| 1. |
- Duncanson, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Aboveground biomass density models for NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar mission
- 2022
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Ingår i: Remote Sensing of Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0034-4257 .- 1879-0704. ; 270
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) is collecting spaceborne full waveform lidar data with a primary science goal of producing accurate estimates of forest aboveground biomass density (AGBD). This paper presents the development of the models used to create GEDI's footprint-level (~25 m) AGBD (GEDI04_A) product, including a description of the datasets used and the procedure for final model selection. The data used to fit our models are from a compilation of globally distributed spatially and temporally coincident field and airborne lidar datasets, whereby we simulated GEDI-like waveforms from airborne lidar to build a calibration database. We used this database to expand the geographic extent of past waveform lidar studies, and divided the globe into four broad strata by Plant Functional Type (PFT) and six geographic regions. GEDI's waveform-to-biomass models take the form of parametric Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models with simulated Relative Height (RH) metrics as predictor variables. From an exhaustive set of candidate models, we selected the best input predictor variables, and data transformations for each geographic stratum in the GEDI domain to produce a set of comprehensive predictive footprint-level models. We found that model selection frequently favored combinations of RH metrics at the 98th, 90th, 50th, and 10th height above ground-level percentiles (RH98, RH90, RH50, and RH10, respectively), but that inclusion of lower RH metrics (e.g. RH10) did not markedly improve model performance. Second, forced inclusion of RH98 in all models was important and did not degrade model performance, and the best performing models were parsimonious, typically having only 1-3 predictors. Third, stratification by geographic domain (PFT, geographic region) improved model performance in comparison to global models without stratification. Fourth, for the vast majority of strata, the best performing models were fit using square root transformation of field AGBD and/or height metrics. There was considerable variability in model performance across geographic strata, and areas with sparse training data and/or high AGBD values had the poorest performance. These models are used to produce global predictions of AGBD, but will be improved in the future as more and better training data become available.
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| 2. |
- Blösch, Günter, et al.
(författare)
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Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) - a community perspective
- 2019
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Ingår i: Hydrological Sciences Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0262-6667 .- 2150-3435. ; 64:10, s. 1141-1158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through online media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focused on the process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come.
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| 3. |
- Cockell, Charles S., et al.
(författare)
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Subsurface scientific exploration of extraterrestrial environments (MINAR 5) : analogue science, technology and education in the Boulby Mine, UK
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Astrobiology. - : Cambridges Institutes Press. - 1473-5504 .- 1475-3006. ; 18:2, s. 157-182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The deep subsurface of other planetary bodies is of special interest for robotic and human exploration. The subsurface provides access to planetary interior processes, thus yielding insights into planetary formation and evolution. On Mars, the subsurface might harbour the most habitable conditions. In the context of human exploration, the subsurface can provide refugia for habitation from extreme surface conditions. We describe the fifth Mine Analogue Research (MINAR 5) programme at 1 km depth in the Boulby Mine, UK in collaboration with Spaceward Bound NASA and the Kalam Centre, India, to test instruments and methods for the robotic and human exploration of deep environments on the Moon and Mars. The geological context in Permian evaporites provides an analogue to evaporitic materials on other planetary bodies such as Mars. A wide range of sample acquisition instruments (NASA drills, Small Planetary Impulse Tool (SPLIT) robotic hammer, universal sampling bags), analytical instruments (Raman spectroscopy, Close-Up Imager, Minion DNA sequencing technology, methane stable isotope analysis, biomolecule and metabolic life detection instruments) and environmental monitoring equipment (passive air particle sampler, particle detectors and environmental monitoring equipment) was deployed in an integrated campaign. Investigations included studying the geochemical signatures of chloride and sulphate evaporitic minerals, testing methods for life detection and planetary protection around human-tended operations, and investigations on the radiation environment of the deep subsurface. The MINAR analogue activity occurs in an active mine, showing how the development of space exploration technology can be used to contribute to addressing immediate Earth-based challenges. During the campaign, in collaboration with European Space Agency (ESA), MINAR was used for astronaut familiarization with future exploration tools and techniques. The campaign was used to develop primary and secondary school and primary to secondary transition curriculum materials on-site during the campaign which was focused on a classroom extra vehicular activity simulation.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Leisawitz, David, et al.
