ABSTRACT
One of the most severe climate risks that is expected to affect all regions is related to stormwater. Climate models, constructed based on long-term trends, show that extreme weather events such as storms, cloudbursts and a large rise in sea level will be significant in the coming decades. Moreover, even the frequency and intensity of "normal" rainfall events, such as microbursts, are expected to be remarkably higher than today in some regions. The efficiency of urban drainage systems is affected by the land use in its whole catchment. In addition to the climate stress, there is ongoing continuous densification of urban space, resulting in more buildings and larger areas being covered with impervious surfaces. Planning decisions today approving such compaction do not consider the impacts beyond the close proximity of the land parcel. As a result, by following the current planning practices, cities are becoming extremely vulnerable to stormwater flooding (flash floods). This study presents a holistic and dynamic planning method - the Extreme Weather Layer (EWL) - that makes it possible to analyse the impact of a single development (e.g. paving a gravel parking lot with asphalt or turning an area of urban greenery into a shopping centre) on the performance of the urban drainage system and therefore on the flooding risk of the whole catchment. The EWL is based on a widely accepted drainage modelling engine coupled with GIS system and other databases which provide spatial information. Thus, the EWL combined with the systemic approach of turning from grey to green infrastructure could be a smart tool for implementing NBS solutions for stormwater management in climate adaptation in urban areas. This smart tool could indicate how much more green infrastructure is needed and which places in the city the mitigative NBS measures would help significantly.
Subject(s)
Extreme Weather , Acclimatization , Cities , Climate Change , Floods , Rain , WeatherABSTRACT
Commercial unmanned aerial vehicles continue to gain popularity and their use for collecting image data and recording new phenomena is becoming more frequent. This study presents an effective method for measuring the concentration of fluorescent dyes (fluorescein and Rhodamine WT) for the purpose of providing a mathematical dispersion model. Image data obtained using a typical visible-light camera was used to measure the concentration of the dye floating on water. The reference measurement was taken using a laboratory fluorometer. The article presents the details of three extensive measurement sessions and presents elements of a newly developed method for measuring fluorescent tracer concentrations. The said method provides tracer concentration maps presented on the example of an orthophoto within a 2 × 2 m discrete grid.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This paper analyzes the impact of changes in fertilization on crop yields and the runoff of nutrients from a small agricultural catchment (176 km2) to a shallow bay, using the SWAT model. Puck Bay is part of the Gulf of Gdansk and belongs to the Baltic Sea. The whole area of Puck Bay (364 km2) is protected (Natura 2000) yet despite this it suffers from eutrophication problems due to the relatively minimal depth and difficult water exchange. METHODS: The paper presents a comparison of the calculated yields and the runoff of nutrients and pesticides in the SWAT model, for a small agricultural coastal catchment. Calculations were made for 13 crop scenarios with weather data from 2011 to 2019. For each crop, an agriculture calendar was made. Two variants of fertilization were considered (autofertilization mode and according to the calendar). The nutrient runoff was calculated depending on the adopted scenario. In addition, the fate of selected pesticides was simulated. RESULTS: Depending on the crop, the annual load of NO3into the stream ranged from 0.74 to 3.65 kg ha-1. The annual load of organic phosphorous into the stream was between 0.686 and 3.64 kg ha-1. This is lower than in the majority of EU or Baltic countries. The surface runoff of dissolved Glyphosate was equal to 286 mg ha-1. The annual loads of nutrients from the catchment area are equivalent in both fertilization modes. Regardless of the selected fertilization mode, in addition to the dosage, the form of nutrients is important for the model.
