scholarly journals Deciphering meteorological influencing factors for Alpine rockfalls: a case study in Aosta Valley

Landslides ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Bajni ◽  
Corrado A. S. Camera ◽  
Tiziana Apuani
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Climate Indices ◽  
Snow Melting ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Mountain Communities ◽  
Critical Thresholds ◽  
Mountain Environments ◽  
Effective Water

AbstractThis study exploited the historical rockfall inventory and the meteorological stations database of Mont Cervin and Mont Emilius Mountain Communities (Aosta Valley, northern Italy) to decipher relationships between climate processes, typical of mountain environments and rockfall phenomena. The period from 1990 to 2018 was selected as reference to perform the analysis. Climate processes were translated into four climate indices, namely short-term rainfall (STR), effective water inputs (EWI, including both rainfall and snow melting), wet and dry episodes (WD) and freeze-thaw cycles (FT). The comparison between climate indices values at each rockfall occurrence and the statistical distributions describing the whole indices dataset allowed to define not ordinary climatic conditions for each index and their influence on rockfall occurrence. Most of the events analysed (>95% out of 136) occurred in correspondence of the defined not ordinary climatic conditions for one or for a combination of the indices. The relationships between rockfalls and climate showed a seasonality. In spring, most of the events resulted to be connected to FT (70%) while in autumn to EWI (49%). The relative seasonal importance of WD reached its maximum in summer with 23% of the events related to this index alone. Based on these results, different strategies to define empirical critical thresholds for each climate index were explored, in order to make them valid for the whole study area. A preliminary exploratory analysis of the influence of high temperatures and temperature gradients was carried out for some summertime rockfalls, not correlated to the other investigated indices. The presented approach is exportable in neighbouring regions, given the availability of a dated rockfall dataset, and could be adapted to include different processes.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Tourist Climate Comfortable Period of China in a Changing Climate

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Dan-Dan Yu ◽  
Shan Li ◽  
Zhong-Yang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Climate Indices ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Changing Climate

The evaluation of climate comfort for tourism can provide information for tourists selecting destinations and tourism operators. Understanding how climate conditions for tourism evolve is increasingly important for strategic tourism planning, particularly in rapidly developing tourism markets like China in a changing climate. Multidimensional climate indices are needed to evaluate climate for tourism, and previous studies in China have used the much criticized “climate index” with low resolution climate data. This study uses the Holiday Climate Index (HCI) and daily data from 775 weather stations to examine interregional differences in the tourist climate comfortable period (TCCP) across China and summarizes the spatiotemporal evolution of TCCP from 1981 to 2010 in a changing climate. Overall, most areas in China have an “excellent” climate for tourism, such that tourists may visit anytime with many choices available. The TCCP in most regions shows an increasing trend, and China benefits more from positive effects of climate change in climatic conditions for tourism, especially in spring and autumn. These results can provide some scientific evidence for understanding human settlement environmental constructions and further contribute in improving local or regional resilience responding to global climate change.

Frequency of fast geomorphological processes in high-gradient streams: case study from the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts (Czech Republic) using dendrogeomorphic methods

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Šilhán
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flows ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
High Mountains ◽  
Snow Melting ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Dynamic Activity ◽  
High Gradient ◽  
Growth Disturbances ◽  
Geomorphological Processes

Abstract High-gradient streams are localities with the most dynamic activity of geomorphological processes in medium-high mountains. This study of the frequency of floods and debris flows in a selected high-gradient stream in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts was based on a dendrogeomorphic approach. It makes use of the most accurate methods applied in the dating of historic geomorphological processes. Individual events were reconstructed on the basis of the dating of various growth disturbances displayed in 99 samples taken from 56 predominantly broad-leaved trees. As for the studied area, 26 years out of the last 113 years have been identified as years of rapid geomorphological processes. The frequency of the processes has been high above average since the 1970s. A majority of the events can be considered as flash floods. Debris flows, which can only be observed sporadically, originate due to the reactivation of old accumulation material that subsequently ends up re-accumulated on the alluvial fan at the mouth of a stream. A large number of events occur in connection with extreme short-term precipitation in summer months. In addition, they are affected by fast snow melting in spring, which has also been proved by intra-seasonal dating of selected events.

scholarly journals Middle-Term Evolution of Efficiency in Permeable Pavements: A Real Case Study in a Mediterranean climate

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 7774
Author(s):  
M. I. Rodríguez-Rojas ◽  
F. Huertas-Fernández ◽  
B. Moreno ◽  
G. Martínez
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Middle Term ◽  
Permeable Pavements ◽  
Soil Sealing ◽  
Long Term Behavior ◽  
Sustainable Drainage Systems

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are solutions used to reduce the effects of soil sealing and to contribute to sustainable storm water management. In recent years, many projects have been implemented in Europe, the United States, and Australia, but most of them have either not been monitored at all or have only been monitored in the short-term, so there is little information on the evolution of efficiency and clogging. Experiences in the Mediterranean are even rarer, so the main purpose of this research is to provide information about the long-term behavior of one kind of SuDS, the permeable pavements, in the middle-term under Mediterranean climatic conditions. This work shows the results of a real project developed in southern Spain, which has been monitored for five years. The evolution of efficiency in permeable pavements and their relationship with saturation are analyzed and discussed in this research. These results will help to manage and maintain permeable pavements in areas with a Mediterranean climatology.

Emplacing Berlin: Digital Itineraries and Short-term Study Abroad in the City

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Apgar
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Digital Maps ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
The City

As destination of choice for many short-term study abroad programs, Berlin offers students of German language, culture and history a number of sites richly layered with significance. The complexities of these sites and the competing narratives that surround them are difficult for students to grasp in a condensed period of time. Using approaches from the spatial humanities, this article offers a case study for enhancing student learning through the creation of digital maps and itineraries in a campus-based course for subsequent use during a three-week program in Berlin. In particular, the concept of deep mapping is discussed as a means of augmenting understanding of the city and its history from a narrative across time to a narrative across the physical space of the city. As itineraries, these course-based projects were replicated on site. In moving from the digital environment to the urban landscape, this article concludes by noting meanings uncovered and narratives formed as we moved through the physical space of the city.

The impact of Airbnb on a non-touristic city. A Case study of short-term rentals in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain)

Erdkunde ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-204
Author(s):  
Marcus Hübscher ◽  
Juana Schulze ◽  
Felix zur Lage ◽  
Johannes Ringel
Keyword(s):  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Rental Market ◽  
Rural Space ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Web Scraping ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The Impact

Short-term rentals such as Airbnb have become a persistent element of today’s urbanism around the globe. The impacts are manifold and differ depending on the context. In cities with a traditionally smaller accommodation market, the impacts might be particularly strong, as Airbnb contributes to ongoing touristification processes. Despite that, small and medium-sized cities have not been in the centre of research so far. This paper focuses on Santa Cruz de Tenerife as a medium-sized Spanish city. Although embedded in the touristic region of the Canary Islands, Santa Cruz is not a tourist city per se but still relies on touristification strategies. This paper aims to expand the knowledge of Airbnb’s spatial patterns in this type of city. The use of data collected from web scraping and geographic information systems (GIS) demonstrates that Airbnb has opened up new tourism markets outside of the centrally established tourist accommodations. It also shows that the price gap between Airbnb and the housing rental market is broadest in neighbourhoods that had not experienced tourism before Airbnb entered the market. In the centre the highest prices and the smallest units are identified, but two peripheral quarters stand out. Anaga Mountains, a natural and rural space, has the highest numbers of Airbnb listings per capita. Suroeste, a suburban quarter, shows the highest growth rates on the rental market, which implies a linkage between Airbnb and suburbanization processes.

scholarly journals A Planning Tool for Reliability Assessment of Overhead Distribution Lines in Hybrid AC/DC Grids

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6099
Author(s):  
Giovanna Adinolfi ◽  
Roberto Ciavarella ◽  
Giorgio Graditi ◽  
Antonio Ricca ◽  
Maria Valenti
Keyword(s):  
Reliability Assessment ◽  
Reliability Function ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Planning Tool ◽  
Grid Resource ◽  
Distribution Lines ◽  
Ac Networks ◽  
Reliability Performance ◽  
Power Dispatching

Integration of DC grids into AC networks will realize hybrid AC/DC grids, a new energetic paradigm which will become widespread in the future due to the increasing availability of DC-based generators, loads and storage systems. Furthermore, the huge connection of intermittent renewable sources to distribution grids could cause security and congestion issues affecting line behaviour and reliability performance. This paper aims to propose a planning tool for congestion forecasting and reliability assessment of overhead distribution lines. The tool inputs consist of a single line diagram of a real or synthetic grid and a set of 24-h forecasting time series concerning climatic conditions and grid resource operative profiles. The developed approach aims to avoid congestions criticalities, taking advantage of optimal active power dispatching among “congestion-nearby resources”. A case study is analysed to validate the implemented control strategy considering a modified IEEE 14-Bus System with introduction of renewables. The tool also implements reliability prediction formulas to calculate an overhead line reliability function in congested and congestions-avoided conditions. A quantitative evaluation underlines the reliability performance achievable after the congestion strategy action.

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