Method for Rapidly Assessing the Overtopping Risk of Bridges Due to Flooding over a Large Geographic Region

Hydraulic events are a leading cause of bridge failures. While these hydraulic events are accounted for in bridge design, changing environmental and land use conditions require continual updating of this risk. For example, after a bridge has been constructed, streamflow can change in unanticipated ways as a result of land use changes, geomorphic changes, and climate change. The objective of this research was to create a screening method able to quickly and inexpensively estimate overtopping risk across a collection of bridges based on the current streamflow conditions. The method uses a geographic information system, nationally available and standardized datasets, and recent regression equations to quantify bridge vulnerability to overtopping for flooding with varying return periods. This screening method could also be used to assist decision makers in updating the Waterway Adequacy field in the National Bridge Inventory, which indicates the overtopping risk of bridges. The method was applied to a portion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, United States that includes 475 bridges. The results of the analysis, when combined with transportation data for bridges, aid decision makers to assign further resources to complete more detailed analyses of bridges identified as being at risk for overtopping.     

Equity in neighbourhood walkability? A comparative analysis of three large U.S. cities

This study examines the spatial and statistical relationships between social vulnerability (SV) and neighbourhood walkability across three large U.S. cities with different urban typologies and development patterns: Charlotte, NC (a low-density, fast-growing “Sunbelt” city); Pittsburgh, PA (a moderate density, shrinking “Rust Belt” city); and Portland, OR (a progressive West Coast city known for its sprawl-containment policies). Binary logistic regression, independent-samples t-tests, and mapping techniques are employed to determine whether neighbourhoods with high SV (i.e. older populations, higher poverty rates, more service occupations, lower educational attainment, and a higher proportion of minorities) are as likely as those with low SV to exhibit a high degree of walkability. The publically available Walk Score® metric, based on proximity to amenities, street network connectivity, and density, was used as a proxy for neighbourhood walkability. The results indicate significant variability among cities, with Charlotte exhibiting the greatest potential for inequitable access to walkable urban environments and the most prominent concentration of “walk-vulnerable” block groups (BGs) with high SV and low walkability. Both Portland and Pittsburgh exhibited more equitable access when comparing BGs with high and low SV; however, they each presented unique spatial patterns, visualised using a series of maps.     

Land use planning and wildfire risk mitigation: an analysis of wildfire-burned subdivisions using high-resolution remote sensing imagery and GIS data

This paper evaluates risk factors that influence the probability that a house will burn from wildfire. A logistic regression is used to analyse data processed from pre-fire and post-fire IKONOS images and other geo-referenced data. The dependent variable is the probability that a given house will burn. A total of 12 independent variables are evaluated: vegetation density; area of defensible space; adjacency of a parcel to public lands; proximity of a house to fire station; road width; road type; parcel size; subdivision morphology; assessed value; elevation; slope and aspect. Model results generally support dominant land use planning and design strategies for wildfire risk reduction including vegetation treatments, site selection with respect to topography, and improving access to fire stations.     

基于DRASTIC的丽水市地下水防污性能评价

地下水防污性能反映地下水系统遭受污染的可能性,可以为土地利用规划、地下水资源保护规划、地下水水质监测等提供科学依据。此论文结合丽水市的水文地质条件,对DRASTIC评价模型进行了改善,建立了符合丽水市的DRAMTIC评价模型。该模型由大气降雨入渗补给量、地下水埋深、包气带介质、水力传导系数、含水层厚度、地下水开采强度、地形坡度等7个因子组成,以乡镇单元等为界线划分不规则评价单元,评分体系由单因子区域分布规律确定,采用主成分—因子分析法分析各因子的权重体系;利用差分法对各因子加权叠加的综合指数进行等级划分,应用GIS技术得到丽水市地下水防污性能评价图。该模型的评价结果客观科学,能有效的为规划部门及地下水资源管理部门服务。     

辽宁省沿海城市自然灾害脆弱性评价

文章以辽宁省沿海六市为研究对象,在广泛借鉴国内外灾害脆弱性评价的指标体系与评价模型的基础上,选取自然、经济、人口和环境设施等评价指标,构建沿海城市自然灾害脆弱性评价指标体系,并运用模糊综合评价法进行脆弱性评价。结果表明:葫芦岛市、锦州市、丹东市为高脆弱区;营口市为中脆弱区;盘锦市和大连市为低脆弱区。本文研究对沿海城市脆弱性防范有一定借鉴意义。     

