Sign in to use this feature.

Years

Between: -

Subjects

remove_circle_outline
remove_circle_outline
remove_circle_outline
remove_circle_outline
remove_circle_outline

Journals

Article Types

Countries / Regions

Search Results (6)

Search Parameters:
Keywords = Desert Watch

Order results
Result details
Results per page
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
18 pages, 3587 KiB  
Article
Identification of Novel Can Manipulation Behaviour in the Common Raven (Corvus corax)
by Rebecca Dickinson and Loni Loftus
Birds 2024, 5(1), 155-172; https://doi.org/10.3390/birds5010011 - 8 Mar 2024
Viewed by 3043
Abstract
This study examines the common raven (Corvus corax) population on Lanzarote, Spain, at a previously unstudied site. The study aimed to compare the use of camera trap technology and human observation in capturing a wide repertoire of raven behaviour and pay [...] Read more.
This study examines the common raven (Corvus corax) population on Lanzarote, Spain, at a previously unstudied site. The study aimed to compare the use of camera trap technology and human observation in capturing a wide repertoire of raven behaviour and pay close attention to the perforation of aluminium cans, a behaviour that has not been described in the scientific literature previously but has been reported anecdotally through human observation. Five cameras were sited over a period of 6 months, with three aluminium cans placed at each location. One of the three cans was baited with meat and eggs, mimicking wild feeding substrate. Human observations took place over the same period of time in the same locations. Raven sightings were highly correlated in human-inhabited areas as well as agricultural areas, seemingly linked to food acquisition. Camera trap technology identified a greater number of can-orientated behaviours (interaction, manipulation, peeking inside, and pecking) compared to the human observation method. Conversely, human observation yielded a greater number of non-can-orientated behaviours (analysed as a group) when compared to that of camera trap observation. Overall, there was a significantly greater number of ravens observed via human observation when compared to that of camera trap observation. Initial evidence suggests that ravens only perforate cans they deem salient in terms of food acquisition, with beer cans being the most common focus of the behaviours observed, possibly linked to olfactory stimuli, the movement of the can or learned behaviour relating to reward acquisition. This study presents new data regarding object interaction in ravens, adding to the current body of knowledge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Birds 2022–2023)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 4384 KiB  
Article
Soil Moisture Distribution and Time Stability of Aerially Sown Shrubland in the Northeastern Margin of Tengger Desert (China)
by Zhenyu Zhao, Guodong Tang, Jian Wang, Yanping Liu and Yong Gao
Water 2023, 15(20), 3562; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15203562 - 12 Oct 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1523
Abstract
Considering the importance of soil moisture in hydrological processes, it is crucial to understand the water distribution and time stability of different aerial shrub soils. There are few studies on the soil moisture of aerial vegetation in the northeastern margin of the Tengger [...] Read more.
Considering the importance of soil moisture in hydrological processes, it is crucial to understand the water distribution and time stability of different aerial shrub soils. There are few studies on the soil moisture of aerial vegetation in the northeastern margin of the Tengger Desert. Based on long-term monitoring data from the aerial seeding area in the northeastern margin of the Tengger Desert, the distribution characteristics of soil moisture and the temporal stability of soil moisture were studied. From June to October 2022, the soil moisture monitoring instrument WatchDog was used to monitor the long-term soil moisture changes (0–200 cm) in the four aerial afforestation plots of Hedysarum scoparium, mixed forest land (Hedysarum scoparium dominant species), mixed forest land (Calligonum mongolicum dominant species), and Calligonum mongolicum. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to study the temporal stability of soil moisture in the four plots. Rainfall data were collected through small weather stations. The results show that the average soil water storage of four kinds of aerial shrub land in the study area was the highest in August, and the average soil water storage of different forest lands was different. The soil water content of the surface layer (0–30 cm) fluctuated the most in different months. The variation in soil water content in the shallow layer (30–100 cm) was smaller than that in the surface layer. The fluctuation of soil water content in the middle layer (100–150 cm) and deep layer (150–200 cm) was relatively stable. There was no strong variability in soil moisture content, and the temporal variation coefficient of surface soil moisture was the highest (31.44–39.8%), which showed moderate variability. The temporal variation coefficient of soil moisture in the shallow, middle and deep layers of all kinds of plots was significantly reduced, and the soil moisture stability of different aerial shrub land was the same. Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that the spatial pattern of soil water content in the surface layer (0–30 cm) and deep layer (150–200 cm) was more stable over time, that is, the temporal stability of soil water content was higher, and the temporal stability of soil water content in the middle and shallow layers of different types of shrub land was different. The research results help us to understand the soil hydrological process in the aerial seeding afforestation area in the northeastern margin of Tengger Desert, rationally arrange soil moisture monitoring points, efficiently manage and utilize water resources in the aerial seeding area, and provide a theoretical basis for local vegetation restoration and the optimization of the ecological environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing-Based Study on Surface Water Environment)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 3096 KiB  
