scholarly journals Origin of the power-law exponent in the landslide frequency-size distribution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahoura Jafarimanesh ◽  
Arnaud Mignan ◽  
Laurentiu Danciu
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Hazard Assessment ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Slope Angle ◽  
Unit Weight ◽  
Power Exponent ◽  
Soil Thickness ◽  
Initiation Phase ◽  
Triggering Process

Abstract. Landslide statistics is characterized by a power-law frequency-size distribution (FSD) with power exponent α centered on 2.2–2.4, independently of the landslide trigger. So far, the origin of the α-value, critical to probabilistic hazard assessment, remains hypothetical. We present a generic landslide cellular automaton (LSgCA) based on the rules of Self Organized Criticality and on the Factor of Safety (FS) concept. We show that it reproduces the power-law FSD for realistic parameter ranges (i.e. cohesion, soil unit weight, soil thickness, angle of friction, slope angle, pore water pressure) with LSgCA simulations yielding α = 2.17±0.49, which is in agreement with α = 2.21±0.53 obtained from an updated meta-analysis of the landslide literature. The parameter α remains stable despite changes in the landslide triggering process, with the trigger only influencing the spatial extent of the landslide initiation phase defined from an FS contour. Furthermore, different FS formulations do not significantly alter the results. We find that α is constrained during the initiation phase of the landslide by the fractal properties of the topography, as we observed a positive correlation between fractal dimension and α while α did not change during the propagation phase of the LSgCA. Our results thus suggest that α can be estimated directly from the FS map for probabilistic landslide hazard assessment. However full modeling (including the propagation phase) would be required to combine the spatial distributions of landslide and exposure in probabilistic risk analysis.

Qualitative Rating System for Drainability of Roadway Base Materials

2022 ◽  
pp. 036119812110642
Author(s):  
Hyunjun Oh ◽  
William J. Likos ◽  
Tuncer B. Edil
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Unit Weight ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Base Materials ◽  
Base Course ◽  
Materials Used

Poor drainage of roadway base/subbase materials can lead to increased pore water pressure, reduction of strength and stiffness, and freeze-thaw damage. Base course drainability is dependent on physical properties of the material that affect its water flow and retention behavior including particle size distribution, fines content, density or porosity, the geometric and boundary conditions of the pavement system, and site-specific environmental conditions. Objectives of this project are to quantitatively assess permeability and water retention characteristics of representative roadway base materials, to derive predictive equations for indirect estimation of material properties that control drainability, and to develop and recommend rating systems for assessing more general base materials. Laboratory tests were conducted on 16 samples of materials used in or considered for use in roadway applications to determine grain size distribution, hydraulic conductivity, and soil-water characteristic curves. Results are correlated to grain size characteristics including percent gravel, percent fines, grain size indices (e.g., D10, D30), and unit weight. Procedures are provided to qualitatively assess drainability as “excellent,”“marginal,” or “poor,” from grain size, thereby offering a rationale to reduce pavement life cycle costs, improve safety, realize material cost savings, and reduce environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Research on the Human Dynamics in Mobile Communities Based on Social Identity

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Yan ◽  
Lianren Wu ◽  
Lanli Yi
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Mobile Internet ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
Power Exponent ◽  
Human Dynamics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Simulation Results

Through analyzing the data about the releases, comment, and forwarding of 120,000 microblog messages in a year, this paper finds out that the intervals between information releases and comment follow a power law; besides, the analysis of data in each 24 hours reveals obvious differences between microblogging and website visit, email, instant communication, and the use of mobile phone, reflecting how people use fragments of time via mobile internet technology. The paper points out the significant influence of the user's activity on the intervals of information releases and thus demonstrates a positive correlation between the activity and the power exponent. The paper also points out that user's activity is influenced by social identity in a positive way. The simulation results based on the social identity mechanism fit well with the actual data, which indicates that this mechanism is a reasonable way to explain people's behavior in the mobile Internet.

scholarly journals The Development of a 1-D Integrated Hydro-Mechanical Model Based on Flume Tests to Unravel Different Hydrological Triggering Processes of Debris Flows

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo van Asch ◽  
Bin Yu ◽  
Wei Hu
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flow ◽  
Mechanical Model ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Slope Angle ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Flume Experiments ◽  
Triggering Mechanisms ◽  
Bed Material ◽  
Triggering Process

Many studies which try to analyze conditions for debris flow development ignore the type of initiation. Therefore, this paper deals with the following questions: What type of hydro-mechanical triggering mechanisms for debris flows can we distinguish in upstream channels of debris flow prone gullies? Which are the main parameters controlling the type and temporal sequence of these triggering processes, and what is their influence on the meteorological thresholds for debris flow initiation? A series of laboratory experiments were carried out in a flume 8 m long and with a width of 0.3 m to detect the conditions for different types of triggering mechanisms. The flume experiments show a sequence of hydrological processes triggering debris flows, namely erosion and transport by intensive overland flow and by infiltrating water causing failure of channel bed material. On the basis of these experiments, an integrated hydro-mechanical model was developed, which describes Hortonian and saturation overland flow, maximum sediment transport, through flow and failure of bed material. The model was calibrated and validated using process indicator values measured during the experiments in the flume. Virtual model simulations carried out in a schematic hypothetical source area of a catchment show that slope angle and hydraulic conductivity of the bed material determine the type and sequence of these triggering processes. It was also clearly demonstrated that the type of hydrological triggering process and the influencing geometrical and hydro-mechanical parameters may have a great influence on rainfall intensity-duration threshold curves for the start of debris flows.

scholarly journals Developing and Evaluating Ice Cloud Parameterizations for Forward Modeling of Radar Moments Using in situ Aircraft Observations

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 880-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Maahn ◽  
Ulrich Löhnert ◽  
Pavlos Kollias ◽  
Robert C. Jackson ◽  
Greg M. McFarquhar
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Particle Mass ◽  
Maximum Diameter ◽  
Doppler Spectrum ◽  
Doppler Velocity ◽  
Radar Observations ◽  
Size Relation ◽  
Particle Area

AbstractObserving ice clouds using zenith pointing millimeter cloud radars is challenging because the transfer functions relating the observables to meteorological quantities are not uniquely defined. Here, the authors use a spectral radar simulator to develop a consistent dataset containing particle mass, area, and size distribution as functions of size. This is an essential prerequisite for radar sensitivity studies and retrieval development. The data are obtained from aircraft in situ and ground-based radar observations during the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) campaign in Alaska. The two main results of this study are as follows: 1) An improved method to estimate the particle mass–size relation as a function of temperature is developed and successfully evaluated by combining aircraft in situ and radar observations. The method relies on a functional relation between reflectivity and Doppler velocity. 2) The impact on the Doppler spectrum by replacing measurements of particle area and size distribution by recent analytical expressions is investigated. For this, higher-order moments such as skewness and kurtosis as well as the slopes of the Doppler spectrum are also used as a proxy for the Doppler spectrum. For the area–size relation, it is found that a power law is not sufficient to describe particle area and small deviations from a power law are essential for obtaining consistent higher moments. For particle size distributions, the normalization approach for the gamma distribution of Testud et al., adapted to maximum diameter as size descriptor, is preferred.

scholarly journals Global variability of phytoplankton functional types from space: assessment via the particle size distribution

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 4295-4340 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Kostadinov ◽  
D. A. Siegel ◽  
S. Maritorena
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Particle Size Distribution ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Seasonal Succession ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Good Correspondence ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
Functional Types ◽  
Phytoplankton Size

Abstract. A new method of retrieving the parameters of a power-law particle size distribution (PSD) from ocean color remote sensing data was used to assess the global distribution and dynamics of phytoplankton functional types (PFT's). The method retrieves the power-law slope, ξ, and the abundance at a reference diameter, N0, based upon the shape and magnitude of the particulate backscattering coefficient spectrum. Relating the PSD to PFT's on global scales assumes that the open ocean particulate assemblage is biogenic. The retrieved PSD's can be integrated to define three size-based PFT's by the percent volume concentration contribution of three phytoplankton size classes – picoplankton (0.5–2 μm in equivalent spherical diameter), nanoplankton (2–20 μm) and microplankton (20–50 μm). Validation with in-situ HPLC diagnostic pigments results in satisfactory match-ups for the pico- and micro-phytoplankton size classes. Global climatologies derived from SeaWiFS monthly data reveal PFT and particle abundance spatial patterns that are consistent with current understanding. Oligotrophic gyres are characterized by lower particle abundance and higher contribution by picoplankton-sized particles than transitional or eutrophic regions. Seasonal succession patterns for size-based PFT's reveal good correspondence between increasing chl and percent contribution by microplankton, as well as increasing particle abundance. Long-term trends in particle abundances are generally inconclusive yet are well correlated with the MEI index indicating increased oligotrophy (i.e. lower particle abundance and increased contribution of picoplankton-sized particles) during the warm phase of an El Niño event. This work demonstrates the utility and future potential of assessing phytoplankton functional types using remote characterization of the particle size distribution.

scholarly journals Estimating The Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution Using Satellite Altimetry: Theory, Climatology, and Model Comparison

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Horvat ◽  
Lettie Roach ◽  
Rachel Tilling ◽  
Cecilia Bitz ◽  
Baylor Fox-Kemper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Model Comparison ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Scaling Exponent ◽  
Ocean Surface Waves

Abstract. In sea-ice-covered areas, the sea ice floe size distribution (FSD) plays an important role in many processes affecting the coupled sea-ice-ocean-atmosphere system. Observations of the FSD are spare – traditionally taken via a pain-staking analysis of ice surface photography – and the seasonal and inter-annual evolution of floe size regionally and globally is largely unknown. Frequently, measured FSDs are assessed using a single number, the scaling exponent of the closest power law fit to the observed floe size data, although in the absence of adequate datasets there have been limited tests of this power-law hypothesis. Here we derive and explain a mathematical technique for deriving statistics of the sea ice FSD from polar-orbiting altimeters, satellites with sub-daily return times to polar regions with high along-track resolutions. Applied to the CryoSat-2 radio altimetric record, covering the period from 2010–2018, and incorporating 11 million individual floe samples, we produce the first climatology and seasonal cycle of sea ice floe size statistics. We then perform the first pan-Arctic test of the power law hypothesis, finding limited support in the range of floe sizes typically analyzed in photographic observational studies. We compare the seasonal variability in observed floe size to fully coupled climate model simulations including a prognostic floe size and thickness distribution and coupled wave model, finding good agreement in regions where modeled ocean surface waves cause sea ice fracture.

NEW UNIVERSALITY CLASS OF IMPACT FRAGMENTATION

Fractals ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAJIME INAOKA ◽  
MAREKAZU OHNO
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Fragment Size ◽  
Universality Class ◽  
Fragment Size Distribution ◽  
Space Filling ◽  
Impact Fragmentation

We conducted a set of experiments of impact fragmentation of samples with voids, such as pumice stones and bricks. We discovered that the fragment size distribution follows a power law, but that the exponent of the distribution is different from that of the distribution by the fragmentation of a space-filling sample like a gypsum ball. The value of the exponent is about 0.9. And the value seems universal for samples with voids.

scholarly journals SCALE-FREE UNIVERSAL SPECTRUM FOR ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL SIZE DISTRIBUTION FOR DAVOS, MAUNA LOA AND IZANA

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (02) ◽  
pp. 1350028 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. SELVAM
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Aerosol Size Distribution ◽  
Scale Free ◽  
Mauna Loa ◽  
Atmospheric Particulates ◽  
Inverse Power Law ◽  
Universal Scale ◽  
Radius Size ◽  
Fractal Fluctuations

Atmospheric flows exhibit fractal fluctuations and inverse power law for power spectra indicates an eddy continuum structure for the self-similar fluctuations. A general systems theory for aerosol size distribution based on fractal fluctuations is proposed. The model predicts universal (scale-free) inverse power law for fractal fluctuations expressed in terms of the golden mean. Atmospheric particulates are held in suspension in the fractal fluctuations of vertical wind velocity. The mass or radius (size) distribution for homogeneous suspended atmospheric particulates is expressed as a universal scale-independent function of the golden mean, the total number concentration and the mean volume radius. Model predicted spectrum is compared with the total averaged radius size spectra for the AERONET (aerosol inversions) stations Davos and Mauna Loa for the year 2010 and Izana for the year 2009. There is close agreement between the model predicted and the observed aerosol spectra. The proposed model for universal aerosol size spectrum will have applications in computations of radiation balance of earth–atmosphere system in climate models.

Landslide susceptibility mapping using GIS and Remote Sensing: A case study of the Rangamati District, Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afruja Begum ◽  
Md Shofiqul Islam ◽  
Md. Muyeed Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Slope Angle ◽  
Steep Slope ◽  
Landslide Susceptibility Mapping ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing

Abstract The landslide is a natural phenomenon and one of the most commonplace disasters in the Rangamati Hill tract area which appeals for better forecasting and specify the landslide susceptible zonation. This research work examines the application of GIS and Remote Sensing techniques based on different parameters such as altitude, slope angle, slope aspect, rainfall, land-use land-cover (LULC), geology and stream distance by heuristic model to identify the landslide susceptible zones for the study area. Among the parameters, rainfall, steep slope, geology and LULC are the dominant factor that triggering the landslide. Clayey or silty soils of the study area during heavy and prolong rainfall behave a flow of debris due to water pressure within the soil, resulting landslides. Steep slope has greater influences for weather zones of the rock-masses for susceptible landslides. Result and field observation indicate that the population density and LULC has a vital effect on landslide within the study area. However, landslide susceptible zones were created based on the susceptibility map of the study area which shows that about 19.43% of the area are at low susceptible zone, 56.55% of the area are at medium susceptible zone, 19.19% of the area are in the high susceptible zone and 4.81% of the area is at the very high susceptible zone.

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