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The real-time and accurate detection and ranging of ships play a pivotal role in ensuring navigation safety, this study aims to enhance the navigation safety and environmental perception capabilities of inland waterway vessels. In the ship detection stage, addressing challenges such as large parameters, high computational complexity, and poor real-time performance in existing ship detection models, this paper proposes the MS-YOLOv5s ship target detection algorithm. This algorithm, based on YOLOv5s, utilizes the lightweight MobileNetV3-Small network to replace the original YOLOv5s feature extraction backbone network, thereby improving the detection speed. The results indicate that the parameter size of the MS-YOLOv5s model is 3.55M, only 50.49% of YOLOv5s. Achieving a detection rate of 50.28 FPS, the precision is 96.80%, and the mAP is 98.40%, striking a balance between high accuracy and low computational demand. In the depth estimation stage, influenced by the environment, leading to unstable measurement data, this paper proposes a binocular Kalman filter fusion ranging algorithm. The standard deviation of the ranging results is minimized to 6.032μm, which is one order of magnitude smaller than traditional ranging algorithms, significantly enhancing the robustness of the measurement results. Within a distance of 20m from the ship target, the error can be controlled within 3%, showcasing the applicability of the method proposed in this paper in complex inland waterway environments contributes to the enhancement of ships' environmental perception capabilities and navigation safety, holding positive implications for the development of intelligent vessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study of natural waterways, the use of formulas such as Manning's equation is prevalent for analyzing flow structure characteristics. Typically, floodplains exhibit greater roughness compared to the main river channel, which results in higher flow velocities within the main channel. This difference in velocity can lead to increased sedimentation potential within the floodplains. Therefore, accurately determining Manning's roughness coefficient for compound channels, particularly during flood events, is of significant interest to researchers. This study aims to model the Manning roughness coefficient in compound channels with both converging and diverging floodplains using advanced soft computing techniques. These techniques include a multi-layer artificial neural network (MLPNN), Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH), and the Neuro-Fuzzy Group Method of Data Handling (NF-GMDH). For the analysis, a dataset from 196 laboratory experiments was used, which was divided into training and testing subsets. Input variables included parameters such as longitudinal slope (So), relative hydraulic radius (Rr), relative depth (Dr), relative dimension of flow aspects (δ*), and the convergent or divergent angle (θ) of the floodplain. The relative Manning roughness coefficient (nr) was the output variable of interest. The results of the study showed that all the models performed well, with the MLPNN model achieving the highest accuracy, characterized by R² = 0.99, RMSE = 0.001, SI = 0.0015, and DDR = 0.0233 during the testing phase. Further analysis of the soft computing models indicated that the most critical parameters influencing the results were Sr, Rr,Dr*, and θ. These findings highlight the effectiveness of soft computing techniques in accurately modeling the Manning roughness coefficient in complex channel conditions and provide valuable insights for future research and practical applications in the management of flood events and waterway analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the basis for characterizing traffic conditions in waterways, fundamental characteristics of waterway traffic streams are of great practical significance in ensuring traffic safety and improving navigation efficiency. In the study of the fundamental characteristics of waterway traffic flow, although some scholars consider the length or area of the vessel, few scholars take the displacement of the vessel into account and make light of the influence of the three-dimensional size of the vessel. This paper proposes a method for defining the fundamental characteristics of a waterway traffic stream considering vessel size. This method defines fundamental characteristics in terms of vessel displacement and quantifies flow, density, and speed based on vessel trajectories in time–space regions. This study selects a unidirectional channel in the south trough waters of Shanghai Harbor for a case study and draws the fundamental diagram of the waterway traffic stream while considering vessel number and displacement. The comparison result shows that the definition considering vessel displacement can more accurately reflect the actual traffic condition of the selected channel. Finally, based on the flow–density subgraph of the waterway traffic stream (measured by vessel displacement), this paper constructs a traffic stream model and derives critical parameters. The definition proposed in this study effectively characterizes how vessels occupy the time–space resources of waterways, revealing the inherent mechanisms governing waterway traffic stream and, thus, enhancing accuracy in describing fundamental relationships among waterway stream characteristics. The outcome of this research underlies how the waterway traffic stream is measured, operated, and managed to ensure safety and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic segmentation-based Complex Waterway Scene Understanding has shown great promise in the environmental perception of Unmanned Surface Vehicles. Existing methods struggle with estimating the edges of obstacles under conditions of blurred water surfaces. To address this, we propose the Lightweight Dual-branch Mamba Network (LDMNet), which includes a CNN-based Deep Dual-branch Network for extracting image features and a Mamba-based fusion module for aggregating and integrating global information. Specifically, we improve the Deep Dual-branch Network structure by incorporating multiple Atrous branches for local fusion; we design a Convolution-based Recombine Attention Module, which serves as the gate activation condition for Mamba-2 to enhance feature interaction and global information fusion from both spatial and channel dimensions. Moreover, to tackle the directional sensitivity of image serialization and the impact of the State Space Model's forgetting strategy on non-causal data modeling, we introduce a Hilbert curve scanning mechanism to achieve multi-scale feature serialization. By stacking feature sequences, we alleviate the local bias of Mamba-2 towards image sequence data. LDMNet integrates the Deep Dual-branch Network, Recombine Attention, and Mamba-2 blocks, effectively capturing the long-range dependencies and multi-scale global context