Quantitative observations on tropical cyclone tracks in the Arabian Sea

© 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature. The Arabian Sea basin represents a minor component of global total cyclones annually and has not featured so prominently in cyclone research compared with other basins where greater numbers of cyclones are registered each year. This paper presents the results of exploratory analysis of various features of cyclone tracks in the Arabian Sea, with a particular focus on examining their temporal and spatial patterns. Track morphometry also reveals further information on track shape. The study indicates how cyclones spawned during May in the early pre-monsoon period (often strong events) have a tendency to follow more sinuous tracks, whereas cyclones occurring in October in the post-monsoon period tend to follow straighter tracks. Track sinuosity is significantly related to other attributes, including cyclone longevity and intensity. Comparisons are also drawn between the general characteristics of cyclone tracks in the Arabian Sea and other ocean basins, suggesting how the size and geography of the Arabian Sea basin exert influences on these characteristics

Snow Cover in Alaska: Comprehensive Review

This report presents the results of a statistical analysis of snow cover in Alaska using historical data acquired from the Global Historical Climate Network. Measurements of snow depth and snow water equivalence were collected for Alaska stations between 1950 and 2017. Data cleaning and a distribution analysis were completed for all stations. Finally regression equations were developed to estimate snow water equivalence using recorded snow depth data from Alaska stations. The project is partially supported by ConocoPhillips Arctic Science and Engineering Foundation, UAA, and the Structural Engineers Association of Alaska (SEAAK).University of Alaska Anchorage ConocoPhillips Arctic Science and Engineering Foundation Structural Engineers Association of AlaskaAbstract / Introduction / Methodology / Discussion / Conclusion / References / Appendix 1 Predicted 50-year WESD Stations's snow laods / Appendix 2 Calcuated 50-Year SNWD Station's snow loads / Appendix 3 Distribution Assignment for WESD and SNWD Stations / Appendix 4 Station Plot

Cyclone Shaheen: the exceptional tropical cyclone of October 2021 in the Gulf of Oman

Early October 2021 saw Cyclone Shaheen track westward across the far northern Arabian Sea, penetrate the Gulf of Oman and strike the northeast Oman coastline – the first storm to make such a unique landfall in more than 130 years. This paper describes how the unusual cyclogenesis location, favourable initial trajectory and steering, conducive environmental conditions and anomalously warm sea‐surface temperatures were the main influences responsible for Shaheen\u27s extraordinary genesis, intensification and remarkable geographical landfall

Giant palaeotsunami in Kiribati: Converging evidence from geology and oral history

For tsunami science within Oceania, the vast Central and Western Pacific (CEWEP) is an anomalous region because of the scarcity of historical tsunami observations and the complete absence of dated palaeotsunami evidence. This paper therefore records the first dated high‐magnitude palaeotsunami event within the CEWEP region. A combination of both geological data and oral history is provided for a palaeotsunami that struck remote Makin island, northernmost of the Gilbert Islands in Kiribati, toward the end of the 16th century. A previously undocumented oral tradition of giant waves is well known to the people of Makin. Narration of this legend by the Wiin te Maneaba, traditional storyteller on Makin, provided important details supporting a tsunami hypothesis. The legend preserves credible information surrounding the giant‐wave origin of Rebua and Tokia, two prominent subaerial megaclasts of blade and block geometry that were transported 80–130 m shorewards from the reef‐edge source and deposited in sideways and inverted orientations. From available hydrodynamic flow transport equations, minimum flow velocities of 7.3–16.3 m s−1 were generated, depending on whether the reefblocks were rotated or lifted onto the reef platform. The youngest U‐Th age‐dates for fossil corals retrieved from the reefblocks give a maximum age for the palaeotsunami of circa AD 1576. Several far‐field Pacific Rim and regional possibilities exist for tsunamigenesis. These include subduction‐zone seismicity and catastrophic volcanic eruption, both of which have been linked to earlier (late 15th century) palaeotsunami events recorded elsewhere in the Pacific Islands. However, the available evidence here suggests that the ~AD 1576 Makin palaeotsunami was more likely to have been locally generated by tsunamigenic offshore submarine slope failure close to Makin\u27s western reef, associated with the giant arcuate bight structure that characterizes the northern rim of Butaritari atoll

A human-centric approach in geospatial data fusion for real-time remotely controlled robotic platforms

Many modern technologies widely deploy semi-autonomous robotic platforms, remotely controlled by a human operator. Such tasks usually require rapid fusion of multisensor imagery and auxiliary geospatial data. Operational-control units in particular can be considered as displays of the decision-support systems, and the complexity of automated multi-domain geospatial data fusion leads to human-in-the loop technology which widely deploys visual analytics. While a number of research studies have investigated eye movements and attention on casual scenes, there has been a lack of investigations concerning the expert\u27s eye movements and visual attention, specifically when an operator is engaged in real-time visual data fusion to control and maneuver a remote unmanned robotic vehicle which acquires visual data using CCTV cameras in visible, IR or other spectral zones, and transmits this data through telemetric channels to a human operator. In this paper we investigate the applicability of eye-tracking technology for the numerical assessment of efficiency of an operator in fusion of multi-sensor and multi-geometry visual data in real-time robotic control tasks

Trivariate kernel density estimation of spatiotemporal crime events with case study for Lithuania

The paper presents the results of the investigation of the applicability of spatiotemporal kernel density estimation (KDE) methods for density mapping of violent crime in Lithuania. Spatiotemporal crime research helps to understand and control specific types of crime, thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goals. The target dataset contained 135,989 records of the events registered by the police of Lithuania from 2015-2018 that were classified as violent. The research focused on choosing appropriate KDE functions and their parameters for modeling the spatiotemporal point pattern of this particular type of crime. The aim was to estimate density, mass, and intensity function(s) so that they can be used in further confirmatory spatial modeling. The application-driven objective was to obtain reliable and practically interpretable KDE surfaces of crime events. Several options for improving and extending the investigated KDE methods are demonstrated. Keywords: crime events; spatial point pattern; probability mass and density functions; bandwidth selectors; relative risk estimator

Design of the stereoscopic eye-tracking system for quantative remote sensing applications

Spatial and temporal data derived from eye movements, compiled while the human eye observes geospatial imagery, retain meaningful and usable information. When human perceives the stereo effect, the virtual three dimensional (3D) model resulting from eye-brain interaction is generated in the mind. If the eye movements are recorded while the virtual model is observed, it is possible to reconstruct a 3D geometrical model almost identical to the one generated in the human brain. Information obtained from eye-movements can be utilized in many ways for remote sensing applications such as geospatial image analysis and interpretation. There are various eye-tracking systems available on the market; however, none of them is designed to work with stereoscopic imagery. We explore different approaches and designs of the most suitable and non-intrusive scheme for stereoscopic image viewing in the eye-tracking systems to observe and analyze 3D visual models. The design of the proposed system is based on the optical separation method, which provides visually comfortable environment for perception of stereoscopic imagery. A proof of concept solution is based on multiple mirror-lens assembly that provides a significant reduction of geometrical constrains in eye-frame capturing. Two projected solutions: for wide-angle of viewing and helmet-integrated eye-tracker are also discussed here