Reduced complexity strategies for modelling urban floodplain inundation

Significant advances in flood inundation modelling have been made in the last decade through the use of a new generation of 2D hydraulic numerical models. These offer the potential to predict the local pattern and timing of flood depth and velocity, enabling informed flood risk zoning and improved emergency planning. With the availability of high resolution DEMs derived from airborne lidar, these models can theoretically now be routinely parameterized to represent considerable topographic complexity, even in urban areas where the potential exists to represent flows at the scale of individual buildings. Currently, however, computational constraints on conventional finite element and volume codes typically require model discretization at scales well below those achievable with lidar and are thus unable to make optimal use of this emerging data stream.In this paper we review two strategies that attempt to address this mismatch between model and data resolution in an effort to improve urban flood forecasts. The first of these strives for a solution by simplifying the mathematical formulation of the numerical model by using a computationally efficient 2D raster storage cell approach coupled to a 1D channel model. This parsimonious model structure enables simulations over large model domains offering the opportunity to employ a topographic discretization strategy which explicitly represents the built environment. The second approach seeks to further reduce the computational overhead of this raster method by employing a subgrid parameterization to represent the effect of buildings and micro-relief on flow pathways and floodplain storage. This multi-scale methodology enables highly efficient model applications at coarse spatial resolutions while retaining information about the complex geometry of the built environment.These two strategies are evaluated through numerical experiments designed to reconstruct a flood in the small town of Linton in southern England, which occurred in response to a 1 in 250 year rainfall event in October 2001. Results from both approaches are encouraging, with the spatial pattern of inundation and flood wave propagation matching observations well. Both show significant advantages over a coarse resolution model without subgrid parameterisation, particularly in terms of their ability to reproduce both hydrograph and inundation depth measurements simultaneously, without need for recalibration. The subgrid parameterization is shown to achieve this without contributing significant computational complexity and reduces model run-times by an order of magnitude.     

地下水有机污染的环境伦理思考

主要介绍地下水有机污染的现状和危害,并结合环境伦理的宗旨、主流和主张探讨这一问题的产生根源.结果表明,地下水有机污染是由于人类在生产实践中破坏了人与自然的协调,违背环境伦理而造成.为了重新达到人与自然的协调,保持可持续发展,人类必须对地下水有机污染进行有效治理.     

陕西关中盆地大气降水同位素研究

大气降水作为地下水的主要补给源之一,它是自然界水循环过程中的一个重要环节.查明大气降水中同位素分布特征及其影响因素,不仅有助于定性或定量地研究地下水的起源和形成等问题,更有助于揭示"三水"转化关系.根据全球大气降水同位素观测网 1985～1993 年大气降水氢氧同位素资料并结合所采集样品的分析结果对陕西关中盆地大气降水环境同位素特征、变化规律及其影响因素进行了探讨,建立了西安地区雨水线,为地下水的起源及运移研究奠定了基础.     

Ethanol Production: Energy and Economic Issues Related to U.S. and Brazilian Sugarcane

For a thorough and up-to-date evaluation of all the fossil energy costs of ethanol production from sugarcane in both the U.S. and Brazil, every energy input in the biomass production and ultimate conversion process must be included. In this study, more than 12 energy inputs in average U.S. and Brazilian sugarcane production are evaluated. Then in the fermentation/distillation operation, nine more fossil fuel inputs are identified and included. Some energy and economic credits are given for the bagasse to reduce the energy inputs required for steam and electricity. Based on all the fossil energy inputs in U.S. sugarcane conversion process, a total of 1.12 kcal of ethanol is produced per 1 kcal of fossil energy expended. In Brazil a total of 1.38 kcal of ethanol is produced per 1 kcal of fossil energy expended. Some pro-ethanol investigators have overlooked various energy inputs in U.S. and Brazilian sugarcane production, including farm labor, farm machinery, processing machinery, and others. In other studies, unrealistic low energy costs were attributed to such energy inputs, as nitrogen fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides. Both the U.S. and Brazil heavily subsidize ethanol production. Thus billions of dollars are invested in subsidies and this significantly increases the costs to the consumers. The environmental costs associated with producing ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil are significant but have been generally overlooked. The negative environmental impacts on the availability of cropland and freshwater, as well as on air pollution and public health, have yet to be carefully assessed. These environmental costs in terms of energy and economics should be calculated and included in future ethanol analyses so that sound assessments can be made. In addition, the production of ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil further confirms that the mission of converting biomass into ethanol will not replace oil. This mission is impossible. General concern has been expressed about taking food crops to produce ethanol for burning in automobiles instead of using these crops as food for the many malnourished people in the world. The World Health Organization reports that more than 3.7 billion humans are currently malnourished in the world—the largest number of malnourished ever in history.     

