Monitoring and comparison to predictive models of the Perdido Key beach nourishment project, Florida, USA

This paper summarizes the results of over 8 years of data describing the performance of a large beach nourishment project on Perdido Key, immediately adjacent to Pensacola Pass in Escambia County, FL, USA. As a result of a major excavation of the entrance channel to Pensacola Bay, over 7 million m³ of beach-quality sand were placed along the easternmost 7.5 km of Perdido Key, adjoining the entrance channel at Pensacola Pass. The project included the placement of 4.1 million m³ of sand directly upon the shoreline in 1989–1990, followed by the placement of an additional 3 million m³ as an underwater berm just offshore of the beach nourishment project in water depths of roughly 6 m. Monitoring of the performance of the beach nourishment project and the offshore berm has been conducted since 1989, beginning with a pre-construction survey of the project area. Monitoring surveys have been conducted on an annual or biennial basis since that time, with the most recent survey occurring in July/August, 1998. Over 8 years of monitoring data indicate that the beach nourishment project has retained approximately 56% of the original volume placed within the 7.5-km project length. In addition, according to the latest monitoring survey, the dry beach width of the project, initially constructed as 135 m on average, is still 53 m wider than pre-project conditions. Approximately 41% of the originally placed dry planform area remains as of July 1998. The most recent monitoring surveys in 1995, 1997, and 1998 encompass the effects of two major storm systems, Hurricanes Erin (August 1995) and Opal (October 1995). Monitoring of the offshore berm area indicates only a slight landward migration of the berm, accompanied by a minor decrease in volume, over the entire monitoring period. The performance of both the beach nourishment project and the offshore berm appear to be significantly related to the two storm events, particularly Hurricane Opal, and the proximity of the project to the tidal entrance at Pensacola Pass. Comparison of the documented performance of the beach nourishment project to simple existing analytical models of beach-fill evolution have yielded encouraging results in terms of preliminary design aids for future beach nourishment projects in the vicinity of deep tidal entrances.     

Ecologically Sustainable Fishing in Theory and Practice: Individual transferable quotas in Australia's South East Fishery

In 1988, responding to international legislation that requires sustainable fishery management, the Australian Fishery Management Authority (AFMA) implemented an individual transferable quota (ITQ) management system to address the environmental crisis in the South East Fishery. Defining sustainability in its broadest context to include social as well as economic and ecological dimensions, this paper firstly describes the environmental crisis and the South East Fishery's ITQ management system. Secondly, Christy's (1973) paper is employed as a catalyst to compare the theoretical socio-economic outcomes with the actual operation of ITQs. The brief South East Fishery experience suggests that the logic behind ITQs is correct. Production has become reorganised. Operators are not only fewer, but also embrace professionalism, quality, efficiency, and the operation of the free market within the industry. However, because of the local idiosyncrasies of this multi-species fishery, the legislation over territorial waters, and the absence of alternative employment, fishers have adopted non-quota fishing techniques and entered seas under New South Wales jurisdiction. Without a social re-adjustment policy or buy-out scheme, the AFMA's objective of ecologically sustainable development cannot be attained.     

城市居民距离认知研究——以校园大学生群体为对象的调查分析

以广州市大学生的行为活动和距离认知调查为基础,应用行为地理学理论和统计方法,总结了校园大学生群体距离认知的一般特征以及影响距离认知的因素,分析提出了校园大学生群体认知的3圈层空间结构模式,并进一步分析了大学生个人属性及其日常活动空间与距离认知的相互关系.     

土壤盐渍化量化的遥感与GIS实验

为对土壤盐渍化程度做更为科学的定量分析，该文重点研究了地下水埋深，地下水矿化度和地貌因子对土壤盐渍化影响以及这种影响的定量化，研究区为吉林省长岭县实验区。利用地理信息系统作为支持工具，结合遥感数据和专家经验，建立数学模型，进行综合分析，获得了较好的结果，这种方法为分析土壤盐渍化问题的有效途径之一。     

Climate Comparisons and Change Projections for the Northwest Atlantic from Six CMIP5 Models

Abstract

Key physical variables for the Northwest Atlantic (NWA) are examined in the “historical” and two future Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) simulations of six Earth System Models (ESMs) available through Phase 5 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The variables are air temperature, sea-ice concentration, surface and subsurface ocean temperature and salinity, and ocean mixed-layer depth. Comparison of the historical simulations with observations indicates that the models provide a good qualitative and approximate quantitative representation of many of the large-scale climatological features in the NWA (e.g., annual cycles and spatial patterns). However, the models represent the detailed structure of some important NWA ocean and ice features poorly, such that caution is needed in the use of their projected future changes. Monthly “climate change” fields between the bidecades 1986–2005 and 2046–2065 are described, using ensemble statistics of the changes across the six ESMs. The results point to warmer air temperatures everywhere, warmer surface ocean temperatures in most areas, reduced sea-ice extent and, in most areas, reduced surface salinities and mixed-layer depths. However, the magnitudes of the inter-model differences in the projected changes are comparable to those of the ensemble-mean changes in many cases, such that robust quantitative projections are generally not possible for the NWA.     

