Mapping of aggregated floodplain plant communities using image fusion of CASI and LiDAR data

Combined optical and laser altimeter data offer the potential to map and monitor plant communities based on their spectral and structural characteristics. A problem unresolved is, however, that narrowly defined plant communities, i.e. plant communities at a low hierarchical level of classification in the Braun-Blanquet system, often cannot be linked directly to remote sensing data for vegetation mapping. We studied whether and how a floristic dataset can be aggregated into a few major discrete, mappable classes without substantial loss of ecological meaning. Multi-source airborne data (CASI and LiDAR) and floristic field data were collected for a floodplain along the river Waal in the Netherlands. Mapping results based on floristic similarity alone did not achieve highest levels of accuracy. Ordination of floristic data showed that terrain elevation and soil moisture were the main underlying environmental drivers shaping the floodplain vegetation, but grouping of plant communities based on their position in the ordination space is not always obvious. Combined ordination-based grouping with floristic similarity clustering led to syntaxonomically relevant aggregated plant assemblages and yielded highest mapping accuracies.     

RTK在几种常见作业环境下的测量精度实验分析

针对一些测绘工作者对RTK测量精度的疑虑,本文设计了一套检验RTK在几种常见作业环境下测量精度的实验方案,分别进行了内符合精度和外符合精度分析。结论表明：在几种常见工作环境下,RTK测量给出的测量精度可靠,高程与平面精度均能小于5cm。     

Optimization of two GPS/MEMS-IMU integration strategies with application to sports

The application of low-cost L1 GPS receivers integrated with micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement units (IMU) allows the continuous observation of position, velocity and orientation which opens new possibilities for comparison of athletes’ performance throughout a racecourse. In this paper, we compare loosely and closely coupled integration strategies under realistic racing scenarios when GPS is partially or completely masked. The study reveals that both integration approaches have a similar performance when the satellite constellation is completed or the outages are short. However, for less than four satellites, the closely coupled strategy clearly outperforms the loosely coupled approach. The second part of the paper is devoted to the important problem of system initialization, because the conventional GPS/IMU alignment methods are no longer applicable when using MEMS-IMU. We introduce a modified coarse alignment method and a quaternion estimation method for the computation of the initial orientation. Simulations and practical experiments reveal that both methods are numerically stable for any initial orientation of the sensors with the error characteristics of MEMS-IMUs. Throughout the paper, our findings are supported by racing experiments with references provided in both, the measurement and the navigation domains.     

Parametric rolling behaviour of azimuthing propulsion-driven ships

The study investigates the experimental and numerical analysis of the occurrence of auto-parametric rolling for large, high-speed pod-driven ships in waves. Considering unique design and performance targets, the aim here is to exploit susceptibility to auto-parametric rolling behaviour and to identify probable design and operational precautions. In order to achieve this aim, an existing non-linear time-domain software to simulate capsizing and other critical manoeuvring behaviours of slow- to medium-speed conventional and podded ships in waves is being enhanced for fast pod-driven vessels and then compared against the dedicated model test conducted in long-crested regular and random waves for a large, pod-driven containership model. This paper includes the presentation of current numerical modifications for pod-driven ships and the verification analysis.     

Seagrass as the main food source of Neaxius acanthus (Thalassinidea: Strahlaxiidae), its burrow associates, and of Corallianassa coutierei (Thalassinidea: Callianassidae)

