Satellite to model comparisons of volcanic ash emissions in the North Pacific

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013To detect, analyze and predict the movement of volcanic ash in real time, dispersion models and satellite remote sensing data are important. A combination of both approaches is discussed here to enhance the techniques currently used to quantify volcanic ash emissions, based on case studies of the eruptions of the Kasatochi (Alaska, USA, 2008), Mount Redoubt (Alaska, USA, 2009) and Sarychev Peak (Russia, 2009) volcanoes. Results suggest a quantitative approach determining masses from satellite images can be problematic due to uncertainties in knowledge of input values, most importantly the ground surface temperature required in the mass retrieval. Furthermore, a volcanic ash transport and dispersion model simulation requires its own set of accurate input parameters to forecast an ash cloud's future location. Such input parameters are often difficult to assess, especially in real time volcano monitoring, and default values are often used for simplification. The objective of this dissertation is to find a quantitative comparison technique to apply to satellite and volcanic ash transport and dispersion models that reduces the inherent uncertainty in the results. The binary 'Ash -- No Ash' approach focusing on spatial extent rather than absolute masses is suggested, where the ash extent in satellite data is quantitatively compared to that in the dispersion model's domain. In this technique, neither satellite data nor dispersion model results are regarded as the truth. The Critical Success Index (CSI) as well as Model and Satellite Excess values (ME and SE, respectively) are introduced as comparison tools. This approach reduces uncertainties in the analysis of airborne volcanic ash and, due to the reduced list of input parameters and assumptions in satellite and model data, the results will be improved. This decreased complexity of the analysis, combined with a reduced error as the defined edge of ash cloud is compared in each method rather than defined threshold or mass loading, will have important implications for real time monitoring of volcanic ash emissions. It allows for simpler, more easily implemented operational monitoring of volcanic ash movements.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Qualitative comparison of Mount Redoubt 2009 volcanic clouds using the PUFF and WRF-Chem dispersion models and satellite remote sensing data -- Chapter 3. Qualitative analysis of input parameters for satellite-based quantification of airborne volcanic ash -- Chapter 4. Quantitative comparison of volcanic ash observations in satellite-based remote sensing data and WRF-chem model simulations -- Chapter 5. Improvements on volcanic ash quantification in the Puff Volcanic Ash Tracking and Dispersion Satellite Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing Data -- Chapter 6. Conclusions

Mapping biomass availability to decrease the dependency on fossil fuels

To decrease the dependency on fossil fuels, more renewable energy sources need to be explored. Over the last years, the consumption of biomass has risen steadily and it has become a major source for re-growing energy. Besides the most common sources of biomass (forests, agriculture etc.) there are smaller supplies available in mostly unused areas like hedges, vegetation along streets, railways, rivers and field margins. However, these sources are not mapped and in order to obtain their potential for usage as a renewable energy, a method to quickly assess their spatial distribution and their volume is needed. We use a range of data sets including satellite imagery, GIS and elevation data to evaluate these parameters. With the upcoming Sentinel missions, our satellite data is chosen to match the spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 (10-20m) as well as its spectral characteristics. To obtain sub-pixel information from the satellite data, we use a spectral unmixing approach. Additional GIS data is provided by the German Digital Landscape Model (ATKIS Base-DLM). To estimate the height (and derive the volume) of the vegetation, we use LIDAR data to produce a digital surface model. These data sets allow us to map the extent of previously unused biomass sources. This map can then be used as a starting point for further analyses about the feasibility of the biomass extraction and their usage as a renewable energy source.BMWi/DLR/50EE1333BMWi/DLR/50EE1334BMWi/DLR/50EE133

(Against a) Theory of Audience Engagement with News

Audience engagement has become a key concept in contemporary discussions on how news companies relate to the public and create sustainable business models. These discussions are irrevocably tied to practices of monitoring, harvesting and analyzing audience behaviours with metrics, which is increasingly becoming the new currency of the media economy. This article argues this growing tendency to equate engagement to behavioural analytics, and study it primarily through quantifiable data, is limiting. In response, we develop a heuristic theory of audience engagement with news comprising four dimensions—the technical-behavioural, emotional, normative and spatiotemporal—and explicate these in terms of different relations of engagement between human-to-self, human-to-human, human-to-content, human-to-machine, and machine-to-machine. Paradoxically, this model comprises a specific theory of audience engagement while simultaneously making visible that constructing a theory of audience engagement is an impossible task. The article concludes by articulating methodological premises, which future empirical research on audience engagement should consider

Biochemical analysis of novel NAA10 variants suggests distinct pathogenic mechanisms involving impaired protein N-terminal acetylation

NAA10 is the catalytic subunit of the N-terminal acetyltransferase complex, NatA, which is responsible for N-terminal acetylation of nearly half the human proteome. Since 2011, at least 21 different NAA10 missense variants have been reported as pathogenic in humans. The clinical features associated with this X-linked condition vary, but commonly described features include developmental delay, intellectual disability, cardiac anomalies, brain abnormalities, facial dysmorphism and/or visual impairment. Here, we present eight individuals from five families with five different de novo or inherited NAA10 variants. In order to determine their pathogenicity, we have performed biochemical characterisation of the four novel variants c.16G>C p.(A6P), c.235C>T p.(R79C), c.386A>C p.(Q129P) and c.469G>A p.(E157K). Additionally, we clinically describe one new case with a previously identified pathogenic variant, c.384T>G p.(F128L). Our study provides important insight into how different NAA10 missense variants impact distinct biochemical functions of NAA10 involving the ability of NAA10 to perform N-terminal acetylation. These investigations may partially explain the phenotypic variability in affected individuals and emphasise the complexity of the cellular pathways downstream of NAA10.publishedVersio

Learning efficacy of explicit visuomotor sequences in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Asperger syndrome

Developmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger syndrome (AS) are often associated with learning disabilities. This study investigated the explicit learning of visuomotor sequences in 17 ADHD children (mean age 12.1), 21 AS children (mean age 12.7), and 15 typically developing children (mean age: 12.3). The participants were required to explore a hidden sequence of button presses by trial and error and elaborate the learned sequence (2 × 10 task: Hikosaka et al. 1996). The results indicated that although ADHD and AS children had a tendency of repeating the same errors and took longer to complete a sequence, both showed a degree and pattern of improvement in accuracy and speed similar to that of typically developing children. These results suggest that the explicit learning of visuomotor sequence in ADHD and AS patients is largely unimpaired

The trochlear isometric point is different in patients with recurrent patellar instability compared to controls: a radiographical study

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the theoretical isometric point based of the curve of the femoral groove and relating it to the origin of the MPFL femoral tunnel on lateral radiograph by comparing a patellar instability cohort with a control cohort. Methods: From a Patellar Instability database the radiographs of 40 consecutive patients were analysed to define Schöttle’s point, and the arc of the circle of the trochlear groove. A comparison population of 20 radiographs from comparable patients with tibiofemoral joint disorders was used as a control. The distance from Schöttle’s point to the most anterior part of the groove (extension) was also compared to the distance to the distal end of the roof of the notch (flexion). Results: The trochlea was circular in the controls but not the Patellofemoral Instability cohort where trochlear dysplasia is usually present. The difference between the extension and flexion length was a mean of − 2.0 ± 0.5 mm in the controls and + 6.0 ± 0.5 mm in the patellofemoral cohort. In neither cohort did the centre of the circle correspond to Schöttle’s point. The extension distance correlated with the boss height. Conclusions: The dysplastic trochlea is not circular and the centre of the best matched circle was different to the control trochleae which were circular. The circle centres did not correlate with Schöttle’s point for either cohort, and was more proximal in the Patellofemoral Instability cohort. Clinical relevance: For the MPFL to have equal tension throughout flexion within the groove, the length should not change. In normal knees the MPFL does not behave isometrically. The change in length, as measured from Schöttle’s point to the trochlea, was greater for patellofemoral instability patients explaining why an isolated MPFL reconstruction in the presence of severe trochlear dysplasia risks poor outcomes

The first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale resolution. Part I: Evaluation of precipitation

Here we present the first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale horizontal grid spacing over a decade long period. A total of 23 simulations run with a horizontal grid spacing of ∼ 3 km, driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis, and performed by 22 European research groups are analysed. Six different regional climate models (RCMs) are represented in the ensemble. The simulations are compared against available high-resolution precipitation observations and coarse resolution (∼ 12 km) RCMs with parameterized convection. The model simulations and observations are compared with respect to mean precipitation, precipitation intensity and frequency, and heavy precipitation on daily and hourly timescales in different seasons. The results show that kilometer-scale models produce a more realistic representation of precipitation than the coarse resolution RCMs. The most significant improvements are found for heavy precipitation and precipitation frequency on both daily and hourly time scales in the summer season. In general, kilometer-scale models tend to produce more intense precipitation and reduced wet-hour frequency compared to coarse resolution models. On average, the multi-model mean shows a reduction of bias from ∼ −40 at 12 km to ∼ −3 at 3 km for heavy hourly precipitation in summer. Furthermore, the uncertainty ranges i.e. the variability between the models for wet hour frequency is reduced by half with the use of kilometer-scale models. Although differences between the model simulations at the kilometer-scale and observations still exist, it is evident that these simulations are superior to the coarse-resolution RCM simulations in the representing precipitation in the present-day climate, and thus offer a promising way forward for investigations of climate and climate change at local to regional scales. © 2021, The Author(s)