Survey Crew Research Articles

The use of orthoimagery and stereoscopic aerial imagery to identify muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) houses

AbstractThe muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is considered a ubiquitous inhabitant of wetlands across Canada and the United States, but recent studies indicate that muskrat populations in many parts of North America have experienced substantial declines over the last 40–60 years. Monitoring of muskrat abundance is therefore an important task for wildlife managers, but traditional methods such as house counts conducted during ground‐based surveys can be labor‐intensive and time‐consuming. Poor conditions or a lack of access may limit how much of a wetland can be surveyed. Aerial imagery has previously been used to census a diverse array of wildlife populations but is not yet a common tool for muskrat surveys. To investigate the accuracy of this alternative survey method, we collected aerial imagery from coastal wetlands along the north shore of Lake Ontario during the winter of 2014 for examination in both 2D orthorectified and 3D stereoscopic formats. We compared muskrat house counts obtained from imagery to counts recorded by ground survey crews in the same wetlands during the same winter. We found no significant difference between mean muskrat house counts obtained by ground survey crews and orthoimagery observers. In contrast, stereoscopic imagery observers overestimated mean house counts compared to ground survey crews, which we interpret was due to an increase in false positives. Our results indicate that orthoimagery is a promising tool for assessing muskrat occupancy, provides comparable broad‐scale results to traditional ground survey methods, and may be preferable to wildlife managers for a variety of reasons.

The Cs-137 radiological accident in Goiânia, Brazil: Conditions and results of the airborne radiometric survey

This paper describes the details of the aeroradiometric operations, the radiation detection system used and discusses the results. The low-altitude survey was carried out over Goiânia a few days after information of the accident was received by the national competent authority, the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). Given the little information at the time of the accident and the urgency to respond to the local and federal authorities, an aerial radiometric survey was proposed to evaluate the extent of the contamination and dispersion of the radioactive powder. The city's entire urban area and nearby dwellings centers, plus the two creeks crossing the city were surveyed in two days. The survey found only one additional contamination point 2.8 x 10-4 C/kg/h (1.1 R/h) that had not yet been identified by ground survey crews. Furthermore, no contamination was found along the margins of the Capim Puba Creek and Meia Ponte rivers which could be contaminated due to rainwater common at that time of the year. Detection tests conducted at different altitudes over the main contamination area showed that the Cs-137 gamma radiation could be detected even at altitudes of 350m above the ground. This was much higher than the 40 m - 70 m decided for the overflights. The survey demonstrated that the contamination was restricted to a few locations in the neighborhood of the metal scrap place where the source shield was broken. These locations were under the control of CNEN radiological emergency response personnel. Such a finding was an important indicator to calm down the population and the government authorities. This allowed concentrating attention on the remediation of the known points of high gamma activity.

Evaluating the efficacy of aerial infrared surveys to detect artificial polar bear dens

AbstractThe need to balance economic development with impacts to Arctic wildlife has been a prominent subject since petroleum exploration began on the North Slope of Alaska, USA, in the late 1950s. The North Slope region includes polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation, which has experienced a long‐term decline in abundance. Pregnant polar bears dig dens in snow drifts during winter and are vulnerable to disturbance, as den abandonment and mortality of neonates may result. Maternal denning coincides with the peak season of petroleum exploration and construction, raising concerns that human activities may disrupt denning. To minimize disturbance of denning polar bears, aerial infrared (AIR) surveys are routinely used to search for dens within planned industry activity areas and that information is used to implement mitigation. Aerial infrared surveys target the heat signature emanating from dens. Despite use by industry for >15 years, the efficacy of AIR and the factors that impact its ability to detect dens remains uncertain. Here, we evaluate AIR using artificial dens and observers naïve to locations to estimate detection probability and its relationship with covariates including weather variables, den characteristics, infrared sensor and altitude, and survey order to identify potential evidence of in‐flight observer learning occurring between surveys. In December 2019 we constructed 14 dens (each with an artificial heat source), and 11 control sites (disturbed sites without dens). Between December 2019 and January 2020, 3 survey crews flew 6 independent AIR surveys within the vicinity of dens and control sites and video‐recorded AIR imagery. Observers identified putative dens either in flight or during post‐flight review of recordings. We assessed detection probability with a simple Bayesian model using 3 subsets of data: 1) all detection/non‐detection data; 2) detection/non‐detection data restricted to instances where sample sites were confirmed to have been properly scanned by AIR during post‐study verification (i.e., when den locations were known); and 3) all dens visible on the recorded imagery during post‐study verification, even if they were not seen during the survey or during post‐flight review. Subsets 1 and 2 most closely resembled den surveys flown for oil and gas industry and had detection probabilities of 0.15 (95% CI = 0.08–0.23) and 0.24 (95% CI = 0.13–0.37), respectively. Detection probability was 0.41 (95% CI = 0.25–0.58) for subset 3. Higher wind speeds and larger den volume negatively influenced detection probability. Our low detection rate compared to previous studies could partially be the result of differences in study design, such as survey flight patterns. Our results suggest that AIR, as it is currently used, is unlikely to detect most polar bear dens in surveyed areas. Resource managers who use AIR should consider a suite of additional methods (e.g., habitat mapping, probabilistic den distribution, AIR methodology improvements) for minimizing impacts of industry on denning polar bears.

