SinoGrids: a practice for open urban data in China

ABSTRACT

In the past decade, an explosion of data has taken place in Chinese cities due to widespread use of mobile Internet devices, Web 2.0 applications, and the development of the “Wired City.” With advances in data storage and high-performance computing, big/open urban data have opened up important avenues for urban studies, planning practice, and commercial consultancy. Urban researchers and planners are eager to make use of these abundant, sophisticated, and dynamic data to deepen their understanding on urban form and functions. However, in practice, access to such urban data is limited in China due to institutional constraints on data distribution and data holders’ hesitation to share data. And this hampers urban analytics. To draw reliable conclusions about the workings of complex urban systems, efficient and effective interoperation of multisource urban datasets is needed. Also, dealing with the heterogeneity between datasets is an equally critical challenge, especially for urban planners and government officers. They would derive value from data analytics, but have little data processing experience. To address these issues, we initiated SinoGrids (Plan Xu Xiake), a crowdsourcing platform that standardizes (or “downscales”) microscale urban data in China to facilitate its sharing and interoperation. To assess the performance evaluation of SinoGrids, we propose field-testing with actual urban data and their potential users. Digital desert, a son project of SinoGrids is also included.     

Propagation of shallow water waves in an open parabolic channel using the WKB perturbation technique

A singular perturbation analysis based on the WKB technique to study the hydrodynamic performance of periodic ocean waves that are incident on an open parabolic channel of constant depth is proposed. We derive a linear model to predict the propagation of the long ocean waves into the channel. In this manner, the spatial distribution for the surface elevation of the ocean waves inside the channel as a function of two dimensionless parameters, namely, a kinematical parameter, κ and a geometrical parameter ε, is governed by a second-order ordinary differential equation. The kinematical parameter κ denotes the ratio of the potential head, due to gravity, to the kinetic head of the ocean waves along the longitudinal axis of the parabolic channel. Meanwhile, ε is a dimensionless geometrical parameter that represents a characteristic ratio of the parabolic channel. Using matching conditions, simple expressions for the reflection and transmission coefficients are obtained.     

Live (stained) benthic foraminifera in the Whittard Canyon, Celtic margin (NE Atlantic)

Living (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera were investigated at 18 deep-sea stations sampled in the Whittard Canyon area (NE Atlantic). The stations were positioned along 4 bathymetric transects ranging from 300 to 3000 m depth: two along the main canyon axes (Western and Eastern branches) and two along adjacent open slopes (Western and Eastern slopes). The aim of this study was to assess changes of foraminiferal standing stock, composition and microhabitat in relation to the physico-chemical conditions prevailing at and below the sediment-water interface in various canyon and open-slope environments. Minimal oxygen penetration depths and maximal diffusive oxygen uptakes were recorded at upper canyon stations, suggesting a high mineralisation rate. This is confirmed by the high phytopigment concentrations measured in the sediment of the upper canyon axes. Foraminiferal abundance was positively correlated with diffusive oxygen uptake and phytopigment concentration in the sediment. This suggests a control of organic matter fluxes on the foraminiferal communities. Foraminiferal abundance was generally higher along the canyon axis compared to open-slope sites at comparable water depths. The species composition varied with water depth along all four transects, but was also different between canyon branches and adjacent slopes. The silty/sandy intercalations at many of the deeper canyon stations may have been rapidly deposited by fairly recent gravity flows. At station 51WB (3002 m), the faunal characteristics (strong dominance, shallow infaunal microhabitats) suggest that the foraminiferal community is in an early state of ecosystem colonisation after these recent sedimentation events, which would have supplied the important amounts of phytopigments.     

Environmental and Cultural Implications of Visitor Access in the Kimberley Region,Australia

The Kimberley coast in Australia's far north-west is the traditional country and home of a number of Indigenous groups and hosts some of the country's richest cultural heritage, most spectacular rock art, scenery and wildlife, making it an attractive tourism destination. A growing expedition cruise industry provides the main means of visitor access to remote coastal sites and offers excursions to shore-based attractions in what are mostly Aboriginal Reserve lands. In light of concerns about environmental and cultural site impacts resulting from increasing visitor numbers, this study examined biophysical site impacts along access trails to shore-based attractions and used qualitative methods to ascertain cultural impacts. The synthesis of the findings highlights that cultural concerns arising from visitor access without having sought traditional owner consent for such access, combined with a lack of traditional owner involvement in the planning, management or running of visitor activities, overshadow currently low environmental impacts of onshore expedition cruise activities. To overcome the continuing impasse regarding the issue of unsanctioned visitor access, the Kimberley urgently needs a coordinated approach by key stakeholders and the traditional owners which recognises and acknowledges the historical context. Such a process would facilitate tourism activities to become culturally sustainable.     

