Influence of Random Inclusion of Synthetic Wicks Fibers of Hair on the Behavior of Clayey Soils

Several soil improvement methods are used to enhance the engineering properties of soil, among which, reinforcement by fibers is considered as an effective ground improvement method because of its cost effectiveness, and easy adaptability. The present investigation chooses synthetic wick and vinifera raphia fibers as reinforcement. The synthetic wick fiber was randomly included into the soil at four different percentages i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6% by volume of raw soil. Vinifera raphia fiber was used at one percentage (4%) as control. The main objective of this research is to focus on the strength behavior of clayey soil reinforced with randomly included synthetic wick fiber. The physical and mineralogical characterization was carried out on ten soil samples. The compression, flexion, abrasion, water absorption and capillarity tests were performed on synthetic wick reinforced specimens with various fiber contents. The results of these tests have clearly shown an improvement in the compression strength values from 1.65 to 2.84 MPa for the wicks fibers, and the flexural strength values which varied between 1.08 and 1.96 MPa. Hence, the waste of synthetic wick fibers is therefore an efficient reinforcement for compressed earth blocks, which are very significant for construction of durable and economic infrastructures.     

Spectral filtering as a method of visualising and removing striped artefacts in digital elevation data

Spectral filtering was compared with traditional mean spatial filters to assess their ability to identify and remove striped artefacts in digital elevation data. The techniques were applied to two datasets: a 100 m contour derived digital elevation model (DEM) of southern Norway and a 2 m LiDAR DSM of the Lake District, UK. Both datasets contained diagonal data artefacts that were found to propagate into subsequent terrain analysis. Spectral filtering used fast Fourier transformation (FFT) frequency data to identify these data artefacts in both datasets. These were removed from the data by applying a cut filter, prior to the inverse transform. Spectral filtering showed considerable advantages over mean spatial filters, when both the absolute and spatial distribution of elevation changes made were examined. Elevation changes from the spectral filtering were restricted to frequencies removed by the cut filter, were small in magnitude and consequently avoided any global smoothing. Spectral filtering was found to avoid the smoothing of kernel based data editing, and provided a more informative measure of data artefacts present in the FFT frequency domain. Artefacts were found to be heterogeneous through the surfaces, a result of their strong correlations with spatially autocorrelated variables: landcover and landsurface geometry. Spectral filtering performed better on the 100 m DEM, where signal and artefact were clearly distinguishable in the frequency data. Spectrally filtered digital elevation datasets were found to provide a superior and more precise representation of the landsurface and be a more appropriate dataset for any subsequent geomorphological applications. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ice directions in western lleyn and the status of the gwynedd readvance of the last irish sea glacier

A ‘Gwynedd readvance’ of the last Irish Sea glacier, terminating on the north coast of the Lleyn peninsula in northwest Wales, has been proposed on the basis of differences in ice flow direction and in drift landforms on either side of the proposed limit. However, detailed drift mapping of western Lleyn reveals erosional and depositional evidence of ice flow direction which are consistent with a single advance and retreat. Differences in drift landforms are explained by the influence of topography on glacier dynamics and sedimentation. There is, therefore, no reason to invoke a ‘Gwynedd readvance’ of the last Irish Sea glacier and the marked climatic deterioration which a substantial readvance of such a large glacier would imply.     

On the role of high latitude ice,snow, and vegetation feedbacks in the climatic response to external forcing changes

A seasonal energy balance climate model containing a detailed treatment of surface and planetary albedo, and in which seasonally varying land snow and sea ice amounts are simulated in terms of a number of explicit physical processes, is used to investigate the role of high latitude ice, snow, and vegetation feedback processes. Feedback processes are quantified by computing changes in radiative forcing and feedback factors associated with individual processes. Global sea ice albedo feedback is 5–8 times stronger than global land snowcover albedo feedback for a 2% solar constant increase or decrease, with Southern Hemisphere cryosphere feedback being 2–5 times stronger than Northern Hemisphere cryosphere feedback.In the absence of changes in ice extent, changes in ice thickness in response to an increase in solar constant are associated with an increase in summer surface melting which is exactly balanced by increased basal winter freezing, and a reduction in the upward ocean-air flux in summer which is exactly balanced by an increased flux in winter, with no change in the annual mean ocean-air flux. Changes in the mean annual ocean-air heat flux require changes in mean annual ice extent, and are constrained to equal the change in meridional oceanic heat flux convergence in equilibrium. Feedback between ice extent and the meridional oceanic heat flux obtained by scaling the oceanic heat diffusion coefficient by the ice-free fraction regulates the feedback between ice extent and mean annual air-sea heat fluxes in polar regions, and has a modest effect on model-simulated high latitude temperature change.Accounting for the partial masking effect of vegetation on snow-covered land reduces the Northern Hemisphere mean temperature response to a 2% solar constant decrease or increase by 20% and 10%, respectively, even though the radiative forcing change caused by land snowcover changes is about 3 times larger in the absence of vegetational masking. Two parameterizations of the tundra fraction are tested: one based on mean annual land air temperature, and the other based on July land air temperature. The enhancement of the mean Northern Hemisphere temperature response to solar constant changes when the forest-tundra ecotone is allowed to shift with climate is only 1/3 to 1/2 that obtained by Otterman et al. (1984) when the mean annual parameterization is used here, and only 1/4 to 1/3 as large using the July parameterization.The parameterized temperature dependence of ice and snow albedo is found to enhance the global mean temperature response to a 2% solar constant increase by only 0.04 °C, in sharp contrast to the results of Washington and Meehl (1986) obtained with a mean annual model. However, there are significant differences in the method used here and in Washington and Meehl to estimate the importance of this feedback process. When their approach is used in a mean annual version of the present model, closer agreement to their results is obtained.     

Book review of Mechanics of Bio-Sediment Transport,Hongwei Fang,Lei Huang,Huiming Zhao,Wei Cheng,Yishan Chen,Mehdi Fazeli,Qianqin Shang (Eds.), Springer-Verlag,Berlin Heidelberg (2020)

Sediment transport is a classical subject in hydraulic engineering,and relevant to fluvial processes,flood control,reservoir operation,and river management.Mode...     

Urban reactions to the global warming issue: Agenda setting in Toronto and Chicago

Little research has been done about what cities could or should do concerning potential global warming. A few cities have adopted programs to deal with impacts they perceive may occur, and a worldwide network of 100 cities involved with CO₂ reduction has recently emerged. Global warming is a new issue for cities and most are only dimly aware of how it may affect them. Toronto, through the efforts of a few leaders, has become a pioneer in the development of an urban response program to global warming. It has charged a city agency to deal with global warming issues, in particular emissions reduction. Chicago is aware of the issue and is concerned about the negative impacts global warming could produce. While behind Toronto, Chicago is moving forward in a number of areas. These two cities illuminate the policy-making process for global warming at the urban level and the role {atpolicy entrepreneurs} can play at this level. In comparing the two cities, a common model of policy development is utilized.     

Alkoxyquinoline O-dealkylation: A new fluorimetric assay for hydrocarbon-induced cytochrome P450 in fish

The O-dealkylation of a new series of substrates, the alkoxyquinolines, provides a new easy fluorimetric assay for measuring the induction of cytochrome P450 by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and drilling mud oil in fish. Expression of the results as a ratio between the inducible butyloxyquinoline O-dealkylation (BuQOD) activity and the non-inducible benzyloxyquinoline O-dealkylation (BeQOD) activity (i.e. the ‘BuQOD:-BeQOD quotient’) maximises the degree of induction measured and minimises the degree of inter-animal variation.