(författare)
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The origins space telescope
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 11115
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Origins Space Telescope will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. How did galaxies evolve from the earliest galactic systems to those found in the universe today? How do habitable planets form? How common are life-bearing worlds? To answer these alluring questions, Origins will operate at mid-and far-infrared wavelengths and offer powerful spectroscopic instruments and sensitivity three orders of magnitude better than that of Herschel, the largest telescope flown in space to date. After a 3 1/2 year study, the Origins Science and Technology Definition Team will recommend to the Decadal Survey a concept for Origins with a 5.9-m diameter telescope cryocooled to 4.5 K and equipped with three scientific instruments. A mid-infrared instrument (MISC-T) will measure the spectra of transiting exoplanets in the 2.8-20 μm wavelength range and offer unprecedented sensitivity, enabling definitive biosignature detections. The Far-IR Imager Polarimeter (FIP) will be able to survey thousands of square degrees with broadband imaging at 50 and 250 μm. The Origins Survey Spectrometer (OSS) will cover wavelengths from 25-588 μm, make wide-area and deep spectroscopic surveys with spectral resolving power R ∼ 300, and pointed observations at R ∼ 40,000 and 300,000 with selectable instrument modes. Origins was designed to minimize complexity. The telescope has a Spitzer-like architecture and requires very few deployments after launch. The cryo-thermal system design leverages JWST technology and experience. A combination of current-state-of-the-art cryocoolers and next-generation detector technology will enable Origins' natural backgroundlimited sensitivity.
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| 6. |
- Allison, Robert S., et al.
(författare)
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Perspectives on the definition of visually lossless quality for mobile and large format displays
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Electronic Imaging (JEI). - 1017-9909 .- 1560-229X. ; 27:5, s. 1-23
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Advances in imaging and display engineering have given rise to new and improved image and videoapplications that aim to maximize visual quality under given resource constraints (e.g., power, bandwidth).Because the human visual system is an imperfect sensor, the images/videos can be represented in a mathematicallylossy fashion but with enough fidelity that the losses are visually imperceptible—commonly termed“visually lossless.” Although a great deal of research has focused on gaining a better understanding ofthe limits of human vision when viewing natural images/video, a universally or even largely accepted definitionof visually lossless remains elusive. Differences in testing methodologies, research objectives, and targetapplications have led to multiple ad-hoc definitions that are often difficult to compare to or otherwise employ inother settings. We present a compendium of technical experiments relating to both vision science and visualquality testing that together explore the research and business perspectives of visually lossless image quality,as well as review recent scientific advances. Together, the studies presented in this paper suggest that a singledefinition of visually lossless quality might not be appropriate; rather, a better goal would be to establish varyinglevels of visually lossless quality that can be quantified in terms of the testing paradigm.
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| 7. |
- Ellis, Carl, et al.
(författare)
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Matchstick : A room-to-room thermal model for predicting indoor temperature from wireless sensor data
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks (IPSN ’13). - New York, NY, USA : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). - 9781450319591 ; , s. 31-42
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we present a room-to-room thermal model used to accurately predict temperatures in residential buildings. We evaluate the accuracy of this model with ground truth data from four occupied family homes (two in the UK and two in the US). The homes have differing construction and a range of heating infrastructure (wall-mounted radiators, underfloor heating, and furnace-driven forced-air). Data was gathered using a network of simple and sparse (one per room) temperature sensors, a gas meter sensor, and an outdoor temperature sensor. We show that our model can predict future indoor temperature trends with a 90th percentile aggregate error between 0.61–1.50ºC, when given boiler or furnace actuation times and outdoor temperature forecasts. Two existing models were also implemented and then evaluated on our dataset alongside Matchstick. As a proof of concept, we used data from a previous control study to show that when Matchstick is used to predict temperatures (rather than assuming a preset linear heating rate) the possible gas savings increase by up to 3%.
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| 8. |
- Komatsu, Kimberly J., et al.
