CO and NO2 pollution in a long two-way traffic road tunnel: investigation of NO2/NOx ratio and modelling of NO2 concentration

The CO, NO and NO2 concentrations, visibility and air flow velocity were measured using continuous analysers in a long Norwegian road tunnel (7.5 km) with traffic in both directions in April 1994 and 1995. The traffic density was monitored at the same time. The NO2 concentration exceeded Norwegian air quality limits for road tunnels 17% of the time in 1994. The traffic through the tunnel decreased from 1994 to 1995, and the mean NO2 concentration was reduced from 0.73 to 0.22 ppm. The ventilation fan control, based on the CO concentration only, was unsatisfactory and the air flow was sometimes low for hours. Models for NO2 concentration based on CO concentration and absolute air flow velocity were developed and tested. The NO2/NOx ratio showed an increase for NOx levels above 2 ppm; a likely explanation for this phenomenon is NO oxidation by O2. Exposure to high NO2 concentrations may represent a health risk for people with respiratory and cardiac diseases. In long road tunnels with two-way traffic, this study indicates that ventilation fan control based on CO concentration should be adjusted for changes in vehicle CO emission and should be supplemented by air flow monitoring to limit the NO2 concentration.     

Application of remote sensing data and GIS for landslide risk assessment as an environmental threat to Izmir city (west Turkey)

In this study, landslide risk assessment for Izmir city (west Turkey) was carried out, and the environmental effects of landslides on further urban development were evaluated using geographical information systems and remote sensing techniques. For this purpose, two different data groups, namely conditioning and triggering data, were produced. With the help of conditioning data such as lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, distance from roads, distance from faults and distance from drainage lines, a landslide susceptibility model was constructed by using logistic regression modelling approach. The accuracy assessment of the susceptibility map was carried out by the area under curvature (AUC) approach, and a 0.810 AUC value was obtained. This value shows that the map obtained is successful. Due to the fact that the study area is located in an active seismic region, earthquake data were considered as primary triggering factor contributing to landslide occurrence. In addition to this, precipitation data were also taken into account as a secondary triggering factor. Considering the susceptibility data and triggering factors, a landslide hazard index was obtained. Furthermore, using the Aster data, a land-cover map was produced with an overall kappa value of 0.94. From this map, settlement areas were extracted, and these extracted data were assessed as elements at risk in the study area. Next, a vulnerability index was created by using these data. Finally, the hazard index and the vulnerability index were combined, and a landslide risk map for Izmir city was obtained. Based on this final risk map, it was observed that especially south and north parts of the Izmir Bay, where urbanization is dense, are threatened to future landsliding. This result can be used for preliminary land use planning by local governmental authorities.     

Integrated Traffic and Emission Simulation: a Model Calibration Approach Using Aggregate Information

Environmental impacts of road traffic have attracted increasing attention in project-level traffic planning and management. The conventional approach considers emission impact analysis as a separate process in addition to traffic modeling. This paper first introduces our research effort to integrate traffic, emission, and dispersion processes into a common distributed computational framework, which makes it efficient to quantify and analyze correlations among dynamic traffic conditions, emission impacts, and air quality consequences. A model calibration approach is particularly proposed when on-road or in-lab instantaneous emission measurements are not directly available. Microscopic traffic simulation is applied to generate dynamic vehicle states at the second-by-second level. Using aggregate emission estimation as standard reference, a numerical optimization scheme on the basis of a stochastic gradient approximation algorithm is applied to find optimal parameters for the dynamic emission model. The calibrated model has been validated on several road networks with traffic states generated by the same simulation model. The results show that with proper formulation of the optimization objective function, the estimated dynamic emission model can capture the trends of aggregate emission patterns of traffic fleets and predict local emission and air quality at higher temporal and spatial resolutions.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping in an area of underground mining using the multicriteria decision analysis method