Pastoralism within the cadastral system: Seasonal interactions and access agreements between pastoralists and non-pastoralists in Northern Kenya

The imposition of exclusive statutory real property rights in or near pastoralists’ areas and their migration corridors permanently excludes and extinguishes pastoralist rights to mobility and access to required resources. Seasonal interactions with non-pastoralist land use actors often occur during pastoralist migrations between rangelands and highlands or dry season grazing areas. In an embedded case study in Northern Kenya, in which interviews based on semi-structured questionnaires were held with pastoralists and non-pastoralists, we investigated how non-pastoralist land use actors manage encounters with migrating pastoralists within the context of the Land Administration system. We found that the majority of non-pastoralist land use actors encounter migrating pastoralists during distinct periods. Most never allow herders access to privately owned land. A small proportion allow access and make temporary verbal or written access agreements containing provisions on grazing fees, grazing regulations and rules to protect private property. The majority of non-pastoralists are unwilling to have access arrangements formalized. We argue that land rights adjudication should identify and confer all existing land rights to all users to avoid obstruction or renegotiation for access, and recommend the inclusion of pastoralists’ access rights as real property rights in the Land Administration system.     

HD 172189, a Cluster Member Binary System with a δ Scuti Component in the Field of View of COROT

Photometric and spectroscopic results for the star HD 172189, member of the open cluster IC 4756 in the summer field of the space mission COROT, are presented. From photometric observations in the Strömgren system carried out at various epochs, its binary nature as well as the presence of a δ Scuti-type pulsating component have been discovered. The frequency analysis of the whole dataset confirms a dominant frequency of 19.5974 c d^?1 with a maximum amplitude near 0.02 mag plus other frequencies in the range 18–20 c d^?1. A preliminary orbital solution from the light curve and from four FEROS spectra reveals two similar components of around 1.5 M _⊙ orbiting with a period of 5.702 d.     

Simulating seasonal to multi-decadal variation in lake thermal response to meteorological forcing using the UCLAKE 1-dimensional model code

Lake temperature responses to climate forcing are of interest on account of the important linkages between water temperature and ecosystem processes. This paper describes a new 1-dimensional (1D) numerical model code and its application to investigations of multi-scale linkages between the vertical temperature structure and meteorological forcing. UCLAKE is implemented as highly portable open-source software, based on computationally efficient algorithms, and able to resolve sub-daily (e.g., hourly) dynamics while retaining the efficiency to simulate multi-decadal time scales.A UCLAKE model is calibrated and validated against thermistor profile time series for a small upland lake in North Wales, UK. Some of the challenges in 1D model calibration are explored and a sensitivity analysis reveals a dependence of optimal parameter set values on water column depth and time. An exploratory 52-year hindcast simulation demonstrates the computational efficiency of UCLAKE for multi-decadal studies of trends in lake temperature that vary with depth. A supplementary application of UCLAKE to Windermere, in the English Lake District, demonstrates its performance for larger and deeper lakes.     

开源网管系统在地震监测网络中的应用

使用Nagios、Cacti、NagVis等开源系统在天津市地震局行业网络中搭建开发了一套运行监控系统,可实现对区域内各类网络设备、仪器与服务的集中监控,同时建立于系统的故障报警与值班系统的联动机制,提高了网络环境中各专业台网整体运行监控与故障响应能力.     

新疆地震台网测震资费管理信息系统的研究与应用

介绍了新疆地震台网测震资费管理信息系统开发的背景,分析了系统的架构与设计方案,及对各功能模块进行了详细的描述,然后阐述了该系统的实现方案并将其加以应用。实践表明,该系统提高了工作效率,达到了预期目标。     

Indonesia tuna fisheries development and future strategy

Tuna has made a significant contribution to Indonesian and world fisheries. Indonesian tuna fisheries were introduced from Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Longline fishing was introduced in 1962, and purse seine gear was first used in 1974. Many foreign vessels have reflagged to the Indonesian flag. The Indonesian government developed its own tuna fisheries and closed the chartering program in 2006. Through these efforts, Indonesia became the number one tuna production country in 2004 and has further targeted an increase in marine capture fisheries catch of 0.5%/year from 2010 to 2014. Tuna resources remain under pressure globally. The tuna regional fisheries management organizations attempt to manage tuna fisheries by strengthening conservation of stocks. To enhance international cooperation, Indonesia ratified the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1985 and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in 2005 and became a member of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna and a cooperating non-member of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in the 2000s. Consequently, Indonesia adopted domestic regulations to comply with management measures. For future sustainable development, Indonesia needs to build its capacity, improve its compliance with the tuna RFMOs’ conservation and management measures, strengthen data collection, develop its products to increase their quality and diversification, and enhance its international cooperation.