O presente estudo foi dividido em três capitulos, todos realizados na Estação Experimental de Ciências Florestais de Anhembi/SP, entre os anos de 2014 e 2015. O primeiro estudo intitulado de \"Variação mensal da fitomassa da forragem em função do grau de cobertura do dossel em sistemas silvipastoris\", foi realizado em 3 monoculturas de 13 anos de idade, com área útil de 50 m x 30 m para coleta de pasto as mesmas efectuadas mensalmente. Os resultados apresentaram que não há relação significativa entre a cobertura do dossel e fitomassa da forragem pelo caso de que o sub-bosque estava muito sombreado. Entretanto, houve uma relação indireta entre área basal e fitomassa. Evidenciando-se que o talhão de Eucalipto urograndis apresentou as melhores condições de crescimento e disponibilidade de materia seca mensal para Bachiaria decumbens além de obter a maior porcentagem de folha entre todos os tratamentos. Ao contrario, no talhão de Pinus tecunumanii, foi encontrada a menor disponibilidade de materia seca mensal e por consequência, menor porcentagem de folha. O segundo estudo foi chamado de: \"Disponibilidade de fitomassa de B. decumbens, em um sistema silvipastoril com eucalipto: o papel da radiação\" onde o componente florestal foi o eucalyptus (COP-1377) de 2 anos de idade plantado em uma área útil de 10 ha, dividido em 3 tratamentos (onda longa-OL (39 m), onda curta-OC (21 m), e testemunha-T) e instalado em 4 blocos distintos. Foram realizadas duas coletas dutante o período de verão e de inverno, onde foi possível verificar que o tratamento OL mostrou maior disponibilidade de fitomassa a 65% de irradiância além de obter maior porcentagem da fração folha. Este foi favorecido pelo maior espaçamento entre as aléias. Contudo, houve ataque de cigarinha na pastagem, mantendo a queda da disponibilidade no período de inverno. O terceiro estudo intitulado de: \"Variaçoes arquiteturais de uma monocultura de E. urograndis em função de sua posição espacial\", foi também realizado na monocultura do primeiro estudo, numa área de 7 ha. Para este estudo, realizou-se um inventario florestal, logo após, dividiu-se as árvores por sua classe diamétrica e selecionou-se aleatoriamente 60 árvores para cubagem, e destas, escolheu-se 15 para determinação da fitomassa e respectiva densidade da madeira. Para a obtenção da fitomassa dividiu-se as árvores em três frações de análise: tronco, galhos e folha. Além disso, as 15 árvores foram divididas em: bordadura, intermediária e centro da parcela, de acordo com a sua localização. Verificou-se que a bordadura apresentou os maiores crescimentos em DAP, altura, largura de copa e, que por consequência, obteve maior volume e fitomassa em todas suas frações. Também foi possível observar que tanto a bordadura quanto o centro apresentaram maior densidade básica em função da maior copa e altura das árvores incentivando a geração de mais fitomassa foliar. Finalmente conforme os três estudos realizados neste trabalho de pesquisa, concluiu-se que a radiação solar é fator chave na produtividade da cultura forrageira, demonstrando a necessidade de mais pesquisas sobre os sistemas agroforestais e silvipastoris para o sucesso de futuros emprendimentos. / This study was divided into three chapters, all of these were held in Forest Science Experiment Station of Anhembi / SP, between the years 2014 and 2015. The first study entitled of \"Monthly variation of biomass of forage due to the canopy cover degree in silvipastoral systems\" was fulfilled in 3 monocultures with 13 years of age, with useful area of 50 m x 30 m for pasture collecting the same month. The results showed no significant relationship between canopy cover and biomass of forage because of the shading of the understory. However, there was an indirect link between baseline and biomass area. Indicating that the that plot of Eucalyptus urograndis showed the best conditions of growth and availability of monthly dry matter for Bachiaria decumbens and in adittion to the highest percentage of leaf among all treatments. On contrary, in the plot of Pinus tecunumanii, was observed the smallest monthly availability of dry matter and therefore smaller percentage of leaf. The second study was called of: Availability of biomass B. decumbens, in a silvopastoral system with eucalyptus: the role of radiation\" where the forestry component was the eucalyptus (COP-1377) with 2 years old planted in an area of 10 ha, divided in 3 treatments (long-OL wave (39 m), short-OC wave (21 m), and witness-T.) and instaled into 4 distinct blocks. Two samples were taken during the summer and winter period, where was possible verify that the OL treatment result showed more availability of biomass to 65% of irradiance beyond a higher percentage of the leaf fraction. This was favored by the biggest spacing between the alleys. However, there was attack on the grassland by leafhoppers keeping the downfall of availability during the winter. The third study was entitled: \"Architectural variations of monoculture of E. urograndis according to their spatial position\" was also reld at the monoculture of the first study, in an area of 7 ha. For this study, there was held a forest inventory, right after, the trees were divided for his diametric class and it is selected randomly 60 trees for cubage, and of those, were chose 15 for the determination of biomass and wood density. For the obtaining of biomass the trees were divided in three analysis fractions: trunk, branches and leaf. In addition, the 15 trees were divided into: surround, intermediate and center of the plot, in accordance with the location. It was verified that the border presented the highest growth in DBH, height, crown wide and that consequently achieved greater volume and biomass in all the fractions. Also been possible to observ that either at border as center showed a higher basic density due to higher canopy and tree height encouraging the creation of more biomass leaf. Finally as the three studies conducted in this research work, it was concluded that solar irradiation is a key factor in the productivity of forage crop, demonstrating the necessity of more research on agroforestry and silvopastoral systems for the success of future property developments.

The design processes for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is improved to achieve higher reliability and reduced levelised cost of energy (LCOE) throughout this thesis. The design processes currently used in the development of PV systems are reviewed. This review process included embedding the author in a project to deliver four rooftop PV systems which totalled a megawatt of installed generating capacity, which at the time represented very significant system sizes. The processes used in this are analysed to identify improvement potential. Shortcomings are identified in three main areas: safety assurance, design process integration and financial optimisation. Better design process integration is required because data is not readily exchanged between the industry standard software tools. There is also a lack of clarity about how to optimise design decisions with respect to factors such as shading and cable size. Financial optimisation is identified as a challenge because current software tools facilitate optimising for maximum output or minimum cost, but do not readily optimise for minimum levelised cost of energy which is the primary objective in striving for grid parity. To achieve improved design process integration and financial optimisation, a new modelling framework with the working title SolaSIM is conceived to accurately model the performance of solar photovoltaic systems. This framework is developed for grid connected systems operating in the UK climate, but it could readily be adapted for other climates with appropriate weather data. This software development was conducted using an overarching systems engineering approach from design and architecture through to verification and validation. Within this SolaSIM framework, the impact of shading on array and inverter efficiency is identified as a significant area of uncertainty. A novel method for the calculation of shaded irradiance on each cell of an array with high computational efficiency is presented. The shading sub-model is validated against outdoor measurements with a modelling accuracy within one percent. Final verification of the over-arching SolaSIM framework found that it satisfied the requirements which were identified and actioned. The author installed the new CREST outdoor measurement system version 4 (COMS4). COMS4 is a calibrated system which measures 26 PV devices simultaneously. Validation of SolaSIM models against COMS4 found the modelling error to be within the 4% accuracy target except two sub-systems which had electronic faults. The model is validated against PV systems and found to be within the specified limits.

