Events for October 5, 2017 - April 5, 2018
October 2017
Advanced Geomorphometric Approaches for Understanding Mountain Environments
The relationship between topographic form and surface process, though qualitatively well-understood, is numerically poorly characterized. Identifying, mapping, and characterizing surface processes using machine visualization and automation demands that topographic forms be formalized in mathematical language and that relationships to the polygenetic heritage of geomorphic form be evaluated in a hierarchical, context-sensitive manner.
Read MoreGround Penetrating Radar: Uncovering the ‘Hidden Half’
Alfredo Delgado Deparment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University Graduate Student Abstract GPR is an existing and rapidly evolving technology that can be used as a high throughput, non-destructive-3‐dimensional imaging method – for quantifying root mass. With the ability to detect subtle differences in the soil media, GPR has often been utilized as a small cross-section near-surface object detection tool. GPR technology has been utilized to nondestructively image…
Read MoreNovember 2017
Advances in LiDAR Data Processing: From Waveform to Photon Counting LiDAR
the overall goal of the research is to develop algorithms for FW and PCL data processing to explore their potential in real-world applications such as tree species identification and to quantify the uncertainty of model building, data processing, and applications steps.
Read MoreZ-Curve: A Geographical Projection of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellites Systems) Signal, Time, and Position
This talk presents a novel geometric model to characterize the zero-crossing curve (or z-curve) for the signals emitted by a pair of GNSS satellites, which is the intersection of the Earth surface and the z‐surface that has zero difference in its pseudoranges to the two satellites.
Read MoreFebruary 2018
Planetary Geology: Science and Operations
This talk provides an overview of science and operation decision making with examples from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, and discusses opportunities to explore engineering and operations in analog planetary environments.
Read MoreProbing Methane in Air with Infrared Sources
Dr. Hans A. Schuessler Department of Physics and Astronomy Professor & Chair of Optical and Biomedical Physics Abstract High resolution spectroscopy in the infra-red has been employed for monitoring atmospheric pollution with a variety of techniques. Here we report on recent advances using broadband mid-infrared frequency combs in dual comb spectroscopy, and narrow band diode lasers in cavity ring-down and wavelength modulation spectroscopies for the detection of methane in ambient…
Read MoreMarch 2018
Balancing Urban Growth and Ecological Conservation: A Geographical Perspective
The location, rate, and magnitude of urban expansion will affect wide-ranging phenomena including ecosystems and biodiversity. A global analysis of urban extent circa 2000 and urban expansion forecasts out to 2030 indicates that the amount of urban land within 50 km of the world’s protected areas will triple by 2030.
Read MoreRe-Framing I: Correcting the Scaling of Spatial Autocorrelation and a New Method to Tackle Big Data
Dr. Thomas J. DeWitt Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Associate Professor Moran’s I is an iconic measure of spatial autocorrelation. It is elegant for its intended basic and intuitive nature, ofen idealized beyond its actual character. Several authors have noticed problems of bias, distribution assumption violations, and scale exception snafus with the original statistic. Still, I is generally treated as its Platonic ideal. Ideally, I ranges with a bell‐curve form…
Read MoreEyes in the Heavens: Satellite Technologies for Remote Site Characterization
This presentation is based on the article ‘Eyes in the Heavens’ (Geostrata, 2017) with a very special theme: “Geotechnics at remote sites”. Installation and maintenance of instrumentation to monitor geotechnical projects in remote locations is usually more challenging than sites in urban areas. In this presentation, Dr. Zhangwei Ning will introduce the roles and applications of three different satellites for remote site monitoring with case studies. These are: telecommunication satellite…
Read MoreApril 2018
Insight Into the Physical Signatures of Marsh Erosion
Salt marshes along the Galveston Bay coast experience a high degree of edge erosion caused by wave impact. The goal of this study was to determine the minimum wave height contributing to marsh erosion.
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