Infrastructure Interdependencies in Extreme Heat Emergencies [video]

NPS Defense Energy SeminarThe city of Phoenix AZ set new all-time record-breaking temperatures at 119F during June 2017. Although unprecedented, the nearly week-long heat wave passed without extraordinary incident. Some regional flights were grounded, as smaller jets were unable to operate, and new all-time highs were established in electrical power demand, but adverse health effects failed to match the temperature extremes, as water, power, roadway transportation, communication, emergency response and other infrastructure systems continued reliable operation. By contrast, deadly heat waves in less extreme locations, such as Chicago in 1995 and northern Europe in 2003, have killed tens of thousands. This presentation describes pathways of disruption in coupled energy, water, and transportation systems that, if experienced during an extreme heat event, would be catastrophic for the City of Phoenix. Results emphasize the need for enhanced adaptability and flexibility of existing infrastructure systems that account for climate non-stationarity and infrastructure interdependencies. Mitigating vulnerability will require innovative solutions to protect populations from extreme heat, even in the case of massive and cascading infrastructure failures

Predicting tipping points in mutualistic networks through dimension reduction

This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1714958115/-/DCSupplemental.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Optimization and resilience of complex supply-demand networks

Acknowledgments This work was supported by NSF under Grant No. 1441352. SPZ and ZGH were supported by NSF of China under Grants No. 11135001 and No. 11275003. ZGH thanks Prof Liang Huang and Xin-Jian Xu for helpful discussions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Extreme events in multilayer, interdependent complex networks and control

This work was supported by NSF under Grant No. 1441352.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Polarizing Bubble Collisions

We predict the polarization of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons that results from a cosmic bubble collision. The polarization is purely E-mode, symmetric around the axis pointing towards the collision bubble, and has several salient features in its radial dependence that can help distinguish it from a more conventional explanation for unusually cold or hot features in the CMB sky. The anomalous "cold spot" detected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite is a candidate for a feature produced by such a collision, and the Planck satellite and other proposed surveys will measure the polarization on it in the near future. The detection of such a collision would provide compelling evidence for the string theory landscape.Comment: Published version. 15 pages, 8 figure

Deciphering Spectral Fingerprints of Habitable Extrasolar Planets

In this paper we discuss how we can read a planets spectrum to assess its habitability and search for the signatures of a biosphere. After a decade rich in giant exoplanet detections, observation techniques have now reached the ability to find planets of less than 10 MEarth (so called Super-Earths) that may potentially be habitable. How can we characterize those planets and assess if they are habitable? The new field of extrasolar planet search has shown an extraordinary ability to combine research by astrophysics, chemistry, biology and geophysics into a new and exciting interdisciplinary approach to understand our place in the universe. The results of a first generation mission will most likely result in an amazing scope of diverse planets that will set planet formation, evolution as well as our planet in an overall context.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, Astrobiology, 10, 1, 201