On a power series solution to the Boussinesq equation

For certain initial and boundary conditions the Boussinesq equation, a nonlinear partial differential equation describing the flow of water in unconfined aquifers, can be reduced to a boundary value problem for a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. Using Song et al.'s (2007) [7] approach, we show that for zero head initial condition and power-law flux boundary condition at the inlet boundary, the solution in the form of power series can be obtained with Barenblatt's (1990) [2] rescaling procedure applied to the power series solution obtained in Song et al. (2007) [7] for the power-law head boundary condition. Polynomial approximations can then be obtained by taking terms from the power series. Although for a small number of terms the newly obtained approximations may be worse than polynomial approximations obtained by other techniques, any desired accuracy can be achieved by taking more terms from the power series.     

Millennial-centennial scales climate changes of Holocene indicated by magnetic susceptibility of high-resolution section in Salawusu River valley,China

The upmost segment(Holocene series)of the Milanggouwan stratigraphic section(MGS1)in the Salawusu River valley shows 11 sedimentary cycles of dune sands and fluvio-lacustrine facies,or dune sands and paleosols.The analysis of the magnetic susceptibility of this segment suggests that there are 11 magnetic susceptibility cycles with the value alternating from low to high,in which the layers of the dune sands correspond to the lower value of the magnetic susceptibility and the layers of fluvio-lacustrine facies and paleosols correspond to the higher peaks.The study reveals that the low and high magnetic susceptibility values indicate the climate dominated by cold-arid winter monsoon and warm-humid summer monsoon of East Asia,respectively,and the study area has experienced at least 22 times of mil-lennial-centennial scales climate alternation from the cold-arid to the warm-humid during the Holocene.In terms of the time and the climate nature,the variations basically correspond to those of the North Atlantic and some records of cold-warm changes in China as well.They might be caused by the alternation of winter and summer monsoons in the Mu Us Desert induced by global climate fluctuations in the Holocene.     

Mixed Land Use and Obesity: An Empirical Comparison of Alternative Land Use Measures and Geographic Scales

Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Walkable neighborhoods, characterized as having the three Ds of walkability (population Density, land use Diversity, and pedestrian-friendly Design), have been identified as a potentially promising factor to prevent obesity for residents. Past studies examining the relationship between obesity and walkability vary in geographic scales of neighborhood definitions and methods of measuring the three Ds. To better understand potential influences of these sometimes arbitrary choices, we test how four types of alternative measures of land use diversity measured at three geographic scales relate to body mass index for 4,960 Salt Lake County adults. Generalized estimation equation models demonstrate that optimal diversity measures differed by gender and geographic scale and that integrating walkability measures at different scales improved the overall performance of models.     

Quantifying septic nitrogen loadings to receiving waters: Waquoit Bay,Massachusetts

Abstract

Waquoit Bay, a shallow bay on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is exhibiting symptoms of eutrophication, largely attributed to septic nitrogen inputs. This study assessed septic nitrogen inputs by linking a three-dimensional ground-water model, a geographic information system (GIS), and a customized spatio-temporal nitrogen loading program. Owing to the slow speed of ground-water movement, the bulk of septic nitrogen entering the bay lags behind development by nearly a decade. Even if residential development is held at 1989 levels, nitrogen input from septic systems wilt increase by 36% over the current levels. At full residential build-out (i.e., development), septic nitrogen loading will eventually increase to more than twice the current levels.     

Further developments of a fuzzy set map comparison approach

Fuzzy set map comparison offers a novel approach to map comparison.The approach is specifically aimed at categorical raster maps and applies fuzzy set techniques, accounting for fuzziness of location and fuzziness of category, to create a similarity map as well as an overall similarity statistic: the Fuzzy Kappa. To date, the calculation of the Fuzzy Kappa (or K-fuzzy) has not been formally derived, and the documented procedure was only valid for cases without fuzziness of category. Furthermore, it required an infinitely large, edgeless map. This paper presents the full derivation of the Fuzzy Kappa; the method is now valid for comparisons considering fuzziness of both location and category and does not require further assumptions. This theoretical completion opens opportunities for use of the technique that surpass the original intentions. In particular, the categorical similarity matrix can be applied to highlight or disregard differences pertaining to selected categories or groups of categories and to distinguish between differences due to omission and commission.     

