Distributions of microcanonical cascade weights of rainfall at small timescales

Empirical frequency distributions of multiplicative cascade weights, or breakdown coefficients, at small timescales are analyzed for 5-min precipitation time series from four gauges in Germany. It is shown that histograms of the weights, W, are strongly deformed by the recording precision of rainfall amounts. A randomization procedure is proposed to statistically remove the artifacts due to precision errors in the original series. Evolution of the probability distributions of W from beta-like for large timescales to combined beta-normal distribution with a pronounced peak at W ≈ 0.5 for small timescales is observed. A new 3N-B distribution built from 3 separate normal, N, distributions and one beta, B, distribution is proposed for reproduction of the empirical histograms of W at small timescales. Parameters of the 3N-B distributions are fitted for all gauges and analyzed timescales. Microcanonical cascades models with a generator based on 3N-B distributions are developed and their performance at disaggregating precipitation at 1280-min intervals down to 5-min intervals is evaluated.     

A New Operational Paradigm for Small‐Scale ASR in Saline Aquifers

A new operational paradigm is presented for small‐scale aquifer storage and recovery systems (ASR) in saline aquifers. Regular ASR is often not feasible for small‐scale storage in saline aquifers because fresh water floats to the top of the aquifer where it is unrecoverable. In the new paradigm, fresh water storage is combined with salt water extraction from below the fresh water cone. The salt water extraction counteracts the buoyancy due to the density difference between fresh water and salt water, thus preventing the fresh water from floating up. The proposed approach is applied to assess the feasibility of ASR for the seasonal storage of fresh water produced by desalination plants in tourist resorts along the Egyptian Red Sea coast. In these situations, the continuous extraction of salt water can be used for desalination purposes. An analytical Dupuit solution is presented for the steady flow of salt water toward a well with a volume of fresh water floating on top of the cone of depression. The required salt water discharge for the storage of a given volume of fresh water can be computed with the analytical solution. Numerical modeling is applied to determine how the stored fresh water can be recovered. Three recovery approaches are examined. Fresh water recovery rates on the order of 70% are achievable when salt water is extracted in high volumes, subsurface impermeable barriers are constructed at a distance from the well, or several fresh water recovery drains are used. The effect of ambient flow and interruptions of salt water pumping on the recovery efficiency are reported.     

Measurement of the signal to noise ratio in seismic profiling

The measurement of the signal to noise ratio in continuous seismic profiling systems is carried out by means of a small general purpose digital computer equipped with an analog to digital converter. The computer is programmed to compute and compare the power spectrum of a sample of noise to the power spectrum of a sample of noise plus an echo. Power spectra of some twenty to fifty shots are averaged to yield reliable estimates of the signal to noise ratio as a function of frequency. The observed spectra agree well with spectra calculated from signals measured near to an air-gun. This measurement of signal to noise ratio as a function of frequency provides unambiguous information for the adjustment of the necessary band-pass filter thus improving the operation of a continuous seismic profiler.     

Constructing personalized transportation networks in multi-state supernetworks: a heuristic approach

An integrated view encompassing the networks for public and private transport modes as well as the activity programs of travelers is essential for accessibility analysis. In earlier research, the multi-state supernetwork has been put forward by the authors as a suitable technique to model the system in such an integrated fashion. An essential part of a supernetwork involving multi-modal and multi-activity is the personalized transportation network, which is an under-researched topic in the academic community. This article attempts to develop a heuristic approach to construct personalized transportation networks for an individual's activity program. In this approach, the personalized network consists of two types of network extractions from the original transportation system: public transport network and private vehicle network. Three examples are presented to illustrate that the public transport network and private vehicle network can represent an individual's attributes and be applied in large-scale applications for analyzing the synchronization of land-use and transportation systems.     

Petrologic, isotopic, and radiometric age constraints on the origin and tectonic history of the Malino Metamorphic Complex, NW Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Malino Metamorphic Complex (MMC) is located at the western end of the north arm of Sulawesi. It consists of mica schists and gneisses (derived from proximal turbidite and granitoid protoliths), with intercalations of greenschist, amphibolite, marble, and quartzite, forming an E-W elongated dome-like structure bounded on all sides by faults. The age of the MMC is constrained between Devonian and Early Carboniferous. This Paleozoic age, the presence of Archean and Proterozoic inherited zircons, and the isotopic signature of the mica schists and gneisses indicate that the terrane was derived from the New Guinea-Australian margin of Gondwana. Similarities with basement rocks in the Bird’s Head suggests a common origin. Greenschists forming a discontinuous selvage (metamorphic carapace) around the complex were derived from adjacent autochthonous Paleogene formations. The rocks of the MMC show a Barrovian-type progression from greenschist through epidote-amphibolite to amphibolite facies. P–T estimations suggest a depth of burial of up to 27–30 km. K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages of 23–11 Ma, and a 7 Ma age for unconformably overlying volcanic rocks, indicate that the complex was exhumed during the Miocene. Two tectonic scenarios are considered: 1. the continental fragment docked with Sulawesi during the Mesozoic and was exhumed as a metamorphic core complex during the Miocene; 2. it was subducted beneath the north arm during the late Oligocene and then rapidly returned back to the surface.     

Design of a view-based DSS for location planning

Abstract.

The traditional approach in DSS falls short of providing a highly interactive problem solving environment for planning. Often, cumbersome procedures are required to implement optional plans and obtain feedback information. In dynamic graphic systems, the user is able to view different linked graphic representations (e.g., spatial or statistical graphs) of statistical data and interact (e.g., selecting items) with these graphics. In this paper we describe the design of a DSS for planning facility locations, which uses principles of dynamic graphics to achieve a highly interactive problem solving environment. As in dynamic graphic systems, the user interacts with the DSS through active and linked views. However, where views in dynamic graphics are different representations of a given dataset, the views in the DSS are active data structures describing the facility system to be planned from different perspectives. The declarative and procedural forms of knowledge involved are identified by a logical analysis of planning problems. A frame-based formalism is proposed to represent the knowledge contained in the views. The main advantage of this view-based approach is that it offers the user a highly flexible and interactive environment for performing ‘what-if’ analyses.     

Seismic hazard computations for regions with low earthquake activity — A case study for the Belgium,The Netherlands and NW Germany area

The algorithms to evaluate seismic hazard, used and/or developed by five teams participating in the TERESA project, applied to the low seismicity area Belgium, The Netherlands and NW Germany are compared. The main differences in the results can be explained by the majority criterion of Egozcue et al. (1989), the differences in the upper bound and zonification and, in some cases, by a higher attenuation.     

Managed water levels and the expansion of emergent vegetation along a lakeshore

Water-level fluctuations may be used to promote the expansion of emergent vegetation along lakeshores. We present the case of the lake Volkerak-Zoommeer in the Netherlands, a fresh-water lake created in 1987 after the enclosure of an estuary. Using an experimental area in which the water level could be manipulated, it was shown that partial summer drawdown of the shoreline created suitable conditions for germination and growth of tall emergent species (in particular Phragmites australis). Plant survival and growth depended on subsequent water-level fluctuations and grazing by waterbirds. Based on the experiment and empirical data, a model was developed to predict the effects of the water-level regime on potential reed bed development. The model was applied for four hydrological scenarios that have been considered for the water-level management of the lake.