Sample Truncation Strategies for Outlier Removal in Geochemical Data: The MCD Robust Distance Approach Versus t-SNE Ensemble Clustering

Mathematical Geosciences - The presence of outliers in geochemical data can impact the accuracy of grade models and influence the interpretation of mine assay data. Removal of outliers is therefore...     

Surface Warping Incorporating Machine Learning Assisted Domain Likelihood Estimation: A New Paradigm in Mine Geology Modeling and Automation

Mathematical Geosciences - In surface mining, assay measurements taken from production drilling often provide useful information that enables initially inaccurate surfaces (for example,...     

MODELLING HEAT AND MOISTURE TRANSFER IN UNSATURATED SOIL USING A FINITE DIFFERENCE SELF-IMPLICIT METHOD ON PARALLEL COMPUTERS

A parallel numerical finite difference model, employing the self-implicit method, for coupled heat and moisture transfer in unsaturated soil is presented. The model is programmed in Occam and executed on a parallel computing network of transputers. An assessment of the model was achieved via the simulation of a laboratory experiment. A very good correlation between experimental and numerical results was obtained. Comparison of results with those obtained from a parallel explicit method is also illustrated showing no significant difference. The computational time employing the new method was, however, found to be half of that obtained using the explicit method. The computational efficiency of the approach was also found to be very high. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal changes in imposex and tissue burden of butyltin compounds in Thais clavigera populations along the coastal area of Mirs Bay, China

We assessed the current status of tributyltin (TBT) contamination of Thais clavigera (Gastropoda) along the coastal area of Mirs Bay, China for the first time. The snail samples were collected from 10 different sites in the summer (June) and winter (December) of 2006, respectively. They were analyzed for imposex status, i.e. relative penis size index (RPSI) and vas deferens sequence index (VDSI), followed by quantification of butyltins in their tissues. Most of the collected females suffered from imposex, but the level of butyltin contamination varied with the distance from Yantian Port, which is currently the fourth busiest container port in the world. The tissue concentration of TBT varied with season. For a particular site, the winter samples in general contained much higher concentration of TBT than the summer samples. RPSI, VDSI and organotin concentrations were higher in T. clavigera collected from sites closer to the Port, such as the Seafood Street and Kat O. Both RPSI and VDSI were positively correlated with the tissue burden of tributyltin. VDSI exhibited little seasonal variability, whereas RPSI showed marked seasonal variability, with lower values in the summer samples. The current results will serve as an important reference for long-term monitoring of butyltin contamination in this area.     

Application of T-bar in numerical simulations of a monopile subjected to lateral cyclic load

A series of centrifuge tests were performed to investigate the response of a free-head monopile due to cyclic lateral loading in normally consolidated clay. By linking the maximum reaction-force point of the final cycles in all tests with various amplitudes, a postcyclic reaction-force curve is obtained, which can be used to assess the postcyclic remolded lateral stiffness. To numerically analyze the tests, a strength degradation model of the clay is calibrated by the T-bar cyclic test. However, this model is T-bar-dependent, which is unable to capture the degrading behavior of the monopile stiffness. Thus, a modification approach is proposed based on the upper bound theory, and the modified model is further combined with finite element analysis to simulate the cyclic behavior of the model pile. The simulation results show similar degrading trend and consistent postcyclic remolded lateral stiffness with the model tests. This further demonstrates that the remolded lateral stiffness mainly depends on the soil remolded strength, which is one of the parameters calibrated by the T-bar tests. Based on this finding, a simplified numerical analysis is proposed, which can predict the postcyclic reaction-force curve by performing one monotonic loading instead of modeling the whole process of cyclic loading.     

Eight new δ Scuti stars

HD 23194, a member of the Pleiades, was found to pulsate with a period of about 30 min. The literature on the star is reviewed, and it is concluded that it may be a marginal Am star in a binary system. HD 95321 is an evolved Am ( ρ Puppis) star with a 5.1-h periodicity. Mode identification of its pulsation, based on multicolour photometry, suggests that the oscillation is probably non-radial with ℓ=2. We also report on the discovery of six other new δ Scuti stars, some of which may be pulsating in gravity modes.     

