Description of the Spacecraft Control Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE) facility

A laboratory facility for the study of control laws for large flexible spacecraft is described. The facility fulfills the requirements of the Spacecraft Control Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE) design challenge for a laboratory experiment, which will allow slew maneuvers and pointing operations. The structural apparatus is described in detail sufficient for modelling purposes. The sensor and actuator types and characteristics are described so that identification and control algorithms may be designed. The control implementation computer and real-time subroutines are also described

Operating envelope charts for the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic wind tunnel

To take full advantage of the unique Reynolds number capabilities of the 0.3-meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel (0.3-m TCT) at the NASA Langley Research Center, it was designed to accommodate test sections other than the original, octagonal, three-dimensional test section. A 20- by 60-cm two-dimensional test section was installed in 1976 and was extensively used, primarily for airfoil testing, through the fall of 1984. The tunnel was inactive during 1985 so that a new test section and improved high speed diffuser could be installed in the tunnel circuit. The new test section has solid adaptive top and bottom walls to reduce or eliminate wall interference for two-dimensional testing. The test section is 33- by 33-cm in cross section at the entrance and is 142 cm long. In the planning and running of past airfoil tests in the 0.3-m TCT, the use of operating envelope charts have proven very useful. These charts give the variation of total temperature and pressure with Mach number and Reynolds number. The operating total temperature range of the 0.3-m TCT is from about 78 K to 327 K with total pressures ranging from about 17.5 psia to 88 psia. This report presents the operating envelope charts for the 0.3-m TCT with the adaptive wall tes t section installed. They were all generated based on a 1-foot chord model. The Mach numbers vary from 0.1 to 0.95

The future of the indigenous freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius italicus in Basque Country streams: Is it possible to survive being an inconvenient species?

The white-clawed freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius italicus is listed as “vulnerable” in the Spanish Red List of threatened species, but local legislation varies among Spanish regions. Thus, while in some places the species is classified as “in risk of extinction” and various plans of conservation and restoration have been implemented, in the Basque Country and other regions the species is not listed. The distribution of the white-clawed crayfish in the province of Biscay (Basque Country) was studied from 1993 to 2007 at more than 600 sampling locations. Results show that 108 streams were inhabited by the native crayfish species A. italicus while 137 streams were inhabited by non-native signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus or red-swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii. The spread of non-native crayfish is not the only threat to the native species whose survival is also closely dependent on how watersheds are managed. Most A. italicus populations inhabit headwaters, where forestry activities are very important. The presence of native crayfish in heavily forested areas results in a conflict of interests and makes its conservation particularly difficult. We employed a SWOT analysis – an assessment and decision tool commonly used in marketing and business – to evaluate the situation of the native white-clawed crayfish in Biscay, a province characterized by very high demographic pressure. SWOT analysis has proved to be a useful diagnostic tool and can help develop better and more accurate management strategies for the conservation of native crayfish threatened by multiple stressors

Cambios en las condiciones físicas, químicas y faunísticas de un sistema fluvial (río Oma, Bizkaia), y desaparición de una población de cangrejo autóctono (Austropotamobius pallipes) : ¿causa y/o efecto?

El Oma (cuenca del río Oka, provincia de Bizkaia) es un pequeño río relativamente poco alterado que recorre terrenos de uso forestal, agrícola y ganadero. En él habitaba una población bien establecida de cangrejo autóctono Austropotamobius pallipes, pero ésta había desaparecido en el verano de 1995, sin que se hubieran registrado mortandades masivas como las características de un episodio de afanomicosis. En este trabajo se estudia la evolución de las condiciones fisicoquímicas y de las comunidades bentónicas estivales del río Oma desde el año 1994 hasta el 2001, comparado esta dinámica respecto a las condiciones generales que presentan los hábitats de otras poblaciones de cangrejo autóctono en la red fluvial del entorno. Aparte de esta desaparición del cangrejo, también se han detectado cambios en algunas condiciones del agua así como en la composición faunística de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados. Se describen estos cambios temporales y se discuten sus posibles causas, especialmente la que ha generado la extinción de la especie protegida (influencia de depredadores, pérdida de calidad de hábitat por vertidos o lixiviados, intervenciones en cauce), pero aunque en otras cuencas cercanas se ha podido encontrar la causa principal de mortandad y/o desaparición de cangrejos, no así en el Oma, en donde podría haber tenido lugar una sinergia entre varios factores. No obstante, la evolución temporal del sistema río en los últimos años parece presentar una tendencia a recuperar las condiciones que tenía en el año 1994, tanto en la fisicoquímica como en la composición faunística.The Oma (Oka basin, province of Biscay) is a relatively little perturbed river, which runs through places where the main activities are forestry, agriculture and cattle raising. The native crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes was well established on it but in the summer of 1995 this population had disappeared. Crayfish mass mortalities that could have been due to the crayfish plague were not detected. The main objective of this work is to study the changes of abiotic and biotic summer conditions of the Oma River from 1994 to 2001. The Oma River conditions are compared with the general conditions of the close fluvial reaches inhabited by native crayfish. In addition to the disappearance of the crayfish population, changes in water chemistry and faunal composition of the benthic community were detected. Temporal variations are described in this work and the possible causes are also discussed, especially those related with the extinction of the protected species (predators' influence, decrease of the habitat quality by leaches, works on the riverbed). We have been able to detect the main cause for the mortality and/or disappearance of crayfish in other close fluvial zones, but not in the Oma River. In this stream it could have been due to the synergic interaction of several factors. However, the temporal evolution of the river system in the last years seems to show a trend to recover the conditions of the river on both physicochemical quality and faunal composition, that had in 1994

Using Hydrus 2-D to assess the emitters optimal position for Eggplants under surface and subsurface drip irrigation

The main objective of the work is to assess the emitters optimal position for Eggplant crop (Solanum melongena L.) in a sandy loam soil irrigated with surface or subsurface drip irrigation systems, by means of field measurements and simulations carried out with Hydrus-2D model. Initially, the performance of the model is evaluated on the basis of the comparison between simulated soil water contents (SWC) and the corresponding measured in two plots, in which laterals with coextruded emitters are laid on the soil surface (T0) and at 20 cm depth (T20), respectively. In order to choose the best position of the lateral, the results of different simulation runs, carried out by changing the installation depth of the lateral (5 cm, 15 cm and 45 cm) were compared in terms of ratio between actual transpiration and total amount of water provided during the entire growing season (WUE). Experiments were carried out, from April to June 2007, at Institut Sup\ue9rieur Agronomique de Chott M\ue9riem (Sousse, Tunisia). In the two plots, plants were spaced 0.40 m along the row and 1.2 m between the rows. Each plot was irrigated by means of laterals with coextruded emitters spaced 0.40 m and discharging a flow rate equal to 4.0 l h-1 at a nominal pressure of 100 kPa. In each plot, spatial and temporal variability of SWCs were acquired with a Time Domain Reflectometry probe (Trime-FM3), on a total of four 70 cm long access tubes, installed along the direction perpendicular to the plant row, at distances of 0, 20, 40 and 60 cm from the emitter. Irrigation water was supplied, accounting for the rainfall, every 7-10 days at the beginning of the crop cycle (March-April) and approximately once a week during the following stages till the harvesting (May-June), for a total of 15 one-hour watering. To run the model, soil evaporation, Ep, and crop transpiration, Tp were determined according to the modified FAO Penman-Monteith equation and the dual crop coefficient approach, whereas soil hydraulics and rooting system parameters were experimentally determined. Simulated SWCs resulted fairly close to the corresponding measured at different distances from the emitter and therefore the model was able to predict SWCs in the root zone with values of the Root Mean Square Error generally lower than 4%. This result is consequent to the appropriate schematization of the root distribution, as well as of the root water uptake. Simulations also evidenced the contribute of soil evaporation losses when laterals are installed from the soil surface to a 20 cm depth, whereas significant water losses by deep percolation occured at the highest installation depth. The values of WUE associated to the different examined installation depths tend to a very slight increase when the position of the lateral rises from 0 to 15 cm and start to decrease for the higher depths

Análisis de aceituna intacta mediante espectroscopia en el infrarrojo cercano (NIRS): una herramienta de utilidad en programas de mejora de olivo