Article
Landscape Perception Identification and Classification Based on Electroencephalogram (EEG) Features
by Yuting Wang, Shujian Wang and Ming Xu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 629; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020629 - 6 Jan 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3542
Abstract
This paper puts forward a new method of landscape recognition and evaluation by using aerial video and EEG technology. In this study, seven typical landscape types (forest, wetland, grassland, desert, water, farmland, and city) were selected. Different electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were generated through [...] Read more.
This paper puts forward a new method of landscape recognition and evaluation by using aerial video and EEG technology. In this study, seven typical landscape types (forest, wetland, grassland, desert, water, farmland, and city) were selected. Different electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were generated through different inner experiences and feelings felt by people watching video stimuli of the different landscape types. The electroencephalogram (EEG) features were extracted to obtain the mean amplitude spectrum (MAS), power spectrum density (PSD), differential entropy (DE), differential asymmetry (DASM), rational asymmetry (RASM), and differential caudality (DCAU) in the five frequency bands of delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma. According to electroencephalogram (EEG) features, four classifiers including the back propagation (BP) neural network, k-nearest neighbor classification (KNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) were used to classify the landscape types. The results showed that the support vector machine (SVM) classifier and the random forest (RF) classifier had the highest accuracy of landscape recognition, which reached 98.24% and 96.72%, respectively. Among the six classification features selected, the classification accuracy of MAS, PSD, and DE with frequency domain features were higher than those of the spatial domain features of DASM, RASM and DCAU. In different wave bands, the average classification accuracy of all subjects was 98.24% in the gamma band, 94.62% in the beta band, and 97.29% in the total band. This study identifies and classifies landscape perception based on multi-channel EEG signals, which provides a new idea and method for the quantification of human perception. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Earth Science and Medical Geology)
Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 2716 KiB  
Article
Column Integrated Water Vapor and Aerosol Load Characterization with the New ZEN-R52 Radiometer
by Antonio Fernando Almansa, Emilio Cuevas, África Barreto, Benjamín Torres, Omaira Elena García, Rosa Delia García, Cristian Velasco-Merino, Victoria Eugenia Cachorro, Alberto Berjón, Manuel Mallorquín, César López, Ramón Ramos, Carmen Guirado-Fuentes, Ramón Negrillo and Ángel Máximo de Frutos
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(9), 1424; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12091424 - 30 Apr 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4321
Abstract
The study shows the first results of the column-integrated water vapor retrieved by the new ZEN-R52 radiometer. This new radiometer has been specifically designed to monitor aerosols and atmospheric water vapor with a high degree of autonomy and robustness in order to allow [...] Read more.
The study shows the first results of the column-integrated water vapor retrieved by the new ZEN-R52 radiometer. This new radiometer has been specifically designed to monitor aerosols and atmospheric water vapor with a high degree of autonomy and robustness in order to allow the expansion of the observations of these parameters to remote desert areas from ground-based platforms. The ZEN-R52 device shows substantial improvements compared to the previous ZEN-R41 prototype: a smaller field of view, an increased signal-to-noise ratio, better stray light rejection, and an additional channel (940 nm) for precipitable water vapor (PWV) retrieval. PWV is inferred from the ZEN-R52 Zenith Sky Radiance (ZSR) measurements using a lookup table (LUT) methodology. The improvement of the new ZEN-R52 in terms of ZSR was verified by means of a comparison with the ZEN-R41, and with the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Cimel CE318 (CE318-AERONET) at Izaña Observatory, a Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) high mountain station (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain), over a 10-month period (August 2017 to June 2018). ZEN-R52 aerosol optical depth (AOD) was extracted by means of the ZEN–AOD–LUT method with an uncertainty of ±0.01 ± 0.13*AOD. ZEN-R52 PWV extracted using a new LUT technique was compared with quasi-simultaneous (±30 s) Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer measurements as reference. A good agreement was found between the two instruments (PWV means a relative difference of 9.1% and an uncertainty of ±0.089 cm or ±0.036 + 0.061*PWV for PWV <1 cm). This comparison analysis was extended using two PWV datasets from the same CE318 reference instrument at Izaña Observatory: one obtained from AERONET (CE318-AERONET), and another one using a specific calibration of the 940-nm channel performed in this work at Izaña Atmospheric Research Center Observatory (CE318-IARC), which improves the PWV product. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Components and Water Vapor)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

