World's Tallest Research Articles

Embodied carbon premium for vanity height: A case for the exclusion of decorative spires in the design of tall buildings

In measuring the height of a tall building, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) recognises three categories: “height to architectural top”; “height to highest occupied floor”; and “height to tip”. The “height to architectural top” category, which includes decorative spires, is used to define the influential CTBUH annual rankings of the “World's Tallest Buildings”. The inclusion of decorative spires in the category ranking has created an incentive for developers to maximise the vanity height of tall buildings, defined as the height difference between a tall building's architectural top and its highest occupied floor.The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the detrimental influence of spires and, by extension, vanity height on the embodied carbon of structural systems for tall buildings. This influence is evaluated using three tall building scenarios of varying heights (50, 70, and 90 storeys). Two finite element models, with and without spires, are parametrically designed for each scenario. All the modelled structural systems comprise a reinforced concrete tube-in-tube lateral load resisting system. A hybrid life cycle inventory analysis approach is used to quantify the embodied carbon of spires as well as the resulting increase in the embodied carbon of structural systems.The findings of this study indicate that even basic spires can lead to an increase of up to 14.2% in the embodied carbon of structural systems for tall buildings, underscoring the imperative to eliminate such elements in the design and construction of tall buildings to minimise overall embodied carbon.

Signage & Wayfinding Design For The Indonesian National Library

Signage and wayfinding is one of the components of Environmental Graphic Design that is used to help people feel safe and comfortable when navigating, particularly for individuals in heavily crowded locations. The Indonesian Nasional Library (Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia), recognized as the world's tallest library, comprises 24 floors filled with various services and amenities that cater to the community's interests and consistently attract many visitors. Hence, signage and effective wayfinding are indispensable in accommodating users in their library activities. The framework of this design process is established based on the pyramid method by Chris Calori & David Vanden-Eynden, with additional methods by the execution of conceptual designs, mind mapping, and the formulation of keywords. The authors aspire to contribute a signage and wayfinding design proposal that optimizes usability, resolves navigation challenges, and enhances the user experience at The Indonesian National Library.

Aerodynamic effects cause higher forest evapotranspiration and water yield reductions after wildfires in tall forests.

Wildfires are increasing in frequency, intensity, and extent globally due to climate change and they can alter forest composition, structure, and function. The destruction and subsequent regrowth of young vegetation can modify the ecosystem evapotranspiration and downstream water availability. However, the response of forest recovery on hydrology is not well known with even the sign of evapotranspiration and water yield changes following forest fires being uncertain across the globe. Here, we quantify the effects of forest regrowth after catastrophic wildfires on evapotranspiration and runoff in the world's tallest angiosperm forest (Eucalyptus regnans) in Australia. We combine eddy covariance measurements including pre- and post-fire periods, mechanistic ecohydrological modeling and then extend the analysis spatially to multiple fires in eucalypt-dominated forests in south-eastern Australia by utilizing remote sensing. We find a fast recovery of evapotranspiration which reaches and exceeds pre-fire values within 2 years after the bushfire, a result confirmed by eddy covariance data, remote sensing, and modeling. Such a fast evapotranspiration recovery is likely generalizable to tall eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia as shown by remote sensing. Once climate variability is discounted, ecohydrological modeling shows evapotranspiration rates from the recovering forest which reach peak values of +20% evapotranspiration 3 years post-fire. As a result, modeled runoff decreases substantially. Contrary to previous research, we find that the increase in modeled evapotranspiration is largely caused by the aerodynamic effects of a much shorter forest height leading to higher surface temperature, higher humidity gradients and therefore increased transpiration. However, increases in evapotranspiration as well as decreases in runoff caused by the young forest are constrained by energy and water limitations. Our result of an increase in evapotranspiration due to aerodynamic warming in a shorter forest after wildfires could occur in many parts of the world experiencing forest disturbances.

Structural damping estimation from live monitoring of a tall modular building

AbstractThe damping ratio is a key indicator of an individual structure's susceptibility to dynamic loads, including the level of discomfort experienced by the occupants of a tall building subjected to wind loading. While computational models, laboratory studies and empirical data can provide estimates of structural damping, the most reliable way to evaluate true damping ratio values is through modal identification using data from field tests on full‐scale finished structures. As an innovative form of construction, high‐rise modular buildings have not been the subject of previous vibration monitoring investigations, implying an absence of essential structural dynamics information. This paper assesses the reliability of four modal identification methods for estimating the damping ratio of a structure using ambient acceleration response data recorded from the world's tallest modular structure, the Ten Degrees building in Croydon, South London. The methods considered are two implementations of the Bayesian fast Fourier transform (BFFT), the random decrement technique (RDT), and a hybrid of the RDT which first decomposes the ambient data into sub‐signals using analytical mode decomposition (AMD‐RDT). Each method is applied to response data collected during 10 significant wind loading events to evaluate the inherent modal properties of the structure, with the computed damping ratio values compared between methods and events. By reporting the first measured damping ratios for a tall modular structure, the paper makes an important contribution to knowledge about the vibration properties of an emerging form of construction.

Conceptual model of groundwater flow in a volcanic-sedimentary aquifer system of the Andean region of Chimborazo, Ecuador

The Chimborazo volcano is located in Ecuador's northern Andes and is one of the world's tallest mountains. The central valley of Riobamba's morphology, structure, and groundwater flow networks are all influenced by the evolution of this stratovolcano. Both the urban and rural populations in this area rely on groundwater extracted from volcano-sedimentary aquifers. This study presents a conceptual model of the groundwater flow system in the lower Chambo River basin (LCRB) based on the interpretation of geological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical, and stable isotope (δ18O and δ2H) data from 23 wells, 10 springs, two sources of surface water, and rainwater. The Tertiary-Quaternary volcanic-sedimentary infill of the Inter-Andean Valley, that overlies the Jurassic-Cretaceous metamorphic bedrock of the Eastern and Western cordilleras, gave rise to three multilayer aquifers (Llo-Guano, Riobamba, and Yaruques). In these aquifers, groundwater flows from the recharge of Chimborazo glaciers to deep circulation zones of low-elevation lands in Riobamba. In this pathway, groundwater evolves from acidic - low temperature - low electric conductivity bicarbonate waters to alkaline - high temperature - high electric conductivity sulfate waters discharged in the Chambo River. The stable isotope data confirmed the hypothesis of different types of water changing and interacting in the flow direction, demonstrating a dynamic hydrogeological system that evolves from the recharge area in Chimborazo, Igualata, and Altar volcanoes to the discharge area in the Chambo River.

Study of the Stability in the High Building: Case Study in Burj Dubai, UAE

Many people today live in urban cities and it is increasing every year, because of their need to live and work and This paper summarizes the solutions and the importance of stability in high-rise buildings and their tolerance of earthquakes and winds, and all that is needed for the stability of the building and to solve the problems that occur in particular and in detail Highlighted are the key connections of the tallest and ultra-slender buildings that have been designed and built for the world's tallest buildings. He talks about high-rise towers in general and about Burj Dubai in particular, and there will be what the engineers said and suggested before, and I will conclude in a simple way.

Aerial maneuvering by plethodontid salamanders spanning an arboreality gradient.

Wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) inhabit the crowns of the world's tallest trees, taking refuge in epiphytic fern mats within these complex arboreal environments. These salamanders readily jump from the canopy when disturbed and maintain stable postures while falling via fine adjustments of the limbs and tail in lieu of dedicated aerodynamic control surfaces, thus reliably carrying out non-vertical descent. Here, we examined the aerial behavior and performance of A. vagrans and three other species of plethodontid salamander across a habitat gradient of arboreality by recording salamanders falling from short heights and moving within the jet of a vertical wind tunnel. Kinematic performance of aerial behavior in plethodontid salamanders was correlated with a gradient of arboreal habitats; moreover, salamanders from arboreal niches were more effective in slowing and redirecting descent compared with other salamanders. Aneides vagrans and the closely related Aneides lugubris consistently engaged in parachuting and gliding when falling; their trajectories were very steep, but were sufficiently angled to enable contact with either the home trunk or nearby branches during falls or jumps from great heights. Aerial maneuvering in arboreal salamanders is similar to that seen in other vertebrates capable of non-vertical and controlled descent, suggesting that the long limbs and active tail of these arboreal plethodontids (often cited as adaptations for climbing) may also contribute to parachuting and gliding when falling from trees. These aerial behaviors within the redwood canopy warrant further investigations into other canopy residents that lack conspicuous surfaces for aerodynamic control.

Species turnover in ant assemblages is greater horizontally than vertically in the world's tallest tropical forest.

