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GEO4PALM v1.1: an open-source geospatial data processing toolkit for the PALM model system
(Copernicus GmbH, 2024) LIN, DONGQI; Zhang , Jiawei; Khan , Basit; Katurji, Marwan; Revell, Laura
Abstract. A geospatial data processing tool, GEO4PALM, has been developed to generate geospatial static input for the Parallelized Large-Eddy Simulation (PALM) model system. PALM is a community-driven large-eddy simulation model for atmospheric and environmental research. Throughout PALM's 20-year development, research interests have been increasing in its application to realistic conditions, especially for urban areas. For such applications, geospatial static input is essential. Although abundant geospatial data are accessible worldwide, geospatial data availability and quality are highly variable and inconsistent. Currently, the geospatial static input generation tools in the PALM community heavily rely on users for data acquisition and pre-processing. New PALM users face large obstacles, including significant time commitments, to gain the knowledge needed to be able to pre-process geospatial data for PALM. Expertise beyond atmospheric and environmental research is frequently needed to understand the data sets required by PALM. Here, we present GEO4PALM, which is a free and open-source tool. GEO4PALM helps users generate PALM static input files with a simple, homogenised, and standardised process. GEO4PALM is compatible with geospatial data obtained from any source, provided that the data sets comply with standard geo-information formats. Users can either provide existing geospatial data sets or use the embedded data interfaces to download geo-information data from free online sources for any global geographic area of interest. All online data sets incorporated in GEO4PALM are globally available, with several data sets having the finest resolution of 1 m. In addition, GEO4PALM provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for PALM domain configuration and visualisation. Two application examples demonstrate successful PALM simulations driven by geospatial input generated by GEO4PALM using different geospatial data sources for Berlin, Germany, and Ōtautahi / Christchurch, New Zealand. GEO4PALM provides an easy and efficient way for PALM users to configure and conduct PALM simulations for applications and investigations such as urban heat island effects, air pollution dispersion, renewable energy resourcing, and weather-related hazard forecasting. The wide applicability of GEO4PALM makes PALM more accessible to a wider user base in the scientific community.
Dignity and Right to health award: ICMDA leadership in Christian health and development initiative
(Christian Journal for Global Health, 2019) Mathias, Kaaren; Burke , Michael
The Dignity and Right to Health Award
(DRH) is an activity of the International Christian
Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA)
Leadership in Christian Health and Development
Initiative. The WHO Constitution (1946)
envisages “... the highest attainable standard of
health as a fundamental right of every human
being.”
Buen Vivir and the Art of Living. Comparing Western and Latin American perspectives on living a good life
(2023) Teschers, Christoph; Nieto , Maria
While interaction and exchange between cultures is arguably increasing in our globalized world, sentiments
reflecting division among cultures and ways of being in the world remain. In particular, the relevance of ideas,
theory, and philosophy based on traditional “Western” values and a focus on the individual is often drawn
into question for collectivist and community-centred cultures—and vice versa. This has implications for
education, given that much of the education discourse and approaches based on Western traditions are affecting
education system across the globe and across cultures. It is also of particular significance for the educational
approach focusing on developing students’ own “art of living.” While undoubtedly significant fundamental
differences exist between most cultures, this article aims to suggest that, nevertheless, synergies and connecting
points exist between Schmid’s philosophical concept of the “art of living”—which is based on so-called
traditional Western philosophy—and the Latin American notion of “buen vivir” (good living)—which is
based on the traditions and cultural worldview of Indigenous peoples of this subcontinent. While we
acknowledge the vast differences in culture and the depths of the cultural divide, our comparative review
indicates that connections can be drawn on fundamental ethical aspects of human co-existence. We argue that
these connecting points suggest that Schmid’s philosophy can be of relevance to non-Western cultural contexts,
as much as Indigenous ways of knowing and being can be of relevance to those in the “Western” world
pursuing an art of living, which, consequently, indicates that an educational approach to the art of living can
be relevant to diverse cultural contexts beyond Western-centric settings.
The past, present, and future of coseismic coastal deformation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
(2023) Delano, Jaime E.
Earthquakes can generate sudden coseismic uplift and subsidence that radically alter the landscape—this is nowhere more evident than at the coastline. At the coastlines, coseismic vertical deformation changes the relative sea level and impacts the landscapes, ecosystems, and infrastructure. Additionally, coastline deformation may exacerbate other hazards like tsunami, storm surges, flooding, and saline infiltration. In the relatively short historical record of Aotearoa New Zealand (c. 180 years), there have been six earthquakes in a wide variety of tectonic and geomorphic settings that have vertically deformed the coastline. Examining these events in detail, comparing how displaced coastlines adjust over time, and including with forward-looking modelling-based approaches will help build a more complete understanding of coastal coseismic deformation for multi-hazard planning.
