Evaluating evapotranspiration using data mining instead of physical-based model in remote sensing

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Precise calculations for determining the water requirements of plants and the extent of evapotranspiration are crucial in determining the volume of water...     

Study on the Erodibility and Mechanical Resistance of Mulches Prepared from Micro Silica–Cement Mixtures

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Mulching is fastest strategy to control sand dune movement in arid and semiarid areas. In the present study the effect of micro silica- cement mixture was...     

Simulating soil loss rate in Ekbatan Dam watershed using experimental and statistical approaches

Reservoir sedimentation resulting fromwater erosion is an important environmental issue inmany countries where storage of water is crucial for economic and agricultural development.Therefore,this paper reports results from analysis of the soil hydrological response,i.e.soil water erosion,to simulated rainfall resulting in sediment accumulation at the reservoir of Ekbatan Dam(Hamedan province,Iran).Also,another objective of this study was to simulate the future trends in reservoir sedimentation(soil loss rate;SLR)from indoor rainfall simulator data by multiple linear regression(MLR)and Artificial Neural Networks(ANNs).For this research,three sampling points with different types of soils were chosen including clayey sand soil(SC-SM),silty soil(ML),and clayey soil(CL).The input parameters were slope gradient(sin θ),soil type(St),water content(w),dry density(γd),shear strength(τ),unconfined compressive strength(qu),permeability(k),and California bearing ratio(CBR).Using MLR and ANN methods,7 models were developed with 2 constant predictors(i.e.sin θ and St)and 6 free predictors which were added in each step one by one.Among MLR models,model 5 with St,sin θ,γd,τ,w,and qu as input parameters was statistically significant.Among ANN models,model 4 with St,sin θ,?d,τ,and w as input parameters,9 nodes,and 1 hidden layer was statistically significant.The root mean square error(RMSE),mean error(ME),and correlation coefficient(R)values were 1.433 kg/m^2 h,0.0195 kg/m^2 h,and 0.698 for the MLRmodel and 0.38 kg/m^2 h,0.151 kg/m^2 h,and 0.98 for the ANN model,respectively.These results show that the ANN model could better predict the SLR in comparison to the MLR model.The results also demonstrate that shear strength,among the strength parameters,had a greater impact on the SLR than compressive strengths(qu and CBR).Last but not the least,the reservoir sedimentationwas estimated for all methods and compared with the observed data.The results indicate that the ANN model is more appropriate for forecasting/simulating the sediment yield for a small watershed.     

Watershed and ocean controls of salt marsh extent and resilience

The formation and evolution of tidal platforms are controlled by the feedbacks between hydrodynamics, geomorphology, vegetation, and sediment transport. Previous work mainly addresses dynamics at the scale of individual marsh platforms. Here, we develop a process-based model to investigate salt marsh depositional/erosional dynamics and resilience to environmental change at the scale of tidal basins. We evaluate how inputs of water and sediment from river and ocean sources interact, how losses of sediment to the ocean depend on this interaction, and how erosional/depositional dynamics are coupled to these exchanges. Model experiments consider a wide range of watershed, basin, and oceanic characteristics, represented by river discharge and suspended sediment concentration, basin dimensions, tidal range, and ocean sediment concentration. In some scenarios, the vertical accretion of a tidal flat can be greater than the rate of sea level rise. Under these conditions, vertical depositional dynamics can lead to transitions between tidal flat and salt marsh equilibrium states. This type of transition occurs much more rapidly than transitions occurring through horizontal marsh expansion or retreat. In addition, our analyses reveal that river inputs can affect the existence and extent of marsh/tidal flat equilibria by both directly providing suspended sediment (favoring marshes) and by modulating water exchanges with the ocean, thereby indirectly affecting the ocean sediment input to the system (favoring either marshes or tidal flats depending on the ratio of the river and ocean water inputs and their sediment concentrations). The model proposed has the goal of clarifying the roles of the main dynamic processes at play, rather than of predicting the evolution of a particular tidal system. Our model results most directly reflect micro- and meso-tidal environments but also have implications for macro-tidal settings. The model-based analyses presented extend our theoretical understanding of marsh dynamics to a greater range of intertidal environments. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of Initial Shotcrete Lining for a Mine Shaft Using Two-Dimensional Finite Element Models Considering Excavation Advance Rate

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Shotcrete is widely used as a temporary support element in the construction of underground mine excavations, tunnels, and shafts. It is sprayed on the...