Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Engineering
python-ags4: A Python library to read, write, and validate AGS4 geodata files
Published: 2022-09-21
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering
Data gathered from geotechnical, geoenvironmental, and geophysical investigations can be broadly described as "geodata". The AGS4 data format is one of the most widely used data transmittal formats for geodata and is used across the world. It is a plain text format consisting of multiple tables of comma-separated values, tied together with a robust data schema and a comprehensive suite of [...]
A Reproducible and Reusable Pipeline for Segmentation of Geoscientific Imagery
Published: 2022-09-07
Subjects: Education, Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Segmentation of Earth science imagery is an increasingly common task. Among modern techniques that use Deep Learning, the UNet architecture has been shown to be a reliable for segmenting a range of imagery. We developed software - Segmentation Gym - to implement a data-model pipeline for segmentation of scientific imagery using a family of UNet models. With an existing set of imagery and labels, [...]
Isotopically labeled ozone: a new approach to elucidate the formation of ozonation products
Published: 2022-09-06
Subjects: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Engineering, Environmental Sciences
As ozonation becomes a widespread treatment for removal of chemicals of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plant effluents, there are increasing concerns regarding the formation of ozonation products (OPs), and their possible impacts on the aquatic environment and eventually human health. In this study, a novel method was developed that utilizes heavy oxygen (18O2) for the production of [...]
Subglacial hydrology modeling predicts high winter water pressure and spatially variable transmissivity at Helheim Glacier, Greenland
Published: 2022-08-26
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sliding velocity of glaciers is influenced by water pressure at the bed. Subglacial hydrology models are helpful for gaining insight into basal conditions, but models depend on several unconstrained physical parameters, and reproducing elevated water pressures in winter has been a challenge. We eliminate terms in the SHAKTI model that rely on uncertain parameters and apply this model to Helheim [...]
Fusing physics-based and data-driven models to forecast and mitigate landslide collapse
Published: 2022-08-26
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Deep-seated landslides represent one of the most devastating natural hazards on earth, typically creeping at inappreciable velocities over several years be- fore suddenly collapsing with catastrophic speeds. They can have detrimental consequences to society, causing fatalities and prone to affect transportation infrastructures. In this study, we validate that monitoring the basal temperature of a [...]
Fog as unconventional water resource: mapping fog occurrence and fog collection potential for food security in Southern Bolivia
Published: 2022-08-22
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
“Valles Cruceños” rural region, Bolivia, is characterized by an intrinsic water scarcity and an increasing pressure for food production by the neighboring and fast-sprawling city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Here, orographic fog is a daily phenomenon occurring all the year round, representing a sustainable water source for improving farmers’ resilience to dry spells and for promoting food security [...]
Recent rapid increase of cover crop adoption across the U.S. Midwest detected by fusing multi-source satellite data
Published: 2022-08-21
Subjects: Engineering
Cover crops have critical significance for agroecosystem sustainability and have been long promoted in the U.S. Midwest. Knowledge of the variations of cover cropping and the impacts of government policies remains very limited. We developed an accurate and cost-effective approach utilizing multi-source satellite fusion data, environmental variables, and machine learning to quantify cover cropping [...]
Algorithm theoretical basis document for GEDI footprint aboveground biomass density
Published: 2022-08-14
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar is a multibeam laser altimeter on the International Space Station (ISS). GEDI is the first spaceborne instrument designed to measure vegetation height and to quantify aboveground carbon stocks in temperate and tropical forests and woodlands. This document describes the algorithm theoretical basis underpinning the development of the GEDI [...]
A new consistent framework for assignment of safe operating space to B2C and B2B industries for use in Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessments
Published: 2022-07-25
Subjects: Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Sustainability
The planetary boundaries define a safe operating space for humanity to act within without potentially destabilizing the planet. The safe operating space is often used a sustainability reference in Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessments (AESAs) where a share of the safe operating space (SoSOS) is assigned to the assessed activity. An identified challenge, is that current methods are [...]
Analytical and numerical models of viscous anisotropy: A toolset to constrain the role of mechanical anisotropy for regional tectonics and fault loading
Published: 2022-07-12
Subjects: Education, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
To what extent mechanical anisotropy is required to explain the dynamics of the lithosphere is an important yet unresolved question. If anisotropy affects stress and deformation, and hence processes such as fault loading, how can we quantify its role from observations? Here, we derive analytical solutions and build a theoretical framework to explore how a shear zone with anisotropic viscosity can [...]
Intercomparison of deep learning architectures for the prediction of precipitation fields
Published: 2022-07-07
Subjects: Education, Engineering
In recent years, the use of deep learning methods has rapidly increased in many research fields. Similarly, they have become a powerful tool within the climate scientific community. Deep learning methods have been successfully applied for different tasks, such as identification of atmospheric patterns, weather extreme classification, or weather forecasting. However, due to the inherent complexity [...]
Advecting Superspecies: Efficiently Modeling Transport of Organic Aerosol with a Mass-Conserving Dimensionality Reduction Method
Published: 2022-06-26
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The chemical transport model LOTOS-EUROS uses a volatility basis set (VBS) approach to represent the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the atmosphere. Inclusion of the VBS approximately doubles the dimensionality of LOTOS-EUROS and slows computation of the advection operator by a factor of two. This complexity limits SOA representation in operational forecasts. We develop a [...]
Mapping landslides through a temporal lens: An insight towards multi-temporal landslide mapping using the U-Net deep learning model
Published: 2022-06-25
Subjects: Engineering
Repeated temporal mapping of landslides is essential for investigating changes in landslide movements, legacy effects of the landslide triggering events, and susceptibility changes in the area. However, in order to perform such investigations, multi-temporal (MT) inventories of landslides are required. The traditional approach of visual interpretation from cloud-free optical remote sensing [...]
A Comprehensive Review of Ontologies in the Hydrology Towards Guiding Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Applications
Published: 2022-06-25
Subjects: Engineering
Open science presents a new approach for knowledge discovery, dissemination, and integrity. The idea behind open science is to reinforce research activities and create open knowledge networks by exploring, organizing, and sharing scientific data, as well as making research results transparent, open and integrated. Big data derived from remote sensing, ground-based measurements, models and [...]
A spatial framework for prioritizing biochar application to arable land: a case study for Sweden
Published: 2022-06-21
Subjects: Engineering
The biochar-agriculture nexus can potentially generate several benefits ranging from soil carbon sequestration to the reduction in nutrient leaching from arable soils. However, leveraging these benefits requires spatially-explicit information on suitable locations for biochar application. This study provides a flexible multicriteria framework that delivers spatial indications on biochar [...]