Burrows of the thalassinidean shrimps Neaxius acanthus and Corallianassa coutierei are striking aspects in tropical seagrass beds of the Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia. Burrow construction, behaviour, burrow type and associated commensal community were investigated to clarify the ecological role and food requirements of these shrimps and their commensals. Gut content analysis and stable-isotope data were used to unravel the food sources and the trophic interactions among the commensal community.Individuals of Neaxius acanthus were caught on Bone Batang Island. In narrow aquaria filled with sediment they constructed burrows resembling those found in the field. During burrow construction and maintenance only little sediment was brought to the surface, most was sorted and compacted to create a distinct lining. Maintenance work by single shrimps typically took about 5 min, after which the shrimp walked up to the entrance and rested for a similar period of time. There were no differences in behaviour between day and night. Intrasexual encounters inside the burrow were characterised by a high level of aggression and all resulted in one participant being driven out of the burrow. Intersexual encounters led to coexistence with both animals taking turns in burrow maintenance and guarding the entrance. Offered seagrass leaves were pulled underground, cut into pieces and eventually integrated into the lining. Burrows of Corallianassa coutierei resembled a deep U-shape. Chambers branching off halfway down and at the deepest point contained seagrass fragments. All steep parts of the burrow were lined similar to burrows of N. acanthus.No commensals were found associated with Corallianassa coutierei. However, burrows of Neaxius acanthus in the field typically contained a pair of shrimps, up to 8 individuals of the commensal bivalve Barrimysia cumingii and large numbers of gammarid amphipods. Other animals found associated with the burrow were the goby Austrolethops wardi, a palaemonid shrimp species and two species of tube-building polychaetes, one of which was also found as an epibiont on N. acanthus.Stable-isotope and gut content analyses indicate that the diet of Neaxius acanthus, its commensal Austrolethops wardi, and Corallianassa coutierei is mainly derived from detrital seagrass leaves, with a potential contribution of sediment organic matter and seagrass epiphytes. In contrast the isotopic signature of Barrimysia cumingii suggests the presence of symbiotic sulphide metabolism bacteria. This study underlines that, besides their interactions with the surrounding ecosystem, thalassinid shrimp burrows play an important role as a sub-habitat with a unique associated fauna.     

Numerical study of baroclinic tides in Luzon Strait

The spatial and temporal variations of baroclinic tides in the Luzon Strait (LS) are investigated using a three-dimensional tide model driven by four principal constituents, O₁, K₁, M₂ and S₂, individually or together with seasonal mean summer or winter stratifications as the initial field. Barotropic tides propagate predominantly westward from the Pacific Ocean, impinge on two prominent north-south running submarine ridges in LS, and generate strong baroclinic tides propagating into both the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific Ocean. Strong baroclinic tides, ∼19 GW for diurnal tides and ∼11 GW for semidiurnal tides, are excited on both the east ridge (70%) and the west ridge (30%). The barotropic to baroclinic energy conversion rate reaches 30% for diurnal tides and ∼20% for semidiurnal tides. Diurnal (O₁ and K₁) and semidiurnal (M₂) baroclinic tides have a comparable depth-integrated energy flux 10–20 kW m⁻¹ emanating from the LS into the SCS and the Pacific basin. The spring-neap averaged, meridionally integrated baroclinic tidal energy flux is ∼7 GW into the SCS and ∼6 GW into the Pacific Ocean, representing one of the strongest baroclinic tidal energy flux regimes in the World Ocean. About 18 GW of baroclinic tidal energy, ∼50% of that generated in the LS, is lost locally, which is more than five times that estimated in the vicinity of the Hawaiian ridge. The strong westward-propagating semidiurnal baroclinic tidal energy flux is likely the energy source for the large-amplitude nonlinear internal waves found in the SCS. The baroclinic tidal energy generation, energy fluxes, and energy dissipation rates in the spring tide are about five times those in the neap tide; while there is no significant seasonal variation of energetics, but the propagation speed of baroclinic tide is about 10% faster in summer than in winter. Within the LS, the average turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate is O(10⁻⁷) W kg^{− 1} and the turbulence diffusivity is O(10⁻³) m²s⁻¹, a factor of 100 greater than those in the typical open ocean. This strong turbulence mixing induced by the baroclinic tidal energy dissipation exists in the main path of the Kuroshio and is important in mixing the Pacific Ocean, Kuroshio, and the SCS waters.     

Challenges in developing China's marine protected area system

Since the 1980s, there have been continuous increases in the coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs) in China, and a total of 158 MPAs have been declared. The MPA system in China is characterized by (1) decentralised designation and management with reduced control from the central government; (2) a dominance of de jure fully protected MPAs that are often implemented as de facto multiple-use areas; and (3) a lack of objective evaluation processes. To improve China's MPA system requires an appropriate integration of fully protected and multiple-use MPAs, and an approach that balances the advantages of top-down and bottom-up approaches.     

The new wave overtopping database for coastal structures

Significant effort has been made to generate a homogeneous database on wave overtopping consisting of more than 10,000 irregular wave overtopping tests from more than 160 independent projects or test series, each described by means of 31 parameters. Many coastal structures, including dikes, rubble mound breakwaters, berm breakwaters, caisson structures and combinations have been considered and have been schematised for inclusion in the database. All these overtopping tests are represented by over 300,000 numbers in the database.     

A study of presolar material in hydrated lithic clasts from metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites

We report on the investigation of presolar grain inventories of hydrated lithic clasts in three metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites from the CR clan, Acfer 182 (CH3), Isheyevo (CH3/CB_b3), and Lewis Cliff (LEW) 85332 (C3-un), as well as the carbon- and nitrogen-isotopic compositions of the fine-grained clast material. Eleven presolar silicate grains as well as nine presolar silicon carbide (SiC) grains were identified in the clasts. Presolar silicate abundances range from 4 to 22 parts per million (ppm), significantly lower than in pristine meteorites and interplanetary dust particles (IDP), and comparable to recent findings for CM2s and CR2 interchondrule matrix. SiC concentrations lie between 9 and 23 ppm, and are comparable to the values for CI, CM, and CR chondrites. The results of our investigation suggest similar alteration pathways for the clast material, the interchondrule matrix of the CR2 chondrites, and the fine-grained fraction of CM2 chondrites. Fine-grained matter of all three meteorites contains moderate to high ¹⁵N-enrichments (~50‰ ≤ δ¹⁵N ≤ ~1600‰) compared to the terrestrial value, indicating the presence of primitive organic material. We observed no correlation between ¹⁵N-enrichments and presolar dust concentrations in the clasts. This is in contrast to the findings from a suite of primitive IDPs, which display in several cases enhanced bulk ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios and high presolar grain abundances of several hundred or even thousand ppm. The bulk ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios of the clasts are comparable to the range for primitive IDPs, suggesting a nitrogen carrier less susceptible to destruction by aqueous alteration than silicate stardust.     

Joint modelling of wave spectral parameters for extreme sea states

Characterising the dependence between extremes of wave spectral parameters such as significant wave height (H_S) and spectral peak period (T_P) is important in understanding extreme ocean environments and in the design and assessment of marine structures. For example, it is known that mean values of wave periods tend to increase with increasing storm intensity. Here we seek to characterise joint dependence in a straightforward manner, accessible to the ocean engineering community, using a statistically sound approach.Many methods of multivariate extreme value analyses are based on models which assume implicitly that in some joint tail region each parameter is either independent of or asymptotically dependent on other parameters; yet in reality the dependence structure in general is neither of these. The underpinning assumption of multivariate regular variation restricts these methods to estimation of joint regions in which all parameters are extreme; but regions where only a subset of parameters are extreme can be equally important for design. The conditional approach of Heffernan and Tawn (2004), similar in spirit to that of Haver (1985) but with better theoretical foundation, overcomes these difficulties.We use the conditional approach to characterise the dependence structure of H_S and T_P. The key elements of the procedure are: (1) marginal modelling for all parameters, (2) transformation of data to a common standard Gumbel marginal form, (3) modelling dependence between data for extremes of pairs of parameters using a form of regression, (4) simulation of long return periods to estimate joint extremes. We demonstrate the approach in application to measured and hindcast data from the Northern North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the North West Shelf of Australia. We also illustrate the use of data re-sampling techniques such as bootstrapping to estimate the uncertainty in marginal and dependence models and accommodate this uncertainty in extreme quantile estimation.We discuss the current approach in the context of other approaches to multivariate extreme value estimation popular in the ocean engineering community.