Comparison of spatial interpolation methods for gridded bias removal in surface temperature forecasts

All numerical weather prediction (NWP) models inherently have substantial biases, especially in the forecast of near-surface weather variables. Statistical methods can be used to remove the systematic error based on historical bias data at observation stations. However, many end users of weather forecasts need bias corrected forecasts at locations that scarcely have any historical bias data. To circumvent this limitation, the bias of surface temperature forecasts on a regular grid covering Iran is removed, by using the information available at observation stations in the vicinity of any given grid point. To this end, the running mean error method is first used to correct the forecasts at observation stations, then four interpolation methods including inverse distance squared weighting with constant lapse rate (IDSW-CLR), Kriging with constant lapse rate (Kriging-CLR), gradient inverse distance squared with linear lapse rate (GIDS-LR), and gradient inverse distance squared with lapse rate determined by classification and regression tree (GIDS-CART), are employed to interpolate the bias corrected forecasts at neighboring observation stations to any given location. The results show that all four interpolation methods used do reduce the model error significantly, but Kriging-CLR has better performance than the other methods. For Kriging-CLR, root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) were decreased by 26% and 29%, respectively, as compared to the raw forecasts. It is found also, that after applying any of the proposed methods, unlike the raw forecasts, the bias corrected forecasts do not show spatial or temporal dependency.     

Performance-based assessment of an innovative braced tube system for tall buildings

In this paper, an innovative seismic lateral force resisting system for tall buildings is introduced. In this system, a novel supplemental part, ribbed bracing system (RBSyst), is attached to Braced Tube System, creating a modified BTS. RBSyst is a supplemental part which is attached to the conventional bracing members to eliminate buckling problem. The behavior of RBSyst under tensile force is similar to that of the conventional braces. However, in compression, it prevents the braces from buckling by length reduction. In order to evaluate the efficiency of this new BTS system by performance-based assessment, two typical 40-story tall buildings with different story modules equipped with this proposed bracing system are modeled numerically. Then, the seismic behavior of these 3-dimensional models are evaluated by nonlinear time history analysis under maximum considered earthquakes and service-level earthquakes. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the performance of the tall buildings equipped with this new BTS system is within the acceptable limits under both service-level and maximum considered earthquake ground motions. Additionally, it is shown that RBSyst part can effectively enhance the seismic behavior of BTS systems.     

Pan coefficient (K p) estimation under uncertainty on fetch

The FAO Penman–Monteith (F-PM) method is a frequently applied approach for calculating the daily reference evapotranspiration (ET₀). This method requires long records of meteorological data, which makes it quite hard to employ in locations with no or limited available data. Evaporation pans are widely used to estimate the reference ET₀, but this method requires reliable estimates of the pan coefficient (K _p). The objectives of this study were to determine the proper values of monthly and annual K _p, as well as the best method among those available for the estimation of K _p values in the study area. Measured weather data from 1992 to 2006 were obtained from 18 stations in the North and Northwest of Iran. Daily ET₀ calculated using methods by Bernardo et al. and Pereira et al. were compared with those calculated by the F-PM method. The employed methods at all stations, except those located in the north of the study area with high relative humidity, overestimated the ET₀ compared to the F-PM method. The constant parameters of these methods were optimized by a trial and error scheme to minimize the root mean square error. The results indicated that modified K _p coefficients from Bernardo et al.’s method ranged between 0.41 and 0.87 and the optimal coefficient of Pereira et al.’s method ranged between 0.49 and 0.95. Modified monthly K _p from Bernardo et al.’s method ranged between 0.3 and 1.07 and those from Pereira et al.’s method ranged between 0.4 and 1.18. Modified K _p of the methods by Bernardo et al. and Pereira et al. showed the higher estimation accuracy of daily ET₀ values. In general, the performance of the modified K _p of Bernardo et al.’s method was higher than Pereira et al.’s method for all stations. Thus, in the study region and under the same climatic conditions [in areas with only pan evaporation (E _p) records], the use of climatic monthly modified K _p to calculate ET₀ based on class A E _p is recommended.     

Investigation of meteorological extreme events over coastal regions of Iran

In this study, in order to detect probable trends and effects of climatic extreme events of precipitation and temperature as well as maximum relative humidity, dew point temperature, sunshine hours, and wind speed, 12 stations on the northern and southern coastlines of Iran were investigated from 1977 to 2007. For this purpose, 27 indices of precipitation and temperature, which are specified by the Expert Team of the World Meteorological Organization and Climate Variability and Predictability, were calculated by using RClimDex software. The Mann?CKendall method was also used to detect possible trends in the data time series. The results indicate that temperature indices are absolutely consistent with warming. Warm nights, hot days, and hot day and night frequencies increased, while cold spell and cool day and night frequencies declined. The minimum temperature experienced a considerable rise both in its maximum and minimum values. The minimum temperature had a higher increase than the maximum temperature. Therefore, diurnal temperature ranges have experienced dramatic declines. In the northern coastal sites, hot day frequency and hottest day temperature showed higher magnitudes than those of the southern sites as a result of the significant increase in the maximum sunshine hours in northern stations. This enhancement led to a considerable increase in the maximum wind speed. Consequently, relative humidity declined in the northern sites. Precipitation indices indicate few significant trends over the studied period. Temporal precipitation distribution was different from station to station. Three precipitation patterns were detected at individual stations, although an overall regional rainfall pattern was not detectable. On the whole, the results of this study emphasize that the water resources in the studied area are going to become problematic.     

