Entrepreneurially Minded Learning in the Unit Operations Laboratory through Community Engagement in a Blended Teaching Environment

Online and blended learning opportunities in Chemical Engineering curriculum emerged due to COVID-19. After eight weeks of in-person Unit Operations Laboratory sessions, a remote-learning open-ended final project was assigned to student teams. The assignment involved aspects related to entrepreneurial-minded learning (EML) and community-based learning (CBL). Results show correlations between self-directed learning and the EML framework. Continuous support and involvement of a community partner correlate to students\u27

ECOSTRESS: NASA's next generation mission to measure evapotranspiration from the International Space Station

The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station ECOSTRESS) was launched to the International Space Station on June 29, 2018. The primary science focus of ECOSTRESS is centered on evapotranspiration (ET), which is produced as level‐3 (L3) latent heat flux (LE) data products. These data are generated from the level‐2 land surface temperature and emissivity product (L2_LSTE), in conjunction with ancillary surface and atmospheric data. Here, we provide the first validation (Stage 1, preliminary) of the global ECOSTRESS clear‐sky ET product (L3_ET_PT‐JPL, version 6.0) against LE measurements at 82 eddy covariance sites around the world. Overall, the ECOSTRESS ET product performs well against the site measurements (clear‐sky instantaneous/time of overpass: r2 = 0.88; overall bias = 8%; normalized RMSE = 6%). ET uncertainty was generally consistent across climate zones, biome types, and times of day (ECOSTRESS samples the diurnal cycle), though temperate sites are over‐represented. The 70 m high spatial resolution of ECOSTRESS improved correlations by 85%, and RMSE by 62%, relative to 1 km pixels. This paper serves as a reference for the ECOSTRESS L3 ET accuracy and Stage 1 validation status for subsequent science that follows using these data

The FLUXNET2015 dataset and the ONEFlux processing pipeline for eddy covariance data

The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO2, water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as gap-filled time series, ecosystem respiration and photosynthetic uptake estimates, estimation of uncertainties, and metadata about the measurements, presented for the first time in this paper. In addition, 206 of these sites are for the first time distributed under a Creative Commons (CC-BY 4.0) license. This paper details this enhanced dataset and the processing methods, now made available as open-source codes, making the dataset more accessible, transparent, and reproducible.Peer reviewe

Depth of necrosis (mm) (y-axis) versus the measured total-energy flux integrated over time, THF in kJ/m² (x-axis), for all stem sections used in the lab experiments.

<p>Dashed line marks a logarithmic fit of simulation results (y = 21.48(±1.89)log(x)−68.66(±7), R² = 0.93 ), solid line marks a logarithmic fit of observed laboratory results (y = 16.63(±2.1)log(x)−51.05(±7.63), R² = 0.84 ). This model-driven empirical relationship can be used to extrapolate stem heating and vascular cambium necrosis beyond heat fluxes used in experimental stem heating trials.</p

Comparison of laboratory observations and FireStem2D simulations of temperature variation through time for four tree species at different locations in the stem section.

<p><b>A.</b> Just beneath surface. <b>B.</b> At the cambium. Solid curves mark FireStem2D simulation results and dashed curves mark laboratory observations. Bold vertical lines in each time series marks the observed timing of peak heating, and defines the end of the heat-up phase, and start of the cool-down phase, afterwards. Different color signifies different tree species. Black: <i>Acer saccharum</i>; green: <i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i>; red: <i>Nyssa sylvatica</i>; and blue: <i>Quercus prinus.</i> These are examples from the 52 tree sections collected from 25 trees of 8 different species that were tested in the laboratory (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0070110#pone-0070110-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>).</p