Enriching Existing 3D Pavement Condition Survey Datasets to Support Paving Project Cost Estimates, Project Planning, Designs, and Automated Machine Guidance

State departments of transportation (DOTs) typically perform annual pavement condition inspections, which serve as an important input into pavement management systems (PMS) software. Road surface defects (cracking, rutting, smoothness, etc.) are analyzed by PMS software to model the deterioration of pavements and to make budget and performance-based recommendations about which roads to maintain and how and when to maintain them. Increasingly at the state DOT level, these data are captured using high-speed 3D lasers (laser triangulation systems) that acquire the 3D shape of the road surface to evaluate its condition. Traditionally the capture of road elevation data relied entirely on the use of survey crews. Although accuracy can be quite high, the process of capturing elevations can require a lot of manpower, is time-consuming, requires lane closures, and results in a relatively small number of points per kilometer of road with which to perform all of the tasks from early project planning through construction. This paper explores an alternate approach that leverages existing 3D laser technology utilized by DOTs to measure the condition of in-service pavements. Typically, these laser systems capture “relatively referenced” 3D profiles of the roadway to evaluate pavement condition based on surface distortion. However, there is often no connection between these “relative” 3D profiles and real-world locations. This new approach involves the addition of high-accuracy blended global navigation satellite system + inertial navigation system positioning systems, as well as specialized software, to map the absolute position of 3D profiles in real-world coordinates.

Enter through the book shop: McLuhan monograffiti

ABSTRACT In the many conversations around or about Marshall McLuhan, what often gets lost or ignored is the fact that for his entire career he was an English professor: a teacher of literature and especially poetry. He came by it honestly, for his mother Elsie McLuhan was an elocutionist who performed dramatic monologues on stage, and although he began university in a mechanical engineering programme, during the summer between his first and second years he ‘read himself into English’ at night after long days as a rodman on a survey crew in the Manitoba north. Following that summer working in what cannot have been pleasant conditions, he left engineering for the arts programme at the University of Manitoba. It is hard to say whether he fell in love with literature or out of love with engineering – possibly it was a bit of both. Regardless, Marshall took a turn for the verse. Is the world better for it? Again, hard to say. Had his mind and energies been applied to the field of mechanical engineering for the following decades, who knows what contribution he would have made? What we can say with a fair degree of certainty is that had Marshall not majored in English Literature, he would not have learned the techniques of literary criticism that he eventually applied beyond literature to culture and technology – with world-changing results.

