Remote sensing mapping of the regeneration of coastal natural habitats in Singapore: Implications for marine conservation in tropical cities

Rapid urbanization has resulted in the loss of coastal and marine habitats in cities worldwide. The effective conservation of urban coastal ecosystems requires detailed knowledge of their spatial distribution, necessitating high-resolution mapping. Our study produces a high-resolution coastal and marine habitat map and shoreline map for the tropical city-state of Singapore created through pixel-based supervised classification of satellite imagery, bathymetry data and expert ground knowledge. These maps can be used as a base reference for multiple applications including ecological research, conservation and urban planning. They also help identifiy trends in the extent of key coastal habitats, providing insight into their differing levels of vulnerability to loss and potential for restoration to ensure long-term resilience. The method used for mapping shoreline typologies and resulting insights gained, can guide other rapidly urbanizing coastal cities on strategies to assemble useful spatial knowledge for effective conservation of their urban coastal ecosystems.     

Application of an analytical hierarchical process approach for landslide susceptibility mapping in A Luoi district,Thua Thien Hue Province,Vietnam

A Luoi is a Vietnamese–Laotian border district situated in the western part of Thua Thien Hue province, central Vietnam, where landslides occur frequently and seriously affect local living conditions. This study focuses on the spatial analysis of landslide susceptibility in this 263-km² area. To analyze landslide manifestation in the study area, causative factor maps are derived of slope angle, weathering, land use, geomorphology, fault density, geology, drainage distance, elevation, and precipitation. The analytical hierarchical process approach is used to combine these maps for landslide susceptibility mapping. A landslide susceptibility zonation map with four landslide susceptibility classes, i.e. low, moderate, high, and very high susceptibility for landsliding, is derived based on the correspondence with an inventory of observed landslides. The final map indicates that about 37% of the area is very highly susceptible for landsliding and about 22% is highly susceptible, which means that more than half of the area should be considered prone to landsliding.     

Regional-scale landslide risk assessment on Mt. Umyeon using risk index estimation

Landslides - The frequency of landslides and their magnitude are increasing worldwide due to global climate change, causing damage to people and infrastructure. Therefore, landslide risk assessment...     

Modeling regional sediment transport and shoreline response in the vicinity of tidal inlets on the Long Island coast,United States

A new numerical model was developed to simulate regional sediment transport and shoreline response in the vicinity of tidal inlets based on the one-line theory combined with the reservoir analogy approach for volumetric evolution of inlet shoals. Sand bypassing onshore and sheltering effects on wave action from the inlet bar and shoals were taken into account. The model was applied to unique field data from the south coast of Long Island, United States, including inlet opening and closure. The simulation area extended from Montauk Point to Fire Island Inlet, including Shinnecock and Moriches Inlets. A 20-year long time series of hindcast wave data at three stations along the coast were used as input data to the model. The capacity of the inlet shoals and bars to store sand was estimated based on measured cross-sectional areas of the inlets as well as on comprehensive bathymetric surveys of the areas around the inlet. Several types of sediment sources and sinks were represented, including beach fills, groin systems, jetty blocking, inlet bypassing, and flood shoal and ebb shoal feeding. The model simulations were validated against annual net longshore transport rates reported in the literature, measured shorelines, and recorded sediment volumes in the flood and ebb shoal complexes. Overall, the model simulations were in good agreement with the measured data.     

Layered tektites of southeast Asia: Field studies in central Laos and Vietnam

Abstract— We have recovered 18 kg of layered tektites from 10 tektite-bearing localities in Laos and central Vietnam, including 5 localities around the town of Muong Nong (Laos). Several of these deposits originally contained several hundred kilograms of layered tektite fragments, and one fragmented mass may have been as large as 1000 kg. This is the largest single deposit of tektites yet reported. In this region, layered tektite fragments are found in isolated clusters usually associated with a pebbly laterite horizon that is 0–1 m below the surface. Near Khe Sanh, Vietnam, we estimate the abundance of layered tektite fragments to be ～100 g/m². This is greater than five times the abundance estimated for northeast Thailand (Fiske et al., 1996). In a region that extends from northeast Thailand, through central Laos, and into central Vietnam, we found only layered tektites, which confirmed the existence of a large (>50 000 km²) subfield of the Australasian strewn field with only layered tektites. The east-west extent of the “layered-only” subfield is well constrained, but little field data exist to constrain its north-south extent.     

