Expanding Scales and Applications for 2D Spatial Mapping of CO2 using GreenLITE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erxleben, W. H.; Dobler, J. T.; Zaccheo, T. S.; Blume, N.; Braun, M.

2015-12-01

The Greenhouse gas Laser Imaging Tomography Experiment (GreenLITE) system is a new measurement approach originally developed under a cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Atmospheric Environmental Sciences (AER) and Exelis Inc. (now part of Harris Corp.). The original system design provides 24/7 monitoring of Ground Carbon Storage (GCS) sites, in order to help ensure worker safety and verify 99% containment. The first generation was designed to cover up to 1km2 area, and employs the Exelis Continuous Wave (CW) Intensity Modulated (IM) approach to measure differential transmission. A pair of scanning transceivers was built and combined with a series of retro reflectors, and a local weather station to provide the information required for producing estimates of the atmospheric CO2 concentration over a number of overlapping lines-of-site. The information from the transceivers, and weather station, are sent remotely to a web-based processing and storage tool, which in-turn uses the data to generate estimates of the 2D spatial distribution over the area of coverage and disseminate that information near real-time via a secure web interface. Recently, in 2015, Exelis and AER have invested in the expansion of the GreenLITE transceiver system to 5 km range, enabling areas up to 25 km2 to be evaluated with this technology, and opening new possibilities for applications such as urban scale monitoring. The 5 km system is being tested in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory in August of this year. This talk will review the initial GreenLITE system, testing and deployment of that system, and the more recent development, expansion and testing of the 5 km system.

A comparison of the seasonal movements of tiger sharks and green turtles provides insight into their predator-prey relationship.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Richard; Thums, Michele; Bell, Ian; Meekan, Mark G; Stevens, John D; Barnett, Adam

2012-01-01

During the reproductive season, sea turtles use a restricted area in the vicinity of their nesting beaches, making them vulnerable to predation. At Raine Island (Australia), the highest density green turtle Chelonia mydas rookery in the world, tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier have been observed to feed on green turtles, and it has been suggested that they may specialise on such air-breathing prey. However there is little information with which to examine this hypothesis. We compared the spatial and temporal components of movement behaviour of these two potentially interacting species in order to provide insight into the predator-prey relationship. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that tiger shark movements are more concentrated at Raine Island during the green turtle nesting season than outside the turtle nesting season when turtles are not concentrated at Raine Island. Turtles showed area-restricted search behaviour around Raine Island for ∼3-4 months during the nesting period (November-February). This was followed by direct movement (transit) to putative foraging grounds mostly in the Torres Straight where they switched to area-restricted search mode again, and remained resident for the remainder of the deployment (53-304 days). In contrast, tiger sharks displayed high spatial and temporal variation in movement behaviour which was not closely linked to the movement behaviour of green turtles or recognised turtle foraging grounds. On average, tiger sharks were concentrated around Raine Island throughout the year. While information on diet is required to determine whether tiger sharks are turtle specialists our results support the hypothesis that they target this predictable and plentiful prey during turtle nesting season, but they might not focus on this less predictable food source outside the nesting season.

A Comparison of the Seasonal Movements of Tiger Sharks and Green Turtles Provides Insight into Their Predator-Prey Relationship

PubMed Central

Fitzpatrick, Richard; Thums, Michele; Bell, Ian; Meekan, Mark G.; Stevens, John D.; Barnett, Adam

2012-01-01

During the reproductive season, sea turtles use a restricted area in the vicinity of their nesting beaches, making them vulnerable to predation. At Raine Island (Australia), the highest density green turtle Chelonia mydas rookery in the world, tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier have been observed to feed on green turtles, and it has been suggested that they may specialise on such air-breathing prey. However there is little information with which to examine this hypothesis. We compared the spatial and temporal components of movement behaviour of these two potentially interacting species in order to provide insight into the predator-prey relationship. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that tiger shark movements are more concentrated at Raine Island during the green turtle nesting season than outside the turtle nesting season when turtles are not concentrated at Raine Island. Turtles showed area-restricted search behaviour around Raine Island for ∼3–4 months during the nesting period (November–February). This was followed by direct movement (transit) to putative foraging grounds mostly in the Torres Straight where they switched to area-restricted search mode again, and remained resident for the remainder of the deployment (53–304 days). In contrast, tiger sharks displayed high spatial and temporal variation in movement behaviour which was not closely linked to the movement behaviour of green turtles or recognised turtle foraging grounds. On average, tiger sharks were concentrated around Raine Island throughout the year. While information on diet is required to determine whether tiger sharks are turtle specialists our results support the hypothesis that they target this predictable and plentiful prey during turtle nesting season, but they might not focus on this less predictable food source outside the nesting season. PMID:23284819

A spatial framework for targeting urban planning for pollinators and people with local stakeholders: A route to healthy, blossoming communities?

PubMed

Bellamy, Chloe C; van der Jagt, Alexander P N; Barbour, Shelley; Smith, Mike; Moseley, Darren

2017-10-01

Pollinators such as bees and hoverflies are essential components of an urban ecosystem, supporting and contributing to the biodiversity, functioning, resilience and visual amenity of green infrastructure. Their urban habitats also deliver health and well-being benefits to society, by providing important opportunities for accessing nature nearby to the homes of a growing majority of people living in towns and cities. However, many pollinator species are in decline, and the loss, degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats are some of the key drivers of this change. Urban planners and other practitioners need evidence to carefully prioritise where they focus their resources to provide and maintain a high quality, multifunctional green infrastructure network that supports pollinators and people. We provide a modelling framework to inform green infrastructure planning as a nature based solution with social and ecological benefits. We show how habitat suitability models (HSM) incorporating remote sensed vegetation data can provide important information on the influence of urban landcover composition and spatial configuration on species distributions across cities. Using Edinburgh, Scotland, as a case study city, we demonstrate this approach for bumble bees and hoverflies, providing high resolution predictive maps that identify pollinator habitat hotspots and pinch points across the city. By combining this spatial HSM output with health deprivation data, we highlight 'win-win' opportunity areas in most need of improved green infrastructure to support pollinator habitat quality and connectivity, as well as societal health and well-being. In addition, in collaboration with municipal planners, local stakeholders, and partners from a local greenspace learning alliance, we identified opportunities for citizen engagement activities to encourage interest in wildlife gardening as part of a 'pollinator pledge'. We conclude that this quantitative, spatially explicit and transferable approach provides a useful decision-making tool for targeting nature-based solutions to improve biodiversity and increase environmental stewardship, with the aim of providing a more attractive city to live, work and invest in. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hyperspectral Imaging and Spectroscopy of Fluorescently Coupled Acyl-CoA: Cholesterol Acyltransferase in Insect Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malak, H.; Mahtani, H.; Herman, P.; Vecer, J.; Lu, X.; Chang, T. Y.; Richmond, Robert C.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

A high-performance hyperspectral imaging module with high throughput of light suitable for low-intensity fluorescence microscopic imaging and subsequent analysis, including single-pixel-defined emission spectroscopy, was tested on Sf21 insect cells expressing green fluorescence associated with recombinant green fluorescent protein linked or not with the membrane protein acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase. The imager utilized the phenomenon of optical activity as a new technique providing information over a spectral range of 220-1400 nm, and was inserted between the microscope and an 8-bit CCD video-rate camera. The resulting fluorescence image did not introduce observable image aberrations. The images provided parallel acquisition of well resolved concurrent spatial and spectral information such that fluorescence associated with green fluorescent protein alone was demonstrated to be diffuse within the Sf21 insect cell, and that green fluorescence associated with the membrane protein was shown to be specifically concentrated within regions of the cell cytoplasm. Emission spectra analyzed from different regions of the fluorescence image showed blue shift specific for the regions of concentration associated with the membrane protein.

Arctic tundra greening and browning (2007-2013) based on satellite-observed solar-induced fluorescence data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, D.; Su, F.; Wang, J.

2017-12-01

More accurate evaluation of the state of Arctic tundra vegetation is important for our understanding of Arctic and global systems. Arctic tundra greening has been reported, increasing vegetation cover and productivity in many regions, but browning has been also reported, based on satellite-observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 2011 until recently. Here we demonstrate a satellite-based method of estimating tundra greenness trend. A more direct indicator of greenness (spatially downscaling solar-induced fluorescence, SIF) was used to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of Arctic tundra greenness trends based on ordinary least square regression (2007-2013). Meanwhile, two other greenness indices were used for the comparison, which were two NDVI products: GIMMS NDVI3g, and MOD13Q1 Collection 6. Generally, the Arctic tundra was not consistently greening, browning also existed. For the spatial trends, the results showed that most parts of the Arctic tundra below 75ºN was browning (-0.0098 mW/m2/sr/nm/year) using SIF, whereas spatially heterogeneous trends (greening or browning) were obtained based on the two NDVI products. For the temporal trends, the greenness value of Eurasia Arctic tundra is higher than Northern America and the whole Arctic tundra for the three greenness indices. From 2010, the Arctic tundra was greening based on MOD13Q1, whereas is browning using GIMMS NDVI3g. However, the Arctic tundra was obviously browning using SIF data. This study demonstrates a way of investigating the variation of Arctic tundra vegetation via new satellite-observed data.

Residential Greenness and Birth Outcomes: Evaluating the Influence of Spatially Correlated Built-Environment Factors

PubMed Central

Davies, Hugh W.; Frank, Lawrence; Van Loon, Josh; Gehring, Ulrike; Tamburic, Lillian; Brauer, Michael

2014-01-01

Background: Half the world’s population lives in urban areas. It is therefore important to identify characteristics of the built environment that are beneficial to human health. Urban greenness has been associated with improvements in a diverse range of health conditions, including birth outcomes; however, few studies have attempted to distinguish potential effects of greenness from those of other spatially correlated exposures related to the built environment. Objectives: We aimed to investigate associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes and evaluate the influence of spatially correlated built environment factors on these associations. Methods: We examined associations between residential greenness [measured using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100 m of study participants’ homes] and birth outcomes in a cohort of 64,705 singleton births (from 1999–2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We also evaluated associations after adjusting for spatially correlated built environmental factors that may influence birth outcomes, including exposure to air pollution and noise, neighborhood walkability, and distance to the nearest park. Results: An interquartile increase in greenness (0.1 in residential NDVI) was associated with higher term birth weight (20.6 g; 95% CI: 16.5, 24.7) and decreases in the likelihood of small for gestational age, very preterm (< 30 weeks), and moderately preterm (30–36 weeks) birth. Associations were robust to adjustment for air pollution and noise exposures, neighborhood walkability, and park proximity. Conclusions: Increased residential greenness was associated with beneficial birth outcomes in this population-based cohort. These associations did not change after adjusting for other spatially correlated built environment factors, suggesting that alternative pathways (e.g., psychosocial and psychological mechanisms) may underlie associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes. Citation: Hystad P, Davies HW, Frank L, Van Loon J, Gehring U, Tamburic L, Brauer M. 2014. Residential greenness and birth outcomes: evaluating the influence of spatially correlated built-environment factors. Environ Health Perspect 122:1095–1102; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1308049 PMID:25014041

Quantifying Crop Specific Blue and Green Water Footprints and the Spatial Allocation of Virtual Water in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, J.; Smith, T.; McLaughlin, D.

2016-12-01

China, which had a population of 1.38 billion in 2013, is expected to peak at about 1.45 billion around 2030, with per capita food demand likely to increase significantly. The population growth and diet change make prospects of future available water and food worrisome for China. Quantitative estimates of crop specific blue and green water footprints provide useful insight about the roles of different water sources and give guidance for agricultural and water resource planning. This study uses reanalysis methods to merge diverse datasets, including information on water fluxes and land use, to estimate crop-specific green and blue water consumption at 0.5 degree spatial resolution. The estimates incorporate, through constraints in the reanalysis procedure, important physical connections between the water and land resources that support agriculture. These connections are important since land use affects evapotranspiration and runoff while water availability and crop area affect crop production and virtual water content. The results show that green water accounts for 86% and blue water accounts for 14% of the total national agricultural water footprint, respectively. The water footprints of cereals (wheat, maize and rice) and soybeans account for 51% of the total agricultural water footprint. Cereals and soybeans together account for 85% of the total blue water footprint.

Monitoring Urban Greenness Dynamics Using Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis

PubMed Central

Gan, Muye; Deng, Jinsong; Zheng, Xinyu; Hong, Yang; Wang, Ke

2014-01-01

Urban greenness is increasingly recognized as an essential constituent of the urban environment and can provide a range of services and enhance residents’ quality of life. Understanding the pattern of urban greenness and exploring its spatiotemporal dynamics would contribute valuable information for urban planning. In this paper, we investigated the pattern of urban greenness in Hangzhou, China, over the past two decades using time series Landsat-5 TM data obtained in 1990, 2002, and 2010. Multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis was used to derive vegetation cover fractions at the subpixel level. An RGB-vegetation fraction model, change intensity analysis and the concentric technique were integrated to reveal the detailed, spatial characteristics and the overall pattern of change in the vegetation cover fraction. Our results demonstrated the ability of multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis to accurately model the vegetation cover fraction in pixels despite the complex spectral confusion of different land cover types. The integration of multiple techniques revealed various changing patterns in urban greenness in this region. The overall vegetation cover has exhibited a drastic decrease over the past two decades, while no significant change occurred in the scenic spots that were studied. Meanwhile, a remarkable recovery of greenness was observed in the existing urban area. The increasing coverage of small green patches has played a vital role in the recovery of urban greenness. These changing patterns were more obvious during the period from 2002 to 2010 than from 1990 to 2002, and they revealed the combined effects of rapid urbanization and greening policies. This work demonstrates the usefulness of time series of vegetation cover fractions for conducting accurate and in-depth studies of the long-term trajectories of urban greenness to obtain meaningful information for sustainable urban development. PMID:25375176

Partitioning Evapotranspiration into Green and Blue Water Sources: Understanding Temporal Dynamics (2001-2015) and Spatial Variability in the Conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velpuri, N. M.; Senay, G. B.

2017-12-01

Information on how much of direct rain water (green water) and/or non-rain water (blue water) are being productively used by the crops/vegetation is critical for efficient water resources management. In this study, we developed a simple but robust methodology to partition actual evapotranspiration (ET) into green (rainfall-based) and blue (surface water/groundwater) sources. We combined two 1 km MODIS-based actual evapotranspiration datasets, one obtained from a root zone water balance model and another from an energy balance model, to partition annual ET into green water ET (GWET) and blue water ET (BWET). Time series maps of GWET and BWET were produced for the conterminous United States (CONUS) over 2001-2015 and spatial variability and dynamics of blue and green water ET were analyzed. Our results indicate that average green and blue water sources for all land cover types in CONUS account for nearly 70% and 30% of the total ET, respectively. The ET in the eastern US arises mostly from green water, and in the western US, it is mostly from blue water sources. Analysis of the BWET in the 16 selected irrigated areas in CONUS revealed interesting results. While the magnitude of the BWET showed a gradual decline from west to east, the increase in coefficient of variation from west to east confirmed greater use of supplemental irrigation in the central and eastern US. We also established relationships between hydro-climatic regions and their blue water requirements. This study provides insights into the relative contributions and the spatiotemporal dynamics of GWET and BWET, which could lead to improved water resources management.

Modeling vertebrate diversity in Oregon using satellite imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cablk, Mary Elizabeth

Vertebrate diversity was modeled for the state of Oregon using a parametric approach to regression tree analysis. This exploratory data analysis effectively modeled the non-linear relationships between vertebrate richness and phenology, terrain, and climate. Phenology was derived from time-series NOAA-AVHRR satellite imagery for the year 1992 using two methods: principal component analysis and derivation of EROS data center greenness metrics. These two measures of spatial and temporal vegetation condition incorporated the critical temporal element in this analysis. The first three principal components were shown to contain spatial and temporal information about the landscape and discriminated phenologically distinct regions in Oregon. Principal components 2 and 3, 6 greenness metrics, elevation, slope, aspect, annual precipitation, and annual seasonal temperature difference were investigated as correlates to amphibians, birds, all vertebrates, reptiles, and mammals. Variation explained for each regression tree by taxa were: amphibians (91%), birds (67%), all vertebrates (66%), reptiles (57%), and mammals (55%). Spatial statistics were used to quantify the pattern of each taxa and assess validity of resulting predictions from regression tree models. Regression tree analysis was relatively robust against spatial autocorrelation in the response data and graphical results indicated models were well fit to the data.

Residential greenness and birth outcomes: evaluating the influence of spatially correlated built-environment factors.

PubMed

Hystad, Perry; Davies, Hugh W; Frank, Lawrence; Van Loon, Josh; Gehring, Ulrike; Tamburic, Lillian; Brauer, Michael

2014-10-01

Half the world's population lives in urban areas. It is therefore important to identify characteristics of the built environment that are beneficial to human health. Urban greenness has been associated with improvements in a diverse range of health conditions, including birth outcomes; however, few studies have attempted to distinguish potential effects of greenness from those of other spatially correlated exposures related to the built environment. We aimed to investigate associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes and evaluate the influence of spatially correlated built environment factors on these associations. We examined associations between residential greenness [measured using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100 m of study participants' homes] and birth outcomes in a cohort of 64,705 singleton births (from 1999-2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We also evaluated associations after adjusting for spatially correlated built environmental factors that may influence birth outcomes, including exposure to air pollution and noise, neighborhood walkability, and distance to the nearest park. An interquartile increase in greenness (0.1 in residential NDVI) was associated with higher term birth weight (20.6 g; 95% CI: 16.5, 24.7) and decreases in the likelihood of small for gestational age, very preterm (< 30 weeks), and moderately preterm (30-36 weeks) birth. Associations were robust to adjustment for air pollution and noise exposures, neighborhood walkability, and park proximity. Increased residential greenness was associated with beneficial birth outcomes in this population-based cohort. These associations did not change after adjusting for other spatially correlated built environment factors, suggesting that alternative pathways (e.g., psychosocial and psychological mechanisms) may underlie associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes.

Using GIS in ecological management: green assessment of the impacts of petroleum activities in the state of Texas.

PubMed

Merem, Edmund; Robinson, Bennetta; Wesley, Joan M; Yerramilli, Sudha; Twumasi, Yaw A

2010-05-01

Geo-information technologies are valuable tools for ecological assessment in stressed environments. Visualizing natural features prone to disasters from the oil sector spatially not only helps in focusing the scope of environmental management with records of changes in affected areas, but it also furnishes information on the pace at which resource extraction affects nature. Notwithstanding the recourse to ecosystem protection, geo-spatial analysis of the impacts remains sketchy. This paper uses GIS and descriptive statistics to assess the ecological impacts of petroleum extraction activities in Texas. While the focus ranges from issues to mitigation strategies, the results point to growth in indicators of ecosystem decline.

Using GIS in Ecological Management: Green Assessment of the Impacts of Petroleum Activities in the State of Texas

PubMed Central

Merem, Edmund; Robinson, Bennetta; Wesley, Joan M.; Yerramilli, Sudha; Twumasi, Yaw A.

2010-01-01

Geo-information technologies are valuable tools for ecological assessment in stressed environments. Visualizing natural features prone to disasters from the oil sector spatially not only helps in focusing the scope of environmental management with records of changes in affected areas, but it also furnishes information on the pace at which resource extraction affects nature. Notwithstanding the recourse to ecosystem protection, geo-spatial analysis of the impacts remains sketchy. This paper uses GIS and descriptive statistics to assess the ecological impacts of petroleum extraction activities in Texas. While the focus ranges from issues to mitigation strategies, the results point to growth in indicators of ecosystem decline. PMID:20623014

LASER BIOLOGY: Visualisation of the distributions of melanin and indocyanine green in biological tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genina, E. A.; Fedosov, I. V.; Bashkatov, A. N.; Zimnyakov, D. A.; Altshuler, G. B.; Tuchin, V. V.

2008-03-01

A double-wavelength laser scanning microphotometer with the high spectral and spatial resolutions is developed for studying the distribution of endogenic and exogenic dyes in biological tissues. Samples of hair and skin biopsy with hair follicles stained with indocyanine green are studied. The spatial distribution of indocyanine green and melanin in the biological tissue is determined from the measured optical transmittance.

Visualisation of the distributions of melanin and indocyanine green in biological tissues

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Genina, E A; Fedosov, I V; Bashkatov, A N

2008-03-31

A double-wavelength laser scanning microphotometer with the high spectral and spatial resolutions is developed for studying the distribution of endogenic and exogenic dyes in biological tissues. Samples of hair and skin biopsy with hair follicles stained with indocyanine green are studied. The spatial distribution of indocyanine green and melanin in the biological tissue is determined from the measured optical transmittance. (laser biology)

Evidence for Non-Opponent Coding of Colour Information in Human Visual Cortex: Selective Loss of "Green" Sensitivity in a Subject with Damaged Ventral Occipito-Temporal Cortex.

PubMed

Rauscher, Franziska G; Plant, Gordon T; James-Galton, Merle; Barbur, John L

2011-01-01

Damage to ventral occipito-temporal extrastriate visual cortex leads to the syndrome of prosopagnosia often with coexisting cerebral achromatopsia. A patient with this syndrome resulting in a left upper homonymous quadrantanopia, prosopagnosia, and incomplete achromatopsia is described. Chromatic sensitivity was assessed at a number of locations in the intact visual field using a dynamic luminance contrast masking technique that isolates the use of colour signals. In normal subjects chromatic detection thresholds form an elliptical contour when plotted in the Commission Internationale d'Eclairage, (x-y), chromaticity diagram. Because the extraction of colour signals in early visual processing involves opponent mechanisms, subjects with Daltonism (congenital red/green loss of sensitivity) show symmetric increase in thresholds towards the long wavelength ("red") and middle wavelength ("green") regions of the spectrum locus. This is also the case with acquired loss of chromatic sensitivity as a result of retinal or optic nerve disease. Our patient's results were an exception to this rule. Whilst his chromatic sensitivity in the central region of the visual field was reduced symmetrically for both "red/green" and "yellow/blue" directions in colour space, the subject's lower left quadrant showed a marked asymmetry in "red/green" thresholds with the greatest loss of sensitivity towards the "green" region of the spectrum locus. This spatially localized asymmetric loss of "green" but not "red" sensitivity has not been reported previously in human vision. Such loss is consistent with selective damage of neural substrates in the visual cortex that process colour information, but are spectrally non-opponent.

Spatially parallel processing of within-dimension conjunctions.

PubMed

Linnell, K J; Humphreys, G W

2001-01-01

Within-dimension conjunction search for red-green targets amongst red-blue, and blue-green, nontargets is extremely inefficient (Wolfe et al, 1990 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 16 879-892). We tested whether pairs of red-green conjunction targets can nevertheless be processed spatially in parallel. Participants made speeded detection responses whenever a red-green target was present. Across trials where a second identical target was present, the distribution of detection times was compatible with the assumption that targets were processed in parallel (Miller, 1982 Cognitive Psychology 14 247-279). We show that this was not an artifact of response-competition or feature-based processing. We suggest that within-dimension conjunctions can be processed spatially in parallel. Visual search for such items may be inefficient owing to within-dimension grouping between items.

Remote sensing monitoring of green tide in the Yellow Sea in 2015 based on GF-1 WFV data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Xiangyu; Gao, Zhiqiang; Ning, Jicai; Xu, Fuxiang; Liu, Chaoshun; Sun, Zhibin

2016-09-01

In this paper, the green tide (Large green algae-Ulva prolifera) in the Yellow Sea in 2015 is monitored which is based on remote sensing and geographic information system technology, using GF-1 WFV data, combined with the virtual baseline floating algae height index (VB-FAH) and manual assisted interpretation method. The results show that GF-1 data with high spatial resolution can accurately monitoring the Yellow Sea Ulva prolifera disaster, the Ulva prolifera was first discovered in the eastern waters of Yancheng in May 12th, afterwards drifted from the south to the north and affected the neighboring waters of Shandong Peninsula. In early July, the Ulva prolifera began to enter into a recession, the coverage area began to decrease, by the end of August 6th, the Ulva prolifera all died.

Towards a hierarchical optimization framework for spatially targeting incentive policies to promote green infrastructure amidst multiple objectives and uncertainty

EPA Science Inventory

We introduce a hierarchical optimization framework for spatially targeting green infrastructure (GI) incentive policies in order to meet objectives related to cost and environmental effectiveness. The framework explicitly simulates the interaction between multiple levels of polic...

Dynamic ecological observations from satellites inform aerobiology of allergenic grass pollen.

PubMed

Devadas, Rakhesh; Huete, Alfredo R; Vicendese, Don; Erbas, Bircan; Beggs, Paul J; Medek, Danielle; Haberle, Simon G; Newnham, Rewi M; Johnston, Fay H; Jaggard, Alison K; Campbell, Bradley; Burton, Pamela K; Katelaris, Constance H; Newbigin, Ed; Thibaudon, Michel; Davies, Janet M

2018-08-15

Allergic diseases, including respiratory conditions of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and asthma, affect up to 500 million people worldwide. Grass pollen are one major source of aeroallergens globally. Pollen forecast methods are generally site-based and rely on empirical meteorological relationships and/or the use of labour-intensive pollen collection traps that are restricted to sparse sampling locations. The spatial and temporal dynamics of the grass pollen sources themselves, however, have received less attention. Here we utilised a consistent set of MODIS satellite measures of grass cover and seasonal greenness (EVI) over five contrasting urban environments, located in Northern (France) and Southern Hemispheres (Australia), to evaluate their utility for predicting airborne grass pollen concentrations. Strongly seasonal and pronounced pollinating periods, synchronous with satellite measures of grass cover greenness, were found at the higher latitude temperate sites in France (46-50° N. Lat.), with peak pollen activity lagging peak greenness, on average by 2-3weeks. In contrast, the Australian sites (34-38° S. Lat.) displayed pollinating periods that were less synchronous with satellite greenness measures as peak pollen concentrations lagged peak greenness by as much as 4 to 7weeks. The Australian sites exhibited much higher spatial and inter-annual variations compared to the French sites and at the Sydney site, broader and multiple peaks in both pollen concentrations and greenness data coincided with flowering of more diverse grasses including subtropical species. Utilising generalised additive models (GAMs) we found the satellite greenness data of grass cover areas explained 80-90% of airborne grass pollen concentrations across the three French sites (p<0.001) and accounted for 34 to 76% of grass pollen variations over the two sites in Australia (p<0.05). Our results demonstrate the potential of satellite sensing to augment forecast models of grass pollen aerobiology as a tool to reduce the health and socioeconomic burden of pollen-sensitive allergic diseases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty in Predicted Neighborhood-Scale Green Stormwater Infrastructure Performance Informed by field monitoring of Hydrologic Abstractions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smalls-Mantey, L.; Jeffers, S.; Montalto, F. A.

2013-12-01

Human alterations to the environment provide infrastructure for housing and transportation but have drastically changed local hydrology. Excess stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces generates erosion, overburdens sewer infrastructure, and can pollute receiving bodies. Increased attention to green stormwater management controls is based on the premise that some of these issues can be mitigated by capturing or slowing the flow of stormwater. However, our ability to predict actual green infrastructure facility performance using physical or statistical methods needs additional validation, and efforts to incorporate green infrastructure controls into hydrologic models are still in their infancy stages. We use more than three years of field monitoring data to derive facility specific probability density functions characterizing the hydrologic abstractions provided by a stormwater treatment wetland, streetside bioretention facility, and a green roof. The monitoring results are normalized by impervious area treated, and incorporated into a neighborhood-scale agent model allowing probabilistic comparisons of the stormwater capture outcomes associated with alternative urban greening scenarios. Specifically, we compare the uncertainty introduced into the model by facility performance (as represented by the variability in the abstraction), to that introduced by both precipitation variability, and spatial patterns of emergence of different types of green infrastructure. The modeling results are used to update a discussion about the potential effectiveness of urban green infrastructure implementation plans.

Surface Green's function of a piezoelectric half-space.

PubMed

Laude, Vincent; Jerez-Hanckes, Carlos F; Ballandras, Sylvain

2006-02-01

The computation of the two-dimensional harmonic spatial-domain Green's function at the surface of a piezoelectric half-space is discussed. Starting from the known form of the Green's function expressed in the spectral domain, the singular contributions are isolated and treated separately. It is found that the surface acoustic wave contributions (i.e., poles in the spectral Green's function) give rise to an anisotropic generalization of the Hankel function H0(2), the spatial Green's function for the scalar two-dimensional wave equation. The asymptotic behavior at infinity and at the origin (for the electrostatic contribution) also are explicitly treated. The remaining nonsingular part of the spectral Green's function is obtained numerically by a combination of fast Fourier transform and quadrature. Illustrations are given in the case of a substrate of Y-cut lithium niobate.

Coupling temporal and spatial gradient information in high-density unstructured Lagrangian measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Jaime G.; Rosi, Giuseppe A.; Rouhi, Amirreza; Rival, David E.

2017-10-01

Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) produces high-quality temporal information that is often neglected when computing spatial gradients. A method is presented here to utilize this temporal information in order to improve the estimation of spatial gradients for spatially unstructured Lagrangian data sets. Starting with an initial guess, this method penalizes any gradient estimate where the substantial derivative of vorticity along a pathline is not equal to the local vortex stretching/tilting. Furthermore, given an initial guess, this method can proceed on an individual pathline without any further reference to neighbouring pathlines. The equivalence of the substantial derivative and vortex stretching/tilting is based on the vorticity transport equation, where viscous diffusion is neglected. By minimizing the residual of the vorticity-transport equation, the proposed method is first tested to reduce error and noise on a synthetic Taylor-Green vortex field dissipating in time. Furthermore, when the proposed method is applied to high-density experimental data collected with `Shake-the-Box' PTV, noise within the spatial gradients is significantly reduced. In the particular test case investigated here of an accelerating circular plate captured during a single run, the method acts to delineate the shear layer and vortex core, as well as resolve the Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which were previously unidentifiable without the use of ensemble averaging. The proposed method shows promise for improving PTV measurements that require robust spatial gradients while retaining the unstructured Lagrangian perspective.

The Importance of Temporal and Spatial Vegetation Structure Information in Biotope Mapping Schemes: A Case Study in Helsingborg, Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Tian; Qiu, Ling; Hammer, Mårten; Gunnarsson, Allan

2012-02-01

Temporal and spatial vegetation structure has impact on biodiversity qualities. Yet, current schemes of biotope mapping do only to a limited extend incorporate these factors in the mapping. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the application of a modified biotope mapping scheme that includes temporal and spatial vegetation structure. A refined scheme was developed based on a biotope classification, and applied to a green structure system in Helsingborg city in southern Sweden. It includes four parameters of vegetation structure: continuity of forest cover, age of dominant trees, horizontal structure, and vertical structure. The major green structure sites were determined by interpretation of panchromatic aerial photographs assisted with a field survey. A set of biotope maps was constructed on the basis of each level of modified classification. An evaluation of the scheme included two aspects in particular: comparison of species richness between long-continuity and short-continuity forests based on identification of woodland continuity using ancient woodland indicators (AWI) species and related historical documents, and spatial distribution of animals in the green space in relation to vegetation structure. The results indicate that (1) the relationship between forest continuity: according to verification of historical documents, the richness of AWI species was higher in long-continuity forests; Simpson's diversity was significantly different between long- and short-continuity forests; the total species richness and Shannon's diversity were much higher in long-continuity forests shown a very significant difference. (2) The spatial vegetation structure and age of stands influence the richness and abundance of the avian fauna and rabbits, and distance to the nearest tree and shrub was a strong determinant of presence for these animal groups. It is concluded that continuity of forest cover, age of dominant trees, horizontal and vertical structures of vegetation should now be included in urban biotope classifications.

A characterisation model to address the environmental impact of green water flows for water scarcity footprints.

PubMed

Quinteiro, Paula; Rafael, Sandra; Villanueva-Rey, Pedro; Ridoutt, Bradley; Lopes, Myriam; Arroja, Luís; Dias, Ana Cláudia

2018-06-01

The development of methods to assess the potential environmental impact of green water consumption in life cycle assessment has lagged behind those for blue water use, which are now routinely applied in industrial and policy-related studies. This represents a critical gap in the assessment of land-based production systems and the ability to inform policy related to the bio-economy. Combining satellite remote sensing and meteorological data sets, this study develops two new sets of spatially-differentiated and globally applicable characterisation factors (CFs) to assess the environmental impact of green water flows in LCA. One set of CFs addresses the impact of shifts in water vapour flow by evapotranspiration on blue water availability (CFWS) and the other set of CFs addresses moisture recycling within a basin (CFWA). Furthermore, as an additional and optional step, these two indicators are combined into an aggregated green water scarcity indicator, representing the global variability of green water scarcity. The values obtained for CFWA show that there are significant changes in green water flows that were returned to the atmosphere in Alaska (covered by open shrublands) and in some central regions of China (covered by grasslands and barren or sparsely vegetated land), where precipitation levels are lower than 10 mm/yr. The results obtained for CFWS indicate that severe perturbations in surface blue water production occur, particularly in central regions of China (covered by grasslands), the southeast of Australia (covered by evergreen broadleaf forest) and in some central regions of the USA (covered by grassland and evergreen needleleaf forest). The application of the green water scarcity CFs enables the evaluation of the potential environmental impact due to green water consumption by agricultural and forestry products, informing both technical and non-technical audiences and decision-makers for the purpose of strategic planning of land use and to identify green water protection measures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban green valuation integrating biophysical and qualitative aspects.

PubMed

Lang, Stefan

2018-01-01

Urban green mapping has become an operational task in city planning, urban land management, and quality of life assessments. As a multi-dimensional, integrative concept, urban green comprising several ecological, socio-economic, and policy-related aspects. In this paper, the author advances the representation of urban green by deriving scale-adapted, policy-relevant units. These so-called geons represent areas of uniform green valuation under certain size and homogeneity constraints in a spatially explicit representation. The study accompanies a regular monitoring scheme carried out by the urban municipality of the city of Salzburg, Austria, using optical satellite data. It was conducted in two stages, namely SBG_QB (10.2 km², QuickBird data from 2005) and SBG_WV (140 km², WorldView-2 data from 2010), within the functional urban area of Salzburg. The geon delineation was validated by several quantitative measures and spatial analysis techniques, as well as ground documentation, including panorama photographs and visual interpretation. The spatial association pattern was assessed by calculating Global Moran's I with incremental search distances. The final geonscape, consisting of 1083 units with an average size of 13.5 ha, was analyzed by spatial metrics. Finally, categories were derived for different types of functional geons. Future research paths and improvements to the described strategy are outlined.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Use of Urban Green Spaces and External Factors Contributing to Their Use in Central Beijing

PubMed Central

Li, Fangzheng; Zhang, Fen; Li, Xiong; Wang, Peng; Liang, Junhui; Mei, Yuting; Cheng, Wenwen; Qian, Yun

2017-01-01

Urban green spaces encourage outdoor activity and social communication that contribute to the health of local residents. Examining the relationship between the use of urban green spaces and factors influencing their utilization can provide essential references for green space site selection in urban planning. In contrast to previous studies that focused on internal factors, this study highlights the external factors (traffic convenience, population density and commercial facilities) contributing to the use of urban green spaces. We conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of the distribution of visitors in 208 selected green spaces in central Beijing. We examined the relationship between the spatial pattern of visitor distribution within urban green spaces and external factors, using the Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation, and geographical detectors. The results of the study were as follows. The spatial distribution of visitors within central Beijing’s green spaces was concentrated, forming different agglomerations. The three examined external factors are all associated with the use of green spaces. Among them, commercial facilities are the important external factor associated with the use of green spaces. For the selection of sites for urban green spaces, we recommend consideration of external factors in order to balance urban green space utilization. PMID:28264451

Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Use of Urban Green Spaces and External Factors Contributing to Their Use in Central Beijing.

PubMed

Li, Fangzheng; Zhang, Fen; Li, Xiong; Wang, Peng; Liang, Junhui; Mei, Yuting; Cheng, Wenwen; Qian, Yun

2017-02-27

Urban green spaces encourage outdoor activity and social communication that contribute to the health of local residents. Examining the relationship between the use of urban green spaces and factors influencing their utilization can provide essential references for green space site selection in urban planning. In contrast to previous studies that focused on internal factors, this study highlights the external factors (traffic convenience, population density and commercial facilities) contributing to the use of urban green spaces. We conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of the distribution of visitors in 208 selected green spaces in central Beijing. We examined the relationship between the spatial pattern of visitor distribution within urban green spaces and external factors, using the Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation, and geographical detectors. The results of the study were as follows. The spatial distribution of visitors within central Beijing's green spaces was concentrated, forming different agglomerations. The three examined external factors are all associated with the use of green spaces. Among them, commercial facilities are the important external factor associated with the use of green spaces. For the selection of sites for urban green spaces, we recommend consideration of external factors in order to balance urban green space utilization.

Integration of remote sensing and geographic information systems for Great Lakes water quality monitoring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lathrop, R.G. Jr.

1988-01-01

The utility of three operational satellite remote sensing systems, namely, the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), the SPOT High Resolution Visible (HRV) sensors and the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), were evaluated as a means of estimating water quality and surface temperature. Empirical calibration through linear regression techniques was used to relate near-simultaneously acquired satellite radiance/reflectance data and water quality observations obtained in Green Bay and the nearshore waters of Lake Michigan. Four dates of TM and one date each of SPOT and AVHRR imagery/surface reference data were acquired and analyzed. Highly significant relationships were identified between the TMmore » and SPOT data and secchi disk depth, nephelometric turbidity, chlorophyll a, total suspended solids (TSS), absorbance, and surface temperature (TM only). The AVHRR data were not analyzed independently but were used for comparison with the TM data. Calibrated water quality image maps were input to a PC-based raster GIS package, EPPL7. Pattern interpretation and spatial analysis techniques were used to document the circulation dynamics and model mixing processes in Green Bay. A GIS facilitates the retrieval, query and spatial analysis of mapped information and provides the framework for an integrated operational monitoring system for the Great Lakes.« less

Understanding green roof spatial dynamics: results from a scale based hydrologic study and introduction of a low-cost method for wide-range monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakimdavar, Raha; Culligan, Patricia J.; Guido, Aida

2014-05-01

Green roofs have the potential, if implemented on a wide scale and with proper foresight, to become an important supplement to traditional urban water management infrastructure, while also helping to change the face of cities from concrete draped, highly modified environments, to hybrid places where nature is more closely integrated into designs rather than pushed out of them. The ability of these systems to act as a decentralized rainwater handling network has been the topic of many recent studies. While these studies have attempted to quantify the hydrologic performance of green roofs, it's clear that they are dynamic systems whose responses are difficult to generalize. What also seems to be lacking from many studies is a discussion on the effects of green roof scale, spatial planning and configuration. This research aims to understand how rainfall characteristics and green roof scale impact its hydrologic performance. Three extensive green roof systems in New York City, with the same engineered components, age and regional climatic conditions, but different drainage areas, are analyzed. We find that rainfall volume and event duration are two of the parameters that most affect green roof performance, while rainfall intensity and antecedent dry weather period are less significant. We also find that green roof scale does in fact affect hydrologic performance, but mainly in reducing runoff peaks, with rainfall retention and lag time being much less affected by drainage area. We also introduce a low-cost monitoring method, termed the Soil Water Apportioning (SWA) method, which uses a water balance approach to analytically link precipitation to substrate moisture, and enable inference of green runoff and evapotranspiration from information on substrate moisture changes over time. Twelve months of in situ rainfall and soil moisture observations from three different green roof systems - extensive vegetated mat, semi-intensive vegetated mat, and semi-intensive tray - are used to test the reliability of the proposed approach using two different low-cost soil moisture probes. The estimates of runoff are compared with observed runoff data for durations ranging between 6 months to 1 year. Preliminary results indicate that this can be an effective low-cost and low-maintenance alternative to the custom made weir and lysimeter systems frequently used to quantify runoff during green roof studies. By significantly reducing the cost and labor associated with typical monitoring efforts, the SWA method makes large scale studies of green roof hydrologic performance more feasible.

Recent shifts in Himalayan vegetation activity trends in response to climatic change and environmental drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, N. B.; Mainali, K. P.

2016-12-01

Climatic changes along with anthropogenic disturbances are causing dramatic ecological impacts in mid to high latitude mountain vegetation including in the Himalayas which are ecologically sensitive environments. Given the challenges associated with in situ vegetation monitoring in the Himalayas, remote sensing based quantification of vegetation dynamics can provide essential ecological information on changes in vegetation activity that may consist of alternative sequence of greening and/or browning periods. This study utilized a trend break analysis procedure for detection of monotonic as well as abrupt (either interruption or reversal) trend changes in smoothed normalized difference vegetation index satellite time-series data over the Himalayas. Overall, trend breaks in vegetation greenness showed high spatio-temporal variability in distribution considering elevation, ecoregion and land cover/use stratifications. Interrupted greening was spatially most dominant in all Himalayan ecoregions followed by abrupt browning. Areas showing trend reversal and monotonic trends appeared minority. Trend type distribution was strongly dependent on elevation as majority of greening (with or without interruption) occurred at lower elevation areas at higher elevation were dominantly. Ecoregion based stratification of trend types highlighted some exception to this elevational dependence as high altitude ecoregions of western Himalayas showed significantly less browning compared to the ecoregions in eastern Himalaya. Land cover/use based analysis of trend distribution showed that interrupted greening was most dominant in closed needleleafed forest following by rainfed cropland and mosaic croplands while interrupted browning most dominant in closed to open herbaceous vegetation found at higher elevation areas followed by closed needleleafed forest and closed to open broad leafed evergreen forests. Spatial analysis of trend break timing showed that for majority of areas experiencing interrupted greening, break in trend occurred later compared to areas with interrupted browning where break trend was observed much earlier. These results have significant implications for environmental management in the context of climate change and ecosystem dynamics in the Himalayas.

Recent ecological transitions in China: greening, browning, and influential factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lü, Yihe; Zhang, Liwei; Feng, Xiaoming; Zeng, Yuan; Fu, Bojie; Yao, Xueling; Li, Junran; Wu, Bingfang

2015-03-01

Ecological conservation and restoration are necessary to mitigate environmental degradation problems. China has taken great efforts in such actions. To understand the ecological transition during 2000-2010 in China, this study analysed trends in vegetation change using remote sensing and linear regression. Climate and socioeconomic factors were included to screen the driving forces for vegetation change using correlation or comparative analyses. Our results indicated that China experienced both vegetation greening (restoration) and browning (degradation) with great spatial heterogeneity. Socioeconomic factors, such as human populations and economic production, were the most significant factors for vegetation change. Nature reserves have contributed slightly to the deceleration of vegetation browning and the promotion of greening; however, a large-scale conservation approach beyond nature reserves was more effective. The effectiveness of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program lay between the two above approaches. The findings of this study highlighted that vegetation trend detection is a practical approach for large-scale ecological transition assessments, which can inform decision-making that promotes vegetation greening via proper socioeconomic development and ecosystem management.

Recent ecological transitions in China: greening, browning, and influential factors.

PubMed

Lü, Yihe; Zhang, Liwei; Feng, Xiaoming; Zeng, Yuan; Fu, Bojie; Yao, Xueling; Li, Junran; Wu, Bingfang

2015-03-04

Ecological conservation and restoration are necessary to mitigate environmental degradation problems. China has taken great efforts in such actions. To understand the ecological transition during 2000-2010 in China, this study analysed trends in vegetation change using remote sensing and linear regression. Climate and socioeconomic factors were included to screen the driving forces for vegetation change using correlation or comparative analyses. Our results indicated that China experienced both vegetation greening (restoration) and browning (degradation) with great spatial heterogeneity. Socioeconomic factors, such as human populations and economic production, were the most significant factors for vegetation change. Nature reserves have contributed slightly to the deceleration of vegetation browning and the promotion of greening; however, a large-scale conservation approach beyond nature reserves was more effective. The effectiveness of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program lay between the two above approaches. The findings of this study highlighted that vegetation trend detection is a practical approach for large-scale ecological transition assessments, which can inform decision-making that promotes vegetation greening via proper socioeconomic development and ecosystem management.

The green areas of San Juan, Puerto Rico

Treesearch

O.M. Ramos-Gonzalez

2014-01-01

Green areas, also known as green infrastructure or urban vegetation, are vital to urbanites for their critical roles in mitigating urban heat island effects and climate change and for their provision of multiple ecosystem services and aesthetics. Here, I provide a high spatial resolution snapshot of the green cover distribution of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, by...

Rangeland biomass estimation demonstration. [Texas Experimenta Ranch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newton, R. W. (Principal Investigator); Boyd, W. E.; Clark, B. V.

1982-01-01

Because of their sensitivity to chlorophyll density, green leaf density, and leaf water density, two hand-held radiometers which have sensor bands coinciding with thematic mapper bands 3, 4, and 5 were used to calibrate green biomass to LANDSAT spectral ratios as a step towards using portable radiometers to speed up ground data acquisition. Two field reflectance panels monitored incoming radiation concurrently with sampling. Software routines were developed and used to extract data from uncorrected tapes of MSS data provided in NASA LANDSAT universal format. A LANDSAT biomass calibration curve estimated the range biomass over a four scene area and displayed this information spatially as a product in a format of use to ranchers. The regional biomass contour map is discussed.

Integration of spectral, spatial and morphometric data into lithological mapping: A comparison of different Machine Learning Algorithms in the Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Othman, Arsalan A.; Gloaguen, Richard

2017-09-01

Lithological mapping in mountainous regions is often impeded by limited accessibility due to relief. This study aims to evaluate (1) the performance of different supervised classification approaches using remote sensing data and (2) the use of additional information such as geomorphology. We exemplify the methodology in the Bardi-Zard area in NE Iraq, a part of the Zagros Fold - Thrust Belt, known for its chromite deposits. We highlighted the improvement of remote sensing geological classification by integrating geomorphic features and spatial information in the classification scheme. We performed a Maximum Likelihood (ML) classification method besides two Machine Learning Algorithms (MLA): Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) to allow the joint use of geomorphic features, Band Ratio (BR), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), spatial information (spatial coordinates) and multispectral data of the Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer (ASTER) satellite. The RF algorithm showed reliable results and discriminated serpentinite, talus and terrace deposits, red argillites with conglomerates and limestone, limy conglomerates and limestone conglomerates, tuffites interbedded with basic lavas, limestone and Metamorphosed limestone and reddish green shales. The best overall accuracy (∼80%) was achieved by Random Forest (RF) algorithms in the majority of the sixteen tested combination datasets.

Advantages of a Vertical High-Resolution Distributed-Temperature-Sensing System Used to Evaluate the Thermal Behavior of Green Roofs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hausner, M. B.; Suarez, F. I.; Cousiño, J. A.; Victorero, F.; Bonilla, C. A.; Gironas, J. A.; Vera, S.; Bustamante, W.; Rojas, V.; Leiva, E.; Pasten, P.

2015-12-01

Technological innovations used for sustainable urban development, green roofs offer a range of benefits, including reduced heat island effect, rooftop runoff, roof surface temperatures, energy consumption, and noise levels inside buildings, as well as increased urban biodiversity. Green roofs feature layered construction, with the most important layers being the vegetation and the substrate layers located above the traditional roof. These layers provide both insulation and warm season cooling by latent heat flux, reducing the thermal load to the building. To understand and improve the processes driving this thermal energy reduction, it is important to observe the thermal dynamics of a green roof at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales. Traditionally, to observe the thermal behavior of green roofs, a series of thermocouples have been installed at discrete depths within the layers of the roof. Here, we present a vertical high-resolution distributed-temperature-sensing (DTS) system installed in different green roof modules of the Laboratory of Vegetated Infrastructure for Buildings (LIVE -its acronym in Spanish) of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. This DTS system allows near-continuous measurement of the thermal profile at spatial and temporal resolutions of approximately 1 cm and 30 s, respectively. In this investigation, the temperature observations from the DTS system are compared with the measurements of a series of thermocouples installed in the green roofs. This comparison makes it possible to assess the value of thermal observations at better spatial and temporal resolutions. We show that the errors associated with lower resolution observations (i.e., from the thermocouples) are propagated in the calculations of the heat fluxes through the different layers of the green roof. Our results highlight the value of having a vertical high-resolution DTS system to observe the thermal dynamics in green roofs.

[Spatial equity analysis of urban green space from the perspective of balance between supply and demand: A case study of Futian District, Shenzhen, China.

PubMed

Wu, Jian Sheng; Si, Meng Lin; Li, Wei Feng

2016-09-01

Urban green space is an important ecological landscape, whose spatial distribution plays a significant role in improving the eco-environment and people's living quality. This study was initia-ted from the perspective of supply and demand balance to evaluate the equity of distribution of urban parks, drawing on previous research, and introduced an integrated framework for evaluating the equity of urban public facilities using spatial multi-analysis. A method concerning gravity model to assess the equity of urban green space was introduced, taking the effect of boundary into account. The case study area was the Futian District of Shenzhen and its 2000 m buffer area. Then, some optimizations were suggested for better allocation of the green space. The results showed that the equity of Futian District was low. The equity of community parks was lowest, followed by that of regional parks, while the countryside ecological parks owned the highest equity. About 50% of the Futian district area was in a state of balance between supply and demand and the rest were in a state of insufficient supply. Greening rate and space allocation of parks and road traffic systems should be improved to better plan the green space in Futian District. For urban green space planning, the parks of small area should be paid more attention to meet the needs of residents for daily recreation. By taking the effect of boundary into account, we observed that the residential area on the edge of the study area could enjoy the park green space, and the green space in the boundary area outside the region would be also shared by residents on both sides of the administrative boundary.

White-Light Optical Information Processing and Holography.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-03

artifact noise . I. wever, the deblurring spatial filter that we used were a narrow spectral band centered at 5154A green light. To compensate for the scaling...Processing, White-Light 11olographyv, Image Profcessing, Optical Signal Process inI, Image Subtraction, Image Deblurring . 70. A S’ R ACT (Continua on crow ad...optical processing technique, we had shown that the incoherent source techniques provides better image quality, and very low coherent artifact noise

Movement mysteries unveiled: spatial ecology of juvenile green sea turtles

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shaver, Donna J.; Hart, Kristen M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Rubio, Cynthia; Sartain-Iverson, Autumn R.; Lutterschmidt, William I.

2013-01-01

Locations of important foraging areas are not well defined for many marine species. Unraveling these mysteries is vital to develop conservation strategies for these species, many of which are threatened or endangered. Satellite-tracking is a tool that can reveal movement patterns at both broad and fine spatial scales, in all marine environments. This chapter presents records of the longest duration track of an individual juvenile green turtle (434 days) and highest number of tracking days in any juvenile green turtle study (5483 tracking days) published to date. In this chapter, we use spatial modeling techniques to describe movements and identify foraging areas for juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) captured in a developmental habitat in south Texas, USA. Some green turtles established residency in the vicinity of their capture and release site, but most used a specific habitat feature (i.e., a jettied pass) to travel between the Gulf of Mexico and a nearby bay. Still others moved southward within the Gulf of Mexico into Mexican coastal waters, likely in response to decreasing water temperatures. These movements to waters off the coast of Mexico highlight the importance of international cooperation in restoration efforts undertaken on behalf of this imperiled species.

Selecting a spatial resolution for estimation of per-field green leaf area index

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curran, Paul J.; Williamson, H. Dawn

1988-01-01

For any application of multispectral scanner (MSS) data, a user is faced with a number of choices concerning the characteristics of the data; one of these is their spatial resolution. A pilot study was undertaken to determine the spatial resolution that would be optimal for the per-field estimation of green leaf area index (GLAI) in grassland. By reference to empirically-derived data from three areas of grassland, the suitable spatial resolution was hypothesized to lie in the lower portion of a 2-18 m range. To estimate per-field GLAI, airborne MSS data were collected at spatial resolutions of 2 m, 5 m and 10 m. The highest accuracies of per-field GLAI estimation were achieved using MSS data with spatial resolutions of 2 m and 5 m.

Spatial and Temporal Stress Drop Variations of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyake, H.

2013-12-01

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake sequence consists of foreshocks, mainshock, aftershocks, and repeating earthquakes. To quantify spatial and temporal stress drop variations is important for understanding M9-class megathrust earthquakes. Variability and spatial and temporal pattern of stress drop is a basic information for rupture dynamics as well as useful to source modeling. As pointed in the ground motion prediction equations by Campbell and Bozorgnia [2008, Earthquake Spectra], mainshock-aftershock pairs often provide significant decrease of stress drop. We here focus strong motion records before and after the Tohoku earthquake, and analyze source spectral ratios considering azimuth- and distance dependency [Miyake et al., 2001, GRL]. Due to the limitation of station locations on land, spatial and temporal stress drop variations are estimated by adjusting shifts from the omega-squared source spectral model. The adjustment is based on the stochastic Green's function simulations of source spectra considering azimuth- and distance dependency. We assumed the same Green's functions for event pairs for each station, both the propagation path and site amplification effects are cancelled out. Precise studies of spatial and temporal stress drop variations have been performed [e.g., Allmann and Shearer, 2007, JGR], this study targets the relations between stress drop vs. progression of slow slip prior to the Tohoku earthquake by Kato et al. [2012, Science] and plate structures. Acknowledgement: This study is partly supported by ERI Joint Research (2013-B-05). We used the JMA unified earthquake catalogue and K-NET, KiK-net, and F-net data provided by NIED.

Intraoperative spatial frequency domain diffuse optical tomography with indo-cyanine green (ICG) fluorescence contrast (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chong, Sang Hoon; Parthasarathy, Ashwin B.; Kavuri, Venkaiah C.; Moscatelli, Frank A.; Singhal, Sunil; Yodh, Arjun G.

2017-02-01

Surgical resection is the most effective treatment strategy for solid tumors, but complete removal of the tumor is critical for post-surgical recovery/long-term survival and is dependent on correct identification of the tumor margin and accurate excision of microscopic residual tumor in the surgical field. Fluorescence image guided surgery is an emerging technique that has shown promise for intraoperative location of tumors and tumor margins. Current versions of such intraoperative fluorescence imaging, however, are generally limited to 2D near-surface images, i.e., without information about tumor depth. Here we present an intraoperative fluorescence imaging system for 3D volumetric imaging of tumors; the system uses spatial frequency domain diffuse optical tomography with an analytic inversion reconstruction method. The new instrument can derive depth-sensitive 3D tumor images at depths up to 1 cm, and it employs compact epi-imaging and illumination suitable for the operating room, with quasi-real-time image reconstruction for surgical visualization. We present experimental results with FDA-approved Indocynanine Green using an extensive array of tissue phantoms and in a pilot in-vivo study.

[Scale effect of Nanjing urban green infrastructure network pattern and connectivity analysis.

PubMed

Yu, Ya Ping; Yin, Hai Wei; Kong, Fan Hua; Wang, Jing Jing; Xu, Wen Bin

2016-07-01

Based on ArcGIS, Erdas, GuidosToolbox, Conefor and other software platforms, using morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and landscape connectivity analysis methods, this paper quantitatively analysed the scale effect, edge effect and distance effect of the Nanjing urban green infrastructure network pattern in 2013 by setting different pixel sizes (P) and edge widths in MSPA analysis, and setting different dispersal distance thresholds in landscape connectivity analysis. The results showed that the type of landscape acquired based on the MSPA had a clear scale effect and edge effect, and scale effects only slightly affected landscape types, whereas edge effects were more obvious. Different dispersal distances had a great impact on the landscape connectivity, 2 km or 2.5 km dispersal distance was a critical threshold for Nanjing. When selecting the pixel size 30 m of the input data and the edge wide 30 m used in the morphological model, we could get more detailed landscape information of Nanjing UGI network. Based on MSPA and landscape connectivity, analysis of the scale effect, edge effect, and distance effect on the landscape types of the urban green infrastructure (UGI) network was helpful for selecting the appropriate size, edge width, and dispersal distance when developing these networks, and for better understanding the spatial pattern of UGI networks and the effects of scale and distance on the ecology of a UGI network. This would facilitate a more scientifically valid set of design parameters for UGI network spatiotemporal pattern analysis. The results of this study provided an important reference for Nanjing UGI networks and a basis for the analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of medium-scale UGI landscape networks in other regions.

A Phytochemical-Sensing Strategy Based on Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolic Profiling for Understanding the Functionality of the Medicinal Herb Green Tea.

PubMed

Fujimura, Yoshinori; Miura, Daisuke; Tachibana, Hirofumi

2017-09-27

Low-molecular-weight phytochemicals have health benefits and reduce the risk of diseases, but the mechanisms underlying their activities have remained elusive because of the lack of a methodology that can easily visualize the exact behavior of such small molecules. Recently, we developed an in situ label-free imaging technique, called mass spectrometry imaging, for visualizing spatially-resolved biotransformations based on simultaneous mapping of the major bioactive green tea polyphenol and its phase II metabolites. In addition, we established a mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling technique capable of evaluating the bioactivities of diverse green tea extracts, which contain multiple phytochemicals, by focusing on their compositional balances. This methodology allowed us to simultaneously evaluate the relative contributions of the multiple compounds present in a multicomponent system to its bioactivity. This review highlights small molecule-sensing techniques for visualizing the complex behaviors of herbal components and linking such information to an enhanced understanding of the functionalities of multicomponent medicinal herbs.

Assessment of Change in Green Infrastructure Components Using Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis for the Conterminous United States

EPA Science Inventory

Green infrastructure is a widely used framework for conservation planning in the United States and elsewhere. The main components of green infrastructure are hubs and corridors. Hubs are large areas of natural vegetation, and corridors are linear features that connect hubs. W...

Using LiDAR data to measure the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest in China.

PubMed

He, Cheng; Convertino, Matteo; Feng, Zhongke; Zhang, Siyu

2013-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to find a new approach to measure 3D green biomass of urban forest and to testify its precision. In this study, the 3D green biomass could be acquired on basis of a remote sensing inversion model in which each standing wood was first scanned by Terrestrial Laser Scanner to catch its point cloud data, then the point cloud picture was opened in a digital mapping data acquisition system to get the elevation in an independent coordinate, and at last the individual volume captured was associated with the remote sensing image in SPOT5(System Probatoired'Observation dela Tarre)by means of such tools as SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions), GIS (Geographic Information System), RS (Remote Sensing) and spatial analysis software (FARO SCENE and Geomagic studio11). The results showed that the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest was 399.1295 million m(3), of which coniferous was 28.7871 million m(3) and broad-leaf was 370.3424 million m(3). The accuracy of 3D green biomass was over 85%, comparison with the values from 235 field sample data in a typical sampling way. This suggested that the precision done by the 3D forest green biomass based on the image in SPOT5 could meet requirements. This represents an improvement over the conventional method because it not only provides a basis to evalue indices of Beijing urban greenings, but also introduces a new technique to assess 3D green biomass in other cities.

Using LiDAR Data to Measure the 3D Green Biomass of Beijing Urban Forest in China

PubMed Central

He, Cheng; Convertino, Matteo; Feng, Zhongke; Zhang, Siyu

2013-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to find a new approach to measure 3D green biomass of urban forest and to testify its precision. In this study, the 3D green biomass could be acquired on basis of a remote sensing inversion model in which each standing wood was first scanned by Terrestrial Laser Scanner to catch its point cloud data, then the point cloud picture was opened in a digital mapping data acquisition system to get the elevation in an independent coordinate, and at last the individual volume captured was associated with the remote sensing image in SPOT5(System Probatoired'Observation dela Tarre)by means of such tools as SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions), GIS (Geographic Information System), RS (Remote Sensing) and spatial analysis software (FARO SCENE and Geomagic studio11). The results showed that the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest was 399.1295 million m3, of which coniferous was 28.7871 million m3 and broad-leaf was 370.3424 million m3. The accuracy of 3D green biomass was over 85%, comparison with the values from 235 field sample data in a typical sampling way. This suggested that the precision done by the 3D forest green biomass based on the image in SPOT5 could meet requirements. This represents an improvement over the conventional method because it not only provides a basis to evalue indices of Beijing urban greenings, but also introduces a new technique to assess 3D green biomass in other cities. PMID:24146792

Least squares restoration of multi-channel images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Roland T.; Galatsanos, Nikolas P.

1989-01-01

In this paper, a least squares filter for the restoration of multichannel imagery is presented. The restoration filter is based on a linear, space-invariant imaging model and makes use of an iterative matrix inversion algorithm. The restoration utilizes both within-channel (spatial) and cross-channel information as constraints. Experiments using color images (three-channel imagery with red, green, and blue components) were performed to evaluate the filter's performance and to compare it with other monochrome and multichannel filters.

Using Geographic Information Science to Explore Associations between Air Pollution, Environmental Amenities, and Preterm Births

PubMed Central

Ogneva-Himmelberger, Yelena; Dahlberg, Tyler; Kelly, Kristen; Simas, Tiffany A. Moore

2015-01-01

The study uses geographic information science (GIS) and statistics to find out if there are statistical differences between full term and preterm births to non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic mothers in their exposure to air pollution and access to environmental amenities (green space and vendors of healthy food) in the second largest city in New England, Worcester, Massachusetts. Proximity to a Toxic Release Inventory site has a statistically significant effect on preterm birth regardless of race. The air-pollution hazard score from the Risk Screening Environmental Indicators Model is also a statistically significant factor when preterm births are categorized into three groups based on the degree of prematurity. Proximity to green space and to a healthy food vendor did not have an effect on preterm births. The study also used cluster analysis and found statistically significant spatial clusters of high preterm birth volume for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic mothers. PMID:29546120

Using Geographic Information Science to Explore Associations between Air Pollution, Environmental Amenities, and Preterm Births.

PubMed

Ogneva-Himmelberger, Yelena; Dahlberg, Tyler; Kelly, Kristen; Simas, Tiffany A Moore

2015-01-01

The study uses geographic information science (GIS) and statistics to find out if there are statistical differences between full term and preterm births to non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic mothers in their exposure to air pollution and access to environmental amenities (green space and vendors of healthy food) in the second largest city in New England, Worcester, Massachusetts. Proximity to a Toxic Release Inventory site has a statistically significant effect on preterm birth regardless of race. The air-pollution hazard score from the Risk Screening Environmental Indicators Model is also a statistically significant factor when preterm births are categorized into three groups based on the degree of prematurity. Proximity to green space and to a healthy food vendor did not have an effect on preterm births. The study also used cluster analysis and found statistically significant spatial clusters of high preterm birth volume for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic mothers.

Green sturgeon distribution in the Pacific Ocean estimated from modeled oceanographic features and migration behavior.

PubMed

Huff, David D; Lindley, Steven T; Wells, Brian K; Chai, Fei

2012-01-01

The green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), which is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to the Bering Sea, tends to be highly migratory, moving long distances among estuaries, spawning rivers, and distant coastal regions. Factors that determine the oceanic distribution of green sturgeon are unclear, but broad-scale physical conditions interacting with migration behavior may play an important role. We estimated the distribution of green sturgeon by modeling species-environment relationships using oceanographic and migration behavior covariates with maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt) of species geographic distributions. The primary concentration of green sturgeon was estimated from approximately 41-51.5° N latitude in the coastal waters of Washington, Oregon, and Vancouver Island and in the vicinity of San Francisco and Monterey Bays from 36-37° N latitude. Unsuitably cold water temperatures in the far north and energetic efficiencies associated with prevailing water currents may provide the best explanation for the range-wide marine distribution of green sturgeon. Independent trawl records, fisheries observer records, and tagging studies corroborated our findings. However, our model also delineated patchily distributed habitat south of Monterey Bay, though there are few records of green sturgeon from this region. Green sturgeon are likely influenced by countervailing pressures governing their dispersal. They are behaviorally directed to revisit natal freshwater spawning rivers and persistent overwintering grounds in coastal marine habitats, yet they are likely physiologically bounded by abiotic and biotic environmental features. Impacts of human activities on green sturgeon or their habitat in coastal waters, such as bottom-disturbing trawl fisheries, may be minimized through marine spatial planning that makes use of high-quality species distribution information.

Relations between nature-based solutions of green-blue area accessibility and socio-economic-ethnic patterns in the urban Stockholm region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldenberg, Romain; Kalantari, Zahra; Destouni, Georgia

2017-04-01

More than half of the world's population lives in cities, a proportion expected to increase to two thirds by 2050 (United Nations (UN), 2015). In this study, we investigate the spatial relationships that may exist between income and/or nationality homogeneity/heterogeneity levels of urban populations and their accessibility to local green-blue areas as possible nature-based solutions for sustainable urban design. For this investigation, we consider as a concrete case study the urban region of Stockholm, Sweden, for which we compile and use available land-cover and vegetation density data (the latter in terms of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) in order to identify and assess the spatial distributions of various green-blue area types and aspects. We further combine this data with spatial distribution data for population density, income and nationality, as well as with road-network data for assessing population travel times to nearby green-blue areas within the region. The present study results converge with those of other recent studies in showing large socio-economic-ethnic segregation in the Stockholm region. Moreover, the present data combination and analysis also show large spatial differences in and important socio-economic-ethnic correlations with accessibility to local green areas and nearby water bodies. Specifically, population income and share of Swedish nationals are well correlated in this region, with increases in both of these variables implying greater possibility to choose where to live within the region. The living choices of richer and more homogeneous (primarily Swedish) population parts are then found to be areas with greater local vegetation density (local green areas as identified by high-resolution NDVI data) and greater area extent of nearby water bodies (blue areas). For comparison, no such correlation is found between increased income or Swedish nationality homogeneity and accessibility to nearby forest areas (overall green area extent) or built facilities for recreation and sports. The found living choice correlations point at the importance of green-blue area parts as possible nature-based solutions in urban design and planning, with potential to improve wellbeing and social sustainability for the whole urban population and not just its rich component.

Exploring Potential of Crowdsourced Geographic Information in Studies of Active Travel and Health: Strava Data and Cycling Behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Y.

2017-09-01

In development of sustainable transportation and green city, policymakers encourage people to commute by cycling and walking instead of motor vehicles in cities. One the one hand, cycling and walking enables decrease in air pollution emissions. On the other hand, cycling and walking offer health benefits by increasing people's physical activity. Earlier studies on investigating spatial patterns of active travel (cycling and walking) are limited by lacks of spatially fine-grained data. In recent years, with the development of information and communications technology, GPS-enabled devices are popular and portable. With smart phones or smart watches, people are able to record their cycling or walking GPS traces when they are moving. A large number of cyclists and pedestrians upload their GPS traces to sport social media to share their historical traces with other people. Those sport social media thus become a potential source for spatially fine-grained cycling and walking data. Very recently, Strava Metro offer aggregated cycling and walking data with high spatial granularity. Strava Metro aggregated a large amount of cycling and walking GPS traces of Strava users to streets or intersections across a city. Accordingly, as a kind of crowdsourced geographic information, the aggregated data is useful for investigating spatial patterns of cycling and walking activities, and thus is of high potential in understanding cycling or walking behavior at a large spatial scale. This study is a start of demonstrating usefulness of Strava Metro data for exploring cycling or walking patterns at a large scale.

Evaluation of Green Infrastructure on Peak Flow Mitigation Focusing on the Connectivity of Impervious Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Y.; Hwang, J.; Kwon, Y.

2017-12-01

The existence of impervious areas is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of urban catchments. It decreases infiltration and increases direct runoff in urban catchments. The recent introduction of green infrastructure in urban catchments for the purpose of sustainable development contributes to the decrease of the directly connected impervious areas (DCIA) by isolating existing impervious areas and consequently, to the flood risk mitigation. This study coupled the width function-based instantaneous hydrograph (WFIUH), which is able to handle the spatial distribution of the impervious areas, with the concept of the DCIA to assess the impact of decreasing DCIA on the shape of direct runoff hydrographs. Using several scenarios for typical green infrastructure and corresponding changes of DCIA in a test catchment, this study evaluated the effect of green infrastructure on the shape of the resulting direct runoff hydrographs and peak flows. The results showed that the changes in the DCIA immediately affects the shape of the direct runoff hydrograph and decreases peak flows depending on spatial implementation scenarios. The quantitative assessment of the spatial distribution of impervious areas and also the changes to the DCIA suggests effective and well-planned green infrastructure can be introduced in urban environments for flood risk management.

Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Regional Study: Gujarat

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cochran, Jaquelin M; Palchak, Joseph D; Ehlen, Annaliese K

This chapter on Andhra Pradesh is one of six state chapters included in Appendix C of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study). The objective of the state chapters is to provide modeling assumptions, results, and next steps to use and improve the model specific to each state. The model has inherent uncertainties, particularly in how the intrastate transmission network and RE generation projects will develop (e.g., locations, capacities). The model also does not include information on contracts or must-run status of particular plantsmore » for reliability purposes. By providing details on the higher spatial resolution model of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study), which better represents the impact of congestion on least-cost scheduling and dispatch, provides a deeper understanding of the relationship among renewable energy (RE) location, transmission, and system flexibility with regard to RE integration, compared to 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. I - National Study.'« less

Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Regional Study: Tamil Nadu

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cochran, Jaquelin M; Palchak, Joseph D; Ehlen, Annaliese K

This chapter on Tamil Nadu is one of six state chapters included in Appendix C of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study). The objective of the state chapters is to provide modeling assumptions, results, and next steps to use and improve the model specific to each state. The model has inherent uncertainties, particularly in how the intrastate transmission network and RE generation projects will develop (e.g., locations, capacities). The model also does not include information on contracts or must-run status of particular plantsmore » for reliability purposes. By providing details on the higher spatial resolution model of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study), which better represents the impact of congestion on least-cost scheduling and dispatch, provides a deeper understanding of the relationship among renewable energy (RE) location, transmission, and system flexibility with regard to RE integration, compared to 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. I - National Study.'« less

Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Regional Study: Rajasthan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cochran, Jaquelin M; Palchak, Joseph D; Ehlen, Annaliese K

This chapter on Andhra Pradesh is one of six state chapters included in Appendix C of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study). The objective of the state chapters is to provide modeling assumptions, results, and next steps to use and improve the model specific to each state. The model has inherent uncertainties, particularly in how the intrastate transmission network and RE generation projects will develop (e.g., locations, capacities). The model also does not include information on contracts or must-run status of particular plantsmore » for reliability purposes. By providing details on the higher spatial resolution model of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study), which better represents the impact of congestion on least-cost scheduling and dispatch, provides a deeper understanding of the relationship among renewable energy (RE) location, transmission, and system flexibility with regard to RE integration, compared to 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. I - National Study.'« less

Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Regional Study: Andhra Pradesh

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cochran, Jaquelin M; Palchak, Joseph D; Ehlen, Annaliese K

This chapter on Andhra Pradesh is one of six state chapters included in Appendix C of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study). The objective of the state chapters is to provide modeling assumptions, results, and next steps to use and improve the model specific to each state. The model has inherent uncertainties, particularly in how the intrastate transmission network and RE generation projects will develop (e.g., locations, capacities). The model also does not include information on contracts or must-run status of particular plantsmore » for reliability purposes. By providing details on the higher spatial resolution model of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study), which better represents the impact of congestion on least-cost scheduling and dispatch, provides a deeper understanding of the relationship among renewable energy (RE) location, transmission, and system flexibility with regard to RE integration, compared to 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. I - National Study.'« less

Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Regional Study: Karnataka

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cochran, Jaquelin M; Palchak, Joseph D; Ehlen, Annaliese K

This chapter on Andhra Pradesh is one of six state chapters included in Appendix C of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study). The objective of the state chapters is to provide modeling assumptions, results, and next steps to use and improve the model specific to each state. The model has inherent uncertainties, particularly in how the intrastate transmission network and RE generation projects will develop (e.g., locations, capacities). The model also does not include information on contracts or must-run status of particular plantsmore » for reliability purposes. By providing details on the higher spatial resolution model of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study), which better represents the impact of congestion on least-cost scheduling and dispatch, provides a deeper understanding of the relationship among renewable energy (RE) location, transmission, and system flexibility with regard to RE integration, compared to 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. I - National Study.'« less

Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Regional Study: Maharashtra

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cochran, Jaquelin M; Palchak, Joseph D; Ehlen, Annaliese K

This chapter on Andhra Pradesh is one of six state chapters included in Appendix C of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study). The objective of the state chapters is to provide modeling assumptions, results, and next steps to use and improve the model specific to each state. The model has inherent uncertainties, particularly in how the intrastate transmission network and RE generation projects will develop (e.g., locations, capacities). The model also does not include information on contracts or must-run status of particular plantsmore » for reliability purposes. By providing details on the higher spatial resolution model of 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. II - Regional Study' (the Regional Study), which better represents the impact of congestion on least-cost scheduling and dispatch, provides a deeper understanding of the relationship among renewable energy (RE) location, transmission, and system flexibility with regard to RE integration, compared to 'Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India's Electric Grid, Vol. I - National Study.'« less

Establishing green roof infrastructure through environmental policy instruments.