Control in the Process of the Building Construction by Means of Stationary Terrestrial Laser Scanning

This study will give a contemporary method for Quality Assurance or as-build during the construction of a building in Sofia, R. Bulgaria by using High Definition Survey (HDS) or more known as terrestrial Laser Scanning. Analyses were done on concrete casted elements (Floors, Ceiling Slabs and Columns) for the first eight floors which were already constructed during the time of field measurements. As a reference - data are obtained from the original design in native AutoCAD format, while field data were acquired by using 3D laser Scanners and they are represented in a form of Point Cloud. All data (design and measured) are acquired in local coordinate system and were later georeferenced in to the already established object coordinate system. The study will show the workflow for data preparation, post processing, and the results from 3D Inspection and Analyses. All tasks were implemented by two survey crews within 10 working days (four days for field work and 6 days for post processing analyses and reporting). During the laser scanning a total of 3 679 440 634 points were surveyed form 368 stations. After the post processing the number of points was reduced to 2 515 520 148 with relative accuracy after registration of individual scan worlds of +/- 3-4 mm. The accuracy for the data transformation in to the object coordinate system is +/- 7.5 mm. In order to have better data visibility and understanding of the deformations and displacements casted concrete elements were inspected separately floor by floor where ceiling and floor slabs were inspected in 1D (Z direction) while columns were inspected in 2D - (XY) inspection for the position. Thus some will say that the results are within accuracy limits of the classical measuring techniques we should not forget the fact that the percentage of inspected elements/surfaces is more than 95%.

A Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the Orbit Pipeline Project Jefferson, Liberty, and Chambers Counties, Texas

A Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the Orbit Pipeline Project Jefferson, Liberty, and Chambers Counties, Texas

Survey and Analysis of Common Diseases about Seafarers on a Voyage

Objective: to investigate the incidence and characteristics of common diseases of seafarers during long voyage, and to put forward relevant treatment schemes for medical security. Methods: to investigate and analyze the incidence of various diseases during the voyage from December 2017 to February 2018 of the crew of a survey ship, to understand the incidence of various diseases during the voyage and analyze the possible causes, and to provide corresponding treatment plans for the incidence of each stage during the voyage, so as to provide scientific basis for the medical support of the survey ship at sea. Results: the survey was conducted on 300 crew members of a survey ship, including 292 men and 8 women, aged 18 to 60, with an average age of 39. The top five diseases in the survey crew during the voyage were upper respiratory tract infection (35.33%), skin disease (22.33%), oral ulcer (14.67%), training injury (14.33%) and gastrointestinal diseases (13.67%). The incidence of upper sensations, skin diseases, oral ulcers and gastrointestinal diseases in the under 30s group was significantly higher than that in the other two age groups (p<0.05), while the incidence of training injuries was mainly concentrated in the 31 - 40s group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: during the voyage, diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections, skin diseases, oral ulcers, training injuries and gastrointestinal tract diseases are more common. Drug stockpiling, prevention and health education of related diseases before voyage should be done well, so as to reduce the incidence of common diseases of seafarers.

Evaluating the waterfowl breeding population and habitat survey for scaup

ABSTRACTPotential bias in breeding population estimates of certain duck species from the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) has been a concern for decades. The WBPHS does not differentiate between lesser (Aythya affinis) and greater (A. marila) scaup, but lesser scaup comprise 89% of the combined scaup population and their population estimates are suspected to be biased. We marked female lesser scaup (i.e., marked scaup) in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways, Canada and United States, with implantable satellite transmitters to track their spring migration through the traditional and eastern survey areas of the WBPHS, 2005–2010. Our goal was to use data independent of the WBPHS to evaluate whether breeding population estimates for scaup were biased and identify variables that might be used in the future to refine population estimates. We found that the WBPHS estimates of breeding scaup are biased because, across years, only 30% of our marked scaup had settled for the breeding period when the strata in which they settled were surveyed, 43% were available to be counted in multiple survey strata as their migration continued during the WBPHS, 32% settled outside the WBPHS area, the number of times a marked scaup was available to be counted by survey crews varied positively with the latitude that a marked scaup settled on breeding areas, the probability of a marked scaup being in a stratum while it was surveyed varied among years, and these probabilities were positively correlated with the traditional and eastern breeding population estimates for scaup. Annual population estimates derived from banding data provide a less biased and preferable method of monitoring scaup population status and trend. Development of models that include metrics such as survey stratum latitude and annual spring environmental conditions might potentially be used to improve scaup breeding population estimates derived from the WBPHS, but independent estimates from banding data would be important to evaluate such models. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

Detection of Oil near Shorelines during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

