Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Engineering
From 2D labels to 3D structure: Scalable label transfer and benchmarking of 3D vegetation models in rangeland ecosystems
Published: 2026-05-02
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Biogeochemistry, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Remote Sensing
Three-dimensional (3D) characterisation of vegetation structure at the level of individual growth forms is critical for understanding ecosystem function and resilience, yet remains challenging in rangelands because vegetation is sparse, low-stature, and structurally heterogeneous. Recent 3D deep-learning models perform strongly in forests, but their transfer beyond closed-canopy benchmarks is [...]
High-Alkalinity Algal Cultivation with Direct Air Capture: An Economic Feasibility Analysis
Published: 2026-05-02
Subjects: Engineering
Weather variability and CO₂ supply costs remain key barriers to the commercial viability of algal biofuel production. Recent experimental work has demonstrated that the algae Chlorella sp. strain SLA-04 achieves high productivity in extreme alkaline growth media (pH greater than 10), where the solution chemistry enables direct capture of atmospheric CO₂, eliminating the need for costly CO₂ [...]
Rules-Based Systems Modeling for Hydropower Forecasting in Multi-Objective Reservoir Systems: Application to California's Central Valley Project
Published: 2026-05-02
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering
Hydropower from large multi-objective reservoirs and water management projects constitutes the bulk of global reservoir-based generation. Yet accurate forecasting remains challenging because generation is governed not only by hydrology but by complex institutional rules, environmental regulations, and infrastructure constraints. This study demonstrates that a rules-based systems modeling [...]
Detecting and Explaining Persistent Road Underdevelopment in Greater Accra Region Using Multi-Temporal Geospatial Data and Machine Learning
Published: 2026-04-30
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Uneven transport infrastructure development remains a persistent challenge in rapidly urbanising cities, where disparities in road conditions shape mobility, accessibility, and socio-economic op-portunities. In Greater Accra, Ghana, rapid urban expansion has produced a road network character-ised by strong spatial inequalities, with many neighbourhood roads remaining unpaved despite sur-rounding [...]
Towards Prospective Disaster Risk Management: Mapping Multi-hazard Urban Risk Dynamics Driven by Evolving Exposure and Vulnerability via Earth Observation
Published: 2026-04-30
Subjects: Categorical Data Analysis, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Geographic Information Sciences, Human Geography, Other Computer Sciences, Physical and Environmental Geography, Remote Sensing, Risk Analysis, Spatial Science, Structural Engineering
As local governments increasingly adopt geospatial Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) to inform prospective public policy, the reliability of existing static risk intelligence is challenged by the continuous evolution of building exposure, population distribution, and physical vulnerability. Recent multi-temporal datasets of the built environment, derived from Earth Observation and [...]
Closing the Duration Gap in RVT: The Energetic Duration
Published: 2026-04-29
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering
Duration is a fundamental descriptor of earthquake ground motion, yet it remains ill-defined across engineering seismology, with numerous threshold-based measures adopted for specific applications. This ambiguity has allowed duration to function as a calibration parameter in analyses such as random vibration theory (RVT), where it is often adjusted to match observed response spectra. This paper [...]
Non-Federal Climate Leadership Can Sustain U.S. Emissions Reductions Under Federal Policy Uncertainty
Published: 2026-04-27
Subjects: Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recent federal climate policy rollbacks in the United States have slowed progress toward high-ambition climate targets under the Paris Agreement. In the absence of federal climate leadership, there is a growing need to better understand the potential impacts of non-federal climate action. We assess the impacts of recent changes in federal policy, non-federal climate leadership, and potential [...]
Species specific mangrove habitat suitability and scenario dependent blue carbon modeling under uncertainty in Soc Trang Province, Vietnam
Published: 2026-04-26
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
This study develops an integrated framework for species specific mangrove habitat suitability and scenario dependent blue carbon planning in Soc Trang Province, Vietnam. The spatial model translates ecological zonation evidence for 11 mangrove taxa into local rules based on coastal distance and elevation, then tests those rules across 19 spatial scenarios. The carbon model carries the resulting [...]
A hybrid physics–ML framework for integrating groundwater dynamics into land surface modeling
Published: 2026-04-22
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Settling and Rising Dynamics of River Litter
Published: 2026-04-22
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Global assessments of river litter transport, accumulation, and export to the oceans remain constrained because the particle-scale hydrodynamic variables governing litter movement are currently unknown. We resolve this by explaining the vertical dynamics of full-scale river litter in quiescent water through multi-camera, three-dimensional trajectory reconstructions of over a thousand litter items [...]
A Meteorological Indicator for Particulate Matter Emissions: Adapting the Hot-Dry-Windy Index to Predict Feedlot Evening Dust Peaks
Published: 2026-04-21
Subjects: Agriculture, Animal Sciences, Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Particulate matter emissions from cattle feedlot operations pose significant challenges to both livestock productivity and air quality in surrounding communities. The evening dust peak (EDP) has been documented for decades, but comprehensive long-term studies examining its meteorological drivers are very limited. While laboratory and field-scale investigations have demonstrated that feedlot [...]
Thermo-Hydraulic Optimization of Deep Geothermal Systems: Computational Methods and Classification
Published: 2026-04-20
Subjects: Engineering
Deep geothermal energy forms an important part of a sustainable energy portfolio, providing baseload power and heat. A significant global expansion of DGSs is projected for the coming decades, thereby increasing use of local geothermal resources. This, together with a competitive energy market, creates an incentive to optimize DGSs with respect to large-scale design and operational control [...]
Geostatistical Assessment of Shallow Groundwater Risk in Urban Coastal Virginia: A Case Study from Virginia Beach
Published: 2026-04-14
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Water Resource Management
Urban groundwater assessments in coastal cities often rely on public monitoring datasets that are spatially uneven and temporally discontinuous. This study evaluates shallow groundwater risk in Virginia Beach, Virginia, using 30 years of records (1991–2020) from 121 monitoring wells for groundwater levels and 55 wells with groundwater‑quality data for chloride (Cl), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn). [...]
Calculation of Slope Terrain Movement Rate from Tree Trunk Deformation
Published: 2026-04-09
Subjects: Engineering
Movement of terrain on slopes, unless intense, as in the case of landslides, is practically imperceptible and the deformed trunks of trees growing on slopes are detectors of these movements. The deformation of a tree trunk may therefore be considered as a continuous record of terrain movement for the period of tree vegetation life. The cause of trunk deformation is a slight change in the [...]
Repurposing enhanced rock weathering for brownfield cleanup: a practical carbonate–silicate remineralization method for stabilizing cationic metals in shallow soils
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Engineering
Brownfield, mining-impacted, urban fill, and legacy agricultural sites often contain cationic metals concentrated in shallow soil horizons, where they sustain direct-contact, dust, and leaching risk and can complicate redevelopment. This paper reframes enhanced rock weathering (ERW), originally advanced for carbon dioxide removal, as a practical remineralization approach for immobilizing cationic [...]