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for the analysis of oil content, moisture and fatty acids composition in intact olive fruit. A total of 287 samples, each from a single plant from an olive breeding program, were scanned by NIRS between 400 and 1700 nm. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to create calibration models (with 70 % of samples) relating laboratory reference values to spectral data (original, first and second derivative spectral data). The best equations obtained were validated (with 30% of samples) showing values of r2 of 0.88 % for the moisture, 0.83 % for oil content, 0.77 % for oleic acid content and 0.81 % for linoleic acid content. Therefore a reliable and accurate preselection can be made by using NIRS for both oil content and oleic acid content, with a nondestructive analysis, in a few seconds and without use neither production of chemical reagents.El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el potencial de la tecnología NIRS para el análisis del contenido de aceite, humedad y composición de ácidos grasos en aceituna intacta. A un total de 287 muestras de aceituna, cada una de una planta procedente de un programa de mejora de olivo, se les determinó sus datos espectroscópicos mediante reflectancia (400-1700 nm). A partir de los datos espectroscópicos originales, primera y segunda derivadas se obtuvieron diferentes ecuaciones de calibración (con el 70 % de las muestras) mediante regresión por mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) establecidas entre los datos espectroscópicos y los datos de laboratorio de referencia. Las mejores ecuaciones obtenidas fueron validadas (con el 30 % de las muestras) mostrando valores de r2 de 0.88 % para la humedad, 0.83 % para contenido graso, 0.77 % para contenido de ácido oleico y 0.81% para contenido de ácido linoleico. Por tanto, la tecnología NIRS puede ser de utilidad para preseleccionar genotipos por su contenido de aceite y ácido oleico con suficiente precisión y fiabilidad, sin destrucción de muestra, de forma instantánea y sin utilización ni producción de residuos químico

Updated single and dual crop coefficients for tree and vine fruit crops

ReviewThe present study reviews the research on the FAO56 crop coefficients of fruit trees and vines performed over the past twenty years. The main objective was to update information and extend tabulated single (Kc) and basal (Kcb) standard crop coefficients. The selection and analysis of the literature for this review have been done to consider only studies that adhere to FAO56 method, computing the reference ET with the FAO Penman– Monteith ETo equation and field measuring crop ET with proved accuracy. The crops considered refer to vine fruit crops, berries and hops, temperate climate evergreen fruit trees, temperate climate deciduous fruit trees and, tropical and subtropical fruit crops. Papers satisfying the conditions expressed above, and that studied the crops under pristine or appropriate eustress conditions, were selected to provide for standard Kc and Kcb data. Preference was given to studies reporting on the fraction of ground cover (fc), crop height (h), planting density, crop age and adopted training systems. The Kc and Kcb values obtained from the selected literature generally show coherence relative to the crop biophysical characteristics and reflect those characteristics, mainly fc, h and training systems. The ranges of reported Kc and Kcb values were grouped according to crop density, particularly fc and h, and were compared with FAO56 (Allen et al., 1998) previously tabulated Kc and Kcb values, as well as by Allen and Pereira (2009) and Jensen and Allen (2016), which lead to define update indicative standard Kc and Kcb values. These values are aimed for use in crop water requirement computations and modeling for irrigation planning and scheduling, thus also aimed at supporting improved water use and saving in orchards and vinesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eddy covariance and sap flow measurement of energy and mass exchanges of woody crops in a Mediterranean environment

Evapotranspiration estimation by micrometeorological techniques through the assessment of mass and energy exchanges in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is a very active research area, involving both well-known and novel measurement techniques. A crucial aspect in validating experimental results is the integration of independent measurements of mass and energy exchanges in the SPAC. To this aim, the development and validation of an integrated approach in major tree crop species, involving different independent techniques, are presented. Eddy covariance estimates of ET fluxes were compared to up-scaled sap flow measurements in olive, orange and grapevine, three important Mediterranean tree crop species with contrasting ecophysiological characteristics and responses to water deficits. These differences can affect directly the degree of coupling of the tree to the environment and, consequently, the degree of correspondence between instantaneous transpirational flux at tree level and the micrometeorological measurement of ET at orchard level. Data were analyzed to verify to what extent, in the three species, transpirational flow at orchard level is regulated by tree conductance, capacitance effects related to tree size or by environmental demand. Hourly observations were helpful in detecting physiological processes of the three species only when data were analyzed taking into consideration their diurnal changes