Using of neural networks for the prediction of nitrate groundwater contamination in rural and agricultural areas

As a neural network provides a non-linear function mapping of a set of input variables into the corresponding network output, without the requirement of having to specify the actual mathematical form of the relation between the input and output variables, it has the versatility for modeling a wide range of complex non-linear phenomena. In this study, groundwater contamination by nitrate, the ANNs are applied as a new type of model to estimate the nitrate contamination of the Gaza Strip aquifer. A set of six explanatory variables for 139 sampled wells was used and that have a significant influence were identified by using ANN model. The Multilayer Perceptrons (MLP), Radial Basis Function (RBF), Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN), and Linear Networks were used. The best network found to simulate Nitrate was MLP with six input nodes and four hidden nodes. The input variables are: nitrogen load, housing density in 500-m radius area surrounding wells, well depth, screen length, well discharge, and infiltration rate. The best network found had good performance (regression ratio 0.2158, correlation 0.9773, and error 8.4322). Bivariate statistical test also were used and resulting in considerable unexplained variation in nitrate concentration. Based on ANN model, groundwater contamination by nitrate depends not on any single factor but on the combination of them.     

Discussion of “Effects of temporal resolution on hydrological model parameters and its impact on prediction of river discharge”

Citation Littlewood, I. G., Croke, B. F. W. & Young, P. C. (2011) Discussion of “Effects of temporal resolution on hydrological model parameters and its impact on prediction of river discharge” by Y. Wang, B. He & K. Takase (2009, Hydrol. Sci. J. 54(5), 886–898). Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(3), 521–524.     

J-type carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

A sample of 1497 carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) has been observed in the red part of the spectrum with the 2dF facility on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Of these, 156 have been identified as J-type (i.e. ¹³C-rich) carbon stars using a technique which provides a clear distinction between J stars and the normal N-type carbon stars that comprise the bulk of the sample, and yields few borderline cases. A simple two-dimensional classification of the spectra, based on their spectral slopes in different wavelength regions, has been constructed and found to be related to the more conventional c and j indices, modified to suit the spectral regions observed. Most of the J stars form a photometric sequence in the   K − ( J − K )  colour–magnitude diagram, parallel to and 0.6 mag fainter than the N-star sequence. A subset of the J stars (about 13 per cent) are brighter than this J-star sequence; most of these are spectroscopically different from the other J stars. The bright J stars have stronger CN bands than the other J stars and are found strongly concentrated in the central regions of the LMC. Most of the rather few stars in common with Hartwick and Cowley's sample of suspected CH stars are J stars. Overall, the proportion of carbon stars identified as J stars is somewhat lower than has been found in the Galaxy. The Na D lines are weaker in the LMC J stars than in either the Galactic J stars or the LMC N stars, and do not seem to depend on temperature.     

Full‐scale dynamic response of an RC building under weak seismic motions using earthquake recordings,ambient vibrations and modelling

In countries with a moderate seismic hazard, the classical methods developed for strong motion prone countries to estimate the seismic behaviour and subsequent vulnerability of existing buildings are often inadequate and not financially realistic. The main goals of this paper are to show how the modal analysis can contribute to the understanding of the seismic building response and the good relevancy of a modal model based on ambient vibrations for estimating the structural deformation under weak earthquakes. We describe the application of an enhanced modal analysis technique (frequency domain decomposition) to process ambient vibration recordings taken at the Grenoble City Hall building (France). The frequencies of ambient vibrations are compared with those of weak earthquakes recorded by the French permanent accelerometric network (RAP) that was installed to monitor the building. The frequency variations of the building under weak earthquakes are shown to be less (∼2%) and therefore ambient vibration frequencies are relevant over the elastic domain of the building. The modal parameters extracted from ambient vibrations are then used to determine the 1D lumped‐mass model in order to reproduce the inter‐storey drift under weak earthquakes and to fix a 3D numerical model that could be used for strong earthquakes. The correlation coefficients between data and synthetic motion are close to 80 and 90% in horizontal directions, for the 1D and 3D modelling, respectively. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Overprinting porphyry‐type veinlets on the intrusive rocks and phreatomagmatic breccias in the Southwest prospect,southwestern Sto. Tomas II (Philex), Baguio District,Philippines

The Southwest prospect is located at the southwestern periphery of the Sto. Tomas II porphyry copper–gold deposit in the Baguio District, northwestern Luzon, Philippines. The Southwest prospect hosts a copper‐gold mineralization related to a complex of porphyry intrusions, breccia facies, and overlapping porphyry‐type veinlets emplaced within the basement Pugo metavolcanics rocks and conglomerates of the Zigzag Formation. The occurrences of porphyry‐type veinlets and potassic alteration hosted in the complex are thought to be indications of the presence of blind porphyry deposits within the Sto. Tomas II vicinity. The complex is composed of at least four broadly mineralogically similar dioritic intrusive rocks that vary in texture and alteration type and intensity. These intrusions were accompanied with at least five breccia facies that were formed by the explosive brecciation, induced by the magmatic–hydrothermal processes and phreatomagmatic activities during the emplacement of the various intrusions. Hydrothermal alteration assemblages consisting of potassic, chlorite–magnetite, propylitic and sericite–chlorite alteration, and contemporaneous veinlet types were developed on the host rocks. Elevated copper and gold grades correspond to (a) chalcopyrite–bornite assemblage in the potassic alteration in the syn‐mineralization early‐mineralization diorite (EMD) and contemporaneous veinlets and (b) chalcopyrite‐rich mineralization associated with the chalcopyrite–magnetite–chlorite–actinolite±sericite veinlets contemporaneous with the chlorite–magnetite alteration. Erratic remarkable concentrations of gold were also present in the late‐mineralization Late Diorite (LD). High X_Mg of calcic amphiboles (>0.60) in the intrusive rocks indicate that the magmas have been oxidizing since the early stages of crystallization, while a gap in the composition of Al between the rim and the cores of the calcic amphiboles in the EMD and LD indicate decompression at some point during the crystallization of these intrusive rocks. Fluid inclusion microthermometry suggests the trapping of immiscible fluids that formed the potassic alteration, associated ore mineralization, and sheeted quartz veinlets. The corresponding formation conditions of the shallower and deeper quartz veinlets were estimated at pressures of 50 and 30 MPa and temperatures of 554 and 436°C at depths of 1.9 and 1.1 km. Temperature data from the chlorite indicate that the chalcopyrite‐rich mineralization associated with the chlorite–magnetite alteration was formed at a much lower temperature (ca. 290°C) than the potassic alteration. Evidence from the vein offsetting matrix suggests multiple intrusions within the EMD, despite the K‐Ar ages of the potassic alteration in EMD and hornblende in the LD of about the same age at 3.5 ± 0.3 Ma. The K‐Ar age of the potassic alteration was likely to be thermally reset as a result of the overprinting hydrothermal alteration. The constrained K‐Ar ages also indicate earlier formed intrusive rocks in the Southwest prospect, possibly coeval to the earliest “dark diorite” intrusion in the Sto. Tomas II deposit. In addition, the range of δ³⁴S of sulfide minerals from +1.8‰ to +5.1‰ in the Southwest prospect closely overlaps with the rest of the porphyry copper and epithermal deposits in the Sto. Tomas II deposit and its vicinity. This indicates that the sulfides may have formed from a homogeneous source of the porphyry copper deposits and epithermal deposits in the Sto. Tomas II orebody and its vicinity. The evidence presented in this work proves that the porphyry copper‐type veinlets and the adjacent potassic alteration in the Southwest prospect are formed earlier and at a shallower level in contrast with the other porphyry deposits in the Baguio District.     

The storage of bed material in mountain stream channels as assessed using Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating

A detailed understanding of channel forming and maintenance processes in mountain streams requires some measurement and/or prediction of bed load transport and sediment mobility. Traditional field based measurements of such processes are problematic because of the high formative discharges characteristic of such streams. The application of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating is proposed here as a new way of determining actual residency times of fine sediments and consequently validating selected predictions for the entrainment of sediment in these streams. Model predictions of sediment mobility for selected step-pool and plane-bed channels in a mountain catchment in south eastern Australia are initially calculated using equations of hydraulic competence and the one-dimensional HEC-RAS model. Results indicate that floods exceeding bankfull with recurrence intervals up to 13 years are competent to mobilise the maximum overlying surface grain sizes at both sites. OSL minimum age model results from 7 samples of well bleached quartz in the fine matrix particles indicate general agreement with selected competence equations. The apparent long (100–1400 y) burial age of most of the mineral quartz, however, suggests that competent flows are not able to flush all subsurface fine-bed material. The depth of maximum bed load exchange (flushing) was limited to ≤ twice the depth of the overlying D₉₀ grain size. Application of OSL in this study provides important insight into the nature of storage and flushing of matrix material in mountain streams.     

A technique for deriving an average event unit hydrograph from streamflow—only data for ephemeral quick-flow-dominant catchments

A technique is presented for empirical and parametric estimation of an average event unit hydrograph response curve solely from measured streamflow data for use in rainfall-runoff models with a focus on modelling flow for natural resource management. As the technique does not require rainfall data, the unit hydrograph can be derived solely from streamflow data at a temporal resolution appropriate for the response of the catchment. The response curves derived for a number of stations show a power law relationship of decay in flow after peak that can be described using a three-parameter function. The approach is best suited to ephemeral streamflow regimes dominated by surface and near-surface runoff (quick-flow component) where flow events are well-separated and largely independent of each other. Analysis of the derived unit hydrograph for 28 quick-flow-dominated catchments illustrates the range of parameter values obtained in fitting the power law.     

Working a fraction and making a fraction work: a rough guide for geographers in the academy

Little is known about the issues facing geographers working on fractional appointments in higher education institutions in the UK. This paper draws on a survey of UK geography departments and personal experiences to explore some of that territory for the first time. The purpose is both to set the agenda for institutional policy issues and to provide some immediate points of reflection for staff intending to take up fractional work. We consider the place of fractional working in the dominant discourses around paid work, problems of workload division and the impact on professional standing (including the RAE). We suggest that while personal 'life' reasons for fractional working are often positive, fractional workers in the academy risk professional marginalization.     

The concept of hydrological connectivity and its contribution to understanding runoff‐dominated geomorphic systems

The term ‘connectivity’ is increasingly being applied in hydrological and geomorphological studies. Relevant research encompasses aspects of landscape connectivity, hydrological connectivity and sedimentological connectivity. Unlike other disciplines, notably ecology, published studies show no consensus on a standard definition. This paper provides an overview of how existing research relates to the concept of connectivity in both ecology and hydrology by proposing and evaluating a conceptual model of hydrological connectivity that includes five major components: climate; hillslope runoff potential; landscape position; delivery pathway and lateral connectivity. We also evaluate a proposed measure of connectivity called the volume to breakthrough to quantify changing connectivity between different environments and catchments. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.