What are the transitions of woodlands at the landscape level? Change trajectories of forest,non-forest and reclamation woody vegetation elements in a mining landscape in North-western Czech Republic

This study answers the following research questions: 1) What are the change trajectories of woody vegetation elements at the landscape level? 2) What are the differences in change trajectories amongst the various categories of forest, non-forest and reclamation woody vegetation? 3) How do the change trajectories differ in mining and non-mining landscapes? The study area, measuring 209.6 km², is located in the north-western part of the Czech Republic and may be broken down into 76.8 km² of mining landscape and 132.8 km² of non-mining landscape. Brown coal mining began in this region during the second half of the 18th century and led to the radical transformation of the landscape, including woodlands, during the second half of the 20th century. The source data for this study was obtained from the original stable cadastre maps (1842) and the landscape field mapping performed in 2010. The various woody vegetation elements (forest, non-forest, and reclamation woody plants) and land use/cover (LULC) categories were identified. The GIS symmetrical difference tool was subsequently used to perform an overlay analysis for the individual woody vegetation elements in order to study the change trajectories and to obtain information about the woodlands that have remained unchanged (continuous), the ones that have disappeared (extinct), and the ones that have newly appeared in the landscape (recent). In the case of the non-mining landscape, the total proportion of woodlands has increased (from 17 to 32%), but there has been a decline in the overall volume of forest woody plants found in these areas (from 93 to 74%). As far as the mining landscape is concerned, there has also been an increase in the area covered by woodlands (from 10 to 20%), however, the proportion of forest woody plants has decreased to a much greater extent (from 90 to 31%). From the perspective of extinct woody vegetation, 23.3% of all types of woodlands in the mining landscape may be classified as such, as compared to 10.8% in the non-mining landscape. The primary causes of this decline are mining activities and newly built-up areas. More continuous woody vegetation may be found in the non-mining landscape (42.1%) as compared to the mining landscape (15.4%). Recent woody vegetation, which has primarily replaced grasslands and partially arable land, prevails in both the mining (61.3%) as well as the non-mining (47.1%) landscapes. Different categories of woodlands (forest, non-forest, and reclamation woody vegetation elements) exhibit various change dynamics due to their different structure and the functions they serve. At the most basic level, there has been an overall increase in the occurrence of woodlands in the studied areas. However, once GIS spatial analysis is applied it is possible to see more complex processes in the development of woodland areas as characterised by gains and losses, and it is possible to identify mining and agricultural extensification as the two most significant factors behind the historical changes. Mining leads to a direct decrease in the area of woodlands; conversely, the spontaneous succession of vegetation resulting from agricultural extensification and forest reclamation facilitates woodland recovery. Forest reclamation and reforestation are essential on order to ensure the time continuity of woodlands in both types of landscape, i.e. mining and non-mining. The study presented in this paper proves that it is relevant to analyse the changes occurring in different woodland categories separately. The same methodology may be applied when studying the change dynamics of other important landscape elements, such as wood pastures and wetlands.     

A temporal-contextual analysis of urban dynamics using location-based data

The dynamics of urban activities in Jerusalem were studied by analyzing a large-scale semantically rich movement dataset. The semantic enrichment process was based on coupling movement trajectories sampled by GPS loggers with contextual data derived from trajectory-based digital activity dairies. Although the utility of such procedures in generating trajectory-specific semantic data was noted before, their application stays limited. In this paper, we promote the utilization of these procedures by demonstrating that they are not only feasible but also important for mobility studies. We discuss the characteristics of the semantic enrichment process and the manner by which it was applied within the large-scale analysis of urban dynamics. This application uncovered a time- and context-dependent array of centers in Jerusalem, resulting in a semantically rich characterization of urban dynamics. Such characterization provides otherwise unobtainable insights crucial for urban analysis. Wider implications for movement studies may be derived, as this application demonstrates how diary-based enrichment approaches hold the potential to advance bridging the semantic gap in mobility research.     

Projects,people, professions: Trajectories of learning through a mega-event (the London 2012 case)

Planning and organization of large-scale events such as Olympic Games are accomplished by several specialized project organizations, in charge of securing finances, completing the infrastructures, negotiating with multiple stake-holders and the day-to-day management of the actual event. These organizations have to cope with a key challenge. Due to their inherently temporary nature they cannot provide the specialized knowledge and specific “project capabilities” (Davies and Brady) on their own, but have to mobilize them from the past and from outside their boundaries, e.g. from previous events or other mega-projects in the host city. Rather than in permanent organizations, then, the knowledge on preparing and performing mega-events is primarily sedimented and embodied in professionals.Drawing on the planning and organization of the London Olympics 2012 as empirical case, the paper addresses, on the one hand, this particular mobilization process. On the other, it looks at how this process is intertwined with three different trajectories that both affect and are affected by the mega-event: the trajectory of the project that aims to recruit necessary skills; the trajectory of individual persons who perceive working for the Olympics as a rewarding episode in their careers; the trajectory of professional communities that expect learning benefits for the construction and project management industry in the UK.     

