Local level rainfall and temperature variability in drought-prone districts of rural Sidama,central rift valley region of Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine local level spatiotemporal rainfall and temperature variability in drought-prone districts of rural Sidama, Central Rift Valley region of Ethiopia. The study used 129 gridded monthly rainfall and temperature data of 32 years (1983–2014). The gridded rainfall and temperature records were encoded into GIS software and evaluated through different statistical and geospatial techniques. Mann-Kendal rank test and F distribution tests were used to test temporal and spatial statistical significance, respectively, of the data. The analysis revealed that Belg and Kiremt are the main rainfall seasons, constituting 81% of the annual rainfall. Although annual, Kiremt, and Belg rainfall amounts appear to have decreased over time, the decreasing trend is statistically significant only for Belg rainfall records. On the other hand, rainfall standard anomaly results indicated seven droughts of different magnitudes: one extreme, two severe, and four moderate. The study also revealed increasing temperature trends over the years under consideration that are statistically significant. The findings of this study on rainfall contradict other findings obtained around the study area. Thus, climate change adaptations need to focus on location-specific climate data analysis so that the intended adaptive interventions can be successful.     

Parallelization of the flow-path network model using a particle-set strategy

High-performance simulation of flow dynamics remains a major challenge in the use of physical-based, fully distributed hydrologic models. Parallel computing has been widely used to overcome efficiency limitation by partitioning a basin into sub-basins and executing calculations among multiple processors. However, existing partition-based parallelization strategies are still hampered by the dependency between inter-connected sub-basins. This study proposed a particle-set strategy to parallelize the flow-path network (FPN) model for achieving higher performance in the simulation of flow dynamics. The FPN model replaced the hydrological calculations on sub-basins with the movements of water packages along the upstream and downstream flow paths. Unlike previous partition-based task decomposition approaches, the proposed particle-set strategy decomposes the computational workload by randomly allocating runoff particles to concurrent computing processors. Simulation experiments of the flow routing process were undertaken to validate the developed particle-set FPN model. The outcomes of hourly outlet discharges were compared with field gauged records, and up to 128 computing processors were tested to explore its speedup capability in parallel computing. The experimental results showed that the proposed framework can achieve similar prediction accuracy and parallel efficiency to that of the Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)-based Real-Time Integrated Basin Simulator (tRIBS).     

涉密矢量数字地图中敏感要素几何信息量的测度方法

涉密矢量数字地图中敏感要素几何信息的定量测度,是实现定量化密级评定的基础和前提。如何进行敏感要素几何信息量的计算,目前尚缺乏相关研究。在现有地图信息论研究成果的基础上,论文主要开展了3方面的研究工作：首先,从地理对象的敏感性入手,探讨了地图要素敏感性的定义与要素集合的敏感性表征指标;然后,基于任意发生元的Voronoi构建方法,实现了对点要素集、线要素集、部分覆盖面要素集及综合要素集的信息单元自动化剖分;最后,基于长度系数、面积系数和角度系数,提出了线、面要素图形复杂度的计算方法,并在此基础上形成了涉密矢量数字地图中敏感几何信息量的测度方法。实验表明,该方法的计算结果遵循了信息量的非负性、连续性、可加性等特点,较为合理地反映了相关因素（地图比例尺、要素空间分布、要素图形复杂度、要素敏感系数等）对计算结果的影响。相关成果将支持矢量数字地图的定量化密级评定,并有助于完善地理信息安全监管的理论和方法体系。     

基于圆柱多段拟合的隧道中轴线提取方法研究

提出基于圆柱多段拟合的隧道中轴线提取方法。首先对隧道点云数据进行预处理，并将点云按隧道走向分成不同区段；然后对各区段依据轴线与表面点云法线垂直关系，提取精度较低的中轴线；最后对各区段利用圆柱多段拟合，提取精度较高的中轴线。实验表明，隧道中轴线的提取在一定的采样区间具有较高的稳定性，对直线和弯曲的圆形隧道有良好的适用性，算法可靠，精度较高。     

