Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing and predicting landfill surface temperature using remote sensing and an artificial neural network

ABSTRACT Assessing and monitoring of the landfill temperature is of great importance, so as to assess environmental impacts of the landfill and to prevent fires that may lead to failure of the landfill operations. In this study, satellite images were used in mapping the landfill surface temperature (LFST) of Al Akeeder landfill site in Northern Jordan. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed to simulate and predict the LFST. Fifty-four Landsat satellite images on different dates covering the period 2000–2016 were collected and utilized after being subjected to correction of the thermal band. Multi-temporal thematic maps were developed for the landfill site and the LFST trends, patterns and magnitude were evaluated. Correlating LFST with the amount of the landfilled solid waste has resulted in a good correlation coefficient (r = 0.884), which implies that LFST can serve as an indicator of the amount of solid waste buried in the landfill. Solid waste amount, methane emitted as well as meteorological parameters, such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and evaporation, were used to simulate and predict the value of landfill LFST using ANN. Validation of the ANN has resulted in a good correlation between the predicted and calculated values of the LFST.
State of Art of Doubly Fed Induction Generator in a Wind Energy Conversion System

The need for energy in the world is increasing day by day and renewable energy resources prove to be an excellent choice to meet the energy demand. Wind energy resource is one such renewable energy resources, but the speed variation of wind can cause undesirable fluctuations in output voltage frequency. But doubly fed induction generator can work with variable speed input while maintaining the grid frequency constant. This paper presents the state of art of doubly fed induction generator in a wind energy conversion system.
Geologic and geomorphic controls on rockfall hazard: how well do past rockfalls predict future distributions?

Abstract. To evaluate the geospatial hazard relationships between recent (contemporary) rockfalls and their prehistoric predecessors, we compare the locations, physical characteristics, and lithologies of rockfall boulders deposited during the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence (CES) (n=185) with those deposited prior to the CES (n=1093). Population ratios of pre-CES to CES boulders at two study sites vary spatially from ∼5:1 to 8.5:1. This is interpreted to reflect (i) variations in CES rockfall flux due to intra- and inter-event spatial differences in ground motions (e.g., directionality) and associated variations in source cliff responses; (ii) possible variations in the triggering mechanism(s), frequency, flux, record duration, boulder size distributions, and post-depositional mobilization of pre-CES rockfalls relative to CES rockfalls; and (iii) geological variations in the source cliffs of CES and pre-CES rockfalls. On interfluves, CES boulders traveled approximately 100 to 250 m further downslope than prehistoric (pre-CES) boulders. This is interpreted to reflect reduced resistance to CES rockfall transport due to preceding anthropogenic hillslope de-vegetation. Volcanic breccia boulders are more dimensionally equant and rounded, are larger, and traveled further downslope than coherent lava boulders, illustrating clear geological control on rockfall hazard. In valley bottoms, the furthest-traveled pre-CES boulders are situated further downslope than CES boulders due to (i) remobilization of pre-CES boulders by post-depositional processes such as debris flows and (ii) reduction of CES boulder velocities and travel distances by collisional impacts with pre-CES boulders. A considered earth-systems approach is required when using preserved distributions of rockfall deposits to predict the severity and extents of future rockfall events.
Element concentration and enrichment patterns in Carboniferous coal from coal-burning endemic area, Yunnan province

