Digital Commons Network^™

Managing Water Stored For The Environment During Drought, Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Michael Dettinger, Kristen Dybala, Gokce Sencan, Anna Sturrock, Barton Thompson, Harrison Zeff

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Storing water in reservoirs is important for maintaining freshwater ecosystem health and protecting native species. Stored water also is essential for adapting to the changing climate, especially warming and drought intensification. Yet, reservoir operators often treat environmental objectives as a constraint, rather than as a priority akin to water deliveries for cities and farms. Reservoir management becomes especially challenging during severe droughts when surface water supplies are scarce, and urban and agricultural demands conflict with water supplies needed to maintain healthy waterways and wetlands. In times of drought, most freshwater ecosystems suffer.

This blog post examines 2021 water year actions …

The Utah Statesman, November 1, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Comparison Of Charge Deposition Profiles In Polymers Irradiated With Monoenergetic Electrons: Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements And Af-Numit3 Modeling, Zachary Gibson, Jr Dennison, Brian Beecken

Physics Student Research

Successful spacecraft design and charging mitigation techniques require precise and accurate knowledge of charge deposition profiles. This paper compares models of charge deposition and transport using a venerable deep dielectric charging code, AF-NUMIT3, with direct measurements of charge profiles via pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) measurements. Eight different simulations were performed for comparison to PEA experiments of samples irradiated by 50 keV or 80 keV monoenergetic electrons in vacuum and at room temperature. Two materials, polyether-ether ketone (PEEK) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), were chosen for their very low conductivities so that minimal charge migration would occur between irradiation and PEA measurements. PEEK was …

The Utah Statesman, October 25, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Biodiversity Scale-Dependence And Opposing Multi-Level Correlations Underlie Differences Among Taxonomic, Phylogenetic And Functional Diversity, Nadejda A. Mirochnitchenko, Erica F. Stuber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Aim

Biodiversity is a multi-dimensional property of biological communities that represents different information depending on how it is measured, but how dimensions relate to one another and under what conditions is not well understood. We explore how taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity can differ in scale-of-effect dependence and habitat-biodiversity relationships, and subsequently how spatial differences among biodiversity dimensions may arise.

Location

Nebraska, United States.

Taxon

Birds.

Methods

Across 2016 and 2017, we conducted 2,641 point counts at 781 sites. We modeled the occupancy of 141 species using Bayesian Bernoulli-Bernoulli hierarchical logistic regressions. We calculated species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD) …

The Missing Course: An Introduction To College Teaching For Graduate Instructors, Jocelyn M. Cuthbert, Aubrey Rogowski, Michael N. Vakula, Juliana Aguilar, Kenna Kesler

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

A book review of David Gooblar’s book, The Missing Course: Everything they Never Taught You About College Teaching.

The Utah Statesman, October 18, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Academic Standards Subcommittee Minutes, October 14, 2021, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Introductions
• Welcome to Katie Burns, the new representative from the Division of Student Affairs
• Posthumous Degree Language Adjustment: Janet Anderson
• Email Communication Policy Language Adjustment: Fran Hopkin

Frequency-Dependent Linearity Characterization And Uncertainty Analysis Of The Pace Oci Short-Wave Infrared Detection Assembly, Kenneth Squire, Jacob Hedelius, James Peterson, Eric Gorman, Gerhard Meister

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) will be used to collect data on the health of the planet’s oceans and atmosphere. Essential to OCI is its Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) Detection Assembly (SDA), which measures light at discrete bands of interest. The linearity knowledge of the SDA detectors is crucial for collection of accurate and meaningful scientific data. This document presents the methodology employed in measuring the linearity response of the SDA to optical inputs at various modulation frequencies as well as the accompanying linearity uncertainty analysis.

