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The use of a general purpose simulator (GPS) to teach Air Force technicians diagnostic and repair procedures for specialized aircraft radar systems is described. An EC II simulator manufactured by Educational Computer Corporation was adapted to resemble the actual configuration technicians would encounter in the field. Data acquired in the evaluation included: (1) the experience level of the participating personnel, (2) learning patterns using the simulator, (3) evaluation of the training potential, and (4) attitudes and acceptance. All personnel exposed to the GPS stated that learning was easy, and tests given the technicians after their training sessions indicated a high level of achievement. The system was generally found to be acceptable to trainees, although some participants indicated a preference for more traditional teaching methods. The cost of using the GPS was found to be less than 10 percent of the costs of an actual equipment trainer. (DGC)

The municipality of Fusagasugá is located 50 kilometers from the city of Bogotá, Colombia, in the eastern cordillera of the Andes in South America. Due to its geographical location, a mountainous area with heights between 1000 and 2000 meters above sea level and two rainy seasons a year, it is affected by processes of instability and surface deformations. The objective of the present investigation was to identify and quantify the displacement speeds of the zones affected by processes of instability and superficial deformation. In this study, 20 radar satellite images from the Sentinel-1 program were used in the SLC format between 30 January 2020 and 19 April 2022 in descending orbit, applying the Small Base Line (SBAS) technique. On the other hand, 21 SAR images were also used in descending orbit between 6 January 2020 and 14 December 2021, applying the persistent scatterers (PS) technique. With the above information, it was possible to map and update the data of the municipality of Fusagasugá in order to include them in the monitoring processes at the regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of the ESA-NASA Joint Aeolus Tropical Atlantic Campaign (JATAC), the ASKOS experiment was implemented during the summer and autumn of 2021 and 2022. ASKOS comprised roughly 9 weeks of measurements in the Saharan dust outflow towards the North Atlantic, with operations conducted from the Cabo Verde Islands. Through its unprecedented dataset of synergistic measurements in the region, ASKOS will allow for the calibration and validation of the aerosol/cloud product from Aeolus and the preparation of the terrain for EarthCARE cal/val activities. Moreover, ASKOS marks a turning point in our ability to study Saharan dust properties and the processes affecting its atmospheric transport, as well as the link to other components of the Earth's system, such as the effect of dust particles on cloud formation over the Eastern Atlantic and the effect of large and giant particles on radiation. This is possible through the synergy of diverse observations acquired during the experiment, which include intense 24/7 ground-based aerosol, cloud, wind, and radiation remote sensing measurements, and UAV-based aerosol in situ measurements within the Saharan air layer, up to 5.3 km altitude, offering particle size-distributions up to 40 µm as well as sample collection for mineralogical analysis. We provide an outline of the novel measurements along with the main scientific objectives of ASKOS. The campaign data will be publicly available by September of 2023 through the EVDC portal (ESA Validation Data Center). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greece was hit by an extreme heat wave, with a significant impact on human health and natural ecosystems in the period between 28 July and 11 August 2021. After the end of this unusual warm period, a rare occasion of multiple supercell storms was observed on 11 August 2021 in northern and central Greece. The synoptic conditions indicated embedded short waves in a northwesterly flow and significant thermal instability across the regions of interest was evident. In conjunction with the strong vertical wind, shear organized convection was released. At least six long-track supercells were documented and the onset, evolution and specific characteristics of them are presented. All supercells moved from NW toward SE, accompanied by large hail, intense rainfall and destructive wind gusts, producing widespread damage along their track. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of an autoencoder neural network is to transform the input data into a lower-dimensional code and then to reconstruct the output from this representation. Applications of autoencoders to classifying sound events in the road traffic have not been found in the literature. The presented research aims to determine whether such an unsupervised learning method may be used for deploying classification algorithms applied to the automatic annotation of road traffic-related events based on noise analysis. Two-dimensional representation of traffic sounds based on 1D convolution was fed the core of autoencoder neural network, and after that classified with seven feed-forward classification subnetworks. Obtained results show that sound recordings can help determine the number of vehicles passing on the road. However, instead of being treated as independent, this method output should be combined with another source of data, e.g., video processing results or microwave radar data readings. Results of vehicle types classification and occupied lane obtained with the use of autoencoder are shown in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]