Testbed Site Research Articles

Observations from opening of a novel geotextile tube connection in field test site

A novel connection configuration for geotextile tubes was proposed, involving the insertion of an auxiliary tube between two main tubes, to ensure proper alignment and leveling when connecting them in a series, thus consolidating individual tubes into a unified structure while maintaining a consistent horizontal level. The novel connection was implemented at a test bed site in the Saemangeum reclaimed area, South Korea, to test exposure to the marine environment including sea waves, sun light exposure and reclamation process. This study presents the observations made upon opening the connection tube after 8 years. The observation shows that the connected geotextile tubes using the proposed auxiliary tube are suitable for use in long-term reclamation projects.

Key Factors Influencing Urban Regenerative Strategies in Public Open Spaces: A Case-Study in Lhasa

Abstract In the last decades, significant efforts have been made in urban construction to achieve rapid economic development. However, with climate change on the agenda, there is a growing recognition of the importance of urban sustainable development and of its potential impacts on residents. Reflection reveals that many policies, measures, and tools are inadequate; therefore, public open spaces are regarded as a potential target of urban regeneration strategies. This study explores users’ perceptions of public open spaces through participatory methods. The developed methodology is applied to specific areas of Lhasa, the major city of the Tibet region, which was selected as a test-bed site. The survey involved a selected pool of participants and emphasized the coverage of different types of public open spaces. Investigate factors including personal background, overall satisfaction, user evaluation, usage preference, and willingness to change, analyze key factors based on quantitative survey results. Subsequently, identify the key regenerative design elements that require highlighting. The findings indicate that comfort and safety are emphasized by users of all types of public open spaces. Additionally, their initial impression upon entering a space significantly influences their overall satisfaction with it. Besides, although individual background differences play a role, they are not sufficient to significantly influence the user’s evaluation of the space. However, variations in the purpose of space use result in differences in user evaluations and needs, impacting their attitudes based on the type of space. Finally, urban regeneration design strategies are proposed for various types of public open spaces and users.

Quantitative Precipitation Estimation using X-Band Radar for Orographic Rainfall in the San Francisco Bay Area

In the San Francisco Bay Area, precipitation occurs in the wintertime, mostly as rain. Wintertime rainfall can be further classified into cold or stratiform rain with a typical radar bright band signature and warm orographic rain with absence of a radar bright band. Vertical Pointing S-Band profiler radar and disdrometer measurements from two of NOAA’s Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) sites in California are used to study the differences in microphysical properties between these two types of rain and their implications in radar rainfall estimation. A methodology has been developed to discriminate non bright band (NBB) rainfall from bright band (BB) rainfall using reflectivity (Z) and differential reflectivity (Z <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">DR</sub> ) computed from disdrometer data. Delineating the two rainfall types in this way allowed for an algorithm to be applied to the radar scans to identify rainfall types and apply appropriate reflectivity based and specific differential phase (K <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">DP</sub> ) based rainfall estimators. Recently, a gap-filling X-Band weather radar with dual-polarization capabilities was deployed in the San Francisco Bay Area in Santa Rosa to aid in weather monitoring and provide high resolution Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) products. When applied to real radar observations, this method shows great potential for improving the QPE compared to traditional operational products which more often tend to underestimate rainfall in the California coastal region.

MINDER Smart home test bed site – embedding dementia research into primary health and social care. Wingfield, D. Daniels, S. Norman, C. Lai, H. Hassim, N. Nilforooshan, R. Barnarghi, P. Sharp, D

