Evaluating betterment projects

In the past decade Australia has experienced a series of large‐scale, severe natural disasters including catastrophic bushfires, widespread and repeated flooding, and intense storms and cyclones. There appears to be a prima facie case for rebuilding damaged infrastructure to a more disaster resilient (that is, to ‘betterment’) standard. The purpose of this paper is to develop and illustrate a consistent and readily applied method for advancing proposals for the betterment of essential public assets, which can be used by governments at all levels to determine the net benefits of such proposals. Case study results demonstrate that betterment investments have the potential to deliver a positive economic return across a range of asset types and regions. Results, however, are highly sensitive to underlying assumptions; in particular the probability of the natural disaster affecting the infrastructure in the absence of betterment.     

Prioritisation of citizen‐centric information for disaster response

In the aftermath of a disaster event, and in the absence of trained professionals, many responsibilities are assumed by uninjured citizens who are willing and able to help, such as care of the injured or search and rescue. These citizens are constrained by communications and logistics problems but are less equipped to deal with them as most often they are cut off from any coordinated assistance. The method proposed in this study would increase the survivability of those injured or trapped by a disaster event by providing a facility to allow citizens to coordinate and share information among themselves. This is facilitated by the proposed deployment and the autonomous management of an ad hoc infrastructure that liaises directly with survivors without central control. Furthermore, as energy concerns present critical constraints to these networks, this research proposes a system of categorising information elements within the network to ensure efficient information exchange.     

Integrated disaster relief logistics: a stepping stone towards viable civil–military networks?

The twenty‐first century has seen a significant rise in all forms of disasters and this has resulted in military and humanitarian organisations becoming more frequently engaged in the provision of support to those affected. Achieving an efficient and effective logistic preparation and response is one of the key elements in mitigating the impact of such events, but the establishment of mechanisms to deliver an appropriately integrated civil–military approach remains elusive. Not least because of the high percentage of assistance budgets spent on logistics, this area is considered to represent fertile ground for developing improved processes and understanding. In practice, the demands placed on civilian and military logisticians are broadly similar, as is the solution space. Speaking a common language and using common concepts, it is argued, therefore, that the logistic profession should be in the vanguard of the development of an improved civil–military interface.     

It’s All in the Numbers: Acreage Tallies and Environmental Program Evaluation

Increasingly, performance measurement is being used to hold federal agencies accountable, represent environmental progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of environmental programs. The need to track measurable outputs has created a tendency to present programmatic progress solely by quantifiable data, despite the inherent complexity of natural resource management. Wetlands and fire management programs are two specific environmental arenas that have come to overemphasize the tracking of acreage numbers to validate existing policy direction. In both of these arenas, we find the definition and categorization of "countable" acres to be inconsistent and unreliable. We explore this systemic flaw for both wetlands and fire programs and describe its implications for environmental policy and natural resource management more broadly. We conclude with recommendations for improved performance measurement in these arenas.     

3种填料A.ferrooxidans挂膜效果及对模拟酸性矿山废水中Fe2+生物矿化能力比较

氧化亚铁硫杆菌（A.ferrooxidans）介导的生物矿化方法可促使酸性矿山废水（Acid Mine Drainage,AMD）中Fe离子向次生铁矿物转变. 采用固定化的方式来提高A.ferrooxidans密度有助于强化Fe²⁺的生物矿化能力.选取流化床19孔填料、弹性填料、悬浮球填料作为挂膜对象, 通过多批次的连续培养来考察3种填料的A.ferrooxidans挂膜能力及稳定挂膜所需周期,继而比较3种挂膜填料对模拟AMD中Fe²⁺的生物矿化能力,并估算A.ferrooxidans有效生物量.结果表明,3种填料（5.00 g）的A.ferrooxidans挂膜能力依次为弹性填料（1.76 g）＞流化床19孔填料（0.90 g）＞悬浮球填料（0.78 g）（干重）,且挂膜启动至稳定状态至少需要4批次.X射线衍射分析（X-ray diffraction,XRD）表明,3种填料表面 含矿生物膜均为施氏矿物和黄钾铁矾的混合物.以游离态A.ferrooxidans的Fe²⁺氧化速率作为参比,估算出流化床19孔填料、弹性填料、悬浮球填料生物膜中A.ferrooxidans有效生物量依次为1.67×10⁸、8.52×10⁸、1.92×10⁸ cells·g^-1 （干基）.研究还发现,等同Fe²⁺生物氧化速率下, A.ferrooxidans挂膜填料比游离态A.ferrooxidans具有更强的AMD矿化驱动能力.     