Abiotic and biotic factors structure species assembly in ecosystems both horizontally and vertically. However, the way community composition changes along comparable horizontal and vertical distances in complex three‐dimensional habitats, and the factors driving these patterns, remains poorly understood. By sampling ant assemblages at comparable vertical and horizontal spatial scales in a tropical rainforest, we tested hypotheses that predicted differences in vertical and horizontal turnover explained by different drivers in vertical and horizontal space. These drivers included environmental filtering, such as microclimate (temperature, humidity, and photosynthetic photon flux density) and microhabitat connectivity (leaf area), which are structured differently across vertical and horizontal space. We found that both ant abundance and richness decreased significantly with increasing vertical height. Although the dissimilarity between ant assemblages increased with vertical distance, indicating a clear distance‐decay pattern, the dissimilarity was higher horizontally where it appeared independent of distance. The pronounced horizontal and vertical structuring of ant assemblages across short distances is likely explained by a combination of microclimate and microhabitat connectivity. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering three‐dimensional spatial variation in local assemblages and reveal how highly diverse communities can be supported by complex habitats.

Gliding and parachuting by arboreal salamanders

Wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) reside in the crowns of the world's tallest trees and have been observed to readily jump from the canopy when disturbed1,2. Here, we describe the aerial performance of falling A. vagrans, which maintain stable gliding postures via adjustments of the limbs and tail in lieu of specialized control surfaces. In wind tunnel trials, A. vagrans parachuted consistently and slowed their vertical speed by up to 10% while falling. Furthermore, A. vagrans coupled parachuting with parasagittal undulations of the tail and torso to effect gliding at non-vertical angles (minimum of ∼84°) in 58% of trials. Selection pressures imposed on falling from heights can be substantial, and have resulted in the evolution of diverse aerial behaviors among arboreal taxa; nonetheless, aerial behavior occurring in arboreal salamanders is surprising, and calls for further work on the natural occurrence of falling, gliding, and directed aerial descent in canopy-dwelling tetrapods.

Highlighted articles for February 2022

Highlighted articles for February 2022

The Dutch, The World Tallest Are Shrinking in the Latest Decade or So: The Lessons from the Case of South Korea and Japan in North-East Asia

The Dutch have been the world tallest since the 1980s but plateaued in height for the past few decades. A century and a half ago, young men at 20 in the Netherlands were 165 cm in mean height, as tall as men in France and Portugal. They grew to 178 cm, as tall as Norwegian in 1960, and 183 cm in mean height in the 1990s and levelled off. It is most likely that the Dutch may have nearly attained genetic potential as a human being. The statue is a net measure that captures the supply of inputs to health. Based on the changes in per capita supply of protein from animal products, FAOSTAT, the Dutch seem to have reached the highest level in per capita supply of animal protein. Increases in the supply of protein, however, do not result in increasing human height, if consumption of other “essential nutrients” is insufficient (Blum, 2013; Mori, 2018)[1][2]. With the close case studies of Japan and South Korea in respect of food consumption specifically by children in growing ages, the author suspects that children in the Netherlands may have been insufficient in the supply of vegetables, “essential nutrients” on the top of animal products.

Dutch, the world tallest, are shrinking in height: lessons from the cases of Japan and South Korea

Dutch (men aged 20-21) grew in height fast and steadily from 173.5 cm in the mid-1950 to 182.3 cm in the 1980s, and 184 .0 cm in the late-1990s, “the world tallest” and levelled off, or mean height even declined by 0.3-0.5 cm, or even more in in the latest decade, despite growing social-economic environments. In North-East Asia, men in South Korea grew fast and steadily in height to overtake their Japanese peers by 3.0 cm in the mid-2000s and then stopped growing taller despite continued economic prosperity and increased per capita consumption of animal protein in their diets. The author derived per capita consumption of major food products from household expenditure surveys, classified by age groups of household head. He discovered that children in growing ages, 0~9, 10~19, started to turn away from vegetables in the early-1990s, to consume only 25% of the vegetables eaten by adults in their 50s in the mid-2000s and 10% of vegetables by the older cohorts in their 50s in the end of the 2010s. Some four decades ago, children in Japan started to turn away from fruit. They ceased to grow taller at all ages in the 1990s, despite continued higher consumption of animal protein. The Netherlands has been appreciably lower in per capita consumption of vegetables, compared to other North-European countries. Further empirical investigations along cohorts are needed, in order to determine if they have reached maximum genetic potentials.

Disturbance alters the forest soil microbiome.

Billions of microorganisms perform critical below-ground functions in all terrestrial ecosystems. While largely invisible to the naked eye, they support all higher lifeforms, form symbiotic relationships with ~90% of terrestrial plant species, stabilize soils, and facilitate biogeochemical cycles. Global increases in the frequency of disturbances are driving major changes in the structure and function of forests. However, despite their functional significance, the disturbance responses of forest microbial communities are poorly understood. Here, we explore the influence of disturbance on the soil microbiome (archaea, fungi and bacteria) of some of the world's tallest and most carbon-dense forests, the Mountain Ash forests of south-eastern Australia. From 80sites, we identified 23,277 and 19,056microbial operational taxonomic units from the 0-10cm and 20-30cm depths of soil respectively. From this extensive data set, we found the diversity and composition of these often cryptic communities has been altered by human and natural disturbance events. For instance, the diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi declined with clearcut logging, the diversity of archaea declined with salvage logging, and bacterial diversity and overall microbial diversity declined with the number of fires. Moreover, we identified key associations between edaphic (soil properties), environmental (slope, elevation) and spatial variables and the composition of all microbial communities. Specifically, we found that soil pH, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and nitrate were associated with the composition of all microbial communities. In a period of widespread degradation of global forest ecosystems, our findings provide an important and timely insight into the disturbance responses of soil microbial communities, which may influence key ecological functions.

High-Rise Building Evacuation Simulation Based on Physical Stamina of Evacuees

Currently, high-rise buildings are being continuously constructed, and thus, it is necessary to predict evacuation safety in advance in case of emergency situations in high-rise buildings. However, current studies focus only on the movement of individuals in evacuation situations for predicting the final evacuation time. Therefore, in this study, a simulation of realistic evacuation in high-rise buildings was performed based on characteristics such as the physical stamina of evacuees. The evacuation simulation was performed on the world's tallest high-rise building, Burj Khalifa, and comparative verification was performed with and without consideration of the physical stamina of evacuees. The results of the simulation indicated that the total evacuation time significantly increases when physical stamina is considered. Hence, realistic evacuation in high-rise buildings is possible when the stamina of evacuees is considered.

DESIGN OF CHENAB BRIDGE IN INDIA

The Chenab Bridge's conceptual design and structural design principles are described in this study. The major goal is to describe the unique bridge concept in difficult terrain and to provide an overview of the design solutions employed in one of the world's tallest steel arch railway bridges. The construction of a new railway line in India has been taken on by Indian Railways as a mega-project in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The project includes a large number of tunnels and bridges which are to be implemented in highly rugged and mountainous terrain. The alignment crosses a deep gorge of the Chenab River which necessitates construction of a long span railway bridge. The deck height is 359m and bridge length is 1315m. Indian railways constructing the iconic arch bridge on river Chenab as a part of the USBRL project to connect Kashmir valley to the rest of nation. Arch bridge completely made of steel. Foundations and the approach viaduct piers are made of concrete. This paper describes the design and engineering of the bridge. The bridge has numerous design challenges such as erection of the steel arch by cable crane, the bridge’s huge dimensions, and the special design requirements- redundancy of the arch, the earthquake load and blast load effect. The challenges in the design and erection of the bridge is described in this paper.bridge, long-span, railway, arch

The impact of logging on vertical canopy structure across a gradient of tropical forest degradation intensity in Borneo

Abstract Forest degradation through logging is pervasive throughout the world's tropical forests, leading to changes in the three‐dimensional canopy structure that have profound consequences for wildlife, microclimate and ecosystem functioning. Quantifying these structural changes is fundamental to understanding the impact of degradation, but is challenging in dense, structurally complex forest canopies. We exploited discrete‐return airborne LiDAR surveys across a gradient of logging intensity in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and assessed how selective logging had affected canopy structure (Plant Area Index, PAI, and its vertical distribution within the canopy). LiDAR products compared well to independent, analogue models of canopy structure produced from detailed ground‐based inventories undertaken in forest plots, demonstrating the potential for airborne LiDAR to quantify the structural impacts of forest degradation at landscape scale, even in some of the world's tallest and most structurally complex tropical forests. Plant Area Index estimates across the plot network exhibited a strong linear relationship with stem basal area (R2 = 0.95). After at least 11–14 years of recovery, PAI was ~28% lower in moderately logged plots and ~52% lower in heavily logged plots than that in old‐growth forest plots. These reductions in PAI were associated with near‐complete lack of trees >30‐m tall, which had not been fully compensated for by increasing plant area lower in the canopy. This structural change drives a marked reduction in the diversity of canopy environments, with the deep, dark understorey conditions characteristic of old‐growth forests far less prevalent in logged sites. Full canopy recovery is likely to take decades. Synthesis and applications. Effective management and restoration of tropical forests requires detailed monitoring of the forest and its environment. We demonstrate that airborne LiDAR can effectively map the canopy architecture of the complex tropical forests of Borneo, capturing the three‐dimensional impact of degradation on canopy structure at landscape scales, therefore facilitating efforts to restore and conserve these ecosystems.

The Alces alces awards

The <i>Alces alces</i> awards

An integrated chromosome-scale genome assembly of the Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi).

BackgroundThe Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) is the largest-bodied giraffe and the world's tallest terrestrial animal. With its extreme size and height, the giraffe's unique anatomical and physiological adaptations have long been of interest to diverse research fields. Giraffes are also critical to ecosystems of sub-Saharan Africa, with their long neck serving as a conduit to food sources not shared by other herbivores. Although the genome of a Masai giraffe has been sequenced, the assembly was highly fragmented and suboptimal for genome analysis. Herein we report an improved giraffe genome assembly to facilitate evolutionary analysis of the giraffe and other ruminant genomes.FindingsUsing SOAPdenovo2 and 170 Gbp of Illumina paired-end and mate-pair reads, we generated a 2.6-Gbp male Masai giraffe genome assembly, with a scaffold N50 of 3 Mbp. The incorporation of 114.6 Gbp of Chicago library sequencing data resulted in a HiRise SOAPdenovo + Chicago assembly with an N50 of 48 Mbp and containing 95% of expected genes according to BUSCO analysis. Using the Reference-Assisted Chromosome Assembly tool, we were able to order and orient scaffolds into 42 predicted chromosome fragments (PCFs). Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we placed 153 cattle bacterial artificial chromosomes onto giraffe metaphase spreads to assess and assign the PCFs on 14 giraffe autosomes and the X chromosome resulting in the final assembly with an N50 of 177.94 Mbp. In this assembly, 21,621 protein-coding genes were identified using both de novo and homology-based predictions.ConclusionsWe have produced the first chromosome-scale genome assembly for a Giraffidae species. This assembly provides a valuable resource for the study of artiodactyl evolution and for understanding the molecular basis of the unique adaptive traits of giraffes. In addition, the assembly will provide a powerful resource to assist conservation efforts of Masai giraffe, whose population size has declined by 52% in recent years.

Homesteading the moon: Lunar pioneers and their robot companions will need a cozy place to call home

SKID MORE, OWINGS & MERRILL is the architectural firm known for designing and engineering Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, such iconic structures being one of the firm's specialties. But at its New York City office, architects are working on something even more striking—drawings for SOM's first extraterrestrial assignment. The firm is designing a moon base in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and MIT. • Daniel Inocente, the lead designer, presents schematics and renderings of white puffy pods scattered across the lunar landscape, connected by tubular walkways and surrounded by robots and solar panels and astronauts, all overseen by a recognizable blue orb in the sky. These visions may never come to be, • but they're, helping ESA think through possible futures. The moon offers many opportunities. Planetary scientists want to study its composition to learn about the early solar system and Earth's origins. Astronomers want to build radio telescopes on the far side. Medical researchers want to understand how the human body reacts to extended stays in low gravity. Explorers want to test equipment or produce propellant for voyages to asteroids, Mars, and beyond.

The World's Tallest Tropical Tree in Three Dimensions

We would like to thank NERC for funding the airborne remote sensing campaign (HMTF grant NE/K016377/1 to the BALI consortium, YM, DC and DB) + direct access grant to MC, DSB, GM and DB), analyses (grants NE/P004806/1 to MC, DSB, GF, DB, GH, and NE/I528477/1 to GH, DSB, GF), and ground-based work (grant NE/P012337/1 to YM, MD and LPB); an ERC Advanced Investigator Award (321131) to YM for funding the UAV work; LAStools’ LASmoons program for a free academic license; and an Anne McLaren Research fellowship by the University of Nottingham to GH for funding the tree climbing. YM is supported by the Jackson Foundation. Data availability statement Generated Statement: The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.