J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 9, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0001
Scientific Paper, English

Dario Autovino, Vincenzo Bagarello, Gaetano Caltabellotta, Florina Kati Varadi, Francesco Zanna: One-dimensional infiltration in a layered soil measured in the laboratory with the mini-disk infiltrometer

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• Layered soils can consist of a thin little permeable upper layer over a more permeable subsoil. There are not many experimental data on the influence of this upper layer on infiltration. The mini-disk infiltrometer set at a pressure head of –3 cm was used to compare infiltration of nearly 40 mm of water in homogeneous loam and clay soil columns with that in columns made by a thin layer (1 and 3 cm) of clay soil over the loam soil. For each run, the Horton infiltration model was fitted to the data and the soil sorptivity was also estimated by considering the complete infiltration run. For the two layered soils, the estimates of initial infiltration rate and decay constant were similar but a thicker upper layer induced 2.4 times smaller final infiltration rates. Depending on the infiltration parameter and the thickness of the upper layer, the layered soils were characterized by 2.2–6.3 times smaller values than the loam soil and 2.2–6.6 higher values than the clay soil. Sorptivity did not differ between the homogeneous clay soil and the layered soil with a thick upper layer and a thin layer was enough to induce a decrease of this hydrodynamic parameter by 2.5 times as compared with that of the homogeneous loam soil. Even a thin upper layer influences appreciably infiltration and hydrodynamic parameters. Layering effects vary with the thickness of the upper layer and the considered parameter. The applied experimental methodology could be used with other soils and soil combinations.
  
  KEY WORDS: One-dimensional infiltration; Homogeneous soils; Layered soils; Mini-disk infiltrometer.
  
  Address:
  - Dario Autovino, Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+39 09123897082 Fax.: Email: dario.autovino@unipa.it)
  - Vincenzo Bagarello, Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy.
  - Gaetano Caltabellotta, Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy.
  - Florina Kati Varadi, Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy.
  - Francesco Zanna, Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 14, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0002
Scientific Paper, English

Márta Koczka Bara, Renáta Dulovičová, Yvetta Velísková, Csilla Farkas: Impacts of riverbed aggradation on groundwater regime in a lowland area

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• In this study, the influence of riverbed silting on the groundwater regime in a lowland area was investigated. The study area is situated at the Rye Island (Žitný Ostrov) in Slovakia, along the Gabčíkovo – Topoľníky canal, which is part of the drainage-irrigation canal system constructed in this locality. The Rye Island is an area with very low slope (0.25 10–4) and good climatic conditions for aquatic vegetation, therefore the canals are influenced by intensive silting processes. The spatial and temporal patterns of surface water – groundwater exchange are significantly in-fluenced by the thickness of riverbed sediments and their permeability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the thickness and hydraulic conductivity of bed sediments in the Gabčíkovo – Topoľníky canal and to examine their influence on the groundwater – surface water interaction in the area. The hydraulic conductivity of the sediments was assessed from undisturbed samples by the falling head method. The obtained data were used for numerical simulations of groundwater heads by the TRIWACO model for different drainage and infiltration resistance con-ditions in the area of interest. The results of this study can support the planning of canal maintenance.
  
  KEY WORDS: Groundwater – surface water interaction; Groundwater heads; Numerical modelling; TRIWACO; Sediment depos-its; Rye Island.
  
  Address:
  - Márta Koczka Bara, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+421(2)3229 3510 Fax.: Email: bara@uh.savba.sk)
  - Renáta Dulovičová, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
  - Yvetta Velísková, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
  - Csilla Farkas, NIBIO, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Oluf Thesens vei 43, 1433, Aas, Norway. Institute for Soil Sciences, Centre for Agricultural Research of the Eötvös Loránd Research Network, H-1022 Budapest, Herman Ottó út 15, Hungary.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 12, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0003
Scientific Paper, English

Ratul Das, Mithun Ghosh: Turbulent flow characteristics over rough permeable and impermeable gravel-bed stream- an experimental study

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• The study aims to presents flow heterogeneity over rough permeable and impermeable gravel-bed stream. The rough permeable stream is prepared by laying multiple layers of gravel, whereas its impermeable counterpart is presented by a resin-casted gravel-bed. In general, a common approach can be found in literature to mimic an impermeable bed by laying single layer of gravels, therefore some results are compared with single layer gravel-bed stream keeping the hydraulic conditions same. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter was used for flow measurements whereas; double averaging (DA) methodology was adopted for data analysis. The larger flow penetration depth and intense flow mixing in permeable gravel-bed infer sufficient impetus for organized flow turbulence and damping of DA Reynolds shear stresses whereas; the wall-blocking in resin-casted gravel-bed prevents fluid infiltration which leads to follow the linear stress profile away from the crest level. The damping of DA Reynolds shear stress (RSS) is compensated by enhanced DA form-induced shear stress (FISS). The results are further analysed under the light of the energy budget to characterize the mass-momentum exchange as it penetrates the subsurface layers. The energy budget indicates negative pressure energy diffusion rates corroborating gain in turbulence production in the permeable gravel-bed stream.
  
  KEY WORDS: Gravel-bed; Turbulent flow; Permeability; Energy budget.
  
  Address:
  - Ratul Das, Civil Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Agartala-799046, India. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+91 9774315799 Fax.: Email: ratulnitagartala@gmail.com)
  - Mithun Ghosh, Civil Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Agartala-799046, India.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 11, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0006
Scientific Paper, English

Jana Moravcova, Vendula Moravcova, Pavel Ondr, Tomas Pavlicek: Influence of land use enclave distribution on discharge in a small catchment

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• According to many authors, hydrological modelling is one of the fundamental techniques for determining the impacts of various environmental changes on the quantitative characteristics of the aquatic environment. This study examines the effects of landscape changes induced by the need to respond to climate change and the natural urban development of the rural setting on the discharge from the small catchment. The SWAT model was applied to a small catchment of Kopaninsky Stream in the traditional agricultural part of the Czech Republic. According to the results, the most effective approach for reducing the consequences of hydrological extremes in the catchment and retaining more water in the landscape is the properly spaced placement of grassland and forest enclaves in the developing urban structure. In practice, each land use category's overall percentage of representation is less significant than its relative arrangement.
  
  KEY WORDS: SWAT; Discharge; Land use change; Environmental change.
  
  Address:
  - Jana Moravcova, University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, Department of Landscape Management, Studentska 13, Ceske Budejovice, 37005 Czech Republic. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+420 387 772 773 Fax.: Email: moravcovaj@fzt.jcu.cz)
  - Vendula Moravcova, University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, Department of Landscape Management, Studentska 13, Ceske Budejovice, 37005 Czech Republic.
  - Pavel Ondr, University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, Department of Landscape Management, Studentska 13, Ceske Budejovice, 37005 Czech Republic.
  - Tomas Pavlicek, University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, Department of Landscape Management, Studentska 13, Ceske Budejovice, 37005 Czech Republic.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 15, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0005
Scientific Paper, English

Milan Ostrihoň, Michaela Korená Hillayová, Katarína Korísteková, Adriana Leštianska, Martin Jančo, Tomáš Vida, Jaroslav Vido, Jaroslav Škvarenina: Influence of meteorological factors on the moisture content of fine forest fuels: responses of fire danger class to different microclimates on the example of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands

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• Due to the increased number of forest fires, a detailed examination and knowledge of the effects of the microclimatic conditions of forests is currently significant. The study carried out in Arboretum Borova hora (Slovak Republik), investigates the influence of meteorological factors (air temperature, relative humidity), the value of the Angström index, and the danger class of the Angström index on the moisture content of fine fuel at the edge of a beech forest stand, but also in its interior. We tested three working hypotheses: a) meteorological conditions differ significantly between the edge and the interior of the beech forest, b) the moisture content of fine fuel is higher in the beech forest interior than at the forest edge, c) the Angström index fire danger class is higher at the edge of the beech forest than in its interior. We created a calibration curve that was also used to measure the humidity of beech leaves with the help of the ME 2000 hygrometer. Our results show that edge beech stands are significantly more susceptible to fires, lower air humidity and fine fuel moisture content, and higher air temperatures than forest interiors. From our point of view, the microclimate is considered the main factor that explains the difference between the vegetation structure of the forest edge and the forest interior.
  
