The desire to capture natural regions in the landscape has been a goal of geographic and environmental classification and ecological land classification (ELC)
for decades. Since the increased adoption of data-centric, multivariate, computational methods, the search for natural regions
has become the search for the best classification that optimally trades off classification complexity for class homogeneity.
In this study, three techniques are investigated for their ability to find the best classification of the physical environments
of the Mt. Lofty Ranges in South Australia: AutoClass-C (a Bayesian classifier), a Kohonen Self-Organising Map neural network,
and a k-means classifier with homogeneity analysis. AutoClass-C is specifically designed to find the classification that optimally
trades off classification complexity for class homogeneity. However, AutoClass analysis was not found to be assumption-free
because it was very sensitive to the user-specified level of relative error of input data. The AutoClass results suggest that
there may be no way of finding the best classification without making critical assumptions as to the level of class heterogeneity
acceptable in the classification when using continuous environmental data. Therefore, rather than relying on adjusting abstract
parameters to arrive at a classification of suitable complexity, it is better to quantify and visualize the data structure
and the relationship between classification complexity and class homogeneity. Individually and when integrated, the Self-Organizing
Map and k-means classification with homogeneity analysis techniques also used in this study facilitate this and provide information
upon which the decision of the scale of classification can be made. It is argued that instead of searching for the elusive
classification of natural regions in the landscape, it is much better to understand and visualize the environmental structure
of the landscape and to use this knowledge to select the best ELC at the required scale of analysis. 相似文献
The Chi-Chi earthquake (ML = 7.3) occurred in the central part of Taiwan on September 21, 1999. After the earthquake, typhoons Xangsane and Toraji produced
heavy rainfall that fell across the eastern and central parts of Taiwan on November 2000 and July 2001. This study uses remote
sensing data, landscape metrics, multivariate statistical analysis, and spatial autocorrelation to assess how earthquake and
typhoons affect landscape patterns. It addresses variations of the Chenyulan watershed in Nantou County, near the earthquake’s
epicenter and crossed by Typhoon Toraji. The subsequent disturbances have gradually changed landscape of the Chenyulan watershed.
Disturbances of various types, sizes, and intensities, following various tracks, have various effects on the landscape patterns
and variations of the Chenyulan watershed. The landscape metrics that are obtained by multivariate statistical analyses showed
that the disturbances produced variously fragmented patches, interspersed with other patches and isolated from patches of
the same type across the entire Chenyulan watershed. The disturbances also affected the isolation, size, and shape-complexity
of patches at the landscape and class levels. The disturbances at the class level more strongly affected spatial variations
in the landscape as well as patterns of grasslands and bare land, than variations in the watershed farmland and forest. Moreover,
the earthquake with high magnitude was a starter to create these landscape variations in space in the Chenyulan watershed.
The cumulative impacts of the disturbances on the watershed landscape pattern had existed, especially landslides and grassland
in the study area, but were not always evident in space and time in landscape and other class levels. 相似文献
The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) is used daily across Canada for evaluating forest fire danger. Fuel-type information is one of the inputs required by the models used in the CFFDRS. In this project, three fuel-type maps with a 25 m resolution were produced for a pilot study area located in Alberta using land cover only; land cover and biomass; and, land cover, biomass and leaf area index data derived from satellite imagery. The relationships between inputs and fuel types were determined mainly by the opinions of forest fire scientists and incorporated into a computer program using fuzzy set methodology. Not all the CFFDRS fuel types could be distinguished using these inputs; three of the coniferous types had to be grouped into one common fuel type. Overall accuracy was between 74 and 83% based on ground-truth comparisons. The most accurate map resulted from land cover and biomass data. Detailed accuracy assessment indicated that the overall accuracy increased up to 86% if ambiguous fuel type identification was considered. No combination of inputs was able to define a fuel type with absolute certainty, which is a reflection of differing expert opinions and the small number of inputs used to produce the maps. 相似文献
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. 相似文献
Objective: The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the motorcycle crash population that would be potential beneficiaries of 3 crash avoidance technologies recently available on passenger vehicles.