Landslides are geomorphological phenomena that affect anthropogenic and natural features on the Earth’s surface. Many previous studies have identified several factors that have contributed to landslides. Among these factors are physical characteristics, such as slope, aspect, and land cover, of Earth’s surface. Moreover, landslides can be triggered by human activities such as underground mining. This study aims to identify landslide susceptibility areas by analyzing landslide-related factors, including land subsidence triggered by underground mining. The area of interest was Kozlu, Turkey, where underground mining has been in progress for the past 100 years. Thus, to identify landslide risk zones, the multicriteria decision analysis method, together with the analytical hierarchy method, was used. The datasets included were topography, land cover, geological settings, and mining-induced land subsidence. The spatial extent of land subsidence was estimated using a previously published model. A landslide susceptibility map (LSM) was developed using a purposely developed GIS-based software. The results were compared with a terrain deformation map, which was developed in a separate study using the differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) technique. The results showed a substantial correlation between the LSM and DInSAR map. Furthermore, it was found that ~?88% of the very high and high landslide risk areas coincided with location of the past landslide events. These facts suggest that the algorithm and data sources used were sufficient to produce a sufficiently accurate LSM, which may be used for various purposes such as urban planning.     

Effects of land-use changes on landslides in a landslide-prone area (Ardesen, Rize, NE Turkey)

Various natural hazards such as landslides, avalanches, floods and debris flows can result in enormous property damages and human casualties in Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Mountainous topographic character and high frequency of heavy rain are the main factors for landslide occurrence in Ardesen, Rize. For this reason, the main target of the present study is to evaluate the landslide hazards using a sequence of historical aerial photographs in Ardesen (Rize), Turkey, by Photogrammetry and Geographical Information System (GIS). Landslide locations in the study area were identified by interpretation of aerial photographs dated in 1973 and 2002, and by field surveys. In the study, the selected factors conditioning landslides are lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, vegetation cover, land class, climate, rainfall and proximity to roads. These factors were considered as effective on the occurrence of landslides. The areas under landslide threat were analyzed and mapped considering the landslide conditioning factors. Some of the conditioning factors were investigated and estimated by employing visual interpretation of aerial photos and topographic data. The results showed that the slope, lithology, terrain roughness, proximity to roads, and the cover type played important roles on landslide occurrence. The results also showed that degree of landslides was affected by the number of houses constructed in the region. As a consequence, the method employed in the study provides important benefits for landslide hazard mitigation efforts, because a combination of both photogrammetric techniques and GIS is presented.     

Using the analytical hierarchy process to assess the environmental vulnerabilities of basins in Taiwan

Every year, Taiwan endures typhoons and earthquakes; these natural hazards often induce landslides and debris flows. Therefore, watershed management strategies must consider the environmental vulnerabilities of local basins. Because many factors affect basin ecosystems, this study applied multiple criteria analysis and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate seven criteria in three phases (geographic phase, hydrologic phase, and societal phase). This study focused on five major basins in Taiwan: the Tan-Shui River Basin, the Ta-Chia River Basin, the Cho-Shui River Basin, the Tseng-Wen River Basin, and the Kao-Ping River Basin. The objectives were a comprehensive examination of the environmental characteristics of these basins and a comprehensive assessment of their environmental vulnerabilities. The results of a survey and AHP analysis showed that landslide area is the most important factor for basin environmental vulnerability. Of all these basins, the Cho-Shui River Basin in central Taiwan has the greatest environmental vulnerability.     

