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Sample records for surveying earth-moving revegetation

  1. Revegetation of flue gas desulfurization sludge pond disposal sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Artiola, J.F.

    1994-12-01

    A comprehensive search of published literature was conducted to summarize research undertaken to date on revegetation of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) waste disposal ponds. A review of the physical and chemical properties of FGD sludges and wastes with similar characteristics is also included in order to determine the advantages and limitations of FGD sludge for plant growth. No specific guidelines have been developed for the revegetation of FGD sludge disposal sites. Survey studies showed that the wide-ranging composition of FGD wastes was determined primarily by the sulfur dioxide and other flue gas scrubbing processes used at powerplants. Sulfate rich (>90%CaSO 4 ) FGD sludges are physically and chemically more stable, and thus more amenable to revegetation. Because of lack of macronutrients and extremely limited microbial activity, FBD sludge ponds presented a poor plant growth environment without amendment. Studies showed the natural process of inoculation of the FGD sludge with soil microbes that promote plant growth be can after disposal but proceeded slowly. Revegetation studies reviewed showed that FGD sludges amended with soils supported a wider variety of plant species better and longer than abandoned FGD ponds. Two major types of plants have been successful in revegetation of FGD waste ponds and similar wastes: salt-tolerant plants and aquatic plants. A comprehensive list of plant species with potential for regetation of FGD sludge disposal pond sites is presented along with successful revegetation techniques

  2. Fiscal Year 2016 Revegetation Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nordstrom, Jenifer B. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-11-01

    This report summarizes the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to document revegetation efforts at Idaho National Laboratory to verify restoration of disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations occurs as required. This report provides the following information for projects at Idaho National Laboratory completed during FY 2016 that were identified during the National Environmental Policy Act review process as having the potential to disturb soils or vegetation: 1) A summary of all projects identified as having the potential to require revegetation efforts 2) A summary of site disturbance and restoration efforts of each project. For FY 2016, one project required revegetation and sagebrush restoration. For other projects, implementation of best management practices minimized impacts to vegetation and revegetation efforts were not required.

  3. Survey of Revegetated Areas on the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve: Status and Initial Monitoring Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Downs, Janelle L.; Link, Steven O.; Rozeboom, Latricia L.; Durham, Robin E.; Cruz, Rico O.; Mckee, Sadie A.

    2011-09-01

    During 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office removed a number of facilities and debris from the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE), which is part of the Hanford Reach National Monument (HRNM). Revegetation of disturbed sites is necessary to stabilize the soil, reduce invasion of these areas by exotic weeds, and to accelerate re-establishment of native plant communities. Seven revegetation units were identified on ALE based on soils and potential native plant communities at the site. Native seed mixes and plant material were identified for each area based on the desired plant community. Revegetation of locations affected by decommissioning of buildings and debris removal was undertaken during the winter and early spring of 2010 and 2011, respectively. This report describes both the details of planting and seeding for each of the units, describes the sampling design for monitoring, and summarizes the data collected during the first year of monitoring. In general, the revegetation efforts were successful in establishing native bunchgrasses and shrubs on most of the sites within the 7 revegetation units. Invasion of the revegetation areas by exotic annual species was minimal for most sites, but was above initial criteria in 3 areas: the Hodges Well subunit of Unit 2, and Units 6 and 7.

  4. Revegetation increase bird diversity in coastal area of Socorejo, Tuban, East Java - Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lestari, Yeni Indah; Edi, Wasito; Alivvy, Alkautsar; Ibadah, Acib Setia; Sari, Fadina Yuliana; Nuraini, Finda; Yanuar, Ahmad; Satriyono, Agus; Riany, Citra Fitrie; Saptarini, Dian; Muzaki, Farid Kamal

    2017-06-01

    Study to address positive impact of revegetation program to increasing diversity of bird had been conducted in coastal area of Socorejo, Tuban - Indonesia. Field observation conducted during April 2011 (representing pre-revegetation period), April 2015 and May 2016 (representing post-revegetation period). A belt transect (500 meter long and 50 meter width) was used to survey the abundance and species composition of birds community. In general, we identified at least 51 bird species from three observation times. From 2011 to 2016, the numbers of the birds identified are 23, 37 and 37 species; while the Shannon-Wiener diversity indices (H') are 1.865, 2.071 and 2.957, respectively. In addition, there are 11 national or internationally protected species, 3 Indonesian endemic species and 12 migratory species occurred in the area. As a conclusion, the coastal revegetation program provides positive impact by generating habitat function for bird community.

  5. Survey on the construction of realization scenario of large-scale revegetation of arid regions; Daikibo ryokuka no jitsugenka scenario sakusei ni kansuru chosa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    In order to fix carbon dioxide as a measure to mitigate global warming, research of large-scale revegetation of arid regions has been conducted toward the ultimate goals of systematizing revegetation technologies centered on securing and using water resources, evaluating the feasibility of arid revegetation by extending the viewpoint to examine even rainfall increase by artificial means, and establishing a strategic program for large-scale revegetation. A trial revegetation feasibility map was made for a selected target region in Western Australia, and rough revegetation steps were formulated. Selection of proper region, introduction of technology, and planning were conducted by grasping environment of the target revegetation region. As a result, it was found that growth of plants is vigorous at the catchment areas due to the surface water transfer along the topography of surface in spite of poor rainfall. Obstruction of plant growth is partly caused by the corrosion of soil and accumulation of salt, but mainly caused by the shortage of water. Based on these data, ranking of proper regions was evaluated. When the technology is introduced in the region with A-rank, several times of water can be collected. 60 refs., 61 figs., 30 tabs.

  6. 2009 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano; R. D. Teel

    2009-09-30

    This document details the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2009, including 25 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and three bat mitigation projects.

  7. Revegetation manual for the environmental restoration contractor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLendon, T.; Redente, E.F.

    1997-02-01

    The purpose of this manual is to provide guidance and general guidelines for the revegetation of remediation waste sites and other disturbed areas on the Hanford Site. Specific revegetation plans will be developed using guidance from this manual. Locations, resources, and funding will dictate the specific revegetation design at each disturbed area. Disturbances have occurred to some of the ecological communities of the Hanford Site. Many of these disturbances are the result of operations of the Hanford Site, including Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 waste sites on small portions of the Hanford Site. There were, however, extensive disturbances to the native vegetation prior to operations of the facility. These resulted from cultivation, grazing, fire, and the introduction of exotics. Revegetation planning must take into account these early disturbances, as well as the later ones

  8. Revegetation manual for the environmental restoration contractor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McLendon, T.; Redente, E.F.

    1997-02-01

    The purpose of this manual is to provide guidance and general guidelines for the revegetation of remediation waste sites and other disturbed areas on the Hanford Site. Specific revegetation plans will be developed using guidance from this manual. Locations, resources, and funding will dictate the specific revegetation design at each disturbed area. Disturbances have occurred to some of the ecological communities of the Hanford Site. Many of these disturbances are the result of operations of the Hanford Site, including Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 waste sites on small portions of the Hanford Site. There were, however, extensive disturbances to the native vegetation prior to operations of the facility. These resulted from cultivation, grazing, fire, and the introduction of exotics. Revegetation planning must take into account these early disturbances, as well as the later ones.

  9. 2006 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    A. L. Johnson; K. A. Gano

    2006-10-03

    The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. One of the objectives of restoration is the revegetation of remediated waste sites to stabilize the soil and restore the land to native vegetation. The report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2006 and includes 11 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and 2 bat habitat mitigation projects.

  10. 2008 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano

    2008-09-30

    The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2008 and includes 22 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and two bat habitat mitigation projects.

  11. 2007 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    K. A. Gano; C. T. Lindsey

    2007-09-27

    The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2007 and includes 11 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and 3 bat habitat mitigation projects.

  12. Ecological impacts of revegetation and management practices of ski slopes in northern Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kangas, Katja; Tolvanen, Anne; Kälkäjä, Tarja; Siikamäki, Pirkko

    2009-09-01

    Outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism represent an increasingly intensive form of land use that has considerable impacts on native ecosystems. The aim of this paper is to investigate how revegetation and management of ski runs influence soil nutrients, vegetation characteristics, and the possible invasion of nonnative plant species used in revegetation into native ecosystems. A soil and vegetation survey at ski runs and nearby forests, and a factorial experiment simulating ski run construction and management (factors: soil removal, fertilization, and seed sowing) were conducted at Ruka ski resort, in northern Finland, during 2003-2008. According to the survey, management practices had caused considerable changes in the vegetation structure and increased soil nutrient concentrations, pH, and conductivity on the ski runs relative to nearby forests. Seed mixture species sown during the revegetation of ski runs had not spread to adjacent forests. The experimental study showed that the germination of seed mixture species was favored by treatments simulating the management of ski runs, but none of them could eventually establish in the study forest. As nutrient leaching causes both environmental deterioration and changes in vegetation structure, it may eventually pose a greater environmental risk than the spread of seed mixture species alone. Machine grading and fertilization, which have the most drastic effects on soils and vegetation, should, therefore, be minimized when constructing and managing ski runs.

  13. Ecological Impacts of Revegetation and Management Practices of Ski Slopes in Northern Finland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kangas, Katja; Tolvanen, Anne; Kälkäjä, Tarja; Siikamäki, Pirkko

    2009-09-01

    Outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism represent an increasingly intensive form of land use that has considerable impacts on native ecosystems. The aim of this paper is to investigate how revegetation and management of ski runs influence soil nutrients, vegetation characteristics, and the possible invasion of nonnative plant species used in revegetation into native ecosystems. A soil and vegetation survey at ski runs and nearby forests, and a factorial experiment simulating ski run construction and management (factors: soil removal, fertilization, and seed sowing) were conducted at Ruka ski resort, in northern Finland, during 2003-2008. According to the survey, management practices had caused considerable changes in the vegetation structure and increased soil nutrient concentrations, pH, and conductivity on the ski runs relative to nearby forests. Seed mixture species sown during the revegetation of ski runs had not spread to adjacent forests. The experimental study showed that the germination of seed mixture species was favored by treatments simulating the management of ski runs, but none of them could eventually establish in the study forest. As nutrient leaching causes both environmental deterioration and changes in vegetation structure, it may eventually pose a greater environmental risk than the spread of seed mixture species alone. Machine grading and fertilization, which have the most drastic effects on soils and vegetation, should, therefore, be minimized when constructing and managing ski runs.

  14. Native prairie revegetation on wellsites in southeastern Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soulodre, E.; Naeth, A.; Hammermeister, A.

    1999-01-01

    The Native Prairie Revegetation Research Project (NPRRP) was initiated to address concerns about wellsite revegetation of native grassland. The objective was to determine the impact of alternative seeding treatments on soil and vegetation and to produce a quantifiable description of what constitutes successful revegetation of native prairie sites. Four wellsites, each site comprising four revegetation treatment plots and an undisturbed control plot, have been chosen for field study. The revegetation treatments included natural recovery without seeding; current mix dominated by native wheatgrass cultivars; simple mix seeding containing wheatgrasses plus other native grasses, and diverse mix seeding with a mixture of wheatgrasses, other grasses and thirteen perennial forbs. The plant communities were monitored for biomass production, species richness, species composition and a combination of factors which include density, frequency, canopy cover and basal cover, these collectively representing importance value. Nitrogen availability in the soil was also monitored. Results showed high importance values for wheatgrasses for all seeded treatments. Perennial non-wheatgrasses had low importance values in the seeded treatment but higher importance in the control plot. The dominance of wheatgrasses in the seeded treatments resulted in communities that differed significantly from both the control and natural recovery communities, probably due to suppression of the growth of other grasses

  15. Comparing Potential Unstable Sites and Stable Sites on Revegetated Cut-Slopes of Mountainous Terrain in Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Ho Kil

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This study employs a diverse set of variables to explain slope stabilization on stable versus failure-prone revegetated cut-slopes in Korea. A field survey was conducted at potential unstable sites and stable sites using 23 variables. Through a non-parametric test of the field survey results, 15 variables were identified as primary determinants of slope failure. Of these variables, one described physical characteristics (elapsed year; four variables described vegetation properties (plant community, vegetation coverage rate, number of trees, and number of herbs; and 10 variables represented soil properties (porosity, soil hardness, water content, sand ratio and silt ratio of soil texture, tensile strength, permeability coefficient, soil depth, soil acidity, salt concentration, and organic matter. Slope angle, which was mainly considered in previous studies, of variables in physical characteristics was not statistically selected as one of the 15 variables because most of sites were located on steep slopes. The vegetation community, vegetation coverage, and number of trees influence slope stabilization. Vegetation coverage is highly correlated with other soil and vegetation variables, making it a major indicator of slope stabilization. All soil variables were related to slope failure such that subsequent slope failure was related to the method of slope revegetation rather than the environmental condition of the slope. Slope failure did not occur in revegetated slopes that matched the characteristics of the surrounding landscape and contained a large number of native trees. Most soil and vegetation variables showed differing values for whether a revegetated slope is potentially unstable or stable.

  16. MaRGEE: Move and Rotate Google Earth Elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dordevic, Mladen M.; Whitmeyer, Steven J.

    2015-12-01

    Google Earth is recognized as a highly effective visualization tool for geospatial information. However, there remain serious limitations that have hindered its acceptance as a tool for research and education in the geosciences. One significant limitation is the inability to translate or rotate geometrical elements on the Google Earth virtual globe. Here we present a new JavaScript web application to "Move and Rotate Google Earth Elements" (MaRGEE). MaRGEE includes tools to simplify, translate, and rotate elements, add intermediate steps to a transposition, and batch process multiple transpositions. The transposition algorithm uses spherical geometry calculations, such as the haversine formula, to accurately reposition groups of points, paths, and polygons on the Google Earth globe without distortion. Due to the imminent deprecation of the Google Earth API and browser plugin, MaRGEE uses a Google Maps interface to facilitate and illustrate the transpositions. However, the inherent spatial distortions that result from the Google Maps Web Mercator projection are not apparent once the transposed elements are saved as a KML file and opened in Google Earth. Potential applications of the MaRGEE toolkit include tectonic reconstructions, the movements of glaciers or thrust sheets, and time-based animations of other large- and small-scale geologic processes.

  17. Fiscal Year 2014 Revegetation Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nordstrom, Jenifer [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-03-01

    This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2014 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to document revegetation efforts at Idaho National Laboratory to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: • Summary of each site • Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location • Actions and Resolutions for each site. Five disturbed sites were evaluated for this assessment. Four sites are recommended to be removed from the annual assessment, and one is recommended for continued evaluation. New sites are also identified for future monitoring as part of the annual assessment.

  18. Exotic plant species attack revegetation plants in post-coal mining areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusuf, Muhammad; Arisoesilaningsih, Endang

    2017-11-01

    This study aimed to explore some invasive exotic plant species that have the potential to disrupt the growth of revegetation plants in post-coal mining areas. This research was conducted in a revegetation area of PT, Amanah Anugerah Adi Mulia (A3M) Kintap site, South Borneo. Direct observation was carried out on some revegetation areas by observing the growth of revegetation plants disturbed by exotic plant species and the spread of exotic plant species. Based on observation, several invasive exotic plant species were identified including Mikania cordata, Centrosema pubescence, Calopogonium mucunoides, Mimosa pudica, Ageratum conyzoides, and Chromolaena odorata. These five plant species grew wild in the revegetation area and showed ability to disrupt the growth of other plants. In some tree species, such as Acacia mangium, Paraserianthes falcataria, M. cordata could inhibit the growth and even kill the trees through covering the tree canopy. So, the trees could not receive optimum sun light for photosynthesis processes. M. cordata was also observed to have the most widespread distribution. Several exotic plant species such as C. mucunoides, M. pudica, and A. conyzoides were observed to have deep root systems compared with plant species used for revegetation. This growth characteristic allowed exotic plant species to win the competition for nutrient absorption with other plant species.

  19. Spatio-Temporal Modeling of the Earth Events and Moving of Celestial Bodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulatova, Natalia P.

    2011-09-01

    It is well known that periodical and cyclical movements of cosmic sources of gravitation considerably affect Earth's geospheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, crust, etc.) by producing tides and related phenomena, as well as the state of tectonic blocks, lithosphere plates and deep crust fractures. The result of such influence may be earthquakes and other catastrophes. Nowadays, the question modeling of geophysical processes is considerably actual. Thus studies in area of Earth' sciences have been moved from practice of observation of separate phenomena to the systematic quantitative investigation in interdisciplinary areas. A system of two modules is proposed by the author each using its own system of coordinates: (1) the model of three-dimensional spherical body of the Earth with the system of coordinates (III) including the time of events that happened on the Earth and (2) a compact model of the relative motion of celestial bodies in space and time as vectors that are changing their directions. Note the data bases of the Earth sciences have been used to construct the module (1), while the module (2) has been built using astronomic parameters of celestial bodies. The module (2) is known as "Method of moving source" (MDS) [1, 2]. As a result, on the basis of systematization, joint analysis and complexity of cosmic data and databases of Earth sciences the cause-and-effect relations between events on Earth and space bodies are established.

  20. Revegetation assessment on different areas of a methane pipeline in Tuscany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Staglianò N

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Revegetation assessment on different areas of methane pipeline in Tuscany. Degraded areas due to extra-agricultural activity (such as quarries, dumps, ski runs, methane tracks, etc. or to natural events (such as landslides are present in a wide part of Italian territory and for this reason is extremely necessary an effective restoration in order to reduce erosion risks and to permit their better integration in the surrounding landscape. Revegetation is usually performed using commercial mixtures constituted by species with a forage aptitude. The aim of this work was to analyse the evolution of revegetation performed on different areas of methane pipeline in Tuscany (central Italy, both in Mediterranean environments and in mountain areas. Knowledge of mixture used during revegetation and time of intervention allowed, on one hand, to discriminate species introduced by revegetation from those coming out from native recolonisation of tracks, on the other hand, to know the age of canopies at time of botanical analysis. The following variables were assessed on the studied herbaceous resources: ground cover, floristic composition, biodiversity, level of recolonization by native species, similarity with natural areas. Data collection permitted the evaluation of efficiency of studied revegetation, the awareness of the role played by sown and native species, the estimation of the level of native species in order to integrate the restoration with the environment and the analysis of most important parameters that affect vegetal evolution in these peculiar settings.

  1. Is rhizosphere remediation sufficient for sustainable revegetation of mine tailings?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Longbin; Baumgartl, Thomas; Mulligan, David

    2012-01-01

    Background Revegetation of mine tailings (fine-grained waste material) starts with the reconstruction of root zones, consisting of a rhizosphere horizon (mostly topsoil and/or amended tailings) and the support horizon beneath (i.e. equivalent to subsoil – mostly tailings), which must be physically and hydro-geochemically stable. This review aims to discuss key processes involved in the development of functional root zones within the context of direct revegetation of tailings and introduces a conceptual process of rehabilitating structure and function in the root zones based on a state transition model. Scope Field studies on the revegetation of tailings (from processing base metal ore and bauxite residues) are reviewed. Particular focus is given to tailings' properties that limit remediation effectiveness. Aspects of root zone reconstruction and vegetation responses are also discussed. Conclusions When reconstructing a root zone system, it is critical to restore physical structure and hydraulic functions across the whole root zone system. Only effective and holistically restored systems can control hydro-geochemical mobility of acutely and chronically toxic factors from the underlying horizon and maintain hydro-geochemical stability in the rhizosphere. Thereafter, soil biological capacity and ecological linkages (i.e. carbon and nutrient cycling) may be rehabilitated to integrate the root zones with revegetated plant communities into sustainable plant ecosystems. A conceptual framework of system transitions between the critical states of root zone development has been proposed. This will illustrate the rehabilitation process in root zone reconstruction and development for direct revegetation with sustainable plant communities. Sustainable phytostabilization of tailings requires the systematic consideration of hydro-geochemical interactions between the rhizosphere and the underlying supporting horizon. It further requires effective remediation strategies to

  2. Is rhizosphere remediation sufficient for sustainable revegetation of mine tailings?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Longbin; Baumgartl, Thomas; Mulligan, David

    2012-07-01

    Revegetation of mine tailings (fine-grained waste material) starts with the reconstruction of root zones, consisting of a rhizosphere horizon (mostly topsoil and/or amended tailings) and the support horizon beneath (i.e. equivalent to subsoil - mostly tailings), which must be physically and hydro-geochemically stable. This review aims to discuss key processes involved in the development of functional root zones within the context of direct revegetation of tailings and introduces a conceptual process of rehabilitating structure and function in the root zones based on a state transition model. Field studies on the revegetation of tailings (from processing base metal ore and bauxite residues) are reviewed. Particular focus is given to tailings' properties that limit remediation effectiveness. Aspects of root zone reconstruction and vegetation responses are also discussed. When reconstructing a root zone system, it is critical to restore physical structure and hydraulic functions across the whole root zone system. Only effective and holistically restored systems can control hydro-geochemical mobility of acutely and chronically toxic factors from the underlying horizon and maintain hydro-geochemical stability in the rhizosphere. Thereafter, soil biological capacity and ecological linkages (i.e. carbon and nutrient cycling) may be rehabilitated to integrate the root zones with revegetated plant communities into sustainable plant ecosystems. A conceptual framework of system transitions between the critical states of root zone development has been proposed. This will illustrate the rehabilitation process in root zone reconstruction and development for direct revegetation with sustainable plant communities. Sustainable phytostabilization of tailings requires the systematic consideration of hydro-geochemical interactions between the rhizosphere and the underlying supporting horizon. It further requires effective remediation strategies to develop hydro-geochemically stable

  3. Evaluation of Promoting Roadside Revegetation: An Integrated Approach to Establishing Native Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    This report documents an evaluation of outcomes associated with Roadside Revegetation: A Practical Guide to Working with Native Plants, a 2007 guide encouraging agencies to adopt improved roadside revegetation practices.(1) It should be of interest t...

  4. 2010 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    C. T. Lindsey, A. L. Johnson

    2010-09-30

    This report documents eh status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with CERLA cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report contains vegetation monitoring data that were collected in the spring and summer of 2010 from the River Corridor Closure Contract’s revegetation and mitigation areas on the Hanford Site.

  5. Moving Closer to EarthScope: A Major New Initiative for the Earth Sciences*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, D.; Blewitt, G.; Ekstrom, G.; Henyey, T.; Hickman, S.; Prescott, W.; Zoback, M.

    2002-12-01

    science community. A broad sector of the university research community has joined with federal agencies to stimulate the development of facility plans and move EarthScope forward as a coordinated national initiative. With strong prospects for funding next year, the time is right for bold new ideas on how to maximize the use of these powerful new resources in the Earth scientist's toolkit. * On behalf of the EarthScope Working Group

  6. 2011 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    West, W. J.; Lucas, J. G.; Gano, K. A.

    2011-11-14

    This report documents the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report contains the vegetation monitoring data that was collected in the spring and summer of 2011 from the River Corridor Closure Contractor’s revegetation and mitigation areas on the Hanford Site.

  7. Proceedings of the second Australian workshop on native seed biology for revegetation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bellairs, S.M.; Osborne, J.M. [eds.

    1997-06-01

    This conference on the use of native seed for revegetation in Australia focused on four areas; seed provenance areas; soil seed banks; seed dormancy and germinability; and seed testing; Four papers on revegetation of coal mining areas have been abstracted separately on the IEA Coal Research CD-ROM.

  8. Spatial variability in cost and success of revegetation in a Wyoming big sagebrush community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, Chad S; Davies, Kirk W

    2012-09-01

    The ecological integrity of the Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and A. Young) alliance is being severely interrupted by post-fire invasion of non-native annual grasses. To curtail this invasion, successful post-fire revegetation of perennial grasses is required. Environmental factors impacting post-fire restoration success vary across space within the Wyoming big sagebrush alliance; however, most restorative management practices are applied uniformly. Our objectives were to define probability of revegetation success over space using relevant soil-related environmental factors, use this information to model cost of successful revegetation and compare the importance of vegetation competition and soil factors to revegetation success. We studied a burned Wyoming big sagebrush landscape in southeast Oregon that was reseeded with perennial grasses. We collected soil and vegetation data at plots spaced at 30 m intervals along a 1.5 km transect in the first two years post-burn. Plots were classified as successful (>5 seedlings/m(2)) or unsuccessful based on density of seeded species. Using logistic regression we found that abundance of competing vegetation correctly predicted revegetation success on 51 % of plots, and soil-related variables correctly predicted revegetation performance on 82.4 % of plots. Revegetation estimates varied from $167.06 to $43,033.94/ha across the 1.5 km transect based on probability of success, but were more homogenous at larger scales. Our experimental protocol provides managers with a technique to identify important environmental drivers of restoration success and this process will be of value for spatially allocating logistical and capital expenditures in a variable restoration environment.

  9. Near-Earth Object Survey Simulation Software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naidu, Shantanu P.; Chesley, Steven R.; Farnocchia, Davide

    2017-10-01

    There is a significant interest in Near-Earth objects (NEOs) because they pose an impact threat to Earth, offer valuable scientific information, and are potential targets for robotic and human exploration. The number of NEO discoveries has been rising rapidly over the last two decades with over 1800 being discovered last year, making the total number of known NEOs >16000. Pan-STARRS and the Catalina Sky Survey are currently the most prolific NEO surveys, having discovered >1600 NEOs between them in 2016. As next generation surveys such as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the proposed Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) become operational in the next decade, the discovery rate is expected to increase tremendously. Coordination between various survey telescopes will be necessary in order to optimize NEO discoveries and create a unified global NEO discovery network. We are collaborating on a community-based, open-source software project to simulate asteroid surveys to facilitate such coordination and develop strategies for improving discovery efficiency. Our effort so far has focused on development of a fast and efficient tool capable of accepting user-defined asteroid population models and telescope parameters such as a list of pointing angles and camera field-of-view, and generating an output list of detectable asteroids. The software takes advantage of the widely used and tested SPICE library and architecture developed by NASA’s Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (Acton, 1996) for saving and retrieving asteroid trajectories and camera pointing. Orbit propagation is done using OpenOrb (Granvik et al. 2009) but future versions will allow the user to plug in a propagator of their choice. The software allows the simulation of both ground-based and space-based surveys. Performance is being tested using the Grav et al. (2011) asteroid population model and the LSST simulated survey “enigma_1189”.

  10. The role of mangrove revegetation as a means of restoring macrofaunal communities along degraded coasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Daniel; Turra, Alexander

    2016-10-01

    As coastal habitats face unprecedented pressure globally, there is a need to better understand how revegetation can fortify or restore biodiversity. We examined the early-stage outcomes of mangrove revegetation efforts for benthic invertebrate communities within degraded mangrove habitats in south eastern Brazil. We followed changes in macrofaunal abundance and species richness within small-scale Avicennia schaueriana revegetation plots over a 12month period. The assemblages of revegetation plots (RP) became progressively more diverse when compared to structural (SC) and blank controls (BC). The trajectory of change also differed with RP communities demonstrating convergence with those of remnant mangrove forest. After 12months, RP had greater abundances of crustaceans (41%) and polychaetes (13%) as well as higher but variable numbers of gastropods and bivalves than both SC and BC. A spatial examination of revegetation outcomes showed that success may vary across sheltered vs. exposed coastal microhabitats. Indeed, subsequent analysis using generalised linear mixed models pointed to a stronger influence of tidal height, than many of the commonly attributed sedimentary variables such as grain-size and organic matter content as determinants of community structure. Given the encouraging results of this study, we advocate an intensification of revegetation initiatives to augment natural recovery, increase benthic biodiversity and restore ecosystems services to degraded coasts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Surface stabilization and revegetation test plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sackschewsky, M.R.; Kemp, C.J.; Hayward, W.M.

    1993-09-01

    Westinghouse Hanford Company Decommissioning and Decontamination Engineering Group and Environmental Technology and Assessment Groups are developing new technologies to improve revegetation techniques for interim stabilization control over underground waste sites within the Radiation Area Remedial Action Program. Successful revegetation is an integral aspect of waste isolation strategy. Unfortunately, revegetation can be very difficult to achieve on the Hanford Site due to several factors: low annual precipitation, unpredictable timing of precipitation, low fertility of available soils, and coarse physical texture of soils covering waste sites. The tests in this report were performed during fiscal years 1992 and 1993 and include the use of two soil sealants in combination with bare soil and a soil/compost mixture and a comparison of a wheatgrass mixture and a native seed mixture. Hydroprobe access ports were placed in one-half of the test plots and moisture data was collected. Soil fertility and plant community characteristics were monitored during the two years of the test. During the first year all sites with compost provided additional fertility and retained greater amounts of soil moisture than noncomposted sites. The use of Enduraseal soil fixative provided greater soil moisture than the use of Aerospray-77 soil fixative. During the second year the use of compost and soil fixative's had a lesser effect on soil moisture. During late summer periods all treatments had very similar soil moisture profiles. The use of compost greatly increased vegetative cover and soil fertility in comparison to sites that had no compost added. Testing of the seed mixtures found that Siberian wheatgrass and Sandberg's bluegrass were the most dominant of the seeded species observed. All plots exhibited a dominant plant cover of volunteer cheatgrass. Biomass production was significantly greater on plots with compost than on the noncomposted plots

  12. SURVEY SIMULATIONS OF A NEW NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID DETECTION SYSTEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Giorgini, J.; Masiero, J.; Grav, T.; Conrow, T.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; Fowler, J.; Jarrett, T.; Spahr, T.; Statler, T.; Wright, E. L.

    2015-01-01

    We have carried out simulations to predict the performance of a new space-based telescopic survey operating at thermal infrared wavelengths that seeks to discover and characterize a large fraction of the potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid (NEA) population. Two potential architectures for the survey were considered: one located at the Earth–Sun L1 Lagrange point, and one in a Venus-trailing orbit. A sample cadence was formulated and tested, allowing for the self-follow-up necessary for objects discovered in the daytime sky on Earth. Synthetic populations of NEAs with sizes as small as 140 m in effective spherical diameter were simulated using recent determinations of their physical and orbital properties. Estimates of the instrumental sensitivity, integration times, and slew speeds were included for both architectures assuming the properties of newly developed large-format 10 μm HgCdTe detector arrays capable of operating at ∼35 K. Our simulation included the creation of a preliminary version of a moving object processing pipeline suitable for operating on the trial cadence. We tested this pipeline on a simulated sky populated with astrophysical sources such as stars and galaxies extrapolated from Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Explorer data, the catalog of known minor planets (including Main Belt asteroids, comets, Jovian Trojans, planets, etc.), and the synthetic NEA model. Trial orbits were computed for simulated position-time pairs extracted from the synthetic surveys to verify that the tested cadence would result in orbits suitable for recovering objects at a later time. Our results indicate that the Earth–Sun L1 and Venus-trailing surveys achieve similar levels of integral completeness for potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140 m; placing the telescope in an interior orbit does not yield an improvement in discovery rates. This work serves as a necessary first step for the detailed planning of a next-generation NEA survey

  13. Bioremediation without earth moving. Biologische Altlastensanierung ohne Erdaushub

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Franz, B; Knapp, A; Mueller, D

    1992-05-01

    According to rough estimates, there are 70,000 sites in the pre-unification Federal Republic of Germany where contamination is suspected. Some 50 to 60% of the contaminated sites are suitable for bioremediation. The Bioux-S process permits in-situ cleanup without any need for complicated and expensive earth moving operations. The culture conditions of the aerobic microorganisms already present in the soil are improved by the introduction of pure oxygen and special nutrients. Such microorganisms are already ideally adapted to the contaminants present and utilise them partly as nutrients and partly to maintain their energy balance. The process has already been successfully used for bioremediation of refinery and gasworks as well as chemical production sites. (orig.).

  14. Near-Earth Object Orbit Linking with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vereš, Peter; Chesley, Steven R.

    2017-07-01

    We have conducted a detailed simulation of the ability of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to link near-Earth and main belt asteroid detections into orbits. The key elements of the study were a high-fidelity detection model and the presence of false detections in the form of both statistical noise and difference image artifacts. We employed the Moving Object Processing System (MOPS) to generate tracklets, tracks, and orbits with a realistic detection density for one month of the LSST survey. The main goals of the study were to understand whether (a) the linking of near-Earth objects (NEOs) into orbits can succeed in a realistic survey, (b) the number of false tracks and orbits will be manageable, and (c) the accuracy of linked orbits would be sufficient for automated processing of discoveries and attributions. We found that the overall density of asteroids was more than 5000 per LSST field near opposition on the ecliptic, plus up to 3000 false detections per field in good seeing. We achieved 93.6% NEO linking efficiency for H< 22 on tracks composed of tracklets from at least three distinct nights within a 12 day interval. The derived NEO catalog was comprised of 96% correct linkages. Less than 0.1% of orbits included false detections, and the remainder of false linkages stemmed from main belt confusion, which was an artifact of the short time span of the simulation. The MOPS linking efficiency can be improved by refined attribution of detections to known objects and by improved tuning of the internal kd-tree linking algorithms.

  15. 2005 River Corridor Cleanup Contractor Revegetation Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    A. L. Johnson

    2005-09-12

    This report contains a compilation of the results of vegetation monitoring data that were collected in the spring and summer of 2005 for the Environmental Restoration Contractor's revegetation and mitigation areas on the Hanford Site.

  16. Re-vegetation of block-cut and milled peatlands: an Estonian example

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Triisberg

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The re-vegetation of mined peatlands after abandonment is often a long-lasting process. The aim of this study was to clarify the factors influencing the re-vegetation of abandoned block-cut, milled and fertilised peat areas in Estonia by investigating and comparing their present vegetation. The analysis is based on 285 quadrat samples where plant species composition and cover were assessed, and the pH and electrical conductivity of bog water were measured. Whereas re-vegetation in the block-cut area was quite fast and progressive, in milled peat areas it was slow and irregular because of the absence of viable propagules and the unfavourable conditions for plant growth. The course of re-vegetation depends considerably upon the peat extraction method, the area and surface microtopography of the mined area, the pH and electrical conductivity of the bog water, and the density at which trees have established on the cutover surface. Plant species richness was most affected by the density of tree saplings, litter cover, former treatment and microtopography. A single application of fertiliser ca 25 years ago did not have a long-term effect on the total number of plant species, but did increase plant cover and the mean number of species per quadrat. On milled peatlands, neither the sowing of Oxycoccus palustris seeds nor the planting of Rubus chamaemorus had the desired effect unless growth conditions for the plants were improved.

  17. Changes in Soil Enzyme Activities and Microbial Biomass after Revegetation in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingshui Ren

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Soil enzymes and microbes are central to the decomposition of plant and microbial detritus, and play important roles in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus biogeochemistry cycling at the ecosystem level. In the present study, we characterized the soil enzyme activity and microbial biomass in revegetated (with Taxodium distichum (L. Rich. and Cynodon dactylon (L. Pers. versus unplanted soil in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR, in order to quantify the effect of revegetation on the edaphic microenvironment after water flooding in situ. After revegetation, the soil physical and chemical properties in revegetated soil showed significant differences to those in unplanted soil. The microbial biomass carbon and phosphorus in soils of T. distichum were significantly higher than those in C. dactylon and unplanted soils, respectively. The microbial biomass nitrogen in revegetated T. distichum and C. dactylon soils was significantly increased by 273% and 203%, respectively. The enzyme activities of T. distichum and C. dactylon soils displayed no significant difference between each other, but exhibited a great increase compared to those of the unplanted soil. Elements ratio (except C/N (S did not vary significantly between T. distichum and C. dactylon soils; meanwhile, a strong community-level elemental homeostasis in the revegetated soils was found. The correlation analyses demonstrated that only microbial biomass carbon and phosphorus had a significantly positive relationship with soil enzyme activities. After revegetation, both soil enzyme activities and microbial biomasses were relatively stable in the T. distichum and C. dactylon soils, with the wooded soil being more superior. The higher enzyme activities and microbial biomasses demonstrate the C, N, and P cycling and the maintenance of soil quality in the riparian zone of the TGDR.

  18. Soil biological attributes in arsenic-contaminated gold mining sites after revegetation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dos Santos, Jessé Valentim; de Melo Rangel, Wesley; Azarias Guimarães, Amanda; Duque Jaramillo, Paula Marcela; Rufini, Márcia; Marra, Leandro Marciano; Varón López, Maryeimy; Pereira da Silva, Michele Aparecida; Fonsêca Sousa Soares, Cláudio Roberto; de Souza Moreira, Fatima Maria

    2013-12-01

    Recovery of arsenic contaminated areas is a challenge society faces throughout the world. Revegetation associated with microbial activity can play an essential role in this process. This work investigated biological attributes in a gold mining area with different arsenic contents at different sites under two types of extant revegetation associated with cover layers of the soil: BS, Brachiaria sp. and Stizolobium sp., and LEGS, Acacia crassicarpa, A. holosericea, A. mangium, Sesbania virgata, Albizia lebbeck and Pseudosamanea guachapele. References were also evaluated, comprising the following three sites: B1, weathered sulfide substrate without revegetation; BM, barren material after gold extraction and PRNH (private reserve of natural heritage), an uncontaminated forest site near the mining area. The organic and microbial biomass carbon contents and substrate-induced respiration rates for these sites from highest to lowest were: PRNH > LEGS > BS > B1 and BM. These attributes were negatively correlated with soluble and total arsenic concentration in the soil. The sites that have undergone revegetation (LEGS and BS) had higher densities of bacteria, fungi, phosphate solubilizers and ammonium oxidizers than the sites without vegetation. Principal component analysis showed that the LEGS site grouped with PRNH, indicating that the use of leguminous species associated with an uncontaminated soil cover layer contributed to the improvement of the biological attributes. With the exception of acid phosphatase, all the biological attributes were indicators of soil recovery, particularly the following: microbial carbon, substrate-induced respiration, density of culturable bacteria, fungi and actinobacteria, phosphate solubilizers and metabolic quotient.

  19. Spontaneous revegetation of mined peatlands in eastern Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poulin, M.; Rochefort, L.; Quinty, F.; Lavoie, C [Laval University, Quebec, QC (Canada)

    2005-05-15

    Revegetation patterns of sphagnum recolonization at abandoned mined peatlands are assessed, based on a survey of 26 abandoned harvested peatlands, in the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. The impact of local and regional variables and the length of time since abandonment are examined. The vegetation structure of all 2571 trenches and 2595 blocks of abandoned block-cut areas and in all 395 vacuum fields of the mechanically mined areas was recorded. The species at 243 recolonized peat fields (selected by random sampling) were analyzed. The abandoned surfaces were found to be distinctly different depending on whether peat extraction was by hand block-cutting or vacuum mining methods. Block-cut peatlands recovered well; herb cover was similar to that in natural peatlands. Practically no sphagnum species recolonized the vacuum- mined peat fields. The species diversity in abandoned mined peat fields was observed to be high. 72 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs., 1 app.

  20. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope as a Near-Earth Object discovery machine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, R. Lynne; Slater, Colin T.; Moeyens, Joachim; Allen, Lori; Axelrod, Tim; Cook, Kem; Ivezić, Željko; Jurić, Mario; Myers, Jonathan; Petry, Catherine E.

    2018-03-01

    Using the most recent prototypes, design, and as-built system information, we test and quantify the capability of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to discover Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). We empirically estimate an expected upper limit to the false detection rate in LSST image differencing, using measurements on DECam data and prototype LSST software and find it to be about 450 deg-2. We show that this rate is already tractable with current prototype of the LSST Moving Object Processing System (MOPS) by processing a 30-day simulation consistent with measured false detection rates. We proceed to evaluate the performance of the LSST baseline survey strategy for PHAs and NEOs using a high-fidelity simulated survey pointing history. We find that LSST alone, using its baseline survey strategy, will detect 66% of the PHA and 61% of the NEO population objects brighter than H = 22 , with the uncertainty in the estimate of ± 5 percentage points. By generating and examining variations on the baseline survey strategy, we show it is possible to further improve the discovery yields. In particular, we find that extending the LSST survey by two additional years and doubling the MOPS search window increases the completeness for PHAs to 86% (including those discovered by contemporaneous surveys) without jeopardizing other LSST science goals (77% for NEOs). This equates to reducing the undiscovered population of PHAs by additional 26% (15% for NEOs), relative to the baseline survey.

  1. Revegetation of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) Producing Slope Surface Using Phosphate Microencapsulation and Artificial Soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jae Gon

    2017-04-01

    Oxidation of sulfides produces acid rock drainage (ARD) upon their exposure to oxidation environment by construction and mining activities. The ARD causes the acidification and metal contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater, the damage of plant, the deterioration of landscape and the reduction of slope stability. The revegetation of slope surface is one of commonly adopted strategies to reduce erosion and to increase slope stability. However, the revegetation of the ARD producing slope surface is frequently failed due to its high acidity and toxic metal content. We developed a revegetation method consisting of microencapsualtion and artificial soil in the laboratory. The revegetation method was applied on the ARD producing slope on which the revegetation using soil coverage and seeding was failed and monitored the plant growth for one year. The phosphate solution was applied on sulfide containing rock to form stable Fe-phosphate mineral on the surface of sulfide, which worked as a physical barrier to prevent contacting oxidants such as oxygen and Fe3+ ion to the sulfide surface. After the microencapsulation, two artificial soil layers were constructed. The first layer containing organic matter, dolomite powder and soil was constructed at 2 cm thickness to neutralize the rising acidic capillary water from the subsurface and to remove the dissolved oxygen from the percolating rain water. Finally, the second layer containing seeds, organic matter, nutrients and soil was constructed at 3 cm thickness on the top. After application of the method, the pH of the soil below the artificial soil layer increased and the ARD production from the rock fragments reduced. The plant growth showed an ordinary state while the plant died two month after germination for the previous revegetation trial. No soil erosion occurred from the slope during the one year field test.

  2. 36 CFR 223.37 - Revegetation of temporary roads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... roads. 223.37 Section 223.37 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... Provisions § 223.37 Revegetation of temporary roads. Timber sale contracts, permits and other documents... roads constructed or used thereunder so as to permit the reestablishment by artificial or natural means...

  3. Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardegree, Stuart P.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Brunson, Mark W.; Germino, Matthew; Hegewisch, Katherine C.; Moffet, Corey A.; Pilliod, David S.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Boehm, Alex R.; Meredith, Gwendwr R.

    2018-01-01

    Invasive annual weeds negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat on semiarid rangelands throughout the western United States. Rehabilitation of these rangelands is challenging due to interannual climate and subseasonal weather variability that impacts seed germination, seedling survival and establishment, annual weed dynamics, wildfire frequency, and soil stability. Rehabilitation and restoration outcomes could be improved by adopting a weather-centric approach that uses the full spectrum of available site-specific weather information from historical observations, seasonal climate forecasts, and climate-change projections. Climate data can be used retrospectively to interpret success or failure of past seedings by describing seasonal and longer-term patterns of environmental variability subsequent to planting. A more detailed evaluation of weather impacts on site conditions may yield more flexible adaptive-management strategies for rangeland restoration and rehabilitation, as well as provide estimates of transition probabilities between desirable and undesirable vegetation states. Skillful seasonal climate forecasts could greatly improve the cost efficiency of management treatments by limiting revegetation activities to time periods where forecasts suggest higher probabilities of successful seedling establishment. Climate-change projections are key to the application of current environmental models for development of mitigation and adaptation strategies and for management practices that require a multidecadal planning horizon. Adoption of new weather technology will require collaboration between land managers and revegetation specialists and modifications to the way we currently plan and conduct rangeland rehabilitation and restoration in the Intermountain West.

  4. Managing trade-offs in landscape restoration and revegetation projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maron, Martine; Cockfield, Geoff

    2008-12-01

    Landscape restoration projects often have multiple and disparate conservation, resource enhancement, and sometimes economic objectives, since projects that seek to meet more than one objective tend to be viewed more positively by funding agencies and the community. The degree to which there are trade-offs among desired objectives is an important variable for decision makers, yet this is rarely explicitly considered. In particular, the existence of ecological thresholds has important implications for decision-making at both the project level and the regional level. We develop a model of the possibilities and choices for an agency seeking to achieve two environmental objectives in a region through revegetation of a number of sites. A graphical model of the production possibilities sets for a single revegetation project is developed, and different trade-off relationships are discussed and illustrated. Then the model is used to demonstrate the possibilities for managing all such projects within a region. We show that, where there are thresholds in the trade-off relationship between two objectives, specialization (single- or dominant-objective projects) should be considered. This is illustrated using a case study in which revegetation is used to meet avian biodiversity and salinity mitigation objectives. We conclude that where there are sufficient scientific data, explicit consideration of different types of trade-offs can assist in making decisions about the most efficient mix and type of projects to better achieve a range of objectives within a region.

  5. Revegetation dynamics after 15 years of rewetting in two extracted peatlands in Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A. Kozlov

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The restoration of extracted peatlands poses challenges with regard to their recolonisation by vegetation. The most significant problems are unstable water levels, destroyed propagule bank, and temperature fluctuations on bare peat surfaces. Rewetting is considered necessary for the re-establishment of peat-forming vegetation. Revegetation was investigated in a long-term field study at two rewetted extracted peatland sites in south-central Sweden, namely Västkärr (originally a lagg fen and Porla (originally a bog. Both sites were expanses of bare peat before rewetting. Rewetting procedures were applied in 1999 and strongly promoted plant colonisation. At Västkärr, colonisation started in the first year after rewetting, mostly by species that were not found during repeat vegetation surveys 15 years later. By 2014, Västkärr was a shallow lake surrounded by mesotrophic and eutrophic vegetation with species such as Carex rostrata, Lemna minor, Typha latifolia, Phalaris arundinacea and Phragmites australis. Revegetation of the Porla site was slower and started with Eriophorum vaginatum and Polytrichum spp. Sphagnum mosses appeared after six years and had established quite well after 13 years. A residual Sphagnum peat layer, inflowing surface water and groundwater provided spatially variable nutrient conditions. Sphagnum species and E. vaginatum established in nutrient-poor areas, while C. rostrata, P. australis and Eriophorum angustifolium colonised more nutrient-rich locations.

  6. Fiscal Year 2009 Revegetation Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Michael Lewis

    2009-10-01

    This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2009 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to supplement documentation related to the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for Construction Activities and to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: • Summary of each site • Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location • Recommendation(s) for each site.

  7. Fiscal Year 2010 Revegetation Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jenifer Nordstrom; Mike Lewis

    2010-11-01

    This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2010 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to supplement documentation related to the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for Construction Activities and to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: • Summary of each site • Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location • Recommendation(s) for each site.

  8. Assessment of carbon sequestration potential of revegetated coal mine overburden dumps: A chronosequence study from dry tropical climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahirwal, Jitendra; Maiti, Subodh Kumar

    2017-10-01

    Development of secondary forest as post-mining land use in the surface coal mining degraded sites is of high research interest due to its potential to sequester atmospheric carbon (C). The objectives of this study were to assess the improvement in mine soil quality and C sequestration potential of the post-mining reclaimed land with time. Hence, this study was conducted in reclaimed chronosequence sites (young, intermediate and old) of a large open cast coal project (Central Coal Fields Limited, Jharkhand, India) and results were compared to a reference forest site (Sal forest, Shorea robusta). Mine soil quality was assessed in terms of accretion of soil organic carbon (SOC), available nitrogen (N) and soil CO 2 flux along with the age of revegetation. After 14 years of revegetation, SOC and N concentrations increased three and five-fold, respectively and found equivalent to the reference site. Accretion of SOC stock was estimated to be 1.9 Mg C ha -1 year -1 . Total ecosystem C sequestered after 2-14 years of revegetation increased from 8 Mg C ha -1 to 90 Mg C ha -1 (30-333 Mg CO 2 ha -1 ) with an average rate of 6.4 Mg C ha -1 year -1 . Above ground biomass contributes maximum C sequestrate (50%) in revegetated site. CO 2 flux increased with age of revegetation and found 11, 33 and 42 Mg CO 2 ha -1 year -1 in younger, intermediate and older dumps, respectively. Soil respiration in revegetated site is more influenced by the temperature than soil moisture. Results of the study also showed that trees like, Dalbergia sissoo and Heterophragma adenophyllum should be preferred for revegetation of mine degraded sites. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Biochar Improves Performance of Plants for Mine Soil Revegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biochar (the solid by-product of pyrolysis of biomass), has the potential to improve plant performance for revegetation of mine soils by improving soil chemistry, fertility, moisture holding capacity and by binding heavy metals. We investigated the effect of gasified conifer sof...

  10. Monitoring of natural revegetation of Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sultanova, B.M.

    2002-01-01

    It is well known, that monitoring of natural revegetation of Semipalatinsk test site (STS) was carried out during period 1994-2002 at test areas (Experimental field, Balapan, Degelen). In this paper the peculiarities of vegetation cover of these test areas are observed. Thus, vegetation cover of Experimental field ground in the epicentre is completely destroyed. At present there are different stages of zonal steppe communities rehabilitation: in zones with γ-irradiation 11000-14000 μR/h the revegetation is not found; on the plots with γ-irradiation 8200-10000 μR/h rare species of Artemisia frigida are found; aggregation of plant (managed from 6000-7000 μR/h is observed; At the γ-irradiation 80-200 μR/h rarefied groups of bunch grass communities similar to the zonal steppe are formed and zonal bunch grass communities developed with 18-25 μR/h. Vegetation cover of Degelen hill tops and near-mouth ground in the results of underground nuclear expulsions are completely destroyed. Here there are three main kinds of vegetation: very stony gallery areas don't almost overgrow; at technogen tops near galleries the single plants, rare field groups and unclosed micro-phyto-biocenoses of weed and adventive species (Amaranthus retroflexus, Artemisia dracunculus, Laxctuca serriola, Chorispora sibirica etc.). On the Balapan are the revegetation is limited by high radiation pollution rate. Here cenose rehabilitation is presented by Artemisia marshalliana, Spita sareptana, Festuca valresiaca). In their paper florostic and phyrocoenitic diversity of STS's flora transformation is studied. Pattern distribution and migration of radionuclides in soils and vegetation cover is represented

  11. Transit and radial velocity survey efficiency comparison for a habitable zone Earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burke, Christopher J.; McCullough, P. R.

    2014-01-01

    Transit and radial velocity searches are two techniques for identifying nearby extrasolar planets to Earth that transit bright stars. Identifying a robust sample of these exoplanets around bright stars for detailed atmospheric characterization is a major observational undertaking. In this study we describe a framework that answers the question of whether a transit or radial velocity survey is more efficient at finding transiting exoplanets given the same amount of observing time. Within the framework we show that a transit survey's window function can be approximated using the hypergeometric probability distribution. We estimate the observing time required for a transit survey to find a transiting Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone (HZ) with an emphasis on late-type stars. We also estimate the radial velocity precision necessary to detect the equivalent HZ Earth-mass exoplanet that also transits when using an equal amount of observing time as the transit survey. We find that a radial velocity survey with σ rv ∼ 0.6 m s –1 precision has comparable efficiency in terms of observing time to a transit survey with the requisite photometric precision σ phot ∼ 300 ppm to find a transiting Earth-sized exoplanet in the HZ of late M dwarfs. For super-Earths, a σ rv ∼ 2.0 m s –1 precision radial velocity survey has comparable efficiency to a transit survey with σ phot ∼ 2300 ppm.

  12. A comparison of Google Earth extracted points with GPS surveyed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Surveying has become the most effective way of taking measurement in or/and on the earth surface. There is an exponential rise in techniques of taking measurements on the earth for different reasons and purposes. Google Earth offers an open source service, easy to access and cost free image data that supports map ...

  13. Heavy mineral survey for rare earths in the Northern part of Palawan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes, R.Y.; Santos, G.P.; Magsambol, W.N.; Ramos, A.F.; Petrache, C.A.; Tabora, E.U.

    1992-01-01

    A reconnaissance geochemical survey for rare earths was carried out over the northern half of Palawan with considerable success. The survey represents the first systematic geochemical exploration effort to look for indigenous rare earth resources in the Philippines. Total area covered was about 5,000 sq km. The survey entailed the systematic collection of 740 heavy mineral panned concentrate and stream sediment samples along streams and rivers. The average sampling density was about one set of sample per 2-15 sq km. A total of 218 heavy mineral samples were analyzed for lathanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium and yttrium. Analysis of stream sediments for rare earths was discontinued due to the high detection limit of the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Results of the survey clearly indicated the effectiveness of heavy mineral sampling for rare earths at the reconnaissance level of exploration. Six anomalous and well-defined areas of interest were delineated for possible rare earth mineralization. Three priority zones were further outlined from the six prospective areas for possible follow-up surveys. Mineralogical examination of heavy minerals revealed the presence of major allanite and minor monazite as the potential hosts of rare earths in the priority zone number one. Gray monazite was identified in the priority zone number two as the rare earth mineral. Minute specks and grains of gold were visibly present in some of the heavy mineral samples taken in this area. A combined mineralization of rare earths and gold in this area is a possibility. The discovery of the first gray nodular monazite in Palawan may extend the age of the oldest rocks in the Philippines to Lower Paleozoic. A separate study to establish the age of the oldest rocks in the country is likewise necessary. (auth.). 27 refs.; 6 figs.; 8 tabs

  14. Native plants for roadside revegetation : field evaluations and best practices identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-01

    Establishing native vegetation communities on roadsides can be a proactive approach to sustainable roadways. Revegetation : with native species is the preferred management practice on Idaho roadways. : The environmental and economic benefits of : inc...

  15. Bacterial community structure and diversity responses to the direct revegetation of an artisanal zinc smelting slag after 5 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Youfa; Wu, Yonggui; Wang, Hu; Xing, Rongrong; Zheng, Zhilin; Qiu, Jing; Yang, Lian

    2018-05-01

    This comparative field study examined the responses of bacterial community structure and diversity to the revegetation of zinc (Zn) smelting waste slag with eight plant species after 5 years. The microbial community structure of waste slag with and without vegetation was evaluated using high-throughput sequencing. The physiochemical properties of Zn smelting slag after revegetation with eight plant rhizospheres for 5 years were improved compared to those of bulk slag. Revegetation significantly increased the microbial community diversity in plant rhizospheres, and at the phylum level, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were notably more abundant in rhizosphere slags than those in bulk waste slag. Additionally, revegetation increased the relative abundance of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria such as Flavobacterium, Streptomyces, and Arthrobacter as well as symbiotic N 2 fixers such as Bradyrhizobium. Three dominant native plant species (Arundo donax, Broussonetia papyrifera, and Robinia pseudoacacia) greatly increased the quality of the rhizosphere slags. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the differences in bacterial community structure between the bulk and rhizosphere slags were explained by slag properties, i.e., pH, available copper (Cu) and lead (Pb), moisture, available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), and organic matter (OM); however, available Zn and cadmium (Cd) contents were the slag parameters that best explained the differences between the rhizosphere communities of the eight plant species. The results suggested that revegetation plays an important role in enhancing bacterial community abundance and diversity in rhizosphere slags and that revegetation may also regulate microbiological properties and diversity mainly through changes in heavy metal bioavailability and physiochemical slag characteristics.

  16. 30 CFR 823.15 - Revegetation and restoration of soil productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... productivity. 823.15 Section 823.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT... STANDARDS-OPERATIONS ON PRIME FARMLAND § 823.15 Revegetation and restoration of soil productivity. (a... productivity shall be restored in accordance with the following provisions: (1) Measurement of soil...

  17. Changes in Microbial Community Structure and Soil Biological Properties in Mined Dune Areas During Re-vegetation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, Indra Elena C; Santos, Vilma M; da Silva, Danielle Karla A; Fernandes, Marcelo F; Cavalcante, Uided Maaze T; Maia, Leonor C

    2015-06-01

    The aim of this study was to describe the impact of re-vegetation on the restoration of microbial community structure and soil microbiological properties in sand dunes that had been affected by mining activity. Soil samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons from a chronosequence (1, 9, 21 years) of re-vegetated dunes using a single preserved dune as a reference. The composition of the fatty acid methyl esters and soil microbial properties were evaluated. The results showed that the changes in microbial community structure were related to seasonal variations: biomarkers of Gram-positive bacteria were higher than Gram-negative bacteria during the dry season, showing that this group of organisms is more tolerant to these stressful conditions. The microbial community structure in the natural dune was less affected by seasonal variation compared to the re-vegetated areas, whereas the opposite was observed for microbiological properties. Thus, in general, the proportion of saprobic fungi was higher in the natural dune, whereas Gram-negative bacteria were proportionally more common in the younger areas. Although over time the re-vegetation allows the recovery of the microbial community and the soil functions, these communities and functions are different from those found in the undisturbed areas.

  18. Molecular Ecology of nifH Genes and Transcripts Along a Chronosequence in Revegetated Areas of the Tengger Desert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jin; Bao, Jing-Ting; Li, Xin-Rong; Liu, Yu-Bing

    2016-01-01

    The colonization and succession of diazotrophs are essential for the development of organic soil layers in desert. We examined the succession of diazotrophs in the well-established revegetated areas representing a chronosequence of 0 year (control), 22 years (restored artificially since 1981), 57 years (restored artificially since 1956), and more than 100 years (restored naturally) to determine the community assembly and active expression of diazotrophs. The pyrosequencing data revealed that Alphaproteobacteria-like diazotrophs predominated in the topsoil of our mobile dune site, while cyanobacterial diazotrophs predominated in the revegetated sites. The cyanobacterial diazotrophs were primarily composed of the heterocystous genera Anabaena, Calothrix, Cylindrospermum, Nodularia, Nostoc, Trichormus, and Mastigocladus. Almost all the nifH sequences belonged to the Cyanobacteria phylum (all the relative abundance values >99.1 %) at transcript level and all the active cyanobacterial diazotrophs distributed in the families Nostocaceae and Rivulariaceae. The most dominant active cyanobacterial genus was Cylindrospermum in all the samples. The rank abundance and community analyses demonstrated that most of the diazotrophic diversity originated from the "rare" species, and all the DNA-based diazotrophic libraries were richer and more diverse than their RNA-based counterparts in the revegetated sites. Significant differences in the diazotrophic community and their active population composition were observed among the four research sites. Samples from the 1981-revegetating site (predominated by cyanobacterial crusts) showed the highest nitrogenase activity, followed by samples from the naturally revegetating site (predominated by lichen crusts), the 1956-revegetating site (predominated by moss crusts), and the mobile dune site (without crusts). Collectively, our data highlight the importance of nitrogen fixation by the primary successional desert topsoil and suggest

  19. Revegetation in China’s Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xiaoming; Fu, Bojie; Piao, Shilong; Wang, Shuai; Ciais, Philippe; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Lü, Yihe; Zeng, Yuan; Li, Yue; Jiang, Xiaohui; Wu, Bingfang

    2016-11-01

    Revegetation of degraded ecosystems provides opportunities for carbon sequestration and bioenergy production. However, vegetation expansion in water-limited areas creates potentially conflicting demands for water between the ecosystem and humans. Current understanding of these competing demands is still limited. Here, we study the semi-arid Loess Plateau in China, where the `Grain to Green’ large-scale revegetation programme has been in operation since 1999. As expected, we found that the new planting has caused both net primary productivity (NPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) to increase. Also the increase of ET has induced a significant (p develop a new conceptual framework to determine the critical carbon sequestration that is sustainable in terms of both ecological and socio-economic resource demands in a coupled anthropogenic-biological system.

  20. At the edge of the earth's magnetosphere: a survey by the AMPTE UKS spacecraft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryant, D.A.; Riggs, S.

    1988-10-01

    A survey is made, using measurements from the AMPTE-UKS spacecraft, of the interaction between plasmas of solar and terrestrial origin at the outer edge of the Earth's magnetosphere. The first results are presented of a new type of analysis which aims to clarify the nature of the boundary layer that develops between the two plasmas by re-ordering, on the basis of a consistent relationship between electron density and temperature and the normally erratic progress made by a spacecraft across the constantly moving region. Distinctive patterns found consistently for the electron and ion transitions suggest that diffusion, viscosity and loss to the atmosphere govern the boundary layer. Electron acceleration within the boundary layer is identified; and its cause, and relevance to dayside auroral precipitation are discussed. (author)

  1. Fiscal Year 2013 Revegetation Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nordstrom, Jenifer [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2013-11-01

    This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2013 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to supplement documentation related to the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for Construction Activities and to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: Summary of each site Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location Actions and Resolutions for each site. Six disturbed sites were evaluated for this assessment. One has achieved final stabilization. The remaining five sites not meeting the criteria for final stabilization will be evaluated again in the next fiscal year.

  2. Assessing the impact of revegetation and weed control on urban sensitive bird species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archibald, Carla L; McKinney, Matthew; Mustin, Karen; Shanahan, Danielle F; Possingham, Hugh P

    2017-06-01

    Nature in cities is concentrated in urban green spaces, which are key areas for urban biodiversity and also important areas to connect people with nature. To conserve urban biodiversity within these natural refugia, habitat restoration such as weed control and revegetation is often implemented. These actions are expected to benefit biodiversity, although species known to be affected by urbanization may not be interacting with restoration in the ways we anticipate. In this study, we use a case study to explore how urban restoration activities impact different bird species. Birds were grouped into urban sensitivity categories and species abundance, and richness was then calculated using a hierarchical species community model for individual species responses, with "urban class" used as the hierarchical parameter. We highlight variable responses of birds to revegetation and weed control based on their level of urban sensitivity. Revegetation of open grassy areas delivers significant bird conservation outcomes, but the effects of weed control are neutral or in some cases negative. Specifically, the species most reliant on remnant vegetation in cities seem to remain stable or decline in abundance in areas with weed control, which we suspect is the result of a simplification of the understorey. The literature reports mixed benefits of weed control between taxa and between locations. We recommend, in our case study site, that weed control be implemented in concert with replanting of native vegetation to provide the understory structure preferred by urban sensitive birds. Understanding the impacts of revegetation and weed control on different bird species is important information for practitioners to make restoration decisions about the allocation of funds for conservation action. This new knowledge can be used both for threatened species and invasive species management.

