Vulnerability of groundwater in Quaternary aquifers to organic contaminants: a case study in Wuhan City,China

More than 30 organic contaminants were detected in shallow groundwaters at Wuhan, the largest city in central China. Seriously contaminated groundwaters were from densely populated, industrial and commercial areas. Abnormal concentrations were found in groundwater from Hankou, downtown Wuhan: trimethylbenzene up to 29 μg/L, tetramethylbenzene up to 866 μg/L, and trichloroethene up to 9.5 μg/L. Benzene, Toluene, Ethylene and Xylene (BTEX) contamination of groundwater is serious and widespread at Wuhan, ranging between 0.14 and 25.0 μg/L. Considering the hydrogeological conditions of most Chinese cities, DRAMIC, a modified version of the widely used DRASTIC model, was proposed by the authors for assessing vulnerability of groundwater to contamination. The factors D, R, A and I in DRAMIC model are the same as in DRASTIC. The factor topography is ignored. The factor soil media is substituted by a new factor aquifer thickness (M) and the factor hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer by a new factor impact of contaminant (C). The equation for determining the DRAMIC Index is: DRAMIC = 5D _R + 3R _R + 4A _R + 2M _R + 5I _R + 1C _R. The calculated DRAMIC Index can be used to identify areas that are more likely to be susceptible to groundwater contamination relative to each other. The higher the DRAMIC Index is, the greater the groundwater pollution potential. Applying DRAMIC, a GIS-based vulnerability map for Wuhan city was prepared. Interestingly, places such as downtown Hankou, where enhanced concentrations of BTEX have been detected, correspond quite well with those with higher DRAMIC ratings.     

A model for estimating the value of sampling programs and the optimal number of samples for contaminated soil

A model is presented for estimating the value of information of sampling programs for contaminated soil. The purpose is to calculate the optimal number of samples when the objective is to estimate the mean concentration. A Bayesian risk–cost–benefit decision analysis framework is applied and the approach is design-based. The model explicitly includes sample uncertainty at a complexity level that can be applied to practical contaminated land problems with limited amount of data. Prior information about the contamination level is modelled by probability density functions. The value of information is expressed in monetary terms. The most cost-effective sampling program is the one with the highest expected net value. The model was applied to a contaminated scrap yard in Göteborg, Sweden, contaminated by metals. The optimal number of samples was determined to be in the range of 16–18 for a remediation unit of 100 m². Sensitivity analysis indicates that the perspective of the decision-maker is important, and that the cost of failure and the future land use are the most important factors to consider. The model can also be applied for other sampling problems, for example, sampling and testing of wastes to meet landfill waste acceptance procedures.     

城市规划管理信息数据库的设计与建立

以某市城市规划地理信息数据库的设计与建立为例,主要阐述了该数据库的功能设计,并通过入库处理,将分层数据导入到对应数据库中。根据数据库设计要求,按空间单元划分存储单元建立各个子数据库,或者将所有数据合并为一个存储单元建立无缝数据库。从而实现图形与属性数据库的建立。     

Effects of climate change on the groundwater system in the Grote-Nete catchment,Belgium

The effects of climate change on the groundwater systems in the Grote-Nete catchment, Belgium, covering an area of 525 km², is modeled using wet (greenhouse), cold or NATCC (North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation Change) and dry climate scenarios. Low, central and high estimates of temperature changes are adopted for wet scenarios. Seasonal and annual water balance components including groundwater recharge are simulated using the WetSpass model, while mean annual groundwater elevations and discharge are simulated with a steady-state MODFLOW groundwater model. WetSpass results for the wet scenarios show that wet winters and drier summers are expected relative to the present situation. MODFLOW results for wet high scenario show groundwater levels increase by as much as 79 cm, which could affect the distribution and species richness of meadows. Results obtained for cold scenarios depict drier winters and wetter summers relative to the present. The dry scenarios predict dry conditions for the whole year. There is no recharge during the summer, which is mainly attributed to high evapotranspiration rates by forests and low precipitation. Average annual groundwater levels drop by 0.5 m, with maximum of 3.1 m on the eastern part of the Campine Plateau. This could endanger aquatic ecosystem, shrubs, and crop production.     

Theory and application for retrieval and fusion of spatial and temporal quantitative information from complex natural environment

This paper briefly presents the research progress of the State Major Basic Research Project 2001CB309400, “Theory and Application for Retrieval and Fusion of Spatial and Temporal Quantitative Information from Complex Natural Environment”. Based on the rapid advancement of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery technology, information theory of fully polarimetric scattering and applications in polarimetric SAR remote sensing are developed. To promote the modeling of passive microwave remote sensing, the vector (polarized) radiative transfer theory (VRT) of complex natural media such as inhomogeneous, multi-layered and 3-dimensional VRT is developed. With these theoretical progresses, data validation and retrieval algorithms for some typical events and characteristic parameters of earth terrain surfaces, atmosphere, and oceans from operational and experimental remote sensing satellites are studied. Employing remote sensing, radiative transfer simulation, geographic information systems (GIS), land hydrological process, and data assimilation, the Chinese land data assimilation system (CLDAS) is established. Towards the future development of China’s microwave meteorological satellites, employing remote sensing data of currently available SSM/I (special sensor microwave/imager), AMSU (advanced microwave sounding unit), MTI (microwave temperature imager), etc., with ground-based measurements, several operational algorithms and databases for atmospheric precipitation, water vapor and liquid water in clouds, and other hydrological/hydrological applications are developed. To advance China’s SAR and InSAR (interferometric SAR) technologies, the image processing and analysis of ERS (European remote sensing), Radarsat SAR, and Chinese SAR, etc., the software platforms are accomplished. Based on the researches of multi-information fusion, some simulations, identification, and information extractions of the targets from complex background clutter scenes are studied. Some experiments of radio wave propagation in anomalous atmospheric status are also carried out. Translated from Advances in Earth Science, 2007, 22(2): 111–125 [译自: 地球科学进展]     