information of Complex Waterway Scene images. The experimental results on four benchmarks show that the proposed LDMNet significantly improves obstacle edge segmentation performance and outperforms existing methods across various performance metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulation technology has been extensively utilized in the study of ship entry and exit from ports, as well as navigation through waterways. It effectively mirrors the stochastic dynamic changes and interrelationships among various elements within the port system. This paper provides a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of various modeling methods used in ship navigation simulations. It proposes a simulation modeling approach for ship–port systems based on multi-agent information interaction, which simulates the entire process of ships entering and exiting ports and navigating through complex waterways, achieving a precise and detailed simulation of the entire port entry and exit process in complex waters. Using the Qiongzhou Strait as a case study, the validity and accuracy of the model are verified. The model is employed to quantitatively identify port navigation elements, assess waterway capacity, and evaluate port operational capability. Furthermore, the model enables the analysis of coordination among port channels, berths, and anchorages. Based on simulation results and port development plans, recommendations are provided to enhance port service levels and promote scientific, rational development and efficient operation of ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difference between waterway traffic and road traffic in terms of lane lines leads to the direct application of the method of plotting the fundamental diagram of road traffic flow to waterway traffic, and it is difficult to reveal the mechanism of waterway traffic flow operations. This study proposes a shipping-lane-subdivision approach to tackle this problem. Additionally, it introduces a more suitable fundamental diagram-plotting method for waterway traffic based on the aforementioned method. The southern channel in the estuary of the Yangtze River was taken as the research water, and the fundamental diagram of traffic flow in this water was plotted to verify the similarities between the fundamental diagram of waterway traffic flow and the fundamental diagram of road traffic flow. Upon evaluating the plotted fundamental diagram, it was determined that the blockage density of the subdivided shipping lane is around 6.5 vessels per nautical mile. This method has significant potential for its application in the theory of waterway traffic flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a method to support ship trajectory prediction at waterway confluences using historical Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. The method is meant to improve the recognition accuracy of ship behavior trajectory, assist in the proactive avoidance of collisions, and clarify ship collision responsibility, to ensure the safety of waterway transportation systems in the event of ship encounters induced by waterway confluence or channel limitation. In this study, the ship trajectory based on AIS data is considered from five aspects: time, location, heading, speed, and trajectory by using the piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation method and then quickly clustered by regional navigation rules. Then, an improved K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm considering the sensitivity of data characteristics (SKNN) is proposed to predict the trajectory of ships, which considers the influence weights of various parameters on ship trajectory prediction. The method is trained and verified using the AIS data of the Yangtze River and Han River intersection in Wuhan. The results show that the accuracy of SKNN is better than that of conventional KNN and Naive Bayes (NB) in the same test case. The accuracy of the ship trajectory prediction method is above 99% and the performance metrics of the SKNN surpass those of both the conventional KNN and NB classifiers, which is helpful for early warning of collision encounters to ensure avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's coal industry has long faced challenges due to imbalance between supply and demand divisions and the discrepancies between supply and demand prices. Research on optimizing coal transfer amid fluctuating coal prices is crucial for enhancing coal resource allocation, ensuring a balanced and stable supply of coal resources, and promoting the sustainable development of the coal industry. This paper focuses on optimizing coal transfer schemes within a comprehensive transportation system, considering fixed transportation routes and opening times of railroad transportation and waterway transportation, with road transportation serving as a supplementary network. A three-dimensional spatio-temporal network model is established to represent the spatial and temporal paths and transportation modes of coal logistics. The study uses the coal transportation network from Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi to East China as a case study, analyzing factors such as coal price fluctuation, transportation rates, and the ratio of self-produced to purchased coal at the production end via sensitivity analysis. The findings indicate that the proposed model can effectively guide transportation practices under the integrated production, transportation, and sales framework in the energy industry. Additionally, it shows that enterprises can achieve higher profits and maintain revenue and supply stability despite coal price fluctuations, aligning with the coal industry's transformation and development in the current context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thrust of this paper is on using folk media to promote the protection of the environment, given that open defecation, indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways and scooping of sand in waterways take place in rural communities and constitute hazards to development plans in Cross River State, Nigeria. The paper formulated two objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses. The investigation was situated under the Diffusion of innovations theory of development by Rogers and Shoemaker, 1971. The relevance of this theory to the work is the recognition given the media for development task. The study adopted the survey design, with questionnaire and focus group discussions, as primary instruments for data collection. The reliability estimate of the instrument tagged, "Harnessing Trado-media in Reducing Land Pollution and Sustainable Development Goals Questionnaire (HTRLPSDGQ), was ranged at 0.71 to 0.84. A total of 400 respondents, using the Taro-Yamane formula were used to derive the sample size from a study population of 4,021,245, across the three senatorial districts of Cross River State. The multi-stage (proportionate, simple random and systematic) sampling techniques were used to selects 15 LGAs across the three senatorial districts, 40 villages across the LGAs, 40 streets across the villages and 5 houses at interval per street. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics and data from focus group discussions were analyzed using explanation method. One major finding from the study revealed that environmental pollution has consequences on sustainable development goals and that communication is pivotal in curbing land pollution, leading to the attainment of SDGs in Cross River State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of building the Oder-Danube waterway dates back to the fourteenth century. It was one of the first in Europe envisaging a water canal of such dimensions and spanning areas of highly diverse topography. Since then, new construction ideas with an altered course of the canal and hydrotechnical solutions have been proposed. The first actual design was developed in 1719. Despite the many perceived benefits, numerous difficulties were encountered over the years and the project was ultimately abandoned. The article presents the current construction status of the Oder-Danube Canal project, analyzing and assessing the political landscape in the Czech Republic as having a critical impact on the possibility of implementing the said undertaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ports and wharves are essential parts of the infrastructure that enable the transport of goods on inland waterways. Integrating the network of inland waterways and land modes of transport, the ports are the main hubs of the transport network, they encourage economic activities and enable the development of the region. The port of "Novi Sad" is located on the left bank of the Danube River, river km 1254, and is open to international traffic. This is an exceptional location where water corridor (VII) and Pan-European Corridor X intersect and form a hub for international communication and transport. Novi Sad port's location strength is not only of a geographical nature, it also has excellent transport links as it is only 0.3 km from the railway junction of Corridor X and 3 km from the land Corridor X. The development of the port of "Novi Sad" would be related to the growth of it's industry in the background. Considering the favorable geographical position and the growing economic activity, especially in the trade exchange with the countries that are in the Black Sea basin, the port of "Novi Sad" could achieve the status of a river-sea port in addition to it's international status. In accordance with the Water Transport Development Strategy of Republic of Serbia, the port of "Novi Sad" could be developed to the extent that it becomes competitive on the market and provides transboatment and storage services in accordance to the world standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of safety and free navigation near the Vistula Lagoon for many years was a dispute between Poland and Russia. The most debatable and conflicting topic, especially in Poland, was building a new connection between the Gulf of Gdansk and the Vistula Lagoon. This paper describes the functional processes and mechanisms of the new lock installed at the harbour Nowy Świat and the results of quantitative analysis of traffic changes resulting from that addition (from the beginning of their operations through January 2023). The next part of the work focuses on safety navigation analysis for typical vessels which operate on this newly built waterway. Underkeel clearance analysis and the channel's minimum safety width were carried out, assuming the most common types of ship. The research results provide the foundation for further potential analysis of the Nowy Świat Canal transport possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paraguay River Waterway is a crucial axis for integration in South America, with a course of 3.442 km from Cáceres (Brazil) to Nueva Palmira (Uruguay). To provide the navigation, improve the safety, the reliability and efficiency of the waterway transport, for a minimum period corresponding to 90% of the year, interventions with amelioration works are necessary. Among them, dredging in critical stretches stand out, which currently present some form of obstacle to navigation, either by natural factors (widths, radius of curvature and depths) or by structures, such as bridges, and sand shoals. This paper proposes a reassessment of the current nautical dimensions based on new guidelines, assessing critical sections for depth, width, and radius of curvature. The aim is to increase safety and study the feasibility of expanding the waterway by accommodating larger convoys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The navigational safety of ships on waterways plays a crucial role in ensuring the operational efficiency of ports. Ship anomalous behavior detection is an important method of water traffic surveillance that can effectively identify abnormal ship behavior, such as sudden acceleration or deceleration. In order to detect potential anomalous ship behavior in real time, a method for ship anomalous behavior detection in waterways is proposed based on text similarity and kernel density estimation. Under the assumption of known traffic patterns entering and leaving the port, this method can identify ship behaviors that violate traffic patterns in real time. Firstly, kernel density estimation is applied to construct a traffic pattern density model for ship trajectories entering and leaving the port, used to estimate the density values of ship motion states. Simultaneously, a semantic transformation method is used to convert traffic pattern trajectory into pattern trajectory text, which is used to identify the ship's traffic pattern. Subsequently, the historical trajectory data of the target ship are transformed into textual trajectories, and text similarity is used to identify ship inbound and outbound traffic patterns. Furthermore, the constructed traffic pattern density model is used to estimate real-time density values of the state of ship motion, and the trajectory points that exceed the threshold of the anomaly factor are marked as anomalies. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated using simulation data, and the results indicate an accuracy of more than 90% for the comprehensive detection of anomalous behavior. This study, approaching the detection of potential ship anomalous behavior from the perspective of port traffic patterns, enriches the methods of ship anomalous behavior detection in port waterways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent navigation is a crucial component of intelligent ships. This study focuses on the situational awareness of intelligent navigation in inland waterways with high vessel traffic densities and increased collision risks, which demand enhanced vessel situational awareness. To address perception data association issues in situational awareness, particularly in scenarios with winding waterways and multiple vessel encounters, a method based on trajectory characteristics is proposed to determine associations between Automatic Identification System (AIS) and radar objects, facilitating the fusion of heterogeneous data. Firstly, trajectory characteristics like speed, direction, turning rate, acceleration, and trajectory similarity were extracted from ship radar and AIS data to construct labeled trajectory datasets. Subsequently, by employing the Support Vector Machine (SVM) model, we accomplished the discernment of associations among the trajectories of vessels collected through AIS and radar, thereby achieving the association of heterogeneous data. Finally, through a series of experiments, including overtaking, encounters, and multi-target scenarios, this research substantiated the method, achieving an F1 score greater than 0.95. Consequently, this study can furnish robust support for the perception of intelligent vessel navigation in inland waterways and the elevation of maritime safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is more urbanized now than ever before and maintaining some form of amenity from natural or modified ecosystems in the urban context is an increasingly significant challenge. This is not aided by the somewhat amorphous definition of amenity itself. This article introduces a framework for conceptualizing the amenity of urban waterways and provides empirical evidence about the relative weight of the different determinants of waterway amenity. We use best‐worst scaling to examine how households rate the relative importance of the amenity attributes along with data about how households rate their "connection" to waterways. Comparisons of preferences are made across four cities in Australia, all ranked in the top 10 most liveable cities in the World in 2021. The study also captures the relative importance of how "experts" in the field perceive these attributes. We find evidence that public preferences are not always aligned with those of experts and uncover significant heterogeneity within household respondents. To illustrate one way to cater for this heterogeneity in urban planning we report the results of a total unduplicated reach and frequency analysis as a means of identifying an efficacious portfolio of interventions. Accordingly, the study provides useful insights for waterway managers seeking to improve the allocation of resources and generate the most efficient amenity outcomes. Key Points: We introduce a framework for conceptualizing the amenity of urban waterwaysBest‐worst scaling is applied to examine how households and experts rate the relative importance of amenity attributes of urban waterwaysFindings inform waterway managers seeking to improve the allocation of resources and generate the most efficient amenity outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to enhance the safety and efficiency of port navigation by reducing ship collision accidents, minimizing environmental risks, and optimizing waterways to increase port throughput. Initially, a three-dimensional map of the port's waterway, including data on water depth, rocks, and obstacles, is generated through laser radar scanning. Visual perception technology is adopted to process and identify the data for environmental awareness. Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) is utilized to position ships and obstacles, while point cloud data create a comprehensive three-dimensional map. In order to improve the optimal navigation approach of the Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree (RRT), an artificial potential field method is employed. Additionally, the collision prediction model utilizes K-Means clustering to enhance the Faster R-CNN algorithm for predicting the paths of other ships and obstacles. The results indicate that the RRT enhanced by the artificial potential field method reduces the average path length (from 500 to 430 m), average time consumption (from 30 to 22 s), and maximum collision risk (from 15 to 8%). Moreover, the accuracy, recall rate, and F1 score of the K-Means + Faster R-CNN collision prediction model reach 92%, 88%, and 90%, respectively, outperforming other models. Overall, these findings underscore the substantial advantages of the proposed enhanced algorithm in autonomous navigation and collision prediction in port waterways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "Applied Maritime Engineering and Transportation Problems 2022" provides an overview of marine traffic engineering (MTE) and its various research areas. It covers the history of MTE, ship maneuver simulation methods, the design of waterways and ports, and the impact of hydrometeorological conditions on ship behavior. The document also discusses topics such as seafarer competence evaluation, ship-maneuvering simulation in restricted waters, and port infrastructure optimization. It emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of MTE and its importance in ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable maritime operations. The future of MTE includes advancements in automation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, environmentally friendly technologies, and global cooperation for shipping safety. [Extracted from the article]

When an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) navigates in narrow waterway scenarios, its ability to detect vanishing points accurately and quickly is highly important for safeguarding its navigation safety and realizing automated navigation. We propose a novel approach for detecting vanishing points based on an improved lightweight AlexNet. First, a similarity evaluation calculation method based on image texture features is proposed, by which some scenarios are selected from the filtered Google Street Road Dataset (GSRD). These filtered scenarios, together with the USV Inland Dataset (USVID), compose the training dataset, which is manually labeled according to a non-uniformly distributed grid level. Next, the classical AlexNet was adjusted and optimized by constructing sequential connections of four convolutional layers and four pooling layers and incorporating the Inception A and Inception C structures in the first two convolutional layers. During model training, we formulate vanishing point detection as a classification problem using an output layer with 225 discrete possible vanishing point locations. Finally, we compare and analyze the labeled vanishing point with the detected vanishing point. The experimental results show that the accuracy of our method and the state-of-the-art algorithmic vanishing point detector improves, indicating that our improved lightweight AlexNet can be applied in narrow waterway navigation scenarios and can provide a technical reference for autonomous navigation of USVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorting out the requirements for intelligent functions is the prerequisite