Investigation of the 20 August 2005 fatal landslide at Fu Yung Shan Tsuen, Hong Kong     

K. K. S. Ho  P. A. Chao  T. M. F. Lau  S. De Silva 《Landslides》2013,10(3):285-297

On 20 August 2005, a landslide with a volume of about 400  m³ occurred at Fu Yung Shan Tsuen, Tsuen Wan in Hong Kong during a severe rainstorm with a return period of about 100  years on a hillside that has been disturbed locally by past human activities. The incident resulted in one fatality and permanent evacuation of residents of four squatter structures in the vicinity. A forensic investigation into the landslide was carried out to review the mechanism and probable causes of the landslide. The key contributory factors in the landslide were diagnosed. The investigation concluded that the landslide was probably caused by the loss of soil suction and transient build-up of groundwater pressure in the near-surface soil materials following prolonged and intense rainfall. The paper presents the methodology adopted for the landslide study, findings of the investigation and the lessons learnt from this fatal landslide.  相似文献   

Study of nuclear decays during a solar eclipse: Thule Greenland 2008     

D. Javorsek II  M. C. Brewer  J. B. Buncher  E. Fischbach  J. T. Gruenwald  J. Heim  A. W. Hoft  T. J. Horan  J. L. Kerford  M. Kohler  J. J. Lau  A. Longman  J. J. Mattes  T. Mohsinally  J. R. Newport  M. A. Petrelli  C. A. Stewart  J. H. Jenkins  R. H. Lee  B. Morreale  D. B. Morris  R. Mudry  D. O’Keefe  B. Terry  M. A. Silver  P. A. Sturrock 《Astrophysics and Space Science》2012,338(1):9-13

A new prediction technique based on logarithmic values is proposed to predict the maximum amplitude (R _m) of a solar cycle from the preceding minimum aa geomagnetic index (aa _min). The correlation between lnR _m and lnaa _min (r=0.92) is slightly stronger than that between R _m and aa _min (r=0.90). From this method, cycle 24 is predicted to have a peak size of R _m(24)=81.7(1±13.2%). If the suggested error in aa (3 nT) before 1957 is corrected, the correlation coefficient between R _m and aa _min (r=0.94) will be slightly higher, and the peak of cycle 24 is predicted much lower, R _m(24)=52.5±13.1. Therefore, the prediction of R _m based on the relationship between R _m and aa _min depends greatly on the accurate measurement of aa.  相似文献   

Semi-automatic shallow landslide detection by the integration of airborne imagery and laser scanning data     

Jiann-Yeou Rau  Kang-Tsung Chang  Yi-Chen Shao  Chi-Chung Lau 《Natural Hazards》2012,61(2):469-480

Landslide mapping is essential for effective watershed management. In Taiwan, a typhoon or earthquake event can trigger hundreds, even thousands, of shallow landslides in mountainous watersheds. Thus, improving the efficiency of landslide mapping by means of remote sensing techniques is an important issue. This study proposes a new method that uses concurrent aerial laser scanning (ALS) data and color ortho-imagery as input data: the topographic indices of slope, surface roughness, and object height model can be derived from the ALS data and the Green–Red Vegetation Index from the ortho-images. The method first uses these topographic and spectral indices in a global, semi-automatic algorithm to separate landslide from non-landslide pixels. It then offers a region growing tool and a 3D Eraser/Painter to edit detected landslides locally. These global and local operations are designed with a user interface, which is intuitive and user-friendly. Results from four test sites in a mountainous watershed prove that the method is easy, accurate, and suitable for landslide mapping in Taiwan.  相似文献   

An explosive end to intermediate-mass zero-metallicity stars and early Universe nucleosynthesis     

Herbert H. B. Lau  Richard J. Stancliffe  Christopher A. Tout 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2008,385(1):301-309

We use the Cambridge stellar evolution code stars to model the evolution of 5 and  7 M_⊙  zero-metallicity stars. With enhanced resolution at the hydrogen- and helium-burning shell in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phases, we are able to model the entire thermally pulsing AGB (TP-AGB) phase. The helium luminosities of the thermal pulses are significantly lower than in higher metallicity stars so there is no third dredge-up. The envelope is enriched in nitrogen by hot-bottom burning of carbon that was previously mixed in during second dredge-up. There is no s -process enrichment owing to the lack of third dredge-up. The thermal pulses grow weaker as the core mass increases and they eventually cease. From then on the star enters a quiescent burning phase which lasts until carbon ignites at the centre of the star when the CO core mass is  1.36 M_⊙  . With such a high degeneracy and a core mass so close to the Chandrasekhar mass, we expect these stars to explode as type 1.5 supernovae, very similar to type Ia supernovae but inside a hydrogen-rich envelope.  相似文献   

Tracking emission sources of sulfur and elemental carbon in Hong Kong/Pearl River Delta region     

Roger Kwok  Jimmy C. H. Fung  Alexis K. H. Lau  Zion S. Wang 《Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry》2012,69(1):1-22

The Tagged Species Source Apportionment (TSSA) algorithm is applied to study contributions to pollutants PM sulfate, SO2 and elemental carbon (EC) in Hong Kong by emitting sectors as well as non-emitting sources within and beyond the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. We look at three areas of Hong Kong: western new towns, central downtown, and eastern countryside. Pollutant transport from beyond the PRD influenced all three areas during January and October 2004 but the source sectors impacting the three areas were different. Specifically, power plant SO2 from Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and vehicle EC from Shenzhen contribute to 11?~?66?% of SO2 concentration, and 33?~?75?% of EC concentration in the western new towns, respectively. Ships in and around Hong Kong contribute 8?~?56?% to the sulfate concentration in the downtown area, while local moving vehicles take up 28?~?81?% of the EC concentration there. The study also shows that diurnal variation of planetary boundary layer (PBL) causes day-night difference in SO2 by as much as 50?%. In addition, 13?~?38?% of all SO2 emissions have been converted to PM sulfate.  相似文献   

On the warm/cold regime shift in the South China Sea: Observation and modeling study     

P. Swapna  Jianping Gan  Alexis Lau  Jimmy Fung 《Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers》2009,56(7):1039-1056

Remote sensing data sets and a high-resolution three-dimensional regional ocean model were utilized to investigate the shifting of warm/cold regime and the associated sea level variation in the South China Sea (SCS) during 2000–2003. Both the altimetry data and the model results showed an increase in the sea level (warm phase) followed by an abrupt decrease (cold phase) in the SCS during 2000–2003. Heat budget calculations performed with the model revealed excess heat advection from the western Pacific warm pool into the SCS during the warm phase than the cold phase. The warm phase, which occurred during La Niña episodes, resulted from the intrusion of abnormally warmer western Pacific water that increased the heat content and thus sea level in the SCS. The cold phase, which occurred during El Niño episodes, was triggered by a reduction in the net atmospheric heat flux followed by cold water advection into the SCS. Decrease in the rate of precipitation minus evaporation (P?E) also accounted for the falling of sea level during cold phase. The present study integrated the available remote sensing data and advanced numerical model to identify the time-dependent three-dimensional dynamic and thermodynamic forcing that are important in governing the warm/cold regime shift in the SCS.  相似文献   

Comparative study to evaluate three ground-based optical remote sensing techniques under field conditions by a gas tracer experiment     

Nils Reiche  Tanja Westerkamp  Steffen Lau  Helko Borsdorf  Peter Dietrich  Claudia Schütze 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2014,72(5):1435-1441

Today, ground-based optical remote sensing (ORS) has become an intensively used method for quantifying pollutant or greenhouse gas emissions from point or area sources, and for the validation of airborne or satellite remote sensing data. In this study, we present the results of a release experiment using acetylene (C₂H₂) as a tracer gas, where three ORS techniques were simultaneously tested for two main purposes: (1) the detection of emission sources and (2) the quantification of release rates. Therefore, passive and active open-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) and open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) were applied and evaluated. The concentration results of the active ORS methods are compared to those estimated by a Lagrangian stochastic atmospheric dispersion model. Our results reveal that passive OP-FTIR is a valuable tool for the rapid detection and imaging of emission sources and the spatial tracer gas distribution; while with active OP-FTIR and TDLAS, C₂H₂ concentrations in the sub-ppm range could be quantified that correlated well with the concentration data obtained by our modeling approach.  相似文献   

The Upper Ocean Thermal Structure and the Genesis Locations of Tropical Cyclones in the South China Sea   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1  

WANG Lei Fung Chi-Hung Lau Kai-Hon 《中国海洋大学学报(英文版)》2007,6(2):125-131

The relationship between the upper ocean thermal structure and the genesis locations of tropical cyclones （TCs） in the South China Sea （SCS） is investigated by using the Joint Typhoon Warning Center （JTWC） best-track archives and high resolution （1/4 degree） temperature analyses of the world＇s oceans in this paper In the monthly mean genesis positions of TCs from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, the mean sea surface temperature （SST） was 28.8℃ and the mean depth of 26℃ water was 53.1 m. From the monthly distribution maps of genesis positions of TCs, SST and the depth of 26℃ water in the SCS, we discovered that there existed regions with SST exceeding 26℃ and 26℃ water depth exceeding 50m where no tropical cyclones formed from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, which suggests that there were other factors unfavorable for TC formation in these regions.  相似文献   

Comparison of metal accumulation between 'Artificial Mussel' and natural mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in marine environments     

Gonzalez-Rey M  Lau TC  Gomes T  Maria VL  Bebianno MJ  Wu R 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,63(5-12):149-153

The passive sampler called 'Artificial Mussel' (AM) developed by Wu et al. (2007) can provide a time-integrated estimate of metal concentrations in the marine environment, and offers a potential device to assess and compare metal concentration in different marine environments worldwide. The aim of this study was to compare metal accumulation on AM and natural mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis at three sites with different metal loads along the Portuguese coast for four months. M. galloprovincialis were placed in cages alongside AMs at each site. Samples were collected monthly and Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations in whole soft tissues and AMs compared. For both Cu and Cd, the results were similar between AMs and natural mussels. Higher concentrations of Zn were observed in natural mussels, whereas the inverse was shown for Pb (about 10-fold higher). Our results showed that AMs are promising tools for assessing metal concentrations in marine environments.  相似文献   

Quantifying rainfall controls on catchment‐scale landslide erosion in Taiwan     

Yi‐Chin Chen  Kang‐tsung Chang  Yu‐Jia Chiu  Sze‐Man Lau  Hong‐Yuan Lee 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2013,38(4):372-382

Landslide erosion is a dominant hillslope process and the main source of stream sediment in tropical, tectonically active mountain belts. In this study, we quantified landslide erosion triggered by 24 rainfall events from 2001 to 2009 in three mountainous watersheds in Taiwan and investigated relationships between landslide erosion and rainfall variables. The results show positive power‐law relations between landslide erosion and rainfall intensity and cumulative rainfall, with scaling exponents ranging from 2·94 to 5·03. Additionally, landslide erosion caused by Typhoon Morakot is of comparable magnitude to landslide erosion caused by the Chi‐Chi Earthquake (M_W = 7·6) or 22–24 years of basin‐averaged erosion. Comparison of the three watersheds indicates that deeper landslides that mobilize soil and bedrock are triggered by long‐duration rainfall, whereas shallow landslides are triggered by short‐duration rainfall. These results suggest that rainfall intensity and watershed characteristics are important controls on rainfall‐triggered landslide erosion and that severe typhoons, like high‐magnitude earthquakes, can generate high rates of landslide erosion in Taiwan. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献