With the principal aim of understanding the element variations in Carboniferous coal from eastern Yunnan province of China, the concentration of 48 elements in 16 coal samples were determined. It was found that, (1) Se (0.76–5.13 mg/kg), Mo (0.29–46.71 mg/kg), As (0.96–25.38 mg/kg), Cr (3.89–1152 mg/kg), Li (2.92–109.00 mg/kg), and U (0.09–39.23 mg/kg) in the studied coal samples are 2–43 times more than those of the upper continental crust (UCC). (2) Arithmetic mean of Cr, Sc, Mo, As, Ga, U, V, and Cu are higher than those in China coals average, while Na, P, Al, Ti, Ba, Bi, Tl, and Sr are lower. The average content of Cr in the studied coals is 352 mg/kg, which is 22.49, 20.37, and 23.09 times higher than that of China coals average, World hard coals and USA coals average, respectively. (3) In terms of the correlation between element concentration and ash yield, all the elements were accordingly divided into five groups. In addition, three coal samples (No. KM50, KM64 and LM61) were found to have relatively high Cr concentration as 1055, 1072, and 1152, respectively. Analysis of these three coal samples shows an M-type REE enrichment pattern (UCC normalized), with positive Eu abnormlies of 2.96, 2.52, and 3.96, respectively. This pattern is similar to that in Carboniferous ophiolite and primitive mantle, suggesting that they may have the same source of matter. High Cr coal has a potential harmful impact on the environment and human beings during the coal combustion and utilization. Besides, Se and Mo are 2.12 and 8.65 mg/kg on average, respectively, which are 7.31 and 5.08 times more than those in Chinese soil average, thus Carboniferous coal with low Cr-As but high Se-Mo should be considered as potential fertilizer for local crops.
The Development Of Northern Red Oak In Mixed Stands In Central New England

Much of the upland forest of central New England consists of red oak (Quercus rttbra 1.), red maple (Acer rubrum 1.), black birch (Betula lenta 1.), and other species. Such stands developed a definite vertical canopy stratification when started from clearcutting or similar disturbance. The few red oaks which ultimately occupied much of the upper continuous canopy were present since stand initiation but relatively i~conspicuous at first. The more numerous maples, birches, and other species which dominated at first lapsed into the lower crown positions beneath the red oak after about the third decade. The stands are commonly even-aged even though the broad range of diameters and crown classes developing after about 30 years gives an all-aged appearance. For best diameter growth on individual red oak trees and optimum board-foot production per acre, it may be desirable to have only 45 well-placed red oak seedlings (or seedling sprouts) per acre in the reproduction, relying on the more numerous red maples, black birches, and other species to keep the red oaks pruned.
Grid‐ Versus Station‐Based Postprocessing of Ensemble Temperature Forecasts

Statistical postprocessing aims to improve ensemble model output by delivering calibrated predictive distributions. To train and assess these methods, it is crucial to choose appropriate verification data. Reanalyses cover the entire globe on the same spatiotemporal scale as the forecasting model, while observation stations are scattered across planet Earth. Here we compare the benefits of postprocessing with gridded analyses against postprocessing at observation sites. In a case study, we apply local Ensemble Model Output Statistics to 2‐m temperature forecasts by the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts ensemble system. Our evaluation period ranges from November 2016 to December 2017. Postprocessing yields improvements over the raw ensemble at all lead times. The relative improvement achieved by postprocessing is greater when trained and verified against station observations.
Event Detection Performance of the PLUM Earthquake Early Warning Algorithm in Southern California

We test the Japanese ground‐motion‐based earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm, propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM), in southern California with application to the U.S. ShakeAlert system. In late 2018, ShakeAlert began limited public alerting in Los Angeles to areas of expected modified Mercalli intensity (IMMI) 4.0+ for magnitude 5.0+ earthquakes. Most EEW systems, including ShakeAlert, use source‐based methods: they estimate the location, magnitude, and origin time of an earthquake from P waves and use a ground‐motion prediction equation to identify regions of expected strong shaking. The PLUM algorithm uses observed ground motions directly to define alert areas and was developed to address deficiencies in the Japan Meteorological Agency source‐based EEW system during the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku earthquake sequence. We assess PLUM using (a) a dataset of 193 magnitude 3.5+ earthquakes that occurred in southern California between 2012 and 2017 and (b) the ShakeAlert testing and certification suite of 49 earthquakes and other seismic signals. The latter suite includes events that challenge the current ShakeAlert algorithms. We provide a first‐order performance assessment using event‐based metrics similar to those used by ShakeAlert. We find that PLUM can be configured to successfully issue alerts using IMMI trigger thresholds that are lower than those implemented in Japan. Using two stations, a trigger threshold of IMMI 4.0 for the first station and a threshold of IMMI 2.5 for the second station PLUM successfully detect 12 of 13 magnitude 5.0+ earthquakes and issue no false alerts. PLUM alert latencies were similar to and in some cases faster than source‐based algorithms, reducing area that receives no warning near the source that generally have the highest ground motions. PLUM is a simple, independent seismic method that may complement existing source‐based algorithms in EEW systems, including the ShakeAlert system, even when alerting to light (IMMI 4.0) or higher ground‐motion levels.
Comparison of Flake ice and Gel ice in the Preservation of Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepede, 1802) Fillets

