Ichthyoplankton in a southern african surf zone: Nursery area for the postlarvae of estuarine associated fish species?

Science.gov (United States)

Whitfield, A. K.

1989-12-01

The surf zone ichthyoplankton of Swartvlei Bay was studied between February 1986 and June 1987, with particular emphasis on its potential role as a nursery area for estuarine associated marine fish species. Larvae and/or postlarvae of 16 families were identified from the surf zone, with the Gobiidae, Soleidae, Sparidae and Mugilidae comprising 85·7% of all teleosts sampled. The postlarvae of several taxa (including the six most common species), which utilize the Swartvlei estuary as a juvenile nursery area, were abundant in the surf zone. Conversely, species which are common in nearshore marine waters as juveniles and adults, but seldom enter estuaries, totalled less than 8% of the surf zone ichthyoplankton assemblage. Larval and postlarval densities peaked during summer when water temperatures exceeded 19°C and the estuary mouth was open. Concentrations of ichthyoplankton were highest at those sampling stations closest to the estuary mouth during the summer period. Diel changes in total catches revealed no significant difference between day and night densities; but of the four major taxa, the Mugilidae and Sparidae tended to be more abundant during the day, the Gobiidae at night and the Soleidae showed no distinct pattern. Results from a 24 h sampling session indicated that tidal phase may also be important in governing ichthyoplankton abundance in the surf zone.

Juveniles, food and the surf zone habitat: implications for teleost ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The length composition, abundance patterns and feeding habits of ... recorded off King's Beach only the aforementioned species ..... Christensen (1978) gives the distribution of the streepie, .... plankton in the surf zone and inshore waters of the Eastern .... abundance and diversity of the Swartkops estuary ichthyofauna.

Does human pressure affect the community structure of surf zone fish in sandy beaches?

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Leonardo Lopes; Landmann, Júlia G.; Gaelzer, Luiz R.; Zalmon, Ilana R.

2017-01-01

Intense tourism and human activities have resulted in habitat destruction in sandy beach ecosystems with negative impacts on the associated communities. To investigate whether urbanized beaches affect surf zone fish communities, fish and their benthic macrofaunal prey were collected during periods of low and high human pressure at two beaches on the Southeastern Brazilian coast. A BACI experimental design (Before-After-Control-Impact) was adapted for comparisons of tourism impact on fish community composition and structure in urbanized, intermediate and non-urbanized sectors of each beach. At the end of the summer season, we observed a significant reduction in fish richness, abundance, and diversity in the high tourist pressure areas. The negative association between visitors' abundance and the macrofaunal density suggests that urbanized beaches are avoided by surf zone fish due to higher human pressure and the reduction of food availability. Our results indicate that surf zone fish should be included in environmental impact studies in sandy beaches, including commercial species, e.g., the bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix. The comparative results from the less urbanized areas suggest that environmental zoning and visitation limits should be used as effective management and preservation strategies on beaches with high conservation potential.

Turbulent stresses in the surf-zone: Which way is up?

Science.gov (United States)

Haines, John W.; Gelfenbaum, Guy; Edge, B.L

1997-01-01

Velocity observations from a vertical stack of three-component Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADVs) within the energetic surf-zone are presented. Rapid temporal sampling and small sampling volume provide observations suitable for investigation of the role of turbulent fluctuations in surf-zone dynamics. While sensor performance was good, failure to recover reliable measures of tilt from the vertical compromise the data value. We will present some cursory observations supporting the ADV performance, and examine the sensitivity of stress estimates to uncertainty in the sensor orientation. It is well known that turbulent stress estimates are highly sensitive to orientation relative to vertical when wave motions are dominant. Analyses presented examine the potential to use observed flow-field characteristics to constrain sensor orientation. Results show that such an approach may provide a consistent orientation to a fraction of a degree, but the inherent sensitivity of stress estimates requires a still more restrictive constraint. Regardless, the observations indicate the degree to which stress estimates are dependent on orientation, and provide some indication of the temporal variability in time-averaged stress estimates.

Wave Breaking, Bubble Production and Acoustic Characteristics of the Surf Zone, SIO Component

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Deane, Grant

2001-01-01

.... The purpose of these measurements was to: (1) statistically characterize the surf zone acoustic channel Doppler and time spreads, and acoustic drop-outs, in terms of the incident wave field and (2...

A generative Bezier curve model for surf-zone tracking in coastal image sequences

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Burke, Michael G

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This work introduces a generative Bezier curve model suitable for surf-zone curve tracking in coastal image sequences. The model combines an adaptive curve parametrised by control points governed by local random walks with a global sinusoidal motion...

Experimental and numerical investigation of the internal kinetics of a surf-zone plunging breaker

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emarat, Narumon; Forehand, David I.M.; Christensen, Erik Damgaard

2012-01-01

Over the last couple of decades both the qualitative and quantitative understanding of breaking waves in the surf zone have greatly increased. This is due to the advances in experimental and numerical techniques. However, few comparisons between these two different investigative techniques...... for surfzone breaking waves have been reported. In this study, a comparison is made between the experimental and numerical investigation of the internal kinematics of a surf-zone plunging breaker. The full-field velocity measuring technique known as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is used in the experiments...... was found for all comparisons: free-surface elevations, velocity vector maps, velocity profiles and velocity-magnitude contours. However, some small discrepancies were observed. In the free-surface elevation comparisons, a slight time lag was observed in the numerical results and it is suggested...

Simultaneous Observations of Beach and Surf-Zone Topography from a sUAS

Science.gov (United States)

Slocum, R. K.; Brodie, K. L.; Spore, N.

2016-02-01

Beaches and surf-zones can vary rapidly in time and space, necessitating frequent, spatially extensive observations for up-to-date knowledge on their current condition. Traditional surveying methods are expensive, can be dangerous in large wave conditions, and can lack sufficient spatial density. Existing remote sensing technologies have focused on both active sensing (airborne lidar, X-band radar) or passive sensing (electro-optical or infrared imagery) to either directly measure elevations of the beach and seafloor or exploit the optical signal of refracting and breaking waves in the surf-zone. These methods, however, can be prohibitively expensive for widespread, high temporal frequency use, or lack the spatial coverage required to quantify a large stretch of beach. UAS offer an affordable and accessible alternative, but existing COTS UAS sensor suites are not optimized for generation of bathymetry and topography at the same time. Here, we present a new approach using an inexpensive, custom multi-camera sensor designed with a wide field of view for integration on either a fixed wing of multirotor UAS platform. We introduce a processing methodology and workflow to generate a topographic pointcloud and rectified imagery of the water surface using structure from motion algorithms. The topographic pointcloud data is processed to generate a DSM of the beach and extract morphologic parameters (beach slope, dune toe, etc). Rectified imagery of the water surface is used to quantify sandbar location as well as perform a celerity based bathymetric inversion. Accuracy of this methodology is calculated by comparing processed data to lidar pointclouds, as well as photo identifiable targets on the beach and jetted into the surf zone. Funded by the USACE Military Engineering POD:A&U Program and Coastal Field Data Collection Program.

Field Observations of Surf Zone-Inner Shelf Exchange on a Rip-Channeled Beach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brown, J.A.; MacMahan, J.H.; Reniers, A.J.H.M.; Thornton, E.B.

2015-01-01

Cross-shore exchange between the surf zone and the inner shelf is investigated using Lagrangian and Eulerian field measurements of rip current flows on a rip-channeled beach in Sand City, California. Surface drifters released on the inner shelf during weak wind conditions moved seaward due to rip

Modification of the Undertow and Turbulence by Submerged Vegetation in a Laboratory Surf Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Mandel, T.; Suckale, J.; Marras, S.; Maldonado, S.; Koseff, J. R.

2016-12-01

Breaking waves in the surf zone are a dominant factor shaping the evolution of our coastlines. The turbulence generated by wave breaking causes sediment resuspension, while wave runup, rundown, and the undertow transport this sediment along and across the shore (Longo et al., 2002). Coastal hazard models must now address the added complications of climate change, including sea level rise, stronger storm events, and ecosystem degradation (Arkema et al., 2013). A robust theoretical understanding of surf zone dynamics is therefore imperative to considering the magnitude and implications of these potential changes. However, little work has been done to extend our current theoretical understanding to realistic beach faces, with aquatic vegetation, reefs, and other roughness elements that might mitigate scour and sedimentation. Clarifying these relationships will help scientists and policy-makers decide where to focus ecosystem restoration and preservation efforts, in order to maximize their protective benefits to infrastructure and economic activity on the coast. In order to evaluate the role of vegetation in coastal protection, we conducted a series of experiments in an idealized laboratory surf zone. We examine the impact of submerged model vegetation on the undertow profile, wave orbital velocities, turbulent kinetic energy, and wave-induced stresses, and compare these results to theoretical formulations that model these quantities. We find that vegetation reduces the wave energy available to be converted to turbulent kinetic energy during breaking, indicating a mechanism to mitigate suspension of sediment. Vegetation also reduces the magnitude of the undertow, likely reducing transport of sediment offshore. These results suggest that vegetation provides significant protective benefits for coastal communities at risk from erosion beyond its well-characterized ability to attenuate wave height, and motivate further work to incorporate these effects into models of near

Prediction and assimilation of surf-zone processes using a Bayesian network: Part I: Forward models

Science.gov (United States)

Plant, Nathaniel G.; Holland, K. Todd

2011-01-01

Prediction of coastal processes, including waves, currents, and sediment transport, can be obtained from a variety of detailed geophysical-process models with many simulations showing significant skill. This capability supports a wide range of research and applied efforts that can benefit from accurate numerical predictions. However, the predictions are only as accurate as the data used to drive the models and, given the large temporal and spatial variability of the surf zone, inaccuracies in data are unavoidable such that useful predictions require corresponding estimates of uncertainty. We demonstrate how a Bayesian-network model can be used to provide accurate predictions of wave-height evolution in the surf zone given very sparse and/or inaccurate boundary-condition data. The approach is based on a formal treatment of a data-assimilation problem that takes advantage of significant reduction of the dimensionality of the model system. We demonstrate that predictions of a detailed geophysical model of the wave evolution are reproduced accurately using a Bayesian approach. In this surf-zone application, forward prediction skill was 83%, and uncertainties in the model inputs were accurately transferred to uncertainty in output variables. We also demonstrate that if modeling uncertainties were not conveyed to the Bayesian network (i.e., perfect data or model were assumed), then overly optimistic prediction uncertainties were computed. More consistent predictions and uncertainties were obtained by including model-parameter errors as a source of input uncertainty. Improved predictions (skill of 90%) were achieved because the Bayesian network simultaneously estimated optimal parameters while predicting wave heights.

Impacts of beach wrack removal via grooming on surf zone water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Todd L; Sassoubre, Lauren M; Zhou, Christina; French-Owen, Darien; Hassaballah, Abdulrahman; Boehm, Alexandria B

2014-02-18

Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) are used to assess the microbial water quality of recreational waters. Increasingly, nonfecal sources of FIB have been implicated as causes of poor microbial water quality in the coastal environment. These sources are challenging to quantify and difficult to remediate. The present study investigates one nonfecal FIB source, beach wrack (decaying aquatic plants), and its impacts on water quality along the Central California coast. The prevalence of FIB on wrack was studied using a multibeach survey, collecting wrack throughout Central California. The impacts of beach grooming, to remove wrack, were investigated at Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz, California using a long-term survey (two summers, one with and one without grooming) and a 48 h survey during the first ever intensive grooming event. FIB were prevalent on wrack but highly variable spatially and temporally along the nine beaches sampled in Central California. Beach grooming was generally associated with either no change or a slight increase in coastal FIB concentrations and increases in surf zone turbidity and silicate, phosphate, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations. The findings suggest that beach grooming for wrack removal is not justified as a microbial pollution remediation strategy.

ON PREDICTING INFRAGRAVITY ENERGY IN THE SURF ZONE.

Science.gov (United States)

Sallenger,, Asbury H.; Holman, Robert A.; Edge, Billy L.

1985-01-01

Flow data were obtained in the surf zone across a barred profile during a storm. RMS cross-shore velocities due to waves in the intragravity band (wave periods greater than 20 s) had maxima in excess of 0. 5 m/s over the bar crest. For comparison to measured spectra, synthetic spectra of cross-shore flow were computed using measured nearshore profiles. The structure, in the infragravity band, of these synthetic spectra corresponded reasonably well with the structure of the measured spectra. Total variances of measured cross-shore flow within the infragravity band were nondimensionalized by dividing by total infragravity variances of synthetic spectra. These nondimensional variances were independent of distance offshore and increased with the square of the breaker height. Thus, cross-shore flow due to infragravity waves can be estimated with knowledge of the nearshore profile and incident wave conditions. Refs.

Characterizing surf zone injuries from the five most populated beaches on the Atlantic-fronting Delaware coast: Delaware surf zone injury demographics.

Science.gov (United States)

Doelp, Matthew B; Puleo, Jack A; Cowan, Paul; Arford-Granholm, Michelle

2017-12-24

Beaches are a popular destination for recreation activities. Surf zone injuries (SZI) can occur resulting from a variety of in-water activities. Little is known regarding the sustained injury types, or demographics of injured persons and activities leading to injuries. This study examines the distribution of SZI types, activities and populations occurring on Delaware Beaches as recorded by a local level III trauma center (Department of Emergency Medicine at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes, Delaware). There were 2021 injuries over the eight study years (2010-2017). The relative demographics of the injured population are similar despite fluctuating injury totals (mean [SD], 253.1 [104.4]). Non-locals (n=1757) were 6.7 times more likely to be injured as their local (n=264) counterparts (RR, 2.62; 95% CI, 2.08-3.31). Males (n=1258) were 1.7 times more likely to be injured than their female (n=763) counterparts (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.21-1.37). Serious injuries, defined as patients requiring admission to a trauma service, represented 9.1% (n=184) of injuries. Fatal SZI (n=6) were categorized as serious injuries. Wading (50.1%) was found to be the dominant activity associated with injury followed by body surfing (18.4%), and body boarding (13.3%). To the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first to investigate long-term trends in SZI data, injury activity, and demographics. Better understanding of the characteristics of injuries will allow for improved awareness techniques, targeted at populations with higher injury rates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Design and Implementation of a Prototype Surf-Zone Robot for Waterborne Operations

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

Measurement Unit IR Infrared MC Mission Complexity MONTe Mobility over Non-Trivial Terrain MOSART Mobile Surf-zone Amphibious Robot NIST... rubber coating (Plasti-Dip) and a liquid repellent treatment (Rust-Oleum Never Wet–multisurface). An FDM sparse part T5 was coated as depicted in Figure...Coating Process on FDM Part T5 Figure 15. (a) FDM part with two layers of black rubber coating (first coating), (b) FDM part with liquid repelling

Quantifying Wave Breaking Shape and Type in the Surf-Zone Using LiDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Albright, A.; Brodie, K. L.; Hartzell, P. J.; Glennie, C. L.

2017-12-01

Waves change shape as they shoal and break across the surf-zone, ultimately dissipating and transferring their energy into turbulence by either spilling or plunging. This injection of turbulence and changes in wave shape can affect the direction of sediment transport at the seafloor, and ultimately lead to morphological evolution. Typical methods for collecting wave data in the surf-zone include in-situ pressure gauges, velocimeters, ultrasonic sensors, and video imagery. Drawbacks to these data collection methods are low spatial resolution of point measurements, reliance on linear theory to calculate sea-surface elevations, and intensive computations required to extract wave properties from stereo 2D imagery. As a result, few field measurements of the shapes of plunging and/or spilling breakers exist, and existing knowledge is confined to results of laboratory studies. We therefore examine the use of a multi-beam scanning Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing instrument with the goal of classifying the breaking type of propagating waves in the surf-zone and quantitatively determining wave morphometric properties. Data were collected with a Velodyne HDL-32E LiDAR scanner (360° vertical field of view) mounted on an arm of the Coastal Research Amphibious Buggy (CRAB) at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina. Processed laser scan data are used to visualize the lifecycle of a wave (shoaling, breaking, broken) and identify wave types (spilling, plunging, non-breaking) as they pass beneath the scanner. For each rotation of the LiDAR scanner, the point cloud data are filtered, smoothed, and detrended in order to identify individual waves and measure their properties, such as speed, height, period, upward/downward slope, asymmetry, and skewness. The 3D nature of point cloud data is advantageous for research, because it enables viewing from any angle. In our analysis, plan views are used to separate individual waves

Bubble Clouds and their Transport within the Surf Zone as Measured with a Distributed Array of Upward-Looking Sonars

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dahl, Peter

2000-01-01

... in the surf zone and the effects of these bubbles on acoustic propagation. This paper discusses data gathered by the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, using a set of four upward-looking sonars (frequency 240 kHz...

Ecophysiological and biochemical variation of the surf zone diatom asterionellopsis glacialis sensu lato from Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Rubi Rörig

Full Text Available Abstract Patches formed by dense accumulations of diatoms in the surf zone (surf diatoms are common on sandy beaches with intermediate to dissipative morphodynamic states. Their appearances are correlated with environmental factors such as the passage of cold fronts when onshore winds increase beach hydrodynamics, resuspending epibenthic stocks and accumulating them through the inner surf zone. In Santa Catarina state, Southern Brazil, two beaches are known to have frequent occurrence of accumulations of the surf diatom Asterionellopsis glacialis sensu lato: Rincão Beach (28°50' S and Navegantes Beach (26°52' S. The high biomass of this alga and its central importance in the trophic structure of the coastal ecosystems suggest studies about its potential applications. In the present study, strains of A. glacialis were isolated, cultured under different conditions and evaluated for ecophysiological aspects: growth rate under different conditions, potential biological activities of exudates, biomass and lipid content, and fatty acid profile. A. glacialis cells in culture showed deformation, which were ameliorated by using agitation and silicon and phosphorus enriched culture media. Exudates of the strains showed no allelopathic effects, although previous studies have indicated activity. Lipid content showed variation depending on the strain and culture media. Values ranged from 9% to 13.6% by dry weight. In all strains saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids were identified. Some hypotheses were proposed to explain the variation of the lipid contents, fatty acid profiles and physiological features between strains of the same species. We believe that the fatty acids profile of this primary producer has important consequences in the sandy beach ecology.

The 'surf zone' in the stratosphere

Science.gov (United States)

McIntyre, M. E.; Palmer, T. N.

Synoptic, coarse-grain, isentropic maps of Ertel's potential vorticity Q for the northern middle stratosphere, estimated using a large-Richardson-number approximation, are presented for a number of days in January-February 1979, together with some related isentropic trajectory calculations The effects of substituting FGGE for NMC base data are noted, as well as some slight corrections to maps published earlier. The combined evidence from the observations and from dynamical models strongly indicates the existence of planetary-wave breaking, a process in which material contours are rapidly and irreversibly deformed. In the winter stratosphere this occurs most spectacularly in a gigantic 'nonlinear critical layer', or 'surf zone', which surrounds the main polar vortex, and which tends to erode the vortex when wave amplitudes become large. Some of the FGGE-based Q maps suggest that we may be seeing glimpses of local dynamical instabilities and vortex-rollup phenomena within breaking planetary waves. Related phenomena in the troposphere are discussed. An objective definition of the area A( t) of the main vortex, as it appears on isentropic Q maps, is proposed. A smoothed time series of daily values of A( t) should be a statistically powerful 'circulation index' for the state of the winter-time middle stratosphere, which avoids the loss of information incurred by Eulerian space and time averaging.

Surf Zone Sediment Size Variation, Morphodynamics, and Hydrodynamics During Sea/Land Breeze and El-Norte Storm in Sisal, Yucatan, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Alrushaid, T.; Figlus, J.; Torres-Freyermuth, A.; Puleo, J. A.; Dellapenna, T. M.

2016-02-01

Coastlines around the world are under ever-increasing pressure due to population trends, commerce, and geophysical processes like tropical storms and erosion. This multi-institutional field campaign was conducted to improve our understanding of complex nearshore processes under varying forcing conditions on a microtidal, sandy beach located in Sisal, Yucatan from 3/27 to 4/12/2014. Hydrodynamics, morphodynamics, and textural variability were investigated during: (1) a cold front event (referred to as El-Norte); (2) land breeze (LB); and (3) sea breeze (SB). The instrumentation layout included three surf/swash zone cross-shore transects where water elevation, suspended sediment concentration, bed load, and current velocities were measured, as well as several offshore ADCP for hydrodynamic measurements. TKE, τb, ɛ and were estimated using the data obtained from surf zone ADV. In addition, Hs and Tsin the surf zone were computed using measurements from ADV pressure sensors, while a separate pressure transducer was used to obtain water free-surface elevation within the swash zone. During SB cycles the study area experienced wind velocities reaching up to 12ms-1, and 15ms-1 during El-Norte. Elevated wind stress during El-Norte resulted in Hs of 1.5m and 0.6m in water depths of 10m and 0.4m, respectively. Surface sediment grab samples during SB/LB cycles showed that the swash zone had a moderately well sorted distribution with a mean grain size of 0.5mm, while poor sorting and a mean grain size of 0.7mm were found during El-Norte. Additionally, measured bathymetry data showed evidence for offshore sandbar migration during strong offshore currents (0.4ms-1) during El-Norte, while onshore sandbar migration was evident during SB/LB periods (0.3ms-1 and 0.1ms-1, respectively). This study highlights how different weather forcing conditions affect hydrodynamics, morphodynamics, and textural variability on a sandy beach. Aside from furthering our knowledge on these complex

Vortex-induced suspension of sediment in the surf zone

Science.gov (United States)

Otsuka, Junichi; Saruwatari, Ayumi; Watanabe, Yasunori

2017-12-01

A major mechanism of sediment suspension by organized vortices produced under violent breaking waves in the surf zone was identified through physical and computational experiments. Counter-rotating flows within obliquely descending eddies produced between adjacent primary roller vortices induce transverse convergent near-bed flows, driving bed load transport to form regular patterns of transverse depositions. The deposited sediment is then rapidly ejected by upward carrier flows induced between the vortices. This mechanism of vortex-induced suspension is supported by experimental evidence that coherent sediment clouds are ejected where the obliquely descending eddies reach the sea bed after the breaking wave front has passed. In addition to the effects of settling and turbulent diffusion caused by breaking waves, the effect of the vortex-induced flows was incorporated into a suspension model on the basis of vorticity dynamics and parametric characteristics of transverse flows in breaking waves. The model proposed here reasonably predicts an exponential attenuation of the measured sediment concentration due to violent plunging waves and significantly improves the underprediction of the concentration produced by previous models.

Spatial and temporal variations of diurnal ichthyofauna on surf-zone of São Francisco do Itabapoana beaches, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gomes Marcelo Paes

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variations of diurnal ichthyofauna and the environmental variables influences on its distribution were studied at the surf-zone of three beaches of São Francisco do Itabapoana, northern coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From August/1999 to August/2000, three beach seine hauls were made monthly, and environmental variables were recorded. A total number of 4,562 fishes (74,155g were sampled at the three beaches, where estuarine-dependent species prevailed (44%, followed by marine (31%, estuarine (19% and freshwater species (3%. Species richness, number of individuals and wet weight were significantly higher at Gargaú, followed by Manguinhos and Barra do Itabapoana, respectively. Canonical Correspondence Analysis highlighted influences of the rivers flushing, salinity and plant abundance on the diurnal ichthyofauna distribution and dynamics of São Francisco do Itabapoana surf-zone.

Pollution concentration estimates in ecologically important zones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skiba, Y.N. [Mexico City Univ. (Mexico). Center for Atmospheric Sciences

1995-12-31

Method based on using the pollutant transport equation and the adjoint technique is described here for estimating the pollutant concentration level in ecologically important zones. The method directly relates the pollution level in such zones with the power of the pollution sources and the initial pollution field. Assuming that the wind or current velocities are known (from climatic data or dynamic model), the main and adjoint pollutant transport equations can be considered in a limited area to solve such theoretically and practically important problems as: (1) optimal location of new industries in a given region with the aim to minimize the pollution concentration in certain ecologically important zones, (2) optimization of emissions from operating industries, (3) detection of the plants violating sanitary regulations, (4) analysis of the emissions coming from the vehicle traffic (such emissions can be included in the model by means of the linear pollution sources located along the main roadways), (5) estimation of the oil pollution in various ecologically important oceanic (sea) zones in case of accident with the oil tanker, (6) evaluation of the sea water desalination level in estuary regions, and others. These equations considered in a spherical shell domain can also be applied to the problems of transporting the pollutants from a huge industrial complex, or from the zone of an ecological catastrophe similar to the Chernobyl one

Pollution concentration estimates in ecologically important zones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skiba, Y N [Mexico City Univ. (Mexico). Center for Atmospheric Sciences

1996-12-31

Method based on using the pollutant transport equation and the adjoint technique is described here for estimating the pollutant concentration level in ecologically important zones. The method directly relates the pollution level in such zones with the power of the pollution sources and the initial pollution field. Assuming that the wind or current velocities are known (from climatic data or dynamic model), the main and adjoint pollutant transport equations can be considered in a limited area to solve such theoretically and practically important problems as: (1) optimal location of new industries in a given region with the aim to minimize the pollution concentration in certain ecologically important zones, (2) optimization of emissions from operating industries, (3) detection of the plants violating sanitary regulations, (4) analysis of the emissions coming from the vehicle traffic (such emissions can be included in the model by means of the linear pollution sources located along the main roadways), (5) estimation of the oil pollution in various ecologically important oceanic (sea) zones in case of accident with the oil tanker, (6) evaluation of the sea water desalination level in estuary regions, and others. These equations considered in a spherical shell domain can also be applied to the problems of transporting the pollutants from a huge industrial complex, or from the zone of an ecological catastrophe similar to the Chernobyl one

Probabilistic Modeling and Evaluation of Surf Zone Injury Occurrence along the Delaware Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Doelp, M.; Puleo, J. A.

2017-12-01

Beebe Healthcare in Lewes, DE collected along the DE coast surf zone injury (SZI) data for seven summer seasons from 2010 through 2016. Data include, but are not limited to, time of injury, gender, age, and activity. Over 2000 injuries were recorded over the seven year period, including 116 spinal injuries and three fatalities. These injuries are predominantly wave related incidents including wading (41%), bodysurfing (26%), and body-boarding (20%). Despite the large number of injuries, beach associated hazards do not receive the same level of awareness that rip currents receive. Injury population statistics revealed those between the ages of 11 and 15 years old suffered the greatest proportion of injuries (18.8%). Male water users were twice as likely to sustain injury as their female counterparts. Also, non-locals were roughly six times more likely to sustain injury than locals. In 2016, five or more injuries occurred for 18.5% of the days sampled, and no injuries occurred for 31.4% of the sample days. The episodic nature of injury occurrence and population statistics indicate the importance of environmental conditions and human behavior on surf zone injuries. Higher order statistics are necessary to effectively assess SZI cause and likelihood of occurrence on a particular day. A Bayesian network using Netica software (Norsys) was constructed to model SZI and predict changes in injury likelihood on an hourly basis. The network incorporates environmental data collected by weather stations, NDBC buoy #44009, USACE buoy at Bethany Beach, and by researcher personnel on the beach. The Bayesian model includes prior (e.g., historic) information to infer relationships between provided parameters. Sensitivity analysis determined the most influential variables to injury likelihood are population, water temperature, nearshore wave height, beach slope, and the day of the week. Forecasting during the 2017 summer season will test model ability to predict injury likelihood.

Impacts of wave-induced circulation in the surf zone on wave setup

Science.gov (United States)

Guérin, Thomas; Bertin, Xavier; Coulombier, Thibault; de Bakker, Anouk

2018-03-01

Wave setup corresponds to the increase in mean water level along the coast associated with the breaking of short-waves and is of key importance for coastal dynamics, as it contributes to storm surges and the generation of undertows. Although overall well explained by the divergence of the momentum flux associated with short waves in the surf zone, several studies reported substantial underestimations along the coastline. This paper investigates the impacts of the wave-induced circulation that takes place in the surf zone on wave setup, based on the analysis of 3D modelling results. A 3D phase-averaged modelling system using a vortex force formalism is applied to hindcast an unpublished field experiment, carried out at a dissipative beach under moderate to very energetic wave conditions (Hm 0 = 6m at breaking and Tp = 22s). When using an adaptive wave breaking parameterisation based on the beach slope, model predictions for water levels, short waves and undertows improved by about 30%, with errors reducing to 0.10 m, 0.10 m and 0.09 m/s, respectively. The analysis of model results suggests a very limited impact of the vertical circulation on wave setup at this dissipative beach. When extending this analysis to idealized simulations for different beach slopes ranging from 0.01 to 0.05, it shows that the contribution of the vertical circulation (horizontal and vertical advection and vertical viscosity terms) becomes more and more relevant as the beach slope increases. In contrast, for a given beach slope, the wave height at the breaking point has a limited impact on the relative contribution of the vertical circulation on the wave setup. For a slope of 0.05, the contribution of the terms associated with the vertical circulation accounts for up to 17% (i.e. a 20% increase) of the total setup at the shoreline, which provides a new explanation for the underestimations reported in previously published studies.

Mapping bathymetry in an active surf zone with the WorldView2 multispectral satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Trimble, S. M.; Houser, C.; Brander, R.; Chirico, P.

2015-12-01

Rip currents are strong, narrow seaward flows of water that originate in the surf zones of many global beaches. They are related to hundreds of international drownings each year, but exact numbers are difficult to calculate due to logistical difficulties in obtaining accurate incident reports. Annual average rip current fatalities are estimated to be ~100, 53 and 21 in the United States (US), Costa Rica, and Australia respectively. Current warning systems (e.g. National Weather Service) do not account for fine resolution nearshore bathymetry because it is difficult to capture. The method shown here could provide frequent, high resolution maps of nearshore bathymetry at a scale required for improved rip prediction and warning. This study demonstrates a method for mapping bathymetry in the surf zone (20m deep and less), specifically within rip channels, because rips form at topographically low spots in the bathymetry as a result of feedback amongst waves, substrate, and antecedent bathymetry. The methods employ the Digital Globe WorldView2 (WV2) multispectral satellite and field measurements of depth to generate maps of the changing bathymetry at two embayed, rip-prone beaches: Playa Cocles, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica, and Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. WV2 has a 1.1 day pass-over rate with 1.84m ground pixel resolution of 8 bands, including 'yellow' (585-625 nm) and 'coastal blue' (400-450 nm). The data is used to classify bottom type and to map depth to the return in multiple bands. The methodology is tested at each site for algorithm consistency between dates, and again for applicability between sites.

Multichannel imager for littoral zone characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Podobna, Yuliya; Schoonmaker, Jon; Dirbas, Joe; Sofianos, James; Boucher, Cynthia; Gilbert, Gary

2010-04-01

This paper describes an approach to utilize a multi-channel, multi-spectral electro-optic (EO) system for littoral zone characterization. Advanced Coherent Technologies, LLC (ACT) presents their EO sensor systems for the surf zone environmental assessment and potential surf zone target detection. Specifically, an approach is presented to determine a Surf Zone Index (SZI) from the multi-spectral EO sensor system. SZI provides a single quantitative value of the surf zone conditions delivering an immediate understanding of the area and an assessment as to how well an airborne optical system might perform in a mine countermeasures (MCM) operation. Utilizing consecutive frames of SZI images, ACT is able to measure variability over time. A surf zone nomograph, which incorporates targets, sensor, and environmental data, including the SZI to determine the environmental impact on system performance, is reviewed in this work. ACT's electro-optical multi-channel, multi-spectral imaging system and test results are presented and discussed.

Multi-pollutant interactions in hyporheic zones

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, S.; Weatherill, J.; Bonet, B.; Blaen, P.; Khamis, K.; Cassidy, N. J.; Hannah, D. M.; Rivett, M. O.; Lynch, I.; Ullah, S.

2017-12-01

Hyporheic zones represent hotspots of biogeochemical reactivity, with the potential to attenuate pollutants and ameliorate their impact on ecosystem functioning. Sources and types of pollutants in streambed environments are manifold, with legacy industry contaminants, agricultural pollution and emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals or engineered nanoparticles entering hyporheic zones along different flow paths where they mix and potentially react with each other. Current conceptualizations of drivers and controls of biogeochemical turnover in hyporheic zones highlight primarily the role of transport and reaction times but do not account for potential interactions between different pollutants. This study presents two case studies of multi-pollutant interactions to illustrate the need to consider interferences between different pollutants, their transport and reaction pathways for adequate impact assessment. We discuss in the first instance how the natural attenuation of a Trichloroethylene (TCE) groundwater plume in an agricultural catchment is limited by high riparian and hyporheic nitrate concentrations. As nitrate outcompeted TCE in its reaction with organic carbon as electron donor, TCE attenuation was in this case limited to hyporheic denitrification hotspots. Hence any pollution control measures to reduce the impact of this TCE plume require a reduction of agricultural nitrate loads, highlighting the connectedness of legacy (TCE) and more recent (nitrate) pollution problems. In the second case, we investigate how the labile organic carbon content of streambed sediments as main control of hyporheic respiration is overridden by exposure to different silver nanoparticle concentrations, representing emerging pollutants in many of our rivers. Also in this case, the impacts of different stressors (nanoparticle exposure) and drivers (availability of organic matter, water temperature) are interacting in their impacts on hyporheic zone functioning. We argue that

Experimental study on thermal dispersion in and near the surf zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komori, Shuzo; Tanaka, Hiroyoshi; Wada, Akira

1978-01-01

The site of Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company was selected, and first, irregular waves with the typical wave spectra (in usual time and in storm time) in the sea region of the site were reproduced in the hydraulic model, then the characteristics of thermal dispersion and the velocityfield of warmed water (its discharge is 25.3 m 3 /sec.) in and near the surf zone under the action of those irregular waves were discussed. Finally, the similarity was investigated between the dispersion phenomenon in the hydraulic model and that in the prototype by comparing the experimental results of the dispersion range of warmed water with the results of field measurements. It may be concluded that the enveloped range of thermal dispersion in prototype can be predicted fairly correctly under almost the same discharge condition as this experiment if the prototype conditions of waves and currents are considered carefully and reproduced in a hydraulic model. (Kobatake, H.)

Pressure Gradients in the Inner Surf and Outer Swash Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Kidwell, A.; Puleo, J. A.; Torres-Freyermuth, A.

2010-12-01

The swash zone is a highly dynamic region of the beach profile. Although there has been significant progression in understanding the complex hydrodynamics of the swash zone, an improvement in the understanding of the sediment transport mechanisms deserves further investigation. Prior studies have demonstrated that the existing formulations derived from the energetics-type formulation do not accurately and consistently predict sediment transport. Thus, measurements and numerical modeling can contribute in the improvement of the current predictive capability of sediment transport. A potential enhancement to nearshore sediment transport is the horizontal pressure gradient. However, measuring the dynamic pressure gradient in nearshore flows is a difficult task. For instance, standard pressure sensors are generally ill-suited for this type of measurement in shallow swash flows due to the obstructing size of the sensor and the potential for flow interference. With improved measurement apparati and techniques, it is possible to obtain measurements of the horizontal pressure gradient. Our current research includes laboratory and numerical model investigation of the horizontal pressure gradient in the inner surf and outer swash zone. An inexpensive differential pressure gauge is employed allowing for a pressure port on the order of 2 mm diameter. Four pressure sensor pairs are installed 1 cm above the bed with a cross-shore spacing of 8 cm. The sensors are deployed just outside of and at various locations within the outer swash zone to determine spatio-temporal pressure variations. The measurement of total pressure coupled with the corresponding free surface measurements from co-located capacitance wave gauges yields time series of the hydrostatic and dynamic pressure and pressure gradients. A VOF-type RANS model is employed in this investigation. Firstly, the numerical model is validated with swash measurements. Then, model simulations will be performed in order to

The role of suspension events in cross-shore and longshore suspended sediment transport in the surf zone

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffe, Bruce E.

2015-01-01

Suspension of sand in the surf zone is intermittent. Especially striking in a time series of concentration are periods of intense suspension, suspension events, when the water column suspended sediment concentration is an order of magnitude greater than the mean concentration. The prevalence, timing, and contribution of suspension events to cross-shore and longshore suspended sediment transport are explored using field data collected in the inner half of the surf zone during a large storm at Duck, NC. Suspension events are defined as periods when the concentration is above a threshold. Events tended to occur during onshore flow under the wave crest, resulting in an onshore contribution to the suspended sediment transport. Even though large events occurred less than 10 percent of the total time, at some locations onshore transport associated with suspension events was greater than mean-current driven offshore-directed transport during non-event periods, causing the net suspended sediment transport to be onshore. Events and fluctuations in longshore velocity were not correlated. However, events did increase the longshore suspended sediment transport by approximately the amount they increase the mean concentration, which can be up to 35%. Because of the lack of correlation, the longshore suspended sediment transport can be modeled without considering the details of the intensity and time of events as the vertical integration of the product of the time-averaged longshore velocity and an event-augmented time-averaged concentration. However, to accurately model cross-shore suspended sediment transport, the timing and intensity of suspension events must be reproduced.

Assessing mobility and redistribution patterns of sand and oil agglomerates in the surf zone

Science.gov (United States)

Dalyander, P. Soupy; Long, Joesph W.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Thompson, David M.

2014-01-01

Heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates that formed in the surf zone following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continued to cause beach re-oiling 3 years after initial stranding. To understand this phenomena and inform operational response now and for future spills, a numerical method to assess the mobility and alongshore movement of these “surface residual balls” (SRBs) was developed and applied to the Alabama and western Florida coasts. Alongshore flow and SRB mobility and potential flux were used to identify likely patterns of transport and deposition. Results indicate that under typical calm conditions, cm-size SRBs are unlikely to move alongshore, whereas mobility and transport is likely during storms. The greater mobility of sand compared to SRBs makes burial and exhumation of SRBs likely, and inlets were identified as probable SRB traps. Analysis of field data supports these model results.

New application of the radioactive tracer method for sediment movement measurements in the surf zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Owczarczyk, A.; Strzelecki, M.; Szpilowski, S.; Wierzchnicki, R.; Basinski, T.

1989-01-01

The investigations of sediment movement with the use of radiotracers have been carried out in a surf zone of Lubiatowo. Inception of sand motion and sediment transport velocity were the objective of the experiment. The spider type construction was located at the depth of 0.7 m. An artificial sand made of iridium glass (γ = 2.660 kg/m 3 ) containing 0.25 weight per cent of 192 Ir was used as a tracer. The fraction of 0.15 to 0.20 mm has been chosen as the representative diameter of sand grains existing at the investigated bottom region. The inception of sand movement versus current velocity and wave conditions as well as displacement velocity of tracer mass were determined. An improved construction was designed and tested. (author)

Implementation and modification of a three-dimensional radiation stress formulation for surf zone and rip-current applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, N.; Voulgaris, G.; Warner, John C.

2011-01-01

Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS v 3.0), a three-dimensional numerical ocean model, was previously enhanced for shallow water applications by including wave-induced radiation stress forcing provided through coupling to wave propagation models (SWAN, REF/DIF). This enhancement made it suitable for surf zone applications as demonstrated using examples of obliquely incident waves on a planar beach and rip current formation in longshore bar trough morphology (Haas and Warner, 2009). In this contribution, we present an update to the coupled model which implements a wave roller model and also a modified method of the radiation stress term based on Mellor (2008, 2011a,b,in press) that includes a vertical distribution which better simulates non-conservative (i.e., wave breaking) processes and appears to be more appropriate for sigma coordinates in very shallow waters where wave breaking conditions dominate. The improvements of the modified model are shown through simulations of several cases that include: (a) obliquely incident spectral waves on a planar beach; (b) obliquely incident spectral waves on a natural barred beach (DUCK'94 experiment); (c) alongshore variable offshore wave forcing on a planar beach; (d) alongshore varying bathymetry with constant offshore wave forcing; and (e) nearshore barred morphology with rip-channels. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons to previous analytical, numerical, laboratory studies and field measurements show that the modified model replicates surf zone recirculation patterns (onshore drift at the surface and undertow at the bottom) more accurately than previous formulations based on radiation stress (Haas and Warner, 2009). The results of the model and test cases are further explored for identifying the forces operating in rip current development and the potential implication for sediment transport and rip channel development. Also, model analysis showed that rip current strength is higher when waves approach at angles of 5

Surfing wave climate variability

Science.gov (United States)

Espejo, Antonio; Losada, Iñigo J.; Méndez, Fernando J.

2014-10-01

International surfing destinations are highly dependent on specific combinations of wind-wave formation, thermal conditions and local bathymetry. Surf quality depends on a vast number of geophysical variables, and analyses of surf quality require the consideration of the seasonal, interannual and long-term variability of surf conditions on a global scale. A multivariable standardized index based on expert judgment is proposed for this purpose. This index makes it possible to analyze surf conditions objectively over a global domain. A summary of global surf resources based on a new index integrating existing wave, wind, tides and sea surface temperature databases is presented. According to general atmospheric circulation and swell propagation patterns, results show that west-facing low to middle-latitude coasts are more suitable for surfing, especially those in the Southern Hemisphere. Month-to-month analysis reveals strong seasonal variations in the occurrence of surfable events, enhancing the frequency of such events in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. Interannual variability was investigated by comparing occurrence values with global and regional modes of low-frequency climate variability such as El Niño and the North Atlantic Oscillation, revealing their strong influence at both the global and the regional scale. Results of the long-term trends demonstrate an increase in the probability of surfable events on west-facing coasts around the world in recent years. The resulting maps provide useful information for surfers, the surf tourism industry and surf-related coastal planners and stakeholders.

The Science of Surfing Waves and Surfing Breaks - A Review

OpenAIRE

Scarfe, B. E.; Elwany, M. H.S.; Mead, S. T.; Black, K. P.

2003-01-01

Surfing breaks have great social and economic value for coastal communities. In order to preserve and enhance these resources, a common language is needed that will bridge the gap between the colloquial slang of surfers and the technical language of scientists and policy makers. This language is the science of surfing waves and surfing breaks, and the more it is developed and used, the easier relations will be between the interested parties. This paper will create the basis for such a languag...

The presence and near-shore transport of human fecal pollution in Lake Michigan beaches

Science.gov (United States)

Molloy, S.L.; Liu, L.B.; Phanikumar, M.S.; Jenkins, T.M.; Wong, M.V.; Rose, J.B.; Whitman, R.L.; Shively, D.A.; Nevers, M.B.

2005-01-01

The Great Lakes are a source of water for municipal, agricultural and industrial use, and support significant recreation, commercial and sport fishing industries. Every year millions of people visit the 500 plus recreational beaches in the Great Lakes. An increasing public health risk has been suggested with increased evidence of fecal contamination at the shoreline. To investigate the transport and fate of fecal pollution at Great Lakes beaches and the health risk associated with swimming at these beaches, the near-shore waters of Mt Baldy Beach, Lake Michigan and Trail Creek, a tributary discharging into the lake were examined for fecal pollution indicators. A model of surf zone hydrodynamics coupled with a transport model with first-order inactivation of pollutant was used to understand the relative importance of different processes operating in the surf zone (e.g. physical versus biological processes). The Enterococcus human fecal pollution marker, which targets a putative virulence factor, the enterococcal surface protein (esp) in Enterococcus faecium, was detected in 2/28 samples (7%) from the tributaries draining into Lake Michigan and in 6/30 samples (20%) from Lake Michigan beaches. Preliminary analysis suggests that the majority of fecal indicator bactateria variation and water quality changes at the beaches can be explained by inputs from the influential stream and hydrometeorological conditions. Using modeling methods to predict impaired water quality may help reduce potential health threats to recreational visitors.

Three-dimensional modelling of wave-induced current from the surf zone to the inner shelf

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Michaud

2012-08-01

Full Text Available We develop and implement a new method to take into account the impact of waves into the 3-D circulation model SYMPHONIE (Marsaleix et al., 2008, 2009a following the simplified equations of Bennis et al. (2011 which use glm2z-RANS theory (Ardhuin et al., 2008c. These adiabatic equations are completed by additional parameterizations of wave breaking, bottom friction and wave-enhanced vertical mixing, making the forcing valid from the surf zone through to the open ocean. The wave forcing is performed by wave generation and propagation models WAVEWATCH III® (Tolman, 2008, 2009; Ardhuin et al., 2010 and SWAN (Booij et al., 1999. The model is tested and compared with other models for a plane beach test case, previously tested by Haas and Warner (2009and Uchiyama et al. (2010. A comparison is also made with the laboratory measurements of Haller et al. (2002 of a barred beach with channels. Results fit with previous simulations performed by other models and with available observational data.

Finally, a realistic case is simulated with energetic waves travelling over a coast of the Gulf of Lion (in the northwest of the Mediterranean Sea for which currents are available at different depths as well as an accurate bathymetric database of the 0–10 m depth range. A grid nesting approach is used to account for the different forcings acting at different spatial scales. The simulation coupling the effects of waves and currents is successful to reproduce the powerful northward littoral drift in the 0–15 m depth zone. More precisely, two distinct cases are identified: When waves have a normal angle of incidence with the coast, they are responsible for complex circulation cells and rip currents in the surf zone, and when they travel obliquely, they generate a northward littoral drift. These features are more complicated than in the test cases, due to the complex bathymetry and the consideration of wind and non-stationary processes. Wave impacts in the

Seabed Gradient Controlling Onshore Transport Rates of Surf Sand during Beach Retreat by Sea Level Rise

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hee Jun; Yi, Hi-Il

2018-03-01

A simple relationship is proposed for the onshore transport rates of surf-zone sand to evaluate the beach retreat caused by sea level rise. It suggests that the preservation potential of surf sand is proportional inversely to the seabed gradient during beach retreat. According to this relationship, the erosional remnants of surf sand would be more readily developed on a gentler shelf collectively as transgressive sand sheets. This finding may explain the previous studies regarding the Korean shelves that proposed that the Holocene transgressive sand sheets (HTSS) occur not in the steep eastern shelf but in the gentle western shelf. In line with such presence/absence of the HTSS are the results from some coastal seismic profiles obtained in the present study. The profiles indicate that sand deposits are restricted within the nearshore in the eastern coast, whereas they are persistently traceable to the offshore HTSS in the western coast. Tide is proven to have a negligible influence on the total duration of surf-zone processes. This study may be useful in predicting the consequences of the beach retreat that takes place worldwide as sea levels rise as a result of global warming.

A unified spectral parameterization for wave breaking: From the deep ocean to the surf zone

Science.gov (United States)

Filipot, J.-F.; Ardhuin, F.

2012-11-01

A new wave-breaking dissipation parameterization designed for phase-averaged spectral wave models is presented. It combines wave breaking basic physical quantities, namely, the breaking probability and the dissipation rate per unit area. The energy lost by waves is first explicitly calculated in physical space before being distributed over the relevant spectral components. The transition from deep to shallow water is made possible by using a dissipation rate per unit area of breaking waves that varies with the wave height, wavelength and water depth. This parameterization is implemented in the WAVEWATCH III modeling framework, which is applied to a wide range of conditions and scales, from the global ocean to the beach scale. Wave height, peak and mean periods, and spectral data are validated using in situ and remote sensing data. Model errors are comparable to those of other specialized deep or shallow water parameterizations. This work shows that it is possible to have a seamless parameterization from the deep ocean to the surf zone.

Surf Zone Hydrodynamics and its Utilization in Biotechnical Stabilization of Water Reservoir Banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Pelikán

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The water reservoir banks are eroded mainly by two factors. The first one is wave action (i.e. wave abrasion affecting the bank in direction from the reservoir. The second one is the influence of water flowing downward over the bank surface in direction from land into the reservoir (e.g. rainfall. The determination of regular altitudinal emplacement of proper designed particular biotechnical stabilization elements is the most important factor on which the right functionality of whole construction depends. Surf zone hydrodynamics solves the wave and water level changes inside the region extending from the wave breaking point to the limit of wave up-rush. The paper is focused on the utilization of piece of knowledge from a part of sea coast hydrodynamics and new approach in its application in the conditions of inland water bodies when designing the biotechnical stabilization elements along the shorelines. The “reinforced grass carpets” as a type of biotechnical method of bank stabilization are presented in the paper; whether the growth of grass root system is dependent on presence or absence of geomats in the soil structure and proceeding of their establishment on the shorelines.

Larval fish in the surf zone of Pontal do Sul beach, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Santiago Godefroid

1999-01-01

Full Text Available A total of 6,575 larvae in the preflexion, flexion and post-flexion stages of 15 families, 26 genera and 29 species were captured in the surf zone of Pontal do Sul beach, Paraná, Brazil. Samples of the families Gerreidae and Scianidae predominated and larvae of Eucinostomus argenteus (Baird&Girard, 1854, Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823, Eucinostomus gula (Cuvier, 1830, Menticirrhus ameri-canus (Linnaeus, 1758 and Anchoa tricolor (Agassiz, 1829 were the most dominant species. Greater abundance of larvae was observed during the summer, followed by winter and in a less extent during spring and autumn. The number of species was greater in the summer, and there were no significant differences in the rest of the seasons.

A model for the generation of two-dimensional surf beat

Science.gov (United States)

List, Jeffrey H.

1992-01-01

A finite difference model predicting group-forced long waves in the nearshore is constructed with two interacting parts: an incident wave model providing time-varying radiation stress gradients across the nearshore, and a long-wave model which solves the equations of motion for the forcing imposed by the incident waves. Both shallow water group-bound long waves and long waves generated by a time-varying breakpoint are simulated. Model-generated time series are used to calculate the cross correlation between wave groups and long waves through the surf zone. The cross-correlation signal first observed by Tucker (1950) is well predicted. For the first time, this signal is decomposed into the contributions from the two mechanisms of leaky mode forcing. Results show that the cross-correlation signal can be explained by bound long waves which are amplified, though strongly modified, through the surf zone before reflection from the shoreline. The breakpoint-forced long waves are added to the bound long waves at a phase of pi/2 and are a secondary contribution owing to their relatively small size.

Air pollution problem in the Mexico City metropolitan zone: Photochemical pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez, H.B.; Alvarez, P.S.; Echeverria, R.S.; Jardon, R.T. [Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera (Mexico). Seccion de Contaminacion Ambiental

1997-12-31

Mexico City Metropolitan Zone (MCMZ) represents an example of a megacity where the air pollution problem has reached an important evolution in a very short time, causing a risk in the health of a population of more than 20 million inhabitants. The atmospheric pollution problem in the MCMZ, began several decades ago, but it increased drastically in the middle of the 80`s. It is important to recognize that in the 60`s, 70`s and the first half of the 80`s the main pollutants were sulfur dioxide and total suspended particles. However since the second half of the 80`s until now, ozone is the most important air pollutant besides of the suspended particles (PM{sub 10}) and other toxic pollutants (1--8). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of the ozone atmospheric pollution problem in the MCMZ, as well as to analyze the results of several implemented air pollution control strategies.

Concentrations and temporal variations of /sup 210/Po, /sup 210/Pb, and Al in the surf zone ecosystem of Copalis Beach, Washington

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bennett, J T; Carpenter, R

1979-01-01

Surf diatoms monitored during a 21-month period at Copalis Beach, Washington, contained elevated concentrations of Al, /sup 210/Pb, and supported /sup 210/Po compared to net phytoplankton from Washington coastal waters and Puget Sound. Aluminum concentrations of several percent dry weight found in the surf diatoms were not a reflection of contamination by discrete inorganic particulate matter but were the result of a natural coating of clay-sized particles on Chaetoceros armatum, the predominant diatom in the surfblooms. A high correlation between Al and /sup 210/Pb in the surf diatoms suggests /sup 210/Pb and supported /sup 210/Po were also associated with the clay-sized particles. During fall through spring, the unsupported /sup 210/Po concentrations in the surf diatoms were correlated with the input of /sup 210/Po by precipitation. A summer maximum in unsupported /sup 210/Po concentrations in the surf diatoms may reflect upwelling that causes higher dissolved /sup 210/Po concentrations in the summer surf relative to those of late spring and early fall. The consumers of the surf diatoms exhibited larger /sup 210/Po-activity-to-/sup 210/Pb-activity ratios than their food, indicating /sup 210/Po was preferentially accumulated in the higher trophic level.

Radiotracer technique to study pollutant behavior in the vadose zone for groundwater protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulkarni, U.P.; Sinha, U.K.; Navada, S.V.; Datta, P.S.; Sud, Y.K.; Kulkarni, K.M.; Aggrawal, P.; )

2004-01-01

Pollutants are generated either by industrial or agricultural activity. Pollutants produced due to industrial activities fall into point source category and those generated from agricultural are grouped into extended source category. Under an International Atomic Energy Agency/Coordinated Research Program study, emphasis has been given on transport of pollutants, generated from agricultural activities, in particular, due to the application of fertilizer inputs to a variety of crops. Pollutants take entry through the vadose zone and ultimately join the saturated zone. Once groundwater is polluted it is rather difficult or impossible to take remedial measures for groundwater protection. Groundwater being an important natural resource, it is important to protect it from getting polluted. It is hence essential to have a clear understanding of the complex processes (physical, biological and chemical etc.) undergoing in the unsaturated zone. Radiotracers give good insight about the pollutant behavior in the vadose zone. Tritiated water and 60 Co (a gamma emitting tracer in the cyanide complex form) were used as tracers and were injected at 60 cm depth in the vadose zone of IARI farm for pollutant transport study. Tritium and 60 Co tracer displacements were measured by liquid scintillation and sodium iodide scintillation method respectively. It was found that the tritium tracer moved up to 2.4 meters in six months and part of the tritium tracer was exchanged with immobile water in the soil, as three distinct peaks were observed in tritium profile. 60 Co and tritium tracers were found to move with the same velocity in the vadose zone. These tracer studies indicate that the pollutants may reach the groundwater in about three years. (author)

Attenuation of mining-derived pollutants in the hyporheic zone. A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gandy, C.J.; Jarvis, A.P.; Smith, J.W.N.

2007-01-01

Mine water pollution is a major cause of surface- and groundwater pollution in former mining districts throughout Europe. It is a potential barrier to achieving good status water bodies, which is a requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive. In the UK, a concerted effort has been made over the last decade or so to address the scientific and practical challenges relating to the remediation of mine water pollution. However, most of this work has focused on remediation of point sources of pollution (typically arising from abandoned mines and shafts), while the behaviour of mine water at the groundwater-surface water interface (the 'hyporheic zone') has received far less attention in relevant scientific and engineering literature. The extent of mine water pollution and capacity for its attenuation at the hyporheic zone has not been well quantified while, furthermore, the complex chemical and microbial processes occurring there (specifically with reference to mining-derived pollutants) have not been investigated in any depth. The absence of such data may relate, in a large part, to the difficulty in physically measuring volumes and concentrations associated with these river inputs/exports. A far greater body of literature addresses biogeochemical processes at the hyporheic zone (especially relating to manganese), albeit many such articles relate to aqueous metal dynamics in general, rather than mine water specifically. This paper presents a review of the natural attenuation processes that may limit the movement and availability of mining-derived pollutants at the groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interface, and specifically within the hyporheic zone. A substantial part focuses on precipitation and adsorption processes at the hyporheic zone, as well as discussing the role of microbial processes in governing metal ion mobility. (author)

Attenuation of mining-derived pollutants in the hyporheic zone. A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gandy, C.J.; Jarvis, A.P. [Hydrogeochemical Engineering Research and Outreach (HERO), Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Smith, J.W.N. [Environment Agency, Science Group, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 7HX (United Kingdom); Catchment Science Centre, Sheffield University, Kroto Research Institute, Sheffield, S3 7HQ (United Kingdom)

2007-02-15

Mine water pollution is a major cause of surface- and groundwater pollution in former mining districts throughout Europe. It is a potential barrier to achieving good status water bodies, which is a requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive. In the UK, a concerted effort has been made over the last decade or so to address the scientific and practical challenges relating to the remediation of mine water pollution. However, most of this work has focused on remediation of point sources of pollution (typically arising from abandoned mines and shafts), while the behaviour of mine water at the groundwater-surface water interface (the 'hyporheic zone') has received far less attention in relevant scientific and engineering literature. The extent of mine water pollution and capacity for its attenuation at the hyporheic zone has not been well quantified while, furthermore, the complex chemical and microbial processes occurring there (specifically with reference to mining-derived pollutants) have not been investigated in any depth. The absence of such data may relate, in a large part, to the difficulty in physically measuring volumes and concentrations associated with these river inputs/exports. A far greater body of literature addresses biogeochemical processes at the hyporheic zone (especially relating to manganese), albeit many such articles relate to aqueous metal dynamics in general, rather than mine water specifically. This paper presents a review of the natural attenuation processes that may limit the movement and availability of mining-derived pollutants at the groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interface, and specifically within the hyporheic zone. A substantial part focuses on precipitation and adsorption processes at the hyporheic zone, as well as discussing the role of microbial processes in governing metal ion mobility. (author)

The State of stress in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead South Dakota

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Moo Y. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2016-10-01

As a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SubTER (Subsurface Technology and Engineering Research, Development and Demonstration) initiative, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted the Permeability (k) and Induced Seismicity Management for Energy Technologies (kISMET) project. The objectives of the project are to define the in situ status of stress in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota and to establish the relations between in situ stress and induced fracture through hydraulically stimulating the fracture. (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. In situ tests are conducted in a 7.6 cm diameter and 100 long vertical borehole located in the 4850 Level West Access Drift near Davies Campus of SURF (Figure 1). The borehole is located in the zone of Precambrian Metamorphic Schist.

Medical Aspects of Surfing.

Science.gov (United States)

Renneker, Mark

1987-01-01

The medical aspects of surfing include ear and eye injuries and sprains and strains of the lower back and neck, as well as skin cancer from exposure to the sun. Treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention of these problems are discussed. Surfing is recommended as part of an exercise program for reasonably healthy people. (Author/MT)

Delineation of surf scoter habitat in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland: macrobenthic and sediment composition of surf scoter feeding sites

Science.gov (United States)

Kidwell, D.M.; Perry, M.C.

2005-01-01

Surveys of surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) along the Atlantic coast of the United States have shown population declines in recent decades. The Chesapeake Bay has traditionally been a key wintering area for surf scoters. Past and present research has shown that bivalves constitute a major food item for seaducks in the Chesapeake Bay, with surf scoters feeding primarily on hooked mussel (Ischadium recurvum) and dwarf surf clam (Mulinia lateralis). Degraded water quality conditions in the Chesapeake Bay have been well documented and have been shown to greatly influence the composition of benthic communities. Large concentrations of feeding surf scoters (>500 individuals) in the Bay were determined through monthly boat surveys. Locations consistently lacking surf scoters were also determined. Macrobenthos were seasonally sampled at 3 locations containing scoters and 3 locations without scoters. A 1 kilometer square grid was superimposed over each location using GIS and sampling sites within the square were randomly chosen. Benthos were sampled at each site using SCUBA and a meter square quadrat. Biomass and size class estimates were determined for all bivalves within each kilometer square. Results indicated that scoter feeding sites contained significantly greater biomass of M. lateralis, I. recurvum, and Gemma gemma than locations where no scoters were present. Substrate differences were also detected, with scoter feeding sites being composed of a sand/shell mix while non-scoter sites consisted primarily of mud. This data indicates that surf scoters in the Chesapeake Bay are selecting areas with high densities of preferred food items, potentially maximizing there foraging energetics. In addition, two scoter feeding sites also contained a patchwork of eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and oyster shell, on which much of the I. recurvum was attached. This suggests the possibility that surf scoters utilize eastern oyster habitat and the dramatic depletion of

Surf similarity and solitary wave runup

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuhrman, David R.; Madsen, Per A.

2008-01-01

The notion of surf similarity in the runup of solitary waves is revisited. We show that the surf similarity parameter for solitary waves may be effectively reduced to the beach slope divided by the offshore wave height to depth ratio. This clarifies its physical interpretation relative to a previ...... functional dependence on their respective surf similarity parameters. Important equivalencies in the runup of sinusoidal and solitary waves are thus revealed.......The notion of surf similarity in the runup of solitary waves is revisited. We show that the surf similarity parameter for solitary waves may be effectively reduced to the beach slope divided by the offshore wave height to depth ratio. This clarifies its physical interpretation relative...... to a previous parameterization, which was not given in an explicit form. Good coherency with experimental (breaking) runup data is preserved with this simpler parameter. A recasting of analytical (nonbreaking) runup expressions for sinusoidal and solitary waves additionally shows that they contain identical...

CouchSurfing - a choice for travellers

OpenAIRE

Skog, Christina

2012-01-01

The objective of this thesis was to examine the thoughts and prejudices CouchSurfing evoke in people who had not previously heard of CouchSurfing. Additionally, the views expressed by people who had previously heard about the phenomenon were also studied. The aim was also to determine how these prejudices affected the behaviour of people. The purpose was to understand different aspects and give a more comprehensive picture of CouchSurfing through this thesis. The theoretical framework of ...

THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SURFING TOURISM AT REMOTE DESTINATIONS

OpenAIRE

Hugues Dit Ciles, Emily Kate

2009-01-01

Surfing is an increasing component of the adventure tourism sector. Growth in surfing as a lifestyle, sporting activity and industry has generated a surge of exploration and intrusion by surfing tourism into remote and vulnerable destinations worldwide in the "search" for uncrowded waves at uncharted locations. Consequendy, there have been concerns at the impacts of surfing tourism on coastal, island and marine areas, often characterised by fragile environments and host communi...

Faktor Yang Mendorong Konsumen Membeli Produk Planet Surf

OpenAIRE

Nugraheni, Aninda

2014-01-01

Era Global kini memberikan persaingan ketat bagi beberapa merek produk dalam memasarkan produk. Hal mendasar dalam pemasaran produk dengan promosi yang dilakukan. Beberapa produk lokal dapat terkalahkan oleh merek produk luar. Penelitian ini mengenai produk Planet Surf yang merupakan merek luar mempunyai posisioning produk surfing atau beach wear. Planet Surf menjadi pilihan anak muda karena fashionable dan up-to-date. Planet Surf merupakan toko yang menjual pakaian, sepatu, tas, dompet, d...

Unlimited Relativistic Shock Surfing Acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ucer, D.; Shapiro, V. D.

2001-01-01

Nonrelativistic shock surfing acceleration at quasiperpendicular shocks is usually considered to be a preacceleration mechanism for slow pickup ions to initiate diffusive shock acceleration. In shock surfing, the particle accelerates along the shock front under the action of the convective electric field of the plasma flow. However, the particle also gains kinetic energy normal to the shock and eventually escapes downstream. We consider the case when ions are accelerated to relativistic velocities. In this case, the ions are likely to be trapped for infinitely long times, because the energy of bounce oscillations tends to decrease during acceleration. This suggests the possibility of unlimited acceleration by shock surfing

Surfing-related ocular injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J W; McDonald, H R; Rubsamen, P E; Luttrull, J K; Drouilhet, J H; Frambach, D A; Boyer, D S; Lambrou, F H; Hendrick, A; Weiss, J N; Engstrom, R E; Ing, M

1998-01-01

This report evaluates the clinical characteristics of surfing-related ocular trauma to learn the nature of such injuries and propose possible preventive measures. The authors reviewed 11 cases of surfing-related eye injuries caused by direct trauma from the surfboard, studying their mechanism of injury, the associated ocular complications, and the anatomic and visual outcomes of surgical repair. Surfing-related ocular injuries occurred exclusively in young males (mean age, 24.8 years; range, 14-37 years). The mechanism of injury most frequently responsible was impact with the sharp nose of the surfboard following a fall. Serious posterior segment complications were observed in all 11 patients, with nine patients suffering ruptured globes. Despite immediate medical attention, five patients did not recover ambulatory levels of visual acuity (>5/200). Surfing-related ocular trauma presenting to the retinal specialist typically leaves the patient with a permanent visual disability. Important factors contributing to these high-velocity injuries include the sharply pointed nose of the surfboard and the leash keeping the surfer in close proximity to the board following a fall. A simple modification in surfboard design such as blunting the sharp nose of the surfboard, or appropriate protective guards fitted over the surfboard nose, should lessen the severity of such injuries.

Influence of practice time on surfing injuries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natacha Verônica Bazanella

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: studying the influence of surfing on the prevalence of injuries may contribute to prevention. Objective: to analyze the influence of time practicing sports and the occurrence of previous surgery on the profile and prevalence of injuries caused by surfing. Methods: Sixty-six Brazilian surfers (26.16 ± 0.73 years old participated in this study. Anthropometric data, physical activity level, surfing practice time and the prevalence of injuries (type of injury, anatomical region affected, and mechanism of injury were evaluated. To assess which of the studied variables exerted significant influence on the mean number of injuries, a Poisson log-linear model was adjusted through R software (p < 0.05. Results: most surfers were classified as eutrophic (73%, very active (60.6%, had an average practice time of 10.1 ± 1 years, and were not members of a surfing federation (74%. It was also observed that 90.9% of participants reported injuries caused by surfing and 44.9% affected the lower limbs. The majority of these injuries affected the integumentary system (46.6%. The main mechanism of injury was impact with the board or seabed (40.4%. Furthermore, it was found that surfing federation members presented an average of 58.4% more injuries than non-members (p = 0.007. Surfers who had undergone previous surgeries showed an average number of injuries that was 56.9% higher than other surfers (p = 0.012. In addition, it was found that for each extra year of surfing, the average number of injuries increased by 2.5% (p = 0.0118. Conclusion: the average number of injuries increased with increment in time practicing the sport, previous surgery and membership in a surfing federation.

The usage of color invariance in SURF

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Gang; Jiang, Zhiguo; Zhao, Danpei

2009-10-01

SURF (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) is a robust local invariant feature descriptor. However, SURF is mainly designed for gray images. In order to make use of the information provided by color (mainly RGB channels), this paper presents a novel colored local invariant feature descriptor, CISURF (Color Invariance based SURF). The proposed approach builds the descriptors in a color invariant space, which stems from Kubelka-Munk model and provides more valuable information than the gray space. Compared with the conventional SURF and SIFT descriptors, the experimental results show that descriptors created by CISURF is more robust to the circumstance changes such as the illumination direction, illumination intensity, and the viewpoints, and are more suitable for the deep space background objects.

The Effect of a Single Bout of Surfing on Exercise-Induced Affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Pittsinger, Ryan; Kress, Jeff; Crussemeyer, Jill

2017-01-01

Exercise-induced affect (EIA) has been well documented and is often composed of positive affect, negative affect, tranquility, and fatigue. Research on EIA has focused on mainstream sports such as running, walking, or cycling; however, no research has evaluated the influence of action sports participation in activities such surfing on EIA. The current study examined the effect of a single 30-min surfing bout on EIA in 107 adult volunteers. An additional purpose was if change in affect was similar based on surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level. To assess EIA, each participant completed the Physical Activity Affect Scale (PAAS) prior to and immediately following the 30-min surf session. Dependent t -tests were used to examine differences between pre- and post-test EIA. For the secondary purpose, a change score (PAAS posttest-PAAS pretest) was computed for each subscale. One-way ANOVAs were performed to determine differences among comparisons of surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level, and the change score for each of the 4 subscales. EIA was significantly altered by surfing, with significant improvements in positive affect and tranquility, and significant reductions in negative affect and fatigue. There were no significant differences among surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level, and positive affect, negative affect or tranquility. However, there were significant differences between fatigue and surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level. The results indicate that a single 30-min surfing bout may provide positive benefits for the participant. Implications for future surfing research and EIA are discussed.

The Effect of a Single Bout of Surfing on Exercise-Induced Affect

Science.gov (United States)

PITTSINGER, RYAN; KRESS, JEFF; CRUSSEMEYER, JILL

2017-01-01

Exercise-induced affect (EIA) has been well documented and is often composed of positive affect, negative affect, tranquility, and fatigue. Research on EIA has focused on mainstream sports such as running, walking, or cycling; however, no research has evaluated the influence of action sports participation in activities such surfing on EIA. The current study examined the effect of a single 30-min surfing bout on EIA in 107 adult volunteers. An additional purpose was if change in affect was similar based on surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level. To assess EIA, each participant completed the Physical Activity Affect Scale (PAAS) prior to and immediately following the 30-min surf session. Dependent t-tests were used to examine differences between pre- and post-test EIA. For the secondary purpose, a change score (PAAS posttest-PAAS pretest) was computed for each subscale. One-way ANOVAs were performed to determine differences among comparisons of surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level, and the change score for each of the 4 subscales. EIA was significantly altered by surfing, with significant improvements in positive affect and tranquility, and significant reductions in negative affect and fatigue. There were no significant differences among surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level, and positive affect, negative affect or tranquility. However, there were significant differences between fatigue and surfing history, surfing frequency, and surfing skill level. The results indicate that a single 30-min surfing bout may provide positive benefits for the participant. Implications for future surfing research and EIA are discussed. PMID:29170700

Diel cycles of hydrogen peroxide in marine bathing waters in Southern California, USA: In situ surf zone measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Catherine D.; De Bruyn, Warren J.; Hirsch, Charlotte M.; Aiona, Paige

2010-01-01

Hydrogen peroxide is photochemically produced in natural waters. It has been implicated in the oxidative-induced mortality of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), a microbial water quality measure. To assess levels and cycling of peroxide in beach waters monitored for FIB, diel studies were carried out in surf zone waters in July 2009 at Crystal Cove State Beach, Southern California, USA. Maximum concentrations of 160-200 nM were obtained within 1 h of solar noon. Levels dropped at night to 20-40 nM, consistent with photochemical production from sunlight. Day-time production and night-time dark loss rates averaged 16 ± 3 nM h -1 and 12 ± 4 nM h -1 respectively. Apparent quantum yields averaged 0.07 ± 0.02. Production was largely dominated by sunlight, with some dependence on chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) levels in waters with high absorption coefficients. Peroxide levels measured here are sufficient to cause oxidative-stress-induced mortality of bacteria, affect FIB diel cycling and impact microbial water quality in marine bathing waters.

Verification test of the SURF and SURFplus models in xRage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menikoff, Ralph [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-05-18

As a verification test of the SURF and SURFplus models in the xRage code we use a propagating underdriven detonation wave in 1-D. This is about the only test cases for which an accurate solution can be determined based on the theoretical structure of the solution. The solution consists of a steady ZND reaction zone profile joined with a scale invariant rarefaction or Taylor wave and followed by a constant state. The end of the reaction profile and the head of the rarefaction coincide with the sonic CJ state of the detonation wave. The constant state is required to match a rigid wall boundary condition. For a test case, we use PBX 9502 with the same EOS and burn rate as previously used to test the shock detector algorithm utilized by the SURF model. The detonation wave is propagated for 10 μs (slightly under 80mm). As expected, the pointwise errors are largest in the neighborhood of discontinuities; pressure discontinuity at the lead shock front and pressure derivative discontinuities at the head and tail of the rarefaction. As a quantitative measure of the overall accuracy, the L2 norm of the difference of the numerical pressure and the exact solution is used. Results are presented for simulations using both a uniform grid and an adaptive grid that refines the reaction zone.

A change detection method for remote sensing image based on LBP and SURF feature

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Lei; Yang, Hao; Li, Jin; Zhang, Yun

2018-04-01

Finding the change in multi-temporal remote sensing image is important in many the image application. Because of the infection of climate and illumination, the texture of the ground object is more stable relative to the gray in high-resolution remote sensing image. And the texture features of Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) are outstanding in extracting speed and illumination invariance. A method of change detection for matched remote sensing image pair is present, which compares the similarity by LBP and SURF to detect the change and unchanged of the block after blocking the image. And region growing is adopted to process the block edge zone. The experiment results show that the method can endure some illumination change and slight texture change of the ground object.

Spatial distribution and source apportionment of water pollution in different administrative zones of Wen-Rui-Tang (WRT) river watershed, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Liping; Mei, Kun; Liu, Xingmei; Wu, Laosheng; Zhang, Minghua; Xu, Jianming; Wang, Fan

2013-08-01

Water quality degradation in river systems has caused great concerns all over the world. Identifying the spatial distribution and sources of water pollutants is the very first step for efficient water quality management. A set of water samples collected bimonthly at 12 monitoring sites in 2009 and 2010 were analyzed to determine the spatial distribution of critical parameters and to apportion the sources of pollutants in Wen-Rui-Tang (WRT) river watershed, near the East China Sea. The 12 monitoring sites were divided into three administrative zones of urban, suburban, and rural zones considering differences in land use and population density. Multivariate statistical methods [one-way analysis of variance, principal component analysis (PCA), and absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) methods] were used to investigate the spatial distribution of water quality and to apportion the pollution sources. Results showed that most water quality parameters had no significant difference between the urban and suburban zones, whereas these two zones showed worse water quality than the rural zone. Based on PCA and APCS-MLR analysis, urban domestic sewage and commercial/service pollution, suburban domestic sewage along with fluorine point source pollution, and agricultural nonpoint source pollution with rural domestic sewage pollution were identified to the main pollution sources in urban, suburban, and rural zones, respectively. Understanding the water pollution characteristics of different administrative zones could put insights into effective water management policy-making especially in the area across various administrative zones.

Injuries resulting from car surfing--United States, 1990-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-10-17

"Car surfing" is a term introduced in the mid-1980s to describe a thrill-seeking activity that involves riding on the exterior of a moving motor vehicle while it is being driven by another person. Although reports of car-surfing injuries have been published in the United States, no study to date has analyzed these events from a national perspective. Because traditional public health datasets do not collect morbidity or mortality data on this practice, CDC searched U.S. newspaper reports to provide an initial characterization of car-surfing injuries on a national scale. That analysis identified 58 reports of car-surfing deaths and 41 reports of nonfatal injury from 1990 through August 2008. Most reports of car-surfing injuries came from newspapers in the Midwest and South (75%), and most of the injuries were among males (70%) and persons aged 15-19 years (69%). The first identified newspaper reports about car-surfing injuries were published in the early 1990s, and new reports have been published every year since then. Parents and teens should be aware of the potentially lethal consequences of car surfing, which can occur even at low vehicle speeds, sometimes resulting from unanticipated movements of the vehicle, such as swerving or braking.

Quantification of Surf Zone Bathymetry from Video Observations of Wave Breaking

Science.gov (United States)

Aarninkhof, S.; Ruessink, G.

2002-12-01

Cost-efficient methods to quantify surf zone bathymetry with high resolution in time and space would be of great value for coastal research and management. Automated video techniques provide the potential to do so. Time-averaged video observations of the nearshore zone show bright intensities at locations where waves preferentially break. Highly similar patterns are found from model simulations of depth-induced wave breaking, which show increasing rates of wave dissipation in shallow areas like sand bars. Thus, video observations of wave breaking - at least qualitatively - reflect sub-merged beach bathymetry. In search of the quantification of this relationship, we present a new model concept to map sub-merged beach bathymetry from time-averaged video images. This is achieved by matching model-predicted and video-observed rates of wave dissipation. First, time-averaged image intensities are sampled along a cross-shore array and interpreted in terms of a wave dissipation parameter. This involves a correction for the effect of persistent foam, which is visible at time-averaged video images but not predicted by common wave propagation models. The dissipation profiles thus obtained are used to update an initial beach bathymetry through optimisation of the match between measured and modelled rates of wave dissipation. The latter is done by raising the bottom elevation in areas where the measured dissipation rate exceeds the computed dissipation and vice versa. Since the model includes video data with high resolution in time (typically multiple images over a tidal cycle), it allows for virtually continous monitoring of surfzone bathymetry . Model tests against a synthetic data set of artificially generated wave dissipation profiles have shown the model's capability to accurately reconstruct beach bathymetry, over a wide range of morphological configurations. Maximum model deviations were found in the case of highly developed bar-trough systems (bar heights up to 4 m) and

The characterization of surf tourists in the Algarve

OpenAIRE

Frank, Fabia Hanna

2014-01-01

Dissertação de mestrado, Economia do Turismo e Desenvolvimento Regional, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2014 Even though surf tourism in Portugal is an economic activity with a steady growth rate, there are not many assessment studies available. Using a sample of 240 participants, this dissertation aims to characterize surf tourists that stay in surf camps in the Algarve. Nearly half of all respondents (49,2%) are German. A large proportion of respondents are s...

Youth Homelessness and Vulnerability: How Does Couch Surfing Fit?

Science.gov (United States)

Curry, Susanna R; Morton, Matthew; Matjasko, Jennifer L; Dworsky, Amy; Samuels, Gina M; Schlueter, David

2017-09-01

Youth homelessness is a problem characterized by high levels of vulnerability. The extent to which couch surfing - moving from one temporary housing arrangement to another - is part of youth homelessness is not well understood. Chapin Hall's Voices of Youth Count, a national research initiative, involves a multicomponent approach to studying youth homelessness. This study reports emerging findings regarding couch surfing and homelessness primarily from a national survey of 13,113 adults with youth ages 13-25 in their households or who are themselves ages 18-25. Findings suggest that couch surfing is relatively common, particularly among the older age group. Among households with 13- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 25-year-olds, 4.0% and 20.5%, respectively, reported that any of them had couch surfed in the last 12 months. There are notable social, economic, and educational differences, on average, between youth reporting homelessness and those reporting only couch surfing. However, most youth who report experiencing homelessness also report couch surfing, and these youth who experience both circumstances present high levels of socioeconomic vulnerability. Couch surfing encompasses a range of experiences, some of which likely include need for services. Interviews currently in the field, and expanded analysis of data, will contribute more nuanced policy insights. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

Distribution of pollutants in the Russian sector of the Black Sea coastal zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kos'yan, R.D.; Yesin, N.V.

1999-01-01

For the latest 30-40 years the Black Sea pollution by various pollutants is observed. It is the result of economical activity intensification on the shore and of slow growth of cleaning system capacity. In the coastal zone concentration of pollutants depends on the pollutant amount brought from the source and the process of their distribution and transport to the open sea. Within the Krasnodar region towns of Novorossiisk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi and the ports of Novorossiisk and Tuapse are the main sources of pollutants

Surfing into spirituality and a new, aquatic nature religion.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Bron

2007-01-01

"Soul surfers" consider surfing to be a profoundly meaningful practice that brings physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. They generally agree on where surfing initially developed, that it assumed a religious character, was suppressed for religious reasons, has been undergoing a revival, and enjoins reverence for and protection of nature. This subset of the global surfing community should be understood as a new religious movement-a globalizing, hybridized, and increasingly influential example of what I call aquatic nature religion. For these individuals, surfing is a religious form in which a specific sensual practice constitutes its sacred center, and the corresponding experiences are constructed in a way that leads to a belief in nature as powerful, transformative, healing, and sacred. I advance this argument by analyzing these experiences, as well as the myths, rites, symbols, terminology, technology, material culture, and ethical mores that are found within surfing subcultures.

SURF Model Calibration Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menikoff, Ralph [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-03-10

SURF and SURFplus are high explosive reactive burn models for shock initiation and propagation of detonation waves. They are engineering models motivated by the ignition & growth concept of high spots and for SURFplus a second slow reaction for the energy release from carbon clustering. A key feature of the SURF model is that there is a partial decoupling between model parameters and detonation properties. This enables reduced sets of independent parameters to be calibrated sequentially for the initiation and propagation regimes. Here we focus on a methodology for tting the initiation parameters to Pop plot data based on 1-D simulations to compute a numerical Pop plot. In addition, the strategy for tting the remaining parameters for the propagation regime and failure diameter is discussed.

Redox zones of a landfill leachate pollution plume (Vejen, Denmark)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyngkilde, John; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

1992-01-01

Downgradient from an old municipal landfill allowing leachate, rich in dissolved organic carbon, to enter a shallow sandy aerobic aquifer, a sequence of redoxe zones is identified from groundwater chemical analysis. Below the landfill, methanogenic conditions prevail, followed by sulfidogenic...... the fate of reactive pollutants leached from the landfill....

Genome Surfing As Driver of Microbial Genomic Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Choudoir, Mallory J; Panke-Buisse, Kevin; Andam, Cheryl P; Buckley, Daniel H

2017-08-01

Historical changes in population size, such as those caused by demographic range expansions, can produce nonadaptive changes in genomic diversity through mechanisms such as gene surfing. We propose that demographic range expansion of a microbial population capable of horizontal gene exchange can result in genome surfing, a mechanism that can cause widespread increase in the pan-genome frequency of genes acquired by horizontal gene exchange. We explain that patterns of genetic diversity within Streptomyces are consistent with genome surfing, and we describe several predictions for testing this hypothesis both in Streptomyces and in other microorganisms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sandstone uranium deposits: analogues for surf disposal in some sedimentary rocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brookins, D.G.

1987-01-01

Sandstone uranium deposits are well suited as analogs for SURF. These deposits typically occur as tabular or lensoid masses of uraniferous sandstone, commonly where the argillaceous mineral and organic content is high. Primary minerals consist of pitchblende and/or coffinite, with possibly some urano-organic phases as well. The ore is usually associated with authigenic ferromagnesian clay minerals, such as chlorite and/or authigenic illite and/or mixed layer smectite-illite; and with pyrite ± jordisite ± seleniferrous species ± calcite. Organic matter is usually associated with the ore. The clay minerals in the ore zones are commonly vanadiferrous. The genesis of the sandstone uranium deposits is now fairly well understood and allows semi-quantitative estimates to be placed on behaviour of analog-elements for many constituents of SURF (or HLW). Prior to mineralization, oxidized species of U, V, Se, Mo, As are carried together as oxyanions; these species precipitate in a restricted range of Eh-pH when reducing conditions are met. Concomitant with removal of these species, due to formation of reduced, insoluble species, several other elements of interest are concentrated in the ore zones as well. Chalcophile elements, such as Cu, Co, Mn, Zn, Cd, Sb, and others are fixed in authigenic sulfide phases, and the alkalis Rb, K, and Cs are fixed in the authigenic illite and illitic mixed layer clays. The alkaline earth elements Sr and Ba are commonly fixed in sulfate-rich rock. The rare earth elements (REE) are incorporated into authigenic clay minerals or into oxy-hydroxide phases. (author)

An Analysis of the SURF Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edouard Oyallon

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The SURF method (Speeded Up Robust Features is a fast and robust algorithm for local, similarity invariant representation and comparison of images. Similarly to many other local descriptor-based approaches, interest points of a given image are defined as salient features from a scale-invariant representation. Such a multiple-scale analysis is provided by the convolution of the initial image with discrete kernels at several scales (box filters. The second step consists in building orientation invariant descriptors, by using local gradient statistics (intensity and orientation. The main interest of the SURF approach lies in its fast computation of operators using box filters, thus enabling real-time applications such as tracking and object recognition. The SURF framework described in this paper is based on the PhD thesis of H. Bay [ETH Zurich, 2009], and more specifically on the paper co-written by H. Bay, A. Ess, T. Tuytelaars and L. Van Gool [Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 110 (2008, pp. 346–359]. An implementation is proposed and used to illustrate the approach for image matching. A short comparison with a state-of-the-art approach is also presented, the SIFT algorithm of D. Lowe [International Journal of Computer Vision, 60 (2004, pp. 91–110], with which SURF shares a lot in common.

A role for Heparan Sulfate in Viral Surfing

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Myung-Jin; Akhtar, Jihan; Desai, Prashant; Shukla, Deepak

2009-01-01

Heparan sulfate (HS) moieties on cell surfaces are known to provide attachment sites for many viruses including herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1). Here we demonstrate that cells respond to HSV-1 infection by promoting filopodia formation. Filopodia express HS and are subsequently utilized for the transport of HSV-1 virions to cell bodies in a surfing-like phenomenon, which is facilitated by the underlying actin cytoskeleton and is regulated by transient activation of a small Rho GTPase, Cdc42. We also demonstrate that interaction between a highly conserved herpesvirus envelope glycoprotein B (gB) and HS is required for surfing. A HSV-1 mutant that lacks gB fails to surf and quantum-dots conjugated with gB demonstrate surfing-like movements. Our data demonstrates a novel use of a common receptor, HS, which could also be exploited by multiple viruses and quite possibly, many additional ligands for transport along the plasma membrane. PMID:19909728

A role for heparan sulfate in viral surfing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Myung-Jin; Akhtar, Jihan [Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Desai, Prashant [Viral Oncology Program, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, 1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231 (United States); Shukla, Deepak, E-mail: dshukla@uic.edu [Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States)

2010-01-01

Heparan sulfate (HS) moieties on cell surfaces are known to provide attachment sites for many viruses including herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1). Here, we demonstrate that cells respond to HSV-1 infection by enhancing filopodia formation. Filopodia express HS and are subsequently utilized for the transport of HSV-1 virions to cell bodies in a surfing-like phenomenon, which is facilitated by the underlying actin cytoskeleton and is regulated by transient activation of a small Rho GTPase, Cdc42. We also demonstrate that interaction between a highly conserved herpesvirus envelope glycoprotein B (gB) and HS is required for surfing. A HSV-1 mutant that lacks gB fails to surf and quantum dots conjugated with gB demonstrate surfing-like movements. Our data demonstrates a novel use of a common receptor, HS, which could also be exploited by multiple viruses and quite possibly, many additional ligands for transport along the plasma membrane.

Prevalence of Pterygia in Hawaii: Examining Cumulative Surfing Hours as a Risk Factor.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Alexander D; Miles, Ku'ulei; Brinks, Mitchel V

2016-08-01

To examine the association between surfing and pterygium prevalence in Hawaii. A convenience sampling was performed at four beaches on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. A total of 169 individuals were interviewed and underwent penlight examination to assess grade and extent of pterygium. Of 169 participants aged 18-80 years, 88 non-surfers, 41 occasional surfers, 15 recreational surfers and 25 surfing enthusiasts were identified based on their lifetime surfing hours. Overall, 19 participants were found to have pterygia (28 pterygia total) including two non-surfers (2.3%), five occasional surfers (12.2%), three recreational surfers (20.0%), and nine enthusiast surfers (36.0%). Variables associated with pterygium prevalence were lifetime surfing hours (p surfing hours as the primary explanatory variable. After adjustment for confounders, a significant linear relationship was observed between chord length and lifetime surfing hours (p = 0.01). Surfing was associated with an increased pterygium prevalence and trend towards an association with increased pterygium severity. Increased risk of exposure to wind, particle irritation, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation while surfing may contribute to pterygium development. Implications for public health include promoting UV protective eyewear during surfing, in addition to raising awareness about the association of pterygia and the sport of surfing.

Marketing plan for online surfing magazine

OpenAIRE

Michna, Jakub

2017-01-01

Název: Marketing plan for online surfing magazine Cíle: The main aim of this thesis is to design a marketing plan for launching new online surfing magazine. This project would emerge from present online media Freeride.cz/Water, which adverse situation is going to be analyzed. Metody: Author used interviewing and personal survey as methods. Secondary data collection, PEST analysis and Google Analytics tool served as framework for resulting SWOT analysis. Výsledky: The marketing plan for one ye...

Hyperspectral observation of anthropogenic and biogenic pollution in coastal zone

Science.gov (United States)

Lavrova, Olga; Loupian, Evgeny; Mityagina, Marina; Uvarov, Ivan

The work presents results of anthropogenic and biogenic pollution detection in coastal zones of the Black and Caspian Seas based on satellite hyperspetral data provided by the Hyperion and HICO instruments. Techniques developed on the basis of the analysis of spectral characteristics calculated in special points were employed to address the following problems: (a) assessment of the blooming intensity of cyanobacteria and their distribution in bays of western Crimea and discrimination between anthropogenic pollutant discharge events and algae bloom; (b) detection of anthropogenic pollution in Crimean lakes utilized as industrial liquid discharge reservoirs; (c) detection of oil pollution in areas of shelf oil production in the Caspian Sea. Information values of different spectral bands and their composites were estimated in connection with the retrieval of the main sea water components: phytoplankton, suspended matter and colored organic matter, and also various anthropogenic pollutants, including oil. Software tools for thematic hyperspectral data processing in application to the investigation of sea coastal zones and internal water bodies were developed on the basis of the See the Sea geoportal created by the Space Research Institute RAS. The geoportal is focused on the study of processes in the world ocean with the emphasis on the advantages of satellite systems of observation. The tools that were introduced into the portal allow joint analysis of quasi-simultaneous satellite data, in particular data from the Hyperion, HICO, OLI Landsat-8, ETM Landsat-7 and TM Landsat-5 instruments. Results of analysis attempts combining data from different sensors are discussed. Their strong and weak points are highlighted. The study was completed with partial financial support from The Russian Foundation for Basic Research grants # 14-05-00520-a and 13-07-12017.

Inventory of conventional atmospheric pollutant emissions in the Cali-Yumbo zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaramillo, Mauricio; Nunez, Maria Eugenia; Ocampo, William; Perez, Diego; Portilla, Gloria

2004-01-01

This work presents the results of the emission inventory of criteria pollutants (VOC's, PM 1 0, CO, NO x and SO x ) from anthropogenic sources for the Cali-Yumbo urban area in Colombia in 1997. Area, point and mobile sources, were considered in the study. Four point sources; reports to environmental authorities from 108 industries in the area were analyzed. The method of emission factors was employed to relate production activity with pollutant emissions, and the MOBILE 6.0 model was applied to calculate vehicular emissions. This analysis will be useful to generate urban environmental management projects, to develop pollutant dispersion models, and to contribute criteria for improved air quality monitoring and prediction in the zone of interest

The greenscape shapes surfing of resource waves in a large migratory herbivore.

Science.gov (United States)

Aikens, Ellen O; Kauffman, Matthew J; Merkle, Jerod A; Dwinnell, Samantha P H; Fralick, Gary L; Monteith, Kevin L

2017-06-01

The Green Wave Hypothesis posits that herbivore migration manifests in response to waves of spring green-up (i.e. green-wave surfing). Nonetheless, empirical support for the Green Wave Hypothesis is mixed, and a framework for understanding variation in surfing is lacking. In a population of migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), 31% surfed plant phenology in spring as well as a theoretically perfect surfer, and 98% surfed better than random. Green-wave surfing varied among individuals and was unrelated to age or energetic state. Instead, the greenscape, which we define as the order, rate and duration of green-up along migratory routes, was the primary factor influencing surfing. Our results indicate that migratory routes are more than a link between seasonal ranges, and they provide an important, but often overlooked, foraging habitat. In addition, the spatiotemporal configuration of forage resources that propagate along migratory routes shape animal movement and presumably, energy gains during migration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Pollution characterization of waste water of an industrial zone - Example of a dairy water clarification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazourli, S.; Ziati, M.; Boudiba, L.; Fedaoui, D.

2009-01-01

The objective of this study is the estimation of the polluting load generated by domestic effluents added to those of various industries in one of the most important industrial zone in Africa. Analysis of waste water showed strong and irregular pollution which is prejudicial for the aquatic receiving medium (river, sea). This pollution is confirmed among others by COD/BOD ratio which may attain the value of 1.8. Pre-treatment by coagulation floculation of waste water used in a dairy belonging to this industrial zone showed a considerable reduction of the initial pollution by a systematic decreasing of pollution parameters. Aluminium sulphates and iron chloride tested in this experience have reduced considerably all the studied parameters; the organic charge has received a very significant reduction up to 99%. The discharge of treated effluent in the surrounding river or its use for recycling aims is then possible for this industry. However, the formed sludge can be the subject of a suitable treatment for possible agricultural, avicolous valorisation or other. (author)

DIOPS: A PC-Based Wave, Tide and Surf Prediction System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Allard, Richard; Dykes, James; Kaihatu, James; Wakeham, Dean

2005-01-01

The Distributed Integrated Ocean Prediciton System (DIOPS) is a PC-based wave tide and surf prediction system designed to provide DoD accurate and timely surf predictions for essentially any world-wide location...

SURF II: Characteristics, facilities, and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madden, R.P.; Canfield, R.; Furst, M.; Hamilton, A.; Hughey, L.

1992-01-01

This facility report describes the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF II) operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland. SURF II is a 300-MeV electron storage ring which provides well characterized continuum radiation from the far infrared to the soft x-ray region with the critical wavelength at 17.4 nm. Brief descriptions are given of the user facilities, the characteristics of the synchrotron radiation, the main storage ring, the injector system and each of the operating beam lines, and associated instruments. Further description is given of expansion plans for additional beam lines

Global assessment of surfing conditions: seasonal, interannual and long-term variability

Science.gov (United States)

Espejo, A.; Losada, I.; Mendez, F.

2012-12-01

International surfing destinations owe a great debt to specific combinations of wind-wave, thermal conditions and local bathymetry. As surf quality depends on a vast number of geophysical variables, a multivariable standardized index on the basis of expert judgment is proposed to analyze surf resource in a worldwide domain. Data needed is obtained by combining several datasets (reanalyses): 60-year satellite-calibrated spectral wave hindcast (GOW, WaveWatchIII), wind fields from NCEP/NCAR, global sea surface temperature from ERSST.v3b, and global tides from TPXO7.1. A summary of the global surf resource is presented, which highlights the high degree of variability in surfable events. According to general atmospheric circulation, results show that west facing low to middle latitude coasts are more suitable for surfing, especially those in Southern Hemisphere. Month to month analysis reveals strong seasonal changes in the occurrence of surfable events, enhancing those in North Atlantic or North Pacific. Interannual variability is investigated by comparing occurrence values with global and regional climate patterns showing a great influence at both, global and regional scales. Analysis of long term trends shows an increase in the probability of surfable events over the west facing coasts on the planet (i.e. + 30 hours/year in California). The resulting maps provide useful information for surfers and surf related stakeholders, coastal planning, education, and basic research.; Figure 1. Global distribution of medium quality (a) and high quality surf conditions probability (b).

Implementation of the vortex force formalism in the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system for inner shelf and surf zone applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Nirnimesh; Voulgaris, George; Warner, John C.; Olabarrieta, Maitane

2012-01-01

The coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport modeling system (COAWST) enables simulations that integrate oceanic, atmospheric, wave and morphological processes in the coastal ocean. Within the modeling system, the three-dimensional ocean circulation module (ROMS) is coupled with the wave generation and propagation model (SWAN) to allow full integration of the effect of waves on circulation and vice versa. The existing wave-current coupling component utilizes a depth dependent radiation stress approach. In here we present a new approach that uses the vortex force formalism. The formulation adopted and the various parameterizations used in the model as well as their numerical implementation are presented in detail. The performance of the new system is examined through the presentation of four test cases. These include obliquely incident waves on a synthetic planar beach and a natural barred beach (DUCK' 94); normal incident waves on a nearshore barred morphology with rip channels; and wave-induced mean flows outside the surf zone at the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO).

Microbial community of cyanobacteria mats in the intertidal zone of oil-polluted coast of Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Thukair, A A; Abed, R M M; Mohamed, L

2007-02-01

Cyanobacterial mats are found at various locations along the coast of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Those mats were affected by severe oil pollution following 1991 oil spill. In this study, samples from Abu Ali Island were collected at three selected sampling sites across the intertidal zone (Lower, Middle, and Upper) in order to understand the effect of extreme environmental conditions of high salinity, temperature and desiccation on distribution of cyanobacteria along the oil polluted intertidal zone. Our investigation of composition of cyanobacteria and diatoms was carried out using light microscopy, and Denaturant Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. Light microscopy identification revealed dominant cyanobacteria to be affiliated with genera Phormidium, Microcoleus, and Schizothrix, and to a lesser extent with Oscillatoria, Halothece, and various diatom species. The analysis of DGGE of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA fragments showed that the diversity of cyanobacteria decreases as we proceed from the lower to the upper intertidal zone. Accordingly, the tidal regime, salinity, elevated ambient air temperature, and desiccation periods have a great influence on the distribution of cyanobacterial community in the oil polluted intertidal zone of Abu Ali Island.

Green‐wave surfing increases fat gain in a migratory ungulate

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, Arthur D.; Merkle, Jerod A.; McWhirter, Douglas E.; Cook, John G.; Cook, Rachel C.; White, P.J.; Kauffman, Matthew J.

2018-01-01

Each spring, migratory herbivores around the world track or ‘surf’ green waves of newly emergent vegetation to distant summer or wet‐season ranges. This foraging tactic may help explain the great abundance of migratory herbivores on many seasonal landscapes. However, the underlying fitness benefits of this life‐history strategy remain poorly understood. A fundamental prediction of the green‐wave hypothesis is that migratory herbivores obtain fitness benefits from surfing waves of newly emergent vegetation more closely than their resident counterparts. Here we evaluate whether this behavior increases body‐fat levels – a critically important correlate of reproduction and survival for most ungulates – in elk Cervus elaphus of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Using satellite imagery and GPS tracking data, we found evidence that migrants (n = 23) indeed surfed the green wave, occupying sites 12.7 days closer to peak green‐up than residents (n = 16). Importantly, individual variation in surfing may help account for up to 6 kg of variation in autumn body‐fat levels. Our findings point to a pathway for anthropogenic changes to the green wave (e.g. climate change) or migrants’ ability to surf it (e.g. development) to impact migratory populations. To explore this possibility, we evaluated potential population‐level consequences of constrained surfing with a heuristic model. If green‐wave surfing deteriorates by 5–15 days from observed, our model predicts up to a 20% decrease in pregnancy rates, a 2.5% decrease in population growth, and a 30% decrease in abundance over 50 years. By linking green‐wave surfing to fitness and illustrating potential effects on population growth, our study provides new insights into the evolution of migratory behavior and the prospects for the persistence of migratory ungulate populations in a changing world.

Computing OpenSURF on OpenCL and General Purpose GPU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanglong Yan

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Speeded-Up Robust Feature (SURF algorithm is widely used for image feature detecting and matching in computer vision area. Open Computing Language (OpenCL is a framework for writing programs that execute across heterogeneous platforms consisting of CPUs, GPUs, and other processors. This paper introduces how to implement an open-sourced SURF program, namely OpenSURF, on general purpose GPU by OpenCL, and discusses the optimizations in terms of the thread architectures and memory models in detail. Our final OpenCL implementation of OpenSURF is on average 37% and 64% faster than the OpenCV SURF v2.4.5 CUDA implementation on NVidia's GTX660 and GTX460SE GPUs, repectively. Our OpenCL program achieved real-time performance (>25 Frames Per Second for almost all the input images with different sizes from 320*240 to 1024*768 on NVidia's GTX660 GPU, NVidia's GTX460SE GPU and AMD's Radeon HD 6850 GPU. Our OpenCL approach on NVidia's GTX660 GPU is more than 22.8 times faster than its original CPU version on Intel's Dual-Core E5400 2.7G on average.

Chemical and Isotopes study of pollutants transport through unsaturated zone in Damascus oasis (Syria)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abou Zakhem, B.; Hafez, R.

2011-08-01

The primary objectives of this study were to determine the hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater and to study vertical transport processes for trace elements through the unsaturated zone, from the surface water into the groundwater system. A third objective is to identifying the importance of the unsaturated zone in protecting groundwater from contamination. Distribution of trace elements, including Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd, Zn and As in the soil with depth were studied. Mineralogy was investigated using X-Ray diffraction techniques and granulometry in three drilled soil profile (KA, KB and KS) in Damascus Oasis, which indicated that the soil consists mainly of calcite, a mineral that has the ability to bind some of the trace elements. Measurement of nitrate concentrations in groundwater permitted an investigation of the urban, industrial and agricultural pollution in the Oasis, in particular, in the eastern part of Damascus city and in the north of Oasis where the irrigation by treated wastewater is applied. Depending on the chemical characteristics of the studied trace elements and soil conditions, these elements have high concentrations in the upper part of the soil (20-30 cm depth), due to absorption by clay minerals and organic matter. These high concentrations represent pollution by leather industries (tannery) in the area. The trace element concentrations decrease towards the east in parallel with river flow direction. The lower part of profiles show low trace element concentrations, below the international permitted limit. The low concentrations of trace elements in groundwater which are also below the international limit, indicates no pollution is presented. The isotopic composition of shallow groundwater indicates the underground recharge, originated from the Anti-Lebanon Mountain, is more significant than the direct recharge through unsaturated zone. It is concluded the unsaturated zone and the decrease of groundwater levels have played an

Cardiac-vessels system violations of children moved from radiation polluted zones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobovich, A.A.; Kokorina, N.V.

2008-01-01

In the work are presented results of circulation system status and heard pre-pathology processes of 60 children moved from radiation polluted zones. Some connections between cardiac-vessels system violation and neural system violations are ascertained. Role of neural system functions fallen down and non-adaptive cardiac-vessels system changes in pathogenesis are discussed. (authors)

Models and observations of foam coverage and bubble content in the surf zone

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, J. T.; Shi, F.; Holman, R. A.

2010-12-01

column motion. Preliminary steps to calibrate and verify the resulting models will be taken based on results to be collected during the Surf Zone Optics experiment at Duck, NC in September 2010. Initial efforts will focus on an examination of breaking wave patterns and persistent foam distributions, using ARGUS imagery.

Pollution of the sediments of the coastal zone of the Sambia Peninsula and the Curonian Spit (Southeastern Baltic Sea).

Science.gov (United States)

Krek, Alexander; Krechik, Viktor; Danchenkov, Aleksandr; Krek, Elena

2018-01-01

The detailed environmental survey of the coastal zone of the Kaliningrad Region northern coast was carried out. The pollutants distribution in the silty clay fraction and calculation of ecological indexes allowed the evaluation of distribution of potentially harmful elements (PHEs). The sources of pollution in the most intensively used areas were identified, and transit and accumulation zones were allocated. A large area of anomalous content of PHEs was revealed on the underwater coastal slope of the Curonian Spit National Park, which is situated far from the sources of pollution. The alongshore bed load transport provides the contamination of the underwater slope whereas the beaches are less exposed to pollution.

E-based Humanities and E-humanities on a SURF platform

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kircz, J.G.

2004-01-01

As of 2003, SURF enables three platforms: ICT and Research, Education, and Organisation. Within these programmes, SURF has funds available to promote ICT innovations. Innovation is not an easy notion to explain. Too often we encounter new wine in old bottles and changes in vocabulary frequently

Parents' Perspectives on Surf Therapy for Children with Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Adam M.; Clapham, Emily D.; Deeney, Theresa A.

2018-01-01

This qualitative study was designed to understand parents' perceptions of their children's participation in an inclusive surf therapy programme in the United States. Ten parents and one caregiver were interviewed about theirs and their children's experience in the surf programme. Parent discussions centred on the child, parent/caregiver,…

Qualitative Task Analysis to Enhance Sports Characterization: A Surfing Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moreira Miguel

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to develop a Matrix of Analysis for Sports Tasks (MAST, regardless of the sports activity, based on practice classification and task analysis. Being this a qualitative research our main question was: in assessing sports’ structure is it possible to make the characterization of any discipline through context and individuals’ behaviours? The sample was within a surf discipline in a competition flowing having 5 of the top 16 Portuguese surfers training together. Based on a qualitative method, studying the surf as the main activity was an interpretative study case. The MAST was applied in four phases: taxonomy; tasks and context description; task analysis; teaching and performance strategies. Its application allowed the activities’ characterization through the observation, surfer’s opinions and bibliographical support. The triangulation of the data was used as an information data treatment. The elements were classified by the challenges proposed to the practitioners and the taxonomy was constituted by the sport activities, group, modality and discipline. Surf is a discipline of surfing which is a sliding sport modality, therefore, a nature sport. In the context description, we had the wave’s components and constraints and the surfboards’ qualities. Through task analysis we obtained a taxonomy of surf manoeuvres. The structural and functional analysis allowed finding solutions for learning of surf techniques with trampoline and skateboards because these fit in sliding sports. MAST makes possible the development of strategies that benefit teaching and performance intervention

Qualitative Task Analysis to Enhance Sports Characterization: A Surfing Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Miguel; Peixoto, César

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a Matrix of Analysis for Sports Tasks (MAST), regardless of the sports activity, based on practice classification and task analysis. Being this a qualitative research our main question was: in assessing sports’ structure is it possible to make the characterization of any discipline through context and individuals’ behaviours? The sample was within a surf discipline in a competition flowing having 5 of the top 16 Portuguese surfers training together. Based on a qualitative method, studying the surf as the main activity was an interpretative study case. The MAST was applied in four phases: taxonomy; tasks and context description; task analysis; teaching and performance strategies. Its application allowed the activities’ characterization through the observation, surfer’s opinions and bibliographical support. The triangulation of the data was used as an information data treatment. The elements were classified by the challenges proposed to the practitioners and the taxonomy was constituted by the sport activities, group, modality and discipline. Surf is a discipline of surfing which is a sliding sport modality, therefore, a nature sport. In the context description, we had the wave’s components and constraints and the surfboards’ qualities. Through task analysis we obtained a taxonomy of surf manoeuvres. The structural and functional analysis allowed finding solutions for learning of surf techniques with trampoline and skateboards because these fit in sliding sports. MAST makes possible the development of strategies that benefit teaching and performance intervention. PMID:25414757

Émergences et diffusions mondiales du surf

OpenAIRE

Coëffé, Vincent; Guibert, Christophe; Taunay, Benjamin

2013-01-01

La diffusion du surf à travers le monde illustre les dimensions matérielles et idéelles d’un processus singulier qui dépasse la simple question des règles sportives et des possibilités économiques de pratique. La problématique de la mondialisation du surf – et donc de ses « codages » symboliques à travers le monde – contribue ainsi à questionner les sports comme exemples de processus d’appropriation des pratiques et des normes culturelles qui leur sont associées. Sont ainsi analysées les émer...

Improved SURF Algorithm and Its Application in Seabed Relief Image Matching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Hong-Mei

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The matching based on seabed relief image is widely used in underwater relief matching navigation and target recognition, etc. However, being influenced by various factors, some conventional matching algorithms are difficult to obtain an ideal result in the matching of seabed relief image. SURF(Speeded Up Robust Features algorithm is based on feature points pair to achieve matching, and can get good results in the seabed relief image matching. However, in practical applications, the traditional SURF algorithm is easy to get false matching, especially when the area’s features are similar or not obvious, the problem is more seriously. In order to improve the robustness of the algorithm, this paper proposes an improved matching algorithm, which combines the SURF, and RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus algorithms. The new algorithm integrates the two algorithms advantages, firstly, the SURF algorithm is applied to detect and extract the feature points then to pre-match. Secondly, RANSAC algorithm is utilized to eliminate mismatching points, and then the accurate matching is accomplished with the correct matching points. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm overcomes the mismatching problem effectively and have better precision and faster speed than the traditional SURF algorithm.

Reductions in Sprint Paddling Ability and Countermovement Jump Performance After Surfing Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Secomb, Josh L; Sheppard, Jeremy M; Dascombe, Ben J

2015-07-01

The present study aimed to determine whether any meaningful change in a surfer's sprint paddling ability and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance developed after a 2-hour surfing training session and also whether any physical demands of the surfing session were related to the resultant changes in the capacities. Fifteen competitive male surfing athletes (age, 22.1 ± 3.9 years; height, 175.4 ± 6.4 cm; body mass, 72.5 ± 7.7 kg) performed a 2-hour surfing training session, with 15-m sprint paddle and CMJ trials performed both before and after the surfing session. Pre- to posttesting measures were analyzed using magnitude-based inferences. Likely declines were observed in the velocity achieved at the 5-, 10-, and 15-m splits of the 15-m sprint paddle, as well as peak velocity. Similarly, likely declines were calculated for CMJ peak force, relative peak force, and jump height. Furthermore, large correlations were calculated between presurfing session peak velocity and the change in 5, 10, 15 m, and peak velocity of the 15-m sprint paddle and total distance covered, wave riding bouts, and success rate. Surfing athletes and coaches may need to consider implementing shorter duration training sessions to reduce the decline in sprint paddling ability and CMJ performance. Furthermore, surfing athletes should possess highly developed sprint paddling ability because this may allow them to undertake a greater workload and catch more waves, which will increase the opportunity for technical refinement of maneuvers and skill acquisition.

Remote sensing in the mixing zone. [water pollution in Wisconsin

Science.gov (United States)

Villemonte, J. R.; Hoopes, J. A.; Wu, D. S.; Lillesand, T. M.

1973-01-01

Characteristics of dispersion and diffusion as the mechanisms by which pollutants are transported in natural river courses were studied with the view of providing additional data for the establishment of water quality guidelines and effluent outfall design protocols. Work has been divided into four basic categories which are directed at the basic goal of developing relationships which will permit the estimation of the nature and extent of the mixing zone as a function of those variables which characterize the outfall structure, the effluent, and the river, as well as climatological conditions. The four basic categories of effort are: (1) the development of mathematical models; (2) laboratory studies of physical models; (3) field surveys involving ground and aerial sensing; and (4) correlation between aerial photographic imagery and mixing zone characteristics.

SURF: Taking Sustainable Remediation from Concept to Standard Operating Procedure (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, L. M.; Wice, R. B.; Torrens, J.

2013-12-01

Over the last decade, many sectors of industrialized society have been rethinking behavior and re-engineering practices to reduce consumption of energy and natural resources. During this time, green and sustainable remediation (GSR) has evolved from conceptual discussions to standard operating procedure for many environmental remediation practitioners. Government agencies and private sector entities have incorporated GSR metrics into their performance criteria and contracting documents. One of the early think tanks for the development of GSR was the Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF). SURF brings together representatives of government, industry, consultancy, and academia to parse the means and ends of incorporating societal and economic considerations into environmental cleanup projects. Faced with decades-old treatment programs with high energy outputs and no endpoints in sight, a small group of individuals published the institutional knowledge gathered in two years of ad hoc meetings into a 2009 White Paper on sustainable remediation drivers, practices, objectives, and case studies. Since then, SURF has expanded on those introductory topics, publishing its Framework for Integrating Sustainability into Remediation Projects, Guidance for Performing Footprint Analyses and Life-Cycle Assessments for the Remediation Industry, a compendium of metrics, and a call to improve the integration of land remediation and reuse. SURF's research and members have also been instrumental in the development of additional guidance through ASTM International and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. SURF's current efforts focus on water reuse, the international perspective on GSR (continuing the conversations that were the basis of SURF's December 2012 meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC), and ways to capture and evaluate the societal benefits of site remediation. SURF also promotes and supports student chapters at universities across the US

Car surfing: an uncommon cause of traumatic injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, T; Timberlake, G; Yeager, A; Jadali, M; Royer, K

1999-02-01

Car surfing is an infrequent cause of traumatic injuries treated by emergency physicians. This very dangerous activity can result in serious injury or death. We report 5 cases of injuries caused by car surfing seen at our hospital during 1996 and 1997. All involved head injuries after a fall from a moving motor vehicle. There were 3 male and 2 female patients, and 3 cases were fatal. Health care providers should be aware of this type of injury and support efforts to prevent it.

Surfing depth on a behaviour change website: predictors and effects on behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Nele; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Claes, Neree

2010-03-01

The primary objectives of the present study were to gain insight into website use and to predict the surfing depth on a behaviour change website and its effect on behaviour. Two hundred eight highly educated adults from the intervention condition of a randomised trial received access to a medical intervention, individual coaching (by e-mail, post, telephone or face-to-face) and a behaviour change website. Website use (e.g. surfing depth, page view duration) was registered. Online questionnaires for physical activity and fat intake were filled out at baseline and after 6 months. Hierarchical linear regression was used to predict surfing depth and its effect on behaviour. Seventy-five per cent of the participants visited the website. Fifty-one and fifty-six per cent consulted the physical activity and fat intake feedback, respectively. The median surfing depth was 2. The total duration of interventions by e-mail predicted deeper surfing (beta=0.36; pSurfing depth did not predict changes in fat intake (beta=-0.07; p=0.45) or physical activity (beta=-0.03; p=0.72). Consulting the physical activity feedback led to more physical activity (beta=0.23; p=0.01). The findings from the present study can be used to guide future website development and improve the information architecture of behaviour change websites.

Strategic Management at Mormaii - the Brazilian Surf Industry Leader

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos Abilio Bosquetti

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The sport of surfing has been growing rapidly in popularity worldwide and Brazil is among the countries with the largest surfing population, behind the United States and Australia, however, multinational surf companies are rushing in emerging markets like Brazil to find new opportunities for growth. This paper intends to provide insights on how local companies in these markets can overcome and even take advantage of differences with global competitors by re-thinking their core competencies and business models. Therefore, empirical research applying qualitative case study methodology was developed to investigate the role of strategy in the surf industry - a fairly unexplored research topic. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with the founder and CEO and the executive directors at the Brazilian surf industry leader - Mormaii, were conducted to understand how the 4-decade local company found its way to success. Although the theories: RBV, Core Competencies, and Dynamic Capabilities complement each other and help to explain firms’ performance and strategic choices, in empirical studies strategy has been analyzed only by one or another theory. Therefore, the simultaneous use of these three theories intended to fill this gap in the literature and bring more consistency to the discussion of this case study. As a result, this empirical study illustrates the RBV perspective, which stems from the principle that the source of firms’ competitive advantage lies in their internal resources and capabilities, rather than simply evaluating environmental opportunities and threats in conducting business. It also highlights the role that core competence and dynamic capabilities play in the company’s virtuous circle of sustainable growth and provides practitioners clues for re-thinking their strategies.

The Role of Core Stability in Surfing : According to a Delphi Panel

OpenAIRE

Airaksinen, Liisa

2013-01-01

Core stability has been widely discussed in physiotherapy. Yet, no consensus has been reached on the anatomy, tasks or benefits of core stability. Good core stability has been proven to decrease low-back pain and prevent specifically female athletes’ from getting lower extremity injuries. Surfing has become an extremely popular sport. As a surfer I am intrigued to know what the exact role of core stability in surfing is. There are a limited number of studies on surfing and most of...

Stopover habitats of spring migrating surf scoters in southeast Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Lok, E.K.; Esler, Daniel; Takekawa, John Y.; De La Cruz, S.W.; Sean, Boyd W.; Nysewander, D.R.; Evenson, J.R.; Ward, D.H.

2011-01-01

Habitat conditions and nutrient reserve levels during spring migration have been suggested as important factors affecting population declines in waterfowl, emphasizing the need to identify key sites used during spring and understand habitat features and resource availability at stopover sites. We used satellite telemetry to identify stopover sites used by surf scoters migrating through southeast Alaska during spring. We then contrasted habitat features of these sites to those of random sites to determine habitat attributes corresponding to use by migrating scoters. We identified 14 stopover sites based on use by satellite tagged surf scoters from several wintering sites. We identified Lynn Canal as a particularly important stopover site for surf scoters originating throughout the Pacific winter range; approximately half of tagged coastally migrating surf scoters used this site, many for extended periods. Stopover sites were farther from the mainland coast and closer to herring spawn sites than random sites, whereas physical shoreline habitat attributes were generally poor predictors of site use. The geography and resource availability within southeast Alaska provides unique and potentially critical stopover habitat for spring migrating surf scoters. Our work identifies specific sites and habitat resources that deserve conservation and management consideration. Aggregations of birds are vulnerable to human activity impacts such as contaminant spills and resource management decisions. This information is of value to agencies and organizations responsible for emergency response planning, herring fisheries management, and bird and ecosystem conservation. Copyright ?? 2011 The Wildlife Society.

The Role of Infragravity Waves in Near-Bed Cross-Shore Sediment Flux in the Breaker Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Kularatne

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Results from a series of field experiments, conducted to investigate the influence of infragravity waves (from wave groups, ripple type and location relative to the breaker line on cross-shore suspended sediment flux close to the sea bed in nearshore environments, are presented. The field data were collected from Cable Beach (Broome and Mullaloo Beach in Western Australia and Chilaw in Sri Lanka. These beaches experience different incident wave, tidal and morphological conditions, with Cable Beach having a 10-m spring tidal range, whilst the other two beaches have tidal ranges <1.0 m. Measurements included simultaneous records of surface elevation, two-dimensional horizontal current velocities and suspended sediment concentrations, together with half-hourly observations of the seabed topography. Although most of the data sets were obtained just outside of the surf zone, a few results from inside of the surf zone were also included. A significant correlation between wave groups and suspended sediment concentration was found at all of the measurement sites, either with or without bed ripples. The direction and magnitude of cross-shore suspended sediment flux varied with location with respect to the breaker line; however, other parameters, such as bed ripples and velocity skewness, could have influenced this result. In Broome, where the measurement location with respect to the breaker line varied with the tidal cycle, the cross-shore sediment flux due to swell waves was shoreward inside and just outside of the surf zone and seaward farther offshore of the breaker line. Further, sediment flux due to swell waves was onshore when the seabed was flat and offshore over post-vortex ripples. Sediment flux due to swell waves was onshore when the normalised velocity skewness towards the shore was high (positive; the flux was offshore when the skewness was lower, but positive, suggesting the influence of other parameters, such as ripples and grain size. The

Data on cytochrome c oxidase assembly in mice and human fibroblasts or tissues induced by SURF1 defect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikola Kovářová

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes data related to a research article entitled “Tissue- and species-specific differences in cytochrome c oxidase assembly induced by SURF1 defects” [1]. This paper includes data of the quantitative analysis of individual forms of respiratory chain complexes I, III and IV present in SURF1 knockout (SURF1−/− and control (SURF1+/+ mouse fibroblasts and tissues and in fibroblasts of human control and patients with SURF1 gene mutation. Also it includes data demonstrating response of complex IV, cytochrome c oxidase (COX, to reversible inhibition of mitochondrial translation in SURF1−/− mouse and SURF1 patient fibroblast cell lines.

The rate of beneficial mutations surfing on the wave of a range expansion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rémi Lehe

Full Text Available Many theoretical and experimental studies suggest that range expansions can have severe consequences for the gene pool of the expanding population. Due to strongly enhanced genetic drift at the advancing frontier, neutral and weakly deleterious mutations can reach large frequencies in the newly colonized regions, as if they were surfing the front of the range expansion. These findings raise the question of how frequently beneficial mutations successfully surf at shifting range margins, thereby promoting adaptation towards a range-expansion phenotype. Here, we use individual-based simulations to study the surfing statistics of recurrent beneficial mutations on wave-like range expansions in linear habitats. We show that the rate of surfing depends on two strongly antagonistic factors, the probability of surfing given the spatial location of a novel mutation and the rate of occurrence of mutations at that location. The surfing probability strongly increases towards the tip of the wave. Novel mutations are unlikely to surf unless they enjoy a spatial head start compared to the bulk of the population. The needed head start is shown to be proportional to the inverse fitness of the mutant type, and only weakly dependent on the carrying capacity. The precise location dependence of surfing probabilities is derived from the non-extinction probability of a branching process within a moving field of growth rates. The second factor is the mutation occurrence which strongly decreases towards the tip of the wave. Thus, most successful mutations arise at an intermediate position in the front of the wave. We present an analytic theory for the tradeoff between these factors that allows to predict how frequently substitutions by beneficial mutations occur at invasion fronts. We find that small amounts of genetic drift increase the fixation rate of beneficial mutations at the advancing front, and thus could be important for adaptation during species invasions.

Air pollution measurements in a semi-arid zone, using neutron activation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shani, G; Cohen, D [Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Beersheba (Israel). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

1977-12-01

Neutron activation analysis was used for measurement of air pollution in a semi-arid zone. After a careful selection of the air filter, air samples were filtered in the city of Beer-Sheva in the south of Israel. The sampling took place over a period of 2 months with each sampling period lasting 2 days. The samples were irradiated in a thermal neutron flux of the order of 10/sup 13/ n/cm/sup 2/ sec for 1 h and the gamma spectrum was measured several times. The concentration of elements was concluded from the measured gamma spectrum. Several conclusions were obtained by combining the weather conditions with the measurement results. The air pollution can be divided into several sources: dust of a certain origin containing Fe, Co, Cr, Sc, Th and Na (probably from the Dead Sea area), other dust sources containing Sb, Eu, and Hf, and urban pollution due to industry and transportation-Br, Hg. The air pollution has its maxima and minima according to weather or industrial conditions. The pollution requires 4 days to clear out. Other relations to weather conditions were also found.

Air pollution measurements in a semi-arid zone, using neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shani, G.; Cohen, D.

1977-01-01

Neutron activation analysis was used for measurement of air pollution in a semi-arid zone. After a careful selection of the air filter, air samples were filtered in the city of Beer-Sheva in the south of Israel. The sampling took place over a period of 2 months with each sampling period lasting 2 days. The samples were irradiated in a thermal neutron flux of the order of 10 13 n/cm 2 sec for 1 h and the gamma spectrum was measured several times. The concentration of elements was concluded from the measured gamma spectrum. Several conclusions were obtained by combining the weather conditions with the measurement results. The air pollution can be divided into several sources: dust of a certain origin containing Fe, Co, Cr, Sc, Th and Na (probably from the Dead Sea area), other dust sources containing Sb, Eu, and Hf, and urban pollution due to industry and transportation-Br, Hg. The air pollution has its maxima and minima according to weather or industrial conditions. The pollution requires 4 days to clear out. Other relations to weather conditions were also found. (Auth.)

On the Potential of Surfers to Monitor Environmental Indicators in the Coastal Zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewin, Robert J W; de Mora, Lee; Jackson, Thomas; Brewin, Thomas G; Shutler, Jamie

2015-01-01

The social and economic benefits of the coastal zone make it one of the most treasured environments on our planet. Yet it is vulnerable to increasing anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Coastal management aims to mitigate these pressures while augmenting the socio-economic benefits the coastal region has to offer. However, coastal management is challenged by inadequate sampling of key environmental indicators, partly due to issues relating to cost of data collection. Here, we investigate the use of recreational surfers as platforms to improve sampling coverage of environmental indicators in the coastal zone. We equipped a recreational surfer, based in the south west United Kingdom (UK), with a temperature sensor and Global Positioning System (GPS) device that they used when surfing for a period of one year (85 surfing sessions). The temperature sensor was used to derive estimates of sea-surface temperature (SST), an important environmental indicator, and the GPS device used to provide sample location and to extract information on surfer performance. SST data acquired by the surfer were compared with data from an oceanographic station in the south west UK and with satellite observations. Our results demonstrate: (i) high-quality SST data can be acquired by surfers using low cost sensors; and (ii) GPS data can provide information on surfing performance that may help motivate data collection by surfers. Using recent estimates of the UK surfing population, and frequency of surfer participation, we speculate around 40 million measurements on environmental indicators per year could be acquired at the UK coastline by surfers. This quantity of data is likely to enhance coastal monitoring and aid UK coastal management. Considering surfing is a world-wide sport, our results have global implications and the approach could be expanded to other popular marine recreational activities for coastal monitoring of environmental indicators.

On the Potential of Surfers to Monitor Environmental Indicators in the Coastal Zone.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert J W Brewin

Full Text Available The social and economic benefits of the coastal zone make it one of the most treasured environments on our planet. Yet it is vulnerable to increasing anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Coastal management aims to mitigate these pressures while augmenting the socio-economic benefits the coastal region has to offer. However, coastal management is challenged by inadequate sampling of key environmental indicators, partly due to issues relating to cost of data collection. Here, we investigate the use of recreational surfers as platforms to improve sampling coverage of environmental indicators in the coastal zone. We equipped a recreational surfer, based in the south west United Kingdom (UK, with a temperature sensor and Global Positioning System (GPS device that they used when surfing for a period of one year (85 surfing sessions. The temperature sensor was used to derive estimates of sea-surface temperature (SST, an important environmental indicator, and the GPS device used to provide sample location and to extract information on surfer performance. SST data acquired by the surfer were compared with data from an oceanographic station in the south west UK and with satellite observations. Our results demonstrate: (i high-quality SST data can be acquired by surfers using low cost sensors; and (ii GPS data can provide information on surfing performance that may help motivate data collection by surfers. Using recent estimates of the UK surfing population, and frequency of surfer participation, we speculate around 40 million measurements on environmental indicators per year could be acquired at the UK coastline by surfers. This quantity of data is likely to enhance coastal monitoring and aid UK coastal management. Considering surfing is a world-wide sport, our results have global implications and the approach could be expanded to other popular marine recreational activities for coastal monitoring of environmental indicators.

Water pollution in estuaries and coastal zones. (Latest citations from the NTIS bibliographic database). Published Search

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-02-01

The bibliography contains citations concerning the studies of water pollution in estuaries and coastal zones. Citations examine the development, management, and protection of estuary and coastal resources. Topics include pollution sources, environmental monitoring, water chemistry, eutrophication, models, land use, government policy, and laws and regulations. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.) (Copyright NERAC, Inc. 1995)

KARAKTERISTIK, MOTIVASI DAN NIAT WISATAWAN SURFING DI PANTAI KECAMATAN KUTA UTARA

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Ni Putu Windy Pramita

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Black sandy beach tourist attraction of Kuta Northen region that is Batu Bolong beach and Batu Mejan beach which has potential a beautifull oncean, sunset, sunbathing and surfingthe purpose of this study was to determinethe characteristics, motivasi, and intentions rating surfing at Kuta Northen beach. The method used observation, questionnaires, interviews, literature study, and documentation. 213 respondens rating surfing with quantitative descriptive and regression linier analisys. The result obtained in this study are based on age characteristics surfing travelers will see the most travelers age between 18-29 years, male gender, country of origin Australia, and is a businessman, a master degree educational level, and marital status is not married. Surfing tourist motivation using push and pull factor with the highest scores on the social interaction. And Intention surfing tourist with the highest score there is positive world of mouth with Variabel tourist have the effect of 13,20% with a probability level of sig. 0,000, the motivation positive and significant efeect on the intention tourist but in small quantities. Therefore to improve the intention tourist come to the beach district of north kuta from the motivation pull and push should also improve the quality of beaches such as keeping the beach becomes the most importans thing that will directly make tourist feel comfortable. advice for managers is to add a lifeguard to keep the beach.

PENGEMBANGAN SELANCAR (SURFING MELALUI PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT (COMMUNITY BASED DEVELOPMENT DI KAWASAN WISATA PANTAI KUTA, KABUPATEN BADUNG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. L. Henny Andayani

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Kuta merupakan salah satu kawasan wisata di Kabupaten Badung yang dilengkapi dengan beragam fasilitas wisata, seperti restoran, bar, hotel, laundry, dan money changer. Keberadaan kawasan wisata Kuta tidak terlepas dari atraksi wisata utama berupa keindahan pantai dengan pasir putihnya. Beragam aktifitas wisata seperti berjemur, dan surfing, dapat dilakukan di Kuta. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk (1 Mengetahui keterlibatan dan peran serta masyarakat local dalam pengembangan potensi wisata selancar (surfing selama ini (2 Mengetahui strategi pengembangan aktifitas wisata selancar (surfing sebagai daya tarik wisata baharí/tirta di Bali dengan memberdayakan masyarakat lokal. Pendekatan yang dilakukan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan kualitatif dengan menggunakan teknik pengumpulan data, wawancara, observasi dan studi dokumentasi. Data yang diperoleh selanjutnya dianalisis dengan matriks internal eksternal dan dilanjutkan dengan analisis SWOT. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa peran serta dan keikutsertaan masyarakat lokal dalam pengembangan selancar (surfing di kawasan wisata Kuta masih sedikit. Para pelaku dan investor mayoritas berasal dari luar wilayah Kuta. Berdasarkan analisis SWOT didapatkan strategi alternatif yang perlu dikembangkan di Kuta, antara lain: pengembangan surfing berbasis masyarakat lokal di kawasan Kuta, pengembangan usaha jasa pelayanan surfing yang dimiliki dan dikelola oleh masyarakat lokal, strategi peningkatan keamanan dan kenyamanan bagi wisatawan yang melakukan kegiatan surfing di Kawasan Kuta, dan strategi pengembangan kelembagaan terhadap kegiatan surfing.

EVALUATION OF SIFT AND SURF FOR VISION BASED LOCALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Qu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Vision based localization is widely investigated for the autonomous navigation and robotics. One of the basic steps of vision based localization is the extraction of interest points in images that are captured by the embedded camera. In this paper, SIFT and SURF extractors were chosen to evaluate their performance in localization. Four street view image sequences captured by a mobile mapping system, were used for the evaluation and both SIFT and SURF were tested on different image scales. Besides, the impact of the interest point distribution was also studied. We evaluated the performances from for aspects: repeatability, precision, accuracy and runtime. The local bundle adjustment method was applied to refine the pose parameters and the 3D coordinates of tie points. According to the results of our experiments, SIFT was more reliable than SURF. Apart from this, both the accuracy and the efficiency of localization can be improved if the distribution of feature points are well constrained for SIFT.

SurfCut: Free-Boundary Surface Extraction

KAUST Repository

Algarni, Marei Saeed Mohammed; Sundaramoorthi, Ganesh

2016-01-01

We present SurfCut, an algorithm for extracting a smooth simple surface with unknown boundary from a noisy 3D image and a seed point. In contrast to existing approaches that extract smooth simple surfaces with boundary, our method requires less user

SURF IA Conflict Detection and Resolution Algorithm Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Denise R.; Chartrand, Ryan C.; Wilson, Sara R.; Commo, Sean A.; Barker, Glover D.

2012-01-01

The Enhanced Traffic Situational Awareness on the Airport Surface with Indications and Alerts (SURF IA) algorithm was evaluated in a fast-time batch simulation study at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center. SURF IA is designed to increase flight crew situation awareness of the runway environment and facilitate an appropriate and timely response to potential conflict situations. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of the SURF IA algorithm under various runway scenarios, multiple levels of conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) system equipage, and various levels of horizontal position accuracy. This paper gives an overview of the SURF IA concept, simulation study, and results. Runway incursions are a serious aviation safety hazard. As such, the FAA is committed to reducing the severity, number, and rate of runway incursions by implementing a combination of guidance, education, outreach, training, technology, infrastructure, and risk identification and mitigation initiatives [1]. Progress has been made in reducing the number of serious incursions - from a high of 67 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 to 6 in FY2010. However, the rate of all incursions has risen steadily over recent years - from a rate of 12.3 incursions per million operations in FY2005 to a rate of 18.9 incursions per million operations in FY2010 [1, 2]. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also considers runway incursions to be a serious aviation safety hazard, listing runway incursion prevention as one of their most wanted transportation safety improvements [3]. The NTSB recommends that immediate warning of probable collisions/incursions be given directly to flight crews in the cockpit [4].

SurF: an innovative framework in biosecurity and animal health surveillance evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Muellner, Petra; Watts, Jonathan; Bingham, Paul; Bullians, Mark; Gould, Brendan; Pande, Anjali; Riding, Tim; Stevens, Paul; Vink, Daan; Stärk, Katharina Dc

2018-05-16

Surveillance for biosecurity hazards is being conducted by the New Zealand Competent Authority, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to support New Zealand's biosecurity system. Surveillance evaluation should be an integral part of the surveillance life cycle, as it provides a means to identify and correct problems and to sustain and enhance the existing strengths of a surveillance system. The surveillance evaluation Framework (SurF) presented here was developed to provide a generic framework within which the MPI biosecurity surveillance portfolio, and all of its components, can be consistently assessed. SurF is an innovative, cross-sectoral effort that aims to provide a common umbrella for surveillance evaluation in the animal, plant, environment and aquatic sectors. It supports the conduct of the following four distinct components of an evaluation project: (i) motivation for the evaluation, (ii) scope of the evaluation, (iii) evaluation design and implementation and (iv) reporting and communication of evaluation outputs. Case studies, prepared by MPI subject matter experts, are included in the framework to guide users in their assessment. Three case studies were used in the development of SurF in order to assure practical utility and to confirm usability of SurF across all included sectors. It is anticipated that the structured approach and information provided by SurF will not only be of benefit to MPI but also to other New Zealand stakeholders. Although SurF was developed for internal use by MPI, it could be applied to any surveillance system in New Zealand or elsewhere. © 2018 2018 The Authors. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases Published by Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Management of Ecological-Economic Processes of Pollution Accumulation and Assimilation in the Coastal Zone Marine Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.E. Timchenko

2017-02-01

Full Text Available A model for managing the balance of pollution (getting into the sea with the coastal runoff assimilation and accumulation, based on the negative feedback between the coastal economic system efficiency and penalties for the sea coastal zone pollution is proposed. The model is constructed by the Adaptive Balance of Causes method and is intended for finding a rational balance of profit from the use of assimilative resources of the marine environment and the costs of maintaining its quality. The increase of pollutions in the coastal zone is taken as proportional to the volume of product realization. The decrease of pollution concentration is related to the environment protection activities paid for by the production. The model contains the agents for managing the volume of the economic system generalized production release. The agents control pollution accumulation rate at different ones of the bio-chemical processes resulting in the marine environment natural purification. Scenario analysis of ecological-economic processes in the “Land–Sea” system is carried out, and the dependencies of economic subsystem production profitability on penalty sanctions limiting the pollutant flux getting into the sea are constructed. Sea temperature and water mass dynamics effect on these processes is considered. The scenarios of their intra-annual variability are constructed. It is shown that the sea temperature and near-water wind consideration in the model have a significant effect on marine environment pollution level and production profitability. The conclusion is that the proposed adaptive simulation model “Sea–Land” can be used for forecasting the scenarios of coastal subsystem production processes (the volume of generalized product manufacturing, production cost, profitability in parallel with the forecast of pollution concentration in the sea scenarios.

Environmental pollution and health in the metropolitan zone of Mexico Valley

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, T.; Lartigue, J.; Cabrera, L.; Ramirez, A.

2002-01-01

Concerned about pollution in the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico Valley and its effects on inhabitant's health, the Faculty of Chemistry has been performing the monitoring of radon levels and heavy metals in environmental samples, since 1992. Samples consisted in aerosol fillers classified as Total Suspended Particles (TSP) and Respirable Particles (PM10) as well as dry fallout. Surveys were carried out in several zones covering the MZMV and different seasons along successive years. Metallic elements were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), X-Ray Fluorescence (dispersive and total reflection) and other techniques. Simultaneously, TSP and PM10 were determined by gravimetry. Annual radon gas concentration was determined with passive electret system (type E-PERM) and short radon decay products with a continuous working level monitor. This work presents the distribution an evolution of metallic pollutants in the MZMV. The effective equivalent dose for radon, calculated by the measured annual mean values of Radon and its short decay products, are 1.233 mSvy -1 in good agreement with the world average reported by UNSCEAR of 1.3 mSvy -1 . Despite of substantial progress in elimination of Lead sources (primarily from the phase-out leaded gasoline and regulations to reduce motorized traffic as part of stricter environmental laws) well correlated with a dramatic diminution of 91% in the geometric mean (2.00 μg dL -1 compared with that of 1980, 22.2 μg dL -1 ), the risk of Lead exposure is stilI present. Besides, TSP and PM10 concentration continue at levels above annual average concentration specified in the Mexican Norm. It makes necessary the continuity in efforts targeted to diminish the pollution and also epidemiological studies to relate its effects on population health and suggest guidelines. (Author)

NBS SURF 11: A small versatile synchrotron light source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rakowsky, G.

1981-01-01

Synchrotron radiation sources do not have to be large multi-megadollar installations. SURF II is based on a compact electron storage ring with a radius of only 0.84 m, an operating energy of 250 MeV, and useful light output down to 5 nm. Small beam size, high brightness and wide-angle light ports give SURF II unique capabilities. Presently five beamlines are instrumented and operational, supporting experiments in atomic and molecular physics, surface science and materials studies, as well as providing optical calibration services. Nearing completion is a large facility for calibrating optical instruments, especially those intended for space flight. The capability of determining the absolute light flux emitted by SURF II has recently been improved and is now operational. The technique employs ultralinear silicon photodiodes to detect and count individual electrons in the stored beam. Other user conveniences include close access to the machine, flexible scheduling and close interaction with the operations staff. The machine's simplicity contributes to reliability and a high ratio of beamtime to downtime

Heart Rate Responses of High School Students Participating in Surfing Physical Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Bravo, Michelle M; Cummins, Kevin M; Nessler, Jeff A; Newcomer, Sean C

2016-06-01

Despite the nation's rising epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes, schools struggle to promote physical activities that help reduce risks for cardiovascular disease. Emerging data suggest that adopting novel activities into physical education (PE) curriculum may serve as an effective strategy for increasing physical activity in children. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize activity in the water and heart rates (HRs) of high school students participating in surf PE courses. Twenty-four male (n = 20) and female (n = 4) high school students (mean age = 16.7 ± 1.0 years) who were enrolled in surf PE courses at 2 high schools participated in this investigation. Daily measurements of surfing durations, average HR, and maximum HR were made on the students with HR monitors (PolarFT1) over an 8-week period. In addition, HR and activity in the water was evaluated during a single session in a subset of students (n = 11) using a HR monitor (PolarRCX5) and a video camera (Canon HD). Activity and HR were synchronized and evaluated in 5-second intervals during data analyses. The average duration that PE students participated in surfing during class was 61.7 ± 1.0 minutes. Stationary, paddling, wave riding, and miscellaneous activities comprised 42.7 ± 9.5, 36.7 ± 7.9, 2.9 ± 1.4, and 17.8 ± 11.4 percent of the surf session, respectively. The average and maximum HRs during these activities were 131.1 ± 0.9 and 177.2 ± 1.0 b·min, respectively. These data suggest that high school students participating in surf PE attained HRs and durations that are consistent with recommendations with cardiovascular fitness and health. In the future, PE programs should consider incorporating other action sports into their curriculum to enhance cardiovascular health.

Predicting self-pollution inside school buses using a CFD and multi-zone coupled model

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fei; Lee, Eon S.; Liu, Junjie; Zhu, Yifang

2015-04-01

The in-cabin environment of a school bus is important for children's health. The pollutants from a bus's own exhaust contribute to children's overall exposure to air pollutants inside the school bus cabin. In this study, we adapted a coupled model originally developed for indoor environment to determine the relative contribution of the bus own exhaust to the in-cabin pollutant concentrations. The coupled model uses CFD (computational fluent dynamics) model to simulate outside concentration and CONTAM (a multi-zone model) for inside the school bus. The model was validated with experimental data in the literature. Using the validated model, we analyzed the effects of vehicle speed and tailpipe location on self-pollution inside the bus cabin. We confirmed that the pollution released from the tailpipe can penetrate into the bus cabin through gaps in the back emergency door. We found the pollution concentration inside school buses was the highest when buses were driven at a medium speed. In addition, locating the tailpipe on the side, behind the rear axle resulted in less self-pollution since there is less time for the suction effect to take place. The developed theoretical framework can be generalized to study other types of buses. These findings can be used in developing policy recommendations for reducing human exposure to air pollution inside buses.

Goddard and Caldwell Oahu, Hawaii Surf Observation Dataset for 1968-2004 (NODC Accession 0001754)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surf reports are typically made several times per day at select locations around Oahu, primarily by Honolulu City and County lifeguards and the Surf News Network,...

Comparison of risks due to HLW and SURF repositories in bedded salt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, M.S.Y.; Ortiz, N.R.; Wahi, K.K.

1983-01-01

A methodology was developed for use in the analysis of risks from geologic disposal of nuclear wastes. This methodology is applied to two conceptual nuclear waste repositories in bedded salt containing High-Level Waste (HLW) and Spent Un-Reprocessed Fuel (SURF), respectively. A comparison of the risk estimated from the HLW and SURF repositories is presented

Investigation of Vertical Migration of Pollutants through the Unsaturated Zone Using Stable Isotopes and Trace Elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, M.A.

2012-01-01

Vertical migration of pollutants through unsaturated zone is a complicated process and is affected by a number of factors like type of soil, its chemical properties, or organic matter content, in addition to climatic conditions and biological activity of microorganisms in soil. Soil properties that influence water movement through unsaturated zone are important for determining flow paths, reactions between soil and pollutants and the ultimate destination of these pollutants, and may improve the diagnosis of the potential pollution risk. Three soil cores were sampled to a depth up to 100 cm from cultivated clayey soil, sewage irrigated sandy soil and fertilized sandy soil. The samples were collected at intervals of 5 or 10 cm. The δ 13 C signature of the soil shifted significantly towards that of C 3 -type vegetation in soil cores. The general trend toward heavier 13 C enrichment with depth could be due to isotopic fractionation occurring during decomposition of soil organic matters. Increased δ 15 N with depth in the soil cores suggests that microbial mineralization, denitrification, or volatilization processes caused the enriched δ 15 N signatures. Decreasing nitrogen percent and nitrate values with depth also help support the idea of microbiological processes. The results indicate that concentrations of major and trace elements varied widely among the different soil types and decreased with depths in the studied soil profile. The accumulation pattern for these elements in the soil profiles follows the order: Co < Ni < Mo < Ag < Sr < V < Cu < Cr < Zn < Mn < B < Mg < Al < Fe. The relationships between element concentrations against ph and organic matter contents show antithetical relationships and suggest evidence that these elements arise from anthropogenic input. The results of this study show that there exists risk for the environment due to notable migration of pollutants through the unsaturated zone and that the migrations were also observed to be highly

LES ZONES HUMIDES DE FONDS DE VALLEE ET LA REGULATION DES POLLUTIONS AZOTEES DIFFUSES

OpenAIRE

Clement , Jean-Christophe

2001-01-01

Depuis une vingtaine d'années, les zones humides de bas-fonds, véritables interfaces entre les bassins versants agricoles et les cours d'eau, sont connues pour être capables de réguler les pollutions azotées diffuses. Cependant, cette capacité est fonction de bon nombre de paramètres qui jouent sur l'efficacité réelle de ces zones tampons. De nombreuses tentatives d'aménagements se sont d'ailleurs soldées par des échecs en partie à raison de la méconnaissance de ces différents facteurs. En Br...

Tracking image features with PCA-SURF descriptors

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Pancham, A

2015-05-01

Full Text Available IAPR International Conference on Machine Vision Applications, May 18-22, 2015, Tokyo, JAPAN Tracking Image Features with PCA-SURF Descriptors Ardhisha Pancham CSIR, UKZN South Africa apancham@csir.co.za Daniel Withey CSIR South Africa...

Characterization of Activity and Cardiovascular Responses During Surfing in Recreational Male Surfers Between the Ages of 18 and 75 Years Old.

Science.gov (United States)

LaLanne, Christine L; Cannady, Michael S; Moon, Joseph F; Taylor, Danica L; Nessler, Jeff A; Crocker, George H; Newcomer, Sean C

2017-04-01

Participation in surfing has evolved to include all age groups. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether activity levels and cardiovascular responses to surfing change with age. Surfing time and heart rate (HR) were measured for the total surfing session and within each activity of surfing (paddling, sitting, wave riding, and miscellaneous). Peak oxygen consumption (VO 2peak ) was also measured during laboratory-based simulated surfboard paddling on a modified swim bench ergometer. VO 2peak decreased with age during simulated paddling (r = -.455, p surfing (p = .837) and time spent within each activity of surfing did not differ with age (n = 160). Mean HR during surfing significantly decreased with age (r = -.231, p = .004). However, surfing HR expressed as a percent of age-predicted maximum increased significantly with age. Therefore, recreational surfers across the age spectrum are achieving intensities and durations that are consistent with guidelines for cardiovascular health.

Clay-oil flocculation during surf washing at the Sea Empress incident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, P.; Lunel, T.; Bailey, N.; Lee, K.

1997-01-01

Results of investigations into clay-oil flocculation during surf washing of oiled cobbles at Marros Beach, as a response to oiling during the Sea Empress incident, were summarized. Stranded oil on the cobble storm beach was found to associate with fine minerals and form flocs when introduced into sea water. The emulsions persisted for about 14 days after the oiling, after which it begun to disintegrate. After 50 days the remaining emulsion was found to be unstable and penetrated the beach to depths of up to three meters. Since no evidence of biodegradation was found during this period, oil reduction was attributed to sheening, facilitated by tidal fluctuations. Surf washing operation was undertaken over a seven day period beginning 47 days after the spill. Some 8150 tonnes of oiled cobbles were moved a distance of between 12 and 18 m seaward along a length of 850 m. Analysis of samples after two days following surf washing showed that oil concentration did not exceed 22 ppm, compared to 700 ppm before relocation. The significant reduction was considered to have been the result of enhanced oil dispersion coupled with the effects of the surf washing operations. 10 refs., 7 tabs., 10 figs

Environmental Awareness of Surf Tourists: A Case Study in the Algarve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabia Frank

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Even though surf tourism in Portugal is an economic activity with a steady growth rate, there are not many assessment studies available. Using a survey undertaken in surf camps located in the Vila do Bispo County, this study aims to analyse the environmental awareness of surf tourists in the Algarve. Through the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP scale it is shown that the environmental attitudes of respondents are strongly pro-ecological but also reveal some anthropocentric aspects. Tourists were asked about their willingness to pay for an accommodation tax earmarked for environmental protection in the Algarve. The results show that the large majority (86% would be willing to pay, which indicates a high environmental awareness. It is also found that the willingness to pay is related to the nationality, with respondents from Germany, Austria and Switzerland showing a higher willingness to pay.

Car surfing: an underreported mechanism of serious injury in children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Geiger, J D; Newsted, J; Drongowski, R A; Lelli, J L

2001-01-01

Car surfing, in which participants stand on top of a moving vehicle as though it were a surfboard, has been reported as a cause of traumatic injury in only 5 cases in the literature. Over the last 8 years, however, the authors have treated 26 children, primarily adolescents, for injuries resulting from car surfing. This report describes the injuries and outcomes of this potentially underreported mechanism of injury. Medical records of 26 patients treated for car surfing injuries between 1991 and 1999 were reviewed. Demographics, hospital course, and type and severity of injuries were analyzed. Eighteen boys (69%) and 8 girls (31%) with an average age of 15.7+/-3.4 years (range, 6 to 22) have presented with injuries related to car surfing. All patients had fallen from the hood, roof, or trunk of a moving motor vehicle, the majority falling from the hood (n = 13; 50%). Injury severity was evaluated using the Injury Severity Scores (ISS; 12.4+/-6.5), Revised Trauma Score (RTS; 7.5+/- 1.1) and Glasgow Coma Score (GCS; 13.5+/-3.2). Injury severity was equivalent between boys and girls (P>.05). Central nervous system injuries predominated, with closed head injuries occurring in 22 (85%) and loss of consciousness in 10 (39%). Skull fractures occurred in 11 (42%) and intracranial bleeding in 9 (35%). Long-term cognitive rehabilitation was necessary in 22 (85%) patients. Three patients (12%) had spinal column fractures, with 2 (8%) suffering permanent paralysis. Two extremity (8%) and 3 (11.7%) pelvic fractures occurred. Most patients (73%) suffered significant skin and soft tissue injuries. Two patients (8%) presented with solid visceral injuries, and 1 child died. Car surfing is an extremely high-risk behavior in children and adolescents that leads to significant morbidity, long-term disability, and is potentially fatal. The incidence of car surfing may be greater than has been reported previously; therefore, prevention programs aimed at discouraging this high

Study on Low Illumination Simultaneous Polarization Image Registration Based on Improved SURF Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wanjun; Yang, Xu

2017-12-01

Registration of simultaneous polarization images is the premise of subsequent image fusion operations. However, in the process of shooting all-weather, the polarized camera exposure time need to be kept unchanged, sometimes polarization images under low illumination conditions due to too dark result in SURF algorithm can not extract feature points, thus unable to complete the registration, therefore this paper proposes an improved SURF algorithm. Firstly, the luminance operator is used to improve overall brightness of low illumination image, and then create integral image, using Hession matrix to extract the points of interest to get the main direction of characteristic points, calculate Haar wavelet response in X and Y directions to get the SURF descriptor information, then use the RANSAC function to make precise matching, the function can eliminate wrong matching points and improve accuracy rate. And finally resume the brightness of the polarized image after registration, the effect of the polarized image is not affected. Results show that the improved SURF algorithm can be applied well under low illumination conditions.

Goddard and Caldwell: Oahu, Hawaii surf observation data set for 1968 - 2004 (NODC Accession 0001754)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surf reports are typically made several times per day at select locations around Oahu, primarily by Honolulu City and County lifeguards and the Surf News Network,...

Fatal accidents due to train surfing in Berlin.

Science.gov (United States)

Strauch, H; Wirth, I; Geserick, G

1998-06-08

This study was undertaken for the purpose of analysing under the aspect of legal medicine, fatal accidents due to train surfing in the local transport system of Berlin (S-Bahn and underground). The period of investigation was from 1989 through 1995, with 41 train surfing accidents, among them 18 with fatal outcome. Evaluation included those 14 deaths which were forensically autopsied. It was based on autopsy records of Berlin-based university institutes (Humboldt University and Free University) as well as the Brandenburg State Institute of Legal Medicine. Also used were data obtained from the Berlin Transport Police Record. The casualties were aged between 13 and 25 years, most of them between 16 and 20. The male-female gender ratio was 13:1. Accidents occurred above all in the warmer season of the year, most of them between 20:00 h and midnight. More than 50% of all cases were affected by alcohol, but centrally acting medicaments or other addictive drugs were not noticed at all. Most of the fatal accidents occurred to users of the Berlin S-Bahn network. Older train models were the preferred surfing objects due to their structural peculiarities. Collision with close-to-track obstacles and slipping from the train proved to be the major sources of danger. An analysis of injuries revealed polytraumatisation but for one exception, with craniocerebral injuries being the most common and severest events. The longest survival time amounted to 24 h. As the psychosocial causes of high-risk behaviour of adolescents will hardly be controllable, withdrawal of technical, that is structural design possibilities appears to be the most important approach to prevention of accidents in the future. This demand is met by the new series of the Berlin S-Bahn. The model of the old series, suitable for surfing, still accounts for about 10% of the rolling stock and is to be decommissioned in 1998.

Exploring Critical Alternatives for Youth Development through Lifestyle Sport: Surfing and Community Development in Aotearoa/New Zealand

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Belinda Wheaton

2017-12-01

Full Text Available While competition-based team sports remain dominant in community and sport-for-development programs, researchers are exploring the value of alternative, less “sportized” activities such as lifestyle/action sports. In this paper, we explore the ways in which surfing is being used in development programs in Aotearoa/New Zealand, examining the perceived social benefits and impact. Our methods involved: (a mapping the range of surfing projects; and (b 8 in-depth interviews with program personnel. Widespread conviction in the positive developmental benefits of surfing was evident, and that surfing had a “special” capacity to reform or heal those who participate in it. However, the ways in which individuals’ self-developments were promoted appear to be following the traditional sport/youth development path. They focus on policies aimed at improved life chances, equipping youth with the tools for self-improvement and self-management, inculcating self-governance and self-reliance. However, a counter narrative co-existed, highlighting surfing as a freeing experience, which, rather than restoring social order, works to instigate a personal transformation or awakening. Despite the range of challenges presented by surfing as a tool for positive development, surfing presents a potentially “critical alternative” which if sport-for-development programs are to be a form of social change, we should remain open to exploring.

Modelling of hydrodynamic mechanisms of pollutant propagation in coastal zones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benque, J.P.

1982-11-01

The results of this document have to be distinguished in mathematical models applicable to small-area problems (horizontal scale comparable to depth) and models applicable to large-area phenomena (horizontal scales much greater than depth, quasi-hydrostatic approximation). In the case of the former, progress remains to be made in the simulation of turbulence and in the development of algorithms applicable under often very complex geometrical conditions. Excellent results are obtained by combining mathematical models with reduced-scale models, the former (on larger scales) providing the boundary conditions for the tank of the physical models. Large-area problems can be tackled only by means of mathematical models. These models are extremely efficient for the calculation of mesoscale circulation and transport of pollutants, but they all run into the same difficulty of simulating long-term problems and of determining drift currents. The principal difficulty faced by mesoscale or macroscale models is the determination of atmospheric conditions and of boundary conditions in the open sea. Mathematical models make it possible to determine the situation at every point of a given coastal zone and require only the conditions at the boundaries of the zone for this purpose. However, although these conditions at the boundary correspond to an experimental effort small in relation to total surveillance of the zone, they are essential to the predictions of the mathematical model, and efforts must be made to obtain the best possible boundary conditions. In addition to these experimental surveys at the boundaries, a certain number of observations within the zone are needed for the calibration of the model, i.e. for the determination of certain numerical coefficients appearing in the parametrization

MOCEAN SURF WEAR -MALLISTO

OpenAIRE

Lehtovaara, Hanna

2013-01-01

Surffi on urheilulaji, jossa kuljetaan aallon päällä surffilaudalla. Surffaus on lähtöisin Polynesiasta, mutta nykypäivänä surffausta harrastetaan ympäri maailmaa. Opinnäytetyö käsittelee surf wear -malliston suunnittelua ja toteuttamista omalle toi-minimelle Mocean. Työn tavoitteena oli suunnitella toimiva, mutta myös trendikäs mallisto naissurffareille. Mallisto sisältää bikineitä, surffipaitoja legginsejä ja shortseja. Mallisto on suunniteltu naissurffareille, jotka surffaavat lämpimis...

Observations of wave-induced pore pressure gradients and bed level response on a surf zone sandbar

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Dylan; Cox, Dan; Mieras, Ryan; Puleo, Jack A.; Hsu, Tian-Jian

2017-06-01

Horizontal and vertical pressure gradients may be important physical mechanisms contributing to onshore sediment transport beneath steep, near-breaking waves in the surf zone. A barred beach was constructed in a large-scale laboratory wave flume with a fixed profile containing a mobile sediment layer on the crest of the sandbar. Horizontal and vertical pore pressure gradients were obtained by finite differences of measurements from an array of pressure transducers buried within the upper several centimeters of the bed. Colocated observations of erosion depth were made during asymmetric wave trials with wave heights between 0.10 and 0.98 m, consistently resulting in onshore sheet flow sediment transport. The pore pressure gradient vector within the bed exhibited temporal rotations during each wave cycle, directed predominantly upward under the trough and then rapidly rotating onshore and downward as the wavefront passed. The magnitude of the pore pressure gradient during each phase of rotation was correlated with local wave steepness and relative depth. Momentary bed failures as deep as 20 grain diameters were coincident with sharp increases in the onshore-directed pore pressure gradients, but occurred at horizontal pressure gradients less than theoretical critical values for initiation of the motion for compact beds. An expression combining the effects of both horizontal and vertical pore pressure gradients with bed shear stress and soil stability is used to determine that failure of the bed is initiated at nonnegligible values of both forces.type="synopsis">type="main">Plain Language SummaryThe pressure gradient present within the seabed beneath breaking waves may be an important physical mechanism transporting sediment. A large-scale laboratory was used to replicate realistic surfzone conditions in controlled tests, allowing for horizontal and vertical pressure gradient magnitudes and the resulting sediment bed response to be observed with precise instruments

The Research and Application of SURF Algorithm Based on Feature Point Selection Algorithm

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Zhang Fang Hu

2014-04-01

Full Text Available As the pixel information of depth image is derived from the distance information, when implementing SURF algorithm with KINECT sensor for static sign language recognition, there can be some mismatched pairs in palm area. This paper proposes a feature point selection algorithm, by filtering the SURF feature points step by step based on the number of feature points within adaptive radius r and the distance between the two points, it not only greatly improves the recognition rate, but also ensures the robustness under the environmental factors, such as skin color, illumination intensity, complex background, angle and scale changes. The experiment results show that the improved SURF algorithm can effectively improve the recognition rate, has a good robustness.

Identification of an evolutionary conserved SURF-6 domain in a family of nucleolar proteins extending from human to yeast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polzikov, Mikhail; Zatsepina, Olga; Magoulas, Charalambos

2005-01-01

The mammalian SURF-6 protein is localized in the nucleolus, yet its function remains elusive in the recently characterized nucleolar proteome. We discovered by searching the Protein families database that a unique evolutionary conserved SURF-6 domain is present in the carboxy-terminal of a novel family of eukaryotic proteins extending from human to yeast. By using the enhanced green fluorescent protein as a fusion protein marker in mammalian cells, we show that proteins from distantly related taxonomic groups containing the SURF-6 domain are localized in the nucleolus. Deletion sequence analysis shows that multiple regions of the SURF-6 protein are capable of nucleolar targeting independently of the evolutionary conserved domain. We identified that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae member of the SURF-6 family, named rrp14 or ykl082c, has been categorized in yeast databases to interact with proteins involved in ribosomal biogenesis and cell polarity. These results classify SURF-6 as a new family of nucleolar proteins in the eukaryotic kingdom and point out that SURF-6 has a distinct domain within the known nucleolar proteome that may mediate complex protein-protein interactions for analogous processes between yeast and mammalian cells

Selected programs at the new SURF III electron storage ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furst, Mitchell L.; Arp, Uwe; Cauchon, Gilles P.; Graves, Rossie M.; Hamilton, Andrew D.; Hughey, Lanny R.; Lucatorto, Thomas B.; Tarrio, Charles

2000-01-01

The conversion of the electron storage ring at NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) to SURF III (the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility) has resulted in a significant improvement to the azimuthal uniformity of the magnetic field as well as the capability for operating at higher beam energies. Measurements of magnetic field strength revealed azimuthal uniformity of better than ±0.05% at field strengths equivalent to operating energies of 52 MeV to 417 MeV. Initial operation is restricted to energies up to 331 MeV due to temporary limitations in the rf transmission system. Even at 331 MeV there is already a significant extension of the usable short wavelength range of the synchrotron radiation as compared to the range available at the 284 MeV operating energy of SURF II. These and other improvements have a major impact on SURF programs including: the Nanodetector, a conversion microscope which is a prototype real-time imaging system for EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography; the Spectrometer Calibration Beamline, used for high-accuracy absolute calibration of spectrometers; and the National EUV Reflectometry Facility, used to measure optical constants of thin-film multilayer optics

ImageSURF: An ImageJ Plugin for Batch Pixel-Based Image Segmentation Using Random Forests

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Aidan O'Mara

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Image segmentation is a necessary step in automated quantitative imaging. ImageSURF is a macro-compatible ImageJ2/FIJI plugin for pixel-based image segmentation that considers a range of image derivatives to train pixel classifiers which are then applied to image sets of any size to produce segmentations without bias in a consistent, transparent and reproducible manner. The plugin is available from ImageJ update site http://sites.imagej.net/ImageSURF/ and source code from https://github.com/omaraa/ImageSURF. Funding statement: This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Social Networking Sites' Influence on Travelers' Authentic Experience a Case Study of Couch Surfing

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiao

2013-01-01

This study explored travelers' experiences in the era of network hospitality 2.0 using CouchSurfing.org as a case study. The following research questions guided this study: 1) what experience does CouchSurfing create for travelers before, during and after their travel? 2) how does couch surfers' experience relate to authenticity in context of…

Surfing surface gravity waves

Science.gov (United States)

Pizzo, Nick

2017-11-01

A simple criterion for water particles to surf an underlying surface gravity wave is presented. It is found that particles travelling near the phase speed of the wave, in a geometrically confined region on the forward face of the crest, increase in speed. The criterion is derived using the equation of John (Commun. Pure Appl. Maths, vol. 6, 1953, pp. 497-503) for the motion of a zero-stress free surface under the action of gravity. As an example, a breaking water wave is theoretically and numerically examined. Implications for upper-ocean processes, for both shallow- and deep-water waves, are discussed.

Nearshore circulation on a sea breeze dominated beach during intense wind events

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Freyermuth, Alec; Puleo, Jack A.; DiCosmo, Nick; Allende-Arandía, Ma. Eugenia; Chardón-Maldonado, Patricia; López, José; Figueroa-Espinoza, Bernardo; de Alegria-Arzaburu, Amaia Ruiz; Figlus, Jens; Roberts Briggs, Tiffany M.; de la Roza, Jacobo; Candela, Julio

2017-12-01

A field experiment was conducted on the northern Yucatan coast from April 1 to April 12, 2014 to investigate the role of intense wind events on coastal circulation from the inner shelf to the swash zone. The study area is characterized by a micro-tidal environment, low-energy wave conditions, and a wide and shallow continental shelf. Furthermore, easterly trade winds, local breezes, and synoptic-scale events, associated with the passage of cold-fronts known as Nortes, are ubiquitous in this region. Currents were measured concurrently at different cross-shore locations during both local and synoptic-scale intense wind events to investigate the influence of different forcing mechanisms (i.e., large-scale currents, winds, tides, and waves) on the nearshore circulation. Field observations revealed that nearshore circulation across the shelf is predominantly alongshore-directed (westward) during intense winds. However, the mechanisms responsible for driving instantaneous spatial and temporal current variability depend on the weather conditions and the across-shelf location. During local strong sea breeze events (W > 10 m s-1 from the NE) occurring during spring tide, westward circulation is controlled by the tides, wind, and waves at the inner-shelf, shallow waters, and inside the surf/swash zone, respectively. The nearshore circulation is relaxed during intense land breeze events (W ≈ 9 m s-1 from the SE) associated with the low atmospheric pressure system that preceded a Norte event. During the Norte event (Wmax≈ 15 m s-1 from the NNW), westward circulation dominated outside the surf zone and was correlated to the Yucatan Current, whereas wave breaking forces eastward currents inside the surf/swash zone. The latter finding implies the existence of large alongshore velocity shear at the offshore edge of the surf zone during the Norte event, which enhances mixing between the surf zone and the inner shelf. These findings suggest that both sea breezes and Nortes play

Use of modular amphibious vehicles for conducting research in coastal zone

Science.gov (United States)

Zeziulin, Denis; Makarov, Vladimir; Belyaev, Alexander; Beresnev, Pavel; Kurkin, Andrey

2016-04-01

The project aims to create workable running systems of research complexes, moving along the bottom of coastal areas (in shallow waters) for investigation of waves, currents, sediment transport; investigation of ecosystems and biodiversity assessment of organisms; inspection and monitoring environmental conditions and anthropogenic load on nature; bathymetric studies. With all the variety of functional capabilities of modern robotic systems, possibilities of their application in the context of the study of coastal zones are extremely limited. Conducting research using aerial vehicles is limited to safety conditions of flight. Use of floating robotic systems in environmental monitoring and ecosystem research is only possible in conditions of relatively «soft» wave climate of the coastal zone. For these purposes, there are special amphibians such as remote-controlled vehicle Surf Rover [Daily, William R., Mark A. Johnson, and Daniel A. Oslecki. «Initial Development of an Amphibious ROV for Use in Big Surf.» Marine Technology Society 28.1 (1994): 3-10. Print.], mobile system MARC-1 [«The SPROV'er.» Florida Institute of Technology: Department of Marine and. Environmental Systems. Web. 05 May 2010.]. The paper describes methodological approaches to the selection of the design parameters of a new system.

DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICAL MEANS FOR ESTIMATION OF ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMICAL LOSSES FROM POLLUTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR IN ZONES OF TECHNOGENIC OBJECTS IMPACT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. POPOV

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The article describes the solution of one of the most important problems of rational use of natural resources. Modern mathematical tools for damage estimation, which are caused by atmospheric pollution to natural objects, and also methods for calculation of the cost for their renewal were developed. The solution of problem was divided into 3 stages. At the first stage it was defined basic anthropogenic sources of pollution, was illustrated conceptual behavior of pollutants in the atmosphere emitted by technological stationary point source. Choice of mathematical model that allows to determine the distribution of pollutants concentration in the air in zones of pollution by point stationary sources in the short-term discharges was proved. At the second stage it was developed mathematical tools to determine the level of objects damage, which were in the zone of pollution, depending on the intensity and duration of exposure of technogenic sources. At the third stage it was developed mathematical models to determine the recoverable amount of natural objects depending on their level of damage. Model example of developed means usage was described. Advantages of developed means over existed analogs were noticed.

The effects of surfing and the natural environment on the well-being of combat veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Caddick, Nick; Smith, Brett; Phoenix, Cassandra

2015-01-01

Although researchers have identified the benefits of physical activity on well-being, there is little evidence concerning the effects of nature-based physical activity. We investigated the effect of one nature-based activity-surfing-on the well-being of combat veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We conducted interviews and participant observations with a group of combat veterans belonging to a United Kingdom-based veterans' surfing charity. Our primary analytical approach was dialogical narrative analysis. Based on our rigorous analysis and findings, we suggest that surfing facilitated a sense of respite from PTSD. Respite was a fully embodied feeling of release from suffering that was cultivated through surfing and shaped by the stories veterans told of their experiences. We significantly extend previous knowledge on physical activity, combat veterans, and PTSD by highlighting how nature-based physical activity, encapsulated in the conceptual notion of the "blue gym," can promote well-being among combat veterans. © The Author(s) 2014.

CAMSHIFT IMPROVEMENT WITH MEAN-SHIFT SEGMENTATION, REGION GROWING, AND SURF METHOD

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Ferdinan Ferdinan

2013-10-01

Full Text Available CAMSHIFT algorithm has been widely used in object tracking. CAMSHIFT utilizescolor features as the model object. Thus, original CAMSHIFT may fail when the object color issimilar with the background color. In this study, we propose CAMSHIFT tracker combined withmean-shift segmentation, region growing, and SURF in order to improve the tracking accuracy.The mean-shift segmentation and region growing are applied in object localization phase to extractthe important parts of the object. Hue-distance, saturation, and value are used to calculate theBhattacharyya distance to judge whether the tracked object is lost. Once the object is judged lost,SURF is used to find the lost object, and CAMSHIFT can retrack the object. The Object trackingsystem is built with OpenCV. Some measurements of accuracy have done using frame-basedmetrics. We use datasets BoBoT (Bonn Benchmark on Tracking to measure accuracy of thesystem. The results demonstrate that CAMSHIFT combined with mean-shift segmentation, regiongrowing, and SURF method has higher accuracy than the previous methods.

The Effect of a Single Bout of Surfing on Exercise-Induced Affect

OpenAIRE

PITTSINGER, RYAN; KRESS, JEFF; CRUSSEMEYER, JILL

2017-01-01

Exercise-induced affect (EIA) has been well documented and is often composed of positive affect, negative affect, tranquility, and fatigue. Research on EIA has focused on mainstream sports such as running, walking, or cycling; however, no research has evaluated the influence of action sports participation in activities such surfing on EIA. The current study examined the effect of a single 30-min surfing bout on EIA in 107 adult volunteers. An additional purpose was if change in affect was sim...

The study of online hospitality exchange : The case of couch surfing network

OpenAIRE

Zaki, Taher

2015-01-01

The work presented here firstly aims at creating awareness about the whole concept of ‘couch surfing,’ relatively a new phenomenon when seeking ‘alternative’ and inexpensive ways to travel to new destinations. This particular research work outlines the emphasis and prospects of alternative ways to travel nowadays. It then progresses to explaining about the couch surfing idea, how it functions as well as its benefits and criticisms. The theoretical framework of this research is based on the mo...

“100 percent fun”: A case study of benefits from cold water surfing in Jæren, Norway

OpenAIRE

Elmahdy, Yasmine Mounir

2015-01-01

Master's thesis in International hotel and tourism management Norway is steadily progressing towards being a popular cold-water surf destination. The long Norwegian coastline is attracting an increasing number of surfers who surf year round in extreme weather conditions. The aim of this research is to identify the benefits acquired by Norwegian surfers surfing in cold water along the Jæren coast, south the city of Stavanger in Norway. This research adopted a phenomenological approach and q...

Nearshore bars and the break-point hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Sallenger, A.H.; Howd, P.A.

1989-01-01

The set of hypotheses calling for bar formation at the break point was tested with field data. During two different experiments, waves were measured across the surf zone coincident with the development of a nearshore bar. We use a criterion, based on the wave height to depth ratio, to determine the offshore limit of the inner surf zone. During the first experiment, the bar became better developed and migrated offshore while remaining well within the inner surf zone. During the second experiment, the surf zone was narrower and we cannot rule out the possibility of break point processes contributing to bar development. We conclude that bars are not necessarily coupled with the break point and can become better developed and migrate offshore while being in the inner surf zone landward from initial wave breaking in the outer surf zone. ?? 1989.

Zoning Of Pollutant Dispersion Came From IJEN Crater In The Downstream Region Of BANYUPUTIH River Using Oxygen-18 (18O) Natural Isotope Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susiati, Heni; Yarianto, S.B.S.; Sjarmufni, A.; Suprijadi; Wibagyo

2002-01-01

The research should be arranged for natural isotope composition of Oxygen-18 ( 18 O) in the water catchments of Banyupahit -Banyuputih river. Aim of the research are determine zoning of pollutant dispersion and be clarified that the pollution really come from lien crater as more surely above mentioned by the result of investigation previously. Research method be used field survey and characteristic analysis of Oksigen-18 isotope. Zoning of pollutant dispersion in the downstream side covers settlement. agricultural, plantation, and sugar factory area have conducted by analyzing Oksigen-18 isotope characteristic. Based on the result of the research pollutant dispersion area in the downstream region. the Eastern side of water catchments area were categorized as pollution level l was more dominant rather than in the Western side and pollution level II came from water pound area of Banyuputih. This phenomena caused of an irrigation system using by Liwung Water Pound of Banyuputih river which should be polluted by Sulfur. Geological factor in the Eastern (lithology) were most of sand rock also induce the dispersion of Sulfur rather than in the Western area. Present research has clarified previous investigation that Banyupahit river were polluted by Sulfur as a result of ijen crater leakage

Anthropometric and Performance Perspectives of Female Competitive Surfing

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Barlow Matthew John

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To evaluate the anthropometric profiles of female surfers and to identify whether any anthropometrical factors might predict competitive ranking. Secondly, to evaluate the activity profile of female competitive surfing with respect to environmental conditions using Global Positioning System (GPS derived measures.

Habitats used by black and surf scoters in eastern North America as determined by satellite radio telemetry

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, M.C.; Kidwell, D.M.; Wells-Berlin, A. M.; Lohnes, E.J.R.; Olsen, Glenn H.; Osenton, P.C.

2005-01-01

Satellite radio telemetry was used to determine the movements and habitats of black scoters (Melanitta nigra) and surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) in eastern North America. A total of 21 surf scoters were instrumented during five years (2001-05) and 32 black scoters were instrumented during three years (2002-04) with implanted PTT 100 satellite transmitters (39 g) with external antenna. Nesting habitat of black scoters was more open than surf scoters (44% vs. 11%), whereas nesting habitat for surf scoters was located in more forested areas (66% vs. 20%). Locations of black scoters in breeding areas on average were at significantly higher latitude and lower elevations than sites used by surf scoters. Satellite telemetry determined that James Bay was the major molting area for male black and surf scoters, although some males molted along the coast of Labrador-Newfoundland. Black scoters instrumented on the Restigouche River, which is a major staging area, were widely distributed along the Atlantic Coast from Cape Cod to Georgia during winter. Major wintering areas for black scoters were Cape Cod (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island), Long Island, and New Jersey. In these northern marine wintering areas, black scoters were located farther from shore (4.2 km) and in deeper water (8.3 m) than black scoters in more southern estuarine areas, where distance from shore was 3.1 km and water depth was 5.2 m. Surf scoters instrumented in Chesapeake Bay in late winter showed a strong tendency to return to the Bay the following winter after they had migrated to and from breeding areas. In Chesapeake Bay, black scoters and surf scoters were located mostly in mesohaline areas that had similar water depths (5.1 m vs. 7.5 m) and distances from shore (3.0 km vs. 2.9 km). Distance from shore and depth of water increased over time during the winter for both species. Updated information from the ARGOS Systems aboard the NOAA satellites on scoter movements was made accessible on

Spatially Uniform ReliefF (SURF for computationally-efficient filtering of gene-gene interactions

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Greene Casey S

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome-wide association studies are becoming the de facto standard in the genetic analysis of common human diseases. Given the complexity and robustness of biological networks such diseases are unlikely to be the result of single points of failure but instead likely arise from the joint failure of two or more interacting components. The hope in genome-wide screens is that these points of failure can be linked to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs which confer disease susceptibility. Detecting interacting variants that lead to disease in the absence of single-gene effects is difficult however, and methods to exhaustively analyze sets of these variants for interactions are combinatorial in nature thus making them computationally infeasible. Efficient algorithms which can detect interacting SNPs are needed. ReliefF is one such promising algorithm, although it has low success rate for noisy datasets when the interaction effect is small. ReliefF has been paired with an iterative approach, Tuned ReliefF (TuRF, which improves the estimation of weights in noisy data but does not fundamentally change the underlying ReliefF algorithm. To improve the sensitivity of studies using these methods to detect small effects we introduce Spatially Uniform ReliefF (SURF. Results SURF's ability to detect interactions in this domain is significantly greater than that of ReliefF. Similarly SURF, in combination with the TuRF strategy significantly outperforms TuRF alone for SNP selection under an epistasis model. It is important to note that this success rate increase does not require an increase in algorithmic complexity and allows for increased success rate, even with the removal of a nuisance parameter from the algorithm. Conclusion Researchers performing genetic association studies and aiming to discover gene-gene interactions associated with increased disease susceptibility should use SURF in place of ReliefF. For instance, SURF should be

Cloud Based GIS Approach for Monitoring Environmental Pollution in the Coastal Zone of Kalutara, Sri Lanka

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M.S.P.M. Sirirwardane

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Geographic Information Systems (GIS can be used as a powerful tool in many aspects of handling geospatial data. By considering the modern geospatial approaches, this research is focused on monitoring environmental pollution in the coastal zone of Kalutara area, with the objective of identification of existing natural resources. Green vegetation patches, water bodies and beech areas were detected using remote sensing techniques. A detailed GPS field survey was conducted and identified minor environmental resources with various pollution incidents. This information was used to improve the available data sets. The types of pollution incidents were categorised according to the severity level by considering the relationship to each natural resource. Maps were created and data was uploaded to the ArcGIS online cloud platform. Web services were hosted using this cloud infrastructure. Pollution incidents data layer has been given web based editing capabilities for field monitoring using GPS enabled mobiles. Field observations were conducted and locations of the pollution effects were uploaded into web maps from the field with related attributes. The hot spots were used to get better understanding and awareness of the environmental pollution. As the results, pollution incidents were identified and there was a significant effect to the minor environmental elements. The cloud infrastructure, helped to bring down the barriers of data sharing and the incident reporting mechanism became more convenient during the field observations.

Electron Surfing Acceleration in Magnetic Reconnection

OpenAIRE

Hoshino, Masahiro

2005-01-01

We discuss that energetic electrons are generated near the X-type magnetic reconnection region due to a surfing acceleration mechanism. In a thin plasma sheet, the polarization electric fields pointing towards the neutral sheet are induced around the boundary between the lobe and plasma sheet in association with the Hall electric current. By using a particle-in-cell simulation, we demonstrate that the polarization electric fields are strongly enhanced in an externally driven reconnection syst...

High resolution satellite image indexing and retrieval using SURF features and bag of visual words

Science.gov (United States)

Bouteldja, Samia; Kourgli, Assia

2017-03-01

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of SURF descriptor for high resolution satellite imagery (HRSI) retrieval through a BoVW model on a land-use/land-cover (LULC) dataset. Local feature approaches such as SIFT and SURF descriptors can deal with a large variation of scale, rotation and illumination of the images, providing, therefore, a better discriminative power and retrieval efficiency than global features, especially for HRSI which contain a great range of objects and spatial patterns. Moreover, we combine SURF and color features to improve the retrieval accuracy, and we propose to learn a category-specific dictionary for each image category which results in a more discriminative image representation and boosts the image retrieval performance.

SURF'S UP! – Protein classification by surface comparisons

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Prakash

encounter large protein families with only a few members of ... server for analysis of functional relationships in protein families, as inferred from protein surface maps comparison ... features, SURF'S UP! can work with models obtained from comparative modelling. ... 1997) or, if the user is confident in the quality of automated.

Dorsal finger texture recognition: Investigating fixed-length SURF

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartung, Daniel; Kückelhahn, Jesper

2012-01-01

We seek to create fixed-length features from dorsal finger skin images extracted by the SURF interest point detector to combine it in the privacy enhancing helper data scheme. The source of the biometric samples is the GUC45 database which features finger vein, fingerprint and dorsal finger skin...

Reproduction and recruitment patterns of the surf clam Donax serra ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reproduction and recruitment patterns of the surf clam Donax serra (Bivalvia, Donacidae) on two ... Keywords: condition index, Donax serra, histology, Namibia, recruitment, reproduction, sandy beach ecology ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Composition, Shell Strength, and Metabolizable Energy of Mulinia lateralis and Ischadium recurvum as Food for Wintering Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia M Wells-Berlin

Full Text Available Decline in surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata waterfowl populations wintering in the Chesapeake Bay has been associated with changes in the availability of benthic bivalves. The Bay has become more eutrophic, causing changes in the benthos available to surf scoters. The subsequent decline in oyster beds (Crassostrea virginica has reduced the hard substrate needed by the hooked mussel (Ischadium recurvum, one of the primary prey items for surf scoters, causing the surf scoter to switch to a more opportune species, the dwarf surfclam (Mulinia lateralis. The composition (macronutrients, minerals, and amino acids, shell strength (N, and metabolizable energy (kJ of these prey items were quantified to determine the relative foraging values for wintering scoters. Pooled samples of each prey item were analyzed to determine composition. Shell strength (N was measured using a shell crack compression test. Total collection digestibility trials were conducted on eight captive surf scoters. For the prey size range commonly consumed by surf scoters (6-12 mm for M. lateralis and 18-24 mm for I. recurvum, I. recurvum contained higher ash, protein, lipid, and energy per individual organism than M. lateralis. I. recurvum required significantly greater force to crack the shell relative to M. lateralis. No difference in metabolized energy was observed for these prey items in wintering surf scoters, despite I. recurvum's higher ash content and harder shell than M. lateralis. Therefore, wintering surf scoters were able to obtain the same amount of energy from each prey item, implying that they can sustain themselves if forced to switch prey.

Gas sampling method for determining pollutant concentrations in the flame zone of two swirl-can combustor modules

Science.gov (United States)

Duerr, R. A.

1975-01-01

A gas sampling probe and traversing mechanism were developed to obtain detailed measurements of gaseous pollutant concentrations in the primary and mixing regions of combustors in order to better understand how pollutants are formed. The gas sampling probe was actuated by a three-degree-of-freedom traversing mechanism and the samples obtained were analyzed by an on-line gas analysis system. The pollutants in the flame zone of two different swirl-can combustor modules were measured at an inlet-air temperature of 590 K, pressure of 6 atmospheres, and reference velocities of 23 and 30 meters per second at a fuel-air ratio of 0.02. Typical results show large spatial gradients in the gaseous pollutant concentration close to the swirl-can module. Average concentrations of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide decrease rapidly in the downstream wake regions of each module. By careful and detailed probing, the effect of various module design features on pollutant formation can be assessed. The techniques presently developed seem adequate to obtain the desired information.

Assessment of risk factors in radionuclides pollution of coastal zone and river basins by numerical modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsitskishvili, M.; Tsitskishvili, L.; Kordzakhia, G.; Diasamidze, R.; Shaptoshvili, A.; Valiaev, A.

2006-01-01

Full text: All types of industrial activities require the norms of protection, assessment of corresponding risks to preserve the pollution and degradation of corresponding areas. To make available the sustainable development of the country the risk assessment of possible accidents on the big enterprises is foreseen that provides preparedness of the country and possibility of the prevention measures and mitigation of the accidents. While big anthropogenic accidents in mountainous countries - the main paths for transportation of the pollution are the rivers and sea basins. Due to overpopulation of these areas assessment of the pollution risks are very important. For this aim the special deterministic models on the basis of passive admixture's turbulence diffusion equation is used. For numerical calculations Mc Kormack's predictor-corrector two steps scheme is used. The scheme is disintegrated, second order in space and time. Such scheme is established because the turbulent velocities very differ in horizontal and vertical directions and model allows implementing singular independent steps in different directions. Grid step for the model is 26.88 km in horizontal direction and 20 m m in vertical until 200 m. Time step is equal to 4 hours and computational time period - 4 months. Number of grid points is equal to 4983 for all calculation areas. Computations are carried out separately for big rivers basins as well as for Black and Caspian Seas water areas. The model calculations are made for cases with various locations of pollutant sources including accidental throws. For different realistic scenarios are calculated the concentrations of admixtures. The directions of their propagation are also determined. The risks are calculated in comparison with the Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MPC) of the pollutants according to achieved results. That gives possibility to define the most vulnerable areas in coastal zones. Realized methodology is verified by means of various

Characterization of breeding habitats for black and surf scoters in the eastern boreal forest and subarctic regions of Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, M.C.; Kidwell, D.M.; Wells, A.M.; Lohnes, E.J.R.; Osenton, P.C.; Altmann, S.H.; Hanson, Alan; Kerekes, Joseph; Paquet, Julie

2006-01-01

We analyzed characteristics of wetland habitats used by breeding black scoters (Melanitta nigra) and surf scoters (M. perspicillata) in the eastern boreal forest and subarctic regions of Canada based on satellite telemetry data collected in the spring and summer. During 2002 and 2004, nine black scoters (four males, five females) were tracked to breeding areas in Quebec, Manitoba, and Northwest Territories. In addition, in 2001?04, seven surf scoters (three males, four females) were tracked to breeding areas in Labrador, Quebec, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Based on satellite telemetry data, locations of black and surf scoters in breeding areas were not significantly different in regard to latitude and longitude. Presumed breeding areas were manually plotted on topographic maps and percent cover type and water were estimated. Breeding habitat of black scoters was significantly different than that for surf scoters, with black scoters mainly using open (tundra) areas (44%) and surf scoters using mainly forest areas (66%). Surf scoters presumed breeding areas were at significantly higher elevations than areas used by black scoters. Some breeding areas were associated with islands, but the role of islands for breeding areas is equivocal. These results aid in the identification of potentially critical breeding areas and provide a baseline classification of breeding habitats used by these two species.

A Novel Image Retrieval Based on Visual Words Integration of SIFT and SURF.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nouman Ali

Full Text Available With the recent evolution of technology, the number of image archives has increased exponentially. In Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR, high-level visual information is represented in the form of low-level features. The semantic gap between the low-level features and the high-level image concepts is an open research problem. In this paper, we present a novel visual words integration of Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT and Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF. The two local features representations are selected for image retrieval because SIFT is more robust to the change in scale and rotation, while SURF is robust to changes in illumination. The visual words integration of SIFT and SURF adds the robustness of both features to image retrieval. The qualitative and quantitative comparisons conducted on Corel-1000, Corel-1500, Corel-2000, Oliva and Torralba and Ground Truth image benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed visual words integration.

Modeling the Transport and Fate of Fecal Pollution and Nutrients of Miyun Reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, L.; Fu, X.; Wang, G.

2009-12-01

Miyun Reservoir, a mountain valley reservoir, is located 100 km northeast of Beijing City. Besides the functions of flood control, irrigation and fishery for Beijing area, Miyun Reservoir is the main drinking water storage for Beijing city. The water quality is therefore of great importance. Recently, the concentration of fecal pollution and nutrients in the reservoir are constantly rising to arrest the attention of Beijing municipality. Fecal pollution from sewage is a significant public health concern due to the known presence of human viruses and parasites in these discharges. To investigate the transport and fate of the fecal pollution and nutrients at Miyun reservoir and the health risks associated with drinking and fishery, the reservoir and two tributaries, Chaohe river and Baihe river discharging into it are being examined for bacterial, nutrients and other routine pollution. To understand the relative importance of different processes influencing pollution transport and inactivation, a finite-element model of surf-zone hydrodynamics (coupled with models for temperature, fecal pollution, nutrients and other routine contaminants) is used. The developed models are being verified by the observed water quality data including water temperature, conductivities and dissolved oxygen from the reservoir and its tributaries. Different factors impacting the inactivation of fecal pollution and the transport of nutrients such as water temperature, sedimentation, sunlight insolation are evaluated for Miyun reservoir by a sensitivity analysis analogized from the previous research of Lake Michigan (figure 1, indicating that solar insolation dominates the inactivation of E. Coli, an indicator of fecal pollution, Liu et al. 2006). The calibrated modeling system can be used to temporally and spatially simulate and predict the variation of the concentration of fecal pollution and nutrients of Miyun reservoir. Therefore this research can provide a forecasting tool for the

Run-up of tsunamis and long waves in terms of surf-similarity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Per A.; Fuhrman, David R.

2008-01-01

of the surf-similarity parameter and the amplitude to depth ratio determined at some offshore location. We use the analytical expressions to analyze the impact of tsunamis on beaches and relate the discussion to the recent Indian Ocean tsunami from December 26, 2004. An important conclusion is that extreme...... run-up combined with extreme flow velocities occurs for surf-similarity parameters of the order 3-6, and for typical tsunami wave periods this requires relatively mild beach slopes. Next, we compare the theoretical solutions to measured run-up of breaking and non-breaking irregular waves on steep...

An Aerial Video Stabilization Method Based on SURF Feature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Hao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The video captured by Micro Aerial Vehicle is often degraded due to unexpected random trembling and jitter caused by wind and the shake of the aerial platform. An approach for stabilizing the aerial video based on SURF feature and Kalman filter is proposed. SURF feature points are extracted in each frame, and the feature points between adjacent frames are matched using Fast Library for Approximate Nearest Neighbors search method. Then Random Sampling Consensus matching algorithm and Least Squares Method are used to remove mismatching points pairs, and estimate the transformation between the adjacent images. Finally, Kalman filter is applied to smooth the motion parameters and separate Intentional Motion from Unwanted Motion to stabilize the aerial video. Experiments results show that the approach can stabilize aerial video efficiently with high accuracy, and it is robust to the translation, rotation and zooming motion of camera.

Deleterious mutations can surf to high densities on the wave front of an expanding population.

Science.gov (United States)

Travis, Justin M J; Münkemüller, Tamara; Burton, Olivia J; Best, Alex; Dytham, Calvin; Johst, Karin

2007-10-01

There is an increasing recognition that evolutionary processes play a key role in determining the dynamics of range expansion. Recent work demonstrates that neutral mutations arising near the edge of a range expansion sometimes surf on the expanding front leading them rather than that leads to reach much greater spatial distribution and frequency than expected in stationary populations. Here, we extend this work and examine the surfing behavior of nonneutral mutations. Using an individual-based coupled-map lattice model, we confirm that, regardless of its fitness effects, the probability of survival of a new mutation depends strongly upon where it arises in relation to the expanding wave front. We demonstrate that the surfing effect can lead to deleterious mutations reaching high densities at an expanding front, even when they have substantial negative effects on fitness. Additionally, we highlight that this surfing phenomenon can occur for mutations that impact reproductive rate (i.e., number of offspring produced) as well as mutations that modify juvenile competitive ability. We suggest that these effects are likely to have important consequences for rates of spread and the evolution of spatially expanding populations.

The Ecological Impact of Beach Nourishment with Dredged Materials on the Intertidal Zone at Bogue Banks, North Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-03-01

ronmental advisability of beach nourishment with dredged materials. The high-energy sandy teach environment is harsh, characterized by great variations in...34 Botanica Marina, No. 20, 1977, pp. 227-232. ANDERSON, W.D., et al., "The Macro-Fauna of the Surf Zone off Folly Beach, South Carolina," Technical Report

Interaction of convective flow generated by human body with room ventilation flow: impact on transport of pollution to the breathing zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Licina, Dusan; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Sekhar, Chandra

2014-01-01

interaction with opposing flow from above and assisting flow from below; and secondly, implication of such a flow interaction on the particle transport from the feet to the breathing zone is examined. The results reveal that the human body heat transports the pollution to the breathing zone and increases......This study aims to investigate the interaction between the human convective boundary layer (CBL) and uniform airflow from two directions and with different velocities. The study has two objectives: first, to characterize the velocity field in the breathing zone of a thermal manikin under its...

Decreased in vitro mitochondrial function is associated with enhanced brain metabolism, blood flow, and memory in Surf1-deficient mice

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ai-Ling; Pulliam, Daniel A; Deepa, Sathyaseelan S; Halloran, Jonathan J; Hussong, Stacy A; Burbank, Raquel R; Bresnen, Andrew; Liu, Yuhong; Podlutskaya, Natalia; Soundararajan, Anuradha; Muir, Eric; Duong, Timothy Q; Bokov, Alex F; Viscomi, Carlo; Zeviani, Massimo; Richardson, Arlan G; Van Remmen, Holly; Fox, Peter T; Galvan, Veronica

2013-01-01

Recent studies have challenged the prevailing view that reduced mitochondrial function and increased oxidative stress are correlated with reduced longevity. Mice carrying a homozygous knockout (KO) of the Surf1 gene showed a significant decrease in mitochondrial electron transport chain Complex IV activity, yet displayed increased lifespan and reduced brain damage after excitotoxic insults. In the present study, we examined brain metabolism, brain hemodynamics, and memory of Surf1 KO mice using in vitro measures of mitochondrial function, in vivo neuroimaging, and behavioral testing. We show that decreased respiration and increased generation of hydrogen peroxide in isolated Surf1 KO brain mitochondria are associated with increased brain glucose metabolism, cerebral blood flow, and lactate levels, and with enhanced memory in Surf1 KO mice. These metabolic and functional changes in Surf1 KO brains were accompanied by higher levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha, and by increases in the activated form of cyclic AMP response element-binding factor, which is integral to memory formation. These findings suggest that Surf1 deficiency-induced metabolic alterations may have positive effects on brain function. Exploring the relationship between mitochondrial activity, oxidative stress, and brain function will enhance our understanding of cognitive aging and of age-related neurologic disorders. PMID:23838831

A Preliminary Assessment of the SURF Reactive Burn Model Implementation in FLAG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Carl Edward [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); McCombe, Ryan Patrick [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Carver, Kyle [United States Air Force, Washington, DC (United States)

2017-09-18

Properly validated and calibrated reactive burn models (RBM) can be useful engineering tools for assessing high explosive performance and safety. Experiments with high explosives are expensive. Inexpensive RBM calculations are increasingly relied on for predictive analysis for performance and safety. This report discusses the validation of Menikoff and Shaw’s SURF reactive burn model, which has recently been implemented in the FLAG code. The LANL Gapstick experiment is discussed as is its’ utility in reactive burn model validation. Data obtained from pRad for the LT-63 series is also presented along with FLAG simulations using SURF for both PBX 9501 and PBX 9502. Calibration parameters for both explosives are presented.

La importancia del patrocinio deportivo : el surf como última tendencia

OpenAIRE

Lvov a Zemlianskaia,Victoria

2015-01-01

Se pretende dar a conocer el motivo del constante incremento del patrocinio deportivo, concretamente en el mundo del surf. Esta estrategia de marketing es empleada por muchas marcas como clave del éxito en la diferenciación

Monitoring system specifications: retrieval of surf from a salt repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The task of developing specifications for a reference monitoring system determined by repository environmental conditions, retrieval operations, and federal regulatory criteria is discussed. The monitoring system specified in this report is capable of measuring (1) package position and orientation, (2) vault deformation, (3) brine accumulation, (4) spent fuel dissolution, (5) temperature, (6) nuclear radiation, and (7) package condition with sufficient accuracy to provide data input to a general risk assessment model. In order to define a monitoring system which can provide probabilistic data on radiological risk to operating personnel and the general public for a salt mine repository, the following information is required: (1) a complete design of the salt SURF repository including inventory, density and waste package design details; (2) probalistic failure rate data on containment integrity of the SURF waste package; (3) probabilistic failure rate data on the monitoring system components

Assessment of risk factors in pollution of coastal zone and river basins by numerical modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsitskishvili, M.; Kordzakhia, G.; Shaptoshvili, A.; Tsitskishvili, L.; Diasamidze, R.; Soloduchin, V.

2005-01-01

pollution. For this aim the special deterministic models on the basis of passive admixture's turbulence diffusion equation is used. For numerical calculations Mc Kormack's predictor-corrector two steps scheme is used. The scheme is disintegrated, second order in space and time. Such scheme is established because the turbulent velocities very differ in horizontal and vertical directions and model allows implementing singular independent steps in different directions. Grid step for the model is 26.88 km in horizontal direction and 20 m m in vertical until 200 m. Time step is equal to 4 hours and computational time period - 4 months. Number of grid points is equal to 4983 for all calculation areas. Computations are carried out separately for big rivers basins as well as for Black and Caspian Seas water areas. The model calculations are made for cases with various locations of pollutant sources including accidental throws. For different realistic scenarios are calculated the concentrations of admixtures. The directions of their propagation are also determined. The risks are calculated in comparison with the Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MPC) of the pollutants according to achieved results. That gives possibility to define the most vulnerable areas in coastal zones. Realized methodology is verified by means of various scenarios for mentioned rivers and sea basins. The maps with indication of risk zones in river basins as well as of Black and Caspian Seas water areas are created

Droplets move over viscoelastic substrates by surfing a ridge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karpitschka, S.; Das, S.; van Gorcum, M.; Perrin, H.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J.H.

2015-01-01

Liquid drops on soft solids generate strong deformations below the contact line, resulting from a balance of capillary and elastic forces. The movement of these drops may cause strong, potentially singular dissipation in the soft solid. Here we show that a drop on a soft substrate moves by surfing a

Cytochrome C oxydase deficiency: SURF1 gene investigation in patients with Leigh syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Maalej, Marwa; Kammoun, Thouraya; Alila-Fersi, Olfa; Kharrat, Marwa; Ammar, Marwa; Felhi, Rahma; Mkaouar-Rebai, Emna; Keskes, Leila; Hachicha, Mongia; Fakhfakh, Faiza

2018-03-18

Leigh syndrome (LS) is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disorder occurring in infancy. The most common clinical signs reported in LS are growth retardation, optic atrophy, ataxia, psychomotor retardation, dystonia, hypotonia, seizures and respiratory disorders. The paper reported a manifestation of 3 Tunisian patients presented with LS syndrome. The aim of this study is the MT[HYPHEN]ATP6 and SURF1 gene screening in Tunisian patients affected with classical Leigh syndrome and the computational investigation of the effect of detected mutations on its structure and functions by clinical and bioinformatics analyses. After clinical investigations, three Tunisian patients were tested for mutations in both MT-ATP6 and SURF1 genes by direct sequencing followed by in silico analyses to predict the effects of sequence variation. The result of mutational analysis revealed the absence of mitochondrial mutations in MT-ATP6 gene and the presence of a known homozygous splice site mutation c.516-517delAG in sibling patients added to the presence of a novel double het mutations in LS patient (c.752-18 A > C/c. c.751 + 16G > A). In silico analyses of theses intronic variations showed that it could alters splicing processes as well as SURF1 protein translation. Leigh syndrome (LS) is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disorder occurring in infancy. The most common clinical signs reported in LS are growth retardation, optic atrophy, ataxia, psychomotor retardation, dystonia, hypotonia, seizures and respiratory disorders. The paper reported a manifestation of 3 Tunisian patients presented with LS syndrome. The aim of this study is MT-ATP6 and SURF1 genes screening in Tunisian patients affected with classical Leigh syndrome and the computational investigation of the effect of detected mutations on its structure and functions. After clinical investigations, three Tunisian patients were tested for mutations in both MT-ATP6 and SURF1 genes by direct sequencing followed by in

Model comparisons of the reactive burn model SURF in three ASC codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitley, Von Howard [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stalsberg, Krista Lynn [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Reichelt, Benjamin Lee [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Shipley, Sarah Jayne [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2018-01-12

A study of the SURF reactive burn model was performed in FLAG, PAGOSA and XRAGE. In this study, three different shock-to-detonation transition experiments were modeled in each code. All three codes produced similar model results for all the experiments modeled and at all resolutions. Buildup-to-detonation time, particle velocities and resolution dependence of the models was notably similar between the codes. Given the current PBX 9502 equations of state and SURF calibrations, each code is equally capable of predicting the correct detonation time and distance when impacted by a 1D impactor at pressures ranging from 10-16 GPa, as long as the resolution of the mesh is not too coarse.

Mechanical interactions in bacterial colonies and the surfing probability of beneficial mutations.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Fred D; Gralka, Matti; Hallatschek, Oskar; Waclaw, Bartlomiej

2017-06-01

Bacterial conglomerates such as biofilms and microcolonies are ubiquitous in nature and play an important role in industry and medicine. In contrast to well-mixed cultures routinely used in microbial research, bacteria in a microcolony interact mechanically with one another and with the substrate to which they are attached. Here, we use a computer model of a microbial colony of rod-shaped cells to investigate how physical interactions between cells determine their motion in the colony and how this affects biological evolution. We show that the probability that a faster-growing mutant 'surfs' at the colony's frontier and creates a macroscopic sector depends on physical properties of cells (shape, elasticity and friction). Although all these factors contribute to the surfing probability in seemingly different ways, their effects can be summarized by two summary statistics that characterize the front roughness and cell alignment. Our predictions are confirmed by experiments in which we measure the surfing probability for colonies of different front roughness. Our results show that physical interactions between bacterial cells play an important role in biological evolution of new traits, and suggest that these interactions may be relevant to processes such as de novo evolution of antibiotic resistance. © 2017 The Author(s).

Fate of organic contaminants in the redox zones of a landfill leachate pollution plume (Vejen, Denmark)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyngkilde, John; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

1992-01-01

Samples from 75 sample locations in a landfill leachate pollution plume reveal a significant disappearance of specific organic compounds (SOC's) within the first 100 m of the plume. Only the herbicide Mecoprop® (MCPP) migrates further. Since sorption and dilution cannot account for the decreasing...... concentrations, degradation is considered to be the governing process. Non-volatile organic carbon shows a corresponding fate probably acting as a substrate for the microbial processes. The first 20 m of the plume are methanogenic/sulfidogenic, judged on the chemistry of the groundwater, followed...... by a significant ferrogenic zone exhibiting a substantial capacity to degrade the SOC's. The presence of intermediary products (here an oxidized camphor compound) supports the concept of degradation within the ferrogenic zone. This investigation draws the attention to the significant natural attenuation of organic...

Large-scale bedforms induced by supercritical flows and wave-wave interference in the intertidal zone (Cap Ferret, France)

Science.gov (United States)

Vaucher, Romain; Pittet, Bernard; Humbert, Thomas; Ferry, Serge

2017-11-01

The Cap Ferret sand spit is situated along the wave-dominated, tidally modulated Atlantic coast of western France, characterized by a semidiurnal macrotidal range. It displays peculiar dome-like bedforms that can be observed at low tide across the intertidal zone. These bedforms exhibit a wavelength of ca. 1.2 m and an elevation of ca. 30 cm. They occur only when the incident wave heights reach 1.5-2 m. The internal stratifications are characterized by swaley-like, sub-planar, oblique-tangential, oblique-tabular, as well as hummocky-like stratifications. The tabular and tangential stratifications comprise prograding oblique sets (defined as foresets and backsets) that almost always show variations in their steepness. Downcutting into the bottomsets of the oblique-tangential stratifications is common. The sets of laminae observed in the bedforms share common characteristics with those formed by supercritical flows in flume experiments of earlier studies. These peculiar bedforms are observed at the surf-swash transition zone where the backwash flow reaches supercritical conditions. This type of flow can explain their internal architecture but not their general dome-like (three-dimensional) morphology. Wave-wave interference induced by the geomorphology (i.e. tidal channel) of the coastal environment is proposed as explanation for the localized formation of such bedforms. This study highlights that the combination of supercritical flows occurring in the surf-swash transition zone and wave-wave interferences can generate dome-like bedforms in intertidal zones.

Assessment of vulnerability zones for ground water pollution using GIS-DRASTIC-EC model: A field-based approach

Science.gov (United States)

Anantha Rao, D.; Naik, Pradeep K.; Jain, Sunil K.; Vinod Kumar, K.; Dhanamjaya Rao, E. N.

2018-06-01

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution is an essential pre-requisite for better planning of an area. We present the groundwater vulnerability assessment in parts of the Yamuna Nagar District, Haryana State, India in an area of about 800 km2, considered to be a freshwater zone in the foothills of the Siwalik Hill Ranges. Such areas in the Lower Himalayas form good groundwater recharge zones, and should always be free from contamination. But, the administration has been trying to promote industrialization along these foothill zones without actually assessing the environmental consequences such activities may invite in the future. GIS-DRASTIC model has been used with field based data inputs for studying the vulnerability assessment. But, we find that inclusion electrical conductivity (EC) as a model parameter makes it more robust. Therefore, we rename it as GIS-DRASTIC-EC model. The model identifies three vulnerability zones such as low, moderate and high with an areal extent of 5%, 80% and 15%, respectively. On the basis of major chemical parameters alone, the groundwater in the foothill zones apparently looks safe, but analysis with the help of GIS-DRASTIC-EC model gives a better perspective of the groundwater quality in terms of identifying the vulnerable areas.

Evaluation of a 3% surf solution (surf field mastitis test) for the diagnosis of subclinical bovine and bubaline mastitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammad, Ghulam; Naureen, Abeera; Asi, Muhammad Nadeem; Saqib, Muhammad; Fazal-ur-Rehman

2010-03-01

To evaluate a 3% solution of household detergent viz., Surf Excel (Surf field mastitis test, SFMT) vis-à-vis California mastitis test (CMT), Whiteside test (WST), somatic cell counts (SCC; cut off limit = 5 x 10(5) cells per millilitre) and bacteriological cultures for the detection of subclinical mastitis in quarter foremilk samples (n=800) of dairy cows and buffaloes. Culture and SCC were used as gold standards. All tests were evaluated parallel and serial patterns. The sensitivities of SFMT, SCC, culture, CMT and WST in parallel testing were 72.82, 81.55, 87.38, 75.73 and 54.37%, respectively in cows, while 66.22, 79.73, 82.43, 70.27 and 50.00, respectively in buffaloes. SFMT was significantly (pnegative predictive values of SFMT (93.50 in cow; 96.35 in buffaloes) differed non-significantly from that of CMT (94.02 in cow; 96.15 in buffaloes). The kappa index between the tests was moderate to perfect both in parallel (0.54 to >0.80) and serial (0.58 to >0.8) testing. On the basis of closely similar diagnostic efficiency of SFMT to CMT in terms of sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and kappa index together with inexpensive and ready availability of SFMT reagent, it tempting to suggest that SFMT can be use as a cheaper, user-friendly alternative animal-side subclinical mastitis diagnostic test in poor countries.

Robust and Effective Component-based Banknote Recognition by SURF Features.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasanuzzaman, Faiz M; Yang, Xiaodong; Tian, YingLi

2011-01-01

Camera-based computer vision technology is able to assist visually impaired people to automatically recognize banknotes. A good banknote recognition algorithm for blind or visually impaired people should have the following features: 1) 100% accuracy, and 2) robustness to various conditions in different environments and occlusions. Most existing algorithms of banknote recognition are limited to work for restricted conditions. In this paper we propose a component-based framework for banknote recognition by using Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF). The component-based framework is effective in collecting more class-specific information and robust in dealing with partial occlusion and viewpoint changes. Furthermore, the evaluation of SURF demonstrates its effectiveness in handling background noise, image rotation, scale, and illumination changes. To authenticate the robustness and generalizability of the proposed approach, we have collected a large dataset of banknotes from a variety of conditions including occlusion, cluttered background, rotation, and changes of illumination, scaling, and viewpoints. The proposed algorithm achieves 100% recognition rate on our challenging dataset.

SurfKin: an ab initio kinetic code for modeling surface reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Thong Nguyen-Minh; Liu, Bin; Huynh, Lam K

2014-10-05

In this article, we describe a C/C++ program called SurfKin (Surface Kinetics) to construct microkinetic mechanisms for modeling gas-surface reactions. Thermodynamic properties of reaction species are estimated based on density functional theory calculations and statistical mechanics. Rate constants for elementary steps (including adsorption, desorption, and chemical reactions on surfaces) are calculated using the classical collision theory and transition state theory. Methane decomposition and water-gas shift reaction on Ni(111) surface were chosen as test cases to validate the code implementations. The good agreement with literature data suggests this is a powerful tool to facilitate the analysis of complex reactions on surfaces, and thus it helps to effectively construct detailed microkinetic mechanisms for such surface reactions. SurfKin also opens a possibility for designing nanoscale model catalysts. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

COMPETING FOR WAVES: THE UNJUST REALITY OF WOMEN´S POSITION IN THE WORLD OF SURFING

OpenAIRE

İNCE YENİLMEZ, Meltem; ÇELİK, Onur Burak

2017-01-01

Throughout the years, women have suffered from oppression delivered by the male chauvinism. This maltreatment was present in every aspect of life, and surf was no exception. Since surfing has existed, it has been thought to be a sport just for men. Has this misconception driven women to avoid the sport at all costs for several years and dedicate themselves to completely different activities? This paper will provide an insight on the evolution of women´s role in this sport. Moreover, the situa...

A study of fecal coliform sources at a coastal site using colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) as a water source tracer.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Catherine D; O'Connor, Adam P; Foley, Denise M; de Bruyn, Warren J

2007-09-01

Optical properties of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) were measured as a tracer of polluted waters in a Southern California surf-zone with consistently high levels of fecal indicator bacteria. Salinity, temperature, fecal coliform, absorbance (200-700nm) and fluorescence (lambda(excitation)=350nm; lambda(emission)=360-650nm) were measured in the creek and surf-zone during a dry and rain event. Fluorescence to absorption ratios for CDOM were used to distinguish water masses, with two distinct CDOM end-members identified as creek (flu/abs=8.7+/-0.8x10(4)) and coastal (flu/abs=2.2+/-0.3x10(4)). Waters containing the same CDOM end-member had highly variable bacterial levels during the dry event, suggesting intermittent sources of bacteria added to a uniform water source, consistent with marine birds. During the rain event, increased levels of the creek end-member and bacteria indicated a second bacteria source from runoff.

Pollutant infiltration and ground water management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

Following a short overview of hazard potentials for ground water in Germany, this book, which was compiled by the technical committee of DVWK on ground water use, discusses the natural scientific bases of pollutant movement to and in ground water. It points out whether and to what extent soil/ground water systems can be protected from harmful influences, and indicates relative strategies. Two zones are distinguished: the unsaturated zone, where local defence and remedial measures are frequently possible, and the saturated zone. From the protective function of geological systems, which is always pollutant-specific, criteria are derived for judging the systems generally, or at least regarding entire classes of pollutants. Finally, the impact of the infiltration of pollutants into ground water on its use as drinking water is pointed out and an estimate of the cost of remedial measures is given. (orig.) [de

[Distribution of Urban Soil Heavy Metal and Pollution Evaluation in Different Functional Zones of Yinchuan City].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, You-qi; Bai, Yi-ru; Wang, Jian-yu

2016-02-15

Surface soil samples (0-20 cm) from eight different functional areas in Yinchuan city were collected. There were 10 samples respectively in each functional area. The urban soil heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, Mn, Cu and Cr) pollution characteristics and sources in eight different functional areas were evaluated by mathematical statistics and geostatistical analysis method. Meanwhile, the spatial distributions of heavy metals based on the geography information system (GIS) were plotted. The average values of total Zn, Cd, Pb, Mn, Cu and Cr were 74.87, 0.15, 29.02, 553.55, 40.37 and 80.79 mg x kg(-1), respectively. The results showed that the average value of soil heavy metals was higher than the soil background value of Ningxia, which indicated accumulation of the heavy metals in urban soil. The single factor pollution index of soil heavy metals was in the sequence of Cu > Pb > Zn > Cr > Cd > Mn. The average values of total Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr were higher in north east, south west and central city, while the average values of Mn and Cu were higher in north east and central city. There was moderate pollution in road and industrial area of Yinchuan, while the other functional areas showed slight pollution according to Nemoro synthesis index. The pollution degree of different functional areas was as follows: road > industrial area > business district > medical treatment area > residential area > public park > development zone > science and education area. The results indicated that the soil heavy metal pollution condition in Yinchuan City has been affected by human activities with the development of economy.

O SISTEMA DE OPERAÇÃO DO SERVIÇO DE SURFE NO RIO DE JANEIRO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Débora Andrade de Castro

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Surfing arrived in Brazil in 1938, giving rise to the first national surfers. By the 1970s, the sports had evolved into both a social and market structure, specifically in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, where surfboard producers, importers of materials and raw materials, promotion of championships and sporting events, as well as major brands and specialist stores began to open, starting a growing trend of new products and services. This paper analyzes the management operation of the surfing service sector in the State of Rio de Janeiro, and seeks to understand the complex relations between components, to explore those connections and make suggestions for future opportunities. The results show that Brazil is a strong consumer market of goods and services related to surfing due to the climate, young population, of which the majority lives close to the coast, features that are especially strong in Rio de Janeiro state. Among the factors that contribute to the development of surfing in Brazil is its insertion into the general media, in particular its projected image as a young and exciting activity, whose practice is related to psychological factors such as emotion, control of the external environment and overcoming challenges. The products and services that enable the consumer to overcome there physical and psychological challenges with the objective of achieving stronger control over these factors reveals growing possibilities for business and innovation.

Respiratory Problems Associated with Surfing in Coastal Waters.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Halloran, Chris; Silver, Mary W; Lahiff, Maureen; Colford, John

2017-03-01

A pilot project was conducted to examine the health status and possible adverse health effects associated with seawater exposure (microbial water-quality indicators and phytoplankton abundance and their toxins) of surfers in Monterey Bay, Central California coastal waters. Forty-eight surfers enrolled in the study and completed an initial health background survey and weekly health surveys online using Survey Monkey. Descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equation, a regression technique, were used to identify longitudinal and correlated results. The surfers were predominately Caucasian, male, and physically active. They surfed approximately 4 h a week. Their average age was 34 years. The data indicated that the surfers were generally "healthy," with a low prevalence of diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. Their most common health problems were allergies and asthma. During the study, 10% of the surfers reported gastrointestinal symptoms and 29% reported upper respiratory symptoms. This study suggests surfers were significantly more likely to report upper respiratory symptoms when they had a history of allergies, housemates with upper respiratory symptoms, and/or a history of previous adverse health symptoms while surfing during a "red tide" (an event often associated with the presence of phytoplankton toxins). Additionally, female surfers reported upper respiratory symptoms more than males.

'CouchSurfing' : explorations in cosmopolitanism, trust, and resistance

OpenAIRE

Shapiro, Josh D.

2012-01-01

This dissertation is based on qualitative and quantitative research conducted via a case study of CouchSurfing.org, a hybrid online/offline hospitality exchange network that enables travelers to locate locals who offer them free accommodation. Chapter one begins with a statistical analysis of CouchSurfers to determine if they hold a cosmopolitan orientation. My analysis incorporates nationally representative samples from 21 different countries, over 1400 CouchSurfers, and 74,000 respondents t...

Pollution bi nitrate in the urban and rural zone of Macachins town, La Palma, Argentina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzman, M. e.; Dalmaso, M. G.; Marno, E.

2009-01-01

The town of Macachin is located over the Valle Argentino aquifer. there, the phreatic aquifer is lodged in a sandy superficial cap and in the slime-sandy sediments. The objective of this work is to depict the pollution of the unconfined aquifer of Macachin, considering the presence of nitrate as determining actor of the quality of the resource. The peri urban area was analysed with the purpose of cover the area of relocalization of the sources of potable water for the town. In the urban area, the domiciliary perforations and in those os supply were considered. Samples in perforations and in drilled wells were collected. Temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and the ions concentration for nitrate and chloride were measured. Statistical basic parameters were calculated for eight wells in exploitation and also for the perforations and drilled wells. It was concluded that the conditions of the underground waters is little satisfactory. All of the domiciliary wells sampled contained a quantity of nitrate that overcomes the maximum levels allowed for the consumption of potable water. In the city's wells of supply a significant increase of the nitrate concentrations was identified since 1998, approximately. The contribution of organic matter to the underground water could be originated in the decomposition of the domiciliary wastes arranged in cesspools. In both areas, the nitrate concentrations in the unsaturated zone are similar and superior to the limit allowed for human consumption. The pollution sources in the rural zone can be permanent corrals of animals. (Author) 10 refs.

Marine pollution effects on the southern surf crab Ovalipes trimaculatus (Crustacea: Brachyura: Polybiidae) in Patagonia Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Lezcano, Aníbal Hernán; Rojas Quiroga, María Laura; Liberoff, Ana Laura; Van der Molen, Silvina

2015-02-28

We compared the carapace shape and thickness as well as the energy density of Ovalipes trimaculatus inhabiting areas comprising a gradient of marine pollution: high, moderate and undetected, in the Nuevo gulf (Patagonia Argentina). The carapace shape was evaluated by means of individual asymmetry scores (=fluctuating asymmetry) whereas the carapace thickness was assessed by measuring the carapace dry weight. The energy density was analyzed through its negative relationship with water content in muscle tissue. The individual asymmetry scores as well as the percentage of water content in muscle tissue were proportional to the marine pollution gradient, whereas the carapaces thickness did not differ among sampling sites. Our results are consistent with previous findings and demonstrate the direct effect of marine pollution on other taxa different from gastropods, cephalopods and polyplacophora and add to long-standing concerns about detrimental effects caused by marine pollution on the benthic community of the Nuevo gulf. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

InterProSurf: a web server for predicting interacting sites on protein surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Negi, Surendra S.; Schein, Catherine H.; Oezguen, Numan; Power, Trevor D.; Braun, Werner

2009-01-01

Summary A new web server, InterProSurf, predicts interacting amino acid residues in proteins that are most likely to interact with other proteins, given the 3D structures of subunits of a protein complex. The prediction method is based on solvent accessible surface area of residues in the isolated subunits, a propensity scale for interface residues and a clustering algorithm to identify surface regions with residues of high interface propensities. Here we illustrate the application of InterProSurf to determine which areas of Bacillus anthracis toxins and measles virus hemagglutinin protein interact with their respective cell surface receptors. The computationally predicted regions overlap with those regions previously identified as interface regions by sequence analysis and mutagenesis experiments. PMID:17933856

Exploring Critical Alternatives for Youth Development through Lifestyle Sport: Surfing and Community Development in Aotearoa/New Zealand

OpenAIRE

Belinda Wheaton; Georgina Roy; Rebecca Olive

2017-01-01

While competition-based team sports remain dominant in community and sport-for-development programs, researchers are exploring the value of alternative, less “sportized” activities such as lifestyle/action sports. In this paper, we explore the ways in which surfing is being used in development programs in Aotearoa/New Zealand, examining the perceived social benefits and impact. Our methods involved: (a) mapping the range of surfing projects; and (b) 8 in-depth interviews with program personne...

Statistical Analysis of Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of the Distribution of Air Quality and Dominant Air Pollutants and the Effect Factors in Qingdao Urban Zones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangwei Zhao

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Air pollution has impacted people’s lives in urban China, and the analysis of the distribution and driving factors behind air quality has become a current research focus. In this study, the temporal heterogeneity of air quality (AQ and the dominant air pollutants across the four seasons were analyzed based on the Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test method. Then, the spatial heterogeneity of AQ and the dominant air pollutants across four sites were analyzed based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test method. Finally, the copula model was introduced to analyze the effect of relative factors on dominant air pollutants. The results show that AQ and dominant air pollutants present significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the study area. AQ is worst in winter and best in summer. PM10, O3, and PM2.5 are the dominant air pollutants in spring, summer, and winter, respectively. The average concentration of dominant air pollutants presents significant and diverse daily peaks and troughs across the four sites. The main driving factors are pollutants such as SO2, NO2, and CO, so pollutant emission reduction is the key to improving air quality. Corresponding pollution control measures should account for this heterogeneity in terms of AQ and the dominant air pollutants among different urban zones.

Surfing the quantum world

CERN Document Server

Levin, Frank S

2017-01-01

The ideas and phenomena of the quantum world are strikingly unlike those encountered in our visual world. Surfing the Quantum World shows why and how this is so. It does this via a historical review and a gentle introduction to the fundamental principles of quantum theory, whose core concepts and symbolic representations are used to explain not only "ordinary" microscopic phenomena like the properties of the hydrogen atom and the structure of the Periodic Table of the Elements, but also a variety of mind-bending phenomena. Readers will learn that particles such as electrons and photons can behave like waves, allowing them to be in two places simultaneously, why white dwarf and neutron stars are gigantic quantum objects, how the maximum height of mountains has a quantum basis, and why quantum objects can tunnel through seemingly impenetrable barriers. Included among the various interpretational issues addressed is whether Schrodinger's cat is ever both dead and alive.

The Ocean as a Unique Therapeutic Environment: Developing a Surfing Program

Science.gov (United States)

Clapham, Emily D.; Armitano, Cortney N.; Lamont, Linda S.; Audette, Jennifer G.

2014-01-01

Educational aquatic programming offers necessary physical activity opportunities to children with disabilities and the benefits of aquatic activities are more pronounced for children with disabilities than for their able-bodied peers. Similar benefits could potentially be derived from surfing in the ocean. This article describes an adapted surfing…

The imbalanced surfing-life of humanity to survival in the global changes

Science.gov (United States)

Kontar, V. A.

2013-12-01

We have written many times about the imbalance of Nature as the cause of the global change. Here, we offer some method for the humanity survival in the face of global change of the imbalanced anisotropic real Nature. There are two logics of understanding the real Nature: the traditional balanced, and the new imbalanced. The balanced logic presupposes that Nature is balanced, isotropic, etc. The imbalanced logic presupposes opposite that Nature is imbalanced, anisotropic, etc. Respectively can be two styles of the people life: balanced and imbalanced. The image of the flat earth corresponds well with the balanced lifestyle of people. On the balanced life people spend activities to achieve the balance by reducing the change, stabilization, leveling any level changes, etc. If there is a mountain on the road, it must be align the track or make the tunnel. If there is a ravine on the road, then it need backfilled or to build a bridge. If someone is in restless, it must be calm, etc. As example of the happiness in the balanced life is the stability, balance, and therefore the global changes of Nature are perceived as a catastrophe. In the balanced lifestyle people can easily decide to use force, especially if there is not enough knowledge. But Nature has power which in billions times greater than the forces of humanity. Therefore, humanity will beaten in struggle with Nature and disappear. The imbalanced lifestyle is the fundamentally different. The imbalanced lifestyle complies with the surface of the ocean, which always changes, but sometimes can be and flat. But the flat calm ocean surface is inconvenient for the imbalanced life. You need to pull boat yourself because is no wind in the sails. The anisotropic imbalanced Nature has gradients in all parameters. At a certain level of knowledge and experience, people can use this multi-dimensional gradient essence of the real Nature for human's discretion. The imbalanced life is like a surfing. If properly understood

Evolution of paraffinic and naphtenic hydrocarbon and 3,4 benzopyrene content in mussels from a coastal zone polluted by a fuel spill

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bories, G; Tulliez, J; Peltier, J C; Fleckinger, R

1969-05-03

After an oil spill, a coastal zone was polluted and wild mussels were contaminated by paraffinic and naphtenic hydrocarbons and 3,4-benzopyrene. The evolution of this contamination was followed. Normal levels were re-established after a month and a half. Normal paraffins were metabolized faster than other hydrocarbons.

Modelling of particulate matter pollution (PM10) over the Etang de Berre area Determination of areas of homogeneous pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brocheton, F.; Poulet, D.; Mesbah, B.; Hourdin, G.

2010-01-01

AIRFOBEP is the association in charge of the air quality monitoring in the Etang de Berre area. AIRFOBEP is managing a network of ten sensors to monitor the PMI (particulate matter index) particulate pollution. This network is updated once a year according to the Air Quality Monitoring Plan (PSQA). Optimizing this network needs to know how the particulate pollution is distributed in the area. In other words, to determine the limits of homogeneous zones of PM 10 pollution. The aim of the project presented in this article is to produce a map of homogeneous zones of PM 10 pollution in the Etang de Berre area. The project was carried out in two steps: - PM 10 atmospheric dispersion modeling, using a ADMS-URBAN software, - Statistic classification, based on the well known Hierarchical Ascending Classification (HAC) technique. Results of the atmospheric dispersion modeling was namely adjusted using an original technique for the 'background PM 10 pollution' computation. Good performances have been obtained when comparing modeling and measurements data. Finally, a set of five homogeneous zones was found to well describe the PM 10 pollution level distribution in the Etang de Berre area. (author)

Cestovní ruch a sociální sítě: Projekt CouchSurfing v Česku

OpenAIRE

Hásová, Adéla

2012-01-01

The master thesis focuses on the virtual social network sites which are concern to be exceptionally actual issue. Moreover the thesis deals with social networks in tourism. The number of various social networks about travelling is high. However, only the community of CouchSurfing (hospitality exchange network) was chosen for the research purposes of the thesis. The research included in the thesis focuses on CouchSurfing because is the greatest hospitality exchange site in these days. It inclu...

Environmental impact assessment of air pollution in different areas of Karachi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashmi, D.R.; Qaim-Khani, M.I.

2003-01-01

Measurements of major ambient air pollution components such as O/sub 3/, SO/sub 2/, CO, NO, and NOx were carried out to obtain baseline data for some selected areas in Karachi. These areas have been categorized on the basis of traffic congestion. Total average concentration of O/sub 3/ in zone - A was 20.80 ppb. In one - B 20.36 ppb and in Zone -C 19.10 ppb. Concentration of SO/sub 2/ in zone -A was determined to be 7.30 ppb, in zone -B 11.60 ppb and in zone-C 44.30 ppb. Similarly concentration of CO zone-A was 0.96 ppm, in zone-B 2.50 ppm and in zone -C 3.49 ppm. Whereas, average concentration of NO and NOx was 13.00 ppb and 23.50 ppb in Zone -A, 2.73 ppb and 5.70 ppb in zone -B, 69.90 ppb and 83.50 ppb in zone C. The main contributors of pollutants in these areas are vehicular traffic and industries. A survey of local hospitals was also conducted to correlate the prevailing diseases with air pollution levels. The survey showed that 70% of the patients were suffering from air pollution related diseases, like chronic bronchitis, pulmonary edema and pulmonary emphysema. The data further reveals that the ratio of male to female patients is 2:1.(author)

Transport of gaseous pollutants around a human body in quiescent indoor environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Licina, Dusan; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Mioduszewski, Pawel

2014-01-01

(CBL) to transport the pollution in quiescent indoor environment. A human body is resembled by a thermal manikin with a body shape and surface temperature distribution of a real person. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of the pollutant location around the human body on the pollution...... concentration levels in the breathing zone. The results show that the location of the pollution source has a considerable influence of the breathing zone concentrations. This is contributed to the human CBL, as it pulls the pollution emitted close to the human body and transports it to the breathing zone...... the human body should be recognized in ventilation design practice....

Sustainable Urban Fringes - Connecting Urban and Rural : Final report of the SURF project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bruijn, de T.J.N.M. (Theo); Haccoû, H.A. (Huib); Leslie, A. (Allison); Lier, G. (Goos); Littlewood, S. (Stephan); Oldejans, R. (Rolf); Thomas, K. (Kevin); Vries, de B.J. (Bauke); Watt, E. (Emma); Wishardt, M. (Michelle)

2012-01-01

What happens at the urban edge and the SURF aspiration to influence it? Projects in the urban fringe Urban fringe governance Integrated policy guidelines and approaches towards urban fringe planning and management The future management of the urban fringe

Content and the forms of heavy metals in bottom sediments in the zone of industrial pollution sources ,

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Voytyuk Y.Y.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Regularities in the distribution of heavy metals in sediments in the zone of influence of the steel industry in Mariupol are installed. The study results of the forms of occurrence of Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni are represented. Ecological and geochemical assessment of sediment contamination by heavy metals is performed. The main sources of pollution of bottom sediments are air borne emissions from industrial plants, hydrogenous pollution in industrial sewage entering the water, sewage sludge, ash dumps, slag, ore, sludge, oil spills and salt solutions. Pollution hydrogenous sediments may be significant, contaminated sediments are a source of long-term contamination of water, even after cessation of discharges into rivers untreated wastewater. The environmental condition of bottom sediments in gross content of heavy metals is little information because they do not reflect the transformation and further migration to adjacent environment. The study forms of giving objective information for ecological and geochemical evaluation. The study forms of heavy metals in the sediments carried by successive extracts. Concentrations of heavy metals in the extracts determined by atomic absorption spectrometer analysis CAS-115. It was established that a number of elements typical of exceeding their content in bottom sediments of the background values, due likely to their technogenic origin. Man-made pollution of bottom sediments. Mariupol has disrupted the natural form of the ratio of heavy metals. In the studied sediments form ion exchange increased content of heavy metals, which contributes to their migration in the aquatic environment.

Scaled photographs of surf over the full range of breaker sizes on the north shore of Oahu and Jaws, Maui, Hawaiian Islands (NODC Accession 0001753)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Digital surf photographs were scaled using surfers as height benchmarks to estimate the size of the breakers. Historical databases for surf height in Hawaii are...

[Transportation and risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in water-soil from the Riparian Zone of Daye Lake, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jia-quan; Li, Xiu; Zhang, Quan-fa; Li, Qiong; Xiao, Wen-sheng; Wang, Yong-kui; Zhang, Jian-chun; Gai, Xi-guang

2015-01-01

Each 20 water samples and soil samples (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm) were collected from the riparian zone of Daye Lake in dry season during March 2013. Heavy metals (Cu, Ph, Cd, Zn) have been detected by flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS). The results showed that the average concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn in the water were 7.14, 25.94, 15.72 and 37.58 microg x L(-1), respectively. The concentration of Cu was higher than the five degree of the surface water environment quality standard. The average concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn in soil(0-10 cm) were 108.38, 53.92, 3.55, 139.26 mg x kg(-1) in soil (10-20 cm) were 93.00, 51.72, 2.08, 171.00 mg x kg(-1), respectively. The Cd concentrations were higher than the three grade value of the national soil environment quality standard. The transportation of Pb from soil to water was relatively stable, and Zn was greatly influenced by soil property and the surrounding environment from soil to water. The transformation of heavy metal in west riparian zone was higher than that of east riparian zone. The potential environmental risk was relatively high. Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn were dominated by residue fraction of the modified BCR sequential extraction method. The overall migration order of heavy metal element was: Pb > Cu > Cd > Zn. There were stronger transformation and higher environmental pollution risk of Cu, Pb. The index of assessment and potential ecological risk coefficient indicated that heavy metal pollution in soil (0-10 cm) was higher than the soil (10-20 cm), Cd was particularly serious.

Sobre as ondas: surfe, juventude e cultura no Rio de Janeiro dos anos 1960

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cleber Dias

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Na segunda metade do século XX, torna-se explícita a influência mundial dos Estados Unidos no âmbito esportivo. A disseminação de práticas que possuíam marcas culturais norte-americanas, como é o caso do surfe, não deve ser considerada, contudo, somente como resultado de uma imposição unilateral: há múltiplas apropriações locais que dizem muito sobre o contexto do receptor. Partindo dessa consideração, este artigo objetiva discutir a apreensão do surfe no Rio de Janeiro dos anos 1960. Buscamos debater como a modalidade foi operada como marcador de identidades a partir de vinculações a certas noções de juventude e estilo de vida.

Experimental and numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic dispersion of a pollutant effluent in a estuarine coastal zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gidas, N.K.; Koutitonsky, V.G.

1996-01-01

An experimental and numerical study was performed to measure and simulate the hydrodynamic dispersion of a pollutant effluent discharged by an outfall diffuser into an estuarine coastal zone near Rimouski, Canada. Field measurements of currents, tides, salinity, and winds were obtained in the vicinity of the injection site, and two tracer dispersion experiments were carried on in these coastal waters. The measurements were taken before and after the construction of the marine outfall diffuser. The similitude between the plume of a tracer (physical model) released into the coastal waters before construction and that of the real effluent (prototype) discharged at the same site was studied. A new coefficient of similitude was established, which allows to transpose the concentrations of the physical model tracer to the waste water concentrations of the prototype. The numerical simulation (2D) is performed with a hydrodynamic model and an advection-dispersion model of the MIKE21 system from the Danish Hydraulic Institute, using the so-called telescopic approach. The objective of these simulations was to predict, among other things, the pollutant effluent concentrations for critical hydrodynamic conditions relative to the aquatic ecosystem to be protected. The methodology elaborated was used for the management of the coastal environments subjected to pollution. (author). 28 refs., 2 tabs., 12 figs

Investigations of coastal zones using a modular amphibious vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Zeziulin, Denis; Makarov, Vladimir; Filatov, Valery; Beresnev, Pavel; Belyakov, Vladimir; Kurkin, Andrey

2017-04-01

The project aims to develop a means of verification of data on sea excitement derived from Autonomous mobile robotic system (AMRS) for coastal monitoring and forecasting marine natural disasters [Kurkin A., Pelinovsky E., Tyugin D., Giniyatullin A., Kurkina O., Belyakov V., Makarov V., Zeziulin D., Kuznetsov K. Autonomous Robotic System for Coastal Monitoring // Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment MEDCOAST. 2015. V. 2. P. 933-944]. The chassis of the developed remote-controlled modular amphibious vehicle (MAV) will be equipped with a video camera and a hydrostatic wave-plotting device with strings sensors mounted on the stationary body's supports. To track the position of the MAV there will be installed the navigation system in order to correct the measurement data. The peculiarity of the tricycle MAV is the ability to change its geometric parameters that will increase its stability to actions of destructive waves and mobility. In May-June 2016 authors took part in conducting field tests of the AMRS on the Gulf of Mordvinov (Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin Island). Participation in this expedition contributed to obtaining experimental data on the topography and the physical and mechanical properties of the surf zone of the most promising field of using the MAV as a road for its moving. Within the project there was developed a mathematical model of the MAV motion in coastal conditions taking into account the new analytical dependences describing the physical and mechanical characteristics of the ground surfaces and the landscape, as well as hydrodynamic effects of surf zones. The reasonable selection of rational parameters of the MAV and developing the methodology of creating effective vehicles for investigations of specific coastal areas of the Okhotsk Sea will be made by using the mathematical model.

A Full Hydro- and Morphodynamic Description of Breaker Bar Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Niels Gjøl

The present thesis considers a coupled modelling approach for hydro- and morphodynamics in the surf zone, which is based on a solution to the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a Volume of Fluid (VOF) closure for the surf tracking. The basis for the numerical approach is the su......The present thesis considers a coupled modelling approach for hydro- and morphodynamics in the surf zone, which is based on a solution to the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a Volume of Fluid (VOF) closure for the surf tracking. The basis for the numerical approach...

The use of satellite radar to improve the surveillance of oil pollution over large areas; L'utilisation de satellites pour ameliorer la surveillance des pollutions par hydrocarbures sur des zones etendues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samuel, V.K.; Parthiot, F. [CEDRE, 29 - Brest (France)

2004-03-01

Quite recently, on November 13, the accident of the tanker Prestige loaded with 77 000 T of heavy fuel oil (Fuel no. 2) near the Galician coast has caused an unprecedented oil pollution mainly along the Spanish and French coast-lines. The purpose of this paper is to compare satellite derived observations with the other available information concerning the actual extension of the pollution especially during the first days, namely 17 and 18 of November. In addition, the problem of detecting and monitoring ship illegal discharges over large areas, such as the protected ecological zone (ZPE) in the Mediterranean sea, on a routine basis together with the ongoing aerial surveillance is commented and some suggestion are discussed. (author)

Impact study of an accidental pollution and an agricultural pollution on the subsoil water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Tabach, E.

2005-07-01

This work deals with the protection of groundwater resources against accidental and agricultural pollutions. It comprises three parts: part 1 is a bibliographic analysis of pollutants transfer mechanisms in the non-saturated zone. It presents the techniques of numerical resolution of the equations controlling these transfers (mechanistic approach). Approaches of data processing-type are also presented. The advantage of neural networks, more and more used in the environmental domain, is emphasized. The second part treats of the migration of non-miscible pollutants (of hydrocarbon or chlorinated solvent type) in the non-saturated zone from an accidental pollution source (a road accident). After a bibliographic analysis of the reference accident, of the most often road transported pollutants and of the available softwares, the area under study is presented with the tests performed at the laboratory for the determination of the permeability coefficient at saturation and the Van Genuchten parameters of the covering layer. The results of the parametric study are given for a reference example using the NAPL-Simulator code. This study allows to outline the main parameters which are used for the construction of a database for the calibration of the neural network-based model. This model is used in the case of the impact study of the road works between Avesnes-sur-Helpes and Maubeuge carried out on the captation fields of Bachant syncline. The third part treats of the migration of a diffuse pollution of agricultural origin (nitrates) in the non-saturated zone. The area under study is presented with the in-situ follow up results of surface fertilizer supplies and of nitrate profile measurements performed for some logging. The construction of the database is detailed. The input data retained are the surface nitrogen supplies, the thickness of the soil beneath the root zone, the water table depth and the time. Finally, the artificial neural networks model and its application to

Palmprint Based Verification System Using SURF Features

Science.gov (United States)

Srinivas, Badrinath G.; Gupta, Phalguni

This paper describes the design and development of a prototype of robust biometric system for verification. The system uses features extracted using Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) operator of human hand. The hand image for features is acquired using a low cost scanner. The palmprint region extracted is robust to hand translation and rotation on the scanner. The system is tested on IITK database of 200 images and PolyU database of 7751 images. The system is found to be robust with respect to translation and rotation. It has FAR 0.02%, FRR 0.01% and accuracy of 99.98% and can be a suitable system for civilian applications and high-security environments.

Current research at NBS using synchrotron radiation at SURF-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parr, A.C.; Rakowsky, G.; Ederer, D.L.; Stockbauer, R.L.; West, J.B.; Dehmer, J.L.

1980-01-01

The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF-II) is used in conjunction with a high flux normal incidence monochromator for angle resolved wavelength dependent photoelectron studies. The recent work has concentrated on studies of the effect of shape resonances on molecular vibrational intensity distributions as well as the effects of autoionization upon the vibrational intensity distributions over narrow wavelength regions. Results for CO, N 2 , Ar and Xe will be discussed

Numerical Simulation to Air Pollution Emission Control near an Industrial Zone

OpenAIRE

Oyjinda, Pravitra; Pochai, Nopparat

2017-01-01

A rapid industrial development causes several environment pollution problems. One of the main problems is air pollution, which affects human health and the environment. The consideration of an air pollutant has to focus on a polluted source. An industrial factory is an important reason that releases the air pollutant into the atmosphere. Thus a mathematical model, an atmospheric diffusion model, is used to estimate air quality that can be used to describe the sulfur dioxide dispersion. In thi...

Geochronology of priority pollutants in sedimentation zones of the Volga and Danube delta in comparison with the Rhine delta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkels, H.J.; Kroonenberg, S.B.; Lychagin, M.Y.; Marin, G.; Rusakov, G.V.; Kasimov, N.S.

1998-01-01

Six sediment cores were taken in sedimentation zones of the Volga river (located in the southern part of the Russian Federation) and, additionally, 6 sediment cores were taken in several lakes (sedimentation zones) in the central and western part of the Danube delta in Romania. Priority pollutants (8 metals, 7 polychlorinated biphenyls and 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) were determined in all samples of all cores. Present-day and historical levels of pollutants since the late 1930s were established through the use of radionuclide time tracers ( 137 Cs, 134 Cs). For the persistent metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, trends in the concentration profiles during the last 5 decades are described. Low and hardly changing concentrations of As, Cu, Zn and all studied PAHs were observed during the last five decades in the sediments of the Volga river. Recently deposited sediments show slightly increasing levels for the heavy metals Zn and Cr and As in the Volga delta. For the studied metals and PAHs, maximum concentrations were found around 1987 in the sediments of the Danube delta. Sediments deposited around 1940 and recently deposited sediments in the Danube delta showed lower pollutant levels. If the contents of heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs in the aquatic sediments in the deltas of the rivers Rhine, Danube and Volga are compared, it is clear that the Volga delta is and was the cleanest delta during the last 5 decades. Nowadays the contents of heavy metals (except Cu and Ni), PAHs and PCBs in the aquatic sediments of the river Rhine are still highest compared to the other two rivers. The recent load of heavy metals (except Cd and Zn) in the sediments of the river Danube is the highest compared to the other two rivers. (Copyright (c) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

Longitudinal instability studies at the SURF II storage ring at NIST

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harkay, K.C.; Sereno, N.S.

1998-01-01

Measurements of the longitudinal instability observed in the storage ring at the Synchrotrons Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF II) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NET) were performed to understand the mechanism driving the instability. The instability, studied in depth by Ralcowsky and others, manifests itself in broad resonance features in the horizontal and vertical motion spectrum of the synchrotrons light from DC to a few kHz. Also observed are multiple synchrotrons harmonics that modulate the revolution harmonics; these are characteristic of longitudinal phase oscillations. These spectral features of the motion are found to be correlated with the periodic lengthening and shortening of the bunch length on time scales from approximately0.1 ms to 20 ms, depending on machine and radio-frequency (rf) system parameters. In this report, the growth rate of the instability is determined from measurements using an rf pickup electrode. The measured growth rates are compared to computed growth rates from an analytical model. Recommendations are made regarding options to control or mitigate the instability. In light of upgrade plans for SURF III, a few comments are presented about the beam lifetime

Discriminative region extraction and feature selection based on the combination of SURF and saliency

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Li; Wang, Chunhong; Rao, Changhui

2011-08-01

The objective of this paper is to provide a possible optimization on salient region algorithm, which is extensively used in recognizing and learning object categories. Salient region algorithm owns the superiority of intra-class tolerance, global score of features and automatically prominent scale selection under certain range. However, the major limitation behaves on performance, and that is what we attempt to improve. By reducing the number of pixels involved in saliency calculation, it can be accelerated. We use interest points detected by fast-Hessian, the detector of SURF, as the candidate feature for saliency operation, rather than the whole set in image. This implementation is thereby called Saliency based Optimization over SURF (SOSU for short). Experiment shows that bringing in of such a fast detector significantly speeds up the algorithm. Meanwhile, Robustness of intra-class diversity ensures object recognition accuracy.

Oil pollution survey around the coasts of the United Kingdom, 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-10-01

This report summarises the findings of the questionnaire survey of cases of marine oil pollution reported during 1997. Descriptive statistics and trend assessments are presented with a map showing the locations of all incidents. A summary of all spills over 2 tonnes and the total estimated volumes of pollution reported in each marine environmental zone are included, and figures and tables illustrating the oil pollution cases in each enumeration zone, the main pollution sources, the extent of oil pollution, causes of oil pollution, the fate of the oil, methods, extent and location of clean-up operations, and expenditure incurred in clean-up operations are given. (UK)

Surfing and drift acceleration at high mach number quasi-perpendicular shocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amano, T.

2008-01-01

Electron acceleration in high Mach number collisionless shocks relevant to supernova remnant is discussed. By performing one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of quasi-perpendicular shocks, we find that energetic electrons are quickly generated in the shock transition region through shock surfing and drift acceleration. The electron energization is strong enough to account for the observed injection at supernova remnant shocks. (author)

Heavy metals contamination characteristics in soil of different mining activity zones

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIAO Guo-li; LIAO Da-xue; LI Quan-ming

2008-01-01

Depending upon the polluted features of various mining activities in a typical nonferrous metal mine, the contaminated soil area was divided into four zones which were polluted by tailings, mine drainage, dust deposition in wind and spreading minerals during vehicle transportation, respectively. In each zone, soil samples were collected. Total 28 soil samples were dug and analyzed by ICP-AES and other relevant methods. The results indicate that the average contents of Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu and As in soils are 508.6, 384.8, 7.53, 356 and 44.6 mg/kg, respectively. But the contents of heavy metals in different zone have distinct differences. The proportion of oxidizing association with organic substance is small. Difference of the association of heavy metals is small in different polluted zones.

Ablation of the mitochondrial complex IV assembly protein Surf1 leads to increased expression of the UPRMT and increased resistance to oxidative stress in primary cultures of fibroblasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavin Pharaoh

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Mice deficient in the electron transport chain (ETC complex IV assembly protein SURF1 have reduced assembly and activity of cytochrome c oxidase that is associated with an upregulation of components of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRMT and increased mitochondrial number. We hypothesized that the upregulation of proteins associated with the UPRMT in response to reduced cytochrome c oxidase activity in Surf1−/− mice might contribute to increased stress resistance. To test this hypothesis we asked whether primary cultures of fibroblasts from Surf1−/− mice exhibit enhanced resistance to stressors compared to wild-type fibroblasts. Here we show that primary dermal fibroblasts isolated from Surf1−/− mice have increased expression of UPRMT components ClpP and Hsp60, and increased expression of Lon protease. Fibroblasts from Surf1−/− mice are significantly more resistant to cell death caused by oxidative stress induced by paraquat or tert-Butyl hydroperoxide compared to cells from wild-type mice. In contrast, Surf1−/− fibroblasts show no difference in sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide stress. The enhanced cell survival in response to paraquat or tert-Butyl hydroperoxide in Surf1−/− fibroblasts compared to wild-type fibroblasts is associated with induced expression of Lon, ClpP, and Hsp60, increased maximal respiration, and increased reserve capacity as measured using the Seahorse Extracellular Flux Analyzer. Overall these data support a protective role for the activation of the UPRMT in cell survival.

Ship Underwater Threat Response System (SUTRS): A Feasibility Study of Organic Mine Point-Defense

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-01

Landing Zone ~0 ft Anti-Personnel Mines and Obstacle Surf Zone 0 - 10 ft Anti-Tank Mines, Anti-Invasion Mines and Obstacles Very-Shallow Water 10...Platform Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Associates localization of minefields & obstacles in the surf zone and beach zone prior to an...projectile that penetrates the mine casing to disable or destroy the mine. The system is deployed from a UH-60 helicopter, and because of the danger from

Field Observations of Swash-Zone Dynamics on a Sea-Breeze Dominated Beach at the Yucatán Peninsula, México

Science.gov (United States)

Chardon-Maldonado, P.; Puleo, J. A.; Torres-Freyermuth, A.

2016-02-01

Sea breezes can modify the nearshore processes and alter beach morphology depending on the geographical location. Prior studies have shown that surf zone wave energy intensifies during strong sea-breeze conditions (wind speeds > 10 ms-1) and the impact on the coast can be similar to a small storm. However, few research efforts have investigated the coastal dynamics on sea-breeze dominated beaches (e.g., Masselink and Pattiaratchi, 1998, Mar. Geol.; Pattiaratchi et al., 1997, Cont. Shelf Res.) and, to the authors' knowledge, only one study has focused on swash-zone processes (Sonu et al., 1973, EOS). A field study was performed on a microtidal, low wave energy, sea-breeze dominated sandy beach in order to investigate the effects of local (sea breeze) and synoptic (storm) scale meteorological events on swash-zone dynamics. In-situ measurements of swash-zone hydrodynamics and sediment transport processes were collected from March 31st to April 12th, 2014 in Sisal, Yucatán located on the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Flow velocities and suspended sediment concentrations were measured concurrently, at multiple cross-shore and alongshore locations, using Vectrino-II profiling velocimeters and optical backscatter sensors, respectively. The high resolution data allowed the quantification of bed shear stress, turbulent dissipation rate, sediment loads and sediment flux during a mesoscale frontal system (cold-front passage referred to as an El Norte) and local sea-breeze cycles. Field observations showed that strong swash-zone bed shear stresses, turbulence intensity and sediment suspension occur during energetic conditions (i.e., El Norte event). On the other hand, despite milder energy conditions during the sea-breeze events, the alongshore component of bed-shear stresses and velocities can be significant owing to the high incidence wave angle associated with the sea-breeze system in the study area. The increased forcing in the swash zone induced sediment

Evaluating the role of soil variability on groundwater pollution and recharge at regional scale by integrating a process-based vadose zone model in a stochastic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Coppola, Antonio; Comegna, Alessandro; Dragonetti, Giovanna; Lamaddalena, Nicola; Zdruli, Pandi

2013-04-01

Interpreting and predicting the evolution of water resources and soils at regional scale are continuing challenges for natural scientists. Examples include non-point source (NPS) pollution of soil and surface and subsurface water from agricultural chemicals and pathogens, as well as overexploitation of groundwater resources. The presence and build up of NPS pollutants may be harmful for both soil and groundwater resources. The accumulation of salts and trace elements in soils can significantly impact crop productivity, while loading of salts, nitrates, trace elements and pesticides into groundwater supplies can deteriorate a source of drinking and irrigation water. Consequently, predicting the spatial distribution and fate of NPS pollutants in soils at applicative scales is now considered crucial for maintaining the fragile balance between crop productivity and the negative environmental impacts of NPS pollutants, which is a basis of sustainable agriculture. Soil scientists and hydrologists are regularly asked to assist state agencies to understand these critical environmental issues. The most frequent inquiries are related to the development of mathematical models needed for analyzing the impacts of alternative land-use and best management use and management of soil and water resources. Different modelling solutions exist, mainly differing on the role of the vadose zone and its horizontal and vertical variability in the predictive models. The vadose zone (the region from the soil surface to the groundwater surface) is a complex physical, chemical and biological ecosystem that controls the passage of NPS pollutants from the soil surface where they have been deposited or accumulated due to agricultural activities, to groundwater. Physically based distributed hydrological models require the internal variability of the vadose zone be explored at a variety of scales. The equations describing fluxes and storage of water and solutes in the unsaturated zone used in these

A study on the air pollution related human diseases in Thiruvananthapuram City, Kerala

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bency, K.T.; Jansy, J.; Thakappan, B.; Kumar, B.; Sreelekha, T.T.; Hareendran, N.K.; Nair, P.K.K.; Krishnan Nair, M. [National Inst. of Environmental Health, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (India). Regional Cancer Centre

2005-07-01

This paper contains the results of a study that examined the impacts of air pollution on human health in Thiruvananthapuram City, India. The study compared health impacts arising from air pollution in three different zones including residential, commercial, and industrial. The paper presents the findings from the study according to each of these zones and presents conclusions.The study found that each zone had its individual environmental problems which were characterized by specific diseases. In the residential zone, there was a prevalence of diseases such as breast cancer and cardiac-related problems as well as dietary problems linked to obesity. In the industrial zone, respiratory illnesses related to air pollution were prevalent. Cardiac and vector-borne diseases, related to environmental hazards like waste water stagnation, dust and solid waste problem, were high in the commercial zone. 14 refs., 3 figs.

Estimation of air quality by air pollution indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liblik, Valdo; Kundel, Helmut

1999-01-01

A novel system for estimating the quality of atmospheric air in the over-ground air layer with the help of air pollution indices was developed. The method is based on a comparison of measured or calculated maximum short-term concentrations and average annual concentrations of pollutants with maximum permissible concentrations (with regard to human beings and vegetation). Special air quality estimation scales for residential areas and natural systems are presented. On the basis of the concentration of the substance under study zones of very high, high, rather high, moderate, low and very low air pollution were distinguished in the over-ground layer of the atmosphere. These are projected to land surface for landscape zonation. The application of the system of indices is demonstrated in the analysis of air quality for the towns of Kohtla-Jarve, Johvi and Kivioli (in 1997-1998). A comparative analysis of the air pollution zones distinguished on the basis of emissions and data from bio monitoring yielded satisfactory results. The system of air pollution indices developed enables to process the results of air monitoring in case of pollution fields of complicated composition so that the result for estimating the quality of ambient air in a residential area is easily understood by inhabitants and interpretable with the help of a special scale; analyse temporal changes in the quality of the air in towns, villages and other residential areas and use the results as basis for developing measures for reducing the pollution of ambient air; carry out zonation of large territories on the basis of air pollution levels (spatial air pollution zones are projected on the ground surface) and estimate air quality in places where air monitoring is lacking to forecast the possible effect of air pollution on natural systems (author)

Development and Evaluation of a Simple, Multifactorial Model Based on Landing Performance to Indicate Injury Risk in Surfing Athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Lina E; Tran, Tai T; Nimphius, Sophia; Raymond, Ellen; Secomb, Josh L; Farley, Oliver R L; Newton, Robert U; Steele, Julie R; Sheppard, Jeremy M

2015-11-01

To develop and evaluate a multifactorial model based on landing performance to estimate injury risk for surfing athletes. Five measures were collected from 78 competitive surfing athletes and used to create a model to serve as a screening tool for landing tasks and potential injury risk. In the second part of the study, the model was evaluated using junior surfing athletes (n = 32) with a longitudinal follow-up of their injuries over 26 wk. Two models were compared based on the collected data, and magnitude-based inferences were applied to determine the likelihood of differences between injured and noninjured groups. The study resulted in a model based on 5 measures--ankle-dorsiflexion range of motion, isometric midthigh-pull lower-body strength, time to stabilization during a drop-and-stick (DS) landing, relative peak force during a DS landing, and frontal-plane DS-landing video analysis--for male and female professional surfers and male and female junior surfers. Evaluation of the model showed that a scaled probability score was more likely to detect injuries in junior surfing athletes and reported a correlation of r = .66, P = .001, with a model of equal variable importance. The injured (n = 7) surfers had a lower probability score (0.18 ± 0.16) than the noninjured group (n = 25, 0.36 ± 0.15), with 98% likelihood, Cohen d = 1.04. The proposed model seems sensitive and easy to implement and interpret. Further research is recommended to show full validity for potential adaptations for other sports.

New approach for measuring 3D space by using Advanced SURF Algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Youm, Minkyo; Min, Byungil; Suh, Kyungsuk [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Backgeun [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

The nuclear disasters compared to natural disaster create a more extreme condition for analyzing and evaluating. In this paper, measuring 3D space and modeling was studied by simple pictures in case of small sand dune. The suggested method can be used for the acquisition of spatial information by robot at the disaster area. As a result, these data are helpful for identify the damaged part, degree of damage and determination of recovery sequences. In this study we are improving computer vision algorithm for 3-D geo spatial information measurement. And confirm by test. First, we can get noticeable improvement of 3-D geo spatial information result by SURF algorithm and photogrammetry surveying. Second, we can confirm not only decrease algorithm running time, but also increase matching points through epi polar line filtering. From the study, we are extracting 3-D model by open source algorithm and delete miss match point by filtering method. However on characteristic of SURF algorithm, it can't find match point if structure don't have strong feature. So we will need more study about find feature point if structure don't have strong feature.

The positive impact of structured surfing courses on the wellbeing of vulnerable young people.

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Cath; Devine-Wright, Hannah; Taylor, Joe

2015-01-01

Involvement in positive leisure activities is a key way for young people to develop resilience and social and emotional skills. This paper outlines the evaluation of a six-week surfing intervention, the Wave Project, which aimed to boost wellbeing and confidence among 84 young people aged eight to 18, all of whom faced mental health issues or social exclusion. The intervention resulted in a significant and sustained increase in wellbeing. One year later, 70% of clients regularly attend a surf club and many have become trained as session volunteers. Parents and referrers noticed an increase in positive attitude and better communication, as well as improved self-management and behaviour at both home and school It is concluded that the Wave Project provides a demonstrable and cost-effective way to deliver mental health care, mentoring and social integration of young people. Further service evaluation of accessibility and long-term outcomes is also recommended.

Tracking stormwater discharge plumes and water quality of the Tijuana River with multispectral aerial imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Svejkovsky, Jan; Nezlin, Nikolay P.; Mustain, Neomi M.; Kum, Jamie B.

2010-04-01

Spatial-temporal characteristics and environmental factors regulating the behavior of stormwater runoff from the Tijuana River in southern California were analyzed utilizing very high resolution aerial imagery, and time-coincident environmental and bacterial sampling data. Thirty nine multispectral aerial images with 2.1-m spatial resolution were collected after major rainstorms during 2003-2008. Utilizing differences in color reflectance characteristics, the ocean surface was classified into non-plume waters and three components of the runoff plume reflecting differences in age and suspended sediment concentrations. Tijuana River discharge rate was the primary factor regulating the size of the freshest plume component and its shorelong extensions to the north and south. Wave direction was found to affect the shorelong distribution of the shoreline-connected fresh plume components much more strongly than wind direction. Wave-driven sediment resuspension also significantly contributed to the size of the oldest plume component. Surf zone bacterial samples collected near the time of each image acquisition were used to evaluate the contamination characteristics of each plume component. The bacterial contamination of the freshest plume waters was very high (100% of surf zone samples exceeded California standards), but the oldest plume areas were heterogeneous, including both polluted and clean waters. The aerial imagery archive allowed study of river runoff characteristics on a plume component level, not previously done with coarser satellite images. Our findings suggest that high resolution imaging can quickly identify the spatial extents of the most polluted runoff but cannot be relied upon to always identify the entire polluted area. Our results also indicate that wave-driven transport is important in distributing the most contaminated plume areas along the shoreline.

Performance of the SURF-II high-throughput toroidal grating monochromator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurtz, R.L.; Ederer, D.L.; Barth, J.; Stockbauer, R.

1988-01-01

The performance of the 'high-flux' toroidal grating monochromator (HFTGM) at the NBS SURF-II synchrotron storage ring is assessed. Two gratings are studied: One with a ruled profile and the other having a laminar profile. The laminar profile is shown to reduce substantially the intensity of higher-order diffracted light with only a small decrease in the intensity of the first order light. The dependence of the energy resolution as a function of the area of the grating illuminated is also discussed. (orig.)

Baseline Measurements of Shoulder Surfing Analysis and Comparability for Smartphone Unlock Authentication

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-22

In this research, we explore a novel approach to measuring the susceptibility of smarthphone unlock authentication to shoulder surfing attacks. We...have created a series of video recordings where researchers enter authentication sequences into mobile devices (e.g. PINs, graphical patterns with...and played the role of attackers, viewing video-recorded footage of PIN and graphical pattern authentication input with various camera angles, hand

Wave groupiness variations in the nearshore

Science.gov (United States)

List, J.H.

1991-01-01

This paper proposes a new definition of the groupiness factor, GF, based on the envelope of the incident-wave time series. It is shown that an envelope-based GF has several important advantages over the SIWEH-based groupiness factor, including objective criteria for determining the accuracy of the envelope function and well-defined numerical limits. Using this new GF, the variability of incident wave groupiness in the field is examined both temporally, in unbroken waves at a fixed location, and spatially, in a cross-shore array through the surf zone. Contrary to previous studies using the SIWEH-based GF, results suggest that incident wave groupiness may not be an independent parameter in unbroken waves; through a wide range of spectral shapes, from swell to storm waves, the groupiness did not vary significantly. As expected, the groupiness decreases rapidly as waves break through the surf zone, although significant wave height variability persists even through a saturated surf zone. The source of this inner surf zone groupiness is not identified; however, this observation implies that models of long wave generation must account for nonsteady radiation stress gradients landward of some narrow zone near the mean breakpoint. ?? 1991.

Epiphytic lichens as indicators of air pollution by sulfur dioxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goodman, G; Rose, F

1973-01-01

Epiphytic lichens show specific differential responses to sulfur dioxide in the air, and it has been possible to construct a scale of SO/sub 2/ pollution based upon lichen communities present upon trees. Maps of pollution zones have now been prepared for England, Wales and Northern France. It has proved possible to correlate these zones with mean winter levels of sulfur dioxide measured instrumentally. Laboratory studies indicate the essential validity of this approach. An interesting correlation between air pollution and topography can be demonstrated in much of south-east England.

Nitrogen transformation and retention in riparian buffer zones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hefting, Maria Margaretha

2003-01-01

Diffuse pollution of nutrients and pesticides from agricultural areas is increasingly recognised as a major problem in water management. Ecotechnological measures as constructed wetlands and riparian buffer zones clearly have an important role in the reduction of diffuse pollution by removing and

Lichens as litmus for air pollution: a historical review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hawksworth, D L

1971-01-01

The literature on the relationships between lichens and air pollution is reviewed, with particular reference to the development of the concepts governing their use as indicators of air pollution levels. Lichens are particularly sensitive to sulfur dioxide which acts by the destruction of chlorophyll. By considering both the species present and their abundance, zones indicative of mean air pollution levels can be quickly mapped. The way in which some species respond in different regions varies and so zonal scales can only be reliably applied in the areas where they were devised. Only in a few cases has it been possible to correlate lichen zones with particular sulfur dioxide concentrations, principally because of a lack of physico-chemical measurements; but even where such correlations are not possible, lichen zones provide a rapid qualitative means of assessing the effects of air pollution. Maps showing the type of data obtained by this method are presented, and a table summarizes the published work on major cities, towns, industrial plants, and in larger geographical regions. 119 references, 5 figures, 3 tables.

SurfCut: Free-Boundary Surface Extraction

KAUST Repository

Algarni, Marei Saeed Mohammed

2016-09-15

We present SurfCut, an algorithm for extracting a smooth simple surface with unknown boundary from a noisy 3D image and a seed point. In contrast to existing approaches that extract smooth simple surfaces with boundary, our method requires less user input, i.e., a seed point, rather than a 3D boundary curve. Our method is built on the novel observation that certain ridge curves of a front propagated using the Fast Marching algorithm are likely to lie on the surface. Using the framework of cubical complexes, we design a novel algorithm to robustly extract such ridge curves and form the surface of interest. Our algorithm automatically cuts these ridge curves to form the surface boundary, and then extracts the surface. Experiments show the robustness of our method to errors in the data, and that we achieve higher accuracy with lower computational cost than comparable methods. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.

Comparison of recreational health risks associated with surfing and swimming in dry weather and post-storm conditions at Southern California beaches using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA).

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Linda Y; Jiang, Sunny C

2012-05-01

Southern California is an increasingly urbanized hotspot for surfing, thus it is of great interest to assess the human illness risks associated with this popular ocean recreational water sport from exposure to fecal bacteria contaminated coastal waters. Quantitative microbial risk assessments were applied to eight popular Southern California beaches using readily available enterococcus and fecal coliform data and dose-response models to compare health risks associated with surfing during dry weather and storm conditions. The results showed that the level of gastrointestinal illness risks from surfing post-storm events was elevated, with the probability of exceeding the US EPA health risk guideline up to 28% of the time. The surfing risk was also elevated in comparison with swimming at the same beach due to ingestion of greater volume of water. The study suggests that refinement of dose-response model, improving monitoring practice and better surfer behavior surveillance will improve the risk estimation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Polluted Zones by Lead in North West of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khodadadi A.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available National project of Important Heavy Metals Identification of Iran (IHMI, following the UNDP and supported by Department of Environment of Iran (DOE, has been completed by Modares Environmental Research Center (MERC. Due to this project the pollution potential sources was investigated by overall distribution maps of any parameters that may cause the lead pollution. Then the sampling points was determined by some geo-statistical analysis and the sampling process was done according to standard methods of sampling, preserving, transferring to lab, measuring and analyzing etc through the 3 months in three phases of materials (effluent and discharges, solid waste, water, soil and sediment samples from natural sources like river etc.. After gathering the final results, overlaying the potential sources and polluted positions (according to violation of national and international standards of sampled points by Geographic Information Systems (GIS led the research to closing to the pollutant sources in north west provinces (Eastern Azerbaijan, Western Azerbaijan, Ardabil and Zanjan. The synthetic and natural pollution sources observed were 17 and 20 respectively. Abir River, Niroo Gostar Taban Industrial Complex and Copper Industries were the most important pollution sources in material phases of Natural, effluent and solid waste respectively.

Sound Surfing Network (SSN): Mobile Phone-based Sound Spatialization with Audience Collaboration

OpenAIRE

Park, Saebyul; Ban, Seonghoon; Hong, Dae Ryong; Yeo, Woon Seung

2013-01-01

SSN (Sound Surfing Network) is a performance system that provides a new musicalexperience by incorporating mobile phone-based spatial sound control tocollaborative music performance. SSN enables both the performer and theaudience to manipulate the spatial distribution of sound using the smartphonesof the audience as distributed speaker system. Proposing a new perspective tothe social aspect music appreciation, SSN will provide a new possibility tomobile music performances in the context of in...

the role of industry in air pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kdeih, Naji

1998-01-01

Industry is among the main sources of air pollution in Lebanon. Industrial plants emits dangerous effluents affecting on human health and on population living in industrial zones. Personnel within industries ignore the dangerous effect of substances they use in their work and the toxic effect of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes produced and their impact on health and on environment. A major attention should be paid by Lebanese government to avoid the increasing of atmospheric pollution and must encourage the monitoring of air pollution and its effect on human target organs in the influenced zones. Within industries air is contaminated by gases, vapor, dusts in high rates. Attention has to be focused to the diseases due to breathing diseases, Asbestos, arterial high blood pressure, stress, digestive diseases and other

"Sub-Surf Rocks"! An A-Level Resource Developed through an Industry-Education Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Mather, Hazel

2012-01-01

A free internet resource called "Sub-Surf Rocks"! was launched in 2010. Its aim is to use seismic data obtained by the oil industry for enhancing the teaching of structural and economic geology at A-level (ages 16-18) in the UK. Seismic data gives a unique insight into the sub-surface and the many high-quality images coupled with…

Application of multiple geochemical markers to investigate organic pollution in a dynamic coastal zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Liang-Ying; Wang, Ji-Zhong; Wong, Charles S; Qiu, Jian-Wen; Zeng, Eddy Y

2013-02-01

Multiple geochemical markers, including aliphatic hydrocarbons (n-alkanes), linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were employed to relate sediment organic chemical pollution in the coastal zone off South China to socioeconomic development there. Concentrations of Σn-C(15-35) (n-alkanes with 15-35 carbon atoms), ΣLAB (sum of C(10) to C(13) LABs), and Σ(26) PAH (sum of 26 PAH compounds) ranged from 110 to 3,160, 11 to 160, and 26 to 600 ng/g, with medians of 730, 40, and 230 ng/g, respectively. Natural hydrocarbons were mainly derived from terrestrial higher plant waxes, and in minor amounts from aquatic plankton and bacteria. Compositions of LABs indicated that considerable amounts of poorly treated wastewater had been directly discharged or transported to the eastern and western coastal areas of Guangdong Province. In addition, anthropogenic hydrocarbons were derived largely from vehicular emissions and combustion of domestic coal and biomass and to a lesser extent from oil spills. Eastern and western coastal sediments contained higher levels of LABs but lower levels of PAHs than those of the Pearl River Estuary, a coastal area of the Pearl River Delta. This spatial pattern of organic pollution was consistent with chemical use patterns. The eastern and western regions of Guangdong Province are economically less developed than the Pearl River Delta region, where more domestic wastewater treatment plants have been built. However, greater amounts of energy are consumed in the latter region to produce more combustion-derived PAH contamination. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.

Exposure Patterns and Health Effects Associated with Swimming and Surfing in Polluted Marine Waters

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, S. B.

2007-05-01

Marine bathing beaches are closed to the public whenever water quality fails to meet State and Federal standards. In this talk I will explore the science (and lack thereof!) behind these beach closures, including the health effects data upon which standards are based, shortcomings of the current approach used for testing and notification, and the high degree of spatial and temporal heterogeneity associated with human exposure to pollutants in these systems. The talk will focus on examples from Huntington Beach, where the speaker has conducted research over the past several years.

Mechanical interactions in bacterial colonies and the surfing probability of beneficial mutations

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Fred D.

2017-01-01

Bacterial conglomerates such as biofilms and microcolonies are ubiquitous in nature and play an important role in industry and medicine. In contrast to well-mixed cultures routinely used in microbial research, bacteria in a microcolony interact mechanically with one another and with the substrate to which they are attached. Here, we use a computer model of a microbial colony of rod-shaped cells to investigate how physical interactions between cells determine their motion in the colony and how this affects biological evolution. We show that the probability that a faster-growing mutant ‘surfs’ at the colony's frontier and creates a macroscopic sector depends on physical properties of cells (shape, elasticity and friction). Although all these factors contribute to the surfing probability in seemingly different ways, their effects can be summarized by two summary statistics that characterize the front roughness and cell alignment. Our predictions are confirmed by experiments in which we measure the surfing probability for colonies of different front roughness. Our results show that physical interactions between bacterial cells play an important role in biological evolution of new traits, and suggest that these interactions may be relevant to processes such as de novo evolution of antibiotic resistance. PMID:28592660

Spent unreprocessed fuel (SURF) facility evaluation plan of the alternative storage concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, S.M.

1978-01-01

Concepts were evaluated for the storage of unreprocessed spent fuel in a retrievable surface storage facility. This document provides a systematic format for making a concept selection from the seven alternative concepts presented in RHO-LD-2. Results of the evaluation was that the Drywell concept was rated highest with the Water Basin Concept and the Sealed Storage Cask concept with multiple canisters of SURF coming in a close second and third

French policy localism: Surfing on ‘Positive Energie Territories’ (Tepos)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nadaï, Alain; Labussière, Olivier; Debourdeau, Ariane; Régnier, Yannick; Cointe, Béatrice; Dobigny, Laure

2015-01-01

This paper is interested in sustainable energy initiatives in French rural areas. It follows up the UK debate about ‘localism’. UK policy localism has been cast as neoliberal, framing communities as competent and competitive actors, morally responsible and accountable for their destiny. In France, the emerging policy localism is surfing on an ongoing political structuration of innovative rural territories – ‘Positive Energie Territories’ (TEPOS). The paper presents and discusses the results of a rough census (undertaken in 2012) of significant experiences in this domain. It points to a few experiences and depicts them as risky, trial-and-error transcalar processes that endow locally emergent energy issues with a political dimension. To this extent, they amount to a different way of doing energy policy. The analysis points to an ambiguity in French policy localism. This localism may pave the way for an upscaling of the ongoing TEPOS political structuration, or tend to make TEPOS into demonstration territories within a neoliberal RTD policy approach. In the latter case, it may not necessarily fit territories to pursue their political structuration with a view to the energy transition. - Highlights: • The paper bears witness to the emergence of a French energy policy localism. • It presents a sample of significant local rural experiences in the climate energy domain in rural France. • These experiences are risky, trial-and-error transcalar processes. • They amount to a different way of doing energy policy. • French localism surfs on these innovative territories while remaining ambiguous about the status that it confers on them

Cultural boundary surfing in mental health nursing: a creative narration.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidd, Jacquie

2010-01-01

In the mental health context, nurses navigate multifaceted boundaries every day in an effort to develop and maintain the therapeutic relationship; an endeavour that is breathtaking in its complexity. In this paper, I adopt an unconventional form of writing to explore the individual nature of cultural boundaries, and uncover hidden messages that impact on our efforts to build connections across cultures and ethnicities in mental health settings. Presented as a play, the conversation between protagonists explores cultural competence alongside the notion of 'discovery', and the potential of the Tidal Model to provide a vehicle for successful cultural boundary surfing.

Parameterization of Time-Averaged Suspended Sediment Concentration in the Nearshore

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun-Doug Yoon

2015-11-01

Full Text Available To quantify the effect of wave breaking turbulence on sediment transport in the nearshore, the vertical distribution of time-averaged suspended sediment concentration (SSC in the surf zone was parameterized in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE at different cross-shore locations, including the bar crest, bar trough, and inner surf zone. Using data from a large-scale laboratory experiment, a simple relationship was developed between the time-averaged SSC and the time-averaged TKE. The vertical variation of the time-averaged SSC was fitted to an equation analogous to the turbulent dissipation rate term. At the bar crest, the proposed equation was slightly modified to incorporate the effect of near-bed sediment processes and yielded reasonable agreement. This parameterization yielded the best agreement at the bar trough, with a coefficient of determination R2 ≥ 0.72 above the bottom boundary layer. The time-averaged SSC in the inner surf zone showed good agreement near the bed but poor agreement near the water surface, suggesting that there is a different sedimentation mechanism that controls the SSC in the inner surf zone.

Particulate pollution in ventilated space: Analysis of influencing factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Bin; Wu Jun

2009-01-01

Particle pollution has been identified to be a major indoor air pollution problem as many epidemiologic evidences have indicated that the particle exposure affects the occupant health. In common practice, mechanical ventilation is introduced to maintain a satisfactory indoor air quality for the occupant, which includes the area of particle control within the space. In order to have an effective control to the indoor particle pollution, it is important to understand the major factors influencing the indoor particle concentration in the breathing zone. This study employs a previously proposed approach to study the particle pollution in a typical ventilation system. The model simultaneously takes into account the interactions between particle transport in ventilation ducts and rooms and particle spatial distribution. It has been proven that an entire ventilation system, including filters, ducts and rooms, can be regarded as a serial of filters in steady-state cases, hence the name 'particle filter group model'. The particle concentration in the breathing zone is calculated under different conditions, and the result is then validated by experimental data. Based on the results, four main factors that affect the particle concentration in the breathing zone are identified, they are fresh air rate, particle filter efficiency, the type of the ventilation duct (roughness) and ventilation modes. Their degrees of influence are analyzed and then the possible measures to improve/control the indoor particle pollution are suggested

Organic matter compounds as source indicators and tracers for marine pollution in a western Mediterranean coastal zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Amorri, Jalila; Geffroy-Rodier, Claude; Boufahja, Fehmi; Mahmoudi, Ezzeddine; Aïssa, Patricia; Ksibi, Mohamed; Amblès, André

2011-11-01

Complex organic compounds found in oil and sediments linked with a particular source (such as algae, bacteria or vascular plants) are defined as biomarkers and are useful dating indicators in organic geochemistry. This paper presents the composition of the organic matter (OM) on marine surface sediments from a degraded Tunisian coast analysed by pyrolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). High total OM contents (0.3-4.2%) were detected with high levels of saturated linear hydrocarbons. The aliphatic lipids had contributed with up to 11.7% of the total OM, and their distribution had consisted of resolved compounds (n-alkanes and fatty acid (FAs)) and an unresolved complex mixture. Hydrocarbons, primarily n-alkanes, were ranged from 368 to 3,886 μg g(-1). The FAs (674-2,568 μg g(-1)) were dominated by derived primary production, and the short chain FAs (C16 and C18) were the most abundant throughout. The ubiquitous presence of petroleum contamination, mainly from offshore oil exploration, discharge of pollutants from rivers, shipping activities and atmospheric deposition was found in all samples. The Gabès littoral seems to be quite to very polluted near the industrial zone of Ghannouch. The C/H ratio (generally around 5.9), the thermal analysis and GC-MS of n-alkanes and FAs showed that the OM in the studied area was composed of anthropogenic/petrogenic, marine and continental sources. Our study represents an innovative approach to assessing environmental pollution. The evaluation of organic matter by examination of sterols, alkanes and fatty acids allows the identification of source, both anthropogenic and natural.

Strengthening Coastal Pollution Management in the Wider Caribbean Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lavieren, van H.; Metcalfe, C.D.; Drouillard, K.; Sale, P.; Gold-Bouchot, G.; Reid, R.; Vermeulen, L.C.

2011-01-01

Control of aquatic pollution is critical for improving coastal zone management and for the conservation of fisheries resources. Countries in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) generally lack monitoring capacity and do not have reliable information on the levels and distribution of pollutants,

Pollutant swapping: greenhouse gas emissions from wetland systems constructed to mitigate agricultural pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Freer, Adam; Quinton, John; Surridge, Ben; McNamara, Niall

2014-05-01

Diffuse (non-point) water pollution from agricultural land continues to challenge water quality management, requiring the adoption of new land management practices. The use of constructed agricultural wetlands is one such practice, designed to trap multiple pollutants mobilised by rainfall prior to them reaching receiving water. Through capturing and storing pollutants in bottom sediments, it could be hypothesised that the abundance of nutrients stored in the anoxic conditions commonly found in these zones may lead to pollutant swapping. Under these circumstances, trapped material may undergo biogeochemical cycling to change chemical or physical form and thereby become more problematic or mobile within the environment. Thus, constructed agricultural wetlands designed to mitigate against one form of pollution may in fact offset the created benefits by 'swapping' this pollution into other forms and pathways, such as through release to the atmosphere. Pollutant swapping to the atmosphere has been noted in analogous wetland systems designed to treat municipal and industrial wastewaters, with significant fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O being recorded in some cases. However the small size, low level of engineering and variable nutrient/sediment inputs which are features of constructed agricultural wetlands, means that this knowledge is not directly transferable. Therefore, more information is required when assessing whether a wetland's potential to act as hotspot for pollution swapping outweighs its potential to act as a mitigation tool for surface water pollution. Here we present results from an on-going monitoring study at a trial agricultural wetland located in small a mixed-use catchment in Cumbria, UK. Estimates were made of CH4, CO2 and N2O flux from the wetland surface using adapted floating static chambers, which were then directly compared with fluxes from an undisturbed riparian zone. Results indicate that while greenhouse gas flux from the wetland may be

Understanding successful and unsuccessful landings of aerial maneuver variations in professional surfing.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsyth, J R; Riddiford-Harland, D L; Whitting, J W; Sheppard, J M; Steele, J R

2018-05-01

Although performing aerial maneuvers can increase wave score and winning potential in competitive surfing, the critical features underlying successful aerial performance have not been systematically investigated. This study aimed to analyze highly skilled aerial maneuver performance and to identify the critical features associated with successful or unsuccessful landing. Using video recordings of the World Surf League's Championship Tour, every aerial performed during the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final heats from the 11 events in the 2015 season was viewed. From this, 121 aerials were identified with the Frontside Air (n = 15) and Frontside Air Reverse (n = 67) being selected to be qualitatively assessed. Using chi-squared analyses, a series of key critical features, including landing over the center of the surfboard (FS Air χ 2  = 14.00, FS Air Reverse χ 2  = 26.61; P < .001) and landing with the lead ankle in dorsiflexion (FS Air χ 2  = 3.90, FS Air Reverse χ 2  = 13.64; P < .05), were found to be associated with successful landings. These critical features help surfers land in a stable position, while maintaining contact with the surfboard. The results of this study provide coaches with evidence to adjust the technique of their athletes to improve their winning potential. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Issues in Coastal Zone Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Derrin

1992-01-01

Addresses the following issues relevant to coastal zone management: overcrowding, resource exploitation, pollution, agriculture, fisheries, industrial, and other uses. Describes conflicts and trade-offs in management typified by fragmented agency decision making. Discusses implications of the greenhouse effect, sustainable development, and the…

Lichen techniques of pollution assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Hare, G

1973-01-01

Available techniques for determining air pollution by sulfur dioxide using lichens are described. An application of these methods - species distributions, zone mapping and analyses of total sulfur content - in the west central Scotland area, is briefly reported.

The Internet as a source of health information among Singaporeans: prevalence, patterns of health surfing and impact on health behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Siow, T R; Soh, I P; Sreedharan, S; Das De, S; Tan, P P; Seow, A; Lun, K C

2003-11-01

The Internet is an increasingly popular source of healthcare information. This study describes the prevalence of health surfers in Singapore and their health-surfing patterns. It also assesses their confidence in online health information and the impact the Internet has on health-seeking behaviour. A cross-sectional survey using a standardised questionnaire was carried out among residents aged 13 to 55 years in 1852 units in Bishan North. These units were selected by single-stage simple random cluster sampling method. The household response rate was 51% (n = 950) and the individual response rate was 69% (n = 1646). Responding and non-responding households were similar in terms of ethnicity and housing type. Of the responders, 62.9% surfed the Internet and 37.7% have surfed for health information. Health surfers tended to be younger (20 to 39 years) and have higher education status. Indians were also more likely than other ethnic groups to surf for health. Professional health-related sites comprised the majority (68%) of sites visited, and the most common search keywords concern chronic degenerative diseases, e.g. hypertension. The top preferred sources of health information were doctors (25.9%), the Internet (25.3%) and the traditional mass media (20.5%). Almost half (45.1%) considered online health information trustworthy if it was from a professional source or if the website displayed the source, while 10.6% trusted the information if it concurred with the doctors' advice. The vast majority (91.7%) had taken some action in response to the information. The Internet is being used as an accessible source of health information by a substantial proportion of the lay public. While this can facilitate greater partnership in healthcare, it underlines the need for doctors to be pro-active in the practice of evidence-based medicine, and for guidelines to enable patients to use this tool in a discerning manner.

ZONING OF COASTAL AREA FOR MARINE AQUACULTURE Š PRESENT SITUATIONS AND PROBLEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lav Bavčević

2001-12-01

Full Text Available We already acepted that Croatian economical and geopolitical possition can bee improved only with better utilization of coastal area. Under these conditions mariculture also makes a part od sea master plan because demands for mariculture are focused on clean environmental conditions to obtain economic benefits. Increased pressure to the coastal area is global trend and if not planed and organized can provoke conflicts and can affect further development. Under these condition, marine aquaculture is frequent subject of many discussion focused on the environmental impact. Conflict of different interest in coastal area with no argumentation is putting marine aquaculture in worst position related with tourism and industry. Hard argumentations is laying in noneadequate frame of work in some facilities and to take advantake competitors are preasenting marine aquaculture in worst picture. Marine aquaculture product has to be health product, which can be completely damaged because of non-responsible approach of other activity. Mariculture also can suffer from self-pollution as for example tourism and must be well planed and managed. Fecal pollution from towns, pollution from bad controlled tourists activity, industry, influence of intensive and non controlled agriculture in coast line, are also potential danger for quality of all sea products and also cultured products from marine aquaculture. High quality of marine products can be obtained by zoning of coastal area, and in concept of these zoning it is necessary to define the zones for marine aquaculture. Procedure of zoning has to be divided in three steps: deetrmination of present status of area, definition of shore land for making mariculture related shore infrastructure and definitions of areas suitable for mariculture with limits of production. These can make positive situations with avoiding conflicts in exploitation of common resources in future. Zone for marine aquaculture has to be controlled

Military personnel recognition system using texture, colour, and SURF features

Science.gov (United States)

Irhebhude, Martins E.; Edirisinghe, Eran A.

2014-06-01

This paper presents an automatic, machine vision based, military personnel identification and classification system. Classification is done using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) on sets of Army, Air Force and Navy camouflage uniform personnel datasets. In the proposed system, the arm of service of personnel is recognised by the camouflage of a persons uniform, type of cap and the type of badge/logo. The detailed analysis done include; camouflage cap and plain cap differentiation using gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture feature; classification on Army, Air Force and Navy camouflaged uniforms using GLCM texture and colour histogram bin features; plain cap badge classification into Army, Air Force and Navy using Speed Up Robust Feature (SURF). The proposed method recognised camouflage personnel arm of service on sets of data retrieved from google images and selected military websites. Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) was used to improve recognition and reduce dimensionality, thereby speeding the classification process. With this method success rates recorded during the analysis include 93.8% for camouflage appearance category, 100%, 90% and 100% rates of plain cap and camouflage cap categories for Army, Air Force and Navy categories, respectively. Accurate recognition was recorded using SURF for the plain cap badge category. Substantial analysis has been carried out and results prove that the proposed method can correctly classify military personnel into various arms of service. We show that the proposed method can be integrated into a face recognition system, which will recognise personnel in addition to determining the arm of service which the personnel belong. Such a system can be used to enhance the security of a military base or facility.

A status report on the SURF II synchrotron radiation facility at NBS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madden, R.P.

1980-01-01

Recent work to upgrade the SURF II (Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility) storage ring is described, resulting in reliable operation up to 252 MeV at currents in the range 10-20 mA. A wide variety of experiments is now in progress at the facility, encompassing solid state physics, atomic and molecular physics and molecular biology, as well as the all-important radiometric standards work. The instrumentation used for these experiments is described; brief details of the experiments themselves are also given. (orig.)

Análisis y diseño de identidad visual con aplicaciones publicitarias y de producto: marca de ropa deportiva especializada en surf

OpenAIRE

Olea Fernández, Anna

2017-01-01

Aquest treball té com a objectiu principal veure quins canvis ha sofert la roba esportiva dins del surf i com han evolucionat els elements més significatius d'aquesta roba per, finalment, realitzar la creació dels elements gràfics més representatius sobre una marca de surf, especialitzada en roba esportiva. Durant l'estudi s'abastaran tots els processos necessaris on estan involucrats tant la figura del disseny gràfic com la creació dels elements gràfics més representatius d'una marca

FEATURE RECOGNITION BERBASIS CORNER DETECTION DENGAN METODE FAST, SURF DAN FLANN TREE UNTUK IDENTIFIKASI LOGO PADA AUGMENTED REALITY MOBILE SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rastri Prathivi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Logo is a graphical symbol that is the identity of an organization, institution, or company. Logo is generally used to introduce to the public the existence of an organization, institution, or company. Through the existence of an agency logo can be seen by the public. Feature recognition is one of the processes that exist within an augmented reality system. One of uses augmented reality is able to recognize the identity of the logo through a camera.The first step to make a process of feature recognition is through the corner detection. Incorporation of several method such as FAST, SURF, and FLANN TREE for the feature detection process based corner detection feature matching up process, will have the better ability to detect the presence of a logo. Additionally when running the feature extraction process there are several issues that arise as scale invariant feature and rotation invariant feature. In this study the research object in the form of logo to the priority to make the process of feature recognition. FAST, SURF, and FLANN TREE method will detection logo with scale invariant feature and rotation invariant feature conditions. Obtained from this study will demonstration the accuracy from FAST, SURF, and FLANN TREE methods to solve the scale invariant and rotation invariant feature problems.

GenCade Lateral Boundary Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

benefit of producing perfect agreement at this boundary during model calibration. However, it would be serendipitous if this procedure also produced...the surf zone or completely to the other side of the surf zone. Any adjustment to the groin length will also modify the position of the virtual... benefit in assessing this significance. For example, if the shoreline data provided a close enough match to the LBC specifications, it could be

Assessing soil heavy metal pollution in the water-level-fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Chen; Li, Siyue; Zhang, Yulong; Zhang, Quanfa

2011-07-15

The water-level-fluctuation zone (WLFZ) between the elevations of 145-175 m in China's Three Gorges Reservoir has experienced a novel hydrological regime with half a year (May-September) exposed in summer and another half (October-April) submerged in winter. In September 2008 (before submergence) and June 2009 (after submergence), soil samples were collected in 12 sites in the WLFZ and heavy metals (Hg, As, Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn) were determined. Enrichment factor (EF), factor analysis (FA), and factor analysis-multiple linear regression (FA-MLR) were employed for heavy metal pollution assessment, source identification, and source apportionment, respectively. Results demonstrate spatial variability in heavy metals before and after submergence and elements of As, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn are higher in the upper and low reaches. FA and FA-MLR reveal that As and Cd are the primary pollutants before submergence, and over 45% of As originates from domestic sewage and 59% of Cd from industrial wastes. After submergence, the major contaminants are Hg, Cd, and Pb, and traffic exhaust contributes approximately 81% to Hg and industrial effluent accounts about 36% and 73% for Cd and Pb, respectively. Our results suggest that increased shipping and industrial wastes have deposited large amounts of heavy metals which have been accumulated in the WLFZ during submergence period. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the environmental significance of nutrients and heavy metal pollution in the river network of Serbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Dević, Gordana; Sakan, Sanja; Đorđević, Dragana

2016-01-01

In this paper, the data for ten water quality variables collected during 2009 at 75 monitoring sites along the river network of Serbia are considered. The results are alarming because 48% of the studied sites were contaminated by Ni, Mn, Pb, As, and nutrients, which are key factors impairing the water quality of the rivers in Serbia. Special attention should be paid to Zn and Cu, listed in the priority toxic pollutants of US EPA for aquatic life protection. The employed Q-model cluster analysis grouped the data into three major pollution zones (low, moderate, and high). Most sites classified as "low pollution zones" (LP) were in the main rivers, whereas those classified as "moderate and high pollution zones" (MP and HP, respectively) were in the large and small tributaries/hydro-system. Principal component analysis/factor analysis (PCA/FA) showed that the dissolved metals and nutrients in the Serbian rivers varied depending on the river, the heterogeneity of the anthropogenic activities in the basins (influenced primarily by industrial wastewater, agricultural activities, and urban runoff pollution), and natural environmental variability, such as geological characteristics. In LP dominated non-point source pollution, such as agricultural and urban runoff, whereas mixed source pollution dominated in the MP and HP zones. These results provide information to be used for developing better pollution control strategies for the river network of Serbia.

Norman-based Isolated Data Systems allows users to surf the Internet with no traceable IP address

CERN Multimedia

2004-01-01

"Patented by Norman-based Isolated Data Systems, John Doe is an anonymous proxy server that allows users to surf the Internet exactly as before, with one exception - they are identifiable only as John Doe, with no traceable IP address, which means no tracking, no identification and no profile building" ( 1/2 page)

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED AIR POLLUTION MAPS ON KEY PLOT OF KRASNOYARSK REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. A. Bozhilina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper suggested the construction of a comprehensive air pollution map as an example of the key area of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. To create a map developed an original technique for limiting emissions spread zones in the atmosphere from industrial plants near the cities on the basis of climatic data. The proposed method is based on taking into account the repeatability wind speed and direction and length of time of pollutants in the atmosphere. The used methods of cartographic representation – quantitative background (emissions per unit area within the zones of the potential spread of contaminants, localized diagrams (emissions and air pollution index for the city, contour lines (the value of air pollution potential. Using an integrated map allows you to specify the impact of the transfer of pollutants in the formation of the level of pollution in the city, together with the volumes and values of emissions of air pollution potential.

Characterization Urban Heat Island Effect and Modelling of Secondary Pollutant Formations at Urban Hotspots

Science.gov (United States)

Undi, G. S. N. V. K. S. N. S.

2017-12-01

More than 60 percent of the world population is living the urban zones by 2020. This socio of economic transformations will bring considerable changes to the ambient atmosphere. More than 70 percent of the air pollutants in the urban hotspots are from vehicular emissions. in the urban hotspots. In the urban hotspots, the meteorological and dispersion conditions will have different characteristics than in surrounding rural areas. Reactive pollutants transformations are drastically influenced by the local meteorological conditions. The complexity of urban structure alters the pollutants dispersion in the hotspots. This relationship between urban meteorology and air pollution is an important aspect of consideration. In the atmosphere, drastic changes have been noticed from micro to regional and global scales. However, the characteristics of air pollutant emissions vary with time and space, favorable dispersion conditions transport them from local to regional scale. In the present study, the impact of land cover change on Urban Heat Island effect (UHI) has been characterized by considering the three different zones with varying land use patterns. An attempt has been made to estimate the impact of UHI on secondary pollutants (O3) transformations. Envi-Met model has been used to characterize the UHI intensity for the selected zones. Meteorological and air quality measurements were carried out at the selected locations. The diurnal variations of Ozone (O3) concentration for three zones are correlated with the UHI intensity. And the monitoring and model results of O3 concentrations are in good agreement. It is observed from the obtained model results that the metrological parameters influence on local air quality is significant in urban zones.

Recent Updates to SWANFAR (registered trademark), a 5DVAR Data Assimilation System for SWAN

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-10

inside surf zone. Blue, red, and black lines illustrate heights of small, medium, and large waves as they approach shore (from right to left). If...small, medium, or large offshore waves. Only assimilation from outside the surf zone (such as within the dashed box region) will accu- rately reflect...involv- ing a systematic and consistent examination of much larger global wave datasets and many more model simulations at global , regional, and local

Pollutant transport in natural streams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckner, M.R.; Hayes, D.W.

1975-01-01

A mathematical model has been developed to estimate the downstream effect of chemical and radioactive pollutant releases to tributary streams and rivers. The one-dimensional dispersion model was employed along with a dead zone model to describe stream transport behavior. Options are provided for sorption/desorption, ion exchange, and particle deposition in the river. The model equations are solved numerically by the LODIPS computer code. The solution method was verified by application to actual and simulated releases of radionuclides and other chemical pollutants. (U.S.)

Compact and Light-Weight Solar Spaceflight Instrument Designs Utilizing Newly Developed Miniature Free-Standing Zone Plates: EUV Radiometer and Limb-Scanning Monochromator

Science.gov (United States)

Seely, J. F.; McMullin, D. R.; Bremer, J.; Chang, C.; Sakdinawat, A.; Jones, A. R.; Vest, R.

2014-12-01

Two solar instrument designs are presented that utilize newly developed miniature free-standing zone plates having interconnected Au opaque bars and no support membrane resulting in excellent long-term stability in space. Both instruments are based on a zone plate having 4 mm outer diameter and 1 to 2 degree field of view. The zone plate collects EUV radiation and focuses a narrow bandpass through a pinhole aperture and onto a silicon photodiode detector. As a miniature radiometer, EUV irradiance is accurately determined from the zone plate efficiency and the photodiode responsivity that are calibrated at the NIST SURF synchrotron facility. The EUV radiometer is pointed to the Sun and measures the absolute solar EUV irradiance in high time cadence suitable for solar physics and space weather applications. As a limb-scanning instrument in low earth orbit, a miniature zone-plate monochromator measures the extinction of solar EUV radiation by scattering through the upper atmosphere which is a measure of the variability of the ionosphere. Both instruments are compact and light-weight and are attractive for CubeSats and other missions where resources are extremely limited.

Pollution at Lake Mariut

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nour ElDin, H.; Halim, S. N.; Shalby, E.

2004-01-01

Lake Mariut, south Alexandria, Egypt suffered in the recent decades from intensive pollution as a result of a continuous discharge of huge amounts of agriculture wastewater that contains a large concentration of the washed pesticides and fertilizers in addition to domestic and industrial untreated wastewater. The over flow from the lake is discharged directly to the sea through El-Max pumping station via EI-Umum drain. Lake Mariout is surrounded by a huge number of different industrial activities and also the desert road is cutting the lake, this means that a huge number of various pollutants cycle through the air and settle down in the lake, by the time and during different seasons these pollutants after accumulation and different chemical interactions will release again from the lake to the surrounding area affecting the surrounding zone

Deviation from Trajectory Detection in Vision based Robotic Navigation using SURF and Subsequent Restoration by Dynamic Auto Correction Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ray Debraj

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Speeded Up Robust Feature (SURF is used to position a robot with respect to an environment and aid in vision-based robotic navigation. During the course of navigation irregularities in the terrain, especially in an outdoor environment may deviate a robot from the track. Another reason for deviation can be unequal speed of the left and right robot wheels. Hence it is essential to detect such deviations and perform corrective operations to bring the robot back to the track. In this paper we propose a novel algorithm that uses image matching using SURF to detect deviation of a robot from the trajectory and subsequent restoration by corrective operations. This algorithm is executed in parallel to positioning and navigation algorithms by distributing tasks among different CPU cores using Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP API.

Tissue- and species-specific differences in cytochrome c oxidase assembly induced by SURF1 defects

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kovářová, Nikola; Pecina, Petr; Nůsková, Hana; Vrbacký, Marek; Zeviani, M.; Mráček, Tomáš; Viscomi, C.; Houštěk, Josef

2016-01-01

Roč. 1862, č. 4 (2016), s. 705-715 ISSN 0925-4439 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GB14-36804G; GA MŠk(CZ) LL1204; GA MZd(CZ) NT12370 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : cytochrome c oxidase * respiratory supercomplexes * leigh syndrome * SURF1−/− mouse knockout * doxycycline * pulse-chase Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 5.476, year: 2016

Micro- and mesozooplankton communities in the surf zone of a tropical sandy beach (Equatorial Southwestern Atlantic)

OpenAIRE

Oliveira-Santos, Nivia Maria; Martins-Garcia, Tatiane; Oliveira-Soares, Marcelo de

2016-01-01

Sandy beaches constitute important ecosystems from both ecological and socioeconomic standpoints. The ecosystems of tropical zones present a high diversity and are sensible to global climatic changes, as well as to local impacts. Despite its relevance, researches on biodiversity and existing ecological processes, like size distribution of plankton communities, in these regions are often neglected. Here, the first results of a study on the structure of zooplankton communities in a tropical san...

Heavy metals pollution influences the soil of Baia Mare city Roumania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumitrescu, L.; Petrescu, L.; Stanescu, L.F.; Bilal, E.

2010-01-01

For a connection between the environment close by industrial area and residential area; where the consequences heavy metal pollution are more acute, we had drawn samples inside Romplumb S.A. factory in Baia Mare city (Romania), the main heavy metal pollution agent, close by this factory, cross roads, areas close by parks and areas far off the main pollution agent. These samples had drawn both on the surface soil and 15 cm depth. In this subchapter we will present the analyses types and the results of these analyses taking into account the chemistry composition of drawing samples. A half of each sample was crushed very fine for ICP, XRF. From uncrushed half a part was crushed at 2 accordance with ICP results and these distributions on maps, we can see that the biggest heavy metals amount is in N-E of Baia Mare (zone I) due to the main pollution factor, Romplumb S.A... The pollution for zone II is not as big as zone I. Heavy metals in this zone are due to emission released by Romplumb S.A. and Phonix S.A. which are carry by air and due to the cross roads. The high amount of heavy metal from Baia Mare soils affects more and more people health. Health Direction Baia Mare made a lot of investigation on Baia Mare Soil. The results of these investigations are: - The hope life is smaller with 2,2 years than usual - Mortality is bigger with 10-15% than usual - Avitaminoza D*2 is 65-95% - Metabolism diseases due to Pb are frequent with 40-60%

Mining pollution and the diet of the purple-striped Gudgeon Mogurnda Mogurnda Richardson (Eleotridae) in the Finniss River, Northern Territory, Australia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeffree, R.A.; Williams, N.J.

1980-01-01

During the dry season of 1974, collections of the purple-striped Gudgeon Mogurnda Mogurnda were taken from the Finniss River of the Northern Territory; during the wet season, this river receives acidic and metallic pollutants from the formerly mined area of Rum Jungle. The fish consumed a great variety of foods, with high abundances of dytiscidae, chironomidae, ceratopogonidae, trichoptera, odonata, copepoda, decapoda, and pisces. For no food was there a significant regression against habitat descriptors in both of the zones; this emphasizes that pollution effects are more complex than simply depressing or raising the abundances of the dietary species. Five foods were more abundant in the diets of the polluted zone, and three in those of the unpolluted zone. The dietary abundances of two foods, both crustacean, increased in the polluted zone, compared to the unpolluted zone, through the dry season. Two categories of foods: (1) those obtaining oxygen directly from the atmosphere or via a film or bubble of air; and (2) the converse set (aquatic respirers), were contrasted for their usefulness in distinguishing between the zones, by both hierarchical agglomerative and discriminant function analyses. One collection from the polluted zone was reclassified as unpolluted on the basis of its grouping behaviour. The relevance for pollution studies of dietary analysis of euryphagous fish, rather than sampling aquatic fauna directly, is discussed in terms of food substitution, switching, strategies for abundance and recovery by the fauna, and possible effects of the pollutants on the fish as an intervening collector. Downstream patterns of abundance of the invertebrate fauna in this study are broadly similar to those of other studies in which such chemically diverse metals as Pb, Zn, and Cu are the pollutants, but there are differences for some faunal components.

Air pollution in Australia: review of costs, sources and potential solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Dorothy L

2005-12-01

Estimated health costs and principal sources of air pollution are reviewed, together with estimated costs of reducing pollution from major sources in Australia. Emissions data from the Australian National Pollutant Inventory were compared with published estimates of pollution costs and converted to the cost per kilogram of emissions. Costs per kg of emissions (and, for the two main sources of pollution, diesel vehicles and wood heaters, costs per heater and per vehicle) are relatively easy to understand, making it easier to compare health costs with costs of pollution-control strategies. Estimated annual costs of morbidity/mortality exceed $1,100 per diesel vehicle and $2,000 per wood heater. Costs of avoiding emissions (about $2.1/kg PM2.5 for phasing out wood heaters and upwards of $70/kg for reducing diesel emissions) are considerably less than the estimated health costs ($166/kg) of those emissions. In other countries, smokeless zones (for domestic heating), heavy vehicle low-emission zones, and lower registration charges for low-emission vehicles reduce pollution and improve health. Similar 'polluter-pays' taxes in Australia to encourage retrofitting of existing diesels and incentives to choose new ones with lowest emissions would provide substantial benefits. Adopting Christchurch's policy of phasing out wood heaters and 'polluter-pays' levies to discourage their use would be extremely cost-effective.

Longshore sediment transport rate-measurement and estimation, central west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

SanilKumar, V.; Anand, N.M.; Chandramohan, P.; Naik, G.N.

rate—measurement and estimation, central west coast of India V. Sanil Kumar * , N.M. Anand, P. Chandramohan, G.N. Naik Ocean Engineering Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Donapaula, Goa 403 004, India Received 26 October 2001; received... engineering designs. The longshore current generated by obliquely incident breaking waves plays an important role in transporting sediment in the surf zone. The longshore current velocity varies across the surf zone, reaching a maximum value close to the wave...

Naval College Review. Volume 61, Number 3, Summer 2008

Science.gov (United States)

2008-06-01

strictly associated with ground war- fare, involves surf -zone sea mines. These weapons, designed for waters less than ten feet deep, are...General James L. Jones, stated in 2002 that “the inability M U R R A Y 2 7 to clear mines from the surf zone is the ‘Achilles’ heel of our maneuver...humanitarian relief operations in Indonesia and Pakistan; and noncom- batant evacuation operations in the eastern Mediterranean. These operations reflect a

Recommendations and Requirements for GenCade Simluations

Science.gov (United States)

2014-08-01

will report whether or not GenCade is enabled. If GenCade is disabled , the user will need a new license that includes GenCade...any depth but usually are not deeper than the seaward edge of the surf - zone. In the same way that some shorelines are less desirable for use in...Conference, 1919–1937. ASCE. Wang, P., N. C. Kraus, and R. A. Davis. 1998. Total rate of longshore sediment transport in the surf zone: Field

Epiphytic vegetation of Populus balsamifera and its significance as an air pollution indicator in Sudbury, Ontario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leblanc, F; Rao, D N; Comeau, G

1972-01-01

Indices of atmospheric purity (IAP) of 31 sites, selected in the SO/sub 2/-polluted as well as in the nonpolluted areas around Sudbury were determined on the basis of number, frequency-coverage, and resistance factor of the epiphytes of Populus balsamifera. Based on these indices, arranged into convenient ranges, the investigated area was delimited into five different IAP zones. These zones were then compared with SO/sub 2/ pollution zones based on the ground-level average concentration of the gas prevailing in the area. From this comparison it is clear that the biological method provides a valid, quick, and economical way for assessing and mapping the long-range effect of pollution of a given area.

Heavy Metal Pollution in Soils on Railroad Side of Zhengzhou-Putian Section of Longxi-Haizhou Railroad, China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

MA Jian-Hua; CHU Chun-Jie; LI Jian; SONG Bo

2009-01-01

The pollution status and horizontal distribution of heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cr, Zn, Cu, and Cd) in the soil on railroad side along the Zhengzhou-Putian section of Longxi-Haizhou Railroad were studied by collecting soil samples along a sampling section perpendicular to the railroad at the distances of 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, 300, and 500 m from the railroad edge. The concentrations of heavy metals in the sampling soils were higher than those of the control site. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd were found to be the highest in the soils at the railroad edge, and then decreased with increasing distance from the railroad. The highest concentrations of Ni, Cr, and Cu in soils were located at about 10-30 m from the railroad. Compared with the single factor pollution index (SFPI) of heavy metals calculated for the control site, the average SFPI from the sampling sites decreased in the order of Cr ＞ Cd ＞ Pb ＞ Zn ＞ Ni > Cu. There were notable negative correlations between the integral pollution index (IPI) of soil heavy metals at all sampling sites and the distances from the railroad. According to three IPIs calculated from the background values of heavy metals in och-aquic Cambisols, the heavy metal concentrations in the control soil, and the 2nd levels for soil heavy metals in GB15618-1995, the study area could be divided, based on the distances from the railroad, into four pollution zones: heavy pollution zone (0-10 m), medium pollution zone (10-50 m), slight pollution zone (50-100 m), and warning zone (100-500 m), respectively.

Influence of land-based Kaliningrad (Primorsky) amber mining on coastal zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Krek, Alexander; Ulyanova, Marina; Koschavets, Svetlana

2018-06-01

In this paper, we report on the pollution in the coastal zone of the South-Eastern Baltic Sea (Russian coast). It was studied through a range of methods, including analyses potential water quality indicators (WQIs) and potentially harmful elements (PHEs). A contamination factor and modified degree of contamination were used for describing the contamination of the sediments by toxic substances. Special attention was paid to activity of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine (KAC), the biggest world amber mining company, located onshore close to the coastal zone (Kaliningrad Region). The amber extraction contribution to the ecological state of the coastal zone was estimated. Contamination of the quarry by metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn) was comparable with contamination of abrasion bench. The pollution of the western coastal zone of the Sambia Peninsula is caused both by land-based anthropogenic developments (including KAC) and natural processes (coastal abrasion). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diffraction and depths-of-field effects in electron beam imaging at SURF III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arp, U.

2001-01-01

Imaging an electron beam with visible light is a common method of diagnostics applied to electron accelerators. It is a straightforward way to deduce the transverse electron distribution as well as its changes over time. The electrons stored in the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF) III at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were studied over an extended period of time to characterize the upgraded accelerator. There is good agreement between experimental and theoretical horizontal beam sizes at three different electron energies

Territorial disputes, identity conflicts, and violence in surfing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marília Martins Bandeira

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Aggressive manifestations of localism are a current concern among surfers and are becoming well known as a result of specialized media. The objective of this paper was to investigate this phenomenon through the examination of a specific case and empirical fieldwork that was conducted for an ethnography of São Paulo surfers. The data were obtained via participant observations and open interviews. The results indicate that conflicts generally begin as disputes over the best waves. Surfing has a general rule of "wave priority criteria," based on spatial positioning. However, this universal rule may be intentionally broken depending on surfers' sociability. Ethnic and class differences based on historical processes can exist in oppositional relationships among surfers and are manifested by categories of accusation or identity (in São Paulo's case, local, haole, roots,prego,and playboy. However, this category attribution is contextual and interchangeable because surfers circulate between groups and beaches while searching for waves.

simulation of vertical water flow through vadose zone

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HOD

Simulation of vertical water flow representing the release of water from the vadose zone to the aquifer of surroundings ... ground water pollution from agricultural, industrial and municipal .... Peak Flow Characteristics of Wyoming. Streams: US ...

Nová missense mutace 574C>T v genu SURF1 - biochemická a molekulárně genetická studie u sedmi dětí s Leighovým syndromem

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Čapková, M.; Hansíková, H.; Godinot, C.; Houšťková, H.; Houštěk, Josef; Zeman, J.

2002-01-01

Roč. 141, č. 20 (2002), s. 636-641 ISSN 0008-7335 R&D Projects: GA MZd NE6555 Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) 8/2000/C; CZ - FR(XC) Projekt Barrande 2001/028-1 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5011922 Keywords : Leigh syndrome * SURF1 gene * SURF1 protein Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology

A Comparison of Aerobic Fitness Testing on a Swim Bench and Treadmill in a Recreational Surfing Cohort: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamzeh Khundaqji

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The intermittent manner of surfing accentuates the importance of both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Currently, the optimal method of assessing surfing-specific aerobic fitness is using a swim bench (SWB ergometer; however, their limited availability presents a barrier to surfers wanting to know their maximal aerobic power (VO2peak. As a result, the aims of this pilot study were to determine the VO2peak of recreational surfers using a new commercial SWB ergometer and to propose and examine the feasibility of a regression model to predict SWB ergometer VO2peak values. A total of nine recreational surfers were assessed where body measurements were conducted followed by maximal aerobic capacity testing (swim bench and treadmill to profile the cohort. Findings demonstrated that VO2peak values were significantly greater (p < 0.001 on the treadmill compared to the SWB ergometer (M = 66.01 ± 8.23 vs. 37.41 ± 8.73 mL/kg/min. Peak heart rate was also significantly greater on the treadmill compared to the SWB ergometer. Multiple regression analysis was used to produce a model which predicted SWB VO2peak values with an R2 value of 0.863 and an adjusted R2 value of 0.726. The physiological profiling of the recreational cohort coupled with a surfer’s predicted SWB VO2peak value will allow for identification of surfing-specific aerobic fitness levels and evidence-based training recommendations.

Lower-Body Muscle Structure and Jump Performance of Stronger and Weaker Surfing Athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Secomb, Josh L; Nimphius, Sophia; Farley, Oliver R; Lundgren, Lina; Tran, Tai T; Sheppard, Jeremy M

2016-07-01

To identify whether there are any significant differences in the lower-body muscle structure and countermovement-jump (CMJ) and squat-jump (SJ) performance between stronger and weaker surfing athletes. Twenty elite male surfers had their lower-body muscle structure assessed with ultrasonography and completed a series of lower-body strength and jump tests including isometric midthigh pull (IMTP), CMJ, and SJ. Athletes were separated into stronger (n = 10) and weaker (n = 10) groups based on IMTP performance. Large significant differences were identified between the groups for vastus lateralis (VL) thickness (P = .02, ES = 1.22) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) pennation angle (P = .01, ES = 1.20), and a large nonsignificant difference was identified in LG thickness (P = .08, ES = 0.89). Furthermore, significant differences were present between the groups for peak force, relative peak force, and jump height in the CMJ and SJ (P Stronger surfing athletes in this study had greater VL and LG thickness and LG pennation angle. These muscle structures may explain their better performance in the CMJ and SJ. A unique finding in this study was that the stronger group appeared to better use their strength and muscle structure for braking as they had significantly higher eccentric peak velocity and vertical displacement during the CMJ. This enhanced eccentric phase may have resulted in a greater production and subsequent utilization of stored elastic strain energy that led to the significantly better CMJ performance in the stronger group.

Comparison of impact forces, accelerations and ankle range of motion in surfing-related landing tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Lina E; Tran, Tai T; Nimphius, Sophia; Raymond, Ellen; Secomb, Josh L; Farley, Oliver R L; Newton, Robert U; Sheppard, Jeremy M

2016-01-01

This study aimed to describe the impact forces, accelerations and ankle range of motion in five different landing tasks that are used in training and testing for competitive surfing athletes, to assist coaches in the prescription of landing task progression and monitoring training load. Eleven competitive surfing athletes aged 24 ± 7 years participated, and inertial motion sensors were fixed to the anterior aspect of the feet, mid-tibial shafts, sacrum and eighth thoracic vertebrae on these athletes. Three tasks were performed landing on force plates and two tasks in a modified gymnastics set-up used for land-based aerial training. Peak landing force, resultant peak acceleration and front and rear side ankle dorsiflexion ranges of motion during landing were determined. The peak acceleration was approximately 50% higher when performing aerial training using a mini-trampoline and landing on a soft-density foam board, compared to a similar landing off a 50 cm box. Furthermore, the ankle ranges of motion during the gymnastic type landings were significantly lower than the other landing types (P ≤ 0.05 and P ≤ 0.001), for front and rear sides, respectively. Conclusively, increased task complexity and specificity of the sport increased the tibial peak acceleration, indicating greater training load.

Retrieval system for emplaced spent unreprocessed fuel (SURF) in salt bed depository: accident event analysis and mechanical failure probabilities. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaskaran, G.; McCleery, J.E.

1979-10-01

This report provides support in developing an accident prediction event tree diagram, with an analysis of the baseline design concept for the retrieval of emplaced spent unreprocessed fuel (SURF) contained in a degraded Canister. The report contains an evaluation check list, accident logic diagrams, accident event tables, fault trees/event trees and discussions of failure probabilities for the following subsystems as potential contributors to a failure: (a) Canister extraction, including the core and ram units; (b) Canister transfer at the hoist area; and (c) Canister hoisting. This report is the second volume of a series. It continues and expands upon the report Retrieval System for Emplaced Spent Unreprocessed Fuel (SURF) in Salt Bed Depository: Baseline Concept Criteria Specifications and Mechanical Failure Probabilities. This report draws upon the baseline conceptual specifications contained in the first report

Cd pollution and ecological risk assessment for mining activity zone in Karst Area

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, B.; He, J. L.; Wen, X. M.; Tan, H.

2017-08-01

The monitored soil samples were collected from farmland in the area with mining activity in Karst area in Liupanshui. In this article, moss bag technology and TSP were used simultaneously for Cd transportation and deposition in the study area. Geostatistics and GIS were then used for the spatial distribution of Cd in the soil. Afterwards, Cd pollution to the soil environment and human health was studied by using the geo-accumulation index and potential ecological risk index methods. The results indicated that atmospheric deposition is the major route of Cd pollution. A moderate to strong pollution of Cd in the area and the degree of potential ecological risk was in a high level in the study area. Furthermore, Cd pollution in Liupanshui may originate from mining activity and atmospheric deposition.

Emerging organic pollutants in the vadose zone of a soil aquifer treatment system: Pore water extraction using positive displacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sopilniak, Alexander; Elkayam, Roy; Rossin, Anna Voloshenko; Lev, Ovadia

2018-01-01

Trace organic compounds in effluents, water streams and aquifers are amply reported. However, the mobile pool of Emerging Organic Contaminants (EOCs) in the deep parts of the vadose zone is hard to estimate, due to difficulties in extraction of sufficient quantity of pore water. Here, we present a new methodology for depth profiling of EOCs in pore water by Positive Displacement Extraction (PDE): Pore water extraction from unsaturated soil samples is carried out by withdrawal of soil cores by direct-push drilling and infiltrating the core by organics free water. We show that EOC concentrations in the water eluted in the plateau region of the inverse breakthrough curve is equal to their pore water concentrations. The method was previously validated for DOC extraction, and here the scope of the methodology is extended to pore water extraction for organic pollutants analysis. Method characteristics and validation were carried out with atrazine, simazine, carbamazepine, venlafaxine, O-desmethylvenlafaxine and caffeine in the concentration range of several ng to several μg/liter. Validation was carried out by laboratory experiments on three different soils (sandy, sandy-clayey and clayey). Field studies in the vadose zone of a SAT system provided 27 m deep EOC profiles with less than 1.5 m spatial resolution. During the percolation treatment, carbamazepine remained persistent, while the other studied EOCs were attenuated to the extent of 50-99%.The highest degradation rate of all studied EOCs was in the aerobic zone. EOC levels based on PDE and extraction by centrifugation were compared, showing a positive bias for centrifugation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Observational analyses of dramatic developments of a severe air pollution event in the Beijing area

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ju; Sun, Jielun; Zhou, Mingyu; Cheng, Zhigang; Li, Qingchun; Cao, Xiaoyan; Zhang, Jingjiang

2018-03-01

A rapid development of a severe air pollution event in Beijing, China, at the end of November 2015 was investigated with unprecedented observations collected during the field campaign of the Study of Urban Rainfall and Fog/Haze (SURF-15). Different from previous statistical analyses of air pollution events and their correlations with meteorological environmental conditions in the area, the role of turbulent mixing in the pollutant transfer was investigated in detail. The analyses indicate that the major pollution source associated with high particulate matter of diameter 2.5 µm (PM2.5) was from south of Beijing. Before the day of the dramatic PM2.5 increase, the nighttime downslope flow from the mountains to the west and north of Beijing reduced the surface PM2.5 concentration northwest of Beijing. The nighttime surface stable boundary layer (SBL) not only kept the relatively less-polluted air near the surface, it also shielded the rough surface from the pollutant transfer by southwesterly winds above the SBL, leading to the fast transport of pollutants over the Beijing area at night. As the daytime convective turbulent mixing developed in the morning, turbulent mixing transported the elevated polluted air downward even though the weak surface wind was from northeast, leading to the dramatic increase of the surface PM2.5 concentration in the urban area. As a result of both turbulent mixing and advection processes with possible aerosol growth from secondary aerosol formation under the low-wind and high-humidity conditions, the PM2.5 concentration reached over 700 µg m-3 in the Beijing area by the end of the day. Contributions of the two transporting processes to the PM2.5 oscillations prior to this dramatic event were also analyzed. The study demonstrates the important role of large-eddy convective turbulent mixing in vertical transfer of pollutants and the role of the SBL in not only decoupling vertical transport of trace gases and aerosols but also in

Marine pollution - What are we heading for?

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Zingde, M.D.

Unlike the open ocean, the coastal zone is the most affected and vulnerable to human abuse with several nearshore areas including well-flushed regions and enclosed and semi-enclosed seas getting increasingly polluted. This paper examines the trends...

Bioremediation of the oil spill polluted marine intertidal zone and its toxicity effect on microalgae.

Science.gov (United States)

Pi, Yongrui; Xu, Nana; Bao, Mutai; Li, Yiming; Lv, Dong; Sun, Peiyan

2015-04-01

Custom-designed devices with 0.6 m (L) × 0.3 m (W) × 0.4 m (H) and a microbial consortium were applied to simulate bioremediation on the oil spill polluted marine intertidal zone. After the bioremediation, the removal efficiency of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon homologues in crude oil evaluated by GC-MS were higher than 58% and 41% respectively. Besides, the acute toxicity effects of crude oil on three microalgae, i.e. Dicrateria sp., Skeletonema costatum and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, varied with concentration. The effects of microbe and surfactant treated water on the three microalgae followed a decreasing order: the microbial consortium plus Tween-80 > the microbial consortium > Tween-80. During 96 h, the cell densities of the three microalgae in treated seawater increased from 4.0 × 10(5), 1.0 × 10(5) and 2.5 × 10(5) cells per mL to 1.7 × 10(6), 8.5 × 10(5) and 2.5 × 10(6) cells per mL, respectively, which illustrated that the quality of seawater contaminated by crude oil was significantly improved by the bioremediation.

Decreased affinity for oxygen of cytochrome-c oxidase in Leigh syndrome caused by SURF1 mutations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pecina, Petr; Gnaiger, E.; Zeman, J.; Pronicka, E.; Houštěk, Josef

2004-01-01

Roč. 287, č. 5 (2004), s. C1384-C1388 ISSN 0363-6143 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA303/03/0749 Grant - others:CZ-AT(CZ) Kontakt-Aktion 2004/S; GA UK(CZ) 24/2004 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5011922 Keywords : oxygen kinetics * mitochondrial disease * SURF1 Subject RIV: FB - Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolism, Nutrition Impact factor: 3.939, year: 2004

Problem of radioactive pollution as a result of Uranium ores processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korovin, V.; Korovin, Yu.; Laszkiewicz, G.; Lee, L.; Koshik, Yu.; Shmatko, G.; Semenets, G.; Merkulov, V.

2001-01-01

Composition and properties of radioactive wastes accumulated within Dnieprodzerzhinsk and Dnepropetrovsk region as well as conditions of their storage promote the further growth of radioactive and chemical pollution. Prevention of growth of further environment pollution needs special measures including elimination of pollution sources, waste isolation and their second burial. Utilization of radioactive wastes and deactivation of living zone are the problems that must be solved at municipal, state and international level

Un hombre llamado pez: la historia de Duke Kahanamoku, el nadador más rápido del mundo y el padre del surf moderno. [A Man Called Fish: the History of Duke Kahanamoku, the fastest swimmer of the World and the father of modern surfing].

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Esparza

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968 forma parte del Salón de la Fama de la natación, y también del Salón de la Fama del surf. Es la única persona que tiene ese doble mérito. Las razones no son difíciles de entender: fue el nadador más rápido de entre los humanos hasta que llegó otro que no lo era: Tarzán, o mejor dicho, Johnny Weissmüller; y en cuanto al arte de montar las olas tuvo el mérito de expandir por otros mares y océanos esa actividad milenaria surgida en el Hawái arcaico hasta el punto de ser considerado por casi todos el padre del surf moderno. ¿Cuáles fueron sus éxitos en la natación? ¿Qué había de innovador en su técnica que le hizo el más rápido? ¿Cómo expandió el surf al mismo tiempo que realizaba exhibiciones de natación? ¿De qué energía carismática estaba dotado este hombre, que hasta el propio JFK en su visita a Honolulu en 1962 se saltó absolutamente todo el protocolo entre las autoridades norteamericanas para dirigirse directamente hacia él y saludarle efusivamente? He aquí su historia.

A Comprehensive Motion Estimation Technique for the Improvement of EIS Methods Based on the SURF Algorithm and Kalman Filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Xuemin; Hao, Qun; Xie, Mengdi

2016-04-07

Video stabilization is an important technology for removing undesired motion in videos. This paper presents a comprehensive motion estimation method for electronic image stabilization techniques, integrating the speeded up robust features (SURF) algorithm, modified random sample consensus (RANSAC), and the Kalman filter, and also taking camera scaling and conventional camera translation and rotation into full consideration. Using SURF in sub-pixel space, feature points were located and then matched. The false matched points were removed by modified RANSAC. Global motion was estimated by using the feature points and modified cascading parameters, which reduced the accumulated errors in a series of frames and improved the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) by 8.2 dB. A specific Kalman filter model was established by considering the movement and scaling of scenes. Finally, video stabilization was achieved with filtered motion parameters using the modified adjacent frame compensation. The experimental results proved that the target images were stabilized even when the vibrating amplitudes of the video become increasingly large.

An assessment of The Effects of Elevation and Aspect on Deposition of Airborne Pollution and Water Quality in an Alpine Critical Zone: San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Price, A.; Giardino, J. R.; Marcantonio, F.

2015-12-01

The alpine critical zone is affected by various inputs, storages, pathways, and outputs. Unfortunately, many of these processes distribute the pollutants beyond the immediate area and into the surrounding biological and anthropogenic communities. Years of mining and improper disposal of the tailings and acid-mine drainage have degraded the quality of surface water within the San Juan Mountains. However, mining may not be the only factor significantly affecting the surface water quality in this high-elevation environment. As a high elevation system, this area is a fragile ecosystem with inputs ranging from local mining to atmospheric transport and deposition. Studies from around the world have shown atmospheric transport and deposition affect high-elevation systems. Thus, a significant question arises: does elevation or aspect affect the volume and rate of atmospheric deposition of pollutants? We assume atmospheric deposition occurs on the slopes in addition to in streams, lakes, and ponds. Deposition on slopes can be transported to nearby surface waters and increase the impact of the atmospheric pollutants along with residence time. Atmospheric deposition data were collected for aluminum, iron, manganese, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate. Water chemistry data were collected for the same constituents as the atmospheric deposition with the addition of temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance. Deposition samples were collected on a five-day sampling regime during two summers. Water quality samples were collected in-stream adjacent to the deposition-ample collectors. Collection sites were located on opposite sides of Red Mountain at five equal elevations providing two different aspects. The north side is drained by Red Mountain Creek and the south side is drained by Mineral Creek. Differences in atmospheric deposition and water quality at different elevations and aspects suggest there is a relationship between aspect and elevation on atmospheric

Oil pollution identification and dating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muet, B.; L'Ecluse, J.; Jaegher de, P.

2005-01-01

GALLIA SANA is an environmental engineering office, specialized (among other things) in soil pollution. Currently confronted with specific questions about responsibilities of current and former owners, we seek and develop decisional tools regarding pollution origins. This article is about an expertise on a soil polluted by hydrocarbons. It explains strategy, tools and methods Gallia Sana used to identify the nature, the source and the age of the pollution. The source is identified by the nature of the pollution. With chromatographic analysis, it is possible to see differences between heating fuel, motor oil and other compounds distilled from petroleum and so to see where hydrocarbons come from. The relative age determination (one pollution is older than the other) allows experts to determine the way hydrocarbons have migrated through the soil: due to one isolated accident or to a continuous flow. This difference may be important in the case of fuel tanks for insurance reasons. The pollutants studied here are motor oil and heating fuel (the method is also applicable on other hydrocarbons). This article is not exhaustive, only some of the results are shown. The polluted soil is in a garden between two houses, near a garage and an underground fuel tank, so Gallia Sana considered three hypotheses according to the configuration of the zone: heating fuel, motor oil, heating fuel and motor oil mixed. Motor oil and heating fuel are both produced from petroleum distillation. Their chromatographic profiles are comparable as far as their form (like a Gaussian) is concerned, but their elution time is different: the heating fuel analysis is quicker than the motor oil one. Every distillation is different so every oil or every fuel from a different distillation is different. Some compounds can be used as tracers to compare hydrocarbons of the same nature, their composition in non-linear alkanes and PAH being slightly different. The Nordtest Method CHEM 001 can be used to compare

Oil pollution identification and dating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muet, B.; L' Ecluse, J.; Jaegher de, P. [Gallia Sana, 59 - Lille (France)

2005-07-01

GALLIA SANA is an environmental engineering office, specialized (among other things) in soil pollution. Currently confronted with specific questions about responsibilities of current and former owners, we seek and develop decisional tools regarding pollution origins. This article is about an expertise on a soil polluted by hydrocarbons. It explains strategy, tools and methods Gallia Sana used to identify the nature, the source and the age of the pollution. The source is identified by the nature of the pollution. With chromatographic analysis, it is possible to see differences between heating fuel, motor oil and other compounds distilled from petroleum and so to see where hydrocarbons come from. The relative age determination (one pollution is older than the other) allows experts to determine the way hydrocarbons have migrated through the soil: due to one isolated accident or to a continuous flow. This difference may be important in the case of fuel tanks for insurance reasons. The pollutants studied here are motor oil and heating fuel (the method is also applicable on other hydrocarbons). This article is not exhaustive, only some of the results are shown. The polluted soil is in a garden between two houses, near a garage and an underground fuel tank, so Gallia Sana considered three hypotheses according to the configuration of the zone: heating fuel, motor oil, heating fuel and motor oil mixed. Motor oil and heating fuel are both produced from petroleum distillation. Their chromatographic profiles are comparable as far as their form (like a Gaussian) is concerned, but their elution time is different: the heating fuel analysis is quicker than the motor oil one. Every distillation is different so every oil or every fuel from a different distillation is different. Some compounds can be used as tracers to compare hydrocarbons of the same nature, their composition in non-linear alkanes and PAH being slightly different. The Nordtest Method CHEM 001 can be used to compare

Pollution of the seas around India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Qasim, S.Z.; SenGupta, R.; Kureishy, T.W.

The state of marine pollution along the 7000 km long coastline and 2.015 x 106km exclusive economic zone of India is summarized. The coastal water receives 4.1 km3 of domestic sewage and 0.41 km3 of industrial wastes. Nearly 447 million tonnes...

Formation of system of indicators for analysis and evaluation of man-made of pollution

OpenAIRE

Rytikova K.A.

2017-01-01

Review existing methods of assessing technogenic pollution. A new approach to the formation of a system of indicators to measure man-made pollution and the definition of "contamination zones" based on the matrix approach.

SurfCut: Surfaces of Minimal Paths From Topological Structures

KAUST Repository

Algarni, Marei Saeed Mohammed

2018-03-05

We present SurfCut, an algorithm for extracting a smooth, simple surface with an unknown 3D curve boundary from a noisy image and a seed point. Our method is built on the novel observation that certain ridge curves of a function defined on a front propagated using the Fast Marching algorithm lie on the surface. Our method extracts and cuts these ridges to form the surface boundary. Our surface extraction algorithm is built on the novel observation that the surface lies in a valley of the distance from Fast Marching. We show that the resulting surface is a collection of minimal paths. Using the framework of cubical complexes and Morse theory, we design algorithms to extract these critical structures robustly. Experiments on three 3D datasets show the robustness of our method, and that it achieves higher accuracy with lower computational cost than state-of-the-art.

SurfCut: Surfaces of Minimal Paths From Topological Structures

KAUST Repository

Algarni, Marei Saeed Mohammed

2017-04-30

We present SurfCut, an algorithm for extracting a smooth, simple surface with an unknown 3D curve boundary from a noisy 3D image and a seed point. Our method is built on the novel observation that certain ridge curves of a function defined on a front propagated using the Fast Marching algorithm lie on the surface. Our method extracts and cuts these ridges to form the surface boundary. Our surface extraction algorithm is built on the novel observation that the surface lies in a valley of the distance from Fast Marching. We show that the resulting surface is a collection of minimal paths. Using the framework of cubical complexes and Morse theory, we design algorithms to extract these critical structures robustly. Experiments on three 3D datasets show the robustness of our method, and that it achieves higher accuracy with lower computational cost than state-of-the-art.

SurfCut: Surfaces of Minimal Paths From Topological Structures

KAUST Repository

Algarni, Marei Saeed Mohammed; Sundaramoorthi, Ganesh

2018-01-01

We present SurfCut, an algorithm for extracting a smooth, simple surface with an unknown 3D curve boundary from a noisy image and a seed point. Our method is built on the novel observation that certain ridge curves of a function defined on a front propagated using the Fast Marching algorithm lie on the surface. Our method extracts and cuts these ridges to form the surface boundary. Our surface extraction algorithm is built on the novel observation that the surface lies in a valley of the distance from Fast Marching. We show that the resulting surface is a collection of minimal paths. Using the framework of cubical complexes and Morse theory, we design algorithms to extract these critical structures robustly. Experiments on three 3D datasets show the robustness of our method, and that it achieves higher accuracy with lower computational cost than state-of-the-art.

Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksen, Marcus; Maximenko, Nikolai; Thiel, Martin; Cummins, Anna; Lattin, Gwen; Wilson, Stiv; Hafner, Jan; Zellers, Ann; Rifman, Samuel

2013-03-15

Plastic marine pollution in the open ocean of the southern hemisphere is largely undocumented. Here, we report the result of a (4489 km) 2424 nautical mile transect through the South Pacific subtropical gyre, carried out in March-April 2011. Neuston samples were collected at 48 sites, averaging 50 nautical miles apart, using a manta trawl lined with a 333 μm mesh. The transect bisected a predicted accumulation zone associated with the convergence of surface currents, driven by local winds. The results show an increase in surface abundance of plastic pollution as we neared the center and decrease as we moved away, verifying the presence of a garbage patch. The average abundance and mass was 26,898 particles km(-2) and 70.96 g km(-2), respectively. 88.8% of the plastic pollution was found in the middle third of the samples with the highest value of 396,342 particles km(-2) occurring near the center of the predicted accumulation zone. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pollution from organic contaminants in Greek marine areas, receiving anthropogenic pressures from intense activities in the coastal zone

Science.gov (United States)

Hatzianestis, Ioannis

2014-05-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread pollutants in marine sediments, receiving the pressures from various anthropogenic activities in the coastal zone. Due to their mutagenic and carcinogenic behaviour, PAHs are classified as priority contaminants to be monitored in environmental quality control schemes. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of PAHs in coastal areas of Greece directly influenced from the operation of major industrial units in the coastal zone, investigate their sources and evaluate their potential toxicity by comparison against effect - based sediment quality guidelines. Thirty two surface sediment samples were collected from three areas of the Hellenic coastline: a) Antikyra bay in Korinthiakos gulf, influenced from the operation of an alumina and aluminium production plant b) Larymna bay in Noth Evoikos gulf, influenced from the operation of a nickel production plant and c) Aliveri bay in South Evoikos Gulf, influenced from a cement production plant. In all the areas studied, aquaculture and fishing activities have been also developed in the coastal zone. PAH concentrations were determined by GC-MS, after soxhlet extraction and fractionation by silica column chromatography. PAH sources and origin were investigated by applying several isomeric ratio diagnostic criteria. The mean quotient Effect- Range Median (m-ERM) was used to evaluate the potential of adverse effects posed to benthic organisms. Three m-ERM-q values were used to differentiate the probability of observing toxicity and classify sites into four categories: sediments with m-ERM1.5 have the highest probability (76%) of toxicity. Extremely high PAH concentrations more than 100,000 ng/g were found in the close vicinity of the alumina production plant in Antikyra bay. High levels of PAHs up to 22,000 ng/g were also found in Aliveri bay, whereas lowest values, but still indicating significant pollution, were measured close to the nickel production plant

Simulating emission and chemical evolution of coarse sea-salt particles in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. T. Kelly

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Chemical processing of sea-salt particles in coastal environments significantly impacts concentrations of particle components and gas-phase species and has implications for human exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen deposition to sensitive ecosystems. Emission of sea-salt particles from the coastal surf zone is known to be elevated compared to that from the open ocean. Despite the importance of sea-salt emissions and chemical processing, the US EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ model has traditionally treated coarse sea-salt particles as chemically inert and has not accounted for enhanced surf-zone emissions. In this article, updates to CMAQ are described that enhance sea-salt emissions from the coastal surf zone and allow dynamic transfer of HNO₃, H₂SO₄, HCl, and NH₃ between coarse particles and the gas phase. Predictions of updated CMAQ models and the previous release version, CMAQv4.6, are evaluated using observations from three coastal sites during the Bay Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE in Tampa, FL in May 2002. Model updates improve predictions of NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, NH₄⁺, Na⁺, and Cl⁻ concentrations at these sites with only a 8% increase in run time. In particular, the chemically interactive coarse particle mode dramatically improves predictions of nitrate concentration and size distributions as well as the fraction of total nitrate in the particle phase. Also, the surf-zone emission parameterization improves predictions of total sodium and chloride concentration. Results of a separate study indicate that the model updates reduce the mean absolute error of nitrate predictions at coastal CASTNET and SEARCH sites in the eastern US. Although the new model features improve performance relative to CMAQv4.6, some persistent differences exist between observations and predictions

Data on cytochrome c oxidase assembly in mice and human fibroblasts or tissues induced by SURF1 defect

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kovářová, Nikola; Pecina, Petr; Nůsková, Hana; Vrbacký, Marek; Zeviani, M.; Mráček, Tomáš; Viscomi, C.; Houštěk, Josef

2016-01-01

Roč. 7, June 01 (2016), s. 1004-1009 ISSN 2352-3409 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GB14-36804G; GA MŠk(CZ) LL1204; GA MZd(CZ) NT12370 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : cytochrome c oxidase * respiratory chain * SURF1 * knockout * doxycycline Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology

Nová missense mutace 574C>T v genu SURF1 - biochemická a molekulárně genetická studie u sedmi dětí s Leighovým syndromem

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Čapková, M.; Hansíková, H.; Godinot, C.; Houšťková, H.; Houštěk, Josef; Zeman, J.

2002-01-01

Roč. 141, č. 20 (2002), s. 636-641 ISSN 0008-7335 R&D Projects: GA MZd(CZ) NE6555; GA MŠk(CZ) LN00A079 Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) 8/2000/C; FR-CZ(CZ) Barrande 2001/028-1 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5011922 Keywords : Leigh syndrome * SURF1 gene * Surf1 protein Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology

The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK

OpenAIRE

Clarke, Anna

2016-01-01

Whilst data on statutory homelessness is well recorded in the UK, there is a lack of data on informal homelessness (such as ‘sofa surfing’) and rough sleeping, other than that which relies on partial information and street counts. This paper presents findings from a recent online survey of young people and helps to fill this gap. It found that rates of sofa surfing and rough sleeping among young people were much higher than previously thought. Twenty-six percent of young people (aged 16–25) h...

Adaptation of respiratory chain biogenesis to cytochrome c oxidase deficiency caused by SURF1 gene mutations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kovářová, Nikola; Vrbacká-Čížková, Alena; Pecina, Petr; Stránecký, V.; Pronicka, E.; Kmoch, S.; Houštěk, Josef

2012-01-01

Roč. 1822, č. 7 (2012), s. 1114-1124 ISSN 0925-4439 R&D Projects: GA MZd(CZ) NS9759; GA MZd(CZ) NT12370; GA ČR(CZ) GD305/08/H037 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50110509 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : mitochondrial disorder * SURF1 gene * Leigh syndrome * gene expression * oxidative phosphorylation * cytochrome c oxidase Subject RIV: FG - Pediatrics Impact factor: 4.910, year: 2012

Observational analyses of dramatic developments of a severe air pollution event in the Beijing area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Li

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A rapid development of a severe air pollution event in Beijing, China, at the end of November 2015 was investigated with unprecedented observations collected during the field campaign of the Study of Urban Rainfall and Fog/Haze (SURF-15. Different from previous statistical analyses of air pollution events and their correlations with meteorological environmental conditions in the area, the role of turbulent mixing in the pollutant transfer was investigated in detail. The analyses indicate that the major pollution source associated with high particulate matter of diameter 2.5 µm (PM2.5 was from south of Beijing. Before the day of the dramatic PM2.5 increase, the nighttime downslope flow from the mountains to the west and north of Beijing reduced the surface PM2.5 concentration northwest of Beijing. The nighttime surface stable boundary layer (SBL not only kept the relatively less-polluted air near the surface, it also shielded the rough surface from the pollutant transfer by southwesterly winds above the SBL, leading to the fast transport of pollutants over the Beijing area at night. As the daytime convective turbulent mixing developed in the morning, turbulent mixing transported the elevated polluted air downward even though the weak surface wind was from northeast, leading to the dramatic increase of the surface PM2.5 concentration in the urban area. As a result of both turbulent mixing and advection processes with possible aerosol growth from secondary aerosol formation under the low-wind and high-humidity conditions, the PM2.5 concentration reached over 700 µg m−3 in the Beijing area by the end of the day. Contributions of the two transporting processes to the PM2.5 oscillations prior to this dramatic event were also analyzed. The study demonstrates the important role of large-eddy convective turbulent mixing in vertical transfer of pollutants and the role of the SBL in not only decoupling vertical transport of trace gases and

Effects of Air Pollution and the Introduction of the London Low Emission Zone on the Prevalence of Respiratory and Allergic Symptoms in Schoolchildren in East London: A Sequential Cross-Sectional Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen E Wood

Full Text Available The adverse effects of traffic-related air pollution on children's respiratory health have been widely reported, but few studies have evaluated the impact of traffic-control policies designed to reduce urban air pollution. We assessed associations between traffic-related air pollutants and respiratory/allergic symptoms amongst 8-9 year-old schoolchildren living within the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ. Information on respiratory/allergic symptoms was obtained using a parent-completed questionnaire and linked to modelled annual air pollutant concentrations based on the residential address of each child, using a multivariable mixed effects logistic regression analysis. Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants was associated with current rhinitis: NOx (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02, NO2 (1.03, 1.00-1.06, PM10 (1.16, 1.04-1.28 and PM2.5 (1.38, 1.08-1.78, all per μg/m3 of pollutant, but not with other respiratory/allergic symptoms. The LEZ did not reduce ambient air pollution levels, or affect the prevalence of respiratory/allergic symptoms over the period studied. These data confirm the previous association between traffic-related air pollutant exposures and symptoms of current rhinitis. Importantly, the London LEZ has not significantly improved air quality within the city, or the respiratory health of the resident population in its first three years of operation. This highlights the need for more robust measures to reduce traffic emissions.

