Priority areas for conservation of Old World vultures

The prosperity and well-being of human societies relies on healthy ecosystems and the services they provide. However, the biodiversity crisis is undermining ecosystems services and functions. Vultures are among the most imperiled taxonomic groups on Earth, yet they have a fundamental ecosystem function. These obligate scavengers rapidly consume large amounts of carrion and human waste, a service that may aid in both disease prevention and control of mammalian scavengers, including feral dogs, which in turn threaten humans. We combined information about the distribution of all 15 vulture species found in Europe, Asia, and Africa with their threats and used detailed expert knowledge on threat intensity to prioritize critical areas for conserving vultures in Africa and Eurasia. Threats we identified included poisoning, mortality due to collision with wind energy infrastructures, and other anthropogenic activities related to human land use and influence. Areas important for vulture conservation were concentrated in southern and eastern Africa, South Asia, and the Iberian Peninsula, and over 80% of these areas were unprotected. Some vulture species required larger areas for protection than others. Finally, countries that had the largest share of all identified important priority areas for vulture conservation were those with the largest expenditures related to rabies burden (e.g., India, China, and Myanmar). Vulture populations have declined markedly in most of these countries. Restoring healthy vulture populations through targeted actions in the priority areas we identified may help restore the ecosystem services vultures provide, including sanitation and potentially prevention of diseases, such as rabies, a heavy burden afflicting fragile societies. Our findings may guide stakeholders to prioritize actions where they are needed most in order to achieve international goals for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.     

Effects of connectivity and spatial resolution of analyses on conservation prioritization across large extents

The outcome of analyses that prioritize locations for conservation on the basis of distributions of species, land cover, or other elements is influenced by the spatial resolution of data used in the analyses. We explored the influence of data resolution on prioritization of Finnish forests with Zonation, a software program that ranks the priority of cells in a landscape for conservation. We used data on the distribution of different forest types that were aggregated to nine different resolutions ranging from 0.1 × 0.1 km to 25.6 × 25.6 km. We analyzed data at each resolution with two variants of Zonation that had different criteria for prioritization, with and without accounting for connectivity and with and without adjustment for the effect on the analysis of edges between areas at the project boundary and adjacent areas for which data do not exist. Spatial overlap of the 10% of cells ranked most highly when data were analyzed at different resolutions varied approximately from 15% to 60% and was greatest among analyses with similar resolutions. Inclusion of connectivity or edge adjustment changed the location of areas that were prioritized for conservation. Even though different locations received high priority for conservation in analyses with and without accounting for connectivity, accounting for connectivity did not reduce the representation of different forest types. Inclusion of connectivity influenced most the outcome of fine-resolution analyses because the connectivity extents that we based on dispersal distances of typical forest species were small. When we kept the area set aside for conservation constant, representation of the forest types increased as resolution increased. We do not think it is necessary to avoid use of high-resolution data in spatial conservation prioritization. Our results show that large extent, fine-resolution analyses are computationally feasible, and we suggest they can give more flexibility to implementation of well-connected reserve networks.     

基于OpenFOAM的城市街区毒气扩散模拟

为了对毒气扩散过程进行及时、有效的模拟,将开源计算流体动力学软件OpenFOAM与PISO算法(pressure implicit with splitting of operators,压力隐式算子分割算法)相结合,进行城市街区毒气扩散模拟研究. 将SIMPLE(semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations,压力耦合方程组的半隐式算法)与PISO算法进行了对比,指出以PISO算法为基础的数值模拟在城市街区这类大范围毒气扩散模拟中具有容差性强、计算较为稳定等优点. 以福州大学怡山校区为扩散区虚拟地理环境,选用氯气为假定毒气,利用OpenFOAM对氯气的扩散传播过程进行了模拟, 并与商用软件FLUENT在相同条件下的ρ(Cl₂)模拟结果进行了对比. 结果表明,结合PISO算法的OpenFOAM能够较好地完成复杂虚拟地理环境下的毒气扩散过程模拟,其ρ(Cl₂)模拟结果与FLUENT模拟结果的平均偏差小于5%,但在计算效率上却提高了41.89%.      