Oxygen production and consumption were measured in five species of benthic foraminifers using a "Clark-type" oxygen electrode. Net photosynthesis and respiration were calculated and normalized to both μg Chl a and mm² upper surface area for the chlorophyte-bearing soritid foraminifers, Archaias angulatus and Cyclorbiculina compressa, and the diatom-bearing amphisteginids, Amphistegina gibbosa, A. lessonii and A. radiata. Photosynthesis/Irradiance curves were generated by fitting data to the hyperbolic tangent equation P = Pmax tanh (α I/ Pmax). Derived photosynthetic parameters, Pmax, α, Ik were found to correspond to the general responses of the endosymbiont taxa. Chlorophyll concentration was found to be significantly lower in Cyclorbiculina compressa than in the other four species. Maximum O2 production (Pmax) when normalized to Chl a was 3-4 times higher in soritid species than in amphisteginids. Photosynthetic efficiency (α) was significantly higher in Amphistegina gibbosa and A. lessonii than in the soritids. Mean Ik, which indicates approaching light saturation, was 13 and 26 μmol photon m-2sec-1 respectively for A. gibbosa and A. lessonii compared with 95 and 119 μmol photon m-2sec-1 respectively for Archaias and Cyclorbiculina. Calculated P/I data were to variable for Amphistegina radiata to estimate reliable α and Ik values. Factorial metabolic scope, which indicates potential for activity was only 2-6 for amphisteginids versus 9-16 for soritids. Annual primary production was estimated to be 285 mmoles O2 m-2 of habitat for A. angulatus, 9.3 mmoles O2 m-2 of habitat for C. compressa and 15.3 mmoles O2 m-2 of habitat for Amphistegina lessonii. Pmax values for Amphistegina gibbosa fluctuated at the compensation point and did not indicate significant oxygen production. Pmax values for Amphistegina radiata failed to reach the compensation point and net oxygen production was not recorded.

xv, 165 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The amount of solar radiation at the earth's surface is modulated by fluctuations in aerosol density and cloud optical depth--two uncertain factors in climate change studies. The University of Oregon Solar Radiation Monitoring Lab has collected five-minute resolution surface shortwave irradiance measurements at three sites in Oregon since 1980 or earlier. Direct normal surface solar irradiance has increased 4-5% per decade (8-11 W/m 2 per decade) at these three sites since 1980 (1979 in Eugene). Total solar irradiance has likewise increased by 1-2% per decade (2-3 W/m 2 per decade). This unusually long direct normal time series was used to examine the causes of trends because of its high sensitivity to scattering and high instrumental accuracy. The strongest factor causing direct normal irradiance trends was found to be the high stratospheric aerosol concentrations after the volcanic eruptions of El Chichà à à à ³n (1982) and Mt. Pinatubo (1991). Removing the four years most impacted by each volcanic eruption (1982-1985 and 1991-1994) reduces the trend in annual average direct normal irradiance by 20-55%, depending on the site. All measurement sites show low irradiance values before the volcanic eruption of El Chichà à à à ³n in 1982 compared to later periods of relatively low volcanic aerosols (1989- 1990, and 2000-2007). These low values are visible both in all-sky and clear-sky monthly averages, suggesting high aerosol loads as a likely cause. Clear-sky direct normal irradiance measurements from high solar zenith angles (6575à à à à °) are analyzed to test the hypothesis that the increase in irradiance comes from a reduction of anthropogenic aerosols since the late 1980s. No change in anthropogenic aerosols between 1987 and 2007 is detectable within the noise of the data. Even after removing the four years most heavily impacted by volcanic eruptions, the continued reduction of volcanic aerosol loads causes over half of the clear-sky direct normal irradiance increase since 1987. The remaining increase could be accounted for by a 20-year decrease in 550 nm aerosol optical depth of .005 à à à à ± .005, or 6% à à à à ± 6%, but considerable statistical uncertainty exists. / Adviser: Gregory Bothun

