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Articles 991 - 1020 of 1706

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

A Method For Using Pre-Computed Scenarios Of Physically-Based Spatially-Distributed Hydrologic Models In Flood Forecasting Systems, Herman Guillermo Dolder Aug 2015

A Method For Using Pre-Computed Scenarios Of Physically-Based Spatially-Distributed Hydrologic Models In Flood Forecasting Systems, Herman Guillermo Dolder

Theses and Dissertations

Every year floods are responsible of a significant number of human losses, many of which could be avoided with a broader implementation of flood forecasting systems. Nevertheless, there are still some technological and economic limitations that impede the creation of these systems in many parts of the world. At the core of many flood forecasting systems is a hydrologic model that transforms the weather forecast into a flow forecast. Using real-time modeling for potential floods poses a series of problems: if the model is complex, the computational power required can be significant, and consequently expensive, and if the model is …

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Fluoride And Phosphate Removal From Industrial And Domestic Wastewaters Using Cerium Chloride, John Michael Gonzales Aug 2015

Fluoride And Phosphate Removal From Industrial And Domestic Wastewaters Using Cerium Chloride, John Michael Gonzales

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The use of cerium chloride (CeCl3) to remove fluoride and phosphate from waters is addressed in this study. High concentrations of fluoride exist in groundwater especially in developing countries. Consumption drinking water containing high levels of fluoride can lead to serious cases of dental and skeletal fluorosis. Current defluoridation technologies are limited, especially for high levels of fluoride, and are expensive. Industrial wastewaters contribute to the highest fluoride contamination in the world. With the increasing production of electronic materials, the global fluoride concentration and fluoride-contaminated waters have grown tremendously. Excessive discharge of phosphate into the environment promotes eutrophication of lakes …

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Macro Model For Solid And Perforated Masonry Infill Shear Walls., Farid Nemati Aug 2015

Macro Model For Solid And Perforated Masonry Infill Shear Walls., Farid Nemati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation the performance of masonry walls enclosed by frame structures is studied and a new finite element model for these systems is presented. As part of this effort, the common modeling approaches i.e. micro-models and macro-models are briefly reviewed and their specifications are compared. Based on the findings in these comparisons, it was shown that macro modeling is the preferred modeling approach and the development of the new model is presented. The proposed model is described in detail and the calibration procedures along with the material models, used in the proposed model, are presented. To account for the …

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The Doomsday Equation And 50 Years Beyond: New Perspectives On The Human-Water System, Anthony J. Parolari, Gabriel Katul, Amilcare Porporato Jul 2015

The Doomsday Equation And 50 Years Beyond: New Perspectives On The Human-Water System, Anthony J. Parolari, Gabriel Katul, Amilcare Porporato

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In 1960, von Foerster et al. humorously predicted an abrupt transition in human population growth to occur in the mid‐21st century. Their so‐called ‘Doomsday’ emerged from either progressive degradation of a finite resource or faster‐than‐exponential growth of an increasingly resource‐use efficient population, though what constitutes this resource was not made explicit. At present, few dispute the claim that water is the most fundamental resource to sustainable human population growth. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that the global water system exhibits nontrivial dynamics linked to similar patterns in population growth. Projections of the global water system range from a finite carrying …

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National Culture And Business Resilience: An Exploratory Study Of Two Chinese Construction Firms Operating In Singapore, Low Sui Pheng, Gao Shang, Teo Wee Kiat Ken Jul 2015

National Culture And Business Resilience: An Exploratory Study Of Two Chinese Construction Firms Operating In Singapore, Low Sui Pheng, Gao Shang, Teo Wee Kiat Ken

Business Review

The study of national culture focuses on differences in values and beliefs among people of different nationalities. With the increasing globalization of economies around the world, the construction industry is inherently exposed to risk at an unprecedented level. This is particularly true for Chinese construction firms, which are aggressively setting up subsidiaries and branches all around the world as they partake in large-scale complex projects overseas. With the liberal foreign trade policies adopted by China after its reforms, domestic construction firms in China also face immense pressure from the international players that are now able to enter the Chinese construction …

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Sustainable Design In Ghana, Anthony Decosta, Amanda Laufer, Theresa Mcardle Jun 2015