(författare)
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Global change effects on plant communities are magnified by time and the number of global change factors imposed
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 116:36, s. 17867-17873
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accurate prediction of community responses to global change drivers (GCDs) is critical given the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem services. There is consensus that human activities are driving species extinctions at the global scale, but debate remains over whether GCDs are systematically altering local communities worldwide. Across 105 experiments that included over 400 experimental manipulations, we found evidence for a lagged response of herbaceous plant communities to GCDs caused by shifts in the identities and relative abundances of species, often without a corresponding difference in species richness. These results provide evidence that community responses are pervasive across a wide variety of GCDs on long-term temporal scales and that these responses increase in strength when multiple GCDs are simultaneously imposed.Global change drivers (GCDs) are expected to alter community structure and consequently, the services that ecosystems provide. Yet, few experimental investigations have examined effects of GCDs on plant community structure across multiple ecosystem types, and those that do exist present conflicting patterns. In an unprecedented global synthesis of over 100 experiments that manipulated factors linked to GCDs, we show that herbaceous plant community responses depend on experimental manipulation length and number of factors manipulated. We found that plant communities are fairly resistant to experimentally manipulated GCDs in the short term (<10 y). In contrast, long-term (≥10 y) experiments show increasing community divergence of treatments from control conditions. Surprisingly, these community responses occurred with similar frequency across the GCD types manipulated in our database. However, community responses were more common when 3 or more GCDs were simultaneously manipulated, suggesting the emergence of additive or synergistic effects of multiple drivers, particularly over long time periods. In half of the cases, GCD manipulations caused a difference in community composition without a corresponding species richness difference, indicating that species reordering or replacement is an important mechanism of community responses to GCDs and should be given greater consideration when examining consequences of GCDs for the biodiversity–ecosystem function relationship. Human activities are currently driving unparalleled global changes worldwide. Our analyses provide the most comprehensive evidence to date that these human activities may have widespread impacts on plant community composition globally, which will increase in frequency over time and be greater in areas where communities face multiple GCDs simultaneously.
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| 9. |
- Phelan, Jennifer, et al.
(författare)
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Estimation of Soil Base Cation Weathering Rates with the PROFILE Model to Determine Critical Loads of Acidity for Forested Ecosystems in Pennsylvania, USA: Pilot Application of a Potential National Methodology
- 2014
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Ingår i: Water, Air and Soil Pollution. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-2932 .- 0049-6979. ; 225:9, s. 2109-2109
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Base cation weathering (BCw) rate is one of the most influential yet difficult to estimate parameters in the calculation of critical acid loads of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) deposition for terrestrial systems. Only the clay correlation-substrate method, a simple empirical model, has been used for estimating BCw rates for forest ecosystems in the conterminous USA and may not be suitable for application at all sites without calibration or revision. An alternate model, PROFILE, may offer an improved method to estimate BCw rates. It is a transferable, process-based model that simulates the weathering rates of groups of minerals. The objective of this study was to evaluate PROFILE using national datasets as a method to estimate BCw rates for forests in the USA, focusing on Pennsylvania (PA) as the first test state. The model paired with national datasets was successfully applied at 51 forested sites across PA. Weathering rates ranged from 119 to 9,245 eq ha(-1) year(-1) and were consistent with soil properties and regional geology. Comparisons of terrestrial critical acid loads with 2002 N and S deposition showed critical load exceedances at 53 % of the sites. This trial evaluation of PROFILE paired with national datasets in PA establishes that there are sufficient data to support the estimation of BCw rates and determination of critical acid loads for forests in the USA. However, the paired method should be applied in other locations to further evaluate the performance of the model in different regions of the country.
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| 10. |
- Ellis, Carl, et al.
(författare)
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EarlyOff : Using house cooling rates to save energy
- 2012
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Ingår i: BuildSys ’12. - New York, NY, USA : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). ; , s. 39-41
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Home heating systems often have a significant thermal inertia, as homes stay warm after the heating is turned off for significant periods of time. We present the EarlyOff concept, whereby home heating can be predictively turned off in advance of occupants' departure, using this inertia to keep the house warm while saving energy. We use a previously gathered data set of real-time heating, gas, and occupancy readings from five houses and conduct a data-driven analysis of potential energy savings. Using an "oracle" predicting actual departure events, we show an upper bound savings of 4-12% of the gas used over the whole study period by applying EarlyOff. Using a real predictor which makes use of historical occupancy probabilities, we show savings of 1-8% of gas use.
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