Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing: Estimation of Agricultural Crop Biomass Water Equivalent

Earth Science; Soil Management; Water Management; Crop Nutrition; Nuclear; CRNS; Biomass Water Equivalent; Remote Sensing; Satellite Imager

Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing: Estimation of Agricultural Crop Biomass Water Equivalent

This open access book provides methods for the estimation of Biomass Water Equivalent (BEW), an essential step for improving the accuracy of area-wide soil moisture by cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNS). Three techniques are explained in detail: (i) traditional in-situ destructive sampling, (ii) satellite based remote sensing of plant surfaces, and (iii) biomass estimation via the use of the CRNS itself. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed along with step by step instructions on proper procedures and implementation

Cosmic-ray neutron probes on the high plains of Nebraska: applications to large scale agriculture

Cosmic-rays have some surprising applications in precision agriculture. The cosmic-ray neutron probe (CRNP), when implemented as a roving instrument, can be used to create spatial maps of soil moisture, and from these maps soil hydraulic properties can be inferred. In this work, we combine data from a mobile CRNP with laboratory samples to make spatial predictions of soil hydraulic properties for select field sites around the state of Nebraska. These maps, which focus on wilting point and field capacity, can, in turn, be used to determine the optimal timing and application rates for irrigation farmers, many of whom have the capability to finely tune the spatial distribution of water applied on a field, but currently lack the requisite data to support such management practices. We find that 4 CRNP soil moisture maps are adequate to describe the dominant underlying spatial structure of the field (\u3e75% of variability) using Empirical Orthogonal Functions. The CRNP soil moisture maps combined with an elevation layer provided strong statistical predictors of laboratory measured soil hydraulic properties. The economic viability of the method depends on numerous local cost factors but rising demand for water resources may dictate the need for innovative approaches such as this one to reduce future water use

Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing: Estimation of Agricultural Crop Biomass Water Equivalent

Earth Science; Soil Management; Water Management; Crop Nutrition; Nuclear; CRNS; Biomass Water Equivalent; Remote Sensing; Satellite Imager

Using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes to Monitor Landscape Scale Soil Water Content in Mixed Land Use Agricultural Systems

With an ever-increasing demand for natural resources and the societal need to understand and predict natural disasters, soil water content (SWC) observations remain a critical variable to monitor in order to optimally allocate resources, establish early warning systems, and improve weather forecasts.However, routine agricultural production practices of soil cultivation, planting, and harvest make the operation andmaintenance of direct contact point sensors for long-termmonitoring challenging. In this work, we explore the use of the newly established Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probe (CRNP) and method to monitor landscape average SWC in a mixed agricultural land use systemin northeastAustria.Thecalibrated CRNP landscape SWC values compare well against an independent in situ SWC probe network (MAE = 0.0286m3/m3) given the challenge of continuous in situ monitoring from probes across a heterogeneous agricultural landscape. The ability of the CRNP to provide real-time and accurate landscape SWC measurements makes it an ideal method for establishing long-term monitoring sites in agricultural ecosystems to aid in agricultural water and nutrient management decisions at the small tract of land scale as well as aiding in management decisions at larger scales

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Methane-gasoline dual fuel engine combustion and emissions control technologies

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is currently one of the promising and more established alternative to liquid fossil fuels. The combined utilisation of CNG and gasoline in spark-ignition engines can provide strong synergies between the two fuels leading to lower fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. However, no study to date has investigated the performance of the aftertreatment system designed for dual-fuel engines, with all studies either limited to combustion analysis of the dual-fuel or for dedicated CNG fuelled engines. As such, the aftertreatment system of a dual-fuel gasoline-CNG engine is investigated in this study by the use of several dedicated CNG catalysts. A dual-fuel injection strategy was implemented where methane gas was port-injected into the intake in stoichiometric conditions at levels corresponding to 20 and 40% energy density replacement of gasoline. High, medium and low loaded Pd/Rh catalysts were used and compared to study the effect of PGM loading on the catalyst light-off activity for methane. Results indicate that increasing the Pd loading led to significantly earlier light-off temperatures achieved at relatively lower temperatures of 340, 350 and 395oC respectively. However, the benefit diminishes above Pd loading >142.5 g ft$^{-3}$. To complement this work, the performance of two full-scale CNG catalysts with different PGM loadings under various engine lambda conditions and cyclic air/fuel ratio was investigated. In addition, cycles have been developed with the aim to enhance fuel economy while reducing exhaust emissions. Additional research into the usage of the dual-fuel injection system to reduce the higher particulate emissions produced by GDI engines, as well as reducing their gaseous exhaust emissions is included in the study. Various characteristics of the released particles, including their size distributions, reactivity, morphology, and nanostructure, were evaluated. Other benefits of the dual-fuel system are presented in this study in terms of 10% and 54% lower engine output CO$_2$ and CO emissions respectively and up to 90 to 98% reduction in particle number. However, high NH$_3$ levels were observed primarily formed from steam-reforming reactions due to the increased level of methane in the exhaust stream

Cosmic-ray neutron probes on the high plains of Nebraska: applications to large scale agriculture

Cosmic-rays have some surprising applications in precision agriculture. The cosmic-ray neutron probe (CRNP), when implemented as a roving instrument, can be used to create spatial maps of soil moisture, and from these maps soil hydraulic properties can be inferred. In this work, we combine data from a mobile CRNP with laboratory samples to make spatial predictions of soil hydraulic properties for select field sites around the state of Nebraska. These maps, which focus on wilting point and field capacity, can, in turn, be used to determine the optimal timing and application rates for irrigation farmers, many of whom have the capability to finely tune the spatial distribution of water applied on a field, but currently lack the requisite data to support such management practices. We find that 4 CRNP soil moisture maps are adequate to describe the dominant underlying spatial structure of the field (\u3e75% of variability) using Empirical Orthogonal Functions. The CRNP soil moisture maps combined with an elevation layer provided strong statistical predictors of laboratory measured soil hydraulic properties. The economic viability of the method depends on numerous local cost factors but rising demand for water resources may dictate the need for innovative approaches such as this one to reduce future water use