Effectiveness of different icing, gel ice and flake ice in extending the shelf life of fish fillets (Lethrinus lentjan) (Lacepède, 1802) was evaluated. Samples were taken from preserved samples at two days intervals for organoleptic, biochemical and microbiological analysis up to 16 days of storage. Based on t-test, the biochemical variables viz., pH, Total Volatile Base Nitrogen (TVB-N) and Trimethylamine Nitrogen (TMA-N), ThioBarbituric Acid Value (TBA) Free Fatty Acid (FFA) and Peroxide value (PV) showed a significant difference between two methods of icing at. Organoleptic scores for appearance colour, odour, texture and overall acceptability were tested. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between two methods of icing at 5% level of significance during storage, but the significant difference noticed at 10% level of significance. Based on the biochemical and organoleptic analysis, it is inferred that gel icing was better than flake ice storage for storage up to 8 days. Simple linear regression model (significant R value) to the experimental data of both type of icing to quantify the rate of change which indicated a significant increase in the quality indices as the storage days increased. On the other hand the rate of increase of biochemical quality indices was minimum for samples stored in flake ice.
A new method to identify robust climate analogues

Climate analogues are a comprehensive approach for learning how to deal with the expected climatic future from current examples. Existing literature on climate analogues struggles with 2 methodological challenges: how to deal with the unavoidable uncertainty of climate projections and how to define reasonable lower limits of similarity for climate analogues. Here, we suggest a new method to identify robust climate analogues (RCAs) based on a clustering approach in climate space where each spatial grid element is represented by 3 points: its current climate, and a lower and upper bound of the climate projections. If the upper and lower bound of the projections for such a grid element share the same cluster and, additionally, this cluster contains current climate points, then the grid elements related to the latter are defined as RCAs. This definition divides the map of the investigated region into areas with RCAs and uncharted areas where, under the current uncertainty range of climate projections, such an attribution is not justified. An exemplary application of the algorithm for Europe shows that RCAs can be identified for 37% of the land area and that the new method allows selection of socioeconomically reasonable RCAs from climatologically equivalent (given the current uncertainty) grid elements.
Variations in the Density Distribution of the Io Plasma Torus as Seen by Radio Occultations on Juno Perijoves 3, 6, and 8

The atmosphere of the Jovian satellite Io is constantly being lost to the surrounding magnetosphere of Jupiter. The material is ionized and then distributed by Jupiter's magnetic field into a torus around Jupiter called the Io plasma torus. This plasma affects radio signals as they propagate from the Juno spacecraft to Earth during the spacecraft's perijove passes. During Perijoves 3, 6, and 8 we determine the total electron content in the Io plasma torus using two‐way tracking data from Juno. We find that the location of the torus is displaced from predictions that use the VIP4 offset tilted dipole approximation. The displacements are consistent with those found in ground‐based observations. The peak total electron content and scale height are found for two different regions of the torus, the cold inner torus and a warmer torus beyond 5.5 RJ. Properties of the cold torus vary appreciably with System III longitude, but properties of the torus beyond 5.5 RJ do not.
CFD Study of VIM of a Paired-Column Semi-Submersible Platform

