Building frequency fluctuations from continuous monitoring of ambient vibrations and their relationship to temperature variations

Building frequencies (fundamental and higher modes) are a critical parameter especially in the field of structural health monitoring mainly based on the stability of the structural dynamic parameters of individual building (frequencies, damping and modes shape). One of the most used methods to find out these parameters is based on the use on ambient vibration analysis. In this work, we study the fluctuations over a month period of the fundamental frequencies (transverse and longitudinal) of a 3.5-story RC-building made of 2 identical units connected by a structural joint. Time independent building frequencies is a strong assumption; as illustrated by our experiment showing that over an observation period of a month, building frequencies fluctuate of about 3.5 %. A clear correlation is found between the building frequency fluctuations and temperature variations, with a phase-shift interpreted as the characteristic time of heat diffusion within the walls. This allows: (1) determining the thermal diffusivity of the structure, (2) inferring its relative stiffness variations, and (3) showing that its Young modulus varies linearly with temperature.     

The Landscape of Diversity in U.S. Higher Education Geography

Palynological analyses were completed for the A and B horizons of a forested Mollic Hapludalf to determine type, amount, and distribution of pollen and spores within the soil solum. Hypotheses regarding the origin of pollen and the mechanisms of its movement within soil bodies are also advanced. Pollen downwash within the mineral soil seems to be very slow and confined to the uppermost porous and most homogenized part of the solum. The predominance of non-arboreal pollen at depth was believed to be a result of deposition with the loess parent material. High arboreal pollen frequencies in the upper horizons coupled with increases in non-arboreal types at depth indicate gradual ongoing mixing from the present vegetation into the soil.     

Divergent Perspectives on Water Security: Bridging the Policy Debate

Environmental policy discussion is replete with references to water security, food security, ecosystem health, community resilience, sustainable development, and sustainable urbanism. These terms are, by their very nature, ambiguous and difficult to define; they allow room, however, for a variety of actors to conceptualize water, food, ecological, economic, and urban problems in ways that allow them to move forward on contentious issues. This article focuses on the idea of water security and asks how it is conceptualized and used for regional policy debate in western Canada. We asked fifty-eight water stakeholders from the Saskatchewan River Basin to define water security, identify major barriers to security, and prioritize water problems. Responses showed there are myriad ways to think about water security, ranging from narrow conceptualizations, such as reliability, quality, and quantity, to broader sustainability perspectives about the nature of resource development and its social and economic consequences. The human dimensions of water security (governance, land use, and competing demands) were assigned higher priority than its biophysical aspects (flooding, droughts, and climate change). Framing water security to emphasize the human capacity to manage uncertain and rapid biophysical and societal change offers the opportunity to unite actors who otherwise would be separated by core environmental values, definitions of water security, provincial context (Alberta vs. Saskatchewan), and occupation.     

Exploring the Impact of Contextual Information on Student Performance and Interest in Open Humanitarian Mapping

The opportunity to engage university students in authentic, open humanitarian mapping raises important questions about how to guide the quality and productivity of volunteer spatial contributions while providing a valuable learning experience. It presents the unique chance to pique new mappers’ interest, satisfaction, and confidence in spatial technologies in particular, and technology in general, as well as pique their interest in the people and places that are served by the humanitarian mapping projects. This article shares the findings of a study that explores the importance of sharing authentic contextual information about the purpose of the humanitarian mapping task. Two groups of beginner mappers were given mapping tasks, with only one group being provided details on the purpose. Comparisons were made on their respective performance and changes in affective response to a series of questions about technology, education, good citizenship, and empathy. Measures of the quantity and quality of spatial data produced; their respective levels of interest, satisfaction, and confidence in technology; and affective responses before and after mapping show the relative effects of contextual information. Results provide insights about the potential effectiveness of authentic instruction on the performance of mapping as well as the potential effect on mappers themselves. Key Words: citizenship, data quality, empathy, humanitarian mapping, volunteered geographic information.     