The Utah Statesman, October 11, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Embedded Charge Distributions In Electron Irradiated Polymers – Pulsed Electroacoustic Method Reproducibility And Calibration, Zachary Gibson, Jr Dennison, Ryan Hoffmann

Physics Student Research

The pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method has been used to measure the embedded charge distributions in electron irradiated polymers. The PEA method allows for non-destructive direct measurements of embedded charge distributions in dielectric materials. Samples of polyether-etherketone (PEEK) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) of 125 μm or 250 μm thickness were tested after irradiation with either a 50 keV or 80 keV electron beam. The reproducibility of the PEA method and the experimental conditions were studied by: (i) measuring each sample multiple times in a given mounting configuration, (ii) re-measuring each sample after repositioning them in the PEA test fixture, and (iii) measuring …

Pareto Optimality And Compromise For Environmental Water Management, Sarah E. Null, Marcelo A. Olivares, Felipe Cordera, Jay R. Lund

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Water management usually considers economic and ecological objectives, and involves tradeoffs, conflicts, compromise, and cooperation among objectives. Pareto optimality often is championed in water management, but its relationships with the mathematical representation of objectives, and implications of tradeoffs for Pareto optimal decisions, are rarely examined. We evaluate the mathematical properties of optimized tradeoffs to identify promising regions for compromise, suggest strategies for reducing conflicts, and better understand whether decision-makers are more or less likely to cooperate on environmental water allocations. Cooperation and compromise among objectives can be easier when tradeoff curves are concave and more adversarial when tradeoff curves are …

The Utah Statesman, October 4, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Deep Anomaly Detection For Network Traffic, Eric Mckinney, Daniel Mortensen

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Canonical anomaly detection has been achieved through various means ranging from statistical tests and clustering methods to categorical decision-making and rule-based systems. Each method has its own pros and cons; however, many depend on assumptions. These assumptions can be model driven, such as assuming white Gaussian inputs, or method driven such as linear regression. In any case, assumptions are being made either about the structure of the data or its relationship with other random variables.

This work presents a deep learning methodology for anomaly detection, a sampling technique for large data sets, and feature importance analysis. The anomaly detection technique …

Rapid Quantitative Analysis Of Toxic Norditerpenoid Alkaloids In Larkspur (Delphinium Spp.) By Flow Injection - Electrospray Ionization – Mass Spectrometry, Dale R. Gardner, Stephen T. Lee, Daniel Cook

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

A rapid flow injection - electrospray ionization – mass spectrometry (FI-ESI-MS) method for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of norditerpenoid alkaloids in larkspur plants was developed. The FI-ESI-MS method was calibrated for alkaloid concentrations with larkspur plant samples against an existing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FTIR method. There was a strong correlation (r = 0.9926, r = 0.9891) between the FTIR and FI-ESI-MS methods. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for all measurements were ≤ 6.2 % except for the sample with the lowest concentration which was 19%. The sample throughput of the FI-ESI-MS method is much higher than the FTIR …

The Utah Statesman, September 13, 2021, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Pan-Antarctic Investigations Of Mesospheric Wave Dynamics And Influences Using The Angwin Network, Michael J. Taylor

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Hyperspectral Imaging Combined With Machine Learning For The Detection Of Fusiform Rust Disease Incidence In Loblolly Pine Seedlings, Piyush Pandey, Kitt G. Payn, Yuzhen Lu, Austin J. Heine, Trevor D. Walker, Juan J. Acosta, Sierra N. Young

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Loblolly pine is an economically important timber species in the United States, with almost 1 billion seedlings produced annually. The most significant disease affecting this species is fusiform rust, caused by Cronartium quercuum f. sp. fusiforme. Testing for disease resistance in the greenhouse involves artificial inoculation of seedlings followed by visual inspection for disease incidence. An automated, high-throughput phenotyping method could improve both the efficiency and accuracy of the disease screening process. This study investigates the use of hyperspectral imaging for the detection of diseased seedlings. A nursery trial comprising families with known in-field rust resistance data was conducted, and …

Comparison Of Theoretical And Multi-Fidelity Optimum Aerostructural Solutions For Wing Design, Jeffrey D. Taylor, Douglas F. Hunsaker

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

As contemporary aerostructural research for aircraft design trends toward high-fidelity computational methods, aerostructural solutions based on theory are often neglected or forgotten. In fact, in many modern aerostructural wing optimization studies, the elliptic lift distribution is used as a benchmark in place of theoretical aerostructural solutions with more appropriate constraints. In this paper, we review several theoretical aerostructural solutions that could be used as benchmark cases for wing design studies, and we compare them to high-fidelity solutions with similar constraints. Solutions are presented for studies with 1) constraints related to the wing integrated bending moment, 2) constraints related to the …

In-Person Prehealth Advising: Impact Analysis Spring 2017 To Fall 2020, Alasdair Ekpenyong, Mykel Beorchia

Publications

At Utah State University, some of the advising department’s efforts specifically focus on preparing students for study in health professions graduate school. Students considering a career in the health sciences meet with an advisor who has been trained on the nuances of preparing for health professions graduate school.

This report explored the association between in-person prehealth advising participation and student persistence to the next term.

Redefining The Age Of The Lower Colorado River, Southwestern United States: Forum Reply, R. S. Crow, J. Schwing, K. E. Karlstrom, M. Heizler, P. A. Pearthree, P. K. House, S. Dulin, Susanne U. Jänecke, M. Stelten, L. J. Crossey

Geosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Accuracy: Adaptive Calibration Of Cubesatradiometer Constellations, John Bradburn, Mustafa Aksoy, Henry Ashley

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Recent technological advancements enable the cost-effective deployment of constellations of CubeSats. Constellations of radiometer equipped CubeSats have great potential for use in scientific missions for remote sensing objectives including weather tracking and storm imaging, climate change measurement, and atmospheric science, to name a few. While CubeSats provide a solution to challenges in cost, weight, and power, there exist drawbacks which make radiometer calibration more difficult, specifically due to increased sensitivity of the instrument to ambient conditions, resulting from the lack of an adequate thermal control system. To address this problem, a novel, constellation-level calibration framework is being developed called “Adaptive …

Current Challenges In The Remote Sounding Of The Earth, Chris Barnet

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

This workshop will focus on the topic of remote sounding of the Earth’s atmosphere using modern space-borne hyperspectral infrared (e.g., AIRS, IASI, CrIS) and microwave (e.g., AMSU, MHS, ATMS) instruments to extract information about the Earth’s atmosphere. This workshop will have three major sections. The first section will be a conceptual introduction to the mathematical methods of sounding, that is, radiative transfer and inversion (a.k.a. retrieval) of observations. The 2^nd section will highlight the NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) and the Community Long-term Infrared Microwave Coupled Atmospheric Product System (CLIMCAPS) to illustrate the value and limitations of modern …

Supplementary Files For "Creating A Universal Depth-To-Load Conversion Technique For The Conterminous United States Using Random Forests", Jesse Wheeler, Brennan Bean, Marc Maguire

Browse all Datasets

As part of an ongoing effort to update the ground snow load maps in the United States, this paper presents an investigation into snow densities for the purpose of predicting ground snow loads for structural engineering design with ASCE 7. Despite their importance, direct measurements of snow load are sparse when compared to measurements of snow depth. As a result, it is often necessary to estimate snow load using snow depth and other readily accessible climate variables. Existing depth-to-load conversion methods, each of varying complexity, are well suited for snow load estimation for a particular region or station network, but …

Forces And Conservation Laws For Motion On Our Spheroidal Earth, Boyd F. Edwards, John M. Edwards

