Remote sensing environmental change in southern African savannahs : a case study of Namibia

Savannah biomes cover a fifth of Earth’s surface, harbour many of the world’s most iconic species and most of its livestock and rangeland, while sustaining the livelihoods of an important proportion of its human population. They provide essential ecosystem services and functions, ranging from forest, grazing and water resources, to global climate regulation and carbon sequestration. However, savannahs are highly sensitive to human activities and climate change. Across sub-Saharan Africa, climatic shifts, destructive wars and increasing anthropogenic disturbances in the form of agricultural intensification and urbanization, have resulted in widespread land degradation and loss of ecosystem services. Yet, these threatened ecosystems are some of the least studied or protected, and hence should be given high conservation priority. Importantly, the scale of land degradation has not been fully explored, thereby comprising an important knowledge gap in our understanding of ecosystem services and processes, and effectively impeding conservation and management of these biodiversity hotspots. The primary drivers of land degradation include deforestation, triggered by the increasing need for urban and arable land, and concurrently, shrub encroachment, a process in which the herbaceous layer, a defining characteristic of savannahs, is replaced with hardy shrubs. These processes have significant repercussions on ecosystem service provision, both locally and globally, although the extents, drivers and impacts of either remain poorly quantified and understood. Additionally, regional aridification anticipated under climate change, will lead to important shifts in vegetation composition, amplified warming and reduced carbon sequestration. Together with a growing human population, these processes are expected to compound the risk of land degradation, thus further impacting key ecosystem services. Namibia is undergoing significant environmental and socio-economic changes. The most pervasive change processes affecting its savannahs are deforestation, degradation and shrub encroachment. Yet, the extent and drivers of such change processes are not comprehensively quantified, nor are the implications for rural livelihoods, sustainable land management, the carbon cycle, climate and conservation fully explored. This is partly due to the complexities of mapping vegetation changes with satellite data in savannahs. They are naturally spatially and temporally variable owing to erratic rainfall, divergent plant functional type phenologies and extensive anthropogenic impacts such as fire and grazing. Accordingly, this thesis aims to (i) quantify distinct vegetation change processes across Namibia, and (ii) develop methodologies to overcome limitations inherent in savannah mapping. Multi-sensor satellite data spanning a range of spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions are integrated with field datasets to achieve these aims, which are addressed in four journal articles. Chapters 1 and 2 are introductory. Chapter 3 exploits the Landsat archive to track changes in land cover classes over five decades throughout the Namibian Kalahari woodlands. The approach addresses issues implicit in change detection of savannahs by capturing the distinct phenological phases of woody vegetation and integrating multi-sensor, multi-source data. Vegetation extent was found to have decreased due to urbanization and small-scale arable farming. An assessment of the limitations leads to Chapter 4, which elaborates on the previous chapter by quantifying aboveground biomass changes associated with deforestation and shrub encroachment. The approach centres on fusing multiple satellite datasets, each acting as a proxy for distinct vegetation properties, with calibration/validation data consisting of concurrent field and LiDAR measurements. Biomass losses predominate, demonstrating the contribution of land management to ecosystem carbon changes. To identify whether biomass is declining across the country, Chapter 5 focuses on regional, moderate spatial resolution time-series analyses. Phenological metrics extracted from MODIS data are used to model observed fractional woody vegetation cover, a proxy for biomass. Trends in modelled fractional woody cover are then evaluated in relation to the predominant land-uses and precipitation. Negative trends slightly outweighed positive trends, with decreases arising largely in protected, urban and communal areas. Since precipitation is a fundamental control on vegetation, Chapter 6 investigates its relation to NDVI, by assessing to what extent observed trends in vegetation cover are driven by rainfall. NDVI is modelled as a function of precipitation, with residuals assumed to describe the fraction of NDVI not explained by rainfall. Mean annual rainfall and rainfall amplitude show a positive trend, although extensive “greening” is unrelated to rainfall. NDVI amplitude, used as a proxy for vegetation density, indicates a widespread shift to a denser condition. In Chapter 7, trend analysis is applied to a Landsat time-series to overcome spatial and temporal limitations characteristic of the previous approaches. Results, together with those of the previous chapters, are synthesized and a synopsis of the main findings is presented. Vegetation loss is predominantly caused by demand for urban and arable land. Greening trends are attributed to shrub encroachment and to a lesser extent conservation laws, agroforestry and rangeland management, with precipitation presenting little influence. Despite prevalent greening, degradation processes associated with shrub encroachment, including soil erosion, are likely to be widespread. Deforestation occurs locally while shrub encroachment occurs regionally. This thesis successfully integrates multi-source data to map, measure and monitor distinct change processes across scales

An investigation of the relationship between rumination styles, hope, and suicide ideation through the lens of the integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behavior

To investigate the roles specific ruminative styles (brooding and reflection) and hope play in the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behavior. Participants were students from a large U.S. state university who were selectively sampled for the experience of recent suicide ideation. Results of a bootstrapped moderated mediation model indicated that defeat had a direct effect on suicide ideation but not an indirect effect on suicide ideation through entrapment. Brooding, but not reflection, strengthened the relationship between defeat and entrapment. Hope weakened the relationship between entrapment and suicide ideation. Implications for the assessment and treatment of suicide risk and future research directions are discussed

Tribute of Respect

Tribute of Respect for John Curtis Williams, whose funeral was hold at Masonic Lodge 321 in Dry Grove, Mississippi, 1872.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mss-williams-papers/1141/thumbnail.jp

Compression Drying of Sapwood

A compression drying experiment carried out on small blocks of sapwood from Pinus radiata, Araucaria cunninghamii. Eucalyptus regnans, and E. obliqua is described. Effects of initial moisture content, speed of compression, specimen thickness and orientation on moisture loss and energy input were studied. All specimens were compressed perpendicular to the grain to the same stress in either a radial or tangential direction in a jig that prevented lateral expansion. Force and deformation changes of the specimens were recorded during compression, and water loss at the end of the process was measured. From these data, volumetric compressions, moisture losses, energy inputs, and energy efficiencies of water removal were calculated.The analyses of variance confirmed that initial moisture content, species and wood specific gravity, amount of volumetric strain, rate of compression, and specimen orientation all affected unit water removal; specimen thickness did not. The lower density softwoods deformed to a greater extent than the hardwoods and lost more water. More water was removed from wetter specimens than drier ones at the same stress, and a slow compression rate caused a greater water loss than a more rapid rate. Specimens compressed tangentially lost more water than those compressed radially. Energy efficiency of water removal was greatest in the relatively low specific gravity Pinus radiata specimens with high moisture contents which were compressed tangentially at a slow rate

A field test of six types of live-trap for African rodents

Six live-trap types were tested in a grassy vlei near Pretoria in an attempt to determine their success in trapping Rhabdomys pumilio, Praomys (Mastomys) natalensis, and Otomys irroratus. One trap of each type was set at each of fourteen trapping stations. The effect of trap position on captures was effectively ruled out by changing the arrangement of the traps each week. The frequency of capture of different age and sex classes of the three species is compared

Seal Joint Analysis and Design for the Ares-I Upper Stage LOX Tank

The sealing capability of the Ares-I Upper Stage liquid oxygen tank-to-sump joint is assessed by analyzing the deflections of the joint components. Analyses are performed using three-dimensional symmetric wedge finite element models and the ABAQUS commercial finite element software. For the pressure loads and feedline interface loads, the analyses employ a mixed factor of safety approach to comply with the Constellation Program factor of safety requirements. Naflex pressure-assisted seals are considered first because they have been used successfully in similar seal joints in the Space Shuttle External Tank. For the baseline sump seal joint configuration with a Naflex seal, the predicted joint opening greatly exceeds the seal design specification. Three redesign options of the joint that maintain the use of a Naflex seal are studied. The joint openings for the redesigned seal joints show improvement over the baseline configuration; however, these joint openings still exceed the seal design specification. RACO pressure-assisted seals are considered next because they are known to also be used on the Space Shuttle External Tank, and the joint opening allowable is much larger than the specification for the Naflex seals. The finite element models for the RACO seal analyses are created by modifying the models that were used for the Naflex seal analyses. The analyses show that the RACO seal may provide sufficient sealing capability for the sump seal joint. The results provide reasonable data to recommend the design change and plan a testing program to determine the capability of RACO seals in the Ares-I Upper Stage liquid oxygen tank sump seal joint

A lattice calculation of B -> K(*) form factors

Lattice QCD can contribute to the search for new physics in b -> s decays by providing first-principle calculations of B -> K(*) form factors. Preliminary results are presented here which complement sum rule determinations by being done at large q^2 and which improve upon previous lattice calculations by working directly in the physical b sector on unquenched gauge field configurations.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of CKM2010, the 6th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle, University of Warwick, UK, 6-10 September 201

Seal Analysis for the Ares-I Upper Stage Fuel Tank Manhole Cover

Techniques for studying the performance of Naflex pressure-assisted seals in the Ares-I Upper Stage liquid hydrogen tank manhole cover seal joint are explored. To assess the feasibility of using the identical seal design for the Upper Stage as was used for the Space Shuttle External Tank manhole covers, a preliminary seal deflection analysis using the ABAQUS commercial finite element software is employed. The ABAQUS analyses are performed using three-dimensional symmetric wedge finite element models. This analysis technique is validated by first modeling a heritage External Tank liquid hydrogen tank manhole cover joint and correlating the results to heritage test data. Once the technique is validated, the Upper Stage configuration is modeled. The Upper Stage analyses are performed at 1.4 times the expected pressure to comply with the Constellation Program factor of safety requirement on joint separation. Results from the analyses performed with the External Tank and Upper Stage models demonstrate the effects of several modeling assumptions on the seal deflection. The analyses for Upper Stage show that the integrity of the seal is successfully maintained

Aerospace Threaded Fastener Strength in Combined Shear and Tension Loading

A test program was initiated by Marshall Space Flight Center and sponsored by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center to characterize the failure behavior of a typical high-strength aerospace threaded fastener under a range of shear to tension loading ratios for both a nut and an insert configuration where the shear plane passes through the body and threads, respectively. The testing was performed with a customized test fixture designed to test a bolt with a single shear plane at a discrete range of loading angles. The results provide data to compare against existing combined loading failure criteria and to quantify the bolt strength when the shear plane passes through the threads