The six historical coast-deforming earthquakes illuminate how variations in earthquake size, fault slip, and local geomorphology generate different impacts. I reviewed those six earthquakes and evaluated the extent that deformation evidence persisted over time in the geomorphic, geologic, and biologic record. The records from those provide a high level of detail for individual events and as well as potential societal impacts. However, a key takeaway from the review is that many earthquakes leave little-to-no record behind even with significant displacements, impacts to infrastructure, changes to the environment. Ultimately, a complete historical record and the processes that occur after coast-deforming earthquakes help inform paleoseismic record interpretations, hazard assessments, and forecast models.
Targeting specific historical earthquakes, like the 1987 Edgecumbe event, provides invaluable details about how rupture behaviour, site-specific conditions, fault geometry, and slip will affect coseismic surface displacement. I tested the method of using historical aerial imagery to build pre- and post-earthquake digital surface models and used the resulting datasets to measure fault displacements, compare them to the field measurements, and refine fault geometry at depth. The results show that this method is similarly effective at identifying surface deformation and measuring coseismic displacement to field methods for this event, and in some instances, better characterised and captured subtle deformation. The elastic dislocation modelling and Coulomb stress analyses suggests that the earthquake occurred on a gently dipping normal fault that may have been accelerated by a nearby inflating magma body. Results from this study better refine fault behaviour at depth and inform fault displacement hazard assessments.
Paleoseismic records are invaluable datasets because they extend the historical record and provide insight into earthquake behaviour and frequency over multiple seismic cycles. However, these records often include significant age, spatial extent, and source uncertainty. The Ahuriri Lagoon site is one the longest coastal paleoseismic records and underpins many inferences about Hikurangi Subduction Zone earthquake behaviour. I used elastic dislocation modelling to test whether crustal faults above the Hikurangi Subduction Zone could produce coseismic subsidence >0.5 m as recorded at Ahuriri Lagoon. I found that both subduction interface and offshore crustal fault earthquakes may contribute to coseismic subsidence there, which implies a potentially more ambiguous paleoseismic record both at Ahuriri Lagoon and elsewhere along the margin. Additionally, interface coupling may be more spatially or temporally heterogeneous than current geodetic-based interpretations suggest.
Forecasting hazard requires a probabilistic approach that incorporates all available data from the historical, paleoseismic, and long-term geologic records. I built the first-ever probabilistic coseismic displacement hazard model in Aotearoa New Zealand to understand the likelihood of coast-deforming earthquakes. This model focuses on the Wellington Region because it can experience coseismic displacement from the subduction interface and a dense network of upper plate faults. I combined data from the 2022 New Zealand National Seismic Hazard Model with new elastic dislocation models to produce coseismic vertical displacement forecasts over 100 years. The results show that both Hikurangi subduction earthquakes and crustal faults contribute significantly to uplift and subsidence hazards, but the site results vary based on input fault geometry, logic tree parameter choices, and distance to faults. In particular, combined probabilities of exceeding 0.2 m subsidence are c. 8-13% and may be higher with more refined crustal fault geometry. This model provides an adaptable framework for other regional, site specific, or national displacement hazard studies.
Overall, this thesis offers a unique approach to studying coseismic vertical deformation along the coastline. It examines how earthquakes can alter the coastlines at multiple spatial and temporal scales and serves as a launching point for future displacement hazard investigations.
A qualitative study of audiologists’ experiences with reflective practice in the workplace.
(2024) Sharma, Sahana
Aims: This study aimed to understand audiologists’ experiences with reflective practice (RP) in the workplace in New Zealand, and the barriers audiologists face in engaging in RP and to investigate audiologists’ experiences with RP during their student years.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom, (n=12) Thematic analysis process was utilised to analyse the content of the interviews.
Results: Four themes were identified; 1) why audiologists reflect, 2) methods used for RP, 3) barriers to engaging in RP and 4) experiences of RP as students. A number of subthemes were identified which provided more detailed understanding of the main themes.
Conclusion: Audiologists engage in RP to learn from experiences, understanding situations that did not go as expected, analysing complex cases, managing emotions, and navigating communication within the workplace. Most commonly audiologists engage in internal reflection and verbal reflection and rarely written reflection. However, engagement in RP is restricted by a number of barriers including time constraints, lack of education about RP, clinician availability to engage in RP activities and perceived negative impact of RP on well-being. Audiologists valued RP activities completed as students and suggested ways to continue the use of RP beyond student years.