Same space – different perspectives: comparative analysis of geographic context through sketch maps and spatial video geonarratives

ABSTRACT

The importance of including a contextual underpinning to the spatial analysis of social data is gaining traction in the spatial science community. The challenge, though, is how to capture these data in a rigorous manner that is translational. One method that has shown promise in achieving this aim is the spatial video geonarrative (SVG), and in this paper we pose questions that advance the science of geonarratives through a case study of criminal ex-offenders. Eleven ex-offenders provided sketch maps and SVGs identifying high-crime areas of their community. Wordmapper software was used to map and classify the SVG content; its spatial filter extension was used for hot spot mapping with statistical significance tested using Monte Carlo simulations. Then, each subject’s sketch map and SVG were compared. Results reveal that SVGs consistently produce finer spatial-scale data and more locations of relevance than the sketch maps. SVGs also provide explanation of spatial-temporal processes and causal mechanisms linked to specific places, which are not evident in the sketch maps. SVG can be a rigorous translational method for collecting data on the geographic context of many phenomena. Therefore, this paper makes an important advance in understanding how environmentally immersive methods contribute to the understanding of geographic context.     

How changes of groundwater level affect the desert riparian forest ecosystem in the Ejina Oasis,Northwest China

Groundwater is a key factor controlling the growth of vegetation in desert riparian systems. It is important to recognise how groundwater changes affect the riparian forest ecosystem. This information will not only help us to understand the ecological and hydrological process of the riparian forest but also provide support for ecological recovery of riparian forests and water-resources management of arid inland river basins. This study aims to estimate the suitability of the Water Vegetation Energy and Solute Modelling(WAVES) model to simulate the Ejina Desert riparian forest ecosystem changes,China, to assess effects of groundwater-depth change on the canopy leaf area index(LAI) and water budgets, and to ascertain the suitable groundwater depth for preserving the stability and structure of desert riparian forest. Results demonstrated that the WAVES model can simulate changes to ecological and hydrological processes. The annual mean water consumption of a Tamarix chinensis riparian forest was less than that of a Populus euphratica riparian forest, and the canopy LAI of the desert riparian forest should increase as groundwater depth decreases. Groundwater changes could significantly influence water budgets for T. chinensis and P. euphratica riparian forests and show the positive and negative effects on vegetation growth and water budgets of riparian forests. Maintaining the annual mean groundwater depth at around 1.7-2.7 m is critical for healthy riparian forest growth. This study highlights the importance of considering groundwater-change impacts on desert riparian vegetation and water-balance applications in ecological restoration and efficient water-resource management in the Heihe River Basin.     

Response of Microbial Communities in Soil to Multi-level Warming in a Highland Barley System of the Lhasa River

No studies have examined the effect of experimental warming on the microbial biomass and community composition of soil in agricultural ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Thus it is unclear whether the influences of experimental warming on microbial communities in soil are related to warming magnitude in croplands on this Plateau. This study performed warming experiment (control, low- and high-level) in a highland barley system of the Lhasa River in May 2014 to examine the correlation between the response of microbial communities in soil to warming and warming magnitude. Topsoil samples (0-10 and 10-20 cm) were collected on September 14, 2014. Experimental warming at both low and high levels significantly increased soil temperature by 1.02 ℃ and 1.59 ℃, respectively at the depth of 15 cm. Phospho lipid fatty acid (PLFA) method was used to determine the microbial community in soil. The low-level experimental warming did not significantly affect the soil’s total PLFA, fungi, bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), actinomycetes, gram-positive bacteria (G⁺), gram-negative bacteria (G^-), protozoa, the ratio of fungi to bacteria (F/B ratio), and ratio of G⁺ to G^- (G⁺/G^- ratio) at the 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth. The low-level experimental warming also did not significantly alter the composition of microbial community in soil at the 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth. The high-level experimental warming significantly increased total PLFA by 74.4%, fungi by 78.0%, bacteria by 74.0%, AMF by 66.9%, actinomycetes by 81.4%, G⁺ by 67.0% and G^- by 74.4% at the 0-10 cm depth rather than at 10-20 cm depth. The high-level experimental warming significantly altered microbial community composition in soil at the 0-10 cm depth rather than at 10-20 cm depth. Our findings suggest that the response of microbial communities in soil to warming varied with warming magnitudes in the highland barley system of the Lhasa River.     

Analysis of Spatio-temporal Land Surface Temperature and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Changes in the Andassa Watershed,Blue Nile Basin,Ethiopia

Analysis of the nexus between vegetation dynamics and climatic parameters like surface temperature is essential in environmental and ecological studies and for monitoring of the natural resources. This study explored the spatio-temporal distribution of land surface temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the relationship between them in the Andassa watershed from 1986 to 2016 periods using Landsat data. Monthly average air temperature data of three meteorological sites were used for validating the results. The findings of the study showed that the LST of the Andassa watershed has increased during the study periods. Overall, average LST has been rising with an increasing rate of 0.081°C per year. Other results of this study also showed that there has been a dynamic change in vegetation cover of the watershed in all seasons. There was also a negative correlation between LST and NDVI in all the studied years. From this study we can understand that there has been degradation of vegetation and intensification of LST from 1986 to 2016.     

Farmer-based Rice Cropping Systems in the Poyang Lake Region,China: Analysis of Characteristics and Policy Implications

This paper examines the spatial characteristics of farmer/household behaviors in regional rice cropping systems (RCS), and the results provide necessary information for developing strategies that will maintain regional food security. Through field study and statistical analysis based on 402 households questionnaires finished in 2014-2015 in the Poyang Lake Region (PLR) of China, we arrived at two main conclusions. First, single- and double cropping rice were found across the study area, but showed a general distribution trend, with double cropping rice in the southeast part (especially in Jinxian county) and single cropping rice in the northwest (particularly in De’an county). Second, the household decisions concerning RCS varied in different parts of the PLR, but double cropping was the dominant type, with about 63.57% of the respondent households in the PLR cultivating double cropping rice. However, the multiple-cropping index of paddy rice was only 1.55. About 3% of interviewed households had altered their RCS during this period. Based on these findings, the local governments should guide farmers’ paddy field cultivation behaviors by increasing the comparative efficiency of rice production, promoting appropriate scale operations and land conversion, as well as optimizing rice growing conditions to improve the multiple cropping index and enhance food provision. Finally, land-use efficiency and more sustainable use of land resources should be improved.     

三疣梭子蟹几丁质酶基因(PtCht6)的克隆及其在免疫中的功能分析

几丁质酶(chitinase)在甲壳动物的蜕皮、消化和免疫等很多生物学过程中发挥重要功能,为深入探讨几丁质酶的免疫防御机制,本实验利用RACE技术克隆了三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)PtCht6基因。该基因cDNA全长2736bp,开放阅读框(ORF)2103bp,编码700个氨基酸,具有几丁质酶GH18家族典型特征。利用实时荧光定量技术分析PtCht6在三疣梭子蟹不同组织、不同蜕皮阶段、不同病原感染以及低盐胁迫(11)下的表达特征,结果显示:PtCht6在各组织中均有表达且在肝胰腺中的表达量最高;在不同蜕皮时期的肝胰腺中,其表达量由蜕皮后期(A/B)、蜕皮间期(C)、蜕皮前期(D)依次递减(P0.05);人工感染WSSV和副溶血弧菌后.PtCht6的表达量在肝胰腺中分别于12h、72h达到最大值,在血细胞中均于12h达到最大值,且相较于对照组,整体显著上调表达(P0.05);低盐胁迫能够显著抑制该基因的表达,最高抑制73倍(P0.05)。同时发现,低盐环境下感染WSSV后,该基因达到峰值的时间明显延迟(至少延迟12h.P0.05)。该研究结果预示PtCht6作为免疫因子参与三疣梭子蟹的病原防御,且低盐胁迫在一定程度上抑制了该基因的免疫功能。     

Dynamic modeling and vibration suppression for an offshore wind turbine with a tuned mass damper in floating platform

