Causal loops for analysis of the social dimension to complex systems

Better methods of analysis and communication are needed to analyse civil engineering and environmental systems that have a social dimension. Causal loops are examined as a way to improve analysis. Opposition to landfills is developed to show the role that causal loops could provide in social/technical systems analysis. The example leads to a conclusion that public access to an on-line database of monitoring data could help reduce opposition. Causal loops are highlighted as one way in which we can reorganise our thought and use a new language to analyse our increasingly complex civil engineering and environmental systems

An investigation into local air quality throughout two residential communities bisected by major highways in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Population exposure to traffic pollution is a rapidly developing, multi-disciplinary scientific field. While the link between long-term exposure and respiratory issues is well-established, there are probable links to a number of more serious health effects, which are still not fully understood. In the interests of protecting human health, it is prudent that we take a cautionary approach and actively seek to reduce exposure levels, especially in the home environment where people spend a significant portion of their time. In many large cities, a substantial number of homes are situated on land immediately adjacent to busy freeways and other heavily-trafficked roads. Characterising exposures of local residents is incredibly challenging but necessary for advancing epidemiological understandings. While existing studies are plentiful, the results are mixed and generally not transferable to other urban areas due to the localised nature of the built environment and meteorological influences. This thesis aimed to employ a variety of methods to develop a holistic understanding of the influence of traffic emissions on near-highway residents' exposure in two communities of South Auckland, New Zealand, where Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is as high as 122,000 vehicles. First, ultrafine particles (UFPs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter ≤ 10 μm (PM₁₀) were continuously monitored using a series of fixed stations at different distances from the highways, over several months during the winters of 2010 and 2011. Emissions modelling output (based on traffic composition), was used within a dispersion model to compare modelled concentrations with monitored levels. In addition, community census meshblock units were mapped by level of social deprivation in order to assess potential inequities in highway emissions exposure. The second layer of local air quality investigation involved using a bicycle platform to systematically measure concentrations of UFPs, CO and PM₁₀ using the entire street-grid network throughout each community. This was done forty times - five times at four times of day (07:00, 12:00, 17:00 and 22:00), for each study area, with the aim of mapping the diurnal fluctuation of microspatial variation in concentrations. Using global positioning system (GPS) data and geographical information system (GIS) software, spatially-resolved pollutant levels were pooled by time of day and the median values mapped, providing a visualisation of the spatial extent of the influence of emissions from the highways compared to minor roads. The third layer involved using data from multiple ambient monitors, both within the local areas and around the city, to simulate fifty-four residents' personal exposure for the month of June, 2010. This required collecting timeactivity information which was carried out by door-to-door surveying. The time-activity data were transformed into microenvironment and activity codes reflecting residents movements across a typical week, which were then run through the US-EPA's Air Pollution Exposure Model (APEX). APEX is a probabilistic population exposure model for which the user sets numerous microenvironmental parameters such as Air Exchange Rates (AERs) and infiltration factors, which are used in combination with air pollutant concentrations, meteorological, and geospatial data, to calculate individuals' exposures. Simulated exposure outputs were grouped by residents' occupations and their home addresses were artificially placed at varying distances from the highways. The effects of residential proximity to the highway, occupation, work destination and commute distance were explored using a Generalised Linear Model (GLM). Surveyed residents were also asked a series of Likert-type, ordered response questions relating to their perceptions and understandings of the potential impacts of living near a significant emissions source. Their response scores were explored as a function of proximity to the highway using multivariate linear regression. This formed the final layer of this investigation into air quality throughout these South Auckland communities of Otahuhu and Mangere Bridge. Results show that concentrations of primary traffic pollutants (UFPs, NOx, CO) are elevated by 41 - 64% within the roadside corridor compared to setback distances approximately 150 m away and that the spatial extent of UFPs can reach up to 650 m downwind early in the morning and late in the evening. Further, social deprivation mapping revealed that 100% of all census meshblocks within 150 m either side of both highways are at the extreme end of the deprivation index (NZDep levels 8 - 10). Simulations for residents dispersed across the community of Otahuhu estimated daily NOx and CO exposure would increase by 32 and 37% (p<0.001) if they lived immediately downwind of the highway. If they were to shift 100 m further downwind, daily exposure would decline by 56 - 70% (p<0.001). The difference in individuals' exposure levels by occupation varied across the same distance by a factor of eight (p<0.05), with unemployed or retired persons the most exposed due to having more free time to spend outdoors at home (recreation, gardening, etc.). Those working in ventilated offices were the least exposed, even though ambient concentrations - likely due to a strong urban street canyon effect - were higher than the nearest highway monitor (5 m downwind) by 25 - 30% for NOx and CO, respectively. Inverse linear relationships were identified for distance from highway and measures of concern for health impacts, as well as for noise (p<0.05). Positive linear relationships were identified for distance from highway and ratings of both outdoor and indoor air quality (p0.05). The main findings within this thesis demonstrate that those living within the highway corridor are disproportionately exposed to elevated long-term average concentrations of toxic air pollutants which may impact on physical health. While the socioeconomic characteristics could also heighten susceptibility to potential health impacts in these areas, certain activity patterns can help mitigate exposure. This thesis has also shown that there may be quantifiable psychological benefits of a separation buffer of at least 100 m alongside major highways. These results enhance a very limited knowledge base on the impacts of near-roadway pollution in New Zealand. Furthermore, the results lend additional support to the international literature which is working to reduce residential exposures and population exposure disparities through better policies and improved environmental planning. Where possible, the placement of sensitive population groups within highway corridors, e.g. retirement homes, social housing complexes, schools and childcare centres, should be avoided

Filamentary oxide formation on iron

The oxidation of iron in air or oxygen at temperatures between 300°C and 800°C is accompanied by the growth of filamentary crystals from the outer oxide surface. Below 470°C the predominant crystal habit is pointed platelets of approximately 10 μm thickness and 1-4 μm length, while above 470°C ribbon-like whiskers of 5 μm to 2 μm thickness and lengths up to 30 μm are observed. The structure of these crystals has been examined by transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Selected area electron diffraction spot patterns have been indexed using a rapid computer technique which has been developed to compare the geometry of diffraction patterns with reciprocal lattice planes of any crystal. Both platelets and whiskers are shown to consist of αFe₂O₃ with structural rhombohedral growth direction. A feature of diffraction from the platelet crystals is the presence of continuous reciprocal lattice streaks, which indicate the existence of a high density of planar defects lying parallel to the (010) platelet face. Most of the whisker filaments consist of multiple crystals with a common growth direction; and no evidence of lattice twist, to indicate the existence of screw dislocations, is provided by the diffraction patterns. The construction of a high temperature controlled atmosphere specimen chamber for the JEM 7A electron microscope has enabled the growth process of the oxide filaments to be directly observed. Specimen motion includes tilting to a limit of 15° about any axis in the plane of the specimen and continuous observation is possible at temperatures up to 1000°C and gas pressures up to 30 kPa. After an initial induction period both whisker and platelet crystals are preferentially nucleated on surface protruberances and exhibit a linear rate of growth with respect to time The linear growth is abruptly terminated at a variety of filament lengths. At 500°C a variation of growth rates of 1.6 μm/min to 0.1 μm/min is observed between adjacent filaments on a single specimen; and a maximum growth rate of 15 μm/min has been observed at approximately 800°C. Platelet crystals maintain a constant shape and broaden at the base as the length increases. Arguments are presented in support of the proposal that the growth of both platelets and whiskers occurs by transport of oxide molecules to the filament tips by surface diffusion over whisker and platelet sidewalls of high crystalline perfection; rate control being attributed to the generation and propagation of growth steps at the filament tips

Exploiting spatial correlations for efficient communication and deployment optimisation in wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of a large number of very small networked nodes that are widely distributed. The nodes incorporate communication, processing and sensing capability, and are resource-constrained due to limitations in size. The most scarce resource is the available energy budget and thus the energy consumption of WSNs is of paramout importance. Having an extremely large application space, WSNs fundamentally enhance our capability to control and monitor the surrounding physical world. Distributed Source Coding (DSC) is a solution to realise energy-efficient WSNs. This compression scheme aims at reducing the amount of sensed data to be communicated and the number of required data transmissions to achieve energy savings. In this thesis we develop and evaluate a practical and adaptive DSC scheme applied in WSNs under realistic technical requirements and limits. The scheme is adaptive to environmental variations and can exploit arbitrary spatial correlations in the sensed phenomena. We implement this DSC scheme on real hardware platforms and demonstrate its feasibility through an experimental testbed. In addition, we analyse realistic network deployment models and derive enhanced deployment models that directly lead to optimised deployment strategies. Furthermore, we derive and evaluate a performance prediction metric that is applicable to rapid and lightweight evaluation of WSNs. Following a realistic modelling methodology we take into account the energy consumption of the DSC-related signal processing algorithms and practical deployment strategies. We develop the comprehensive and detailed evaluation framework to exactly and quantitatively determine achievable gains. The framework includes an energy consumption model extracted based on accurate measurement data gathered from our experimental testbed. Using the framework, we evaluate the practical and adaptive DSC scheme as well as topological effects on the performance of realisticly deployed WSNs. The applied scheme shows substantially improved energy savings and in addition strong operational lifetime extensions of WSNs under realistic conditions. Overall the energy-efficiency of WSNs is significantly improved through efficient communication and optimised network deployment as proposed in this work