Calibrating Path Choices and Train Capacities for Urban Rail Transit Simulation Models Using Smart Card and Train Movement Data

Transit network simulation models are often used for performance and retrospective analysis of urban rail systems, taking advantage of the availability of extensive automated fare collection (AFC) and automated vehicle location (AVL) data. Important inputs to such models, in addition to origin-destination flows, include passenger path choices and train capacity. Train capacity, which has often been overlooked in the literature, is an important input that exhibits a lot of variabilities. The paper proposes a simulation-based optimization (SBO) framework to simultaneously calibrate path choices and train capacity for urban rail systems using AFC and AVL data. The calibration is formulated as an optimization problem with a black-box objective function. Seven algorithms from four branches of SBO solving methods are evaluated. The algorithms are evaluated using an experimental design that includes five scenarios, representing different degrees of path choice randomness and crowding sensitivity. Data from the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system is used as a case study. The data is used to generate synthetic observations used as "ground truth". The results show that the response surface methods (particularly Constrained Optimization using Response Surfaces) have consistently good performance under all scenarios. The proposed approach drives large-scale simulation applications for monitoring and planning

Contribution of GNSS CORS Infrastructure to the Mission of Modern Geodesy and Status of GNSS CORS in Thailand

Geodesy is the science of measuring and mapping the geometry, orientation and gravity field of the Earth including the associated variations with time. Geodesy has also provided the foundation for high accuracy surveying and mapping. Modern Geodesy involves a range of space and terrestrial technologies that contribute to our knowledge of the solid earth, atmosphere and oceans. These technologies include: Global Positioning System/Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GPS/GNSS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Satellite Altimetry, Gravity Mapping Missions such as GRACE, CHAMP and GOCE, satelliteborne Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR), Absolute and Relative Gravimetry, and Precise Terrestrial Surveying (Levelling and Traversing). A variety of services have been established in recent years to ensure high accuracy and reliable geodetic products to support geoscientific research. The reference frame defined by Modern Geodesy is now the basis for most national and regional datums. Furthermore, the GPS/GNSS technology is a crucial geopositioning tool for both Geodesy and Surveying. There is therefore a blurring of the distinction between geodetic and surveying GPS/GNSS techniques, and increasingly the ground infrastructure of continuously operating reference stations (CORS) receivers attempts to address the needs of both geodesists and other positioning professionals. Yet Geodesy is also striving to increase the level of accuracy by a factor of ten over the next decade in order to address the demands of “global change” studies. The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) is an important component of the International Association of Geodesy. GGOS aims to integrate all geodetic observations in order to generate a consistent high quality set of geodetic parameters for monitoring the phenomena and processes within the “System Earth”. Integration implies the inclusion of all relevant information for parameter estimation, implying the combination of geometric and gravimetric data, and the common estimation of all the necessary parameters representing the solid Earth, the hydrosphere (including oceans, ice-caps, continental water), and the atmosphere. This paper will describe the background to the establishment of GGOS, discuss the important role to be played by GPS/GNSS infrastructure in realising the GGOS mission and provide an update status of GNSS CORS in Thailand

On the detection of ionospheric waves, relationship with earthquakes and tsunamis

The research of this thesis addresses the detection and characterization of ionospheric waves and its application to traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) induced by the natural events, such as earthquakes and tsunamis. The characterization is done from regional detrended Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) maps which are obtained from a set of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites. Note that from the mathematical and signal-processing point of view, the problem presents two key difficulties that are (a) the fact that ionospheric sampling is nonuniform, with different density of samples that somehow reflect the distribution of stations over the earth surface, and (b), that the estimation method can not introduce any constraints in the number of disturbances and their propagation parameters. In the first contribution of the thesis, we propose a method for detecting the number of simultaneous TIDs from a time series of high-pass-filtered VTEC maps and their parameters. The method, which we refer to as the Atomic Decomposition Detector of TIDs (ADDTID), is tested on the detrended VTEC map corresponding to a simulated realistic scenario from the dense GNSS network, Global Positioning System Earth Observation Network (GEONET) in Japan. The contribution consists of the detection of the exact number of independent TIDs from a nonuniform sampling of the ionospheric pierce points. The solution to the problem is set as the estimation of the representative perturbations from a dictionary of atoms that span a linear space of possible TIDs by means of a variation of the LASSO algorithm. These atoms consist of plane waves characterized by a wavelength, direction, and phase on a surface defined, the part of the ionosphere sounded by the GNSS observation. As the second contribution, we apply ADDTID on actual VTEC data to the GEONET network. We have studied the Medium Scale TIDs (MSTIDs) during the Spring Equinox day of 21 March 2011. The geophysical contribution is: (a) detection of circular MSTID waves compatible by time and center with a specific earthquake; (b) simultaneous superposition of two distinct MSTIDs, with almost the same azimuth; and (c) the presence of nighttime MSTIDs with velocities in the range 400-600 m/s. In the third contribution we provide a detailed characterization of the TIDs originated from the total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017, the shadow of which crossed the United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. This can be modeled in part as if the umbra and penumbra were moving cylinders that intersects with variable elevation angle a curved surface. The result of this is reflected in the time evolution of the TID wavelengths produced by the eclipse, which depend on the vertical angle of the sun with the surface of the earth, and also a double bow wave phenomenon, where the bow waves are generated in advance to the umbra. Finally, we detected a clear pattern of MSTIDs, which appeared in advance of the penumbra, which we could hypothesize as soliton waves associated with the bow wave. In the fourth contribution we characterized the MSTIDs generated during the Japan Tohoku earthquake of 11 March 2011. We found: (a) a confirmation of the performance of the algorithm in face of simultaneous multi-TID, the robustness to the curvature of the wave fronts of the perturbations and the accuracy of the estimated parameters. The results were double checked by the additional visual inspection from VTEC maps and keogram plots; (b) The detection of different wave fronts between the west and east MSTIDs around the epicenter, consistent in time and space with the post-earthquake tsunami; (c) The complete evolution of the circular MSTIDs driven by the tsunami during the GNSS observable area; (d) The detection of the fast and short circular TIDs related to the acoustic waves of earthquake.Esta tesis aborda la detección y caracterización de las ondas ionosféricas y su aplicación a las perturbaciones ionosféricas itinerantes (TID traveling ionospheric disturbances) inducidas por eventos naturales. La caracterización se realiza a partir de mapas regionales de Contenido Total Vertical de Electrones (VTEC) que se obtienen a partir de medidas de un conjunto de satélites del Sistema Navegación GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Obsérvese que, desde el punto de vista matemático y de procesamiento de señales, el problema presenta dos dificultades: a) el hecho de que el muestreo ionosférico no es uniforme, con una densidad de muestras diferente que refleja de alguna manera la distribución de las estaciones sobre la superficie terrestre, y b) el hecho de que el método de estimación no puede introducir ninguna limitación en el número de perturbaciones y sus parámetros de propagación a detectar. En la primera contribución de la tesis, proponemos un método para detectar el número de TIDs simultáneas de una serie temporal de mapas VTEC filtrados por paso alto y sus parámetros. El método, al que denominamos como el Detector de Descomposición Atómica de TIDs (ADDTID), lo probamos con mapas VTEC, que corresponden a un escenario realista simulado en la red GEONET en Japón. La contribución consiste en la detección del número exacto de TIDs independientes a partir de un muestreo no uniforme de los IPPs de la ionosférica. La solución al problema se establece como la estimación de las perturbaciones representativas a partir de un diccionario de átomos que abarcan un espacio lineal de posibles TIDs mediante una variación del algoritmo LASSO. Estos átomos consisten en ondas planas caracterizadas por una longitud de onda, dirección y fase en una superficie definida. Como segunda contribución, aplicamos ADDTID a los datos VTEC a la red GEONET. Para probar el método, hemos estudiado los MSTIDs durante el día del Equinoccio de Primavera del 21 de marzo de 2011. La contribución geofísica es: (a) la detección de ondas circulares MSTID compatibles por tiempo y centro con un terremoto específico; (b) la superposición simultánea de dos MSTID distintos, con casi el mismo acimut; y (c) la presencia durante la noche de MSTID con velocidades en el rango de 400-600 m/s. En la tercera contribución presentamos una caracterización detallada de los TIDs originados por el eclipse solar total del 21 de agosto de 2017, cuya sombra atravesó los Estados Unidos desde el Pacífico hasta el Océano Atlántico. La evolución temporal de las TID producidas por el eclipse, que dependen del ángulo vertical del sol con la superficie de la tierra, y también aparece en un fenómeno de doble onda de choque. Finalmente, detectamos un patrón claro de MSTIDs, que aparecieron antes de la llegada de la penumbra, lo que podríamos hipotetizar como ondas de solitón asociadas con la onda de choque. En la cuarta contribución caracterizamos los MSTIDs generados durante el terremoto de Tohoku en Japón el 11 de marzo de 2011. Lo encontramos: a) una confirmación de la prestación del algoritmo frente al multi-TID simultáneas, la robustez frente a la curvatura de los frentes de onda de las perturbaciones y la precisión en la estimación de los parámetros. Los resultados se verificaron por duplicado mediante la inspección visual adicional de los mapas de VTEC y de los diagramas de keogramas; b) la detección de diferentes frentes de onda entre los MSTID del oeste y del este en torno al epicentro, coherentes en el tiempo y en el espacio con el maremoto posterior al terremoto; c) la evolución completa de las MSTID circulares que impulsó el maremoto durante el período observable en la zona de observación de los GNSS; y d) la detección de las MSTID circulares cortas y rápidas en el espacio en relación con las ondas acústicas asociadas con el terremoto.Postprint (published version

Age-generations in the workplace : an organization system type and space use preference systems analysis

Dr. Ronald Phillips, Dissertation Supervisor.Field of study: Architectural studies.includes vitaThe 21st Century workforce includes four generations for the first time in US history yielding unparalleled workplace diversity. A systems approach was used to assess University of Missouri Extension employees' world view and space use characteristic preference perceptions between Baby Boomers and Millennials. Study results suggest a preference for an OPEN organization system type with COMFORTABLE SPACES emerging as the dominant space use characteristic preference for Millennials and QUALITY SPACES and COMFORTABLE SPACES emerging as the dominant space use characteristic preferences for Baby Boomers. The OPEN system type prefers informal, consensus-based decision-making to the more formal hierarchical model of the University of Missouri System. These system pattern similarities are strongly shaped by Extension's clan culture wherein employees are assimilated into the 'Extension way', thereby decreasing generational preference differences. Assimilation, for now, may be a function of the small number of Millennials compared with Baby Boomers in the organization. As the proportion of Millennials to Baby Boomers increases over time, age generational differences are projected to become more pronounced. The dominant preference for COMFORTABLE SPACES (i.e., access to light and fresh air, with acceptable temperatures and control of unwanted noise) reported by Millennials is also echoed by Baby Boomers who report COMFORTABLE SPACES as second to QUALITY SPACES Workspace quality throughout University Extension should be investigated in detail to determine the underlying nature of this finding.Field of study: Architectural studies.|Dr. Ronald Phillips, Dissertation Supervisor.|Includes vita.Includes bibliographical references (pages 132-143)