Prediction of impact pressure induced by breaking waves on vertical cylinders in random seas

This paper presents a method to statistically predict the magnitude of impact pressure (including extreme values) produced by deep water waves breaking on a circular cylinder representing a column of an ocean structure. Breaking waves defined here are not those whose tops are blown off by the wind but those whose breaking is associated with steepness. The probability density function of wave period associated with breaking waves is derived for a specified wave spectrum, and then converted to the probability density function of impact pressure. Impacts caused by two different breaking conditions are considered; one is the impact associated with waves breaking in close proximity to the column, the other is an impact caused by waves approaching the column after they have broken. As an example of the application of the present method, numerical computations are carried out for a wave spectrum obtained from measured data in the North Atlantic.     

粮食安全视角下中国历史气候变化影响与响应的过程与机理

基于现代全球变化研究中关于脆弱性和粮食安全的概念,把历史时期的粮食安全分解为粮食生产安全、粮食供给安全、粮食消费安全3个层次,以气候变化直接影响粮食生产水平为起点,分析气候变化-农(牧)业收成-食物的人均供给量-饥民-社会稳定性的驱动-响应链中的关键过程,指出气候变化影响的驱动-响应关系不能归结为简单的因果关系,诸如耕地、人口、政策、外来势力都会对气候变化的影响起着放大或抑制的作用。     

基于知识的旱地生理趋势的评价模型

The present study aims the evaluation of bio-physical characteristics towards soil-water-vegetation stress and a rule is envisaged to assess the degree of temporal changes. The digital rule for assessment is initialized through the index of land Instability (ILI) where the variance indicates the temporal instability of the pixel I.e., smallest land unit. It is assumed that the biophysical characteristic of land is in command of land-dynamics where there is no change in Land Use/Land Cover (LU&LC). The intensity map on tendency of albedo (IALB) assesses the intensity of soil erosion and water stress whereas intensity map on tendency of NDVI (INDVI) appraises the stress on vegetation. The carry-out study covers a part of semiarid Western India. Primarily remote sensing technique, which carries the digital information of land temporally and spatially, is adopted in this paper. A part of the study area is represented using two sets of IRS 1A/lB LISS-I data of March with a decadal time domain (1989-1998) as a test area. It is assumed that the soil-water-vegetation stress is maximum during summer(March-April-May) in any tropical belt and decadal data will stretch the possibility of climate as well as man-made activity over the land.     

Archaeoseismology: Methodological issues and procedure

Archaeoseismic research contributes important data on past earthquakes. A limitation of the usefulness of archaeoseismology is due to the lack of continuous discussion about the methodology. The methodological issues are particularly important because archaeoseismological investigations of past earthquakes make use of a large variety of methods. Typical in situ investigations include: (1) reconstruction of the local archaeological stratigraphy aimed at defining the correct position and chronology of a destruction layer, presumably related to an earthquake; (2) analysis of the deformations potentially due to seismic shaking or secondary earthquake effects, detectable on walls; (3) analysis of the depositional characteristics of the collapsed material; (4) investigations of the local geology and geomorphology to define possible natural cause(s) of the destruction; (5) investigations of the local factors affecting the ground motion amplifications; and (6) estimation of the dynamic excitation, which affected the site under investigation. Subsequently, a ‘territorial’ approach testing evidence of synchronous destruction in a certain region may delineate the extent of the area struck by the earthquake. The most reliable results of an archaeoseismological investigation are obtained by application of modern geoarchaeological practice (archaeological stratigraphy plus geological–geomorphological data), with the addition of a geophysical-engineering quantitative approach and (if available) historical information. This gives a basic dataset necessary to perform quantitative analyses which, in turn, corroborate the archaeoseismic hypothesis. Since archaeoseismological investigations can reveal the possible natural causes of destruction at a site, they contribute to the wider field of environmental archaeology, that seeks to define the history of the relationship between humans and the environment. Finally, through the improvement of the knowledge on the past seismicity, these studies can contribute to the regional estimation of seismic hazard.     

