Nathan Thomas - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Nathan Thomas

Applied Linguistics

In the field of educational psychology, self-regulation is part of a well-established research pa... more In the field of educational psychology, self-regulation is part of a well-established research paradigm that has been extensively applied to learning contexts. However, despite proposals highlighting its benefits, some researchers claim that its cross-pollination into applied linguistics has been slow. In their recent Applied Linguistics’ Forum article, Teng and Zhang (2022) discuss some of the reasons why this may be the case. They also further repeated calls for the importance of self-regulated learning in second/foreign language learning and teaching. In this response article, we wish to add to their proposal by focusing on the role that language plays in language learning. Specifically, to maximize the benefits of second/foreign language learning and teaching centered on regulatory training (whether it is self-, co-, or otherwise derived), then alongside the how (learning process), we need to more fully consider the what (aspect of language being learned), and how the two are, i...

Parallel programming is becoming mainstream due to the increased availability of multiprocessor a... more Parallel programming is becoming mainstream due to the increased availability of multiprocessor and multicore architectures and the need to solve larger and more complex problems. Languages and tools available for the development of parallel applications are often difficult to learn and use. The Standard Template Adaptive Parallel Library (STAPL) is being developed to help programmers address these difficulties. STAPL is a parallel C++ library with functionality similar to STL, the ISO adopted C++ Standard Template Library. STAPL provides a collection of parallel pContainers for data storage and pViews that provide uniform data access operations by abstracting away the details of the pContainer data distribution. Generic pAlgorithms are written in terms of PARAGRAPHs, high level task graphs expressed as a composition of common parallel patterns. These task graphs define a set of operations on pViews as well as any ordering (i.e., dependences) on these operations that must be enforce...

The BlueFlux field campaign is supported by NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) and will develo... more The BlueFlux field campaign is supported by NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) and will develop prototype blue carbon products to inform coastal carbon management. Blue carbon is included in carbon-dioxide removal actions proposed to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations to mitigate climate change. Due to their high productivity and carbon storage, combined with historic losses and a wide-range of beneficial ecosystem services, the restoration and conservation of mangrove ecosystems features prominently in blue-carbon planning. The goal of BlueFlux is to carry out multi-scale measurements of CO2 and CH4 fluxes using chambers, flux towers, and aircraft and scale these to gridded products using space-based observations of forest structure and surface reflectance. The measurements cover gradients in disturbance, mainly from the history of hurricanes in the region that drive the dieback of mangroves and the formation of ‘ghost forests’. The fluxes of CH4 emissions will be contrasted ...

Journal of Second Language Writing

Research has repeatedly shown that problems arise when students are asked to link information co-... more Research has repeatedly shown that problems arise when students are asked to link information co-textually and contextually across larger phases of discourse. Within Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), a text-oriented theory of language, co-textual and contextual links are analyzed and operationalized in terms of textual and logical metafunctions, both of which work together to connect and enable experiential and interpersonal metafunctions. While most writing studies to date have investigated text as product (synoptic approach), there has been increasing interest in studying text as an evolving process (dynamic approach). The current study contributes to this emerging research by examining the real time choices made by six student writers. Drawing on keystroke logging software (Inputlog), it explores writers' revision choices within the systems of THEME, INFORMATION, and IDENTIFICATION, in conjunction with the logical metafunction. Results indicate that complex choices contribute to unfolding cohesiveness and information flow, where choices in specificity and congruency are key contributors to managing texture while also manipulating complexity and contextdependency. Overall findings suggest that students may benefit from an explicit focus on the nominal group as a means to create and maintain texture and cohesion through overspecification, classification (pre-modifiers) and qualification (post-modifiers).

IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Timely and up-to-date bathymetry maps over large geographical areas have been difficult to create... more Timely and up-to-date bathymetry maps over large geographical areas have been difficult to create, due to the cost and difficulty of collecting in situ calibration and validation data. Recently, combinations of spaceborne Ice, Cloud, and Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) lidar data and Landsat/sentinel-2 data have reduced these obstacles. However, to date, there have been no means of automatically extracting bathymetry photons from ICESat-2 tracks for model calibration/validation and no well-established open source workflows for generating regional scale bathymetric models. Here we provide an open source approach for generating bathymetry maps for the shallow water region around the island of Andros, Bahamas. We demonstrate an efficient means of processing 224 ICESat-2 tracks and 221 Landsat-8 scenes, using the classification of subaquatic height extracted photons (C-SHELPh) algorithm and Extra Trees Regression to provide 30 m pixel estimates of per-pixel depth and standard error. We map bathymetry with an RMSE of 0.32 m and RMSE% of 6.7%. Our workflow and results demonstrate a means of achieving accurate regional-scale bathymetry maps from purely spaceborne data.

Remote Sensing

Mangroves are a globally important ecosystem that provides a wide range of ecosystem system servi... more Mangroves are a globally important ecosystem that provides a wide range of ecosystem system services, such as carbon capture and storage, coastal protection and fisheries enhancement. Mangroves have significantly reduced in global extent over the last 50 years, primarily as a result of deforestation caused by the expansion of agriculture and aquaculture in coastal environments. However, a limited number of studies have attempted to estimate changes in global mangrove extent, particularly into the 1990s, despite much of the loss in mangrove extent occurring pre-2000. This study has used L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) global mosaic datasets from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for 11 epochs from 1996 to 2020 to develop a long-term time-series of global mangrove extent and change. The study used a map-to-image approach to change detection where the baseline map (GMW v2.5) was updated using thresholding and a contextual mangrove change mask. This approach was applie...

The Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) data layers were developed in a collaboration between Aberystwyth... more The Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) data layers were developed in a collaboration between Aberystwyth University (U.K.), solo Earth Observation (soloEO; Japan), Wetlands International the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The aim was to provide geospatial information about mangrove extent and changes to the Ramsar Convention, national wetland practitioners, decision makers and NGOs. It is part of the Ramsar Science and Technical Review Panel (STRP) work plan for 2016-2018 and a Pilot Project to the Ramsar Global Wetlands Observation System (GWOS), which is implemented under the GEO-Wetlands Initiative. The primary objective has been to provide countries lacking a national mangrove monitoring system with first cut mangrove extent and change maps, to help safeguard against further mangrove forest loss and degradation. The GMW has generated a global baseline map of mangroves for 2010 using ALOS PALSAR and Landsat (optical) d...

Linguistics and Education, 2021

Abstract Interaction has been established as an important mechanism for language learning and sci... more Abstract Interaction has been established as an important mechanism for language learning and science learning. As such, English medium instruction (EMI) science classes are home to a unified interest in the role of interaction for learning English and content knowledge. While a lack of interaction has been commonly found in previous EMI research, this study investigates one possible reason: student beliefs. Data were collected in nine EMI high school programs across China, consisting of 331 questionnaire responses and interviews with 60 students. Results showed that although most students recognized the general benefit of interaction for both science learning and English learning, they were less committed to extensive interaction. Discrepancies between macro- and micro-level beliefs were illuminated, together with language-related challenges, which directed students’ immediate actions in class. Suggestions for EMI teachers are provided regarding how to adjust their teaching approach to meet students at their current level.

Remote Sensing, 2022

This study presents an updated global mangrove forest baseline for 2010: Global Mangrove Watch (G... more This study presents an updated global mangrove forest baseline for 2010: Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) v2.5. The previous GMW maps (v2.0) of the mangrove extent are currently considered the most comprehensive available global products, however areas were identified as missing or poorly mapped. Therefore, this study has updated the 2010 baseline map to increase the mapping quality and completeness of the mangrove extent. This revision resulted in an additional 2660 km2 of mangroves being mapped yielding a revised global mangrove extent for 2010 of some 140,260 km2. The overall map accuracy was estimated to be 95.1% with a 95th confidence interval of 93.8–96.5%, as assessed using 50,750 reference points located across 60 globally distributed sites. Of these 60 validation sites, 26 were located in areas that were remapped to produce the v2.5 map and the overall accuracy for these was found to have increased from 82.6% (95th confidence interval: 80.1–84.9) for the v2.0 map to 95.0% (95th ...

Sustainability, 2022

Teaching science through English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon around ... more Teaching science through English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon around the world. In Hong Kong, this was realised on a large scale in 2010, with the implementation of a “fine-tuning” compulsory language policy. This allowed Chinese-medium schools to adopt EMI fully. Yet, despite such rapid and widespread adoption, an adequate understanding of key stakeholders’ experiences in relation to their perceptions of what constitutes effective EMI science education remains scarce. Thus, we question the sustainability of EMI programs that are driven by top-down policy. In this case study, we explore the perspectives and experiences of six EMI science teachers and thirteen of their students as their secondary school transitions from partial to full EMI. From in-depth interviews (complemented by classroom observations), findings reveal that the transition to full EMI has presented challenges that appear to hinder students’ development of scientific knowledge and the lan...