and foundation of the top-level design for the development of intelligent ships. In light of the development of inland intelligent ships for 2030, 2035, and 2050, based on the analysis of the division of intelligent ship functional modules by international representative classification societies and relevant research institutions, eight necessary functional modules have been proposed: intelligent navigation, intelligent hull, intelligent engine room, intelligent energy efficiency management, intelligent cargo management, intelligent integration platform, remote control, and autonomous operation. Taking the technical realization of each functional module as the goal, this paper analyzes the status quo and development trend of related intelligent technologies and their feasibility and applicability when applied to each functional module. At the same time, it clarifies the composition of specific functional elements of each functional module, puts forward the stage goals of China's inland intelligent ship development and the specific functional requirements of different modules under each stage, and provides reference for the Chinese government to subsequently formulate the top-level design development planning and implementation path of inland waterway intelligent ships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial monitoring in marine recreational waterways often overlooks environmental variables associated with pathogen occurrence. This study employs a predictive boosted regression trees (BRT) model to predict Staphylococcus aureus abundance in the Tampa Bay estuary and identify related environmental variables associated with the microbial pathogen's occurrence. We provide evidence that the BRT model's adaptability and ability to capture complex interactions among predictors make it invaluable for research on microbial indicator research. Over 18 months, water samples from 7 recreational sites underwent microbial quantitation and S. aureus isolation, followed by genetic validation. BRT analysis of S. aureus occurrence and environmental variables revealed month, precipitation, salinity, site, temperature, and year as relevant predictors. In addition, the BRT model accurately predicted S. aureus occurrence, setting a precedent for pathogen–environment research. The approach described here is novel and informs proactive management strategies and community health initiatives in marine recreational waterways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apocorophium lacustre – a species of benthic amphipod native to American and European estuaries along the North Atlantic Ocean – has rapidly expanded outside of its native range and is now established in the Illinois, Upper Mississippi, and Ohio river systems, USA. A. lacustre is considered high risk for colonization and disruption of the Laurentian Great Lakes’ benthic communities. To further our understanding of factors influencing A. lacustre distribution and its threat to the Great Lakes, zoobenthic and habitat data were collected from colonization samplers (i.e., rock bags) deployed at 370 sites along the Illinois Waterway. A. lacustre was found in the lower six pools of the Illinois Waterway and was the most abundant amphipod collected in those pools. Our results parallel other studies in that A. lacustre was not observed upstream of Dresden Island Pool, but A. lacustre was found ~11 km farther upstream of any previous records. Generalized linear mixed effects modeling indicated that parameters pertaining to food availability, water quality, and impoundment influenced A. lacustre abundance. Model averaging identified five statistically significant variables: A. lacustre abundance was negatively associated with turbidity, fluorescent dissolved organic matter, and vegetation density and positively associated with temperature and downstream distance (i.e., closer to the next downstream dam). Our findings of what factors influence A. lacustre abundance should be of broad interest to risk assessment and invasion forecasting in other regions where A. lacustre have been or may be introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geometric design of a waterway embankment depends on several factors like soil and subsoil properties, loading conditions, geometric constraints, climate & weather conditions, etc. Surface wind velocity (V) and fetch length (F) are two control factors that help to determine the wave height (H) utilizing the Taguchi Factorial design method. A non-linear equation was generated by integrating optimized H with the upstream water pressure (P). In the JAVA environment, a pseudo-code was created to solve the non-linear equation and determine the resulting hydrostatic height (hw) and crest width (b). The calculated hw and b were validated utilizing the Honey-Badger algorithm by initializing all the control factors along with P. The outcomes from the experimental analysis of Taguchi showcase that lower control factors helped to obtain the maximum hw along with b for the embankment. As per Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), maximum V was found to be the most significant control factor influencing the determination of H, hw and b of the earthen embankment. The regression squared (R²) value from the Design of Experiment (DoE) of the Taguchi method was found to be 99.21% which shows that the observed data were well fitted to the developed model for evaluating the contribution of Signal to Noise (S/N) ratio and verify the validity of optimal factor settings through confirmation experiments. The confirmatory test was piloted to check the similarity index between the two methods and the outcomes were found to be nearly similar with an error of 2.62%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research study was carried out to assess the impact and coping measures of flash floods in Quetta City during Monsoon 2022. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative research method was used as part of “After-Only” research design. Primary data sources included survey of the affected areas in Quetta City and interviews of officials from various departments. Secondary data sources involved records from relevant departments, newspapers, journals and internet. Random sampling technique was adopted during the survey and thematic analysis of total sample size of 390 was carried out. .The findings have revealed that unchecked urbanization and construction in waterways amplified the damaged caused by flash floods in Quetta in 2022. The empirical evidences and survey conducted of affected areas pointed out lack of implementation of available regulatory measures. In order to mitigate the effect of any future flash flood, existing regulatory mechanism in required to be implemented in true letter and spirit which should include reclaiming of encroached waterways, planning for rehabilitation of affected households to suitable location and detailed urban planning to cater for expansion of Quetta City.

