Environmental Data Acquisition Research Articles

Sensing Technologies for Societal Well-Being

Sensing technologies by design are calibrated for accuracy against an expected measurement scale. Sensor calibration and signal processing criteria are one type of sensor data, while the sensor readings are another. Ensuring data accuracy and precision from sensors is an essential, ongoing challenge, but these issues haven’t stopped the potential for pervasive application use. Technological advances afford an opportunity for sensor data integration as a vehicle for societal well-being and the focus of ongoing research. A lean and flexible architecture is needed to acquire sensor data for societal well-being. As such, this research places emphasis on the acquisition of environmental sensor data through lean application programming protocols (APIs) through services such as SMS, where scant literature is presented. The contribution of this research is to advance the research that integrates sensor data with pervasive applications.

Quantifying Data Worth Toward Reducing Predictive Uncertainty

The present study demonstrates a methodology for optimization of environmental data acquisition. Based on the premise that the worth of data increases in proportion to its ability to reduce the uncertainty of key model predictions, the methodology can be used to compare the worth of different data types, gathered at different locations within study areas of arbitrary complexity. The method is applied to a hypothetical nonlinear, variable density numerical model of salt and heat transport. The relative utilities of temperature and concentration measurements at different locations within the model domain are assessed in terms of their ability to reduce the uncertainty associated with predictions of movement of the salt water interface in response to a decrease in fresh water recharge. In order to test the sensitivity of the method to nonlinear model behavior, analyses were repeated for multiple realizations of system properties. Rankings of observation worth were similar for all realizations, indicating robust performance of the methodology when employed in conjunction with a highly nonlinear model. The analysis showed that while concentration and temperature measurements can both aid in the prediction of interface movement, concentration measurements, especially when taken in proximity to the interface at locations where the interface is expected to move, are of greater worth than temperature measurements. Nevertheless, it was also demonstrated that pairs of temperature measurements, taken in strategic locations with respect to the interface, can also lead to more precise predictions of interface movement.

Using sensor web protocols for environmental data acquisition and management

Standard interfaces for data and information access facilitate data management and usability by minimizing the effort required to acquire, catalog and integrate data from a variety of sources. The authors have prototyped several data management and analysis applications using Sensor Web Enablement Services, a suite of service protocols being developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium specifically for handling sensor data in near-real time. This paper provides a brief overview of some of the service protocols and describes how they are used in various sensor web projects involving near-real-time management of sensor data.

Informações geoambientais derivadas de imagens de radar (R99B/SIPAM) e ópticas (LANDSAT/TM5) em jazimento de minério de ferro em Carajás

Um dos impactos ambientais mais significativos em minerações de ferro está associado com as modificações da paisagem, especialmente em regiões de floresta equatorial, como no depósito N1, localizado na Província Mineral de Carajás. O uso da tecnologia do sensoriamento remoto tem mostrado muita eficiência e baixo custo no levantamento de informações ambientais nessa região. Imagens ópticas e de radar permitem a extração de informações complementares sobre a cobertura superficial e as alterações antrópicas, sob uma visão sinóptica do tratamento desses impactos. O principal objetivo dessa pesquisa é a obtenção de um conjunto de informações ambientais para futura implementação em um sistema de conhecimento que possa ser utilizado em regiões com contextos geoambientais similares.

LSPEnv: location-based service provider for environmental data

The state of our environment becomes a very important issue and especially people with health problems need more information and support in their daily life. This article presents an approach for forecasting values of several environmental-state variables as a basis for location-based services. We propose a system for making predictions for several spatial temporal variables using the Bayesian Network method as a machine learning technique. The system is based on a three-tier architecture, which assists the environmental data acquisition, processing and dissemination of predictions. To handle the missing values of data we use the structural expectation maximisation algorithm. The system's evaluation case study is based on real environmental data acquired from the Swiss national network. The data represents several environmental-state variables at different types of location, e.g. rural, urban, and at different times in a time span of a year.

The Ordovician biodiversification: Setting an agenda for marine life

Profound changes in the biodiversity and biocomplexity of marine life occurred during the early to mid-Ordovician through an interval of some 25 Myr. The planet's seascapes were changed forever with massive hikes in biodiversity, the installation of a benthos dominated by suspension feeders together with the introduction of many new megaguilds; increased bioturbation, biotic tiering above and below the sediment–water interface, the more widespread prevalence of hard substrates, in a calcite sea, and the development of new reef formers helped drive these changes. The strong and varied regional and taxonomic components of the global signal emphasize the extrinsic controls on the radiation. A model involving the cascading development of γ (inter-provincial), β (inter-community) and α (intra-community) diversity highlights the interplay between ecology, environment, geography and adaptive strategy during the event. Further deconstruction of the event into individual taxonomic and regional components together with the acquisition of more environmental and isotopic data are required to elucidate the causes of this marked and multifaceted biodiversification.

Accident epidemiology and the U.S. chemical industry: accident history and worst-case data from RMP*Info.

This article reports on the data collected on one of the most ambitious government-sponsored environmental data acquisition projects of all time, the Risk Management Plan (RMP) data collected under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. This RMP Rule 112(r) was triggered by the Bhopal accident in 1984 and led to the requirement that each qualifying facility develop and file with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Risk Management Plan (RMP) as well as accident history data for the five-year period preceding the filing of the RMP. These data were collected in 1999-2001 on more than 15,000 facilities in the United States that store or use listed toxic or flammable chemicals believed to be a hazard to the environment or to human health of facility employees or off-site residents of host communities. The resulting database, RMP*Info, has become a key resource for regulators and researchers concerned with the frequency and severity of accidents, and the underlying facility-specific factors that are statistically associated with accident and injury rates. This article analyzes which facilities actually filed under the Rule and presents results on accident frequencies and severities available from the RMP*Info database. This article also presents summaries of related results from RMP*Info on Offsite Consequence Analysis (OCA), an analytical estimate of the potential consequences of hypothetical worst-case and alternative accidental releases on the public and environment around the facility. The OCA data have become a key input in the evaluation of site security assessment and mitigation policies for both government planners as well as facility managers and their insurers. Following the survey of the RMP*Info data, we discuss the rich set of policy decisions that may be informed by research based on these data.

Real-time streaming of environmental field data

Field measurements in the environmental sciences still depend upon the pencil and paper notebook for data collection. Although robust, this method is labor-intensive and susceptible to recording and georeferencing errors during transcription. Recent advances in mobile computing and wireless communications allow the geoscientist to process and transmit data while still in the field, thereby minimizing human errors and time delays. We describe an integrated system developed for environmental and geolocation data acquisition that is intended to streamline the collection process. The system consists of software applications and hardware components that enable wireless, mobile and Internet computing during field campaigns. In particular, two-way transfer and display of collected data is achieved between the field site and a remote location, a concept referred to as field data streaming. A prototype system has been tested in field trials in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Field studies demonstrate the noticeable gains in efficiency and precision achieved with the use of the field streaming technology. Potential applications include biogeochemical and hydrologic studies, water quality monitoring, emergency response to water-borne disasters and intensive field sampling campaigns.

Telehealth technologies and applications for terrorism response: a report of the 2002 coastal North Carolina domestic preparedness training exercise.

Effective response to natural or man-made disasters (i.e., terrorism) is predicated on the ability to communicate among the many organizations involved. Disaster response exercises enable disaster planners and responders to test procedures and technologies and incorporate the lessons learned from past disasters or exercises. On May 31 and June 1, 2002, one such exercise event took place at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. During the exercise, East Carolina University tested: (1) in-place Telehealth networks and (2) rapidly deployable communications, networking, and data collection technologies such as satellite communications, local wireless networking, on-scene video, and clinical and environmental data acquisition and telemetry. Exercise participants included local, county, state, and military emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management, specialized response units, and local fire and police units. The technologies and operations concepts tested at the exercise and recommendations for using telehealth to improve disaster response are described.

Monitoring present day climatic conditions in tropical caves using an Environmental Data Acquisition System (EDAS)

This paper presents data from automatic stations which have been installed for monitoring climatic parameters in caves in two areas of Brazil. These devices, initially developed at the Royal Observatory of Belgium to monitor environmental parameters in geophysical observatories, were adapted in our study to operate under tropical cave conditions and to measure temperature, atmospheric pressure and drip rate of stalactites. Similar devices were installed at the surface near to the caves to measure air temperature, atmospheric pressure and rainfall. The results reveal that the drip rate at the tip of stalactites is related to the effective rainfall (water excess). The stable drip regime observed during the dry season seems to be reproducible from one year to the other and could be related to the infiltration of water which has a long residence time in the aquifer. Regular pressure oscillations, with amplitude ranging between 1 and 2 mb, are observed in both of the monitored caves. Spectral analysis of the data suggests that these oscillations are linked to the diurnal and semi-diurnal solar tides (S1 and S2). In one cave, very small temperature variations (0.02–0.05 °C) are also observed with a similar diurnal and semi-diurnal pattern, and we argue that the generating process of the thermal components of the S1 and S2 frequencies is a mixture of thermal convection produced by the surface meteorological variations and of an adiabatic induction of the S2 atmospheric pressure modulation. A very large annual thermal amplitude (13 °C) is observed in the other cave; this is a great motivation to study the stable isotope geochemistry of its speleothems as they probably have recorded past temperature fluctuations linked to paleoclimate variations in this area of south-western Brazil.

Development of continental scale multimedia contaminant fate models: integrating GIS.

The incentives and approaches for modelling chemical fate at a continental scale are discussed and reviewed. It is suggested that a multi-media model consisting of some 20-30 regions, each of which contains typically seven environmental compartments represents a reasonable compromise between the issues of the need for detailed resolution, avoidance of excessive data demands and inherent complexity and transparency. Strategies adopted in compiling the Berkley-Trent (BETR) model for North America are discussed and used to illustrate the issues of selecting appropriate number and nature of segments, treatment of air and water flows and the acquisition of environmental data. It is suggested that GIS software can play a valuable role in gathering and processing such data and in the display and interpretation of the results of the model assessment. The BETR model will be a useful tool for describing the nature of persistence and long-range transport of chemicals of concern in the North American environment.

The Environmental Data Acquisition System (EDAS) developed at the Royal Observatory of Belgium

Multi-parameters approach is required for the monitoring of complex interactions induced by tectonic activities (volcanic, geothermal and seismic areas, land-slide zones...).The diversity of sensors becomes so broad that the use of existing technology provides a difficult barrier for scientists not familiar with metrology. To address this problem, the Royal Observatory of Belgium develops the Environmental Data Acquisition System EDAS. The core base of this standardised system are the DAS, μDas and nanoDAS monitoring devices. They produce data files which follow a standard sequence containing date, time and the recorded values in ASCII columns. Different type of electronic for instruments with resistive and capacitive transducers were designed. They operate using standard supplies. Their output signals are compatible with the data acquisition system. In complement to the EDAS system, a set of applications has been written for the data analysis, known as EDAT, like HiCum software which is tool useful to analyse signatures on special periodicity’s from graphics obtained with stacking method. The EDAS concept complete tidal probes by improvement of access to various signals susceptible to influence tidal records.

Use of Digital Multispectral Videography to Capture Environmental Data Sets for Virginia Department of Transportation

The Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) environmental division frequently uses spatial information to analyze and assess a variety of environmental resources. Environmental personnel are constantly looking for faster and more accurate means of collecting and managing these data. Digital multispectral videography (DMSV) is a data collection technology that has shown great potential in other areas in which remote sensing data are used. DMSV provides digital frame coverage in four spectral bands for color infrared imaging, allowing for the detection of soils, vegetation, water bodies, chemically contaminated areas, and various other resources. This type of remote sensing differs from traditional methods in that sensor bandpass or wavelengths are typically ⩽25 nm wide as opposed to the more typical 100+ nm wavelengths. Testing the feasibility of using DMSV for some of VDOT’s environmental data acquisition needs was the purpose of this research. It was accomplished by using the technology to capture imagery-based data sets and then developing a procedure for transforming the image data into georeferenced vector data sets. The vector data were analyzed spatially, and the advantages and shortcomings of the technology were documented during this process. DMSV was very effective in identifying and classifying major plant communities in VDOT’s wetland mitigation sites. Data were quickly collected, corrected, classified, and imported into an ArcView-based geographic information system. From there, the data sets could be analyzed and stored for further query and manipulation.

車載用γ線サーベイシステムの開発

A carborne γ-ray survey system was developed aiming at implementation of environmental radiation investigation in and around Chernobyl area after the accident. This system consists of a dose rate meter, a GPS and a personal computer, and acquires γ-ray dose rates and positional data using two serial ports of the computer. It is indispensable to acquire these two kinds of data simultaneously for carborne γ-ray survey in a large area. A feature of the system is to be able to get these data continuously by means of a simple programming. This system has been used in and around Chernobyl area for a few years, and it has worked without any troubles. The outline of this survey system, which is applicable for configuration of environmental radiation data acquisition system is reported with some results in Chernobyl.

International coordination in the era of faster, better, cheaper

Space agencies around the world are seeking innovative approaches to reduce the time and expense of space-based activities, including observation of the Earth and acquisition of environmental data for Earth science research. As government budgets are squeezed, agencies search for innovative approaches to streamline program management, introduce new technology, and share costs with external partners. International cooperation has been a mainstay of Earth observation activity from the beginning of space exploration. It continues to be true that global problems require global solutions, and governments recognize the need to share the investment in understanding and monitoring the planet. Agencies need to carefully consider how changes in their program development and management practices might impact cooperative ventures. Improved communication, enhanced strategic planning, and coordinated rather than comprehensive missions are all tools agencies can use to maintain or improve partnerships.

An approach to computer-aided specification

A knowledge-based approach to computer-aided specification (CAS), covering the acquisition, checking, and processing of functional, electrical, timing, environmental, and test-oriented specification data using object-oriented data representation and rule-based consistency checking, is proposed. The approach, which covers specification data for digital, analog, optoelectronic, actuator, and sensor components, is part of the DEBYS (design by specification) system, an integrated environment for the specification, design, verification, test, and design management of microcomponents. A brief description of DEBYS is followed by a detailed discussion of its CAS part. >

A generalized canonical sound-speed model

A generalized canonical sound-speed (GENCASS) numerical environmental model has been developed to support range-dependent underwater acoustical propagation models, especially the PE/SSF model. The GENCASS model provides an interface between the environmental data base and acoustical model; it could guide and improve the cost effectiveness of the processes of environmental data acquisition, processing, storage, and access. It extends the usefulness of Munk's canonical model to include conditions where no subsurface axis exists, as in the arctic and subarctic, and provides for such common phenomena as mixed layers, fronts, eddies, and the double minima found in the region influenced by the Mediterranean outflow. It provides a natural parametric hierarchy for organizing environmental data, based on phenomenological time scales, ranging from climatological to seasonal to diurnal. In temperate regions, four parameters are sufficient to define the model: scale depth, bottom temperature, extrapolated surface temperature, and either actual surface temperature or mixed layer depth, which are functionally related. The GENCASS model introduces a surface thermal layer depth to account for surface superheating that may occur in tropical waters. A mixing function is introduced to account for the transition through oceanographic fronts, across eddies, and through the double minima profile. A companion paper will use the GENCASS model to support PESOGEN-II illustrative runs.

Project‐type acoustics experiments in the USNA acoustics lab

For some years, the Naval Academy Physics Department has offered a senior‐level course in physical acoustics, accompanied by a weekly laboratory. Since the classes are small, the laboratory offers a chance for tutoring the students in more advanced and creative projects than the usual “classic” lab experiments for courses at this level. Usually there is time to perform three or four projects over the semester, each one defined by a general area of interest (such as environmental acoustics, architectural acoustics, computational and data acquisition methods, etc.). Sometimes the project spills over into the next semester and becomes a credit earning research project beyond the course itself. Examples of successful student projects are: construction and testing of a loudspeaker (magneplanar, flame driven, etc.), acoustical investigation of a local concert hall or church, construction and testing of an acoustic guitar, development of computer‐controlled data acquisition and analysis system. Specific examples, as well the general philosophy of the course, will be given.

Comprehensive studies of the dynamics of geosystems with the use of remote sensing techniques

The described research programme for comprehensive studies of changes occuring within geosystems is a part of scientific activity of INTERKOSMOS, which will be executed mainly with the use of remote sensing methods and techniques. The main aim of the programme is to get an insight into the seasonal rithm of environmental changes on both regional and global level. The work will consist of gathering systematized information concerning quantitative and qualitative relations between various components of the environment. The application of remote sensing methods enables the acquisition of such environmental data in dynamic setting. Research will be conducted for areas comprising distinct geosystems and will lead to the detection of diurnal, seasonal and yearly dynamics of geosystems as well as long-term trends. Except cognitive, the programme will also serve the methodological purpose. The first aim will be realized with respect to individual geosystems; the resulting sets of data will consist of matrixes of statistical data characterizing relations between various components of geosystems. The methodological aim will be achieved through the process of practical verification of the preliminary assumptions. Information will be collected from different data acquisition levels namely from satellite and aerial platforms and through ground measurements. Different types of data, such as multispectral photography (SALYUT, KOSMOS), multispectral scanner images (LANDSAT THEMATIC MAPPER, SPOT), infrared photography, radar imagery and spectrometric measurements will be gathered during simultaneous data acquisition projects. All types of observations will be timed in accordance with the natural rithm of the observed phenomena. The paper contains the description of geosystems under anthropogenic stress based on the previous research of the authors. The presented multifactor characteristics of soil and crops is a part of completed studies on agricultural geosystems. The results of comprehensive remote sensing experiments already completed within the framework of INTERKOSMOS programme on test sites in member countries fully support the approved programme for studying the dynamics of geosystems with the use of remote sensing.

Operational Characteristics of Electromechanical Cables

During the past decade, there has been a proliferation of operational systems which include electromechanical (or electro-optical-mechanical) cables as vital system components. Examples of such systems include: 1) unmanned remote operated vehicles (ROVs) used for subsea exploration, inspection, recovery, or repair; 2) towed arrays or towed electronic packages used for subsea maping, exploration, or surveillance; 3) moored subsea systems used for surveillance or acquisition of environmental data; 4) tethered aerostats used for communication and surveillance; 5) data acquisition systems used in oil, gas, and geothermal wells. For each of these systems, the success of the mission is contingent upon the reliable operation of the electromechanical (EM) cable which provides the strength, power, and communications link. As the applications for EM cables have become more varied and as the operational conditions for these cables have become more demanding, there has been a corresponding increase in the sophistication of cable design and manufacturing methods. Most contemporary EM cables are highly complex machines which are designed specifically for the intended application. Unfortunately, the complexities and the operational idiosyncrasies of these cables are often misunderstood by the cable user with the result being less than optimum cable performance. As cable technology continues to advance, it becomes increasingly important that cable users devote ample engineering and monetary resources to the development of cables and cable handling systems which are required for critical applications. This paper discusses many of the operational characteristics of typical EM cables and highlights the important points which must be considered during cable design. Examples are given of how cable designs may be tailored to achieve specific performance goals in terms of cable strength, elasticity, torque and rotation characteristics, bending fatigue life, and twist tolerance. The paper also compares and contrasts the operational characteristics which are achievable with cables having metallic strength members versus cables having nonmetallic (typically Kevlar) strength members. The advantages and short-comings of these two basic classes of cables are described for various strength member configurations. A list of references is provided to assist the reader in further investigations into cable response to tension, bending, and twisting.