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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Monitoring

Physics-Guided Neural Network For Predicting Chemical Signatures, Cara Murphy, John Kerekes Apr 2021

Physics-Guided Neural Network For Predicting Chemical Signatures, Cara Murphy, John Kerekes

Articles

Achieving high classification accuracy on trace chemical residues in active spectroscopic sensing is challenging due to the limited amount of training data available to the classifier. Such classifiers often rely on physics-based models for generating training data though these models are not always accurate when compared to measured data. To overcome this challenge, we developed a physics-guided neural network (PGNN) for predicting chemical reflectance for a set of parameterized inputs that is more accurate than the state-of-the-art physics-based signature model for chemical residues. After training the PGNN, we use it to generate a library of predicted spectra for training a …


Enhancing The Visibility Of Vernier Effect In A Tri-Microfiber Coupler Fiber Loop Interferometer For Ultrasensitive Refractive Index And Temperature Sensing, Fangfang Wei, Dejun Liu, Zhe Wang, Zhuochen Wang, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Gang-Ding Peng, Yuliya Semenova Nov 2020

Enhancing The Visibility Of Vernier Effect In A Tri-Microfiber Coupler Fiber Loop Interferometer For Ultrasensitive Refractive Index And Temperature Sensing, Fangfang Wei, Dejun Liu, Zhe Wang, Zhuochen Wang, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Gang-Ding Peng, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

In this paper a Vernier effect based sensor is analyzed and demonstrated experimentally in a tri-microfiber coupler (Tri-MFC) and polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) loop interferometer (Tri-MFC-PMF) to provide ultrasensitive refractive index and temperature sensing. The main novelty of this work is an analysis of parameters of the proposed Tri-MFC-PMF with the objective of determining the conditions leading to a strong Vernier effect. It has been identified by simulation that the Vernier effect is a primary factor in the design of Tri-MFC-PMF loop sensing structure for sensitivity enhancement. It is furthermore demonstrated experimentally that enhancing the visibility of the Vernier spectrum in …


An Examination Of Enhanced Atmospheric Methane Detection Methods For Predicting Performance Of A Novel Multiband Uncooled Radiometer Imager, Cody M. Webber, John P. Kerekes Oct 2020

An Examination Of Enhanced Atmospheric Methane Detection Methods For Predicting Performance Of A Novel Multiband Uncooled Radiometer Imager, Cody M. Webber, John P. Kerekes

Articles

To evaluate the potential for a new uncooled infrared radiometer imager to detect enhanced atmospheric levels of methane, three different analysis methods were examined. A single-pixel brightness temperature to noise-equivalent delta temperature (NEdT) comparison study performed using data simulated from MODTRAN6 revealed that a single thermal band centered on the 7.68 µm methane feature leads to a detectable brightness temperature difference exceeding the sensor noise level for a plume of about 17 ppm at ambient atmospheric temperature compared to an ambient plume with no enhanced methane present. Application of a normalized differential methane index method, a novel approach for methane …


Volunteered And Crowdsourced Geographic Information: The Openstreetmap Project, Michela Bertolotto, Gavin Mcardle, Bianca Schoen-Phelan Jan 2020

Volunteered And Crowdsourced Geographic Information: The Openstreetmap Project, Michela Bertolotto, Gavin Mcardle, Bianca Schoen-Phelan

Articles

Advancements in technology over the last two decades have changed how spatial data are created and used. In particular, in the last decade, volunteered geographic information (VGI), i.e., the crowdsourcing of geographic information, has revolutionized the spatial domain by shifting the map-making process from the hands of experts to those of any willing contributor. Started in 2004, OpenStreetMap (OSM) is the pinnacle of VGI due to the large number of volunteers involved and the volume of spatial data generated. While the original objective of OSM was to create a free map of the world, its uses have shown how the …


Magnetic Field Sensor Based On A Tri-Microfiber Coupler Ring In Magnetic Fluid And A Fiber Bragg Grating, Fangfang Wei, Dejun Liu, Arun Kumar Mallik, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Gang-Ding Peng, Yuliya Semenova Jan 2019

Magnetic Field Sensor Based On A Tri-Microfiber Coupler Ring In Magnetic Fluid And A Fiber Bragg Grating, Fangfang Wei, Dejun Liu, Arun Kumar Mallik, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Gang-Ding Peng, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