Sustainable Design In Ghana, Anthony Decosta, Amanda Laufer, Theresa Mcardle

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Sustainable homes are difficult for the people of Gambibgo, Ghana to build, as there are few natural building materials in the area other than earth and water, and their subsistencefarming lifestyle leaves very little money for the purchase of sourced material like lumber, steel, or cement. Traditional homes in Gambibgo are constantly rebuilt, costing the communityaround $250 at least once every five years. Our team, with Father James Reites, S.J. and two alums, traveled to Gambibgo in March 2015 with an earthen roof design we had hoped to implement on the existing walls of thecommunity's homes. Upon our arrival we …

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Sustainable Development For People Or Profit?, Eric Rr Weaver Jun 2015

Sustainable Development For People Or Profit?, Eric Rr Weaver

Suburban Sustainability

As Earth’s populations grow, will key planetary systems be pushed over the “tipping point” beyond Earth’s carrying capacity for sustaining human life? There is a strong body of literature developing the concept of Planetary Boundaries to help identify the limits for maintaining the Earth’s environmental stability. It is presumed that exceeding the Planetary Boundaries will result in an environmental tipping point, shifting the earth into a new environmental equilibrium detrimental to life as we know it. Research shows industrial agriculture is a major force pressing the environment to, and beyond, these limits. This review of top tier journals details the …

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Evaluation Of Thin Asphalt Overlay Practice Preserving Nebraska's Asphalt Pavement, Soohyok Im, Yong-Rak Kim, Hamzeh Haghshenas Fatmehsari, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Taesun You Jun 2015

Evaluation Of Thin Asphalt Overlay Practice Preserving Nebraska's Asphalt Pavement, Soohyok Im, Yong-Rak Kim, Hamzeh Haghshenas Fatmehsari, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Taesun You

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

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Using Swat To Simulate Crop Yields And Salinity Levels In The North Fork River Basin, Usa, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel E. Storm, Art L. Stoecker Jun 2015

Using Swat To Simulate Crop Yields And Salinity Levels In The North Fork River Basin, Usa, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel E. Storm, Art L. Stoecker

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Crop yields and salinity levels in the North Fork of the Red River (North Fork River) basin, located in southwestern Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, were analyzed based on the diverse climate in the region. Saline irrigation water is a major problem in the basin. The Elm Fork Creek flows through salt deposits, making the creek and its receiving stream, the North Fork River, too saline to use for irrigation. This greatly reduces the number of hectares that can be utilized for agricultural crops within the basin. A baseline SWAT model was setup, calibrated and validated to simulate streamflow and …

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Accounting For Midblock Pedestrian Activity In The Hcm 2010 Urban Street Segment Analysis, Albert Forde May 2015

Accounting For Midblock Pedestrian Activity In The Hcm 2010 Urban Street Segment Analysis, Albert Forde

Dissertations

The Urban Street segment analysis Chapter of the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2010) provides a methodology for analyzing automobile performance on signalized roadway segments within an urban roadway network. The methodology involves applying a platoon dispersion model to: a) predict the vehicle arrival flow profiles at a downstream signalized intersection; b) use the predicted arrivals to compute the proportion of vehicle arrivals on green; and c) subsequently estimate the delay, travel speed and Level of Service (LOS) under which the segment operates. Vehicles arriving during the red interval at a signalized intersection generally accumulate and form a platoon. When …

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Artifical Neural Network Models For The Analysis Of Permeable Pavement Performance., Ata Radfar May 2015

Artifical Neural Network Models For The Analysis Of Permeable Pavement Performance., Ata Radfar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a numerical modeling study based on the findings of the two installed Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavements (PICPs) in Louisville, KY and twenty one laboratory models. A new model derived to more accurately predict the captured surface runoff volume by the PICPs using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The proposed model relates rainfall parameters and site characteristics to the runoff volume captured by the permeable pavements. The database used for developing the prediction models is obtained from the collected data of the monitored permeable pavements. The performance of the ANN-based models are analyzed and the results demonstrate that the …

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Velocity Distributions And Wall Pressures In A Scale Model Gated Box Culvert Control Structure, Alexander L. Evans May 2015

Velocity Distributions And Wall Pressures In A Scale Model Gated Box Culvert Control Structure, Alexander L. Evans

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) manages a system of canals and structures that control the flow through several large storm water treatment areas (STA). The present project was initiated because of the partial failure of a three-barrel, gated box culvert structure that belongs to the system. The structure has a forebay with three sluice gates that control the flow into three 8 ft by 8 ft box culverts. Settling and partial failure of the culverts in the structure was presumably caused by piping of sediment through joints in pre-cast sections of culvert. It was hypothesized that both unsteady …