Experimental Study of Factors Controlling Sorption of Heavy Metals on Ariake Clay and Implication for Practice

A series of batch tests have been presented to investigate the effects of solid-solution contact time, solid:solution ratio, and pH of solution on sorption of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ on Ariake clay from Kyushu region of Japan. The results show that, among the three investigated factors, solid:solution ratio (SD/SN) seems to be the crucial controlling factor. The Freundlich sorption parameters determined from the batch tests were applied to a typical field landfill in which the Ariake clay was used as soil barrier. The impacts of the landfill were assessed by numerical analysis. Based on the analysis result, the significance of selecting proper solid:solution ratio for determining sorption parameters from batch test has been discussed.     

Developing geographic information infrastructures: the role of access policies

Within societies, information availability is a key issue affecting society's well‐being. For geographic information, a geographic information infrastructure (GII) facilitates availability and access to geographic information for all levels of government, the commercial sector, the non‐profit sector, academia, and ordinary citizens. Although the importance of access policies in the development of a GII is commonly understood, research that has assessed the impact of access policies on this development is scant. This article adds this perspective. Based on information acquired from case‐study and literature research, the author argues that open‐access policies do not always promote GII development and in specific instances are counter‐productive. These findings may explain why many nations still adhere to cost‐recovery policies instead of following access policies recommended by research. The article provides alternatives for changing current policies into new access policies that promote GII development.     

Loose threads: The translocal making of public space policy in Hanoi

This paper analyses the recent developments in public space policy in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. It has three aims. The first is to look at a potentially progressive urban policy in contrast to most work on ‘policies in motion’ that has primarily been concerned with neoliberal policies. The second is to put the process of public space policymaking in Hanoi in historical and cultural perspective. We therefore describe public space in Hanoi as historically constituted by different layers of meaning and physical urban patterns. The paper's third aim is to analyse the translocal connections involved in a policy that is still in the making, and therefore characterized by a series of ‘loose threads’. We show how different types of connections – policy mobility, topological relations and inter‐referencing – relate Hanoi to multiple locales elsewhere. The conclusion reflects on the ‘politics of reception’ showing how analysing a policy in the making develops a critical analysis of policies in motion.     

三江源地区土壤侵蚀特点

三江源地区地域辽阔,土壤侵蚀复杂多样.近年来土壤侵蚀加剧,生态环境严重退化.以2000年土壤侵蚀调查的数据成果为基数.并与更新后的2005年数据成果比较,进行土壤侵蚀动态变化分析.对三江源地区不同类型土壤侵蚀区的土壤侵蚀现状做了较全面的分区评价.同时对作为典型区域的黄河源头区12个县的2000年1:10万Landsat 5 TIM假彩色合成影像,通过野外调查建它解译标志来分析该区植被覆盖状况,对该区典型区域的土壤侵蚀现状做了定量评价.根据评价结果,对三江源地区土壤侵蚀的发展趋势做了预测.     

EROD activity, serum SDH and PAH biliary metabolites in sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis) collected in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

In order to evaluate the health status of fish inhabiting Port Phillip Bay, Australia, southern sand flathead (Platycephalus hassensis, N = 133) were collected at six stations throughout the Bay. Fish had a similar serum sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) activity level (p = 0.12), indicating that they were not experiencing hepatocellular injuries. Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity was generally lower in the non-urbanized and non-industrialized southern part of the Bay. The highest EROD activity was observed in Hobson Bay, the closest station from Melbourne city. Naphthalene-type biliary metabolites were also highest in Hobson Bay with intermediate levels found in Corio Bay where refineries are present. An opposite trend was observed with the pyrene-type bile metabolites, the highest levels being observed in Corio Bay while intermediate levels were found in Hobson Bay. The ratio of naphthalene-type to benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P)-type metabolites indicate that relatively to other sites sampled in Port Phillip Bay, Corio Bay is subjected to enriched petroleum hydrocarbons of pyrolytic origin. Temporal trends indicate that the availability of xenobiotics to fish remained unchanged over the 1990s.