Optical patterns in spatially coupled phase-conjugate systems

Various pattern evolutions are presented in one- and two-dimensional spatially coupled phase-conjugate systems （SCPCSs）. As the system parameters change, different patterns are obtained from the period-doubling of kink-antikinks in space to the spatiotemporal chaos in a one-dimensional SCPCS. The homogeneous symmetric states induce symmetry breaking from the four corners and the boundaries, finally leading to spatiotemporal chaos with the increase of the iteration time in a two-dimensional SCPCS. Numerical simulations are very helpful for understanding the complex optical phenomena.

What is attractive rural landscape?Differences in the social and expert assessment of the changes in the rural landscape of the Carpathian region in Poland with regard to the need of its protection

Contemporary villages of the mountain region are subject to uncontrolled structural and spatial transformations,which cause deformation of centuries-old spatial systems of high cultural and natural value.The aim of the study is to confront the opinions of the inhabitants and experts regarding the condition of the cultural landscape of the villages in south-eastern Poland.This area belongs to the Carpathian region of Central Europe.The historical and economic conditions of the studied region,related to the functioning in the post-war period,and then its breakdown and the development of the free market economy,constitute an interesting background for the proposed research.Local communities still remembering the period of difficulties related to the period of systemic transformations,are currently experiencing a relative prosperity,many difficulties related to the period of systemic transformations,are currently experiencing a relative prosperity,which is also expressed in a completely new,previously unknown way of managing the landscape.Investments implemented in villages are associated by the inhabitants with the improvement of the standards and quality of life.They assess them rather positively.An expert assessment of these landscape transformations indicates their negative dimension and the risk of losing timeless values.The discrepancy in the assessment of experts and local residents creates difficulties in the protection of the rural landscape.Therefore,high-quality visual landscape features among rural residents is necessary from the point of view of its multi-faceted and effective protection.Local initiatives and actions in the field of industry policy should play a significant role in this respect by consolidating the images of a harmonious landscape in the public awareness.

Gap analysis in decision support systems for real-estate in the era of the digital earth

Searching for a property is inherently a multicriteria spatial decision.The decision is primarily based on three high-level criteria composed of household needs,building facilities,and location characteristics.Location choice is driven by diverse characteristics;including but not limited to environmental factors,access,services,and the socioeconomic status of a neighbourhood.This article aims to identify the gap between theory and practice in presenting information on location choice by using a gap analysis methodology through the development of a sevenfactor classification tool and an assessment of international property websites.Despite the availability of digital earth data,the results suggest that real-estate websites are poor at providing sufficient location information to support efficient spatial decision making.Based on a case study in Dublin,Ireland,we find that although neighbourhood digital earth data may be readily available to support decision making,the gap persists.We hypothesise that the reason is two-fold.Firstly,there is a technical challenge to transform location data into usable information.Secondly,the market may not wish to provide location information which can be perceived as negative.We conclude this article with a discussion of critical issues necessary for designing a spatial decision support system for real-estate decision making.

A cyberGIS-enabled multi-criteria spatial decision support system: A case study on flood emergency management

With the increased frequency of natural hazards and disasters and consequent losses,it is imperative to develop efficient and timely strategies for emergency response and relief operations.In this paper,we propose a cyberGIS-enabled multi-criteria spatial decision support system for supporting rapid decision making during emergency management.It combines a high-performance computing environment(cyberGIS-Jupyter)and multi-criteria decision analysis models(Weighted Sum Model(WSM)and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution Model(TOPSIS))with various types of social vulnerability indicators to solve decision problems that contain conflicting evaluation criteria in a flood emergency situation.Social media data(e.g.Twitter data)was used as an additional tool to support the decision-making process.Our case study involves two decision goals generated based on a past flood event in the city of Austin,Texas,U.S.A.As our result shows,WSM produces more diverse values and higher output category estimations than the TOPSIS model.Finally,the model was validated using an innovative questionnaire.This cyberGIS-enabled spatial decision support system allows collaborative problem solving and efficient knowledge transformation between decision makers,where different emergency responders can formulate their decision objectives,select relevant evaluation criteria,and perform interactive weighting and sensitivity analyses.

The comparison of statistical features and synoptic circulations between the eastward-propagating and quasi-stationary MCSs during the warm season around the second-step terrain along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River

Mesoscale convective systems(MCSs) around the second-step terrain(106°–113°E, 28°–35°N), along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, were detected, tracked and classified using a black body temperature(TBB) dataset during May to August 2000–2016(except 2005). The MCSs were divided into eastward-propagating(EP) and quasi-stationary(QS) types, to compare their spatial and temporal distributions and convective intensities, and to identify the favorable synoptic conditions for the formation and evolution of EP MCSs. The results showed that both MCS types occurred most often in July. The EP MCSs were mainly initiated over the eastern regions of the study area, while the QS type mainly originated in the western regions of the study area. Both MCS types mainly formed in the afternoon, but a second peak occurred in the early morning for QS MCSs. The EP MCSs had a larger cloud area at their mature stage and a lower cloud brightness temperature, indicating more intense convection. Additionally, the longer lifetime and further eastward propagation of the EP MCSs meant that they had a great influence on the precipitation over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Synoptic circulation analysis demonstrated that the combination of the mid-level low trough east of the Tibetan Plateau(TP), and the western pacific subtropical high(WPSH), favored the formation and eastward propagation of EP MCSs. The positive vertical relative vorticity and stronger vertical wind shear provided dynamic conditions favorable for convective organization and development. Furthermore, a stronger low level jet imported warm and moist air to the eastern edge of, and the regions east of, the second-step terrain. The substantial convergence of water vapor promoted the development and long-lived maintenance of the EP MCSs.

Coupling the 4M crop model with national geo-databases for assessing the effects of climate change on agro-ecological characteristics of Hungary

The 4M crop model was used to investigate the prospective effects of climate change on the agro-ecological characteristics of Hungary.The model was coupled with a detailed meteorological database and spatial soil information systems covering the whole territory of Hungary.Plant-specific model parameters were determined by inverse modeling.Future meteorological data were produced from the present meteorological data by combining a climate change scenario and a stochastic weather generator.Using the available and the generated data,the present and the prospective agro-ecological characteristics of Hungary were determined.According to the simulation results,average yields will decrease considerably(-30%)due to climate change.The rate of nitrate leaching will prospectively decrease as well.The fluctuations of both the yields and the annual nitrate leaching rates will most likely increase approaching the end of the twenty-first century.On the basis of the simulation results,the role of autumn crops is likely to become more significant in Hungary.The achieved results can be generalized for more extended regions based on the concept of spatial(geographical)analogy.