湖南省湘江流域2006年"7·15"暴雨-洪水巨灾分析

基于自然灾害系统论,结合灾区实地调查结果和部分适时气象、水文资料,从降雨、洪水、灾情以及减灾模式等对湖南省湘江流域2006年"7·15"暴雨-洪水巨灾进行了分析.结果表明农村的主要致灾因子是洪水、内涝、滑坡、泥石流,而城市主要为内涝;此次巨灾是在强热带风暴引发的暴雨、湘江流域中上游多山的地形条件等自然因素,和工程建设不合理、灾害预警机制不够完善、人们防灾意识薄弱以及灾害风险转移机制不够成熟等人为因素的共同作用下导致的.在此基础之上,提出了建立综合减灾范式、提高巨灾应急管理能力等应对巨灾的对策.     

我国主要农业气象灾害机理与监测研究进展

对我国农业气象灾害机理与监测方面的研究进行了深入系统的回顾与评述,阐述了我国主要农业灾害研究的前沿领域和学术问题,探讨了农业灾害研究的发展趋势.灾害性天气只是农业成灾的外部环境条件(环境胁迫),在这种环境胁迫下,农业生产系统是否最终成灾,还要取决于农业生产系统本身对这种环境胁迫的应对和作用.因此农业灾害机理反映了环境胁迫与农业生产系统的相互作用和相互影响.当前,对农业灾害机理研究不足,农业成灾过程和关键因子认识不深入,农业灾害监测理论与方法不完善,已经成为建立有效的农业灾害监测预警系统、开展灾害时空动态监测,以及国家进行重大防灾减灾决策的瓶颈和障碍.对主要农业灾害机理开展研究以及发展农业灾害理论和监测方法,是国家实现农业发展目标的需要,也是多门相关学科理论与方法发展的需要.     

“历史模型”与灾害研究

灾害研究涉及多学科的交叉领域．水灾“历史模型”的研究方法是循社会科学的历史科学与自然科学的水利学科相结合的研究途径．将“历史模型”引人灾害研究．增强了研究与自然环境和社会经济密切相关的灾害问题的能力．本文论述了“历史模型”方法及其在灾害问题研究中的应用．     

尾矿库溃坝灾害链及断链减灾控制技术研究

尾矿库溃坝灾害是影响矿山安全的主要灾害之一,其溃坝机理和控制的研究是当前的热点问题.在尾矿库事故统计分析基础上,根据灾害系统理论,从尾矿库溃坝灾害的形成发育过程入手,构建了五种常见的尾矿库溃坝灾害链模型和灾害链节点横向耦合形成的复杂灾害链网,分析了其成灾特征,并结合工程实例验证了理论模型的合理性.研究结果表明:①尾矿库溃坝灾害链演变过程可划分为早期孕育阶段、中期潜存阶段和晚期诱发阶段;②从各阶段的特征出发,提出了相应断链减灾措施,特别是早期孕源减灾策略;③将尾矿库溃坝灾害链理论应用于湖南省某尾矿库工程治理上,实现了该尾矿库灾害控制.     

Alternatives to biodiversity offsets for mitigating the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems

Globally, offset schemes have emerged in many statutory frameworks relating to development activities, with the aim of balancing biodiversity conservation and development. Although the theory and use of biodiversity offsets in terrestrial environments is broadly documented, little attention has been paid to offsets in stream ecosystems. Here we examine the application of offset schemes to stream ecosystems and explore whether they suffer similar shortcomings to those of offset schemes focused on terrestrial biodiversity. To challenge the applicability of offsets further, we discuss typical trajectories of urban expansion and their cascading physical, chemical and biological impacts on stream ecosystems. We argue that the highly connected nature of stream ecosystems and urban drainage networks can transfer impacts of urbanization across wide areas, complicating the notion of like‐for‐like exchange and the prospect of effectively mitigating biodiversity loss. Instead, we identify in‐catchment options for stormwater control, which can avoid or minimize the impacts of development on downstream ecosystems, while presenting additional public and private benefits. We describe the underlying principles of these alternatives, some of the challenges associated with their uptake, and policy initiatives being trialed to facilitate adoption. In conclusion, we argue that stronger policies to avoid and minimize the impacts of urbanization provide better prospects for protecting downstream ecosystems, and can additionally, stimulate economic opportunities and improve urban liveability.     

Successes and failures of compulsory risk mitigation: re‐evaluating the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool

The Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP) is one of the best practices of public–private partnerships in an emerging market designed to reduce economic losses from disasters. This paper reviews the application of this compulsory mechanism along with data relating to the performance of the scheme following recent earthquakes in Turkey. We also consider the current perceptions of Turkish society towards the TCIP and how they can be enhanced. Our conclusions aim to assist stakeholders in government, homeowners, insurance companies, media, banks and civil society to appreciate the value of the system and key actions necessary to improve it.     