Assessment of vulnerability zones for ground water pollution using ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

D Anantha Rao

2018-05-22

May 22, 2018 ... and should always be free from contamination. But, the .... net Recharge, Aquifer media, Soil media, Topo- graphy, Impact of vadose zone .... The Yamuna River flows along this strike-slip ..... of factors such as inter-granular porosity, fractur- ing and ... from the basin boundary in the south-western part (figure ...

Peculiarities of radionuclide contamination of different Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (SNTS) zones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadyrzhanov, K.K.; Khazhekber, S.; Lukashenko, S.N.; Solodukhin, V.P.; Kazachevskij, I.V.; Poznyak, V.L.; Knyazev, B.B.; Rofer, Ch.

2002-01-01

The Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site occupies about 18500 km 2 . There are 3 basic test zones in this territory including various test platforms where different character nuclear explosions were carried out. On the test platforms of the 'Opytnoe Pole' zone air and ground tests were performed, including nuclear and hydronuclear (without nuclear reaction) explosions. On the other zones (the Degelen mountains and Balapan valley) the underground tests including camouflaged and excavation nuclear explosions were carried out. Each kind of these tests can be characterised by the quantity and composition of radionuclides which were formed during the nuclear explosion, by the area of their distribution, localisation of the radionuclides at various sites, radionuclide species in soil. Transfer of the products of the air and the ground nuclear explosions by air flows and their sedimentation on the ground surfaces have caused broadband radioactive plumes extending over hundreds of kilometres. As a result of hydronuclear experiments, plenty of alpha-active radionuclides, consisting of a nuclear device is thrown locally out. Besides the ground and the air explosions, radiation conditions of the territory of the SNTS were influenced by excavation explosions with ground throwing out. Such tests resulted in an intensive local pollution. Other zone of an original pollution is the Degelen mountains. Although an basic mass of the nuclear explosion products is obviously concentrated in basin cavities of the tunnels, the radionuclides are taken out on a day time surface together with waters acting in the basin cavity of the tunnels. The results of investigation of radionuclide pollution on the various platforms of the SNTS territory are presented. The results characterise the radionuclide pollution by specificity of spent tests

Modified SURF Algorithm Implementation on FPGA For Real-Time Object Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomyslav Sledevič

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the FPGA-based implementation of the modified speeded-up robust features (SURF algorithm. FPGA was selected for parallel process implementation using VHDL to ensure features extraction in real-time. A sliding 84×84 size window was used to store integral pixels and accelerate Hessian determinant calculation, orientation assignment and descriptor estimation. The local extreme searching was used to find point of interest in 8 scales. The simplified descriptor and orientation vector were calculated in parallel in 6 scales. The algorithm was investigated by tracking marker and drawing a plane or cube. All parts of algorithm worked on 25 MHz clock. The video stream was generated using 60 fps and 640×480 pixel camera.Article in Lithuanian

Improved oxidation of air pollutants in a non-thermal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roland, U.; Holzer, F.; Kopinke, F.-D.

2002-01-01

The performance of non-thermal plasma (NTP) for the removal of organic air pollutants (especially in low concentrations) is improved by the introduction of ferroelectric and catalytically active materials into the discharge zone of an NTP reactor. Experiments with model systems (various contaminants and packed-bed materials) have shown that such a modification of a homogeneous gas-phase plasma can overcome the most serious restrictions of the NTP technique at its present state of the art: the incomplete total oxidation (i.e. the low selectivity to CO 2 ) and the energetic inefficiency. Placing a ferroelectric packed-bed material in the discharge zone was shown to result in a lowering of the energy input required. The main effects of plasma catalysis enabled by the introduction of a catalytically active material were an enhanced conversion of pollutants and a higher CO 2 selectivity. These improvements are based on the presence of short-lived oxidising species in the inner volume of porous catalysts. Additionally, the formation of a reservoir of adsorbed oxidants in the NTP zone could be shown. The combination of both modifications (ferroelectric packed-bed materials and plasma catalysis) is a promising method to support the NTP-initiated oxidation of air pollutants

The level of air pollution in the impact zone of coal-fired power plant (Karaganda City) using the data of geochemical snow survey (Republic of Kazakhstan)

OpenAIRE

Adil'bayeva, Т. E.; Talovskaya, Anna Valerievna; Yazikov, Yegor (Egor) Grigoryevich; Matveenko, Irina Alekseevna

2016-01-01

Coal-fired power plants emissions impact the air quality and human health. Of great significance is assessment of solid airborne particles emissions from those plants and distance of their transportation. The article presents the results of air pollution assessment in the zone of coal-fired power plant (Karaganda City) using snow survey. Based on the mass of solid airborne particles deposited in snow, time of their deposition on snow at the distance from 0.5 to 4.5 km a value of dust load has...

Shell shape as a biomarker of marine pollution historic increase.

Science.gov (United States)

Márquez, F; Primost, M A; Bigatti, G

2017-01-30

Buccinanops globulosus is a TBT sensitive marine gastropod, classified as a good indicator of imposex incidence and used as a model to study adverse contamination effects. Population and maritime industries has incremented pollution in Nuevo gulf harbor since 1970s, promoting morphological changes in B. globulosus shell shape. We study the shell shape of the species comparing present day's specimens from the harbor zone with those collected in the same zone before the increasing of maritime activity and pre-Hispanic archaeological Middens. We demonstrated that harbor pollution produces globular shell shape in B. globulosus, an effect that probably allows gastropods to isolate themselves from the external adverse environment. On the contrary, shells from pre-Hispanic periods, unpolluted sites and those collected before the expansion of maritime activities, presented an elongated shell shape. Our study confirms that shell shape variation in marine gastropods can be used as a biomarker of harbor pollution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Benthic foraminifera as pollution indices in the marine environment of west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Setty, M.G.A.P.; Nigam, R.

the discharge point; miliolids in the transitional zone and dominantly smaller-sized @iNonionella, Fursenkoina pontoni, Bulimina marginata@@ at the distal zone quite far from the discharge point where pollutants are diluted and dissipated. In the Karwar area...

Assessment of air, water and land-based sources of pollution in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A quantitative assessment of air, water and land-based sources of pollution to the coastal zone of the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area of Ghana was conducted by making an emission inventory from information on industrial, commercial and domestic activities. Three sources of air pollution were analysed, viz, emission from ...

Interruptions in Chest Compressions by Surf Lifeguards: A Comparison of Face-mask Ventilation in Over-the-head CPR vs Standard CPR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørkjær, Louise; Nielsen, Lars Henrik; Bomholt, Katrine Bjørnshave

. The International Life Saving Federation recommends CPR using face-mask ventilation. It is currently unknown if OH-CPR using face-mask ventilation improves CPR quality. We hypothesized that OH-CPR is superior to standard CPR with face-mask ventilation among surf lifeguards. Methods: Surf lifeguards were trained......Introduction: Ventilation is a priority in drowning resuscitation. Over-the-head CPR (OH-CPR), i.e. with the rescuer located at the top of the victim’s head instead of alongside the victim’s torso, has been demonstrated to be superior when doing bag-valve-mask ventilation compared to standard CPR...... in OH-CPR and standard CPR with face-mask ventilation and randomized to a crossover comparison on a manikin. CPR quality data were obtained from the manikin and video recordings. Interruptions in chest compressions were used as a primary measure of CPR quality. A sample size of 14 participants...

System approach for evaluation of soil contamination by nitrogen containing pollutants in the 30-km zone power nuclear plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shevtsova, O.V.; Zhigunova, L.N.; Makovskaya, N.A.; Pavlovich, E.L.

2013-01-01

This article presents the results of studies of the nitrogen-containing chemical pollutants of the soil 30 km zone nuclear power plant in order to evaluate the chemical carcinogenic risk to public health. As a result of this work the least amount of NDMA fixed at 0,83 × 10 -4 mg/kg, the highest - 128,29 × 10 -4 mg/kg, which is 0,83 and 128,3 %, respectively, of Madman established in the Russian Federation and Republic of Kazakhstan, the content of NDMA precursors - nitrite ions varies from 0,07 to 4,43 mg/kg. Found that most of the compounds reported in agricultural land. Calculate the total carcinogenic risk for the population living in the region - the set value corresponds to the maximum risk tolerance, i. e. the upper limit of acceptable risk. These levels are subject to continuous monitoring. (authors)

Phthalate pollution in an Amazonian rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenoir, Alain; Boulay, Raphaël; Dejean, Alain; Touchard, Axel; Cuvillier-Hot, Virginie

2016-08-01

Phthalates are ubiquitous contaminants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can become trapped in the cuticles of insects, including ants which were recognized as good bioindicators for such pollution. Because phthalates have been noted in developed countries and because they also have been found in the Arctic, a region isolated from direct anthropogenic influence, we hypothesized that they are widespread. So, we looked for their presence on the cuticle of ants gathered from isolated areas of the Amazonian rainforest and along an anthropogenic gradient of pollution (rainforest vs. road sides vs. cities in French Guiana). Phthalate pollution (mainly di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) was higher on ants gathered in cities and along road sides than on those collected in the pristine rainforest, indicating that it follows a human-mediated gradient of disturbance related to the use of plastics and many other products that contain phthalates in urban zones. Their presence varied with the ant species; the cuticle of Solenopsis saevissima traps higher amount of phthalates than that of compared species. However, the presence of phthalates in isolated areas of pristine rainforests suggests that they are associated both with atmospheric particles and in gaseous form and are transported over long distances by wind, resulting in a worldwide diffusion. These findings suggest that there is no such thing as a "pristine" zone.

Influence of air pollution on epiphytic lichens at Kopmanholm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moberg, R

1968-01-01

Investigations were conducted to determine the effects of pollutants from a sulfate pulp factory at Kopmanholmen, Sweden on epiphytic lichens. In 1965 the factory produced 130,000 tons of pulp, 9000 tons of chlorine, 10,000 tons of alkalies and 4000 tons of sulfuric acid. The air is polluted by sulfur dioxide, organic compounds of sulfur, chlorine, and hydrogen sulfide. Results indicate that no zone is completely lacking lichen vegetation. Alectoria implexa, Cetraria glauca, Parmeliopsis aleurites and P. hyperopta are especially sensitive to air pollution. Alectoria jubata, Cetraria chlorophylla, C. pinastri, Parmelia physodes and Parmeliopsis ambigua, although injured, seem to be less sensitive to air pollution because they were collected close to the factory. The injuries on the lichens are probably not caused by a single component, but the various pollutants interact and probably intensify the effect of each other. Groups of trees in the polluted area reduce the injuries.

Surfzone wave characteristics during flood tide on the central west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

JayaKumar, S.; Jishad, M.; Yadhunath, E.M.; Rajasekaran, C.; Gowthaman, R.; Pednekar, P.S.; Luis, R.; Mehra, P.

, D.A., Bird, P.A.D., O’Hare, T.J. and Bullock, G.N., 2000. Breakpoint generated surf beat induced by bichromatic wave groups. Coastal Engineering, 39: 213-242. Basco, D.R., 1983. Surfzone currents. Coastal Engineering, 7(4): 331-355. Bird, E... and mass transport in gravity waves, with application to 'surf beats'. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 13(4): 481-504. Madsen, P.A., Sørensen, O.R. and Schäffer, H.A., 1997. Surf zone dynamics simulated by a boussinesq type model. Part i. Model description...

Overview about polluted sites management by mining activities in coastal-desertic zones

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Arturo; Letelier, María Victoria; Arenas, Franko; Cuevas, Jacqueline; Fuentes, Bárbara

2016-04-01

In Chile the main mining operations as well as artisanal and small-scale mining (copper, gold and silver) are located in desert areas. A large number of abandoned polluted sites with heavy metals and metalloids (Hg, Pb, Cu, Sb, As) remain in coastal areas close to human centers. The aim of this work was to identify the best remediation alternatives considering the physic-chemical characteristics of the coastal-desertic soils. The concentrations of above mentioned pollutants as well as soil properties were determined. The results showed variable concentration of the pollutants, highest detected values were: Hg (46.5 mg kg-1), Pb (84.7 mg kg-1), Cu (283.0 mg kg-1), Sb (90 mg kg-1), As (2,691 mg kg-1). The soils characteristic were: high alkalinity with pH: 7.75-9.66, high electric conductivity (EC: 1.94-118 mScm-1), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR: 5.07-8.22) and low permeability of the soils. Coastal-desertic sites are potential sources of pollution for population, and for terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Exposure routes of pollution for the population include: primary, by incidental ingestion and inhalation of soil and dust and secondary, by the ingestion of marine sediments, sea food and seawater. Rehabilitation of coastal-desertic sites, by using techniques like soil washing in situ, chemical stabilization, or phytostabilization, is conditioned by physic-chemical properties of the soils. In these cases the recommendation for an appropriate management, remediation and use of the sites includes: 1) physic chemical characterization of the soils, 2) evaluation of environmental risk, 3) education of the population and 3) application of a remediation technology according to soil characteristic and the planned use of the sites. Acknowledgments: Funding for this study was supported by the Regional Council of Antofagasta under Project Estudio de ingeniería para la remediación de sitios abandonados con potencial presencia de contaminantes identificados en la comuna de

Major threats of pollution and climate change to global coastal ecosystems and enhanced management for sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yonglong; Yuan, Jingjing; Lu, Xiaotian; Su, Chao; Zhang, Yueqing; Wang, Chenchen; Cao, Xianghui; Li, Qifeng; Su, Jilan; Ittekkot, Venugopalan; Garbutt, Richard Angus; Bush, Simon; Fletcher, Stephen; Wagey, Tonny; Kachur, Anatolii; Sweijd, Neville

2018-08-01

Coastal zone is of great importance in the provision of various valuable ecosystem services. However, it is also sensitive and vulnerable to environmental changes due to high human populations and interactions between the land and ocean. Major threats of pollution from over enrichment of nutrients, increasing metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and climate change have led to severe ecological degradation in the coastal zone, while few studies have focused on the combined impacts of pollution and climate change on the coastal ecosystems at the global level. A global overview of nutrients, metals, POPs, and major environmental changes due to climate change and their impacts on coastal ecosystems was carried out in this study. Coasts of the Eastern Atlantic and Western Pacific were hotspots of concentrations of several pollutants, and mostly affected by warming climate. These hotspots shared the same features of large populations, heavy industry and (semi-) closed sea. Estimation of coastal ocean capital, integrated management of land-ocean interaction in the coastal zone, enhancement of integrated global observation system, and coastal ecosystem-based management can play effective roles in promoting sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems. Enhanced management from the perspective of mitigating pollution and climate change was proposed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pollution Swapping in Agricultural Systems: deciding between mitigation measures with conflicting outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Quinton, John; Stevens, Carly

2010-05-01

Pollution swapping occurs when a mitigation option introduced to reduce one pollutant results in an increase in a different pollutant. Although the concept of pollution swapping is widely understood it has received little attention in research and policy design. This study investigated diffuse pollution mitigation options applied in combinable crop systems. They are: cover crops, residue management, no-tillage, riparian buffer zones, contour grass strips and constructed wetlands. A wide range of water and atmospheric pollutants were considered, including nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and sulphur. It is clear from this investigation that there is no single mitigation option that will reduce all pollutants and in this poster we consider how choices may be made between mitigation measures which may have a positive effect on one pollutant but a negative effect on another.

Water born pollutants sampling using porous suction samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baig, M.A.

1997-01-01

The common standard method of sampling water born pollutants in the vadoze zone is core sampling and it is followed by extraction of pore fluid. This method does not allow sampling at the same location next time and again later on. There is an alternative approach for sampling fluids (water born pollutants) from both saturated and unsaturated regions of vadose zone using porous suction samplers. There are three types of porous suction samplers, vacuum-operated, pressure-vacuum lysimeters, high pressure vacuum samples. The suction samples are operated in the range of 0-70 centi bars and usually consist of ceramic and polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). The operation range of PTFE is higher than ceramic cups. These samplers are well suited for in situ and repeated sampling form the same location. This paper discusses the physical properties and operating condition of such samplers to the utilized under our environmental sampling. (author)

Environmental Pollution by Heavy Metals in the Soil Resources of Zakhur District, as Examined through Geological Processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalilzadeh, J.; Siahcheshm, K.

2016-01-01

In order to assess soil pollution formed on the alteration zones of Zakhur District, we used 20 ICP-MS analyses. Argillic, argillic-phyllic, advanced argillic, silicic along with Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, Co, Ni, Au and Ag are the most important decentralized natural resource contaminating agents that have formed extensive heavy/toxic metal haloes in this area. Diverse environmental pollution indices (e.g. geo-accumulation-Igeo, modified contamination degree- mCd and potential ecological risk- RI) show that the leve of environmental pollution risk of Pb is considerable and, as in different alteration zones, quaternary sediments are also very high. Soils highly contaminated with sulfur result in the high sulfide mineralization character of the alteration zones in Zakhur District. Calculations of the mass changes in argillic and silisic zones indicate enrichment by Cr, Ni, As, Pb and S and loss of Hg and Cd. Besides the positive correlation of heavy metals with each other, there are significant correlations between them and Mn and Al which may have occurred due to the adsorption processes by manganese, iron oxides and/or clay minerals.

The pressure head regime in the induction zone during unstable nonponding infiltration: theory and experiments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cho, H.; Rooij, de G.H.; Inoue, M.

2005-01-01

Fingered flow rapidly moves water and pollutants from the root zone to the groundwater through a limited fraction of the unsaturated zone, limiting the possibilities for decay and adsorption. The onset of wetting front instability and the characteristics of the flow pattern under nonponding

The mechanism of transport of pollution from industrial accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagelova, A.; Takacova, A.

2015-01-01

During industrial accidents pollution may penetrate through the unsaturated zone to groundwater. Penetration depends on the characteristics of the contaminant, leaked pollution amount as well as rock composition. If the pollution reaches the groundwater level it is drifted by flowing water. The flowing water can carry it to greater distances, where may be water sources. During accidents it is necessary to take positions quickly and propose appropriate protective measures. It is necessary to know the management processes of pollution transport. Without knowledge of these processes the measures may not be effective. Aim of this paper is to review the mechanism of transport of pollution and the main processes influencing the change in pollutant concentrations. On concrete and fictitious examples there will be shown properties that influence the spread of contamination especially in his direction because its determination is crucial to the draft measures. Researching of other processes in natural conditions depends on its correct specification.

Environmental pollution and lung effects in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Searing, Daniel A; Rabinovitch, Nathan

2011-06-01

Studies over the last 2 years have added important new information on the relationship between air pollution and asthma incidence and severity. Outdoor air pollution has been associated with asthma exacerbations, including emergency department visits and hospitalizations, as well as with the onset of asthma. Possible mechanisms mediating both incidence and severity effects include the induction of oxidative stress, and/or allergic sensitization, as well as increased susceptibility to viral infections. Some of these mechanisms may be occurring in utero including epigenetic changes that may increase risk for development of asthma. Factors related to increased susceptibility for air pollution-related asthma severity include age, season and genetic polymorphisms related to antioxidant enzymes. Ambient pollution levels may be associated with both asthma incidence and severity. Susceptibility to air pollution may be higher in children with genetic polymorphisms related to the 'oxidant stress pathways'. Potential interventions for susceptible children at risk for asthma development and/or severity include decreased exposure on high air pollution days, especially in the summer months, and antioxidant supplementation. On the population level, changes in school and home zoning to increase distance from busy roadways may help reduce both asthma incidence and severity.

Transformation of Waves Across the Surf Zone.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-03-01

Kuo is more realis- tic but still results in a sharp cut-off of the distribution at the breaking heights. 5. Goda Distribution Goda (1975) derived a...J.I., "Probabilities of Breaking Wave Characteris- tics ," Proc. 12th Coastal Engineering Conf., pp. 399- 412, 1970. Chakrabarty, S.K. and R.P. Cooley...Spring, MD 20910 21. Director 2 Instituto Oceanografico de la Armada Guayaquil, Ecuador 22. Director de Educacion de la Armada Comandancia General de

Modelling rhythmic morphology in the surf zone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein, M.D.

2006-01-01

Coastal erosion is increasingly being prevented by the application of shoreface nourishments. Although they are applied successfully, their development and their impact on the coastal system is still difficult to predict. Especially the effects of shoreface nourishments on the already existing

Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics for Surf Zone Waves

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

2010.) The GPU-SPHysics code, initiated by Dr. Alexis Hérault at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia in Sicily, has been applied to... Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Catania, for the development of GPU-SPHysics. Drs. Hérault and Bilotta were in residence at JHU during January of

Tissue-specific cytochrome c oxidase assembly defects due to mutations in SCO2 and SURF1

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Stibůrek, L.; Veselá, K.; Hansíková, H.; Pecina, Petr; Tesařová, M.; Černá, L.; Houštěk, Josef; Zeman, J.

2005-01-01

Roč. 392, č. 3 (2005), s. 625-632 ISSN 0264-6021 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA303/03/0749; GA MŠk(CZ) 1M0520; GA ČR(CZ) GP303/03/D132 Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) 17/2004/C; Priority 1(XE) LSHMCT-2004-503116 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50110509 Keywords : assembly pathway * cytochrome c oxidase * SURF1 Subject RIV: FB - Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolism, Nutrition Impact factor: 4.224, year: 2005

Gene surfing in expanding populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hallatschek, Oskar; Nelson, David R

2008-02-01

Large scale genomic surveys are partly motivated by the idea that the neutral genetic variation of a population may be used to reconstruct its migration history. However, our ability to trace back the colonization pathways of a species from their genetic footprints is limited by our understanding of the genetic consequences of a range expansion. Here, we study, by means of simulations and analytical methods, the neutral dynamics of gene frequencies in an asexual population undergoing a continual range expansion in one dimension. During such a colonization period, lineages can fix at the wave front by means of a "surfing" mechanism [Edmonds, C.A., Lillie, A.S., Cavalli-Sforza, L.L., 2004. Mutations arising in the wave front of an expanding population. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 101, 975-979]. We quantify this phenomenon in terms of (i) the spatial distribution of lineages that reach fixation and, closely related, (ii) the continual loss of genetic diversity (heterozygosity) at the wave front, characterizing the approach to fixation. Our stochastic simulations show that an effective population size can be assigned to the wave that controls the (observable) gradient in heterozygosity left behind the colonization process. This effective population size is markedly higher in the presence of cooperation between individuals ("pushed waves") than when individuals proliferate independently ("pulled waves"), and increases only sub-linearly with deme size. To explain these and other findings, we develop a versatile analytical approach, based on the physics of reaction-diffusion systems, that yields simple predictions for any deterministic population dynamics. Our analytical theory compares well with the simulation results for pushed waves, but is less accurate in the case of pulled waves when stochastic fluctuations in the tip of the wave are important.

IDENTIFICATION OF DANGER ZONES FOR SURFACE WATER USING GIS (SIP – MAPINFO SYSTEM ON AN EXAMPLE OF UPPER NAREW RIVER CATCHMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirosław Skorbiłowicz

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Creating the buffer zones is a function intended to designate an area in particular, of a constant distance around the spatial objects. The aim of the study was to create maps as thematic layers, which served to identify areas of existing and potential contamination of surface water and other environmental elements. Among others, it made possible to localize the areas potentially affected by the surface water pollution due to transport; localize the areas potentially affected by the surface water pollution due to the discharge of sewage from human settlements; localize the zones with mitigated impact of communication emissions due to the natural protection of forests taking the form of so-called geochemical barriers. The spatial analyzes allowed to generate model-zones of the existing and potential threat of water pollution in the Narew river catchment. Designated danger zones can be verified by studies as well as they can be very helpful in determining the monitoring network and for water quality modeling process.

Surfing through hyperspace understanding higher universes in six easy lessons

CERN Document Server

Pickover, Clifford A

1999-01-01

Do a little armchair time-travel, rub elbows with a four-dimensional intelligent life form, or stretch your mind to the furthest corner of an uncharted universe. With this astonishing guidebook, Surfing Through Hyperspace, you need not be a mathematician or an astrophysicist to explore the all-but-unfathomable concepts of hyperspace and higher-dimensional geometry. No subject in mathematics has intrigued both children and adults as much as the idea of a fourth dimension. Philosophers and parapsychologists have meditated on this mysterious space that no one can point to but may be all around us. Yet this extra dimension has a very real, practical value to mathematicians and physicists who use it every day in their calculations. In the tradtion of Flatland, and with an infectious enthusiasm, Clifford Pickover tackles the problems inherent in our 3-D brains trying to visualize a 4-D world, muses on the religious implications of the existence of higher-dimensional consciousness, and urges all curious readers to v...

On analyzing colour constancy approach for improving SURF detector performance

Science.gov (United States)

Zulkiey, Mohd Asyraf; Zaki, Wan Mimi Diyana Wan; Hussain, Aini; Mustafa, Mohd. Marzuki

2012-04-01

Robust key point detector plays a crucial role in obtaining a good tracking feature. The main challenge in outdoor tracking is the illumination change due to various reasons such as weather fluctuation and occlusion. This paper approaches the illumination change problem by transforming the input image through colour constancy algorithm before applying the SURF detector. Masked grey world approach is chosen because of its ability to perform well under local as well as global illumination change. Every image is transformed to imitate the canonical illuminant and Gaussian distribution is used to model the global change. The simulation results show that the average number of detected key points have increased by 69.92%. Moreover, the average of improved performance cases far out weight the degradation case where the former is improved by 215.23%. The approach is suitable for tracking implementation where sudden illumination occurs frequently and robust key point detection is needed.

Effects of urban and motor vehicle pollution on plants: State of art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bussotti, F.

1995-01-01

Motor vehicle pollution is a very important fraction of overall pollution: urban areas and those near road ways are the most exposed. In these zones the vegetation is already growing in difficult conditions to begin with and the additional pollution stress further reduces the plants' vitality, as well as presenting specific management problems. This paper examines the international scientific literature dealing with the effects of motor vehicle pollution on plants. The main effects are: accumulation of heavy metals, sulphur and nitrogen; deposition of particles on leaf surfaces; effect of pollutants on leaf surfaces, on photosynthesis, on transpiration, on leaf anatomy and on growth processes. Lastly, the paper examines the interaction between the various kinds of stressors

DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUE FOR ZONING THE FORMER SEMIPALATINSK TEST SITE TERRITORY USINHG GEOINFORMATIONAL MAPPING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. Yu. Yakovenko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of studies on radio-ecological assessment of pollution carried out at the former Semipalatinsk test site. The technique of radio-ecological zoning with methods of geoinformation mapping, including the determination of qualitative and qualitative criteria depending on the degree of superficial soil layer pollution, exposed to anthropogenic radiative impact, is offered. The result of such zoning makes it possible to evaluate the degree of radiation impact on the surveyed area, identify areas with high background radiation and define the borders representing potential risks to the public, residing or carrying out business activities within the area.

Measurement of synchrotron radiation from the NBS SURF II using a silicon radiometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaefer, A.R.

1980-01-01

A project is described in which the synchrotron radiation output from the NBS storage ring known as SURF II, is measured using a well characterized silicon based radiometer. This device consists of a silicon photodiode coupled with two interference filters to restrict the spectral response to a finite and convenient spectral region for the measurement. Considerations required for the characterization of the radiometer will be discussed. The absolute radiant flux from the storage ring is also calculable from various machine parameters. A measurement of the number of circulating electrons will be derived from electron counting techniques at low levels. This will yield an important intercomparison between the synchrotron flux measurements determined in two entirely different ways. (orig.)

Species Profiles. Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Mid-Atlantic). SURF CLAM

Science.gov (United States)

1983-10-01

ter across the vitelline membrane; the Male and female surf clams are identi- innqr germinal vesicle averages 0.79 cal in external appearance, and...Jones et al. ) (1978) reported age-size relationships In laboratcry experiments con- using cut and polished shells (Table ducted •t 21.7 0 C (71 0 F...and Long Island’s south period (4-6 weeks), due to a persist - shore, out. to a depth of 75 m (246 ent southerly flow of air;. and ft), because of the

Development and application of multi-zone model for combustion and pollutants formation in direct injection diesel engine running with vegetable oil or its bio-diesel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rakopoulos, C.D.; Antonopoulos, K.A.; Rakopoulos, D.C.

2007-01-01

A multi-zone model for calculation of the closed cycle of a direct injection (DI) Diesel engine is presented and applied for the interesting case of its operation with vegetable oil (cottonseed) or its derived bio-diesel (methyl ester) as fuels, which recently are considered as promising alternatives (bio-fuels) to petroleum distillates. Although there are many experimental studies, there is an apparent scarcity of theoretical models scrutinizing the formation mechanisms of combustion generated emissions when using these fuels. The model is two dimensional, multi-zone with the issuing jets (from the nozzle) divided into several discrete volumes, called 'zones', formed along the direction of the fuel injection and across it. The model follows each zone, with its own time history, as the spray penetrates into the swirling air environment (forming the non-burning zone) of the combustion chamber, before and after wall impingement. Droplet evaporation and jet mixing models are used to determine the amount of fuel and entrained air in each zone available for combustion. The mass, energy and state equations are applied in each zone to yield local temperatures and cylinder pressure histories. The concentrations of the various constituents are calculated by adopting a chemical equilibrium scheme for the C-H-O-N system of 11 species considered, together with the chemical rate equations for the calculation of nitric oxide (NO). A model for evaluation of soot formation and oxidation rates is included. The results from the relevant computer program for the in cylinder pressure, exhaust nitric oxide concentration (NO) and soot density are compared favorably with the corresponding measurements from an experimental investigation conducted on a fully automated test bed, standard 'Hydra', DI Diesel engine installed at the authors' laboratory. Iso-contour plots of equivalence ratio, temperature, NO and soot inside the combustion chamber at various instants of time when using these

Respiratory Health Symptoms among Students Exposed to Different Levels of Air Pollution in a Turkish City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Günay Güngör

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of respiratory health symptoms among high school students attending schools at industrial, urban and rural areas in a Turkish city. Three schools located in different zones of the city having different pollution characteristics were chosen based on the pollutant distribution maps using Geographical Information Systems (GIS software. A cross-sectional survey was performed among 667 high school students in the schools. Outdoor and indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2 and ozone (O3 concentrations were also measured by passive samplers in the same schools to investigate possible routes of exposure. Chronic pulmonary disease (OR = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.11–1.99; p = 0.008, tightness in the chest (OR = 1.57; 95%CI: 1.22–2.02; p = 0.001, morning cough (OR = 1.81 95%CI: 1.19–2.75; p = 0.006 were higher among students in the industrial zone where nitrogen dioxide and ozone levels were also highest. There were no indoor sources of nitrogen dioxide and ozone exists in the schools except for the dining hall. As a conclusion, this study has noticed that air pollution and respiratory health problems among high school students are high in industrial zones and the use of passive samplers combined with GIS is an effective tool that may be used by public health researchers to identify pollutant zones and persons at risk.

Time-Spatial Convergence of Air Pollution and Regional Economic Growth in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengning Pu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The haze pollution caused by fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 emissions has become one of the most crucial topics of sustainable environmental governance in China. Using the average concentration of PM 2.5 in China’s key cities from 2000 to 2012, as measured by aerosol optical depth, this study tested the time-spatial convergence of fine particulate matter pollution in China. The results show that there is a trend of absolute convergence between timespan and China’s PM 2.5 emissions. At the same time, in the geographic areas divided by the east, middle and west zones, there is a significant difference in the convergence rate of PM 2.5. The growth rate of PM 2.5 in the middle and west zones is significantly higher than that of the east zone. The correlation test between regional economic growth and PM 2.5 emissions suggest a significant positive N-type Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC after considering spatial lag and spatial error effect.

Isotope Investigations of Groundwater Movement in a Coarse Gravel Unsaturated Zone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mali, N. [Geological Survey of Slovenia, Department of Hydrogeology, Ljubljana (Slovenia); Kozar-Logar, J. [Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana (Slovenia); Leis, A. [Institute of Water Resources Management, Hydrogeology and Geophysics, Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Graz (Austria)

2013-07-15

The unsaturated zone above an aquifer serves as a water reservoir which discharges water and possible pollution to the saturated zone. This paper presents the application of oxygen-18 and tritium isotope methods in the study of groundwater transport processes in the unsaturated zone of Selniska Dobrava coarse gravel aquifer. The Selniska Dobrava gravel aquifer is an important water resource for Maribor and its surroundings, therefore the determination of transport processes in the unsaturated zone is important regarding its protection. Groundwater flow characteristics were estimated using isotopes and based on experimental work in a lysimeter. Tritium investigation results were compared with the results of long term oxygen-18 isotope investigation. In this paper the analytical approach, results and interpretation of {delta}{sup 18}O and tritium measurements in the unsaturated zone are presented. (author)

Radiotracer studies for coastal zone management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, C.; Kluss, T.; Airey, P.

2001-01-01

Coastal engineers and coastal zone managers increasingly rely on numerical models of fluid, sediment and contaminant dynamics. These are used to underpin coastal structure design and to predict environmental response to specific events such as storms or pollutant spills, and gradual changes such as sea-level rise or changes in bathymetry. Radiotracer techniques can be used to provide dynamic data on the movement of a specific patch of water, sediment or pollutant over time, which can be compared with model predictions. Two case studies are presented where radiotracer studies were used to improve confidence in numerical models of: (1) 2D hydrodynamics and sediment transport at the Port of Songkhla, Thailand; and (2) 3D hydrodynamics and algal bloom transport in Manila Bay, Philippines

Assessment of Eco-Environmental Stress in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Longyu Shi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Eco-environmental stress refers to the pressure borne by the environment in sustaining the pre-existing non-industrialized state and/or in counteracting adverse impacts caused by natural and human factors. The present article introduces the concept, research progress, and method for assessing eco-environmental stress. An eco-environmental stress index (ESI is established to assess the eco-environmental stress of 13 cities in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone (hereafter referred to as the Economic Zone during the period from 2000 to 2010. The research provides a reference for the strategic planning of industrial development and environmental protection. The results show that the overall eco-environmental stress of the Economic Zone was slight and did not have significant change during the past 10 years. The cities with the most severe eco-environmental stress are distributed in the north and south of the Economic Zone. Most areas of Fujian Province have a low degree of eco-environmental stress, a situation that is being constantly improved. The regions with high atmospheric and water pollutant emissions are concentrated in the northern, middle, and southern coastal regions of the Economic Zone. The pollutant emissions of coastal cities are higher than those of inland cities. In the future, ecological restoration and compensation mechanisms should be established for regions where environmental protection and remediation is urgently needed.

Exchanges across land-water-scape boundaries in urban systems: strategies for reducing nitrate pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadenasso, M L; Pickett, S T A; Groffman, P M; Band, L E; Brush, G S; Galvin, M F; Grove, J M; Hagar, G; Marshall, V; McGrath, B P; O'Neil-Dunne, J P M; Stack, W P; Troy, A R

2008-01-01

Conservation in urban areas typically focuses on biodiversity and large green spaces. However, opportunities exist throughout urban areas to enhance ecological functions. An important function of urban landscapes is retaining nitrogen thereby reducing nitrate pollution to streams and coastal waters. Control of nonpoint nitrate pollution in urban areas was originally based on the documented importance of riparian zones in agricultural and forested ecosystems. The watershed and boundary frameworks have been used to guide stream research and a riparian conservation strategy to reduce nitrate pollution in urban streams. But is stream restoration and riparian-zone conservation enough? Data from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study and other urban stream research indicate that urban riparian zones do not necessarily prevent nitrate from entering, nor remove nitrate from, streams. Based on this insight, policy makers in Baltimore extended the conservation strategy throughout larger watersheds, attempting to restore functions that no longer took place in riparian boundaries. Two urban revitalization projects are presented as examples aimed at reducing nitrate pollution to stormwater, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. An adaptive cycle of ecological urban design synthesizes the insights from the watershed and boundary frameworks, from new data, and from the conservation concerns of agencies and local communities. This urban example of conservation based on ameliorating nitrate water pollution extends the initial watershed-boundary approach along three dimensions: 1) from riparian to urban land-water-scapes; 2) from discrete engineering solutions to ecological design approaches; and 3) from structural solutions to inclusion of individual, household, and institutional behavior.

Lichens as indicators of air pollution in a steal producing town in South Wales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pratt, F B

1970-01-01

The lichen flora of a given region depends upon a multiplicity of factors. Some factors act directly or indirectly upon the lichen thallus; in addition the lichen thallus is capable, to some extent at least, of exerting a modifying influence upon the macro- and micro-environment. The polluted centre of Port Talbot, a steel town, has a restricted number of Crustose and rather Depauperate species. This lichen desert is quite small possibly because either (a) the atmosphere is not heavily polluted, or (b) there is a rapid dilution of pollutants. With distance away from Port Talbot there is an increase in the number of lichen species and a change in the proportion of the various growth forms. Abutting the lichen desert is a zone in which parmelia sulcata, P. saxatilis, Cladonia coniocraea, and C. fimbriata are the most widely represented species. This is followed by a further zone dominated by USNEA comosa, U. florida, Cetraria glauca, and Cladonia impexa in particular. It must be noted that these zones are not clearly defined; there is a gradation in growth forms and a gradual change in the abundance of various species.

Effects of beach morphology and waves on onshore larval transport

Science.gov (United States)

Fujimura, A.; Reniers, A.; Paris, C. B.; Shanks, A.; MacMahan, J.; Morgan, S.

2015-12-01

Larvae of intertidal species grow offshore, and migrate back to the shore when they are ready to settle on their adult substrates. In order to reach the habitat, they must cross the surf zone, which is characterized as a semi-permeable barrier. This is accomplished through physical forcing (i.e., waves and current) as well as their own behavior. Two possible scenarios of onshore larval transport are proposed: Negatively buoyant larvae stay in the bottom boundary layer because of turbulence-dependent sinking behavior, and are carried toward the shore by streaming of the bottom boundary layer; positively buoyant larvae move to the shore during onshore wind events, and sink to the bottom once they encounter high turbulence (i.e., surf zone edge), where they are carried by the bottom current toward the shore (Fujimura et al. 2014). Our biophysical Lagrangian particle tracking model helps to explain how beach morphology and wave conditions affect larval distribution patterns and abundance. Model results and field observations show that larval abundance in the surf zone is higher at mildly sloped, rip-channeled beaches than at steep pocket beaches. Beach attributes are broken up to examine which and how beach configuration factors affect larval abundance. Modeling with alongshore uniform beaches with variable slopes reveal that larval populations in the surf zone are negatively correlated with beach steepness. Alongshore variability enhances onshore larval transport because of increased cross-shore water exchange by rip currents. Wave groups produce transient rip currents and enhance cross-shore exchange. Effects of other wave components, such as wave height and breaking wave rollers are also considered.

Surf, sand, scrapes and stings: First aid incidents involving children at New Zealand beaches, 2007–2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Kevin; Webber, Jonathon

2014-03-01

Aims: In spite of the popularity of beaches for family recreation, little is known about childhood injuries sustained at beaches. It is the purpose of this study to analyse data from incidents necessitating first aid treatment from reports compiled by surf lifeguards on New Zealand beaches.Method: A retrospective analysis of first aid incidents involving children (safety via greater care giver awareness, the use of protective clothing and footwear, and child safety promotion via health professionals and safety organisations are discussed.

Binational school-based monitoring of traffic-related air pollutants in El Paso, Texas (USA) and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua (Mexico)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raysoni, Amit U.; Sarnat, Jeremy A.; Sarnat, Stefanie Ebelt; Garcia, Jose Humberto; Holguin, Fernando; Flores Luevano, Silvia; Li, Wen-Whai

2011-01-01

Paired indoor and outdoor concentrations of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM), PM2.5 reflectance [black carbon(BC)], and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) were determined for sixteen weeks in 2008 at four elementary schools (two in high and two in low traffic density zones) in a U.S.-Mexico border community to aid a binational health effects study. Strong spatial heterogeneity was observed for all outdoor pollutant concentrations. Concentrations of all pollutants, except coarse PM, were higher in high traffic zones than in the respective low traffic zones. Black carbon and NO 2 appear to be better traffic indicators than fine PM. Indoor air pollution was found to be well associated with outdoor air pollution, although differences existed due to uncontrollable factors involving student activities and building/ventilation configurations. Results of this study indicate substantial spatial variability of pollutants in the region, suggesting that children's exposures to these pollutants vary based on the location of their school. - Highlights: → First binational investigation characterizing traffic air pollutants at four schools in El Paso, USA and Cd. Juarez, Mexico. → Paired in-outdoor sampling of PM 2.5 , PM 10-2.5 , reflectance [black carbon(BC)], and NO 2 for 16 weeks in 2008 at each school. → Two schools (one in each city) were located in high traffic density areas and the other two in areas of low traffic density. → Usage of spatially resolved environmental indictors of traffic pollutants in a range of exposure settings. → Substantial intra-urban spatial variability in pollutant concentrations observed between and within the two cities. - Spatial variability in traffic-mediated pollutant concentrations can exist at the intra-urban level and ambient monitoring sites may not accurately represent these concentration gradients.

Impact of Black Dust Pollution on Permafrost Temperature Regime in Pechora Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Khilimonyuk, V.; Pustovoit, G.; Filatova, M.

2011-12-01

Pechora Coal basin locates in North- Easter part of Europe within permafrost zone. The coal mining and post processing lead to emission of black dust (BD) and pollution of Earth surface. The scale of snow pollution surrounding Vorkuta city reaches to 260 g/sq.m of dust that is about 1000 ppmm BD concentration in snow before melting period. Such a large concentration of dust reduces snow reflectivity (Warren and Wiscombe, 1980; Chýlek et al., 1983,Gorbacheva, 1984, Zender et al, 2010) and can thereby trigger albedo feedbacks. The goal of this study is to evaluate the role of dirty surface albedo in the observed changing of permafrost regime in this basin. Two key sites: Workuta (North permafrost zone) and Inta (South permafrost zone) areas were selected for this study. For each site the zoning of territory by typical conditions of permafrost formation was performed. For the selected typical landscapes 1-D vertical heat transfer model coupled with the surface radiation-thermal balance equation at topsoil was simulated. The simulation was performed for the soil profile of 20 m depth during 20 years period with periodical input data at dirty surface averaged on monthly base. The initial measured not disturbed soil temperature profile was used for assessment the soil thermal property for the given landscape and natural surface radiation-thermal balance. The annual cycle of albedo change for dirty surface was taken from experimental measurement (Gorbacheva, 1984) for both sites as the function of the distance from the dust source. The simulation results next were used for mapping the vulnerability of permafrost thermal regime due to black dust pollution. Generally the simulation results show that South permafrost zone with mean temperature of permafrost (-0.5 -0.1C) is more vulnerable to albedo change than North permafrost zone with mean temperature (-2.5 -2C) for the same order of dust impact on albedo.

An Assessment of Oil Pollution in the Coastal Zone of Patagonia, Argentina

Science.gov (United States)

Commendatore, Marta Graciela; Esteves, José Luis

2007-11-01

The Patagonian coast is considered a relatively pristine environment. However, studies conducted along coastal Patagonia have showed hydrocarbon pollution mostly concentrated at ports that have fishing, oil loading, general merchant, and/or tourist activities. A high value of total aliphatic hydrocarbons (TAH) was found at the Rawson fishing port (741 μg/g dw). In other ports with and without petroleum-related activities, hydrocarbon values were approximately 100 μg/g dw. The highest values for TAH and total aromatic hydrocarbons (TArH) were found in Faro Aristizábal, north of San Jorge gulf (1304 and 737 μg/g dw, respectively). This is very likely the result of petroleum-related activities at the Comodoro Rivadavia, Caleta Cordova, and Caleta Olivia ports located within this gulf. In other coastal areas away from potential anthropogenic sources, hydrocarbon values were less than 2 and 3 μg/g dw for TAH and TArH, respectively. This review of published and unpublished information suggests that ports are important oil pollution sources in the Patagonian coast. More detailed studies are needed to evaluate the area affected by port activities, to understand the mechanisms of hydrocarbon distribution in surrounding environments, and to assess bioaccumulation in marine organisms. Despite that some regulations exist to control oil pollution derived from port and docked vessel activities, new and stricter management guidelines should be implemented.

Interpolation of extensive routine water pollution monitoring datasets: methodology and discussion of implications for aquifer management.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuval, Yuval; Rimon, Yaara; Graber, Ellen R; Furman, Alex

2014-08-01

A large fraction of the fresh water available for human use is stored in groundwater aquifers. Since human activities such as mining, agriculture, industry and urbanisation often result in incursion of various pollutants to groundwater, routine monitoring of water quality is an indispensable component of judicious aquifer management. Unfortunately, groundwater pollution monitoring is expensive and usually cannot cover an aquifer with the spatial resolution necessary for making adequate management decisions. Interpolation of monitoring data is thus an important tool for supplementing monitoring observations. However, interpolating routine groundwater pollution data poses a special problem due to the nature of the observations. The data from a producing aquifer usually includes many zero pollution concentration values from the clean parts of the aquifer but may span a wide range of values (up to a few orders of magnitude) in the polluted areas. This manuscript presents a methodology that can cope with such datasets and use them to produce maps that present the pollution plumes but also delineates the clean areas that are fit for production. A method for assessing the quality of mapping in a way which is suitable to the data's dynamic range of values is also presented. A local variant of inverse distance weighting is employed to interpolate the data. Inclusion zones around the interpolation points ensure that only relevant observations contribute to each interpolated concentration. Using inclusion zones improves the accuracy of the mapping but results in interpolation grid points which are not assigned a value. The inherent trade-off between the interpolation accuracy and coverage is demonstrated using both circular and elliptical inclusion zones. A leave-one-out cross testing is used to assess and compare the performance of the interpolations. The methodology is demonstrated using groundwater pollution monitoring data from the coastal aquifer along the Israeli

Interpolation of extensive routine water pollution monitoring datasets: methodology and discussion of implications for aquifer management

Science.gov (United States)

Yuval; Rimon, Y.; Graber, E. R.; Furman, A.

2013-07-01

A large fraction of the fresh water available for human use is stored in groundwater aquifers. Since human activities such as mining, agriculture, industry and urbanization often result in incursion of various pollutants to groundwater, routine monitoring of water quality is an indispensable component of judicious aquifer management. Unfortunately, groundwater pollution monitoring is expensive and usually cannot cover an aquifer with the spatial resolution necessary for making adequate management decisions. Interpolation of monitoring data between points is thus an important tool for supplementing measured data. However, interpolating routine groundwater pollution data poses a special problem due to the nature of the observations. The data from a producing aquifer usually includes many zero pollution concentration values from the clean parts of the aquifer but may span a wide range (up to a few orders of magnitude) of values in the polluted areas. This manuscript presents a methodology that can cope with such datasets and use them to produce maps that present the pollution plumes but also delineates the clean areas that are fit for production. A method for assessing the quality of mapping in a way which is suitable to the data's dynamic range of values is also presented. Local variant of inverse distance weighting is employed to interpolate the data. Inclusion zones around the interpolation points ensure that only relevant observations contribute to each interpolated concentration. Using inclusion zones improves the accuracy of the mapping but results in interpolation grid points which are not assigned a value. That inherent trade-off between the interpolation accuracy and coverage is demonstrated using both circular and elliptical inclusion zones. A leave-one-out cross testing is used to assess and compare the performance of the interpolations. The methodology is demonstrated using groundwater pollution monitoring data from the Coastal aquifer along the Israeli

Spinal cord injury with central cord syndrome from surfing.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinfeld, Yaniv; Keren, Yaniv; Haddad, Elias

2018-01-01

Central cord syndrome (CCS) is an injury to the center of the spinal cord. It is well known as a hyperextension injury, but it has never been described as a surfing injury. Our report describes this injury in detail. A 35-year-old male novice surfer presented to the emergency department with acute tetraplegia following falling off his surfboard and hitting sea floor at a shallow beach break. He was rescued by a fellow surfer while floating in the sea and unable to raise his head above sea level. Upon arrival at the hospital, tetraplegia and sensory deficits were noted. Radiological investigations showed advanced spinal stenosis at C4-6 levels. T2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated myelopathy at C5-C6 level. He was diagnosed as having central cord syndrome, treated conservatively, and regained near full neurologic recovery after a month of rehabilitation. Unique sport activities lead to unique injuries. It is important to accurately describe these injuries in order to create protective measures against them. Neurologic injuries in surfers are uncommon. With low-energy trauma, surfer's myelopathy is still the most common diagnosis, but central cord syndrome should be in the differential diagnosis.

System approach for evaluation of air pollution toxic compounds in the 30-km area of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shevtsova, O.V.; Zhigunova, L.N.; Makovskaya, N.A.; Pavlovich, E.L.

2012-01-01

The article shows the importance of a systematic approach to address environmental problems that arise during the construction of nuclear power plants, and identified the need to consider the transformation and biotransformation of primary pollutants and monitoring secondary pollutants. The basic pathways of pollutants in the air a 30-km zone of nuclear power plants established. The content of primary and secondary air pollutants identified. The evaluation of general toxic risk from primary pollutant and the calculation of the carcinogenic risk of secondary pollutants entering the body by inhalation are carried out. (authors)

Assessment of Light Pollution Impact on Protected Areas in China

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, W.; He, G.; Ni, Y.

2017-09-01

The Protected Areas (PAs) with natural, ecological and cultural value play important role in biological processes, biodiversity and ecosystem service. During the past years of rapid urban expansion in China, the spatial range and intensity of light pollution unprecedented increase. Historically, optical remote sensing and field survey data had been used to reveal that human activities impacted on PAs for individual areas and few papers documented the issue of light pollution impact on PAs at national scale. Here, time series night-time light satellite images of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) were selected to assess the light pollution impacted on PAs in China. The method we proposed can be effectively applied to assess the impact of light pollution on PAs and the percent of dark PAs decreased by 35.38 % from 1992 to 2012 at nationwide. The trend of light pollution of most PAs in stable, however, light pollution of the local area is increase significantly, especially in northern Xinjiang, Gansu, Xizang, Yunnan, Jiangsu and Shandong. Considering the current status of light pollution encroach into PAs, two strategies of appropriate buffer zone and wide measured for light pollution are also recommend.

System approach for evaluation of soil contamination by nitrogen containing pollutants in the 30-km zone power nuclear plant; Sistemnyj podkhod dlya otsenki zagryazneniya okruzhayushchej sredy azotsoderzhashchimi pollyutantami v 30-km zone aehs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shevtsova, O. V.; Zhigunova, L. N.; Makovskaya, N. A.; Pavlovich, E. L. [Ob' ' edinennyj institut ehnergeticheskikh i yadernykh issledovanij – Sosny NAN Belarusi, Minsk(Belarus)

2013-01-15

This article presents the results of studies of the nitrogen-containing chemical pollutants of the soil 30 km zone nuclear power plant in order to evaluate the chemical carcinogenic risk to public health. As a result of this work the least amount of NDMA fixed at 0,83 × 10{sup -4} mg/kg, the highest - 128,29 × 10{sup -4} mg/kg, which is 0,83 and 128,3 %, respectively, of Madman established in the Russian Federation and Republic of Kazakhstan, the content of NDMA precursors - nitrite ions varies from 0,07 to 4,43 mg/kg. Found that most of the compounds reported in agricultural land. Calculate the total carcinogenic risk for the population living in the region - the set value corresponds to the maximum risk tolerance, i. e. the upper limit of acceptable risk. These levels are subject to continuous monitoring. (authors)

Evaluation of a Surfing Programme Designed to Increase Personal Well-Being and Connectedness to the Natural Environment among "At Risk" Young People

Science.gov (United States)

Hignett, Amanda; White, Mathew P.; Pahl, Sabine; Jenkin, Rebecca; Froy, Mod Le

2018-01-01

Outdoor activities can be an important complement to classroom learning, especially for children/young people excluded, or at risk of exclusion, from mainstream schooling. The current research explored the impact of a 12-week surfing programme among such a group in the UK. Pre-post data on physiological health (heart rate (HR)/blood pressure),…

Protected areas in the Atlantic facing the hazards of micro-plastic pollution: first diagnosis of three islands in the Canary Current.

Science.gov (United States)

Baztan, Juan; Carrasco, Ana; Chouinard, Omer; Cleaud, Muriel; Gabaldon, Jesús E; Huck, Thierry; Jaffrès, Lionel; Jorgensen, Bethany; Miguelez, Aquilino; Paillard, Christine; Vanderlinden, Jean-Paul

2014-03-15

Coastal zones and the biosphere as a whole show signs of cumulative degradation due to the use and disposal of plastics. To better understand the manifestation of plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, we partnered with local communities to determine the concentrations of micro-plastics in 125 beaches on three islands in the Canary Current: Lanzarote, La Graciosa, and Fuerteventura. We found that, in spite of being located in highly-protected natural areas, all beaches in our study area are exceedingly vulnerable to micro-plastic pollution, with pollution levels reaching concentrations greater than 100 g of plastic in 1l of sediment. This paper contributes to ongoing efforts to develop solutions to plastic pollution by addressing the questions: (i) Where does this pollution come from?; (ii) How much plastic pollution is in the world's oceans and coastal zones?; (iii) What are the consequences for the biosphere?; and (iv) What are possible solutions? Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Field, Laboratory, and Modeling Studies to Determine the Effects of Linked Microbial and Physical Spatial Heterogeneity on Engineered Vadose Zone Bioremediation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fred Brokman; John Selker; Mark Rockhold

2004-01-26

While numerous techniques exist for remediation of contaminant plumes in groundwater or near the soil surface, remediation methods in the deep vadose zone are less established due to complex transport dynamics and sparse microbial populations. There is a lack of knowledge on how physical and hydrologic features of the vadose zone control microbial growth and colonization in response to nutrient delivery during bioremediation. Yet pollution in the vadose zone poses a serious threat to the groundwater resources lying deeper in the sediment. While the contaminants may be slowly degraded by native microbial communities, microbial degradation rates rarely keep pace with the spread of the pollutant. It is crucial to increase indigenous microbial degradation in the vadose zone to combat groundwater contamination.

Integrated Field, Laboratory, and Modeling Studies to Determine the Effects of Linked Microbial and Physical Spatial Heterogeneity on Engineered Vadose Zone Bioremediation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brockman, Fred J.; Selker, John S.; Rockhold, Mark L.

2004-10-31

Executive Summary - While numerous techniques exist for remediation of contaminant plumes in groundwater or near the soil surface, remediation methods in the deep vadose zone are less established due to complex transport dynamics and sparse microbial populations. There is a lack of knowledge on how physical and hydrologic features of the vadose zone control microbial growth and colonization in response to nutrient delivery during bioremediation. Yet pollution in the vadose zone poses a serious threat to the groundwater resources lying deeper in the sediment. While the contaminants may be slowly degraded by native microbial communities, microbial degradation rates rarely keep pace with the spread of the pollutant. It is crucial to increase indigenous microbial degradation in the vadose zone to combat groundwater contamination...

On the use of the fictitious wave steepness and related surf-similarity parameters in methods that describe the hydraulic and structural response to waves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heineke, D.; Verhagen, H.J.

2007-01-01

To assess the hydraulic performance of coastal structures - viz. wave run-up, overtopping and reflection - and to evaluate the stability of the armour layers, use is made of the dimensionless surf similarity parameter, as introduced by Battjes (1974). The front side slope of the structure and the

Assessment of pollution due to oxides of sulphur and nitrogen at Tarapur

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudheendran, V.; Pimple, K.G.; Rao, D.D.; Chandramouli, S.; Iyer, R.S.; Hegde, A.G.

1995-01-01

An Environmental Survey Laboratory (ESL) was established in 1964 to monitor and assess the dispersion of radioactive releases from the power station in the environmental matrices. ESL has been making measurements of ambient sulphur dioxide concentration in the atmosphere at a few selected locations since 1984. The residential areas which are in the vicinity of the chemical zone experience acute effects of sulphur dioxide pollution from time to time depending upon the seasonal variations of meteorological parameters. The proposed commissioning of a thermal power station in the region (Dahanu) gives added importance to the estimation of SO 2 and NO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere. The paper presents data and assessment of the prevailing status with respect to above pollutants close to the industrial zone. (author). 5 refs., 3 tabs., 2 figs

Object Recognition System in Remote Controlled Weapon Station using SIFT and SURF Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Midriem Mirdanies

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Object recognition system using computer vision that is implemented on Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS is discussed. This system will make it easier to identify and shoot targeted object automatically. Algorithm was created to recognize real time multiple objects using two methods i.e. Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT and Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF combined with K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN and Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC for verification. The algorithm is designed to improve object detection to be more robust and to minimize the processing time required. Objects are registered on the system consisting of the armored personnel carrier, tanks, bus, sedan, big foot, and police jeep. In addition, object selection can use mouse to shoot another object that has not been registered on the system. Kinect™ is used to capture RGB images and to find the coordinates x, y, and z of the object. The programming language used is C with visual studio IDE 2010 and opencv libraries. Object recognition program is divided into three parts: 1 reading image from kinect™ and simulation results, 2 object recognition process, and 3 transfer of the object data to the ballistic computer. Communication between programs is performed using shared memory. The detected object data is sent to the ballistic computer via Local Area Network (LAN using winsock for ballistic calculation, and then the motor control system moves the direction of the weapon model to the desired object. The experimental results show that the SIFT method is more suitable because more accurate and faster than SURF with the average processing time to detect one object is 430.2 ms, two object is 618.4 ms, three objects is 682.4 ms, and four objects is 756.2 ms. Object recognition program is able to recognize multi-objects and the data of the identified object can be processed by the ballistic computer in realtime.

Isolation of a library of aromadendranes from Landolphia dulcis and its characterization using the VolSurf approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staerk, Dan; Skole, Brian; Jørgensen, Flemming Steen

2004-01-01

-energy structures obtained with the MMFF force field. VolSurf descriptors were calculated from the GRID maps and subsequently analyzed by multivariate statistics. The analysis disclosed the presence of a common motif for possible interactions of the aromadendranes with a putative target receptor. At the same time...... established by means of NMR methods including COSY, NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC experiments, supported by HRMS and optical rotation data. Virtual characterization of the aromadendrane library (1-9) was performed using chemoinformatics tools. 3D molecular fields were calculated with the GRID program using low...

Cartographic modelling of aerotechnogenic pollution in snow cover in the landscapes of the Kola Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratkin, N E; Asming, V E; Koshkin, V V

2001-01-01

The goal of this work was to develop computational techniques for sulphates, nickel and copper accumulation in the snow in the local pollution zone. The main task was to reveal the peculiarities of formation and pollution of snow cover on the region with complex cross-relief. A digital cartographic model of aerotechnogenic pollution of snow cover in the landscapes of the local zone has been developed, based on five-year experimental data. Data regarding annual emissions from the industrial complex, information about distribution of wind and the sum of precipitation from meteostation "Nikel" for the winter period, allowed the model to ensure: * material presentation in the form of maps of water capacity and accumulation of sulphates, nickel and copper in the snow over any winter period in retrospective; * calculation of water capacity and accumulation of pollutants for watersheds and other natural-territorial complexes; * solution of the opposite problem about the determination of the emissions of sulphates, nickel and copper from the enterprise by measuring snow pollution in datum points. The model can be used in other northern regions of the Russian Federation with similar physical-geographical and climatic conditions. The relationships between the sum of precipitation and water capacity in the landscapes of the same type and also the relationships between pollution content in snow and relief, pollution content in snow and distance from the source of emissions, were used as the basis for the model.

Methodology for assessing the concentrations of the primary marine aerosol in coastal areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barsanti, P.; Briganti, G.; Cappelletti, A.; Marri, P.

2009-01-01

European and Italian regulations (DM 60/2002) fix for atmospheric particulate matter PM10 the threshold of 50 μg/m 3 as limit not to be exceeded more than 35 times per year (24 hour mean); unfortunately, such prescriptions do not distinguish anthropic contributions from natural ones (sea salt, Saharan sand, coastal erosion, volcanic ashes, etc.). The aim of this study is to set up a methodology in order to estimate sea salt emissions, both from open sea and surf zone, and to model atmospheric dispersion of marine aerosols. The proposed methodology, applied to the coastal zone between Massa Carrara and Viareggio (Tuscany, Italy), shows specific open sea emissions are generally very low in comparison with the surf zone ones: they are not negligible only with strong winds, but such meteorological conditions are neither persistent nor very frequent in the selected area. On the contrary, sea surf contributions are much more strong (at least 1 order of magnitude), peak-shaped and persistent then the first ones, and can lead to high PM10 concentration fields up to few kilometres inland. The comparison between model outputs and observations, in two points placed at 2000 and 4000 m from the shoreline, has shown an amount of sea salt in total PM10 even greater then 70% in mass. The existence of a surf zone, which can persist many hours or days even after a storm, can produce both elevated PM concentrations and gradients, mainly for light winds perpendicular to the shoreline. This work, supported by MINNI Project (www.minni.org), is suitable for other coastal areas as well and it is aimed to furnish an overview of marine particulate production and atmospheric dispersion processes; it is the starting point of an experimental investigation program, supported by institutional air quality authorities [it

A case study in atmospheric lead pollution of Northern-German coastal regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kapitza, H.; Eppel, D.P. [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Gewaesserphysik

1998-12-31

Transport and deposition of atmospheric lead over the coastal zone of Northern Germany are investigated. It is shown that marked differences in the impact of the ecologically valuable wadden sea areas can occur between summer and winter time. Due to the formation of sea breeze systems in summer the coastal zone is likely to be less stressed than in winter when the pollutant is confined to a shallow layer above ground. (orig.) 10 refs.

SURF - SUrvey of Risk Factor management: first report of an international audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooney, Mt; Reiner, Z; Sheu, W; Ryden, L; Sutter, J de; De Bacquer, D; DeBacker, G; Mithal, A; Chung, N; Lim, Yt; Dudina, A; Reynolds, A; Dunney, K; Graham, I

2014-07-01

Despite the fact that subjects with established coronary heart disease (CHD) are at high risk of further events and deserve meticulous secondary prevention, current audits such as EUROASPIRE show poor control of major risk factors. Ongoing monitoring is required. We present a new risk factor audit system, SURF (Survey of Risk Factor management), that can be conducted much more quickly and easily than existing audit systems and has the potential to allow hospitals of all sizes to participate in a unified international audit system that will complement EUROASPIRE. Initial experience indicates that SURF is truly simple to undertake in an international setting, and this is illustrated with the results of a substantive pilot project conducted in Europe and Asia. The data collection system was designed to allow rapid and easy data collection as part of routine clinic work. Consecutive patients (aged 18 and over) with established CHD attending outpatient cardiology clinics were included. Information on demographics, previous coronary medical history, smoking history, history of hypertension, dyslipidaemia or diabetes, physical activity, attendance at cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac medications, lipid and glucose levels (and HbA1c in diabetics) if available within the last year, blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, and waist circumference were collected using a one-page data collection sheet. Years spent in full time education was added as an additional question during the pilot phase. Three European countries - Ireland (n = 251), Belgium (n = 122), and Croatia (n = 124) - and four Asian countries - Singapore (n = 142), Taiwan (n = 334), India (n = 97), and Korea (n = 45) - were included in the pilot study. The results of initial field testing were confirmed in that it proved possible to collect data within 60-90 seconds per subject. There was poor control of several risk factors including high levels of physical inactivity (41

Megacities and large urban agglomerations in the coastal zone: interactions between atmosphere, land, and marine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

von Glasow, Roland; Jickells, Tim D; Baklanov, Alexander; Carmichael, Gregory R; Church, Tom M; Gallardo, Laura; Hughes, Claire; Kanakidou, Maria; Liss, Peter S; Mee, Laurence; Raine, Robin; Ramachandran, Purvaja; Ramesh, R; Sundseth, Kyrre; Tsunogai, Urumu; Uematsu, Mitsuo; Zhu, Tong

2013-02-01

Megacities are not only important drivers for socio-economic development but also sources of environmental challenges. Many megacities and large urban agglomerations are located in the coastal zone where land, atmosphere, and ocean meet, posing multiple environmental challenges which we consider here. The atmospheric flow around megacities is complicated by urban heat island effects and topographic flows and sea breezes and influences air pollution and human health. The outflow of polluted air over the ocean perturbs biogeochemical processes. Contaminant inputs can damage downstream coastal zone ecosystem function and resources including fisheries, induce harmful algal blooms and feedback to the atmosphere via marine emissions. The scale of influence of megacities in the coastal zone is hundreds to thousands of kilometers in the atmosphere and tens to hundreds of kilometers in the ocean. We list research needs to further our understanding of coastal megacities with the ultimate aim to improve their environmental management.

Soil, a sponge for pollutants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lichtfouse, E.

1997-01-01

Soil has been regarded for a long time as an inert and closed medium where it was possible to dump any kind of hazardous wastes without implications on living organisms. But all pollutants entering the soil system can be stocked, transformed (often into more hazardous compounds) and transferred towards the atmosphere, groundwater and rivers. Obviously, the building up of toxic wastes into the soil system is a risk for all living beings. Pollution sources are numerous and diverse. They are given here into details. To follow the path of pollutants into the soil puzzle, with emphasis on the determination of bound residues, analytical experiments using labelled elements are by far the most efficient. But as a matter of fact, real toxicity can only be measured with biological tests, where living organisms such as light-emitting bacteria or plants are grown in contact with the toxic media. In order to minimize the diffusion of pollutants toward other natural media, a wide panel of remediation techniques are under development. Incineration and thermal desorption, for instance, are fast. Alternatively, the spreading of detergents onto the soil surface solubilizes pollutants that are later water-washed toward other media. Nonetheless, it is rarely complete and favors the migration of the pollutants toward groundwater, rivers and other ecosystems. On the other hand, mild, low-cost and efficient biological methods are now developing rapidly. Their principle lies on the natural ability of living organisms to extract and degrade toxic molecules. Lastly, plants may be used to remedy polluted soils, a process called ''phyto-remediation''. Its principles lies on two main phenomena. Firstly, some plant species are able to selectively extract large amounts of heavy metals from the ground then store them. Secondly, plants activate strongly the microbial biomass by injection of exudate enriched in organic nutriments in the root zone called ''rhizosphere''. Thus, the microbes, well

Extreme pollution of soils by emissions of the copper-nickel industrial complex in the Kola Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Kashulina, G. M.

2017-07-01

The distribution of the total Ni, Cu, Co, Cd, Pb, and Zn contents was studied in the soil profiles of six catenas in the zone subjected to emissions of the copper-nickel industrial complex, which is the largest source of SO2 and heavy metals in northern Europe. The results show that, at present, the concentrations of Ni and Cu in the upper organic soil horizons in the impact zone reach extreme levels of 9000 and 6000 mg/kg, respectively. Under conditions of the long-term intense multi-element industrial emissions, the modern levels of the accumulation of polluting substances in soils greatly depend on the indirect factors, such as the degree of the technogenic degradation of soils with the loss of a significant part of soil organic matter, the reaching of threshold saturation of the topsoil with polluting metals, and competitive relationships between chemical elements. The state of the ecosystems in the impact zone varied greatly and did not always agree with the contents of the main metals-pollutants in the soils. The moisture conditions determined by the landscape position affected significantly the resistance of the ecosystems to emissions.

Thallium pollution in China: A geo-environmental perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Tangfu; Yang, Fei; Li, Shehong; Zheng, Baoshan; Ning, Zengping

2012-04-01

It is well known that thallium (Tl) is a non-essential and toxic metal to human health, but less is known about the geo-environmentally-induced Tl pollution and its associated health impacts. High concentrations of Tl that are primarily associated with the epithermal metallogenesis of sulfide minerals have the potential of producing Tl pollution in the environment, which has been recognized as an emerging pollutant in China. This paper aims to review the research progress in China on Tl pollution in terms of the source, mobility, transportation pathway, and health exposure of Tl and to address the environmental concerns on Tl pollution in a geo-environmental perspective. Tl associated with the epithermal metallogenesis of sulfide minerals has been documented to disperse readily and accumulate through the geo-environmental processes of soil enrichment, water transportation and food crop growth beyond a mineralized zone. The enrichments of Tl in local soil, water, and crops may result in Tl pollution and consequent adverse health effects, e.g. chronic Tl poisoning. Investigation of the baseline Tl in the geo-environment, proper land use and health-related environmental planning and regulation are critical to prevent the Tl pollution. Examination of the human urinary Tl concentration is a quick approach to identify exposure of Tl pollution to humans. The experiences of Tl pollution in China can provide important lessons for many other regions in the world with similar geo-environmental contexts because of the high mobility and toxicity of Tl. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploratory analysis of fines for water pollution in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nabil Haque

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As a consequence of rapid industrialization, the waterbodies of Bangladesh have transformed into seasonal dead zones from the ensuing pollution. Despite having environmental regulations to control industrial pollution, lack of effective enforcement has jeopardized environmental quality. Evaluation of enforcement mechanisms have not gained attention from researchers until recently. This qualitative and descriptive analysis illustrates the current enforcement regime for environmental compliance in Bangladesh focusing on fines levied on polluters. Although there are no official guidelines for fines based on type of violation, this paper identified that there are differences of fines among violation based on historical data. It was also found that textile factories are not penalized heavily compared to non-textile factories. Repeat offenders were found to be penalized at the same rate. This study can be used to design appropriate penalty structure based on violation types, and reform the enforcement system so that polluters pay principle is actually implemented.

Experimental investigation of long-lived radionuclide migration in floodplain soils of Chernobyl NPP 10-km zone and risk estimation of ground water pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhirnov, V.G.; Popov, V.E.

1993-01-01

Heavily polluted with long-lived radionuclides, the floodplain soils of Chernobyl NPP 30-km zone is a potential danger for the river system and reservoirs of the Ukraine. In 1991, the building of a dam along the river left bank was started to isolate the river-bed. However, during the spring rise of water in the river body, the water will all the same infiltrate through the soil to the floodplain because of hydraulic pressure. The main goal of this work was to estimate the strontium 90 content in the top water and it's dependence on the depth of water over the soil surface. We studied the strontium 90 different chemical forms distribution in the left bank part of the floodplain and experimentally determined the strontium 90 washing out by river water taken into account it's upward flow

Comparison of soil heavy metal pollution caused by e-waste recycling activities and traditional industrial operations.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Kailing; Sun, Zehang; Hu, Yuanan; Zeng, Xiangying; Yu, Zhiqiang; Cheng, Hefa

2017-04-01

The traditional industrial operations are well recognized as an important source of heavy metal pollution, while that caused by the e-waste recycling activities, which have sprouted in some developing countries, is often overlooked. This study was carried out to compare the status of soil heavy metal pollution caused by the traditional industrial operations and the e-waste recycling activities in the Pearl River Delta, and assess whether greater attention should be paid to control the pollution arising from e-waste recycling activities. Both the total contents and the chemical fractionation of major heavy metals (As, Cr, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu, and Zn) in 50 surface soil samples collected from the e-waste recycling areas and 20 soil samples from the traditional industrial zones were determined. The results show that the soils in the e-waste recycling areas were mainly polluted by Cu, Zn, As, and Cd, while Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb were the major heavy metals in the soils from the traditional industrial zones. Statistical analyses consistently show that Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn in the surface soils from both types of sites were contributed mostly by human activities, while As, Cr, and Ni in the soils were dominated by natural background. No clear distinction was found on the pollution characteristic of heavy metals in the surface soils between the e-waste recycling areas and traditional industrial zones. The potential ecological risk posed by heavy metals in the surface soils from both types of sites, which was dominated by that from Cd, ranged from low to moderate. Given the much shorter development history of e-waste recycling and its largely unregulated nature, significant efforts should be made to crack down on illegal e-waste recycling and strengthen pollution control for related activities.

Science, information, technology, and the changing character of public policy in non-point source pollution

Science.gov (United States)

King, John L.; Corwin, Dennis L.

Information technologies are already delivering important new capabilities for scientists working on non-point source (NPS) pollution in the vadose zone, and more are expected. This paper focuses on the special contributions of modeling and network communications for enhancing the effectiveness of scientists in the realm of policy debates regarding NPS pollution mitigation and abatement. The discussion examines a fundamental shift from a strict regulatory strategy of pollution control characterized by a bureaucratic/technical alliance during the period through the 1970's and early 1980's, to a more recently evolving paradigm of pluralistic environmental management. The role of science and scientists in this shift is explored, with special attention to the challenges facing scientists working in NPS pollution in the vadose zone. These scientists labor under a special handicap in the evolving model because their scientific tools are often times incapable of linking NPS pollution with individuals responsible for causing it. Information can facilitate the effectiveness of these scientists in policy debates, but not under the usual assumptions in which scientific truth prevails. Instead, information technology's key role is in helping scientists shape the evolving discussion of trade-offs and in bringing citizens and policymakers closer to the routine work of scientists.

Water transport monitoring in an unsaturated zone – Case study: lysimeter Selniška dobrava (Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Mali

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Pollution transport in an aquifer depends on its structure, upper unsaturated zone and lower saturated zone. In order to understand processes in the unsaturated zone, several hydrogeological field measurements must be done. A field laboratory- lysimeter in Selni{kadobrava was installed for the improvement of field measurements, and explanation of the parameters and processes in the unsaturated zone. The problems, which can be solved by means of investigations in a lysimeter, are defined in this paper. Described are also:concept of investigation planning, construction and equipment of the lysimeter, measurements of unsaturated zone parameters and processes, water sampling for physical, chemical and isotope analysis.

Bacterial diversity in oil-polluted marine coastal sediments.

Science.gov (United States)

Acosta-González, Alejandro; Marqués, Silvia

2016-04-01

Marine environments harbour a persistent microbial seed which can be shaped by changes of the environmental conditions such as contamination by petroleum components. Oil spills, together with small but continuous discharges of oil from transportation and recreational activities, are important sources of hydrocarbon pollution within the marine realm. Consequently, prokaryotic communities have become well pre-adapted toward oil pollution, and many microorganisms that are exposed to its presence develop an active degradative response. The natural attenuation of oil pollutants, as has been demonstrated in many sites, is modulated according to the intrinsic environmental properties such as the availability of terminal electron acceptors and elemental nutrients, together with the degree of pollution and the type of hydrocarbon fractions present. Whilst dynamics in the bacterial communities in the aerobic zones of coastal sediments are well characterized and the key players in hydrocarbon biodegradation have been identified, the subtidal ecology of the anaerobic community is still not well understood. However, current data suggest common patterns of response in these ecosystems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies of environmental radioactivity in Cumbria. Part 5. The magnitude and mechanism of enrichment of seaspray with actinides in West Cumbria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eakins, J.D.; Lally, A.E.; Burton, P.J.; Kilworth, D.R.; Pratley, F.A.

1982-03-01

As part of a programme to investigate the transfer to land of radionuclides discharged to the sea from British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, Sellafield, sea spray was collected at several sites between the Solway Firth and Barrow. Samples of seawater and materials from the foreshore were also collected. The samples were analysed for 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239+240 Pu and 241 Am. It was demonstrated that, in winds up to 10m sec -1 , actinides in sea spray are derived from sediment suspended in seawater in the surf zone. At Eskmeals, in an on-shore wind of 6m sec -1 , 98 per cent of the plutonium and 93 per cent of the sea spray collected on the beach were injected into the atmosphere in the surf zone. Enrichment factors for plutonium in sea spray ranged from 70 to 800 relative to filtered seawater and from 3 to 66 for unfiltered water. Large enrichment factors were also observed for 241 Am but 137 Cs was only slightly enriched in spray. Laboratory experiments were also performed in which spray was generated by bubbling air through vigorously stirred seawater collected from the surf zone on the Cumbrian coast. Similar enrichment factors were obtained. (author)

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF POLLUTION DISPERSION IN URBAN STREET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Biliaiev

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The scientific paper solves the question of 2D numerical model development, which allows quick computation of air pollution in streets from vehicles. The aim of the work is numerical model development that would enable to predict the level of air pollution by using protective barriers along the road. Methodology. The developed model is based on the equation of inviscid flow and equation of pollutant transfer. Potential equation is used to compute velocity field of air flow near road in the case of protection barriers application. To solve equation for potential flow implicit difference scheme of «conditional approximation« is used. The implicit change – triangle difference scheme is used to solve equation of convective – diffusive dispersion. Numerical integration is carried out using the rectangular difference grid. Method of porosity technique («markers method» is used to create the form of comprehensive computational region. Emission of toxic gases from vehicle is modeled using Delta function for point source.Findings. Authors developed 2D numerical model. It takes into account the main physical factors affecting the process of dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere when emissions of vehicle including protection barriers near the road. On the basis of the developed numerical models a computational experiment was performed to estimate the level of air pollution in the street. Originality. A numerical model has been created. It makes it possible to calculate 2D aerodynamics of the wind flow in the presence of noises and the process of mass transfer of toxic gas emissions from the motorway. The model allows taking into account the presence of the car on the road, the form of a protective barrier, the presence of a curb. Calculations have been performed to determine the contamination zone formed at the protective barrier that is located at the motorway. Practical value. An effective numerical model that can be applied in the

Mapping of lichen frequencies as a tool in evaluating intensity of pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kunze, M

1972-01-01

A method is presented for determining the intensity of air pollution by evaluating the frequency of lichen species growing on the trunks of trees. The lichens growing on the trunks of isolated trees in the surroundings of factories or other pollutants have been investigated. A ladder enclosing the panels is used to determine the frequency: the calculation is made electronically and permits statistical statements about the quantity of the lichens to be made. The numerical material evaluated consists of reproduceable data obtained by a standardized method that appears to be suitable for routine use. Pollution zones can be recognized by changes in frequency of the various sensitive species.

Marine oil spill risk mapping for accidental pollution and its application in a coastal city.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Dongdong; Liang, Bin; Bao, Chenguang; Ma, Minghui; Xu, Yan; Yu, Chunyan

2015-07-15

Accidental marine oil spill pollution can result in severe environmental, ecological, economic and other consequences. This paper discussed the model of Marine Oil Spill Risk Mapping (MOSRM), which was constructed as follows: (1) proposing a marine oil spill risk system based on the typical marine oil spill pollution accidents and prevailing risk theories; (2) identifying suitable indexes that are supported by quantitative sub-indexes; (3) constructing the risk measuring models according to the actual interactions between the factors in the risk system; and (4) assessing marine oil spill risk on coastal city scale with GIS to map the overall risk. The case study of accidental marine oil spill pollution in the coastal area of Dalian, China was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The coastal areas of Dalian were divided into three zones with risk degrees of high, medium, and low. And detailed countermeasures were proposed for specific risk zones. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Physical process based risk assessment of groundwater pollution in the mining area].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Fa-Sheng; Cheng, Pin; Zhang, Bo

2014-04-01

Case studies of groundwater pollution risk assessment at home and abroad generally start from groundwater vulnerability, without considering the influence of characteristic pollutants on the consequences of pollution too much. Vulnerability is the natural sensitivity of the environment to pollutants. Risk assessment of groundwater pollution should reflect the movement and distribution of pollutants in groundwater. In order to improve the risk assessment theory and method of groundwater pollution, a physical process based risk assessment methodology for groundwater pollution was proposed in a mining area. According to the sensitivity of the economic and social conditions and the possible distribution of pollutants in the future, the spatial distribution of risk levels in aquifer was ranged before hand, and the pollutant source intensity corresponding to each risk level was deduced accordingly. By taking it as the criterion for the classification of groundwater pollution risk assessment, the groundwater pollution risk in the mining area was evaluated by simulating the migration of pollutants in the vadose zone and aquifer. The result show that the risk assessment method of groundwater pollution based on physical process can give the concentration distribution of pollutants and the risk level in the spatial and temporal. For single punctuate polluted area, it gives detailed risk characterization, which is better than the risk assessment method that based on aquifer intrinsic vulnerability index, and it is applicable to the risk assessment of existing polluted sites, optimizing the future sites and providing design parameters for the site construction.

Observed Kinematics of Waves in the Surf Zone

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Constantian, Richard

1999-01-01

.... Observed pressure and velocity spectra are compared to transfer functions based on linear finite depth theory and a simple nonlinear model that accounts for harmonic generation in shallow water...

Ship Dynamics in the Surf Zone Model Testing

Science.gov (United States)

2008-07-01

was implemented for ease of transportation and ease of assembly. Each module was 10 feet square consisting of oriented strand board ( OSB ) plywood with...frame, constructed of 2 inch by 4 inch by 10 feet pieces of wood, was measured, cut, laid, and screwed together for each module. Pieces of OSB

Development of methods for remediation of artificial polluted soils and improvement of soils for ecologically clean agricultural production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogachev, V.; Adrianova, G.; Zaitzev, V.; Kalinin, V.; Kovalenko, E.; Makeev, A.; Malikova, L.; Popov, Yu.; Savenkov, A.; Shnyakina, V.

1996-01-01

The purpose of the research: Development of methods for the remediation of artificial polluted soils and the improvement of polluted lands to ecologically clean agricultural production.The following tasks will be implemented in this project to achieve viable practical solutions: - To determine the priority pollutants, their ecological pathways, and sources of origin. - To form a supervised environmental monitoring data bank throughout the various geo system conditions. - To evaluate the degree of the bio geo system pollution and the influence on the health of the local human populations. - To establish agricultural plant tolerance levels to the priority pollutants. - To calculate the standard concentrations of the priority pollutants for main agricultural plant groups. - To develop a soil remediation methodology incorporating the structural, functional geo system features. - To establish a territory zone division methodology in consideration of the degree of component pollution, plant tolerance to pollutants, plant production conditions, and human health. - Scientific grounding of the soil remediation proposals and agricultural plant material introductions with soil pollution levels and relative plant tolerances to pollutants. Technological Means, Methods, and Approaches Final proposed solutions will be based upon geo system and ecosystem approaches and methodologies. The complex ecological valuation methods of the polluted territories will be used in this investigation. Also, laboratory culture in vitro, application work, and multi-factor field experiments will be conducted. The results will be statistically analyzed using appropriate methods. Expected Results Complex biogeochemical artificial province assessment according to primary pollutant concentrations. Development of agricultural plant tolerance levels relative to the priority pollutants. Assessment of newly introduced plant materials that may possess variable levels of pollution tolerance. Remediation

Transport of gaseous pollutants by convective boundary layer around a human body

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Licina, Dusan; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Sekhar, Chandra

2015-01-01

This study investigates the ability of the human convective boundary layer to transport pollution in a quiescent indoor environment. The impact of the source location in the vicinity of a human body is examined in relation to pollution distribution in the breathing zone and the thickness...... of the pollution boundary layer. The study, in addition, evaluates the effects of the room air temperature, table positioning, and seated body inclination. The human body is represented by a thermal manikin that has a body shape, size, and surface temperature that resemble those of a real person. The results show...... at the upper back or behind the chair. The results also indicate that a decrease in personal exposure to pollutants released from or around the human body increases the extent to which the pollution spreads to the surroundings. Reducing the room air temperature or backward body inclination intensifies...

Spatial resolution requirements for traffic-related air pollutant exposure evaluations

Science.gov (United States)

Batterman, Stuart; Chambliss, Sarah; Isakov, Vlad

2014-09-01

Vehicle emissions represent one of the most important air pollution sources in most urban areas, and elevated concentrations of pollutants found near major roads have been associated with many adverse health impacts. To understand these impacts, exposure estimates should reflect the spatial and temporal patterns observed for traffic-related air pollutants. This paper evaluates the spatial resolution and zonal systems required to estimate accurately intraurban and near-road exposures of traffic-related air pollutants. The analyses use the detailed information assembled for a large (800 km2) area centered on Detroit, Michigan, USA. Concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx) due to vehicle emissions were estimated using hourly traffic volumes and speeds on 9700 links representing all but minor roads in the city, the MOVES2010 emission model, the RLINE dispersion model, local meteorological data, a temporal resolution of 1 h, and spatial resolution as low as 10 m. Model estimates were joined with the corresponding shape files to estimate residential exposures for 700,000 individuals at property parcel, census block, census tract, and ZIP code levels. We evaluate joining methods, the spatial resolution needed to meet specific error criteria, and the extent of exposure misclassification. To portray traffic-related air pollutant exposure, raster or inverse distance-weighted interpolations are superior to nearest neighbor approaches, and interpolations between receptors and points of interest should not exceed about 40 m near major roads, and 100 m at larger distances. For census tracts and ZIP codes, average exposures are overestimated since few individuals live very near major roads, the range of concentrations is compressed, most exposures are misclassified, and high concentrations near roads are entirely omitted. While smaller zones improve performance considerably, even block-level data can misclassify many individuals. To estimate exposures and impacts of traffic

A Pilot Study to Understand the Variation in Indoor Air Quality in Different Economic Zones of Delhi University

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, Abhinav; Ghosh, Chirashree

Today, one of the most grave environmental health problems being faced by the urban population is the poor air quality one breathes in. To testify the above statement, the recent survey report, World health statistics (WHO, 2012) reflects the fact that childhood mortality ratio from acute respiratory infection is one of the top leading causes of death in developing countries like India. Urban areas have a complex social stratification which ultimately results in forming different urban economic zones. This research attempts to understand the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) by taking into consideration different lifestyle of occupants inhabiting these economic zones. The Study tries to evaluate the outdoor and indoor air quality by understanding the variation of selected pollutants (SPM, SOx, NOx) for the duration of four months - from October, 2012-January, 2013. For this, three economic zones (EZ) of Delhi University’s North Campus, were selected - Urban Slum (EZ I), Clerical (EZ II) and Faculty residence (EZ III). The statistical study indicates that Urban Slum (EZ I) was the most polluted site reporting maximum concentration of outdoor pollutants, whereas no significant difference in pollution load was observed in EZ II and EZ III. Further, the indoor air quality was evaluated by quantifying the indoor and outdoor pollution concentration ratios that shows EZ III have most inferior indoor air quality, followed by EZ I and EZ II. Moreover, it was also observed that ratio (phenomenon of infiltration) was dominant at the EZ II but was low for the EZ I and EZ III. With the evidence of high Indoor air pollution, the risk of pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections also increases, calling for an urgent requisite for making reforms to improve IAQ. Key words: Urban Area, Slum, IAQ, SOx, NOx, SPM

Riparian buffer zones as pesticide filters of no-till crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguiar, Terencio R; Bortolozo, F R; Hansel, F A; Rasera, K; Ferreira, M T

2015-07-01

Several studies have pointed to the potential benefits of riparian vegetation as buffer zones for agricultural and industrial pollutants harmful to aquatic ecosystems. However, other studies have called into question its use as an ecological filter, questioning the widths and conditions for which they are effective as a filter. In this work, we have investigated the buffering capacity of the riparian one to retain pesticides in the water-saturated zone, on 27 sites composed by riparian buffer zones with different vegetation structure (woody, shrubs, or grass vegetation) and width (12, 36, and 60 m). Five pesticides were analyzed. The effectiveness of the filtering was largely influenced by the width and vegetation type of the buffer zone. In general, decreasing pesticide removal followed in this order wood > shrubs > grass. The 60 m woody buffer zone was the most effective in the removal of all the pesticides. Only atrazine was detected in this case (0.3 μg L(-1)). Furthermore, a linear correlation (R (2) > 0.97) was observed in their removal for all compounds and buffer zones studied. Thus, preserving the woody vegetation in the riparian zone is important for watershed management and groundwater quality in the no-tillage system in temperate climate.

To the micro-climatic condition influence upon the environment pollution during exploitation of being oxidized mineral deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhmedzhanov, T.K.; Al'mukhambetova, Sh.K.; Bajramov, I.M.

1998-01-01

Conducted researches showed dependence of environment pollution rate under exploration of being oxidized mineral deposits from number of meteorological futures of season changes. Zones of gases spreading in atmosphere from sources of pollution in dependence from micro-climatic conditions are estimated. Results can be used during preventive measures projecting for environment in deposits districts. (author)

Hybrid Video Stabilization for Mobile Vehicle Detection on SURF in Aerial Surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gao Chunxian

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Detection of moving vehicles in aerial video sequences is of great importance with many promising applications in surveillance, intelligence transportation, or public service applications such as emergency evacuation and policy security. However, vehicle detection is a challenging task due to global camera motion, low resolution of vehicles, and low contrast between vehicles and background. In this paper, we present a hybrid method to efficiently detect moving vehicle in aerial videos. Firstly, local feature extraction and matching were performed to estimate the global motion. It was demonstrated that the Speeded Up Robust Feature (SURF key points were more suitable for the stabilization task. Then, a list of dynamic pixels was obtained and grouped for different moving vehicles by comparing the different optical flow normal. To enhance the precision of detection, some preprocessing methods were applied to the surveillance system, such as road extraction and other features. A quantitative evaluation on real video sequences indicated that the proposed method improved the detection performance significantly.

Most important methods of the diagnostics of air pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Latocha, E; Cimander, B

1976-01-01

The paper contains a review of literature concerning the more important procedures for diagnosing air pollution. Cited results of studies from several countries indicate a relationship between the intensity of sulfur dioxide air pollution and the extent of vegetation damage. Possibility of the use of aerial photography for diagnosis of damage in forests was mentioned. Possibilities for utilization of certain plant species or plant communities as indicators of air pollution were described. It was stressed that long-lived evergreens are the best bio-indicators. Examples of increases in population density of certain insect pest sand activation of fungal pathogens caused by industrial emissions were given. Techniques used in Poland for the development and introduction of zones of forest threat by industrial air pollution were discussed. These are based on alterations in the length and shape of needles, foliage coloration, numbers of needle generations, and external appearance of tree crowns in the form of height growth inhibition or impairment of tree vigor. It was stressed that not all changes in forest environment under the impact of emissions may be considered appropriate for the diagnosis of air pollution. Diagnostic procedures ought to be relatively simple and easy to apply.

CORMIX2: An expert system for hydrodynamic mixing zone analysis of conventional and toxic multiport diffuser discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akar, P.J.; Jirka, G.H.

1991-12-01

One of the most important tasks in the management of water quality is the ability to achieve pollutant concentrations within regulated standards. The Cornell Mixing Zone Expert System (CORMIX) is a series of software systems for the analysis, prediction, and design of aqueous toxic or conventional pollutant discharges into watercourses, with emphasis on the geometry and dilution characteristics of the initial mixing zone. The present development, subsystem CORMIX2 is concerned with submerged multiport discharges into flowing water environments, such as rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters. It includes effects of ambient stratification, dynamic attachment of the plume to the bottom of the receiving water, and the limiting case of stagnant conditions

Integrated waste load allocation for river water pollution control under uncertainty: a case study of Tuojiang River, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jiuping; Hou, Shuhua; Yao, Liming; Li, Chaozhi

2017-07-01

This paper presents a bi-level optimization waste load allocation programming model under a fuzzy random environment to assist integrated river pollution control. Taking account of the leader-follower decision-making in the water function zones framework, the proposed approach examines the decision making feedback relationships and conflict coordination between the river basin authority and the regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on the Stackelberg-Nash equilibrium strategy. In the pollution control system, the river basin authority, as the leader, allocates equitable emissions rights to different subareas, and the then subarea EPA, as the followers, reallocates the limited resources to various functional zones to minimize pollution costs. This research also considers the uncertainty in the water pollution management, and the uncertain input information is expressed as fuzzy random variables. The proposed methodological approach is then applied to Tuojiang River in China and the bi-level linear programming model solutions are achieved using the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker condition. Based on the waste load allocation scheme results and various scenario analyses and discussion, some operational policies are proposed to assist decision makers (DMs) cope with waste load allocation problem for integrated river pollution control for the overall benefits.

Copper and zinc in Elodea canadensis from rivers with various pollution levels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cegłowska, A.; Sokołowska, K.; Samecka-Cymerman, A.; Kolon, K.; Jusik, S.; Kempers, A.J.

2016-01-01

The anthropogenic impact of xenobiotics contributes to environmental risk for the aquatic environment and thus, must be controlled. Elodea canadensis, a cosmopolitan aquatic macrophyte with an important role in the ecology of many littoral zones, may provide an integrated record of pollution.

Modelling of transport and biogeochemical processes in pollution plumes: Vejen landfill, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brun, A.; Engesgaard, Peter Knudegaard; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2002-01-01

A biogeochemical transport code is used to simulate leachate attenuation. biogeochemical processes. and development of redox zones in a pollution plume downstream of the Vejen landfill in Denmark. Calibration of the degradation parameters resulted in a good agreement with the observed distribution...

Directional Characteristics of Inner Shelf Internal Tides

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Crabbe, Kendra L

2007-01-01

.... Isothermal displacements paired with concurrent velocity observations in the water column were used to assess the events individual characteristics as the internal tidal bores shoal and approach the surf zone...

Harvest season, high polluted season in East China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Xin; Song Yu; Li Mengmeng; Li Jianfeng; Zhu Tong

2012-01-01

East China, a major agricultural zone with a dense population, suffers from severe air pollution during June, the agricultural harvest season, every year. Crop burning emits tremendous amounts of combustion products into the atmosphere, not only rapidly degrading the local air quality but also affecting the tropospheric chemistry, threatening public health and affecting climate change. Recently, in mid-June 2012, crop fires left a thick pall of haze over East China. We evaluated the PM 10 , PM 2.5 (particulates less than 10 and 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) and BC (black carbon) emissions by analyzing detailed census data and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote sensing images and then simulated the consequent pollution using meteorological and dispersion models. The results show that the crop fires sweeping from the south to the north are responsible for the intensive air pollution during harvest season. It is necessary for scientists and governments to pay more attention to this issue. (letter)

Modelling and prognosis of grounds pollution on the territory of airport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Г.М. Франчук

2005-03-01

Full Text Available  In the article the results of research of grounds pollution in territory of airport by heavy metals are resulted. Experimental data are exposed to mathematical processing which allows to estimate qualitatively in a mode of real time the ecological situation of the airport zone.

Lichens as indicators of air pollution in a steel producing town in South Wales. [Cladonia, Parmelia, Usnea, Cetraria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pyatt, F B

1970-01-01

The lichen flora of a given region depends upon a multiplicity of factors. Some factors act directly or indirectly upon the lichen thallus; in addition the lichen thallus is capable, to some extent at least, of exerting a modifying influence upon the macro- and micro-environment. The polluted centre of Port Talbot, a steel town, has a restricted number of crustose and rather depauperate species. This lichen desert is quite small possibly because either (a) the atmosphere is not heavily polluted, or (b) there is a rapid dilution of pollutants. With distance away from Port Talbot there is an increase in the number of lichen species and a change in the proportion of the various growth forms. Abutting the lichen desert is a zone in which Parmelia sulcata, P. saxatilis, Cladonia coniocraea, and C. fimbriata are the most widely represented species. This is followed by a further zone dominated by Usnea comosa, U. florida, Cetraria glauca, and Cladonia impexa in particular. It must be noted that these zones are not clearly defined; there is a gradation in growth forms and a gradual change in the abundance of various species.

Sensitivity of modeled atmospheric nitrogen species and nitrogen deposition to variations in sea salt emissions in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Neumann

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Coarse sea salt particles are emitted ubiquitously from the ocean surface by wave-breaking and bubble-bursting processes. These particles impact the atmospheric chemistry by affecting the condensation of gas-phase species and, thus, indirectly the nucleation of new fine particles, particularly in regions with significant air pollution. In this study, atmospheric particle concentrations are modeled for the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions in northwestern Europe using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ modeling system and are compared to European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP measurement data. The sea salt emission module is extended by a salinity-dependent scaling of the sea salt emissions because the salinity in large parts of the Baltic Sea is very low, which leads to considerably lower sea salt mass emissions compared to other oceanic regions. The resulting improvement in predicted sea salt concentrations is assessed. The contribution of surf zone emissions is considered separately. Additionally, the impacts of sea salt particles on atmospheric nitrate and ammonium concentrations and on nitrogen deposition are evaluated. The comparisons with observational data show that sea salt concentrations are commonly overestimated at coastal stations and partly underestimated farther inland. The introduced salinity scaling improves the predicted Baltic Sea sea salt concentrations considerably. The dates of measured peak concentrations are appropriately reproduced by the model. The impact of surf zone emissions is negligible in both seas. Nevertheless, they might be relevant because surf zone emissions were cut at an upper threshold in this study. Deactivating sea salt leads to minor increases in NH3 +  NH4+ and HNO3 +  NO3− and a decrease in NO3− concentrations. However, the overall effect on NH3 +  NH4+ and HNO3 +  NO3− concentrations is smaller than the deviation from the measurements. Nitrogen wet deposition is

The level of air pollution in the impact zone of coal-fired power plant (Karaganda City) using the data of geochemical snow survey (Republic of Kazakhstan)

Science.gov (United States)

Adil'bayeva, T. E.; Talovskaya, A. V.; Yazikov, Ye G.; Matveenko, I. A.

2016-09-01

Coal-fired power plants emissions impact the air quality and human health. Of great significance is assessment of solid airborne particles emissions from those plants and distance of their transportation. The article presents the results of air pollution assessment in the zone of coal-fired power plant (Karaganda City) using snow survey. Based on the mass of solid airborne particles deposited in snow, time of their deposition on snow at the distance from 0.5 to 4.5 km a value of dust load has been determined. It is stated that very high level of pollution is observed at the distance from 0.5 to 1 km. there is a trend in decrease of dust burden value with the distance from the stacks of coal-fired power plant that may be conditioned by the particle size and washing out smaller ash particles by ice pellets forming at freezing water vapour in stacks of the coal-fired power plant. Study in composition of solid airborne particles deposited in snow has shown that they mainly contain particulates of underburnt coal, Al-Si- rich spheres, Fe-rich spheres, and coal dust. The content of the particles in samples decreases with the distance from the stacks of the coal-fired power plant.

Denitrification Potential, Root Biomass, and Organic Matter in Degraded and Restored Urban Riparian Zones

Science.gov (United States)

Hydrologic changes associated with urbanization often lead to lower water tables and drier, more aerobic soils in riparian zones. These changes reduce the potential for denitrification, an anaerobic microbial process that converts nitrate, a common water pollutant, into nitrogen...

75 FR 14493 - Safety Zone; Dive Platform, Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-26

... vessels for the planned diving operations in and around the CHEHALIS wreck. Background and Purpose On... performing operations in and around the CHEHALIS wreck. The safety zone is necessary to protect other vessels... CHEHALIS wreck to determine the wreck's potential pollution threat to the environment. In December 2009...

75 FR 5907 - Safety Zone; Dive Platform, Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-05

... platform vessel in Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, while diving operations are under way in and around the CHEHALIS wreck. The safety zone is necessary to protect other vessels and the general public from... Pago, American Samoa. Today, the CHEHALIS wreck remains a potential pollution threat to the environment...

Experimental investigation of aerodynamics, combustion, and emissions characteristics within the primary zone of a gas turbine combustor

Science.gov (United States)

Elkady, Ahmed M.

2006-04-01

The present work investigates pollutant emissions production, mainly nitric oxides and carbon monoxide, within the primary zone of a highly swirling combustion and methods with which to reduce their formation. A baseline study was executed at different equivalence ratios and different inlet air temperatures. The study was then extended to investigate the effects of utilizing transverse air jets on pollutant emission characteristics at different jet locations, jet mass ratio, and overall equivalence ratio as well as to investigate the jets' overall interactions with the recirculation zone. A Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was employed to measure emissions concentrations generated during combustion of Jet-A fuel in a swirl-cup assembly. Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) was employed to investigate the mean flow aerodynamics within the combustor. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was utilized to capture the instantaneous aerodynamic behavior of the non-reacting primary zone. Results illustrate that NOx production is a function of both the recirculation zone and the flame length. At low overall equivalence ratios, the recirculation zone is found to be the main producer of NOx. At near stoichiometric conditions, the post recirculation zone appears to be responsible for the majority of NOx produced. Results reveal the possibility of injecting air into the recirculation zone without altering flame stability to improve emission characteristics. Depending on the jet location and strength, nitric oxides as well as carbon monoxide can be reduced simultaneously. Placing the primary air jet just downstream of the fuel rich recirculation zone can lead to a significant reduction in both nitric oxides and carbon monoxide. In the case of fuel lean recirculation zone, reduction of nitric oxides can occur by placing the jets below the location of maximum radius of the recirculation zone.

Comparative estimation of soil and plant pollution in the impact area of air emissions from an aluminium plant after technogenic load reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Evdokimova, Galina A; Mozgova, Natalya P

2015-01-01

The work provides a comparative analysis of changes in soil properties in the last 10-13 years along the pollution gradient of air emissions from Kandalaksha aluminium plant in connection with the reduction of their volume. The content of the priority pollutant fluorine (F) in atmospheric precipitation and in the organic horizon of soil in the plant impact zone significantly decreased in 2011-2013 compared to 2001. The aluminium concentrations reduced only in immediate proximity to the plant (2 km). The fluorine, calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) concentrations are higher in liquid phase compared to solid phase thus these elements can migrated to greater distances from the pollution source (up to 15-20 km). Silicon (Si), aluminium (Al), iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) can be found only in solid phases and in fall-out within the 5 km. The acidity of soil litter reduced by 2 pH units in the proximity to the plot within the 2 km. The zone of maximum soil contamination decreased from 2.5 km to 1.5 km from the emission source, the zones of heavy and moderate pollution reduced by 5 km in connection with the reduction of pollutant emissions in the plant. A high correlation between the fluorine concentrations in vegetables and litter was found. Higher fluorine concentrations in the soil result in its accumulation in plants. Mosses accumulate fluorine most intensively.

The Ecological Situation in the Russian Arctic Permafrost Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petrov Sergei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes innovative approaches to ensure environmental safety in the production of hydrocarbon material in a permafrost zone. Studies the anthropogenic environmental factors, climatic and geographical and geological conditions of Purovskiy district of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area (YaNAO. We consider the chemical characteristics of wastewater discharged into surface water objects, polluting emissions into the atmosphere. The conclusions of the environmental situation in Purovskiy and Ustpurovsk-Tazovskiy permafrost areas. Calculate the concentration of pollutants in the control section of the water object and the maximum ground-level concentrations of pollutants in the atmospheric air. The conclusions about the exceeding the maximum permissible concentration (MPC in the atmospheric air for solids, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide. Was examined the climatic conditions of the Far North. Correlational analysis was performed between human factors and temperature conditions of the northern territories, as well as between the climate and natural features cryological and disturbed permafrost soils.

Organic pollutants and heavy metals in rainwater runoff and their fate in the unsaturated soil zone. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grotehusmann, D.; Rohlfing, R.; Weyer, G.; Dittrich, D.; Gowik, P.; Pernak, P.

1991-01-01

This bibliographic study is part of the BMFT intergrated project ''Possibilitiis and limits of [ drainage in consederation of the soil and groundwater protection''. Subjects: Environmental relevance and general distribution of organic pollutants; organic pollutants in rain water, soil, and groundwater; fate of organic pollutants in soil; environmental relevance of heavy metals in soil, rain water, and runof; fate of heavy metals in the unsaturated soil rare. (orig./BBR) [de

Towards the problem ChAES alienation zone residing conditions for watch-shift personal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akimenko, V.Ya.; Yanko, N.M.; Semashko, P.V.; Yarygin, A.V.

1994-01-01

The article deals with some results of hygienic study concerning watch-shift workers residing condition in the ChAES 30-km zone. The evaluation is given for residing environment prioritative living parameters, air ventilation, hostels inhabiting conditions, the acoustic regime. Some indoor environment aerosol pollution levels different kind domestic activity a revealed. Electrostatic air cleaning installing as devices of radioactive smalldispers aerosol control a studied. Some tasks of further research are substantiated in order of watch-shift workers residing environment optimization in the alienation zone

Heavy metal pollution and forest health in the Ukrainian Carpathians

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shparyk, Y.S.; Parpan, V.I.

2004-01-01

The Ukrainian Carpathians are characterized by high air pollution caused by emissions from numerous industries. We have been monitoring the state of forests in this region since 1989. The highest levels of tree defoliation (>30%) are found close to industrial emission sources and in the upper mountain forests of the Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions. This is caused by a combination of strong anthropogenic influences (pollution, illegal uses, recreation) as well as poor site and climatic conditions. In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Cd and Mo accumulate in forest soils; Cr, Mo and Zn soil concentrations are higher than their limit levels; and Pb concentrations exceed toxic levels close to industrial areas (10% of the region territory). Local background levels of heavy metals are greatly exceeded in snow close to industrial regions. Analysis of correlation matrices shows that the chemical elements Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, V and Zn occur at pollution levels in natural ecosystems in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Maximum concentrations of toxic elements occur in the oak forest zone; the most industrially developed area of the region. Toxic heavy metals in the Ukrainian Carpathians forests enter with precipitation and dustfall, then become fixed in soil and accumulate in leaves, needles of vascular plants and mosses. Concentrations of these metals decrease with altitude: highest in the oak forests, less in beech, and lowest in the spruce forest zones. However, some chemical elements have the highest concentrations in spruce forests; V in needles, As in snow, and Ba and Al in soils. - Local industrial emissions of heavy metal pollution and the condition of Ukrainian Carpathians forests are examined

A novel mutation in SURF1 causes skipping of exon 8 in a patient with cytochrome c oxidase-deficient leigh syndrome and hypertrichosis

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Williams, S. L.; Taanman, J. W.; Hansíková, H.; Houšťková, H.; Chowdhury, Subir; Zeman, J.; Houštěk, Josef

2001-01-01

Roč. 73, č. 4 (2001), s. 340-343 ISSN 1096-7192 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A079; GA ČR GA302/99/0648; GA MZd NE6533 Grant - others:The Wellcome Trust(XX) 048410 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5011922 Keywords : SURF1 * exon skipping * mitochondrial disorder Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.345, year: 2001

Numerical simulation and impact assessment of a groundwater pollution based on MODFLOW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Dongxu; Si Gaohua; Zheng Junfang; Yu Jing; Liu Yong; Chen Jianjie; Ma Jinzhu

2013-01-01

Based on MODFLOW, SRTM3 DEM data and GIS tool, a saturated-zone groundwater flow and radionuclide transport numerical model in a research area had been developed to evaluate the migration trend and environmental impact. The results showed that 3 H transporting with the groundwater had a fast velocity and a pulse concentration which can not reduce to acceptable level within short times. that may cause groundwater pollution in downstream region. However, 90 Sr was transported slowly with the groundwater, and may only cause a pollution area of about 200 m around the source. (authors)

75 FR 76319 - Amendments to National Marine Sanctuary Regulations Regarding Low Overflights in Designated Zones

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-08

... resources, Natural resources, Penalties, Recreation and recreation areas, Research, Water pollution control... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration 15 CFR Part 922 [0908041219... Designated Zones AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

Surfing with capillary waves: a survival strategy for trapped bees

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, Chris; Gharib, Morteza

2017-11-01

Honeybees are able to propel themselves at the water surface. A rapid vibration (30-220 Hz) of wings at the air-water interface results in a locomotion speed of 3-4 cm/s. A mechanism for generating thrust required for achieving and maintaining such speed must be different from their mechanism of flight inasmuch as they are in a different fluid environment. In this study, we present the thrust generating mechanism of the honeybee at the air-water interface. A close observation of the wing's interaction with the water surface showed that the wing does not penetrate nor detach from the water surface. Moreover, the stroke speed of the wing exceeds the minimum capillary wave speed, which signifies that the wing constantly generates the capillary wave by pulling on the surface with its wetted underside. Observation of such interaction suggests that honeybee's locomotion at the water surface resembles surfing on the self-generated capillary wave. A further evidence of described mechanism is explored by constructing a similarly sized mechanical model. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CBET-1511414; additional support by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1144469.

RIP current zones along beaches in Goa, west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chandramohan, P.; SanilKumar, V.; Jena, B.K.

Goa has a 125-km-long coastline of which two-thirds consists of beautiful sandy beaches. There are mainly 17 beaches having significant importance of tourism. Sporadically, surf drownings have been reported at a few stretches of the beach. Longshore...

Dynamics and mitigation of six pesticides in a "Wet" forest buffer zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Passeport, Elodie; Richard, Benjamin; Chaumont, Cédric; Margoum, Christelle; Liger, Lucie; Gril, Jean-Joël; Tournebize, Julien

2014-04-01

Pesticide pollution is one of the main current threats on water quality. This paper presents the potential and functioning principles of a "Wet" forest buffer zone for reducing concentrations and loads of glyphosate, isoproturon, metazachlor, azoxystrobin, epoxiconazole, and cyproconazole. A tracer injection experiment was conducted in the field in a forest buffer zone at Bray (France). A fine time-scale sampling enabled to illustrate that interactions between pesticides and forest buffer substrates (soil and organic-rich litter layer), had a retarding effect on molecule transfer. Low concentrations were observed for all pesticides at the forest buffer outlet thus demonstrating the efficiency of "Wet" forest buffer zone for pesticide dissipation. Pesticide masses injected in the forest buffer inlet directly determined concentration peaks observed at the outlet. Rapid and partially reversible adsorption was likely the major process affecting pesticide transfer for short retention times (a few hours to a few days). Remobilization of metazachlor, isoproturon, desmethylisoproturon, and AMPA was observed when non-contaminated water flows passed through the forest buffer. Our data suggest that pesticide sorption properties alone could not explain the complex reaction mechanisms that affected pesticide transfer in the forest buffer. Nevertheless, the thick layer of organic matter litter on the top of the forest soil was a key parameter, which enhanced partially reversible sorption of pesticide, thus retarded their transfer, decreased concentration peaks, and likely increased degradation of the pesticides. Consequently, to limit pesticide pollution transported by surface water, the use of already existing forest areas as buffer zones should be equally considered as the most commonly implemented grass buffer strips.

THE ASSESSMENT MODELS OF AIR POLLUTION DURING TRANSPORTATION OF BULK CARGO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Biliaiev

2016-10-01

different weather conditions. Computational calculations to determine pollutant concentrations and formation of pollution zone near the cars with bulk cargo in «microscale» scale were submitted. Originality. 3D, 2D numerical models were created. They allow taking into account the relevant factors, influencing the process of pollutants dispersion in the atmosphere, and formation of the pollution zone during transport of bulk cargo by rail. Practical value. Efficient numerical models «diagnostic models» for rapid calculation of the atmosphere pollution level during transportation of bulk cargo by rail were considered. Models can be used in the development of environmental protection measures at the operation of rail transport. Proposed model allows calculating 3D, 2D hydrodynamics of wind flow and mass transfer process of pollutants in the atmosphere.

Novel foraging in the swash zone on Pacific sand crabs (Emerita analoga, Hippidae) by mallards

Science.gov (United States)

Lafferty, Kevin D.; McLaughlin, John P.; Dugan, Jenifer E.