张家港市声环境相关问题问卷调查

对张家港市7个镇176名居民进行了有关声环境保护的问卷调查.结果表明,张家港市声环境质量近年来得到改善,57％的调查对象对声环境质量感到满意,市民对声环境的关注度较高.调查对象认为主要噪声污染源为建筑施工源,其次为工业源,然后是交通运输源,最后为社会生活噪声.4种噪声源实际导致的噪声污染事件数量间没有明显差别,其中社会...     

陕西省近10年自然灾害的损失规律

本文主要根据自然灾害损失资料,对陕西近10a自然灾害损失时空规律、各灾种特点、损失结构进行了较详尽讨论,并进行了损失强度分区。     

浅谈环境经济损益分析

评价一个地区的经济发展水平和建设项目的综合效益及可行性，环境经济损益分析必须纳入核算之中。除了环境的直接价值外，对其潜在的环境功能也应按价值法则规律进行经济评估。本文就环境经济损益分析作一简述。     

Estimating erosion in a riverine watershed bayou liberty-tchefuncta river in louisiana

GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Sheet erosion from agricultural, forest and urban lands may increase stream sediment loads as well as transport other pollutants that adversely affect water quality, reduce agricultural and forest production, and increase infrastructure maintenance costs. This study uses spatial analysis techniques and a numerical modeling approach to predict areas with the greatest sheet erosion potential given different soils disturbance scenarios. METHODS: A Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) were used to estimate sheet erosion from 0.64 ha parcels of land within the watershed. The Soil Survey of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana was digitized, required soil attributes entered into the GIS database, and slope factors determined for each 80 x 80 meter parcel in the watershed. The GIS/USLE model used series-specific erosion K factors, a rainfall factor of 89, and a GIS database of scenario-driven cropping and erosion control practice factors to estimate potential soil loss due to sheet erosion. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A general trend of increased potential sheet erosion occurred for all land use categories (urban, agriculture/grasslands, forests) as soil disturbance increases from cropping, logging and construction activities. Modeling indicated that rapidly growing urban areas have the greatest potential for sheet erosion. Evergreen and mixed forests (production forest) had lower sheet erosion potentials; with deciduous forests (mostly riparian) having the least sheet erosion potential. Erosion estimates from construction activities may be overestimated because of the value chosen for the erosion control practice factor. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the ease with which GIS can be integrated with the Universal Soil Loss Equation to identify areas with high sheet erosion potential for large scale management and policy decision making. RECOMMENDATIONS: The GIS/USLE modeling approach used in this study offers a quick and inexpensive tool for estimating sheet erosion within watersheds using publicly available information. This method can quickly identify discrete locations with relatively precise spatial boundaries (approximately 80 meter resolution) that have a high sheet erosion potential as well as areas where management interventions might be appropriate to prevent or ameliorate erosion.     

Heterospecific call recognition and phonotaxis in the orientation behavior of the marbled newt,Triturus marmoratus

The role of acoustic cues as reference cues for orientation by amphibians has been demonstrated in anurans, the only amphibian group that engages in acoustic communication, but not in urodeles. Orientation responses of marbled newts, Triturus marmoratus, were studied to determine whether heterospecific calls elicited positive phonotaxis. The orientation tests consisted in presenting either a familiar acoustic stimulus, the advertisement calls of natterjack toads (Bufo calamita), or a control stimulus, the advertisement calls of European green toads (Bufo viridis) that the newts would not be expected to recognize. Marbled newts and natterjack toads occur in simpatry, but T. marmoratus and B. viridis are allopatric species. Thus, T. marmoratus is distributed over the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, whereas B. viridis occurs in the Balearic Islands, but not over the Iberian Peninsula. Newts were released in a circular arena while a recorded chorus of natterjack toads or European green toads played outside the arena to determine whether they displayed positive phonotactic orientation. Our results show that marbled newts performed positive phonotaxis when exposed to the breeding calls of natterjack toads, but not to those of European green toads. Newts chose a compass course in the direction of the advertisement calls of B. calamita. Acoustic information might improve orientation accuracy. This study is the first to provide evidence of heterospecific call recognition and positive phonotactic response in urodeles.Communicated by W. Wiltschko     

Acoustic orientation in the palmate newt, Lissotriton helveticus

Experiments reported here were carried out to investigate the use of acoustic cues by palmate newts (Lissotriton helveticus) for orientation and to study whether this behavior is learned, or whether two populations of palmate newts that cohabit with different frog species (Iberian green frog, Rana perezi, and European common brown frog, Rana temporaria) show different phonotactic preferences. The orientation tests consisted of presenting a control stimulus (white noise), a sympatric acoustic stimulus (calls of R. perezi or R. temporaria, depending on the origin of newts), or an allopatric stimulus (calls of natterjack toads, Bufo calamita, or R. perezi). Newts were released in a circular arena, while the acoustic stimuli were presented outside of the circular arena in four different compass orientation directions (0, 90, 180 and 270°). In this study, we show that L. helveticus performed positive phonotaxis toward the calls of R. perezi only when both species shared habitat, orienting randomly when R. perezi was absent from the newt’s natal population. Newts from both populations oriented randomly when exposed to the allopatric and control acoustic stimuli. These results suggest, for the first time, that recognition of the sympatric heterospecific calls could be learned. However, newts sharing the breeding pond with a population of R. temporaria oriented randomly when exposed to the calls of this species. The fact that the breeding seasons of R. temporaria and L. helveticus do not overlap in time does not allow the use of R. temporaria calls as a guidance mechanism for migrating individuals of L. helveticus.     

