Search Results (21)

Climate-induced extreme rainfall events are increasing the intensity and frequency of flash floods, highlighting the urgent need for advanced flood management systems in climate-resilient cities. This study introduces an Intelligent Flood Control Decision Support System (IFCDSS), a novel AI-driven solution for real-time flood forecasting and automated pump operations. The IFCDSS integrates multiple advanced tools: machine learning for rapid short-term water level forecasting, NSGA-III for multi-objective optimization, the TOPSIS for robust multi-criteria decision-making, and the ANFIS for real-time pump control. Implemented in the flood-prone Zhongshan Pumping Station catchment in Taipei, the IFCDSS leveraged real-time sensor data to deliver accurate water level forecasts within five seconds for the next 10–30 min, enabling proactive and informed operational responses. Performance evaluations confirm the system’s scientific soundness and practical utility. Specifically, the ANFIS achieved strong accuracy (R² = 0.81), with most of the prediction errors being limited to a single pump unit. While the conventional manual operations slightly outperformed the IFCDSS in minimizing flood peaks—due to their singular focus—the IFCDSS excelled in balancing multiple objectives: flood mitigation, energy efficiency, and operational reliability. By simultaneously addressing these dimensions, the IFCDSS provides a robust and adaptable framework for urban environments. This study highlights the transformative potential of intelligent flood control to enhance urban resilience and promote sustainable, climate-adaptive development. Full article

Based on a laboratorial analysis of nitrous oxide (N₂O) concentrations collected in gas bottles (glass flask) at the Zhongshan Station on the East Antarctic coast from 2008 to 2021, the variation characteristics and trends in the background concentration of N₂O at the station were analyzed and compared with the N₂O data from other Antarctic stations. The results showed that the annual average concentration of atmospheric N₂O along the East Antarctic coast increased from 320.40 ppb in 2008 to 333.31 ppb in 2021, with an overall increasing trend of 0.99 ppb per year. Pronounced seasonal variability was observed, with elevated concentrations occurring during austral spring–summer and reduced levels in autumn–winter, consistent with the seasonal patterns documented at other Antarctic sites. The overall variation trend of the N₂O concentration at Zhongshan Station is basically consistent with the observation results at other stations in Antarctica, suggesting that the station’s background N₂O measurements are representative of continental-scale atmospheric composition dynamics. Combined with the analysis of air mass tracks, this seasonal variation in N₂O is mainly related to the mass movement of air mass and, to a certain extent, is influenced by the seasonal melting of sea ice and the exchange between the troposphere and stratosphere. The results supplement important basic data on N₂O concentrations along the East Antarctic coast and have potential reference significance for further understanding the causes of atmospheric N₂O variations in the Antarctic region. Full article

A large number of research stations have been established to provide members of Antarctic expeditions with logistical support. A previous study confirmed that the wind and solar energy resources of the Chinese Zhongshan Station, a coastal station located in an area of Lassmann Hills in East Antarctica, are highly synergetic and complementary. Considering the demand for a renewable energy power supply in Zhongshan Station, this paper introduces a hybrid energy system with wind–solar–diesel–battery co-generation used as a power supply scheme. Based on the 2015 climate data for Zhongshan Station, the wind–solar resources, conventional energy system, and annual diesel consumption of the station area were analyzed. The annual electrical load demand of each building in the station area was quantitatively expounded. Compared with the original power supply system, and combined with the analysis results of the thermal load and electrical load demands of the station, an objective function based on the requirements of economy, reliability, and environmental protection was presented. According to the constraint conditions of the heat energy and electrical energy load balance in the station area, a multi-objective scheduling strategy for the system was designed. Finally, the effects of this scheduling strategy were analyzed under three different application scenarios. The results indicated that the annual load demand was significantly lower than before the scheduling, and that a 50% reduction in diesel consumption could be achieved, demonstrating that the multi-objective scheduling strategy proposed in this paper could achieve optimal energy scheduling and management of the renewable hybrid energy system. Full article

The harsh scientific research environment of Antarctic stations demands a reliable energy supply; however, traditional methods not only pose a challenge in supply but also harm the environment. Antarctic energy supply has become a new choice for energy development in Antarctica due to its abundant wind energy resources. Using ERA5 10 m wind field reanalysis data, we compared and analyzed the correlation (r) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between some observation stations and reanalysis data, with correlations above 0.67 and root mean square error below 2.3. This indicates that the accuracy of the ERA5 data is suitable for resource assessment at stations in Antarctica. We assessed the wind energy potential of the Great Wall, Zhongshan, Kunlun and Taishan Stations. The results show that the annual distribution and long-term trend of wind energy at Taishan Station are the best, followed by the Great Wall, Zhongshan and Kunlun Stations. Taishan Station has stable wind direction and abundant wind energy, the average wind power density is 800 W/m², with an annual growth trend of 2.02 W/m²·yr⁻¹. The effective wind speed occurrence and energy level occurrence are generally above 90% and the coefficient of variation is generally below 0.8. The dominant direction of wind energy is northeast and the wind direction is stable, which is conducive to the development and utilization of wind energy. Full article

Straight-wall arch cross-sections are usually designed at the entrance and exit tunnels of subway stations, and dense underground pipelines often cross these cross-sections at close range. Among these pipelines, gas pipelines have the highest risk level. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the deformation influence of underground crossing construction on existing gas pipelines. Based on the No. 2 entrance and exit tunnel project of Zhongshan Road Station of the Hohhot Metro Line 2, using the methods of numerical simulation and field monitoring, this paper has particularly investigated the influence of straight-wall arch tunnel construction by applying the pre-grouting reinforcement and double-side drift method to the deformation of existing gas pipelines. The research results show that the double-side drift method is an efficient and sustainable construction method for straight-wall arch tunnels, which can effectively reduce the crossing construction disturbance to overlying gas pipelines. The measured maximum settlement of the existing gas pipeline is 18.46 mm, and the maximum settlement of the new tunnel vault is 22.86 mm, with both values satisfying the requirements for deformation control. The simulation results are consistent with the measured results of gas pipeline settlement. This study shows that the safety control scheme employed in the field with a tunnel excavation step of 6 m, stratum reinforcement with upper semi-section grouting, and a grouting reinforcement range of 2.0 m is reasonable and effective. This scheme can provide a reference for the deformation control of similar underground gas pipelines in the crossing construction of straight-wall arch tunnels at close range. Full article

The theory of equatorward moving east-west elongated auroral arcs associated with field line resonance (FLR) has been proposed for decades. However, confirming this theory requires in-situ observations of FLR within the magnetosphere and simultaneous all-sky imager observations of equatorward moving auroral arcs near satellite footpoints. In this study, we present the first observations of multiple equatorward moving auroral arcs related to impulse-excited FLR, using datasets from the WIND, Geotail satellites, and an all-sky imager at China’s Zhongshan Station (ZHS) in Antarctica. In the presented event, the ultra-low-frequency waves associated with solar wind dynamic pressure pulse was mainly toroidal mode, which is consistent with the theory that the toroidal mode waves usually related with external source. The all-sky imager located in Zhongshan station recorded several equatorward moving auroral arcs, followed by reverse propagating ones. The latitudinal width of the equatorward moving auroral arcs was on the order of 25 km and had an average equatorward propagation of ~0.37 km/s, which is very similar to the value from previous work. To better illustrate the observed evolution of auroral arcs related with the FLRs we proposed a simple model to evaluate the FACs induced by the FLRs in different latitudes. The latitudinal distribution evolution of FACs agrees well with the ground-based optical observations. Full article

A compact all-fiber pulsed coherent Doppler lidar (PCDL) for boundary layer wind measurement was developed by the Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences). It has been deployed at Zhongshan Station (69.4° S, 76.4° E) during the 2020 austral summer season by the 36th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) and started routine observation in January 2020. This system, based on the 1550 nm all-fiber components, employs a 100 mm telescope with a long focal length of 632.6 mm to emit and collect laser pulses. It provides the ability to measure vertically resolved wind fields with a spatial resolution of 30 m and a temporal resolution of 1 min; the maximum detection range is up to 1.5 km in Antarctica. Wind speed and direction inversion methods were introduced subsequently. Preliminary measurement results of wind profiles indicate that this Doppler lidar can be operated successfully in Antarctica. The synchronous observations between the lidar, anemometer, and radiosondes at Zhongshan station are presented and have good consistency with each other. The comparison results between the lidar and anemometer indicate a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.98 m s⁻¹ and 10.55° for wind speed and direction, respectively. The lidar continuous observations of wind profiles provide an opportunity to study the spatiotemporal variation of Antarctic wind with high resolutions, which is useful for further understanding of the atmosphere in Antarctic regions. Full article

The variability in the atmospheric electric field is modulated by a combination of solar activities, meteorological activities, and geological conditions. A foundational dataset of the daily variations in the fair-weather atmospheric electric field is established in this study, and several examinations are conducted into the details of these variations in particular regions. This paper is organized as follows. First, the researchers count the datasets of daily variations to the atmospheric electric field on fair-weather days from 1 March–1 August 2022 at Zhongshan Chinese Station in Antarctica and Changping Station in Beijing. Then, the average daily variation in the atmospheric electric field on 40 fair-weather days in Antarctica is shown and the variations are compared with the average curve of 37 fair-weather days in Beijing during the same time period. Finally, the three main differences between these variations, their possible reasons, and a reasonable error analysis are clarified and discussed at the end of this paper. Full article

Understanding englacial and subglacial structures is a fundamental method of inferring ice sheets’ historical evolution and surface mass balance. The internal layer continuity index and the basal roughness are key parameters and indicators for the speculation of the relationship between the ice sheet’s internal structure or bottom and ice flow. Several methods have been proposed in the past two decades to quantitatively calculate the continuity index of ice layer geometry and the roughness of the ice–bedrock interface based on radar echo signals. These methods are mainly based on the average of the absolute value of the vertical gradient of the echo signal amplitude and the standard deviation of the horizontal fluctuation of the bedrock interface. However, these methods are limited by the amount and quality of unprocessed radar datasets and have not been widely used, which also hinders further research, such as the analysis of the englacial reflectivity, the subglacial conditions, and the history of the ice sheets. In this paper, based on geophysical processing methods for radar image denoising and deep learning for ice layer and bedrock interface extraction, we propose a new method for calculating the layer continuity index and basal roughness. Using this method, we demonstrate the ice-penetrating radar data processing and compare the imaging and calculation of the radar profiles from Dome A to Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica. We removed the noise from the processed radar data, extracted ice layer continuity features, and used other techniques to verify the calculation. The potential application of this method in the future is illustrated by several examples. We believe that this method can become an effective approach for future Antarctic geophysical and glaciological research and for obtaining more information about the history and dynamics of ice sheets from their radar-extracted internal structure. Full article

Antarctica is covered by a thick ice sheet, and the application of geophysical methods is necessary to image the subglacial structures for studying the hydrologic systems and tectonic deformations in the Antarctic continent. The magnetotelluric (MT) method is one of the best approaches to obtain the subglacial electrical resistivities. However, only a very small volume of data has been collected so far in Antarctica using this method. In this paper, we report on a broadband MT profile collected at 10 sites in the south of the Chinese Zhongshan Station at Prydz Bay, and a 3D resistivity model was constructed by inversion of these data. This 3D model shows two low resistivity zones at a depth shallower than 6 km. They are consistent with the low-velocity zones in the previous shear-wave model and can be interpreted as the result of interconnected fluids associated with a downward migration of subglacial water. In addition, a distinct eastward dipping low resistivity zoneis present in the crust, which extends from the top surface to the lower crust. Since its location coincides with the highly positive magnetization named Amery Lineament, it is proposed that this eastward dipping low resistivity zoneextending in the entire crust probably reveals the geometry structure of the Amery Lineament at depth. Besides, it can be inferred from this new 3D resistivity model that the Amery Lineament is at least a crustal-scale structure, which probably outcrops on the land surface but was covered by the ice sheets in the study area. Full article

The ground-based ozone observation instrument, Brewer spectrophotometer (Brewer), was used to evaluate the quality of the total ozone column (TOC) produced by multiple polar-orbit satellite measurements at three stations in Antarctica (King Sejong, Jang Bogo, and Zhongshan stations). While all satellite TOCs showed high correlations with Brewer TOCs (R = ~0.8 to 0.9), there are some TOC differences among satellite data in austral spring, which is mainly attributed to the bias of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) TOC. The quality of satellite TOCs is consistent between Level 2 and 3 data, implying that “which satellite TOC is used” can induce larger uncertainty than “which spatial resolution is used” for the investigation of the Antarctic TOC pattern. Additionally, the quality of satellite TOC is regionally different (e.g., OMI TOC is a little higher at the King Sejong station, but lower at the Zhongshan station than the Brewer TOC). Thus, it seems necessary to consider the difference of multiple satellite data for better assessing the spatiotemporal pattern of Antarctic TOC. Full article

The spatial glaciochemical variability of snow samples collected along a transect from Zhongshan Station to Lambert Glacier Basin 69 (LGB69) in Antarctica was investigated. Sea-salt ion concentrations exponentially decreased with increasing distance from the coast and/or altitude. The observed high sea-salt ion concentrations within 20.6 km of the coast may be related to preferential wet or dry deposition of sea-salt aerosols. Methanesulfonic acid (MSA), non-sea-salt sulfate (nssSO₄²⁻), and calcium (Ca²⁺) concentrations decreased along the transect. The mean MSA/nssSO₄²⁻ value of the surface snow samples (0.34 ± 0.08) indicates that coastal sea areas are their likely source regions. The non-sea-salt Ca²⁺ (nssCa²⁺)/Ca²⁺ percentages of the surface snow and LGB69 snow pit samples reveal that continental dust is the primary Ca²⁺ source. The δD and δ¹⁸O values decreased from the coast inland. The variation of deuterium excess (d-excess) along the transect was stable and d-excess values in the two snow pit samples were low and similar, which indicates that the moisture source region between Zhongshan Station and LGB69 is a coastal sea area. These results reveal the spatial distribution patterns and sources of ions and stable isotopes, as well as factors that influence the deposition of ions and the composition of stable isotopes, which provide important insight for further studies of ice cores drilled in Antarctic coastal regions. Full article

