Developing Guidelines for Two-Dimensional Model Review and Acceptance

Two independent modelers ran two hydraulic models, SRH-2D and HEC-RAS 2D. The models were applied to the Lakina River (MP 44 McCarthy Road) and to Quartz Creek (MP 0.7 Quartz Creek Road), which approximately represent straight and bend flow conditions, respectively. We compared the results, including water depth, depth averaged velocity, and bed shear stress, from the two models for both modelers. We found that the extent and density of survey data were insufficient for Quartz Creek. Neither model was calibrated due to the lack of basic field data (i.e., discharge, water surface elevation, and sediment characteristics). Consequently, we were unable to draw any conclusion about the accuracy of the models. Concerning the time step and the equations used (simplified or full) to solve the momentum equation in the HEC-RAS 2D model, we found that the minimum time step allowed by the model must be used if the diffusion wave equation is used in the simulations. A greater time step can be used if the full momentum equation is used in the simulations. We developed a set of guidelines for reviewing model results, and developed and provided a two-day training workshop on the two models for ADOT&PF hydraulic engineers

A Model for Optimal Human Navigation with Stochastic Effects

We present a method for optimal path planning of human walking paths in mountainous terrain, using a control theoretic formulation and a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation. Previous models for human navigation were entirely deterministic, assuming perfect knowledge of the ambient elevation data and human walking velocity as a function of local slope of the terrain. Our model includes a stochastic component which can account for uncertainty in the problem, and thus includes a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation with viscosity. We discuss the model in the presence and absence of stochastic effects, and suggest numerical methods for simulating the model. We discuss two different notions of an optimal path when there is uncertainty in the problem. Finally, we compare the optimal paths suggested by the model at different levels of uncertainty, and observe that as the size of the uncertainty tends to zero (and thus the viscosity in the equation tends to zero), the optimal path tends toward the deterministic optimal path

First Person Sketch-based Terrain Editing

International audienceWe present a new method for first person sketch-based editing of terrain models. As in usual artistic pictures, the input sketch depicts complex silhouettes with cusps and T-junctions, which typically correspond to non-planar curves in 3D. After analysing depth constraints in the sketch based on perceptual cues, our method best matches the sketched silhouettes with silhouettes or ridges of the input terrain. A specific deformation algorithm is then applied to the terrain, enabling it to exactly match the sketch from the given perspective view, while insuring that none of the user-defined silhouettes is hidden by another part of the terrain. As our results show, this method enables users to easily personalize an existing terrain, while preserving its plausibility and style

Remote sensing of earth terrain

A systematic approach for the identification of terrain media such as vegetation canopy, forest, and snow covered fields is developed using the optimum polarimetric classifier. The covariance matrices for the various terrain cover are computed from theoretical models of random medium by evaluating the full polarimetric scattering matrix elements. The optimal classification scheme makes use of a quadratic distance measure and is applied to classify a vegetation canopy consisting of both trees and grass. Experimentally measured data are used to validate the classification scheme. Theoretical probability of classification error using the full polarimetric matrix are compared with classification based on single features including the phase difference between the VV and HH polarization returns. It is shown that the full polarimetric results are optimal and provide better classification performance than single feature measurements

A Common Origin for Ridge-and-Trough Terrain on Icy Satellites by Sluggish Lid Convection

Ridge-and-trough terrain is a common landform on outer Solar System icy satellites. Examples include Ganymede's grooved terrain, Europa's gray bands, Miranda's coronae, and several terrains on Enceladus. The conditions associated with the formation of each of these terrains are similar: heat flows of order tens to a hundred milliwatts per meter squared, and deformation rates of order $10^{-16}$ to $10^{-12}$ s$^{-1}$. Our prior work shows that the conditions associated with the formation of these terrains on Ganymede and the south pole of Enceladus are consistent with vigorous solid-state ice convection in a shell with a weak surface. We show that sluggish lid convection, an intermediate regime between the isoviscous and stagnant lid regimes, can create the heat flow and deformation rates appropriate for ridge and trough formation on a number of satellites, regardless of the ice shell thickness. For convection to deform their surfaces, the ice shells must have yield stresses similar in magnitude to the daily tidal stresses. Tidal and convective stresses deform the surface, and the spatial pattern of tidal cracking controls the locations of ridge-and-trough terrain.Comment: 45 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interior

Feature-based terrain editing from complex sketches

We present a new method for first person sketch-based editing of terrain models. As in usual artistic pictures, the input sketch depicts complex silhouettes with cusps and T-junctions, which typically correspond to non-planar curves in 3D. After analysing depth constraints in the sketch based on perceptual cues, our method best matches the sketched silhouettes with silhouettes or ridges of the input terrain. A deformation algorithm is then applied to the terrain, enabling it to exactly match the sketch from the given perspective view, while insuring that none of the user-defined silhouettes is hidden by another part of the terrain. We extend this sketch-based terrain editing framework to handle a collection of multi-view sketches. As our results show, this method enables users to easily personalize an existing terrain, while preserving its plausibility and style.This work was conducted during an internship of Flora Ponjou Tasse at Inria Rhône-Alpes in Grenoble. It was partly supported by the ERC advanced grant EXPRESSIVE.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009784931400081

3D cut-cell modelling for high-resolution atmospheric simulations

Owing to the recent, rapid development of computer technology, the resolution of atmospheric numerical models has increased substantially. With the use of next-generation supercomputers, atmospheric simulations using horizontal grid intervals of O(100) m or less will gain popularity. At such high resolution more of the steep gradients in mountainous terrain will be resolved, which may result in large truncation errors in those models using terrain-following coordinates. In this study, a new 3D Cartesian coordinate non-hydrostatic atmospheric model is developed. A cut-cell representation of topography based on finite-volume discretization is combined with a cell-merging approach, in which small cut-cells are merged with neighboring cells either vertically or horizontally. In addition, a block-structured mesh-refinement technique is introduced to achieve a variable resolution on the model grid with the finest resolution occurring close to the terrain surface. The model successfully reproduces a flow over a 3D bell-shaped hill that shows a good agreement with the flow predicted by the linear theory. The ability of the model to simulate flows over steep terrain is demonstrated using a hemisphere-shaped hill where the maximum slope angle is resolved at 71 degrees. The advantage of a locally refined grid around a 3D hill, with cut-cells at the terrain surface, is also demonstrated using the hemisphere-shaped hill. The model reproduces smooth mountain waves propagating over varying grid resolution without introducing large errors associated with the change of mesh resolution. At the same time, the model shows a good scalability on a locally refined grid with the use of OpenMP.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures. Revised version, accepted for publication in QJRM

SO(3)-invariant asymptotic observers for dense depth field estimation based on visual data and known camera motion

In this paper, we use known camera motion associated to a video sequence of a static scene in order to estimate and incrementally refine the surrounding depth field. We exploit the SO(3)-invariance of brightness and depth fields dynamics to customize standard image processing techniques. Inspired by the Horn-Schunck method, we propose a SO(3)-invariant cost to estimate the depth field. At each time step, this provides a diffusion equation on the unit Riemannian sphere that is numerically solved to obtain a real time depth field estimation of the entire field of view. Two asymptotic observers are derived from the governing equations of dynamics, respectively based on optical flow and depth estimations: implemented on noisy sequences of synthetic images as well as on real data, they perform a more robust and accurate depth estimation. This approach is complementary to most methods employing state observers for range estimation, which uniquely concern single or isolated feature points.Comment: Submitte

Remote sensing of earth terrain

A systematic approach for the identification of terrain media such as vegetation canopy, forest, and snow covered fields is developed using the optimum polarimetric classifier. The covariance matrices for the various terrain covers are computed from the theoretical models of random medium by evaluating the full polarimetric scattering matrix elements. The optimal classification scheme makes use of a quadratic distance measure and is applied to classify a vegetation canopy consisting of both trees and grass. Experimentally measured data are used to validate the classification scheme. Theoretical probability of classification error using the full polarimetric matrix are compared with classification based on single features including the phase difference between the VV and HH polarization returns. It is shown that the full polarimetric results are optimal and provide better classification performance than single feature measurements. A systematic approach is presented for obtaining the optimal polarimetric matched filter which produces maximum contrast between two scattering classes, each represented by its respective covariance matrix