近年国外传统村镇旅游研究进展及启示

近年来,随着传统村镇旅游的日益兴起,有关传统村镇的旅游学研究日益受到学术界重视和关注.总结了国内外关于传统村镇的旅游学研究进展,指出国外研究成果主要集中在传统村镇旅游发展影响研究、传统村镇旅游发展与文化原真性保持之间的关系、传统村镇旅游可持续发展等方面.国内研究与之相比,在研究内容、方法、领域、深度等方面仍有很大差距,有待进一步扩展和深入.今后应注意以下几方面问题:研究内容流于表层,应加强研究领域的延伸和深度的扩展;研究方法、手段较为单一,研究理论和方法焏待提高;理论研究滞后于旅游发展实践的现状焏待改善.     

国内氢氧化镁阻燃剂的研究现状

综述了国内氢氧化镁阻燃剂的合成、表面改性及其应用,主要论述了近20年来国内在氢氧化镁阻燃剂研发方面取得的成果及发展方向,简单概述氢氧化镁阻燃剂的发展前景。     

昆明市盘龙区世博片区2010年环境规划设计

针对昆明市盘龙区世博片区的环境现状和环境功能区分区，对昆明市盘龙区世博片区进行了5年环境规划设计，介绍了世博片区环境规划设计的程序和方法，完成了昆明市盘龙区世博片区环境规划设计方案，提出噪声控制、汽车尾气治理排放、油漆厂水污染物的削减、生活燃煤的替代和排烟脱硫技术的引进、世博片区周边常住人口的总量控制，是确保世博片区环境功能区——环境重点保护地区达标的主要途径和措施，并进一步探讨了当前环境规划设计存在的问题。     

Thinking critically and creatively about focus groups

Focus groups are now widely used by human geographers conducting qualitative research, and are clearly recognised as an established research method within the discipline. Despite this, there is a lack of discussion about the various methodological issues involved in using focus groups. This paper aims to open up discussion by suggesting that there is a need to think critically and creatively about using focus groups in human geography. I draw upon my experience of conducting focus groups with young Muslim men in order to suggest some of the ways in which human geographers might think critically about using focus groups. Some of the issues discussed include group size, location, context and timing, sensitivity of topic, the age of research participants and the positionalities of the researcher.     

Collaborating in the field, working for change: Reflecting on partnerships between academics, development organizations and rural communities in Africa

Academics and development organizations approach fieldwork with somewhat different motivations, constraints and challenges. In many instances, fieldwork might be improved if greater collaboration occurred between these two parties. Rural communities are also important yet frequently taken for granted partners in the research process that deserve greater respect. This paper explores and describes the real and imagined impediments to greater collaboration between academics, development organizations and rural communities. The findings are based on 18 years of working with rural communities in Africa, both as a development practitioner and academic researcher. This reflection makes three contributions to the broader literature on fieldwork. First, it explicitly links two ongoing discussions, one on relationships with institutional partners, the other on interactions with rural communities. Second, it articulates the concerns of development organizations in their partnerships with academic researchers, a perspective rarely heard in a literature dominated by academic voices. Third, while feminist scholarship on fieldwork methods often wrestles with issues of positionality and engagement at the scale of the individual researcher, this reflection is aimed at the broader scale of the professional (academic and practitioner) communities involved in development praxis and scholarship.     

Capillary pressure for the sand–CO2–water system under various pressure conditions. Application to CO2 sequestration

Accurate modeling of storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in heterogeneous aquifers requires experiments of the capillary pressure as function of temperature and pressure. We present a method with which static drainage and imbibition capillary pressures can be measured continuously as a function of saturation at various temperature (T) and pressure (P) conditions. The measurements are carried out at (T, P) conditions of practical interest. Static conditions can be assumed as small injection rates are applied. The capillary pressure curves are obtained for the unconsolidated sand–distilled water–CO₂ system. The experimental results show a decrease of drainage and imbibition capillary pressure for increasing CO₂ pressures and pronounced dissolution rate effects for gaseous CO₂. Significant capillary pressure fluctuations and negative values during imbibition are observed at near critical conditions. The measurement procedure is validated by a numerical model that simulates the experiments.