Global and local sensitivity analyses for coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical problems

This paper focuses on the sensitivity analysis for coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical problems employing both local and global sensitivity methods. A derivative‐based method is used in the local sensitivity approach, whereas the random balance designs method is used for the global sensitivity analysis. The main goal is to investigate the effect of uncertainties in the constitutive parameters on the results from nonlinear coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical analyses of unsaturated soil behavior whose modeling generally involves large sets of constitutive relations. Knowing the parameter sensitivity allows to qualitatively assess the validity of the results obtained by computational simulations of high‐risk situations, for example, emerging nuclear waste repositories. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tropical Cyclone in the North of the South China Sea as a Factor Affecting the Structure of the Vietnamese Current

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Tropical cyclones play a significant role in the formation of the hydrodynamic regime of the South China Sea, including its western part, which is...     

Variations in trace elements,isotopes, and organic geochemistry during the Hangenberg Crisis,Devonian–Carboniferous transition,northeastern Vietnam

The Hangenberg Crisis at the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary is known as a polyphase extinction event that affected more than 45 % of marine and terrestrial genera. As the cause of this event is still debated, analyses were carried out on sedimentary samples from the Devonian–Carboniferous Pho Han Formation in northeastern Vietnam to reconstruct the paleoenvironment around the time of this event using stable carbon isotopes; total sulfur; manganese; vanadium; molybdenum; and sedimentary organic matter, such as dibenzothiophenes, cadalene, and regular steranes. These geochemical signatures provide a high‐resolution redox history for this section and show that transgression‐driven high primary productivity, possibly enhanced by terrestrial input, caused severe oxygen depletion along the continental margin of the South China block during the Hangenberg Crisis.     

Spatial Prediction of Rainfall-Induced Landslides Using Aggregating One-Dependence Estimators Classifier

In this study, the spatial prediction of rainfall-induced landslides at the Pauri Gahwal area, Uttarakhand, India has been done using Aggregating One-Dependence Estimators (AODE) classifier which has not been applied earlier for landslide problems. Historical landslide locations have been collated with a set of influencing factors for landslide spatial analysis. The performance of the AODE model has been assessed using statistical analyzing methods and receiver operating characteristic curve technique. The predictive capability of the AODE model has also been compared with other popular landslide models namely Support Vector Machines (SVM), Radial Basis Function Neural Network (ANN-RBF), Logistic Regression (LR), and Naïve Bayes (NB). The result of analysis illustrates that the AODE model has highest predictability, followed by the SVM model, the ANN-RBF model, the LR model, and the NB model, respectively. Thus AODE is a promising method for the development of better landslide susceptibility map for proper landslide hazard management.     

GNSS receiver implementations to mitigate the effects of commensurate sampling frequencies on DLL code tracking

The sampling frequency of a digitized intermediate frequency signal has a strong effect on the measurement accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. The delay-locked loop tracking error is significant when the sampling frequency is an integer multiple of the code chipping rate, the so-called commensurate sampling frequency, and the number of distinct instantaneous residual code phases is low. This results in distortions of the correlation shape and discriminator functions that lead to a significant accuracy degradation. These effects are most pronounced when the sampling frequency is low. Notwithstanding, it is generally good for receivers to keep the sampling frequency to a minimum owing to the processing load and power consumption. It creates a challenge for existing GNSS signal processing techniques. Random, sine and sawtooth jitters have been found to mitigate these distortions considerably. A software algorithm and two hardware receiver implementations of these solutions are proposed. A register-based architecture can be directly applied to the conventional receiver architecture, while the increase in resource and power consumption is insignificant. A RAM-based design cannot only considerably minimize utilized resources but also slightly reduce the power consumption compared to the conventional architecture.     

Geochemistry,zircon U–PB ages and HF isotopes of the Muong Luan granitoid pluton,Northwest Vietnam and its petrogenetic significance

The Indosinian Orogeny plays a significant role in tectonic background and magmatic evolution in Indochina and surrounding regions. Being a part product of the Indosinian magmatism in northwest Vietnam during late Permian–middle Triassic period, Muong Luan granitoid pluton dominantly consists of granodiorite, less diorite and granite. This pluton is located in the Song Ma suture and assigned to the Dien Bien complex. Geochemically, the Muong Luan granitoid rocks are characterized by a wide range of SiO₂ contents (59.9–75.1 wt%) and high K₂O contents. They display typical features of I‐type granites. The presence of hornblende and no muscovite and cordierite in the rocks further supports for I‐type character of granitoids. The emplacement age of the Muong Luan pluton obtained by LA–ICP–MS U–Pb zircon is at 242–235 Ma, corresponding to Indosinian time. Zircon ε_Hf values of –5.6 to –10.4, in combination with moderate Mg values of 34–45 suggested that the Muong Luan granitoid was derived from partial melting of mafic crustal source rocks, which are probably Paleoproterozoic in age as revealed by Hf model ages (T_DM2 = 1624–1923 Ma).     