Class-2 hazmat transportation consequence assessment on surrounding population

The transportation of hazardous materials by road is an utmost necessity of the world for the societal benefits, but at the same time the activity is inherently dangerous. Incidents involving hazardous material (hazmat) cargo particularly the class-2 materials can lead to severe consequences in terms of fatalities, injuries, evacuation, property damage and environmental degradation. The rationale behind considering class-2 hazmats is that they pose the greatest danger to the people and property along the transport route because of their storage condition on the transport vessel. They are stored either in pressurized vessels or in cryogenic containers. Any external impact due to collision may cause catastrophic failure of transport vessels, known as BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) with devastating consequences. Further, any continuous release from containment may cause what is known as ‘Unconfined Vapour Cloud Explosion’ (UVCE). Historically frequency of BLEVE occurrence is of the order of 1 × 10⁻⁶ per year or less, but other release scenarios e.g. a large vapour or liquid leaks are more probable and could also have devastating effects on the surrounding population. As such, the paper discussed various event scenarios and the consequences taking examples of a class-2.1 material (1,3 butadiene) and another class-2.3 (ammonia) hazmat. Comparative analysis suggests that per ton basis a rupture of ammonia tanker gives rise to larger impact areas and poses larger lethality risks compared to 1,3 butadiene as far as toxic effects are concerned. Besides, from fireball fatality on similar basis propylene causes higher consequence distance than LPG followed by ethylene oxide and 1,3 butadiene. The impact zone study results may be utilized as inputs for identifying the potential vulnerable area on a GIS enabled map, along a designated State highway route passing through an important industrial corridor in western India.     

When males whistle at females: complex FM acoustic signals in cockroaches

Male cockroaches of the species Elliptorhina chopardi expel air through a pair of modified abdominal spiracles during courtship. This air expulsion simultaneously produces air and substrate-borne vibrations. We described and compared in details these two types of vibrations. Our analysis of the air-borne signals shows that males can produce three categories of signals with distinct temporal and frequency parameters. “Pure whistles” consist of two independent harmonic series fast frequency modulated with independent harmonics that can cross each other. “Noisy whistles” also possess two independent voices but include a noisy broad-band frequency part in the middle. Hiss sounds are more noise-like, being made of a broad-band frequency spectrum. All three call types are unusually high in dominant frequency (>5 kHz) for cockroaches. The substrate-borne signals are categorised similarly. Some harmonics of the substrate-borne signals were filtered out, however, making the acoustic energy centered on fewer frequency bands. Our analysis shows that cockroach signals are complex, with fast frequency modulations and two distinct voices. These results also readdress the question of what system could potentially receive and decode the information contained within such complex sounds.Electronic supplementary material  Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

The structural significance of a vocalization that stimulates gaping in black-capped chickadees

In a variety of avian species, vocalizations used to stimulate gaping in nestlings during feeding share similar features such as broad frequency range, multiple spectral components, and sudden onset. It is currently not understood what functional significance, if any, these acoustic features have for close-range communication. One example of such a vocalization is the “squawk” of the black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus). The present study analyzes the significant features of the squawk by observing the response of chickadee nestlings to field playbacks of natural and computer-modified squawks. Of the features tested, frequency range appears most critical, but responses to frequency ranges change with age, such that low frequencies are most stimulating around the time of hatching but cease to elicit gaping after 5 days posthatch. Aperiodic stimuli and computer-modified squawks with gradual onsets tend to be less stimulating than natural squawks at some ages, but these differences are not significant at any age. The functional significance of the broad frequency range of the squawk is discussed, including the possible role of accommodating shifting frequency preferences related to ontogenetic changes in auditory sensitivity and elaboration of the vocal repertoire. Received: 16 January 1996 / Accepted after revision: 28 December 1996     

Normalised insurance losses from Australian natural disasters: 1966–2017

ABSTRACT

The paper updates normalisation of the Insurance Council of Australia’s Disaster List in the light of debate about the contribution of global warming to the rising cost of natural disasters. Normalisation estimates losses from historical events in a common year, here ‘season’ 2017 defined as the 12-month period from 1 July 2017. The number and nominal cost of new residential dwellings are key normalising factors and post-1974 improvements in construction standards in tropical cyclone-prone parts of the country are explicitly allowed for. 94% of the normalised losses arise from weather-related perils – bushfires, tropical cyclones, floods and severe storms – with the 1999 Sydney hailstorm the most costly single event (AUD5.6 billion). When aggregated by season, there is no trend in normalised losses from weather-related perils; in other words, after we normalise for changes we know to have taken place, no residual signal remains to be explained by changes in the occurrence of extreme weather events, regardless of cause. In sum, the rising cost of natural disasters is being driven by where and how we chose to live and with more people living in vulnerable locations with more to lose, natural disasters remain an important problem irrespective of a warming climate.