28 pages, 7824 KiB  
Article
Five Years of Dust Episodes at the Southern Italy GAW Regional Coastal Mediterranean Observatory: Multisensors and Modeling Analysis
by Claudia Roberta Calidonna, Elenio Avolio, Daniel Gullì, Ivano Ammoscato, Mariafrancesca De Pino, Antonio Donateo and Teresa Lo Feudo
Atmosphere 2020, 11(5), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11050456 - 30 Apr 2020
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 4306
Abstract
The Mediterranean area is a climate-change hotspot because of the natural and anthropogenic pollution pressure. The presence of natural aerosols, such as dust, influences solar radiation and contributes to the detection, in storm episodes, of significant concentrations of PM10 in Southern Italy, where [...] Read more.
The Mediterranean area is a climate-change hotspot because of the natural and anthropogenic pollution pressure. The presence of natural aerosols, such as dust, influences solar radiation and contributes to the detection, in storm episodes, of significant concentrations of PM10 in Southern Italy, where generally fresh and clean air is due to local circulation, and particulate matter concentrations are very low. We present the results of medium-term observations (2015–2019) at Lamezia Terme GAW (Global Atmospheric Watch) Regional Observatory, with the purpose of identifying the dust incursion events by studying the aerosol properties in the site. To achieve this goal, the experimental data, collected by several instruments, have been also correlated with the large-scale atmospheric patterns derived by the ERA5 reanalysis dataset, in order to study the meteorological conditions that strongly influence dust outbreaks and their spatio-temporal behavior. An intense dust-outbreak episode, which occurred on 23–27 April 2019, was chosen as a case study; a detailed analysis was carried out considering surface and column optical properties, chemical properties, large-scale pattern circulation, air-quality modeling/satellite products, and back-trajectory analysis, to confirm the capability of the modeled large-scale atmospheric fields to correctly simulate the conditions mainly related to the desert dust-outbreak events. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances of Air Pollution Studies in Italy)
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 3890 KiB  
Article
Carbonaceous Aerosols Collected at the Observatory of Monte Curcio in the Southern Mediterranean Basin
by Mariantonia Bencardino, Virginia Andreoli, Francesco D’Amore, Francesco De Simone, Valentino Mannarino, Jessica Castagna, Sacha Moretti, Attilio Naccarato, Francesca Sprovieri and Nicola Pirrone
Atmosphere 2019, 10(10), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10100592 - 2 Oct 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3058
Abstract
This work provides the first continuous measurements of carbonaceous aerosol at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Monte Curcio regional station, within the southern Mediterranean basin. We specifically analyzed elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations in particulate matter (PM) samples, collected from [...] Read more.
This work provides the first continuous measurements of carbonaceous aerosol at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Monte Curcio regional station, within the southern Mediterranean basin. We specifically analyzed elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations in particulate matter (PM) samples, collected from April to December during the two years of 2016 and 2017. The purpose of the study is to understand the behavior of both PM and carbonaceous species, in their fine and coarse size fraction, along with their seasonal variability. Based on 18 months of observations, we obtained a dataset that resulted in a vast range of variability. We found the maximum values in summer, mainly related to the enhanced formation of secondary pollutants owing to intense solar radiation, also due to the high frequency of wildfires in the surrounding areas, as well as to the reduced precipitation and aerosol-wet removal. We otherwise observed the lowest levels during fall, coinciding with well-ventilated conditions, low photochemical activity, higher precipitation amounts, and less frequency of Saharan dust episodes. We employed the HYSPLIT model to identify long-range transport from Saharan desert. We found that the Saharan dust events caused higher concentrations of PM and OC in the coarser size fraction whereas the wildfire events likely influenced the highest PM, OC, and EC concentrations we recorded for the finer fraction. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop