Browsing by Subject "Exploration"
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Item A decision analysis for valuation of natural gas resources with high CO₂ in East Natuna Basin, Indonesia(2023-04-26) Mirsha, Addian; Bickel, J. Eric; Chuchla, Richard; Hovorka, SusanThe natural gas industry is experiencing greenhouse gas emissions-related challenges. The naturally occurring CO₂ in natural gas reservoirs is one of the major anthropogenic sources of atmospheric CO₂ when it is produced. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the world's natural gas resources are contaminated with CO₂, at varying concentrations. Decarbonization targets of oil and gas companies increase the difficulty in developing these challenging resources. The conventional practice of releasing the separated CO₂ gas into the atmosphere is unlikely to be favorable to the recent oil and gas companies’ (OGCs) attitude towards decarbonization. A synergy between natural gas resources with high CO₂ concentrations and oil fields with CO₂-EOR applications can effectively address the two most important issues: the environment and the economy. However, economic issues arise when opportunities for the utilization of CO₂ produced are unavailable, making saline aquifer the only realistic storage option for developing these resources in an environmentally responsible manner with carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment. This obviously will increase resource development costs without increasing expected revenue, and lessen their financial viability. A valuation model based on decision analysis was built to assess the impact of additional costs from CCS deployment. The model focuses on the valuation of a natural gas exploration venture opportunity that potentially contains high CO₂ concentrations. The case of the Paus Prospect in East Natuna Basin, Indonesia, was selected for implementing the model due to basinal and local indications that its target reservoirs have significant CO₂ concentrations. An Indonesian PSC cashflow model was used to estimate the potential outcomes of developing this prospect. The results indicate negative expected monetary values (EMVs) for this investment opportunity by considering that aside from its incremental cost, the CCS deployment would cause a delay in development schedule. The fiscal terms improvement of the PSC and the adaptation of a tax credit for CCS were evaluated to provide recommendations for attracting investment to develop this challenging natural gas resources.Item A hierarchical multi-robot mapping architecture subject to communication constraints(2020-12) Cappel, Henry Fielding; Sentis, LuisMulti-robot systems are an efficient method to explore and map an unknown environment. The simulataneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm is common for single robot systems, however multiple robots can share respective map data in order to merge a larger global map. This thesis contributes to the multi-robot mapping problem by considering cases in which robots have communication range limitations. The architecture coordinates a team of robots and the central server to explore an unknown environment by exploiting a hierarchical choice structure. The coordination algorithms ensure that the hierarchy of robots choose frontier points that provide maximum information gain, while maintaining viable communication amongst themselves and the central computer through an ad-hoc relay network. In addition, the robots employ a backup choice algorithm in cases when no valid frontier points remain by arranging the communication relay network as a fireline back to the source. This work contributes a scalable, efficient, and robust architecture towards hybrid multi-robot mapping systems that take into account communication range limitations. The architecture is tested in a simulation environment using various maps.Item Development of curricular material for an exploration based Precalculus workbook(2009-08) Johnson, Lesley Kaheana; Armendáriz, Efraim P.; Daniels, Mark LThe body of this report, a workbook titled Creative Discovery Explorations in Precalculus, is the final outcome of the project of editing and supplementing a compilation of investigative exercises designed to enhance a Precalculus curriculum. The addition of an Instructor Support section to each of the original explorations is in response to research and interviews, and is designed to help Precalculus teachers incorporate collaborative discovery activities into their classrooms.Item Here be dragons : imaginative geographies of online video games(2013-05) Schwartz, Leigh; Zonn, LeoAs articulated by J. K. Wright (1947), "terrae incognitae," or unknown lands, capture the imagination and inspire an excitement to explore and learn, but with a reduction in travel times and subsequent expansions of potential travel range, along with growth in media and the development of the video game industry, for many, terrae incognitae has shifted from places on Earth to the intangible environments of interactive media. While the virtual environments of video games can be fantastic, they are also