Comparison of models calculating the sky view factor used for urban climate investigations

The sky view factor (SVF) describes the surface geometry and is a commonly used and important measure in urban climate investigations whose aim is the exploration of effects of a complex urban surface on climatological processes in built-up areas. A selection of methods and models for calculating the SVF was compared. For this purpose, fish eye images were taken at several locations in the city of Szeged, southern Hungary. The fish eye images equidistantly follow linear transects to cover a range of SVF values and to analyze the reaction of the methods to a continuously changing environment. The fish eye pictures were evaluated by three methods: the method according to Steyn (Atmos-Ocean 18(3):245?C258, 1980) implemented in a GIS-Script, the ??Edit free sky view factor?? tool of the RayMan model and BMSkyView. The SVF values at the coordinates of the fish eye pictures were calculated with three numerical models (SkyHelios, ArcView SVF extension, and SOLWEIG) with a 3D building data base as input. After comparing the results of the first run, a deviation occurs. The deviation disappears after implementing an option to include a weighting factor in some of the models.     

Thermally induced wind patterns in the Sahelian city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

The urban surface wind field in the dry-tropical city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso was studied based on data collected at one urban and one suburban station during early dry season. An intra-urban thermal breeze, creating almost opposite wind directions at the two sites, was found during nights with high atmospheric stability. The high atmospheric stability suggests a decoupling of the surface wind layer from the layer above, allowing the wind system to develop due to the strong intra-urban temperature gradients in the city. Frequent temporary breakdowns of the thermal wind system were noticed, generally generating a turn in wind direction towards that of the regional wind, thus indicating a re-coupling with a stronger wind flow in the wind layer above.     

A statistical analysis of the daily precipitation over Serbia: trends and indices

A statistical analysis of the daily maximum and mean monthly precipitation measured at ten meteorological stations in Serbia during the period 1949?C2007 is presented. Although the means of the daily maximum and monthly precipitation varied throughout the year, their ratio was almost uniform, with an average value of 32.6% for Serbia. The precipitation events within each year were ranked and then the trends on the ten wettest days of the year were assessed. Averaged across Serbia, the wettest day of the year produces 41.3?mm of precipitation and accounted for 6.3% of the total annual precipitation. Taken together, 35.5% (232.0?mm) of the total annual precipitation fell during the ten wettest days of the year. Over the course of the twentieth century, the average annual precipitation on the wettest day across Serbia increased by nearly 9%. Also, averaged across Serbia, statistically insignificant increasing trends were found on each of the ten wettest days of the year. Furthermore, four climate indices were analysed. Heavy precipitation indices (i.e., RR20 and R95T) increased in Serbia at the end of the twentieth century and thereafter.     

Spatio-temporal changes in land cover and aquatic macrophytes of the Danube floodplain lake

The aquatic vegetation of ?í?ov Lake in the Danube floodplain, which is listed in the Ramsar Convention, was investigated to address three main questions: (1) how have landscape composition and the structures of the lake and its buffer zone changed from the mid-20th century; (2) how have species richness and the abundance of the aquatic macrophyte assemblage in this lake ecosystem changed over the last 34 years; and (3) which landscape metrics can best explain these temporal changes for floating-leaved macrophytes? Two methodological approaches, remote sensing and botanical field surveys, were applied. Historical (1949, 1970, 1990) and contemporary (2006) aerial photographs were analysed to determine land cover. Landscape configuration and structure were analysed using eight landscape metrics selected in advance to measure spatio-temporal changes and the fragmentation of the lake ecosystem and its corresponding buffer zone. The species diversity, abundance and distribution of true aquatic macrophytes were surveyed eleven times in five survey stretches between 1973 and 2007.At the landscape level, a decrease in the area covered by floating-leaved macrophytes, as well as an increase in open water surface and fragmentation of the land cover classes in the lake ecosystem, were recorded from 1949 to 2006. Overall, 30 true aquatic macrophytes were found from 1973 to 2007. Species richness did not change considerably, but the abundance of aquatic species fluctuated over the years. Three groups of true aquatic vegetation, based on common structural characteristics, were found in 1973–1983, 1989–2002, and 2004–2007 over the last 34 years. The landscape metrics NP, PD, LPI, and SHDI, which all express patterns of landscape fragmentation mostly indicate temporal changes in floating-leaved macrophytes.     