基于ABAQUS的强度折减有限元法边坡稳定性分析

将强度折减有限元法与ABAQU S软件相结合,充分利用ABAQU S软件强大的后处理功能,动态显示广义塑性应变和塑性区的开展情况,以此对边坡稳定性进行判定。在ABAQU S软件的模拟计算中,通过不断调整强度折减系数F的大小,改变土体的强度指标c、值,得到不同折减系数下边坡中广义塑性应变的发展情况;当塑性区趋于贯通,且广义塑性应变和位移发生突变时,则边坡处于破坏的临界状态,此时的折减系数就定义为边坡的最小稳定安全系数。通过天然直立边坡及开挖边坡的实例分析,表明该法可以较准确形象地预测边坡潜在滑裂面的位置及评价边坡的稳定性,在复杂条件下的基坑边坡稳定性分析中是简便实用的。     

Precision Measurements from Very-Large Scale Aerial Digital Imagery

Managers need measurements and resource managers need the length/width of a variety of items including that of animals, logs, streams, plant canopies, man-made objects, riparian habitat, vegetation patches and other things important in resource monitoring and land inspection. These types of measurements can now be easily and accurately obtained from very large scale aerial (VLSA) imagery having spatial resolutions as fine as 1 millimeter per pixel by using the three new software programs described here. VLSA images have small fields of view and are used for intermittent sampling across extensive landscapes. Pixel-coverage among images is influenced by small changes in airplane altitude above ground level (AGL) and orientation relative to the ground, as well as by changes in topography. These factors affect the object-to-camera distance used for image-resolution calculations. ‘ImageMeasurement’ offers a user-friendly interface for accounting for pixel-coverage variation among images by utilizing a database. ‘LaserLOG’ records and displays airplane altitude AGL measured from a high frequency laser rangefinder, and displays the vertical velocity. ‘Merge’ sorts through large amounts of data generated by LaserLOG and matches precise airplane altitudes with camera trigger times for input to the ImageMeasurement database. We discuss application of these tools, including error estimates. We found measurements from aerial images (collection resolution: 5–26 mm/pixel as projected on the ground) using ImageMeasurement, LaserLOG, and Merge, were accurate to centimeters with an error less than 10%. We recommend these software packages as a means for expanding the utility of aerial image data.     

危险性气体泄漏扩散数学模拟研究

总结归纳了描述气态危险物质泄漏扩散过程的多种现有模型及其特点.根据在其基础上开发的相关模拟软件的运行模式不同分为扩散模式模拟和数值计算模拟两类,并对具体流程作了详细阐述.提出了目前该领域仍存在的问题及今后的发展趋势.     

南通市大气降水中硫酸根的影响因素研究

随着环境空气污染的日益加重,研究硫酸根与降水中其他因子的相关关系对准确反映大气的质量状况具有重要意义.根据南通市2018年的降水监测数据,采用SPSS统计分析软件对降水中的硫酸根浓度与pH值、电导率以及常见阴、阳离子进行相关性分析,推断出离子的可能来源.通过多元线性回归模型可以对南通的硫酸根离子浓度进行预测.研究为南通...     

一种分离式可降温安全帽设计

为了解决高温作业环境下安全帽内部微环境积热严重问题,运用ANSYS软件模拟分析了安全帽内部微环境积热的空间和时间分布情况。基于模拟结果,设计了一款分离式可降温安全帽,其由帽体、喷嘴、风管、风机和开关组成。在高温高湿环境下,模拟人员分别佩戴在帽衬带上装有温度传感器的普通安全帽和分离式可降温安全帽进行剧烈运动模拟高温作业人员高强度劳动,记录其温度变化。结果表明:分离式可降温安全帽有良好的降温效果,同时具有不破坏安全帽的结构和强度,几乎不增加安全帽重量,无噪声、无电磁辐射,拆装简便等优点。     

基于Factsage的金属硫化矿尘爆炸过程产物分析*

为研究金属硫化矿尘爆炸的过程与产物,预防与控制其粉尘发生爆炸,在20 L爆炸球中开展金属硫化矿尘爆炸试验,发现存在磁黄铁矿含量越高爆炸产物颜色越红的现象。为揭示这一现象的本质,应用XRD对爆炸产物进行分析,基于Factsage软件模拟计算黄铁矿矿尘与磁黄铁矿矿尘爆炸过程。结果表明:产物中含有的Fe2O3是主要致色原因;最终产物除固体Fe2O3外还存在气体SO2,SO3,反应中间过程主要固体产物为Fe2(SO4)3;在磁黄铁矿与黄铁矿含硫量相同或质量相同时,Fe2O3的生成量磁黄铁矿较黄铁矿多,且磁黄铁矿含硫量越多Fe2O3生成量越多,模拟计算结果与试验现象一致,研究结果可为分析金属硫化矿尘爆炸过程提供理论与数据支撑。