Research Outputs

Now showing 1 - 10 of 23
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    Characterization of the groundwater storage systems of South-Central Chile: an approach based on recession flow analysis
    (Water, 2019)
    Parra, Víctor
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    Arumí, José Luis
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    Paredes, Jerónimo
    Groundwater storage and discharge are important processes that have not yet been sufficiently studied in some parts of Chile. Additionally, in watersheds without snow cover or glaciers, groundwater storage and release are the main sources of minimum flow generation; therefore, improvements are required to characterize this process. This study aimed to use recession flow analysis to link groundwater storage depletion to the predominant geological characteristics of each watershed in order to improve our understanding of the groundwater storage-release process in 24 watersheds in south-central Chile. The results allowed different groundwater storage behaviors associated with different geological characteristics to be identified, making recession flow analysis a valuable tool for improving the representation and conceptualization of this process in order to advance toward better minimum flow predictions.
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    Identifying advantages and drawbacks of two hydrological models based on a sensitivity analysis: A study in two Chilean watersheds
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018)
    Parra, Víctor
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    Fuentes Aguilera, Patricio
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    Hydrological modelling has undergone constant growth with the increase in information processing capabilities. Hydrological models have traditionally been used to study the effects of climate change on management and land-use changes and for water resources planning, among other purposes. The aim of this study was to determine and analyse the advantages of the HBV and HYMOD models, which are commonly used in hydrology on daily and monthly time scales. A regional sensitivity analysis was used to compare the processes that take on greater importance at different time scales in the two models. As a result, it was found that quick precipitation–runoff processes prove to be better represented in the HBV model, while slow, time-aggregated processes are better represented by the HYMOD model. This study confirms that both models are adequate for rain-dominated basins, such as those of the study area. Additionally, the HBV model proved to be more robust in comparison to HYMOD.
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    Incertidumbre en los caudales de salida de un modelo hidrológico semidistribuido
    (Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA), 2018) ;
    Gutiérrez-Vejar, Juan C.
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    Para una adecuada gestión hídrica resulta necesario conocer tanto los caudales simulados por un modelo como la incertidumbre asociada con éstos. El presente estudio busca cuantificar la incertidumbre en los caudales simulados por un modelo hidrológico junto con la propagación de ésta hacia aguas abajo, producto de incertidumbre en las precipitaciones, para así definir potenciales mejoras en los resultados de un modelo hidrológico. Se calibró un modelo conceptual semidistribuido y se determinó la incertidumbre asociada con la estructura y parámetros, para luego cuantificar la incertidumbre relacionada con una variación porcentual de las precipitaciones en diferentes periodos del año. Como resultado se obtuvo que el efecto de propagación de la incertidumbre hacia aguas abajo es despreciable debido al aumento de la magnitud de los caudales simulados, y que la incertidumbre en las salidas del modelo depende de la incertidumbre en las precipitaciones sólo en invierno.
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    Uso de aerofotogrametría con dron para la evaluación de vegas
    (Ministerio de Agricultura, 2021) ;
    Clasing-Fuentes, Robert
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    Remote sensing with UAVs for flood modeling: A validation with actual flood records
    (MDPI, 2023) ;
    Clasing, Robert
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    Arumí, José
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    Parra, Víctor
    The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is steadily increasing due to their capacity to capture terrain elevation data with remarkable precision and cost-effectiveness. Nonetheless, their application for estimating water surface elevations and submerged terrain, such as channel bathymetry, remains constrained. Consequently, the development of a digital terrain model that relies on UAV data during low-water periods assumes a more extensive dry channel surface area, thus alleviating the information gap regarding submerged terrain. The objective of this brief report is to validate a hydraulic model for flood calculation. To this end, a 1D steady-state hydrological model of the Ñuble River based on a UAV survey in the low-water period of 2016 was constructed in HEC-RAS v.5.0.3 and compared to water surface elevation observations of the flood on 24 June 2023. The model tends to overestimate the flood, but the errors are considered tolerable for flood calculation (on average, a 10.6% depth error was obtained for a 30-year return period flood); therefore, the hydraulic model derived from remote sensing seems to be an effective alternative for the construction of hydraulic models for flood studies.
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    Rapid and convenient assessment of trace element contamination in agricultural soils through Slurry-TXRF and ecological indices: The Nuble Region, Chile as a case study
    (Sustainability, 2023)
    Medina-González, Guillermo
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    Medina, Yelena
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    Fuentes, Patricio
    The study aims to evaluate the applicability of the slurry-TXRF method for estimating background contents and ecological indices in a rapid and convenient way. For this reason, the agricultural soils of the Itata Valley were used as a case study, where 48 soil samples were collected and analyzed. This rapid, minimally sample-intensive, and simultaneous multi-element quantification technique presented high accuracy but lower precision (approx. 20% RSD) compared to the classic total reflection X-ray fluorescence and flame/graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry methods, which require sample digestion. Due to the analytical characteristics of Slurry-TXRF, it can be concluded that the lower precision is likely compensated for, and this method represents a valuable alternative for the rapid and efficient assessment of trace element contamination in agricultural soils. The regional median concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd in the Itata Valley surface soils were found to be 63.7, 9.57, 31.0, 41.1, and 0.56 mg kg−1, respectively, with corresponding upper limits of 47.6, 6.82, 17.0, 30.7, and 0.284 mg kg−1. The ecological indices, including the geoaccumulation index, contamination factor, enrichment factor, and degree of contamination, suggest moderate levels of contamination in the region.
