Integrated assessment for establishing an oil environmental vulnerability map: Case study for the Santos Basin region,Brazil

The growth of maritime transport and oil exploitation activities may increase the risk of oil spills. Thus, plans and actions to prevent or mitigate impacts are needed to minimize the effects caused by oil. However, tools used worldwide to support contingency plans have not been integrated, thus leading to failure in establishing priority areas. This investigation aimed to develop indices of environmental vulnerability to oil (IEVO), by combining information about environmental sensibility to oil and results of numerical modeling of spilled oil. To achieve that, a case study concerning to oil spills scenarios in a subtropical coastal area was designed, and IEVOs were calculated and presented in maps, in order to make the information about the areas’ vulnerability more easily visualized. For summer, the extension of coastline potentially affected by oil was approximately 150 km, and most of the coastline presented medium to high vulnerability. For winter, 230 km coastline would be affected, from which 75% were classified as medium to high vulnerability. Thus, IEVO maps allowed a rapid and clearer interpretation of the vulnerability of the mapped region, facilitating the planning process and the actions in response to an oil spill.     

A database for PGA threshold in liquefaction occurrence

Liquefaction exclusion criteria, based on peak ground acceleration (PGA) threshold value, are often included in seismic codes and recommendations. In this note, a rationale approach for setting the threshold is presented and a PGA limit of 0.09 g was found. This value is derived from a statistical analysis of the background data used to create some common verification charts for the liquefaction problem.     

桁架式跨河管架的优化设计及地震可靠性评价

在管道穿跨越工程中,桁架式跨河管架是一种常见形式.本文在结构优化设计中分别对矩形桁架结构和倒三角形桁架结构两种方案进行优化,并对优化结果进行了比较分析,确定了结构最优方案.通过模拟结构在地震作用下的响应对结构的抗震性能进行了分析,并通过可靠性分析评价了结构的抗震可靠度.结果表明:适当增加结构高度和减小结构宽度对结构有利;结构的总重量随杆件截面尺寸的减小而迅速降低,10次优化循环后即从54 t降至24 t左右;三角形桁架比矩形桁架结构简单,重量减轻36％;可靠性分析表明结构的可靠度为99％.     

芦山地震楼梯间震害调查及思考

楼梯间作为地震中人员疏散和救援通道,其抗震设计应引起足够的重视.我国2010年实行的《建筑抗震设计规范》(GB50011-2010)中加强了结构中楼梯间的设计要求,结合该规范的实施,本文总结了芦山地震中各类结构中楼梯间的震害现象.通过对梯板、楼梯间墙体、与楼梯间相连的主体结构等位置的震害分析,指出了规范中关于楼梯间新增条文的必要性;提出了一些抗震设计建议,为规范修订和工程设计提供参考.     

一个中国大陆地区7级以上地震判定指标被再次验证

笔者曾利用统计显著性检验方法给出了中国大陆地区5级以上地震年频次与7级以上地震发生关系的判定指标,他们是：①当5级以上地震年频次N5＜10时,其后第6年我国大陆地区将发生7级以上地震;②当5级以上地震年频次N5＞31时,其后第6年我国大陆地区发生7级以上地震的可能性不大.2007年,中国大陆地区5级以上地震年频次为6次,预示2013年中国大陆地区可能会发生7级以上地震.2013年4月20日四川芦山7.0级地震再次使前一个判定指标得到验证.     

Dynamique et modélisation des crues dans le bassin du Mono à Nangbéto (Togo/Bénin)

Résumé

Les inondations des dernières années en Afrique de l’Ouest rendent nécessaire la prévision hydrologique pour réduire la vulnérabilité des populations. Nous avons étudié la dynamique des crues dans le bassin du Mono en amont du barrage de Nangbéto (Togo et Bénin) par des méthodes statistiques et déterministes. L’augmentation des précipitations au cours de la décennie 1990 et la mise en eau du barrage de Nangbéto en 1988 ont modifié le régime du Mono, dont les débits d’étiages ont augmenté. Les débits entrants et sortants du barrage sont équivalents, même lors des crues. Les maximums annuels des débits entrants peuvent être modélisés par une distribution des valeurs extrêmes (GEV) de type Fréchet, tandis que ceux des débits sortants, suivent une loi GEV de type Weibull (bornée). Le mécanisme dominant de génération des crues dans le bassin est la montée progressive des eaux associée à l’augmentation de la saturation des sols. L’analyse des débits de crue entre 1988 et 2010 n’a pas montré d’augmentation de la magnitude ou de la fréquence des crues. Le modèle GR4J reproduit bien les débits de crues en période calage, mais ces critères de performance se dégradent lorsque l’on s’en éloigne. Dans ces conditions, l’utilisation de ce modèle pour évaluer les risques futurs de crues serait hasardeuse et il est nécessaire d’envisager d’autres types d’approches.     

Development and utilization of a national web-based chronology of hydrological events/Développement et utilisation sur internet d’une chronologie nationale d’événements hydrologiques

Abstract

Abstract The Chronology of British Hydrological Events (CBHE) has been created as an on-line information resource (http://www.dundee.ac.uk/geography/cbhe/) in order to enhance access to and use of historical facts pertaining to British hydrological phenomena. Its scope covers floods, droughts and all other notable historical phenomena of hydrological interest. This paper sets out the technical means by which the CBHE has been created, explains the benefits to hydrologists in creating such a facility, and illustrates its utility with a number of examples. Benefits include hydrological risk assessments, historical studies of individual events and objectives in environmental education. The scope for establishing comparable national chronologies for other countries is identified, along with prospects for enhancing the utility of such systems with additional functionality such as links to on-line gazetteers and maps.     

Statistics of extremes and estimation of extreme rainfall: II. Empirical investigation of long rainfall records / Statistiques de valeurs extrêmes et estimation de précipitations extrêmes: II. Recherche empirique sur de longues séries de précipitations

Abstract

Abstract In the first part of this study, theoretical analyses showed that the Gumbel distribution is quite unlikely to apply to hydrological extremes and that the extreme value distribution of type II (EV2) is a more consistent choice. Based on these theoretical analyses, an extensive empirical investigation is performed using a collection of 169 of the longest available rainfall records worldwide, each having 100–154 years of data. This verifies the theoretical results. In addition, it shows that the shape parameter of the EV2 distribution is constant for all examined geographical zones (Europe and North America), with value κ = 0.15. This simplifies the fitting and the general mathematical handling of the distribution, which become as simple as those of the Gumbel distribution.     

Contribution to the Global Warming Mitigation of Marshlands Conversion to Croplands in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

Based on the estimation of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration of the total conversion of marshlands (TMC), marshlands conversion to paddy fields (MCPFs) and marshlands conversion to uplands (MCULs), this study revealed the contribution to the global warming mitigation (CGWM) of paddy fields versus uplands converted from marshlands in the Sanjiang Plain (excluding the Muling‐Xingkai Plain on south of Wanda Mountain), Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. The results showed that the total area of MCPFs and MCULs was 504.23 × 10³ ha between 1982 and 2005. The CGWM per unit area was 45.53 t CO₂eq/ha for MCPFs and that was 23.95 t CO₂eq/ha for MCULs, with an obvious 47.40% reduction. The MCPFs and MCULs ecosystems acted as the carbon sink all of the year. As far as CGWM per unit area is concerned, MCPFs mitigated the greenhouse effect which was greater than MCULs. And it was effective that the implementation of the uplands transformed into paddy fields in Northeast China with regard to marshlands protection and croplands (including paddy fields and uplands) reclamation.     

Adsorption of Complex Pollutants from Aqueous Solutions by Nanocomposite Materials

In view of water pollutants becoming more complex, both anionic and cationic pollutants need to be removed. The multi‐pollutants simultaneous removal is paid more and more attention. Hence, development composite materials for treatment complex wastewater are the aim of this study. In this research, iron–nickel nanoparticles deposited onto aluminum oxide (α‐Al₂O₃) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to form nanocomposite materials Fe–Ni/Al₂O₃ and Fe–Ni/CNTs, respectively, were used as adsorbents. The adsorption capacities of Fe–Ni/Al₂O₃ and Fe–Ni/CNTs for AO7, HSeO, and Pb²⁺ were observed to be 5.46, 8.28, 27.02, and 25.6 mg/g, 15.29 and 17.12 mg/g, separately. The composite materials with negative charges were superior in adsorption of anionic pollutants. Using orthogonal experimental design and analysis of variance to co‐treat dye AO7, HSeO and Pb²⁺ in aqueous solutions, seven testing factors were included: (1) adsorbent types, (2) amount of iron, (3) solution pHs, (4) AO7 concentrations, (5) Pb²⁺ concentrations, (6) HSeO concentrations and (7) reaction time. The experimental results showed that the removal of complex pollutants AO7, HSeO, and Pb²⁺ on Fe–Ni/CNTs could reach up to 90% in the optimal treatment conditions. When using Fe–Ni/CNTs as the adsorbent, the sorption isothermals were well fitted in the Freundlich isotherm, and R² could reach up to 0.98.