Improving the performance of precipitation outputs from Global Climate Models to predict monthly and seasonal rainfall over the Indian subcontinent

Skilful prediction of the monthly and seasonal summer monsoon rainfall over India at a smaller spatial scale is a major challenge for the scientific community. The present study is aimed at achieving this objective by hybridising two mathematical techniques, namely synthetic superensemble (SSE) and supervised principal component regression (SPCR) on six state-of-the art Global Climate Models (GCMs). The performance of the mathematical model is evaluated using correlation analysis, the root mean square error, and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency index. Results feature reasonable improvement over central India, which is a zone of maximum rainfall activity in the summer monsoon season. The study also highlights improvement in the monthly prediction of rainfall over raw GCMs (15–20% improvement) with exceptional improvement in July. The developed model is also examined for anomalous years of monsoon and it is found that the model is able to capture the signs of anomalies over different gridpoints of the Indian domain.     

An evaluation of self-governance in the New Zealand Bluff oyster fishery – The indicator system approach

The use of self-governance as a fisheries management tool is increasing in New Zealand and elsewhere. Researchers argue that in theory self-governance can lead to improved outcomes, but evaluating actual benefits is difficult because of the need to distinguish self-governance impacts from other influences on fisheries performance. An indicator system was developed in this paper to evaluate the contribution of selfgovernance to the performance of the Bluff Oyster fishery (OYU5), which is also managed under New Zealand's Quota Management System. There is evidence that self-governance makes a positive contribution to economic efficiency, institutional effectiveness and resource preservation in the Bluff Oyster fishery.     

空间信息技术在农业保险中的应用研究

中国是农业灾害发生频繁且灾情严重的国家之一。农业保险已成为农民灾后恢复生产和灾区重建的重要资金来源,风险保障和经济补偿作用日益凸显。但是,农业保险面临着信息不对称和经营成本高等问题。而利用3S等空间信息技术,可将保险标的空间化,建立承保标的空间数据库,为承保和理赔工作提供空间数据和分析管理支持,实现＂按图承保＂和＂按图理赔＂,以空间信息技术支持的农业保险创新应用促进了农业保险模式的转变,从而有效地解决农业保险存在的信息不对称和经营成本高等问题,充分发挥农业保险支农惠农的社会管理职能,提升农业保险的风险管理水平,以更好地服务＂三农＂。     

一次夏季雷暴天气过程中闪电活动特征分析

利用探空资料、多普勒天气雷达和闪电定位仪数据,分析了2009年7月30日发生在南京地区一次雷暴天气过程的雷达及闪电数据时空演变特征。结果表明：对流有效位能Ecap比起K指数（IK）等对于对流潜势预报具有更明显的指示作用,0 ℃层和-10 ℃层高度的降低有利于雷暴云的雷电活动;整个过程以负闪为主导,闪电强度越大,闪电频数也越高,每次闪电峰值后,都对应一次谷值;闪电数据与多普勒天气雷达回波叠加后分析发现,回波的生消演变对应着闪电频数和强度的生消演变,负闪主要落在强回波中心区域,正闪零星分布于回波强度梯度较大的区域;雷达径向速度图像特征变化更能揭示闪电发生发展的机制,逆风区对应雷暴中心区域,不仅是强降水的中心区也是闪电的中心区,对逆风区的识别监测能够更好的指导雷暴预警报工作;利用雷达数据计算的云底动能施力参量,能够很好的描述支持闪电起电的热动力特征,云底动能施力对雷电增长的贡献有一段持续传输过程,该参量峰值比频闪峰值和强度峰值都约有0.5 h的提前量。     

Composite spectra

A comprehensive survey of bright composite-spectrum binaries in the northern sky has provided so many radial-velocity data that orbits can now be determined for many objects whose orbits were hitherto unknown or else insecure or actually erroneous. Elements are given for the orbits of 30 such objects, thereby more than doubling the number of composite-spectrum binaries with known orbits