Thematic mapper data quality and performance assessment in renewable resource/agricultural remote sensing

A "quick look" investigation of the initial LANDSAT-4, thematic mapper (TM) scene received from Goddard Space Flight Center was performed to gain early insight into the characteristics of TM data. The initial scene, containing only the first four bands of the seven bands recorded by the TM, was acquired over the Detroit, Michigan, area on July 20, 1982. It yielded abundant information for scientific investigation. A wide variety of studies were conducted to assess all aspects of TM data. They ranged from manual analyses of image products to detect obvious optical, electronic, or mechanical defects to detailed machine analyses of the digital data content for evaluation of spectral separability of vegetative/nonvegetative classes. These studies were applied to several segments extracted from the full scene. No attempt was made to perform end-to-end statistical evaluations. However, the output of these studies do identify a degree of positive performance from the TM and its potential for advancing state-of-the-art crop inventory and condition assessment technology

Solving eigenvalue problems on curved surfaces using the Closest Point Method

Eigenvalue problems are fundamental to mathematics and science. We present a simple algorithm for determining eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Laplace--Beltrami operator on rather general curved surfaces. Our algorithm, which is based on the Closest Point Method, relies on an embedding of the surface in a higher-dimensional space, where standard Cartesian finite difference and interpolation schemes can be easily applied. We show that there is a one-to-one correspondence between a problem defined in the embedding space and the original surface problem. For open surfaces, we present a simple way to impose Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions while maintaining second-order accuracy. Convergence studies and a series of examples demonstrate the effectiveness and generality of our approach

Spatially partitioned embedded Runge-Kutta Methods

We study spatially partitioned embedded Runge–Kutta (SPERK) schemes for partial differential equations (PDEs), in which each of the component schemes is applied over a different part of the spatial domain. Such methods may be convenient for problems in which the smoothness of the solution or the magnitudes of the PDE coefficients vary strongly in space. We focus on embedded partitioned methods as they offer greater efficiency and avoid the order reduction that may occur in non-embedded schemes. We demonstrate that the lack of conservation in partitioned schemes can lead to non-physical effects and propose conservative additive schemes based on partitioning the fluxes rather than the ordinary differential equations. A variety of SPERK schemes are presented, including an embedded pair suitable for the time evolution of fifth-order weighted non-oscillatory (WENO) spatial discretizations. Numerical experiments are provided to support the theory

Numerical Tests of the Chiral Luttinger Liquid Theory for Fractional Hall Edges

We report on microscopic numerical studies which support the chiral Luttinger liquid theory of the fractional Hall edge proposed by Wen. Our calculations are based in part on newly proposed and accurate many-body trial wavefunctions for the low-energy edge excitations of fractional incompressible states.Comment: 12 pages + 1 figure, Revte

Effective order strong stability preserving Runge–Kutta methods

We apply the concept of effective order to strong stability preserving (SSP) explicit Runge–Kutta methods. Relative to classical Runge–Kutta methods, effective order methods are designed to satisfy a relaxed set of order conditions, but yield higher order accuracy when composed with special starting and stopping methods. The relaxed order conditions allow for greater freedom in the design of effective order methods. We show that this allows the construction of four-stage SSP methods with effective order four (such methods cannot have classical order four). However, we also prove that effective order five methods—like classical order five methods—require the use of non-positive weights and so cannot be SSP. By numerical optimization, we construct explicit SSP Runge–Kutta methods up to effective order four and establish the optimality of many of them. Numerical experiments demonstrate the validity of these methods in practice

AC impedance study of degradation of porous nickel battery electrodes

AC impedance spectra of porous nickel battery electrodes were recorded periodically during charge/discharge cycling in concentrated KOH solution at various temperatures. A transmission line model (TLM) was adopted to represent the impedance of the porous electrodes, and various model parameters were adjusted in a curve fitting routine to reproduce the experimental impedances. Degradation processes were deduced from changes in model parameters with electrode cycling time. In developing the TLM, impedance spectra of planar (nonporous) electrodes were used to represent the pore wall and backing plate interfacial impedances. These data were measured over a range of potentials and temperatures, and an equivalent circuit model was adopted to represent the planar electrode data. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the characteristics of the oxygen evolution reaction on planar nickel electrodes during charging, since oxygen evolution can affect battery electrode charging efficiency and ultimately electrode cycle life if the overpotential for oxygen evolution is sufficiently low

Charge and momentum transfer in supercooled melts: Why should their relaxation times differ?

The steady state values of the viscosity and the intrinsic ionic-conductivity of quenched melts are computed, in terms of independently measurable quantities. The frequency dependence of the ac dielectric response is estimated. The discrepancy between the corresponding characteristic relaxation times is only apparent; it does not imply distinct mechanisms, but stems from the intrinsic barrier distribution for $\alpha$-relaxation in supercooled fluids and glasses. This type of intrinsic ``decoupling'' is argued not to exceed four orders in magnitude, for known glassformers. We explain the origin of the discrepancy between the stretching exponent $\beta$, as extracted from $\epsilon(\omega)$ and the dielectric modulus data. The actual width of the barrier distribution always grows with lowering the temperature. The contrary is an artifact of the large contribution of the dc-conductivity component to the modulus data. The methodology allows one to single out other contributions to the conductivity, as in ``superionic'' liquids or when charge carriers are delocalized, implying that in those systems, charge transfer does not require structural reconfiguration.Comment: submitted to J Chem Phy