Using historical maps to analyze two hundred years of land cover changes: case study of Sorrento peninsula (south Italy)

Historical maps are effective sources of geographical information and useful for historical and territorial research. In this study, the examination of landscape dynamics on the basis of historical maps over a period of more than 200 years was conducted. The study area is Sorrento peninsula and part of the near Sarno river basin in South Italy. This study provides a general framework for the assessment of the overall quality and accuracy of historical maps. The application of the methodology used in this specific case study can contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of the landscape in the long term. The derived knowledge can be applied in the planning of the landscape in order to implement correct conservation strategies. The comparison was made on four maps 1817, 1875, 1960, and 2006. Geodetic accuracy of the sheet maps of 1817 and 1875 offer a right basis for a macro analysis of land cover dynamics, evaluating conversion from one land cover category to another. Main transformation, identified in the period between 1875 and 1960, was the disappearance of vineyards, which covered 25% of the total study area in 1875. Agricultural areas increased in this period to cover 57% of the total area.     

African Fire Cultures,Cattle Ranching,and Colonial Landscape Transformations in the Neotropics

Fire regimes emerge partly from human activities that reflect cultural‐ecological knowledge of the relationships among fire, vegetation, grazing, climate, and other variables, as well as social relations. More knowledge of such “fire cultures,” past and present, therefore remains necessary to better understand the causes and persistent consequences of landscape burning. In the neotropics, people have used fire for centuries to manage livestock pastures. Conventional wisdom has long posited that such practices derived solely from antecedent European and indigenous, Native American fire cultures. Analysis of accounts of rangeland burning from throughout the neotropics during colonial times, however, demonstrates that ranchers incorporated African fire cultures and that the timing of burning shifted from early during the dry season in the sixteenth century to late during the dry season by the nineteenth century.     

Long‐term spatial dynamics in vegetated seascapes: fragmentation and habitat loss in a human‐impacted subtropical lagoon

Vegetated coastal seascapes exhibit dynamic spatial patterning, some of which is directly linked to human coastal activities. Human activities (e.g. coastal development) have modified freshwater flow to marine environments, resulting in significant changes to submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) communities. Yet, very little is known about the spatially complex process of SAV habitat loss and fragmentation that affects ecosystem function. Using habitat mapping from aerial photography spanning 71 years (1938–2009) for Biscayne Bay (Florida, USA), we quantify both SAV habitat loss and fragmentation using a novel fragmentation index. To understand the influence of water management practices on SAV seascapes, habitat loss and fragmentation were compared between nearshore and offshore locations, as well as locations adjacent to and distant from canals that transport freshwater into the marine environment. Habitat loss and fragmentation were significantly higher along the shoreline compared with offshore seascapes. Nearshore habitats experienced a net loss of 3.31% of the total SAV mapped (2.57 km²) over the time series. While areas adjacent to canals had significantly higher SAV cover, they still experienced wide fluctuations in cover and fragmentation over time. All sites exhibited higher fragmentation in 2009 compared with 1938, with four sites exhibiting high fragmentation levels between the 1990s and 2000s. We demonstrate that freshwater inputs into coastal bays modify the amount of SAV and the fragmentation dynamics of SAV habitats. Spatial changes are greater close to shore and canals, indicating that these coastal developments have transformative impacts on vegetated habitats, with undetermined consequences for the provisioning of ecosystem goods and services.     

高密度建筑群及超高建筑物对风环境影响的风洞试验

利用风洞试验方法,以上海陆家嘴金融贸易区建筑群及上海中心大厦为研究对象,讨论了不同粗糙度、不同风向条件下,高密度建筑群和超高建筑物对风环境的影响。结果表明:1)地表粗糙度越小,大风区范围越大。此外,建筑群的分布、排列形式会明显改变来流走向。2)超高建筑物由于其形态上下不一致,在一定条件下,不同高度处的风矢量存在明显差异。3)参照国外建筑物风环境舒适度评估标准,对模拟区域内行人高度处的舒适度进行了评估,并给出了3个风环境较差的区域。     

Am improved source mechanism for the 1935 Timiskaming,Quebec earthquake from regional waveforms

The Timiskaming earthquake, which occurred near the Quebec-Ontario border at the northwest end of the Western Quebec seismic zone in 1935, is one of the five largest instrumentally recorded southeastern Canadian earthquakes. Previous studies of this earthquake concentrated on modeling teismograms recorded at regional distances, a better constrained focal mechanism is obtained. The waveforms indicate thrust faulting on a moderately dipping northwest striking plane at a depth of 10 km. TheM _w of 6.1 determined in this study is in good agreement with previous magnitude estimates (m _b 6.1,M _s 6.0, andm _bLg 6.2–6.3). The focal mechanism is similar to those of many recent small to moderate earthquakes in the region, and the inferred (from theP axis) acting stress of northeast compression is consistent with the overall eastern North American stress field. The Lake Timiskaming Rift Valley in which the earthquake occurred, comprises several northwest striking faults consistent with the strike of the 1935 event. Thus, the 1935 earthquake appears to be a result of faulting on the reactivated Timiskaming graben.     

广州近,现代史迹旅游资源开发探讨

近、现代史迹是广州历史文化名城重要的组成部分降主要标志,具有很高的旅游开发利用价值。本文阐明了近、现代史迹旅游资源在广州历史文化名城的突出地位,提出高起点,系列化重点开发干史迹专题景区,构建广州“近,现代史迹旅游中心”,把广州旅游业推向一个新的台阶,将广州建成“亚太地区国际旅游城市。     

浅析历史特大洪水在设计洪水中的作用

运用统计分析方法,研究了实测系列中加入４种不同情况的历史洪水对设计洪水的影响。结果表明：加入的历史洪水重现期越长,则设计洪水成果的稳定性越好;在同一历史洪水考证期内,加入１－２个历史洪水对提高设计洪水成果的稳定性和精订作用很明显。     

定位不定量历史洪水对洪水统计参数的影响

针对水电站设计洪水频率计算中的定位不定量历史洪水对洪水统计参数的影响进行了探索,提出了解决这一问题的方法途径。通过对比计算及综合分析可知：考虑定位不定量历史洪水的洪水系列频率计算得到的洪水统计参数,其代表更好,可靠性更高。     

The principle of coupled stress release model and its application

Coupled stress release model is proposed in the paper considering the interaction between different parts based on stress release model by Vere-Jones, and is used to historical earthquake data from North China. The results by this model are compared with the results by original stress release model using AIC criterion. The results show that coupled stress release model is better than original model.     

Site effect and damage distribution in Pujili (Ecuador) after the 28 March 1996 earthquake

The 28 March 1996 earthquake (Mw=5.7) produced extensive damage in Pujili, a small town located in the central part of the Inter-Andean valley of Ecuador. Variations in the damage rate of adobe constructions throughout the city let us suppose a ground motion amplification related to site effects. A site effect study using the H/V spectral ratio confirmed the good agreement with geological formations and showed that a second peak in some soil response appears at sites that are located over a zone of alluvial deposits, in the most damaged area of the city. This second peak is in the frequency range 5–7 Hz, close to the natural response of adobe building frequency. Thus, the second peak seems to increase the damage rate of adobe buildings and may be related to superficial alluvial deposits of a river, acting independently of the rest of the soil column.