Integrated GIS and remote sensing analysis for landfill sitting in Western Crete,Greece

The assessment of the optimum landfill sitting requires multiple environmental data organized in a proper and efficient way to be effectively processed. Geographical information systems define an ideal tool for handling vast amounts of such kind of information combining multiple heterogeneous spatiotemporal data. Additionally, archive satellite remote sensing images set an ancillary approach to effective environmental monitoring of land surface within the areas of already established landfills and their surroundings (e.g. for calculation of crucial parameters such as vegetation indices). In this study, 17 environmental and anthropogenic factors were used to identify the most suitable sites for optimum landfill sitting in the western part of the island of Crete-Greece. The method used for the evaluation of all different factors is the analytical hierarchy process enhanced with fuzzy logic techniques. The results were compared with the already established landfills (legal/controlled and illegal/non-controlled) in the area of Chania prefecture and the results demonstrated that 75 % of the already (legal or illegal) established landfills of the prefecture are situated in extremely inappropriate areas from environmental point of view.     

Earthquake vulnerability and seismic risk assessment of urban areas in high seismic regions: application to Chania City,Crete Island,Greece

The earthquake vulnerability and the seismic risk assessment for the urban center of Chania in the island of Crete is approached through the development of a GIS-based application that takes into consideration the structural and geological domain of the region. Considering a localized model, the various structural and geomorphologic attributes of the region were assigned specific weights of significance that allowed the creation of a modular application that was tested for the city of Chania, and it was verified based on the recent seismic activity of the area. The proposed risk map and model can become a significant tool for confronting crises resulting from future earthquake incidences.     

On the acceleration of cosmic rays

The intensive acceleration of energetic charged particles in perpendicular shock waves which has been known to take place in the interplanetary medium has been utilized in this work in order to account for the energization of cosmic rays. It is proposed that cosmic rays can be accelerated up to 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ eV in successive perpendicular shock waves which appear inside supernova shells in our Galaxy.     

Numerical investigation of the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity behavior in heterogeneous porous media

The behavior of the mean equivalent hydraulic conductivity normal and parallel to stratification (K₁, and K₂, respectively) is studied here through Monte Carlo simulations of three-dimensional, steady-state flow in statistically anisotropic, bounded, and heterogeneous media. For water flow normal to stratification in strongly heterogeneous porous media (²_Y=3) the value of K₁ is not unique; it ranges from an arithmetic to a geometric, and finally, to a harmonic mean behavior depending on field dimensions, and medium anisotropy. For a fixed anisotropy ratio and variance of Y = ln K, the larger the distance, in the direction perpendicular to stratification, over which water flow takes place, the faster the rate at which, K_H, behavior is approached. However, even for large anisotropy ratios, harmonic mean behavior appears to be a good approximation only for aquifer thickness L₁ that is large enough to allow stratified flow to occur. For small aquifer thickness (L₁/₁<8, where ₁ is the integral scale normal to stratification) the limiting behavior, for large anisotropy ratios, appears to be, instead, that of two-dimensional flow, i.e., water flows primarily parallel to the planes of stratification. When the aquifer thickness is very small compared to the horizontal dimensions (and with relative similar integral scales in the three directions) a behavior resembling arithmetic mean conditions is exhibited, i.e., water flow takes place through heterogeneous, vertical, soil volumes. The geostatistical expressions of Desbarats (1992a) for upscaling hydraulic conductivity values were utilized and closed form empirical relations were developed for the main components of the upscaled hydraulic conductivity tensor.     

Energy dissipation during a small substorm

The relative importance of the two most likely modes of input energy dissipation during the substorm of 8 May 1986, with an onset at 12:15 UT (CDAW 9E event), is examined here. The combination of data from the interplanetary medium, the magnetotail and the ground allowed us, first of all, to establish the sequence of phenomena which compose this substorm. In order to calculate the magnetospheric energetics we have improved the Akasofu model, by adding two more terms for the total magnetospheric output energy. The first one represents the energy consumed for the substorm current wedge transformation, supplied by the asymmetric ring current. This was found to be 39% of the solar wind energy entering the magnetosphere from the start of the growth phase up to the end of the expansion phase. The second term represents the energy stored in the tail or returned to the solar wind. Our results suggest that the substorm leaves the magnetosphere in a lower energy state, since, according to our calculations, 23% of the energy that entered the magnetosphere during the whole disturbance was returned back to the solar wind. Finally, it is interesting to note that during the growth phase the driven system grow considerably, consuming 36% of the solar wind energy which entered the magnetosphere during this early phase of the substorm.     

Properties and origin of energetic particles at the duskside of the Earth’s magnetosheath throughout a great storm

We study an interval of 56 h on January 16 to 18, 1995, during which the GEOTAIL spacecraft traversed the duskside magnetosheath from X ≅ −15 to −40 R_E and the EPIC/ICS and EPIC/STICS sensors sporadically detected tens of energetic particle bursts. This interval coincides with the expansion and growth of a great geomagnetic storm. The flux bursts are strongly dependent on the magnetic field orientation. They switch on whenever the B_z component approaches zero (B_z ≅ 0 nT). We strongly suggest a magnetospheric origin for the energetic ions and electrons streaming along these “exodus channels”. The time profiles for energetic protons and “tracer” O⁺ ions are nearly identical, which suggests a common source. We suggest that the particles leak out of the magnetosphere all the time and that when the magnetosheath magnetic field connects the spacecraft to the magnetotail, they stream away to be observed by the GEOTAIL sensors. The energetic electron fluxes are not observed as commonly as the ions, indicating that their source is more limited in extent. In one case study the magnetosheath magnetic field lines are draped around the magnetopause within the YZ plane and a dispersed structure for peak fluxes of different species is detected and interpreted as evidence for energetic electrons leaking out from the dawn LLBL and then being channelled along the draped magnetic field lines over the magnetopause. Protons leak from the equatorial dusk LLBL and this spatial differentiation between electron and proton sources results in the observed dispersion. A gradient of energetic proton intensities toward the Z_GSM= 0 plane is inferred. There is a permanent layer of energetic particles adjacent to the magnetosheath during this interval in which the dominant component of the magnetic field was B_z.     

Hydro‐mechanical erosion models for sand production

Sand production is a complex physical process that depends on the external stress and flow rate conditions as well as on the state of the material. Models developed for the prediction of sand production are usually solved numerically because of the complexity of the governing equations. Testing of new sand production models can very well be performed through calibration with laboratory experiments, which by construction possess geometric symmetry facilitating explicit mathematical analysis. We introduce an erosion model that is built upon the physics (poro‐mechanical coupling of the fluid‐solid system) usually incorporated in erosion models for the prediction of sand production. Around this model, we set up a mathematical framework in which sand production models because of erosion can be tested and calibrated without having to resort to complex numerical work or specialised software. The model is validated by data of volumetric sand production from a hollow cylinder test on synthetic sandstone. Generalisations of the model, which are naturally incorporated in the same framework and have useful phenomenological features, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel Simulation in Subsurface Hydrology: Evaluating the Performance of Modeling Computers

Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, model calibration and optimization applications in hydrology, usually involve a very large number of forward transient model solutions, often resulting in computational bottlenecks. Parallel processing can significantly reduce overall simulation time, benefiting from the architecture of modern computers. This work investigates system performance using two realistic flow and transport modeling scenarios, applied to various modeling hardware, to provide information on the expected performance of parallel simulations and inform investment decisions. We investigate how performance, measured in terms of speedup and efficiency, changes with increasing number of parallel processes. We conclude that the maximum performance achieved by parallelization can range from 40% to 100% of the theoretical limit, with the lower increases associated with multi-CPU servers. The number of parallel processes required to maximize performance is application dependent, and in contrast to common practice, often needs to be significantly larger than the total number of system CPU cores. Further testing is required to better understand how the physical problem being simulated affects the optimal number of parallel processes needed. Finally, when laptops are considered for modeling applications, careful consideration should be given not only to the specifications but also to the intended use designated by the manufacturer.     

On the E-W asymmetry and the generation of ESP events

Observations of energetic-ion intensity enhancements (E 290 keV) associated with solar flare generated shock waves (solar flare ESP events), obtained during nearly a decade by the APL/JHU instruments on board the Earth orbiters IMP-7 and 8, are incorporated in this work in order to examine the role of the heliolongitude depended large scale shock morphology with relation to the upstream interplanetary magnetic field in the formation of these ESP events. It is shown that a clear east-west solar hemisphere asymmetry is present in the distribution of the ESP relative intensity enhancements with respect to the heliolongitudes of the shock wave source-flare sites. The large ion-intensity enhancements superimposed on the ambient solar flare ion population are preferentially associated with solar flare sites located to the east of the spacecraft meridian, whereas on the average only weak ESP events are associated with solar flare sites to the west of the spacecraft meridian. The observed asymmetry and its implications on the dominant processes for the generation of the solar flare ESP events are discussed on the basis of the presented extensive survey.     

Spatial structure of the plasma sheet boundary layer at distances greater than 180 RE as derived from energetic particle measurements on GEOTAIL

We have analyzed the onsets of energetic particle bursts detected by the ICS and STICS sensors of the EPIC instrument on board the GEOTAIL spacecraft in the deep magnetotail (i.e., at distances greater than 180 RK). Such bursts are commonly observed at the plasma-sheet boundary layer (PSBL) and are highly collimated along the magnetic field. The bursts display a normal velocity dispersion (i.e., the higher-speed particles are seen first, while the progressively lower speed particles are seen later) when observed upon entry of the spacecraft from the magnetotail lobes into the plasma sheet. Upon exit from the plasma sheet a reverse velocity dispersion is observed (i.e., lower-speed particles disappear first and higher-speed particles disappear last). Three major findings are as follows. First, the tailward-jetting energetic particle populations of the distant-tail plasma sheet display an energy layering: the energetic electrons stream along open PSBL field lines with peak fluxes at the lobes. Energetic protons occupy the next layer, and as the spacecraft moves towards the neutral sheet progressively decreasing energies are encountered systematically. These plasma-sheet layers display spatial symmetry, with the plane of symmetry the neutral sheet. Second, if we consider the same energy level of energetic particles, then the H layer is confined within that of the energetic electron, the He⁺⁺ layer is confined within that of the proton, and the oxygen layer is confined within the alpha particle layer. Third, whenever the energetic electrons show higher fluxes inside the plasma sheet as compared to those at the boundary layer, their angular distribution is isotropic irrespective of the Earthward or tailward character of fluxes, suggesting a closed field line topology.