4,149 research outputs found

    Information actors beyond modernity and coloniality in times of climate change:A comparative design ethnography on the making of monitors for sustainable futures in Curaçao and Amsterdam, between 2019-2022

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    In his dissertation, Mr. Goilo developed a cutting-edge theoretical framework for an Anthropology of Information. This study compares information in the context of modernity in Amsterdam and coloniality in Curaçao through the making process of monitors and develops five ways to understand how information can act towards sustainable futures. The research also discusses how the two contexts, that is modernity and coloniality, have been in informational symbiosis for centuries which is producing negative informational side effects within the age of the Anthropocene. By exploring the modernity-coloniality symbiosis of information, the author explains how scholars, policymakers, and data-analysts can act through historical and structural roots of contemporary global inequities related to the production and distribution of information. Ultimately, the five theses propose conditions towards the collective production of knowledge towards a more sustainable planet

    UMSL Bulletin 2023-2024

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    The 2023-2024 Bulletin and Course Catalog for the University of Missouri St. Louis.https://irl.umsl.edu/bulletin/1088/thumbnail.jp

    Dynamics and Modelling of the 2015 Calbuco eruption Volcanic Debris Flows (Chile). From field evidence to a primary lahar model

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    The Calbuco volcanic eruption of 2015, was characterized by two explosive phases with partialand major column collapses that triggered lahars in many of the flanks of the volcano. Large lahar flows descended to the southern flank where highly fractured ice bodies were emplaced on steep slopes.In this study, we present a chronology of the volcanic flows based on a multi parameterdata set that includes social media, reports of authoritative institutions, instrumental monitoringdata and published research literature on the eruption. Our review established thatlahars in the Amarillo river began during the first phase of the eruption due to the sustained emplacement of pyroclastic flows in its catchment. In contrast, we propose that the lahars in theBlanco – Correntoso river system and the Este river were likely to have been triggered by asudden mechanical collapse of the glacier that triggered mixed avalanches which transitionedinto lahars downstream.Our observations include inundation cross-sections, estimates of flow speeds, and characterization of the morphology, grain sizes, and componentry of deposits.Field measurements are used together with instrumental data for calibrating a dynamic, physics-based model of lahar, Laharflow. We model flows in the Blanco – Correntoso river system and explore the influence of the model parameters on flow predictions in an ensemble of simulations. We develop a calibration that accounts for the substantial epistemic uncertainties in our observations and the model formulation, that seeks to determine plausible ranges for the model parameters, including those representing the lahar source. Our approach highlights the parameters in the model that have a dominant effect on the ability of the model to match observations, indicating where further development and additional observations could improve model predictions. The simulations in our ensemble that provide plausible matches to the observations are combined to produce flow inundation maps

    Natural and Technological Hazards in Urban Areas

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    Natural hazard events and technological accidents are separate causes of environmental impacts. Natural hazards are physical phenomena active in geological times, whereas technological hazards result from actions or facilities created by humans. In our time, combined natural and man-made hazards have been induced. Overpopulation and urban development in areas prone to natural hazards increase the impact of natural disasters worldwide. Additionally, urban areas are frequently characterized by intense industrial activity and rapid, poorly planned growth that threatens the environment and degrades the quality of life. Therefore, proper urban planning is crucial to minimize fatalities and reduce the environmental and economic impacts that accompany both natural and technological hazardous events

    Phenomic selection in slash pine multi-temporally using UAV-multispectral imagery

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    Genomic selection (GS) is an option for plant domestication that offers high efficiency in improving genetics. However, GS is often not feasible for long-lived tree species with large and complex genomes. In this paper, we investigated UAV multispectral imagery in time series to evaluate genetic variation in tree growth and developed a new predictive approach that is independent of sequencing or pedigrees based on multispectral imagery plus vegetation indices (VIs) for slash pine. Results show that temporal factors have a strong influence on the h2 of tree growth traits. High genetic correlations were found in most months, and genetic gain also showed a slight influence on the time series. Using a consistent ranking of family breeding values, optimal slash pine families were selected, obtaining a promising and reliable predictive ability based on multispectral+VIs (MV) alone or on the combination of pedigree and MV. The highest predictive value, ranging from 0.52 to 0.56, was found in July. The methods described in this paper provide new approaches for phenotypic selection (PS) using high-throughput multispectral unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, which could potentially be used to reduce the generation time for conifer species and increase the genetic granularity independent of sequencing or pedigrees

    Mathematical Problems in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering

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    With increasing requirements for energy, resources and space, rock engineering projects are being constructed more often and are operated in large-scale environments with complex geology. Meanwhile, rock failures and rock instabilities occur more frequently, and severely threaten the safety and stability of rock engineering projects. It is well-recognized that rock has multi-scale structures and involves multi-scale fracture processes. Meanwhile, rocks are commonly subjected simultaneously to complex static stress and strong dynamic disturbance, providing a hotbed for the occurrence of rock failures. In addition, there are many multi-physics coupling processes in a rock mass. It is still difficult to understand these rock mechanics and characterize rock behavior during complex stress conditions, multi-physics processes, and multi-scale changes. Therefore, our understanding of rock mechanics and the prevention and control of failure and instability in rock engineering needs to be furthered. The primary aim of this Special Issue “Mathematical Problems in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering” is to bring together original research discussing innovative efforts regarding in situ observations, laboratory experiments and theoretical, numerical, and big-data-based methods to overcome the mathematical problems related to rock mechanics and rock engineering. It includes 12 manuscripts that illustrate the valuable efforts for addressing mathematical problems in rock mechanics and rock engineering

    Wykorzystanie danych termalnych pozyskanych z pułapu lotniczego do określania stanu zdrowotnego wybranych gatunków drzew

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    Celem pracy było sprawdzenie, czy dane termalne z zakresu średniej podczerwieni (3,6–4,9 μm) pozyskane z pułapu lotniczego mogą być wykorzystane do badań kondycji zdrowotnej drzew. W tym celu przeprowadzono trzy analizy na niezależnych zbiorach danych w różnych środowiskach. Badania wykonane na danych termalnych pozyskanych w ciągu dnia wykazały, że temperatura korony jest cechą specyficzną dla gatunku i zależy od położenia drzewa w terenie. Drzewa znajdujące się wewnątrz lasu miały niższą temperaturę koron do 0,70oC niż te rosnące poza lasem. Gatunkiem o najwyższej temperaturze, niezależnie od godziny pozyskania danych lotniczych, był Pinus sylvestris. Niskimi temperaturami charakteryzowały się Alnus glutinosa, Quercus rubra i Quercus petraea. Badania nad identyfikacją miejsc żerowania kornika drukarza wykazały, że fuzja danych termalnych i skanowania laserowego umożliwiły wyznaczenie temperatury koron pojedynczych drzew Picea abies i sklasyfikowanie ich do trzech klas zdrowotnych (drzewa 'zdrowe' o średniej temperaturze 27,70oC; 'o osłabionej kondycji' 28,57oC i 'martwe' 30,17oC). Opracowany został schemat postępowania wykorzystujący automatyczną segmentację i uczenie maszynowe do identyfikacji drzew 'o osłabionej kondycji' i 'martwych'. Badania przeprowadzone w środowisku miejskim wykazały statystycznie istotne różnice między klasami kondycji zdrowotnej drzew zarówno na danych pozyskanych w dzień jak i w nocy. Korony drzew zdrowych były chłodniejsze w porównaniu do koron drzew zamierających. Średnia wartość różnicy wynosiła 3,28oC w ciągu dnia oraz 1,06oC w nocy. Podsumowując, lotnicze dane termalne z zakresu średniej podczerwieni mogą być wykorzystane do badań kondycji zdrowotnej wybranych gatunków drzew. Zmienność temperatur koron jest cechą zależną od gatunku i może być wskaźnikiem stanu zdrowotnego w środowisku naturalnym i miejskim."InterDOC-STARt – Interdyscyplinarne Studia Doktoranckie na Wydziale BiOŚ UŁ” – Program Operacyjny Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój 2014-2020, Oś priorytetowa III. Szkolnictwo wyższe dla gospodarki i rozwoju, Działanie 3.2 Studia doktoranckie. Nr projektu: POWR.03.02.00-IP.08-00-DOK/16. Realizowany w latach 2018-2022

    Evaluation of Multi-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar for Subsurface Archaeological Prospection in Arid Environments

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    The discovery of the subsurface paleochannels in the Saharan Desert with the 1981 Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) sensor was hugely significant in the field of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing. Although previous studies had indicated the ability of microwaves to penetrate the earth’s surface in arid environments, this was the first applicable instance of subsurface imaging using a spaceborne sensor. And the discovery of the ‘radar rivers’ with associated archaeological evidence in this inhospitable environment proved the existence of an earlier less arid paleoclimate that supported past populations. Since the 1980’s SAR subsurface prospection in arid environments has progressed, albeit primarily in the fields of hydrology and geology, with archaeology being investigated to a lesser extent. Currently there is a lack of standardised methods for data acquisition and processing regarding subsurface imaging, difficulties in image interpretation and insufficient supporting quantitative verification. These barriers keep SAR technology from becoming as integral as other remote sensing techniques in archaeological practice The main objective of this thesis is to undertake a multi-frequency SAR analysis across different site types in arid landscapes to evaluate and enhance techniques for analysing SAR within the context of archaeological subsurface prospection. The analysis and associated fieldwork aim to address the gap in the literature regarding field verification of SAR image interpretation and contribute to the understanding of SAR microwave penetration in arid environments. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate successful subsurface imaging of subtle feature(s) at the site of ‘Uqdat al-Bakrah, Oman with X-band data. Because shorter wavelengths are often ignored due to their limited penetration depths as compared to the C-band or L-band data, the effectiveness of X-band sensors in archaeological prospection at this site is significant. In addition, the associated ground penetrating radar and excavation fieldwork undertaken at ‘Uqdat al-Bakrah confirm the image interpretation and support the quantitative information regarding microwave penetration

    A review of technical factors to consider when designing neural networks for semantic segmentation of Earth Observation imagery

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    Semantic segmentation (classification) of Earth Observation imagery is a crucial task in remote sensing. This paper presents a comprehensive review of technical factors to consider when designing neural networks for this purpose. The review focuses on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and transformer models, discussing prominent design patterns for these ANN families and their implications for semantic segmentation. Common pre-processing techniques for ensuring optimal data preparation are also covered. These include methods for image normalization and chipping, as well as strategies for addressing data imbalance in training samples, and techniques for overcoming limited data, including augmentation techniques, transfer learning, and domain adaptation. By encompassing both the technical aspects of neural network design and the data-related considerations, this review provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the factors involved in designing effective neural networks for semantic segmentation of Earth Observation imagery.Comment: 145 pages with 32 figure

    Old trees in young forests : Biodiversity management in planted conifer forests in southern Sweden

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    Sweden’s long history of intensive forest management has made conservation measures in the forest landscape necessary to counteract the loss of biodiversity. Retention forestry has been systematically practiced since 1993 and consists of the preservation of different structures and habitats to create and maintain suitable habitats for species that do not cope well with clear-cutting. Many of these stands are now entering thinning. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate how choices in forest management contribute to biodiversity with the example of tree retention in thinning or through the choice of rotation length. First, gap cutting around old oaks (Quercus robur) in a Norway spruce (Picea abies) forest was investigated as an example of retention management in southern Sweden (I + II). We found that oaks contributed to the diversity of the stand due to their specific associated species. The removal of Norway spruce next to the oaks at the time of thinning boosted oak vitality and increased the species richness and abundance of vascular plants and saproxylic beetles due to increased temperature and light exposure, especially oak-associated beetles. In another study, the effect of forest age was investigated on four taxa: birds, bryophytes, lichens, and vascular plants in Norway spruce and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands (III). The older stands, both of Norway spruce and Scots pine, had a distinct species community of understorey species and epiphytes. In Norway spruce stands, older stands typically had more deadwood, which could have favoured bryophytes and birds by providing specific habitats and resources. Older Scots pine stands had the highest lichen species richness, but the implementation of other understorey species was impaired by the dominance of a few competitive dominating species. Finally, we explored the potential of using a canopy height model (CHM) to find and map retention trees (IV). We concluded that this method is a cost-effective solution to map and characterise past retention efforts to facilitate forest management and ensure that old trees are kept throughout the present and subsequent rotations. Our results indicate that this method can discern retention areas to an accuracy of 66%. The findings in this thesis provide knowledge on how the management of retention trees and the choice of rotation length can support biodiversity and provide guidelines for forest management so that their positive effects on forest biodiversity can be maintained over time
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