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Este estudo apresenta a hipÃtese de que P. stipulacea à uma espÃcie caracterÃstica de estÃgio inicial de sucessÃo, enquanto A. colubrina de estÃgios mais avanÃados. Para caracterizar as duas espÃcies, estudaram-se alguns atributos utilizados na classificaÃÃo de grupos ecolÃgicos de florestas tropicais Ãmidas, respondendo as seguintes questÃes: a) as espÃcies apresentam dormÃncia de sementes? b) quais as condiÃÃes de temperatura e luz para germinaÃÃo? c) as sementes apresentam tolerÃncia à dessecaÃÃo? d) quais as caracterÃsticas de crescimento das plÃntulas sob diferentes graus de irradiÃncia? Dessa forma, o trabalho apresentou as seguintes previsÃes: a) as sementes de P. stipulacea apresentam dormÃncia, enquanto as de A. colubrina nÃo apresentam; b) as sementes de P. stipulacea germinam em uma ampla faixa de temperatura, enquanto as de A. colubrina germinam em uma faixa de temperatura mais estreita; c) as sementes de P. stipulacea toleram baixos nÃveis de dessecaÃÃo, enquanto as de A. colubrina nÃo toleram; d) as plÃntulas de P. stipulacea crescem melhor em maiores nÃveis de irradiÃncia, enquanto as de A. colubrina crescem melhor em menores nÃveis de irradiÃncia. Os frutos foram coletados em Ãrea de caatinga situada na fazenda âNÃo Me Deixesâ, no municÃpio de QuixadÃ-CE, e os experimentos foram realizados no LaboratÃrio de AnÃlise de Sementes e no NÃcleo de Ensino e Pesquisa em Agricultura Urbana. Resultados do teste preliminar de germinaÃÃo mostraram que sementes de P. stipulacea apresentam dormÃncia, sendo melhor superada com escarificaÃÃo quÃmica por 10 minutos. Jà as sementes de A. colubrina nÃo possuem dormÃncia. O experimento de temperatura e luz revelou que as duas espÃcies apresentam a mesma amplitude de germinaÃÃo (10ÂC a 40ÂC), com melhor germinaÃÃo a 30ÂC, porÃm, nas menores temperaturas P. stipulacea apresentou germinaÃÃo muito baixa. Quanto à tolerÃncia a dessecaÃÃo, as sementes de P. stipulacea suportaram secagem atà 5,16% de umidade sem influenciar a germinaÃÃo, representando comportamento ortodoxo. Jà com A. colubrina a germinaÃÃo diminuiu à medida que as sementes perderam Ãgua, porÃm, mesmo com teor de Ãgua de 5,81%, a germinaÃÃo permaneceu acima de 80%, indicando que esta espÃcie tambÃm apresenta sementes ortodoxas. No experimento de irradiÃncia, plÃntulas de P. stipulacea apresentaram maior diÃmetro a pleno sol e, em todos os tratamentos, acumularam maior biomassa para o caule. A. colubrina apresentou maior altura e diÃmetro em 50% de sombra e maior nÃmero de folhas e biomassa da parte aÃrea em 70% de sombra, indicando que esta espÃcie tolera nÃveis intermediÃrios de sombra. Sugere-se que caracterÃsticas utilizadas na classificaÃÃo de grupos ecolÃgicos de florestas tropicais Ãmidas tambÃm possam ser utilizadas para subsidiar a identificaÃÃo de qual estÃgio sucessional pertencem determinadas espÃcies da caatinga, com o objetivo de entender sua ocorrÃncia, distribuiÃÃo e desenvolvimento, para melhor conservaÃÃo e uso adequado no reflorestamento de Ãreas degradadas. / This study presents the hypothesis that P. stipulacea is a species characteristic of early stages of succession, while A. colubrina in later stages. To characterize the two species studied are some attributes used in classification of ecological groups of tropical rainforests, answering the following questions: a) species have seed dormancy? b) what conditions of temperature and light for germination? c) the seeds are desiccation tolerance? d) the characteristics of seedling growth under different levels of irradiance? Thus, the work made the following predictions: a) seeds of P. stipulacea present dormancy, while those of A. colubrina not present; b) seeds of P. stipulacea germinate over a wide temperature range, while those of A. colubrina germinate in a narrow temperature range; c) the seeds of P. stipulacea tolerate low levels of desiccation, while those of A. colubrina not tolerate; d) seedlings of P. stipulacea grow best at higher irradiance levels, while those of A. colubrina grow best at lower levels of irradiance. Fruits were collected in the caatinga area located on the farm "NÃo Me Deixesâ city of Quixada-CE, and the experiments were performed at the Seed Analysis Laboratory and the Core Teaching and Research in Urban Agriculture. Results of preliminary testing of germination showed that seeds of P. stipulacea present dormancy and are better solved with chemical scarification for 10 minutes. The seeds of A. colubrina have no dormancy. The experiment temperature and light was revealed that the two species have the same range of germination (10ÂC to 40ÂC), with best germination at 30ÂC, but at lower temperatures P. stipulacea showed germination very low. As for tolerance to desiccation, seeds of P. stipulacea bore drying up 5.16% moisture without influencing germination, representing orthodox behavior. Already A. colubrina germination decreased as the seeds lost water, but even with a water content of 5.81%, germination remained above 80%, indicating that