Evaluation of a recently proposed record selection and scaling procedure for low‐rise to mid‐rise reinforced concrete buildings and its use for probabilistic risk assessment studies

This paper evaluates a recent record selection and scaling procedure of the authors that can determine the probabilistic structural response of buildings behaving either in the elastic or post‐elastic range. This feature marks a significant strength on the procedure as the probabilistic structural response distribution conveys important information on probability‐based damage assessment. The paper presents case studies that show the utilization of the proposed record selection and scaling procedure as a tool for the estimation of damage states and derivation of site‐specific and region‐specific fragility functions. The method can be used to describe exceedance probabilities of damage limits under a certain target hazard level with known annual exceedance rate (via probabilistic seismic hazard assessment). Thus, the resulting fragility models can relate the seismicity of the region (or a site) with the resulting building performance in a more accurate manner. Under this context, this simple and computationally efficient record selection and scaling procedure can be benefitted significantly by probability‐based risk assessment methods that have started to be considered as indispensable for developing robust earthquake loss models. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic reliability assessment of urban water networks

We present a framework for the seismic risk assessment of water supply networks, operating in either normal or abnormal conditions. We propose a methodology for assessing the reliability of water pipe networks combining data of past non‐seismic damage and the vulnerability of the network components against seismic loading. Historical data are obtained using records of damages that occur on a daily basis throughout the network and are processed to produce‘survival curves’, depicting their estimated survival rate over time. The fragility of the network components is assessed using the approach suggested in the American Lifelines Alliance guidelines. The network reliability is assessed using graph theory, whereas the system network reliability is calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. The methodology proposed is demonstrated both on a simple, small‐scale, network and also on a real‐scale district metered area from the water network of the city of Limassol, Cyprus. The proposed approach allows the estimation of the probability that the network fails to provide the desired level of service and allows the prioritization of retrofit interventions and of capacity‐upgrade actions pertaining to existing water pipe networks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical modelling of aeolian erosion over a surface with non‐uniformly distributed roughness elements

The present study is focused on the analysis of the mean wall friction velocity on a surface including roughness elements exposed to a turbulent boundary layer. These roughness elements represent non‐erodible particles over an erodible surface of an agglomeration of granular material on industrial sites. A first study has proposed a formulation that describes the evolution of the friction velocity as a function of geometrical parameters and cover rate with different uniform roughness distributions. The present simulations deal with non‐uniform distributions of particles with a random sampling of diameters, heights, positions and arrangements. The evolution (relative to geometrical parameters of the roughness elements) of the friction velocity for several non‐uniform distributions of roughness elements was analysed by the equation proposed in the literature and compared to the results obtained with the numerical simulations. This comparison showed very good agreement. Thus, the formulation developed for uniform particles was found also to be valid for a larger spectrum of particles noted on industrial sites. The present work aims also to investigate in detail the fluid mechanics over several roughness particles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distribution and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides residues in sediments and Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) from along the Mid-Western coast of Korea

The distribution and bioaccumulation features of PCBs, DDTs, and HCHs were investigated in the sediments and Manila clams collected from along the Mid-Western coast of Korea. The measured concentrations of ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs and ΣHCHs were 1.08–3.5, 0.12–0.35 and 0.090–0.30 ng g⁻¹ dw in sediment, and 33–390, 7.4–46 and 6.3–27 ng g⁻¹ lipid in Manila clam, respectively. Their levels were found to be relatively lower than those of other contaminated areas and the consumption of Manila clam from these areas seems to be safe for human health according to calculated lifetime cancer risk and hazard indices. The ΣPCBs and ΣDDTs concentrations in sediments showed a significant relationship to those in clams. The significant correlation was observed between BSAF in clams and K_ow for each PCB congeners and DDT metabolites. These findings support that the PCBs and DDTs levels, which are highly hydrophobic chemicals, in clam reflect the sediment pollution through bioaccumulation.     