Enhancing the walkability of urban streets is an effective means to improve public health, alleviate traffic congestion, and enhance the living environment. In China, the government has actively encouraged green travel and promoted improvements in the walk system. The walkability of the built environment is affected by many factors. In addition to the configuration of daily life facilities, street greening can have significant effects on walkability. To explore the rationality of street life facilities and understand the impact of the natural attributes of the block space (street-level greening) on the quality of the walking environment, we evaluated the walkability of Zhongshan Road in Qingdao, China and optimized the algorithm of the walk score. In this study, we selected residential areas as the starting point and modified the weight coefficients for facilities to evaluate the walkability of streets. Traditional research methods were combined with street view image capture, and the rate of the attenuation factor was used for the new optimization algorithm. We discussed the rationality of street life facilities and increased the green vision rate using a correction index. By comparing changes in walkability before and after joining, we analyzed the necessity of including new indicators. The results show that the average walking index of Zhongshan Road is 79.74, and the overall performance is good, showing a high trend in the west and a low trend in the east, and a high trend in the south and a low trend in the north. According to the general walking index, western stations and southern coastal areas have higher scores, and living facilities are well equipped; old northern and eastern residential areas have lower scores. Among them, the average weight of bookstores is 0.74, and the average weight of parks is 0.69. To meet residents’ needs for daily leisure activities, adding bookstores or similar facilities in community parks would be necessary to improve daily facilities and services. The average green viewing rate of Zhongshan Road is 20.48%, which is lower than the best visual perception value of 25.00%. Comparing the walking index changes before and after adding the green viewing rate, the high-scoring area shifted from the west to the south, and the west walking index has the most significant decline. Street greening has a certain impact on the quality of the walking environment. The results and conclusions of this study can be used as a reference in developing street walkability indicators and further improving the evaluation system. Full article

Aurora, the spectacular phenomenon commonly occurring in high latitudes, is caused by the precipitation of energetic particles penetrating the Earth’s atmosphere. Being the result of solar-terrestrial interactions, electron precipitation significantly contributes to auroral production. To evaluate its magnitude, a physical quantity describing the characteristics of precipitating auroral electrons—their characteristic energy—is adopted. In this paper, this quantity is derived from joint data observed by the ground-based auroral spectroscopic imager located in Antarctica Zhongshan Station and the particle detectors “Special Sensor J5 (SSJ5)” on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. A postprocessing scheme of ground-based spectral data is proposed to infer the characteristic energy that successively uses classical brute-force, recursive brute-force and self-consistent approximation strategies for step-up speed improvement. Then, the inferred characteristic energies are compared to the average energies calibrated from the relevant electron data detected by SSJ5 to confirm whether this inference is valid. Regarding DMSP F18/SSJ5, these two energy estimations about auroral electrons deviate slightly from each other and show a strong linear relationship. It sheds light on further applications of the valuable aurora spectral data. Full article

The internal layers of ice sheets from ice-penetrating radar (IPR) investigation preserve critical information about the ice-flow field and englacial conditions. This paper presents a new detailed analysis of spatial distribution characteristics of internal layers and subglacial topography of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) from Zhongshan Station to Dome A. The radar data of 1244 km along a traverse between Zhongshan Station and Dome A of EAIS were collected during the 29th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 29, 2012/2013). In this study, the Internal Layering Continuity Index (ILCI) and basal roughness were taken as indicators to provide an opportunity to evaluate the past internal environment and dynamics of the ice sheet. Except for the upstream of Lambert Glacier, the fold patterns of internal layers are basically similar to that of the bed topography. The relatively flat basal topography and the decrease of ILCI with increasing depth provide evidence for identifying previous rapid ice flow areas that are unavailable to satellites, especially in the upstream of Lambert Glacier. Continuous internal layers of Dome A, recording the spatial change of past ice accumulation and ice-flow history over 160 ka, almost extend to the bed, with high ILCI and high basal roughness of the corresponding bed topography. There are three kinds of basal roughness patterns along the traverse, that is, “low ξ_t low η”, “low ξ_t high η”, and “high ξ_t high η”, where ξ_t represents the amplitude of the undulations, and quantifies the vertical variation of the bedrock, and η measures the frequency variation of fluctuations and the horizontal irregularity of the profile. The characteristics of internal layers and basal topography of the traverse between Zhongshan Station and Dome A provide new information for understanding the ancient ice-flow activity and the historical evolution of EAIS. Full article