Prediction of weather parameters on a very short time scale by an Auto Regressive process for aviation flight planning

Forecasting weather parameters such as temperature and pressure with a reasonable degree of accuracy three hours ahead of the scheduled departure of an aircraft helps economic and efficient planning of aircraft operations. However, these two parameters exhibit a high degree of persistency and have nonstationary mean and variance at sub-periods (i.e. at 0000, 0300, 0600,…, 2100UTC). Hence these series have been standardised (to have mean 0 and variance 1) and thereafter seasonal differenced (lag 8) to achieve almost near stationarity. An attempt has been made to fit the standardised and seasonal differenced series of Chennai (a coastal station) and Trichy (an inland station) airport into an Auto Regressive (AR) process. The model coefficients have been estimated based on adaptive filter algorithm which uses the method of convergence by the steepest descent. The models were tested with an independent data set and diagnostic checks were made on the residual error series. An independent estimation of fractal dimension has also been made in this study to conform the number parameters used in the AR processes. The models contemplated in this study are parsimonious and can be used to forecast surface temperature and pressure.     

Experimental study on strain field evolution around a simulated thrust fault

Earthquakes result from continuous geodynamic processes. A topic of significant interest for the scientific community is to elaborate on the phenomena governing the faulting and fracturing of crustal rocks. Therefore, in this study, uniaxial compressive shear failure experiments were conducted on Fangshan marble rock samples with a prefabricated slot to simulate thrust faulting. The center of each marble plate (105 mm × 80 mm × 5 mm) was engraved with a 30-mm long double-sided nonpenetrating slot (depth: 2 mm, width: 0.5 mm). The deformation and destruction processes of the rock surface were recorded using a high-speed camera. The digital image correlation method was used to calculate the displacement and strain distribution and variation at different loading stages. The accumulative and incremental displacement fields u and v , strain field e_x and e_y, and shear strain e_xy were analyzed. When the loading level reached its ultimate value, the strain field was concentrated around the prefabricated slot. The concentration reached a maximum at the ends of the prefabricated slot. The magnitude of shear strain reached 0.1. This experiment contributes to our understanding of the dynamic process of active faulting.     

The Utilization and Modeling of Photo-Fenton Process as a Single Unit in Textile Wastewater Treatment

Studies on the direct application of the photo-Fenton process (PFOP) to disinfect and decontaminate textile wastewater are rare. The output of the artificial neural network (ANN) models applied to the wastewater of a textile factory producing woven fabrics, which is used to assess the efficiency of the PFOP process, are investigated and compared with each other in this study. The highest PFOP efficiency is obtained at a pH of 3. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS) and color removal rates are 94%, 90%, and 96%, respectively. The data are modeled with ANNs and nonlinear external input autoregressive ANNs (NARX-ANN) using the MATLAB R2020a software program. Both Levenberg–Marquardt (trainlm) and scaled conjugate gradient (trainscg) algorithms are employed in the ANN and NARX-ANN models, whereas hyperbolic tangent sigmoid (Tansig) and logistic sigmoid (Logsig) functions are superimposed on the hidden layer in the ANN model, and Tansig functions are superimposed on the NARX-ANN model. It is determined that the developed ANN models are more effective in estimating the PFOP efficiency. The mean squared error is 0.000 953, and the coefficient of determination (R²) is 0.96 661.     

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Using Moringa oleifera Seed and Press Cake Powder: A Comparative Analysis

Moringa oleifera (MO), also known as drumstick tree, has gained worldwide attention among researchers and policy makers, for showing its remarkable potential in environmental management. Recently, MO seed or press cake (a by-product of oil extraction industry) powder has also emerged as an alternative and promising coagulant for environmental remediation. In this view, attempts have been made in this study to evaluate the efficacy of MO seed and press cake powder (MSP & PCP) for the treatment of municipal wastewater. Both MSP and PCP are characterized by using swelling ratio, scanning and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The effect of various operational parameters such as coagulation–flocculation pH (2–10), coagulant dosage (0.1–1 g L⁻¹), and sedimentation time (0–180 min), etc., is investigated to understand the potential of MSP and PCP. At optimized operational conditions, sedimentation kinetics is also performed suggesting that the treatment process is being governed by the second-order kinetic model. The chemical and biological oxygen demand removals at optimized conditions are observed as follows: ≈38 and ≈73% for MSP and ≈47 and ≈85% for PCP. Overall, the results of the present study elucidated that PCP can be employed as a promising alternative of MSP for municipal wastewater with improved treatment efficiencies.     

低效用海评价指标体系构建研究——以浙江省普陀区填海用海为例

本文旨在针对当前海域节约集约利用的要求下,缺乏低效用海客观评价体系的现状。采用层次分析法和德尔菲专家打分法等技术,在DPSIR框架下,从指标选取、权重设立以及综合评价等方面构建低效用海评价指标体系,并在浙江省普陀区进行应用示范。结果显示,普陀区41个填海项目中,有17个项目评价等级为优,有4个评价等级为良好。等级为一般和较差的项目各10个,占评价项目48.7%。这表明普陀区填海项目中批而未填、填而未建或闲置用海情况较为明显。本研究在指标体系构建和实际应用方面具有创新性和先进性,对于低效用海的节约集约利用具有一定的实际意义和应用价值。     

Natural sediment at a dam and its inorganic materials as adsorbents of praseodymium(Pr(Ⅲ))

The sediment deposited behind a dam(DS) and its inorganic materials(IM-DS) were characterized and used for the removal of praseodymium(Pr) from aqueous solutions. Quartz, albite, and kaolinite were found in the sediment by X-ray diffraction. Kinetic data fit well to a pseudo second-order model, the equilibrium time for DS and IM-DS was 2 h and 3 min, respectively, and the adsorption capacity was higher for Pr/DS(q_e= 4.91 mg/g) than for Pr/IM-DS(q_e= 3.01 mg/g) in these condi...     

