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Sponsored: Prime Rib Zen
※※CLOSED※※Prime Rib Zen: Affordable Wagyu and Japanese Craft Beer in Akihabara! [PR]
This is wagyu like you've never experienced it before! Aged for 30 days before roasting at low temperature in the oven for 7 hours, this super-tender prime rib will blow you away! If you're looking for a unique meal in central Tokyo, 'Zen' is an awesome option.
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Unbelievably Tender Aged Wagyu Prime Rib
Have you tried wagyu (Japanese beef) before? If you haven't, you've got to change that, ASAP! Even if you have, you'll want to check out the wagyu prime rib at 'Prime Rib Zen,' because it's probably different than anything you've tried before. What makes the beef here so special? Well, first off, the beef used is premium wagyu from Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo, that is aged for a full 30 days. The meat is then roasted in the oven for about 7 hours at a low temperature (65 ℃). The resulting prime rib is some of the juiciest and most delicious wagyu you'll ever taste!
The finished prime rib, before slicing.
In addition to the awesome wagyu prime rib, 'Prime Rib Zen' also features a constantly changing selection of Japanese craft beers, which are a perfect complement to the meat. The beers on tap change as they sell out, but there are always 4 different varieties to choose from. You'll definitely want to try more than just one beer with your meal!
Roast Beef Bowl, ¥850
At lunchtime, ordering a set meal is the recommended thing to do. There are quite a few options to choose from, but we recommend trying one of the meals which features the amazing prime rib.
The roast beef bowl shown above is one great option, as it features a healthy portion of juicy beef slices topped with an egg yolk, which adds an irresistible richness to the dish. Another recommendation is the beef slice set, shown below. This set comes with tender slices of prime rib, rice, a delicious homemade beef soup, and a side dish that changes daily.
Prime Rib Slice Set, ¥980 (50g) or ¥1,280 (100g)
Aged Wagyu Prime Rib. (100g) ¥1,980, (180g) ¥3,500, (300g) ¥5,700
At dinner, it's advised to order a main item and several side items so that you can try a variety of dishes. The must-try dinner menu item is unquestionably the aged wagyu prime rib, shown above. It's served like a steak, but is unlike any steak you've had before! Since the meat doesn't lose any of its moisture while cooking or become tough from exposure to high heat, the prime rib is as tender and juicy as you can possibly imagine. The prime rib is served with a variety of seasonings to eat it with, including lemon, salt, wasabi, house tare (sauce), and red onion balsamic vinegar jam. We recommend trying each bite with a different seasoning to experience all the different and delightful flavor combinations.
Wild Roast Deer, ¥1,280
Another must-try and quite-rare item on the menu is the roast deer shown above. As you can probably tell, venison has a very low fat content, has comparatively low calories, and is packed full of nutrients including protein and minerals. The deer meat is prepared in a similar way to the wagyu, but has a completely different taste and texture, making it very interesting to eat and compare.
It's rare to find wild game at Tokyo restaurants, and even more so to find deer from Mie Prefecture, where Prime Rib Zen gets its venison. Don't miss the chance to try this unique dish while you're here.
Dinner Course
If you have 4 or more people in your party, the very best way to enjoy the food at Prime Rib Zen is by having one of the fantastic course meals, such as the one shown above. You'll get to eat not only the prime rib but also a great variety of side dishes including dessert. The course shown above includes meat sushi, the roast deer mentioned above, and free-flowing alcohol and is ¥5,980 per person!
Access / Reservations
Prime Rib Zen is located just 6 minutes away from Akihabara Station, on the 6th floor of a building. The staff is very friendly, and there are menus available in English if needed. If you plan to go for dinner, it's recommended that you make a reservation (some of the courses require a reservation so that the restaurant has time to prepare).
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Tom's practice focuses on income taxation (including corporate and LLC mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, and low-income housing and historic rehabilitation tax credits), state and local taxation, and partnership and limited liability company law. Before joining the firm in 1998, Tom had been a partner with another law firm in Raleigh, an attorney-advisor at the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C., and a CPA with a Big Eight accounting firm in Virginia.
Tom has been actively involved with the N.C. Bar Association, as Chair of the Tax Section, a principal drafter of the latest revisions to North Carolina's partnership and LLC acts, a member of the LLC Act Revision Task Force, and a drafter and reviser of form documents for members of the Business Law Section (for LLCs).
Tom received a B.S. in Commerce (accounting concentration) from the University of Virginia, a J.D. from the College of William & Mary, and an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University. He also attended the University of Exeter in England and the University of Grenoble in France.


After days of enforced solitude, yesterday was surprisingly social — brunch with one group of friends, late afternoon donuts with another — and I spent the entire time pretty much leaning back and hoping that I wasn't infecting anyone (Kate to everyone, at more than one point: "He can't be infectious anymore, he's been sick for too long," as if that makes me feel better). Nonetheless, it was apparently good for me — I feel better today than I have done in almost a week, which might be a sign that I'm finally on the mend.
Of course, the fact that I started taking cold medication properly yesterday after days of just hoping that relaxing, hot tea and watching Star Trek The Next Generation might also have something to do with it. But I'm placing all the credit on the friendship.


text:
Рете́ль () — кантон во Франции, находится в регионе Шампань — Арденны, департамент Арденны. Входит в состав округа Ретель.

Код INSEE кантона — 0823. Всего в кантон Ретель входит 17 коммун, из них главной коммуной является Ретель.

Коммуны кантона

Население

Население кантона на 1999 год составляло 14 092 человека.

См. также
 Список округов Франции

Ссылки
 Население коммун департамента Арденны на сайте INSEE
 Расположение кантона Ретель на карте Франции

Кантоны департамента Арденны

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Retail Finance – Your Hidden Gold Mine!
With all the challenges that face your business on a daily basis such as cross border shopping, lower margins and higher operating costs, you need to utilize all the tools at your disposal. One of the most important programs available to you is consumer retail finance. Here are some valuable hints on how to increase your income through retail finance.
Most of your suppliers/manufacturers have gone to great lengths to design retail finance programs that will assist in closing sales and earn you more income. As many of you may know, I was part of the first national in-house retail finance loan and lease origination system - introduced through Newcourt Credit Group in 1996. We learned very quickly what worked and what didn't and many changes have been made over the last 15 years to provide you with on-line systems that make it easy for you to process customer loans.
So the systems are in place – all you have to do is use them! Here's how.
Sign Up: If you are not already signed up with your manufacturer's retail finance program, do it now! These online systems are easy to use and are an essential tool for closing sales.
Advertise: Check to see if your manufacturer or lender has POP materials and display them predominantly throughout your store. Make sure you include your Retail Finance program logo on all of your advertising and your website.
Sell Your Program: Make sure you offer every customer your retail finance program during the selling process. Most banks would prefer their customers use their line of credit for recreational purchases, so sell the fact that you can structure an instalment loan with comfortable monthly payments. This will preserve your customer's line of credit for emergencies, such as home or car repairs.
Sell Monthly Payments: Don't fall into the interest rate trap when selling your retail finance. There will always be a lender out there that has a better rate, so sell monthly payments. Your customers are concerned with what their disposable income can afford monthly, consequently find out what your customers monthly budget is and structure the loan accordingly.
It softens sticker price shock and gives you a sound platform from which to negotiate the sale.
Maximize your Income: Always start at the top and work your way down when entering the sale in your online retail finance system. Your first monthly quote should include Life & Disability Insurance if available in your program, manufacturers extended warranty and the highest incentive fee available to you from your lender. If the monthly payment is too high you can start stripping things out until your customer is happy. If you start from the bottom, that is the lowest rate with no insurance or extended warranty, you have nowhere to go in the negotiation process.
Customer Retention: When you finance your customer in-house you reduce the risk of them walking away to shop price, because monthly payments becomes the focus, not price. For those dealers who suffer from cross border shopping, remember your customers cannot get financing in the US. Lenders will not finance out of country shoppers so use this in your sales pitch and your advertising. Obviously this is not going to work with everyone, but it is another reason to make your customers think twice about crossing the border.
Sell Your Programs: Most dealers will have access to retail finance programs that are sponsored by your manufacturers. Make sure you understand the rate buy down and/or deferred payment programs that are available by product group and use them in your negotiating process. These are exclusive to your customers and are effective tools in the selling process.
Utilizing your retail finance programs effectively can add substantial dollars to your bottom line. Circumstances may dictate that you have to sacrifice some margin to make the sale, but that can be made up through your retail finance incentive fees.
Those of you who have been around for more than 15 years will remember that there was no such thing as a National in-house, online retail finance program and certainly not one that was sponsored by your manufacturers. Mining the gold from your retail finance program can mean thousands more dollars of profit, not only from the incentive fees, but in closing more sales.
So get mining! Need help? Contact me.


