Shape Matters

An analysis of the production of the University of New Orleans thesis film, Shape Matters, a period film, written and directed by Thomas Baumgardner. The film is concerned with the practice of Phrenology and follows a nervous preacher who becomes entangled in the bizarre science and a local murder. This paper describes the director\u27s experiences and details the challenges encountered, and lessons learned, from attempting to bring the project to fruition

Comparing soil boundaries delineated by digital analysis of multispectral scanner data from high and low spatial resolution systems

The author has identified the following significant results. Computer-aided analysis techniques used with aircraft MSS data showed that the spatial resolution was sufficient to recognize each soil mapping unit of the test site. Some difficulties occurred where different soil series were intricately mixed, and this mixture showed as a separate spectral mapping unit, or where the difference between two soils depended on the depth of silty surface material. Analysis of LANDSAT data with computer-aided techniques showed that it was not possible to find spectrally homogeneous soil features of the seven soil series on the 40 ha test site on the digital display or on a picture print map. Cluster techniques could be used on an extended test area to group spectrally similar data points into cluster classes

Requirements of a global information system for corn production and distribution

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Aggregating available soil water holding capacity data for crop yield models

The total amount of water available to plants that is held against gravity in a soil is usually estimated as the amount present at -0.03 MPa average water potential minus the amount present at -1.5 MPa water potential. This value, designated available water-holding capacity (AWHC), is a very important soil characteristic that is strongly and positively correlated to the inherent productivity of soils. In various applications, including assessing soil moisture status over large areas, it is necessary to group soil types or series as to their productivity. Current methods to classify AWHC of soils consider only total capacity of soil profiles and thus may group together soils which differ greatly in AWHC as a function of depth in the profile. A general approach for evaluating quantitatively the multidimensional nature of AWHC in soils is described. Data for 902 soil profiles, representing 184 soil series, in Indiana were obtained from the Soil Characterization Laboratory at Purdue University. The AWHC for each of ten 150-mm layers in each soil was established, based on soil texture and parent material. A multivariate clustering procedure was used to classify each soil profile into one of 4, 8, or 12 classes based upon ten-dimensional AWHC values. The optimum number of classes depends on the range of AWHC in the population of oil profiles analyzed and on the sensitivity of a crop to differences in distribution of water within the soil profile

Perturbation Analysis of the Kuramoto Phase Diffusion Equation Subject to Quenched Frequency Disorder

The Kuramoto phase diffusion equation is a nonlinear partial differential equation which describes the spatio-temporal evolution of a phase variable in an oscillatory reaction diffusion system. Synchronization manifests itself in a stationary phase gradient where all phases throughout a system evolve with the same velocity, the synchronization frequency. The formation of concentric waves can be explained by local impurities of higher frequency which can entrain their surroundings. Concentric waves in synchronization also occur in heterogeneous systems, where the local frequencies are distributed randomly. We present a perturbation analysis of the synchronization frequency where the perturbation is given by the heterogeneity of natural frequencies in the system. The nonlinearity in form of dispersion, leads to an overall acceleration of the oscillation for which the expected value can be calculated from the second order perturbation terms. We apply the theory to simple topologies, like a line or the sphere, and deduce the dependence of the synchronization frequency on the size and the dimension of the oscillatory medium. We show that our theory can be extended to include rotating waves in a medium with periodic boundary conditions. By changing a system parameter the synchronized state may become quasi degenerate. We demonstrate how perturbation theory fails at such a critical point.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

Agricultural scene understanding

The author has identified the following significant results. The LACIE field measurement data were radiometrically calibrated. Calibration enabled valid comparisons of measurements from different dates, sensors, and/or locations. Thermal band canopy results included: (1) Wind velocity had a significant influence on the overhead radiance temperature and the effect was quantized. Biomass and soil temperatures, temperature gradient, and canopy geometry were altered. (2) Temperature gradient was a function of wind velocity. (3) Temperature gradient of the wheat canopy was relatively constant during the day. (4) The laser technique provided good quality geometric characterization

Spectral characteristics of normal and nutrient-deficient maize leaves

Reflectance, transmittance and absorbance spectra of normal and six types of mineral-deficient (N,P,K,S,Mg and Ca) maize (Zea mays L.) leaves were analyzed at 30 selected wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum from 500 to 2600 nm. Chlorophyll content and percent leaf moisture were also determined. Leaf thermograms were obtained for normal, N- and S- deficient leaves. The results of the analysis of variance showed significant differences in reflectance, transmittance and absorbance in the visible wavelengths among leaf numbers 3, 4, and 5, among the seven nutrient treatments, and among the interactions of leaves and treatments. In the reflective infrared wavelengths only treatments produced significant differences. The chlorophyll content of leaves was reduced in all deficiencies in comparison to controls. Percent moisture was increased in S-, Mg- and N- deficiencies. Positive correlation (r = 0.707) between moisture content and percent absorption at both 1450 and 1930 nm were obtained. Polynomial regression analysis of leaf thickness and leaf moisture content showed that these two variables were significantly and directly related (r = 0.894)

Landsat Based Lineament Analysis East Texas Basin and Structural History of the Sabine Uplift Area East Texas and North Louisiana

Most lineaments detected in this study are stream network features. Few lineaments display a one-to-one correspondence with mapped faults or geologic contacts. High values of lineament density demarcate major fault zones. Two regional lineament orientations are significant at the 99-percent confidence level: 325 degrees and 21 degrees. The northwest regional trend is parallel to wellbore elongations at depths down to 8,000 ft in the Jurassic Schuler Formation. The East Texas Basin and the Sabine Uplift have the same significant northwest trend, but the significant northeast lineament orientations for these two subregional structural features are different. The northeast trend in the East Texas Basin is subparallel to that of elongate salt structures there. The northeast trend over the Sabine Uplift may result from stresses generated by upward movement of the uplift. The northwest lineament trend, common to the regional and subregional data sets, is thought to result from gulfward extension in the Gulf Coastal Stress Province where the least principal stress is perpendicular to the coast. Hydraulically generated fractures should propagate perpendicular to the minimum compressive stress and, consequently, perpendicular to the northwest trend of lineaments in this study area. The isopach maps generated in this study show that the Sabine Uplift was part of a large basinal area during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. The Sabine Uplift does not appear to have been a large Jurassic horst that remained in a structurally high position throughout the Cretaceous and Tertiary, as is commonly shown in the literature. Timing, orientation, and magnitude of Sabine arching indicate that the Sabine Uplift may have been produced by northeast-directed tectonic events related to orogenic activity in the southern North American Cordillera and the Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Evaluation of surface water resources from machine-processing of ERTS multispectral data

The surface water resources of a large metropolitan area, Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana, are studied in order to assess the potential value of ERTS spectral analysis to water resources problems. The results of the research indicate that all surface water bodies over 0.5 ha were identified accurately from ERTS multispectral analysis. Five distinct classes of water were identified and correlated with parameters which included: degree of water siltiness; depth of water; presence of macro and micro biotic forms in the water; and presence of various chemical concentrations in the water. The machine processing of ERTS spectral data used alone or in conjunction with conventional sources of hydrological information can lead to the monitoring of area of surface water bodies; estimated volume of selected surface water bodies; differences in degree of silt and clay suspended in water and degree of water eutrophication related to chemical concentrations