Shallow lakes, one of the most widespread water bodies in the world, are easily shifted to a new trophic state due to external interferences. Shifting hydrologic conditions and climate change can cause cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) in shallow lakes, which pose serious threats to ecological integrity and human health. This study analyzed the effects of hydrologic and meteorological variables on cyanobacterial blooms in Yangtze-connected lakes (Lake Dongting and Poyang) and isolated lakes (Lake Chao and Tai). The results show that (i) chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration tends to decrease exponentially with increasing relative lake level fluctuations (RLLF) and precipitation, but to increase linearly with increasing wind speed and air temperature; (ii) Chl-a concentrations in lakes were significantly higher when RLLF < 100, precipitation < 2.6 mm, wind speed > 2.6 m s⁻¹, or air temperature > 17.8 °C; (iii) the Chl-a concentration of Yangtze-isolated lakes was more significantly affected by water level amplitude, precipitation, wind speed and air temperature than the Yangtze-connected lakes; (iv) the RLLF and the ratio of wind speed to mean water depth could be innovative coupling factors to examine variation characteristics of Chl-a in shallow lakes with greater correlation than single factors.

Evaporation from bare sandy soils is the core component of the hydrologic cycle in arid environments, where vertical water movement dominates. Although extensive measurement and modeling studies have been conducted and reported in existing literature, the physics of dry soil and its function in evaporation is still a challenging topic with significant remaining issues. Thus, an overview of the previous findings will be very beneficial for identifying further research needs that aim to advance our understanding of the vapor flow resistance (VFR) effect on soil water evaporation as influenced by characteristics of the dry soil layer (DSL) and evaporation zone (EZ). In this regard, six measurement and four modeling studies were overviewed. The results of these overviewed studies, along with the others, affirm the conceptual dynamics of DSL and EZ during drying or wetting processes (but not both) within dry sandy soils. The VFR effect tends to linearly increase with DSL thickness (δ) when δ < 5 cm and is likely to increase as a logarithmic function of δ when δ ≥ 5 cm. The vaporization-condensation-movement (VCM) dynamics in a DSL depend on soil textures: sandy soils can form a thick (10 to 20 cm) DSL while sandy clay soils may or may not have a clear DSL; regardless, a DSL can function as a transient EZ, a vapor condensation zone, and/or a vapor transport medium. Based on the overview, further studies will need to generate long-term continuous field data, develop hydraulic functions for very dry soils, and establish an approach to quantify the dynamics and VFR effects of DSLs during wetting-drying cycles as well as take into account such effects when using conventional (e.g., Penman-Monteith) evaporation models.

The objective of this study is to develop a Modified Rational Equation (MoRE) that combines the advantages of the Rational Equation (e.g. simplicity and global acceptance) and those of the standard US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) method (e.g. easy parameterization and extensive verification across the world). Herein, the hypothesis is that the MoRE is more accurate, consistent and robust than the SCS-CN method and its improved versions in predicting runoff in watersheds with limited data. The MoRE was designed to have a simple structure that is described by four intrinsic parameters: CN, permanent wilting point, field capacity and saturation soil moisture, and does not include initial abstraction as a variable. An evaluation of 77 USDA small agricultural watersheds indicated that CN of the MoRE has different physical meanings from CN of the SCS-CN method. The MoRE (mean Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient, E > 0.73) performed better than the SCS-CN (mean E < 0.32) and the four improved models (mean E < 0.56) in reproducing the runoff of the study watersheds. Performance of all six models varied greatly between watersheds, as well as between events, but was independent of watershed drainage area. However, the model performances tend to be better for watersheds and/or events with a runoff-to-rainfall ratio of between 0.1 and 0.3 than for those with a ratio outside this range. The MoRE has the most consistent and robust performance. Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor I. Nalbantis Citation Wang, X., Liu, T., and Yang, W., 2012. Development of a robust runoff-prediction model by fusing the rational equation and a modified SCS-CN method. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (6), 1118–1140.