Regional debris flow susceptibility analysis based on principal component analysis and self-organizing map: a case study in Southwest China

A method was developed to analyze the susceptibilities of 541 regional basins affected by debris flows at the Wudongde Dam site in southwest China. Determining susceptibility requires information on source material quantity and occurrence frequency. However, the large number of debris flows can hinder the individual field investigation in a each small basin. Factors that may trigger debris flows can be identified using remotely sensed interpretation information. Susceptibility analysis can then be conducted based on these factors. In this study, SPOT5 satellite imagery, digital elevation models (DEM), a lithology distribution map, and rainfall monitoring data were used to identify 12 debris flow trigger factors: basin relief ratio, slope gradient in the initiation zone, drainage density, downslope curvature of the main channel, vegetation coverage, main channel aspect, topographic wetness index, Melton’s ruggedness number, lithology, annual rainfall, form factor, and cross-slope curvature of the transportation zone. Principal component analysis was used to obtain the eight principal components of these factors that contribute to susceptibility results. Then, a self-organizing map method was adopted to analyze the principal components, which resulted in a debris flow susceptibility classification. Field validation of 26 debris flow basins was used to evaluate the errors of the susceptibility classification, as well as assess the causes of such errors. The study found that principle component analysis and self-organizing map methodologies are good predictors of basin susceptibility to debris flows.     

Optimal routing for waste collection: a case study in Singapore

ABSTRACT

To collect and dispose growing amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW) changed to be a hot topic along with the rapid urbanization in past decades. Cities are more and more dependent on the incineration instead of landfilling due to the cost-efficiency and environmental concerns. Considering the limited number of incineration plants and complicated situation of transportation in both spatial and temporal dimensions in different cities, the optimal routing for waste collection turns to be meaningful research topic. In this research, the ant colony optimization (ACO)-based multi-objective routing model coupled with min-max model and Dijkstra’s algorithm is proposed to address the question of which route to take from these waste-generating points to the target incineration plant(s) considering travel time, accident probability (black spots), and population exposure, so as to support the routing decision-making. The model is successfully implemented in Singapore and the effectiveness of the model has also been justified. Besides, few limitations of this research have also been discussed, some of which would also be the future directions of our research, especially the design and integration of a web-based routing decision-making support system.     

Correspondence between the large volcanic eruptions and ENSO events over AD 1525–2000

ENSO is an interannual mode which may be affected by external forcing, such as volcanic eruptions. Based on the reconstructed volcanic eruptions chronology and ENSO sequences, both 195 large volcanic eruptions(VEI≥4) and 398 ENSO(El Ni?o and La Ni?a) events were extracted from 1525 to 2000. An analysis of the correspondence between the large volcanic eruptions and ENSO events was performed by matching the large volcanic eruptions with the types and magnitudes of ENSO events present in the 0–2 years after the eruptions. The results show the following:(1) The percentages of ENSO events within the 3 years after the large eruptions had increased to 68.3% from 31.7% compared with those with no-eruptions in the previous 0–2 years. In addition, the ratio of El Ni?o to La Ni?a events turned from 2:3 to 1:1, and more El Ni?o events occurred in the 0 year after eruptions in the low-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere and in the tropics but more La Ni?a events occurred in the 0 year after in the high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.(2) After the eruptions, the weak(W) El Ni?o events had increased by 8 percentage points and the very strong(VS) El Ni?o events had decreased by 10 percentage points; conversely, there was a decrease by 15 percentage points of the weak La Ni?a events and an increase by 11.4 percentage points of the very strong La Ni?a events. Specifically, the percentages of strong La Ni?a events increased to a peak at 1(+1) year after the eruptions.(3) The percentage of eruptions followed by single-year ENSO was the greatest. The percentage of ENSO events that occurred in the consecutive 2 years following an eruption was approximately equal to the percentage of events that occurred consecutively 3 years following an eruption, and both sets of ENSO magnitudes showed a decreasing trend.     

Multiple Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Consensus Control with Unmeasurable Velocity Information and Environmental Disturbances Under Switching Directed Topologies

China Ocean Engineering - A consensus algorithm proposed in the paper is applied to tackle remarkable problems of unmeasurable velocities, the environmental disturbances, and the limited...     

柴达木盆地北缘结绿素-红山地区古新统至中新统沉积相

根据柴达木盆地北缘露头剖面、钻井剖面的地层学和岩石学研究所取得的各种定量及定性资料,采用冯增昭教授倡导的单因素分析多因素综合作图法,编制了柴达木盆地北缘结绿素—红山地区古新统—始新统、渐新统和中新统的各种单因素图和沉积相图。这是首次将定量的沉积相研究方法应用于柴达木盆地的古新统至中新统。结绿素—红山地区古新统至中新统发育2种沉积相类型,即冲积扇和辫状河。其中辫状河可划分为砾质辫状河和砂质辫状河。古新世—始新世发育冲积扇—辫状河—湖泊沉积体系,渐新世—中新世发育辫状河—湖泊沉积体系。从古新世到中新世,柴达木盆地北缘经历了由大规模冲积扇沉积到辫状河沉积的演化过程。     

Screening of extraction methods for glycoproteins from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) oral-arms by high performance liquid chromatography

In order to select an optimum extraction method for the target glycoprotein (TGP) from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) oral-arms, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-assay for the determination of the TGP was developed. Purified target glycoprotein was taken as a standard glycoprotein. The results showed that the calibration curves for peak area plotted against concentration for TGP were linear (r = 0.9984, y = 4.5895x+47.601) over concentrations ranging from 50 to 400 mgL-1. The mean extraction recovery was 97.84% (CV2.60%). The fractions containing TGP were isolated from jellyfish (R. esculentum) oral-arms by four extraction methods: 1) water extraction (WE), 2) phosphate buffer solution (PBS) extraction (PE), 3) ultrasound-assisted water extraction (UA-WE), 4) ultrasound-assisted PBS extraction (UA-PE). The lyophilized extract was dissolved in Milli-Q water and analyzed directly on a short TSK-GEL G4000PWXL (7.8 mm×300 mm) column. Our results indicated that the UA-PE method was the optimum extraction method selected by HPLC.     

Isolation and Characterization of Collagen from Squid(Ommastreoges bartrami) Skin

Collagen of squid (Ommastrephes bartrami) skin was examined in the present study. Histology showed that collagen fiber in the skin was partially cross-linked with muscle fiber. Acid-solubilized collagen (ASC) and pepsin-solubilized collagen (PSC) were extracted from the skin and characterized. The results of amino acid composition and electrophoretic patterns revealed that ASC and PSC were both type Ⅰ collagen, containing α1 and α2 chains. FTIR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) investigations con-firmed the existence of helical arrangements in PSC of squid skin. The denaturation temperature (Td) and shrinkage temperature (Ts)of PSC were 29.4℃ and 52.8℃, respectively.     

Isolation and Characterization of Collagen from Squid(Ommastrephes bartrami) Skin

Collagen of squid(Ommastrephes bartrami) skin was examined in the present study. Histology showed that collagen fiber in the skin was partially cross-linked with muscle fiber. Acid-solubilized collagen(ASC) and pepsin-solubilized collagen(PSC) were extracted from the skin and characterized. The results of amino acid composition and electrophoretic patterns revealed that ASC and PSC were both type Ⅰ collagen,containing α1 and α2 chains. FTIR(fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) investigations confirmed t...