Changes in mechanisms and intensity of Western U.S. floods, 1960-2013

Author(s):  
Jessica Fayne ◽  
Huilin Huang ◽  
Mike Fischella ◽  
Yufei Liu ◽  
Zhaoxin Ban ◽  
...  

<p>Extreme precipitation, a critical factor in flooding, has selectively increased with warmer temperatures in the Western U.S. Despite this, the streamflow measurements have captured no noticeable increase in large-scale flood frequency or intensity. As flood studies have mostly focused on specific flood events in particular areas, analyses of large-scale floods and their changes have been scarce. For floods during 1960-2013, we identify six flood generating mechanisms (FGMs) that are prominent across the Western U.S., including atmospheric rivers and non-atmospheric rivers, monsoons, convective storms, radiation-driven snowmelt, and rain-on-snow, in order to identify to what extent different types of floods are changing based on the dominant FGM. The inconsistency between extreme precipitation and lack of flood increase suggests that the impact of climate change on flood risk has been modulated by hydro-meteorological and physiographic processes such as sharp increases in temperature that drive increased evapotranspiration and decreased soil moisture. Our results emphasize the importance of FGMs in understanding the complex interactions of flooding and climatic changes and explain the broad spatiotemporal changes that have occurred across the vast Western U.S. for the past 50 years.</p>

Author(s):  
Anne Nassauer

This book provides an account of how and why routine interactions break down and how such situational breakdowns lead to protest violence and other types of surprising social outcomes. It takes a close-up look at the dynamic processes of how situations unfold and compares their role to that of motivations, strategies, and other contextual factors. The book discusses factors that can draw us into violent situations and describes how and why we make uncommon individual and collective decisions. Covering different types of surprise outcomes from protest marches and uprisings turning violent to robbers failing to rob a store at gunpoint, it shows how unfolding situations can override our motivations and strategies and how emotions and culture, as well as rational thinking, still play a part in these events. The first chapters study protest violence in Germany and the United States from 1960 until 2010, taking a detailed look at what happens between the start of a protest and the eruption of violence or its peaceful conclusion. They compare the impact of such dynamics to the role of police strategies and culture, protesters’ claims and violent motivations, the black bloc and agents provocateurs. The analysis shows how violence is triggered, what determines its intensity, and which measures can avoid its outbreak. The book explores whether we find similar situational patterns leading to surprising outcomes in other types of small- and large-scale events: uprisings turning violent, such as Ferguson in 2014 and Baltimore in 2015, and failed armed store robberies.


Author(s):  
Jun Gong ◽  
Xudong Zhi ◽  
Feng Fan ◽  
Shizhao Shen ◽  
Da Qaio ◽  
...  

To investigate the variability of ground motion characteristics (GMC) with the angle of seismic incidence (ASI) and the impact of seismic incident directionality on structural responses, first, a large-scale database of recorded ground motions was used to analyze the causes of GMC variability due to the seismic incident directionality effect (SIDE). Then a single-mass bi-degree-of-freedom system (SM-BDOF-S) with different types of symmetrical sections was selected to explore the influence mechanism of SIDE on the seismic responses. The results illustrated that the GMC has substantial variability with the ASI, which is independent of the earthquake source, propagation distance, and site condition, and exhibits complex random characteristics. Additionally, a classification method for ground motions is proposed based on this GMC variability to establish a criterion for selecting ground motions in seismic analysis considering the SIDE. Moreover, for an SM-BDOF-S, the response spectral plane is proposed to explain the transition behavior of spectral responses that are very similar among different stiffness ratios, but divergent for different types of ground motions. The influence of SIDE on structures is determined by their stiffness and stiffness ratio in the [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]-directions, as well as the type of ground motion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 000492-000502 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Bernhard ◽  
L. Gregoriades ◽  
S. Branagan ◽  
L. Stamp ◽  
E. Steinhäuser ◽  
...  

Abstract A key factor for a high electrical reliability of multilayer High Density Interconnection Printed Circuit Boards (HDI PCBs) is the thermomechanical stability of stacked microvia interconnections. With decreasing via sizes and higher numbers of interconnected layers, the structural integrity of these interconnections becomes a critical factor and is a topic of high interest in current research. The formation of nanovoids and inhibited Cu recrystallization across the interfaces are the two main indications of a weak link from the target pad to the filled via. Based on TEM/EDX measurements on a statistically relevant number of stacked and blind microvias produced in the industrial field, different types of nanovoid phenomena are revealed at the Cu/Cu/Cu junction. The types of nanovoids were categorized relating to the time of appearance (before or after thermal treatment), the affected interfaces or layers and the impact on the Cu recrystallization. The main root causes for each void type are identified and the expected impact on the thermomechanical stability of the via junction is discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (4) ◽  
pp. 1415-1428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imme Benedict ◽  
Karianne Ødemark ◽  
Thomas Nipen ◽  
Richard Moore

Abstract A climatology of extreme cold season precipitation events in Norway from 1979 to 2014 is presented, based on the 99th percentile of the 24-h accumulated precipitation. Three regions, termed north, west, and south are identified, each exhibiting a unique seasonal distribution. There is a proclivity for events to occur during the positive phase of the NAO. The result is statistically significant at the 95th percentile for the north and west regions. An overarching hypothesis of this work is that anomalous moisture flux, or so-called atmospheric rivers (ARs), are integral to extreme precipitation events during the Norwegian cold season. An objective analysis of the integrated vapor transport illustrates that more than 85% of the events are associated with ARs. An empirical orthogonal function and fuzzy cluster technique is used to identify the large-scale weather patterns conducive to the moisture flux and extreme precipitation. Five days before the event and for each of the three regions, two patterns are found. The first represents an intense, southward-shifted jet with a southwest–northeast orientation. The second identifies a weak, northward-shifted, zonal jet. As the event approaches, regional differences become more apparent. The distinctive flow pattern conducive to orographically enhanced precipitation emerges in the two clusters for each region. For the north and west regions, this entails primarily zonal flow impinging upon the south–north-orientated topography, the difference being the latitude of the strong flow. In contrast, the south region exhibits a significant southerly component to the flow.


2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 770-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlüter ◽  
Gerd Schädler

Abstract Extreme flood events are caused by long-lasting and/or intensive precipitation. The detailed knowledge of the distribution, intensity, and spatiotemporal variability of precipitation is, therefore, a prerequisite for hydrological flood modeling and flood risk management. For hydrological modeling, temporal and spatial high-resolution precipitation data can be provided by meteorological models. This study deals with the question of how small changes in the synoptic situation affect the characteristics of extreme forecasts. For that purpose, two historic extreme precipitation events were hindcasted using the Consortium for Small Scale Modeling (COSMO) model of the German Weather Service (DWD) with different grid resolutions (28, 7, and 2.8 km), where the domains with finer resolutions were nested into the ones with coarser resolution. The results show that the model is capable of simulating such extreme precipitation events in a satisfactory way. To assess the impact of small changes in the synoptic situations on extreme precipitation events, the large-scale atmospheric fields were shifted to north, south, east, and west with respect to the orography by about 28 and 56 km, respectively, in one series of runs while in another series, the relative humidity and temperature were increased to modify the amount of precipitable water. Both series were performed for the Elbe flood events in August 2002 and January 2003, corresponding to two very different synoptic situations. The results show that the modeled precipitation can be quite sensitive to small changes of the synoptic situation with changes in the order of 20% for the maximum daily precipitation and that the types of synoptic situations play an important role. While van Bebber weather conditions, of Mediterranean origin, were quite sensitive to modifications, more homogeneous weather patterns were less sensitive.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Coughlan ◽  
A. Coutrot ◽  
M. Khondoker ◽  
A. Minihane ◽  
H. Spiers ◽  
...  

INTRODUCTIONSpatial navigation is emerging as a critical factor in identifying pre-symptomatic Alzheimer pathophysiology, with the impact of sex and APOE status on spatial navigation yet to be established.METHODSWe estimate the effects of sex on navigation performance in 27,308 individuals (50-70 years [benchmark population]) by employing a novel game-based approach to cognitive assessment using Sea Hero Quest. The effects of APOE genotype and sex on game performance was further examined in a smaller lab-based cohort (n = 44).RESULTSBenchmark data showed an effect of sex on wayfinding distance, duration and path integration. Importantly in the lab cohort, performance on allocentric wayfinding levels was reduced in ε4 carriers compared to ε3 carriers, and effect of sex became negligible when APOE status was controlled for. To demonstrate the robustness of this effect and to ensure the quality of data obtained through unmonitored at-home use of the Sea Hero Quest game, post-hoc analysis was carried out to compare performance by the benchmark population to the monitored lab-cohort.DISCUSSIONAPOE ε4 midlife carriers exhibit changes in navigation pattern before any symptom onset. This supports the move towards spatial navigation as an early cognitive marker and demonstrates for the first time how the utility of large-scale digital cognitive assessment may hold future promise for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, benchmark findings suggest that gender differences may need to be considered when determining the classification criteria for spatial navigational deficits in midlife adults.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5685
Author(s):  
Sergio Potenciano Menci ◽  
Ricardo J. Bessa ◽  
Barbara Herndler ◽  
Clemens Korner ◽  
Bharath-Varsh Rao ◽  
...  

The evolution of the electrical power sector due to the advances in digitalization, decarbonization and decentralization has led to the increase in challenges within the current distribution network. Therefore, there is an increased need to analyze the impact of the smart grid and its implemented solutions in order to address these challenges at the earliest stage, i.e., during the pilot phase and before large-scale deployment and mass adoption. Therefore, this paper presents the scalability and replicability analysis conducted within the European project InteGrid. Within the project, innovative solutions are proposed and tested in real demonstration sites (Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden) to enable the DSO as a market facilitator and to assess the impact of the scalability and replicability of these solutions when integrated into the network. The analysis presents a total of three clusters where the impact of several integrated smart tools is analyzed alongside future large scale scenarios. These large scale scenarios envision significant penetration of distributed energy resources, increased network dimensions, large pools of flexibility, and prosumers. The replicability is analyzed through different types of networks, locations (country-wise), or time (daily). In addition, a simple replication path based on a step by step approach is proposed as a guideline to replicate the smart functions associated with each of the clusters.


Reproduction ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Sherwin ◽  
Rob Catalano ◽  
Andrew Sharkey

The endometrium is a dynamic tissue that undergoes coordinated changes under the influence of steroid hormones. This results in proliferation and differentiation culminating in a receptive state, followed by menstruation and endometrial repair. These functions involve complex interactions between the epithelium, stroma and leucocytes in the endometrium. Understanding the underlying causes of endometrial disorders, such as infertility, endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding, therefore represents a considerable challenge. Recently developed techniques, such as differential display and DNA microarrays permit the abundance of thousands of mRNA transcripts within cells or tissues to be measured simultaneously. This provides a new approach to understanding the complex interactions that underlie both healthy and disease states. Responses of the endometrium to hormones or drugs can be studied and the response of the system as an integrated whole can be assessed. Comparisons of endometrium from healthy women and those with endometrial dysfunction have advanced our understanding of key areas of endometrial physiology, including infertility, receptivity, endometriosis and cancer. Using this approach, novel genes controlling specific endometrial functions like receptivity have been identified for functional testing. This paper will review the impact of these techniques for transcript profiling on our understanding of selected areas of endometrial biology and discuss the potential applications in future.


Author(s):  
Sharon Stephan ◽  
Carl Paternite ◽  
Lindsey Grimm ◽  
Laura Hurwitz

Despite a growing number of collaborative partnerships between schools and community-based organizations to expand school mental health (SMH) service capacity in the United States, there have been relatively few systematic initiatives focused on key strategies for large-scale SMH capacity building with state and local education systems. Based on a framework of ten critical factors for capacity building, as well as existing best practices, two case studies were utilized to develop a replicable capacity-building model to advance interagency SMH development. Seventy education and mental health stakeholders from two selected states participated in baseline assessments of skill com-petency and critical factor implementation followed by two-day trainings (one in each state); 29 (41%) of the participants also completed a six month follow-up assessment. Targeted competencies increased significantly for participants from both states, with large effect sizes (d = 2.05 and 2.56), from pre- to post-training. Participant reports of critical factor implementation increased significantly for one of the two states (t[15] = -6.40, p < .001, d = 1.77). Results inform specific training recommendations for stakeholders and collaborative teams, as well as policy implications to support future development of SMH service capacity.


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