Neural-network-based prediction techniques for single station modeling and regional mapping of the <I>fo</I>F2 and M(3000)F2 ionospheric characteristics

In this work, Neural-Network-based single-station hourly daily <i>f</i>oF2 and M(3000)F2 modelling of 15 European ionospheric stations is investigated. The data used are neural networks and hourly daily values from the period 1964- 1988 for training the neural networks and from the period 1989-1994 for checking the prediction accuracy. Two types of models are presented for the F2-layer critical frequency prediction and two for the propagation factor M(3000)F2. The first <i>f</i>oF2 model employs the E-layer local noon calculated daily critical frequency <i>(f</i>oE₁₂) and the local noon F2- layer critical frequency of the previous day. The second <i>f</i>oF2 model, which introduces a new regional mapping technique, employs the Juliusruh neural network model and uses the E-layer local noon calculated daily critical frequency <i>(f</i>oE₁₂), and the previous day F2-layer critical frequency measured at Juliusruh at noon. The first M(3000)F2 model employs the E-layer local noon calculated daily critical frequency <i>(f</i>oE₁₂), its ± 3 h deviations and the local noon cosine of the solar zenith angle (cos <font face='Symbol'>c</font>₁₂). The second model, which introduces a new M(3000)F2 mapping technique, employs Juliusruh neural network model and uses the E-layer local noon calculated daily critical frequency <i>(f</i>oE₁₂), and the previous day F2-layer critical frequency measured at Juliusruh at noon

Reclaiming Specific-Intent Under Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act: A Business Theoretical Approach

Article published in the Michigan State University School of Law Student Scholarship Collection

The effects of f0 F2 variability on TEC prediction accuracy

In this paper hourly daily F2-layer critical frequency data recorded at Rome and one minute daily TEC data recorded at Florence were used and the relevant variabiles were calculated. It was concluded that there was no clear evidence as to how they correlated. In order to obtain a measure of the f 0 F 2 and TEC variability, the normalised differences df0 F2 and d TEC from the relevant monthly median values were also considered. Since no clear evidence could be obtained as of how df0 F2 and d TEC correlate, a new parameter, the ?Ap /?R ratio was tried. ?Ap was taken as the difference between the maximum value of Ap measured at the relevant disturbance and that corresponding at the beginning of the disturbance. ?R corresponded to the two above mentioned values of Ap. This parameter was compared to the differences of the corresponding df0 F2 values called ?df and d TEC values called ?dT. In wintertime, when ?A p /? R was negative, for the vast majority of the occurrences either ?df or ?dT was negative; ?df and ?dT were never observed to be negative at the same time whereas they were both positive in fewer than 10% of the observations. When ?A p /?R was positive then either ?df or ?dT were negative. In summertime when ?A p /?R was negative both ?df and ?dT were negative. When ?A p /?R was positive, while a positive ?df corresponded almost always to a positive ?dT, a negative ?df would equiprobably indicate either a positive or a negative ?dT

Time-dependent prediction degradation assessment of neural-networks-based TEC forecasting models

An estimation of the difference in TEC prediction accuracy achieved when the prediction varies from 1 h to 7 days in advance is described using classical neural networks. Hourly-daily Faraday-rotation derived TEC measurements from Florence are used. It is shown that the prediction accuracy for the examined dataset, though degrading when time span increases, is always high. In fact, when a relative prediction error margin of +/-10% is considered, the population percentage included therein is almost always well above the 55%. It is found that the results are highly dependent on season and the dataset wealth, whereas they highly depend on the f(0)F2 - TEC variability difference and on hysteresis-like effect between these two ionospheric characteristics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Wavelet analysis of the LF radio signals collected by the European VLF/LF network from July 2009 to April 2011

In 2008, a radio receiver that works in very low frequency (VLF; 20-60 kHz) and LF (150-300 kHz) bands was developed by an Italian factory. The receiver can monitor 10 frequencies distributed in these bands, with the measurement for each of them of the electric field intensity. Since 2009, to date, six of these radio receivers have been installed throughout Europe to establish a ‘European VLF/LF Network’. At present, two of these are into operation in Italy, and the remaining four are located in Greece, Turkey, Portugal and Romania. For the present study, the LF radio data collected over about two years were analysed. At first, the day-time data and the night-time data were separated for each radio signal. Taking into account that the LF signals are characterized by ground-wave and sky-wave propagation modes, the day-time data are related to the ground wave and the night-time data to the sky wave. In this framework, the effects of solar activity and storm activity were defined in the different trends. Then, the earthquakes with M ≥5.0 that occurred over the same period were selected, as those located in a 300-km radius around each receiver/transmitter and within the 5th Fresnel zone related to each transmitter-receiver path. Where possible, the wavelet analysis was applied on the time series of the radio signal intensity, and some anomalies related to previous earthquakes were revealed. Except for some doubt in one case, success appears to have been obtained in all of the cases related to the 300 km circles in for the ground waves and the sky waves. For the Fresnel cases, success in two cases and one failure were seen in analysing the sky waves. The failure occurred in August/September, and might be related to the disturbed conditions of the ionosphere in summer

Anomalies Observed in VLF and LF Radio Signals on the Occasion of the Western Turkey Earthquake (Mw = 5.7) on May 19, 2011

VLF radio signals lie in the 10 - 60 kHz frequency band. These radio signals are used for worldwide navigation support, time signals and for military purposes. They are propagated in the earth-ionosphere wave-guide mode along great circle propagation paths. So, their propaga-tion is strongly affected by the ionosphere conditions. LF signals lie in 150 - 300 kHz frequency band. They are used for long way broadcasting by the few (this type of broadcasting is going into disuse) transmitters located in the world. These radio signals are characterized by the ground wave and the sky wave propagation modes [1]. The first generates a stable signal that propagates in the channel Earth-troposphere and is affected by the surface ground and troposphere condition. The second instead gives rise to a signal which varies greatly between day and night, and between summer and winter, and which propagates using the lower ionosphere as a reflector; its propagation is mainly affected by the ionosphere condi-tion, particularly in the zone located in the middle of the transmitter-receiver path. The propagation of the VLF/LF radio signals is affected by different factors such as the meteorological condition, the solar bursts and the geo-magnetic activity. At the same time, variations of some parameters in the ground, in the atmosphere and in the ionosphere occurring during the preparatory phase of earthquakes can produce disturbances in the above men-tioned signals. As already reported by many previous studies [2-18] the disturbances are classified as anoma-lies and different methods of analysis as the residual dA/ dP [15], the terminator time TT [9], the Wavelet spectra and the Principal Component Analysis have been used [6,7]. Here the analysis carried out on LF and VLF radio signals using three different methods on the occasion of a strong earthquake occurred recently in Turkey is pre-sented

TEC and foF2 variations: preliminary results

Investigation of the relationship between TEC and (foF2)2 shows that although they are highly correlated, a «hysteresis» effect exists between them. The slab thickness is greater before than after mid-day for equal cos ?values. Moreover, a comparison of the calculated upper and lower quartiles of variability in TEC, foF2 and Nmax, respectively shows that the variability of TEC lies between those of foF2 and Nmax depending on the level of solar activity

An artificial neural network predictor for tropospheric surface duct phenomena

International audienceIn this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed and used to predict the presence of ducting phenomena for a specific time, taking into account ground values of atmospheric pressure, relative humidity and temperature. A feed forward backpropagation ANN is implemented, which is trained, validated and tested using atmospheric radiosonde data from the Helliniko airport, for the period from 1991 to 2004. The network's quality and generality is assessed using the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) Curves (AUC), which resulted to a mean value of about 0.86 to 0.90, depending on the observation time. In order to validate the ANN results and to evaluate any further improvement options of the proposed method, the problem was additionally treated using Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) classifiers, trained and tested with identical data sets for direct performance comparison with the ANN. Furthermore, time series prediction and the effect of surface wind to the presence of tropospheric ducts appearance are discussed. The results show that the ANN model presented here performs efficiently and gives successful tropospheric ducts predictions

An Ex Vivo Approach to Complex Renal Artery Aneurysm Repair

Ex vivo repair technique for a complex renal artery aneurysm may have several advantages. Smaller incision size and use of minimally invasive techniques may decrease incisional morbidity and improve recovery time, especially in patients with a high body mass index. Improved visualization afforded by back-table methods may also be valuable when repair of aneurysms involving multiple branches is necessary. We report of a successful case of laparoscopic nephrectomy, followed by back-table aneurysmorrhaphy and autotransplant, in a patient with a renal artery aneurysm

TEC and foF2 variations: preliminary results

Investigation of the relationship between TEC and (foF2)2 shows that although they are highly correlated, a «hysteresis» effect exists between them. The slab thickness is greater before than after mid-day for equal cos ?values. Moreover, a comparison of the calculated upper and lower quartiles of variability in TEC, foF2 and Nmax, respectively shows that the variability of TEC lies between those of foF2 and Nmax depending on the level of solar activity