抽油机悬点投影测量仪

油田抽油机的抽油杆幌动幅度过大，是引起抽油杆断裂的一个重要因素，检测这种幌动幅度是防止抽油杆断裂的一种有效手段。设计了一种基于面阵CCD和普通半导体激光器（LD）测量这种幌动的悬点投影测量方法，通过数字卷积滤波，达到了范围为0－40mm，误差＜0.2mm的技术检测指标。     

对"数字地球"的几点认识

自“数字地球”的概念被提出以来，已引起全球的广泛关注和积极响应。然而，数字地球在目前还仅仅是一个概念。为了逐步建立“数字地球”，需要就“数字地球”的理论、技术以及实现进行深入地探讨。从“数字地球”的产生背景、基本概念、研究内容、构成框架、关键技术、实施难点和发展战略等方面谈了对“数字地球”的一些认识。     

Tephrochronology and tephrostratigraphy of two Pleistocene continental fossiliferous successions from central Italy

The stratigraphical context of two Middle Pleistocene fossiliferous palaeosols from Central Italy (Abruzzo and Tuscany) have been studied. Small mammals and molluscs occur in both palaeosols, which are covered by tephra layers that were analysed using an interdisciplinary approach. Application of fission‐track dating to apatites separated from the Case Picconetto tephra (Pescara, Abruzzo), yielded an age of 0.48 ± 0.04 Ma, indistinguishable from those previously determined for the Campani Quarry (Lower Valdarno, Tuscany) (0.46 ± 0.05 Ma and 0.48 ± 0.05 Ma). Geochemical and petrographic investigations indicate that these tephra originated from different volcanoes, the Alban Hills Volcanic Complex and the Vico Volcano (Latium) respectively. Small mammal and mollusc assemblages indicate different palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions for the Case Picconetto and Campani Quarry palaeosols. Warm and humid conditions can be inferred for the Campani Quarry site, whereas open and cold conditions can be inferred for Case Picconetto. On the basis of faunal data, fission‐track dates and attribution of tephra to specific volcanic eruptions, we suggest a correlation of these faunas with marine oxygen isotope stage 14 (Case Picconetto) and with marine oxygen isotope stage 11 (Campani Quarry), respectively. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of experimental model catchment evolution

Due to the geological time scales required for observation of catchment evolution, surrogates or analogues of field data are necessary to understand long‐term processes. To investigate long‐term catchment behaviour, two experimental model catchments that developed without rigid boundaries under controlled conditions are examined and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of their evolution is presented. Qualitatively, the experimental catchments have the visual appearance of field scale data. Observation demonstrates that changes in catchment shape and network form are conservative. Quantitative analysis suggests that the catchments reach an equilibrium form while a reduction in the channel network occurs. While the catchments are laboratory scale models, the results provide insights into field scale behaviour. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

形变大地测量学的进展、问题与地震预报

简要概括了形变大地测量学的革命性进展，研讨了它的科学特色、功能和定义以及对地球科学和防灾减灾的推动。形变大地测量学有助于从根本上击破多年来制约地震预报的“瓶颈”，但也存在不少急待解决的问题。着重研讨了在21世纪前10年，形变大地测量学如何依托多年的学科积累并充分受益于人造卫星和数字化等新技术，开展创新性研究和试验以推进地震预报。为此，对当前的研究工作提出了12条科学技术途径。最后对学科名称提出了建议。     

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO AIR MASS CLASSIFICATION IN THE NORTH CENTRAL UNITED STATES

Both subjective and objective schemes for air mass classification offer advantages to climatological studies. An integrated approach is developed and applied to 850 mb level data in the north central United States. Each air mass type was initially delimited by a subjective analysis. Final limits were then determined with an objective technique that separates temperature curves into normal components based on interpretation from the subjective method. Continental air was most frequent in all seasons except summer. The methodology also allows estimation of classification error.