ALBERT

Description: An approach is developed to build multivariate probabilistic seismic demand models (PSDMs) of multicomponent structures based on the coupling of multiple-stripe analysis and Gaussian mixture models. The proposed methodology is eminently flexible in terms of adopted assumptions, and a classic highway bridge in Eastern Canada is used to present an application of the new approach and to investigate its impact on seismic fragility analysis. Traditional PSDM methods employ lognormal distribution and linear correlation between pairs of components to fit the seismic response data, which may lead to poor statistical modeling. Using ground motion records rigorously selected for the investigated site, data are generated via response history analysis, and appropriate statistical tests are then performed to show that these hypotheses are not always valid on the response data of the case-study bridge. The clustering feature of the proposed methodology allows the construction of a multivariate PSDM with refined fitting to the correlated response data, introducing low bias into the fragility functions and mean annual frequency of violating damage states, which are crucial features for decision making in the context of performance-based seismic engineering.

Description: A semi-analytical method for in-plane vibration analysis of a composite laminated annular and sector plate with elastic constraints is presented. The theoretical model is on the basis of a variational method and a multi-segment technique. Displacement variables are expanded by the Jacobian orthogonal polynomial. Boundary conditions and continuity conditions between segments are characterized by penalty parameters. On this basis, a series of numerical examples are given. The results show that the method has good convergence speed and accuracy. Finally, the parametric study of geometric and material parameters is carried out to provide important support for solving the in-plane characteristics of this kind of composite structure.

Description: Carbonate reservoirs are highly heterogeneous. During waterflooding stage, the channeling phenomenon of displacing fluid in high-permeability layers easily leads to early water breakthrough and high water-cut with low recovery rate. To quantitatively characterize the inter-well connectivity parameters (including conductivity and connected volume), we developed an inter-well connectivity model based on the principle of inter-well connectivity and the geological data and development performance of carbonate reservoirs. Thus, the planar water injection allocation factors and water injection utilization rate of different layers can be obtained. In addition, when the proposed model is integrated with automatic history matching method and production optimization algorithm, the real-time oil and water production can be optimized and predicted. Field application demonstrates that adjusting injection parameters based on the model outputs results in a 1.5% increase in annual oil production, which offers significant guidance for the efficient development of similar oil reservoirs. In this study, the connectivity method was applied to multi-layer real reservoirs for the first time, and the injection and production volume of injection-production wells were repeatedly updated based on multiple iterations of water injection efficiency. The correctness of the method was verified by conceptual calculations and then applied to real reservoirs. So that the oil field can increase production in a short time, and has good application value.

Description: The Pantanal is one of the world’s largest freshwater wetlands. The spatial and temporal variability of flooded areas is a key factor for preserving and managing the flora and fauna of this biodiversity hotspot, and thus, its dynamic is crucial to maintain ecosystem services. However, existing inventories of flooded areas with high spatial resolution are scarce or do not represent a continuous time series considering the entire Pantanal wetland. In this study, flooded areas were derived from Landsat and Resourcesat satellite imagery time series for the years 2000 to 2020 through big data analytical tools. Our results show that permanently flooded areas accounted for 3.40% of the total Pantanal wetland and 8.85% of the study area was flooded during only one year, indicating a complex and dynamic fluvial system. In addition, approximately 39% of the basin was composed of non-flooded areas. During the analyzed period (2000–2020), the highest flood event occurred in 2011 covering an area of 57,969 km2, followed by 2014, with 52,500 km2 (respectively 38.55% and 34.91% of the total area of the Pantanal). The year with the smallest flooded area was 2020 (10,668 km2), 83% lower when compared to the period-based average. The Pantanal is a seasonal wetland, thus, rainfall plays a significant role in the flood pulse, accounting for approximately 60% of the total variability of the flooded areas. The flood dynamics is also affected by the morphology of the modern depositional system of the Pantanal, which is composed by large megafans created by several distributive rivers, and by neotectonics that generates differential movements of blocks creating lower areas that will determine how flood pulse moves spatially and temporally. Therefore, the understanding and analysis of this dynamism becomes an indispensable tool for the public government ordering defining policies for the occupation and the economic zoning of the Pantanal.

Description: This paper analyzes the small cosmopolitan and stability of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of eco-industrial parks of oil and gas resource-based cities. Taking Daqing A Ecological Industrial Park as an example, we constructed the characteristic index system and calculated the topological parameters such as the agglomeration coefficient and the average shortest path length of the industrial coupling symbiotic network. Based on the complex network theory we analyzed the characteristics of the scaled world, constructed the adjacency matrix of material and information transfers between enterprises, drew the network topology diagram. We simulated the system analysis and analyzed the stability of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of the eco-industrial park using the network efficiency and node load and maximum connected subgraph. The analysis results are as follows: the small world degree δ of Daqing A Eco-industrial Park is 0.891, which indicates that the industrial coupled symbiotic network has strong small world characteristics; the average path is 1.268, and the agglomeration coefficient is 0.631. The probability of edge connection between two nodes in a symbiotic network is 63.1%, which has a relatively high degree of aggregation, indicating that energy and material exchanges are frequent among all enterprises in the network, the degree of network aggregation is high, and the dependence between nodes is high; when the tolerance parameter is 0 to 0.3, the network efficiency and the maximum connected subgraphs show a sharp change trend, indicating that the topology of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of the eco-industrial park changes drastically when the network is subjected to deliberate attacks. It is easy to cause the breakage of material flow and energy flow in the industrial park, which leads to the decline of the stability of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of the eco-industrial park.

Description: Wildfires, bamboo and aerosols are becoming topics of research interest in the south-western Amazon because their impact on local ecosystems may influence the future climate on Earth. Their interaction is particularly important because it can self-amplify, potentially leading to unexpected consequences such as a decrease in carbon storage capacity due to the dominance of bamboo ecosystems after fire. This article synthesizes the discrete pieces of knowledge on each of these components to develop a conceptual model of wildfires–bamboo–aerosols relationships and to identify future research agendas. The interaction between wildfires and bamboo is controversial because the answer to whether bamboo significantly enhances the probability of wildfire events remains elusive. However, the ongoing deforestation of the Amazon is a possible trigger for increased interactions between wildfires and bamboo. A positive feedback likely exists in an area where aerosols produced by wildfires induce subsequent wildfires. Aerosols can form an oversupply of cloud condensation nuclei, which delays rainfall. Alternatively, they can absorb solar radiation and cool the Earth’s surface, which suppresses cloud formation. Little research has been conducted on the relationship between bamboo and aerosols in the Amazon. However, there is some indirect evidence that bamboo can be a significant producer of aerosols, which then affect wildfires by changing rainfall patterns. Our integrative approach will help to identify the triangular relationship between wildfires, bamboo and aerosols.

Description: The study was conducted in 2 urbanized areas of the Baikal region of Russia. These are the cities of Shelekhov and Tayshet with their suburbs. Aluminum production has been carried out in Shelekhov for over 60 years and in Tayshet for 5 years. The purpose of the study was to determine the pollution of urban soils with toxic elements—Al, F, Be, Li, as well as Cr, Ni, Pb, and so on under the influence of industrial enterprises (aluminum and cable plants, thermal power plants). Also, the purpose of the research was to determine the effect of increased fluorite (F) in the environment on children’s health. Pure aluminum is used much less frequently than in alloys. The addition of various elements (Be, B, Li, Fe, Si, Mg, Mn, Zr, Ag, Pb, Cu, Ni, and others) increases the hardness, density, thermal conductivity, and other properties of the alloys. The area of high F content in urban soil is 15 times higher than the regional context. The maximum content of Na, Be, and Al is 2 to 4 times higher than the regional background. An increased Li content is marked only near aluminum smelters. The F content in urine samples from children living in areas with long-term pollution exposure (Shelekhov) is 1.5 to 2 times higher than in the group of children with a short exposure period (Tayshet).

Description: Multi-frequency signals have been accessible for most Global Navigation Satellite Systems . Existing studies have verified that using multi-frequency extra-wide-lane and wide-lane observations can realize decimeter, sub-decimeter and even centimeter rapid positioning. In this paper, a tightly combined wide-lane real-time kinematic positioning method using triple-frequency GPS and BDS is proposed. The differential inter-system bias is taken into consideration so that an inter-system differencing model is formed. Due to the influence of different frequencies between GPS and BDS, the double-difference wide-lane ambiguity between GPS and BDS reference satellites and the single-difference ambiguity of the BDS reference satellite are estimated jointly with the wide-lane differential inter-system bias. Thus, a full-rank model can be obtained without any external calibration. Using the stability of wide-lane differential inter-system bias in the estimation from epoch to epoch, redundant observations can be introduced, therefore the strength of the positioning model can be enhanced. Positioning performance under simulated obstructed environments is evaluated. The results show that the inter-system model can effectively improve the positioning compared with the conventional intra-system model for the severely obstructed situations.

Description: This article focuses on how to effectively make full use of the storage resources in vehicular cloud. A trust mechanism called DI-Trust (Trust Model Based on Dynamic Incentive Mechanism) is proposed to schedule vehicular cloud storage resource. The discussion is under the scenario of the parking lot where vehicle nodes are in static state. The model can reasonably arrange the suitable scheduling algorithm according to the attribute characteristics of different kind of service requirements. The trust value of a vehicle is updated according to the model to fully utilize the vehicle idle storage resources. The simulation experiment results show that the model can work effectively. It can objectively evaluate trust values of vehicle nodes, and construct the effective resource schedule of the vehicular cloud storage resource to meet needs from users.

Description: As an important type of unconventional hydrocarbon, tight sandstone oil has great present and future resource potential. Reservoir quality evaluation is the basis of tight sandstone oil development. A comprehensive evaluation approach based on the gray correlation algorithm is established to effectively assess tight sandstone reservoir quality. Seven tight sandstone samples from the Chang 6 reservoir in the W area of the AS oilfield in the Ordos Basin are employed. First, the petrological and physical characteristics of the study area reservoir are briefly discussed through thin section observations, electron microscopy analysis, core physical property tests, and whole-rock and clay mineral content experiments. Second, the pore type, throat type and pore and throat combination characteristics are described from casting thin sections and scanning electron microscopy. Third, high-pressure mercury injection and nitrogen adsorption experiments are optimized to evaluate the characteristic parameters of pore throat distribution, micro- and nanopore throat frequency, permeability contribution and volume continuous distribution characteristics to quantitatively characterize the reservoir micro- and nanopores and throats. Then, the effective pore throat frequency specific gravity parameter of movable oil and the irreducible oil pore throat volume specific gravity parameter are introduced and combined with the reservoir physical properties, multipoint Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area, displacement pressure, maximum mercury saturation and mercury withdrawal efficiency parameters as the basic parameters for evaluation of tight sandstone reservoir quality. Finally, the weight coefficient of each parameter is calculated by the gray correlation method, and a reservoir comprehensive evaluation indicator (RCEI) is designed. The results show that the study area is dominated by types II and III tight sandstone reservoirs. In addition, the research method in this paper can be further extended to the evaluation of shale gas and other unconventional reservoirs after appropriate modification.

Description: Holocene paleoecological studies in tropical Africa are rare because most lakes either dried out at the termination of the African Humid Period or have since filled up. However, tropical sedge marshes can be an alternative to perform long-term ecological studies. The Lopé National Park (LNP) in Gabon is a mosaic of forest and savanna enclosed in the equatorial forest, where open areas facilitated the development of peat marshes accumulating several-meter-thick sediment. In order to reconstruct the historical dynamic in these marshes through a local and regional point of view, we compared sedimentological, continuous X-ray fluorescence, and stable isotopic analyses on sediment cores from six herbaceous marshes in the LNP. A reliable chronological frame was based on 50 14C dates, over the last 2500 years in most sites, and reaching 9000 years in one marsh. We show that the origin of these marshes is a major hydrological change, 3450 and 2300 years ago, that affected the entire region, almost concomitantly with the diffusion of Iron Age population. The sedimentation within marshes is homogenous with low intra-site variability. In contrast, high inter-sites variability evidences that the functioning of the marsh itself exerts a much more significant influence than in lakes. However, a regional event is recorded between 1400 and 800 years ago, concurrently with an archeological trace hiatus throughout the forest hinterland of West Central Africa.

