WHEN WILL ALL THE LIVESTOCK IN AUSTRALIA BE ONE CLONE?

Satellite remote sensing has been a valuable tool in providing a complete and synoptic geographical coverage of water quality in fresh water systems. The principal benefit of satellite remote sensing for inland water quality monitoring is the production of synoptic views without the need of costly in situ sampling. In addition spatial and temporal variations of water quality and trophic state in fresh water bodies such as dams and reservoirs can be mapped and assessed using satellite remotely sensed imagery. Satellite remote sensing techniques may also be used to design or improve in situ sampling monitoring programmes by locating appropriate sampling points based on the qualitative results obtained directly from the satellite images. A further benefit is the capability of establishing spectral statistical relationships of satellite data with water quality parameters. Cyprus is made attractive by the frequency of high cloud-free imagery availability and moreover due to the fact that a single Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) or Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) image of Cyprus covers almost the entire island. This paper examines the potential of using satellite remote sensing for the qualitative assessment of water quality in inland water bodies such as dams in Cyprus; including evaluation on spatial, temporal water quality variations and finally an assessment on trophic stat

Collapsing granular suspensions

A 2D contact dynamics model is proposed as a microscopic description of a collapsing suspension/soil to capture the essential physical processes underlying the dynamics of generation and collapse of the system. Our physical model is compared with real data obtained from in situ measurements performed with a natural collapsing/suspension soil. We show that the shear strength behavior of our collapsing suspension/soil model is very similar to the behavior of this collapsing suspension soil, for both the unperturbed and the perturbed phases of the material.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ

Site investigation for the effects of vegetation on ground stability

The procedure for geotechnical site investigation is well established but little attention is currently given to investigating the potential of vegetation to assist with ground stability. This paper describes how routine investigation procedures may be adapted to consider the effects of the vegetation. It is recommended that the major part of the vegetation investigation is carried out, at relatively low cost, during the preliminary (desk) study phase of the investigation when there is maximum flexibility to take account of findings in the proposed design and construction. The techniques available for investigation of the effects of vegetation are reviewed and references provided for further consideration. As for general geotechnical investigation work, it is important that a balance of effort is maintained in the vegetation investigation between (a) site characterisation (defining and identifying the existing and proposed vegetation to suit the site and ground conditions), (b) testing (in-situ and laboratory testing of the vegetation and root systems to provide design parameters) and (c) modelling (to analyse the vegetation effects)

Managing geotechnical risk: improving productivity in UK building and construction

Ground related problems and conditions can often adversely affect costs, completion time, profitability, and health and safety issues on a project of any scale. Geotechnical risk can affect all those involved in construction - including the client, designer and the constructor. These guidelines, produced in association with the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, provide best practice guidance on the management of geotechnical risk by all parties concerned, and also explain why such risks occur. ContentsIntroduction: The key processes; The essential principles; The client's role; The designer's role; The constructor's rol