All Physics Faculty Publications

We explore the forces and conservation laws that govern the motion of a hockey puck that slides without friction on a smooth, rotating, self-gravitating spheroid. The earth's oblate spheroidal shape (apart from small-scale surface features) is determined by balancing the gravitational forces that hold it together against the centrifugal forces that try to tear it apart. The earth achieves this shape when the apparent gravitational force on the puck, defined as the vector sum of the gravitational and centrifugal forces, is perpendicular to the earth's surface at every point on the surface. Thus, the earth's spheroidal deformations neutralize the centrifugal …

Data From: Yellow Air Day Advisory Study, Arthur J. Caplan

Browse all Datasets

Using a dataset consisting of daily vehicle trips, PM2.5 concentrations, along with a host of climactic control variables, we test the hypothesis that “yellow air day” advisories provided by the Utah Division of Air Quality resulted in subsequent reductions in vehicle trips taken during northern Utah’s winter-inversion seasons in the early 2000s. Winter inversions occur in northern Utah when climactic conditions are such that PM2.5 concentrations (derived mainly from vehicle emissions) become trapped in the lower atmosphere, leading to unhealthy air quality (concentrations of at least 35 µg/m3) over a span of what are called “red air days”. When concentrations …

The Intersection Of Cultural Context And Research Encounter: Focus On Interviewing In Qualitative Research, Rebecca Yvonne Bayeck

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This article discusses the influence of the cultural context on the interview process. With literature demonstrating the role of spatial context on interviews, the article contends that similar consideration should be given to cultural contexts of research studies. Focusing on the cultural context where the interview takes place and the interactions during the interview can help researchers understand and analyze interview material. Interview forms such as conversation/interview bombing emerged from the interaction of cultural context with the interview process. This points to the need for qualitative researchers to explore how the cultural context shapes their research encounter. Such focus will …

Creating A Setup To Assess The Use Of Virtual Reality For Mission Control, Felix Sittner, Cedric Liman, Gino Schulze, Hans Schülein, Jan Schmieder, Jan Tischhöfer, Marlene Busch, Sergio Montenegro

Small Satellite Conference

This paper describes a work in progress. We are preparing our first cubesat mission, InnoCube, which we plan to launch in spring 2023. We are also in the process of moving the whole chair to another building, and creating a new mission control room. We take this as an opportunity to try and compare some novel approaches, that might make the work of the ground team easier.

Our mission, InnoCube, is designed to test a “skip the harness (skith)” approach, which means the system is comprised of multiple autonomous computing nodes communicating wirelessly with each other. Each of these nodes …

Ballistic Aerocapture For Smallsat: A Case Study For Venus Atmospheric Sampling Probe, Oswaldo Santana, Ye Lu

Small Satellite Conference

Aerocapture is a maneuver that can improve the capabilities of interplanetary small satellite missions to efficiently deliver a probe to a target destination. The maneuver is accomplished with a single atmospheric pass followed by a small propulsive burn to reach the final orbit. In this paper, we consider a SmallSat atmospheric sampling probe with an existing heatshield and evaluate the performance and benefits of ballistic aerocapture. The performance is assessed by comparing ΔV required of a fully propulsive orbital insertion and that of a ballistic aerocapture. Significant fuel mass savings can be achieved with a passive lifting vehicle. With a …

Improved Orbital Propagator Integrated With Sgp4 And Machine Learning, Zac Yung-Chun Liu, Scott Tarlow, Mohammad Akbar, Quentin Donnellan, Darek Senkow

Small Satellite Conference

The current industry standard orbital propagator, the Simplified General Perturbation Model-4 (SPG4), relies completely on physics-based orbital mechanics, can only provide accurate orbital predictions ~12 hours in advance. We developed a novel hybrid model, combining the SGP4 baseline with two machine learning estimators, autoencoder and random forest, in order to reduce the errors of the SGP4 propagator. The sources of errors in SGP4 propagators come from incomplete perturbation calculations and low-order of series expansions. The time-series nature of these error patterns are modeled by our machine learning estimators and then are used to make corrections to the SGP4 propagation, which …