Quantification of channel planform change on the lower Rangitikei River, New Zealand, 1949-2007: response to management?

The Rangitikei River, a large gravel‐bed wandering river located in the North Island of New Zealand, has outstanding scenic characteristics, recreational, fisheries and wildlife habitat features. Recently concerns have been raised over the potential negative impact that perceived channel changes in the latter part of the 20th century may be having on the Rangitikei River recreational fishery. This study describes and quantifies the large‐scale morphological changes that have occurred in selected reaches of the lower Rangitikei River between 1949 and 2007. This research utilised historical aerial photography and analysis in ArcGIS® to quantify channel planform change in three reaches, encompassing ~18 km of the lower Rangitikei River. This showed that the lower Rangitikei was transformed from a multi‐channelled planform to a predominantly single‐thread wandering planform, with an associated reduction in morphological complexity and active channel width of up to 74%, between 1949 and 2007. Bank protection measures instigated under the Rangitikei River Scheme have primarily driven these changes. Gravel extraction has also contributed by enhancing channel‐floodplain disconnection and exacerbating sediment deficits. The findings of this study have implications for future management of the Rangitikei. Previous lower Rangitikei River management schemes have taken a reach‐based engineering approach with a focus on bank erosion protection and flood mitigation. This study has confirmed the lower river has responded geomorphologically to these goals of river control. However questions as to the economic and ecological sustainability of this management style may encourage river managers to consider the benefits of promoting a self‐adjusting fluvial system within a catchment‐framed management approach

Morphological budgeting in the Motueka River: an analysis of technique

Morphological budgeting is a key method for monitoring and studying sediment transfers within gravelly rivers. We assess the utility of traditional cross‐section approaches to budgeting using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) analysis. DEMs give a more accurate volume calculation within the constraint of sampling frequency compared with cross sections, since a greater area of river bed is sampled. DEM volume calculation within the 1.7 km ‘Three Beaches’ reach in the upper Motueka revealed a net loss of 3219 m3 in this reach between 2008‐2009. Comparisons of this value with cross section‐based volume calculations at a range of section spacing using (i) Mean Bed Level (MBL) analysis and (ii) DEMs generated from cross section data, suggest accuracy of the budget is maximised at a critical cross section spacing not exceeding 90 m. Careful positioning of cross sections could lengthen this distance further and is essential to accurately represent river channel morphology. MBL analysis using cross‐sections in the reach monumented by Tasman District Council (TDC) for river monitoring underestimates the magnitude of net sediment transfers by c. 30%

Shallow landsliding and catchment connectivity within the Houpoto Forest, New Zealand.

Active landslides and their contribution to catchment connectivity have been investigated within the Houpoto Forest, North Island, New Zealand. The aim was to quantify the proportion of buffered versus coupled landslides and explore how specific physical conditions influenced differences in landslide connectivity. Landsliding and land use changes between 2007 and 2010 were identified and mapped from aerial photography, and the preliminary analyses and interpretations of these data are presented here. The data indicate that forest harvesting made some slopes more susceptible to failure, and consequently many landslides were triggered during subsequent heavy rainfall events. Failures were particularly widespread during two high magnitude (> 200 mm/day) rainfall events, as recorded in 2010 imagery. Connectivity was analysed by quantifying the relative areal extents of coupled and buffered landslides identified in the different images. Approximately 10 % of the landslides were identified as being coupled to the local stream network, and thus directly contributing to the sediment budget. Following liberation of landslides during high-magnitude events, low-magnitude events are thought to be capable of transferring more of this sediment to the channel. Subsequent re-planting of the slopes appears to have helped recovery by increasing the thresholds for failure, thus reducing the number of landslides during subsequent high-magnitude rainfall events. Associated with this is a reduction in slope-channel connectivity. These preliminary results highlight how site specific preconditioning, preparatory and triggering factors contribute to landslide distribution and connectivity, in addition to how efficient re-afforestation improves the rate of slope recovery

Securing field learning using a twenty-first century Cook's Tour

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Geography in Higher Education on 22/01/2015, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2014.1003801This paper evaluates the effectiveness of incorporating digital video into a traditional Cook’s Tour as part of a 7-day road trip around the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island over a 4-year period

Nitrate pollution from horticultural production systems : tools for policy and advice from field to catchment scales

The implementation of the Nitrates Directive has imposed a requirement to restrict N fertiliser and manuring practices on farms across the EU in order to reduce nitrate losses to water. These requirements have since been extended by the more demanding Water Framework Directive, which broadens the focus from the control of farm practices to a consideration of the impacts of pollutants from all sources on water quality at a catchment or larger scale. Together, these Directives set limits for water quality, and identify general strategies for how these might be achieved. However, it is the responsibility of policy makers in each Nation State to design the details of the management practices and environmental protection measures required to meet the objectives of the legislation, to ensure they are appropriate for their specific types of land use and climate. This paper describes various modelling tools for comparing different cropping and land use strategies, and illustrates with examples how they can inform policy makers about the environmental benefits of changing management practices and how to prioritise them. The results can help to provide the specific advice on N fertiliser and land use management required by farmers and growers at a field scale, and by environmental managers at a catchment or larger scale. A further example of how results from multiple catchments can be up-scaled and compared using Geographic Information Systems is also outlined

