Alvaro Garcia

Bio: Alvaro Garcia is an academic researcher from University of Nottingham. The author has contributed to research in topics: Asphalt & Asphalt concrete. The author has an hindex of 33, co-authored 97 publications receiving 3365 citations. Previous affiliations of Alvaro Garcia include Delft University of Technology & Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Image Processing

Abstract: MUCKE aims to mine a large volume of images, to structure them conceptually and to use this conceptual structuring in order to improve large-scale image retrieval. The last decade witnessed important progress concerning low-level image representations. However, there are a number problems which need to be solved in order to unleash the full potential of image mining in applications. The central problem with low-level representations is the mismatch between them and the human interpretation of image content. This problem can be instantiated, for instance, by the incapability of existing descriptors to capture spatial relationships between the concepts represented or by their incapability to convey an explanation of why two images are similar in a content-based image retrieval framework. We start by assessing existing local descriptors for image classification and by proposing to use co-occurrence matrices to better capture spatial relationships in images. The main focus in MUCKE is on cleaning large scale Web image corpora and on proposing image representations which are closer to the human interpretation of images. Consequently, we introduce methods which tackle these two problems and compare results to state of the art methods. Note: some aspects of this deliverable are withheld at this time as they are pending review. Please contact the authors for a preview.

A review on the development of cool pavements to mitigate urban heat island effect

Abstract: Conventional impervious pavements have dark surface and large thermal inertia. During summertime they tend to absorb and store solar radiation but negate the evaporative cooling, contributing to the development of urban heat island (UHI). The idea of using cool pavements to mitigate the UHI has gained momentum recently. This review synthesizes the existing definition, physical mechanism, and typical cooling techniques of cool pavements, presenting the influence of cool pavements on the urban thermal environment. Benefits, penalties, costs and policies for the applications of cool pavements are presented with special emphasis on reflective pavements and evaporative pavements. The review suggests that the definition of cool pavements remain incomplete; that the influence of cool pavements on the air temperature in the urban canopy layer is unknown; and that the impact of cool pavements on the thermal conditions of adjacent buildings and pedestrians remains unknown. Many speculations of using cool pavements to battle the UHI effect need refinements and validations. Heat-harvesting pavements seem interesting because they not only stay cool but harness renewable energy. However, the results from the heat-harvesting pavement prototype require scrutiny on the power output, durability, and lifetime of the pavement system. Future studies are expected to understanding the impacts of cool pavements on pedestrian thermal stress, on adjacent building’s energy loads, and on the air temperature in the urban canopy layer.