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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Relative Importance Of Radar Variables For Nowcasting Heavy Rainfall: A Machine Learning Approach, Yi Victor Wang, Seung Hee Kim, Geunsu Lyu, Choeng-Lyong Lee, Gyuwon Lee, Ki-Hong Min, Menas C. Kafatos Dec 2022

Relative Importance Of Radar Variables For Nowcasting Heavy Rainfall: A Machine Learning Approach, Yi Victor Wang, Seung Hee Kim, Geunsu Lyu, Choeng-Lyong Lee, Gyuwon Lee, Ki-Hong Min, Menas C. Kafatos

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Highly short-term forecasting, or nowcasting, of heavy rainfall due to rapidly evolving mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) is particularly challenging for traditional numerical weather prediction models. To overcome such a challenge, a growing number of studies have shown significant advantages of using machine learning (ML) modeling techniques with remote sensing data, especially weather radar data, for high-resolution rainfall nowcasting. To improve ML model performance, it is essential first and foremost to quantify the importance of radar variables and identify pertinent predictors of rainfall that can also be associated with domain knowledge. In this study, a set of MCS types consisting of …


Possible Overestimation Of Nitrogen Dioxide Outgassing During The Beirut 2020 Explosion, Ashraf Farahat, Nayla El-Kork, Ramesh P. Singh, Feng Jing Dec 2022

Possible Overestimation Of Nitrogen Dioxide Outgassing During The Beirut 2020 Explosion, Ashraf Farahat, Nayla El-Kork, Ramesh P. Singh, Feng Jing

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

On 4 August 2020, a strong explosion occurred near the Beirut seaport, Lebanon and killed more than 200 people and damaged numerous buildings in the vicinity. As Amonium Nitrate (AN) caused the explosion, many studies claimed the release of large amounts of NO2 in the atmosphere may have resulted in a health hazard in Beirut and the vicinity. In order to reasonably evaluate the significance of NO2 amounts released in the atmosphere, it is important to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of NO2 during and after the blast and compare it to the average day-to-day background emissions from …


Spatio-Temporal Changes In Vegetation In The Last Two Decades (2001–2020) In The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, Yuan Zou, Wei Chen, Siliang Li, Tiejun Wang, Le Yu, Min Xu, Ramesh P. Singh, Cong-Qiang Liu Aug 2022

Spatio-Temporal Changes In Vegetation In The Last Two Decades (2001–2020) In The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, Yuan Zou, Wei Chen, Siliang Li, Tiejun Wang, Le Yu, Min Xu, Ramesh P. Singh, Cong-Qiang Liu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

In terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation is sensitive to climate change and human activities. Its spatial-temporal changes also affect the ecological and social environment. In this paper, we considered the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region to study the spatio-temporal vegetation patterns. The detailed analysis of a moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data were carried out through the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Our results show a slow and tortuous upward trend in the average leaf area index (LAI) in the study region for the periods 2001–2020. Specifically, Beijing had the highest LAI value, with an average of 1.64 over twenty years, followed by Hebei (1.30) and …


Hybrid U-Net: Semantic Segmentation Of High-Resolution Satellite Images To Detect War Destruction, Shima Nabiee, Matthew Harding, Jonathan Hersh, Nader Bagherzadeh Jul 2022

Hybrid U-Net: Semantic Segmentation Of High-Resolution Satellite Images To Detect War Destruction, Shima Nabiee, Matthew Harding, Jonathan Hersh, Nader Bagherzadeh

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Destruction caused by violent conflicts play a big role in understanding the dynamics and consequences of conflicts, which is now the focus of a large body of ongoing literature in economics and political science. However, existing data on conflict largely come from news or eyewitness reports, which makes it incomplete, potentially unreliable, and biased for ongoing conflicts. Using satellite images and deep learning techniques, we can automatically extract objective information on violent events. To automate this process, we created a dataset of high-resolution satellite images of Syria and manually annotated the destroyed areas pixel-wise. Then, we used this dataset to …


Titaniferous-Vanadiferous, Magnetite-Ilmenite Mineralization In A Mafic Suite Within The Chhotanagpur Gneissic Complex, Bihar, India, Ashmeer Mohammad, Anup K. Prasad, Kehe-U Wetsah, Mohammad Azad, Vivek Aryan, Hesham El-Askary Jul 2022

Titaniferous-Vanadiferous, Magnetite-Ilmenite Mineralization In A Mafic Suite Within The Chhotanagpur Gneissic Complex, Bihar, India, Ashmeer Mohammad, Anup K. Prasad, Kehe-U Wetsah, Mohammad Azad, Vivek Aryan, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Titanium or vanadium metals or their alloys are important industrial metals/alloys. Because these resources are in short supply, the investigation of potential titaniferous-vanadiferous deposits needs special attention to bridge the supply-demand gap. The study integrates geological, geochemical, remote sensing, and geophysical data for assessing the potentiality of titaniferous-vanadiferous, magnetite-ilmenite mineralization in and around the Sudamakund and Paharpur areas, Gaya and Jehanabad districts, Bihar, India, and delineation of specific targets for detailed exploration. Field visits for large scale mapping on (1:12,500 scale) were used to conduct a reconnaissance survey for magnetite-ilmenite mineralization in parts of toposheet number 72G/04 in the Gaya …


Response Of Surface And Atmospheric Parameters Associated With The Iran M 7.3 Earthquake, Feng Jing, Ramesh P. Singh Jul 2022

Response Of Surface And Atmospheric Parameters Associated With The Iran M 7.3 Earthquake, Feng Jing, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Multiparameter observed from satellite, including microwave brightness temperature, skin temperature, air temperature, and carbon monoxide, have been analyzed to identify the anomalous signals associated with the M 7.3 Iran earthquake of November 12, 2017. Besides removing the multiyear variability of parameters as background, the effect of surface and atmosphere of a dust storm event in Middle East region during October 29–November 1 is considered to distinguish the possible anomalies associated with the earthquake. The characteristic behaviors of surface and atmospheric parameters clearly show the signals associated with the M 7.3 earthquake and the dust storm event. The multiple parameters at …


Pronounced Changes In Thermal Signals Associated With The Madoi (China) M 7.3 Earthquake From Passive Microwave And Infrared Satellite Data, Feng Jing, Lu Zhang, Ramesh P. Singh May 2022

Pronounced Changes In Thermal Signals Associated With The Madoi (China) M 7.3 Earthquake From Passive Microwave And Infrared Satellite Data, Feng Jing, Lu Zhang, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Thermal variations in surface and atmosphere observed from multiple satellites prior to strong earthquakes have been widely reported ever since seismic thermal anomalies were discovered three decades ago. These thermal changes are related to stress accumulation caused by the tectonic activities in the final stage of earthquake preparation. In the present paper, we focused on the thermal changes associated with the 2021 Madoi M 7.3 earthquake in China and analyzed the temporal and spatial evolution of the Index of Microwave Radiation Anomaly (IMRA) and the Index of Longwave Radiation Anomaly (ILRA) based on 8-year microwave brightness temperature (MWBT) and 14-year …


Extreme Development Of Dragon Fruit Agriculture With Nighttime Lighting In Southern Vietnam, Shenyue Jia, Son V. Nghiem, Seung-Hee Kim, Laura Krauser, Andrea E. Gaughan, Forest R. Stevens, Menas Kafatos, Khanh D. Ngo Mar 2022

Extreme Development Of Dragon Fruit Agriculture With Nighttime Lighting In Southern Vietnam, Shenyue Jia, Son V. Nghiem, Seung-Hee Kim, Laura Krauser, Andrea E. Gaughan, Forest R. Stevens, Menas Kafatos, Khanh D. Ngo

Institute for ECHO Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Dragon fruit is widely grown in Southeast Asia and other tropical or subtropical regions. As a high-value cash crop ideal for exportation, dragon fruit cultivation has boomed during the past decade in southern Vietnam. Light supplementing during the winter months using artificial lighting sources is a widely adopted cultivation technique to boost productivity in the major dragon fruit planting regions of Vietnam. The application of electric lighting at night leads to a significant increase of nighttime light (NTL) observable by satellite sensors. The strong seasonality signal of NTL in dragon fruit cultivation enables identifying dragon fruit plantations using NTL images. …


Accuracy Assessment, Comparative Performance, And Enhancement Of Public Domain Digital Elevation Models (Aster 30 M, Srtm 30 M, Cartosat 30 M, Srtm 90 M, Merit 90 M, And Tandem-X 90 M) Using Dgps, Kumari Preety, Anup K. Prasad, Atul K. Varma, Hesham El-Askary Mar 2022

Accuracy Assessment, Comparative Performance, And Enhancement Of Public Domain Digital Elevation Models (Aster 30 M, Srtm 30 M, Cartosat 30 M, Srtm 90 M, Merit 90 M, And Tandem-X 90 M) Using Dgps, Kumari Preety, Anup K. Prasad, Atul K. Varma, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Publicly available Digital Elevation Models (DEM) derived from various space-based platforms (Satellite/Space Shuttle Endeavour) have had a tremendous impact on the quantification of landscape characteristics, and the related processes and products. The accuracy of elevation data from six major public domain satellite-derived Digital Elevation Models (a 30 m grid size—ASTER GDEM version 3 (Ast30), SRTM version 3 (Srt30), CartoDEM version V3R1 (Crt30)—and 90 m grid size—SRTM version 4.1 (Srt90), MERIT (MRT90), and TanDEM-X (TDX90)), as well as the improvement in accuracy achieved by applying a correction (linear fit) using Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) estimates at Ground Control Points (GCPs) …


Landslide Detection In The Himalayas Using Machine Learning Algorithms And U-Net, Sansar Raj Meena, Lucas Pedrosa Soares, Carlos H. Grohmann, Cees Van Westen, Kushanav Bhuyan, Ramesh P. Singh, Mario Floris, Filippo Catani Feb 2022

Landslide Detection In The Himalayas Using Machine Learning Algorithms And U-Net, Sansar Raj Meena, Lucas Pedrosa Soares, Carlos H. Grohmann, Cees Van Westen, Kushanav Bhuyan, Ramesh P. Singh, Mario Floris, Filippo Catani

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Event-based landslide inventories are essential sources to broaden our understanding of the causal relationship between triggering events and the occurring landslides. Moreover, detailed inventories are crucial for the succeeding phases of landslide risk studies like susceptibility and hazard assessment. The openly available inventories differ in the quality and completeness levels. Event-based landslide inventories are created based on manual interpretation, and there can be significant differences in the mapping preferences among interpreters. To address this issue, we used two different datasets to analyze the potential of U-Net and machine learning approaches for automated landslide detection in the Himalayas. Dataset-1 is composed …


Snow Cover Variability And Trend Over The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region Using Modis And Srtm Data, Nirasindhu Desinayak, Anup K. Prasad, Hesham El-Askary, Menas Kafatos, Ghassem R. Asrar Jan 2022

Snow Cover Variability And Trend Over The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region Using Modis And Srtm Data, Nirasindhu Desinayak, Anup K. Prasad, Hesham El-Askary, Menas Kafatos, Ghassem R. Asrar

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Snow cover changes have a direct bearing on the regional and global energy and water cycles and the change in the Earth's climate conditions. We studied the relatively long-term (2000–2017) altitudinal spatiotemporal changes in the coverage of snow and glaciers in one of the world's largest mountainous regions, the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, including Tibet, using remote sensing data (5 km grid resolution) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite. This dataset provided a unique opportunity to study zonal and hypsographic changes in the intra-annual (accumulating season and melting season) and interannual variations in …


Editorial: Geospace Observation Of Natural Hazards, Dimitar Ouzounov, Jann-Yenq Liu, Patrick T. Taylor, Katsumi Hattori Jan 2022

Editorial: Geospace Observation Of Natural Hazards, Dimitar Ouzounov, Jann-Yenq Liu, Patrick T. Taylor, Katsumi Hattori

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

"This collection of technical papers aims to bring recent data from many sources into the study of natural hazards. They represent a multi-instrumental approach using both ground observations: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS); and Low Earth Orbiting Electromagnetic (LEO EM) satellites missions together with Earth Observations (EO), which could reveal new information. Results from latest satellite missions, [(NPP/NASA/NOAA(US), CENTINEL, Swarm/ESA (EU), HIMAWARI (JMA, Japan), FORMOSAT-5 (Taiwan, August 2017), CSES1 (China/Italy, Feb 2018), and FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (Taiwan/United States, May 2019)], are represented in this volume."


Catastrophic Ice-Debris Flow In The Rishiganga River, Chamoli, Uttarakhand (India), Vijendra Kumar Pandey, Rajesh Kumar, Rupendra Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Suresh Chand Rai, Ramesh P. Singh, Arun Kumar Tripathi, Vijay Kumar Soni, S. Nawaz Ali, Dakshina Tamang, Syed Umer Latief Jan 2022

Catastrophic Ice-Debris Flow In The Rishiganga River, Chamoli, Uttarakhand (India), Vijendra Kumar Pandey, Rajesh Kumar, Rupendra Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Suresh Chand Rai, Ramesh P. Singh, Arun Kumar Tripathi, Vijay Kumar Soni, S. Nawaz Ali, Dakshina Tamang, Syed Umer Latief

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

A catastrophic flood occurred on 7 February 2021 around 10:30 AM (local time) in the Rishiganga River, which has been attributed to a rockslide in the upper reach of the Raunthi River. The Resourcesat 2 LISS IV (8 February 2021) and CNES Airbus satellite imagery (9 February 2021) clearly show the location of displaced materials. The solar radiation observed was higher than normal by 10% and 25% on 6 and 7 February 2021, respectively, however, the temperature shows up to 34% changes. These conditions are responsible for the sudden change in instability in glacier blocks causing deadly rock-ice slides that …