Method to map human and infrastructure vulnerability using CNN land cover: Case study of floating tank explosion at petrochemical plants of LaemChabang,Thailand

Industrial storage tanks, used to store flammable materials in the petrochemical industry, can induce potential fire and explosion under specific conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to map the population and environment vulnerability, and, to develop procedures for emergency responses in order to reduce potential casualties. In order to achieve this, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are used in this study using 6 classes: floating tank, forest, house, road, wasteland and water. Datasets are built for a total of approximately 1.4 million tiles with a resolution of 0.33m/pixel and their size are optimized in function of the class. The 6 associated CNN models are built and optimized to classify each class. The validation of the models shows that, with the exception of road and wasteland where the precision is only 73% and 89% respectively, the other 4 classes have a value higher than 95%. Post-processing is performed on each prediction before aggregating these results to obtain the land cover. For the floating tank class, a 5 step post-processing is used based on a Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise algorithm (DBCAN) after which blast simulation is applied and effects on people, buildings and trees are obtained through 4 steps. Finally, the petrochemical site of LaemChabang in Thailand is used as study case. Except for the road class that is difficult to detect, land cover is well performed. Human casualties and surface of damaged buildings are finally estimated demonstrating the usefulness of the tool to be used for the emergency planning of industrial disasters.     

Identifying different types of bulking in an activated sludge system through quantitative image analysis

The present study proposes an image analysis methodology for the identification of different types of disturbances in wastewater treatment activated sludge systems. Up to date, most reported image analysis methodologies have been used in activated sludge processes with the aim of filamentous bulking detection, however, other disturbances could be foreseen in wastewater treatment plants. Such disturbances can lead to fluctuations in the biomass contents, affecting the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), and in the sludge settling ability, affecting the sludge volume index (SVI). Therefore, this work focuses on predicting the MLSS and SVI parameters for different types of disturbances affecting an activated sludge system. Four experiments were conducted simulating filamentous bulking, zoogleal or viscous bulking, pinpoint floc formation, and normal operating conditions. Alongside the MLSS and SVI determination, the aggregated and filamentous biomass contents and morphology were studied as well as the biomass Gram and viability status, by means of image analysis.     

遥感指数在湖泊叶绿素a反演研究中的应用

借鉴陆地植被指数的算法,利用MODIS数据的波段组合对太湖叶绿素8浓度进行反演。探讨了差值植被指数DVI、比值植被指数RVI、归一化植被指数NDVI这三种遥感指数形式的反演效果及各自特点。MODIS数据蓝光波段和红外波段的组合是反演太湖叶绿素浓度的最佳波段组合,DVI适合于反演叶绿素浓度高的情况,RVI的反演结果两极分化明显而普适性较差,NDVI适合于反演浓度较低的情况。     

高温油品泄漏图象特性的实验研究

通过对不同性质的高温油品发生泄漏时图象特性的分析,工出泄漏油品蒸汽浓度与图象灰度之间的关系。在此基础上通过图象处理技术来判别出现的物质是否为泄漏油品,从而实现高温油品泄漏火灾的早期报警。     

Experiments on vertical transverse mixing in a large-scale heterogeneous model aquifer

Vertical transverse mixing is known to be a controlling factor in natural attenuation of extended biodegradable plumes originating from continuously emitting sources. We perform conservative and reactive tracer tests in a quasi two-dimensional 14 m long sand box in order to quantify vertical mixing in heterogeneous media. The filling mimics natural sediments including a distribution of different hydro-facies, made of different sand mixtures, and micro-structures within the sand lenses. We quantify the concentration distribution of the conservative tracer by the analysis of digital images taken at steady state during the tracer-dye experiment. Heterogeneity causes plume meandering, leading to distorted concentration profiles. Without knowledge about the velocity distribution, it is not possible to determine meaningful vertical dispersion coefficients from the concentration profiles. Using the stream-line pattern resulting from an inverse model of previous experiments in the sand box, we can correct for the plume meandering. The resulting vertical dispersion coefficient is approximately approximately 4 x 10(-)(9) m(2)/s. We observe no distinct increase in the vertical dispersion coefficient with increasing travel distance, indicating that heterogeneity has hardly any impact on vertical transverse mixing. In the reactive tracer test, we continuously inject an alkaline solution over a certain height into the domain that is occupied otherwise by an acidic solution. The outline of the alkaline plume is visualized by adding a pH indicator into both solutions. From the height and length of the reactive plume, we estimate a transverse dispersion coefficient of approximately 3 x 10(-)(9) m(2)/s. Overall, the vertical transverse dispersion coefficients are less than an order of magnitude larger than pore diffusion coefficients and hardly increase due to heterogeneity. Thus, we conclude for the assessment of natural attenuation that reactive plumes might become very large if they are controlled by vertical dispersive mixing.     

Development of rapid,cost effective coral survey techniques: tools for management and conservation planning

Coral reefs are highly dynamic and productive marine ecosystems, providing habitat and refuge for an enormous number of species including fish, invertebrates and algae. With increased anthropogenic pressures and global climate change, many coral reefs are rapidly declining. Currently, there is limited knowledge on condition and community assemblage composition of shallow fringing coral reefs along the south-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With increased demand to determine existence of coastal fringing reefs by National Regional Management groups, a rapid cost effective method to determine reef composition and condition was required. The aim of this study was to determine the benthic structure and extent of two small coastal fringing reefs (Hummock Hill Reef and Stringers Reef) along the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Reef substrate assessments were carried out using a rapid assessment technique and a Point Intercept Method (PIM). The data were analysed and classified using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Percent substrate cover was calculated using a visual basic image analysis program. The Point intercept method showed higher accuracy over the rapid assessment technique (up to 15–40% difference) and was thus deemed a more suitable classification tool for reefs with high structural complexity and heterogeneity. This study focused on piloting a rapid, cost effective Point Intercept Technique using random point count methodology to document coral benthic habitat and extent over a commonly used rapid assessment method as a tool for reef coastal management and conservation. The two techniques were compared and substrate classification success, limitations and errors were discussed.     

Comparing the utility of image algebra operations for characterizing landscape changes: the case of the Mediterranean coast

The aim of this study is to compare various image algebra procedures for their efficiency in locating and identifying different types of landscape changes on the margin of a Mediterranean coastal plain, Cukurova, Turkey. Image differencing and ratioing were applied to the reflective bands of Landsat TM datasets acquired in 1984 and 2006. Normalized Difference Vegetation index (NDVI) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) differencing were also applied. The resulting images were tested for their capacity to detect nine change phenomena, which were a priori defined in a three-level classification scheme. These change phenomena included agricultural encroachment, sand dune afforestation, coastline changes and removal/expansion of reed beds. The percentage overall accuracies of different algebra products for each phenomenon were calculated and compared. The results showed that some of the changes such as sand dune afforestation and reed bed expansion were detected with accuracies varying between 85 and 97% by the majority of the algebra operations, while some other changes such as logging could only be detected by mid-infrared (MIR) ratioing. For optimizing change detection in similar coastal landscapes, underlying causes of these changes were discussed and the guidelines for selecting band and algebra operations were provided.     

Influence of COM-peptides/proteins on the properties of flocs formed at different shear rates

Coagulation followed by floc separation is a key process for the removal of algal organic matter(AOM) in water treatment. Besides optimizing coagulation parameters,knowledge of the properties of AOM-flocs is essential to maximizing AOM removal.However, the impact of AOM on the floc properties remains unclear. This study investigated how peptides/proteins derived from the cellular organic matter(COM) of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa influenced the size, structure, and shape of flocs formed at different shear rates(G). Flocs formed by kaolinite, COM-peptides/proteins and a mixture of the same were studied, and the effect of intermolecular interactions between floc components on floc properties was assessed. The coagulation experiments were performed in a Taylor–Couette reactor, with aluminum(Al) or ferric sulphate(Fe) utilized as coagulants. Image analysis was performed to gauge floc size and obtain data on fractal dimension. It was found that floc properties were affected by the presence of the COM-peptides/proteins and the coagulant used. COM-peptides/proteins increased floc size and porosity and widened floc size distributions. The Fe coagulant produced larger and less compact flocs than Al coagulant. Moreover, the decrease in floc size that occurred in parallel with increase in shear rate was not smooth in progress. A rapid change for the kaolinite-coagulant suspension and two rapid changes for the suspensions containing COM were observed. These were attributed to various intermolecular interactions between floc components participating in coagulation at different G. Based on the results obtained, shear rates suitable for efficient separation of flocs containing COM were suggested.