  KEY WORDS: Microclimate; European beech; Forest stand edge and interior; Moisture content of fine fuel; Angström index danger class.
  
  Address:
  - Milan Ostrihoň, Department of Fire Protection, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia. Department of Natural Environment, Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia.
  - Michaela Korená Hillayová, Department of Forest Economics and Policy, Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: michaela.hillayova@tuzvo.sk)
  - Katarína Korísteková, Department of Natural Environment, Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia.
  - Adriana Leštianska, Department of Natural Environment, Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia.
  - Martin Jančo, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Tomáš Vida, Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, Kuzmányho 1, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
  - Jaroslav Vido, Department of Natural Environment, Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia.
  - Jaroslav Škvarenina, Department of Natural Environment, Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryk 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: skvarenina@tuzvo.sk)

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 15, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0004
Scientific Paper, English

Vijay Kaushik, Munendra Kumar: Prediction of shear stress distribution in compound channel with smooth converging floodplains

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• Climate change can have a profound impact on river flooding, leading to increased frequency and severity of floods. To mitigate these effects, it is crucial to focus on enhancing early warning systems and bolstering infrastructure resilience through improved forecasting. This proactive approach enables communities to better plan for and respond to flood events, thereby minimizing the adverse consequences of climate change on river floods. During river flooding, the channels often take on a compound nature, with varying geometries along the flow length. This complexity arises from construction and agricultural activities along the floodplains, resulting in converging, diverging, or skewed compound channels. Modelling the flow in these channels requires consideration of additional momentum transfer factors. In this study, machine learning techniques, including Gene Expression Programming (GEP), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), and Support Vector Machines (SVM), were employed. The focus was on a compound channel with converging floodplains, predicting the shear force carried by the floodplains in terms of non-dimensional flow and hydraulic parameters. The findings indicate that the proposed ANN model outperformed GEP, SVM, and other established approaches in accurately predicting floodplain shear force. This research underscores the efficacy of utilizing machine learning techniques in the examination of river hydraulics.
  
  KEY WORDS: Compound channel; Converging floodplains; Shear stress distribution; Non-dimensional parameters; Machine learning approaches.
  
  Address:
  - Vijay Kaushik, Department of Civil Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, 110042, India. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: vijaykaushik_2k20phdce01@dtu.ac.in)
  - Munendra Kumar, Department of Civil Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, 110042, India.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 8, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0008
Scientific Paper, English

Šimon Pospíšilík, Zbyněk Zachoval, Pavel Gabriel: Flow over thin-plate weirs with a triangular notch – influence of the relative width of approach channel with a rectangular cross-section

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• The article deals with the determination of the influence of the relative width of an approach channel with a rectangular cross-section on the discharge of clean water flowing over thin-plated weirs with a triangular notch and zero height of the weir above the bottom of the approach channel. To evaluate the influence, the Kindsvater-Shen equation was modified by introducing the basic effective discharge coefficient and the coefficient of the relative width of the approach channel. The coefficient of the relative width of the approach channel was determined based on the evaluation of data from three extensive experimental research investigations. It is valid for the entire possible range of relative widths of the approach channel and for the range of notch angles from 5.25° to 91.17°. The relative error of discharge determination is approximately up to ±2% over the entire range of discharges used in the conducted experimental research. The evaluation made it possible to determine the boundary distinguishing the partially contracted weirs from the fully contracted weirs in terms of impact on discharge.
  
  KEY WORDS: Triangular notch (V-notch); Thin-plate weir; Kindsvater-Shen formula; Coefficient of the relative width.
  
  Address:
  - Šimon Pospíšilík, Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Water Structures, Veveří 331/95, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: simon.pospisilik@vutbr.cz)
  - Zbyněk Zachoval, Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Water Structures, Veveří 331/95, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic.
  - Pavel Gabriel, Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Water Structures, Veveří 331/95, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 14, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0007
Scientific Paper, English

Jaime G. Cuevas, María Valladares, Lucas Glasner, Etienne Bresciani, Paloma Núnez, José L. Rojas, Mercedes González: Varied hydrological regime of a semi-arid coastal wetland

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• Coastal wetlands are transitional ecosystems between land and sea. Participants of citizen science programs have detected frequent floods in wetlands, as well as small pools that appear and then disappear. Considering that it is not clear whether their main hydrologic drivers are of marine or continental origin, we studied the El Culebrón wetland located in the Chilean semi-arid zone. El Culebrón is strongly influenced by extreme rain events. This wetland also experiences seasonal changes in its water stage (WS). A high mean sea level agreed with 41% of the WS rises. High intensity storm surges coincided with 53% of WS peaks. A small tsunami in 2022 impacted the WS, and another very intense tsunami flooded it in 2015. An apparent diurnal cycle in the WS was discarded due to an instrumental artifact. The combination of the aforementioned factors provided an explanation for 91% of the WS rises. The probable and novel mechanism for sea level and storm surge influence on WS is the formation of a sand barrier between the coastal lagoon and the sea. As a whole, El Culebrón receives varied influences from both the sea and the mainland, but it seems to be more dependent on freshwater sources.
  
  KEY WORDS: Instrumental artifacts; Sand barrier; Diurnal cycles; Storm surges; Wetlands.
  
  Address:
  - Jaime G. Cuevas, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile. Centro de Investigación en Suelos Volcánicos (CISVo), Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: jxcuevas@ceaza.cl)
  - María Valladares, Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile. Instituto de Políticas Públicas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Larrondo 1281, Coquimbo, Chile. Coastal Solutions Fellows Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY. 14850, USA.
  - Lucas Glasner, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile.
  - Etienne Bresciani, Institute of Engineering Sciences, University of O'Higgins, Av. Libertador Gral. Bernardo O´Higgins 611, Rancagua, Chile.
  - Paloma Núnez, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile.
  - José L. Rojas, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile.
  - Mercedes González, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile. Universidad de La Serena, Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 72, No. 2 - Early View, 2024, p. 1 - 16, doi: 10.2478/johh-2024-0009
Scientific Paper, English

Cuicui Ji, Yiming Cao, Xiaosong Li, Xiangjun Pei, Bin Sun, Xuemei Yang, Wei Zhou: A review of the satellite remote sensing techniques for assessment of runoff and sediment in soil erosion

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• Soil erosion monitoring is essential for the ecological evaluation and dynamic monitoring of land resources via remote sensing technology. In this paper, we provide new insights into the existing problems and development directions of traditional models, which are supported by new technologies. An important role is played by remote sensing information acquisition technology in the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of soil erosion, and the data and technical support provided are systematically reviewed. We provide a detailed overview of the research progress associated with empirical statistical models and physically driven process models of soil erosion, and the limitations of their application are also summarized. The preliminary integration of remote sensing data sources with high spatial and temporal resolution and new technologies for soil erosion monitoring enables the high-precision quantitative estimation of sediment transport trajectories, the watershed river network density, and the terrain slope, enhancing the accuracy of erosion factor identification, such as spectral feature recognition from erosion information, gully erosion feature extraction, and vegetation coverage estimation. However, the current erosion models, driven by algorithms and models, are not comprehensive enough, particularly in terms of the spatial feature extraction of erosion information, and there are limitations in the applicability and accurate estimation of such models.
  
  KEY WORDS: Remote sensing; Soil erosion; Qualitative monitoring; Quantitative model; Research progress.
  
  Address:
  - Cuicui Ji, Schoolof Smart City, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China. Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geo-environment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan 610059, China. College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan 610059, China. Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chongqing 400042, China. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: cuicuiji@whu.edu.cn (C.J.))
  - Yiming Cao, Schoolof Smart City, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China.
  - Xiaosong Li, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China.
  - Xiangjun Pei, State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geo-environment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan 610059, China. College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan 610059, China.
  - Bin Sun, Institute of Forest Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China.
  - Xuemei Yang, Tourism School, Lanzhou University of Arts and Science, Gansu 730000, China.
  - Wei Zhou, Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.