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    Identifying a suitable model for low-flow simulation in watersheds of South-Central Chile: A study based on a sensitivity analysis
    (Water, 2019)
    Parra, Víctor
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    Arumí, José Luis
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    Choosing a model that suitably represents the characteristics of a watershed to simulate low flows is crucial, especially in watersheds whose main source of baseflow generation depends on groundwater storage and release. The goal of this investigation is to study the performance and representativeness of storage-release process modeling, considering aspects such as the topography and geology of the modeled watershed through regional sensitivity analysis, in order to improve low-flow prediction. To this end, four groundwater storage-release structures in various watersheds with different geological (fractured and sedimentary rock) and topographic domains (steep and gentle slopes) were analyzed. The results suggest that the two-reservoir structure with three runoff responses is suitable (better) for simulating low flows in watersheds with fractured geological characteristics and rugged or steep topography. The results also indicate that a one-reservoir model can be adequate for predicting low flows in watersheds with a sedimentary influence or flat topography.
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    Estimation of annual maximum and minimum flow trends in a data-scarce basin. Case study of the Allipén river watershed, Chile
    (Water, 2020)
    Medina, Yelena
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    Data on historical extreme events provides information not only for water resources planning and management but also for the design of disaster-prevention measures. However, most basins around the globe lack long-term hydro-meteorological information to derive the trend of hydrological extremes. This study aims to investigate a method to estimate maximum and minimum flow trends in basins with limited streamflow records. To carry out this study, data from the Allipén River watershed (Chile), the Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) hydrological model at a daily time step, and an uncertainty analysis were used. Through a calibration using only five years of records, 21-year mean daily flow series were generated and the extreme values derived. To analyze the effect of the length of data availability, 2, 5, and 10 years of flows were eliminated from the analyses. The results show that in the case of 11 years of simulated flows, the annual maximum and minimum flow trends present greater uncertainty than in the cases of 16 and 19 years of simulated flows. Simulating 16 years, however, proved to properly simulate the observed long-term trends. Therefore, in data-scarce areas, the use of a hydrological model to simulate extreme mean daily flows and estimate long-term trends with at least 16 years of meteorological data could be a valid option.
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    Impacts of climate change induced sea level rise, flow increase and vegetation encroachment on flood hazard in the Biobío River, Chile
    (MDPI, 2022) ;
    Schoener, Gerhard
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    Arumí, José Luis
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    Stone, Mark
    River flooding is one of the most widespread natural disasters. Projections indicate that climate change will increase flood hazard in many areas around the world. In this study, we investigate the individual and combined effects of sea level rise, flow increase and riparian vegetation encroachment on flood hazard in the lower Biobío River, Chile. Results show that each has the potential to individually increase flood hazard in certain areas, and that individual effects can compound. Encroachment of riparian vegetation onto previously sparsely vegetated areas of the floodplain, likely a result of the Chilean megadrought, causes higher flow resistance and increased flooding during large events. Somewhat counterintuitively, drought has therefore led to an increase in flood hazard in the study area. Drought risk for most land areas across the globe is expected to increase with climate change. Potential future vegetation encroachment should therefore be included as a key variable in riverine flood hazard studies.
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    A sensitivity analysis approach for assessing the effect of design parameters in reducing seismic demand of Base-Isolated storage racks
    (Applied Sciences, 2021) ; ;
    Álvarez, Oscar
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    Roco-Videla, Ángel
    The most used global sensitivity analysis (GSA) method is based on variance. This is performed using Monte Carlo Sampling (MCS) or Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS). It requires a large sample to obtain accurate estimates. Density-based methods, such as the GSA PAWN, have been developed to reduce the sample size without compromising the result. PAWN is simpler than other methods because it uses cumulative density functions (CDF) instead of probability density. This method has been widely used in areas such as environmental engineering with very good results, reducing computation time. However, its use in structural engineering is incipient. The PAWN method was used to classify the design variables of the isolation system in relation to their sensitivity, and in relation to the seismic response of industrial storage racks. The above was analyzed in terms of the effectiveness of each variable to reduce the seismic demand using a novel base isolation kinematic device (BIKD). Racks with different combinations of their structural parameters such as the number of storage levels, the height between them, and isolation period, among others, were studied. The dimensions of the racks were chosen to match those that would later be experimentally tested on shaking table. An earthquake whose response spectrum matched the design spectrum of current Chilean regulations, was considered as seismic forcing. The maximum base shear load, the displacement of the top level of storage and the floor drift were considered as target responses to be studied. Fixed base racks (FBR), as reference, and base-isolated racks (BIR) were analyzed. The results showed the effectiveness of using the BIKD system in reducing all three-target responses up to one order of magnitude. Additionally, it was determined that the parameters that have the greatest influence on the response correspond to the number of storage levels and the height between them, both for FBR and BIR.