Adoption of flood-related preventive behaviours by people having different risks and histories of flooding

Natural Hazards - The increase in the frequency of floods, which is a projected consequence of climate change, can have wide-ranging health and economic impacts. To cope with these floods and to...     

Perspectives of a visible instrument on the VLTI

In this paper we present the most promising science cases for a new generation visible instrument on the VLTI and the conceptual idea for the instrumental configuration. We also present a statistical study of the potential targets that may be accessible for the different classes of objects and for the required spectral resolutions.     

A pilot study of genetic differentiation between two phenotypes of a Mediterranean population of the bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum and genetic discrimination with other Cerastoderma glaucum and Cerastoderma edule populations outside the Mediterranean

The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region of 29 individuals of Cerastoderma glaucum (from the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the North Sea) and 18 individuals of Cerastoderma edule (from the Atlantic and the North Sea) and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region of 43 individuals of C. glaucum (from the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the North Sea) and 9 individuals of C. edule (from the Atlantic and the North Sea) were PCR amplified and sequenced. The ITS1 sequences led us to describe 27 genetic haplotypes, while 21 genetic haplotypes were determined via the COI sequences. The ITS1 and the COI sequences revealed an important genetic variability within the Mediterranean population of C. glaucum, which contained two different phenotypes: orange foot and yellow foot. A genetic differentiation between the two phenotypes was revealed by the nucleotide diversity index (π) and is strengthened by the AMOVA analysis. This result leads us to suspect the presence of two different groups in the same population of C. glaucum. Nevertheless to be confirmed this hypothesis requires further studies using more locations and a larger number of sample sizes.     

Numerical simulation of waves generated by landslides using a multiple-fluid Navier–Stokes model

This work reports on the application and experimental validation, for idealized geometries, of a multiple-fluid Navier–Stokes model of waves generated by rigid and deforming slides, with the purpose of improving predictive simulations of landslide tsunamis. In such simulations, the computational domain is divided into water, air, and slide regions, all treated as Newtonian fluids. For rigid slides, a penalty method allows for parts of the fluid domain to behave as a solid. With the latter method, the coupling between a rigid slide and water is implicitly computed (rather than specifying a known slide kinematics). Two different Volume of Fluid algorithms are tested for tracking interfaces between actual fluid regions. The simulated kinematics of a semi-elliptical block, moving down a water covered plane slope, is first compared to an earlier analytical solution. Results for the vertical fall of a rectangular block in water are then compared to earlier experimental results. Finally, more realistic simulations of two- and three-dimensional wedges sliding down an incline are compared to earlier experiments. Overall, in all cases, solid block velocities and free surface deformations are accurately reproduced in the model, provided that a sufficiently resolved discretization is used. The potential of the model is then illustrated on more complex scenarios involving waves caused by multi-block or deformable slides.     

A New Semi-greedy Approach to Enhance Drillhole Planning

In advanced exploration projects or operating mines, the process of allocating capital for infill drilling programs is a significant and recurrent challenge. Within a large company, the different mine sites and projects compete for the available funds for drilling. To maximize a project’s value to its company, a drillhole location optimizer can be used as an objective tool to compare drilling campaigns. The fast semi-greedy optimizer presented here can allow for the obtention of close to optimal solutions to the coverage problem with up to three orders of magnitude less computing time needed than with integer programming. The heuristic approach is flexible as it allows dynamic updating of block values once new drillholes are selected in the solution, as opposed to existing methods based on static block values. The block values used for optimization incorporate kriging estimate and variance, estimate of indicator at cutoff grade and distances to existing or newly selected drillholes. The heuristic approach tends to locate new drillholes within the maximum risk areas, i.e., within less informed zones predicted as being ore zones. Applied to different deposits, it enables, after suitable normalization, comparison of different drilling campaigns and allocation of budgets accordingly.

     

Spatial variability of ontogenetic patterns in habitat associations by coral reef fishes (Moorea lagoon – French Polynesia)

The present study explored ontogenetic shifts in habitat associations by coral reef fishes between recently settled juvenile and adult life stages (Moorea Island: Tiahura and Papetoai sites). Visual censuses highlighted four ontogenetic patterns in habitat associations: (1) no change in habitat associations between the juvenile and adult stages; (2) a decrease in the number of habitats used by adults compared to juveniles; (3) an increase in the number of habitats used during the adult stage; and (4) use of nursery areas by juveniles followed by an extensive movement to an entirely different adult habitat. The comparative analysis of spatial distribution of fish at Tiahura and Papetoai highlighted no-spatial variability in ontogenetic patterns (i.e., 10 of the 15 recorded species have spatial consistency in ontogenetic patterns). Overall, the shifts in habitat associations are of interest in the perspective of understanding flexibility and adaptation capability of coral reef fish, at least at the settlement time.     

A Timoshenko finite element straight beam with internal degrees of freedom

We present hereafter the formulation of a Timoshenko finite element straight beam with internal degrees of freedom, suitable for nonlinear material problems in geomechanics (e.g., beam type structures and deep pile foundations). Cubic shape functions are used for the transverse displacements and quadratic for the rotations. The element is free of shear locking, and we prove that one element is able to predict the exact tip displacements for any complex distributed loadings and any suitable boundary conditions. After the presentation of the virtual power and the weak form formulations, the construction of the elementary stiffness matrix is detailed. The analytical results of the static condensation method are provided. It is also proven that the element introduced by Friedman and Kosmatka in 1 , with shape functions depending on material properties, is derived from the new beam element. Validation is provided using linear and material nonlinear applications (reinforced concrete column under cyclic loading) in the context of a multifiber beam formulation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The solubility of gold in H2O-H2S vapour at elevated temperature and pressure

This experimental study sheds light on the complexation of gold in reduced sulphur-bearing vapour, specifically, in H₂O-H₂S gas mixtures. The solubility of gold was determined in experiments at temperatures of 300, 350 and 365 °C and reached 2.2, 6.6 and 6.3 μg/kg, respectively. The density of the vapour varied from 0.02 to 0.22 g/cm³, the mole fraction of H₂S varied from 0.03 to 0.96, and the pressure in the cell reached 263 bar. Statistically significant correlations of the amount of gold dissolved in the fluid with the fugacity of H₂O and H₂S permit the experimental data to be fitted to a solvation/hydration model. According to this model, the solubility of gold in H₂O-H₂S gas mixtures is controlled by the formation of sulphide or bisulphide species solvated by H₂S or H₂O molecules. Formation of gold sulphide species is favoured statistically over gold bisulphide species and thus the gold is interpreted to dissolve according to reactions of the form:

(A1)