Search results for "Spatial variability"
showing 10 items of 162 documents
Wind speed spatial estimation for energy planning in Sicily: A neural kriging application
2008
Abstract One of the first steps for the exploitation of any energy source is necessarily represented by its estimation and mapping at the aim of identifying the most suitable areas in terms of energy potential. In the field of renewable energies this is often a very difficult task, because the energy source is in this case characterized by relevant variations over space and time. This implies that any temporal, but also spatial, estimation model has to be able to incorporate this spatial and temporal variability. The paper deals with the spatial estimation of the wind fields in Sicily (Italy) by following a data-driven approach. Starting from the results of a preliminary study, a novel tech…
Modelling the spatial-temporal progression of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic in Chile
2016
A spatial-temporal transmission model of 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza across Chile, a country that spans a large latitudinal range, is developed to characterize the spatial variation in peak timing of that pandemic as a function of local transmission rates, spatial connectivity assumptions for Chilean regions, and the putative location of introduction of the novel virus into the country. Specifically, a metapopulation SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-removed) compartmental model that tracks the transmission dynamics of influenza in 15 Chilean regions is calibrated. The model incorporates population mobility among neighboring regions and indirect mobility to and from other regions via th…
Source Detection in an Outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease
2006
Spatial statistics have broadly been applied, developed and demanded from the field of epidemiology. The point process theory is an appropriate framework to analyse the spatial variation of risk of disease from information at individual level.
Estimation of leaf area index using PROSAIL based LUT inversion, MLRA-GPR and empirical models: Case study of tropical deciduous forest plantation, N…
2020
Abstract Forests play a vital role in biological cycles and environmental regulation. To understand the key processes of forest canopies (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration), reliable and accurate information on spatial variability of Leaf Area Index (LAI), and its seasonal dynamics is essential. In the present study, we assessed the performance of biophysical parameter (LAI) retrieval methods viz. Look-Up Table (LUT)-inversion, MLRA-GPR (Machine Learning Regression Algorithm- Gaussian Processes Regression) and empirical models, for estimating the LAI of tropical deciduous plantation using ARTMO (Automated Radiative Transfer Models Operator) tool and Sentinel-2 satellite im…
Impact of climate change on migratory birds: community reassembly versus adaptation
2007
Aim Species can respond to global climate change by range shifts or by phenotypic adaptation. At the community level, range shifts lead to a turnover of species, i.e. community reassembly. In contrast, phenotypic adaptation allows species to persist in situ , conserving community composition. So far, community reassembly and adaptation have mostly been studied separately. In nature, however, both processes take place simultaneously. In migratory birds, climate change has been shown to result in both exchange of species and adaptation of migratory behaviour. The aim of our study is to predict the impact of global climate change on migratory bird communities and to assess the extent to which …
Scale-related patterns in the spatial and environmental components of stream macroinvertebrate assemblage variation
2007
Aim We examined the relative contributions of spatial gradients and local environmental conditions to macroinvertebrate assemblages of boreal headwater streams at three hierarchical extents: bioregion, ecoregion and drainage system. We also aimed to identify the environmental variables most strongly related to assemblage structure at each study scale, and to assess how the importance of these variables is related to regional context and spatial structuring at different scales. Location Northern Finland (62–68° N, 25–32° E). Methods Variation in macroinvertebrate data was partitioned using partial canonical correspondence analysis into components explained by spatial variables (nine terms…
Physical and hydraulic characterization of a clay soil at the plot scale
2010
Summary The soil physical and hydraulic properties have to be determined for interpreting and simulating many hydrological processes. An investigation was carried out to determine the physical and hydraulic characteristics of a clay soil at the plot scale. An intensive sampling of the surface soil layer of two plots of 4 × 11 m2 was carried out by measuring, for each plot, dry soil bulk density, ρb, and antecedent soil water content, θi, at 88 sampling points and field-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Kfs, at 176 sampling points. A wide range of Kfs values (0.7–5107 mm h−1) were measured by the Simplified Falling Head (SFH) technique. For each variable, the two plots yielded very simi…
Comparing different application procedures of the water drop penetration time test to assess soil water repellency in a fire affected Sicilian area
2019
Abstract The Water Drop Penetration Time (WDPT) technique was applied in two subsequent years (2016 and 2017) to check surface soil water repellency (SWR) in a Sicilian mountain area affected by a wildfire on June 2016. A total of 93 sites were sampled and from 3 to 100 droplets were used to characterize a site. The detected SWR varied with the severity of the wildfire, being practically absent in the unburnt control area and slight to extreme in the burnt areas. The percentage of extremely repellent sites increased with wildfire severity. SWR vanished one year after the passage of the fire in sites where fire severity was moderate but it persisted in the case of a severe wildfire. In gener…
Spatial and temporal patterns of throughfall quantity and quality in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador
2007
Summary In forests, complex canopy processes control the change in volume and chemical composition of rain water. We hypothesize that (i) spatial patterns, (ii) the temporal stability of spatial patterns, and (iii) the temporal course of solute concentrations can be used to explore these processes. The study area at 1950 m above sea level in the south Ecuadorian Andes is far away from anthropogenic emission sources and marine influences. It received ca. 2200 mm of rain annually. We collected rain and throughfall on an event and within-event basis for five precipitation periods between August and October 2005 at up to 25 sites and analyzed the samples for pH and concentrations of K, Na, Ca, …
Flux heterogeneity and evapotranspiration partitioning in a sparse canopy: the fallow savanna
1997
Abstract This paper focuses on in situ measurements obtained during the intensive observation period of the HAPEX-Sahel experiment. Micrometeorological measurements and trunk sap flow monitoring were combined to analyse transfer characteristics of a fallow savanna site within the East Central Supersite. Results show that the shrub canopy heterogeneity induces a large spatial variability of solar irradiance, soil heat flux and sensible and latent heat fluxes at the grassland level. This variability is induced by both a “shade effect” and a “wake effect”. Both shrubs and grassland provide sources of vapour, but the partitioning of evapotranspiration between these two components varies conside…