Intersection AEB implementation strategies for left turn across path crashes

Abstract

Objective: Left turn across path with traffic from the opposite direction (LTAP/OD) is the second most frequent car-to-car intersection crash type after straight crossing path (SCP) in Germany and the United States. Intersection automated emergency braking (AEB) for passenger cars can address these crashes.

This study investigates 2 implementation strategies of intersection AEB addressing LTAP/OD crashes: (1) only the turning car is equipped with an intersection AEB and (2) turning and straight-heading cars are equipped with an intersection AEB. For each strategy, the influence of a safety zone around the vehicles that should not be entered is evaluated in terms of accident avoidance, injury mitigation, and change in velocity (delta-V) of remaining accidents. Results are given as a function of market penetration.

Methods: A total of 372 LTAP/OD crashes from the time series precrash matrix (PCM), a subsample of the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS), were resimulated in the PRediction of Accident Evolution by Diversification of Influence factors in COmputer simulation (PRAEDICO) simulation framework. A Kudlich-Slibar rigid-body impact model and an injury risk curve derived from GIDAS were used to predict remaining moderate to fatal (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale [MAIS] 2?+?F) injuries among car occupants.

Results: With a safety zone of 0.2 m, when the turning vehicle only was equipped with an intersection AEB, 59% of the crashes were avoided at a 100% market penetration. With both vehicles equipped the percentage increased to 77%. MAIS 2?+?F injured occupants were reduced by 60 and 76%, respectively. Considering both the turning and the straight-heading vehicles, the delta-V decreased strongly with market penetration in remaining left-side impacts but only slightly in remaining frontal and right-side impacts. Eliminating the safety zone substantially decreases effectiveness in all conditions.

Conclusions: Implementation strategy and safety zone definition strongly influence the real-life performance of intersection AEB. AEB should be applied not only for the turning vehicle but also for the straight-going vehicle to benefit from the full potential. Situationally appropriate safety zone definitions, in line with human hazard perception, need more attention and are a key to balance true positive and false positive performance. Remaining delta-V does not decrease broadly; hence, there is no evidence that future LTAP/OD crashes will be generally of lower severity. This highlights the need for continuous development of in-crash protection.     

Flameless venting of dust explosion: Testing and modeling

Flameless venting is a sort of dual mitigation technique allowing, in principle, to vent a process vessel inside a building where people are working without transmitting a flame outside the protected vessel. Existing devices are an assembly of a vent panel and a metal filter so that the exploding cloud and the flame front is forced to go through the filter. Within the frame of ATEX Directive, those systems need to be certified. To do so a standard (NF EN 16009) has been issued describing which criteria need to be verified/measured. Among them, the “efficiency” factor as defined earlier for standard vents. This implies that flameless venting systems are basically considered as vents. But is it really so? This question is discussed on the basis of experimental results and some implications on the practical use and certification process are drawn. The practical experience of INERIS in testing such systems is presented in this paper. Schematically, with a flameless vent the pressure is discharged but not the flame so that combustion is proceeding to a much longer extent inside the vessel than with a classical vent so that the physics of the explosion is different. In particular it is shown that besides the problem of the unloading of the confined explosion, there is a highly complicated fluid mechanics problem of a fluid-particle flow passing through a porous media (the flameless device grids arrangement in the filter), which passing surface is progressively reduced. To characterize Flameless venting the problem can be addressed sequentially, considering separately the vent panel and the flameless mesh. A model is proposed to estimate the overall venting efficiency of the flameless vent. However, it does not address the flame quenching issue, which is a different problem of heat exchange between the devices and the evacuated burnt products.     

Cost shifting and other perverse incentives in biodiversity offsetting in India

Biodiversity offsetting aims to compensate for development‐induced biodiversity loss through commensurate conservation gains and is gaining traction among governments and businesses. However, cost shifting (i.e., diversion of offset funds to other conservation programs) and other perverse incentives can undermine the effectiveness of biodiversity offsetting. Additionality—the requirement that biodiversity offsets result in conservation outcomes that would not have been achieved otherwise—is fundamental to biodiversity offsetting. Cost shifting and violation of additionality can go hand in hand. India's national offsetting program is a case in point. Recent legislation allows the diversion of offset funds to meet the country's preexisting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). With such diversions, no additional conservation takes place and development impacts remain uncompensated. Temporary additionality cannot be conceded in light of paucity of funds for preexisting commitments unless there is open acknowledgement that fulfillment of such commitments is contingent on offset funds. Two other examples of perverse incentives related to offsetting in India are the touting of inherently neutral offsetting outcomes as conservation gains, a tactic that breeds false complacency and results in reduced incentive for additional conservation efforts, and the clearing of native vegetation for commercial plantations in the name of compensatory afforestation, a practice that leads to biodiversity decline. The risks accompanying cost shifting and other perverse incentives, if not preempted and addressed, will result in net loss of forest cover in India. We recommend accurate baselines, transparent accounting, and open reporting of offset outcomes to ensure biodiversity offsetting achieves adequate and additional compensation for impacts of development.