Methods to automatically derive landforms have typically focused on pixel-based, bottom-up approaches and most commonly on the derivation of topographic eminences. In this paper we describe an object-based, top-down algorithm to identify valley floors. The algorithm is based on a region growing approach, seeded by thalwegs with pixels added to the region according to a threshold gradient value....

When people write programs in conventional programming languages, they over-specify how to solve the problem they have in mind. Over-specification prevents the language’s implementation from making many optimization decisions, leaving programmers with this burden. In more declarative languages, programmers over-specify less, enabling the implementation to make more choices for them. As these de...

This brief review has highlighted some of the research done by the MRC in the South Wales valleys. The two MRC Units published, in total, over 2000 reports ranging from letters to journals to conference proceedings, with around 200 reports appearing in the BMJ, Lancet and Nature alone. The expertise gained in South Wales meant that the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit team was involved internationa...