1,310 research outputs found
Automatic interface measurement and analysis
A technique for detecting and measuring the interface between two categories in classified scanner data is described together with two application demonstrations. Measurements were found to be accurate to 1.5% root mean square error on features of known length while comparison of measurements made using the technique on LANDSAT data to opisometer measurements on 1:24,000 scale maps shows excellent agreement. Application of the technique to two frames of LANDSAT data classified using a two channel, two class classifier resulted in a computation of 64 km annual decrease in shoreline length. The tidal shoreline of a portion of Alabama was measured using LANDSAT data. Based on the measurement of this portion, the total tidal shoreline length of Alabama is estimated to be 1313 kilometers
Shoreline as a controlling factor in commercial shrimp production
An ecological model was developed that relates marsh detritus export and shrimp production, based on the hypothesis that the shoreline is a controlling factor in the production of shrimp through regulation of detritus export from the marsh. LANDSAT data were used to develop measurements of shoreline length and area of marsh having more than 5.0 km shoreline/sq km for the coast of Louisiana, demonstrating the capability of remote sensing to provide important geographic information. These factors were combined with published tidal ranges and salinities to develop a mathematical model that predicted shrimp production for nine geographic units of the Louisiana coast, as indicated by the long term average commercial shrimp yield. The mathematical model relating these parameters and the shrimp production is consistent with an energy flow model describing the interaction of detritus producing marshlands with shrimp nursery grounds and inshore shrimping areas. The analysis supports the basic hypothesis and further raises the possibility of applications to coastal zone management requirements
Radiative transfer modeling applied to sea water constituent determination
Optical radiation from the sea is influenced by pigments dissolved in the water and contained in discrete organisms suspended in the sea, and by pigmented and unpigmented inorganic and organic particles. The problem of extracting the information concerning these pigments and particulates from the optical properties of the sea is addressed and the properties which determine characteristics of the radiation that a remote sensor will detect and measure are considered. The results of the application of the volume scattering function model to the data collected in the Gulf of Mexico and its environs indicate that the size distribution of the concentrations of particles found in the sea can be predicted from measurements of the volume scattering function. Furthermore, with the volume scattering function model and knowledge of the absorption spectra of dissolved pigments, the radiative transfer model can compute a distribution of particle sizes and indices of refraction and concentration of dissolved pigments that give an upwelling light spectrum that closely matches measurements of that spectrum at sea
LANDSAT menhaden and thread herring resources investigation, Gulf of Mexico
The author has identified the following significant results. The most significant achievements thus far include the successful charting of high probability fishing areas from LANDSAT MSS data and the successful simulation of an operational satellite system to provide tactical information for the commercial harvest of menhaden
DEVELOPMENT OF A TL-3 F-SHAPE TEMPORARY CONCRETE MEDIAN BARRIER
A temporary concrete median barrier (CMB) was designed and tested for compliance under the Test Level 3 (TL-3) guidelines specified in the Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report No. 350. The barrier is built to the new metric standards and has a traditional pin and loop configuration for interconnection. The objective of this research project was to develop and evaluate a standardized, temporary concrete barrier design while addressing the concerns for safety, economy, structural integrity, constructability, ease of installation, and maintenance. The resulting F-shape barrier segment is 3,800-mm long, a length that reduced the number of connections while limiting the weight of the barriers to ease handling. Full-scale crash testing demonstrated several critical design features. First, the connections need to be tight initially as practicable to limit deformation and rotation of the barriers,. Secondly, the pin needs to restrain the longitudinal barrier forces. Full-scale compliance testing of the final design demonstrated that the barrier was capable of successfully redirecting the 2000-kg vehicle. The vehicle demonstrated significant roll after contact with the barrier, which is evidenced in a majority of other concrete barrier tests. This barrier provides economical work zone protection applicable in a variety of situations, where TL-3 test criteria is warranted
LANDSAT menhaden and thread herring resources investigation
The author has identified the following significant results. The relationship between the distribution of menhaden and selected oceanographic parameters (water color, turbidity, and possibly chlorophyll concentrations) was established. Similar relationships for thread herring were not established nor were relationships relating to the abundance of either species. Use of aircraft and LANDSAT remote sensing instruments to measure or infer a set of basic oceanographic parameters was evaluated. Parameters which could be accurately inferred included surface water temperature, salinity, and color. Water turbidity (Secchi disk) was evaluated as marginally inferrable from the LANDSAT MSS data and chlorophyll-a concentrations as less than marginal. These evaluations considered the parameters only as experienced in the two test areas using available sensors and statistical techniques
Coarse Graining of Nonbonded Inter-particle Potentials Using Automatic Simplex Optimization to Fit Structural Properties
We implemented a coarse-graining procedure to construct mesoscopic models of
complex molecules. The final aim is to obtain better results on properties
depending on slow modes of the molecules. Therefore the number of particles
considered in molecular dynamics simulations is reduced while conserving as
many properties of the original substance as possible. We address the problem
of finding nonbonded interaction parameters which reproduce structural
properties from experiment or atomistic simulations. The approach consists of
optimizing automatically nonbonded parameters using the simplex algorithm to
fit structural properties like the radial distribution function as target
functions. Moreover, any mix of structural and thermodynamic properties can be
included in the target function. Different spherically symmetric inter-particle
potentials are discussed. Besides demonstrating the method for Lennard--Jones
liquids, it is applied to several more complex molecular liquids such as
diphenyl carbonate, tetrahydrofurane, and monomers of poly(isoprene).Comment: 24 pages, 3 tables, 14 figures submitted to the Journal of Chemical
Physics (JCP
DEVELOPMENT OF A TL-3 F-SHAPE TEMPORARY CONCRETE MEDIAN BARRIER
A temporary concrete median barrier (CMB) was designed and tested for compliance under the Test Level 3 (TL-3) guidelines specified in the Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report No. 350. The barrier is built to the new metric standards and has a traditional pin and loop configuration for interconnection. The objective of this research project was to develop and evaluate a standardized, temporary concrete barrier design while addressing the concerns for safety, economy, structural integrity, constructability, ease of installation, and maintenance. The resulting F-shape barrier segment is 3,800-mm long, a length that reduced the number of connections while limiting the weight of the barriers to ease handling. Full-scale crash testing demonstrated several critical design features. First, the connections need to be tight initially as practicable to limit deformation and rotation of the barriers,. Secondly, the pin needs to restrain the longitudinal barrier forces. Full-scale compliance testing of the final design demonstrated that the barrier was capable of successfully redirecting the 2000-kg vehicle. The vehicle demonstrated significant roll after contact with the barrier, which is evidenced in a majority of other concrete barrier tests. This barrier provides economical work zone protection applicable in a variety of situations, where TL-3 test criteria is warranted
Detection, Measurement and Gravitational Radiation
Here I examine how to determine the sensitivity of the LIGO, VIRGO, and LAGOS
gravitational wave detectors to sources of gravitational radiation by
considering the process by which data are analyzed in a noisy detector. By
constructing the probability that the detector output is consistent with the
presence of a signal, I show how to (1) quantify the uncertainty that the
output contains a signal and is not simply noise, and (2) construct the
probability distribution that the signal parameterization has a certain value.
From the distribution and its mode I determine volumes in parameter
space such that actual signal parameters are in with probability . If
we are {\em designing} a detector, or determining the suitability of an
existing detector for observing a new source, then we don't have detector
output to analyze but are interested in the ``most likely'' response of the
detector to a signal. I exploit the techniques just described to determine the
``most likely'' volumes for detector output corresponding to the source.
Finally, as an example, I apply these techniques to anticipate the sensitivity
of the LIGO and LAGOS detectors to the gravitational radiation from a perturbed
Kerr black hole.Comment: 37 pages (plus 6 figures), LaTeX/REVTE
On the Correlations between Flavour Observables in Minimal U(2)^3 Models
The stringent correlations between flavour observables in models with CMFV
are consistent with the present data except for the correlation Delta
M_{s,d}-epsilon_K. Motivated by the recent work of Barbieri et al, we compare
the CMFV correlations with the ones present in a special class of models with
an approximate global U(2)^3 flavour symmetry, constrained by a minimal set of
spurions governing the breakdown of this symmetry and the assumption that only
SM operators are relevant in flavour physics. This analog of CMFV to be called
MU(2)^3 allows to avoid the Delta M_{s,d}-epsilon_K tension in question because
of reduced flavour symmetry and implied non-MFV contributions to Delta M_{s,d}.
While the patterns of flavour violation in K meson system is the same as in
CMFV models, the CP-violation in B_{s,d} meson systems can deviate from the one
in the SM and CMFV models. We point out a stringent triple S_{psi K_S}-S_{psi
phi}-|V_ub| correlation in this class of models that could in the future
provide a transparent distinction between different MU(2)^3 models and in the
context of these models determine |V_ub| by means of precise measurements of
S_{psi K_S} and S_{psi phi} with only small hadronic uncertainties. For fixed
S_{psi K_S} the correlation between B(B^+ -> tau^+nu_tau) and S_{psi phi}
follows. We also find that MU(2)^3 models could in principle accommodate a
negative value of S_{psi phi}, provided |V_ub| is found to be in the ballpark
of exclusive determinations and the particular MU(2)^3 model provides a 25%
enhancement of epsilon_K. A supersymmetric U(2)^3 model worked out in the
Barbieri-School appears to satisfy these requirements. However if B(B^+ ->
tau^+nu_tau)>1.0 10^{-4} will be confirmed by future experiments only positive
S_{psi phi} is allowed in this framework. We summarize briefly the pattern of
flavour violation in rare K and B_{s,d} decays in MU(2)^3 models.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures; v2: Few references and discussion on CP
violation in B_s-> mu^+ mu^- added; v3: Several clarifying comments added,
conclusions unchanged, version accepted for publication in JHE
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