Correlations between gastropod shell dissolution and water chemical properties in a tropical estuary

Although poorly reported in the scientific literature, acidic waters characterize many South East Asian estuaries. The observation of shell dissolution in a typically marine gastropod whelk (Thais) prompted investigation into determining relationships between shell properties of this whelk and the water chemistry (including pH) of the Sungai Brunei estuary (Borneo) in which it occurs. Shell weight, shell length and topographical shell features were determined for populations of Thais gradata distributed along a gradient of pH and salinity ranging between 5.78 and 8.3 pH units, and 3.58 and 31.2psu. Shell weight varied independently of the co-varying acidity, salinity and calcium levels experienced. In contrast, shell length and a semi-quantitative variable based on shell sculpturing (shell erosion rank, SER) were significantly correlated with these water chemistry variables. This study brings attention to the potential use of estuarine organisms and systems in investigating current marine acidification questions.     

水文模式DHSVM与区域气候模式RegCM2/China嵌套模拟试验

本研究在改进水文 -土壤 -植被模式DHSVM ,用气候观测资料驱动DHSVM进行模拟试验的基础上 ,建立了区域气候模式RegCM2 /China与水文模式DHSVM的嵌套系统 ,将区域气候模式对中国和东亚地区控制试验 (目前气候情景 )和敏感性试验 (未来 2×CO2 气候情景 )结果用双线性插值方法降尺度 (downscaling)到滦河、桑干河流域的 8个气象站点 ,然后再用数字高程模式DEM插值到DHSVM的细网格点 ,驱动水文模式进行嵌套模拟试验。试验结果表明 ,滦河、桑干河流域在未来大气中CO2 浓度加倍情况下 ,地面气温呈一致的增加趋势 ,年平均气温增加2 .8℃ ;两流域未来降水也呈增加趋势 ,滦河、桑干河流域年降水量分别增加 6mm和 4 6mm ;两流域未来蒸发量有所增加 ,年均蒸发量增加 2 9mm ;未来滦河流域年径流深减少 2 7mm ,流量减少 14 .72× 10 8m3 ,桑干河流域径流深增加 2 6mm ,流量增加 12 .2 2× 10 8m3 ,两流域合计 ,流量减少 2 .5× 10 8m3 ;未来滦河、桑干河流域径流深趋向一致 ,分别为 74和 71mm ,约为全国目前平均径流深 2 84mm的 1/ 4。可见 ,两流域未来总体上仍呈现暖干化趋势。本研究发展的嵌套模式系统具有一定的预测能力 ,而且通过参数移植 ,可应用于中国其他流域     

Modified predictor-corrector solution approach for efficient discontinuous deformation analysis of jointed rock masses

The high computational costs associated with the implicit formulation of discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) have been one of the major obstacles for its implementation to engineering problems involving jointed rock masses with large numbers of blocks. In this paper, the Newmark-based predictor-corrector solution (NPC) approach was modified to improve the performance of the original DDA solution module in modeling discontinuous problems. The equation of motion for a discrete block system is first established with emphasis on the consideration of contact constraints. A family of modified Newmark-based predictor-corrector integration (MNPC) scheme is then proposed and implemented into a unified analysis framework. Comparisons are made between the proposed approach and the widely used constant acceleration (CA) integration approach and central difference (CD) approach, regarding the stability and numerical damping features for a single-degree-of-freedom model, where the implications of the proposed approach on open-close iteration are also discussed. The validity of the proposed approach is verified by several benchmarking examples, and it is then applied to two typical problems with different numbers of blocks. The results show that the original CA approach in DDA is efficient for the simulation of quasi-static deformation of jointed rock masses, while the proposed MNPC approach leads to improved computational efficiency for dynamic analysis of large-scale jointed rock masses. The MNPC approach therefore provides an additional option for efficient DDA of jointed rock masses.     

An adaptive compromise programming method for multi-objective path optimization

Network routing problems generally involve multiple objectives which may conflict one another. An effective way to solve such problems is to generate a set of Pareto-optimal solutions that is small enough to be handled by a decision maker and large enough to give an overview of all possible trade-offs among the conflicting objectives. To accomplish this, the present paper proposes an adaptive method based on compromise programming to assist decision makers in identifying Pareto-optimal paths, particularly for non-convex problems. This method can provide an unbiased approximation of the Pareto-optimal alternatives by adaptively changing the origin and direction of search in the objective space via the dynamic updating of the largest unexplored region till an appropriately structured Pareto front is captured. To demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology, a case study is carried out for the transportation of dangerous goods in the road network of Hong Kong with the support of geographic information system. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the approach.