APPLICATION OF SEMIAUTOMATIC EXTRACTION OF FLUVIAL TERRACES BASED ON R LANGUAGE-AN EXAMPLE FROM THE YELLOW RIVER TERRACES AT MIJIA SHAN

The generation, abandonment and preservation of terraces formed in active tectonic areas are important to the analysis of the role of the tectonics and climate along the temporal variations, so it appears significant as how to use the effective quantitative methods to extract and accurately depict these terraces. The increasingly convenient acquisition of high-precision topographic data has greatly promoted the advancement of quantitative research in geoscience, making it possible to analyze mid-micro-geomorphic features on a large scale, especially by studying the temporal and spatial evolution of tectonic deformation through accurate capture of micro-geomorphic features. Over the past decade, the rapid development of LiDAR(Light Detection and Ranging)technology has provided unprecedented opportunity to access high-precision topographic data(up to centimeter in vertical and horizontal directions). However, its relatively high cost and relatively complex data processing techniques limit its widespread application in the field of earth sciences. In recent years, with the continuous innovation and advancement of topographic measurement technology, the three-dimensional structure of motion reconstruction technology(Structure from Motion, SfM)has gradually been introduced into the field of digital topographic photogrammetry due to its rapid advantage in providing quick, convenient and cost-effective methods for obtaining high-density geospatial point data. This method thus shows great potential for providing high resolution topographic data with comparable resolution and precision. Therefore, with the acquisition of more and more high-resolution terrain data in recent years, it is an important development trend to explore automated or semi-automated quantitative geomorphological analysis methods. R language, as an excellent programming language, has not been used in the geology and geomorphology, although is widely applied in medicine and meteorology based on its powerful capability of statistician and graphic visualization. In this paper, we focus on the Yellow River multi-terraces formed to the east of the Mijia Shan, which belongs to the Jingtai-Hasi Shan segment of the Haiyuan Fault. With the analysis and visualization of the high-resolution topographic data collected from the SfM in the environment of the R language, we implement the semiautomatic classification and mapping of the Yellow River multi-terraces. The method identifies 20 terraces with different elevation. Our results also imply that the younger terraces have better continuity and elongation, and the older terraces have more deformation, which can be demonstrated from their gradually notable semi-parabolic shape. Besides this, it also suggests the diverse evolution stages of the Yellow River terraces. Our study indicates that R language is expected to become an efficient tool of statistics and visualization of the high-resolution topographic data.     

Water in Kazakhstan,a key in Central Asian water management

Central Asia is one of the regions with the highest probability of conflicts over water. Kazakhstan is the main Central Asian economic power and therefore it is important to understand how the country’s water management policy is influencing water availability in the other Central Asian states. Already, the Central Asian economies are developing under increasing water deficiency, resulting in developmental problems. The main reasons for this are increasing political tensions and worsening ecological and socio-economic conditions. Kazakhstan was the first country in Central Asia to develop the pre-requisites for a transition towards integrated water resources management (IWRM). Therefore, Kazakhstan has potential to lead the development of transboundary water integration between all Central Asian states. A scenario for successful regional cooperation on water management in Central Asia involves establishing legal mechanisms for water management following international water law, assistance by international agencies and donors, and integrated social, economic and environmental methodology.     

SegOptim—A new R package for optimizing object-based image analyses of high-spatial resolution remotely-sensed data

Geographic Object-based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) is increasingly used to process high-spatial resolution imagery, with applications ranging from single species detection to habitat and land cover mapping. Image segmentation plays a key role in GEOBIA workflows, allowing to partition images into homogenous and mutually exclusive regions. Nonetheless, segmentation techniques require a robust parameterization to achieve the best results. Frequently, inappropriate parameterization leads to sub-optimal results and difficulties in comparing distinct methods.Here, we present an approach based on Genetic Algorithms (GA) to optimize image segmentation parameters by using the performance scores from object-based classification, thus allowing to assess the adequacy of a segmented image in relation to the classification problem. This approach was implemented in a new R package called SegOptim, in which several segmentation algorithms are interfaced, mostly from open-source software (GRASS GIS, Orfeo Toolbox, RSGISLib, SAGA GIS, TerraLib), but also from proprietary software (ESRI ArcGIS). SegOptim also provides access to several machine-learning classification algorithms currently available in R, including Gradient Boosted Modelling, Support Vector Machines, and Random Forest.We tested our approach using very-high to high spatial resolution images collected from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (0.03 – 0.10 m), WorldView-2 (2 m), RapidEye (5 m) and Sentinel-2 (10 – 20 m) in six different test sites located in northern Portugal with varying environmental conditions and for different purposes, including invasive species detection and land cover mapping. The results highlight the added value of our novel comparison of image segmentation and classification algorithms. Overall classification performances (assessed through cross-validation with the Kappa index) ranged from 0.85 to 1.00. Pilot-tests show that our GA-based approach is capable of providing sound results for optimizing the parameters of different segmentation algorithms, with benefits for classification accuracy and for comparison across techniques. We also verified that no particular combination of an image segmentation and a classification algorithm is suited for all the tasks/objectives. Consequently, it is crucial to compare and optimize available methods to understand which one is more suited for a certain objective.Our approach allows a closer integration between the segmentation and classification stages, which is of high importance for GEOBIA workflows. The results from our tests confirm that this integration has benefits for comparing and optimizing both processes. We discuss some limitations of the SegOptim approach (and potential solutions) as well as a future roadmap to expand its current functionalities.     

Induction of female‐to‐male sex change in a large protogynous fish,Choerodon schoenleinii

Most behavioral studies on hermaphroditic fishes have focused on small‐sized species, which are tractable for research. Although many species of large hermaphroditic fishes are important fishery resources, their proximate mechanisms (visual, chemical and/or behavioral cues) in the social regulation of sex change have not been determined. Determination of these would inform resource management and aquaculture. In order to get closer to understanding the proximate mechanisms underlying the social regulation of female‐to‐male sex change in large hermaphroditic fishes, this study reports situations that induced female‐to‐male sex change in black‐spot tuskfish, Choerodon schoenleinii, a species of large protogynous fish, in massive laboratory tanks. The situations differed in the possibility of male‐to‐female tactile contact and in the group sex ratio, enabling us to infer plausible proximate mechanisms underlying sex change induction. Tactile contact between individuals is suspected to be closely related to the incidence of female‐to‐male sex change in C. schoenleinii. Visual and chemical cues alone may be insufficient to inhibit such sex changes. Male‐to‐female tactile contact may have an important influence on female‐to‐male sex change, i.e., inhibition of this sex change, in this species. The effect of sex ratio of a social group on the incidence of sex change may be due to the relative frequency and intensity of male tactile contact with each female, which may vary with the number of females. In the absence of a dominant male, tactile contact among females may affect the incidence of sex change, as well as determine which individuals change sex.     

福建煤系石墨资源状况和开发前景

福建省煤系石墨赋存于中二叠统童子岩组,是无烟煤受高温高压作用进一步变质而成,属隐晶质石墨。通过调查发现,福建省煤系石墨矿井、勘查区处于未开采或停采状态,开采矿区也多以煤炭开采的形式生产销售,造成资源浪费。为合理开发利用煤系石墨资源,采用d₀₀₂（碳层间距）-R₂（拉曼参数）模板鉴别煤系石墨并确定煤系石墨等级,结合区域构造的控制作用,划分了大田-漳平与永安-安溪石墨成矿区。在此基础上,综合实测数据和历年勘查资料分析,预测出永安长垇、永安下盖竹-甫弼-塘下洋、大田琼口-小溪洋-永安老鹰山、漳平可坑-乌石隔、漳平乌坑-华安福田5块煤系石墨资源远景区,其预测资源量8 196万t,展现了良好的开发前景。针对目前煤系石墨资源开发利用现状,提出“规范煤系石墨资源开采秩序、建立煤与煤系石墨鉴别指标并设立明确的煤矿与石墨矿权规范、优化石墨资源开发利用体系等”系列建议,以实现福建石墨产业结构协调化、技术高度化、产品系列化和价值链完整化。移动阅读      

澳大利亚夏季大雪与南极海冰三个气候开关

通过对澳大利亚气温资料和环南极海冰资料对比验证,我们发现澳大利亚夏季大雪与对面南极大陆海冰增加在时间上有一一对应关系.我们在2003年就提出,环南极海冰变化是全球气候变化的调节器,德雷克海峡海冰在全球气候变化中起重要作用.2006年澳大利亚夏季大雪验证了这一结论:气候和构造是地球系统中的两个相关因素,它们受天文周期控制.德雷克海峡海冰的减少加快了环南极西风漂流,减慢了南太平洋环流,使东澳大利亚暖流变弱,为南极冷空气袭击澳大利亚东南部的塔斯马尼亚岛创造了条件.特别值得指出的是,潮汐有1.1、2.06、2.2、10、11、22、31、56、62年变化周期,潮汐周期与太阳黑子周期的叠加效应为解释厄尔尼诺、气温、海温、海冰、地磁、地震的11年和22年周期变化提供了理论根据.     

Research on heavy metals in Ruditapes philippinarum and soda industry wastes

Heavy metals pollution in Jiaozhou Bay was studied inRuditapes. philippinarum, a bioindicator of seawater pollution. Heavy metals in soda industry wastes “white mud” were also studied. Comparison of microwave digestion method with general digestion method revealed that microwave digestion is superior to general digestion in precision, recovery, digestion speed and efficiency, etc. Cd concentration in HongdaoR. philippinarum samples exceeded the national standard by 0.046 mg/kg, that of Yinghai sample by 0.02 mg/kg, and that of Hongshiya sample by 0.22 mg/kg. Sample Pb concentration in Hongshiya was found to exceed the national standard by 0.02 mg/kg. However the heavy metals concentration inR. philippinarum near the Qingdao Alkaline Factory was complied with the standard. This was proved byPenaeus chinensis culture experiment. Therefore, the possible contamination source may come from other land areas. This study is supported by Project 973 (NO.2002CB 412402), and key project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant NO.KJCX315W-215).     

The reclassification of the suspected R coronae borealis star SY hyi as a semiregular variable

SY Hyi is classified as a suspected R Coronae Borealis-type variable star. Photometric and spectroscopic observations of SY Hyi lead to the star’s reclassification as a semiregular variable of spectral type M5-6.     

THE BIOPOLITICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR GEOSURVEILLANCE

ABSTRACT. Biopolitical use of geosurveillance can create and sustain a politics of fear. Although the majority of surveillance literature focuses on individuals, in this article I focus on groups and populations, drawing on Michel Foucault's analysis of biopolitics. After discussing the forms and history of geosurveillance I argue that three particularly important factors contribute to these politics: divisions, geospatial technologies, and the risk‐based society. In order to combat the negative unintended consequences of these factors I suggest that more attention be paid to the mutual relationships between geospatial technology and politics, rather than on assessments of the value of individual surveillant technologies. (09–11–06) 12:01 PDT SAN FRANCISCO—A United Airlines flight that was diverted to Dallas this morning after an unclaimed electronic device was discovered onboard has landed at San Francisco International Airport, an airport spokesman said. The flight crew on United flight 351 from Atlanta to San Francisco elected to stop in Dallas around 7 a.m., said SFO spokesman Mike McCarron, after finding a backpack on board that no one claimed. The unattended backpack contained a PDA device, McCarron said, “like a Blackberry.” Authorities searched the plane in Dallas and found nothing unusual, he said.—Marisa Lagos, 2006.     

Channel change,bankfull and effective discharges on a vertically accreting,meandering, gravel‐bed river

Along the lower reaches of the Waipaoa River, New Zealand, cross‐section survey data indicate there was a 23 per cent decrease in bankfull width and a 22 per cent reduction in channel cross‐section area between 1948 and 2000, as the channel responded to increased inputs of fine (suspended) sediment following deforestation of the headwaters in late C19 and early C20. We determined the bankfull discharge within a ～39 km long reach by routing known discharges through the one‐dimensional MIKE 11 flow model. The model runs suggest that the bankfull discharge varies between ～800 and ～2300 m³ s^?1 and that the average recurrence interval is 4 ± 2 years on the annual maximum series; by contrast, the effective flow (360 m³ s^?1) is equaled or exceeded three times a year. The variability in bankfull discharge arises because the banks tend to be lower in places where flood flows are constricted than in reaches where overbank flow is dispersed over a wide area, and because scour has counteracted aggradation in some locations. There is no downstream variation in Shields stress, or in relative shear stress, within the study reach. Bankfull shear stress is, on average, five times greater than the shear stress required to initiate motion. At the effective discharge it is more than twice the threshold value. The effective discharge probably has more relevance than the bankfull discharge to the overall picture of sediment movement in the lower reaches of the Waipaoa River but, because width is constrained by the stability and resistance of the bank material to erosion during high flows that also scour the bed, the overall channel geometry is likely determined by discharges at or near bankfull. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.