南京秋冬季非难熔性亚微米颗粒物来源解析

利用Aerodyne高分辨率飞行时间气溶胶质谱仪（HR-ToF-AMS）对南京北郊秋冬季非难熔性亚微米气溶胶（NR-PM₁）的化学组分（包括有机物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐、铵盐和氯化物）和特征进行实时在线监测,并利用多元线性模型（ME-2）对其中复杂的有机物进行来源解析.观测期间,有机物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐、铵盐、氯化物对NR-PM₁的贡献分别为42%,28%,15%,13%和2%.有机物解析出6类有机气溶胶：烃类有机气溶胶（HOA）、烹饪类有机气溶胶（COA）、生物质燃烧有机气溶胶（BBOA）、高氧化有机气溶胶（MO-OOA）、低氧化有机气溶胶（LO-OOA）、液相反应生成氧化有机气溶胶（aq-OOA）,平均浓度分别占总有机气溶胶的18%,14%,19%,19%,11%和19%.通过不同污染事件的对比结果表明,本次观测期间二次气溶胶在污染时期占比会明显上升并且液相反应对二次组分的形成有显著的促进作用.     

再生铜冶炼过程中重金属排放特征和控制

再生铜冶炼是重要的重金属排放源,为掌握再生铜冶炼过程中重金属的排放特征和控制效果,通过固定源等速采样装置采集不同冶炼阶段的烟气样品,利用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪测定烟气和飞灰中重金属的浓度,并估算重金属的排放因子.结果表明,在冷却阶段烟气中重金属和颗粒物的浓度较高,经过布袋除尘器和吸附塔等污染控制装置后,重金属和颗粒物被协同脱除,脱除效率达80%～99%.排放烟气中重金属的浓度在阳极炉不同工艺段中的排序为：加料熔融段>氧化段≈还原段,且As、 Pb、 Cr、 Sn、 Sb和Cd的平均排放因子分别为2.6×10³、2.4×10³、2.7×10³、5.6×10²、34.1和9.8 mg·t^-1,烟气中重金属和颗粒物的浓度均满足行业排放标准.飞灰中Cu和Zn的浓度较高,具有回收利用价值.     

复合污染条件下人为源VOCs的SOA生成研究进展

大气细颗粒物(PM_2.5)仍是我国空气质量持续改善的重大挑战.近年来,二次有机气溶胶(SOA)对PM_2.5的贡献日益凸显.因此,深入认识复合污染条件下SOA生成机制和影响因素可以为进一步降低PM_2.5提供重要理论依据.实验室模拟是深入认识SOA生成机制的关键途径,也是模式模拟参数化方案的可靠来源之一.主要综述了我国多污染物共存条件下典型人为源挥发性有机物(VOCs)的SOA生成研究进展,包括汽油蒸气VOCs、生物质燃烧VOCs和含氧VOCs形成SOA过程中,前体物浓度、芳香烃含量、无机气体、种子气溶胶和相对湿度(RH)等不同因素对SOA生成的影响;阐述了实际大气VOCs的SOA生成潜势及其影响因素,最后提出了目前在SOA机制研究方面存在的关键科学问题,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望.     

川藏铁路四川段沿线诱发地质灾害降水阈值研究

利用2009—2019年川藏铁路沿线四川段地质灾害数据、国家气象中心逐小时降水量资料,统计了地质灾害与降水的关系,发现研究区89%的滑坡灾害和96.6%的泥石流均发生在汛期,且地质灾害高发路段位于青衣江暴雨区,与四川地区降水时空分布特征相吻合。分析雨型、降雨强度、前期降雨等因子对地质灾害的影响,发现快速激发,中速激发和慢速激发的地质灾害分别约占33.3%、25.9%、40.8%,表明降雨历时并不是影响地质灾害发生的最直接因子,前期降雨的作用不可忽视;结合环境因子对地质灾害进行了分区,基于降雨历时-雨强(I-D)预报模型建立了川藏铁路沿线四川段引发地质灾害的降水阈值分布。利用该降水阈值的分布特征,检验了2019年引发地质灾害的降水量,发现阈值雨量的判别方法较为科学,具有较强的参考价值。     

The effectiveness of forecast-based humanitarian assistance in anticipation of extreme winters: a case study of vulnerable herders in Mongolia

This paper presents evidence relating to a forecast-based cash and non-food item distribution among vulnerable herder households during the 2017–18 dzud (extreme winter) season in Mongolia, and analyses the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating its impacts. An innovative approach in disaster risk reduction, forecast-based financing (FbF) can have short- and long-term benefits to vulnerable households but remains understudied. The paper contributes information on a multimodal FbF programme offering one-off cash grants and in-kind veterinary kits. The data found significant effects of reduced mortality and increased offspring survival in some types of livestock, and that the timing of FbF assistance is crucial, as reported early assistance correlated to positive outcomes in terms of reduced animal mortality. These findings can be used to design more effective FbF interventions, to understand better the appropriateness of FbF designs, and to use early warnings and early actions to help people prepare and withstand disasters such as dzuds.