Methods: Two-vehicle crashes between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle that occurred in the United States during 2011–2015 were classified by type, with consideration of the functionality of 3 classes of passenger vehicle crash avoidance technologies: frontal crash prevention, lane maintenance, and blind spot detection. Results were expressed as the percentage of crashes potentially preventable by each type of technology, based on all known types of 2-vehicle crashes and based on all crashes involving motorcycles.
Results: Frontal crash prevention had the largest potential to prevent 2-vehicle motorcycle crashes with passenger vehicles. The 3 technologies in sum had the potential to prevent 10% of fatal 2-vehicle crashes and 23% of police-reported crashes. However, because 2-vehicle crashes with a passenger vehicle represent fewer than half of all motorcycle crashes, these technologies represent a potential to avoid 4% of all fatal motorcycle crashes and 10% of all police-reported motorcycle crashes.
Discussion: Refining the ability of passenger vehicle crash avoidance systems to detect motorcycles represents an opportunity to improve motorcycle safety. Expanding the capabilities of these technologies represents an even greater opportunity. However, even fully realizing these opportunities can affect only a minority of motorcycle crashes and does not change the need for other motorcycle safety countermeasures such as helmets, universal helmet laws, and antilock braking systems. 相似文献
Radium isotopes in 23 Na-Cl type groundwater sampled mainly from deep wells in Niigata Prefecture, which is the site of the largest oil- and gas-fields in Japan, were measured along with U isotopes, chemical components and hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios to elucidate the distribution and behavior of Ra in a brackish environment underground. Also analyzed were U and Th isotopes in 38 rock samples collected from outcrops at 17 locations. Ra-226 concentrations (8.86-1637 mBq kg−1) of groundwater samples roughly correlated with total dissolved solid (TDS) concentrations and other alkaline earth contents. Their 228Ra/226Ra activity ratios (0.32-5.2) were similar to or higher than the 232Th/238U activity ratios (0.6-1.7) in the rocks. The most likely transport mechanism of Ra isotopes into groundwater was due to their α-recoil from the solid phase, probably from the water-rock interface where Th isotopes had accumulated, and adsorption/desorption reaction based on the increase in 226Ra contents with TDS. 相似文献
Evolutionary psychology has been proposed as an analytic framework for the behavioral effects of landscapes displayed in advertising. In this study, an evolutionary and environmental psychology approach is used to analyze affective reactions to advertising depicting specific natural environments or urban scenes, both prominent ingredients of contemporary advertising imagery. The experimental field study exposed 750 participants at random to one advert of a set of 13 experimental green energy advertisements, each displaying a different biome. Six basic emotional responses (pleasure, arousal, happiness, freedom, safety, and interest) as well as attitude toward the ad and brand attitude were assessed subsequently. Anova and structural equation analysis were used for data analysis. Results of the study confirm the leading opinion on generalized more positive behavioral effects toward visual stimuli representing nature scenes with biospheric contents as opposed to pictures of urban environments or desert settings. In line with earlier empirical research, further findings do not support the hypothesis on an innate preference for savanna landscapes in adults but confirm preferences for images of lush green landscapes with water and familiar biomes. Overall results give significant support to the application of environmental and evolutionary psychology to advertising. 相似文献
A relative comparison study of mutagenicity in Japanese tap water was conducted for 1993 and 2005 surveys. It intended to assess the effects of advanced water treatment installations to water works, improvement of raw water quality and improvement of residual HOCl concentration controlling. Sampling points (taps) were the same in both surveys. The results of 245 samples obtained by the Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test (Ames test) were analyzed. The Ames tests were conducted by using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains with and without exogenous activation (S9). With the exception of TA100-S9, the other conditions needed no discussion as a factor in the mutagenicity level change. The average mutagenicity in 1993 and 2005 under the conditions of TA100-S9 were 2600 and 1100 net revertant L−1, respectively. This indicated that the mutagenicity level of Japanese tap water decreased during the 12-yr period. Particularly a remarkable decrease in mutagenicity was observed in the water works where the advanced water treatments were installed during the 12-yr period. The advanced water treatments were effective in decreasing the mutagenicity of tap water. Mutagenicity also decreased in the water works with conventional water treatments; the improvement of residual HOCl concentration controlling was also considered to be effective in decreasing the mutagenicity of tap water. 相似文献