Reviews Summary Positive Out of 24 reviews about room cleanliness, 23 said they were spotless. 16 guests mentioned the staff in a review, 15 found them helpful and polite. 12 mentioned the cost of their booking in a review, ten thought it was a fair price. We found six reviews that said the beds were comfortable. Out of four reviews of the hotel's location, four said it's in a convenient spot. We found five reviews that said the rooms were comfortable.
Description The comfortable rooms at the Knights Inn Cadiz offer an entertainment center, a telephone and cable / satellite channels. Each offers a microwave and an alarm clock. The Knights Inn Cadiz has an on-site restaurant, perfect for guests who wish to eat in. It offers a choice of tempting options for breakfast. The Knights Inn Cadiz provides free parking for those travelling by car. The centre of Cadiz is 20 minutes away by car.
Description The Vacation Club International features a range of quality facilities and services to make your stay both comfortable and memorable. Guests can enjoy a range of leisure activities, such as water-skiing and fishing. The Vacation Club International provides comfortable rooms, equipped to suit the needs of any traveller. The Vacation Club International has an on-site restaurant, perfect for guests wishing to dine in.
Reviews Summary Positive Out of four reviews of the nearby shopping options, four said they were very good. Four guests reviewed the breakfast, four mentioned it was delicious. Out of four reviews about room comfort, four said the rooms were comfortable. We found five reviews that said the hotel is in a convenient location. Two mentioned the cost of their booking in a review, two thought it was a fair price. Two guests mentioned the bed comfort in a review, two felt the beds were comfortable.
Description The Futrell House Bed & Breakfast is well located in the centre of the town. The bed & breakfast features a library and a jacuzzi. All the rooms at the Futrell House Bed & Breakfast include a refrigerator. Whatever the purpose of your visit, the Futrell House Bed & Breakfast is an excellent choice for your stay in Cadiz. Guests looking to explore the region can visit Hopkinsville, an easy car ride away.


we are specialising in the sale and distribution of innovative banners, portable display solutions and retail signage, graphic design and wide format printing.
We cater for tradeshows, exhibitions, corporate events, private functions, fundraisers, retail and point of sale, schools, clubs and associations. You name it – we do it!
Our website gives you access to a comprehensive list of products and services to satisfy all your display and signage requirements. The pricing of our products has been kept low due to our strong buy power based on our large sales volume.
We are constantly watching the market and working with manufacturers to design and supply products that are of high quality and really stand out above the rest and as such, are constantly updating our website to provide you with the latest trends to meet your display and signage requirements. So please check our website on a regular basis!
Quality and image is very important to us – we only supply the best materials and print on the best quality media; and all our products come with full manufacturers warranty.
We are committed to ensuring that our customers are 100% satisfied with their purchase and that is how we maintain our large client-base. Our experienced staff will work with you to find you the best solution to meet your requirements, whether it be a simple display banner to a complete exhibition and retail fit-out.


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Kloppers 'really screwed up', but still gets $85m for BHP stint
Departing BHP boss Marius Kloppers is leaving the mining company in far worse shape than he found it -- and being paid handsomely for it. Even Rich Lister Ivan Glasenberg took a swipe today.
Adam Schwab,
The unthinkable has happened: a CEO has taken aim at one of their own. BRW Rich Lister Ivan Glasenberg has launched an assault on outgoing BHP and Rio chief executives Marius Kloppers and Tom Albanese, and he didn't miss.
Glasenberg, who has amassed a personal fortune of more than $7 billion since taking the reins of Swiss-based Glencore, attacked the spendthrift ways of his rivals, telling investors that Rio and BHP "really screwed up" and that Glencore has "always been wanting to keep building and keep putting the cash which we generate into new assets. That's what we've got to stop doing as a mining industry. We've got to learn about demand and supply".
Glasenberg didn't stop there, noting he hoped "we are in a new paradigm in the mining industry … that the mining engineers who previously ran these major companies are not just gung ho to build new mines because of what's happened in the past".
Let's hope Glasenberg doesn't lose his job and want to work for an Australia media company, with the Australian business press being almost universal in their praise for the outgoing Kloppers (and taking a relatively soft line on Albanese).
While Kloppers remains lauded for his supposedly long-sighted and brave move to end long-term iron ore contracts, in favour of a spot price system, this qualifies probably as a "non-disaster". All that BHP did was effectively remove a hedge which smoothed prices. What most commentators (and apparently Kloppers himself) forgot was that removing a hedge might be beneficial when prices are going up, but when prices are falling, it has the reverse effect. For the half year ending December 31, iron ore profits at BHP fell by 39%, or US$3 billion, as spot iron ore prices slumped.
But that was far from Kloppers' biggest failing. And to suggest the South African left BHP in better shape than he got it serves to reinforce that most commentators have no understanding of what CEOs like Kloppers and Glasenberg actually do. That is, allocate shareholders' capital.
When Kloppers arrived at BHP, it was a business with an existing phenomenal set of assets (other than the dud assets that were inherited through the disastrous Billiton merger, which was where Kloppers worked since 1993). Had Kloppers done nothing at all during his time as CEO, BHP shareholders would have been in better shape than now. Most of BHP's earnings come from iron ore and petroleum, neither of which were boosted by anything Kloppers, and his team of very well-paid executives, did.
Instead, BHP's C-suite undertook a range of capital destroying initiatives. First, there was the disastrous and ill-timed failed takeover of Rio Tinto. That cost BHP around $450 million in debt costs (not to mention management costs), but would have been far more had the merger actually proceeded. Kloppers then tried to take over Potash Corp but completely failed to read the Canadian political environment, and the acquisition, which would have been a good one, was rejected.
After that came the horrendous decision to purchase Chesapeake's Fayetteville shale oil assets in the United States for almost US$5 billion. While share gas is expected to be a key source of energy, and a large reason for the US to move from energy importer to exporter, Kloppers and his lieutenant, Mike Yeager timed the acquisition terribly. Within a year, BHP would humiliatingly write off US$2.8 billion from the value of the assets purchased. It takes a very high level of incompetence to destroy so much value in such a short time.
But Kloppers and BHP board proved that they were no one-trick pony. Not long after, BHP decided to proceed with a share buy-back at $40 a share, the problem was, within a year, BHP shares had dropped by almost 25%, costing the company around $2 billion.
Of course, the South African former McKinsey consultant wasn't a totally "hands off executive" — while he didn't involve himself in coal mining or oil drilling, he was more than happy to micromanage BHP employees. In 2011, Kloppers demanded that no BHP employee would be permitted to eat lunch at their desk, while post-it notes were required to be removed from keyboards. Apparently, in Marius' eyes, spilling a tomato on a desk is a bigger danger to shareholders funds than blowing $2.8 billion on the purchase of overpriced shale gas assets.
While perhaps not reaching the heights of destruction that Albanese reached at Rio Tinto, Kloppers should be remembered as one of the worst performing executives in BHP's history, which was littered with respected business leaders like Ian McLennan and Essington Lewis. For his trouble, Kloppers will leave BHP's Lonsdale Street headquarters one of Australia's best ever paid executives.
Kloppers was paid cash salary and cash pensions of $24.8 million. But it certainly didn't stop there. Kloppers also effectively owns 958,000 performance rights (he owns more, but they won't all vest), which according to BHP's own calculations, are worth around $14.5 million. Kloppers also has been handed approximately one million BHP shares and 64,000 deferred shares worth around $40 million. Plus, Kloppers will probably be paid around $6 million in 2013.
That's a total of about $85 million for five years work and a cavalcade of poor decisions. Glasenberg wasn't joking when he observed Glencore would hope to "get better returns on our investments, we will be able to kick out more cash to our shareholders".
Adam Schwab
Columnist @lux_schwab
Adam Schwab is a former corporate lawyer, angel investor and the co-founder of Luxury Escapes, a Melbourne-based travel company. He has written for Crikey and SmartCompany since 2005, hosts the From Zero podcast, and is the author of Pigs at the Trough: Lessons from Australia's Decade of Corporate Greed. He is a board member of Private Media, the publisher of Crikey.
Ivan Glasenberg
marius kloppers
Have BHP shareholders got their money's worth?
The seven sins of BHP boss Marius Kloppers
Glencore should think twice before making a play for Rio Tinto
Paddy Manning,
I think you mean $2.8billion written off on the shale gas investment.
drmick
This trash was pontificating against the Government & its restrictive practices while pi55ing investors money against a shale wall and stuffing his bags with the money that wasn't splashed.
He joins the other financial genii sacked, disgraced and discredited, who not only designed and maintained the GFC, aided and abetted the bailout of everyone except we investors, shat on the government & the prime minister then left for a tax haven.
This is the future under the party that they sponsor.
john willoughby
lamp posts and rope… its coming..

