Megacities – megarisks     

Friedemann Wenzel  Fouad Bendimerad  Ravi Sinha 《Natural Hazards》2007,42(3):481-491

We review the definitions, population trends, and characteristics of megacities. Characteristics of megacities are, apart from their size, their complexity in terms of administration, infrastructure, traffic, etc., and at the same time the speed of change. Vulnerabilities and risk potential are discussed using the examples of Mexico City and Mumbai. We present the experience accumulated in the 6 years work of the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI, ) with more than 20 large cities around the world, mostly located in the developing world. On this background we analyze obstacles that keep megacities from developing an efficient approach towards disaster mitigation and define a strategy that might overcome these problems. The key element of this strategy is the development of a Disaster Risk Management Master Plan (DRMMP) for cities. Currently the Istanbul Earthquake Master Plan (IEMP) serves as best example for an appropriate strategy for disaster reduction in megacities.  相似文献   

Macroscale hydrological modelling approach for study of large scale hydrologic impacts under climate change in Indian river basins          下载免费PDF全文

D. Raje  P. Priya  R. Krishnan 《水文研究》2014,28(4):1874-1889

In climate‐change studies, a macroscale hydrologic model (MHM) operating over large scales can be an important tool in developing consistent hydrological variability estimates over large basins. MHMs, which can operate at coarse grid resolutions of about 1° latitude by longitude, have been used previously to study climate change impacts on the hydrology of continental scale or global river basins. They can provide a connection between global atmospheric models and water resource systems on large spatial scales and long timescales. In this study, the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) MHM is used to study large scale hydrologic impacts of climate change for Indian river basins. Large‐scale changes in runoff, evapotranspiration and soil moisture for India, as well as station‐scale changes in discharges for three major river basins with distinct climatic and geographic characteristics are examined in this study. Climate model projections for meteorological variables (precipitation, temperature and wind speed) from three general circulation models (GCMs) and three emissions scenarios are used to drive the VIC MHM. GCM projections are first interpolated to a 1° by 1° hydrologic model grid and then bias‐corrected using a quantile–quantile mapping. The VIC model is able to reproduce observed statistics for discharges in the Ganga, Narmada and Krishna basins reasonably well, even at the coarse grid resolution employed using a calibration period for years 1965–1970 and testing period from 1971–1973/1974. An increasing trend is projected for summer monsoon surface runoff, evapotranspiration and soil moisture in most central Indian river basins, whereas a decrease in runoff and soil moisture is projected for some regions in southern India, with important differences arising from GCM and scenario variability. Discharge statistics show increases in mid‐flow and low flow at Farakka station on Ganga River, increased high flows at Jamtara station upstream of Narmada, and increased high, mid‐flow and low flow for Vijayawada station on Krishna River in the future. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

The M w 6.9 Sikkim–Nepal earthquake of September 2011: a perspective for wrench faulting in the Himalayan thrust zone     

N. Purnachandra Rao  V. M. Tiwari  M. Ravi Kumar  Pinki Hazarika  Dipankar Saikia  R. K. Chadha  Y. J. Bhaskar Rao 《Natural Hazards》2015,77(1):355-366

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Stability evaluation of hill cut slopes along national highway-13 near Hospet,Karnataka, India     

Ravi Kumar Umrao  T. N. Singh 《Georisk: Assessment and Management of Risk for Engineered Systems and Geohazards》2015,9(3):158-170

The road networks are backbone of a nation for the economic growth and safe communication. A shortest road design shall always be encouraged, but in hilly terrain, railway crossings and road crossings are constraints for the highway designers. The same problem was faced while planning a new design of National Highway-13 near the Hospet city in Karnataka, India. To resolve that problem, a twin tunnel was proposed to overcome steep gradient, sharp curve and a railway crossing. The field investigation was carried out to measure the joint parameters, lithology and ground water condition to establish the tunnel and tunnel portal stability along with hill cuttings. In the present study, the basic rock mass rating (RMR_Basic) and continuous slope mass rating (CSMR) of the slope outside tunnel portal were computed based on the field investigation for different rocks of Sandur schist belt viz. metabasics, phyllite/chlorite schist and banded iron formation. The support measures were proposed based on the computed CSMR.  相似文献   

Secondary instability as a possible mechanism for clear-air turbulence: a case study     

T. N. Venkatesh  Joseph Mathew  Ravi S. Nanjundiah 《Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics》2014,126(3-4):139-160

Many theories and mechanisms have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of clear-air turbulence (CAT), and some of them have been successful in predicting light, moderate and, in some cases, severe turbulence. It is only recently that skill in the forecasting of the severe form of CAT, which could lead to injuries to passengers and damage to aircraft, has improved. Recent observations and simulations suggest that some severe to extreme turbulence could be caused by horizontal vortex tubes resulting from secondary instabilities of regions of high shear in the atmosphere. We have conducted direct numerical simulations to understand the scale relationship between primary structures (larger-scale structures related to one of the causes mentioned above) and secondary structures (smaller-sized, shear structures of the size of aircraft). From shear layer simulations, we find that the ratio of sizes of primary and secondary vortices is of the right order to generate aircraft-scale vortex tubes from typical atmospheric shear layers. We have also conducted simulations with a mesoscale atmospheric model, to understand possible causes of turbulence experienced by a flight off the west coast of India. Our simulations show the occurrence of primary flow structures related to synoptic conditions around the time of the incident. The evidence presented for this mechanism also has implications for possible methods of detection and avoidance of severe CAT.  相似文献   

The mineralogic transformation of ferrihydrite induced by heterogeneous reaction with bioreduced anthraquinone disulfonate (AQDS) and the role of phosphate     

John M. Zachara  Ravi K. Kukkadapu  Tanya Peretyazhko  Mark Bowden  Chongmin Wang  Dave W. Kennedy  Dean Moore  Bruce Arey 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2011,75(21):6330-6349

Bioreduced anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AH₂DS; dihydro-anthraquinone) was reacted with a 2-line, Si-substituted ferrihydrite under anoxic conditions at neutral pH in PIPES buffer. Phosphate (P) and bicarbonate (C); common adsorptive oxyanions and media/buffer components known to effect ferrihydrite mineralization; and Fe(II)_aq (as a catalytic mineralization agent) were used in comparative experiments. Heterogeneous AH₂DS oxidation coupled with Fe(III) reduction occurred within 0.13-1 day, with mineralogic transformation occurring thereafter. The product suite included lepidocrocite, goethite, and/or magnetite, with proportions varing with reductant:oxidant ratio (r:o) and the presence of P or C. Lepidocrocite was the primary product at low r:o in the absence of P or C, with evidence for multiple formation pathways. Phosphate inhibited reductive recrystallization, while C promoted goethite formation. Stoichiometric magnetite was the sole product at higher r:o in the absence and presence of P. Lepidocrocite was the primary mineralization product in the Fe(II)_aq system, with magnetite observed at near equal amounts when Fe(II) was high [Fe(II)/Fe(III)] = 0.5 and P was absent. P had a greater effect on reductive mineralization in the Fe(II)_aq system, while AQDS was more effective than Fe(II)_aq in promoting magnetite formation. The mineral products of the direct AH₂DS-driven reductive reaction are different from those observed in AH₂DS-ferrihydite systems with metal reducing bacteria, particularly in presence of P.  相似文献   

An observational constraint on the existence of proto-superclsuters atz=3.3     

Ravi Subrahmanyan  G. Swarup 《Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy》1990,11(4):551-551

The online version of the original article can be found at  相似文献   

A hierarchy of voids: much ado about nothing     

Ravi K. Sheth  Rien van de Weygaert 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,350(2):517-538

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On the streaming motions of haloes and galaxies     

Ravi K. Sheth  Antonaldo Diaferio  Lam Hui  Román Scoccimarro 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2001,326(2):463-472

Little is known about the statistics of gravitationally lensed quasars at large (7–30 arcsec) image separations, which probe masses on the scale of galaxy clusters. We have carried out a survey for gravitationally lensed objects, among sources in the FIRST 20-cm radio survey that have unresolved optical counterparts in the digitizations of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. From the statistics of ongoing surveys that search for quasars among FIRST sources, we estimate that there are about 9100 quasars in this source sample, making this one of the largest lensing surveys to date. Using broad-band imaging, we have isolated all objects with double radio components separated by 5–30 arcsec that have unresolved optical counterparts with similar BVI colours. Our criteria for similar colours conservatively allow for observational error and for colour variations due to time delays between lensed images. Spectroscopy of these candidates shows that none of the pairs are lensed quasars. This sets an upper limit (95 per cent confidence) on the lensing fraction in this survey of 3.3×10⁻⁴, assuming 9100 quasars. Although the source redshift distribution is poorly known, a rough calculation of the expected lensing frequency and the detection efficiencies and biases suggests that simple theoretical expectations are of the same order of magnitude as our observational upper limit. Our procedure is novel in that our exhaustive search for lensed objects does not require prior identification of the quasars in the sample as such. Characterization of the FIRST-selected quasar population will enable use of our result to constrain quantitatively the mass properties of clusters.  相似文献   

Microvariability in Blazars     

M.R. Deshpande  U.C. Joshi  K.S. Baliyan  S. Ganesh 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1997,258(1-2):9-14

Optically violent variable quasars and BL Lac objects, which form a subclass of active galactic nuclei are termed as Blazars. Blazars show high degree variation in their flux and polarization in a relatively shorter period of time. They are strong radio sources with a non-stellar continuum. Most of the BL Lac objects do not show any emission lines though in some cases very weak lines are observed. They harbour in elliptical galaxies. Some BL Lacs show superluminal motion indicating the flow of matter at relativistic speeds close to the line of sight. It is likely that the enormous energy produced by these objects may be due to a massive black hole with an accretion disc system. Some Blazars have been observed to detect short time variations in their flux and polarization in the visual band. These studies are aimed at understanding the physical processes taking place in the central engine. Detecting shorter period variations assumes significance as they impose restrictions on the total volume from where the huge amount of energy is comming out. To date the recorded shortest period variation in visual band is 6.3 min in OJ 287, a BL Lac object. Attempts are being made to detect shorter period variations, which pose observational challenges. It is generally accepted that the central engine of AGN harbours a massive blackhole with an accretion disc surrounding it. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献