270,994 research outputs found
Net Returns for Grain Sorghum and Corn under Alternative Irrigation Systems in Western Kansas
This study evaluates seven irrigation systems for use in production of grain sorghum and corn. These systems are medium pressure center-pivot (MPCP), low pressure center-pivot (LPCP), low drift nozzle center-pivot (LDN) , low energy precision application center-pivot (LEPA), furrow flood (FF) , surge flood (SF), and subsurface drip (SD). After-tax net present value estimates from investing in and using each system over a 10-year period to produce grain sorghum and corn are compared. The surge flood system, has the highest net returns under typical conditions for irrigation of both grain sorghum and corn. The furrow flood system generates the next highest net returns for both crops, followed by the subsurface drip system. The medium pressure center-pivot system is the least profitable for both crops. Of the center-pivot systems, the low pressure system has the highest net return, but is followed very closely by the low drift nozzle system. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that the net return estimates and ranking of the subsurface drip system are very sensitive to the yield response to irrigation. Lower than average crop prices also have a substantial impact on the ranking of this system. The original investment cost is also an important determinant of its net return.Crop Production/Industries,
Characterising errors in airborne laser altimetry data to extract soil roughness
Airborne laser altimetry has the potential to make frequent detailed observations that
are important for many aspects of studying land surface processes. However, the
uncertainties inherent in airborne laser altimetry data have rarely been well measured.
Uncertainty is often specified as generally as 20cm in elevation, and 40cm
planimetric. To better constrain these uncertainties, we present an analysis of several
datasets acquired specifically to study the temporal consistency of laser altimetry data,
and thus assess its operational value. The error budget has three main components,
each with a time regime. For measurements acquired less than 50ms apart, elevations
have a local standard deviation in height of 3.5cm, enabling the local measurement of
surface roughness of the order of 5cm. Points acquired seconds apart acquire an
additional random error due to Differential Geographic Positioning System (DGPS)
fluctuation. Measurements made up to an hour apart show an elevation drift of 7cm
over a half hour. Over months, this drift gives rise to a random elevation offset
between swathes, with an average of 6.4cm. The RMS planimetric error in point
location was derived as 37.4cm. We conclude by considering the consequences of
these uncertainties on the principle application of laser altimetry in the UK, intertidal
zone monitoring
Drift rate control of a Brownian processing system
A system manager dynamically controls a diffusion process Z that lives in a
finite interval [0,b]. Control takes the form of a negative drift rate \theta
that is chosen from a fixed set A of available values. The controlled process
evolves according to the differential relationship dZ=dX-\theta(Z) dt+dL-dU,
where X is a (0,\sigma) Brownian motion, and L and U are increasing processes
that enforce a lower reflecting barrier at Z=0 and an upper reflecting barrier
at Z=b, respectively. The cumulative cost process increases according to the
differential relationship d\xi =c(\theta(Z)) dt+p dU, where c(\cdot) is a
nondecreasing cost of control and p>0 is a penalty rate associated with
displacement at the upper boundary. The objective is to minimize long-run
average cost. This problem is solved explicitly, which allows one to also solve
the following, essentially equivalent formulation: minimize the long-run
average cost of control subject to an upper bound constraint on the average
rate at which U increases. The two special problem features that allow an
explicit solution are the use of a long-run average cost criterion, as opposed
to a discounted cost criterion, and the lack of state-related costs other than
boundary displacement penalties. The application of this theory to power
control in wireless communication is discussed.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/105051604000000855 in the
Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute
of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
On the Stability of Contention Resolution Diversity Slotted ALOHA
In this paper a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) based Random Access (RA)
channel with Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) is considered for a
finite user population and reliable retransmission mechanism on the basis of
Contention Resolution Diversity Slotted ALOHA (CRDSA). A general mathematical
model based on Markov Chains is derived which makes it possible to predict the
stability regions of SIC-RA channels, the expected delays in equilibrium and
the selection of parameters for a stable channel configuration. Furthermore the
model enables the estimation of the average time before reaching instability.
The presented model is verified against simulations and numerical results are
provided for comparison of the stability of CRDSA versus the stability of
traditional Slotted ALOHA (SA). The presented results show that CRDSA has not
only a high gain over SA in terms of throughput but also in its stability.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures This paper is submitted to the IEEE Transactions
on Communications for possible publication. The IEEE copyright notice applie
- …