During any marine oil spill, floating oil slicks that reach shorelines threaten a wide array of coastal habitats. To assess the presence of oil near shorelines during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, we scanned the library of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery collected during the event to determine which images intersected shorelines and appeared to contain oil. In total, 715 SAR images taken during the DWH spill were analyzed and processed, with 188 of the images clearly showing oil. Of these, 156 SAR images showed oil within 10 km of the shoreline with appropriate weather conditions for the detection of oil on SAR data. We found detectable oil in SAR images within 10 km of the shoreline from west Louisiana to west Florida, including near beaches, marshes, and islands. The high number of SAR images collected in Barataria Bay, Louisiana in 2010 allowed for the creation of a nearshore oiling persistence map. This analysis shows that, in some areas inside Barataria Bay, floating oil was detected on as many as 29 different days in 2010. The nearshore areas with persistent floating oil corresponded well with areas where ground survey crews discovered heavy shoreline oiling. We conclude that satellite-based SAR imagery can detect oil slicks near shorelines, even in sheltered areas. These data can help assess potential shoreline oil exposure without requiring boats or aircraft. This method can be particularly helpful when shoreline assessment crews are hampered by difficult access or, in the case of DWH, a particularly large spatial and temporal spill extent.

Marking by elytral clip changes stridulatory characteristics and reduces reproduction in the American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus

Some insects produce and use sound during multiple behaviors including many aspects of reproduction. Variation in call structure depends on the evolved morphological structures used to produce the sound and encode function. Beetles in the genus Nicrophorus produce stridulation by rubbing plectra, located on the ventral side of the elytra, against a pars stridens, located on the caudal end on the fourth and fifth abdominal segment in females and males, respectively. During field surveys for the endangered N. americanus, survey crews have historically used a small V-shaped notch cut in the caudal end of the right elytron to serves as a permanent marking method. No study, however, has examined the effect of this marking technique on the characters of stridulation or consequences for reproductive behavior and fitness. Here we show that one temporal and one spectral character of sound change significantly following elytron clipping, and that reproductive success is significantly decreased in all breedings in which a parent beetle is elytron-clipped. We recommend replacement of this marking technique with non-invasive methods to ensure conservation of this endangered species.

Occupancy of yellow‐billed and Pacific loons: evidence for interspecific competition and habitat mediated co‐occurrence

Interspecific competition is an important process structuring ecological communities, however, it is difficult to observe in nature. We used an occupancy modelling approach to evaluate evidence of competition between yellow‐billed (Gavia adamsii) and Pacific (G. pacifica) loons for nesting lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. With multiple years of data and survey platforms, we estimated dynamic occupancy states (e.g. rates of colonization or extinction from individual lakes) and controlled for detection differences among aircraft platforms and ground survey crews. Results indicated that yellow‐billed loons were strong competitors and negatively influenced the occupancy of Pacific loons by excluding them from potential breeding lakes. Pacific loon occupancy was conditional on the presence of yellow‐billed loons, with Pacific loons having almost a tenfold decrease in occupancy probability when yellow‐billed loons were present and a threefold decrease in colonization probability when yellow‐billed loons were present in the current or previous year. Yellow‐billed and Pacific loons co‐occurred less than expected by chance except on very large lakes or lakes with convoluted shorelines; variables which may decrease the cost of maintaining a territory in the presence of the other species. These results imply the existence of interspecific competition between yellow‐billed and Pacific loons for nesting lakes; however, habitat characteristics which facilitate visual and spatial separation of territories can reduce competitive interactions and promote species co‐occurrence.

An Integrated Approach to Hydrographic Surveying of Large Reservoirs—Application to Tarbela Reservoir in Pakistan

Hydrographic surveying in reservoirs is a key activity in order to collect data for a variety of purposes like estimation of storage capacity, rate and pattern of sediment deposition, movement of underwater sediment delta and reservoir routing, etc. These parameters play a pivotal role in any planning, management and operation activity of the reservoirs. Traditional approaches to perform hydrographic surveying in Indus Basin are time consuming, laborious, comparatively inaccurate and costly. As water resources are under immense pressure due to a variety of factors, such inefficient methods are not acceptable for efficient water management. In this study, an integrated approach for hydrographic surveying is introduced and evaluated in terms of its efficiency in comparison with the traditional methods of hydrographic surveying. The approach develops an integrated environment of hydrographic surveying comprising human, hardware and software. The process of surveying starts from in-house planning using specialized geo-spatial softwares. Then, on site a combination of computer hardware, echosounder, differential global positioning system (DGPS), survey vessel and survey crew is made. Post-processing is performed after conducting a survey in order to improve quality of data by filtering errors and producing the end product like reservoir underwater terrain, development of reservoir stage-area and stage-storage relationships, etc. The study was applied to Tarbela Reservoir, Pakistan.

Profiles in History

1958 The image above was taken in the spring of 1958 by Dr. Dick Arnold during the progressive field review of Fulton–Montgomery Counties Soil Survey in New York. From left to right: in red cap, Al Southard, soil scientist from Cornell University; Don Flora, area soil specialist out of Syracuse, NY; standing, Marlin Cline, New York soil correlator; in plaid shirt, Ray Marshall, SCS-New York, state soil scientist; and, on extreme right, is Alan Tallerico, SCS party member. Photo was taken by Dick Arnold, who was the project leader at the time, with Al Southard, party member, and both were university employees. Note the red cap on Al Southard. Both Al Southard and Dick Arnold were university mappers. Both had red caps or Ivy League berets they bought at the Cornell bookstore. However, Al Southard's red cap succumbed to harsh field conditions while finishing up the Fulton-Montgomery survey, while Dick's is preserved at the National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE. Soil Survey Progress Field Review of Fulton-Montgomery Counties, New York. 1959 In the image above, taken in May 1959, Al Southard, on the left, was now the project leader for Fulton–Montgomery Counties, NY. Al had just accepted the project leader position, replacing Dick Arnold, the previous project leader, who had returned for graduate school at Cornell University. Eventually, around 1980, Dr. Arnold became the soil survey director in Washington, DC. In the center is Dr. George Nelson Coffey, who had been head of soil classification for the Bureau of Soils from 1905 to 1908 and was a contemporary with Curtis Marbut. Dr. Coffey was 84 years old and retired at the time this photo was taken. He planned a day in the field since he was close by, visiting relatives in Gloversville, NY. On the right is Leo Handler, a work unit conservationist, who lived and worked nearby. Dr. George N. Coffey, former employee of the Bureau of Soils, visits the Fulton–Montgomery Counties Soil Survey Crew 1964 Above is an image from the August 1964 final field review taken by Dr. Al Southard in Powder River County in southeastern Montana. At this time, Dr. Southard was Assistant Professor of Soil Science at Montana State University and the National Cooperative Soil Survey cooperator for Montana. Pictured from left to right are Dave Cawfield, state soil scientist of Montana in white hat; Ron Mosher, assistant state soil scientist of Montana, sitting and in plaid shirt; Clint Mogen, SCS soil correlator from the Bozeman State office, kneeling; Roy Simonson, national correlator out of Beltsville, holding his tie and who was known to be always well dressed for field reviews; John Parker, Powder River County soil survey project leader, leaning on the car; and Andy Aandahl, regional correlator from the NSSC, holding the bag. Soil Survey Progress Field Review in Powder River County, Montana Submissions courtesy Susan B. Southard, USDA-NRCS soil scientist, Davis, CA and Dr. Alvin Reid Southard, Professor Emeritus of Soil Science, Utah State University, Logan, UT.

Second atlas of breeding birds in Pennsylvania

Credit card orders: 800-326-9180 Tol l f ree fax: 877-PSU-BOOK h t t p : / / w w w . p s u p r e s s . o r g SOC-12 Twenty years after the first Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania was published, the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania brings our knowledge of the state’s bird populations up to date, documenting current distribution and changes in status for nearly two hundred bird species. More than two thousand dedicated birdwatchers completed the surveys of birds in 4,937 blocks across the state from 2004 to 2009. The data amassed provide a comprehensive understanding of the distribution of each species and show in detail the changes in distribution since the first Atlas. Additionally, a highly trained survey crew carried out bird counts at more than 34,000 locations statewide. These counts tabulated not just species, but individual birds, in a manner that enabled for the very first time precise estimates of the actual statewide populations for more than half of the 190 breeding species detected during the Atlas. In all, more than 1.5 million sightings were compiled during the second Atlas, providing an unprecedented snapshot of the bird life of Pennsylvania—perhaps even of any comparably sized region in the world. The data gathered and summarized for the second Atlas were used by the more than forty contributing authors in writing comprehensive and authoritative species accounts. Each account is illustrated by a stunning photograph, usually taken somewhere within Pennsylvania. Up to three maps per species show in fine detail the current distribution based on the second Atlas, changes in distribution since the first Atlas, and, for more than one hundred species, detailed maps of abundance. In addition, a chart shows forty-year population trends. Introductory chapters describe and discuss recent changes in climate and bird habitats within Pennsylvania and provide other information used by the species account authors to inform their detailed accounts.

To Catch A Coney Fish With Bare Hands

Three years have passed since Ruthie last saw her younger sister. Ruthie worries about Mary constantly; her fears churn deep inside her belly like the current of the big river. Last night, Ruthie's daughter K'aii came into the room while Ruthie was sleeping. The moon was still high and watchful in the inky sky, and Wail gently touched her mother's face. Mary! Ruthie woke with a start, wide-eyed in the darkness, the delicate outline of her daughter's face illuminated in the twilight. No, mama, it's me, K'aii said, her voice soft and searching. had a nightmare. Mary had followed her sister as far as she could. Then one morning, years ago, Mary left quietly, catching a southbound charter with a survey crew who'd come north to draw plans for the highway expansion. Once carefully contained villages were to be connected to the outside world by an all-season road. As she picked berries with other village women, Ruthie watched the plane climb higher and higher in the sky. Shielding her eyes, Ruthie squinted at its aluminum shell, glimmering as it darted between clouds. If she had known then that her sister Mary sat quietly within the plane's small body, she would have chased its shadow through the brush, straining to catch it between her hands, straining to tether it and Mary to the ground. To the ground of their village. To the berries she was picking. Ruthie was born on the land. Like her mother and father. Like her grandparents and all the people who came before. Out in the bush, at their summer camp. Her mother was hanging fish to dry when her water broke, dripping down onto the moss beneath her feet. Ruthie's children don't believe her when she tells this story, but she remembers her birth. She remembers all the pushing, all the commotion. She remembers her grandmother's voice muffled outside the tight skin drum of her mother's heaving belly. And then the smell of wood smoke and the blurriness of the light streaming through her eyes, wet and shiny in their newness. And she remembers, at last, the warmth of her mother's voice, and of her breast. Ruthie clung to the memories of this warmth during all those years away at school. Away from her family, away from the soothing music of their laughter, her grandparents' stories shared around the fire, the smell of spruce boughs and smoky hides, and the taste of dry meat and tart berries. The time away at school is Ruthie's story alone. I could not do that story justice. She would tell you that it was at school that she was taught not to speak her language. She would tell you that there, in that school, the smallest seed of sadness was planted. That seed grew and grew and grew. Like weeds filling empty space that took hold the day she was taken away. Ruthie would tell you her own stories. But there are stories that I too have seen, stories of a loss so great that it has seeped deep down into the muskeg, like blood spilled by both caribou and human, a throbbing sting that resonates across this stretch of taiga and Precambrian shield I call my home but is not my homeland. This is not my story, not fully, but it is a story that surrounds me and a story that I am called upon to share, a story that hurts to tell but that hurts more to leave untold. This is a story of loss, but it is also one of love, of family, and of finding the way home again. By the time Ruthie was three years old her family was spending less and less time in the bush. The animals still came to her father's trapline, yes, but the men at the trading post told him that the furs were no longer selling for what they once did. By then, other families had begun to live year-round in the village, where, if they stayed, the government was building houses and giving people food and rations. We're building northern suburbs, just like in the south, the Indian agent told the people, following the instructions he had received from Ottawa. When he first read the notice, he shook his head. …

The calculation and experiment for measurements over pins of the external helical gears with an odd number of teeth

For the calculation and measurement between pins in the external helical gears with an odd number of teeth, they have been studied for many years. And the calculation methods and measurements are also described in DIN and AGMA standards. However, for ISO standard, a clear conclusion has not been given yet. The differences between the research results and standards are still inconsistent in some cases of the actual situation. In the actual measurements, the pin instead of the ball is always used by survey crew. It is unreasonable that an incorrect value (usually the value across the ball) and measuring methods are used. In this paper, different calculations and measuring methods of different standards are firstly expressed. For different measurement tools, like dial caliper, outside micrometer and disc micrometer, the measurement results are not the same. Therefore, two test gears were manufactured and analyzed to verify the accuracy and reliability of the measurement methods between software calculation and manual measurement over pins. It is found that the calculation and measurement methods of DIN, AGMA or similar methods are feasible and reliable, but for the measuring surface of the measuring tools, the pin should be in a steady state along the spiral groove. Reliable measurement values are obtained to ensure the accuracy of the measurement. It is helpful to understand the measurements of the standard or similar methods through theoretical analysis and experiments.

Evaluation of Comprehension and Legibility of International and Domestic Nonstandard Symbol Signs

This paper documents a research project that evaluated proposed new traffic signs to ensure that the signs were effective when human factors requirements were taken into consideration. The following sign messages were selected for symbol development and evaluation: combination horizontal alignment–advisory speed, congestion ahead, cross-street preferential lane warning, do not enter, do not pass, electric-vehicle charging station, fallen rocks, flagger ahead, low-shoulder warning, maximum width, no left turn ahead, railroad crossing on leg of roundabout, road narrows, survey crew, trolley crossing, uneven lanes, and winery. The team conducted 96 surveys to determine driver comprehension and legibility for each alternative sign design. The surveys were administered to the general driving public at the Turner–Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. On the basis of driver input and the results of the comprehension and legibility testing, the research team provided recommendations on symbols that should be included in the next edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

J021024 交通事故実態調査に基づく腹部傷害メカニズムの解析

Nihon University and Nippon Medical School research the traffic accident. This study analyzed anatomical damage and the vehicle damage of the findings from medical and engineering. Abdominal injury is the largest in seatbelt user's death and serious injury rate. Generating mechanism should be solved fast. The research example which abdominal injury occurred had the feature which the sheet bearing has damaged. It case had been suffered abdominal injury seatbelt is removed from the pelvic region. Abdominal injury, it is necessary for the anatomical evaluation of AIS of bleeding increases with time, even minor injuries. To simulate the behavior obtained from the survey crew, we want to clarify the generation mechanism of abdominal injury.

Utility of a Probabilistic Sampling Design to Determine Bull Trout Population Status Using Redd Counts in Basins of the Columbia River Plateau

AbstractRedd counts are commonly used to monitor the current population status, trends in abundance, and distribution of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus. In many cases redd counts are conducted at subjectively selected sites, and there has been limited evaluation of statistical sampling designs. We evaluated the utility of the generalized random tessellation stratified (GRTS) sampling design to determine bull trout population status through redd counts. We tested a sampling effort that would be economically practical to implement on a continuous basis in multiple drainages within the southeastern Washington and Oregon portions of the Columbia River plateau. We evaluated the logistics of a pilot application of the GRTS design, compared GRTS‐based estimates of redd abundance with those from census surveys, determined the precision of the GRTS estimates and the associated power for abundance comparisons, and compared the performance of the GRTS design with that of other probability sampling designs through simulation. A target of 50 sites per basin can be sampled by a two‐person survey crew multiple times over the spawning season. At that level of effort, the precision of redd abundance estimates ranges from 15% to 35%, depending on the patchiness of the redd distribution and the extent of the target population. These levels of precision are suitable for detecting a 30–70% change in redd abundance. Direct comparisons of GRTS‐based estimates with those obtained from a census showed mixed results. However, in a simulation study with three other probability sampling designs, GRTS consistently outperformed all but systematic sampling, which provided slightly better precision at intermediate sample sizes. Depending on the scale of inference, GRTS is useful in monitoring bull trout conservation units through redd counts, though a census may provide a more practical design for monitoring core areas as defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.