Seeking commonalities of community resilience to natural hazards: A cluster analysis approach

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study on which the article is based was to identify groups of communities with similar resilience profiles, using Norwegian municipalities as a case. The authors used a set of socioeconomic and environmental indicators as measures of municipalities’ resilience and performed a cluster analysis to divide the municipalities into groups with similar multivariate resilience signatures. The results revealed six groups of municipalities that, apart from their unique combinations of indicator scores, featured certain spatial patterns, such as an “urban cluster” with urbanized municipalities and a “suburban cluster” with municipalities concentrated around major cities. The authors conclude that municipalities in each of the groups shared aspects that made them either more or less resilient to natural hazards, which could make them potential targets for shared interventions. Additionally, the authors conclude that clustering can be used to identify municipalities with similar resilience features and that could benefit from networking and sharing operational planning as a way to improve their respective communities' resilience to natural hazards.     

Homogeneous distribution of Fe isotopes in the early solar nebula

To examine the iron (Fe) isotopic heterogeneities of CI and ordinary chondrites, we have analyzed several large chips (approximately 1 g) from three CI chondrites and three ordinary chondrites (LL5, L5, and H5). The Fe isotope compositions of five different samples of Orgueil, one from Ivuna and one from Alais (CI chondrites), are highly homogeneous. This new dataset provides a δ⁵⁶Fe average of 0.02 ± 0.04‰ (2SE, n = 7), which represents the best available value for the Fe isotopic composition of CI chondrites and probably the best estimate of the bulk solar system. We conclude that the homogeneity of CI chondrites reflects the initial Fe isotopic homogeneity of the well‐mixed solar nebula. In contrast, larger (up to 0.26‰ in δ⁵⁶Fe) isotopic variations have been found between separate approximately 1 g pieces of the same ordinary chondrite sample. The Fe isotope heterogeneities in ordinary chondrites appear to be controlled by the abundances of chondritic components, specifically chondrules, whose Fe isotope compositions have been fractionated by evaporation and recondensation during multiple heating events.     

The geometry of the active strike-slip El Tigre Fault,Precordillera of San Juan,Central–Western Argentina: integrating resistivity surveys with structural and geomorphological data

The geometry and related geomorphological features of the right-lateral strike-slip El Tigre Fault, one of the main morphostructural discontinuities in the Central–Western Precordillera of Argentina, were investigated. Achievements of this survey include: recognition of structural and geometrical discontinuities along the fault trace, identification and classification of landforms associated with local transpressional and transtensional sectors, observation of significant changes in the fault strike and detection of right and left bends of different wavelength. In the Central Segment of the El Tigre Fault, 2D electrical resistivity tomography surveys were carried out across the fault zone. The resistivity imaging permitted to infer the orientation of the main fault surface, the presence of blind fault branches along the fault zone, tectonic tilting of the Quaternary sedimentary cover, subsurface structure of pressure ridges and depth to the water table. Based on this information, it is possible to characterize the El Tigre Fault also as an important hydro-geological barrier. Our survey shows that the main fault surface changes along different segments from a high-angle to a subvertical setting whilst the vertical-slip component is either reverse or normal, depending on the local transpressive or transtensive regime induced by major bends along the trace. These local variations are expressed as sections of a few kilometres in length with relatively homogeneous behaviour and frequently separated by oblique or transversal structures.     

Groundwater as a sustainable source of income and wealth creation

Asia, and in particular the Mekong Delta region, is under increasing water use pressure. Food production and quality is one element of these growing pressures, as is water management. The authors have first-hand knowledge and experience in groundwater use and management in rural Thailand. Through the adoption of a micro-management, demand-driven approach, with its ultimate objective of sustainability and the betterment of the quality of human life, the Mekong delta and other similar rural areas in Asia offer considerable opportunity for more optimal sustainable exploitation of groundwater. This water source should be prioritized for village usage, which if properly allocated and managed, will lift a significant human population from poverty, into a more sustainable existence. This readily available, reliable groundwater resource exists and has both the capacity for abundant storage as well as the potential for commercial and household supply. The focus has been on understanding the distribution of the delta’s relatively shallow, well sustained, and consistently recharged groundwater resource, and its potential symbiotic linkage to low-volume household demand. Water has been employed in a variety of ways from improving quality of life and sanitation to generating income through the cultivation of cash crops and other similar productive uses. The fundamental aims of the initial model and subsequent trials have been to harness this robust water source and deliver otherwise unattainable income to households. As the following, more detailed study of rural Thailand demonstrates, the benefits of such an approach deliver sustainable enhancements to the quality of constituents’ lives, are environmentally sensitive and sustainable, and harmonize with governmental efforts to alleviate poverty through the enablement of income generation from groundwater utilization.     

Homological relations: A methodology for the certification of irregular tessellations

In GIS, spatial analysis is based on the use of spatial operations such as testing the spatial relations between features. Often, such tests are invalidated by errors in datasets. It is a very common experience that two bordering regions which should obey the topological relation “meet” fall instead in the “overlap” category. The situation is exacerbated when applying topological operators to regions that come from different datasets, where resolution and error sources are different. Despite the problem being quite common, up to now no standard approach has been defined to deal with spatial relations affected by errors of various origins. Referring to topological relations, we define a model to extend the eight Egenhofer relations between two simple regions: we call them homological relations (H‐relations). We discuss how exact topological relations can be extracted from observed relations and discuss the case of irregular tessellations, where errors have the most impact on vector data. In the proposed case study within the domain of geographic crowdsourced data, we propose algorithms for identifying homological regions and obtaining a corrected tessellation. This methodology can be considered as a step for quality control and the certification of irregular tessellations.     

Latitudinal and altitudinal controls of Titan’s dune field morphometry

Dune fields dominate ～13% of Titan’s surface and represent an important sink of carbon in the methane cycle. Herein, we discuss correlations in dune morphometry with altitude and latitude. These correlations, which have important implications in terms of geological processes and climate on Titan, are investigated through the microwave electromagnetic signatures of dune fields using Cassini radar and radiometry observations. The backscatter and emissivity from Titan’s dune terrains are primarily controlled by the amount of interdune area within the radar footprint and are also expected to vary with the degree of the interdunal sand cover. Using SAR-derived topography, we find that Titan’s main dune fields (Shangri-La, Fensal, Belet and Aztlan) tend to occupy the lowest elevation areas in Equatorial regions occurring at mean elevations between ～?400 and ～0 m (relative to the geoid). In elevated dune terrains, we show a definite trend towards a smaller dune to interdune ratio and possibly a thinner sand cover in the interdune areas. A similar correlation is observed with latitude, suggesting that the quantity of windblown sand in the dune fields tends to decrease as one moves farther north. The altitudinal trend among Titan’s sand seas is consistent with the idea that sediment source zones most probably occur in lowlands, which would reduce the sand supply toward elevated regions. The latitudinal preference could result from a gradual increase in dampness with latitude due to the asymmetric seasonal forcing associated with Titan’s current orbital configuration unless it is indicative of a latitudinal preference in the sand source distribution or wind transport capacity.     

Regional landslide-hazard assessment for Seattle, Washington, USA

Landslides are a widespread, frequent, and costly hazard in Seattle and the Puget Sound area of Washington State, USA. Shallow earth slides triggered by heavy rainfall are the most common type of landslide in the area; many transform into debris flows and cause significant property damage or disrupt transportation. Large rotational and translational slides, though less common, also cause serious property damage. The hundreds of landslides that occurred during the winters of 1995–96 and 1996–97 stimulated renewed interest by Puget Sound communities in identifying landslide-prone areas and taking actions to reduce future landslide losses. Informal partnerships between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the City of Seattle, and private consultants are focusing on the problem of identifying and mapping areas of landslide hazard as well as characterizing temporal aspects of the hazard. We have developed GIS-based methods to map the probability of landslide occurrence as well as empirical rainfall thresholds and physically based methods to forecast times of landslide occurrence. Our methods for mapping landslide hazard zones began with field studies and physically based models to assess relative slope stability, including the effects of material properties, seasonal groundwater levels, and rainfall infiltration. We have analyzed the correlation between historic landslide occurrence and relative slope stability to map the degree of landslide hazard. The City of Seattle is using results of the USGS studies in storm preparedness planning for emergency access and response, planning for development or redevelopment of hillsides, and municipal facility planning and prioritization. Methods we have developed could be applied elsewhere to suit local needs and available data.     

3D refraction statics in the wavenumber domain

The wavenumber iterative modelling (WIM) method was first introduced to estimate the static corrections for 2D land profiles by performing first-break inversion in the wavenumber domain. The WIM algorithm presents some useful advantages, of robustness, stability and flexibility. Robustness is obtained by intensive exploitation of all the available data and by application of an automatic function for mispick removal. Stability is the result of an iterative procedure that ensures convergence towards a stable and plausible solution even at the end of the profile where the problem is normally ill-posed. Finally, flexibility is due to the possibility of solving for multilayered structures and of estimating vertical gradients of the velocity.This work extends the WIM method to three dimensions. The extension is feasible because the three-dimensional (3D) problem can be decomposed into a number of small independent problems, one for any pair of wavenumbers k _x ,  k _y . The extension preserves the above-mentioned advantages. The parameters of the estimated model are affected differently by noise: the analysis of the input/output noise transfer function demonstrates that the high spatial frequencies of the velocity distributions are the components that are most affected by noise; thus, the algorithm includes a gradual damping of the higher wavenumbers of the velocity parameter. Although the WIM 3D algorithm requires a larger amount of RAM compared with other standard approaches, considerable reduction in CPU run time can be achieved as every wavenumber pair can be treated as an independent linear problem.