Three dimensional visualization of water pipelines

The water pipeline industry is one of the key industries that serve the basic public needs of the society. Just like other essential utilities such as gas and electricity, underground cables are required to transport this vital human need from one part of the city to another. From Dubai to Paris, virtually all cities around the world have underground pipes serving the same purpose and the city of Kuantan isn’t any different. Due to the importance of these water pipes, it is necessary to device reliable means of protecting them from various forms of damages.For a system that affects the human existence so much, a pipe failure would be disastrous, as would an extended repair outage. Experience has shown that many pipelines get damaged when construction workers accidentally strike pipes buried underground, during excavation or other tasks that require digging the earth’s surface. This occurs due to the fact that most existing pipes are represented in two dimensional (2D) format and the information contained in 2D maps isn’t entirely accurate. This limitation in 2D visualization makes it difficult to clearly understand or conceptualize the pipelines below the ground, hence, the need for a more effective way of visualizing the underground water pipes. Three dimensional (3D) visualization is increasingly being used to overcome these limitations, but not many individuals or organisations can afford the huge cost of most of the available packages and there is a growing demand for more affordable 3D visualization tools. This research has devised a means of visualizing underground water pipes using a series of software packages, including the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension. The integration of datasets with these packages is vital to the actualization of the research objectives. This research will illustrate how such integration is possible using the ESRI geodatabase for data storage, and exporting the dataset into other environments for visualization purposes

SHORELINE MAPPING OF TELUK NIPAH USING DIGITAL SHORELINE ANALYSIS SYSTEM (DSAS) IN ARCGIS WITH TIDAL CORRECTION

Shoreline characterization using remote sensing technologies is a useful tool to determine the historical shoreline changes of a specific coast. Tidal variation is one of the important factors that should be considered in the shoreline mapping exercise. However, the tidal correction has often been neglected due to the need to access the historical tidal data series for the study site. As a result, the accuracy of the shoreline mapping without tidal correction is ambiguous. Hence, this study aims to establish the historical shoreline mapping of Pantai Teluk Nipah, Pangkor Island, Malaysia, with a tidal correction, using ArcGIS software. For 30 years of the study period, Landsat satellite imageries were processed via ArcGIS to quantify the shoreline change rate. Based on the previous shoreline mapping study without the tidal correction, transect 23 of Pantai Teluk Nipah has undergone severe erosion where the erosion rate is up to –6.83 m per year. With consideration of tidal correction, the shoreline erosion rate at the same transect has reduced to –3.87 m per year, which is consistent with the current beach condition at Pantai Teluk Nipah

A Hybrid AHP-TOPIS-Based Marine Economic Activities Evaluation Model for Marine Geospatial Data Infrastructure

Marine economic activities are related to the economics of marine resources and maritime sectors, particularly for Marine Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MGDI) and the blue economy. Malaysia has different resource-based economic activities within its maritime delineation zones (MDZs), characterized to be a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. However, previous studies have not adequately examined these activities across the MDZs. This paper assesses Malaysia's marine economic activities in these zones through a novel and hybrid framework incorporating the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Techniques for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) models. AHP was used to evaluate the economic criterion of MGDI, while, the priorities obtained serve as part of the input data for the TOPSIS model that examined the trends in economic activities across the MDZs and rank them in order of preference. The results suggest that naval administration, sovereignty, and defense are highly prioritized among the five marine economic activities considered, with a value of 42%. Meanwhile, the Contiguous Zone was the highest-ranked MDZ for economic activities in Malaysian waters, with a computed  values of 27.7%. This approach provides stakeholders with an evaluation model to assess marine economic activities in different MDZs, providing a robust framework for effective evaluations of MCDM, and marine operations

Investigation of Air Pollution Impact on Kinta River Water Quality at a Tropical Region

Critical air quality levels lead to an unhealthy environment which disrupts physical activities and human health. Wet deposition of air pollutants might cause a high concentration of water pollution due to rain water washout of nitrate and particulate matter (PM). This study aimed to investigate the impacts of air pollutants deposition on river water quality in Malaysia. The methodology involved in the analysis of secondary data (January to December 2013) for air quality and river water quality using factor, correlation, and regression. Parameters of air quality were PM10, Nitrate (NO3), ozone (O3) and temperature while water quality data were turbidity, Nitrate and PM10 (Ca, As, Hg, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Na). The results show that there were positive correlations between air quality indicators and Kinta river water quality parameters. Correlation matrix shows that in terms of turbidity, air and water data were having 96% similarities. Regarding Nitrate concentrations, air and water records had only 30% of correlation matrix, which can be due to other sources of Nitrate which was agriculture activities near Kinta River. The factor analysis results showed that PM was the main contributor to river water quality particles with 94%. © 2020 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Modelling Flood Hazards Impacted by Ungauged River in Urbanised Area Using HEC-RAS and GIS

Ilorin City is located downstream of Asa, Oyun and Awun River Basins. The Asa River is a major river that traverses the city and divides the metropolitan area into east and west, almost equally. The river often overflows its banks to inundate adjacent communities, influencing severe economic damage and impact on human lives. However, efforts to mitigate this have majorly been focused on dredging the Asa River channel which has not solved the problem. For an accurate spatial and temporal understanding of the risks of floods and their potential hazards, it is important to estimate floods using river hydrology. The objective of this study is to model steady flow of the rivers using flow data and to map flood-prone areas in Ilorin using HEC-RAS integrated with GIS. Using the HEC-GeoRAS extension in the GIS environment, the geometric data of the rivers were obtained from the 30 m resolution digital elevation model (DEM) and input into HEC-RAS applying Manning Co-efficient values of 0.04, 0.045, and 0.04. For each river, flow data (Q) was given as the upstream boundary condition while a normal depth of 0.001 was assigned for the downstream condition to model a steady flow and inundation extents. The result of the HEC-RAS model has shown the flood-prone areas along the river channels delineated. The floodplain map produced reveals the spatial distribution and extent of the high flood-risk areas in the Ilorin metropolis. The total flooded area covers approximately 60.95 km2 (18%) majorly along the river channels. This study has demonstrated that integration of hydraulic modelling using HEC-RAS and GIS process is capable of producing an inundation flood map with good accuracy that will aid in suggesting effective measures to mitigate the impact of flooding

A review of the socio-economic advantages of textile recycling

The textile/apparel industry is of great importance to the economy in terms of trade, employment, investment and revenue all over the world. This sector is however characterised by substantial losses, due to production excesses on the one hand, and the “throw away” culture on the other. This state of affairs suggests that textile recycling is needed. Apart from the environmental and ecological advantages which can be brought about by the re-use and recycling of textiles, there are many benefits of a socio-economicnature. This paper analyses current trends on textile recycling, the barriers impeding greater recycling, and outlines the socio-economic advantages of moving towards a circular economy. Some examples of on-going initiatives are discussed, together with some of the measures that may be used to further reduce the current waste deriving from the apparel sector

Climate change and extremes: implications on city livability and associated health risks across the globe

Purpose: As global warming intensifies, climatic conditions are changing dramatically, potentially affecting specific businesses and cities’ livability. The temperature increase in cities significantly affects urban residents whose percentage is to reach about 70% by 2050. This paper aimed at highlighting the climate change risks in cities, particularly focusing on the threats to people’s health due to a continuous temperature increase. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted in three main steps. First, the literature review on the effects of climate change, particularly on the continuous temperature rise in cities, was conducted based on the publications retrieved from PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Research Gate. Second, the survey was conducted for the sample cities for one month. Third, the questionnaire was used to assess possible climate change threats to the livability of cities. Findings: The findings showed that urban areas are usually warmer than the surrounding rural areas, mainly due to the urban heat island effect, causing more hot days in metropolitan areas compared to rural areas. This paper outlines some mitigation and adaptation measures, which can be implemented to improve the livability in cities, their sustainability and the well-being of their populations. Originality/value: This study reports on the climate change impacts on the health and livability of 15 cities, in industrialized and developing countries. It examines the average and maximum temperature and relative humidity of each city and its correlation with their livability. It was complemented by a survey focused on 109 cities from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania

Framing Electric Mobility for Urban Sustainability in a Circular Economy Context: An Overview of the Literature

The development of electro-mobility is one of the centerpieces of European country attempts to reduce carbon emissions and increase the quality of life in cities. The goals of reducing emissions from the transport sector and phasing out fossil-fueled vehicles in (urban) transport by 2050 present unrivaled opportunities to foster electro-mobility. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature and provides a detailed analysis of the current development of electro-mobility in Europe, assessing social, economic, and environmental aspects under a circular economy (CE) context. It also examines the existing challenges and suggests ways of addressing them towards improving the environmental performance of electro-mobility and the urban quality of life. The paper argues that a narrow technology-only agenda in electro-mobility will be less successful without the imperative of the CE, including not just materials and resources but also energy, to unlock the medium-term co-benefits of de-carbonization of both the transport as well as the building and energy sectors. The paper critically reviews some of the anticipated future developments that may guide the growth of this rapidly growing field into a CE

Realising the Potential of Renewable Energy as a Tool for Energy Security in Small Island Developing States

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are heavily dependent on the use of imported fossil fuels to address their energy needs. This has a negative impact on the environment, SIDS budgets, and energy security. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of renewable energy (RE) as a tool for energy security in SIDS. In this regard, using VOSviewer, a widely known software tool, two bibliometric analyses were performed with a focus on the literature that explores two intertwined issues: (i) the links between RE and energy security; and (ii) the implications of RE and energy security in SIDS. The results from the study show that RE can help SIDS enhance their energy security and assure long-term energy sustainability. In addition, the results show that with the reduction in the cost of batteries in the future, they will eventually replace diesel generators. Moreover, the study showed that renewable energy may assist SIDS in their long-term efforts to achieve food security. The analysis discusses the major obstacles and the potential solutions for the integration of RES into the energy generation of SIDS. The paper concludes with useful recommendations to help island nations reduce their carbon footprint

Assessing the impacts of climate change in cities and their adaptive capacity: Towards transformative approaches to climate change adaptation and poverty reduction in urban areas in a set of developing countries

Many cities across the world are facing many problems climate change poses to their populations, communities and infrastructure. These vary from increased exposures to floods, to discomfort due to urban heat, depending on their geographical locations and settings. However, even though some cities have a greater ability to cope with climate change challenges, many struggle to do so, particularly in cities in developing countries. In addition, there is a shortage of international studies which examine the links between climate change adaptation and cities, and which at the same time draw some successful examples of good practice, which may assist future efforts. This paper is an attempt to address this information need. The aim of this paper is to analyse the extent to which cities in a sample of developing countries are attempting to pursue climate change adaptation and the problems which hinder this process. Its goal is to showcase examples of initiatives and good practice in transformative adaptation, which may be replicable elsewhere. To this purpose, the paper describes some trends related to climate change in a set of cities in developing countries across different continents, including one of the smallest capital cities (Georgetown, Guyana) and Shanghai, one the world's most populous cities. In particular, it analyses their degree of vulnerability, how they manage to cope with climate change impacts, and the policies being implemented to aid adaptation. It also suggests the use of transformative approaches which may be adopted, in order to assist them in their efforts towards investments in low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure, thereby maximizing investments in urban areas and trying to address their related poverty issues. This paper addresses a gap in the international literature on the problems many cities in developing countries face, in trying to adapt to a changing climate