Strengthening a tube connected building group by base isolators and story isolators

Seismic isolation systems have been used to retrofit existing buildings. However seldom studies have focused on retrofit existing building groups by isolation system. This study uses base isolation technologies and story isolators to retrofit an existing tube connected building group. Base isolators are designed to protect the frames from strong earthquakes. Story isolators are chosen to provide lateral resistance and dissipate energies from serious earthquakes. Equations of motion are formulated to study the responses of the new building system to strong earthquake motions. Simulation results show the maximum drifts of the tubes and the maximum drifts of frame are very small. Maximum relative displacement between the tube and frame is much less than the seismic joint limit

Public Recreation and Neighborhood Sense of Community: An Exploration of a Hypothesized Relationship

This study explores the relationship between park attributes (perceived safety and perceived benefits) and their relationship to sense of community in urban neighborhoods. The study finds that the perception of benefits derived from park use has a direct relationship with sense of community, and that park safety is indirectly related to sense of community, with the perception of park benefits mediating the relationship between park safety and sense of community. Theoretical and practical considerations are discussed

Ecological Restoration of Novel Lake Districts: New Approaches for New Landscapes

Mine void pit lakes often contain water of poor quality with potential for environmental harm that may dwarf other mine closure environmental issues in terms of severity, scope, and longevity. This is particularly so when many pit lakes occur close together and thus form a new ‘‘lake district’’ landscape. Pit lakes that can be developed into healthy lake or wetland ecosystems as a beneficial end use provide opportunities for the mining industry to fulfil commitments to sustainability. Clearly articulated restoration goals and a strategic closure plan are necessary to ensure pit lake restoration toward a new, yet regionally-relevant, aquatic ecosystem, which can achieve sustainability as an out-of-kind environmental offset. Such an approach must also consider obstacles to development of a self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem, such as water quality and ecological requirements. We recommend integration of pit lakes into their catchments as a landscape restoration planning exercise with clearly-identified roles and objectives for each new lake habitat and its surrounds

Darling, AWait My Return : Song and Chorus

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/5222/thumbnail.jp

Contemporary fire regimes of the arid Carnarvon Basin region of Western Australia

This study investigates the fire regime for the arid Carnarvon Basin region of Western Australia using remotely sensed imagery. A fire history database was constructed from satellite images to characterise the general fire regime and determine any effect of vegetation types and pre-fire weather and climate. The study area was divided into two sections (northern and southern) due to their inherently different vegetation and climate. A total of 23.8% (15,646 km2) of the study area was burnt during the 39-year study period. Heathland vegetation (54%) burnt the most extensively in the southern study area, and hummock grasslands (68%) in the northern. A single, unusually large fire in 2012 followed exceptional rains in the previous 12 months and accounted for 55% of the total burnt area. This fire burnt mainly through Acacia shrublands and woodlands rather than hummock grasslands, as normally experienced in the northern study area. Antecedent rainfall and fire weather were found to be the main meteorological factors driving fire size. Both study areas showed a moderate to strong correlation between fire size and increased pre-fire rainfall in the year preceding the fire. Predicted future changes in climate may lead to more frequent and higher intensity fires