Quantifying slope-channel coupling in an active gully and fan complex at Tarndale, Waipaoa catchment, New Zealand

Two RIEGL LMS‐Z420i scanner surveys (November 2007 and November 2008) of the Tarndale Gully complex and its associated fan were used to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) of difference in order to quantify gully‐fan‐channel connectivity. The Te Weraroa Stream, into which the first order Tarndale system feeds, is buffered from sediment generated by the gully complex by a fan. Sediment yields and the role of the fan in buffering Te Weraroa Stream are inferred from the TLS of the entire complex. DEM analysis suggests that c.25% of material derived from the gully is buffered from the stream by being stored in the fan. This figure was applied to fan behaviour since December 2004, mapped on nine successive occasions using detailed GPS surveys to get a longer‐term picture of sediment supply within the system and appraise a qualitative assessment of connectivity constructed on the basis of fan behaviour alone

Does digital video enhance student learning in field-based experiments and develop graduate attributes beyond the classroom?

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Geography in Higher Education on 02/05/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03098265.2016.1141186?src=recsysThe connection between fieldwork and development of graduate attributes is explored in this paper. Digital technologies present opportunities to potentially enhance the learning experience of students undertaking fieldwork, and develop core digital attributes and competencies required by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and employers. This paper reports the success of adopting digital video capture in technology-rich field experiments that form part of final year undergraduate courses in Physical Geography at an HEI in New Zealand. Student perceptions were obtained via a range of approaches. Results suggest that deployment of digital video reinforces student learning and connects with core graduate attributes

Theology, News and Notes - Vol. 27, No. 02

Theology News & Notes was a theological journal published by Fuller Theological Seminary from 1954 through 2014.https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/tnn/1071/thumbnail.jp

Lung-protective ventilation initiated in the emergency department (LOV-ED): A study protocol for a quasi-experimental, before-after trial aimed at reducing pulmonary complications

INTRODUCTION: In critically ill patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and ventilator-associated conditions (VACs) are associated with increased mortality, survivor morbidity and healthcare resource utilisation. Studies conclusively demonstrate that initial ventilator settings in patients with ARDS, and at risk for it, impact outcome. No studies have been conducted in the emergency department (ED) to determine if lung-protective ventilation in patients at risk for ARDS can reduce its incidence. Since the ED is the entry point to the intensive care unit for hundreds of thousands of mechanically ventilated patients annually in the USA, this represents a knowledge gap in this arena. A lung-protective ventilation strategy was instituted in our ED in 2014. It aims to address the parameters in need of quality improvement, as demonstrated by our previous research: (1) prevention of volutrauma; (2) appropriate positive end-expiratory pressure setting; (3) prevention of hyperoxia; and (4) aspiration precautions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The lung-protective ventilation initiated in the emergency department (LOV-ED) trial is a single-centre, quasi-experimental before-after study testing the hypothesis that lung-protective ventilation, initiated in the ED, is associated with reduced pulmonary complications. An intervention cohort of 513 mechanically ventilated adult ED patients will be compared with over 1000 preintervention control patients. The primary outcome is a composite outcome of pulmonary complications after admission (ARDS and VACs). Multivariable logistic regression with propensity score adjustment will test the hypothesis that ED lung-protective ventilation decreases the incidence of pulmonary complications. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approval of the study was obtained prior to data collection on the first patient. As the study is a before-after observational study, examining the effect of treatment changes over time, it is being conducted with waiver of informed consent. This work will be disseminated by publication of full-length manuscripts, presentation in abstract form at major scientific meetings and data sharing with other investigators through academically established means. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02543554

Storm-generated Holocene and historical floods in the Manawatu River, New Zealand

This paper reports the first reconstruction of storm-generated late Holocene and historical river floods in the North Island of New Zealand. The sedimentary infills of nine palaeochannels were studied in the lower alluvial reaches of the Manawatu River. Floods in these palaeochannels were recorded as a series of sand-rich units set within finer-grained fills. Flood chronologies were constrained using a combination of radiocarbon dating, documentary sources, geochemical markers, and palynological information. Flood units were sedimentologically and geochemically characterised using high resolution ITRAXTM 16 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) core scanning and laser diffraction grain-size analysis. The longest palaeoflood record extends back ca.3000 years. The temporal resolution and length of the Manawatu record reflects accommodation space for fluvial deposits, channel dynamics and mobility, and high sediment supply. Floods that occurred in the Manawatu during the mid-1800s at the time of European land clearance and in the first decade of the twentieth century appear to be among the largest recorded in the last 3000 year