Land use change and landslide characteristics analysis for community-based disaster mitigation

On August 8, 2009, Typhoon Morakot brought heavy rain to Taiwan, causing numerous landslides and debris flows in the Taihe village area of Meishan Township, Chiayi County, in south-central Taiwan. In the Taihe land is primary used for agriculture and land use management may be a factor in the area’s landslides. This study explores Typhoon Morakot-induced landslides and land use changes between 1999 and 2009 using GIS with the aid of field investigation. Spot 5 satellite images with a resolution of 2.5 m are used for landslide interpretation and manually digitalized in GIS. A statistical analysis for landslide frequency–area distribution was used to identify the landslide characteristics associated with different types of land use. There were 243 landslides with a total area of 2.75 km² in the study area. The area is located in intrinsically fragile combinations of sandstone and shale. Typhoon Morakot-induced landslides show a power–law distribution in the study area. Landslides were mainly located in steep slope areas containing natural forest and in areas planted with bamboo, tea, and betel nut. Land covered with natural forest shows the highest landslide ratio, followed by bamboo, betel nut, and tea. Landslides thus show a higher ratio in areas planted with shallow root vegetation such as bamboo, betel nut, and tea. Furthermore, the degree of basin development is proportional to the landslide ratio. The results show that a change in vegetation cover results in a modified landslide area and frequency and changed land use areas have higher landslide ratios than non-changed. Land use management and community-based disaster prevention are needed in mountainous areas of Taiwan for hazard mitigation.     

Mean Vehicle Speed Distributions for the Spatiotemporal Estimation of Exhaust Emissions

Link Emissions Models estimate traffic-related air pollution emissions at the individual road link level and inform governmental policies for air quality management. The current South Australian Link Emissions Model (CLEM) assumes constant spatiotemporal traffic flow at a single fixed mean speed, a potential limitation as the variability of exhaust emissions with vehicle speed has been established in the literature.We extend CLEM to eliminate the assumption of constant traffic flow, through the derivation of mean Australian vehicle speed distributions for different road types. Specifically, we successfully model the vehicle speed profile data from the second National In-Service Emissions study using Nearest Neighbour Kernel Density Estimation. We propose a mean speed Distribution Link Emissions Model (DLEM) for exhaust emission estimation based on the derived mean speed distributions. DLEM is an augmented, enhanced version of CLEM, accommodating a range of vehicle speeds and road types. The performance of the extended model, DLEM, is analysed in comparison to the current model, CLEM, through a case study analysis of vehicle exhaust emissions on a typical arterial road in Adelaide, South Australia. Results indicate use of DLEM and, by extension, mean vehicle speed distributions, has a strong impact on emission estimation. In particular, the fixed speed model, CLEM, may be substantially underestimating exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds and particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter. These are common exhaust pollutants that have been extensively linked with adverse health effects including respiratory morbidity and premature mortality.     

匀速行驶小型载客汽车噪声频谱研究

系统测量了5辆小型载客汽车分别以20~100 km/h匀速行驶时的车外噪声频谱,得到了低、中、高各频段声压级随车速的变化关系,进一步与城市道路交通噪声频谱相比较,为从声源上控制城市道路交通噪声提供有力的参考依据。     

Landslides susceptibility change over time according to terrain conditions in a mountain area of the tropic region

Susceptibility to landslides in mountain areas results from the interaction of various factors related to relief formation and soil development. The assessment of landslide susceptibility has generally taken into account individual events, or it has been aimed at establishing relationships between landslide-inventory maps and maps of environmental factors, without considering that such relationships can change in space and time. In this work, temporal and space changes in landslides were analysed in six different combinations of date and geomorphological conditions, including two different geological units, in a mountainous area in the north-centre of Venezuela, in northern South America. Landslide inventories from different years were compared with a number of environmental factors by means of logistic regression analysis. The resulting equations predicted landslide susceptibility from a range of geomorphometric parameters and a vegetation index, with diverse accuracy, in the study area. The variation of the obtained models and their prediction accuracy between geological units and dates suggests that the complexity of the landslide processes and their explanatory factors changed over space and time in the studied area. This calls into question the use of a single model to evaluate landslide susceptibility over large regions.     