Long-term thermo-mechanical behavior of energy pile in dry sand

A small-scale pile has been developed in the laboratory to investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of energy piles subjected to a significant number of thermal cycles. The pile (20 mm external diameter), installed in dry sand, was initially loaded at its head to 0, 20, 40 and 60% of its ultimate bearing capacity (500 N). At the end of each loading step, 30 heating/cooling cycles were applied. The long-term behavior of the pile was observed in terms of head settlement, axial force profile, soil and pile temperature, and stress in soil. The results evidence the irreversible settlement of the pile head induced by thermal cycles under constant load head. In addition, the incremental irreversible settlement that accumulates after each thermal cycle decreases when the number of cycles increases. The evolution of irreversible pile head settlement versus number of cycles can be reasonably predicted by an asymptotic equation.     

Sea urchin development in a global change hotspot, potential for southerly migration of thermotolerant propagules

The distribution of the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma coincides with the southeast Australia global change hot spot where marine ecosystems are warming significantly due to changes in ocean circulation. To address questions on future vulnerabilities, the thermotolerance of the planktonic life phase of H. erythrogramma was investigated in the climate and regionally relevant setting of projected near-future (2100) ocean warming. Experimental treatments ranged from 18 to 26 °C, with 26 °C representing +3-4 °C above recent ambient sea-surface temperatures. Developmental success across all stages (gastrula, 24 h; larva, 72 h; juvenile, 120 h) decreased with increasing temperature. Development was tolerant to a +1-2 °C increase above ambient, but significant deleterious effects were evident at +3-4 °C. However, larvae that developed through the early bottleneck of normal development at 26 °C metamorphosed successfully. The inverse relationship between temperature and planktonic larval duration (PLD) was seen in a 25% decrease in the PLD of H. erythrogramma at 24 and 26^oC. Ocean warming may be advantageous to a subset of larvae through early settlement and reduction of the vulnerable planktonic period. This positive effect of temperature may help buffer the negative effects of ocean warming. In parallel studies with progeny derived from northern (Coffs Harbour) and southern (Sydney) H. erythrogramma, northern embryos had significantly higher thermotolerance. This provides the possibility that H. erythrogramma populations might keep up with a warming world through poleward migration of thermotolerant propagules, facilitated by the strong southward flow of the East Australian Current. It is uncertain whether H. erythrogramma populations at the northern range of this species, with no source of immigrants, will have the capacity to persist in a warm ocean. Due to its extensive latitudinal distribution, its potential developmental thermotolerance and independence of its lecithotrophic larvae from exogenous food and the need to make a functional skeleton, H. erythrogramma may be particularly robust to ocean change.     

越南西北部莱州地区新生代煌斑岩地球化学特征及其成因

越南西北部菜州地区出露的新生代煌斑岩岩脉对理解特提斯造山带东段的深部岩石圈特征和演化具有重要的地质意义.本文报道莱州地区煌斑岩的元素地球化学和Sr-Nd-Pb同位素组成特征,探讨其岩石成因.该地区煌斑岩属于钙碱性,钾质-超钾质煌斑岩特征.地球化学特征对比表明,菜州地区煌斑岩与哀牢山断裂带碱性岩具有相似的地球化学特征,但与海南和越南南部火山岩存在明显差异.分析结果表明,煌斑岩具有高的87Sr/86Sr比值、低143Nd/144Nd比值和高放射性成因Pb同位素组成特征.岩石的微量元素组成特征指示,形成煌斑岩的地幔源区可能经历过流体交代作用或沉积物组分的加入.低208Pb*/206Pb*比值暗示地幔源区富集事件是近期发生的,可能与晚古生代-早中生代印支地块向扬子地块俯冲事件有关.