AbstractBackgroundDigitally enabled healthcare is becoming mainstream NHS (1) and adoption has been accelerated in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic (2) The UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research &amp; Technology Centre, established in 2019, explores the value of using technology in people’s homes to improve care and has developed a system (MINDER) using IOT/smart home technology and medical devices, integrating activity and health data for research purposes and generating health alerts to the mainstream provider via a clinical monitoring team. Initially launched in Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust (n = 40); in April 2021, an additional research site was established within primary care in North West London.MethodWe collated data from both sites and describe an integrated delivery model for research within primary health and social care. Cohort description and case studies illustrate the challenges and benefits of conducting this research across urban and sub‐urban settings.ResultsOver 55 participants are currently enrolled on the study. 15 of these from primary care/general practice in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Opportunities arising from this setting include leveraging the patient – provider (nurse/doctor/allied health professional/social care) relationship to introduce the study and recruit, and rapid escalation of any problems arising in a research context to the clinical/care teams responsible to delivering care (for example; potential urinary tract infections). Challenges to recruitment have included lack of specialist confirmation of dementia diagnosis in primary care records, lack of consistent engagement/availability of the required MINDER study partner as well as the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic limited face to face contact.ConclusionEarly data suggests that a complex dementia study can be embedded successfully in General Practice and leads to strengthening of relations with care giving bodies. This offers the opportunity for development and translation of new technologies within front line primary and social care, that can be fully evaluated within the real world context of service delivery.References 1)The NHS Long Term Plan (2019) gov.uk 2) Baird B, Maguire D. Understanding factors that enabled digital service change in general practice during the Covid‐19 pandemic. London: The King’s Fund. 2021 Feb.

Weathering extents and anthropogenic influences shape the soil bacterial community along a subsurface zonation

Subsurface environments are composed of various active soil layers with dynamic biogeochemical interactions. We investigated soil bacterial community composition and geochemical properties along a vertical soil profile, which was categorized into surface, unsaturated, groundwater fluctuated, and saturated zones, in a testbed site formerly used as farmland for several decades. We hypothesized that weathering extent and anthropogenic inputs influence changes in the community structure and assembly processes and have distinct contributions along the subsurface zonation. Elemental distribution in each zone was strongly affected by the extent of chemical weathering. A 16S rRNA gene analysis indicated that bacterial richness (alpha diversity) was highest in the surface zone, and also higher in the fluctuated zone, than in unsaturated and saturated zones due to the effects of high organic matter, high nutrient levels, and/or aerobic conditions. Redundancy analysis showed that major elements (P, Na), a trace element (Pb), NO3, and the weathering extent were key driving forces shaping bacterial community composition along the subsurface zonation. Assembly processes were governed by specific ecological niches, such as homogeneous selection, in the unsaturated, fluctuated, and saturated zones, while in the surface zone, they were dominated by dispersal limitation. These findings together suggest that the vertical variation in soil bacterial community assembly is zone-specific and shaped by the relative influences of deterministic vs. stochastic processes. Our results provide novel insights into the relationships between bacterial communities, environmental factors, and anthropogenic influences (e.g., fertilization, groundwater, soil contamination), and into the roles of specific ecological niches and subsurface biogeochemical processes in these relationships.

A numerical study of 3D topographic site effects considering wavefield incident direction and geomorphometric parameters

The topographic site effect plays a vital role in controlling the characteristics of earthquake ground motions. Due to its complexity, the factors affecting topographic amplification have not been fully identified. In this study, 100 ground motion simulations generated by double-couple point sources in the homogeneous linear elastic half-space are performed based on the 3D (three-dimensional) Spectral Element Method, taking the Menyuan area of Qinghai Province, China as a local testbed site. A relationship between incident direction and the strength of topographic amplification has been observed. The horizontal ground motion is affected by the back-azimuth, which is typically chosen to be the direction from seismic station to seismic source measured clockwise from north. Specifically, the east-west PGA (Peak Ground-motion Acceleration) is significantly amplified when back-azimuth is about 90° or 270°, and the north-south PGA is significantly amplified when back-azimuth is around 0° or 180°. The vertical ground motion is affected by the dipping angle, which is the angle from vertical at which an incoming seismic wave arrives. The vertical PGA is strongly amplified when the seismic wave is almost horizontally incident (e.g., dipping angle = 78°). A correlation study between geomorphometric parameters and frequency-dependent topographic amplification indicates that relative elevation and smoothed curvature contain similar information, both of which are closely related to the topographic amplification of horizontal components, but not the vertical component. Our study reveals the influence of source and propagation path on topographic amplification and provides a reference for considering the topographic site effect in real engineering sites.

