Thesis (Doctor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Remote sensing provides a way of frequently observing broad land surfaces. The availability of various earth observation data and their potential exploitation in a wide range of socioeconomic applications stimulated the rapid development of remote sensing technology. Much of the research and most of the publications dealing with remote sensing in the solar spectral domain focus on analysing and interpreting the spectral, spatial and temporal signatures of the observed areas. However, the angular signatures of the reflectance field, known as surface anisotropy, also merit attention. The current research took an exploratory approach to the land surface anisotropy described by the RPV model parameters derived from the MISR-HR processing system (denoted as MISR-HR anisotropy data or MISR-HR RPV data), over a period of 14+ years, for three typical terrestrial surfaces in the Western Cape Province of South Africa: a semi-desert area, a wheat field and a vineyard area. The objectives of this study were to explore (1) to what extent spectral and directional signatures of the MISR-HR RPV data may vary in time and space over the different targets (landscapes), and (2) whether the observed variations in anisotropy might be useful in classifying different land surfaces or as a supplementary method to the traditional land cover classification method. The objectives were achieved by exploring the statistics of the MISR-HR RPV data in each spectral band over the different land surfaces, as well as seasonality and trend in these data. The MISR-HR RPV products were affected by outliers and missing values, both of which influenced the statistics, seasonality and trend of the examined time series. This research proposes a new outlier detection method, based on the cost function derived from the RPV model inversion process. Removed outliers and missing values leave gaps in a MISR-HR RPV time series; to avoid introducing extra biases in the statistics of the anisotropy data, this research kept the gaps and relied on gap-resilient trend and seasonality detection methods, such as the Mann-Kendal trend detection and Lomb-Scargle periodogram methods. The exploration of the statistics of the anisotropy data showed that RPV parameter rho exhibited distinctive over the different study sites; NIR band parameter k exhibits prominent high values for the vineyard area; red band parameter Theta data are not that distinctive over different study sites; variance is important in describing all three RPV parameters. The explorations on trends also demonstrated interesting findings: the downward trend in green band parameter rho data for the semi-desert and vineyard areas; and the upward trend in blue band parameters k and Theta data for all the three study sites. The investigation on seasonality showed that all the RPV parameters had seasonal variations which differed over spectral bands and land covers; the results confirmed expectations in previous literature that parameter varies regularly along the observation time, and also revealed seasonal variations in the parameter rho and Theta data. The explorations on the statistics and seasonality of the MISR-HR anisotropy data show that these data are potentially useful for classifying different landscapes. Finally, the classification results demonstrated that both red band parameter rho data and NIR band parameter k data could successfully separate the three different land surfaces in this research, which fulfilled the second primary objective of this study. This research also demonstrated a classification method using multiple RPV parameters as the classification signatures to discriminate different terrestrial surfaces; significant separation results were obtained by this method.

FLAT! immerses us into the life and mindset of a Flat-earther who eagerly evangelizes the discoveries he and other Flat-earthers claim to have made. With his car clad in flat-earth messages, he travels around the country provoking discussions with curious bystanders and debating scientists. While he thrives in this pursuit, it is not without its costs.

We develop a two dimensional model that simulates the response of the crust to prolonged mantle-derived intrusions in arc environments. The domain includes the entire crustal section and upper mantle and focuses on the evolving thermal structure due to intrusions and external tectonic forcing. We monitor the thermal response, melt fraction and volume for different environments after a definite time by considering geologically relevant melt flux and extensional tectonic rates. The amount of crustal melt versus fractionated primary mantle melts present in the crustal column helps determine crustal structure and growth through time. We observe that with a geophysically estimated flux and tectonic rate, the mantle-derived magma bodies can melt the surrounding volume of crust. We express the amount of crustal melting in terms of an efficiency; therefore we define the melting efficiency as the ratio of the melted volume of crustal material to the volume of melt expected from a strict enthalpy balance as explained by Dufek and Bergantz (2005). Melting efficiencies are less than 1.0 in real systems because heat diffuses to sections of the crust that never melt. The maximum calculated efficiency is 0.05 in our model while most of our simulations show zero efficiency. Additionally, maximum total melt amount is observed in relatively greater extensional environments (0.02 m/yr) and high intrusion rates (10⁻² m³/m²/yr) and in long time periods (2 x 10⁶ years). However, maximum crustal melting in the same environment is reached in 1.2 x 10⁶ years. The relative amounts of mantle-derived and crustal melts in the total volume of magma suggest that the majority of magma composition in crustal column is derived from the mantle material.

Orientador: Maurício Compiani / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T00:25:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Garcia_FabianaBurgosTakahashi_M.pdf: 5270236 bytes, checksum: 1fa1e53fc6bf45eb1dcc6fa74e637d09 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: A presente dissertação tem seu olhar voltado para o currículo da disciplina escolar química e sua relação com as geociências. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido no contexto do projeto apoiado pela Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de São Paulo (FAPESP) - Ensino Público intitulado "Elaboração de conhecimentos escolares e curriculares relacionados à ciência, à sociedade e ao ambiente na escola básica com ênfase na regionalização a partir dos resultados de projeto de Políticas Públicas", cujo recorte de análise era a bacia do Ribeirão das Anhumas, onde está inserida a escola estadual que foi cenário principal desta dissertação e onde atuavam professores, alunos e acadêmicos. Baseando metodologicamente na perspectiva da pesquisa-ação sugerida por Mckernan principalmente, foi possível sistematizar este trabalho de modo que a importância do professor na elaboração do currículo fosse evidenciada, como propõe o mesmo autor. Neste sentido, a pesquisadora, professora da escola básica, voltou-se para seus instrumentos de trabalho questionando-os e sugerindo alterações. Então foi realizada uma revisão dos documentos oficiais que contribuíram para a elaboração da Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo para o Ensino de Química (PCEQ) sob o olhar da contextualização e interdisciplinaridade visando mostrar que as discussões acerca da elaboração de currículos com esta conotação não são recentes. Além disso, os cadernos do professor e do aluno que complementam a PCEQ, e o livro didático utilizado em sala pela pesquisadora também foram analisados abordando a presença ou não do tema "Química e Litosfera" bem como o tratamento dado a esta temática quando presente no material, uma vez que é sugerido nas Orientações Complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN+), porém ausente na PCEQ. Por isso que em meio a discussões e reflexões colaborativas do subgrupo Ensino-Aprendizagem, nas quais a interdisciplinaridade era discutida e utilizada como referencial para elaborar e desenvolver atividades escolares dentro do contexto local, e também com base nas lacunas encontradas durante estas análises, é que foi possível complementar o referido material. Dentre todas as atividades, podemos dizer que o trabalho de campo foi talvez o mais importante, afinal, foi possível perceber que os alunos tinham conhecimento para explicar a formação dos solos a partir das interações que ocorrem no ambiente, partindo de observações da paisagem local. Desta forma, pudemos nos aproximar dos objetivos de incorporar ao currículo de química o tema citado utilizando conhecimentos sobre a Bacia do Ribeirão das Anhumas, local onde a escola se insere. Enfim, a inserção do tema faltante na PCEQ vem suprir necessidades de conteúdos, enquanto promove junto com a abordagem local a superação de problemas reais e escolares, e tudo isso dentro de uma dinâmica de colaboração entre os atores envolvidos naquele cenário / Abstract: This dissertation focuses the curriculum of the Chemistry discipline and its relation with the Geosciences. This paper was developed in the context of the FAPESP Public Teaching Project entitled "Construction of school and curricular knowledge relative to science, society and environment at primary and secondary school with emphasis in the local conditions from results of public politicians projects" which focused its analysis in the basin of the Brook of Anhumas where the state school is located. This school was the scenario of this research whose professors, teachers and students maintained a collaboration relationship and learning to the development of this study. Using Mckerman methodological approach of action-research, it became possible to design a system of work with a view to emphasize the importance of the teacher in the elaboration of the curricular content, as the author proposes. Therefore, the researcher who is also a teacher at the secondary school, looked at her working tools, questioned them and suggested changes. Official documents that contributed to the elaboration of PCEQ were also reviewed in the light of context and interdisciplinary relations with a view to show that discussions about curricular contents using this concept are not new. Teacher's and student's notebooks which complement the PCEQ and the didactic book used by the researcher were also analyzed to ascertain whether or not they contained the theme "Chemistry and the Lithosphere" as well as how the subject is mentioned in the books, since its use is suggested in the PCN+ but is, however, absent from the PCEQ. Based on the collaborative discussions of the sub-group "Teaching-Learning", where the subject of interdisciplinarity was discussed and used as reference to elaborate and develop school activities within the local context, and also using the gaps found during these analyses it was possible to develop complementary material. Amongst all the activities we can say that the field work was perhaps the most important, as it made possible to perceive that the students had acquired the knowledge to explain the soil formation from the interactions that occur in the environment using as the starting point for their comments the local landscape. Therefore we could reach our goal of incorporating to the Chemistry curricular studies the subject above mentioned using the data of the basin of Brook of Anhumas where the school is located. At last the insertion of the missing subject in the PCEQ comes to suffice necessities of contents while it makes possible to overcome, with a localized approach, existing school problems promoting a collaborative dynamics among all the participants involved in that particular scenario / Mestrado / Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra / Mestre em Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra

Thesis (M.S.)-- Air Force Institute of Technology. / The original document contains color images.

This study aimed to explore teaching difficulties of Natural Sciences teachers when offering lessons in the Planet, Earth and Beyond strand. The aim was to understand their teacher knowledge, type of instructional strategies, and classroom discourse and interactions in their Natural Science classroom. The following question guided the study: What are the teaching difficulties of Planet, Earth and Beyond strand? A qualitative case study design was used for the study. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. The study revealed that NS educators: carry misconceptions to class; show poor knowledge of context in specific aims and assessment strategies while also choosing poor and irrelevant instructional strategies and; still see themselves as authority in class by applying a one- way approach. It is recommended that: educators be trained on how to implement active and critical learning, while empowering them with knowledge on NS specific aims and assessment strategies; departmental heads, SMTs, and subject advisor should engage in regular class visits in the NS educators` classes, reviewing lesson plans that educators prepared; schools should provide educators with CAPS relevant documents; the DoE should provide more education to educators on the importance of following the curriculum as prescribed in the CAPS document; the department should provide educators with relevant teaching aids and practical apparatus and in the absence advice educators on how to improvise and; the subject advisors should assist educators in identifying misconceptions. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Sciences Education)