Background: Linear transportation infrastructures (roads, railways, oil and gas pipelines, powerlines and waterways) are recognized as important contributors to the fragmentation of species habitats. On the other hand, verges of linear transportation infrastructures (road and railway embankments, strips of grass under power lines or above buried pipelines, or waterway banks) form vast networks of continuous habitats. While the loss of natural habitats still poses a significant threat to biodiversity, verges can provide habitats or corridors in anthropogenic areas, although this potential for conservation remains controversial. The current paper is the first synthesis of evidence addressing this topic for vascular plants (except strictly aquatic species) in temperate ecosystems. We asked the following question: can linear transportation infrastructure verges constitute habitats and/or corridors for vascular plants in temperate ecosystems? Methods: We conducted a systematic literature survey using two online bibliographic databases, three search engines, specialist websites, and by sending a call for literature to subject experts. We also integrated studies from a previous systematic review with an overlapping scope. We successively screened the articles for relevance on titles, abstracts and full texts using criteria detailed in an a priori protocol. We then used six specific questions to categorize the selected studies and critically assess them. These questions encompassed the potential of verges as habitats and corridors for vascular plants, and the effects of landscape and management on these potentialities. We created a database of the studies with low and medium risk of bias. We synthesized results for specific questions in narrative syntheses. Finally, studies about the habitat role of verges that met the criteria for a meta-analysis were used for quantitative syntheses. Review findings: Our systematic literature survey yielded 101,524 search results. After critical appraisal, we included in our systematic review 294 articles that reported 316 studies. Most studies were conducted along road verges or waterway banks, with only a handful of studies involving powerlines, railways or pipelines. We were not able to draw conclusions on the role of verges as corridors for vascular plants as too few relevant studies were obtained. Regarding the habitat function of verges however, meta-analyses were conducted based on 205 cases from 47 primary studies that compared abundance and/or species richness in verges vs habitats away from transportation infrastructure for exotic, native or all species together. For non-highway road verges, both the abundance and richness of exotic species were higher on non-highway road verges, but we found no significant differences among species in general, or for native species specifically, which implies that alien species would often add but not subtract species. A wide variety of management practices were also represented in the evidence base. Overall, systematic impacts on species richness or abundance rarely emerged, but human interventions were seldom neutral and usually altered, at least temporarily, the balance between the native and exotic flora or among various functional groups. Conclusions: We identified a major knowledge gap regarding the potential of linear transportation infrastructure verges as corridors for vascular plants. Thus, we call for more research on this particular topic, especially as the evidence synthesis underlined the potential of verges as habitat for exotic and invasive flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the process of establishing the analytical quaternion ship domain model, the impact of ship traffic conditions and navigator state was not taken into consideration. However, the significance of these factors in the ship domain cannot be ignored. To create a more realistic representation of changes in the ship domain in real navigation environments, this study further considers the influence of ship encounter course, waterway traffic intensity, relative ship velocity, and the navigator state based on the quaternion ship domain model. As a result, a new dynamic quaternion ship domain model is proposed. To assess the changes in the size and shape of the ship domain under various navigation environments, ship domain scaling and shape transformation functions are introduced. Specifically, this study focuses on analyzing the ship traffic near the Lao Tie Shan Waterway, simulating the size and shape changes of the ship domain during the navigation process in this area. The findings indicate that the size of the ship domain dynamically adjusts to the traffic conditions. Additionally, when the navigator state is excellent, the ship domain takes on an irregular diamond shape with the smallest area, whereas when the navigator state is poor, the shape approximates a rectangle with the largest area. Furthermore, the dynamic quaternion ship domain model proposed in this study is compared to the ship domain models put forth by Goodwin, Davis, and co-authors. The results demonstrate that the dynamic quaternion ship domain model is more compatible and suitable for open waters compared to the static quaternion ship domain model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate education in elementary grades offers a chance to teach climate science, to help students understand how serious climate change is, to focus on ecosystems and global social systems, and to work toward justiceoriented solutions. This article describes the work of nearly 70 fourth grade bilingual students, their teachers and librarian, and support from multiple community volunteers to investigate persistent problems of flooding in local waterways. Children did not study flooding as an abstract concept; instead, they approached their study of flood mitigation as civic actors whose research and voices matter for shaping public policy for their community. Over the course of a school year, children worked with teams of educators and community volunteers in a weekly science and civic engagement unit focused on connecting with the waterways and ecosystems that experience frequent and sometimes devastating flooding. During this unit of study, children made sense of flooding, the role that adaptation and mitigation can play in resilient responses to climate change, and the role that their voices can play as civic actors whose input is meaningful for shaping civic decisions not in the future as adults but now as children who have a stake in how their community functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In maritime logistics, accurately predicting the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of vessels is pivotal for optimizing port operations and the global supply chain. This study proposes a machine learning method for predicting ETA, drawing on historical Automatic Identification System (AIS) data spanning 2018 to 2020. The proposed framework includes a preprocessing module for extracting, transforming, and applying feature engineering to raw AIS data, alongside a modeling module that employs an XGBoost model to accurately estimate vessel travel times. The framework's efficacy was validated using AIS data from the Port of Houston, and the results indicate that the model can estimate travel times with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of just 5%. Moreover, the model retains consistent accuracy in a simplified form, pointing towards the potential for reduced complexity and increased generalizability in maritime ETA predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large wood (LW) is a critical habitat-forming feature in rivers, but our understanding of its spatial and temporal dynamics remains incomplete due to its historical removal from waterways. Few studies have the necessary spatial and temporal extent and resolution to assess wood dynamics over long time periods or in response to flood disturbance. We used an exceptional dataset from 65 km of a free-flowing coastal river in Oregon, USA, to characterize LW dynamics over a 12-year period (1989–2000). Our objectives were to assess the spatial dynamics of LW over multiple spatial scales and characterize changes in these patterns in response to a major flood in November 1996. Higher LW densities were found in the tributaries, and higher temporal variation of density existed in the main stem. Within years and among reaches, LW density varied by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude across the river. Patterns of LW accumulation across the river were not comparably different when considered at spatial resolutions < 6 km. A large flood in 1996 homogenized the wood distribution across the system, particularly at fine spatial scales (that is, 1.5–0.1 km scales), but considerable heterogeneity was reestablished within 2–3 years post disturbance. At the habitat unit scale, LW tended to accumulate in locations with narrow channel widths, and to a lesser extent, in shallow reaches. These data highlight the dynamic nature of the natural wood regime in coastal rivers that is produced by continuous recruitment and transport through the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To a degree poorly recognized, federal law provides robust protection for public rights to use inland waterways throughout the country, protection that displaces more constraining state laws. Federal protection is little needed in states where extensive public rights are recognized in a state's public trust doctrine or elsewhere in state law. But it can and does broaden public rights in states such as Illinois, where state law bows to landowner desires to curtail the waterways open to the public and public uses in them. This Article explores the public rights protected by the still-effective Northwest Ordinance of 1787, in language guaranteeing public access that Congress would later apply in varied forms to some two dozen states outside the old Northwest Territory. It considers also the similar public rights protected by the federal navigation servitude, a kind of federal public trust doctrine. Together, these bodies of federal law set the terms of the public's rights in Illinois waterways, overriding conflicting state common law and filling in the vast gaps in the state's undeveloped public trust doctrine. Finally, the Article examines a novel bill introduced in 2023 in the Illinois legislature, one that would expand and protect public rights by insisting simply that the public enjoy the full range of rights recognized by federal as well as state law, a bill specially crafted to avoid claims of unconstitutional takings. Advocates for expanded public waterway access in other states may find that federal law offers them better prospects than would further efforts to extend a state's public trust doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention), adopted in October 2008, was dedicated to addressing environmental issues caused by ships, especially in ports, inland waterways, and some sea areas with concentrated routes and high navigational density. This study utilizes a regional-level ship dataset to assess the influences of emission-control areas (ECAs) on the ecological shipbuilding industry by fitting the policy utility through the synthetic control method and testing robustness via the difference-in-differences method. The outcomes of this study show that the cumulative new orders for eco-designed ships in China, The Netherlands, Republic of Korea, the UK, and the USA increased by 3401, 81, 234, 549, and −1435, respectively, after the implementation of ECAs. Compared to the implementation of ECAs, the increases were about 32%, 20%, 41%, 66%, and −83%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the propulsive power requirements and manoeuvring capabilities of a popular class of inland bulk carriers in Bangladesh. After the initial verification study, model-scale CFD simulations are performed in calm, open waters at different speeds to assess hull resistance. The resistance results are then extrapolated to full scale for calculating propulsion power requirements. Subsequently, manoeuvring simulations are performed using PMM motions to evaluate static drift, pure sway, and pure yaw scenarios to calculate manoeuvring coefficients. Following this, model-scale resistance simulations in restricted waters are performed to estimate the minimum power needed for propulsion in heavy monsoon currents based on common inland waterway dimensions in Bangladesh. Finally, full-scale simulations are performed in open water to investigate the scale effect on resistance (thus power) prediction. The study confirms that the installed power in the vessel is adequate for safe navigation within Bangladesh's inland waters. Although model-scale CFD studies are generally unsuitable for resistance prediction, the study suggests that extrapolated results often offer conservative estimates for power prediction. In cases of resource limitation, these simulations can prove beneficial since conservative estimations somewhat ensure the vessel's propulsion and manoeuvrability in extreme conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human activities continually impact the environment negatively. Some activities are particularly linked to river pollution, and this constitutes a major problem in certain regions of Nigeria. This is a result of economic development, anthropogenic human activities, and agricultural practice that have the potential for adverse health effects. This study evaluated the effect of heavy metals acquired from the waterways on the vital organs of experimental rats. Methods: Seventy (70) adult male Wistar rats, average weighing between 150-180g, were divided into seven groups of ten animals, each selected by simple randomization. Pooled sampled water and water containing the highest average concentration of singly and combined heavy metals noted in the waterways from three geological zones in Kwara state, Nigeria, were respectively given to the Wistar rats within the treatment groups ad libitum for 65 days. The kidney, liver, and testes were harvested and processed for paraffin embedding, and the effect of the heavy metals was histologically assessed. Results: Histological staining revealed variable histopathological alterations in the kidney, liver, and testes of rats in the treatment groups in comparison to the control group. Conclusion: Increased levels of heavy metals in waterways can adversely affect the organs when used for household purposes. Activities in these water bodies must be checked by regulatory agencies, and laws to discriminate against the dumping of waste in water bodies should be enforced.