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International Water And Food Security Development: Performance Evaluation And Assessment Of Research Needs At Multiple Scales, Caitlin Anne Grady Apr 2015

International Water And Food Security Development: Performance Evaluation And Assessment Of Research Needs At Multiple Scales, Caitlin Anne Grady

Open Access Dissertations

Water and food security remain the top development challenges of the decade, and perhaps the century. Since the Millennium Development Goals were established in 2000, billions of people have obtained access to more food, better nutrition, improved water, and basic sanitation facilities worldwide. This progress has been accomplished through the dedication of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, country-level governments, private corporations, and individuals at international, regional, and local scales. Truly tremendous strides have been made in water and food provisioning for humans worldwide. These past two decades have also seen the largest population growth on record, the highest rates of childhood …

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Nutrient Recovery From Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Permeate Using Ion Exchange, Patrick Mullen Apr 2015

Nutrient Recovery From Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Permeate Using Ion Exchange, Patrick Mullen

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Phosphorus is a common element in wastewater streams and traditional treatment processes are often designed remove it to achieve low effluent limits. Such processes often do not often consider the potential value of the nutrient. Currently, production of phosphate fertilizers has dramatically risen causing concern for the depletion of phosphate rock reserves, bringing about exploration into alternative sources of phosphorus for agricultural use. Combining the needs of phosphorus removal from wastewaters and securing alternate sources of the nutrient provide an opportunity for recovery. This project evaluated a nutrient recovery process through ion exchange with beneficial recovery as precipitated struvite using …

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Adsorption-Style Activated-Sludge: Is It A Practical Treatment Process In North America?, Jon Dearmond Apr 2015

Adsorption-Style Activated-Sludge: Is It A Practical Treatment Process In North America?, Jon Dearmond

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Adsorption/Bio-Oxidation (A/B) processes occupy a small footprint and can be exceptionally energy efficient to the point of being energy positive in optimum conditions. They have the ability to handle industrially influenced municipal wastewater with high pH and BOD swings. The A/B plant configuration also appears to be a great platform for shortcut nitrogen removal processes because of the controlled carbon diversion capabilities of the adsorption stage (A-stage). In Europe, these plants have been successfully implemented at full scale since the early 1980s. However, in the U.S. there is a false conventional wisdom that plants operating at very low SRT's will …

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The Impact Of United States Investment For Civil Infrastructure In Developing Countries, Joel N. Hansen Mar 2015

The Impact Of United States Investment For Civil Infrastructure In Developing Countries, Joel N. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

U.S. foreign assistance is used to support regional interests and to address the economic and social needs of host nation (HN) citizens. Within the Department of Defense (DoD), military exercises implement humanitarian and civic assistance (HCA) activities in developing nations as one method of accomplishing the U.S. foreign assistance objectives. To account for the impact of civil infrastructure projects on HN citizens, this research incorporated survey data collected during a DoD-sponsored exercise in Belize to test the expectancy disconfirmation model of citizen satisfaction and analyze the impact of constructing HCA projects on citizen satisfaction with HN government services. The research …

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The Effect Of Malathion On The Activity And Performance Of Activated Sludge, Erik G. Rauglas Mar 2015

The Effect Of Malathion On The Activity And Performance Of Activated Sludge, Erik G. Rauglas

Theses and Dissertations

Decontamination activities following a chemical weapons incident may generate significant quantities of contaminated wash water that may enter the wastewater collection system either intentionally or accidentally. This raises concerns about the effect of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) on the operation of a biological wastewater treatment plant. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effect of malathion on the activity and performance of activated sludge. Malathion is an organophosphate (OP) and is considered an environmental surrogate for VX. This study employed respirometry, short term batch tests, and long term exposure experiments to investigate the effects of different concentrations of …

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Solids Accumulation Rates Of Latrines At Rural Schools In Nimba County, Liberia, Caraline M. Murphy Mar 2015

Solids Accumulation Rates Of Latrines At Rural Schools In Nimba County, Liberia, Caraline M. Murphy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access to appropriate sanitation facilities as well as access to clean drinking water are considered fundamental human rights (Carr, 2001; Bjorklund & Sjodin, 2010), yet roughly 2.5 billion people on the planet lack access to an improved form of sanitation (WHO/UNICEF, 2014). Additionally, many entities responsible for emergency excreta management and sanitation management design guidelines, specifically solids accumulation rates in latrine pits, use rates that are 30-60 years old and may be established from dated knowledge on diet and lifestyle trends (Franceys et al., 1992; Harvey et al., 2002; Harvey, 2007). Using solids accumulation rates that are dated as well …

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Integration Of An Energy Balance Snowmelt Model Into An Open Source Modeling Framework, A. Sen Gupta, David G. Tarboton, P. Hummel, M. E. Brown, S. Habib Mar 2015

Integration Of An Energy Balance Snowmelt Model Into An Open Source Modeling Framework, A. Sen Gupta, David G. Tarboton, P. Hummel, M. E. Brown, S. Habib

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a data model for organizing the inputs and outputs of an energy balance snowmelt model (the Utah Energy Balance Model, UEB) that provides a foundation for its integration into the EPA BASINS modeling framework and enables its coupling with other hydrologic models in this system. Having UEB as a BASINS component has facilitated its coupling with the Geospatial Streamflow Forecast Model (GeoSFM) to compute the melting of glaciers and subsequent streamflow in the Himalayas. The data model uses a combination of structured text and network Common Data Form (netCDF) files to represent parameters, geographical, time series, and …

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Event-Based Hydrologic Model Calibration Using Nexrad In A Data-Poor Region Of Southern New Jersey, Christopher Siegel Mar 2015

Event-Based Hydrologic Model Calibration Using Nexrad In A Data-Poor Region Of Southern New Jersey, Christopher Siegel

Theses and Dissertations

Proper calibration of hydrologic models requires both reliable observed stream flow and precipitation data. Southern New Jersey has a notable lack of observed precipitation data, in particular, at the event scale; therefore model calibration represents a significant challenge. From a design standpoint this has not been a major concern as hydrologic models have been driven using design storms and are not calibrated. However, the need for research and impact analyses in the face of climate change (changes in extreme precipitation and sea-level rise in particular) and expected population growth in the region requires calibrated models, and reliable observed precipitation data …

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Network Inventory Map Book 9: Berg-Olifants, South Africa Mar 2015

Network Inventory Map Book 9: Berg-Olifants, South Africa

Policy

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is the custodian of ten national monitoring programs. The overall aim of this project is to undertake an evaluation of each monitoring network, in its present condition, and to redesign and realign the network based on scientific analysis and the strategic and management objectives of DWS and of the country as a whole. The water resources monitoring network will be optimised to ensure sustainable, relevant and up-to-date data of an acceptable quality. This Network Inventory Task focused on the production of maps to illustrate the spatial distribution of the existing monitoring stations for …

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Network Inventory Map Book 4: Pongola-Mtamvuna, South Africa Mar 2015

Network Inventory Map Book 4: Pongola-Mtamvuna, South Africa

Policy

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is the custodian of ten national monitoring programs. The overall aim of this project is to undertake an evaluation of each monitoring network, in its present condition, and to redesign and realign the network based on scientific analysis and the strategic and management objectives of DWS and of the country as a whole. The water resources monitoring network will be optimised to ensure sustainable, relevant and up-to-date data of an acceptable quality. This Network Inventory Task focused on the production of maps to illustrate the spatial distribution of the existing monitoring stations for …

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Network Inventory Map Book 8: Breede-Gouritz, South Africa Mar 2015

Network Inventory Map Book 8: Breede-Gouritz, South Africa

Policy

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is the custodian of ten national monitoring programs. The overall aim of this project is to undertake an evaluation of each monitoring network, in its present condition, and to redesign and realign the network based on scientific analysis and the strategic and management objectives of DWS and of the country as a whole. The water resources monitoring network will be optimised to ensure sustainable, relevant and up-to-date data of an acceptable quality. This Network Inventory Task focused on the production of maps to illustrate the spatial distribution of the existing monitoring stations for …

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Assessment Of Multi-Story Building Seismic Design Factors With Structural Irregularity, El Sayed Abdel Naby Abdel Aziz Abou Khalifa Mar 2015

Assessment Of Multi-Story Building Seismic Design Factors With Structural Irregularity, El Sayed Abdel Naby Abdel Aziz Abou Khalifa

Theses

Many high-rise buildings are practically irregular as a result of the architectural and service requirements in the design process, errors and modifications during the construction phase, and changes of the building use throughout its service life. Structural irregularities could increase the uncertainties related to the ability of the building to meet the design objectives. This study is thus devoted to assess the safety margins and calibrate the seismic design response factors of modern high-rise buildings with different vertical irregularity features. A brief survey of the most common vertical irregularities in reinforced concrete multi-story buildings is conducted to select reference structures. …

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Risk Management In Motorway Ppp Projects: Empirical-Based Guidelines, Nunzia Carbonara, Nicola Costantino, Louis Gunnigan, Roberta Pellegrino Feb 2015

Risk Management In Motorway Ppp Projects: Empirical-Based Guidelines, Nunzia Carbonara, Nicola Costantino, Louis Gunnigan, Roberta Pellegrino

Articles

This paper deals with the topic of risk management in Public–Private Partnership (PPP). The analysis of the related literature reveals that risks must be analyzed and managed on a context-specific approach, and that there is a lack of a comprehensive study on the appropriate risk mitigation strategies for each risk embedded in PPP projects. Focusing on the transport sector, based on the results of a Delphi survey, the paper provides guidelines for both public and private parties in defining a list of significant risks in PPP motorway projects, and identifying for them both the effective allocation and the suitable mitigation …

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Towards Sustainability In The Oil And Gas Sector: Benchmarking Of Environmental, Health, And Safety Efforts, Jennifer Schneider, Salim Ghettas, Nacer Merdaci, Mervin Brown, Joseph Martyniuk, Waleed Alshehri, Anthony Trojan Jan 2015

Towards Sustainability In The Oil And Gas Sector: Benchmarking Of Environmental, Health, And Safety Efforts, Jennifer Schneider, Salim Ghettas, Nacer Merdaci, Mervin Brown, Joseph Martyniuk, Waleed Alshehri, Anthony Trojan

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

The environmental, social and climate change issues that face the world today have all industries considering how they will address sustainability in the future. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the maturity of environmental, health and safety (EHS) efforts and progress toward sustainability in the oil and gas sector. Ten major oil companies have been analyzed based on public information including their published annual reports. Companies refer to voluntary initiatives when reporting their performance yet the assessment suggests that the sector overall continues to make progress and is maturing in its sustainability efforts. Many management system gaps were …

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The 2014 François Naftali Frenkiel Award For Fluid Mechanics, Benjamin D. Mater, Simon M. Schaad, Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy Jan 2015

The 2014 François Naftali Frenkiel Award For Fluid Mechanics, Benjamin D. Mater, Simon M. Schaad, Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

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A Field Investigation Of Composite Mud Brick Compressive Strength, Kevin D. Hale Jan 2015

A Field Investigation Of Composite Mud Brick Compressive Strength, Kevin D. Hale

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

It has been highlighted in numerous publications that in the field of earth construction there is a strong disconnect between experimental work in the laboratory and its application in the field. The current study attempts to help bridge this gap with a field test conducted in Nampula, Mozambique. Mud bricks were made with a simple hand mold and reinforced with bamboo and straw fibers. Fibers were cut into lengths of 3 cm and 6 cm while being mixed in fractions of 0.125%, 0.25% and 0.50% by weight and compressive strength was measured using an application of the 3-point bending test. …

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Demonstration Of A Daily High-Resolution (375-M) Alexi Evapotranspiration Product For The Nena Region, Christopher Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Mitch Schull, Christopher M.U. Neale Jan 2015

Demonstration Of A Daily High-Resolution (375-M) Alexi Evapotranspiration Product For The Nena Region, Christopher Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Mitch Schull, Christopher M.U. Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

While the current constellation of geostationary sensors provides near-global coverage (60N to 60S) – it requires merging data from 7 satellites [resolving time differences; view angles; atmospheric correction]. Polar orbiting sensors such as MODIS and VIIRS provide daily global coverage of LST at higher resolutions than GEO sensors but at only two times per day.

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Yield Gap Analysis Of Field Crops: Methods And Case Studies, V. O. Sadras, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini, W. G.M. Bastiaanssen, A. G. Laborte, A. E. Milne, G. Sileshi, P. Steduto Jan 2015

Yield Gap Analysis Of Field Crops: Methods And Case Studies, V. O. Sadras, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini, W. G.M. Bastiaanssen, A. G. Laborte, A. E. Milne, G. Sileshi, P. Steduto

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The challenges of global agriculture have been analysed exhaustively and the need has been established for sustainable improvement in agricultural production aimed at food security in a context of increasing pressure on natural resources. Whereas the importance of R&D investment in agriculture is increasingly recognised, better allocation of limited funding is essential to improve food production. In this context, the common and often large gap between actual and attainable yield is a critical target. Realistic solutions are required to close yield gaps in both small and large scale cropping systems worldwide; to make progress in this direction, we need (1) …

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