Development of integrated screening, cultivar optimization, and verification research (DISCOVR): A coordinated research-driven approach to improve microalgal productivity, composition, and culture stability for commercially viable biofuels production

To address major knowledge gaps and barriers to the commercial development of algal biomass for biofuels and co-products, a collaborative consortium, Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization, and Verification Research (DISCOVR), was established in 2016. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), this consortium constitutes a partnership between four DOE national laboratories - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) - and the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) at Arizona State University.To address the barriers of strain selection for achieving high seasonal productivities with a suitable composition and culture resilience, a tiered strain down-selection pipeline is implemented. At Tier I, the temperature and salinity tolerance of strains is determined in flask cultures; at Tier II, the areal biomass productivity and composition is determined in climate-simulation photobioreactors; at Tier III, the productivity and culture stability are determined in outdoor raceways. The top performing strains move forward to long-term testing at the algae testbed site at AzCATI to generate annual biomass productivity data.Concurrent to the strain down-selection in the DISCOVR pipeline, hypotheses for increasing biomass productivity, shifting biomass composition to enhance intrinsic value, and improving culture stability and resistance to pests are also tested. Techno-economic analyses are carried out to determine whether promising findings from laboratory studies or proposed modifications in outdoor pond cultivation conditions translate into reductions in the minimum biomass selling price (MBSP). In the three years following the launch of DISCOVR, annual biomass productivity has increased from 11.7 to 17.6 g m−2 day−1, resulting in an MBSP decrease from 824 to 611 $ ton−1.

Microbiota associated with the large-scale outdoor cultivation of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002

The model euryhaline cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 has potential as a platform for biotechnological applications because of its genetic amenability and fast growth rates. The purpose of this work was to measure the outdoor productivity metrics of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, which we tested by cultivation in 110 L flat-panel photobioreactors and 1025 L open raceway ponds at the Algae Testbed Public Private Partnership (ATP3) algae culturing testbed site at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI). This work was carried out during the summer growing season when ambient temperatures and light availability are highest to support maximum photoautotrophic biomass yields. Modifications to the traditional A+ laboratory growth media for Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 included the use of urea as a nitrogen source, and CO2 sparging for automated pH control in open ponds. Synechococcus showed robust growth in flat-panel photobioreactors, which are suited for the containment of modified organisms; however, cultivation in the open-raceway pond system was challenging due to pond crashes. We investigated the microbiota associated with Synechococcus pond cultures using Illumina amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of bacteria and archaea and the 18S rRNA genes of microbial eukaryotes, to identify potential competitor and predator genera. These results pointed to likely predation of Synechococcus by a ciliated protozoan of the genus Euplotes. Development of crop protection strategies will be crucial for enabling the mass cultivation of Synechococcus in open pond systems.

PARE0030 PEER SUPPORT OF PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH: THE ‘RUG-BUDDY’

Background:Since 2006, The School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University has a long standing commitment to Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) in research. The School’s Research User Group (RUG) has 133 members in January 2020, compared to 80 members in September 2016. Supporting the practical and emotional needs of a growing number of RUG members to support their long-term involvement is of prime importance.Arising from Keele’s role as a test bed site for the new UK Public Involvement Standards, a new peer support role (the ‘RUG-Buddy’) was co-produced to facilitate the support of RUG members.Objectives:The RUG-Buddy is a peer support and mentoring scheme. More experienced RUG members attend research meetings with less experienced members to provide support and reassurance. The scheme aims to provide:•A welcoming and friendly environment for RUG members•Extra support for all RUG members before, during and after research meetings•Help new RUG members ease into public involvement•Support with discussions between researchers and RUG members, e.g. avoiding research jargon••Reassurance to new members - learning from those with greater experience of public involvement•Someone to talk to and confide in from people who have personal experience of PPIE•Practical advice on completing payment forms, parking issues, etc.Methods:Peer support is provided by a panel of existing RUG members who have substantial experience of PPIE in research. This is anadditionalmethod of supporting the RUG members alongside support provided by the School’s PPIE team. RUG-Buddies will be supported in their role by the PPIE team and provided with an induction and training. RUG-Buddies are offered payment for their time and have their travel expenses reimbursed. The RUG-Buddies scheme will be piloted during an initial 6-month period, after which it will be reviewed, with feedback from RUG-Buddies and RUG members.Results:A role description for the RUG-Buddy role has been coproduced by Keele’s PPIE team and its RUG Steering Group (Table 1). A panel of 10 RUG members have been recruited for the RUG-Buddy role and have received an induction and training (e.g. Health and Safety, Information Governance). RUG-Buddies have provided support to and attended research meetings with other RUG members. The RUG-Buddy role will be reviewed in September 2020.Table 1.Summary of the RUG-Buddy role descriptionQualities of a RUG-BuddyRUG-Buddy responsibilitiesPPIE team responsibilitiesWilling to share personal experienceTo attend up to the first three PPIE meetings of a research projectTo provide a training session for all RUG-BuddiesFriendly and approachableTo introduce new member to RUG members and research teamTo meet RUG-Buddies every two months to provide review/feedback of the roleEnthusiastic and knowledgeable about PPIE in researchTo encourage contribution to the meetingTo have a named PPIE lead for any questions/queries that may ariseBe reliable and punctualTo provide support and respond to RUG members’ questionsTo work alongside RUG-Buddy to meet and greet public membersConclusion:The RUG-Buddy is an innovative peer support scheme to support the involvement of patients and the public in research. The support provided by RUG-Buddies offers a different perspective from people with real-life experience of involvement in research. It is anticipated that this additional support will enrich the experience of RUG members and facilitate a more welcoming and conducive environment for active and meaningful public involvement. Furthermore, it has also provided an opportunity for the RUG-Buddies to gain valuable new skills and also give something back to the PPIE team and researchers who have supported their own involvement for many years.Acknowledgments:This project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (project reference 440). Thank you to the Keele Research User Group for all their great workDisclosure of Interests:None declared

A new full‐scale testbed for structural health monitoring and soil–structure interaction studies: Kunming 48‐story office building in Yunnan province, China

This paper introduces a new and unique full-scale testbed site for structural health monitoring and soil–structure system identification studies being developed in southwest China. The site is a 48-story skyscraper with an extended four-level basement, supported by piles, located in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. Located in the diffused zone of collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, Yunnan is one of the most active seismic areas in mainland China. The final sensor deployment will consist of 43 triaxial accelerometers (129 channels) and one weather station. The accelerometer array comprises (a) a structural array of 25 accelerometers installed at 10 levels aboveground, (b) a basement array of 14 accelerometers distributed in the first and fourth basements, and (c) two borehole arrays installed close to the basement perimeter wall, each with one accelerometers at the surface and another one at 50-m depth, which is the depth reached by the piles. With such dense instrumentation of structure, basement, and pile foundation, this site will be the first permanently instrumented full-scale testbed to enable identification of a soil-foundation–basement-structure system and validation of many assumptions commonly made in the prediction of the soil–structure interaction effects. A high-performance wired local area network has been installed in the building, featuring a Precision Time Protocol-enabled time synchronization and real-time remote access over the Internet. The site will be fully operational in late spring of 2020. Results of preliminary system identification of the structure from ambient vibration test data are presented.

Coupling material characteristics with water–cement ratio for elastic wave based monitoring of underground structure

Elastic wave based technology (e.g., acoustic emission or micro seismic sensors) has been widely used to monitor the stability of underground structures or rock failure. To achieve successful measurement, it is important to select an appropriate coupling material for the installation of sensors that are embedded in holes bored into the wall of a structure. The characteristics of the coupling material are related to its wave propagation ability (i.e., wave velocity and damping ratio), setting ability in the borehole (i.e., bleeding), and its workability (i.e., viscosity) in relation to being able to fill the holes tightly with the sensors. In this study, micro cement, Portland cement, and gypsum were the materials considered to couple with sensors in the borehole. Laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the characteristics of the coupling material according to the water-cement ratio (w/c, range 0.5–2.0). The test results show that the propagation ability and setting ability tend to decrease with increasing w/c ratio; on the other hand, workability benefits from an increasing w/c ratio. In addition, the characteristics of the coupling materials were analyzed to suggest a material with an optimized w/c ratio appropriate for a target test-bed site. The most suitable coupling recipe was found to be micro cement with a w/c ratio of 1.0. This study provides information about coupling material characteristics that should be useful for determining a suitable coupling recipe for field applications.

Parametric models for 3D topographic amplification of ground motions considering subsurface soils

Amplification of seismic waves due to surface topography and subsurface soils has often been observed to cause intensive damage in past earthquakes. Due to its complexity, topographic amplification has not yet been considered in most seismic design codes. In this study, we simulate ground-motion amplification based on 3D Spectral Element Method, using Hong Kong Island as a local testbed site. The analyses revealed that topographic amplification of ground motions is frequency-dependent. If the site is made of homogenous rock, the amplification factor is best correlated with the curvature smoothed over a characteristic length equal to half of the wavelength in rock. Amplification of high frequency wave is correlated with small-scale features, and amplification of long-period waves is correlated with large-scale features in horizontal dimension. The maximum topography amplification generally ranges from 1.6 to 2.0 on the protruded areas. When a low-velocity subsurface soil layer is considered, the topographic amplification pattern is significantly influenced by the thickness of the soil layer, as wavelength in soil is relatively short. The characteristic length reduces as soil thickness increases, and the amplification pattern becomes closely correlated to smaller-scale topographic features as well as slope angles. Results also show that the effect of material damping can be decoupled from the topographic effects and modeled using a theoretical attenuation factor. The study proposed parametric models to predict 3D topographic amplification using simple proxies considering subsurface soils, material damping and input wave frequencies, which gives accurate results with a standard deviation of residuals within 0.1–0.15.

A wave model test bed study for wave energy resource characterization

This paper presents a test bed study conducted to evaluate best practices in wave modeling to characterize energy resources. The model test bed off the central Oregon Coast was selected because of the high wave energy and available measured data at the site. Two third-generation spectral wave models, SWAN and WWIII, were evaluated. A four-level nested-grid approach—from global to test bed scale—was employed. Model skills were assessed using a set of model performance metrics based on comparison of six simulated wave resource parameters and observations from a wave buoy inside the test bed. Both WWIII and SWAN performed well at the test bed site and exhibited similar modeling skills. The ST4 physics package with WWIII, which represents better physics for wave growth and dissipation, out-performed ST2 physics and improved wave power density and significant wave height predictions. However, ST4 physics tended to over-predict the wave energy period. The newly developed ST6 physics did not improve the overall model skill for predicting the six wave resource parameters. Sensitivity analysis using different wave frequencies and direction resolutions indicated the model results were not sensitive to spectral resolutions at the test bed site, likely due to the absence of complex bathymetric and geometric features.

Modeling Pile Setup in Natural Clay Deposit Considering Soil Anisotropy, Structure, and Creep Effects: Case Study

AbstractThis paper reports the results of a numerical investigation of the behavior of a natural soft clay deposit under the installation of a case study pile. The case study problem included installation of an instrumented close-ended displacement pile in a soft marine clay deposit, known as Bothkennar clay, in Scotland. The site has been used for a number of years as a geotechnical test bed site, and the clay has been comprehensively characterized with both in situ tests and laboratory experiments. The soft soil behavior, both after pile installation and subsequent consolidation, was reproduced by using an advanced critical-state-based constitutive model that accounts for the anisotropy of soil fabric and destructuration effects during plastic straining. Furthermore, a time-dependent extension of the model was used to study soil creep and the significance of its consideration in the overall pile-installation effects. The simulation results were compared against field measurements; furthermore, for compa...

Radar Rain-Rate Estimators and Their Variability due to Rainfall Type: An Assessment Based on Hydrometeorology Testbed Data from the Southeastern United States

AbstractS-band profiling (S-PROF) radar measurements from different southeastern U.S. Hydrometeorology Testbed sites indicated a frequent occurrence of rain that did not exhibit radar bright band (BB) and was observed outside the periods of deep-convective precipitation. This common nonbrightband (NBB) rain contributes ~15%–20% of total accumulation and is not considered as a separate rain type by current precipitation-segregation operational radar-based schemes, which separate rain into stratiform, convective, and, sometimes, tropical types. Collocated with S-PROF, disdrometer measurements showed that drop size distributions (DSDs) of NBB rain have much larger relative fractions of smaller drops when compared with those of BB and convective rains. Data from a year of combined DSD and rain-type observations were used to derive S-band-radar estimators of rain rate R, including those based on traditional reflectivity Ze and ones that also use differential reflectivity ZDR and specific differential phase KDP. Differences among same-type estimators for mostly stratiform BB and deep-convective rain were relatively minor, but estimators derived for the common NBB rain type were distinct. Underestimations in NBB rain-rate retrievals derived using other rain-type estimators (e.g., those for BB or convective rain or default operational radar estimators) for the same values of radar variables can be on average about 40%, although the differential phase-based estimators are somewhat less susceptible to DSD details. No significant differences among the estimators for the same rain type derived using DSDs from different observational sites were present despite significant separation and differing terrain. Identifying areas of common NBB rain could be possible from Ze and ZDR measurements.