Influence of river channel morphology and bank characteristics on water surface boundary delineation using high‐resolution passive remote sensing and template matching

Accurate mapping of water surface boundaries in rivers is an important step for monitoring water stages, estimating discharge, flood extent, and geomorphic response to changing hydrologic conditions, and assessing riverine habitat. Nonetheless, it is a challenging task in spatially and spectrally heterogeneous river environments, commonly characterized by high spatiotemporal variations in morphology, bed material, and bank cover. In this study, we investigate the influence of channel morphology and bank characteristics on the delineation of water surface boundaries in rivers using high spatial resolution passive remote sensing and a template‐matching (object‐based) algorithm, and compare its efficacy with that of Support Vector Machine (SVM) (pixel‐based) algorithm. We perform a detailed quantitative evaluation of boundary‐delineation accuracy using spatially explicit error maps in tandem with the spatial maps of geomorphic and bank classes. Results show that template matching is more successful than SVM in delineating water surface boundaries in river sections with spatially challenging geomorphic landforms (e.g. sediment bar structures, partially submerged sediment deposits) and shallow water conditions. However, overall delineation accuracy by SVM is higher than that of template matching (without iterative hierarchical learning). Vegetation and water indices, especially when combined with texture information, improve the accuracy of template matching, for example, in river sections with overhanging trees and shadows – the two most problematic conditions in water surface boundary delineation. By identifying the influence of channel morphology and bank characteristics on water surface boundary mapping, this study helps determine river sections with higher uncertainty in delineation. In turn, the most suitable methods and data sets can be selectively utilized to improve geomorphic/hydraulic characterization. The methodology developed here can also be applied to similar studies on other geomorphic landforms including floodplains, wetlands, lakes, and coastlines. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Site-specific and spatially-distributed ground-motion intensity estimation in the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes

This paper presents site-specific and spatially-distributed ground-motion intensity estimates which have been utilized in the aftermath of the 2010–2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes. The methodology underpinning the ground motion intensity estimation makes use of both prediction models for ground motion intensity and its within-event spatial correlation. A key benefit of the methodology is that the estimated ground motion intensity at a given location is not a single value but a distribution of values. The distribution is comprised of both a mean and standard deviation, with the standard deviation being a function of the distance to nearby observations at strong motion stations.The methodology is illustrated for two applications. Firstly, maps of conditional peak ground acceleration (PGA) have been developed for the major events in the Canterbury earthquake sequence, which among other things, have been utilized for assessing liquefaction triggering susceptibility of land in residential areas. Secondly, the conditional distribution of response spectral ordinates is obtained at the location of the Canterbury Television building (CTV), which catastrophically collapsed in the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The conditional response spectra provide insight for the selection of ground motion records for use in forensic seismic response analyses of important structures at locations where direct recordings are absent.     

北京白家疃台站重力非潮汐量变化及水储量影响的初步研究

The non-tidal variation gained from continuous gravity observations in stations usually reflects the regional continuous gravity changes. In this paper we focus on studying the non-tidal variation of Baijiatuan station, Beijing where there are two different gravimeters （namely, L＆R-804 and PET-031）. Based on the original raw tidal records of two gravimeters from 2008 to 2011, we first remove various interference from raw data by the standard procedure software-Tsoft; then we model the solid earth tides, ocean tidal loading and pole tide through related parameters; after that we adopt a new segmented polynomial fitting method based on Tsoft to fit the complex drift of spring gravimeter; and finally we calculate the atmospheric loading effects by a linear regression model. After a series of processing we gain the non-tidal variation of the two gravimeters at Baijiatuan site, Beijing. Furthermore, to analyze the non-tidal variation preliminarily, we study the main component of related tidal data by power spectral density. Comparing the non-tidal variation of two different gravimeters, we find seasonal fluctuations in non-tidal results, which are in accordance with the water storage change. Therefore, we take into account the relevance of gravity changes and water storage based on the gravity data of GRACE and water data of the CMAP model from 2003 to 2011 at different sites in the Chinese mainland （Beijing, Chengdu, Shenyang and Shiquanhe） , and make a preliminary analysis on the relationship between gravity changes and water storage.     

甘肃岷县漳县6.6级地震灾情快速评估及应急处置保障

对2013年甘肃岷县漳县6.6级地震灾情快速评估和应急处置保障工作进行了全面回顾和总结,提出了进一步完善省级地震应急技术系统的思考,以期在未来的破坏性地震应急中提升省级地震应急技术系统的信息支撑和技术保障作用。     

基于Matlab的震中分布图绘制软件应用

基于Matlab可视化图形用户界面程序,编制基于Mapinfo地理信息和双差地震精定位结果的地图及地震震中分布绘制软件,为地震预报研究提供高精度的震中分布图.运用该软件绘制重庆荣昌地区地震震中分布,可较好反映区域范围内构造展布情况,对地震研究起到积极作用.