PubMed

Carter, Timothy; Fowler, Laurie

2008-07-01

Traditional construction practices provide little opportunity for environmental remediation to occur in urban areas. As concerns for environmental improvement in urban areas become more prevalent, innovative practices which create ecosystem services and ecologically functional land cover in cities will be in higher demand. Green roofs are a prime example of one of these practices. The past decade has seen the North American green roof industry rapidly expand through international green roof conferences, demonstration sites, case studies, and scientific research. This study evaluates existing international and North American green roof policies at the federal, municipal, and community levels. Green roof policies fall into a number of general categories, including direct and indirect regulation, direct and indirect financial incentives, and funding of demonstration or research projects. Advantages and disadvantages of each category are discussed. Salient features and a list of prompting standards common to successfully implemented green roof strategies are then distilled from these existing policies. By combining these features with data collected from an experimental green roof site in Athens, Georgia, the planning and regulatory framework for widespread green roof infrastructure can be developed. The authors propose policy instruments be multi-faceted and spatially focused, and also propose the following recommendations: (1) Identification of green roof overlay zones with specifications for green roofs built in these zones. This spatial analysis is important for prioritizing areas of the jurisdiction where green roofs will most efficiently function; (2) Offer financial incentives in the form of density credits and stormwater utility fee credits to help overcome the barriers to entry of the new technology; (3) Construct demonstration projects and institutionalize a commitment greening roofs on publicly-owned buildings as an effective way of establishing an educated roofing industry and experienced installers for future green roof construction.

Establishing Green Roof Infrastructure Through Environmental Policy Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Timothy; Fowler, Laurie

2008-07-01

Traditional construction practices provide little opportunity for environmental remediation to occur in urban areas. As concerns for environmental improvement in urban areas become more prevalent, innovative practices which create ecosystem services and ecologically functional land cover in cities will be in higher demand. Green roofs are a prime example of one of these practices. The past decade has seen the North American green roof industry rapidly expand through international green roof conferences, demonstration sites, case studies, and scientific research. This study evaluates existing international and North American green roof policies at the federal, municipal, and community levels. Green roof policies fall into a number of general categories, including direct and indirect regulation, direct and indirect financial incentives, and funding of demonstration or research projects. Advantages and disadvantages of each category are discussed. Salient features and a list of prompting standards common to successfully implemented green roof strategies are then distilled from these existing policies. By combining these features with data collected from an experimental green roof site in Athens, Georgia, the planning and regulatory framework for widespread green roof infrastructure can be developed. The authors propose policy instruments be multi-faceted and spatially focused, and also propose the following recommendations: (1) Identification of green roof overlay zones with specifications for green roofs built in these zones. This spatial analysis is important for prioritizing areas of the jurisdiction where green roofs will most efficiently function; (2) Offer financial incentives in the form of density credits and stormwater utility fee credits to help overcome the barriers to entry of the new technology; (3) Construct demonstration projects and institutionalize a commitment greening roofs on publicly-owned buildings as an effective way of establishing an educated roofing industry and experienced installers for future green roof construction.

Spatially controlled immobilisation of biomolecules: A complete approach in green chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grinenval, Eva; Nonglaton, Guillaume; Vinet, Françoise

2014-01-01

The development of 'green' sensors is a challenging task in the field of biomolecule sensing, for example in the detection of cardiac troponin-I (cTnI). In the present work a complete approach in green chemistry was developed to create chemically active patterns for the immobilisation of biological probes. This key technology is discussed on the basis of the twelve green chemistry principles, and is a combination of surface patterning by spotting and surface chemistries modified by molecular vapour deposition. The (1H,1H,2H,2H)-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) was used as a novel anti-adsorption layer while the 3,4-epoxybutyltrimethoxysilane (EBTMOS) was used to immobilise probes. Oligonucleotides and the anti-cTnI antibody were studied. The spatially controlled immobilisation of probes was characterised by fluorescence. The demonstrated surface modification has broad applications in areas such as diagnostics and bio-chemical sensing. Moreover, the environmental impacts of surface patterning and surface chemistry were discussed from a 'greenness' point of view.

Implementation of green infrastructure concept in Citarum Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maryati, Sri; Humaira, An Nisaa'Siti

2017-03-01

Green infrastructure has several benefits compared to grey infrastructure in term of environmental services and sustainability, such as reducing energy consumption, improving air quality, providing carbon sequestration, and increasing property values. Nevertheless in practice, the implementation of the concept in Indonesia is still limited. Implementation of the certain concept has to be guided in planning document. In this paper, green infrastructure concept in the current spatial plan and other planning documents is assessed. The purpose of this research is to figure out how far the green infrastructure concept is integrated into planning system, based on the analysis of planning documents in Citarum Watershed and expert interviews with local stakeholders. Content analysis method is used to analyze the documents and result of interview. The result shows that green infrastructure concept has not been accommodated in spatial plan or other planning documents widely. There are some challenges in implementing the concept including reward and punishment system (incentive and disincentive), coordination, and lack of human resources.

Identifying built environmental patterns using cluster analysis and GIS: relationships with walking, cycling and body mass index in French adults.

PubMed

Charreire, Hélène; Weber, Christiane; Chaix, Basile; Salze, Paul; Casey, Romain; Banos, Arnaud; Badariotti, Dominique; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle; Hercberg, Serge; Simon, Chantal; Oppert, Jean-Michel

2012-05-23

Socio-ecological models suggest that both individual and neighborhood characteristics contribute to facilitating health-enhancing behaviors such as physical activity. Few European studies have explored relationships between local built environmental characteristics, recreational walking and cycling and weight status in adults. The aim of this study was to identify built environmental patterns in a French urban context and to assess associations with recreational walking and cycling behaviors as performed by middle-aged adult residents. We used a two-step procedure based on cluster analysis to identify built environmental patterns in the region surrounding Paris, France, using measures derived from Geographic Information Systems databases on green spaces, proximity facilities (destinations) and cycle paths. Individual data were obtained from participants in the SU.VI.MAX cohort; 1,309 participants residing in the Ile-de-France in 2007 were included in this analysis. Associations between built environment patterns, leisure walking/cycling data (h/week) and measured weight status were assessed using multinomial logistic regression with adjustment for individual and neighborhood characteristics. Based on accessibility to green spaces, proximity facilities and availability of cycle paths, seven built environmental patterns were identified. The geographic distribution of built environmental patterns in the Ile-de-France showed that a pattern characterized by poor spatial accessibility to green spaces and proximity facilities and an absence of cycle paths was found only in neighborhoods in the outer suburbs, whereas patterns characterized by better spatial accessibility to green spaces, proximity facilities and cycle paths were more evenly distributed across the region. Compared to the reference pattern (poor accessibility to green areas and facilities, absence of cycle paths), subjects residing in neighborhoods characterized by high accessibility to green areas and local facilities and by a high density of cycle paths were more likely to walk/cycle, after adjustment for individual and neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics (OR = 2.5 95%CI 1.4-4.6). Body mass index did not differ across patterns. Built environmental patterns were associated with walking and cycling among French adults. These analyses may be useful in determining urban and public health policies aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Rapid calculation of acoustic fields from arbitrary continuous-wave sources.

PubMed

Treeby, Bradley E; Budisky, Jakub; Wise, Elliott S; Jaros, Jiri; Cox, B T

2018-01-01

A Green's function solution is derived for calculating the acoustic field generated by phased array transducers of arbitrary shape when driven by a single frequency continuous wave excitation with spatially varying amplitude and phase. The solution is based on the Green's function for the homogeneous wave equation expressed in the spatial frequency domain or k-space. The temporal convolution integral is solved analytically, and the remaining integrals are expressed in the form of the spatial Fourier transform. This allows the acoustic pressure for all spatial positions to be calculated in a single step using two fast Fourier transforms. The model is demonstrated through several numerical examples, including single element rectangular and spherically focused bowl transducers, and multi-element linear and hemispherical arrays.

Attention, spatial integration, and the tail of response time distributions in Stroop task performance.

PubMed

Roelofs, Ardi

2012-01-01

A few studies have examined selective attention in Stroop task performance through ex-Gaussian analyses of response time (RT) distributions. It has remained unclear whether the tail of the RT distribution in vocal responding reflects spatial integration of relevant and irrelevant attributes, as suggested by Spieler, Balota, and Faust (2000). Here, two colour-word Stroop experiments with vocal responding are reported in which the spatial relation between colour and word was manipulated. Participants named colours (e.g., green; say "green") while trying to ignore distractors that were incongruent or congruent words (e.g., red or green), or neutral series of Xs. The vocal RT was measured. Colour words in colour, white words superimposed onto colour rectangles (Experiment 1), and colour rectangles combined with auditory words (Experiment 2) yielded Stroop effects in both the leading edge and the tail of the RT distributions. These results indicate that spatial integration is not necessary for effects in the tail to occur in vocal responding. It is argued that the findings are compatible with an association of the tail effects with task conflict.

77 FR 45571 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Delist the Green Turtle in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-01

... relation to the remainder of the species; and, if discrete, the significance of the population segment to... support their assertion that the Hawaiian population of green turtles is discrete from other green turtle populations, they posit that the Hawaiian population is discrete due to genetic distinction, spatial...

Universal scaling of the distribution of land in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riascos, A. P.

2017-09-01

In this work, we explore the spatial structure of built zones and green areas in diverse western cities by analyzing the probability distribution of areas and a coefficient that characterize their respective shapes. From the analysis of diverse datasets describing land lots in urban areas, we found that the distribution of built-up areas and natural zones in cities obey inverse power laws with a similar scaling for the cities explored. On the other hand, by studying the distribution of shapes of lots in urban regions, we are able to detect global differences in the spatial structure of the distribution of land. Our findings introduce information about spatial patterns that emerge in the structure of urban settlements; this knowledge is useful for the understanding of urban growth, to improve existing models of cities, in the context of sustainability, in studies about human mobility in urban areas, among other applications.

Methyl green and nitrotetrazolium blue chloride co-expression in colon tissue: A hyperspectral microscopic imaging analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qingli; Liu, Hongying; Wang, Yiting; Sun, Zhen; Guo, Fangmin; Zhu, Jianzhong

2014-12-01

Histological observation of dual-stained colon sections is usually performed by visual observation under a light microscope, or by viewing on a computer screen with the assistance of image processing software in both research and clinical settings. These traditional methods are usually not sufficient to reliably differentiate spatially overlapping chromogens generated by different dyes. Hyperspectral microscopic imaging technology offers a solution for these constraints as the hyperspectral microscopic images contain information that allows differentiation between spatially co-located chromogens with similar but different spectra. In this paper, a hyperspectral microscopic imaging (HMI) system is used to identify methyl green and nitrotetrazolium blue chloride in dual-stained colon sections. Hyperspectral microscopic images are captured and the normalized score algorithm is proposed to identify the stains and generate the co-expression results. Experimental results show that the proposed normalized score algorithm can generate more accurate co-localization results than the spectral angle mapper algorithm. The hyperspectral microscopic imaging technology can enhance the visualization of dual-stained colon sections, improve the contrast and legibility of each stain using their spectral signatures, which is helpful for pathologist performing histological analyses.

Mapping of HABs Contaminated In Green Shells (Perna viridis) in Semarang Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

A'in, Churun; Suryanti, Suryanti; Haeruddin, Haeruddin

2018-02-01

The existence of Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) can adversely affect the water like a mass death of fish and oxygen depletion. Some types of HABs can be contaminated with seafood and contain biotoxins that are detrimental to the health of humans who consume them. Green mussels (Perna viridis) has the properties of filter feeders so vulnerable to contamination HABs. This research was conducted to produce spatially thematic maps contaminated HABs in P. viridis so providing information about risk prediction P. viridis when consumed by humans. Sampling was done purposively in three (3) stations that represent the Bay Semarang namely western boundary waters (Kendal), middle (Semarang) and the eastern boundary (Demak). Sampling done two (2) times, namely East season (June -July) and the second transitional season (September) 2016. Analysis of HABs done either in water or body tissues of P. viridis through the analysis of food habit. The results shows that P. viridis genus positive contaminated HABs phytoplankton Tricodesmium and Ceratium. Spatial distribution and abundance of Tricodesmium genus Fitoplankton is wider and taller than the HABs Phytoplankton genus Ceratium. Group HABs are found in the tissues of P. viridis no potential as biotoxin that does not cause adverse health risks.

Monitoring Forest and Rangeland Change in the United States Using Landsat Time Series Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogelmann, J.; Tolk, B.; Xian, G. Z.; Homer, C.

2011-12-01

The LANDFIRE project produces spatial data layers for fire management applications. As part of the project, 2000 vintage Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus data sets were used to generate detailed vegetation type data sets for the entire United States. We are currently using several approaches to update this information, including incorporation of (1) Landsat-derived historic fire burn information, (2) forest harvest information from Landsat time series data using the Vegetation Change Tracker, and (3) data sets that capture subtle and gradual intra-state disturbances, such as those related to insects and disease as well as succession. The primary focus of this presentation will be on of the detection and characterization of gradual change occurring in forest and rangeland ecosystems, and how to incorporate this information in the LANDFIRE updating process. Landsat data acquired over the previous 25+ years are being used to assess status and trends of forest and rangeland condition. Current study areas are located in the southwestern US, western Nebraska, western Wyoming, western South Dakota, northeastern US and the central Appalachian Mountains. Trends of changing vegetation index values derived from Landsat time series data stacks are the foundation for the gradual change information being developed. Thus far we have found evidence of gradual systematic change in all areas that we have examined. Many of the conifer forests in the southwestern US are showing declining conditions related to insects and drought, and very few of the examined areas are showing evidence of increased canopy cover or greenness. While sagebrush communities are showing decreases in greenness related to fire, mining, and drought, few of these communities are showing evidence of increased greenness or "improving" conditions. However, there is evidence that some forest communities are expanding and that canopy cover density is increasing at some locations. In Nebraska, increases in canopy cover appear to be mostly related to expansion of eastern red cedar. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, observed increases in forest canopy appear to be related to understory balsam fir expansion, most likely related to release of forest suppression resulting from the thinning of the upper forest canopy. Continued analyses of time series data using multi-spatial scenes and covering multiple years are required in order to develop accurate impressions and representations of the changing ecosystem patterns and trends that are occurring. The approach demonstrates that Landsat time series data can be used operationally for assessing gradual ecosystem change across large areas. This information complements the information derived from other time-series change detection used for LANDFIRE.

Mapping Fuel Loads and Dynamics in Rangelands Using Multi-Sensor Data in the Great Basin, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z.; Shi, H.; Vogelmann, J. E.; Hawbaker, T. J.; Reeves, M. C.

2016-12-01

Fuel conditions in rangelands are influenced by disturbances such as wildfires, and is also strongly controlled by weather and climate. These factors impact the availability of fuel loads, which is the key component to stimulate burned area and severity. In this paper, we developed an approach for mapping live fuel loads (biomass density) and their dynamics using field collection, Landsat 8, and MODIS data sets at a spatial resolution of 30 m from the growing season. Using the Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM) modelling process, we generated monthly shrub and grassland greenness levels for 2015. The spatial resolution of Landsat and the temporal resolution of MODIS complimented each other to allow us to produce monthly products. Understanding the dynamics of these greenness patterns helps the fire management community to recognize areas that have high likelihood of burning in the future, thus enabling them to anticipate and plan accordingly. We obtained field biomass information from selected shrub and grass sites located throughout the Great Basin. This information was used to calibrate fire models and generate remotely-sensed data sets. We then used Landsat 8 NDVI dates representing the phenological profile, regression tree models, and product validation. The calculated fuel loads were further examined and validated using high resolution images (World View 2/3), field measurements, and Google Earth. Once we have the requisite image data converted to biomass, we anticipate fire conditions and behavior using various models developed by the fire community. One key element is to use information from this study to improve and inform the Rangeland Vegetation Simulator. Finally, we analyzed the correlations of fire occurrence (frequency) and burn severity with live fuel loads and climate conditions. Our results show modeled fuel loads and their dynamics in rangelands capture the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of non-forest live fuel types and the variations in both wildfire disturbances and climate/weather conditions. This suggests the developed approach to map fuel loads is robust and can improve the existing LANDFIRE fuel data in rangelands. It can also be used to monitor the changes in fuel conditions in response to management activities and climate change.

Simulation of blue and green water resources in the Wei River basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Z.; Zuo, D.

2014-09-01

The Wei River is the largest tributary of the Yellow River in China and it is suffering from water scarcity and water pollution. In order to quantify the amount of water resources in the study area, a hydrological modelling approach was applied by using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool), calibrated and validated with SUFI-2 (Sequential Uncertainty Fitting program) based on river discharge in the Wei River basin (WRB). Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were also performed to improve the model performance. Water resources components of blue water flow, green water flow and green water storage were estimated at the HRU (Hydrological Response Unit) scales. Water resources in HRUs were also aggregated to sub-basins, river catchments, and then city/region scales for further analysis. The results showed that most parts of the WRB experienced a decrease in blue water resources between the 1960s and 2000s, with a minimum value in the 1990s. The decrease is particularly significant in the most southern part of the WRB (Guanzhong Plain), one of the most important grain production basements in China. Variations of green water flow and green water storage were relatively small on the spatial and temporal dimensions. This study provides strategic information for optimal utilization of water resources and planning of cultivating seasons in the Wei River basin.

Dependence of chromatic responses in V1 on visual field eccentricity and spatial frequency: an fMRI study.

PubMed

D'Souza, Dany V; Auer, Tibor; Frahm, Jens; Strasburger, Hans; Lee, Barry B

2016-03-01

Psychophysical sensitivity to red-green chromatic modulation decreases with visual eccentricity, compared to sensitivity to luminance modulation, even after appropriate stimulus scaling. This is likely to occur at a central, rather than a retinal, site. Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to stimuli designed to separately stimulate different afferent channels' [red-green, luminance, and short-wavelength (S)-cone] circular gratings were recorded as a function of visual eccentricity (±10  deg) and spatial frequency (SF) in human primary visual cortex (V1) and further visual areas (V2v, V3v). In V1, the SF tuning of BOLD fMRI responses became coarser with eccentricity. For red-green and luminance gratings, similar SF tuning curves were found at all eccentricities. The pattern for S-cone modulation differed, with SF tuning changing more slowly with eccentricity than for the other two modalities. This may be due to the different retinal distribution with eccentricity of this receptor type. A similar pattern held in V2v and V3v. This would suggest that transformation or spatial filtering of the chromatic (red-green) signal occurs beyond these areas.

Toward an operational tool to simulate green roof hydrological impact at the basin scale: a new version of the distributed rainfall-runoff model Multi-Hydro.

PubMed

Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Gires, Auguste; Tchinguirinskaia, Ioulia; Schertzer, Daniel

2016-10-01

Currently widespread in new urban projects, green roofs have shown a positive impact on urban runoff at the building scale: decrease and slow-down of the peak discharge, and decrease of runoff volume. The present work aims to study their possible impact at the catchment scale, more compatible with stormwater management issues. For this purpose, a specific module dedicated to simulating the hydrological behaviour of a green roof has been developed in the distributed rainfall-runoff model (Multi-Hydro). It has been applied on a French urban catchment where most of the building roofs are flat and assumed to accept the implementation of a green roof. Catchment responses to several rainfall events covering a wide range of meteorological situations have been simulated. The simulation results show green roofs can significantly reduce runoff volume and the magnitude of peak discharge (up to 80%) depending on the rainfall event and initial saturation of the substrate. Additional tests have been made to assess the susceptibility of this response regarding both spatial distributions of green roofs and precipitation. It appears that the total area of greened roofs is more important than their locations. On the other hand, peak discharge reduction seems to be clearly dependent on spatial distribution of precipitation.

Effects of landscape composition and pattern on land surface temperature: An urban heat island study in the megacities of Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Estoque, Ronald C; Murayama, Yuji; Myint, Soe W

2017-01-15

Due to its adverse impacts on urban ecological environment and the overall livability of cities, the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has become a major research focus in various interrelated fields, including urban climatology, urban ecology, urban planning, and urban geography. This study sought to examine the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and the abundance and spatial pattern of impervious surface and green space in the metropolitan areas of Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Manila (Philippines). Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS data and various geospatial approaches, including urban-rural gradient, multiresolution grid-based, and spatial metrics-based techniques, were used to facilitate the analysis. We found a significant strong correlation between mean LST and the density of impervious surface (positive) and green space (negative) along the urban-rural gradients of the three cities, depicting a typical UHI profile. The correlation of impervious surface density with mean LST tends to increase in larger grids, whereas the correlation of green space density with mean LST tends to increase in smaller grids, indicating a stronger influence of impervious surface and green space on the variability of LST in larger and smaller areas, respectively. The size, shape complexity, and aggregation of the patches of impervious surface and green space also had significant relationships with mean LST, though aggregation had the most consistent strong correlation. On average, the mean LST of impervious surface is about 3°C higher than that of green space, highlighting the important role of green spaces in mitigating UHI effects, an important urban ecosystem service. We recommend that the density and spatial pattern of urban impervious surfaces and green spaces be considered in landscape and urban planning so that urban areas and cities can have healthier and more comfortable living urban environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Habitat connectivity shapes urban arthropod communities: the key role of green roofs.

PubMed

Braaker, S; Ghazoul, J; Obrist, M K; Moretti, M

2014-04-01

The installation of green roofs, defined here as rooftops with a shallow soil cover and extensive vegetation, has been proposed as a possible measure to mitigate the loss of green space caused by the steady growth of cities. However, the effectiveness of green roofs in supporting arthropod communities, and the extent to which they facilitate connectivity of these communities within the urban environment is currently largely unknown. We investigated the variation of species community composition (beta diversity) of four arthropod groups with contrasting mobility (Carabidae, Araneae, Curculionidae, and Apidae) on 40 green roofs and 40 extensively managed green sites on the ground in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. With redundancy analysis and variation partitioning, we (1) disentangled the relative importance of local environmental conditions, the surrounding land cover composition, and habitat connectivity on species community composition, (2) searched for specific spatial scales of habitat connectivity for the different arthropod groups, and (3) discussed the ecological and functional value of green roofs in cities. Our study revealed that on green roofs community composition of high-mobility arthropod groups (bees and weevils) were mainly shaped by habitat connectivity, while low-mobility arthropod groups (carabids and spiders) were more influenced by local environmental conditions. A similar but less pronounced pattern was found for ground communities. The high importance of habitat connectivity in shaping high-mobility species community composition indicates that these green roof communities are substantially connected by the frequent exchange of individuals among surrounding green roofs. On the other hand, low-mobility species communities on green roofs are more likely connected to ground sites than to other green roofs. The integration of green roofs in urban spatial planning strategies has great potential to enable higher connectivity among green spaces, so that eventually even communities of low-mobility species become connected. Furthermore, improving the design of green roofs (composition and configuration of vegetation and soil types) could enhance the ecological value, particularly for low-mobility species.

Characteristics of vegetation phenology over the Alaskan landscape using AVHRR time-series data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.; Fleming, Michael D.; Binnian, Emily F.

1995-01-01

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite data were acquired and composited into twice-a-month periods from 1 May 1991 to 15 October 1991 in order to map vegetation characteristics of the Alaskan landscape. Unique spatial and temporal qualities of the AVHRR data provide information that leads to a better understanding of regional biophysical characteristics of vegetation communities and patterns. These data provided synoptic views of the landscape and depicted phenological diversity, temporal vegetation phenology (green-up, peak of green, and senescence), photosynthetic activity, and regional landscape patterns. Products generated from the data included a phenological class map, phenological composite maps (onset, peak, and duration), and photosynthetic activity maps (mean and maximum greenness). The time-series data provide opportunities to study phenological processes at small landscape scales over time periods of weeks, months, and years. Regional patterns identified on some of the maps are unique to specific areas; others correspond to biophysical or ecoregional boundaries. The data provide new insights to landscape processes, ecology, and landscape physiognomy that allow scientists to look at landscapes in ways that were previously difficult to achieve.

Large Subduction Earthquake Simulations using Finite Source Modeling and the Offshore-Onshore Ambient Seismic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viens, L.; Miyake, H.; Koketsu, K.

2016-12-01

Large subduction earthquakes have the potential to generate strong long-period ground motions. The ambient seismic field, also called seismic noise, contains information about the elastic response of the Earth between two seismic stations that can be retrieved using seismic interferometry. The DONET1 network, which is composed of 20 offshore stations, has been deployed atop the Nankai subduction zone, Japan, to continuously monitor the seismotectonic activity in this highly seismically active region. The surrounding onshore area is covered by hundreds of seismic stations, which are operated the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), with a spacing of 15-20 km. We retrieve offshore-onshore Green's functions from the ambient seismic field using the deconvolution technique and use them to simulate the long-period ground motions of moderate subduction earthquakes that occurred at shallow depth. We extend the point source method, which is appropriate for moderate events, to finite source modeling to simulate the long-period ground motions of large Mw 7 class earthquake scenarios. The source models are constructed using scaling relations between moderate and large earthquakes to discretize the fault plane of the large hypothetical events into subfaults. Offshore-onshore Green's functions are spatially interpolated over the fault plane to obtain one Green's function for each subfault. The interpolated Green's functions are finally summed up considering different rupture velocities. Results show that this technique can provide additional information about earthquake ground motions that can be used with the existing physics-based simulations to improve seismic hazard assessment.

Spectral and spatial selectivity of luminance vision in reef fish.

PubMed

Siebeck, Ulrike E; Wallis, Guy Michael; Litherland, Lenore; Ganeshina, Olga; Vorobyev, Misha

2014-01-01

Luminance vision has high spatial resolution and is used for form vision and texture discrimination. In humans, birds and bees luminance channel is spectrally selective-it depends on the signals of the long-wavelength sensitive photoreceptors (bees) or on the sum of long- and middle-wavelength sensitive cones (humans), but not on the signal of the short-wavelength sensitive (blue) photoreceptors. The reasons of such selectivity are not fully understood. The aim of this study is to reveal the inputs of cone signals to high resolution luminance vision in reef fish. Sixteen freshly caught damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis, were trained to discriminate stimuli differing either in their color or in their fine patterns (stripes vs. cheques). Three colors ("bright green", "dark green" and "blue") were used to create two sets of color and two sets of pattern stimuli. The "bright green" and "dark green" were similar in their chromatic properties for fish, but differed in their lightness; the "dark green" differed from "blue" in the signal for the blue cone, but yielded similar signals in the long-wavelength and middle-wavelength cones. Fish easily learned to discriminate "bright green" from "dark green" and "dark green" from "blue" stimuli. Fish also could discriminate the fine patterns created from "dark green" and "bright green". However, fish failed to discriminate fine patterns created from "blue" and "dark green" colors, i.e., the colors that provided contrast for the blue-sensitive photoreceptor, but not for the long-wavelength sensitive one. High resolution luminance vision in damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis, does not have input from the blue-sensitive cone, which may indicate that the spectral selectivity of luminance channel is a general feature of visual processing in both aquatic and terrestrial animals.

Modeling Rainfall-Runoff Dynamics in Tropical, Urban Socio-Hydrological Systems: Green Infrastructure and Variable Precipitation Interception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nytch, C. J.; Meléndez-Ackerman, E. J.

2014-12-01

There is a pressing need to generate spatially-explicit models of rainfall-runoff dynamics in the urban humid tropics that can characterize flow pathways and flood magnitudes in response to erratic precipitation events. To effectively simulate stormwater runoff processes at multiple scales, complex spatio-temporal parameters such as rainfall, evapotranspiration, and antecedent soil moisture conditions must be accurately represented, in addition to uniquely urban factors including stormwater conveyance structures and connectivity between green and gray infrastructure elements. In heavily urbanized San Juan, Puerto Rico, stream flashiness and frequent flooding are major issues, yet still lacking is a hydrological analysis that models the generation and movement of fluvial and pluvial stormwater through the watershed. Our research employs a novel and multifaceted approach to dealing with this problem that integrates 1) field-based rainfall interception and infiltration methodologies to quantify the hydrologic functions of natural and built infrastructure in San Juan; 2) remote sensing analysis to produce a fine-scale typology of green and gray cover types in the city and determine patterns of spatial distribution and connectivity; 3) assessment of precipitation and streamflow variability at local and basin-wide scales using satellite and radar precipitation estimates in concert with rainfall and stream gauge point data and participatory flood mapping; 4) simulation of historical, present-day, and future stormwater runoff scenarios with a fully distributed hydrologic model that couples diverse components of urban socio-hydrological systems from formal and informal knowledge sources; and 5) bias and uncertainty analysis of parameters and model structure within a Bayesian hierarchical framework. Preliminary results from the rainfall interception study suggest that canopy structure and leaf area index of different tree species contribute to variable throughfall and stemflow responses. Additional investigations are pending. The findings from this work will help inform urban planning and design, and build adaptive capacity to reduce flood vulnerability in the context of a changing climate.

Yield variability prediction by remote sensing sensors with different spatial resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumhálová, Jitka; Matějková, Štěpánka

2017-04-01

Currently, remote sensing sensors are very popular for crop monitoring and yield prediction. This paper describes how satellite images with moderate (Landsat satellite data) and very high (QuickBird and WorldView-2 satellite data) spatial resolution, together with GreenSeeker hand held crop sensor, can be used to estimate yield and crop growth variability. Winter barley (2007 and 2015) and winter wheat (2009 and 2011) were chosen because of cloud-free data availability in the same time period for experimental field from Landsat satellite images and QuickBird or WorldView-2 images. Very high spatial resolution images were resampled to worse spatial resolution. Normalised difference vegetation index was derived from each satellite image data sets and it was also measured with GreenSeeker handheld crop sensor for the year 2015 only. Results showed that each satellite image data set can be used for yield and plant variability estimation. Nevertheless, better results, in comparison with crop yield, were obtained for images acquired in later phenological phases, e.g. in 2007 - BBCH 59 - average correlation coefficient 0.856, and in 2011 - BBCH 59-0.784. GreenSeeker handheld crop sensor was not suitable for yield estimation due to different measuring method.

Imprinting modulates processing of visual information in the visual wulst of chicks.

PubMed

Maekawa, Fumihiko; Komine, Okiru; Sato, Katsushige; Kanamatsu, Tomoyuki; Uchimura, Motoaki; Tanaka, Kohichi; Ohki-Hamazaki, Hiroko

2006-11-14

Imprinting behavior is one form of learning and memory in precocial birds. With the aim of elucidating of the neural basis for visual imprinting, we focused on visual information processing. A lesion in the visual wulst, which is similar functionally to the mammalian visual cortex, caused anterograde amnesia in visual imprinting behavior. Since the color of an object was one of the important cues for imprinting, we investigated color information processing in the visual wulst. Intrinsic optical signals from the visual wulst were detected in the early posthatch period and the peak regions of responses to red, green, and blue were spatially organized from the caudal to the nasal regions in dark-reared chicks. This spatial representation of color recognition showed plastic changes, and the response pattern along the antero-posterior axis of the visual wulst altered according to the color the chick was imprinted to. These results indicate that the thalamofugal pathway is critical for learning the imprinting stimulus and that the visual wulst shows learning-related plasticity and may relay processed visual information to indicate the color of the imprint stimulus to the memory storage region, e.g., the intermediate medial mesopallium.

Imprinting modulates processing of visual information in the visual wulst of chicks

PubMed Central

Maekawa, Fumihiko; Komine, Okiru; Sato, Katsushige; Kanamatsu, Tomoyuki; Uchimura, Motoaki; Tanaka, Kohichi; Ohki-Hamazaki, Hiroko

2006-01-01

Background Imprinting behavior is one form of learning and memory in precocial birds. With the aim of elucidating of the neural basis for visual imprinting, we focused on visual information processing. Results A lesion in the visual wulst, which is similar functionally to the mammalian visual cortex, caused anterograde amnesia in visual imprinting behavior. Since the color of an object was one of the important cues for imprinting, we investigated color information processing in the visual wulst. Intrinsic optical signals from the visual wulst were detected in the early posthatch period and the peak regions of responses to red, green, and blue were spatially organized from the caudal to the nasal regions in dark-reared chicks. This spatial representation of color recognition showed plastic changes, and the response pattern along the antero-posterior axis of the visual wulst altered according to the color the chick was imprinted to. Conclusion These results indicate that the thalamofugal pathway is critical for learning the imprinting stimulus and that the visual wulst shows learning-related plasticity and may relay processed visual information to indicate the color of the imprint stimulus to the memory storage region, e.g., the intermediate medial mesopallium. PMID:17101060

Spatial and temporal distributions of benthic green macroalgae in Yaquina bay, Oregon

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal estuaries of Oregon, USA, typically support relatively large accumulations of benthic green macroalgae (BGM) during the summer/early fall growing season. This raises questions regarding possible (positive and negative) effects on eelgrass and benthic epifauna and infauna...

Inner-city green space and its association with body mass index and prevalent type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study in an urban German city

PubMed Central

Müller, Grit; Harhoff, Roland; Rahe, Corinna; Berger, Klaus

2018-01-01

Objective The accessibility of green space is an important aspect of the urban residential environment and has been found to be beneficial for health and well-being. This study investigates the association between different indicators of green space and the outcomes body mass index (BMI) and prevalent type 2 diabetes in an urban population. Design Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting Dortmund, a city located in the industrial Ruhr area in Western Germany. Participants 1312 participants aged 25–74 years from the Dortmund Health Study. Methods The participants’ addresses were geocoded and shapefiles of statistical districts, road network and land use, as well as data on neighbourhood characteristics were obtained at baseline. Three indicators of green space were constructed using geographical information systems: proportion of green space, recreation location quotient (RLQ) weighted by population and distance to the next park or forest. Multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses on the association of green space with BMI and type 2 diabetes were performed, adjusted by individual-level characteristics and neighbourhood unemployment rate. Results The multilevel regression analyses showed no association between green space and BMI. In contrast, the three indicators of green space were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes. Residents of neighbourhoods with a low RLQ had a 2.44 (95% CI 1.01 to 5.93) times higher odds to have type 2 diabetes compared with residents of high RLQ neighbourhoods. Likewise, residing more than 0.8 km away from the nearest park or forest increased the odds of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.77). Conclusions This study indicates that green space and its spatial accessibility might play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Further research is needed to clarify this association. PMID:29358439

Inner-city green space and its association with body mass index and prevalent type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study in an urban German city.

PubMed

Müller, Grit; Harhoff, Roland; Rahe, Corinna; Berger, Klaus

2018-01-21

The accessibility of green space is an important aspect of the urban residential environment and has been found to be beneficial for health and well-being. This study investigates the association between different indicators of green space and the outcomes body mass index (BMI) and prevalent type 2 diabetes in an urban population. Population-based cross-sectional study. Dortmund, a city located in the industrial Ruhr area in Western Germany. 1312 participants aged 25-74 years from the Dortmund Health Study. The participants' addresses were geocoded and shapefiles of statistical districts, road network and land use, as well as data on neighbourhood characteristics were obtained at baseline. Three indicators of green space were constructed using geographical information systems: proportion of green space, recreation location quotient (RLQ) weighted by population and distance to the next park or forest. Multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses on the association of green space with BMI and type 2 diabetes were performed, adjusted by individual-level characteristics and neighbourhood unemployment rate. The multilevel regression analyses showed no association between green space and BMI. In contrast, the three indicators of green space were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes. Residents of neighbourhoods with a low RLQ had a 2.44 (95% CI 1.01 to 5.93) times higher odds to have type 2 diabetes compared with residents of high RLQ neighbourhoods. Likewise, residing more than 0.8 km away from the nearest park or forest increased the odds of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.77). This study indicates that green space and its spatial accessibility might play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Further research is needed to clarify this association. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The soil-water system as basis for a climate proof and healthy urban environment: opportunities identified in a Dutch case-study.

PubMed

Claessens, Jacqueline; Schram-Bijkerk, Dieneke; Dirven-van Breemen, Liesbet; Otte, Piet; van Wijnen, Harm

2014-07-01

One of the effects of climate change expected to take place in urban areas in the Netherlands is an increase in periods of extreme heat and drought. How the soil can contribute to making cities more climate proof is often neglected. Unsealed soil and green spaces increase water storage capacity and can consequently prevent flooding. The planning of public or private green spaces can have a cooling effect and, in general, have a positive effect on how people perceive their health. This paper reviews existing guidelines from Dutch policy documents regarding unsealed soil and green spaces in the Netherlands; do they support climate adaptation policies? Scientific literature was used to quantify the positive effects of green spaces on water storage capacity, cooling and public health. Finally we present a case study of a model town where different policy areas are linked together. Maps were made to provide insight into the ratio of unsealed soil and the number of green spaces in relation to existing guidelines using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Maps marking the age and social-economic status of the population were also made. The benefits of green spaces are difficult to express in averages because they depend on many different factors such as soil properties, type of green spaces, population characteristics and spatial planning. Moreover, it is not possible to provide quantifications of the benefits of green spaces because of a lack of scientific evidence at the moment. Based on the maps, however, policy assessments can be made, for example, in which site a neighborhood will most benefit from investment in parks and public gardens. Neighborhoods where people have a low social-economic status have for example fewer green spaces than others. This offers opportunities for efficient adaptation policies linking goals of several policy fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling Urban Growth Spatial Dynamics: Case studies of Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchta, Katja; Abo El Wafa, Hany; Printz, Andreas; Pauleit, Stephan

2013-04-01

Rapid urbanization, and consequently, the dramatic spatial expansion of mostly informal urban areas increases the vulnerability of African cities to the effects of climate change such as sea level rise, more frequent flooding, droughts and heat waves. The EU FP 7 funded project CLUVA (Climate Change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa, www.cluva.eu) aims to develop strategies for minimizing the risks of natural hazards caused by climate change and to improve the coping capacity of African cities. Green infrastructure may play a particular role in climate change adaptation by providing ecosystem services for flood protection, stormwater retention, heat island moderation and provision of food and fuel wood. In this context, a major challenge is to gain a better understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the cities and how these impact on green infrastructure and hence their vulnerability. Urban growth scenarios for two African cities, namely Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were developed based on a characterization of their urban morphology. A population growth driven - GIS based - disaggregation modeling approach was applied. Major impact factors influencing the urban dynamics were identified both from literature and interviews with local experts. Location based factors including proximity to road infrastructure and accessibility, and environmental factors including slope, surface and flood risk areas showed a particular impact on urban growth patterns. In Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam, population density scenarios were modeled comparing two housing development strategies. Results showed that a densification scenario significantly decreases the loss of agricultural and green areas such as forests, bushland and sports grounds. In Dar es Salaam, the scenario of planned new settlements with a population density of max. 350 persons per hectare would lead until 2025 to a loss of agricultural land (-10.1%) and green areas (-6.6%). On the other hand, 12.4% of agricultural land and 16.1% of green areas would be lost in the low density development scenario of unplanned settlements of max. 150 persons per hectare. Relocating the population living in flood prone areas in the case of Addis Ababa and keeping those areas free from further settlements in the case of Dar es Salaam would result in even lower losses (agricultural land: -10.0%, green areas: -5.6%) as some flood prone areas overlap with agricultural/ green areas. The scenario models introduced in this research can be used by planners as tools to understand and manage the different outcomes of distinctive urban development strategies on growth patterns and how they interact with different climate change drivers such as loss of green infrastructure and effects such as frequent flooding hazards. Due to the relative simplicity of their structure and the single modeling environment, the models can be transferred to similar cities with minor modifications accommodating the different conditions of each city. Already, in Addis Ababa the results of the model will be used in the current revision of the Master plan of the city. Keywords: GIS, modeling, Urban Dynamics, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa, urbanization

Optimal location selection for the installation of urban green roofs considering honeybee habitats along with socio-economic and environmental effects.

PubMed

Gwak, Jae Ha; Lee, Bo Kyeong; Lee, Won Kyung; Sohn, So Young

2017-03-15

This study proposes a new framework for the selection of optimal locations for green roofs to achieve a sustainable urban ecosystem. The proposed framework selects building sites that can maximize the benefits of green roofs, based not only on the socio-economic and environmental benefits to urban residents, but also on the provision of urban foraging sites for honeybees. The framework comprises three steps. First, building candidates for green roofs are selected considering the building type. Second, the selected building candidates are ranked in terms of their expected socio-economic and environmental effects. The benefits of green roofs are improved energy efficiency and air quality, reduction of urban flood risk and infrastructure improvement costs, reuse of storm water, and creation of space for education and leisure. Furthermore, the estimated cost of installing green roofs is also considered. We employ spatial data to determine the expected effects of green roofs on each building unit, because the benefits and costs may vary depending on the location of the building. This is due to the heterogeneous spatial conditions. In the third step, the final building sites are proposed by solving the maximal covering location problem (MCLP) to determine the optimal locations for green roofs as urban honeybee foraging sites. As an illustrative example, we apply the proposed framework in Seoul, Korea. This new framework is expected to contribute to sustainable urban ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interpretation of Variations in Modis-Measured Greenness Levels of Amazon Forests During 2000 to 2009

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samanta, Arindam; Ganguly, Sangram; Vermote, Eric; Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Myneni, Ranga B.

2012-01-01

This work investigates variations in satellite-measured greenness of Amazon forests using ten years of NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data. Corruption of optical remote sensing data with clouds and aerosols is prevalent in this region; filtering corrupted data causes spatial sampling constraints, as well as reducing the record length, which introduces large biases in estimates of greenness anomalies. The EVI data, analyzed in multiple ways and taking into account EVI accuracy, consistently show a pattern of negligible changes in the greenness levels of forests both in the area affected by drought in 2005 and outside it. Small random patches of anomalous greening and browning-especially prominent in 2009-appear in all ten years, irrespective of contemporaneous variations in precipitation, but with no persistence over time. The fact that over 90% of the EVI anomalies are insignificantly small-within the envelope of error (95% confidence interval) in EVI-warrants cautious interpretation of these results: there were no changes in the greenness of these forests, or if there were changes, the EVI data failed to capture these either because the constituent reflectances were saturated or the moderate resolution precluded viewing small-scale variations. This suggests a need for more accurate and spatially resolved synoptic views from satellite data and corroborating comprehensive ground sampling to understand the greenness dynamics of these forests.

A Flexible Modeling Framework For Hydraulic and Water Quality Performance Assessment of Stormwater Green Infrastructure

EPA Science Inventory

A flexible framework has been created for modeling multi-dimensional hydrological and water quality processes within stormwater green infrastructures (GIs). The framework models a GI system using a set of blocks (spatial features) and connectors (interfaces) representing differen...

Integration of GIS, Geostatistics, and 3-D Technology to Assess the Spatial Distribution of Soil Moisture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Betts, M.; Tsegaye, T.; Tadesse, W.; Coleman, T. L.; Fahsi, A.

1998-01-01

The spatial and temporal distribution of near surface soil moisture is of fundamental importance to many physical, biological, biogeochemical, and hydrological processes. However, knowledge of these space-time dynamics and the processes which control them remains unclear. The integration of geographic information systems (GIS) and geostatistics together promise a simple mechanism to evaluate and display the spatial and temporal distribution of this vital hydrologic and physical variable. Therefore, this research demonstrates the use of geostatistics and GIS to predict and display soil moisture distribution under vegetated and non-vegetated plots. The research was conducted at the Winfred Thomas Agricultural Experiment Station (WTAES), Hazel Green, Alabama. Soil moisture measurement were done on a 10 by 10 m grid from tall fescue grass (GR), alfalfa (AA), bare rough (BR), and bare smooth (BS) plots. Results indicated that variance associated with soil moisture was higher for vegetated plots than non-vegetated plots. The presence of vegetation in general contributed to the spatial variability of soil moisture. Integration of geostatistics and GIS can improve the productivity of farm lands and the precision of farming.

Sensory quality evaluation for appearance of needle-shaped green tea based on computer vision and nonlinear tools*

PubMed Central

Dong, Chun-wang; Zhu, Hong-kai; Zhao, Jie-wen; Jiang, Yong-wen; Yuan, Hai-bo; Chen, Quan-sheng

2017-01-01

Tea is one of the three greatest beverages in the world. In China, green tea has the largest consumption, and needle-shaped green tea, such as Maofeng tea and Sparrow Tongue tea, accounts for more than 40% of green tea (Zhu et al., 2017). The appearance of green tea is one of the important indexes during the evaluation of green tea quality. Especially in market transactions, the price of tea is usually determined by its appearance (Zhou et al., 2012). Human sensory evaluation is usually conducted by experts, and is also easily affected by various factors such as light, experience, psychological and visual factors. In the meantime, people may distinguish the slight differences between similar colors or textures, but the specific levels of the tea are hard to determine (Chen et al., 2008). As human description of color and texture is qualitative, it is hard to evaluate the sensory quality accurately, in a standard manner, and objectively. Color is an important visual property of a computer image (Xie et al., 2014; Khulal et al., 2016); texture is a visual performance of image grayscale and color changing with spatial positions, which can be used to describe the roughness and directivity of the surface of an object (Sanaeifar et al., 2016). There are already researchers who have used computer visual image technologies to identify the varieties, levels, and origins of tea (Chen et al., 2008; Xie et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2017). Most of their research targets are crush, tear, and curl (CTC) red (green) broken tea, curly green tea (Bilochun tea), and flat-typed green tea (West Lake Dragon-well green tea) as the information sources. However, the target of the above research is to establish a qualitative evaluation method on tea quality (Fu et al., 2013). There is little literature on the sensory evaluation of the appearance quality of needle-shaped green tea, especially research on a quantitative evaluation model (Zhou et al., 2012; Zhu et al., 2017). PMID:28585431

Sensory quality evaluation for appearance of needle-shaped green tea based on computer vision and nonlinear tools.

PubMed

Dong, Chun-Wang; Zhu, Hong-Kai; Zhao, Jie-Wen; Jiang, Yong-Wen; Yuan, Hai-Bo; Chen, Quan-Sheng

2017-06-01

Tea is one of the three greatest beverages in the world. In China, green tea has the largest consumption, and needle-shaped green tea, such as Maofeng tea and Sparrow Tongue tea, accounts for more than 40% of green tea (Zhu et al., 2017). The appearance of green tea is one of the important indexes during the evaluation of green tea quality. Especially in market transactions, the price of tea is usually determined by its appearance (Zhou et al., 2012). Human sensory evaluation is usually conducted by experts, and is also easily affected by various factors such as light, experience, psychological and visual factors. In the meantime, people may distinguish the slight differences between similar colors or textures, but the specific levels of the tea are hard to determine (Chen et al., 2008). As human description of color and texture is qualitative, it is hard to evaluate the sensory quality accurately, in a standard manner, and objectively. Color is an important visual property of a computer image (Xie et al., 2014; Khulal et al., 2016); texture is a visual performance of image grayscale and color changing with spatial positions, which can be used to describe the roughness and directivity of the surface of an object (Sanaeifar et al., 2016). There are already researchers who have used computer visual image technologies to identify the varieties, levels, and origins of tea (Chen et al., 2008; Xie et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2017). Most of their research targets are crush, tear, and curl (CTC) red (green) broken tea, curly green tea (Bilochun tea), and flat-typed green tea (West Lake Dragon-well green tea) as the information sources. However, the target of the above research is to establish a qualitative evaluation method on tea quality (Fu et al., 2013). There is little literature on the sensory evaluation of the appearance quality of needle-shaped green tea, especially research on a quantitative evaluation model (Zhou et al., 2012; Zhu et al., 2017).

Ecological risk Evaluation and Green Infrastructure planning for coping with global climate change, a case study of Shanghai, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Pengyao; Xiao, He; Li, Xiang; Hu, Wenhao; Gu, Shoubai; Yu, Zhenrong

2018-01-01

Coping with various ecological risks caused by extreme weather events of global climate change has become an important issue in regional planning, and storm water management for sustainable development. In this paper, taking Shanghai, China as a case study, four potential ecological risks were identified including flood disaster, sea-source disaster, urban heat island effect, and land subsidence. Based on spatial database, the spatial variation of these four ecological risks was evaluated, and the planning area was divided into seven responding regions with different green infrastructure strategy. The methodology developed in this study combining ecological risk evaluation with spatial regionalization planning could contribute to coping with global climate change.

Identifying built environmental patterns using cluster analysis and GIS: Relationships with walking, cycling and body mass index in French adults

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Socio-ecological models suggest that both individual and neighborhood characteristics contribute to facilitating health-enhancing behaviors such as physical activity. Few European studies have explored relationships between local built environmental characteristics, recreational walking and cycling and weight status in adults. The aim of this study was to identify built environmental patterns in a French urban context and to assess associations with recreational walking and cycling behaviors as performed by middle-aged adult residents. Methods We used a two-step procedure based on cluster analysis to identify built environmental patterns in the region surrounding Paris, France, using measures derived from Geographic Information Systems databases on green spaces, proximity facilities (destinations) and cycle paths. Individual data were obtained from participants in the SU.VI.MAX cohort; 1,309 participants residing in the Ile-de-France in 2007 were included in this analysis. Associations between built environment patterns, leisure walking/cycling data (h/week) and measured weight status were assessed using multinomial logistic regression with adjustment for individual and neighborhood characteristics. Results Based on accessibility to green spaces, proximity facilities and availability of cycle paths, seven built environmental patterns were identified. The geographic distribution of built environmental patterns in the Ile-de-France showed that a pattern characterized by poor spatial accessibility to green spaces and proximity facilities and an absence of cycle paths was found only in neighborhoods in the outer suburbs, whereas patterns characterized by better spatial accessibility to green spaces, proximity facilities and cycle paths were more evenly distributed across the region. Compared to the reference pattern (poor accessibility to green areas and facilities, absence of cycle paths), subjects residing in neighborhoods characterized by high accessibility to green areas and local facilities and by a high density of cycle paths were more likely to walk/cycle, after adjustment for individual and neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics (OR = 2.5 95%CI 1.4-4.6). Body mass index did not differ across patterns. Conclusions Built environmental patterns were associated with walking and cycling among French adults. These analyses may be useful in determining urban and public health policies aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle. PMID:22620266

76 FR 81980 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Green Jobs...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-29

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation of ARRA-Funded Grants... Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Green Jobs and Health Care Impact... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ETA is undertaking the Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation of the Pathways...

Utilizing 1-meter Landcover Data to Assess Associations between Green Space and Stress

EPA Science Inventory

Purpose: When using remotely-sensed data to study health, researchers must identify an appropriate spatial resolution to capture potential exposures. Investigations into urban green space are often limited by the unavailability of fine-scale landcover data. We analyzed 1-meter gr...

Field Assessment of the Village Green Project: An Autonomous Community Air Quality Monitoring System

EPA Science Inventory

Recent findings on air pollution levels in communities motivate new technologies to assess air pollution at finer spatial scale. The Village Green Project (VGP) is a novel approach using commercially-available technology for long-term community environments air pollution measure...

Green Bay: Spatial patterns in water quality and landscape correlations

EPA Science Inventory

We conducted a high-resolution survey along the nearshore (369 km) in Green Bay using towed electronic instrumentation at approximately the 15 m depth contour, with additional transects of the bay that were oriented cross-contour (49 km). Electronic sensor data provided an effic...

Estimating water consumption of potential natural vegetation on global dry lands: building an LCA framework for green water flows.

PubMed

Núñez, Montserrat; Pfister, Stephan; Roux, Philippe; Antón, Assumpció

2013-01-01

This study aimed to provide a framework for assessing direct soil-water consumption, also termed green water in the literature, in life cycle assessment (LCA). This was an issue that LCA had not tackled before. The approach, which is applied during the life cycle inventory phase (LCI), consists of quantifying the net change in the evapo(transpi)ration of the production system compared to the natural reference situation. Potential natural vegetation (PNV) is used as the natural reference situation. In order to apply the method, we estimated PNV evapotranspiration adapted to local biogeographic conditions, on global dry lands, where soil-water consumption impacts can be critical. Values are reported at different spatial aggregation levels: 10-arcmin global grid, ecoregions (501 units), biomes (14 units), countries (124 units), continents, and a global average, to facilitate the assessment for different spatial information detail levels available in the LCI. The method is intended to be used in rain-fed agriculture and rainwater harvesting contexts, which includes direct soil moisture uptake by plants and rainwater harvested and then reused in production systems. The paper provides the necessary LCI method and data for further development of impact assessment models and characterization factors to evaluate the environmental effects of the net change in evapo(transpi)ration.

Examining Associations of Environmental Characteristics with Recreational Cycling Behaviour by Street-Level Strava Data

PubMed Central

Sun, Yeran; Du, Yunyan; Wang, Yu; Zhuang, Liyuan

2017-01-01

Policymakers pay much attention to effectively increasing frequency of people’s cycling in the context of developing sustainable and green cities. Investigating associations of environmental characteristics and cycling behaviour could offer implications for changing urban infrastructure aiming at encouraging active travel. However, earlier examinations of associations between environmental characteristics and active travel behaviour are limited by low spatial granularity and coverage of traditional data. Crowdsourced geographic information offers an opportunity to determine the fine-grained travel patterns of people. Particularly, Strava Metro data offer a good opportunity for studies of recreational cycling behaviour as they can offer hourly, daily or annual cycling volumes with different purposes (commuting or recreational) in each street across a city. Therefore, in this study, we utilised Strava Metro data for investigating associations between environmental characteristics and recreational cycling behaviour at a large spatial scale (street level). In this study, we took account of population density, employment density, road length, road connectivity, proximity to public transit services, land use mix, proximity to green space, volume of motor vehicles and traffic accidents in an empirical investigation over Glasgow. Empirical results reveal that Strava cyclists are more likely to cycle for recreation on streets with short length, large connectivity or low volume of motor vehicles or on streets surrounded by residential land. PMID:28617345

Examining Associations of Environmental Characteristics with Recreational Cycling Behaviour by Street-Level Strava Data.

PubMed

Sun, Yeran; Du, Yunyan; Wang, Yu; Zhuang, Liyuan

2017-06-15

Policymakers pay much attention to effectively increasing frequency of people's cycling in the context of developing sustainable and green cities. Investigating associations of environmental characteristics and cycling behaviour could offer implications for changing urban infrastructure aiming at encouraging active travel. However, earlier examinations of associations between environmental characteristics and active travel behaviour are limited by low spatial granularity and coverage of traditional data. Crowdsourced geographic information offers an opportunity to determine the fine-grained travel patterns of people. Particularly, Strava Metro data offer a good opportunity for studies of recreational cycling behaviour as they can offer hourly, daily or annual cycling volumes with different purposes (commuting or recreational) in each street across a city. Therefore, in this study, we utilised Strava Metro data for investigating associations between environmental characteristics and recreational cycling behaviour at a large spatial scale (street level). In this study, we took account of population density, employment density, road length, road connectivity, proximity to public transit services, land use mix, proximity to green space, volume of motor vehicles and traffic accidents in an empirical investigation over Glasgow. Empirical results reveal that Strava cyclists are more likely to cycle for recreation on streets with short length, large connectivity or low volume of motor vehicles or on streets surrounded by residential land.

The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium - a protocol for building a national environmental exposure data platform for integrated analyses of urban form and health.

PubMed

Brook, Jeffrey R; Setton, Eleanor M; Seed, Evan; Shooshtari, Mahdi; Doiron, Dany

2018-01-08

Multiple external environmental exposures related to residential location and urban form including, air pollutants, noise, greenness, and walkability have been linked to health impacts or benefits. The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) was established to facilitate the linkage of extensive geospatial exposure data to existing Canadian cohorts and administrative health data holdings. We hypothesize that this linkage will enable investigators to test a variety of their own hypotheses related to the interdependent associations of built environment features with diverse health outcomes encompassed by the cohorts and administrative data. We developed a protocol for compiling measures of built environment features that quantify exposure; vary spatially on the urban and suburban scale; and can be modified through changes in policy or individual behaviour to benefit health. These measures fall into six domains: air quality, noise, greenness, weather/climate, and transportation and neighbourhood factors; and will be indexed to six-digit postal codes to facilitate merging with health databases. Initial efforts focus on existing data and include estimates of air pollutants, greenness, temperature extremes, and neighbourhood walkability and socioeconomic characteristics. Key gaps will be addressed for noise exposure, with a new national model being developed, and for transportation-related exposures, with detailed estimates of truck volumes and diesel emissions now underway in selected cities. Improvements to existing exposure estimates are planned, primarily by increasing temporal and/or spatial resolution given new satellite-based sensors and more detailed national air quality modelling. Novel metrics are also planned for walkability and food environments, green space access and function and life-long climate-related exposures based on local climate zones. Critical challenges exist, for example, the quantity and quality of input data to many of the models and metrics has changed over time, making it difficult to develop and validate historical exposures. CANUE represents a unique effort to coordinate and leverage substantial research investments and will enable a more focused effort on filling gaps in exposure information, improving the range of exposures quantified, their precision and mechanistic relevance to health. Epidemiological studies may be better able to explore the common theme of urban form and health in an integrated manner, ultimately contributing new knowledge informing policies that enhance healthy urban living.

The Concept of Directly Connected Impervious Areas and Its Implication on Sustainable Development in Urban Catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Yongwon; Hwang, Junsik; Choi, Hyun Il

2017-04-01

The concept of directly connected impervious area (DCIA) or efficient impervious areas (EIA) refers to a subset of impervious cover, which is directly connected to a drainage system or a water body via continuous impervious surfaces. The concept of DCIA is important in that it is regarded as a better predictor of stream ecosystem health than the total impervious area (TIA). DCIA is a key concept for a better assessment of green infrastructures introduced in urban catchments. Green infrastructure can help restore water cycle; it improves water quality, manages stormwater, provides recreational environment even at lower cost compared to conventional alternatives. In this study, we evaluated several methods to obtain the DCIA based on a GIS database and showed the importance of the accurate measurement of DCIA in terms of resulting hydrographs. We also evaluated several potential green infrastructure scenarios and showed how the spatial planning of green infrastruesture affects the shape of hydrographs and reduction of peak flows. These results imply that well-planned green infrastructure can be introduced to urban catchments for flood risk managements and quantitative assessment of spatial distribution of DCIA is crucial for sustainable development in urban environment.

Green Power Communities Brochure

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Green Power Communities Brochure provides basic information about GPP's Green Power Communities (GPCs). The four-page brochure includes information about how to become a GPC, the benefits of procuring green power, and examples of how current GPCs are u

Predicting Treatment Windows for Invasive Buffelgrass in Southern Arizona using MODIS and Climate Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, C.; Weltzin, J. F.; Skirvin, S. M.; Patrick-Birdwell, C.; Raichle, H.

2014-12-01

The increasing spread and abundance of an invasive perennial grass, buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare), represents an important shift in the vegetation composition of the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. Buffelgrass out-competes native species and alters fire regimes, and its control and management is a high-priority issue for resource managers who seek to preserve the unique and iconic Sonoran Desert flora. Herbicidal treatment of buffelgrass is most effective when the vegetation is actively growing; however, the erratic timing and length of active buffelgrass growth periods in southern Arizona confound effective management decision-making. The goal of our research is to enable the strategic application of buffelgrass herbicide by using remote sensing data to detect when and where buffelgrass is photosynthetically active. We integrated ground-based observations of buffelgrass phenology (green-up and senescence) in the Tucson, Arizona area with climate information and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery at 250m spatial and both 8-day and 16-day composite temporal resolution to understand dynamics, relationships and resonance between these disparate datasets during 2011 to 2013. Fourier harmonics analysis was used to derive land surface phenology (LSP) metrics from MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) greenness data and to quantify the temporal patterns of the climate and phenophase abundance datasets. Regression analyses and statistical tests were used to identify correlations between temporal patterns of the data sets. Our results reveal strong correlations between the observed greenness of in-situ buffelgrass and satellite LSP metrics, confirming that MODIS-EVI data can be a useful indicator of active buffelgrass growth at multiple scales. The analysis also reveals strong harmonics between precipitation and greenness, but with a lagged response, suggesting that precipitation can be a predictor of the location and intensity of buffelgrass green-up at landscape scales. This information can be used by resource managers to treat buffelgrass during optimal conditions.

Assessment of Land Degradation and Greening in Ken River Basin of Central India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Ashish; Palmate, Santosh S.

2017-04-01

Natural systems have significant impact of land degradation on biodiversity loss, food and water insecurity. To achieve the sustainable development goals, advances in remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) are progressively utilized to combat climate change, land degradation and poverty issues of developing country. The Ken River Basin (KRB) has dominating land cover pattern of agriculture and forest area. Nowadays, this pattern is affected due to climate change and anthropogenic activity like deforestation. In this study, land degradation and greening status of KRB of Central India during the years 2001 to 2013 have been assessed using MODIS land cover (MCD12Q1) data sets. International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP) land cover data has been extracted from the MCD12Q1 data product. Multiple rasters of MODIS landcover were analyzed and compared for assigning unique combination of land cover dynamics employing ArcGIS software. Result reveals that 14.38% natural vegetation was degraded, and crop land and woody savannas were greened by 9.68% to 6.94% respectively. Natural vegetation degradation have been observed in the upper KRB area, and resulted to increase in crop land (3418.87 km2) and woody savannas (1242.23 km2) area. Due to transition of 1043.6 km2 area of deciduous broadleaf forest to woody savannas greening was also observed. Moreover, both crop land and woody savannas showed inter-transitions of 669.31 km2 into crop land to woody savannas, and 874.09 km2 into woody savannas to crop land. The present analysis reveals that natural vegetation has more land conversions into woody savannas and crop land in the KRB area. Further, Spatial change analysis shows that land degradation and greening has occurred mostly in the upper part of the KRB. The study reveals that the land transition information can be useful for proper planning and management of natural resources.

a Novel Ihs-Ga Fusion Method Based on Enhancement Vegetated Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niazi, S.; Mokhtarzade, M.; Saeedzadeh, F.

2015-12-01

Pan sharpening methods aim to produce a more informative image containing the positive aspects of both source images. However, the pan sharpening process usually introduces some spectral and spatial distortions in the resulting fused image. The amount of these distortions varies highly depending on the pan sharpening technique as well as the type of data. Among the existing pan sharpening methods, the Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS) technique is the most widely used for its efficiency and high spatial resolution. When the IHS method is used for IKONOS or QuickBird imagery, there is a significant color distortion which is mainly due to the wavelengths range of the panchromatic image. Regarding the fact that in the green vegetated regions panchromatic gray values are much larger than the gray values of intensity image. A novel method is proposed which spatially adjusts the intensity image in vegetated areas. To do so the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to identify vegetation areas where the green band is enhanced according to the red and NIR bands. In this way an intensity image is obtained in which the gray values are comparable to the panchromatic image. Beside the genetic optimization algorithm is used to find the optimum weight parameters in order to gain the best intensity image. Visual and statistical analysis proved the efficiency of the proposed method as it significantly improved the fusion quality in comparison to conventional IHS technique. The accuracy of the proposed pan sharpening technique was also evaluated in terms of different spatial and spectral metrics. In this study, 7 metrics (Correlation Coefficient, ERGAS, RASE, RMSE, SAM, SID and Spatial Coefficient) have been used in order to determine the quality of the pan-sharpened images. Experiments were conducted on two different data sets obtained by two different imaging sensors, IKONOS and QuickBird. The result of this showed that the evaluation metrics are more promising for our fused image in comparison to other pan sharpening methods.

Neighbourhood-scale urban forest ecosystem classification.

PubMed

Steenberg, James W N; Millward, Andrew A; Duinker, Peter N; Nowak, David J; Robinson, Pamela J

2015-11-01

Urban forests are now recognized as essential components of sustainable cities, but there remains uncertainty concerning how to stratify and classify urban landscapes into units of ecological significance at spatial scales appropriate for management. Ecosystem classification is an approach that entails quantifying the social and ecological processes that shape ecosystem conditions into logical and relatively homogeneous management units, making the potential for ecosystem-based decision support available to urban planners. The purpose of this study is to develop and propose a framework for urban forest ecosystem classification (UFEC). The multifactor framework integrates 12 ecosystem components that characterize the biophysical landscape, built environment, and human population. This framework is then applied at the neighbourhood scale in Toronto, Canada, using hierarchical cluster analysis. The analysis used 27 spatially-explicit variables to quantify the ecosystem components in Toronto. Twelve ecosystem classes were identified in this UFEC application. Across the ecosystem classes, tree canopy cover was positively related to economic wealth, especially income. However, education levels and homeownership were occasionally inconsistent with the expected positive relationship with canopy cover. Open green space and stocking had variable relationships with economic wealth and were more closely related to population density, building intensity, and land use. The UFEC can provide ecosystem-based information for greening initiatives, tree planting, and the maintenance of the existing canopy. Moreover, its use has the potential to inform the prioritization of limited municipal resources according to ecological conditions and to concerns of social equity in the access to nature and distribution of ecosystem service supply. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mapping Urban Ecosystem Services Using High Resolution Aerial Photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilant, A. N.; Neale, A.; Wilhelm, D.

2010-12-01

Ecosystem services (ES) are the many life-sustaining benefits we receive from nature: e.g., clean air and water, food and fiber, cultural-aesthetic-recreational benefits, pollination and flood control. The ES concept is emerging as a means of integrating complex environmental and economic information to support informed environmental decision making. The US EPA is developing a web-based National Atlas of Ecosystem Services, with a component for urban ecosystems. Currently, the only wall-to-wall, national scale land cover data suitable for this analysis is the National Land Cover Data (NLCD) at 30 m spatial resolution with 5 and 10 year updates. However, aerial photography is acquired at higher spatial resolution (0.5-3 m) and more frequently (1-5 years, typically) for most urban areas. Land cover was mapped in Raleigh, NC using freely available USDA National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) with 1 m ground sample distance to test the suitability of aerial photography for urban ES analysis. Automated feature extraction techniques were used to extract five land cover classes, and an accuracy assessment was performed using standard techniques. Results will be presented that demonstrate applications to mapping ES in urban environments: greenways, corridors, fragmentation, habitat, impervious surfaces, dark and light pavement (urban heat island). Automated feature extraction results mapped over NAIP color aerial photograph. At this scale, we can look at land cover and related ecosystem services at the 2-10 m scale. Small features such as individual trees and sidewalks are visible and mappable. Classified aerial photo of Downtown Raleigh NC Red: impervious surface Dark Green: trees Light Green: grass Tan: soil

A spatially encoded dose difference maximal intensity projection map for patient dose evaluation: A new first line patient quality assurance tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu Weigang; Graff, Pierre; Boettger, Thomas

2011-04-15

Purpose: To develop a spatially encoded dose difference maximal intensity projection (DD-MIP) as an online patient dose evaluation tool for visualizing the dose differences between the planning dose and dose on the treatment day. Methods: Megavoltage cone-beam CT (MVCBCT) images acquired on the treatment day are used for generating the dose difference index. Each index is represented by different colors for underdose, acceptable, and overdose regions. A maximal intensity projection (MIP) algorithm is developed to compress all the information of an arbitrary 3D dose difference index into a 2D DD-MIP image. In such an algorithm, a distance transformation is generatedmore » based on the planning CT. Then, two new volumes representing the overdose and underdose regions of the dose difference index are encoded with the distance transformation map. The distance-encoded indices of each volume are normalized using the skin distance obtained on the planning CT. After that, two MIPs are generated based on the underdose and overdose volumes with green-to-blue and green-to-red lookup tables, respectively. Finally, the two MIPs are merged with an appropriate transparency level and rendered in planning CT images. Results: The spatially encoded DD-MIP was implemented in a dose-guided radiotherapy prototype and tested on 33 MVCBCT images from six patients. The user can easily establish the threshold for the overdose and underdose. A 3% difference between the treatment and planning dose was used as the threshold in the study; hence, the DD-MIP shows red or blue color for the dose difference >3% or {<=}3%, respectively. With such a method, the overdose and underdose regions can be visualized and distinguished without being overshadowed by superficial dose differences. Conclusions: A DD-MIP algorithm was developed that compresses information from 3D into a single or two orthogonal projections while hinting the user whether the dose difference is on the skin surface or deeper.« less

A phase coherence approach to estimating the spatial extent of earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawthorne, Jessica C.; Ampuero, Jean-Paul

2016-04-01

We present a new method for estimating the spatial extent of seismic sources. The approach takes advantage of an inter-station phase coherence computation that can identify co-located sources (Hawthorne and Ampuero, 2014). Here, however, we note that the phase coherence calculation can eliminate the Green's function and give high values only if both earthquakes are point sources---if their dimensions are much smaller than the wavelengths of the propagating seismic waves. By examining the decrease in coherence at higher frequencies (shorter wavelengths), we can estimate the spatial extents of the earthquake ruptures. The approach can to some extent be seen as a simple way of identifying directivity or variations in the apparent source time functions recorded at various stations. We apply this method to a set of well-recorded earthquakes near Parkfield, CA. We show that when the signal to noise ratio is high, the phase coherence remains high well above 50 Hz for closely spaced M<1.5 earthquake. The high-frequency phase coherence is smaller for larger earthquakes, suggesting larger spatial extents. The implied radii scale roughly as expected from typical magnitude-corner frequency scalings. We also examine a second source of high-frequency decoherence: spatial variation in the shape of the Green's functions. This spatial decoherence appears to occur on a similar wavelengths as the decoherence associated with the apparent source time functions. However, the variation in Green's functions can be normalized away to some extent by comparing observations at multiple components on a single station, which see the same apparent source time functions.

