Experiments in visual localisation around underwater structures

Localisation of an AUV is challenging and a range of inspection applications require relatively accurate positioning information with respect to submerged structures. We have developed a vision based localisation method that uses a 3D model of the structure to be inspected. The system comprises a monocular vision system, a spotlight and a low-cost IMU. Previous methods that attempt to solve the problem in a similar way try and factor out the effects of lighting. Effects, such as shading on curved surfaces or specular reflections, are heavily dependent on the light direction and are difficult to deal with when using existing techniques. The novelty of our method is that we explicitly model the light source. Results are shown of an implementation on a small AUV in clear water at night.

N2O emissions from agricultural lands: a synthesis of simulation approaches

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is primarily produced by the microbially-mediated nitrification and denitrification processes in soils. It is influenced by a suite of climate (i.e. temperature and rainfall) and soil (physical and chemical) variables, interacting soil and plant nitrogen (N) transformations (either competing or supplying substrates) as well as land management practices. It is not surprising that N2O emissions are highly variable both spatially and temporally. Computer simulation models, which can integrate all of these variables, are required for the complex task of providing quantitative determinations of N2O emissions. Numerous simulation models have been developed to predict N2O production. Each model has its own philosophy in constructing simulation components as well as performance strengths. The models range from those that attempt to comprehensively simulate all soil processes to more empirical approaches requiring minimal input data. These N2O simulation models can be classified into three categories: laboratory, field and regional/global levels. Process-based field-scale N2O simulation models, which simulate whole agroecosystems and can be used to develop N2O mitigation measures, are the most widely used. The current challenge is how to scale up the relatively more robust field-scale model to catchment, regional and national scales. This paper reviews the development history, main construction components, strengths, limitations and applications of N2O emissions models, which have been published in the literature. The three scale levels are considered and the current knowledge gaps and challenges in modelling N2O emissions from soils are discussed.

Traffic and climate change impacts on water quality : measuring build-up and wash-off of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons

Understanding the impacts of traffic and climate change on water quality helps decision makers to develop better policy and plans for dealing with unsustainable urban and transport development. This chapter presents detailed methodologies developed for sample collection and testing for heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons, as part of a research study to investigate the impacts of climate change and changes to urban traffic characteristics on pollutant build-up and wash-off from urban road surfaces. Cadmium, chromium, nickel, copper, lead, iron, aluminium, manganese and zinc were the target heavy metals, and selected gasoline and diesel range organics were the target total petroleum hydrocarbons for this study. The study sites were selected to encompass the urban traffic characteristics of the Gold Coast region, Australia. An improved sample collection method referred to as ‘the wet and dry vacuum system’ for the pollutant build-up, and an effective wash-off plan to incorporate predicted changes to rainfall characteristics due to climate change, were implemented. The novel approach to sample collection for pollutant build-up helped to maintain the integrity of collection efficiency. The wash-off plan helped to incorporate the predicted impacts of climate change in the Gold Coast region. The robust experimental methods developed will help in field sample collection and chemical testing of different stormwater pollutants in build-up and wash-off.

A geometrical approach to the motion planning problem for a submerged rigid body

The main focus of this paper is the motion planning problem for a deeply submerged rigid body. The equations of motion are formulated and presented by use of the framework of differential geometry and these equations incorporate external dissipative and restoring forces. We consider a kinematic reduction of the affine connection control system for the rigid body submerged in an ideal fluid, and present an extension of this reduction to the forced affine connection control system for the rigid body submerged in a viscous fluid. The motion planning strategy is based on kinematic motions; the integral curves of rank one kinematic reductions. This method is of particular interest to autonomous underwater vehicles which can not directly control all six degrees of freedom (such as torpedo shaped AUVs) or in case of actuator failure (i.e., under-actuated scenario). A practical example is included to illustrate our technique.

