatial trend except for the high concentration in the cassava field which was attributed to the peanut plants that were previously planted there. In general, nutrient concentrations were low compared to other tropical areas in the world. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Published Article / This paper presents the set-up and the performance of the SWAT model in the Modder River Basin. Two techniques widely used, namely quantitative statistics and graphical techniques, in evaluating hydrological models were used to evaluate the performance of SWAT model. Three quantitative statistics used were, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), present bias (PBIAS), and ratio of the mean square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR). The performance of the model was compared with the recommended statistical performance ratings for monthly time step data. The model performed well when compared against monthly model performance ratings during calibration and validation stage.

The problem of evaluating the parameters of the mathematical model of an unconfined aquifer is examined with a view toward development of automated or computer -aided methods. A formulation is presented in which subjective confidence ranges for each of the model parameters are quantified and entered into an objective function as linear penalty functions. Parameters are then adjusted by a procedure which seeks to reduce the model error to acceptable limits. A digital computer model of the Tucson basin aquifer is adapted and used to illustrate the concepts and demonstrate the method.

Large discrepancies remain regarding the timing of Cenozoic paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental transitions in the central Asia. The first order driving force behind these changes has been intensively debated. Global climate change, the uplift of Tibetan Plateau, and the evolution of Paratethys sea have been proposed as three major candidates. To understand the evolutionary history of climate and environment of the region and controlling factors responsible for these paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes, a combined study utilizing multiple proxies, including microfossils, bulk carbonate carbon and oxygen isotopes, long chain alkenones, plant n-alkane-based indices (carbon preference index, average chain length and Paq) and compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopes of higher plant n-alkanes, was carried out on a long, continuous and well-dated section in Dahonggou, Qaidam Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau. A parallel study was also carried out in another relatively shorter section in the Xunhua Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau. Six intervals of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental transitions over an interval of ~35 Myr can be recognized in the studied sections, including Late Eocene-Early Oligocene gradual drying (prior to ~30 Ma), Middle Oligocene aridification (~30-26 Ma), Late Oligocene-Early Miocene wetting (~26-21 Ma), Early Miocene drying (~21-17 Ma), Middle Miocene climatic optimum (~17-13 Ma), and deteriorated climate since the late Middle Miocene (~13 Ma onwards). The reconstructed onsite C4 plant abundance including occurrence of C4 plants and their thriving and the followed decreasing, a sensitive indicator of available moisture level in the environment, agrees well with these intervals. Microfossils and long-chain alkenones suggest that a relic sea existed in the Qaidam Basin during the Middle Miocene, thus falsifying any hypothesis of significant variations in elevations of northern Tibetan Plateau prior to the Middle Miocene. The relatively stable elevations since the Eocene and before the Middle Miocene of, respectively, the central-southern part and northern part of the Plateau reveals an insignificant role of Tibetan Plateau uplift in controlling the evolution of central Asian climate and environment during the early Cenozoic. However, the Middle Miocene marine transgression and the rapid plateau-scale uplift since the late Middle Miocene probably contributed to the Middle Miocene climatic optimum and the initiated aridification afterwards in the central Asia. A comparison of proxy records in the northern Tibetan Plateau with the global benthic oxygen isotope record suggests a tight relation between the climatic/environmental transitions in the central Asia and global climatic changes. This lends support to the hypothesis that global climate, by controlling the moisture supply to the continental interior, played the dominant role in the evolution of climate and environment of central Asia during the Cenozoic time. / published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy