Climate change and river flooding: part 2 sensitivity characterisation for british catchments and example vulnerability assessments

This paper is the second of a series describing a scenario-neutral methodology to assess the sensitivity and vulnerability of British catchments to changes in flooding due to climate change. In paper one, nine flood sensitivity types were identified from response surfaces generated for 154 catchments. The response surfaces describe changes in 20-year return period flood peaks (RP20) in response to a large set of changes in precipitation, temperature and potential evapotranspiration. In this paper, a recursive partitioning algorithm is used to link families of sensitivity types to catchment properties, via a decision tree. The tree shows 85 % success characterising the four sensitivity families, using five properties and nine paths. Catchment annual average rainfall is the primary partitioning factor, with drier catchments having a more variable response to climate (precipitation) change than wetter catchments and higher catchment losses and permeability being aggravating factors. The full sensitivity-exposure-vulnerability methodology is illustrated for two catchments: sensitivity is estimated by using the decision tree to identify the sensitivity family (and its associated average response surface); exposure is defined from a set of climate model projections and combined with the response surface to estimate the resulting impacts (changes in RP20); vulnerability under a range of adaptive capacity thresholds is estimated from the set of impacts. Even though they are geographically close, the two catchments show differing vulnerability to climate change, due to their differing properties. This demonstrates that generalised response surfaces characterised by catchment properties are useful screening tools to quantify the vulnerability of catchments to climate change without the need to undertake a full climate change impact study. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

Climate change and river flooding: part 1 classifying the sensitivity of British catchments

Effective national and regional policy guidance on climate change adaptation relies on robust scientific evidence. This two-part series of papers develops and implements a novel scenario-neutral framework enabling an assessment of the vulnerability of flood flows in British catchments to climatic change, to underpin the development of guidance for the flood management community. In this first part, the sensitivity of the 20-year return period flood peak (RP20) to changes in precipitation (P), temperature (T) and potential evapotranspiration (PE) is systematically assessed for 154 catchments. A sensitivity domain of 4,200 scenarios is applied combining 525 and 8 sets of P and T/PE mean monthly changes, respectively, with seasonality incorporated using a single-phase harmonic function. Using the change factor method, the percentage change in RP20 associated with each scenario of the sensitivity domain is calculated, giving flood response surfaces for each catchment. Using a clustering procedure on the response surfaces, the 154 catchments are divided into nine groups: flood sensitivity types. These sensitivity types show that some catchments are (very) sensitive to changes in P but others buffer the response, while the location of catchments of the same type does not show any strong geographical pattern. These results reflect the range of hydrological processes found in Britain, and demonstrate the potential importance of catchment properties (physical and climatic) in the propagation of change in climate to change in floods, and so in characterising the sensitivity types (covered in the companion paper)

The use of 3D printing in the development of gaseous radiation detectors

Fused Deposition Modelling has been used to produce a small, single wire, Iarocci-style drift tube to demonstrate the feasibility of using the Additive Manufacturing technique to produce cheap detectors, quickly. Recent technological developments have extended the scope of Additive Manufacturing, or 3D printing, to the possibility of fabricating Gaseous Radiation Detectors, such as Single Wire Proportional Counters and Time Projection Chambers. 3D printing could allow for the production of customisable, modular detectors; that can be easily created and replaced and the possibility of printing detectors on-site in remote locations and even for outreach within schools. The 3D printed drift tube was printed using Polylactic acid to produce a gas volume in the shape of an inverted triangular prism; base length of 28 mm, height 24.25 mm and tube length 145 mm. A stainless steel anode wire was placed in the centre of the tube, mid-print. P5 gas (95% Argon, 5% Methane) was used as the drift gas and a circuit was built to capacitively decouple signals from the high voltage. The signal rate and average pulse height of cosmic ray muons were measured over a range of bias voltages to characterise and prove correct operation of the printed detector

GeoGuides, Urban Geotourism Offer Powered by Mobile Application Technology

Scientific research about geological and geomorphological heritage recently proved to be the base of new opportunities for tourism. The peculiar case of urban landscape analysis offers new frontiers to the traditional urban cultural tourism. The tourism offer based on natural aspects of urban areas is described in this paper thanks to three examples of urban geotourism tools: GeoGuide Lausanne, TOURinSTONES and GeoGuide Rome mobile applications. Each case focuses on the transfer of geoscientific knowledge from scientific research to the “tourist” content, with the innovative support of the mobile application technology. The apps contribute to the promotion of the links between cultural and geological heritages, which is the goal of urban geotourism: to convey the message that substrate profoundly influences the culture that is established on it. The mobile application technology has many strengths for interpretation, e.g. by overlaying images or adding sounds and videos, which allow the visitors to discover landforms now covered by buildings and infrastructures; it has also technical strengths, such as looking for additional information and organizing the city visit at home or to reexperience it after the trip. The apps do not have any impact on the field; they are concise, easy to read, interactive and funny. The public understanding of science is very important; it helps enhancing the role of the researchers and the impact of their work on the society and the daily lives of citizens. In this context, GeoGuide apps are useful to transfer knowledge and make it usable to people

Radiation induced currents in mineral-insulated cables and in pick-up coils: model calculations and experimental verification in the BR1 reactor

Mineral-insulated (MI) cables and Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) magnetic pick-up coils are intended to be installed in various position in ITER. The severe ITER nuclear radiation field is expected to lead to induced currents that could perturb diagnostic measurements. In order to assess this problem and to find mitigation strategies models were developed for the calculation of neutron-and gamma-induced currents in MI cables and in LTCC coils. The models are based on calculations with the MCNPX code, combined with a dedicated model for the drift of electrons stopped in the insulator. The gamma induced currents can be easily calculated with a single coupled photon-electron MCNPX calculation. The prompt neutron induced currents requires only a single coupled neutron-photon-electron MCNPX run. The various delayed neutron contributions require a careful analysis of all possibly relevant neutron-induced reaction paths and a combination of different types of MCNPX calculations. The models were applied for a specific twin-core copper MI cable, for one quad-core copper cable and for silver conductor LTCC coils (one with silver ground plates in order to reduce the currents and one without such silver ground plates). Calculations were performed for irradiation conditions (neutron and gamma spectra and fluxes) in relevant positions in ITER and in the Y3 irradiation channel of the BR1 reactor at SCK•CEN, in which an irradiation test of these four test devices was carried out afterwards. We will present the basic elements of the models and show the results of all relevant partial currents (gamma and neutron induced, prompt and various delayed currents) in BR1-Y3 conditions. Experimental data will be shown and analysed in terms of the respective contributions. The tests were performed at reactor powers of 350 kW and 1 MW, leading to thermal neutron fluxes of 1E11 n/cm2s and 3E11 n/cm2s, respectively. The corresponding total radiation induced currents are ranging from 1 to 7 nA only, putting a challenge on the acquisition system and on the data analysis. The detailed experimental results will be compared with the corresponding values predicted by the model. The overall agreement between the experimental data and the model predictions is fairly good, with very consistent data for the main delayed current components, while the lower amplitude delayed currents and some of the prompt contributions show some minor discrepancies