Assessing the suitability of GlobeLand30 for mapping land cover in Germany

Global land cover (LC) maps have been widely employed as the base layer for a number of applications including climate change, food security, water quality, biodiversity, change detection, and environmental planning. Due to the importance of LC, there is a pressing need to increase the temporal and spatial resolution of global LC maps. A recent advance in this direction has been the GlobeLand30 dataset derived from Landsat imagery, which has been developed by the National Geomatics Center of China (NGCC). Although overall accuracy is greater than 80%, the NGCC would like help in assessing the accuracy of the product in different regions of the world. To assist in this process, this study compares the GlobeLand30 product with existing public and online datasets, that is, CORINE, Urban Atlas (UA), OpenStreetMap, and ATKIS for Germany in order to assess overall and per class agreement. The results of the analysis reveal high agreement of up to 92% between these datasets and GlobeLand30 but that large disagreements for certain classes are evident, in particular wetlands. However, overall, GlobeLand30 is shown to be a useful product for characterizing LC in Germany, and paves the way for further regional and national validation efforts.     

Bodenströmungen und Sedimenttransport im Golf von Manfredonia (Italien,Südadria)

During 64 days (in June, July, and August 1967–1969), bottom currents have been measured by self-recordingRichardson current meters in the central Gulf of Manfredonia (Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy). The currents show mean velocities of 2–4 cm/sec and maximum velocities ranging from 10–14 cm/sec at 35–50 cm above the sea floor, and maximum velocities of 22 cm/sec at 250 cm above the sediment surface (see Table 1, Fig. 4). During the four measuring periods, NW- to NE-directed current vectors prevailed (Fig. 3): they can be explained by the assumption of a clockwise (anticyclonic) captive eddy or vortex in the Gulf, moving opposite to the constant, “summer-outgoing” Adriatic Gradient Current (Zore-Armanda 1968), which flows to the SE along the Italian coast (Fig. 1). The current directions are opposite to the prevailing wind directions, blowing during the summer mostly from the NW, N and NE; this might be explained by the activity of a northward compensation undercurrent, induced by those winds and possibly also by southeast-flowing surface (gradient) currents. The clockwise 360° rotation of current directions (velocity: 2–13 cm/sec) during one day (June 24/25, 1968) is explained by the influence of a spring tide with a tidal range of 35 cm (Fig. 6). These bottom currents, measured in summer, are only capable of redepositing the river-supplied, clay- to silt-size sediment material by suspension transport. During winter storms with wave action reaching down to a depth of 10 m (?) and swell from strong SE-winds with a longer fetch, it is supposed that current velocities are 3–5 times higher than in summer and sufficient to transport also fine sand. The characteristic distribution of total heavy minerals and of euhedral pyroxenes (Fig. 7 a, b) within the Gulf of Manfredonia indicates that the sediment supplied by the Apennine rivers (mainly River Ofanto) is being re-distributed to the NW and N by longshore drift and by nearshore currents belonging to a clockwise eddy system. This explanation could be verified by the direct current measurements.     

Changing land use/land cover patterns and growing human population in Wular catchment of Kashmir Valley,India

GeoJournal - The profound increase in human activities and the degrading scenario in fragile ecosystems of the western Himalayas like that of Wular Lake have highlighted the need to analyze the...     

Performance of small group of geosynthetic-reinforced granular piles

Granular piles are frequently used as a method of improving soft grounds as they provide increased bearing capacity and reduce foundation settlements. However, in very soft clayey soils, they may not derive their load-carrying capacity by low confining pressure provided by the surrounding soil. In such circumstances, granular piles may be reinforced with suitable geosynthetic to increase its load-carrying capacity and to reduce excessive bulging. In this study, the performance of small group of geosynthetic-reinforced granular piles (GRGPs) is examined in terms of load-carrying capacity, settlement, and modulus by laboratory model tests. The parameters investigated include modulus of reinforcement material, area replacement ratio (ARR) based on the column diameter and reinforcement length. The results indicated that increasing the modulus of the reinforcement and the ARR based on the column diameter enhances the overall performance of the GRGP group. It was also observed that reinforcement on top portion of the granular pile is sufficient to substantially increase the load-carrying capacity of granular pile group.     

Analysis of contamination hazard of surface water by the methodology of TECHNEAU: a case study from the dam 9 April 1947 in northern Morocco

Preventive protection of surface waters against pollution and the guarantee of the best quality water are the major challenges to provide a sustainable supply of drinking water for the future generations. In this article, we present a hazard mapping application for water contamination of the dam “9 April 1947” located in the northwest of Morocco. This study was motivated by the proliferation of many pollution sources in the study area knowing that the dam feeds the region of Tanger-Asilah that has over 3 million inhabitants. The methodology used was applied for the first time in the city of Freiburg-Ebnet in Germany under the TECHNEAU project funded by the European commission and based on weighting of the different sources of contamination according to three indices: the toxicity index, quantity index, and probability index. The multiplication of the three indices has given us a hazard index named HI varying between 0 and 120 depending on the harmfulness of hazard; the later index has been used to create the final contamination hazard map. The hazard map shows 65% of the watershed area is witnessing a very low danger, 22% of the watershed area is witnessing a low danger, 10% of the watershed area is witnessing a the high danger, and 3% of the watershed area is witnessing a moderate.     

Gas and fluid venting at the Makran accretionary wedge off Pakistan

The Makran accretionary complex shows a distinct bottom-simulating reflector, indicating a thick gas-hydrate-bearing horizon between the deformational front and about 1350 m water depth which seals off the upward flow of gas-charged fluids. A field of presently inactive mud diapirs with elevations up to 65 m was discovered in the abyssal plain seawards of the deformation front, suggesting that in the past conditions were favorable for periodic but localized vigorous mud diapirism. Regional destabilization of the gas hydrate leading to focused flow was observed where deep-penetrating, active faults reach the base of the gas-hydrate layer, as in a deeply incised submarine canyon (2100–2500 m water depth). At this location we discovered seeps of methane and H₂S-rich fluids associated with chemoautotrophic vent faunas (e.g., Calyptogena sp.). Driven by the accretionary wedge dynamics, the landward part of the gas-hydrate layer below the Makran margin is being progressively uplifted. Due to reduced hydrostatic pressure and rising ocean bottom-water temperatures, gas hydrates are progressively destabilized and dissociated into hydrate water, methane and H₂S. Sediment temperatures lie outside the methane stability field wherever water depth is less than 800 m. Above this depth, upward migration of fluids to the seafloor is unimpeded, thus explaining the abundance of randomly distributed gas seeps observed at water depths of 350 to 800 m. Received: 14 June 1999 / Revision accepted: 6 February 2000     

Internet of Things‐based wireless networking for seismic applications

There is growing pressure from regulators on operators to adhere to increasingly stricter regulations related to the environment and safety. Hence, operators are required to predict and contain risks related to hydrocarbon production and their infrastructure in order to maintain their licence to operate. A deeper understanding of production optimisation and production‐related risk requires strengthened knowledge of reservoir behaviour and overburden dynamics. To accomplish this, sufficient temporal and spatial resolution is required as well as an integration of various sources of measurements. At the same time, tremendous developments are taking place in sensors, networks, and data analysis technologies. Sensors and accompanying channels are getting smaller and cheaper, and yet they offer high fidelity. New ecosystems of ubiquitous wireless communications including Internet of Things nowadays allow anyone to affordably connect to the Internet at any time and anywhere. Recent advances in cloud storage and computing combined with data analytics allow fast and efficient solutions to handle considerable amounts of data. This paper is an effort to pave the way for exploiting these three fundamental advances to create Internet of Things‐based wireless networks of seismic sensors. To this aim, we propose to employ a recently developed Internet of Things‐based wireless technology, so‐called low‐power wide‐area networks, to exploit their long range, low power, and inherent compatibility to cloud storage and computing. We create a remotely operated minimum‐maintenance wireless solution for four major seismic applications of interest. By proposing appropriate network architecture and data coordination (aggregation and transmission) designs, we show that neither the low data rate nor the low duty cycle of low‐power wide‐area networks imposes fundamental issues in handling a considerable amount of data created by complex seismic scenarios as long as the application is delay tolerant. In order to confirm this claim, we cast our ideas into a practical large‐scale networking design for simultaneous seismic monitoring and interferometry and carry out an analysis on the data generation and transmission rates. Finally, we present some results from a small‐scale field test in which we have employed our Internet of Things‐based wireless nodes for real‐time seismic quality control over clouds.     

Community collaboration and climate change research in the Canadian Arctic

Research on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, particularly projects aiming to contribute to practical adaptation initiatives, requires active involvement and collaboration with community members and local, regional and national organizations that use this research for policy-making. Arctic communities are already experiencing and adapting to environmental and socio-cultural changes, and researchers have a practical and ethical responsibility to engage with communities that are the focus of the research. This paper draws on the experiences of researchers working with communities across the Canadian Arctic, together with the expertise of Inuit organizations, Northern research institutes and community partners, to outline key considerations for effectively engaging Arctic communities in collaborative research. These considerations include: initiating early and ongoing communication with communities, and regional and national contacts; involving communities in research design and development; facilitating opportunities for local employment; and disseminating research findings. Examples of each consideration are drawn from climate change research conducted with communities in the Canadian Arctic.     

Improvement of groundwater resources potential by artificial recharge technique: A case study of Charf El Akab aquifer in the Tangier region,Morocco

In arid and semi-arid zones,water is the most vulnerable resource to climate change.In fact,various techniques such as artificial recharge are adopted to restore aquifers and to ensure aquifer sustainability in relation to the accelerated pace of exploitation.Morocco is a Mediterranean country highly vulnerable to climate change,many of its main aquifers are subjected to excessive drawdowns.This technique is practiced to increase potentiality of these aquifers.In the Northwestern area of Morocco,the significant development experienced by Tangier City in the industrial,tourism,and commercial sectors will lead to increased water requirements-up to 5 067 L/s(159.8 mm^3)by 2030.However,the Charf El Akab aquifer system,subject to artificial recharge,is the only groundwater resource of Tangier region;hence,a rational management context is needed to ensure aquifer sustainability,and optimized exploitation under the background of differing constraints,such as increased water requirements,and climate change impacts.This work aims to respond,for the first time,to the Charf El Akab aquifer overexploitation problem,and to evaluate the future scenarios of its exploitation in the event of failure of one of the superficial resources.This work also presents a synthesized hydrodynamic modeling based on the results of the numerical simulations carried out using Feflow software for 2004(date of cessation of injections)and 2011(date of resumption of these facilities),making it possible to evaluate the impact of the artificial recharge on the piezometric level of the aquifer on a spatiotemporal scale.Finally,the exploitation scenarios have shown that the aquifer of Charf El Akab will not adequatly provide for the region's water requirements on the future horizon,entailing an optimal management of water resources in the region and an intentionally increased recharge rate.