Trace metals content in soils along the state road 51 (northeastern Poland)

The aim of the study was to determine concentrations of some trace elements (lead, cadmium, chromium, and nickel) in soils along State Road 51 leading from Olsztyn to Olsztynek, northeastern Poland. The traffic flow had a significant effect on the content of heavy metals in soils lying along the road. Further away from the road, and under a lower traffic flow intensity, the amounts of contaminants originating from the motor traffic decreased. There was a pine forest growing by the road near Olsztyn, which served as a buffer zone for all the analyzed heavy metals. At all the sampling locations, the content of chromium was approximately the same as its natural concentration. The statistical analysis demonstrated that there was a strong negative correlation between the concentrations of nickel, lead, chromium, and cadmium in soils and the distance from the road. The biggest differences in the content of an individual element were determined for lead and the smallest ones—for cadmium. Emissions of trace elements depended on the differences in the traffic flow intensity, number, type, and speed of vehicles and on the atmospheric conditions as well as the distribution of buildings.     

微波检测器在交通噪声车流量监测中的应用

阐述了微波车辆检测器的基本工作原理及主要特点,选取城市主干道和一级公路对交通噪声监测中所需要的车流量数据进行仪器与人工的比对监测,结果显示,昼夜总车流量误差率在5%左右,表明该仪器适用于道路交通的车流量连续监测。     

Investigation of landslide potential parameters on Zonguldak–Ereğli Highway and adverse effects of landslides in the region

Landslides are natural phenomena in the same class of natural disasters as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, erosion, and volcanic eruptions that adversely affect human lives and property. Owing to their widespread occurrence, landslides are easily visible and able to be partially understood by people witnessing them. Nevertheless, to comprehend the detail of their formation and determine their potential, it is necessary to undertake geodetic, geological, and geophysical measurements in regions prone to landslides. By analyzing these measurements, it is possible to better ascertain those regions predisposed to landslides and thus provide the means to prevent loss of life and property. The city of Zonguldak, situated in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey, has a high occurrence of landslides owing to its harsh topography with rugged and steep slopes and rainfall in almost every season. Furthermore, the diurnal temperature ranging up to 10 °C in all seasons, especially in winter, plays a crucial role in rock disintegration in this region. Other factors damage ground composition and trigger landslides, such as underground mining operations, road construction that collapses rocky hills using explosives, and excavation works in steep terrain for building construction. This study gives a detailed account of the causes and adverse effects of landslides and their parameters through examples of landslide occurrences in the region, together with the results and analyses of two periods of geodetic measurements conducted on the Zonguldak–Ere?li Highway in Il?ksu district.     

北京市黄标车禁行对市区道路交通噪声的影响分析

利用噪声自动监测系统中33个道路交通站点的数据,分析了北京市实行黄标车禁行措施后道路交通噪声昼、夜间均值的总体变化趋势.在计算夜间噪声下降量的基础上归纳了噪声降幅大的道路等级,进一步分析了噪声改善最大的时间段,并在结论的基础上为决策者提出了相应的建议.     

Assessment of risk factors in forest road design and construction activities with fuzzy analytic hierarchy process approach in Turkey

Forest road design and construction are time-consuming and complicated because various risk factors can be encountered during the process. The aim of this study is to comprehensively assess the risk factors in forest road design and construction using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method in Turkey, thus contributing to the proper performance of these activities. Within the scope of the study, six main risk factors and 22 sub-risk factors were identified based on literature review. In order to determine the weights of the relevant risk factors, the opinions of three different groups [(group 1: academicians), (group 2: forest engineers (private sector employees + public sector employees)), (group 3: group 1 + group 2)] about the risk factors were obtained. Relevant risk factor weights were determined using the fuzzy AHP method. According to group 3, the most important main risk factors are technical risks and environmental risks. In addition, the most important sub-risk factors for each relevant main risk factor were incorrect road alignment, inadequate work safety in the field, insufficient capital, legal problems on the road alignment, landslide risk during road construction, and illegal logging. Differences were observed between groups 1 and 2 in the weight rankings of relevant risk factor. The results demonstrate that the fuzzy AHP method can be used effectively to assess the risks of forest road design and construction.     