Enhancement of Carbon Dioxide Capture by Amine‐Functionalized Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotube

In this study, crude multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was functionalized by a two‐step process; first using strong mixed acids (H₂SO₄/HNO₃) and then treatment with 1,3‐phenylenediamine (mPDA). The equilibrium adsorption of CO₂ on pristine MWCNT and amine functionalized MWCNT (MWCNT‐NH₂) were investigated. Experiments were preformed via application of volumetric method in a dual sorption vessel at temperature range of 298–318 K and pressures up to 40 bars. The results obtained indicated that the equilibrium uptake of CO₂ increased after functionalizing of MWCNT. The increase in CO₂ capture by MWCNT‐NH₂ was attributed to the existence of great affinity between CO₂ molecules and amine sites on this adsorbent at low pressures. The experimental data were analyzed by means of Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm models. The data obtained revealed a fast kinetics for the adsorption of CO₂ in which most of adsorption occurred at initial period of adsorption experiments. This renders MWCNT as a suitable adsorbent for practical applications. Values of isosteric heat of adsorption were evaluated based on Clausius–Clapeyron equation. The results demonstrated that both chemisorption and physisorption played important role in CO₂ adsorption on MWCNT‐NH₂, whereas the physisorption process was dominant for CO₂ adsorption on MWCNT.     

Regularization of geophysical ill-posed problems by iteratively re-weighted and refined least squares

The iteratively re-weighted least squares (IRLS) is a commonly used algorithm which has received significant attention in geophysics and other fields of scientific computing for regularization of discrete ill-posed problems. The IRLS replaces a difficult optimization problem by a sequence of weighted linear systems. The optimum solution of the original problem is usually determined by computing the solution for various regularization parameters λ, each needing several re-weighted iterations (usually 10–15). In this paper, in order to decrease the required computation time (iterations) while maintaining good properties of the algorithm such as edge-preserving, the IRLS is augmented with a refinement strategy and the value of λ is progressively updated in a geometrical form during the iterations. The new algorithm, called iteratively re-weighted and refined least squares (IRRLS), can be interpreted as a Landweber iteration with a non-stationary shaping matrix which is updated based on the solution obtained from previous iteration. Two main properties of IRRLS are (1) the regularization parameter is the stopping iteration and (2) it is equipped with a tuning parameter which makes it flexible for recovering models with different smoothness. We show numerically that both the residual and regularization norms are monotone functions of iteration and hence well behaved for automatic determination of stopping parameter. The Stain’s unbiased risk estimate (SURE), generalized cross validation (GCV), L-curve analysis, and discrepancy principle (DCP) techniques are employed for automatic determination of optimum iteration. Experimental results from seismic deconvolution and seismic tomography are included showing that the proposed methodology outperforms the conventional IRLS with significantly lower computational burden.     

Optimal shape design of defense structures for minimizing short wave impact

The paper presents coastal structures design in the presence of waves by the minimization of a cost function. It aims to show that shape optimization can be efficiently applied to ocean engineering. This is an underlying guiding principle for the design of harbors or offshore breakwaters. We compute the solution of a specific simplified boundary value problem describing the short wave propagation toward a vertical sea cliff or vertical wall and modify accordingly the shape of defense structures in order to minimize a pre-defined cost function taking into account the strength (energy) of the water waves. The optimization procedure relies on a global semi-deterministic search algorithm able to escape from local minima.     

Design,manufacture and calibration of the SARI portable rainfall simulator for field and laboratory experiments

The Simulator of Artificial RaInfall (SARI) rainfall simulator (RS) is a newly designed, constructed and calibrated, portable, two-nozzle RS with low water consumption, accurate measurement, easy management and low cost. The raindrop size distribution and velocity and mean rainfall intensity were measured. The best rainfall spatial distribution was achieved with nozzles separated by 50, 60 and 70 cm, and with oscillation angles of 30, 45 and 60°, at a pressure of 60 kPa. The uniformity coefficient varied from 57 to 61% and rainfall intensity from 48 to 101 mm h^?1. The raindrop diameter varied from 0.2 to 9.9 mm. The raindrop velocity at the optimum pressure of 60 kPa, which was measured with high-speed photography, ranged from 1.1 to 7.1 m s^?1. Comparison with other RSs shows that the SARI simulator is a suitable apparatus to research soil erosion and runoff generation under laboratory and field conditions.     

Investigating extreme scenarios with multiple-point geostatistics and variance maximization

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment - In many geoscience applications, the data extracted from environmental variables are very limited. Multiple-point geostatistical (MPS)...