The Paired-Column Semi-Submersible platform(PC Semi) is a deepdraft semi-submersible (DDS) designed by Houston Offshore Engineering (HOE). It has 8 columns instead of 4 columns compared with conventional DDS. In this paper, the VIM characteristics of PC Semi was numerically investigated by our in-house CFD solver naoeFOAM-SJTU. Drag test and free-decay tests was carried out first, then VIM tests at different reduced velocities were performed. Shear-stress transport based delayed detached-eddy simulation (SST-DDES) was used for modeling the massively separated turbulent flows. To illustrate the benefit of SST-DDES model, an extra unsteady Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulation was computed for drag test. Drag, flow fields and vortical structures were compared with those obtained by SST-DDES. For VIM tests, the dynamic overset grid technique was applied to handle the motions of platform. Results showed that the current CFD approach is applicable and reliable for VIM and can be an alternative for model testing.
Ligand Binding Strength Explains the Distribution of Iron in the North Atlantic Ocean

Observations of dissolved iron (dFe) in the subtropical North Atlantic revealed remarkable features: While the near‐surface dFe concentration is low despite receiving high dust deposition, the subsurface dFe concentration is high. We test several hypotheses that might explain this feature in an ocean biogeochemistry model with a refined Fe cycling scheme. These hypotheses invoke a stronger lithogenic scavenging rate, rapid biological uptake, and a weaker binding between Fe and a ubiquitous, refractory ligand. While the standard model overestimates the surface dFe concentration, a 10‐time stronger biological uptake run causes a slight reduction in the model surface dFe. A tenfold decrease in the binding strength of the refractory ligand, suggested by recent observations, starts reproducing the observed dFe pattern, with a potential impact for the global nutrient distribution. An extreme value for the lithogenic scavenging rate can also match the model dFe with observations, but this process is still poorly constrained.
Subducting slab morphology and mantle transition zone upwelling in double-slab subduction models with inward-dipping directions

Lithospheric plates on the Earth's surface interact with each other, producing distinctive structures comprising two descending slabs. Double-slab subduction with inward-dipping directions represents an important multiplate system that is not yet well understood. This paper presents 2-D numerical models that investigate the dynamic process of double-slab subduction with inward dipping, focussing on slab geometry and mantle transition zone upwelling flow. This unique double-slab configuration limits trench motion and causes steep downward slab movement, thus forming fold piles in the lower mantle and driving upward mantle flow between the slabs. The model results show the effects of lithospheric plate properties and lower-mantle viscosity on subducting plate kinematics, overriding plate stress and upward mantle flow beneath the overriding plate. Appropriate lower-mantle strength (such as an upper–lower mantle viscosity increase with a factor of 200) allows slabs to penetrate into the lower mantle with periodical buckling. While varying the length and thickness of a long overriding plate (≥2500) does not have a substantial effect on slab geometry, its viscosity has a marked impact on slab evolution and mantle flow pattern. When the overriding plate is strong, slabs exhibit an overturned geometry and hesitate to fold. Mantle transition zone upwelling velocity depends on the speed of descending slabs. The downward velocity of slabs with a large negative buoyancy (caused by thickness or density) is very fast, inducing a significant transition zone upwelling flow. A stiff slab slowly descends into the deep mantle, causing a small upward flow in the transition zone. In addition, the temporal variation of mantle upwelling velocity shows strong correlation with the evolution of slab folding geometry. In the double subduction system with inward-dipping directions, the mantle transition zone upwelling exhibits oscillatory rise with time. During the backward-folding stage, upwelling velocity reaches its local maximum. Our results provide new insights into the deep mantle source of intraplate volcanism in a three-plate interaction system such as the Southeast Asia region.
Practices, Needs and Attitudes of Bird-watching Tourists in Australia