自然灾害脆弱性研究进展

自然灾害风险研究是当今国际社会、学术界普遍关注的热点问题。本文在回顾国内外自然灾害脆弱性研究发展的基础上,阐述了自然灾害脆弱性的基本内涵,通过对国内外自然灾害脆弱性研究尺度、评价模型、评估方法等方面进行对比,指出国内自然灾害脆弱性研究存在的问题。同时指出未来自然灾害脆弱性研究的发展趋势应加强对人-地耦合系统的脆弱性研究,以及对其内在形成机制和发生演变规律的研究。自然灾害脆弱性研究是涉及多学科、多领域的复杂研究课题,并且呈现出多学科交融的趋势,需要综合考虑自然和社会双重因素的影响。     

Assessing field vulnerability to phosphorus loss in Beijing agricultural area using Revised Field Phosphorus Ranking Scheme

Guanting Reservoir,one of the drinking water supply sources of Beijing,suffers from water eutrophication.It is mainly supplied by Guishui River.Thus,to investigate the reasons of phosphorus(P)loss and improve the P management strategies in Guishui River watershed are important for the safety of drinking water in this region.In this study,a Revised Field P Ranking Scheme(PRS)was developed to reflect the field vulnerability of P loss at the field scale based on the Field PRS.In this new scheme,six factors are included, and each one was assigned a relative weight and a determination method.The affecting factors were classified into transport factors and source factors,and,the standards of environmental quality on surface water and soil erosion classification and degradation of the China were used in this scheme.By the new scheme,thirty-four fields in the Guishui River were categorized as"low","medium"or"high"potential for P loss into the runoff.The results showed that the P loss risks of orchard and vegetable fields were higher than that of corn and soybean fields.The source factors were the main factors to affect P loss from the study area.In the study area,controlling P input and improving P usage efficiency are critical to decrease P loss.Based on the results,it was suggested that more attention should be paid on the fields of vegetable and orchard since they have extremely high usage rate of P and high soil test of E Compared with P surplus by field measurements,the Revised Field PRS was more suitable for reflecting the characteristics of fields,and had higher potential capacity to identify critical source areas of P loss than PRS.     

后寨河流域岩溶含水层脆弱性及其对土地利用方式的响应

由于强烈的溶蚀作用,岩溶地区溶蚀裂隙、管道等高度发育,并相互贯通,形成岩溶区特有的地下、地表“双层空间”结构体系,地下空间成为地下水存储和运移的重要场所。岩溶地区由于土层浅薄或缺失,并且溶蚀裂隙、管道、落水洞、竖井等高度发育,使含水层更易受地表状况的影响,土地利用/覆被变化在很大程度上影响着地下水的水质、水量,岩溶水质的变化能集中反映人类活动胁迫下岩溶含水层脆弱性程度的增加。以典型岩溶单元--贵州普定后寨河流域为例,分析了流域水文地质背景下的岩溶含水层本质脆弱性,结合流域地下河水近20年的水化学资料,分析了含水层脆弱性对土地利用变化的响应。结果显示：土地利用/覆被变化、农业活动、城镇建设及居民活动都对地下水质变化有明显影响。因此,调整土地利用结构,恢复岩溶植被,改善生态环境是保护和改善岩溶水资源的重要途径。     

国内外脆弱性研究进展评述研究

脆弱性问题研究已成为环境可持续发展科学的重要组成部分。通过对国内外相关文献研究发现:脆弱性问题已从局限于地学、环境科学的单一领域逐步拓展到人类社会发展的多个层面;脆弱性问题理论体系的构建对于其评价运用手段的建设至关重要,它不仅从研究方向上打破了原有的思维与行为模式,在具体操作手段上提供了多学科的研究背景和研究思路。同时,通过对比和文献分析研究发现,国内外研究存在深度与广度上的差异。同时具备以下共同点:一是在脆弱性理论与区域发展实践结合的过程中,拓展性的理论体系构建提供了研究方法的多种选择,二是在具体问题的研究中,研究视野不断丰富,多学科的综合研究开始出现。     

Design and evaluation of a local analytic-deliberative process for climate adaptation planning

In the midst of rapidly proliferating engagement efforts around climate adaptation, attention to the design and evaluation of decision support processes and products is warranted. We report on the development and evaluation of a process framework called the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS) process. VCAPS is a systematic approach to integrate local knowledge with scientific understanding by providing opportunities for facilitated, deliberative learning-based activities with local decision makers about climate change vulnerability and adaptation. We introduce the conceptual basis of the process in analytic-deliberation, hazard management, and vulnerability. Our evaluations from eight coastal communities where the approach was applied point to four assets of VCAPS: it promotes synthesis of local and scientific knowledge; it stimulates systems thinking and learning; it facilitates governance by producing action plans with transparent justifications; and it accommodates participant time constraints and preferences.