Vulnerability Assessment at Village Level Due to Tides,Surges and Wave Setup

An assessment of cyclone risk and vulnerability at the village level has evolved, which is an important component of the information system for local level development action plans for preparedness and mitigation. Here, a case study for the Nellore district along the east coast of India is considered. Using maximum probable surges along the coast, total water level (TWL) due to the combined effect of surge, tide, and wind wave is computed for the most vulnerable coastal villages of the Nellore district due to any tropical cyclones. The computations suggest that the TWL along the Nellore coast varies from 2 m in the south to 4 m in the north.     

Spatial decision support applications based on three-dimensional city models

The basic mathematic models, such as the statistic model, the time-serial model, the spatial dynamic model etc., and some typical analysis methods based on 3DCM are proposed and discussed. A few typical spatial decision making methods integrating the spatial analysis and the basic mathematical models are also introduced, e.g. visual impact assessment, dispersion of noise immissions, base station plan for wireless communication. In addition, a new idea of expectation of further applications and add-in-value service of 3DCM is promoted. As an example, the sunshine analysis is studied and some helpful conclusions are drawn.     

水平风作用下雨滴水平速度的数值仿真

为了研究雨滴在水平风作用下的水平移动情况,在分析水平风作用下雨滴受力情况的基础上,通过对曳力系数与雷诺数对应关系的研究,采用数值仿真的方法分别对海平面大气条件和不同大气条件下雨滴水平运动速度进行仿真.结果表明:当有水平风作用时,雨滴的水平运动速度不等于风的速度,而是随雨滴直径和水平风速的变化而变化;在水平风作用下,雨滴的水平移动速度可以在较短的时间内(一般小于15 s)达到一个稳定的值;在水平风速相同的情况下,气压越高、温度越低,雨滴达到平衡时的水平移动末速度相对越大,反之则越小.这些结论对基于图像采集原理的光学降水自动观测仪器进行雨滴图像拼合有重要的应用价值.     

Soil erosion in the Anthropocene: Research needs

Soil erosion is a geomorphological and, at the same time, a land degradation process that may cause environmental and property damage, loss of livelihoods and services as well as social and economic disruption. Erosion not only lowers soil quality on‐site, but causes also significant sediment‐related problems off‐site. Given the large number of research papers on this topic, one might therefore conclude that we know now almost everything about soil erosion and its control so that little new knowledge can be added. This conclusion can be refuted by pointing to some major research gaps. There is a need for more research attention to (1) improved understanding of both natural and anthropogenic soil erosion processes and their interactions, (2) scaling up soil erosion processes and rates in space and time, and (3) innovative techniques and strategies to prevent soil erosion or reduce erosion rates. This is illustrated with various case studies from around the world. If future research addresses these research gaps, we will (1) better understand processes and their interactions operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales, predict their rates as well as their on‐site and off‐site impacts, which is academically spoken rewarding but also crucial for better targeting erosion control measures, and (2) we will be in a better position to select the most appropriate and effective soil erosion control techniques and strategies which are highly necessary for a sustainable use of soils in the Anthropocene. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of the wave climate for the southern Brazilian shelf

The main objective of this study is the characterization of the wave climate in the Southern Brazilian Shelf (SBS) based on a thorough review of existing field data and on numerical modeling experiments. A quantitative knowledge about the wave climate of this area is important to understand the mechanisms driving episodic mud bank attachments to the sandy shore, and the interaction of these banks with the flow and waves. The statistical analysis of existent data on the wave climate throughout the SBS indicates that the predominant wave directions are 100° and 160° (E–SE), with wave heights varying between 1 and 1.50 m. The wave period varies between 6 and 14 s, with predominance of mean wave period of 8 s (sea conditions) and 12 s (swell conditions). The spectral wave model SWAN version 40.41 [Booij, N., Haagsma, I.J.G., Holthuijsen, L.H., Kieftenburg, A.T.M.M., Ris, R.C., van der Westhuysen, A.J., Zijlema, M., 2004. SWAN Cycle III Version 40.41 Users Manual, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, p. 118, http://fluidmechanics.tudelft.nl/swan/index.htm] is used to simulate the wave climate for the region. Special attention is given to Cassino Beach, describing the wave climate observed during the Cassino Experiment, carried out in 2005. The verification of the standard SWAN model was carried out based on the comparison between numerical modeling results and available data of significant wave height, peak period, mean wave direction and energy density for the period relative to February of 1998. Results showed satisfactory model predictions of significant wave height and reasonably accurate predictions of peak spectral wave period and direction. The model performance is also considered satisfactory in the representation of the wave climate of the region when the wave spectrum has only one spectral peak, but presents limitations for bimodal wave spectrum. When two spectral peaks are observed, the SWAN model agrees with the spectral level observed in the low frequency, but underestimates the spectral level in the high-frequency band. When considering the presence of mud deposits in the area, model results predict that although the presence of mud attenuates most of the wave energy on the low frequency peak, it has a smaller effect in attenuating the wave energy on the high frequency peak.     

