Development of Predictive Geoarchaeological Models to Locate and Assess the Preservation Potential of Submerged Prehistoric Sites Using Remote Sensing, Palaeoenvironmental Analysis, and GIS

Using the Mesolithic site of Tudse Hage in the Great Belt of Denmark, this paper proposes a generic stepwise process to create geoarchaeological models that output seamless morphology maps in a GIS. This was achieved using remote sensing databases and the collection of marine geophysical data, above and below the seabed. On the basis of these data, key areas, with sediment sequences representative of the postglacial transgression surfaces, were identified. Core samples were taken for palaeoenvironmental analysis and dating that enabled a reconstruction of the relative sea-level changes. Using this information, palaeogeographic coastline maps of the Kongemose, late Kongemose, Ertebølle, and Neolithic periods in the Tudse Hage area were prepared, and potential hotspots for archaeological sites were proposed. Since their inundation, submerged prehistoric archaeological sites have been, and are, dynamic, with anthropogenic and natural processes affecting their stability and preservation. With the advocation of in situ preservation as a means of managing underwater cultural heritage, predicting where sites have survived these processes, and where they can be found, in advance of subsea development or other anthropogenic exploitation, is essential. Future natural threats to sites preserved in situ were determined through the modelling of seabed currents and sediment erosion.

The Great Belt train accident: the emergency medical services response

Background Major incidents (MI) are rare occurrences in Scandinavia. Literature depicting Scandinavian MI management is scarce and case reports and research is called for. In 2019, a trailer falling off a freight train struck a passing high-speed train on the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark, killing eight people instantly and injuring fifteen people. We aim to describe the emergency medical services (EMS) response to this MI and evaluate adherence to guidelines to identify areas of improvement for future MI management. Case presentation Nineteen EMS units were dispatched to the incident site. Ambulances transported fifteen patients to a trauma centre after evacuation. Deceased patients were pronounced life-extinct on-scene. Radio communication was partly compromised, since 38.9% of the radio shifts were not according to the planned radio grid and presented a potential threat to patient outcome and personnel safety. Access to the incident site was challenging and delayed due to traffic congestion and safety issues. Conclusion Despite harsh weather conditions and complex logistics, the availability of EMS units was sufficient and patient treatment and evacuation was uncomplicated. Triage was relevant, but at the physicians’ discretion. Important findings were communication challenges and the consequences of difficult access to the incident site. There is a need for an expansion of capacity in formal education in MI management in Denmark.

Oghuz tamgas

The Oghuz, whose history of emergence and development lies in the period of the VIII–XIII centuries, played a significant role in the formation of modern Turkic peoples. The Oghuz tribes consisted of 24 families. They started the process of Turkization of the peoples of the medieval Eurasian steppes. The evidence of it is the similarity of Oghuz tamgas found on the territory of Zhetysu, Syr Darya and Western Kazakhstan with tamgas of other Turkic-speaking peoples. Today Oghuz tamgas attract the attention of many domestic and foreign researchers, but scientists are only interested in genealogical and cultural aspects so far. In case tamgas are perceived as a full-fledged source, some problems related to the studies of the medieval history of the Great belt of steppes can be solved, for example, such as clarifying the geography of distribution of the Oghuz tribes, analyzing their political and economic activity, as well as determining the degree of kinship of the Turkic peoples among themselves. The article considers the pronounced differences and similarities of Oghuz tamgas in different written sources, the synchronicity of the existence of tamgas in the Turkic world, and how well the problem is studied.The results of preliminary research indicate the presence and preservation (based on the monuments) of Oghuz tamgas among Kazakhs, Turks, Azerbaijanis, Kirghiz, Tatars, Turkmens, Nogais, Bashkirs. This, in turn, indicates the existence of Turkic unity in the researched territories during the periods of the proliferation of Oghuz tamgas.

Flutter Analysis Using Quasi-Steady Time-Domain Flutter Derivatives

<p>To be able to perform nonlinear flutter analyses for bridges, time‐domain approaches should be used instead of Scanlan’s formulation of self‐excited forces. Thus, this paper addresses the development and validation of a modified quasi‐steady time‐domain model similar to Scanlan’s approach that is based on the velocity and acceleration of the bridge deck. In this formulation, quasi‐steady time‐domain flutter derivatives measured in the wind tunnel through forced‐vibration tests at absolute constant velocity and acceleration are used. For this, a unique test rig, which can be used either for free‐ or forced‐vibration tests, was utilized. By measuring the time‐domain flutter derivatives of the Great Belt Bridge, their nondimensionalization with respect to the bridge‐deck width, velocity and acceleration of the deck is validated. Then, time‐domain flutter analyses are performed using this new model. They agree with the experimental critical speed and the prediction using Scanlan’s model.</p>

Great Belt Bridge – Structural monitoring

<p>The monitoring system on the Great Belt Bridge has been under a renewal process for the last 4 years. <p>Worn down sensors for alarm and maintenance purposes have been replaced by new more appropriate sensors. <p>A new structural health monitoring system for maintenance with a database and a graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed. The software collects and stores measurement data from a large number of sensors on both the cable‐suspended East Bridge and the low‐level West Bridge. From summer 2018 more than 400 sensors can be monitored from one GUI. More sensors are following in 2019. <p>The project has been carried out by Rambøll as client consultant and Krabbenhøft & Ingolfsson as main contractor.

Monitoring of the Great Belt Bridge hanger vibrations and expansion joint movements using Digital Image Correlation

Civil infrastructure system owners are often faced with an increasingly impossible set of management challenges. Informed decisions on timely intervention for effective bridge maintenance activities rely on good quality, accurate and reliable asset condition data. Digital image correlation (DIC) is a noncontact photogrammetry technique that can be used for monitoring by imaging a bridge component periodically and computing strain and deformation from images without traffic disruption. This paper describes the use of DIC for the monitoring of the Great Belt Bridge wind‐induced hanger vibrations and temperature‐induced movements of the expansion joint. Both DIC measurements provided previously unavailable data and informed next steps with respect to the maintenance strategy. To the authors knowledge these are one of the first such vision‐based structural health monitoring campaigns carried out on a suspension bridge.