RAPID: Differential Fluvial Response of the Abiotic Atacama Desert to a Rare Rainstorm Event

极端降雨事件是干旱地区景观的重要塑造者，这是一种解释该项目更广泛意义的非技术描述。然而，洪水产生的过程以及各种景观成分在产生和引导水流中的相对重要性相对未知。RAPID项目提供了一个难得的机会，可以将以前收集的数据与新的观测和遥感信息结合起来，研究不同类型的干旱景观特征对突然的强降雨的响应。了解景观对这些极端事件的反应将有助于这些地区的社区规划，因为山洪暴发是一种常见的结果，而水源往往是不可预测的。该项目涉及与智利科学家的合作。研究结果将超越阿塔卡马沙漠的直接影响，该沙漠是调查的地点，包括美国和世界其他地区的半干旱地区。这个RAPID项目将利用之前对阿塔卡马沙漠样带的研究来验证这样一个假设：由于盐和灰尘的积累，慢性高度干旱的印记在景观上增加，景观变得更能抵抗降雨带来的径流和陆地流。相反，沙漠边缘几乎没有植物但相对无盐的环境可能会发生快速径流，并产生新的河流特征，如扇和泥石流。最近的降雨是一个难得的机会，可以在早期调查的基础上，发展对当地特殊事件的不同景观反应的知识。

ABSTRACT A non-technical description explaining the broader significance of the projectExtreme rainfall events are significant shapers of landscapes in arid regions. However, the processes of flood generation and the relative importance of various landscape components in producing and conducting the water flow is relatively unknown. This RAPID project provides a rare opportunity to use previously-collected data together with new observations and remote-sensing information to examine the response of different types of arid landscape features to sudden, heavy rainfall. Knowledge of landscape response to these extreme events will aid in planning for communities in these regions, since flash flooding is a common result and the source of the water is often unpredictable. The project involves collaboration with Chilean scientists. The results will go beyond the immediate are of the Atacama Desert that is the site of the investigation and encompasses the semi-arid regions of the US and other parts of the world. A technical description of the projectThis RAPID project will use previous research along a transect of the Atacama Desert to test the hypothesis that as the imprint of chronic hyper-aridity increases on the landscape due to the accumulation of salt and dust, the landscape becomes more resistant to runoff and overland flow from rainfall. Conversely, the nearly plant-less but relatively salt-free environments at the desert margin may be subject to rapid runoff and the generation of new fluvial features such as fans and mudflows. The recent rainfall is a rare opportunity to build on earlier investigations and to develop knowledge of the different landscape responses to a locally extraordinary event.