Assessing coastal benthic macrofauna community condition using best professional judgement - Developing consensus across North America and Europe     

Heliana Teixeira  Ángel Borja  J. Ananda Ranasinghe  Daniel M. Dauer  Steven Degraer  Antoine Grémare  Roberto J. Llansó  João C. Marques  Anna Occhipinti-Ambrogi  Rafael Sardá  Ronald G. Velarde 《Marine pollution bulletin》2010,60(4):589-600

Benthic indices are typically developed independently by habitat, making their incorporation into large geographic scale assessments potentially problematic because of scaling inequities. A potential solution is to establish common scaling using expert best professional judgment (BPJ). To test if experts from different geographies agree on condition assessment, sixteen experts from four regions in USA and Europe were provided species-abundance data for twelve sites per region. They ranked samples from best to worst condition and classified samples into four condition (quality) categories. Site rankings were highly correlated among experts, regardless of whether they were assessing samples from their home region. There was also good agreement on condition category, though agreement was better for samples at extremes of the disturbance gradient. The absence of regional bias suggests that expert judgment is a viable means for establishing a uniform scale to calibrate indices consistently across geographic regions.  相似文献   

The water framework directive: water alone, or in association with sediment and biota, in determining quality standards?     

Borja A  Valencia V  Franco J  Muxika I  Bald J  Belzunce MJ  Solaun O 《Marine pollution bulletin》2004,49(1-2):8-11

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Numerical simulation of excavation in elastoplastic soils     

Ronaldo I. Borja  Seung R. Lee  Raymond B. Seed 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》1989,13(3):231-249

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Quantifying sensitivity of local site response models to statistical variations in soil properties     

José E. Andrade  Ronaldo I. Borja 《Acta Geotechnica》2006,1(1):3-14

We perform a combined stochastic-deterministic analysis of local site response using two computer codes, an equivalent linear analysis program SHAKE and a fully nonlinear finite element code SPECTRA. Our goal is to compare the relative sensitivity of the two codes to statistical variations in soil properties. For the case studies, we re-analyze two ground motion records in Lotung, Taiwan, and one ground motion record in Gilroy, California, utilizing the recorded ground motions at the site deterministically as input into the two codes while treating the uncertain soil parameters as random variables. We then obtain empirical cumulative distribution functions of the Arias intensity and acceleration spectrum intensity, two measures of cumulative damage, to compare the relative sensitivity of the two codes to variations in model parameters. We show that the two codes exhibit comparable sensitivities to statistical parameter variations, indicating that even in the presence of fluctuations in the soil parameter values it is possible to pursue a fully nonlinear site response analysis with SPECTRA and benefit from its superior accuracy.  相似文献   

Improvement in nitrification through the use of natural zeolite: influence of the biomass concentration and inoculum source     

S. J. Montalvo  L. E. Guerrero  R. Borja 《International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology》2014,11(1):43-52

A batch nitrification process was studied using synthetic wastewater as substrate and Chilean natural zeolite as biomass carrier at ambient temperatures (20 °C). Three groups of experiments were carried out: a first experimental set (I) with and without added zeolite using initial biomass concentrations of 1,000 and 2,000 mg VSS/L; a second set of experiments (II) with added zeolite and at the same initial biomass concentrations. In these two experimental sets, biomass from an activated sludge process located in an urban wastewater treatment plant at La Farfana, Santiago de Chile, was used as inoculum (1). Finally, a third set of experiments (III) was carried out with zeolite at an initial biomass concentration of 1,000 mg VSS/L using an inoculum derived from an activated sludge process treating wastewater from a paper mill (inoculum 2). Nitrifying biomass concentration values in the range of 13,000–18,800 mg VSS/L were achieved when initial biomass concentrations varied between 1,000 and 2,000 mg VSS/L. Inoculum (1) generated higher biomass concentrations than inoculum (2). Ammonium N removals higher than 70 % were obtained in experimental sets II and III when zeolite was used. For both initial biomass concentrations tested, an exponential biomass growth was observed up to the second day of operation, and a slight decrease was evident afterwards, achieving stationary values after 10–12 days of operation. The third experimental set (III) revealed that the highest N consumption took place between days 11 and 16 of digestion.  相似文献   

Using historical data, expert judgement and multivariate analysis in assessing reference conditions and benthic ecological status, according to the European Water Framework Directive   总被引：10，自引：0，他引：10  

Muxika I  Borja A  Bald J 《Marine pollution bulletin》2007,55(1-6):16-29

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) establishes a framework for the protection and improvement of estuarine and coastal waters, trying to achieve 'good surface water status at the latest 15 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive'. One of the biological elements that should be analysed is the benthos and, as such, the WFD normative definitions describe the aspects of the benthic communities that must be included in the ecological status assessment of a water body. Therefore, it is essential to include, in the assessment, the different metrics that address those parameters identified in the normative definitions for each of the ecological status classes. In this contribution the use of the AMBI, richness and diversity, combined with the use, in a further development, of factor analysis together with discriminant analysis, is presented as an objective tool (named here M-AMBI) in assessing ecological quality status. This assessment requires previous classification of water bodies and typologies, together with the definition of reference conditions; this is undertaken in this contribution using historical data, expert judgement and multivariate analysis. The study has been undertaken by examining changes in benthic communities in the Basque Country, over the last decade, as a case-study, to demonstrate the accuracy and potential of these methodologies.  相似文献   

Evolution of anisotropy with saturation and its implications for the elastoplastic responses of clay rocks     

Sabrina C.Y. Ip  Ronaldo I. Borja 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2022,46(1):23-46

Many clay rocks have distinct bedding planes. Experimental studies have shown that their mechanical properties evolve with the degree of saturation (DOS), often with higher stiffness and strength after drying. For transversely isotropic rocks, the effects of saturation can differ between the bed-normal (BN) and bed-parallel (BP) directions, which gives rise to saturation-dependent stiffness and strength anisotropy. Accurate prediction of the mechanical behavior of clay rocks under partially saturated conditions requires numerical models that can capture the evolving elastic and plastic anisotropy with DOS. In this study, we present an anisotropy framework for coupled solid deformation-fluid flow in unsaturated elastoplastic media. We incorporate saturation-dependent strength anisotropy into an anisotropic modified Cam-Clay (MCC) model and consider the evolving anisotropy in both the elastic and plastic responses. The model was calibrated using experimental data from triaxial tests to demonstrate its capability in capturing strength anisotropy at various levels of saturation. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate the role of evolving stiffness and strength anisotropy in the mechanical behavior of clay rocks. Plane strain simulations of triaxial compression tests were also conducted to demonstrate the impacts of material anisotropy and DOS on the mechanical and fluid flow responses.  相似文献