Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Engineering
Comparing Continuous Methane Monitoring Technologies for High-Volume Emissions: A Single-Blind Controlled Release Study
Published: 2024-01-18
Subjects: Engineering
Methane emissions from oil and gas operations are a primary concern for climate change mitigation. While traditional methane detection relies on periodic surveys that yield episodic data, continuous monitoring solutions promise to offer consistent insights and a richer understanding of emission inventories. Despite this promise, the detection and quantification ability of continuous monitoring [...]
Stones that tell stories
Published: 2024-01-18
Subjects: Education, Engineering
When a historical building, monument, or cultural heritage artifact is affected by a natural or anthropic event, the first reaction is to recover and restore them to maintain our heritage for the next generations. If they are made of stone, some are completely destroyed, but it is often still possible to recognize the facts that made them a cultural item. In many cases, the marks of violent [...]
Mineral precipitation and geometry alteration in porous structures: How to upscale variations in permeability-porosity relationship?
Published: 2024-01-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Porous materials in natural and engineered environments are subject to morphological changes resulting from interacting chemical and physical processes. The complexity of coupled flow, transport, and chemical processes that occur on different temporal and spatial scales makes it difficult to predict the resulting porosity and permeability alterations. Delineating the controls of mineral [...]
A Review of Geological and Climatic Variables in Groundwater Availability Prediction in Africa: Machine Learning Approaches
Published: 2024-01-08
Subjects: Engineering
Groundwater is crucial for Africa's potable water supply, agriculture, and economic development. However, the continent faces challenges with groundwater scarcity due to factors like population growth, climate change, and over exploitation. Over the past ten years, machine learning has been increasingly and successfully used in groundwater level prediction across the world. This review paper [...]
On sea ice emission modeling for MOSAiC's L-band radiometric measurements
Published: 2023-12-21
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The retrieval of sea ice thickness using L-band passive remote sensing requires robust models for emission from sea ice. In this work, measurements obtained from surface-based radiometers during the MOSAiC expedition are assessed with the Burke, Wilheit and SMRT radiative transfer models. These models encompass distinct methodologies: radiative transfer with/without wave coherence effects, and [...]
Investigation of Liquefaction Potential in Sands Mixed with Gravel
Published: 2023-12-21
Subjects: Engineering
Liquefaction is one of the significant hazards associated with earthquakes. It was previously believed to occur mostly in clean sands; however, recent research has shown that liquefaction can occur in specific conditions in sands mixed with fine or coarse particles. Numerous studies have been conducted on clean sand, while limited research has focused on sands mixed with silt. Nevertheless, the [...]
Sustainable Living Unveiled: A Comprehensive Review of Key Studies on Zero Energy Homes
Published: 2023-12-21
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
The journey to achieve Net Zero Energy in residential areas has progressed slowly. However, in recent times, the research behind accessing Net Zero has become more consistent. This paper discusses the steps to be taken in terms of technology, energy consumption, and energy efficiency to reach the goal of Net Zero. The timeline has been changed throughout discovering new and improved ways to [...]
Zero Energy Homes: Definitions, Design Considerations, Challenges, and Real-world Applications
Published: 2023-12-20
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
In the pursuit of sustainable living, Zero Energy Homes (ZEHs) have emerged as a promising solution to mitigate the carbon footprint of residential housing. This review paper explores the multifaceted realm of ZEHs by examining diverse definitions, design considerations, challenges, and real-world applications. The lack of standardized definitions is addressed, encompassing variations from [...]
On the economic feasibility of tidal range power plants
Published: 2023-12-17
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computational Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering
The wave potential energy associated with tides presents a promising sustainable energy resource. Uncertainties on the economic case of tidal range power plants are a known bottleneck hindering the development of the industry. Significant costs depend on each design's general arrangement, which includes both mechanical components and the associated civil works. Research on tidal range structures [...]
Transdisciplinary doctoral training to address global sustainability challenges
Published: 2023-12-14
Subjects: Education, Engineering, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
MultiRS Flood Mapper: A Google Earth Engine Application for Water Extent Mapping with Multimodal Remote Sensing and Quantile-Based Postprocessing
Published: 2023-12-11
Subjects: Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering
Remote Sensing (RS) imagery is an important data source in surface water mapping applications thanks to its high spatial and temporal consistency and scalability. The introduction of Google Earth Engine (GEE) has cleared some of the major barriers of fast and large-scale RS-based geospatial analyses by providing easy and open access to most of the commonly used RS image products as well as [...]
Salt Precipitation during Geological CO2 Storage: Effect of Access to Continuous Brine Source
Published: 2023-12-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences
During CO2 storage, the near-wellbore environment experiences significant chemical, physical, thermal, and mechanical perturbations. Therefore, it is crucial to characterize the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in this region through representative experimental tests and numerical simulations to maximize the safety and cost-efficiency of CO2 storage. One common [...]
Precipitation Inequality Exacerbates Streamflow Inequality, but Dams Moderate it
Published: 2023-12-04
Subjects: Engineering
Access to clean water is a fundamental human right, yet millions worldwide face the dire consequences of water scarcity and inadequate sanitation. Water inequality, characterized by disparities in access and availability of water resources, has emerged as a critical global challenge with far-reaching social, economic, and environmental implications. Using a globally representative observational [...]
Advancing hydrological monitoring using image-based techniques: challenges and opportunities
Published: 2023-11-17
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
Enhanced and effective hydrological monitoring plays a crucial role in understanding water-related processes in a rapidly changing world. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities associated with image-based hydrological monitoring techniques, and highlights the need for innovative approaches and technologies to overcome existing limitations. Image-based hydrological monitoring has [...]
Leveraging Past Information and Machine Learning to Accelerate Land Disturbance Monitoring
Published: 2023-11-14
Subjects: Engineering
Near real time (NRT) monitoring of land disturbances holds great importance for delivering emergency aids, mitigating negative social and ecological impacts, and distributing resources for disaster recovery. Many past NRT techniques were built upon examining the overall change magnitude of a spectral anomaly with a pre-defined threshold, namely the unsupervised approach. However, their lack of [...]