Studies on the behaviour of nutrients in the Mandovi Estuary during premonsoon

Behaviour of silicate, nitrate and phosphate in the Mandovi Estuary was studied during the premonsoon season. The study shows that silicate is removed from the water column while nitrate showed an internal source. This nitrate source has been identified as the wash water from an iron ore screening plant which discharges the muddy waste directly into the river. Applying mixing relations, the distribution of this nitrate both up- and downstream of the outfall has been studied. Phosphate showed very low concentrations in the low salinity region; however, its concentration increased slightly towards the higher salinity region.     

Flounders follow the tides to feed: Evidence from ultrasonic tracking in an estuary

Ultrasonically tagged flounders were tracked in the estuary of the River Bann, Northern Ireland, for periods of between 2 and 12 h (11 fish for a total of 92 h and 2·5 km), during their summer residence. Positions were determined by triangulation with two receivers.All fish remained within 400 m of the release point; on average flounders moved about 270 m during one tidal cycle, equivalent to 830 body lengths, or just over 1 body length per minute. Movements were most likely at dusk, but other parameters were not contingent upon time of day, although no data were gathered at dawn. Frequency, direction, distance, speed and duration of movement and turn rate were all significantly contingent upon state of the tide. The movement data are interpreted in terms of feeding behaviour, supported by results from other parts of the study. At high tide flounders made active but meandering searches for food on the inundated mudflats. Similar but faster searches heading downstream on falling tides reflected (a) completion of feeding while littoral invertebrates were still available and (b) avoidance of stranding. Flounders made infrequent but long and linear passages downstream at low tide, when they tended to bury themselves at the edge of the main channel where there was little food. Subsequently, the fish followed the rising tide upstream so that the cycle of movements kept most fish in the same area of the estuary in the short term. It is suggested that tolerance of changing salinities enables flounders, more than other flatfish species, to exploit dense populations of estuarine intertidal invertebrates as food.     

三维交叉裂隙渗流传质特性数值模拟

对交叉裂隙渗流传质特性的定量描述是研究整个裂隙网络渗透传质特性的基础。为真实模拟水流及溶质在三维交叉裂隙中的运移过程,首先通过三维轮廓仪获取天然岩石裂隙表面的形貌数据,再应用三维重构技术生成相应的三维交叉裂隙模型,随后求解Navier-Stokes方程,假定溶质运移满足Fick定律,模拟水流和溶质在三维交叉裂隙中的运移过程。通过对比粗糙裂隙模型与平行平板模型的模拟结果发现：粗糙度对流体的分布及流动状态存在显著的影响;不同进、出口工况下的流体流动及溶质运移状态亦表明：裂隙交叉的几何形貌会显著地影响溶质混合行为。这些结果表明,目前被广泛采用的平行平板模型在评估岩体内特别是交叉口的物质运移特性时将导致较大的偏差,在将来的研究中有必要针对裂隙交叉口的几何特征建立修正的模型以提高评估的准确性。     

Quantitative prediction of discrete element models on complex loading paths

The ability of discrete element models to describe quantitatively (and not only qualitatively) the constitutive behaviour of a dense sand is assessed in this paper. Two kinds of 3D discrete models are considered. Both consider spheres as elementary particles. Nevertheless, the first model implements a contact law with rolling resistance whereas the second takes into account clumps made of two spheres. The discrete models are calibrated and validated from mechanical tests performed on a dense Hostun sand with a true triaxial apparatus. The calibration is carried out from axisymmetric drained compression tests, while the validation is discussed from monotonic and cyclic stress proportional loading paths and from a circular stress path in the deviatoric stress plane. The quality of the predictions of the discrete models are evaluated by comparison with the predictions given with advanced phenomenological constitutive relations, mainly an incrementally non-linear relation. Predictions given by the discrete models are remarkable, particularly when it is put in perspective with respect to the very few number of mechanical tests required for their calibration. However, these results and conclusions were reached in enabling conditions, and some limitations of such discrete models should be kept in mind.     

