Temporal and spatial information on land use/cover is a prerequisite for effective planning decisions in the context of social and economic development. Satellite remote sensing data have become increasingly important in the study of land use/cover changes. This paper uses multitemporal satellite data to measure and spatially characterize land use/cover changes in the Jaffna Peninsula, northern Sri Lanka over the two decades from 1984 to early 2004 in terms of potential drivers. Over this period, the Jaffna Peninsula has been impacted severely by armed conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. A postclassification method is used to compare land use/cover classes from satellite images using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to analyze the spatial pattern of land use/cover changes over the study period. Results indicate that the land use/cover pattern has been very dynamic since early the 1980s, showing a remarkable decrease in agricultural land use and concomitant increase in non-agricultural land uses. The ethnic conflict and its consequences, particularly large-scale population migrations, have been the main driving forces for such land use/cover changes in the Jaffna Peninsula. The results of this study are not only important in aiding efforts to reconstruct this area after decades of physical and socioeconomic devastation, but should also prompt similarly urgent studies in other inaccessible war-torn areas of the world. 相似文献
A 12-year period experimental data, from 1 January 1995, to 20 August 2007, have been examined for possible correlations between Seismic Electric Signals (SES) of the VAN method and source parameters of the corresponding earthquakes in Western Greece. During that period 13 earthquakes of magnitude MW ≥ 5 with epicenters in the area 19–24°E, 36–41°N and available the CMT solutions (Centroid Moment Tensor focal mechanism solutions) have been found to be preceded by a SES each time at one of the three VAN stations of IOA, PIR or PAT. The results of IOA and PIR stations are compared to those reported by Uyeda et al. 1999, for the previous period 1983–1994. The IOA station seems to be sensitive to earthquakes with thrust type mechanisms being mainly consistent to its past behavior. The PIR station, which is moved from its previous position by few kilometers, exhibits some changes. It detects now both strike slip and thrust type earthquakes and becomes sensitive to new areas indicating probably the strong dependence of the SES station detection ability upon its location. 相似文献
Study of a longshore transect off Southern California suggests that the length scales (22 to 27 km) of phytoplankton species patches may be related to those of low-frequency currents. The patch boundaries were independent of shelf width but they were probably not independent of changes in chlorophyll fluorescence, temperature, and bottom topography. 相似文献
A sequence of 25 bread-kiln floors was sampled for archaeomagnetic measurements in a bakehouse in the old town of Lübeck, Germany. Due to archaeological dating this kiln floor sequence has been built up presumably from the late 13thto the 18thcentury. The primary magnetisation component is carried by magnetite (maghemite) and is very stable. Small viscous magnetisation components could be removed easily. The preliminary results of characteristic remanent magnetisation for 23 of the kiln-floor layers show clearly the trend of the geomagnetic secular variation expected for that time interval. By comparison with French and British master curves, the kiln-floor sequence started around 1425 and lasted until 1775 AD. Presently, confidence circles are relatively large and need refineing by measuring more samples, which have already been collected. Together with14C dating that can be determined from the charcoals found in the lowest layers and thermoluminescence dating of the layers, we expect to obtain, for the first time, a secular variation curve for Northern Germany covering the time interval from 1400 to 1800 years AD.相似文献
Aquatic organisms are extensively exposed to phthalate esters. We have investigated in trout the effects of diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) and dibutylphthalate (DBP) on xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes which have been suggested as possible environmental biomarkers. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were waterborne exposed to DEHP (1 mg/l) or DBP (0.1 or 1 mg/l) for 72 h. Another group of rainbow trout received daily for 3 days an intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg of DEHP or DBP. Laurate hydroxylation, ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylation, UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity and glutathione-S-transferase activity were measured in liver and extrahepatic tissues. The phthalate esters have been found not to induce these enzymes; in particular, the results do not support the previously described induction of lauric acid hydroxylase in sea bass treated with DEHP [Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B122 (1999) 253.]. 相似文献
There is increasing evidence that natural disasters can trigger technological accidents and damage. These so-called Natech
accidents can pose a significant risk to regions that are unprepared for responding to them. The European Commission’s Joint
Research Centre has recognised the risk associated with Natech events and has started systematic research into Natechs and
their underlying dynamics. This work investigates the risk associated with the flooding of industrial installations through
an analysis of past case histories and using expert judgement. The potential impact of three levels of flood severity on selected
industrial facilities storing and/or processing (eco-)toxic, flammable or explosive materials is analysed qualitatively and
a scale is developed that links the flood intensity to the level of potential damage. Our analysis indicates that natural
disasters have the potential for triggering hazmat releases and other types of technological accidents. Hence, natural disasters
should be considered as separate accident-triggering events in the planning, design and operating stages of industrial facilities
that process or store hazardous substances. Our work revealed a lack of detailed information on the occurrence of Natech events
which indicates not necessarily a scarcity of Natechs but rather a lack of standardised reporting and record keeping. 相似文献
Some weak unidentified solar photospheric lines in the wavelength range: (3400–3465) Å may be due to PH lines of the (0, 0) band of the PH(A3i - X3-)system. These faint PH molecular lines have resulted an excitation temperature of the order of 4500 K. Using experimental lifetime data for PH in the A3istate, an absorption oscillator strength f00 = 0.0075 is derived for the 3410 Å band of the PH (A3i - X3-)system. Accurate line positions, oscillator strength and transition probability for the 4.4 fundamental rotation-vibration band of the PH molecule are obtained. A comparison of positions of some lines of the 4.4 band with those obtained on new tracings of high resolution solar spectra shows many coincidences with weak solar lines. 相似文献
Relying on a recent survey of more than 3400 participants from China, Germany, and the US, this article empirically analyses citizens' perceptions of key guiding principles for sharing mitigation costs across countries, justification of climate policy and trust in climate policy. Our findings suggest that the ranking of the main principles for burden-sharing is identical in China, Germany, and the US: accountability followed by capability, egalitarianism, and sovereignty. Thus, on a general level, citizens across these countries seem to have a common (normative) understanding of fairness. We therefore find no evidence that citizens' (stated) fairness preferences are detrimental to future burden-sharing agreements. In all three countries a majority of citizens considers international climate policy to be justified, but citizens' perceptions differ across specific items and countries. Finally, a substantial portion of citizens in all countries exhibit a lack of trust in international climate agreements.
Policy relevance
Disagreement over the distribution of mitigation costs across countries is blocking current negotiations about a new international climate change agreement to be adopted in 2015. At the heart of this disagreement are different perceptions of distributive justice among those involved in climate policy making. Our findings show that there is no difference in the ranking of fairness principles across citizens in China, Germany, and the US, suggesting that the common ground for crafting a future agreement is larger than expected. In particular, the accountability principle should weigh heavily when deciding on the burden-sharing. In addition, our findings suggest that in order to gain support among citizens, international climate policy may need to take measures to improve trust. 相似文献
Recurrent climate hazards challenge subsistence farmers in developing countries. Reliance on various diversification strategies and traditional risk sharing among kin and families has serious limitations, such as the problem of covariate risk within such networks. Index-based crop insurance could help to reduce people's climate-related risk, but raising the necessary capital to make insurance schemes financially secure is difficult for micro-insurance providers. We examine the extent to which spatial pooling of micro-insurance schemes could reduce these capital requirements. We simulate a hypothetical insurance market operating in Ethiopia, using rainfall data and yield estimates for 15 stations. By performing a Monte Carlo analysis, risk capital required to keep the probability of financial ruin below a threshold value is identified. We investigate the marginal benefits of pooling increasing numbers of sites, as well as the relationship between the benefits of pooling and the spatial covariance of rainfall. We find spatial diversification to offer considerable savings in required capitalization with as few as three sites pooled, as well as a weak but significant relationship between rainfall covariance and those benefits. The results suggest that spatial pooling may be an attractive option for micro-insurers, worthy of a detailed case-by-case analysis when designing index-insurance schemes. 相似文献