Damage Survey of Water Supply Systems and Fragility Curve of PVC Water Pipelines in the Chi–Chi Taiwan Earthquake

Substantial damage to water supply systems, including water delivery pipelines, water treatment plants, reservoirs, and water storage tanks, was reported after the 1999 Chi–Chi Taiwan Earthquake. This paper first summarizes the damage survey and then presents the results of seismic fragility analysis for underground pipelines. Construction blueprints of the water delivery pipelines and repair work orders of 11 townships and cities in the disastrous area were digitized into a Geographical Information System (GIS) for analysis and assessment. With the aid of the GIS system, we found that PVC pipes made up 86% of water delivery pipelines while steel, cast iron, ductile iron, PE and others took the rest. Therefore, this paper focuses on the fragility analysis of PVC pipes. Three different methods were applied to derive the fragility relations between the PVC water pipes having nominal diameters (approximately inner diameters) greater than or equal to 65 mm and earthquake intensity parameters such as peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity. The results were then examined with those of other countries. The discrepancy between our results and the empirical equation used by HAZUS, an earthquake loss estimation software developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency was not significant.     

Secular variations of the upper crust composition: Implication of geochemical data on the Upper Precambrian shales from the Southern Urals western flank and Uchur-Maya region

In the mid-1980s, it was concluded based on geochemical study that Th, Sc, La concentrations and ratios Th/Sc, La/Sc and Eu/Eu* did not wary significantly in the post-Archean time. It was impossible to judge about compositional variations of upper crust during the Riphean and Vendian, because data of that time characterized a limited number of samples from the post-Archean basins of Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctic. Considered in this work are variations of Eu/Eu*, LREE/HREE, Th/Sc, and La/Sc ratios in Upper Precambrian fine-grained siliciclastic rock of the Southern Urals western flank (Bashkirian meganticlinorium) and Uchur-Maya region (Uchur-Maya plate and Yudoma-Maya belt). As is established, only the Eu anomaly in the studied siliciclastic rocks is practically identical to this parameter of the average post-Archean shale. Three other parameters plot on the Riphean-Vendian variation curves with positive and negative excursions of diverse magnitude, which do not coincide always in time. It is assumed that these excursions likely mark stages of local geodynamic activity, destruction of pre-Riphean cratons, and progressing recycling of sedimentary material during the Riphean.     

The political geography of religion: historical state-church relations in Europe and recent challenges

Historical processes of state formation and nation building are crucial for an understanding of the geography of religions and churches in Europe. Each country has developed its own model of state-church relations, giving rise to a ‘bewildering variety’ as Grace Davie aptly remarks. The aim of this paper is to bring some order to this variety by developing a framework for the comparative study of church-state relations based on Stein Rokkan’s famous conceptual map and recent extensions of it to Central and Eastern Europe by John Madeley. According to that framework Europe has been divided into three mono-confessional (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox) blocs and two multi-confessional culture belts from Northwest to Southeast, and from Northeast to Southeast. This historical pattern has been challenged by secularisation, which started with the Enlightenment and the French Revolution (Western Europe) and the Russian Revolution (Eastern Europe until the velvet revolutions of 1989/1991) and then became widespread after the ‘cultural revolutions’ of the 1960s. A second challenge has to do with globalisation and its consequences, such as massive immigration and the rise of immigrant religions, and in general deterritorialisation, which means the disembeddedness of religion from its national territory. A third challenge concerns reterritorialisation at other (supranational, regional, transnational, and local) scales, of which the new territorial order of the European Union seems to be the most important. Finally, this paper serves as an introduction to the case studies on church-state relations in this special issue.     

The research of phosphorus of Xiangxi River nearby the Three Gorges, China

The Xiangxi River is the first middling tributary of the Changjiang River near the Three Gorges Dam. The River is subject to phosphorus pollution mainly from industrial wastewater. As the water quality of the Xiangxi River could directly influence the water quality of the Three Gorges Reservoir, the research on phosphorus levels and its change in the sediment profile of the Xiangxi River could provide useful information in the dynamic changes in the system, thereby offering options for mitigative measures. Water and sediment samples from lower reaches of Xiangxi River were collected and the different forms of phosphorus in sediments of the Xiangxi River were studied. The concentrations of total phosphorus in sediment ranged from 757.67 to 1438.54 mg/kg. Inorganic phosphorus concentrations ranged from 684.63 to 1055.58 mg/kg. Phosphorus contamination was serious in some parts of the Xiangxi River. With an average concentration of 635.17 mg/kg, calcium-bound phosphorus is the main form among different inorganic phosphorus forms. Labile phosphorus and iron/aluminum-bound phosphorus measured 3.40, 0.05and 35.28 mg/kg, respectively. The mobilization potential of phosphorus of sediments was studied through adsorption and release experiments. The equilibrium concentration of phosphorus adsorption and release was around 0.1 mg/L. The initial concentrations of phosphorus in the overlying water and the sediments have obvious effect on phosphorus mobilization potential. In addition, the release rate of phosphorus in sediment increased with water depth.     

