A New Integrated Weighted Model in SNOW-V10: Verification of Continuous Variables

This paper presents the verification results of nowcasts of four continuous variables generated from an integrated weighted model and underlying Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. Real-time monitoring of fast changing weather conditions and the provision of short term forecasts, or nowcasts, in complex terrain within coastal regions is challenging to do with sufficient accuracy. A recently developed weighting, evaluation, bias correction and integration system was used in the Science of Nowcasting Olympic Weather for Vancouver 2010 project to generate integrated weighted forecasts (INTW) out to 6 h. INTW forecasts were generated with in situ observation data and background gridded forecasting data from Canadian high-resolution deterministic NWP system with three nested grids at 15-, 2.5- and 1-km horizontal grid-spacing configurations. In this paper, the four variables of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind gust are treated as continuous variables for verifying the INTW forecasts. Fifteen sites were selected for the comparison of the model performances. The results of the study show that integrating surface observation data with the NWP forecasts produce better statistical scores than using either the NWP forecasts or an objective analysis of observed data alone. Overall, integrated observation and NWP forecasts improved forecast accuracy for the four continuous variables. The mean absolute errors from the INTW forecasts for the entire test period (12 February to 21 March 2010) are smaller than those from NWP forecasts with three configurations. The INTW is the best and most consistent performer among all models regardless of location and variable analyzed.     

Centrifuge modeling of rocking‐isolated inelastic RC bridge piers

Experimental proof is provided of an unconventional seismic design concept, which is based on deliberately underdesigning shallow foundations to promote intense rocking oscillations and thereby to dramatically improve the seismic resilience of structures. Termed rocking isolation, this new seismic design philosophy is investigated through a series of dynamic centrifuge experiments on properly scaled models of a modern reinforced concrete (RC) bridge pier. The experimental method reproduces the nonlinear and inelastic response of both the soil‐footing interface and the structure. To this end, a novel scale model RC (1:50 scale) that simulates reasonably well the elastic response and the failure of prototype RC elements is utilized, along with realistic representation of the soil behavior in a geotechnical centrifuge. A variety of seismic ground motions are considered as excitations. They result in consistent demonstrably beneficial performance of the rocking‐isolated pier in comparison with the one designed conventionally. Seismic demand is reduced in terms of both inertial load and deck drift. Furthermore, foundation uplifting has a self‐centering potential, whereas soil yielding is shown to provide a particularly effective energy dissipation mechanism, exhibiting significant resistance to cumulative damage. Thanks to such mechanisms, the rocking pier survived, with no signs of structural distress, a deleterious sequence of seismic motions that caused collapse of the conventionally designed pier. © 2014 The Authors Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Airflow and aeolian sediment transport patterns within a coastal trough blowout during lateral wind conditions

Blowouts are depressions that occur on coastal dunes, deserts and grasslands. The absence of vegetation in blowouts permits high speed winds to entrain and remove sediment. Whereas much research has examined patterns of wind flow and sediment transport on the stoss slopes and lee of sand dunes, no study has yet investigated the connections between secondary air‐flow structures and sediment transport in a blowout where zones of streamline compression, expansion and steering are less clearly delineated. In this study we investigated the variability of sediment flux and its relation to near‐surface wind speed and turbulence within a trough blowout during wind flow that was oblique to the axis of the blowout. Wind flow was measured using six, three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasonic anemometers while sediment flux by eight sand traps, all operating at 25 Hz. Results demonstrated that sediment flux rates were highly variable throughout the blowout deflation basin, even over short distances (< 0.5 m). Where flow was steadiest, flux was greatest. Consequently the highest rates of sediment transport were recorded on the erosional wall crest where flow was compressed and accelerated. The strength of correlation between sediment flux and wind parameter improved with an increase in averaging interval, from 10 seconds to 1 minute. At an interval of 10 seconds, however, wind speed correlated best with flux at seven of eight traps, whereas at an interval of one minute Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) provided the best correlation with flux at six of the eight traps. Correlation between sediment flux and wind parameters was best in the centre of the blowout and poorest on the erosional wall crest. The evidence from this paper suggests, for the first time, that TKE may be a better predictor of sediment transport at minute scale averaging intervals, particularly over landforms where wind flow is highly turbulent. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于生物酶的固土技术在香港的应用研究

传统加固土体的方法主要是通过在土中加入一定量的高性能掺合剂使之成为一种强度较高的复合土体,但这种方法需要较长的养护时间,且不经济。利用一种新型实用的生物酶固化技术,针对香港地区3种常见的海洋黏土、完全风化花岗岩和完全风化凝灰岩,开展了土体加固试验研究。试验结果表明,生物酶对海洋土的加固效果最好,强度增加最高可达20%,而生物酶对完全风化花岗岩的加固效果则不太理想,抗剪强度指标只有少许改变。此外,海洋土和完全风化凝灰岩的压缩性因为生物酶的作用反而有所增强。最后,从微观上分析了生物酶固土作用的本质,指出固土效果主要缘自于生物酶分子与土中的黏土矿物分子发生相互作用产生的胶结作用。     