this species also has orthodox seeds. In the irradiance experiment, seedlings of P. stipulacea showed larger diameter in full sun, and all treatments accumulated more biomass to the stem. A. colubrina showed greater height and diameter in 50% shade and a larger number of leaves and shoot biomass by 70% shade, indicating that this species tolerates intermediate levels of shade. It is suggested that features used for classification of ecological groups of tropical forests could also be used to support the identification of which stage of succession belongs to certain species of caatinga, with the aim of understanding their occurrence, distribution and development, for better conservation and use suitable for the reforestation of degraded areas.

O presente estudo foi dividido em três capitulos, todos realizados na Estação Experimental de Ciências Florestais de Anhembi/SP, entre os anos de 2014 e 2015. O primeiro estudo intitulado de \"Variação mensal da fitomassa da forragem em função do grau de cobertura do dossel em sistemas silvipastoris\", foi realizado em 3 monoculturas de 13 anos de idade, com área útil de 50 m x 30 m para coleta de pasto as mesmas efectuadas mensalmente. Os resultados apresentaram que não há relação significativa entre a cobertura do dossel e fitomassa da forragem pelo caso de que o sub-bosque estava muito sombreado. Entretanto, houve uma relação indireta entre área basal e fitomassa. Evidenciando-se que o talhão de Eucalipto urograndis apresentou as melhores condições de crescimento e disponibilidade de materia seca mensal para Bachiaria decumbens além de obter a maior porcentagem de folha entre todos os tratamentos. Ao contrario, no talhão de Pinus tecunumanii, foi encontrada a menor disponibilidade de materia seca mensal e por consequência, menor porcentagem de folha. O segundo estudo foi chamado de: \"Disponibilidade de fitomassa de B. decumbens, em um sistema silvipastoril com eucalipto: o papel da radiação\" onde o componente florestal foi o eucalyptus (COP-1377) de 2 anos de idade plantado em uma área útil de 10 ha, dividido em 3 tratamentos (onda longa-OL (39 m), onda curta-OC (21 m), e testemunha-T) e instalado em 4 blocos distintos. Foram realizadas duas coletas dutante o período de verão e de inverno, onde foi possível verificar que o tratamento OL mostrou maior disponibilidade de fitomassa a 65% de irradiância além de obter maior porcentagem da fração folha. Este foi favorecido pelo maior espaçamento entre as aléias. Contudo, houve ataque de cigarinha na pastagem, mantendo a queda da disponibilidade no período de inverno. O terceiro estudo intitulado de: \"Variaçoes arquiteturais de uma monocultura de E. urograndis em função de sua posição espacial\", foi também realizado na monocultura do primeiro estudo, numa área de 7 ha. Para este estudo, realizou-se um inventario florestal, logo após, dividiu-se as árvores por sua classe diamétrica e selecionou-se aleatoriamente 60 árvores para cubagem, e destas, escolheu-se 15 para determinação da fitomassa e respectiva densidade da madeira. Para a obtenção da fitomassa dividiu-se as árvores em três frações de análise: tronco, galhos e folha. Além disso, as 15 árvores foram divididas em: bordadura, intermediária e centro da parcela, de acordo com a sua localização. Verificou-se que a bordadura apresentou os maiores crescimentos em DAP, altura, largura de copa e, que por consequência, obteve maior volume e fitomassa em todas suas frações. Também foi possível observar que tanto a bordadura quanto o centro apresentaram maior densidade básica em função da maior copa e altura das árvores incentivando a geração de mais fitomassa foliar. Finalmente conforme os três estudos realizados neste trabalho de pesquisa, concluiu-se que a radiação solar é fator chave na produtividade da cultura forrageira, demonstrando a necessidade de mais pesquisas sobre os sistemas agroforestais e silvipastoris para o sucesso de futuros emprendimentos. / This study was divided into three chapters, all of these were held in Forest Science Experiment Station of Anhembi / SP, between the years 2014 and 2015. The first study entitled of \"Monthly variation of biomass of forage due to the canopy cover degree in silvipastoral systems\" was fulfilled in 3 monocultures with 13 years of age, with useful area of 50 m x 30 m for pasture collecting the same month. The results showed no significant relationship between canopy cover and biomass of forage because of the shading of the understory. However, there was an indirect link between baseline and biomass area. Indicating that the that plot of Eucalyptus urograndis showed the best conditions of growth and availability of monthly dry matter for Bachiaria decumbens and in adittion to the highest percentage of leaf among all treatments. On contrary, in the plot of Pinus tecunumanii, was observed the smallest monthly availability of dry matter and therefore smaller percentage of leaf. The second study was called of: Availability of biomass B. decumbens, in a silvopastoral system with eucalyptus: the role of radiation\" where the forestry component was the eucalyptus (COP-1377) with 2 years old planted in an area of 10 ha, divided in 3 treatments (long-OL wave (39 m), short-OC wave (21 m), and witness-T.) and instaled into 4 distinct blocks. Two samples were taken during the summer and winter period, where was possible verify that the OL treatment result showed more availability of biomass to 65% of irradiance beyond a higher percentage of the leaf fraction. This was favored by the biggest spacing between the alleys. However, there was attack on the grassland by leafhoppers keeping the downfall of availability during the winter. The third study was entitled: \"Architectural variations of monoculture of E. urograndis according to their spatial position\" was also reld at the monoculture of the first study, in an area of 7 ha. For this study, there was held a forest inventory, right after, the trees were divided for his diametric class and it is selected randomly 60 trees for cubage, and of those, were chose 15 for the determination of biomass and wood density. For the obtaining of biomass the trees were divided in three analysis fractions: trunk, branches and leaf. In addition, the 15 trees were divided into: surround, intermediate and center of the plot, in accordance with the location. It was verified that the border presented the highest growth in DBH, height, crown wide and that consequently achieved greater volume and biomass in all the fractions. Also been possible to observ that either at border as center showed a higher basic density due to higher canopy and tree height encouraging the creation of more biomass leaf. Finally as the three studies conducted in this research work, it was concluded that solar irradiation is a key factor in the productivity of forage crop, demonstrating the necessity of more research on agroforestry and silvopastoral systems for the success of future property developments.

This study focuses on comparing six different marine optical models, field measurements, and laboratory measurements. Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs) of the water column depend only on the constituents within the water, not on the ambient light field. Apparent Optical Properties (AOPs) depend both on IOPs and the geometric underwater light field resulting from solar irradiance. Absorption (a) and scattering (b) are IOPs. Scattering can be partitioned into backscattering (b[subscript b]). Remote Sensing Reflectance (R[subscript rs]), the ratio of radiant light leaving the water to the light entering the water surface plane (E[subscript d]), is an AOP. R[subscript rs] is proportional to b[subscript b]/(a + b[subscript b]). Using this relationship, R[subscript rs] is inverted to determine both absorption and backscattering. The constituents contributing to both absorption and backscattering can then be further deconvolved using modeling techniques. The in situ instruments usually have a fixed path length while AOP measurement path length depends on the penetration and/or return of downwelling solar irradiance. As a consequence, AOP measurements use a longer path length than in situ instruments. If the path length of a direct IOP measurement instrument is too short, there may not be sufficient signal to determine a change in value. While the AOP inversions require more empirical assumptions to determine IOP values than in situ instruments, they provide a higher signal to noise ratio in clearer waters. This study defines closure as the statistical agreement between instruments and methods in order to determine the same optical property. No method is considered absolute truth. An R[subscript rs] inversion algorithm was best under most of the test stations for measuring IOP values. One exception was when bottom reflectance was significant, an inversion of diffuse attenuation (the change in the natural log of E[subscript d] over depth) was better for determining absorption and a field instrument was better for determining backscattering. The relationships between AOPs and IOPs provide estimates of unmeasured optical properties. A method was developed to determine the spectral reflectance of the bottom using IOP estimates and R[subscript rs].

This thesis deals with photorealistic rendering and real-time global illumination. Thesis contains overview of algorithms used for real-time global illumination of which the Dynamic Diffuse Global Illumination with Ray-Traced Irradiance Fields was implemented. This algorithm uses hardware accelerated ray tracing to compute global illumination in a scene. Hardware ray tracing requires use of new generation of graphics API from which Vulkan was choosen for this thesis.

Due essentially to the difficulties associated with obtaining explicit forms of stationary marginal distributions of non-linear stationary processes, appropriate characterizations of such processes are worked upon little. After discussing an elaborate motivation behind this thesis and presenting preliminaries in Chapter 1, we characterize, in Chapter 2, the stationary marginal distributions of certain non-linear multivariate stationary processes. To do so, we show that the stationary marginal distributions of these processes belong to specific skew-distribution families, and for a given skew-distribution from the corresponding family, a process, with stationary marginal distribution identical to that given skew-distribution, can be found. While conventional time series analysis greatly depends on the assumption of stationarity, measurements taken from many physical systems, which consist of both periodicity and randomness, often exhibit cyclostationarity (i.e., a periodic structure in their first- and second-order moments). Identifying the hourly global horizontal irradiances (GHIs), collected at a solar monitoring station of Saudi Arabia, as a cyclostationary process and considering the significant impact of that on the energy production in Saudi Arabia, Chapter 3 provides a temporal model of GHIs. Chapter 4 extends the analysis to a spatio-temporal cyclostationary modeling of 45 different solar monitoring stations of the Kingdom. Both the proposed models are shown to produce better forecasts, more realistic simulations, and reliable photovoltaic power estimates in comparison to a classical model that fails to recognize the GHI data as cyclostationary. Chapter 5 extends the notion of cyclostationarity to a novel and flexible class of processes, coined evolving period and amplitude cyclostationary (EPACS) processes, that allows periods and amplitudes of the mean and covariance functions to evolve and, therefore, accommodates a much larger class of processes than the cyclostationary processes. Thereafter, we investigate its properties, provide methodologies for statistical inference, and illustrate the presented methods using a simulation study and a real data example, from the heavens, of the magnitudes of the light emitted from the variable star R Hydrae. Finally, Chapter 6 summarizes the findings of the thesis and discusses its significance and possible future extensions.

This study addresses the availability of total solar irradiance at the earth's surface during varying weather conditions . Two years of irradiance and meteorological data were collected at mountain and valley sites along 40° North latitude in the Rocky Mountains of Utah and Colorado. Generalized cases of recurring seasonal weather episodes and the associated t o t al irradiance a re identified and discussed , including local mesoscale phenomena (orographic clouds , valley fog, etc.) unique to mountainous regions . The generalized cases can be useful in long- range energy assessment planning. The east and west slopes of the Rocky Mountains are shown to have similar annual average solar energy potential , however the seasonal differences reveal unique climates which require different considerations for each slope. Short -term relationships between cloudiness and t o t al irradiance are developed for the mountainous region, providing a tool for forecasting solar irradiance using a cloudiness forecast. Total irradiance is shown to correlate much better to opaque sky cover than co total cloud cover . The relationships on the east and west slopes are similar , however greater variations a re observed with elevation between the moun t ain and valley sites . Short- term forecasting of irradiance is found to be limited due t o unreliable cloudiness fore-casting techniques , tho ugh satellite imagery trajectories are more reliable than numerical methods.