A 3-axis acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) with high sampling rate was used to measure the bed shear stress and turbulence under wave-current interaction conditions in this study. Experimental sites include laboratory tank, Love River in Kaohsiung and Howan coastal waters in Pingtung. Bed shear stress is estimated primarily by the inertial dissipation method, also by the turbulent kinetic energy method and eddy correlation method. Results of the laboratory experiments indicate that the bed shear stress increases as both the flow speed and wave height increase, and the flow speed is a more important factor. Field experiments can be divided into several types. The first type is under slow flows and calm waves. Love River is a typical condition of this type with turbid waters and a low flow speed. During the experimental period the ADV correlations reach 90% or more. Because the river flow is quite small, no significant bed shear stress is produced and u* is mostly less than 1 cm/s. As a result the deposition effect is much larger than erosion, thus a very thick layer of mud is formed on the riverbed. The observations in Howan in April 2010 also reveal the condition of slow flows and small waves, and the bed shear stress is also quite small. Due to the factors of clean coastal waters and weak turbulence in this season, the quality of ADV signals is poor. The second type is under large flows and small waves, as shown from the observations of Howan in April 2011, during which the maximum speed reached 25 cm/s and wave heights less than 20 cm. In this experiment the shear stress is large, the u* are mostly greater than 0.8 cm/s and the value of the drag coefficient is 0.0021; the ADV signals have good quality and the inertial sub-range is well defined. The third type is under weak flows and large waves. The observations of Howan in July 2011 show significant rainfall and maximum wave heights of 90 cm. In this case the u* are mostly centered around 1 cm/s. The acoustic backscatter intensity is positively correlated with the turbidity and wave height. Sizable bed shear stress induced by the orbital velocity of waves contributes a significant part to the total bed shear stress.

Estimation of biomass has high importance for economic, ecologic and climatic reasons due to the multiple ecosystem services offered by forested landscapes. Measurements that are taken in the field incur personal and economic costs. Nevertheless, biomass surveying based on remote sensing techniques offer efficiency thanks to covering large areas. The European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-1 satellite offers promising capabilities for above-ground biomass (AGB) estimation through synthetic aperture radar (SAR) based microwave remote sensing. In this study, experimental AGB estimations based on Sentinel-1 C-band data were produced over the Remingstorp estate (Västergötland County, Sweden) to analyze its performance over boreal productive forests. The obtained measurements were compared against reference values obtained by combining photogrammetric, aerial laser scanning (ALS) and field measurements. Thus, a reference high-resolution canopy height model (CHM) was produced from the difference between photogrammetric digital surface model (DSM) values and ALS digital terrain model (DTM) values. The comparison of CHM observations against diameter at breast height (DBH) field measurements revealed the existence of a vegetation height - vegetation volume relationship for the study species (Pinus Sylvestris and Picea Abbies), which allowed bole volume estimation based on vegetation height values. SAR-based AGB estimates were produced by defining statistical relationships between backscatter intensity and interferometric coherence measurements against reference CHM values. Additionally, evaluation of biomass estimation through interferometric (InSAR) height was possible by comparing against reference photogrammetric DSM. Backscatter signal saturation of C-band at low biomass volumes prevented quantification of biomass but permitted differentiation between forested and non-forested surfaces. Estimation of AGB through interferometric coherence was possible through modeling volumetric decorrelation, which on the contrary prevented biomass retrieval from InSAR height. Due to the given frequency properties at C-band, HV cross-polarized channel was used in all cases for better detection of the canopy layer. Image acquisition under stable conditions was a priority to avoid noise derived from variable dielectric properties, acquisition geometry effects and temporal decorrelation. Hence, image acquisitions under stable hydrometeorological conditions (i. e. stable frozen or dry) and for the lowest repeat-pass interval (i. e. 6-days) were prioritized.

The ability to accurately predict dose from electron backscatter created by internal lead shielding utilized during various superficial electron beam treatments (EBT), such as lip carcinoma, is required to avoid the possibility of an overdose. Methods for predicting this dose include the use of empirical equations or physically measuring the electron backscatter factor (EBF) and upstream electron backscatter intensity (EBI). The EBF and upstream EBI are defined as the ratio of dose at, or upstream, from the shielding interface with and without the shielding present respectively. The accuracy of these equations for the local treatment machines was recognised as an area that required verification; in addition the ability of XiO's electron Monte Carlo (eMC) treatment planning algorithm to handle lead interfaces was examined. A Monte Carlo simulation using the EGSnrc package of a Siemens Artiste Linac was developed for 6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV electron energies and was verified against physical measurements to within an accuracy of 2 % and 2 mm. Electron backscatter dose distributions were predicated using the MC model, Gafchromic film, and XiO eMC, which when compared showed that XiO's eMC could not accurately calculate dose at the lead interface. Several MC simulations of lead interfaces at different depths, corresponding to energies of 0.2-14 MeV at the interfaces, were used to validate the accuracy of the equations, with the results concluding that the equation could not accurately predict EBF and EBI values, especially at low energies. From this data, an equation was derived to allow estimation of the EBF and upstream EBI, which agreed to within 1.3 % for the EBF values and can predict the upstream EBI to a clinically acceptable level for all energies.