Mapping of Aluminum Concentration in Bauxite Mining Residues Using Sentinel-2 Imagery

There is a growing interest in the characterization of mining residues, both for environmental assessments and critical raw materials recovery. The lack of sufficient in situ samples hampers an effective geostatistical modelling of material concentrations variability. This paper proposes a method to characterize the aluminum spatial variability in a mine residue from remote sensing data and imprecise information from daily dumping procedures. The method is proposed for the mapping of aluminum within a Greek bauxite residue, using Sentinel-2 imagery. The spatial correlation between metal concentrations and remote sensing indicators (e.g., spectral band ratios) is the premise for mapping aluminum varieties. The proposed method is based on Conditional Gaussian Co-Simulation, where Sentinel-2 images can be used as auxiliary variables. Simulation results are compared with the Co-kriging estimation method. To perform the Co-kriging estimation, the same conditions as simulation are used (same inputs, models, and neighborhoods). Simulation results quantified the metals variability in mining residues, presenting the metal concentration of piled materials in two time periods. For results validation and selecting the best map, fourteen validation samples were used. For the best representative maps of aluminum concentration, a correlation coefficient of about 0.7 between the validation data and obtained aluminum concentration map was obtained.

An enhanced spatial statistical method for continuous monitoring of winter road surface conditions

To facilitate more efficient winter maintenance decision support, road weather information systems (RWIS) have been widely used by highway agencies. However, the cost of RWIS stations is high, and they have limited monitoring coverage. To address this challenge, this paper presents an innovative framework that applies regression kriging to integrate stationary and mobile RWIS data to improve the accuracy of road surface temperature (RST) estimation. Furthermore, an optimal RWIS network expansion strategy is introduced by incorporating a modified particle swarm optimization method with the objective of minimizing spatially averaged kriging estimation errors. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to investigate the influence of station densities on model performance. The case study from Alberta, Canada, demonstrates the feasibility and applicability of the proposed method. The findings provide insights for continuous monitoring and visualization of both road weather and surface conditions and for optimizing RWIS network planning.

STATIC MODELING OF THE RESERVOIR FOR ESTIMATE OIL IN PLACE USING THE GEOSTATISTICAL METHOD

Three-dimensional simulation using geostatistical methods in terms of the possibility of creating multiple realizations of the reservoir, in which heterogeneities and range of variables changes are well represented, is one of the most efficient methods to describe the reservoir and to prepare a 3D model of it and the results have been used as acceptable results in the calculations due to the high accuracy and the lack of smoothing effect in small changes compared to the results of Kriging estimation. The initial volumetric tests of the Hendijan reservoir in southern Iran were carried out according to the construction model and the petrophysical model prepared by the software and according to the fluid contact levels, and the ratio of net thickness to total thickness in different reservoir zones. The calculations can be distinguished based on the zoning of the reservoir and also on the basis of type of facies. Accordingly, the average volume of fluid in place of the field is calculated in different horizons. The results of the simulation showed that the Ghar reservoir rock has gas and Sarvak Reservoir has the largest amount of oil in place.

Distributed Multi-Scale Calibration of Low-Cost Ozone Sensors in Wireless Sensor Networks

New advances in sensor technologies and communications in wireless sensor networks have favored the introduction of low-cost sensors for monitoring air quality applications. In this article, we present the results of the European project H2020 CAPTOR, where three testbeds with sensors were deployed to capture tropospheric ozone concentrations. One of the biggest challenges was the calibration of the sensors, as the manufacturer provides them without calibrating. Throughout the paper, we show how short-term calibration using multiple linear regression produces good calibrated data, but instead produces biases in the calculated long-term concentrations. To mitigate the bias, we propose a linear correction based on Kriging estimation of the mean and standard deviation of the long-term ozone concentrations, thus correcting the bias presented by the sensors.

Kriging Metamodeling in Rotordynamics: Application for Predicting Critical Speeds and Vibrations of a Flexible Rotor

Rotating machinery produces vibrations depending upon the design of the rotor systems as well as any faults or uncertainties in the machine that can increase the vibrations of such systems. This study illustrates the effectiveness of using surrogate modeling based on kriging in order to predict the vibrational behavior (i.e., the critical speeds and the vibration amplitudes) of a complex flexible rotor in the presence of uncertainties. The basic idea of kriging is to predict unknown values of a function by using a small size set of known data. The kriging estimation is based on a weighted average of the known values of the function in the neighborhood of the point for which the value of the function has to be calculated. The crucial dependence of a kriging predictor versus the correlation functions and different orders will be illustrated. This paper also shows that reducing the number of samples required to have predictive models can be achieved by performing an initial understanding of the mechanical system of interest and by considering certain characteristics directly deriving from the physics of the problem studied.

A Computer Program for Practical Semivariogram Modeling and Ordinary Kriging: A Case Study of Porosity Distribution in an Oil Field

In this study, firstly, a practical and educational geostatistical program (JeoStat) was developed, and then example analysis of porosity parameter distribution, using oilfield data, was presented.With this program, two or three-dimensional variogram analysis can be performed by using normal, log-normal or indicator transformed data. In these analyses, JeoStat offers seven commonly used theoretical variogram models (Spherical, Gaussian, Exponential, Linear, Generalized Linear, Hole Effect and Paddington Mix) to the users. These theoretical models can be easily and quickly fitted to experimental models using a mouse. JeoStat uses ordinary kriging interpolation technique for computation of point or block estimate, and also uses cross-validation test techniques for validation of the fitted theoretical model. All the results obtained by the analysis as well as all the graphics such as histogram, variogram and kriging estimation maps can be saved to the hard drive, including digitised graphics and maps. As such, the numerical values of any point in the map can be monitored using a mouse and text boxes. This program is available to students, researchers, consultants and corporations of any size free of charge. The JeoStat software package and source codes available at: