A Training Framework for Understanding Conflict in the Coastal Zone

The coastal zone is attractive for human settlement because it tends to be resource rich, providing a good location to generate incomes and livelihoods. Equally, however, it is a complex and powerful natural environment, which means that the coastal zone often becomes a focus of conflict with multiple users competing for limited space and resources. Understanding the causes of, and determining solutions to, the ensuing problems requires inputs from a range of analyses across sectors and disciplines. However, different disciplinary and sectoral approaches frequently use different investigative methods, language, and means of presenting results. This article presents a framework that has been developed in collaboration with Indian institutions over the past three years in an effort to address some of these fundamental problems of analysis and translation into policy action. Key components addressed by the framework are strengthening the capacity to practice, knowing how to proceed and how to find out what needs to be known using experience-based problem solving.     

Coastal erosion and sea level rise: Implications for ocean beach and San Francisco's westside transport project

Abstract

One of the consequences of sea level rise resulting from the greenhouse effect is increased coastal erosion. This article discusses a model of erosion that can be used to estimate the response of beaches to sea level rise. The model is applied to Ocean Beach, California, with particular attention to the consequences of accelerated erosion for the San Francisco Westside Sewer Transport. Results obtained show that erosion produced by accelerated sea level rise could cause substantial damage to the structure. Large expenditures on beach nourishment will be required to protect the transport and the recreational value of the beach.     

Coastal Management and Economic Development in Developed Nations: The Forth Estuary Forum

This article considers the issue of economic development as a component of coastal management initiatives in developed countries, focusing on the Forth Estuary Forum as a case study. The evolution of coastal management into integrated coastal management is briefly considered, as is the context of the Scottish coastal management system and a brief discussion of the variations between the different legal systems within the UK. The current hurdles to economic development and the views of developers and economic agencies being considered in the coastal management process itself are highlighted, illustrating the process of integration and the current voluntary regime in the UK, particularly in the Forth Estuary Forum. The article concludes that economic development issues must be taken seriously if coastal management is to be integrated and inclusive.     

Initiatives in Philippine Coastal Management: An Overview

Standardized and free-format questionnaires on the state of coastal management were fielded to coastal management practitioners during three workshops and a national feedback and recommendation workshop. The most commonly cited responses were identified for each of 13 political regions and overall trends were identified. Management frameworks frequently included research, community organizing, education, livelihood, resource enhancement, resource protection, regulation, and networking components. Gender issues, documentation, and infrastructure investment were rare. The most commonly perceived environmental problem was illegal/ destructive fishing and its associated overfishing and low fish catch. The most commonly cited socioeconomic problem was the inadequacy of law enforcement. The best monitored variables were usually those related to environmental management: status and change of habitats, resources, and degree of enforcement/patrolling activities. The most common nonregulatory enhancement, aside from environmental education (which is the most popular), was mangrove reforestation. In terms of regulations, the majority of the respondents have reportedly formulated an integrated coastal management plan. In practice, regulating destructive and illegal fishing practices and then the establishment of fish sanctuaries are the next most implemented. The most popular quality-of-life enhancement strategies focused on the improvement of sustainable fishing as a livelihood and on a variety of supplementary livelihoods. The most usual institutional intervention being implemented was the setting up of local community people's organizations. Major factors which may influence success or failure of coastal management and recommendations on research, community organizing and livelihood, legislation and policies, implementation and coordination, and networking are also summarized.     

Geographical variations in hurricane risk and legislative response

Abstract

Risk from the “natural event system”; of hurricanes varies greatly along the U.S. coastline, and so do the property and lives at risk. Damage potential from storm surge in the Miami area is less than a third that of the Tampa area. However, damage potential from winds in the Boston and New York areas exceeds that of either the Miami or Tampa areas. Passage of time since the great hurricane disasters near the turn of the century and improvements in the warning system may make coastal dwellers underestimate the likelihood of a hurricane catastrophe. But population growth near the coast has been more than three times the national average, and 10 of 58 coastal segments 50 miles in width more than doubled in population between 1960 and 1970. Twenty‐two segments increased by more than 25,000 people with six increasing by 150,000. Legislative response to the growing hazard has varied as widely as risk but is not clearly correlated with risk.     

Preview Control Algorithms for the Active Suspension of an Off-Road Vehicle

The potential performance improvement using preview control for active vehicle suspension was first recognized in the late nineteen sixties. All work done since that time has been based on optimal control theory using simple vehicle models.

In this article, the performance of quarter vehicle preview controllers when applied to a real off-road vehicle is simulated using both two degree of freedom quarter and ten degree of freedom full vehicle models. The results, which are compared with non-preview active and conventional passive suspensions, confirm that preview control reduces vertical acceleration of the body centre of gravity, which results in improved ride quality. Further, reductions in pitch and roll motion result from smaller vertical displacements of the vehicle quarters. Coupling between quarters, through the vehicle body, appears to have a smoothing effect on the control.

As an alternative to optimal control theory based controllers, a simple ad hoc preview controller based on isolating the vehicle body from dynamic loads transmitted through the suspension is proposed. Simulation results show that such a controller outperforms the optimal control theory based controllers over small discrete disturbances but responds poorly to disturbances encountered from other than steady state.     

Dual extended Kalman filter for vehicle state and parameter estimation

The article demonstrates the implementation of a model-based vehicle estimator, which can be used for combined estimation of vehicle states and parameters. The estimator is realised using the dual extended Kalman filter (DEKF) technique, which makes use of two Kalman filters running in parallel, thus 'splitting' the state and parameter estimation problems. Note that the two problems cannot be entirely separated due to their inherent interdependencies. This technique provides several advantages, such as the possibility to switch off the parameter estimator, once a sufficiently good set of estimates has been obtained. The estimator is based on a four-wheel vehicle model with four degrees of freedom, which accommodates the dominant modes only, and is designed to make use of several interchangeable tyre models. The paper demonstrates the appropriateness of the DEKF. Results to date indicate that this is an effective approach, which is considered to be of potential benefit to the automotive industry.     

Modelling of wheels and rail discontinuities in dynamic wheel-rail contact analysis

A classification of wheel-rail contact is given. Difference is made between modelling of a running wheel with continuous single-point-contact, as is common practice in wheel-rail contact analysis, and a wheel with transient double- or multi-point-contact, which may occur for rail irregularities with curvatures larger than that of the wheel circumference. It is shown that application of the first model for these irregularities will strongly underestimate the contact forces as it does not describe occurring mechanisms correctly. Further, it is shown that in principle it is not possible to describe the second type of contact fully correct with a lumped wheel model. Both wheel models are formulated mathematically for some basic contact cases. Afterwards, results are applied to a linear track model. Analytical closed-form solutions are found in the frequency domain for arbitrary type of contact and numerically transformed to the time domain. Finally, the necessity is shown to avoid situations where transient multiple-point-contact may occur (like rail joints) in practice.