Expecting the unexpected: field research in post-disaster settings

The purpose of this article was to examine field research after disasters by focusing on fieldwork challenges in post-disaster research settings. We describe and evaluate post-disaster fieldwork based on three separate research projects: A study of land use change adaptation strategies following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami; a study of long-term housing recovery following the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake in India; and a study of the role of social capital in shelter recovery following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. The main findings of this study deal with some of the unique set of challenges that accompanies fieldwork in post-disaster settings. Our findings indicate six aspects that researchers might consider prior to undertaking fieldwork in a disaster setting: the critical role of language, logistics of transport and living accommodation, methodological matters, the researcher’s position in the field (i.e., gender, ethnicity), fieldwork blues and ethical concerns. Potential solutions to these challenges include understanding the target community prior to embarking on fieldwork, having flexibility in the field to deal with unexpected issues and problems, planning ahead for institutional review board approvals, forming research collaborations and having strategies in place to manage stress in the field.     

Identification of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment in Eastern Canada Using S Transform Filtering of GPS Observations

Over the years, a number of different models and techniques have been proposed to both quantify and explain the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) process. There are serious challenges, however, to obtaining accurate results from measurements, due to noise in the data and the long periods of time necessary to identify the relatively small-magnitude signal in certain regions. The primary difficulty, in general, is that most of the geophysical signals that occur in addition to GIA are nonstationary in nature. These signals are also corrupted by random as well as correlated noise added during data acquisition. The nonstationary characteristic of the data makes it difficult for traditional frequency-domain denoising approaches to be effective. Time–frequency filters present a more robust and reliable alternative to deal with this problem. This paper proposes an extended S transform filtering approach to separate the various signals and isolate that associated with GIA. Continuous global positioning system (GPS) data from eastern Canada for the period from June 2001 to June 2006 are analyzed here, and the vertical velocities computed after filtering are consistent with the GIA models put forward by other researchers.     

Pollution effects on ecobiology of benthic polychaetes in Visakhapatnam Harbour (Bay of Bengal)

Rapid urbanization and industrialization of Visakhapatnam and construction of an outer harbour, restricting water flow, have markedly increased the organic load in the inner harbour. Studies of the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of six selected stations along a decreasing gradient of organic pollution have been carried out over a period of two years. The predominantly polychaete benthic fauna occurs in three distinct assemblages: Capitella capitata-Nereis glandicincta in the inner harbour; Cossura coasta-Tharyx marioni in the outer harbour; and a Chloeia-Axiothella-Chaetozone-Nephtys assemblage in the open sea.     

Measuring the processes and outcomes of post-disaster housing recovery: lessons from Gölcük, Turkey

Despite a growing literature on post-disaster recovery, our understanding of how housing recovery is measured remains limited. This paper is a step in filling the gap in the literature by presenting an overview of how recovery organizations measured post-disaster permanent housing recovery in Gölcük, Turkey, following the August 17, 1999 earthquake. Based on in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and review of secondary sources, the paper highlights the limitations of measuring housing recovery as the number of permanent housing units built in a timely manner. It suggests that recovery organizations need to measure post-disaster housing recovery by developing context-specific, process- and outcome-oriented measures. In the case of Gölcük, process-oriented measures could have been related to the land appropriation, public participation processes, and inter-organizational collaboration while outcome-oriented measures could have been related to the level of satisfaction with homes built and equity among the housing beneficiaries.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of a Turbulent Channel Flow with Forchheimer Drag

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - We characterize the turbulent flow, using direct numerical simulations (DNS), within a closed channel between two parallel walls with a canopy of constant areal density...