11,214 research outputs found
Relationship between forest clearing and biophysical factors in tropical environments: Implications for the design of a forest change monitoring approach
The relationship between forest clearing, biophysical factors (e.g, ecological zones, slope gradient, soils), and transportation network in Costa Rica was analyzed. The location of forested areas at four reference datas (1940, 1950, 1961, and 1977) as derived from aerial photography and LANDSAT MSS data was digitilized and entered into a geographically-referenced data base. Ecological zones as protrayed by the Holdridge Life Zone Ecology System, and the location of roads and railways were also digitized from maps of the entire country as input to the data base. Information on slope gradient and soils was digitized from maps of a 21,000 square kilometer area. The total area of forest cleared over four decades are related to biophysical factors was analyzed within the data base and deforestation rates and trends were tabulated. The relatiohship between forest clearing and ecological zone and the influence of topography, sils, and transportation network are presented and discussed
The use of LANDSAT digital data and computer implemented techniques for an erosion hazard-reforestation needs assessment
There are no author-identified significant results in this report
Land Use and Mapping
Land use management, classification, and mapping based on ERTS-1 observations - Conferenc
Valve recession: From experiment to predictive model
Increasing demands on engine performance and cost reductions have meant that advances made in materials and production technology are often outpaced This frequently results in wear problems occurring with engine components. Few models exist for predicting wear, and consequently each wear problem has to be investigated, the cause isolated and remedial action taken. The objective of this work was to carry out experimental studies to investigate valve and seat insert wear mechanisms and use the test results to develop a recession prediction tool to assess the potential for valve recession and solve problems that occur more quickly. Experimental apparatus has been developed that is capable of providing a valid simulation of the wear of diesel automotive inlet valves and seats. Test methodologies developed have isolated the effects of impact and sliding. A semi-empirical wear model for predicting valve recession has been developed based on data gathered during the bench testing. A software program, RECESS, was developed to run the model. Model predictions are compared with engine dynamometer tests and bench tests. The model can be used to give a quantitative prediction of the valve recession to be expected with a particular material pair or a qualitative assessment of how parameters need to be altered in order to reduce recession. The valve recession model can be integrated into an industrial environment in order to help reduce costs and timescales involved in solving valve/seat wear problems
The use of LANDSAT digital data and computer-implemented techniques for an agricultural application
Agricultural applications procedures are described for use of LANDSAT digital data and other digitalized data (e.g., soils). The results of having followed these procedures are shown in production estimates for cotton and soybeans in Washington County, Mississippi. Examples of output products in both line printer and map formats are included, and a product adequacy assessment is made
Possible origin of 60-K plateau in the YBa2Cu3O(6+y) phase diagram
We study a model of YBa2Cu3O(6+y) to investigate the influence of oxygen
ordering and doping imbalance on the critical temperature Tc(y) and to
elucidate a possible origin of well-known feature of YBCO phase diagram: the
60-K plateau. Focusing on "phase only" description of the high-temperature
superconducting system in terms of collective variables we utilize a
three-dimensional semi microscopic XY model with two-component vectors that
involve phase variables and adjustable parameters representing microscopic
phase stiffnesses. The model captures characteristic energy scales present in
YBCO and allows for strong anisotropy within basal planes to simulate oxygen
ordering. Applying spherical closure relation we have solved the phase XY model
with the help of transfer matrix method and calculated Tc for chosen system
parameters. Furthermore, we investigate the influence of oxygen ordering and
doping imbalance on the shape of YBCO phase diagram. We find it unlikely that
oxygen ordering alone can be responsible for the existence of 60-K plateau.
Relying on experimental data unveiling that oxygen doping of YBCO may introduce
significant charge imbalance between CuO2 planes and other sites, we show that
simultaneously the former are underdoped, while the latter -- strongly
overdoped almost in the whole region of oxygen doping in which YBCO is
superconducting. As a result, while oxygen content is increased, this provides
two counter acting factors, which possibly lead to rise of 60K plateau.
Additionally, our result can provide an important contribution to understanding
of experimental data supporting existence of multicomponent superconductivity
in YBCO.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PRB, see http://prb.aps.or
Force distribution in a randomly perturbed lattice of identical particles with pair interaction
We study the statistics of the force felt by a particle in the class of
spatially correlated distribution of identical point-like particles,
interacting via a pair force (i.e. gravitational or Coulomb), and
obtained by randomly perturbing an infinite perfect lattice. In the first part
we specify the conditions under which the force on a particle is a well defined
stochastic quantity. We then study the small displacements approximation,
giving both the limitations of its validity, and, when it is valid, an
expression for the force variance. In the second part of the paper we extend to
this class of particle distributions the method introduced by Chandrasekhar to
study the force probability density function in the homogeneous Poisson
particle distribution. In this way we can derive an approximate expression for
the probability distribution of the force over the full range of perturbations
of the lattice, i.e., from very small (compared to the lattice spacing) to very
large where the Poisson limit is recovered. We show in particular the
qualitative change in the large-force tail of the force distribution between
these two limits. Excellent accuracy of our analytic results is found on
detailed comparison with results from numerical simulations. These results
provide basic statistical information about the fluctuations of the
interactions (i) of the masses in self-gravitating systems like those
encountered in the context of cosmological N-body simulations, and (ii) of the
charges in the ordered phase of the One Component Plasma.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
Computer implemented land use classification with ERTS digital data during three seasons
There are no author-identified significant results in this report
Computer-implemented land use classification with pattern recognition software and ERTS digital data
Significant progress has been made in the classification of surface conditions (land uses) with computer-implemented techniques based on the use of ERTS digital data and pattern recognition software. The supervised technique presently used at the NASA Earth Resources Laboratory is based on maximum likelihood ratioing with a digital table look-up approach to classification. After classification, colors are assigned to the various surface conditions (land uses) classified, and the color-coded classification is film recorded on either positive or negative 9 1/2 in. film at the scale desired. Prints of the film strips are then mosaicked and photographed to produce a land use map in the format desired. Computer extraction of statistical information is performed to show the extent of each surface condition (land use) within any given land unit that can be identified in the image. Evaluations of the product indicate that classification accuracy is well within the limits for use by land resource managers and administrators. Classifications performed with digital data acquired during different seasons indicate that the combination of two or more classifications offer even better accuracy
Natural resources inventory system ASVT project
The author has identified the following significant results. One of the main advantages, both cost-wise and time-wise, of the natural resource inventory system involved the use of LANDSAT-acquired digital data for the land cover information component; thereby, eliminating the need to digitize such dynamic information from a map or aerial photo base. It was thought that the utility and the cost of information as derived from LANDSAT data for the various applications justified the operational use of data generated by LANDSAT
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