Application of a ‘bio-engineering’ technique to protect ghoramara island (Bay of Bengal) from severe erosion

Ghoramara Island is located ca. 150 km south of Kolkata, Bay of Bengal, India, in the Sundarban Delta complex. This sparsely populated island is suffering from severe coastal erosion and areal reduction for the last three decades, which results in the loss of major areas on the northwest coast. Both numerous households and a significant area of agricultural land and coastal stretches for fish drying have been lost. This has rendered thousands of people homeless as ‘environmental refugess’. In the present paper an attempt is made to study the erosion and accretion process through time series analysis using a GIS technique. Also, a study of remedial measures to protect the island using a ‘bio-engineering’ technique is reported in this paper. It has been shown that, in the absence of protection measures, the eastern shore will merge with the Indian mainland during the next 25 years, while the western part will be completely washed off.     

Net Present Biodiversity Value and the Design of Biodiversity Offsets

There is an urgent need to develop sound theory and practice for biodiversity offsets to provide a better basis for offset multipliers, to improve accounting for time delays in offset repayments, and to develop a common framework for evaluating in-kind and out-of-kind offsets. Here, we apply concepts and measures from systematic conservation planning and financial accounting to provide a basis for determining equity across type (of biodiversity), space, and time. We introduce net present biodiversity value (NPBV) as a theoretical and practical measure for defining the offset required to achieve no-net-loss. For evaluating equity in type and space we use measures of biodiversity value from systematic conservation planning. Time discount rates are used to address risk of non-repayment, and loss of utility. We illustrate these concepts and measures with two examples of biodiversity impact–offset transactions. Considerable further work is required to understand the characteristics of these approaches.     

Species-specific and context-dependant disruption of temporal population fluctuations resulting from hypereutrophication events

This study quantifies the disruption of zooplankton population fluctuations in relation to two magnitudes of fire retardant contamination events using artificial ponds as model systems. Population time series were analysed using redundancy analysis where time was modelled with a principal coordinate of neighborhood matrices approach that identified relevant scales of fluctuation frequencies. Analyses of temporal coherence provided insight whether population fluctuations correlated with system intrinsic or extrinsic forces. Responses to stress were species-specific and context-dependant. Contamination changed temporal structure in some species. These alterations were associated with an increased intrinsic control of dynamics. In some cases the magnitude of impact was unrelated to contamination severity. Some populations were less tolerant of pollution in the low relative to the high concentration treatment. Results suggest that population-level monitoring of degraded sites may be suboptimal because disparate population responses complicate the selection of specific sentinel organisms to monitor stress.     

Use of principal component analysis to profile temporal and spatial variations of chlorinated solvent concentration in groundwater

This work aims at evaluating spatial distribution patterns of concentration variations for chlorinated solvents in groundwater, based on principal component analysis and geographic information system (GIS) tools. The study investigates long-time series of chlorinated solvent concentrations in groundwater measured for 18 contaminated industrial sites. The characterization of contaminant plumes and delineation of pollutant sources are essential for choosing appropriate monitoring and remediation strategies, as contaminated groundwaters are characterized by complex patterns of spatial and temporal concentration variability, with wide unpredictable fluctuations over time. The present work describes the results of a new exploratory statistical method called the Variability Index Method (VIM) applied to environmental data to assess the performance of using concentration variations as molecular tracers to reveal aquifer dynamics, industrial impacts, and point sources for contamination plumes. The application of this method provides a useful assessment of controls over contaminant concentration variations as well as support for remediation techniques.     

获取日均值的大气监测时段选择

利用数理统计方法，以污染物瞬时监测数据为基础数据，选用控制在一定置信度下最大允许误差的统计公式确定出样本容量，并采用模糊集合运算—优化组合选择法，确定出获取日均值的最佳监测时段．     

降水量时间序列变化的小波特征

利用小波变换对降水量时间序列的多时间尺度变化及突变特征进行了探讨。小波变换不仅能将降水量时间序列的频率特征在时间域上展现出来,清晰地给出各种时间尺度的强弱和分布情况以及早涝变化趋势和突变点,而且还能分析出其主要周期。以新安江流域黄山地区主汛期(5—7月)和年降水量为例,计算表明,其年际及年代际时间尺度在时域中分布不均匀,具有明显的局部化特征;同时分析出主汛期降水具有8年、19年左右的周期,年降水存在6年、19年左右的周期;研究还表明,主汛期降水与年降水的时间尺度变化比较接近。     

Secondary analysis of time of day on simulated driving performance

PROBLEM: Age and gender are frequently controlled for in studies of driving performance, but the effects of time of day or circadian cycles on performance are often not considered. Previous research on time of day effects of simulated driving is contradictory and provides little guidance for understanding the impact of these variables on results. METHODS: Using driving simulator data from 79 subjects ages 18 to 65, this paper focuses on the impact of age, gender, and time of day on the simulated driving performance of subjects who self-selected the time of participation. RESULTS: Time of day effects were consistently evident for drivers' speed overall and across different simulated environments. Drivers in the late afternoon period consistently drove significantly slower than drivers in other time periods. Age and gender affected speed such that women and those participants 50 and older tended to drive more slowly. Time of day also had an effect on reaction time and on speed variability measures. Gender did not have significant effects on reaction time or variability measures, but age effects were present. SUMMARY: Taken together, the results suggest that time of day effects should be considered as part of simulated driving performance, and that interactions between time of day and other variables, notably age, should be controlled for as part of future research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings on current efforts for older driver testing are discussed.     

Effect on fatality risk of changing from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement

BACKGROUND: Most seat belt use laws originally passed in the United States contained language restricting enforcement to drivers already stopped for some other reason. States that have since removed this secondary enforcement restriction have reported increased seat belt use. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of these law changes on driver fatality rates. METHOD: Trends in passenger vehicle driver death rates per billion miles traveled were compared for 10 states that changed from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement and 14 states that remained with secondary enforcement. RESULTS: After accounting for possible economic effects and other general time trends, the change from secondary to primary enforcement was found to reduce annual passenger vehicle driver death rates by an estimated 7% (95% confidence limits 3.0-10.9). CONCLUSION: The majority of U.S. states still have secondary enforcement laws. If these remaining secondary laws were amended, an estimated 696 deaths per year could be prevented.     

基于时序InSAR的覆砂石尾矿坝形变演化研究

为解决目前采用在尾矿坝坝体及滩面覆盖砂石进行防尘治理与闭库,但传统监测手段难以实现坝体整体监测的问题,采用时序InSAR技术对2014年10月至2018年7月的Sentinel-1A影像进行处理,提取了对应时间段内卡房尾矿坝的形变信息,并结合实地调查及尾矿坝建设资料,研究了卡房尾矿坝的时序形变演化规律。结果表明:SBAS InSAR监测到坝体出现第1次异常形变加速运动时间与坝体开始铺设砂石工程的施工时间节点完全吻合,体现SBAS InSAR技术在受人为工程影响的坝体形变监测方面具有极高的敏感性。坝体在施工结束后,坝体形变加剧趋势并未缓解,并且出现2次加速现象,分析认为是由于在坝体铺设约2 m厚的碎砂石极大地增加了坝体荷载,打破了坝体原有的应力平衡状态,且识别出雨季对坝体形变影响显著,表明铺设砂石会使得降雨在坝体中的停滞时间加长,进一步引发非雨季期间坝体形变加剧。研究结果不仅能还原坝体出现异常形变的时间与演化过程,而且还可以对引起异常形变的内在影响因素进行分析与论证,对指导尾矿坝灾害识别、分析与治理具有重要的指导意义。