Opportunistic natural experiments using digital telemetry: a transit disruption case study

ABSTRACT

In the past decade society has entered a technological period characterized by handheld computing that supports input and processing from numerous sensors. Today’s mobile phones offer the ability to integrate input from sensors monitoring various external and internal sources (e.g., accelerometer, magnetometer, microphone, GPS, wireless Internet, and Bluetooth). Furthermore, these raw inputs can be integrated and processed in ways that can offer novel representations of human behaviour. As a result, new opportunities to examine and better understand human spatial behaviour are available; one such application is the constant monitoring of a group of people over an extended period of time. Such a research setting lends itself to natural experiments that emerge as a result of regular and on-going observations. We report here on the observation of a natural experiment that took place in the context of a month-long monitoring study of 28 participants using mobile phone-based ubiquitous sensor monitoring. The implications for public health and transportation planning are discussed.     

Application of Linear Mean-Square Estimation in Ocean Engineering

The attempt to obtain long-term observed data around some sea areas we concern is usually very hard or even impossible in practical offshore and ocean engineering situations. In this paper, by means of linear mean-square estimation method, a new way to extend short-term data to long-term ones is developed. The long-term data about concerning sea areas can be constructed via a series of long-term data obtained from neighbor oceanographic stations, through relevance analysis of different data series. It is effective to cover the insufficiency of time series prediction method’s overdependence upon the length of data series, as well as the limitation of variable numbers adopted in multiple linear regression model. The storm surge data collected from three oceanographic stations located in Shandong Peninsula are taken as examples to analyze the number-selection effect of reference oceanographic stations (adjacent to the concerning sea area) and the correlation coefficients between sea sites which are selected for reference and for engineering projects construction respectively. By comparing the N-year return-period values which are calculated from observed raw data and processed data which are extended from finite data series by means of the linear mean-square estimation method, one can draw a conclusion that this method can give considerably good estimation in practical ocean engineering, in spite of different extreme value distributions about raw and processed data.     

扬子地台东南缘下寒武统清虚洞组风暴沉积特征及其重要意义

在扬子地台东南缘,下寒武统龙王庙阶清虚洞组主要由浅水碳酸盐岩组成。在野外露头剖面实测和室内镜下薄片观察的基础上,大量风暴沉积被发现于不同剖面清虚洞组的不同层位中,同时大量风暴诱发形成的沉积构造被识别出来,包括侵蚀基底、粗粒滞留沉积、粒序层理、平行层理、丘状交错层理(少见并且值得怀疑)以及沙纹层理,组成了多种类型的风暴沉积序列。结合更靠扬子东南缘的深水剖面中重力流沉积的缺乏,可以推断早寒武世龙王庙期扬子地台的沉积模式为碳酸盐缓坡。结合风暴的形成机制以及清虚洞组风暴沉积的发育特征(尤其是粗粒滞留砾屑的定向排列和典型丘状交错层理的缺乏),可以推断研究区风暴沉积形成于强烈的冬季风暴作用,并且早寒武世龙王庙期华南的古地理位置应当位于中纬度地区,这一结论对一些著名的全球古地理重建方案提出了质疑。同时中纬度地区大规模发育蒸发岩和碳酸盐岩还佐证了寒武纪地球处于热室(Hothouse)时期。     

1961—2019年青藏高原中东部夏季强降水与大尺度环流的关系

采用一元线性回归、合成分析等方法对1961—2019年青藏高原中东部71个站点夏季强降水与大尺度环流进行了分析,研究结果表明,近年来青藏高原中东部强降水呈增加趋势。在强降水高值年时,青藏高原中东部水汽辐合加强,中纬度西风和热带地区东风带向极移动加强,高层辐散流场、水汽输送以及上升运动条件,共同作用导致了强降水的产生。在强降水低值年时,青藏高原中东部大部水汽异常辐散,区域内的季风水汽输送减弱,西风带和东风带均向赤道移动减弱,高层为气旋式环流异常。通过风暴轴、波作用通量和E-P通量进一步分析发现,当北大西洋地区风暴轴偏强（偏弱）时,瞬变扰动作用加强（减弱）,使得北大西洋地区高纬度西风加速（减弱）,急流出口区的不稳定能量激发了欧洲西北部的异常反气旋（异常气旋）,并通过Rossby波列调控季风输送,导致了青藏高原中东部地区强降水的变化。     

两次强降水过程雨滴谱特征及差异

利用寿县观测站内的Parsivel激光雨滴谱仪结合观测站雨量数据及雷达基数据,分析了发生在2015年6月26—30日梅雨期间和2015年8月7—10日超强台风"苏迪罗"影响期间2次强降水过程的雨滴谱结构特征及其差异,拟合了雨强与雷达反射率因子之间的关系。结果表明:雨强的大小直接影响雨滴谱的特征参量,且随着雨强增大而增大;梅雨锋暴雨中1.0mm直径≤1.5mm的粒子所占比例最多,雨强贡献率最大;台风雨中0.75mm直径≤1.0mm的粒子所占比例最多,但1.0mm直径≤1.25mm的粒子对雨强的贡献最大,说明较大粒子对强降水的贡献较大。     

