Statistical analysis of surface urban heat island intensity variations: A case study of Babol city,Iran

The urban heat island is considered as one of the most important climate change phenomena in urban areas, which can result in remarkable negative effects on flora, concentration of pollutants, air quality, energy and water consumption, human health, ecological and economic impacts, and even on global warming. The variation analysis of the surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) is important for understanding the effect of urbanization and urban planning. The objective of this study was to present a new strategy based on the Shannon’s entropy and Pearson chi-square statistic to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of the SUHII. In this study, Landsat TM, ETM+, OLI and TIRS images, MODIS products, meteorological data, topographic and population maps of the Babol city, Iran, from 1985 to 2017, and air temperature data recorded by ground recorder devices in 2017 were used. First, Single-Channel algorithm was used to estimate land surface temperature (LST), and the maximum likelihood classifier was employed to classify Landsat images. Then, based on LST maps, surface urban heat island ratio index was employed to calculate the SUHII. Further, several statistical methods, such as the degree-of-freedom, degree-of-sprawl and degree-of-goodness, were used to analyse the SUHII variation along different geographic directions and in various time periods. Finally, correlation between various parameters such as air temperature, SUHII, population variation and degree-of-goodness index values were investigated. The results indicated that the SUHII value increased by 24% in Babol over different time periods. The correlation coefficient yielded 0.82 between the values of the difference between the mean air temperature of the urban and suburbs and the SUHII values for the geographic directions. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient between the population variation and the degree-of-goodness index values reached 0.8. The results suggested that the SUHII variation of Babol city had a high degree-of-freedom, high degree-of-sprawl and negative degree-of-goodness.     

A novel spatial index using spatial analyses and hierarchical fuzzy expert system for obtaining green TOD: a case study in Tehran city

Sustainable development is a vital and challenging factor for managing urban growth smartly. This factor contains three main components, namely economic growth, ecological protection and social justice. Green Transit-Oriented Development (GTOD) is a consummate planning approach in line with those components. Implementation of GTOD in an urban area is underpinned by its quantification. Therefore, a quantitative spatial index based on several indicators related to TOD and Green urbanism concepts should be developed. In this study, Geo-spatial Information Science and hierarchical fuzzy inference system (HFIS) were employed to calculate the indicators and aggregate them, respectively. In order to showcase the feasibility of the proposed method, it was implemented in a case study area in the City of Tehran, Iran. The result of this method is an integrated spatial GTOD index, which measures the neighbourhoods’ GTOD levels. These measurements specify weaknesses and strengths of neighbourhoods’ factors. Therefore, this index helps decision-makers to plan neighbourhoods based on land use and public transit views. Additionally, the HFIS method helps decision-makers to consider criteria and indicators with their inherent uncertainties and aggregate them with much fewer rules. For evaluating the results, the developed GTOD index was assessed with municipal action planning and attraction maps. According to the outcomes of the assessment, it is concluded that the proposed method is adequately robust and efficient for smart and sustainable urban planning.     

Historical tsunami in the Makran Subduction Zone off the southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan and results of numerical modeling

Tsunami hazard in the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ), off the southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan, was studied by numerical modeling of historical tsunami in this region. Although the MSZ triggered the second deadliest tsunami in the Indian Ocean, among those known, the tsunami hazard in this region has yet to be analyzed in detail. This paper reports the results of a risk analysis using five scenario events based on the historic records, and identifies a seismic gap area in western Makran off the southern coast of Iran. This is a possible site for a future large earthquake and tsunami. In addition, we performed numerical modeling to explain some ambiguities in the historical reports. Based on the modeling results, we conclude that either the extreme run-up of 12–15 m assigned for the 1945 Makran tsunami in the historical record was produced by a submarine landslide triggered by the parent earthquake, or that these reports are exaggerated. The other possibility could be the generation of the huge run-up heights by large displacements on splay faults. The results of run-up modeling reveal that a large earthquake and tsunami in the MSZ is capable of producing considerable run-up heights in the far field. Therefore, it is possible that the MSZ was the source of the tsunami encountered by a Portuguese fleet in Dabhul in 1524.     

Analysis of stochastic characteristics of the Benue River flow process

Stochastic characteristics of the Benue River streamflow process are examined under conditions of data austerity. The streamflow process is investigated for trend, non-stationarity and seasonality for a time period of 26 years. Results of trend analyses with Mann-Kendall test show that there is no trend in the annual mean discharges. Monthly flow series examined with seasonal Kendall test indicate the presence of positive change in the trend for some months, especially the months of August, January, and February. For the stationarity test, daily and monthly flow series appear to be stationary whereas at 1%, 5%, and 10% significant levels, the stationarity alternative hypothesis is rejected for the annual flow series. Though monthly flow appears to be stationary going by this test, because of high seasonality, it could be said to exhibit periodic stationarity based on the seasonality analysis. The following conclusions are drawn： （1） There is seasonality in both the mean and variance with unimodal distribution. （2） Days with high mean also have high variance. （3） Skewness coefficients for the months within the dry season period are greater than those of the wet season period, and seasonal autocorrelations for streamflow during dry season are generally larger than those of the wet season. Precisely, they are significantly different for most of the months. （4） The autocorrelation functions estimated ＂over time＂ are greater in the absolute value for data that have not been deseasonalised but were initially normalised by logarithmic transformation only, while autocorrelation functions for i = 1, 2 365 estimated ＂over realisations＂ have their coefficients significantly different from other coefficients.     

