PERBANDINGAN METODE INTERNATIONAL ROUGHNESS INDEX DENGAN PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX UNTUK PENENTUAN KONDISI JALAN NASIONAL DI KOTA WAMENA (STUDI KASUS : RUAS JALAN WAMENA – HABEMA)

Pembangunan infrastruktur jalan merupakan suatu kebutuhan mutlak bagi pengembangan suatu wilayah agar tercapai kesinambungan dan pemerataan pembangunan pada setiap daerah serta membentuk struktur ruang dalam rangka mewujudkan sarana pembangunan nasional. Untuk membuka isolasi dan akses masyarakat terhadap perkembangan perekonomian di Kota Wamena, pemerintah melaksanakan pembangunan dan pemeliharaan jalan. Pemeliharaan jalan bertujuan untuk mempertahankan tingkat pelayanan sesuai dengan standar pelayanan minimum yang ditetapkan.Penelitian ini dilakukan pada ruas Jalan Wamena-Habema sepanjang 35,100 kilometer. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membandingkan kondisi jalan hasil pengukuran metode IRI dengan metode PCI. Data yang digunakan berupa data IRI dan PCI semester 2 tahun 2020 yang diperoleh dari Sistem Pengelolaan Database Jalan Nasional (SiPDJN) Direktorat Jenderal Bina Marga Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan ada perbedaan kondisi jalan Wamena-Habema berdasarkan metode IRI dan metode PCI. Pada metode IRI 61,8% kondisi baik, 32,2% kondisi sedang. Kondisi rusak ringan dan rusak berat 4,0% dan 2,0%. Sedangkan pada metode PCI 49,6% kondisi baik, 9,7% kondisi sedang. Kondisi jelek dan parah 40,5% dan 0,3%. Dengan dilakukan penelitian kondisi jalan menggunakan metode IRI dan PCI pada ruas Jalan Wamena-Habema dapat memberikan deskripsi atau gambaran tentang data kondisi jalan eksisting. Data kondisi jalan dapat digunakan sebagai database untuk perencanaan dan pelaksanaan pemeliharaan jalan.

Drought assessment in paddy rice fields using remote sensing technology towards achieving food security and SDG2

PurposeThis research aims to monitor vegetation indices to assess drought in paddy rice fields in Mazandaran, Iran, and propose the best index to predict rice yield.Design/methodology/approachA three-step methodology is applied. First, the paddy rice fields are mapped by using three satellite-based datasets, namely SRTM DEM, Landsat8 TOA and MYD11A2. Second, the maps of indices are extracted using MODIS. And finally, the trend of indices over rice-growing seasons is extracted and compared with the rice yield data.FindingsRice paddies maps and vegetation indices maps are provided. Vegetation Health Index (VHI) combining average Temperature Condition Index (TCI) and minimum Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), and also VHI combining TCImin and VCImin are found to be the most proper indices to predict rice yield.Practical implicationsThe results serve as a guideline for policy-makers and practitioners in the agro-food industry to (1) support sustainable agriculture and food safety in terms of rice production; (2) help balance the supply and demand sides of the rice market and move towards SDG2; (3) use yield prediction in the rice supply chain management, pricing and trade flows management; and (4) assess drought risk in index-based insurances.Originality/valueThis study, as one of the first research assessing and mapping vegetation indices for rice paddies in northern Iran, particularly contributes to (1) extracting the map of paddy rice fields in Mazandaran Province by using satellite-based data on cloud-computing technology in the Google Earth Engine platform; (2) providing the map of VCI and TCI for the period 2010–2019 based on MODIS data and (3) specifying the best index to describe rice yield through proposing different calculation methods for VHI.

Statistical Study Based on the Kriging Method and Geographic Mapping in Rigid Pavement Defects in Southern Chile

ASTM D6433 is used to assess the need for maintenance of pavement sections. Although the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) factor calculation method provides reliable values, this method analyzes sections and defects individually and indicates current maintenance needs, but it cannot be used to predict the occurrence of new defects. Therefore, it is necessary to complement this method by considering variables that influence the occurrence of faults, among which are the geospatial distribution and the specific characteristics of the slabs. This research focuses on the identification of multiple types of disturbances that exist in Portland Cement Pavements (PCC), located in a high traffic area in the city of Valdivia (Chile). A spatial geostatistical relationship is established through visual inspection using geographical maps, as well as distribution, using the kriging method. This technique makes use of variograms that allow quantifying the parameters used in this study, thus expressing the spatial autocorrelation of the faults analyzed. From the results obtained by spatial geostatistics and kriging, it is possible to generate a data correlation for the distribution and characteristics of the streets considered. In addition, a co-kriging method is established instead of an ordinary kriging method. The relationship between observed and predicted values improved from 0.3327 to 0.5770. The width of the slabs, as well as some streets, is shown in our analysis to be unimportant. For better model accuracy, the number of covariates associated with the type of vehicle traffic, the age and shape of the slabs, and the construction techniques used for the pavement needs to increase.

Identifying Functional Flow Linkages Between Stream Alteration and Biological Stream Condition Indices Across California

Large state or regional environmental flow programs, such as the one based on the California Environmental Flows Framework, rely on broadly applicable relationships between flow and ecology to inform management decisions. California, despite having high flow and bioassessment data density, has not established relationships between specific elements of the annual hydrograph and biological stream condition. To address this, we spatially and temporally linked USGS gage stations and biological assessment sites in California to identify suitable paired sites for comparisons of streamflow alteration with biological condition at a statewide scale. Flows were assessed using a set of functional flow metrics that provide a comprehensive way to compare alteration and seasonal variation in streamflow across different locations. Biological response was evaluated using the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) and Algal Stream Condition Index (ASCI), which quantify biological conditions by translating benthic invertebrate or algal resources and watershed-scale environmental data into an overall measure of stream health. These indices provide a consistent statewide standard for interpreting bioassessment data, and thus, a means of quantitatively comparing stream conditions throughout the state. The results indicate that indices of biological stream condition were most closely associated with flow alteration in seasonality and timing metrics, such as fall pulse timing, dry-season timing, and wet season timing. Magnitude metrics such as dry-season baseflow, wet season baseflow, and the fall pulse magnitude were also important in influencing biological stream conditions. Development of ecological flow needs in large-scale environmental programs should consider that alteration to any of the seasonal flow components (e.g., dry-season baseflow, fall pulse flow, wet-season baseflow, spring recession flow) may be important in restructuring biological communities.

Extensive variation in feather ornaments of Whiskered Auklets in the Aleutian Islands reflects age, sex, condition, and geography

Both sexes of Whiskered Auklets (Aethia pygmaea) display the most elaborate feather ornaments of any seabird: a slender black forehead crest, and 3 bilaterally symmetrical pairs of white facial plumes (superorbital, suborbital, and auricular). We studied patterns of ornament variation in 796 banded individuals (147 of known sex, 254 of known age from 1 to 16 years) during 1992–2009 at Buldir Island (principally), and 3 other Aleutian Islands (Davidof, Ulak, and Egg) in Alaska, USA. As expected for socially selected traits, ornaments were more variable across individuals than anatomical traits in size but with only slightly male-biased sexual dimorphism. Body condition index increased from age 1 to 3 years but changed little thereafter. Even within birds ≥4 years old, ornament size was positively related to body condition index. Subadults (one-year-olds) had smaller ornaments than adults (age 2–16 years) but there was no further change in ornament size as adults aged and no evidence of senescence even in the oldest birds (>8 years old). Nonetheless, overall ornament size varied from year-to-year at Buldir and was correlated with indices of both ocean climate and auklet productivity in the preceding 2–5 years. From Buldir to Egg Island (1,266 km), the size of both anatomical and ornamental traits increased by 5–15% except for bill depth, which was largest in birds from Buldir and Egg at opposite ends of the Aleutian breeding range. This study is one of few to examine patterns of ornament variation in a long-lived, socially monogamous bird, even though such patterns are crucial to understanding the relationship between sexual selection and life history.

Safety and Risk of Operating Facilities: Rapid Assessment Methodology

Two methods for methodology uses “risk indices” (dam condition index I), as well as “fuzzy logic methods” to combine the original quantitative and qualitative (expert) information on the operated dam condition. The approach applied is in accordance with the recommendations of IEC 31010: 2019. Risk Management — Risk Assessment Techniques. Deterministic assessments of the condition in the form of “risk indices” were also used as input data in assessing the probability of the failure and in developing a probabilistic risk assessment methodology. The original database, as well as the damage assessment scale, modified in the course of the research, summarize the experience of surveys and examination of safety declarations of more than 180 hydraulic works in Russia. A description is given of the methods of initial assessment and digitization (quantification) of the condition index I, as well as combining the initial quantitative and qualitative (expert) information about various damages. The practical feasibility and the possibility of categorizing (with fuzzy boundaries) conditions and levels of damage to hydraulic structures are shown. With regard to various conditions and levels of damage, proposals are made for practical actions to ensure the safety of dams in the process of monitoring, inspection, development of a reconstruction project and its expertise. As a result of the research, the dependence of the probability of the failure pfailure on the average value of the Iср index has been established and the graph “pfailure – Iср” is presented, which is well described by the exponential and is convenient for practical application. The value of I ср is determined according to the data of visual and instrumental control of the dam condition of the as well as according to expert estimates. The methodology for creation the indicated graph is presented. The creation of this graph became possible on the basis of: statistical processing, proof of the “normality” of the distribution of the I indices and the estimation (according to the distribution functions constructed for each level of damage) the probability of the failure pfailure, as well as during the survey and examination of the dam project. Proposals are formulated for the practical application of the proposed methods for assessing the risk of operating dams, and the near-term prospect of research in the field of risk assessment and ensuring dam safety is formulated.

A Review of Studying the Relationship of Traffic Stream Characteristics and Noise Intensity with Flexible Pavement Surface Condition

In general, roads are a very important infrastructure to facilitate people’s access to their social and economic activities, so knowing the things that affect the efficiency of these roads is very important and how to maintain them. One of the aims of this research is to shed light on previous studies that showed the relationship between traffic characteristics and noise intensity on the condition of the breakable Pavement. The results of previous studies show that flexible Pavement has 19 potential failures and how to address them. There is a relationship between the characteristics of traffic flow and failures that occur in flexible paving. It is also possible to calculate the road condition by knowing the types of faults on the road using several roads or by using specific formulas to calculate the road condition index. There are relationships between the road condition index, the vehicles’ speed, and the models that link Noise to speed. And that most of the relationships that were used to calculate the elastic pavement condition index and its relationship to the movement characteristics are statistical relationships using ANOVA, recreation, and R2

ANALISIS REMBESAN TERHADAP KEAMANAN BENDUNGAN KEDUNG OMBO DI GROBOGAN, JAWA TENGAH

A dam, besides having a great benefits to meet human needs, it also can be a big disaster in addition to the dam collapsing. One of the main causes of failure of an embankment dam is the occurrence of excessive seepage which triggers piping events that can disturb the stability and safety of the dam. In general, the body of the Kedung Ombo Dam is in good condition, but there are several problems, such as the drain holes that are overgrown with dense grass which indicates that seepage has occurred. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the seepage to determine the safety level of the Kedung Ombo Dam. This study aims to analyze the condition of pore water pressure and seepage that occurs in the body of the Kedung Ombo Dam and to determine the level of safety of the dam body. The analyze was carried out using seepage monitoring instruments installed on the dam, namely the Piezometer and V-Notch at the Kedung Ombo Dam in 2021. Based on the results of the analysis, it was found that the pore water pressure and seepage discharge that occurred in the Kedung Ombo Dam were generally still within the permissible limits. According to the analysis results of the seepage index, the highest QI value is 0.09 at the maximum flood water level of +95 m, where the safety criteria for the seepage index is QI <1. Therefore it indicates that the seepage condition index at the Kedung Ombo Dam are still in a safe condition.Keywords: pore water pressure, seepage, piezometer, V-Notch, seepage index

Drought Spatiotemporal Characteristics Based on a Vegetation Condition Index in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Drought is a complex phenomenon that has severe impacts on the environment. Vegetation and its conditions are very sensitive to drought effects. This study aimed to monitor and assess the drought severity and its relationships to some ecological variables in ten districts of Erbil Governorate (Kurdistan Region), Iraq, throughout 20 years (1998-2017). The results revealed that droughts frequently hit Erbil throughout the study period. The Landsat time-series- based on Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) significantly correlated with precipitation, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and latitude. Extreme VCI-based drought area percentages were recorded in 1999, 2000, 2008, and 2011 by 43.4%, 67.9%, 43.3%, and 40.0%, respectively. The highest crop yield reduction in the study area occurred mainly in 2000, 2008, and 2012 due to low precipitation rates. These results reveal the capability of the VCI for drought characteristics and highlighting relationships with some ecological variables, which provide vital information to the decision-makers, environmental, and economic sectors.