Soil erosion and its response to the changes of precipitation and vegetation cover on the Loess Plateau

Soil erosion is a major threat to our terrestrial ecosystems and an important global environmental problem. The Loess Plateau in China is one of the regions that suffered more severe soil erosion and undergoing climate warming and drying in the past decades. The vegetation restoration named Grain-to-Green Program has now been operating for more than 10 years. It is necessary to assess the variation of soil erosion and the response of precipita- tion and vegetation restoration to soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. In the study, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation （RUSLE） was applied to evaluate annual soil loss caused by water erosion. The results showed as follows. The soil erosion on the Loess Plateau between 2000 and 2010 averaged for 15.2 t hm-2 a 1 and was characterized as light for the value less than 25 t hm-2 a-1. The severe soil erosion higher than 25 t hm-2 a-~ was mainly distributed in the gully and hilly regions in the central, southwestern, and some scattered areas of earth-rocky mountainous areas on the Loess Plateau. The soil erosion on the Loess Plateau showed a deceasing trend in recent decade and reduced more at rates more than 1 t hm 2 a 1 in the areas suffering severe soil loss. Benefited from the improved vegetation cover and ecological construction, the soil erosion on the Loess Plateau was significantly declined, es- pecially in the east of Yulin, most parts of Yah＇an prefectures in Shaanxi Province, and the west of Luliang and Linfen prefectures in Shanxi Province in the hilly and gully regions. The variation of vegetation cover responding to soil erosion in these areas showed the relatively higher contribution than the precipitation. However, most areas in Qingyang and Dingxi pre- fectures in Gansu Province and Guyuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were predomi- nantly related to precipitation.     

砂土液化大变形本构模型的三维化及其数值实现

基于砂土液化大变形机理和适用于二维条件的边界面弹塑性本构模型,发展了符合三维应力空间中边界面和剪胀面上的应力映射规则,建立了三维应力空间中砂土液化大变形本构模型.针对模型特点采用半显式的Cutting Plane算法进行应力积分,并采用Pegasus求根算法根据映射规则计算边界面上的应力映射点,在OpenSees开源有限元平台上实现了三维模型的数值化.结合完全耦合的u-p格式有限元单元,对饱和砂土不排水循环扭剪试验进行了模拟,并进行了一个真三维倾斜地基的动力反应分析.计算结果表明模型和所采用的数值算法具有很好的模拟和分析三维条件下砂土液化后大变形的能力.     

滑坡稳定性评价中地震作用力计算的讨论

阐述了目前国内外在滑坡地震稳定性评价方面的理论研究成果和实际应用情况,指出地质矿产行业规范在采用静力法计算地震力时没有乘以0.25的综合影响系数,和其它规范的差别是巨大的.分析后认为这个规定是值得商榷的.最后根据宏观震害现象提出易引起滑坡的地质情况并对其进行了分析,为滑坡治理工程设计和以后的规范修编提供了方法和思路.     

不同掏蚀深度下古城墙的稳定性数值分析

以浙江良渚古城的宽顶古场面墙稳定性问题为研究对象,本文针对古城墙可能出现的不同深度的风沙掏蚀的实际工况,通过有限差分软件FLAC3D,建立计算模型进行了稳定性分析,探讨了不同掏蚀深度下城墙破坏机理和规律.研究表明:当城墙墙根掏蚀深度不是很大时,城墙整体稳定,土体开始出现比较小的位移量,掏蚀部位及其周围出现局部塑性破坏现象.随着掏蚀深度的增加,城墙塑性破坏区域不断向城墙体内部、顶部及顶部后缘范围发展,城墙上的土体位移量随着掏蚀深度的增加而呈数量级的增加,直至城墙出现整体崩塌破坏.掏蚀作用加剧了地震作用下城墙体的破坏,在掏蚀部位形成潜在破坏口,内部形成塑性贯通区,造成墙体整体崩塌.     

甘东南流动台阵微震监测结果

利用高密度宽频带流动台阵资料,应用网格搜索地震定位方法对甘东南2009年11月-2011年11月期间的微震进行了重新定位.在研究区内有3个以上台站记录到的微震共3 014个,比常规台网记录多1 693个.重新定位结果显示:在各断裂带附近地震分布更加密集,沿断裂呈带状或簇集状分布;震源深度分布优势范围为5～20 km,其平均深度为11 km;地震深度分布与断裂的关系密切,地震条带与断裂构造可以较好的相对应.