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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Mathematics: General
Published Reading between the cracks: Artificial intelligence can identify patterns in surface cracking to assess damage in reinforced concrete structures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are trying to make the process more efficient and definitive by using artificial intelligence, combined with a classic mathematical method for quantifying web-like networks, to determine how damaged a concrete structure is, based solely on its pattern of cracking.
Published Wildfire spread risk increases where trees, shrubs replace grasses
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that as woody plants like shrubs and trees replace herbaceous plants like grasses, spot fires can occur farther away from the original fire perimeter.
Published African smoke over the Amazon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Up to two-thirds of the soot above the central Amazon rainforest originates in Africa. Researchers differentiate soot particles using their relative properties and attribute them to their respective points of origin. They found that bush fires and burning savannah in the north and south of Africa make a substantial contribution to air pollution in the central Amazon all year round, thereby playing an important role in the earth radiation budget and water cycle. This is caused by the efficient transatlantic transport of particles through the atmosphere.
Published Scientists discover fire records embedded within sand dunes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows that sand dunes can serve as repositories of fire history and aid in expanding scientific understanding of fire regimes around the world.
Published Extracting the best flavor from coffee
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers explore the role of uneven coffee extraction using a simple mathematical model. They split the coffee into two regions to examine whether uneven flow does in fact make weaker espresso. One of the regions in the model system hosted more tightly packed coffee than the other, which caused an initial disparity in flow resistance. The extraction of coffee decreased the flow resistance further. Understanding the origin of uneven extraction and avoiding or preventing it could enable better brews and substantial financial savings by using coffee more efficiently.
Published Unraveling the mathematics behind wiggly worm knots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers wanted to understand precisely how blackworms execute tangling and ultrafast untangling movements for a myriad of biological functions. They researched the topology of the tangles. Their research could inform the design of fiber-like, shapeshifting robotics that self-assemble and move in ways that are fast and reversible.
Published ChatGPT is still no match for humans when it comes to accounting
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source ChatGPT faced off against students on accounting assessments. Students scored an overall average of 76.7%, compared to ChatGPT's score of 47.4%. On a 11.3% of questions, ChatGPT scored higher than the student average, doing particularly well on AIS and auditing. But the AI bot did worse on tax, financial, and managerial assessments, possibly because ChatGPT struggled with the mathematical processes required for the latter type.
Published Rock, paper, scissors: Searching for stronger nonlocality using quantum computers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the quantum world particles can instantaneously know about each other's state, even when separated by large distances. This is known as nonlocality. Now, A research group has produced some interesting findings on the Hardy nonlocality that have important ramifications for understanding quantum mechanics and its potential applications in communications.
Published Methane from megafires: More spew than we knew
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using a new detection method, scientists found a massive amount of methane, a super-potent greenhouse gas, coming from wildfires -- a source not currently being accounted for by California state air quality managers.
Published Wildfires and animal biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wildfires. Many see them as purely destructive forces, disasters that blaze through a landscape, charring everything in their paths. But a new study reminds us that wildfires are also generative forces, spurring biodiversity in their wakes.
Published Bushfire safe rooms may save lives
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have built and tested a bushfire safe room that exceeds current Australian standards and could keep people alive or protect valuables when evacuation is no longer an option.
Published Researcher solves nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma
(via sciencedaily.com) A researcher has solved a nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma called the wall pursuit game, with implications for better reasoning about autonomous systems such as driver-less vehicles.
Published New model provides improved air-quality predictions in fire-prone areas
(via sciencedaily.com) Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive, generating a significant amount of smoke that can be transported thousands of miles, driving the need for more accurate air pollution forecasts. Researchers have now developed a deep learning model that provides improved predictions of air quality in wildfire-prone areas and can differentiate between wildfires and non-wildfires.
Published A mechanistic and probabilistic method for predicting wildfires
(via sciencedaily.com) In the event of dry weather and high winds, power system-ignited incidents are more likely to develop into wildfires. The risk is greater if vegetation is nearby. A new study provides the methodology for predicting at what point during a high wind storm, powerline ignition is likely.
Published Smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study finds that smoke particles in the stratosphere can trigger chemical reactions that erode the ozone layer -- and that smoke particles from Australian wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10 percent in 2020.
Published To help dry forests, fire needs to be just the right intensity, and happen more than once
(via sciencedaily.com) Research into the ability of a wildfire to improve the health of a forest uncovered a Goldilocks effect -- unless a blaze falls in a narrow severity range, neither too hot nor too cold, it isn't very good at helping forest landscapes return to their historical, more fire-tolerant conditions.
Published Stick to your lane: Hidden order in chaotic crowds
(via sciencedaily.com) Mathematical research brings new understanding of crowd formation and behavior.
Published Wildfires in 2021 emitted a record-breaking amount of carbon dioxide
(via sciencedaily.com) Carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires, which have been gradually increasing since 2000, spiked drastically to a record high in 2021, according to an international team of researchers.
Published Think you're good at math? Study shows it may be because you had equitable math teachers
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study finds that high school students identify more with math if they see their math teacher treating everyone in the class equitably, especially in racially diverse schools. While the relationship between teacher equity and math identity was evident across races, there was an interesting exception. Black students, in general, had strong math identities, regardless of their teacher's actions. Learning about the factors that affect student math identity is important because a student's attitude towards the subject influences the courses that they take as well as their future career selections. This study suggests that teachers may have a larger role to play in helping students develop a positive math identity than previously recognized.
Published Artificial Intelligence from a psychologist's point of view
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers test cognitive abilities of the language model GPT-3.