下扬子及周边地区深部泊松比结构及深部动力过程约束研究

下扬子及周边地区存在着丰富的地质构造和多金属矿产资源,其深部结构和动力学过程已成为地学界研究的热点.为了更好地讨论下扬子及周边地区的深部动力学过程和岩浆活动机制,本文基于均匀网格层析成像方法提出了非均匀网格远震层析成像方法,利用大量的天然地震相对走时残差数据反演获得了下扬子及周边地区深至700 km范围内的三维S波和P波速度结构,并根据纵横波的比值关系计算出泊松比异常.由于S波速度比P波对流体的反应更加敏感,所以泊松比异常反映了物质是否包含流体或者物质的软硬、冷热程度.本研究结果显示：（1）长江中下游成矿带下方的上地幔内存在明显的高泊松比异常,而地幔过渡带内则存在明显的低泊松比异常;（2）大别造山带及其南侧的中扬子地块的上地幔中下部及地幔过渡带内都存在明显低泊松比异常,且呈现东深西浅的空间分布特征.结合已有的地质、地球物理和地球化学等资料,我们认为长江中下游成矿带下方的地幔过渡带内滞留着古太平洋俯冲板块,其上地幔内则赋存着软的上地幔热物质,为深部成矿提供了热量或幔源物质.因此,古太平洋板块的俯冲对长江中下游成矿带的形成发挥了至关重要的作用.     

Multivariate properties of extreme precipitation events in the Pearl River basin,China: Magnitude,frequency, timing,and related causes

Daily precipitation/temperature data collected at 74 weather stations across the Pearl River basin of China (PRBC), for the years 1952–2013, were used to analyse extreme precipitation (EP) processes at annual and seasonal scales in terms of precipitation magnitude, occurrence rates, and timing. Peak‐over‐threshold sampling, modified Mann‐Kendall trend tests, and Poisson regression model were utilized in this study. Causes driving the observed statistical behaviours of EP were investigated, focusing particularly on the impacts of temperature change and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). EP events, which occur mainly during April and September, are most frequent in June. At an annual scale, they are subject to relatively even interannual distributions during the wet season. Significant trends were observed in the magnitude, frequency, and timing of EP events during the dry seasons, although no such trends were seen during the wet seasons. Seasonal shifts in EP can easily trigger sudden flood or drought events and warming temperatures, and ENSO events also have significant impacts on EP processes across the PRBC, as reflected by their increased magnitude and frequency in the western PRBC and decreased precipitation magnitudes in the eastern PRBC during ENSO periods. These results provide important evidence of regional hydrological responses to global climate changes in terms of EP regimes in tropical and subtropical zones.     

Soil erosion in the Anthropocene: Research needs

Soil erosion is a geomorphological and, at the same time, a land degradation process that may cause environmental and property damage, loss of livelihoods and services as well as social and economic disruption. Erosion not only lowers soil quality on‐site, but causes also significant sediment‐related problems off‐site. Given the large number of research papers on this topic, one might therefore conclude that we know now almost everything about soil erosion and its control so that little new knowledge can be added. This conclusion can be refuted by pointing to some major research gaps. There is a need for more research attention to (1) improved understanding of both natural and anthropogenic soil erosion processes and their interactions, (2) scaling up soil erosion processes and rates in space and time, and (3) innovative techniques and strategies to prevent soil erosion or reduce erosion rates. This is illustrated with various case studies from around the world. If future research addresses these research gaps, we will (1) better understand processes and their interactions operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales, predict their rates as well as their on‐site and off‐site impacts, which is academically spoken rewarding but also crucial for better targeting erosion control measures, and (2) we will be in a better position to select the most appropriate and effective soil erosion control techniques and strategies which are highly necessary for a sustainable use of soils in the Anthropocene. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of soil erosion in a monsoon-dominated mountain river basin in India using RUSLE-SDR and AHP

The long-term average annual soil loss (A) and sediment yield (SY) in a tropical monsoon-dominated river basin in the southern Western Ghats, India (Muthirapuzha River Basin, MRB; area: 271.75 km²), were predicted by coupling the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and sediment delivery ratio (SDR) models. Moreover, the study also delineated soil erosion risk zones based on the soil erosion potential index (SEPI) using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique. Mean A of the basin is 14.36 t ha^?1 year^?1, while mean SY is only 3.65 t ha^?1 year^?1. Although the land use/land cover types with human interference show relatively lower A compared to natural vegetation, their higher SDR values reflect the significance of anthropogenic activities in accelerated soil erosion. The soil erosion risk in the MRB is strongly controlled by slope, land use/land cover and relative relief, compared to geomorphology, drainage density, stream frequency and lineament frequency.