On crustal corrections in surface wave tomography

Mantle models from surface waves rely on good crustal corrections. We investigated how far ray theoretical and finite frequency approximations can predict crustal corrections for fundamental mode surface waves. Using a spectral element method, we calculated synthetic seismograms in transversely isotropic PREM and in the 3-D crustal model Crust2.0 on top of PREM, and measured the corresponding time-shifts as a function of period. We then applied phase corrections to the PREM seismograms using ray theory and finite frequency theory with exact local phase velocity perturbations from Crust2.0 and looked at the residual time-shifts. After crustal corrections, residuals fall within the uncertainty of measured phase velocities for periods longer than 60 and 80 s for Rayleigh and Love waves, respectively. Rayleigh and Love waves are affected in a highly non-linear way by the crustal type. Oceanic crust affects Love waves stronger, while Rayleigh waves change most in continental crust. As a consequence, we find that the imperfect crustal corrections could have a large impact on our inferences of radial anisotropy. If we want to map anisotropy correctly, we should invert simultaneously for mantle and crust. The latter can only be achieved by using perturbation theory from a good 3-D starting model, or implementing full non-linearity from a 1-D starting model.     

下击暴流的数值模拟研究

下击暴流是危害飞行安全的一种重要天气现象，特别是尺度为１—４ｋｍ的微下击暴流。为了了解下击暴流的发展过程，以及大气环境条件和云－降水微物理结构对下击暴流发生演变的影响，利用我们设计发展的非静力全弹性中尺度－γ模式，以一次发生了下击暴流的大气的温、湿、风实测资料为算例进行了数值模拟研究。计算结果给出了下击暴流发生发展的过程，以及在发展过程中各种物理量的变化，得出一些大气环境条件及水凝物粒子微结构对下击暴流发展的影响机理，有助于台站预报员掌握这种天气现象的出现和演变。     

中国近40年来雾的研究

自1958年以来,中国一直重视人工消雾试验和雾的物理学研究。文中总结了40余年来中国在人工消雾、雾的物理化学特性、雾生消物理过程研究等方面的成就,介绍了雾与生态环境之间的紧密关系及雾数值模式研究的发展过程和取得的重要成果。雾是贴地层空气中悬浮着大量水滴或冰晶微粒而使水平能见距离降到1km以内的天气现象。它不仅对水陆空交通有不利影响,而且对工农业生产和人民身体健康也带来了严重危害。纯净雾水也有有利的一面,比如云南省南部的雾对生产高质量的茶叶及发展橡胶林十分有利。对一些干旱地区还可“雾中取水”。近些年来发现,雾与生态环境关系密切,研究雾可为保护生态环境提供科学依据。     

Empirical assessment of the critical time increment in explicit particulate discrete element method simulations

This contribution considers the critical time increment (Δt_crit) to achieve stable simulations using particulate discrete element method (DEM) codes that adopt a Verlet-type time integration scheme. The Δt_crit is determined by considering the maximum vibration frequency of the system. Based on a series of parametric studies, Δt_crit is shown to depend on the particle mass (m), the maximum contact stiffness (K_max), and the maximum particle coordination number (C_N,max). Empirical expressions relating Δt_crit to m, K_max, and C_N,max are presented; while strictly only valid within the range of simulation scenarios considered here, these can inform DEM analysts selecting appropriate Δt_crit values.     

SEAWAT 2000: modelling unstable flow and sensitivity to discretization levels and numerical schemes

A systematic analysis shows how results from the finite difference code SEAWAT are sensitive to choice of grid dimension, time step, and numerical scheme for unstable flow problems. Guidelines to assist in selecting appropriate combinations of these factors are suggested. While the SEAWAT code has been tested for a wide range of problems, the sensitivity of results to spatial and temporal discretization levels and numerical schemes has not been studied in detail for unstable flow problems. Here, the Elder-Voss-Souza benchmark problem has been used to systematically explore the sensitivity of SEAWAT output to spatio-temporal resolution and numerical solver choice. A grid size of 0.38 and 0.60% of the total domain length and depth respectively is found to be fine enough to deliver results with acceptable accuracy for most of the numerical schemes when Courant number (Cr) is 0.1. All numerical solvers produced similar results for extremely fine meshes; however, some schemes converged faster than others. For instance, the 3rd-order total variation-diminishing method (TVD3) scheme converged at a much coarser mesh than the standard finite difference methods (SFDM) upstream weighting (UW) scheme. The sensitivity of the results to Cr number depends on the numerical scheme as expected.