Assessing the Vibrational Frequencies of the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) by Means of Ambient Seismic Noise Analysis

Ambient seismic noise measurements were conducted inside the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) for assessing its frequencies of vibration and for checking whether these occur in the range where soil amplification is expected. If this is the case, damages may increase in case of an earthquake due to an increased structural response of the building. Analysis of the ratio between the horizontal and vertical components of the spectra recorded at stations located inside the building as well as the ratio between the corresponding components of the spectra recorded simultaneously inside the building and at a reference station placed in the basement of the cathedral indicated several modes of vibration. Facilitated by these results an assessment of the seismic vulnerability was attempted for a 2D ground motion scenario using the finite element method.     

Site Effects Study in the Serravalle Village (NE Italy) by Means of Spectral Ratios Analyses Relatively to Multiple Reference Sites

The area of Serravalle, sited in the northern part of the town of Vittorio Veneto (TV), NE Italy, has been the target of a seismic microzonation campaign. 10 seismic stations have been deployed for a 7 months period to record in continuous mode. Three stations were installed on bedrock outcrops and seven on sedimentary sites with variable cover thickness. Spectral analyses have been performed on the collected data-set using the Generalized Inversion Technique (GIT, e.g. Andrews, 1986). In particular, spectral ratios have been calculated for each station relatively to the average of the three reference, bedrock sites. The spectral ratios provide quantitative estimates of the seismic motion amplifications which occur in each of the monitored sites. Two sites show high values of amplification, 5 times larger than signal amplitude at the reference sites, in correspondence of well discernible peak frequencies of 5 Hz. Results for the other stations show smaller amounts of site amplification spreading over a broad range of frequencies. Sites where the highest amplifications were recorded all lie on the left bank of the Meschio River and in areas farther away from its outlet into the plain correlating with the presence of thick layers of Quaternary deposits.     

A Connectivity Index for Discrete Fracture Networks

Connectivity is an important measure for assessing flow transport in rock, especially through fractures. In this paper, rock fracture systems are modelled by a discrete fracture model simulated by a marked point process. A connectivity index is then introduced to quantify the connectivity between any two points in space. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the connectivity index for stationary cases and relationships between the connectivity index and the parameters of the discrete fracture model are analysed. The average number of intersections per fracture, X_f, and the fracture intensity, P12 (P32), are calculated and the relationships between these parameters and the connectivity index are investigated, concluding that X_f is the more suitable parameter for the classification of rock mass flow properties. The relationships between the connectivity index and the percolation state of the fractured medium are also discussed. An edge correction is briefly discussed and a practical example is used to demonstrate the method of computing the connectivity index.     

科尔沁沙地土地利用与耕作方式对土壤风蚀的影响

土壤风蚀造成的直接生态后果是土地资源的退化。在春播前两次沙尘暴事件中,对科尔沁沙地几种具有代表性的土地类型的土壤风蚀量及土壤特性进行了野外测定、分析,结果表明:(1)在同一沙尘暴天气下,由于土地利用和耕作方式的不同,土壤风蚀量存在着差异,新垦农地和翻耕农地的风蚀量显著高于未垦草地、免耕农地和麻黄地;免耕农地则与未垦草地的风蚀量相差不大,风蚀危害较轻;麻黄地几乎不受风蚀侵害。新垦农地、翻耕农地、免耕农地、未垦草地、麻黄地两次观测的土壤风蚀量平均值依次为24.59、15.60、2.26、1.46和0.22 g/h.cm2。(2)基于土壤特性计算的土壤退化指数结果表明,新垦农地和翻耕农地发生了较为严重的退化。     

Spherical Slepian functions and the polar gap in geodesy

The estimation of potential fields such as the gravitational or magnetic potential at the surface of a spherical planet from noisy observations taken at an altitude over an incomplete portion of the globe is a classic example of an ill-posed inverse problem. We show that this potential-field estimation problem has deep-seated connections to Slepian's spatiospectral localization problem which seeks bandlimited spherical functions whose energy is optimally concentrated in some closed portion of the unit sphere. This allows us to formulate an alternative solution to the traditional damped least-squares spherical harmonic approach in geodesy, whereby the source field is now expanded in a truncated Slepian function basis set. We discuss the relative performance of both methods with regard to standard statistical measures such as bias, variance and mean squared error, and pay special attention to the algorithmic efficiency of computing the Slepian functions on the region complementary to the axisymmetric polar gap characteristic of satellite surveys. The ease, speed, and accuracy of our method make the use of spherical Slepian functions in earth and planetary geodesy practical.     

GIS-based flood hazard mapping at different administrative scales: A case study in Gangetic West Bengal, India

This paper addresses the need for an efficient and cost-effective methodology for preparing flood hazard maps in data poor countries, particularly those under a monsoon regime where floods pose a recurrent danger. Taking Gangetic West Bengal, India, as an example and using available historical data from government agencies, the study compiled a regional map indicating hazard prone subregional areas for further detailed investigation, thereby isolating actual high risk localities. Using a GIS (Geographical Information System), a composite hazard index was devised incorporating variables of flood frequency, population density, transportation networks, access to potable water, and availability of high ground and maximum risk zones were mapped accordingly. A digital elevation model derived from high resolution imagery available in the public domain was used to calculate elevated areas suitable for temporary shelter during a flood. Selecting administrative units of analysis at the lowest possible scales – rural development blocks (regional) and revenue villages (subregional) – also ensures that hazard mapping is prepared in line with the existing rural planning and administrative authorities responsible for remedial intervention.     

Seaweed floristic studies along tsunami affected Indian coasts: A litmus test scenario after 26th December 2004

On 26th December 2004, the world witnessed the devastating power of tsunami, affecting many countries, bordering the Indian Ocean region. This has caused significant changes in the shallow and intertidal regions of the Indian coast, especially the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry. The baseline data on biomass availability and distribution of benthic intertidal seaweed species were collected immediately after this catastrophic event by spot surveying 11 selected localities of the above-mentioned regions. In all, 45 species belonging to 31 genera were recorded during the present survey, the maximum number of seaweed species were recorded at Thirumullavarum, Kerala with the minimum at Car Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A very different trend was observed in the case of biomass availability at some locations which was due to the influence of habitat suitability over the tsunami damage. The details of this study have been provided in the present communication     

Spectral Simulation and Conditioning to Local Continuity Trends in Geologic Modeling

Spectral simulation has gained application in building geologic models due to the advantage of better honoring the spatial continuity of petrophysical properties, such as reservoir porosity and shale volume. Distinct from sequential simulation methods, spectral simulation is a global algorithm in the sense that a global density spectrum is calculated once and the inverse Fourier transform is performed on the Fourier coefficient also only once to generate a simulation realization. The generated realizations honor the spatial continuity structure globally over the whole field instead of only within a search neighborhood, as with sequential simulation algorithms. However, the disadvantage of global spectral simulation is that it traditionally cannot account for the local information such as the local continuity trends, which are often observed in reservoirs and hence are important to be accounted for in geologic models. This disadvantage has limited wider application of spectral simulation in building geologic models. In this paper, we present ways of conditioning geologic models to the relevant local information. To account for the local continuity trends, we first scale different frequency components of the original model with local-amplitude spectrum ratios that are specific to the local trend. The sum of these scaled frequency components renders a new model that displays the desired local continuity trend. The implementation details of this new method are discussed and examples are provided to illustrate the algorithm.     

电子地图中多尺度地图数据显示的研究

将计算机三维模型简化中的LOD思想引入到电子地图的组织和显示中,提出了同一比例尺数字地图不同详细程度的分层显示方法和不同比例尺数字地图嵌套显示方法,实现了电子地图的多级缩放。     

泥石流汇流槽可靠度分析

汇流槽是泥石流治理工程中常用的工程措施之一。文章基于汇流槽的倾倒破坏、滑移破坏及地基破坏模式，通过对汇流槽设计影响强烈的岩土参数、几何特征、荷载因素等敏感因子的求解方法及分布特征分析，从汇流槽的抗倾稳定、抗滑稳定和基底应力要求三方面建立极限状态方程。对于每个极限状态方程，在泰勒级数对非线性极限状态方程线性化后，运用一次二阶矩的理论，先假定失效点P^＊，求解出相应的均值和方差。然后根据可靠的定义，得到相应的可靠度指标，通过迭代法求解真正失效点的可靠度指标βi。最后根据3个状态方程相互独立的假定，得出整个结构的可靠度指标β。该方法在平川泥石流防治工程中得到了成功的运用。这对于可靠度设计方法在泥石流防治工程中的运用进行了有益的探讨。