Karst groundwater protection in the Kupa River catchment area and sustainable development

One of the most significant water resources in the Republic of Croatia is the catchment area of the Kupa River, located in the region bordering the Republic of Slovenia. About 88% of the total amount of water in this catchment originates in Croatia and just 12% from Slovenia; therefore, the largest part of the catchment area (about 1000 km²) is on the Croatian side of the border. It is a typical karst area of the Dinarides with aquifers characterized by a relatively rapid water exchange, high groundwater flow velocities and aquifers open to human impact from the surface. Consequently, the aquifers are highly vulnerable and at risk. Due to the availability of large quantities of high-quality spring water (about 6 m³/s), the entire area has a strategic importance within the context of any future development strategy pertaining to the western part of Croatia. The catchment area on the Croatian side was investigated using a wide range of research methods that included a classical hydrogeological approach, the detailed hydrologic calculation of water balance to the hydrogeochemical analyses and modelling. The objective was to determine protection zones and protection measures for the whole area. The difficulties are increased due to the fact that the karst catchment area is crossed by major traffic corridors, oil pipelines and a railway and that many settlements and a highly developed wood industry are present. The combination of protecting water resources with adequate prevention measures and necessary remedial activities that should satisfy the very strict requirements necessary for the protection of the karst aquifers while still allowing for present and future human activities is difficult – but not impossible – to achieve. One good example is the present highway with a closed dewatering system and waste water treatment before the water passes into the karst underground system.     

Subsurface dams to harvest rainwater— a case study of the Swarnamukhi River basin, Southern India

Declining water level trends and yields of wells, deterioration of groundwater quality and drying up of shallow wells are common in many parts of India. This is mainly attributed to the recurrence of drought years, over exploitation of groundwater, increase in the number of groundwater structures and explosion of population. In this subcontinent, the saving of water has to be done on the days it rains. India receives much of its rainfall in just 100 h in a year mostly during the monsoon period. If this water is not captured or stored, the rest of the year experiences a precarious situation manifest in water scarcity. The main objective behind the construction of subsurface dams in the Swarnamukhi River basin was to harvest the base flow infiltrating into sandy alluvium as waste to the sea and thereby to increase groundwater potential for meeting future water demands. An analysis of hydrographs of piezometers of four subsurface dams, monitored during October 2001–December 2002, reveals that there is an average rise of 1.44 m in post-monsoon and 1.80 m in the pre-monsoon period after the subsurface dams were constructed. Further, during the pre-monsoon month of June, much before construction of subsurface dams in October 2001, the water level was found fluctuating in the range of 3.1–10 m, in contrast to the fluctuation ranging from 0.4 to 3.1 m during the period following the construction of dams. Hence, the planning of rainwater harvesting structures entails thorough scientific investigations for identifying the most suitable locations for subsurface dams.     

Break out resistance of inclined anchors in sand

Inclined anchors are widely used in a variety of civil engineering problems to resist oblique loads, most relevant being in transmission towers and in rocks and dams for structural strengthening. In the present study, the breakout resistance of the inclined anchors in sand has been worked out using limit equilibrium approach. The breakout resistance has been calculated for different soil friction angles with varying relative depth ratio and anchor inclination. The break out factor increases continuously with the inclination of the anchor. A comparison of predicted values of break out resistance of anchors by the proposed analysis with the experimental values as reported by the other researchers showed reasonably good agreement.     

R＆D投入的区位模式与区域经济发展

基于对中国R＆D投入的区位模式的实证检验，从投入一产出绩效的角度认为集中投入的区位模式具有较强的适宜性。利用聚类分析技术，按照R＆D的投入强度和及其对经济的带动效应、科技化效应、产业化效应将中国各省区划分为6类地区，具有代表性的是科技化模式和产业化模式。其中前者适合于技术存置较高的少数地区，而后者具有较强的借鉴意义。     

长江口水域多光谱遥感水深反演模型研究

利用Landsat-7 ETM 遥感影像反射率和实测水深值之间的相关性可以探测水深。该文介绍单波段、双波段比值和多波段3种线性回归模型以及动量BP人工神经网络水深反演模型。选择长江口北港河道上段作为研究区,利用上述模型,分两种情况进行水深反演:一是以河道全部历史样本建模;二是将河道按自然水深划分为浅水区和深水区分别建模。结果表明:神经网络模型预测精度高于线性回归模型;水深分区后线性回归和神经网络模型预测误差均有所减小。     

Regional disparity in the changes of agricultura land use intensity in China during 1980-2002

Based on the cost-benefit data （1980-2002） of farm products and China Agriculture Yearbooks, this paper studies the regional disparity in the changes of the agricultural land use in China during the period 1980-2002 from three aspects such as the degree of intensity, the sown area and the abandoned farmland. The results show that： （1） The degree of intensity of land use in the westena region during 1980-2000 has a strong uptrend, but in the eastern and central regions the degree of intensity descends obviously and has shown a continuous downtrend since 1997. （2） The total sown area shrinks notably in the eastern region, while it enlarges constantly in the western region. （3） The sown area in the eastern, central and western regions has gone through a similar cyclic process： down （1980-1985）-up （1985-1991）-down （1991-1994）-up （1994-1999）-down （1999-2002）. However, there are obvious differences in amplitude variation and tendency among them. The sown area has shrunk in the eastern region and expanded in the central and western regions especially before 1999. （4） The most cases of abandoned farmland are reported in the central region, the second in the eastern region and the least in the western region. The abandonment phenomena chiefly occurred during 1992-1995 in the eastern region, and during 1998-2002 in the central region.