基于瓦斯抽采穿层钻孔的瓦斯地质勘查研究

针对回采工作面煤与瓦斯突出事故多发于煤厚变化带和隐伏小构造附近,研究了利用大量瓦斯抽采钻孔探明工作面瓦斯地质信息的技术途径。结合试验煤层工作面抽采钻孔施工设计,对抽采钻孔信息进行处理、建立数学模型,利用计算机作图软件对煤层厚度变化规律、隐伏小断层立体呈现,从而达到利用穿层抽采钻孔探明工作面前方隐伏瓦斯地质信息的目的。试验结果表明,工作面煤厚变化部位、遭遇断层位置与预测结果基本一致,回采阶段未出现瓦斯异常情况。     

浅析油气管道短距离水平定向钻穿越技术的应用

油气管道穿越短距离障碍时,一般穿越技术存在工程投资高、协调难度大、环境破坏严重、施工周期长、施工风险高等问题,因此探索一种技术上可行、经济上合理和方便实施的新的（或改善的）施工方式具有较好的经济和社会效益。短距离水平定向钻穿越是通过改善规范要求的技术参数以及施工措施以达到可实施目的的一种施工方式。改善后的施工方式应用灵活、技术措施安全可行,且能缩短工期、节省工程投资。     

Comparative analysis of land use/cover change trajectories and their driving forces in two small watersheds in the western Loess Plateau of China

To prevent soil loss and achieve better ecological environments, soil conservation measures have been taken during the past decades in the western Loess Plateau of China. In this paper, a case study was taken in Luoyu valley and Lver valley, two sub-watersheds of Xihe watershed and comparison was carried out between them. The main object of this study is to monitor land use/cover changes in the two similar small watersheds utilizing SPOT5 imageries by object-oriented human–computer interactive classification method, further develop the method of spatio-temporal analysis of land use/cover change by using pattern metrics of change trajectories and relative land use suitability index (R) in smaller watersheds, and make comparisons between the two similar small watersheds, taking water and soil conservation measures into consideration. Results show that combining GIS and RS, this method can be perfectly applied to make comparisons between different small watersheds with similar geographical backgrounds. And land use/cover spatiotemporal dynamic change characteristics can be preferably expressed by pattern metrics of change trajectories and R values based on topographical data. Different emphases have been laid according to their own geological backgrounds in the two watersheds and human activities have different effects on the landscapes of the two watersheds. The main change pattern is from slope farmland to terrace (322, the largest in Luoyu valley) or to economic fruit forest (344, the largest in Lver valley). R value of every slope grade in both of the two watersheds drops with the rising of slope degree on the whole and it shows that there is still much to do for people in the two watersheds in consideration that all the R values are still lower than 0.7.     

Violence Change and Cohort Trajectories: Baltimore Neighborhoods, 1990-20001

Whereas the relationship between poverty and violence is incontrovertible in the American city, demographic relationships at the neighborhood level are relatively poorly understood. Patterns of violence and population change are examined at the census tract level in Baltimore, Maryland across the decade from 1990 to 2000. Aggravated assault and homicide are combined and used as a composite indicator of serious violence. Population data are examined for selected tracts representative of anomalous outliers experiencing population decline but increased violence. The data are broken down into five-year cohorts represented graphically at their beginning (1990) and end (2000) points. The analysis indicates that some neighborhoods have experienced collapse of youthful cohorts. Normally, a decline in youthful population would predict a reduction in crime, but this analysis suggests that at the neighborhood scale criminogenic processes may affect neighborhoods somewhat independently of their demographic attributes. Most notably, population decline at the neighborhood level may be accompanied by crime increase, contrary to macrolevel theoretical expectation.     

Synoptic conditions of heavy snowfalls in Europe

Synoptic conditions of heavy snowfalls at four stations in Europe (Oslo, Bremen, Smolensk and Budapest) were analyzed using daily data of snow cover depth from 50 winter seasons (1960/1961–2009/2010). Composite maps of the sea level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height means and anomalies were presented for the days with an increase in snow depth by ≥10 cm, for each station separately. In the same way, maps were presented for the 850 hPa temperature and the precipitable water content. Additionally, 48 h back trajectories of air masses for the chosen days with the highest amount of snowfall were constructed, using the NOAA HYSPLIT model. Negative anomalies of sea level pressure and 500 hPa heights, which correspond to low‐pressure systems spreading over Europe, are prerequisites for the occurrence of heavy snowfalls at each analyzed location. In Budapest, heavy snowfalls appear as a result of cyclonic cold fronts from the Mediterranean Sea. Another typical location of snow‐bringing low‐pressure systems is the Baltic Sea region. Negative pressure anomalies over the North Atlantic with a low‐pressure centre over the Norwegian Sea cause snowfalls in Oslo. There are two main sources of air masses bringing abundant snowfalls in Europe: the Atlantic region and Mediterranean. According to back trajectories, the humid air masses are transported over long distances and on the way they are shifted from the low troposphere in the source regions to the upper layers.     

基于Chebyshev走时逼近的三维多次反射射线计算

在利用有限差分等基于网格的数值分析方法解地震波走时所满足的程函方程时,由于速度模型的网格化离散等原因,会使走时在各网格节点之间不具有计算射线路径所要求的光滑性,即走时在邻近网格节点之间不具有连续的一阶导数。因此,直接利用网格节点走时计算射线路径会使最终的射线路径不光滑。为解决这个问题,已有研究者提出了基于B样条插值的逆向梯度方案（法）。然而,在速度发生突变时,B样条逆向梯度法所计算出的射线路径会具有较大的误差。针对这个问题,首先采用适合于解最小零偏差逼近及最佳平方逼近问题的Chebyshev多项式取代B样条对来自于分区多级计算方案的网格节点走时进行最佳逼近,得到在最小平方意义下的最优走时公式;然后采用与B样条逆向梯度法类似的计算过程得到光滑的射线路径。数值实验表明,利用Chebyshev多项式逼近走时可以得到具有很高精度的多次反射射线路径,在多次波偏移成像研究中具有潜在的价值。     

Incorporation of intra-city human mobility into urban growth simulation: A case study in Beijing

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The effective modeling of urban growth is crucial for urban planning and analyzing the causes of land-use dynamics. As urbanization has slowed down in most...