The design of a texture display for three-dimensional Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point clouds is investigated. The objective is to present a low fidelity display that is simple to compute in real-time, which utilizes the pattern processing capabilities of a human operator to afford an understanding of the environment. The efficacy of the display is experimentally evaluated by in comparison with a baseline point cloud rendering. Subjects were shown data based on virtual hills, and were asked to plan the least-steep traversal, and identify the hill from a set of distractors. The major conclusions are: comprehension of LiDAR point clouds from the sensor origin is difficult without further processing of the data, a separated vantage point improves understanding of the data, and a simple computation to present local point cloud derivative data significantly improves the understanding of the environment, even when observed from the sensor origin.

binding of either tyrosine or 6MPH4 alone does not change the coordination. However, when both tyrosine and 6MPH4 are bound, the active site becomes 5-coordinate, creating an open site for reaction with O2. Investigation of the kinetics of oxygen reactivity of TyrH complexes in the absence and presence of tyrosine and/or 6MPH4 indicated that there is a significant enhancement in reactivity in the 5-coordinate complex in comparison to the 6-coordinate form. Similar investigations with E332A TyrH showed that Glu332 residue plays a role in directing the protonation of the bridged complex that forms prior to the formation of Fe(IV)O. Rapid chemical quench analyses of DOPA formation showed a burst of product formation, suggesting a slow product release step. Steady-state viscosity experiments established a diffusional step as being significantly rate-limiting. Further studies with stopped-flow spectroscopy indicated that the rate of TyrH reaction is determined by a combination of a number of physical and chemical steps. Investigation of the NO complexes of TyrH by means of optical absorption, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) techniques revealed the relative positions of the substrate and cofactor with respect to NO, an O2 mimic, and provided further insight into how the active site is tuned for catalytic reactivity upon substrate and cofactor binding. The second theory is that a decreased vertical temperature lapse rate, dT/dp, would slow cloud growth, creating a mode of cloud-top heights at the stable layer as clouds lose buoyancy. The signal for lapse rate changes in the AIRS data, however, is not as strong as the signal for RH differences. Near 600-400 hPa, roughly the region where congestus cloud-top heights are located, no significant difference in lapse rates is noted between congestus and deep clouds; in fact, the mean values suggest that congestus clouds appear in more unstable atmospheres than deep clouds. Only slight differences in temperature and lapse rate are noted in ERA data as well. These results suggest that drier air may play a greater role in limiting congestus cloud-top heights than increased atmospheric stability. Five years of relative humidity (RH) observations from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard the Aqua satellite are then analyzed to identify areas of anomalously dry air between 600 and 400 hPa over deep convective regions of the tropical oceans. Back trajectories are then calculated for each observed parcel.

An adding-doubling method is employed to calculate the reflected Stokes parameters for cirrus cloud layers composed of different habits and effective sizes. The elements of the Mueller matrix are determined from the reflected Stokes parameters by considering four different incident polarization states. The sensitivity of these elements is observed by comparing different ice crystal habits, effective sizes, and optical depth. The Mueller elements are strongly dependent on habit. The three habits, aggregate, bullet rosette, and plate, are observed and the M12/M11,M43/M11 and M44/M11 elements are discussed. The wavelength used is 0.532µm, which is the lidar wavelength used on the CALIPSO satellite. The linear depolarization ratio is also discussed. The method of subtracting the two depolarization ratios, is noted as another way to possibly better distinguish ice crystal habits. The sensitivity of the Mueller matrix to effective size is also observed. For three size distributions, the Mueller elements indicate no strong dependence. This may be due to the assumption of randomly oriented ice. Also, using an absorbing wavelength might provide dependence. Finally, the Mueller elements are dependent on optical depth. For a greater optical depth, the strength of reflection increases while the polarization decreases. As the optical depth increases, any peak-like features become non-existent.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Toledo, 2009. / Typescript. " As partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Physics." "A thesis entitled"--at head of title. Bibliography: leaves 21-22.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, August 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-125).

Not available / text

Statistical cloud schemes with prognostic probability distribution functions have become more important in atmospheric modeling, especially since they are in principle scale adaptive and capture cloud physics in more detail. While in theory the schemes have a great potential, their accuracy is still questionable. High-resolution three-dimensional observational data of water vapor and cloud water, which could be used for testing them, are missing. We explore the potential of ground-based remote sensing such as lidar, microwave, and radar to evaluate prognostic distribution moments using the “perfect model approach.” This means that we employ a high-resolution weather model as virtual reality and retrieve full three-dimensional atmospheric quantities and virtual ground-based observations. We then use statistics from the virtual observation to validate the modeled 3-D statistics. Since the data are entirely consistent, any discrepancy occurring is due to the method. Focusing on total water mixing ratio, we find that the mean ratio can be evaluated decently but that it strongly depends on the meteorological conditions as to whether the variance and skewness are reliable. Using some simple schematic description of different synoptic conditions, we show how statistics obtained from point or line measurements can be poor at representing the full three-dimensional distribution of water in the atmosphere. We argue that a careful analysis of measurement data and detailed knowledge of the meteorological situation is necessary to judge whether we can use the data for an evaluation of higher moments of the humidity distribution used by a statistical cloud scheme.

No description available.

Magistro darbo tikslas – apibrėžti lietuvių autorių poezijoje sukurtą debesų vaizdinį. Tiriamoji medžiaga – 362 eilėraščių fragmentai. Pasaulėvaizdžio svarbiausioms debesų ypatybėms iškelti analizuotos tiesioginės ir metoniminės, po to – metaforinės kalbos vienetų reikšmės. Poezijos ištraukose minimų veiksmažodžių, jų formų ir būdvardžių analizė papildo lietuvių poezijoje susidariusį debesų vaizdinį. / The aim of the master’s thesis is to define the image of clouds in the poetry by Lithuanian authors. The material of the research is 362 fragments of poems. In order to raise the most important characteristics of clouds in the world-view, primary and metonymic, later metaphoric meanings of language units were analyzed. The analysis of verbs, their forms and adjectives mentioned in the fragments of the poetry complements the image of clouds present in Lithuanian poetry.