The paper is dedicated to the review of methods of seismic hazard analysis currently in use, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. The review is performed from the perspective of a user of the results of seismic hazard analysis for different applications such as the design of critical and general (non-critical) civil infrastructures, technical and financial risk analysis. A set of criteria is developed for and applied to an objective assessment of the capabilities of different analysis methods. It is demonstrated that traditional probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) methods have significant deficiencies, thus limiting their practical applications. These deficiencies have their roots in the use of inadequate probabilistic models and insufficient understanding of modern concepts of risk analysis, as have been revealed in some recent large scale studies. These deficiencies result in the lack of ability of a correct treatment of dependencies between physical parameters and finally, in an incorrect treatment of uncertainties. As a consequence, results of PSHA studies have been found to be unrealistic in comparison with empirical information from the real world. The attempt to compensate these problems by a systematic use of expert elicitation has, so far, not resulted in any improvement of the situation. It is also shown that scenario-earthquakes developed by disaggregation from the results of a traditional PSHA may not be conservative with respect to energy conservation and should not be used for the design of critical infrastructures without validation. Because the assessment of technical as well as of financial risks associated with potential damages of earthquakes need a risk analysis, current method is based on a probabilistic approach with its unsolved deficiencies.
Traditional deterministic or scenario-based seismic hazard analysis methods provide a reliable and in general robust design basis for applications such as the design of critical infrastructures, especially with systematic sensitivity analyses based on validated phenomenological models. Deterministic seismic hazard analysis incorporates uncertainties in the safety factors. These factors are derived from experience as well as from expert judgment. Deterministic methods associated with high safety factors may lead to too conservative results, especially if applied for generally short-lived civil structures. Scenarios used in deterministic seismic hazard analysis have a clear physical basis. They are related to seismic sources discovered by geological, geomorphologic, geodetic and seismological investigations or derived from historical references. Scenario-based methods can be expanded for risk analysis applications with an extended data analysis providing the frequency of seismic events. Such an extension provides a better informed risk model that is suitable for risk-informed decision making. 相似文献
Water management and engineering in the karstic High Atlas of Morocco are difficult tasks under the prevailing geological, hydrogeological, geomorphological, vegetational and climatic conditions. It is important to be able to understand and predict the characteristics and availability of water for future water planning in the region under changing climatic and agricultural conditions. An interdisciplinary analysis of problems and adequate hydrological modelling tools developed by geologists, hydrologists and biologists are necessary. The karst areas of the High Atlas Mountains are characterised by impermeable triassic basalt underlying substantial subsurface reservoirs with high potential discharge rates. The karst groundwater aquifers are extensive but largely unknown in dimension, probably with a hierarchical network of groundwater flow paths. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the surface water is directly lost to groundwater. Steep landslide- and debris flow prone slopes exist next to coarse-grained, highly porous river beds. Infrequent, high intensity rainfall or snowmelt causes a particularly high flood risk to these karst areas. In addition, agriculture and land use changes have degraded the karst areas. The most important driving forces for degradation include permanent overgrazing even during droughts and the use of firewood by a continually growing population. Large scale degradation of vegetation has occurred in the oro-mediterranean (mountainous Mediterranean) zone, between 2600 and 3400 m which coincides with the most important zone for karstic groundwater creation. The combination of high amounts of groundwater flow and rapid surface flow due to sparse vegetation has increased the problems of flood flow. 相似文献
Private standards and certification schemes are widely acknowledged as playing an increasingly important role in agri-environmental governance. While much of the existing research concludes that these mechanisms consolidate the global extension of neoliberalism – enhancing the power of corporate actors to the detriment of smaller producers – we argue that this overlooks the complex ways in which standards are used by governments and farmers in the governing of farming practices. Focusing specifically on a process standard – Environmental Management Systems (EMS) – promoted by the Australian government as a way of verifying the ‘clean and green’ status of agricultural exports, we examine how one regional group of producers has sought to use EMS standards in practice. Our analysis of a case study in the state of Victoria appears to confirm that EMS was a successful instrument for the extension of neoliberal governance, reinforcing the production of neoliberal subjectivities and practices amongst farmer participants and enabling the government to compensate for gaps in environmental provision. However, it would be a mistake to interpret the development of this EMS scheme as an example of naïve farmers manipulated by the state. In practice, farmers used the opportunities provided by government funding to undertake actions which expressed their own agri-environmental values and practices. Establishment of an EMS and associated eco-label enabled producers to demonstrate and extend their capacity to act as good environmental stewards. Our research highlights how the local application of environmental standards negotiates and shapes, rather than simply contributes to, neoliberal rule. 相似文献
By definition, a crisis is a situation that requires assistance to be managed. Hence, response to a crisis involves the merging
of local and non-local emergency response personnel. In this situation, it is critical that each participant: (1) know the
roles and responsibilities of each of the other participants; (2) know the capabilities of each of the participants; and (3)
have a common basis for action. For many types of natural disasters, this entails having a common operational picture of the unfolding events, including detailed information on the weather, both current and forecasted, that may impact on either
the emergency itself or on response activities. The Consequences Assessment Tool Set (CATS) is a comprehensive package of
hazard prediction models and casualty and damage assessment tools that provides a linkage between a modeled or observed effect
and the attendant consequences for populations, infrastructure, and resources, and, hence, provides the common operational
picture for emergency response. The Operational Multiscale Environment model with Grid Adaptivity (OMEGA) is an atmospheric
simulation system that links the latest methods in computational fluid dynamics and high-resolution gridding technologies
with numerical weather prediction to provide specific weather analysis and forecast capability that can be merged into the
geographic information system framework of CATS. This paper documents the problem of emergency response as an end-to-end system
and presents the integrated CATS–OMEGA system as a prototype of such a system that has been used successfully in a number
of different situations. 相似文献
Concern for natural hazard-triggered technological disasters (Natech disasters) in densely populated and industrialized areas
is growing. Residents living in urban areas subject to high natural hazard risk are often unaware of the potential for secondary
disasters such as hazardous materials releases from neighboring industrial facilities, chemical storage warehouses or other
establishments housing hazardous materials. Lessons from previous disasters, such as the Natech disaster during the Kocaeli
earthquake in Turkey in 1999 call for the need to manage low frequency/high consequence events, particularly in today’s densely
populated areas. However, there is little guidance available on how local governments and communities can assess Natech risk.
To add to the problem, local governments often do not have the human or economic resources or expertise to carry out detailed
risk assessments. In this article, we propose a methodology for preliminary assessment of Natech risk in urban areas. The
proposed methodology is intended for use by local government officials in consultation with the public. The methodology considers
possible interactions between the various systems in the urban environment: the physical infrastructure (e.g., industrial
plants, lifeline systems, critical facilities), the community (e.g., population exposed), the natural environment (e.g., delicate
ecosystems, river basins), and the risk and emergency management systems (e.g., structural and nonstructural measures). Factors
related to vulnerability and hazard are analyzed and qualitative measures are recommended. Data from hazardous materials releases
during the Kocaeli, Turkey earthquake of August 17, 1999 are used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the
methodology. Limitations of the proposed methodology are discussed as well as future research needs.
Landslides pose a serious physical and environmental threat to vulnerable communities living in areas of unplanned housing
on steep slopes in the Caribbean. Some of these communities have, in the past, had to be relocated, at costs of millions of
dollars, because of major slides triggered by tropical storm rainfall. Even so, evidence shows that: (1) risk reduction is
a marginal activity; (2) there has been minimal uptake of hazard maps and vulnerability assessments and (3) there is little
on-the-ground delivery of construction for risk reduction. This article directly addresses these issues by developing a low-cost
approach to the identification of the potential pore pressure changes that trigger such slides we seek to address these three
commentaries directly. A complex 45–60° slope site in St Lucia, West Indies was selected as a pilot for a modelling approach
that uses numerical models (FLAC and CHASM) to verify the need for surface water management to effectively reduce landslide
risk. Following the model confirmation, a series of drains were designed and constructed at the site. Post-construction evidence
indicates the methodology to be sound, in that the site was stable in subsequent 1-in-1 to 1-in-4 year rainfall events. A
critical feature of the approach is that it is community-based from data acquisition through to community members participating
in construction. 相似文献
The influence of local geologic and soil conditions on the intensity of ground shaking is addressed in this study. The amplification
of the ground motion due to local site effects resulted in severe damage to dwellings in the Bam area during the 2003 Bam
Earthquake. A unique set of strong motion acceleration recordings was obtained at the Bam accelerograph station. Although
the highest peak ground acceleration recorded was the vertical component (nearly 1 g), the longitudinal component (fault-parallel
motion) clearly had the largest maximum velocity as well as maximum ground displacement. Subsurface geotechnical and geophysical
(down-hole) data in two different sites have been obtained and used to estimate the local site condition on earthquake ground
motion in the area. The ground response analyses have been conducted considering the nonlinear behavior of the soil deposits
using both equivalent linear and nonlinear approaches. The fully nonlinear method embodied in FLAC was used to evaluate the
nonlinear soil properties on earthquake wave propagation through the soil layer, and compare with the response from the equivalent
linear approach. It is shown that thick alluvium deposits amplified the ground motion and resulted in significant damage in
residential buildings in the earthquake stricken region. The comparison of results indicated similar response spectra of the
motions for both equivalent and nonlinear analyses, showing peaks in the period range of 0.3–1.5 s. However, the amplification
levels of nonlinear analysis were less than the equivalent linear method especially in long periods. The observed response
spectra are shown to be above the NEHRP building code design requirements, especially at high frequencies. 相似文献