Relationships between surface-active organic substances, chlorophyll a and nutrients in the northern Adriatic Sea

Surface-active organic substances (SAS), nutrients, chlorophyll a (Chl a), dissolved oxygen (O₂), salinity (S) and temperature (T) were measured approximately monthly in the northern Adriatic Sea (NA) during two years. Results were elaborated for two stations of different trophic status. Exhaustive statistical examinations of measured variables were performed to contribute to better understanding of the processes and interdependence of the measured parameters. The results of those analyses allowed the region to be described based on several groups of data relevant for particular processes. Chl a appear to be independent parameter; orthosilicate, nitrite and ammonium represent the parameter group most relevant for regeneration processes; the second group includes nutrients dominant in freshwater inputs (orthophosphate and nitrate), while in the third group are parameters related to primary production processes (T, O₂, organic phosphorus and SAS). Probably due to time lags between nutrient uptake and phytoplankton growth as well as between cells growth/division and SAS release, both, the correlation between nutrients and Chl a and the correlation between Chl a and SAS were not statistically significant. Although significantly higher nutrient and Chl a concentrations were found in the mesotrophic western part of the region in comparison to the oligotrophic eastern part, the SAS concentration differences were less marked. It is assumed that more OM is produced, but also at the same time remineralized, at the mesotrophic western part, leading to higher concentrations of regenerated nutrients there. Presence of different phytoplankton taxa and/or fractions (micro and nano) at the two stations may have also contributed to minimize the difference in SAS contents. Higher SAS acidities were noticed in the mesotrophic than in the oligotrophic part.     

六合体应变干扰因素与地震短临异常特征研究

利用江苏省南京市六合地震台钻孔体应变2003年1月1日至2008年12月31日的数字化观测资料,对气压和降雨这二种主要干扰因素的基本变化规律进行分析,讨论了发生在该台预报效能范围内的3次中强地震的短临异常特征.结果表明:气压变化在各个季节对观测值均有较大的影响,以短周期的正相关干扰影响为主,在时间上往往表现为准同步,相关系数能达到0.6～0.7以上;降雨对体应变的影响与降雨过程、降雨量及降雨时间等有密切的关系,持续降雨只有积累到一定程度才能促成固体潮畸变,这一过程虽较复杂,但仍有一定的规律可循.六合体应变对区域内中强地震有1～2月的突出短临异常变化.     

甘肃古浪长岭山北麓断裂新活动特征与地震危险性

通过野外调查和探槽开挖,并结合b值计算结果,对位于甘肃省中部古浪县的长岭山北麓断层的几何学、运动学特征、活动性分段及地震危险性进行了研究.研究认为长岭山北麓断裂主要由四条断层组成,总体呈反“S”形展布;断层最新活动在西段f1表现为倾向南的左旋正断性质,在西段f2和中段f3表现为向北倾的左旋正断性质,东段f4又转变为倾向南的左旋正断活动性质,断裂西端以秦家大山南北向隆起及第三系褶皱与古浪断裂隔断,东端以白墩子左旋拉张盆地与罐罐岭断裂左阶排列,阶距3.5 km;断裂带全新世早中期以来有过地震活动,最后一次活动离逝时间较长,现代应力积累较快,为未来地震危险区.     

青藏高原北部地区地震基本活动状态定量评价

基于区域构造背景、应力场状态及动力学环境等,将青藏高原北部地区划分为4个相对独立的统计单元,即祁连山地震带、甘东南地区、柴达木一共和地块及库玛地震带.通过地震频度和b值拟合确定了各个地区不同下限震级的地震目录完整性起始时间;确定了各构造单元中强以上地震活跃与平静交替活动的特征;定量计算了在平均状态中强以上地震活动特征参数及平静阶段与活跃阶段地震活动特征参数;分别获得了各个区域在平均、活跃与平静状态下的小震活动状态参数.     

基于MATLAB神经网络方法的多层砖房震害预测

提出利用MATLAB人工神经网络工具箱建立基于贝叶斯正则算法的BP神经网络模型,以地震区多层砖房震害调查数据为因子的震害预测方法.神经网络模型输入震害因子包括建筑的层数、施工质量、房屋整体性等,输出值为建筑物在地震作用下的破坏程度.结果表明,本方法可以对多层砖房的震害样本进行预测并达到较理想的效果.     

兰州观象台存放台阵汶川M_S8.0强震动记录与分析

兰州观象台存放台阵在汶川特大地震中获取了10组三分量数字强震动加速度记录.本文依据这些实际观测资料研究了黄土场地在地震发生后的自由场地面运动加速度过程及其特征.结果表明在震源、场地和震中距相同情况下,场地上不同测点记录的加速度峰值存在一定程度的差异,较明显地反映了场地地形对EW分向地面自由场加速度的影响.10个测点的峰值加速度(PGA)均显示EW向大于NS向,而垂直向最小;各测点的傅里叶谱值,尤其是在小于1 Hz频段范围内,差异极小.