Spatial and Seasonal Response of Municipal Water Use to Weather across the Contiguous U.S.

Weather variability has the potential to influence municipal water use, particularly in dry regions such as the western United States (U.S.). Outdoor water use can account for more than half of annual household water use and may be particularly responsive to weather, but little is known about how the expected magnitude of these responses varies across the U.S. This nationwide study identified the response of municipal water use to monthly weather (i.e., temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration [ET]) using monthly water deliveries for 229 cities in the contiguous U.S. Using city‐specific multiple regression and region‐specific models with city fixed effects, we investigated what portion of the variability in municipal water use was explained by weather across cities, and also estimated responses to weather across seasons and climate regions. Our findings indicated municipal water use was generally well‐explained by weather, with median adjusted R² ranging from 63% to 95% across climate regions. Weather was more predictive of water use in dry climates compared to wet, and temperature had more explanatory power than precipitation or ET. In response to a 1°C increase in monthly maximum temperature, municipal water use was shown to increase by 3.2% and 3.9% in dry cities in winter and summer, respectively, with smaller changes in wet cities. Quantifying these responses allows urban water managers to plan for weather‐driven variability in water use.     

Using culturomics and social media data to characterize wildlife consumption

Wildlife provides food, medicine, clothing, and other necessities for humans, but overexploitation can disrupt the sustainability of wildlife resources and severely threaten global biodiversity. Understanding the characteristics of consumer behavior is helpful for wildlife managers and policy makers, but the traditional survey methods are laborious and time-consuming. In contrast, culturomics may more efficiently identify the features of wildlife consumption. As a case study of the culturomics approach, we examined tiger bone wine consumption in China based on social media and Baidu search engine data. Tiger bone wine is one of the most purchased tiger products; its consumption is closely related to tiger poaching, which greatly threatens wild tiger survival. We searched a popular social media website for the term “tiger bone wine” and focused on posts that were originally created from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2018. We filtered and classified posts related to the purchase, sale, or consumption of tiger bone wine and extracted information on providers, consumption motivations, year of production, and place of origin of the tiger bone wines based on the texts and photos of these posts. We found 756 posts related to tiger bone wine consumption, 113 of which mentioned providers of tiger bone wine, including friends (53%), elder relatives (37%), peer relatives (7%), and others (3%). Out of the 756 posts, 266 indicated the motivations of tiger bone wine consumption. Tiger bone wines were consumed as a tonic (34%), medicine (23%), game product (30%), and a symbol of wealth (28%). Some posts indicated ≥2 consumption motivations. These findings were consistent with the search queries from Baidu index. Such information could help develop targeted strategies for tiger conservation. The culturomics approach illustrated by our study is a rapid and cost-efficient way to characterize wildlife consumption.     

Safe speed limits for a safe system: The relationship between speed limit and fatal crash rate for different crash types

Objective: The objective of this article is to provide empirical evidence for safe speed limits that will meet the objectives of the Safe System by examining the relationship between speed limit and injury severity for different crash types, using police-reported crash data.

Method: Police-reported crashes from 2 Australian jurisdictions were used to calculate a fatal crash rate by speed limit and crash type. Example safe speed limits were defined using threshold risk levels.

Results: A positive exponential relationship between speed limit and fatality rate was found. For an example fatality rate threshold of 1 in 100 crashes it was found that safe speed limits are 40 km/h for pedestrian crashes; 50 km/h for head-on crashes; 60 km/h for hit fixed object crashes; 80 km/h for right angle, right turn, and left road/rollover crashes; and 110 km/h or more for rear-end crashes.

Conclusions: The positive exponential relationship between speed limit and fatal crash rate is consistent with prior research into speed and crash risk. The results indicate that speed zones of 100 km/h or more only meet the objectives of the Safe System, with regard to fatal crashes, where all crash types except rear-end crashes are exceedingly rare, such as on a high standard restricted access highway with a safe roadside design.     

Measurement and Management of Human-Induced Patterns of Forest Fragmentation: A Case Study

In many tropical developing countries, the twin pressures of population and poverty are resulting in substantial fragmentation of forests, increasing the probability of extinction for many species, Forest fragmentation occurs when large contiguous forests are perforated by small holes or broken up into edges and smaller patches to form a nonforested matrix of open spaces. Thus, forest fragmentation refers not only to the area of forest cleared, but also to the pattern of this clearance, the resulting forest’s spatial properties. Both characteristics are important for species survivability. Apart from opening up forests to many abiotic and biotic influences, fragmentation can affect species dispersal and migration through its effects on forest connectivity. Landscape ecology conceptualizes connectivity as a gradient of critical thresholds, ranging from the large intact forest to the small unconnected forest patch. This article reports results from a multiple-scale analysis of forest fragmentation in Jamaica’s Cockpit Country, an area of once contiguous forest now under threat from human encroachment. Spatial forest data derived from classification of ETM+ satellite imagery are used to measure fragmentation patterns representing various degrees of forest connectivity and density. The results suggest that, overall, 81% of the region is in forest. However, fragmentation patterns also suggest that this forest is riven with extensive perforations indicative of an early stage in the decline of contiguity. The results provided by the spatial fragmentation model are a first step in the design of effective conservation and rehabilitation plans for the area. The article concludes with a discussion of possible multiscale management options for the region.     

Spatial modelling of the probability of obtaining a detectable concentration of ammonia in Moreton Bay, Australia

Ammonia is an important water quality variable, which in excess, can be detrimental to waterways and their ecosystems. In the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program in South-east Queensland ammonia is monitored monthly, however, often more than 50% of the ammonia observations in Moreton Bay are below detection limit, making it difficult to draw useful inferences. In this paper a clipped Gaussian random field is used to spatially model and map the probability of detectable concentration of ammonia. The methodology is applied to the Moreton Bay samples collected in February 2005. The results suggest that for this month the oceanic impacted areas have higher probability of detectable ammonia concentration than the areas closer to the main sources of anthropogenic inputs.     

哈长城市群县域碳排放空间溢出效应及影响因素研究——基于NPP-VIIRS夜间灯光数据的实证

基于2012-2016年NPP-VIIRS夜间灯光数据测算哈长城市群共计68个县级单元碳排放数据,采用空间自相关、位序规模法则、空间计量模型以及空间马尔科夫链模型,对县级尺度城市碳排放空间特征、影响因素和动态空间溢出作用进行分析.结果表明：①城市碳排放呈现逐年下降的趋势,空间Moran''s I指数表明研究区城市碳排放存在高度的空间自相关,碳排放的高值集聚性呈降低的趋势.②位序规模法则表明,研究区全部城市的碳排放属于次位型分布,高位次城市的碳排放表现突出;在前十位城市的碳排放规模先减少再增加,由分散向集中演变.③多种空间面板模型对比分析表明,城市经济水平和人口密度因素呈现显著的正相关关系;固定投资和外商投资因素仅在时间固定模型中起到正向影响作用;技术进步以及路网密度因素则起到显著的抑制作用.④空间马尔科夫链分析结果表明,城市碳排放空间溢出效应明显,位于低水平区域与高水平区域的城市在转移过程中保持稳定;位于中低水平区域的城市与高碳排放的城市相邻会降低转移概率,反之则会提升转移概率.     

全球液化石油气运输网络贸易社区特征及其演化分析

液化石油气在全球清洁能源消耗市场中扮演着极为重要的角色,其通过船舶在不同港口之间进行运输,而港口之间通过局部密集的运输关系,形成了联系极为紧密的贸易社区。采用复杂网络社区探测方法,基于2013—2017年全球液化石油气船舶轨迹大数据构建运输网络,并对其贸易社区特征及其演化趋势开展分析。结果表明：（1）液化石油气（Liquefied Petroleum Gas,LPG）贸易社区内的港口之间的联系更加紧密,不同社区内的枢纽港口联系也日益紧密;（2）各个贸易社区的规模呈现出增长趋势,且同一社区内的港口在地理空间上变得更为集聚;（3）亚太地区、中东、西北欧和地中海地区形成的社区在全球LPG贸易中一直保持着重要地位,而随着时间推移,美洲社区已逐渐从一个相对孤立的社区发展成为与其他社区存在紧密联系的社区。     

基于网络数据的乡村旅游热点识别及成因分析——以江苏省为例

基于旅游网站数据,提出一种乡村旅游热点识别方法,以江苏省为例,运用趋势面、核密度、热点分析等方法探寻乡村旅游冷热格局及演变特征,并借助地理探测器揭示其时空演化的影响因素。结果表明：（1）江苏省乡村旅游热度的时间演化规律明显,年际变化呈“S”型演变轨迹;季节变化呈“三峰四谷”特征。（2）江苏省乡村旅游热度的空间结构在2009—2017年间经历了“单核—双核—三核”的演化过程,但其空间异质性依然显著,整体表现为“南高北低,东高西低”的差异特征。（3）影响因素在不同时段的影响强度各异,交通条件、服务能力一直是主导因素,经济水平对乡村旅游发展早期的热度提升有显著影响,资源禀赋的显著性趋于下降,生态环境和政府导向的影响力逐渐增强。基于网络数据的乡村旅游热点识别为乡村旅游定量研究提供了新的研究视角,对乡村旅游资源开发与区域合作具有重要的指导意义。     

基于面板数据的我国城市水资源水环境随机前沿面分析

科学客观的评价城市水资源利用差异、明晰造成差异的原因可以为决策部门制定适宜的用水供水政策提供科学依据.收集了全国283个城市15年的市辖区城市建设用地面积、市辖区年末总人口、市辖区供水总量、市辖区年末实有城市道路面积、市辖区地区生产总值、污水排放总量.采用基于面板数据的随机前沿面模型计算主要城市的水资源利用效率和水环境压力,结果显示我国主要地级城市水资源利用效率普遍不高,平均值为0.464,低于平均值的城市有167个,占评估城市的59.01%.城市水环境压力具有普遍性,平均水环境压力为0.347,高于平均值的城市有106个,占评估城市的37.46%.发挥区域地理优势,加强区域间技术合作,因地制宜的开展诸如调整产业结构,引进先进生产技术和设备等相关提高水资源利用效率、减小水环境压力的举措,是实现水资源利用和城市可持续发展的重要途径.