Boundary Of Study Area Research Articles

Multi-regional economic recovery simulation using an Adaptive Regional Input–Output (ARIO) framework

The economic repercussions of natural hazards extend beyond immediate damages, impacting more than the directly affected regions through trading ties and interrupted service provisions. The Adaptive Regional Input–Output (ARIO) model has been developed to assess these indirect impacts by considering changes in productive capacity and demand-driven output adjustments. We extend a recently refined ARIO model (R-ARIO) to conduct a multi-regional multi-sector analysis. This extension accounts for the geographical disparities in direct damages and inter-regional economic interactions. To illustrate the effectiveness of this approach, we present a case study of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and assess its economic impacts across 13 prefectures in the East-Japan region. The paper further compares the outcomes of single- and multi-regional analyses to showcase the effect of inter-regional trading ties on economic resilience. Additionally, trade-offs involved in selecting the study area boundary for the multi-regional analysis are discussed.

Impact of changing urban landscapes on forest degradation: A study on a part of Western Ghats, India.

The current research is focused on studying the land use changes in selected sites (total area of 3488 sq. km) of the Uttara Kannada district and the impacts of urbanization of forest degradation. Topographical maps from the Survey of India have been used to mark the study area's boundary. Forest degradation mapping has been conducted through spatiotemporal analysis of LANDSAT and Google Earth imageries for the years 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2020. The decadal change was evaluated throughout the period to delineate the sites of encroachment. The change analysis revealed that 56.6% of the forest area has remained primarily dense; 6.46% of the area has remained unchanged as agricultural area, while almost 0.95% of the total agricultural area has been converted into built-up land or has become barren. Spatiotemporal change analysis also revealed that, overall, 85.1% of the study area has remained unchanged and 4.7% of the area has changed in some form or other. Ground truthing through Google Earth imageries for various periods reveals an increase in the built-up land along the coastal stretch and the north-eastern part of the region. In some places, agricultural lands have been abandoned, which have then been converted into shrublands. The unorganized growth of built-up land and decrease in the forest and agricultural lands have necessitated extensive fieldwork for developing guidelines for the protection of forest areas and planning of built-up and agricultural lands.

Mosque as a multi-functional public space destination: potential breathing space in dense urban fabrics of Hail City, Saudi Arabia

PurposeThe general concept of public space in Saudi Arabia is relatively recent; it is the result of an attempt to modernize several conservative traditions and norms, as well as the ambitious vision of 2030, which reprioritized Saudi cities' public spaces by implementing a quality-of-life improvement program. This study aims to investigate the relationship between mosque location and surrounding urban context as a significant urban design issue in order to comprehend the potential for transforming such an element into a multifunctional public space destination in a dense urban fabric.Design/methodology/approachThe study's objectives are divided into two areas: a spatial configuration analysis to examine the urban context and an urban analysis of the mosque site with a study area boundary of a 400-m buffer zone. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were utilized; in addition, a user feedback survey was conducted in which several key insights were compiled, such as the importance of safety urban element factors, aesthetic elements and green areas in the built environment in making mosques places that are active public spaces.FindingsThe study’s main finding encourages governmental institutions to change their mindset from “open space around the mosque” to “the mosque as an element within public space,” which will have a significant impact on how the authors approach, improve and redevelop existing mosque locations. Several concepts were presented that should be reconsidered and redeveloped in order to align with the most recent sustainable urban design tools; the mosque to be overlooked as a community gathering place rather than just a place for religious rituals.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to sacred mosque sites primarily found in Islamic countries; it focuses on Saudi Arabian urban and planning practices in relation to sociocultural norms. The authors believe that increasing the number of study samples or broadening the scope of the study to include other Saudi regions or other Middle Eastern countries could yield new findings and insights.Originality/valueThe study offers a conceptual design model based on survey results and qualitative analysis and recommending strategies that planners, designers and policymakers can use to design successful mosque places and pedestrian-oriented developments.

Exploring the nexus between urban growth trend and wetland loss in port harcourt municipality

Although Wetlands naturally serve phenomenal roles as natural flood control basins, habitats and breeding grounds for species, ecotourism sites, and biodiversity they have, over time, been depleted to meet man’s increasing demand for land space. This study is a longitudinal survey that looked at the nexus between urban growth and wetland loss in Port Harcourt municipality. Primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were obtained from field observations and ground-trotting. Satellite imageries for four epochs: 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 were acquired using Google Earth imageries. Data were analysed using the Geographic Information System (GIS) ArcGis10.4.1 software. The shape file of the study area boundary was generated using ArcGIS 10.4.1 and was used to clip the geo-referenced Google earth images for each year (1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020). The reclassified images were converted to polygons and edited. The area of each classification (land uses) was calculated in square meters using the Spatial Query Module in ArcGIS 10.4.1. Data presentation was done using maps, tables, and charts. Results of analysis revealed that there exists spatio-temporal variation in wetland loss in the study area between the years under review with wetland decreasing form 34633511.38m2 in 1990 to 30945235.9m2 in 2000, and to 23297313.11m2 in 2010 to 18688909.45m2 in year 2020. A very high positive correlation coefficient (Rs) of 0.99 obtained expresses the strong relationship between urban growth and wetland loss in the study area. The study recommends that government and its relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should embark on wetland creation, development, and conservation to ensure the continuity in the services, functions, and value of wetland ecosystems in the study area.

Geomatic Assessment Of Rainwater Harvesting Potential System At Cmr College Of Engineering & Technology

CMRCET campus comprises about 10 of acres land, where water is the natural resource which is being always in high demands. If the demand is not met, then it will lead to water scarcity. Therefore, RWHS can be considered as a best solution for fighting against scarcity of water. Our present study deals with the identification of the study area boundary and marking it as a Polygon in GIS, Rooftops of various block entities, paths and pavements were digitized using the Polygon vector in GIS. GIS technique is employed for locating boundaries of the study area and for calculating the areas of various types of rooftops and paths. With the application of GIS, it is possible to assess the total potential of water that can be harvested. Potential of rainwater harvesting refers to the capacity of an individual catchment that harnesses the water falling on the catchment during a particular year considering all rainy days. This present study will enable us to identify the suitable type of water harvesting structure along with the number of structures required. Our aim is to maximize water storage and minimize the runoff through drains without making use of it. Thus, Rainwater Harvesting and Conservation aim at the optimum utilization of the rain water.

Are major roads effective barriers for badger (Meles meles) movements?

As part of a bovine tuberculosis (bTB) control related Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) badger research study in Northern Ireland, a project was launched evaluating whether badgers cross major roads (in this case the A1 dual carriageway linking Belfast/Newry/Dublin). This road formed the western boundary of the TVR study area and it was chosen to discourage badger movements in and out of the area. This was important in order to ensure that the badger study population was as stable as possible and also to get a better understanding of the risk of any spill over of bTB infection from the study area to the buffer area. Five badgers trapped close to the A1 were fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) collar in October 2017, which were set to record the badger location every 20 min between 19.20 and 03.00 h during a maximum of 84 days. Based on 4313 location points recorded, only 2 (0.05%) location points were located on the western side of the A1. Although this was a small sample, it can be concluded that generally badgers avoid crossing dual carriageways which is supported by evidence from other studies. This finding is important for informing on development of future badger intervention areas where major roads could be considered as strong borders. Furthermore, it adds to the body of knowledge in trying to understand drivers and barriers for badger dispersal behaviour.

Identification of Potential Zones for Solid Waste Disposal in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

Disposal is a critical phase in the management of municipal solid waste, due to unavailability of suitable facilities to treat and dispose of the large amount of municipal solid waste generated daily in metropolitan cities. Improper municipal solid waste disposal locally, cause environmental impacts such as contamination of soil, water pollution, and increase methane emissions. In this study, an attempt has been made to use GIS and remote sensing to identify high potential zones for solid waste disposal in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State between 2019 and 2020. Primary data and secondary data were used for this study. The position data of the existing dumpsites in the study area were acquired in-situ with a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The secondary data consists of NigeriaSAT-X, geological, administrative maps, Google map, hydro-geophysical data and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) images. Thematic layers considered in this study include drainage, road and land use/land cover, lithology and geology. The dumpsite point (X, Y) was imported as shapefile and superimposed on the study area boundary to show the existing location. Digital image segmentation of NigeriaSAT-X and geology dataset was carried out to derive the land use/ land cover and geology classifications of the study area. Lithological analysis was carried out using Kriging Method to interpolate the hydro-geophysical data. The slope, land/use, geology, drainage, road, waterbody, built-up and lithology were reclassified and overlaid using Weighted Sum Overlay Method a Spatial Analyst tool in ArcGIS 10.4 to generate the potential zones for solid waste disposal. The result shows the potential zones for solid waste disposal and characterized into unsuitable, less suitable, moderately suitable, suitable and highly suitable.

Seasonal Variation and Sources of Heavy Metals in Urban Street Dusts and River Sediments of Dongluo River Watershed in Ji'nan City, China

Due to intense human activities, urban street dusts and river sediments are usually polluted by heavy metals. This study investigated the seasonal variations (summer and winter) of pollution level, spatial distribution and potential sources of heavy metals in street dusts (SD) and river sediments (RS) of Dongluo River watershed, Ji'nan, China. Results showed cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) contents were 3.5 (8.6), 3.0 (1.4), 4.9 (2.6), 4.1 (1.1) and 3.9 (4.0)-fold of their geochemical soil background values (BGV) of Shandong Province, China in summer (winter). Mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) contents were lower than their background values in both summer and winter. The differences of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn and As contents in river sediments between winter and summer were not statistically significant. The correlation coefficients between metal contents and the distance between sampling sites and the east-west boundary of study area were higher in summer than those in winter. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate linear regression (MLR), coal combustion and traffic-related sources were the main sources in winter, and agricultural activities and traffic-related sources were the main sources in summer.

A Groundwater Modeling on Hard Rock Terrain by using Visual Modflow Software for Bangalore North, Karnataka, India

The present study investigated through mathematical modelling techniques (using Modflow) for the Bengaluru North zone. The present study carried out in Bengaluru North Taluk lies in between 12° 52’ N to 130 15’ N, 770 22’ E to 770 50’ E to assess the changes in groundwater heads due to enormous pressure on water availability (especially in groundwater) in the study area for a scientific planning and management of water resources. The present study carried out using mathematical distributed model Modflow, to set up, execute the model, requires several data of which study area boundary (.shp format), geological information to represent the geological layers in to the model using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) obtained from Cartosat I Ver. 3R (Bhuvan site), pumping wells, observation wells etc. Shows the head variation in the study area before adding pumping wells and after adding pumping wells. The final observed and simulated results of the groundwater heads in the Bengaluru North taluk under transient state condition.

SIMULATION OF SURFACE RUNOFF REDUCTION IN URBAN BUFFER AREA USING GREEN ROOF SYSTEM

Steady developmental increase in urban and its buffer areas causes a decrease in rainwater catchment areas. Green roof system is emerging as a new form of technology that can improve the built environmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to simulate the application of green roof systems with cocopeat as planting media in reducing surface runoff water in urban buffer zones. Sub-watershed boundary analysis was carried out to determine the boundary of study area followed by land cover analysis using web-based software “i-Tree Canopy” to obtain the area of roof cover within the study area. Rainfall analysis (2005-2014) was carried out to obtain the design flood discharge value at the study location. The simulation results show that the green roof system with 10 cm depth of cocopeat as planting medium is able to delay peak discharge in the study area to exceed the concentration time for all flood return periods. Green roof application simulation of 5% and 10% of the total roof cover area resulted in a reduction in peak discharge up to 3.12% and 6.24% respectively. This green roof system needs to be combined with rainwater harvesting systems to further reduce peak discharge in the study area.

Adult bobcat (Lynx rufus) habitat selection in a longleaf pine savanna

BackgroundPine savannas are primarily managed with frequent prescribed fire (≤ 3 years) to promote diversity of flora and fauna, and to maintain open, park-like conditions needed by species such as the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). However, a knowledge gap exists in our understanding of bobcat (Lynx rufus) habitat selection in longleaf pine savannas and research is warranted to direct our future management decisions.MethodsWe examined bobcat habitat selection in a pine savanna managed with frequent fires at two spatial scales (i.e., study area boundary [hereafter, landscape scale]) and annual area of use [95% kernel density; local scale]), and assessed effects of prescribed fire on bobcat habitat selection. Specifically, we monitored 45 bobcats (16 males and 29 females) during 2001–2007.ResultsWe found differential habitat selection by sex. At the landscape scale, female bobcats were closer to mixed pine-hardwoods, young pine, and secondary roads, but farther from mature pine and hardwoods stands relative to males. We found no difference in selection of agriculture, shrub-scrub, and primary roads between sexes. At the annual area of use scale, female bobcats were closer to secondary roads, but farther from agriculture and shrub-scrub relative to males. We found no difference in selection of mature pine, mixed pine-hardwoods, hardwoods, young pine, and primary roads between sexes. Bobcats primarily selected for stands burned ≤ 1.1 years post-fire.ConclusionsOur results show that bobcats exploit a broad range of habitat types in pine landscapes managed with frequent fire and commonly use recently burned stands (≤ 1.1 year post-fire), suggesting prey in many areas of this system are at risk of bobcat predation. Additionally, we suggest land managers consider scale of selection by bobcats when developing habitat management strategies.

Assessment of rainwater harvesting potential using GIS

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is one of the best practices to overcome the scarcity of water. Rainwater harvesting involves collection and storage of rainwater locally through different technologies, for future use. It is also useful for livestock, groundwater recharge and for irrigation practices. Potential of rainwater harvesting refers to the capacity of an individual catchment that harnesses the water falling on the catchment during a particular year considering all rainy days. The present study deals with the identification of the study area boundary and marking it as a Polygon in Google Earth Pro Later, Rooftops of various house entities and roads were digitized using the Polygon command in Google Earth Pro. GIS technique is employed for locating boundaries of the study area and for calculating the areas of various types of rooftops and roads. With the application of GIS, it is possible to assess the total potential of water that can be harvested. The present study will enable us to identify the suitable type of water harvesting structure along with the number of structures required. It is extremely an ideal and effective solution to overcome the water crisis through water conservation in the study area.

Land Use Change Automatic Monitoring Using FPCR-ISODATA Method for a Rapid Urbanizing Region: Qingpu District in Shanghai City, China

With the rapid development of China’s urbanization, land use automatic monitoring is imperative for the efficient allocation of resources and environmental conservation, especially in a metropolitan area with increased ecological-environmental stress as a result of large high-density population. Qingpu, a district of Shanghai, is located in Upper Huangpu Catchment for fresh water supply and an area of considerable ecological value, but it has been also experiencing development pressures from urban sprawl. An automatic procedure was proposed by using remotely sensed mass data to reveal the land use change in Qingpu District. In this procedure, historical remotely sensed data were first registered into the same spatial resolution and radioactive level. Then, data were subset via the boundary of study area for facilitating the following processing. Forward principal components rotation (FPCR) and iterative self-organizing data analysis techniques algorithm (FPCR-ISODATA) was developed to decorrelate or denoise data and divided the data into k groups (k>the number of land use types). After merging the same connoted groups and correcting misclassified units with promising accuracy, the series of land use map are created. The results further elaborated on the spatial-temporal change of agricultural land in Qingpu along with other land use changes over the past two decades. The conversions between land uses were shown as bare land appearing in a state of uncompleted development or transition. The results were consistent with reality and the method was accurate and practical.

Geomagnetic Survey to Explore High-Temperature Geothermal System in Blawan-Ijen, East Java, Indonesia

Ijen geothermal area is high-temperature geothermal system located in Bondowoso regency, East Java. It is categorized as caldera-hosted geothermal system which is covered by quaternary andesitic volcanic rocks with steep topography at the surrounding. Several surface thermal manifestations are found, such as altered rocks near Mt. Kukusan and a group of Blawan hotsprings in the northern part of the caldera. Geomagnetic survey was conducted at 72 stations which is distributed inside the caldera to delineate the existence of hydrothermal activity. Magnetic anomaly was obtained by reducing total magnetic measured on the field by IGRF and diurnal variation. Reduction to pole (RTP) method was applied with geomagnetic inclination of about -32°. In general, the result shows that high magnetic anomaly is distributed at the boundary of study area, while low magnetic anomaly is observed in the centre. The low anomaly indicates demagnetized rock that probably caused by hydrothermal activity. It has a good correlation with surface alteration observed close to Mt. Kukusan as well as high temperature reservoir drilled in the centre of caldera. Accordingly, the low magnetic anomaly also presents the possibility of geothermal reservoir in Ijen geothermal area.

Evaluation of the forest ecosystem service values in Qinling, China

Landsat TM images of Mt. Qinling in 1984, 2000, 2005, and 2014 were used to extract land use and land cover type by a supervised classification method in ERDAS software. Equivalent factor of ecosystem service value per unit area was revised regionally in temporal and spatial dimensions, and then was modified pixel by pixel using the vegetation coverage. Forest ecosystem service values from 1984 to 2014 were calculated with RS and GIS techniques, and the results were tested by the sensitivity index. The results showed that from 1984 to 2014, forest area accounted for 77% of the study area, and the area changes in cultivated land and construction land were the most obvious. The total ecosystem service value of Mt. Qinling increased annually and by a total of 1.68×1017 yuan during the study period. The forest ecosystem service value (its growth rate was the biggest) contributed 93.8% of the overall ecosystem service value, while water and grass ecosystem service value contributed 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively. The ecosystem service value tended to increase with increasing distance from the study area boundary, which was consistent with the spatial distribution and per-unit ecosystem service value of land use types in Mt. Qinling. The annual rate of change of each ecosystem service value was insignificant. Among the four ecosystem functions, the service value of regulation accounted for 62.7%-65.8% of the total ecosystem service value, and the service value of climate regulation showed the most dramatic increase by 4.91×1016 yuan over the study period. The sensitivity index was <1, which indicated that the modified service value index was stable and the calculated results were reliable. Overall, the forest ecosystem service value in Mt. Qinling was very large, and strengthening forest protection would be an effective measure for maintaining the stability of the Mt. Qinling ecosystem.

Manfaat Kanopi Pohon dalam Mereduksi Aliran Permukaan Studi Kasus: Sempadan Sungai Ciliwung Tengah, Kota Bogor

ABSTRACTThe Benefit of Trees Canopy in Reducing RunoffCase Study: Border of Center Ciliwung River, Bogor MunicipalityBogor as one of Center Ciliwung Sub Region River flow has decreased the percentage of green open space from year to year (Bappeda 2007). Study area boundary is the border as far as 300 meters to the left and right side of Ciliwung River. The method of this research is to estimating the benefits of tree canopy using Quickbird satellite image of the city of Bogor in 2006 with the software ArcView GIS 3.2 extensions CITYgreen 5.4. The study includes comparisons between the percentage of built up area and green open space. Comparison of built up area and the largest area of green open space can be found in Tanah Sareal District, the ratio reached 2:1. While the smallest ratio can be found in the MiddleDistrict of Bogor (1:1). This means the ideal condition of river’s border are found in the Middle District of Bogor that can decreasing runoff well. The estimation of trees canopy benefits can be seen from the amount of runoff volume, it can be predicted that trees canopy in study area can reduce average ± 7,55% of runoff volume. This means that the conditions in the study area was still below the average standard riverine.

Assessment of soil erosion and sediment yield in the Tamiraparani sub-basin, South India, using an automated RUSLE-SY model

Soil erosion induces land degradation and minimizes the water-holding capacity, resulting in poor environmental quality at a basin scale. This becomes more serious due to long-term anthropogenic pressure including over exploitation of natural resources and lack of sustainable development. In this study, an automated RUSLE-SY model was developed to identify the potential soil erosion and sediment yield zones in Tamiraparani sub-basin, South India. The input parameters required to execute the RUSLE-SY model are digital elevation model, study area boundary, land-use/land-cover data, soil data, annual rainfall data, near-infrared and red bands from satellite imagery. The entire set of data was geoprocessed with standard RUSLE and sediment yield equations for generating soil erosion and sediment yield map. The distribution of soil erosion and sediment yield in the study area was analyzed, and its impacts were discussed. The result reveals that the high soil erosion is noticed in the western part of the sub-basin (31.25 ton ha−1 year−1). Moreover, the sediment yield in this area contributes around 14.54 ton ha−1 year−1. The low level of soil erosion and sediment yield (~95 % of the area) reflects the climatic variability and topography of Tamiraparani sub-basin. The resulting RUSLE-SY model provides a robust and easy to use soil erosion and conservation management tool for efficient planning in similar environments.

Numerical groundwater flow modeling of the northern river catchment of the Lake Tana, Upper Blue Basin, Ethiopia

The study area is found North Western plateau in the North Gondar zone, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Its total surface coverage is 1887km2.The study area boundary was delineated from 90m Shutter Radar Terrain Mapping (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) using Global Mapper 8 software. Based on geologic information of the study area, unconfined subsurface flow condition was considered and simulated using MODFLOW 2000. The model calibration accounts the matching of the 58 observation point with simulated head with a permissible residual head of ±10m. 75% of the difference the observed and measured water level head in the study area is 5m. . The model was calibrated with mean error 0.506, absolute mean error 4.431m and standard deviation 6.083m. Based on the calibration process, the model is very sensitive in decreasing order change in recharge, hydraulic conductivity, and stream bed conductance. The simulated out flow of the model is 205.7Mm3/year which is nearly equal to simulated inflow with difference 2,887.45m3/yr. The base flow simulated discharge Megech River holds 35.8% of the out flow. The river contributed as recharge in to the aquifer that accounts to 15.3% of the inflow. Steady state withdrawal rates were increased by 15%, 35%, 55%, 75% and 100% to study the response of the system in this scenario. From the simulation results, one can observe that the development of a new groundwater sources would not pose appreciable impact in case of 15% and 35% withdrawal the head declines in this case is insignificant relative to the steady state withdrawal rate and the natural discharges were not altered highly. The simulation result indicated that the stream leakage decreased by 7.9% relative to the whole steady state value, but showed 14.9% decrease for Angereb, Keha, and Shinta river segments near the well field area. The water tables decline by 3.6m to18.8m in head observation in the well field area. The steady state simulated recharge was decreased by 32% and the simulation results showed on average head decrease of 8.06m over the whole area; with the highest fall 32m in wells to north and a minimum of about 1m in wells to the south of the catchment. In addition, the stream leakage, compared to the simulated steady state value and it was decreased by 75.36%. The simulated value showed an average 2.74m increased head over the whole area. High difference values were observed at Tseda (7.83m) and Koladiba (7.3m). The minimum difference 1.08m was recorded at Angereb well field (observation 94). In addition, the stream leakage compared with the steady state value the change was about 87.43%. Keywords: MODFLOW 2000, Groundwater, Modelling, Sensitivity analysis, Simulation, Recharge

Mortality from asbestos-associated disease in Libby, Montana 1979\u20132011

Research on asbestos exposure in Libby, MT, has focused on occupational exposure in vermiculite mining and processing, but less attention has been paid to asbestos-related mortality among community members without vermiculite mining occupational history. Our study reports on asbestos-related mortality in Libby over 33 years (1979–2011) while controlling for occupational exposure. We calculated sex-specific 33-year standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for Libby residents who died from 1979 to 2011 with an asbestos-related cause of death. Decedent address at time of death was geocoded to confirm inclusion in the Libby County Division. We controlled for past W.R. Grace employment by including and then removing them from the SMR analysis. Six hundred and ninety-four decedents were identified as having at least one asbestos-related cause of death and residing in our study area boundary. Statistically significant (P<0.05) 33-year SMRs, both before and after controlling for W.R. Grace employment, were found for: male and female non-malignant respiratory diseases, female COPD, and asbestosis for both sexes combined. Eighty-five men and two women were matched to employment records. We observed elevated asbestos-related mortality rates among males and females. SMR results for asbestosis were high for both sexes, even after controlling for past W.R. Grace employment. These results suggest that the general population may be experiencing asbestos-related effects, not just former vermiculite workers. Additional research is needed to determine whether SMRs remain elevated after controlling for secondary exposure, such as living with vermiculite workers.

Application of Spatial Interpolation Method for Estimating the Spatial Variability of Rainfall in Semiarid New Mexico, USA

Spatial interpolation of rain gauge data is important for ecohydrology study or modelling of land degradation. The monthly rainfall data recorded at 68 stations in Jornada basin was analysed to study the spatial patterns of rainfall. The inverse distance weighting spatial interpolation method was applied to model the spatial variability of rainfall for a wet (1992) and dry (1994) years. The rainfall interpolation was tested for the basin wide region and by constraining the rainfall-interpolation within the study area boundary. The accuracy of the interpolation result was measured by adopting the leave-one-out cross validation method. The result indicates that the rainfall displayed a strong spatial variability trend from the southwest to the northeast. The result from the CV analysis of the total data points for both year showed that the IDW interpolation method produced from data points within the study area boundary produced better fits compared to the CV result from all the data points within the Jornada basin. The result from constraining the rainfall-interpolation within the study-area boundary showed that the interpolation error from the edge effects can be minimised and result of the predicted values showed a closer fit to the measured values. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s3p108