  3. TRANSIT SURVEYS FOR EARTHS IN THE HABITABLE ZONES OF WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agol, Eric

    2011-01-01

    To date the search for habitable Earth-like planets has primarily focused on nuclear burning stars. I propose that this search should be expanded to cool white dwarf stars that have expended their nuclear fuel. I define the continuously habitable zone of white dwarfs and show that it extends from ∼0.005 to 0.02 AU for white dwarfs with masses from 0.4 to 0.9 M sun , temperatures less than ∼10 4 K, and habitable durations of at least 3 Gyr. As they are similar in size to Earth, white dwarfs may be deeply eclipsed by terrestrial planets that orbit edge-on, which can easily be detected with ground-based telescopes. If planets can migrate inward or reform near white dwarfs, I show that a global robotic telescope network could carry out a transit survey of nearby white dwarfs placing interesting constraints on the presence of habitable Earths. If planets were detected, I show that the survey would favor detection of planets similar to Earth: similar size, temperature, and rotation period, and host star temperatures similar to the Sun. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope could place even tighter constraints on the frequency of habitable Earths around white dwarfs. The confirmation and characterization of these planets might be carried out with large ground and space telescopes.

  4. Identifying New Members of Nearby Moving Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmbeck, Erika; Vican, Laura

    2014-06-01

    Our group has assembled a sample of 14,000 stars of spectral types B9-M9 with measured UVW Galactic space velocities and lying within 125 pc of Earth. We have identified candidate members of three nearby young (less than 100 Myr) moving groups. For stars of spectral types G5 and later, we have used the Kast spectrometer on the Shane 3m telescope at Lick Observatory to measure lithium abundance in order to determine stellar ages. With the data we have obtained from this run, we will be able to establish whether our candidates are bona fide members of the moving groups in question. I will be presenting the preliminary results from this survey, including spectra of the ~50 stars observed thus far. These nearby young stars will make excellent targets for direct imaging followup surveys, since any giant planets around young stars will still be warm, and will therefore be bright enough to detect with instruments like GPI.

  5. Fiscal Year 2012 Revegetation Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jenifer Nordstrom

    2012-11-01

    This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2012 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to supplement documentation related to the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for Construction Activities and to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: • Summary of each site • Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location • Actions and Resolutions for each site. Ten disturbed sites were evaluated for this assessment. Six have achieved final stabilization. The remaining four sites not meeting the criteria for final stabilization will be evaluated again in the next fiscal year.

  6. Developing native grass seed industries for revegetation in Australia and the western United States: A contrast in production and adoption

    Science.gov (United States)

    C. M. Waters; N. L. Shaw

    2003-01-01

    Globally, an increased desire to restore, rehabilitate or revegetate with native plants represents a shift toward more ecologically focused restoration goals. In the Australian rangelands, an increasing need to address revegetation is not being matched by an availability of seed material. This contrasts with the United States where a well-structured native seed...

  7. Effects of revegetation and precipitation gradient on soil carbon and nitrogen variations in deep profiles on the Loess Plateau of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuo, Dengfeng; Gao, Guangyao; Chang, Ruiying; Li, Zongshan; Ma, Ying; Wang, Shuai; Wang, Cong; Fu, Bojie

    2018-06-01

    Precipitation is one of the most important factors affecting the variations in soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) following revegetation. However, the effects of revegetation and precipitation gradients on soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and C-N interactions in deep profiles over large scales are poorly understood. This study measured the SOC and TN stocks to depth of 300 cm in three revegetation types (grassland, shrubland and forestland) and paired cropland stands at seven sites along a precipitation gradient with mean annual precipitation (MAP) from 280 to 540 mm yr -1 in the Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that the SOC and TN stocks in the 0-300 cm profile increased along the precipitation gradient. Revegetation did not always result in accumulation of SOC and TN stocks, which depended on the precipitation condition and varied among different vegetation types. Grassland restoration resulted in more SOC and TN accumulation than shrubland and forestland in areas with MAP  510 mm. The changes in SOC and TN stocks following revegetation (∆SOC and ∆TN) were significantly correlated with MAP in only the 0-20 cm layer, whereas the changes in the C/N ratio of each depth were significantly and negatively correlated with MAP. The correlations between ∆SOC and ∆TN were stronger in the 0-60 cm layer than that in the 60-300 cm layer, and an accumulation of 1 g TN was associated with approximately 7.9 g increase of SOC in the 0-300 cm profile following revegetation. This study indicated that the changes in soil C and N stocks following revegetation had different patterns along precipitation gradient and among depths, and grassland restoration and N fertilizer input benefitted soil C and N sequestration in drier areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Perubahan Lingkungan Mikro pada Berbagai Penutupan Lahan Hasil Revegetasi (Micro Environmental Change in Various Form Land Cover Revegetation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dadan Mulyana

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Evaluation of land rehabilitation (revegetation activities is necessary for measuring the extent of success of the ongoing activities in rehabilitating and recovering degraded lands. One way for evaluating the success of land rehabilitation (revegetation is by determining the changes of micro enviroment.  The objective of this research was to study the changes of micro environment in  various types of revegetated land cover, including scrub/bush land (SB, agricultural land (TP, monoculture teak (JM and mixed crops (TC in Ciliwung upper watershed. Research results showed that the highest air temperature and soil temperature were  obtained at SB, respectively at 32.8 0C and 26.5 0C, and the lowest at TC, respectively at 28.1 0C and 20.7 0C. Relative humidity and soil moisture were highest at TC (72.3% and 96% and lowest at SB (60.8%, and the lowest soil moisture occurred at JM (45%.  The highest infiltration rate occurred on TP (475.5 mm h-1, very rapid, followed by JM (117 mmh-1, fast and TC (80 mm h-1, and the lowest at SB (17.65 mm h-1, medium slow.  Erosion reductions occurred after 6 years of the revegetation activities with the following  results:TC  (96,676.1 ton year-1 ha-1, JM (10,790 ton year-1 ha-1, TP and SB (52,867.9 ton year-1 ha-1 and 24,612.6 ton year-1 ha-1.  The micro environments for all land cover types were better after revegetation activities.Keywords: micro environment, land cover, erosion, infiltration, upper watershed

  9. Selected species and amendments for revegetating saline flue gas desulfurization sludge: greenhouse study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salo, L.F.; Artiola, J.F.; Goodrich-Mahoney, J.W. [University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ (United States). Dept. of Soil, Water and Environmental Science

    1997-07-01

    Codisposing low-volume wastes from electrical generating stations with flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber sludge simplifies waste disposal but produces a saline waste that presents unique challenges to revegetation. This greenhouse study identified plants and amendments for revegetating a saline FGD sludge disposal pond in eastern Arizona. Survival and growth of 16 sown accessions plus two vegetatively propagated accessions of inland saltgrass were investigated in saline FGD sludge. Amendments used included two soils from the disposal site, Claysprings gravelly clay and Sheppard sand, composted steer manure, and N-P-K fertilizers. Sols and manure were added at 2:1 sludge/amendment (v/v). Plants were irrigated with a 1:1 mixture of disposal pond water and untreated well water. One accession of inland saltgrass, two cultivars of tall wheatgrass, Altai wildrye tall fescue and alkali sacaton show promise for revegetating saline FGD sludge disposal sites. Survival rates were the same in unamended sludge and in sludge amended with the clay soil or with N-P-K fertilizer. Plant dry matter produced was the same in unamended sludge and in sludge amended with either of the soils or with N-P-K. Although survival rates were significantly lower with manure than with any other amendment, growth was significantly greater by all measurements, due to the high fertility of this treatment. 34 refs., 5 tabs.

  10. Stable Isotopic Analysis on Water Utilization of Two Xerophytic Shrubs in a Revegetated Desert Area: Tengger Desert, China

    OpenAIRE

    Lei Huang; Zhishan Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Stable isotope studies on stable isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen in water within plants provide new information on water sources and water use patterns under natural conditions. In this study, the sources of water uptake for two typical xerophytic shrubs, Caragana korshinskii and Artemisia ordosica, were determined at four different-aged revegetated sites (1956, 1964, 1981, and 1987) in the Tengger Desert, a revegetated desert area in China. Samples from precipitation, soil water at dif...

  11. The rapid moving Capriglio earth flow (Parma Province, North Italy): multi-temporal mapping and GB-InSAR monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardi, Federica; Raspini, Federico; Frodella, William; Lombardi, Luca; Nocentini, Massimiliano; Gigli, Giovanni; Morelli, Stefano; Corsini, Alessandro; Casagli, Nicola

    2017-04-01

    This research presents the main findings of the multi-temporal mapping and of the long-term, real-time monitoring of the Capriglio landslide in the Emilian Apennines (Northern Italy). The landslide, triggered by prolonged rainfall and rapid snowmelt, activated of April 6th 2013. It is constituted by two main adjacent enlarging bodies with a roto-translational kinematics. They activated in sequence and subsequently joined into a large fast moving earth flow, channelizing downstream the Bardea Creek, for a total length of about 3600 meters. The landslide completely destroyed a 450 m sector of the provincial roadway S.P. 101, and its retrogression tendency put at high risk the Capriglio and Pianestolla villages, located in the upper watershed area of the Bardea River. Furthermore, the advancing toe seriously threatened the Antria bridge, representing the "Massese" provincial roadway S.P. 665R transect over the Bardea Creek, the only strategic roadway left able to connect the above-mentioned villages. With the final aim of supporting local authorities in the hazard assessment and risk management during the emergency phase, on May 5th 2013 aerial optical surveys were conducted to accurately map the landslide extension and evolution. Moreover, a GB-InSAR monitoring campaign was started in order to assess displacements of the whole landslide area. The versatility and flexibility of the GB-InSAR sensors allowed acquiring data with two different configurations, designed and set up to continuously retrieve information on the landslide movements rates (both in its upper slow-moving sectors and in its fast-moving toe). The first acquisition mode revealed that the Capriglio and Pianestolla villages were affected by minor displacements (order of magnitude of few millimetres per month). The second acquisition mode allowed to acquire data every 28'', reaching very high temporal resolution values by applying GB-InSAR technique (Monserrat et al., 2014; Caduff et al., 2015).

  12. Requirements and concept design for large earth survey telescope for SEOS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mailhot, P.; Bisbee, J.

    1975-01-01

    The efforts of a one year program of Requirements Analysis and Conceptual Design for the Large Earth Survey Telescope for the Synchronous Earth Observatory Satellite is summarized. A 1.4 meter aperture Cassegrain telescope with 0.6 deg field of view is shown to do an excellent job in satisfying the observational requirements for a wide range of earth resources and meteorological applications. The telescope provides imagery or thermal mapping in ten spectral bands at one time in a field sharing grouping of linear detector arrays. Pushbroom scanning is accomplished by spacecraft slew.

  13. Revegetation following artificial disturbance. Three year progress report, June 1, 1975--February 28, 1978

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraley, L. Jr.

    1978-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to look at some of the potential problems associated with reseeding or reclamation in the buffer zone at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant near Golden, Colorado. During the time covered by this report, another contract dealing with the Grasslands Irradiation Site was transferred to this contract. It was proposed that plant sensitivity to an internal alpha dose, such as might be encountered on Pu contaminated or uranium mine mill tailing contaminated soils, be measured using chromosome aberrations as the end point. This three year report is divided into two subproject reports; one dealing with the Rocky Flats work and one dealing with the grasslands irradiation study. The objectives of the first study were to determine a rapid and feasible method of revegetation;determine a revegetation method such that the vegetation will revert to a natural system as rapidly as possible; and develop a predictive model for soil movement by wind during the revegetation period. The results of the second investigation to date are as follows. There was no change in diversity over the last 3 year period. There was no change in coefficient of community over the last 3 year period. There was no change in Bogr cover over the last 3 year period, but there has been a steady but slow decline in the exposure rate resulting in a Bogr cover equal to 50% of the no effects mean since the second year of irradiation

  14. Use of wet FGD material for revegetation of an abandoned acidic coal refuse pile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mafi, S.; Stehouwer, R.C.

    1996-01-01

    Wet FGD material has a neutralizing potential of 15% CaCO 3 . These properties may make it a beneficial amendment for revegetation of hyper-acidic coal refuse. In greenhouse and field experiments, coal refuse (pH = 2.5) was amended with wet FGD (300, 500, and 700 tons/acre). Amendment with FGD was as effective as agricultural lime (AL) in increasing refuse pH and decreasing soluble Al and Fe. Addition of compost to the FGD further increased pH and decreased soluble Al and Fe. Downward transport of Ca was greater with FGD than AL, but FGD did not increase leachate concentrations of S. Amendment with FGD increased refuse, leachate and plant tissue concentrations of B. Other trace elements were not increased by FGD. In the greenhouse, plant growth was similar with AL and FGD except during the first three months when AL produced more growth than FGD. The initial growth suppression by FGD was likely due to high soluble salts, and possibly by high B concentrations. During the first year of the field experiment plant growth was greater with FGD than with AL. In both the field and greenhouse experiments compost increased plant growth when combined with FGD. These experiments show revegetation of toxic coal refuse and improvement in drainage water quality is possible by amendment with FGD. Revegetation success will be improved by combined amendment with FGD and compost

  15. Revegetation of wellsite disturbances on Fescue Prairie in east-central Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woosaree, J.; Puhl, M.

    1999-01-01

    It has been observed that past methods of revegetating disturbed land in Alberta by using commercially-available species of grasses has had limited success in terms of biodiversity, the reason being that commercial forage species are highly competitive, and as such not only prevented the original prairie species from returning to reclaimed sites, but in some cases they have migrated from reclaimed sites and invaded surrounding native prairie. Alfalfa, crested wheatgrass, Kentucky bluegrass and Canada bluegrass are believed to be the most invasive of these commercially available species. Because their use in the past has resulted in landscape fragmentation, they are not recommended for use on wellsites located on native prairie. The limited mix of available native grass cultivars also have had limited success in increasing species diversity. Cross seeding has been suggested as one method for reducing the effect of inter-specific competition on the species emergence. However, the general view of government and industry is that improved methods of revegetation of wellsite disturbances and new guidelines for determining reclamation success are required to establish more ecologically compatible plant communities on well site disturbances 4 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs

  16. Surveying Earth Science Users: Improvements Increase Participation and Insight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boquist, C. L.

    2006-12-01

    NASA has surveyed users of its Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) for three years to determine user satisfaction with its services. The survey is being conducted by Claes Fornell International (CFI) under contract with the Department of Treasury's Federal Consulting Group, Executive Agent in government for the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The purpose of this survey is to help EOSDIS and the data centers assess current status and improve future services. Analysis of each year's results has led to refining, dropping, and adding questions that provide the basis of understanding satisfaction levels across data centers, and for functions within each center. This paper will present lessons learned in preparing the invitation and survey questions and the steps taken to make the survey easier to complete. Year three Indicators include increased participation and better identification with data center names and information services.

  17. At the edge of the Earth's magnetosphere: a survey by AMPTE-UKS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryant, D.A.; Riggs, S.

    1989-01-01

    A survey is made, by using measurements from the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers - United Kingdom Satellite, of the interaction between plasmas of solar and terrestrial origin at the outer edge of the Earth's magnetosphere. The position of the boundary and its rate of movement are related statistically to solar-wind dynamic pressure and its variations. The first results are presented of a new type of analysis which aims to clarify the nature of the boundary layer that develops between the two plasmas by reordering, on the basis of a consistent relation between electron density and temperature, the normally erratic progress made by a spacecraft across the constantly moving region. Distinctive patterns found consistently for the electron and ion transitions suggest that diffusion, viscosity and loss to the atmosphere govern the boundary layer. Various possibilities are discussed for the topology of the region. Electron acceleration within the boundary layer is identified; its cause and relevance to dayside auroral precipitation are discussed. There is an indication that the transition in the magnetic field, across the magnetopause current layer, lies within, rather than immediately outside, the boundary layer. (author)

  18. Rare earth industries; Moving Malaysia's Green Economy Forward

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-08-01

    There is a famous saying, Where there is risk, there is opportunity. Rare earths present both health and environmental risks as well as potential economic opportunities. However, the risks are manageable thanks to improved technologies and a better understanding of the implications on health and the environment. This explains why there is a rush by many countries to reopen old mines and increase investment in the production of rare earths concentrate and their high value downstream products. Why is there such a scramble to risk money on rare earths? What have ignited global demand? Where are the opportunities? How are the risks associated with rare earths managed? Can Malaysia benefit from this new growth industry? What should be our strategies? This report, produced by the joint Working Group of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) and the Majlis Professor Negara (MPN), discusses the science of rare earths and their business prospects; and proposes some strategic directions for Malaysia. The analysis is based on information culled from various secondary sources as well as the groups engagement with experts from the Rare Earths Society of China. (author)

  19. Searls prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae) for rangeland revegetation: Phenotypic and genetic evaluations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kishor Bhattarai; Shaun Bushman; Douglas A. Johnson; John G. Carman

    2011-01-01

    Few North American legumes are available for use in rangeland revegetation in the western USA, but Searls prairie clover [Dalea searlsiae (A. Gray) Barneby] is one that holds promise. Commercial-scale seed production of this species could address the issues of unreliable seed availability and high seed costs associated with its wildland seed collection. To evaluate its...

  20. The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskovitz, N.; Manos Team

    2014-07-01

    Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are essential to understanding the origin of the Solar System through their compositional links to meteorites. As tracers of various regions within the Solar System they can provide insight to more distant, less accessible populations. Their relatively small sizes and complex dynamical histories make them excellent laboratories for studying ongoing Solar System processes such as space weathering, planetary encounters, and non-gravitational dynamics. Knowledge of their physical properties is essential to impact hazard assessment. Finally, the proximity of NEOs to Earth make them favorable targets for robotic and human exploration. However, in spite of their scientific importance, only the largest (km-scale) NEOs have been well studied and a representative sample of physical characteristics for sub-km NEOs does not exist. To address these issues we are conducting the Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS), a fully allocated multi-year survey of sub-km NEOs that will provide a large, uniform catalog of physical properties including light curves, spectra, and astrometry. From this comprehensive catalog, we will derive global properties of the NEO population, as well as identify individual targets that are of potential interest for exploration. We will accomplish these goals for approximately 500 mission-accessible NEOs across the visible and near-infrared ranges using telescope assets in both the northern and southern hemispheres. MANOS has been awarded large survey status by NOAO to employ Gemini-N, Gemini-S, SOAR, the Kitt Peak 4 m, and the CTIO 1.3 m. Access to additional facilities at Lowell Observatory (DCT 4.3 m, Perkins 72'', Hall 42'', LONEOS), the University of Hawaii, and the Catalina Sky Survey provide essential complements to this suite of telescopes. Targets for MANOS are selected based on three primary criteria: mission accessibility (i.e. Δ v 20), and observability. Our telescope assets allow us to obtain

  1. Modeling Soil Moisture in Support of the Revegetation of Military Lands in Arid Regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell, T. G.; McDonald, E. V.; Young, M. H.

    2003-12-01

    The National Training Center (NTC), the Army's primary mechanized maneuver training facility, covers approximately 2600 km2 within the Mojave Desert in southern California, and is the subject of ongoing studies to support the sustainability of military lands in desert environments. Revegetation of these lands by the Integrated Training Areas Management (ITAM) Program requires the identification of optimum growing conditions to reestablish desert vegetation from seed and seedling, especially with regard to the timing and abundance of plant-available water. Water content, soil water potential, and soil temperature were continuously monitored and used to calibrate the Simultaneous Heat And Water (SHAW) model at 3 re-seeded sites. Modeled irrigation scenarios were used to further evaluate the most effective volume, frequency, and timing of irrigation required to maximize revegetation success and minimize water use. Surface treatments including straw mulch, gravel mulch, soil tackifier and plastic sheet

  2. The Catalina Sky Survey for Near-Earth Objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, E.

    The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) specializes in the detection of the closest transients in our transient universe: near-Earth objects (NEOs). CSS is the leading NEO survey program since 2005, with a discovery rate of 500-600 NEOs per year. This rate is set to substantially increase starting in 2014 with the deployment of wider FOV cameras at both survey telescopes, while a proposed 3-telescope system in Chile would provide a new and significant capability in the Southern Hemisphere beginning as early as 2015. Elements contributing to the success of CSS may be applied to other surveys, and include 1) Real-time processing, identification, and reporting of interesting transients; 2) Human-assisted validation to ensure a clean transient stream that is efficient to the limits of the system (˜ 1σ); 3) an integrated follow-up capability to ensure threshold or high-priority transients are properly confirmed and followed up. Additionally, the open-source nature of the CSS data enables considerable secondary science (i.e. CRTS), and CSS continues to pursue collaborations to maximize the utility of the data.

  3. Revegetation Plan for Areas of the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve Affected by Decommissioning of Buildings and Infrastructure and Debris Clean-up Actions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Downs, Janelle L.; Durham, Robin E.; Larson, Kyle B.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office is working to remove a number of facilities on the Fitzner Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE), which is part of the Hanford Reach National Monument. Decommissioning and removal of buildings and debris on ALE will leave bare soils and excavated areas that need to be revegetated to prevent erosion and weed invasion. Four main areas within ALE are affected by these activities (DOE 2009;DOE/EA-1660F): 1) facilities along the ridgeline of Rattlesnake Mountain, 2) the former Nike missile base and ALE HQ laboratory buildings, 3) the aquatic research laboratory at Rattlesnake Springs area, and 4) a number of small sites across ALE where various types of debris remain from previous uses. This revegetation plan addresses the revegetation and restoration of those land areas disturbed by decommissioning and removal of buildings, facilities and associated infrastructure or debris removal. The primary objective of the revegetation efforts on ALE is to establish native vegetation at each of the sites that will enhance and accelerate the recovery of the native plant community that naturally persists at that location. Revegetation is intended to meet the direction specified by the Environmental Assessment (DOE 2009; DOE/EA-1660F) and by Stipulation C.7 of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Rattlesnake Mountain Combined Community Communication Facility and InfrastructureCleanup on the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, Hanford Site, Richland Washington(DOE 2009; Appendix B). Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) under contract with CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CPRC) and in consultation with the tribes and DOE-RL developed a site-specific strategy for each of the revegetation units identified within this document. The strategy and implementation approach for each revegetation unit identifies an appropriate native species mix and outlines the necessary site preparation activities

  4. Pasture species selection for revegetation of open-cut coal mine areas in central Queensland, Australia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naidu, B.P.; Harwood, M.R.; Hacker, J.B.; Thumma, B.R.; Mott, J.J.

    1997-01-01

    This paper outlines a successful approach that was followed to evaluate grass and legume accessions for revegetation of low fertility and saline coal mine spoils. At the first stage, using seed collection records (passport data) of the Australian Tropical Forages Genetic Resource Centre, a range of grasses and legumes adapted to low rainfall, clay soils and saline areas were selected. At the second stage, legume seed was germinated in NaCl solutions of 0 to 0.2 M and salinity tolerance was assessed based on germination percentage and seedling vigour. At the third stage, germination of legumes was assessed in pots filled with mine top-soil and spoils to be revegetated. Grasses were not included in stages 2 and 3 as adequate passport data was available to select a range of accession for the 4th stage. The fourth stage of evaluation comprised field trails of 10 grass and 10 legume accessions, on two top-soils and two spoils. A stoloniferous from of Urochloa mosamblicensis was the most promising grass providing up to 20% of ground cover 12 months after establishment. Legumes surviving at the end of the first season were Desmanthus subulatus, D. virgatus and Neptunia dimorphantha on top-soil and Clitoria ternatea, Leucaena leucocephala, and Rhynchosia sublobata on the spoil. Depending on long term survival, grass and legume accessions will be released as cultivars for minesite revegetation purposes. 14 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

  5. A review of biochars' potential role in the remediation, revegetation and restoration of contaminated soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beesley, Luke; Moreno-Jimenez, Eduardo; Gomez-Eyles, Jose L.; Harris, Eva; Robinson, Brett; Sizmur, Tom

    2011-01-01

    Biochars are biological residues combusted under low oxygen conditions, resulting in a porous, low density carbon rich material. Their large surface areas and cation exchange capacities, determined to a large extent by source materials and pyrolysis temperatures, enables enhanced sorption of both organic and inorganic contaminants to their surfaces, reducing pollutant mobility when amending contaminated soils. Liming effects or release of carbon into soil solution may increase arsenic mobility, whilst low capital but enhanced retention of plant nutrients can restrict revegetation on degraded soils amended only with biochars; the combination of composts, manures and other amendments with biochars could be their most effective deployment to soils requiring stabilisation by revegetation. Specific mechanisms of contaminant-biochar retention and release over time and the environmental impact of biochar amendments on soil organisms remain somewhat unclear but must be investigated to ensure that the management of environmental pollution coincides with ecological sustainability. - Highlights: → Biochars can reduce mobilities of some organic and inorganic pollutants in soil. → Source material and production conditions influence pollutant retention. → Highly alkaline pH and water soluble carbon can undesirably mobilise some elements. → Large surface area may be toxic to soil fauna but create microbial niches. → Efficacy of biochar may depend on other organic materials applied in combination. - Biochars can reduce the mobility and impact of some soil pollutants but, if applied alone, may fail to support soil restoration, revegetation and hence ecologically circumspect remediation.

  6. A THEMIS Survey of Flux Ropes and Traveling Compression Regions: Location of the Near-Earth Reconnection Site During Solar Minimum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imber, S. M.; Slavin, J. A.; Auster, H. U.; Angelopoulos, V.

    2011-01-01

    A statistical study of flux ropes and traveling compression regions (TCRs) during the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) second tail season has been performed. A combined total of 135 flux ropes and TCRs in the range GSM X approx -14 to -31 R(sub E) were identified, many of these occurring in series of two or more events separated by a few tens of seconds. Those occurring within 10 min of each other were combined into aggregated reconnection events. For the purposes of this survey, these are most likely the products of reconnect ion occurring simultaneously at multiple, closely spaced x-lines as opposed to statistically independent episodes of reconnection. The 135 flux ropes and TCRs were grouped into 87 reconnection events; of these, 28 were moving tailward and 59 were moving Earthward. The average location of the near-Earth x-line determined from statistical analysis of these reconnection events is (X(sub GSM), Y*(sub GSM)) = (-30R(sub E), 5R(sub E)), where Y* includes a correction for the solar aberration angle. A strong east-west asymmetry is present in the tailward events, with >80% being observed at GSM Y* > O. Our results indicate that the Earthward flows are similarly asymmetric in the midtail region, becoming more symmetric inside - 18 R(sub E). Superposed epoch analyses indicate that the occurrence of reconnection closer to the Earth, i.e., X > -20 R(sub E), is associated with elevated solar wind velocity and enhanced negative interplanetary magnetic field B(sub z). Reconnection events taking place closer to the Earth are also far more effective in producing geomagnetic activity, judged by the AL index, than reconnection initiated beyond X approx -25 R(sub E).

  7. Elevation data fitting and precision analysis of Google Earth in road survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Haibin; Luan, Xiaohan; Li, Hanchao; Jia, Jiangkun; Chen, Zhao; Han, Leilei

    2018-05-01

    Objective: In order to improve efficiency of road survey and save manpower and material resources, this paper intends to apply Google Earth to the feasibility study stage of road survey and design. Limited by the problem that Google Earth elevation data lacks precision, this paper is focused on finding several different fitting or difference methods to improve the data precision, in order to make every effort to meet the accuracy requirements of road survey and design specifications. Method: On the basis of elevation difference of limited public points, any elevation difference of the other points can be fitted or interpolated. Thus, the precise elevation can be obtained by subtracting elevation difference from the Google Earth data. Quadratic polynomial surface fitting method, cubic polynomial surface fitting method, V4 interpolation method in MATLAB and neural network method are used in this paper to process elevation data of Google Earth. And internal conformity, external conformity and cross correlation coefficient are used as evaluation indexes to evaluate the data processing effect. Results: There is no fitting difference at the fitting point while using V4 interpolation method. Its external conformity is the largest and the effect of accuracy improvement is the worst, so V4 interpolation method is ruled out. The internal and external conformity of the cubic polynomial surface fitting method both are better than those of the quadratic polynomial surface fitting method. The neural network method has a similar fitting effect with the cubic polynomial surface fitting method, but its fitting effect is better in the case of a higher elevation difference. Because the neural network method is an unmanageable fitting model, the cubic polynomial surface fitting method should be mainly used and the neural network method can be used as the auxiliary method in the case of higher elevation difference. Conclusions: Cubic polynomial surface fitting method can obviously

  8. Effects of 22 years of re-vegetation on soil quality in the semi-arid ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-12-15

    Dec 15, 2009 ... Key words: Re-vegetation, soil properties, soil quality index, the Loess Plateau. INTRODUCTION. Soil quality is defined as the capacity of a soil to sustain biological ...... 27: 1673-1683. Famiglietti JS, Rudnicki JW, Rodell M (1998). Variability ... Soil quality: A concept, definition, and framework for evaluation.

  9. Revegetation of disturbed grounds in the semi-arid climate of southcentral Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cline, J.F.; Uresk, V.A.

    1979-01-01

    A mechanically disturbed area containing trace quantities of radionuclides was successfully revegetated in 1 yr. Using treatments of straw, clay, and a straw/clay mixture, the soil was sufficiently stabilized to resist wind erosion. The shallow-rooted vegetation (cheatgrass), planted to impede the growth of deep-rooted radionuclide carriers, maintained itself through three growing seasons and will probably persist in the study area for several decades. (author)

  10. Revegetation of mined land in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia: a review. Supervising Scientist report 150

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corbett, M.H.

    1999-01-01

    This review aims to assist the Alligator Rivers Technical Committee (ARRTC) in determining whether current practices and plans for revegetation at Ranger mine and elsewhere in the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) are appropriate, and to establish research priorities in this region. The majority of information regarding revegetation in the wet-dry tropics (WDT) of northern Australia pertains to Ranger mine. However, there is a dearth of peer-reviewed published papers which is a significant problem that may limit effective communication and application of appropriate revegetation techniques on mines in the WDT. The use of topsoil on hard rock mines in northern Australia is a contentious issue, with topsoil re-spreading being excluded from many rehabilitation programs. However, the experience of many WDT rehabilitation researchers indicates that use of topsoil containing indigenous microbes, valuable nutrients and organic matter increases the probability of achieving a successful, self-sustaining native ecosystem in the long term (eg Bell 1993. Hinz 1996, Tongway et al 1997). This review examines five methodologies that have been used to assess the success of rehabilitation in the WDT. Success criteria based on a single or narrow set of parameters are likely to be inadequate. A study comparing the indicator value of the various monitoring methods would be valuable, with a possible outcome being the development of a 'multi-discipline' monitoring approach. Gaps in the existing knowledge or practices that may limit the success of revegetation at minesites in the Alligator Rivers Region are identified. The most critical issues are identified broadly as: topsoil utilisation and management; fire; management/prediction of successional processes; establishment of symbiotic micro-organisms; native seed collection, storage and germination; development of monitoring methodologies and acceptable success criteria; and technology transfer

  11. Searching for moving objects in HSC-SSP: Pipeline and preliminary results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ying-Tung; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Alexandersen, Mike; Lehner, Matthew J.; Wang, Shiang-Yu; Wang, Jen-Hung; Yoshida, Fumi; Komiyama, Yutaka; Miyazaki, Satoshi

    2018-01-01

    The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is currently the deepest wide-field survey in progress. The 8.2 m aperture of the Subaru telescope is very powerful in detecting faint/small moving objects, including near-Earth objects, asteroids, centaurs and Tran-Neptunian objects (TNOs). However, the cadence and dithering pattern of the HSC-SSP are not designed for detecting moving objects, making it difficult to do so systematically. In this paper, we introduce a new pipeline for detecting moving objects (specifically TNOs) in a non-dedicated survey. The HSC-SSP catalogs are sliced into HEALPix partitions. Then, the stationary detections and false positives are removed with a machine-learning algorithm to produce a list of moving object candidates. An orbit linking algorithm and visual inspections are executed to generate the final list of detected TNOs. The preliminary results of a search for TNOs using this new pipeline on data from the first HSC-SSP data release (2014 March to 2015 November) present 231 TNO/Centaurs candidates. The bright candidates with Hr 5 show that the best-fitting slope of a single power law to absolute magnitude distribution is 0.77. The g - r color distribution of hot HSC-SSP TNOs indicates a bluer peak at g - r = 0.9, which is consistent with the bluer peak of the bimodal color distribution in literature.

  12. A review of biochars' potential role in the remediation, revegetation and restoration of contaminated soils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beesley, Luke, E-mail: luke.beesley@hutton.ac.uk [James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH (United Kingdom); Moreno-Jimenez, Eduardo [Departamento de Quimica Agricola, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Gomez-Eyles, Jose L. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Harris, Eva; Robinson, Brett [Department of Soil and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647 (New Zealand); Sizmur, Tom [Soil Research Centre, Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DW (United Kingdom)

    2011-12-15

    Biochars are biological residues combusted under low oxygen conditions, resulting in a porous, low density carbon rich material. Their large surface areas and cation exchange capacities, determined to a large extent by source materials and pyrolysis temperatures, enables enhanced sorption of both organic and inorganic contaminants to their surfaces, reducing pollutant mobility when amending contaminated soils. Liming effects or release of carbon into soil solution may increase arsenic mobility, whilst low capital but enhanced retention of plant nutrients can restrict revegetation on degraded soils amended only with biochars; the combination of composts, manures and other amendments with biochars could be their most effective deployment to soils requiring stabilisation by revegetation. Specific mechanisms of contaminant-biochar retention and release over time and the environmental impact of biochar amendments on soil organisms remain somewhat unclear but must be investigated to ensure that the management of environmental pollution coincides with ecological sustainability. - Highlights: > Biochars can reduce mobilities of some organic and inorganic pollutants in soil. > Source material and production conditions influence pollutant retention. > Highly alkaline pH and water soluble carbon can undesirably mobilise some elements. > Large surface area may be toxic to soil fauna but create microbial niches. > Efficacy of biochar may depend on other organic materials applied in combination. - Biochars can reduce the mobility and impact of some soil pollutants but, if applied alone, may fail to support soil restoration, revegetation and hence ecologically circumspect remediation.

  13. Optimal design of earth-moving machine elements with cusp catastrophe theory application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitukhin, A. V.; Skobtsov, I. G.

    2017-10-01

    This paper deals with the optimal design problem solution for the operator of an earth-moving machine with a roll-over protective structure (ROPS) in terms of the catastrophe theory. A brief description of the catastrophe theory is presented, the cusp catastrophe is considered, control parameters are viewed as Gaussian stochastic quantities in the first part of the paper. The statement of optimal design problem is given in the second part of the paper. It includes the choice of the objective function and independent design variables, establishment of system limits. The objective function is determined as mean total cost that includes initial cost and cost of failure according to the cusp catastrophe probability. Algorithm of random search method with an interval reduction subject to side and functional constraints is given in the last part of the paper. The way of optimal design problem solution can be applied to choose rational ROPS parameters, which will increase safety and reduce production and exploitation expenses.

  14. [Limiting factors of waste land revegetation in indigenous zinc smelting areas of western Guizhou].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Wen-Jie; Xiao, Tang-Fu; Ao, Zi-Qiang; Xing, Jun; Ma, Huan-Cheng; Hu, Ting-Xing

    2007-03-01

    With indigenous zinc smelting waste residue, contaminated soil and background soil as test substrates, a pot experiment was conducted to study the growth characteristics of Lolium perenne and Trifolium pretense on these substrates. The results showed that the major limiting factors of waste land revegetation in indigenous zinc smelting areas of western Guizhou were the salt-alkali stress and the lower contents of organic matter, total N, available N and total K. The heavy metals in waste residue had a high concentration, but their available forms only occupied a small proportion, with low toxicity to plant but having potential harmful risk. Contaminated soil had lower concentrations of heavy metals than waste residue, but its contained heavy metals were more in available form. The constraints of revegetation on contaminated soil were the toxicity of heavy metals and the low contents of available P and K. Mixing contaminated soil with zinc smelting waste residue could be one of the effective approaches for the substrate amendment in indigenous zinc smelting areas.

  15. Revegetation and soil development on anthropogenic disturbances in shrub tundra, 50 years following construction of the CANOL No. 1 pipeline, N.W.T

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harper, K.A.

    1994-01-01

    An intensive study of long-term revegetation patterns of erect deciduous shrub tundra on anthropogenic disturbances was conducted in the summer of 1993 within the CANOL pipeline corridor, Northwest Territories. Soil development, primary and secondary succession were investigated on 10 m by 20 m sites in vehicle tracks and borrow pits. Data were collected on the cover of all vascular and non-vascular species. Soil temperature, pH, organic matter, moisture and particle size composition were determined. Patterns in plant species composition and soil characteristics among disturbance types were examined using detrended correspondence analysis. The importance of the measured abiotic factors in explaining the differences in species composition was revealed by canonical correspondence analysis. Significant differences in species composition were evident among disturbance types. Different taxonomic groups exhibited different responses to disturbance. Soil samples in linear disturbances were analogous to those in undisturbed areas. Warmer, drier and less acidic soils in borrow pits contained less organic matter and fine particles than undisturbed soils. Soil temperature was considered the most important measured environmental variable in accounting for the revegetation patterns on disturbance with the microclimate stations. Comparison with a similar study on revegetation in the CANOL corridor in 1978 suggest that revegetation and soil development are proceeding faster on linear disturbances than borrow pits. 150 figs., 37 figs., 28 tabs

  16. 1999 Environmental Restoration Contractor Revegetation Monitoring Report; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    K. A. Gano

    1999-01-01

    This report documents the results of revegetation monitoring conducted in early May through early July 1999. Fourth-year monitoring was conducted at the Horn Rapids Landfill, Horseshoe Landfill, and Nike Landfill. Third-year monitoring was conducted on the Bridge Overlook, PSN 72/82, PSN 12/14, and the North Slope Cheatgrass Area. Second-year monitoring was conducted at the 600-104 waste site (2,4-D cleanup site); the 300-FF-1 sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) transplant areas, 2 16-A-25 emergency extension site; and the 200-ZP-1 pipeline. First-year monitoring was conducted at the 300 Area North Process Trench, Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) Mitigation sites, and the 116-C-l Restoration site

  17. Moving Towards a Science-Driven Workbench for Earth Science Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graves, S. J.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Law, E.; Yang, C. P.; Keiser, K.

    2017-12-01

    The NSF-funded EarthCube Integration and Test Environment (ECITE) prototype was proposed as a 2015 Integrated Activities project and resulted in the prototyping of an EarthCube federated cloud environment and the Integration and Testing Framework. The ECITE team has worked with EarthCube science and technology governance committees to define the types of integration, testing and evaluation necessary to achieve and demonstrate interoperability and functionality that benefit and support the objectives of the EarthCube cyber-infrastructure. The scope of ECITE also includes reaching beyond NSF and EarthCube to work with the broader Earth science community, such as the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) to incorporate lessons learned from other testbed activities, and ultimately provide broader community benefits. This presentation will discuss evolving ECITE ideas for a science-driven workbench that will start with documented science use cases, map the use cases to solution scenarios that identify the available technology and data resources that match the use case, the generation of solution workflows and test plans, the testing and evaluation of the solutions in a cloud environment, and finally the documentation of identified technology and data gaps that will assist with driving the development of additional EarthCube resources.

  18. Detection of a faint fast-moving near-Earth asteroid using the synthetic tracking technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhai, Chengxing; Shao, Michael; Nemati, Bijan; Werne, Thomas; Zhou, Hanying; Turyshev, Slava G.; Sandhu, Jagmit [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Hallinan, Gregg; Harding, Leon K., E-mail: chengxing.zhai@jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2014-09-01

    We report a detection of a faint near-Earth asteroid (NEA) using our synthetic tracking technique and the CHIMERA instrument on the Palomar 200 inch telescope. With an apparent magnitude of 23 (H = 29, assuming detection at 20 lunar distances), the asteroid was moving at 6.°32 day{sup –1} and was detected at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 15 using 30 s of data taken at a 16.7 Hz frame rate. The detection was confirmed by a second observation 77 minutes later at the same S/N. Because of its high proper motion, the NEA moved 7 arcsec over the 30 s of observation. Synthetic tracking avoided image degradation due to trailing loss that affects conventional techniques relying on 30 s exposures; the trailing loss would have degraded the surface brightness of the NEA image on the CCD down to an approximate magnitude of 25 making the object undetectable. This detection was a result of our 12 hr blind search conducted on the Palomar 200 inch telescope over two nights, scanning twice over six (5.°3 × 0.°046) fields. Detecting only one asteroid is consistent with Harris's estimates for the distribution of the asteroid population, which was used to predict a detection of 1.2 NEAs in the H-magnitude range 28-31 for the two nights. The experimental design, data analysis methods, and algorithms are presented. We also demonstrate milliarcsecond-level astrometry using observations of two known bright asteroids on the same system with synthetic tracking. We conclude by discussing strategies for scheduling observations to detect and characterize small and fast-moving NEAs using the new technique.

  19. On the Feasibility of Intense Radial Velocity Surveys for Earth-twin Discoveries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Richard D.; Thompson, Samantha J.; Handley, Will; Queloz, Didier

    2018-06-01

    This work assesses the potential capability of the next generation of high-precision Radial Velocity (RV) instruments for Earth-twin exoplanet detection. From the perspective of the importance of data sampling, the Terra Hunting Experiment aims to do this through an intense series of nightly RV observations over a long baseline on a carefully selected target list, via the brand-new instrument HARPS3. This paper describes an end-to-end simulation of generating and processing such data to help us better understand the impact of uncharacterised stellar noise in the recovery of Earth-mass planets with orbital periods of the order of many months. We consider full Keplerian systems, realistic simulated stellar noise, instrument white noise, and location-specific weather patterns for our observation schedules. We use Bayesian statistics to assess various planetary models fitted to the synthetic data, and compare the successful planet recovery of the Terra Hunting Experiment schedule with a typical reference survey. We find that the Terra Hunting Experiment can detect Earth-twins in the habitable zones of solar-type stars, in single and multi-planet systems, and in the presence of stellar signals. Also that it out-performs a typical reference survey on accuracy of recovered parameters, and that it performs comparably to an uninterrupted space-based schedule.

  20. The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS): Project Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskovitz, Nicholas; Polishook, David; Thomas, Cristina; Willman, Mark; DeMeo, Francesca; Mommert, Michael; Endicott, Thomas; Trilling, David; Binzel, Richard; Hinkle, Mary; Siu, Hosea; Neugent, Kathryn; Christensen, Eric; Person, Michael; Burt, Brian; Grundy, Will; Roe, Henry; Abell, Paul; Busch, Michael

    2014-11-01

    The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS) began in August 2013 as a multi-year physical characterization survey that was awarded survey status by NOAO. MANOS will target several hundred mission-accessible NEOs across visible and near-infrared wavelengths, ultimately providing a comprehensive catalog of physical properties (astrometry, light curves, spectra). Particular focus is paid to sub-km NEOs, for which little data currently exists. These small bodies are essential to understanding the link between meteorites and asteroids, pose the most immediate impact hazard to the Earth, and are highly relevant to a variety of planetary mission scenarios. Accessing these targets is enabled through a combination of classical, queue, and target-of-opportunity observations carried out at 1- to 8-meter class facilities in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The MANOS observing strategy is specifically designed to rapidly characterize newly discovered NEOs before they fade beyond observational limits. MANOS will provide major advances in our understanding of the NEO population as a whole and for specific objects of interest. Here we present an overview of the survey, progress to date, and early science highlights including: (1) an estimate of the taxonomic distribution of spectral types for NEOs smaller than ~100 meters, (2) the distribution of rotational properties for approximately 100 previously unstudied objects, (3) models for the dynamical evolution of the overall NEO population over the past 0.5 Myr, and (4) progress in developing a new set of online tools at asteroid.lowell.edu that will enable near realtime public dissemination of our data while providing a portal to facilitate coordination efforts within the small body observer community.MANOS is supported through telescope allocations from NOAO and Lowell Observatory. We acknowledge funding support from an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to N. Moskovitz and NASA NEOO grant

  1. Revegetation research on oil shale lands in the Piceance Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Redente, E.F.; Cook, C.W.

    1981-02-01

    The overall objective of this project is to study the effects of various reclamation practices on above- and belowground ecosystem development associated with disturbed oil shale lands in northwestern Colorado. Plant growth media that are being used in field test plots include retorted shale, soil over retorted shale, subsoil materials, and surface disturbed topsoils. Satisfactory stands of vegetation failed to establish on unleached retorted shale during two successive years of seeding. All seedings with soil over retorted shale were judged to be successful at the end of three growing seasons, but deep-rooted shrubs that depend upon subsoil moisture may have their growth hampered by the retorted shale substrate. Natural revegetation on areas with various degrees of disturbance shows that natural invasion and succession was slow at best. Invasion of species on disturbed topsoil plots showed that after three years introduced seed mixtures were more effective than native mixtures in occupying space and closing the community to invading species. Fertilizer appears to encourage the invasion of annual plants even after the third year following application. Long-term storage of topsoil without vegetation significantly decreases the mycorrhizal infection potential and, therefore, decreases the relative success of aboveground vegetation and subsequent succession. Ecotypic differentation related to growth and competitive ability, moisture stress tolerance, and reproductive potential have been found in five native shrub species. Germplasm sources of two grasses and two legumes, that have shown promise as revegetation species, have been collected and evaluated for the production of test seed. Fertilizer (nitrogen) when added to the soil at the time of planting may encourage competition from annual weeds to the detriment of seeded species.

  2. MODELING ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF POST-FIRE REVEGETATION IN THE GREAT BASIN

    OpenAIRE

    Niell, Rebecca; Englin, Jeffrey E.; Nalle, Darek

    2004-01-01

    This study employs a Markov chain model of vegetation dynamics to examine the economic and ecological benefits of post-fire revegetation in the Great Basin sagebrush steppe. The analysis is important because synergies between wildland fire and invasive weeds in this ecosystem are likely to result in the loss of native biodiversity, less predictable forage availability for livestock and wildlife, reduced watershed stability and water quality, and increased costs and risk associated with firefi...

  3. Might electrical earthing affect convection of light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budrikis, Z.L.

    1982-01-01

    Partial convection of light by moving media was predicted by Fresnel and verified by Fizeau, Zeeman and others. It is accepted as an important argument in favour of the Special Theory of Relativity. The suggestion is made here that the convection is partial only when the propagating medium is moved with respect to its electrically earthed surroundings and that it would be total if an earthed shield was co-moving with the medium. This is based on a reinterpretation of Maxwell's equations wherein they are seen as macroscopic relationships that are in each case valid only in respect of a particular inertial frame of reference, the local electrical earth frame. (Auth.)

  4. Earth Science Outreach: A Move in the Right Direction

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLarty Halfkenny, B.; Schröder Adams, C.

    2009-05-01

    There is concern within the Geoscience Community about the public's limited understanding of Earth Science and its fundamental contribution to society. Earth Science plays only a minor role in public school education in Ontario leaving many students to stumble upon this field of study in post-secondary institutions. As the Earth Sciences offer relevant advice for political decisions and provide excellent career opportunities, outreach is an increasingly important component of our work. Recruitment of post-secondary students after they have chosen their discipline cannot remain the sole opportunity. Outreach must be directed to potential students at an early stage of their education. High school teachers are influential, directing students towards professional careers. Therefore we are first committed to reach these teachers. We provide professional development, resources and continued support, building an enthusiastic community of educators. Specific initiatives include: a three day workshop supported by a grant from EdGEO introducing earth science exercises and local field destinations; a resource kit with minerals, rocks, fossils, mineral identification tools and manuals; a CD with prepared classroom exercises; and in-class demonstrations and field trip guiding on request. Maintaining a growing network with teachers has proven highly effective. Direct public school student engagement is also given priority. We inspire students through interaction with researchers and graduate students, hand-on exercises, and by providing opportunities to visit our department and work with our collections. Successful projects include our week-long course "School of Rock" for the Enrichment Mini-Course Program, classroom visits and presentations on the exciting and rewarding career paths in geology during Carleton University open houses. Outreach to the general public allows us to educate the wider community about the Geoheritage of our region, and initiate discussions about

  5. Effects of Revegetation on Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Erosion-Induced Carbon Loss under Extreme Rainstorms in the Hill and Gully Region of the Loess Plateau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yujin; Jiao, Juying; Wang, Zhijie; Cao, Binting; Wei, Yanhong; Hu, Shu

    2016-04-29

    The Loess Plateau, an ecologically vulnerable region, has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. Revegetation has been implemented to control soil erosion and improve ecosystems in the Loess Plateau region through a series of ecological recovery programs. However, the increasing atmospheric CO₂ as a result of human intervention is affecting the climate by global warming, resulting in the greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as storms that may weaken the effectiveness of revegetation and cause severe soil erosion. Most research to date has evaluated the effectiveness of revegetation on soil properties and soil erosion of different land use or vegetation types. Here, we study the effect of revegetation on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and erosion-induced carbon loss related to different plant communities, particularly under extreme rainstorm events. The erosion-pin method was used to quantify soil erosion, and soil samples were taken at soil depths of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-20 cm to determine the SOC content for 13 typical hillside revegetation communities in the year of 2013, which had the highest rainfall with broad range, long duration and high intensity since 1945, in the Yanhe watershed. The SOC concentrations of all plant communities increased with soil depth when compared with slope cropland, and significant increases (p soil loss and SOC loss were both 1.0), the relative soil loss and SOC loss of the other 12 plant communities in 2013 ranged from 1.5 to 9.4 and 0.30 to 1.73, respectively. Natural shrub and forest communities showed greater resistance to rainstorm erosion than grassland communities. The natural grassland communities with lower SOC content produced lower SOC loss even with higher soil loss, natural secondary forest communities produced higher SOC loss, primarily because of their higher SOC content, and the artificial R. pseudoacacia community with greater soil loss produced higher SOC loss. These results

  6. TRACE ELEMENTS LATERAL DISTRIBUTION AND LIMITATIONS FOR REVEGETATION IN LEAD MINE SOILS: CASE OF LAKHOUAT MINE, TUNISIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Sahraoui

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Anthropogenic activities such as mining have increased the prevalence and occurrence of trace elements soil contamination. Abandoned mine tailings cause the contamination of adjacent agricultural soils. In Lakhouat mining area (West-Northern Tunisia, the dispersion of particles containing Pb, Zn and Cd results in the contamination of the surrounding agricultural soils. These soils presented high concentrations of Pb (1272 mg kg-1, Zn (5543 mg kg-1 and Cd (25 mg kg-1. Furthermore, the tailing sample and soil sample close the dam tailing presented higher concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd and conferred more limitation factors for revegetation than adjacent soils of mining area. The main limiting factors of mine soils are their low effective depth, low organic matter content and low phosphorus content and an imbalance between potassium and manganese exchangeable cations. These mine soils are strongly affected by high Pb, Zn and Cd levels which hinder revegetation.

  7. Magsat - A new satellite to survey the earth's magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mobley, F. F.; Eckard, L. D.; Fountain, G. H.; Ousley, G. W.

    1980-01-01

    The Magsat satellite was launched on Oct. 30, 1979 into a sun-synchronous dawn-dusk orbit, of 97 deg inclination, 350 km perigee, and 550 km apogee. It contains a precision vector magnetometer and a cesium-vapor scalar magnetometer at the end of a 6-m long graphite epoxy scissors boom. The magnetometers are accurate to 2 nanotesla. A pair of star cameras are used to define the body orientation to 10 arc sec rms. An 'attitude transfer system' measures the orientation of the magnetometer sensors relative to the star cameras to approximately 5 arc sec rms. The satellite position is determined to 70 meters rms by Doppler tracking. The overall objective is to determine each component of the earth's vector magnetic field to an accuracy of 6 nanotesla rms. The Magsat satellite gathers a complete picture of the earth's magnetic field every 12 hours. The vector components are sampled 16 times per second with a resolution of 0.5 nanotesla. The data will be used by the U.S. Geological Survey to prepare 1980 world magnetic field charts and to detect large-scale magnetic anomalies in the earth's crust for use in planning resource exploration strategy.

  8. Evaluation of revegetation techniques of a saline flue gas desulfurization sludge pond

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salo, L.F.; Artiola, J.F.; Goodrich-Mahoney, J.W. [University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Renewable National Resources

    1999-01-01

    Codisposal of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sludge with low-volume generating station waste simplifies disposal but creates a saline, high boron (B) waste that may be difficult to revegetate after site closure. Studies on a delta of waste material in a codisposal pond at the coal-fired Coronado Generating Station in eastern Arizona evaluated management techniques, amendments, and plants for revegetating this material. One study investigated leaching and ridging techniques and a second evaluated amendment with manure, wood shavings, and fly ash, Four salt-tolerant grass species and four saltbushes (A triplex spp,) were evaluated in the two studies. Criteria for success were high survival rates and growth, as measured by grass height and shrub height x width. Leaching salts and B from the waste was not necessary for establishment and growth of transplanted shrubs and grasses. Ridging was not a successful technique, due to limited moisture and high levels of salinity and B on these structures. Gardner saltbush (A, gardneri (Moq.) D, Dietr.) and a fourwing saltbush (A. canescens (Pursh) Nutt,) accession from the site were the most successful shrubs and alkali sactonn (Sporobolus airoides (Torr,) Torr. `Saltalk`) was the most successful grass at this disposal pond. Amendment with manure, wood shavings, or fly ash did not increase plant survival. Growth of grasses was improved with all amendments and was greatest with manure, but growth of shrubs was not improved with any amendment. 33 refs., 8 tabs.

  9. Revegetation of the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir leads to increased soil bacterial diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Qingshui; Li, Changxiao; Yang, Wenhang; Song, Hong; Ma, Peng; Wang, Chaoying; Schneider, Rebecca L; Morreale, Stephen J

    2018-06-06

    As one of the most active components in soil, bacteria can affect soil physicochemical properties, its biological characteristics, and even its quality and health. We characterized dynamics of the soil bacterial diversity in planted (with Taxodium distichum) and unplanted soil in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR), in southwestern China, in order to accurately quantify the changes in long-term soil bacterial community structure after revegetation. Measurements were taken annually in situ in the TGDR over the course of 5 years, from 2012 to 2016. Soil chemical properties and bacterial diversity were analyzed in both the planted and unplanted soil. After revegetation, the soil chemical properties in planted soil were significantly different than in unplanted soil. The effects of treatment, time, and the interaction of both time and treatment had significant impacts on most diversity indices. Specifically, the bacterial community diversity indices in planted soil were significantly higher and more stable than that in unplanted soil. The correlation analyses indicated that the diversity indices correlated with the pH value, organic matter, and soil available nutrients. After revegetation in the riparian zone of the TGDR, the soil quality and health is closely related to the observed bacterial diversity, and a higher bacterial diversity avails the maintenance of soil functionality. Thus, more reforestation should be carried out in the riparian zone of the TGDR, so as to effectively mitigate the negative ecological impacts of the dam. Vegetating the reservoir banks with Taxodium distichum proved successful, but planting mixed stands of native tree species could promote even higher riparian soil biodiversity and improved levels of ecosystem functioning within the TGDR.

  10. Precipitation regions on the Earth of high energy electrons, injected by a point source moving along a circular Earth orbit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolesnikov, E. K.; Klyushnikov, G. N.

    2018-05-01

    In the paper we continue the study of precipitation regions of high-energy charged particles, carried out by the authors since 2002. In contrast to previous papers, where a stationary source of electrons was considered, it is assumed that the source moves along a low circular near-earth orbit with a constant velocity. The orbit position is set by the inclination angle of the orbital plane to the equatorial plane and the longitude of the ascending node. The total number of injected electrons is determined by the source strength and the number of complete revolutions that the source makes along the circumference. Construction of precipitation regions is produced using the computational algorithm based on solving of the system of ordinary differential equations. The features of the precipitation regions structure for the dipole approximation of the geomagnetic field and the symmetrical arrangement of the orbit relative to the equator are noted. The dependencies of the precipitation regions on different orbital parametres such as the incline angle, the ascending node position and kinetic energy of injected particles have been considered.

  11. Effects of Revegetation on Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Erosion-Induced Carbon Loss under Extreme Rainstorms in the Hill and Gully Region of the Loess Plateau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yujin Li

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: The Loess Plateau, an ecologically vulnerable region, has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. Revegetation has been implemented to control soil erosion and improve ecosystems in the Loess Plateau region through a series of ecological recovery programs. However, the increasing atmospheric CO2 as a result of human intervention is affecting the climate by global warming, resulting in the greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as storms that may weaken the effectiveness of revegetation and cause severe soil erosion. Most research to date has evaluated the effectiveness of revegetation on soil properties and soil erosion of different land use or vegetation types. Here, we study the effect of revegetation on soil organic carbon (SOC storage and erosion-induced carbon loss related to different plant communities, particularly under extreme rainstorm events. Materials and methods: The erosion-pin method was used to quantify soil erosion, and soil samples were taken at soil depths of 0–5 cm, 5–10 cm and 10–20 cm to determine the SOC content for 13 typical hillside revegetation communities in the year of 2013, which had the highest rainfall with broad range, long duration and high intensity since 1945, in the Yanhe watershed. Results and discussion: The SOC concentrations of all plant communities increased with soil depth when compared with slope cropland, and significant increases (p < 0.05 were observed for most shrub and forest communities, particularly for natural ones. Taking the natural secondary forest community as reference (i.e., soil loss and SOC loss were both 1.0, the relative soil loss and SOC loss of the other 12 plant communities in 2013 ranged from 1.5 to 9.4 and 0.30 to 1.73, respectively. Natural shrub and forest communities showed greater resistance to rainstorm erosion than grassland communities. The natural grassland communities with lower SOC content produced lower SOC loss even

  12. Soil respiration sensitivities to water and temperature in a revegetated desert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhi-Shan; Dong, Xue-Jun; Xu, Bing-Xin; Chen, Yong-Le; Zhao, Yang; Gao, Yan-Hong; Hu, Yi-Gang; Huang, Lei

    2015-04-01

    Soil respiration in water-limited ecosystems is affected intricately by soil water content (SWC), temperature, and soil properties. Eight sites on sand-fixed dunes that revegetated in different years since 1950s, with several topographical positions and various biological soil crusts (BSCs) and soil properties, were selected, as well as a moving sand dune (MSD) and a reference steppe in the Tengger Desert of China. Intact soil samples of 20 cm in depth were taken and incubated randomly at 12 levels of SWC (0 to 0.4 m3 m-3) and at 9 levels of temperature (5 to 45°C) in a growth chamber; additionally, cryptogamic and microbial respirations (RM) were measured. Total soil respiration (RT, including cryptogamic, microbial, and root respiration) was measured for 2 years at the MSD and five sites of sand-fixed dunes. The relationship between RM and SWC under the optimal SWC condition (0.25 m3 m-3) is linear, as is the entire range of RT and SWC. The slope of linear function describes sensitivity of soil respiration to water (SRW) and reflects to soil water availability, which is related significantly to soil physical properties, BSCs, and soil chemical properties, in decreasing importance. Inversely, Q10 for RM is related significantly to abovementioned factors in increasing importance. However, Q10 for RT and respiration rate at 20°C are related significantly to soil texture and depth of BSCs and subsoil only. In conclusion, through affecting SRW, soil physical properties produce significant influences on soil respiration, especially for RT. This indicates that a definition of the biophysical meaning of SRW is necessary, considering the water-limited and coarse-textured soil in most desert ecosystems.

  13. THE MISSION ACCESSIBLE NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS SURVEY (MANOS): FIRST PHOTOMETRIC RESULTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thirouin, A.; Moskovitz, N.; Burt, B. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 W Mars Hill Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Binzel, R. P.; DeMeo, F. E.; Person, M. J. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Christensen, E. [University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Polishook, D. [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Weizmann Institute, Herzl St 234, Rehovot, 7610001 (Israel); Thomas, C. A. [Planetary Science Institute (PSI), 1700 E Fort Lowell Road 106, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Trilling, D.; Hinkle, M.; Avner, D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, P.O. Box 6010, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ 86001 (United States); Willman, M. [University of Hawaii, Pukalani, HI 96788 (United States); Aceituno, F. J., E-mail: thirouin@lowell.edu [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía, S/N, Granada, E-18008 (Spain)

    2016-12-01

    The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey aims to physically characterize sub-km near-Earth objects (NEOs). We report the first photometric results from the survey that began in 2013 August. Photometric observations were performed using 1–4 m class telescopes around the world. We present rotational periods and light curve amplitudes for 86 sub-km NEOs, though in some cases only lower limits are provided. Our main goal is to obtain light curves for small NEOs (typically, sub-km objects) and estimate their rotational periods, light curve amplitudes, and shapes. These properties are used for a statistical study to constrain overall properties of the NEO population. A weak correlation seems to indicate that smaller objects are more spherical than larger ones. We also report seven NEOs that are fully characterized (light curve and visible spectra) as the most suitable candidates for a future human or robotic mission. Viable mission targets are objects fully characterized, with Δ v {sup NHATS} ≤ 12 km s{sup −1}, and a rotational period P  > 1 hr. Assuming a similar rate of object characterization as reported in this paper, approximately 1230 NEOs need to be characterized in order to find 100 viable mission targets.

  14. THE MISSION ACCESSIBLE NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS SURVEY (MANOS): FIRST PHOTOMETRIC RESULTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thirouin, A.; Moskovitz, N.; Burt, B.; Binzel, R. P.; DeMeo, F. E.; Person, M. J.; Christensen, E.; Polishook, D.; Thomas, C. A.; Trilling, D.; Hinkle, M.; Avner, D.; Willman, M.; Aceituno, F. J.

    2016-01-01

    The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey aims to physically characterize sub-km near-Earth objects (NEOs). We report the first photometric results from the survey that began in 2013 August. Photometric observations were performed using 1–4 m class telescopes around the world. We present rotational periods and light curve amplitudes for 86 sub-km NEOs, though in some cases only lower limits are provided. Our main goal is to obtain light curves for small NEOs (typically, sub-km objects) and estimate their rotational periods, light curve amplitudes, and shapes. These properties are used for a statistical study to constrain overall properties of the NEO population. A weak correlation seems to indicate that smaller objects are more spherical than larger ones. We also report seven NEOs that are fully characterized (light curve and visible spectra) as the most suitable candidates for a future human or robotic mission. Viable mission targets are objects fully characterized, with Δ v NHATS  ≤ 12 km s −1 , and a rotational period P  > 1 hr. Assuming a similar rate of object characterization as reported in this paper, approximately 1230 NEOs need to be characterized in order to find 100 viable mission targets.

  15. Revegetation of metalliferous mine spoil contaminated by lead and zinc

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, M S; McNeilly, T; Putwain, P D

    1977-04-01

    Plant growth and development on metalliferous mine spoil is restricted by the high concentrations of phytotoxic metals and by the low levels of macronutrients in the substrates. Swards established on innocuous amendments applied to the surface of mine spoil deteriorate when roots penetrate to the underlying toxic substratum. This deterioration is attributed to the accumulation of toxic metals. The rate of decline is determined by the inherent fertility of the amendment and the depth to which it is applied. Results of field trials on calcareous and acidic lead/zinc spoils indicate that inert amendments may be more suitable where revegetation is for amenity or recreational purposes. Legumes are essential components of low-maintenance swards established on substrates of low nutrient status.

  16. Plant-Mediated Changes in Soil N-Cycling Genes during Revegetation of Copper Mine Tailings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Li

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Nitrogen limitation represents a major bottleneck during the revegetation of mine tailings. However, controls over key nitrogen-cycling genes in rhizospheric soils under differential vegetation management remain poorly understood. The abundance and transcriptional activity of nitrogen-cycling genes and the enzymatic activity of nitrogen transformation are mediated differentially during revegetation of mine tailings by Imperata cylindrica and Chrysopogon zizanioides plants. Results showed that the highest total organic carbon (TOC, total nitrogen (TN, and NH4+-N contents were found in the rhizosphere of I. cylindrica. The nifH gene abundances differed between I. cylindrica and C. zizanioides, and were higher in I. cylindrica which demonstrated by 3.39-fold higher mRNA transcript abundance of the nifH gene and a 2.15-fold higher nitrogen fixation rate in the rhizosphere. In addition, C. zizanioides exhibited a 4.94-fold higher transcript abundance of the archaeal amoA gene and the highest nitrification rate (1.706 ± 0.293 μg N-NO2- g−1 h−1 in the rhizosphere. In conclusion, I. cylindrica and C. zizanioides stimulated the abundances and activities of nifH gene and archaeal amoA gene, respectively. In addition, I. cylindrica appears to be capable of enhancing nitrogen fixation and exhibited accelerated nitrogen accumulation, which may be particularly useful for the rehabilitation of mine tailings.

  17. Evaluation of revegetation progress and erosion-prone areas along oil and gas pipelines in Azerbaijan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bayramov, Emil [BP British Petroleum, Baku (Azerbaijan)

    2012-09-15

    The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and South Caucasus gas (SCP) pipelines was completed in 2005 and 2006, respectively. The Azerbaijan section of the BTC oil and SCP gas pipelines is 442 km long and lies in a 44 m wide corridor named as the Right-of-Way (RoW). BTC and SCP pipelines are aligned parallel to each other within the RoW. The construction process significantly disturbed vegetation and soil cover along the RoW of the pipelines. The revegetation and erosion control measures were conducted after the completion of construction to restore disturbed footprints of construction. The general goals of the present studies, dedicated to the environmental monitoring and erosion control measures were to evaluate the status of the revegetation in 2007 since the completion of the construction activities and to determine erosion-prone areas along the RoW. Quantitative assessment of vegetation cover (VC) was based on the regression and RMSE analysis using IKONOS NDVI 2007 and in-situ estimation of VC percentage for the normalization of NDVI to VC. The prediction of erosion-prone areas was based on the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The prediction reliability of USLE was evaluated using in-situ collected erosion occurrences. (orig.)

  18. Uranium distribution and cycling in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing on a revegetated U-mining heap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thiry, Yves; Schmidt, Peter; Hees, May van; Wannijn, Jean; Bree, Peter van; Rufyikiri, Gervais; Vandenhove, Hildegarde

    2005-01-01

    We determined the uranium distribution in soil and its allocation in compartments of 35-year-old Scots pine developed on a revegetated U-mining heap. The processes controlling the dynamics of U recycling were identified and further quantified in terms of annual fluxes. As pine developed, an acid humus layer emerged leading to weathering of the alkaline mining debris but this had little effect on U mobility in the soil profile. Increased U mobility mainly involved a translocation of U to metal-humus chelates in surface layers. The root compartment accounted for 99.3% of the U budget in tree, thus serving as an effective barrier which restricts U uptake. The current root uptake and transfer of U to upper parts of the tree amounted to about 3 g ha -1 y -1 , i.e. less than 0.03% of the current NH 4 -exchangeable U pool in the soil (0-30 cm). Allocation and translocation pattern made it clear that a dominant fraction of the translocated U moves passively with the ascent xylem sap, most likely as a soluble complex, and steadily accumulates in the needles. Consequently, 97% of the U annual uptake is returned to the soil through litterfall. At the studied site, the risk of U dissemination due to biomass turnover or trunk harvest was low when considered in relation to the current 'exemption level' for U

  19. Recent Development of an Earth Science App - FieldMove Clino

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, Alan; Collins, Nathan; Krus, Mike; Rourke, Peter

    2014-05-01

    As geological modelling and analysis move into 3D digital space, it becomes increasingly important to be able to rapidly integrate new data with existing databases, without the potential degradation caused by repeated manual transcription of numeric, graphical and meta-data. Digital field mapping offers significant benefits when compared with traditional paper mapping techniques, in that it can directly and interactively feed and be guided by downstream geological modelling and analysis. One of the most important pieces of equipment used by the field geologists is the compass clinometer. Midland Valley's development team have recently release their highly anticipated FieldMove Clino App. FieldMove Clino is a digital compass-clinometer for data capture on a smartphone. The app allows the user to use their phone as a traditional hand-held bearing compass, as well as a digital compass-clinometer for rapidly measuring and capturing the georeferenced location and orientation of planar and linear features in the field. The user can also capture and store digital photographs and text notes. FieldMove Clino supports online Google Maps as well as offline maps, so that the user can import their own georeferenced basemaps. Data can be exported as comma-separated values (.csv) or Move™ (.mve) files and then imported directly into FieldMove™, Move™ or other applications. Midland Valley is currently pioneering tablet-based mapping and, along with its industrial and academic partners, will be using the application in field based projects throughout this year and will be integrating feedback in further developments of this technology.

  20. Revegetation of Alaskan coal mine spoils. Progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitchell, W W; Mitchell, G A; McKendrick, J D

    1980-05-23

    Activities initiated after the start of the revegetation project on Alaskan coal mine spoils on September 1, 1979 have consisted mainly of some fall plantings (dormant seedings) and soil and coal spoil samplings and analyses. Because of the late summer start for the project, only a limited amount of field work could be initiated in plant material studies. This consisted of a fall planting at the Usibelli mine site at Healy in interior Alaska. The planting was intended to test the efficacy of seeding in the frost period following the growing season, requiring the seed to remain dormant over winter and to germinate when conditions become favorable in late spring. It also was intended as a comparison of a number of different grasses. Thirty entries were seeded in three replications. Fifteen species of grasses and a clover were included in the trial. The site provided for the trial was on overburden material along a streambed. Among the entries were eight cultivars of introduced grasses, five cultivars of native Alaskan germplasm, one introduced clover cultivar, and sixteen experimental grasses mainly of Alaskan origin.

  1. Geochemical Characterization of Copper Tailings after Legume Revegetation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justine Perry T. Domingo

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge on the geochemistry of mine tailings is important in understanding the challenges in establishing vegetation cover on tailings dumps and mined out areas. In this study, the mineralogy and trace element composition of copper tailings were examined. Two legume species, Calopogonium mucunoides and Centrosema molle, were utilized to investigate the possible effects of these plants in the geochemical development of mine tailings into soil-like material. The initial mineralogical and chemical analysis of the tailings samples indicated poor conditions for plant growth—minimal levels of major nutrients and organic matter as well as elevated copper concentrations. Despite these conditions, the two legume species exhibited good growth rates. Both legumes have likewise signif icantly reduced heavy metal concentrations in the tailings, indicating the possibility of metal hyperaccumulation in the plant tissue. The mineral composition has been retained even after revegetation; nevertheless, breakdown of primary minerals and subsequent formation of clay minerals were detected. These results provide insights on the transformation of toxic materials into habitable substrates for sustained plant growth.

  2. Near-Earth-object survey progress and population of small near-Earth asteroids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, A.

    2014-07-01

    Estimating the total population vs. size of NEAs and the completion of surveys is the same thing since the total population is just the number discovered divided by the estimated completion. I review the method of completion estimation based on ratio of re-detected objects to total detections (known plus new discoveries). The method is quite general and can be used for population estimations of all sorts, from wildlife to various classes of solar system bodies. Since 2001, I have been making estimates of population and survey progress approximately every two years. Plotted below, left, is my latest estimate, including NEA discoveries up to August, 2012. I plan to present an update at the meeting. All asteroids of a given size are not equally easy to detect because of specific orbital geometries. Thus a model of the orbital distribution is necessary, and computer simulations using those orbits need to establish the relation between the raw re-detection ratio and the actual completion fraction. This can be done for any sub-group population, allowing to estimate the population of a subgroup and the expected current completion. Once a reliable survey computer model has been developed and ''calibrated'' with respect to actual survey re-detections versus size, it can be extrapolated to smaller sizes to estimate completion even at very small size where re-detections are rare or even zero. I have recently investigated the subgroup of extremely low encounter velocity NEAs, the class of interest for the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), recently proposed by NASA. I found that asteroids of diameter ˜ 10 m with encounter velocity with the Earth lower than 2.5 km/sec are detected by current surveys nearly 1,000 times more efficiently than the general background of NEAs of that size. Thus the current completion of these slow relative velocity objects may be around 1%, compared to 10^{-6} for that size objects of the general velocity distribution. Current surveys are nowhere near

  3. Continued studies of soil improvement and revegetation of tailings sand slopes. Environmental Research Monograph 1977-4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rowell, M J

    1977-01-01

    Fertilizer studies continued on a 5-year old revegetated area on a tailings sand dike in the Athabasca Tar Sands area. In June 1976 levels of available N, P, K, and S were adequate for plant growth. However, even where fertilizers were added levels of mineral N had dropped to low levels by September. Plant top production early in the 1976 season was increased by application of nitrogen fertilizer during the previous August. Erosion of the area was negligible in 1976. In the new revegetation experiments on steep tailings and slopes, erosion could be minimized by the rapid establishment of a plant cover. Nutrient losses in surface water runoff amounted to a maximum of only 2.6 kg N, 0.4 kg P, 4.1 kg K and 3.4 kg S/ha in the treatments studied. Water infiltration into the dike was rapid and varied between 24.0 and 30.5 cm/h. Estimates suggested that between 13 and 34% of the intercepted rainfall leached below the 30 cm depth while plants were being established during the first year of growth. Estimates of nutrient losses below the root zone (30 cm) ranged between 1.3 and 31.2 kg N/ha; <0.1 kg P/ha; 1.1 and 10.1 kg K/ha and 4.8 to 38.1 kg S/ha in the different treatments studied. The seed mix used contained oats as a nurse crop and 9 grass and 4 legume species. Plant growth was adequate to protect the soil surface from serious erosion. The dry weight production by the oats was considerably greater than for either the grasses or legumes. The cover produced by grasses and legumes alone would have been adequate in terms of erosion control except in those treatments involving heavy applications of mine overburdens. The dry weight production of root and shoot tissues was about the same. Root growth was largely restricted to the surface 15 cm. Total numbers of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes as well as total soil respiration was considerably greater in soils from the revegetation experiments in comparison to samples of fresh or weathered tailings sand.

  4. Visualization and interpretation of the year 2005 mise-a-la-masse survey data at Olkiluoto site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehtonen, T.

    2006-06-01

    This report concerns mise-a-la-masse surveys conducted autumn 2005 at the area of the underground characterisation facility (Onkalo) and surroundings. Surveys were made in 14 boreholes and at 1 ground survey area. Suomen Malmi Oy conducted the fieldwork. Astrock Oy supervised field surveys and processed, interpreted and reported acquired data for Posiva Oy. The purpose of the study was to collect data for geological modelling with following continuity of the conducting features in bedrock from borehole to borehole and to ground surface. These conducting features in bedrock are often linked with lithologic characters or weakness zones. A basis for the current survey was the previous mine-a-la-masse measurements and their results. Current earthings were placed in 15 electrically conducting structures in 8 boreholes and in one outcrop. Current earthings were situated in boreholes KR4, KR7, KR25, KR27 and KR37. Electrical connections were probed in 14 boreholes and at 1 ground survey area. The acquired survey data were collected to xyz-coordinate oriented databases for 3D processing, interpreting and visualization of the results. At first the data were transferred to Oasis Montaj, where the potential field profiles were drawn and studied borehole-by-borehole current earthing at a time to determine characteristics of the electrical connections. Next probable connections between boreholes and moved were constructed and moved to SurpacVision for visualisation. They were delivered for Posiva Oy as Surpac string and DTM files. With the mise-a-la-masse data, it was possible to determine numerous low dipping electrically conducting structures. Additionally previously detected conducting structures were updated with the observations and interpretations. Ground surveys were hampered strongly by electrical disturbances of the infrastructure of the Olkiluoto. Results of the all surveys are also collected in the same table, where every one of connections is classified

  5. Do extended objects move along the geodesics in the Riemann space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvili, M.A.

    1981-01-01

    Movement of an extended self-gravitating body in the gravitational field of another distant body is studied in the postnewtonian approximation of arbitrary metrical gravitational theory. Comparison of the mass center acceleration of the extended body with the acceleration of a point body moving in the Riemann space-time, the metrics of which is formally equivalent to the metrics of two moving extended bodies, shows that in any metrical gravitation theory with conservation laws of energy and momentum of the matter and gravitational field taken together, the mass center of the extended body does not, in general case, move along the geodesics of the Riemann space-time. Application of the general formulas obtained to the system Sun-Earth combined with the experimental data of the lunar laser ranging, shows that the Earth in its orbital motion is oscillating with respect to reference geodesics, with the period about one hour and the amplitude not less than 10 -2 cm. This amplitude is of the postnewtonian magnitude and as a consequence, the deviation of the Earth movement from the geodesical movement can be observed in the experiment possessing the postnewtonian accuracy. The difference between the acceleration of the Earth mass center and that of a test body in the postnewtonian approximation is equal to 10 -7 part of the Earth acceleration. The ratio of the passive gravitational mass of the Earth (defined according to Will) and its inert mass differs from 1 by 10 -8 approximately [ru

  6. Whole body vibration exposure in heavy earth moving machinery operators of metalliferrous mines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanerkar, A P; Kulkarni, N P; Zade, P D; Kamavisdar, A S

    2008-08-01

    As mining operations get mechanized, the rate of profit generation increases and so do the rate of occupational hazards. This study deals with one such hazard - occupational vibration. The present study was carried out to determine the whole body vibration (WBV) exposure of the heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) operators in two types of metalliferous mines in India, when they were engaged in the mining activity. Cross-comparison was done of the vibration dose value (VDV) for HEMM operators as well as each type of mine. The VDV for the shovel operator in bauxite mine was observed to be 13.53 +/- 5.63 m/s(7/4) with 25% of the readings higher than the prescribed limit whereas in iron ore mine VDV for dumper operator was 10.81 +/- 3.44 m/s(7/4) with 14.62% readings on the higher side. Cross-comparison of the VDV values for bauxite and iron ore mines revealed that it was 9.57 +/- 4.93 and 8.21 +/- 5.12 m/s(7/4) with 21.28 and 14.95% of the readings on the higher side respectively. The Student's t test level was found to be insignificant for both type of mines, indicating that the WBV exposure is not dependent on the type of mine but is dependent on the working condition and type of HEMM in operation.

  7. The Earth's Plasmasphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, D. L.

    2015-01-01

    The Earth's plasmasphere is an inner part of the magneteosphere. It is located just outside the upper ionosphere located in Earth's atmosphere. It is a region of dense, cold plasma that surrounds the Earth. Although plasma is found throughout the magnetosphere, the plasmasphere usually contains the coldest plasma. Here's how it works: The upper reaches of our planet's atmosphere are exposed to ultraviolet light from the Sun, and they are ionized with electrons that are freed from neutral atmospheric particles. The results are electrically charged negative and positive particles. The negative particles are electrons, and the positive particles are now called ions (formerly atoms and molecules). If the density of these particles is low enough, this electrically charged gas behaves differently than it would if it were neutral. Now this gas is called plasma. The atmospheric gas density becomes low enough to support the conditions for a plasma around earth at about 90 kilometers above Earth's surface. The electrons in plasma gain more energy, and they are very low in mass. They move along Earth's magnetic field lines and their increased energy is enough to escape Earth's gravity. Because electrons are very light, they don't have to gain too much kinetic energy from the Sun's ultraviolet light before gravity loses its grip on them. Gravity is not all that holds them back, however. As more and more electrons begin to escape outward, they leave behind a growing net positive electric charge in the ionosphere and create a growing net negative electric charge above the ionosphere; an electric field begins to develop (the Pannekoek-Rosseland E-field). Thus, these different interacting charges result in a positively charged ionosphere and negatively charged region of space above it. Very quickly this resulting electric field opposed upward movement of the electrons out of the ionosphere. The electrons still have this increased energy, however, so the electric field doesn't just

  8. Binding capacity and root penetration of seven species selected for revegetation of uranium tailings at Jaduguda in Jharkhand, India

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Lal; Soni, Prafulla [Ecology and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun (India)

    2010-08-25

    Uranium from ores mined at the three mines - Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar (Jharkhand) - is processed in the mill and the waste emerges as tailings. The recorded radioactivity level in these tailings is very low, but to avoid any long-term effect of these tailings on the atmosphere, humans, cattle as well as native flora and fauna, the tailings are covered with 30 cm layer of soil. This reduces the gamma radiation and radon emission levels. However, to consolidate the soil covering the tailings on a sustainable basis, the area needs to be revegetated by plant species having shallow root systems, good conservation value and low canopy cover. Another important criterion for selection of species is that they should not have any ethnobotanical relevance to the surrounding villages. Considering these criteria, seven native plant species of forestry origin, viz. Colebrookea oppositifolia, Dodonaea viscosa, Furcraea foetida, Imperata cylindrica, Jatropha gossypifolia, Pogostemon benghalense and Saccharum spontaneum have been selected for experimental trials. We describe here the strategies adopted for consolidation of radioactivity in tailings, revegetation practices used and the ecological role of the selected species in consolidating the tailings. (author)

  9. Binding capacity and root penetration of seven species selected for revegetation of uranium tailings at Jaduguda in Jharkhand, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Lal; Soni, Prafulla

    2010-01-01

    Uranium from ores mined at the three mines - Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar (Jharkhand) - is processed in the mill and the waste emerges as tailings. The recorded radioactivity level in these tailings is very low, but to avoid any long-term effect of these tailings on the atmosphere, humans, cattle as well as native flora and fauna, the tailings are covered with 30 cm layer of soil. This reduces the gamma radiation and radon emission levels. However, to consolidate the soil covering the tailings on a sustainable basis, the area needs to be revegetated by plant species having shallow root systems, good conservation value and low canopy cover. Another important criterion for selection of species is that they should not have any ethnobotanical relevance to the surrounding villages. Considering these criteria, seven native plant species of forestry origin, viz. Colebrookea oppositifolia, Dodonaea viscosa, Furcraea foetida, Imperata cylindrica, Jatropha gossypifolia, Pogostemon benghalense and Saccharum spontaneum have been selected for experimental trials. We describe here the strategies adopted for consolidation of radioactivity in tailings, revegetation practices used and the ecological role of the selected species in consolidating the tailings. (author)

  10. Nuclear magnetic resonance and earth magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1998-01-01

    Nuclear magnetic resonance concerns nuclei whose spin is different from 0. These nuclei exposed to a magnetic field is comparable to a peg top spinning around its axis while being moved by a precession movement called Larmor precession. This article presents an experiment whose aim is to reveal nuclear magnetism of nuclei by observing Larmor precession phenomena due to the earth magnetic field. The earth magnetic field being too weak, it is necessary to increase the magnetization of the sample during a polarization phase. First the sample is submitted to a magnetic field B perpendicular to the earth magnetic field B 0 , then B is cut off and the nuclei move back to their equilibrium position by executing a precession movement due to B 0 field. (A.C.)

  11. Application of urban waste water sludge in revegetation of sanitary landfills; Aplicacion de lodos de depuradora procedentes de aguas residuales urbanas en la revegetacion de vertederos de RSU (II)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ingelmo Sanchez, F.; Garcia Camarero, J.; Morenilla Martinez, J. J.; Bernacer Bonora, I.; Herrero Chamorro, O.; Amores Blasco, S.

    2000-07-01

    The use of forest soil for re vegetating sealed urban landfills is a practice leading to economic and environmental problems. Recently, it has been demonstrated a suitable technique for minimizing soil needs in the re-vegetation of a closed urban landfill which, the layer of fertile soil usually added for plants to settle and develop in such degraded substrate is replaced by a layer of the degraded soil amended with urban anaerobic sewage sludges. In this work we expose the firsts results of a pilot project for the re-vegetation with this procedure of a closed landfill of municipal solid wastes managed by the company Gestion Integral de Residuos in a collaborative research among the Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion, the Entidad Publica de Saneamiento de Aguas Residuales de la Comunidad Valenciana and the company Depuracion de Aguas del Mediterraneo. The closed landfill has a surface of 2,6 ha and its re-vegetation will be carried out by introducing native plants (annuals, busch and trees) after incorporation into the degraded soil of the anaerobic sewage sludge at the single dose of 60 tn/ha. (Author) 3 refs.

  12. Sensor Web Technology Challenges and Advancements for the Earth Science Decadal Survey Era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, Charles D.; Moe, Karen

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the Earth science decadal survey era and the role ESTO developed sensor web technologies can contribute to the scientific observations. This includes hardware and software technology advances for in-situ and in-space measurements. Also discussed are emerging areas of importance such as the potential of small satellites for sensor web based observations as well as advances in data fusion critical to the science and societal benefits of future missions, and the challenges ahead.

  13. Knight Mine reclamation: a study of revegetation difficulties in a semi-arid environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNearny, R.L.; Wheeler, K.R.

    1995-01-01

    An analysis of the difficulties associated with the re-establishment of reclamation vegetation on a dry underground coal mine site in southern Utah, USA, is presented. Precipitation amounts, seed mix, seed bed preparation techniques, and soil properties all appeared to be adequate for vegetation establishment at the site. However, failure of repeated revegetation efforts in a redisturbed area of the mine site may have been due to higher soil salinity levels in the area, which may have given 'Kochia scoparia' an initial competitive advantage. Lack of soil moisture and allelopathic effects due to the dense carpet of 'Kochi' may have also contributed to the continued lack of revegation success. 14 refs., 7 figs., 6 tabs

  14. Growing Eremanthus erythropappus in crushed laterite: A promising alternative to topsoil for bauxite-mine revegetation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machado, Naiara Amaral de Miranda; Leite, Mariangela Garcia Praça; Figueiredo, Maurílio Assis; Kozovits, Alessandra Rodrigues

    2013-11-15

    Topsoil is the preferred substrate for areas requiring rehabilitation after bauxite mining. However, topsoil is sometimes lacking and so there is a need to test the suitability of other, locally available substrates. In an abandoned bauxite mine in Southeastern Brazil, small patches of native vegetation spontaneously established in shallow depressions over weathered laterite, suggesting that granulometric reduction may have facilitated the establishment of plants. To test this hypothesis, blocks of laterite collected in the area were crushed to simulate texture observed in the vegetation patches. Topsoil collected in a preserved ferruginous field near to the extraction area was also used as a substrate in which Eremanthus erythropappus seedlings, a native woody species, were grown. Seedlings were cultivated without fertilizers in these two substrates and also directly over the exposed and uncrushed laterite. The species proved to be very promising for the revegetation, showing a high survival rate in all substrates. Higher annual growth rates and higher final biomass values were observed in topsoil, but the granulometric reduction of laterite doubled plant growth rate in comparison to the exposed laterite. This result was likely due to the increased availability of essential nutrients to plants and to the improvement in physical conditions for root growth and functioning. Moreover, seedling allometry was not altered by the type of substrate, suggesting that the species was highly tolerant to the new substrate conditions, a fundamental characteristic for success of revegetation of bauxite extraction degraded areas. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Encyclopedia of earth system science

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Nierenberg, William Aaron

    1992-01-01

    .... The very diversity of the articles attests to the complexity of earth system science as a unique interdisciplinary venture to place humanity in a position to move wisely to protect the global habitat...

  16. Mapping Near-Earth Hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2016-06-01

    How can we hunt down all the near-Earth asteroids that are capable of posing a threat to us? A new study looks at whether the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is up to the job.Charting Nearby ThreatsLSST is an 8.4-m wide-survey telescope currently being built in Chile. When it goes online in 2022, it will spend the next ten years surveying our sky, mapping tens of billions of stars and galaxies, searching for signatures of dark energy and dark matter, and hunting for transient optical events like novae and supernovae. But in its scanning, LSST will also be looking for asteroids that approach near Earth.Cumulative number of near-Earth asteroids discovered over time, as of June 16, 2016. [NASA/JPL/Chamberlin]Near-Earth objects (NEOs) have the potential to be hazardous if they cross Earths path and are large enough to do significant damage when they impact Earth. Earths history is riddled with dangerous asteroid encounters, including the recent Chelyabinsk airburst in 2013, the encounter that caused the kilometer-sized Meteor Crater in Arizona, and the impact thought to contribute to the extinction of the dinosaurs.Recognizing the potential danger that NEOs can pose to Earth, Congress has tasked NASA with tracking down 90% of NEOs larger than 140 meters in diameter. With our current survey capabilities, we believe weve discovered roughly 25% of these NEOs thus far. Now a new study led by Tommy Grav (Planetary Science Institute) examines whether LSST will be able to complete this task.Absolute magnitude, H, of asynthetic NEO population. Though these NEOs are all larger than 140 m, they have a large spread in albedos. [Grav et al. 2016]Can LSST Help?Based on previous observations of NEOs and resulting predictions for NEO properties and orbits, Grav and collaborators simulate a synthetic population of NEOs all above 140 m in size. With these improved population models, they demonstrate that the common tactic of using an asteroids absolute magnitude as a

  17. The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS) -- Science Highlights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskovitz, Nicholas; Thirouin, Audrey; Binzel, Richard; Burt, Brian; Christensen, Eric; DeMeo, Francesca; Endicott, Thomas; Hinkle, Mary; Mommert, Michael; Person, Michael; Polishook, David; Siu, Hosea; Thomas, Cristina; Trilling, David; Willman, Mark

    2015-08-01

    Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are essential to understanding the origin of the Solar System through their compositional links to meteorites. As tracers of other parts of the Solar System they provide insight to more distant populations. Their small sizes and complex dynamical histories make them ideal laboratories for studying ongoing processes of planetary evolution. Knowledge of their physical properties is essential to impact hazard assessment. And the proximity of NEOs to Earth make them favorable targets for a variety of planetary mission scenarios. However, in spite of their importance, only the largest NEOs are well studied and a representative sample of physical properties for sub-km NEOs does not exist.MANOS is a multi-year physical characterization survey, originally awarded survey status by NOAO. MANOS is targeting several hundred mission-accessible, sub-km NEOs across visible and near-infrared wavelengths to provide a comprehensive catalog of physical properties (astrometry, light curves, spectra). Accessing these targets is enabled through classical, queue, and target-of-opportunity observations carried out at 1- to 8-meter class facilities in the northern and southern hemispheres. Our observing strategy is designed to rapidly characterize newly discovered NEOs before they fade beyond observational limits.Early progress from MANOS includes: (1) the de-biased taxonomic distribution of spectral types for NEOs smaller than ~100 meters, (2) the distribution of rotational properties for approximately 100 previously unstudied NEOs, (3) detection of the fastest known rotation period of any minor planet in the Solar System, (4) an investigation of the influence of planetary encounters on the rotational properties of NEOs, (5) dynamical models for the evolution of the overall NEO population over the past 0.5 Myr, and (6) development of a new set of online tools at asteroid.lowell.edu that will enable near realtime public dissemination of our data products while

  18. Do extended bodies move alon.o the geodesics of the Riemannian space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvili, M.A.

    1980-01-01

    Motion of a massive self-gravitating body in the gravitational field of a distant massive source has been considered in the post-Newtonian approximation of the arbitrary metric gravitational theory. The comparison of the massive body center of mass acceleration with that of a point one, moving in Riemannian space-time, whose metrics formally is equivalent to the metrics of two moving massive bodies, makes it clear that in any metric gravitation theory, possessing energy-momentum conservation lows for matter and gravitational field, taken together, massive body does not move generally speaking along the geodesics of Riemannian space-time. Application of the obtained general formulae to the system Earth-Sun and using of the experimental results from lunar-laser-ranging has shown that the Earth during its motion along the orbit, oscillates with respect to the reference geodesic of the geometry with the period of 1 hour and the amplitude not less than 10 -2 cm, which is a post-Newtonian quantity. Therefore the deviation of the Earth motion from the geodesic may be observed in a relevant experiment, which will have a post-Newtonian accuracy. The difference in accelerations of the Earth c.m. and a prob body makes up 10 -7 in the post-Newtonian approximation from the value of the Earth acceleration. The ratio of the passive gravitational mass (defined according to Will) to the inertial mass for the Earth is not equal to unity, and differs from it by the value of approximately 10 -8

  19. Surveying the skies how astronomers map the universe

    CERN Document Server

    Wynn-Williams, Gareth

    2016-01-01

    Since the time of Galileo, astronomy has been driven by technological innovation. With each major advance has come the opportunity and enthusiasm to survey the sky in a way that was not possible before. It is these surveys of discovery that are the subject of this book. In the first few chapters the author discusses what astronomers learned from visible-light surveys, first with the naked eye, then using telescopes in the seventeenth century, and photography in the nineteenth century. He then moves to the second half of the twentieth century when the skies started to be swept by radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma ray telescopes, many of which had to be flown in satellites above the Earth’s atmosphere. These surveys led to the discovery of pulsars, quasars, molecular clouds, protostars, bursters, and black holes. He then returns to Earth to describe several currently active large-scale projects that methodically collect images, photometry and spectra that are then stored in vast publicly-accessibl...

  20. An attempt to develop a protocol for revegetation of tailings pond at Jaduguda

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jha, V.N.; Sethy, N.K.; Sahoo, S.K.; Tripathi, R.M.; Puranik, V.D.; Singh, V.K.

    2007-01-01

    Reclamation of uranium mill tailings is a global challenge. The mill tailings contain long-lived radionuclides and chemical additives required for the recovery of uranium. Plants can be used for consolidation of tailings and phytoremediation of contaminated soil. Present work is an attempt to develop a protocol for revegetation of used up tailings pond at Jaduguda. Brassica juncea species was used for growing vegetation over the modified tailings. It was observed that a combination of cultivation land soil, tailings and naturally digested sewage manure was effective medium for proper growth of the plants. The growth increased with increase in the quantity of sewage manure. Moreover, such combination supplemented with reagents like EDTA and chloride salt led to even better performance with respect to growth and reproduction. (author)

  1. Multi-temporal mapping of a large, slow-moving earth flow for kinematic interpretation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerriero, Luigi; Coe, Jeffrey A.; Revellino, Paola; Guadagno, Francesco M.

    2014-01-01

    Periodic movement of large, thick landslides on discrete basal surfaces produces modifications of the topographic surface, creates faults and folds, and influences the locations of springs, ponds, and streams (Baum, et al., 1993; Coe et al., 2009). The geometry of the basal-slip surface, which can be controlled by geological structures (e.g., fold axes, faults, etc.; Revellino et al., 2010; Grelle et al., 2011), and spatial variation in the rate of displacement, are responsible for differential deformation and kinematic segmentation of the landslide body. Thus, large landslides are often composed of several distinct kinematic elements. Each element represents a discrete kinematic domain within the main landslide that is broadly characterized by stretching (extension) of the upper part of the landslide and shortening (compression) near the landslide toe (Baum and Fleming, 1991; Guerriero et al., in review). On the basis of this knowledge, we used photo interpretive and GPS field mapping methods to map structures on the surface of the Montaguto earth flow in the Apennine Mountains of southern Italy at a scale of 1:6,000. (Guerriero et al., 2013a; Fig.1). The earth flow has been periodically active since at least 1954. The most extensive and destructive period of activity began on April 26, 2006, when an estimated 6 million m3 of material mobilized, covering and closing Italian National Road SS90, and damaging residential structures (Guerriero et al., 2013b). Our maps show the distribution and evolution of normal faults, thrust faults, strike-slip faults, flank ridges, and hydrological features at nine different dates (October, 1954; June, 1976; June, 1991; June, 2003; June, 2005; May, 2006; October, 2007; July, 2009; and March , 2010) between 1954 and 2010. Within the earth flow we recognized several kinematic elements and associated structures (Fig.2a). Within each kinematic element (e.g. the earth flow neck; Fig.2b), the flow velocity was highest in the middle, and

  2. Growing Periandra mediterranea on post-mining substrate: native Fabaceae with potential for revegetation of degraded rupestrian grasslands in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurilio Assis Figueiredo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Recovery of degraded areas of rupestrian grasslands is hampered mainly by the limited knowledge regarding substrate management and the biology of native species suitable for revegetation of these areas. The aim of our study was to examine the establishment and growth of Periandra mediterranea in different textures of lateritic substrate from a mining-degraded area. The growth of P. mediterranea was evaluated using fine and coarse laterite, both with and without the addition of topsoil. Survival, dry biomass, content of chemical elements and nodulation were evaluated in ten individuals per treatment sixteen months after planting. Although the substrate has low nutrient content, yet high metal concentrations, all plants survived. Plants growing on coarse laterite had 140 % greater biomass than those growing on fine laterite. The addition of topsoil increased biomass in coarse and fine laterite by 46 and 151 %, respectively, and doubled the number of nodulated plants, regardless of grain size. The biomass accumulation of P. mediterranea to a dystrophic substrate revealed its potential for use in the revegetation of degraded areas of rupestrian grasslands. Furthermore, the addition of topsoil facilitated the association of P. mediterranea with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and increased its growth and capacity to improve substrate fertility.

  3. Tsunamis: A large-scale earth and ocean phenomena

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Shetye, S.R.

    by a particle, as also its speed, decreases with depth, and beyond a certain depth, the motion associated with the wave decays to a negligible value. Wind waves are called surface gravity waves because the gravita- tional pull of the Earth plays... start moving. Earth?s gravity pulls the water particles back towards equilibrium. In the resulting motion, the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy due to gravitational pull of the Earth is conserved. Another kind of surface gravity waves...

  4. Surveying managers to inform a regionally relevant invasive Phragmites australis control research program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohal, C B; Kettenring, K M; Sims, K; Hazelton, E L G; Ma, Z

    2018-01-15

    Managers of invasive species consider the peer-reviewed literature only moderately helpful for guiding their management programs. Though this "knowing-doing gap" has been well-described, there have been few efforts to guide scientists in how to develop useful and usable science. Here we demonstrate how a comprehensive survey of managers (representing 42 wetland management units across the Great Salt Lake watershed) can highlight management practices and challenges (here for the widespread invasive plant, Phragmites australis, a recent and aggressive invader in this region) to ultimately inform a research program. The diversity of surveyed organizations had wide-ranging amounts of Phragmites which led to different goals and approaches including more aggressive control targets and a wider array of control tools for smaller, private organizations compared to larger government-run properties. We found that nearly all managers (97%) used herbicide as their primary Phragmites control tool, while burning (65%), livestock grazing (49%), and mowing (43%) were also frequently used. Managers expressed uncertainties regarding the timing of herbicide application and type of herbicide for effective control. Trade-offs between different Phragmites treatments were driven by budgetary concerns, as well as environmental conditions like water levels and social constraints like permitting issues. Managers had specific ideas about the plant communities they desired following Phragmites control, yet revegetation of native species was rarely attempted. The results of this survey informed the development of large-scale, multi-year Phragmites control and native plant revegetation experiments to address management uncertainties regarding herbicide type and timing. The survey also facilitated initial scientist-manager communication, which led to collaborations and knowledge co-production between managers and researchers. An important outcome of the survey was that experimental results were

  5. Earth-moving equipment as base machines in forest work. Final report of an NSR project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johansson, Jerry [ed.

    1997-12-31

    Excavators have been used for forest draining for a long time in the Nordic countries. Only during the 1980s they were introduced as base machines for other forest operations, such as mounding, processing, harvesting, and road construction and road maintenance. Backhoe loaders were introduced in forestry at a somewhat later stage and to a smaller degree. The number of this type of base machines in forestry is so far small and is increasing very slowly. The NSR project `Earth moving equipment as base machines in forest work` started in 1993 and the project ended in 1995. The objective of the project was to obtain an overall picture of this type of machines up to a point where the logs are at landing site, ready for transportation to the industry. The project should cover as many aspects as possible. In order to obtain this picture, the main project was divided into sub projects. The sub projects separately described in this volume are (1) Excavators in ditching operations and site preparation, (2) Backhoe loaders in harvesting operations, (3) Excavators in wood cutting operations, (4) Tracked excavators in forestry operations, (5) Crawler versus wheeled base machines for single-grip harvester, and (6) Soil changes - A comparison between a wheeled and a tracked forest machine

  6. Bryophytes and revegetation of coal spoils in southern Iowa. [14 refs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carvey, K.; Farrar, D.R.; Glenn-Lewin, D.C.

    1976-01-01

    Strip mining of coal in southern Iowa has left many scattered areas of coal spoils which provide a type of habitat unique to the region. The occurrence and distribution of 29 mosses and 2 liverworts on these spoils was determined and related to the general process of spoil revegetation. The spoil bryophyte flora was compared with Conard's (1956) list of bryophytes for the region. An increase in per cent cover and in species diversity of bryophytes was observed with increasing age of spoils, and was correlated with increased vascular plant cover. Dicranella heteromalla and Ceratodon purpureus were found to be common throughout the spoils, whereas all other species were limited to more protected sites, especially on north-facing slopes. Mosses did not appear to colonize very exposed areas on the spoils, but were limited to areas with some protection provided, especially by vascular plants. Several disjunct or highly localized moss populations were found including one new state record and thirteen new county records.

  7. A survey of the theory of the Earth's rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannon, W. H.

    1981-01-01

    The theory of the Earth's rotation and the geophysical phenomena affecting it is examined. First principles are reviewed and the problem of polar motion and UT1 variations is formulated in considerable generality and detail. The effects of Earth deformations and the solid Earth tides are analyzed.

  8. Monitoring the Rapid-Moving Reactivation of Earth Flows by Means of GB-InSAR: The April 2013 Capriglio Landslide (Northern Appennines, Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Bardi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the main results of the GB-InSAR (ground based interferometric synthetic aperture radar monitoring of the Capriglio landslide (Northern Apennines, Emilia Romagna Region, Italy, activated on 6 April 2013. The landslide, triggered by prolonged rainfall, is constituted by two main adjacent enlarging bodies with a roto-translational kinematics. They activated in sequence and subsequently joined into a large earth flow, channelizing downstream of the Bardea Creek, for a total length of about 3600 m. The displacement rate of this combined mass was quite high, so that the landslide toe evolved with velocities of several tens of meters per day (with peaks of 70–80 m/day in the first month, and of several meters per day (with peaks of 13–14 m/day from early May to mid-July 2013. In the crown area, the landslide completely destroyed a 450 m sector of provincial roadway S.P. 101, and its retrogression tendency exposed the villages of Capriglio and Pianestolla, located in the upper watershed area of the Bardea Creek, to great danger. Furthermore, the advancing toe seriously threatened the Antria bridge, representing the “Massese” provincial roadway S.P. 665R transect over the Bardea Creek, the only strategic roadway left able to connect the above-mentioned villages. With the final aim of supporting local authorities in the hazard assessment and risk management during the emergency phase, on 4 May 2013 aerial optical surveys were conducted to accurately map the landslide extension and evolution. Moreover, a GB-InSAR monitoring campaign was started in order to assess displacements of the whole landslide area. The versatility and flexibility of the GB-InSAR sensors allowed acquiring data with two different configurations, designed and set up to continuously retrieve information on the landslide movement rates (both in its upper slow-moving sectors and in its fast-moving toe. The first acquisition mode revealed that the Capriglio and

  9. Assessment Matters: Moving beyond Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wise, Vicki L.; Barham, Mary Ann

    2012-01-01

    The August 16, 2011, "Chronicle of Higher Education" article "Want Data? Ask Students. Again and Again" by Sara Lipka posits that in higher education there is a culture of oversurveying students and too often relying on surveys as the main, or only, way of assessing the impact of programs and services on student satisfaction and learning. Because…

  10. Moving beyond Traditional Methods of Survey Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maul, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    In his focus article, "Rethinking Traditional Methods of Survey Validation," published in this issue of "Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives," Andrew Maul wrote that it is commonly believed that self-report, survey-based instruments can be used to measure a wide range of psychological attributes, such as…

  11. Capturing near-Earth asteroids around Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasnain, Zaki; Lamb, Christopher A.; Ross, Shane D.

    2012-12-01

    The list of detected near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is constantly growing. NEAs are likely targets for resources to support space industrialization, as they may be the least expensive source of certain needed raw materials. The limited supply of precious metals and semiconducting elements on Earth may be supplemented or even replaced by the reserves floating in the form of asteroids around the solar system. Precious metals make up a significant fraction NEAs by mass, and even one metallic asteroid of ˜1km size and fair enrichment in platinum-group metals would contain twice the tonnage of such metals already harvested on Earth. There are ˜1000 NEAs with a diameter of greater than 1 km. Capturing these asteroids around the Earth would expand the mining industry into an entirely new dimension. Having such resources within easy reach in Earth's orbit could provide an off-world environmentally friendly remedy for impending terrestrial shortages, especially given the need for raw materials in developing nations. In this paper, we develop and implement a conceptually simple algorithm to determine trajectory characteristics necessary to move NEAs into capture orbits around the Earth. Altered trajectories of asteroids are calculated using an ephemeris model. Only asteroids of eccentricity less than 0.1 have been studied and the model is restricted to the ecliptic plane for simplicity. We constrain the time of retrieval to be 10 years or less, based on considerations of the time to return on investment. For the heliocentric phase, constant acceleration is assumed. The acceleration required for transporting these asteroids from their undisturbed orbits to the sphere of influence of the Earth is the primary output, along with the impulse or acceleration necessary to effect capture to a bound orbit once the Earth's sphere of influence is reached. The initial guess for the constant acceleration is provided by a new estimation method, similar in spirit to Edelbaum's. Based on the

  12. A bibliography of research conducted by the Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Office, U.S. Geological Survey : 1975-1982

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowman, Helen L.

    1984-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Program was established in 1967 by Secretarial order to plan and develop techniques for collecting and analyzing remotely sensed data, and to apply these techniques to the resource inventory and management responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey scientists, realizing the potential benefits of synoptic views of the Earth, were among the first members of America's scientific community to press for the launch of civilian Earth-surface observation satellites. Under the leadership of Director William T. Pecora, U.S. Geological Survey initiatives greatly influenced the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) development of the Landsat program.As part of the Landsat program, an agreement between NASA and the Geological Survey was signed to provide Landsat archiving and data production capabilities at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This partnership with NASA began in 1972 and continued until Presidential Directive 54 designated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce as the manager of U.S. civil operational land remote-sensing activities. NOAA has managed the Landsat program since Fiscal Year 1983, and EROS continues to process, archive, reproduce, and distribute Landsat data under a Memorandum of Understanding between NOAA and the Geological Survey. Archives at the EROS Data Center include over 2 million worldwide Landsat scenes and over 5 million aerial photographs, primarily of U.S. sites. Since the launch of Landsat 1, global imaging of the Earth's surface has become an operational tool for resource exploration and land management. As technology evolved, so did the EROS Program mission. Research and applications efforts began at the EROS Headquarters Office in the Washington metropolitan area in 1966; at the EROS Data Center in 1971; and at the EROS Field Office in Anchorage

  13. Direct detection of dark matter bound to the Earth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Catena, Riccardo; Kouvaris, Chris

    2017-01-01

    We study the properties and direct detection prospects of an as of yet neglected population of dark matter (DM) particles moving in orbits gravitationally bound to the Earth. This DM population is expected to form via scattering by nuclei in the Earth's interior. We compute fluxes and nuclear...

  14. Earth Rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickey, Jean O.

    1995-01-01

    The study of the Earth's rotation in space (encompassing Universal Time (UT1), length of day, polar motion, and the phenomena of precession and nutation) addresses the complex nature of Earth orientation changes, the mechanisms of excitation of these changes and their geophysical implications in a broad variety of areas. In the absence of internal sources of energy or interactions with astronomical objects, the Earth would move as a rigid body with its various parts (the crust, mantle, inner and outer cores, atmosphere and oceans) rotating together at a constant fixed rate. In reality, the world is considerably more complicated, as is schematically illustrated. The rotation rate of the Earth's crust is not constant, but exhibits complicated fluctuations in speed amounting to several parts in 10(exp 8) [corresponding to a variation of several milliseconds (ms) in the Length Of the Day (LOD) and about one part in 10(exp 6) in the orientation of the rotation axis relative to the solid Earth's axis of figure (polar motion). These changes occur over a broad spectrum of time scales, ranging from hours to centuries and longer, reflecting the fact that they are produced by a wide variety of geophysical and astronomical processes. Geodetic observations of Earth rotation changes thus provide insights into the geophysical processes illustrated, which are often difficult to obtain by other means. In addition, these measurements are required for engineering purposes. Theoretical studies of Earth rotation variations are based on the application of Euler's dynamical equations to the problem of finding the response of slightly deformable solid Earth to variety of surface and internal stresses.

  15. Clean Slate 2 Revegetation and Monitoring Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David Anderson

    1998-01-01

    This document is a reclamation plan for short-term and long-term stabilization of land disturbed by activities associated with interim clean-up of radionuclide-contaminated surface soil at Clean Slate 2 located northwest of the Nevada Test Site on the Nellis Air Force Range. Surface soils at Clean Slate 2 were contaminated as a result of the detonation of a device containing plutonium and depleted uranium using chemical explosives. Excavation of contaminated soils at Clean Slate 2 will follow procedures similar to those used during the cleanup of the Double Tracks and Clean Slate 1 sites. A maximum of approximately 33 cm (12 in) of the surface soils will be excavated and removed from the site. Near ground zero, where contamination levels are highest, approximately 2 m (7 ft) of soil may be removed. The maximum area to be excavated is estimated to be 18.4 hectares (45.4) acres. In addition to the disturbance associated with soil excavation, approximately 2.0 hectares (5.0) acres will be disturbed by the construction of staging areas and placement of support facilities. Short term stabilization consists of an application of a chemical soil stabilizer and long-term stabilizations involves the establishment of a permanent vegetative cover using selective native plant species, site preparation techniques, increasing organic matter and water holding capacity, irrigation to ensure seed germination and plant establishment. The cleanup site will be monitored to ensure success of revegetation and resuspension of soil particles is within established limits

  16. Modeling the earth system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ojima, D. [ed.

    1992-12-31

    The 1990 Global Change Institute (GCI) on Earth System Modeling is the third of a series organized by the Office for Interdisciplinary Earth Studies to look in depth at particular issues critical to developing a better understanding of the earth system. The 1990 GCI on Earth System Modeling was organized around three themes: defining critical gaps in the knowledge of the earth system, developing simplified working models, and validating comprehensive system models. This book is divided into three sections that reflect these themes. Each section begins with a set of background papers offering a brief tutorial on the subject, followed by working group reports developed during the institute. These reports summarize the joint ideas and recommendations of the participants and bring to bear the interdisciplinary perspective that imbued the institute. Since the conclusion of the 1990 Global Change Institute, research programs, nationally and internationally, have moved forward to implement a number of the recommendations made at the institute, and many of the participants have maintained collegial interactions to develop research projects addressing the needs identified during the two weeks in Snowmass.

  17. Other Earths: Search for Life and the Constant Curvature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khoshyaran M. M.

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to propose a search methodology for finding other exactly similar earth like planets (or sister earths. The theory is based on space consisting of Riemann curves or highways. A mathematical model based on constant curvature, a moving frame bundle, and gravitational dynamics is introduced.

  18. PERAN REVEGETASI TERHADAP RESTORASI TANAH PADA LAHAN REHABILITASI TAMBANG BATUBARA DI DAERAH TROPIKA (The Role of Revegetation on the Soil Restoration in Rehabilitation Areas of Tropical Coal Mining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cahyono Agus

    2014-05-01

    causes land degradation, so they need land rehabilitation through re-vegetation programs. The study was conducted in the PT Berau Coal area of Binungan, Lati and Sambarata site, Berau regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Research using a randomized completely block design with the age of re-vegetation as treatments, three replication and three sites as blocks. Sampling unit was selected using a purposive sampling method that is based on the re-vegetation management, including: (i S1: forest area without mining activities (baseline, (ii S2: initial re-vegetation, plant age 5 years. Soil sample was collected from 0-20 and 20-40 cm soil depth in each treatment at three locations, then analyzed for soil  physic and chemistry. Soil of Typic Hapludult on forest land without coal mining has a C-organic (1.87 %, N-total (0.14 %, available-P (31.40 ppm, exchangeable-K (0.11 me/100g, pH (3.98, CEC (10.72 me/100g and base saturation (17 %. Opened coal mining has led the soil layer becomes exposed and a declining in soil quality drastically. Land closure with the top soil media has been quite able to improve soil properties in rehabilitation areas, but not suitable as media for plant growth, and highly susceptible for further degradation. Land rehabilitation and re-vegetation with fast growing and adaptive pioneer plants such as: Sengon, Acacia, Sungkai, Melina, Angsana, Jarak and Legume Cover Crop (LCC in the rehabilitation area of coal mining, gave significant effect on the increasing of  C-organic, N-total and soil pH. Re-vegetation with fast growing species after 5-year-old has returned the soil chemical properties that are equivalent or even better than thier condition in moist tropical forests without open coal mining.

  19. The Moving Group Targets of the SEEDS High-contrast Imaging Survey of Exoplanets and Disks: Results and Observations from the First Three Years

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brandt, T.D.; et al., [Unknown; Thalmann, C.

    2014-01-01

    We present results from the first three years of observations of moving group (MG) targets in the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) high-contrast imaging survey of exoplanets and disks using the Subaru telescope. We achieve typical contrasts of ~105 at 1'' and ~106

  20. Sulfur transformations related to revegetation of flue gas desulfurization sludge disposal sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barlas, S.A.; Artiola, J.F.; Salo, L.F.; Goodrich-Mahoney, J.W. [University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences

    1999-10-01

    This study investigated factors controlling redox conditions in flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sludge and identified ways to minimize the production of phytotoxic reduced sulfur species at FGD sludge disposal sites. The oxidation of reduced FGD sludge (Eh-385 mV) appears to be a two-step process mostly controlled by water content. Eighty percent of total sulfide in reduced sludge was oxidized within 20 h of exposure to air with constant water evaporation. When organic carbon (OC) was added to saturated oxidized sludge, the Eh dropped exponentially. Sulfate reduction began at an Eh of about -75 mV and reached a maximum at -265 to -320 mV. Water content, degree of mixing, concentration of OC, and temperature control the rate and extent of reduction of FGD sludge. This suggests that water saturation and OC inputs to revegetated disposal sites should be controlled, especially during warm temperatures, to prevent production of phytotoxic levels of sulfides.

  1. Photometric survey and taxonomic identifications of 92 near-Earth asteroids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chien-Hsien; Ip, Wing-Huen; Lin, Zhong-Yi; Cheng, Yu-Chi; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Chang, Chan-Kao

    2018-03-01

    A photometric survey of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) was conducted from 2012 through 2014 at Lulin Observatory, Taiwan. The measurements of the color indices, B-V, V-R, and V-I allow the classification of 92 NEAs into seven taxonomic types. Of these samples, 39 of them are new classifications. The fractional abundances of these taxonomic complexes are: A ∼3%, C∼6.5%, D∼8%, Q∼26%, S∼37%, V∼6.5%, and X∼13%. This result is similar to that of Thomas et al. (2011) even though the populations of the D- and X-complex with low albedos are under-represented. The ratio of the C-cluster to the total population of S + C clusters are 0.22 ± 0.06 for H ≤ 17.0 and 0.31 ± 0.06 for H > 17.0, indicating a slightly higher fraction of dark-object population with sizes smaller than 1 km.

  2. Biology as a Key Technological Foundation for Settlement Beyond Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothschild, L. J.; Navarrete, J.; Kent, R. E.; McCutcheon, G.; Pless, E.; Paulino-Lima, I. G.

    2017-01-01

    Moving materials beyond Earth, whether spacecraft, living organisms, or both, is limited by mass constraints. Yet human survival requires an extensive infrastructure, from environmental regulation to life support. In practice this means habitats, food, oxygen, waste recycling, medicine and so on. Thus, there is a mismatch between what will be required in transit and at destination to fulfill dreams of human settlements and what can realistically moved there. Further, settlement off planet with current transportation systems requires the ability to operate independently of the Earth for prolonged periods of time, requiring long-term storage of supplies and the flexibilityto satisfy new needs.

  3. Size-Selective Modes of Aeolian Transport on Earth and Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swann, C.; Ewing, R. C.; Sherman, D. J.; McLean, C. J.

    2016-12-01

    Aeolian sand transport is a dominant driver of surface change and dust emission on Mars. Estimates of aeolian sand transport on Earth and Mars rely on terrestrial transport models that do not differentiate between transport modes (e.g., creep vs. saltation), which limits estimates of the critical threshold for transport and the total sand flux during a transport event. A gap remains in understanding how the different modes contribute to the total sand flux. Experiments conducted at the MARtian Surface WInd Tunnel separated modes of transport for uniform and mixed grain size surfaces at Earth and Martian atmospheric pressures. Crushed walnut shells with a density of 1.0 gm/cm3 were used. Experiments resolved grain size distributions for creeping and saltating grains over 3 uniform surfaces, U1, U2, and U3, with median grain sizes of 308 µm, 721 µm, and 1294 µm, and a mixed grain size surface, M1, with median grain sizes of 519 µm. A mesh trap located 5 cm above the test bed and a surface creep trap were deployed to capture particles moving as saltation and creep. Grains that entered the creep trap at angles ≥ 75° were categorized as moving in creep mode only. Only U1 and M1 surfaces captured enough surface creep at both Earth and Mars pressure for statistically significant grain size analysis. Our experiments show that size selective transport differs between Earth and Mars conditions. The median grain size of particles moving in creep for both uniform and mixed surfaces are larger under Earth conditions. (U1Earth = 385 µm vs. U1Mars = 355 µm; M1Earth = 762 vs. M1Mars = 697 µm ). However, particles moving in saltation were larger under Mars conditions (U1Earth = 282 µm; U1Mars = 309 µm; M1Earth = 347 µm; M1Mars = 454 µm ). Similar to terrestrial experiments, the median size of surface creep is larger than the median grain size of saltation. Median sizes of U1, U2, U3 at Mars conditions for creep was 355 µm, 774 µm and 1574 µm. Saltation at Mars

  4. Evolution of revegetated ski slopes in different environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Argenti G

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Revegetation of ski slopes is a useful technique to limit soil erosion, reduce the visual impact of the tracks and lengthen the duration of snow cover. Restoration is often performed with commercial forage mixtures with the aim of creating a fast soil cover, then allowing the natural recolonization of artificial swards in the mid-long term. To investigate on the recolonization dynamics, data were collected from 21 different plots from the Alps and the Apennines (Valtellina, Plan de Corones, Sappada, Cimone. Knowledge of both the original mixtures used for restoration and the timespan since intervention (ranging from 1 to 21 years allowed to throw light on the naturalization process for the studied plots. Ground cover, floristic richness and relative presence of sown and native species were measured along linear transects established on the analyzed ski tracks. Results showed the effectiveness of plant restoration, in terms of soil coverage and (in some cases persistence of species of the original mixtures. Recovery of autochthonous species was strongly affected by site elevation and time elapsed since restoration. Moreover, the distance of ski lanes from forest edges seems to influence the dynamics of recolo­nisation process. Renaturalization was remarkably faster in the lower-altitude Apennine study plot. Application of a regression analysis revealed that elevation and timespan since restoration may be considered useful predictors of the level of naturalization of the restored canopies.

  5. A survey of 16 rare Earth elements in the major foods in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Ding Guo; Yang, Jie; Zhang, Shuo; Yang, Da Jin

    2012-06-01

    The aim of this survey was to investigate the level of contamination of the most consumed foods in China with 16 rare earth elements (REEs), and to provide the basic data for establishing and revising food safety standards for REEs. Sixteen REEs in foods were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the labs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of four provinces and two municipalities, during 2009-2010. 1 231 samples were analyzed and 19 121 concentration data of 16 REEs were collected. The REEs levels in the investigated foods varied significantly. The concentrations of cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), and neodymium (Nd) were relatively high, while the remaining eleven REEs were at low levels. The mean values of total rare earth element oxides (REOs) in cereals, fresh vegetables, fresh aquatic products, fresh meats and eggs varied from 0.052 mg/kg to 0.337 mg/kg. 16 REEs in the major foods were at very low contamination levels in the investigated regions. Copyright © 2012 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. NASA Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Health: Moving from Research to Operational End Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes, J.; Estes, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    Health providers and researchers need environmental data to study and understand the geographic, environmental, and meteorological differences in disease. Satellite remote sensing of the environment offers a unique vantage point that can fill in the gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. This presentation will demonstrate NASA's applied science programs efforts to transition from research to operations to benefit society. Satellite earth observations present a unique vantage point of the earth's environment from space, which offers a wealth of health applications for the imaginative investigator. The presentation is directly related to Earth Observing systems and Global Health Surveillance and will present research results of the remote sensing environmental observations of earth and health applications, which can contribute to the health research. As part of NASA approach and methodology they have used Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Health Models to provide a method for bridging gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. This presentation will provide a venue where the results of both research and practice using satellite earth observations to study weather and it's role in health research and the transition to operational end users.

  7. Geochemical investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey on uranium mining, milling, and environmental restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landa, Edward R.; Cravotta, Charles A.; Naftz, David L.; Verplanck, Philip L.; Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Zielinski, Robert A.

    2000-01-01

    Recent research by the U.S. Geological Survey has characterized contaminant sources and identified important geochemical processes that influence transport of radionuclides from uranium mining and milling wastes. 1) Selective extraction studies indicated that alkaline earth sulfates and hydrous ferric oxides are important hosts of 226Ra in uranium mill tailings. The action of sulfate-reducing and ironreducing bacteria on these phases was shown to enhance release of radium, and this adverse result may temper decisions to dispose of uranium mill tailings in anaerobic environments. 2) Field studies have shown that although surface-applied sewage sludge/wood chip amendments aid in revegetating pyritic spoil, the nitrogen in sludge leachate can enhance pyrite oxidation, acidification of groundwater, and the consequent mobilization of metals and radionuclides. 3) In a U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyfunded study, three permeable reactive barriers consisting of phosphate-rich material, zero-valent iron, or amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide have been installed at an abandoned uranium upgrader facility near Fry Canyon, UT. Preliminary results indicate that each of the permeable reactive barriers is removing the majority of the uranium from the groundwater. 4) Studies on the geochemistry of rare earth elements as analogues for actinides such as uranium and thorium in acid mine drainage environments indicate high mobility under acid-weathering conditions but measurable attenuation associated with iron and aluminum colloid formation. Mass balances from field and laboratory studies are being used to quantify the amount of attenuation. 5) A field study in Colorado demonstrated the use of 234U/238U isotopic ratio measurements to evaluate contamination of shallow groundwater with uranium mill effluent.