designed and created by human beings to exist entirely in relation to the game player, who is an adventurer, explorer, settler, civilizer, or conqueror. Using qualitative research methods, this dissertation analyzes the geographies online video gaming in relation to an original framework based on the mutually constitutive concepts of representation, exploration, and geographic narrative, as well as the intersecting roles of myth, fantasy, and the virtual in shaping narratively structured imaginative environments. With specific chapters examining themes of interaction between human and software, gender and sexuality, exploration, narrative, cooperation, and creativity, this dissertation proposes that video games can be best understood as both collaborative representations and virtual environments.Item Into The Antarctic: Analyzing The Trends Of Commercialization(2019-05-01) Hill, Charles Richmond; Walker, LeeDespite its reputation as one of the last great frontiers on the planet, Antarctica's commercialization over the past century has increased exponentially. To what extent is the development of the southernmost continent similar to the commercialization of other locations? The objective of this paper is to analyze thematic similarities between the commercial development of different sites, with a focus on three locations: Argentinian Patagonia, Chilean Patagonia, and Antarctica. On December 29, 2018, I travelled to the southernmost city in the world – Ushuaia, Argentina – with the objective of purchasing a last-minute ticket on an icebreaker ship to Antarctica. In the pursuit, I studied the commercial development trends in the surrounding territories before successfully embarking on an expedition to Antarctica. Using a framework that I created, known as the Commercialization Life Cycle, I analyzed trends that led to the commercialization process of the three regions.Item Trajectory patterns of ethnic identity among Mexican-origin female adults : the role of age of arrival to the U.S.(2023-04-24) Tse, Hin Wing; Kim, Su YeongExtant research on ethnic identity have primarily focused on adolescence, overlooking the development of ethnic identity in adulthood, which is a critical gap in the literature from a lifespan perspective. Additionally, past research has shown that age of arrival to a host country may determine the overall exposure to sociocultural contexts, which could trigger a variation of trajectory patterns in ethnic identity at later stage of life (e.g., during adulthood). Using a three-wave longitudinal dataset of 596 Mexican-born female adults, three independent growth mixture models were estimated to identify variation in trajectory patterns of ethnic identity exploration, resolution, and centrality. Two distinct trajectories were found in each component of ethnic identity. Associations between linear/quadratic effect of age of arrival to the U.S. and trajectory patterns of ethnic identity exploration, resolution, and centrality were examined, controlling for demographics, including age, income, and education at Wave 1. Results indicated that age of arrival to the U.S. (linear and quadratic terms) were not significant predictors of trajectory patterns of ethnic identity. Study findings add to our understanding of the contemporary lifespan model of ethnic identity development and show that ethnic identity continues to evolve beyond young adulthood. This study may also provide insights for future research on how different trajectory patterns of individual ethnic identity component may be linked to psychological and sociocultural adaptation outcomes in adult immigrant populations.Item Visibility optimization for autonomous exploration and surveillance-evasion games(2020-05-08) Ly, Long Louis; Tsai, Yen-Hsi R.; Ghattas, Omar; Topcu, Ufuk; Vouga, Paul E; Ward, RachelThis dissertation considers problems involving line-of-sight visibility. In the exploration problem, the agent must efficiently map out a previously unknown environment, using as few sensor measurements as possible. For the surveillance-evasion game, the agent must always maintain visibility of a moving adversary. We first derive algorithms from a theoretical perspective. Although the resulting solutions are optimal, they are expensive to compute. We propose efficient approximations to the optimal solutions. At the expense of optimality, these approximations provide reasonable solutions that enable near real-time performance. We leverage state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to scale to scenarios that were not previously feasible. Level set functions allow for efficient computation of visibility and are a natural representation for input to convolutional neural networks. Lastly, we consider the notion of the visibility of point clouds along rays. Using nearest neighbors along a set of randomly generated rays, we compute a signature tensor which encodes geometric and statistical information about the point cloud. The signature, in combination with a convolutional neural network, enables efficient and robust classification of point clouds. We present promising results in 2D and 3D.