Safety factor nomograms for homogeneous earth dams less than ten meters high

Homogeneous earth dams that are waterproofed with geomembranes are a suitable option for storing water and other sorts of liquids, like leachates from landfills. Such dams do not require complicated engineering technical calculations, their cost is usually low and they are not difficult to construct. To ensure the geotechnical safety of the dam, the slopes of the embankment must be correctly designed and constructed. This paper provides a set of nomograms which allow the user to get the safety factor of the slopes immediately. In some cases, it is only necessary to know previously the material classification according to the Unified Soil Classifications System. From this information it can be determined whether the material is appropriate or not. If the material classification is not available, geotechnical data of the material used in the construction of the embankment are needed. Examples of the application of nomograms are presented. Secondly, the paper includes a set of equations to calculate quickly the safety factor of a slope of earth upper than 7.5 m height.     

Despeckling of TerraSAR-X Data Using Second-Generation Wavelets

This letter presents the despeckling of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images within the bandelet and contourlet domains. A model-based approach is presented for the despeckling of SAR images. The speckle-reduced estimate is found using the first-order Bayesian inference, and the best model's parameters are estimated using the second-order Bayesian inference. Synthetic and real images are used for evaluating the qualities of the despeckling methods. The experimental results showed that the combination of Bayesian inference and bandelet transform outperforms the contourlet-based despeckling algorithm using synthetic data and objective measurements.      

Contribution of new AAM data source to δLOD excitation

Data sets of the changes of the length of day (ΔLOD) measured by space geodetic techniques and of the atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) derived from global meteorological data by the National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) are used to reanalyze and study the excitations of ΔLOD, and to examine and compare the contribution of each AAM series to ΔLOD. The main results are as follows. 1. The AAM reanalyzed with the assimilated global meteorological data by NCEP/NCAR are more accurate and have lower noise than the original AAM derived by NMC. The NCEP/NCAR-based AAM is more consistent with the changes of the length-of-day series. 2. The NCEP reanalysed AAM data may better explain the non-tidal LOD variations on intraseasonal to interannual time scales, especially on the quasi-biennial time scale. The atmosphere cannot, however, explain all LOD variations; other excitation sources are possible. 3. The effects of atmosphere on the estimated values of tides for ΔLOD components up to a month are weak. The preliminary results of the annual and semiannual tides can be estimated after removing the effects of atmosphere from ΔLOD. Received: 27 May 1998 / Accepted: 22 March 1999     

Orthophotograph Production in Urban Areas

This paper investigates possible solutions to the problem of urban orthophotography. Extensive work has been carried out to attain the best possible results, using all the existing software in the Department of Geomatic Engineering, University College London. Two of the most promising methods, which yield the best results, are analysed further. New routines were written in C language, as additions to the existing software, to allow for the special problems that arise in urban areas. The final results overcome the problem of double mapping (or occlusions) and will potentially enable even greater success to be achieved. A simple accuracy assessment of the results has been made. Difficulties and current limitations are analysed and presented.     

Cotton yield prediction through spectral parameters

To predict the crop yield from spectral parameters, a field experiment was conducted on cotton crop during 1997-98 Kharif season on a sandy loam soil at the Punjab Agricultural Unjversity, Ludhiana. India. Spectral reflectance and agronomic measurements were made for cotton species (American and Desi cotton), sown on two dates (May 1 and May 29) under five nitrogen levels (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg/ha). Regression analysis showed that growth variables had poor correlation with seed cotton yield for all three models, however, yield attributes were significantly and highly correlated for second degree model with seed cotton yield. The integrated Radiance Ratio (RR) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) measured over time were significantly correlated quadratically with seed cotton yield on three time segment periods viz., 81–110, 111–140 and 141–200 DAS, but highest correlation values were obtained during 81–110 DAS, In American cotton, the highest correlation coefficient for RR and NDVI were 0.91 and 0.81, respectively; whereas for Desi cotton these values were 0.88 and 0.84, respectively.     

Analytical dynamic orbit improvement for the evaluation of geodetic-geodynamic satellite data

Summary Given an analytical solution (solution of the equations of motion using analytical integration techniques) an integration of the variational equations is not necessary but simply a differentiation of the analytical solution. Based on a high-precision analytical solution explicit expressions for the coefficients of the observation equations to improve state variables and force model parameters have been derived.The definition of suitable unknowns for a pure dynamic orbital improvement can be based then on an analysis of the information content of the data at hand by using those expressions.Regarding the Fourier series structure of orbital perturbations as well as the special properties of crossover difference data, the proposed technique is particularly favourable for an evaluation of Remote Sensing Data such as altimeter, SST and gradiometer data from satellites in repeating orbits.After a general discussion of the observation equations for crossover data our present results using GEOSAT altimeter data are discussed as one example for applications. Some short remarks about further applications are given.     

Urban and Suburban Mapping With the AP190 Analytical Plotter

The AP190 analytical stereoplotter has been employed for two research projects concerned with the urban and suburban environment. In the first project, the suitability of the AP190 was assessed for comparing height readings between stereomodels of colour diapositives and colour paper prints, for collecting height data for a digital terrain model and for producing a land use map using a stereopair of part of Edinburgh under well controlled conditions. The second project dealt with the densification of minor control points by means of the BLOKK aerial triangulation package, followed by the digital mapping of a suburban area planned for land readjustment in Bangkok.     

Progressive Transformation of a Flux Rope to an ICME

The solar wind conditions at one astronomical unit (AU) can be strongly disturbed by interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). A subset, called magnetic clouds (MCs), is formed by twisted flux ropes that transport an important amount of magnetic flux and helicity, which is released in CMEs. At 1 AU from the Sun, the magnetic structure of MCs is generally modeled by neglecting their expansion during the spacecraft crossing. However, in some cases, MCs present a significant expansion. We present here an analysis of the huge and significantly expanding MC observed by the Wind spacecraft during 9 – 10 November 2004. This MC was embedded in an ICME. After determining an approximate orientation for the flux rope using the minimum variance method, we obtain a precise orientation of the cloud axis by relating its front and rear magnetic discontinuities using a direct method. This method takes into account the conservation of the azimuthal magnetic flux between the inbound and outbound branches and is valid for a finite impact parameter (i.e., not necessarily a small distance between the spacecraft trajectory and the cloud axis). The MC is also studied using dynamic models with isotropic expansion. We have found (6.2±1.5)×10²⁰ Mx for the axial flux and (78±18)×10²⁰ Mx for the azimuthal flux. Moreover, using the direct method, we find that the ICME is formed by a flux rope (MC) followed by an extended coherent magnetic region. These observations are interpreted by considering the existence of a previously larger flux rope, which partially reconnected with its environment in the front. We estimate that the reconnection process started close to the Sun. These findings imply that the ejected flux rope is progressively peeled by reconnection and transformed to the observed ICME (with a remnant flux rope in the front part).     

Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic history of the Lake Baikal depression and formation of its unique biodiversity

Independent methods of geological and molecular-biological chronologies have made it possible to define generally corresponding stages in the geological and biological evolution of the environments and communities of Lake Baikal since the Late Cretaceous, i.e., during the last 70 myr. All the abiotic elements drastically changed during geological evolution, with destruction of existing and formation of new natural complexes. Nevertheless, some specific zones retained relicts of former settings. The resulting present-day natural complex includes elements of different ages and geneses. Similar to different natural zones of the present-day Earth, which are populated by different biocoenoses, stages in the development of abiotic elements are also characterized by different faunal and floral assemblages. Some taxa were replaced by others, and the resulting aqueous biota of Lake Baikal includes different-age and ecologically different elements. The oldest groups of Baikal organisms appeared approximately 70 Ma ago, although the largest proportion of the lake biota started forming 4–3 Ma ago in response to the most drastic changes in the abiotic elements of the environment. The youngest taxa appeared 1.8 to 0.15 Ma ago, i.e., during the period when superdeep lake environments and mountainous glaciations were developing. The chronological coincidence of main stages in development of abiotic and biotic elements of the nature indicates their relationships. Particular transformations of abiotic elements and the probable mechanism of their influence on the evolution of living communities are also considered.