ALBERT

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉ABSTRACT〈/div〉Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is one of the most widely used geophysical survey methods to locate cavities under roads due to its speedy exploration and high-resolution imaging. To locate underground cavities using GPR, we need to distinguish between cavity-induced reflections and other reflections, which can be achieved by examining the polarity change in reflections compared to the polarity of the transmitted signal. The polarity change can be measured from the phase shift between the target and first reflections. To estimate the phase shift in reflections, the method of computing the power spectrum difference between the original trace and background signal was proposed, but the method has a limitation for shallow reflectors. As an alternative method to avoid this limitation, we propose using only one component of the power spectrum difference, the cross-correlation between the target reflection and background signal. The cross-correlation has its maximum peak at a time lag between the target and first reflection (from the air-ground interface). Additionally, the phase at that time lag represents a phase shift between the two reflections. We compare our cross-correlation-based method with the conventional method of computing the whole power spectrum difference and investigate the feasibility of our method for distinguishing cavity-induced reflections using a 2D field data set acquired in a testbed in Sudeoksa, Korea.〈/span〉

Description: Atmospheric particle pollution is a serious environmental issue in China, especially the northern regions. Ambient air loadings (ng m−3), pollution sources and apportionment, and transport pathways of trace (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) and major (Al, Ca, Fe, and Mg) metals associated with inhalable particulate matters (PM10 aerosols) were characterized in urban, rural village, and rural field areas of seven cities (from inland in the west to the coast in the east: Wuwei, Yinchuan, Taiyuan, Beijing, Dezhou, Yantai, and Dalian) across northern China by taking one 72 h sample each site within a month for a whole year (April 2010 to March 2011). Ambient PM10 pollution in northern China is especially significant in the cold season (October–March) due to the combustion of coal for heating and dust storms in the winter and spring. Owing to variations in emission intensity and meteorological conditions, there is a trend of decrease in PM10 levels in cities from west to east. Both air PM10 and the associated metal loadings for urban and rural areas were comparable, showing that the current pattern of regional pollution in China differs from the decreasing urban–rural-background transect that is usual in other parts of the world. The average metal levels are Zn (276 ng m−3) ≫ Pb (93.7) ≫ Cu (54.9) ≫ Ni (9.37) 〉 V (8.34) ≫ Cd (2.84) 〉 Co (1.76). Judging from concentrations (mg kg−1), enrichment factors (EFs), a multivariate statistical analysis (principal component analysis, PCA), and a receptor model (absolute principal component scores-multiple linear regression analysis, APCS-MLR), the airborne trace metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd) in northern China were mainly anthropogenic, and mostly attributable to coal combustion and vehicle emissions with additional industrial sources. However, the Co was mostly of crustal origin, and the V and Ni were mainly from soil/dust in the western region and mostly from the petrochemical industry/oil combustion in the east. The accumulation of typical "urban metals" (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu) showed a trend of increase from west to east, indicating their higher anthropogenic contribution in eastern cities. The winter northwestern monsoon and westerly jet stream were the dominant forces in the long-range transport of airborne PM metals in northern China, with potentially global implications.