The practices and opinions of bird-watching tourists in Australia were investigated, largely through a questionnaire returned by 256 respondents, of whom 164 were Australian by nationality, 55 were non-Australian and 17 were of mixed nationality. A majority of respondents tended to be middle-aged to elderly, which may reflect either the bird-watching population or the relative willingness to fill out questionnaires. A separate questionnaire was sent to 42 nature guides who included bird-watching as at least part of their activities: 11 of these responded. Bird-watching tourists participating in this survey were found to have a diverse range of interests, but opinions held in common included a dislike for hunting, an interest in wildlife other than birds, a disinclination to disturb nesting birds in an attempt to identify them, an expectation of bird-watching during their next travels, an ability to identify most birds near their homes, and a willingness to join a commercial bird tour to reach difficult places. Identifying birds, watching what birds are doing and enjoyment of social contact topped the list of preferences for a bird-walk. Tendency to join a commercial tour was positively correlated with enjoyments of social contact and with bird-watching being the respondent’s favourite activity, but negatively correlated with tendency to frequently photograph birds. Camping and hotels were the major kinds of accommodation (over eco-lodges and budget accommodation, ‘dedicated birders’ being more likely than others to choose camping and lodges rather than hotels. Travel agents were the least preferred sources of information on where to go bird-watching, with travel books not faring much better, and several respondents complained that information centres and tourist outlets (with some exceptions) often do not have much information on where to see birds. Most respondents seemed concerned about conservation issues such as disturbance of nesting birds and feeding in national parks, and guides reported few problems: however there is sufficient potential for problems to suggest the wide dissemination of useful guidelines. One-eighth of the respondents, when asked what would improve their bird-watching experiences in Australia, mentioned action on habitat clearing and other conservation issues.
The Impact of the terrestrial basking event of Hawaiian green sea turtles at Ho'okipa, Maui

In Maui, marine tourism includes Hawaiian green sea turtles that emerge from the ocean to bask on the sand, at Ho’okipa Beach Park. In no other location in Hawai’i, do the green sea turtles bask so consistently and in the highest numbers, as they do at Ho’okipa Beach. With the event drawing approximately 500 visitors to the beach daily, a local non-profit, Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, aims to protect the turtles by providing interpretation to visitors. This research examined the impact of the terrestrial basking event of the Hawaiian green sea turtles on visitors at Ho’okipa, Maui. The objectives were: 1) to identify if visitors transitioned into more responsible marine tourists by adapting the outcome indicators of visitor satisfaction, learning, attitudes and behaviours, from Orams’ marine-tourist model, 2) measure the interpretation efforts of Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, and 3) help aid in the protection of the basking green sea turtles. Results demonstrated that visitor transition did not occur and could not be confirmed on visitors who expressed good intentions, without the pursuit of longitudinal studies. This outcome notwithstanding, the measured Orams outcome indicators show there is great visitor satisfaction in the event itself and viewing the basking sea turtles in their natural environment. Visitors connected emotionally to the turtles, which facilitated their learning through the interpretation programs of the Hawai’i Wildlife Fund. The programs impacted the viewing experience and demonstrated that emotion can transition visitors. Visitor attitudes reflected the knowledge of what constituted a responsible tourist, yet many disregarded the signage, boundaries, and suggestions of Hawai’i Wildlife Fund volunteers. This reflected a mixed and somewhat conflicted viewing experience for many visitors. The most deficient area of Orams outcome indicators was visitor behaviour. Survey fatigue occurred in this area and while there were visitors who exhibited good intentions, information on how to get involved with Hawai’i Wildlife Fund and help the turtles on holiday and when visitors returned home, was not realized. The findings enable the author to provide the Hawai’i Tourism Authority and Maui County with insight on how this basking event impacts visitors. Results also offer managerial strategies from Orams’ model as recommendations to aid in the visitor and site management that supports Maui County, Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, and the protection of the basking Hawaiian green sea turtles, providing a memorable viewing experience for visitors.