Multi-hazard assessment using machine learning and remote sensing in the North Central region of Vietnam

Natural hazards constitute a diverse category and are unevenly distributed in time and space. This hinders predictive efforts, leading to significant impacts on human life and economies. Multi-hazard prediction is vital for any natural hazard risk management plan. The main objective of this study was the development of a multi-hazard susceptibility mapping framework, by combining two natural hazards—flooding and landslides—in the North Central region of Vietnam. This was accomplished using support vector machines, random forest, and AdaBoost. The input data consisted of 4591 flood points, 1315 landslide points, and 13 conditioning factors, split into training (70%), and testing (30%) datasets. The accuracy of the models' predictions was evaluated using the statistical indices root mean square error, area under curve (AUC), mean absolute error, and coefficient of determination. All proposed models were good at predicting multi-hazard susceptibility, with AUC values over 0.95. Among them, the AUC value for the support vector machine model was 0.98 and 0.99 for landslide and flood, respectively. For the random forest model, these values were 0.98 and 0.98, and for AdaBoost, they were 0.99 and 0.99. The multi-hazard maps were built by combining the landslide and flood susceptibility maps. The results showed that approximately 60% of the study area was affected by landslides, 30% by flood, and 8% by both hazards. These results illustrate how North Central is one of the regions of Vietnam that is most severely affected by natural hazards, particularly flooding, and landslides. The proposed models adapt to evaluate multi-hazard susceptibility at different scales, although expert intervention is also required, to optimize the algorithms. Multi-hazard maps can provide a valuable point of reference for decision makers in sustainable land-use planning and infrastructure development in regions faced with multiple hazards, and to prevent and reduce more effectively the frequency of floods and landslides and their damage to human life and property.     

An anisotropic model for estimating of hourly sums of solar radiation on vertical south-facing surfaces

Summary An empirical study was performed to obtain a new anisotropic model for estimating of individual hourly sums of solar radiation on vertical south-facing surfaces. The procedure consists of correcting statistically the isotropic model by taking into account the anisotropic character of both sky diffuse and ground reflected solar radiation. Based on the data measured at Budapest-Lörinc station a simple correction function was obtained.

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Ein anisotropes Modell zur Bestimmung der Sonnenstrahlung auf vertikale Südwände

Zusammenfassung Es wurde eine empirische Studie zur Entwicklung eines neuen anisotropen Modells zur Bestimmung der individuellen Stundensummen der Sonnenstrahlung auf vertikale Südwände durchgeführt. Das Verfahren besteht in einer statistischen Korrektur des isotropen Modells durch Berücksichtigung des anisotropen Charakters der diffusen Himmelsstrahlung und der vom Boden reflektierten Sonnenstrahlung. Mit in Budapest-Lörinc gemessenen Beobachtungsdaten wurde eine einfache Korrektionsfunktion erhalten.

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1 Visiting scientist from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.     

Correcting the distortion of apparent resistivity pseudosection produced by 3D effect of the embankment geometry

Two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography data acquired on the crest of the embankment are distorted by the 3D effect of the embankment geometry, reservoir water level and abutment. The distortion affects seriously the final solution of the 2D inverse problem. By comparing the apparent resistivity pseudosections from a 3D and 2D electrical resistivity model of the embankment, the distortion degrees of the apparent resistivity pseudosections along the axis on the crest were estimated for the cases of reservoir and which does not contain water. The obtained results indicate that the distortion degree acquired in the case of a reservoir that contains water was much less than that in the case of the reservoir that does not contain water. In the case of reservoir that contains water, the apparent resistivity pseudosections of the P–P and ED–ED arrays had the largest distortion degree and of D–D, W–S and P–D arrays had the smallest distortion degree. In the case of the reservoir that does not contain water, the apparent resistivity pseudosection of P–P array had the smallest distortion among all arrays. Through modeling investigation, a correction process to reduce the distortion of the apparent resistivity pseudosection was proposed. The correction process was tested in the embankment model, and two field works were carried out in the To Lich River in Hanoi and Khuan Cat embankment in Lang Son province, Vietnam. It is possible to bring the distortion of the apparent resistivity pseudosection down to 2.8–13.9%, depending on the type of electrode arrays and the type of reservoirs, containing or does not contain water. The distortion correction of the apparent resistivity pseudosection is strongly recommended before doing the 2D inverse interpretation.     

Sandwaves on the Southeast Vietnam Shelf recorded by high resolution seismic profiles: formation and mechanism

The application of high resolution seismic data using boomer sound source has revealed a wide distribution of large-scale bedforms (sandwaves) on the Southeast Vietnam continental shelf. Bedforms that are a few meters high in wave height and hundreds of meters long in wavelength are primarily developed in the inner shelf (20–40 m) and considered to be formed under the present-day marine hydrodynamic conditions. Those bedforms developed in the deeper water (120 m) of the northernmost part of the continent can be interpreted as the relict morphological features formed during the latest sea-level lowstand of the late Pleistocene period. Two sediment transport paths have been identified on the basis of the bedform’s leeward orientation: northeast-southwest (along-shore) and north-south (cross-shore). A quantitative bottom current map is constructed from sandwave dimensions, surface sediments and measurement data. The strongest current velocities that gradually decrease toward the southwest are indicated by large sandwaves in the north (field B). Water depth, surficial sediment composition and bottom current are three factors that control the development of bedforms.