Characterisation of the effects of time on the shaft friction of displacement piles in sand

This paper describes a new approach to represent the effects of time on the shaft friction of displacement piles in sand. The proposal is based on the findings from pile test programmes performed at a test bed site in Western Australia in addition to data from well-documented full-scale pile tests. The investigation reveals a significant influence of installation disturbance on the subsequent gain in capacity (set-up) of shaft friction. Set-up is viewed as a recovery process, rather than a capacity gain, following the disturbance induced by pile installation. Gains in capacity in the medium and longer term tend to vary with the logarithm of time, while capacity changes shortly after installation are seen to be relatively small. A new expression is proposed to represent this ageing characteristic, which also incorporates a limiting (or maximum available) shaft friction.

Making Safeguarding Personal: developing responses and enhancing skills

Purpose – This paper aims to contextualise and summarise the Making Safeguarding Personal programme and to place this in the context of early developments in research-based evidence. Design/methodology/approach – A programme of sector led improvement in local council adult safeguarding arrangements was carried out in four English local councils by the Local Government Association and other stakeholders. Support was provided to four local council test bed sites to assist them to test and adapt different approaches to adult safeguarding that placed emphasis on outcomes and on approaches to mediation to assist vulnerable adults to improve their circumstances. Findings – Key findings from the test bed sites are that it may be possible to consider the outcomes of safeguarding interventions from “user” perspectives and that it appears that practitioners may welcome support with taking forward methods of mediation and work with family networks. These activities reflect an interest in developing practice responses and measures of effectiveness. Originality/value – Councils will need to develop measures of the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements and sector led improvements can contribute to these from a “bottom up” perspective. Practitioners often welcome opportunities to reflect on and to invest in responses to cases of alleged and proven abuse and neglect.

Evaluation of the GOES-R ABI LAP Retrieval Algorithm Using the GOES-13 Sounder

Abstract A physical retrieval algorithm has been developed for deriving the legacy atmospheric profile (LAP) product from infrared radiances of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on board the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) series. In this study, the GOES-R ABI LAP retrieval algorithm is applied to the GOES-13 sounder radiance measurements (termed the GOES-13 LAP retrieval algorithm in this study) for its validation as well as for potential transition of the GOES-13 LAP retrieval algorithm for the operational processing of GOES sounder data. The GOES-13 LAP retrievals are compared with five different truth measurements: radiosonde observation (raob) and microwave radiometer–measured total precipitable water (TPW) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Cloud and Radiation Testbed site, conventional raob, TPW measurements from the global positioning system–integrated precipitable water NOAA network, and TPW measurements from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). The results show that with the GOES-R ABI LAP retrieval algorithm, the GOES-13 sounder provides better water vapor profiles than the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast fields at the levels between 300 and 700 hPa. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) and standard deviation (STD) of the GOES-13 sounder TPW are consistently reduced from those of the GFS forecast no matter which measurements are used as the truth. These substantial improvements indicate that the GOES-R ABI LAP retrieval algorithm is well prepared to provide continuity of quality to some of the current GOES sounder products, and the algorithm can be transferred to process the current GOES sounder measurements for operational product generation.

AISA 초분광 영상에 대한 Endmember 추출 알고리즘의 적용성 분석

분광혼합분석을 효과적으로 수행하기 위한 정확한 endmember의 추출은 반드시 선행되어야할 조건이며, 이를 위한 다양한 endmember 추출 알고리즘들이 개발되었다. 이러한 endmember 추출 알고리즘의 개발 및 적용성을 평가하기 위한 기존의 연구는 대부분 모의 초분광 영상 또는 AVIRIS 영상을 대상으로 진행되었다. 그러나 이러한 영상 자료는 실제 국내에서 획득되고 활용할 수 있는 초분광 영상과 차이를 보일 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 국내에서 취득된 AISA 초분광 영상에 대하여 대표적인 endmember추출 알고리즘을 사용하고, 그 적용성을 평가하였다. 물질의 종류 및 크기에 따른 차이를 분석하기 위하여 인공적으로 설계한 테스트베드를 구축하고, AISA 초분광 영상을 취득하여 실험 자료로 이용하였다. 실험결과, 테스트베드 내 물질과 초기 입력값에 따라 알고리즘별로 endmember 추출결과가 다르게 나타났다. 따라서 효과적인 endmember 추출 알고리즘을 적용하기 위해서는 영상을 구성하는 테스트베드 내 물질의 특성 및 최적의 endmember의 개수를 고려해야 할 것이다. Extraction of correct endmembers is prerequisite to successful spectral unmixing analysis. Various endmember extraction algorithms have been proposed and most experiments based on endmember extraction have used synthetic image and AVIRIS image data. However, these data can present different characteristics comparing with hyperspectral images acquired from real domestic environment. For this study, a test-bed was constructed for analysing the difference on diverse substances and sizes in domestic areas, and AISA hyperspectral imagery acquired from the test-bed was tested with two well-known endmember extraction algorithms: IEA, and N-FINDR. The results indicated that two different algorithms depended on the number of endmembers and material types in the test-bed. Therefore, optimized number of endmembers and characteristics of materials in test-bed site should be considered for the effective application of endmember extraction algorithms.

토양의 함수율에 따른 전기비저항 반응 모형 실험 연구

지반조사에서 비파괴 조사 기술은 시추조사보다 경제적으로 비용이 덜 들고 광역에 걸친 지반정보를 제공하는 장점이 있다. 하지만 지반설계정수로서 적용하기에는 어려운 한정된 정보만을 제공하게 된다. 이를 극복하기 위해, 비파괴 조사 방법 중 하나인 전기비저항 탐사를 모형토조실험에 적용하여, 토질상태에 따른 비저항 반응과 함수비에 따른 비저항 반응을 분석하여 비저항 거동 양상에 대한 연구를 수행하였다. 실험에 사용한 토질은 주문진 표준사, 마사토이며 각 토질의 입도 분포, 균등계수를 구하여 실험에 있어 실험재료의 균질한 상태를 유지하였다. 실험에 사용한 모형의 제원은 <TEX>$160{\times}100{\times}50$</TEX> (cm)의 아크릴 재질 토조이며, 각 토질의 높이는 30 cm를 유지하였다. 5TE(함수비측정센서)센서를 7 ~ 8cm 간격으로 수직하게 꽂아 층별 함수비를 측정하였다. 모형실험 결과 주문진 표준사는 비저항 거동 양상이 함수비에 민감하게 반응하는 것을 알 수 있었으며, 마사토는 함수비에 따라 비저항이 낮아진 후에도 시간경과에 따른 거동 양상에 큰 변화가 없는 것을 관찰하였다. 또한 토조 실험에 사용된 토양과 유사한 테스트 베드를 선정하여 그 반응을 비교 분석하였다. 이러한 실험을 통해 토질 상태와 함수비에 따른 다양한 비저항 거동 양상 자료를 수집하고, 비파괴 조사기술의 정확도를 향상 시켜 나간다면 지반설계정수를 산정하는데 있어 기초적인 연구가 될 수 있음을 확인하였다. Geophysical investigation in non-destructive testing is economically less expensive than boring testing and providing geotechnical information over wide-area. But, it provides only limited geotechnical information, which is hardly used to the design. Accordingly, we performed electrical resistivity experiments on large scale of soil model to analyze the correlation between electrical resistivity response and soil water contents. The soils used in the experiments were the Jumunjin standard sand and weathered granite soil. Each soil particle size distribution and coefficient of uniformity of experimental material obtained in the experiments were maintained in a state of the homogeneous. The specifications of the model used in this study is <TEX>$160{\times}100{\times}50$</TEX>(cm) of acrylic, and each soil was maintained at the height 30 cm. The water content were measured using the 5TE sensors (water contents sensors) which is installed 7 ~ 8 cm apart vertically by plugging to floor. The results of the resistivity behavior pattern for Jumunjin standard sand was found to be sensitive to the water content, while the weathered granite soil was showing lower resistivity over the time, and there was no significant change in behavior pattern observed. So, it results that the Jumunjin standard sand's particle current conduction was better than the weathered granite soil's particle through contact with the distilled water. This lab test was also compared with the result of a test bed site composed of similar weathered soil. It was confirmed that these experiments were underlying research of non-destructive investigation techniques to improve the accuracy to estimate the geotechnical parameter.