The formation of oriented thermokarst lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska has been the subject of debate for more than half a century. The striking elongation of the lakes perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction has led to the development of a preferred wind-generated gyre hypothesis, while other hypotheses include a combination of sun angle, topographic aspect, and/or a...

A mathematical model is used to simulate the effect of wind conditions on men's and women's 200-m times. Four questions are posed: What is the effect of constant winds on 200-m performance? What is the effect of varying wind speed and direction? What is the effect of the lane allocation? How do wind conditions affect the velocity profile? The race is simulated for winds with constant velocity a...

Weather conditions can affect sensors' readings when sampling outdoors. Although sensors are usually set up covering a wide range of conditions, their operational range must be established. In recent years, depth cameras have been shown as a promising tool for plant phenotyping and other related uses. However, the use of these devices is still challenged by prevailing field conditions. Although...

The navigation of a small unmanned aerial vehicle is challenging due to a large influence of wind to its kinematics. When the kinematic model is reduced to two dimensions, it has the form of the Dubins kinematic vehicle model. Consequently, this paper addresses the problem ofminimizing the expected time required to drive aDubins vehicle to a prescribed target set in the presence of a stochastic...

Growing populations and periodic drought conditions have exacerbated water stress in many areas worldwide. In response, some municipalities have considered desalination of saline water as a freshwater supply. Unfortunately, desalination requires a sizeable energy investment. However, renewable energy technologies can be paired with desalination to mitigate concern over the environmental impacts...

In renewable power generation the wind energy has been noted as the most rapidly growing technology; it attracts interest as one of the most cost-effective ways to generate electricity from renewable sources. Wind generation system has potential application for the grid support. The voltage of the direct driven permanent magnet wind generators (PMSG) is variable due to the intermittent nature o...