Decoupled trajectory planning for a submerged rigid body subject to dissipative and potential forces

This paper studies the practical but challenging problem of motion planning for a deeply submerged rigid body. Here, we formulate the dynamic equations of motion of a submerged rigid body under the architecture of differential geometric mechanics and include external dissipative and potential forces. The mechanical system is represented as a forced affine-connection control system on the configuration space SE(3). Solutions to the motion planning problem are computed by concatenating and reparameterizing the integral curves of decoupling vector fields. We provide an extension to this inverse kinematic method to compensate for external potential forces caused by buoyancy and gravity. We present a mission scenario and implement the theoretically computed control strategy onto a test-bed autonomous underwater vehicle. This scenario emphasizes the use of this motion planning technique in the under-actuated situation; the vehicle loses direct control on one or more degrees of freedom. We include experimental results to illustrate our technique and validate our method.

Controlling a submerged rigid body : a geometric analysis

In this paper we analyze the equations of motion of a submerged rigid body. Our motivation is based on recent developments done in trajectory design for this problem. Our goal is to relate some properties of singular extremals to the existence of decoupling vector fields. The ideas displayed in this paper can be viewed as a starting point to a geometric formulation of the trajectory design problem for mechanical systems with potential and external forces.

A site selection process for environmental offsetting purposes in Queensland

A method of selecting land in any region of Queensland for offsetting purposes is devised, employing uniform standards. The procedure first requires that any core natural asset lands, Crown environmental lands, prime urban and agricultural lands, and highly contentious sites in the region be eliminated from consideration. Other land is then sought that is located between existing large reservations and the centre of greatest potential regional development/disturbance. Using the criteria of rehabilitation (rather than preservation) plus proximity to those officially defined Regional Ecosystems that are most threatened, adjacent sites that are described as ‘Cleared’ are identified in terms of agricultural land capability. Class IV lands – defined as those ‘which may be safely used for occasional cultivation with careful management’,2 ‘where it is favourably located for special usage’,3 and where it is ‘helpful to those who are interested in industry or regional planning or in reconstruction’4 – are examined for their appropriate area, for current tenure and for any conditions such as Mining Leases that may exist. The positive impacts from offsets on adjoining lands can then be designed to be significant; examples are also offered in respect of riparian areas and of Marine Parks. Criteria against which to measure performance for trading purposes include functional lift, with other case studies about this matter reported separately in this issue. The procedure takes no account of demand side economics (financial additionality), which requires commercial rather than environmental analysis.

Environmental management and wildlife in Queensland : a review of Queensland mammal species designated as scarce

From 19 authoritative lists with 164 entries of ‘endangered’ Australian mammal species, 39 species have been reported as extinct. When examined in the light of field conditions, the 18 of these species thought to be from Queensland consist of (a) species described from fragmentary museum material collected in the earliest days of exploration, (b) populations inferred to exist in Queensland by extrapolation from distribution records in neighbouring States or countries, (c) inhabitants of remote and harsh locations where search effort is extraordinarily difficult (especially in circumstances of drought or flooding). and/or (d) individuals that are clearly transitory or peripheral in distribution. ‘Rediscovery’ of such scarce species - a not infrequent occurrence - is nowadays attracting increasing attention. Management in respect of any scarce wildlife in Queensland presently derives from such official lists. The analyses here indicate that this method of prioritizing action needs review. This is especially so because action then tends to be centred on species chosen out of the lists for populist reasons and that mostly addresses Crown lands. There is reason to believe that the preferred management may lie private lands where casual observation has provided for rediscovery and where management is most desirable and practicable.

Measurement of the net environmental benefit of offsetting in Queensland

The process of offsetting land against unavoidable disturbance of development sites in Queensland will benefit from a method that allows the best possible selection to be made of alternative lands. With site selection now advocated through a combination of Regional Ecosystem and Land Capability classifications state-wide, a case study has determined methods of assessing the functional lift – that is, measures of net environmental gain – of such action. Outcomes with potentially high functional lift are determined, that offer promise not only for endangered ecosystems but also for managing adjacent conservation reserves.

WaterFieldWork : a working lexicon for critical refugia in arid landscapes

Algebuckina Waterhole exists as a permanent waterhole near a north-south dirt road and an old trainline on the Oodnadatta Track - lines that once opened up the arid lands of central South Australia but are now bypassed. It also exists as the final and largest freshwater waterhole at the end of the Neales River system. It is a critical biodiversity site, a cultural place and a working environment. It is seen to need a resilient management plan that encompasses diverse interests and impacts. Its managers sense that the theories and practices emerging out of landscape disciplinary systems may be of help. Work-in-progress research towards a management methodology are presented through posing scenarios on how landscape thinking and design, informed by an emergent textual and visual lexicon for water landscapes, can intersect with scientific fieldwork to produce useful and transferable outcomes for Algebuckina.

Business leadership development in Iran

Throughout the twentieth century the economics of the Middle East rose and fell many times in response to the external environment, including European de-colonization and the US and former USSR competing to provide military and economic aid after World War II. Throughout these upheavals the Middle East has remained internationally significant politically and economically not least for the region's large reserves of oil and gas, as discussed in the Introduction to this volume. In recent decades, Western nations have moved to invest into the Middle East in the rapidly developing technology, tourism and education industries that have proliferated. For its part, Iran has been the world's fourth largest provider of petroleum and second largest provider of natural gas and, despite years of political unrest, has made rapid expansion into information technology and telecommunications. Increased involvement in the global economy has meant that Iran has invested heavily in education and training and moved to modernize its management practices. Hitherto there has been little academic research into management in either Western or local organizations in Iran. This chapter seeks to address that gap in knowledge by exploring business leadership in Iran, with particular reference to cultural and institutional impacts.

An exploration of the reasons why adolescents engage in traditional and cyber bullying

This study explored the reasons underlying adolescents’ perceptions of why their peers engage in bullying in the real and the cyber world. While there has been much research on why bullies engage in such behaviour, ranging from personality characteristics to social or familial reasons, the perceptions of young people on the motives of cyberbullies has not been researched. A new instrument, based on interviews and a literature review was piloted to measure young people’s perceptions of why their peers engage in both traditional and cyberbullying behaviour, according to their role in bullying. Four hundred students were surveyed in three co-educational independent secondary schools. A comparison between perceptions of bullies’ motives in traditional and cyberbullying was made. Implications for interventions with bullies are discussed.

Valorization of solid tire wastes available in Bangladesh by thermal treatment

In this study available solid tire wastes in Bangladesh were characterized through proximate and ultimate analyses, gross calorific values and thermogravimetric analysis to investigate their suitability as feedstock for thermal recycling by pyrolysis technology. A new approach in heating system, fixedbed fire-tube heating pyrolysis reactor has been designed and fabricated for the recovery of liquid hydrocarbons from solid tire wastes. The tire wastes were pyrolysed in the internally heated fixed-bed fire-tube heating reactor and maximum liquid yield of 46-55 wt% of solid tire waste was obtained at a temperature of 475 oC, feed size 4 cm3, with a residence time of 5 s under N2 atmosphere. The liquid products were characterized by physical properties, elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1H-NMR, GC MS techniques and distillation. The results show that the liquid products are comparable to petroleum fuels whereas fractional distillations and desulphurization are essential to be used as alternative for diesel engine fuels.

Traffic and climate change impacts on water quality : measuring build-up and wash-off of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons

Understanding the impacts of traffic and climate change on water quality helps decision makers to develop better policy and plans for dealing with unsustainable urban and transport development. This chapter presents detailed methodologies developed for sample collection and testing for heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons, as part of a research study to investigate the impacts of climate change and changes to urban traffic characteristics on pollutant build-up and wash-off from urban road surfaces. Cadmium, chromium, nickel, copper, lead, iron, aluminium, manganese and zinc were the target heavy metals, and selected gasoline and diesel range organics were the target total petroleum hydrocarbons for this study. The study sites were selected to encompass the urban traffic characteristics of the Gold Coast region, Australia. An improved sample collection method referred to as ‘the wet and dry vacuum system’ for the pollutant build-up, and an effective wash-off plan to incorporate predicted changes to rainfall characteristics due to climate change, were implemented. The novel approach to sample collection for pollutant build-up helped to maintain the integrity of collection efficiency. The wash-off plan helped to incorporate the predicted impacts of climate change in the Gold Coast region. The robust experimental methods developed will help in field sample collection and chemical testing of different stormwater pollutants in build-up and wash-off.