Description: In this paper, the nonlinear vibration of railway track systems resting on elastic foundation has been studied. An axially loaded simply supported Euler–Bernoulli beam resting on a flexible foundation has been considered to provide a mathematical representation of the railway track system. Winkler springs have been used to model the elastic foundation. Nonlinear partial differential equation of the system has been presented and solved. A new approximate analytical solution called Improved Amplitude–Frequency Formulation (IAFF) is proposed to obtain nonlinear frequency of the system and an accurate analytical solution for the whole domain. The first iteration of the IAFF leads to a highly accurate solution in comparison with the exact frequency of the problem. The exact frequency of the problem is also presented, and the results of IAFF are compared and verified. Sensitive analysis of the soil stiffness and loading condition is studied for different parameters. A full comparison of the IAFF and exact solution results are illustrated. It has been proved that the IAFF can be potentially extended to highly nonlinear conservative problems.

Description: Imaging of charcoal particles extracted from lake sediments provides an important way to understand past fire regimes. Imaging of large numbers of particles can be time consuming. In this note we explore the effects of subsampling and extrapolation of area on estimates of sum charcoal area, using resampling of real and simulated data sets and propose a protocol in which all particles are counted with only the first 100 encountered being imaged. Extrapolated estimates of sum total area of charcoal for 40 real samples were nearly identical to actual values, and error introduced due to subsampling was low (Coefficient of variation

Description: Megafires in dry conifer forests of the Southwest US are driving transitions to alternative vegetative states, including extensive shrubfields dominated by Gambel oak ( Quercus gambelii). Recent tree-ring research on oak shrubfields that predate the 20th century suggests that these are not a seral stage of conifer succession but are enduring stable states that can persist for centuries. Here we combine soil charcoal radiocarbon dating with tree-ring evidence to refine the fire origin dates for three oak shrubfields (500 years, meaning modern forest-shrub conversion of patches as large as 〉10,000 ha will likely persist for centuries.

Description: Anthropogenic stressors to freshwater environments have perpetuated water quality and quantity challenges for communities across Arctic Canada, making drinking water resources a primary concern for northern peoples. To understand the ecological trajectory of lakes used as freshwater supply, we conducted a paleolimnological assessment on two supplemental sources in Igloolik, Nunavut, Arctic Canada. A stratigraphic examination of biological indicators (Insecta: Diptera: Chironomidae) allowed for paleotemperature reconstructions with decadal and centennial resolution over the past 2000 years. Between 200 and 1900 CE, the sub-fossil chironomid community was comprised of cold-water taxa, such as Abiskomyia, Micropsectra radialis-type, and Paracladius. Reconstructed temperatures were consistent with known climate anomalies during this period. A rapid shift in the composition of the chironomid assemblages to those with higher temperature optima ( Chironomus anthracinus-type, Dicrotendipes, and Tanytarsus lugens-type) in the late 20th century was observed in both systems. Our results demonstrate that these ecosystems are undergoing marked transformations to warmer, more nutrient-rich environments, and suggest that water sustainability pressures will likely continue in tandem with ongoing climate change. To contextualize the influence of recent warming and elucidate the status of freshwater resources over the longer term, paleolimnological methods can be usefully applied as components of vulnerability assessments.

Description: Fog computing is viewed as an extended technique of cloud computing. In Internet of things–based collaborative fog computing systems, a fog node aggregating lots of data from Internet of things devices has to transmit the information to distributed cloud servers that will collaboratively verify it based on some predefined auditing policy. However, compromised fog nodes controlled by an adversary might inject bogus data to cheat or confuse remote servers. It also causes the waste of communication and computation resources. To further control the lifetime of signing capability for fog nodes, an appropriate mechanism is crucial. In this article, the author proposes a time-constrained strong multi-designated verifier signature scheme to meet the above requirement. In particular, a conventional non-delegatable strong multi-designated verifier signature scheme with low computation is first given. Based on its constructions, we show how to transform it into a time-constrained variant. The unforgeability of the proposed schemes is formally proved based on the famous elliptic curve discrete logarithm assumption. The security requirement of strong signer ambiguity for our substantial constructions is also analyzed by utilizing the intractable assumption of decisional Diffie–Hellman. Moreover, some comparisons in terms of the signature size and computational costs for involved entities among related mechanisms are made.

Description: This study proposes a new configuration of asymmetric base-isolation coupling system for the vibration control of twin buildings, and also presents an efficient design method of using a hybrid optimization technique integrated with preference-based dimensionality reduction technique. The purpose of the proposed optimization approach is to guarantee the compromise optimal solution of well-balancing the mutually conflicting design objectives. In order to demonstrate the proposed approach, the adjacent 20-story twin buildings subjected to earthquake excitations were adopted as target buildings and it was verified through numerical examples that the proposed optimization technique can successfully find the optimal solution to achieve various design objectives in a balanced manner. The seismic performance was also compared with the existing different-story connection system with uniform distribution of dampers. The comparative results of the seismic performances between two systems clearly demonstrate that the proposed system can achieve great performance improvement over the existing system while maintaining balanced design preferences. Thus, it can be concluded that the proposed system can be a very effective system for the vibration control problem of the twin buildings.

Description: Coalbed gas (CBG) has been widely used as an important energy source. However, its utilization and allocation system is imperfect in mining areas. During the utilization process, a large amount of CBG is discharged into the air, causing environmental pollution. In this study, we proposed a “full spectrum-domain-time” CBG utilization model. In this model, by combining high methane concentration gas power generation, low methane concentration gas purification, and ultra-low methane concentration gas thermal storage and oxidation utilization, we were able to utilize CBG with full-spectrum of methane concentrations. In addition, by establishing CBG transportation and storage system in mining area, we were able to realize CBG supply in the entire network domain. Furthermore, based on the time series prediction algorithm, the CBG demand of different mining areas is predicted and regulatorily met by real time allocation. Through these three steps, an efficient “full spectrum-domain-time” CBG utilization system was formed and practically applied in Yangquan mining area. The application results showed that under the comprehensive control of “full spectrum-domain-time” CBG utilization model, CBG with methane concentration ≥0.2% could be used in the mining area and its utilization rate increased year by year, reaching the highest of 77.15%. Overall, our study provided a reference for the efficient CBG utilization in the mining area.

Description: Various sediment properties, such as mean grain size, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratio, CaCO3, and biogenic opal content, were analyzed for a box core (BC02; 45 cm long) and a gravity core (GC02; 628 cm long), which were collected from the western margin of the Hupo Trough located off the eastern coast of Korea. The study area has been affected by the East Korea Warm Current (EKWC), a branch of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). The analytical results obtained for BC02 and the upper part of GC02 were in agreement, affirming the core-top preservation of GC02. Based on the corrected calibrated AMS 14C dates, the sedimentation rate of GC02 changed abruptly at ~8.2 ka from ~4.0–10.2 cm/kyr in the lower part to ~56.6–91.0 cm/kyr in the middle to upper part. This corresponds to the lithologic change from sandy mud to mud sediments showing the mean grain size change from 6.9 to 46.0 μm. Diverse paleoceanographic proxies representing the surface water condition exhibited varying degree of change at ~8.2 ka, after which all the properties remain almost unchanged, implying stable and continuous depositional conditions following the complete development of the EKWC. Furthermore, it indicated that the sediment depositional conditions in the Hupo Trough in response to the EKWC might have stabilized at ~8.2 ka since the opening of the Korea Strait during the Holocene sea level rise. Moreover, microfossil data from previous studies on the establishment of the TWC in the East Sea (Japan Sea) support our interpretation that the sediment properties revealed the Holocene development of the EKWC in the Hupo Trough.

Description: Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are reliable water sources for Asia. Continuously high-resolution and high-accuracy long-term glacier fluctuations have been examined to improve the reliability of predictions regarding future TP glacier behavior under global climate change. In this study, we analyzed physiochemical parameters in typical glaciolacustrine sediments to reconstruct multidecadal activities of the monsoonal Qiangyong Glacier over the past ~2500 years. The results show that the glacier advanced most strongly during 560 BC–AD 100, followed by AD 1050–1850 and AD 600–850. It retreated most severely during AD 1850–present, followed by AD 100–600 and AD 850–1050. This continuous record corresponds well with changes in the temperature and regional precipitation before the Current Warm Period, exhibiting “warm-humid-retreat” and “cold-dry-advance” patterns. This indicates that temperature changes, rather than precipitation variations, control the monsoonal glaciers at the southern TP at multidecadal to centennial scales. As global warming continues, although the precipitation on the southern TP is projected to increase, the mass loss of TP monsoonal glaciers is expected to continue.

Description: Bucket dredging to mine and extract gold and tin from rivers is a global industry that has had a range of negative effects on physical environments. These include the destruction of riparian soil profiles and structures, artificial channel straightening and loss of in-stream biodiversity. In this paper we evaluate the immediate effects and long-term consequences of bucket dredging on rivers in Victoria and New South Wales during the period 1900–1950. High quality historical sources on dredge mining are integrated with geospatial datasets, aerial imagery and geomorphological data to analyse the scale of the dredging industry, evidence for disturbance to river channels and floodplains and current land use in dredged areas. The study demonstrates that the environmental impact of dredging was altered but not reduced by anti-pollution regulations intended to control dredging. An assessment of river condition 70–100 years after dredge mining ceased indicates that floodplains and river channels continue to show the effects of dredging, including bank erosion, sediment slugs, compromised habitat and reduced agricultural productivity. These findings have significant implications for river and floodplain management.

Description: Runoff harvesting agriculture was prevalent in ancient times across the southern Levant. In modern Israel, remnants of this agricultural adaptation strategy are widespread mostly in the semi-arid and arid Negev. Extensive literature has thoroughly described the farming systems of this region. However, runoff agriculture in the dryer, hyper-arid regions of the Arava Valley and southern Negev (excluding the Uvda Valley), has scarcely been researched. A recent study revealed remnants of simple stone terraces in several wadis (ephemeral stream channels) throughout the central Arava Valley that have not yet been dated. The objective of this study was to use the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) method to date sediments trapped in the stone terraces. The results revealed dominance of terraces dated to the Ottoman period (1516–1917 CE). Few samples were dated to the earlier Late Islamic period (1099–1516 CE) or Byzantine period (324–638 CE), and to the later, modern period of the mid-20th century. Generally, these periods coincide with relatively moister regional climatic conditions, which prevailed in the 4th, 11th–12th, and late 19th centuries CE. Yet, our findings also concur with periods of effective governance by central administrations. Therefore, results of this study fit the concept that runoff agriculture practiced in peripheral areas in ancient to recent-past times was co-determined by climatic settings and geo-political conditions, which enabled human inhabitation in these regions.

Description: To reduce negative stiffness structure’s stiffness non-linearity, enhance its stability during entire working displacement range, and expand its allowable working displacement, the optimal design of negative stiffness structure based on magnetic repulsion is proposed, and its structural parameters are also provided. The new negative stiffness structure’s model is established to determine the structural design parameters. According to the change of the new negative stiffness structure’s stiffness curve, we select the structural parameter to meet the design requirements. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed negative stiffness structure, we carried out simulation analysis, and the results show that the optimized negative stiffness structure’s stiffness non-linearity is greatly reduced in a relatively longer displacement, and its stiffness stability is promoted substantially compared with the simple triple-magnet negative stiffness structure.

Description: This study introduces a simple and efficient method to determine the peak floor acceleration (PFA) at different performance levels for three types of plane reinforced concrete (RC) structures: moment-resisting frames (MRFs), infilled–moment-resisting frames (I-MRFs), and wall-frame dual systems (WFDSs). By associating the structural maximum PFA response with the deformation response, the acceleration-sensitive nonstructural components, and the building contents, can be designed to adhere to the performance-based seismic design of the supporting structure. Thus, the proposed method can accompany displacement-based seismic design methods to design acceleration-sensitive nonstructural elements to comply with the deformation target of the supporting structure. The PFA response shape is represented by line segments defined by key points corresponding to certain floor levels. These key points are defined by explicit empirical expressions developed herein. The maximum PFA response is correlated with the maximum interstory drift ratio (IDR) and other vital characteristics of the supporting structure such as the fundamental period. The proposed expressions are established based on extensive nonlinear dynamic analyses of 19 MRFs, 19 WFDSs, and 19 I-MRFs under 100 far-fault ground motions scaled to capture different deformation targets. Realistic examples demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method to assess the PFA response at a given IDR, making the method suitable in the framework of performance-based design.

Description: Low-pressure N2 adsorption (LPNA) could provide quantitative data for characterizing the pores in gas shale. However, the inconsistencies of outgas temperature have caused significant deviations in LPNA experiments. To explore the effects of outgas temperature on pore characteristics, two shale samples of Lower Cambrian Niutitang formation from Northern Guizhou, China, were collected for LPNA experiments and thermogravimetry-fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) spectroscopy. The samples were outgassed at six temperatures: 80°C, 100°C, 150°C, 200°C, 250°C, 300°C. Larger adsorbed volumes were presented in the isotherms at higher outgas temperatures. Similar regularity is obtained from the relationship between specific surface area, micropore volume and outgas temperature. Comprehensive analysis of TG-FTIR and LPNA at different outgas temperature indicated that at lower outgas temperatures (from 80°C to 100°C), the free water was unlikely to be removed completely, and resulted in large amounts of micropores couldn’t be accessed. An excessive outgas temperature might expulse liquid hydrocarbons or decompose organic matter (from 200°C to 300°C), and could lead to the generation of micropores. When the sample were outgassed at 150°C, TG-FTIR analysis indicated that the sample composition unchanged and a better removal of free water happened. Therefore, 150°C should be a suitable outgas temperature for shale in LPNA experiments. The findings in this research not only provide reliable evidence for the selection of outgas procedure in LPNA for shale, but clarify the important effects of free water and volatile materials on pore accessibility in shale.

Description: The Garigliano alluvial-coastal plain, at the Latium-Campania border (Italy), witnessed a long-lasting history of human-environment interactions, as demonstrated by the rich archaeological knowledge. With the aim of reconstructing the evolution of the landscape and its interaction with human activity during the last millennia, new pollen results from the coastal sector of the Garigliano Plain were compared with the available pollen data from other nearby sites. The use of pollen data from both the coastal and marine environment allowed integrating the local vegetation dynamics within a wider regional context spanning the last 8000 years. The new pollen data presented in this study derive from the analysis of a core, drilled in the coastal sector, which intercepted the lagoon-marshy environments that occurred in the plain as a response to the Holocene transgression and subsequent coastal progradation. Three radiocarbon ages indicate that the chronology of the analyzed core interval ranges from c. 7200 to c. 2000 cal yr BP. The whole data indicate that a dense forest cover characterized the landscape all along the Prehistoric period, when a few signs of human activity are recorded in the spectra, such as cereal crops, pasture activity and fires. The main environmental changes, forced by natural processes (coastal progradation) but probably enhanced by reclamation works, started from the Graeco-Roman period and led to the reduction of swampy areas that favoured the colonisation of the outer plain.

Description: Time series have broad usage in the wireless Internet of Things. This article proposes a nonlinear time series prediction algorithm based on the Small-World Scale-Free Network after the AIC-Optimized Subtractive Clustering Algorithm (AIC-DSCA-SSNET, AD-SSNET) to predict the nonlinear and unstable time series, which improves the prediction accuracy. The AD-SSNET is introduced as a reservoir based on the echo state network to improve the predictive capability of nonlinear time series, and combined with artificial intelligence method to construct the prediction model training samples. First, the optimal clustering scheme of randomly distributed neurons in the network is adaptively obtained by the AIC-DSCA, then the AD-SSNET is constructed according to the intra-cluster priority connection algorithm. Finally, the reservoir synaptic matrix is calculated according to the synaptic information. Experimental results show that the proposed nonlinear time series prediction algorithm extends the feasible range of spectral radii of the reservoir, improves the prediction accuracy of nonlinear time series, and has great significance to time series analysis in the era of wireless Internet of Things.

Description: Climate variability can induce rapid changes in peatland ecosystems, affecting both carbon cycling and vegetation succession. Diatoms are an important group of ubiquitous and diverse algae in peatlands. Until now, the responses of diatom communities to climate variability have rarely been explored in peatlands, especially in subtropical regions. In this study, monitoring and paleolimnological datasets were combined to decipher environmental changes of a subtropical montane peatland (central China) over the last two centuries. Seasonal monitoring data revealed that diatom communities were closely correlated with precipitation, depth to the water table, conductivity, nitrate and temperature. Sedimentary records revealed that temporal changes in diatom assemblages and geochemical elements displayed similar trends in two peat cores after the 1950s. The first gradient in diatom composition represented a shift from Pinnularia species to taxa preferring less-acidic habitats, which was closely linked to climate warming and the enrichment of inorganic elements (e.g. sodium and calcium) since the early 20th century. Meanwhile, changes in diatom communities were further related to precipitation variability, atmospheric deposition and local hydrogeomophic setting. Taken together, the succession of diatom communities was closely linked to climate-regulated availability of nutrients and moisture in this subtropical peatland over the last two centuries. In order to achieve sustainable management of these scarce peatlands, further biological monitoring and paleoecological studies are needed to improve our knowledge of peatland ecosystem evolution in response to future climate change.

Description: This study investigates the causal relationship between renewable energy sources and clean environmental economic growth among South Asian economies. This study comprises the panel data sets for eight (8) South Asian countries, and data start from 2003 to 2017. This study implies a Hausman test to identify which particular tests are more suitable and selected a fixed effect test and granger causality test for effective analysis perspective. Moreover, this study further relies on the panel vector error correction model (PVECM) test to suggest for long-run relationship existence among variables. Furthermore, the evaluation of the panel and the dynamic ordinary least squares regression shows that the production of renewable energy has compelled an effect on economic growth. While other sources of energy for instance, hydropower, geothermal, wind, and solar, have valuable and considerable influence on the economic growth of South Asian economies. The results reveal with these remarks the existence of positive associations among productions of renewable energies, energy dependence, and gross domestic product per capita. The obtained results reveal that renewable energy sources show a momentous effect on the economic growth of South Asian economies.

Description: In view of the uncertainty and volatility of wind power generation and the inability to provide stable and continuous power, this paper proposes a hydrogen storage wind-gas complementary power generation system, using Matlab/Simulink to simulate and model wind generators and gas turbines. Considering the economy and power supply reliability of the wind-gas complementary power generation system, and taking the economic and environmental cost of the system as the objective function, the capacity optimization model of the wind-gas complementary power generation system is established. The brain storming algorithm (BSO) is used to solve the optimization problem, and the BSO algorithm is used to optimize the BP neural network, which improves the accuracy of the BP neural network for load forecasting. Finally, a simulation is carried out with load data in a certain area, and the simulation verification verifies that BSO-BP can improve the accuracy of load forecasting and reduce the error of load forecasting. Multi-objective optimization of system economic cost and environmental cost through BSO algorithm can make the system cost reach the most reasonable level. Through the analysis of the calculation examples, it is verified that gas-fired power generation can effectively alleviate the volatility of wind power generation, showing the role and advantages of energy complementary power generation. Therefore, the wind-gas complementary system can effectively increase energy utilization and reduce wind curtailment.

Description: In the Lake Kivu region, water erosion is the main driver for soil degradation, but observational data to quantify the extent and to assess the spatial-temporal dynamics of the controlling factors are hardly available. In particular, high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall data are essential as precipitation is the driving force of soil erosion. In this study, we evaluated to what extent high temporal resolution data from the TAHMO network (with poor spatial and long-term coverage) can be combined with low temporal resolution data (with a high spatial density covering long periods of time) to improve rainfall erosivity assessments. To this end, 5 minute rainfall data from TAHMO stations in the Lake Kivu region, representing ca. 37 observation-years, were analyzed. The analysis of the TAHMO data showed that rainfall erosivity was mainly controlled by rainfall amount and elevation and that this relation was different for the dry and wet season. By combining high and low temporal resolution databases and a set of spatial covariates, an environmental regression approach (GAM) was used to assess the spatiotemporal patterns of rainfall erosivity for the whole region. A validation procedure showed relatively good predictions for most months (R2 between 0.50 and 0.80), while the model was less performant for the wettest (April) and two driest months (July and August) (R2 between 0.24 and 0.38). The predicted annual erosivity was highly variable with a range between 2000 and 9000 MJ mm ha−1 h−1 yr−1 and showed a pronounced east–west gradient which is strongly influenced by local topography. This study showed that the combination of high and low temporal resolution rainfall data and spatial prediction models can be used to improve the assessments of monthly and annual rainfall erosivity patterns that are grounded in locally calibrated and validated data.

Description: Spatial media for people who are blind or visually impaired (B/VI) have evolved considerably in the years following Chris Perkins’ review of tactile map research, especially due to the proliferation of Internet access, mobile computing, and GPS technology. Reviewing intervening research, I identify prevailing themes in cartographic data management, media production, map design, and map use. I then propose a research agenda that identifies four high-priority topics for investigation: research conducted by people who are B/VI, maps created by people who are B/VI, low-tech tactile mapping, and social dynamics of tactile map use and production.

Description: Current research on vegetation makes a difference in people’s lives. Plant community classification is a backbone of land management, plant communities are changing in response to anthropogenic drivers, and the processes of change have impacts on ecosystem services. In the following progress report, we summarize the status of classification and recent research on vegetation responses to pollution, especially nitrogen deposition, invasive species, climate change, and land use and direct exploitation. Two areas with human feedbacks are underscored: fire ecology and urban ecology. Prominent questions at the current research frontier are highlighted with attention to new perspectives.

Description: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) is the scientific foundation of seismic design regulations in the United States and is regularly updated to consider the best available science and data. The 2018 update of the conterminous US NSHM includes major changes to the underlying ground motion models (GMMs). Most of the changes are motivated by the new multi-period response spectra requirements of seismic design regulations that use hazard results for 22 spectral periods and 8 site classes. In the central and eastern United States (CEUS), the 2018 NSHM incorporates 31 new GMMs for hard-rock site conditions [Formula: see text], including the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA)-East GMMs. New aleatory variability and site-effect models, both specific to the CEUS, are applied to all median hard-rock GMMs. This article documents the changes to the USGS GMM selection criteria and provides details on the new CEUS GMMs used in the 2018 NSHM update. The median GMMs, their weights, epistemic uncertainty, and aleatory variability are compared with those considered in prior NSHMs. This article further provides implementation details on the CEUS site-effect model, which allows conversion of hard-rock ground motions to other site conditions in the CEUS for the first time in NSHMs. Compared with the 2014 NSHM hard-rock ground motions, the weighted average of median GMMs increases for large magnitude events at middle to large distance range, epistemic uncertainty increases in almost all situations, but aleatory variability is not significantly different. Finally, the total effect on hazard is demonstrated for an assumed earthquake source model in the CEUS, which shows an increased ring of ground motions in the vicinity of the New Madrid seismic zone and decreased ground motions near the East Tennessee seismic zone.

Description: This article identifies the potential environmental effects large-scale indoor farming may have on air, water, and soil. We begin with an overview of what indoor farming is with a focus on greenhouses and indoor vertical farms (eg, plant factories). Next, the differences between these 2 primary methods of indoor farming are presented based on their structural requirements, methods of growing, media, nutrient sources, lighting requirements, facility capacity, and methods of climate control. We also highlight the benefits and challenges facing indoor farming. In the next section, an overview of research and the knowledge domain of indoor and vertical farming is provided. Various authors and topics for research are highlighted. In the next section, the transformative environmental effects that indoor farming may have on air, soil, and water are discussed. This article closes with suggestions for additional research on indoor farming and its influence on the environment.

Description: We present results of multiproxy analysis of a sediment core collected from Billy Slope Meadow, a spring-fed wet meadow in Range Creek Canyon, Utah. Range Creek Canyon was the home to Fremont maize farmers between roughly 1200 and 800 cal BP (AD 750–1150). Stable carbon isotope analysis of core sediments from Billy Slope Meadow indicate the Billy Slope Meadow site was used as a field for maize agriculture during that time. Some scholars have suggested the florescence of the Fremont culture may have been driven by increased summer precipitation, which improved the economic profitability of dry farming maize. But analysis of pollen, macroscopic charcoal and sediment geochemistry from Billy Slope Meadow, and a comparison with a local tree-ring chronology indicate the Fremont period in Range Creek Canyon was probably marked by reduced summer precipitation, and not an invigorated monsoon. The Fremont maize farmers of Range Creek Canyon therefore likely used winter snowpack-derived water from Range Creek for maize agriculture. This observation has significant implications, as using creek water rather than direct precipitation and runoff necessitates the construction of dams irrigation infrastructure, limited evidence for which has been reported by archaeologists working in the Fremont region.

Description: Natural flood management (NFM), or working with natural processes, is a growing flood risk management method in the UK, Europe and worldwide. However, unlike the current dominant technical flood management, it lacks an established evidence base of flood risk parameters. This lack of evidence base can limit the uptake of NFM as a flood management method. This paper critically evaluates examples of NFM and wider relevant literature in order to identify NFM knowledge gaps and suggest how to overcome these. The UK is used as a microcosm of different environments for diverse examples. The sections include: land cover, land management, landscape interactions and trade-offs, evaluating the wider benefits of NFM and, finally, scaling from plot to catchment. This concludes in a suggested framework for a new approach to NFM research, which encompasses spatial scales, interactions and trade-offs of NFM and consistency of reporting results. Widening the NFM empirical evidence base should be seen as an opportunity for a new approach to flood research through exploring new habitats and new flood resilience methods.

Description: The temporal variability in sediment export yield from glaciers over a timescale of multiple glacial cycles (e.g. 1 × 102 − 1 × 106 years) is of interest for a wide range of applications in glaciology, sedimentology, geomorphology, climatology and environmental engineering. However, the time required for the products of glacial erosion to be transferred through glaciated catchments and the extent to which glacially-conditioned sediment can be transiently stored within them are still poorly constrained and a matter of debate within the community. We propose a conceptual model of the variability in sediment exported from glaciers over multiple glacial cycles based on a literature review. Sediment yield is likely to be highly variable through a glacial cycle, notably between phases of glacier advance, retreat and re-advance due to changes in ice velocity and erosion rates, ice and meltwater transport capacity, and in glacially-conditioned sediment accessibility at the bed. Typically, early phases of glacier retreat and re-advance are expected to lead to the highest increase in sediment yield due to the ease with which the products of bedrock erosion can be accessed and reworked. In contrast, later phases of glacial (re)advance, once glacially-conditioned sedimentary sources become exhausted, may be characterized by intermediate rates of sediment export yield maintained through bedrock erosion. The latest phases of deglaciation, once glacially-conditioned sedimentary sources are either exhausted, stabilized or disconnected from active processes of sediment transfer, are likely to have the lowest rate of export. The conceptual model proposed in this paper fills a gap in the literature by developing a continuous pattern of sediment yield rate variability over the course of multiple glacial cycles, with wider implications for future research. However, its systematic applicability to various glacier settings and glaciations needs more field and modeling data to validate it.

Description: Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork is a promising technology providing important facilities for modern transportation systems. It has garnered much interest from researchers studying the mitigation of attacks including distributed denial of service attacks. Machine learning techniques, which mainly rely on the quality of the datasets used, play a role in detecting many attacks with a high level of accuracy. We conducted a comprehensive literature review and found many limitations on the datasets available for distributed denial of service attacks on Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork including the following: unavailability of online versions, an absence of distributed denial of service traffic, unrepresentative of Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork, and no information regarding the network configurations. Therefore, in this article, we proposed a novel simulation technique to generate a valid dataset called Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork distributed denial of service dataset, which is dedicated to Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks. Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork distributed denial of service dataset holds information on distributed denial of service attack traffic considering Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork architecture, traffic density, attack intensity, and nodes mobility. Well-known simulation tools such as SUMO, OMNeT++, Veins, and INET were used to ensure that all the properties of Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork have been captured. We then compared Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork distributed denial of service dataset with several studies to prove its novelty and evaluated the dataset using several machine learning models. We confirmed that studied models using this dataset achieved high accuracy above 99.5% except support-vector machine that achieved 97.3%.

Description: The role of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) in the global carbon cycle is still incompletely characterized. Much work has been done to characterize PyC on landforms and in soils where it originates or in “terminal” reservoirs such as marine sediments. Less is known about intermediate reservoirs such as streams and rivers, and few studies have characterized hillslope and in-stream erosion control structures (ECS) designed to capture soils and sediments destabilized by wildfire. In this preliminary study, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), and stable isotope parameters, δ13C and δ15N, were compared to assess opportunities for carbon and nitrogen sequestration in postwildfire sediments (fluvents) deposited upgradient of ECS in ephemeral- and intermittent-stream channels. The variability of OC, N, δ13C, and δ15N were analyzed in conjunction with fire history, age of captured sediments, topographic position, and land cover. Comparison of samples in 2 watersheds indicates higher OC and N in ECS with more recently captured sediments located downstream of areas with higher burn severity. This is likely a consequence of (1) higher burn severity causing greater runoff, erosion, and transport of OC (organic matter) to ECS and (2) greater cumulative loss of OC and N in older sediments stored behind older ECS. In addition, C/N, δ13C, and δ15N results suggest that organic matter in sediments stored at older ECS are enriched in microbially processed biomass relative to those at newer ECS. We conservatively estimated the potential mean annual capture of OC by ECS, using values from the watershed with lower levels of OC, to be 3 to 4 metric tons, with a total potential storage of 293 to 368 metric tons in a watershed of 7.7 km2 and total area of 2000 ECS estimated at 2.6 ha (203-255 metric tons/ha). We extrapolated the OC results to the regional level (southwest USA) to estimate the potential for carbon sequestration using these practices. We estimated a potential of 0.01 Pg, which is significant in terms of ecosystem services and regional efforts to promote carbon storage.

Description: To understand the resilience of African savannas to global change, quantitative information on the long-term dynamics of vegetation is required. Past dynamics can be reconstructed with the REVEALS model, which requires pollen productivity estimates (PPE) that are calibrated using surface pollen and vegetation data. Here we calculated PPE values for five savanna taxa using the extended R-value (ERV) model and two pollen dispersal options: the Gaussian plume model (GPM) and the Lagrangian stochastic model (LSM). The ERV calculations failed to produce a reliable PPE for Poaceae. We therefore used Combretaceae as the reference taxon – although values obtained with Poaceae as the reference taxon are presented in the supplement. Our results indicate that Combretaceae is the taxon with the highest pollen productivity and Grewia the taxon with the lowest productivity. Acacia and Dichrostachys are intermediate pollen producers. We find no clear indication of whether the GPM PPEs or the LSM PPEs are more realistic, but the differences between these values confirmed that the pollen fall speed has a greater effect in the modelling of GPM than in the LSM. We also applied REVEALS to the pollen record of Lake Otjikoto (northern Namibia) and obtained the first quantitative reconstruction of the last 130 years of vegetation history in the region. Cover estimates for Poaceae indicate the predominance of a semi-open landscape throughout the 20th century, while cover values below 50% since the 21st century correspond to a thick savanna. This change in grass cover is associated with the spread of Vachellia, Senegalia and Grewia reflecting an encroached state.

Description: Aiming at the problems existing in existing steganalysis algorithms, this article proposes Motion Vector Coding Cost Change video steganalysis features based on Improved Motion Vector Reversion-Based features and Subtractive Probability of Coding Cost Optimal Matching features based on Subtractive Probability of Optimal Matching features from the perspective of the change of coding cost. Motion Vector Coding Cost Change features can be well consistent with the coding cost before recoding by analyzing the sub-pixel coding cost of recoding. By counting the sub-pixel coding costs of motion vectors before and after video recoding, the Sum of Absolute Difference values of motion vectors instead of predicted residuals are applied to steganalysis and detection, and the steganographic algorithm based on motion vectors is effectively detected. Experiments show that Motion Vector Coding Cost Change features have higher detection accuracy than Add-or-Subtract-One, Improved Motion Vector Reversion-Based, and other typical features in various steganography methods, and Subtractive Probability of Coding Cost Optimal Matching features have higher detection effect and better robustness than Subtractive Probability of Optimal Matching features.

Description: This article describes the development of scaling relations between seismic moment and rupture area of earthquakes in stable continental regions (SCRs). The article reviews the relations developed by Somerville and compares them with relations developed by other investigators. It also compares the scaling relations of SCR earthquakes with those in tectonically active continental regions (TCRs). Three different methods of estimating rupture area, based on aftershocks, slip models, and duration methods were used by Somerville to analyze the relation between seismic moment and rupture area, using earthquake source parameters compiled from published literature. For each category of data, the relations obtained were not significantly different from those obtained by constraining them to be self-similar (scale-invariant), so self-similar relations were adopted. The stress drops corresponding to these scaling relations range from 51 to 86 bars, with an average of 65 bars. This value is comparable with the value of 58 bars obtained by Leonard, and it is recommended that the Leonard scaling relations for SCR earthquakes be used for the NGA East Project. To a first approximation, the results of Somerville and those of Somerville et al. indicate that the rupture areas of SCR earthquakes are about half those of TCR earthquakes, and their stress drops are about 2.8 times higher. Allmann and Shearer find less of a difference, presumably because their intraplate category includes some earthquakes that we would assign to TCR instead of SCR. Their study indicates that the rupture areas of intraplate earthquakes are about two-thirds those of TCR earthquakes, and their stress drops are about 2 times higher.

Description: In this study, an interval extension method of a bi-iterative is proposed to determine a moving source. This method is developed by utilising the time difference of arrival and frequency difference of arrival measurements of a signals received from several receivers. Unlike the standard Gaussian noise model, the time difference of arrival - frequency difference of arrival measurements are obtained by interval enclosing, which avoids convergence and initialisation problems in the conventional Taylor-series method. Using the bi-iterative strategy, the algorithm can alternately calculate the position and velocity of the moving source in interval vector form. Simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme significantly outperforms other methods, and approaches the Cramer-Rao lower bound at a sufficiently high noise level before the threshold effect occurs. Moreover, the interval widths of the results provide the confidence degree of the estimate.

Description: Aiming at the shortcomings of the research on individual identification technology of emitters, which is primarily based on theoretical simulation and lack of verification equipment to conduct external field measurements, an emitter individual identification system based on Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast is designed. On one hand, the system completes the individual feature extraction of the signal preamble. On the other hand, it realizes decoding of the transmitter’s individual identity information and generates an individual recognition training data set, on which we can train the recognition network to achieve individual signal recognition. For the collected signals, six parameters were extracted as individual features. To reduce the feature dimensions, a Bessel curve fitting method is used for four of the features. The spatial distribution of the Bezier curve control points after fitting is taken as an individual feature. The processed features are classified with multiple classifiers, and the classification results are fused using the improved Dempster–Shafer evidence theory. Field measurements show that the average individual recognition accuracy of the system reaches 88.3%, which essentially meets the requirements.

Description: Suppressing the trajectory data to be released can effectively reduce the risk of user privacy leakage. However, the global suppression of the data set to meet the traditional privacy model method reduces the availability of trajectory data. Therefore, we propose a trajectory data differential privacy protection algorithm based on local suppression Trajectory privacy protection based on local suppression (TPLS) to provide the user with the ability and flexibility of protecting data through local suppression. The main contributions of this article include as follows: (1) introducing privacy protection method in trajectory data release, (2) performing effective local suppression judgment on the points in the minimum violation sequence of the trajectory data set, and (3) proposing a differential privacy protection algorithm based on local suppression. In the algorithm, we achieve the purpose Maximal frequent sequence (MFS) sequence loss rate in the trajectory data set by effective local inhibition judgment and updating the minimum violation sequence set, and then establish a classification tree and add noise to the leaf nodes to improve the security of the data to be published. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is effective, which can reduce the data loss rate and improve data availability while reducing the risk of user privacy leakage.