Using VELMA to Quantify and Visualize the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Options for Protecting Water Quality

EPA Science Inventory

This webinar describes the use of VELMA, a spatially-distributed ecohydrological model, to identify green infrastructure (GI) best management practices for protecting water quality in intensively managed watersheds. The seminar will include a brief description of VELMA and an ex...

Pre-rain green-up is ubiquitous across southern tropical Africa: implications for temporal niche separation and model representation.

PubMed

Ryan, Casey M; Williams, Mathew; Grace, John; Woollen, Emily; Lehmann, Caroline E R

2017-01-01

Tree phenology mediates land-atmosphere mass and energy exchange and is a determinant of ecosystem structure and function. In the dry tropics, including African savannas, many trees grow new leaves during the dry season - weeks or months before the rains typically start. This syndrome of pre-rain green-up has long been recognized at small scales, but the high spatial and interspecific variability in leaf phenology has precluded regional generalizations. We used remote sensing data to show that this precocious phenology is ubiquitous across the woodlands and savannas of southern tropical Africa. In 70% of the study area, green-up preceded rain onset by > 20 d (42% > 40 d). All the main vegetation formations exhibited pre-rain green-up, by as much as 53 ± 18 d (in the wet miombo). Green-up showed low interannual variability (SD between years = 11 d), and high spatial variability (> 100 d). These results are consistent with a high degree of local phenological adaptation, and an insolation trigger of green-up. Tree-tree competition and niche separation may explain the ubiquity of this precocious phenology. The ubiquity of pre-rain green-up described here challenges existing model representations and suggests resistance (but not necessarily resilience) to the delay in rain onset predicted under climate change. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

Measuring of nonlinear properties of spatial light modulator with different wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalid, Farah G.; Younis Al-Dabagh, Samar; Ahmed, Sudad S.; Mahmood, Aseel I.; Al-Naimee, Kais

2018-05-01

The non-linear optical properties of Spatial Light Modulator(SLM) represented by Nonlinear Refractive Index (NLR) and nonlinear Absorption coefficient has been measured in this work using highly sensitive method known as Z-scan technique for different wavelengths (red and green). The capability to do instant measurements of different nonlinear optical parameters lead to consider these techniques as a one of the most desired and effective methods that could apply for different materials. The results showed that the NLR were in the same power for the different wavelengths while the nonlinear absorption is higher in case of green laser.

77 FR 22001 - Proposed Collection of Follow-up Survey Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-12

... Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA... information collection is for an evaluation of the impact of the Green Jobs and Health Care ARRA-funded... collection is for an evaluation of the impacts of the Green Jobs and Health Care (GJHC) training grants. This...

Concept of dual-resolution light field imaging using an organic photoelectric conversion film for high-resolution light field photography.

PubMed

Sugimura, Daisuke; Kobayashi, Suguru; Hamamoto, Takayuki

2017-11-01

Light field imaging is an emerging technique that is employed to realize various applications such as multi-viewpoint imaging, focal-point changing, and depth estimation. In this paper, we propose a concept of a dual-resolution light field imaging system to synthesize super-resolved multi-viewpoint images. The key novelty of this study is the use of an organic photoelectric conversion film (OPCF), which is a device that converts spectra information of incoming light within a certain wavelength range into an electrical signal (pixel value), for light field imaging. In our imaging system, we place the OPCF having the green spectral sensitivity onto the micro-lens array of the conventional light field camera. The OPCF allows us to acquire the green spectra information only at the center viewpoint with the full resolution of the image sensor. In contrast, the optical system of the light field camera in our imaging system captures the other spectra information (red and blue) at multiple viewpoints (sub-aperture images) but with low resolution. Thus, our dual-resolution light field imaging system enables us to simultaneously capture information about the target scene at a high spatial resolution as well as the direction information of the incoming light. By exploiting these advantages of our imaging system, our proposed method enables the synthesis of full-resolution multi-viewpoint images. We perform experiments using synthetic images, and the results demonstrate that our method outperforms other previous methods.

Keys and seats: Spatial response coding underlying the joint spatial compatibility effect.

PubMed

Dittrich, Kerstin; Dolk, Thomas; Rothe-Wulf, Annelie; Klauer, Karl Christoph; Prinz, Wolfgang

2013-11-01

Spatial compatibility effects (SCEs) are typically observed when participants have to execute spatially defined responses to nonspatial stimulus features (e.g., the color red or green) that randomly appear to the left and the right. Whereas a spatial correspondence of stimulus and response features facilitates response execution, a noncorrespondence impairs task performance. Interestingly, the SCE is drastically reduced when a single participant responds to one stimulus feature (e.g., green) by operating only one response key (individual go/no-go task), whereas a full-blown SCE is observed when the task is distributed between two participants (joint go/no-go task). This joint SCE (a.k.a. the social Simon effect) has previously been explained by action/task co-representation, whereas alternative accounts ascribe joint SCEs to spatial components inherent in joint go/no-go tasks that allow participants to code their responses spatially. Although increasing evidence supports the idea that spatial rather than social aspects are responsible for joint SCEs emerging, it is still unclear to which component(s) the spatial coding refers to: the spatial orientation of response keys, the spatial orientation of responding agents, or both. By varying the spatial orientation of the responding agents (Exp. 1) and of the response keys (Exp. 2), independent of the spatial orientation of the stimuli, in the present study we found joint SCEs only when both the seating and the response key alignment matched the stimulus alignment. These results provide evidence that spatial response coding refers not only to the response key arrangement, but also to the-often neglected-spatial orientation of the responding agents.

Modeling spatial patterns of soil respiration in maize fields from vegetation and soil property factors with the use of remote sensing and geographical information system.

PubMed

Huang, Ni; Wang, Li; Guo, Yiqiang; Hao, Pengyu; Niu, Zheng

2014-01-01

To examine the method for estimating the spatial patterns of soil respiration (Rs) in agricultural ecosystems using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS), Rs rates were measured at 53 sites during the peak growing season of maize in three counties in North China. Through Pearson's correlation analysis, leaf area index (LAI), canopy chlorophyll content, aboveground biomass, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and soil total nitrogen content were selected as the factors that affected spatial variability in Rs during the peak growing season of maize. The use of a structural equation modeling approach revealed that only LAI and SOC content directly affected Rs. Meanwhile, other factors indirectly affected Rs through LAI and SOC content. When three greenness vegetation indices were extracted from an optical image of an environmental and disaster mitigation satellite in China, enhanced vegetation index (EVI) showed the best correlation with LAI and was thus used as a proxy for LAI to estimate Rs at the regional scale. The spatial distribution of SOC content was obtained by extrapolating the SOC content at the plot scale based on the kriging interpolation method in GIS. When data were pooled for 38 plots, a first-order exponential analysis indicated that approximately 73% of the spatial variability in Rs during the peak growing season of maize can be explained by EVI and SOC content. Further test analysis based on independent data from 15 plots showed that the simple exponential model had acceptable accuracy in estimating the spatial patterns of Rs in maize fields on the basis of remotely sensed EVI and GIS-interpolated SOC content, with R2 of 0.69 and root-mean-square error of 0.51 µmol CO2 m(-2) s(-1). The conclusions from this study provide valuable information for estimates of Rs during the peak growing season of maize in three counties in North China.

Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub-meter resolution imagery.

PubMed

Martinuzzi, Sebastián; Ramos-González, Olga M; Muñoz-Erickson, Tischa A; Locke, Dexter H; Lugo, Ariel E; Radeloff, Volker C

2018-04-01

Fine-scale information about urban vegetation and social-ecological relationships is crucial to inform both urban planning and ecological research, and high spatial resolution imagery is a valuable tool for assessing urban areas. However, urban ecology and remote sensing have largely focused on cities in temperate zones. Our goal was to characterize urban vegetation cover with sub-meter (<1 m) resolution aerial imagery, and identify social-ecological relationships of urban vegetation patterns in a tropical city, the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico. Our specific objectives were to (1) map vegetation cover using sub-meter spatial resolution (0.3-m) imagery, (2) quantify the amount of residential and non-residential vegetation, and (3) investigate the relationship between patterns of urban vegetation vs. socioeconomic and environmental factors. We found that 61% of the San Juan Metropolitan Area was green and that our combination of high spatial resolution imagery and object-based classification was highly successful for extracting vegetation cover in a moist tropical city (97% accuracy). In addition, simple spatial pattern analysis allowed us to separate residential from non-residential vegetation with 76% accuracy, and patterns of residential and non-residential vegetation varied greatly across the city. Both socioeconomic (e.g., population density, building age, detached homes) and environmental variables (e.g., topography) were important in explaining variations in vegetation cover in our spatial regression models. However, important socioeconomic drivers found in cities in temperate zones, such as income and home value, were not important in San Juan. Climatic and cultural differences between tropical and temperate cities may result in different social-ecological relationships. Our study provides novel information for local land use planners, highlights the value of high spatial resolution remote sensing data to advance ecological research and urban planning in tropical cities, and emphasizes the need for more studies in tropical cities. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Modeling Spatial Patterns of Soil Respiration in Maize Fields from Vegetation and Soil Property Factors with the Use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System

PubMed Central

Huang, Ni; Wang, Li; Guo, Yiqiang; Hao, Pengyu; Niu, Zheng

2014-01-01

To examine the method for estimating the spatial patterns of soil respiration (Rs) in agricultural ecosystems using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS), Rs rates were measured at 53 sites during the peak growing season of maize in three counties in North China. Through Pearson's correlation analysis, leaf area index (LAI), canopy chlorophyll content, aboveground biomass, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and soil total nitrogen content were selected as the factors that affected spatial variability in Rs during the peak growing season of maize. The use of a structural equation modeling approach revealed that only LAI and SOC content directly affected Rs. Meanwhile, other factors indirectly affected Rs through LAI and SOC content. When three greenness vegetation indices were extracted from an optical image of an environmental and disaster mitigation satellite in China, enhanced vegetation index (EVI) showed the best correlation with LAI and was thus used as a proxy for LAI to estimate Rs at the regional scale. The spatial distribution of SOC content was obtained by extrapolating the SOC content at the plot scale based on the kriging interpolation method in GIS. When data were pooled for 38 plots, a first-order exponential analysis indicated that approximately 73% of the spatial variability in Rs during the peak growing season of maize can be explained by EVI and SOC content. Further test analysis based on independent data from 15 plots showed that the simple exponential model had acceptable accuracy in estimating the spatial patterns of Rs in maize fields on the basis of remotely sensed EVI and GIS-interpolated SOC content, with R2 of 0.69 and root-mean-square error of 0.51 µmol CO2 m−2 s−1. The conclusions from this study provide valuable information for estimates of Rs during the peak growing season of maize in three counties in North China. PMID:25157827

THE DISTRIBUTION OF 137CESIUM AND OTHER TRACE CONSTITUENTS IN GREEN BAY, LAKE MICHIGAN

EPA Science Inventory

137Cs, Cadmium, and PCBs were measured in a series of sediment cores collected in Green Bay between 1987 and 1989. Analysis of the spatial distribution of the chemicals can be shown to be dependent on the nature of the input - totally from the atmosphere, totally riverine, and a ...

Using High Resolution Spatial Data and Genetic Algorithms to Optimize Riparian Zone Condition and Impervious Cover Estimates in New England Watersheds

EPA Science Inventory

Under EPA’s Green Infrastructure Initiative, a variety of research activities are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of green infrastructure in mitigating the effects of urbanization and stormwater impacts on stream biota and habitat. One aspect of this is evaluating th...

Building perceptual color maps for visualizing interval data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalvin, Alan D.; Rogowitz, Bernice E.; Pelah, Adar; Cohen, Aron

2000-06-01

In visualization, a 'color map' maps a range of data values onto a scale of colors. However, unless a color map is e carefully constructed, visual artifacts can be produced. This problem has stimulated considerable interest in creating perceptually based color maps, that is, color maps where equal steps in data value are perceived as equal steps in the color map [Robertson (1988); Pizer (1981); Green (1992); Lefkowitz and Herman, 1992)]. In Rogowitz and Treinish, (1996, 1998) and in Bergman, Treinish and Rogowitz, (1995), we demonstrated that color maps based on luminance or saturation could be good candidates for satisfying this requirement. This work is based on the seminal work of S.S. Stevens (1966), who measured the perceived magnitude of different magnitudes of physical stimuli. He found that for many physical scales, including luminance (cd/m2) and saturation (the 'redness' of a long-wavelength light source), equal ratios in stimulus value produced equal ratios in perceptual magnitude. He interpreted this as indicating that there exists in human cognition a common scale for representing magnitude, and we scale the effects of different physical stimuli to this internal scale. In Rogowitz, Kalvin, Pelahb and Cohen (1999), we used a psychophysical technique to test this hypothesis as it applies to the creation of perceptually uniform color maps. We constructed color maps as trajectories through three-color spaces, a common computer graphics standard (uncalibrated HSV), a common perceptually-based engineering standard for creating visual stimuli (L*a*b*), and a space commonly used in the graphic arts (Munsell). For each space, we created color scales that varied linearly in hue, saturation, or luminance and measured the detectability of increments in hue, saturation or luminance for each of these color scales. We measured the amplitude of the just-detectable Gaussian increments at 20 different values along the range of each color map. For all three color spaces, we found that luminance-based color maps provided the most perceptually- uniform representations of the data. The just-detectable increment was constant at all points in the color map, with the exception of the lowest-luminance values, where a larger increment was required. The saturation-based color maps provided less sensitivity than the luminance-based color maps, requiring much larger increments for detection. For the hue- based color maps, the size of the increment required for detection varied across the range. For example, for the standard 'rainbow' color map (uncalibrated HSV, hue-varying map), a step in the 'green' region required an increment 16 times the size of the increment required in the 'cyan' part of the range. That is, the rainbow color map would not successfully represent changes in the data in the 'green' region of this color map. In this paper, we extend this research by studying the detectability of spatially-modulated Gabor targets based on these hue, saturation and luminance scales. Since, in visualization, the user is called upon to detect and identify patterns that vary in their spatial characteristics, it is important to study how different types of color maps represent data with varying spatial properties. To do so, we measured modulation thresholds for low-(0.2 c/deg) and high-spatial frequency (4.0 c/deg) Gabor patches and compared them with the Gaussian results. As before, we measured increment thresholds for hue, saturation, and luminance modulations. These color scales were constructed as trajectories along the three perceptual dimensions of color (hue, saturation, and luminance) in two color spaces, uncalibrated HSV and calibrated L*a*b. This allowed us to study how the three perceptual dimensions represent magnitude information for test patterns varying in spatial frequency. This design also allowed us to test the hypothesis that the luminance channel best carries high-spatial frequency information while the saturation channel best represents low spatial-frequency information (Mullen 1985; DeValois and DeValois 1988).

Stereoscopic radiographic images with thermal neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silvani, M. I.; Almeida, G. L.; Rogers, J. D.; Lopes, R. T.

2011-10-01

Spatial structure of an object can be perceived by the stereoscopic vision provided by eyes or by the parallax produced by movement of the object with regard to the observer. For an opaque object, a technique to render it transparent should be used, in order to make visible the spatial distribution of its inner structure, for any of the two approaches used. In this work, a beam of thermal neutrons at the main port of the Argonauta research reactor of the Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil has been used as radiation to render the inspected objects partially transparent. A neutron sensitive Imaging Plate has been employed as a detector and after exposure it has been developed by a reader using a 0.5 μm laser beam, which defines the finest achievable spatial resolution of the acquired digital image. This image, a radiographic attenuation map of the object, does not represent any specific cross-section but a convoluted projection for each specific attitude of the object with regard to the detector. After taking two of these projections at different object attitudes, they are properly processed and the final image is viewed by a red and green eyeglass. For monochromatic images this processing involves transformation of black and white radiographies into red and white and green and white ones, which are afterwards merged to yield a single image. All the processes are carried out with the software ImageJ. Divergence of the neutron beam unfortunately spoils both spatial and contrast resolutions, which become poorer as object-detector distance increases. Therefore, in order to evaluate the range of spatial resolution corresponding to the 3D image being observed, a curve expressing spatial resolution against object-detector gap has been deduced from the Modulation Transfer Functions experimentally. Typical exposure times, under a reactor power of 170 W, were 6 min for both quantitative and qualitative measurements. In spite of its intrinsic constraints, this simple technique may provide valuable information about the object otherwise available only through more refined and expensive 3D tomography.

An Archive of Downscaled WCRP CMIP3 Climate Projections for Planning Applications in the Contiguous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brekke, L. D.; Pruitt, T.; Maurer, E. P.; Duffy, P. B.

2007-12-01

Incorporating climate change information into long-term evaluations of water and energy resources requires analysts to have access to climate projection data that have been spatially downscaled to "basin-relevant" resolution. This is necessary in order to develop system-specific hydrology and demand scenarios consistent with projected climate scenarios. Analysts currently have access to "climate model" resolution data (e.g., at LLNL PCMDI), but not spatially downscaled translations of these datasets. Motivated by a common interest in supporting regional and local assessments, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and LLNL (through support from the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory) have teamed to develop an archive of downscaled climate projections (temperature and precipitation) with geographic coverage consistent with the North American Land Data Assimilation System domain, encompassing the contiguous United States. A web-based information service, hosted at LLNL Green Data Oasis, has been developed to provide Reclamation, LLNL, and other interested analysts free access to archive content. A contemporary statistical method was used to bias-correct and spatially disaggregate projection datasets, and was applied to 112 projections included in the WCRP CMIP3 multi-model dataset hosted by LLNL PCMDI (i.e. 16 GCMs and their multiple simulations of SRES A2, A1b, and B1 emissions pathways).

Urban-Climate Adaptation Tool: Optimizing Green Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fellows, J. D.; Bhaduri, B. L.

2016-12-01

Cities have an opportunity to become more resilient to future climate change and green through investments made in urban infrastructure today. However, most cities lack access to credible high-resolution climate change projection and other environmental information needed to assess and address potential vulnerabilities from future climate variability. Therefore, we present an integrated framework for developing an urban climate adaptation tool (Urban-CAT). The initial focus of Urban-CAT is to optimize the placement of green infrastructure (e.g., green roofs, porous pavements, retention basins, etc.) to be better control stormwater runoff and lower the ambient urban temperature. Urban-CAT consists of four modules. Firstly, it provides climate projections at different spatial resolutions for quantifying urban landscape. Secondly, this projected data is combined with socio-economic and other environmental data using leading and lagging indicators for assessing landscape vulnerability to climate extremes (e.g., urban flooding). Thirdly, a neighborhood scale modeling approach is presented for identifying candidate areas for adaptation strategies (e.g., green infrastructure as an adaptation strategy for urban flooding). Finally, all these capabilities are made available as a web-based tool to support decision-making and communication at the neighborhood and city levels. This presentation will highlight the methods that drive each of the modules, demo some of the capabilities using Knoxville Tennessee as a case study, and discuss the challenges of working with communities to incorporate climate change into their planning. Next steps on Urban-CAT is to additional capabilities to create a comprehensive climate adaptation tool, including energy, transportation, health, and other key urban services.

Cause-specific temporal and spatial trends in green sea turtle strandings in the Hawaiian Archipelago (1982-2003)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chaloupka, Milani; Work, Thierry M.; Balazs, George H.; Murakawa, Shawn K. K.; Morris, Robert

2008-01-01

We investigated cause-specific temporal and spatial trends in sea turtle strandings in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Five species of sea turtle were recorded in 3,861 strandings over a 22-year period (1982–2003). Green turtles comprised 97% of these strandings with size and gender composition reflecting the demographic structure of the resident green turtle population and relative green turtle abundance in Hawaiian waters. The cause of strandings was determined by necropsy based on a complete gross external and internal examination. Totally 75% of the 3,732 green turtle strandings were from Oahu where strandings occur year-round. The most common known cause of the green turtle strandings was the tumour-forming disease, fibropapillomatosis (28%) followed by hook-and-line fishing gear-induced trauma (7%), gillnet fishing gear-induced trauma (5%), boat strike (2.5%), and shark attack (2.7%). Miscellaneous causes comprised 5.4% of strandings whereas 49% of green turtle strandings could not be attributed to any known cause. Green turtle strandings attributable to boat strike were more likely from Kauai and Oahu while fibropapilloma strandings were more likely from Oahu and Maui. Hook-and-line gear strandings were more likely from Oahu due to higher per capita inshore fishing effort. The specific mortality rate (conditional probability) for fibropapillomatosis was 88%, 69% for gillnet gear and 52% for hook-and-line gear. The probability of a dead green turtle stranding increased from 1982 but levelled off by the mid-1990s. The declining mortality risk was because the prevalence and severity of fibropapillomatosis has decreased recently and so has the mortality risk attributable to gillnet gear. Despite exposure to disease and inshore fishing gears, the Hawaiian green turtle stock continues to recover following protection since the late 1970s. Nevertheless, measures to reduce incidental capture of sea turtles in coastal Hawaiian fisheries would be prudent, especially since strandings attributable to hook-and-line fishing gear have increased steadily since 1982.

Photoacoustic Tomography of Human Hepatic Malignancies Using Intraoperative Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging

PubMed Central

Miyata, Akinori; Ishizawa, Takeaki; Kamiya, Mako; Shimizu, Atsushi; Kaneko, Junichi; Ijichi, Hideaki; Shibahara, Junji; Fukayama, Masashi; Midorikawa, Yutaka; Urano, Yasuteru; Kokudo, Norihiro

2014-01-01

Recently, fluorescence imaging following the preoperative intravenous injection of indocyanine green has been used in clinical settings to identify hepatic malignancies during surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of photoacoustic tomography using indocyanine green as a contrast agent to produce representative fluorescence images of hepatic tumors by visualizing the spatial distribution of indocyanine green on ultrasonographic images. Indocyanine green (0.5 mg/kg, intravenous) was preoperatively administered to 9 patients undergoing hepatectomy. Intraoperatively, photoacoustic tomography was performed on the surface of the resected hepatic specimens (n = 10) under excitation with an 800 nm pulse laser. In 4 hepatocellular carcinoma nodules, photoacoustic imaging identified indocyanine green accumulation in the cancerous tissue. In contrast, in one hepatocellular carcinoma nodule and five adenocarcinoma foci (one intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and 4 colorectal liver metastases), photoacoustic imaging delineated indocyanine green accumulation not in the cancerous tissue but rather in the peri-cancerous hepatic parenchyma. Although photoacoustic tomography enabled to visualize spatial distribution of ICG on ultrasonographic images, which was consistent with fluorescence images on cut surfaces of the resected specimens, photoacoustic signals of ICG-containing tissues decreased approximately by 40% even at 4 mm depth from liver surfaces. Photoacoustic tomography using indocyanine green also failed to identify any hepatocellular carcinoma nodules from the body surface of model mice with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In conclusion, photoacoustic tomography has a potential to enhance cancer detectability and differential diagnosis by ultrasonographic examinations and intraoperative fluorescence imaging through visualization of stasis of bile-excreting imaging agents in and/or around hepatic tumors. However, further technical advances are needed to improve the visibility of photoacoustic signals emitted from deeply-located lesions. PMID:25379674

Photoacoustic tomography of human hepatic malignancies using intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescence imaging.

PubMed

Miyata, Akinori; Ishizawa, Takeaki; Kamiya, Mako; Shimizu, Atsushi; Kaneko, Junichi; Ijichi, Hideaki; Shibahara, Junji; Fukayama, Masashi; Midorikawa, Yutaka; Urano, Yasuteru; Kokudo, Norihiro

2014-01-01

Recently, fluorescence imaging following the preoperative intravenous injection of indocyanine green has been used in clinical settings to identify hepatic malignancies during surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of photoacoustic tomography using indocyanine green as a contrast agent to produce representative fluorescence images of hepatic tumors by visualizing the spatial distribution of indocyanine green on ultrasonographic images. Indocyanine green (0.5 mg/kg, intravenous) was preoperatively administered to 9 patients undergoing hepatectomy. Intraoperatively, photoacoustic tomography was performed on the surface of the resected hepatic specimens (n = 10) under excitation with an 800 nm pulse laser. In 4 hepatocellular carcinoma nodules, photoacoustic imaging identified indocyanine green accumulation in the cancerous tissue. In contrast, in one hepatocellular carcinoma nodule and five adenocarcinoma foci (one intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and 4 colorectal liver metastases), photoacoustic imaging delineated indocyanine green accumulation not in the cancerous tissue but rather in the peri-cancerous hepatic parenchyma. Although photoacoustic tomography enabled to visualize spatial distribution of ICG on ultrasonographic images, which was consistent with fluorescence images on cut surfaces of the resected specimens, photoacoustic signals of ICG-containing tissues decreased approximately by 40% even at 4 mm depth from liver surfaces. Photoacoustic tomography using indocyanine green also failed to identify any hepatocellular carcinoma nodules from the body surface of model mice with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In conclusion, photoacoustic tomography has a potential to enhance cancer detectability and differential diagnosis by ultrasonographic examinations and intraoperative fluorescence imaging through visualization of stasis of bile-excreting imaging agents in and/or around hepatic tumors. However, further technical advances are needed to improve the visibility of photoacoustic signals emitted from deeply-located lesions.

Spatial Characteristics of Small Green Spaces' Mitigating Effects on Microscopic Urban Heat Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, J.; Lee, D. K.; Jeong, W.; Kim, J. H.; Huh, K. Y.

2015-12-01

The purpose of the study is to find small greens' disposition, types and sizes to reduce air temperature effectively in urban blocks. The research sites were six high developed blocks in Seoul, Korea. Air temperature was measured with mobile loggers in clear daytime during summer, from August to September, at screen level. Also the measurement repeated over three times a day during three days by walking and circulating around the experimental blocks and the control blocks at the same time. By analyzing spatial characteristics, the averaged air temperatures were classified with three spaces, sunny spaces, building-shaded spaces and small green spaces by using Kruskal-Wallis Test; and small green spaces in 6 blocks were classified into their outward forms, polygonal or linear and single or mixed. The polygonal and mixed types of small green spaces mitigated averaged air temperature of each block which they belonged with a simple linear regression model with adjusted R2 = 0.90**. As the area and volume of these types increased, the effect of air temperature reduction (ΔT; Air temperature difference between sunny space and green space in a block) also increased in a linear relationship. The experimental range of this research is 100m2 ~ 2,000m2 of area, and 1,000m3 ~ 10,000m3 of volume of small green space. As a result, more than 300m2 and 2,300m3 of polygonal green spaces with mixed vegetation is required to lower 1°C; 650m2 and 5,000m3 of them to lower 2°C; about 2,000m2 and about 10,000m3 of them to lower 4°C air temperature reduction in an urban block.

Rainfall Controls on Land Surface Phenology over "Never-green" and "Ever-green" Lands in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, D.; Zhang, X.; Yu, Y.; Guo, W.

2015-12-01

The characteristics of land surface phenology (LSP) in the "Never-green" Sahara desert and the "Ever-green" equatorial Congo Basin were rarely discussed due to the extremely low seasonal greenness variations across the Sahara desert and the prolonged cloud cover over the Congo Basin. Based on 30-minute observations acquired by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager onboard the METEOSAT geostationary satellites, we generated a three-day angularly corrected Two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2) time series for each year between 2006 and 2013. We further reconstructed EVI2 temporal trajectories and retrieved LSP transitions using the Hybrid Piecewise Logistic Model. We associated the LSP transitions with the rainy season transitions derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission Product 3B42. Results show that LSP within both the Sahara Desert and the Congo Basin was strongly controlled by the rainfall seasonality. Specially, although there is no vegetation growth in most part of the Sahara Desert, recurring LSP was spatially detected in irrigation agriculture and the geomorphological regions of wadis, dayas, chotts/sebkhas and rocky hills. These geomorphological features are able to store moisture in soil to keep plants growing during the long dry seasons after vegetation greenup is triggered by rainfall events. The spatial shift of phenological timing is controlled by the Mediterranean rainfall regime in the north and the rainfalls brought by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the south. Across the equatorial Congo Basin, EVI2 time series reveals that canopy greenness cycles (CGC) of the seasonal leaf variation occur in tropical rainforests, which differs from the commonly termed "growing season" with complete leafless canopies. The seasonal EVI2 amplitude is very small and represents the gradual "leaf-exchange" processes. Two annual CGC are found and their spatial shifts closely follow the seasonal migration of ITCZ precipitation.

Incorporation of a spatial source distribution and a spatial sensor sensitivity in a laser ultrasound propagation model using a streamlined Huygens' principle.

PubMed

Laloš, Jernej; Babnik, Aleš; Možina, Janez; Požar, Tomaž

2016-03-01

The near-field, surface-displacement waveforms in plates are modeled using interwoven concepts of Green's function formalism and streamlined Huygens' principle. Green's functions resemble the building blocks of the sought displacement waveform, superimposed and weighted according to the simplified distribution. The approach incorporates an arbitrary circular spatial source distribution and an arbitrary circular spatial sensitivity in the area probed by the sensor. The displacement histories for uniform, Gaussian and annular normal-force source distributions and the uniform spatial sensor sensitivity are calculated, and the corresponding weight distributions are compared. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed scheme, measurements of laser ultrasound induced solely by the radiation pressure are compared with the calculated waveforms. The ultrasound is induced by laser pulse reflection from the mirror-surface of a glass plate. The measurements show excellent agreement not only with respect to various wave-arrivals but also in the shape of each arrival. Their shape depends on the beam profile of the excitation laser pulse and its corresponding spatial normal-force distribution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arctic Tundra Greening and Browning at Circumpolar and Regional Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epstein, H. E.; Bhatt, U. S.; Walker, D. A.; Raynolds, M. K.; Yang, X.

2017-12-01

Remote sensing data have historically been used to assess the dynamics of arctic tundra vegetation. Until recently the scientific literature has largely described the "greening" of the Arctic; from a remote sensing perspective, an increase in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), or a similar satellite-based vegetation index. Vegetation increases have been heterogeneous throughout the Arctic, and were reported to be up to 25% in certain areas over a 30-year timespan. However, more recently, arctic tundra vegetation dynamics have gotten more complex, with observations of more widespread tundra "browning" being reported. We used a combination of remote sensing data, including the Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling System (GIMMS), as well as higher spatial resolution Landsat data, to evaluate the spatio-temporal patterns of arctic tundra vegetation dynamics (greening and browning) at circumpolar and regional scales over the past 3-4 decades. At the circumpolar scale, we focus on the spatial heterogeneity (by tundra subzone and continent) of tundra browning over the past 5-15 years, followed by a more recent recovery (greening since 2015). Landsat time series allow us to evaluate the landscape-scale heterogeneity of tundra greening and browning for northern Alaska and the Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia, Russia. Multi-dataset analyses reveal that tundra greening and browning (i.e. increases or decreases in the NDVI respectively) are generated by different sets of processes. Tundra greening is largely a result of either climate warming, lengthening of the growing season, or responses to disturbances, such as fires, landslides, and freeze-thaw processes. Browning on the other hand tends to be more event-driven, such as the shorter-term decline in vegetation due to fire, insect defoliation, consumption by larger herbivores, or extreme weather events (e.g. winter warming or early summer frost damage). Browning can also be caused by local or regional cooling, or changes in the snow regime (e.g. depth, timing of melt). The spatio-temporal dynamics of tundra vegetation are only now beginning to get serious attention from the scientific community and the continual use of remote sensing data across spatial scales allows us to monitor these dynamics and elucidate their controls.

Potential of remotely-sensed data for mapping sediment connectivity pathways and their seasonal changes in dryland environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foerster, Saskia; Wilczok, Charlotte; Brosinsky, Arlena; Kroll, Anja; Segl, Karl; Francke, Till

2014-05-01

Many drylands are characterized by strong erosion in headwater catchments, where connectivity processes play an important role in the redistribution of water and sediments. Sediment connectivity relates to the physical transfer of sediment through a drainage basin (Bracken and Croke 2007). The identification of sediment source areas and the way they connect to the channel network are essential to environmental management (Reid et al. 2007), especially where high erosion and sediment delivery rates occur. Vegetation cover and its spatial and temporal pattern is one of the main factors affecting sediment connectivity. This is particularly true for patchy vegetation covers typical for dryland environments. While many connectivity studies are based on field-derived data, the potential of remotely-sensed data for sediment connectivity analyses has not yet been fully exploited. Recent advances in remote sensing allow for quantitative, spatially explicit, catchment-wide derivation of surface information to be used in connectivity analyses. These advances include a continuous increase in spatial image resolution to comprise processes at the plot to hillslope to catchment scale, an increase in the temporal resolution to cover seasonal and long-term changes and an increase in the spectral resolution enabling the discrimination of dry and green vegetation fractions from soil surfaces in heterogeneous dryland landscapes. The utilization of remotely-sensed data for connectivity studies raises questions on what type of information is required, how scale of sediment flux and image resolution match, how the connectivity information can be incorporated into water and sediment transport models and how this improves model predictions. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the potential of remotely-sensed data for mapping sediment connectivity pathways and their seasonal change at the example of a mesoscale dryland catchment in the Spanish Pyrenees. Here, sediment connectivity pathways have been mapped for two adjacent sub-catchments (approx. 70 km²) of the Isábena River in different seasons using a quantitative connectivity index based on fractional vegetation cover and topography data. Fractional cover of green and dry vegetation, bare soil and rock were derived by applying a Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis approach applied to a hyperspectral image dataset. Sediment connectivity was mapped using the Index of Connectivity (Borselli et al. 2008), in which the effect of land cover on runoff and sediment fluxes is expressed by a spatially distributed weighing factor (in this study, the cover and management factor of the RUSLE). The resulting connectivity maps show that areas behave very differently with regard to connectivity, depending on the land cover but also on the spatial distribution of vegetation abundances and topographic barriers. Most parts of the catchment show higher connectivity values in summer than in spring. The studied sub-catchments show a slightly different connectivity behaviour reflecting the different land cover proportions and their spatial configuration. Future work includes the incorporation of sediment connectivity information into a hydrological model (WASA-SED, Mueller et al. 2010) to better reflect connectivity processes and testing the sensitivity of the model to different input data.

Automated high resolution full-field spatial coherence tomography for quantitative phase imaging of human red blood cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singla, Neeru; Dubey, Kavita; Srivastava, Vishal; Ahmad, Azeem; Mehta, D. S.

2018-02-01

We developed an automated high-resolution full-field spatial coherence tomography (FF-SCT) microscope for quantitative phase imaging that is based on the spatial, rather than the temporal, coherence gating. The Red and Green color laser light was used for finding the quantitative phase images of unstained human red blood cells (RBCs). This study uses morphological parameters of unstained RBCs phase images to distinguish between normal and infected cells. We recorded the single interferogram by a FF-SCT microscope for red and green color wavelength and average the two phase images to further reduced the noise artifacts. In order to characterize anemia infected from normal cells different morphological features were extracted and these features were used to train machine learning ensemble model to classify RBCs with high accuracy.

Tools for Material Design and Selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehage, Kristopher

The present thesis focuses on applications of numerical methods to create tools for material characterization, design and selection. The tools generated in this work incorporate a variety of programming concepts, from digital image analysis, geometry, optimization, and parallel programming to data-mining, databases and web design. The first portion of the thesis focuses on methods for characterizing clustering in bimodal 5083 Aluminum alloys created by cryomilling and powder metallurgy. The bimodal samples analyzed in the present work contain a mixture of a coarse grain phase, with a grain size on the order of several microns, and an ultra-fine grain phase, with a grain size on the order of 200 nm. The mixing of the two phases is not homogeneous and clustering is observed. To investigate clustering in these bimodal materials, various microstructures were created experimentally by conventional cryomilling, Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), Extrusion, Dual-Mode Dynamic Forging (DMDF) and a new 'Gradient' cryomilling process. Two techniques for quantitative clustering analysis are presented, formulated and implemented. The first technique, the Area Disorder function, provides a metric of the quality of coarse grain dispersion in an ultra-fine grain matrix and the second technique, the Two-Point Correlation function, provides a metric of long and short range spatial arrangements of the two phases, as well as an indication of the mean feature size in any direction. The two techniques are implemented on digital images created by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Backscatter Detection (EBSD) of the microstructures. To investigate structure--property relationships through modeling and simulation, strategies for generating synthetic microstructures are discussed and a computer program that generates randomized microstructures with desired configurations of clustering described by the Area Disorder Function is formulated and presented. In the computer program, two-dimensional microstructures are generated by Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) of voxelized ellipses representing the coarse grain phase. A simulated annealing algorithm is used to geometrically optimize the placement of the ellipses in the model to achieve varying user-defined configurations of spatial arrangement of the coarse grains. During the simulated annealing process, the ellipses are allowed to overlap up to a specified threshold, allowing triple junctions to form in the model. Once the simulated annealing process is complete, the remaining space is populated by smaller ellipses representing the ultra-fine grain phase. Uniform random orientations are assigned to the grains. The program generates text files that can be imported in to Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Analysis Software for stress analysis. Finally, numerical methods and programming are applied to current issues in green engineering and hazard assessment. To understand hazards associated with materials and select safer alternatives, engineers and designers need access to up-to-date hazard information. However, hazard information comes from many disparate sources and aggregating, interpreting and taking action on the wealth of data is not trivial. In light of these challenges, a Framework for Automated Hazard Assessment based on the GreenScreen list translator is presented. The framework consists of a computer program that automatically extracts data from the GHS-Japan hazard database, loads the data into a machine-readable JSON format, transforms the JSON document in to a GreenScreen JSON document using the GreenScreen List Translator v1.2 and performs GreenScreen Benchmark scoring on the material. The GreenScreen JSON documents are then uploaded to a document storage system to allow human operators to search for, modify or add additional hazard information via a web interface.

Finite-frequency structural sensitivities of short-period compressional body waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuji, Nobuaki; Chevrot, Sébastien; Zhao, Li; Geller, Robert J.; Kawai, Kenji

2012-07-01

We present an extension of the method recently introduced by Zhao & Chevrot for calculating Fréchet kernels from a precomputed database of strain Green's tensors by normal mode summation. The extension involves two aspects: (1) we compute the strain Green's tensors using the Direct Solution Method, which allows us to go up to frequencies as high as 1 Hz; and (2) we develop a spatial interpolation scheme so that the Green's tensors can be computed with a relatively coarse grid, thus improving the efficiency in the computation of the sensitivity kernels. The only requirement is that the Green's tensors be computed with a fine enough spatial sampling rate to avoid spatial aliasing. The Green's tensors can then be interpolated to any location inside the Earth, avoiding the need to store and retrieve strain Green's tensors for a fine sampling grid. The interpolation scheme not only significantly reduces the CPU time required to calculate the Green's tensor database and the disk space to store it, but also enhances the efficiency in computing the kernels by reducing the number of I/O operations needed to retrieve the Green's tensors. Our new implementation allows us to calculate sensitivity kernels for high-frequency teleseismic body waves with very modest computational resources such as a laptop. We illustrate the potential of our approach for seismic tomography by computing traveltime and amplitude sensitivity kernels for high frequency P, PKP and Pdiff phases. A comparison of our PKP kernels with those computed by asymptotic ray theory clearly shows the limits of the latter. With ray theory, it is not possible to model waves diffracted by internal discontinuities such as the core-mantle boundary, and it is also difficult to compute amplitudes for paths close to the B-caustic of the PKP phase. We also compute waveform partial derivatives for different parts of the seismic wavefield, a key ingredient for high resolution imaging by waveform inversion. Our computations of partial derivatives in the time window where PcP precursors are commonly observed show that the distribution of sensitivity is complex and counter-intuitive, with a large contribution from the mid-mantle region. This clearly emphasizes the need to use accurate and complete partial derivatives in waveform inversion.

Age and gender differences in the influence of extrinsic product information on acceptability for RTD green tea beverages.

PubMed

Bae, Ye-Won; Lee, Soh Min; Kim, Kwang-Ok

2016-03-15

The introduction of ready-to-drink (RTD) green tea beverage has allowed diverse consumers to consume green teas and related products. Green tea that has been traditionally consumed for its delicate flavor characteristics is also widely consumed for its recognition as a healthy product. Because it is reported that age difference exists in consideration of health-related information, the objective of the study was to investigate how sensory and non-sensory factors, in particular health-related information, price and packaging, would affect the flavor acceptability of green tea beverages, depending on consumers' age and gender. Regardless of the product information, old consumers preferred products that provided an indication of health beneficial effect. On the other hand, young consumers tended to be influenced by extrinsic product information such as packaging, brand/manufacturer and/or price, though these consumers were not so much influenced by health beneficial information as were the old consumers. The findings of the study implied that the influence of non-sensory information such as health beneficial information in flavor liking differed depending mostly on consumers' age, and little on gender, for RTD green tea beverages. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

TERRESTRIAL VEGETATION GREENNESS OF THE LOWER GALVESTON BAY WATERSHED FROM SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING AND ITS RELATION TO WATER AND THE SALINITY REGIME OF THE GALVESTON BAY ESTUARY

EPA Science Inventory

Spatial and temporal variability of vegetation greenness have been determined for coastal Texas using biweekly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Results are presented on relationships between grou...

76 FR 29272 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Emergency Review: Comment Request...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-20

... for OMB Emergency Review: Comment Request; Baseline Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact..., ``Baseline Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation of ARRA-funded Grants,'' to the... is preparation for an evaluation of the Green Jobs and Health Care (GJHC) training grants. The ETA...

76 FR 60084 - Extension Request for Collection of Baseline Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-28

... Baseline Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation of ARRA-Funded Grants AGENCY... the Green Jobs and Health Care American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or Recovery Act... supports an evaluation of the impacts of the Green Jobs and Health Care (GJHC) training grants. This...

Urban Green Space Perception and Its Contribution to Well-Being.

PubMed

Kothencz, Gyula; Kolcsár, Ronald; Cabrera-Barona, Pablo; Szilassi, Péter

2017-07-12

Individual perceptions are essential when evaluating the well-being benefits from urban green spaces. This study predicted the influence of perceived green space characteristics in the city of Szeged, Hungary, on two well-being variables: the green space visitors' level of satisfaction and the self-reported quality of life. The applied logistic regression analysis used nine predictors: seven perceived green space characteristics from a questionnaire survey among visitors of five urban green spaces of Szeged; and the frequency of green space visitors' crowd-sourced recreational running paths and photographs picturing green space aesthetics. Results revealed that perceived green space characteristics with direct well-being benefits were strong predictors of both dependent variables. Perceived green space characteristics with indirect, yet fundamental, well-being benefits, namely, regulating ecosystem services had minor influence on the dependent variables. The crowd-sourced geo-tagged data predicted only the perceived quality of life contributions; but revealed spatial patterns of recreational green space use and aesthetics. This study recommends that regulating ecosystem services should be planned with a focus on residents' aesthetic and recreational needs. Further research on the combination of green space visitors´ perceptions and crowd-sourced geo-tagged data is suggested to promote planning for well-being and health benefits of urban green spaces.

Urban Green Space Perception and Its Contribution to Well-Being

PubMed Central

Kolcsár, Ronald; Cabrera-Barona, Pablo; Szilassi, Péter

2017-01-01

Individual perceptions are essential when evaluating the well-being benefits from urban green spaces. This study predicted the influence of perceived green space characteristics in the city of Szeged, Hungary, on two well-being variables: the green space visitors’ level of satisfaction and the self-reported quality of life. The applied logistic regression analysis used nine predictors: seven perceived green space characteristics from a questionnaire survey among visitors of five urban green spaces of Szeged; and the frequency of green space visitors’ crowd-sourced recreational running paths and photographs picturing green space aesthetics. Results revealed that perceived green space characteristics with direct well-being benefits were strong predictors of both dependent variables. Perceived green space characteristics with indirect, yet fundamental, well-being benefits, namely, regulating ecosystem services had minor influence on the dependent variables. The crowd-sourced geo-tagged data predicted only the perceived quality of life contributions; but revealed spatial patterns of recreational green space use and aesthetics. This study recommends that regulating ecosystem services should be planned with a focus on residents’ aesthetic and recreational needs. Further research on the combination of green space visitors´ perceptions and crowd-sourced geo-tagged data is suggested to promote planning for well-being and health benefits of urban green spaces. PMID:28704969

Spatial distribution of Chinavia hilaris (Hemiptera:Pentatomidae) in peanut-cotton farmscapes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The peanut-cotton farmscapes in this study were composed of peanut and cotton fields whose edges interface with each other and woodland habitats. The green stink bug, Chinavia hilaris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an economic pest of cotton, but little is known concerning its spatial distribu...

[Species composition and spatial structure of plants in urban parks of Beijing].

PubMed

Zhao, Juan-Juan; Ouyang, Zhi-Yun; Zheng, Hua; Xu, Wei-Hua; Wang, Xiao-Ke

2009-02-01

By the method of stratified random sampling, the species composition and spatial structure of the plants in 53 parks in Beijing urban area were investigated, aimed to provide basic information for the protection of plant diversity in the parks and the management of the parks. A total of 492 plant species belong to 96 families and 283 genera were recorded. Based on the data of 21 investigation items about the trees, shrubs, and grasses in the study area and related statistical analyses, the plant structural patterns commonly seen in the green space of the parks of Beijing urban area were introduced. Among the plants in the parks, native species occupied 53.86% of the total. The chorological composition of the genera embraced broad kinds of geographical elements in China, and the predominance of dominant plants was remarkable. In most green patches of the parks, herbaceous species were more abundant and had higher coverage, shrubs had relatively low coverage and were less beneath tree canopy, and trees and shrubs had lower species richness and density. The canopy breadth and the diameter of breast height of trees as well as the breadth of shrubs and the heights of trees and shrubs were basically at the second grade, but the canopy structure of the trees were better, with good conditions of sunlight and growth. The crown missing of the shrubs was relatively low. It was suggested from correlation analyses and document survey of Beijing parks construction history that park landscape design, alien species introduction; and cultivation management were the main factors affecting the species composition and spatial structure of the plants in Beijing urban parks.

MAPPING SPATIAL/TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF GREEN MACROALGAE IN A PACIFIC NORTHWEST COASTAL ESTUARY VIA SMALL FORMAT COLOR INFRARED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

EPA Science Inventory

A small format 35 mm hand-held camera with color infrared slide film was used to map blooms of benthic green macroalgae upon mudflats of Yaquina Bay estuary on the central Oregon coast, U.S.A. Oblique photographs were taken during a series of low tide events, when the intertidal...

Performance of vegetation indices from Landsat time series in deforestation monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, Michael; Clevers, Jan G. P. W.; Carter, Sarah; Verbesselt, Jan; Avitabile, Valerio; Quang, Hien Vu; Herold, Martin

2016-10-01

The performance of Landsat time series (LTS) of eight vegetation indices (VIs) was assessed for monitoring deforestation across the tropics. Three sites were selected based on differing remote sensing observation frequencies, deforestation drivers and environmental factors. The LTS of each VI was analysed using the Breaks For Additive Season and Trend (BFAST) Monitor method to identify deforestation. A robust reference database was used to evaluate the performance regarding spatial accuracy, sensitivity to observation frequency and combined use of multiple VIs. The canopy cover sensitive Normalized Difference Fraction Index (NDFI) was the most accurate. Among those tested, wetness related VIs (Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) and the Tasselled Cap wetness (TCw)) were spatially more accurate than greenness related VIs (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Tasselled Cap greenness (TCg)). When VIs were fused on feature level, spatial accuracy was improved and overestimation of change reduced. NDVI and NDFI produced the most robust results when observation frequency varies.

Orbital Angular Momentum-based Space Division Multiplexing for High-capacity Underwater Optical Communications

DOE PAGES

Ren, Yongxiong; Li, Long; Wang, Zhe; ...

2016-09-12

To increase system capacity of underwater optical communications, we employ the spatial domain to simultaneously transmit multiple orthogonal spatial beams, each carrying an independent data channel. In this paper, we show up to a 40-Gbit/s link by multiplexing and transmitting four green orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams through a single aperture. Moreover, we investigate the degrading effects of scattering/turbidity, water current, and thermal gradient-induced turbulence, and we find that thermal gradients cause the most distortions and turbidity causes the most loss. We show systems results using two different data generation techniques, one at 1064 nm for 10-Gbit/s/beam and one atmore » 520 nm for 1-Gbit/s/beam; we use both techniques since present data-modulation technologies are faster for infrared (IR) than for green. For the 40-Gbit/s link, data is modulated in the IR, and OAM imprinting is performed in the green using a specially-designed metasurface phase mask. For the 4-Gbit/s link, a green laser diode is directly modulated. Lastly, we show that inter-channel crosstalk induced by thermal gradients can be mitigated using multi-channel equalisation processing.« less

Orbital Angular Momentum-based Space Division Multiplexing for High-capacity Underwater Optical Communications

PubMed Central

Ren, Yongxiong; Li, Long; Wang, Zhe; Kamali, Seyedeh Mahsa; Arbabi, Ehsan; Arbabi, Amir; Zhao, Zhe; Xie, Guodong; Cao, Yinwen; Ahmed, Nisar; Yan, Yan; Liu, Cong; Willner, Asher J.; Ashrafi, Solyman; Tur, Moshe; Faraon, Andrei; Willner, Alan E.

2016-01-01

To increase system capacity of underwater optical communications, we employ the spatial domain to simultaneously transmit multiple orthogonal spatial beams, each carrying an independent data channel. In this paper, we show up to a 40-Gbit/s link by multiplexing and transmitting four green orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams through a single aperture. Moreover, we investigate the degrading effects of scattering/turbidity, water current, and thermal gradient-induced turbulence, and we find that thermal gradients cause the most distortions and turbidity causes the most loss. We show systems results using two different data generation techniques, one at 1064 nm for 10-Gbit/s/beam and one at 520 nm for 1-Gbit/s/beam; we use both techniques since present data-modulation technologies are faster for infrared (IR) than for green. For the 40-Gbit/s link, data is modulated in the IR, and OAM imprinting is performed in the green using a specially-designed metasurface phase mask. For the 4-Gbit/s link, a green laser diode is directly modulated. Finally, we show that inter-channel crosstalk induced by thermal gradients can be mitigated using multi-channel equalisation processing. PMID:27615808

Orbital Angular Momentum-based Space Division Multiplexing for High-capacity Underwater Optical Communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Yongxiong; Li, Long; Wang, Zhe; Kamali, Seyedeh Mahsa; Arbabi, Ehsan; Arbabi, Amir; Zhao, Zhe; Xie, Guodong; Cao, Yinwen; Ahmed, Nisar; Yan, Yan; Liu, Cong; Willner, Asher J.; Ashrafi, Solyman; Tur, Moshe; Faraon, Andrei; Willner, Alan E.

2016-09-01

To increase system capacity of underwater optical communications, we employ the spatial domain to simultaneously transmit multiple orthogonal spatial beams, each carrying an independent data channel. In this paper, we show up to a 40-Gbit/s link by multiplexing and transmitting four green orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams through a single aperture. Moreover, we investigate the degrading effects of scattering/turbidity, water current, and thermal gradient-induced turbulence, and we find that thermal gradients cause the most distortions and turbidity causes the most loss. We show systems results using two different data generation techniques, one at 1064 nm for 10-Gbit/s/beam and one at 520 nm for 1-Gbit/s/beam; we use both techniques since present data-modulation technologies are faster for infrared (IR) than for green. For the 40-Gbit/s link, data is modulated in the IR, and OAM imprinting is performed in the green using a specially-designed metasurface phase mask. For the 4-Gbit/s link, a green laser diode is directly modulated. Finally, we show that inter-channel crosstalk induced by thermal gradients can be mitigated using multi-channel equalisation processing.

Orbital Angular Momentum-based Space Division Multiplexing for High-capacity Underwater Optical Communications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ren, Yongxiong; Li, Long; Wang, Zhe

To increase system capacity of underwater optical communications, we employ the spatial domain to simultaneously transmit multiple orthogonal spatial beams, each carrying an independent data channel. In this paper, we show up to a 40-Gbit/s link by multiplexing and transmitting four green orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams through a single aperture. Moreover, we investigate the degrading effects of scattering/turbidity, water current, and thermal gradient-induced turbulence, and we find that thermal gradients cause the most distortions and turbidity causes the most loss. We show systems results using two different data generation techniques, one at 1064 nm for 10-Gbit/s/beam and one atmore » 520 nm for 1-Gbit/s/beam; we use both techniques since present data-modulation technologies are faster for infrared (IR) than for green. For the 40-Gbit/s link, data is modulated in the IR, and OAM imprinting is performed in the green using a specially-designed metasurface phase mask. For the 4-Gbit/s link, a green laser diode is directly modulated. Lastly, we show that inter-channel crosstalk induced by thermal gradients can be mitigated using multi-channel equalisation processing.« less

Orbital Angular Momentum-based Space Division Multiplexing for High-capacity Underwater Optical Communications.

PubMed

Ren, Yongxiong; Li, Long; Wang, Zhe; Kamali, Seyedeh Mahsa; Arbabi, Ehsan; Arbabi, Amir; Zhao, Zhe; Xie, Guodong; Cao, Yinwen; Ahmed, Nisar; Yan, Yan; Liu, Cong; Willner, Asher J; Ashrafi, Solyman; Tur, Moshe; Faraon, Andrei; Willner, Alan E

2016-09-12

To increase system capacity of underwater optical communications, we employ the spatial domain to simultaneously transmit multiple orthogonal spatial beams, each carrying an independent data channel. In this paper, we show up to a 40-Gbit/s link by multiplexing and transmitting four green orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams through a single aperture. Moreover, we investigate the degrading effects of scattering/turbidity, water current, and thermal gradient-induced turbulence, and we find that thermal gradients cause the most distortions and turbidity causes the most loss. We show systems results using two different data generation techniques, one at 1064 nm for 10-Gbit/s/beam and one at 520 nm for 1-Gbit/s/beam; we use both techniques since present data-modulation technologies are faster for infrared (IR) than for green. For the 40-Gbit/s link, data is modulated in the IR, and OAM imprinting is performed in the green using a specially-designed metasurface phase mask. For the 4-Gbit/s link, a green laser diode is directly modulated. Finally, we show that inter-channel crosstalk induced by thermal gradients can be mitigated using multi-channel equalisation processing.

Classification of Liss IV Imagery Using Decision Tree Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Amit Kumar; Garg, P. K.; Prasad, K. S. Hari; Dadhwal, V. K.

2016-06-01

Image classification is a compulsory step in any remote sensing research. Classification uses the spectral information represented by the digital numbers in one or more spectral bands and attempts to classify each individual pixel based on this spectral information. Crop classification is the main concern of remote sensing applications for developing sustainable agriculture system. Vegetation indices computed from satellite images gives a good indication of the presence of vegetation. It is an indicator that describes the greenness, density and health of vegetation. Texture is also an important characteristics which is used to identifying objects or region of interest is an image. This paper illustrate the use of decision tree method to classify the land in to crop land and non-crop land and to classify different crops. In this paper we evaluate the possibility of crop classification using an integrated approach methods based on texture property with different vegetation indices for single date LISS IV sensor 5.8 meter high spatial resolution data. Eleven vegetation indices (NDVI, DVI, GEMI, GNDVI, MSAVI2, NDWI, NG, NR, NNIR, OSAVI and VI green) has been generated using green, red and NIR band and then image is classified using decision tree method. The other approach is used integration of texture feature (mean, variance, kurtosis and skewness) with these vegetation indices. A comparison has been done between these two methods. The results indicate that inclusion of textural feature with vegetation indices can be effectively implemented to produce classifiedmaps with 8.33% higher accuracy for Indian satellite IRS-P6, LISS IV sensor images.

77 FR 69896 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Follow-Up...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-21

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Follow-Up Survey Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact... request (ICR) proposal titled, ``Follow-Up Survey Information for Green Jobs and Health Care Impact... Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Green Jobs and Health Care Grants Impact Evaluation (OMB 1205-0486), and in March, 2012...

Automated mapping of mineral groups and green vegetation from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery with an example from the San Juan Mountains, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rockwell, Barnaby W.

2013-01-01

Multispectral satellite data acquired by the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (TM) sensors are being used to populate an online Geographic Information System (GIS) of the spatial occurrence of mineral groups and green vegetation across the western conterminous United States and Alaska. These geospatial data are supporting U.S. Geological Survey national-scale mineral deposit database development and other mineral resource and geoenvironmental research as a means of characterizing mineral exposures related to mined and unmined hydrothermally altered rocks and mine waste. This report introduces a new methodology for the automated analysis of Landsat TM data that has been applied to more than 180 scenes covering the western United States. A map of mineral groups and green vegetation produced using this new methodology that covers the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado, and the Four Corners Region is presented. The map is provided as a layered GeoPDF and in GIS-ready digital format. TM data analysis results from other well-studied and mineralogically characterized areas with strong hydrothermal alteration and (or) supergene weathering of near-surface sulfide minerals are also shown and compared with results derived from ASTER data analysis.

Energy solutions, neo-liberalism, and social diversity in Toronto, Canada.

PubMed

Teelucksingh, Cheryl; Poland, Blake

2011-01-01

In response to the dominance of green capitalist discourses in Canada's environmental movement, in this paper, we argue that strategies to improve energy policy must also provide mechanisms to address social conflicts and social disparities. Environmental justice is proposed as an alternative to mainstream environmentalism, one that seeks to address systemic social and spatial exclusion encountered by many racialized immigrants in Toronto as a result of neo-liberal and green capitalist municipal policy and that seeks to position marginalized communities as valued contributors to energy solutions. We examine Toronto-based municipal state initiatives aimed at reducing energy use while concurrently stimulating growth (specifically, green economy/green jobs and 'smart growth'). By treating these as instruments of green capitalism, we illustrate the utility of environmental justice applied to energy-related problems and as a means to analyze stakeholders' positions in the context of neo-liberalism and green capitalism, and as opening possibilities for resistance.

Energy Solutions, Neo-Liberalism, and Social Diversity in Toronto, Canada

PubMed Central

Teelucksingh, Cheryl; Poland, Blake

2011-01-01

In response to the dominance of green capitalist discourses in Canada’s environmental movement, in this paper, we argue that strategies to improve energy policy must also provide mechanisms to address social conflicts and social disparities. Environmental justice is proposed as an alternative to mainstream environmentalism, one that seeks to address systemic social and spatial exclusion encountered by many racialized immigrants in Toronto as a result of neo-liberal and green capitalist municipal policy and that seeks to position marginalized communities as valued contributors to energy solutions. We examine Toronto-based municipal state initiatives aimed at reducing energy use while concurrently stimulating growth (specifically, green economy/green jobs and ‘smart growth’). By treating these as instruments of green capitalism, we illustrate the utility of environmental justice applied to energy-related problems and as a means to analyze stakeholders’ positions in the context of neo-liberalism and green capitalism, and as opening possibilities for resistance. PMID:21318023

Hairy nightshade as a potential Potato leafroll virus (Luteoviridae: Polerovirus) inoculum source in Pacific Northwest potato ecosystems.

PubMed

Srinivasan, R; Alvarez, J M

2008-09-01

Hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides, is a solanaceous weed found abundantly in Pacific Northwest potato ecosystems. It serves as a reservoir for one of the important potato viruses, Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) (Luteoviridae: Polerovirus), and its most important vector, the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Homoptera: Aphididae). Laboratory research indicated an increased green peach aphid settling and performance on S. sarrachoides than on potato. It also revealed that green peach aphids transmitted PLRV more efficiently from S. sarrachoides to potato than from potato to potato. To test the efficiency of S. sarrachoides as an inoculum source in the field, a two season (2004 and 2005) trial was conducted at Kimberly, Idaho. Two inoculum sources, PLRV-infected potato and PLRV-infected S. sarrachoides, were compared in this trial. Green peach aphid density and temporal and spatial PLRV spread were monitored at weekly intervals. Higher densities of green peach aphids were observed on plots with S. sarrachoides and inoculum sources (PLRV-infected S. sarrachoides and potato) than on plots without S. sarrachoides and inoculum sources. PLRV infection in plots with PLRV-infected S. sarrachoides was similar to or slightly higher than in plots with PLRV-infected potato as an inoculum source. Temporal and spatial PLRV spread was similar in plots with either inoculum source. Thus, S. sarrachoides is as efficient as or a better PLRV inoculum source than potato.

Unique Temporal Expression of Triplicated Long-Wavelength Opsins in Developing Butterfly Eyes

PubMed Central

Arikawa, Kentaro; Iwanaga, Tomoyuki; Wakakuwa, Motohiro; Kinoshita, Michiyo

2017-01-01

Following gene duplication events, the expression patterns of the resulting gene copies can often diverge both spatially and temporally. Here we report on gene duplicates that are expressed in distinct but overlapping patterns, and which exhibit temporally divergent expression. Butterflies have sophisticated color vision and spectrally complex eyes, typically with three types of heterogeneous ommatidia. The eyes of the butterfly Papilio xuthus express two green- and one red-absorbing visual pigment, which came about via gene duplication events, in addition to one ultraviolet (UV)- and one blue-absorbing visual pigment. We localized mRNAs encoding opsins of these visual pigments in developing eye disks throughout the pupal stage. The mRNAs of the UV and blue opsin are expressed early in pupal development (pd), specifying the type of the ommatidium in which they appear. Red sensitive photoreceptors first express a green opsin mRNA, which is replaced later by the red opsin mRNA. Broadband photoreceptors (that coexpress the green and red opsins) first express the green opsin mRNA, later change to red opsin mRNA and finally re-express the green opsin mRNA in addition to the red mRNA. Such a unique temporal and spatial expression pattern of opsin mRNAs may reflect the evolution of visual pigments and provide clues toward understanding how the spectrally complex eyes of butterflies evolved. PMID:29238294

Impact of green supply chain management practices on firms' performance: an empirical study from the perspective of Pakistan.

PubMed

Khan, Syed Abdul Rehman; Qianli, Dong

2017-07-01

This article investigates the impact of five determinants of the green supply chain practices on organizational performance in the context of Pakistan manufacturing firms. A sample of 218 firms was collected from the manufacturing industry. The green supply chain practices were measured through five independent variables including green manufacturing, green purchasing, green information systems, cooperation with customers, and eco-design. By using exploratory factor and simultaneous regression analysis, the results indicate that except green purchasing, rests of the four independent variables have been found statistically significant to predict organizational performance. However, the eco-design of green practices followed by green information systems has revealed the greatest impact on organizational performance. Therefore, the managers of the manufacturing firms should not only implement eco-design in their supply chain but also concentrate on proper monitoring and implementation of green information systems to increase their firms' performance. A main contribution of this research from theoretical side is that it is possible to notice a negative effect of "green purchasing" towards organizational performance particularly in the scenario of Pakistan manufacturing industry. Another valuable result is that green purchasing is an important antecedent of firms economic performance in the US manufacturing firms (Green et al. 2012), although not significantly related to organizational performance in our study. In addition, we also discussed research limitations, areas for future research, and implications for practitioners.

Toward a Spatial Perspective on Business Sustainability: The Role of Central Urban and Environmentally Sensitive Areas in Energy Corporates’ Green Behaviours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Teng; Liu, Zongrui; Zhou, Li

2018-02-01

As one of the most concerned topics in strategic management research, the motivations of energy corporates’ green behaviours are extensively explored by scholars, however, only a few noticed the role of geographic antecedents. To bridge this gap, we argue that energy firms’ green behaviours will be greatly predicted by its location, more specifically, proximity to environmentally sensitive areas and central urban areas. Draw on neo-institutional theory and stakeholder theory, we argue that institutional forces mediate the links between energy corporates’ green behaviours and proximities, while different proximity affects via different institutional logics. The results are discussed along with managerial implications.

Initial Demonstration of 9-MHz Framing Camera Rates on the FAST UV Drive Laser Pulse Trains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lumpkin, A. H.; Edstrom Jr., D.; Ruan, J.

2016-10-09

We report the configuration of a Hamamatsu C5680 streak camera as a framing camera to record transverse spatial information of green-component laser micropulses at 3- and 9-MHz rates for the first time. The latter is near the time scale of the ~7.5-MHz revolution frequency of the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) ring and its expected synchroton radiation source temporal structure. The 2-D images are recorded with a Gig-E readout CCD camera. We also report a first proof of principle with an OTR source using the linac streak camera in a semi-framing mode.

Green Power Partnership Events and Webinars

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's Green Power Partnership hosts variety of events, such as webinars and presentations at conferences, on a regular basis. Topics include the Green Power Partnership, green power technologies and products, and information on procuring green power.

Spatial and radiometric characterization of multi-spectrum satellite images through multi-fractal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso, Carmelo; Tarquis, Ana M.; Zúñiga, Ignacio; Benito, Rosa M.

2017-03-01

Several studies have shown that vegetation indexes can be used to estimate root zone soil moisture. Earth surface images, obtained by high-resolution satellites, presently give a lot of information on these indexes, based on the data of several wavelengths. Because of the potential capacity for systematic observations at various scales, remote sensing technology extends the possible data archives from the present time to several decades back. Because of this advantage, enormous efforts have been made by researchers and application specialists to delineate vegetation indexes from local scale to global scale by applying remote sensing imagery. In this work, four band images have been considered, which are involved in these vegetation indexes, and were taken by satellites Ikonos-2 and Landsat-7 of the same geographic location, to study the effect of both spatial (pixel size) and radiometric (number of bits coding the image) resolution on these wavelength bands as well as two vegetation indexes: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). In order to do so, a multi-fractal analysis of these multi-spectral images was applied in each of these bands and the two indexes derived. The results showed that spatial resolution has a similar scaling effect in the four bands, but radiometric resolution has a larger influence in blue and green bands than in red and near-infrared bands. The NDVI showed a higher sensitivity to the radiometric resolution than EVI. Both were equally affected by the spatial resolution. From both factors, the spatial resolution has a major impact in the multi-fractal spectrum for all the bands and the vegetation indexes. This information should be taken in to account when vegetation indexes based on different satellite sensors are obtained.

The benefits of GIS to land use planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strielko, Irina; Pereira, Paulo

2014-05-01

The development of information technologies has significantly changed the approach to land use and spatial planning, management of natural resources. GIS considerably simplifies territorial planning operating analyzing necessary data concerning their spatial relationship that allows carrying out complex assessment of the situation and creates a basis for adoption of more exact and scientifically reasonable decisions in the course of land use. To assess the current land use situation and the possibility of modeling possible future changes associated with complex of adopted measures GIS allows the integration of diverse spatial data, for example, data about soils, climate, vegetation, and other and also to visualize available information in the form of maps, graphs or charts, 3D models. For the purposes of land use GIS allow using data of remote sensing, which allows to make monitoring of anthropogenic influence in a particular area and estimate scales and rates of degradation of green cover, flora and fauna. Assessment of land use can be made in complex or componentwise, indicating the test sites depending on the goals. GIS make it easy to model spatial distribution of various types of pollution of stationary and mobile sources in soil, atmosphere and the hydrological network. Based on results of the analysis made by GIS choose the optimal solutions of land use that provide the minimum impact on environment, make optimal decisions of conflict associated with land use and control of their using. One of the major advantages of using GIS is possibility of the complex analysis in concrete existential aspect. Analytical opportunities of GIS define conditionality of spatial distribution of objects and interrelation communication between them. For a variety of land management objectives analysis method is chosen based on the parameters of the problem and parameters of use of its results.

The Relationship between Neighbourhood Green Space and Child Mental Wellbeing Depends upon Whom You Ask: Multilevel Evidence from 3083 Children Aged 12-13 Years.

PubMed

Feng, Xiaoqi; Astell-Burt, Thomas

2017-02-27

Recent reviews of the rapidly growing scientific literature on neighbourhood green space and health show strong evidence for protective and restorative effects on mental wellbeing. However, multiple informants are common when reporting mental wellbeing in studies of children. Do different informants lead to different results? This study utilised nationally representative data on Goodman's 25-item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire reported by 3083 children (aged 12-13 years old), and their parents and teachers. Multilevel models were used to investigate whether similar associations between child mental wellbeing (as measured using the total difficulties score and the internalising and externalising subscales) and neighbourhood green space quantity and quality are obtained regardless of the informant. After adjustment for confounders, higher green space quantity and quality were associated with consistently more favourable child mental wellbeing on all three measures, regardless of the informant. However, associations with green space quantity were statistically significant ( p < 0.05) only for the parent-reported total difficulties score and the internalising subscale. Significant associations with green space quality were consistently observed for both parent- and child-reported outcomes. Teacher-reported outcomes were not significantly associated with green space exposure. Future studies of green space and child health should acknowledge when different informants of outcomes could lead to different conclusions.

The Relationship between Neighbourhood Green Space and Child Mental Wellbeing Depends upon Whom You Ask: Multilevel Evidence from 3083 Children Aged 12–13 Years

PubMed Central

Feng, Xiaoqi; Astell-Burt, Thomas

2017-01-01

Recent reviews of the rapidly growing scientific literature on neighbourhood green space and health show strong evidence for protective and restorative effects on mental wellbeing. However, multiple informants are common when reporting mental wellbeing in studies of children. Do different informants lead to different results? This study utilised nationally representative data on Goodman’s 25-item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire reported by 3083 children (aged 12–13 years old), and their parents and teachers. Multilevel models were used to investigate whether similar associations between child mental wellbeing (as measured using the total difficulties score and the internalising and externalising subscales) and neighbourhood green space quantity and quality are obtained regardless of the informant. After adjustment for confounders, higher green space quantity and quality were associated with consistently more favourable child mental wellbeing on all three measures, regardless of the informant. However, associations with green space quantity were statistically significant (p < 0.05) only for the parent-reported total difficulties score and the internalising subscale. Significant associations with green space quality were consistently observed for both parent- and child-reported outcomes. Teacher-reported outcomes were not significantly associated with green space exposure. Future studies of green space and child health should acknowledge when different informants of outcomes could lead to different conclusions. PMID:28264461

Spatial pattern characteristics of water footprint for maize production in Northeast China.

PubMed

Duan, Peili; Qin, Lijie; Wang, Yeqiao; He, Hongshi

2016-01-30

Water footprint (WF) methodology is essential for quantifying total water consumption of crop production and making efficient water management policies. This study calculated the green, blue, grey and total WFs of maize production in Northeast China from 1998 to 2012 and compared the values of the provinces. This study also analyzed the spatial variation and structure characteristics of the WFs at the prefecture level. The annual average WF of maize production was 1029 m(3) per ton, which was 51% green, 21% blue and 28% grey. The WF of maize production was highest in Liaoning Province, moderate in Heilongjiang Province and lowest in Jilin Province. The spatial differences of the WFs calculated for the 36 major maize production prefectures were significant in Northeast China. There was a moderate positive spatial autocorrelation among prefectures that had similar WFs. Local indicator of spatial autocorrelation index (LISA) analysis identified prefectures with higher WFs in the southeast region of Liaoning Province and the southwest region of Heilongjiang Province and prefectures with lower WFs in the middle of Jilin Province. Spatial differences in the WF of maize production were caused mainly by variations in climate conditions, soil quality, irrigation facilities and maize yield. The spatial distribution of WFs can help provide a scientific basis for optimizing maize production distribution and then formulate strategies to reduce the WF of maize production. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Dynamics of the wetland vegetation in large lakes of the Yangtze Plain in response to both fertilizer consumption and climatic changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Xuejiao; Feng, Lian; Chen, Xiaoling; Zhang, Yunlin

2018-07-01

Using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data that cover the 15-year period from 2000 to 2014 and a phenology-based classification method, the long-term changes in the wetland vegetation of 25 large lakes on the Yangtze Plain were obtained. The classification method was developed based on the phenological information extracted from time series of MODIS observations, which demonstrated mean user's/producer's accuracies of 76.17% and 84.58%, respectively. The first comprehensive record of the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of wetland vegetation in the large lakes on the Yangtze Plain was created. Of the 25 lakes examined, 17 showed a decreasing trend of vegetation area percentages (VAPs) during the study period, and 7 were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The same number of lakes was found to display decreasing trends in vegetation greenness over this 15-year period, and these decreasing trends were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for 11 of the lakes. Substantially fewer lakes showed increases in either their VAPs or their vegetation greenness values. Analysis using a multiple general linear model revealed that the amounts of chemical fertilizer used for farmlands surrounding the lakes, precipitation, daily sunshine hours, temperature and water turbidity played the most important roles in regulating the interannual changes in vegetation greenness in 40% (10/25), 12% (3/25), 4% (1/25), 20% (5/25) and 12% (3/25) of the lake wetlands, respectively. On average, the combined effects of these five driving factors above explained 89.08 ± 7.89% of the variation in greenness over this 15-year period for the 25 lakes. This wetland vegetation environmental data record (EDR) of large lakes in Yangtze Plain demonstration will provide a crucial baseline information for the wetland environment conservation and restoration.

Greening and browning of the Himalaya: Spatial patterns and the role of climatic change and human drivers.

PubMed

Mishra, Niti B; Mainali, Kumar P

2017-06-01

The reliable detection and attribution of changes in vegetation greenness is a prerequisite for the development of strategies for the sustainable management of ecosystems. We conducted a robust trend analysis on remote sensing derived vegetation index time-series matrices to detect significant changes in inter-annual vegetation productivity (greening versus browning) for the entire Himalaya, a biodiverse and ecologically sensitive yet understudied region. The spatial variability in trend was assessed considering elevation, 12 dominant land cover/use types and 10 ecoregions. To assess trend causation, at local scale, we compared multi-temporal imagery, and at regional scale, referenced ecological theories of mountain vegetation dynamics and ancillary literature. Overall, 17.56% of Himalayan vegetation (71,162km 2 ) exhibited significant trend (p<0.01) and majority (94%) showed positive trend (greening). Trend distribution showed strong elevational and ecoregion dependence as greening was most dominant at lower and middle elevations whereas majority of the browning occurred at higher elevation (>3800m), with eastern high Himalaya browning more dominantly than western high Himalaya. Land cover/use based categorization confirmed dominant greening of rainfed and irrigated agricultural areas, though cropped areas in western Himalaya contained higher proportion of greening areas. While rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration and nitrogen deposition are the most likely climatic causes of detected greening, success of sustainable forestry practices (community forestry in Nepal) along with increasing agricultural fertilization and irrigation facilities could be possible human drivers. Comparison of multi-temporal imagery enabled direct attribution of some browning areas to anthropogenic land change (dam, airport and tunnel construction). Our satellite detected browning of high altitude vegetation in eastern Himalaya confirm the findings of recent dendrochronology based studies which possibly resulted from reduced pre-monsoon moisture availability in recent decades. These results have significant implications for environmental management in the context of climate change and ecosystem dynamics in the Himalaya. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Canadian Boreal Forest Greening and Browning Trends: An Analysis of Biogeographic Patterns and the Relative Roles of Disturbance versus Climate Drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulla-menashe, D. J.; Woodcock, C. E.; Friedl, M. A.

2017-12-01

Recent studies have used satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) to explore geographic patterns in boreal forest greening and browning. A number of these studies indicate that boreal forests are experiencing widespread browning, and have suggested that these patterns reflect decreases in forest productivity induced by climate change. A key limitation of these studies, however, is their reliance on AVHRR data, which provides imagery with very coarse spatial resolution and lower radiometric quality relative to other available remote sensing time series. Here we use NDVI time series from Landsat, which has much higher radiometric quality and spatial resolution than AVHRR, to characterize spatial patterns in greening and browning across Canada's boreal forest and to explore the drivers behind the observed trends. Our results show that the majority of NDVI changes in Canada's boreal forest reflect disturbance-recovery dynamics not climate change impacts, that greening and browning trends outside of disturbed forests are consistent with expected ecological responses to regional changes in climate, and that observed NDVI changes are geographically limited and relatively small in magnitude. Consistent with biogeographic theory, greening and browning unrelated to disturbance tended to be located in ecotones near boundaries of the boreal forest bioclimatic envelope. We observe greening to be most prevalent in Eastern Canada, which is more humid, and browning to be most prevalent in Western Canada, where there is more moisture stress. We conclude that continued long-term climate change has the potential to significantly alter the character and function of Canada's boreal forest, but recent changes have been modest and near-term impacts are likely to be focused in or near ecotones. As part of a NASA funded project supporting the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE), we have extended the scope of this study from a set of 46 sites to the entire ABoVE domain covering Alaska and Northwestern Canada (over 6 million square kilometers). Using the full Landsat record, we will also be investigating climate change impacts to the timing of leaf phenology and disturbance frequency in these rapidly warming regions.

Green spaces are not all the same for the provision of air purification and climate regulation services: The case of urban parks.

PubMed

Vieira, Joana; Matos, Paula; Mexia, Teresa; Silva, Patrícia; Lopes, Nuno; Freitas, Catarina; Correia, Otília; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Branquinho, Cristina; Pinho, Pedro

2018-01-01

The growing human population concentrated in urban areas lead to the increase of road traffic and artificial areas, consequently enhancing air pollution and urban heat island effects, among others. These environmental changes affect citizen's health, causing a high number of premature deaths, with considerable social and economic costs. Nature-based solutions are essential to ameliorate those impacts in urban areas. While the mere presence of urban green spaces is pointed as an overarching solution, the relative importance of specific vegetation structure, composition and management to improve the ecosystem services of air purification and climate regulation are overlooked. This avoids the establishment of optimized planning and management procedures for urban green spaces with high spatial resolution and detail. Our aim was to understand the relative contribution of vegetation structure, composition and management for the provision of ecosystem services of air purification and climate regulation in urban green spaces, in particular the case of urban parks. This work was done in a large urban park with different types of vegetation surrounded by urban areas. As indicators of microclimatic effects and of air pollution levels we selected different metrics: lichen diversity and pollutants accumulation in lichens. Among lichen diversity, functional traits related to nutrient and water requirements were used as surrogates of the capacity of vegetation to filter air pollution and to regulate climate, and provide air purification and climate regulation ecosystem services, respectively. This was also obtained with very high spatial resolution which allows detailed spatial planning for optimization of ecosystem services. We found that vegetation type characterized by a more complex structure (trees, shrubs and herbaceous layers) and by the absence of management (pruning, irrigation and fertilization) had a higher capacity to provide the ecosystems services of air purification and climate regulation. By contrast, lawns, which have a less complex structure and are highly managed, were associated to a lower capacity to provide these services. Tree plantations showed an intermediate effect between the other two types of vegetation. Thus, vegetation structure, composition and management are important to optimize green spaces capacity to purify air and regulate climate. Taking this into account green spaces can be managed at high spatial resolutions to optimize these ecosystem services in urban areas and contribute to improve human well-being. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Least squares restoration of multichannel images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galatsanos, Nikolas P.; Katsaggelos, Aggelos K.; Chin, Roland T.; Hillery, Allen D.

1991-01-01

Multichannel restoration using both within- and between-channel deterministic information is considered. A multichannel image is a set of image planes that exhibit cross-plane similarity. Existing optimal restoration filters for single-plane images yield suboptimal results when applied to multichannel images, since between-channel information is not utilized. Multichannel least squares restoration filters are developed using the set theoretic and the constrained optimization approaches. A geometric interpretation of the estimates of both filters is given. Color images (three-channel imagery with red, green, and blue components) are considered. Constraints that capture the within- and between-channel properties of color images are developed. Issues associated with the computation of the two estimates are addressed. A spatially adaptive, multichannel least squares filter that utilizes local within- and between-channel image properties is proposed. Experiments using color images are described.

Sustainable Urban Forestry Potential Based Quantitative And Qualitative Measurement Using Geospatial Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosli, A. Z.; Reba, M. N. M.; Roslan, N.; Room, M. H. M.

2014-02-01

In order to maintain the stability of natural ecosystems around urban areas, urban forestry will be the best initiative to maintain and control green space in our country. Integration between remote sensing (RS) and geospatial information system (GIS) serves as an effective tool for monitoring environmental changes and planning, managing and developing a sustainable urbanization. This paper aims to assess capability of the integration of RS and GIS to provide information for urban forest potential sites based on qualitative and quantitative by using priority parameter ranking in the new township of Nusajaya. SPOT image was used to provide high spatial accuracy while map of topography, landuse, soils group, hydrology, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and soil series data were applied to enhance the satellite image in detecting and locating present attributes and features on the ground. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique provides structural and pair wise quantification and comparison elements and criteria for priority ranking for urban forestry purpose. Slope, soil texture, drainage, spatial area, availability of natural resource, and vicinity of urban area are criteria considered in this study. This study highlighted the priority ranking MCDM is cost effective tool for decision-making in urban forestry planning and landscaping.

Position-sensitive scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed

Skinner, Joseph P; Chen, Yan; Müller, Joachim D

2005-08-01

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) uses a stationary laser beam to illuminate a small sample volume and analyze the temporal behavior of the fluorescence fluctuations within the stationary observation volume. In contrast, scanning FCS (SFCS) collects the fluorescence signal from a moving observation volume by scanning the laser beam. The fluctuations now contain both temporal and spatial information about the sample. To access the spatial information we synchronize scanning and data acquisition. Synchronization allows us to evaluate correlations for every position along the scanned trajectory. We use a circular scan trajectory in this study. Because the scan radius is constant, the phase angle is sufficient to characterize the position of the beam. We introduce position-sensitive SFCS (PSFCS), where correlations are calculated as a function of lag time and phase. We present the theory of PSFCS and derive expressions for diffusion, diffusion in the presence of flow, and for immobilization. To test PSFCS we compare experimental data with theory. We determine the direction and speed of a flowing dye solution and the position of an immobilized particle. To demonstrate the feasibility of the technique for applications in living cells we present data of enhanced green fluorescent protein measured in the nucleus of COS cells.

75 FR 34441 - Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools; Overview Information; Educational Facilities Clearinghouse...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-17

... priority. This priority is: Development and Dissemination of Information on Green Building Practices. Under... practices in constructing and maintaining environmentally sound educational facilities using green building practices. For the purposes of this competition the term ``green building,'' as defined by the U.S...

76 FR 81981 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; “Green Jobs...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-29

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; ``Green Jobs and Health Care Implementation Study'' ACTION: Notice...: Green Jobs and Health Care Implementation Study. OMB ICR Reference Number: 201110-1205-002. Affected...

Spatial interferences in the electron transport of heavy-fermion materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shu-feng; Liu, Yu; Song, Hai-Feng; Yang, Yi-feng

2016-08-01

The scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and the point contact spectroscopy represent major progress in recent heavy-fermion research. Both have revealed important information on the composite nature of the emergent heavy-electron quasiparticles. However, a detailed and thorough microscopic understanding of the similarities and differences in the underlying physical processes of these techniques is still lacking. Here we study the electron transport in the normal state of the periodic Anderson lattice by using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function technique. In addition to the well-known Fano interference between the conduction and f -electron channels, our results further reveal the effect of spatial interference between different spatial paths at the interface on the differential conductance and their interesting interplay with the band features such as the hybridization gap and the Van Hove singularity. We find that the spatial interference leads to a weighted average in the momentum space for the electron transport and could cause suppression of the electronic band features under certain circumstances. In particular, it reduces the capability of probing the f -electron spectral weight near the edges of the hybridization gap for large interface depending on the Fermi surface of the lead. Our results indicate an intrinsic inefficiency of the point contact spectroscopy in probing the f electrons.

A geomorphic perspective on terrain-modulated organization of vegetation productivity: Analysis in two semiarid grassland ecosystems in Southwestern United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spatial patterns of ecosystem productivity arise from the terrain-modulated wetting and drying of the landscape. Using a daily relative greenness (rG) index we explore the relations between spatial variability of plant productivity and landscape morphology, and how these relations change over time...

Detailed description of oil shale organic and mineralogical heterogeneity via fourier transform infrared mircoscopy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Washburn, Kathryn E.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Foster, Michael; Gutierrez, Fernando

2015-01-01

Mineralogical and geochemical information on reservoir and source rocks is necessary to assess and produce from petroleum systems. The standard methods in the petroleum industry for obtaining these properties are bulk measurements on homogenized, generally crushed, and pulverized rock samples and can take from hours to days to perform. New methods using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have been developed to more rapidly obtain information on mineralogy and geochemistry. However, these methods are also typically performed on bulk, homogenized samples. We present a new approach to rock sample characterization incorporating multivariate analysis and FTIR microscopy to provide non-destructive, spatially resolved mineralogy and geochemistry on whole rock samples. We are able to predict bulk mineralogy and organic carbon content within the same margin of error as standard characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Validation of the method was performed using two oil shale samples from the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin with differing sedimentary structures. One sample represents laminated Green River oil shales, and the other is representative of oil shale breccia. The FTIR microscopy results on the oil shales agree with XRD and LECO TOC data from the homogenized samples but also give additional detail regarding sample heterogeneity by providing information on the distribution of mineral phases and organic content. While measurements for this study were performed on oil shales, the method could also be applied to other geological samples, such as other mudrocks, complex carbonates, and soils.

Differential patterns of 2D location versus depth decoding along the visual hierarchy.

PubMed

Finlayson, Nonie J; Zhang, Xiaoli; Golomb, Julie D

2017-02-15

Visual information is initially represented as 2D images on the retina, but our brains are able to transform this input to perceive our rich 3D environment. While many studies have explored 2D spatial representations or depth perception in isolation, it remains unknown if or how these processes interact in human visual cortex. Here we used functional MRI and multi-voxel pattern analysis to investigate the relationship between 2D location and position-in-depth information. We stimulated different 3D locations in a blocked design: each location was defined by horizontal, vertical, and depth position. Participants remained fixated at the center of the screen while passively viewing the peripheral stimuli with red/green anaglyph glasses. Our results revealed a widespread, systematic transition throughout visual cortex. As expected, 2D location information (horizontal and vertical) could be strongly decoded in early visual areas, with reduced decoding higher along the visual hierarchy, consistent with known changes in receptive field sizes. Critically, we found that the decoding of position-in-depth information tracked inversely with the 2D location pattern, with the magnitude of depth decoding gradually increasing from intermediate to higher visual and category regions. Representations of 2D location information became increasingly location-tolerant in later areas, where depth information was also tolerant to changes in 2D location. We propose that spatial representations gradually transition from 2D-dominant to balanced 3D (2D and depth) along the visual hierarchy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban RoGeR: Merging process-based high-resolution flash flood model for urban areas with long-term water balance predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiler, M.

2016-12-01

Heavy rain induced flash floods are still a serious hazard and generate high damages in urban areas. In particular in the spatially complex urban areas, the temporal and spatial pattern of runoff generation processes at a wide spatial range during extreme rainfall events need to be predicted including the specific effects of green infrastructure and urban forests. In addition, the initial conditions (soil moisture pattern, water storage of green infrastructure) and the effect of lateral redistribution of water (run-on effects and re-infiltration) have to be included in order realistically predict flash flood generation. We further developed the distributed, process-based model RoGeR (Runoff Generation Research) to include the relevant features and processes in urban areas in order to test the effects of different settings, initial conditions and the lateral redistribution of water on the predicted flood response. The uncalibrated model RoGeR runs at a spatial resolution of 1*1m² (LiDAR, degree of sealing, landuse), soil properties and geology (1:50.000). In addition, different green infrastructures are included into the model as well as the effect of trees on interception and transpiration. A hydraulic model was included into RoGeR to predict surface runoff, water redistribution, and re-infiltration. During rainfall events, RoGeR predicts at 5 min temporal resolution, but the model also simulates evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge during rain-free periods at a longer time step. The model framework was applied to several case studies in Germany where intense rainfall events produced flash floods causing high damage in urban areas and to a long-term research catchment in an urban setting (Vauban, Freiburg), where a variety of green infrastructures dominates the hydrology. Urban-RoGeR allowed us to study the effects of different green infrastructures on reducing the flood peak, but also its effect on the water balance (evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge). We could also show that infiltration of surface runoff from areas with a low infiltration (lateral redistribution) reduce the flood peaks by over 90% in certain areas and situations. Finally, we also evaluated the model to long-term runoff observations (surface runoff, ET, roof runoff) and to flood marks in the selected case studies.

75 FR 21016 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; The Green Retrofit Program of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... Information Collection: Comment Request; The Green Retrofit Program of the American Recovery and... Retrofit Program authorized by the American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009. The legislation.... The Green Retrofit Program is detailed in HUD Notice H 09-02 issued on May 13, 2009. This Notice is...

Study of cell-differentiation and assembly of photosynthetic proteins during greening of etiolated Zea mays leaves using confocal fluorescence microspectroscopy at liquid-nitrogen temperature.

PubMed

Shibata, Yutaka; Katoh, Wataru; Tahara, Yukari

2013-04-01

Fluorescence microspectroscopy observations were used to study the processes of cell differentiation and assemblies of photosynthesis proteins in Zea mays leaves under the greening process. The observations were done at 78K by setting the sample in a cryostat to avoid any undesired progress of the greening process during the measurements. The lateral and axial spatial resolutions of the system were 0.64μm and 4.4μm, respectively. The study revealed the spatial distributions of protochlorophyllide (PChld) in both the 632-nm-emitting and 655-nm-emitting forms within etiolated Zea mays leaves. The sizes of the fluorescence spots attributed to the former were larger than those of the latter, validating the assignment of the former and latter to the prothylakoid and prolamellar bodies, respectively. In vivo microspectroscopy observations of mature Zea mays leaves confirmed the different photosystem II (PS I)/photosystem I (PS II) ratio between the bundle sheath (BS) and mesophyll (MS) cells, which is specific for C4-plants. The BS cells in Zea mays leaves 1h after the initiation of the greening process tended to show fluorescence spectra at shorter wavelength side (at around 679nm) than the MS cells (at around 682nm). The 679-nm-emitting chlorophyll-a form observed mainly in the BS cells was attributed to putative precursor complexes to PS I. The BS cells under 3-h greening showed higher relative intensities of the PS I fluorescence band at around 735nm, suggesting the reduced PS II amount in the BS cells in this greening stage. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing climate change impacts on fresh water resources of the Athabasca River Basin, Canada.

PubMed

Shrestha, Narayan Kumar; Du, Xinzhong; Wang, Junye

2017-12-01

Proper management of blue and green water resources is important for the sustainability of ecosystems and for the socio-economic development of river basins such as the Athabasca River Basin (ARB) in Canada. For this reason, quantifying climate change impacts on these water resources at a finer temporal and spatial scale is often necessary. In this study, we used a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to assess climate change impacts on fresh water resources, focusing explicitly on the impacts to both blue and green water. We used future climate data generated by the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling and Analysis Regional Climate Model (CanRCM4) with a spatial resolution of 0.22°×0.22° (~25km) for two emission scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). Results projected the climate of the ARB to be wetter by 21-34% and warmer by 2-5.4°C on an annual time scale. Consequently, the annual average blue and green water flow was projected to increase by 16-54% and 11-34%, respectively, depending on the region, future period, and emission scenario. Furthermore, the annual average green water storage at the boreal region was expected to increase by 30%, while the storage was projected to remain fairly stable or decrease in other regions, especially during the summer season. On average, the fresh water resources in the ARB are likely to increase in the future. However, evidence of temporal and spatial heterogeneity could pose many future challenges to water resource planners and managers. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape controls on the timing of spring, autumn, and growing season length in mid-Atlantic forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elmore, A.J.; Guinn, S.M.; Minsley, B.J.; Richardson, A.D.

2012-01-01

The timing of spring leaf development, trajectories of summer leaf area, and the timing of autumn senescence have profound impacts to the water, carbon, and energy balance of ecosystems, and are likely influenced by global climate change. Limited field-based and remote-sensing observations have suggested complex spatial patterns related to geographic features that influence climate. However, much of this variability occurs at spatial scales that inhibit a detailed understanding of even the dominant drivers. Recognizing these limitations, we used nonlinear inverse modeling of medium-resolution remote sensing data, organized by day of year, to explore the influence of climate-related landscape factors on the timing of spring and autumn leaf-area trajectories in mid-Atlantic, USA forests. We also examined the extent to which declining summer greenness (greendown) degrades the precision and accuracy of observations of autumn offset of greenness. Of the dominant drivers of landscape phenology, elevation was the strongest, explaining up to 70% of the spatial variation in the onset of greenness. Urban land cover was second in importance, influencing spring onset and autumn offset to a distance of 32 km from large cities. Distance to tidal water also influenced phenological timing, but only within ~5 km of shorelines. Additionally, we observed that (i) growing season length unexpectedly increases with increasing elevation at elevations below 275 m; (ii) along gradients in urban land cover, timing of autumn offset has a stronger effect on growing season length than does timing of spring onset; and (iii) summer greendown introduces bias and uncertainty into observations of the autumn offset of greenness. These results demonstrate the power of medium grain analyses of landscape-scale phenology for understanding environmental controls on growing season length, and predicting how these might be affected by climate change.

Principal component analysis of dynamic fluorescence images for diagnosis of diabetic vasculopathy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Jihye; An, Yuri; Lee, Jungsul; Ku, Taeyun; Kang, Yujung; Ahn, Chulwoo; Choi, Chulhee

2016-04-01

Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging has been clinically used for noninvasive visualizations of vascular structures. We have previously developed a diagnostic system based on dynamic ICG fluorescence imaging for sensitive detection of vascular disorders. However, because high-dimensional raw data were used, the analysis of the ICG dynamics proved difficult. We used principal component analysis (PCA) in this study to extract important elements without significant loss of information. We examined ICG spatiotemporal profiles and identified critical features related to vascular disorders. PCA time courses of the first three components showed a distinct pattern in diabetic patients. Among the major components, the second principal component (PC2) represented arterial-like features. The explained variance of PC2 in diabetic patients was significantly lower than in normal controls. To visualize the spatial pattern of PCs, pixels were mapped with red, green, and blue channels. The PC2 score showed an inverse pattern between normal controls and diabetic patients. We propose that PC2 can be used as a representative bioimaging marker for the screening of vascular diseases. It may also be useful in simple extractions of arterial-like features.

Mapping landscape phenology preference of yellow-billed cuckoo with AVHRR data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Villarreal, Miguel; van Riper, Charles

2013-01-01

We mapped habitat for threatened Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccycus americanus occidentalis) in the State of Arizona using the temporal greenness dynamics of the landscape, or the landscape phenology. Landscape phenometrics were derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for 1998 and 1999 by using Fourier harmonic analysis to analyze the waveform of the annual NDVI profile at each pixel. We modeled the spatial distribution of Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat by coupling the field data of Cuckoo presence or absence and point-based samples of riparian and cottonwood-willow vegetation types with satellite phenometrics for 1998. Models were validated using field and satellite data collected in 1999. The results indicate that Yellow-billed Cuckoo occupy locations within their preferred habitat that exhibit peak greenness after the start of the summer monsoon and are greener and more dynamic than “average” habitat. Identification of preferred phenotypes within recognized habitat areas can be used to refine habitat models, inform predictions of habitat response to climate change, and suggest adaptation strategies.

Characterizing Urban Volumetry Using LIDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, T.; Rodrigues, A. M.; Tenedório, J. A.

2013-05-01

Urban indicators are efficient tools designed to simplify, quantify and communicate relevant information for land planners. Since urban data has a strong spatial representation, one can use geographical data as the basis for constructing information regarding urban environments. One important source of information about the land status is imagery collected through remote sensing. Afterwards, using digital image processing techniques, thematic detail can be extracted from those images and used to build urban indicators. Most common metrics are based on area (2D) measurements. These include indicators like impervious area per capita or surface occupied by green areas, having usually as primary source a spectral image obtained through a satellite or airborne camera. More recently, laser scanning data has become available for large-scale applications. Such sensors acquire altimetric information and are used to produce Digital Surface Models (DSM). In this context, LiDAR data available for the city is explored along with demographic information, and a framework to produce volumetric (3D) urban indexes is proposed, and measures like Built Volume per capita, Volumetric Density and Volumetric Homogeneity are computed.

77 FR 49831 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Green...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-17

... technologies and practices, the second component of the BLS Green Jobs definition. This information collection... other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission...

Understanding heterogeneity in metropolitan India: The added value of remote sensing data for analyzing sub-standard residential areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baud, Isa; Kuffer, Monika; Pfeffer, Karin; Sliuzas, Richard; Karuppannan, Sadasivam

2010-10-01

Analyzing the heterogeneity in metropolitan areas of India utilizing remote sensing data can help to identify more precise patterns of sub-standard residential areas. Earlier work analyzing inequalities in Indian cities employed a constructed index of multiple deprivations (IMDs) utilizing data from the Census of India 2001 ( http://censusindia.gov.in). While that index, described in an earlier paper, provided a first approach to identify heterogeneity at the citywide scale, it neither provided information on spatial variations within the geographical boundaries of the Census database, nor about physical characteristics, such as green spaces and the variation in housing density and quality. In this article, we analyze whether different types of sub-standard residential areas can be identified through remote sensing data, combined, where relevant, with ground-truthing and local knowledge. The specific questions address: (1) the extent to which types of residential sub-standard areas can be drawn from remote sensing data, based on patterns of green space, structure of layout, density of built-up areas, size of buildings and other site characteristics; (2) the spatial diversity of these residential types for selected electoral wards; and (3) the correlation between different types of sub-standard residential areas and the results of the index of multiple deprivations utilized at electoral ward level found previously. The results of a limited number of test wards in Delhi showed that it was possible to extract different residential types matching existing settlement categories using the physical indicators structure of layout, built-up density, building size and other site characteristics. However, the indicator 'amount of green spaces' was not useful to identify informal areas. The analysis of heterogeneity showed that wards with higher IMD scores displayed more or less the full range of residential types, implying that visual image interpretation is able to zoom in on clusters of deprivation of varying size. Finally, the visual interpretation of the diversity of residential types matched the results of the IMD analysis quite well, although the limited number of test wards would need to be expanded to strengthen this statement. Visual image analysis strengthens the robustness of the IMD, and in addition, gives a better idea of the degree of heterogeneity in deprivations within a ward.

Using GIS for Developing Sustainable Urban Growth Case Kyrenia Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kara, C.; Akçit, N.

2018-03-01

It is critical to develop urban layers for analysis sustainable urban development possibilities within planning process. Kyrenia Region has many physical, environmental or economic issues that may danger the growth possibilities in sustainable manner. From this point, this study uses different spatial layers such as slope, distance to roads, distance to central zone, vegetation, soil productivity, environmental protection zones, distance to open/green space, distance to education for supporting sustainable urban growth policies and define suitable areas for urban development within this perspective. The study tries to convert sustainable urban growth policies such as; compact growth, environmental protection, equal accessibility to basic services; into spatial layers and establish proper framework for multi criteria evaluation in Kyrenia Region within using geographical information systems. It shows suitability values for Kyrenia region and constraints zones at final section. It clearly presents the suitable areas for the sustainable urbanization and also unsuitable or risky areas for reducing the possible disasters and may happen in the future.

Laboratory demonstration of a Brillouin lidar to remotely measure temperature profiles of the ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudolf, Andreas; Walther, Thomas

2014-05-01

We report on the successful laboratory demonstration of a real-time lidar system to remotely measure temperature profiles in water. In the near future, it is intended to be operated from a mobile platform, e.g., a helicopter or vessel, in order to precisely determine the temperature of the surface mixed layer of the ocean with high spatial resolution. The working principle relies on the active generation and detection of spontaneous Brillouin scattering. The light source consists of a frequency-doubled fiber-amplified external cavity diode laser and provides high-energy, Fourier transform-limited laser pulses in the green spectral range. The detector is based on an atomic edge filter and allows the challenging extraction of the temperature information from the Brillouin scattered light. In the lab environment, depending on the amount of averaging, water temperatures were resolved with a mean accuracy of up to 0.07°C and a spatial resolution of 1 m, proving the feasibility and the large potential of the overall system.

Delivering Sound Energy along an Arbitrary Convex Trajectory

PubMed Central

Zhao, Sipei; Hu, Yuxiang; Lu, Jing; Qiu, Xiaojun; Cheng, Jianchun; Burnett, Ian

2014-01-01

Accelerating beams have attracted considerable research interest due to their peculiar properties and various applications. Although there have been numerous research on the generation and application of accelerating light beams, few results have been published on the generation of accelerating acoustic beams. Here we report on the experimental observation of accelerating acoustic beams along arbitrary convex trajectories. The desired trajectory is projected to the spatial phase profile on the boundary which is discretized and sampled spatially. The sound field distribution is formulated with the Green function and the integral equation method. Both the paraxial and the non-paraxial regimes are examined and observed in the experiments. The effect of obstacle scattering in the sound field is also investigated and the results demonstrate that the approach is robust against obstacle scattering. The realization of accelerating acoustic beams will have an impact on various applications where acoustic information and energy are required to be delivered along an arbitrary convex trajectory. PMID:25316353

Integrating Building Information Modeling and Green Building Certification: The BIM-LEED Application Model Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Wei

2010-01-01

Building information modeling (BIM) and green building are currently two major trends in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. This research recognizes the market demand for better solutions to achieve green building certification such as LEED in the United States. It proposes a new strategy based on the integration of BIM…

Spatial analysis of participation in the Waterloo Residential Energy Efficiency Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Ge Bella

Researchers are in broad agreement that energy-conserving actions produce economic as well as energy savings. Household energy rating systems (HERS) have been established in many countries to inform households of their house's current energy performance and to help reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In Canada, the national EnerGuide for Houses (EGH) program is delivered by many local delivery agents, including non-profit green community organizations. Waterloo Region Green Solutions is the local non-profit that offers the EGH residential energy evaluation service to local households. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the determinants of household's participation in the residential energy efficiency program (REEP) in Waterloo Region, to explain the relationship between the explanatory variables and REEP participation, and to propose ways to improve this kind of program. A spatial (trend) analysis was conducted within a geographic information system (GIS) to determine the spatial patterns of the REEP participation in Waterloo Region from 1999 to 2006. The impact of sources of information on participation and relationships between participation rates and explanatory variables were identified. GIS proved successful in presenting a visual interpretation of spatial patterns of the REEP participation. In general, the participating households tend to be clustered in urban areas and scattered in rural areas. Different sources of information played significant roles in reaching participants in different years. Moreover, there was a relationship between each explanatory variable and the REEP participation rates. Statistical analysis was applied to obtain a quantitative assessment of relationships between hypothesized explanatory variables and participation in the REEP. The Poisson regression model was used to determine the relationship between hypothesized explanatory variables and REEP participation at the CDA level. The results show that all of the independent variables have a statistically significant positive relationship with REEP participation. These variables include level of education, average household income, employment rate, home ownership, population aged 65 and over, age of home, and number of eligible dwellings. The logistic regression model was used to assess the ability of the hypothesized explanatory variables to predict whether or not households would participate in a second follow-up evaluation after completing upgrades to their home. The results show all the explanatory variables have significant relationships with the dependent variable. The increased rating score, average household income, aged population, and age of home are positively related to the dependent variable. While the dwelling size and education has negative relationships with the dependent variable. In general, the contribution of this work provides a practical understanding of how the energy efficiency program operates, and insight into the type of variables that may be successful in bringing about changes in performance in the energy efficiency project in Waterloo Region. Secondly, with the completion of this research, future residential energy efficiency programs can use the information from this research and emulate or expand upon the efforts and lessons learned from the Residential Energy Efficiency Project in Waterloo Region case study. Thirdly, this research also contributes to practical experience on how to integrate different datasets using GIS.

Guide to Purchasing Green Power

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Guide for Purchasing Green Power is a comprehensive guide for current and potential buyers of green power with information about green power purchasing. The Guide is created cooperatively between the EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the World Resou

Photo-multiplier Tube Based Hybrid MRI and Frequency Domain Fluorescence Tomography System for Small Animal Imaging

PubMed Central

Lin, Y; Ghijsen, M T; Gao, H; Liu, N; Nalcioglu, O; Gulsen, G

2014-01-01

Fluorescence tomography (FT) is a promising molecular imaging technique that can spatially resolve both fluorophore concentration and lifetime parameters. However, recovered fluorophore parameters highly depend on the size and depth of the object due to the ill-posedness of the FT inverse problem. Structural a priori information from another high spatial resolution imaging modality has been demonstrated to significantly improve FT reconstruction accuracy. In this study, we have constructed a combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and FT system for small animal imaging. A photo-multiplier tube (PMT) is used as the detector to acquire frequency domain FT measurements. This is the first MR-compatible time-resolved FT system that can reconstruct both fluorescence concentration and lifetime maps simultaneously. The performance of the hybrid system is evaluated with phantom studies. Two different fluorophores, Indocyanine Green (ICG) and 3-3′ Diethylthiatricarbocyanine Iodide (DTTCI), which have similar excitation and emission spectra but different lifetimes, are utilized. The fluorescence concentration and lifetime maps are both reconstructed with and without the structural a priori information obtained from MRI for comparison. We show that the hybrid system can accurately recover both fluorescence intensity and lifetime within 10% error for two 4.2 mm-diameter cylindrical objects embedded in a 38 mm-diameter cylindrical phantom when MRI structural a priori information is utilized. PMID:21753235

Diffuse Waves and Energy Densities Near Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez-Sesma, F. J.; Rodriguez-Castellanos, A.; Campillo, M.; Perton, M.; Luzon, F.; Perez-Ruiz, J. A.

2007-12-01

Green function can be retrieved from averaging cross correlations of motions within a diffuse field. In fact, it has been shown that for an elastic inhomogeneous, anisotropic medium under equipartitioned, isotropic illumination, the average cross correlations are proportional to the imaginary part of Green function. For instance coda waves are due to multiple scattering and their intensities follow diffusive regimes. Coda waves and the noise sample the medium and effectively carry information along their paths. In this work we explore the consequences of assuming both source and receiver at the same point. From the observable side, the autocorrelation is proportional to the energy density at a given point. On the other hand, the imaginary part of the Green function at the source itself is finite because the singularity of Green function is restricted to the real part. The energy density at a point is proportional with the trace of the imaginary part of Green function tensor at the source itself. The Green function availability may allow establishing the theoretical energy density of a seismic diffuse field generated by a background equipartitioned excitation. We study an elastic layer with free surface and overlaying a half space and compute the imaginary part of the Green function for various depths. We show that the resulting spectrum is indeed closely related to the layer dynamic response and the corresponding resonant frequencies are revealed. One implication of present findings lies in the fact that spatial variations may be useful in detecting the presence of a target by its signature in the distribution of diffuse energy. These results may be useful in assessing the seismic response of a given site if strong ground motions are scarce. It suffices having a reasonable illumination from micro earthquakes and noise. We consider that the imaginary part of Green function at the source is a spectral signature of the site. The relative importance of the peaks of this energy spectrum, ruling out non linear effects, may influence the seismic response for future earthquakes. Partial supports from DGAPA-UNAM, Project IN114706, Mexico; from Proyect MCyT CGL2005-05500-C02/BTE, Spain; from project DyETI of INSU-CNRS, France, and from the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo are greatly appreciated.

Drainage area characterization for evaluating green infrastructure using the Storm Water Management Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Joong Gwang; Nietch, Christopher T.; Panguluri, Srinivas

2018-05-01

Urban stormwater runoff quantity and quality are strongly dependent upon catchment properties. Models are used to simulate the runoff characteristics, but the output from a stormwater management model is dependent on how the catchment area is subdivided and represented as spatial elements. For green infrastructure modeling, we suggest a discretization method that distinguishes directly connected impervious area (DCIA) from the total impervious area (TIA). Pervious buffers, which receive runoff from upgradient impervious areas should also be identified as a separate subset of the entire pervious area (PA). This separation provides an improved model representation of the runoff process. With these criteria in mind, an approach to spatial discretization for projects using the US Environmental Protection Agency's Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is demonstrated for the Shayler Crossing watershed (SHC), a well-monitored, residential suburban area occupying 100 ha, east of Cincinnati, Ohio. The model relies on a highly resolved spatial database of urban land cover, stormwater drainage features, and topography. To verify the spatial discretization approach, a hypothetical analysis was conducted. Six different representations of a common urbanscape that discharges runoff to a single storm inlet were evaluated with eight 24 h synthetic storms. This analysis allowed us to select a discretization scheme that balances complexity in model setup with presumed accuracy of the output with respect to the most complex discretization option considered. The balanced approach delineates directly and indirectly connected impervious areas (ICIA), buffering pervious area (BPA) receiving impervious runoff, and the other pervious area within a SWMM subcatchment. It performed well at the watershed scale with minimal calibration effort (Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient = 0.852; R2 = 0.871). The approach accommodates the distribution of runoff contributions from different spatial components and flow pathways that would impact green infrastructure performance. A developed SWMM model using the discretization approach is calibrated by adjusting parameters per land cover component, instead of per subcatchment and, therefore, can be applied to relatively large watersheds if the land cover components are relatively homogeneous and/or categorized appropriately in the GIS that supports the model parameterization. Finally, with a few model adjustments, we show how the simulated stream hydrograph can be separated into the relative contributions from different land cover types and subsurface sources, adding insight to the potential effectiveness of planned green infrastructure scenarios at the watershed scale.

To Green or Not to Green? Evaluation of Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Kansas City Middle Blue River Project

EPA Science Inventory

The City of Kansas City, Mo., Water Services Department is implementing a pilot project to measure and evaluate the performance of green infrastructure. Information obtained through this pilot project will be used to guide the design of green solutions throughout Kansas City und...

The prediction of engineering cost for green buildings based on information entropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Guoqiang; Huang, Jinglian

2018-03-01

Green building is the developing trend in the world building industry. Additionally, construction costs are an essential consideration in building constructions. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the problems of cost prediction in green building. On the basis of analyzing the cost of green building, this paper proposes the forecasting method of actual cost in green building based on information entropy and provides the forecasting working procedure. Using the probability density obtained from statistical data, such as labor costs, material costs, machinery costs, administration costs, profits, risk costs a unit project quotation and etc., situations can be predicted which lead to cost variations between budgeted cost and actual cost in constructions, through estimating the information entropy of budgeted cost and actual cost. The research results of this article have a practical significance in cost control of green building. Additionally, the method proposed in this article can be generalized and applied to a variety of other aspects in building management.

Multispectral computational ghost imaging with multiplexed illumination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jian; Shi, Dongfeng

2017-07-01

Computational ghost imaging has attracted wide attention from researchers in many fields over the last two decades. Multispectral imaging as one application of computational ghost imaging possesses spatial and spectral resolving abilities, and is very useful for surveying scenes and extracting detailed information. Existing multispectral imagers mostly utilize narrow band filters or dispersive optical devices to separate light of different wavelengths, and then use multiple bucket detectors or an array detector to record them separately. Here, we propose a novel multispectral ghost imaging method that uses one single bucket detector with multiplexed illumination to produce a colored image. The multiplexed illumination patterns are produced by three binary encoded matrices (corresponding to the red, green and blue colored information, respectively) and random patterns. The results of the simulation and experiment have verified that our method can be effective in recovering the colored object. Multispectral images are produced simultaneously by one single-pixel detector, which significantly reduces the amount of data acquisition.

78 FR 33049 - Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Green River/Tusher Diversion Dam...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-03

..., Salt Lake City, Utah 84138-1100, or via email at bronson.smart@ut.usda.gov . Information may also be... publicly available at any time during the EIS process. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bronson Smart... held on November 15, 2012 at Green River City Hall in Green River, Utah. Through additional...

A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States

DOE PAGES

Xu, Hui; Wu, May

2018-02-02

Green water is vital for the terrestrial ecosystem, but water resource assessment often focuses on blue water. In this study, we estimated green water availability for major crops (i.e., corn, soybean, and wheat) and all other users(e.g., forest, grassland, and ecosystem services) at the county level in the United States. We estimated green water resources from effective rain(ER) using three different methods: Smith, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service (USDA-SCS), and the NHD plus V2 dataset. The analysis illustrates that, if green water meets all crop water demands, the fraction of green water resources available to all other users variesmore » significantly across regions, from the Northern Plains (0.71) to the Southeast (0.98). At the county level, this fraction varies from 0.23 to 1.0. Green water resources estimated using the three different ER methods present diverse spatiotemporal distribution patterns across regions, which could affect green water availability estimates. The water availability index for green water (WAI_R) was measured taking into account crop water demand and green water resources aggregated at the county level. Beyond these parameters, WAI_R also depends on the precipitation pattern, crop type and spatially differentiated regions. In addition, seasonal analysis indicated that WAI_R is sensitive to the temporal boundary of the analysis.« less

A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Hui; Wu, May

Green water is vital for the terrestrial ecosystem, but water resource assessment often focuses on blue water. In this study, we estimated green water availability for major crops (i.e., corn, soybean, and wheat) and all other users(e.g., forest, grassland, and ecosystem services) at the county level in the United States. We estimated green water resources from effective rain(ER) using three different methods: Smith, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service (USDA-SCS), and the NHD plus V2 dataset. The analysis illustrates that, if green water meets all crop water demands, the fraction of green water resources available to all other users variesmore » significantly across regions, from the Northern Plains (0.71) to the Southeast (0.98). At the county level, this fraction varies from 0.23 to 1.0. Green water resources estimated using the three different ER methods present diverse spatiotemporal distribution patterns across regions, which could affect green water availability estimates. The water availability index for green water (WAI_R) was measured taking into account crop water demand and green water resources aggregated at the county level. Beyond these parameters, WAI_R also depends on the precipitation pattern, crop type and spatially differentiated regions. In addition, seasonal analysis indicated that WAI_R is sensitive to the temporal boundary of the analysis.« less

What You See Depends on Your Point of View: Comparison of Greenness Indices Across Spatial and Temporal Scales and What That Means for Mule Deer Migration and Fitness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, B. W.; Chong, G.; Steltzer, H.; Aikens, E.; Morisette, J. T.; Talbert, C.; Talbert, M.; Shory, R.; Krienert, J. M.; Gurganus, D.

2015-12-01

Climate change models for the north­ern Rocky Mountains predict warming and changes in water availability that may alter vegetation. Changes to vegetation may include timing of plant life-history events, or phenology, such as green-up, flower­ing, and senescence. These changes could make forage available earlier in the growing season, but shifts in phenol­ogy may also result in earlier senescence (die-off or dormancy) and reduced overall production. Greenness indices such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) are regularly used to quantify greenness over large areas using remotely sensed reflectance data. The timing and scale of current satellite data, however, may be insufficient to capture fine-scale differences in phenology that are important indicators of habitat quality. The Wyoming Range Mule Deer herd is one of the largest in the west but it declined precipitously in the early 1990s and has not recovered. Accurate measurement of greenness over space and time would allow managers to better understand the role of plant phenology and productivity in mule deer population dynamics, for example. To connect spatial and temporal patterns of plant productivity with habitat quality, we compare greenness patterns (MODIS data) with migratory mule deer movement (GPS collars). Sagebrush systems provide winter habitat for mule deer. To understand sagebrush phenology as an indicator of productivity, we constructed NDVI time series and compared dates of phenological stages and magnitudes of greenness from three perspectives: at-surface/species-specific (mantis sensors: downward looking, <1m above vegetation); near surface/site-specific (PhenoCam: oblique, 2m); and satellite/landscape-scale (varied platforms). Greenness indices from these sensors contribute unique insights to understanding vegetation phenology, snow cover and reflectance. Understanding phenology and productivity at multiple scales can help guide resource management decisions related to habitat quality, and evaluate what remotely sensed phenology measurements mean on the ground. Monitoring changes in phenology and productivity over the long-term can provide insight into ecosystem responses to climate change.

Chromatic spatial contrast sensitivity estimated by visual evoked cortical potential and psychophysics

PubMed Central

Barboni, M.T.S.; Gomes, B.D.; Souza, G.S.; Rodrigues, A.R.; Ventura, D.F.; Silveira, L.C.L.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to measure contrast sensitivity to equiluminant gratings using steady-state visual evoked cortical potential (ssVECP) and psychophysics. Six healthy volunteers were evaluated with ssVECPs and psychophysics. The visual stimuli were red-green or blue-yellow horizontal sinusoidal gratings, 5° × 5°, 34.3 cd/m2 mean luminance, presented at 6 Hz. Eight spatial frequencies from 0.2 to 8 cpd were used, each presented at 8 contrast levels. Contrast threshold was obtained by extrapolating second harmonic amplitude values to zero. Psychophysical contrast thresholds were measured using stimuli at 6 Hz and static presentation. Contrast sensitivity was calculated as the inverse function of the pooled cone contrast threshold. ssVECP and both psychophysical contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs) were low-pass functions for red-green gratings. For electrophysiology, the highest contrast sensitivity values were found at 0.4 cpd (1.95 ± 0.15). ssVECP CSF was similar to dynamic psychophysical CSF, while static CSF had higher values ranging from 0.4 to 6 cpd (P < 0.05, ANOVA). Blue-yellow chromatic functions showed no specific tuning shape; however, at high spatial frequencies the evoked potentials showed higher contrast sensitivity than the psychophysical methods (P < 0.05, ANOVA). Evoked potentials can be used reliably to evaluate chromatic red-green CSFs in agreement with psychophysical thresholds, mainly if the same temporal properties are applied to the stimulus. For blue-yellow CSF, correlation between electrophysiology and psychophysics was poor at high spatial frequency, possibly due to a greater effect of chromatic aberration on this kind of stimulus. PMID:23369980

Green Building Tools for Tribes

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Tribal green building tools and funding information to support tribal building code adoption, healthy building, siting, energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, green building materials, recycling and adaptation and resilience.

Informal urban green-space: comparison of quantity and characteristics in Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan.

PubMed

Rupprecht, Christoph D D; Byrne, Jason A

2014-01-01

Informal urban green-space (IGS) such as vacant lots, brownfields and street or railway verges is receiving growing attention from urban scholars. Research has shown IGS can provide recreational space for residents and habitat for flora and fauna, yet we know little about the quantity, spatial distribution, vegetation structure or accessibility of IGS. We also lack a commonly accepted definition of IGS and a method that can be used for its rapid quantitative assessment. This paper advances a definition and typology of IGS that has potential for global application. Based on this definition, IGS land use percentage in central Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan was systematically surveyed in a 10×10 km grid containing 121 sampling sites of 2,500 m2 per city, drawing on data recorded in the field and aerial photography. Spatial distribution, vegetation structure and accessibility of IGS were also analyzed. We found approximately 6.3% of the surveyed urban area in Brisbane and 4.8% in Sapporo consisted of IGS, a non-significant difference. The street verge IGS type (80.4% of all IGS) dominated in Brisbane, while lots (42.2%) and gaps (19.2%) were the two largest IGS types in Sapporo. IGS was widely distributed throughout both survey areas. Vegetation structure showed higher tree cover in Brisbane, but higher herb cover in Sapporo. In both cities over 80% of IGS was accessible or partly accessible. The amount of IGS we found suggests it could play a more important role than previously assumed for residents' recreation and nature experience as well as for fauna and flora, because it substantially increased the amount of potentially available greenspace in addition to parks and conservation greenspace. We argue that IGS has potential for recreation and conservation, but poses some challenges to urban planning. To address these challenges, we propose some directions for future research.

Assessment of RapidEye vegetation indices for estimation of leaf area index and biomass in corn and soybean crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kross, Angela; McNairn, Heather; Lapen, David; Sunohara, Mark; Champagne, Catherine

2015-02-01

Leaf area index (LAI) and biomass are important indicators of crop development and the availability of this information during the growing season can support farmer decision making processes. This study demonstrates the applicability of RapidEye multi-spectral data for estimation of LAI and biomass of two crop types (corn and soybean) with different canopy structure, leaf structure and photosynthetic pathways. The advantages of Rapid Eye in terms of increased temporal resolution (∼daily), high spatial resolution (∼5 m) and enhanced spectral information (includes red-edge band) are explored as an individual sensor and as part of a multi-sensor constellation. Seven vegetation indices based on combinations of reflectance in green, red, red-edge and near infrared bands were derived from RapidEye imagery between 2011 and 2013. LAI and biomass data were collected during the same period for calibration and validation of the relationships between vegetation indices and LAI and dry above-ground biomass. Most indices showed sensitivity to LAI from emergence to 8 m2/m2. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the red-edge NDVI and the green NDVI were insensitive to crop type and had coefficients of variations (CV) ranging between 19 and 27%; and coefficients of determination ranging between 86 and 88%. The NDVI performed best for the estimation of dry leaf biomass (CV = 27% and r2 = 090) and was also insensitive to crop type. The red-edge indices did not show any significant improvement in LAI and biomass estimation over traditional multispectral indices. Cumulative vegetation indices showed strong performance for estimation of total dry above-ground biomass, especially for corn (CV ≤ 20%). This study demonstrated that continuous crop LAI monitoring over time and space at the field level can be achieved using a combination of RapidEye, Landsat and SPOT data and sensor-dependant best-fit functions. This approach eliminates/reduces the need for reflectance resampling, VIs inter-calibration and spatial resampling.

Informal Urban Green-Space: Comparison of Quantity and Characteristics in Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan

PubMed Central

Rupprecht, Christoph D. D.; Byrne, Jason A.

2014-01-01

Informal urban green-space (IGS) such as vacant lots, brownfields and street or railway verges is receiving growing attention from urban scholars. Research has shown IGS can provide recreational space for residents and habitat for flora and fauna, yet we know little about the quantity, spatial distribution, vegetation structure or accessibility of IGS. We also lack a commonly accepted definition of IGS and a method that can be used for its rapid quantitative assessment. This paper advances a definition and typology of IGS that has potential for global application. Based on this definition, IGS land use percentage in central Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan was systematically surveyed in a 10×10 km grid containing 121 sampling sites of 2,500 m2 per city, drawing on data recorded in the field and aerial photography. Spatial distribution, vegetation structure and accessibility of IGS were also analyzed. We found approximately 6.3% of the surveyed urban area in Brisbane and 4.8% in Sapporo consisted of IGS, a non-significant difference. The street verge IGS type (80.4% of all IGS) dominated in Brisbane, while lots (42.2%) and gaps (19.2%) were the two largest IGS types in Sapporo. IGS was widely distributed throughout both survey areas. Vegetation structure showed higher tree cover in Brisbane, but higher herb cover in Sapporo. In both cities over 80% of IGS was accessible or partly accessible. The amount of IGS we found suggests it could play a more important role than previously assumed for residents' recreation and nature experience as well as for fauna and flora, because it substantially increased the amount of potentially available greenspace in addition to parks and conservation greenspace. We argue that IGS has potential for recreation and conservation, but poses some challenges to urban planning. To address these challenges, we propose some directions for future research. PMID:24941046

76 FR 30198 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Green...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-24

... other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses. Agency... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Green Technologies and Practices (GTP) Survey ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY...

Spatial Data Exploring by Satellite Image Distributed Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mihon, V. D.; Colceriu, V.; Bektas, F.; Allenbach, K.; Gvilava, M.; Gorgan, D.

2012-04-01

Our society needs and environmental predictions encourage the applications development, oriented on supervising and analyzing different Earth Science related phenomena. Satellite images could be explored for discovering information concerning land cover, hydrology, air quality, and water and soil pollution. Spatial and environment related data could be acquired by imagery classification consisting of data mining throughout the multispectral bands. The process takes in account a large set of variables such as satellite image types (e.g. MODIS, Landsat), particular geographic area, soil composition, vegetation cover, and generally the context (e.g. clouds, snow, and season). All these specific and variable conditions require flexible tools and applications to support an optimal search for the appropriate solutions, and high power computation resources. The research concerns with experiments on solutions of using the flexible and visual descriptions of the satellite image processing over distributed infrastructures (e.g. Grid, Cloud, and GPU clusters). This presentation highlights the Grid based implementation of the GreenLand application. The GreenLand application development is based on simple, but powerful, notions of mathematical operators and workflows that are used in distributed and parallel executions over the Grid infrastructure. Currently it is used in three major case studies concerning with Istanbul geographical area, Rioni River in Georgia, and Black Sea catchment region. The GreenLand application offers a friendly user interface for viewing and editing workflows and operators. The description involves the basic operators provided by GRASS [1] library as well as many other image related operators supported by the ESIP platform [2]. The processing workflows are represented as directed graphs giving the user a fast and easy way to describe complex parallel algorithms, without having any prior knowledge of any programming language or application commands. Also this Web application does not require any kind of install for what the house-hold user is concerned. It is a remote application which may be accessed over the Internet. Currently the GreenLand application is available through the BSC-OS Portal provided by the enviroGRIDS FP7 project [3]. This presentation aims to highlight the challenges and issues of flexible description of the Grid based processing of satellite images, interoperability with other software platforms available in the portal, as well as the particular requirements of the Black Sea related use cases.

Monitoring of the Green Roofs Installation in Brno-City District, Czech Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rebrova, Tatiana; Beckovsky, David; Selnik, Petr

2017-12-01

In spite of the rapidly growing interest to the green roofs, there is insufficient information about their local quantities and areas in Czech Republic as well as in Central Europe. There is a lack of technical information that leads to the further development, application and environmental contribution of green roofs under local climatic conditions. The purpose of the research is to follow the tendency of how the process of green roofs’ popularization is performed in the Czech Republic and to determine basic parameters of the installed green roofs. These parameters include total quantity, area and the most common roof vegetation type (extensive or intensive); how many green roofs were installed over the last years and as a result, how the proportion of the green roofs to the conventional ones is changing. For initial evaluation Brno-City District was chosen as the next stage of university environmental project EnviHUT following the genesis of green roofs under local weather conditions.

Web-GIS platform for green infrastructure in Bucharest, Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sercaianu, Mihai; Petrescu, Florian; Aldea, Mihaela; Oana, Luca; Rotaru, George

2015-06-01

In the last decade, reducing urban pollution and improving quality of public spaces became a more and more important issue for public administration authorities in Romania. The paper describes the development of a web-GIS solution dedicated to monitoring of the green infrastructure in Bucharest, Romania. Thus, the system allows the urban residents (citizens) to collect themselves and directly report relevant information regarding the current status of the green infrastructure of the city. Consequently, the citizens become an active component of the decision-support process within the public administration. Besides the usual technical characteristics of such geo-information processing systems, due to the complex legal and organizational problems that arise in collecting information directly from the citizens, additional analysis was required concerning, for example, local government involvement, environmental protection agencies regulations or public entities requirements. Designing and implementing the whole information exchange process, based on the active interaction between the citizens and public administration bodies, required the use of the "citizen-sensor" concept deployed with GIS tools. The information collected and reported from the field is related to a lot of factors, which are not always limited to the city level, providing the possibility to consider the green infrastructure as a whole. The "citizen-request" web-GIS for green infrastructure monitoring solution is characterized by a very diverse urban information, due to the fact that the green infrastructure itself is conditioned by a lot of urban elements, such as urban infrastructures, urban infrastructure works and construction density.

Green Vehicle Guide

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On the Green Vehicle Guide you can search for green vehicles and see information on light duty vehicles, including emerging vehicle technology and alternative fuels. The site also addresses transportation's role in climate change.

sLORETA current source density analysis of evoked potentials for spatial updating in a virtual navigation task

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Hai M.; Matsumoto, Jumpei; Tran, Anh H.; Ono, Taketoshi; Nishijo, Hisao

2014-01-01

Previous studies have reported that multiple brain regions are activated during spatial navigation. However, it is unclear whether these activated brain regions are specifically associated with spatial updating or whether some regions are recruited for parallel cognitive processes. The present study aimed to localize current sources of event related potentials (ERPs) associated with spatial updating specifically. In the control phase of the experiment, electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded while subjects sequentially traced 10 blue checkpoints on the streets of a virtual town, which were sequentially connected by a green line, by manipulating a joystick. In the test phase of the experiment, the checkpoints and green line were not indicated. Instead, a tone was presented when the subjects entered the reference points where they were then required to trace the 10 invisible spatial reference points corresponding to the checkpoints. The vertex-positive ERPs with latencies of approximately 340 ms from the moment when the subjects entered the unmarked reference points were significantly larger in the test than in the control phases. Current source density analysis of the ERPs by standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) indicated activation of brain regions in the test phase that are associated with place and landmark recognition (entorhinal cortex/hippocampus, parahippocampal and retrosplenial cortices, fusiform, and lingual gyri), detecting self-motion (posterior cingulate and posterior insular cortices), motor planning (superior frontal gyrus, including the medial frontal cortex), and regions that process spatial attention (inferior parietal lobule). The present results provide the first identification of the current sources of ERPs associated with spatial updating, and suggest that multiple systems are active in parallel during spatial updating. PMID:24624067

Assessing equitable access to urban green space: the role of engineered water infrastructure.

PubMed

Wendel, Heather E Wright; Downs, Joni A; Mihelcic, James R

2011-08-15

Urban green space and water features provide numerous social, environmental, and economic benefits, yet disparities often exist in their distribution and accessibility. This study examines the link between issues of environmental justice and urban water management to evaluate potential improvements in green space and surface water access through the revitalization of existing engineered water infrastructures, namely stormwater ponds. First, relative access to green space and water features were compared for residents of Tampa, Florida, and an inner-city community of Tampa (East Tampa). Although disparities were not found in overall accessibility between Tampa and East Tampa, inequalities were apparent when quality, diversity, and size of green spaces were considered. East Tampa residents had significantly less access to larger, more desirable spaces and water features. Second, this research explored approaches for improving accessibility to green space and natural water using three integrated stormwater management development scenarios. These scenarios highlighted the ability of enhanced water infrastructures to increase access equality at a variety of spatial scales. Ultimately, the "greening" of gray urban water infrastructures is advocated as a way to address environmental justice issues while also reconnecting residents with issues of urban water management.

Analytic and numeric Green's functions for a two-dimensional electron gas in an orthogonal magnetic field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cresti, Alessandro; Grosso, Giuseppe; Parravicini, Giuseppe Pastori

2006-05-15

We have derived closed analytic expressions for the Green's function of an electron in a two-dimensional electron gas threaded by a uniform perpendicular magnetic field, also in the presence of a uniform electric field and of a parabolic spatial confinement. A workable and powerful numerical procedure for the calculation of the Green's functions for a large infinitely extended quantum wire is considered exploiting a lattice model for the wire, the tight-binding representation for the corresponding matrix Green's function, and the Peierls phase factor in the Hamiltonian hopping matrix element to account for the magnetic field. The numerical evaluation of themore » Green's function has been performed by means of the decimation-renormalization method, and quite satisfactorily compared with the analytic results worked out in this paper. As an example of the versatility of the numerical and analytic tools here presented, the peculiar semilocal character of the magnetic Green's function is studied in detail because of its basic importance in determining magneto-transport properties in mesoscopic systems.« less

Probing GFP-actin diffusion in living cells using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed

Engelke, Hanna; Heinrich, Doris; Rädler, Joachim O

2010-12-22

The cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells is continuously remodeled by polymerization and depolymerization of actin. Consequently, the relative content of polymerized filamentous actin (F-actin) and monomeric globular actin (G-actin) is subject to temporal and spatial fluctuations. Since fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) can measure the diffusion of fluorescently labeled actin it seems likely that FCS allows us to determine the dynamics and hence indirectly the structural properties of the cytoskeleton components with high spatial resolution. To this end we investigate the FCS signal of GFP-actin in living Dictyostelium discoideum cells and explore the inherent spatial and temporal signatures of the actin cytoskeleton. Using the free green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reference, we find that actin diffusion inside cells is dominated by G-actin and slower than diffusion in diluted cell extract. The FCS signal in the dense cortical F-actin network near the cell membrane is probed using the cytoskeleton protein LIM and is found to be slower than cytosolic G-actin diffusion. Furthermore, we show that polymerization of the cytoskeleton induced by Jasplakinolide leads to a substantial decrease of G-actin diffusion. Pronounced fluctuations in the distribution of the FCS correlation curves can be induced by latrunculin, which is known to induce actin waves. Our work suggests that the FCS signal of GFP-actin in combination with scanning or spatial correlation techniques yield valuable information about the local dynamics and concomitant cytoskeletal properties.

Using higher-level inquiry to improve spatial ability in an introductory geology course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Lacey A.

Visuo-spatial skills, the ability to visually take in information and create a mental image are crucial for success in fields involving science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as fine arts. Unfortunately, due to a lack of curriculum focused on developing spatial skills, students enrolled in introductory college-level science courses tend to have difficulty with spatially-related activities. One of the best ways to engage students in science activities is through a learning and teaching strategy called inquiry. There are lower levels of inquiry wherein learning and problem-solving are guided by instructions and higher levels of inquiry wherein students have a greater degree of autonomy in learning and creating their own problem-solving strategy. A study involving 112 participants was conducted during the fall semester in 2014 at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in an 1040 Introductory Geology Lab to determine if a new, high-level, inquiry-based lab would increase participants' spatial skills more than the traditional, low-level inquiry lab. The study also evaluated whether a higher level of inquiry differentially affected low versus high spatial ability participants. Participants were evaluated using a spatial ability assessment, and pre- and post-tests. The results of this study show that for 3-D to 2-D visualization, the higher-level inquiry lab increased participants' spatial ability more than the lower-level inquiry lab. For spatial rotational skills, all participants' spatial ability scores improved, regardless of the level of inquiry to which they were exposed. Low and high spatial ability participants were not differentially affected. This study demonstrates that a lab designed with a higher level of inquiry can increase students' spatial ability more than a lab with a low level of inquiry. A lab with a higher level of inquiry helped all participants, regardless of their initial spatial ability level. These findings show that curriculum that incorporates a high level of inquiry that integrates practice of spatial skills can increase students' spatial abilities in Geology-related coursework.

The Influence of Green Infrastructure on Urban Resilience in Greater London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Yukyung

2017-04-01

High population densities and diverse economic activities in urban areas create social issues as well as a range of environmental impacts including air pollution, soil contamination, loss of biodiversity and health problems (Alberti et al., 2003; Dobbs, Escobedo, & Zipperer, 2011; Grimm et al., 2008). The concept of urban resilience has been used for increasing the capacity of the entities and players to adapt to rapid changes, and urban green spaces play a crucial role in increasing urban resilience. Greater London has a good case for increasing urban green spaces and resilience under the London Plan. The relevance of urban open spaces and several socioeconomic indicators would provide researchers and policy makers with the information for managing green coverage. The correlation analysis of two quantitative data such as open space and socioeconomic data of Greater London was conducted with SPSS. The data for open spaces in Greater London was gained through Greenspace Information for Greater London. The data was converted from vector to raster in Geographic Information System (GIS), so as to calculate landscape metrics for open spaces in Greater London through a spatial pattern analysis program, FRAGSTATS 4.2. The socioeconomic data was obtained from "London Borough Profile", London Datastore. In addition, data on total carbon emissions from Industry and Commercial, Domestic, Transport, LULUCF Net Emissions, and per capita emissions were gained from UK local authority and regional carbon dioxide emissions national statistics: 2005-2014 released from Department of Energy and Climate Change. The indicators from open spaces are total area of open space and patch density or contagion of open spaces. The latter indicator allows to figure out the level of fragmentation of open spaces. The socioeconomic indicators cover number of jobs by workplace, jobs density, crime rates per thousand population, and several wellbeing indicators such as life satisfaction, worthwhileness, happiness and anxiety. The correlation analysis outcomes can be divided into three levels such as Greater London as a whole, and Inner and Outer London. In Greater London, total area of green spaces has a strong relation with crime rates, and a less strong relation with number of jobs. Both socioeconomic indicators showed a negative trend along with the increase of open spaces. In terms of wellbeing indicators, the positive trend of life satisfaction, worthwhileness and happiness, and the negative trend of anxiety can be found in accordance with the increase of green coverage. In Inner London, job density and crime rates show a negative trend in accordance with the increase of total open space areas. And as contagion of open spaces is higher, the indicators of number of jobs, jobs density, and crime rates also showed an increase tendency. As for worthwhileness and happiness, it also showed a substantial correlation with contagion of open spaces. In Outer London, the correlation between job density and crime rates, and open space cannot be found, but the wellbeing indicators such as life satisfaction and worthwhileness show an increase trend along with larger green coverage.

Population-level study links short-wavelength nighttime illumination with breast cancer incidence in a major metropolitan area.

PubMed

Rybnikova, Nataliya; Portnov, Boris A

2018-05-16

Several population-level studies revealed a positive association between breast cancer (BC) incidence and artificial light at night (ALAN) exposure. However, the effect of short-wavelength illumination, implicated by laboratory research and small-scale cohort studies as the main driving force behind BC-ALAN association, has not been supported by any population-level study carried out to date. We investigated a possible link between BC and ALAN of different subspectra using a multi-spectral year-2011 satellite image, taken from the International Space Station, and superimposing it with year-2013 BC incidence data available for the Great Haifa Metropolitan Area in Israel. The analysis was performed using both ordinary least square (OLS) and spatial dependency models, controlling for socioeconomic and locational attributes of the study area. The study revealed strong associations between BC and blue and green light subspectra (B = 0.336 ± 0.001 and B = 0.335 ± 0.002, respectively; p < 0.01), compared to a somewhat weaker effect for the red subspectrum (B = 0.056 ± 0.001; p < 0.01). However, spatial dependency models, controlling for spatial autocorrelation of regression residuals, confirmed only a positive association between BC incidence and short-wavelength (blue) ALAN subspectrum (z = 2.462, p < 0.05) while reporting insignificant associations between BC and either green (z = 1.425, p > 0.1) or red (z = -0.604, p > 0.1) subspectra. The obtained result is in line with the results of laboratory- and small-scale cohort studies linking short-wavelength nighttime illumination with circadian disruption and melatonin suppression. The detected effect of blue lights on BC incidence may help to develop informed illumination policies aimed at minimizing the adverse health effects of ALAN exposure on human health.

Large scale spatially explicit modeling of blue and green water dynamics in a temperate mid-latitude basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Liuying; Rajib, Adnan; Merwade, Venkatesh

2018-07-01

Looking only at climate change impacts provides partial information about a changing hydrologic regime. Understanding the spatio-temporal nature of change in hydrologic processes, and the explicit contributions from both climate and land use drivers, holds more practical value for water resources management and policy intervention. This study presents a comprehensive assessment on the spatio-temporal trend of Blue Water (BW) and Green Water (GW) in a 490,000 km2 temperate mid-latitude basin (Ohio River Basin) over the past 80 years (1935-2014), and from thereon, quantifies the combined as well as relative contributions of climate and land use changes. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is adopted to simulate hydrologic fluxes. Mann-Kendall and Theil-Sen statistical tests are performed on the modeled outputs to detect respectively the trend and magnitude of changes at three different spatial scales - the entire basin, regional level, and sub-basin level. Despite the overall volumetric increase of both BW and GW in the entire basin, changes in their annual average values during the period of simulation reveal a distinctive spatial pattern. GW has increased significantly in the upper and lower parts of the basin, which can be related to the prominent land use change in those areas. BW has increased significantly only in the lower part, likely being associated with the notable precipitation change there. Furthermore, the simulation under a time-varying climate but constant land use scenario identifies climate change in the Ohio River Basin to be influential on BW, while the impact is relatively nominal on GW; whereas, land use change increases GW remarkably, but is counterproductive on BW. The approach to quantify combined/relative effects of climate and land use change as shown in this study can be replicated to understand BW-GW dynamics in similar large basins around the globe.

Environmental conditions synchronize waterbird mortality events in the Great Lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prince, Karine; Chipault, Jennifer G.; White, C. LeAnn; Zuckerberg, Benjamin

2018-01-01

Since the 1960s, periodic outbreaks of avian botulism type E have contributed to large-scale die-offs of thousands of waterbirds throughout the Great Lakes of the United States. In recent years, these events have become more common and widespread. Occurring during the summer and autumn months, the prevalence of these die-offs varies across years and is often associated with years of warmer lake temperatures and lower water levels. Little information exists on how environmental conditions mediate the spatial and temporal characteristics of mortality events.In 2010, a citizen science programme, Avian Monitoring for Botulism Lakeshore Events (AMBLE), was launched to enhance surveillance efforts and detect the appearance of beached waterbird carcasses associated with avian botulism type E outbreaks in northern Lake Michigan. Using these data, our goal was to quantify the within-year characteristics of mortality events for multiple species, and to test whether the synchrony of these events corresponded to fluctuations in two environmental factors suspected to be important in the spread of avian botulism: water temperature and the prevalence of green macroalgae.During two separate events of mass waterbird mortality, we found that the detection of bird carcasses was spatially synchronized at scales of c. 40 km. Notably, the extent of this spatial synchrony in avian mortality matched that of fluctuations in lake surface water temperatures and the prevalence of green macroalgae.Synthesis and applications. Our findings are suggestive of a synchronizing effect where warmer lake temperatures and the appearance of macroalgae mediate the characteristics of avian mortality. In future years, rising lake temperatures and a higher propensity of algal masses could lead to increases in the magnitude and synchronization of avian mortality due to botulism. We advocate that citizen-based monitoring efforts are critical for identifying the potential environmental conditions associated with widespread mortality events and estimating future risk to waterbird populations.

A site-specific agricultural water requirement and footprint estimator (SPARE:WATER 1.0) for irrigation agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Multsch, S.; Al-Rumaikhani, Y. A.; Frede, H.-G.; Breuer, L.

2013-01-01

The water footprint accounting method addresses the quantification of water consumption in agriculture, whereby three types of water to grow crops are considered, namely green water (consumed rainfall), blue water (irrigation from surface or groundwater) and grey water (water needed to dilute pollutants). Most of current water footprint assessments focus on global to continental scale. We therefore developed the spatial decision support system SPARE:WATER that allows to quantify green, blue and grey water footprints on regional scale. SPARE:WATER is programmed in VB.NET, with geographic information system functionality implemented by the MapWinGIS library. Water requirement and water footprints are assessed on a grid-basis and can then be aggregated for spatial entities such as political boundaries, catchments or irrigation districts. We assume in-efficient irrigation methods rather than optimal conditions to account for irrigation methods with efficiencies other than 100%. Furthermore, grey water can be defined as the water to leach out salt from the rooting zone in order to maintain soil quality, an important management task in irrigation agriculture. Apart from a thorough representation of the modelling concept we provide a proof of concept where we assess the agricultural water footprint of Saudi Arabia. The entire water footprint is 17.0 km3 yr-1 for 2008 with a blue water dominance of 86%. Using SPARE:WATER we are able to delineate regional hot spots as well as crop types with large water footprints, e.g. sesame or dates. Results differ from previous studies of national-scale resolution, underlining the need for regional water footprint assessments.

The effect of urban green on small-area (healthy) life expectancy.

PubMed

Jonker, M F; van Lenthe, F J; Donkers, B; Mackenbach, J P; Burdorf, A

2014-10-01

Several epidemiological studies have investigated the effect of the quantity of green space on health outcomes such as self-rated health, morbidity and mortality ratios. These studies have consistently found positive associations between the quantity of green and health. However, the impact of other aspects, such as the perceived quality and average distance to public green, and the effect of urban green on population health are still largely unknown. Linear regression models were used to investigate the impact of three different measures of urban green on small-area life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE) in The Netherlands. All regressions corrected for average neighbourhood household income, accommodated spatial autocorrelation, and took measurement uncertainty of LE, HLE as well as the quality of urban green into account. Both the quantity and the perceived quality of urban green are modestly related to small-area LE and HLE: an increase of 1 SD in the percentage of urban green space is associated with a 0.1-year higher LE, and, in the case of quality of green, with an approximately 0.3-year higher LE and HLE. The average distance to the nearest public green is unrelated to population health. The quantity and particularly quality of urban green are positively associated with small-area LE and HLE. This concurs with a growing body of evidence that urban green reduces stress, stimulates physical activity, improves the microclimate and reduces ambient air pollution. Accordingly, urban green development deserves a more prominent place in urban regeneration and neighbourhood renewal programmes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Soak Up the Rain New England Webinar Series: National ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Presenters will provide an introduction to the most recent EPA green infrastructure tools to R1 stakeholders; and their use in making decisions about implementing green infrastructure. We will discuss structuring your green infrastructure decision, finding appropriate information and tools, evaluating options and selecting the right Best Management Practices mix for your needs.WMOST (Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool)- for screening a wide range of practices for cost-effectiveness in achieving watershed or water utilities management goals.GIWiz (Green Infrastructure Wizard)- a web application connecting communities to EPA Green Infrastructure tools and resources.Opti-Tool-designed to assist in developing technically sound and optimized cost-effective Stormwater management plans. National Stormwater Calculator- a desktop application for estimating the impact of land cover change and green infrastructure controls on stormwater runoff. DASEES-GI (Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society) – a framework for linking objectives and measures with green infrastructure methods. Presenters will provide an introduction to the most recent EPA green infrastructure tools to R1 stakeholders; and their use in making decisions about implementing green infrastructure. We will discuss structuring your green infrastructure decision, finding appropriate information and tools, evaluating options and selecting the right Best Management Pr

Application of the Green's function method for 2- and 3-dimensional steady transonic flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tseng, K.

1984-01-01

A Time-Domain Green's function method for the nonlinear time-dependent three-dimensional aerodynamic potential equation is presented. The Green's theorem is being used to transform the partial differential equation into an integro-differential-delay equation. Finite-element and finite-difference methods are employed for the spatial and time discretizations to approximate the integral equation by a system of differential-delay equations. Solution may be obtained by solving for this nonlinear simultaneous system of equations in time. This paper discusses the application of the method to the Transonic Small Disturbance Equation and numerical results for lifting and nonlifting airfoils and wings in steady flows are presented.

Stream chemistry modeling of two watersheds in the Front Range, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meixner, Thomas; Bales, Roger C.; Williams, Mark W.; Campbell, Donald H.; Baron, Jill S.

2000-01-01

We investigated the hydrologic, geochemical, and biogeochemical controls on stream chemical composition on the Green Lakes Valley and Andrews Creek watersheds using the alpine hydrochemical model (AHM). Both sites had comparable data sets from 1994 and 1996, including high‐resolution spatial data and high‐frequency time series of hydrology, geochemistry, and meteorology. The model of each watershed consisted of three terrestrial subunits (soil, talus, and rock), with the routing between the subunits determined by spatial land cover data. Using 1994 data for model calibration and 1996 data for evaluation, AHM captured the dominant processes and successfully simulated daily stream chemical composition on both watersheds. These results confirm our procedure of using spatial and site‐specific field and laboratory data to generate an initial catchment model and then calibrating the model to calculate effective parameters for unmeasured processes. A net source of nitrogen was identified in the Andrews Creek watershed during the spring snowmelt period, whereas nitrogen was immobilized in the Green Lakes Valley. This difference was most likely due to the larger and more dominant area of talus in the Andrews Creek watershed. Our results also indicate that routing of snowmelt through either soil or talus material is sufficient for retention of H+ and release of base cations but that N retention is more important on areas mapped as soil. Owing to the larger ionic pulse and larger fraction of surface runoff the Green Lakes Valley was more sensitive to a doubling of wet deposition chemistry than the Andrews Creek watershed.

Near-Infrared Imaging for Spatial Mapping of Organic Content in Petroleum Source Rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehmani, Y.; Burnham, A. K.; Vanden Berg, M. D.; Tchelepi, H.

2017-12-01

Natural gas from unconventional petroleum source rocks (shales) plays a key role in our transition towards sustainable low-carbon energy production. The potential for carbon storage (in adsorbed state) in these formations further aligns with efforts to mitigate climate change. Optimizing production and development from these resources requires knowledge of the hydro-thermo-mechanical properties of the rock, which are often strong functions of organic content. This work demonstrates the potential of near-infrared (NIR) spectral imaging in mapping the spatial distribution of organic content with O(100µm) resolution on cores that can span several hundred feet in depth (Mehmani et al., 2017). We validate our approach for the immature oil shale of the Green River Formation (GRF), USA, and show its applicability potential in other formations. The method is a generalization of a previously developed optical approach specialized to the GRF (Mehmani et al., 2016a). The implications of this work for spatial mapping of hydro-thermo-mechanical properties of excavated cores, in particular thermal conductivity, are discussed (Mehmani et al., 2016b). References:Mehmani, Y., A.K. Burnham, M.D. Vanden Berg, H. Tchelepi, "Quantification of organic content in shales via near-infrared imaging: Green River Formation." Fuel, (2017). Mehmani, Y., A.K. Burnham, M.D. Vanden Berg, F. Gelin, and H. Tchelepi. "Quantification of kerogen content in organic-rich shales from optical photographs." Fuel, (2016a). Mehmani, Y., A.K. Burnham, H. Tchelepi, "From optics to upscaled thermal conductivity: Green River oil shale." Fuel, (2016b).

Three-Dimensional Imaging of the Intracellular Fate of Plasmid DNA and Transgene Expression: ZsGreen1 and Tissue Clearing Method CUBIC Are an Optimal Combination for Multicolor Deep Imaging in Murine Tissues.

PubMed

Fumoto, Shintaro; Nishimura, Koyo; Nishida, Koyo; Kawakami, Shigeru

2016-01-01

Evaluation methods for determining the distribution of transgene expression in the body and the in vivo fate of viral and non-viral vectors are necessary for successful development of in vivo gene delivery systems. Here, we evaluated the spatial distribution of transgene expression using tissue clearing methods. After hydrodynamic injection of plasmid DNA into mice, whole tissues were subjected to tissue clearing. Tissue clearing followed by confocal laser scanning microscopy enabled evaluation of the three-dimensional distribution of transgene expression without preparation of tissue sections. Among the tested clearing methods (ClearT2, SeeDB, and CUBIC), CUBIC was the most suitable method for determining the spatial distribution of transgene expression in not only the liver but also other tissues such as the kidney and lung. In terms of the type of fluorescent protein, the observable depth for green fluorescent protein ZsGreen1 was slightly greater than that for red fluorescent protein tdTomato. We observed a depth of ~1.5 mm for the liver and 500 μm for other tissues without preparation of tissue sections. Furthermore, we succeeded in multicolor deep imaging of the intracellular fate of plasmid DNA in the murine liver. Thus, tissue clearing would be a powerful approach for determining the spatial distribution of plasmid DNA and transgene expression in various murine tissues.

Urban vegetation and thermal patterns following city growth in different socio-economic contexts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dronova, I.; Clinton, N.; Yang, J.; Radke, J.; Marx, S. S.; Gong, P.

2015-12-01

Urban expansion accompanied by losses of vegetated spaces and their ecological services raises significant concerns about the future of humans in metropolitan "habitats". Despite recent growth of urban studies globally, it is still not well understood how environmental effects of urbanization vary with the rate and socioeconomic context of development. Our study hypothesized that with urban development, spatial patterns of surface thermal properties and green plant cover would shift towards higher occurrence of relatively warmer and less vegetated spaces such as built-up areas, followed by losses of greener and cooler areas such as urban forests, and that these shifts would be more pronounced with higher rate of economic and/or population growth. To test these ideas, we compared 1992-2011 changes in remotely sensed patterns of green vegetation and surface temperature in three example cities that experienced peripheral growth under contrasting socio-economic context - Dallas, TX, USA, Beijing, China and Kyiv, Ukraine. To assess their transformation, we proposed a metric of thermal-vegetation angle (TVA) estimated from per-pixel proxies of vegetation greenness and surface temperature from Landsat satellite data and examined changes in TVA distributions within each city's core and two decadal zones of peripheral sprawl delineated from nighttime satellite data. We found that higher economic and population growth were coupled with more pronounced changes in TVA distributions, and more urbanized zones often exhibited higher frequencies of warmer, less green than average TVA values with novel patterns such as "cooler" clusters of building shadows. Although greener and cooler spaces generally diminished with development, they remained relatively prevalent in low-density residential areas of Dallas and peripheral zones of Kyiv with exurban subsistence farming. Overall, results indicate that the effects of modified green space and thermal patterns within growing cities highly vary depending on economy, population trends and historical legacies of planned green spaces. Remote sensing-based metrics such as TVA facilitate their comparisons and offer useful strategies to cost-effectively monitor urban transformation and inform more explicit environmental modeling of cities in the future.

The EarthServer Geology Service: web coverage services for geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laxton, John; Sen, Marcus; Passmore, James

2014-05-01

The EarthServer FP7 project is implementing web coverage services using the OGC WCS and WCPS standards for a range of earth science domains: cryospheric; atmospheric; oceanographic; planetary; and geological. BGS is providing the geological service (http://earthserver.bgs.ac.uk/). Geoscience has used remote sensed data from satellites and planes for some considerable time, but other areas of geosciences are less familiar with the use of coverage data. This is rapidly changing with the development of new sensor networks and the move from geological maps to geological spatial models. The BGS geology service is designed initially to address two coverage data use cases and three levels of data access restriction. Databases of remote sensed data are typically very large and commonly held offline, making it time-consuming for users to assess and then download data. The service is designed to allow the spatial selection, editing and display of Landsat and aerial photographic imagery, including band selection and contrast stretching. This enables users to rapidly view data, assess is usefulness for their purposes, and then enhance and download it if it is suitable. At present the service contains six band Landsat 7 (Blue, Green, Red, NIR 1, NIR 2, MIR) and three band false colour aerial photography (NIR, green, blue), totalling around 1Tb. Increasingly 3D spatial models are being produced in place of traditional geological maps. Models make explicit spatial information implicit on maps and thus are seen as a better way of delivering geosciences information to non-geoscientists. However web delivery of models, including the provision of suitable visualisation clients, has proved more challenging than delivering maps. The EarthServer geology service is delivering 35 surfaces as coverages, comprising the modelled superficial deposits of the Glasgow area. These can be viewed using a 3D web client developed in the EarthServer project by Fraunhofer. As well as remote sensed imagery and 3D models, the geology service is also delivering DTM coverages which can be viewed in the 3D client in conjunction with both imagery and models. The service is accessible through a web GUI which allows the imagery to be viewed against a range of background maps and DTMs, and in the 3D client; spatial selection to be carried out graphically; the results of image enhancement to be displayed; and selected data to be downloaded. The GUI also provides access to the Glasgow model in the 3D client, as well as tutorial material. In the final year of the project it is intended to increase the volume of data to 20Tb and enhance the WCPS processing, including depth and thickness querying of 3D models. We have also investigated the use of GeoSciML, developed to describe and interchange the information on geological maps, to describe model surface coverages. EarthServer is developing a combined WCPS and xQuery query language, and we will investigate applying this to the GeoSciML described surfaces to answer questions such as 'find all units with a predominant sand lithology within 25m of the surface'.

Simultaneous colour visualizations of multiple ALS point cloud attributes for land cover and vegetation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zlinszky, András; Schroiff, Anke; Otepka, Johannes; Mandlburger, Gottfried; Pfeifer, Norbert

2014-05-01

LIDAR point clouds hold valuable information for land cover and vegetation analysis, not only in the spatial distribution of the points but also in their various attributes. However, LIDAR point clouds are rarely used for visual interpretation, since for most users, the point cloud is difficult to interpret compared to passive optical imagery. Meanwhile, point cloud viewing software is available allowing interactive 3D interpretation, but typically only one attribute at a time. This results in a large number of points with the same colour, crowding the scene and often obscuring detail. We developed a scheme for mapping information from multiple LIDAR point attributes to the Red, Green, and Blue channels of a widely used LIDAR data format, which are otherwise mostly used to add information from imagery to create "photorealistic" point clouds. The possible combinations of parameters are therefore represented in a wide range of colours, but relative differences in individual parameter values of points can be well understood. The visualization was implemented in OPALS software, using a simple and robust batch script, and is viewer independent since the information is stored in the point cloud data file itself. In our case, the following colour channel assignment delivered best results: Echo amplitude in the Red, echo width in the Green and normalized height above a Digital Terrain Model in the Blue channel. With correct parameter scaling (but completely without point classification), points belonging to asphalt and bare soil are dark red, low grassland and crop vegetation are bright red to yellow, shrubs and low trees are green and high trees are blue. Depending on roof material and DTM quality, buildings are shown from red through purple to dark blue. Erroneously high or low points, or points with incorrect amplitude or echo width usually have colours contrasting from terrain or vegetation. This allows efficient visual interpretation of the point cloud in planar, profile and 3D views since it reduces crowding of the scene and delivers intuitive contextual information. The resulting visualization has proved useful for vegetation analysis for habitat mapping, and can also be applied as a first step for point cloud level classification. An interactive demonstration of the visualization script is shown during poster attendance, including the opportunity to view your own point cloud sample files.

Green Power Partnership Basic Program Information

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program designed to reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation by promoting renewable energy. Partners commit to procuring green power that meets EPA's requirements and receive recognition.

Urban Greening Bay Area

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Information about the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Project (SFBWQP) Urban Greening Bay Area, a large-scale effort to re-envision urban landscapes to include green infrastructure (GI) making communities more livable and reducing stormwater runoff.

Brownian systems with spatially inhomogeneous activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, A.; Brader, J. M.

2017-09-01

We generalize the Green-Kubo approach, previously applied to bulk systems of spherically symmetric active particles [J. Chem. Phys. 145, 161101 (2016), 10.1063/1.4966153], to include spatially inhomogeneous activity. The method is applied to predict the spatial dependence of the average orientation per particle and the density. The average orientation is given by an integral over the self part of the Van Hove function and a simple Gaussian approximation to this quantity yields an accurate analytical expression. Taking this analytical result as input to a dynamic density functional theory approximates the spatial dependence of the density in good agreement with simulation data. All theoretical predictions are validated using Brownian dynamics simulations.

Development, description, and application of a geographic information system data base for water resources in karst terrane in Greene County, Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waite, L.A.; Thomson, Kenneth C.

1993-01-01

A geographic information system data base was developed for Greene County, Missouri, to provide data for use in the protection of water resources. The geographic information system data base contains the following map layers: geology, cave entrances and passages, county and quadrangle boundary, dye traces, faults, geographic names, hypsography, hydrography, lineaments, Ozark aquifer potentio- metric surface, public land survey system, sink- holes, soils, springs, and transportation. Several serious incidents of ground-water contamination have been reported in the karst terrane developed in soluble carbonate rocks in Greene County. Karst terranes are environmentally sensitive because any contaminant carried by surface runoff has the potential for rapid transport through solution enlarged fractures to the ground-water system. In the karst terrane in Greene County, about 2,500 sinkholes have been located; these sinkholes are potential access points for contamination to the ground-water system. Recent examples of ground-water contamination by sewage, fertilizers, and hydrocarbon chemicals have demonstrated the sensitivity of ground water in the Greene County karst terrane to degradation. The ground-water system is a major source of drinking water for Greene County. The population in Greene County, which includes Springfield, the third largest city in Missouri, is rapidly increasing and the protection of the water resources of Greene County is an increasing concern.

Understanding the relationships between the physical environment and physical activity in older adults: a systematic review of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Moran, Mika; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Hercky-Linnewiel, Rachel; Cerin, Ester; Deforche, Benedicte; Plaut, Pnina

2014-07-17

While physical activity (PA) provides many physical, social, and mental health benefits for older adults, they are the least physically active age group. Ecological models highlight the importance of the physical environment in promoting PA. However, results of previous quantitative research revealed inconsistencies in environmental correlates of older adults' PA that may be explained by methodological issues. Qualitative studies can inform and complement quantitative research on environment-PA relationships by providing insight into how and why the environment influences participants' PA behaviors. The current study aimed to provide a systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the potential impact of the physical environment on older adults' PA behaviors. A systematic search was conducted in databases of various disciplines, including: health, architecture and urban planning, transportation, and interdisciplinary databases. From 3,047 articles identified in the physical activity, initial search, 31 articles published from 1996 to 2012 met all inclusion criteria. An inductive content analysis was performed on the extracted findings to identify emerging environmental elements related to older adults' PA. The identified environmental elements were then grouped by study methodologies [indoor interviews (individual or focus groups) vs spatial methods (photo-voice, observations, walk-along interviews)]. This review provides detailed information about environmental factors that potentially influence older adults' PA behaviors. These factors were categorized into five themes: pedestrian infrastructure, safety, access to amenities, aesthetics, and environmental conditions. Environmental factors especially relevant to older adults (i.e., access to facilities, green open spaces and rest areas) tended to emerge more frequently in studies that combined interviews with spatial qualitative methods. Findings showed that qualitative research can provide in-depth information on environmental elements that influence older adults' PA. Future qualitative studies on the physical environment and older adults' PA would benefit from combining interviews with more spatially-oriented methods. Multidisciplinary mixed-methods studies are recommended to establish quantitative relationships complemented with in-depth qualitative information.

Lidar observed seasonal variation of vertical canopy structure in the Amazon evergreen forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, H.; Dubayah, R.

2017-12-01

Both light and water are important environmental factors governing tree growth. Responses of tropical forests to their changes are complicated and can vary substantially across different spatial and temporal scales. Of particular interest is the dry-season greening-up of Amazon forests, a phenomenon undergoing considerable debates whether it is real or a "light illusion" caused by artifacts of passive optical remote sensing techniques. Here we analyze seasonal dynamic patterns of vertical canopy structure in the Amazon forests using lidar observations from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). We found that the net greening of canopy layer coincides with the wet-to-dry transition period, and its net browning occurs mostly at the late dry season. The understory also shows a seasonal cycle, but with an opposite variation to canopy and minimal correlation to seasonal variations in rainfall or radiation. Our results further suggest a potential interaction between canopy layers in the light regime that can optimize the growth of Amazon forests during the dry season. This light regime variability that exists in both spatial and temporal domains can better reveal the dry-season greening-up phenomenon, which appears less obvious when treating the Amazon forests as a whole.

Blue colour preference in honeybees distracts visual attention for learning closed shapes.

PubMed

Morawetz, Linde; Svoboda, Alexander; Spaethe, Johannes; Dyer, Adrian G

2013-10-01

Spatial vision is an important cue for how honeybees (Apis mellifera) find flowers, and previous work has suggested that spatial learning in free-flying bees is exclusively mediated by achromatic input to the green photoreceptor channel. However, some data suggested that bees may be able to use alternative channels for shape processing, and recent work shows conditioning type and training length can significantly influence bee learning and cue use. We thus tested the honeybees' ability to discriminate between two closed shapes considering either absolute or differential conditioning, and using eight stimuli differing in their spectral characteristics. Consistent with previous work, green contrast enabled reliable shape learning for both types of conditioning, but surprisingly, we found that bees trained with appetitive-aversive differential conditioning could additionally use colour and/or UV contrast to enable shape discrimination. Interestingly, we found that a high blue contrast initially interferes with bee shape learning, probably due to the bees innate preference for blue colours, but with increasing experience bees can learn a variety of spectral and/or colour cues to facilitate spatial learning. Thus, the relationship between bee pollinators and the spatial and spectral cues that they use to find rewarding flowers appears to be a more rich visual environment than previously thought.

Photographic Film Image Enhancement

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-01-01

A series of experiments were undertaken to assess the feasibility of defogging color film by the techniques of Optical Spatial Filtering. A coherent optical processor was built using red, blue, and green laser light input and specially designed Fouri...

Assessment of the impact of climate change on spatiotemporal variability of blue and green water resources under CMIP3 and CMIP5 models in a highly mountainous watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazeli Farsani, Iman; Farzaneh, M. R.; Besalatpour, A. A.; Salehi, M. H.; Faramarzi, M.

2018-04-01

The variability and uncertainty of water resources associated with climate change are critical issues in arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, we used the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) to evaluate the impact of climate change on the spatial and temporal variability of water resources in the Bazoft watershed, Iran. The analysis was based on changes of blue water flow, green water flow, and green water storage for a future period (2010-2099) compared to a historical period (1992-2008). The r-factor, p-factor, R 2, and Nash-Sutcliff coefficients for discharge were 1.02, 0.89, 0.80, and 0.80 for the calibration period and 1.03, 0.76, 0.57, and 0.59 for the validation period, respectively. General circulation models (GCMs) under 18 emission scenarios from the IPCC's Fourth (AR4) and Fifth (AR5) Assessment Reports were fed into the SWAT model. At the sub-basin level, blue water tended to decrease, while green water flow tended to increase in the future scenario, and green water storage was predicted to continue its historical trend into the future. At the monthly time scale, the 95% prediction uncertainty bands (95PPUs) of blue and green water flows varied widely in the watershed. A large number (18) of climate change scenarios fell within the estimated uncertainty band of the historical period. The large differences among scenarios indicated high levels of uncertainty in the watershed. Our results reveal that the spatial patterns of water resource components and their uncertainties in the context of climate change are notably different between IPCC AR4 and AR5 in the Bazoft watershed. This study provides a strong basis for water supply-demand analyses, and the general analytical framework can be applied to other study areas with similar challenges.

Analysis and attenuation of artifacts caused by spatially and temporally correlated noise sources in Green's function estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, E. R.; Dou, S.; Lindsey, N.; Chang, J. P.; Biondi, B. C.; Ajo Franklin, J. B.; Wagner, A. M.; Bjella, K.; Daley, T. M.; Freifeld, B. M.; Robertson, M.; Ulrich, C.; Williams, E. F.

2016-12-01

Localized strong sources of noise in an array have been shown to cause artifacts in Green's function estimates obtained via cross-correlation. Their effect is often reduced through the use of cross-coherence. Beyond independent localized sources, temporally or spatially correlated sources of noise frequently occur in practice but violate basic assumptions of much of the theory behind ambient noise Green's function retrieval. These correlated noise sources can occur in urban environments due to transportation infrastructure, or in areas around industrial operations like pumps running at CO2 sequestration sites or oil and gas drilling sites. Better understanding of these artifacts should help us develop and justify methods for their automatic removal from Green's function estimates. We derive expected artifacts in cross-correlations from several distributions of correlated noise sources including point sources that are exact time-lagged repeats of each other and Gaussian-distributed in space and time with covariance that exponentially decays. Assuming the noise distribution stays stationary over time, the artifacts become more coherent as more ambient noise is included in the Green's function estimates. We support our results with simple computational models. We observed these artifacts in Green's function estimates from a 2015 ambient noise study in Fairbanks, AK where a trenched distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) array was deployed to collect ambient noise alongside a road with the goal of developing a permafrost thaw monitoring system. We found that joints in the road repeatedly being hit by cars travelling at roughly the speed limit led to artifacts similar to those expected when several points are time-lagged copies of each other. We also show test results of attenuating the effects of these sources during time-lapse monitoring of an active thaw test in the same location with noise detected by a 2D trenched DAS array.

Crossword Puzzle Makes It Fun: Introduce Green Manufacturing in Wood Technology Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iley, John L.; Hague, Doug

2012-01-01

Sustainable, or "green," manufacturing and its practices are becoming more and more a part of today's industry, including wood product manufacturing. This article provides introductory information on green manufacturing in wood technology and a crossword puzzle based on green manufacturing terms. The authors use the puzzle at the college level to…

Recent trends in vegetation greenness in China significantly altered annual evapotranspiration and water yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Xiao, J.

2017-12-01

There has been growing evidence that vegetation greenness has been increasing in many parts of the northern middle and high latitudes including China during the last three to four decades. However, the effects of vegetation greening particularly afforestation on the hydrologic cycle have been controversial. We used a process-based ecosystem model and a satellite-derived leaf area index (LAI) dataset to examine how the changes in vegetation greenness affected annual evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield for China over the period from 2000 to 2014. Significant trends in vegetation greenness were observed in 26.1% of China's land area. We used two model simulations driven with original and detrended LAI, respectively, to assess the effects of vegetation greening and browning on terrestrial ET and water yield. On a per-pixel basis, vegetation greening increased annual ET and decreased water yield or weakened the increase in water yield; vegetation browning reduced ET and increased water yield or weakened the decrease in water yield. At the large river basin and national scales, the greening trends had positive effects on annual ET and had negative effects on water yield. Our results showed that the effects of the greenness changes on ET and water yield varied with spatial scale. Afforestation efforts perhaps should focus on southern China with larger water supply given the water crisis in northern China and the negative effects of vegetation greening on water yield. Future studies on the effects of the greenness changes on the hydrologic cycle are needed to account for the feedbacks to the climate.

New Paradigm Shift for the Green Synthesis of Antibacterial Silver Nanoparticles Utilizing Plant Extracts

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

This review covers general information regarding the green synthesis of antibacterial silver nanoparticles. Owing to their antibacterial properties, silver nanoparticles are widely used in many areas, especially biomedical applications. In green synthesis practices, the chemical reducing agents are eliminated, and biological entities are utilized to convert silver ions to silver nanoparticles. Among the various biological entities, natural plant extracts have emerged as green reducing agents, providing eco-friendly routes for the preparation of silver nanomaterials. The most obvious merits of green synthesis are the increased biocompatibility of the resulting silver nanoparticles and the ease with which the reaction can be carried out. This review summarizes some of the plant extracts that are used to produce antibacterial silver nanoparticles. Additionally, background information regarding the green synthesis and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles is provided. Finally, the toxicological aspects of silver nanoparticles are briefly mentioned. PMID:25343010

Polarimetric, Two-Color, Photon-Counting Laser Altimeter Measurements of Forest Canopy Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, David J.; Dabney, Philip W.; Valett, Susan

2011-01-01

Laser altimeter measurements of forest stands with distinct structures and compositions have been acquired at 532 nm (green) and 1064 nm (near-infrared) wavelengths and parallel and perpendicular polarization states using the Slope Imaging Multi-polarization Photon Counting Lidar (SIMPL). The micropulse, single photon ranging measurement approach employed by SIMPL provides canopy structure measurements with high vertical and spatial resolution. Using a height distribution analysis method adapted from conventional, 1064 nm, full-waveform lidar remote sensing, the sensitivity of two parameters commonly used for above-ground biomass estimation are compared as a function of wavelength. The results for the height of median energy (HOME) and canopy cover are for the most part very similar, indicating biomass estimations using lidars operating at green and near-infrared wavelengths will yield comparable estimates. The expected detection of increasing depolarization with depth into the canopies due to volume multiple-scattering was not observed, possibly due to the small laser footprint and the small detector field of view used in the SIMPL instrument. The results of this work provide pathfinder information for NASA's ICESat-2 mission that will employ a 532 nm, micropulse, photon counting laser altimeter.

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with a mobile phone (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghassemi, Pejhman; Wang, Bohan; Wang, Jianting; Wang, Quanzeng; Chen, Yu; Pfefer, T. Joshua

2017-03-01

Mobile phone cameras employ sensors with near-infrared (NIR) sensitivity, yet this capability has not been exploited for biomedical purposes. Removing the IR-blocking filter from a phone-based camera opens the door to a wide range of techniques and applications for inexpensive, point-of-care biophotonic imaging and sensing. This study provides proof of principle for one of these modalities - phone-based NIR fluorescence imaging. An imaging system was assembled using a 780 nm light source along with excitation and emission filters with 800 nm and 825 nm cut-off wavelengths, respectively. Indocyanine green (ICG) was used as an NIR fluorescence contrast agent in an ex vivo rodent model, a resolution test target and a 3D-printed, tissue-simulating vascular phantom. Raw and processed images for red, green and blue pixel channels were analyzed for quantitative evaluation of fundamental performance characteristics including spectral sensitivity, detection linearity and spatial resolution. Mobile phone results were compared with a scientific CCD. The spatial resolution of CCD system was consistently superior to the phone, and green phone camera pixels showed better resolution than blue or green channels. The CCD exhibited similar sensitivity as processed red and blue pixels channels, yet a greater degree of detection linearity. Raw phone pixel data showed lower sensitivity but greater linearity than processed data. Overall, both qualitative and quantitative results provided strong evidence of the potential of phone-based NIR imaging, which may lead to a wide range of applications from cancer detection to glucose sensing.

New technology revolutionizing how we understand the air around us

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation covers various technologies that I have been involved with, that have increased the spatial resolution possible for air pollution measurements. This includes the GMAP, Village Green Project, and emerging sensor technology.

Scaling effects on spring phenology detections from MODIS data at multiple spatial resolutions over the contiguous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Dailiang; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Zhang, Bing; Liu, Liangyun; Liu, Xinjie; Huete, Alfredo R.; Huang, Wenjiang; Wang, Siyuan; Luo, Shezhou; Zhang, Xiao; Zhang, Helin

2017-10-01

Land surface phenology (LSP) has been widely retrieved from satellite data at multiple spatial resolutions, but the spatial scaling effects on LSP detection are poorly understood. In this study, we collected enhanced vegetation index (EVI, 250 m) from collection 6 MOD13Q1 product over the contiguous United States (CONUS) in 2007 and 2008, and generated a set of multiple spatial resolution EVI data by resampling 250 m to 2 × 250 m and 3 × 250 m, 4 × 250 m, …, 35 × 250 m. These EVI time series were then used to detect the start of spring season (SOS) at various spatial resolutions. Further the SOS variation across scales was examined at each coarse resolution grid (35 × 250 m ≈ 8 km, refer to as reference grid) and ecoregion. Finally, the SOS scaling effects were associated with landscape fragment, proportion of primary land cover type, and spatial variability of seasonal greenness variation within each reference grid. The results revealed the influences of satellite spatial resolutions on SOS retrievals and the related impact factors. Specifically, SOS significantly varied lineally or logarithmically across scales although the relationship could be either positive or negative. The overall SOS values averaged from spatial resolutions between 250 m and 35 × 250 m at large ecosystem regions were generally similar with a difference less than 5 days, while the SOS values within the reference grid could differ greatly in some local areas. Moreover, the standard deviation of SOS across scales in the reference grid was less than 5 days in more than 70% of area over the CONUS, which was smaller in northeastern than in southern and western regions. The SOS scaling effect was significantly associated with heterogeneity of vegetation properties characterized using land landscape fragment, proportion of primary land cover type, and spatial variability of seasonal greenness variation, but the latter was the most important impact factor.

Extracting temporal and spatial information from remotely sensed data for mapping wildlife habitat: Tucson

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Advised by Marsh, Stuart E.

2002-01-01

The research accomplished in this dissertation used both mathematical and statistical techniques to extract and evaluate measures of landscape temporal dynamics and spatial structure from remotely sensed data for the purpose of mapping wildlife habitat. By coupling the landscape measures gleaned from the remotely sensed data with various sets of animal sightings and population data, effective models of habitat preference were created.Measures of temporal dynamics of vegetation greenness as measured by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite were used to effectively characterize and map season specific habitat of the Sonoran pronghorn antelope, as well as produce preliminary models of potential yellow-billed cuckoo habitat in Arizona. Various measures that capture different aspects of the temporal dynamics of the landscape were derived from AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index composite data using three main classes of calculations: basic statistics, standardized principal components analysis, and Fourier analysis. Pronghorn habitat models based on the AVHRR measures correspond visually and statistically to GIS-based models produced using data that represent detailed knowledge of ground-condition.Measures of temporal dynamics also revealed statistically significant correlations with annual estimates of elk population in selected Arizona Game Management Units, suggesting elk respond to regional environmental changes that can be measured using satellite data. Such relationships, once verified and established, can be used to help indirectly monitor the population.Measures of landscape spatial structure derived from IKONOS high spatial resolution (1-m) satellite data using geostatistics effectively map details of Sonoran pronghorn antelope habitat. Local estimates of the nugget, sill, and range variogram parameters calculated within 25 x 25-meter image windows describe the spatial autocorrelation of the image, permitting classification of all pixels into coherent units whose signature graphs exhibit a classic variogram shape. The variogram parameters captured in these signatures have been shown in previous studies to discriminate between different species-specific vegetation associations.The synoptic view of the landscape provided by satellite data can inform resource management efforts. The ability to characterize the spatial structure and temporal dynamics of habitat using repeatable remote sensing data allows closer monitoring of the relationship between a species and its landscape.

Spatial resolution of the electrical conductance of ionic fluids using a Green-Kubo method.

PubMed

Jones, R E; Ward, D K; Templeton, J A

2014-11-14

We present a Green-Kubo method to spatially resolve transport coefficients in compositionally heterogeneous mixtures. We develop the underlying theory based on well-known results from mixture theory, Irving-Kirkwood field estimation, and linear response theory. Then, using standard molecular dynamics techniques, we apply the methodology to representative systems. With a homogeneous salt water system, where the expectation of the distribution of conductivity is clear, we demonstrate the sensitivities of the method to system size, and other physical and algorithmic parameters. Then we present a simple model of an electrochemical double layer where we explore the resolution limit of the method. In this system, we observe significant anisotropy in the wall-normal vs. transverse ionic conductances, as well as near wall effects. Finally, we discuss extensions and applications to more realistic systems such as batteries where detailed understanding of the transport properties in the vicinity of the electrodes is of technological importance.

[Influence of green roof application on water quantity and quality in urban region].

PubMed

Wang, Shu-Min; Li, Xing-Yang; Zhang, Jun-Hua; Yu, Hui; Hao, You-Zhi; Yang, Wan-Yi

2014-07-01

Green roof is widely used in advanced stormwater management as a major measure now. Taking Huxi catchment in Chongqing University as the study area, the relationships between green roof installation with runoff volume and water quality in urban region were investigated. The results showed that roof greening in the urban region contributed to reducing the runoff volume and pollution load. In addition, the spatial distribution and area of green roof also had effects on the runoff water quality. With the conditions that the roof area was 25% of the total watershed area, rainfall duration was 15 min and rainfall intensity was 14.8 mm x h(-1), the peak runoff and total runoff volume were reduced by 5.3% and 31%, the pollution loads of total suspended solid (TSS), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) decreased by 40.0%, 31.6% and 29.8%, their peak concentrations decreased by 21.0%, 16.0% and -12.2%, and the EMCs (event mean concentrations) were cut down by 13.1%, 0.9% and -1.7%, respectively, when all impervious roofs were greened in the research area. With the increase of roof greening rate, the reduction rates of TSS and TP concentrations increased, while the reduction rate of TN concentration decreased on the whole. Much more improvement could be obtained with the use of green roofs near the outlet of the watershed.

76 FR 53698 - Proposed Collection of Information for an Evaluation of the Implementation of Green Jobs and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-29

... an Evaluation of the Implementation of Green Jobs and Health Care Training Grants; New Collection... implementation of the Green Jobs and Health Care training grants. This evaluation is sponsored by ETA to... the Green Jobs and Health Care training grants. This evaluation is sponsored by ETA to understand the...

Simulation of the cumulative hydrological response to green infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avellaneda, P. M.; Jefferson, A. J.; Grieser, J. M.; Bush, S. A.

2017-04-01

In this study, we evaluated the cumulative hydrologic performance of green infrastructure in a residential area of the city of Parma, Ohio, draining to a tributary of the Cuyahoga River. Green infrastructure included the following spatially distributed devices: 16 street-side bioretention cells, 7 rain gardens, and 37 rain barrels. Data consisted of rainfall and outfall flow records for a wide range of storm events, including pretreatment and treatment periods. The Stormwater Management Model was calibrated and validated to predict the hydrologic response of green infrastructure. The calibrated model was used to quantify annual water budget alterations and discharge frequency over a 6 year simulation period. For the study catchment, we observed a treatment effect with increases of 1.4% in evaporation, 7.6% in infiltration, and a 9.0% reduction in surface runoff. The hydrologic performance of green infrastructure was evaluated by comparing the flow duration curve for pretreatment and treatment outfall flow scenarios. The flow duration curve shifted downward for the green infrastructure scenario. Discharges with a 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 year return period were reduced by an average of 29%. Parameter and predictive uncertainties were inspected by implementing a Bayesian statistical approach.

Evaluation of blue and green water resources in the upper Yellow River basin of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xiaoxi; Zuo, Depeng; Xu, Zongxue; Cai, Siyang; Xianming, Han

2018-06-01

The total amount of water resources severely affects socioeconomic development of a region or watershed, which means that accurate quantification of the total amount of water resources is vital for the area, especially for the arid and semi-arid regions. Traditional evaluation of water resources only focused on the qualification of blue water, while the importance of green water was not fully considered. As the second largest river in China, the Yellow River plays an important role in socioeconomic development of the Yellow River basin. Therefore, the blue and green water resources in the upper Yellow River basin (UYRB) were evaluated by the SWAT model in this study. The results show that the average annual total amount of water resources in the UYRB was 140.5 billion m3, in which the blue water resources is 37.8 billion m3, and green water resources is 107.7 billion m3. The intra-annual variability of the blue water and green water is relatively similar during the same period. The higher temperature, the greater difference between the blue and green water. The inter-annual variability of the blue and green water shows that the trends in precipitation, blue and green water have a relatively similar characteristic. The spatial distribution of the blue and green water is characteristic with gradually decreasing from the northwest to the southeast, and the blue water around the main stream is greater than that in the other areas.

Soak Up the Rain New England Webinar Series: National Stormwater Calculator

EPA Science Inventory

Presenters will provide an introduction to the most recent EPA green infrastructure tools to R1 stakeholders; and their use in making decisions about implementing green infrastructure. We will discuss structuring your green infrastructure decision, finding appropriate information...

Recent trends in vegetation greenness in China significantly altered annual evapotranspiration and water yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yibo; Xiao, Jingfeng; Ju, Weimin; Xu, Ke; Zhou, Yanlian; Zhao, Yuntai

2016-09-01

There has been growing evidence that vegetation greenness has been increasing in many parts of the northern middle and high latitudes including China during the last three to four decades. However, the effects of increasing vegetation greenness particularly afforestation on the hydrological cycle have been controversial. We used a process-based ecosystem model and a satellite-derived leaf area index (LAI) dataset to examine how the changes in vegetation greenness affected annual evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield for China over the period from 2000 to 2014. Significant trends in vegetation greenness were observed in 26.1% of China’s land area. We used two model simulations driven with original and detrended LAI, respectively, to assess the effects of vegetation ‘greening’ and ‘browning’ on terrestrial ET and water yield. On a per-pixel basis, vegetation greening increased annual ET and decreased water yield, while vegetation browning reduced ET and increased water yield. At the large river basin and national scales, the greening trends also had positive effects on annual ET and had negative effects on water yield. Our results showed that the effects of the changes in vegetation greenness on the hydrological cycle varied with spatial scale. Afforestation efforts perhaps should focus on southern China with larger water supply given the water crisis in northern China and the negative effects of vegetation greening on water yield. Future studies on the effects of the greenness changes on the hydrological cycle are needed to account for the feedbacks to the climate.

Data quality control in eco-environmental monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Chunyan; Wang, Jing

2007-11-01

With the development of science and technology, a number of environmental issues, such as sustainable development, climate change, environmental pollution, and land degradation become serious. Greater attention has been attached to environmental protection. The government gradually launched some eco--environmental construction projects. In 1999, China begin to carry out the project of Grain-for-Green in the west, to improve the eco-environment, and it make some good effect, but there are some questions that still can not be answered. How about the new grass or forest? Where are they? How can we do in the future? To answer these questions, the government began to monitor the eco-environment, based on remote sensing technology. Geography information can be attained timely, but the issue of uncertainty has become increasingly recognized, and this uncertainty affects the reliability of applications using the data. This article analyzed the process of eco-environment monitoring, the uncertainty of geography information, and discussed the methods of data quality control. The Spot5 span data and multi-spectral data in 2003(2002) were used, combined with land use survey data at the scale of 1:10,000, topography data at the scale of 1:10,000, and the local Grain-for-Green project map. Also the social and economic data were collected. Eco-environmental monitoring is a process which consists of several steps, such as image geometric correction, image matching, information extraction, and so on. Based on visual and automated method, land information turned to grass and forest from cultivated land was obtained by comparing the information form remote sensing data with the land survey data, and local Grain-for-Green project data, combined with field survey. According to the process, the uncertainty in the process was analyzed. Positional uncertainty, attribute uncertainty, and thematic uncertainty was obvious. Positional uncertainty mainly derived from image geometric correction, such as data resource, the number and spatial distribution of the control points are important resource of uncertainty. Attribution uncertainty mainly derived from the process of information extraction. Land classification system, artificial error was the main factor induced uncertainty. Concept defined was not clear, and it reduced thematic uncertainty. According to the resource of uncertainty, data quality control methods were put forward to improve the data quality. At first, it is more important to choose appropriate remote sensing data and other basic data. Secondly, the accuracy of digital orthophoto map should be controlled. Thirdly, it is necessary to check the result data according to relative data quality criterion to guarantee GIS data quality.

MCEARD - CYANOBACTERIA AND THEIR TOXINS

EPA Science Inventory

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have recently become more spatially and temporally prevalent in the US and worldwide. Waterborne cyanobacteria and their highly potent toxins are a significant hazard for human health and the ecosystem....

CYANOBACTERIA AND THEIR TOXINS

EPA Science Inventory

Science Questions

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have recently become more spatially and temporally prevalent in the US and worldwide. Cyanobacteria and their highly potent toxins are a significant hazard for human health and ...

CYANOBACTERIA AND THEIR TOXINS.

EPA Science Inventory

Science Questions

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have recently become more spatially and temporally prevalent in the US and worldwide. Cyanobacteria and their highly potent toxins are a significant hazard for human health and ...

CYANOTOXINS: NEW GENERATION OF WATER CONTAMINANTS

EPA Science Inventory

Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, are found worldwide in various aquatic environments as well as in water distribution systems (Atikovic 2003; Carmichael 1994; Madigan et al. 2003). Blooms of cyanobacteria have recently become spatially and temporally more p...

Monitoring crop gross primary productivity using Landsat data (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gitelson, A. A.; Peng, Y.; Keydan, G. P.; Masek, J.; Rundquist, D. C.; Verma, S. B.; Suyker, A. E.

2009-12-01

There is a growing interest in monitoring the gross primary productivity (GPP) of crops due mostly to their carbon sequestration potential. We presented a new technique for GPP estimation in irrigated and rainfed maize and soybeans based on the close and consistent relationship between GPP and crop chlorophyll content, and entirely on remotely sensed data. A recently proposed Green Chlorophyll Index (Green CI), which employs the green and the NIR spectral bands, was used to retrieve daytime GPP from Landsat ETM+ data. Due to its high spatial resolution (i.e., 30x30m/pixel), this satellite system is particularly appropriate for detecting not only between but also within field GPP variability during the growing season. The Green CI obtained using atmospherically corrected Landsat ETM+ data was found to be linearly related with crop GPP explaining about 90% of GPP variation. Green CI constitutes an accurate surrogate measure for GPP estimation. For comparison purposes, other vegetation indices were also tested. These results open new possibilities for analyzing the spatio-temporal variation of the GPP of crops using the extensive archive of Landsat imagery acquired since the early 1980s.

An Evaluation of a Computer-Based Videotext Information Delivery System for Farmers: The Green Thumb Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Paul D.; Clearfield, Frank

The Green Thumb Project was designed to test the feasibility of operating a computerized system for disseminating weather, market, and other agricultural production and management information on a day-to-day basis; to develop a prototype software support system for the test; and to provide essential project information on conduct of the test to…

Principal component greenness transformation in multitemporal agricultural Landsat data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abotteen, R. A.

1978-01-01

A data compression technique for multitemporal Landsat imagery which extracts phenological growth pattern information for agricultural crops is described. The principal component greenness transformation was applied to multitemporal agricultural Landsat data for information retrieval. The transformation was favorable for applications in agricultural Landsat data analysis because of its physical interpretability and its relation to the phenological growth of crops. It was also found that the first and second greenness eigenvector components define a temporal small-grain trajectory and nonsmall-grain trajectory, respectively.

Green sturgeon physical habitat use in the coastal Pacific Ocean.

PubMed

Huff, David D; Lindley, Steven T; Rankin, Polly S; Mora, Ethan A

2011-01-01

The green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) is a highly migratory, oceanic, anadromous species with a complex life history that makes it vulnerable to species-wide threats in both freshwater and at sea. Green sturgeon population declines have preceded legal protection and curtailment of activities in marine environments deemed to increase its extinction risk. Yet, its marine habitat is poorly understood. We built a statistical model to characterize green sturgeon marine habitat using data from a coastal tracking array located along the Siletz Reef near Newport, Oregon, USA that recorded the passage of 37 acoustically tagged green sturgeon. We classified seafloor physical habitat features with high-resolution bathymetric and backscatter data. We then described the distribution of habitat components and their relationship to green sturgeon presence using ordination and subsequently used generalized linear model selection to identify important habitat components. Finally, we summarized depth and temperature recordings from seven green sturgeon present off the Oregon coast that were fitted with pop-off archival geolocation tags. Our analyses indicated that green sturgeon, on average, spent a longer duration in areas with high seafloor complexity, especially where a greater proportion of the substrate consists of boulders. Green sturgeon in marine habitats are primarily found at depths of 20-60 meters and from 9.5-16.0°C. Many sturgeon in this study were likely migrating in a northward direction, moving deeper, and may have been using complex seafloor habitat because it coincides with the distribution of benthic prey taxa or provides refuge from predators. Identifying important green sturgeon marine habitat is an essential step towards accurately defining the conditions that are necessary for its survival and will eventually yield range-wide, spatially explicit predictions of green sturgeon distribution.

Green Sturgeon Physical Habitat Use in the Coastal Pacific Ocean

PubMed Central

Huff, David D.; Lindley, Steven T.; Rankin, Polly S.; Mora, Ethan A.

2011-01-01

The green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) is a highly migratory, oceanic, anadromous species with a complex life history that makes it vulnerable to species-wide threats in both freshwater and at sea. Green sturgeon population declines have preceded legal protection and curtailment of activities in marine environments deemed to increase its extinction risk. Yet, its marine habitat is poorly understood. We built a statistical model to characterize green sturgeon marine habitat using data from a coastal tracking array located along the Siletz Reef near Newport, Oregon, USA that recorded the passage of 37 acoustically tagged green sturgeon. We classified seafloor physical habitat features with high-resolution bathymetric and backscatter data. We then described the distribution of habitat components and their relationship to green sturgeon presence using ordination and subsequently used generalized linear model selection to identify important habitat components. Finally, we summarized depth and temperature recordings from seven green sturgeon present off the Oregon coast that were fitted with pop-off archival geolocation tags. Our analyses indicated that green sturgeon, on average, spent a longer duration in areas with high seafloor complexity, especially where a greater proportion of the substrate consists of boulders. Green sturgeon in marine habitats are primarily found at depths of 20–60 meters and from 9.5–16.0°C. Many sturgeon in this study were likely migrating in a northward direction, moving deeper, and may have been using complex seafloor habitat because it coincides with the distribution of benthic prey taxa or provides refuge from predators. Identifying important green sturgeon marine habitat is an essential step towards accurately defining the conditions that are necessary for its survival and will eventually yield range-wide, spatially explicit predictions of green sturgeon distribution. PMID:21966442

Population characteristics and the suppression of nonnative Burbot

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klein, Zachary B.; Quist, Michael C.; Rhea, Darren T.; Senecal, Anna C.

2016-01-01

Burbot Lota lota were illegally introduced into the Green River, Wyoming, drainage and have since proliferated throughout the system. Burbot in the Green River pose a threat to native species and to socially, economically, and ecologically important recreational fisheries. Therefore, managers of the Green River are interested in implementing a suppression program for Burbot. We collected demographic data on Burbot in the Green River (summer and autumn 2013) and used the information to construct an age-based population model (female-based Leslie matrix) to simulate the population-level response of Burbot to the selective removal of different age-classes. Burbot in the Green River grew faster, matured at relatively young ages, and were highly fecund compared with other Burbot populations within the species’ native distribution. The age-structured population model, in conjunction with demographic information, indicated that the Burbot population in the Green River could be expected to increase under current conditions. The model also indicated that the Burbot population in the Green River would decline once total annual mortality reached 58%. The population growth of Burbot in the Green River was most sensitive to age-0 and age-1 mortality. The age-structured population model indicated that an increase in mortality, particularly for younger age-classes, would result in the effective suppression of the Burbot population in the Green River.

Evidence of a robust relationship between solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and gross primary productivity across dryland ecosystems of southwestern North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, W. K.; Biederman, J. A.; Scott, R. L.; Moore, D. J.; Kimball, J. S.; He, M.; Yan, D.; Hudson, A.; Barnes, M.; MacBean, N.; Fox, A. M.; Litvak, M. E.

2017-12-01

Satellite remote sensing provides unmatched spatiotemporal information on multiple facets of vegetation dynamics including seasonal to interannual total photosynthesis, termed gross primary productivity (GPP). Yet, our understanding of the relationship between GPP and remote sensing observations - and how this relationship changes with scale, biophysical constraint, vegetation type, etc. - remains limited. This knowledge gap is especially apparent for dryland ecosystems, which have high spatial and temporal variability and are under-represented by long-term, continuous field measurements. Here, utilizing a new synthesis of eddy covariance flux tower data for southwestern North America, we present a first assessment of the ability of novel satellite remote sensing vegetation proxies to accurately capture seasonal to interannual GPP dynamics across the region. We evaluate the greenness-based Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and emerging proxies linked to plant physiological function, Solar-Induced Fluorescence (SIF) and Photochemical Reflectivity Index (PRI). We find that SIF observations more consistently correlate with seasonal GPP dynamics (R = 0.90) compared to EVI (R = 0.85) and PRI (R = 0.78). More, we find that SIF observations are also more sensitive to interannual GPP variability (linear slope = 0.80) relative to EVI (linear slope = 0.63) and PRI (linear slope = 0.35). This is likely due to increased sensitivity of SIF to GPP during periods of decoupling between greenness and photosynthesis due to water-limitation / stomatal closure. Conversely, EVI and PRI observations better capture spatial GPP variability between flux tower sites. These results suggest that combinations of these independent vegetation growth proxies could yield synergistic improvements in satellite-based GPP estimates.

A Site-sPecific Agricultural water Requirement and footprint Estimator (SPARE:WATER 1.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Multsch, S.; Al-Rumaikhani, Y. A.; Frede, H.-G.; Breuer, L.

2013-07-01

The agricultural water footprint addresses the quantification of water consumption in agriculture, whereby three types of water to grow crops are considered, namely green water (consumed rainfall), blue water (irrigation from surface or groundwater) and grey water (water needed to dilute pollutants). By considering site-specific properties when calculating the crop water footprint, this methodology can be used to support decision making in the agricultural sector on local to regional scale. We therefore developed the spatial decision support system SPARE:WATER that allows us to quantify green, blue and grey water footprints on regional scale. SPARE:WATER is programmed in VB.NET, with geographic information system functionality implemented by the MapWinGIS library. Water requirements and water footprints are assessed on a grid basis and can then be aggregated for spatial entities such as political boundaries, catchments or irrigation districts. We assume inefficient irrigation methods rather than optimal conditions to account for irrigation methods with efficiencies other than 100%. Furthermore, grey water is defined as the water needed to leach out salt from the rooting zone in order to maintain soil quality, an important management task in irrigation agriculture. Apart from a thorough representation of the modelling concept, we provide a proof of concept where we assess the agricultural water footprint of Saudi Arabia. The entire water footprint is 17.0 km3 yr-1 for 2008, with a blue water dominance of 86%. Using SPARE:WATER we are able to delineate regional hot spots as well as crop types with large water footprints, e.g. sesame or dates. Results differ from previous studies of national-scale resolution, underlining the need for regional estimation of crop water footprints.

Quantitative surface temperature measurement using two-color thermographic phosphors and video equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buck, Gregory M. (Inventor)

1989-01-01

A thermal imaging system provides quantitative temperature information and is particularly useful in hypersonic wind tunnel applications. An object to be measured is prepared by coating with a two-color, ultraviolet-activated, thermographic phosphor. The colors emitted by the phosphor are detected by a conventional color video camera. A phosphor emitting blue and green light with a ratio that varies depending on temperature is used so that the intensity of light in the blue and green wavelengths detected by the blue and green tubes in the video camera can be compared. Signals representing the intensity of blue and green light at points on the surface of a model in a hypersonic wind tunnel are used to calculate a ratio of blue to green light intensity which provides quantitative temperature information for the surface of the model.

Multi-decadal time series of remotely sensed vegetation improves prediction of soil carbon in a subtropical grassland.

PubMed

Wilson, Chris H; Caughlin, T Trevor; Rifai, Sami W; Boughton, Elizabeth H; Mack, Michelle C; Flory, S Luke

2017-07-01

Soil carbon sequestration in agroecosystems could play a key role in climate change mitigation but will require accurate predictions of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks over spatial scales relevant to land management. Spatial variation in underlying drivers of SOC, such as plant productivity and soil mineralogy, complicates these predictions. Recent advances in the availability of remotely sensed data make it practical to generate multidecadal time series of vegetation indices with high spatial resolution and coverage. However, the utility of such data largely is unknown, only having been tested with shorter (e.g., 1-2 yr) data summaries. Across a 2,000 ha subtropical grassland, we found that a long time series (28 yr) of a vegetation index (Enhanced Vegetation Index; EVI) derived from the Landsat 5 satellite significantly enhanced prediction of spatially varying SOC pools, while a short summary (2 yr) was an ineffective predictor. EVI was the best predictor for surface SOC (0-5 cm depth) and total measured SOC stocks (0-15 cm). The optimum models for SOC in the upper soil layer combined EVI records with elevation and calcium concentration, while deeper SOC was more strongly associated with calcium availability. We demonstrate how data from the open access Landsat archive can predict SOC stocks, a key ecosystem metric, and illustrate the rich variety of analytical approaches that can be applied to long time series of remotely sensed greenness. Overall, our results showed that SOC pools were closely coupled to EVI in this ecosystem, demonstrating that maintenance of higher average green leaf area is correlated with higher SOC. The strong associations of vegetation greenness and calcium concentration with SOC suggest that the ability to sequester additional SOC likely will rely on strategic management of pasture vegetation and soil fertility. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Predicting bird phenology from space: satellite-derived vegetation green-up signal uncovers spatial variation in phenological synchrony between birds and their environment.

PubMed

Cole, Ella F; Long, Peter R; Zelazowski, Przemyslaw; Szulkin, Marta; Sheldon, Ben C

2015-11-01

Population-level studies of how tit species (Parus spp.) track the changing phenology of their caterpillar food source have provided a model system allowing inference into how populations can adjust to changing climates, but are often limited because they implicitly assume all individuals experience similar environments. Ecologists are increasingly using satellite-derived data to quantify aspects of animals' environments, but so far studies examining phenology have generally done so at large spatial scales. Considering the scale at which individuals experience their environment is likely to be key if we are to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes acting on reproductive phenology within populations. Here, we use time series of satellite images, with a resolution of 240 m, to quantify spatial variation in vegetation green-up for a 385-ha mixed-deciduous woodland. Using data spanning 13 years, we demonstrate that annual population-level measures of the timing of peak abundance of winter moth larvae (Operophtera brumata) and the timing of egg laying in great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) is related to satellite-derived spring vegetation phenology. We go on to show that timing of local vegetation green-up significantly explained individual differences in tit reproductive phenology within the population, and that the degree of synchrony between bird and vegetation phenology showed marked spatial variation across the woodland. Areas of high oak tree (Quercus robur) and hazel (Corylus avellana) density showed the strongest match between remote-sensed vegetation phenology and reproductive phenology in both species. Marked within-population variation in the extent to which phenology of different trophic levels match suggests that more attention should be given to small-scale processes when exploring the causes and consequences of phenological matching. We discuss how use of remotely sensed data to study within-population variation could broaden the scale and scope of studies exploring phenological synchrony between organisms and their environment.

Imaging Ca2+-triggered exocytosis of single secretory granules on plasma membrane lawns from neuroendocrine cells.

PubMed

Lang, Thorsten

2008-01-01

This cell-free assay for exocytosis is particularly useful when spatial information about exocytotic sites and biochemical access to the plasma membrane within less than a minute is required. It is based on the study of plasma membrane lawns from secretory cells exhibiting secretory granules filled with neuropeptide Y-green fluorescent protein (NPY-GFP). The sample is prepared by subjecting NPY-GFP-expressing cells to a brief ultrasound pulse, leaving behind a basal, flat plasma membrane with fluorescent attached secretory organelles. These sheets can then be incubated in defined solutions with the benefit that complete solution changes can be achieved in less than 1 min. Individual secretory granules are monitored in the docked state and during exocytosis by video microscopy.

MRI-guided fluorescence tomography of the breast: a phantom study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Scott C.; Pogue, Brian W.; Dehghani, Hamid; Paulsen, Keith D.

2009-02-01

Tissue phantoms simulating the human breast were used to demonstrate the imaging capabilities of an MRI-coupled fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) imaging system. Specifically, phantoms with low tumor-to-normal drug contrast and complex internal structure were imaged with the MR-coupled FMT system. Images of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence yield were recovered using a diffusion model-based approach capable of estimating the distribution of fluorescence activity in a tissue volume from tissue-boundary measurements of transmitted light. Tissue structural information, which can be determined from standard T1 and T2 MR images, was used to guide the recovery of fluorescence activity. The study revealed that this spatial guidance is critical for recovering images of fluorescence yield in tissue with low tumor-to-normal drug contrast.

Effects of spatial configuration of imperviousness and green infrastructure networks on hydrologic response in a residential sewershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Theodore C.; Welty, Claire

2017-09-01

Green infrastructure (GI) is an approach to stormwater management that promotes natural processes of infiltration and evapotranspiration, reducing surface runoff to conventional stormwater drainage infrastructure. As more urban areas incorporate GI into their stormwater management plans, greater understanding is needed on the effects of spatial configuration of GI networks on hydrological performance, especially in the context of potential subsurface and lateral interactions between distributed facilities. In this research, we apply a three-dimensional, coupled surface-subsurface, land-atmosphere model, ParFlow.CLM, to a residential urban sewershed in Washington DC that was retrofitted with a network of GI installations between 2009 and 2015. The model was used to test nine additional GI and imperviousness spatial network configurations for the site and was compared with monitored pipe-flow data. Results from the simulations show that GI located in higher flow-accumulation areas of the site intercepted more surface runoff, even during wetter and multiday events. However, a comparison of the differences between scenarios and levels of variation and noise in monitored data suggests that the differences would only be detectable between the most and least optimal GI/imperviousness configurations.

A software-aided workflow for precinct-scale residential redevelopment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glackin, Stephen, E-mail: sglackin@swin.edu.au; Trubka, Roman, E-mail: r.trubka@gmail.com; Dionisio, Maria Rita, E-mail: rita.dionisio@canterbury.ac.nz

2016-09-15

Growing urban populations, combined with environmental challenges, have placed significant pressure on urban planning to supply housing while addressing policy issues such as sustainability, affordability, and liveability. The interrelated nature of these issues, combined with the requirement of evidence-based planning, has made decision-making so complex that urban planners need to combine expertise on energy, water, carbon emissions, transport and economic development along with other bodies of knowledge necessary to make well-informed decisions. This paper presents two geospatial software systems that can assist in the mediation of complexity, by allowing users to assess a variety of planning metrics without expert knowledgemore » in those disciplines. Using Envision and Envision Scenario Planner (ESP), both products of the Greening the Greyfields research project funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) in Australia, we demonstrate a workflow for identifying potential redevelopment precincts and designing and assessing possible redevelopment scenarios to optimise planning outcomes.« less

Addressing public health risks for cyanobacteria in recreational freshwaters: the Oregon and Vermont framework.

PubMed

Stone, David; Bress, William

2007-01-01

Toxigenic cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue green algae, are an emerging public health issue. The toxins produced by cyanobacteria have been detected across the United States in marine, freshwater and estuarine systems and associated with adverse health outcomes. The intent of this paper is to focus on how to address risk in a recreational freshwater scenario when toxigenic cyanobacteria are present. Several challenges exist for monitoring, assessing and posting water bodies and advising the public when toxigenic cyanobacteria are present. These include addressing different recreational activities that are associated with varying levels of risk, the dynamic temporal and spatial aspects of blooms, data gaps in toxicological information and the lack of training and resources for adequate surveillance. Without uniform federal guidance, numerous states have taken public health action for cyanobacteria with different criteria. Vermont and Oregon independently developed a tiered decision-making framework to reduce risk to recreational users when toxigenic cyanobacteria are present. This framework is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative information.

Green Infrastructure Design Based on Spatial Conservation Prioritization and Modeling of Biodiversity Features and Ecosystem Services.

PubMed

Snäll, Tord; Lehtomäki, Joona; Arponen, Anni; Elith, Jane; Moilanen, Atte

2016-02-01

There is high-level political support for the use of green infrastructure (GI) across Europe, to maintain viable populations and to provide ecosystem services (ES). Even though GI is inherently a spatial concept, the modern tools for spatial planning have not been recognized, such as in the recent European Environment Agency (EEA) report. We outline a toolbox of methods useful for GI design that explicitly accounts for biodiversity and ES. Data on species occurrence, habitats, and environmental variables are increasingly available via open-access internet platforms. Such data can be synthesized by statistical species distribution modeling, producing maps of biodiversity features. These, together with maps of ES, can form the basis for GI design. We argue that spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) methods are effective tools for GI design, as the overall SCP goal is cost-effective allocation of conservation efforts. Corridors are currently promoted by the EEA as the means for implementing GI design, but they typically target the needs of only a subset of the regional species pool. SCP methods would help to ensure that GI provides a balanced solution for the requirements of many biodiversity features (e.g., species, habitat types) and ES simultaneously in a cost-effective manner. Such tools are necessary to make GI into an operational concept for combating biodiversity loss and promoting ES.

Green Infrastructure Design Based on Spatial Conservation Prioritization and Modeling of Biodiversity Features and Ecosystem Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snäll, Tord; Lehtomäki, Joona; Arponen, Anni; Elith, Jane; Moilanen, Atte

2016-02-01

There is high-level political support for the use of green infrastructure (GI) across Europe, to maintain viable populations and to provide ecosystem services (ES). Even though GI is inherently a spatial concept, the modern tools for spatial planning have not been recognized, such as in the recent European Environment Agency (EEA) report. We outline a toolbox of methods useful for GI design that explicitly accounts for biodiversity and ES. Data on species occurrence, habitats, and environmental variables are increasingly available via open-access internet platforms. Such data can be synthesized by statistical species distribution modeling, producing maps of biodiversity features. These, together with maps of ES, can form the basis for GI design. We argue that spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) methods are effective tools for GI design, as the overall SCP goal is cost-effective allocation of conservation efforts. Corridors are currently promoted by the EEA as the means for implementing GI design, but they typically target the needs of only a subset of the regional species pool. SCP methods would help to ensure that GI provides a balanced solution for the requirements of many biodiversity features (e.g., species, habitat types) and ES simultaneously in a cost-effective manner. Such tools are necessary to make GI into an operational concept for combating biodiversity loss and promoting ES.

How color, regularity, and good Gestalt determine backward masking.

PubMed

Sayim, Bilge; Manassi, Mauro; Herzog, Michael

2014-06-18

The strength of visual backward masking depends on the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between target and mask. Recently, it was shown that the conjoint spatial layout of target and mask is as crucial as SOA. Particularly, masking strength depends on whether target and mask group with each other. The same is true in crowding where the global spatial layout of the flankers and target-flanker grouping determine crowding strength. Here, we presented a vernier target followed by different flanker configurations at varying SOAs. Similar to crowding, masking of a red vernier target was strongly reduced for arrays of 10 green compared with 10 red flanking lines. Unlike crowding, single green lines flanking the red vernier showed strong masking. Irregularly arranged flanking lines yielded stronger masking than did regularly arranged lines, again similar to crowding. While cuboid flankers reduced crowding compared with single lines, this was not the case in masking. We propose that, first, masking is reduced when the flankers are part of a larger spatial structure. Second, spatial factors counteract color differences between the target and the flankers. Third, complex Gestalts, such as cuboids, seem to need longer processing times to show ungrouping effects as observed in crowding. Strong parallels between masking and crowding suggest similar underlying mechanism; however, temporal factors in masking additionally modulate performance, acting as an additional grouping cue. © 2014 ARVO.

The power of putting a label on it: green labels weigh heavier than contradicting product information for consumers’ purchase decisions and post-purchase behavior

PubMed Central

Hahnel, Ulf J. J.; Arnold, Oliver; Waschto, Michael; Korcaj, Liridon; Hillmann, Karen; Roser, Damaris; Spada, Hans

2015-01-01

Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products – even when presented product information contradicts the label’s image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels’ potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers’ motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers’ ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1–3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants’ pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information. PMID:26441767

The power of putting a label on it: green labels weigh heavier than contradicting product information for consumers' purchase decisions and post-purchase behavior.

PubMed

Hahnel, Ulf J J; Arnold, Oliver; Waschto, Michael; Korcaj, Liridon; Hillmann, Karen; Roser, Damaris; Spada, Hans

2015-01-01

Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products - even when presented product information contradicts the label's image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels' potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers' motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers' ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1-3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants' pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information.

Vesicles in Apollo 15 Green Glasses: The Nature of Ancient Lunar Gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas-Keprta, K. L.; Clemett, S. J.; Berger, E. L.; Rahman, Z.; McKay, D. S.; Gibson, E. K.; Wentworth, S. J.

2014-01-01

Detailed studies of Apollo 15 green glass and related beads have shown they were formed in gas-rich fire fountains.. As the magmatic fluid became super-saturated in volatile gas, bubbles or vesicles formed within the magma. These exsolved gases became trapped within vesicles as the glasses were ejected from the fire-fountain and subsequently quenched. One of the keys to understanding formation processes on the ancient moon includes determining the composition of volatile species and elements, including metals, dissolved in magmatic gases. Here we report the nature of mineral phases spatially associated with vesicles in a green glass bead from Apollo sample 15411,42. The phases reflect the composition of the cooling/degassing magmatic vapors and fluids present at the time of bead formation approx, 3 Ga ago

Multispectral data processing from unmanned aerial vehicles: application in precision agriculture using different sensors and platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piermattei, Livia; Bozzi, Carlo Alberto; Mancini, Adriano; Tassetti, Anna Nora; Karel, Wilfried; Pfeifer, Norbert

2017-04-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in combination with consumer grade cameras have become standard tools for photogrammetric applications and surveying. The recent generation of multispectral, cost-efficient and lightweight cameras has fostered a breakthrough in the practical application of UAVs for precision agriculture. For this application, multispectral cameras typically use Green, Red, Red-Edge (RE) and Near Infrared (NIR) wavebands to capture both visible and invisible images of crops and vegetation. These bands are very effective for deriving characteristics like soil productivity, plant health and overall growth. However, the quality of results is affected by the sensor architecture, the spatial and spectral resolutions, the pattern of image collection, and the processing of the multispectral images. In particular, collecting data with multiple sensors requires an accurate spatial co-registration of the various UAV image datasets. Multispectral processed data in precision agriculture are mainly presented as orthorectified mosaics used to export information maps and vegetation indices. This work aims to investigate the acquisition parameters and processing approaches of this new type of image data in order to generate orthoimages using different sensors and UAV platforms. Within our experimental area we placed a grid of artificial targets, whose position was determined with differential global positioning system (dGPS) measurements. Targets were used as ground control points to georeference the images and as checkpoints to verify the accuracy of the georeferenced mosaics. The primary aim is to present a method for the spatial co-registration of visible, Red-Edge, and NIR image sets. To demonstrate the applicability and accuracy of our methodology, multi-sensor datasets were collected over the same area and approximately at the same time using the fixed-wing UAV senseFly "eBee". The images were acquired with the camera Canon S110 RGB, the multispectral cameras Canon S110 NIR and S110 RE and with the multi-camera system Parrot Sequoia, which is composed of single-band cameras (Green, Red, Red Edge, NIR and RGB). Imagery from each sensor was georeferenced and mosaicked with the commercial software Agisoft PhotoScan Pro and different approaches for image orientation were compared. To assess the overall spatial accuracy of each dataset the root mean square error was computed between check point coordinates measured with dGPS and coordinates retrieved from georeferenced image mosaics. Additionally, image datasets from different UAV platforms (i.e. DJI Phantom 4Pro, DJI Phantom 3 professional, and DJI Inspire 1 Pro) were acquired over the same area and the spatial accuracy of the orthoimages was evaluated.

Optimal implementation of green infrastructure practices to reduce adverse impacts of urban areas on hydrology and water quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Collingsworth, P.; Pijanowski, B. C.; Engel, B.

2016-12-01

Nutrient loading from Maumee River watershed is a significant reason for the harmful algal blooms (HABs) problem in Lake Erie. Although studies have explored strategies to reduce nutrient loading from agricultural areas in the Maumee River watershed, the nutrient loading in urban areas also needs to be reduced. Green infrastructure practices are popular approaches for stormwater management and useful for improving hydrology and water quality. In this study, the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment-Low Impact Development 2.1 (L-THIA-LID 2.1) model was used to determine how different strategies for implementing green infrastructure practices can be optimized to reduce impacts on hydrology and water quality in an urban watershed in the upper Maumee River system. Community inputs, such as the types of green infrastructure practices of greatest interest and environmental concerns for the community, were also considered during the study. Based on community input, the following environmental concerns were considered: runoff volume, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Phosphorous (TP), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), and Nitrate+Nitrite (NOx); green infrastructure practices of interest included rain barrel, cistern, green roof, permeable patio, porous pavement, grassed swale, bioretention system, grass strip, wetland channel, detention basin, retention pond, and wetland basin. Spatial optimization of green infrastructure practice implementation was conducted to maximize environmental benefits while minimizing the cost of implementation. The green infrastructure practice optimization results can be used by the community to solve hydrology and water quality problems.

78 FR 29366 - Green Mountain Power Corporation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-20

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. TS04-277-002] Green Mountain Power Corporation Notice of Filing Take notice that on May 2, 2013, Green Mountain Power Corporation filed additional information in support of its request for continued waiver of Standards of Conduct. Any...

Infrared Spectral Signatures for Io's Dark and Green Spots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Granahan, J. C.; Fanale, F. P.; Carlson, R.; Smythe, W. D.

2001-01-01

This spectral study of Io identifies the infrared components of the visible spectral units (green and dark) as identified by Galileo. The green units possess sulfur dioxide and the dark units are associated with infrared thermal signatures. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Correlations between soil respiration and soil properties in sugarcane areas under green and slash-and-burn management systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigo Panosso, Alan; Milori, Débora M. B. P.; Marques Júnior, José; Martin-Neto, Ladislau; La Scala, Newton, Jr.

2010-05-01

Soil management causes changes in soil physical, chemical, and biological properties that consequently affect its CO2 emission. In this work we studied soil respiration (FCO2) in areas with sugarcane production in southern Brazil under two different sugarcane management systems: green (G), consisting of mechanized harvesting that produces a large amount of crop residues left on the soil surface, and slash-and-burn (SB), in which the residues are burned before manual harvest, leaving no residues on the soil surface. The study was conducted after the harvest period in two side-by-side grids installed in adjacent areas, having 20 measurement points each. The objective of this work was to determinate whether soil physical and chemical properties within each plot were useful in order to explain the spatial variability of FCO2, supposedly influence by each management system. Most of the soil physical properties studied showed no significant differences between management systems, but on the other hand most of the chemical properties differed significantly when SB and G areas were compared. Total FCO2 was 31% higher in the SB plot (729 g CO2 m-2) when compared to the G plot (557 g CO2 m-2) throughout the 70-day period after harvest studied. This seems to be related to the sensitivity of FCO2 to precipitation events, as respiration in this plot increased significantly with increases in soil moisture. Despite temporal variability showed to be positively related to soil moisture, inside each management system there was a negative correlation (p<0.01) between the spatial changes of FCO2 and soil moisture (MS), R= -0.56 and -0.59 for G and SB respectively. There was no spatial correlation between FCO2 and soil organic matter in each management system, however, the humification index (Hum) of organic matter was negatively linear correlated with FCO2 in SB (R= -0.53, p<0.05) while positively linear correlated in G area (R=0.42, p<0.10). The multiple regression model analysis applied in each management system indicates that 63% of the FCO2 spatial variability in G managed could be explained by the model: FCO2(G)= 4.11978 -0.07672MS + 0.0045Hum +1.5352K -0.04474FWP, where K and FWP are potassium content and free water porosity in G area, respectively. On the other hand, 75% of FCO2 spatial variability in SB managed plot was accounted by the model: FCO2(SB) = 10.66774 -0.08624MS -0.02904Hum -2.42548K. Therefore, soil moisture, humification index of organic matter and potassium level were the main properties able to explain the spatial variability of FCO2 in both sugarcane management systems. This result indicates that changes in sugarcane management systems could result in changes on the soil chemical properties, mostly, especially humification index of organic matter. It seems that in conversion from slash-and-burn to green harvest system, free water porosity turns to be an important aspect in order to explain part of FCO2 spatial variability in green managed system.

Molecular recognition of malachite green by hemoglobin and their specific interactions: insights from in silico docking and molecular spectroscopy.

PubMed

Peng, Wei; Ding, Fei; Peng, Yu-Kui; Sun, Ying

2014-01-01

Malachite green is an organic compound that can be widely used as a dyestuff for various materials; it has also emerged as a controversial agent in aquaculture. Since malachite green is proven to be carcinogenic and mutagenic, it may become a hazard to public health. For this reason, it is urgently required to analyze this controversial dye in more detail. In our current research, the interaction between malachite green and hemoglobin under physiological conditions was investigated by the methods of molecular modeling, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) as well as hydrophobic ANS displacement experiments. From the molecular docking, the central cavity of hemoglobin was assigned to possess high-affinity for malachite green, this result was corroborated by time-resolved fluorescence and hydrophobic ANS probe results. The recognition mechanism was found to be of static type, or rather the hemoglobin-malachite green complex formation occurred via noncovalent interactions such as π-π interactions, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with an association constant of 10(4) M(-1). Moreover, the results also show that the spatial structure of the biopolymer was changed in the presence of malachite green with a decrease of the α-helix and increase of the β-sheet, turn and random coil suggesting protein damage, as derived from far-UV CD and three-dimensional fluorescence. Results of this work will help to further comprehend the molecular recognition of malachite green by the receptor protein and the possible toxicological profiles of other compounds, which are the metabolites and ramifications of malachite green.

Green infrastructure retrofits on residential parcels: Ecohydrologic modeling for stormwater design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, B.; Band, L. E.

2014-12-01

To meet water quality goals stormwater utilities and not-for-profit watershed organizations in the U.S. are working with citizens to design and implement green infrastructure on residential land. Green infrastructure, as an alternative and complement to traditional (grey) stormwater infrastructure, has the potential to contribute to multiple ecosystem benefits including stormwater volume reduction, carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation, and to provide amenities to residents. However, in small (1-10-km2) medium-density urban watersheds with heterogeneous land cover it is unclear whether stormwater retrofits on residential parcels significantly contributes to reduce stormwater volume at the watershed scale. In this paper, we seek to improve understanding of how small-scale redistribution of water at the parcel scale as part of green infrastructure implementation affects urban water budgets and stormwater volume across spatial scales. As study sites we use two medium-density headwater watersheds in Baltimore, MD and Durham, NC. We develop ecohydrology modeling experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of redirecting residential rooftop runoff to un-altered pervious surfaces and to engineered rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff. As baselines for these experiments, we performed field surveys of residential rooftop hydrologic connectivity to adjacent impervious surfaces, and found low rates of connectivity. Through simulations of pervasive adoption of downspout disconnection to un-altered pervious areas or to rain garden stormwater control measures (SCM) in these catchments, we find that most parcel-scale changes in stormwater fate are attenuated at larger spatial scales and that neither SCM alone is likely to provide significant changes in streamflow at the watershed scale.

Urban ecosystem services and decision making for a green Philadelphia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hogan, Dianna M.; Shapiro, Carl D.; Karp, David N.; Wachter, Susan M.

2014-01-01

Traditional approaches to urban development often do not account for, or recognize, the role of ecosystem services and the benefits these services provide to the health and well-being of city residents. Without such accounting, urban ecosystem services are likely to be degraded over time, with negative consequences for the sustainability of cities and the well-being of their residents (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005; Hirsch, 2008). On May 23, 2013, the Spatial Integration Laboratory for Urban Systems (SILUS), a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science and Decisions Center and the Wharton GIS Lab, convened a one-day symposium—Urban Ecosystem Services and Decision Making: A Green Philadelphia—at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to examine the role of green infrastructure in the environmental, economic, and social well-being of cities. Cosponsored by the USGS and the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), the symposium brought together policymakers, practitioners, and researchers from a range of disciplines to advance a research agenda on the use of science in public decision making to inform investment in green infrastructure and ecosystem services in urban areas. The city of Philadelphia has recently implemented a program designed to sustain urban ecosystem services and advance the use of green infrastructure. In 2009, the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Sustainability launched its Greenworks plan, establishing a citywide sustainability strategy. Major contributions towards its goals are being implemented in coordination with the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD). The Green City, Clean Waters initiative, the city’s nationally recognized stormwater management plan, was signed into action with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April 2012. The plan outlines a 25-year strategy to use green infrastructure to protect and improve the city’s watershed. Widespread support for the plan marks a citywide effort to factor environmental quality concerns into the city’s strategic planning, choosing to replace expensive and aging grey infrastructure, with innovative and resilient green infrastructure. The symposium focused on these city of Philadelphia initiatives and also on two new Federal- local partnership programs: America’s Great Outdoors, initiated to promote conservation and recreation, and the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a multiagency effort to reconnect urban communities to their waterways. A second goal of the symposium was to advance a research agenda on urban ecosystem services. While there has been considerable work on ecosystem services, the discussion of the benefits provided by urban ecosystems is not as developed. Benefits range from improved water and air quality to quality of life gains, including aesthetic and recreational considerations. There is also need for additional focused research toward furthering the understanding of the multiple indirect benefits provided by urban ecosystem services (Bolund and Hunhammar, 1999). Moreover, there is a need for a greater understanding of how best to inform local decision making in this area, as local decision makers in cities across the country are increasingly recognizing the importance of developing sustainability measures for their immediate and long-term planning (United States Conference of Mayors, 2005). Approaching these local and regional plans from a holistic perspective has become a guiding principle of sustainability and resiliency. Therefore, there is a need to better understand the gains that have been achieved and to advance a research agenda on ecosystem services going forward. The day’s program included presentations on greening initiatives from the Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, as well as discussion about using an urban ecosystem services framework to evaluate these initiatives. Panel sessions included discussion of the Green City, Clean Waters initiative; a dialogue about the management of urban trees and green space; and a conversation addressing the needs for future research.

Assessing soybean leaf area and leaf biomass by spectral measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holben, B. N.; Tucker, C. J.; Fan, C. J.

1979-01-01

Red and photographic infrared spectral radiances were correlated with soybean total leaf area index, green leaf area index, chlorotic leaf area index, green leaf biomass, chlorotic leaf biomass, and total biomass. The most significant correlations were found to exist between the IR/red radiance ratio data and green leaf area index and/or green leaf biomass (r squared equals 0.85 and 0.86, respectively). These findings demonstrate that remote sensing data can supply information basic to soybean canopy growth, development, and status by nondestructive determination of the green leaf area or green leaf biomass.

Linking Vital Rates of Landbirds on a Tropical Island to Rainfall and Vegetation Greenness

PubMed Central

Saracco, James F.; Radley, Paul; Pyle, Peter; Rowan, Erin; Taylor, Ron; Helton, Lauren

2016-01-01

Remote tropical oceanic islands are of high conservation priority, and they are exemplified by range-restricted species with small global populations. Spatial and temporal patterns in rainfall and plant productivity may be important in driving dynamics of these species. Yet, little is known about environmental influences on population dynamics for most islands and species. Here we leveraged avian capture-recapture, rainfall, and remote-sensed habitat data (enhanced vegetation index [EVI]) to assess relationships between rainfall, vegetation greenness, and demographic rates (productivity, adult apparent survival) of three native bird species on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands: rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons), bridled white-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus), and golden white-eye (Cleptornis marchei). Rainfall was positively related to vegetation greenness at all but the highest rainfall levels. Temporal variation in greenness affected the productivity of each bird species in unique ways. Predicted productivity of rufous fantail was highest when dry and wet season greenness values were high relative to site-specific 5-year seasonal mean values (i.e., relative greenness); while the white-eye species had highest predicted productivity when relative greenness contrasted between wet and dry seasons. Survival of rufous fantail and bridled white eye was positively related to relative dry-season greenness and negatively related to relative wet-season greenness. Bridled white-eye survival also showed evidence of a positive response to overall greenness. Our results highlight the potentially important role of rainfall regimes in affecting population dynamics of species on oceanic tropical islands. Understanding linkages between rainfall, vegetation, and animal population dynamics will be critical for developing effective conservation strategies in this and other regions where the seasonal timing, extent, and variability of rainfall is expected to change in the coming decades. PMID:26863013

Linking Vital Rates of Landbirds on a Tropical Island to Rainfall and Vegetation Greenness.

PubMed

Saracco, James F; Radley, Paul; Pyle, Peter; Rowan, Erin; Taylor, Ron; Helton, Lauren

2016-01-01

Remote tropical oceanic islands are of high conservation priority, and they are exemplified by range-restricted species with small global populations. Spatial and temporal patterns in rainfall and plant productivity may be important in driving dynamics of these species. Yet, little is known about environmental influences on population dynamics for most islands and species. Here we leveraged avian capture-recapture, rainfall, and remote-sensed habitat data (enhanced vegetation index [EVI]) to assess relationships between rainfall, vegetation greenness, and demographic rates (productivity, adult apparent survival) of three native bird species on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands: rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons), bridled white-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus), and golden white-eye (Cleptornis marchei). Rainfall was positively related to vegetation greenness at all but the highest rainfall levels. Temporal variation in greenness affected the productivity of each bird species in unique ways. Predicted productivity of rufous fantail was highest when dry and wet season greenness values were high relative to site-specific 5-year seasonal mean values (i.e., relative greenness); while the white-eye species had highest predicted productivity when relative greenness contrasted between wet and dry seasons. Survival of rufous fantail and bridled white eye was positively related to relative dry-season greenness and negatively related to relative wet-season greenness. Bridled white-eye survival also showed evidence of a positive response to overall greenness. Our results highlight the potentially important role of rainfall regimes in affecting population dynamics of species on oceanic tropical islands. Understanding linkages between rainfall, vegetation, and animal population dynamics will be critical for developing effective conservation strategies in this and other regions where the seasonal timing, extent, and variability of rainfall is expected to change in the coming decades.

A blue/green water-based accounting framework for assessment of water security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, Dulce B. B.; Gupta, Hoshin V.; Mendiondo, Eduardo M.

2014-09-01

A comprehensive assessment of water security can incorporate several water-related concepts, while accounting for Blue and Green Water (BW and GW) types defined in accordance with the hydrological processes involved. Here we demonstrate how a quantitative analysis of provision probability and use of BW and GW can be conducted, so as to provide indicators of water scarcity and vulnerability at the basin level. To illustrate the approach, we use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model the hydrology of an agricultural basin (291 km2) within the Cantareira Water Supply System in Brazil. To provide a more comprehensive basis for decision making, we analyze the BW and GW-Footprint components against probabilistic levels (50th and 30th percentile) of freshwater availability for human activities, during a 23 year period. Several contrasting situations of BW provision are distinguished, using different hydrological-based methodologies for specifying monthly Environmental Flow Requirements (EFRs), and the risk of natural EFR violation is evaluated by use of a freshwater provision index. Our results reveal clear spatial and temporal patterns of water scarcity and vulnerability levels within the basin. Taking into account conservation targets for the basin, it appears that the more restrictive EFR methods are more appropriate than the method currently employed at the study basin. The blue/green water-based accounting framework developed here provides a useful integration of hydrologic, ecosystem and human needs information on a monthly basis, thereby improving our understanding of how and where water-related threats to human and aquatic ecosystem security can arise.

An investigation of multispectral imaging for the mapping of pigments in paintings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yonghui; Berns, Roy S.; Taplin, Lawrence A.; Coddington, James

2008-02-01

Compared with colorimetric imaging, multispectral imaging has the advantage of retrieving spectral reflectance factor of each pixel of a painting. Using this spectral information, pigment mapping is concerned with decomposing the spectrum into its constituent pigments and their relative contributions. The output of pigment mapping is a series of spatial concentration maps of the pigments comprising the painting. This approach was used to study Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night. The artist's palette was approximated using ten oil pigments, selected from a large database of pigments used in oil paintings and a priori analytical research on one of his self portraits, executed during the same time period. The pigment mapping was based on single-constant Kubelka-Munk theory. It was found that the region of blue sky where the stars were located contained, predominantly, ultramarine blue while the swirling sky and region surrounding the moon contained, predominantly, cobalt blue. Emerald green, used in light bluish-green brushstrokes surrounding the moon, was not used to create the dark green in the cypresses. A measurement of lead white from Georges Seurat's La Grande Jatte was used as the white when mapping The Starry Night. The absorption and scattering properties of this white were replaced with a modern dispersion of lead white in linseed oil and used to simulate the painting's appearance before the natural darkening and yellowing of lead white oil paint. Pigment mapping based on spectral imaging was found to be a viable and practical approach for analyzing pigment composition, providing new insight into an artist's working method, the possibility for aiding in restorative inpainting, and lighting design.

A game theory analysis of green infrastructure stormwater management policies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

William, Reshmina; Garg, Jugal; Stillwell, Ashlynn S.

2017-09-01

Green stormwater infrastructure has been demonstrated as an innovative water resources management approach that addresses multiple challenges facing urban environments. However, there is little consensus on what policy strategies can be used to best incentivize green infrastructure adoption by private landowners. Game theory, an analysis framework that has historically been under-utilized within the context of stormwater management, is uniquely suited to address this policy question. We used a cooperative game theory framework to investigate the potential impacts of different policy strategies used to incentivize green infrastructure installation. The results indicate that municipal regulation leads to the greatest reduction in pollutant loading. However, the choice of the "best" regulatory approach will depend on a variety of different factors including politics and financial considerations. Large, downstream agents have a disproportionate share of bargaining power. Results also reveal that policy impacts are highly dependent on agents' spatial position within the stormwater network, leading to important questions of social equity and environmental justice.

Green Giant.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polo, Marco

2003-01-01

Details the design of the Bahen Centre for Information Technology at the University of Toronto, particularly its emphasis on "green," or sustainable, design. Includes floor plans and photographs. (EV)

Senegalese land surface change analysis and biophysical parameter estimation using NOAA AVHRR spectral data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vukovich, Fred M.; Toll, David L.; Kennard, Ruth L.

1989-01-01

Surface biophysical estimates were derived from analysis of NOAA Advanced Very High Spectral Resolution (AVHRR) spectral data of the Senegalese area of west Africa. The parameters derived were of solar albedo, spectral visible and near-infrared band reflectance, spectral vegetative index, and ground temperature. Wet and dry linked AVHRR scenes from 1981 through 1985 in Senegal were analyzed for a semi-wet southerly site near Tambacounda and a predominantly dry northerly site near Podor. Related problems were studied to convert satellite derived radiance to biophysical estimates of the land surface. Problems studied were associated with sensor miscalibration, atmospheric and aerosol spatial variability, surface anisotropy of reflected radiation, narrow satellite band reflectance to broad solar band conversion, and ground emissivity correction. The middle-infrared reflectance was approximated with a visible AVHRR reflectance for improving solar albedo estimates. In addition, the spectral composition of solar irradiance (direct and diffuse radiation) between major spectral regions (i.e., ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and middle-infrared) was found to be insensitive to changes in the clear sky atmospheric optical depth in the narrow band to solar band conversion procedure. Solar albedo derived estimates for both sites were not found to change markedly with significant antecedent precipitation events or correspondingly from increases in green leaf vegetation density. The bright soil/substrate contributed to a high albedo for the dry related scenes, whereas the high internal leaf reflectance in green vegetation canopies in the near-infrared contributed to high solar albedo for the wet related scenes. The relationship between solar albedo and ground temperature was poor, indicating the solar albedo has little control of the ground temperature. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the derived visible reflectance were more sensitive to antecedent rainfall amounts and green vegetation changes than were near-infrared changes. The information in the NDVI related to green leaf density changes primarily was from the visible reflectance. The contribution of the near-infrared reflectance to explaining green vegetation is largely reduced when there is a bright substrate.

Understanding the Seasonal Greenness Trends and Controls in South Asia Using Satellite Based Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarmah, S.; Jia, G.; Zhang, A.; Singha, M.

2017-12-01

South Asia (SA) is one of the most remarkable regions in changing vegetation greenness along with its major expansion of agricultural activity, especially irrigated farming. However, SA is predicted to be a vulnerable agricultural regions to future climate changes. The influence of monsoon climate on the seasonal trends and anomalies of vegetation greenness are not well understood in the region which can provide valuable information about climate-ecosystem interaction. This study analyzed the spatio-temporal patterns of seasonal vegetation trends and variability using satellite vegetation indices (VI) including AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (1982-2013) and MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) (2000-2013) in summer monsoon (SM) (June-Sept) and winter monsoon (WM) (Dec-Apr) seasons among irrigated cropland (IC), rainfed cropland (RC) and natural vegetation (NV). Seasonal VI variations with climatic factors (precipitation and temperature) and LULC changes have been investigated to identify the forcings behind the vegetation trends and variability. We found that major greening occurred in the last three decades due to the increase in IC productivity noticeably in WM, however, recent (2000-2013) greening trends were lower than the previous decades (1982-1999) in both the IC and RC indicating the stresses on them. The browning trends, mainly concentrated in NV areas were prominent during WM and rigorous since 2000, confirmed from the moderate resolution EVI and LULC datasets. Winter time maximal temperature had been increasing tremendously whereas precipitation trend was not significant over SA. Both the climate variability and LULC changes had integrated effects on the vegetation changes in NV areas specifically in hilly regions. However, LULC impact was intensified since 2000, mostly in north east India. This study also revealed a distinct seasonal variation in spatial distribution of correlation between VI's and climate anomalies over SA. Concluding, so far SA has managed to get a decent productivity over croplands due to the advanced cultivation techniques which likely to be at risk under future warming climate. Also NV areas of SA are in constant threat from the anthropogenic activities and climate changes.

Can Dynamic Global Vegetation Models Reproduce Satellite Observed Extreme Browning and Greening Events in Vegetation Productivity?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Eck, C. M.; Morfopoulos, C.; Betts, R. A.; Chang, J.; Ciais, P.; Friedlingstein, P.; Regnier, P. A. G.

2016-12-01

The frequency and severity of extreme climate events such as droughts, extreme precipitation and heatwaves are expected to increase in our changing climate. These extreme climate events will have an effect on vegetation either by enhanced or reduced productivity. Subsequently, this can have a substantial impact on the terrestrial carbon sink and thus the global carbon cycle, especially as extreme climate events are expected to increase in frequency and severity. Connecting observational datasets with modelling studies provides new insights into these climate-vegetation interactions. This study aims to compare extremes in vegetation productivity as derived from observations with that of Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs). In this case GIMMS-NDVI 3g is selected as the observational dataset and both JULES (Joint UK Land Environment Simulator) and ORCHIDEE (Organising Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems) as the DGVMs. Both models are forced with PGFv2 Global Meteorological Forcing Dataset according to the ISI-MIP2 protocol for historical runs. Extremes in vegetation productivity are the focal point, which are identified as NDVI anomalies below the 10th percentile or above the 90th percentile during the growing season, referred to as browning or greening events respectively. The monthly NDVI dataset GIMMS-NDVI 3g is used to obtain the location in time and space of the vegetation extremes. The global GIMMS-NDVI 3g dataset has been subdivided into IPCC's SREX-regions for which the NDVI anomalies are calculated and the extreme thresholds are determined. With this information we can identify the location in time and space of the browning and greening events in remotely-sensed vegetation productivity. The same procedure is applied to the modelled Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) allowing a comparison between the spatial and temporal occurrence of the browning and greening events in the observational dataset and the models' output. The capacity of the models to catch observed extremes in vegetation productivity is assessed and compared. Factors contributing to observed and modelled vegetation browning/greening extremes are analysed. The results of this study provide a stepping stone to modelling future extremes in vegetation productivity.

A Green Clean

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kravitz, Robert

2006-01-01

In the professional cleaning industry, green cleaning has been much discussed in the past few years. Usually, the information pertains to the many reasons why a green cleaning program should be started, the steps involved to get the program off the ground, and the potential benefits. However, although many facility managers and school…

77 FR 76998 - Proposed Flood Elevation Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-31

... provides corrections to that table, to be used in lieu of the information published at 75 FR 29219. The..., Hickory Camp Creek (backwater effects from Green River), Hickory Camp Creek Tributary 1 (backwater effects... 39.1 (backwater effects from Green River), Panther Creek (backwater effects from Green River), Pipe...

Proposed methods for assessing greenspace and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is a risk factor for childhood respiratory health. Health benefits or risks of green space, defined as open land covered with vegetation, on asthma have not been thoroughly investigated. While public health benefits of green spaces have been reported for children’s general wellbeing, few studies have examined potential interactions between green space and TRAP with inconclusive results. We are investigating the incorporation of green space measures into analyses of environmental exposure and potential health impacts using data from the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS), an ongoing prospective birth cohort study of allergy and respiratory health in Cincinnati-area children. CCAAPS has applied proximity analysis, air monitoring, and land use regression modeling to estimate TRAP exposures for study participants. Participants were initially categorized as exposed or unexposed to TRAP based on home address proximity to major highways or interstates (1500m). The study’s spatial design allows for a detailed analysis of residential environments between different neighborhoods and potential environmental exposures. We will examine residential proximity to green space using vegetation cover data from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, which provides 30x 30m resolution. We are also pursuing small-scale resolution data for municipal street tree cover and green space, including parks, g

Green Urbanism for the Greener Future of Metropolitan Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaręba, Anna; Krzemińska, Alicja; Widawski, Krzysztof

2016-10-01

Intensive urbanization is swallowing municipal green areas which causes intensification of erosion, decrease in biodiversity and permanent fragmentation of habitats. In the face of these changes, a risk of irreversible damages to urban ecosystems is growing. That is why planning of solutions within the framework of Green Urbanism in metropolitan areas inhabited by over 55% of the global population is of extraordinary importance. The task of the paper is to present patterns of the Green Urbanism using selected examples of metropolitan areas as case studies. The main goal of the research is to make comparison between GU practices in different countries, in various spatial settings. The principles of triple zero framework: zero fossil-fuel energy use, zero waste, zero emissions (from low-to-no-carbon emissions) introduce not only the contemporary trends in theoretical urban planning but are dictated by practical considerations to create a healthy environment for a healthy society with a minimized environmental footprint. The research results help to identify Green Urbanism techniques used for multiple functions, including ecological, recreational, cultural, aesthetic and other uses and present opportunities for implementation of Green Urbanism solutions in metropolitan areas. To achieve healthier society and environment, highly congested and polluted cities have to be recreated through working with the existing landscape, topography and natural resources particular to the site.

Earlier vegetation green-up has reduced spring dust storms.

PubMed

Fan, Bihang; Guo, Li; Li, Ning; Chen, Jin; Lin, Henry; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Shen, Miaogen; Rao, Yuhan; Wang, Cong; Ma, Lei

2014-10-24

The observed decline of spring dust storms in Northeast Asia since the 1950s has been attributed to surface wind stilling. However, spring vegetation growth could also restrain dust storms through accumulating aboveground biomass and increasing surface roughness. To investigate the impacts of vegetation spring growth on dust storms, we examine the relationships between recorded spring dust storm outbreaks and satellite-derived vegetation green-up date in Inner Mongolia, Northern China from 1982 to 2008. We find a significant dampening effect of advanced vegetation growth on spring dust storms (r = 0.49, p = 0.01), with a one-day earlier green-up date corresponding to a decrease in annual spring dust storm outbreaks by 3%. Moreover, the higher correlation (r = 0.55, p < 0.01) between green-up date and dust storm outbreak ratio (the ratio of dust storm outbreaks to times of strong wind events) indicates that such effect is independent of changes in surface wind. Spatially, a negative correlation is detected between areas with advanced green-up dates and regional annual spring dust storms (r = -0.49, p = 0.01). This new insight is valuable for understanding dust storms dynamics under the changing climate. Our findings suggest that dust storms in Inner Mongolia will be further mitigated by the projected earlier vegetation green-up in the warming world.

Assessment of Clogging Dynamics in Permeable Pavement Systems with Time Domain Reflectometers

EPA Science Inventory

Infiltration is a primary functional mechanism in green infrastructure stormwater controls. This study used time domain reflectometers (TDRs) to measure spatial infiltration and assess clogging dynamics of permeable pavement systems in Edison, NJ, and Louisville, KY. In 2009, t...

As-Built design specification for PARPLT. [program to produce scatter plots of crop greenness profile parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tompkins, M. A.; Cheng, D. E. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The design and implementation of the PARPLT program are described. The program produces scatter plots of the greenness profile derived parameters alpha, beta, and t sub o computed by the CLASFYG program (alpha being the approximate greenness rise time; beta, the greenness decay time; and t sub o, the spectral crop emergence date). Statistical information concerning the parameters is also computed.

Measurements of Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Other Related Tracers at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution in an Urban Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasuhara, Scott; Forgeron, Jeff; Rella, Chris; Franz, Patrick; Jacobson, Gloria; Chiao, Sen; Saad, Nabil

2013-04-01

The ability to quantify sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and methane on the urban scale is essential for understanding the atmospheric drivers to global climate change. In the 'top-down' approach, overall carbon fluxes are determined by combining remote measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations with complex atmospheric transport models, and these emissions measurements are compared to 'bottom-up' predictions based on detailed inventories of the sources and sinks of carbon, both anthropogenic and biogenic in nature. This approach, which has proven to be effective at continental scales, becomes challenging to implement at urban scales, due to poorly understood atmospheric transport models and high variability of the emissions sources in space (e.g., factories, highways, green spaces) and time (rush hours, factory shifts and shutdowns, and diurnal and seasonal variation in residential energy use). New measurement and analysis techniques are required to make sense of the carbon dioxide signal in cities. Here we present detailed, high spatial- and temporal- resolution greenhouse gas measurements made by multiple Picarro-CRDS analyzers in Silicon Valley in California. Real-time carbon dioxide data from a 20-month period are combined with real-time carbon monoxide, methane, and acetylene to partition the observed carbon dioxide concentrations between different anthropogenic sectors (e.g., transport, residential) and biogenic sources. Real-time wind rose data are also combined with real-time methane data to help identify the direction of local emissions of methane. High resolution WRF models are also included to better understand the dynamics of the boundary layer. The ratio between carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is shown to vary over more than a factor of two from season to season or even from day to night, indicating rapid but frequent shifts in the balance between different carbon dioxide sources. Additional information is given by acetylene, a fossil fuel combustion tracer that provides complimentary information to carbon monoxide. In spring and summer, the combined signal of the urban center and the surrounding biosphere and urban green space is explored. These methods show great promise for identifying, quantifying, and partitioning urban-ecological (carbon) emissions.

Physical water scarcity metrics for monitoring progress towards SDG target 6.4: An evaluation of indicator 6.4.2 "Level of water stress".

PubMed

Vanham, D; Hoekstra, A Y; Wada, Y; Bouraoui, F; de Roo, A; Mekonnen, M M; van de Bund, W J; Batelaan, O; Pavelic, P; Bastiaanssen, W G M; Kummu, M; Rockström, J; Liu, J; Bisselink, B; Ronco, P; Pistocchi, A; Bidoglio, G

2018-02-01

Target 6.4 of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deals with the reduction of water scarcity. To monitor progress towards this target, two indicators are used: Indicator 6.4.1 measuring water use efficiency and 6.4.2 measuring the level of water stress (WS). This paper aims to identify whether the currently proposed indicator 6.4.2 considers the different elements that need to be accounted for in a WS indicator. WS indicators compare water use with water availability. We identify seven essential elements: 1) both gross and net water abstraction (or withdrawal) provide important information to understand WS; 2) WS indicators need to incorporate environmental flow requirements (EFR); 3) temporal and 4) spatial disaggregation is required in a WS assessment; 5) both renewable surface water and groundwater resources, including their interaction, need to be accounted for as renewable water availability; 6) alternative available water resources need to be accounted for as well, like fossil groundwater and desalinated water; 7) WS indicators need to account for water storage in reservoirs, water recycling and managed aquifer recharge. Indicator 6.4.2 considers many of these elements, but there is need for improvement. It is recommended that WS is measured based on net abstraction as well, in addition to currently only measuring WS based on gross abstraction. It does incorporate EFR. Temporal and spatial disaggregation is indeed defined as a goal in more advanced monitoring levels, in which it is also called for a differentiation between surface and groundwater resources. However, regarding element 6 and 7 there are some shortcomings for which we provide recommendations. In addition, indicator 6.4.2 is only one indicator, which monitors blue WS, but does not give information on green or green-blue water scarcity or on water quality. Within the SDG indicator framework, some of these topics are covered with other indicators. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The movement, heterogeneity, and rate of exploitation of walleyes in northern Green Bay, Lake Michigan, as determined by tagging

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crowe, Walter R.; Karvelis, Ernest G.; Joeris, Leonard S.

1963-01-01

The Michigan waters of northern Green Bay are an important center for commercial and sport fishing. This 400-square-mile area has supported a commercial fishery for many years but the development of the intensive sport fishery is more recent, mostly since World War II. The commercial fishery is based on several species, whereas anglers are particularly interested in the walleye, Stizostedion v. vitreum. Broad objectives of tagging studies initiated in September 1957 were to obtain information on the heterogeneity, movement, and exploitation of the walleye population of northern Green Bay. The statistical data on the commercial fishery are very sound but other information on the Green Bay walleye has been sketchy.

78 FR 27187 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Green Sturgeon Endangered Species Act Take...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-09

... Collection; Comment Request; Green Sturgeon Endangered Species Act Take Exceptions and Exemptions AGENCY...) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were promulgated for the species on June 2, 2010 (75 FR 30714... information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Written comments must be...

Informal Learning in Music in the Irish Secondary School Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downey, Jean

2009-01-01

In her book "Informal Learning and the School: A new classroom pedagogy" Lucy Green notes: "The issues ... centre around the importance of listening to young people's voices and taking their values and their culture seriously" (Green, 2008, p. 185). It can be argued that for young people, "their culture" is frequently…

78 FR 68464 - Notice of Emergency Approval of an Information Collection: Record of Employee Interview

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5683-N-101] Notice of Emergency... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Saundra A. Green, Administrative Officer, Office of Labor Relations... (202) 402-5537 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at Saundra.A.Green@hud.gov . Persons with...

High resolution laser beam induced current images under trichromatic laser radiation: approximation to the solar irradiation.

PubMed

Navas, F J; Alcántara, R; Fernández-Lorenzo, C; Martín-Calleja, J

2010-03-01

A laser beam induced current (LBIC) map of a photoactive surface is a very useful tool when it is necessary to study the spatial variability of properties such as photoconverter efficiency or factors connected with the recombination of carriers. Obtaining high spatial resolution LBIC maps involves irradiating the photoactive surface with a photonic beam with Gaussian power distribution and with a low dispersion coefficient. Laser emission fulfils these characteristics, but against it is the fact that it is highly monochromatic and therefore has a spectral distribution different to solar emissions. This work presents an instrumental system and procedure to obtain high spatial resolution LBIC maps in conditions approximating solar irradiation. The methodology developed consists of a trichromatic irradiation system based on three sources of laser excitation with emission in the red, green, and blue zones of the electromagnetic spectrum. The relative irradiation powers are determined by either solar spectrum distribution or Planck's emission formula which provides information approximate to the behavior of the system if it were under solar irradiation. In turn, an algorithm and a procedure have been developed to be able to form images based on the scans performed by the three lasers, providing information about the photoconverter efficiency of photovoltaic devices under the irradiation conditions used. This system has been checked with three photosensitive devices based on three different technologies: a commercial silicon photodiode, a commercial photoresistor, and a dye-sensitized solar cell. These devices make it possible to check how the superficial quantum efficiency has areas dependent upon the excitation wavelength while it has been possible to measure global incident photon-to-current efficiency values approximating those that would be obtained under irradiation conditions with sunlight.

The association of air pollution and greenness with mortality and life expectancy in Spain: A small-area study.

PubMed

de Keijzer, Carmen; Agis, David; Ambrós, Albert; Arévalo, Gustavo; Baldasano, Jose M; Bande, Stefano; Barrera-Gómez, Jose; Benach, Joan; Cirach, Marta; Dadvand, Payam; Ghigo, Stefania; Martinez-Solanas, Èrica; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Cadum, Ennio; Basagaña, Xavier

2017-02-01

Air pollution exposure has been associated with an increase in mortality rates, but few studies have focused on life expectancy, and most studies had restricted spatial coverage. A limited body of evidence is also suggestive for a beneficial association between residential exposure to greenness and mortality, but the evidence for such an association with life expectancy is still very scarce. To investigate the association of exposure to air pollution and greenness with mortality and life expectancy in Spain. Mortality data from 2148 small areas (average population of 20,750 inhabitants, and median population of 7672 inhabitants) covering Spain for years 2009-2013 were obtained. Average annual levels of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , NO 2 and O 3 were derived from an air quality forecasting system at 4×4km resolution. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to assess greenness in each small area. Air pollution and greenness were linked to standardized mortality rates (SMRs) using Poisson regression and to life expectancy using linear regression. The models were adjusted for socioeconomic status and lung cancer mortality rates (as a proxy for smoking), and accounted for spatial autocorrelation. The increase of 5μg/m 3 in PM 10 , NO 2 and O 3 or of 2μg/m 3 in PM 2.5 concentration resulted in a loss of life in years of 0.90 (95% credibility interval CI: 0.83, 0.98), 0.13 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.17), 0.20years (95% CI: 0.16, 0.24) and 0.64 (0.59, 0.70), respectively. Similar associations were found in the SMR analysis, with stronger associations for PM 2.5 and PM 10 , which were associated with an increased mortality risk of 3.7% (95% CI: 3.5%, 4.0%) and 5.7% (95% CI: 5.4%, 6.1%). For greenness, a protective effect on mortality and longer life expectancy was only found in areas with lower socioeconomic status. Air pollution concentrations were associated to important reductions in life expectancy. The reduction of air pollution should be a priority for public health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent Shift of Deforestation to High Elevation Areas from 2001 to 2013 in Borneo Detected by MODIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagai, S.; Suzuki, R.

2015-12-01

The biomass of tropical forests sequestrates tons of carbon and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle regulating the climate. Also its high biodiversity ecosystems bring us many valuable resources and cultural and educational ecosystem services. However, large areas of the tropical forest are deforested and converted to oil palm or acacia plantation for the economic benefit of the local society mainly in Southeast Asia. Monitoring of the tropical forest from satellites provides us the information about the deforestation for decadal time period over extensive areas and enables us to discuss it from a scientific point of view. The purpose of this study is to reveal the interannual change and recent trend of deforestation in relation to the land elevation for decadal time period over Borneo by using data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We acquired the atmospherically corrected and cloud free Terra-MODIS and Aqua-MODIS daily data products (MOD09GA and MYD09GA; collection 5) from 2001 to 2013 for Borneo. We extracted the pixel values in the 500m surface reflectance bands 1 (red) and 4 (green) products and calculated the green-red vegetation index (GRVI), (band 4 - band 1) / (band 4 + band 1), at a daily time step. GRVI shows a positive value for the land prevailed by green vegetation, while it shows a negative value for the land prevailed by no-green components such as bare land. As for the elevation data, ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) which has 33.3m spatial resolution was employed. The original resolution was resampled to the grid system of MODIS data (i.e. 500m resolution). Pixels which had a negative GRVI ratio more than 80 % (termed as "no green pixel") in each year were regarded as the land characterized by no vegetation, and mapped the distribution for each year. Throughout the 13 years, no green pixels mainly found over the coastal low land below 20m of the elevation and the area was almost constant (around 3000km2). It is considered the deforestation for the plantations generally occurred over the easy access low lands. By contrast, it was obvious that no green pixels extended their distribution up to high elevation (20 to 120m) areas mainly after 2006. This trend suggests recent development of the plantation has been extended to relatively inland and high elevation areas.

GreenLITE™: a novel approach for quantification of atmospheric methane concentrations, 2-D spatial distribution, and flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobler, J. T.; Blume, N.; Pernini, T.; Zaccheo, T. S.; Braun, M.

2017-12-01

The Greenhouse Gas Laser Imaging Tomography Experiment (GreenLITE™) was originally developed by Harris and Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) under a cooperative agreement with the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the Department of Energy. The system, initially conceived in 2013, used a pair of high-precision intensity modulated continuous wave (IMCW) transceivers and a series of retroreflectors to generate overlapping atmospheric density measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) for continuous monitoring of ground carbon storage sites. The overlapping measurements provide an estimate of the two-dimensional (2-D) spatial distribution of the gas within the area of interest using sparsely sampled tomography methods. GreenLITE™ is a full end-to-end system that utilizes standard 4G connectivity and an all cloud-based data storage, processing, and dissemination suite to provide autonomous, near-real-time data via a web-based user interface. The system has been demonstrated for measuring and mapping CO2 over areas from approximately 0.04 km2 to 25 km2 ( 200 m X 200 m, up to 5 km X 5 km), including a year-long demonstration over the city of Paris, France. In late 2016, the GreenLITE™ system was converted by Harris and AER to provide similar measurement capabilities for methane (CH4). Recent experiments have shown that GreenLITE™ CH4 retrieved concentrations agree with a Picarro cavity ring-down spectrometer, calibrated with World Meteorological Organization traceable gas, to within approximately 0.5% of background or 10-15 parts per billion. The system has been tested with several controlled releases over the past year, including a weeklong experiment at an industrial oil and gas facility. Recent experiments have been exploring the use of a box model-based approach for estimating flux, and the initial results are very promising. We will present a description of the instrument, share some recent methane experimental results, and describe the flux estimation process and results of testing to date.

The absolute calibration of KOMPSAT-3 and 3A high spatial resolution satellites using radiometric tarps and MFRSR measurments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeom, J. M.

2017-12-01

Recently developed Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-3A (KOMPSAT-3A), which is a continuation of the KOMPSAT-1, 2 and 3 earth observation satellite (EOS) programs from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) was launched on March, 25 2015 on a Dnepr-1 launch vehicle from the Jasny Dombarovsky site in Russia. After launched, KARI performed in-orbit-test (IOT) including radiometric calibration for 6 months from 14 Apr. to 4 Sep. 2015. KOMPSAT-3A is equipped with two distinctive sensors; one is a high resolution multispectral optical sensor, namely the Advances Earth Image Sensor System-A (AEISS-A) and the other is the Scanner Infrared Imaging System (SIIS). In this study, we focused on the radiometric calibration of AEISS-A. The multispectral wavelengths of AEISS-A are covering three visible regions: blue (450 - 520 nm), green (520 - 600 nm), red (630 - 690 nm), one near infrared (760 - 900 nm) with a 2.0 m spatial resolution at nadir, whereas the panchromatic imagery (450 - 900 nm) has a 0.5 m resolution. Those are the same spectral response functions were same with KOMPSAT-3 multispectral and panchromatic bands but the spatial resolutions are improved. The main mission of KOMPSAT-3A is to develop for Geographical Information System (GIS) applications in environmental, agriculture, and oceanographic sciences, as well as natural hazard monitoring.

A Real-Time MODIS Vegetation Composite for Land Surface Models and Short-Term Forecasting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, Jonathan L.; LaFontaine, Frank J.; Kumar, Sujay V.; Jedlovec, Gary J.

2011-01-01

The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center is producing real-time, 1- km resolution Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) gridded composites over a Continental U.S. domain. These composites are updated daily based on swath data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the polar orbiting NASA Aqua and Terra satellites, with a product time lag of about one day. A simple time-weighting algorithm is applied to the NDVI swath data that queries the previous 20 days of data to ensure a continuous grid of data populated at all pixels. The daily composites exhibited good continuity both spatially and temporally during June and July 2010. The composites also nicely depicted high greenness anomalies that resulted from significant rainfall over southwestern Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico during July due to early-season tropical cyclone activity. The SPoRT Center is in the process of computing greenness vegetation fraction (GVF) composites from the MODIS NDVI data at the same spatial and temporal resolution for use in the NASA Land Information System (LIS). The new daily GVF dataset would replace the monthly climatological GVF database (based on Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer [AVHRR] observations from 1992-93) currently available to the Noah land surface model (LSM) in both LIS and the public version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The much higher spatial resolution (1 km versus 0.15 degree) and daily updates based on real-time satellite observations have the capability to greatly improve the simulation of the surface energy budget in the Noah LSM within LIS and WRF. Once code is developed in LIS to incorporate the daily updated GVFs, the SPoRT Center will conduct simulation sensitivity experiments to quantify the impacts and improvements realized by the MODIS real-time GVF data. This presentation will describe the methodology used to develop the 1-km MODIS NDVI composites and show sample output from summer 2010, compare the MODIS GVF data to the AVHRR monthly climatology, and illustrate the sensitivity of the Noah LSM within LIS and/or the coupled LIS/WRF system to the new MODIS GVF dataset.

Ratio abstraction over discrete magnitudes by newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus).

PubMed

Rugani, Rosa; McCrink, Koleen; de Hevia, Maria-Dolores; Vallortigara, Giorgio; Regolin, Lucia

2016-07-28

A large body of literature shows that non-human animals master a variety of numerical tasks, but studies involving proportional discrimination are sparse and primarily done with mature animals. Here we trained 4-day-old domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) to respond to stimuli depicting multiple examples of the proportion 4:1 when compared with the proportion 2:1. Stimuli were composed of green and red dot arrays; for the rewarded 4:1 proportion, 4 green dots for every red dot (e.g. ratios: 32:8, 12:3, and 44:11). The birds continued to discriminate when presented with new ratios at test (such as 20:5), characterized by new numbers of dots and new spatial configurations (Experiment 1). This indicates that chicks can extract the common proportional value shared by different ratios and apply it to new ones. In Experiment 2, chicks identified a specific proportion (2:1) from either a smaller (4:1) or a larger one (1:1), demonstrating an ability to represent the specific, and not relative, value of a particular proportion. Again, at test, chicks selectively responded to the previously reinforced proportion from new ratios. These findings provide strong evidence for very young animals' ability to extract, identify, and productively use proportion information across a range of different amounts.

Reconstruction of color images via Haar wavelet based on digital micromirror device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xingjiong; He, Weiji; Gu, Guohua

2015-10-01

A digital micro mirror device( DMD) is introduced to form Haar wavelet basis , projecting on the color target image by making use of structured illumination, including red, green and blue light. The light intensity signals reflected from the target image are received synchronously by the bucket detector which has no spatial resolution, converted into voltage signals and then transferred into PC[1] .To reach the aim of synchronization, several synchronization processes are added during data acquisition. In the data collection process, according to the wavelet tree structure, the locations of significant coefficients at the finer scale are predicted by comparing the coefficients sampled at the coarsest scale with the threshold. The monochrome grayscale images are obtained under red , green and blue structured illumination by using Haar wavelet inverse transform algorithm, respectively. The color fusion algorithm is carried on the three monochrome grayscale images to obtain the final color image. According to the imaging principle, the experimental demonstration device is assembled. The letter "K" and the X-rite Color Checker Passport are projected and reconstructed as target images, and the final reconstructed color images have good qualities. This article makes use of the method of Haar wavelet reconstruction, reducing the sampling rate considerably. It provides color information without compromising the resolution of the final image.

The Utility of the Real-Time NASA Land Information System Data for Drought Monitoring Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Kristopher D.; Case, Jonathan L.

2013-01-01

Measurements of soil moisture are a crucial component for the proper monitoring of drought conditions. The large spatial variability of soil moisture complicates the problem. Unfortunately, in situ soil moisture observing networks typically consist of sparse point observations, and conventional numerical model analyses of soil moisture used to diagnose drought are of coarse spatial resolution. Decision support systems such as the U.S. Drought Monitor contain drought impact resolution on sub-county scales, which may not be supported by the existing soil moisture networks or analyses. The NASA Land Information System, which is run with 3 km grid spacing over the eastern United States, has demonstrated utility for monitoring soil moisture. Some of the more useful output fields from the Land Information System are volumetric soil moisture in the 0-10 cm and 40-100 cm layers, column-integrated relative soil moisture, and the real-time green vegetation fraction derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) swath data that are run within the Land Information System in place of the monthly climatological vegetation fraction. While these and other variables have primarily been used in local weather models and other operational forecasting applications at National Weather Service offices, the use of the Land Information System for drought monitoring has demonstrated utility for feedback to the Drought Monitor. Output from the Land Information System is currently being used at NWS Huntsville to assess soil moisture, and to provide input to the Drought Monitor. Since feedback to the Drought Monitor takes place on a weekly basis, weekly difference plots of column-integrated relative soil moisture are being produced by the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center and analyzed to facilitate the process. In addition to the Drought Monitor, these data are used to assess drought conditions for monthly feedback to the Alabama Drought Monitoring and Impact Group and the Tennessee Drought Task Force, which are comprised of federal, state, and local agencies and other water resources professionals.

The Green Heart Initiative: Using Air Quality Information to Reduce Adverse Health Effects in Patients with Heart and Vascular Disease

EPA Science Inventory

The Green Heart Initiatives designed to raise public awareness about the role outdoor air pollution plays in cardiovascular health. Developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to complement the national Million Hearts” initiative1, Green Heart seeks to teach healt...

Choosing the Greenest Synthesis: A Multivariate Metric Green Chemistry Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer, Sean M.; Andraos, John; Jessop, Philip G.

2012-01-01

The ability to correctly identify the greenest of several syntheses is a particularly useful asset for young chemists in the growing green economy. The famous univariate metrics atom economy and environmental factor provide insufficient information to allow for a proper selection of a green process. Multivariate metrics, such as those used in…

77 FR 40345 - Intent to Grant an Exclusive Patent License

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-09

... William V. Stoecker, Hernan F. Gomez, Jonathan A. Green, and David L. McGlasson; U.S. Patent Number 7,927... Including Noninvasive Sample Collection,'' by William V. Stoecker, Hernan F. Gomez, Jonathan A. Green, and.... Stoecker, Hernan F. Gomez, Jonathan A. Green, and David L. McGlasson. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT...

Information and communication technologies and gender in climate change and green economy: Situating women’s opportunities and challenges in Zambian policies and strategies

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Zambia’s 2012 report on the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO +20) identifies existing opportunities on the country’s transitioning to green economy. The RIO +20 conference of 2012 has resulted in new momentum in addressing problems of sustainable development. However, this article argues that there are practical challenges that require paying attention to, especially those involving women. The article addressed one key question: To what extent can women participate in the transitioning process to green economy in Zambia and what opportunities and challenges exists? The study used document analysis to answer the above question. National policy documents were reviewed to understand interventions on environmental management. Whilst going through the documents, the study used gender analysis frameworks (education, skills, roles in family and society, access to infrastructure) to bring out qualitative and quantitative information on women. Using suggested green economy interventions in the literature as benchmark, qualitative analysis was used to project possible participation of women in green economy activities and possible challenges to be faced. The study found that participation of women will be limited despite existing opportunities because of challenges of access to information and communication technology infrastructures, low educational levels and skills and financial constraints. As Zambia undergoes a transitioning process, these limitations should be addressed in planned green economy policies and interventions to maximise benefits.

Steady, Oscillatory, and Unsteady Subsonic and Supersonic Aerodynamics, production version (SOUSSA-P 1.1). Volume 1: Theoretical manual. [Green function

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morino, L.

1980-01-01

Recent developments of the Green's function method and the computer program SOUSSA (Steady, Oscillatory, and Unsteady Subsonic and Supersonic Aerodynamics) are reviewed and summarized. Applying the Green's function method to the fully unsteady (transient) potential equation yields an integro-differential-delay equation. With spatial discretization by the finite-element method, this equation is approximated by a set of differential-delay equations in time. Time solution by Laplace transform yields a matrix relating the velocity potential to the normal wash. Premultiplying and postmultiplying by the matrices relating generalized forces to the potential and the normal wash to the generalized coordinates one obtains the matrix of the generalized aerodynamic forces. The frequency and mode-shape dependence of this matrix makes the program SOUSSA useful for multiple frequency and repeated mode-shape evaluations.

Multi-scale monitoring of a remarkable green roof: the Green Wave of Champs-sur-Marne

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanic, Filip; Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Schertzer, Daniel; Delage, Pierre; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Cui, Yu-Jun; Baudoin, Genevieve

2017-04-01

The installation of green infrastructures on existing or new roofs has become very popular in recent years (more than 2 km2 of green roofs is implemented each year in France) for many reasons. Among all of the green roofs' advantages, those related to storm water management are often pushed forward, since it has been pointed out that urban runoff peak can be significantly reduced and delayed thanks to the green roofs' retention and detention capabilities. Microclimate can also be affected by decreasing the temperature in the surrounding green area. However, dynamic physical processes involved in green roofs are highly non linear and variable. In order to accurately assess their performances, detailed monitoring experiments are required, both in situ and in the lab, so as to better understand the thermo-hydric behaviour of green roofs and to capture the related spatio-temporal variability at different scales. Based on these considerations, the 1 ha area wavy-form green roof of a section of the Bienvenüe building, called the Green Wave, is currently being monitored in Champs-sur-Marne (France), in front of Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. Initiated in the "Blue Green Dream" European project, detailed measurements systems have been implemented for studying all components of the water balance. Among others, a wireless network of water content and temperature sensors has been especially installed for characterizing spatial and temporal variability of infiltration, retention and evapotranspiration processes. In parallel, some laboratory tests have been conducted to better characterize the hydro-mechanical properties of the substrate. Moreover, at the Green Wave scale, some discharge measurements are carried out in the storm-water pipes that are collecting drained water, to determine runoff flow. This talk will present the current monitoring campaigns and analyze the data collected in the Universal Multifractal framework. This work represents the initial stage for developing a model capable to simulate reliable hydrological responses of different kinds of green roofs. Such a tool could be used to quantify hydrological impacts and interfere with the stormwater policies at the lot scale.

A Classical Delphi Study to Identify the Barriers of Pursuing Green Information and Communication Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gotay, Jose Antonio

2013-01-01

This qualitative, classical Delphi study served to explore the apparent lack of corporate commitment to prioritized Green Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), which could delay the economic and social benefits for maximizing the use of natural energy resources in a weak economy. The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership…

Stiffness and shrinkage of green and dry joists

Treesearch

Lyman W. Wood; Lawrence A. Soltis

1964-01-01

This report gives information on the edgewise modulus of elasticity, stiffness, and shrinkage of 360 joists in three species, three grades, and two sizes, each species obtained from two sources. Each joist was evaluated nondestructively at four moisture content values ranging from the green condition to about 11 percent. Information is also given on specific gravity,...

Seeing Life through Positive-Tinted Glasses: Color–Meaning Associations

PubMed Central

Gil, Sandrine; Le Bigot, Ludovic

2014-01-01

There is a growing body of literature to show that color can convey information, owing to its emotionally meaningful associations. Most research so far has focused on negative hue–meaning associations (e.g., red) with the exception of the positive aspects associated with green. We therefore set out to investigate the positive associations of two colors (i.e., green and pink), using an emotional facial expression recognition task in which colors provided the emotional contextual information for the face processing. In two experiments, green and pink backgrounds enhanced happy face recognition and impaired sad face recognition, compared with a control color (gray). Our findings therefore suggest that because green and pink both convey positive information, they facilitate the processing of emotionally congruent facial expressions (i.e., faces expressing happiness) and interfere with that of incongruent facial expressions (i.e., faces expressing sadness). Data also revealed a positive association for white. Results are discussed within the theoretical framework of emotional cue processing and color meaning. PMID:25098167

Seeing life through positive-tinted glasses: color-meaning associations.

PubMed

Gil, Sandrine; Le Bigot, Ludovic

2014-01-01

There is a growing body of literature to show that color can convey information, owing to its emotionally meaningful associations. Most research so far has focused on negative hue-meaning associations (e.g., red) with the exception of the positive aspects associated with green. We therefore set out to investigate the positive associations of two colors (i.e., green and pink), using an emotional facial expression recognition task in which colors provided the emotional contextual information for the face processing. In two experiments, green and pink backgrounds enhanced happy face recognition and impaired sad face recognition, compared with a control color (gray). Our findings therefore suggest that because green and pink both convey positive information, they facilitate the processing of emotionally congruent facial expressions (i.e., faces expressing happiness) and interfere with that of incongruent facial expressions (i.e., faces expressing sadness). Data also revealed a positive association for white. Results are discussed within the theoretical framework of emotional cue processing and color meaning.

Global Greening Is Firm, Drivers Are Mixed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kauppi, P.; Meyfroidt, P.; Ausubel, J. H.; Graven, H. D.; Birdsey, R.; Posch, M.; Wernick, I.; Myneni, R. B.; Stenberg, P.

2015-12-01

Evidence for global greening is converging, asserting an increase in CO2 uptake and biomass of the terrestrial biosphere. Global greening refers to global net increases in the area of green canopy, stocks of carbon, and the duration of the growing season. The growing seasons in general have prolonged while the stock of biomass carbon has increased and the rate of deforestation has decelerated, although these trends are mixed in the Tropics. Evidence for these trends comes from firm empirical data obtained through atmospheric CO2 observations, remote sensing, forest inventories and land use statistics. The drivers of global greening cannot be assessed based only on unambiguous empirical measurements. They include spatially and temporally heterogeneous combinations of changing land use and management - including green revolution and increasing yields, afforestation, forest protection and management, and abandonment of agricultural land -, changes in the global environment (increased CO2, warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons in the northern latitudes, acceleration of the global nitrogen cycle), and shifts in demand for forest and farm products. The global trade of biomass-derived commodities affects the link between consumption patterns and the land cover impact. Global greening confirms the immediacy of global change and may be associated with more or less biodiversity and diverse environmental and human consequences depending on local circumstances. Understanding causes, mechanisms, and implications of global greening requires integrated analyses spanning land use and management, demand for products of the terrestrial biosphere, and the atmosphere and climate. Understanding the pace and drivers of global greening matters crucially for assessing the future of the terrestrial C sink; ecological, economic, social, and cultural assessments of the bio-economy; and the preservation of ecosystems.

Scanning light-sheet microscopy in the whole mouse brain with HiLo background rejection.

PubMed

Mertz, Jerome; Kim, Jinhyun

2010-01-01

It is well known that light-sheet illumination can enable optically sectioned wide-field imaging of macroscopic samples. However, the optical sectioning capacity of a light-sheet macroscope is undermined by sample-induced scattering or aberrations that broaden the thickness of the sheet illumination. We present a technique to enhance the optical sectioning capacity of a scanning light-sheet microscope by out-of-focus background rejection. The technique, called HiLo microscopy, makes use of two images sequentially acquired with uniform and structured sheet illumination. An optically sectioned image is then synthesized by fusing high and low spatial frequency information from both images. The benefits of combining light-sheet macroscopy and HiLo background rejection are demonstrated in optically cleared whole mouse brain samples, using both green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fluorescence and dark-field scattered light contrast.

Scanning light-sheet microscopy in the whole mouse brain with HiLo background rejection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mertz, Jerome; Kim, Jinhyun

2010-01-01

It is well known that light-sheet illumination can enable optically sectioned wide-field imaging of macroscopic samples. However, the optical sectioning capacity of a light-sheet macroscope is undermined by sample-induced scattering or aberrations that broaden the thickness of the sheet illumination. We present a technique to enhance the optical sectioning capacity of a scanning light-sheet microscope by out-of-focus background rejection. The technique, called HiLo microscopy, makes use of two images sequentially acquired with uniform and structured sheet illumination. An optically sectioned image is then synthesized by fusing high and low spatial frequency information from both images. The benefits of combining light-sheet macroscopy and HiLo background rejection are demonstrated in optically cleared whole mouse brain samples, using both green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fluorescence and dark-field scattered light contrast.

An analysis of Milwaukee county land use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Todd, W. J.; Mausel, P. E.

1973-01-01

The identification and classification of urban and suburban phenomena through analysis of remotely-acquired sensor data can provide information of great potential value to many regional analysts. Such classifications, particularly those using spectral data obtained from satellites such as the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) orbited by NASA, allow rapid frequent and accurate general land use inventories that are of value in many types of spatial analyses. In this study, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin was classified into several broad land use categories on the basis of computer analysis of four bands of ERTS spectral data (ERTS Frame Number E1017-16093). Categories identified were: (1) road-central business district, (2) grass (green vegetation), (3) suburban, (4) wooded suburb, (5) heavy industry, (6) inner city, and (7) water. Overall, 90 percent accuracy was attained in classification of these urban land use categories.

Relationship of climate, geography, and geology to the incidence of Rift Valley fever in Kenya during the 2006-2007 outbreak.

PubMed

Hightower, Allen; Kinkade, Carl; Nguku, Patrick M; Anyangu, Amwayi; Mutonga, David; Omolo, Jared; Njenga, M Kariuki; Feikin, Daniel R; Schnabel, David; Ombok, Maurice; Breiman, Robert F

2012-02-01

We estimated Rift Valley fever (RVF) incidence as a function of geological, geographical, and climatological factors during the 2006-2007 RVF epidemic in Kenya. Location information was obtained for 214 of 340 (63%) confirmed and probable RVF cases that occurred during an outbreak from November 1, 2006 to February 28, 2007. Locations with subtypes of solonetz, calcisols, solonchaks, and planosols soil types were highly associated with RVF occurrence during the outbreak period. Increased rainfall and higher greenness measures before the outbreak were associated with increased risk. RVF was more likely to occur on plains, in densely bushed areas, at lower elevations, and in the Somalia acacia ecological zone. Cases occurred in three spatial temporal clusters that differed by the date of associated rainfall, soil type, and land usage.

Classification of corn and soybeans using multitemporal Thematic Mapper data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badhwar, G. D.

1984-01-01

The multitemporal classification approach based on the greenness profile derived from Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) spectral bands has proved successful in effectively separating and identifying corn, soybean, and other ground cover classes. Features derived from these profiles have been shown to carry virtually all the information contained in the original data and, in addition, have been shown to be stable over a large geographic area of the United States. The objective of this investigation was to determine if the same features derived from multitemporal Thematic Mapper (TM) data would also prove effective in separating these two crop types, and, in fact, if algorithms developed for MSS could be directly applied to TM. It is shown that this is indeed the case. In addition, because of greater spatial and spectral resolution, the accuracy of TM classifications is better than in MSS.

Brownfields Tabor Commons Green Jobs Training Program

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This training curriculum is designed to inform entry level tradeswomen about the green job opportunities in areas such as deconstruction, weatherization, eco or solar roofing, stormwater systems and more.

Band-limited Green's Functions for Quantitative Evaluation of Acoustic Emission Using the Finite Element Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leser, William P.; Yuan, Fuh-Gwo; Leser, William P.

2013-01-01

A method of numerically estimating dynamic Green's functions using the finite element method is proposed. These Green's functions are accurate in a limited frequency range dependent on the mesh size used to generate them. This range can often match or exceed the frequency sensitivity of the traditional acoustic emission sensors. An algorithm is also developed to characterize an acoustic emission source by obtaining information about its strength and temporal dependence. This information can then be used to reproduce the source in a finite element model for further analysis. Numerical examples are presented that demonstrate the ability of the band-limited Green's functions approach to determine the moment tensor coefficients of several reference signals to within seven percent, as well as accurately reproduce the source-time function.

SWMM Modeling Methods for Simulating Green Infrastructure at a Suburban Headwatershed: User’s Guide

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff quantity and quality are strongly dependent upon catchment properties. Models are used to simulate the runoff characteristics, but the output from a stormwater management model is dependent on how the catchment area is subdivided and represented as spatial...

EFFECTS OF GREEN MACROALGAE ON CLASSIFICATION OF SEAGRASS IN SIDE SCAN SONAR IMAGERY

EPA Science Inventory

High resolution maps of seagrass beds are useful for monitoring estuarine condition, managing fish habitats, and modeling estuarine processes. Side scan sonar (SSS) is one method for producing spatially accurate seagrass maps, although it has not been used widely. Our team rece...

Central neural coding of sky polarization in insects.

PubMed

Homberg, Uwe; Heinze, Stanley; Pfeiffer, Keram; Kinoshita, Michiyo; el Jundi, Basil

2011-03-12

Many animals rely on a sun compass for spatial orientation and long-range navigation. In addition to the Sun, insects also exploit the polarization pattern and chromatic gradient of the sky for estimating navigational directions. Analysis of polarization-vision pathways in locusts and crickets has shed first light on brain areas involved in sky compass orientation. Detection of sky polarization relies on specialized photoreceptor cells in a small dorsal rim area of the compound eye. Brain areas involved in polarization processing include parts of the lamina, medulla and lobula of the optic lobe and, in the central brain, the anterior optic tubercle, the lateral accessory lobe and the central complex. In the optic lobe, polarization sensitivity and contrast are enhanced through convergence and opponency. In the anterior optic tubercle, polarized-light signals are integrated with information on the chromatic contrast of the sky. Tubercle neurons combine responses to the UV/green contrast and e-vector orientation of the sky and compensate for diurnal changes of the celestial polarization pattern associated with changes in solar elevation. In the central complex, a topographic representation of e-vector tunings underlies the columnar organization and suggests that this brain area serves as an internal compass coding for spatial directions.

Central neural coding of sky polarization in insects

PubMed Central

Homberg, Uwe; Heinze, Stanley; Pfeiffer, Keram; Kinoshita, Michiyo; el Jundi, Basil

2011-01-01

Many animals rely on a sun compass for spatial orientation and long-range navigation. In addition to the Sun, insects also exploit the polarization pattern and chromatic gradient of the sky for estimating navigational directions. Analysis of polarization–vision pathways in locusts and crickets has shed first light on brain areas involved in sky compass orientation. Detection of sky polarization relies on specialized photoreceptor cells in a small dorsal rim area of the compound eye. Brain areas involved in polarization processing include parts of the lamina, medulla and lobula of the optic lobe and, in the central brain, the anterior optic tubercle, the lateral accessory lobe and the central complex. In the optic lobe, polarization sensitivity and contrast are enhanced through convergence and opponency. In the anterior optic tubercle, polarized-light signals are integrated with information on the chromatic contrast of the sky. Tubercle neurons combine responses to the UV/green contrast and e-vector orientation of the sky and compensate for diurnal changes of the celestial polarization pattern associated with changes in solar elevation. In the central complex, a topographic representation of e-vector tunings underlies the columnar organization and suggests that this brain area serves as an internal compass coding for spatial directions. PMID:21282171

Diffuse correlation tomography in the transport regime: A theoretical study of the sensitivity to Brownian motion.

PubMed

Tricoli, Ugo; Macdonald, Callum M; Durduran, Turgut; Da Silva, Anabela; Markel, Vadim A

2018-02-01

Diffuse correlation tomography (DCT) uses the electric-field temporal autocorrelation function to measure the mean-square displacement of light-scattering particles in a turbid medium over a given exposure time. The movement of blood particles is here estimated through a Brownian-motion-like model in contrast to ordered motion as in blood flow. The sensitivity kernel relating the measurable field correlation function to the mean-square displacement of the particles can be derived by applying a perturbative analysis to the correlation transport equation (CTE). We derive an analytical expression for the CTE sensitivity kernel in terms of the Green's function of the radiative transport equation, which describes the propagation of the intensity. We then evaluate the kernel numerically. The simulations demonstrate that, in the transport regime, the sensitivity kernel provides sharper spatial information about the medium as compared with the correlation diffusion approximation. Also, the use of the CTE allows one to explore some additional degrees of freedom in the data such as the collimation direction of sources and detectors. Our results can be used to improve the spatial resolution of DCT, in particular, with applications to blood flow imaging in regions where the Brownian motion is dominant.

Diffuse correlation tomography in the transport regime: A theoretical study of the sensitivity to Brownian motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tricoli, Ugo; Macdonald, Callum M.; Durduran, Turgut; Da Silva, Anabela; Markel, Vadim A.

2018-02-01

Diffuse correlation tomography (DCT) uses the electric-field temporal autocorrelation function to measure the mean-square displacement of light-scattering particles in a turbid medium over a given exposure time. The movement of blood particles is here estimated through a Brownian-motion-like model in contrast to ordered motion as in blood flow. The sensitivity kernel relating the measurable field correlation function to the mean-square displacement of the particles can be derived by applying a perturbative analysis to the correlation transport equation (CTE). We derive an analytical expression for the CTE sensitivity kernel in terms of the Green's function of the radiative transport equation, which describes the propagation of the intensity. We then evaluate the kernel numerically. The simulations demonstrate that, in the transport regime, the sensitivity kernel provides sharper spatial information about the medium as compared with the correlation diffusion approximation. Also, the use of the CTE allows one to explore some additional degrees of freedom in the data such as the collimation direction of sources and detectors. Our results can be used to improve the spatial resolution of DCT, in particular, with applications to blood flow imaging in regions where the Brownian motion is dominant.

Remotely sensed high resolution irrigated area mapping in India for 2000 to 2015

PubMed Central

Ambika, Anukesh Krishnankutty; Wardlow, Brian; Mishra, Vimal

2016-01-01

India is among the countries that uses a significant fraction of available water for irrigation. Irrigated area in India has increased substantially after the Green revolution and both surface and groundwater have been extensively used. Under warming climate projections, irrigation frequency may increase leading to increased irrigation water demands. Water resources planning and management in agriculture need spatially-explicit irrigated area information for different crops and different crop growing seasons. However, annual, high-resolution irrigated area maps for India for an extended historical record that can be used for water resources planning and management are unavailable. Using 250 m normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and 56 m land use/land cover data, high-resolution irrigated area maps are developed for all the agroecological zones in India for the period of 2000–2015. The irrigated area maps were evaluated using the agricultural statistics data from ground surveys and were compared with the previously developed irrigation maps. High resolution (250 m) irrigated area maps showed satisfactory accuracy (R2=0.95) and can be used to understand interannual variability in irrigated area at various spatial scales. PMID:27996974

Electrocortical amplification for emotionally arousing natural scenes: The contribution of luminance and chromatic visual channels

PubMed Central

Miskovic, Vladimir; Martinovic, Jasna; Wieser, Matthias M.; Petro, Nathan M.; Bradley, Margaret M.; Keil, Andreas

2015-01-01

Emotionally arousing scenes readily capture visual attention, prompting amplified neural activity in sensory regions of the brain. The physical stimulus features and related information channels in the human visual system that contribute to this modulation, however, are not known. Here, we manipulated low-level physical parameters of complex scenes varying in hedonic valence and emotional arousal in order to target the relative contributions of luminance based versus chromatic visual channels to emotional perception. Stimulus-evoked brain electrical activity was measured during picture viewing and used to quantify neural responses sensitive to lower-tier visual cortical involvement (steady-state visual evoked potentials) as well as the late positive potential, reflecting a more distributed cortical event. Results showed that the enhancement for emotional content was stimulus-selective when examining the steady-state segments of the evoked visual potentials. Response amplification was present only for low spatial frequency, grayscale stimuli, and not for high spatial frequency, red/green stimuli. In contrast, the late positive potential was modulated by emotion regardless of the scene’s physical properties. Our findings are discussed in relation to neurophysiologically plausible constraints operating at distinct stages of the cortical processing stream. PMID:25640949

Electrocortical amplification for emotionally arousing natural scenes: the contribution of luminance and chromatic visual channels.

PubMed

Miskovic, Vladimir; Martinovic, Jasna; Wieser, Matthias J; Petro, Nathan M; Bradley, Margaret M; Keil, Andreas

2015-03-01

Emotionally arousing scenes readily capture visual attention, prompting amplified neural activity in sensory regions of the brain. The physical stimulus features and related information channels in the human visual system that contribute to this modulation, however, are not known. Here, we manipulated low-level physical parameters of complex scenes varying in hedonic valence and emotional arousal in order to target the relative contributions of luminance based versus chromatic visual channels to emotional perception. Stimulus-evoked brain electrical activity was measured during picture viewing and used to quantify neural responses sensitive to lower-tier visual cortical involvement (steady-state visual evoked potentials) as well as the late positive potential, reflecting a more distributed cortical event. Results showed that the enhancement for emotional content was stimulus-selective when examining the steady-state segments of the evoked visual potentials. Response amplification was present only for low spatial frequency, grayscale stimuli, and not for high spatial frequency, red/green stimuli. In contrast, the late positive potential was modulated by emotion regardless of the scene's physical properties. Our findings are discussed in relation to neurophysiologically plausible constraints operating at distinct stages of the cortical processing stream. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extent of Night Warming and Spatially Heterogeneous Cloudiness Differentiate Temporal Trend of Greenness in Mountainous Tropics in the New Century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Mei; Gao, Qiong; Gao, Chunxiao; Wang, Chao

2017-01-01

Tropical forests have essential functions in global C dynamics but vulnerable to changes in land cover land use (LCLUC) and climate. The tropics of Caribbean are experiencing warming and drying climate and diverse LCLUC. However, large-scale studies to detect long-term trends of C and mechanisms behind are still rare. Using MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), we investigated greenness trend in the Greater Antilles Caribbean during 2000-2015, and analyzed trend of vegetation patches without LCLUC to give prominence to climate impacts. We hypothesized that night warming and heavy cloudiness would reduce EVI in this mountainous tropical region. Over the 15 years, EVI decreased significantly in Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, but increased in Cuba partly due to its strong reforestation. Haiti had the largest decreasing trend because of continuous deforestation for charcoals. After LCLUC was excluded, EVI trend still varied greatly, decreasing in the windward but increasing in the leeward of Puerto Rico. Nighttime warming reinforced by spatially heterogeneous cloudiness was found to significantly and negatively correlate with EVI trend, and explained the spatial pattern of the latter. Although cooled daytime and increased rainfall might enhance EVI, nighttime warming dominated the climate impacts and differentiated the EVI trend.

Extent of Night Warming and Spatially Heterogeneous Cloudiness Differentiate Temporal Trend of Greenness in Mountainous Tropics in the New Century

PubMed Central

Yu, Mei; Gao, Qiong; Gao, Chunxiao; Wang, Chao

2017-01-01

Tropical forests have essential functions in global C dynamics but vulnerable to changes in land cover land use (LCLUC) and climate. The tropics of Caribbean are experiencing warming and drying climate and diverse LCLUC. However, large-scale studies to detect long-term trends of C and mechanisms behind are still rare. Using MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), we investigated greenness trend in the Greater Antilles Caribbean during 2000–2015, and analyzed trend of vegetation patches without LCLUC to give prominence to climate impacts. We hypothesized that night warming and heavy cloudiness would reduce EVI in this mountainous tropical region. Over the 15 years, EVI decreased significantly in Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, but increased in Cuba partly due to its strong reforestation. Haiti had the largest decreasing trend because of continuous deforestation for charcoals. After LCLUC was excluded, EVI trend still varied greatly, decreasing in the windward but increasing in the leeward of Puerto Rico. Nighttime warming reinforced by spatially heterogeneous cloudiness was found to significantly and negatively correlate with EVI trend, and explained the spatial pattern of the latter. Although cooled daytime and increased rainfall might enhance EVI, nighttime warming dominated the climate impacts and differentiated the EVI trend. PMID:28120949

Global vegetation phenology from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS): Evaluation of global patterns and comparison with in situ measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoyang; Friedl, Mark A.; Schaaf, Crystal B.

2006-12-01

In the last two decades the availability of global remote sensing data sets has provided a new means of studying global patterns and dynamics in vegetation. The vast majority of previous work in this domain has used data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, which until recently was the primary source of global land remote sensing data. In recent years, however, a number of new remote sensing data sources have become available that have significantly improved the capability of remote sensing to monitor global ecosystem dynamics. In this paper, we describe recent results using data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer to study global vegetation phenology. Using a novel new method based on fitting piecewise logistic models to time series data from MODIS, key transition dates in the annual cycle(s) of vegetation growth can be estimated in an ecologically realistic fashion. Using this method we have produced global maps of seven phenological metrics at 1-km spatial resolution for all ecosystems exhibiting identifiable annual phenologies. These metrics include the date of year for (1) the onset of greenness increase (greenup), (2) the onset of greenness maximum (maturity), (3) the onset of greenness decrease (senescence), and (4) the onset of greenness minimum (dormancy). The three remaining metrics are the growing season minimum, maximum, and summation of the enhanced vegetation index derived from MODIS. Comparison of vegetation phenology retrieved from MODIS with in situ measurements shows that these metrics provide realistic estimates of the four transition dates identified above. More generally, the spatial distribution of phenological metrics estimated from MODIS data is qualitatively realistic, and exhibits strong correspondence with temperature patterns in mid- and high-latitude climates, with rainfall seasonality in seasonally dry climates, and with cropping patterns in agricultural areas.

SDSS IV MaNGA - sSFR profiles and the slow quenching of discs in green valley galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belfiore, Francesco; Maiolino, Roberto; Bundy, Kevin; Masters, Karen; Bershady, Matthew; Oyarzún, Grecco; Lin, Lihwai; Cano-Diaz, Mariana; Wake, David; Spindler, Ashley; Thomas, Daniel; Brownstein, Joel R.; Drory, Niv; Yan, Renbin

2018-03-01

We study radial profiles in Hα equivalent width and specific star formation rate (sSFR) derived from spatially-resolved SDSS-IV MaNGA spectroscopy to gain insight on the physical mechanisms that suppress star formation and determine a galaxy's location in the SFR-M_\\star diagram. Even within the star-forming `main sequence', the measured sSFR decreases with stellar mass, both in an integrated and spatially-resolved sense. Flat sSFR radial profiles are observed for log(M_\\star / M_⊙ ) < 10.5, while star-forming galaxies of higher mass show a significant decrease in sSFR in the central regions, a likely consequence of both larger bulges and an inside-out growth history. Our primary focus is the green valley, constituted by galaxies lying below the star formation main sequence, but not fully passive. In the green valley we find sSFR profiles that are suppressed with respect to star-forming galaxies of the same mass at all galactocentric distances out to 2 effective radii. The responsible quenching mechanism therefore appears to affect the entire galaxy, not simply an expanding central region. The majority of green valley galaxies of log(M_\\star / M_⊙ ) > 10.0 are classified spectroscopically as central low-ionisation emission-line regions (cLIERs). Despite displaying a higher central stellar mass concentration, the sSFR suppression observed in cLIER galaxies is not simply due to the larger mass of the bulge. Drawing a comparison sample of star forming galaxies with the same M_\\star and Σ _{1 kpc} (the mass surface density within 1 kpc), we show that a high Σ _{1 kpc} is not a sufficient condition for determining central quiescence.

A Blue/Green Water-based Accounting Framework for Assessment of Water Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, D. B.; Gupta, H. V.; Mendiondo, E. M.

2013-12-01

A comprehensive assessment of water security can incorporate several water-related concepts, including provisioning and support for freshwater ecosystem services, water footprint, water scarcity, and water vulnerability, while accounting for Blue and Green Water (BW and GW) flows defined in accordance with the hydrological processes involved. Here, we demonstrate how a quantitative analysis of provisioning and demand (in terms of water footprint) for BW and GW ecosystem services can be conducted, so as to provide indicators of water scarcity and vulnerability at the basin level. To illustrate the approach, we use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model the hydrology of an agricultural basin (291 sq.km) within the Cantareira water supply system in Brazil. To provide a more comprehensive basis for decision-making, we compute the BW provision using three different hydrological-based methods for specifying monthly Environmental Flow Requirements (EFRs) for 23 year-period. The current BW-Footprint was defined using surface water rights for reference year 2012. Then we analyzed the BW- and GW-Footprints against long-term series of monthly values of freshwater availability. Our results reveal clear spatial and temporal patterns of water scarcity and vulnerability levels within the basin, and help to distinguish between human and natural reasons (drought) for conditions of insecurity. The Blue/Green water-based accounting framework developed here can be benchmarked at a range of spatial scales, thereby improving our understanding of how and where water-related threats to human and aquatic ecosystem security can arise. Future investigation will be necessary to better understand the intra-annual variability of blue water demand and to evaluate the impacts of uncertainties associated with a) the water rights database, b) the effects of climate change projections on blue and green freshwater provision.

Algal-mediated ecosystem exchanges in the Eel River drainage network: towards photogrammetric mapping of color to function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Power, M. E.; Welter, J.; Furey, P.; Lowe, R.; Finlay, J. C.; Hondzo, M.; Limm, M.; Bode, C.; Dietrich, W. E.

2009-12-01

Seasonal algal proliferations in river networks are typically short-lived (weeks-months) but spatially extensive. They mediate important ecological and biogeochemical exchanges within and between ecosystems. We are investigating correspondence of assemblage color with ecosystem function in the nitrogen-limited Eel River of northern California. During summer base flow following winter floods, Eel algal assemblages are dominated by the green macroalga Cladophora glomerata. New growths are green, but blooms turn yellow as Cladophora filaments are colonized by epiphytic diatoms (Cocconeis spp.). Later, proliferations turn rust colored as epiphytic assemblages became dominated by Epithemia spp., diatoms that contain nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial endosymbionts. Epithemia-encrusted Cladophora occurs at and downstream of reaches draining > 100 km2 (where summer inundated average channel widths > 25 m), coinciding with a threshold increase in concentration of total dissolved nitrogen. Areal nitrogen fixation rates are 14x higher in rusty algal proliferations than in green, and 3-4x higher than in yellow Cladophora mats. Corresponding increases in insect emergence suggest that nitrogen fixed by cyanobacterial endosymbionts is highly edible. Rates of biomass emergence from rusty Cladophora mats are 12-17 times greater than from green mats, and 8-10 times greater from rusty than from yellow Cladophora mats, because larger taxa emerge from rusty mats (Chironominae versus Ceratopogonidae in yellow mats). Photogrammetric detection of spatial coverage and color changes in algal proliferations may help us track nitrogen fluxes they mediate (riverine loading from the atmosphere via fixation, river to the watershed return via insect emergence) that link riverine to aerial, watershed, and potentially nearshore marine ecosystems at reach to basin scales.

SDSS IV MaNGA - sSFR profiles and the slow quenching of discs in green valley galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belfiore, Francesco; Maiolino, Roberto; Bundy, Kevin; Masters, Karen; Bershady, Matthew; Oyarzún, Grecco A.; Lin, Lihwai; Cano-Diaz, Mariana; Wake, David; Spindler, Ashley; Thomas, Daniel; Brownstein, Joel R.; Drory, Niv; Yan, Renbin

2018-07-01

We study radial profiles in H α equivalent width and specific star formation rate (sSFR) derived from spatially resolved SDSS-IV MaNGA spectroscopy to gain insight on the physical mechanisms that suppress star formation and determine a galaxy's location in the SFR-M⋆ diagram. Even within the star-forming `main sequence', the measured sSFR decreases with stellar mass, in both an integrated and spatially resolved sense. Flat sSFR radial profiles are observed for log(M⋆/M⊙) < 10.5, while star-forming galaxies of higher mass show a significant decrease in sSFR in the central regions, a likely consequence of both larger bulges and an inside-out growth history. Our primary focus is the green valley, constituted by galaxies lying below the star formation main sequence, but not fully passive. In the green valley we find sSFR profiles that are suppressed with respect to star-forming galaxies of the same mass at all galactocentric distances out to 2 effective radii. The responsible quenching mechanism therefore appears to affect the entire galaxy, not simply an expanding central region. The majority of green valley galaxies of log(M⋆/M⊙) > 10.0 are classified spectroscopically as central low-ionization emission-line regions (cLIERs). Despite displaying a higher central stellar mass concentration, the sSFR suppression observed in cLIER galaxies is not simply due to the larger mass of the bulge. Drawing a comparison sample of star-forming galaxies with the same M⋆ and Σ _{1 kpc} (the mass surface density within 1 kpc), we show that a high Σ _{1 kpc} is not a sufficient condition for determining central quiescence.

Green design assessment of electromechanical products based on group weighted-AHP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jinwei; Zhou, MengChu; Li, Zhiwu; Xie, Huiguang

2015-11-01

Manufacturing industry is the backbone of a country's economy while environmental pollution is a serious problem that human beings must face today. The green design of electromechanical products based on enterprise information systems is an important method to solve the environmental problem. The question on how to design green products must be answered by excellent designers via both advanced design methods and effective assessment methods of electromechanical products. Making an objective and precise assessment of green design is one of the problems that must be solved when green design is conducted. An assessment method of green design on electromechanical products based on Group Weighted-AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) is proposed in this paper, together with the characteristics of green products. The assessment steps of green design are also established. The results are illustrated via the assessment of a refrigerator design.

Media Advisory -- Director of National Science Foundation to Visit Colorado

Science.gov Websites

Mines Green Center located 924 16th Street, Golden. Media may also join Dr. Lane at any of the following faculty and federal laboratory scientists, Colorado School of Mines Green Center, Metals Hall (180A School of Mines Green Center, Ted Adams Room (270), Golden. Maps and parking information are available

A satellite-driven, client-server hydro-economic model prototype for agricultural water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maneta, Marco; Kimball, John; He, Mingzhu; Payton Gardner, W.

2017-04-01

Anticipating agricultural water demand, land reallocation, and impact on farm revenues associated with different policy or climate constraints is a challenge for water managers and for policy makers. While current integrated decision support systems based on programming methods provide estimates of farmer reaction to external constraints, they have important shortcomings such as the high cost of data collection surveys necessary to calibrate the model, biases associated with inadequate farm sampling, infrequent model updates and recalibration, model overfitting, or their deterministic nature, among other problems. In addition, the administration of water supplies and the generation of policies that promote sustainable agricultural regions depend on more than one bureau or office. Unfortunately, managers from local and regional agencies often use different datasets of variable quality, which complicates coordinated action. To overcome these limitations, we present a client-server, integrated hydro-economic modeling and observation framework driven by satellite remote sensing and other ancillary information from regional monitoring networks. The core of the framework is a stochastic data assimilation system that sequentially ingests remote sensing observations and corrects the parameters of the hydro-economic model at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. An economic model of agricultural production, based on mathematical programming, requires information on crop type and extent, crop yield, crop transpiration and irrigation technology. A regional hydro-climatologic model provides biophysical constraints to an economic model of agricultural production with a level of detail that permits the study of the spatial impact of large- and small-scale water use decisions. Crop type and extent is obtained from the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), which is multi-sensor operational classification of crops maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture. Because this product is only available for the conterminous United States, the framework is currently only applicable in this region. To obtain information on crop phenology, productivity and transpiration at adequate spatial and temporal frequencies we blend high spatial resolution Landsat information with high temporal fidelity MODIS imagery. The result is a 30 m, 8-day fused dataset of crop greenness that is subsequently transformed into productivity and transpiration by adapting existing forest productivity and transpiration algorithms for agricultural applications. To ensure all involved agencies work with identical information and that end-users are sheltered from the computational burden of storing and processing remote sensing data, this modeling framework is integrated in a client-server architecture based on the Hydra platform (www.hydraplatform.org). Assimilation and processing of resource-intensive remote sensing information, as well as hydrologic and other ancillary data, occur on the server side. With this architecture, our decision support system becomes a light weight 'app' that connects to the server to retrieve the latest information regarding water demands, land use, yields and hydrologic information required to run different management scenarios. This architecture ensures that all agencies and teams involved in water management use the same, up-to-date information in their simulations.

A new tool for the evaluation of the analytical procedure: Green Analytical Procedure Index.

PubMed

Płotka-Wasylka, J

2018-05-01

A new means for assessing analytical protocols relating to green analytical chemistry attributes has been developed. The new tool, called GAPI (Green Analytical Procedure Index), evaluates the green character of an entire analytical methodology, from sample collection to final determination, and was created using such tools as the National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI) or Analytical Eco-Scale to provide not only general but also qualitative information. In GAPI, a specific symbol with five pentagrams can be used to evaluate and quantify the environmental impact involved in each step of an analytical methodology, mainly from green through yellow to red depicting low, medium to high impact, respectively. The proposed tool was used to evaluate analytical procedures applied in the determination of biogenic amines in wine samples, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon determination by EPA methods. GAPI tool not only provides an immediately perceptible perspective to the user/reader but also offers exhaustive information on evaluated procedures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding the relationship between vegetation phenology and productivity across key dryland ecosystem types through the integration of PhenoCam, satellite, and eddy covariance data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, D.; Scott, R. L.; Moore, D. J.; Biederman, J. A.; Smith, W. K.

2017-12-01

Land surface phenology (LSP) - defined as remotely sensed seasonal variations in vegetation greenness - is intrinsically linked to seasonal carbon uptake, and is thus commonly used as a proxy for vegetation productivity (gross primary productivity; GPP). Yet, the relationship between LSP and GPP remains uncertain, particularly for understudied dryland ecosystems characterized by relatively large spatial and temporal variability. Here, we explored the relationship between LSP and the phenology of GPP for three dominant dryland ecosystem types, and we evaluated how these relationships change as a function of spatial and temporal scale. We focused on three long-term dryland eddy covariance flux tower sites: Walnut Gulch Lucky Hills Shrubland (WHS), Walnut Gulch Kendall Grassland (WKG), and Santa Rita Mesquite (SRM). We analyzed daily canopy-level, 16-day 30m, and 8-day 500m time series of greenness indices from PhenoCam, Landsat 7 ETM+/Landsat 8 OLI, and MODIS, respectively. We first quantified the impact of spatial scale by temporally resampling canopy-level PhenoCam, 30m Landsat, and 500m MODIS to 16-day intervals and then comparing against flux tower GPP estimates. We next quantified the impact of temporal scale by spatially resampling daily PhenoCam, 16-day Landsat, and 8-day MODIS to 500m time series and then comparing against flux tower GPP estimates. We find evidence of critical periods of decoupling between LSP and the phenology of GPP that vary according to the spatial and temporal scale, and as a function of ecosystem type. Our results provide key insight into dryland LSP and GPP dynamics that can be used in future efforts to improve ecosystem process models and satellite-based vegetation productivity algorithms.

[Analysis on accessibility of urban park green space: the case study of Shenyang Tiexi District].

PubMed

Lu, Ning; Li, Jun-Ying; Yan, Hong-Wei; Shi, Tuo; Li, Ying

2014-10-01

The accessibility of urban park green space is an important indicator to reflect how much the natural service supplied by parks could be enjoyed by citizens conveniently and fairly. This paper took Shenyang Tiexi District as an example to evaluate the accessibility of urban park green space based on QuickBird imagery and GIS software, with four modes of transportation, walking, non-motor vehicle, motor vehicle and public transport being considered. The research compared and analyzed the distribution of the accessible area and the accessible people of park green space. The result demonstrated that park green space in Shenyang Tiexi District was not enough and the distribution was not even. To be precise, the accessibility in southwest part and central part was relatively good, that in marginal sites was worse, and that in east part and north part was the worst. Furthermore, the accessibility based on different modes of transportation varied a lot. The accessibility of motor vehicle was the best, followed by non-motor vehicle and public transport, and walking was the worst. Most of the regions could be reached within 30 minutes by walking, 15 minutes by non-motor vehicle and public transport, and 10 minutes by motor vehicle. This paper had a realistic significance in terms of further, systematic research on the green space spatial pattern optimization.

Earlier vegetation green-up has reduced spring dust storms

PubMed Central

Fan, Bihang; Guo, Li; Li, Ning; Chen, Jin; Lin, Henry; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Shen, Miaogen; Rao, Yuhan; Wang, Cong; Ma, Lei

2014-01-01

The observed decline of spring dust storms in Northeast Asia since the 1950s has been attributed to surface wind stilling. However, spring vegetation growth could also restrain dust storms through accumulating aboveground biomass and increasing surface roughness. To investigate the impacts of vegetation spring growth on dust storms, we examine the relationships between recorded spring dust storm outbreaks and satellite-derived vegetation green-up date in Inner Mongolia, Northern China from 1982 to 2008. We find a significant dampening effect of advanced vegetation growth on spring dust storms (r = 0.49, p = 0.01), with a one-day earlier green-up date corresponding to a decrease in annual spring dust storm outbreaks by 3%. Moreover, the higher correlation (r = 0.55, p < 0.01) between green-up date and dust storm outbreak ratio (the ratio of dust storm outbreaks to times of strong wind events) indicates that such effect is independent of changes in surface wind. Spatially, a negative correlation is detected between areas with advanced green-up dates and regional annual spring dust storms (r = −0.49, p = 0.01). This new insight is valuable for understanding dust storms dynamics under the changing climate. Our findings suggest that dust storms in Inner Mongolia will be further mitigated by the projected earlier vegetation green-up in the warming world. PMID:25343265

Global consumptive water use for crop production: The importance of green water and virtual water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Junguo; Zehnder, Alexander J. B.; Yang, Hong

2009-05-01

Over the last 4 decades the use of blue water has received increasing attention in water resources research, but little attention has been paid to the quantification of green water in food production and food trade. In this paper, we estimate both the blue and green water components of consumptive water use (CWU) for a wide range of agricultural crops, including seven cereal crops, cassava, cotton, groundnuts, potatoes, pulses, rapeseed, soybeans, sugar beets, sugarcane, and sunflower, with a spatial resolution of 30 arc min on the land surface. The results show that the global CWU of these crops amounted to 3823 km3 a-1 for the period 1998-2002. More than 80% of this amount was from green water. Around 94% of the world crop-related virtual water trade has its origin in green water, which generally constitutes a low-opportunity cost of green water as opposed to blue water. High levels of net virtual water import (NVWI) generally occur in countries with low CWU on a per capita basis, where a virtual water strategy is an attractive water management option to compensate for domestic water shortage for food production. NVWI is constrained by income; low-income countries generally have a low level of NVWI. Strengthening low-income countries economically will allow them to develop a virtual water strategy to mitigate malnutrition of their people.

Scaling up semi-arid grassland biochemical content from the leaf to the canopy level: challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

He, Yuhong; Mui, Amy

2010-01-01

Remote sensing imagery is being used intensively to estimate the biochemical content of vegetation (e.g., chlorophyll, nitrogen, and lignin) at the leaf level. As a result of our need for vegetation biochemical information and our increasing ability to obtain canopy spectral data, a few techniques have been explored to scale leaf-level biochemical content to the canopy level for forests and crops. However, due to the contribution of non-green materials (i.e., standing dead litter, rock, and bare soil) from canopy spectra in semi-arid grasslands, it is difficult to obtain information about grassland biochemical content from remote sensing data at the canopy level. This paper summarizes available methods used to scale biochemical information from the leaf level to the canopy level and groups these methods into three categories: direct extrapolation, canopy-integrated approach, and inversion of physical models. As for semi-arid heterogeneous grasslands, we conclude that all methods are useful, but none are ideal. It is recommended that future research should explore a systematic upscaling framework which combines spatial pattern analysis, canopy-integrated approach, and modeling methods to retrieve vegetation biochemical content at the canopy level.

Efficient kinetic Monte Carlo method for reaction-diffusion problems with spatially varying annihilation rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, Karsten; Rieger, Heiko

2013-03-01

We present an efficient Monte Carlo method to simulate reaction-diffusion processes with spatially varying particle annihilation or transformation rates as it occurs for instance in the context of motor-driven intracellular transport. Like Green's function reaction dynamics and first-passage time methods, our algorithm avoids small diffusive hops by propagating sufficiently distant particles in large hops to the boundaries of protective domains. Since for spatially varying annihilation or transformation rates the single particle diffusion propagator is not known analytically, we present an algorithm that generates efficiently either particle displacements or annihilations with the correct statistics, as we prove rigorously. The numerical efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated with an illustrative example.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of Chinavia hilaris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Corn Farmscapes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The green stink bug, Chinavia hilaris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an economic pest of cotton across the southeastern U.S., however, little is known concerning its spatial distribution in corn fields of this region. It is likely that the proximity of other adjacent row crops, i.e., cotton an...

Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis of the Conterminous US

EPA Science Inventory

Six data layers, all created using GUIDOS 1.3 MSPA software to identify green infrastructure components (e.g. core, edge, corridor, etc.). Water was treated three different ways: 1) as foreground, 2) as background, and 3) as missing using both NLCD 2001 and 2006 for six total lay...

GreenChill Guide to Refrigeration Management for Small and Independent Grocers

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Technical information, checklists, and questions to help small and independent supermarket (grocery) store owners and managers green their refrigeration systems by reducing leaks and/or designing a new advanced system.

San Pablo Avenue Green Stormwater Spine

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Information about the SFBWQP San Pablo Avenue Green Stormwater Spine Project project, part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.

A Bright and Fast Red Fluorescent Protein Voltage Indicator That Reports Neuronal Activity in Organotypic Brain Slices

PubMed Central

Abdelfattah, Ahmed S.; Farhi, Samouil L.; Zhao, Yongxin; Brinks, Daan; Zou, Peng; Ruangkittisakul, Araya; Platisa, Jelena; Pieribone, Vincent A.; Ballanyi, Klaus; Cohen, Adam E.

2016-01-01

Optical imaging of voltage indicators based on green fluorescent proteins (FPs) or archaerhodopsin has emerged as a powerful approach for detecting the activity of many individual neurons with high spatial and temporal resolution. Relative to green FP-based voltage indicators, a bright red-shifted FP-based voltage indicator has the intrinsic advantages of lower phototoxicity, lower autofluorescent background, and compatibility with blue-light-excitable channelrhodopsins. Here, we report a bright red fluorescent voltage indicator (fluorescent indicator for voltage imaging red; FlicR1) with properties that are comparable to the best available green indicators. To develop FlicR1, we used directed protein evolution and rational engineering to screen libraries of thousands of variants. FlicR1 faithfully reports single action potentials (∼3% ΔF/F) and tracks electrically driven voltage oscillations at 100 Hz in dissociated Sprague Dawley rat hippocampal neurons in single trial recordings. Furthermore, FlicR1 can be easily imaged with wide-field fluorescence microscopy. We demonstrate that FlicR1 can be used in conjunction with a blue-shifted channelrhodopsin for all-optical electrophysiology, although blue light photoactivation of the FlicR1 chromophore presents a challenge for applications that require spatially overlapping yellow and blue excitation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Fluorescent-protein-based voltage indicators enable imaging of the electrical activity of many genetically targeted neurons with high spatial and temporal resolution. Here, we describe the engineering of a bright red fluorescent protein-based voltage indicator designated as FlicR1 (fluorescent indicator for voltage imaging red). FlicR1 has sufficient speed and sensitivity to report single action potentials and voltage fluctuations at frequencies up to 100 Hz in single-trial recordings with wide-field microscopy. Because it is excitable with yellow light, FlicR1 can be used in conjunction with blue-light-activated optogenetic actuators. However, spatially distinct patterns of optogenetic activation and voltage imaging are required to avoid fluorescence artifacts due to photoactivation of the FlicR1 chromophore. PMID:26911693

Biodiversity mapping in a tropical West African forest with airborne hyperspectral data.

PubMed

Vaglio Laurin, Gaia; Cheung-Wai Chan, Jonathan; Chen, Qi; Lindsell, Jeremy A; Coomes, David A; Guerriero, Leila; Del Frate, Fabio; Miglietta, Franco; Valentini, Riccardo

2014-01-01

Tropical forests are major repositories of biodiversity, but are fast disappearing as land is converted to agriculture. Decision-makers need to know which of the remaining forests to prioritize for conservation, but the only spatial information on forest biodiversity has, until recently, come from a sparse network of ground-based plots. Here we explore whether airborne hyperspectral imagery can be used to predict the alpha diversity of upper canopy trees in a West African forest. The abundance of tree species were collected from 64 plots (each 1250 m(2) in size) within a Sierra Leonean national park, and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity indices were calculated. An airborne spectrometer measured reflectances of 186 bands in the visible and near-infrared spectral range at 1 m(2) resolution. The standard deviations of these reflectance values and their first-order derivatives were calculated for each plot from the c. 1250 pixels of hyperspectral information within them. Shannon-Wiener indices were then predicted from these plot-based reflectance statistics using a machine-learning algorithm (Random Forest). The regression model fitted the data well (pseudo-R(2) = 84.9%), and we show that standard deviations of green-band reflectances and infra-red region derivatives had the strongest explanatory powers. Our work shows that airborne hyperspectral sensing can be very effective at mapping canopy tree diversity, because its high spatial resolution allows within-plot heterogeneity in reflectance to be characterized, making it an effective tool for monitoring forest biodiversity over large geographic scales.

Biodiversity Mapping in a Tropical West African Forest with Airborne Hyperspectral Data

PubMed Central

Vaglio Laurin, Gaia; Chan, Jonathan Cheung-Wai; Chen, Qi; Lindsell, Jeremy A.; Coomes, David A.; Guerriero, Leila; Frate, Fabio Del; Miglietta, Franco; Valentini, Riccardo

2014-01-01

Tropical forests are major repositories of biodiversity, but are fast disappearing as land is converted to agriculture. Decision-makers need to know which of the remaining forests to prioritize for conservation, but the only spatial information on forest biodiversity has, until recently, come from a sparse network of ground-based plots. Here we explore whether airborne hyperspectral imagery can be used to predict the alpha diversity of upper canopy trees in a West African forest. The abundance of tree species were collected from 64 plots (each 1250 m2 in size) within a Sierra Leonean national park, and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity indices were calculated. An airborne spectrometer measured reflectances of 186 bands in the visible and near-infrared spectral range at 1 m2 resolution. The standard deviations of these reflectance values and their first-order derivatives were calculated for each plot from the c. 1250 pixels of hyperspectral information within them. Shannon-Wiener indices were then predicted from these plot-based reflectance statistics using a machine-learning algorithm (Random Forest). The regression model fitted the data well (pseudo-R2 = 84.9%), and we show that standard deviations of green-band reflectances and infra-red region derivatives had the strongest explanatory powers. Our work shows that airborne hyperspectral sensing can be very effective at mapping canopy tree diversity, because its high spatial resolution allows within-plot heterogeneity in reflectance to be characterized, making it an effective tool for monitoring forest biodiversity over large geographic scales. PMID:24937407

Complementary Imaging of Silver Nanoparticle Interactions with Green Algae: Dark-Field Microscopy, Electron Microscopy, and Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Sekine, Ryo; Moore, Katie L; Matzke, Marianne; Vallotton, Pascal; Jiang, Haibo; Hughes, Gareth M; Kirby, Jason K; Donner, Erica; Grovenor, Chris R M; Svendsen, Claus; Lombi, Enzo

2017-11-28

Increasing consumer use of engineered nanomaterials has led to significantly increased efforts to understand their potential impact on the environment and living organisms. Currently, no individual technique can provide all the necessary information such as their size, distribution, and chemistry in complex biological systems. Consequently, there is a need to develop complementary instrumental imaging approaches that provide enhanced understanding of these "bio-nano" interactions to overcome the limitations of individual techniques. Here we used a multimodal imaging approach incorporating dark-field light microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy, and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). The aim was to gain insight into the bio-nano interactions of surface-functionalized silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) with the green algae Raphidocelis subcapitata, by combining the fidelity, spatial resolution, and elemental identification offered by the three techniques, respectively. Each technique revealed that Ag-NPs interact with the green algae with a dependence on the size (10 nm vs 60 nm) and surface functionality (tannic acid vs branched polyethylenimine, bPEI) of the NPs. Dark-field light microscopy revealed the presence of strong light scatterers on the algal cell surface, and SEM imaging confirmed their nanoparticulate nature and localization at nanoscale resolution. NanoSIMS imaging confirmed their chemical identity as Ag, with the majority of signal concentrated at the cell surface. Furthermore, SEM and NanoSIMS provided evidence of 10 nm bPEI Ag-NP internalization at higher concentrations (40 μg/L), correlating with the highest toxicity observed from these NPs. This multimodal approach thus demonstrated an effective approach to complement dose-response studies in nano-(eco)-toxicological investigations.

Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants.

PubMed

Thorup, Kasper; Tøttrup, Anders P; Willemoes, Mikkel; Klaassen, Raymond H G; Strandberg, Roine; Vega, Marta Lomas; Dasari, Hari P; Araújo, Miguel B; Wikelski, Martin; Rahbek, Carsten

2017-01-01

Migratory birds track seasonal resources across and between continents. We propose a general strategy of tracking the broad seasonal abundance of resources throughout the annual cycle in the longest-distance migrating land birds as an alternative to tracking a certain climatic niche or shorter-term resource surplus occurring, for example, during spring foliation. Whether and how this is possible for complex annual spatiotemporal schedules is not known. New tracking technology enables unprecedented spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes in resource availability over Europe and Africa. Common cuckoos maximize the vegetation greenness, whereas red-backed shrikes and thrush nightingales track seasonal surplus in greenness. Our results demonstrate that the longest-distance migrants move between consecutive staging areas even within the wintering region in Africa to match seasonal variation in regional climate. End-of-century climate projections indicate that optimizing greenness would be possible but that vegetation surplus might be more difficult to track in the future.

The Green's functions for peridynamic non-local diffusion.

PubMed

Wang, L J; Xu, J F; Wang, J X

2016-09-01

In this work, we develop the Green's function method for the solution of the peridynamic non-local diffusion model in which the spatial gradient of the generalized potential in the classical theory is replaced by an integral of a generalized response function in a horizon. We first show that the general solutions of the peridynamic non-local diffusion model can be expressed as functionals of the corresponding Green's functions for point sources, along with volume constraints for non-local diffusion. Then, we obtain the Green's functions by the Fourier transform method for unsteady and steady diffusions in infinite domains. We also demonstrate that the peridynamic non-local solutions converge to the classical differential solutions when the non-local length approaches zero. Finally, the peridynamic analytical solutions are applied to an infinite plate heated by a Gauss source, and the predicted variations of temperature are compared with the classical local solutions. The peridynamic non-local diffusion model predicts a lower rate of variation of the field quantities than that of the classical theory, which is consistent with experimental observations. The developed method is applicable to general diffusion-type problems.

Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants

PubMed Central

Thorup, Kasper; Tøttrup, Anders P.; Willemoes, Mikkel; Klaassen, Raymond H. G.; Strandberg, Roine; Vega, Marta Lomas; Dasari, Hari P.; Araújo, Miguel B.; Wikelski, Martin; Rahbek, Carsten

2017-01-01

Migratory birds track seasonal resources across and between continents. We propose a general strategy of tracking the broad seasonal abundance of resources throughout the annual cycle in the longest-distance migrating land birds as an alternative to tracking a certain climatic niche or shorter-term resource surplus occurring, for example, during spring foliation. Whether and how this is possible for complex annual spatiotemporal schedules is not known. New tracking technology enables unprecedented spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes in resource availability over Europe and Africa. Common cuckoos maximize the vegetation greenness, whereas red-backed shrikes and thrush nightingales track seasonal surplus in greenness. Our results demonstrate that the longest-distance migrants move between consecutive staging areas even within the wintering region in Africa to match seasonal variation in regional climate. End-of-century climate projections indicate that optimizing greenness would be possible but that vegetation surplus might be more difficult to track in the future. PMID:28070557

Using game theory to analyze green stormwater infrastructure implementation policies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

William, R. K.; Garg, J.; Stillwell, A. S.

2017-12-01

While green stormwater infrastructure is a useful approach in addressing multiple challenges facing the urban environment, little consensus exists on how to best incentivize its adoption by private landowners. Game theory, a field of study designed to model conflict and cooperation between two or more agents, is well-suited to address this policy question. We used a cooperative game theory framework to analyze the impacts of three different policy approaches frequently used to incentivize the uptake of green infrastructure by private landowners: municipal regulation, direct grants, and stormwater fees. The results indicate that municipal regulation leads to the greatest environmental benefits; however, the choice of "best" regulatory approach is dependent on a variety of different factors including political and financial considerations. Policy impacts are also highly dependent on agents' spatial positions within the stormwater network. This finding leads to important questions of social equity and environmental justice.

High-power, continuous-wave, second-harmonic generation at 532 nm in periodically poled KTiOPO(4).

PubMed

Samanta, G K; Kumar, S Chaitanya; Mathew, M; Canalias, C; Pasiskevicius, V; Laurell, F; Ebrahim-Zadeh, M

2008-12-15

We report efficient generation of high-power, cw, single-frequency radiation in the green in a simple, compact configuration based on single-pass, second-harmonic generation of a cw ytterbium fiber laser at 1064 nm in periodically poled KTiOPO(4). Using a crystal containing a 17 mm single grating with period of 9.01 microm, we generate 6.2 W of cw radiation at 532 nm for a fundamental power of 29.75 W at a single-pass conversion efficiency of 20.8%. Over the entire range of pump powers, the generated green output is single frequency with a linewidth of 8.5 MHz and has a TEM(00) spatial profile with M(2)<1.34. The demonstrated green power can be further improved by proper thermal management of crystal heating effects at higher pump powers and also by optimized design of the grating period to include thermal issues.

A social science perspective on the forest preserves: Seven virtues for connecting people and nature

Treesearch

Paul H. Gobster

2015-01-01

How do people perceive and value urban green space? In what ways do people's perceptions and values of urban nature affect their use and experience of parks, forest preserves, and other green space types? Knowing this information, how can green space planners, managers, and decision makers facilitate a better "fit" between people and nature in urban...

75 FR 37456 - Green Retrofit Program of Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5376-N-55] Green Retrofit Program of Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information... Title of Proposal: Green Retrofit Program of Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of...

Diffraction of stochastic electromagnetic fields by a hole in a thin film with real optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorofeyev, Illarion

2008-08-01

The classical Kirchhoff theory of diffraction is extended to the case of real optical properties of a screen and its finite thickness. A spectral power density of diffracted electromagnetic fields by a hole in a thin film with real optical properties was calculated. The problem was solved by use of the vector Green theorems and related Green function of the boundary value problem. A spectral and spatial selectivity of the considered system was demonstrated. Diffracted patterns were calculated for the coherent and incoherent incident fields in case of holes array in a screen of perfect conductivity.

Estimating Biofuel Feedstock Water Footprints Using System Dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Inman, Daniel; Warner, Ethan; Stright, Dana

Increased biofuel production has prompted concerns about the environmental tradeoffs of biofuels compared to petroleum-based fuels. Biofuel production in general, and feedstock production in particular, is under increased scrutiny. Water footprinting (measuring direct and indirect water use) has been proposed as one measure to evaluate water use in the context of concerns about depleting rural water supplies through activities such as irrigation for large-scale agriculture. Water footprinting literature has often been limited in one or more key aspects: complete assessment across multiple water stocks (e.g., vadose zone, surface, and ground water stocks), geographical resolution of data, consistent representation of manymore » feedstocks, and flexibility to perform scenario analysis. We developed a model called BioSpatial H2O using a system dynamics modeling and database framework. BioSpatial H2O could be used to consistently evaluate the complete water footprints of multiple biomass feedstocks at high geospatial resolutions. BioSpatial H2O has the flexibility to perform simultaneous scenario analysis of current and potential future crops under alternative yield and climate conditions. In this proof-of-concept paper, we modeled corn grain (Zea mays L.) and soybeans (Glycine max) under current conditions as illustrative results. BioSpatial H2O links to a unique database that houses annual spatially explicit climate, soil, and plant physiological data. Parameters from the database are used as inputs to our system dynamics model for estimating annual crop water requirements using daily time steps. Based on our review of the literature, estimated green water footprints are comparable to other modeled results, suggesting that BioSpatial H2O is computationally sound for future scenario analysis. Our modeling framework builds on previous water use analyses to provide a platform for scenario-based assessment. BioSpatial H2O's system dynamics is a flexible and user-friendly interface for on-demand, spatially explicit, water use scenario analysis for many US agricultural crops. Built-in controls permit users to quickly make modifications to the model assumptions, such as those affecting yield, and to see the implications of those results in real time. BioSpatial H2O's dynamic capabilities and adjustable climate data allow for analyses of water use and management scenarios to inform current and potential future bioenergy policies. The model could also be adapted for scenario analysis of alternative climatic conditions and comparison of multiple crops. The results of such an analysis would help identify risks associated with water use competition among feedstocks in certain regions. Results could also inform research and development efforts that seek to reduce water-related risks of biofuel pathways.« less

Satellite-based phenology detection in broadleaf forests in South-Western Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misra, Gourav; Buras, Allan; Menzel, Annette

2016-04-01

Many techniques exist for extracting phenological information from time series of satellite data. However, there have been only a few successful attempts to temporarily match satellite-derived observations with ground based phenological observations (Fisher et al., 2006; Hamunyela et al., 2013; Galiano et al., 2015). Such studies are primarily plagued with problems relating to shorter time series of satellite data including spatial and temporal resolution issues. A great challenge is to correlate spatially continuous and pixel-based satellite information with spatially discontinuous and point-based, mostly species-specific, ground observations of phenology. Moreover, the minute differences in phenology observed by ground volunteers might not be sufficient to produce changes in satellite-measured reflectance of vegetation, which also exposes the difference in the definitions of phenology (Badeck et al., 2004; White et al., 2014). In this study Start of Season (SOS) was determined for broadleaf forests at a site in south-western Germany using MODIS-sensor time series of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for the years covering 2001 to 2013. The NDVI time series raster data was masked for broadleaf forests using Corine Land Cover dataset, filtered and corrected for snow and cloud contaminations, smoothed with a Gaussian filter and interpolated to daily values. Several SOS techniques cited in literature, namely thresholds of amplitudes (20%, 50%, 60% and 75%), rates of change (1st, 2nd and 3rd derivative) and delayed moving average (DMA) were tested for determination of satellite SOS. The different satellite SOS were then compared with a species-rich ground based phenology information (e.g. understory leaf unfolding, broad leaf unfolding and greening of evergreen tree species). Working with all the pixels at a finer resolution, it is seen that the temporal trends in understory and broad leaf species are well captured. Initial analyses show promising results and suggest that different satellite SOS extraction techniques work well for specific phases of ground phenology information. More than half of the broadleaf pixels show an earliness in SOS which matches with the trend in ground phenology. References 1. F.-W. Badeck, A. Bondeau, K. Bottcher, D. Doktor, W. Lucht, J. Schaber, and S. Sitch, 2004, "Responses of spring phenology to climate change," New Phytologist, vol. 162, no. 2, pp. 295-309. 2. E. Hamunyela, J. Verbesselt, G. Roerink, and M. Herold, 2013, "Trends in Spring Phenology of Western European Deciduous Forests," Remote Sensing, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 6159-6179. 3. V. F. Rodriguez-Galiano, J. Dash, and P. M. Atkinson, 2015, "Intercomparison of satellite sensor land surface phenology and ground phenology in Europe: Inter-annual comparison and modelling," Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 42, no. 7, pp. 2253-2260. 4. J. Fisher, J. Mustard, and M. Vadeboncoeur, 2006, "Green leaf phenology at Landsat resolution: Scaling from the field to the satellite," Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 265-279. 5. K. White, J. Pontius, and P. Schaberg, 2014, "Remote sensing of spring phenology in northeastern forests: A comparison of methods, field metrics and sources of uncertainty," Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 148, pp. 97-107.

Results from a Year of Column CO2 Measurements over Paris France using Harris GreenLITE™

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobler, J. T.; Zaccheo, T. S.; Blume, N.; Broquet, G.; Ramonet, M.; Staufer, J.; Vogel, F. R.

2016-12-01

In 2013 Harris Corporation and Atmospheric and Environmental Research developed the GreenLITE™ system under a cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, to monitor geologic carbon storage sites on the square km scale. Since that time the system has expanded to enable coverage of areas >25 km2, and was deployed over the city of Paris, France, in November 2015. The system consists of two scanning continuous wave laser absorption spectroscopy instruments and a number of reflectors arranged to provide a number of overlapping 2-5 km chords across the 25 km2 area. The system was deployed as a demonstration for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21), and has since been extended to a full year experiment. Operating GreenLITE for a full year will allow evaluations of seasonalvariability and enable ingestion of these measurements into inversion model frameworks to estimate the city'semissions. High resolution emissions models currently function on scales of 1-4 km2 and use in situ instrumentation located outside of the urban environment for the inversions due to challenges related to high spatio-temporal variability within the complex urban environment. GreenLITE measurements, on the other hand, provide integrated measurements on spatial and temporal scales that are more suitable for these models.This presentation will review the GreenLITE measurement approach and discuss results of the GreenLITE demonstration, including: comparisons with well calibrated Picarro and ThermoFisher in situ instruments located in or near the GreenLITE footprint, comparisons with high resolution model results, and recent steps toward using the GreenLITE data directly in the inversion models.

Empirical Green's functions from small earthquakes: A waveform study of locally recorded aftershocks of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hutchings, L.; Wu, F.

1990-02-10

Seismograms from 52 aftershocks of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake recorded at 25 stations distributed across the San Fernando Valley are examined to identify empirical Green's functions, and characterize the dependence of their waveforms on moment, focal mechanism, source and recording site spatial variations, recording site geology, and recorded frequency band. Recording distances ranged from 3.0 to 33.0 km, hypocentral separations ranged from 0.22 to 28.4 km, and recording site separations ranged from 0.185 to 24.2 km. The recording site geologies are diorite gneiss, marine and nonmarine sediments, and alluvium of varying thicknesses. Waveforms of events with moment below aboutmore » 1.5 {times} 10{sup 21} dyn cm are independent of the source-time function and are termed empirical Green's functions. Waveforms recorded at a particular station from events located within 1.0 to 3.0 km of each other, depending upon site geology, with very similar focal mechanism solutions are nearly identical for frequencies up to 10 Hz. There is no correlation to waveforms between recording sites at least 1.2 km apart, and waveforms are clearly distinctive for two sites 0.185 km apart. The geologic conditions of the recording site dominate the character of empirical Green's functions. Even for source separations of up to 20.0 km, the empirical Green's functions at a particular site are consistent in frequency content, amplification, and energy distribution. Therefore, it is shown that empirical Green's functions can be used to obtain site response functions. The observations of empirical Green's functions are used as a basis for developing the theory for using empirical Green's functions in deconvolution for source pulses and synthesis of seismograms of larger earthquakes.« less

Mitigating and adapting to climate change: multi-functional and multi-scale assessment of green urban infrastructure.

PubMed

Demuzere, M; Orru, K; Heidrich, O; Olazabal, E; Geneletti, D; Orru, H; Bhave, A G; Mittal, N; Feliu, E; Faehnle, M

2014-12-15

In order to develop climate resilient urban areas and reduce emissions, several opportunities exist starting from conscious planning and design of green (and blue) spaces in these landscapes. Green urban infrastructure has been regarded as beneficial, e.g. by balancing water flows, providing thermal comfort. This article explores the existing evidence on the contribution of green spaces to climate change mitigation and adaptation services. We suggest a framework of ecosystem services for systematizing the evidence on the provision of bio-physical benefits (e.g. CO2 sequestration) as well as social and psychological benefits (e.g. improved health) that enable coping with (adaptation) or reducing the adverse effects (mitigation) of climate change. The multi-functional and multi-scale nature of green urban infrastructure complicates the categorization of services and benefits, since in reality the interactions between various benefits are manifold and appear on different scales. We will show the relevance of the benefits from green urban infrastructures on three spatial scales (i.e. city, neighborhood and site specific scales). We will further report on co-benefits and trade-offs between the various services indicating that a benefit could in turn be detrimental in relation to other functions. The manuscript identifies avenues for further research on the role of green urban infrastructure, in different types of cities, climates and social contexts. Our systematic understanding of the bio-physical and social processes defining various services allows targeting stressors that may hamper the provision of green urban infrastructure services in individual behavior as well as in wider planning and environmental management in urban areas. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large herbivores surf waves of green-up during spring

PubMed Central

Monteith, Kevin L.; Aikens, Ellen O.; Hayes, Matthew M.; Hersey, Kent R.; Middleton, Arthur D.; Oates, Brendan A.; Sawyer, Hall; Scurlock, Brandon M.; Kauffman, Matthew J.

2016-01-01

The green wave hypothesis (GWH) states that migrating animals should track or ‘surf’ high-quality forage at the leading edge of spring green-up. To index such high-quality forage, recent work proposed the instantaneous rate of green-up (IRG), i.e. rate of change in the normalized difference vegetation index over time. Despite this important advancement, no study has tested the assumption that herbivores select habitat patches at peak IRG. We evaluated this assumption using step selection functions parametrized with movement data during the green-up period from two populations each of bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, moose and bison, totalling 463 individuals monitored 1–3 years from 2004 to 2014. Accounting for variables that typically influence habitat selection for each species, we found seven of 10 populations selected patches exhibiting high IRG—supporting the GWH. Nonetheless, large herbivores selected for the leading edge, trailing edge and crest of the IRG wave, indicating that other mechanisms (e.g. ruminant physiology) or measurement error inherent with satellite data affect selection for IRG. Our evaluation indicates that IRG is a useful tool for linking herbivore movement with plant phenology, paving the way for significant advancements in understanding how animals track resource quality that varies both spatially and temporally. PMID:27335416

Modeling of Turbulence Generated Noise in Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khavaran, Abbas; Bridges, James

2004-01-01

A numerically calculated Green's function is used to predict jet noise spectrum and its far-field directivity. A linearized form of Lilley's equation governs the non-causal Green s function of interest, with the non-linear terms on the right hand side identified as the source. In this paper, contributions from the so-called self- and shear-noise source terms will be discussed. A Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solution yields the required mean flow as well as time- and length scales of a noise-generating turbulent eddy. A non-compact source, with exponential temporal and spatial functions, is used to describe the turbulence velocity correlation tensors. It is shown that while an exact non-causal Green's function accurately predicts the observed shift in the location of the spectrum peak with angle as well as the angularity of sound at moderate Mach numbers, at high subsonic and supersonic acoustic Mach numbers the polar directivity of radiated sound is not entirely captured by this Green's function. Results presented for Mach 0.5 and 0.9 isothermal jets, as well as a Mach 0.8 hot jet conclude that near the peak radiation angle a different source/Green's function convolution integral may be required in order to capture the peak observed directivity of jet noise.

Large herbivores surf waves of green-up during spring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merkle, Jerod A.; Monteith, Kevin L.; Aikens, Ellen O.; Hayes, Matthew M.; Hersey, Kent R.; Middleton, Arthur D.; Oates, Brendan A.; Sawyer, Hall; Scurlock, Brandon M.; Kauffman, Matthew J.

2016-01-01

The green wave hypothesis (GWH) states that migrating animals should track or ‘surf’ high-quality forage at the leading edge of spring green-up. To index such high-quality forage, recent work proposed the instantaneous rate of green-up (IRG), i.e. rate of change in the normalized difference vegetation index over time. Despite this important advancement, no study has tested the assumption that herbivores select habitat patches at peak IRG. We evaluated this assumption using step selection functions parametrized with movement data during the green-up period from two populations each of bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, moose and bison, totalling 463 individuals monitored 1–3 years from 2004 to 2014. Accounting for variables that typically influence habitat selection for each species, we found seven of 10 populations selected patches exhibiting high IRG—supporting the GWH. Nonetheless, large herbivores selected for the leading edge, trailing edge and crest of the IRG wave, indicating that other mechanisms (e.g. ruminant physiology) or measurement error inherent with satellite data affect selection for IRG. Our evaluation indicates that IRG is a useful tool for linking herbivore movement with plant phenology, paving the way for significant advancements in understanding how animals track resource quality that varies both spatially and temporally.

Reduced arctic tundra productivity linked with landform and climate change interactions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; Martin, Philip; McGuire, A. David

2018-01-01

Arctic tundra ecosystems have experienced unprecedented change associated with climate warming over recent decades. Across the Pan-Arctic, vegetation productivity and surface greenness have trended positively over the period of satellite observation. However, since 2011 these trends have slowed considerably, showing signs of browning in many regions. It is unclear what factors are driving this change and which regions/landforms will be most sensitive to future browning. Here we provide evidence linking decadal patterns in arctic greening and browning with regional climate change and local permafrost-driven landscape heterogeneity. We analyzed the spatial variability of decadal-scale trends in surface greenness across the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km²) using the Landsat archive (1999–2014), in combination with novel 30 m classifications of polygonal tundra and regional watersheds, finding landscape heterogeneity and regional climate change to be the most important factors controlling historical greenness trends. Browning was linked to increased temperature and precipitation, with the exception of young landforms (developed following lake drainage), which will likely continue to green. Spatiotemporal model forecasting suggests carbon uptake potential to be reduced in response to warmer and/or wetter climatic conditions, potentially increasing the net loss of carbon to the atmosphere, at a greater degree than previously expected.

Reduced arctic tundra productivity linked with landform and climate change interactions.

PubMed

Lara, Mark J; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; Martin, Philip; McGuire, A David

2018-02-05

Arctic tundra ecosystems have experienced unprecedented change associated with climate warming over recent decades. Across the Pan-Arctic, vegetation productivity and surface greenness have trended positively over the period of satellite observation. However, since 2011 these trends have slowed considerably, showing signs of browning in many regions. It is unclear what factors are driving this change and which regions/landforms will be most sensitive to future browning. Here we provide evidence linking decadal patterns in arctic greening and browning with regional climate change and local permafrost-driven landscape heterogeneity. We analyzed the spatial variability of decadal-scale trends in surface greenness across the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km²) using the Landsat archive (1999-2014), in combination with novel 30 m classifications of polygonal tundra and regional watersheds, finding landscape heterogeneity and regional climate change to be the most important factors controlling historical greenness trends. Browning was linked to increased temperature and precipitation, with the exception of young landforms (developed following lake drainage), which will likely continue to green. Spatiotemporal model forecasting suggests carbon uptake potential to be reduced in response to warmer and/or wetter climatic conditions, potentially increasing the net loss of carbon to the atmosphere, at a greater degree than previously expected.

Large herbivores surf waves of green-up during spring.

PubMed

Merkle, Jerod A; Monteith, Kevin L; Aikens, Ellen O; Hayes, Matthew M; Hersey, Kent R; Middleton, Arthur D; Oates, Brendan A; Sawyer, Hall; Scurlock, Brandon M; Kauffman, Matthew J

2016-06-29

The green wave hypothesis (GWH) states that migrating animals should track or 'surf' high-quality forage at the leading edge of spring green-up. To index such high-quality forage, recent work proposed the instantaneous rate of green-up (IRG), i.e. rate of change in the normalized difference vegetation index over time. Despite this important advancement, no study has tested the assumption that herbivores select habitat patches at peak IRG. We evaluated this assumption using step selection functions parametrized with movement data during the green-up period from two populations each of bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, moose and bison, totalling 463 individuals monitored 1-3 years from 2004 to 2014. Accounting for variables that typically influence habitat selection for each species, we found seven of 10 populations selected patches exhibiting high IRG-supporting the GWH. Nonetheless, large herbivores selected for the leading edge, trailing edge and crest of the IRG wave, indicating that other mechanisms (e.g. ruminant physiology) or measurement error inherent with satellite data affect selection for IRG. Our evaluation indicates that IRG is a useful tool for linking herbivore movement with plant phenology, paving the way for significant advancements in understanding how animals track resource quality that varies both spatially and temporally. © 2016 The Author(s).

Limnology of the Green Lakes Valley: Phytoplankton ecology and dissolved organic matter biogeochemistry at a long-term ecological research site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Matthew P.; McKnight, Diane M.

2015-01-01

Background: Surface waters are the lowest points in the landscape, and therefore serve as excellent integrators and indicators of changes taking place in the surrounding terrestrial and atmospheric environment.Aims: Here we synthesise the findings of limnological studies conducted during the past 15 years in streams and lakes in the Green Lakes Valley, which is part of the Niwot Ridge Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Site.Methods: The importance of these studies is discussed in the context of aquatic ecosystems as indicators, integrators, and regulators of environmental change. Specifically, investigations into climatic, hydrologic, and nutrient controls on present-day phytoplankton, and historical diatom, community composition in the alpine lake, Green Lake 4, are reviewed. In addition, studies of spatial and temporal patterns in dissolved organic matter (DOM) biogeochemistry and reactive transport modelling that have taken place in the Green Lakes Valley are highlighted.Results and conclusions: The findings of these studies identify specific shifts in algal community composition and DOM biogeochemistry that are indicative of changing environmental conditions and provide a framework for detecting future environmental change in the Green Lakes Valley and in other alpine watersheds. Moreover, the studies summarised here demonstrate the importance of long-term monitoring programmes such as the LTER programme.

Amazon forests did not green up during the 2005 drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, A.; Ganguly, S.; Hashimoto, H.; Devadiga, S.; Vermote, E. F.; Knyazikhin, Y.; Nemani, R. R.; Myneni, R. B.

2009-12-01

The sensitivity of Amazon rainforests to dry-season droughts remains unresolved with reports of enhanced tree mortality and forest fires, on one hand, and, excessive forest green-up, on the other. Here using the latest and improved version of satellite-derived vegetation greenness data - Collection 5 (C5) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) - we report that the there is no evidence of large-scale greening of the Amazon during the 2005 drought - approximately 11%-12% of these forests display greening, while, 28%-29% show browning or no-change, and for the rest the data are not of sufficient quality to characterize any changes. In addition, independent satellite-derived data on precipitation, surface radiation and aerosols do not substantiate underlying assumptions of the hypothesis of enhanced photosynthetic capacity of intact Amazon forests stimulated by increased light availability during a drought. First, interannual changes in dry-season greenness are unrelated to concurrent changes in light availability. Second, the 2005 drought cannot be used as a surrogate for light availability to these rainforests owing to persistently high aerosol loads in the atmosphere. Third, the spatial extent and magnitude of greening do not change systematically with drought severity. Finally, the changes in vegetation activity of these forests during the drought-stricken dry season of 2005 are not unique in comparison to that observed during dry seasons of non-drought years. Our analysis also demonstrates the critical role of biomass burning aerosols in limiting light availability to water stressed Amazon forests during the dry season of 2005. This will have important implications for the sensitivity of these forests to similar droughts in future.

Beaver herbivory of willow under two flow regimes: A comparative study on the Green and Yampa rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breck, Stewart W.; Wilson, Kenneth R.; Andersen, Douglas C.

2003-01-01

The effect of flow regulation on plant-herbivore ecology has received very little attention, despite the fact that flow regulation can alter both plant and animal abundance and environmental factors that mediate interactions between them. To determine how regulated flows have impacted beaver (Castor canadensis) and sandbar willow (Salix exigua) ecology, we first quantified the abundance and mapped the spatial distribution of sandbar willow on alluvial sections of the flow-regulated Green River and free-flowing Yampa River in northwestern Colorado. We then established 16 and 15 plots (1 m × 2.7 m) in patches of willow on the Green and Yampa Rivers, respectively, to determine whether rates of beaver herbivory of willow differed between rivers (Green versus Yampa River), seasons (fall-winter versus spring-summer), and years (spring 1998-spring 1999 versus spring 1999-spring 2000). Areal extent of willow was similar on each river, but Green River willow patches were smaller and more numerous. Beavers cut more stems during fall and winter than spring and summer and cut over 6 times more stems (percentage basis) on the Green River than on the Yampa River. We attribute the between-river difference in herbivory to higher availability of willow, greater beaver density, and lower availability of young Fremont cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. wislizenii; an alternative food source) on the Green River. Flow regulation increased willow availability to beaver by promoting the formation of island patches that are continuously adjacent to water and feature a perimeter with a relatively high proportion of willow interfacing with water.

Beaver herbivory and its effect on cottonwood trees: Influence of flooding along matched regulated and unregulated rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breck, S.W.; Wilson, K.R.; Andersen, D.C.

2003-01-01

We compared beaver (Castor canadensis) foraging patterns on Fremont cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. wislizenii) saplings and the probability of saplings being cut on a 10 km reach of the flow-regulated Green River and a 8.6 km reach of the free-flowing Yampa River in northwestern Colorado. We measured the abundance and density of cottonwood on each reach and followed the fates of individually marked saplings in three patches of cottonwood on the Yampa River and two patches on the Green River. Two natural floods on the Yampa River and one controlled flood on the Green River between May 1998 and November 1999 allowed us to assess the effect of flooding on beaver herbivory. Independent of beaver herbivory, flow regulation on the Green River has caused a decrease in number of cottonwood patches per kilometre of river, area of patches per kilometre, and average stem density within cottonwood patches. The number of saplings cut per beaver colony was three times lower on the Green River than on the Yampa River but the probability of a sapling being cut by a beaver was still higher on the Green River because of lower sapling density there. Controlled flooding appeared to increase the rate of foraging on the Green River by inundating patches of cottonwood, which enhanced access by beaver. Our results suggest regulation can magnify the impact of beaver on cottonwood through interrelated effects on plant spatial distribution and cottonwood density, with the result that beaver herbivory will need to be considered in plans to enhance cottonwood populations along regulated rivers.

Simple luminosity normalization of greenness, yellowness and redness/greenness for comparison of leaf spectral profiles in multi-temporally acquired remote sensing images.

PubMed

Doi, Ryoichi

2012-09-01

Observation of leaf colour (spectral profiles) through remote sensing is an effective method of identifying the spatial distribution patterns of abnormalities in leaf colour, which enables appropriate plant management measures to be taken. However, because the brightness of remote sensing images varies with acquisition time, in the observation of leaf spectral profiles in multi-temporally acquired remote sensing images, changes in brightness must be taken into account. This study identified a simple luminosity normalization technique that enables leaf colours to be compared in remote sensing images over time. The intensity values of green and yellow (green+red) exhibited strong linear relationships with luminosity (R2 greater than 0.926) when various invariant rooftops in Bangkok or Tokyo were spectralprofiled using remote sensing images acquired at different time points. The values of the coefficient and constant or the coefficient of the formulae describing the intensity of green or yellow were comparable among the single Bangkok site and the two Tokyo sites, indicating the technique's general applicability. For single rooftops, the values of the coefficient of variation for green, yellow, and red/green were 16% or less (n=6-11), indicating an accuracy not less than those of well-established remote sensing measures such as the normalized difference vegetation index. After obtaining the above linear relationships, raw intensity values were normalized and a temporal comparison of the spectral profiles of the canopies of evergreen and deciduous tree species in Tokyo was made to highlight the changes in the canopies' spectral profiles. Future aspects of this technique are discussed herein.

The Moisture Content and Specific Gravity of the Bark and Wood of Northern Pulpwood Species

Treesearch

John R. Erickson

1972-01-01

Much information is available on the specific gravity of wood on a dry weight over green volume and dry weight over dry volume basis. This paper presents the conventional specific gravity on a green weight over green volume basis. The relative specific gravities of bark and wood chips may be helpful in finding way to remove bark particles from chips.

A Year at the Moon on Chandrayaan-1: Moon Mineralogy Mapper Data in a Global Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boardman, J. W.; Pieters, C. M.; Clark, R. N.; Combe, J.; Green, R. O.; Isaacson, P.; Lundeen, S.; Malaret, E.; McCord, T. B.; Nettles, J. W.; Petro, N. E.; Staid, M.; Varanasi, P.

2009-12-01

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper, M3, a high-fidelity high-resolution imaging spectrometer on Chandrayaan-1 has completed two of its four scheduled optical periods during its maiden year in lunar orbit, collecting over 4.6 billion spectra covering most of the lunar surface. These imaging periods (November 2008-February 2009 and April 2009-August 2009) correspond to times of equatorial solar zenith angle less than sixty degrees, relative to the Chandrayaan-1 orbit. The vast majority of the data collected in these first two optical periods are in Global Mode (85 binned spectral bands from 460 to 2976 nanometers with a 2-by-2 binned angular pixel size of 1.4 milliradians). Full-resolution Target Mode data (259 spectral bands and 0.7 milliradian pixels) will be the focus of the remaining two collection periods. Chandrayaan-1 operated initially in a 100-kilometer polar orbit, yielding 70 meter Target pixels and 140 meter Global pixels. The orbit was raised on May 20, 2009, during Optical Period 2, to a nominal 200 kilometer altitude, effectively doubling the pixel spatial sizes. While the high spatial and spectral resolutions of the data allow detailed examination of specific local areas on the Moon, they can also reveal remarkable features when combined, processed and viewed in a global context. Using preliminary calibration and selenolocation, we have explored the spectral and spatial properties of the Moon as a whole as revealed by M3. The data display striking new diversity and information related to surface mineralogy, distribution of volatiles, thermal processes and photometry. Large volumes of complex imaging spectrometry data are, by their nature, simultaneously information-rich and challenging to process. For an initial assessment of the gross information content of the data set we performed a Principal Components analysis on the entire suite of Global Mode imagery. More than a dozen linearly independent spectral dimensions are present, even at the global scale. An animation of a Grand Tour Projection, sweeping a three-dimensional red/green/blue image visualization window through the M3 hyperdimensional spectral space, confirms both spatially and spectrally that the M3 data will revolutionize our understanding of our nearest celestial neighbor.

EPA Solar Utilization in Higher Education Networking and Information Sharing Group

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's Green Power Partnership has a number of initiatives that focus on the collective green power efforts within specific sectors and renewable energy procurement strategies, which provide recognition opportunities for Partners and increase awareness.

75 FR 57492 - Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB American Recovery and Reinvestment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-21

... Energy and Green retrofit Investment program, Indian Community Development Block Grant Program, Native... Proposed Use: The Public Housing Capital Fund, Assisted Housing Stability and Energy and Green retrofit...

Processing of spatial and non-spatial information in rats with lesions of the medial and lateral entorhinal cortex: Environmental complexity matters.

PubMed

Rodo, Christophe; Sargolini, Francesca; Save, Etienne

2017-03-01

The entorhinal-hippocampal circuitry has been suggested to play an important role in episodic memory but the contribution of the entorhinal cortex remains elusive. Predominant theories propose that the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) processes spatial information whereas the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) processes non spatial information. A recent study using an object exploration task has suggested that the involvement of the MEC and LEC spatial and non-spatial information processing could be modulated by the amount of information to be processed, i.e. environmental complexity. To address this hypothesis we used an object exploration task in which rats with excitotoxic lesions of the MEC and LEC had to detect spatial and non-spatial novelty among a set of objects and we varied environmental complexity by decreasing the number of objects or amount of object diversity. Reducing diversity resulted in restored ability to process spatial and non-spatial information in MEC and LEC groups, respectively. Reducing the number of objects yielded restored ability to process non-spatial information in the LEC group but not the ability to process spatial information in the MEC group. The findings indicate that the MEC and LEC are not strictly necessary for spatial and non-spatial processing but that their involvement depends on the complexity of the information to be processed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chlorogenic acid oxidation-induced greening of sunflower butter cookies as a function of different sweeteners and storage conditions.

PubMed

Liang, Sihui; Were, Lilian M

2018-02-15

Sunflower butter use as an allergen-free alternative to tree and legume nut butter in baking is limited by chlorogenic acid induced greening that occurs at alkaline pH. Limited information is available on controlling this greening in a food matrix. This study examined how different liquid sweeteners and relative humidity influenced greening of sunflower butter cookies. Doughs had similar initial pH (7.52-7.66) which increased to 8.44-9.13 after baking as ranked: xylitol>maple syrup>corn syrup>honey>agave syrup. Cookies made with maple syrup had the highest moisture and greening corresponding with lowest free chlorogenic acid. The % greening followed the same trend as greening intensity, and was positively correlated (r=0.9101) with chlorogenic-lysine adduct content. Our findings provide an ingredient solution to controlling greening, as results demonstrate that greening can be promoted with high relative humidity storage, and use of high moisture and pH ingredients. Unwanted greening can be inhibited by simply changing the liquid sweetener. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Status and Trends in the U.S. Voluntary Green Power Market (2014 Data)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Shaughnessy, Eric; Heeter, Jenny; Liu, Chang

2015-10-16

NREL's annual report on green power markets summarizes status and trends in the voluntary demand for renewable energy. U.S. green power markets have become more complex over time as state-level policies have enabled more avenues for green power purchases. In recent years, community solar, community choice aggregation (CCA), and voluntary power purchase agreements (PPAs) have significantly increased the number of U.S. voluntary green power customers. The community solar model has grown rapidly with 90 projects in 25 states by 2015. Renewable energy sales in CCAs declined slightly in 2014 in response to less favorable economic conditions in Illinois. At themore » same time, several California CCAs continued to grow, and many more communities are planning to pursue green power through aggregation. Voluntary green power purchasing through bi-lateral PPAs took off in 2014 due to several large-scale agreements signed by information and communication technology firms. Traditional green power options, such as utility green pricing programs and voluntary RECs markets, also grew in 2014. Current trends suggest strong continued growth in U.S. voluntary green power markets.« less

More than a memory: Confirmatory visual search is not caused by remembering a visual feature.

PubMed

Rajsic, Jason; Pratt, Jay

2017-10-01

Previous research has demonstrated a preference for positive over negative information in visual search; asking whether a target object is green biases search towards green objects, even when this entails more perceptual processing than searching non-green objects. The present study investigated whether this confirmatory search bias is due to the presence of one particular (e.g., green) color in memory during search. Across two experiments, we show that this is not the critical factor in generating a confirmation bias in search. Search slowed proportionally to the number of stimuli whose color matched the color held in memory only when the color was remembered as part of the search instructions. These results suggest that biased search for information is due to a particular attentional selection strategy, and not to memory-driven attentional biases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improving the Non-Hydrostatic Numerical Dust Model by Integrating Soil Moisture and Greenness Vegetation Fraction Data with Different Spatiotemporal Resolutions.

PubMed

Yu, Manzhu; Yang, Chaowei

2016-01-01

Dust storms are devastating natural disasters that cost billions of dollars and many human lives every year. Using the Non-Hydrostatic Mesoscale Dust Model (NMM-dust), this research studies how different spatiotemporal resolutions of two input parameters (soil moisture and greenness vegetation fraction) impact the sensitivity and accuracy of a dust model. Experiments are conducted by simulating dust concentration during July 1-7, 2014, for the target area covering part of Arizona and California (31, 37, -118, -112), with a resolution of ~ 3 km. Using ground-based and satellite observations, this research validates the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of dust storm output from the NMM-dust, and quantifies model error using measurements of four evaluation metrics (mean bias error, root mean square error, correlation coefficient and fractional gross error). Results showed that the default configuration of NMM-dust (with a low spatiotemporal resolution of both input parameters) generates an overestimation of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD). Although it is able to qualitatively reproduce the temporal trend of the dust event, the default configuration of NMM-dust cannot fully capture its actual spatial distribution. Adjusting the spatiotemporal resolution of soil moisture and vegetation cover datasets showed that the model is sensitive to both parameters. Increasing the spatiotemporal resolution of soil moisture effectively reduces model's overestimation of AOD, while increasing the spatiotemporal resolution of vegetation cover changes the spatial distribution of reproduced dust storm. The adjustment of both parameters enables NMM-dust to capture the spatial distribution of dust storms, as well as reproducing more accurate dust concentration.

Relationship of Climate, Geography, and Geology to the Incidence of Rift Valley Fever in Kenya during the 2006–2007 Outbreak

PubMed Central

Hightower, Allen; Kinkade, Carl; Nguku, Patrick M.; Anyangu, Amwayi; Mutonga, David; Omolo, Jared; Njenga, M. Kariuki; Feikin, Daniel R.; Schnabel, David; Ombok, Maurice; Breiman, Robert F.

2012-01-01

We estimated Rift Valley fever (RVF) incidence as a function of geological, geographical, and climatological factors during the 2006–2007 RVF epidemic in Kenya. Location information was obtained for 214 of 340 (63%) confirmed and probable RVF cases that occurred during an outbreak from November 1, 2006 to February 28, 2007. Locations with subtypes of solonetz, calcisols, solonchaks, and planosols soil types were highly associated with RVF occurrence during the outbreak period. Increased rainfall and higher greenness measures before the outbreak were associated with increased risk. RVF was more likely to occur on plains, in densely bushed areas, at lower elevations, and in the Somalia acacia ecological zone. Cases occurred in three spatial temporal clusters that differed by the date of associated rainfall, soil type, and land usage. PMID:22302875

Probing short-range protein Brownian motion in the cytoplasm of living cells.

PubMed

Di Rienzo, Carmine; Piazza, Vincenzo; Gratton, Enrico; Beltram, Fabio; Cardarelli, Francesco

2014-12-23

The translational motion of molecules in cells deviates from what is observed in dilute solutions. Theoretical models provide explanations for this effect but with predictions that drastically depend on the nanoscale organization assumed for macromolecular crowding agents. A conclusive test of the nature of the translational motion in cells is missing owing to the lack of techniques capable of probing crowding with the required temporal and spatial resolution. Here we show that fluorescence-fluctuation analysis of raster scans at variable timescales can provide this information. By using green fluorescent proteins in cells, we measure protein motion at the unprecedented timescale of 1 μs, unveiling unobstructed Brownian motion from 25 to 100 nm, and partially suppressed diffusion above 100 nm. Furthermore, experiments on model systems attribute this effect to the presence of relatively immobile structures rather than to diffusing crowding agents. We discuss the implications of these results for intracellular processes.

Scanning light-sheet microscopy in the whole mouse brain with HiLo background rejection

PubMed Central

Mertz, Jerome; Kim, Jinhyun

2010-01-01

It is well known that light-sheet illumination can enable optically sectioned wide-field imaging of macroscopic samples. However, the optical sectioning capacity of a light-sheet macroscope is undermined by sample-induced scattering or aberrations that broaden the thickness of the sheet illumination. We present a technique to enhance the optical sectioning capacity of a scanning light-sheet microscope by out-of-focus background rejection. The technique, called HiLo microscopy, makes use of two images sequentially acquired with uniform and structured sheet illumination. An optically sectioned image is then synthesized by fusing high and low spatial frequency information from both images. The benefits of combining light-sheet macroscopy and HiLo background rejection are demonstrated in optically cleared whole mouse brain samples, using both green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fluorescence and dark-field scattered light contrast. PMID:20210471

Determining light requirements of groundcover plants from subtropical natural forest using hemispherical photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yi; Zhong, Yonglin; Xu, Mingfeng; Su, Zhiyao

2017-01-01

In order to determine light requirements of indigenous groundcover plants for potential use in urban landscaping, we conducted a plant census in Yinpingshan Nature Reserve, Dongguan, China, and measured canopy structure and understory light regimes using hemispherical photography. We found that canopy openness, transmitted direct solar radiation, and transmitted diffuse solar radiation exhibited highly significant spatial heterogeneity. Species composition and diversity of groundcover plants were highly dependent on canopy structure and understory light condition. Greater diversity and more stems of groundcover plants were associated with greater canopy openness and understory radiation in most cases. Highly significant differences in species composition were detected along canopy openness, transmitted direct solar radiation, and transmitted diffuse solar radiation gradients, respectively. We also detected indicator species for specific understory light regimes, which will provide useful information when applying such species in urban greening under various light environments.

Valley Forge and the Green Bay Packers: Putting Life and Motion into Geography and History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludwig, Gail S.

1993-01-01

Presents a learning activity in which the location of National Football League teams are used to explain geographic concepts. Contends that geography presented in most history textbooks is limited primarily to simple name-place identification. Provides maps and teaching suggestions to help students understand spatial perspective and historical…

Spatially discriminating Russian wheat aphid induced plant stress from other wheat stressing factors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Russian wheat aphid (RWA) Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) is a major pest of winter wheat and barley in the United States. RWA induces stress to the wheat crop by damaging plant foliage, lowering the greenness of plants, and affecting productivity. Multispectral remote sensing is effective at dete...

Estimation of a Historic Mercury Load Function for Lake Michigan using Dated Sediment Cores

EPA Science Inventory

Box cores collected between 1994 and 1996 were used to estimate historic mercury loads to Lake Michigan. Based on a kriging spatial interpolation of 54 Pb-210 dated cores, 228 metric tons of mercury are stored in the lake’s sediments (excluding Green Bay). To estimate the time ...

Competition between stink bug and heliothine caterpillar pests on cotton at within-plant spatial scales

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We investigated competition between Heliothine larvae and the secondary pests, southern green and brown stink bugs at the single boll and multiple boll scales; if competition does not occur with this very close association, it might be unlikely at larger scales with less close association. In both ...

Predicting opportunities for greening and patterns of vegetation on private urban lands

Treesearch

Austin R. Troy; J. Morgan Grove; Jarlath P.M. O' Neil-Dunne; Steward T.A. Pickett; Mary L. Cadenasso

2007-01-01

This paper examines predictors of vegetative cover on private lands in Baltimore, Maryland. Using high-resolution spatial data, we generated two measures: "possible stewardship," which is the proportion of private land that does not have built structures on it and hence has the possibility of supporting vegetation, and "realized stewardship," which...

Detection of rheumatoid arthritis in humans by fluorescence imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebert, Bernd; Dziekan, Thomas; Weissbach, Carmen; Mahler, Marianne; Schirner, Michael; Berliner, Birgitt; Bauer, Daniel; Voigt, Jan; Berliner, Michael; Bahner, Malte L.; Macdonald, Rainer

2010-02-01

The blood pool agent indo-cyanine green (ICG) has been investigated in a prospective clinical study for detection of rheumatoid arthritis using fluorescence imaging. Temporal behavior as well as spatial distribution of fluorescence intensity are suited to differentiate healthy and inflamed finger joints after i.v. injection of an ICG bolus.

[Identification of green tea brand based on hyperspectra imaging technology].

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-Liang; Liu, Xiao-Li; Zhu, Feng-Le; He, Yong

2014-05-01

Hyperspectral imaging technology was developed to identify different brand famous green tea based on PCA information and image information fusion. First 512 spectral images of six brands of famous green tea in the 380 approximately 1 023 nm wavelength range were collected and principal component analysis (PCA) was performed with the goal of selecting two characteristic bands (545 and 611 nm) that could potentially be used for classification system. Then, 12 gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features (i. e., mean, covariance, homogeneity, energy, contrast, correlation, entropy, inverse gap, contrast, difference from the second-order and autocorrelation) based on the statistical moment were extracted from each characteristic band image. Finally, integration of the 12 texture features and three PCA spectral characteristics for each green tea sample were extracted as the input of LS-SVM. Experimental results showed that discriminating rate was 100% in the prediction set. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) assessment methods were used to evaluate the LS-SVM classification algorithm. Overall results sufficiently demonstrate that hyperspectral imaging technology can be used to perform classification of green tea.

Short-wavelength light beam in situ monitoring growth of InGaN/GaN green LEDs by MOCVD

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

In this paper, five-period InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition with 405-nm light beam in situ monitoring system. Based on the signal of 405-nm in situ monitoring system, the related information of growth rate, indium composition and interfacial quality of each InGaN/GaN QW were obtained, and thus, the growth conditions and structural parameters were optimized to grow high-quality InGaN/GaN green LED structure. Finally, a green LED with a wavelength of 509 nm was fabricated under the optimal parameters, which was also proved by ex situ characterization such as high-resolution X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and electroluminescence. The results demonstrated that short-wavelength in situ monitoring system was a quick and non-destroyed tool to provide the growth information on InGaN/GaN, which would accelerate the research and development of GaN-based green LEDs. PMID:22650991

Solutions of the Taylor-Green Vortex Problem Using High-Resolution Explicit Finite Difference Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeBonis, James R.

2013-01-01

A computational fluid dynamics code that solves the compressible Navier-Stokes equations was applied to the Taylor-Green vortex problem to examine the code s ability to accurately simulate the vortex decay and subsequent turbulence. The code, WRLES (Wave Resolving Large-Eddy Simulation), uses explicit central-differencing to compute the spatial derivatives and explicit Low Dispersion Runge-Kutta methods for the temporal discretization. The flow was first studied and characterized using Bogey & Bailley s 13-point dispersion relation preserving (DRP) scheme. The kinetic energy dissipation rate, computed both directly and from the enstrophy field, vorticity contours, and the energy spectra are examined. Results are in excellent agreement with a reference solution obtained using a spectral method and provide insight into computations of turbulent flows. In addition the following studies were performed: a comparison of 4th-, 8th-, 12th- and DRP spatial differencing schemes, the effect of the solution filtering on the results, the effect of large-eddy simulation sub-grid scale models, and the effect of high-order discretization of the viscous terms.

Macrophytobenthos of the Caspian Sea: Diversity, distribution, and productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanian, O. V.

2016-05-01

In the Russian sector of the northern and middle Caspian Sea, 36 species of macroalgae have been identified. The green and red algae from the mesosaprobic group are dominant. An increase in the number of green algae species is revealed. The distribution of macroalgae is inhomogeneous. It is confined to the solid substrate and epiphyton. The biomass of seaweeds reaches 1.5 kg/m2. Climate change has little influence on the appearance of new species in the northern Caspian Sea, but new invaders can appear in the Middle and Southern Caspian. The distribution of aquatic and coastal hygrophytic vegetation shows considerable spatial dynamics due to fluctuations in the level and salinity of the Caspian Sea. The biomass of aquatic vegetation varies in a wide range from 0.5 to 10.0 kg/m2. Spatially detailed mathematical models adequately reflect the changes in key species of aquatic plants in space and time. It is shown that expansion of the zone of the seagrass Zostera noltii to shallow water areas is occurring at present, as well as shrinkage of the range of the dominant littoral aquatic plant Phragmites australis.

Urbanization and Land Use Changes in Peri-Urban Area using Spatial Analysis Methods (Case Study: Ciawi Urban Areas, Bogor Regency)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahya, D. L.; Martini, E.; Kasikoen, K. M.

2018-02-01

Urbanization is shown by the increasing percentage of the population in urban areas. In Indonesia, the percentage of urban population increased dramatically form 17.42% (1971) to 42.15% (2010). This resulted in increased demand for housing. Limited land in the city area push residents looking for an alternative location of his residence to the peri-urban areas. It is accompanied by a process of land conversion from green area into built-up area. Continuous land conversion in peri-urban area is becoming increasingly widespread. Bogor Regency as part of the Jakarta Metropolitan Area is experiencing rapid development. This regency has been experienced land-use change very rapidly from agricultural areas into urban built up areas. Aim of this research is to analyze the effect of urbanization on land use changes in peri-urban areas using spatial analysis methods. This research used case study of Ciawi Urban Area that experiencing rapid development. Method of this research is using descriptive quantitative approach. Data used in this research is primary data (field survey) and secondary data (maps). To analyze land use change is using Geographic Information System (GIS) as spatial analysis methods. The effect of urbanization on land use changes in Ciawi Urban Area from year 2013 to 2015 is significant. The reduction of farm land is around -4.00% and wetland is around - 2.51%. The increasing area for hotel/villa/resort is around 3.10%. Based on this research, local government (Bogor Regency) should be alert to the land use changes that does not comply with the land use plan and also consistently apply the spatial planning.

Portable microwave assisted extraction: An original concept for green analytical chemistry.

PubMed

Perino, Sandrine; Petitcolas, Emmanuel; de la Guardia, Miguel; Chemat, Farid

2013-11-08

This paper describes a portable microwave assisted extraction apparatus (PMAE) for extraction of bioactive compounds especially essential oils and aromas directly in a crop or in a forest. The developed procedure, based on the concept of green analytical chemistry, is appropriate to obtain direct in-field information about the level of essential oils in natural samples and to illustrate green chemical lesson and research. The efficiency of this experiment was validated for the extraction of essential oil of rosemary directly in a crop and allows obtaining a quantitative information on the content of essential oil, which was similar to that obtained by conventional methods in the laboratory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-scale comparison of source parameter estimation using empirical Green's function approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X.; Cheng, Y.

2015-12-01

Analysis of earthquake source parameters requires correction of path effect, site response, and instrument responses. Empirical Green's function (EGF) method is one of the most effective methods in removing path effects and station responses by taking the spectral ratio between a larger and smaller event. Traditional EGF method requires identifying suitable event pairs, and analyze each event individually. This allows high quality estimations for strictly selected events, however, the quantity of resolvable source parameters is limited, which challenges the interpretation of spatial-temporal coherency. On the other hand, methods that exploit the redundancy of event-station pairs are proposed, which utilize the stacking technique to obtain systematic source parameter estimations for a large quantity of events at the same time. This allows us to examine large quantity of events systematically, facilitating analysis of spatial-temporal patterns, and scaling relationship. However, it is unclear how much resolution is scarified during this process. In addition to the empirical Green's function calculation, choice of model parameters and fitting methods also lead to biases. Here, using two regional focused arrays, the OBS array in the Mendocino region, and the borehole array in the Salton Sea geothermal field, I compare the results from the large scale stacking analysis, small-scale cluster analysis, and single event-pair analysis with different fitting methods to systematically compare the results within completely different tectonic environment, in order to quantify the consistency and inconsistency in source parameter estimations, and the associated problems.

Identification of the potential gap areas for the developing green infrastructure in the Urban area using High resolution satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanaparthi, M. B.

2017-12-01

In India urban population is growing day by day which is causing air pollution less air quality finally leading to climate change and global warming. To mitigate the effect of the climate change we need to plant more trees in the urban area. The objective of this study is develop a plan to improve the urban Green Infrastructure (GI) to fight against the climate change and global warming. Improving GI is a challenging and difficult task in the urban areas because land unavailability of land, to overcome the problem greenways is a good the solution. Greenway is a linear open space developed along the rivers, canals, roads in the urban areas to form a network of green spaces. Roads are the most common structures in the urban area. The idea is to develop the greenways alongside the road to connecting the different green spaces. Tree crowns will act as culverts to connect the green spaces. This will require the spatial structure of the green space, distribution of trees along the roads and the gap areas along the road where more trees can be planted. This can be achieved with help of high resolution Satellite Imagery and the object extraction techniques. This study was carried in the city Bhimavaram which is located in state Andhra Pradesh. The final outcome of this study is potential gap areas for planting trees in the city.

Effects of Distant Green Space on Physical Activity in Sydney, Australia.

PubMed

Chong, Shanley; Byun, Roy; Mazumdar, Soumya; Bauman, Adrian; Jalaludin, Bin

2017-01-01

The aim was to investigate the association between distant green space and physical activity modified by local green space. Information about physical activity, demographic and socioeconomic background at the individual level was extracted from the New South Wales Population Health Survey. The proportion of a postcode that was parkland was used as a proxy measure for access to parklands and was calculated for each individual. There was a significant relationship between distant green space and engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at least once a week. No significant relationship was found between adequate physical activity and distant green space. No significant relationships were found between adequate physical activity, engaging in MVPA, and local green space. However, if respondents lived in greater local green space (≥25%), there was a significant relationship between engaging in MVPA at least once a week and distance green space of ≥20%. This study highlights the important effect of distant green space on physical activity. Our findings also suggest that moderate size of local green space together with moderate size of distant green space are important levers for participation of physical activity.

Resident areas and migrations of female green turtles nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hart, Kristen M.; Iverson, Autumn; Benscoter, Allison M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Cherkiss, Michael S.; Pollock, Clayton; Lundgren, Ian; Hillis-Starr, Zandy

2017-01-01

Satellite tracking in marine turtle studies can reveal much about their spatial use of breeding areas, migration zones, and foraging sites. We assessed spatial habitat-use patterns of 10 adult female green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands (BIRNM) from 2011 – 2014. Turtles ranged in size from 89.0 – 115.9 cm CCL (mean + SD = 106.8 + 7.7 cm). The inter-nesting period across all turtles ranged from 31 July to 4 November, and sizes of the 50% core-use areas during inter-nesting ranged from 4.2 – 19.0 km2. Inter-nesting core-use areas were located up to1.4 km from shore and had bathymetry values ranging from -17.0 to -13.0 m. Seven of the ten turtles remained locally resident after the nesting season. Five turtles (50%) foraged around Buck Island, two foraged around the island of St. Croix, and the other three (30%) made longer-distance migrations to Antigua, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Venezuela. Further, five turtles had foraging centroids within protected areas. Delineating spatial areas and identifying temporal periods of nearshore habitat-use can be useful for natural resource managers with responsibility for overseeing vulnerable habitats and protected marine turtle populations.

Temporal and Spatial Distributions of Volatile Organic Compounds Associated with Oil and Gas Development in the Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, R. A.; Soltis, J.; Montague, D. C.

2012-12-01

Oil and gas development has in recent years become associated with the phenomenon of wintertime ground level ozone. Here we present the results of research performed in the Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming. This basin is associated with the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline (PAPA) developments. The focus of our research in this area has been to determine spatial and temporal variations of key ozone precursor compounds. We present temporal VOC data, from our background air sampling location Boulder South Road, that is located 4 miles from the edge of PAPA for 2011. Our linked spatial assessments using canister and passive sampling methods show variations that indicate the importance of different emission sources for a variety of compound classes. For VOC we identify two areas with relatively high VOC concentrations. One is associated with oil and gas production, the other with water treatment. We highlight the importance of the compositional profile of emission processes, as those with higher levels of aromatic VOC have relatively high ozone creation potentials. Effective policy decisions require an understanding of the relationship between air quality measurements and meteorology with emission inventories and modeling. We discuss the problem of gaining a clear focus on a problem that has ever changing conditions.ater Treatment Survey et Gas vs Water Treatment Emission Carbon Distribution

Water availability as a driver of spatial and temporal variability in vegetation in the La Mancha plain (Spain): Implications for the land-surface energy, water and carbon budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Los, Sietse

2017-04-01

Vegetation is water limited in large areas of Spain and therefore a close link exists between vegetation greenness observed from satellite and moisture availability. Here we exploit this link to infer spatial and temporal variability in moisture from MODIS NDVI data and thermal data. Discrepancies in the precipitation - vegetation relationship indicate areas with an alternative supply of water (i.e. not rainfall), this can be natural where moisture is supplied by upwelling groundwater, or can be artificial where crops are irrigated. As a result spatial and temporal variability in vegetation in the La Mancha Plain appears closely linked to topography, geology, rainfall and land use. Crop land shows large variability in year-to-year vegetation greenness; for some areas this variability is linked to variability in rainfall but in other cases this variability is linked to irrigation. The differences in irrigation treatment within one plant functional type, in this case crops, will lead to errors in land surface models when ignored. The magnitude of these effects on the energy, carbon and water balance are assessed at the scale of 250 m to 200 km. Estimating the water balance correctly is of particular important since in some areas in Spain more water is used for irrigation than is supplemented by rainfall.

Association analysis between spatiotemporal variation of vegetation greenness and precipitation/temperature in the Yangtze River Basin (China).

PubMed

Cui, Lifang; Wang, Lunche; Singh, Ramesh P; Lai, Zhongping; Jiang, Liangliang; Yao, Rui

2018-05-23

The variation in vegetation greenness provides good understanding of the sustainable management and monitoring of land surface ecosystems. The present paper discusses the spatial-temporal changes in vegetation and controlling factors in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) using Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the period 2001-2013. Theil-Sen Median trend analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and residual analysis have been used, which shows decreasing trend of the annual mean NDVI over the whole YRB. Spatially, the regions with significant decreasing trends were mainly located in parts of central YRB, and pronounced increasing trends were observed in parts of the eastern and western YRB. The mean NDVI during spring and summer seasons increased, while it decreased during autumn and winter seasons. The seasonal mean NDVI shows spatial heterogeneity due to the vegetation types. The correlation analysis shows a positive relation between NDVI and temperature over most of the YRB, whereas NDVI and precipitation show a negative correlation. The residual analysis shows an increase in NDVI in parts of eastern and western YRB and the decrease in NDVI in the small part of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the mid-western YRB due to human activities. In general, climate factors were the principal drivers of NDVI variation in YRB in recent years.

Green roof rainfall-runoff modelling: is the comparison between conceptual and physically based approaches relevant?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Schertzer, Daniel

2017-04-01

Green roofs are commonly considered as efficient tools to mitigate urban runoff as they can store precipitation, and consequently provide retention and detention performances. Designed as a compromise between water holding capacity, weight and hydraulic conductivity, their substrate is usually an artificial media differentiating significantly from a traditional soil. In order to assess green roofs hydrological performances, many models have been developed. Classified into two categories (conceptual and physically based), they are usually applied to reproduce the discharge of a particular monitored green roof considered as homogeneous. Although the resulted simulations could be satisfactory, the question of robustness and consistency of the calibrated parameters is often not addressed. Here, a modeling framework has been developed to assess the efficiency and the robustness of both modelling approaches (conceptual and physically based) in reproducing green roof hydrological behaviour. SWMM and VS2DT models have been used for this purpose. This work also benefits from an experimental setup where several green roofs differentiated by their substrate thickness and vegetation cover are monitored. Based on the data collected for several rainfall events, it has been studied how the calibrated parameters are effectively linked to their physical properties and how they can vary from one green roof configuration to another. Although both models reproduce correctly the observed discharges in most of the cases, their calibrated parameters exhibit a high inconsistency. For a same green roof configuration, these parameters can vary significantly from one rainfall event to another, even if they are supposed to be linked to the green roof characteristics (roughness, residual moisture content for instance). They can also be different from one green roof configuration to another although the implemented substrate is the same. Finally, it appears very difficult to find any relationship between the calibrated parameters supposed to represent similar characteristics in both models (porosity, hydraulic conductivity). These results illustrate the difficulty to reproduce the hydrological behaviour of such an artificial media constituting green roof substrate. They justify the development of new methods able to take to into account the spatial heterogeneity of the substrate for instance.

Design and implementation of spatial knowledge grid for integrated spatial analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiangnan; Guan, Li; Wang, Ping

2006-10-01

Supported by spatial information grid(SIG), the spatial knowledge grid (SKG) for integrated spatial analysis utilizes the middleware technology in constructing the spatial information grid computation environment and spatial information service system, develops spatial entity oriented spatial data organization technology, carries out the profound computation of the spatial structure and spatial process pattern on the basis of Grid GIS infrastructure, spatial data grid and spatial information grid (specialized definition). At the same time, it realizes the complex spatial pattern expression and the spatial function process simulation by taking the spatial intelligent agent as the core to establish space initiative computation. Moreover through the establishment of virtual geographical environment with man-machine interactivity and blending, complex spatial modeling, network cooperation work and spatial community decision knowledge driven are achieved. The framework of SKG is discussed systematically in this paper. Its implement flow and the key technology with examples of overlay analysis are proposed as well.

EVALUATING METRICS FOR GREEN CHEMISTRIES: INFORMATION AND CALCULATION NEEDS

EPA Science Inventory

Research within the U.S. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory is developing a methodology for the evaluation of green chemistries. This methodology called GREENSCOPE (Gauging Reaction Effectiveness for the ENvironmental Sustainability of Chemistries with a multi-Ob...

Nesting ecology of Chelonia mydas (Testudines: Cheloniidae) on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, Cuba.

PubMed

Azanza Ricardo, Julia; Ibarra Martín, Maria E; González Sansón, Gaspar; Abreu Grobois, F Alberto; Eckert, Karen L; Espinosa López, Georgina; Oyama, Ken

2013-12-01

The nesting colony of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Guanahacabibes Peninsula Biosphere Reserve and National Park is one of the largest in the Cuban archipelago; however, little information about its nesting ecology is available. Temporal and spatial variation in nesting and reproductive success as well as morphometric characteristics of gravid females were used to ecologically characterize this colony. Nine beaches of the Southernmost coast of Guanahacabibes Peninsula were monitored for 14 years (1998-2012) to determine green turtle nesting activity, from May to September (peak nesting season in this area). Beach dimensions were measured to determine nest density using the length and the area. Afterward the beaches were divided in two categories, index and secondary. Females were measured and tagged to compare new tagged females (823) with returning tagged females (140). Remigration interval was also determined. Temporal variation was identified as the annual number of nesting emergences and oviposits per female, with apparent peaks in reproductive activity on a biennial cycle in the first six years followed by periods of annual increase in nest number (2003-2008) and periods of decreasing number of nests (2010-2012). We also found intra-seasonal variation with the highest nesting activity in July, particularly in the second half of the month. The peak emergence time was 22:00-02:00 hr. In terms of spatial variation, smaller beaches had the highest nest density and nesting was more frequent 6-9m from the high tide line, where hatchling production was maximized although hatchling success was high on average, above 80%. Morphometric analysis of females was made and newly tagged turtles were smaller on average than remigrants. Our results are only a first attempt at characterizing Guanahacabibes' populations but have great value for establishing conservation priorities within the context of national management plans, and for efficient monitoring and protection of nesting beaches.

Supplemental feeding alters migration of a temperate ungulate.

PubMed

Jones, Jennifer D; Kauffman, Matthew J; Monteith, Kevin L; Scurlock, Brandon M; Albeke, Shannon E; Cross, Paul C

Conservation of migration requires information on behavior and environmental determinants. The spatial distribution of forage resources, which migration exploits, often are altered and may have subtle, unintended consequences. Supplemental feeding is a common management practice, particularly for ungulates in North America and Europe, and carryover effects on behavior of this anthropogenic manipulation of forage are expected in theory, but have received limited empirical evaluation, particularly regarding effects on migration. We used global positioning system (GPS) data to evaluate the influence of winter feeding on migration behavior of 219 adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) from 18 fed ranges and 4 unfed ranges in western Wyoming. Principal component analysis revealed that the migratory behavior of fed and unfed elk differed in distance migrated, and the timing of arrival to, duration on, and departure from summer range. Fed elk migrated 19.2 km less, spent 11 more days on stopover sites, arrived to summer range 5 days later, resided on summer range 26 fewer days, and departed in the autumn 10 days earlier than unfed elk. Time-to-event models indicated that differences in migratory behavior between fed and unfed elk were caused by altered sensitivity to the environmental drivers of migration. In spring, unfed elk migrated following plant green-up closely, whereas fed elk departed the feedground but lingered on transitional range, thereby delaying their arrival to summer range. In autumn, fed elk were more responsive to low temperatures and precipitation events, causing earlier departure from summer range than unfed elk. Overall, supplemental feeding disconnected migration by fed elk from spring green-up and decreased time spent on summer range, thereby reducing access to quality forage. Our findings suggest that ungulate migration can be substantially altered by changes to the spatial distribution of resources, including those of anthropogenic origin, and that management practices applied in one season may have unintended behavioral consequences in subsequent seasons.

Supplemental feeding alters migration of a temperate ungulate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Jennifer D; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Monteith, Kevin L.; Scurlock, Brandon M.; Albeke, Shannon E.; Cross, Paul C.

2014-01-01

Conservation of migration requires information on behavior and environmental determinants. The spatial distribution of forage resources, which migration exploits, often are altered and may have subtle, unintended consequences. Supplemental feeding is a common management practice, particularly for ungulates in North America and Europe, and carryover effects on behavior of this anthropogenic manipulation of forage are expected in theory, but have received limited empirical evaluation, particularly regarding effects on migration. We used global positioning system (GPS) data to evaluate the influence of winter feeding on migration behavior of 219 adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) from 18 fed ranges and 4 unfed ranges in western Wyoming. Principal component analysis revealed that the migratory behavior of fed and unfed elk differed in distance migrated, and the timing of arrival to, duration on, and departure from summer range. Fed elk migrated 19.2 km less, spent 11 more days on stopover sites, arrived to summer range 5 days later, resided on summer range 26 fewer days, and departed in the autumn 10 days earlier than unfed elk. Time-to-event models indicated that differences in migratory behavior between fed and unfed elk were caused by altered sensitivity to the environmental drivers of migration. In spring, unfed elk migrated following plant green-up closely, whereas fed elk departed the feedground but lingered on transitional range, thereby delaying their arrival to summer range. In autumn, fed elk were more responsive to low temperatures and precipitation events, causing earlier departure from summer range than unfed elk. Overall, supplemental feeding disconnected migration by fed elk from spring green-up and decreased time spent on summer range, thereby reducing access to quality forage. Our findings suggest that ungulate migration can be substantially altered by changes to the spatial distribution of resources, including those of anthropogenic origin, and that management practices applied in one season may have unintended behavioral consequences in subsequent seasons.

Metadata Creation, Management and Search System for your Scientific Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devarakonda, R.; Palanisamy, G.

2012-12-01

Mercury Search Systems is a set of tools for creating, searching, and retrieving of biogeochemical metadata. Mercury toolset provides orders of magnitude improvements in search speed, support for any metadata format, integration with Google Maps for spatial queries, multi-facetted type search, search suggestions, support for RSS (Really Simple Syndication) delivery of search results, and enhanced customization to meet the needs of the multiple projects that use Mercury. Mercury's metadata editor provides a easy way for creating metadata and Mercury's search interface provides a single portal to search for data and information contained in disparate data management systems, each of which may use any metadata format including FGDC, ISO-19115, Dublin-Core, Darwin-Core, DIF, ECHO, and EML. Mercury harvests metadata and key data from contributing project servers distributed around the world and builds a centralized index. The search interfaces then allow the users to perform a variety of fielded, spatial, and temporal searches across these metadata sources. This centralized repository of metadata with distributed data sources provides extremely fast search results to the user, while allowing data providers to advertise the availability of their data and maintain complete control and ownership of that data. Mercury is being used more than 14 different projects across 4 federal agencies. It was originally developed for NASA, with continuing development funded by NASA, USGS, and DOE for a consortium of projects. Mercury search won the NASA's Earth Science Data Systems Software Reuse Award in 2008. References: R. Devarakonda, G. Palanisamy, B.E. Wilson, and J.M. Green, "Mercury: reusable metadata management data discovery and access system", Earth Science Informatics, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 87-94, May 2010. R. Devarakonda, G. Palanisamy, J.M. Green, B.E. Wilson, "Data sharing and retrieval using OAI-PMH", Earth Science Informatics DOI: 10.1007/s12145-010-0073-0, (2010);

Evaluation of impact of earthquake on agriculture in Nepal based on remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekiyama, Ayako; Shimada, Sawahiko; Okazawa, Hiromu; Mihara, Machito; Kuo, Kuang Ting

2016-07-01

The big earthquake happening on April, 2015 killed over than 8000 people in Nepal. The effect of earthquake not only affected safety of local people but also agricultural field. Agricultural economy dominates income of local people. Therefore, restoration of agricultural areas are required for improving life of local people. However, lack of information about agricultural areas is main problem for local government to assess and restore damaged agricultural areas. Remote sensing was applied for accessing damaged agricultural field due to its advantages in observing responds of environment without temporal and spatial restriction. Accordingly, the objective of the study is to evaluate impact of earthquake on agriculture in Nepal based on remote sensing. The experimental procedure includes conducting the impact of earthquake on changes of total agricultural area, and analysis of response of greenness affected by earthquake in agricultural land. For conducting agricultural land changes, land use map was first created and classified into four categories: road, city, forest, and agricultural land. Changes before and after earthquake in total area of agricultural land were analyzed by GIS. Moreover, vegetation index was used as indicator for evaluating greenness responds in agricultural land and computed based on high-resolution satellite imagery such as World view-3. Finally, the conclusion of the study and suggestions will be made and provided for helping local government in Nepal restore agricultural areas.

Detecting neighborhood vacancy level in Detroit city using remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, X.; Wang, R.; Yang, A.; Vojnovic, I.

2015-12-01

With the decline of manufacturing industries, many Rust Belt cities, which enjoyed prosperity in the past, are now suffering from financial stress, population decrease and urban poverty. As a consequence, urban neighborhoods deteriorate. Houses are abandoned and left to decay. Neighborhood vacancy brings on many problems. Governments and agencies try to survey the vacancy level by going through neighborhoods and record the condition of each structure, or by buying information of active mailing addresses to get approximate neighborhood vacancy rate. But these methods are expensive and time consuming. Remote sensing provides a quick and comparatively cost-efficient way to access spatial information on social and demographical attributes of urban area. In our study, we use remote sensing to detect a major aspect of neighborhood deterioration, the vacancy levels of neighborhoods in Detroit city. We compared different neighborhoods using Landsat 8 images in 2013. We calculated NDVI that indicates the greenness of neighborhoods with the image in July 2013. Then we used thermal infrared information from image in February to detect human activities. In winter, abandoned houses will not consume so much energy and therefore neighborhoods with more abandoned houses will have smaller urban heat island effect. Controlling for the differences in terms of the greenness obtained from summer time image, we used thermal infrared from winter image to determine the temperatures of urban surface. We find that hotter areas are better maintained and have lower house vacancy rates. We also compared the changes over time for neighborhoods using Landsat 7 images from 2003 to 2013. The results show that deteriorated neighborhoods have increased NDVI in summer and get colder in winter due to abandonment of houses. Our results show the potential application of remote sensing as an easily accessed and efficient way to obtain data about social conditions in cities. We used the neighborhood vacancy survey data for Detroit data (2013-2014) to validate the results of vacancy levels of local neighborhood.

Chinese green product standards: international experience and pathway for a unified system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, Fu; Ling, Lin; Dongfeng, Gao; Shuo, Yang

2017-11-01

The establishment of a unified green product standard system is of great importance regarding the effective supply of green products and meeting trend of the consumption upgrade. It also is helpful to reduce the cost of green information disclosure of enterprises, and facilitate the supply-side structural reform. Based on the experience of developing and implementing green product standards in the EU, Germany, America, Japan and so on, combined with current Chinese standard systems including environmental protection, energy conservation, water conservation, low carbon, recycling, regeneration and organic, with the adoption of the life cycle thinking, this paper brings forward basic requirements on organizations including pollutant emissions, establishment of management system, energy conservation and emission reduction technology and green supply chain management, and proposes indicator requirements on product including resource attributes, energy attributes, environmental attributes and quality attributes, so as to guide the establishment of green product evaluation standards in the context of China.

Analytical solutions for solute transport in groundwater and riverine flow using Green's Function Method and pertinent coordinate transformation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanskrityayn, Abhishek; Suk, Heejun; Kumar, Naveen

2017-04-01

In this study, analytical solutions of one-dimensional pollutant transport originating from instantaneous and continuous point sources were developed in groundwater and riverine flow using both Green's Function Method (GFM) and pertinent coordinate transformation method. Dispersion coefficient and flow velocity are considered spatially and temporally dependent. The spatial dependence of the velocity is linear, non-homogeneous and that of dispersion coefficient is square of that of velocity, while the temporal dependence is considered linear, exponentially and asymptotically decelerating and accelerating. Our proposed analytical solutions are derived for three different situations depending on variations of dispersion coefficient and velocity, respectively which can represent real physical processes occurring in groundwater and riverine systems. First case refers to steady solute transport situation in steady flow in which dispersion coefficient and velocity are only spatially dependent. The second case represents transient solute transport in steady flow in which dispersion coefficient is spatially and temporally dependent while the velocity is spatially dependent. Finally, the third case indicates transient solute transport in unsteady flow in which both dispersion coefficient and velocity are spatially and temporally dependent. The present paper demonstrates the concentration distribution behavior from a point source in realistically occurring flow domains of hydrological systems including groundwater and riverine water in which the dispersivity of pollutant's mass is affected by heterogeneity of the medium as well as by other factors like velocity fluctuations, while velocity is influenced by water table slope and recharge rate. Such capabilities give the proposed method's superiority about application of various hydrological problems to be solved over other previously existing analytical solutions. Especially, to author's knowledge, any other solution doesn't exist for both spatially and temporally variations of dispersion coefficient and velocity. In this study, the existing analytical solutions from previous widely known studies are used for comparison as validation tools to verify the proposed analytical solution as well as the numerical code of the Two-Dimensional Subsurface Flow, Fate and Transport of Microbes and Chemicals (2DFATMIC) code and the developed 1D finite difference code (FDM). All such solutions show perfect match with the respective proposed solutions.

Irrigation scheduling of green areas based on soil moisture estimation by the active heated fiber optic distributed temperature sensing AHFO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubelzu, Sergio; Rodriguez-Sinobas, Leonor; Sobrino, Fernando; Sánchez, Raúl

2017-04-01

Irrigation programing determines when and how much water apply to fulfill the plant water requirements depending of its phenology stage and location, and soil water content. Thus, the amount of water, the irrigation time and the irrigation frequency are variables that must be estimated. Likewise, irrigation programing has been based in approaches such as: the determination of plant evapotranspiration and the maintenance of soil water status between a given interval or soil matrix potential. Most of these approaches are based on the measurements of soil water sensors (or tensiometers) located at specific points within the study area which lack of the spatial information of the monitor variable. The information provided in such as few points might not be adequate to characterize the soil water distribution in irrigation systems with poor water application uniformity and thus, it would lead to wrong decisions in irrigation scheduling. Nevertheless, it can be overcome if the active heating pulses distributed fiber optic temperature measurement (AHFO) is used. This estimates the temperature variation along a cable of fiber optic and then, it is correlated with the soil water content. This method applies a known amount of heat to the soil and monitors the temperature evolution, which mainly depends on the soil moisture content. Thus, it allows estimations of soil water content every 12.5 cm along the fiber optic cable, as long as 1500 m (with 2 % accuracy) , every second. This study presents the results obtained in a green area located at the ETSI Agronómica, Agroalimentaria y Biosistesmas in Madrid. The area is irrigated by an sprinkler irrigation system which applies water with low uniformity. Also, it has deployed and installation of 147 m of fiber optic cable at 15 cm depth. The Distribute Temperature Sensing unit was a SILIXA ULTIMA SR (Silixa Ltd, UK) with spatial and temporal resolution of 0.29 m and 1 s, respectively. In this study, heat pulses of 7 W/m for 2 min were applied uniformly along the fiber optic cable and the thermal response on an adjacent cable was monitored prior, during and after the irrigation event. Data was logged every 0.3 m and every 5 s then, the heating and drying phase integer (called Tcum) was determined following the approach of Sayde et al., (2010). Thus, the infiltration and redistribution of soil water content was fully characterized. The results are promising since the water spatial variability within the soil is known and it can be correlated with the water distribution in the irrigation unit to make better irrigation scheduling in the green area improving water/nutrient/energy efficiency.. Reference Létourneau, G., Caron, J., Anderson, L., & Cormier, J. (2015). Matric potential-based irrigation management of field-grown strawberry: Effects on yield and water use efficiency. Agricultural Water Management, 161, 102-113. Liang, X., Liakos, V., Wendroth, O., & Vellidis, G. (2016). Scheduling irrigation using an approach based on the van Genuchten model. Agricultural Water Management, 176, 170-179. Sayde,C., Gregory, C., Gil-Rodriguez, M., Tufillaro, N., Tyler, S., van de Giesen, N., English, M. Cuenca, R. and Selker, J. S.. 2010. Feasibility of soil moisture monitoring with heated fiber optics. Water Resources Research. Vol.46 (6). DOI: 10.1029/2009WR007846 Stirzaker, R. J., Maeko, T. C., Annandale, J. G., Steyn, J. M., Adhanom, G. T., & Mpuisang, T. (2017). Scheduling irrigation from wetting front depth. Agricultural Water Management, 179, 306-313.

Multiwavelength micromirrors in the cuticle of scarab beetle Chrysina gloriosa.

PubMed

Agez, Gonzague; Bayon, Chloé; Mitov, Michel

2017-01-15

Beetles from the genus Chrysina show vivid reflections from bright green to metallic silver-gold as a consequence of the cholesteric liquid crystal organization of chitin molecules. Particularly, the cuticle of Chrysina gloriosa exhibits green and silver stripes. By combining confocal microscopy and spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy and numerical simulations, the relationship between the reflectance and the structural parameters for both stripes at the micro- and nanoscales are established. Over the visible and near IR spectra, polygonal cells in tessellated green stripes behave as multiwavelength selective micro-mirrors and the silver stripes as specular broadband mirrors. Thermoregulation, conspecifics or intra-species communication, or camouflage against predators are discussed as possible functions. As a prerequisite to bio-inspired artificial replicas, the physical characteristics of the polygonal texture in Chrysina gloriosa cuticle are compared to their equivalents in synthetic cholesteric oligomers and their fundamental differences are ascertained. It is shown that the cuticle has concave cells whereas the artificial films have convex cells, contrary to expectation and assumption in the literature. The present results may provide inspiration for fabricating multiwavelength selective micromirrors or spatial wavelength-specific light modulators. Many insects own a tessellated carapace with bumps, pits or indentations. Little is known on the physical properties of these geometric variations and biological functions are unknown or still debated. We show that the polygonal cells in scarab beetle Chrysina gloriosa behave as multiwavelength selective micromirrors over the visible and infrared spectra, with a variety of spatial patterns. In the context of biomimetic materials, we demonstrate that the carapace has concave cells whereas the artificial films have convex cells, contrary to expectation in the literature. Thermoregulation, communication or camouflage are discussed as advanced functions. Results may provide inspiration for fabricating spatial wavelength-specific light modulators and optical packet switching in routing technologies. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactions between the visual and the magnetoreception system: different effects of bichromatic light regimes on the directional behavior of migratory birds.

PubMed

Wiltschko, Roswitha; Dehe, Lars; Gehring, Dennis; Thalau, Peter; Wiltschko, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

When magnetic compass orientation of migratory robins was tested, the birds proved well oriented under low intensity monochromatic light of shorter wavelengths up to 565 nm green; from 583 nm yellow onward, they were disoriented. In the present study, we tested robins under bichromatic lights composed (1) of 424 nm blue and 565 nm green and (2) of 565 nm green and 583 nm yellow at two intensities. Under dim blue-green light with a total quantal flux of ca. 8 × 10(15)quanta/sm(2), the birds were well oriented in their migratory direction by their inclination compass; under blue-green light of twice this intensity, their orientation became axial. In both cases, the magnetic directional information was mediated by the radical pair processes in the eye. When green and yellow light were combined, however, the nature of the behavior changed. Under green-yellow light of the higher intensity, the birds showed a 'fixed direction' response that was polar, no longer controlled by the normal inclination compass; under dim green-yellow light, the response became axial. Under these two light conditions, the respective directional information was mediated by the magnetite-based receptors in the skin of the upper beak. Apparently, yellow light leads to a change from one magnetoreception system to the other. How this change is effected is still unknown; it appears to reflect complex interactions between the visual and the two magnetoreception systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Underwater optical communications using orbital angular momentum-based spatial division multiplexing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willner, Alan E.; Zhao, Zhe; Ren, Yongxiong; Li, Long; Xie, Guodong; Song, Haoqian; Liu, Cong; Zhang, Runzhou; Bao, Changjing; Pang, Kai

2018-02-01

In this paper, we review high-capacity underwater optical communications using orbital angular momentum (OAM)-based spatial division multiplexing. We discuss methods to generate and detect blue-green optical data-carrying OAM beams as well as various underwater effects, including attenuation, scattering, current, and thermal gradients on OAM beams. Attention is also given to the system performance of high-capacity underwater optical communication links using OAM-based space division multiplexing. The paper closes with a discussion of a digital signal processing (DSP) algorithm to mitigate the inter-mode crosstalk caused by thermal gradients.

Schools as Ecosystems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seydel, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Creating green schools often hinges on administrators. Principals, superintendents, and other school leaders have the authority and skill sets to make important, even if incremental, progress toward creating green learning environments. This article provides background and reference information that will help administrators with their initial…

SIMPLIFYING EVALUATIONS OF GREEN CHEMISTRIES: HOW MUCH INFORMATION DO WE NEED?

EPA Science Inventory

Research within the U.S. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory is developing a methodology for the evaluation of green chemistries. This methodology called GREENSCOPE (Gauging Reaction Effectiveness for the Environmental Sustainability of Chemistries with a multi-Ob...

Watershed Education for Sustainable Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stapp, William B.

2000-01-01

Presents information on the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN), which is a global communication system for analyzing watershed usage and monitoring the quality and quantity of river water. Describes GREEN's watershed educational model and strategies and international development. (Contains 67 references.) (Author/YDS)

Measurements of Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Other Related Tracers at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution in an Urban Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forgeron, J.; Yasuhara, S.; Rella, C.; Jacobson, G. A.; Chiao, S.

2012-12-01

Measurements of Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Other Related Tracers at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution in an Urban Environment Jeff Forgeron1,2, Scott Yasuhara1,2, Chris Rella1, Gloria Jacobson1, Sen Chiao2 1Picarro Inc., 3105 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara California 95054 USA 2San Jose State University, 1 Washington Square, San Jose California USA JeffAForgeron@gmail.com The ability to quantify sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and methane on the urban scale is essential for understanding the atmospheric drivers to global climate change. In the 'top-down' approach, overall carbon fluxes are determined by combining remote measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations with complex atmospheric transport models, and these emissions measurements are compared to 'bottom-up' predictions based on detailed inventories of the sources and sinks of carbon, both anthropogenic and biogenic in nature. This approach, which has proven to be effective at continental scales, becomes challenging to implement at urban scales, due to poorly understood atmospheric transport models and high variability of the emissions sources in space (e.g., factories, highways, green spaces) and time (rush hours, factory shifts and shutdowns, and diurnal and seasonal variation in residential energy use). New measurement and analysis techniques are required to make sense of the carbon dioxide signal in cities. Here we present detailed, high spatial- and temporal- resolution greenhouse gas measurements made by multiple Picarro-CRDS analyzers in Silicon Valley in California. Real-time carbon dioxide data from a 12-month period are combined with real-time carbon monoxide, methane, acetylene, and carbon-13 measurements to partition the observed carbon dioxide concentrations between different anthropogenic sectors (e.g., transport, residential) and biogenic sources. Real-time wind rose data are also combined with real-time methane data to help identify the direction of local emissions of methane. The ratio between carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is shown to vary over more than a factor of two from season to season or even from day to night, indicating rapid but frequent shifts in the balance between different carbon dioxide sources. Additional information is given by the carbon-13 signature and by acetylene, a fossil fuel combustion tracer that provides complimentary information to carbon monoxide. In spring and summer, the combined signal of the urban center and the surrounding biosphere and urban green space is explored. These methods show great promise for identifying, quantifying, and partitioning urban-ecological (carbon) emissions. Figure 1: The left graph shows the change in diurnal cycle of CO2 (with the traffic signal removed) over a five month period. The right graph is the transit CO2 signal from weekdays and weekends, showing clear weekday enhancement of transit emissions.

Approach to spatial information security based on digital certificate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cong, Shengri; Zhang, Kai; Chen, Baowen

2005-11-01

With the development of the online applications of geographic information systems (GIS) and the spatial information services, the spatial information security becomes more important. This work introduced digital certificates and authorization schemes into GIS to protect the crucial spatial information combining the techniques of the role-based access control (RBAC), the public key infrastructure (PKI) and the privilege management infrastructure (PMI). We investigated the spatial information granularity suited for sensitivity marking and digital certificate model that fits the need of GIS security based on the semantics analysis of spatial information. It implements a secure, flexible, fine-grained data access based on public technologies in GIS in the world.

Biological and climate factors co-regulated spatial-temporal dynamics of vegetation autumn phenology on the Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zu, Jiaxing; Zhang, Yangjian; Huang, Ke; Liu, Yaojie; Chen, Ning; Cong, Nan

2018-07-01

Climate change is receiving mounting attentions from various fields and phenology is a commonly used indicator signaling vegetation responses to climate change. Previous phenology studies have mostly focused on vegetation greening-up and its climatic driving factors, while autumn phenology has been barely touched upon. In this study, vegetation phenological metrics were extracted from MODIS NDVI data and their temporal and spatial patterns were explored on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The results showed that the start of season (SOS) has significantly earlier trend in the first decade, while the end of season (EOS) has slightly (not significant) earlier trend. In the spatial dimension, similar patterns were also identified. The SOS plays a more significant role in regulating vegetation growing season length than EOS does. The EOS and driving effects from each factor exhibited spatially heterogeneous patterns. Biological factor is the dominant factor regulating the spatial pattern of EOS, while climate factors control its inter-annual variation.

Green Campus initiative and its impacts on quality of life of stakeholders in Green and Non-Green Campus universities.

PubMed

Tiyarattanachai, Ronnachai; Hollmann, Nicholas M

2016-01-01

In 2010, Universitas Indonesia (UI) developed the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking for universities to share information about their sustainability practices. This ranking system was well aligned with the basis of Sustainability for Higher Education. The scoring system can also be used as a guideline for universities to achieve sustainability in their campuses. Since its first launch, more universities around the world have increasingly participated in the ranking system including many universities in Thailand. This study compared perception of stakeholders in Green Campus and Non-Green Campus universities in Thailand regarding stakeholders' satisfaction on sustainability practices and perceived quality of life at their campuses. The results showed that stakeholders at the studied Green Campus University were more satisfied and had significantly better perceived quality of life compared to stakeholders from the studied Non-Green Campus university. The results suggested that universities should adopt the criteria set in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking to achieve better sustainability in their campuses and improve quality of life of their stakeholders.

Chemical and Physical Exposures in the Emerging US Green Collar Workforce

PubMed Central

Chen, Charles J.; Moore, Kevin J.; Fernandez, Cristina A.; Arheart, Kristopher L.; LeBlanc, William G.; Cifuentes, Manuel; McClure, Laura A.; Christ, Sharon L.; Fleming, Lora E.; Lee, David J.; Caban-Martinez, Alberto J.

2017-01-01

Objective “Green collar” workers serve in occupations that directly improve environmental quality and sustainability. This study estimates and compares the prevalence of select physical and chemical exposures among green versus non-green U.S. workers. Methods Data from the U.S. 2010 National Health Interview Survey(NHIS) Occupational Health Supplement were linked to the Occupational Information Network(O*NET) Database. We examined four main exposures:1)vapors, gas, dust, fumes(VGDF);2)secondhand tobacco smoke;3)skin hazards;4)outdoor work. Results Green collar workers were significantly more likely to report exposure to VGDF and outdoor work than non-green collar workers(Adjusted Odds Ratio[AOR]=1.25; 95% CI=1.11–1.40; AOR=1.44(1.26–1.63), respectively). Green collar workers were less likely to be exposed to chemicals(AOR=0.80; 0.69–0.92). Conclusions Green collar workers appear to be at greater risk for select workplace exposures. As the green industry continues to grow, it is important to identify these occupational hazards in order to maximize worker health. PMID:28490043

Green Tea as Inhibitor of the Intestinal Absorption of Lipids: Potential Mechanism for its Lipid-Lowering Effect1

PubMed Central

Koo, Sung I.; Noh, Sang K.

2007-01-01

Animal and epidemiological studies suggest that green tea catechins may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CHD). The health benefit of green tea has been attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; however, considerable evidence suggests that green tea and its catechins may reduce the risk of CHD by lowering the plasma levels of cholesterol and triglyceride. Although the mechanism underlying such effect of green tea is yet to be determined, it is evident from in vitro and in vivo studies that green tea or catechins inhibit the intestinal absorption of dietary lipids. Studies in vitro indicate that green tea catechins, particularly EGCG, interfere with the emulsification, digestion, and micellar solubilization of lipids, critical steps involved in the intestinal absorption of dietary fat, cholesterol, and other lipids. Based on the observations, it is likely that green tea or its catechins lower the absorption and tissue accumulation of other lipophilic organic compounds. The available information strongly suggests that green tea or its catechins may be used as safe and effective lipid-lowering therapeutic agents. PMID:17296491

'Green-in-Three' IT Solutions Protecting Workers and the Environment - 12526

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eckman, Todd

2012-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Management (EM), DOE Richland Operations Office (RL), Mission Support Alliance (MSA), and Lockheed Martin Services, Inc. (LMSI), Information Technology partnered in an effort to reduce environmental impacts, energy use, and operating costs and improve worker safety through consolidation, centralization, and standardization of Information Technology (IT) assets on the Hanford Site. Green-in-Three is an IT Value strategy, which is moving Hanford from an inefficient, antiquated 20. Century IT architecture to a smart, green, flexible 21. Century IT architecture that delivers information anywhere at any time to Hanford Mission partners. The 'Green-in-three' efforts to datemore » have had a significant impact on meeting and exceeding the overall IT Value Strategy to decrease IT maintenance and delivery costs and move Hanford into a smart, green, and flexible 21. Century IT architecture. Some of the results and impacts are as follows: - Thirteen data centers were reduced to two, freeing up approximately 279 m{sup 2} (3000 ft{sup 2})) of space; - Reduced data center energy use 50%, from 120,000 to 60,000 kW; - Excessed 9 metric tons (10 tons) of server equipment; - Removed and properly disposed of 2871 kg (6,300 lb) lead acid batteries; - Projects saved over $1 M in fiber and copper cable installation through 2011; - Developed or improved partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, Tribes, and Site contractors; - Increased wireless coverage for improved access to remote areas. Moving forward to 2012, the impact of these accomplishments will be realized in the years to come. IT services will be delivered in days instead of months. Field personnel will have access to information at the point of performance, reducing travel time. Remote monitoring, telemetry, and/or video can be conducted using the wireless network; reducing travel time for field inspections. Emergency personnel have access to critical information at the incident site, saving valuable time. Full deployment of the VoIP technologies will reduce power use by 1,000,000 kWh/yr for telecommunications equipment, driving home the IT Value Strategy of Green-in-Three. (author)« less

Opportunities and Constraints in Characterizing Landscape Distribution of an Invasive Grass from Very High Resolution Multi-Spectral Imagery

PubMed Central

Dronova, Iryna; Spotswood, Erica N.; Suding, Katharine N.

2017-01-01

Understanding spatial distributions of invasive plant species at early infestation stages is critical for assessing the dynamics and underlying factors of invasions. Recent progress in very high resolution remote sensing is facilitating this task by providing high spatial detail over whole-site extents that are prohibitive to comprehensive ground surveys. This study assessed the opportunities and constraints to characterize landscape distribution of the invasive grass medusahead (Elymus caput-medusae) in a ∼36.8 ha grassland in California, United States from 0.15m-resolution visible/near-infrared aerial imagery at the stage of late spring phenological contrast with dominant grasses. We compared several object-based unsupervised, single-run supervised and hierarchical approaches to classify medusahead using spectral, textural, and contextual variables. Fuzzy accuracy assessment indicated that 44–100% of test medusahead samples were matched by its classified extents from different methods, while 63–83% of test samples classified as medusahead had this class as an acceptable candidate. Main sources of error included spectral similarity between medusahead and other green species and mixing of medusahead with other vegetation at variable densities. Adding texture attributes to spectral variables increased the accuracy of most classification methods, corroborating the informative value of local patterns under limited spectral data. The highest accuracy across different metrics was shown by the supervised single-run support vector machine with seven vegetation classes and Bayesian algorithms with three vegetation classes; however, their medusahead allocations showed some “spillover” effects due to misclassifications with other green vegetation. This issue was addressed by more complex hierarchical approaches, though their final accuracy did not exceed the best single-run methods. However, the comparison of classified medusahead extents with field segments of its patches overlapping with survey transects indicated that most methods tended to miss and/or over-estimate the length of the smallest patches and under-estimate the largest ones due to classification errors. Overall, the study outcomes support the potential of cost-effective, very high-resolution sensing for the site-scale detection of infestation hotspots that can be customized to plant phenological schedules. However, more accurate medusahead patch delineation in mixed-cover grasslands would benefit from testing hyperspectral data and using our study’s framework to inform and constrain the candidate vegetation classes in heterogeneous locations. PMID:28611806

Renewable Energy Production from Waste to Mitigate Climate Change and Counteract Soil Degradation - A Spatial Explicit Assessment for Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraxner, Florian; Yoshikawa, Kunio; Leduc, Sylvain; Fuss, Sabine; Aoki, Kentaro; Yamagata, Yoshiki

2014-05-01

Waste production from urban areas is growing faster than urbanization itself, while at the same time urban areas are increasingly contributing substantial emissions causing climate change. Estimates indicate for urban residents a per capita solid waste (MSW) production of 1.2 kg per day, subject to further increase to 1.5 kg beyond 2025. Waste water and sewage production is estimated at about 260 liters per capita and day, also at increasing rates. Based on these figures, waste - including e.g. MSW, sewage and animal manure - can generally be assumed as a renewable resource with varying organic components and quantity. This paper demonstrates how new and innovative technologies in the field of Waste-to-Green Products can help in various ways not only to reduce costs for waste treatment, reduce the pressure on largely overloaded dump sites, and reduce also the effect of toxic materials at the landfill site and by that i.e. protect the groundwater. Moreover, Waste-to-Green Products can contribute actively to mitigating climate change through fossil fuel substitution and carbon sequestration while at the same time counteracting negative land use effects from other types of renewable energy and feedstock production through substitution. At the same time, the co-production and recycling of fertilizing elements and biochar can substantially counteract soil degradation and improve the soil organic carbon content of different land use types. The overall objective of this paper is to assess the total climate change mitigation potential of MSW, sewage and animal manure for Japan. A techno-economic approach is used to inform the policy discussion on the suitability of this substantial and sustainable mitigation option. We examine the spatial explicit technical mitigation potential from e.g. energy substitution and carbon sequestration through biochar in rural and urban Japan. For this exercise, processed information on respective Japanese waste production, energy demand (population density) and transport infrastructure is used as input data to an engineering model (BeWhere) for optimizing scale and location of waste treatment plants with potential energy and fertilizer co-generation. Finally, this paper quantifies the economic dimension of mitigation through innovative waste treatment while considering the additional business-feasibility and potential benefits from waste treatment co-products such as energy generation, fertilizer and biochar production for counteracting soil degradation.

Opportunities and Constraints in Characterizing Landscape Distribution of an Invasive Grass from Very High Resolution Multi-Spectral Imagery.

PubMed

Dronova, Iryna; Spotswood, Erica N; Suding, Katharine N

2017-01-01

Understanding spatial distributions of invasive plant species at early infestation stages is critical for assessing the dynamics and underlying factors of invasions. Recent progress in very high resolution remote sensing is facilitating this task by providing high spatial detail over whole-site extents that are prohibitive to comprehensive ground surveys. This study assessed the opportunities and constraints to characterize landscape distribution of the invasive grass medusahead ( Elymus caput-medusae ) in a ∼36.8 ha grassland in California, United States from 0.15m-resolution visible/near-infrared aerial imagery at the stage of late spring phenological contrast with dominant grasses. We compared several object-based unsupervised, single-run supervised and hierarchical approaches to classify medusahead using spectral, textural, and contextual variables. Fuzzy accuracy assessment indicated that 44-100% of test medusahead samples were matched by its classified extents from different methods, while 63-83% of test samples classified as medusahead had this class as an acceptable candidate. Main sources of error included spectral similarity between medusahead and other green species and mixing of medusahead with other vegetation at variable densities. Adding texture attributes to spectral variables increased the accuracy of most classification methods, corroborating the informative value of local patterns under limited spectral data. The highest accuracy across different metrics was shown by the supervised single-run support vector machine with seven vegetation classes and Bayesian algorithms with three vegetation classes; however, their medusahead allocations showed some "spillover" effects due to misclassifications with other green vegetation. This issue was addressed by more complex hierarchical approaches, though their final accuracy did not exceed the best single-run methods. However, the comparison of classified medusahead extents with field segments of its patches overlapping with survey transects indicated that most methods tended to miss and/or over-estimate the length of the smallest patches and under-estimate the largest ones due to classification errors. Overall, the study outcomes support the potential of cost-effective, very high-resolution sensing for the site-scale detection of infestation hotspots that can be customized to plant phenological schedules. However, more accurate medusahead patch delineation in mixed-cover grasslands would benefit from testing hyperspectral data and using our study's framework to inform and constrain the candidate vegetation classes in heterogeneous locations.

The role of trees in urban stormwater management | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Urban impervious surfaces convert precipitation to stormwater runoff, which causes water quality and quantity problems. While traditional stormwater management has relied on gray infrastructure such as piped conveyances to collect and convey stormwater to wastewater treatment facilities or into surface waters, cities are exploring green infrastructure to manage stormwater at its source. Decentralized green infrastructure leverages the capabilities of soil and vegetation to infiltrate, redistribute, and otherwise store stormwater volume, with the potential to realize ancillary environmental, social, and economic benefits. To date, green infrastructure science and practice have largely focused on infiltration-based technologies that include rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavements. However, a narrow focus on infiltration overlooks other losses from the hydrologic cycle, and we propose that arboriculture – the cultivation of trees and other woody plants – deserves additional consideration as a stormwater control measure. Trees interact with the urban hydrologic cycle by intercepting incoming precipitation, removing water from the soil via transpiration, enhancing infiltration, and bolstering the performance of other green infrastructure technologies. However, many of these interactions are inadequately understood, particularly at spatial and temporal scales relevant to stormwater management. As such, the reliable use of trees for stormwater control depe

Effects of greening and community reuse of vacant lots on crime

PubMed Central

Kondo, Michelle; Hohl, Bernadette; Han, SeungHoon; Branas, Charles

2016-01-01

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation initiated a ‘Lots of Green’ programme to reuse vacant land in 2010. We performed a difference-in-differences analysis of the effects of this programme on crime in and around newly treated lots, in comparison to crimes in and around randomly selected and matched, untreated vacant lot controls. The effects of two types of vacant lot treatments on crime were tested: a cleaning and greening ‘stabilisation’ treatment and a ‘community reuse’ treatment mostly involving community gardens. The combined effects of both types of vacant lot treatments were also tested. After adjustment for various sociodemographic factors, linear and Poisson regression models demonstrated statistically significant reductions in all crime classes for at least one lot treatment type. Regression models adjusted for spatial autocorrelation found the most consistent significant reductions in burglaries around stabilisation lots, and in assaults around community reuse lots. Spill-over crime reduction effects were found in contiguous areas around newly treated lots. Significant increases in motor vehicle thefts around both types of lots were also found after they had been greened. Community-initiated vacant lot greening may have a greater impact on reducing more serious, violent crimes. PMID:28529389

Canadian boreal forest greening and browning trends: an analysis of biogeographic patterns and the relative roles of disturbance versus climate drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulla-Menashe, Damien; Woodcock, Curtis E.; Friedl, Mark A.

2018-01-01

Recent studies have used satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series to explore geographic patterns in boreal forest greening and browning. A number of these studies indicate that boreal forests are experiencing widespread browning, and have suggested that these patterns reflect decreases in forest productivity induced by climate change. Here we use NDVI time series from Landsat, which has much higher quality and spatial resolution than imagery used in most previous studies, to characterize biogeographic patterns in greening and browning across Canada’s boreal forest and to explore the drivers behind observed trends. Our results show that the majority of NDVI changes in Canada’s boreal forest reflect disturbance-recovery dynamics not climate change impacts, that greening and browning trends outside of disturbed forests are consistent with expected ecological responses to regional changes in climate, and that observed NDVI changes are geographically limited and relatively small in magnitude. By examining covariance between changes in NDVI and temperature and precipitation in locations not affected by disturbance, our results isolate and characterize the nature and magnitude of greening and browning directly associated with climate change. Consistent with biogeographic theory, greening and browning unrelated to disturbance tended to be located in ecotones near boundaries of the boreal forest bioclimatic envelope. We observed greening to be most prevalent in Eastern Canada, which is more humid, and browning to be most prevalent in Western Canada, where forests are more prone to moisture stress. We conclude that continued long-term climate change has the potential to significantly alter the character and function of Canada’s boreal forest, but recent changes have been modest and near-term impacts are likely to be focused in or near ecotones.

Evaluating and monitoring forest fuel treatments using remote sensing applications in Arizona, U.S.A.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petrakis, Roy; Villarreal, Miguel; Wu, Zhuoting; Hetzler, Robert; Middleton, Barry R.; Norman, Laura M.

2018-01-01

The practice of fire suppression across the western United States over the past century has led to dense forests, and when coupled with drought has contributed to an increase in large and destructive wildfires. Forest management efforts aimed at reducing flammable fuels through various fuel treatments can help to restore frequent fire regimes and increase forest resilience. Our research examines how different fuel treatments influenced burn severity and post-fire vegetative stand dynamics on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, in east-central Arizona, U.S.A. Our methods included the use of multitemporal remote sensing data and cloud computing to evaluate burn severity and post-fire vegetation conditions as well as statistical analyses. We investigated how forest thinning, commercial harvesting, prescribed burning, and resource benefit burning (managed wildfire) related to satellite measured burn severity (the difference Normalized Burn Ratio – dNBR) following the 2013 Creek Fire and used spectral measures of post-fire stand dynamics to track changes in land surface characteristics (i.e., brightness, greenness and wetness). We found strong negative relationships between dNBR and post-fire greenness and wetness, and a positive non-linear relationship between dNBR and brightness, with greater variability at higher severities. Fire severity and post-fire surface changes also differed by treatment type. Our results showed harvested and thinned sites that were not treated with prescribed fire had the highest severity fire. When harvesting was followed by a prescribed burn, the sites experienced lower burn severity and reduced post-fire changes in vegetation greenness and wetness. Areas that had previously experienced resource benefit burns had the lowest burn severities and the highest post-fire greenness measurements compared to all other treatments, except for where the prescribed burn had occurred. These results suggest that fire treatments may be most effective at reducing the probability of hazardous fire and increasing post-fire recovery. This research demonstrates the utility of remote sensing and spatial data to inform forest management, and how various fuel treatments can influence burn severity and post-fire vegetation response within ponderosa pine forests across the southwestern U.S.

Tailoring Earth Observation To Ranchers For Improved Land Management And Profitability: The VegMachine Online Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scarth, P.; Trevithick, B.; Beutel, T.

2016-12-01

VegMachine Online is a freely available browser application that allows ranchers across Australia to view and interact with satellite derived ground cover state and change maps on their property and extract this information in a graphical format using interactive tools. It supports the delivery and communication of a massive earth observation data set in an accessible, producer friendly way . Around 250,000 Landsat TM, ETM and OLI images were acquired across Australia, converted to terrain corrected surface reflectance and masked for cloud, cloud shadow, terrain shadow and water. More than 2500 field sites across the Australian rangelands were used to derive endmembers used in a constrained unmixing approach to estimate the per-pixel proportion of bare, green and non-green vegetation for all images. A seasonal metoid compositing method was used to produce national fractional cover virtual mosaics for each three month period since 1988. The time series of green fraction is used to estimate the persistent green due to tree and shrub canopies, and this estimate is used to correct the fractional cover to ground cover for our mixed tree-grass rangeland systems. Finally, deciles are produced for key metrics every season to track a pixels relativity to the entire time series. These data are delivered through time series enabled web mapping services and customised web processing services that enable the full time series over any spatial extent to be interrogated in seconds via a RESTful interface. These services interface with a front end browser application that provides product visualization for any date in the time series, tools to draw or import polygon boundaries, plot time series ground cover comparisons, look at the effect of historical rainfall and tools to run the revised universal soil loss equation in web time to assess the effect of proposed changes in cover retention. VegMachine Online is already being used by ranchers monitoring paddock condition, organisations supporting land management initiatives in Great Barrier Reef catchments, by students developing tools to understand land condition and degradation and the underlying data and APIs are supporting several other land condition mapping tools.

Mapping Stormwater Retention in the Cities: A Flexible Model for Data-Scarce Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamel, P.; Keeler, B.

2014-12-01

There is a growing demand for understanding and mapping urban hydrological ecosystem services, including stormwater retention for flood mitigation and water quality improvement. Progress in integrated urban water management and low impact development in Western countries increased our understanding of how grey and green infrastructure interact to enhance these services. However, valuation methods that account for a diverse group of beneficiaries are typically not made explicit in urban water management models. In addition, the lack of spatial data on the stormwater network in developing countries makes it challenging to apply state-of-the-art models needed to understand both the magnitude and spatial distribution of the stormwater retention service. To fill this gap, we designed the Urban InVEST stormwater retention model, a tool that complements the suite of InVEST software models to quantify and map ecosystem services. We present the model structure emphasizing the data requirements from a user's perspective and the representation of services and beneficiaries. We illustrate the model application with two case studies in a data-rich (New York City) and data-scarce environment. We discuss the difference in the level of information obtained when less resources (data, time, or expertise) are available, and how this affects multiple ecosystem service assessments that the tool is ultimately designed for.

Perspectives on the use of green infrastructure for stormwater management in Cleveland and Milwaukee.

PubMed

Keeley, Melissa; Koburger, Althea; Dolowitz, David P; Medearis, Dale; Nickel, Darla; Shuster, William

2013-06-01

Green infrastructure is a general term referring to the management of landscapes in ways that generate human and ecosystem benefits. Many municipalities have begun to utilize green infrastructure in efforts to meet stormwater management goals. This study examines challenges to integrating gray and green infrastructure for stormwater management, informed by interviews with practitioners in Cleveland, OH and Milwaukee WI. Green infrastructure in these cities is utilized under conditions of extreme fiscal austerity and its use presents opportunities to connect stormwater management with urban revitalization and economic recovery while planning for the effects of negative- or zero-population growth. In this context, specific challenges in capturing the multiple benefits of green infrastructure exist because the projects required to meet federally mandated stormwater management targets and the needs of urban redevelopment frequently differ in scale and location.

Perspectives on the Use of Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management in Cleveland and Milwaukee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keeley, Melissa; Koburger, Althea; Dolowitz, David P.; Medearis, Dale; Nickel, Darla; Shuster, William

2013-06-01

Green infrastructure is a general term referring to the management of landscapes in ways that generate human and ecosystem benefits. Many municipalities have begun to utilize green infrastructure in efforts to meet stormwater management goals. This study examines challenges to integrating gray and green infrastructure for stormwater management, informed by interviews with practitioners in Cleveland, OH and Milwaukee WI. Green infrastructure in these cities is utilized under conditions of extreme fiscal austerity and its use presents opportunities to connect stormwater management with urban revitalization and economic recovery while planning for the effects of negative- or zero-population growth. In this context, specific challenges in capturing the multiple benefits of green infrastructure exist because the projects required to meet federally mandated stormwater management targets and the needs of urban redevelopment frequently differ in scale and location.

Village Green Design, Operations, and Maintenance Document

EPA Science Inventory

The Village Green Project is a community-based activity to demonstrate the capabilities of new real-time monitoring technology for residents and citizen scientists to learn about local air quality. The goal of the project is to provide the public and communities with information ...

Assessing how green space types affect ecosystem services delivery in Porto, Portugal

Treesearch

Marisa Graça; Paulo Alves; João Gonçalves; David J. Nowak; Robert Hoehn; Paulo Farinha-Marques; Mario Cunha

2018-01-01

Significant advances have been made in identifying, quantifying and valuing multiple urban ecosystem services (UES), yet this knowledge remains poorly implemented in urban planning and management. One of the reasons for this low implementation is the insufficient thematic and spatial detail in UES research to provide guidance for urban planners and managers....