To reduce the disasters caused by slope instability, this paper proposes a new machine learning (ML) model for slope stability prediction. This improved SVR model uses support vector machine regression (SVR) as the basic prediction tool and the grid search method with 5-fold cross-validation to optimize the hyperparameters to improve the prediction performance. Six features, namely, unit weight, cohesion, friction angle, slope angle, slope height, and pore pressure ratio, were taken as the input of the model, and the factor of safety was taken as the model output. Four statistical indicators, namely, the coefficient of determination (R²), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean squared error (RMSE), were introduced to assess the generalization performance of the model. Finally, the feature importance score of the features was clarified by calculating the importance of the six features and visualizing them. The results show that the model can well describe the nonlinear relationship between features and the factor of safety. The R², MAPE, MAE, and RMSE of the testing dataset were 0.901, 7.41%, 0.082, and 0.133, respectively. Compared with other ML models, the improved SVR model had a better effect. The most sensitive feature was unit weight.

The Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration is an important indicator of water environmental conditions; thus, the simultaneous monitoring of large-area water bodies can be realized through the remote sensing-based retrieval of Chl-a concentrations. Together with hyperspectral remote sensing data, a BP neural network model was used to invert chlorophyll-a concentration, with remote sensing reflectance as the input factor. Given the presence of many bands in the hyperspectral data, selecting an appropriate band reflectance as the input factor is crucial to improving inversion accuracy. In this study, a Pearson correlation analysis method was proposed to select bands. A normality test was performed on the reflectance of each band of the Zhuhai-1 hyperspectral remote sensing data, and the significance index was p < 0.05. The absolute kurtosis value was less than 10, and the absolute skewness value was less than 3, indicating that the Pearson method was applicable. Pearson correlation analysis was utilised to calculate the correlation coefficient between the reflectance data and chlorophyll-a concentration. Five reflectance data with high correlation were selected as the input factors, and chlorophyll-a concentration was adopted as the output factor. An error backpropagation network model was constructed to predict chlorophyll-a concentration, and a Garson function was added to clarify the connection weights of the input factors in the model construction process. Model 12 was determined as the optimal model on the basis of the criteria of the coefficient of determination, the average relative variance, and the minimum mean square error. The chlorophyll-a concentration was predicted for July and November 2020 in the study area, and the results showed that the predicted values had a small error compared with the measured values. The root-mean-square error and mean relative error of the chlorophyll-a concentration predicted and measured values were 2.12 μg/L and 9.66%, respectively. Significant spatial differences in the Chl-a concentration were observed in the study area due to the influence of islands and land; the Chl-a concentration in July was generally higher than that in November. The results of these studies provide a reference for monitoring the water environment in the study area.

The accurate prediction of joint shear strength is crucial for rock mass engineering design and geological hazard assessment. However, traditional machine learning (ML) models often suffer from local optima and limited generalization ability when dealing with complex nonlinear problems, thereby compromising prediction accuracy and stability. To address these challenges, this study proposes a hybrid ML model that integrates a multilayer perceptron (MLP) with the slime mold algorithm (SMA), termed the SMA-MLP model. While MLP exhibits strong nonlinear mapping capability, SMA enhances its training process through global optimization and parameter tuning, thereby improving predictive accuracy and robustness. A dataset with five input variables was constructed to evaluate the performance of the SMA-MLP model comprehensively. The proposed model was compared with other ML models. The results indicate that SMA-MLP outperforms these models in key metrics such as the root mean squared error (RMSE) and the correlation coefficient (R²), achieving an R² of 0.97 and an RMSE as low as 0.10 MPa on the test set. Furthermore, feature importance analysis reveals that normal stress has the most significant influence on joint shear strength. This study demonstrates the superiority of SMA-MLP in predicting joint shear strength, highlighting its potential as an efficient and accurate tool for rock mass engineering analysis and providing reliable technical support for geological hazard assessment.

To accurately estimate Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) for high-precision positioning of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), this study proposes a modeling method of ZTD based on the UNB3m model and Kriging spatial interpolation, in which the optimal spatial interpolation parameters are determined based on the errors corresponding to different combinations of the interpolation parameters, and the spatial distribution of the GNSS modeling stations is determined by the interpolation errors of the randomly selected GNSS stations for several times. To verify the accuracy and reliability of the proposed model, the ZTD estimates of 132,685 epochs with 1 h or 2 h temporal resolution for 28 years from 1997 to 2025 of the global network of continuously operating GNSS tracking stations are used as inputs; the ZTD results at any position and the corresponding observation moment can be obtained with the proposed model. The experimental results show that the model error is less than 30 mm in more than 85% of the observation epochs, the ZTD estimation results are less affected by the horizontal position and height of the GNSS stations than traditional models, and the ZTD interpolation error is improved by 10–40 mm compared to the GPT3 and UNB3m models at the four GNSS checking stations. Therefore, this technology can provide ZTD estimation results for single- and dual-frequency hybrid deformation monitoring, as well as dense ZTD data for Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) inversion. Since the proposed method has the advantages of simple implementation, high accuracy, high reliability, and ease of promotion, it is expected to be fully applied in other high-precision positioning applications.

The construction industry faces urgent challenges in reducing its carbon footprint, particularly in geotechnical engineering where conventional methods often involve high-emission materials. Artificial Ground Freezing (AGF) presents a sustainable, material-saving alternative for stabilizing water-rich strata, but its efficiency relies on accurate characterization of frozen soil behavior under in situ conditions. This study advances the understanding of AGF’s sustainability by investigating the directional shear behavior of pressurized frozen saturated medium sand (Fujian ISO standard sand) at −10 °C using a novel hollow cylinder apparatus. Through systematic testing under varying mean principal stresses (p = 0.5–6 MPa) with fixed intermediate principal stress coefficient (b = 0.5) and principal stress direction (α = 30°), we demonstrate that pressurized freezing creates a fundamentally different soil–ice composite compared to conventional unpressurized freezing. Key findings reveal (1) a linear strength increase described by the failure criterion q_f = 1.17p + 3.77 (R² = 0.98) without pressure melting effects within the tested range; (2) a distinct brittle-to-ductile transition at p ≈ 4 MPa, with associated failure mode changes from localized shear bands to homogeneous plastic flow; (3) a stable peak stress ratio (q/p ≈ 1.8) for p ≥ 4 MPa. These findings enable more reliable and potentially less conservative frozen wall design, directly contributing to reduced energy consumption in AGF operations. The research provides mechanical insights and practical parameters that enhance AGF’s viability as a low-carbon ground stabilization technology, supporting the construction industry’s transition toward sustainable underground development.

Traditional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) oblique photogrammetry for 3D real-scene modeling of historic cultural districts suffers from data gaps, insufficient texture, and poor accuracy in complex alleyway environments, hindering the widespread adoption of UAV technology. To address these challenges, this paper establishes a distortion region identification algorithm based on image grayscale variation range parameters. Then, through fusing UAV oblique photogrammetry, close-range smartphone photogrammetry, and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning technology, it ultimately constructs a 3D real-scene reconstruction technical framework. To validate the method’s effectiveness and reliability, a field experiment was conducted in the Zaoerxiang Historic Cultural District of Zhanggong District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively identify distortions in the modeling results from UAV images. After fusing smartphone images from distorted regions and RTK measurements from ground control points (GCPs), the discrepancies in X, Y, and Z coordinates between the results and verification points mostly fall within 10 to 25 mm, while the differences from the measured lengths using a steel tape measure and a leveling rod were within the range of 10 to 20 mm. Furthermore, compared to approaches that rely solely on UAV images or on the fusion of UAV and all ground-based images for modeling, the method proposed in this paper restores building texture information in occluded areas and improves the accuracy of 3D real-scene modeling while simultaneously reducing data-processing and storage requirements and enhancing operational efficiency. It provides a referenceable technical framework for digital preservation, restoration planning, and smart cultural tourism of historic districts.