This is manually modified EEZ dataset (shapefile) for each country that contains mangrove forests... more This is manually modified EEZ dataset (shapefile) for each country that contains mangrove forests. This dataset has been manually edited for coastal regions where the country border often cuts through coastal ecosystems, rather than fully containing them. This has implications for calculating country statistics on coastal ecosystem services (e.g. carbon content). Our manually modified dataset circumvents this. This dataset was created as part of the Simard et al 2019 Mangrove Height and Biomass data.

IGARSS 2020 - 2020 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2020

Smallholder farms in South East Asia are characterized by small irregular field patterns, dense c... more Smallholder farms in South East Asia are characterized by small irregular field patterns, dense cloud cover and haze which limits our ability to observe changes in agriculture land-use. Very-high resolution (VHR, < 5 m) Earth observing (EO) satellites have grown into constellations with global repeat coverage that can support multiple observations within a growing season. Here we present a multi-modal approach to map and monitor changes in agriculture at the field scale in the Mekong River Delta with VHR optical imagery from Worldview-1, 2 and 3, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) from Sentinel-1. Our approach leverages the benefits of SAR and VHR imagery with geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) in a high-end computing environment to rapidly map the distribution and size of agriculture fields that are not observable at moderate resolution (> 30 m) in regions with dense persistent cloud cover and haze from biomass burning.

Reading in a foreign language, 2020

The incidental or implicit learning of vocabulary has long been a topic of interest in various di... more The incidental or implicit learning of vocabulary has long been a topic of interest in various disciplines. In studies on foreign language acquisition, reading is often the activity that researchers use to generate their findings. Reading in a Foreign Language has maintained its position at the forefront of this research, consistently publishing manuscripts that support or refute previous findings, improve upon past research designs, or offer new perspectives on existing issues. The current article adds to this ongoing collection of texts by first discussing, in brief, the extent to which incidental vocabulary learning has been shown to be possible in past research. It then discusses recent innovations in research, homing in on two studies in particular that have been selected due to their unique implications for research and practice: the use of codeswitched texts and a new construct, dynamic exposure. The discussion section will expand on the ideas these studies introduce, suggest...

This dataset provides maps of aboveground tidal marsh biomass (g/m2) at 30m resolution for six es... more This dataset provides maps of aboveground tidal marsh biomass (g/m2) at 30m resolution for six estuarine regions of the conterminous United States: Cape Cod, MA; Chesapeake Bay, MD, Everglades, FL; Mississippi Delta, LA; San Francisco Bay, CA; and Puget Sound, WA. Estuarine and palustrine emergent tidal marsh areas were based on a 2010 NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) map. Aboveground biomass maps were generated from a random forest model driven by Landsat vegetation indices and a national scale dataset of field-measured aboveground biomass. The final model, driven by six Landsat vegetation indices, with the soil adjusted vegetation index as the most important, successfully predicted biomass for a range of marsh plant functional types defined by height, leaf angle, and growth form. Biomass can be converted to carbon stocks using a mean plant carbon content of 44.1%.

Classroom assessment practices can be confusing for many teachers. Terminology is numerous and el... more Classroom assessment practices can be confusing for many teachers. Terminology is numerous and elusive. Different types of assessment serve different purposes. This short discussion paper's contribution originates from my own attempt to determine whether analytic scales would be more appropriate than holistic scales for assessing the L2 writing and speaking of young adults in classroom settings. A scoping search and subsequent review of the relevant literature seems to demonstrate that analytic scales tend to be more precise than holistic scales. If the purpose of the assessment is to provide feedback for learning, analytic scales are more appropriate. Conversely, holistic scales are acceptable if the assessment is not intended to provide implications for improvement. To expand on these general statements, this paper first discusses terminology necessary to understand academic texts on assessment and assessment scales. It then discusses the assessment of writing as performed by teachers, followed by the assessment of speaking performed by both students and teachers, focusing on a small number of studies selected for their relevance and applicability to practice. I hope this paper serves its 'idea sharing' purpose by providing

Non-native Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush threaten to extirpate native Yellowstone Cutthroat Tro... more Non-native Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush threaten to extirpate native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park. Suppression of Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake has been ongoing since 1995, primarily by gillnetting. Unfortunately, bycatch of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout is associated with this removal method, which targets adult and subadult Lake Trout. Alternative methods effective at causing mortality in Lake Trout early life stage(s) could be used simultaneously with gillnetting to improve suppression effectiveness. The vulnerability of salmonid embryos suggest increasing Lake Trout embryo mortality is feasible and because population growth rates are sensitive to age-0 survival an effective embryo suppression method could have population-level effects. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of methods to increase mortality of Lake Trout embryos. In situ experiments tested the effect of s...