High-Precision Photogrammetry for Glaciology

Consumer-grade digital cameras have become ubiquitous tools for documenting short-term variability in the geosciences. However, these devices were not intended for precise timekeeping and surveying, and their use as such requires management of systematic and random errors that inevitably arise.This dissertation presents a suite of methods for registering the place and time of photographs in an absolute reference frame so that they may be analyzed and interpreted alongside other spatial and temporal data. The methods are tested on a 13-year record of 33,000 time-lapse photographs from Alaska's Columbia Glacier. This work provides insights into the capabilities and shortcomings of consumer-grade cameras as scientific instruments, the opportunistic approaches often needed to achieve the best results, and the potential of continuous high-frequency measurements for documenting rapid geomorphic processes.Subsecond-precision image capture times are achieved by measuring the offset to a reference clock display and accounting for the drift, precision, and reporting resolution of the camera clock. Two case studies illustrate the benefit of subsecond precision in contemporary investigations: georeferencing aerial photogrammetric surveys with camera positions time-interpolated from GPS tracklogs, and coupling videos of glacier-calving events to synchronous seismic waveforms. Retroactive dating of photographs, on the order of seconds to hours, is achieved by leveraging phenomena visible in the photographs -- namely, the positions of astronomical objects in the sky or the corresponding variations in solar radiation and sea level.Similarly, retroactive camera calibrations are achieved using surface and topographic features in the photographs -- specifically, point and line features of known absolute position, the motion of static features in images due to camera rotation, and the correspondences between real images and images synthesized from vertical imagery. Camera motion is corrected by computing globally optimal estimates of rotation over arbitrarily-long photographic sequences.Finally, a recently-developed tracking algorithm based on particle filtering theory is refined and applied to estimate Columbia Glacier velocities, their associated uncertainties, and the corresponding strain rate fields at 3-day intervals over a 13-year period, providing an unprecedented look at the seasonal and sub-seasonal variability of tidewater glacier dynamics over long time scales

Advances in Computational Intelligence Applications in the Mining Industry

This book captures advancements in the applications of computational intelligence (artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.) to problems in the mineral and mining industries. The papers present the state of the art in four broad categories: mine operations, mine planning, mine safety, and advances in the sciences, primarily in image processing applications. Authors in the book include both researchers and industry practitioners

Water Security and Governance in Catchments

This book addresses several issues on water security and governance, helping readers to understand how the desire for water-secure basins can be accomplished through an interplay of water security, water resources management and water policies. The book contains a collection of 12 papers addressing specific as well as interlinked topics within the Special Issue scope. The editors are grateful to all contributors who made the book a reality

State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in Spain 2015: Volume 1

This book provides a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art sensors technology in specific leading areas. Industrial researchers, engineers and professionals can find information on the most advanced technologies and developments, together with data processing. Further research covers specific devices and technologies that capture and distribute data to be processed by applying dedicated techniques or procedures, which is where sensors play the most important role. The book provides insights and solutions for different problems covering a broad spectrum of possibilities, thanks to a set of applications and solutions based on sensory technologies. Topics include: • Signal analysis for spectral power • 3D precise measurements • Electromagnetic propagation • Drugs detection • e-health environments based on social sensor networks • Robots in wireless environments, navigation, teleoperation, object grasping, demining • Wireless sensor networks • Industrial IoT • Insights in smart cities • Voice recognition • FPGA interfaces • Flight mill device for measurements on insects • Optical systems: UV, LEDs, lasers, fiber optics • Machine vision • Power dissipation • Liquid level in fuel tanks • Parabolic solar tracker • Force sensors • Control for a twin roto

Municipal solid waste disposal in developing countries: a case study of Wa Municipality, Ghana

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is a global challenge and the situation is worse in urban areas of developing countries due to ineffective disposal systems. In many industrialised countries, waste minimisation and recycling/reuse policies have been introduced to reduce the amount of waste generated, and increasingly, alternative waste management practices to waste disposal on land have been implemented to reduce the environmental impacts of MSWM. Nevertheless, research and MSWM in most developing countries have largely concentrated on waste collection. This doctoral study investigates how planning and decision-making for MSW disposal in developing countries with similar circumstances and MSW problems to Ghana can be improved, using the Wa Municipality as a case study. It established the baseline scenario of MSW disposal and examined MSW disposal management and operational performances. The methodology and research design for the study was a descriptive and interpretive case study that was analysed through both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The key research findings indicate that the current state of MSW disposal management performance in Ghana does not present an enabling environment for effective MSW disposal. Also, the present MSW disposal practices in the case study area and Ghana in general consist of some waste collection, transportation and open dumping, where the entire amount of waste is open dumped without pre-treatment. Evaluation of MSW disposal operational performance through modelling and scenario analysis showed that open dumping/landfilling of waste creates copious health effects (0.0001519 lbs/year on average), whereas, MSW disposal in an integrated solid waste management (ISWM) system optimises the minimisation of health effects (-0.0005812 lbs/year on average). The study developed and validated a framework for the improvement of planning and decision-making for MSW disposal, which can easily be applied in the context of developing countries. Also, the developed framework provides a theoretical standpoint for the concept of MSW disposal in ISWM. Appropriate MSW disposal treatment technologies based on the developed framework could be applied to ameliorate the impacts of MSW disposal in Ghana and other developing countries

Third International Symposium on Space Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems, part 1

Under the theme of 'Opportunities in Ground Data Systems for High Efficiency Operations of Space Missions,' the SpaceOps '94 symposium included presentations of more than 150 technical papers spanning five topic areas: Mission Management, Operations, Data Management, System Development, and Systems Engineering. The papers focus on improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, and quality of data acquisition, ground systems, and mission operations. New technology, techniques, methods, and human systems are discussed. Accomplishments are also reported in the application of information systems to improve data retrieval, reporting, and archiving; the management of human factors; the use of telescience and teleoperations; and the design and implementation of logistics support for mission operations

Proceedings of the Conference on Production Systems and Logistics: CPSL 2022

[no abstract available

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen