Search results for "Geomatics"

Improved Temperature and Emissivity Separation Algorithm for Multispectral and Hyperspectral Sensors

2017

The Temperature and Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm was originally developed for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). This paper focuses on improving the TES algorithm. The main modification is the replacement of the normalized emissivity module with a new module, which is based on the smoothing of spectral radiance signatures. Smoothing is performed by estimating emissivity using an optimized approximation of the relationship between brightness temperature and emissivity. The improved TES algorithm, which is called Optimized Smoothing for Temperature Emissivity Separation (OSTES), was first tested on simulated data from three different sensors, …

Collapsible intact soil stabilisation using non-aqueous polymeric vehicle

2020

Abstract This paper presents the results of an experimental study that had the goal of understanding the effects of treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG)/nanolime mixtures on collapsible soil behaviour. In a previous study, the use of pure PEG offered a good improvement in the stability of collapsible soil, but the stabilisation effect only lasted for a limited time. To investigate the stabilisation potential of PEG/nanolime systems for collapsible sand, different mixtures were prepared at increasing nanolime weight ratios. The suitability of the stabilised soil was examined on the basis of collapsibility, oedometer, shear, and water vapour permeability tests, and through optical microsc…

Evolution of grain-size distribution of pumice sands in 1-D compression

2016

Abstract Crushing is one of the micromechanisms that govern the mechanical behaviour of sands at medium-high stresses. It depends on mineralogy, form and strength of single particle, mean stress level, coordination number, time, etc.. It causes changes of grain-size distribution, porosity, number and type of grain contacts, fabric, structure of the material, etc.. Results of an experimental research on the crushing of pumice sands compressed under 1-D conditions to vertical effective stresses σ′v up to 100MPa are reported here. They show marked crushing already at σ′v of about 200kPa. The evolution of the grain-size distribution can be represented by ΔDi= h/(K(1+C exp(–hlgσ′v))) in which ΔD…

A methodology for the rapid characterization of Mode II delamination fatigue threshold in FRP composites

2019

Abstract A new methodology to measure the Mode II interlaminar fracture in fatigue for FRP composites is developed. The proposed methodology uses a Modified Transvers Crack Tensile (MTCT) specimen and is able to characterize the near threshold behavior in a robust, easier and significantly faster way than standard procedures. Analytical formulae, able to link the crack growth rate to the load or strain amplitudes, were found and verified, and their importance was explained, in particular, for what concerns the characterisation of the near threshold behavior. Experiments were performed both in load and strain control, while the delamination growth was monitored using different techniques inc…

Water retention behaviour of compacted and reconstituted scaly clays

2020

The paper presents the results of an experimental research devoted to investigate the response to suction variations of a scaly clay in compacted and reconstituted conditions. Different experimental techniques (axis translation, vapour equilibrium, dew point psychrometer suction measurements) were combined in order to explore the water retention properties in a wide suction range (0 ÷ 110 MPa). Experimental results allowed to define the water retention domains for a constant reference void ratio, highlighting the significant role of the microstructure on the response of the investigated clays. In particular, the collected results showed that in the low-medium suction range, the peculiar mic…

On the hydro-mechanical behaviour of a lime-treated embankment during wetting and drying cycles

2018

Abstract The paper presents some experimental results obtained on samples extracted from a full-scale embankment obtained by compacting a lime-treated clayey soil. A comprehensive test programme was carried out in order to highlight the improvement of mechanical behaviour induced by lime treatment as well as to assess the durability of the improved material, which may be affected by severe seasonal wetting and drying cycles. Direct shear tests, triaxial compression tests, swelling potential measurement and oedometric tests were performed on samples cured in controlled environmental conditions for at least 18 months. Wetting and drying cycles were applied in a very wide range of suction valu…

Sensitivity Maps of the Hilbert-Schmidt Independence Criterion

2018

Abstract Kernel dependence measures yield accurate estimates of nonlinear relations between random variables, and they are also endorsed with solid theoretical properties and convergence rates. Besides, the empirical estimates are easy to compute in closed form just involving linear algebra operations. However, they are hampered by two important problems: the high computational cost involved, as two kernel matrices of the sample size have to be computed and stored, and the interpretability of the measure, which remains hidden behind the implicit feature map. We here address these two issues. We introduce the sensitivity maps (SMs) for the Hilbert–Schmidt independence criterion (HSIC). Sensi…

Use of Guided Regularized Random Forest for Biophysical Parameter Retrieval

2018

This paper introduces a feature selection method based on random forest -the Guided Regularized Random Forest (GRRF)- which can be used in classification and regression tasks. The method is based on the regularization of the information gain in the random forest nodes to obtain a subset of relevant and non-redundant features. The proposed method is used as a preliminary step In the process of retrieving biophysical parameters from a hyperspectral image. Preliminary experiments show that we can reduce the RMSE of the retrievals by around 7% for the Leaf Area Index and around 8% for the fraction of vegetation cover when compared to the results using random forest features.

2019

Imaging and non-imaging spectroscopy employed in the field and from aircraft is frequently used to assess biochemical, structural, and functional plant traits, as well as their dynamics in an environmental matrix. With the increasing availability of high-resolution spectroradiometers, it has become feasible to measure fine spectral features, such as those needed to estimate sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (F), which is a signal related to the photosynthetic process of plants. The measurement of F requires highly accurate and precise radiance measurements in combination with very sophisticated measurement protocols. Additionally, because F has a highly dynamic nature (compared with othe…

First evaluation of the simultaneous SMOS and ELBARA-II observations in the Mediterranean region

2012

Abstract The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission was launched on November 2, 2009. Over the land surfaces, simultaneous retrievals of surface soil moisture (SM) and vegetation characteristics made from the multi-angular and dual polarization SMOS observations are now available from Level-2 (L2) products delivered by the European Space Agency (ESA). Therefore, first analyses evaluating the SMOS observations in terms of Brightness Temperatures (TB) and L2 products (SM and vegetation optical depth TAU) can be carried out over several calibration/validation (cal/val) sites selected by ESA over all continents. This study is based on SMOS observations and in situ measurements carried …