Allocation of urban land uses by Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm

Considering the ever-increasing urban population, it appears that land management is of major importance. Land uses must be properly arranged so that they do not interfere with one another and can meet each other's needs as much as possible; this goal is a challenge of urban land-use planning. The main objective of this research is to use Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm to find the optimum arrangement of urban land uses in parcel level, considering multiple objectives and constraints simultaneously. Geospatial Information System is used to prepare the data and to study different spatial scenarios when developing the model. To optimize the land-use arrangement, four objectives are defined: maximizing compatibility, maximizing dependency, maximizing suitability, and maximizing compactness of land uses. These objectives are characterized based on the requirements of planners. As a result of optimization, the user is provided with a set of optimum land-use arrangements, the Pareto-front solutions. The user can select the most appropriate solutions according to his/her priorities. The method was tested using the data of region 7, district 1 of Tehran. The results showed an acceptable level of repeatability and stability for the optimization algorithm. The model uses parcel instead of urban blocks, as the spatial unit. Moreover, it considers a variety of land uses and tries to optimize several objectives simultaneously.     

Initiation and evolution of fault-controlled slope-parallel submarine channels: Miocene eastern slope of Yinggehai Basin,South China Sea

Submarine channels act as the main conduits for the transport of sediment to deep-water basins by sediment gravity flows. The interplay between fault-related deformation and the initiation and development of the channels is poorly known. Here, we present the identification, formation and evolution of the Miocene slope-parallel channel by employing 3D seismic reflection, wireline-log and core data in the eastern slope of Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea. Based on the lengths and plan-view shapes, a total of three different types of fault-associated slope-parallel depressions have been identified. The depressions were formed in the fault zone and controlled by the reactivation of the underlying older faults. Among them, Type-1 depressions are short (<20 km) oval or circle shaped possessing only one depocenter. Type-2 depressions are elongated (25–70 km), and usually have multiple depocenters. Type-3 depressions, which are usually connected by slope-perpendicular channels in the head and middle, are longer (more than 190 km) and connect shallow and deep-water basins. The analysis of morphology, erosivity and material transport shows that Type-3 depressions are fully fledged channels. Type-1 and Type-2 depressions are channel precursors representing the initial stage of channel evolution. With this motive, a model for the initiation and evolution of slope-parallel submarine channels controlled by strike-slip-extensional faults is presented. Unlike the previous investigations which suggest that erosion takes place at the inception of submarine channel formation, the fault-controlled slope-parallel channel is mainly controlled by faulting and has no initial erosive base and does not develop levees. The depressions are extended and elongated by the continuous fault activity. It was not until the slope-parallel depression connected with large-scale slope-perpendicular channels transporting materials into the depression via erosive turbidity currents that it evolved into a channel-levee system. This study is of global importance for understanding submarine channel generation and evolution since the fault-controlled slope-parallel channels have been found in tectonic active basins worldwide.     

Monitoring of dust storm and estimation of aerosol concentration in the Middle East using remotely sensed images

Arabian Journal of Geosciences - Dust storms are one of the major environmental disasters in the arid regions of Middle East, occurring in very high frequency. As a result, monitoring dust storms...     

Forecasting of meteorological drought using Wavelet-ANFIS hybrid model for different time steps (case study: southeastern part of east Azerbaijan province, Iran)

Drought is accounted as one of the most natural hazards. Studying on drought is important for designing and managing of water resources systems. This research is carried out to evaluate the ability of Wavelet-ANN and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) techniques for meteorological drought forecasting in southeastern part of East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The Wavelet-ANN and ANFIS models were first trained using the observed data recorded from 1952 to 1992 and then used to predict meteorological drought over the test period extending from 1992 to 2011. The performances of the different models were evaluated by comparing the corresponding values of root mean squared error coefficient of determination (R ²) and Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient. In this study, more than 1,000 model structures including artificial neural network (ANN), adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and Wavelet-ANN models were tested in order to assess their ability to forecast the meteorological drought for one, two, and three time steps (6 months) ahead. It was demonstrated that wavelet transform can improve meteorological drought modeling. It was also shown that ANFIS models provided more accurate predictions than ANN models. This study confirmed that the optimum number of neurons in the hidden layer could not be always determined using specific formulas; hence, it should be determined using a trial-and-error method. Also, decomposition level in wavelet transform should be delineated according to the periodicity and seasonality of data series. The order of models with regard to their accuracy is as following: Wavelet-ANFIS, Wavelet-ANN, ANFIS, and ANN, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, no research has been published that explores coupling wavelet analysis with ANFIS for meteorological drought and no research has tested the efficiency of these models to forecast the meteorological drought in different time scales as of yet.     

Investigations of the East Greenland continental margin between 70° and 72° N by deep seismic sounding and gravity studies

Results are presented from a deep seismic sounding experiment with the research vessel POLARSTERN in the Scoresby Sund area, East Greenland. For this continental margin study 9 seismic recording landstations were placed in Scoresby Sund and at the southeast end of Kong Oscars Fjord, and ocean bottom seismographs (OBS) were deployed at 26 positions in and out of Scoresby Sund offshore East Greenland between 70° and 72° N and on the west flank of the Kolbeinsey Ridge. The landstations were established using helicopters from RV POLARSTERN. Explosives, a 321 airgun and 81 airguns were used as seismic sources in the open sea. Gravity data were recorded in addition to the seismic measurements. A free-air gravity map is presented. The sea operations — shooting and OBS recording — were strongly influenced by varying ice conditions. Crustal structure 2-D models have been calculated from the deep seismic sounding results. Free-air gravity anomalies have been calculated from these models and compared to the observed gravity. In the inner Scoresby Sund — the Caledonian fold belt region — the crustal thickness is about 35 km, and thins seaward to 10 km. Sediments more than 10 km thick on Jameson Land are of mainly Mesozoic age. In the outer shelf region and deep sea a ‘Moho’ cannot clearly be identified by our data. There are only weak indications for the existence of a ‘Moho’ west of the Kolbeinsey Ridge. Inside and offshore Scoresby Sund there is clear evidence for a lower crust refractor characterised byp-velocities of 6.8–7.3 km s^?1 at depths between 6 and 10 km. We believe these velocities are related to magmatic processes of rifting and first drifting controlled by different scale mantle updoming during Paleocene to Eocene and Late Oligocene to Miocene times: the separation of Greenland/Norway and the separation of the Jan Mayen Ridge/Greenland, respectively. A thin igneous upper crust, interpreted to be of oceanic origin, begins about 50 km seaward of the Liverpool Land Escarpment and thickens oceanward. In the escarpment zone the crustal composition is not clear. Probably it is stretched and attenuated continental crust interspersed with basaltic intrusions. The great depth of the basement (about 5000 m) points to a high subsidence rate of about 0.25 mm yr^?1 due to sediment loading and cooling of the crust and upper mantle, mainly since Miocene time. The igneous upper crust thickens eastward under the Kolbeinsey Ridge to about 2.5 km; the thickening is likely caused by higher production of extrusives. The basementp-velocity of 5.8–6.0 km s^?1 is rather high. Such velocities are associated with young basalts and may also be caused by a higher percentage of dykes. Tertiary to recent sediments, about 5000 m thick, form most of the shelf east of Scoresby Sund, Liverpool Land and Kong Oscars Fjord. This points to a high sedimentation rate mainly since the Miocene. The deeper sediments have a rather high meanp-velocity of 4.5 km s^?1, perhaps due to pre-Cambrian to Caledonian deposits of continental origin. The upper sediments offshore Scoresby Sund are thick and have a rather low velocity. They are interpreted as eroded material transported from inside the Sund into the shelf region. Offshore Kong Oscars Fjord the upper sediments, likely Jurassic to Devonian deposits, are thin in the shelf region but thicken to more than 3000 m in the slope area. The crust and upper mantle structure in the ocean-continent transition zone is interpreted to be the result of the superposition of the activities of three rifting phases related to mantle plumes of different dimensions:

1. the ‘Greenland/Norway separation phase’ of high volcanic activity,
2. the ‘Jan Mayen Ridge/Greenland separation phase’ and
3. the ‘Kolbeinsey Ridge phase’ of ‘normal’ volcanic activity related to a more or less normal mantle temperature.

During period 2 and 3 only a few masses of extrusives were produced, but large volumes of intrusives were emplaced. So the margin between Scoresby Sund and Jan Mayen Fracture Zone is interpreted to be a stretched margin with low volcanic activity.     

Airborne Gravimetry Survey for the Marine Area of the United Arab Emirates

The Military Survey Department (MSD) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) undertook an airborne gravity survey project for the marine area of the country in 2009, especially to strengthen the marine and coastal geoid in the near-shore regions. For the airborne gravity survey, 5 km spacing coast-parallel flight lines were planned and surveyed. These lines were supplemented by cross-lines in order to assess the quality of the airborne gravity surveys. The flight lines were extended 10 km, spacing lines further offshore. A Beech King Air 350 aircraft was used for the surveys, collecting data at a typical flight speed of 170 knots and a typical flight elevation of 900–1500 m, depending on weather conditions and topography. Gravity was measured with a ZLS-modified LaCoste and Romberg gravimeter (S-99), augmented with a Honeywell strap-down inertial navigation system unit. The estimated accuracy for the airborne gravity data is better than 2.0 mGal r.m.s., as judged from the airborne track crossovers. The new airborne gravimetry data changed the UAE coastal geoid by up to 30 cm in some regions, highlighting the importance of airborne gravity coastal surveys.     

Effect of inertia nonlinearity on dynamic response of an asymmetric building equipped with tuned mass dampers

This study investigates the effect of nonlinear inertia on the dynamic response of an asymmetric building equipped with Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs). In the field of structural engineering, many researchers have developed models to study the behavior of nonlinear TMDs, but the effect of nonlinear inertia has not received as much attention for asymmetric buildings. To consider nonlinear inertia, the equations of motion are derived in a local rotary coordinates system. The displacements and rotations of the modeled building and TMDs are defined by five-degree-of-freedom (5-DOFs). The equations of motion are derived by using the Lagrangian method. Also in the proposed nonlinear model, the equations of motion are different from a conventional linear model. In order to compare the response of the proposed nonlinear model and a conventional linear model, numerical examples are presented and the response of the modeled buildings are derived under harmonic and earthquake excitations. It is shown that if the nonlinear inertia is considered, the response of the modeled structures changes and the conventional linear approach cannot adequately model the dynamic behavior of the asymmetric buildings which are equipped with TMDs.     

A New Framework for Solving the Spatial Network Problems Based on Line Graphs

In this article we define inverse line graphs of directed graphs as a new framework for solving some classical network analysis problems. The extraction method and theories of inverse line graphs are explained in this article. It is shown that by changing the analysis space from the original directed graph to the inverse line graph, complex problems can be changed into simpler problems. We show the usefulness of the proposed framework in two particular applications: shortest path computations and the more general route planning. Considering the implementation result, we expect that this framework could be used in many more network analysis problems.