A GIS framework for evaluating the implications of urban road network failure due to earthquakes: Bucharest (Romania) case study

Through this paper we propose and test a GIS framework that addresses the issue of seismic risk due to urban road network failure. The approach relies on full GIS integration, on Monte Carlo simulations for generating potentially disrupted network configurations, considering also the damage probability due to direct earthquake implications, and on traffic considerations (both in typical and post-earthquake situations). The damage probability can be obtained using fragility functions for critical structures like bridges and tunnels or by determining empirically the possibility of affected buildings to generate debris leading to road obstruction. Multiple performance indicators such as travel time and distance under various conditions are combined, in order to quantify the risks inflicted by dysfunctionalities in the emergency intervention process. The framework considers at the same time temporal and spatial dimensions, being able to cope with traffic dynamics or reconfigurable network configurations. The ArcGIS Network Analyst Module is used for model integration, and full city scale analysis is performed in order to test the capabilities. Bucharest (capital of Romania) is selected for the case study; this 2 million inhabitant city is one of the most endangered in Europe, due to earthquakes that occur in the Vrancea Area, at intermediate depth, with moment magnitudes > 7, but also due to the vulnerable building stock. Beside this, it is one of Europe’s top cities when it comes to traffic congestion. The results of the study provide initial insights on the deficiencies of the city’s road network and connectivity limitations, showing the high impact of road obstructions and traffic congestion on intervention times, for ambulances and firefighters, in case of an earthquake.     

Analysis of seismic noise in the Romanian-Bulgarian cross-border region

We present the first detailed investigation of the background seismic noise recorded in the Romanian-Bulgarian cross-border region over 3 years (2012–2015). We used the power spectral densities probability density functions (PSD PDFs) to study the noise variations in the period domain (0.025–1 s) as well as in the secondary microseism band (2–10 s). Strong diurnal variations and an increase of the noise levels during working days were observed at high frequencies at all stations, thus confirming the anthropic origin of the noise at low periods. The noise variations observed at longer periods (>?1 s) are relatively small among the stations and are related to season changes. The dominant feature in the noise spectra between 2 and 10 s is the double-frequency peak (DFP) whose amplitude increases and changes during winter. For a specific interval, from 25th to 27th of January 2014, when a storm was reported in the Black Sea area, the maximum of the DFP shifted from larger periods (~?5.5 s) at stations far from the Black Sea towards smaller periods (~?1.8 s) at stations located on the coastline. The polarization analysis showed that the short period double-frequency microseisms originating from the Black Sea dominate during the winter month. Finally, we showed that site conditions vary due to noise variations related to weather conditions in the Black Sea or to changes in anthropogenic noise sources.     

Making sense of place through multiple memory systems1

The first part of the paper develops the argument that geographers should learn to decompose human memory into its constituent parts because then and then alone will we become attuned to the full range of ways in which we incorporate places into our beings. The second part of the paper articulates Stephen Hill's comments on episodic memory with my recent work on wisdom.     

Asteroid impact in the Black Sea. Death by drowning or asphyxiation?

Normally the consequences of an impact of an asteroid in a water body are discussed in terms of the beach run up of impact-generated waves. If even a small asteroid would hit the Black Sea, however, the potential emissions of toxic and flammable gases could be more disastrous to the region (comprised of Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria) than the tsunami caused by the impact.     

Dynamics and Coastal Effects of Tsunamis Generated by Asteroids Impacting the Black Sea

Two-dimensional (2D) and one-dimensional (1D) shallow-water models are used to evaluate the seashore effects of the tsunami generated by an asteroid impacting the western regions of the Black Sea about 208 km from the coast. The tsunami’s speed and the effects on the coastal regions depend on many factors, among which the most important is asteroid size. The tsunami generated by a 250-m asteroid reaches the nearest land location in 24 min and needs about 2 h to arrive at all Black Sea coast. The run-up value is about 7 m high on the Turkish and Crimean coasts. In the western Black Sea regions the wave height is two or three times smaller. The run-up values strongly depend on bathymetry and topography peculiarities. The run-in value in case of the tsunami generated by a 1,000-m asteroid is up to eight times larger than in case of a 250-m impactor, depending on location. The results reported herein are upper limit values. In case of the 250-m asteroid, the real wave amplitude may be up to two times smaller. The uncertainty factor decreases in case of larger asteroids. Ways of diminishing the social consequences are briefly discussed.     

On time,place and happiness

This paper crosses the borders of human geography to bring back two related bodies of work from experimental psychology that investigate, in an unusual and refreshingly precise way, long‐standing human geographical concerns with temporality, place and subject formations, meaning‐making and well‐being. It is argued that the traffic of ideas and empirical findings between human geography and experimental psychology can be mutually profitable if, and only to the extent that, it encompasses a sustained epistemological, methodological and political critique of the disciplinary practices that have yielded those ideas and findings.     

Introduction: Learning as a Geographical Process

In this introduction to the Focus Section “Learning as a Geographical Process,” I provide a context for the four articles that follow, by means of (1) making explicit the threefold rationale for this initiative; (2) relating this initiative with previous geographical scholarship on the problematic of learning; (3) highlighting the significance of the self-referential character of our work; (4) providing a brief outline of the articles that follow; and (5) pointing out the important fact that both “learning” and “geographical process” constitute semantically rich categories and that relating the two involves a many-to-many type of logical mapping.     

Effective stiffness and displacement capacity of short reinforced concrete columns with low concrete quality

Hysteretic behaviour of reinforced concrete members is strongly dependent on local conditions such as quality of materials, workmanship, construction and design practice. Low strength concrete was found in most of the damaged concrete structures after the earthquakes that have hit Eastern Europe in the past 50 years. Quality of concrete had a great impact, especially on shear controlled reinforced concrete short columns. Existing models of the effective strength, stiffness and deformation capacity of structural members need to be confirmed locally by experimental research as the large data sets used to calibrate the analytical models comprise results obtained on specimens with various characteristics. In this study, effective stiffness and deformation models available in literature are compared with the results of an experimental testing program conducted by the authors to investigate the hysteretic response of reinforced concrete short columns with low concrete strength, designed and detailed according to the local practice in the past. The hysteretic behaviour of the specimens is presented together with a comparison of the experimental data with predicted values and conclusions on the suitability of the applied models are drawn.     

Learning Wisdom Through Geographical Dislocations

Wisdom is at once one of the most elusive and most valued kinds of knowledge. Empirical research shows that, indeed, across cultures, people hope that life experience will eventually make them wiser. The problem is that, to date, the academic study of wisdom and of the processes by which it can be learned has been dominated by psychologists. The first part of the article reviews the state-of-the-art psychological scholarship on wisdom to show how that conceptualization lacks geographical sensitivity and therefore misses some of the crucial geographical mechanisms by which people become wiser. The second part of the article singles out and focuses on one such mechanism, namely, the learning of wisdom through geographical dislocations. By drawing on insights from the study of international migration, exile, and transculturation in postcolonial contexts, the final part of the article suggests specific learning processes that might strengthen the hypothesis that geographical dislocations and the attendant cross-cultural experiences they generate are often conducive to wisdom.