In this paper we propose and investigate a novel magnetic field sensor based on a Tri-microfiber coupler combined with magnetic fluid and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in a ring. A sensitivity of 1306 pm/mT was experimentally demonstrated in the range of magnetic fields from 0 to 15 mT. The reflection peak in the output spectrum associated with the FBG serves as a reference point allowing to avoid ambiguity in determining the spectral shift induced by the magnetic field. Due to its high sensitivity at low magnetic fields, the proposed structure could be of high interest in low field biosensing …


Quantifying Excess Deaths Related To Heatwaves Under Climate Change Scenarios: A Multicountry Time Series Modelling Study, Yuming Guo, Antonio Gasparrini, Shanshan Li, Francesco Sera, Ana Maria Vicedo-Cabrera, Micheline De Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coêlho, Paulo Hilário Nascimento Nascimento Saldiva, Éric Lavigne, Benjawan Tawatsupa, Kornwipa Punnasiri, Ala Overcenco, Patricia Matus Correa, Nicolas Valdes Ortega, Haidong Kan, Samuel Osorio, Jouni J.K. Jaakkola, Niilo R.I. Ryti, Patrick J. Goodman, Ariana Zeka, Paola Michelozzi, Matteo Scortichini, Masahiro Hashizume, Honda, Yasushi Honda, Yasushi, Xerxes T. Seposo, Ho Young Kim, Aurelio Tobías, Carmen Iñiguez Fernández, Bertil Forsberg, Daniel Oudin Åström, Guo, Yue Leon Guo, Yue Leon, Bing Yu Chen, Antonella Zanobetti, Joel D. Schwartz, Tranngoc Ngoc Dang, Dung Do Van, Michelle L. Bell, Ben G. Armstrong, Ebi, Kristie L. Ebi, Kristie L., Shilu Tong Jan 2018

Quantifying Excess Deaths Related To Heatwaves Under Climate Change Scenarios: A Multicountry Time Series Modelling Study, Yuming Guo, Antonio Gasparrini, Shanshan Li, Francesco Sera, Ana Maria Vicedo-Cabrera, Micheline De Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coêlho, Paulo Hilário Nascimento Nascimento Saldiva, Éric Lavigne, Benjawan Tawatsupa, Kornwipa Punnasiri, Ala Overcenco, Patricia Matus Correa, Nicolas Valdes Ortega, Haidong Kan, Samuel Osorio, Jouni J.K. Jaakkola, Niilo R.I. Ryti, Patrick J. Goodman, Ariana Zeka, Paola Michelozzi, Matteo Scortichini, Masahiro Hashizume, Honda, Yasushi Honda, Yasushi, Xerxes T. Seposo, Ho Young Kim, Aurelio Tobías, Carmen Iñiguez Fernández, Bertil Forsberg, Daniel Oudin Åström, Guo, Yue Leon Guo, Yue Leon, Bing Yu Chen, Antonella Zanobetti, Joel D. Schwartz, Tranngoc Ngoc Dang, Dung Do Van, Michelle L. Bell, Ben G. Armstrong, Ebi, Kristie L. Ebi, Kristie L., Shilu Tong

Articles

Background: Heatwaves are a critical public health problem. There will be an increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves under changing climate. However, evidence about the impacts of climate change on heatwave-related mortality at a global scale is limited. Methods and findings: We collected historical daily time series of mean temperature and mortality for all causes or nonexternal causes, in periods ranging from January 1, 1984, to December 31, 2015, in 412 communities within 20 countries/regions. We estimated heatwave–mortality associations through a two-stage time series design. Current and future daily mean temperature series were projected under four scenarios of …


Catalogue Of Extreme Wave Events In Ireland: Revised And Updated For 14 680 Bp To 2017, Laura Cooke, Emiliano Renzi, John M. Dudley, Colm Clancy, FréDéRic Dias Jan 2018

Catalogue Of Extreme Wave Events In Ireland: Revised And Updated For 14 680 Bp To 2017, Laura Cooke, Emiliano Renzi, John M. Dudley, Colm Clancy, FréDéRic Dias

Articles

This paper aims to extend and update the survey of extreme wave events in Ireland that was previously carried out by O’Brien et al. (2013). The original catalogue high- lighted the frequency of such events dating back as far as the turn of the last ice age and as recent as 2012. Ireland’s marine territory extends far beyond its coastline and is one of the largest seabed territories in Europe. It is therefore not surprising that extreme waves have continued to occur reg- ularly since 2012, particularly considering the severity of weather during the winters of 2013–2014 and 2015–2016. In …


