Suitable Temporal Resolution Research Articles

Field Testing Satellite-Derived Vegetation Health Indices for a Koala Habitat Managers Toolkit

A Central Queensland University (CQU) partnership with the Queensland Government National Park management agency has developed a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) habitat managers’ toolkit for vegetation health assessment. Private and public landholders use the field-based toolkit to assess habitat suitability or monitor conservation outcomes for the koala—an iconic Australian arboreal herbivorous marsupial. The toolkit was upgraded recently with instructions to process European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 multispectral satellite-derived selected vegetation maps for areal vegetation health trend monitoring. A field campaign sought to validate the relatively coarse spatial resolution derived indices (photosynthetic health, leaf area index and leaf water content) to verify their suitability for the habitat management decision-support toolkit. Other user requirement-driven criteria for including remote sensing in the toolkit were imagery and associated processing software costs and ease of map production for habitat managers without cost-effective access to spatial science skills. Despite moderate-to-low field and image vegetation proxy correlations, discussing the results with stakeholders indicates that, at a landscape scale, the use of cost-free, suitable temporal resolution, 10-m spatial resolution imagery is satisfactory when aligned with the design outcomes of a habitat health toolkit.

Geomagnetic Storm Related to Disturbance Storm Time Indices

The magnitude of the Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) index varied in relation to the extremely small negative integer that indicated a large geomagnetic storm. The large sharpened variants of negative Dst indices could describe the detailed features of a geomagnetic storm. the Dst index was estimated using an algorithm through time and frequency-domain band-stop filtering to remove the solar-quiet variation and the mutual coupling effects between the Earth’s rotation, the Moon’s orbit, and the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. A good geomagnetic model that could describe the true variations in the geomagnetic field when undergoing diverse space weather, and one that could even predict variations in the geomagnetic field with a high accuracy. A suitable temporal resolution for the Dst index was per hour.

Development and application of a miniaturized tensile testing device for in situ synchrotron microtomography experiments

The nondestructive nature of X-ray microtomography (µCT) associated with its suitable temporal resolution, obtained with the use of high energy polychromatic radiation from electron acceleration rings, allows in situ investigations of the damage evolution process during tensile loading in composite materials. In this context, the development of adequate scientific instrumentation as well as the understanding of the corresponding technology by research groups is paramount to guarantee reliability of the obtained results. In the present work, a miniaturized universal testing machine (tensile, compression and fatigue) was developed to be applied in in situ µCT experiments using synchrotron radiation with innovative technology. The equipment has a uniaxial load capacity of up to 300 N with 1 N resolution and can impose 0.01 mm resolution displacements following controlled deformation rates. In order to validate the developed equipment, tensile test results performed on sub-sized and standard annealed copper specimens were compared and in situ µCT tensile tests were performed in glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene matrix composites at the Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron (LNLS) in Campinas (SP, Brazil). Data analysis was performed by applying image processing techniques to successive tomograms in order to monitor crack propagation in the initial stages of damage evolution. The results obtained allowed the clarification of crack propagation mechanisms in the investigated composite materials and demonstrated the viability of the equipment’s intended application.

A two stage interpolator and multi threshold discriminator for the Brain-PET scanner timestamp calculation

The ability of properly localizing the cancerous cells is mainly dependent on the capability of a Positron Emission Tomographic (PET) scanner to distinguish between the time-correlated true γ-rays pairs from the random and scattered ones. It requires an effective energy thresholding and time stamping of the moment when the γ-rays interact with the crystal scintillators. In this context a novel method of timestamp calculation is suggested. It is based on a process of interaction detection and its conversion to electrical signals. These pulses are digitized and selected via en energy thresholding. Later on they are processed with a signal leading edge selector, a two stage hybrid interpolator and a multi threshold discriminator. The digitization process reduces the signal temporal resolution which affects the precision of digital timestamp calculators. This inadequacy is treated by up-sampling the selected signal part with a smart combination of the optimized Weighted Least Square Interpolator (WLSI) and the Simplified Linear Interpolator (SLI). The signal selection process allows focusing on the relevant signal part and avoids the unnecessary operations during the post-interpolation process. Moreover, the hybrid nature allows the devised interpolator to achieve a suitable temporal resolution with a comparable precession at a reduced computational complexity as compared to the counter computationally complex mono interpolator based solutions. Finally the timestamp of up-sampled signal is calculated by using an amplitude compensated multi threshold discriminator. The process of calibrating the WLSI coefficients and the discriminator thresholds is described. The system functionality is verified with the help of an experiment. Results have shown that the proposed system results in a Full-Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) coincidence timing resolution of 49.4 picoseconds. It aptitudes for the realization of submillimetric resolution three dimensional tomographs.

Fluid Interfaces during Viscous-Dominated Primary Drainage in 2D Micromodels Using Pore-Scale SPH Simulations

We perform pore-scale resolved direct numerical simulations of immiscible two-phase flow in porous media to study the evolution of fluid interfaces. Using a Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics approach, we simulate saturation-controlled primary drainage in heterogeneous, partially wettable 2D porous microstructures. While imaging the evolution of fluid interfaces near capillary equilibrium becomes more feasible as fast X-ray tomography techniques mature, imaging methods with suitable temporal resolution for viscous-dominated flow have only recently emerged. In this work, we study viscous fingering and stable displacement processes. During viscous fingering, pore-scale flow fields are reminiscent of Bretherton annular flow, that is, the less viscous phase percolates through the core of a pore-throat forming a hydrodynamic wetting film. Even in simple microstructures wetting films have major impact on the evolution of fluid interfacial area and are observed to give rise to nonnegligible interfacial viscous coupling. Although macroscopically appearing flat, saturation fronts during stable displacement extend over the length of the capillary dispersion zone. While far from the dispersion zone fluid permeation obeys Darcy’s law, the interplay of viscous and capillary forces is found to render fluid flow within complex. Here we show that the characteristic length scale of the capillary dispersion zone increases with the heterogeneity of the microstructure.

A 507-year rainfall and runoff reconstruction for the Monsoonal North West, Australia derived from remote paleoclimate archives

The Monsoonal North West (MNW) region of Australia faces a number of challenges adapting to anthropogenic climate change. These have the potential to impact on a range of industries, including agricultural, pastoral, mining and tourism. However future changes to rainfall regimes remain uncertain due to the inability of Global Climate Models to adequately capture the tropical weather/climate processes that are known to be important for this region. Compounding this is the brevity of the instrumental rainfall record for the MNW, which is unlikely to represent the full range of climatic variability. One avenue for addressing this issue (the focus of this paper) is to identify sources of paleoclimate information that can be used to reconstruct a plausible pre-instrumental rainfall history for the MNW. Adopting this approach we find that, even in the absence of local sources of paleoclimate data at a suitable temporal resolution, remote paleoclimate records can resolve 25% of the annual variability observed in the instrumental rainfall record. Importantly, the 507-year rainfall reconstruction developed using the remote proxies displays longer and more intense wet and dry periods than observed during the most recent ~100years. For example, the maximum number of consecutive years of below (above) average rainfall is 90% (40%) higher in the rainfall reconstruction than during the instrumental period. Further, implications for flood and drought risk are studied via a simple GR1A rainfall runoff model, which again highlights the likelihood of extremes greater than that observed in the limited instrumental record, consistent with previous paleoclimate studies elsewhere in Australia. Importantly, this research can assist in informing climate related risks to infrastructure, agriculture and mining, and the method can readily be applied to other regions in the MNW and beyond.

Topology of Innovation Spaces in the Knowledge Networks Emerging through Questions-And-Answers.

The communication processes of knowledge creation represent a particular class of human dynamics where the expertise of individuals plays a substantial role, thus offering a unique possibility to study the structure of knowledge networks from online data. Here, we use the empirical evidence from questions-and-answers in mathematics to analyse the emergence of the network of knowledge contents (or tags) as the individual experts use them in the process. After removing extra edges from the network-associated graph, we apply the methods of algebraic topology of graphs to examine the structure of higher-order combinatorial spaces in networks for four consecutive time intervals. We find that the ranking distributions of the suitably scaled topological dimensions of nodes fall into a unique curve for all time intervals and filtering levels, suggesting a robust architecture of knowledge networks. Moreover, these networks preserve the logical structure of knowledge within emergent communities of nodes, labeled according to a standard mathematical classification scheme. Further, we investigate the appearance of new contents over time and their innovative combinations, which expand the knowledge network. In each network, we identify an innovation channel as a subgraph of triangles and larger simplices to which new tags attach. Our results show that the increasing topological complexity of the innovation channels contributes to network’s architecture over different time periods, and is consistent with temporal correlations of the occurrence of new tags. The methodology applies to a wide class of data with the suitable temporal resolution and clearly identified knowledge-content units.

Investigating late Holocene variations in hydroclimate and the stable isotope composition of precipitation using southern South American peatlands: an hypothesis

Abstract. Ombrotrophic raised peatlands provide an ideal archive for integrating late Holocene records of variations in hydroclimate and the estimated stable isotope composition of precipitation with recent instrumental measurements. Modern measurements of mean monthly surface air temperature, precipitation, and δD and δ18O-values in precipitation from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries provide a short but invaluable record with which to investigate modern relationships between these variables, thereby enabling improved interpretation of the peatland palaeodata. Stable isotope data from two stations in the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) from southern South America (Punta Arenas, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina) were analysed for the period 1982 to 2008 and compared with longer-term meteorological data from the same locations (1890 to present and 1931 to present, respectively). δD and δ18O-values in precipitation have exhibited quite different trends in response to local surface air temperature and precipitation amount. At Punta Arenas, there has been a marked increase in the seasonal difference between summer and winter δ18O-values. A decline in the deuterium excess of summer precipitation at this station was associated with a general increase in relative humidity at 1000 mb over the surface of the Southeast Pacific Ocean, believed to be the major vapour source for the local precipitation. At Ushuaia, a fall in δ18O-values was associated with an increase in the mean annual amount of precipitation. Both records are consistent with a southward retraction and increase in zonal wind speed of the austral westerly wind belt. These regional differences, observed in response to a known driver, should be detectable in peatland sites close to the GNIP stations. Currently, insufficient data with suitable temporal resolution are available to test for these regional differences over the last 3000 yr. Existing peatland palaeoclimate data from two sites near Ushuaia, however, provide evidence for changes in the late Holocene that are consistent with the pattern observed in modern observations.

A Novel Method for Respiratory Motion Gated With Geometric Sensitivity of the Scanner in 3D PET

PET image quality can be significantly affected by respiratory motion artifacts. To improve image quality, surveillance systems have been developed to track the movements of the subject during scanning. Gating techniques utilizing the tracking information, are able to compensate for subject motion, thereby improving lesion detection. In this paper, we present a gating method that utilizes the Geometric Sensitivity Gating (GSG) of a 3D-PET scanner system operating in list event acquisition mode. As a result of the non-uniform geometric sensitivity, the count rate from a given organ, will depend on the axial location of the organ. Consequently the respiratory phase can be determined from count rate changes which are determined by suitable temporal resolution from the list-mode data stream. The GSG method has several advantages over existing methods; it only uses LOR events. It is non-invasive, no additional hardware device systems and patient preparation required. Using GATE (GEANT4 Application Tomographic Emission) and NCAT (NURBs(Non Uniform Rational B-Splines) Cardiac Torso) software packages, realistic simulations of respiratory motion demonstrate that GSG can be used for respiratory gating. The validation on clinical data demonstrates that GSG is able to reduce respiratory motion artifacts.