Characterisation of stable isotopes to identify residence times and runoff components in two meso-scale catchments in the Abay/Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia

Measurements of the stable isotopes oxygen-18 (¹⁸O) and deuterium (²H) were carried out in two meso-scale catchments, Chemoga (358 km²) and Jedeb (296 km²) south of Lake Tana, Abay/Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. The region is of paramount importance for the water resources in the Nile basin, as more than 70% of total Nile water flow originates from the Ethiopian highlands. Stable isotope compositions in precipitation, spring water and streamflow were analysed (i) to characterise the spatial and temporal variations of water fluxes; (ii) to estimate the mean residence time of water using a sine wave regression approach; and (iii) to identify runoff components using classical two-component hydrograph separations on a seasonal timescale. <br><br> The results show that the isotopic composition of precipitation exhibits marked seasonal variations, which suggests different sources of moisture generation for the rainfall in the study area. The Atlantic–Indian Ocean, Congo basin, Upper White Nile and the Sudd swamps are the potential moisture source areas during the main rainy (summer) season, while the Indian–Arabian and Mediterranean Sea moisture source areas during little rain (spring) and dry (winter) seasons. The spatial variation in the isotopic composition is influenced by the amount effect as depicted by moderate coefficients of determination on a monthly timescale (<i>R</i>² varies from 0.38 to 0.68) and weak regression coefficients (<i>R</i>² varies from 0.18 to 0.58) for the altitude and temperature effects. A mean altitude effect accounting for −0.12&permil;/100 m for ¹⁸O and −0.58&permil;/100 m for ²H was discernible in precipitation isotope composition. <br><br> Results from the hydrograph separation on a seasonal timescale indicate the dominance of event water, with an average of 71 and 64% of the total runoff during the wet season in the Chemoga and Jedeb catchments, respectively. <br><br> Moreover, the stable isotope compositions of streamflow samples were damped compared to the input function of precipitation for both catchments. This damping was used to estimate mean residence times of stream water of 4.1 and 6.0 months at the Chemoga and Jedeb catchment outlets, respectively. Short mean residence times and high fractions of event water components recommend catchment management measures aiming at reduction of overland flow/soil erosion and increasing of soil water retention and recharge to enable sustainable development in these agriculturally dominated catchments

Synchrotron tune and beam energy at LEP2

The synchrotron tunes depend on energy loss and total accelerating voltage. This dependency can be used to extract the beam energy in a very precise way. Since the energy calibration of LEP 2 requires the highest possible accuracies detailed systematic studies of the parameters involved in the analysis are necessary. This paper presents method, systematic studies and results of the energy determination from the synchrotron

Measurements of Coherent Damping and Tune Shifts with Amplitude at LEP

The coherent damping offers the possibility to study various machine parameters such as head-tail damping, radiation damping and the horizontal detuning with amplitude. At the LEP electron-positron co llider the beam orbit system is able to store the beam positions over 1000 turns following a deflection by a horizontal kicker. A precise analysis of such data for many beam position monitors was used to study the dependance of head-tail damping on beam parameters. The tune dependance on the horizontal amplitude was determined during the decay of the beam oscillation for various LEP optics. This pa rameter turned out to be an important issue for the LEP high energy optic

Measurements of Tune Shifts with Amplitude at LEP

The beam orbit system of the LEP electron-positron collider is able to store the beam position over 1000 turns following a deflection by a horizontal kicker. A precise analysis of such 1000-turn data for many beam position monitors was used to study the dependence of the tune on the horizontal amplitude. The horizontal tune shift with amplitude was determined from the decay of the beam oscillation for various LEP optics. This parameter turned out to be an important issue for the LEP high energy optics

Baseline LHC machine parameters and configuration of the 2015 proton run

This paper shows the baseline LHC machine parameters for the 2015 start-up. Many systems have been upgraded during LS1 and in 2015 the LHC will operate at a higher energy than before and with a tighter filling scheme. Therefore, the 2015 commissioning phase risks to be less smooth than in 2012. The proposed starting configuration puts the focus on feasibility rather than peak performance and includes margins for operational uncertainties. Instead, once beam experience and a better machine knowledge has been obtained, a push in $\beta^*$ and performance can be envisaged. In this paper, the focus is on collimation settings and reach in $\beta^*$---other parameters are covered in greater depth by other papers in these proceedings.Comment: submitted for publication in a CERN yellow report (Proceedings of the LHC Performance Workshop - Chamonix 2014

Energy Loss Measurements at LEP 2

The accurate measurement of the W Boson mass at LEP requires to determine the beam energy to the highest possible precision. Present schemes rely on accurate energy determination in the range of 40 to 60 GeV using resonant depolarization and on precise extrapolations to high energy. Several methods based on measurements of the energy loss due to synchroton radiation have been studied. Different approaches such as the study of the damping time of transverse oscillations, the radio frequency sawtooth and the dependence of the synchroton tune on the total accelerating voltage are described and results are discussed

Head Tail Damping and Impedance at LEP

Head tail damping rate and coherent tune shift depend on chromatically and transverse wake field. Using this dependence, the transverse impedance of LEP can be estimated from coherently damped betatron oscillations measured at different chromaticities and beam currents. We compare measurements and analytical results

The causes of flow regime shifts in the semi-arid Hailiutu River, Northwest China

Identifying the causes (climate vs. human activities) for hydrological variability is a major challenge in hydrology. This paper examines the flow regime shifts, changes in the climatic variables such as precipitation, evaporation, temperature, and crop area in the semi-arid Hailiutu catchment in the middle section of the Yellow River by performing several statistical analyses. The Pettitt test, cumulative sum charts (CUSUM), regime shift index (RSI) method, and harmonic analysis were carried out on annual, monthly, and daily discharges. Four major shifts in the flow regime have been detected in 1968, 1986, 1992 and 2001. Characteristics of the flow regime were analyzed in the five periods: 1957–1967, 1968–1985, 1986–1991, 1992–2000, and 2001–2007. From 1957 to 1967, the flow regime reflects quasi natural conditions of the high variability and larger amplitude of 6 months periodic fluctuations. The river peak flow was reduced by the construction of two reservoirs in the period 1968–1985. In the period of 1986–1991, the river discharge further decreased due to the combined influence of river diversions and increase of groundwater extractions for irrigation. In the fourth period of 1992–2000, the river discharge reached lowest flow and variation in corresponding to a large increase in crop area. The flow regime recovered, but not yet to natural status in the fifth period of 2001–2007. Climatic factors are found not likely responsible for the changes in the flow regime, but the changes in the flow regime are corresponding well to historical land use policy changes

Dyslexia and cognitive impairment in adult patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1: a clinical prospective analysis

BACKGROUND Cognitive impairments in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) have often been described, however, there are only few studies differentiating between partial performance disorders and mental retardation in common. This study focused on the evaluation of reading performance and the frequency of dyslexia in adult DM1 patients. METHODS We performed a prospective cohort study including genetically confirmed adult DM1 patients registered in the DM registry of Germany or the internal database of the Friedrich-Baur-Institute, Munich, Germany. For the assessment of the patients' reading and spelling performance, we used the standardized and validated test 'Salzburger Lese- und Rechtschreibtest' (SLRT II). The 'CFT-20 R Grundintelligenztest Skala 2' in revised ("R") version (CFT 20-R), determining the intelligence level, was appropriate to differentiate between dyslexia and general mental retardation. The diagnosis of dyslexia, the combined reading and spelling disorder, was based on the guidelines for diagnosis and therapy of children and adolescents with dyslexia 2015 (S3-guideline) providing (1) the criterion of the divergence from age level and (2) the criterion of IQ-divergence. RESULTS Fifty-seven DM1 patients participated in our study. Evaluating the reading performance, 16 patients fulfilled the divergence criteria of the age level and 2 patients the IQ-divergence criteria. In total, the diagnosis of a reading disorder was given in 18 DM1 patients (31.6 %). In 11 out of these 18 patients with a reading disorder, a relevant impairment of spelling performance was observed with at least three spelling errors. As there are no normative values for adults in spelling performance, we assume a combined reading disorder and dyslexia, in those 11 DM1 patients (19.3 %). Regarding the separate analyses of the test procedures, in the SLRT II the performance was below average in 40.4 % of all patients for 'word reading' and in 61.4 % of all patients for 'pseudoword reading'. There was a significant positive correlation between the CTG expansion size and a reading disorder (p=0.027). The average IQ of 17 examined DM1 patients was in the lower normal range (86.1 ± 19.1). 54.5 % of patients with reading disorder had a normal IQ. CONCLUSION The calculated prevalence of dyslexia in the DM1 study cohort was 19.3 % and thus considerably increased compared to the normal German population. As dyslexia is not equivalent to a general cognitive impairment, it is important not to miss dyslexic features in cognitive inconspicuous DM1 patients. Case-by-case one should consider a differential diagnostic approach, as individualized therapies can be offered to support dyslexic patients in their performance

The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia

Wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services such as storing and regulating water flows and water quality, providing unique habitats to flora and fauna, and regulating micro-climatic conditions. Conversion of wetlands for agricultural use is a widespread practice in Ethiopia, particularly in the southwestern part where wetlands cover large areas. Although there are many studies on land cover and land use changes in this region, comprehensive studies on wetlands are still missing. Hence, extent and rate of wetland loss at regional scales is unknown. The objective of this paper is to quantify wetland dynamics and estimate wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range (area covering 17 443 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) in the Upper Blue Nile basin, a key headwater region of the river Nile. Therefore, satellite remote sensing imagery of the period 1986–2005 were considered. To create images of surface reflectance that are radiometrically consistent, a combination of cross-calibration and atmospheric correction (Vogelman-DOS3) methods was used. A hybrid supervised/unsupervised classification approach was used to classify the images. Overall accuracies of 94.1% and 93.5% and Kappa Coefficients of 0.908 and 0.913 for the 1986 and 2005 imageries, respectively were obtained. The results showed that 607 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; of seasonal wetland with low moisture and 22.4 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; of open water are lost in the study area during the period 1986 to 2005. The current situation in the wetlands of Choke Mountain is characterized by further degradation which calls for wetland conservation and rehabilitation efforts through incorporating wetlands into watershed management plans