青岛市主干道沿线高层建筑的交通噪声研究

采用A计权网络对青岛市东西快速路沿线高层建筑进行监测。利用Grapher软件,以Leq为监测值的基准值绘制连续线状图,分析城市主干道周边高层建筑上交通噪声的峰值点。根据道路中心线到高层建筑的距离信息,得出高层建筑交通噪声峰值点与道路中心线的连线与水平地面间的角度约为30°。     

Evaluation of Traffic Noise Pollution in Amman, Jordan

The City of Amman, Jordan, has been subjected to persistent increase in road traffic due to overall increase in prosperity, fast development and expansion of economy, travel and tourism. This study investigates traffic noise pollution in Amman. Road traffic noise index L ₁₀(1 h) was measured at 28 locations that cover most of the City of Amman. Noise measurements were carried out at these 28 locations two times a day for a period of one hour during the early morning and early evening rush hours, in the presence and absence of a barrier. The Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN) prediction model was employed to predict noise levels at the locations chosen for the study. Data required for the model include traffic volume, speed, percentage of heavy vehicles, road surface, gradient, obstructions, distance, noise path, intervening ground, effect of shielding, and angle of view. The results of the investigation showed that the minimum and the maximum noise levels are 46 dB(A) and 81 dB(A) during day-time and 58 dB(A) and 71 dB(A) during night-time. The measured noise level exceeded the 62 dB(A) acceptable limit at most of the locations. The CTRN prediction model was successful in predicting noise levels at most of the locations chosen for this investigation, with more accurate predictions for night-time measurements.     

交通干道沿线土壤重金属监测与评估综述

公路运营所带来的铅、镉、锌等重金属污染物对人体健康安全存在着潜在和长期的影响。近年来,开展交通干道沿线重金属污染监测与评估工作已经成为环境监测工作的重要内容。从监测技术、评估方法、可能影响因素等几个方面对该领域的研究进展及成果进行了综述。采样段面的选取、点位的布设与样品的收集应该同时遵循全面性和代表性的原则。在同一交通干道内,均匀布置采样段面的同时可以尽量包含高车流量、中车流量与低车流量3种类型。考虑到重金属在横向距离上的分布规律,可以在0~100 m处设置密集采样点位,在100~300 m处设置适量采样点位。评估方法一般同时采用Kriging空间插值分析、污染指数分析、多元统计分析,生态风险评价与健康风险评价等多种分析方法。     

北京市公交车噪声测试与分析

公交车已成为当前北京市道路交通噪声的主要束源之一,针对公交车声源模型缺乏而沿用大型车声源模型所致的噪声预测误差问题,在北京市选取了两类常见公交车进行了537辆车的单车通过噪声测试,在无效数据剔除和背景噪声修正后,利用回归分析法获得了北京市公交车声源模型,通过与现有《公路建设项目环境影响评价规范》中大型车声源模型的比较,显示出建立北京市公交车噪声声源模型的必要性。基于《公路建设项目环境影响评价规范》中的道路交通噪声预测方法,提出了符合北京市实际情况的道路交通噪声预测模型。     

Inclusion of Noise in Environmental Assessment of Road Transportation

In life cycle assessment (LCA) of road transportation systems, limited attention is given to noise as an impact category. This paper presents a method in order to include the environmental effects of noise in the LCA of road transportation. Life cycle inventory is developed based on the IMAGINE road vehicle noise emission model. Life cycle impact assessment is based on cause-effect chain including fate, exposure, effect, and damage analysis. The health effects of road traffic noise are evaluated in terms of acute myocardial infarction, annoyance, and sleep disturbance. The corresponding health damages are quantified using disability adjusted life years (DALY). A case study evaluating the health effects of road transportation noise for the nine municipalities of Istanbul using the proposed method is also presented. It was shown that transportation noise has significant adverse health effects and therefore should be accounted for in the LCA of road transportation along with other environmental interventions.