Reducing the non-axisymmetry of a planetary dynamo and an application to saturn

Abstract

If a conducting fluid shell is undergoing spin-axisymmetric differential rotation and overlies the dynamo generating region of a planet then it is capable of greatly reducing the non-spin-axisymmetric components of the generated field, provided the appropriate magnetic Reynolds number is large. The model, closely related to the electromagnetic skin effect, is quantified and applied to Saturn. The observed small dipole tilt (～ 1°) of Saturn's magnetic field can be explained because of the presence of a stably stratified conducting layer overlying the dynamo region. This layer is a predicted consequence of the thermal evolution, arises because of the limited solubility of helium in metallic hydrogen (Stevenson, 1980), and appears to be required by the Voyager infrared observations indicating depletion of helium from Saturn's atmosphere. The much larger dipole tilt angles of Jupiter and the Earth indicate the absence of any such stable, differentially rotating layer with a large magnetic Reynolds number.     

Autumn NDVI contributes more and more to vegetation improvement in the growing season across the Tibetan Plateau

ABSTRACT

Detecting changes in vegetation, distinguishing the persistence of changes, and seeking their causes during multiple periods are important to gaining a deeper understanding of vegetation dynamics. Using the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) version NDVI_3g dataset in the Tibetan Plateau, the trends in the seasonal components of NDVI and their linkage with climatic factors were analyzed over 14 asymptotic periods of 18–31 years since 1982. Dynamic trends in vegetation experienced an obvious increase at regional scale, but the increases of vegetation activity mostly tended to stall or slow down as the studied time period was extended. At pixel scale, areas with significant browning significantly expanded over 14 periods for all seasons, but for significant greening significantly increased only in autumn. The changes of vegetation activity in spring were the most drastic among three seasons. Increased increments of NDVI in summer, spring, and autumn took turns being the main reason for the enhanced vegetation activity in the growing season in the nested 14 periods. Vegetation activity was mainly regulated by a thermal factor, and the dominant climatic drivers of vegetation growth varied across different seasons and regions. We speculate that the increase of NDVI will continue but the increments will decline in all seasons except autumn.     

黄河平滩流量的多时间尺度现象

受气候系统影响的水文系统具有多时间尺度变化规律。由于平滩流量与水沙条件变化关系密切,也必然会呈现出多时间尺度演变规律。基于黄河下游主要测站1950~2007年平滩流量及水沙资料,利用小波分析原理分析了平滩流量、流量和含沙量序列的多时间尺度变化特征,以及不同时间尺度下水沙序列与平滩流量序列之间的相关关系。结果表明,黄河下游主要测站的平滩流量序列存在5~6年和19~20年的主要时间尺度,且水沙条件多尺度变化规律与平滩流量有密切关系。此外,对黄河上游和渭河支流主要测站的平滩流量与水沙条件的多时间尺度进行了分析,发现不同河段的平滩流量序列与含沙量序列存在不同的相位差,且相位差大小随含沙量增大而减少。揭示的黄河平滩流量与水沙条件的多时间尺度变化规律,可为研究河床演变的多时间尺度现象提供参考。     

中外烈度表“人的感觉”和“器物的反应”对比研究

随着震害经验的积累以及人们对地震认识的深化,不断修改烈度标准,使烈度评定更加客观与科学是地震工程界一直所追求的.人的感觉和器物的反应都是评定一次地震时相应烈度的宏观标志,是烈度表的重要组成部分.鉴于此,本文简要介绍了中国历代地震烈度表(《新的中国地震烈度表》、《中国地震烈度表(1980)》、《中国地震烈度表( 1999...     

地质灾害与不同尺度降雨时空分布关系

降雨是地质灾害最重要的诱发因素之一,开展地质灾害与不同尺度降雨的时空分布研究,分析降雨诱发地质灾害的特点规律,对于提升地质灾害区域预警水平和防灾减灾实践具有重要意义。本文以2006～2007年汛期地质灾害的实际发生情况为例,通过统计分析方法,对区域地质灾害与年降雨量、月降雨量、月暴雨日数、典型降雨过程之间的时空分布关系开展系统分析,研究表明:降雨是群发型地质灾害发生的重要诱发因素,地质灾害的发育密度与年均雨量成正比,地质灾害发育密度最大的区域,其年均雨量最大;地质灾害分布与月降雨量、月暴雨日数的分布总体上具备一定的对应关系,但并不是完全对应的,主要受到典型强降雨过程的落区控制;在地质灾害多发区出现典型强降雨过程时,地质灾害群发。