A Land Use Regression Model For Explaining Spatial Variation In Air Pollution Levels Using A Wind Sector Based Approach, Owen Naughton, Aoife Donnelly, Paul Nolan, Francesco Pilla, Bruce Misstear, Brian Broderick Jan 2018

A Land Use Regression Model For Explaining Spatial Variation In Air Pollution Levels Using A Wind Sector Based Approach, Owen Naughton, Aoife Donnelly, Paul Nolan, Francesco Pilla, Bruce Misstear, Brian Broderick

Articles

Estimating pollutant concentrations at a local and regional scale is essential for good ambient air quality information in environmental and health policy decision making. Here we present a land use regression (LUR) modelling methodology that exploits the high temporal resolution of fixed-site monitoring (FSM) to produce viable air quality maps. The methodology partitions concentration time series from a national FSM network into wind-dependent sectors or “wedges”. A LUR model is derived using predictor variables calculated within the directional wind sectors, and compared against the long-term average concentrations within each sector. This study demonstrates the value of incorporating the relative position …


Stochastic Hybrid Embodied Co2-Eq Analysis: An Application To The Irish Apartment Building Sector, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy, Biswajit Basu Apr 2011

Stochastic Hybrid Embodied Co2-Eq Analysis: An Application To The Irish Apartment Building Sector, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy, Biswajit Basu

Articles

Although embodiedCO2-eq analysis has seen recent developments as evident in the establishment of the ISO14040 and 14044 LCA standards, it is recognized that due to weaknesses in gathering data on product-related emissions,embodiedCO2-eq values are probabilistic. This paper presents a stochastic analysis of hybrid embodied CO2-eq in buildings to account for this weakness in traditional methods and, by way of example, applies it to an Irish construction-sector case study. Using seven apartment buildings, 70,000 results are simulated with Monte Carlo analysis and used to derive probabilistic and cumulative embodied CO2-eq intensity distributions for apartment buildings in Ireland. A Wakeby distribution with …


Input-Output Analysis Of Irish Construction Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy Apr 2010

Input-Output Analysis Of Irish Construction Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Ireland is committed to limiting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 113% of 1990 levels over the period 2008-12 and to 84% of 2005 levels by 2020 under the Kyoto Agreement and the EU’s ’20 20’ by 2020 respectively. National policies have targeted many industry sectors but have failed to directly tackle GHG emissions associated with construction activity. This paper estimates energy and GHG emissions intensities of the Irish construction sector and subsectors and estimates its contribution to Irish national emissions. This information is used to identify and assess the impacts of policy measures which would result in a reduction …


Applying Geographic Information Systems To Support Strategic Environmental Assessment: Opportunities And Limitations In The Context Of Irish Land-Use Plans, Ainhoa Gonzalez, Alan Gilmer, Ronan Foley, John Sweeney, John Fry Jan 2010

Applying Geographic Information Systems To Support Strategic Environmental Assessment: Opportunities And Limitations In The Context Of Irish Land-Use Plans, Ainhoa Gonzalez, Alan Gilmer, Ronan Foley, John Sweeney, John Fry

Articles

The strengthening of spatial database infrastructures, further promoted by the INSPIRE Directive adopted in 2007, has led to an increased use of spatial data in planning and decision-making. Given that land-use plans are intrinsically spatial, such evidence and approaches can significantly benefit plan-making. A spatial framework could especially support the specific Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) aspects of the plan-making process. Spatial tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are particularly well-placed to support the environmental integration sought in SEA by providing evidence through the spatial assessment of multiple environmental datasets. Moreover, GIS bring the opportunity to augment conventional assessment techniques …


Technology-Aided Participative Methods In Environmental Assessment: An International Perspective, Ainhoa Gonzalez, Alan Gilmer, Ronan Foley, John Sweeney, John Fry Jan 2008

Technology-Aided Participative Methods In Environmental Assessment: An International Perspective, Ainhoa Gonzalez, Alan Gilmer, Ronan Foley, John Sweeney, John Fry

Articles

Provisions for citizen involvement in the assessment of potential environmental effects of certain plans, programmes and projects are present in current legislation. An international survey revealed that public participation is common practice in European and some other countries worldwide. However, a number of issues are observed to affect public involvement in EIA/SEA processes and expert opinion differs when evaluating the effectiveness of existing participative methods. Results suggest that technology-aided methods can improve traditional participation processes. In particular, GIS has the potential to increase community knowledge and enhance involvement by communicating information more effectively. Variable accessibility to technology and data quality …