Computerised development control and approval system for City Hall of Kuala Lumpur

This paper will discuss the computerised development control and approval system being developed for the Planning and Development Control Department, City Hall of Kuala Lumpur, with stress on the GIS architecture developed within the system. The prospects and challenges towards implementation of the system are also discussed.     

Optimization of slope angle and its seismic stability: A case study for the proposed open pit coalmine in Phulbari, NW Bangladesh

The present study reflects upon the results of substantial program of two-dimensional Finite Element Method （FEM） numerical analyses of the open pit that links to slope angle optimization associated with the safety factor of the pit slope of a coal mine in Bangladesh. In the present analyses, two types of models have been presented. The first model estimates safety factor without seismic effect on the overall pit slope of the model; the second model incorporates safety factor with seismic stability of the model. The calculated optimum slope angle of the first model is 31% with a rational safety factor of 1.51, prior to the seismic effect. However, the value is reduced to 0.93, 0.82, and 0.72, after we applies the seismic effect in the second model with M6, M6.5, and M7, respectively. Finally, our modeling results emphasize that for the case of the proposed Phulbari coalmine, there is extremely high prospect for causing massive slope failure along the optimum pit slope angle with 31% if the mine area felt seismic shaking, like the Sikkim （in northern India） earthquake with M6.9 on September 18, 2011.     

Effects of bottom bracings on torsional dynamic characteristics of horizontally curved twin I-girder bridges with different curvatures

Curved twin I-girder bridges (CTIGBs) have low torsional stiffness that makes them vulnerable to dynamic loads.This study investigates the effects of bottom bracings on the torsional dynamic characteri...     

Seasonal variations in temperature,salinity and density in the southern coastal waters of the Caspian Sea

Variability in water temperature, salinity and density was investigated based on field measurements near Anzali Port, in the Southern Caspian Sea in 2008. Seasonal changes of seawater properties were mainly observed through the upper 100 m layer, while below this layer seasonal variations of the parameters were minor. Vertical structure of the temperature in the southern coastal waters of the Caspian Sea is characterized by a significant seasonal thermocline between 20–50 m depths with vertical variation in temperature about 16°C in midsummer (August). Decrease of the thermocline occurs with the general cooling of the air and sea surface water, and deepening of the mixed layer during late of autumn and winter. Seasonal averages of the salinity were estimated in a range of 12.27–12.37 PSU. The structure of thermocline and pycnocline indicated agreement between changes of temperature and density of seawater. Seasonal pycnocline was observed in position of the thermocline layer.     

Litterfall of three subtropical mangrove species in the family Rhizophoraceae

This study was conducted to evaluate and compare the litterfall dynamics of three mangrove species in the family Rhizophoraceae: Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia obovata, and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, in Manko Wetland, Okinawa Island, Japan. Over 3?years, these species showed highest litterfall of leaves and stipules in summer and the lowest litterfall in winter. Litterfall of flowers and fruits peaked in July for R. stylosa, and in August and again in October?CNovember for K. obovata. Litterfall of flower buds, flowers, and propagules occurred throughout the year for B. gymnorrhiza, but was highest in summer. Litterfall of propagules was highest in September and May for R. stylosa and K. obovata, respectively. Kendall??s coefficient of concordance revealed that the monthly changes for leaf, stipule, flower, and fruit litterfalls of all the species were strongly and significantly concordant among the years. The conversion rate of flowers to propagules was 2.3?% in R. stylosa, 5.9?% in K. obovata, and 10.3?% in B. gymnorrhiza. Total annual litterfall in R. stylosa was significantly different from K. obovata and B. gymnorrhiza; however, the latter two species showed no significant differences. Leaves contributed the most to the total litterfall of all three species, and represented 58.4, 54.0, and 50.4?% of the total litterfall for R. stylosa, K. obovata, and B. gymnorrhiza, respectively. Except for branches and flower bud primordia, all other components of litterfall had clear annual cycles for all three species. Rhizophora stylosa and K. obovata showed a negative correlation between leaf production and reproductive organ production, but B. gymnorrhiza tended to increase leaf production with increasing reproductive organ production.     

Agrobiodiversity of Muda Rice Agroecosystem:A case Study in Largest Granary Area of Malaysia

A survey was carried out at the largest rice cultivation area in Peninsular Malaysia,the Muda rice agroecosystem.The main objective of this study was to document the overall biodiversity associated with this unique agroecosystem by using a combination of sampling techniques in order to record different groups of fauna and flora.The total number of biota recorded and identified from the rice field ecosystem during the study period consisted of 46 species of zooplankton,81 species of aquatic insects,5 species of rodents,7 species of bats,87 species of birds,11 species of fishes and 58 species of weeds.A long-term study should be carried out as more species are expected to be recorded when more of the Muda rice agroecosystem area has been sampled to obtain sufficient information on the Muda rice agrobiodiversity.     