Spinning in circles? A systematic review on the role of theory in social vulnerability,resilience and adaptation research

An increasing number of publications focus on social vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation (SVRA) towards natural hazards and climate change. Despite this proliferation of research, a systematic understanding of how these studies are theoretically grounded is lacking. Here, we systematically reviewed 4432 articles that address SVRA in various disciplinary fields (e.g. psychology, sociology, geography, mathematics) for various hazards, including floods, droughts, landslides, storm surges, wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcano eruptions. We focus on the extent to which these studies explicate the frameworks, theoretical constructs or theories they rely on. Surprisingly, we found that about 90% of the reviewed studies do not explicitly refer to a theoretical underpinning. Overall, theories focusing on individuals’ SVRA were more frequently used than those focusing on systems, society, groups, and networks. Moreover, the uptake of theories varied according to the hazard investigated and field of knowledge, being more frequent in wildfire and flood studies and articles published in social science journals. Based on our analysis, we propose a reflexive handling of theories to foster more transparent, comparable, and robust empirical research on SVRA.     

小流域水分行为、生态效应及其优化调控研究方面的若干问题

把小流域水文生态研究,分解为小流域水分行为、生态效应及其优化调控研究3个方面。在分析国内外研究现状与问题的基础上,指出了其需要系统加以探讨的若干内容,认为由此可构建流域水文生态学的基本框架,进而发展流域水文生态学。     

The life cycle of contributors in collaborative online communities -the case of OpenStreetMap

Over the last two decades, online communities have become ubiquitous, with millions of people accessing collaborative project websites every day. Among them, the OpenStreetMap project (OSM) has been very successful in collecting/offering volunteered geographic information (VGI). Very different behaviours are observed among OSM participants, which translate into large differences of lifespan, contribution levels (e.g. Nielsen’s 90–9-1 rule) and attitudes towards innovations (e.g. Diffusion of innovation theory or DoIT). So far, the literature has defined phases in the life cycle of contributors only based on the nature of their contributions (e.g. role of participants and edits characteristics). Our study identifies the different phases of their life cycle from a temporal perspective and assesses how these phases relate to the volume and the frequency of the contributions from participants. Survival analyses were performed using both a complementary cumulative distribution function and a Kaplan-Meier estimator to plot survival and hazard curves. The analyses were broken down according to Nielsen and DoIT contributors’ categories to highlight potential explanatory variables. This paper shows that two contribution processes combine with three major participation stages to form six phases in contributors’ life cycle. The volume of edits provided on each active day is driven by the two contribution processes, illustrating the evolution of contributors’ motivation over time. Since contributors’ lifespan is a universal metric, our results may also apply to other collaborative online communities.     

Effectiveness of pilot carbon emissions trading systems in China

China is in the process of establishing a national emissions trading system (ETS). Evaluating the implementation effectiveness of the seven pilot ETSs in China is critical for designing this national system. This study administered a questionnaire survey to assess the behaviour of enterprises covered by the seven ETS pilots from the perspective of: the strictness of compliance measures; rules for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV); the mitigation pressure felt by enterprises; and actual mitigation and trading activities. The results show that the pilot MRV and compliance rules have not yet been fully implemented. The main factors involved are the lack of compulsory force of the regulations and the lack of policy awareness within the affected enterprises. Most enterprises have a shortage of free allowances and thus believe that the ETSs have increased their production costs. Most enterprises have already established mitigation targets. Some of the covered enterprises are aware of their own internal emission reduction costs and most of these have used this as an important reference in trading. Many enterprises have accounted for carbon prices in their long-term investment. The proportion of enterprises that have participated in trading is fairly high; however, reluctance to sell is quite pervasive in the market, and enterprises are mostly motivated to trade simply in order to achieve compliance. Few enterprises are willing to manage their allowances in a market-oriented manner. Different free allowance allocation methods directly affect the pathways enterprises take to control emissions.

Key policy insights

• In the national ETS, the compulsory force of ETS provisions should be strengthened.

• A reasonable level of free allowance shortage should be ensured to promote emission reduction by enterprises.

• Sufficient information should be provided to guide enterprises in their allowance management to activate the market.

• To promote the implementation of mitigation technologies by enterprises, actual output-based allocation methods should be used.

• The government should use market adjustment mechanisms, such as a price floor and ceiling, to ensure that carbon prices are reasonable and stable, so as to guide long-term low carbon investment.

     

裂隙参数分析在岩体力学和水力学习性研究中的应用

岩体的力学和水力学习性主要取决于其中裂隙的发育程度。一定成因的裂隙具有一定的发育规律,这一规律既具确定性又具随机性。本文详细讨论了表示岩体裂隙发育程度特征参数的量测和分析方法,重点论述了裂隙参数分析在研究岩体渗透习性、岩体中裂隙网络计算机模拟及岩体弹性参数分析等方面的应用。