Bayesian data fusion in a spatial prediction context: a general formulation

In spite of the exponential growth in the amount of data that one may expect to provide greater modeling and predictions opportunities, the number and diversity of sources over which this information is fragmented is growing at an even faster rate. As a consequence, there is real need for methods that aim at reconciling them inside an epistemically sound theoretical framework. In a statistical spatial prediction framework, classical methods are based on a multivariate approach of the problem, at the price of strong modeling hypotheses. Though new avenues have been recently opened by focusing on the integration of uncertain data sources, to the best of our knowledges there have been no systematic attemps to explicitly account for information redundancy through a data fusion procedure. Starting from the simple concept of measurement errors, this paper proposes an approach for integrating multiple information processing as a part of the prediction process itself through a Bayesian approach. A general formulation is first proposed for deriving the prediction distribution of a continuous variable of interest at unsampled locations using on more or less uncertain (soft) information at neighboring locations. The case of multiple information is then considered, with a Bayesian solution to the problem of fusing multiple information that are provided as separate conditional probability distributions. Well-known methods and results are derived as limit cases. The convenient hypothesis of conditional independence is discussed by the light of information theory and maximum entropy principle, and a methodology is suggested for the optimal selection of the most informative subset of information, if needed. Based on a synthetic case study, an application of the methodology is presented and discussed.     

STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF A WATERSHED-SCALE SEDIMENT INFORMATION NETWORK

A "Watershed-Scale Sediment Information Network" (WaSSIN), designed to complement UNESCO’s International Sedimentation Initiative, was endorsed as an initial project by the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research. WaSSIN is to address global fluvial-sediment information needs through a network approach based on consistent protocols for the collection, analysis, and storage of fluvial-sediment and ancillary information at smaller spatial scales than those of the International Sedimentation Initiative. As a second step of implementation, it is proposed herein that the WaSSIN have a general structure of two components, (1) monitoring and data acquisition and (2) research. Monitoring is to be conducted in small watersheds, each of which has an established database for discharge of water and suspended sediment and possibly for bed load, bed material, and bed topography. Ideally, documented protocols have been used for collecting, analyzing, storing, and sharing the derivative data. The research component is to continue the collection and interpretation of data, to compare those data among candidate watersheds, and to determine gradients of fluxes and processes among the selected watersheds. To define gradients and evaluate processes, the initial watersheds will have several common attributes. Watersheds of the first group will be: (1) six to ten in number, (2) less than 1000 km2 in area, (3) generally in mid-latitudes of continents, and (4) of semiarid climate. Potential candidate watersheds presently include the Weany Creek Basin, northeastern Australia, the Zhi Fanggou catchment, northern China, the Eshtemoa Watershed, southern Israel, the Metsemotlhaba River Basin, Botswana, the Aiuaba Experimental Basin, Brazil, and the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, southwestern United States.     

Defining shore platform boundaries using airborne laser scan data: a preliminary investigation

As an initial evaluation of the potential of digital elevation models (DEMs) and geographic information systems (GISs) for geomorphic characterization of rocky shorelines, airborne laser scan (ALS) data have been used to characterize shore platforms around Shag Point, southeastern New Zealand. The platforms have been characterized using field‐based techniques in previously published research, and therefore offer an ideal site for evaluation purposes. The main challenge involved the delineation of the shore platform area in terms of landward and seaward extents. The cliff top and landward edge of the shore platform was readily mapped, whereas the seaward edge of platforms was mapped with lesser precision due to difficulties associated with tidal inundation and the interference of wave action and surface water. In the central region of the study area (～0·1 km²) higher platform elevations and dense point cloud data enabled the generation of a high‐resolution (1 m) DEM. In analysing the DEM, ALS offered an advantage over the previous field survey in respect of the ability to assess continuous topography in plan‐view. The extent and form of two distinctive erosional surfaces is clearly apparent and was revealed through classifications based on slope and elevation. The spatial continuity of the upper surface implies that, in addition to the role of rock structure described in previous work, sea level and wave exposure may have been important factors in the generation and preservation of platform morphology at Shag Point. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conjoint modeling of residential group preferences: A comparison of the internal validity of hierarchical information integration approaches

 In this paper, two approaches for measuring residential group preferences, based on the method of Hierarchical Information Integration (HII), are compared. In particular, the hypothesis that group-based preference models estimated from integrated HII experiments better predict group preferences than part individual-based group models estimated from classical HII experiments is tested. To that effect, the models' ability to predict group preferences for new residential alternatives is compared in a study of residential preferences of co-ops. Results indicate that integrated HII group experiments indeed result in better predictions of residential preferences.     

利用GVG线采样技术提取农作物种植面积及其精度分析

GVG(GIS&Video&GPS)线采样系统提出以线状样区代替以往成数抽样中的点样区与面积样区概念,通过统计线状样区内作物种植面积成数来反映区域总体农作物种植面积成数。通过 GVG实地采样,将其结果与解译遥感影像提取的作物种植面积成数结果进行了对比分析,结果显示采用GVG线采样方式精确度较高,其采样系统具有实用性和推广价值。