High-resolution underwater robotic vision-based mapping and three-dimensional reconstruction for archaeology

Documenting underwater archaeological sites is an extremely challenging problem. Sites covering large areas are particularly daunting for traditional techniques. In this paper, we present a novel approach to this problem using both an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and a diver-controlled stereo imaging platform to document the submerged Bronze Age city at Pavlopetri, Greece. The result is a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction covering 26,600 m2 at a resolution of 2 mm/pixel, the largest-scale underwater optical 3D map, at such a resolution, in the world to date. We discuss the advances necessary to achieve this result, including i) an approach to color correct large numbers of images at varying altitudes and over varying bottom types; ii) a large-scale bundle adjustment framework that is capable of handling upward of 400,000 stereo images; and iii) a novel approach to the registration and rapid documentation of an underwater excavations area that can quickly produce maps of site change. We present visual and quantitative comparisons to the authors' previous underwater mapping approaches

Conjunctive Management for Groundwater-Surface Water Resources: Numerical Modeling and Potential Assessment of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) at Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas

Texas is well known to frequent floods and droughts, and yet has mounting concerns in very imbalanced water availability and water demands from growth in population and economical activities. Capturing and storing water is essential to long-term and climate-smart management of the “already-scarce” water resources. This study aimed to apply numerical modeling to evaluate potentials and impacts of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to regional groundwater systems in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Using Visual MODFLOW Flex 3D package, different scenarios were simulated for groundwater flow patterns and storage capacities. Water injections tested ranged between 7.30x105 ft3 to 3.65x109 ft3 , which were comparable to existing ASR capacities in Texas. This study examined flow patterns and water table changes at one selected MAR site with injected water volume equivalent to 3~5% of flood water from Hurricane Hanna (major flood event in LRGV). Giving current assumptions and limited scenarios ran, study results showed that MAR injections had minimal impacts to regional coastal aquifers. LRGV are suitable for MAR using treated water or when there is surplus water, i.e., water from flooding as alternative mitigations. More studies such as data and simulations are needed to better plan and build water resilience

L’Antiquité au Musée Chiragan : une nouvelle présentation des œuvres au Musée Saint-Raymond

La forme et le fonds Toute institution muséale éprouve le besoin de se renouveler. Cela devient même une nécessité lorsque l’état de la recherche impose un regard neuf sur les œuvres exposées. Ainsi la révision du contenu des textes didactiques et du parcours de visite montre aux visiteurs combien une collection n’est jamais figée mais dépend bel et bien du travail des chercheurs, des universitaires et des équipes de conservation. Les réflexions et hypothèses, donnant lieu à articles, catalog..

Un Jupiter à l’aigle provenant d’Avignonet-Lauragais

En décembre 2011, le Musée Saint-Raymond, Musée des Antiques de Toulouse, a acquis une sculpture romaine provinciale représentant Jupiter chez Sotheby’s New York. Cette dernière avait été découverte en 1902, à Avignonet-Lauragais, à 45 kilomètres au sud-est de Toulouse, près de la Via Aquitania qui reliait cette cité à Narbonne. Bien que le Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Midi de la France rapporta cette découverte, on ignorait où se trouvait la sculpture depuis 1903. Salomon Reinach publia un dessin de cette œuvre en 1920 tout en se trompant, malheureusement, quant au lieu d’origine de la découverte. La sculpture enrichit le corpus des statues de Jupiter dans le Sud-Ouest de la France, publié par N. de Chaisemartin. Si l’œuvre renvoie à l’iconographie classique, elle diffère cependant de cette dernière en raison de la liberté du sculpteur qui s’affranchit formellement des codes imposés par la statuaire classique. Ainsi, la sculpture d’Avignonet se distingue-t-elle des autres effigies de ce dieu connues en Gaule méridionale.On December 2011, the Musée Saint-Raymond, Musée des Antiques de Toulouse, purchased a Roman provincial sculpture depicting Jupiter from Sotheby’s New York. The item had originally been discovered in 1902, 45 kilometers south-east of Toulouse near the Via Aquitania – the major roadway that linked Narbonne to Toulouse. Although the Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Midi de la France reported the discovery, the statue’s whereabouts were unknown from 1903. Salomon Reinach published a drawing of the sculpture in 1920 ; unfortunately, he was wrong about the place of its discovery. The sculpture has enhanced the corpus of Jupiter statues from the south-west of France, published by N. de Chaisemartin. Although it clearly borrows from classical iconography, it differs from the latter thanks to the freedom and innovation displayed by the sculptor. Thus, the Avignonet sculpture distances itself from the other effigies of Jupiter known today from southern Gaul