For millions of gamers and students alike, city building games (CBGs) like SimCity and the more recent Cities: Skylines present a compelling initial introduction to the world of urban planning and development. As such, these games have great potential to shape players’ understanding and expectations of real urban patterns and processes. In this article I argue that, despite the fundamental role of agency in CBGs and other sandbox type games, players are constrained by the developers’ assumptions and biases regarding how cities ought to look and function. Of particular consideration is the tendency among CBGs to emphasize personal transportation over transit, autocentric over mixed-use development, and simplified social dynamics over a more realistic model. 相似文献
AbstractIf management of water resources is to fully take into account the requirements of the environment, it will benefit from quantitative predictions of the ecological effects of river flow alterations. A significant relationship between flow reductions caused by groundwater abstraction and ecological conditions (as measured by relevant biotic indices) has been shown in streams in the midlands of England. In this article, we combine this relationship with hydrological indices derived from calibrated regional groundwater models to assess river reaches that are likely to be ecologically impacted by abstraction and might consequently be at risk of failing to meet EC Water Framework Directive standards. We demonstrate the application of this method within the framework of the Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) approach to making water resource decisions. We provide examples of how this approach can be used to assess the implications of different groundwater abstraction scenarios for river water bodies.
Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Guest editor M. AcremanCitation Streetly, M.J., Bradley, D.C., Streetly, H.R., Young, C., Cadman D., and Banham, A., 2014. Bringing groundwater models to LIFE: a new way to assess water resource management options. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 578–593. 相似文献
While multiple species of macroalgae and seagrass can benefit from elevated CO2 concentrations, competition between such organisms may influence their ultimate responses. This study reports on experiments performed with a Northwest Atlantic species of the macroalgae, Ulva, and the seagrass, Zostera marina, grown under ambient and elevated levels of pCO2, and subjected to competition with each other. When grown individually, elevated pCO2 significantly increased growth rates and productivity of Ulva and Zostera, respectively, beyond control treatments (by threefold and 27%, respectively). For both primary producers, significant declines in tissue δ13C signatures suggested that increased growth and productivity were associated with a shift from use of HCO3? toward CO2 use. When grown under higher pCO2, Zostera experienced significant increases in leaf and rhizome carbon content as well as significant increases in leaf carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, while sediments within which high CO2Zostera were grown had a significantly higher organic carbon content. When grown in the presence of Ulva; however, above- and below-ground productivity and tissue nitrogen content of Zostera were significantly lower, revealing an antagonistic interaction between elevated CO2 and the presence of Ulva. The presence of Zostera had no significant effect on the growth of Ulva. Collectively, this study demonstrates that while Ulva and Zostera can each individually benefit from elevated pCO2 levels, the ability of Ulva to grow more rapidly and inhibit seagrass productivity under elevated pCO2, coupled with accumulation of organic C in sediments, may offset the potential benefits for Zostera within high CO2 environments. 相似文献
Borehole geophysical logging of four production wells completed in Precambrian metagranite in Fauquier County, Virginia (USA), was conducted to characterize stratigraphy, collect water-bearing fracture orientations and describe vertical hydraulic gradients in the vicinity of each borehole. Long-term (48–90 h) single-well pump test data were reevaluated for each well to better characterize this locally important aquifer system. Single-well aquifer test analyses indicate mid-to-late-time infinite acting radial flow conditions within the fractured rock aquifer, followed by increasing late-time contribution of stored groundwater from recharge boundaries. Later-time pump test results are believed to indicate that water-bearing fractures within the metagranite are ultimately recharged by groundwater stored within the regolith. Assumptions about the presence of a recharge boundary sourced by the regolith were tested with a simple groundwater flow model that was calibrated to observed drawdown data associated with one of the long-term pump tests. This study identifies fracturing associated with shear-related metamorphic fabrics in the wellbore and demonstrates the significance of these fractures as mechanisms for accessing groundwater. Results from this investigation indicate that shear-related metamorphic fabrics can be important structures for integrating transmissive fracture networks within the Marshall Metagranite and possibly within other Blue Ridge basement rocks possessing similar metamorphic history.
Nutrient sources of San Quintin Bay, a coastal lagoon affected by coastal upwelling off Baja California (Mexico), were traced using generalized additive (mixed) models (GAMM) to the stable nitrogen isotopic composition, C:N and N content of two co-occurring macrophytes (the macroalgae Ulva spp. and the seagrass Zostera marina). The geochemical tracers followed a spatial trend that partly responded to the long-term nutrient gradient from the ocean towards the interior of the bay. N content in Z. marina and Ulva spp. decreased linearly (while C:N increased) towards the middle section of the bay to concentration levels that indicate potential N limitation for growth. Concurrently midway into the bay (6–9 km), the δ15N of both macrophytes showed a gradual enrichment in 15N reflecting progressive denitrification. The spatial pattern of δ15N and the decrease in C:N of the macrophytes towards the innermost section of the bay indicated an additional nonoceanic source of dissolved nitrogen in this zone. The similarity of the δ15N pattern of Z. marina and Ulva spp. implies that their δ15N composition is mainly controlled by the availability of N, in spite of the physiological differences between taxa. A better fit of GAMM to N content and C:N was obtained for Z. marina than for Ulva spp. indicating that the former delineate more steadily and smoothly the influence of upwelling along the spatial gradient. Nonetheless, Ulva spp. may be analyzed in combination with Z. marina to characterize the environmental conditions at the time of sampling. 相似文献