浙中一次多风暴类型强对流天气成因及多普勒雷达特征

利用常规资料、区域自动站加密资料、探空资料、GFS 0.25°×0.25°逐6h的分析场数据和SB多普勒天气雷达资料对2018年5月18日发生在浙中地区的一次强对流天气过程进行分析。结果表明:此次过程产生了脉冲风暴、中等到强多单体风暴和飑线这3种风暴类型,分别出现冰雹、大范围强降水和雷雨大风等强天气。3种风暴的雷达回波在回波形态、强度、垂直结构、平均径向速度、垂直累积液态水含量VIL等特征如下:①脉冲风暴呈块状,初始回波高度在6～9km,强回波所在高度在-10℃等温线附近,强回波值达60dBz以上,VIL值出现跃升且最大值在50kg·m-2以上,冰雹出现在反射率因子核和VIL值迅速下降之后;②中等到强多单体风暴呈带状,大降水效率和"列车效应"是发生大范围强降水的主要原因,雷雨大风天气则与反射率因子核迅速下降、MARC、低层强辐散区有关;③飑线呈弓形回波形态,移速快,引起了大范围的雷雨大风天气。此次过程影响系统多,天气复杂,存在较大预报难点,在短时临近预报技术研究上有重要借鉴意义。     

冬季北半球风暴轴的多尺度能量变化特征及其可能机制

基于1971—2016年NCEP/NCAR(美国环境预报中心和国家大气研究中心)的逐日再分析资料及NCPC(美国国家海洋和大气管理局气候预报中心)的海温、大气环流及海洋指数等资料通过多尺度能量分析(MS-EVA)等方法,把冬季北半球风暴轴看做一整体,分析了风暴轴区域多尺度的能量变化特征及其可能机制。主要结论概括如下:(1)多年气候平均状态下,风暴轴的动能来源主要表现为在风暴轴中上游先由低频尺度向天气尺度输送有效位能,随后在风暴轴主体区再由天气尺度有效位能转换为天气尺度动能,其中风暴轴西端可直接由低频尺度向天气尺度输送动能。(2)北半球三大风暴轴联合EOF结果表明:第一模态下,主要体现了北西伯利亚风暴轴与北太平洋风暴轴强度的减弱(增强),同时伴随着北大西洋风暴轴位置北抬(南压);第二模态下,主要体现了北西伯利亚风暴轴强度减弱(增强),同时北太平洋风暴轴位置北抬(南压)中东部强度增强(减弱),而北大西洋风暴轴位置南压(北抬)。(3)回归分析表明:北半球风暴轴异常在不同模态下与低频尺度环流联系密切。低频尺度波动可通过海温及西风急流等异常变化先影响风暴轴区域多尺度间的能量转换,进而影响风暴轴整体的异常变化。     

层次分析法在下垫面因子影响沙尘暴危险度研究中的应用

沙尘暴是一种危害严重的气象灾害,其形成依赖于大气环流和沙质地表两种不同密度的物理介质的相互作用,风力条件和下垫面的性质是影响沙尘暴强度和危害程度的两个重要因素。减轻沙尘暴危害的有效方法就是改善沙尘暴源地的下垫面状况,但这需要评估下垫面各因子在不同天气、气候背景条件下对沙尘暴发生的影响程度。从下垫面的角度出发,以内蒙古中西部地区为例,利用气象资料和实测数据,应用AHP方法对下垫面定性与定量因子进行综合分析,得出不同地区下垫面因子对沙尘暴发生作用的权重,为从下垫面角度研究沙尘暴危险度奠定基础。     

Storm流式技术在地面气象数据处理中的应用

地面自动站气象数据的量级、观测传输频次日益增长,传输方式从传统的文本方式发展到消息传输,对数据处理时效有了更高的要求。该文提出采用Storm流式技术进行地面自动站气象数据的解码和入库,使用Spout节点连接外部数据源,将数据转化为Tuple,传递给解码Bolt、入库Bolt和DI/EI消息Bolt,分别进行实时的入库和监控,且达到灵活调整系统资源的目的。该应用与传统的简约流程对比,稳定性、处理效率、拓展性都有了显著提高。     

Developing a building policy for the erosion zone: Solutions to some key (Dutch) questions

In those coastal communities where the most seaward strip of mainland consists of dunes, these dunes often serve as a flexible sea defence. In addition, this strip offers large potential for housing and commercial enterprises. Unfortunately, due to severe storm surges part of this strip (the erosion zone) is subject to erosion, and as a result of which any buildings or infrastructure located here, are destroyed. Therefore, as we will illustrate in this paper, a building policy for this zone should reflect a compromise between two opposite interests: exploitation of the existing potential and, prevention of an unacceptable high risk due to erosion. Accordingly, the authors have developed a framework for such a building policy on the basis of which the desirability of various different types of investments and the location within the erosion zone of such investments can be determined. The examples that are used to illustrate this framework in this paper are limited to experiences in The Netherlands as relevant data and experiences are available and relatively easy accessible here. Nevertheless, the approach as is described is generic and applicable worldwide suggesting that the discovered unused potential for exploitation is not just limited to The Netherlands.