Synoblique convergent and extensional deformation and metamorphism in the Neoproterozoic rocks along Wadi Fatira shear zone, Northern Eastern Desert, Egypt

The Wadi Fatira area occurs at the southern margin of the Northern Eastern Desert (NED) of Egypt and is occupied by highly sheared metavolcanics tectonically alternated with banded iron formations and intruded by Barud tonalite–granodiorite, post-tectonic gabbroic and granitic intrusions. Detailed structural investigation showed that the schists and migmatitic amphibolites are formed by shearing in metavolcanics and syntectonic Barud tonalite–granodiorite due to movement along the Wadi Fatira shear zone (WFSZ). This shear zone starts as a NW–SE striking fault along Wadi Barud Al Azraq and the Eastern part of Wadi Fatira and turns to a E–W trending fault to the north of Wadi Fatira. Microstructural shear sense indicators such as asymmetric geometry of porphyroclasts such as σ-type and asymmetric folds deforming fine-grained bands which are frequently found around porphyroclasts indicate sinistral sense of shearing along the WFSZ. This shear zone is characterized by transitions from local convergence to local extension along their E–W and NW–SE trending parts, respectively. The NW–SE part of the WFSZ is of about 200 m in width and characterized by synmagmatic extensional features such as intrusion of synkinematic tonalite, creation of NE–SE trending normal faults, and formation of migmatitic amphibolites and schlieric tonalites. This part of the shear zone is metamorphosed under synthermal peak metamorphic conditions (725°C at 2–4 kbar). The E–W compressional part of the WFSZ is up to 3 km in width and composed of hornblende, chlorite, actinolite, and biotite schists together with sheared intermediate and acidic metatuffs. Contractional and transpressional structures in this part of the WFSZ include E–W trending major asymmetrical anticline and syncline, nearly vertical foliation and steeply pitching stretching lineations, NNE dipping minor thrusts, and minor intrafolial folds with their hinges parallel to the stretching lineation. P–T estimates using mineral analyses of plagioclase and hornblende from schists and foliated metavolcanics indicate prograde metamorphism under medium-grade amphibolite facies (500–600°C at 3–7 kbar) retrogressed to low-grade greenschist facies (227–317°C). The foliation in Barud tonalite–granodiorite close to the E–W part of the WFSZ runs parallel to the plane of shearing and the tonalite show numerous magmatic flow structures overprinted by folding and ductile shearing. The WFSZ is similar to structures resulted from combined simple shear and orthogonal shortening of oblique transpressive shear zones and their sense of movement is comparable with the characteristics of the Najd Fault System.     

Simulation of streamflow with statistically downscaled daily rainfall using a hybrid of wavelet and GAMLSS models

ABSTRACT

A rainfall–streamflow model is proposed, in which a downscaled rainfall series and its wavelet-based decomposed sub-series at optimum lags were used as covariates in GAMLSS (Generalized Additive Model in Location, Scale and Shape). GAMLSS is applied in climate change impact assessment using CMIP5 general climate model to simulate daily streamflow in three sub-catchments of the Onkaparinga catchment, South Australia. The Spearman correlation and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency between the observed and median simulated streamflow values were high and comparable for both the calibration and validation periods for each sub-catchment. We show that the GAMLSS has the capability to capture non-stationarity in the rainfall–streamflow process. It was also observed that the use of wavelet-based decomposed rainfall sub-series with optimum lags as covariates in the GAMLSS model captures the underlying physics of the rainfall–streamflow process. The development and application of an empirical rainfall–streamflow model that can be used to assess the impact of catchment-scale climate change on streamflow is demonstrated.     

Baseline metals pollution profile of tropical estuaries and coastal waters of the Straits of Malacca

The status report on metal pollution in tropical estuaries and coastal waters is important to understand potential environmental health hazards. Detailed baseline measurements were made on physicochemical parameters (pH, temperature, redox potential, electrical conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solid), major ions (Na, Ca, Mg, K, HCO₃, Cl, SO₄ and NO₃) and metals concentrations (²⁷Al, ⁷⁵As, ¹³⁸Ba, ⁹Be, ¹¹¹Cd, ⁵⁹Co, ⁶³Cu, ⁵²Cr, ⁵⁷Fe, ⁵⁵Mn, ⁶⁰Ni, ²⁰⁸Pb, ⁸⁰Se, ⁶⁶Zn) at estuaries and coastal waters along the Straits of Malacca. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to reveal potential pollution sources. Seven principal components were extracted with relation to pollution contribution from minerals-related parameters, natural and anthropogenic sources. The output from this study will generate a profound understanding on the metal pollution status and pollution risk of the estuaries and coastal system.