A new approach for three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of building roofs from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data is proposed, and it includes four steps. Building roof points are first extracted from LiDAR data by using the reversed iterative mathematic morphological (RIMM) algorithm and the density-based method. The corresponding relations between points and rooftop patches a...

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 This paper presents a closed-form expression for multiple forward diffraction by rows of tree canopies and buildings applicable to the propagation predictions at centimeter and millimeter wavelengths for local multipoint distribution service (LMDS). The expression is derived from the uniform geometrical theory of diffra...

Typical wind turbine systems are sufficiently large so as to require extensive physical space for their installation and operation. These requirements preclude the use of turbines in crowded, urban environments. On the other hand, smaller turbine systems may find practical application as rooftop units, installed atop tall buildings. Such rooftop units must be much smaller than their ground-base...

δ18O measurements in precipitation and stream waters were used to investigate hydrological flow paths and residence times at nested spatial scales in the mesoscale (233 km2) River Feugh catchment in the northeast of Scotland over the 2001–2002 hydrological year. Precipitation δ18O exhibited strong seasonal variation, which although significantly damped within the catchment, was reflected in str...

Sediment delivery ratio (SDR) is traditionally defined as the fraction of upland gross erosion that is transported out of a defined area, e.g., a plot or catchment. It is, effectively, an index of sediment transport efficiency. Previously, it is treated as an empirically-lumped parameter used as a mechanism for compensating for sediment deposition within a catchment area. In this paper, we prop...

Targets for improvements in water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have been set through the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (Reef Plan). To measure and report on progress towards the targets set a program has been established that combines monitoring and modelling at paddock through to catchment and reef scales; the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting...

For 3-D building reconstructions of urban areas, we present a fully automatic shape recovery method that uses 3-D points acquired from aerial image sequences. This paper focuses on shape recovery of flat rooftops that are parallel to the ground. We recover each rooftop from a set of 3-D points located at nearly the same height. Such 3-D point sets are made by merging point sets under the MDL (M...

Autonomous landing is an essential function for micro air vehicles (MAVs) for many scenarios. We pursue an active perception strategy that enables MAVs with limited onboard sensing and processing capabilities to concurrently assess feasible rooftop landing sites with a vision-based perception system while generating trajectories that balance continued landing site assessment and the requirement...

During the autumn of 2000, England and Wales experienced the wettest conditions for over 270 years, causing significant flooding. The exceptional combination of a wet spring and autumn provided the potential for soil structural degradation. Soils prone to structural degradation under five common lowland cropping systems (autumn-sown crops, late-harvested crops, field vegetables, orchards and sh...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association, if any, between child mortality and distance to the nearest hospital. METHODS The study was based on data from a 1-year study of the cause of illness in febrile paediatric admissions to a district hospital in north-east Tanzania. All villages in the catchment population were geolocated, and travel times were estimated from availability of local transp...