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ORNL, City of Oak Ridge partner on sensor project to capture city trends

Posted at 5:30 pm October 30, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

UrbanSense passively collects anonymous, open-source data from cellular towers to generate real-time estimates of population density in cities. Insights on how people interact with urban infrastructure helps cities like Oak Ridge, above, assess their needs and plan effectively for future development. (Image by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

UrbanSense passively collects anonymous, open-source data from cellular towers to generate real-time estimates of population density in cities. Insights on how people interact with urban infrastructure helps cities like Oak Ridge, above, assess their needs and plan effectively for future development. (Image by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are partnering with the City of Oak Ridge to develop UrbanSense, a comprehensive sensor network and real-time visualization platform that helps cities evaluate trends in urban activity.

The project, initiated by ORNL’s Urban Dynamics Institute, centers on addressing cities’ real-world challenges through applied urban science. Oak Ridge is the first city to test the new technology, which uses open-source, anonymous data from virtual and physical sensors.

“Preparing for urban growth and planning for future infrastructure development and resource demands are global problems, but cities need ways to be proactive on a local level,” said UDI Director Budhendra Bhaduri. “Our goal in bringing science to cities is to put the right tools and resources in the hands of city managers and urban planners so that they can assess local impacts and make strategic decisions to get the best return on future investments.”

UDI researchers Teja Kuruganti and Gautam Thakur from ORNL’s Computer Science and Engineering Division are collaborating with Oak Ridge Director of Administrative Services Bruce Applegate on the design and deployment of UrbanSense.

The prototype designed for Oak Ridge monitors population density, traffic flow, and environmental data including air and water quality, with a total of seven sensors to be installed in the city. “The longer they are in place and the more data they collect, the better the city’s sense of its trends will be,” Thakur said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bruce Applegate, Budhendra Bhaduri, City of Oak Ridge, Computer Science and Engineering Division, environmental data, Gautam Thakur, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, population density, population dynamics, real-time visualization platform, sensor network, Teja Kuruganti, traffic flow, U.S. Department of Energy, urban activity, Urban Dynamics Institute, UrbanSense

ORNL: High-resolution modeling assesses impact of cities on river ecosystems

Posted at 3:39 am August 24, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A new study from Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows the far-reaching impacts of U.S. cities’ energy consumption on regional ecosystems. Urban areas cover only about 5 percent of the Southeast’s landscape, but cities’ water and energy infrastructures often extend well beyond urban areas as power plants (represented as black dots) are distributed throughout the entire region. (Credit: Ryan McManamay/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

A new study from Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows the far-reaching impacts of U.S. cities’ energy consumption on regional ecosystems. Urban areas cover only about 5 percent of the Southeast’s landscape, but cities’ water and energy infrastructures often extend well beyond urban areas as power plants (represented as black dots) are distributed throughout the entire region. (Credit: Ryan McManamay/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

New mapping methods developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory can help urban planners minimize the environmental impacts of cities’ water and energy demands on surrounding stream ecologies, a press release said.

In an analysis published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an ORNL-led team used high-resolution geospatial modeling to quantify the effects of land, energy, and water infrastructures on the nation’s rivers and streams.

Using streamflow data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the researchers mapped changes to natural hydrology to assess how infrastructure development and competition over water resources affects the environment at a national scale. Their data-driven approach sheds light on the extent to which water resources and aquatic species are affected by urban infrastructures and could help cities curb their burden on regional ecosystems, the press release said.

The results indicate that urban land transformation and electricity production together affect 7 percent of U.S. streams, which influence habitats for more than 60 percent of all North American freshwater fish, mussel, and crayfish species, the release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Science, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: April Morton, Benjamin Ruddell, Budhendra Bhaduri, Christopher DeRolph, electricity production, energy consumption, environmental impacts, Environmental Sciences Division, Hyun Kim, Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, Liem Tran, Matthew Troia, natural hydrology, Northern Arizona University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, regional ecosystems, Robert Stewart, Ryan McManamay, stream ecologies, streamflow data, Sujithkumar Surendran Nair, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Tennessee, Urban Dynamics Institute, urban infrastructures, urban land transformation, US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy

ORAU: Science-societal relationship critical to success of big data analysis

Posted at 12:41 pm March 22, 2015
By Oak Ridge Associated Universities Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100 is pictured above.

Submitted

Leading experts present challenges during ORAU annual meeting

Today’s scientists working with big data to identify the next breakthrough in medical care, environmental solutions, or other critical areas need to be skillful in data analytics but also adept at communications. That was one of the key insights attendees heard recently at ORAU’s 70th annual meeting of its Council of Sponsoring Institutions, titled “Big Data Analytics: Challenges and Opportunities.”

“For science to prosper, the science-society relationship must be positive and strong,” said keynote speaker Alan Leshner, chief executive officer emeritus for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS. Leshner, who holds a doctorate in physiological psychology from Rutgers University, told the audience that many scientists are not prepared to talk about their work and its implications with the public. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: AAAS, Alan Leshner, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Andy Page, annual meeting, big data, Big Data Analytics: Challenges and Opportunities, Budhendra Bhaduri, Council of Sponsoring Institutions, data, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORAU, scientists, Urban Dynamics Institute

ORNL model explores location of future U.S. population growth

Posted at 8:31 pm January 22, 2015
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

ORNL Population Map

This 3-D visualization represents projected changes in U.S. population between 2010 and 2050 as predicted by a new Oak Ridge National Laboratory model. Areas seen in red indicate higher levels of population growth, whereas the vertical spikes signify population growth with new land development. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a population distribution model that provides unprecedented county-level predictions of where people will live in the United States in the coming decades.

Initially developed to assist in the siting of new energy infrastructure, the team’s model has a broad range of implications from urban planning to climate change adaptation. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“We do a census every 10 years because those data help us do long-term socioeconomic planning,” said Budhendra Bhaduri, who leads ORNL’s Geographic Information Science and Technology group. “Population projection numbers are important, but many pressing societal needs also require an understanding of where people are going to be. This has always been a challenge; we’ve never had a good method to make future projections spatially explicit.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Amy Rose, Budhendra Bhaduri, Eddie Bright, Geographic Information Science and Technology, Jacob McKee, LandScan Global, LandScan USA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Nuclear Energy, ORNL, population, population map, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Timmy Huynh, Urban Dynamics Institute

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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