  8. Bacterial and fungal communities in a degraded ombrotrophic peatland undergoing natural and managed re-vegetation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, David R; Caporn, Simon J M; Nwaishi, Felix; Nilsson, R Henrik; Sen, Robin

    2015-01-01

    The UK hosts 15-19% of global upland ombrotrophic (rain fed) peatlands that are estimated to store 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon and represent a critical upland habitat with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services provision. Net production is dependent on an imbalance between growth of peat-forming Sphagnum mosses and microbial decomposition by microorganisms that are limited by cold, acidic, and anaerobic conditions. In the Southern Pennines, land-use change, drainage, and over 200 years of anthropogenic N and heavy metal deposition have contributed to severe peatland degradation manifested as a loss of vegetation leaving bare peat susceptible to erosion and deep gullying. A restoration programme designed to regain peat hydrology, stability and functionality has involved re-vegetation through nurse grass, dwarf shrub and Sphagnum re-introduction. Our aim was to characterise bacterial and fungal communities, via high-throughput rRNA gene sequencing, in the surface acrotelm/mesotelm of degraded bare peat, long-term stable vegetated peat, and natural and managed restorations. Compared to long-term vegetated areas the bare peat microbiome had significantly higher levels of oligotrophic marker phyla (Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, TM6) and lower Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, together with much higher ligninolytic Basidiomycota. Fewer distinct microbial sequences and significantly fewer cultivable microbes were detected in bare peat compared to other areas. Microbial community structure was linked to restoration activity and correlated with soil edaphic variables (e.g. moisture and heavy metals). Although rapid community changes were evident following restoration activity, restored bare peat did not approach a similar microbial community structure to non-eroded areas even after 25 years, which may be related to the stabilisation of historic deposited heavy metals pollution in long-term stable areas. These primary findings are discussed in relation to bare peat

  9. Bacterial and fungal communities in a degraded ombrotrophic peatland undergoing natural and managed re-vegetation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David R Elliott

    Full Text Available The UK hosts 15-19% of global upland ombrotrophic (rain fed peatlands that are estimated to store 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon and represent a critical upland habitat with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services provision. Net production is dependent on an imbalance between growth of peat-forming Sphagnum mosses and microbial decomposition by microorganisms that are limited by cold, acidic, and anaerobic conditions. In the Southern Pennines, land-use change, drainage, and over 200 years of anthropogenic N and heavy metal deposition have contributed to severe peatland degradation manifested as a loss of vegetation leaving bare peat susceptible to erosion and deep gullying. A restoration programme designed to regain peat hydrology, stability and functionality has involved re-vegetation through nurse grass, dwarf shrub and Sphagnum re-introduction. Our aim was to characterise bacterial and fungal communities, via high-throughput rRNA gene sequencing, in the surface acrotelm/mesotelm of degraded bare peat, long-term stable vegetated peat, and natural and managed restorations. Compared to long-term vegetated areas the bare peat microbiome had significantly higher levels of oligotrophic marker phyla (Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, TM6 and lower Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, together with much higher ligninolytic Basidiomycota. Fewer distinct microbial sequences and significantly fewer cultivable microbes were detected in bare peat compared to other areas. Microbial community structure was linked to restoration activity and correlated with soil edaphic variables (e.g. moisture and heavy metals. Although rapid community changes were evident following restoration activity, restored bare peat did not approach a similar microbial community structure to non-eroded areas even after 25 years, which may be related to the stabilisation of historic deposited heavy metals pollution in long-term stable areas. These primary findings are discussed in

  10. Bacterial and Fungal Communities in a Degraded Ombrotrophic Peatland Undergoing Natural and Managed Re-Vegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, David R.; Caporn, Simon J. M.; Nwaishi, Felix; Nilsson, R. Henrik; Sen, Robin

    2015-01-01

    The UK hosts 15–19% of global upland ombrotrophic (rain fed) peatlands that are estimated to store 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon and represent a critical upland habitat with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services provision. Net production is dependent on an imbalance between growth of peat-forming Sphagnum mosses and microbial decomposition by microorganisms that are limited by cold, acidic, and anaerobic conditions. In the Southern Pennines, land-use change, drainage, and over 200 years of anthropogenic N and heavy metal deposition have contributed to severe peatland degradation manifested as a loss of vegetation leaving bare peat susceptible to erosion and deep gullying. A restoration programme designed to regain peat hydrology, stability and functionality has involved re-vegetation through nurse grass, dwarf shrub and Sphagnum re-introduction. Our aim was to characterise bacterial and fungal communities, via high-throughput rRNA gene sequencing, in the surface acrotelm/mesotelm of degraded bare peat, long-term stable vegetated peat, and natural and managed restorations. Compared to long-term vegetated areas the bare peat microbiome had significantly higher levels of oligotrophic marker phyla (Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, TM6) and lower Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, together with much higher ligninolytic Basidiomycota. Fewer distinct microbial sequences and significantly fewer cultivable microbes were detected in bare peat compared to other areas. Microbial community structure was linked to restoration activity and correlated with soil edaphic variables (e.g. moisture and heavy metals). Although rapid community changes were evident following restoration activity, restored bare peat did not approach a similar microbial community structure to non-eroded areas even after 25 years, which may be related to the stabilisation of historic deposited heavy metals pollution in long-term stable areas. These primary findings are discussed in relation to bare

  11. Common Earth Science Misconceptions in Science Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Chris

    2012-01-01

    A survey of the Earth science content of science textbooks found a wide range of misconceptions. These are discussed in this article with reference to the published literature on Earth science misconceptions. Most misconceptions occurred in the "sedimentary rocks and processes" and "Earth's structure and plate tectonics"…

  12. Revegetation and management of tailings sand slopes from tar sand extraction: 1978 results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rowell, M J

    1979-01-01

    The results are reported of research into the revegetation of two areas on a steeply sloping dike composed of tailings sand from tar sand extraction at the Great Canadian Oil Sand Limited plant at Fort McMurray, Alberta. One area was seeded with three pasture grasses and two legumes in 1971 after the slope surface had been mixed with peat to a depth of 15 cm. A second area had been amended with peat or peat and overburden and differing rates of fertilizer added. A mix containing nine grasses, four legumes, and oats, as a companion crop, was seeded in July 1976. The objectives of the research were to study methods for the establishment of a stable vegetative cover that would prevent erosion of the slope and, in time, might become a self maintaining unit. Tillage of soil amendments to a depth of 15 cm and 30 cm were compared in promoting deeper rooting and stabilizing of the slope.

  13. EarthCube: A Community Organization for Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patten, K.; Allison, M. L.

    2014-12-01

    The National Science Foundation's (NSF) EarthCube initiative is a community-driven approach to building cyberinfrastructure for managing, sharing, and exploring geoscience data and information to better address today's grand-challenge science questions. The EarthCube Test Enterprise Governance project is a two-year effort seeking to engage diverse geo- and cyber-science communities in applying a responsive approach to the development of a governing system for EarthCube. During Year 1, an Assembly of seven stakeholder groups representing the broad EarthCube community developed a draft Governance Framework. Finalized at the June 2014 EarthCube All Hands Meeting, this framework will be tested during the demonstration phase in Year 2, beginning October 2014. A brief overview of the framework: Community-elected members of the EarthCube Leadership Council will be responsible for managing strategic direction and identifying the scope of EarthCube. Three Standing Committees will also be established to oversee the development of technology and architecture, to coordinate among new and existing data facilities, and to represent the academic geosciences community in driving development of EarthCube cyberinfrastructure. An Engagement Team and a Liaison Team will support communication and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, and a central Office will serve a logistical support function to the governance as a whole. Finally, ad hoc Working Groups and Special Interest Groups will take on other issues related to EarthCube's goals. The Year 2 demonstration phase will test the effectiveness of the proposed framework and allow for elements to be changed to better meet community needs. It will begin by populating committees and teams, and finalizing leadership and decision-making processes to move forward on community-selected priorities including identifying science drivers, coordinating emerging technical elements, and coming to convergence on system architecture. A

  14. Moving base Gravity Gradiometer Survey System (GGSS) program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfohl, Louis; Rusnak, Walter; Jircitano, Albert; Grierson, Andrew

    1988-04-01

    The GGSS program began in early 1983 with the objective of delivering a landmobile and airborne system capable of fast, accurate, and economical gravity gradient surveys of large areas anywhere in the world. The objective included the development and use of post-mission data reduction software to process the survey data into solutions for the gravity disturbance vector components (north, east and vertical). This document describes the GGSS equipment hardware and software, integration and lab test procedures and results, and airborne and land survey procedures and results. Included are discussions on test strategies, post-mission data reduction algorithms, and the data reduction processing experience. Perspectives and conclusions are drawn from the results.

  15. Developing a comprehensive measure of mobility: mobility over varied environments scale (MOVES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirsch, Jana A; Winters, Meghan; Sims-Gould, Joanie; Clarke, Philippa J; Ste-Marie, Nathalie; Ashe, Maureen; McKay, Heather A

    2017-05-25

    While recent work emphasizes the multi-dimensionality of mobility, no current measure incorporates multiple domains of mobility. Using existing conceptual frameworks we identified four domains of mobility (physical, cognitive, social, transportation) to create a "Mobility Over Varied Environments Scale" (MOVES). We then assessed expected patterns of MOVES in the Canadian population. An expert panel identified survey items within each MOVES domain from the Canadian Community Health Survey- Healthy Aging Cycle (2008-2009) for 28,555 (weighted population n = 12,805,067) adults (≥45 years). We refined MOVES using principal components analysis and Cronbach's alpha and weighted items so each domain was 10 points. Expected mobility trends, as assessed by average MOVES, were examined by sociodemographic and health factors, and by province, using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). MOVES ranged from 0 to 40, where 0 represents individuals who are immobile and 40 those who are fully mobile. Mean MOVES was 29.58 (95% confidence interval (CI) 29.49, 29.67) (10th percentile: 24.17 (95% CI 23.96, 24.38), 90th percentile: 34.70 (CI 34.55, 34.85)). MOVES scores were lower for older, female, and non-white Canadians with worse health and lower socioeconomic status. MOVES was also lower for those who live in less urban areas. MOVES is a holistic measure of mobility for characterizing older adult mobility across populations. Future work should examine individual or neighborhood predictors of MOVES and its relationship to broader health outcomes. MOVES holds utility for research, surveillance, evaluation, and interventions around the broad factors influencing mobility in older adults.

  16. The Impact Imperative: A Space Infrastructure Enabling a Multi-Tiered Earth Defense

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Jonathan W.; Phipps, Claude; Smalley, Larry; Reilly, James; Boccio, Dona

    2003-01-01

    Impacting at hypervelocity, an asteroid struck the Earth approximately 65 million years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula a m . This triggered the extinction of almost 70% of the species of life on Earth including the dinosaurs. Other impacts prior to this one have caused even greater extinctions. Preventing collisions with the Earth by hypervelocity asteroids, meteoroids, and comets is the most important immediate space challenge facing human civilization. This is the Impact Imperative. We now believe that while there are about 2000 earth orbit crossing rocks greater than 1 kilometer in diameter, there may be as many as 200,000 or more objects in the 100 m size range. Can anything be done about this fundamental existence question facing our civilization? The answer is a resounding yes! By using an intelligent combination of Earth and space based sensors coupled with an infrastructure of high-energy laser stations and other secondary mitigation options, we can deflect inbound asteroids, meteoroids, and comets and prevent them &om striking the Earth. This can be accomplished by irradiating the surface of an inbound rock with sufficiently intense pulses so that ablation occurs. This ablation acts as a small rocket incrementally changing the shape of the rock's orbit around the Sun. One-kilometer size rocks can be moved sufficiently in about a month while smaller rocks may be moved in a shorter time span. We recommend that space objectives be immediately reprioritized to start us moving quickly towards an infrastructure that will support a multiple option defense capability. Planning and development for a lunar laser facility should be initiated immediately in parallel with other options. All mitigation options are greatly enhanced by robust early warning, detection, and tracking resources to find objects sufficiently prior to Earth orbit passage in time to allow significant intervention. Infrastructure options should include ground, LEO, GEO, Lunar, and libration point

  17. The MEarth-North and MEarth-South Transit Surveys: Searching for Habitable Super-Earth Exoplanets Around Nearby M-dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irwin, Jonathan M.; Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Charbonneau, David; Dittmann, Jason; Falco, Emilio E.; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Nutzman, Philip

    2015-01-01

    Detection and characterization of potentially habitable Earth-size extrasolar planets is one of the major goals of contemporary astronomy. By applying the transit method to very low-mass M-dwarfs , it is possible to find these planets from the ground with present-day instrumentation and observational techniques. The MEarth project is one such survey with stations in both hemispheres: MEarth-North at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and MEarth-South at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. We present an update on recent results of this survey, for planet occurrence rates, and interesting stellar astrophysics, for which our sample of 3000 nearby mid-to-late M-dwarfs has been very fruitful. All light curves gathered during the survey are made publicly available after one year, and we describe how to access and use these data.

  18. The Earth: A Changing Planet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribas, Núria; Màrquez, Conxita

    2013-04-01

    text: We describe a didactic unit that rises from our own living impression about our experience on the planet. Most of us feel the Earth to be a very static place. Rocks don't easily move and most landscapes always look the same over time. Anyone would say (the same way most scientists believed until the beginning of the last century) that our planet has always remained unchanged, never transformed. But then, all of a sudden, as a misfortune for so many humans, natural hazards appear on the scene: an earthquake causing so many disasters, a tsunami carrying away everything in its path, an eruption that can destroy huge surrounding areas but also bring new geographical relief. Science cannot remain oblivious to these events, we must wonder beyond. What does an earthquake mean? Why does it happen? What about an eruption? If it comes from the inside, what can we guess from it? Researching about all of these events, scientists have been able to arrive to some important knowledge of the planet itself: It has been possible to theorize about Earth's interior. It has also been confirmed that the planet has not always been the quiet and stable place we once thought. Continents, as Wegener supposed, do move about and the Tectonic Plates Theory, thanks to the information obtained through earthquakes and eruption, can provide some interesting explanations. But how do we know about our planet's past? How can we prove that the Earth has always been moving and that its surface changes? The Earth's rocks yield the answer. Rocks have been the only witnesses throughout millions of years, since the planet first came to existence. Let's learn how to read them… Shouldn't we realize that rocks are to Geology what books are to History? This discursive process has been distributed in four learning sequences: 1. Land is not as solid nor firm as it would seem, 2. The Earth planet: a puzzle, 3. The rocks also recycle , 4. Field trip to "Sant Miquel del Fai". The subjects take about 30

  19. Asteroids in the High Cadence Transient Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peña, J.; Fuentes, C.; Förster, F.; Maureira, J. C.; San Martín, J.; Littín, J.; Huijse, P.; Cabrera-Vives, G.; Estévez, P. A.; Galbany, L.; González-Gaitán, S.; Martínez, J.; de Jaeger, Th.; Hamuy, M.

    2018-03-01

    We report on the serendipitous observations of solar system objects imaged during the High cadence Transient Survey 2014 observation campaign. Data from this high-cadence wide-field survey was originally analyzed for finding variable static sources using machine learning to select the most-likely candidates. In this work, we search for moving transients consistent with solar system objects and derive their orbital parameters. We use a simple, custom motion detection algorithm to link trajectories and assume Keplerian motion to derive the asteroid’s orbital parameters. We use known asteroids from the Minor Planet Center database to assess the detection efficiency of the survey and our search algorithm. Trajectories have an average of nine detections spread over two days, and our fit yields typical errors of {σ }a∼ 0.07 {au}, σ e ∼ 0.07 and σ i ∼ 0.°5 in semimajor axis, eccentricity, and inclination, respectively, for known asteroids in our sample. We extract 7700 orbits from our trajectories, identifying 19 near-Earth objects, 6687 asteroids, 14 Centaurs, and 15 trans-Neptunian objects. This highlights the complementarity of supernova wide-field surveys for solar system research and the significance of machine learning to clean data of false detections. It is a good example of the data-driven science that Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will deliver.

  20. To which countries do European psychiatric trainees want to move to and why?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto da Costa, M; Giurgiuca, A; Holmes, K; Biskup, E; Mogren, T; Tomori, S; Kilic, O; Banjac, V; Molina-Ruiz, R; Palumbo, C; Frydecka, D; Kaaja, J; El-Higaya, E; Kanellopoulos, A; Amit, B H; Madissoon, D; Andreou, E; Uleviciute-Belena, I; Rakos, I; Dragasek, J; Feffer, K; Farrugia, M; Mitkovic-Voncina, M; Gargot, T; Baessler, F; Pantovic-Stefanovic, M; De Picker, L

    2017-09-01

    There is a shortage of psychiatrists worldwide. Within Europe, psychiatric trainees can move between countries, which increases the problem in some countries and alleviates it in others. However, little is known about the reasons psychiatric trainees move to another country. Survey of psychiatric trainees in 33 European countries, exploring how frequently psychiatric trainees have migrated or want to migrate, their reasons to stay and leave the country, and the countries where they come from and where they move to. A 61-item self-report questionnaire was developed, covering questions about their demographics, experiences of short-term mobility (from 3 months up to 1 year), experiences of long-term migration (of more than 1 year) and their attitudes towards migration. A total of 2281 psychiatric trainees in Europe participated in the survey, of which 72.0% have 'ever' considered to move to a different country in their future, 53.5% were considering it 'now', at the time of the survey, and 13.3% had already moved country. For these immigrant trainees, academic was the main reason they gave to move from their country of origin. For all trainees, the overall main reason for which they would leave was financial (34.4%), especially in those with lower (2500€) incomes, personal reasons were paramount (44.5%). A high number of psychiatric trainees considered moving to another country, and their motivation largely reflects the substantial salary differences. These findings suggest tackling financial conditions and academic opportunities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. AN ANALYSIS OF MISCONCEPTIONS IN SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS: EARTH SCIENCE IN ENGLAND AND WALES

    OpenAIRE

    King , Chris John Henry

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Surveys of the earth science content of all secondary (high school) science textbooks and related publications used in England and Wales have revealed high levels of error/ misconception. The 29 science textbooks or textbook series surveyed (51 texts in all) showed poor coverage of National Curriculum earth science and contained a mean level of one earth science error/ misconception per page. Science syllabuses and examinations surveyed also showed errors/ misconceptions. ...

  2. Visualization and interpretation of the year 2004 mise-a-la-masse survey data at Olkiluoto site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehtonen, T.

    2006-01-01

    This report concerns mise-a-la-masse surveys conducted from late autumn 2004 to early winter 2005 at the area of the underground characterisation facility (Onkalo) and surroundings. Surveys were made in 21 boreholes and at 6 ground survey areas. Suomen Malmi Oy conducted the fieldwork. Astrock Oy supervised field surveys and processed, interpreted and reported acquired data for Posiva Oy. The purpose of the study was to collect data for geological modelling with following continuity of the conducting features in bedrock from borehole to borehole and to ground surface. These conducting features in bedrock are often linked with lithologic characters or weakness zones. A basis for the current survey was the previous mine-a-la-masse measurements and their results. Current earthings were placed in 26 electrically conducting structures in 8 boreholes and in one outcrop. Current earthings were situated in boreholes KR4, KR7, KR8, KR25, KR27, KR28, KR29 and KR33. Electrical connections were probed in 22 boreholes and at 6 ground survey areas. The acquired survey data were collected to xyz-coordinate oriented databases for 3D processing, interpreting and visualization of the results. At first the data were transferred to Oasis Montaj, where the potential field profiles were drawn and studied borehole-by-borehole current earthing at a time to determine characteristics of the electrical connections. Next were constructed probable connections between boreholes and moved to SurpacVision for visualisation. They were delivered for Posiva Oy as Surpac string and DTM files. With the mise-a-la-masse data, it was possible to determine numerous low dipping electrically conducting structures. Ground surveys were hampered strongly by electrical disturbances of the infrastructure of the Olkiluoto. Results of the all surveys are also collected in the same table, where every one of connections is classified. Interpretations are merely based on mise-a-la-masse data. (orig.)

  3. Approaches to relativistic positioning around Earth and error estimations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puchades, Neus; Sáez, Diego

    2016-01-01

    In the context of relativistic positioning, the coordinates of a given user may be calculated by using suitable information broadcast by a 4-tuple of satellites. Our 4-tuples belong to the Galileo constellation. Recently, we estimated the positioning errors due to uncertainties in the satellite world lines (U-errors). A distribution of U-errors was obtained, at various times, in a set of points covering a large region surrounding Earth. Here, the positioning errors associated to the simplifying assumption that photons move in Minkowski space-time (S-errors) are estimated and compared with the U-errors. Both errors have been calculated for the same points and times to make comparisons possible. For a certain realistic modeling of the world line uncertainties, the estimated S-errors have proved to be smaller than the U-errors, which shows that the approach based on the assumption that the Earth's gravitational field produces negligible effects on photons may be used in a large region surrounding Earth. The applicability of this approach - which simplifies numerical calculations - to positioning problems, and the usefulness of our S-error maps, are pointed out. A better approach, based on the assumption that photons move in the Schwarzschild space-time governed by an idealized Earth, is also analyzed. More accurate descriptions of photon propagation involving non symmetric space-time structures are not necessary for ordinary positioning and spacecraft navigation around Earth.

  4. Seasonal dynamics of the photosynthetic pigments content in Populus tremula L. leaves at the adaptation on an open-pit coal mine revegetating dump

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. V. Zagurskaya

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Seasonal dynamics of the basic photosynthetic pigments (a and b chlorophylls, carotenoids content in the samples of aspen Populus tremula during natural regeneration on a revegetating pit dump of a worked-out coal pit has been studied. The studies were conducted every ten days during the vegetation period in 2015 (June–September on the territory of «Yuzhniy» dump of «Kedrovskiy» open-pit coal mine (Kemerovo region. The pigment content was identified by the means of spectrophotometric detection. The content of photosynthetic pigments in aspen leaves was calculated on oven-dry weight of the leaves, as moisture aspen leaves can greatly vary, and the determination of accuracy of dry matter content higher than the for specific gravity of the sheet. No changes in visible absorption spectrum of acetone extracts indicating pheophytin formation in chlorophylls have been identified. For all variants the larger amount of b chlorophyll was contained in control samples. The largest differences in a/b chlorophylls and chlorophylls/carotenoids ratio were observed in the end of vegetation period. The ratio between a and b chlorophylls of aspen leaves in both cases by the end of the season was considerably lower. The adaptation of aspen photosynthetic system to the revegetating dump conditions was performed due to decrease in the total pigment content and the percent of b chlorophyll in their composition.

  5. The visibility of using water boxes and mulch in dryland revegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhamad, Mohammad Noor; Alrababah, Mohammad; Athamneh, Hanaa

    2017-04-01

    Drylands cover more than 41% of the world's surface area and are homeland for about one-third of the world's population, 90% of them in developing countries. Land degradation in the drylands is hot environmental topic as it impacts environmental quality and jeopardizes food security in developing countries. The climate of Jordan varies from dry sub-humid Mediterranean in northwestern areas to desert conditions over a distance of 100 km, where more than 90 % of the county's area receives annual rainfall of less than 200 mm. In Jordan revegetation programs are rainfed; rainfall in Jordan is characterized by variable nature, thus, these programs faces a major challenge of the low survival rate of transplanted seedlings. The present study ought to explore the visibility of using water boxes and plastic mulch as an innovative approach to enhance seedling survival and establishment of four forest tress species ( Carob, Cupressus, Quercus, and Pinus). The experiment results showed that Cupressus, and Pinus seedlings expressed the highest survival rate of 88% and 84 % respectively, flowed by Crob (64%) and Querrcus (16%). The plastic mulch significantly enhanced the seedling survival rate b y40 % over the control while the water boxes resulted in an increase of 32 % over the control.

  6. Gravitomagnetic Field of the Universe and Coriolis Force on the Rotating Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veto, B.

    2011-01-01

    The Machian effect of distant masses of the universe in the frame of reference of the rotating Earth is demonstrated using the gravitomagnetic approach of general relativity. This effect appears in the form of a gravitomagnetic Lorentz force acting on moving bodies on the Earth. The gravitomagnetic field of the universe--deduced from a simple…

  7. An High Resolution Near-Earth Objects Population Enabling Next-Generation Search Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tricaico, Pasquale; Beshore, E. C.; Larson, S. M.; Boattini, A.; Williams, G. V.

    2010-01-01

    Over the past decade, the dedicated search for kilometer-size near-Earth objects (NEOs), potentially hazardous objects (PHOs), and potential Earth impactors has led to a boost in the rate of discoveries of these objects. The catalog of known NEOs is the fundamental ingredient used to develop a model for the NEOs population, either by assessing and correcting for the observational bias (Jedicke et al., 2002), or by evaluating the migration rates from the NEOs source regions (Bottke et al., 2002). The modeled NEOs population is a necessary tool used to track the progress in the search of large NEOs (Jedicke et al., 2003) and to try to predict the distribution of the ones still undiscovered, as well as to study the sky distribution of potential Earth impactors (Chesley & Spahr, 2004). We present a method to model the NEOs population in all six orbital elements, on a finely grained grid, allowing us the design and test of targeted and optimized search strategies. This method relies on the observational data routinely reported to the Minor Planet Center (MPC) by the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) and by other active NEO surveys over the past decade, to determine on a nightly basis the efficiency in detecting moving objects as a function of observable quantities including apparent magnitude, rate of motion, airmass, and galactic latitude. The cumulative detection probability is then be computed for objects within a small range in orbital elements and absolute magnitude, and the comparison with the number of know NEOs within the same range allows us to model the population. When propagated to the present epoch and projected on the sky plane, this provides the distribution of the missing large NEOs, PHOs, and potential impactors.

  8. Strategies of moving image comprehension of students in primary and secondary education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imre Szíjártó

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The research was based on a survey method of enquiry. We were looking for answers to the following questions: What strategies of moving image comprehension do participants use? Are there differences in social status in the level of comprehension of moving images? Are there differences between students whose education consists of the ‘moving image culture and media literacy’ module, and those whose does not? What typical levels of media literacy can be located amongst students? What tasks of development can we identify? According to the literature and our research findings, students’ strategies of moving image comprehension are formed by three components: the socio-cultural environment, the school, and those online social networks, which students frequently access – in classical terms this refers to the influence of peer groups. We have come up with logical connections at the intersection of the three areas, which posed as a vantage point in the development of our survey.

  9. MARD—A moving average rose diagram application for the geosciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munro, Mark A.; Blenkinsop, Thomas G.

    2012-12-01

    MARD 1.0 is a computer program for generating smoothed rose diagrams by using a moving average, which is designed for use across the wide range of disciplines encompassed within the Earth Sciences. Available in MATLAB®, Microsoft® Excel and GNU Octave formats, the program is fully compatible with both Microsoft® Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Each version has been implemented in a user-friendly way that requires no prior experience in programming with the software. MARD conducts a moving average smoothing, a form of signal processing low-pass filter, upon the raw circular data according to a set of pre-defined conditions selected by the user. This form of signal processing filter smoothes the angular dataset, emphasising significant circular trends whilst reducing background noise. Customisable parameters include whether the data is uni- or bi-directional, the angular range (or aperture) over which the data is averaged, and whether an unweighted or weighted moving average is to be applied. In addition to the uni- and bi-directional options, the MATLAB® and Octave versions also possess a function for plotting 2-dimensional dips/pitches in a single, lower, hemisphere. The rose diagrams from each version are exportable as one of a selection of common graphical formats. Frequently employed statistical measures that determine the vector mean, mean resultant (or length), circular standard deviation and circular variance are also included. MARD's scope is demonstrated via its application to a variety of datasets within the Earth Sciences.

  10. Gravitomagnetic field of the universe and Coriolis force on the rotating Earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veto, B

    2011-01-01

    The Machian effect of distant masses of the universe in the frame of reference of the rotating Earth is demonstrated using the gravitomagnetic approach of general relativity. This effect appears in the form of a gravitomagnetic Lorentz force acting on moving bodies on the Earth. The gravitomagnetic field of the universe-deduced from a simple model-exerts a gravitomagnetic Lorentz force on moving bodies, a force parallel to and with comparable strength to the Coriolis force observed on the rotating Earth. It seems after simple considerations that the Coriolis force happens to be the gravitomagnetic Lorentz force exerted by the mass of a black hole universe. The description of the phenomenon is simpler using the gravitomagnetic approach than the standard formulation of general relativity, so the method relying on gravitomagnetism is advisable in lectures intended for master's degree level physics students and advanced undergraduates.

  11. Long Baseline Stereovision for Automatic Detection and Ranging of Moving Objects in the Night Sky

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlad Turcu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available As the number of objects in Earth’s atmosphere and in low Earth orbit is continuously increasing; accurate surveillance of these objects has become important. This paper presents a generic, low cost sky surveillance system based on stereovision. Two cameras are placed 37 km apart and synchronized by a GPS-controlled external signal. The intrinsic camera parameters are calibrated before setup in the observation position, the translation vectors are determined from the GPS coordinates and the rotation matrices are continuously estimated using an original automatic calibration methodology based on following known stars. The moving objects in the sky are recognized as line segments in the long exposure images, using an automatic detection and classification algorithm based on image processing. The stereo correspondence is based on the epipolar geometry and is performed automatically using the image detection results. The resulting experimental system is able to automatically detect moving objects such as planes, meteors and Low Earth Orbit satellites, and measure their 3D position in an Earth-bound coordinate system.

  12. SPESS: A New Instrument for Measuring Student Perceptions in Earth and Ocean Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolley, Allison; Lane, Erin; Kennedy, Ben; Frappé-Sénéclauze, Tom-Pierre

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses the development and results of a new tool used for measuring shifts in students' perceptions of earth and ocean sciences called the Student Perceptions about Earth Sciences Survey (SPESS). The survey measures where students lie on the novice--expert continuum, and how their perceptions change after taking one or more earth and…

  13. Simulated JWST/NIRISS Spectroscopy of Anticipated TESS Planets and Selected Super-Earths Discovered from K2 and Ground-Based Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Dana; Albert, Loic; Deming, Drake

    2017-01-01

    The 2018 launch of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), coupled with the 2017 launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), heralds a new era in Exoplanet Science, with TESS projected to detect over one thousand transiting sub-Neptune-sized planets (Ricker et al, 2014), and JWST offering unprecedented spectroscopic capabilities. Sullivan et al (2015) used Monte Carlo simulations to predict the properties of the planets that TESS is likely to detect, and published a catalog of 962 simulated TESS planets. Prior to TESS launch, the re-scoped Kepler K2 mission and ground-based surveys such as MEarth continue to seek nearby Earth-like exoplanets orbiting M-dwarf host stars. The exoplanet community will undoubtedly employ JWST for atmospheric characterization follow-up studies of promising exoplanets, but the targeted planets for these studies must be chosen wisely to maximize JWST science return. The goal of this project is to estimate the capabilities of JWST’s Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS)—operating with the GR700XD grism in Single Object Slitless Spectrography (SOSS) mode—during observations of exoplanets transiting their host stars. We compare results obtained for the simulated TESS planets, confirmed K2-discovered super-Earths, and exoplanets discovered using ground-based surveys. By determining the target planet characteristics that result in the most favorable JWST observing conditions, we can optimize the choice of target planets in future JWST follow-on atmospheric characterization studies.

  14. Solar Flare Aimed at Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    At the height of the solar cycle, the Sun is finally displaying some fireworks. This image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows a large solar flare from June 6, 2000 at 1424 Universal Time (10:24 AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time). Associated with the flare was a coronal mass ejection that sent a wave of fast moving charged particles straight towards Earth. (The image was acquired by the Extreme ultaviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT), one of 12 instruments aboard SOHO) Solar activity affects the Earth in several ways. The particles generated by flares can disrupt satellite communications and interfere with power transmission on the Earth's surface. Earth's climate is tied to the total energy emitted by the sun, cooling when the sun radiates less energy and warming when solar output increases. Solar radiation also produces ozone in the stratosphere, so total ozone levels tend to increase during the solar maximum. For more information about these solar flares and the SOHO mission, see NASA Science News or the SOHO home page. For more about the links between the sun and climate change, see Sunspots and the Solar Max. Image courtesy SOHO Extreme ultaviolet Imaging Telescope, ESA/NASA

  15. Ethnicity at the individual and neighborhood level as an explanation for moving out of the neighborhood

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaake, K.; Burgers, J.; Mulder, C.H.

    2010-01-01

    We address the influence of both the ethnic composition of the neighborhood and the ethnicity of individual residents on moving out of neighborhoods in the Netherlands. Using the Housing Research Netherlands survey and multinomial logistic regression analyses of moving out versus not moving or

  16. Visualisation and interpretation of the autumn 2006 mise-a-la-masse survey data at the Olkiluoto site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehtonen, T.

    2007-01-01

    This report concerns mise-a-la-masse surveys conducted autumn 2006 at the area of the underground characterisation facility (ONKALO) and surroundings. Field surveys were made in both drillholes and on the ground surface. Suomen Malmi Oy conducted the fieldwork. Astrock Oy supervised field surveys and processed, interpreted and reported acquired data for Astrock Oy. The purpose of the study was to collect data for geological modelling with following continuity of the conducting features in bedrock from drillhole to drillhole and to ground surface. These conducting features in bedrock are often linked with lithologic characters or weakness zones. The completed survey supplements previous mise-a-la-masse measurement and on the other hand widens investigations to the newest drillholes OL-KR40-OL-KR43. A basis for the current survey was the previous mise-a-la-masse measurements and their results. Current earthings were placed in 15 electrically conducting structures in three drillholes, two at an investigation trench and one in ONKALO. Current earthings were situated in drillholes OL-KR4, OL-KR27 and OL-KR33, at OL-TK13 and at chainage 899 in ONKALO. Electrical connections were probed in nine drillholes, in four pregrouting holes and at two ground survey area. The acquired survey data were collected to xyz-coordinate oriented databases for 3D processing, interpreting and visualization of the results. At first the data were transferred to Oasis Montaj, where the potential field profiles were drawn and studied drillhole-by-drillhole current earthing at a time to determine characteristics of the electrical connections. Next probable connections between drillholes were constructed and moved to Surpac (registered trademark) Vision 3D software for visualisation. They were delivered for Posiva Oy as Surpac (registered trademark) string and DTM files. With the mise-a-la-masse data, it was possible to determine low dipping electrically conducting structures, congruent with the

  17. Software Reuse Within the Earth Science Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, James J.; Olding, Steve; Wolfe, Robert E.; Delnore, Victor E.

    2006-01-01

    Scientific missions in the Earth sciences frequently require cost-effective, highly reliable, and easy-to-use software, which can be a challenge for software developers to provide. The NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) spends a significant amount of resources developing software components and other software development artifacts that may also be of value if reused in other projects requiring similar functionality. In general, software reuse is often defined as utilizing existing software artifacts. Software reuse can improve productivity and quality while decreasing the cost of software development, as documented by case studies in the literature. Since large software systems are often the results of the integration of many smaller and sometimes reusable components, ensuring reusability of such software components becomes a necessity. Indeed, designing software components with reusability as a requirement can increase the software reuse potential within a community such as the NASA ESE community. The NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) Software Reuse Working Group is chartered to oversee the development of a process that will maximize the reuse potential of existing software components while recommending strategies for maximizing the reusability potential of yet-to-be-designed components. As part of this work, two surveys of the Earth science community were conducted. The first was performed in 2004 and distributed among government employees and contractors. A follow-up survey was performed in 2005 and distributed among a wider community, to include members of industry and academia. The surveys were designed to collect information on subjects such as the current software reuse practices of Earth science software developers, why they choose to reuse software, and what perceived barriers prevent them from reusing software. In this paper, we compare the results of these surveys, summarize the observed trends, and discuss the findings. The results are very

  18. The MOVES (Motor tic, Obsessions and compulsions, Vocal tic Evaluation Survey): cross-cultural evaluation of the French version and additional psychometric assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalenques, Isabelle; Guiguet-Auclair, Candy; Derost, Philippe; Joubert, Pauline; Foures, Louis; Hartmann, Andreas; Muellner, Julia; Rondepierre, Fabien

    2018-03-01

    The Motor tic, Obsessions and compulsions, Vocal tic Evaluation Survey (MOVES) is a self-report scale suggested as a severity scale for tics and related sensory phenomena observed in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) and recommended as a screening instrument by the Committee on Rating Scale Development of the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Society. To cross-culturally adapt a French version of the MOVES and to evaluate its psychometric properties. After the cross-cultural adaptation of the MOVES, we assessed its psychometric properties in 53 patients aged 12-16 years and in 54 patients aged 16 years and above: reliability and construct validity (relationships between items and scales), internal consistency and concurrent validity with the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) and the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) or the auto-Yale-Brown scale. The results showed very good acceptability with response rates greater than 92%, good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.62 and 0.89) and good test-retest reliability (ICCs ranging from 0.59 to 0.91). Concurrent validity with the YGTSS, CY-BOCS and auto-Yale-Brown scales showed strong expected correlations. The cut-off points tested for diagnostic performance gave satisfactory values of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Our study provides evidence of the good psychometric properties of the French version of the MOVES. The cross-cultural adaptation of this specific instrument will allow investigators to include French-speaking persons with GTS aged 12 years and over in national and international collaboration research projects.

  19. BANYAN. V. A SYSTEMATIC ALL-SKY SURVEY FOR NEW VERY LATE-TYPE LOW-MASS STARS AND BROWN DWARFS IN NEARBY YOUNG MOVING GROUPS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gagné, Jonathan; Lafrenière, David; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Artigau, Étienne [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128 Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada)

    2015-01-10

    We present the BANYAN All-Sky Survey (BASS) catalog, consisting of 228 new late-type (M4-L6) candidate members of nearby young moving groups (YMGs) with an expected false-positive rate of ∼13%. This sample includes 79 new candidate young brown dwarfs and 22 planetary-mass objects. These candidates were identified through the first systematic all-sky survey for late-type low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in YMGs. We cross-matched the Two Micron All Sky Survey and AllWISE catalogs outside of the galactic plane to build a sample of 98,970 potential ≥M5 dwarfs in the solar neighborhood and calculated their proper motions with typical precisions of 5-15 mas yr{sup –1}. We selected highly probable candidate members of several YMGs from this sample using the Bayesian Analysis for Nearby Young AssociatioNs II tool (BANYAN II). We used the most probable statistical distances inferred from BANYAN II to estimate the spectral type and mass of these candidate YMG members. We used this unique sample to show tentative signs of mass segregation in the AB Doradus moving group and the Tucana-Horologium and Columba associations. The BASS sample has already been successful in identifying several new young brown dwarfs in earlier publications, and will be of great interest in studying the initial mass function of YMGs and for the search of exoplanets by direct imaging; the input sample of potential close-by ≥M5 dwarfs will be useful to study the kinematics of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs and search for new proper motion pairs.

  20. Nabarlek Traditional Owners' perspective on the current state of revegetation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, B.

    2001-01-01

    , which was then disposed through a tender process which in retrospect must be considered lacking in compulsion. But this is a more or less tractable matter compared to the revegetation strategy. Traditional Owners are of the view that the solution is much simpler than the re-establishment of vegetation on highly disturbed ground - essentially as simple as digging a pit and bulldozing the rubbish in. The NLC has stated that the success or failure of the present revegetation effort has not been satisfactorily determined. It is most unfortunate that the original operators of the minesite were not directly involved in the rehabilitation effort as this would have ensured a more continuous presence on the ground, and some of the apparent problems might not have arisen To Traditional Owners this transferral of responsibility is most unsatisfactory, the process off encumbrance has no ready counterpart, lines of responsibility relating to country are onerous and compelling and it confirms their perception of the inherent weakness of Western law. In their view, the responsible party is the company which conducted the mining. But in the end, it is a valid component of the Deed to which the NLC is party on their behalf, and a usual feature of commercial agreements. However, it is something that they will no doubt adjust to

  1. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center-fiscal year 2010 annual report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Janice S.

    2011-01-01

    The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) facility focused on providing science and imagery to better understand our Earth. The work of the Center is shaped by the earth sciences, the missions of our stakeholders, and implemented through strong program and project management, and application of state-of-the-art information technologies. Fundamentally, EROS contributes to the understanding of a changing Earth through 'research to operations' activities that include developing, implementing, and operating remote-sensing-based terrestrial monitoring capabilities needed to address interdisciplinary science and applications objectives at all levels-both nationally and internationally. The Center's programs and projects continually strive to meet, and where possible exceed, the changing needs of the USGS, the Department of the Interior, our Nation, and international constituents. The Center's multidisciplinary staff uses their unique expertise in remote sensing science and technologies to conduct basic and applied research, data acquisition, systems engineering, information access and management, and archive preservation to address the Nation's most critical needs. Of particular note is the role of EROS as the primary provider of Landsat data, the longest comprehensive global land Earth observation record ever collected. This report is intended to provide an overview of the scientific and engineering achievements and illustrate the range and scope of the activities and accomplishments at EROS throughout fiscal year (FY) 2010. Additional information concerning the scientific, engineering, and operational achievements can be obtained from the scientific papers and other documents published by EROS staff or by visiting our web site at http://eros.usgs.gov. We welcome comments and follow-up questions on any aspect of this Annual Report and invite any of our customers or partners to contact us at their convenience. To

  2. Magnetomigration of rare-earth ions in inhomogeneous magnetic fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franczak, Agnieszka; Binnemans, Koen; Jan Fransaer

    2016-10-05

    The effects of external inhomogenous (gradient) magnetic fields on the movement of the rare-earth ions: Dy 3+ , Gd 3+ and Y 3+ , in initially homogeneous aqueous solutions have been investigated. Differences in the migration of rare-earth ions in gradient magnetic fields were observed, depending on the magnetic character of the ions: paramagnetic ions of Dy 3+ and Gd 3+ move towards regions of the sample where the magnetic field gradient is the strongest, while diamagnetic ions of Y 3+ move in the opposite direction. It has been showed that the low magnetic field gradients, such the ones generated by permanent magnets, are sufficient to observe the magnetomigration effects of the ions in solution. The present work clearly establishes the behavior of magnetically different ions in initially homogeneous aqueous solutions exposed to magnetic field gradients. To this avail, a methodology for measuring the local concentration differences of metal ions in liquid samples was developed.

  3. The identification of the continuity of the long fractures by mise-a-la-masse surveys. A test work at ONKALO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehtonen, T.; Mattila, J.

    2007-02-01

    This report concerns mise-a-la-masse surveys conducted in February 2006 at the area of the underground characterisation facility (ONKALO). Field surveys were made in 3 drillholes, in the ONKALO access tunnel and at 2 ground survey areas. Suomen Malmi Oy conducted the fieldwork. Astrock Oy supervised field surveys and processed acquired data. The interpretation and the reporting were made in cooperation with Posiva Oy. The purpose of the study was to test whether mise-a-la-masse measurements can be utilized in the identification of the continuity of the long fractures. Long fractures may pose a risk to canister integrity during post-glacial seismic activity. Therefore the development of methods for the identification of possible long fractures plays an important role in the evaluation of the suitability of the bedrock for the construction of deposition holes Current earthings were placed in 5 electrically conducting structures in the ONKALO access tunnel. Current earthings were situated in PL283, PL721, PL899, PL952 and in the mouth of the tunnel. Electrical connections were probed in 3 drillholes and at 2 ground survey areas. The acquired survey data were collected to xyz-coordinate oriented databases for 3D processing, interpreting and visualization of the results. At first the data were transferred to Oasis Montaj, where the potential field profiles were drawn and studied every current earthing at a time to determine characteristics of the electrical connections. Next probable connections were constructed and moved to SurpacVision for visualisation. They were delivered for Posiva Oy as Surpac string and DTM files. Ground surveys were hampered strongly by electrical disturbances of the infrastructure of the ONKALO area. Results of the all surveys are also collected in the tables, where every one of connections is classified. Mise-a-la-masse method seems to work moderately or fine to identify electrical connections from the current earthed fractures in the ONKALO

  4. Moving Plants / Planter i Bevægelse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    as a focal point for making local and global connections between aesthetic engagements with contemporary ecological issues and practices of concern. This book is a companion piece to the namesake art exhibition, bringing together the exhibited artists with scholars centrally invested in similar plant...... are increasingly insisting that plants are amongst our most important earthly co-inhabitants if we are to thrive and survive in a climatically changing world. As an exhibition, Moving Plants showcases art practices from across the world regions of East Asia and Europe that all centre, one way or another, on plants...

  5. Miniaturised Gravity Sensors for Remote Gravity Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Middlemiss, R. P.; Bramsiepe, S. G.; Hough, J.; Paul, D. J.; Rowan, S.; Samarelli, A.; Hammond, G.

    2016-12-01

    Gravimetry lets us see the world from a completely different perspective. The ability to measure tiny variations in gravitational acceleration (g), allows one to see not just the Earth's gravitational pull, but the influence of smaller objects. The more accurate the gravimeter, the smaller the objects one can see. Gravimetry has applications in many different fields: from tracking magma moving under volcanoes before eruptions; to locating hidden tunnels. The top commercial gravimeters weigh tens of kg and cost at least $100,000, limiting the situations in which they can be used. By contrast, smart phones use a MEMS (microelectromechanical system) accelerometer that can measure the orientation of the device. These are not nearly sensitive or stable enough to be used for the gravimetry but they are cheap, light-weight and mass-producible. At Glasgow University we have developed a MEMS device with both the stability and sensitivity for useful gravimetric measurements. This was demonstrated by a measurement of the Earth tides - the first time this has been achieved with a MEMS sensor. A gravimeter of this size opens up the possiblility for new gravity imaging modalities. Thousands of gravimeters could be networked over a survey site, storing data on an SD card or communicating wirelessly to a remote location. These devices could also be small enough to be carried by a UAVs: airborne gravity surveys could be carried out at low altitude by mulitple UAVs, or UAVs could be used to deliver ground based gravimeters to remote or inaccessible locations.

  6. Virtual Collections: An Earth Science Data Curation Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bugbee, Kaylin; Ramachandran, Rahul; Maskey, Manil; Gatlin, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    The role of Earth science data centers has traditionally been to maintain central archives that serve openly available Earth observation data. However, in order to ensure data are as useful as possible to a diverse user community, Earth science data centers must move beyond simply serving as an archive to offering innovative data services to user communities. A virtual collection, the end product of a curation activity that searches, selects, and synthesizes diffuse data and information resources around a specific topic or event, is a data curation service that improves the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of Earth science data and also supports the needs of unanticipated users. Virtual collections minimize the amount of the time and effort needed to begin research by maximizing certainty of reward and by providing a trustworthy source of data for unanticipated users. This presentation will define a virtual collection in the context of an Earth science data center and will highlight a virtual collection case study created at the Global Hydrology Resource Center data center.

  7. Virtual Collections: An Earth Science Data Curation Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bugbee, K.; Ramachandran, R.; Maskey, M.; Gatlin, P. N.

    2016-12-01

    The role of Earth science data centers has traditionally been to maintain central archives that serve openly available Earth observation data. However, in order to ensure data are as useful as possible to a diverse user community, Earth science data centers must move beyond simply serving as an archive to offering innovative data services to user communities. A virtual collection, the end product of a curation activity that searches, selects, and synthesizes diffuse data and information resources around a specific topic or event, is a data curation service that improves the discoverability, accessibility and usability of Earth science data and also supports the needs of unanticipated users. Virtual collections minimize the amount of time and effort needed to begin research by maximizing certainty of reward and by providing a trustworthy source of data for unanticipated users. This presentation will define a virtual collection in the context of an Earth science data center and will highlight a virtual collection case study created at the Global Hydrology Resource Center data center.

  8. Earth construction: traditional building techniques of Bhutan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João M. Guedes

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available NCREP – Consultancy in Rehabilitation of Built Heritage Ltd., surveyed the constructive features of Bhutan's vernacular rammed earth built heritage, as part of a project financed by the World Bank and commissioned by the Division for the Conservation of Heritage Sites (DCHS of the Department of Culture - Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of Bhutan. This work, which aimed at better understanding the structural behaviour of this heritage and, based on this information, proposing measures to mitigate its seismic risk, included the study of 18 traditional rammed earth buildings in two villages in the Punakha district. The surveys were conducted house-to-house, based on a DCHS script, and included surveys of artisans responsible for building these constructive typologies, supported by a questionnaire integrated within the project, to collect information on the procedures, rites and practices followed in these constructions. This article focuses only on the first part of the work; it presents the main constructive characteristics assessed from the survey carried out on this built heritage and compiles the results of the surveys of the artisans.

  9. Quest for Value in Big Earth Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Kwo-Sen; Oloso, Amidu O.; Rilee, Mike L.; Doan, Khoa; Clune, Thomas L.; Yu, Hongfeng

    2017-04-01

    Among all the V's of Big Data challenges, such as Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity, etc., we believe Value is the ultimate determinant, because a system delivering better value has a competitive edge over others. Although it is not straightforward to assess the value of scientific endeavors, we believe the ratio of scientific productivity increase to investment is a reasonable measure. Our research in Big Data approaches to data-intensive analysis for Earth Science has yielded some insights, as well as evidences, as to how optimal value might be attained. The first insight is that we should avoid, as much as possible, moving data through connections with relatively low bandwidth. That is, we recognize that moving data is expensive, albeit inevitable. They must at least be moved from the storage device into computer main memory and then to CPU registers for computation. When data must be moved it is better to move them via relatively high-bandwidth connections and avoid low-bandwidth ones. For this reason, a technology that can best exploit data locality will have an advantage over others. Data locality is easy to achieve and exploit with only one dataset. With multiple datasets, data colocation becomes important in addition to data locality. However, the organization of datasets can only be co-located for certain types of analyses. It is impossible for them to be co-located for all analyses. Therefore, our second insight is that we need to co-locate the datasets for the most commonly used analyses. In Earth Science, we believe the most common analysis requirement is "spatiotemporal coincidence". For example, when we analyze precipitation systems, we often would like to know the environment conditions "where and when" (i.e. at the same location and time) there is precipitation. This "where and when" indicates the "spatiotemporal coincidence" requirement. Thus, an associated insight is that datasets need to be partitioned per the physical dimensions, i.e. space

  10. Effect of External Disturbing Gravity Field on Spacecraft Guidance and Surveying Line Layout for Marine Gravity Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HUANG Motao

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Centred on the support requirement of flying track control for a long range spacecraft, a detail research is made on the computation of external disturbing gravity field, the survey accuracy of gravity anomaly on the earth' surface and the program of surveying line layout for marine gravity survey. Firstly, the solution expression of navigation error for a long range spacecraft is analyzed and modified, and the influence of the earth's gravity field on flying track of spacecraft is evaluated. Then with a given limited quota of biased error of spacecraft drop point, the accuracy requirement for calculating the external disturbing gravity field is discussed and researched. Secondly, the data truncation error and the propagated data error are studied and estimated, and the quotas of survey resolution and computation accuracy for gravity anomaly on the earth' surface are determined. Finally, based on the above quotas, a corresponding program of surveying line layout for marine gravity survey is proposed. A numerical test has been made to prove the reasonableness and validity of the suggested program.

  11. Mathematical developments regarding the general theory of the Earth magnetism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, A.

    1983-01-01

    A literature survey on the Earth's magnetic field, citing the works of Gauss, Erman-Petersen, Quintus Icilius and Neumayer is presented. The general formulas for the representation of the potential and components of the Earth's magnetic force are presented. An analytical representation of magnetic condition of the Earth based on observations is also made.

  12. Bringing Earth Magnetism Research into the High School Physics Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnov, A. V.; Bluth, G.; Engel, E.; Kurpier, K.; Foucher, M. S.; Anderson, K. L.

    2015-12-01

    We present our work in progress from an NSF CAREER project that aims to integrate paleomagnetic research and secondary school physics education. The research project is aimed at quantifying the strength and geometry of the Precambrian geomagnetic field. Investigation of the geomagnetic field behavior is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of field generation, and the development of the Earth's atmosphere and biosphere, and can serve as a focus for connecting high-level Earth science research with a standard physics curriculum. High school science teachers have participated in each summer field and research component of the project, gaining field and laboratory research experience, sets of rock and mineral samples, and classroom-tested laboratory magnetism activities for secondary school physics and earth science courses. We report on three field seasons of teacher field experiences and two years of classroom testing of paleomagnetic research materials merged into physics instruction on magnetism. Students were surveyed before and after dedicated instruction for both perceptions and attitude towards earth science in general, then more specifically on earth history and earth magnetism. Students were also surveyed before and after instruction on major earth system and magnetic concepts and processes, particularly as they relate to paleomagnetic research. Most students surveyed had a strongly positive viewpoint towards the study of Earth history and the importance of studying Earth Sciences in general, but were significantly less drawn towards more specific topics such as mineralogy and magnetism. Students demonstrated understanding of Earth model and the basics of magnetism, as well as the general timing of life, atmospheric development, and magnetic field development. However, detailed knowledge such as the magnetic dynamo, how the magnetic field has changed over time, and connections between earth magnetism and the development of an atmosphere remained largely

  13. Paraho environmental data. Part IV. Land reclamation and revegetation. Part V. Biological effects. Part VI. Occupational health and safety. Part VII. End use

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Limbach, L.K.

    1982-06-01

    Characteristics of the environment and ecosystems at Anvil Points, reclamation of retorted shale, revegetation of retorted shale, and ecological effects of retorted shale are reported in the first section of this report. Methods used in screening shale oil and retort water for mutagens and carcinogens as well as toxicity studies are reported in the second section of this report. The third section contains information concerning the industrial hygiene and medical studies made at Anvil Points during Paraho research operations. The last section discusses the end uses of shale crude oil and possible health effects associated with end use. (DMC)

  14. Volcanic eruptions are cooling the earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groenaas, Sigbjoern

    2005-01-01

    The article discusses how volcanic eruptions may influence the climate. The environmental impacts both on the earth surface and the atmosphere are surveyed. Some major eruptions in modern times are mentioned

  15. Landscape of the EU-US Research Infrastructures and actors: Moving towards international interoperability of earth system data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asmi, Ari; Powers, Lindsay

    2015-04-01

    Research Infrastructures (RIs) are major long-term investments supporting innovative, bottom-up research activities. In the environmental research, they range from high atmosphere radars, to field observation networks and coordinated laboratory facilities. The Earth system is highly interactive and each part of the system interconnected across the spatial and disciplinary borders. However, due practical and historical reasons, the RIs are built from disciplinary points-of-view and separately in different parts of the world, with differing standards, policies, methods and research cultures. This heterogeneity provides necessary diversity to study the complex Earth system, but makes cross-disciplinary and/or global interoperability a challenge. Global actions towards better interoperability are surfacing, especially with EU and US. For example, recent mandates within the US government prioritize open data for federal agencies and federally funded science, and encourage collaboration among agencies to reduce duplication of efforts and increase efficient use of resources. There are several existing initiatives working toward these goals (e.g., COOPEUS, EarthCube, RDA, ICSU-WDS, DataOne, ESIP, USGEO, GEO). However, there is no cohesive framework to coordinate efforts among these, and other, entities. COOPEUS and EarthCube have now begun to map the landscape of interoperability efforts across earth science domains. The COOPEUS mapping effort describes the EU and US landscape of environmental research infrastructures to accomplish the following: identify gaps in services (data provision) necessary to address societal priorities; provide guidance for development of future research infrastructures; and identify opportunities for Research Infrastructures (RIs) to collaborate on issues of common interest. EarthCube mapping effort identifies opportunities to engage a broader community by identifying scientific domain organizations and entities. We present the current situation

  16. Effects of sand burial on dew deposition on moss soil crust in a revegetated area of the Tennger Desert, Northern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Rong-liang; Li, Xin-rong; Liu, Li-chao; Pan, Yan-xia; Gao, Yan-hong; Wei, Yong-ping

    2014-11-01

    Sand burial and dew deposition are two fundamental phenomena profoundly influencing biological soil crusts in desert areas. However, little information is available regarding the effects of sand burial on dew deposition on biological soil crusts in desert ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sand burial at depths of 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mm on dew formation and evaporation of three dominant moss crusts in a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert (Northern China) in 2010. The results revealed that sand burial significantly decreased the amount of dew deposited on the three moss crust types by acting as a semi-insulator retarding the dew formation and evaporation rates. The changes in surface temperature cannot fully explain the variations of the formation and evaporation rates of dew by moss crusts buried by sand. The extension of dew retention time was reflected by the higher dew ratios (the ratio of dew amount at a certain time to the maximum value in a daily course) in the daytime, and may to some extent have acted as compensatory mechanisms that diminished the negative effects of the reduction of dew amount induced by sand burial of moss crusts. The resistances to reduction of dewfall caused by sand burial among the three moss crusts were also compared and it was found that Bryum argenteum crust showed the highest tolerance, followed by crusts dominated by Didymodon vinealis and Syntrichia caninervis. This sequence corresponds well with the successional order of the three moss crusts in the revegetated area, thereby suggesting that resistance to reduction of dewfall may act as one mechanism by which sand burial drives the succession of moss crusts in desert ecosystems. This side effect of dew reduction induced by sand burial on biological soil crusts should be considered in future ecosystem construction and management of desert area.

  17. Software Engineering Support of the Third Round of Scientific Grand Challenge Investigations: Earth System Modeling Software Framework Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talbot, Bryan; Zhou, Shu-Jia; Higgins, Glenn; Zukor, Dorothy (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    One of the most significant challenges in large-scale climate modeling, as well as in high-performance computing in other scientific fields, is that of effectively integrating many software models from multiple contributors. A software framework facilitates the integration task, both in the development and runtime stages of the simulation. Effective software frameworks reduce the programming burden for the investigators, freeing them to focus more on the science and less on the parallel communication implementation. while maintaining high performance across numerous supercomputer and workstation architectures. This document surveys numerous software frameworks for potential use in Earth science modeling. Several frameworks are evaluated in depth, including Parallel Object-Oriented Methods and Applications (POOMA), Cactus (from (he relativistic physics community), Overture, Goddard Earth Modeling System (GEMS), the National Center for Atmospheric Research Flux Coupler, and UCLA/UCB Distributed Data Broker (DDB). Frameworks evaluated in less detail include ROOT, Parallel Application Workspace (PAWS), and Advanced Large-Scale Integrated Computational Environment (ALICE). A host of other frameworks and related tools are referenced in this context. The frameworks are evaluated individually and also compared with each other.

  18. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center-Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Janice S.

    2010-01-01

    The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) facility focused on providing science and imagery to better understand our Earth. As part of the USGS Geography Discipline, EROS contributes to the Land Remote Sensing (LRS) Program, the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM) Program, and the National Geospatial Program (NGP), as well as our Federal partners and cooperators. The work of the Center is shaped by the Earth sciences, the missions of our stakeholders, and implemented through strong program and project management and application of state-of-the-art information technologies. Fundamentally, EROS contributes to the understanding of a changing Earth through 'research to operations' activities that include developing, implementing, and operating remote sensing based terrestrial monitoring capabilities needed to address interdisciplinary science and applications objectives at all levels-both nationally and internationally. The Center's programs and projects continually strive to meet and/or exceed the changing needs of the USGS, the Department of the Interior, our Nation, and international constituents. The Center's multidisciplinary staff uses their unique expertise in remote sensing science and technologies to conduct basic and applied research, data acquisition, systems engineering, information access and management, and archive preservation to address the Nation's most critical needs. Of particular note is the role of EROS as the primary provider of Landsat data, the longest comprehensive global land Earth observation record ever collected. This report is intended to provide an overview of the scientific and engineering achievements and illustrate the range and scope of the activities and accomplishments at EROS throughout fiscal year (FY) 2009. Additional information concerning the scientific, engineering, and operational achievements can be obtained from the scientific papers and other documents published by

  19. The impact imperative: Laser ablation for deflecting asteroids, meteoroids, and comets from impacting the earth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campbell, Jonathan W [Advanced Projects/FD02, National Space Science and Technology Center, NASA/MSFC, Huntsville, Alabama, 35812 (United States); Phipps, Claude [Photonics Associates 200A Ojo de la Vaca Road Santa Fe, NM 87505 (United States); Smalley, Larry [Department of Physics, University of Alabama, Huntsville (United States); Reilly, James [Northeast Science and Technology, East Sandwich, MA (United States); Boccio, Dona [Queensborough Community College of the City, University of New York, New York (United States)

    2003-05-14

    Impacting at hypervelocity, an asteroid struck the Earth approximately 65 million years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula area. This triggered the extinction of almost 70% of the species of life on Earth including the dinosaurs. Other impacts prior to this one have caused even greater extinctions. Preventing collisions with the Earth by hypervelocity asteroids, meteoroids, and comets is the most important immediate space challenge facing human civilization. This is the Impact Imperative. We now believe that while there are about 2000 earth orbit crossing rocks greater than 1 kilometer in diameter, there may be as many as 200,000 or more objects in the 100 m size range. Can anything be done about this fundamental existence question facing our civilization? The answer is a resounding yes{exclamation_point} By using an intelligent combination of Earth and space based sensors coupled with an infra-structure of high-energy laser stations and other secondary mitigation options, we can deflect inbound asteroids, meteoroids, and comets and prevent them from striking the Earth. This can be accomplished by irradiating the surface of an inbound rock with sufficiently intense pulses so that ablation occurs. This ablation acts as a small rocket incrementally changing the shape of the rock's orbit around the Sun. One-kilometer size rocks can be moved sufficiently in about a month while smaller rocks may be moved in a shorter time span.

  20. The impact imperative: Laser ablation for deflecting asteroids, meteoroids, and comets from impacting the earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, Jonathan W.; Phipps, Claude; Smalley, Larry; Reilly, James; Boccio, Dona

    2003-01-01

    Impacting at hypervelocity, an asteroid struck the Earth approximately 65 million years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula area. This triggered the extinction of almost 70% of the species of life on Earth including the dinosaurs. Other impacts prior to this one have caused even greater extinctions. Preventing collisions with the Earth by hypervelocity asteroids, meteoroids, and comets is the most important immediate space challenge facing human civilization. This is the Impact Imperative. We now believe that while there are about 2000 earth orbit crossing rocks greater than 1 kilometer in diameter, there may be as many as 200,000 or more objects in the 100 m size range. Can anything be done about this fundamental existence question facing our civilization? The answer is a resounding yes! By using an intelligent combination of Earth and space based sensors coupled with an infra-structure of high-energy laser stations and other secondary mitigation options, we can deflect inbound asteroids, meteoroids, and comets and prevent them from striking the Earth. This can be accomplished by irradiating the surface of an inbound rock with sufficiently intense pulses so that ablation occurs. This ablation acts as a small rocket incrementally changing the shape of the rock's orbit around the Sun. One-kilometer size rocks can be moved sufficiently in about a month while smaller rocks may be moved in a shorter time span

  1. Earth Science (A Process Approach), Section 1: The Water Cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, K. C.; And Others

    Included is a collection of earth science laboratory activities, which may provide the junior or senior high school science teacher with ideas for activities in his program. The included 48 experiments are grouped into these areas: properties of matter; evaporation; atmospheric moisture and condensation; precipitation; moving water, subsurface…

  2. Greenhouse Earth: A Traveling Exhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Booth, W.H.; Caesar, S.

    1992-09-01

    The Franklin Institute Science Museum provided an exhibit entitled the Greenhouse Earth: A Traveling Exhibition. This 3500 square-foot exhibit on global climate change was developed in collaboration with the Association of Science-Technology Centers. The exhibit opened at The Franklin Institute on February 14, 1992, welcoming 291,000 visitors over its three-month stay. During its three-year tour, Greenhouse Earth will travel to ten US cities, reaching two million visitors. Greenhouse Earth aims to deepen public understanding of the scientific issues of global warming and the conservation measures that can be taken to slow its effects. The exhibit features hands-on exhibitry, interactive computer programs and videos, a theater production, a ''demonstration cart,'' guided tours, and lectures. supplemental educational programs at the Institute included a teachers preview, a symposium on climate change, and a ''satellite field trip.'' The development of Greenhouse Earth included front-end and formative evaluation procedures. Evaluation includes interviews with visitors, prototypes, and summative surveys for participating museums. During its stay in Philadelphia, Greenhouse Earth was covered by the local and national press, with reviews in print and broadcast media. Greenhouse Earth is the first large-scale museum exhibit to address global climate change

  3. Moving object detection using background subtraction

    CERN Document Server

    Shaikh, Soharab Hossain; Chaki, Nabendu

    2014-01-01

    This Springer Brief presents a comprehensive survey of the existing methodologies of background subtraction methods. It presents a framework for quantitative performance evaluation of different approaches and summarizes the public databases available for research purposes. This well-known methodology has applications in moving object detection from video captured with a stationery camera, separating foreground and background objects and object classification and recognition. The authors identify common challenges faced by researchers including gradual or sudden illumination change, dynamic bac

  4. Magnetic field of the Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popov, Aleksey

    2013-04-01

    The magnetic field of the Earth has global meaning for a life on the Earth. The world geophysical science explains: - occurrence of a magnetic field of the Earth it is transformation of kinetic energy of movements of the fused iron in the liquid core of Earth - into the magnetic energy; - the warming up of a kernel of the Earth occurs due to radioactive disintegration of elements, with excretion of thermal energy. The world science does not define the reasons: - drift of a magnetic dipole on 0,2 a year to the West; - drift of lithospheric slabs and continents. The author offers: an alternative variant existing in a world science the theories "Geodynamo" - it is the theory « the Magnetic field of the Earth », created on the basis of physical laws. Education of a magnetic field of the Earth occurs at moving the electric charge located in a liquid kernel, at rotation of the Earth. At calculation of a magnetic field is used law the Bio Savara for a ring electric current: dB = . Magnetic induction in a kernel of the Earth: B = 2,58 Gs. According to the law of electromagnetic induction the Faradey, rotation of a iron kernel of the Earth in magnetic field causes occurrence of an electric field Emf which moves electrons from the center of a kernel towards the mantle. So of arise the radial electric currents. The magnetic field amplifies the iron of mantle and a kernel of the Earth. As a result of action of a radial electric field the electrons will flow from the center of a kernel in a layer of an electric charge. The central part of a kernel represents the field with a positive electric charge, which creates inverse magnetic field Binv and Emfinv When ?mfinv = ?mf ; ?inv = B, there will be an inversion a magnetic field of the Earth. It is a fact: drift of a magnetic dipole of the Earth in the western direction approximately 0,2 longitude, into a year. Radial electric currents a actions with the basic magnetic field of a Earth - it turn a kernel. It coincides with laws

  5. Transport of transient solar wind particles in Earth's cusps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parks, G. K.; Lee, E.; Teste, A.; Wilber, M.; Lin, N.; Canu, P.; Dandouras, I.; Reme, H.; Fu, S. Y.; Goldstein, M. L.

    2008-01-01

    An important problem in space physics still not understood well is how the solar wind enters the Earth's magnetosphere. Evidence is presented that transient solar wind particles produced by solar disturbances can appear in the Earth's mid-altitude (∼5 R E geocentric) cusps with densities nearly equal to those in the magnetosheath. That these are magnetosheath particles is established by showing they have the same ''flattop'' electron distributions as magnetosheath electrons behind the bow shock. The transient ions are moving parallel to the magnetic field (B) toward Earth and often coexist with ionospheric particles that are flowing out. The accompanying waves include electromagnetic and broadband electrostatic noise emissions and Bernstein mode waves. Phase-space distributions show a mixture of hot and cold electrons and multiple ion species including field-aligned ionospheric O + beams

  6. Investigation and analysis to the content of natural radionuclides at rate-earth ore and solid waste in China through the first nationwide pollution source survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lou Jianjun; Liu Guifang; Sun Qinghong

    2011-01-01

    China has launched the First Nationwide Pollution Source Survey (FNPSS) during 2006-2009. Ministry Environmental Protection (MEP) sponsored the campaign of measuring the natural radionuclide contents. And the Ministry Environmental Protection (MEP) organized the measurements of natural radionuclide contents of in the factories and mines associated with rare-earth, niobium/tantalum, zircon, tin, lead/zinc, copper, iron, phosphate, coal, aluminum and vanadium. This paper analyzes mainly the data on the contents of U, 232 Th and 226 Ra in the rare-earth ore and solid waste produced by the rare-earth industry in China, as one of a series of papers on naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) s investigation. It is concluded that the average of the U, 232 Th and 226 Ra for the monazite sand of rare-earth ore is 16911, 49683, and 20072 Bq/kg, respectively. The average of U, 232 Th and 226 Ra in bastnaesite is 42, 701 and 91 Bq/kg, respectively. The average of U, 232 Th and 226 Ra in the ionic type rare-earth ore is 3918.6, 2315 and 1221 Bq/kg, respectively. (authors)

  7. 77 FR 27253 - NASA Advisory Council; Science Committee; Earth Science Subcommittee; Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-09

    ... Committee; Earth Science Subcommittee; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ACTION... amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Earth Science... Earth Science Decadal Survey Midterm Review It is imperative that the meeting be held on this date to...

  8. An Analysis of Misconceptions in Science Textbooks: Earth Science in England and Wales

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Chris John Henry

    2010-01-01

    Surveys of the earth science content of all secondary (high school) science textbooks and related publications used in England and Wales have revealed high levels of error/misconception. The 29 science textbooks or textbook series surveyed (51 texts in all) showed poor coverage of National Curriculum earth science and contained a mean level of one…

  9. The EURONEAR Lightcurve Survey of Near Earth Asteroids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaduvescu, O.; Macias, A. Aznar; Tudor, V.; Predatu, M.; Galád, A.; Gajdoš, Š.; Világi, J.; Stevance, H. F.; Errmann, R.; Unda-Sanzana, E.; Char, F.; Peixinho, N.; Popescu, M.; Sonka, A.; Cornea, R.; Suciu, O.; Toma, R.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Sota, A.; Licandro, J.; Serra-Ricart, M.; Morate, D.; Mocnik, T.; Diaz Alfaro, M.; Lopez-Martinez, F.; McCormac, J.; Humphries, N.

    2017-08-01

    This data paper presents lightcurves of 101 near Earth asteroids (NEAs) observed mostly between 2014 and 2017 as part of the EURONEAR photometric survey using 11 telescopes with diameters between 0.4 and 4.2 m located in Spain, Chile, Slovakia and Romania. Most targets had no published data at the time of observing, but some objects were observed in the same period mainly by B. Warner, allowing us to confirm or improve the existing results. To plan the runs and select the targets, we developed the public Long Planning tool in PHP. For preliminary data reduction and rapid follow-up planning we developed the LiDAS pipeline in Python and IRAF. For final data reduction, flux calibration, night linkage and Fourier fitting, we used mainly MPO Canopus. Periods of 18 targets are presented for the first time, and we could solve or constrain rotation for 16 of them. We secured periods for 45 targets (U˜ 3), found candidate periods for other 16 targets (U˜ 2), and we propose tentative periods for other 32 targets (U˜ 1). We observed 7 known or candidate binary NEAs, fiting 3 of them (2102 Tantalus, 5143 Heracles and 68348). We observed 8 known or candidate tumbling NEAs, deriving primary periods for 3 objects (9400, 242708 and 470510). We evidenced rapid oscillations (few minutes) and could fit fast tentative periods TP2 for 5 large newly suggested tumbling or binary candidates (27346, 112985, 285625, 377732, 408980), probably discovering at least one new binary NEA (2011 WO41). We resolved periods of 4 special objects which include two proposed space mission targets (163249 and 101955 Bennu), one very fast rotator NEA discovered by EURONEAR (2014 NL52) and the "Halloween asteroid" (2015 TB145). Using Mercator in simultaneous 3 band MAIA imaging, we could evidence for the first time clear variation in the color lightcurves of 10 NEAs. The periods derived from the g- r color lightcurves are found to match individual band period fits for 4 NEAs (27346, 86067, 112985 and

  10. ExploreNEOs: The Warm Spitzer Near Earth Object Survey

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trilling, D. E.; Hora, J. L.; Mueller, M.; Thomas, C. A.; Harris, A. W.; Hagen, A. R.; Mommert, M.; Benner, L.; Bhattacharya, B.; Bottke, W. F.; Chesley, S.; Delbo, M.; Emery, J. P.; Fazio, G.; Kistler, J. L.; Mainzer, A.; Morbidelli, A.; Penprase, B.; Smith, H. A.; Spahr, T. B.; Stansberry, J. A.

    2012-01-01

    We have observed some 600 near Earth objects (NEOs) at 3.6 and 4.5 microns with the Warm Spitzer Space Telescope. We derive the albedo and diameter for each NEO to characterize global properties of the NEO population, among other goals.

  11. Google Earth for Landowners: Insights from Hands-on Workshops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Tristan

    2014-01-01

    Google Earth is an accessible, user-friendly GIS that can help landowners in their management planning. I offered hands-on Google Earth workshops to landowners to teach skills, including mapmaking, length and area measurement, and database management. Workshop participants were surveyed at least 6 months following workshop completion, and learning…

  12. A Survey of Ballistic Transfers to Low Lunar Orbit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Jeffrey S.; Anderson, Rodney L.; Peterson, Andrew

    2011-01-01

    A simple strategy is identified to generate ballistic transfers between the Earth and Moon, i.e., transfers that perform two maneuvers: a trans-lunar injection maneuver to depart the Earth and a Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver to insert into orbit at the Moon. This strategy is used to survey the performance of numerous transfers between varying Earth parking orbits and varying low lunar target orbits. The transfers surveyed include short 3-6 day direct transfers, longer 3-4 month low energy transfers, and variants that include Earth phasing orbits and/or lunar flybys.

  13. Comparison of diurnal dynamics in evaporation rate between bare soil and moss-crusted soil within a revegetated desert ecosystem of northwestern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ya-Feng; Wang, Xin-Ping; Pan, Yan-Xia; Hu, Rui

    2016-02-01

    Effects of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on soil evaporation is quite controversial in literature, being either facilitative or inhibitive, and therein few studies have actually conducted direct evaporation measurements. Continuous field measurements of soil water evaporation were conducted on two microlysimeters, i.e., one with sand soil collected from bare sand dune area and the other with moss-crusted soil collected from an area that was revegetated in 1956, from field capacity to dry, at the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. We mainly aimed to quantify the diurnal variations of evaporation rate from two soils, and further comparatively discuss the effects of BSCs on soil evaporation after revegetation. Results showed that in clear days with high soil water content (Day 1 and 2), the diurnal variation of soil evaporation rate followed the typical convex upward parabolic curve, reaching its peak around mid-day. Diurnal evaporation rate and the accumulated evaporation amount of moss-crusted soil were lower (an average of 0.90 times) than that of sand soil in this stage. However, as soil water content decreased to a moderately low level (Day 3 and 4), the diurnal evaporation rate from moss-crusted soil was pronouncedly higher (an average of 3.91 times) than that of sand soil, prolonging the duration of this higher evaporation rate stage; it was slightly higher in the final stage (Day 5 and 6) when soil moisture was very low. We conclude that the effects of moss crusts on soil evaporation vary with different evaporation stages, which is closely related to soil water content, and the variation and transition of evaporation rate between bare soil and moss-crusted soil are expected to be predicted by soil water content.

  14. Near-Earth Object (NEO) Hazard Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazanek, Daniel D.

    2005-01-01

    The fundamental problem regarding NEO hazards is that the Earth and other planets, as well as their moons, share the solar system with a vast number of small planetary bodies and orbiting debris. Objects of substantial size are typically classified as either comets or asteroids. Although the solar system is quite expansive, the planets and moons (as well as the Sun) are occasionally impacted by these objects. We live in a cosmic shooting gallery where collisions with Earth occur on a regular basis. Because the number of smaller comets and asteroids is believed to be much greater than larger objects, the frequency of impacts is significantly higher. Fortunately, the smaller objects, which are much more numerous, are usually neutralized by the Earth's protective atmosphere. It is estimated that between 1000 and 10,000 tons of debris fall to Earth each year, most of it in the form of dust particles and extremely small meteorites. With no atmosphere, the Moon's surface is continuously impacted with dust and small debris. On November 17 and 18, 1999, during the annual Leonid meteor shower, several lunar surface impacts were observed by amateur astronomers in North America. The Leonids result from the Earth's passage each year through the debris ejected from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. These annual showers provide a periodic reminder of the possibility of a much more consequential cosmic collision, and the heavily cratered lunar surface acts a constant testimony to the impact threat. The impact problem and those planetary bodies that are a threat have been discussed in great depth in a wide range of publications and books, such as The Spaceguard Survey , Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids, and Cosmic Catastrophes. This paper gives a brief overview on the background of this problem and address some limitations of ground-based surveys for detection of small and/or faint near-Earth objects.

  15. Climate Science: How Earth System Models are Reshaping the Science Policy Interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruane, Alex

    2015-01-01

    This talk is oriented at a general audience including the largest French utility company, and will describe the basics of climate change before moving into emissions scenarios and agricultural impacts that we can test with our earth system models and impacts models.

  16. ATLAS: A High-cadence All-sky Survey System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonry, J. L.; Denneau, L.; Heinze, A. N.; Stalder, B.; Smith, K. W.; Smartt, S. J.; Stubbs, C. W.; Weiland, H. J.; Rest, A.

    2018-06-01

    Technology has advanced to the point that it is possible to image the entire sky every night and process the data in real time. The sky is hardly static: many interesting phenomena occur, including variable stationary objects such as stars or QSOs, transient stationary objects such as supernovae or M dwarf flares, and moving objects such as asteroids and the stars themselves. Funded by NASA, we have designed and built a sky survey system for the purpose of finding dangerous near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). This system, the “Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System” (ATLAS), has been optimized to produce the best survey capability per unit cost, and therefore is an efficient and competitive system for finding potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) but also for tracking variables and finding transients. While carrying out its NASA mission, ATLAS now discovers more bright (m day cadence. ATLAS discovered the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst independent of the high energy trigger and has released a variable star catalog of 5 × 106 sources. This is the first of a series of articles describing ATLAS, devoted to the design and performance of the ATLAS system. Subsequent articles will describe in more detail the software, the survey strategy, ATLAS-derived NEA population statistics, transient detections, and the first data release of variable stars and transient light curves.

  17. Long-term impact of biochar on the revegetation and mobility of Ni and Zn in an industrial contaminated site soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Zhengtao; Al-Tabbaa, Abir

    2015-04-01

    Biochar is a promising material in soil remediation for its multiple benefits in sustainable development, greening and carbon storage in addition to immobilising heavy metals and organic contaminants. However, its long-term performance in immobilising heavy metals has not been well investigated yet. In this research, a British hardwood biochar accompanied by a small amount of compost was employed in an industrial contaminated site in UK in 2011. A following three-year study was conducted to explore the impact of biochar on the revegetation of the trial pits, as well as the mobility of Ni and Zn in the soils. The revegetation on site failed, and the further laboratory incubation tests indicate that the failure was due to the insufficient addition of biochar and compost. The three-year carbonic acid leaching results of the treated soils reveal a reduction of Ni and Zn concentrations in the leachates along the time. The total metal tests and the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) on the third-year samples confirm that biochar can significantly reduce the mobility of Ni and Zn in the soils in the long term. Further, a quantitatively chemical method defined as "sequential extraction", which differentiates from the qualitative methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron microscopies, was conducted to explore the interaction among heavy metals, biochar and soil. The results of the sequential extraction tests on the third-year samples indicate that Ni and Zn were mainly bound to Fe-Mn oxides and primary and secondary soil minerals, which had been enhanced by biochar addition. The findings in this research indicates that biochar rather than compost played the major role in immobilising Ni and Zn, and 0.5% (in w/w) addition of biochar was sufficient in practice. It also confirms the good performance of biochar in immobilising Ni and Zn in soils in the long term, and supports the potential large-scale application of biochar in soil remediation

  18. Moving In, Moving Through, and Moving Out: The Transitional Experiences of Foster Youth College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamez, Sara I.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the transitional experiences of foster youth college students. The study explored how foster youth experienced moving into, moving through, and moving out of the college environment and what resources and strategies they used to thrive during their college transitions. In addition, this study…

  19. Earth Stewardship: An initiative by the Ecological Society of America to foster engagement to sustain Planet Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapin, F. Stuart; Pickett, S.T.A.; Power, Mary E.; Collins, Scott L.; Baron, Jill S.; Inouye, David W.; Turner, Monica G.

    2017-01-01

    The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has responded to the growing commitment among ecologists to make their science relevant to society through a series of concerted efforts, including the Sustainable Biosphere Initiative (1991), scientific assessment of ecosystem management (1996), ESA’s vision for the future (2003), Rapid Response Teams that respond to environmental crises (2005), and the Earth Stewardship Initiative (2009). During the past 25 years, ESA launched five new journals, largely reflecting the expansion of scholarship linking ecology with broader societal issues. The goal of the Earth Stewardship Initiative is to raise awareness and to explore ways for ecologists and other scientists to contribute more effectively to the sustainability of our planet. This has occurred through four approaches: (1) articulation of the stewardship concept in ESA publications and Website, (2) selection of meeting themes and symposia, (3) engagement of ESA sections in implementing the initiative, and (4) outreach beyond ecology through collaborations and demonstration projects. Collaborations include societies and groups of Earth and social scientists, practitioners and policy makers, religious and business leaders, federal agencies, and artists and writers. The Earth Stewardship Initiative is a work in progress, so next steps likely include continued nurturing of these emerging collaborations, advancing the development of sustainability and stewardship theory, improving communication of stewardship science, and identifying opportunities for scientists and civil society to take actions that move the Earth toward a more sustainable trajectory.

  20. Thermal-Infrared Surveys of Near-Earth Object Diameters and Albedos with Spitzer and IRTF/MIRSI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mommert, Michael; Trilling, David; Hora, Joseph L.; Chesley, Steven; Emery, Josh; Fazio, Giovanni; Harris, Alan W.; Moskovitz, Nick; Mueller, Michael; Smith, Howard

    2015-08-01

    More than 12000 Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) have been discovered over the past few decades and current discovery surveys find on average 4 new NEOs every night. In comparison to asteroid discovery, the physical characterization of NEOs lags far behind: measured diameters and albedos exist only for roughly 10% of all known NEOs. We describe a current and a future observing program that provide diameter and albedo measurements of a large number of NEOs.In our Spitzer Space Telescope Exploration Science program 'NEOSurvey', we are performing a fast and efficient flux-limited survey in which we measure the diameters and albedos of ~600 NEOs in a total of 710 hrs of observing time. We measure the thermal emission of our targets at 4.5 micron and combine these measurements with optical data in a thermal model. Our diameters and albedos come with highly realistic uncertainties that account for a wide range of potential asteroid properties. Our primary goal is to create a large and uniform catalog of NEO properties, including diameters, albedos, and flux density data. This catalog is publicly accessible and provides the latest results usually within 2 weeks after the observation.Starting in 2016, we will also make use of the refurbished and recommissioned MIRSI mid-infrared imaging camera on NASA's InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) to derive the diameters and albedos of up to 750 NEOs over a period of 3 yrs. MIRSI will be equipped with an optical camera that will allow for simultaneous optical imaging, which will improve our thermal modeling results. With MIRSI, we will focus on newly discovered NEOs that are close to Earth and hence relatively bright.The results from both programs, together with already exisiting diameter and albedo results from the literature, will form the largest database of NEO physical properties available to date. With this data set, we will be able to refine the size distribution of small NEOs and the corresponding impact frequency, and compare the

  1. Earth Observations from Space: The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-01-01

    Observing Earth from space over the past 50 years has fundamentally transformed the way people view our home planet. The image of the "blue marble" is taken for granted now, but it was revolutionary when taken in 1972 by the crew on Apollo 17. Since then the capability to look at Earth from space has grown increasingly sophisticated and has evolved from simple photographs to quantitative measurements of Earth properties such as temperature, concentrations of atmospheric trace gases, and the exact elevation of land and ocean. Imaging Earth from space has resulted in major scientific accomplishments; these observations have led to new discoveries, transformed the Earth sciences, opened new avenues of research, and provided important societal benefits by improving the predictability of Earth system processes. This report highlights the scientific achievements made possible by the first five decades of Earth satellite observations by space-faring nations. It follows on a recent report from the National Research Council (NRC) entitled Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, also referred to as the "decadal survey." Recognizing the increasing need for space observations, the decadal survey identifies future directions and priorities for Earth observations from space. This companion report was requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to highlight, through selected examples, important past contributions of Earth observations from space to our current understanding of the planet.

  2. Coercive Levers in Chinese Economic Statecraft: Attributed Across Earth, Rarely Apparent

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-01

    Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei) and the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos , Myanmar, Vietnam) economies by skewing development...Earths Industry and its Role in the International Market,” 2–3. 186 Tse Pui-Kwan, “China’s rare-earth industry,” U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report...Assessment of China’s Rare Earth Policy,” The Jamestown Foundation, China Brief 10:22 (2010): 2–5. 190 Ibid., 3. 191 Tse , “China’s rare-earth

  3. Training Veterans to Provide Peer Support in a Weight-Management Program: MOVE!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes-Maslow, Lindsey; Carr, Carol; Orr, Melinda; Kahwati, Leila C.; Weiner, Bryan J.; Kinsinger, Linda

    2013-01-01

    Introduction The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has implemented MOVE!, a weight-management program for veterans designed to address the increasing proportion of overweight and obese veterans. The objective of our study was to determine whether peer support employing motivational interviewing (MI) could positively influence lifestyle changes, thus expanding the reach of the MOVE! program. We describe the initial evaluation of the peer training program. Methods We developed an MI peer counselor training program for volunteer veterans, the “Buddies” program, to provide one-on-one telephone support for veterans enrolled in MOVE!. Buddies were recruited at 5 VHA sites and trained to provide peer support for the 6-month MOVE! intervention. We used a DVD to teach MI skills and followed with 2 to 3 booster sessions. We observed training, conducted pre- and posttraining surveys, and debriefed focus groups to assess training feasibility. Results Fifty-six Buddies were trained. Results indicate positive receipt of the program (89% reported learning about peer counseling and 87% reported learning communication skills). Buddies showed a small improvement in MI self-efficacy on posttraining surveys. We also identified key challenges to learning MI and training implementation. Conclusions MI training is feasible to implement and acceptable to volunteer Buddies. Trainers must assess how effectively volunteers learn MI skills in order to enhance its effective use in health promotion. PMID:24199738

  4. On the possibility of measuring the Earth's gravitomagnetic force in a new laboratory experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iorio, Lorenzo

    2003-01-01

    In this letter we propose, in a preliminary way, a new Earth-based laboratory experiment aimed at the detection of the gravitomagnetic field of the Earth. It consists of the measurement of the difference between the circular frequencies of two rotators moving along identical circular paths, but in opposite directions, on a horizontal friction-free plane in a vacuum chamber placed at the South Pole. The accuracy to our knowledge of the Earth's rotation from VLBI and the possibility of measuring the rotators' periods over many revolutions should allow for the feasibility of the proposed experiment. (letter to the editor)

  5. PSYM-WIDE: A Survey for Large-separation Planetary-mass Companions to Late Spectral Type Members of Young Moving Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naud, Marie-Eve; Artigau, Étienne; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Gagné, Jonathan; Lafrenière, David; Wolf, Christian; Magnier, Eugene A.

    2017-09-01

    We present the results of a direct imaging survey for very large separation (>100 au), low-mass companions around 95 nearby young K5-L5 stars and brown dwarfs. They are high-likelihood candidates or confirmed members of the young (≲150 Myr) β Pictoris and AB Doradus moving groups (ABDMG) and the TW Hya, Tucana-Horologium, Columba, Carina, and Argus associations. Images in I\\prime and z\\prime filters were obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South to search for companions down to an apparent magnitude of z\\prime ˜ 22-24 at separations ≳20″ from the targets and in the remainder of the wide 5.‧5 × 5.‧5 GMOS field of view. This allowed us to probe the most distant region where planetary-mass companions could be gravitationally bound to the targets. This region was left largely unstudied by past high-contrast imaging surveys, which probed much closer-in separations. This survey led to the discovery of a planetary-mass (9-13 {M}{Jup}) companion at 2000 au from the M3V star GU Psc, a highly probable member of ABDMG. No other substellar companions were identified. These results allowed us to constrain the frequency of distant planetary-mass companions (5-13 {M}{Jup}) to {0.84}-0.66+6.73% (95% confidence) at semimajor axes between 500 and 5000 au around young K5-L5 stars and brown dwarfs. This is consistent with other studies suggesting that gravitationally bound planetary-mass companions at wide separations from low-mass stars are relatively rare.

  6. ExploreNEOs: The Warm Spitzer Near Earth Object survey

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mueller, M.; Trilling, D. E.; Hora, J. L.; Harris, A. W.; Benner, L. A. M.; Bhattacharya, B.; Bottke, W. F.; Chesley, S.; Delbó, M.; Emery, J. P.; Fazio, G.; Hagen, A. R.; Kistler, J. L.; Mainzer, A.; Mommert, M.; Morbidelli, A.; Penprase, B.; Smith, H. A.; Spahr, T. B.; Stansberry, J. A.; Thomas, C. A.

    2011-01-01

    We are carrying out the ExploreNEOs project in which we observe more than 600 near Earth Objects (NEOs) at 3.6 and 4.5 microns with Warm Spitzer. For each NEO we derive diameter and albedo. We present our results to date, which include studies of individual objects, results for our entire observed

  7. Job Surfing: Move On to Move Up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Justin

    1997-01-01

    Looks at the process of switching jobs and changing careers. Discusses when to consider options and make the move as well as the need to be flexible and open minded. Provides a test for determining the chances of promotion and when to move on. (JOW)

  8. How Would You Move Mount Fuji - And Why Would You Want To?

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Paor, D. G.

    2008-12-01

    According to author William Poundstone, "How Would You Move Mt Fuji?" typifies the kind of question that corporations such as Microsoft are wont to ask job applicants in order to test their lateral thinking skills. One answer (albeit not one that would necessarily secure a job at Microsoft) is: "With Google Earth and a Macintosh or PC." The answer to the more profound follow-up question "Why Would You Want To?" is hinted at by one of the great quotations of earth science, namely Charles Lyell's proposition that "The Present Is Key to the Past." Google Earth is a phenomenally powerful tool for visualizing today's earth, ocean, and atmosphere. With the aid of Google SketchUp, that visualization can be extended to reconstruct the past using relocated samples of present-day landscapes and environments as models of paleo-DEM and paleogeography. Volcanoes are particularly useful models because their self similar growth can be simulated by changing KML altitude tags within a timespan, but numerous other landforms and geologic structures serve as useful keys to the past. Examples range in scale from glaciers and fault scarps to island arcs and mountain ranges. The ability to generate a paleo-terrain model in Google Earth brings us one step closer to a truly four- dimensional, interactive geological map of the world throughout time.

  9. Prospects of application of survey satellite image for meteorology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapochkina, A. B.; Kapochkin, B. B.; Kucherenko, N. V.

    The maximal interest is represented with the information from geostationary satellites. These satellites repeat shootings the chosen territories, allowing to study dynamics of images. Most interesting shootings in IR a range. Studying of survey image is applied to studying linear elements of clouds (LEC). It is established, that "LEC " arise only above breaks of an earth's crust. In research results of the complex analysis of the satellite data, hydrometeorological supervision, seismicity, supervision over deformations of a surface of the Earth are used. It is established that before formation "LEC " in a ground layer arise anomalies of temperature and humidity. The situation above Europe 16 May, 2001 is considered. "LEC " in Europe block carry of air weights from the west to the east. Synoptic conditions above the Great Britain July, 7-10, 2000 is considered. Moving "LEC" trace distribution of deformation waves to an earth's crust. Satellite shootings Europe before earthquake in Greece 14.08.2003 are considered. These days ground supervision were conducted and the data of the geostationary satellite were analyzed. During moving "LEC " occur failures (destruction houses & of gas mains), earthquake. The situation above Iberian peninsula 12-16.11.2001 is considered. "LEC" arose before flooding in Europe. The situation before flooding in Germany June, 6-8, 2002 and flooding on the river Kuban June, 16-23, 2002 is considered. In case of occurrence of tectonic compression of an earth's crust there are "LEC ", tracer intensive movements of air upwards and downwards above negative and positive anomalies of the form of a terrestrial surface, accordingly. Such meteorological situations are dangerous to flights of aircraft, the fast gravitational anomalies influencing into orbits of movement of satellites trace. The situation above equatorial Atlantic 26.03.2003 years is considered. At tectonic compression of continental scale overcast covers the whole continents for more

  10. Managing the construction bidding process : a move to simpler construction plan sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-31

    This project was conducted to determine whether construction plan sets could be significantly simplified to speed the process of moving projects to construction. The work steps included a literature review, a telephone survey of highway agencies in s...

  11. The near-Earth and interplanetary plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al'pert, Y.L.

    1983-01-01

    This monograph is an extensive revision and expansion of the original paper which first appeared in 1976 in the encyclopedia, Handbuch der Physik. It presents a detailed and comprehensive treatment of wave processes and of the motion of bodies through plasma around moving bodies such as artificial satellites, and with natural plasma waves and oscillations. Contents, abridged: General properties of the near-Earth and interplanetary plasma. Refractive indexes of cold magnetoplasma. Growth rates for the different oscillation branches. Nonlinear effects in a plasma. Group velocity, trajectories, and trapping of electromagnetic waves in a magnetoplasma. Indexes

  12. A survey and assessment of the capabilities of Cubesats for Earth observation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selva, Daniel; Krejci, David

    2012-05-01

    In less than a decade, Cubesats have evolved from purely educational tools to a standard platform for technology demonstration and scientific instrumentation. The use of COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) components and the ongoing miniaturization of several technologies have already led to scattered instances of missions with promising scientific value. Furthermore, advantages in terms of development cost and development time with respect to larger satellites, as well as the possibility of launching several dozens of Cubesats with a single rocket launch, have brought forth the potential for radically new mission architectures consisting of very large constellations or clusters of Cubesats. These architectures promise to combine the temporal resolution of GEO missions with the spatial resolution of LEO missions, thus breaking a traditional trade-off in Earth observation mission design. This paper assesses the current capabilities of Cubesats with respect to potential employment in Earth observation missions. A thorough review of Cubesat bus technology capabilities is performed, identifying potential limitations and their implications on 17 different Earth observation payload technologies. These results are matched to an exhaustive review of scientific requirements in the field of Earth observation, assessing the possibilities of Cubesats to cope with the requirements set for each one of 21 measurement categories. Based on this review, several Earth observation measurements are identified that can potentially be compatible with the current state-of-the-art of Cubesat technology although some of them have actually never been addressed by any Cubesat mission. Simultaneously, other measurements are identified which are unlikely to be performed by Cubesats in the next few years due to insuperable constraints. Ultimately, this paper is intended to supply a box of ideas for universities to design future Cubesat missions with high scientific payoff.

  13. The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (Tentative name) Project. A program on survey and research performed from earth surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-03-01

    The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (Tentative name) Project under planning at Horonobe-machi by the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) is a research facility on deep underground shown in the Long-term program on research, development and application of nuclear energy (June, 1994)' (LPNE), where some researches on the deep underground targeted at sedimentary rocks are carried out. The plan on The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory performed at Horonobe-machi' is an about 20 years plan ranging from beginning to finishing of its survey and research, which is carried out by three steps such as 'Survey and research performed from earth surface', 'Survey and research performed under excavation of road', and Survey and research performed by using the road'. The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory is one of research facilities on deep underground shown its importance in LPNE, and carries out some researches on the deep underground at a target of the sedimentary rocks. And also The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory confirms some technical reliability and support on stratum disposal shown in the 'Technical reliability on stratum disposal of the high level radioactive wastes. The Second Progress Report of R and D on geological disposal' summarized on November, 1999 by JNC through actual tests and researches at the deep stratum. The obtained results are intended to reflect to disposal business of The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory and safety regulation and so on performed by the government, together with results of stratum science research, at the Tono Geoscience Center, of geological disposal R and D at the Tokai Works, or of international collaborations. For R and D at the The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory after 2000, following subjects are shown: 1) Survey technique on long-term stability of geological environment, 2) Survey technique on geological environment, 3) Engineering technique on engineered barrier and

  14. Moving related to separation : who moves and to what distance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, Clara H.; Malmberg, Gunnar

    We address the issue of moving from the joint home on the occasion of separation. Our research question is: To what extent can the occurrence of moves related to separation, and the distance moved, be explained by ties to the location, resources, and other factors influencing the likelihood of

  15. Architectural Lessons: Look Back In Order To Move Forward

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, T.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Caltagirone, S.; Crichton, D. J.; Hughes, J. S.; Law, E.; Pilone, D.; Pilone, T.; Mahabal, A.

    2015-12-01

    True elegance of scalable and adaptable architecture is not about incorporating the latest and greatest technologies. Its elegance is measured by its ability to scale and adapt as its operating environment evolves over time. Architecture is the link that bridges people, process, policies, interfaces, and technologies. Architectural development begins by observe the relationships which really matter to the problem domain. It follows by the creation of a single, shared, evolving, pattern language, which everyone contributes to, and everyone can use [C. Alexander, 1979]. Architects are the true artists. Like all masterpieces, the values and strength of architectures are measured not by the volumes of publications, it is measured by its ability to evolve. An architect must look back in order to move forward. This talk discusses some of the prior works including onboard data analysis system, knowledgebase system, cloud-based Big Data platform, as enablers to help shape the new generation of Earth Science projects at NASA and EarthCube where a community-driven architecture is the key to enable data-intensive science. [C. Alexander, The Timeless Way of Building, Oxford University, 1979.

  16. Rare Earth Polyoxometalates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boskovic, Colette

    2017-09-19

    Longstanding and important applications make use of the chemical and physical properties of both rare earth metals and polyoxometalates of early transition metals. The catalytic, optical, and magnetic features of rare earth metal ions are well-known, as are the reversible multielectron redox and photoredox capabilities of polyoxomolybdates and polyoxotungstates. The combination of rare earth ions and polyoxometalates in discrete molecules and coordination polymers is of interest for the unique combination of chemical and physical properties that can arise. This Account surveys our efforts to synthesize and investigate compounds with rare earth ions and polyoxometalates (RE-POMs), sometimes with carboxylate-based organic coligands. Our general synthetic approach is "bottom-up", which affords well-defined nanoscale molecules, typically in crystalline form and amenable to single-crystal X-ray diffraction for structure determination. Our particular focus is on elucidation of the physical properties conferred by the different structural components with a view to ultimately being able to tune these properties chemically. For this purpose, we employ a variety of spectroscopic, magnetochemical, electrochemical, and scattering techniques in concert with theoretical modeling and computation. Studies of RE-POM single-molecule magnets (SMMs) have utilized magnetic susceptibility, inelastic neutron scattering, and ab initio calculations. These investigations have allowed characterization of the crystal field splitting of the rare earth(III) ions that is responsible for the SMM properties of slow magnetic relaxation and magnetization quantum tunneling. Such SMMs are promising for applications in quantum computing and molecular spintronics. Photophysical measurements of a family of hybrid RE-POMs with organic ligands have afforded insights into sensitization of Tb(III) and Eu(III) emission through both organic and polyoxometalate chromophores in the same molecule. Detailed

  17. Educator Perspectives on Earth System Science Literacy: Challenges and Priorities

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaDue, Nicole; Clark, Scott K.

    2012-01-01

    The challenges and priorities of defining and achieving Earth System Science (ESS) literacy are examined through surveys of geoscience educators attending a professional geological meeting. Two surveys with Likert-style and free-response questions were distributed to geoscientists and K-12 teachers to elicit what instructors think are important…

  18. Public Access to NASA's Earth Science Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnke, J.; James, N.

    2013-12-01

    Many steps have been taken over the past 20 years to make NASA's Earth Science data more accessible to the public. The data collected by NASA represent a significant public investment in research. NASA holds these data in a public trust to promote comprehensive, long-term Earth science research. Consequently, NASA developed a free, open and non-discriminatory policy consistent with existing international policies to maximize access to data and to keep user costs as low as possible. These policies apply to all data archived, maintained, distributed or produced by NASA data systems. The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a major core capability within NASA Earth Science Data System Program. EOSDIS is designed to ingest, process, archive, and distribute data from approximately 90 instruments. Today over 6800 data products are available to the public through the EOSDIS. Last year, EOSDIS distributed over 636 million science data products to the user community, serving over 1.5 million distinct users. The system supports a variety of science disciplines including polar processes, land cover change, radiation budget, and most especially global climate change. A core philosophy of EOSDIS is that the general user is best served by providing discipline specific support for the data. To this end, EOSDIS has collocated NASA Earth science data with centers of science discipline expertise, called Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). DAACs are responsible for data management, archive and distribution of data products. There are currently twelve DAACs in the EOSDIS system. The centralized entrance point to the NASA Earth Science data collection can be found at http://earthdata.nasa.gov. Over the years, we have developed several methods for determining needs of the user community including use of the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey and a broad metrics program. Annually, we work with an independent organization (CFI Group) to send this

  19. How Big is Earth?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurber, Bonnie B.

    2015-08-01

    How Big is Earth celebrates the Year of Light. Using only the sunlight striking the Earth and a wooden dowel, students meet each other and then measure the circumference of the earth. Eratosthenes did it over 2,000 years ago. In Cosmos, Carl Sagan shared the process by which Eratosthenes measured the angle of the shadow cast at local noon when sunlight strikes a stick positioned perpendicular to the ground. By comparing his measurement to another made a distance away, Eratosthenes was able to calculate the circumference of the earth. How Big is Earth provides an online learning environment where students do science the same way Eratosthenes did. A notable project in which this was done was The Eratosthenes Project, conducted in 2005 as part of the World Year of Physics; in fact, we will be drawing on the teacher's guide developed by that project.How Big Is Earth? expands on the Eratosthenes project by providing an online learning environment provided by the iCollaboratory, www.icollaboratory.org, where teachers and students from Sweden, China, Nepal, Russia, Morocco, and the United States collaborate, share data, and reflect on their learning of science and astronomy. They are sharing their information and discussing their ideas/brainstorming the solutions in a discussion forum. There is an ongoing database of student measurements and another database to collect data on both teacher and student learning from surveys, discussions, and self-reflection done online.We will share our research about the kinds of learning that takes place only in global collaborations.The entrance address for the iCollaboratory is http://www.icollaboratory.org.

  20. Role of grass-legume communities in revegetation of a subalpine mine site in British Columbia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamanaka, K

    1982-01-01

    This study describes an investigation of the potential for pioneer grass-legume communities to stabilize and ameliorate geologically-fresh soil leading to the establishment of a self-sustaining, progressive plant succession on a surface-mined subalpine site. The study area is located 2000 m above sea level in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Field studies revealed chronological trends in grass-legume communities at four sites revegetated during 1974-1978 including: species composition, legumes (Trifolium repens L., T. hybridum L. and Medicago sativa L.) performing increasingly poorly on the older sites; biomass changes, a shoot to root ratio (S/R) decreasing from 2.3 to 0.2 as the communities aged; and litter accumulation which continued even on the oldest site. Fertilizer (13-16-10) operationally applied at 150-391 kg/ha enhanced the growth of Dactylis gomerata L. and litter degradation, and acidified the soil. Nitrogen fertilization was also associated with two clear inverse relationships identified between D. glomerata and Festuca rubra L. biomass, and between soil pH and phosphorus levels. In greenhouse tests grasses were revealed to be more efficient soil nitrogen consumers than were legumes and nitrogen fixation decreased significantly (P < 0.01) and linearly with increasing grass seeding rates.

  1. Enhanced Cover Assessment Project:Soil Manipulation and Revegetation Tests

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waugh, W. Joseph [Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc.; Albright, Dr. Bill [Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States); Benson, Dr. Craig [University of Wisconsin-Madison

    2014-02-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management is evaluating methods to enhance natural changes that are essentially converting conventional disposal cell covers for uranium mill tailings into water balance covers. Conventional covers rely on a layer of compacted clayey soil to limit exhalation of radon gas and percolation of rainwater. Water balance covers rely on a less compacted soil “sponge” to store rainwater, and on soil evaporation and plant transpiration (evapotranspiration) to remove stored water and thereby limit percolation. Over time, natural soil-forming and ecological processes are changing conventional covers by increasing hydraulic conductivity, loosening compaction, and increasing evapotranspiration. The rock armor on conventional covers creates a favorable habitat for vegetation by slowing soil evaporation, increasing soil water storage, and trapping dust and organic matter, thereby providing the water and nutrients needed for plant germination, survival, and sustainable transpiration. Goals and Objectives Our overall goal is to determine if allowing or enhancing these natural changes could improve cover performance and reduce maintenance costs over the long term. This test pad study focuses on cover soil hydrology and ecology. Companion studies are evaluating effects of natural and enhanced changes in covers on radon attenuation, erosion, and biointrusion. We constructed a test cover at the Grand Junction disposal site to evaluate soil manipulation and revegetation methods. The engineering design, construction, and properties of the test cover match the upper three layers of the nearby disposal cell cover: a 1-foot armoring of rock riprap, a 6-inch bedding layer of coarse sand and gravel, and a 2-foot protection layer of compacted fine soil. The test cover does not have a radon barrier—cover enhancement tests leave the radon barrier intact. We tested furrowing and ripping as means for creating depressions parallel to the slope

  2. Measuring discharge with acoustic Doppler current profilers from a moving boat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, David S.; Wagner, Chad R.; Rehmel, Michael S.; Oberg, Kevin A.; Rainville, Francois

    2013-01-01

    The use of acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) from a moving boat is now a commonly used method for measuring streamflow. The technology and methods for making ADCP-based discharge measurements are different from the technology and methods used to make traditional discharge measurements with mechanical meters. Although the ADCP is a valuable tool for measuring streamflow, it is only accurate when used with appropriate techniques. This report presents guidance on the use of ADCPs for measuring streamflow; this guidance is based on the experience of U.S. Geological Survey employees and published reports, papers, and memorandums of the U.S. Geological Survey. The guidance is presented in a logical progression, from predeployment planning, to field data collection, and finally to post processing of the collected data. Acoustic Doppler technology and the instruments currently (2013) available also are discussed to highlight the advantages and limitations of the technology. More in-depth, technical explanations of how an ADCP measures streamflow and what to do when measuring in moving-bed conditions are presented in the appendixes. ADCP users need to know the proper procedures for measuring discharge from a moving boat and why those procedures are required, so that when the user encounters unusual field conditions, the procedures can be adapted without sacrificing the accuracy of the streamflow-measurement data.

  3. Move up,Move out

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Guo Yan

    2007-01-01

    @@ China has already become the world's largest manufacturer of cement,copper and steel.Chinese producers have moved onto the world stage and dominated the global consumer market from textiles to electronics with amazing speed and efficiency.

  4. NEOWISE OBSERVATIONS OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Masiero, J.; Eisenhardt, P. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Grav, T.; Mo, W. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); McMillan, R. S. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0092 (United States); Cutri, R. M. [Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Walker, R. [Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, Monterey, CA (United States); Wright, E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, P.O. Box 91547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Tholen, D. J.; Jedicke, R.; Denneau, L. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI (United States); Spahr, T. [Minor Planet Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); DeBaun, E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth University, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States); Elsbury, D. [University of California Santa Barbara, Broida Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 (United States); Gautier, T. [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Gomillion, S. [Department of Engineering Physics, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 600 S. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (United States); Hand, E. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64110 (United States); Watkins, J., E-mail: amainzer@jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Earth and Space Sciences, UCLA, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Box 951567, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); and others

    2011-12-20

    With the NEOWISE portion of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) project, we have carried out a highly uniform survey of the near-Earth object (NEO) population at thermal infrared wavelengths ranging from 3 to 22 {mu}m, allowing us to refine estimates of their numbers, sizes, and albedos. The NEOWISE survey detected NEOs the same way whether they were previously known or not, subject to the availability of ground-based follow-up observations, resulting in the discovery of more than 130 new NEOs. The survey's uniform sensitivity, observing cadence, and image quality have permitted extrapolation of the 428 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) detected by NEOWISE during the fully cryogenic portion of the WISE mission to the larger population. We find that there are 981 {+-} 19 NEAs larger than 1 km and 20,500 {+-} 3000 NEAs larger than 100 m. We show that the Spaceguard goal of detecting 90% of all 1 km NEAs has been met, and that the cumulative size distribution is best represented by a broken power law with a slope of 1.32 {+-} 0.14 below 1.5 km. This power-law slope produces {approx}13, 200 {+-} 1900 NEAs with D > 140 m. Although previous studies predict another break in the cumulative size distribution below D {approx} 50-100 m, resulting in an increase in the number of NEOs in this size range and smaller, we did not detect enough objects to comment on this increase. The overall number for the NEA population between 100 and 1000 m is lower than previous estimates. The numbers of near-Earth comets and potentially hazardous NEOs will be the subject of future work.

  5. NEOWISE OBSERVATIONS OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Masiero, J.; Eisenhardt, P.; Grav, T.; Mo, W.; McMillan, R. S.; Cutri, R. M.; Walker, R.; Wright, E.; Tholen, D. J.; Jedicke, R.; Denneau, L.; Spahr, T.; DeBaun, E.; Elsbury, D.; Gautier, T.; Gomillion, S.; Hand, E.; Watkins, J.

    2011-01-01

    With the NEOWISE portion of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) project, we have carried out a highly uniform survey of the near-Earth object (NEO) population at thermal infrared wavelengths ranging from 3 to 22 μm, allowing us to refine estimates of their numbers, sizes, and albedos. The NEOWISE survey detected NEOs the same way whether they were previously known or not, subject to the availability of ground-based follow-up observations, resulting in the discovery of more than 130 new NEOs. The survey's uniform sensitivity, observing cadence, and image quality have permitted extrapolation of the 428 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) detected by NEOWISE during the fully cryogenic portion of the WISE mission to the larger population. We find that there are 981 ± 19 NEAs larger than 1 km and 20,500 ± 3000 NEAs larger than 100 m. We show that the Spaceguard goal of detecting 90% of all 1 km NEAs has been met, and that the cumulative size distribution is best represented by a broken power law with a slope of 1.32 ± 0.14 below 1.5 km. This power-law slope produces ∼13, 200 ± 1900 NEAs with D > 140 m. Although previous studies predict another break in the cumulative size distribution below D ∼ 50-100 m, resulting in an increase in the number of NEOs in this size range and smaller, we did not detect enough objects to comment on this increase. The overall number for the NEA population between 100 and 1000 m is lower than previous estimates. The numbers of near-Earth comets and potentially hazardous NEOs will be the subject of future work.

  6. Let Our Powers Combine! Harnessing NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET) in Worldview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Min Minnie; Ward, Kevin; Boller, Ryan; Gunnoe, Taylor; Baynes, Kathleen; King, Benjamin

    2016-01-01

    Constellations of NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites orbit the earth to collect images and data about the planet in near real-time. Within hours of satellite overpass, you can discover where the latest wildfires, severe storms, volcanic eruptions, and dust and haze events are occurring using NASA's Worldview web application. By harnessing a repository of curated natural event metadata from NASA Earth Observatory's Natural Event Tracker (EONET), Worldview has moved natural event discovery to the forefront and allows users to select events-of-interest from a curated list, zooms to the area, and adds the most relevant imagery layers for that type of natural event. This poster will highlight NASA Worldviews new natural event feed functionality.

  7. Laurel Clark Earth Camp: Building a Framework for Teacher and Student Understanding of Earth Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colodner, D.; Buxner, S.; Schwartz, K.; Orchard, A.; Titcomb, A.; King, B.; Baldridge, A.; Thomas-Hilburn, H.; Crown, D. A.

    2013-04-01

    Laurel Clark Earth Camp is designed to inspire teachers and students to study their world through field experiences, remote sensing investigations, and hands on exploration, all of which lend context to scientific inquiry. In three different programs (for middle school students, for high school students, and for teachers) participants are challenged to understand Earth processes from the perspectives of both on-the ground inspection and from examination of satellite images, and use those multiple perspectives to determine best practices on both a societal and individual scale. Earth Camp is a field-based program that takes place both in the “natural” and built environment. Middle School Earth Camp introduces students to a variety of environmental science, engineering, technology, and societal approaches to sustainability. High School Earth Camp explores ecology and water resources from southern Arizona to eastern Utah, including a 5 day rafting trip. In both camps, students compare environmental change observed through repeat photography on the ground to changes observed from space. Students are encouraged to utilize their camp experience in considering their future course of study, career objectives, and lifestyle choices. During Earth Camp for Educators, teachers participate in a series of weekend workshops to explore relevant environmental science practices, including water quality testing, biodiversity surveys, water and light audits, and remote sensing. Teachers engage students, both in school and after school, in scientific investigations with this broad based set of tools. Earth Stories from Space is a website that will assist in developing skills and comfort in analyzing change over time and space using remotely sensed images. Through this three-year NASA funded program, participants will appreciate the importance of scale and perspective in understanding Earth systems and become inspired to make choices that protect the environment.

  8. EARTH RESOURCE PROBLEMS AND RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlitová Erika

    1997-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses some of the problems of geology and earth resources management in relation to environmental problems of the technosphere. It deals also with some aspects of environmental monitoring of areas where surveying or mining operations are planned or in progress.

  9. Role of moving planes and moving spheres following Dupin cyclides

    KAUST Repository

    Jia, Xiaohong

    2014-03-01

    We provide explicit representations of three moving planes that form a μ-basis for a standard Dupin cyclide. We also show how to compute μ-bases for Dupin cyclides in general position and orientation from their implicit equations. In addition, we describe the role of moving planes and moving spheres in bridging between the implicit and rational parametric representations of these cyclides. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

  10. Role of moving planes and moving spheres following Dupin cyclides

    KAUST Repository

    Jia, Xiaohong

    2014-01-01

    We provide explicit representations of three moving planes that form a μ-basis for a standard Dupin cyclide. We also show how to compute μ-bases for Dupin cyclides in general position and orientation from their implicit equations. In addition, we describe the role of moving planes and moving spheres in bridging between the implicit and rational parametric representations of these cyclides. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

  11. Automatic Moving Object Segmentation for Freely Moving Cameras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanli Wan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a new moving object segmentation algorithm for freely moving cameras which is very common for the outdoor surveillance system, the car build-in surveillance system, and the robot navigation system. A two-layer based affine transformation model optimization method is proposed for camera compensation purpose, where the outer layer iteration is used to filter the non-background feature points, and the inner layer iteration is used to estimate a refined affine model based on the RANSAC method. Then the feature points are classified into foreground and background according to the detected motion information. A geodesic based graph cut algorithm is then employed to extract the moving foreground based on the classified features. Unlike the existing global optimization or the long term feature point tracking based method, our algorithm only performs on two successive frames to segment the moving foreground, which makes it suitable for the online video processing applications. The experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm in both of the high accuracy and the fast speed.

  12. Touching the base: heart-warming ads from the 2016 U.S. election moved viewers to partisan tears.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seibt, Beate; Schubert, Thomas W; Zickfeld, Janis H; Fiske, Alan P

    2018-03-07

    Some political ads used in the 2016 U.S. election evoked feelings colloquially known as being moved to tears. We conceptualise this phenomenon as a positive social emotion that appraises and motivates communal relations, is accompanied by physical sensations (including lachrymation, piloerection, chest warmth), and often labelled metaphorically. We surveyed U.S. voters in the fortnight before the 2016 U.S. election. Selected ads evoked the emotion completely and reliably, but in a partisan fashion: Clinton voters were moved to tears by three selected Clinton ads, and Trump voters were moved to tears by two Trump ads. Viewers were much less moved by ads of the candidate they did not support. Being moved to tears predicted intention to vote for the candidate depicted. We conclude that some contemporary political advertising is able to move its audience to tears, and thereby motivates support.

  13. Who Will Lead? The Top 10 Factors That Influence Teachers Moving into Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Jianping; Cooley, Van

    1999-01-01

    A survey of educational-administration students revealed 10 factors influencing teachers' reluctance to move into administration: nature of work responsibilities, working conditions, emotional aspects, district location, superintendent reputation, effects on home life, quality of community life, community support, salary/responsibility issues, and…

  14. Moving event and moving participant in aspectual conceptions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izutsu Katsunobu

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study advances an analysis of the event conception of aspectual forms in four East Asian languages: Ainu, Japanese, Korean, and Ryukyuan. As earlier studies point out, event conceptions can be divided into two major types: the moving-event type and the moving-participant type, respectively. All aspectual forms in Ainu and Korean, and most forms in Japanese and Ryukyuan are based on that type of event conception. Moving-participant oriented Ainu and movingevent oriented Japanese occupy two extremes, between which Korean and Ryukyuan stand. Notwithstanding the geographical relationships among the four languages, Ryukyuan is closer to Ainu than to Korean, whereas Korean is closer to Ainu than to Japanese.

  15. Public-Private Partnership: Joint recommendations to improve downloads of large Earth observation data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandran, R.; Murphy, K. J.; Baynes, K.; Lynnes, C.

    2016-12-01

    With the volume of Earth observation data expanding rapidly, cloud computing is quickly changing the way Earth observation data is processed, analyzed, and visualized. The cloud infrastructure provides the flexibility to scale up to large volumes of data and handle high velocity data streams efficiently. Having freely available Earth observation data collocated on a cloud infrastructure creates opportunities for innovation and value-added data re-use in ways unforeseen by the original data provider. These innovations spur new industries and applications and spawn new scientific pathways that were previously limited due to data volume and computational infrastructure issues. NASA, in collaboration with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have jointly developed a set of recommendations to enable efficient transfer of Earth observation data from existing data systems to a cloud computing infrastructure. The purpose of these recommendations is to provide guidelines against which all data providers can evaluate existing data systems and be used to improve any issues uncovered to enable efficient search, access, and use of large volumes of data. Additionally, these guidelines ensure that all cloud providers utilize a common methodology for bulk-downloading data from data providers thus preventing the data providers from building custom capabilities to meet the needs of individual cloud providers. The intent is to share these recommendations with other Federal agencies and organizations that serve Earth observation to enable efficient search, access, and use of large volumes of data. Additionally, the adoption of these recommendations will benefit data users interested in moving large volumes of data from data systems to any other location. These data users include the cloud providers, cloud users such as scientists, and other users working in a high performance computing environment who need to move large volumes of data.

  16. The development of machine technology processing for earth resource survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landgrebe, D. A.

    1970-01-01

    The following technologies are considered for automatic processing of earth resources data: (1) registration of multispectral and multitemporal images, (2) digital image display systems, (3) data system parameter effects on satellite remote sensing systems, and (4) data compression techniques based on spectral redundancy. The importance of proper spectral band and compression algorithm selections is pointed out.

  17. EarthFinder: A Precise Radial Velocity Survey Probe Mission of our Nearest Stellar Neighbors for Earth-Mass Habitable Zone Analogs Using High-Resolution UV-Vis-NIR Echelle Spectroscopy on a Space Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plavchan, Peter; EarthFinder Team

    2018-01-01

    We are investigating the science case for a 1.0-1.4 meter space telescope to survey the closest, brightest FGKM main sequence stars to search for Habitable Zone (HZ) Earth analogs using the precise radial velocity (PRV) technique at a precision of 1-10 cm/s. Our baseline instrument concept uses two diffraction-limited spectrographs operating in the 0.4-1.0 microns and 1.0-2.4 microns spectral regions each with a spectral resolution of R=150,000~200,000, with the possibility of a third UV arm. Because the instrument utilizes a diffraction-limited input beam, the spectrograph would be extremely compact, less than 50 cm on a side, and illumination can be stabilized with the coupling of starlight into single mode fibers. With two octaves of wavelength coverage and a cadence unimpeded by any diurnal, seasonal, and atmospheric effects, EarthFinder will offer a unique platform for recovering stellar activity signals from starspots, plages, granulation, etc. to detect exoplanets at velocity semi-amplitudes currently not obtainable from the ground. Variable telluric absorption and emission lines may potentially preclude achieving PRV measurements at or below 10 cm/s in the visible and advantage compared to an annual ~3-6 month observing season from the ground for mitigating stellar activity and detecting the orbital periods of HZ Earth-mass analogs (e.g. ~6-months to ~2 years). Finally, we are compiling a list of ancillary science cases for the observatory, ranging from asteroseismology to the direct measurement of the expansion of the Universe.

  18. Final Status Survey for the Largest Decommissioning Project on Earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubiel, R.W.; Miller, J.; Quayle, D.

    2006-01-01

    To assist the United States Department of Energy's (US DOE's) re-industrialization efforts at its gaseous diffusion site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, known as the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the US DOE awarded a 6-year Decontamination and Decommissioning (D and D) contract to BNG America (formerly BNFL Inc.) in 1997. The ETTP 3-Building D and D Project included the removal and disposition of the materials and equipment from the K-33, K-31, and K-29 Gaseous Diffusion Plant buildings. The three buildings comprise more than 4.8 million square feet (446,000 square meters) of floor surface area and more than 350 million pounds (148 million kilograms) of hazardous and radioactively contaminated material, making it the largest nuclear D and D project in progress anywhere in the world. The logistical hurdles involved in a project of this scope and magnitude required an extensive amount of Engineering and Health Physics professionals. In order to accomplish the Final Status Survey (FSS) for a project of this scope, the speed and efficiency of automated survey equipment was essential. Surveys of floors, structural steel and ceilings up to 60 feet (18 meters) were required. The FSS had to be expanded to include additional remediation and surveys due to characterization surveys and assumptions regarding the nature and extent of contamination provided by the US DOE. Survey design and technical bases had to consider highly variable constituents; including uranium from depleted to low enrichment, variable levels of Technetium-99 and transuranic nuclides, which were introduced into the cascade during the 1960's when recycled uranium (RU) from Savannah River was re-enriched at the facility. The RU was transported to unexpected locations from leaks in the cascade by complex building ventilation patterns. The primary survey tool used for the post remediation and FSS was the Surface Contamination Monitor (SCM) and the associated Survey Information Management System (SIMS

  19. DATA FUSION TECHNOLOGY OF MULTI-PLATFORM EARTH OBSERVATION ON AGRICULTURE

    OpenAIRE

    W. Xie; Y. Xue; L. Zhai; H. Sang

    2013-01-01

    Earth observation is the gathering of information via remote sensing technologies supplemented by earth surveying techniques, encompassing the collection, analysis and presentation of data. Remote sensing technology is playing a key role on precision agriculture. From the point of view of remote sensing and photogrammetry field, this article first took an overview of its applications on agriculture throughout past 3 decades, analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of different kind...

  20. Revegetating fly ash landfills with Prosopis juliflora L.: impact of different amendments and Rhizobium inoculation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, U N; Pandey, K; Sinha, S; Singh, A; Saxena, R; Gupta, D K

    2004-05-01

    A revegetation trial was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of growing a legume species, Prosopis juliflora L., on fly ash ameliorated with combination of various organic amendments, blue-green algal biofertilizer and Rhizobium inoculation. Significant enhancements in plant biomass, photosynthetic pigments, protein content and in vivo nitrate reductase activity were found in the plants grown on ameliorated fly ash in comparison to the plants growing in unamended fly ash or garden soil. Higher growth was obtained in fly ash amended with blue-green algae (BGA) than farmyard manure or press mud (PM), a waste from sugar-processing industry, due to the greater contribution of plant nutrients, supply of fixed nitrogen and increased availability of phosphorus. Nodulation was suppressed in different amendments of fly ash with soil in a concentration-duration-dependent manner, but not with other amendments. Plants accumulated higher amounts of Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and Cr in various fly ash amendments than in garden soil. Further, inoculation of the plant with a fly ash tolerant Rhizobium strain conferred tolerance for the plant to grow under fly ash stress conditions with more translocation of metals to the above ground parts. The results showed the potential of P. juliflora to grow in plantations on fly ash landfills and to reduce the metal contents of fly ash by bioaccumulation in its tissues.

  1. Magnetically levitated space elevator to low-earth orbit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hull, J. R.; Mulcahy, T. M.

    2001-01-01

    The properties of currently available NbTi superconductor and carbon-fiber structural materials enable the possibility of constructing a magnetically levitated space elevator from the earth's surface up to an altitude of(approx) 200 km. The magnetic part of the elevator consists of a long loop of current-carrying NbTi, composed of one length that is attached to the earth's surface in an east-west direction and a levitated-arch portion. The critical current density of NbTi is sufficiently high that these conductors will stably levitate in the earth's magnetic field. The magnetic self-field from the loop increases the levitational force and for some geometries assists levitational stability. The 200-km maximum height of the levitated arch is limited by the allowable stresses of the structural material. The loop is cryogenically cooled with helium, and the system utilizes intermediate pumping and cooling stations along both the ground and the levitated portion of the loop, similar to other large terrestrial cryogenic systems. Mechanically suspended from the basic loop is an elevator structure, upon which mass can be moved between the earth's surface and the top of the loop by a linear electric motor or other mechanical or electrical means. At the top of the loop, vehicles may be accelerated to orbital velocity or higher by rocket motors, electromagnetic propulsion, or hybrid methods

  2. Study on the Seismic Active Earth Pressure by Variational Limit Equilibrium Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangong Chen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the framework of limit equilibrium theory, the isoperimetric model of functional extremum regarding the seismic active earth pressure is deduced according to the variational method. On this basis, Lagrange multipliers are introduced to convert the problem of seismic active earth pressure into the problem on the functional extremum of two undetermined function arguments. Based on the necessary conditions required for the existence of functional extremum, the function of the slip surface and the normal stress distribution on the slip surface is obtained, and the functional extremum problem is further converted into a function optimization problem with two undetermined Lagrange multipliers. The calculated results show that the slip surface is a plane and the seismic active earth pressure is minimal when the action point is at the lower limit position. As the action point moves upward, the slip surface becomes a logarithmic spiral and the corresponding value of seismic active earth pressure increases in a nonlinear manner. And the seismic active earth pressure is maximal at the upper limit position. The interval estimation constructed by the minimum and maximum values of seismic active earth pressure can provide a reference for the aseismic design of gravity retaining walls.

  3. Method and apparatus for logging inclined earth boreholes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Youmans, A.H.

    1981-01-01

    An improved technique is provided for comparing the velocity of an elongated well logging instrument traversing an inclined earth borehole with the playout velocity of the well logging cable at the earth's surface to control both the cable hoist drum rotation and the rate of movement of the subsurface instrument and thus insure cable playout is in equilibrium with the logging instrument movement. Method and apparatus are described for detecting any reduction in movement of the logging instrument through the borehole and for reducing the velocity of the logging cable playout in response thereto by reducing drum rotation. Further, when the velocity of cable playout slows to a preselected value, a monitoring circuit generates control signals which actuate a means of power attached to or integral with the logging instrument which, upon initiation, apply a force to move the logging instrument upward or downward within the borehole

  4. Optimizing the Earth-LISA 'rendezvous'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Marchi, Fabrizio; Pucacco, Giuseppe; Bassan, Massimo

    2012-01-01

    We present a general survey of heliocentric LISA orbits, hoping that it might help in the exercise of rescoping the mission. We try to semi-analytically optimize the orbital parameters in order to minimize the disturbances coming from the Earth-LISA interaction. In a set of numerical simulations, we include non-autonomous perturbations and provide an estimate of Doppler shift and breathing as a function of the trailing angle. (paper)

  5. A comparison of moving object detection methods for real-time moving object detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roshan, Aditya; Zhang, Yun

    2014-06-01

    Moving object detection has a wide variety of applications from traffic monitoring, site monitoring, automatic theft identification, face detection to military surveillance. Many methods have been developed across the globe for moving object detection, but it is very difficult to find one which can work globally in all situations and with different types of videos. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing moving object detection methods which can be implemented in software on a desktop or laptop, for real time object detection. There are several moving object detection methods noted in the literature, but few of them are suitable for real time moving object detection. Most of the methods which provide for real time movement are further limited by the number of objects and the scene complexity. This paper evaluates the four most commonly used moving object detection methods as background subtraction technique, Gaussian mixture model, wavelet based and optical flow based methods. The work is based on evaluation of these four moving object detection methods using two (2) different sets of cameras and two (2) different scenes. The moving object detection methods have been implemented using MatLab and results are compared based on completeness of detected objects, noise, light change sensitivity, processing time etc. After comparison, it is observed that optical flow based method took least processing time and successfully detected boundary of moving objects which also implies that it can be implemented for real-time moving object detection.

  6. NASA's Earth science flight program status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neeck, Steven P.; Volz, Stephen M.

    2010-10-01

    NASA's strategic goal to "advance scientific understanding of the changing Earth system to meet societal needs" continues the agency's legacy of expanding human knowledge of the Earth through space activities, as mandated by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Over the past 50 years, NASA has been the world leader in developing space-based Earth observing systems and capabilities that have fundamentally changed our view of our planet and have defined Earth system science. The U.S. National Research Council report "Earth Observations from Space: The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements" published in 2008 by the National Academy of Sciences articulates those key achievements and the evolution of the space observing capabilities, looking forward to growing potential to address Earth science questions and enable an abundance of practical applications. NASA's Earth science program is an end-to-end one that encompasses the development of observational techniques and the instrument technology needed to implement them. This includes laboratory testing and demonstration from surface, airborne, or space-based platforms; research to increase basic process knowledge; incorporation of results into complex computational models to more fully characterize the present state and future evolution of the Earth system; and development of partnerships with national and international organizations that can use the generated information in environmental forecasting and in policy, business, and management decisions. Currently, NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) has 14 operating Earth science space missions with 6 in development and 18 under study or in technology risk reduction. Two Tier 2 Decadal Survey climate-focused missions, Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days and Seasons (ASCENDS) and Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT), have been identified in conjunction with the U.S. Global Change Research Program and initiated for launch in the 2019

  7. Spatial analysis based on variance of moving window averages

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, B M; Subbarao, K V; Ferrandino, F J; Hao, J J

    2006-01-01

    A new method for analysing spatial patterns was designed based on the variance of moving window averages (VMWA), which can be directly calculated in geographical information systems or a spreadsheet program (e.g. MS Excel). Different types of artificial data were generated to test the method. Regardless of data types, the VMWA method correctly determined the mean cluster sizes. This method was also employed to assess spatial patterns in historical plant disease survey data encompassing both a...

  8. The survey on data format of Earth observation satellite data at JAXA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsunaga, M.; Ikehata, Y.

    2017-12-01

    JAXA's earth observation satellite data are distributed by a portal web site for search and deliver called "G-Portal". Users can download the satellite data of GPM, TRMM, Aqua, ADEOS-II, ALOS (search only), ALOS-2 (search only), MOS-1, MOS-1b, ERS-1 and JERS-1 from G-Portal. However, these data formats are different by each satellite like HDF4, HDF5, NetCDF4, CEOS, etc., and which formats are not familiar to new data users. Although the HDF type self-describing format is very convenient and useful for big dataset information, old-type format product is not readable by open GIS tool nor apply OGC standard. Recently, the satellite data are widely used to be applied to the various needs such as disaster, earth resources, monitoring the global environment, Geographic Information System(GIS) and so on. In order to remove a barrier of using Earth Satellite data for new community users, JAXA has been providing the format-converted product like GeoTIFF or KMZ. In addition, JAXA provides format conversion tool itself. We investigate the trend of data format for data archive, data dissemination and data utilization, then we study how to improve the current product format for various application field users and make a recommendation for new product.

  9. Models meet data: Challenges and opportunities in implementing land management in Earth system models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pongratz, Julia; Dolman, Han; Don, Axel; Erb, Karl-Heinz; Fuchs, Richard; Herold, Martin; Jones, Chris; Kuemmerle, Tobias; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Meyfroidt, Patrick; Naudts, Kim

    2018-04-01

    As the applications of Earth system models (ESMs) move from general climate projections toward questions of mitigation and adaptation, the inclusion of land management practices in these models becomes crucial. We carried out a survey among modeling groups to show an evolution from models able only to deal with land-cover change to more sophisticated approaches that allow also for the partial integration of land management changes. For the longer term a comprehensive land management representation can be anticipated for all major models. To guide the prioritization of implementation, we evaluate ten land management practices-forestry harvest, tree species selection, grazing and mowing harvest, crop harvest, crop species selection, irrigation, wetland drainage, fertilization, tillage, and fire-for (1) their importance on the Earth system, (2) the possibility of implementing them in state-of-the-art ESMs, and (3) availability of required input data. Matching these criteria, we identify "low-hanging fruits" for the inclusion in ESMs, such as basic implementations of crop and forestry harvest and fertilization. We also identify research requirements for specific communities to address the remaining land management practices. Data availability severely hampers modeling the most extensive land management practice, grazing and mowing harvest, and is a limiting factor for a comprehensive implementation of most other practices. Inadequate process understanding hampers even a basic assessment of crop species selection and tillage effects. The need for multiple advanced model structures will be the challenge for a comprehensive implementation of most practices but considerable synergy can be gained using the same structures for different practices. A continuous and closer collaboration of the modeling, Earth observation, and land system science communities is thus required to achieve the inclusion of land management in ESMs. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Stovetop Earth Pecan Pie

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robin, C. M.

    2005-12-01

    Many fluid mechanical experiments with direct applications to Earth Science are performed with sugary syrups using conceptually straightforward procedures. Corn syrup has indeed proven to be a godsend for those studying convection and related non-linear phenomena. In addition, however, it gives experimentalists a deep physical intuition for the interior workings of hot planets. The basic concepts behind plate tectonics and mantle convection are not difficult; indeed, although they may not be aware of it, most students probably have a basic intuitive understanding of fluid mechanics gained in their daily life. However, the large size and long time scale of geophysical processes may be quite intimidating to young students. Even a simple geophysical experiment requires a complicated array of coolers, heaters and measuring and recording equipment. It is of interest to introduce students to the geodynamical concepts that can be visualized in a high-tech lab using familiar processes and equipment. Using a homemade apparatus and grocery store supplies, I propose using a 'Stove-top Earth pecan pie' to introduce simple geodynamic concepts to middle- and high-school students. The initially cold syrup heats up and the pecans begin to float (continent formation), the syrup begins to convect (mantle convection), and convection slows down after the heat is removed (secular cooling). Even Wilson cycles can be simulated by moving the pan to one side or the other of the stovetop or heating element. The activity formally introduces students to convection and its application to the earth, and makes them think about plate motion, heat transfer, scaling, and experimental procedures. As an added bonus, they can eat their experiments after recess!

  11. Electromagnetic signals produced by elastic waves in the Earth's crust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sgrigna, V.; Buzzi, A.; Conti, L.; Guglielmi, A. V.; Pokhotelov, O. A.

    2004-03-01

    The paper describes the excitation of geoelectromagnetic-field oscillations caused by elastic waves propagating in the Earth's crust and generated by natural and anthropogenic phenomena, such as earthquakes, explosions, etc. Two mechanisms of electromagnetic signal generation, i.e. induction and electrokinetics ones, are considered and a comparative analysis between them is carried out. The first mechanism is associated with the induction of Foucault currents due to movements of the Earth's crust in the core geomagnetic field. The second mechanism is connected with movements of liquids filling pores and cracks of rocks. An equation is derived for describing in a uniform way these two manifestations of seismomagnetism. The equation is solved for body and surface waves. The study shows that a magnetic precursor signal is moving in the front of elastic waves.

  12. Characterization of Various Survey Meters by Car-borne Survey in Java Island as Basis Data for Searching Orphan Sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yus Rusdian Akhmad

    2004-01-01

    Recently, an international collaboration in securing and managing radioactive sources, particularly orphan sources, is established. For developing countries such as Indonesia which possesses relatively inadequate resources, an effective approach in dealing with the problem is crucial. In order to deal with this situation, an activity was performed including: 1) assessment of available technical means, 2) car-borne survey during the dry and rainy seasons to identify the impact of Rn daughter washout on the interpretation of search results, 3) search for anomalies in the radioactive exposure map of the Java island, and 4) investigation of anomalies found, using more sophisticated instrument, to detect and secure orphan and illicit radioactive sources. The performance of four selected instruments in a car-borne survey which covers a large area in western part of Java was evaluated. Data series of moving background were divided into two measurement groups; control group and test group. These data series were arranged in, order to determine the value of alarm level. For this purpose, statistic procedures relying on Mann-Whitney U test and a simple moving average test (Moving Background) were applied. Among the four selected survey meters, the most convenient detection system for implementing the activity is Exploranium GR-130. There was little concern on the effect of Rn-daughters washouts on the proposed methods, provided that the operator could recognise the transition period between the clear and rainy weather as it could give rise to false alarm. The Moving Background method was generally superior to Mann-Whitney U test for detecting anomalous radiation level. During the survey, an anomaly in steel industrial area was detected. Using portable gamma spectrometers, it was concluded that the anomaly was generated from naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). Analyses upon survey data in the big cities showed anomalies due to concrete structures, especially

  13. Finding Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Destinations for Human Exploration: Implications for Astrobiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landis, Rob; Abell, Paul; Barbee, Brent; Johnson, Lindley

    2012-01-01

    The current number of known potential NEA targets for HSF is limited to those objects whose orbital characteristics are similar to that of the Earth. This is due to the projected capabilities of the exploration systems currently under consideration and development at NASA. However, NEAs with such orbital characteristics often have viewing geometries that place them at low solar elongations and thus are difficult to detect from the vicinity of Earth. While ongoing ground-based surveys and data archives maintained by the NEO Program Observation Program Office and the Minor Planet Center (MPC) have provided a solid basis upon which to build, a more complete catalog of the NEO population is required to inform a robust and sustainable HSF exploration program. Since all the present NEO observing assets are currently confined to the vicinity of the Earth, additional effort must be made to provide capabilities for detection of additional HSF targets via assets beyond Earth orbit. A space-based NEO survey telescope located beyond the vicinity of the Earth, has considerable implications for planetary science and astrobiology. Such a telescope will provide foundational knowledge of our Solar System small body population and detect targets of interest for both the HSF and scientific communities. Data from this asset will yield basic characterization data on the NEOs observed (i.e., albedo, size determination, potential for volatiles and organics, etc.) and help down select targets for future HSF missions. Ideally, the most attractive targets from both HSF and astrobiology perspectives are those NEAs that may contain organic and volatile materials, and which could be effectively sampled at a variety of locations and depths. Presented here is an overview of four space-based survey concepts; any one of which after just a few years of operation will discover many highly accessible NEO targets suitable for robotic and human exploration. Such a space-based survey mission will reveal

  14. Surveying Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Stig

    2009-01-01

    In relation to surveying education there is one big question to be asked: Is the role of the surveyors changing? In a global perspective the answer will be "Yes". There is a big swing that could be entitled "From Measurement to Management". This does not imply that measurement is no longer....... In surveying education there are a range of other challenges to be faced. These relate to the focus on learning to learn; the need for flexible curriculum to deal with constant change; the move towards introducing virtual academy; the demand for creating a quality culture; and the perspective of lifelong...... on an efficient interaction between education, research, and professional practice....

  15. Survey of radon in Australian residences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baggs, S A; Wong, C F

    1987-03-01

    Fifty Australian buildings of five different types (earth-covered, earth-sheltered, earth-walled, those 'dug out' of self supporting rock, and above-ground dwellings), are currently being surveyed for radon activity. Using nuclear track detectors over a one-year period, 14 of these sites so far returned have yield a highest level of 388 Bq m/sup -3/ (interior air, earth-wall house) and a lowest level of 19 Bq m/sup -3/ (standard above-ground cavity-brick house). Present trends indicate that: (i) a problem of high levels exists in some earth-wall and dugout dwellings which, if uranium mine data are extrapolated, could indicate some increased risk of lung cancer; (ii) when ventilation rate is other than minimal, it does not appear to affect radon concentration in the expected direct inverse way.

  16. Educating the Public about Deep-Earth Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, V. S.

    2010-12-01

    The nature of Earth’s interior is an active frontier of scientific research. Much of our current understanding of sub-crustal Earth is based on knowledge acquired in the last 2-3 decades, made possible by public funding and by dense seismic arrays, satellite remote sensing, increases in computer power that enable use of enhanced numerical techniques, improved theoretical and experimental knowledge of high PT mineral physics and chemistry, and a vigorous scientific community that has been trained to take advantage of these opportunities. An essential component of science is effective communication; therefore, providing for public education about science is a responsibility of the research community. Current public understanding of Earth’s interior is meager at best. In pre-college texts and in non-technical mass media, Earth's interior is typically visualized as an onion or baseball of concentric different-colored shells along whose upper surface "crustal" plates move like packages on conveyor belts of convecting mantle. Or the crust is thought to float on a molten mantle, as in the 19th century ideas of William Lowthian Green. Misconceptions about Earth that are brought to the undergraduate classroom must be confronted frankly and replaced by current understanding based on good science. Persistent ignorance has consequences. What do we want the public to know? First, the public should understand that knowledge of Earth's interior is important, not irrelevant. The public should know that deep-Earth processes result in Earth's dynamic magnetic field. Deep-Earth processes affect how radiation from the Sun reaches Earth, consequently affecting the atmosphere, the oceans, and the viability of life on Earth. The composition and differentiated structure of Earth's interior is a result of the early accretionary history of Earth and the Earth-Moon system. The public should also know that lithospheric tectonics, with all of its consequences (dynamic topography, volcanoes

  17. A plant taxonomic survey of the Uranium City region, Lake Athabasca north shore, emphasizing the naturally colonizing plants on uranium mine and mill wastes and other human-disturbed sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harms, V.L.

    1982-07-01

    A goal of this study was to acquire more complete baseline data on the existing flora of the Uranium City region, both in natural and human-disturbed sites. Emphasis was given to determining which plant species were naturally revegetating various abandoned uranium mine and mill waste disposal areas, other human-disturbed sites, and ecologically analogous sites. Another goal was to document the occurrence and distribution in the study region of rare and possibly endangered species. A further objective was to suggest regionally-occurring species with potential value for revegetating uranium mine and mill waste sites. Field investigations were carried out in the Uranium City region during August, 1981. During this time 1412 plant collections were made; a total of 366 plant species - trees, shrubs, forbs, graminoids, lichens, and bryophytes were recorded. The report includes an annotated checklist of plant species of the Uranium City region and a reference index of plant taxa indicating species that have high revegetation potential

  18. Radiological decontamination, survey, and statistical release method for vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodwill, M.E.; Lively, J.W.; Morris, R.L.

    1996-06-01

    Earth-moving vehicles (e.g., dump trucks, belly dumps) commonly haul radiologically contaminated materials from a site being remediated to a disposal site. Traditionally, each vehicle must be surveyed before being released. The logistical difficulties of implementing the traditional approach on a large scale demand that an alternative be devised. A statistical method for assessing product quality from a continuous process was adapted to the vehicle decontamination process. This method produced a sampling scheme that automatically compensates and accommodates fluctuating batch sizes and changing conditions without the need to modify or rectify the sampling scheme in the field. Vehicles are randomly selected (sampled) upon completion of the decontamination process to be surveyed for residual radioactive surface contamination. The frequency of sampling is based on the expected number of vehicles passing through the decontamination process in a given period and the confidence level desired. This process has been successfully used for 1 year at the former uranium millsite in Monticello, Utah (a cleanup site regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act). The method forces improvement in the quality of the decontamination process and results in a lower likelihood that vehicles exceeding the surface contamination standards are offered for survey. Implementation of this statistical sampling method on Monticello projects has resulted in more efficient processing of vehicles through decontamination and radiological release, saved hundreds of hours of processing time, provided a high level of confidence that release limits are met, and improved the radiological cleanliness of vehicles leaving the controlled site

  19. Mortality at older ages and moves in residential and sheltered housing: evidence from the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robards, James; Evandrou, Maria; Falkingham, Jane; Vlachantoni, Athina

    2014-01-01

    Background The study examines the relationship between transitions to residential and sheltered housing and mortality. Past research has focused on housing moves over extended time periods and subsequent mortality. In this paper, annual housing transitions allow the identification of the patterning of housing moves, the duration of stay in each sector and the assessment of the relationship of preceding moves to a heightened risk of dying. Methods The study uses longitudinal data constructed from pooled observations from the British Household Panel Survey (waves 1993–2008). Records were pooled for all cases where the survey member is 65 years or over and living in private housing at baseline and observed at three consecutive time points, including baseline (N=23 727). Binary logistic regression (death as outcome three waves after baseline) explored the relative strength of different housing transitions, controlling for sociodemographic predictors. Results (1) Transition to residential housing within the previous 12 months was associated with the highest mortality risk. (2) Results support existing findings showing an interaction between marital status and mortality, whereby unmarried persons were more likely to die. (3) Higher male mortality was observed across all housing transitions. Conclusions An older person's move to residential housing is associated with a higher risk of mortality within 12 months of the move. Survivors living in residential housing for more than a year, show a similar probability of dying to those living in sheltered housing. Results highlight that it is the type of accommodation that affects an older person's mortality risk, and the length of time they spend there. PMID:24638058

  20. Earth mortars and earth-lime renders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Fernandes

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Earth surface coatings play a decorative architectural role, apart from their function as wall protection. In Portuguese vernacular architecture, earth mortars were usually applied on stone masonry, while earth renders and plasters were used on indoors surface coatings. Limestone exists only in certain areas of the country and consequently lime was not easily available everywhere, especially on granite and schist regions where stone masonry was a current building technique. In the central west coast of Portugal, the lime slaking procedure entailed slaking the quicklime mixed with earth (sandy soil, in a pit; the resulting mixture would then be combined in a mortar or plaster. This was also the procedure for manufactured adobes stabilized with lime. Adobe buildings with earth-lime renderings and plasters were also traditional in the same region, using lime putty and lime wash for final coat and decoration. Classic decoration on earth architecture from the 18th-19th century was in many countries a consequence of the François Cointeraux (1740-1830 manuals - Les Cahiers d'Architecture Rurale" (1793 - a French guide for earth architecture and building construction. This manual arrived to Portugal in the beginning of XIX century, but was never translated to Portuguese. References about decoration for earth houses were explained on this manual, as well as procedures about earth-lime renders and ornamentation of earth walls; in fact, these procedures are exactly the same as the ones used in adobe buildings in this Portuguese region. The specific purpose of the present paper is to show some cases of earth mortars, renders and plasters on stone buildings in Portugal and to explain the methods of producing earth-lime renders, and also to show some examples of rendering and coating with earth-lime in Portuguese adobe vernacular architecture.

  1. Minimoon Survey with Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jedicke, Robert; Boe, Ben; Bolin, Bryce T.; Bottke, William; Chyba, Monique; Denneau, Larry; Dodds, Curt; Granvik, Mikael; Kleyna, Jan; Weryk, Robert J.

    2017-10-01

    We will present the status of our search for minimoons using Hyper Suprime-Cam on the Subaru telescope on Maunkea, Hawaii. We use the term 'minimoon' to refer to objects that are gravitationally bound to the Earth-Moon system, make at least one revolution around the barycenter in a co-rotating frame relative to the Earth-Sun axis, and are within 3 Earth Hill-sphere radii (˜12 LD). There are one or two 1 to 2 meter diameter minimoons in the steady state population at any time, and about a dozen larger than 50 cm diameter. `Drifters' are also bound to the Earth-Moon system but make less than one revolution about the barycenter. The combined population of minimoons and drifters provide a new opportunity for scientific exploration of small asteroids and testing concepts for in-situ resource utilization. These objects provide interesting challenges for rendezvous missions because of their limited lifetime and complicated trajectories. Furthermore, they are difficult to detect because they are small, available for a limited time period, and move quickly across the sky.

  2. 2d forward modelling of marine CSEM survey geometry for seabed logging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, N.; Noh, M.; Yahya, N.B.

    2011-01-01

    Hydrocarbon reserve exploration in deep water is done by geophysical surveys. Previously seismic geophysical surveys were explicitly used but it has indistinct results for both water and hydrocarbon saturated reservoir. Recent development for the detection of hydrocarbon reservoir in deeper water is Marine Controlled Source Electromagnetic (MCSEM) geophysical survey. MCSEM is sensitive to electrical conductivity of rocks by which it can differentiate between hydrocarbon reservoir and water saturated reservoir. MCSEM survey geometry put vital role and may causes for anomalies in synthetic data. Consequentially MCSEM is sensitive to survey geometry (e.g. source dipping, rotation and speed, receivers' orientation etc) which causes anomalies. The interpretation for delineating subsurface structure from survey data need to well understand the effects of survey geometry anomalies. Forward modelling is an alternative rather real time survey to study the aforementioned anomalies. In this paper finite difference method (FDM) is implemented for 2D forward modelling in the sense of qualitative understanding to how induced Electromagnetic (EM) signal changes its overall pattern while interact with physical earth properties. A stratified earth structure is developed and modelled in MatLabTM software to study the behaviour of EM field with physical earth properties. Obtained results of 2D geological models are also discussed in this paper. (author)

  3. Advanced Information Technology Investments at the NASA Earth Science Technology Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clune, T.; Seablom, M. S.; Moe, K.

    2012-12-01

    The NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) regularly makes investments for nurturing advanced concepts in information technology to enable rapid, low-cost acquisition, processing and visualization of Earth science data in support of future NASA missions and climate change research. In 2012, the National Research Council published a mid-term assessment of the 2007 decadal survey for future spacemissions supporting Earth science and applications [1]. The report stated, "Earth sciences have advanced significantly because of existing observational capabilities and the fruit of past investments, along with advances in data and information systems, computer science, and enabling technologies." The report found that NASA had responded favorably and aggressively to the decadal survey and noted the role of the recent ESTO solicitation for information systems technologies that partnered with the NASA Applied Sciences Program to support the transition into operations. NASA's future missions are key stakeholders for the ESTO technology investments. Also driving these investments is the need for the Agency to properly address questions regarding the prediction, adaptation, and eventual mitigation of climate change. The Earth Science Division has championed interdisciplinary research, recognizing that the Earth must be studied as a complete system in order toaddress key science questions [2]. Information technology investments in the low-mid technology readiness level (TRL) range play a key role in meeting these challenges. ESTO's Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program invests in higher risk / higher reward technologies that solve the most challenging problems of the information processing chain. This includes the space segment, where the information pipeline begins, to the end user, where knowledge is ultimatelyadvanced. The objectives of the program are to reduce the risk, cost, size, and development time of Earth Science space-based and ground

  4. Magnetically levitated space elevator to low-earth orbit.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hull, J. R.; Mulcahy, T. M.

    2001-07-02

    The properties of currently available NbTi superconductor and carbon-fiber structural materials enable the possibility of constructing a magnetically levitated space elevator from the earth's surface up to an altitude of {approx} 200 km. The magnetic part of the elevator consists of a long loop of current-carrying NbTi, composed of one length that is attached to the earth's surface in an east-west direction and a levitated-arch portion. The critical current density of NbTi is sufficiently high that these conductors will stably levitate in the earth's magnetic field. The magnetic self-field from the loop increases the levitational force and for some geometries assists levitational stability. The 200-km maximum height of the levitated arch is limited by the allowable stresses of the structural material. The loop is cryogenically cooled with helium, and the system utilizes intermediate pumping and cooling stations along both the ground and the levitated portion of the loop, similar to other large terrestrial cryogenic systems. Mechanically suspended from the basic loop is an elevator structure, upon which mass can be moved between the earth's surface and the top of the loop by a linear electric motor or other mechanical or electrical means. At the top of the loop, vehicles may be accelerated to orbital velocity or higher by rocket motors, electromagnetic propulsion, or hybrid methods.

  5. History of satellite missions and measurements of the Earth Radiation Budget (1957-1984)

    Science.gov (United States)

    House, F. B.; Gruber, A.; Hunt, G. E.; Mecherikunnel, A. T.

    1986-01-01

    The history of satellite missions and their measurements of the earth radiation budget from the beginning of the space age until the present time are reviewed. The survey emphasizes the early struggle to develop instrument systems to monitor reflected shortwave and emitted long-wave exitances from the earth, and the problems associated with the interpretation of these observations from space. In some instances, valuable data sets were developed from satellite measurements whose instruments were not specifically designed for earth radiation budget observations.

  6. Earth power spectrum and its potential as a usable energy source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richards, E.E.

    1984-01-01

    The aurora is a natural, visible manifestation of a large electrical-current system that is continually pumping millions of megawatts of electromagnetic power into the upper polar atmospheres, exceeding the total electrical generating capacity of the United States. Auroras begin on the sun, where the energy spirals away into interplanetary space at hundreds of miles per second; four days after it leaves the sun, this high speed stream of solar wind reaches the vicinity of the earth where the plasma collides with and moves around the planet's magnetic field. The high-speed solar wind reshapes the field into a comet-shaped cavity called the magnetosphere. The sunward shock front extends some 10-15 earth radii into space, while the night-side magnetotail stretches out beyond 60 earth radii (Re), reaching beyond the Moon's orbit. As the solar wind blows downstream along the edges of this magnetic cavity, the energies leak in and become part of an immense reservoir called the plasmasheet, which runs down the length of the magnetotail. The plasma that leaks in is carried back toward the Earth by the flow of the plasmasheet and down the funnels over the two polar regions, causing a constant ring-shaped glow. The path of the auroral energy streaming in along the Earth's magnetic field lines appears as a thin, glowing curtain hanging from 60 to hundreds of miles above the Earth. The magnetosphere is a big container of energy storage

  7. THE OCCURRENCE RATE OF EARTH ANALOG PLANETS ORBITING SUN-LIKE STARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Catanzarite, Joseph; Shao, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Kepler is a space telescope that searches Sun-like stars for planets. Its major goal is to determine η Earth , the fraction of Sun-like stars that have planets like Earth. When a planet 'transits' or moves in front of a star, Kepler can measure the concomitant dimming of the starlight. From analysis of the first four months of those measurements for over 150,000 stars, Kepler's Science Team has determined sizes, surface temperatures, orbit sizes, and periods for over a thousand new planet candidates. In this paper, we characterize the period probability distribution function of the super-Earth and Neptune planet candidates with periods up to 132 days, and find three distinct period regimes. For candidates with periods below 3 days, the density increases sharply with increasing period; for periods between 3 and 30 days, the density rises more gradually with increasing period, and for periods longer than 30 days, the density drops gradually with increasing period. We estimate that 1%-3% of stars like the Sun are expected to have Earth analog planets, based on the Kepler data release of 2011 February. This estimate of η Earth is based on extrapolation from a fiducial subsample of the Kepler planet candidates that we chose to be nominally 'complete' (i.e., no missed detections) to the realm of the Earth-like planets, by means of simple power-law models. The accuracy of the extrapolation will improve as more data from the Kepler mission are folded in. Accurate knowledge of η Earth is essential for the planning of future missions that will image and take spectra of Earth-like planets. Our result that Earths are relatively scarce means that a substantial effort will be needed to identify suitable target stars prior to these future missions.

  8. A reduced estimate of the number of kilometre-sized near-Earth asteroids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabinowitz, D; Helin, E; Lawrence, K; Pravdo, S

    2000-01-13

    Near-Earth asteroids are small (diameters Earth (they come within 1.3 AU of the Sun). Most have a chance of approximately 0.5% of colliding with the Earth in the next million years. The total number of such bodies with diameters > 1 km has been estimated to be in the range 1,000-2,000, which translates to an approximately 1% chance of a catastrophic collision with the Earth in the next millennium. These numbers are, however, poorly constrained because of the limitations of previous searches using photographic plates. (One kilometre is below the size of a body whose impact on the Earth would produce global effects.) Here we report an analysis of our survey for near-Earth asteroids that uses improved detection technologies. We find that the total number of asteroids with diameters > 1 km is about half the earlier estimates. At the current rate of discovery of near-Earth asteroids, 90% will probably have been detected within the next 20 years.

  9. Embodied affectivity: On moving and being moved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas eFuchs

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available There is a growing body of research indicating that bodily sensation and behaviour strongly influences one’s emotional reaction towards certain situations or objects. On this background, a framework model of embodied affectivity is suggested: we regard emotions as resulting from the circular interaction between affective qualities or affordances in the environment and the subject’s bodily resonance, be it in the form of sensations, postures, expressive movements or movement tendencies. Motion and emotion are thus intrinsically connected: one is moved by movement (perception; impression; affection and moved to move (action; expression; e-motion. Through its resonance, the body functions as a medium of emotional perception: it colours or charges self-experience and the environment with affective valences while it remains itself in the background of one’s own awareness. This model is then applied to emotional social understanding or interaffectivity which is regarded as an intertwinement of two cycles of embodied affectivity, thus continuously modifying each partner’s affective affordances and bodily resonance. We conclude with considerations of how embodied affectivity is altered in psychopathology and can be addressed in psychotherapy of the embodied self.

  10. Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Observations of Magnetic Flux Ropes in the Earth's Plasma Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, J. A.; Akhavan-Tafti, M.; Poh, G.; Le, G.; Russell, C. T.; Nakamura, R.; Baumjohann, W.; Torbert, R. B.; Gershman, D. J.; Pollock, C. J.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Burch, J. L.

    2017-12-01

    A major discovery by the Cluster mission and the previous generation of science missions is the presence of earthward and tailward moving magnetic flux ropes in the Earth's plasma sheet. However, the lack of high-time resolution plasma measurements severely limited progress concerning the formation and evolution of these reconnection generated structures. We use high-time resolution magnetic and electric field and plasma measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission's first tail season to investigate: 1) the distribution of flux rope diameters relative to the local ion and electron inertial lengths; 2) the internal force balance sustaining these structures; and 3) the magnetic connectivity of the flux ropes to the Earth and/or the interplanetary medium; 4) the specific entropy of earthward moving flux ropes and the possible effect of "buoyancy" on how deep they penetrate into the inner magnetosphere; and 5) evidence for coalescence of adjacent flux ropes and/or the division of existing flux ropes through the formation of secondary X-lines. The results of these initial analyses will be discussed in terms of their implications for reconnection-driven magnetospheric dynamics and substorms.

  11. Method and apparatus for a combination moving bed thermal treatment reactor and moving bed filter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Badger, Phillip C.; Dunn, Jr., Kenneth J.

    2015-09-01

    A moving bed gasification/thermal treatment reactor includes a geometry in which moving bed reactor particles serve as both a moving bed filter and a heat carrier to provide thermal energy for thermal treatment reactions, such that the moving bed filter and the heat carrier are one and the same to remove solid particulates or droplets generated by thermal treatment processes or injected into the moving bed filter from other sources.

  12. Revegetação de áreas de mineração: critérios de monitoramento e avaliação do desempenho Monitoring and evaluating performance of mining revegetation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Olímpia Peláez Ocampo Almeida

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available A recuperação de áreas degradadas pela mineração normalmente envolve atividades que têm o objetivo de restabelecer a vegetação. O acompanhamento dos resultados dessa atividade é muitas vezes inexistente ou conduzido de maneira assistemática. O trabalho seleciona um conjunto de indicadores com a finalidade de facilitar a tarefa de avaliação dos resultados da recuperação ambiental em áreas de extração de areia. O emprego de indicadores adequados facilita a compreensão e a interpretação dos resultados da revegetação para diferentes categorias de interessados, como empresários, agentes públicos e a comunidade em geral. Cinco indicadores selecionados - aspecto visual, densidade de plantas, altura média de plantas, número de espécies arbóreas e mortalidade de mudas - foram levantados em duas minas. Na primeira, foram avaliadas duas áreas revegetadas em uma bacia de disposição de rejeitos; na segunda mina, foi avaliada uma área de mata ciliar em vias de recuperação. Em parcelas situadas em cada mina foram medidos ou observados os parâmetros correspondentes aos indicadores selecionados. Os resultados apontam que as áreas ainda não atingiram o patamar esperado em termos de sucesso da revegetação. Os indicadores utilizados revelam-se eficazes para a avaliação pretendida, uma vez que podem ser obtidos com procedimentos de baixo custo, demandam pouco tempo, não requerem conhecimento especializado e representam satisfatoriamente o estado da área revegetada.Rehabilitation of mined areas usually involves some revegetation. However, as follow-up is seldom implemented, the success of such programs is largely unknown. This paper reviews a set of indicators potentially applicable to monitoring and evaluating the results of revegetation in mined areas. A benefit of using indicators is that, ideally, they can facilitate the understanding and interpretation of obtained data, being useful to all stakeholders - mining company

  13. Spectroscopic properties of rare earths in optical materials

    CERN Document Server

    Parisi, Jürgen; Osgood, R; Warlimont, Hans; Liu, Guokui; Jacquier, Bernard

    2005-01-01

    Aimed at researchers and graduate students, this book provides up-to-date information for understanding electronic interactions that impact the optical properties of rare earth ions in solids. Its goal is to establish a connection between fundamental principles and the materials properties of rare-earth activated luminescent and laser optical materials. The theoretical survey and introduction to spectroscopic properties include electronic energy level structure, intensities of optical transitions, ion-phonon interactions, line broadening, and energy transfer and up-conversion. An important aspect of the book lies in its deep and detailed discussions on materials properties and the potential of new applications such as optical storage, information processing, nanophotonics, and molecular probes that have been identified in recent experimental studies. This volume will be a valuable reference book on advanced topics of rare earth spectroscopy and materials science.

  14. Plasma and magnetic field variations in the distant magnetotail associated with near-earth substorm effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, D. N.; Bame, S. J.; Mccomas, D. J.; Zwickl, R. D.; Slavin, J. A.; Smith, E. J.

    1987-01-01

    Examination of many individual event periods in the ISEE 3 deep-tail data set has suggested that magnetospheric substorms produce a characteristic pattern of effects in the distant magnetotail. During the growth, or tail-energy-storage phase of substorms, the magnetotail appears to grow diametrically in size, often by many earth radii. Subsequently, after the substorm expansive phase onset at earth, the distant tail undergoes a sequence of plasma, field, and energetic-particle variations as large-scale plasmoids move rapidly down the tail following their disconnection from the near-earth plasma sheet. ISEE 3 data are appropriate for the study of these effects since the spacecraft remained fixed within the nominal tail location for long periods. Using newly available auroral electrojet indices (AE and AL) and Geo particle data to time substorm onsets at earth, superposed epoch analyses of ISEE 3 and near-earth data prior to, and following, substorm expansive phase onsets have been performed. These analyses quantify and extend substantially the understanding of the deep-tail pattern of response to global substorm-induced dynamical effects.

  15. Preliminary study on the influence of the tides of planet earth on hydrostatic leveling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Xiaoye; Xu Shaofeng; Wang Peng

    2012-01-01

    Hydrostatic leveling system, used mainly in survey and alignment technology in particle accelerator and monitoring the tides is introduced in this paper. Based on the theory about the ocean tide and earth tide, we analyze effects of the earth tides on a hydrostatic leveling system. From the data obtained from an HLS, and their F are, and finally we verify the influence of the tides of planet earth. (authors)

  16. Analysis of the Dose Distribution of Moving Organ using a Moving Phantom System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yon Lae; Park, Byung Moon; Bae, Yong Ki; Kang, Min Young; Bang, Dong Wan; Lee, Gui Won

    2006-01-01

    Few researches have been performed on the dose distribution of the moving organ for radiotherapy so far. In order to simulate the organ motion caused by respiratory function, multipurpose phantom and moving device was used and dosimetric measurements for dose distribution of the moving organs were conducted in this study. The purpose of our study was to evaluate how dose distributions are changed due to respiratory motion. A multipurpose phantom and a moving device were developed for the measurement of the dose distribution of the moving organ due to respiratory function. Acryl chosen design of the phantom was considered the most obvious choice for phantom material. For construction of the phantom, we used acryl and cork with density of 1.14 g/cm 3 , 0.32 g/cm 3 respectively. Acryl and cork slab in the phantom were used to simulate the normal organ and lung respectively. The moving phantom system was composed of moving device, moving control system, and acryl and cork phantom. Gafchromic film and EDR2 film were used to measure dose distributions. The moving device system may be driven by two directional step motors and able to perform 2 dimensional movements (x, z axis), but only 1 dimensional movement(z axis) was used for this study. Larger penumbra was shown in the cork phantom than in the acryl phantom. The dose profile and isodose curve of Gafchromic EBT film were not uniform since the film has small optical density responding to the dose. As the organ motion was increased, the blurrings in penumbra, flatness, and symmetry were increased. Most of measurements of dose distributions, Gafchromic EBT film has poor flatness and symmetry than EDR2 film, but both penumbra distributions were more or less comparable. The Gafchromic EBT film is more useful as it does not need development and more radiation dose could be exposed than EDR2 film without losing film characteristics. But as response of the optical density of Gafchromic EBT film to dose is low, beam profiles

  17. Earth tide effects on kinematic/static GPS positioning in Denmark and Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, G.C.; Knudsen, Per

    2000-01-01

    A detailed Study of the Earth tide effects on the GPS kinematic/static positioning is presented in this paper by using theoretical Earth tide computation and practical GPS data processing. Tidal effects could reach up to 30 cm in Denmark and Greenland depending on the measuring time...... and the position of reference station. With a baseline less than 80 km, the difference of the Earth tide effects could reach more than 5 mm. So, in precise applications of GPS positioning, the Earth tide effect has to be taken into account even for a relative small local GPS network. Several examples are given...... for demonstrating that the Earth tide effects can be viewed by GPS surveying. They are given through static GPS data static processing, static GPS data kinematic processing, and airborne kinematic GPS data processing. In these cases, the Earth tide effects can be subtracted from the GPS results. The determination...

  18. Geophex airborne unmanned survey system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Won, I.J.; Taylor, D.W.A.

    1995-01-01

    The purpose of this effort is to design, construct, and evaluate a portable, remotely-piloted, airborne, geophysical survey system. This nonintrusive system will provide open-quotes stand-offclose quotes capability to conduct surveys and detect buried objects, structures, and conditions of interest at hazardous locations. This system permits two operators to rapidly conduct geophysical characterization of hazardous environmental sites. During a survey, the operators remain remote from, but within visual distance, of, the site. The sensor system never contacts the Earth, but can be positioned near the ground so that weak anomalies can be detected

  19. Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Author Affiliations. Amir Hossein Souri1 Sanaz Vajedian2. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA. Department of Surveying and Geomatics Engineering, University College of Engineering, University of Tehran, North Kargar Ave., P.O. Box 11365-4563, Tehran, Iran.

  20. Down to Earth with an electric hazard from space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, Jeffrey J.; Bedrosian, Paul A.; Schultz, Adam

    2017-01-01

    In reaching across traditional disciplinary boundaries, solid-Earth geophysicists and space physicists are forging new collaborations to map magnetic-storm hazards for electric-power grids. Future progress in evaluation storm time geoelectric hazards will come primarily through monitoring, surveys, and modeling of related data.

  1. Earth Institute at Columbia University ADVANCE Program: Addressing Needs for Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, R. E.; Cane, M.; Mutter, J.; Miller, R.; Pfirman, S.; Laird, J.

    2004-12-01

    field programs, which lay the foundation for leadership positions, but which may be difficult for young faculty. The strategy is to use the Earth Institute as a test bed for institutional change, and then expand the successful programs to other Columbia Science and Engineering Departments, as appropriate. Columbia's administration is committed to changing policies and supporting successful programs beyond the completion of the NSF grant. Earth Institute ADVANCE programs include (a) a self study including a climate survey modeled after the 1999 MIT study, (b) a senior faculty working group that will facilitate recruitment and retention by providing support for searches, faculty development, and retention, (c) internal funding competitions designed to recruit and retain women scientists and engineers, and (d) focused workshops and conferences. The ADVANCE program will establish offices both on the Morningside campus in Manhattan and Lamont campus in Palisades, NY.

  2. LANDSAT remote sensing: observations of an Appalachian mountaintop surface coal mining and reclamation operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-10-01

    The potential benefits of using LANDSAT remote sensing data by state agencies as an aide in monitoring surface coal mining operations are reviewed. A mountaintop surface mine in eastern Kentucky was surveyed over a 5 year period using satellite multispectral scanner data that were classified by computer analyses. The analyses were guided by aerial photography and by ground surveys of the surface mines procured in 1976. The application of the LANDSAT data indicates that: (1) computer classification of the various landcover categories provides information for monitoring the progress of surface mining and reclamation operations, (2) successive yearly changes in barren and revegetated areas can be qualitatively assessed for surface mines of 100 acres or more of disrupted area, (3) barren areas consisting of limestone and shale mixtures may be recognized, and revegetated areas in various stages of growth may be identified against the hilly forest background

  3. Detection of moving objects from a moving platform in urban scenes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haar, F.B. ter; Hollander, R.J.M. den; Dijk, J.

    2010-01-01

    Moving object detection in urban scenes is important for the guidance of autonomous vehicles, robot navigation, and monitoring. In this paper moving objects are automatically detected using three sequential frames and tracked over a longer period. To this extend we modify the plane+parallax,

  4. "New Space Explosion" and Earth Observing System Capabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stensaas, G. L.; Casey, K.; Snyder, G. I.; Christopherson, J.

    2017-12-01

    This presentation will describe recent developments in spaceborne remote sensing, including introduction to some of the increasing number of new firms entering the market, along with new systems and successes from established players, as well as industry consolidation reactions to these developments from communities of users. The information in this presentation will include inputs from the results of the Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) 2017 Civil Commercial Imagery Evaluation Workshop and the use of the US Geological Survey's Requirements Capabilities and Analysis for Earth Observation (RCA-EO) centralized Earth observing systems database and how system performance parameters are used with user science applications requirements.

  5. Public Land Survey System - Sections on USDA Forest Service Lands

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This feature class depicts the boundaries of Land Survey features called sections, defined by the Public Lands Survey System Grid. Normally, 36 sections make up a...

  6. Identification of moving vehicle forces on bridge structures via moving average Tikhonov regularization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Chu-Dong; Yu, Ling; Liu, Huan-Lin

    2017-08-01

    Traffic-induced moving force identification (MFI) is a typical inverse problem in the field of bridge structural health monitoring. Lots of regularization-based methods have been proposed for MFI. However, the MFI accuracy obtained from the existing methods is low when the moving forces enter into and exit a bridge deck due to low sensitivity of structural responses to the forces at these zones. To overcome this shortcoming, a novel moving average Tikhonov regularization method is proposed for MFI by combining with the moving average concepts. Firstly, the bridge-vehicle interaction moving force is assumed as a discrete finite signal with stable average value (DFS-SAV). Secondly, the reasonable signal feature of DFS-SAV is quantified and introduced for improving the penalty function (∣∣x∣∣2 2) defined in the classical Tikhonov regularization. Then, a feasible two-step strategy is proposed for selecting regularization parameter and balance coefficient defined in the improved penalty function. Finally, both numerical simulations on a simply-supported beam and laboratory experiments on a hollow tube beam are performed for assessing the accuracy and the feasibility of the proposed method. The illustrated results show that the moving forces can be accurately identified with a strong robustness. Some related issues, such as selection of moving window length, effect of different penalty functions, and effect of different car speeds, are discussed as well.

  7. Lodo de esgoto em revegetação de área degradada Sewage sludge in the revegetation of degraded area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flávio Barbosa Bezerra

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a viabilidade da aplicação do lodo, produzido pela Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto do Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro (Etar-Apoio, à revegetação de uma área degradada do aeroporto. A adição desse material ao solo causou o aumento significativo dos teores de carbono orgânico, nitrogênio, fósforo, magnésio, potássio e cálcio, bem como da capacidade de troca catiônica. Os teores dos micronutrientes Fe, Zn e Cu também aumentaram significativamente com a aplicação de lodo. Contudo, em princípio, esse comportamento não está relacionado ao decréscimo significativo verificado no pH do solo, mas sim ao incremento da capacidade de troca catiônica (pH 7 e da matéria orgânica. Não se observou efeito significativo da aplicação de lodo no desenvolvimento das espécies vegetais utilizadas (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia -Sabiá - e M. bimucronata - Maricá. Verificou-se, no entanto, significância na interação entre as doses de lodo com as duas espécies vegetais implantadas. Esses resultados indicam que o processo de revegetação utilizado representa alternativa viável para a disposição final do lodo de esgoto.The objective of this work was to verify the viability of using the sludge produced by Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto do Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro (Etar-Apoio, in the revegetation process of a degraded area located in this airport. The addition of such material to the soil increased significantly the organic matter contents, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and calcium, as well as the cation exchange capacity (pH 7. The micronutrients Fe, Zn, and Cu increased with the sewage sludge application. However, this behavior is not related to the soil pH decrease, but to the CEC increment and to the organic matter increase. No significant sewage sludge effect was observed in the development of the species used (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia - Sabiá - and M

  8. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Hidalgo County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  9. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Luna County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  10. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Torrance Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  11. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Union County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  12. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Roosevelt County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  13. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Colfax County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  14. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Otero Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  15. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Guadalupe County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  16. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Lea County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  17. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Harding County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  18. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Eddy Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  19. Thermal histories of convective earth models and constraints on radiogenic heat production in the earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davies, G.F.

    1980-01-01

    Thermal histories have been calculated for simple models of the earth which assume that heat is transported by convection throughout the interior. The application of independent constraints to these solutions limits the acceptable range of the ratio of present radiogenic heat production in the earth to the present surface heat flux. The models use an empirical relation between the rate of convective heat transport and the temperature difference across a convecting fluid. This is combined with an approximate proportionality between effective mantle viscosity and T/sup -n/, where T is temperature and it is argued that n is about 30 throughout the mantle. The large value of n causes T to be strongly buffered against changes in the earth's energy budget and shortens by an order of magnitude the response time of surface heat flux to changes in energy budget as compared to less temperature-dependent heat transport mechanisms. Nevertheless, response times with n=30 are still as long as 1 or 2 b.y. Assuming that the present heat flux is entirely primordial (i.e., nonradiogenic) in a convective model leads back to unrealistically high temperatures about 1.7 b.y. ago. Inclusion of exponentially decaying (i.e., radiogenic) heat sources moves the high temperatures further into the past and leads to a transition from 'hot' to 'cool' calculated thermal histories for the case when the present rate of heat production is near 50% of the present rate of heat loss. Requiring the calculated histories to satisfy minimal geological constraints limits the present heat production/heat loss ratio to between about 0.3 and 0.85. Plausible stronger constraints narrow this range to between 0.45 and 0.65. These results are compatible with estimated radiogentic heat production rates in some meteorites and terrestrial rocks, with a whole-earth K/U ratio of 1--2 x 10 4 giving optimal agreement

  20. DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION USING EARTH OBSERVATION TECHNIQUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Ito

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, we introduce to secondary education an Earth observation technique using synthetic aperture radar (SAR. The goal is to increase interest in and raise the awareness of students in the Earth observation technique through practical activities. A curriculum is developed based on the result of questionnaire surveys of school teachers. The curriculum is composed of 16 units. Teaching materials related to the Earth observation technique are researched and developed. We designed a visual SAR processor and a small corner reflector (CR as a new teaching technique. In teaching sessions at secondary school, the developed teaching materials and software were used effectively. In observation experiments, students set up CRs that they had built, and ALOS PALSAR was able to clearly observe all of the CRs. The proposed curriculum helped all of the students to understand the usefulness of the Earth observation technique.

  1. NASA's Earth Science Flight Program overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neeck, Steven P.; Volz, Stephen M.

    2011-11-01

    NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) conducts pioneering work in Earth system science, the interdisciplinary view of Earth that explores the interaction among the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, land surface interior, and life itself that has enabled scientists to measure global and climate changes and to inform decisions by governments, organizations, and people in the United States and around the world. The ESD makes the data collected and results generated by its missions accessible to other agencies and organizations to improve the products and services they provide, including air quality indices, disaster management, agricultural yield projections, and aviation safety. In addition to four missions now in development and 14 currently operating on-orbit, the ESD is now developing the first tier of missions recommended by the 2007 Earth Science Decadal Survey and is conducting engineering studies and technology development for the second tier. Furthermore, NASA's ESD is planning implementation of a set of climate continuity missions to assure availability of key data sets needed for climate science and applications. These include a replacement for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), OCO-2, planned for launch in 2013; refurbishment of the SAGE III atmospheric chemistry instrument to be hosted by the International Space Station (ISS) as early as 2014; and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE FO) mission scheduled for launch in 2016. The new Earth Venture (EV) class of missions is a series of uncoupled, low to moderate cost, small to medium-sized, competitively selected, full orbital missions, instruments for orbital missions of opportunity, and sub-orbital projects.

  2. Investigating Trojan Asteroids at the L4/L5 Sun-Earth Lagrange Points

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, K. K.; Graham, L. D.; Abell, P. A.

    2015-01-01

    Investigations of Earth's Trojan asteroids will have benefits for science, exploration, and resource utilization. By sending a small spacecraft to the Sun-Earth L4 or L5 Lagrange points to investigate near-Earth objects, Earth's Trojan population can be better understood. This could lead to future missions for larger precursor spacecraft as well as human missions. The presence of objects in the Sun-Earth L4 and L5 Lagrange points has long been suspected, and in 2010 NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) detected a 300 m object. To investigate these Earth Trojan asteroid objects, it is both essential and feasible to send spacecraft to these regions. By exploring a wide field area, a small spacecraft equipped with an IR camera could hunt for Trojan asteroids and other Earth co-orbiting objects at the L4 or L5 Lagrange points in the near-term. By surveying the region, a zeroth-order approximation of the number of objects could be obtained with some rough constraints on their diameters, which may lead to the identification of potential candidates for further study. This would serve as a precursor for additional future robotic and human exploration targets. Depending on the inclination of these potential objects, they could be used as proving areas for future missions in the sense that the delta-V's to get to these targets are relatively low as compared to other rendezvous missions. They can serve as platforms for extended operations in deep space while interacting with a natural object in microgravity. Theoretically, such low inclination Earth Trojan asteroids exist. By sending a spacecraft to L4 or L5, these likely and potentially accessible targets could be identified.

  3. PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF ASTEROIDS ESTIMATED FROM THE WISE 3-BAND DATA AND NEOWISE POST-CRYOGENIC SURVEY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Grav, T. [Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Cutri, R. M. [Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); McMillan, R. S. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721-0092 (United States); Nugent, C. R. [Department of Earth and Space Sciences, UCLA, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Box 951567, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 (United States); Tholen, D. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Walker, R. [Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, Monterey, CA 93933 (United States); Wright, E. L., E-mail: amainzer@jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, P.O. Box 91547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)

    2012-11-20

    Enhancements to the science data processing pipeline of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, collectively known as NEOWISE, resulted in the detection of >158,000 minor planets in four infrared wavelengths during the fully cryogenic portion of the mission. Following the depletion of its cryogen, NASA's Planetary Science Directorate funded a four-month extension to complete the survey of the inner edge of the Main Asteroid Belt and to detect and discover near-Earth objects (NEOs). This extended survey phase, known as the NEOWISE Post-Cryogenic Survey, resulted in the detection of {approx}6500 large Main Belt asteroids and 86 NEOs in its 3.4 and 4.6 {mu}m channels. During the Post-Cryogenic Survey, NEOWISE discovered and detected a number of asteroids co-orbital with the Earth and Mars, including the first known Earth Trojan. We present preliminary thermal fits for these and other NEOs detected during the 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-Cryogenic Surveys.

  4. MOVES regional level sensitivity analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    The MOVES Regional Level Sensitivity Analysis was conducted to increase understanding of the operations of the MOVES Model in regional emissions analysis and to highlight the following: : the relative sensitivity of selected MOVES Model input paramet...

  5. Method and apparatus for determining the spontaneous earth potential log from downhole gradient measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maciejewski, W. J.

    1985-01-01

    A method and apparatus for measuring the differential or gradient of an earth variable within a well bore (e.g., the spontaneous earth potential) and producing improved logs of this gradient or differential and its integral variable essentially free of any accumulated instrument and base line drift or error. The differential spontaneous potential of an earth formation traversed by a well bore is measured at repeated multiple depths by moving a pair of closely spaced electrodes through the well bore wherein each electrode is electrically insulated externally from the other and from a third downhole local ground (such as the well tool cable) to which each is internally resistively referenced. The measured electrical potential across the closely spaced electrodes is amplified and digitized before being transmitted to the earth's surface, whereupon an averaged value of such differential measurements within a traveling data window of predetermined length and adjacent to each successive measurement is used to adjust for base line drift, noise and instrument induced error. The resulting compensated differential logs are integrated, resulting in spontaneous potential logs of improved character

  6. Development of bacterial communities in biological soil crusts along a revegetation chronosequence in the Tengger Desert, northwest China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lichao; Liu, Yubing; Zhang, Peng; Song, Guang; Hui, Rong; Wang, Zengru; Wang, Jin

    2017-08-01

    Knowledge of structure and function of microbial communities in different successional stages of biological soil crusts (BSCs) is still scarce for desert areas. In this study, Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to assess the compositional changes of bacterial communities in different ages of BSCs in the revegetation of Shapotou in the Tengger Desert. The most dominant phyla of bacterial communities shifted with the changed types of BSCs in the successional stages, from Firmicutes in mobile sand and physical crusts to Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in BSCs, and the most dominant genera shifted from Bacillus, Enterococcus and Lactococcus to RB41_norank and JG34-KF-361_norank. Alpha diversity and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis indicated that bacterial richness and abundance reached their highest levels after 15 years of BSC development. Redundancy analysis showed that silt + clay content and total K were the prime determinants of the bacterial communities of BSCs. The results suggested that bacterial communities of BSCs recovered quickly with the improved soil physicochemical properties in the early stages of BSC succession. Changes in the bacterial community structure may be an important indicator in the biogeochemical cycling and nutrient storage in early successional stages of BSCs in desert ecosystems.

  7. Meteorological Research Institute multivariate ocean variational estimation (MOVE) system: Some early results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Usui, Norihisa; Ishizaki, Shiro; Fujii, Yosuke; Tsujino, Hiroyuki; Yasuda, Tamaki; Kamachi, Masafumi

    The Meteorological Research Institute multivariate ocean variational estimation (MOVE) System has been developed as the next-generation ocean data assimilation system in Japan Meteorological Agency. A multivariate three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) analysis scheme with vertical coupled temperature salinity empirical orthogonal function modes is adopted. The MOVE system has two varieties, the global (MOVE-G) and North Pacific (MOVE-NP) systems. The equatorial Pacific and western North Pacific are analyzed with assimilation experiments using MOVE-G and -NP, respectively. In each system, the salinity and velocity fields are well reproduced, even in cases without salinity data. Changes in surface and subsurface zonal currents during the 1997/98 El Niño event are captured well, and their transports are reasonably consistent with in situ observations. For example, the eastward transport in the upper layer around the equator has 70 Sv in spring 1997 and weakens in spring 1998. With MOVE-NP, the Kuroshio transport has 25 Sv in the East China Sea, and 40 Sv crossing the ASUKA (Affiliated Surveys of the Kuroshio off Cape Ashizuri) line south of Japan. The variations in the Kuroshio transports crossing the ASUKA line agree well with observations. The Ryukyu Current System has a transport ranging from 6 Sv east of Taiwan to 17 Sv east of Amami. The Oyashio transport crossing the OICE (Oyashio Intensive observation line off Cape Erimo) line south of Hokkaido has 14 Sv southwestward (near shore) and 11 Sv northeastward (offshore). In the Kuroshio Oyashio transition area east of Japan, the eastward transport has 41 Sv (32 36°N) and 12 Sv (36 39°N) crossing the 145°E line.

  8. Moving Field Guides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassie Meador; Mark Twery; Meagan. Leatherbury

    2011-01-01

    The Moving Field Guides (MFG) project is a creative take on site interpretation. Moving Field Guides provide an example of how scientific and artistic endeavors work in parallel. Both begin with keen observations that produce information that must be analyzed, understood, and interpreted. That interpretation then needs to be communicated to others to complete the...

  9. Survey of odd-odd deformed nuclear spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoff, R.W.

    1993-01-01

    In this paper, we survey the current experimental data that support assignment of rotational bands in odd-odd deformed nuclear in the rare earth and actinide regions. We present the results of a new study of 170 Mt nuclear structure. In a comparing experimental and calculated Gallagher-Moszkowski matrix elements for rare earth-region nuclei, we have developed a new approach to the systematics of these matrix elements

  10. Geophex airborne unmanned survey system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Won, I.J.; Taylor, D.W.A.

    1995-03-01

    The purpose of this effort is to design, construct, and evaluate a portable, remotely-piloted, airborne, geophysical survey system. This nonintrusive system will provide {open_quotes}stand-off{close_quotes} capability to conduct surveys and detect buried objects, structures, and conditions of interest at hazardous locations. This system permits two operators to rapidly conduct geophysical characterization of hazardous environmental sites. During a survey, the operators remain remote from, but within visual distance, of, the site. The sensor system never contacts the Earth, but can be positioned near the ground so that weak anomalies can be detected.

  11. EuroGeoSurveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demicheli, L.; Ludden, J. N.; Robida, F.

    2012-04-01

    In order to create safe, healthy and wealthy places to live in, it is vital that we understand our planet. At national level the collection of information on the state of the solid Earth and its processes is normally mandated to Geological Surveys. In fact, a Geological Survey is the national institution responsible for the geological inventory, monitoring, knowledge and research for the security, health and prosperity of the society. And EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) is the organisation representing the Geological Surveys from 33 countries around Europe. With one member for each country of the European Union and beyond, including the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the EGS network covers the whole continent. EGS'principal purpose is to provide geoscientific knowledge that underpins European policies and regulations for the benefit of society. Naturally, in our day-to-day activities, we contribute to the merging of economic, environmental and social agendas. Engaging a joint workforce of several thousands of geoscientists, also involving regional geological surveys in Germany, Italy and Spain, we strive to be the first body to be contacted when there is an international need for European geodata, or'geo-help'. For this reason we work on a daily basis with the EU institutions, and are considered the natural source of information on Earth science issues and relevant downstream applications in Europe. Our General Secretariat is based in the European Quarter of Brussels close to the European Commission, the EU Council, the European Parliament, and the political seat of NATO. Our operational strategy is based on the cooperation between national institutions, which enables to synergistically integrate both information and activities of our member organisations. This has allowed us to make significant progress over the years, permitting geology to become a topic deserving great attention on the European agenda. In order to enable a quick but high quality response to requests for

  12. K-Band Radio frequency Interference Survey of Southeastern Michigan

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Curry, Shannon; Ahlers, Michael Faursby; Elliot, Harvey

    2010-01-01

    The Radio frequency Interference Survey of Earth (RISE) is a new type of instrument used to survey and characterize the presence of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) that can affect microwave radiometers. It consists of a combined microwave radiometer and kurtosis spectrometer with broad frequen...

  13. Physics and Chemistry of Earth Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navrotsky, Alexandra

    1994-11-01

    Stressing the fundamental solid state behavior of minerals, and emphasizing both theory and experiment, this text surveys the physics and chemistry of earth materials. The author begins with a systematic tour of crystal chemistry of both simple and complex structures (with completely new structural drawings) and discusses how to obtain structural and thermodynamic information experimentally. Dr. Navrotsky also reviews the quantitative concepts of chemical bonding--band theory, molecular orbit and ionic models. She then covers physical properties and relates microscopic features to macroscopic thermodynamic behavior and treats high pressure phase transitions, amorphous materials and solid state reactions. The author concludes with a look at the interface between mineral physics and materials science. Highly illustrated throughout, this book fills the gap between undergraduate texts and specialized review volumes and is appropriate for students and researchers in earth science and materials science.

  14. Stamping the Earth from space

    CERN Document Server

    Dicati, Renato

    2017-01-01

    This unique book presents a historical and philatelic survey of Earth exploration from space. It covers all areas of research in which artificial satellites have contributed in designing a new image of our planet and its environment: the atmosphere and ionosphere, the magnetic field, radiation belts and the magnetosphere, weather, remote sensing, mapping of the surface, observation of the oceans and marine environments, geodesy, and the study of life and ecological systems. Stamping the Earth from Space presents the results obtained with the thousands of satellites launched by the two former superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, and also those of the many missions carried out by the ESA, individual European countries, Japan, China, India, and the many emerging space nations. Beautifully illustrated, it contains almost 1100 color reproductions of philatelic items. In addition to topical stamps and thematic postal documents, the book provides an extensive review of astrophilatelic items. The most...

  15. Loan officers' perceptions concerning earth-sheltered housing: risk, complexity, and advantage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanzai-Kashi, A; Combs, E R

    1984-01-01

    The lack of available financing is a major impediment to the construction of earth-sheltered housing. A broad-based study of lending institutions, this study describes the perceptions of loan officers toward earth-sheltered housing and their perception of their institution's lending policies in terms of their concerns. The survey finds that a majority of the loan officers perceive more stringent terms and larger down payments for earth-sheltered housing because of their concerns for financial risk, complexity, and relative advantage. Methods to reduce the risk and complexity and to increase the relative advantage would involve marketing research, certification and warranty programs, secondary mortgages markets, and other techniques. 8 references, 5 tables.

  16. Reclamation research for the future at Syncrude Canada Ltd. : soil simulation-revegetation studies on tailings sand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fedkenheuer, A W; Browne, J

    1979-12-01

    In response to the rising demand for energy in today's world, oil extracted from oil sands has become a viable energy source. Syncrude Canada Ltd. is a 2.2 billion dollar oil sands surface mining and processing venture situated in the Athabasca oil sands of northeastern Alberta. It is located near the town of Fort McMurray approximately 420 km north of Edmonton. During its planned 25 years of mine life, Syncrude expects to produce more than 1 billion barrels of oil from a 2800 ha mine area. Syncrude is committed to reclaiming this immense mine area. The reclamation objective is to return the disturbed site to a vegetative cover having a productivity which is equal to or greater than that which existed prior to disturbance. The reclaimed area must also be compatible with the neighboring natural areas. To accomplish this the vast quantities of tailings sand (that is, the leftover sand from which the oil has been extracted) must be reformed into a soil which is capable of supporting native plant communities. Researchers at Syncrude are looking for ways to use indigenous materials with the tailings sand to simulate a naturally-formed soil. Native plant species are being tested to see how well they will grow in such simulated soils and to evaluate their potential for use in large scale reclamation projects. This brochure describes the soil simulation-revegetation experiments going on at Syncrude.

  17. M Dwarf Exoplanet Survey by the Falcon Telescope Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Randall E.

    2016-10-01

    The Falcon Telescope Network (FTN) consists of twelve automated 20-inch telescopes located around the globe. We control it at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado from the Cadet Space Operations Center. We have installed 10 of the 12 sites and anticipate full operational capability by the beginning of 2017. The network's worldwide geographic distribution provides advantages. The primary mission of the FTN is Space Situational Awareness and studying Near Earth Objects. However, we are employing the FTN with its 11' x 11' field-of-view for a five-year, M dwarf exoplanet survey. Specifically, we are searching for Earth-radius exoplanets. We describe the FTN, design considerations going into the FTN's M dwarf exoplanet survey including automated operations, and initial results of the survey.

  18. Flights between a neighborhoods of unstable libration points of Sun-Earth system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surkova, Valerya; Shmyrov, Vasily

    2018-05-01

    In this paper we study the problem of constructing impulse flights between neighborhoods of unstable collinear libration points of the Sun-Earth system [1]. Such maneuvering in near-Earth space may prove to be in demand in modern space navigation. For example, such a maneuvering was done by the space vehicle GENESIS. Three test points are chosen for the implementation of the impulse control, in order to move to a neighborhood of the libration point L2. It is shown that the earlier on the exit from the vicinity of the libration point L1 impulse control was realized, the sooner the neighborhood L2 was achieved. Separated from this problem, the problem of optimal control in the neighborhood of L2 was considered and a form of stabilizing control is presented.

  19. EarthTutor: An Interactive Intelligent Tutoring System for Remote Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, A. M.; Parton, K.; Smith, E.

    2005-12-01

    Earth science classes in colleges and high schools use a variety of satellite image processing software to teach earth science and remote sensing principles. However, current tutorials for image processing software are often paper-based or lecture-based and do not take advantage of the full potential of the computer context to teach, immerse, and stimulate students. We present EarthTutor, an adaptive, interactive Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) being built for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) that is integrated directly with an image processing application. The system aims to foster the use of satellite imagery in classrooms and encourage inquiry-based, hands-on earth science scientific study by providing students with an engaging imagery analysis learning environment. EarthTutor's software is available as a plug-in to ImageJ, a free image processing system developed by the NIH (National Institute of Health). Since it is written in Java, it can be run on almost any platform and also as an applet from the Web. Labs developed for EarthTutor combine lesson content (such as HTML web pages) with interactive activities and questions. In each lab the student learns to measure, calibrate, color, slice, plot and otherwise process and analyze earth science imagery. During the activities, EarthTutor monitors students closely as they work, which allows it to provide immediate feedback that is customized to a particular student's needs. As the student moves through the labs, EarthTutor assesses the student, and tailors the presentation of the content to a student's demonstrated skill level. EarthTutor's adaptive approach is based on emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. Bayesian networks are employed to model a student's proficiency with different earth science and image processing concepts. Agent behaviors are used to track the student's progress through activities and provide guidance when a student encounters difficulty. Through individual

  20. [Application of digital earth technology in research of traditional Chinese medicine resources].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jinxin; Liu, Xinxin; Gao, Lu; Wei, Yingqin; Meng, Fanyun; Wang, Yongyan

    2011-02-01

    This paper describes the digital earth technology and its core technology-"3S" integration technology. The advance and promotion of the "3S" technology provide more favorable means and technical support for Chinese medicine resources survey, evaluation and appropriate zoning. Grid is a mature and popular technology that can connect all kinds of information resources. The author sums up the application of digital earth technology in the research of traditional Chinese medicine resources in recent years, and proposes the new method and technical route of investigation in traditional Chinese medicine resources, traditional Chinese medicine zoning and suitability assessment by combining the digital earth technology and grid.

  1. Atomic masses of rare-earth isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmidt-Ott, W.D.; Kantus, R.; Runte, E.

    1981-01-01

    A survey is given of decay energies of rare-earth isotopes measured in electron-capture decay by relative Psub(K) ratios, ECsub(K)/β + , and EC/β + ratios. Atomic masses of A = 147 isotopes and of 146 Gd and 148 Dy were derived. The masses of these isotopes and of α-decaying precessors are compared with predictions of current mass formulae. The subshell closure at Z = 64 is shown for N = 82, and 84 isotones. (orig.)

  2. The search for Near Earth Objects - why dark skies are critically important

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wainscoat, Richard

    2015-08-01

    Impact of Earth by asteroids is perhaps the only natural disaster that can be prevented. If an asteroid that will impact Earth can be identified sufficiently early, it is possible to modify its orbit to eliminate the impact. As a consequence, a major effort is presently underway to identify Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that may present a threat to Earth. The impact of a 20-meter diameter object near Chelyabinsk, Russia, provided a spectacular reminder of the threat that these objects present. Although no deaths were caused, injuries and a large amount of property damage were caused.The search for NEOs is mostly funded by NASA. The principal search telescopes are the Pan-STARRS telescopes, located on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, and the Catalina Sky Survey, located near Tucson, Arizona. Both of these locations are seriously threatened by light pollution. A new survey, ATLAS, will commence shortly, with one telescope located on Haleakala, Maui, and the other telescope located on Mauna Loa, Hawaii (which is less threatened).Artificial light (i.e., light pollution) at these observing sites raises the sky background, and makes faint objects harder or impossible to see.Searches for Near Earth Objects typically use very broad passbands in order to obtain the maximum amount of light. These passbands typically stretch from 400 to 820 nm. As such, they are very vulnerable to the changes in lighting that are occurring across the globe, with widespread introduction of blue-rich white lighting. It is critically important in all of these locations to limit the amount of blue light that is so readily scattered by the atmosphere.A network of followup telescopes, spread across the planet, play a crucial role in the discovery of NEOs. After a new NEO is identified by the survey telescopes such as Pan-STARRS and Catalina, additional observations must be secured to establish its orbit, and in order to determine whether it poses a threat to Earth. The majority of these followup telescopes are

  3. Challenges in Cultivating EOSDIS User Survey Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boquist, C. L.; Sofinowski, E. J.; Walter, S.

    2011-12-01

    Since 2004 NASA has surveyed users of its Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) to determine user satisfaction with its services. The surveys have been conducted by CFI Group under contract with the Federal Consulting Group, Executive Agent in government for the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The purpose of these annual surveys is to help EOSDIS and the data centers assess current status and improve future services. The survey questions include demographic and experiential questions in addition to the ACSI and EOSDIS specific rating questions. In addition to customer satisfaction, analysis of each year's results has provided insight into the survey process. Although specific questions have been added, modified, or deleted to reflect changes to the EOSDIS system and processes, the model rating questions have remained the same to ensure consistency for evaluating cross year trends. Working with the CFI Group, we have refined the invitation and questions to increase clarity and address the different ways diverse groups of users access services at EOSDIS data centers. We present challenges in preparing a single set of questions that go to users with backgrounds in many Earth science disciplines. These users may have contacted any of the 12 EOSDIS data centers for information or may have accessed data or data products from many kinds of aircraft and satellite instruments. We discuss lessons learned in preparing the invitation and survey questions and the steps taken to make the survey easier to complete and to encourage increased participation.

  4. Automatic trip and mode detection with MoveSmarter: first results from the Dutch Mobile Mobility Panel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geurs, Karst Teunis; Thomas, Tom; Bijlsma, Marcel; Douhou, Salima

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes the performance of a smartphone app called MoveSmarter to automatically detect departure and arrival times, trip origins and destinations, transport modes, and travel purposes. The app is used in a three-year smartphone-based prompted-recall panel survey in which about 600

  5. Moving out of home ownership in later life : The influence of the family and housing careers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Herbers, Daniël Johannes; Mulder, Clara H.; Mòdenes, Juan Antonio

    2014-01-01

    Home ownership is often regarded as the preferred housing tenure; however, situations in parallel life-course careers might make moving to a rental home necessary or attractive to home owners. Retrospective data from the SHARELIFE survey were used to study the short- and long-term impact of

  6. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Sierra County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  7. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Mora County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  8. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Mescalero-Apache Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  9. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Lincoln County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  10. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Socorro County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  11. Assessment of an On-Line Earth System Science Course for Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuster, R. D.; Grandgenett, N.

    2009-12-01

    The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) has been offering on-line Earth System Science coursework to in-service teachers in Nebraska since 2002 through the Earth Systems Science Education Alliance (ESSEA). The goal of this course is to increase teacher content knowledge in Earth Science, introduce them to Earth System Science, and have them experience cooperative learning. We have offered three different ESSEA courses, with nearly 200 students having taken ESSEA courses at UNO for graduate credit. This effort represents a close collaboration between faculty and students from the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Education, with periodic assistance of the local schools. In a follow-up study related to ESSEA coursework, UNO examined the perceptions of teachers who have taken the course and the potential benefits of the ESSEA courses for their own educational settings. The study was descriptive in design and included an online survey and a focus group. The results of these assessments indicated that the teachers felt very positive about what they learned in these courses, and in particular, how they could incorporate cooperative learning, inquiry based activities, and Earth System Science interconnections in their own classrooms. Problems identified by the teachers included a perceived lack of time to be able to integrate the learned material into their science curriculua and a lack of computer and/or technological resources in their educational settings. In addition, this Fall, we will conduct two teacher case studies, where we will interview two teachers, visit their classrooms, acquire work samples and talk with students. All of the results of our survey and focus group will be presented.

  12. Moving toroidal limiter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikuta, Kazunari; Miyahara, Akira.

    1983-06-01

    The concept of the limiter-divertor proposed by Mirnov is extended to a toroidal limiter-divertor (which we call moving toroidal limiter) using the stream of ferromagnetic balls coated with a low Z materials such as plastics, graphite and ceramics. An important advantage of the use of the ferromagnetic materials would be possible soft landing of the balls on a catcher, provided that the temperature of the balls is below Curie point. Moreover, moving toroidal limiter would work as a protector of the first wall not only against the vertical movement of plasma ring but also against the violent inward motion driven by major disruption because the orbit of the ball in the case of moving toroidal limiter distributes over the small major radius side of the toroidal plasma. (author)

  13. Health sciences libraries building survey, 1999-2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludwig, Logan

    2010-04-01

    A survey was conducted of health sciences libraries to obtain information about newer buildings, additions, remodeling, and renovations. An online survey was developed, and announcements of survey availability posted to three major email discussion lists: Medical Library Association (MLA), Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL), and MEDLIB-L. Previous discussions of library building projects on email discussion lists, a literature review, personal communications, and the author's consulting experiences identified additional projects. Seventy-eight health sciences library building projects at seventy-three institutions are reported. Twenty-two are newer facilities built within the last ten years; two are space expansions; forty-five are renovation projects; and nine are combinations of new and renovated space. Six institutions report multiple or ongoing renovation projects during the last ten years. The survey results confirm a continuing migration from print-based to digitally based collections and reveal trends in library space design. Some health sciences libraries report loss of space as they move toward creating space for "community" building. Libraries are becoming more proactive in using or retooling space for concentration, collaboration, contemplation, communication, and socialization. All are moving toward a clearer operational vision of the library as the institution's information nexus and not merely as a physical location with print collections.

  14. NEOSURVEY 1: INITIAL RESULTS FROM THE WARM SPITZER EXPLORATION SCIENCE SURVEY OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECT PROPERTIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trilling, David E.; Mommert, Michael [Department of Physics and Astronomy, PO Box 6010, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011 (United States); Hora, Joseph; Fazio, Giovanni; Smith, Howard [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS-65, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516 (United States); Chesley, Steve [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Emery, Joshua [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tennessee, 306 EPS Building, 1412 Circle Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Harris, Alan [German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12489, Berlin (Germany); Mueller, Michael [SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, PO Box 800, 9700AV Groningen (Netherlands)

    2016-12-01

    Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are small solar system bodies whose orbits bring them close to the Earth’s orbit. We are carrying out a Warm Spitzer Cycle 11 Exploration Science program entitled NEOSurvey—a fast and efficient flux-limited survey of 597 known NEOs in which we derive a diameter and albedo for each target. The vast majority of our targets are too faint to be observed by NEOWISE, though a small sample has been or will be observed by both observatories, which allows for a cross-check of our mutual results. Our primary goal is to create a large and uniform catalog of NEO properties. We present here the first results from this new program: fluxes and derived diameters and albedos for 80 NEOs, together with a description of the overall program and approach, including several updates to our thermal model. The largest source of error in our diameter and albedo solutions, which derive from our single-band thermal emission measurements, is uncertainty in η , the beaming parameter used in our thermal modeling; for albedos, improvements in solar system absolute magnitudes would also help significantly. All data and derived diameters and albedos from this entire program are being posted on a publicly accessible Web page at nearearthobjects.nau.edu.

  15. NEOSURVEY 1: INITIAL RESULTS FROM THE WARM SPITZER EXPLORATION SCIENCE SURVEY OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECT PROPERTIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trilling, David E.; Mommert, Michael; Hora, Joseph; Fazio, Giovanni; Smith, Howard; Chesley, Steve; Emery, Joshua; Harris, Alan; Mueller, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are small solar system bodies whose orbits bring them close to the Earth’s orbit. We are carrying out a Warm Spitzer Cycle 11 Exploration Science program entitled NEOSurvey—a fast and efficient flux-limited survey of 597 known NEOs in which we derive a diameter and albedo for each target. The vast majority of our targets are too faint to be observed by NEOWISE, though a small sample has been or will be observed by both observatories, which allows for a cross-check of our mutual results. Our primary goal is to create a large and uniform catalog of NEO properties. We present here the first results from this new program: fluxes and derived diameters and albedos for 80 NEOs, together with a description of the overall program and approach, including several updates to our thermal model. The largest source of error in our diameter and albedo solutions, which derive from our single-band thermal emission measurements, is uncertainty in η , the beaming parameter used in our thermal modeling; for albedos, improvements in solar system absolute magnitudes would also help significantly. All data and derived diameters and albedos from this entire program are being posted on a publicly accessible Web page at nearearthobjects.nau.edu.

  16. A survey on pattern formation of autonomous mobile robots: asynchrony, obliviousness and visibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamauchi, Yukiko

    2013-01-01

    A robot system consists of autonomous mobile robots each of which repeats Look-Compute-Move cycles, where the robot observes the positions of other robots (Look phase), computes the track to the next location (Compute phase), and moves along the track (Move phase). In this survey, we focus on self-organization of mobile robots, especially their power of forming patterns. The formation power of a robot system is the class of patterns that the robots can form, and existing results show that the robot system's formation power is determined by their asynchrony, obliviousness, and visibility. We briefly survey existing results, with impossibilities and pattern formation algorithms. Finally, we present several open problems related to the pattern formation problem of mobile robots

  17. Google Under-the-Earth: Seeing Beneath Stonehenge using Google Earth - a Tool for Public Engagement and the Dissemination of Archaeological Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Welham

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on the use of Google Earth as a tool to facilitate public engagement and dissemination of data. It examines a case study based around one of the largest archaeological investigations of the Stonehenge landscape, the Stonehenge Riverside Project. A bespoke layer for Google Earth was developed to communicate the discoveries of the research by creating an engaging, interactive and informative multimedia application that could be viewed by users across the world. The article describes the creation of the layer: Google Under-the-Earth: Seeing Beneath Stonehenge, and the public uptake and response to this. The project was supported by a Google Research Award, and working alongside Google enabled a 'free to download' platform for users to view the data within in the form of Google Earth, as well as the integration of a variety of applications including: Google SketchUp, YouTube, and Flickr. In addition, the integration of specialist software, such as Esri ArcGIS, was fundamental to the integration of the spatial data gathered by the project. Methodologies used to create the application are documented here, including how different outputs were integrated such as geophysical survey, 3D reconstructions and landscape tours. The future possibilities for utilising Google Earth for public engagement and understanding in the discipline are examined.

  18. Developing Evidence for Action on the Postgraduate Experience: An Effective Local Instrument to Move beyond Benchmarking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampson, K. A.; Johnston, L.; Comer, K.; Brogt, E.

    2016-01-01

    Summative and benchmarking surveys to measure the postgraduate student research experience are well reported in the literature. While useful, we argue that local instruments that provide formative resources with an academic development focus are also required. If higher education institutions are to move beyond the identification of issues and…

  19. The Heritage of Earth Science Applications in Policy, Business, and Management of Natural Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macauley, M.

    2012-12-01

    From the first hand-held cameras on the Gemini space missions to present day satellite instruments, Earth observations have enhanced the management of natural resources including water, land, and air. Applications include the development of new methodology (for example, developing and testing algorithms or demonstrating how data can be used) and the direct use of data in decisionmaking and policy implementation. Using well-defined bibliographic search indices to systematically survey a broad social science literature, this project enables identification of a host of well-documented, practical and direct applications of Earth science data in resource management. This literature has not previously been well surveyed, aggregated, or analyzed for the heritage of lessons learned in practical application of Earth science data. In the absence of such a survey, the usefulness of Earth science data is underestimated and the factors that make people want to use -- and able to use -- the data are poorly understood. The project extends and updates previous analysis of social science applications of Landsat data to show their contemporary, direct use in new policy, business, and management activities and decisionmaking. The previous surveys (for example, Blumberg and Jacobson 1997; National Research Council 1998) find that the earliest attempts to use data are almost exclusively testing of methodology rather than direct use in resource management. Examples of methodology prototyping include Green et al. (1997) who demonstrate use of remote sensing to detect and monitor changes in land cover and use, Cowen et al. (1995) who demonstrate design and integration of GIS for environmental applications, Hutchinson (1991) who shows uses of data for famine early warning, and Brondizio et al. (1996) who show the link of thematic mapper data with botanical data. Blumberg and Jacobson (in Acevedo et al. 1996) show use of data in a study of urban development in the San Francisco Bay and the

  20. Moving Matters: The Causal Effect of Moving Schools on Student Performance. Working Paper #01-15

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Amy Ellen; Stiefel, Leanna; Cordes, Sarah A.

    2015-01-01

    The majority of existing research on mobility indicates that students do worse in the year of a school move. This research, however, has been unsuccessful in isolating the causal effects of mobility and often fails to distinguish the heterogeneous impacts of moves, conflating structural moves (mandated by a school's terminal grade) and…

  1. An Earth-sized planet with an Earth-like density.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pepe, Francesco; Cameron, Andrew Collier; Latham, David W; Molinari, Emilio; Udry, Stéphane; Bonomo, Aldo S; Buchhave, Lars A; Charbonneau, David; Cosentino, Rosario; Dressing, Courtney D; Dumusque, Xavier; Figueira, Pedro; Fiorenzano, Aldo F M; Gettel, Sara; Harutyunyan, Avet; Haywood, Raphaëlle D; Horne, Keith; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; Lovis, Christophe; Malavolta, Luca; Mayor, Michel; Micela, Giusi; Motalebi, Fatemeh; Nascimbeni, Valerio; Phillips, David; Piotto, Giampaolo; Pollacco, Don; Queloz, Didier; Rice, Ken; Sasselov, Dimitar; Ségransan, Damien; Sozzetti, Alessandro; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew; Watson, Christopher A

    2013-11-21

    Recent analyses of data from the NASA Kepler spacecraft have established that planets with radii within 25 per cent of the Earth's (R Earth symbol) are commonplace throughout the Galaxy, orbiting at least 16.5 per cent of Sun-like stars. Because these studies were sensitive to the sizes of the planets but not their masses, the question remains whether these Earth-sized planets are indeed similar to the Earth in bulk composition. The smallest planets for which masses have been accurately determined are Kepler-10b (1.42 R Earth symbol) and Kepler-36b (1.49 R Earth symbol), which are both significantly larger than the Earth. Recently, the planet Kepler-78b was discovered and found to have a radius of only 1.16 R Earth symbol. Here we report that the mass of this planet is 1.86 Earth masses. The resulting mean density of the planet is 5.57 g cm(-3), which is similar to that of the Earth and implies a composition of iron and rock.

  2. Towards earth AntineutRino TomograpHy (EARTH)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Meijer, R. J.; Smit, F. D.; Brooks, F. D.; Fearick, R. W.; Wortche, H. J.; Mantovani, F.

    2006-01-01

    The programme Earth AntineutRino TomograpHy (EARTH) proposes to build ten underground facilities each hosting a telescope. Each telescope consists of many detector modules, to map the radiogenic heat sources deep in the interior of the Earth by utilising direction sensitive geoneutrino detection.

  3. Engineering surveying

    CERN Document Server

    Schofield, W

    2007-01-01

    Engineering surveying involves determining the position of natural and man-made features on or beneath the Earth's surface and utilizing these features in the planning, design and construction of works. It is a critical part of any engineering project. Without an accurate understanding of the size, shape and nature of the site the project risks expensive and time-consuming errors or even catastrophic failure.Engineering Surveying 6th edition covers all the basic principles and practice of this complex subject and the authors bring expertise and clarity. Previous editions of this classic text have given readers a clear understanding of fundamentals such as vertical control, distance, angles and position right through to the most modern technologies, and this fully updated edition continues that tradition.This sixth edition includes:* An introduction to geodesy to facilitate greater understanding of satellite systems* A fully updated chapter on GPS, GLONASS and GALILEO for satellite positioning in surveying* Al...

  4. Conceptual design of a Moving Belt Radiator (MBR) shuttle-attached experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar, Jerry L.

    1990-01-01

    The conceptual design of a shuttle-attached Moving Belt Radiator (MBR) experiment is presented. The MBR is an advanced radiator concept in which a rotating belt is used to radiate thermal energy to space. The experiment is developed with the primary focus being the verification of the dynamic characteristics of a rotating belt with a secondary objective of proving the thermal and sealing aspects in a reduced gravity, vacuum environment. The mechanical design, selection of the belt material and working fluid, a preliminary test plan, and program plan are presented. The strategy used for selecting the basic sizes and materials of the components are discussed. Shuttle and crew member requirements are presented with some options for increasing or decreasing the demands on the STS. An STS carrier and the criteria used in the selection process are presented. The proposed carrier for the Moving Belt Radiator experiment is the Hitchhiker-M. Safety issues are also listed with possible results. This experiment is designed so that a belt can be deployed, run at steady state conditions, run with dynamic perturbations imposed, verify the operation of the interface heat exchanger and seals, and finally be retracted into a stowed position for transport back to earth.

  5. Factors Influencing Store Selection for Supply with Fast-Moving Consumer Goods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albana Berisha Qehaja

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on factors that influence store selection for supply with fast-moving consumer goods. We have surveyed 90 households in the Republic of Kosovo. We have decided to undertake this research seeing in one hand ‘competitive struggle’ which is being developed among the largest retail chains of fast-moving consumer goods, and, on the other hand, the created ‘situation’ for traditional stores as a result of the expansion of these retailers. This study also aims to highlight factors that consumers consider in order to improve the performance of these businesses. We have proposed that the opening of hypermarkets in Kosovo has affected negatively on traditional stores’ turnover. We have also proposed that the most influential factors in customers in the selection of stores where they will be supplied with fast-moving consumer goods are the rich store offering, good customer service and good staff behaviour. We have also proposed that the factors affecting the selection of hypermarket/store for supplying are closely related to the factors that affect customer dissatisfaction that leads to the change of hypermarket/ store. The results of this empirical study are consistent with the hypothesis set out in the paper.

  6. Stochastic Analysis of Differential GPS Surveys for Earth Dam ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In GPS measurement, we try to model not just the deterministic part of the measurement but also try to account for their stochastic behavior using the measurement variance-covariance matrix. The variance-covariance matrices are computed as part of a least squares adjustment. In this study, the results of GPS survey by ...

  7. Building A Collaborative And Distributed E&O Program For EarthScope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall-Wallace, M. K.; Boyd, T.; Richard, G.; Ellins, K.; Meertens, C.; Semken, S.; Taber, J.; Benthien, M.; Wald, L.; Marvinney, R.

    2003-12-01

    EarthScope's education and outreach (E&O) mission is to ensure that the EarthScope experiment creates as its legacy a public more knowledgeable and understanding of the scientific and societal contributions made by the EarthScope experiment and Earth science. It will fulfill this commitment by developing and disseminating programs and products that utilize the data, models, technology and discoveries of EarthScope. The EarthScope Education and Outreach Network (EON), consisting of local EON alliances, the EarthScope facilities, partner organizations and a coordinating office, will facilitate this E&O mission. The local EON alliances, which will vary in size and purpose to respond quickly and to meet the specific needs in a region, will carry out the bulk of the effort. Thus, EarthScope EON can provide customized services that engage culturally, economically and geographically diverse audiences at the national and local scales. The EarthScope facilities and research community will provide access to data, models, and visualization tools for educational purposes. Partnerships with other national and local science education and outreach programs at colleges, universities, research facilities and professional societies within the EarthScope community as well as relevant programs at museums and parks, state geologic surveys and emergency management agencies, and K-12 schools are critical to EON's success. These partnerships will allow EON to use existing resources, networks and expertise to gear up quickly and efficiently. As EON develops, it will reciprocate by contributing new resources and expertise to the partnerships that help improve public understanding of Earth systems overall and promote effective application of EarthScope discoveries. In this presentation, we will outline major programs and products envisioned for EarthScope, plans for evaluating those programs locally and nationally, and mechanisms for collaborating with existing E&O programs.

  8. THE GEMINI/NICI PLANET-FINDING CAMPAIGN: THE FREQUENCY OF PLANETS AROUND YOUNG MOVING GROUP STARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biller, Beth A.; Ftaclas, Christ [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69115 Heidelberg (Germany); Liu, Michael C.; Wahhaj, Zahed; Nielsen, Eric L. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Hayward, Thomas L.; Hartung, Markus [Gemini Observatory, Southern Operations Center, c/o AURA, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Males, Jared R.; Skemer, Andrew; Close, Laird M. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Chun, Mark [Institute for Astronomy, 640 North Aohoku Place, 209, Hilo, HI 96720-2700 (United States); Clarke, Fraser; Thatte, Niranjan [Department of Astronomy, University of Oxford, DWB, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Shkolnik, Evgenya L. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Reid, I. Neill [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Boss, Alan [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015 (United States); Lin, Douglas [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Alencar, Silvia H. P. [Departamento de Fisica-ICEx-Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos 6627, 30270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); De Gouveia Dal Pino, Elisabete; Gregorio-Hetem, Jane [Universidade de Sao Paulo, IAG/USP, Departamento de Astronomia, Rua do Matao 1226, 05508-900 Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); and others

    2013-11-10

    We report results of a direct imaging survey for giant planets around 80 members of the β Pic, TW Hya, Tucana-Horologium, AB Dor, and Hercules-Lyra moving groups, observed as part of the Gemini/NICI Planet-Finding Campaign. For this sample, we obtained median contrasts of ΔH = 13.9 mag at 1'' in combined CH{sub 4} narrowband ADI+SDI mode and median contrasts of ΔH = 15.1 mag at 2'' in H-band ADI mode. We found numerous (>70) candidate companions in our survey images. Some of these candidates were rejected as common-proper motion companions using archival data; we reobserved with Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Imager (NICI) all other candidates that lay within 400 AU of the star and were not in dense stellar fields. The vast majority of candidate companions were confirmed as background objects from archival observations and/or dedicated NICI Campaign followup. Four co-moving companions of brown dwarf or stellar mass were discovered in this moving group sample: PZ Tel B (36 ± 6 M{sub Jup}, 16.4 ± 1.0 AU), CD–35 2722B (31 ± 8 M{sub Jup}, 67 ± 4 AU), HD 12894B (0.46 ± 0.08 M{sub ☉}, 15.7 ± 1.0 AU), and BD+07 1919C (0.20 ± 0.03 M{sub ☉}, 12.5 ± 1.4 AU). From a Bayesian analysis of the achieved H band ADI and ASDI contrasts, using power-law models of planet distributions and hot-start evolutionary models, we restrict the frequency of 1-20 M{sub Jup} companions at semi-major axes from 10-150 AU to <18% at a 95.4% confidence level using DUSTY models and to <6% at a 95.4% using COND models. Our results strongly constrain the frequency of planets within semi-major axes of 50 AU as well. We restrict the frequency of 1-20 M{sub Jup} companions at semi-major axes from 10-50 AU to <21% at a 95.4% confidence level using DUSTY models and to <7% at a 95.4% using COND models. This survey is the deepest search to date for giant planets around young moving group stars.

  9. NASA's Earth Science Flight Program Meets the Challenges of Today and Tomorrow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ianson, Eric E.

    2016-01-01

    NASA's capability for better understanding the current state of the Earth system. ESM and ESSP projects often involve partnerships with other US agencies and/or international organizations. This adds to the complexity of mission development, but allows for a greater scientific return on NASA's investments. The Earth Science Airborne Science Program provides manned and unmanned aircraft systems that further science and advance the use of satellite data. NASA uses these assets worldwide in campaigns to investigate extreme weather events, observe Earth system processes, obtain data for Earth science modeling activities, and calibrate instruments flying aboard Earth science spacecraft. The Airborne Science Program has six dedicated aircraft and access to many other platforms. The Earth Science Multi-Mission Operations program acquires, preserves, and distributes observational data from operating spacecraft to support Earth Science research focus areas. The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), which has been in operations since 1994, primarily accomplishes this. EOSDIS acquires, processes, archives, and distributes Earth Science data and information products. The archiving of NASA Earth Science information happens at eight Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) and four disciplinary data centers located across the United States. The DAACs specialize by topic area, and make their data available to researchers around the world. The DAACs currently house over 9 petabytes of data, growing at a rate of 6.4 terabytes per day. NASA's current Earth Science portfolio is responsive to the National Research Council (NRC) 2007 Earth Science Decadal Survey and well as the 2010 NASA Response to President Obama's Climate Plan. As the program evolves into the future it will leverage the lessons learned from the current missions in operations and development, and plan for adjustments to future objectives in response to the anticipated 2017 NRC Decadal Survey.

  10. Flying across Galaxy Clusters with Google Earth: additional imagery from SDSS co-added data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hao, Jiangang; Annis, James; /Fermilab

    2010-10-01

    Galaxy clusters are spectacular. We provide a Google Earth compatible imagery for the deep co-added images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and make it a tool for examing galaxy clusters. Google Earth (in sky mode) provides a highly interactive environment for visualizing the sky. By encoding the galaxy cluster information into a kml/kmz file, one can use Google Earth as a tool for examining galaxy clusters and fly across them freely. However, the resolution of the images provided by Google Earth is not very high. This is partially because the major imagery google earth used is from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) (SDSS collaboration 2000) and the resolutions have been reduced to speed up the web transferring. To have higher resolution images, you need to add your own images in a way that Google Earth can understand. The SDSS co-added data are the co-addition of {approx}100 scans of images from SDSS stripe 82 (Annis et al. 2010). It provides the deepest images based on SDSS and reach as deep as about redshift 1.0. Based on the co-added images, we created color images in a way as described by Lupton et al. (2004) and convert the color images to Google Earth compatible images using wcs2kml (Brewer et al. 2007). The images are stored at a public server at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and can be accessed by the public. To view those images in Google Earth, you need to download a kmz file, which contains the links to the color images, and then open the kmz file with your Google Earth. To meet different needs for resolutions, we provide three kmz files corresponding to low, medium and high resolution images. We recommend the high resolution one as long as you have a broadband Internet connection, though you should choose to download any of them, depending on your own needs and Internet speed. After you open the downloaded kmz file with Google Earth (in sky mode), it takes about 5 minutes (depending on your Internet connection and the resolution of images you

  11. Flying across Galaxy Clusters with Google Earth: additional imagery from SDSS co-added data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hao, Jiangang; Annis, James

    2010-01-01

    Galaxy clusters are spectacular. We provide a Google Earth compatible imagery for the deep co-added images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and make it a tool for examing galaxy clusters. Google Earth (in sky mode) provides a highly interactive environment for visualizing the sky. By encoding the galaxy cluster information into a kml/kmz file, one can use Google Earth as a tool for examining galaxy clusters and fly across them freely. However, the resolution of the images provided by Google Earth is not very high. This is partially because the major imagery google earth used is from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) (SDSS collaboration 2000) and the resolutions have been reduced to speed up the web transferring. To have higher resolution images, you need to add your own images in a way that Google Earth can understand. The SDSS co-added data are the co-addition of ∼100 scans of images from SDSS stripe 82 (Annis et al. 2010). It provides the deepest images based on SDSS and reach as deep as about redshift 1.0. Based on the co-added images, we created color images in a way as described by Lupton et al. (2004) and convert the color images to Google Earth compatible images using wcs2kml (Brewer et al. 2007). The images are stored at a public server at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and can be accessed by the public. To view those images in Google Earth, you need to download a kmz file, which contains the links to the color images, and then open the kmz file with your Google Earth. To meet different needs for resolutions, we provide three kmz files corresponding to low, medium and high resolution images. We recommend the high resolution one as long as you have a broadband Internet connection, though you should choose to download any of them, depending on your own needs and Internet speed. After you open the downloaded kmz file with Google Earth (in sky mode), it takes about 5 minutes (depending on your Internet connection and the resolution of images you want

  12. Mapping Earth's electromagnetic dimensionality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, J. J.; Kelbert, A.; Bedrosian, P.

    2017-12-01

    The form of a magnetotelluric impedance tensor, obtained for a given geographic site through simultaneous measurement of geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation, is affected by electrical conductivity structure beneath the measurement site. Building on existing methods for characterizing the symmetry of magnetotelluric impedance tensors, a simple scalar measure is developed for measuring the (frequency dependent) proportion of the impedance tensor that is not just a one-dimensional (1D) function of depth ("non-1D-ness"). These measures are applied to nearly 1000 impedance tensors obtained during magnetotelluric surveys, those for the continental United States and obtained principally through the National Science Foundation's EarthScope project. Across geomagnetic/geoelectric variational periods ranging from 30 s to 3,000 s, corresponding to crustal and upper mantle depths, it is shown that local Earth structure is very often not simply 1D-depth-dependent - often less than 50% of magnetotelluric impedance is 1D. For selected variational frequencies, non-1D-ness is mapped and the relationship between electromagnetic dimensionality and known geological and tectonic structures is discussed. The importance of using realistic surface impedances to accurately evaluate magnetic-storm geoelectric hazards is emphasized.

  13. EarthLabs Modules: Engaging Students In Extended, Rigorous Investigations Of The Ocean, Climate and Weather

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manley, J.; Chegwidden, D.; Mote, A. S.; Ledley, T. S.; Lynds, S. E.; Haddad, N.; Ellins, K.

    2016-02-01

    EarthLabs, envisioned as a national model for high school Earth or Environmental Science lab courses, is adaptable for both undergraduate middle school students. The collection includes ten online modules that combine to feature a global view of our planet as a dynamic, interconnected system, by engaging learners in extended investigations. EarthLabs support state and national guidelines, including the NGSS, for science content. Four modules directly guide students to discover vital aspects of the oceans while five other modules incorporate ocean sciences in order to complete an understanding of Earth's climate system. Students gain a broad perspective on the key role oceans play in fishing industry, droughts, coral reefs, hurricanes, the carbon cycle, as well as life on land and in the seas to drive our changing climate by interacting with scientific research data, manipulating satellite imagery, numerical data, computer visualizations, experiments, and video tutorials. Students explore Earth system processes and build quantitative skills that enable them to objectively evaluate scientific findings for themselves as they move through ordered sequences that guide the learning. As a robust collection, EarthLabs modules engage students in extended, rigorous investigations allowing a deeper understanding of the ocean, climate and weather. This presentation provides an overview of the ten curriculum modules that comprise the EarthLabs collection developed by TERC and found at http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/index.html. Evaluation data on the effectiveness and use in secondary education classrooms will be summarized.

  14. 2009 Bayfield County Lake Superior Lidar Survey

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The LIDAR survey presents digital elevation data sets of a bald earth surface model and 2ft interval contours covering Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The LIDAR data was...

  15. 2000 Survey of Distributed Spacecraft Technologies and Architectures for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise in the 2010-2025 Timeframe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ticker, Ronald L.; Azzolini, John D.

    2000-01-01

    The study investigates NASA's Earth Science Enterprise needs for Distributed Spacecraft Technologies in the 2010-2025 timeframe. In particular, the study focused on the Earth Science Vision Initiative and extrapolation of the measurement architecture from the 2002-2010 time period. Earth Science Enterprise documents were reviewed. Interviews were conducted with a number of Earth scientists and technologists. fundamental principles of formation flying were also explored. The results led to the development of four notional distribution spacecraft architectures. These four notional architectures (global constellations, virtual platforms, precision formation flying, and sensorwebs) are presented. They broadly and generically cover the distributed spacecraft architectures needed by Earth Science in the post-2010 era. These notional architectures are used to identify technology needs and drivers. Technology needs are subsequently grouped into five categories: Systems and architecture development tools; Miniaturization, production, manufacture, test and calibration; Data networks and information management; Orbit control, planning and operations; and Launch and deployment. The current state of the art and expected developments are explored. High-value technology areas are identified for possible future funding emphasis.

  16. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for San Miguel County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  17. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Chaves County, New Mexico, Northern Part

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  18. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Chaves County, New Mexico, Southern Part

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  19. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Santa Fe County, Area New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  20. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Catron County, New Mexico, Northern Part

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  1. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for De Baca County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  2. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  3. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for McKinley County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  4. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Dona Ana County Area, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  5. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Valencia County, New Mexico, Eastern Part

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  6. The effect of acid rain stress on membrane protective system of spinach and the conservation of rare earth elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chongling, Y; Yetang, H.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: Based on pot experiments, the effect of acid rain stress on membrane protective system of spinach and the effect of rare earth elements has been studied. The results showed, stress of acid rain resulted in decrease of over all level of superoxide dismutase activity, catalase activity and increase of peroxidase (POD) activity. After being treated by rare earth elements, the overall level of superoxide dismutase activity and catalase activity were increased and the peak value of activity variation curve moved toward to the direction of higher acidity. POD activity increased slightly, comparing with the plants that hadn't been treated by rare earth elements under same acid rain condition; the three important enzymes of membrane protective system could be kept on a relatively stable level. It was clear that in relative lower acidity condition, rare earth elements can reduce the impact of acid rain on the membrane protective system

  7. PARALLEL MOVING MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Ion Tiberius Petrescu

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Moving mechanical systems parallel structures are solid, fast, and accurate. Between parallel systems it is to be noticed Stewart platforms, as the oldest systems, fast, solid and precise. The work outlines a few main elements of Stewart platforms. Begin with the geometry platform, kinematic elements of it, and presented then and a few items of dynamics. Dynamic primary element on it means the determination mechanism kinetic energy of the entire Stewart platforms. It is then in a record tail cinematic mobile by a method dot matrix of rotation. If a structural mottoelement consists of two moving elements which translates relative, drive train and especially dynamic it is more convenient to represent the mottoelement as a single moving components. We have thus seven moving parts (the six motoelements or feet to which is added mobile platform 7 and one fixed.

  8. First Principles Analysis of Convection in the Earth's Mantle, Eustatic Sea Level and Earth Volume

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinsland, G. L.

    2011-12-01

    Steady state convection (convection whereby heat leaving the mantle at the top is equal to the heat entering the mantle across the core mantle boundary and that created within the mantle) of the Earth's mantle is, to a very good approximation, both a constant mass and constant volume process. Mass or volume which moves to one place; e.g., an oceanic ridge; must be accompanied by mass or volume removed from another place. The location of removal, whether from underneath of an ocean or a continent, determines the relationship between oceanic ridge volume and eustatic sea level. If all of the volume entering a ridge were to come from under an oceanic basin then the size of the ridge would not affect eustatic sea level as it would be compensated by a lowering of the sea floor elsewhere. If the volume comes from under a continent then the hypsometry of the continent becomes important. Thus, eustatic sea level is not simply related to convection rate and oceanic ridge volume as posited by Hays and Pitman(1973). Non-steady state convection is still a constant mass process but is not a constant volume process. The mantle experiences a net gain of heat, warms and expands during periods of relatively slow convection (that being convection rate which is less than that necessary to transport incoming and internally created heat to the surface). Conversely, the mantle has a net loss of heat, cools and contracts during periods of relatively rapid convection. The Earth itself expands and contracts as the mantle does. During rapid convection more volume is delivered from the interior of the mantle to the Earth's ridge system than during slow convection. The integral of the difference of ridge system volume between fast and slow convection over a fast-slow convection cycle is a measure of the difference in volume of the mantle over a cycle. The magnitude of the Earth's volume expansion and contraction as calculated from published values for the volume of ocean ridges and is about

  9. Field approach to mining-dump revegetation by application of sewage sludge co-compost and a commercial biofertilizer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevilla-Perea, A; Mingorance, M D

    2015-08-01

    An approach was devised for revegetation of a mining dump soil, sited in a semiarid region, with basic pH as well as Fe and Mn enrichment. A field experiment was conducted involving the use of co-compost (a mixture of urban sewage sludge and plant remains) along with a commercial biofertilizer (a gel suspension which contains arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus) to reinforce the benefits of the former. Four treatments were studied: unamended soil; application of conditioners separately and in combination. Pistachio, caper, rosemary, thyme and juniper were planted. We evaluated the effects of the treatments using soil quality (physicochemical properties, total content of hazardous elements, nutrient availability, microbial biomass and enzyme activities) and plant establishment indicators (survival, growth, vigor, nutrient content in leaves, nutrient balances and mycorrhizal root colonization). Thyme and juniper did not show a suitable survival rate (biofertilizer + co-compost > co-compost > biofertilizer > unamended. The application of co-compost was therefore essential with regard to improving soil fertility; furthermore, it increased leaf N and P content, whereas leaf Fe and Mn concentrations showed a decrease. The combined treatment, however, provided the best results. The positive interaction between the two soil conditioners might be related to the capacity of the biofertilizer to increase nutrient uptake from the composted residue, and to protect plants against Fe and Mn toxicity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Environmental levels of microwave radiation around a satellite earth station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joyner, K.H.; Bangay, M.J.

    1986-01-01

    This paper discusses the background to claims of possible adverse health effects arising from exposure to environmental levels of microwave radiation around satellite earth stations. Results of a recent survey of the environmental levels of microwave radiation around two 32 metre diameter satellite communications antennas owned and operated by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) of Australia are presented. From the measurements obtained in this survey it can be concluded that the environmental levels of microwave radiation around the OTC and similar satellite facilities do not pose a health risk to persons in the vicinity

  11. Middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the Earth and life on Earth as a function of deep time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulling, Azalie Cecile

    The purpose of this study was to use deep time, that is geologic time as a mechanism to explore middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the earth and the evolution of life on earth. Geologic time is a logical precursor to middle school students' understanding of biological evolution. This exploratory, mixed model study used qualitative and quantitative methods in each stage of the research to explore sixth grade students, understanding of geologic time, their worldviews (e.g., conceptual ecology), and conceptual change. The study included fifty-nine students in the large group study and four case studies. The primary data collection instrument was the Geologic Timeline Survey. Additional data collection instruments and methods (e.g., concept evaluation statement, journal entries, word associations, interviews, and formal tests) were used to triangulate the study findings. These data were used to create narrative modal profiles of the categories of student thinking that emerged from the large group analysis: Middle School (MS) Scientists (correct science), MS Protoscientists (approaching correct science), MS Prescientists (dinosaur understanding), and MS Pseudoscientists (fundamental religious understanding). Case studies were used to provide a thick description of each category. This study discovered a pattern of student thinking about geologic time that moved along a knowledge continuum from pseudoscience (fundamental creationist understanding) to prescience (everyday-science understanding) to science (correct or approaching correct science). The researcher described the deep-seated misconceptions produced by the prescience thinking level, e.g., dinosaur misconceptions, and cautioned the science education community about using dinosaurs as a glamour-science topic. The most limiting conceptual frameworks found in this study were prescience (a dinosaur focus) and pseudoscience (a fundamental religious focus). An understanding of geologic time

  12. Rare earth metals, rare earth hydrides, and rare earth oxides as thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gasgnier, M.

    1980-01-01

    The review deals with pure rare earth materials such as rare earth metals, rare earth hydrides, and rare earth oxides as thin films. Several preparation techniques, control methods, and nature of possible contaminations of thin films are described. These films can now be produced in an extremely well-known state concerning chemical composition, structure and texture. Structural, electric, magnetic, and optical properties of thin films are studied and discussed in comparison with the bulk state. The greatest contamination of metallic rare earth thin films is caused by reaction with hydrogen or with water vapour. The compound with an f.c.c. structure is the dihydride LnH 2 (Ln = lanthanides). The oxygen contamination takes place after annealing at higher temperatures. Then there appears a compound with a b.c.c. structure which is the C-type sesquioxide C-Ln 2 O 3 . At room atmosphere dihydride light rare earth thin films are converted to hydroxide Ln(OH) 3 . For heavy rare earth thin films the oxinitride LnNsub(x)Osub(y) is observed. The LnO-type compound was never seen. The present review tries to set the stage anew for the investigations to be undertaken in the future especially through the new generations of electron microscopes

  13. An experience of science theatre: Earth Science for children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musacchio, Gemma; Lanza, Tiziana; D'Addezio, Giuliana

    2015-04-01

    The present paper describes an experience of science theatre addressed to children of primary and secondary school, with the main purpose of explaining the Earth interior while raising awareness about natural hazard. We conducted the experience with the help of a theatrical company specialized in shows for children. Several performances have been reiterated in different context, giving us the opportunity of conducting a preliminary survey with public of different ages, even if the show was conceived for children. Results suggest that science theatre while relying on creativity and emotional learning in transmitting knowledge about the Earth and its hazard has the potential to induce in children a positive attitude towards the risks

  14. Neutron activation analysis in geological samples containing rare earths, uranium and thorium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasconcellos, M.B.A.; Figueiredo, A.M.G.; Berretta, J.R.; Soares, J.C.A.C.R.; Fratin, L.; Goncales, O.L.; Botelho, S.

    1990-01-01

    The neutron activation analysis method was used for determination of rare earths, uranium, thorium and other tracks in geological samples, under the geological standard JB-1 (Geological Survey of Japan) and S-8 and S-13 (IAEA). (L.C.J.A.)

  15. A concept for providing warning of earth impacts by small asteroids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, D. W.; Reitsema, H. J.; Lu, E.; Arentz, R.; Linfield, R.; Chapman, C.; Farquhar, R.; Ledkov, A. A.; Eismont, N. A.; Chumachenko, E.

    2013-07-01

    Earth towards the Sun, to find most asteroids larger than about 5 meters that approach the Earth from the solar direction. The spacecraft would scan 165 square degrees of the sky around the Earth every hour, finding asteroids when they are brightest (small phase angle) as they approach Earth. We will undertake Monte Carlo studies to see what fraction of asteroids 5 m and larger approaching from the Sun might be found by such a mission, and how much warning time might typically be expected. Also, we will check the overall coverage for all Earth-approaching NEO's, including ground-based observations and observations by the recently-launched NEOSSat, which may best fill any gaps in coverage between that provided by an SE-L1 telescope and ground-based surveys. Many of the objects as large as 50 m, like the one that created Meteor Crater in Arizona, will not be found by current NEO surveys, while they would usually be seen by this possible mission even if they approached from the direction of the Sun. We should give better warning for future "Bolts out of the blue."

  16. NASA's Human Mission to a Near-Earth Asteroid: Landing on a Moving Target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jeffrey H.; Lincoln, William P.; Weisbin, Charles R.

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a Bayesian approach for comparing the productivity and cost-risk tradeoffs of sending versus not sending one or more robotic surveyor missions prior to a human mission to land on an asteroid. The expected value of sample information based on productivity combined with parametric variations in the prior probability an asteroid might be found suitable for landing were used to assess the optimal number of spacecraft and asteroids to survey. The analysis supports the value of surveyor missions to asteroids and indicates one launch with two spacecraft going simultaneously to two independent asteroids appears optimal.

  17. Appendix C: A comparative study of small scale remotely sensed data for monitoring clearcutting in hardwood forests. M.S. Thesis; [Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania and the Adirondacks, New York

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafker, W. R.

    1980-01-01

    Manual photointerpretation techniques were used to analyze images acquired by high altitude aircraft, the Skylab multispectral and Earth terrain camera (ETC), the LANDSAT multispectral scanner, and the LANDSAT-3 return beam vidicon camera. A color-additive viewer, and digital image analysis were also used on the LANDSAT MSS imagery. The value of each type of remotely sensed data was judged by the ease and accuracy of clearcut identification, and by the amount of detail discernible, especially regarding revegetation. Results of a site study in the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania indicate that high altitude aerial photography, especially color infrared photography acquired during the growing season, is well suited for identifying clearcuts and assessing revegetation. Although photographs acquired with Skylab's ETC also yielded good results, only incomplete inventories of clearcuts could be made using LANDSAT imagery. Results for the Adirondack region of New York State were similar for the aircraft and satellite photography, but even less satisfactory for the LANDSAT imagery.

  18. Effects of elevated root zone CO2 on xerophytic shrubs in re-vegetated sandy dunes at smaller spatial and temporal scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Huang; Zhishan, Zhang

    2015-01-01

    The below-ground CO2 concentration in some crusted soils or flooded fields is usually ten or hundred times larger than the normal levels. Recently, a large number of studies have focused on elevated CO2 in the atmosphere; however, only few have examined the influence of elevated root zone CO2 on plant growth and vegetation succession. In the present study, a closed-air CO2 enrichment (CACE) system was designed to simulate elevated CO2 concentrations in the root zones. The physio-ecological characteristics of two typical xerophytic shrubs C. korshinskii and A. ordosica in re-vegetated desert areas were investigated at different soil CO2 concentrations from March 2011 to October 2013. Results showed that plant growth, phenophase, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and water use efficiency for the two xerophytic shrubs were all increased at first and then decreased with increasing soil CO2 concentrations, and the optimal soil CO2 concentration thresholds for C. korshinskii and A. ordosica were 0.554 and 0.317%, respectively. And A. ordosica was more tolerate to root zone CO2 variation when compared with C. korshinskii, possible reasons and vegetation succession were also discussed.

  19. Scientists Have Feelings, Too. We Can Connect Emotions and Intellect to Reach Big Audiences, and Then Move Them.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenenbaum, L. F.

    2016-12-01

    Most of us in the science community have been rewarded for our brainpower throughout our lives. Therefore we've learned to rely heavily on our intellectual skills, even though we're clearly much more than disembodied brainiacs. What would happen if we tried to combine our emotions and intellect to communicate with the public? Would it foster deeper connections? NASA's Earth Right Now blog author Laura Faye Tenenbaum noticed that science communication sometimes flat-lines at "Wow," as if that's the only acceptable emotion we can feel. And even though emotions such as anger, frustration disappointment, or joy are messy and uncomfortable, and even though we sometimes worry that showing too much playfulness might prevent our scientific messages from being taken seriously, we decided that writing personal and emotional science stories would be worth a try. In January 2014, Tenenbaum brought her teaching and public speaking experience and her entertainment industry communication knowledge to the Earth Right Now blog. It quickly became one of NASA's most popular, most heavily commented and most shared blogs. We found that, when we combined "feeling" and "thinking," communication thrived and we were able to reach a much wider audience. We learned that to move people, we could begin by tapping into what we were moved by. We saw how lifting the mask of the starchy, nerdy stereotype to show that scientists are real people who experience deep emotions on the job is a best practice for enhancing the public perception of science. As a case study on the effect of using emotional content in communication, the Earth Right Now blog showed not only that it's possible, it's actually beneficial to include complex and authentic emotion in solid science communication.

  20. Understanding Super-Earths with MINERVA-Australis at USQ's Mount Kent Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittenmyer, Robert; Horner, Jonathan; Kane, Stephen; Plavchan, Peter; Ciardi, David; Eastman, Jason; Johnson, John Asher; Wright, Jason; McCrady, Nate; MINERVA Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    Super Earths, planets between 5-10 Earth masses, are the most common types of planets known, yet are completely absent from our Solar system. As a result, their detailed properties, compositions, and formation mechanisms are poorly understood. NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will identify hundreds of Super-Earths orbiting bright stars, for the first time allowing in-depth characterisation of these planets. At the University of Southern Queensland, we are host to the MINERVA-Australis project, dedicated wholly to the follow-up characterisation and mass measurement of TESS planets. We give an update on the status of MINERVA-Australis and our expected performance. We also present results from the fully operational Northern MINERVA array, with the primary mission of discovering rocky planets orbiting 80 nearby bright stars.

  1. Integrating EarthScope Research and Education on a National Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall-Wallace, M. K.; Boyd, T.; Richard, G.; Ellins, K.; Meertens, C.; Semken, S.; Taber, J.; Benthien, M.; Wald, L.; Marvinney, R.

    2002-12-01

    EarthScope's education and outreach mission is to ensure the EarthScope experiment creates as its legacy a public more knowledgeable and understanding of the scientific and societal contributions made by the EarthScope experiment and Earth science. It will fulfill this commitment by developing and disseminating products that utilize the data, models, technology and discoveries of EarthScope and that support existing education and outreach programs. EarthScope EON will carry out educational activities ranging from research experiences for students in grades K-16 to professional development for technical professionals and educators in both formal (e.g. K-20 classrooms) and informal (e.g. museums and parks) venues. It will also provide a wide range of outreach activities from organizing town halls or other local meetings in advance of an instrument deployment, to developing radio, print and video materials that inform the public about the EarthScope experiment and discoveries. The EarthScope Education and Outreach Network (EON) will be facilitated and coordinated through a national center; however, the bulk of the effort will be distributed among local EON alliances of various sizes designed to respond quickly and to meet the specific needs in a region. This allows EarthScope EON to provide customized services that engage culturally, economically and geographically diverse audiences at the national and local scales. The network will be built through national and local partnerships with existing science education and outreach programs at colleges, universities, research facilities and professional societies within the EarthScope community as well as relevant programs at museums and parks, state geologic surveys and emergency management agencies, and K-12 schools. These partnerships will allow EON to use existing resources, networks and expertise to gear up quickly and efficiently. As EON develops, it will reciprocate by contributing new resources and expertise to the

  2. The WFCAM Transit Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hodgkin S.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The WFCAM Transit Survey (WTS has been obtaining data on the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope since 2007. The WTS targets about 8,000 M dwarfs over several square degrees of sky, and aims to find low-mass eclipsing binaries and planets, down to the size of the Earth, transiting M dwarf stars with periods up to a few days.

  3. The Moving image

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Lennard Højbjerg

    2014-01-01

    Every day we are presented with bodily expressions in audiovisual media – by anchors, journalists and characters in films for instance. This article explores how body language in the moving image has been and can be approached in a scholarly manner.......Every day we are presented with bodily expressions in audiovisual media – by anchors, journalists and characters in films for instance. This article explores how body language in the moving image has been and can be approached in a scholarly manner....

  4. Moving to Jobs?

    OpenAIRE

    Dave Maré; Jason Timmins

    2003-01-01

    This paper examines whether New Zealand residents move from low-growth to high-growth regions, using New Zealand census data from the past three inter-censal periods (covering 1986-2001). We focus on the relationship between employment growth and migration flows to gauge the strength of the relationship and the stability of the relationship over the business cycle. We find that people move to areas of high employment growth, but that the probability of leaving a region is less strongly relate...

  5. Reactivation of slow-moving landslides by earthquakes, kinematics measurements and mechanical implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacroix, Pascal; Perfettini, Hugo; Berthier, Etienne; Taipe, Edu; Guillier, Bertrand

    2015-04-01

    Major earthquakes in mountainous areas often trigger landslides. The impact of earthquakes on slow-moving landslides is however not well constrained due to few co-seismic measurements of landslide motion. We document the first time-series of a landslide reactivation by an earthquake (Mw6.0, distance 20 km), using continuous GPS measurements over the Maca landslide (Peru). Our survey shows a coseismic response of the landslide of about 2 cm, followed by a relaxation period of 5 weeks during which postseismic slip is three times greater than the coseismic displacement itself. Our results confirm the coseismic activation of landslides and provide the first observation of a post seismic displacement. Finally, a multi-temporal survey using images from the very high resolution Pléiades optical satellite, allowed us to detect 9 active slow-moving landslides over the whole valley. Their pattern of motion show they have been reactivated by the same earthquake. We analyze this small but comprehensive database of landslides reactivated by the earthquake. We find that the landslide motion due to the earthquake is function of the shaking intensity, suggesting a friction at the basal interface dependent on the earthquake solicitation. These various observations are consistent with a mechanical model where slip on the landslide basal interface is governed by rate and state friction, analogous to the mechanics of creeping tectonic faults.

  6. BROWN DWARFS IN YOUNG MOVING GROUPS FROM PAN-STARRS1. I. AB DORADUS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aller, Kimberly M.; Liu, Michael C.; Magnier, Eugene A.; Best, William M. J.; Kotson, Michael C.; Burgett, William S.; Chambers, Kenneth C.; Hodapp, Klaus W.; Flewelling, Heather; Kaiser, Nick; Tonry, John L.; Wainscoat, Richard J.; Waters, Christopher [University of Hawaii, Institute of Astronomy, 2860 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Metcalf, Nigel [Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)

    2016-04-20

    Substellar members of young (≲150 Myr) moving groups are valuable benchmarks to empirically define brown dwarf evolution with age and to study the low-mass end of the initial mass function. We have combined Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) proper motions with optical–IR photometry from PS1, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and WISE to search for substellar members of the AB Dor Moving Group within ≈50 pc and with spectral types of late M to early L, corresponding to masses down to ≈30 M {sub Jup} at the age of the group (≈125 Myr). Including both photometry and proper motions allows us to better select candidates by excluding field dwarfs whose colors are similar to young AB Dor Moving Group members. Our near-IR spectroscopy has identified six ultracool dwarfs (M6–L4; ≈30–100 M {sub Jup}) with intermediate surface gravities (int-g) as candidate members of the AB Dor Moving Group. We find another two candidate members with spectra showing hints of youth but consistent with field gravities. We also find four field brown dwarfs unassociated with the AB Dor Moving Group, three of which have int-g gravity classification. While signatures of youth are present in the spectra of our ≈125 Myr objects, neither their J – K nor W 1 – W 2 colors are significantly redder than field dwarfs with the same spectral types, unlike younger ultracool dwarfs. We also determined PS1 parallaxes for eight of our candidates and one previously identified AB Dor Moving Group candidate. Although radial velocities (and parallaxes, for some) are still needed to fully assess membership, these new objects provide valuable insight into the spectral characteristics and evolution of young brown dwarfs.

  7. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; Dusel-Bacon, Cynthia

    2012-01-01

    The collection of papers that follow continues the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. This series represents new and sometimes-preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. The reports presented in Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska cover a broad spectrum of topics from various parts of the State, serving to emphasize the diversity of USGS efforts to meet the Nation's needs for Earth-science information in Alaska. This professional paper is one of a series of "online only" versions of Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, reflecting the current trend toward disseminating research results on the World Wide Web with rapid posting of completed reports.

  8. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haeussler, Peter J.; Galloway, John P.

    2009-01-01

    The collection of papers that follow continues the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. This series represents new and sometimes-preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. The reports presented in Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska cover a broad spectrum of topics from various parts of the State, serving to emphasize the diversity of USGS efforts to meet the Nation's needs for Earth-science information in Alaska. This professional paper is one of a series of 'online only' versions of Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, reflecting the current trend toward disseminating research results on the World Wide Web with rapid posting of completed reports.

  9. Optimal Safety EarthingEarth Electrode Sizing Using A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this paper a deterministic approach in the sizing of earth electrode using the permissible touch voltage criteria is presented. The deterministic approach is effectively applied in the sizing of the length of earth rod required for the safe earthing of residential and facility buildings. This approach ensures that the earthing ...

  10. Long time-scale fluctuations in the evolution of the Earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCrea, W.H.

    1981-01-01

    Current knowledge about certain terrestrial phenomena is reviewed: (a) to discover the extent to which the behaviour of the Earth may be influenced by fluctuations in its astronomical environment and (b) to see if new knowledge of that environment may be gained from its influence on the Earth. Fluctuations in geomagnetism, climate, glaciation, biological extinctions etc. are surveyed with special regard to datings and characteristic time-intervals; correlations between such fluctuations are discussed. Astronomical phenomena, within the Solar System and elsewhere in the Galaxy, that might cause terrestrial effects are reviewed. Fluctuations of glaciation within an ice-epoch may result from changes of insolation accompanying fluctuations of the Earth's motion relative to the Sun. Some evidence suggests that an ice-epoch may be triggered by variations of the astronomical environment encountered in the Sun's motion relative to the Galaxy; but tectonic changes on Earth may be the main trigger. Impacts of planetesimals may be more important than hitherto recognized. Although the intensity of solar 'activity' is variable, terrestrial effects provide no confirmation that the Sun is a 'variable star'. As for the Galaxy, impacting planetesimals may originate in interstellar clouds, and so provide on Earth samples of interstellar matter. Some unsolved problems emphasized by the review are listed. (U.K.)

  11. Long time-scale fluctuations in the evolution of the Earth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCrea, W H [Sussex Univ., Brighton (UK). Astronomy Centre

    1981-02-18

    Current knowledge about certain terrestrial phenomena is reviewed: (a) to discover the extent to which the behaviour of the Earth may be influenced by fluctuations in its astronomical environment and (b) to see if new knowledge of that environment may be gained from its influence on the Earth. Fluctuations in geomagnetism, climate, glaciation, biological extinctions etc. are surveyed with special regard to datings and characteristic time-intervals; correlations between such fluctuations are discussed. Astronomical phenomena, within the Solar System and elsewhere in the Galaxy, that might cause terrestrial effects are reviewed. Fluctuations of glaciation within an ice-epoch may result from changes of insolation accompanying fluctuations of the Earth's motion relative to the Sun. Some evidence suggests that an ice-epoch may be triggered by variations of the astronomical environment encountered in the Sun's motion relative to the Galaxy; but tectonic changes on Earth may be the main trigger. Impacts of planetesimals may be more important than hitherto recognized. Although the intensity of solar 'activity' is variable, terrestrial effects provide no confirmation that the Sun is a 'variable star'. As for the Galaxy, impacting planetesimals may originate in interstellar clouds, and so provide on Earth samples of interstellar matter. Some unsolved problems emphasized by the review are listed.

  12. Restrictions on the detection of the Super-Earth in Solar system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidmachenko, A. P.

    2018-05-01

    For assessment of visibility of possible 9th planet, we use the infrared observations obtained by the "Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer". It turned out that the telescope could not see an analog of the planet of the giant Saturn at a distance of up to 30000 AU. This circumstance allowed us to estimate that at distances up to 1000 AU it would be clearly visible planetary body with a radius of more than 11,000 km; that is, a planet with mass of about 10 Earth masses and "earth" density (5520 kg/m3). If we take into account that the density of the "average" TNO differs little from 2000 kg/m3, that the radius of such "Super-Earth" with a mass of about 10 Earth masses - will increase to 19200 km. Then the limit of detection of a possible 9th planet will increase by almost 4 times: up to 4000 AU. And since the "WISE" telescope did not "see" even Saturn, that our estimates unequivocally suggest that there is no "Super-Earth" at a distance up to 1000 AU in the Solar system.

  13. U.S. trade dispute with China over rare earth elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    2012-03-01

    The U.S. government has brought a new trade case against China over rare earth elements (REE) as well as tungsten and molybdenum, President Barack Obama announced on 13 March. Japan and the European Union also have taken similar actions against China about REEs, which are a group of 17 chemically similar metallic elements that are used in a variety of electronic, optical, magnetic, and catalytic applications. REEs are plentiful in the Earth's crust, although China currently has about 37% of the world's reserves and accounts for more than 95% of the world's production of the elements, according to the British Geological Survey. The United States has requested consultations with China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning "China's unfair export restraints on rare earths, as well as tungsten and molybdenum," the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced in a 13 March statement.

  14. Minimum Delay Moving Object Detection

    KAUST Repository

    Lao, Dong

    2017-11-09

    We present a general framework and method for detection of an object in a video based on apparent motion. The object moves relative to background motion at some unknown time in the video, and the goal is to detect and segment the object as soon it moves in an online manner. Due to unreliability of motion between frames, more than two frames are needed to reliably detect the object. Our method is designed to detect the object(s) with minimum delay, i.e., frames after the object moves, constraining the false alarms. Experiments on a new extensive dataset for moving object detection show that our method achieves less delay for all false alarm constraints than existing state-of-the-art.

  15. Minimum Delay Moving Object Detection

    KAUST Repository

    Lao, Dong

    2017-01-08

    We present a general framework and method for detection of an object in a video based on apparent motion. The object moves relative to background motion at some unknown time in the video, and the goal is to detect and segment the object as soon it moves in an online manner. Due to unreliability of motion between frames, more than two frames are needed to reliably detect the object. Our method is designed to detect the object(s) with minimum delay, i.e., frames after the object moves, constraining the false alarms. Experiments on a new extensive dataset for moving object detection show that our method achieves less delay for all false alarm constraints than existing state-of-the-art.

  16. Minimum Delay Moving Object Detection

    KAUST Repository

    Lao, Dong; Sundaramoorthi, Ganesh

    2017-01-01

    We present a general framework and method for detection of an object in a video based on apparent motion. The object moves relative to background motion at some unknown time in the video, and the goal is to detect and segment the object as soon it moves in an online manner. Due to unreliability of motion between frames, more than two frames are needed to reliably detect the object. Our method is designed to detect the object(s) with minimum delay, i.e., frames after the object moves, constraining the false alarms. Experiments on a new extensive dataset for moving object detection show that our method achieves less delay for all false alarm constraints than existing state-of-the-art.

  17. Climate, ecosystems, and planetary futures: The challenge to predict life in Earth system models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonan, Gordon B; Doney, Scott C

    2018-02-02

    Many global change stresses on terrestrial and marine ecosystems affect not only ecosystem services that are essential to humankind, but also the trajectory of future climate by altering energy and mass exchanges with the atmosphere. Earth system models, which simulate terrestrial and marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, offer a common framework for ecological research related to climate processes; analyses of vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation; and climate change mitigation. They provide an opportunity to move beyond physical descriptors of atmospheric and oceanic states to societally relevant quantities such as wildfire risk, habitat loss, water availability, and crop, fishery, and timber yields. To achieve this, the science of climate prediction must be extended to a more multifaceted Earth system prediction that includes the biosphere and its resources. Copyright © 2018, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  18. Minimum Delay Moving Object Detection

    KAUST Repository

    Lao, Dong

    2017-05-14

    This thesis presents a general framework and method for detection of an object in a video based on apparent motion. The object moves, at some unknown time, differently than the “background” motion, which can be induced from camera motion. The goal of proposed method is to detect and segment the object as soon it moves in an online manner. Since motion estimation can be unreliable between frames, more than two frames are needed to reliably detect the object. Observing more frames before declaring a detection may lead to a more accurate detection and segmentation, since more motion may be observed leading to a stronger motion cue. However, this leads to greater delay. The proposed method is designed to detect the object(s) with minimum delay, i.e., frames after the object moves, constraining the false alarms, defined as declarations of detection before the object moves or incorrect or inaccurate segmentation at the detection time. Experiments on a new extensive dataset for moving object detection show that our method achieves less delay for all false alarm constraints than existing state-of-the-art.

  19. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Tucumcari Area, Northern Quay County, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  20. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for San Juan County, New Mexico, Eastern Part

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  1. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Ute Mountain Area, Colorado and New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  2. Simplify and Accelerate Earth Science Data Preparation to Systemize Machine Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, K. S.; Rilee, M. L.; Oloso, A.

    2017-12-01

    Data preparation is the most laborious and time-consuming part of machine learning. The effort required is usually more than linearly proportional to the varieties of data used. From a system science viewpoint, useful machine learning in Earth Science likely involves diverse datasets. Thus, simplifying data preparation to ease the systemization of machine learning in Earth Science is of immense value. The technologies we have developed and applied to an array database, SciDB, are explicitly designed for the purpose, including the innovative SpatioTemporal Adaptive-Resolution Encoding (STARE), a remapping tool suite, and an efficient implementation of connected component labeling (CCL). STARE serves as a universal Earth data representation that homogenizes data varieties and facilitates spatiotemporal data placement as well as alignment, to maximize query performance on massively parallel, distributed computing resources for a major class of analysis. Moreover, it converts spatiotemporal set operations into fast and efficient integer interval operations, supporting in turn moving-object analysis. Integrative analysis requires more than overlapping spatiotemporal sets. For example, meaningful comparison of temperature fields obtained with different means and resolutions requires their transformation to the same grid. Therefore, remapping has been implemented to enable integrative analysis. Finally, Earth Science investigations are generally studies of phenomena, e.g. tropical cyclone, atmospheric river, and blizzard, through their associated events, like hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Unfortunately, except for a few high-impact phenomena, comprehensive episodic records are lacking. Consequently, we have implemented an efficient CCL tracking algorithm, enabling event-based investigations within climate data records beyond mere event presence. In summary, we have implemented the core unifying capabilities on a Big Data technology to enable systematic machine learning in

  3. Modeling Earth Albedo for Satellites in Earth Orbit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhanderi, Dan; Bak, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    Many satellite are influences by the Earthøs albedo, though very few model schemes exist.in order to predict this phenomenon. Earth albedo is often treated as noise, or ignored completely. When applying solar cells in the attitude hardware, Earth albedo can cause the attitude estimate to deviate...... with as much as 20 deg. Digital Sun sensors with Earth albedo correction in hardware exist, but are expensive. In addition, albedo estimates are necessary in thermal calculations and power budgets. We present a modeling scheme base4d on Eartht reflectance, measured by NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer......, in which the Earth Probe Satellite has recorded reflectivity data daily since mid 1996. The mean of these data can be used to calculate the Earth albedo given the positions of the satellite and the Sun. Our results show that the albedo varies highly with the solar angle to the satellite's field of view...

  4. Error Analysis of Fast Moving Target Geo-location in Wide Area Surveillance Ground Moving Target Indication Mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Shi-chao

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available As an important mode in airborne radar systems, Wide Area Surveillance Ground Moving Target Indication (WAS-GMTI mode has the ability of monitoring a large area in a short time, and then the detected moving targets can be located quickly. However, in real environment, many factors introduce considerable errors into the location of moving targets. In this paper, a fast location method based on the characteristics of the moving targets in WAS-GMTI mode is utilized. And in order to improve the location performance, those factors that introduce location errors are analyzed and moving targets are relocated. Finally, the analysis of those factors is proved to be reasonable by simulation and real data experiments.

  5. 30 CFR 56.14107 - Moving machine parts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Moving machine parts. 56.14107 Section 56.14107... Safety Devices and Maintenance Requirements § 56.14107 Moving machine parts. (a) Moving machine parts... takeup pulleys, flywheels, couplings, shafts, fan blades, and similar moving parts that can cause injury...

  6. Earth as an extrasolar planet: Earth model validation using EPOXI earth observations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Tyler D; Meadows, Victoria S; Crisp, David; Deming, Drake; A'hearn, Michael F; Charbonneau, David; Livengood, Timothy A; Seager, Sara; Barry, Richard K; Hearty, Thomas; Hewagama, Tilak; Lisse, Carey M; McFadden, Lucy A; Wellnitz, Dennis D

    2011-06-01

    The EPOXI Discovery Mission of Opportunity reused the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft to obtain spatially and temporally resolved visible photometric and moderate resolution near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic observations of Earth. These remote observations provide a rigorous validation of whole-disk Earth model simulations used to better understand remotely detectable extrasolar planet characteristics. We have used these data to upgrade, correct, and validate the NASA Astrobiology Institute's Virtual Planetary Laboratory three-dimensional line-by-line, multiple-scattering spectral Earth model. This comprehensive model now includes specular reflectance from the ocean and explicitly includes atmospheric effects such as Rayleigh scattering, gas absorption, and temperature structure. We have used this model to generate spatially and temporally resolved synthetic spectra and images of Earth for the dates of EPOXI observation. Model parameters were varied to yield an optimum fit to the data. We found that a minimum spatial resolution of ∼100 pixels on the visible disk, and four categories of water clouds, which were defined by using observed cloud positions and optical thicknesses, were needed to yield acceptable fits. The validated model provides a simultaneous fit to Earth's lightcurve, absolute brightness, and spectral data, with a root-mean-square (RMS) error of typically less than 3% for the multiwavelength lightcurves and residuals of ∼10% for the absolute brightness throughout the visible and NIR spectral range. We have extended our validation into the mid-infrared by comparing the model to high spectral resolution observations of Earth from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, obtaining a fit with residuals of ∼7% and brightness temperature errors of less than 1 K in the atmospheric window. For the purpose of understanding the observable characteristics of the distant Earth at arbitrary viewing geometry and observing cadence, our validated forward model can be

  7. Butterfly (Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) assemblages associated with natural, exotic, and restored riparian habitats along the lower Colorado River, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, S.M.; Andersen, D.C.

    1999-01-01

    Butterfly assemblages were used to compare revegetated and natural riparian areas along the lower Colorado River. Species richness and correspondence analyses of assemblages showed that revegetated sites had fewer biological elements than more natural sites along the Bill Williams River. Data suggest that revegetated sites do not provide resources needed by some members of the butterfly assemblage, especially those species historically associated with the cottonwood/willow ecosystem. Revegetated sites generally lacked nectar resources, larval host plants, and closed canopies. The riparian system along the regulated river segment that contains these small revegetated sites also appears to have diminished habitat heterogeneity and uncoupled riparian corridors.Revegetated sites were static environments without the successional stages caused by flooding disturbance found in more natural systems. We hypothesize that revegetation coupled with a more natural hydrology is important for restoration of butterfly assemblages along the lower Colorado River. 

  8. Digital Earth - A sustainable Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahavir

    2014-02-01

    All life, particularly human, cannot be sustainable, unless complimented with shelter, poverty reduction, provision of basic infrastructure and services, equal opportunities and social justice. Yet, in the context of cities, it is believed that they can accommodate more and more people, endlessly, regardless to their carrying capacity and increasing ecological footprint. The 'inclusion', for bringing more and more people in the purview of development is often limited to social and economic inclusion rather than spatial and ecological inclusion. Economic investment decisions are also not always supported with spatial planning decisions. Most planning for a sustainable Earth, be at a level of rural settlement, city, region, national or Global, fail on the capacity and capability fronts. In India, for example, out of some 8,000 towns and cities, Master Plans exist for only about 1,800. A chapter on sustainability or environment is neither statutorily compulsory nor a norm for these Master Plans. Geospatial technologies including Remote Sensing, GIS, Indian National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), Indian National Urban Information Systems (NUIS), Indian Environmental Information System (ENVIS), and Indian National GIS (NGIS), etc. have potential to map, analyse, visualize and take sustainable developmental decisions based on participatory social, economic and social inclusion. Sustainable Earth, at all scales, is a logical and natural outcome of a digitally mapped, conceived and planned Earth. Digital Earth, in fact, itself offers a platform to dovetail the ecological, social and economic considerations in transforming it into a sustainable Earth.

  9. People on the Move

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohan, Audrey

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this 2-3 day lesson is to introduce students in Grades 2-4 to the idea that people move around the world for a variety of reasons. In this activity, students explore why people move through class discussion, a guided reading, and interviews. The teacher elicits student ideas using the compelling question (Dimension 1 of the C3…

  10. Comparison of Satellite Surveying to Traditional Surveying Methods for the Resources Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osborne, B. P.; Osborne, V. J.; Kruger, M. L.

    Modern ground-based survey methods involve detailed survey, which provides three-space co-ordinates for surveyed points, to a high level of accuracy. The instruments are operated by surveyors, who process the raw results to create survey location maps for the subject of the survey. Such surveys are conducted for a location or region and referenced to the earth global co- ordinate system with global positioning system (GPS) positioning. Due to this referencing the survey is only as accurate as the GPS reference system. Satellite survey remote sensing utilise satellite imagery which have been processed using commercial geographic information system software. Three-space co-ordinate maps are generated, with an accuracy determined by the datum position accuracy and optical resolution of the satellite platform.This paper presents a case study, which compares topographic surveying undertaken by traditional survey methods with satellite surveying, for the same location. The purpose of this study is to assess the viability of satellite remote sensing for surveying in the resources industry. The case study involves a topographic survey of a dune field for a prospective mining project area in Pakistan. This site has been surveyed using modern surveying techniques and the results are compared to a satellite survey performed on the same area.Analysis of the results from traditional survey and from the satellite survey involved a comparison of the derived spatial co- ordinates from each method. In addition, comparisons have been made of costs and turnaround time for both methods.The results of this application of remote sensing is of particular interest for survey in areas with remote and extreme environments, weather extremes, political unrest, poor travel links, which are commonly associated with mining projects. Such areas frequently suffer language barriers, poor onsite technical support and resources.

  11. Gj 832c: A super-Earth in the habitable zone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wittenmyer, Robert A.; Horner, Jonathan; Tinney, C. G.; Marshall, J. P.; Bailey, J.; Salter, G. S.; Wright, D. [School of Physics, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Tuomi, Mikko; Jones, H. R. A. [Centre for Astrophysics Research, Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); Butler, R. P.; Arriagada, P. [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015-1305 (United States); Anglada-Escudé, Guillem [Astronomy Unit, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London (United Kingdom); Carter, B. D. [Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350 (Australia); O' Toole, S. J. [Australian Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670 (Australia); Crane, J. D.; Schectman, S. A.; Thompson, I. [The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Minniti, D. [Institute of Astrophysics, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile); Jenkins, J. S.; Diaz, M., E-mail: rob@phys.unsw.edu.au [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino el Observatorio 1515, Casilla 36-D, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile)

    2014-08-20

    We report the detection of GJ 832c, a super-Earth orbiting near the inner edge of the habitable zone of GJ 832, an M dwarf previously known to host a Jupiter analog in a nearly circular 9.4 yr orbit. The combination of precise radial-velocity measurements from three telescopes reveals the presence of a planet with a period of 35.68 ± 0.03 days and minimum mass (m sin i) of 5.4 ± 1.0 Earth masses. GJ 832c moves on a low-eccentricity orbit (e = 0.18 ± 0.13) toward the inner edge of the habitable zone. However, given the large mass of the planet, it seems likely that it would possess a massive atmosphere, which may well render the planet inhospitable. Indeed, it is perhaps more likely that GJ 832c is a 'super-Venus', featuring significant greenhouse forcing. With an outer giant planet and an interior, potentially rocky planet, the GJ 832 planetary system can be thought of as a miniature version of our own solar system.

  12. Moving and Being Moved: Implications for Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kretchmar, R. Scott

    2000-01-01

    Uses philosophical writings, a novel about baseball, and a nonfiction work on rowing to analyze levels of meaning in physical activity, showing why three popular methods for enhancing meaning have not succeeded and may have moved some students away from deeper levels of meaning. The paper suggests that using hints taken from the three books could…

  13. Low-energy near Earth asteroid capture using Earth flybys and aerobraking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Minghu; McInnes, Colin; Ceriotti, Matteo

    2018-04-01

    Since the Sun-Earth libration points L1 and L2 are regarded as ideal locations for space science missions and candidate gateways for future crewed interplanetary missions, capturing near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) around the Sun-Earth L1/L2 points has generated significant interest. Therefore, this paper proposes the concept of coupling together a flyby of the Earth and then capturing small NEAs onto Sun-Earth L1/L2 periodic orbits. In this capture strategy, the Sun-Earth circular restricted three-body problem (CRTBP) is used to calculate target Lypaunov orbits and their invariant manifolds. A periapsis map is then employed to determine the required perigee of the Earth flyby. Moreover, depending on the perigee distance of the flyby, Earth flybys with and without aerobraking are investigated to design a transfer trajectory capturing a small NEA from its initial orbit to the stable manifolds associated with Sun-Earth L1/L2 periodic orbits. Finally, a global optimization is carried out, based on a detailed design procedure for NEA capture using an Earth flyby. Results show that the NEA capture strategies using an Earth flyby with and without aerobraking both have the potential to be of lower cost in terms of energy requirements than a direct NEA capture strategy without the Earth flyby. Moreover, NEA capture with an Earth flyby also has the potential for a shorter flight time compared to the NEA capture strategy without the Earth flyby.

  14. Hazard assessment of the Gschliefgraben earth flow (Austria) based on monitoring data and evolution modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poisel, R.; Preh, A.; Hofmann, R.; Schiffer, M.; Sausgruber, Th.

    2009-04-01

    A rock slide on to the clayey - silty - sandy - pebbly masses in the Gschliefgraben (Upper Austria province, Lake Traunsee) having occurred in 2006 as well as the humid autumn of 2007 triggered an earth flow comprising a volume up to 5 mill m³ and moving with a maximum displacement velocity of 5 m/day during the winter of 2007-2008. The possible damage was estimated up to 60 mill € due to possible destruction of houses and of a road to a settlement with heavy tourism. Exploratory drillings revealed that the moving mass consists of an alternate bedding of thicker, less permeable clayey - silty layers and thinner, more permeable silty - sandy - pebbly layers. The movement front ran ahead in the creek bed. Therefore it was assumed that water played an important role and the earth flow moved due to soaking of water into the ground from the area of the rock slide downslope. Inclinometer measurements showed that the uppermost, less permeable layer was sliding on a thin, more permeable layer. The movement process was analysed by numerical models (FLAC) and by conventional calculations in order to assess the hazard. The coupled flow and mechanical models showed that sections of the less permeable layer soaked with water were sliding on the thin, more permeable layer due to excessive watering out of the more permeable layer. These sections were thrust over the downward lying, less soaked areas, therefore having higher strength. The material thrust over the downward lying, less soaked areas together with the moving front of pore water pressures caused the downward material to fail and to be thrust over the downslope lying material in a distance of some 50 m. Thus a cyclic process was created without any indication of a sudden sliding of the complete less permeable layer. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of 15 houses had to be evacuated for safety reasons. They could return to their homes after displacement velocities had decreased. Displacement monitoring by GPS showed that

  15. In-Situ Resource Utilization for Space Exploration: Resource Processing, Mission-Enabling Technologies, and Lessons for Sustainability on Earth and Beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hepp, A. F.; Palaszewski, B. A.; Landis, G. A.; Jaworske, D. A.; Colozza, A. J.; Kulis, M. J.; Heller, R. S.

    2015-01-01

    As humanity begins to reach out into the solar system, it has become apparent that supporting a human or robotic presence in transit andor on station requires significant expendable resources including consumables (to support people), fuel, and convenient reliable power. Transporting all necessary expendables is inefficient, inconvenient, costly, and, in the final analysis, a complicating factor for mission planners and a significant source of potential failure modes. Over the past twenty-five years, beginning with the Space Exploration Initiative, researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), academic collaborators, and industrial partners have analyzed, researched, and developed successful solutions for the challenges posed by surviving and even thriving in the resource limited environment(s) presented by near-Earth space and non-terrestrial surface operations. In this retrospective paper, we highlight the efforts of the co-authors in resource simulation and utilization, materials processing and consumable(s) production, power systems and analysis, fuel storage and handling, propulsion systems, and mission operations. As we move forward in our quest to explore space using a resource-optimized approach, it is worthwhile to consider lessons learned relative to efficient utilization of the (comparatively) abundant natural resources and improving the sustainability (and environment) for life on Earth. We reconsider Lunar (and briefly Martian) resource utilization for potential colonization, and discuss next steps moving away from Earth.

  16. Rearrangement moves on rooted phylogenetic networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gambette, Philippe; van Iersel, Leo; Jones, Mark; Lafond, Manuel; Pardi, Fabio; Scornavacca, Celine

    2017-08-01

    Phylogenetic tree reconstruction is usually done by local search heuristics that explore the space of the possible tree topologies via simple rearrangements of their structure. Tree rearrangement heuristics have been used in combination with practically all optimization criteria in use, from maximum likelihood and parsimony to distance-based principles, and in a Bayesian context. Their basic components are rearrangement moves that specify all possible ways of generating alternative phylogenies from a given one, and whose fundamental property is to be able to transform, by repeated application, any phylogeny into any other phylogeny. Despite their long tradition in tree-based phylogenetics, very little research has gone into studying similar rearrangement operations for phylogenetic network-that is, phylogenies explicitly representing scenarios that include reticulate events such as hybridization, horizontal gene transfer, population admixture, and recombination. To fill this gap, we propose "horizontal" moves that ensure that every network of a certain complexity can be reached from any other network of the same complexity, and "vertical" moves that ensure reachability between networks of different complexities. When applied to phylogenetic trees, our horizontal moves-named rNNI and rSPR-reduce to the best-known moves on rooted phylogenetic trees, nearest-neighbor interchange and rooted subtree pruning and regrafting. Besides a number of reachability results-separating the contributions of horizontal and vertical moves-we prove that rNNI moves are local versions of rSPR moves, and provide bounds on the sizes of the rNNI neighborhoods. The paper focuses on the most biologically meaningful versions of phylogenetic networks, where edges are oriented and reticulation events clearly identified. Moreover, our rearrangement moves are robust to the fact that networks with higher complexity usually allow a better fit with the data. Our goal is to provide a solid basis for

  17. Rearrangement moves on rooted phylogenetic networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philippe Gambette

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Phylogenetic tree reconstruction is usually done by local search heuristics that explore the space of the possible tree topologies via simple rearrangements of their structure. Tree rearrangement heuristics have been used in combination with practically all optimization criteria in use, from maximum likelihood and parsimony to distance-based principles, and in a Bayesian context. Their basic components are rearrangement moves that specify all possible ways of generating alternative phylogenies from a given one, and whose fundamental property is to be able to transform, by repeated application, any phylogeny into any other phylogeny. Despite their long tradition in tree-based phylogenetics, very little research has gone into studying similar rearrangement operations for phylogenetic network-that is, phylogenies explicitly representing scenarios that include reticulate events such as hybridization, horizontal gene transfer, population admixture, and recombination. To fill this gap, we propose "horizontal" moves that ensure that every network of a certain complexity can be reached from any other network of the same complexity, and "vertical" moves that ensure reachability between networks of different complexities. When applied to phylogenetic trees, our horizontal moves-named rNNI and rSPR-reduce to the best-known moves on rooted phylogenetic trees, nearest-neighbor interchange and rooted subtree pruning and regrafting. Besides a number of reachability results-separating the contributions of horizontal and vertical moves-we prove that rNNI moves are local versions of rSPR moves, and provide bounds on the sizes of the rNNI neighborhoods. The paper focuses on the most biologically meaningful versions of phylogenetic networks, where edges are oriented and reticulation events clearly identified. Moreover, our rearrangement moves are robust to the fact that networks with higher complexity usually allow a better fit with the data. Our goal is to provide

  18. Environmental studies using earth orbital photography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wobber, F J

    1969-01-01

    Orbital remote sensing, and particularly orbital photography, can provide immediately useful data for scientists familiar with applying aerial photographic techniques to environmental problems. Despite the expansion of analytical techniques in the earth sciences, the environmental data base has remained relatively static compared with increased information needs because of the difficulty of effective worldwide surveys and the high cost of timely data collection. Color, color infrared and black and white space photographs obtained incident to the Gemini and Apollo programs provide unique synoptic tools for analyzing modern environments and processes, and data that cannot be duplicated by aerial photographic mosaics. Principal advantages of orbital surveys include repetitious worldwide coverage promising environmental synthesis within the full spectrum of seasonal contrasts, and synoptic observations on a scale generally impossible from aircraft. The general categories of environmental data that can be extracted from orbital photography are summarized. 26 references, 37 figures, 3 tables.

  19. Reasons for Moving in Nonmetro Iowa

    OpenAIRE

    Burke, Sandra Charvat; Edelman, Mark

    2007-01-01

    This study highlights the experiences of people who have recently moved to or from 19 selected nonmetropolitan counties of Iowa. This report highlights work, family, community, and housing reasons for moving. The purpose is to increase understanding about why people move so community leaders and citizens can develop actionable strategies for attracting and retaining population.

  20. The Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP Federation): Facilitating Partnerships that Work to Bring Earth Science Data into Educational Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freuder, R.; Ledley, T. S.; Dahlman, L.

    2004-12-01

    The Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP Federation, http://www.esipfed.org) formed seven years ago and now with 77 member organizations is working to "increase the quality and value of Earth science products and services .for the benefit of the ESIP Federation's stakeholder communities." Education (both formal and informal) is a huge audience that we serve. Partnerships formed by members within the ESIP Federation have created bridges that close the gap between Earth science data collection and research and the effective use of that Earth science data to explore concepts in Earth system science by the educational community. The Earth Exploration Toolbook is one of those successful collaborations. The Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET, http://serc.carleton.edu/eet) grew out of a need of the educational community (articulated by the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) community) to have better access to Earth science data and data analysis tools and help in effectively using them with students. It is a collection of web-accessible chapters, each featuring step-by-step instructions on how to use an Earth science dataset and data analysis tool to investigate an issue or concept in Earth system science. Each chapter also provides the teacher information on the outcome of the activity, grade level, standards addressed, learning goals, time required, and ideas for exploring further. The individual ESIP Federation partners alone could not create the EET. However, the ESIP Federation facilitated the partnering of members, drawing from data providers, researchers and education tool developers, to create the EET. Interest in the EET has grown since it went live with five chapters in July 2003. There are currently seven chapters with another six soon to be released. Monthly online seminars in which over a hundred educators have participated have given very positive feedback. Post workshop surveys from our telecon-online workshops indicate that

  1. Geophex Airborne Unmanned Survey System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Won, I.L.; Keiswetter, D.

    1995-01-01

    Ground-based surveys place personnel at risk due to the proximity of buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) items or by exposure to radioactive materials and hazardous chemicals. The purpose of this effort is to design, construct, and evaluate a portable, remotely-piloted, airborne, geophysical survey system. This non-intrusive system will provide stand-off capability to conduct surveys and detect buried objects, structures, and conditions of interest at hazardous locations. During a survey, the operators remain remote from, but within visual distance of, the site. The sensor system never contacts the Earth, but can be positioned near the ground so that weak geophysical anomalies can be detected. The Geophex Airborne Unmanned Survey System (GAUSS) is designed to detect and locate small-scale anomalies at hazardous sites using magnetic and electromagnetic survey techniques. The system consists of a remotely-piloted, radio-controlled, model helicopter (RCH) with flight computer, light-weight geophysical sensors, an electronic positioning system, a data telemetry system, and a computer base-station. The report describes GAUSS and its test results

  2. Geophex Airborne Unmanned Survey System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Won, I.L.; Keiswetter, D.

    1995-12-31

    Ground-based surveys place personnel at risk due to the proximity of buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) items or by exposure to radioactive materials and hazardous chemicals. The purpose of this effort is to design, construct, and evaluate a portable, remotely-piloted, airborne, geophysical survey system. This non-intrusive system will provide stand-off capability to conduct surveys and detect buried objects, structures, and conditions of interest at hazardous locations. During a survey, the operators remain remote from, but within visual distance of, the site. The sensor system never contacts the Earth, but can be positioned near the ground so that weak geophysical anomalies can be detected. The Geophex Airborne Unmanned Survey System (GAUSS) is designed to detect and locate small-scale anomalies at hazardous sites using magnetic and electromagnetic survey techniques. The system consists of a remotely-piloted, radio-controlled, model helicopter (RCH) with flight computer, light-weight geophysical sensors, an electronic positioning system, a data telemetry system, and a computer base-station. The report describes GAUSS and its test results.

  3. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, 2008-2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; Galloway, John

    2010-01-01

    The collection of papers that follow continues the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. This series represents new and sometimes-preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. The reports presented in Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska cover a broad spectrum of topics from various parts of the State, serving to emphasize the diversity of USGS efforts to meet the Nation's needs for Earth-science information in Alaska. This professional paper is one of a series of 'online only' versions of Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, reflecting the current trend toward disseminating research results on the World Wide Web with rapid posting of completed reports.

  4. Slow light in moving media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonhardt, U.; Piwnicki, P.

    2001-06-01

    We review the theory of light propagation in moving media with extremely low group velocity. We intend to clarify the most elementary features of monochromatic slow light in a moving medium and, whenever possible, to give an instructive simplified picture.

  5. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Grant County, Central and Southern Parts, New Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  6. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Cabezon Area, New Mexico (Sandoval County, New Mexico)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  7. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database for Fort Bliss Military Reservation, New Mexico and Texas

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The...

  8. Rare earths

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cranstone, D A

    1979-01-01

    Rare earth elements are commonly extracted from the minerals monazite, bastnaesite, and xenotine. New uses for these elements are constantly developing; they have found applications in glass polishing, television tube phosphors, high-strength low-alloy steels, magnets, catalysts, refractory ceramics, and hydrogen sponge alloys. In Canada, rare earths have been produced as byproducts of the uranium mining industry, but there was no production of rare earths in 1978 or 1979. The world sources of and markets for the rare earth elements are discussed.

  9. Analysis of East Tank Farms Contamination Survey Frequency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ELDER, R.E.

    2000-01-01

    This document provides the justification for the change in survey frequency in East Tank Farms occupied contamination areas from weekly to monthly. The Tank Farms Radiological Control Organization has performed radiological surveys of its Contamination Area (CA) Double Shell Tank (DST) farms in 200 East Area on a weekly basis for several years. The task package (DST-W012) controlling these routines designates specific components, at a minimum, that must be surveyed whenever the task is performed. This document documents the evaluation of these survey requirements and provides the recommendation and basis for moving DST tank farms in the 200 East Area from a weekly to monthly contamination survey. The contamination surveys for occupied contamination areas in West Tank Farms (WTF) were changed from a weekly frequency to a monthly frequency in 1997. Review of contamination survey data in WTF indicates a monthly interval remains satisfactory

  10. Spacecraft navigation at Mars using earth-based and in situ radio tracking techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurman, S. W.; Edwards, C. D.; Kahn, R. D.; Vijayaraghavan, A.; Hastrup, R. C.; Cesarone, R. J.

    1992-08-01

    A survey of earth-based and in situ radiometric data types and results from a number of studies investigating potential radio navigation performance for spacecraft approaching/orbiting Mars and for landed spacecraft and rovers on the surface of Mars are presented. The performance of Doppler, ranging and interferometry earth-based data types involving single or multiple spacecraft is addressed. This evaluation is conducted with that of in situ data types, such as Doppler and ranging measurements between two spacecraft near Mars, or between a spacecraft and one or more surface radio beacons.

  11. Nordic Seniors on the Move

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    ”I believe that all people need to move about. Actually, some have difficulties in doing so. They stay in their home neighbourhoods where they’ve grown up and feel safe. I can understand that, but my wife and I, we didn’t want that. We are more open to new ideas.” This anthology is about seniors...... on the move. In seven chapters, Nordic researchers from various disciplines, by means of ethnographic methods, attempt to comprehend the phenomenon of Nordic seniors who move to leisure areas in their own or in other countries. The number of people involved in this kind of migratory movement has grown...... above gives voice to one of these seniors, stressing the necessity of moving. The anthology contributes to the international body of literature about later life migration, specifically representing experiences made by Nordic seniors. As shown here, mobility and migration in later life have implications...

  12. The InVEST Volcanic Concept Survey: Exploring Student Understanding about Volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parham, Thomas L., Jr.; Cervato, Cinzia; Gallus, William A., Jr.; Larsen, Michael; Hobbs, Jon; Stelling, Pete; Greenbowe, Thomas; Gupta, Tanya; Knox, John A.; Gill, Thomas E.

    2010-01-01

    Results from the Volcanic Concept Survey (VCS) indicated that many undergraduates do not fully understand volcanic systems and plate tectonics. During the 2006 academic year, a ten-item conceptual survey was distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in Earth science courses at five U.S. colleges and universities. A trained team of graders…

  13. ISS EarthKam: Taking Photos of the Earth from Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haste, Turtle

    2008-01-01

    NASA is involved in a project involving the International Space Station (ISS) and an Earth-focused camera called EarthKam, where schools, and ultimately students, are allowed to remotely program the EarthKAM to take images. Here the author describes how EarthKam was used to help middle school students learn about biomes and develop their…

  14. Performance Improvement of Near Earth Space Survey (NESS Wide-Field Telescope (NESS-2 Optics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Yeol Yu

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available We modified the optical system of 500 mm wide-field telescope of which point spread function showed an irregularity. The telescope has been operated for Near Earth Space Survey (NESS located at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO in Australia, and the optical system was brought back to Korea in January 2008. After performing a numerical simulation with the tested value of surface figure error of the primary mirror using optical design program, we found that the surface figure error of the mirror should be fabricated less than root mean square (RMS λ/10 in order to obtain a stellar full width at half maximum (FWHM below 28 μm. However, we started to figure the mirror for the target value of RMS λ/20, because system surface figure error would be increased by the error induced by the optical axis adjustment, mirror cell installation, and others. The radius of curvature of the primary mirror was 1,946 mm after the correction. Its measured surface figure error was less than RMS λ/20 on the table of polishing machine, and RMS λ/15 after installation in the primary mirror cell. A test observation performed at Daeduk Observatory at Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute by utilizing the exiting mount, and resulted in 39.8 μm of stellar FWHM. It was larger than the value from numerical simulation, and showed wing-shaped stellar image. It turned out that the measured-curvature of the secondary mirror, 1,820 mm, was not the same as the designed one, 1,795.977 mm. We fabricated the secondary mirror to the designed value, and finally obtained a stellar FWHM of 27 μm after re-installation of the optical system into SSO NESS Observatory in Australia.

  15. The NASA Earth Science Program and Small Satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neeck, Steven P.

    2015-01-01

    Earth's changing environment impacts every aspect of life on our planet and climate change has profound implications on society. Studying Earth as a single complex system is essential to understanding the causes and consequences of climate change and other global environmental concerns. NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) shapes an interdisciplinary view of Earth, exploring interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, land surface interior, and life itself. This enables scientists to measure global and climate changes and to inform decisions by Government, other organizations, and people in the United States and around the world. The data collected and results generated are accessible to other agencies and organizations to improve the products and services they provide, including air quality indices, disaster prediction and response, agricultural yield projections, and aviation safety. ESD's Flight Program provides the spacebased observing systems and supporting infrastructure for mission operations and scientific data processing and distribution that support NASA's Earth science research and modeling activities. The Flight Program currently has 21 operating Earth observing space missions, including the recently launched Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, and the International Space Station (ISS) RapidSCAT and Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) instruments. The ESD has 22 more missions and instruments planned for launch over the next decade. These include first and second tier missions from the 2007 Earth Science Decadal Survey, Climate Continuity missions to assure availability of key climate data sets, and small-sized competitively selected orbital missions and instrument missions of opportunity belonging to the Earth Venture (EV) Program. Small satellites (500 kg or less) are critical contributors to these current and future satellite missions

  16. Mise-a-la-masse survey in the HYDCO Niche 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahokas, T.; Heikkinen, E.; Hurmerinta, E.

    2011-12-01

    Posiva Oy carries out a programme for spent nuclear fuel disposal. Subsurface characterization work is underway at the ONKALO tunnel, in Olkiluoto. Detailed hydrological conductivity properties in an averagely fractured rock mass are studied in the HYDCO niche. Crosshole mise-a-la-masse survey was carried out between the two 23-24 m long horizontal drillholes, ONK-PP262 and ONK-PP274 that are 3 m apart from each other, and between the drillhole and the access tunnel. The field work was carried out in April- May 2011. The survey was aimed to define continuity of the fractures between the drillholes. Nine current earthing stations in drillhole ONK-PP262 and 13 stations in ONK-PP274 were used. Earthings were placed at fractures or conductive layers detected in core logging, assessed with geophysical logging and imaging, and with Posiva flow log measurement. Earthing used a 0.5 m long electrode assembly operated with a wireline. The potential profile was measured in the adjacent drillhole at 0.1 m spacing, using a similar electrode assembly and wireline. Potential was measured also on 130 m long profile along the tunnel wall from the earthings in drillhole ONK-PP262. The remote voltage reference and the current earthing were placed offset from the survey area. The equipment used in survey consists of ABEM Terrameter resistivity tool, as well as software, cable winch and downhole probes belonging to Posiva Flow Log tool. The high resistivity bedrock, and electrically fairly weakly conductive fractures residing in the rock mass provide rather small conductivity contrast. Nevertheless there are connections between several fractures or groups of fractures between the drillholes. Several fractures merge together in the electrical potential response. Interpretation defined six zones between the drillholes where fractures indicate continuity, and may serve as hydraulic interference pathway. One of the zones is extending also to the tunnel wall. Measurements and interpretation

  17. A moving experience !

    CERN Document Server

    2005-01-01

    The Transport Service pulled out all the stops and, more specifically, its fleet of moving and lifting equipment for the Discovery Monday on 6 June - a truly moving experience for all the visitors who took part ! Visitors could play at being machine operator, twiddling the controls of a lift truck fitted with a jib to lift a dummy magnet into a wooden mock-up of a beam-line.They had to show even greater dexterity for this game of lucky dip...CERN-style.Those with a head for heights took to the skies 20 m above ground in a telescopic boom lift.Children were allowed to climb up into the operator's cabin - this is one of the cranes used to move the LHC magnets around. Warm thanks to all members of the Transport Service for their participation, especially B. Goicoechea, T. Ilkei, R. Bihery, S. Prodon, S. Pelletier, Y. Bernard, A.  Sallot, B. Pigeard, S. Guinchard, B. Bulot, J. Berrez, Y. Grandjean, A. Bouakkaz, M. Bois, F. Stach, T. Mazzarino and S. Fumey.

  18. Adaptive moving mesh methods for simulating one-dimensional groundwater problems with sharp moving fronts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, W.; Zheng, Lingyun; Zhan, X.

    2002-01-01

    Accurate modelling of groundwater flow and transport with sharp moving fronts often involves high computational cost, when a fixed/uniform mesh is used. In this paper, we investigate the modelling of groundwater problems using a particular adaptive mesh method called the moving mesh partial differential equation approach. With this approach, the mesh is dynamically relocated through a partial differential equation to capture the evolving sharp fronts with a relatively small number of grid points. The mesh movement and physical system modelling are realized by solving the mesh movement and physical partial differential equations alternately. The method is applied to the modelling of a range of groundwater problems, including advection dominated chemical transport and reaction, non-linear infiltration in soil, and the coupling of density dependent flow and transport. Numerical results demonstrate that sharp moving fronts can be accurately and efficiently captured by the moving mesh approach. Also addressed are important implementation strategies, e.g. the construction of the monitor function based on the interpolation error, control of mesh concentration, and two-layer mesh movement. Copyright ?? 2002 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

  19. Earth Science Futuristic Trends and Implementing Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habib, Shahid

    2003-01-01

    For the last several years, there is a strong trend among the science community to increase the number of space-based observations to get a much higher temporal and spatial resolution. Such information will eventually be useful in higher resolution models that can provide predictability with higher precision. Such desirability puts a tremendous burden on any single implementing entity in terms of budget, technology readiness and compute power. The health of planet Earth is not governed by a single country, but in reality, is everyone's business living on this planet. Therefore, with this notion, it is becoming an impractical problem by any single organization/country to undertake. So far, each country per their means has proceeded along satisfactorily in implementing or benefiting directly or indirectly from the Earth observation data and scientific products. However, time has come that this is becoming a humongous problem to be undertaken by a single country. Therefore, this paper gives some serious thoughts in what options are there in undertaking this tremendous challenge. The problem is multi-dimensional in terms of budget, technology availability, environmental legislations, public awareness, and communication limitations. Some of these issues are introduced, discussed and possible implementation strategies are provided in this paper to move out of this predicament. A strong emphasis is placed on international cooperation and collaboration to see a collective benefit for this effort.

  20. Environmental remediation through sequestration of airfall-derived metals contamination by selective revegetation strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahagian, D.; Peters, S.; Yasko, G.

    2006-12-01

    Industrial activities in the 20th century left a legacy of contaminated air, water, and soils. The relative environmental enlightenment of the 21st century has already led to reductions in pollution sources, and has improved air and surface water quality in many areas. However, the residence time of contaminants in soils can be lengthy, presenting a challenge to 21st century restoration of impacted ecosystems and communities. The present study is centered on the Borough of Palmerton, PA, and a broad region of adjacent communities that were affected by two zinc smelters that operated continuously for more than 80 years, emitting thousands of tons of heavy metals including zinc, cadmium, lead and arsenic. While the air quality has vastly improved since the closure of the zinc smelters, the community remains adversely affected by the ecological damage caused by the pollution. The north face of the Kittatiny ridge was completely denuded of vegetation from the high metals concentrations. The region suffers further due to the ongoing perception of contaminated soils and water, leaving the town and surrounding areas economically depressed. In this study, we are examining the impact of revegetation strategies, particularly those using warm season grasses to determine which species survive and indeed thrive in the metals-contaminated soils. Because of the large areal extent and locally steep slopes in the broad area of concern, removal of metals from the entire region is impractical. It is considered more effective to sequester the metals in the soil so that they do not leach into the rivers, or enter the food web. Vegetation that absorbs and transports the metals throughout its tissues would mobilize these pollutants into the food web as well as make the metals available to reach the river via leaves and other vegetative structures. In this study, we are monitoring the uptake of metals by test grasses and other plants that are colonizing the contaminated area, as well as

  1. Rare earth germanates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondar', I.A.; Vinogradova, N.V.; Dem'yanets, L.N.

    1983-01-01

    Rare earth germanates attract close attention both as an independent class of compounds and analogues of a widely spread class of natural and synthetic minerals. The methods of rare earth germanate synthesis (solid-phase, hydrothermal) are considered. Systems on the basis of germanium and rare earth oxides, phase diagrams, phase transformations are studied. Using different chemical analysese the processes of rare earth germanate formation are investigated. IR spectra of alkali and rare earth metal germanates are presented, their comparative analysis being carried out. Crystal structures of the compounds, lattice parameters are studied. Fields of possible application of rare earth germanates are shown

  2. Rare earth sulfates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komissarova, L.N.; Shatskij, V.M.; Pokrovskij, A.N.; Chizhov, S.M.; Bal'kina, T.I.; Suponitskij, Yu.L.

    1986-01-01

    Results of experimental works on the study of synthesis conditions, structure and physico-chemical properties of rare earth, scandium and yttrium sulfates, have been generalized. Phase diagrams of solubility and fusibility, thermodynamic and crystallochemical characteristics, thermal stability of hydrates and anhydrous sulfates of rare earths, including normal, double (with cations of alkali and alkaline-earth metals), ternary and anion-mixed sulfates of rare earths, as well as their adducts, are considered. The state of ions of rare earths, scandium and yttrium in aqueous sulfuric acid solutions is discussed. Data on the use of rare earth sulfates are given

  3. Earth System Monitoring Selected Entries from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Modern Earth System Monitoring represents a fundamental change in the way scientists study the Earth System.  In Oceanography, for the past two centuries, ships have provided the platforms for observing.  Expeditions on the continents and Earth’s poles are land-based analogues. Fundamental understanding of current systems, climate, natural hazards, and ecosystems has been greatly advanced. While these approaches have been remarkably successful, the need to establish measurements over time can only be made using Earth observations and observatories with exacting standards and continuous data.  The 19 peer-reviewed contributions in this volume provide early insights into this emerging view of Earth in both space and time in which change is a critical component of our growing understanding. Presents 19 authoritative, peer-reviewed entries from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology Covers a wide range of data collection platforms, including satellite remote sensing, aerial surveys, and l...

  4. STRUCTURAL MONITORING WITH GEODETIC SURVEY OF QUADRIFOGLIO CONDOMINIUM (LECCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Costantino

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring buildings for moving elements has been always a problem of great importance for their conservation and preservation, as well as for risk mitigation. In particular, topographic surveying allows, through the use of the principles and instruments of the geodetic survey, to control moving points which have been identified and measured. In this study case, twelve survey campaigns were done for monitoring a building located in the city of Lecce. The condominium was built five years ago on an old quarry filled with debris to allow construction. Later in time, obviously, cracks started to appear on walls within the property, and for this legal actions were taken. The survey schema adopted has been that of triangulation/trilateration, from two vertices with known coordinates. With this methodologies four cornerstones have been identified, established with forced centering on pillars with anchor plates, connected to same number of framework points, considered stable. From these, 23 control points located on the structure with rotating prisms anchored at the same manner have been surveyed. The elaboration has been carried out by generating redundancy of the measures and compensating the values with least mean squares. The results obtained by the activity of survey and elaboration have confirmed the existence of ongoing phenomena. The causes that have generated the phenomenon have been, subsequently, investigated and have been considered attributable to the existence of a sewer pipeline and a water pipeline not properly put in place and consequently broke down due to the geological characteristics of the site.

  5. Electron velocity distributions near the earth's bow shock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feldman, W.C.; Anderson, R.C.; Bame, S.J.; Gary, S.P.; Gosling, J.T.; McComas, D.J.; Thomsen, M.F.; Paschmann, G.; Hoppe, M.M.

    1983-01-01

    A survey of two-dimensional electron velocity distributions, f(V), measured near the earth's bow shock using Los Alamos/Garching plasma instrumentation aboard ISEE 2 is presented. This survey provides clues to the mechanisms of electron thermalization within the shock and the relaxation of both the upsteam and downstream velocity distributions. First, near the foreshock boundary, fluxes of electrons having a power law shape at high energies backstream from the shock. Second, within the shock, cuts through f(V) along B. f(V), often show single maxima offset toward the magnetosheath by speeds comparable to, but larger than, the upstream thermal speed.Third, magnetosheath distributions generally have flat tops out to an energy, E 0 , with maxima substantially lower than that in the solar wind. Occasionally, cuts through f(V) along B show one and sometimes two small peaks at the edge of the flat tops making them appear concave upward. The electron distributions characteristic of these three regions are interpreted as arising from the effects of macroscopic (scale size comparable to or larger than the shock width) electric and magnetic fields and the subsequent effects of microscopic (scale size small in comparison with the shock width) fields. In particular, our results suggest that field-aligned instabilities are likely to be present in the earth's bow shock

  6. Carbonatite and alkaline intrusion-related rare earth element deposits–A deposit model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verplanck, Philip L.; Van Gosen, Bradley S.

    2011-01-01

    The rare earth elements are not as rare in nature as their name implies, but economic deposits with these elements are not common and few deposits have been large producers. In the past 25 years, demand for rare earth elements has increased dramatically because of their wide and diverse use in high-technology applications. Yet, presently the global production and supply of rare earth elements come from only a few sources. China produces more than 95 percent of the world's supply of rare earth elements. Because of China's decision to restrict exports of these elements, the price of rare earth elements has increased and industrial countries are concerned about supply shortages. As a result, understanding the distribution and origin of rare earth elements deposits, and identifying and quantifying our nation's rare earth elements resources have become priorities. Carbonatite and alkaline intrusive complexes, as well as their weathering products, are the primary sources of rare earth elements. The general mineral deposit model summarized here is part of an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Resources Program to update existing models and develop new descriptive mineral deposit models to supplement previously published models for use in mineral-resource and mineral-environmental assessments. Carbonatite and alkaline intrusion-related REE deposits are discussed together because of their spatial association, common enrichment in incompatible elements, and similarities in genesis. A wide variety of commodities have been exploited from carbonatites and alkaline igneous rocks, such as rare earth elements, niobium, phosphate, titanium, vermiculite, barite, fluorite, copper, calcite, and zirconium. Other enrichments include manganese, strontium, tantalum, thorium, vanadium, and uranium.

  7. Move of ground water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimura, Shigehiko

    1983-01-01

    As a ground water flow which is difficult to explain by Darcy's theory, there is stagnant water in strata, which moves by pumping and leads to land subsidence. This is now a major problem in Japan. Such move on an extensive scale has been investigated in detail by means of 3 H such as from rainfall in addition to ordinary measurement. The move of ground water is divided broadly into that in an unsaturated stratum from ground surface to water-table and that in a saturated stratum below the water-table. The course of the analyses made so far by 3 H contained in water, and the future trend of its usage are described. A flow model of regarding water as plastic fluid and its flow as channel assembly may be available for some flow mechanism which is not possible to explain with Darcy's theory. (Mori, K.)

  8. Survey of Hyperspectral Earth Observation Applications from Space in the Sentinel-2 Context

    OpenAIRE

    Julie Transon; Raphaël d’Andrimont; Alexandre Maugnard; Pierre Defourny

    2018-01-01

    In the last few decades, researchers have developed a plethora of hyperspectral Earth Observation (EO) remote sensing techniques, analysis and applications. While hyperspectral exploratory sensors are demonstrating their potential, Sentinel-2 multispectral satellite remote sensing is now providing free, open, global and systematic high resolution visible and infrared imagery at a short revisit time. Its recent launch suggests potential synergies between multi- and hyper-spectral data. This st...

  9. Digital Earth – A sustainable Earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahavir

    2014-01-01

    All life, particularly human, cannot be sustainable, unless complimented with shelter, poverty reduction, provision of basic infrastructure and services, equal opportunities and social justice. Yet, in the context of cities, it is believed that they can accommodate more and more people, endlessly, regardless to their carrying capacity and increasing ecological footprint. The 'inclusion', for bringing more and more people in the purview of development is often limited to social and economic inclusion rather than spatial and ecological inclusion. Economic investment decisions are also not always supported with spatial planning decisions. Most planning for a sustainable Earth, be at a level of rural settlement, city, region, national or Global, fail on the capacity and capability fronts. In India, for example, out of some 8,000 towns and cities, Master Plans exist for only about 1,800. A chapter on sustainability or environment is neither statutorily compulsory nor a norm for these Master Plans. Geospatial technologies including Remote Sensing, GIS, Indian National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), Indian National Urban Information Systems (NUIS), Indian Environmental Information System (ENVIS), and Indian National GIS (NGIS), etc. have potential to map, analyse, visualize and take sustainable developmental decisions based on participatory social, economic and social inclusion. Sustainable Earth, at all scales, is a logical and natural outcome of a digitally mapped, conceived and planned Earth. Digital Earth, in fact, itself offers a platform to dovetail the ecological, social and economic considerations in transforming it into a sustainable Earth

  10. Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweeney, Diane; Harris, Leanna S.

    2017-01-01

    Student-centered coaching is a highly-effective, evidence-based coaching model that shifts the focus from "fixing" teachers to collaborating with them to design instruction that targets student outcomes. But what does this look like in practice? "Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves" shows you the day-to-day coaching moves that…

  11. Nonlinear inversion of borehole-radar tomography data to reconstruct velocity and attenuation distribution in earth materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, C.; Liu, L.; Lane, J.W.

    2001-01-01

    A nonlinear tomographic inversion method that uses first-arrival travel-time and amplitude-spectra information from cross-hole radar measurements was developed to simultaneously reconstruct electromagnetic velocity and attenuation distribution in earth materials. Inversion methods were developed to analyze single cross-hole tomography surveys and differential tomography surveys. Assuming the earth behaves as a linear system, the inversion methods do not require estimation of source radiation pattern, receiver coupling, or geometrical spreading. The data analysis and tomographic inversion algorithm were applied to synthetic test data and to cross-hole radar field data provided by the US Geological Survey (USGS). The cross-hole radar field data were acquired at the USGS fractured-rock field research site at Mirror Lake near Thornton, New Hampshire, before and after injection of a saline tracer, to monitor the transport of electrically conductive fluids in the image plane. Results from the synthetic data test demonstrate the algorithm computational efficiency and indicate that the method robustly can reconstruct electromagnetic (EM) wave velocity and attenuation distribution in earth materials. The field test results outline zones of velocity and attenuation anomalies consistent with the finding of previous investigators; however, the tomograms appear to be quite smooth. Further work is needed to effectively find the optimal smoothness criterion in applying the Tikhonov regularization in the nonlinear inversion algorithms for cross-hole radar tomography. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Why Earth Science?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Michael J.

    2004-01-01

    This article briefly describes Earth science. The study of Earth science provides the foundation for an understanding of the Earth, its processes, its resources, and its environment. Earth science is the study of the planet in its entirety, how its lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere work together as systems and how they affect…

  13. Moving Target Photometry Using WISE and NEOWISE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Edward L.

    2015-01-01

    WISE band 1 observations have a significant noise contribution from confusion. The image subtraction done on W0855-0714 by Wright et al. (2014) shows that this noise source can be eliminated for sources that move by much more than the beamsize. This paper describes an analysis that includes a pattern of celestially fixed flux plus a source moving with a known trajectory. This technique allows the confusion noise to be modeled with nuisance parameters and removed even for sources that have not moved by many beamwidths. However, the detector noise is magnified if the motion is too small. Examples of the method applied to fast moving Y dwarfs and slow moving planets will be shown.

  14. THE NASA-UC ETA-EARTH PROGRAM. III. A SUPER-EARTH ORBITING HD 97658 AND A NEPTUNE-MASS PLANET ORBITING Gl 785

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Isaacson, Howard; Johnson, John Asher; Fischer, Debra A.; Wright, Jason T.; Henry, Gregory W.; Valenti, Jeff A.; Anderson, Jay; Piskunov, Nikolai E.

    2011-01-01

    We report the discovery of planets orbiting two bright, nearby early K dwarf stars, HD 97658 and Gl 785. These planets were detected by Keplerian modeling of radial velocities measured with Keck-HIRES for the NASA-UC Eta-Earth Survey. HD 97658 b is a close-in super-Earth with minimum mass Msin i = 8.2 ± 1.2 M + , orbital period P = 9.494 ± 0.005 days, and an orbit that is consistent with circular. Gl 785 b is a Neptune-mass planet with Msin i = 21.6 ± 2.0 M + , P = 74.39 ± 0.12 days, and orbital eccentricity e = 0.30 ± 0.09. Photometric observations with the T12 0.8 m automatic photometric telescope at Fairborn Observatory show that HD 97658 is photometrically constant at the radial velocity period to 0.09 mmag, supporting the existence of the planet.

  15. Earth observation from the manned low Earth orbit platforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Huadong; Dou, Changyong; Zhang, Xiaodong; Han, Chunming; Yue, Xijuan

    2016-05-01

    The manned low Earth orbit platforms (MLEOPs), e.g., the U.S. and Russia's human space vehicles, the International Space Station (ISS) and Chinese Tiangong-1 experimental space laboratory not only provide laboratories for scientific experiments in a wide range of disciplines, but also serve as exceptional platforms for remote observation of the Earth, astronomical objects and space environment. As the early orbiting platforms, the MLEOPs provide humans with revolutionary accessibility to the regions on Earth never seen before. Earth observation from MLEOPs began in early 1960s, as a part of manned space flight programs, and will continue with the ISS and upcoming Chinese Space Station. Through a series of flight missions, various and a large amount of Earth observing datasets have been acquired using handheld cameras by crewmembers as well as automated sophisticated sensors onboard these space vehicles. Utilizing these datasets many researches have been conducted, demonstrating the importance and uniqueness of studying Earth from a vantage point of MLEOPs. For example, the first, near-global scale digital elevation model (DEM) was developed from data obtained during the shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM). This review intends to provide an overview of Earth observations from MLEOPs and present applications conducted by the datasets collected by these missions. As the ISS is the most typical representative of MLEOPs, an introduction to it, including orbital characteristics, payload accommodations, and current and proposed sensors, is emphasized. The advantages and challenges of Earth observation from MLEOPs, using the ISS as an example, is also addressed. At last, a conclusive note is drawn.

  16. Trading Fees and Slow-Moving Capital

    OpenAIRE

    Buss, Adrian; Dumas, Bernard J

    2015-01-01

    In some situations, investment capital seems to move slowly towards profitable trades. We develop a model of a financial market in which capital moves slowly simply because there is a proportional cost to moving capital. We incorporate trading fees in an infinite-horizon dynamic general-equilibrium model in which investors optimally and endogenously decide when and how much to trade. We determine the steady-state equilibrium no-trade zone, study the dynamics of equilibrium trades and prices a...

  17. Human Expeditions to Near-Earth Asteroids: Implications for Exploration, Resource Utilization, Science, and Planetary Defense

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abell, Paul; Mazanek, Dan; Barbee, Brent; Landis, Rob; Johnson, Lindley; Yeomans, Don; Friedensen, Victoria

    2013-01-01

    Over the past several years, much attention has been focused on human exploration of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and planetary defence. Two independent NASA studies examined the feasibility of sending piloted missions to NEAs, and in 2009, the Augustine Commission identified NEAs as high profile destinations for human exploration missions beyond the Earth-Moon system as part of the Flexible Path. More recently the current U.S. presidential administration directed NASA to include NEAs as destinations for future human exploration with the goal of sending astronauts to a NEA in the mid to late 2020s. This directive became part of the official National Space Policy of the United States of America as of June 28, 2010. With respect to planetary defence, in 2005 the U.S. Congress directed NASA to implement a survey program to detect, track, and characterize NEAs equal or greater than 140 m in diameter in order to access the threat from such objects to the Earth. The current goal of this survey is to achieve 90% completion of objects equal or greater than 140 m in diameter by 2020.

  18. 30 CFR 57.14107 - Moving machine parts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Moving machine parts. 57.14107 Section 57.14107... Equipment Safety Devices and Maintenance Requirements § 57.14107 Moving machine parts. (a) Moving machine parts shall be guarded to protect persons from contacting gears, sprockets, chains, drive, head, tail...

  19. Lattice Boltzmann methods for moving boundary flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inamuro, Takaji

    2012-01-01

    The lattice Boltzmann methods (LBMs) for moving boundary flows are presented. The LBM for two-phase fluid flows with the same density and the LBM combined with the immersed boundary method are described. In addition, the LBM on a moving multi-block grid is explained. Three numerical examples (a droplet moving in a constricted tube, the lift generation of a flapping wing and the sedimentation of an elliptical cylinder) are shown in order to demonstrate the applicability of the LBMs to moving boundary problems. (invited review)

  20. Lattice Boltzmann methods for moving boundary flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Inamuro, Takaji, E-mail: inamuro@kuaero.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Advanced Research Institute of Fluid Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)

    2012-04-01

    The lattice Boltzmann methods (LBMs) for moving boundary flows are presented. The LBM for two-phase fluid flows with the same density and the LBM combined with the immersed boundary method are described. In addition, the LBM on a moving multi-block grid is explained. Three numerical examples (a droplet moving in a constricted tube, the lift generation of a flapping wing and the sedimentation of an elliptical cylinder) are shown in order to demonstrate the applicability of the LBMs to moving boundary problems. (invited review)