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
28. kongres ODS se konal 13. a 14. ledna 2018 v Ostravě.

Dobové souvislosti a témata kongresu
Kongres se konal necelé tři měsíce od voleb, v nichž nakonec ODS skončila druhá se ziskem 11,32 % hlasů a 25 mandátů. Ačkoliv výsledkově zaostala o téměř 20 % za vítězem, tak vzhledem k předvolebním prognózám a minulosti, kterou si strana prošla, byl výsledek považován za úspěch. Na kongresu tak stávající vedení obhájilo své funkce. Kongres zároveň probíhal ve stínu dvou významných události na politické scéně. Jednou byla žádost menšinové první vlády Andreje Babiše o důvěru, o níž bylo zřejmé, že ji však nezíská. ODS spolu s ostatními stranami nakonec hlasovala proti udělení důvěry, přičemž na kongresu se usnesla, že nepodpoří ani případnou druhou menšinovou vládu stejného premiéra. Druhou bylo první kolo prezidentských voleb. Strana oficiálně žádného kandidáta pro první kolo nepodpořila, nicméně někteří členové vyjádřili podporu svému bývalému předsedovi Mirku Topolánkovi. Pro druhé kolo vyslovila podporu Jiřímu Drahošovi.

Personální složení vedení ODS po kongresu
 předseda: Petr Fiala
 1. místopředsedkyně: Alexandra Udženija
 místopředsedové: Martin Kupka, Evžen Tošenovský, Miloš Vystrčil, Martin Baxa
 výkonná rada: Martin Baxa, Stanislav Blaha, Martin Červíček, Filip Dvořák, Petr Fiala, Pavel Karpíšek, Michal Kortyš, Martin Kuba, Martin Kupka, Jan Mraček, Dan Ramzer, Jan Skopeček, Zbyněk Stanjura, Libor Šťástka, Evžen Tošenovský, Alexandra Udženija, Marek Veselý, Alexandr Vondra, Miloš Vystrčil, Jaroslav Vymazal, Jan Zahradil, Michal Zácha

Kongresy ODS
Události roku 2018
Politika v roce 2018
Česko v roce 2018
Události v Ostravě
Politika v Ostravě