On the occurrence and origin of anthropogenic radionuclides found in a fragment of the Chelyabinsk (LL5) meteorite

A piece of the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteorite was investigated for its content of anthropogenic radionuclides. In addition to traces of cesium‐137 that had been previously reported for this particular fragment, we found an unusually high amount of strontium‐90, which indicates that the source of this contamination was the Kyshtym accident (1957). A high Sr‐90/Cs‐137 activity ratio is characteristic for Kyshtym‐derived contaminations. Based on the cesium‐137 content in the soil from the finding site, it is estimated that the fragment was contaminated with soil particles in the milligram range upon impact. Investigation of the soil revealed very unusual ferromagnetic characteristics and an iron‐rich chemical composition. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicated the presence of steel components in this soil, suggesting that the investigated meteorite fragment was found in an industrial dumping site rather than natural soil.     

Exploring the applications of 3D proximity analysis in a 3D digital cadastre

Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities. However, these developments are managed by a cadastral system which is mainly two-dimensional and cannot efficiently represent Rights, Restrictions, and Responsibilities (RRRs) in complex scenarios. In fact, a three-dimensional cadastre is required for efficiently registering and representing RRRs. In this paper, a 3D proximity analysis was proposed and implemented to determine RRRs and associated easement rights in non-topology-based data structures. This method can be used to investigate the surrounding spaces of a subject apartment unit or storage in a high-rise. The performance of the developed method was evaluated in a large complex high-rise in Tehran, Iran. The results confirmed that the proposed method can correctly identify the neighbor spaces in complex scenarios.     

Drained cavity expansions in soils of finite radial extent subjected to two boundary conditions

The problem of drained cavity expansion in soils of finite radial extent is investigated. Cylindrical and spherical cavities expanded from zero radius subjected to either constant stress or zero displacement at the finite boundary are considered. The generalised analytical solution procedure presented enables more advanced constitutive models to be implemented than have been possible in previous studies. Results generated for Sydney quartz sand highlight substantial differences between cavity limit pressures for the two boundary conditions and for boundaries of finite and infinite radial extent. This is of significance in accounting for boundary effects when interpreting cone penetration tests conducted in calibration chambers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thrust tectonics along the north-western continental margin of Sabah/Borneo

Widely accepted plate tectonic models suggest that an inactive subduction zone lies along the north-west continental margin of Sabah. In contrast, interpretation of reflection seismic data acquired by BGR shows an autochthonous continental terrane comprising an Oligocene to Early Miocene carbonate platform being progressively overthrust by an allochthonous rock complex. Progressive compression resulted in the development of four structural zones: Imbricated thrust sheets (Zone III); two thrust sheet systems one on top of the other (Zone IV); a complex zone with multiphase deformation (Zone V); and piercement ridges (Zone VI).

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Zusammenfassung Nach herkömmlichen plattentektonischen Vorstellungen soll eine inaktive Subduktionszone am nordwestlichen Kontinentalrand von Sabah liegen. Reflexionsseismische Meßdaten der BGR zeigen jedoch, daß hier autochthone kontinentale Kruste mit einer oligozänen-frühmiozänen Karbonatplattform progressiv von einem allochthonen Gesteinsverband überschoben wird. Fortschreitender Zusammenschub seit dem frühen Miozän führte zur Anlage von vier Deformationszonen: Tekonische Schuppen (Zone III); zwei übereinander geschobene Verschuppungssysteme (Zone IV); Gürtel mit mehrphasiger Deformation (Zone V) und Durchspießungsstrukturen (Zone VI).

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Résumé Les modèles géodynamiques que l'on admet habituellement comportent une zone de subduction inactive le long de la marge continentale nord-occidentale de Sabah. Toutefois, des mesures de sismique-réflexion exécutées par le BGR font apparaître qu'à cet endroit, une croûte continentale autochtone, comportant une plateforme carbonatée oligocène à éomiocène, est chevauchée progressivement par un complexe allochtone. La compression, qui s'est manifestée progressivement depuis le Miocène inférieur, a engendré quatre zones structurales: un ensemble d'écailles tectoniques (zone III); deux systèmes de lames tectoniques charriés l'un sur l'autre (zone IV); une zone complexe à déformation multiphasée (zone V); des structures d'extrusion tectonique (zone VI).

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Attenuation properties of viscoelastic material

The attenuation properties of eight rheological models have been studied theoretically. The expressions forQ have been obtained by using dissipated and stored energies and/or complex modulus for each model. The dependence ofQ on frequency has been demonstrated. The three-element elastic model appears to be the best one to represent the viscoelastic nature of the earth's material for a finite value ofQ.     

Annual production and productivity of the macrophytes of river Champanala,a side spill channel of the Ganges at Bhagalpur

The present investigation gives the turnover value and productivity of macrophytes like Eichhornia crassipes, Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus and Azolla pinnata for the year 1978 at Koylaghat site of the Champanala channel, a southern side spill channel of the river Ganges. The average annual production of all the macrophytes comes to 3.925 g/m² · d, which is better than the world average of rice cultivated fields. All the important macrophytes in the present investigation are replaced annually. In contrast to pond and reservoir ecosystems, where the productivity of macrophytes is highest in the rainy season, in the Champanala channel the most of the macrophytes are absent from July to December and maximal productivity was about 4 g/m² · d from February to April. The difference in the development of macrophytes in standing and flowing waters results from the fact that in the rainy season increasing flow velocity, sudden fluctuations in water column depth and other destabilising factors produce unfavourable conditions for macrophytes in flowing waters.