References to the Takhcheya region can be found in numerous sources dated the late 16th – early 17th centuries. This toponym aroused great interest among historians, but all attempts to localize this land had a very relative success until recently. Sometimes, even within the framework of one publication, two opposing opinions were expressed about which territories this notation was used at the end of the 16th century. In a recent article, one of the authors of this investigation made an attempt to analyze the information contained in the main source – a charter on lands given by Ivan IV to Yakov and Grigory Stroganov in 1574. This publication provides a more extensive historiographical review of the topic and analyzes the toponymy of the regions, adjoining from the south to the Chusovaya possessions of salt producers. As a result, the authors came to the conclusion that the name Takhcheya meant an ancient transport corridor connecting the Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals, in a broader sense, the European and Asian parts of the mainland, which went to the Southern Trans-Urals along the Chusovaya, Sylva and Ufa rivers in its upper reaches and went to north of the modern Chelyabinsk region. This is the most convenient place for crossing the Ural Range, in its lowest part, where the routes of historical roads passed, which in the Russian tradition were called the Kazan road. Several hydronyms and toponyms with the same root “takht/takhch” as in the name of Takhcheya, meaning “stop, parking place” have been identified here: the preserved names of places of traditional parking on trade routes. Thus, the assumption about the formation of the name in connection with the nature of the area, as a communication corridor and about the spread of the Takhcheya region in the South Trans-Urals, is confirmed. The Stroganovs were interested in joining the Takhcheya region to their possessions, since trade routes, that passed here, connected the Urals with Central Asia, in particular, Bukhara and Samarkand. It was quite tempting to take control of these roads, but to implement the letter of commendation granted in 1574 seemed not possible.

Cities incorporating navigable canals have played a crucial role in global trade and provided a platform for a range of activities for people from various locations. This research aims to comprehend the role of inner-city canals, formed as branches of shipping canals, in the spatial accessibility and functional structure of two contemporary urban systems: London and Amsterdam. Both cities are major post-industrial hubs in Europe and their spatial development and socioeconomic conditions have been greatly influenced by waterways. While the canal network in Amsterdam was planned alongside street layout planning in the early 17th century, serving commercial purposes, canals were integrated into London’s pre-existing urban form mainly for transportation in the 19th century. The current situation in these cities is impacted by this disparity in three ways: (a) the potential use of canals in the urban transportation system; (b) the spatial accessibility of street networks; and (c) the correlations between street accessibility and land use patterns in canal neighbourhoods. The research employs analytical methods of space syntax, geographic information systems, and statistical techniques to create and apply integrated urban models, incorporating spatial network measures, retail density, and functional diversity for street segments, to compare various urban conditions. The research reveals the crucial finding that the incorporation of canals into the street system leads to a substantial increase in the mean values of street network accessibility in Amsterdam. Additionally, the study highlights the vital contribution of diagonal streets linked with canal networks towards retail density in this city. In contrast, the accessibility measures and spatial patterns of urban functions in London are predominantly influenced by proximity to canals.

International trade is continuously rising, leading to an increase in the flow of goods passing through transportation hubs, including air and sea. In addition, the aging fleet of inland vessels necessitates renewal through the construction of new vessels, presenting opportunities for the adoption of modern transport technologies. Autonomous barges can transport bulk and containerized cargo between the central port of a specific region and smaller satellite ports, enabling the dispersal of goods over a wider area. Equipping autonomous barges with advanced sensors, such as LIDAR, computer vision systems that operate in visible light and thermal infrared, and incorporating advanced path finding and cooperation algorithms may enable them to operate autonomously, subject only to remote supervision. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of autonomous electric propulsion barges in inland waterway transport. Given the increasing demand for efficient and sustainable transport solutions as a result of various new policies, which have set new ambitious goals in clean transportation, this study aims to develop a proposition of an electric propulsion hybrid drive inland waterway barge, and compare it to a conventional diesel-powered barge. The methodology involves the creation of a simulation model of an inland waterway class IV electric barge, equipped with advanced sensors and autonomous control systems. The barge's navigation is managed through a multi-agent system, with evolutionary algorithms determining a safe passage route. This research also utilizes a proprietary networked ship traffic simulator, based on real inland vessel recorded routes, to conduct the autonomous navigation study. The energy consumption of the barge on a route resulting from the ship traffic simulation is then examined using the mathematical model using the OpenModelica package. As a result of the study, the proposed hybrid propulsion system achieved a 16% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, while cutting engine operation time by more than 71%. The findings could provide valuable insights into the feasibility and efficiency of autonomous electric propulsion barges, potentially helping future developments in inland waterway transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]