The worldwide demand for renewable energy is increasing rapidly. Wind energy appears as a good solution to copy with the energy shortage situation. In recent years, offshore wind energy has become an attractive option due to the increasing development of the multitudinous offshore wind turbines. Because of the unstable vibration for the barge-type offshore wind turbine in various maritime conditions, an ameliorative method incorporating a tuned mass damper (TMD) in offshore wind turbine platform is proposed to demonstrate the improvement of the structural dynamic performance in this investigation. The Lagrange's equations are applied to establish a limited degree-of-freedom (DOF) mathematical model for the barge-type offshore wind turbine. The objective function is defined as the suppression rate of the standard deviation for the tower top deflection due to the fact that the tower top deflection is essential to the tower bottom fatigue loads, then frequency tuning method and genetic algorithm (GA) are employed respectively to obtain the globally optimum TMD design parameters using this objective function. Numerical simulations based on FAST have been carried out in typical load cases in order to evaluate the effect of the passive control system. The need to prevent the platform mass increasing obviously has become apparent due to the installation of a heavy TMD in the barge-type platform. In this case, partial ballast is substituted for the equal mass of the tuned mass damper, and then the vibration mitigation is simulated in five typical load cases. The results show that the passive control can improve the dynamic responses of the barge-type wind turbine by placing a TMD in the floating platform. Through replacing partial ballast with a uniform mass of the tuned mass damper, a significant reduction of the dynamic response is also observed in simulation results for the barge-type floating structure.     

Improving the prediction of extreme FPSO hawser tension,using another highly correlated hawser tension with a longer time record

The floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) is an offshore vessel that produces and stores crude oil prior to tanker transport. Robust prediction of extreme hawser tensions during the FPSO offloading operation is an important safety concern. Excessive hawser tension may occur during certain sea conditions, posing an operational risk. In this paper, the finite element method (FEM) software ANSYS AQWA has been employed to analyze vessel response due to hydrodynamic wave loads, acting on a specific FPSO vessel under actual sea conditions.In some practical situations, it would be useful to improve the accuracy of some statistical predictions based on a certain stochastic random process, given another synchronous highly correlated stochastic process that has been measured for a longer time, than the process of interest. In this paper, the issue of improving extreme value prediction has been addressed. In other words, an efficient transfer of information is necessary between two synchronous, highly correlated stochastic processes. Two such highly correlated FPSO hawser tension processes were simulated in order to test the efficiency of the proposed technique.     

Extracting energy while reducing hydroelastic responses of VLFS using a modular raft wec-type attachment

This paper presents the use of a modular raft Wave Energy Converter (WEC)-type attachment at the fore edge of a rectangular Very Large Floating Structure (VLFS) for extracting wave energy while reducing hydroelastic responses of the VLFS under wave action. The proposed modular attachment comprises multiple independent auxiliary pontoons (i.e. modules) that are connected to the fore edge of the VLFS with hinges and linear Power Take-Off (PTO) systems. For the hydroelastic analysis, the auxiliary pontoons and the VLFS are modelled by using the Mindlin plate theory while the linear wave theory is used for modelling the fluid motion. The analysis is performed in the frequency domain using the hybrid Finite Element-Boundary Element (FE-BE) method. Parametric studies are carried out to investigate the effects of pontoon length, PTO damping coefficient, gap between auxiliary pontoons, and incident wave angle on the power capture factor as well as reductions in the hydroelastic responses of the VLFS with the modular attachment. It is found that in oblique waves, the modular attachment comprising multiple narrow pontoons outperforms the corresponding rigid attachment that consists of a single wide pontoon with respect to the power capture factor and the reduction in the deflection of the VLFS. In addition, it is possible to have a considerable gap between pontoons without significantly compromising the effectiveness of the modular attachment.     

Experimental study on hydrodynamic performance of SWATH vessels in calm water and in head waves

An extensive experimental investigation on four SWATH hull forms has been conducted in calm water and in regular waves at University of Naples Federico II. Calm water tests have been analyzed in the range of Froude number Fr_T from 0.1 to 0.6. For all four SWATH configurations at the speed, corresponding to Fr_T 0.32, the behaviour in regular waves has been tested. The results of heave, pitch and vertical accelerations are presented in nondimensional form as RAO. For the “most promising” SWATH #4 configuration, a set of stabilizing fins have been designed and an active stabilization system has been developed. The developed SWATH#5 has been tested in calm water on three displacements in the range of Fr_T from 0.1 to 0.65. The dynamic wetted surface has been identified and the residual resistance coefficient C_R as well as R_T/Δ are reported. Seakeeping tests have been performed in regular head sea and in head and following irregular sea at Fr_T = 0.50. The conditions for the occurrence of dynamic longitudinal instabilities have been identified. The results allows to comment the effect of slenderness of struts and SWATH’s immersed bodies on resistance and seakeeping and concerns the applicability of SWATH concept to small craft.