text:
Search SpringerLink
Multi-spectral imaging of vegetation for detecting CO2 leaking from underground
Joshua H. Rouse1 nAff2,
Joseph A. Shaw1,
Rick L. Lawrence3,
Jennifer L. Lewicki4,
Laura M. Dobeck5,
Kevin S. Repasky1 &
Lee H. Spangler5
Environmental Earth Sciences volume 60, pages 313–323 (2010)Cite this article
Practical geologic CO2 sequestration will require long-term monitoring for detection of possible leakage back into the atmosphere. One potential monitoring method is multi-spectral imaging of vegetation reflectance to detect leakage through CO2-induced plant stress. A multi-spectral imaging system was used to simultaneously record green, red, and near-infrared (NIR) images with a real-time reflectance calibration from a 3-m tall platform, viewing vegetation near shallow subsurface CO2 releases during summers 2007 and 2008 at the Zero Emissions Research and Technology field site in Bozeman, Montana. Regression analysis of the band reflectances and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index with time shows significant correlation with distance from the CO2 well, indicating the viability of this method to monitor for CO2 leakage. The 2007 data show rapid plant vigor degradation at high CO2 levels next to the well and slight nourishment at lower, but above-background CO2 concentrations. Results from the second year also show that the stress response of vegetation is strongly linked to the CO2 sink–source relationship and vegetation density. The data also show short-term effects of rain and hail. The real-time calibrated imaging system successfully obtained data in an autonomous mode during all sky and daytime illumination conditions.
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The increased consideration of geological sequestration for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is accompanied by a need for methods to detect CO2 if it leaks from the ground into the atmosphere. Leakage of CO2 from the ground into the atmosphere (referred to as 'seepage' by Oldenburg and Unger 2003) not only represents compromised security of the sequestration facility, but also can result in health, safety, and environmental risks, including asphyxiation of humans or animals (Oldenburg et al. 2003). Whereas relatively low leak rates do not create immediate health or safety risks, they still require detection because of the significant amounts of gas that could potentially escape over a long time period (Oldenburg et al. 2003).
Within a broad class of optical remote sensing techniques, measurements can be made to directly detect the CO2 gas through optical absorption (Sakaizawa et al. 2009; Humphries et al. 2008; Repasky et al. 2006; Koch et al. 2004; Cremers et al. 2001). Alternatively, it might be possible to detect the gas indirectly through changes in the reflectance spectrum of vegetation. An extreme natural example of this occurred at Mammoth Mountain, California, where large amounts of escaping CO2 killed wide swaths of forest vegetation (Lewicki et al. 2007a; Farrar et al. 1995, 1999). Extensive studies of the tree kill at Mammoth Mountain have demonstrated the utility of satellite, airborne, and ground-based multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing for detecting high rates of CO2 leakage indirectly through vegetation reflectance measurements (Martini and Silver 2002; Martini et al. 2000; Farrar et al. 1999).
The use of passive hyperspectral vegetation sensing for early detection and spatial mapping of CO2 leaks from underground storage facilities was formally proposed by Pickles and Cover (2004). More recently, a hyperspectral scanning imager was used with decision-tree data analysis to detect CO2 leakage (Keith et al. 2009) in a 2007 subsurface CO2 release (Lewicki et al. 2007b, 2009) at the Zero Emissions Research and Technology (ZERT) field site at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana (Spangler et al., this issue; Lewicki et al. 2007b). A portable hyperspectral sensor was also used to detect changes in vegetation reflectance spectra correlated with CO2 leakage from the ZERT subsurface releases in 2007 and 2008 (Male et al. 2010).
Leakage detection with passive spectral imaging is based on detection of plant stress caused by elevated soil CO2 concentration. Whereas slightly elevated CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere can increase plant health and growth (Rogers et al. 1994; Kimball et al. 1993; Bazzaz and Fajer 1992), high concentrations of CO2 in the root zone can kill plants through asphyxiation (Qi et al. 1994) and soil acidification (McGee and Gerlach 1998). The CO2 concentration for air inside soil under typical conditions is only several percent (concentration at 0.5 m depth), and when this concentration becomes greater than about 10–20%, root development in plants is suppressed (Farrar et al. 1999). This produces decreased uptake of water and other nutrients, leading to stress or ultimately death of the plants. The root-zone concentration of CO2 required to kill vegetation varies with exposure time, soil moisture, soil nutrient content, and plant species. Vegetation at Mammoth Mountain was observed to exhibit stress when the soil CO2 concentration rose to 20% or greater (Farrar et al. 1999).
This paper presents results of a study using multispectral imaging to detect changes in the spectral reflectance of vegetation that are correlated with proximity to the subsurface CO2 release region. The method described here provides detection with a system that is potentially simpler and lower cost than hyperspectral imaging, and that provides continuous daytime operation in clear and cloudy weather through the use of real-time calibration using a reflectance panel deployed in the field with the imager. The use of a platform-mounted imager has demonstrated the potential of a remotely deployed instrument that avoids the need of airborne or satellite imagery and provides much higher-spatial resolution, although at the expense of reduced overall spatial coverage.
The balance of this paper is organized as follows. The methodology is described, including a description of the imaging system, its calibration, its continuous outdoor deployment at the ZERT field site in Bozeman, Montana during shallow subsurface CO2 releases in the summers of 2007 and 2008, and the data processing. Next the results of a statistical study are shown, focusing on a regression analysis of the green, red, and near-infrared (NIR) reflectances and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over time. Finally, the significance and implications of the results are discussed and the paper is concluded with suggestions for future work.
Experimental layout
During the summers of 2007 and 2008, shallow subsurface CO2 release experiments were conducted at the ZERT site located just west of Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, at 45.66°N, 111.08°W (Spangler et al., this issue). Two vegetation test strips, one mown and one unmown, were oriented perpendicular to a 100-m long, perforated pipe buried approximately 1.3–2.5 m below land surface to simulate homogeneous leakage from a horizontal well (Spangler 2009; Lewicki et al. 2007b), as indicated in Fig. 1. The CO2 release rates were 0.1 tons/day in the 2007 experiment (9 July–23 July) and 0.3 tons/day in the 2008 experiment (7 July–7 August). Both releases produced five to six "hot spots" of elevated soil CO2 flux aligned along the surface trace of the horizontal well (e.g., Figure 1 in Lewicki et al. 2007b; this issue). We assumed that the measured CO2 flux had positive correlation with CO2 concentration.
CO2 flux map interpolated based on measurements made at the black dots for the 2008 release experiment at the ZERT facility in Bozeman, Montana (Lewicki et al., this issue). The inset box indicates the approximate area observed by the multispectral imager within the vegetation test area, divided into three test regions (near, middle, and far relative to the well location). The white line indicates the surface trace of the buried CO2 release pipe
Multispectral images of the vegetation test strips were obtained both before and after the releases in both years. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the imager was placed on a 3-m high platform, pointed downward at a 45° angle below the horizon to view both vegetation strips from 10 m northwest of the pipe to 0.5 m northwest of the pipe in 2007, and from 10 m northwest of the pipe to 1 m southeast of the pipe in 2008. Multi-spectral imager data were analyzed in three regions, with region 1 nearest the horizontal well, region 2 in the middle, and region 3 located farthest from the well (these regions are indicated by the numbered white boxes in Fig. 1 and also marked on the photograph in Fig. 3).
Layout of the mown and unmown vegetation test segments and the multispectral imager during the 2007 (left) and 2008 (right) CO2 release experiments. The 55° full-angle imager field of view (FOV) is indicated by the red lines
Layout of the three test regions within the mown and unmown segments of the vegetation test strip. The horizontal red line indicates the sub-surface pipe from which gas was released and the "hot spot" label indicates a location of particularly high CO2 flux, as indicated also in Fig. 1 (J. Shaw photo)
A portion of the vegetation test strip was mowed several weeks before the release started and therefore remained free of tall grass that senesced more rapidly than the underlying grasses and plants. Conversely, by the end of the experiment, the underlying vegetation in the unmown segment could only be seen by imaging through a veil of tall, mostly dead grass. This distinct difference can be seen in Fig. 3 and also in the photographs shown in Fig. 4, which were taken near the beginning and end of the 2008 release experiment. The colored circles on the right-hand side of Fig. 4 indicate the approximate locations of three individual plants we report on later.
Photographs of the vegetation test area taken from atop the multispectral imager platform on a 3 July 2008 and b 9 August 2008 to visually illustrate the changes in the condition of the vegetation in the mown (center) and unmown (right) segments of the test area (J. Shaw photos). The colored circles in b indicate the approximate locations of three individual plants discussed later
For data analysis, the mown and unmown segments were both divided into three regions at progressively greater distance from the pipe, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Region 1 was near the pipe in 2007 (0.5 m from the pipe at closest approach) and directly over the pipe in 2008. Regions 2 and 3 were each 4.5 m long. Regions 1 and 2 were used as test areas and region 3 was the control, since its location farthest from the pipe was expected to provide a background reading unaffected by the leaking CO2.
Multispectral imaging system and calibration
The experiments used a three-chip multispectral imager (model MS3100 from Geospatial Systems, Inc.) with customized wide-angle optics. Images were calibrated to obtain spectral band-averaged reflectances by periodically viewing a photographic grey card in 2007 and by continuously viewing a Spectralon reflectance panel in 2008. The camera splits incoming light via prisms and dichroic surfaces into green (500–580 nm), red (630–710 nm), and NIR (735–865 nm) bands that approximately match the corresponding Landsat satellite bands. Each of the three detector arrays is 7.6 mm × 6.2 mm with a pixel size of 4.65 μm × 4.65 μm, which results in 1,392 × 1,040 pixels in each image. Owing to the small detector array size, a fisheye lens adapter was added to a 20-mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens to increase the full-angle horizontal field of view from 24° to 55°. The imaging system was operated in 8-bit mode, giving 256 digital numbers (DN) for each pixel. In 2008, a computer program was employed to adjust the camera's integration time to achieve real-time exposure control based on the brightness of the pixels that were continually viewing a Spectralon reflectance calibration panel in one portion of the image.
Rigorous characterization and calibration of the entire imaging system were performed prior to deployment in the field (Rouse 2008). Parameters that were characterized included DN versus integration time, DN versus gain, DN versus f/number, DN versus radiance, DN versus camera temperature, DN versus polarization angle, pixel bleeding during readout, pixel recovery when viewing a dim scene after a bright one, and spatial non-uniformity of the camera response. For the characterizations, the imager was operated looking into an integrating sphere to ensure spatially uniform radiance across the camera's field of view. Under test conditions that simulated the expected field conditions the imager stayed within a highly linear operating range; the only characteristic that required correction was the spatial non-uniformity, partly a result of the ultra-wide-angle optics used to increase the field of view. When the imager viewed a uniformly illuminated reflectance panel, there was a nearly 50% fall off of brightness from the center to the edge of the image. To correct this, a unique linear signal-dependent calibration function was applied to each pixel of each detector array. Gain and offset terms were found for each of these calibration functions from a linear fit to five images: one dark image, images of 50 and 99% reflectance panels illuminated by direct sunlight, and images of the same two panels illuminated by diffuse shaded skylight.
Each non-uniformity-adjusted vegetation image was calibrated radiometrically with a reflectance-panel image according to Eq. 1. In this equation, subscript λ indicates the wavelength (color band), DN is the digital number for the pixel viewing the indicated object, and ρ is the reflectance (known for the calibration target, and calculated for the scene). For the 2007 experiment, a nominally 18% reflective photographic grey card was imaged every time the imager's integration time was changed because of changes in the ambient light. In the 2008 experiment, the images were calibrated by imaging a 99% reflective Spectralon panel that was part of every image. This made it possible to calibrate each image during the experiment with higher accuracy and, coupled with the previously mentioned auto-exposure algorithm, enabled operation even in highly variable weather conditions
$$ \rho _{\lambda } = \left( {{\frac{{{\text{DN}}_{{\lambda ,\,{\text{scene}}}} - {\text{DN}}_{{\lambda ,\,{\text{dark}}}} }}{{{\text{DN}}_{{\lambda ,{\text{calibration}}\,{\text{target}}}} - {\text{DN}}_{{\lambda ,\,{\text{dark}}}} }}}} \right)\rho _{{\lambda ,\,{\text{calibration}}\,{\text{target}}}}. $$
Spectral image analysis
Calibrated reflectance data from the green, red, and NIR bands were averaged over the three regions in the mown and unmown vegetation test strips and analyzed with a linear regression technique, along with the NDVI, calculated from the red and NIR bands according to Eq. 2 (Rouse et al. 1974).
$$ {\text{NDVI}} = {\frac{{\rho_{\text{NIR}} - \rho_{\text{red}} }}{{\rho_{\text{NIR}} + \rho_{\text{red}} }}}. $$
The NDVI exploits the sharp relative increase of reflectance that occurs near a wavelength of 700 nm because of strong chlorophyll absorption at visible wavelengths and high reflectance at the NIR wavelengths related to leaf structure. As vegetation becomes stressed, its NIR reflectance falls, its red reflectance rises, and the red edge near 700 nm shifts to shorter wavelengths and becomes less steep (Horlerd et al. 1983; Carter 1993; Jensen 2000; Carter and Knapp 2001). Reflectance measurements of healthy and stressed plants showed that the sensitivity of reflectance to plant stress is maximized in the 685–700 nm spectral bands (Carter 1993; Carter and Knapp 2001). These studies also showed that specific stress agents do not have spectral 'signatures,' so one should be able to detect changes in chlorophyll content, leaf anatomy, or water content by analyzing both the red and NIR portions of the spectrum, or by analyzing an index that combines these bands (Jordan 1969; Carter and Knapp 2001).
The NDVI is one particular vegetation index that combines the red and NIR band reflectances in a manner that captures the key information related to vegetation stress (Rouse et al. 1974). Experiments comparing eddy covariance measurements of ecosystem CO2 fluxes with the NDVI measured with multispectral imaging has shown high correlation (correlation coefficient = −0.981), and that the NDVI captured the effects of changing environmental conditions such as drought, recovery, and fire on the carbon flux (Fuentes et al. 2006).
This study relies on a linear regression technique applied to time series of the imager's band reflectances and NDVI data. In addition to analyzing single spectral band reflectances and NDVI, spectral band and NDVI combinations were statistically analyzed to find the best possible combination to model vegetation stress. Time was set as the response variable, spectral bands and/or NDVI were set as predictor variables, and region number was set as the categorical variable. The full linear regression model for a general fit can be seen in Eq. 3.
$$ y = \beta_{0} + \beta_{\text{G}} x_{\text{G}} + \beta_{\text{R}} x_{\text{R}} + \beta_{\text{NIR}} x_{\text{NIR}} + \beta_{\text{NDVI}} x_{\text{NDVI}} + \beta_{\tau } \tau + \beta_{{{\text{G}},\tau }} (x_{\text{G}} \times \tau ) \, + \beta_{{{\text{R}},\tau }} (x_{\text{R}} \times \tau ) + \beta_{{{\text{NIR}},\tau }} (x_{\text{NIR}} \times \tau ) + \beta_{{{\text{NDVI}},\tau }} (x_{\text{NDVI}} \times \tau ). $$
In Eq. 3, y is the decimal date (response variable), β 0 is the y-intercept (linear regression coefficient), β G is the slope for the green band, x G is the green reflectance (predictor variable), β R is the slope for the red band, x R is the red reflectance, β NIR is the slope for the NIR band, x NIR is the NIR reflectance, β NDVI is the slope for the NDVI, x NDVI is the computed NDVI value, β τ is the slope for the region, τ is the region number (categorical variable), and β G,τ, β R,τ, β NIR,τ, and β NDVI,τ are the slope terms for the interaction terms. All the β values were calculated in linear regression analysis software.
To find the best band combination, coefficients of determination (R 2) and p values were analyzed to determine how well the regressions fit the data, if the regression was significant, and if the spectral difference in vegetation regions was statistically separable. The possible differences in the spectral combinations were explored via both the intercepts and slopes from the linear regressions; a difference in slope indicates a different vegetation response to stress and a difference in intercept most likely means that the vegetation started at different health values. The variables were selected using a stepwise regression selection procedure based on an extra-sum-of-squares F test.
The regression analysis showed that the NDVI was the most consistent choice for explaining the variability in vegetation health and was strongest for statistically separating regions. A single best regression equation was used in this study (the form of which is shown in Eq. 4) for analysis of each year's data and individual plants to standardize the analysis.
$$ {\text{Date}} = \beta_{0} + \left( {\beta_{\text{NDVI}} \times {\text{NDVI}}} \right) + \tau_{{{\text{i}},1 - 2}} + \left( {\tau_{{{\text{s}},1 - 2}} \times {\text{NDVI}}} \right) + \tau_{{{\text{i}},1 - 3}} + \left( {\tau_{{{\text{s}},1 - 3}} \times {\text{NDVI}}} \right) + \tau_{{{\text{i}},2 - 3}} + \left( {\tau_{{{\text{s}},2 - 3}} \times {\text{NDVI}}} \right). $$
Here, date is the response variable, β 0 is the offset, β NDVI is the slope, NDVI is the predictor variable, the three τ i variables account for differing intercepts (and therefore different starting conditions among regions), while the three τ s variables account for the different slopes (and therefore rates of response) among the regions.
The NDVI was most consistent in that it had the highest R 2 values for both the 2007 and 2008 unmown segments, but had slightly lower values (by less than 0.065) than combinations of red-NIR and green-NIR-NDVI for the mown segments and the individual plants, respectively. More importantly, the NDVI alone was best able to statistically separate vegetation regions in every case. The NDVI allows more effective modeling of interactions between spectral responses and regions, although spectral band combinations are best for explaining variability in the reflectance spectrum itself (Maynard et al. 2006; Lawrence and Ripple 1998).
After exploring various combinations of band reflectances and NDVI, linear regressions only involving NDVI were used, even though according to Robinson et al. (2004) a regression involving a spectral band interaction term (such as NDVI, which involves both NIR and red reflectances) without the individual bands is not statistically ideal. This was done because when the band reflectances were included, the ability of the regression to statistically separate regions and the significance of each of the bands and NDVI toward the regression were diminished. It was also found from the 2007 and 2008 field experiments that the use of a robust calibration technique increases the accuracy of a plant stress detection system, enough that the effects of a small increase in CO2 concentration, rain, and hail are all detectable, even in cloudy conditions.
In the rest of this section, results are shown in the form of tables and graphs of regression parameters and lines plotted with the measured data. This is done separately for the mown and unmown segments of the vegetation test area for both the 2007 and 2008 experiments. Although the regressions were calculated as time-versus-NDVI (or reflectance), we plot the results with time on the abscissa to simplify physical understanding of the temporal evolution. These results are interpreted and discussed further in the next section of the paper.
2007 experiment results
The 2007 experiment resulted in a limited amount of useful data because of calibration difficulties caused by an unexpectedly non-Lambertian grey card reflectance (some grey cards were found to be quite Lambertian, while others were found to be highly specular). Even still, images selected with the grey card held at the proper angle gave a sufficiently diffuse, approximately 18% reflection that provided a usable calibration for the imager. NDVI data obtained from image regions that should be separable did turn out to be statistically separable (p value less than 0.05) with high coefficients of determination (R 2), from 0.4472 to 0.7256.
2007 results for the mown segment
Results from the application of the previously described statistical analysis to 2007 mown-segment data are shown in tables and graphs in this subsection. Table 1 lists the R 2 and p values that indicate moderately high correlation of the NDVI and time (used as the response variable). Table 2 lists the p values that distinguish between regions at different distance from the buried pipe. The data and resulting regression lines for mown-segment 2007 data are shown graphically in Fig. 5. This graph shows the trend of weaker plant stress in region 2 relative to region 1 (nearest the pipe), measured by the change in NDVI over time during the CO2 release, although these differences were marginally significant and not significant at α = 0.05. The blue regression line for region 3 appears skewed because of the lack of variability of NDVI over time in this control region located farthest from the pipe and both regions 1 and 2 were statistically significantly different than region 3 (α = 0.05).
Table 1 2007 mown segment date-versus-NDVI regression R 2 and p values
Table 2 2007 mown segment date-versus-NDVI regression p values that distinguish between vegetation regions
Plot of 2007 mown-segment date-versus-NDVI regression lines and measured data for regions 1 (green), 2 (red), and 3 (blue)
2007 results for the unmown segment
Results of the statistical analysis applied to 2007 data in the unmown segment are shown in tables and graphs in this subsection. Table 3 lists the R 2 and p values that indicate high correlation of the NDVI and time (the response variable). Table 4 lists the p values that distinguish between regions at different distance from the buried pipe. The data and resulting regression lines for 2007 data in the unmown segment are shown graphically in Fig. 6. This graph again shows the trend of weaker plant stress in region 2 relative to region 1 (nearest the pipe), measured by the change in NDVI over time during the CO2 release. Differences between regions 1 and 2 again were marginally significant, while differences between regions 1 and 3 were significant, although regions 2 and 3 were not significantly different.
Table 3 2007 unmown segment date-versus-NDVI regression R 2 and p values
Table 4 2007 unmown segment date-versus-NDVI regression p values that distinguish between vegetation regions
Plot of 2007 unmown segment date-versus-NDVI regression lines and measured data for regions 1 (green), 2 (red), and 3 (blue)
In the 2008 experiment, better calibration techniques led to good data being collected every day the system was operated correctly. NDVI data obtained from image regions that should be separable did, in fact, turn out to be statistically separable (p value less than 0.05) with high coefficients of determination (R 2). For the 2008 data, the date-versus-NDVI regression plots include horizontal green and red lines to indicate the beginning and end of the gas release, respectively. Similarly, rain events are indicated with dashed black horizontal lines and hail events are shown as solid black horizontal lines.
Results of the statistical analysis applied to 2008 data in the mown segment are shown in tables and graphs in this subsection. Table 5 lists the R 2 and p values that indicate high correlation of the NDVI and time (the response variable). Table 6 lists the p values that distinguish between regions at different distance from the buried pipe. The data and resulting regression lines for 2008 data in the mown segment are shown graphically in Fig. 7. This graph shows a trend of increasing plant vigor throughout the release experiment. However, the rate of increase is lower in regions 1 relative to region 2, while regions 1 and 3 are not statistically different in this case, compatible with the hypothesis that higher CO2 flux in region 1 (near the release pipe; Fig. 1) was inhibiting plant vigor relative to the gains made in region 2. Plant vigor is also correlated with frequent and heavy rain events (Fig. 7).
2008 Mown segment date-versus-NDVI regression lines and measured data for regions 1 (green), 2 (red), and 3 (blue). The start and end of the CO2 release are marked by the vertical green and red line lines. Rain events are marked by vertical black dashed lines and hail events are marked by vertical black solid lines
Results of the statistical analysis applied to 2008 data in the unmown segment are shown in tables and graphs in this subsection. Table 7 lists the R 2 and p values that indicate very high correlation of the NDVI and time (the response variable). Table 8 lists the p values that distinguish between regions at different distance from the buried pipe. The data and resulting regression lines for 2008 data in the unmown segment are shown graphically in Fig. 8. In contrast to the increasing plant vigor observed over time in the mown segment, this figure indicates a steady decrease of vigor (increase of plant stress) over the course of the 2008 release experiment. This difference can be understood by observing the veil of tall, senesced prairie grass that partially obscures the imager's view to the relatively healthy underlying vegetation, as is seen in the photographs of Fig. 3. Despite this veil of senesced tall grass, the NDVI still indicates a higher rate of increased plant stress in region 1 (near the pipe) relative to regions 2 and 3 (but essentially indistinguishable rates between regions 1 and 2).
2008 Unmown segment date-versus-NDVI regression lines and measured data for regions 1 (green), 2 (red), and 3 (blue). Vertical lines indicate start (green), stop (red), rain (black dashed), and hail (black solid), as in Fig. 7
2008 results for individual plants within unmown segment
The same statistical analysis also was applied to 2008 data at the locations of three individual plants that had been observed closely with a hand-held hyperspectral sensor (Male et al. 2010). This was done to assess the ability of the platform-mounted multispectral imager to monitor detail at the single-plant level. The results for these three individual plants are shown in this subsection. Table 9 lists the R 2 and p values that indicate high correlation of the NDVI and time (the response variable) for these individual plants. Table 10 lists the p values that distinguish between individual plants and the unmown region 3. The data and resulting regression lines for the individual plants are shown graphically in Fig. 9. The stress for all three plants increased at similar rates during the period of the release, but stopped increasing almost immediately after the CO2 stopped flowing.
Table 9 Individual plants' date-versus-NDVI regression R 2 and p values
Table 10 Individual plants' date-versus-NDVI regression p values that distinguish between individual plants and the unmown region 3
2008 Individual plant date-versus-NDVI regression lines and measured data for the unmown segment. Plant locations are adjacent to hot spot, as indicated approximately with colored circles in Fig. 4b. Vertical lines are the same as in Figs. 7 and 8
The data obtained during the 2007 and 2008 release experiments indicate the ability of a multispectral imaging system to detect plant stress or nourishment that is correlated with increased CO2 concentrations resulting from a simulated leak. Results from both 2007 and 2008 are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated CO2 flux in region 1 (near the pipe) leads to increased plant stress that manifests itself as a higher rate of decay or lower rate of increase in the NDVI. With increased CO2 levels, and depending on sink–source balance, there is a noticeable increased stress or decrease in plant vigor. The connection between NDVI and CO2 levels is supported further by the logarithmic map of CO2 flux measured at the ZERT field site during the 2008 release experiment (Lewicki et al., this issue), which is shown in Fig. 1. The east side of the vegetation test area is on the edge of a hot spot where the vegetation was entirely dead within several weeks of the beginning of the release. Overall, the CO2 flux is above-background levels in the eastern areas of regions 1 and 2 (within about 5 m of the release pipe) and at background levels in region 3.
Owing to a veil of tall, senesced prairie grass obscuring a clear view of the underlying vegetation (see Fig. 3), the stress signatures were suppressed in the data for the unmown segment. Nevertheless, there was statistically significant separation of the regression lines for regions 1 and 2 relative to region 3 (Fig. 8). Ongoing studies are exploring this further through higher-spatial resolution processing of multispectral imager data.
For the 2008 experiment, soil moisture and precipitation data were also available to help determine how the change in plant health was driven by rain and hail events. Although the regression results show that the overall NDVI trends are highly correlated with increased CO2 fluxes, short-term effects of rain and hail can also be seen as short-term correlated fluctuations in rain, soil moisture, and measured NDVI. As indicated in the plot of soil moisture data versus time shown in Fig. 10, there was generally a drying trend, punctuated by large short-term increases in soil moisture after rain and hail events that actually resulted in the net change being slightly positive (i.e., the soil moisture at the end of the release was slightly higher than at the beginning of the release). The net increase of soil moisture throughout the release suggests that the stress seen in the NDVI plots is not caused primarily by a lack of soil moisture, although there are other factors that also need to be explored in future studies. In agreement with arguments about sink–source importance (Arp 1991), the dense vegetation in the unmown segment had to compete more than the vegetation in the mown segment, shown by smaller relative changes in soil moisture, thereby allowing the mown segment to become healthier.
Time-series plot of volumetric soil moisture near the vegetation test area during the 2008 release experiment. The general drying trend was offset by significant periodic rainfall, which led to the soil moisture being comparable at the beginning (7 July 2008 = day 189) and end (7 Aug 2008 = day 220) of the release
It is useful to note that the improved calibration and operation methods in the 2008 experiment made it possible to see effects of rain and hail in the multispectral data. The NDVI plots show rain events as dashed black lines and hail events as solid black lines. These plots, along with the precipitation and soil moisture data (shown in Fig. 10), show that directly after a hail storm the vegetation NDVI decreases, but as the water saturates the ground and the moisture is taken in by the vegetation, within a day or two the detectable plant vigor increases. This increase in vigor can also be seen immediately after significant rainfalls without hail (dashed horizontal lines).
A platform-mounted multispectral imager detected statistically significant changes in the reflectance spectra of vegetation that is strongly correlated with leaking CO2. This was shown by linking increased CO2 concentration with plant stress or nourishment, ruling out the effects of water, considering sink–source balance, and using NDVI to show that regions of stressed vegetation and regions of non-stressed vegetation are statistically separable.
The multispectral imager was run in a mostly autonomous mode, in both clear and cloudy conditions, whereas some other sensors require sustained periods of clear skies to operate reliably. This was made possible by placing the imager in a weatherproof box and by placing a high-quality reflectance calibration target in the field of view of the imager so that it is imaged along with the vegetation in every image. The robust calibration and continuous operating mode also allowed finer-scale, short-term effects caused by rain and hail to be observed in the data.
It was found that this system was best able to detect stress effects from the CO2 leak when the vegetation region in question was left unmown. This is because of the competing sink–source relationship between densely and less densely packed vegetation. When the vegetation is left in its natural state, there will be a higher density of vegetation, and drying during warm summer months will create more competition for water, thereby throwing off the sink–source relationship and enhancing the effects from CO2. The CO2 effects can still be observed in the mown segment, but the correlation was stronger for the unmown segment data.
This study suggests that future work is warranted to produce an even lower-cost system that can operate autonomously for robust multispectral vegetation stress detection. Such a system with sufficiently low cost could be reproduced to, for example, sample multiple portions of a large area overlying a sequestration facility. Work is ongoing at Montana State University to develop and test exactly such a system, using a low-cost camera with a filter wheel, custom-wide angle optics, and integrated microcontroller for data acquisition.
NDVI:
ZERT:
Zero Emissions Research and Technology
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This paper was prepared with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, under Award No. DE-FC26-04NT42262. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DOE. The authors express gratitude to the many colleagues who made working at the ZERT site productive and enjoyable.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
Joshua H. Rouse
Present address: ITT Space Systems Division, Rochester, NY, 14606, USA
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
Joshua H. Rouse, Joseph A. Shaw & Kevin S. Repasky
Land Resources and Environmental Sciences Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
Rick L. Lawrence
Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
Jennifer L. Lewicki
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
Laura M. Dobeck & Lee H. Spangler
Joseph A. Shaw
Laura M. Dobeck
Kevin S. Repasky
Lee H. Spangler
Correspondence to Joseph A. Shaw.
Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
Rouse, J.H., Shaw, J.A., Lawrence, R.L. et al. Multi-spectral imaging of vegetation for detecting CO2 leaking from underground. Environ Earth Sci 60, 313–323 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0483-9
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So see how your favorite celebrity hosts from shows like hgtv s kitchen cousins and property brothers transformed 20 small kitchens into gorgeous and functional spaces small kitchen ideas let these small yet efficient kitchen design ideas inspire your own space small kitchen design ideas with island.
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Daughter of jailed veteran human rights advocate speaks at Cleveland TEDx event
(Cleveland—May 29, 2014) Lisa Peng, daughter of jailed rights activist Peng Ming, delivered a speech titled "Passive Acceptancec, Active Scrutiny" about her father's imprisonment and the United States passive acceptance of human rights abuses in China at the 2014 TEDx event, a localized version of the annual TED idea sharing event, in Cleveland.
In the past, Lisa has testified before the U.S. Congress, the EU Parliment and the Taiwanese Legistlative Yuan (http://www.chinaaid.org/2013/12/china-16-becomes-china-18-prisoners.html).
Video footage of Lisa's speech can be viewed below, along with graphics made for the presentation.
Lisa Peng from TEDxCLE
Lisa Peng, seventeen years old, is the daughter of Chinese human rights and pro-democracy activist Mr. Peng Ming who was kidnapped in Burma by Chinese secret police and sentenced to life in prison in 2004. Lisa was born in Beijing and suffered doubly as a second child by being denied official legal recognition. In 2000, her family fled government persecution and was accepted by the United States as UN refugees in 2001.
Lisa is working with the China Aid Association, the State Department, and members of Congress to advocate for the release of her father and other prisoners of conscience. She has testified before the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the EU Parliament, and the Taiwanese Parliament. Lisa shared her father's story in a Plain Dealer Op-Ed and in an essay published by the Taiwan Association for China Human Rights in the book China, the Book of Living and Dying.
Lisa is currently a senior at Laurel School in Cleveland, Ohio and is president of School Government. She is a national qualifier and District Champion in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and was a featured high school debater at the City Club of Cleveland. Outside of school, Lisa is recognized by the US Figure Skating Association as a Gold Medal figure skater and is the principal keyboardist of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Lisa has been accepted by Princeton University into the Class of 2018.
http://www.tedxcle.com/lisa-peng/
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Website: www.chinaaid.org


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11th March 1941 The Commencement of Lend-Lease
The ultimate symbol of Lend Lease was America's Bell P-39 Airacobra. Rejected by the RAF for its dangerous engine layout and poor altitude, these duds fetched up as slow-moving tankbusters with the Red Army.
Today marks the anniversary of the commencement of Lend-Lease, the controversial programme through which America gave aid to Great Britain's war effort as she struggled alone against Hitler's Nazi Germany in those dark days after the fall of France. Cajoled, pestered, nay bullied into Lend-Lease by Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt – prevented by the neutrality acts from donating money to his allies – chose instead a circuitous route by which all of American industry could only gain. Obsolete shipping, obsolete war planes, failed war planes, even dangerous war planes were suddenly packed up and sent off to the desperate British navy and air forces, Roosevelt triumphantly proclaiming to his own people their high moral role as the world's "Arsenal of Democracy". In Britain, however, aghast at the poor quality of the single-seater fighters they were being fobbed off with, the RAF demanded huge changes to the P-51 Mustang (including fitting a Rolls Royce engine), whilst outright rejecting both Bell's shaky P-39 Airacobra and the dreadful Brewster F2A Buffalo – the latter opportunistically manufactured by a New Jersey carriage company and nicknamed 'The Flying Coffin' by US Navy flyers at Midway. None of these winged failures returned to the USA, however. Instead, America's Lend-Lease programme simply spread its largesse elsewhere targeting China and Russia with similar so-called deals, so those appalling P-39 Airacobra fighters were pretty soon re-directed to the USSR and re-painted with Soviet red stars.
As a political act, Franklin Roosevelt's execution of Lend-Lease was regarded in the American homeland as a stupendous success. In truth, however, just as Hitler and Mussolini had used the Spanish Civil War as a vehicle for testing the mobility of their own brand new warplanes, Lend-Lease had enabled American industry to test its war machines in real life situations far from its mainland, thus preparing the country for war without engaging with an enemy AND getting rich in the process. Indeed, as the economic historian Alan Milward notes: 'the United States emerged in 1945 in an incomparably stronger position economically than in 1941 … By 1945 the foundations of the United States' economic domination over the next quarter of a century had been secured … [This] may have been the most influential consequence of the Second World War for the post-war world.'
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12th March 1945 – the Death of Anne Frank →
One Response to 11th March 1941 – The Commencement of Lend-Lease
Paul Willmott says:
Julian,
Perhaps even worse than lend-lease was the bases for ships agreement. Till this day the USA has bases on UK land all over the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyers_for_Bases_Agreement
The US still had several bases here in Bermuda until quite recently.


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Q: How to texture a rectangle with multiple textures in OpenGL I'm trying to make a 2d map (for a game, think tiled world map) in OpenGL ES 2.0 for an android game. Basically, there are a few tile types that have different textures, and the map is randomly generated from these types, so from game-to-game the map changes but for the duration of a single game it stays the same.
My first thought was to generate a single large texture / image / bitmap (independent from OpenGL) beforehand basically stitching duplicate tile textures together to make the larger map, and then using this single texture for one large map rectangle. In theory I think this is simple and would work fine, but I'm worried that it won't scale well for larger maps and especially on mobile I'll run out of memory with such a large image map. Plus, there's a small set of tiles that are duplicated over and over so it seems like a tremendous waste to duplicate the pixel data in a big texture over and over.
My second thought was having many textures, one for each of the tile textures. But I'm not sure how this would work, texture-binding-wise, would I need the shaders to contain multiple texture references and within the shader have logic for using the right one?
Finally, I thought using a texture atlas could work, have one texture / image with all of the tile data in it, this would be relatively small. But I'm struggling to imagine how to get the maths to work out such that "tiles" or subsections of the map rectangle would use completely different texture coordinates.
Am I approaching this the wrong way? Should I be using a rectangle for each tile? At least this way I can pass the shaders both vertex and texture coordinates for each tile independently. This seems easier, but also seems wrong since the map really is just one rectangle that won't be changing.

A:
My first thought was to generate a single large texture...

*

*Actualy, something like this has already been used in id Software's id Tech since version 4. It's called MegaTexture. Basicaly, it's a big texture, which could also hold additional data.

My second thought was having many textures...

*

*You don't need to hold all the textures in a shader. Do it like this:

*

*Implement a loop with n iterations, where n is how much different types of textures are used.

*Inside a loop, bind the current texture type.

*Pass any data, like position/color/texture coords to shaders.

*Draw all tiles that use the bounded texture. You could use GLES30.glDrawElementsInstanced or GLES30.glDrawArraysInstanced if you are targeting devices with GLES 3.x or an appropriate extension support. Otherwise, draw your tiles using GLES20.glDrawArrays or GLES20.glDrawElements.
Shaders won't be complicated with this approach.

Finally, I thought using a texture atlas could work...

*

*You could use loop here too and compute the texture coordinates for each tile type on CPU, then just pass them to shaders.

Considering your map is not changing through a game session, MegaTexture approach looks good. However, it depends on how large your map is and how much memory is available. Also, note that max texture size is limited. Max size differs from device to device but should be (AFAIK) equal or greater than screen size and at least 64 texels(16 for cube-mapped textures). You can get the maximum texture size on any device using glGet(GL_MAX_TEXTURE_SIZE ).

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Starring Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi, Toby Jones, Sophie Okonedo. 104 mins.
Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and the rest of the gang step out of the Hundred Acre Wood and into London to remind a world-weary, grown-up Christopher Robin of the joys of life.
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The colour of concrete… is green!
Cycling & the community – Changing up a gear.


When Downtown Grand opened in downtown Las Vegas in October 2013, its "Casino" sign stood as a testament to renewal and high hopes.
A company called CIM Group bought the former Lady Luck for $100 million and invested another $100 million in renovating the resort.
Downtown Grand's first "Casino" sign, in 2013. Neon over LEDs for the win.
The casino's second sign was a variation of the first, with tweaked colors.
To us, the sign was a symbol of the reality check Downtown Grand and its management, Fifth Street Gaming, faced as the resort struggled to find success.
Like the hotel-itself, Downtown Grand's sign was a work in progress.
Recently, Downtown Grand replaced its "Casino" sign yet again.
This time, the sign better reflects the resort's branding and we've decided to take the latest change as a sign the resort is going to find its groove, continue to improve its offerings and meet its potential as a stand-out Las Vegas destination.
We've poked some fun at Downtown Grand in the past, but ultimately, we've come around to the idea we'd rather have a Las Vegas casino rather than not-a-casino, any day. So, we're going to try some cheerleading for awhile.
In the meantime, we're going to visit more often (geography helps, as we work at Fremont Street Experience), imbibe more often (no-brainer) and play more often (there's a revamped player's club, too) at Downtown Grand.
Because it's a great resort, because taking jabs doesn't help keep dealers dealing, bartenders tending and chefs cheffing, and maybe if we play there more, if we all try to, we can help keep Downtown Grand's neon neoning.
This entry was posted in Downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas Casinos, Las Vegas Hotels, Vital Signs on October 22, 2015 by Scott Roeben.
The floundering Las Vegas Outlaws, Sin City's third attempt at an Arena Football League franchise, have ceased operations after just one season.
The Las Vegas Outlaws launched in April 2015, and rumors of the demise of the troubled team have been swirling since June.
The Outlaws have had trouble attracting fans from opening day, with attendance at home games averaging a paltry 3,500.
And, yes, to answer your other question, there's still an Arena Football League.
In mid-July, control of the Las Vegas Outlaws was wrested away from owner Vince Neil, former frontman for Mötley Crüe, by the Arena Football League. Neil and his ownership partners reportedly lost control of the team when debts mounted and the AFL stepped in to bail the team out.
Vince Neil, ever the class act, blamed Las Vegas on the team's financial problems. "Sports teams survive on sponsorships. It's the sponsors who keep all sports alive, and unfortunately Las Vegas did not step up as much as we envisioned with sufficient sponsorships." Get out your waders, folks, it's finger-pointing time. Read more.
Vince Neil's cringe-worthy rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the launch event for the Outlaws is the stuff of Las Vegas legend, for all the wrong reasons.
The Outlaws are the third AFL team to tank in Las Vegas.
In 1994, there was The Sting. Unable to gain a foothold in Vegas, the team eventually moved to Anaheim, California. (They became the Anaheim Piranhas.) Another team, The Gladiators, made a go of it in Vegas from 2003 to 2007 before relocating to Cleveland.
Seriously, how bad to things have to get before moving to Cleveland is an improvement?
As for the Las Vegas Outlaws, insiders claim AFL Commissioner Scott Butera is seeking a new ownership group for the team. Vince Neil says, cluelessly, "The Outlaws will be back for next season." Right. Don't hold your breath.
This entry was posted in Las Vegas, Things to Do in Las Vegas, Vital Signs on August 10, 2015 by Scott Roeben.


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New Mexico In Depth (http://nmindepth.com/category/criminal-jusice/page/3/)
Memphis Mob
APD
About the 2016 Albuquerque sting operation
By Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth | October 25, 2018
Over the last 18 months NMID has closely examined the ATF sting operation, its design, its impact and the legal wrangling that continues to play out in federal court in more than two dozen stories.
Of the 103 people arrested 28 — 27 percent of the total — were black. That's compared to the city's 3 percent black population. Further, black people made up just 5 percent of defendants in gun and drug cases in New Mexico's federal courts during a 10-year period. Racial profiling allegations and admonitions from federal judges have followed the team that descended on Albuquerque around the nation, NMID found.
NM guv candidates differ on plans for state's troubled criminal justice system
Attack ads, political bottle tossing and recriminations have marked this year's race to replace outgoing Gov. Susana Martinez, who is leaving office due to term limits. The campaign's increasingly dark tone illustrates the state of play in politics here in New Mexico and across the nation. But under the tribalism lies something else: A set of stark differences in visions held by the two candidates, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Steve Pearce, who have both abandoned seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for a shot at the Governor's Mansion. During three televised debates, Pearce and Lujan Grisham have hurled broadsides and frontal attacks at one another on a host of issues bedeviling the state — from education to immigration, economic development to marijuana legalization, energy to water conservation. Clashes over how to address New Mexico's persistently high crime rates, particularly in Albuquerque, have torched some of the race's oxygen, too.
Secrecy practice in NM federal court goes deeper than documents, defense lawyers say
By Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth | September 20, 2018
A new federal court filing indicates the practice of secrecy at New Mexico federal courts expands beyond the improper sealing of documents to improperly closing off court proceedings from the public. Assistant Federal Public Defenders John Robbenhaar and Aric Elsenheimer filed a document last week alleging that an Aug. 3 court hearing was sealed — meaning no one besides parties to the case could enter during the proceeding — without their knowledge. A transcript of the hearing also was sealed without their input, the filing says. On Sept.
Improperly Sealed: Lawyers, not judges, selecting which NM fed court documents stay secret
By Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth | September 4, 2018
Prosecutors and defense lawyers have shielded records from public view without a judge's order in New Mexico's federal courts, an apparent violation of the U.S. District Court of New Mexico's own rules, New Mexico In Depth has learned. Judges, not lawyers, are supposed to decide which documents are made available to the public and which should remain secret through an established protocol based in part on decades of case law: Attorneys must submit a written request asking a judge to seal records and a judge must consent before records are sealed. Despite this well-known standard, in numerous instances spread among three criminal cases, the New Mexico offices of the U.S. Attorney and the Federal Public Defender have decided unilaterally to make documents secret without a judge's order, according to a review of federal court records by NMID. It is not clear how many of the thousands of federal court records each year have been sealed this way, but one federal public defender says the practice has gone on for years. "There has been a long-standing practice in the District of New Mexico for parties to elect to file a document under seal, without prior approval of the district court," attorney John Robbenhaar wrote in an emailed response to questions from NMID.
Defense lawyer blasts feds for secret response to racial profiling claims
By Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth | August 23, 2018
The secret filing means the public cannot view — or scrutinize — the U.S. Attorney's defense of Yusef Casanova's arrest, which federal public defender Brian Pori has challenged. Last month Pori argued in a motion that he had enough evidence to prove ATF agents and informants targeted Casanova because he's black and asked Senior U.S. District Judge James Parker to drop methamphetamine trafficking and illegal firearm possession charges.
In a filing Wednesday afternoon prosecutors noted their reason for responding to Pori's original motion under seal, writing it "identifies by name a number of uncharged subjects of the (operation) and references the content of other sealed filings."
But Pori told NMID the government did not need to name people who had been identified for investigation but not arrested. Prosecutors could've blacked the names out of the document, but left its defense of Casanova's arrest for the public to see, he noted.
Black man says he can prove feds racially profiled him, wants charges dropped
Yusef Casanova believes he has enough evidence to prove federal law enforcement targeted him because he's black. Casanova, whose case NMID highlighted in a May 2017 investigation, is asking a federal judge to drop federal drug and gun charges from a controversial monthslong 2016 sting operation in Albuquerque and give him his freedom back. The motion, filed last month in federal court, contends there is evidence that shows agents and informants of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) racially profiled Casanova and other African Americans in the operation. Casanova sold an ounce of meth and a gun to an undercover ATF agent in June 2016; he was arrested weeks later and has been locked up pending trial ever since. His white supplier — who was present when Casanova brokered the drug sale — was never arrested.
High-profile DWI cases spotlight complicated world of legal conflicts
By Jeff Proctor and Justin Horwath | June 11, 2018
For the second time in a year, Albuquerque police officer Joshua Montaño found himself handcuffing a high-profile politico with ties to Gov. Susana Martinez. Montaño arrested state Rep. Monica Youngblood on May 20 on suspicion of aggravated drunken driving, first offense, after he believed she performed poorly on field sobriety tests at a DWI checkpoint on Albuquerque's west side, then refused to take a breath-alcohol test. A year to the day earlier, on May 20, 2017, the veteran DWI officer arrested one of the state's most influential political insiders, former Martinez Environment Department secretary and current New Mexico Oil and Gas Association President Ryan Flynn, on suspicion of DWI. Flynn's case was dismissed; Youngblood's is just beginning to wend its way through the courts. Given the Albuquerque Republican's high-profile stance as a Martinez-friendly, tough-on-crime legislator, her unopposed victory in the June 5 primary election and calls for her to abandon her legislative seat, Youngblood's arrest has kicked up a political stir.
Analysis: Pardons have plummeted in New Mexico under Gov. Martinez
By Jeff Proctor and Justin Horwath | May 23, 2018
An analysis of hundreds of pages of documents shows that Gov. Susana Martinez has granted just three pardons since taking office, and petitions for clemency have fallen by 75 percent compared with her predecessors.
Newly released document reveals budget, details of ATF sting that netted large number of blacks
By Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth | May 1, 2018
Federal law enforcement's goal was to "infiltrate" local gun- and drug-dealing organizations supplied by Mexican cartels when they descended on Albuquerque in 2016. But the four-month sting, whose cost likely topped $1 million in taxpayer money, rounded up mostly low-level drug users and few, if any, hardcore dealers. That didn't stop the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from pushing the operation as a "template for future operations" nationwide. And Damon Martinez — U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico at the time and current candidate for the state's First Congressional District — was so pleased he "asked and offered to travel to the city selected for the next" operation to "sell the … product" to that city's top federal prosecutor. The stated purpose, budget and Martinez's enthusiasm are among the revelations found in a heavily redacted "executive summary report" about the 2016 operation — named "Gideon IX" — obtained by New Mexico In Depth after a federal judge ordered its release.
Good police work or racial profiling? 'Memphis Mob' and how so many blacks were arrested in ATF sting
By Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth | April 24, 2018
A debate over how so many black people came to be arrested in a 2016 gun- and drug-sting operation in Albuquerque is playing out in the city's federal courthouse. Following months of silence from the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Attorney's Office, a narrative is beginning to emerge. It's a story of good police work. According to this version, a pivotal moment happened a few days after the operation started in April 2016. Albuquerque Police Department detective Vic Hernandez handed ATF Special Agent Russell Johnson two sets of documents.


There is passion and idealism in every nook and cranny of Christian Daam and Sascha Euler's new restaurant and bar. They personally chopped and varnished the 6,500 wood blocks which make up the space's back wall, built the extra-wide concrete bar, installed the lights from Marrakesh, and welded the beer-tap wash basin. Alongside the two they brew themselves, the pair serves around 20 other varieties of the best beers in the world. Raise your glass and say cheers!