Mapping Collaboration in Open Source Geospatial Ecosystem

Over the last decade, there has been a tremendous growth and exploitation of open source geospatial software and technologies. A combination of factors is driving this momentum, including the contributions made by hundreds of developers and the leading role played by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo), aiming primarily to support and promote the collaborative development of open source geospatial technologies and data. This article seeks to map out the social history of collaborative activities within the OSGeo ecosystem. We used the archival logs of developers' contributions, specifically looking for boundary spanning activities where contributions crossed multiple projects. The analysis and visualization of these activities allow us to have a better understanding of the role of boundary spanning in the resourcing of each project, the incubation mechanism advocated by OSGeo, and the significance of the social interrelatedness among projects. The data consisted of the subversion (SVN) commit history made by individual developers in the programming code repository. We applied several network analytical and visualization techniques to explore the data. Our findings indicate that more than one in seven developers spanned multiple projects which potentially had the effects of shaping the projects' directions, and increased knowledge flow and innovation. In addition, the OSGeo's incubation mechanism provided an important encouragement for boundary spanning and increased knowledge sharing. By studying the social history of contributions, further tools can be developed in future to assist tracking of the social history, and make developers mindful of the significance of the interdependence among projects and hence continuously contribute to the health of the OSGeo ecosystem.     

DYNAMIC RESOURCES OF RIVER SEDIMENTS

The currently enforced Bulgarian water legislation [the Water Act (1999), the Environmental Protection Act (2002), etc.] requires conducting special studies for accurate assessments of sand and gravel flux along the rivers, prior to the issue of the license for operation of the quarries, where they will be dredged. The activity of a quarry necessitates special investigations because of the large dimensions of the damages inflicted on the environment. Ours studies have shown that there are two types of river reaches, in which abstraction of sand and gravel is performed. The first one refers usually to the plain area river reaches. The other type is mountainous with high rate of sediment load, which consists of coarse solid matter. The “on-the-spot” study on the environmental impact of the sand and gravel dredging has revealed that in the area of the quarry the riverbed cuts into the alluvial sediments to about 6-7 m and this ditch has spread by attenuation at a distance of more than 25 km upstream. Downstream the pit the picture is replicated and at the 8th km a local scour on the riverbed, amounting to more than 1.80-2.00 m, has been measured near the foundation of a massive bridge in the centre of city of Plovdiv. Such assessments of dynamic resources of sand and gravel materials are expected to serve for the purposes of gradual limitation of this activity in river sections close to renewable resources. The amount of sediment load, which may be abstracted in the area of the Orizare quarry in Bulgaria on a yearly basis has been calculated as 6000 m^3/a. It ensures that the resources will not be exhausted and irreversible distortion of the riverbed will be prevented. This is an environmentally safe limit.     

Mapping Vulnerability and Risk of Ghana's Coastline to Sea Level Rise

Coastal erosion and flooding are major threats to coastal dwellers, and the situation is predicted to worsen as a result of the impacts of climate change and associated sea level rise. In order to identify the level of vulnerability of various sections of Ghana's coastline for planning and future hazard management, a coastal vulnerability index approach was adopted for the creation of the relative vulnerability map. The coastal vulnerability variables used include geomorphology, coastal elevation, geology, local subsidence, sea level rise, shoreline change rates, mean tidal range, mean wave height and population density of the coastal areas. Risk factors were assigned to the various variables, and all the factors were combined to calculate the coastal vulnerability for the coastal front of each administrative district along the coast. The outcome was used to produce a vulnerability index map of coastal districts in Ghana. The results revealed that parts of the central coast and the eastern coasts of Ghana were the most vulnerable. It was identified that about 50% of the 540km shoreline of Ghana is vulnerable. This assessment will facilitate the long-term adaptation planning and hazard mitigation to inform the management of Ghana's coast.     

Analytical evaluation of the dynamic distress of rigid fixed-base retaining systems

The current study proposes an analytical closed-form solution for the dynamic distress of rigid fixed-base retaining systems aiming at evaluating the main assumptions and limitations of the pertinent available elasticity-based methods. The new solution is actually an extension of the well-known model of Wood and is capable of evaluating the dynamic distress of either a single or a pair of rigid fixed-base walls interacting with each other, in the case of harmonic base loading. Wall distress is mainly evaluated in terms of dynamic earth pressures, shear forces and bending moments, while the original concept of a “distress spectrum” is introduced as a potential new tool for the seismic design of retaining structures. Distress and wall deformation are interrelated in a number of three-dimensional graphs, where dynamic interaction phenomena are evident. Finally, given the rigorous nature of the new solution, its results verify qualitatively and quantitatively the negligible amplitude of the computational errors of the approximate elasticity-based solutions proposed in the literature.     

An extended Birnbaum–Saunders model and its application in the study of environmental quality in Santiago, Chile

In this article, we introduce, characterize and apply an extended version of the Birnbaum–Saunders model based on the Mudolkar–Hutson skew distribution. This model is appropriated for describing phenomena involving accumulation of some type, as is the case of environmental contamination. Specifically, we find the density, distribution function, and moments of the new model. In addition, we derive several properties and transformations related to this distribution. Furthermore, we propose an estimation method for the parameters of the model. Moreover, we conduct a study of its hazard rate focuses in environmental analysis. A computational implementation in R language of the obtained results is discussed. Finally, we present two examples with real data from environmental quality in Chile that illustrate the proposed methodology.