Mapping analysis and planning system for the John F. Kennedy Space Center

Environmental management, impact assessment, research and monitoring are multidisciplinary activities which are ideally suited to incorporate a multi-media approach to environmental problem solving. Geographic information systems (GIS), simulation models, neural networks and expert-system software are some of the advancing technologies being used for data management, query, analysis and display. At the 140,000 acre John F. Kennedy Space Center, the Advanced Software Technology group has been supporting development and implementation of a program that integrates these and other rapidly evolving hardware and software capabilities into a comprehensive Mapping, Analysis and Planning System (MAPS) based in a workstation/local are network environment. An expert-system shell is being developed to link the various databases to guide users through the numerous stages of a facility siting and environmental assessment. The expert-system shell approach is appealing for its ease of data access by management-level decision makers while maintaining the involvement of the data specialists. This, as well as increased efficiency and accuracy in data analysis and report preparation, can benefit any organization involved in natural resources management

Pressure Wave and Acoustic Properties Generated by the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico

This paper explores the processes and effects of the removal of oil and gas equipment off the Louisiana coast line in the Gulf of Mexico

Developing a management strategy based on the relationships between brown rot and codling moth in two apple production systems

International audienceAbstractBrown rot (BR) in relation to codling moth damage (CMD) is a key issue in apple production but the impact of these pests has not been assessed jointly. In addition, categorising cultivar reaction to these two pests for sustainable production systems could be essential for improving pest management. Therefore, in a 12-year study, 27 apple cultivars (9 scab-resistant, 9 commercial, and 9 old) were assessed for their reactions to BR in relation to CMD in integrated and organic production systems, and classified into 3 categories (“low”, “medium”, and “high”) based on their season-long BR and CMD incidences. Then the 12-year temporal BR and CMD progresses in each category were analysed by fitting three-parameter logistic functions to process data and then by deriving 5 model variables for BR and CMD incidences. Here, we showed BR-CMD relationships in both production systems, which indicated that final BR and CMD incidences were significantly higher in organic systems. Our results show that season-long BR and CMD incidences were “low” for most resistant cultivars, and “medium” or “high” for most commercial and old ones. The area under the disease and pest progress curves indicated consistent differences among all categories in both production systems; and they were used to differentiate cultivar reactions to BR and CMD. Based on these categories and BR-CMD relationships, here we developed a new brown rot and codling moth forecasting and management strategy (BRCM-FMS). BRCM-FMS and general pest management programme (GPMP) were then compared in an additional 4-year study. This was the first study to show that the BRCM-FMS reduced annual spray applications by 21.4–41.7% in integrated and 12.5–31.3% in organic production system compared to GPMP. Disease incidences in the two programmes were similar in all years, production systems and classification categories. Less sprays and similar disease incidences provide economic and environmental benefits for growers