Statistics-based outlier detection for wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor network (WSN) applications require efficient, accurate and timely data analysis in order to facilitate (near) real-time critical decision-making and situation awareness. Accurate analysis and decision-making relies on the quality of WSN data as well as on the additional information and context. Raw observations collected from sensor nodes, however, may have low data quality and reliability due to limited WSN resources and harsh deployment environments. This article addresses the quality of WSN data focusing on outlier detection. These are defined as observations that do not conform to the expected behaviour of the data. The developed methodology is based on time-series analysis and geostatistics. Experiments with a real data set from the Swiss Alps showed that the developed methodology accurately detected outliers in WSN data taking advantage of their spatial and temporal correlations. It is concluded that the incorporation of tools for outlier detection in WSNs can be based on current statistical methodology. This provides a usable and important tool in a novel scientific field.     

Experimental Researches on Hydro-Mechanical Properties of Altered Rock Under Confining Pressures

Altered rock, as the abutment materials of Xiaowan Hydropower Station in China, is a kind of geological defective rock mass. It is loosely structured and its strength is low, with some development of pores and cavities. Research on the hydro-mechanical coupling of the altered rock are of important significance to hydropower projects. In this study, the advanced fully automatic triaxial fluid flow-rheological test servo system is employed to study the hydro-mechanical coupling characteristics of the altered rock, and the water pressures and confining pressures in the laboratory tests are set to simulate the conditions of excavation and impoundment of Xiaowan Hydropower Station. Based on the test results, the stress–strain laws of the rock specimens under the effect of complete hydro-mechanical coupling, as well as the lateral strain and volumetric strain characteristics, are studied. The fluid flow laws of the rock specimens and the effects of the confining pressures on the fluid flow are analyzed. The fluid flow failure characteristic under the effect of the complete hydro-mechanical coupling is discussed. The research achievements show that with the change of the stress states, the permeability of the rock also changes, and the permeability evolution shows the phase characteristic during the process of stress and strain. The impacts of the confining pressures on the strength and deformation and permeability of the altered rock are obvious. The failure behaviours of the rock specimens under the effect of coupling relates to the confining pressures, including two kinds of splitting failure and shear failure. The fluid flow failure characteristic of the rock specimens depend upon the initiation, growth and coalesce of micro-cracks, heterogeneity, confining pressures and properties of the rock.     

On the reoccurrence of site specific response

The period and amplitude variations of local peaks in the Fourier amplitude spectra of free-field strong ground motion recorded at five stations in San Fernando Valley of metropolitan Los Angeles, California, are described, searching for peaks that reoccur during different earthquakes. The data suggest that some local peaks reoccur (about 50% of the time), during shaking by small local earthquakes (peak ground velocities, v_max<10–20 cm/s). During large strong motion amplitudes (v_max>20 cm/s), these peaks are shifted towards longer periods (by nonlinear response of soils) or disappear. The data also suggest that densification and settlement of soil, minutes and hours following the strong shaking may contribute towards fluctuations in the effective stiffness of the shallow surface layers.     

土壤质量评价国外研究进展

土壤是人类赖以生存的根本资源。土壤质量涉及到动植物生产力,大气、水的质量和人类的健康,随着人们对自然资源和环境保护意识的增强,越来越多的国家和地区已将土壤质量评价工作作为实现可持续发展的一个重要方面。通过土壤质量评价,了解土壤管理和利用的现状,为土壤质量的改善及可持续利用提供理论依据和技术支撑。根据国外近10年的研究,总结了主要的评价指标体系和评价方法。评价指标主要包括土壤物理、化学和生物性质3个方面的指标。评价方法分为定性和定量评价,定量评价应用较广,包括土壤质量指数、土壤质量模型、多元线性回归、相对土壤质量法等。掌握和了解国外相关研究的动态,对于开展土地质量地球化学评估及土地的分等定级工作有着重要的意义。     

Sediment routing in the Zagros foreland basin: Drainage reorganization and a shift from axial to transverse sediment dispersal in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

In the northwestern sector of the Zagros foreland basin, axial fluvial systems initially delivered fine-grained sediments from northwestern source regions into a contiguous basin, and later transverse fluvial systems delivered coarse-grained sediments from northeastern sources into a structurally partitioned basin by fold-thrust deformation. Here we integrate sedimentologic, stratigraphic, palaeomagnetic and geochronologic data from the northwestern Zagros foreland basin to define the Neogene history of deposition and sediment routing in response to progressive advance of the Zagros fold-thrust belt. This study constrains the depositional environments, timing of deposition and provenance of nonmarine clastic deposits of the Injana (Upper Fars), Mukdadiya (Lower Bakhtiari) and Bai-Hasan (Upper Bakhtiari) Formations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Sediments of the Injana Formation (~12.4–7.75 Ma) were transported axially (orogen-parallel) from northwest to southeast by meandering and low-sinuosity channel belt system. In contrast, during deposition of the Mukdadiya Formation (~7.75–5 Ma), sediments were delivered transversely (orogen-perpendicular) from northeast to southwest by braided and low-sinuosity channel belt system in distributive fluvial megafans. By ~5 Ma, the northwestern Zagros foreland basin became partitioned by growth of the Mountain Front Flexure and considerable gravel was introduced in localized alluvial fans derived from growing topographic highs. Foredeep accumulation rates during deposition of the Injana, Mukdadiya and Bai-Hasan Formations averaged 350, 400 and 600 m/Myr respectively, suggesting accelerated accommodation generation in a rapidly subsiding basin governed by flexural subsidence. Detrital zircon U-Pb age spectra show that in addition to sources of Mesozoic-Cenozoic cover strata, the Injana Formation was derived chiefly from Palaeozoic-Precambrian (including Carboniferous and latest Neoproterozoic) strata in an axial position to the northwest, likely from the Bitlis-Puturge Massif and broader Eastern Anatolia. In contrast, the Mukdadiya and Bai-Hasan Formations yield distinctive Palaeogene U-Pb age peaks, particularly in the southeastern sector of the study region, consistent with transverse delivery from the arc-related terranes of the Walash and Naopurdan volcano-sedimentary groups (Gaveh-Rud domain?) and Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc to the northeast. These temporal and spatial variations in stratigraphic framework, depositional environments, sediment routing and compositional provenance reveal a major drainage reorganization during Neogene shortening in the Zagros fold-thrust belt. Whereas axial fluvial systems initially dominated the foreland basin during early orogenesis in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, transverse fluvial systems were subsequently established and delivered major sediment volumes to the foreland as a consequence of the abrupt deformation advance and associated topographic growth in the Zagros.     

Application of remote sensing for vegetation mapping — A case study along the northern coastal districts of andhra pradesh

The study deals with the application of Remote Sensing for delineating various vegetation types along the three coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. The satellite imagery of the region is divided into three types depending upon tone and texture. Each type is correlated with the ground truth. The species composition has been given and discussed.     

Energy partitioning over a semi‐arid shrubland in northern China

During the last decade, the widely distributed shrublands in northern China have shown significant signs of recovery from desertification, the result of widespread conservation practices. However, to support the current efforts in conservation, more knowledge is needed on surface energy partitioning and its biophysical controls. Using eddy‐covariance measurements made over a semi‐arid shrubland in northwest China in 2012, we examined how surface energy‐balance components vary on diurnal and seasonal scales, and how biophysical factors control bulk surface parameters and energy exchange. Sensible heat flux (H) exceeded latent heat flux (λE) during most of the year, resulting in an annual Bowen ratio (β, i.e. H/λE) of 2.0. λE exceeded H only in mid‐summer when frequent rainfall co‐occurred with the seasonal peak in leaf area index (LAI). Evapotranspiration reached a daily maximum of 3.3 mm day^?1, and summed to 283 mm yr^?1. The evaporative fraction (EF, i.e. λE/R_n), Priestley–Taylor coefficient (α), surface conductance (g_s) and decoupling coefficient (Ω) were all positively correlated with soil water content (SWC) and LAI. The direct enhancement of λE by high vapour pressure deficit (VPD) was buffered by a concurrent suppression of g_s. The g_s played a direct role in controlling EF and α by mediating the effects of LAI, SWC and VPD. Our results highlight the importance of adaptive plant responses to water scarcity in regulating ecosystem energy partitioning, and suggest an important role for revegetation in the reversal of desertification in semi‐arid areas. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of snow cover on pan-Arctic permafrost thermal regimes

This study quantitatively evaluated how insulation by snow depth (SND) affected the soil thermal regime and permafrost degradation in the pan-Arctic area, and more generally defined the characteristics of soil temperature (T_SOIL) and SND from 1901 to 2009. This was achieved through experiments performed with the land surface model CHANGE to assess sensitivity to winter precipitation as well as air temperature. Simulated T_SOIL, active layer thickness (ALT), SND, and snow density were generally comparable with in situ or satellite observations at large scales and over long periods. Northernmost regions had snow that remained relatively stable and in a thicker state during the past four decades, generating greater increases in T_SOIL. Changes in snow cover have led to changes in the thermal state of the underlying soil, which is strongly dependent on both the magnitude and the timing of changes in snowfall. Simulations of the period 2001–2009 revealed significant differences in the extent of near-surface permafrost, reflecting differences in the model’s treatment of meteorology and the soil bottom boundary. Permafrost loss was greater when SND increased in autumn rather than in winter, due to insulation of the soil resulting from early cooling. Simulations revealed that T_SOIL tended to increase over most of the pan-Arctic from 1901 to 2009, and that this increase was significant in northern regions, especially in northeastern Siberia where SND is responsible for 50 % or more of the changes in T_SOIL at a depth of 3.6 m. In the same region, ALT also increased at a rate of approximately 2.3 cm per decade. The most sensitive response of ALT to changes in SND appeared in the southern boundary regions of permafrost, in contrast to permafrost temperatures within the 60°N–80°N region, which were more sensitive to changes in snow cover. Finally, our model suggests that snow cover contributes to the warming of permafrost in northern regions and could play a more important role under conditions of future Arctic warming.     

Electrical conductivity of some rocks from the Indian subcontinent

Summary Results on electrical conductivity, chemical analysis and age of the rock samples from the Indian Subcontinent are presented. The old Precambrian Indian rocks tend to be less conductive than characteristic rocks of crustal and upper mantle structures.

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