Description: Mobile edge computing is a new computing paradigm, which pushes cloud computing capabilities away from the centralized cloud to the network edge to satisfy the increasing amounts of low-latency tasks. However, challenges such as service interruption caused by user mobility occur. In order to address this problem, in this article, we first propose a multiple service placement algorithm, which initializes the placement of each service according to the user’s initial location and their service requests. Furthermore, we build a network model and propose a based on Lyapunov optimization method with long-term cost constraints. Considering the importance of user mobility, we use the Kalman filter to correct the user’s location to improve the success rate of communication between the device and the server. Compared with the traditional scheme, extensive simulation results show that the dynamic service migration strategy can effectively improve the service efficiency of mobile edge computing in the user’s mobile scene, reduce the delay of requesting terminal nodes, and reduce the service interruption caused by frequent user movement.

Description: The healthcare budget is increasing day-by-day as the population of the world increases. The same is the case regarding the workload of health care workers, that is, doctors and other practitioners. Under such a scenario where workload and cost are increasing drastically, there is a dire need of integrating recent technological enhancements with the said domain. Since the last decade, a lot of work is in the process considering the said integration bringing revolutionary changes. For remote monitoring, existing systems use different types of Internet of things devices that measure different health parameters. One of the major problems in such a system is to find an optimum routing approach that can resolve energy and thermal issues that are taking the limelight in the research arena. In this article, a dynamic routing technique is proposed which is keen to connect multiple in vivo/ex vivo Internet of things devices and a sink (focusing thermal and energy problem) and then forwarding data from sink to remote location for monitoring. Performance parameters are kept energy efficiency and thermal awareness and analytical results show that the proposed protocol supersedes existing approaches in said metrics.

Description: We propose a geography that pluralizes the sites, practices and politics of authority. We defend an approach that tracks less perceptible forms of authority emerging through everyday micropolitics and experimental practices. In contrast to dominant definitions of authority as institutionalized legitimate power, we define authority as a relation of guidance emerging from recognition of inequalities in access to truth, experience or objectivity. Analysing four intersecting areas of authority (algorithmic, experiential, expert and participatory authority), we propose analyses grounded in political aesthetics that trace authority’s affective force, and its role in disclosing and contesting the common.

Description: In order to reduce the restroom envelope energy consumption, one optimization method on basis of analyzing the influence of heat transfer coefficient on the performance of a prefabricated restroom envelope in a hot summer and cold winter zone was proposed. An energy-consuming model of prefabricated restroom in Nanjing is initially built based on Designer's Simulation Toolkit software. Subsequently, the effect of external walls, rooftops, external windows with various thermal characteristics on the building envelope is analyzed respectively. Simultaneously, a method that only changes the heat transfer coefficient of the prefabricated restroom envelope while keeping other parameters unchanged is adopted. Results show that, for a prefabricated restroom, the optimal range of heat transfer coefficient of the external wall, rooftop, and external window in hot summer and cold winter zone is 0.199∼0.22, 0.16∼0.19, and 3.0∼3.1 W/(m2·K), respectively. When the window-to-wall ratio is less than 0.2, the priority of the wall heat transfer coefficient on building energy consumption is higher than that of the rooftop heat transfer coefficient, simultaneously, the rooftop heat transfer coefficient has priority higher than window heat transfer coefficient. Thus, it is of great significance to optimize the design of the prefabricated restroom envelope in a hot summer and cold winter zone, which provides relative reference for thermal performance improvement of prefabricated restrooms.

Description: Up to now, relatively little effort has been dedicated to the quantitative assessment of the differences in spatial patterns of model outputs. In this paper, we employed a variogram-based methodology to quantify the differences in the spatial patterns of root-zone soil moisture, net radiation, and latent and sensible heat fluxes simulated by three land surface models (SURFEX/ISBA, JULES and CHTESSEL) over three European geographic domains – namely, UK, France and Spain. The model output spatial patterns were quantified through two metrics derived from the variogram: i) the variogram sill, which quantifies the degree of spatial variability of the data; and ii) the variogram integral range, which represents the spatial length scale of the data. The higher seasonal variation of the spatial variability of sensible and latent heat fluxes over France and Spain, compared to the UK, is related to a more frequent occurrence of a soil-moisture-limited evapotranspiration regime during summer dry spells in the south of France and Spain. The small differences in spatial variability of net radiation between models indicate that the spatial patterns of net radiation are mostly driven by the climate forcing data set. However, the models exhibit larger differences in latent and sensible heat flux spatial variabilities, which are related to their differences in i) soil and vegetation ancillary datasets and ii) physical process representation. The highest discrepancies in spatial patterns between models are observed for soil moisture, which is mainly related to the type of soil hydraulic function implemented in the models. This work demonstrates the capability of the variogram to enhance our understanding of the spatiotemporal structure of the uncertainties in land surface model outputs. Therefore, we strongly encourage the implementation of the variogram metrics in model intercomparison exercises.

Description: In order to ensure the strong real-time information sharing of Aerial Ad hoc Network, a low-delay information sharing algorithm for multiple-radio-per-platform networking is proposed based on the directional transmission capability of phased-array antenna. The algorithm introduces virtual nodes and virtual links in the process of topology generation first. By extracting topology information and choosing link grouping, it can effectively reduce redundant transmission and transmission latency of information sharing. Then, it is verified through simulation that the algorithm can reduce the latency by up to 49.8% and eliminate transmission redundancy. In addition, a direction selection algorithm is proposed for the variation of antenna beam direction. Simulation results show that the algorithm can further reduce the latency of information sharing and ensure the real time of information sharing, thus further improving the network performance.

Description: The Pampas of Argentina is a large grassland ecosystem located in the oriental region southern of South America. As a study case, we present the results of the paleoclimatic analysis of the Tixi Cave site. This is a paleontological and archeological locality that shows a long chronologic sequence, with radiocarbon dates ranging from the Late Pleistocene to historical times, and one of the best records of meso and microvertebrate fossils in South America. Paleoclimatic reconstruction was assayed using the Mutual Ecogeographic Range method. Ecological niche models were made for each of the living representatives of the fossil taxa reported at the site. Potential distribution areas were superimposed to perform the paleoclimatic inference and to infer the annual average temperature and the annual average precipitation. During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (12,287 ± 212–11,609 ± 218 ca BP) and in the Middle-Holocene (5592 ± 79 ca BP), colder and drier climates appear in comparison to the present climate, the remaining of the Holocene (3496 ± 81–160 ± 120 ca BP) shows warmer and humid climates as compared to today’s climate conditions. Our results are in agreement with the paleoenvironmental inferences obtained by other proxies, such as deposition, paleosols, phytoliths, diatoms, ostracods, and pollen for Late Pleistocene -Holocene of the region, showing that the abundance of small mammals can accurately record the climatic fluctuations of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene in the Pampas of Argentina.

Description: A common aspect of the practice-oriented side of pre- and early modern mathematical astronomy was the computation of ephemerides, that is, tables that displayed the daily positions of the planets in a synoptic and calendrical format. Even though medieval Europe was no exception in this regard, the existence of ephemerides in this period and region has gone largely unnoticed, owing both to terminological difficulties and the low survival rate of actual specimens. What exists in significant numbers, however, are texts describing different approaches to constructing ephemerides and computing their various entries. The article demonstrates this by discussing ten such texts dating from approximately the middle of the 12th century to just after 1300. Taken in its entirety, this hitherto neglected corpus provides conclusive evidence against a view according to which ephemerides entered European astronomical practice only in the 15th century.

Description: This article develops a wider ontology of infrastructure. It argues that infrastructures not only hasten the flow of materials but produce non-human mobilities and immobilities that radically alter the dynamics of life. Infrastructures become a medium of life as natural and infrastructural ecologies meld, reorienting notions of design, architecture, planning and governance. Non-human life itself can be cast as infrastructure, with biopolitical implications for anticipating and managing the future. An infrastructural ontology moving beyond anthropocentric familiars generates new analytics and critical openings for the politics of governing human and non-human life.

Description: For wireless sensor network, the localization algorithm based on Voronoi diagram has been applied. However, the location accuracy node position in wireless sensor network needs to be optimized by the analysis of the literature, a node location algorithm based on Voronoi diagram and support vector machine is proposed in this article. The basic idea of the algorithm is to first divide the region into several parts using Voronoi diagram and anchor node in the localization region. The range of the initial position of the target node is obtained by locating the target node in each region and then the support vector machine is used to optimize the position of the target node accurately. The localization performance of the localization algorithm is analyzed by simulation and real-world experiments. The experimental results show that the localization algorithm proposed in this article is better than the optimal region selection strategy based on Voronoi diagram-based localization scheme and Weighted Voronoi diagram-based localization scheme localization algorithms in terms of localization accuracy. Therefore, the performance of the localization algorithm proposed in this article is verified.

Description: The objective of this study was to evaluate the treatment efficiency of a coupled stillage anaerobic digestion, which was performed in scoria-packed continuous reactors and following aerobic degradation. The optimum organic loading rate was determined for the continuous anaerobic digestion of a molasses ethanol distillery stillage with and without wet air feed pretreatment. The pretreatment of the molasses ethanol distillery stillage brought a significantly higher chemical oxygen demand removal in anaerobic digestion with an increased loading rate of 2000 mg/L d when compared with the raw stillage. The results also showed a complete removal of the biological oxygen demand following the coupling of anaerobic digestion with aerobic degradation. During the later stillage aerobic treatment, 68% of the chemical oxygen demand was removed within 8 hours of retention time. Despite the color, the removal of organics in stillage due to integrating wet air pretreatment, continuous anaerobic digestion, and aerobic degradation was successful. The pretreatment and hybrid technique also appears as a promising technique toward the sustainable management of stillage, thereby meeting discharge limit set for the ethanol industry by regulators.

Description: The historical evidence from the past two millennia show two problems concerning the star Algol (β Per): First, a critical variation in its brightness from a magnitude m ~ 2 in (1) Ptolemy’s Almagest (2nd century AD) and reported by (2) al-Ṣūfī (10th ct.) through its diminution to m = 4 in (3) the star catalog prepared by the Persian astronomers in service of the Yuan dynasty of China in the 13th ct. to becoming brighter, m = 3, as reported by (4) Ibn al-Shāṭir (14th ct.) and (5) Tycho Brahe (16th ct.). In the early modern period, it returned back to m ~ 2, as reported, for example, by Hevelius and Flamsteed (17th ct.), before the discovery of its periodic variability in 1783. Second, al-Ṣūfī reports it as a red star. We present detailed analyses of the sources (3) and (4) for the test of their accuracy and reliability. Our conservative hypothesis concerning the first problem is that the past astronomers observed the star at various phases of its 3-day period of variability. We reject the reddening to have arisen from the extinction due to either the Earth’s atmosphere or an interstellar medium. For resolving both problems, we instead speculate on astrophysical explanations for the observations. These are: copious dust produced as a result of arrested coronal mass ejections or pulverized planetary debris that resides close to the central binary before being dispersed; and a much-enhanced accretion rate that lead Algol into a W Ser-like state in which the primary was enveloped in an inflated accretion disk. We draw an analogy between the dimming of Algol and the recent dimming of Betelgeuse in order to highlight the value of historical observations for understanding astrophysical phenomena.

Description: The Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) has been the main method of study of the dynamics of the Sun-Earth-Moon system since 1969 to present. Lunar parts of the three modern high-precision ephemerides of the Solar system bodies are based solely on LLR measurements: DE (USA), EPM (Russia), INPOP (France). LLR measurements allow to determine parameters of lunar orbital and rotational motion, as well as some parameters related to terrestrial and lunar tides, and also fundamental relativistic parameters. Those parameters were determined from LLR with high accuracy by different authors. In USSR, LLR measurements were performed in the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO) in Nauchny, on the 2.6 m Shajn’s Zenith telescope (ZTSh) with an automated laser ranging system developed by the Russian Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI). Within the time span of 1969–1984, 1400 measurements were obtained. Unlike LLR measurements done in other observatories, they were eventually forgotten and have not made their way into the dataset that is used by scientists worldwide to build lunar ephemerides and conduct other lunar research. The main reason for writing this paper was the discovery by Tryapitsyn, a researcher at the Katziveli station of CrAO, of old printouts containing the 1970–1984 LLR observations made with the ZTSh 2.6 m telescope. Some details were missing from the printouts, which required careful restoration work. In this paper the history of those LLR observations with surrounding historical events is presented, and some details of the analysis these observations are described. Of particular interest is the finding related to the three normal points of Lunokhod-1 ranges obtained in 1974 that allowed Odile Calame to determine the rover’s position with a few kilometers accuracy. Unfortunately, the accuracy was not sufficient for other researchers to confirm and pin down the location of the rover.

Description: The Çukurova Delta Complex, formed by the Seyhan, Ceyhan, and Berdan rivers, is the second-largest delta system in the Mediterranean. The delta complex is a major depocenter that contains sediments transported from the Taurus Mountain belt since the Miocene. Studies on the Quaternary landscape evolution of the Çukurova Delta Complex are scarce, and in particular, the Holocene evolution of the Seyhan Delta section of the Çukurova Delta Complex has been poorly understood. Sedimentological analysis, high-resolution digital elevation models derived using structure from motion, and optically stimulated luminescence dating of the foredune ridges in the Seyhan Delta help define the lesser-known nature of Late-Holocene paleoenvironmental and landscape evolution of the Seyhan section of the Çukurova Delta Complex. The foredune ridges provide evidence that the Akyatan Lagoon, one of Turkey’s largest lagoon, formed at the beginning of the last millennium. The ridges bordering the north and south of Tuzla Lagoon show that the lagoon completed its formation between the 11th and 14th centuries when the ancient delta was to the east. The Seyhan River flowed 10 km east from its current course until at least the 16th Century, and its ancient delta was active until that time. After the 16th Century, the Seyhan River shifted to its current course in the west and began to build the modern delta and the youngest foredune ridges were formed by a combination of aeolian and littoral processes. The contemporary delta continued to prograde until the construction of the Seyhan Dam in AD 1956. Since the construction of the Seyhan Dam, the delta shoreline at the river mouth retreated drastically and foredune formation stopped. In the past few decades, most of the foredune ridges have been eroded away by coastal processes and agricultural activities.

Description: Satellite observations offering detailed records of global environmental change are only available from 1979. Emerging studies combining high-quality instrumental and natural observations highlight that the Earth system experienced a substantial shift across the mid-20th century, one that appears to have taken place before the Great Acceleration of human activities from the 1950s. These new results have far-reaching implications for understanding ice-ocean-atmospheric interactions in the Anthropocene and highlight the urgent need for drastic cuts in carbon emissions to limit the impact of future warming.

Description: Clustering technology is one of the crucial technologies to prolong the lifetime in wireless sensor networks. However, most cluster schemes choose cluster head randomly to send data without considering load balancing and security. In addition, some cluster heads in the highly active area may be overloaded, while others in the low active area may be overloaded, which may easily lead to extreme imbalance in task allocation. Our research on relevant literature shows that the existing authentication schemes do not fully consider the load balancing of cluster heads, while the load balancing schemes ignore the security authentication of cluster heads. Therefore, this article effectively combines load balancing and security verification, and proposes a lightweight load balancing and verification scheme (secure load and energy balancing) based on clustered wireless sensor networks. Secure load and energy balancing implements cluster head’s authentication and confidentiality and integrity of all messages in load balancing. This scheme not only effectively maintains the energy balance of the whole network but also successfully improves the security overhead, thus prolonging the network lifetime. The simulation results show that compared with other similar schemes, this scheme has higher packet forwarding rate, longer network life, and lower overhead. This further proves that the scheme is energy-saving, safe, dynamic, stable, and sustainable.

Description: This paper presents a new drilling tool with multidirectional and controllable vibrations for enhancing the drilling rate of penetration and reducing the wellbore friction in complex well structure. Based on the structure design, the working mechanism is analyzed in downhole conditions. Then, combined with the impact theory and the drilling process, the theoretical models including the various impact forces are established. Also, to study the downhole performance, the bottom hole assembly dynamics characteristics in new condition are discussed. Moreover, to study the influence of key parameters on the impact force, the parabolic effect of the tool and the rebound of the drill string were considered, and the kinematics and mechanical properties of the new tool under working conditions were calculated. For the importance of the roller as a vibration generator, the displacement trajectory of the roller under different rotating speed and weight on bit was compared and analyzed. The reliable and accuracy of the theoretical model were verified by comparing the calculation results and experimental test results. The results show that the new design can produce a continuous and stable periodic impact. By adjusting the design parameter matching to the working condition, the bottom hole assembly with the new tool can improve the rate of penetration and reduce the wellbore friction or drilling stick-slip with benign vibration. The analysis model can also be used for a similar method or design just by changing the relative parameters. The research and results can provide references for enhancing drilling efficiency and safe production.

Description: Soil erosion is 1 of the most important environmental problems that pose serious challenges to food security and the future development prospects of Ethiopia. Climate change influences soil erosion and is critical for the planning and management of soil and water resources. This study aimed to assess the current and future climate change impact on soil loss rate for the near future (2011-2040), middle future (2041-2070), and far future (2071-2100) periods relative to the reference period (1989-2018) in the Agewmariam watershed, Northern Ethiopia. The 20 models of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 global climate models (GCMs) under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 (intermediate scenario) and 8.5 (high emissions scenario) scenarios were used for climate projection. The statistical bias correction method was used to downscale GCMs. Universal Soil Loss Equation integrated with geographic information system was used to estimate soil loss. The results showed that the current average annual soil loss rate and the annual total soil loss on the study area were found to be 25 t ha−1 year−1 and 51 403.13 tons, respectively. The soil loss has increased by 3.0%, 4.7%, and 5.2% under RCP 4.5 scenarios and 6.0%, 9.52%, and 14.32% under RCP 8.5 scenarios in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, from the current soil loss rate. Thus, the soil loss rate is expected to increase on all future periods (the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s) under both scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) due to the higher erosive power of the future intense rainfall. Thus, climate change will exacerbate the existing soil erosion problem and would need for vigorous new conservation policies and investments to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on soil loss.

Description: This review assessed the effects of environmental labels on consumers’ demand for more sustainable food products. Six electronic databases were searched for experimental studies of ecolabels and food choices. We followed standard Cochrane methods and results were synthesized using vote counting. Fifty-six studies ( N = 42,768 participants, 76 interventions) were included. Outcomes comprised selection ( n = 14), purchase ( n = 40) and consumption ( n = 2). The ecolabel was presented as text ( n = 36), logo ( n = 13) or combination ( n = 27). Message types included: organic ( n = 25), environmentally sustainable ( n = 27), greenhouse gas emissions ( n = 17), and assorted “other” message types ( n = 7). Ecolabels were tested in actual ( n = 15) and hypothetical ( n = 41) environments. Thirty-nine studies received an unclear or high RoB rating. Sixty comparisons favored the intervention and 16 favored control. Ecolabeling with a variety of messages and formats was associated with the selection and purchase of more sustainable food products.

Description: Climate change will ultimately result in higher surface temperature and more variable precipitation, negatively affecting agricultural productivity. To sustain the agricultural production in the face of climate change, adaptive agricultural management or best management practices (BMPs) are needed. The currently practiced BMPs include crop rotation, early planting, conservation tillage, cover crops, effective fertilizer use, and so on. This research investigated the agricultural production of BMPs in response to climate change for a Hydrologic Unit Code12 sub-watershed of Choctawhatchee Watershed in Alabama, USA. The dominating soil type of this region was sandy loam and loamy sand soil. Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator and Cropping Systems Simulation Model were used to estimate the agricultural production. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 that projected a temperature increase of 2.3℃ and 4.7℃ were used as climate scenarios. The research demonstrated that crop rotation had positive response to climate change. With peanuts in the rotation, a production increase of 105% was observed for cotton. There was no consistent impact on crop yields by early planting. With selected peanut-cotton rotations, 50% reduced nitrogen fertilizer use was observed to achieve comparable crop yields. In response to climate change, crop rotation with legume incorporation is thus suggested, which increased crop production and reduced fertilizer use.

Description: Debris-covered glaciers from around the world offer distinct environmental, climatic, and historical conditions from which to study the effects of debris on glacier-ice evolution. A rich literature on debris-covered glaciers exists from decades of field work, laboratory studies, remote-sensing observations, and numerical modeling. In general, the base of knowledge established by studying periglacial, glacial, and paraglacial landforms on Earth has been applied to aid interpretation of ice-rich or ice-remnant landforms on Mars, but research has progressed on both planets. For Mars, the spatial distribution of lobate debris aprons and glacier-like forms, in particular, is critical to constraining past climate conditions when such features were active, reconstructing past ice extent, and estimating the total inventory of buried ice remaining in the mid-latitudes of Mars. This review spans a range of knowledge about debris-covered glaciers on Earth, in order to add context to investigations of dust and debris-covered ice on Mars and to put research on both planets in a perspective aimed at maximizing process-based understanding of glacier evolution. The state of knowledge and some gaps in knowledge on Mars are discussed in relation to possible avenues for future research in how landforms are classified, advances in comparative planetology, and new understanding from future missions. While this review is focused primarily on processes controlling active debris-covered glaciers, a key to understanding glacier change through time is to consider individual landforms in context with the full-system environment in which they are found. For Earth, this includes understanding local and regional controls on current glacier change, and how these processes relate to landform development in the past as well as what may develop in the future. For Mars, this includes evaluating how present-day landforms elucidate past ice activity and environmental conditions during epochs when orbital parameters, climate, and water ice distribution were substantially different.

Description: The first millennium AD was a transformative period when many of the medieval kingdoms of Europe began to take shape, but despite recent advances in palaeoecological and archaeological research there remains a shortage of interdisciplinary collaborative research targeting this period. For some regions we know relatively little about the societies who lived during this formative period. This current investigation focusses on an early medieval elite centre near to Rhynie in NE Scotland; an important power-centre during the fourth–seventh centuries AD as evidenced by a remarkable series of Class I Pictish symbol stones, fortified enclosures at Cairn more, Tap o’ Noth and the Craw-Stane, as well as high status metal-working and a range of continental imports from the Craw-Stane enclosure. However, by the end of the seventh century AD, elite focus appears to have shifted elsewhere with the Craw-Stane and Cairn More enclosures all being abandoned. By combining paleoenvironmental analysis with available historical and archaeological archives this paper provides new insights into societal change during the first Millennium AD, with focus on the economic, social and environmental impacts caused by the rise and subsequent abandonment of elite nodes of power. A calibrated age of AD 260–415, near the base of the core, coincides with the earliest dates for the Craw-Stane complex and pre-dates the construction of the nearby Cairn More enclosure. The results provide a rare snapshot of the Late Roman Iron Age to Medieval environment of Northeast Scotland. This centre appears to have been supported by a rich agricultural landscape, with evidence of pastoral and arable farming, and potential metal working. One of the most significant findings of this study has revealed that despite abandonment of these elite enclosed sites by the seventh century AD, people continued to utilise the surrounding landscape and available resources right through until modern times.

Description: High-resolution proxy-based paleoenvironmental records derived from peatlands provide important insights into climate changes over centennial to millennial timescales. In this study, we present a composite climatic index (CCI) for the Hani peatland from northeastern China, based on an innovative combination of pollen-spore, phytolith, and grain size data. We use the CCI to reconstruct variations of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensity during the Holocene. This is accomplished with complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD), REDFIT, and cross-wavelet coherency analysis to reveal the periodicities (frequencies) of the multi-proxy derived CCI sequences and to assess potential external forcing of the EASM. The results showed that periodicities of ca. 300–350, 475, 600, 1075, and 1875 years were present in the Hani CCI sequence. Those periodicities are consistent with previously published periodicities in East Asia, indicating they are a product of external climate controls over an extensive region, rather than random variations caused by peatland-specific factors. Cross-wavelet coherency analysis between the decomposed CCI components and past solar activity reconstructions suggests that variations of solar irradiation are most likely responsible for the cyclic characteristics at 500-year frequency. We propose a conceptual model to interpret how the sun regulates the monsoon climate via coupling with oceanic and atmospheric circulations. It seems that slight solar irradiation changes can be amplified by coupling with ENSO events, which result in a significant impact on the regional climate in the East Asian monsoon area.

Description: Land-use and land-cover analyses based on satellite image classification are used in most, if not all, sub-disciplines of physical geography. Data availability and increasingly simple image classification techniques – nowadays, even implemented in simple geographic information systems – increase the use of such analyses. To assess the quality of such land-use analyses, accuracy metrics are applied. The results are considered to have sufficient quality, exceeding thresholds published in the literature. A typical practice in many studies is to confuse accuracy in remote sensing with quality, as required by physical geography. However, notions such as quality are subject to normative considerations and performative practices, which differ between scientific domains. Recent calls for critical physical geography have stressed that scientific results cannot be understood separately from the values and practices underlying them. This article critically discusses the specific understanding of quality in remote sensing, outlining norms and practices shaping it and their relation to physical geography. It points out that, as a seeming paradox, results considered more accurate in remote sensing terms can be less informative – or meaningful – in geographical terms. Finally, a roadmap of how to apply remote sensing land-use analyses more constructively in physical geography is proposed.

Description: Human Colonization of new lands implied historically the diffusion of new plant species and the exploitation of local plant resources and forests by human communities. Phoenician colonization in the 1st millennium BC had important consequences in Mediterranean agriculture and the exploitation of vegetation in colonized areas. Later, Roman agriculture introduced new changes. The anthracological analysis or charcoal analysis of the archaeological record of the site of Utica can inform us about the long term transformations in vegetation in North Africa. The original vegetation, consisting mainly of Pistacia lentiscus, would see its population reduced due to the implantation of non-intensive olive production in Phoenician and Punic periods. Nevertheless, since the Roman Imperial Period there was a strong decline of natural vegetation, in correlation of the important increment of olive trees, which indicate the presence of intensive oil production, mainly to be exported to Rome. Furthermore, the appearance of walnut trees presents novel data regarding the expansion of arboriculture throughout the Mediterranean in hand with the Phoenicians during the 1st millennium BC. The anthracological analysis of Utica presents important information regarding the natural vegetation that existed when the Phoenicians arrived, and the transformation that happened throughout time, corresponding to the management of the surrounding landscape during the Phoenician, Punic, and Roman periods.

Description: A Late Pleistocene/Holocene paleoenvironmental record was obtained from the Rouer peatland (5°54′E, 49°45′N; 270 m a.s.l.), located in the Gutland area of southern Luxembourg. A total of six sediment samples were AMS radiocarbon-dated to obtain an age-depth model. XRF analyses and analyses of geochemical proxies of organic matter (TOC, TN, δ13C, δ15N) were conducted to identify major paleoenvironmental changes in the record. Pollen analysis reveals insights into the vegetation history throughout the last 14,000 cal. yr BP. The record offers unique insights into the evolution of local organic sediment/peat accumulation, as well as into the environmental history of the Gutland region and beyond. The accumulation of organic sediment and peat started at about 13,800 cal. yr BP before present. Until about 6000 cal. yr BP, periods of apparently stable climatic conditions had been interrupted repeatedly by pronounced episodes with increased input of minerogenic matter into the peat matrix (12,700–11,800 cal. yr BP; 11,500–11,300 cal. yr BP; 11,100–10,800 cal. yr BP; 9300 cal. yr BP; 8200 cal. yr BP), indicated by sudden increases of Ti/coh values. After 6000 cal. yr BP, environmental conditions stabilized. Between 4200 and 2800 cal. yr BP, during the Bronze Age, changes in the pollen spectrum indicate an increasing clearance of woodlands. Since the Roman period, an ongoing intensification of grassland farming and agriculture is evidenced. Lowest tree species abundances are witnessed during the Middle Ages. The Modern Era is characterized by enhanced sediment input due to soil erosion. In short, this record complements the Late Pleistocene/Holocene climatic history of the Gutland area and demonstrates that fen peat deposits can be valuable high-resolution paleoclimate archives.

Description: This study illustrates the influences of sea-level on the depositional process during the last 1000 years of the southwestern delta, Bangladesh. Sediments of eight litho-sections from landward in upper delta plain to seaward in lower delta plain along the Rupsa-Pasur river were studied. Sedimentary facies, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ13C value, diatom assemblages, and radiocarbon dating of deposits were carried out to determine the paleoenvironments that were influenced by the relative sea-level (RSL) change over time. During the 850–1300 AD, RSL was reached up to +80 cm higher than the present level where tidal-influenced bioturbated light yellow to gray mud deposited in the upper delta plain area. RSL was dropped up to −110 cm during 1300–1850 AD, organic-rich bluish-gray mud, mangrove peat, and terrestrial influenced yellowish-gray mud were deposited successively in the lower delta plain area, and the terrace was formed at landward due to the lowering of the base level. RSL started to rise after the period 1850 AD where tidal-influenced sediments gradually increased and deposited in the upper part at seaward and terrestrial flood sediment deposited over the erosional surface at the landward part. The estimated average sedimentation rate (1.96–2.89 mm/year) is not enough to offset the effect of subsidence and present sea-level rise over the study area. The rising trend of the sea creates inundation in the lower delta plain area, also hinders upstream water flow. For that, terrestrial flood sediments settle over the erosional surface in landward, and tidal-influenced sediment gradually onlap upon it from seaward.

Description: Stable carbon isotope analysis is increasingly used in archaeology as an indicator of crop water status and/or water management regime. While the technique shows promise, robust modern baseline studies are required to inform and validate archaeological interpretations. Here, we test stable carbon isotope values as a crop water status proxy in a monsoonal climatic context for the first time. Specifically, we test the relationship between grain stable carbon isotope values (δ13Cgrain), water availability, irrigation and soil type in barley ( Hordeum vulgare L. (Zohary and Hopf.)) in north-west India, with the aim of deriving a locally-appropriate model for isotopic interpretation. We test this relationship across a substantial rainfall gradient (200–1000 mm/year) and find a negative logarithmic relationship between climatic water availability and δ13C. However, there is significant noise in the relationship, and we report δ13Cgrain variation of over 3‰ amongst samples drawn from similar climatic contexts. Soil type, irrigation type and irrigation frequency have no clear modifying effects. We conclude that: (1) barley stable carbon isotope values can act as an archaeological water status proxy in monsoonal areas, but will be most sensitive in areas receiving

Description: Landslide mountain fens formed in landslide depressions are dynamic environments as their development is disturbed by a number of factors, for example, landslides, slopewash, and surface run-off. These processes lead to the accumulation of mineral material and wood in peat. Disturbed peatlands are interesting archives of past environmental changes, but they may be challenging for providing biotic proxy-based quantitative reconstructions. Here we investigate long-term changes in testate amoeba communities from two landslide mountain fens – so far an overlooked habitat for testate amoeba investigations. Our results show that abundances of testate amoebae are extremely low in this type of peatlands, therefore not suitable for providing quantitative depth-to-water table reconstructions. However, frequent shifts of dominant testate amoeba species reflect dynamic lithological situation of the studied fens. We observed that high and stable mineral matter input into the peatlands was associated with high abundances of species producing agglutinated (xenosomic) as well as idiosomic shells which prevailed in the testate amoeba communities in both analyzed profiles. This is the first study that explores testate amoebae of landslide mountain fens in such detail, providing novel information about microbial communities of these ecosystems.

Description: Around 4000 cal yr BP, Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris) suffered a widespread demise across the British Isles. This paper presents new information about P. sylvestris populations found in the Welsh Marches (western central Britain), for which the long-term history and origins are poorly known. Two new pollen records were produced from the Lin Can Moss ombrotrophic bog (LM18) and the Breidden Hill pond (BH18). The LM18 peat core is supported by loss-on-ignition, humification analysis and radiocarbon dating. Lead concentrations were used to provide an estimated timeframe for the recent BH18 record. In contrast to many other Holocene pollen records from the British Isles, analysis of LM18 reveals that Scots pine grains were deposited continuously between c. 6900–300 cal yr BP, at frequencies of 0.3–5.4%. It is possible that individual Scots pine trees persisted through the wider demise on thin soils of steep drought-prone crags of hills or the fringes of lowland bogs in the Welsh Marches. At BH18, the record indicates a transition from broadleaved to mixed woodland, including conifer species introduced around AD 1850 including Picea and Pinus. The insights from BH18 suggest that the current populations may largely be the result of planting. Comparison of the LM18 findings with other regional pollen records highlights consistent patterns, including a Mid-Holocene maximum (ca. 7000 cal yr BP), long-term persistence at low pollen percentages and a Late-Holocene minimum (ca. 3000 cal yr BP). These distinctive trends encourage further studies on refugial areas for Scots pine in this region and elsewhere.

Description: Basin-scale simulation is fundamental to understand the hydrological cycle, and in identifying information essential for water management. Accordingly, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is applied to simulate runoff in the semi-arid Tambo River Basin in southern Peru, where economic activities are driven by the availability of water. The SWAT model was calibrated using the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting Ver-2 (SUFI-2) algorithm and two objective functions namely the Nash-Sutcliffe simulation efficiency (NSE), and coefficient of determination ( R2) for the period 1994 to 2001 which includes an initial warm-up period of 3 years; it was then validated for 2002 to 2016 using daily river discharge values. The best results were obtained using the objective function R2; a comparison of results of the daily and monthly performance evaluation between the calibration period and validation period showed close correspondence in the values for NSE and R2, and those for percent bias (PBIAS) and ratio of standard deviation of the observation to the root mean square error (RSR). The results thus show that the SWAT model can effectively predict runoff within the Tambo River basin. The model can also serve as a guideline for hydrology modellers, acting as a reliable tool.

Description: Urban gentrification debates are essentially anthropocentric, ignoring how the presence of animals at the gentrification frontier can promote or oppose capital accumulation. By way of corrective, this article reviews geographical work on the relations of human and non-human animals in gentrifying neighbourhoods, arguing for a trans-species perspective on urban gentrification that considers the different ways animals are caught up in gentrification struggles. Noting that gentrification sometimes involves the violent and unjust displacement of non-human animals, the article concludes by arguing that anti-gentrification discourse might usefully place more emphasis on the animal ‘right to the city’.

Description: Ultrasonic computerized tomography is a promising technique for damage detection by enabling ultrasonic waves via multiple measurement paths leading to accurate localization of structural damage. Unlike traditional ultrasonic computerized tomography that requires numerous measurements and costly computation, a compressive sampling advancing both the measuring phase and the imaging phase is proposed in this study to achieve accurate identification with no low-speed traditional ultrasonic computerized tomography technique measurements or costly computation in real-world applications. The proposed rapid ultrasonic computerized tomography approach advances both the measuring phase and the imaging phase. In the measuring phase, far few ultrasonic measurement paths are randomly selected to capture the characteristics of the ultrasonic waves carrying the underlying damaged information. And in the imaging phase, ℓ1-norm minimization optimization algorithm is used to reconstruct the internal damage, rendering the sparest solution related to the physical damages. The functionality of the proposed approach is validated by both numerical simulation and experimental testing. The results indicate that the improved ultrasonic computerized tomography technique in compressive sampling framework has a great potential for rapid damage detection, which is a game-changing technique for accurate and cost-efficient damage detection in real-world applications.

Description: The number of recorded earthquakes in Oklahoma has substantially increased during the last few decades, a trend that coincides with the increases in the injected volume in underground injection control (UIC) wells. Several studies have suggested the existence of spatial and temporal links between earthquakes and injection wells. However, creating a spatial connection between the earthquakes and UIC wells requires making a prior assumption about the radius of induced seismicity. In this study, we use intrinsic features of the UIC wells to find the cohort of wells with associated earthquakes, based on the level of activity and proximity of the wells to the events. For this purpose, a hybrid genetic algorithm–K-means (GA-K-means) algorithm was applied over UIC wells, and the geographical representation of the clustered wells was co-visualized with earthquake data to determine wells with induced seismic activities. The analysis was performed every year since 2002, and the most critical attributes to distinguish the behavior of wells were identified. The analysis showed a distinct change in cluster identifiers before the year 2010, which is believed to be the beginning of increased seismic activities, compared to later dates. Our approach was able to group the earthquake-associated wells from the rest of the data, and centroid analysis of these wells helped us identify the critical pressure and cumulative volume range that result in induced seismicity. These findings can be used as guidelines for designing safer injection sites for sustainable energy production in Oklahoma.

Description: Volcanic eruptions can have a significant influence on adjacent ecosystems; however, little is known about the long-term vegetation change related to eruptions. In this study, we examined phytolith records in paleosols at multiple sites in the southern Kyushu District, Japan, to assess the influence of the Kikai caldera eruption 7300 years ago on vegetation. Our results show the vegetational difference before and after the eruption in the study region. Specifically, in the area where the pyroclastic flows distributed more thickly, the original evergreen forest was replaced by Andropogoneae grasslands after the eruption, which has been dominating the landscape in this area for at least 900 years. By contrast, in areas only mildly affected by pyroclastic flows, despite the temporary replacement of forest by grassland, the forest developed and flourished within several hundreds of years of the eruption. This is because a large amount of pyroclastic flow would have devastated all of the vegetation, whereas smaller amounts would have left some untouched forest sites within refugia. Our findings suggest that the vegetation varied significantly depending on the amount of pyroclastic flow reaching the area, even within the pyroclastic flow distributed region.

Description: Many studies on the inelastic response spectra have mainly focused on structures with the conventional hysteretic behavior. However, for self-centering structures with the flag-shaped (FS) hysteretic behavior, the corresponding study is limited. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the inelastic response spectra of self-centering structures with FS hysteretic behavior subjected to the near-fault pulse-type ground motion. To this end, the smooth FS hysteretic model based on Bouc–Wen model is developed, and the characteristics of pulse-type ground motions are described in detail. It is found that the general features of inelastic response spectra of the FS model are sensitive to the acceleration-, velocity-, and displacement-sensitive spectral regions of the ground motion. The inelastic displacement, velocity, acceleration, and ductility factor spectra of the FS hysteretic model for pulse-type ground motions are much larger than those for ordinary ground motions, while the residual displacement spectra under the two types of ground motions are both very small due to its self-centering capacity. Moreover, the inelastic response spectra are affected by the ground motion characteristics and structural hysteresis behavior, especially the large pulse period and peak ground velocity (PGV) significantly increase the inelastic displacement, velocity, and acceleration spectra.

Description: Many studies in air, soil, and water research involve observations and sampling of a specific location. Knowing where studies have been previously undertaken can be a valuable addition to future research, including understanding the geographical context of previously published literature and selecting future study sites. Here, we introduce Literature Mapper, a Python QGIS plugin that provides a method for creating a spatial bibliography manager as well as a specification for storing spatial data in a bibliography manager. Literature Mapper uses QGIS’ spatial capabilities to allow users to digitize and add location information to a Zotero library, a free and open-source bibliography manager on basemaps or other geographic data of the user’s choice. Literature Mapper enhances the citations in a user’s online Zotero database with geo-locations by storing spatial coordinates as part of traditional citation entries. Literature Mapper receives data from and sends data to the user’s online database via Zotero’s web API. Using Zotero as the backend data storage, Literature Mapper benefits from all of its features including shared citation Collections, public sharing, and an open web API usable by additional applications, such as web mapping libraries. To evaluate Literature Mapper’s ability to provide insights into the spatial distribution of published literature, we provide a case study using the tool to map the study sites described in academic publications related to the biogeomorphology of California’s coastal strand vegetation, a line of research in which air movement, soil, and water are all driving factors. The results of this exercise are presented in static and web map form. The source code for Literature Mapper is available in the corresponding author’s GitHub repository: https://github.com/MicheleTobias/LiteratureMapper

Description: Time and temporality have gained renewed attention in the social sciences. This report examines such research in social geography, contextualising these developments in earlier geographical scholarship. It excavates the contemporary ways in which time and temporality’s relationship with space is conceptualised to analyse social relations, social inequalities and social justice. The report discusses three domains: intimate space-times, life stage and life-course; migration, mobility and social inequalities; and human–nature relations in the past, present and future. The report argues that the temporal framings and strategies of how people engage with unequal socio-spatial relations are core to the enduring concerns of social geographers.

Description: Typhoon is an important meteorological phenomenon that affects the living and development of human beings on the southern China coast. However, there is still lack of clarity in the paleo-typhoon history and its influence on the evolution of the ancient human settlement environment since the mid-Holocene. Here, we identify six typhoon-like deposits from a core retrieved from the northern South China Sea shelf, close to the Pearl River Estuary, based on accelerated mass spectrometry 14C dating, grain size, and geochemistry. The sand fractions, CaO, Sr, SiO2/TiO2, and SiO2/Al2O3 were used to indicate the typhoon-like deposits. Results show that the ages with high-frequency typhoons are present ~200–300 cal yr BP, ~800–1000 cal yr BP, ~1500–1700 cal yr BP, ~2000–2100 cal yr BP, ~2400–2500 cal yr BP, and ~2700–3000 cal yr BP. Our results are comparable to the records from adjacent regions. Significantly, the vast tides occurred in the duration of ~2700–3000 cal yr BP in southern China, which probably caused the ancestors’ migration to the inland. Further studies are needed to deeply study the paleo-typhoon history in the southern China coast to verify our results.

Description: Pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of a 1.4 m deep lacustrine sediment profile from Chhattisgarh State, central India, in the core monsoon zone (CMZ), has revealed the vegetation history, associated climate change and the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall variability during the Late-Holocene. The pollen evidence suggests that between ca. 3000 and 2600 cal year BP, tree-savannah vegetation occurred in the region having a comparatively lesser monsoon rainfall. The forest expanded and culminated into an open-mixed tropical deciduous forest between ca. 2600 and 2200 cal year BP under a warm and moderately humid climate with an increase in monsoon rainfall. Subsequently, between ca. 2200 and 2000 cal year BP, the existing open-mixed tropical deciduous forest transformed into a mixed tropical deciduous forest under a warm and humid climate with further increase in monsoon rainfall. Finally, between ca. 2000 and 1800 cal year BP, a dense mixed tropical deciduous forest occupied the landscape under a regime of a warm and relatively more humid climate with further strengthening of the ISM. The gradual warming, and the climatic amelioration with the intensification of the ISM, during the Late-Holocene (ca. 2600–1800 cal year BP; ~650 BC to AD150) corresponds to the Roman Warm Period (RWP), recorded globally between 2500 and1600 cal year BP (~550 BC to AD ~350). Human activities were present around the study area, which varied according to the ISM variations. The present study provides insights into the gradual intensification of the monsoon since the last ca. 2600 cal year BP (between ca. 2600 and1800 cal year BP), and an increase in the ISM strength in the CMZ of India, against the generally weakening trend during the Late-Holocene.

Description: This paper examines a broad spectrum of challenges plaguing electric power supply in Africa. The challenges have lingered very long that policymakers, energy companies, and government agencies have shown docility in tackling the problem headlong. The increasing human population and technological innovations are evidence that the more the problem lingers, the more it becomes insurmountable. In this paper, it was proposed the lingering challenges can be solved using the standalone system of power generation. The renewable energy option and its adaptability were highlighted to guide standalone users on the way forward. The growing population in Africa can be advantageous in generating biogas from human feaces. It was discovered that renewable energy devices are quite expensive; hence, the biogas option for cooking and powering gas generators seem to be sustainable as its technology can be modified to suit the users' financial base. Therefore, it is projected that if the human excretal biogas can be adopted, Africa will soon overcome its energy crisis through the doggedness of its standalone users.

Description: To better evaluate the spatial steering effect of directional perforation hydraulic fractures, evaluation indexes for the spatial steering effect are first proposed in this paper. Then, these indexes are used to quantitatively evaluate existing physical experimental results. Finally, with the help of RFPA2D-Flow software, the influence of perforation length and azimuth on the spatial steering process of hydraulic fracture are quantitatively analysed using four evaluation indexes. It is shown by the results that the spatial deflection trajectory, deflection distance, deflection angle and initiation pressure of hydraulic fractures can be used as quantitative evaluation indexes for the spatial steering effect of hydraulic fractures. The deflection paths of directional perforation hydraulic fractures are basically the same. They all gradually deflect to the maximum horizontal principal stress direction from the perforation hole and finally represent a double-wing bending fracture. The deflection distance, deflection angle and initiation pressure of hydraulic fractures increase gradually with increasing perforation azimuth, and the sensitivity of the deflection angle to the perforation azimuth of hydraulic fractures also increases. With increasing perforation length, the deflection distance of hydraulic fractures increases gradually. However, the deflection angle and initiation pressure decrease gradually, as does the sensitivity.

Description: Aiming at the key optimization problems of wireless sensor networks in complex industrial application environments, such as the optimum coverage and the reliability of the network, a novel topology optimization of coverage-oriented strategy for wireless sensor networks based on the wolf pack algorithm is proposed. Combining the characteristics of topology structure of wireless sensor networks and the optimization idea of the wolf pack algorithm redefines the group’s wandering and surprise behavior. A novel head wolf mutation strategy is proposed, which increases the neighborhood search range of the optimal solution, enhances the uniformity of wolf pack distribution and the ergodicity ability of the wolf pack search, and greatly improves the calculation speed and the accuracy of the wolf pack algorithm. With the same probability, the cluster heads are randomly selected periodically, and the overall energy consumption of wireless sensor networks is evenly distributed to the sensor node to realize the balanced distribution of the data of the member nodes in the cluster and complete the design of the topology optimization of wireless sensor networks. Through algorithm simulation and result analysis, compared with the particle swarm optimization algorithm and artificial fish swarm algorithm, the wolf swarm algorithm shows its advantages in terms of the residual energy of the sensor node, the average transmission delay, the average packet delivery rate, and the coverage of the network. Among them, compared with the particle swarm optimization algorithm and artificial fish swarm algorithm, the remaining energy of nodes has increased by 9.5% and 15.5% and the average coverage of the network has increased by 10.5% and 5.6%, respectively.

Description: Since the coinage of the term Anthropocene, scholarly debates have been dominated by critics of the reference to anthropos, the abstract undifferentiated global subject of the new geological epoch. Many humanities scholars objected that this aggregated whole obfuscates inequalities and responsibilities. While the prefix ‘Anthropos’ has been the target of sharp criticisms, the suffix ‘cene’ remained unchallenged. This paper questions the relevance of the chronological timeline divided up into a sequence of epochs differentiated in terms of scales. I argue that the discourse about the ‘great acceleration’ pointing to a clash of tempos relies on the chronological framework. The single uniform timeline covering all events from the origin of the universe to the birth of individual people tends to conceal the variety of timelines whose interplay determines the climate. I suggest that the current ecological crisis calls for a radical revision of our notion of time which is based on the western metaphysics where human subjects reign supreme over nature and the earth. This crisis invites us to adopt a polychronic view, assuming a variety of heterogeneous temporal trajectories. The first section presents the thesis of ‘the great acceleration’ as a grand narrative based on on the western modern framework. The second section disentangles the prerequisites of the construction of this universal timeline: the assumption of a view from nowhere that makes all times commensurable. In the third section I venture the metaphor of timescape as an alternative to the usual timescales of the universal chronology. This notion seems more appropriate to understand the ecological crisis as resulting from conflicting temporalities. The final section tests the timescaping approach on the cases of two technologies that are considered as candidate markers of the onset of the Anthropocene: nuclear technology and plastics.

Description: In order to mine the coal seam under super-thick hard roof, improve the utilization rate of resources and prolong the remaining service life of the mine, a case study of the Gaozhuang Coal Mine in the Zaozhuang Mining Area has been performed in this paper. Based on the specific mining geological conditions of ultra-close coal seams (#3up and #3low coal seams), their joint systematic analysis has been performed, with the focus made in the following three aspects: (i) prevention of rock burst under super-thick hard roof, (ii) deformation control of surrounding rock of roadways in the lower coal seam, and (iii) fire prevention in the goaf of working face. Given the strong bursting tendency observed in upper coal seam and lower coal seam, the technology of preventing rock burst under super-thick hard roof was proposed, which involved setting of narrow section coal pillars to protect roadways and interleaving layout of working faces. The specific supporting scheme of surrounding rock of roadways in the #3low1101 working face was determined, and the grouting reinforcement method of local fractured zones through Marithan was further proposed, to ensure the deformation control of surrounding rock of roadways in lower coal seams. The proposed fire prevention technology envisaged goaf grouting and spraying to plug leaks, which reduced the hazard of spontaneous combustion of residual coals in mined ultra-close coal seams. The technical and economic improvements with a direct economic benefit of 5.55 million yuan were achieved by the application of the proposed comprehensive technical support. The research results obtained provide a theoretical guidance and technical support of safe mining strategies of close coal seams in other mining areas.